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jjk m PROPIRTY OF ^ 

Mchigm 



JWaries^ 



» «i 7 




ARTES SCIENTIA VERITAS 



PUBLICATIONS 



SUETEES SOCIETY. 

B8TABLISHEU IN THE YEAR 
M.DCCCXXXrV. 




VOL. LIV. 

FOB THE YEAB UDCCCLXIX 






■^ f^.^ 



IttPGfK : 

fOtSaOti ANt CO,, PRINlTkBf/ 



THE DIAEY 



OF 



ABEAHAI DE LA PEYME, 



THE YORKSHIRE ANTIQUARY. 



yf/ftl/^t^Kl) ^ /^^^H/^^fK^ 



fit ANDREWS & CO., DURHAM; 
WHITTAKBR & CO., 13, AVE MARIA LANE ; T. & W. BOONE, 
t% FEW BOND STREET J BERNARD QUARITCH, 16, PICCADILLY { 

BLACKWOOD & SONS, EDINBURGH* 

1870. 



At a Meeting of the Council of Tbhe Surtees Society, 
held in the Castle of Durham, on Tuesday, December 1st, 1868, 
the Bev. C. T. Whitley in the chair — it was 

Resolved, that The Diary of Abraham db la Pryme 
should form one of the publications of this Society for 1869, to 
be edited by Mr* Charles Jackson. 

James Baine, 

Secretary- 



INTKODUCTION. 



The Council of the Surtees Society are enabled, by the cour- 
teous permission of Francis Westby Bagshawe, esq., of the 
Oaks, near Sheffield, the owner of the original manuscript, to 
furnish its members with the volume now delivered to them. To 
that gentleman the cordial thanks of the Society are justly due, 
and, on their behalf, are hereby presented. 

The manuscript consists of two volumes folio, in size about 
eleven inches by seven. Each volume is bound in rough calf, 
with folding flaps, originally secured by a single clasp of brass, 
with four catches. The pages of volume the first are alternately 
numbered. Including several original letters, printed papers, 
etc., occasionally inserted by the Diarist, and numbered as pages, 
they amounted to 573. Several pages are, however, now want- 
ing. In volume the second, not so thick a book as the first, the 
pages are not numbered. Inclusive of its interleaved matter it 
appears at present to contain 133 pages. At the end of it many 
pages have been cut or torn out : but, as the latest entry is under 
date of the 25th Jan., 1703-4, and the writer lived only to the month 
of June following, and since as the later portion consists merely 
of entries of copies of letters to some of his antiquarian corres- 
pondents, without any notes of daily occurrences, it is probable 
that the missing leaves were for the most part blank, and only 
taken out for other purposes. The handwriting is bold and clear 
in character. In places where some of the church notes are 
given, trickings of arms, hastily executed, are made ; these it 
has not been considered worth while to represent by engraving. 
Upon the whole the manuscript may fairly be regarded as being 
• in very good' condition. 



yi INTRODUCTION. 

Mr, Bagshawe informs me that he is unahle to state for what 
length of time these two manuscript volumes have been in the 
possession of his family, or how, indeed, precisely they were at 
the first obtained. His belief is that they were given by one of 
the De la Pryme family* to one of his ancestors, Mrs. Darling,* 
who was connected with Thome, the last place at which the 
Diarist resided, and where also he died. 

The Diary has been, no doubt through the civility of its 
owners, lent at different times to various persons, and it is likely 
that transcripts of or extracts from it, printed or otherwise, may 
exist elsewhere. For historical purposes it was certainly, some 
years ago, entrusted to at least one distinguished topographical 
writer, than whom no one was more welcome, or more able, to 
extract the essence of it, and who has suitably acknowledged the 
benefits, which these, as well as other manuscripts of De la 
Pryme, afforded him in his compilation of the history of South 
Yorkshire.^ 

Upon undertaking the editorship of this work I had the 
pleasure of becoming acquainted with an existing member of the 
Diarist's family, Charles de la Pryme, esq., M.A., of Trinity 

« On the outside of the cover of vol ii. is written " Peter Pryme, his Booke." 
This was the Diarist's next hrother and successor, who died 25th Nov., 1724, (See 
Pedigree), The Diarist's nephew and namesake has also thus described himself 
within the cover of the same volume : — "Abraham Pryme, living in ye Levils 
of Hatfield Chace, in ye county of York, in the West Kideing thereof, near 
Doncaster, Anno Domini 1722." 

^ Ellen, daughter and coheiress of Bichard Bagshawe, of the Oaks, 
married at Thorne, 8th March, 1733-4, William Chambers, of Hull, M.D., whose 
only daughter, Elizabeth Chambers, became the wife of Ralph Darling, of Hull. 
Their son, William Chambers Darling, assumed the surname of Bagshawe in 
lieu of Darling, and, being knighted, became Sir William Chambers Bagshawe, 
M.D. He was the grandfather of Francis Westby Bagshawe, esq., now of the 
Oaks. — See Hunter's Hallamshire^ 1819, p. 234 ; Oatty's Hunter'i Hallamihire^ 
1869, pp. 399, 400. 

• "At the end of the 17th century Abraham de la Pryme, a clergyman, and 
early fellow of the Royal Society, made some not inconsiderable collections for 
the history, natural and civil, of the Level of Hatfield Chace, the place of his 
nativity. These collections, though injured by the carelessness of some former 
possessor, are now in the Lansdowne department of the British Museum, and 



INTRODUCTION, ^ VU 

College, Cambridge, who informed me that he had been contem- 
plating the pubUcation of notices, collected by his family and 
himself, relating to his worthy ancestor. With great politeness 
he immediately suggested that these should be introduced as a 
preface 'to the present volume, and that such portions of the actual 
Diary as he had previously copied should be merged in it. This 
arrangement, being a great mutual advantage, has been adopted, 
and Mr. de la Pryme's valuable addition accordingly appears at 
the conclusion of these few remarks. 

In this volume the original Diary is not printed verbatim et 
totalUer, A certain license, in these cases no less needful than 
discretionary, has been exercised in the rejection or omission of 
such portions as, on various accounts, seemed unnecessary in 
print. For the most part the original orthography has been 
followed, except in some instances, where the appearance of the 
bookj and the more convenient perusal by non- antiquarian 
readers, seemed to demand a more modem variety of form. 

Thoughnotequal, either in thesupply of information, ormethod, 
or general character, to the diaries of Pepys, Thoresby, and 
others, still it will probably be found that the references, as well 
to political as to private and personal occurrences, are of con- 
siderable interest; and the quaint, unartificial language of an 
old Diarist, telling us naturally what happened in his time, is 
always attractive. 

Next to the owner of the manuscript my best thanks, as editor, 
are justly due to our Secretary, the Rev. Canon Raine, M.A., of 
York, whose long and intimate acquaintance with compilations 

there I had access to them, through the kindness of Mr. Ellis, before they were 
generally placed in the hands of those who are admitted to the reading-room 
of the Museum. Besides these, De la Pryme left an Ephemeris or Diary of his 
life, in which he has inserted many historical and biographical matters. This 
last has been entrusted to me by William John Bagshawe, esq., of the Oaks, in 
Korton.** (Mr. Hunter's preface to South Yorkshire, 1828). At page 179 of 
ToL i. the same author again recognises '^ the unsolicited and kind communi- 
cation" of this Diary, Mr. Hunter made copious extracts from the Diary, 
which are now amongst his MSS. at the British Museum. — Addltiofial MSS.y 
24476, pp. 33-94. 



Till. INTRODUCTION. 

of this character has enabled him to render material help to one 
who cannot lay claim to similar experience. The Rev. Dr. 
Thompson, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge ; the Rev. 
J. E. B. Mayor, M.A., of St. John's College, Cambridge; the 
Rev. George Ornsby, M.A., vicar of Fishlake, near Doncaster ; 
Edward Peacock, esq., F.S.A., of Bottesford Manor, near Brigg; 
and George William CoUen, esq.. Portcullis Pursuivant at Arms, 
have greatly assisted me with the information supplied in the 
notes. For the testamentary notices of the De la Pryme family 
and others, to be found in the Appendix,** and elsewhere, I am 
chiefly indebted to Robert Hardisty Skaife, esq., of York, and to 
Colonel Chester, of London. Those who know what it is to be 
engaged in the compilation of Pedigrees will readily appreciate 
the value of being permitted a free and unrestricted access to 
parochial registers and other records. For this privilege I must 
request the Rev. Canon Brooke, M.A., vicar of the Holy Trinity 
Church at Hull; the Rev.' Henry Hogarth, M.A., vicar of Hat- 
field; and the Rev. George Jannings, B.A., vicar of Thorne, to 
accept my most sincere acknowledgments. I must not omit the 
names of Rowland Heathcote, esq., of the Manor House, Hatfield, 
(for the liberal facility of inspecting the court rolls under his 
charge),* of Edward Shimells Wilson, esq., F.S.A.^ and William 
Consitt Boulter, esq., F.S.A. And there are other gentlemen, 
of whose friendly aid I bear the most grateful remembrance. 

In a work of this kind, involving for its elucidation references 
to so many scattered. sources, so many old records, and so many 
manuscript authorities, errors are inevitable. I will only add 
that I have done my best to explain, for the Surtees Society and 
the Public, the obscurities which Time has thrown over the 
"observable things" recorded in this Diary by one who in his 

day was a remarkable man. 

CHARLES JACKSON. 

Doncaster^ \st November^ 1870. 

^ See Appendix, pp. 265-9. ' See postea, p. 257, n, f See Appendix, p. 298, 



PKEFACE. 



MEMOIR OF THE FAMILY OF DE LA PEYME, 
BY CHARLES DE LA PRYME. 



The antiquity of families has so long been a subject of interest 
to some, and of ridicule to others, that it is difficult to assign its 
proper limits in a biographical memoir. The De la Pryme family 
has claimed to be the oldest of thg Huguenots that have settled in 
this country, whether traditionally or historically considered. 
Were this work intended for the votaries of what has been called 
the " science of fools with long memories," some pleasant pagea 
might have been written about the descent from the last king of 
Troy, the crossing the Mediterranean and settling in France — 
first at Troyes and then at Paris (hence so called), and their 
consequent assumption of the prefix De la. 

The " gentle reader " will, perhaps, be quite content to pass 
over in respectful silence the legendary period, and descend at 
oace to the tamer level of the twelfth century, when we find 
them chief magistrates of the city of Ypres, in French Flanders. 

The earliest spelling of the name was Priem^ the next Prijme^ 
the next Pi 'me, and the last Pryme; which an herald would 
perhaps call respectively the Trojan, the Flemish, the French, 
and the English variations. The prefix De la has had its vicis- 
situdes in this, as in some other families — as the De la Poles, 
Delafields, etc., where it has been, as it were, "on and off" for 



X PREFACE. 

some time, and even finally dropped. In some cases it has been 
so with only the De^ and in others with onlj the La. The 
author of " Robinson Crusoe " has been accused of taking ex- 
actly the contrary liberty with his name, by calling himself [De] 
Foe. During the seven years' war (1756-1763), the anti-Galli- 
can feeling here was so strong, that Francis, who, in 1749, was 
elected mayor of Hull as Francis De la Pryme, was, in 1766, 
mayor as simply Francis Pryme. His son, Christopher, con- 
tinued the mutilated form, and gave it to his son George, who 
revived the original name, in its trisyllabic fulness, at the baptism 
of his son Charles, the present representative. 

There seem to have been two branches of the family, one of 
which possessed a chateau near Paderbom, in Westphalia, in the 
middle of the last century. The other, which was the original 
one, resided near Ypres, of which city several of them were 
chief magistrates. It was then one of the most important cities 
of northern and western Europe ; its manufactures were cele- 
brated all over the Continent ; and it lent its name to the best of 
its fabrics, the diaper (which is merely a corruption of D^ Ypres) ^ 
just as our own worsted is so called fix)m a place of that name 
in Norfolk.^ 

Among the MSS. belonging to the family, there is an old 
paper, * of which it will be sufficient to give the substance. 

It appears that in 1176, Philip of Alsace carried with him to 
the Crusade five hundred of the citizens of Ypres, Three years 

t Worstead, a parish, and formerly a market town, eastern division of Nor- 
folk, 2f miles (S.S.B.) from North Walsham, and 121 (n.b. by N.) from London. 
This place was once celebrated for the invention and manufacture of woollen 
twists and stuffs, thence called worsted goods ; but this branch of trade was, 
on the petition of the inhabitants of Norwich, removed to that city in the 
time of Richard II., where it was finally established in the reign of Henry IV. 
— Lemis Top, Diet, 

* Stated to be compiled from old papers, and considered by the family as 
trustworthy. Stories of the nature here given, are, however, when unsupported 
by evidence, generally tinctured with so much of what is romantic, that their 
reception is entirely a matter to be left to the judgment of the reader. 



PREFACE. 



XI 



afterwards, four hundred and thirty-six of these returned. These 
were amply rewarded by their leader, some with knighthood, 
some, it is said, with grants of arms. Among those who were 
honoured with the last was the ancestor of the De la Prymes, 
whose coat-armour is thus described : — 

"Hereunder is the coat of arms of Alexander Priem, which is 
Field azure^ with two gilt crosses and silver poinards, with a red bar 
in the middle. The motto, Animose certavit — He has fought as a 
hero. K the Turks came with so many thousand men to attack 

all Christian people ; and if lie came with 
such great fury, and with numberless to cover 
all the fields, yet Alexander Priem has shown 
to many Saracens that they were not able to 
fight against him, for his dagger is always 
Priem, being a poinard, which is the name 
of the family, and, as before the cross, has 
slain upon the ground many Turks and 
Saracens." 

The following are the names of the persons of the family of 
Priem that have been in the magistracy of Ypres since the year 
1179, when the first Alexander received his nobility.' 




I 





1179. Alexander Priem. 

1222. Leo 

1276. Arnauld 

1388. Ignatius 

1490. William 

1468. Paul 

1545. Christian 

1554. Nicholas 



» 



?> 



97 



55 



5? 



55 



35 



1567. 
1572. 
1581. 
1612. 
1616. 
1620. 
1628. 
1680. 



George 
George 
George 
George 
Robert 



'r 



em. 



* In a similar account of the early history of the family, as furnished in 
Surke's History of the Commmiers of Great Britain and Ireland^ 1838, vol. iv., 
p. 706, it is stated that Alexander Priem " received a patent of gentility and a 
grant of arms." The latter, however, it is believed, were unknown under 
Philip of Alsace ; and, upon enquiry, neither of these documents, if they ever 
existed, appear to be now in the possession of the present representative of this 
family in England. 



XU PREFACE. 

James de la Pryme, of Naze House, near KIrkham, Lanca- 
shire, went to Ypres, at the close of the last century, to enquire 
after any of the family — their situation, property, etc. He 
found two persons of the name (which they spelt Prijme), and 
brought back their arms, and a long pedigree from the year 
1100, written in the language of the country. 

In August, 1851, I went with my father and mother to Ypres 
with the same motive. We had obtained an introduction from 
Lord Palmerston to the British embassy, at Brussels, from which 
we procured one to the burgomaster at Ypres, so as to enable us 
to inspect the archives of the city. We found several bur/^o- 
masters of the name of Priem, not only in the archives, but on 
the monuments in the cathedral. A widow, Madame Rix Priem, 
was living there, who had the same arms as we have, and she in- 
formed us that the ancestor who was the link between us had 
been ignored as a heretic. We also learnt that on the death of 
De la Pierre, the editor of Precis analytique des Archives de la 
Flandre ocddentale, De la Priem, of Bruges, had succeeded him, 
and was continuing the work, in the first volume of which (in 
1850), me; tion had been made of the family at Ypres. 

Alexander De la Pryme's descendants embraced the reformed 
religion, and have continued good Huguenots to this day ; and 
their assumption of the original name shows that in the word 
good they included the word liberal. 

The number of good families that by religious persecution 
was thus lost to France, and gained to England, is very surpris- 
ing. Among them may be mentioned the families of Romilly, 
Lefevre, La Touche, Delafield, Labouchere, De la Pryme, etc. 

The persecution which Richelieu had, renewed against the 
adherents of the reformed religion, and the desperate resistance 
of those who were beseiged in Rochelle, in 1627, rendered a 
residence in French-Flanders so insecure and uncomfortable, that 
about eighty families fled to England, and settled in the Levels 
of Hatfield Chase, in Yorkshire, in 1628-9. Hatfield is a village 



PREFACE. XIU 

in the middle of Hatfield Chase, seven miles eastward of Don- 
caster, in the west-riding, and was formerly a royal village, in 
which the king had a palace,-' of which De la Pryme says (1694) 
** there is part of the palace standing, being an indifferent large 
hall, with great courts and gardens about the same."* 

Charles De la Prjrme was the first of the family whose zeal 
induced him to take the sad alternative of sacrificing his country 
to his religion. The De la Prymes, however, retained an estate 
in French-Flanders, which, after the revocation of the edict of 
Nantes, one of them vainly endeavoured to recover. On settling 
in England, he obtained a licence from Charles I. for a religious 
service in the French and Dutch languages, which was celebrated 
in my ancestor's house till the chapel at Sandtoft was erected for 
that purpose ; and the French and Dutch languages were pre- 
served among these emigrants for two or three generations at 
least. Charles, probably from a feeling of persecuted religion, 
changed the family arms, as emigrant dissenters in America did. 
He adopted ^e coat of a sun upon an azure ground, with the 
crest of a wyvem, on, what has been probably originally intended 
for a rock, or pile of stones, but which, by the mistake or care- 
lessness of sculptors and engravers, has been represented on 
monuments, and on some of our plate, as a pile of books — ^folio, 

i Hatfield, for nearly five centuries after the conquest, "was subject to the 
feudal superiority of the Earls of "Warren, Iwds of the castle of Conings- 
borough. It was owned by a series of earls till the 20th Edward TLL^ 1346. 
It then c£Hne to the crown, and was settled on the princes of the house of 
Y<»:k. When they ascended the throne, it became demesne of the crown. The 
earls of Warren were accustomed to resort hither for the enjoyment of field 
sports ; and, near the centre of the Chase, at what is now the town of Hatfield, 
they had a house at which they might remain, when, fatigued with their day's 
exertion, they were unwilling to return to Goningsborough. This house, when 
Hatfield became royal demesne, was sometimes dignified with the appellation 
of a palace. But, though occasionally the residence of our kings, it neyer 
oould haye been considerable. Leland calls it the Lodge, or Manor Place. In 
tills house Queen Philippa was delivered of her second son, sumamed de Hat- 
field. Here, also, was bom Henry, eldest son of Bichaid Duke of York, oa 
Friday, 10th February, 1441. — Hwnter's Sovith Torkshire, L, pp. 153-155. 

* See Diary, postea, p. 114. 



nv PREFACE. 

quarto, octavo, and duodecimo, placed one upon another.' 





Warburton, Somerset Herald," who published a quaint map of 
Yorkshire, putting the arms of some of the nobility and gentry 
in the margin, gives among them those of the Do la Prymea." 




These we find also on the old plate, seals, etc., belon^ng to the 

' On (he manument of Peter De la PiTme, 1TS4, in Hatfield chnrch, the 
creat, formerly placed over the arma, has disappeared, but on the wreath are left 
two of theae booka, one upon the other. 

- John Warburton, F.6.A. and F.B.S., bom 28th Feb^ 1681-2. Sim*riet, 
6th Jtme, 1720. Died 11th Ma;, 1759. For the armorial illnstratioiiB on his 
Map of Torkahire, it has been said that he haa Jnourted aome reproach, on 
account of having introduced seTeral coats which are of doubtful aathority. — 
Snaier. Note in Thoresh/'i Diary, toI. ii,, p, 2G*. 

The seals here given are copies of two now in the poaseasion of the Bev, 
Edward Eyley, rector of Barratt, HertB, who is maternally descended from lie 
family of De la Pryme. This gentleman is alao the owner of a gold and red 
cornelian seal, oral shaped, upon which is represented a female fign^e, t^ant, 
in an attitude of mournful contemplation, her head reclining on her right 
baud, tbe arm of which rests upon her knee. lu the back-ground ia a Tisioa of 
a Roman soldier's helmet, shield, and breast-plate. It is said that thia was 
engraved for some, or one, of the family refugeea, in memory of their expatii- 
atiOn from fatherland ; and, consequently, a proportionate value ia placed upon 
it by those concerned in its history. Judging from ita age and appearance, 
Mr, Byley conaidera that it may have once belonged to Abraham De la FiTine, 
tbe Diarist. 

■ tn this instance, either Warburton) or his engiaTer, by mistake, bai made 
tbe field of the arms gulea, or red. 



PREFACE XV 

family, and they are placed over the entrance of the house at 
Cambridge (Trinity Hostel) ; and are still used by the last des- 
cendant of the family who remained at Ypres. 

The De la Prymes joined with Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, and 
others of their countrymen, in the draining of the great fens in 
the Levels of Hatfield Chase; and the knowledge they must 
have derived from the similar situation of their native country, 
rendered them peculiarly fitted for such an undertaking. But, 
either through the disadvantageous terms of the contract," or 
from unexpected obstacles in executing it, although, as our 
Diarist tells us, " for a time they lived Uke princes, most of them 
were undone, and Charles de la Pryme lost many htmdreds of 
potmds by it." Vermuyden's losses were still greater ; and 
losing money not only by the works, but by litigation connected 
with them, it is said that he died in poverty. Abraham De la 
Pryme has done him ample justice in his MS. History of Hatfield^ 
where he says that he, " at the incredible labor and charges of 
400,000Z., did discharge and drain Hatfield Chase, whose name 
deserves a thousand times more to be honorably mentioned and 
revered in all our histories than Scaurus' was in those of Home, 
for draining a great lake in Italy, not a quarter so big as this." 

Charles De la Pryme left two sons, Matthias, or Matthew, and 
Abraham, the father and uncle of the Diarist. The latter was, 
according to his nephew, " an honest, learned, pious, wise, and 
understanding man,"^ and died in 1687. Matthias was bom in 
1645, and married Sarah, daughter of Peter Smagge (or Smaqiie) 
" a rich Frenchman, that, with his whole family, was forced from 
Paris by persecution for his faith, and was come to live on these 
Levels." They were married in the great hall * of the Dutch 

• Dated 24 May, 1626. (See Etmter's South TorksUrey i., p. 160). There 
is a copy in LansdoTvne MSS., Brit. Mas., 205, f. 193. 8ee also appendix to 
Peck's Isle of Axholme, 1815. 

P Diaxj, postea, 'p, IS. 

« These words, "great hall," etc., are struck out by the Diarist in the 
original MS. 



XVI PREFACE. 

congregation, called Mynheer Van Valkenburg's/ and came to 
live at Hatfield. In 1680 he removed to Crowtrees Hall, a large 
house on Hatfield Chase, built by Valkenburg, and died in 1694. 
His epitaph, so quaint and characteristic, will be found in the 
Appendix (page 26). 

Matthias had two sons, Abraham, the Diarist, and Peter, 
who, on his elder brother's death, succeeded to the family pro- 
perty, 13th June, 1704. Peter married, in 1695, Frances, 
daughter of Francis Wood, of Hatfield Levels, and died 25th 
November, 1724, leaving two sons, Abraham, bom in 1697, 
from whom descends the Lancashire branch. 

Francis, born in 1701, as a younger brother, went to reside 
at North Ferriby, seven miles west of Hull, where he became a 
very active and influential magistrate, and was twice mayor, and 
also sheriff in the important year, 1745, "when the town ditches 
had to be cleaned, and the walls repaired and newly strengthened, 
in fear of the Pretender and his army.'* 

He died 7th July, 1769, leaving an only son, Christopher, 
bom in 1739, who married Alice, daughter of George Dinsdale, 
of Nappa Hall, in Wensleydale. Pryme-street, Christopher- 
street, and Alice-street, in Hull, were called after them, as 
G-eorge-street has since been called after their son, and Charles- 
street after their grandson ; the sixth street being very appropri- 
ately called Reform-street. Pryme-street, in Manchester, re- 
ceived its name from the Lancashire branch. Christopher died 
in September, 1784, leaving an only child, George, 

Born at Cottingham, 4th August, 1781. 

Admitted at Trinity College, Cambridge, October, 1799. 

Bachelor of Arts, January, 1803. 

Elected Fellow of Trinity, October, 1805. 

Master of Arts, July, 1806. 

Called to the Bar at Lincoln's Lm, November, 1806. 

^ Not Halhenburg, as printed in Bv/rke, iy., p. 706* 



PEEFACI. XVU 

Married Jane Townley Thackeray, August, 1813. 

Elected the first Professor of Political Economy, May, 1828. 

Elected M.P. for Cambridge, December, 1832. 

Re-elected in two succeeding parliaments. 

Resigned his seat in parliament at the dissolution in 1841. 

Died 2nd December, 1868,', at his house, at Wistow, Hun- 
tingdonshire, leaving that best of all inheritances, a good name, 
to his only son, Charles de la Pryme, its present and only repre- 
sentative, by whom a volume, containing The Life and Literary 
Miscellanies of Professor Pryme^ is in preparation. " Multis ille 
bonis flebilis ocddity nulli flebilior quam mihL^^ 

Abraham De la Pryme, the Diarist, was bom "to all the 
nuseries of life" ^ in 1671. Before he was twelve years old he 
began the " Ephemeris Vitce ; or, a Diary of my own Life; contain- 
ing an account, likewise, of the most observable and remarkable 
things that I have taken notice of from my youth up hitherto." 
In this, he says, " My father can speak Dutch, and my mother 
French, but I nothing yet but English."" This is the only indi- 
cation we have of his early education, which, under such circum- 
stances, must have been the "pursuit of knowledge under 
diflSculties." His great eagerness for the acquirement of it 
induced his father to give him the benefit of an university 
education. His father's inclination was in favor of Glasorow 
and Presbyterianism, and the son's in favor of Cambridge and 
the church of England, to which, after much persuasion, he was 
fortunately allowed to go. He was admitted a pensioner of St. 
John's College in April, 1690 ; " and, during his residence there, 
was a contemporary of Sir Isaac Newton, who was a Fellow of 

the neighbouring college of Trinity. Of the latter he speaks in 
the Diary y and of the circumstances connected with which a 

separate notice is appended to this memoir. 

' See notices of him in the Daily News, 5th December, 1868 ; and tht 
JitffUteTf for January, 1869, p. 48. 

* See Diajjf postea, p. 1. 
« See Diary, postea, p. 4. 

• See Diary f potteaj pp. 18-20. 



• •• 



XVlll PREFACE. 

At Cambridge, he did not confine his attention to the ordinary 
academic studies, but applied himself diligently to natural history, 
chemistry, and to what was then considered by many a cognate 
subject, magic. Whateyer smile this may now create, it was far 
otherwise then ; and even some of the Fellows of the college, if 
not addicted to it, were not disbelievers in it. In the intercourse 
attempted to be held with the other world, by himself and some 
brother students, he frankly confesses his disappointment that 
" nothing would appear, quamvis omnia rite perdctaJ*'* This frame 
of mind, however, did not last long ; and, some time afterwards, 
he very candidly admitted this, and took pains to expose the im- 
probability of praetematural appearances. It has been wittily 
said, in favor of the theory of ghosts, that appearances were in 
their favor, but not even this could be said of this form of 
demonology. He took his B.A. degree in January, 1693 ; and, 
soon afterwards, holy orders, and obtained the curacy of Brough- 
ton, near Brigg, in Lincolnshire. He entered upon a new course 
of study, suggested by the topographical antiquities of that part 
of the country, into which he made great researches, and of so 
valuable a nature, that the principal of them were published in 
the Philosophical Transactions. 

Having exhausted all the materials that this neighbourhood 
afforded, he removal to Hatfield in 1696, with a view of writing 
its history ; and entered into correspondence with the celebrated 
antiquary, Dr. Gale, dean of York. He speaks of it as a much 
more interesting place than we now suppose. It was a true 
"labor of lovo** to him; and (as he says), he was so "exceed- 
ingly busy in old dotnls and charters, which they send me in on 
every side, tliat I ei^nnot take time to think or write anytliiiig 
else.** Tlie work, with some other of his MSS., ic^ vow lu lae 
British Museum, though in a somowliat imperfect &::;%'/ 

His antiquariim pursuits did not divert his atteation troiu tli ) 

9 Jjtf^owt^^ S1^7-S^ See noticee in Ai^^^aidiz. 



PREFACE. XIX 

study of natural history, in which he corresponded with Sir 
Hans Sloane, and others. From his observations on marine 
petrifactions, he attempted to solve the problem of the connexion 
of these phenomena with the deluge, as recorded in Scripture, 
the results of which were also published in the Philosophical 
Transactions. In estimating their value as contributions to 
science, we must not think lightly of them because they have 
been superseded by modern discoveries, and more extended 
research, for these subjects were then, as it were, in their 
infancy. Let us remember, as Professor Pryme has so well 
said, " Justice requires us, while we admire the modern super- 
structure, not to forget the merits of those who laid the early 
foundations, or, by unsuccessful attempts, showed what parts of 
them were unsoimd. They laid the groundwork of what has 
been since done more accurately and completely ; and by narrow- 
ing the limits of conjecture, contributed to the discoveries of 
those who might otherwise have been occupied, Uke them, in ill- 
directed researches, and in deducing erroneous theories." 

In 1698, he was appointed curate and divinity reader of the 
High Church, Hull, where he applied himself with unusual dili- 
gence to methodising the records and antiquities of that town. 
Frost, in his notices of the early history of Hull, thus speaks of 
his labors in that department. "The first attempt to give a 
detached History of Hull was made by the Rev. Abraham de la 
Pryme, M.A., F.R.S., who filled the ofiice of divinity readSr in 
the Holy Trinity Church there, between the month of Septem- 
ber, 1698, and the year 1701. He was attracted to the place by 
his taste for the study of antiquities, which he hoped to indulge 
by obtaining access to the numerous MSS. and old deeds there 
understood to be deposited. A three years' residence afforded 
him sufficient opportunity, not only to arrange and make a 
copious analytical index of all the ancient records of the corpo- 
ration, but to compile from them a regular and connected detail, 
which has formed the basis and groundwork of all subsequent 



PKEFACK. 

accounts and histories of the town. His labours, though evi- 
dently intended for pubUcation, exist yet, in MS. only ; and a 
copy is to be found in the Warburton Collection, among the 
Lamdowne JtSS,, in the British Museum, in two volumes, folio, 
bearing the following promising title : T/ie History ^ Antiquities^ 
and Description of the Town and County of Kingston-^upon-Hullj 
etc. J collected out of all the Records^ Charters ^ Deeds^ Mayors^ 
Utters^ etc.y of the said Toum, By A. de la Pryme, Reader and 
Curate of the Church of the Holy Trinity of the said Town, 
—Lansdawne, MSS., in Bibl. Mus. Brit., No. 890-891." 

Such, however, was the labor and difficulty attending these 
studies, that he confesses that he " began to grow somewhat 
weary thereof."^ Although he inherited from his father an 
estate in Lincolnshire, as well as one at Hatfield, which, together 
with his stipend at Hull, procured him a very good income, the 
expensive nature of his studies, and the joumies connected with 
them, seem to have crippled his resources. He says, " my zeal 
for old MSS., antiquities, coins, and monuments, almost eats me 
up, so that I cannot prosecute the search of them as I would. 
I am at verj' great charges in earning on my studies of antiqui- 
ies, in employing persons at London, Oxford, etc., to search 
records, etc., even to the danger and hazard of my own ruin, 
and the easting of myself into great debts and melancholy."' 

Li 1701, the Duke of Devonshire gave him the living of 
Thome,* near Hatfield, which enabled him to retire fit)m his 
more laborious duties at Hull. He was also elected a Fellow of 
the Boj-al Society, which was then an honor of much greater 
distinction than it has since become, and he obtained it at the 
then very early age of thirty. 

He did not, however, live long to enjoy these honors ; and, in 
June, 1704, we meet wiili the following sad record of his death 

» See BiaiT, ^«if <u« p, 3$v^, 
' See DiarV, jn vf<M^ jx i.^ 
• See Ditirr, ^mTm, jp^, 24d. 



PREFACE. XX i 

in Thjoreshy*8 Diary^ vol. i., p. 455: "Was much oi>nooriUHl to 
hear of the death of my kind friend Mr. Abrahmn do hi Prynu>, 
minister of Thome, who, visiting the sick, caught tlio ntnv tlis- 
temper, or fever, which seized him on Wednesday, and ho diod 
the Monday after, the 12th inst., in the prime of his ago." 
Thoresby has preserved some of his letters in his vahiablo col- 
lection. 

He was buried in Hatfield church, where are the monuuKUitu 
of most of the family,* under a plain gravestone, bearing an in- 
scription, which will be found in the Appendix.*' 

His death shows him to have been a good man, as well aH u 
great scholar. He was a man of high principle and Htrong 
religious feeling, as well as genuine warmth of friendHliip. JfiM 
great simplicity of heart, and singular mod(;Hty, may ViVAnmni 
for his never having married ; and his first, and bwt, and only 
love, was literature, to which he seems to have l)ccn U)0 mu(;b 
wedded to allow the divisum imperium of matrimony. 

Tickell, in the preface to his IluiU/ry of IIullj sayH that " Pryme 
was bom at HuD.^ Probably it might Ije at the iuua \m fatl^.T, 
Matthew, emigrated from the city of YprcH, in Flanrlr;r«, pn;- 
vious to his settling in the Levels of HatfH;ld ChaA';, fs4Xjn afW 
the same was drained bv Vermuvden. This Abraham wa?i Wftith 
time divinitT reader to the Hi/rh Clmrch* HrjIL and mittUUtr of 
Tbomeu I have been able to gather \*iry WxAh nf^y^f^Ut^^ iUh 
life of this respectable perv>n ; bnt tlj^ sufijAf: ]ht of v/ork» at- 
taclied will attract the ziteaxion of tbe ikn-'v^n^rvAU^ ufA n'^^khfi 
that respect wiu^rh is du^ U^ hh h}xyir:. Hf^ *\\^\ \u rw. *'A*h 
jear of hi* age, a.* zf^foara by tt^ tailveti erect^i t/> uU iu^,:if,rj 
in HatfieJd c4nirc^ 



• Sot A5C€=itJz- J Jrf#: . 






inspect amd ammge ibe amdent records of the oorporatiaa — a 
task he was, doubtless^ weSl qualified to p^fomi, and which he 
has exeeated with the greatest dilig^eooe and attenticHi. From 
these original papers he has made long extracts, which are bound 
up in Tolomes^ and lodged in the Guildhall, with a general index, 
directing ns to the originals ; so that any reoord, prerions to the 
period bounded by the present century, may be as readOy exam- 
ined h^ie, as an enrolment in one of our i>egister <dBce&'^ 

Tlckell compiled his history principally from the preceding 
papers, which he pubhsbed in 4to, 1769. He adds : — 

^* Two fi^o MS. Tcdumes of the above extracts were among Mr. 
Warburton's collections concerning Yorkshire, and are now in 
Lord Shelbum^s libraxr. — Gou^h^s Bntiek Tifpograph^j voL ii., 

p. 44:7. 

'* In the same library are deposited the fidlowing MSS. by 
Prvme. 

^^ History of Bippon, Selby, Doncaster, and the W. Biding. 

ITOI. 

'^ BGstory of Headon and the £. Riding. 1 t<^ 

** History of York and the X. Biding. 1 T<d. 

** Historv of Beverlev. 1 vol. 

*^ History and Antiquities of Wintarton, 4to. 1 voL (A copy^ 
as corrected and enlarged by Mr. Warburton, was purchased at 
the sale of his books, in 1$59, by Mr. Goodman, coal merchant. 
I have seen two copies of tliis MS.) 

*• History of the Drainage of the Level of Hatfield Chase, 4to. 
1 vol. (Tliere arv many o\>pies of this MS. in the country, but 
all of them very imj>erflvt). 

** After Prvmo bocamo a niombor of the Boval Sodetv, there 
were many of his j^apeni tHibUslK>l in the Transactions, some of 
which are the following : 

** Relation of two Watorsix>uts obson-ed at Hatfield. 

** Oil <.vrt;un t\>ssiUsholls found in Lincolnshire, Louth, 
abridgi^, vol. ii,, [x 42$. 



PREFACE. XXUl 

" On Trees found underground in Hatfield Chase. Vol. iv., 212. 

*^ Experiments on Vegetation. Vol. iv., 310. 

" On Hydrophobia. Vol. v., 366. 

" A Roman Pavement, near Roxby, in Lincolnshire. Vol. v., 
422. 

^* The Roman Way, called High-street, in Lincolnshire. Vol. 
iii., 428. 

" On the Hermitage at Lindholme, a poem. Printed by T. 
Outybridge." 

Joseph Hunter says of him, "He died before he had the 
opportunity of pouring upon the world the results of a medi- 
tative life, of which it may be truly said that in a short time he 
had fulfilled a long one.'" 

Edmund Henry Barker wrote, on returning the MS. Diary 
to my father, " Your relation was a fine specimen of primitive 
honesty and simplicity ; learned himself, and a liberal encourager 
of learning ; full of generous sympathies and Christian feelings, 
and patriotic sentiments. The whole Diary reflects so much 
honor on himself, that it ought to be published entire ; and you 
may be proud of the publication. It contains many curious 
particulars of things and persons ; and men of a right anti- 
quarian spirit will read the book with great relish. I can furnish 
you with many notes by way of garnish^ or sauce to the meat." 

My father then (April, 1832) meditated the publication of 
this Diary, tho' not in its entirety ; but, in December, he was 
elected member of parliament for Cambridge, and turned his 
attention to the great political questions which were then occupy- 
ing the public mind, and in which he took a very active part in 
the House of Commons. In consequence of this, the publication 
was postponed sine die; but, shortly before his death, in 1868, he 
entrusted it to myself; and the Surtees Society, without any 
previous communication from us, offered to include the Diary in 

• South Yorkthire, i., p. 181. 



XXIV PREFACE. 

their series of antiquarian works. I cannot regret this delay, as 
it has led to two great advantages — the publication of the Diary 
almost in its entirety, and the valuable assistance of Mr. Jackson, 
of Doncaster, to whose very great care, attention, and ability, 
this work is so much indebted ; and I trust he will accept this 
hearty and unreserved acknowledgment of his services, the value 
and extent of which no one has better known, or more cordially 
appreciated, than his ever very faithfid friend, 

CHARLES DE LA PRYME. 

86, Gloster-place, Portman-squarey 

LondoTu 



P.S. — Li reference to the illness of Sir Isaac Newton, men- 
tioned in the Diary, ^ the following extract from Sir David 
Brewster's Life of Newton will be interesting. Edinburgh 
edition, 1860. Vol. ii., p. 89. Chapter 17 treats of the illness 
of Sir Isaac in 1692, and Sir David thus speaks of it: — " In the 
autumn of 1692, when Newton had finished his letters on 
Fluxions, he did not enjoy that degree ot health with which he 
had so long been favored. The loss of appetite and want of 
sleep, of which he now complained, and which continued for 
nearly a twelvemonth, could not fail to diminish that mental 
vigor, and that ' consistency of mind ' (as he himself calls it), 
which he had hitherto displayed. How far this ailment may 
have arisen from the disappointment which he experienced in 
the application of his friends for a permanent situation for him, 
we have not the means of ascertaining ; but it is impossible to 
read his letters to Locke, and other letters from his friends, 
without perceiving that a painful impression had been left upon 
his mind, as well as upon theirs. The state of his health, however, 
did hot unfit him for studies that required, perhaps, more profound 

/ SeepoiteOf p. 23. 



PREFACE. XXV 

thought than his letters on Fluxions and Fluents, for it was at 
the close of 1692, and during the two first months of 1693, that 
he composed his four celebrated letters to Dr. Bentley." 

" The illness of Newton, which increased till the autumn of 
1693, was singularly misrepresented by foreign contemporary 
authors, to whom an erroneous account of it had been com- 
municated. During the century and a half which has elapsed 
since that event, it has never been mentioned by any of his 
biographers ; and it was not till 1822 that it was brought before 
the public as a remarkable event in the life of Newton. 

" The celebrated Dutch philosopher, Van Swinden, made the 
following communication to M. Biot, who published it with 
comments, that gave great offence to the friends of Newton : 
* There is among the manuscripts of the celebrated Huygens,^ 
says Van Swinden, ^ a small journal in folio, in which he used 
to note down different occurrences. It is note no. 8 in the 
catalogue of the library of Ley den, p. 1 12. The following extract 
is written by Huygens himself, with whose handwriting I am 
well acquainted, having had occasion to peruse several of his 
manuscripts and autograph letters : — ' On the 29th of May, 1694, 
M. Colin, a Scotchman, informed me, that eighteen months ago 
the illustrious geometer, Isaac Newton, had become insane, either 
in consequence of his too intense application to his studies, or 
from excessive grief at having lost, by fire, his chemical laboratory 
and several manuscripts. When he came to the Archbishop of 
Cambridge,^ he made some observations which indicated an 
alienation of mind. He was immediately taken care of by his 
friends, who confined him to his house, and applied remedies, by 
means of which he had now so far recovered his health that he 
began to understand the Principia.' Huygens mentioned this 
circumstance in a letter to Leibnitz, dated 8th June, 1694, in the 
following terms : — ' I do not know if you are acquainted with 

f Archiepiscopus Cantjibrigiensis is perhaps a clerical error for Qintiiar- 
entii. 



XXVI PREFACE. 

the accident which has happened to the good Mr. Newton, namely, 
that he has had an attack of phrenitis, which lasted eighteen 
months, and of which they say that his friends have cured him 
by means of remedies, and keeping him shut up.* To which 
Leibnitz replied in a letter, dated the 22nd June : — ^ I am very 
glad that I received information of the cure of Mr. Newton at 
the same time that I first heard of his illness, which doubtless 
must have been very alarming. It is to men like you and him, 
Sir, that I wish a long life and much health, more than others, 
whose loss, comparatively speaking, would not be so great.' 

" The first publication of the preceding statement produced a 
strong sensation among the friends and admirers of Newton. 
They could not easily believe in the prostration of that intellectual 
strength which had unbarred the strongholds of the universe. 
The unbroken equanimity of Newton's mind, the purity of his 
moral character, his temperate and abstemious life, his ardent and 
unafifected piety, and the weakness of his imaginative powers, all 
indicated a mind which was not likely to be overset by any 
affliction to which it could be exposed. The loss of a few experi- 
mental records could never have disturbed the equilibrium of a 
mind like his. If they were the records of discoveries, the 
discoveries, themselves indestructible, would have been afterwards 
given to the world. If they were merely the details of experi- 
mental results, a little time could have easily re-produced them. 
Had these records contained the first fruits of youthful gemus, 
of obscure talent, on which fame had not yet shed its rays, wa 
might have supposed that the first blight of early ambition would 
have unsettled the stability of a mind unannealed by the world. 

^' But Newton was satiated with fame. His mightiest disco- 
veries were completed, and difiused over aU Europe, and he must 
have felt himself placed on the loftiest pinnacle of earthly ambition. 
The incredulity which such views could not fail to encourage, 
was increased by the novelty of the information. No EngUsh 
biographer had ever alluded to such an event, ffistory and 



PREFACE. XXVll 

tradition were equally silent, and it was not easy to believe that 
the Lueaslan Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, recently a 
member of the English Parliament, and the first philosopher and 
mathematlplan In Europe, could have lost his reason without the 
dreadful fact being known to his countrymen. 

" But if the friends of Newton were surprised by the nature of 
the intelligence, they were distressed at the view which was taken 
of it by foreign philosophers. ^ The fact,' says M. Blot, ' of 
the derangement of his intellect, whatever may have been the 
cause of it, will explain why, after the publication of the Principia 
in 1687, Newton, though only forty-five years old, never more 
published a new work on any branch of science, but contented 
himself with giving to the world those which he had composed 
long before that epoch, confining himself to the completion of 
those parts which might require development. We may also 
remark, that even these developments appear always to be derived 
from experiments and observations formerly made, such as the 
additions to the second edition of the Pnncipia, published in 1713, 
the experiments on thick plates, those on difiraction, and the 
chemical queries placed at the end of the Optics in 1704 ; for. In 
giving an accouiit of these experiments, Newton distinctly says, 
that they were taken from ancient manuscripts which he had 
formerly composed ; and he adds, that though he felt the necessity 
of extending them, or rendering them more perfect, he was not 
able to resolve to do this, these matters being no longer in his 
way. Thus it appears that, though he had recovered his health 
sufficiently to understand all his researches, and even in some 
cases to make additions to them, and useful alterations, as appears 
from the second edition of the Principia^ for which he kept up 
a very active mathematical correspondence with Mr. Cotes, yet 
he did not wish to undertake new labours in those departments 
of science where he had done so much, and where he so distinctly 
saw what remained to be done.' 

*^ Under the influence of the same opinion, M. Blot finds ' It 



XXVIU PREFACE. 

extremely probable that his dissertation on the scale of heat was 
written before the fire in his laboratory ; ' and he describes 
Newton's conduct about the longitude bill as exhibiting an 
inexplicable timidity of mind, and as ' so puerile for so solemn 
an occasion, that it might lead to the strangest conclusions, 
particularly if we refer it to the fatal accident which befell him 
in 1695.' 

" The illness of Newton was viewed in a light still more painful 
to his friends. It was maintained that he never recovered the 
vigour of his intellect, and that his theological inquiries did not 
commence till after that afflicting epoch of his life. In reply to 
this groundless assertion, it may be sufficient to state, in the 
words of his friend John Craig, that his theological writings 
were composed ' while his understanding was in its greatest 
perfection, lest the infidels might pretend that his applying 
himself to the studies of religion was the effect of dotage.' 

" Such having been the consequences of the disclosure of 
Newton's illness by the manuscript of Huygens, I felt it to 
be a sacred duty to the memory of that great man, and to the 
feeling of his countrymen, to inquire into the nature and history 
of that indisposition which seems to have been so much misrep- 
resented and misapplied. From the ignorance of so extraordinary 
an event which has prevailed for such a long period in England, 
it might have been urged with some plausibility, that Huygens 
had mistaken the real import of the information that was conveyed 
to him ; or that the person from whom he received it had pro- 
pagated an idle and groundless rumour. But we are fortunately 
not confined to this very reasonable mode of defence. 

^' There exists at Cambridge a manuscript journal, written by 
Mr. Abraham de la Pryme, who was a student in the University 
while Newton was a Fellow of Trinity. This manuscript is 
entitled ^ EpJiemeris VitoBj or Diary of my own Life, containing 
an account likewise of the most observable and remarkable things 
that I have taken notice of from my youth up hitherto.' Mr. 



PREFACE. Xxix 

A. de la Pryme was born in 1671, and begins the Diary in 1685. 
This manuscript is in the possession of his collateral decendant, 
George Pryme, Esq., Professor of Political Economy at Cam- 
bridge,* to whom I have been indebted for the following extract, 
which is given verbatim, and occurs during the period when 
Mr. De la Pryme was a student in St. John's College, Cam- 
bridge : — ^ 1692, February 3rd. What I heard to day I must 
relate. There is one Mr. Newton (whom I have very oft seen). 
Fellow of Trinity College, that is mighty famous for his learnin<y, 
being a most excellent mathematician, philosopher, divine, &c. 
He has been Fellow of the Royal Society these many years ; and 
amongst other very learned books and tracts he's written one 
upon the mathematical principles of philosophy, which has got him 
a mighty name, he having received, especially from Scotland, 
abundance of congratulatory letters for the same ; but of all the 
books that he ever wrote, there was one of colours and light, 
established upon thousands of experiments, which he had been 
twenty years of making, and which had cost him many hundred 
of pounds. This book, which he valued so much, and which was 
so much talked of, had the ill luck to perish, and be utterly lost, 
just when the learned author was almost at putting a conclusion 
at the same, after his manner : — in a winter's morning leaving it 
amongst his other papers, on his study table, whilst he went to 
Chapel, the candle, which he had unfortunately left burning there 
too, catched hold by some means of other papers, and they fired 
the aforesaid book, and utterly consumed it, and several other 
valuable writings '; and, which is most wonderful, did no further 
mischief. But when Mi*. Newton came from chapel, and had 
seen what was done, every one thought he would have run mad, 
he was so troubled thereat that he was not himself for a month 
after. A long account of this his system of light and colours you 

* That would be, however, under loan only, as the manuscript was then the 
property of W. J. Bagshawe, esq., of the Oaks, near Sheffield.— See Introduction^ 
cntea. 



XXX PREFACE. 

may find in the Transactions of the Koyal Society, which he had 

sent up to them long before this sad mischance happened unto 

him." 

'' The story of the burning of Newton's laboratory and papers, 

as stated by Mr. de la Pryme, has been greatly exaggerated and 

misrepresented, and there can be no doubt that it was entirely 

unconnected with Newton's illness. Mr. Edleston has placed it 

beyond a doubt that the burning of the manuscripts took place 

between 1677 and 1683, and I have found ample confirmation of 

the fact from other sources of information. 

" Dr. H. Newton, as we have seen, tells us that he had heard a 

report that Newton's Optics had been burnt before he wrote his 

Principiay and we know that no such accident took place during 

the five years that Dr. Newton lived with him at Cambridge. 

The following memorandum of Mr. Conduitt's, written after 

conversing on the subject with Newton himself, appears to place 

the event at an early period : — ^ When he was in the warmest 

pursuit of his discoveries, he, going out, left a candle upon his 

table amongst his papers : he went down into the bowling-green, 

and meeting somebody who diverted him from returning, as he 

intended, the candle set fire to his papers, (and he could never 

recover them). Upon my asking him whether they related to 

his Optics or his Method of Fluxions^ he said he believed there 

was some relating to both, and that he was obliged to work them 

all over again.' The version of the burnt papers, in which 

^ Diamond ' is made the perpetrator, and in which the scene of 

the story is laid in London, and in Newton's later years, we may 

consign to a note, with the remark of Dr. Humphrey Newton, 

that Sir Isaac never had any communion with dogs or cats. 

• See Diary, postea, p. 23. 

J It should be observed, enpassant^ that what De la Pryme "relates" in 
his Diary, 3rd February, 1692, is only what he " heard today ; " but lie appears 
to furnish us with no information as to the time when the accident befel 
Newton's papers by the fire, further than that it occurred " on a winter's morn- 
ing." 



PREFACE. XXXI 

" By means of this extract fi'om Mr. de la Pryme's Diary/ we 
are enabled to fix the latest date of the accident by which Newton 
lost his papers. It must have been previous to the 3rd January, 
1692, a month before the date of the extract ; but if we fix it by 
the dates in Huygens' manuscript, we should place it about the 
29th November, 1692, eighteen months previous to the con- 
versation between Colin and Huygens. 

" The manner in which Mr. de la Pryme refers to Newton's 
state of mind is that which is used every day when we speak of 
the loss of tranquillity which arises from the ordinary afflictions 
of life ; and the meaning of the passage amounts to nothing more 
than that Newton was very much troubled by the destruction of 
his papers, and did not recover his serenity, and return to his 
usual occupations, for a month. The very phrase, that every 
person thought he would have run mad, is in itself a proof that 
no such effect was produced ; and whatever degree of indisposition 
may be implied in the phrase, ^ he was not himself for a month 
after,' we are entitled to infer that one month was the period of 
its duration, and that previous to the 3rd February, 1692, the 
date of Mr. de la Pryme's memorandum, ^ Newton was himself 
again.' These facts and dates cannot be reconciled with those 
in Huygen's manuscript. It appears from that document, that 
so late as May, 1694, Newton had only so far recovered his health 
as to begin to again understand the Prindpia, His supposed 
malady, therefore, was in force from the 3rd January, 1692, till 
the month of May, 1694 — a period of more than two years. Now, 
it is a most important circumstance, which M. Biot ought to have 
known, that in tlie very middle of this period^ Newton wrote his 
four celebrated letters to Dr. Bentley on the Existence of a Deity, — 
letters which evince a power of thought, and a serenity of mind, 
absolutely incompatible even with the shghtest obscuration of his 
faculties. No man can peruse these letters without the conviction 
that their author then possessed the full vigour of his reason, and 
was capable of understanding the most profound parts of his 



XXXll PREFACE. 

writings. The first of these letters was written on the 10th 
December, 1692; the second on the 17th January, 1693; the 
third on the 11th February, and the fourth on the 25th February, 
1693. His mind was, therefore, strong and vigorous on these 
four occasions ; and, as the letters were written at the express 
request of Dr. Bentley, to assist him in preparing his lectures 
for publication, we must consider such a request as showing his 
opinion of the strength and freshness of his friend's mental 
powers." 

I am happy to be enabled to add that this opinion is enter- 
tained by Sir John Herschell, the Astronomer Royal, and the Rev. 
Dr. Edleston, to whose valuable work on Newton, the memory of 
that great philosopher is so much indebted. 



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DESCENDANTS OP WILLIAM OUGHTI 



SISTER OF 



Thomas Oughtibridge,* of Hatfield, co. York ; churchwarden i 
1672 ; bur. 15 July, 1682.t 

1st wife. I 



Sarah, dau. of Matthias (or Matthew) de la;=pWilliam Oughtib 



Pryme, of the Levels, gent ; died 27, and bur. 
at Hatfield 29 March, 1708. 



r 



at Hatfield ; 11 
1696 ; bur. 29 Ju 



Thomas Oughtibridge, of Hat-=7=Su8anna, d. of 



field Woodhouse, gent. ; born 
1699 ;X died 26, and bur. at Hat- 
field 28 Dec, 1753, aged 54. Will 
dated 8 Dec, 1753, and proved at 
York 19 June, 1754. 



Smith . 
m. at Hatfield 
12 May, 1734; 
bur. there 3 
June, 1756. 



William 
Oughti- 
bridge ; bp. 
at Hatfield 
7 Mar., 
1700-1. 



r 



T 



wa- 

liam, 
named 
in his 

father's died 
Will, 1806 



Thomas Oughti-= 

bridge, of 

Thorne ; bap. 16 

April, 1741; 
22 Apr., 
buried at 



1753. Thorne, aged 66. 



Thomas 
Oughti- 
bridge, 
died 11 
and b. at 
Thorne 
15 Jan., 
1822, set. 
60. Un- 
married. 



1 1 

= Anne, da. Martha, Peter Oughtibric 

of bap. 22 of Hatfield Wo 

Turnell ; Feb., house ; bap. 8 ^ 

bur. at 1743-4 ; 1745 ; died 11 J; 

Thorne 6 bur, 2 1807, aged 63 ; 1 

Oc,1822, Apr., in Hatfield chui 

aged 83. 1744. yard. 



Mary, b.lO=T=John 



Mar. ; bap. 
19 Ap.l783, 
at Thorne 
(6th dau. 
when bp.) ; 
d. 30 Dec, 
1868 ; bur. 
at Hatfield, 
aged 85. 



r 



Chat- 
burn, 
of Hat- 
field :% 
died 2 
May, 
1848,b. 
at Hat- 
field. 



Susanna, 
bap. at 
Hatfield 
26 Mar., 
1777 ; d. 
21 July, 
1820, un- 
married, 
aged 43. 



I 

Thomas, 

born 29 

Dec, 

1777 ;bp. 

20 Feb., 

1778; d. 

18 bur. 

20 June, 

1780. 



— I 

Susy, = 

bap. at 
Hat- 
field 15 
Aug., 
1773; 
d. 1848, 
at 

Barnby 
Don. 



= Thomas 
Silves- 
ter, of 
Barnby 
Don, CO. 
York;m. 
at Hat- 
field 1 
July, 
1794. 



r~ 

Sarah 

bap. i 

Hatfic 

27 Au 

1775; 

mar. j 

Hatfi( 

16 Fe 

1801. 



John, born 16, & bap. 17 Oct., 1809, Richard Chatburn, of Park Lai 
at Hatfield ; died 24 July, 1820, aged in par. Hatfield ; born 2, & hi 
10 years ; bur. at Hatfield. 9 Jan., 1811. Living 1870. 



* There is a place called Oughtibridge near SheflBeld. It is mentioned as one of f 
01ough,to Oakwell, "to a place called Otabridge."— (Gatty's ed. Hunter's IlaUamshire, 1861 
from the accidental circumstances of locality, residence, &c., this one would most likely be ac 
The name first occurs in the Hatfield registers in 1567-8, when " Johana Vghtibrigge," da 
10 Oct., 1660, the wife of one Reginald Outbridge was amerced, for that, being a common l 
toribus cerevisia?.'' The name of Oughtibridge is found at Bermuda. Capt. Newsome, R.E., i 
had a small property of his own, which he farmed, and also kept a store. He had a traditic 
Oughtibridge, of Hatfield, yeoman, was indicted, at the Doncaster Borough Sessions, for ha 
Craven, so that his life was despaired of. 

t " Wrapt in linnen contrary to Act for burying in woollen." — Par. Reg. 

§ Surrender in Hatfield Court Baron, dated 15 Aug., 1710, from Wm. Oughtibridgt 
Doncaster, spinster, " quam, Deo volente, in uxorem ducere intendit." Marriage not regi 
late of Hatfield Woodhouse, was granted to Thomas Pamell. 

\ The authority for this is a MS. memorandum on the flyleaf of Abraham de la Pr> 
bridge is stated by Hunter (South Yorkshire t., p. 181,) to have been "a Yorkshire arti 
objects no longer existing." A view of SheflBeld, taken from Pye-Bank, about 1730, is one 
the monuments of his connections, in Hatfield Church, appearing to be of his handiwork, £ 

^ Banns of marriage published 23 and 30 Oct. and 6 Nov., 1808, at Hatfield church, b 

II In Crowle churchyard are memorials for 
Mary Oughtibridge. who died Sept. 3, 1859, aged 27. 
Abraham Bellamy Oughtibridge, son of the above, aped 3 w. 
Martha, wife of Abraham Bellamy, who died Aug. 3, 1854, 

8Bt. 34. 
Hannah, wife of (Jeo. Oughtibridge, 25 June, 1847, aged 28. 
Peter Oughtibridge, son of the above, died Aug. 18, 1847, 
aged 8 weeks. 



Mary, wife of Geo. Oughtibr 
Ada Theresa, dau. of the ab 

weeks. 
In Hatfield churchyar< 
Susanna, dau. of Thomas and 

who died 21 July, 1820, a 
John Chatburn, 23 July, 182i 



BHTOGE AND SARAH DE LA PRTME, 



CHB DIABIST. 



t 



i^Susanna, dau. of Maw ; mar., at Hatfield, 17 Oct., 1672. 

—I 2nd wife. 

-idge, of Hatfield, gent. ; bap.=f=Margaret, dau. of Robert Pamell, of 



July, 1675 ; mar. 15 Sept. 
It, 1728, aged 66. M.I. 



Don caster ; 
1710.§ 



mar. after 15 Aug., 



jetb. 



1 1 1 ~n , _ _,. 

..Susannab, Mattbias, Susanna, Sarab, bp. Elizal 

bp. at Hat- bp. at Hat- bp. at Hat- at Hatfield bp. at Hat- 
field 26 Jan. field 12 field 6 Aug. 10 Marcb, field 12 
1702-3 ; b. Dec, 1704 ; 1706. Wife 1707-8 ;bu. July, 1711; 
28 Feb., bur.22Sep., of ... Omb- 10 Aug., bur Aug., 
1702-3. 1705. ler,of Hull. 1708. 25, 17U. 



1 



2«,^Martba, dau. of Sarah, ThomasOughti-=f=Catbe- =. 



od- 

la., 

ur. 



Joseph Youdan, bp. 15 bridge, of Bol- 



of Hatfield 
Woodhouse ; m. 
at Hatfield 19 
Ap., 1772 ;d. 13 
Jan., 1802,a.ol. 



July, lam, in par. of 

1731. Clarbrough, co. 

Notts. ; died 27 

Aug., 1772, aged 

43. M.I. 



rine, da. 
of ... ; 

died 18 
Sept., 
1825, 
aged 78. 



Harri- 
son 
(2nd 
hus- 
band) 



I 1 y 



)., Arm 



1 I I ! I 

2 Catherine, died 9 July, 
20 1771, aged 5 months. 

Thomas, died 15 July, 
1771, aged 5 months. 
18 Mar., 11 May; bap. Mildred; d. 26 Dec., 1772, 
1789 ; d. 10 Sept., 1786. aged 3 yrs. «fe 10 months. 



=James William, of Joseph,of Ann, born 

Stones, Sheffield ; Crowle ; May ; bap. 

d died 27 b. 16 Sept., b. 4 Dec. July, 1783. 

., July, and bap. 24 1 788 ; bp. Martha, born 
1859, Nov., 1780 

: »g. 84 ; d. at Shef 

d bur. at field ; mar., there 19 Elizabeth, b. 

but left no May, 

thorpe. family. 1805, 



aged 77. 1 



Catherine, died 1 Jan., 
27 Aug., & bap. 1773, aged 7 months. 
21 Nov., 1790 ; Mary, only surviving child; 



d. 21 Jan. 1794. died21 Aug., 1808, aged 41. 



e, William Ouglitibridge Chat 
p. burn, of Sandtoft ; mar. and^ 
has issue. Living 1870. 



Elizabeth. 

Living 

1870. 



1 1 

Susanna. Anne. 

Living Died 

1870. young. 



. 



e ancient points of the boundary-line of the manor of Sheffield. Cockwell Hill to Rumbling 
. p. 17.) Perhaps there was a distant or oe/ter bridge. In times when surnames} were derived 
pted by, or given to, persons or families dwelling OMi at bridge, or over against an outer bridge, 
I. of Robert Vghtibrigge, was buried 15 January. At the court for the manor of Epworth, 
ewer and baker, she had sold contrary to the assize, and that she " non morem pessit gusta- 
.fonns me that, when stationed there, he had frequent dealings with a Mr. Oughtibridge. He 
1 that one of his ancestors had been beheaded for some political offence. In 1637, Edmund 
ing, on the 3rd Feb., 1637, assaulted, " vl et armis, gladiis, baculis, et cultellis," one Thomas 



of Hatfield "Woodhouse. gent, of lands, &c., to the use of himself and Margaret Pamell, of 
tered at Hatfield or Doncaster. 11 Dec., 1728, probate of will of Margaret Oughtibridge, 

ne's Diary. Baptismal registers at Hatfield are deficient at that date. This Thomas Oughti- 
: of no extraordinary merit, but his engravings are valuable as giving representations ot 
i his works.— (//a//am«/j ire, p. 11, note.) He seems to have been sJjso a sculptor, several ot 
id marked with his name on them. 
t the register is not filled up and signed. 



Ige, d. Nov. 6, 1858, ag. 30 yrs. 
?o, died Dec. 2, 1858, aged 14 

, in memory of 

Ann Oughtibridge, of Thome, 
ed43, 
aged 10 years. 



Richard Chatbum, of Hatfield, 10 Aug., 1822, aged 93. 

John, son of Richard C, May 2, 1848, aged 66. 

Mary, relict of John Chatbum, Dec.{30, 1868, aged 85. 

Peter Oughtibridge, Jan. 11, 1807, aged 63. 

Martha, wife of above-named, Jan. 13, 1802, aged 61. 

Thomas and Elizabeth, children of above, who died infants. 

Also, Peter and Joseph Silvester, grandsons of above, infants. 



I.'.' 




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/ 



EPHEMEMS VIT^ 



ABE AH AMI PRYME, 



Oft, 



A DIAEY OF MY OWN LIFE. 



CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT, LIKEWISE, 
OF THE MOST OBSERVABLE AND REMARKABLE THINGS THAT 

I HAVE TAKEN NOTICE OF FROM MY 
YOUTH UP, HITHERTO. 



ECCL i 

Vanity of vanitys. All is vanity and vexation of spiiit. 

Man^s life is but a vain thinff, and a series of evils. Teach U9 
iherij Lord, so to number our days, that we may obtain everlasting 
bliss m thyne eternal kin^dome^ 



A DIARY OF MY OWN LIFE, CONTAINING 
AN ACCOUNT OF THE MOST CONSIDER- 
ABLE THINGS THAT HxVVE HAPPENED 
THEREIN. 



My father, whose name was Mathias Pryine, was the son of 
Charles Pryme, my grandfather ; he was one of those that came 
over in king Charles the First days from Flanders, from a citty 
called Eper[Ypres], upon the draining of the great fens in the 
Levels of Hatfield Chace ;• but they were most of them undon by 
their great undertaking, as my grandfather lost many hundred of 
pounds by it. 

My father being grown up to man's estate* marryd Sara the 
daughter of Mr. Peter Smagge, who was a rich Frenchman, 
that with his whole family was forced from Paris by persecusion 
for his faith, and was comed to live also on these Levels. 

They were marryed April 3rd, in the year 1670, in the Dutch 
congregation in the chappie at Santoft;'' for these forreigners 
had divine service there for many years together, before their 
chappel was built at Santoft. 

I was the first born, and was bom the 15 of January, in the 
year 1671'' (to all the miserys of life) at a house about the middle 
of the Levels, about the middle way on the high road side on the 
left hand as you come straight from the Isle of Axholme, or 
Haxyhom, from Epworth to the little neat town of Hatfild in 
Yorkshire, in which parish and which county I was born. 

"* For an account of the general history of the Level of Hatfield Chace, 
its drainage, etc., see Hunter's South Yorkshire^ vol. i. pp. 160-197. 

* My father was born the 31 of Aug., 1645. My mother, 17 of Nov,, 1649. — 
Marginal note by diarist. 

^ Sandtoft is a hamlet in the parish of Belton, which is in Lincolnshire, 
but close to the borders of the county of York. When Sir Cornelius Vermuy- 

B 



THE DIARY OF 



My father can speak Dutch and my mother French, but I 
nothing yet but luglisL 



1680. 

I can remember very little observable before I was ten or 
eleven years old, onely my going to school and such. But in 1680 
my father shifted dwelling, and went and lived at an old great larg 

den took a grant of the Manor and Chace of Hatfield, he had the pririlege 
awarded him of erecting a place for religious worship, where the Dutch and 
French settlei* on the Levels might assemble to hear divine service perfotmed 
in a foreign tongue. In 1634 a chapel was erected at this place, which wa» 
probably chosen as being centrical to the whole drainage. It was built by one 
Isaac Bedloe, a merchant, and, many years after, he had not received the money 
stipulated to be paid him. In 1G50 the chapel wa» much defaced and injured 
by rioters who assembled to resist the sheriff in the execution of legal pro- 
cesses connected with the drainage. The noted fanatic, Col. John Lilbum, who 
came to re&ide here, is said to have employed the chapel as a stable or bam. 
Mr. Hunter, when he wrote in or about 1828, mentions that the register of the 
chapel had been carefully kept from 1641 to 1 681, and was then or then lately 
in existence. He gives from it what he terms " a pretty complete list " of the 
names of the foreign settlers. Much enquiry has been from time to time since 
made for this register, but it is supposed to be now lost or destroyed. The 
following ministers occur. M. Berchett. He died 18 April, 1655, and was 
buried at Crowle. Phillip Castell, " Nanticca, Franc, in Gallia," buried at Hat- 
field, 6 Sept., 1666. Johnston has a notice of the inscription over his place of 
interment, in the south aisle of the chancel. Jean Deckerhuel was minister ia 
1659. M. de la Prix. Samuel Lamber was here in 1664. Jaques de la Porte 
was minister in 1676. John Conrad de Werneley, or Wemdley, was minister ia 
1681. He had no successor, it is said, and the chapel itself did not long survive 
the ministers. It was taken down, and cattle grazed upon its site. — Hv/nter^ 
S. y., i. 166, 16&, 170. Mr. W. O. Chatbum, of Sandtoft, hasf in his possession 
an oak post, which is said to have belonged to the chapel. Mr. James Duoder- 
dale, of Tiverton Lodge, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, is the owner of a large Bible, 
with the Gospels, one foot three-and-a-half inches by ten inches in size, having 
an engraved frontispiece, and entitled La Sainte Bible Interpretee par lean Bia- 
darti. Imprimee a Geneve^ m.d.c.xliiii. It is bound in brown calf leather, and 
fastened with two embossed brass clasps- This book is traditionally said to be 
the one which was used in the services of the chapel at Sandtoft, and has been 
handed down through the f araaily of Le Leu, or Le Lew, from whom, I am in- 
formed, Mr. Dunderdale is descended. In the fly leaf is written, Appartient d 
P'wrze le Leu ; and in several places occur the dates of births, marriages and 
deaths of that family. To me, however, it scarcely presents the idea of having 
done the hard work of a public church book. Mr. Werneley published in 1693 
a book under the following title : — " Liturgia Tiguritia : or, The Book of Com- 
mon Prayers, and Administration of the Sacraments, and other Ecclesiastical 
Kites and Ceremonies, usually practised and solemnly performed in all the 
Churches and Chappels of the City and Canton of Zurick in Switzerland, and 
in some other adjacent countries ; as by their Canons and Ecclesiastical Laws 
they arc appointed ; and as by the Supreme Power of the Right Honourable 
the Senate of Zurick they are authorised, established, and commanded, with 
the Order of that Church. Faithfully translated out of the Helvetian into the 
English tongue, by John Conrad Wemdly, formerly Minister of the Frendi and 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 



hall in th-e Levels, which was built by Mijn Heer Van Valken- 
burg/ one of tlie great drainers of the country ; and took two 
hundred akers of land belonging thereto, for which he payd above 
one hundred pound a year, and we live now of that hall yet. 
It had stood empty a long while by reason of the great distur- 
bancys that had been there by spirits and witches, of whome 
there are many dreadful 1 long tales ; but however we have not 
this five or six years, that we have lived here, heard or seen any- 
thing more than ordinary. 



1683. 

In 1683 a memorable thing happend at our house relating to 
the long abstinence in live creatures. The thing is this. Esquir[e] 

Dutch Congregation of Sandtoff, in the Isle of Axholme, in the County of 
Lincoln : and now Minister of Wraisbury-cum-Langley, in the County of 
Bucks. London : printed for D. Newman, R. Baldwin, J. Dunton. 1693." 
The Book has the ImprtTnatur of the bishops of London, Lichfield and Coventry, 
Bangor, Norwich, Chichester, and Peterborough. 

** See Genealogical Notices in appendix. 

* When the drainage of the Level of Hatfield Chace was undertaken by 
Cornelius Vermuyden, the celebrated Dutch Engineer, in 1626, his own capital 
being unequal to the design, he was supported by many of his countrymen who 
came over and settled in and about the neighbourhood of the works ; amongst 
them were the Valkenburghs, who took a principal share and acted a prominent 
part in the direction. Three brothers of the name, viz., Matthew, Mark, and 
Luke, came hither as residents. They appear to have held a large stake in the 
concern. It is shewn from The original MS. Boke of Accounts of the 'paHici- 
pants of the dyckage of Haitjield cliace of seueral taxes and a^easinents hy 
them laide shUs 1628 vntill 1634, in the possesion of Mr. Peacock, that the 
Van Valkenburg family possessed 3204 acres on these Levels ; Luke is returned 
as possessing 1247 acres, Mark 1146, and Matthew 811. 

Matthew Van Valkenburgh occurs as a commissioner of sewers at a court 
held at Epworth, co. Lincoln, in 1635. 

On the 22 Jan., 1638-9, Sampson Marples was fined £10 for serving a king's 
letter on Mr. Valkenburgh, one of the commissioners of sewers, during the 
sessions of sewers, and was committed till he paid the money. 

In 1636 Matthew married Isabella Eyre, daughter of Anthony and sister of 
Sir Gervas Eyre, of Hampton, Notts. He built a large house on the Middle 
Ing, on which he resided. In the very interesting volume of " Depositions 
from the Castle of York," published by this Society in 1861, we have (pp. 12 
and 13) an account of a riot that occurred on the 11th Oct., 1648, in which one 
Bobert Kay, a Doncaster gentleman, was charged before the justices of peace 
with having come to the house at " Midlins " with sixteen or eighteen men, in a 
warlike manner, with muskets and swords drawn, and broken open the out gate 
and four other doors, committing various outrages, terminating in Mr. Matthew 
Valkenburgh being forcibly taken from his house for a quarter of a mile. 
Again, on the other hand, at page 174, we have notices of indictments being 
preferred, in 1657 and 1661, against Mark Van Valkenburgh, of Hatfield, Esq., 
and others, for taking horses away from their owners, probably for distresses 



6 THE DIARY OF 

Ramsden^ sending from Hatfield to our house to desire us to send 
hira half a score or a dozen of hens and cocks, he being to have 
some strangers, it being then about the middle of Christmas. 
So accordingly they were gotten up, but he sending word that 
his strangers did not come, so that he had no need of them, they 
were ordered to be turned out ; but through carelessness of the 
servant they were not, nor was any more thought of, till about ten 
days after, one [going] into that low vault or little [place where] 

they were, found them, and they and had not 

had anything to eat [all that] time, but being fat before, they 
were now poor ; but being turned out into the fould they all lived. 

1684. 
In this year, in Feb[ruary],^ dyed King Charles the Second, 

for drainage " scots" or rates. So unpopular was the scheme of the drainage, 
that these acts of violence and disorder were neither few nor trifling. In the 
Court of Pleas, at Doncaster, 6 Sept., ] 649, an action was brought by John 
Noades, gent., against Mark Van Valkenburgh, for haying on the 7th May previ- 
ously, at Doncaster, publicly spoken of him these " falsa, ficta, scandalosa, et 
opprobriosa verba," viz., " you are a thief," to his damage of £50. The jury 
gave a verdict for the plaintiff for £6 13s. 4d., and costs £2 12s. 8d., making 
£9 6s. Od. By patent, 26 July, 1642, Matthew Van Valkenburgh was created a 
baronet, and in April, 1644, he died. His widow lived only to Nov. following, 
being then buried at Hatfield, with the addition of " Heroin a" to her name in 
the register. Probably her courage had been not unfrequently put to the proof 
in defence of the great house on the Middle Ing. 

/ John Ramsden, Esq., son of Wm. Ramsden, a merchant of Hull, by a 
sister of Sir John Boynton, of Rawcliff. He built himself a handsome house 
at Norton, was a justice of the peace, deputy lieutenant, and member of parlia- 
ment for Hull. Died 26 March, 1718, aged 61, and was bur. at Campsal. By 
Catherine, his wife, dau. of John, Viscount Downe, of Cowick (who d. 20 May, 
1737, and was bur. in St Martin's, Coney-street, York), he had William Rams- 
den, of Norton, Esq., bap. at Hatfield, 26 Jany., 1683-4, but died before his 
father, 8 June, 1717, aet. 34, and was bur. at Campsal. Dorothy bp. at Hatfield, 
1st, and there bur. 4 Sep., 1682. Elizabeth, bap. at H. 9 Oct., 1687, m. to Richd. 
Roundell, Esq., of Hutton Wansdley. Ann, bap. 22 Aug., 1689, and bur. at Hat- 
field, 15 Feb., 1689-90. The wife of Wm. Ramsden, the son and heir, was 
Mary, d. and c. of Robert Robinson, Esq., of Folkerby, co. York. She d. 6 
Ap., 1746. The Norton Estate was settled on Mrs. Mary Ramsden on her 
marriage, and she purchased the fee simple. She also succeeded to her father's 
estate at Folkerby. Both these estates she gave to trustees, for making ad- 
ditional buildings, and the support of six fellows and ten scholars at Catherine 
Hall Cambridge. She directed that they should be called Skern's fel- 
lows and scholars, out of regard to the memory of her kinsman Robert 
Skem, who had heretofore been' a benefactor to the same college ; and 
that natives of Yorkshire and Lincolnshire should have the preference. — See 
Hvnter's S, Y.j ii. 470, 473. Richard Ramsden signs the register 1604 as 
minister in sacri^. He was bur. 3 March, 1628-9. Two of his children occur as 
baptized there, Henry, born 11 and bap. 14 Nov., 1606. Mauleverer, bp. 28 Oct., 
1610. Matthew Appleyard, Esq., and Mrs. Grace Ramsden were married at 
Hatfield 30 May, 1682. 

f Charles 11. died G Feb.. 1G85. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 7 

of a disease they call an appoplexy, as they say. He is mightily 
lamented by every one, as well by his enemies as friends ; and 
|]I] heard a gentleman say that came from London, that the citty 
was in tears, and most of the towns through which he came. 
Yet perhaps it may be that they wept not so much for the love 
they bore to him, as for fear that his brother who now reigns 
should be worse than he. Good Grod, prevent it I 

1685. 

This Easter I went with some relations to see Hull. I did 
not tak much notiee of things as I went, because that we rid 
pretty fast. The chief towns that we went thro' were Howden, 
etc. Howden is a very pretty town, there being many fine 
houses in it, and a pretty church. They say there [is a] mart 
kept there, etc. From thence we went many a long tedious mile 
over the woulds to Beverley, which is a lai^ delicate town 
indeed. There we stayed a day or two. The minster is a fine 
curius building, and there we saw several old monuments and 
inscriptions which [I] could not read ; and from thence we went 
to Hull, where we saw most of the raritys. 

l_At this point three pages are wanting in Hie MS., viz^, 4, 5, 6.] 

1686. 

This year (1686) I had leeve given me to go visite some of 
our relations about York, by' which means I got a sight of that 
famous tho' not very fine citty. The minster, I believe, is the 
biggest building in England, carrying with it in the inside a very 
majestick and awftiU presence. 'Tis adorn'd within, especially 
in that side about the chappel, with a great many rich and costly 
statues and funeral monuments of those prelates and noblemen 
that have been buried there. The front of the chappel is adorn'd 
with the statues of a great many of the Saxon and other kings, if 
my memory faill me not. Up and down in the citty there is a 
great many reliques of famous and noble houses, but especialy 
there is one in the chappel yard which has been a prodigious larg 
one with delicate fine gardens, fountains, etc., and statues, seven 
or eight of which last (being some of the Roman emperors) are 
yet standing, tho' much consumed by time.* 

* The house to which De la Pryme alludes is that of the family of Ingram, 
on the north side of the minster, which was one of the sights of York. The 
chapel is that of St. Sepulchre, on the same side, which is now destroyed. 



8 THE DIARY OF 

The camp at Himslow Heath. This camp is ill resented all 
over, and everyone says that a standing army will be England's 
ruin. 

There is great dissentions amongst them ; for the papist Irish 
and the protestant officers are commonly striveing for superiority. 

The Dutch have picter'd the army here, and K[ing J[ames] at 
the head of them, shooting at butterflies in the air, which nas 
given great offence to the king and court. 

Being reading this day a book entitled "The Countess of 
Kent's receipt*^," I asked my aunt Prym, who is an ingenious 
woman, who this countess was, etc, Shee answer'd me that 
when shee, my aunt, lived in London, she lived just over against 
her, and knew her very well. She sayd that the countess was a 
widdow and never had a child in her life : that she was an ex- 
ceeding good charitable woman, and that she spent twenty 
thousand pound a year yearly in physick, receipts, and experi- 
ments, and in charity towards the poor. Shee caused every 
other day a huge dinner to be got, and all the poor people might 
come that would, and that which spared they took home with 
them. My aunt says shee has seen the poor at her tables several 
times. Sometimes there would have been sixty, sometimes eighty, 
sometimes more, sometimes Icvss. And shee sent vast quantitys 
of meat out to those that could not come. She would oft go to 
the houses of the poor, and visit them and dress their soars with 
her own hands : and shee distributed a vast deal in money her- 
self yearly to all those that stood in neeil. Yet for all this, as I 
have since heard, lived in common whoredom with the famous 
Selden, who she entertained as her gallant' 

» It is but an act of ordinary justice to the character of the noble lady 
whom the diarist has named in the text, to mention that the story to which he 
refers, whether true or false, does not, at all events, or in any way, relate to 
^/•r. The " ^x>d Countess of Kent." so called from her deeds of charity and 
h.^spitiiHty. was Amabel, the second wife of Henry Grey, tenth Earl of Kent 
(who died 16r»l), dauprhter of Sir Anthony Benn. Recx>rder of London, and 
willow of the Hon. Anthony Fane. She lived to be 92 years of age, surviving 
hor husband forty-seven years, and dying 17 Aug., 169S." But the " Countess of 
Kent " who was the real subject of the evil report, was an earlier lady, vul, 
Klizalnnh, second dan. and co-heir of Gilbert Talbot. Earl of Shrewsbuiy, and 
wife of Henry Grey, eighth Earl of Kent. The latter nobleman died in 1639, 
withvHU issue, when the title passed to his cousin, Anthony Grey, ninth Earl, 
the father of Henry the tenth Earl, husband of the "(rthHi Countess" aforesaid. 
Klif.alv>th Tallxn was lx>m in or about 1581. and die<l 7 Dec.. Uv>l. aged 70. John 
S<*Men. who is here (let ns hope) so unjustly brought under our notice, was the 
famous mtriot and lawyer. He was bc»m at Salvington. near Tarring, co. Sussex. 
His b.**ptisra occurs at the latter place in l,^>S4-5 — "John Selden, ihe sonne of 
John SeUlen the minstrell. was l^aptized the xx^h day of January." For the 
life and history of this truly emiuent man, the reader must be reiened to 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 9 

This 25, Mr. Reading' being new come from London, was 
at mv father's. I heard him say that he saw Oats that discovered 
the popeish plot whipt according to his condemnation, most 
miserably ; and as he was haild up the streets the multitude 
would much pitty him, and would cry to the hangsman or ho 
whose office it was to whipp him, " Enough ! Enough ! Strike 
easily ! Enough ! " etc. To whom Mr. Oats replyd, turning his 
[head] cheerfully behind him, ^' Not enough, good people, for 
the truth, not enough ! " 

Mr. Woodcock, of this town, being lately come from the 
assizes at York, sayd before some gentlemen that he heard some 
Londoners say that judge Hayles did formerly say of my lord 
Jeffries* (^when he was onely . . . . ) that he never saw a 
man in his life have more impudence and less law. This England 
knows since to be very true. 

This judge is reckon'd to be a very impudent, rawming, con- 
ceited fellow. 

It happen'd once that he was judging a cause in the country, 
and having heard much, and laughed much, and abused the 
cause and witnesses, as he commonly dos, he sees another witness 
coming in, a grave old white-headed fellow, "Ho ! Ho ! come 
old gray-headed father," (says he) "What say you to this?" 
And, as he was declaring what he knew, " Pish ! pish ! (savs 
Jeffries to him) " Old father gray-beard, you talk you know not 
what ; you tell what you know herein, and all you know is not 

worth a , much knowledge has made you madd." " No, 

no, my lord, much knowledge has not made me madd, but too 

Wood's AtheruB Oxon,, etc. Educated for the profession of the law, Mr. Sel- 
den appears to have been employed as solicitor or legal steward to the Earl of 
Kent, the husband of Elizabeth (Talbot) above mentioned, with both of whom 
he was necessarily much associated, and lived for many years in the strictest 
degree of friendship. John Aubrey, the Wiltshire Antiquary, a great collector 
of the rumours of the day, has not omitted to notice that which De la Pryme 
had heard as to the countess and Selden. The general character furnished to 
us of Selden is that he possessed principles of the purest and noblest order, 
and that he was moreover a resolved, serious Christian. It is difficult at this 
day, in the absence of any positive testimony, to believe that he was likely to 
be a party to any shameful intrigue like that suggested. Selden died 30 Nov., 
1654, at the Friary House, in Whitefriars, London, which, amongst other pro- 
perty, he possessed as devisee of the countess, who, by her will dated 20 June, 
1649, and proved 12th Dec, 1661, appointed him her executor and residuary 
legatee. 

J Nathaniel Reading, de quo vide Hunter's S.Y.^ i. p. 167. 

* A half-length portrait, which is said to be of this notorious judge, is in 
the possession of the Rev. F. W. White, vicar of Crowle, Lincolnshire ; but as 
it bears a date which is read as 1615, there would seem to be a mistake some* 
where. 



10 THE DIAKT OF 

little has made you a fool," sayd the fellow again. So they were 
all fit to go together by the ears ; but the man got him gon, and 
whether the judge ever remembered him for it I do not know, 
only this I know, that they on whose sid the old man was lost the 
cause. 

The Irish soldiers that are come over are the rudest fellows 
that ever was seen, and talks nothing but of killing and destroy- 
ing all the hereticks, and dividing their lands and goods amongst 
them. 

This year was published an order against bonfires and fire- 
works upon any account whatever. The vulgar and every one 
soon perceived what it drove at, viz., the hindering of rejoic- 
ings and sports on gunpowder treason night. Therefore, that 
nevertheless they might not loose the priviledge of haveing some 
merriment, and of shewing their abhorrence of popery, they 
invented illuminations; that is every house, when that night 
came, set all their windows as full of candles as ever they could 
liold in all the great towns in England, which caused a most 
delicate spectacle. 

1687. 

In the year 1G87 there were several memorable things hap- 
pen'd which we cannot but take notice off. Of the 28th of April 
it rained wheat in great abundance at Lincoln and the towns 
adjacent, several granes of which were sent as miraculous and 
prodigious presents to several gentlemen about us.' 

' This was not the first time such a phenomenon is said to have been wit- 
nessed in Lincolnshire, as the followinjir extract from R[ohert~\ B[^urton's'\ 
Admirable Curiosities^ Rarities, and Wonders, in England, Scotland, and 
Ireland (second ed., p. 139), will show: — "About April 26, 1661, in Lincoln- 
shire, it rained wheat, some grains whereof, were very thin and hollow, but 
others of a more firm substance, and would grind into fine flower {sicS) Several 
pecks of this were taken out of church leads, and other houses that 
were leaded. Several inhabitants who were eye-witnesses brought up a con- 
siderable quantity to London." Thpresby, in his Diary I., p. 85, says, that on 
the 11th June, 1681, in his" cousin Fenton's best chamber, I gathered some of the 
corn that was rained down the chimney upon the Lord's-day seven night, when 
it likewise rained plentifully of the like upon Hedingly-Moor, as was confi- 
dently reported ; but those I gathered with my own hands from the white 
hearth, which was stained with drops of blue where it had fallen, for it is of a pale 
red or a kind of sky colour, is pretty, and tastes like common wheat, of which 
I have one hundred corns. "What it may signify, and whether it doth proceed 
from natural causes (of which some may be prescribed) or preternatural, such 
an ignorant creature as I am cannot aver." — Mrs. Loudon, in her British Wild 
Flowers, says : — " The seeds of ivy when deprived of the pulpy matter which 
surrounds them, bear considerable resemblance to grains of wheat ; and hence 
the numbers which are sometimes found lying about are supposed to have given 
rise to the stories of wheat being rained from the clouds, which were once so 
popular. — P. 185, as quoted in Notes and Queries ; 2nd s. vol. ii. p. 335." 



ABRAHAM BE LA PRYME. 11 

At Thorn, a markate town about nine miles of us, was calved 
in May following a calf with two heads. And at Fishlake, not far 
of of the aforesayd town, there came up thereto in the river 
near fifty miles from the sea, sea dogs, a hee and a shee, and a 
purpose, the last of which I saw. 

In August following, it being then very hot weather, I had 
the good fortune to behold from the beginning to the end one of 
those strange works of nature called spouts, or rather hurricanes. 
It immediately filled the air with great black clouds, as I observed 
day over day. And I observed that some moved from this 
quarter, some from that, so that they meeting in the middle 
created a great circumgiration or whirling, which made a noise 
somewhat like the motion of a milstone. Ever and anon it 
darted down out of itself a long spout, in which I observed a 
motion like that of a skrew, so that it seem'd [to] screw up what- 
ever it met with. It went over a grove of trees, and made them 
bend like hazel wands ; then it came to a great barn, and catch- 
ing hold of the top thereof, pluck'd all the thatch thereofF in the 
twinkling of an eye, filling the whole air therew^ith. Thence it 
went to a great oak tree, and falling upon one of the branches 
broke a huge branch thereof, and flung it a great way of of the 
same in a minnit. Then it came exactly over that part of Hat- 
field town where I then was, so that I easily beheld the circum- 
giration of the clouds, and the whirling noise that they made. 
Tlience it went about half mile further, and then dissolved. The 
whole length of the course that it travel'd over was about a mile 
and a half. 

Ho ! brave ! the queen's with child. Fine sport indeed ! Is 
it not an abuse to God to say one thing and think another, for no 
one scarce believes that she is realy with barn ? Is [it] not like 
a sin in us to thank God for a thing under the name of a blessing 
which will most certainly prove a curse to us ? Knrie eleisoii ! 
They say that the Virgin Mary has appear'd to her, and declair'd 
to her that that holy thing that shall be born of her shall be a 
son. They say likewise that the pope has sent her the Virgin 
Mary's smok, and hallowed bairn cloaths."* 

Aug. 11. This day I heard some gentlemen say that the king 
is wholly led by the nose by the Jesuits, and that he dos anything 
that they bid him. This year, he says, there was great prayers 
and fastings, and pennancys amongst them, for the souls of all 

*" This blasphemous and ridiculous nonsense is printed merely to show 
what was the vox popxili on this exciting topic. 



12 THE DIARY OF 

the royal liereiicks (^viz., the past protestaiit kings of Eng[Iand]), 
and after much to do they got King Edw[ard] the Sixth, and King 
Charles the First, and King Charles the Second, out of purgatory ; as 
they reported in their sermons ; but as for Queen Eliz[abeth] and 
K[ing] Jam[es] the First, they were so fast in hell that there was 
no moving of them. God forgive them ! I mean these fools, and 
grant that they never come there. It seems that they are so fool- 
ish as to think that they can thus impose upon us. 



1687. 

Towards the end of this year there happened a great inunda- 
tion in the Levels by means of the much rains that fell, and the 
high tides, which increased the waters so that they broke the 
banks and drownded the country for a vast many miles about. 
My father and every one in general that dwell there lost very 
considerably in their winter corn ; besides the great expences 
they were put to by boating their chattel to the hills and firm lands, 
with the trouble of keeping them there two or three months. I have 
been several times upon these banks (which are about three yards 
in hight) when the water of one side has been full to the very tops, 
and nothing appeard of one side but a terrable tempestuous sea. 
The water remains about half a week, and sometimes a week at its 
full height, whose motions some hundreds of people are watching 
night and day. But if it chance to be so strong as to drive away 
before it, as it often dos, any quantity of any of the banks, then 
it drownds all before it, and makes a noise by its fall which is 
heard many miles afore they perceive the water. And in the 
place where it precipitates it self down it makes a pond, orhugepitt, 
sometimes one hundred yards about, and a vast depth, so that in 
that place, it being impossible for the bank to be built again, they 
all always build it half round about the same. Many of which pitts 
and banks so built may be seen beyond Thorn, a markate town a 
little of of my town of Hatfield, etc." 

July the 20. God be thankt, the bishops are deliverd out 
of prison and are clear'd, and people at London shew the greatest 
joy that ever was, and the soldiers at Hunsley heath are so gladd 
of it they know not what or how to shew it. They tost up their 

* Quoted in a note p. 116 of the Hist. Isle of Axholme, 1839, by the Rev. 
(afterwards Dr.) W. B. Stonehouse, who in every instance where he alludes to 
our diarist invariably writes the name PryniTie. 



ABKAHAM BE LA PRYME. 13 

hats into tlie air, and made loud huzzahs for two houers together. 
Now our eyes begin to be open'd, and everyone sees that we are 
yet in danger of our lives and rehgion. God defend us and take 
both or none I 

Ju. 23. My uncle and godfather Prym" is dead. He was an 
honest, learned, pious, wise, and understanding man. 

God knows what will become of poor England. All the land 
quakes for fear ! never a day passes but one or other is asking 
concerning the French they ruin us all with, for the Jesuits and 
papists here bear all down before them, and many have been 
heard to say that they expect to wash their hands in heretick's 
blood before next Christm[as]. God prevent it, for his great 
mercy's sake ! 

This day I observed at Mr. Hatfield's'' a dunghill cock with a 
cock's spur growing upon his head like a little thorn. The way 
they do such things is this : — at the same minute they kill one 
cock they immediately cutt of one of his spurs, which they then 
clap upon another young cock's head that has just in that sayd 
minute also had his comb cut off. Then they tye it well on, and 
so it remains growing. The consideration of this made me reflect 
upon the story of Taliacocius's engrafting of one man's nose upon 
another's face, etc.^ 

« Abraham de la Pryme, died 23 July 1687. See Pedigree. 

p John Hatfeild, the 3rd son of Ralph Hatfeild of Langhton-en-le-Morthing, 
CO. York, gent, (of whom and his ancestry see Hunters S. ¥., i. pp. 178, 290, 291), 
was a captain in the Parliament Army. Soon after the civil wars he seated 
himself at Hatfield. Married 1 June, 1652, Frances, d. of Thomas Westby, Esq., 
of Ravenfield. She died 2 Sept., 1693, aged 62. Capt. H. died 28 Dec, 1694^, 
aged 72. There is a monument for them in Hatfield Chuirch, erected by their 
eldest son John Hatfeild, Esq., barrister- at- law, who died in 1720, aged 61. The 
great granddau. of this latter gentleman, Ann, became the wife of Wm. Gossip, 
Esq., of a family at Thorp-arch. This gentleman dying 26 March, 1830, left 
with other issue, an eldest son, William Hatfeild Gossip, Esq., who d. 16 Jan., 
1856, leaving an only surviving son, who eventually became heir to his uncle 
by marriage, the Rev. Cornelius Heathcote Reaston-Rodes, of Barlborough, co. 
Derby, assuming, by his desire, the surname of De Rodes, in lieu of Gossip, 
and is the present William Hatfeild De Rodes, Esq., of Barlborough. He m. 7 
Sep., 1854, Sophia Felicite, d. of the Hon. and Rev. Alfred Curzon, Rector of 
Kedleston, co, Derby. This lady (who had subsequently the precedence of & 
baron's daughter granted to her, on her brother becoming Lord Scarsdale), died 
without issue, 2d April, 1869. Of the above family of Hatfeild was the Rev. 
George Hatfeild, Vicar of Doncaster 1762-1785. Ralph Thoresby, the eminent 
antiquary of Leeds, says, 19 June, 1683, he " had the honour of a visit from 
Capt. Hatfield, of Hatfeild, with some pleasing discourse concerning the anti- 
quities of that place." (Diary ii. appx. 417.) On 31 Aug., 1694, he rode to 
Hatfield, and was *' most obligingly entertained by the good family " there. 
(Diary i., 262, 263.) Again 17 January. 1695. (P. 289.) 

9 Tagliacozza was a learned Italian physician. For this feat of his see 



14 THE DIARY OF 

OcTOB. 2. Great talk of the prince of Orange. He is mak- 
ing great preparations beyond sea, and 'tis thought that they r re 
designed for England. God's will be done ! 

3. They say that he has one hundred thousand men which he 
designs to bring over, amongst which twenty thousand are antro- 
pophagi, Laplanders clad in bear skins, that never lay in beds 
in their lives, but always like beasts under the open canopy of 
heaven. 

20. My father being at Doncaster last Saturday I heard him 
say that there was a man there with a strong sort of a glass th .t 
openly for lOd. lets any one see therein whatt they will. My 
father took him to be a conjurer. 

29. This day I heard that there wer lately arived out of 
Ireland six thousand Irish, the rudest fellows that ever were seen. 
Tyrconnel sent them.'' 

AU the nation is in fear of being murder'd, and watch is set 
in all towns by the order of the magistrates to exam[ine] every 
passenger, etc. 



1688. 

NovEMB. 5. About the end of this year happen'd here in 
England the greatest revolution that was ever known. I mean 
by that most bold and heroick adventure of the most illustrious 
and famous Will[iam] Hen[ry] Nassaw, Prince of Orange, who 
soon turned the scale of aflFairs, and deHvered us out of all our 
fears of tyranny and popery, which, as farr as I can possibly see, 
would infallibly have fain upon us. 

a vulgar jest in Hudibras^ part i. canto i. line 280, et seqq. What he really 
did was to make artificial noses, lips, ears, &c., by transplanting portions of skin 
from other portions of the face. At first people did not know exactly whether 
to treat him as a sorcerer or liar, but, after his death, his fellow citizens set up a 
marble statue to his memory, at Bologna, holding a nose in his hand. 

' Richard Talbot (Malahide) was created Earl of Tyrconnel, in 1685, and 
afterwards Duke of Tyrconnel, after James the Second's abdication. He was 
slain, or at all events died, at Limerick, 14th Aug., 1691. He m. Frances, 
widow of Sir George Hamilton, Ejit., the sister of Sarah Jennings, wife of John 
Churchhill, Duke of Marlborough. These ladies were the daughters of Richard 
Jennings, of Sandridge, co. Hertford, Esq. Richard Talbot was son of Sir Wm. 
T., of Courtown, Bart., who d. in 1633, and brother of Sir Robt., of same place, 
Bart., and also of Sir Griffith Talbot, who died 26 Dec, 1723, aet. 82. The Earl 
of Tyrconnel was generaUssimo of the Irish forces under King James II. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 15 

Qui nescit dissimilarey nescit nee viverCj nee regnare. Politick 
frauds is and always has been in action in all kingdomes, revolu- 
tions, and nations, which is sufficient licence for their lawfollness ; 
and, as for their usefullness, there needs nothing to be said about 
that ; any one that is wise must needs know that many a noble 
and excellent design would have perished in its birth had it not 
been brought into the world by such midwives as these. In thi& 
time of our revolution wee had many a strange story of long popish 
knives, gridirons, and instruments of torture found in at least a 
hundred popish houses up and down the land, with suppositious 
letters, speeches, and such like, to irritate the people and encourage 
them to obey the revolution. 

But that which was the most observable of all was a general 
alarm, that was spread over all the land, of God knows how many 
thousands of Irish (who were disbanded by K[ing} James) who- 
ravaged the country and slew and burnt all before them. Thia 
rumour begun in the south, and went northward so effectually 
that most people believed it, for there came expresses of it every- 
where to get everyone in arms, and to meet at such a great town^ 
on such a day, where the whole country was to go and try a brush 
with the enemy. Now it was that the whole nation was in such 
a ferment that they sweat for fear ! Now all was up in arms, yet 
nobody knew where they were to fight I All ways was stopt up 
and passes, old fwts, and castles mann'd, and nothing but arm» 
sounded in everyone's mouth. Now it was that the papists was- 
at the brink of the grave, for, wherever there was any, their houses^ 
was searched, examined ; and, if they were priests, were sent to 
prison, etc. In all this bustle there was few that offered to run 
away, but all joyfully and couragiously equipp'd and armed them- 
selves, being resolved to fight. Its almost incredible to think 
what a number of men there was in arms, all of them resolved ta 
conquer or dy. Everyone when they went to exercise and meet 
the enemy, ibook their last lieves of their wives, friends, and 
sweethearts, with farr more sorrow than they showed for any fear 
ihey had either of an enemy or death, etc. 

Thisnewse or report ran, as I sayd, quite through the country, 
and for all it was some weeks a running northward, yet no one 
letter appear'd out of the south concerning any such thing there 
till it was always gone past those places where these letters were 
logo. 

Various reports there was concerning the occation of this 
mmour. Yet most certain it is that it was nothing but a poli- 
tick alarm raised and set on foot by the king and council to see 
how the nation stood effected to their new king. 



16 THE DIAKY OF 

Yet one thing that I exceedingly wonder at is that there was 
no men killed in this bustle, for I have asked and examined all 
over wherever I came, and I could never hear of any. But 
indeed tho' they kill'd nobody, yet they made most miserable of 
all the papist's houses that they came near; for, under pretence of 
seeking for arms, they did many thousands of pounds worth of 
hurt, cuting down rich hangings, breaking through walls, pulling 
in pieces of excellent ceilings, and such like. But they carried 
nothing away with them but w^hat they eat or drunk, and then 
they secured all the papists they could get, intending to carry 
them all away to prison. 

It is wonderful how such rumors as then was could be invented. 
Here came letters down from London that in a great vault hard 
by the parliament house they had discovered a great many grid- 
irons, three yards long, with Strang sorts of pincers and scrus and 
long knives, all of which was to torment those great parUament 
men that would not agree with the king towards the fulfilling of 
his will, etc. Then again in another place there was discovered 
three score horses, kept underground, that had not seen light this 
many years, which were fed with humane bodys, and these were 
to tear us in pieces. Then elsewhere there was foimd under the 
earth great coppers full of oyl, and others of pitch, and tar, and 
lead, all which was to boyl hereticks in : and in many popeish 
houses round about in the country we heard what strange instru- 
ments of torment was found in their possession, etc., all which 
the vulgar faithfully believed ; but, as for me, I gave little heed 
thereto, etc., for they were plainly nothing but politic frauds. 



1689. 

This year a strange kind of a violent and burning feaver, 
together with the small pox reigned so in our family that I lost 
two brothers and two sisters. 

Towards the latter end of the aforegoing year there landed at 
Hull about six or seven thousand Dams, all stout fine men, the 
best equip'd and disciplin'd of any that was ever seen. 

They brought over with them a great quantity of both money 
and plate, as silver tankards, tumblers, cups, spoons, pottingers, 
etc., which they sould up and down the country. 

Their money had a great alloy of copper in it, yet, for all that, 
the people here took for their commoditys. 

They were mighiy godly and religious. You would seldome 



'0' 



ABIlA^AM DE LA PRTMS. 17 

or never heard an oath or ugly word come out of their mouths. 
They had a great many ministers amongst them whome they 
calPd pastours, and every Sunday almost, ith' afternoon, they 
prayed and preach'd as soon as our prayers was done. 

They sung almost all their divine service, and every ministre 
had those that made up a quire whom the rest followed. Then 
there was a sermon of about half-an-houer's length, all memoratimj 
and then the congregation broke up. When they administred the 
sacrament the ministre goes into the church and caused notice to 
be given thereof, then all come before, and he examined them 
one by one whether they were worthy to receive or no. If they 
was he admitted them, if they were not he writ their names down 
in a book, and bid them prepare against the next Sunday. Instead 
of bread in the sacrament I observed that they used wafers,' 
about the bigness and thickness of a sixpence. 

They held no sin to play at cards upon Sundays, and common- 
ly did everywhere where they were suffered ; for indeed in many 
places the people would not abide the same, but took the cards 
from them. 

They were mighty good-natured, and kind, and civel, and 
many of them where they were quarter'd would thrash or work 
a week for what they could get. And indeed the English were 
all over hereabout extream kind to them and gave them free 
quarter, for which they were exceeding thankful.' 

Tho' they loved strong drink yet all the while I was amongst 
them, which was all this winter, I never saw above five or six of 
them drunk. 

They liked England very well, " Oh ! it was the finest country 
that ever they came in in all their lives," they would oft say, and 
many swore that they would be hang'd before they would leave 

• The wafer is still used throughout the whole of Scandinavia. The name 
given to it in Sweden is Oblat, and the silver baskets in which the wafers are 
brought for presentation on the Holy Table are called Ohlaten schalten.- — See 
an article on the Swedish Church in the Christian Remsmbrancer for April 
1847. 

< A memorial of the Danish troops which were quartered in Yorkshire, 
after the revolution, is to be found (I quote Allen's Hist. Yorks. v. iii., p. 286, 
not having seen the original), in the parish register of St. Mary's, Beverley. 

1689, Dec. 16. — Daniel Straker, a Danish trooper buried. 
„ Dec. 23. — Johannes Frederick Bellow, beheaded for killing the other, 
buried. 

The following doggrel is on an oval tablet on the outer side of the south 
waU of the nave : — 

*' Here two yonng Danish sonldiers lie, 
The one in quarrel chanc'd to die ; 
The othor's head, by their own law, 
. ■ With sword was seyer'd at one blow." 



18 THS DIARY OF 

it. There was snow in their country a foot thick before they 
came away, and they were so surprised, that when [they] came 
hither, they found not a bit, they scarce knew what to say. 

Many of them at this town, while they stayed here, acted a play 
in their language, and they got a vast deal of monney thereby. 
The design of it was " Herod's Tyranny; " " The Birth of Christ; '* 
and the " Coming of the Wise Men." They built a stage in our 
large court-house, and acted the same thereon. I observed that 
all the postures were shewn first of all, viz.. The king on his 
throne, his servants standing about him. And then, the senes 
being drawn, another posture came ; the barbarous soldiers mur- 
dering of the infants, and so on : And when they had run through 
all so, they then began to act both together. All which time 
they had plenty of all sorts of music of themselves, for [one] 
soldier played on one sort and one on another. 

I heard some of them say that some of those players belonged 
to the king of Denmark's play house that was set a fire, and 
burnt when most of the nobles were beholding a play several 
years ago, tho' how long I cannot exactly tell. 

This day I heard my father say that, as he went to Doncaster 
fair," he overtook a company of godly Presbyterians who were 
singing salms as they rid. Was not this a great peece of affected- 
ness, and more out of vain glory and pride than piety ? 

I have heard of a Presbyterian minister who was so precise 
that he would not as much as take a pipe of tobacco before that 
he had first saved grace over it. 

My father alas ! inclines mightily this way, as does all the 
French and Duch of these Levels, and he would needs have me go 
to the University of Glasco, but I do not intend it. I hope Otod 
will so incline my father's will as to suffer me to go to Cambridge, 
which thing I beg for Jesus Christ his sake. 

One thing at present which makes a great noise in the country 
is an act," not for liberty of conscience, as some call it, but only to 

« 6th April. 

• ist W. & M., c. 18, "For exempting their Majesties Protestant subjects, 
dissenting from the Church of England, from the penalties of certain laws,** 
commonly called the Toleration Act, which enacted that neither certain acts 
therein specified, nor any other penal laws made against Popish recusants 
(except the test acts) should extend to any dissenters other than Papists and 
such as deny the Trinity: provided, 1. That they took the oaths of allegianoe 
and supremacy (or made a similar affirmation, being quakers) and subscribed 
the declaration against popery; 2. That they repaired to some congregation cer- 
tified to and registered in the court of the bishop or archdeacon, or at the 
County Sessions ; 3. That the doors of such meeting-house should be unlocked, 
unbarred, and unbolted ; in default of which the persons meeting there were 



ABRAHAM DE LA PHTME. 19 

exempt the dissenters from the penaltys of all the former laws that 
have been made against them, upon condition that they swear to 
be true to KLing] W[illiam] and Q[ueen] M[ary] and do not 
at anytime of their meeting keep the conventicle door lockd, barrd. 
or bolted ; and that they do subscribe to all the 34, 35, 36, ana 
these words of the 20th Article, viz., — The Church hath power 
to decree rites or ceremonies and authority in controcersys of faith i 
and yet : which they could not subscribe to, 

1690. 

In this year about the end of April I began to set forward for 
Cambridge, to be admitted there an accademian. The first day 
of our journey (which was from the Levels to Sleeford beyond 
Lincoln Heath) wee travelled forty-six miles, and so came through 
the Fenns of Ely to Cambridge. 'Tis a strange thing that great 
towns should so decay and be eaten up with time. I observed when 
I came to Lincoln that several stately houses and churches are let 
fall down to the ground, piece by piece ; and this which has been 
such a famous citty heretofore, there is scarce anything worth 
seeing in it now but the high street, it being indeed a most stately 
and excellent structure, and is the chief ornament of the town. 
The minster indeed looks very stately too on the outside, but 
what it is within I do not know. There is an old open fortifica- 
cation against it castlewise, which might (tho' there be guns nor 
nothing in it) do the town some little hurt if it was well 
manual, because it stands upon the hill of the town, etc."' 

We arrived at Cambridge (which I took to have been a much 
finer town than I then found it to bee) on the first of May, and I 
was admitted member of St. John's College the day following. 
JPirst, I was examined by my tutor, then by the senior dean, 

•tiU to be liable to all the penalties of former acts. Dissenting teachers were 
also to subscribe the articles of religion mentioned in the Stat. 13 Eliz., c. 12 
(viz., those which only concerned the confession of the true christian faith and 
the doctrine of the sacraments), with an express exception of those relating to 
the government and powers of the church and to infant baptism. 

** Lincoln Castle must have been one of the most majestic fortresses in 
England during the middle ages. It seems to have retained much of its 
ancient beauty until it was taken by storm on Monday morning May 6, 1644, 
by the Earl of Manchester, after which it fell into ruin. Samuel Buck's view 
of the castle taken in 1727, and of the city in 1743, represents it much as it i« 
now ; neither of them show the interior of the fortifications. Probably in de la 
Pryme's time the precincts contained many interesting remains that were 
Bwept away when the present ugly shire-hall and prison were built. — See A 
Tnie Relation of tlie Taking of the CUy^ Minster, and Ceuftle of Z/in^oln. R. 
Ooates for John Bellamy. 4to. Lon. 1644. 



'20 THE DIARY OP 

then by the junior dean, and then by the master, who all made me 
but construe a verse or two a-piece in the Greek Testament, 
except the master, who ask'd me both in that and in Plautus and 
Horace too. Then I went to the registerer to be registered 
member of the College, and so the whole work was done. 

We go to lecturs every other day, in logics, and what we hear 
one day we give an account of the next; besides we go to his 
chamber every night, and hears the sophs and junior sophs dis- 
pute, and then some is called out to conster a chapt[er] in the New 
Testament ; which after it is ended, then we go to prayers, and 
then to our respective chambers. 

Our master they say is [a] mighty high proud man, but God be 
thank'd I know nothing of that as yet by my own experience. 
His name is Doct[or] Gower* and it was him that first brought 
up the haveing of terms in the college, without the keep of every 
one of which we can have no degrees. 

He came from Jesus College to be made master here, and he 
was so sevear there that he was commonly called the divel of 
Jesus ; and when he was made master here some unlucky scholars 
broke this jest upon him, — that now the divel was entered into 
the heard of swine ; for us Jonians are called abusively hoggs. 

In this my fresh-man's year, by my own propper studdy, 
labour and industry, I got the knowledge of all herbs, trees, and 
simples, without any body's instruction or help, except that of 
herbals : so that I could know any herb at first sight. I studdied 
a great many things more likewise, which I hope Gtod will bless 
for my good and his honour and glory, if I can ever promote 
anything thereofi*.^ 



' Humphrey Gower, a native of Dorchester ; the son of Stanley Gower, a 
minister there during the interregnum. Chosen Fellow of St. John's Coll. Camb. 
23rd March, 1658 ; M.A., 1662 ; D.D., 1676 ; Master of Jesus Coll., 11th July, 
1679 ; and of St. John's, 3rd Dec. following. Died 27th March, Ulh-^MohoU' 
Lit. Afiecdotes, iv., 245, 246 ; v., 125, 128, 129. Dr. Gower was a man of great 
university mark, and a large benefactor to St. John's, although not originally a 
me mber of that college. 

y He was admitted Scholar of St. John's, 7th Nov. 1690. " Ego Abra- 
hamus Prim Eboracensis juratus et admissus sum in discipulum hujus colL 
pro Dre Morton decessore Dno. Proctor." This Cardinal Morton scholanhip 
was filled up 6th Nov., 1694, when Humphr. Davenport was admitted " deoes* 
sore Dno. Primme." 

De la Pryme was never fellow, nor did he hold an exhibition. 

The college entry of De la Pryme's admission is " Abrahamns Frym, 
Eboracensis, filius Matthaei Prym, generosi, natus infra Hatfield, ibidemque 
litteris institutus sub Mro, Eratt, aetatis suae 19, admissus est pensionarioB tutore 
et fidejussore ejus Mro. Wigley, Mail 2ndo, 1690." 



ABRAHAM DE LA PHTME. H 

1692. 

Jan. : Alas ! who can refrain from tears, what learned man 
can but lament at the sad newse that came the other night, viz., 
the death of the famous and honourable Mr. Boyl,' a man bom 
to learning, born to the good of his country, bom to every pious 
act, whose death can be never enough lamented and mourned 
for. England has lost her wisest man, wisdom her wisest son, 
and all Europe the man whose writeings they most desired, 
who well deserved the character that the ingenious Redi gives 
him, who calls him. Semper veridicuSy et quavis sublimi laude 
dignus ! I have heard a great deal in his praise and commenda- 
tion. He was not only exceeding wise and knowing, but also 
one of the most religiousest and piusest men of his days, never 
neglecting the public prayers of the church or absenting himself 
therefrom upon any occasion. He was exceeding charitable to 
the poor and needy, and thought whatever he gave to them too 
little ! He was a mighty promoter of all pious and good works, 
and spent vast summs, as I have heard, in getting the Bible and 
several more religious books to be translated and printed in Irish 
and spred about that country, that his poor countrymen might 
see the light of the Gospel. He was a mighty chemist, etc. 

Jan. 7 : This day was in company with a gentleman scholler 
Mr. Bennet* of our coll. a very learned, ingenious, and under- 

* The Hon. Robert Boyle, the 7th son and 14th child of Richard, Ist Earl 
of Cork ; Died 13th Dec. 1691, unmarried. — See portrait and biographical 
account of him in Lodge's Portraits of Illustriovs Personages^ <^c., vol. ix. 

His life was written by Dr. Birch. It may be found in his edition of Boyle's 
works, 6 vols, folio, 1744 ; and was in the same year issued separately in an Svo 
form. 

• Thomas Bennett, son of Tho. Bennett, gent., bom infra Csesaris burgum, 
Wilts., at school there under Mr. Taylor, admitted sizar for his tutor, Mr. 
Browne, 31st May, 1689, set. 16. This voluminous author was elected foun- 
dation fellow 26th Mar. (admitted 27th Mar.) 1694, in Boughton's room. 
He was catechis. 26 Febr. 1700-1 ; and appointed college preacher 12 June, 
1701. Edm. WaUer was elected 26 Mar. (admitted 27 Mar.) 1705 in Bennett's 
room. B.A., 1692-3 ; M.A., 1696 ; D.D., 1716 ; rector of St. James's Col- 
chester, when he subscribed to Strype's Parker ; vicar of St. Giles's, Cripple- 
gate, when he subscribed to Strype's Annals, vol. 3 ; of Salisbury School 
XCarliWs Qramvmar SclwoU, ii. 746), Obiit. 9 Oct., 1728 {Historical Register 
1728, Chronicle p. 64) ; married to Hunt, of Salisbury, 8 Oct., 1717 {His- 
torical Register). Made rector of St. Giles's. 4 Apr., 1717 {Ibid.) Lecturer of 
8t. Olave's, Southwark, 20 Febr., 1716, {lUd.,^. 118).—See TJie Tanner MS8. 
William Gould, Fellow of St. John's, left him £50 in 1690, {MS. Baiter, xxvi, 278). 
See Darling*s OyclopoBdia, col. 2669, 2840. Subscriber to Spencer De legibus 
Hebr. 1727. — See Lampe's Commentary on St John, i. 221. Examination of a 
Itoolt lately printed by the Quakers, 8w., Lond, 1737, pjp. 69, 72 ; Defence of do. 



ii THE DURT OF 

standing young man, who comes from Salsbury, and was theer 
in all the time of the late revolution, and saw most of the things 
that happened there. He says that when King Will[iam] came 
first over, for three, four, or five days, he was mightily dijected 
and melancholy, fearing that nobody would joyn with him : but 
when the Lord Combury and several others were come over, he 
was very well content and cheered up. When he landed he wore 
his own hair which was long and black, and looked as to his face 
very pale and wan : but now he has got a wig,* and looks as brisk, 
and has good a colour as anyone. 

This gentleman was at Salsbury when the late king was there, 
and he says all was in the greatest confusion imaginable. Ho 
saw K[ing] J[ames] ride backward and forward continnualy 
with a languishing look, his hat hanging over his eyes, and a^ 
handkerchief continnualy in one hand to dry the blood of his 
nose for he continnualy bledd. If he and liis soldiers did but 
chance to hear a trumpet or even a post-horn they were always . ^ 
upon a surprise, and all fit to run away, and at last they did so. 

All the nights there was nothing but tumult, and every ques- 
tion that was ask'd " Where are the enemy ?" " Where are the 
enemy?" " How far are they oflf?" *' Which way are they 
going ?" and such like. 

10. Yesterday I was at Mr. Hall's the bookseller, asking for a 
magical book, — '*Zouns," says he " Doct. you'l raise the divel,** 
at which I laughed. " But hark you," says he, " I have a 
friend about 7 miles off who has lost a great many cattle by 
witchcraft, and he is now in the town at the Three Tuns, prathee 
go with me thither to him, and tell him what he shall do to save 
the rest?" to which I made answer that I was unwilling to go; 
and besides that I knew not how to help him. *' No matter for 
that," says he, '' you shall then have some discourse with him 
and hear what he says, it shall cost you nought, I'll give you two or 
three pints of wine." Then I went and we had a great deal of talk. 
He told me that he was once, about thirteen years ago, with several 
others set to keep a witch in a room, and sayd that before them 

Loud., 1737, pp. 35 aeq. ; L'tfe of A, A. Sylies^ 88, 89, 93 ; NemcourVi Bepertorium, 
ii. 170; Watts' Blhlloth. Brit, I 100; Clialmer's Biogr. Diet; Bodl, CatdL 
vols. i. and iv. Catal. Brit, Mus. ; Notes and Queries^ 2nd ser. iv. 171 ; CataL 
Codd. MSS, Bodl. iv. 831 ; Ayscoiigh's Catal. MSS. Brit, Mus, 793 ; DarUng*$ 
Cyolopaidla ; NlcJtoVs Lit. A need, iii., 11., i.. 412. 

* In an original portrait of William III., by Sir Godfrey Eneller, in the 
possession of Mr. Peacock, he is represented in a long flowing wig of dark 
brown hair. 



ABRAHAM DE LA FBTME. 23 

all shee changed herself into a beetle or great clock, and flew out 
of the chimney, and so escaped. He tola me also that a neigh" 
hour of his as he was once driving a loaded waggon out of the 
field, they came over against the place where a witch was shear- 
ing, and that then of a suddain (tho' there was no ill way or any 
thing to throwgh a waggon over) the waggon was in a minnit 
thrown down, and the shaves became as so many piggs of lead, 
so that nobody could for two hours lift them upright 

Febr. : Wliat I heard to-day I must relate. There is one 
Mr. Newton (whom I have very oft seen), fellow of Trinity 
College, that is mighty famous for his learning, being a most 
excellent mathematician, philosopher, divine,' etc. He has been 
fellow of the Royal Society this many years, and, amongst the 
other very learned books and tracts that he has writt, he's writt 
one upon the Mathematical Principles of Philosophy, which has 
got hiin a mighty name, he having received, cspecialy from Scot- 
land, -abundance of congratulatory letters for the same : but of all 
the books that he ever writt there was one of colours and light, 
established upon thousands of experiments, which he had been 
twenty years of making, and which had cost him many a hundred 
of pounds. This book which he valued so much, and which was so 
much talk'd off, had the ill luck to perish and be utterly lost just 
when the learned author was almost at putting a conclusion at 
the same, after this manner. In a winter morning, leaving it 
amongst his other papers on his studdy table, whilst he went to 
chappel, the candle which he had unfortunately left burning there 
too cachd hold by some means or other of some other papers, and 
they fired the aforesayd book, and utterly consumed it and several 
other valuable writings, and that which is most wonderful did no 
further mischief. But when Mr. Newton came from chappel and 
had seen what was don% every one thought he would have run 
mad, he was so troubled thereat that he was not himself for a 
month after. A large account of this his system of light 
and colours you may find in the transactions of the Royal 
Society, which hq had sent up to them long before this sad mis- 
chance happened unto him. 

« No less a personage than the great Sir Isaac Newton, de quo vide 
NickoWs Literary Anecdotes^ vol, iv. pp. i. etc., etc. He was born 25 Dec, 
1642. Admitted at Trin. Coll., Camb., 5 June, 1661, as a sub-sizar, a class 
which still exists in the college. He afterwards became Fellow of the College, 
And a Professor of the University, for which he was twice elected one of the 
representatives in Parliament, an honour which was also attained by his illus- 
tnons predecessor Lord Chancellor Bacon (a fact not generally known). He died 
20 March, 1726.^See preface of this work« 



24 THE DIARY OF 

29. Yesterday I began a work. God of His great mercy 
make me able to carry on the same ! It is a book of travelling, 
to be entitled "The compleat Traveller, or full directions for 
travelling, and querys about almost everything memorable in all 
countrys." 

30. Doct[or] Burnet Bish[op] of Sarum has given notice in 
all our newse letters that he will undertake to write the famous 
Mr. Boyl's life, which is not to be doubted but it will be done very 
well, tho' nevertheless it is impossible that it should be done so 
well as it deserves, he having been the [most] learned, wisest, and 
godliest man that England ever brought forth. He was a mighty 
strict, pious man, and seldome or never missed the publick 
prayers in church, and was mighty charitable to the poor. Some 
condemns him for being too credulous and giving too much heed 
to the relations of his informers in philos[ophical] matters, but this 
springs from nothing but ignorance and envy. 

April 1. The present Bisli[op] of St. Asaphs,** Doctor [Lloyd] 
is a very famous man by reason of his pretending to interpret 
and comprehend that most hard and ambiguous book of the Re- 
velations : for he prophesyd nothing but good therefrom, of the 
downfall of the French king, and the Pope, etc. It happen'd once 
in the present reign that there came a poor Vaudois to begg alms 
of him, complaining that he was forced out of his country for his 
religion by means of the tyranny of the French king. " Well, 
well " (says the honest bishop) " I cann assure you that tyrant 
will not live long, for God has look'd upon your afflictions, and 
the tyranny of that monster, and will deliver you and every one 
else out of every apprehensions of danger from him, and that 
within six months : therefore you shall go to your own country 
again, and I will give you money to bear your charges thither,'* 
etc., which he accordingly did; but whether the Vaudois went 
home or no I cannot tell ; but the poor bishop has been sadly 
mistaken in many of his interpretations upon that obscure book. 
(Ex relatione filii Dr. Lloyd episcop, Norwich,^ 

1692 

Towards the end of this year I went a course of chymistry with 

<* William Lloyd, S.T.P., consecrated Oct. 3, 1680. He waa translated to 
Lichfield and Coventry in 1692, and from thence to Worcester, 22d January, 
1699-1700. He died 30th August, 1717, and is buried at Fladbury, co. WorooH 
tej!. Le Nev€i Fagti,, ed. 1864, vol, i. p. 558 ; iii. 68. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 25 

Signior Johannes Fransiscus Vigani, a very learned chemist, and 
a great traveller, but a drunken fellow. Yet, by reason of the 
abstruceness of the art, I got little or no good thereby. 

In this very time of my course it was that my very great and 
most intimate friend Mr. Bohun* (of the year above me) hangd 
himself in his studdy. I missing him all that day began to in- 
quire for him, which I observed put a great many lads then in 
the hall going to supper in an opinion and kind of consternation 
that he had hanged himself, though they knew nothing of it, 
nor had any reason for what they spoke or imagined. Upon 
which I and some more got his chamber dore key of his bed- 
maker, and going in we found his wigg, cap, and gown hanging 
over the chairs that were in his chamber : and not finding him 
there wee forced his studdy door open, but none of them durst 
go in to see if he was there. Upon which I rushed in, and found 
him hanging at the end of his studdy with his feet not above half 
or three quarters of a foot of the ground, having hung so all the day, 
for it appear'd afterwards that he hanged himself in chapel time 
in the morning. The rope that he hang'd himself in was one 
that he us'd to hang dogs in when he anatomized them. 

Just before he dy'd he writt a very serious letter to his father, 
and dated it, and seal'd it up too, lying it on the table just at the 
door, desireing in another piece of paper that it might be sent 
home to his father, saying that he had given a sufficient reason 
to his father for the sayd act. But what this reason was I could 
never certainly learn. Sure I am that it was not out of any evil ac- 
tions that he had committed, for he was never given to any, neither 
was it for want of monney, or any unkindness of his parents, for they 
loved him very well and gave him what he desired. He was a great 
student also, and a good scholar, having made great proficiency 
in most arts and sciences. I was one of those that was brought 
in to give my evidence what I knew of his nature. I depos'd 
that I had heard him several times talk that he was melancholly, but 
he knew not for what, it was his nature that led him to it, as he 
thought He loved to take walks in the dark, but yet neverthe- 
less was of as merry and jovial a nature as any one I ever see. 

The night before he did this, he, I, and two or three more of 
us, had been walking into the town after supper, and when we 
were got home again he took his leave of us, and shak'd us all by 

• Homfrey Bohun, son of Edmund Bohun, esq., bom at Pulham, Norfolk, 
educated at Woodbridge school under Mr. Candler, admitted pensioner 30 May, 
1689, «t. 19, under Mr. Browne. (See on him» who died 1 Dec, 1692, Bohun'a 
Autobiography and pedigree prefixed). 



26 THE DIABT OF 

the hand, clenching them (as I observed) something hard in his 
(just as a dying man will catch hold of anything in his reach 
and hold it fast), but this we did not take much notice of because 
he was so free and merry ; but so all o' us bid him a good night, 
as he also did us. And he having a chum, he say'd that he 
went to bed and slept very well till the morning, and arising 
then he put on his studdying gown and cap and his stockings 
and shoos, and going into his studdy lock'd the dore after him, 
and so having written the aforesayd letter hang'd himself with- 
out making any noise or struggling. 

He was the eldest son to Edm. J3ohim, esq. ,^ him that has 
writt so many books. 

Dec. 23. Tho' my friend came to this so suddain and unfor- 
tunate end, yet I desisted not from my studdys and searchings into 
the truth and knowledge of things : for I and my companion 
y ester night try'd again what we could do, but nothing would 
appear, quamtns omnia sacra rite peracta fuerunt ; iterum ii" 
erumque adjurammus. 

Last week I got two or three vol. of the Turkish Spy.^ As soon 
as I had read a little I suspected it to be a cheat, and the further 
I read I discovered it the more. There are English proverbs in it, 
as — let him laugh that winsy vol. 2, etc. And it says in several 
places, — such a year according to the Christian Hegira — which 
is nonsence, and could never proceed out of the mouth of a 
Mahometan, etc. However, it is a book that sells exceedingly, 
and my bookseller says that the ingenious Doct. Midgley that has 
been licencer of the press several years is the author thereoff. 

1693 

Jan. 1. This year begins very ill for it is exceeding cold, the 
Parliament are fitt to fall out together by the ears. God prevent 
it I 

2. I dream'd yesternight that methought as I was walking I 

/ A well known person, and for some time licencer of the press. 

f Letters writ by a Turkish spy who lived five and forty years undiscovered 
at Paris, First edit. 8 vols. Svo., 1691. The work has gone through upwards 
of twenty-eight editions, the last of which was in 8 vols. 12rao., 1801. The 
work is usually attributed to Jean Paul Marana, a native of Genoa. It seems 
to be quite certain that the first thirty letters are his composition. — Oent* Mag. 
1840, pt. ii. p. 409 ; 1841 ; pt. i. p. 265, 270 ; Notes and Queries, 1st series^ toL i 
p. 834 ; 3rd. senes, vol. y», p. 260. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 27 

overtook my old friend Mr. Bohun, but he seemed to be melan- 
choly, and as we were walking, " Oh, Abraham ! " says he (cal- 
ling me by my name), I could never have imagined that my father 
would have taken my death so ill, or else 1 would never have 
done the act." And so me-thought we parted. I observed also 
in my dream how he had the exact gate that he used in his life- 
time, flinging out an elbow as he walked, and shaking his head 
when he spake. 

This year, I being soph, I began to look more about me than 
before, and to take better notice of things, as having got more 
knowledge and experience than I had before. 

I went lately to take a view of the new library of Trinity 
College in this University, and it is indeed a most magnificent 
piece of work within, and it is very well built without. 'Tis raised 
from the foundations wholy of Portland stone, and has cost finish- 
ing thusfarr above three thousand pounds. 'Tis. ..yards long, ... 

broad, and high. It is bore up by three rows of pillars 

each foot about. The starecase up into the library is ex- 
cellently carved, and the steps are all of them of marble, which 
staircase alone cost above fifteen hundred pounds. 

Jan. 8. This day I received a very kind tho' a very severe letter 
from the famous Mr. Edm[und] Bohun, the father to him whose 
unhappy death I have already related. He persuaded me exceed- 
ingly to desist from all magical studdys, and lays a company of 
most black sins to my charge, which (he sayd) I committed by 
darring to search in such forbidden things. 

Jul. 9. Beading this day in Father Kircher's* ^d. Mg.y 
how that the ancient Egyptians us'd commonly to have four or 
five or six children, it brought into my mind several relations of 
such great births, and, to speak tho truth, it is not half so strange 
to have so many at a birth in England as it is beyond sea.. 
About eight years ago the milner wife of the Leavels had four at a 
birth, two of which lived till they were thirty years old. Eich.. 
More, now living at Hatfield in Yorkshire, his wife had three at a 
birth, about fifteen years ago,' and going to the parson to get 

* The iBdipns ^gyptiacns of this celebrated scholar, a work in four yolomes, 
folio, published at Rome, 1652-4. 

* This appears to have occurred earlier than the diarist names. In the 
parish register of Hatfield, No. III., I find in 1659-60 there were baptized 
**■ Richard, Susanna, and Anne, children of Kichard Moore, jun., and of Anne hia 
wife, ye 6t d. of Jan.** and the same three were buried on the 10th of the same 
month. In 1718-19, Feb. 10th, at the same place " Elihue, Guliel., Carolus,. 
BUnna, and Ricardus fili8e[8ic] Guliel. Waller,*' were baptized. And on the 18th, 
Dec^ 1720, *< Robertus, Abrahamus, et Isaacos filii Gulielmi Fox»'^ 



28 THE DIARY OF 

them christened, he told him — that — that — that — he had got a 
few children to christen, at which the minister laugh'd ; but they 
were all of them christened; but how long they lived I know not. 
J. Tompson's wife, about nine years ago, had three ; and, about a 
year before I came to Cambridge, there was another woman in the 
sayd town that had four too:ether. All this in but a little time 
and within our little parish where I was bom. 

I have oft enough heard of women in the country round about 
that has likewise had sometimes two and sometimes more at a 
birth, but they being out of our parish I shall not relate them. 

I have likewise very oft heard of women who by superfoetation 
have had three, four, and some five, and some six or seven children 
in a year. There is now living at Bramwith, by our town of Hat- 
field, two sisters who were both bom together, and the same 
year their mother was again of three more, which all dy'd. 

This year there was admitted of our college one Needham,-' a 
freshman of about twelve years old, a meer child, but had indeed 
been so well brought up that he understood very perfectly the 
Latin, Greek, and Hebrew tongues. But this is nothing in com- 
parison to one of our present fellows called Mr. Wotten,* who 

J Peter Needham, the well-known scholar, co. Chester, son of the 
Rev. Sam. Needham of Stockport, educated at a private school at Bra nam , 
Norfolk, under Mr. Needham, was admitted sizar for Dr. Bury, 18th Apr., 1693, 
set. 12, under Mr. Orchard. On his death (I suppose at least that he is meant, 
and not Wm. Needham,) See iltesaurus Epistolicus Sacronim i. 137 ; see also 
Index to vol. ii. He was elected foundation fellow 11th April, 1698, admitted 
12th April in Wigley's room. On 19th Mar., 1715-6, Jo. Peake was elected (ad- 
mitted 20th Mar.) in Needham's room. B.A., 1696-7 ; M.A., 1700 ; B.D., 1707 ; 
D.D., by royal mandate, 1717 ; was rect. of Stan wick, Northants, when he sub- 
scribed to Knight's Life of Colet., rect. of Conington. Subscriber to Spencer De 
Legibus Hebr., 1727. Vicar of Madingley in 1711 (Madingley Register,) 
Blomefield'g Norfolk^ iii., 459. J. A. Fabricius sent him a collation of Hierocles, 
which was lost on the road, afterwards published by Wolf (Fabricii Vita^ 54, 66). 
His collections for an ed. of -^schylus {Fahrieii Vita, p. 335; MSS. Nn., i, 16, and 
Nn. ii., 32, in Cambridge University Library, described in the Catalogue of 
Adversaria, preserved in the library of the University of Cambr., Cambr., 1864,^ 
pp. 6, 11 seq). Monk's Life of Bentley^ 8w., ed ii. i., 226 seq, Bentley's CorreS' 
pond. pp. 1^77, 672, 534, 8 1 2. 

In Baker's MS. xlii. 265, is a Latin epitaph by Sam Drake, D.D., on P. N. 
ridiculing']his*corpulence. Ob. Ash-Wednesday, 1730. Baker copied it from "a 
half sheet of paper, privately printed 8vo. " ; and says " These are libels upon 
two men of worth, both of *em my friends ; I conceal their names.'* (The 
other was Ric. Rawlinson.) — Watt's Biblioth. Brit. ii. 697 ; Catal. Brit, Mus. ; 
Da/rling'i%Cyolop. p. 2166 ; MS. Lansd. 989, 13 ; BlomefieWs Norf. (8vo.) ii. 
267 ; vi. 145 ; Nichols' lAt. Anecd., iv. 271. 

* Wm. Wotton, son of Rev. Henry Wotton, was admitted, pensioner, 20th June 
1682, under Mr. Verdon. " We y© fellows of St Katherine's Hall in Cambridge, 
the master being absent, doe certefye yt William Wotton, who commenced Bat- 
chelor of Arts in January 1679-80, hath behaved himself e soberly and studiously 
daring his residenc amongst us, and hath free liberty to admitte himself pf any other 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 29 

when he came up to be admitted was but eleven years old/ and 
understood (as I have heard from all the colledge and multitudes 
of hands besides), not only the aforesaid languages, but also the 
French, Spanish, Italian, Assirian, Chaldean, and Arabian 
tongues. When the master admitted him, he strove to pose him 
in many books but could not. He is yet alive, and I have 
seen him frequently, he being a most excellent preacher, but a 
drunken whoring soiil. It is him that has lately translated Du 
Pin's new Ecclesiastic Bibliotheke into English. 

July 28. It is a true and excellent saying of the learned 
^neas Sylvius — De regimine civitaturrij de mutatione regrwrum^ de 
orbis imperio, minimum est quod Iwmines possunt (hinc vero de re^ 
ligionis constitutione multo minus) mxigna Tnagnus disponit Deus. 
This saying pleased me mightly, and it is really owing to a good 
consideration of it that I was satisfyd with the present govern- 
ment, etc. 

The prophet Daniel likewise has a most excellent saying, which 
yielded me a great deal of satisfaction, ch. ii., v. 20, 21, 22, — 
^^ Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever ; for wisdom and 
might are His : and He changeth the times and the seasons : He 
removeth kings and setteth up kings : He giveth wisdom unto the 
wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding : He re* 
vealeth the deep and secret things : He knoweth what is in the 
darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him." 

Many more were the places of Scripture which I collected and 
compared, and blessed be God, for He at length opened my eyes. 
Blessed be His Holy Name for ever and ever. 

college. In testimony whereof wee have hereunto subscribed our names, June 
20, 1682.--Cath. Hall. Nicholas Gouge, Jo. Warren, W. Miller." B.A. (St. Cath.) 
1679-80 ; M.A. (St. John's) 1683 ; B.D., 1691. Darling's Cyclopcedia, col. 2622, 
St. John's Coll, Library, pp. 9, 26, and 33. Subscriber to Spencer de Leg. 
Feb., 1727. Evelyn and many others attest his extraordinary proficiency. 
Admitted Beresford fellow, 8th Apr., 1685, in Turner's room. Rob. Grove was 
elected in Wootton's (sic) place, 26th Mar., 1694 (admitted 27th Mar.) His 
correspondent Dr. Thos. Dent (Birch's Life of Boyle, 298) ; Wotton intended to 
write Boyle's Life (Ibid. 396-9). In the preface to the reprint of Stanley's poems 
he is said to have written an eulogium on Stanley, published at the endjof 
ScubvoUb Sammarthani Elogia Gallorum. Letter to him from Tancred Robinson. 
Bodl., Catal. iii., 291 J. Bentley's Correspondence (ed. Wordsworth, index and 
p. 719). Index to Tanner MS S. Wm. Wotton, M. A., of St. John's has verses in 
Academise Cantabrig. Ajffectus, 1684-5. sign. Q 3ft. — See Nichols' Lit, Aneed,, 
iv., 253-259 ; Dr, Gower's Testimony to his Precocity ib., 258. 

' Aubrey says that Dr. Kettle, President of Trin. Coll., Oxon., came to be 
scholar there at eleven years of age. Also, that Sir John Suckling went to the 
University of Cambridge at eleven years of age, where he studied for three or 
four years, as he had heard. 



30 THE DIARY OF 

Sept. 3. This day I was with a geniileman that was watemg 
man to Coll. Kirk, him that saved Londonderry from being 
taken by King James. He was with his master likewise all the 
while that he commanded at Tangiers, while the great fort there 
was in the English hands. Amongst a great deal of other talk 
that we had, he said that his master, that is Coll. Kirk, was 
closseted by King James, and that the king, after, he had told him 
a great many things, spoke plain unto him, and told him he 
would have him change his religion. Upon which the coll. began 
to smile, and answered him thus — " Oh, your majesty has spoke 
too late, your majesty knows that I was concern'd at Tangier, 
and being oftentimes with the Emperor of Morocco about the late 
king's affairs, he oft desired the same thing of me, and I pass'd 
my word to him that if ever I changd my religion I would turn 
Mahometan," etc. 

Oct. 29. This month came out a book at London, entitled 
the Oracles of Reason, written by Sir Charles Blount, which was 
sent to Cambridge and elsewhere by whole parcels, for those that 
sent them durst not be known ; and because they were aitheistical, 
the Vice- Chancellor sent the bedel to demand them all from the 
booksellers, and caused them to be burnt. The author a while 
after shot himself, because that a woman refused to have him, 
but the bullet did not mortally wound him, as he deserved."* 

* Charles Blount was not an atheist but his opinions were very far from 
orthodox. He seems to have been an idealist of the school of Lord Herbert of 
Cherbury. He was the brother of Sir Thomas Pope Blount, son of Sir Henry 
Blount, a Hertfordshire gentleman, known as an author by his " Voyage into th6 
Levant." Charles Blount was bom in 1654, educated in his father's house. In 
1679 he published a book called " Anima Mundi, an Historical Narration of the 
opinions of the Ancients concerning Man's Soul after this Life according to 
Unenlightened Nature." In this work he was supposed to have received the 
assistance of bis father. The book created great excitement and was con- 
demned by the Bishop of London. In 1680 appeared the most celebrated of his 
works, " The Two First Books of Philostratus, concerning the Life of Apollonius 
Tyaneus," written originally in Greek, and now published in English. This book 
was suppressed immediately on its. appearance, and is now very rare. There 
is a copy of it in the library of the British Museum, and also one in the 
library of Lincoln College, O^ord, but the Bodleian does not possess one. It 
was supposed, at the time of its appearance, to contain notes drawn from the 
manuscripts of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, After this appeared " Great is Diana 
of the Ephesians, Beligio Laici." *' Janua Scientianim." " A Just Vindication of 
Learning," a treatise advocating freedom of the press, and a pamphlet maintain- 
ing the claims of William and Mary to the crown of England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, on the ground of the right of conquest. This book was burned by 
order of the House of Commons. He also wrote a pamphlet defending mar- 
riage with a deceased wife's sister. His last work published trfter his death 
was " The Oracles of Beason.'* Charles Blount had a personal object in writing 



GRAHAM DE LA PHTliE. 31 

Nov. the 3rd. This day I beheld a strange experiment, which 
I cannot think upon without admiration. Being in company 
and talking of Mr. Boyl book of the strange effects of 
languid motion, and some storys that he mentions therein, 
one amongst us, a musitioner, told us that he would shew 
us as strange a thing as any of those there mentioned. So 
the company breaking up, the before say'd fellow led us to that 
exceedingly strong quadrangular portico of Kaius Colledge, that 
looks towards the publick schools. And when we was got there 
he began to sing the note of a dubble c/o, solj re^ which he had no 
sooner sounded but that the whole portico manifestly and visibly 
trembled, as if there had been a kind of earthquake, and I 
observed that the air round about (for I stood about half a dozen 
yards of of the sayd portico), was put into such a tremulous motion 
that I could perceive several hairs of my head to tremble and 
shake. This is a property that has been observed to be in thi» 
portico this hundred years together. 

Dec. 19, 1693. Yesternight we had good sport! There came 
a great singer of Israel into the college. He was a little, well- 
shap'd, good-like man, in handsome deaths. He had a long 
beard and a sheephard crook in one hand, a Psalm-book in meeter 
111 the other, and wherever he went he kept singing. I as[ked] 
him where he came from, he say'd out of the land of sin and 
desolation. I asked him then where he was going : to the Holy 
Land of Canan (says he) and the new Jerusalem that's just now 
descending out of Heaven. And then he began to sing again. 
Several such like answers about many things I had, that I urg'd to 
him. The lads got him into the kitchin, and there they were as 
joyfull of him as if he was a mountebank, and they made him sing 
all their supper time, and then they gave him his. And after that 
they carried him in tryumph, as it was, into the hall, and set 
him on his feet on the high round table there, and made him sing 
to them for an hower together, and then what became of him I 
do not know. 

his tract on marriage with the sister of a former wife. He was anxious to form 
a contract of this nature with the sister of his own deceased wife. The Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, and other theologians, having declared against it, the 
lady refused to marry him, and the unfortunate author died by his own hand 
in consequence — shooting himself with a pistol at a house in the Strand. He 
•orviyed three days after this sad act of madness. His death occurred in 
August, 1693. See Sir Alexander Croke's Genealogical Eist. of the House of 
Slaunt, vol. ii., pp. 821, 331 ; Biograph, Universelle^ and Biograph, Britt,, aub. 



32 THE DIARY OP 

Awhile ago another sort of an enthusiast, viz., a Quaker, ran 
up and down the streets of this town, crying out, " Repent, re- 
pent, the day of judgment is att hand, and you must all be tryed 
for your abominations," etc. 

1694. 

January. This month it was that we sat for our degree of 
batchelors of arts. We sat three days in the colledge and were 
examined by two fellows thereof in retorick, logicks, ethicks, 
physicks, and astronomy ; then we were sent to the publick schools, 
there to be examined again three more days by anyone that 
would. Then when the day came of our being cap'd by the Vice- 
Chancellor, wee were all call'd up in our soph's gowns and our 
new square caps and lamb-skin hoods on. There we were pre- 
sented, four by four, by our father to the Vice-Chancellor, saying 
out a sort of formal presentation speech to him. Then we had 
the oaths of the dutys we are to observe in the university read to 
us, as also that relating to the Articles of the Church of England, 
and another of allegiance, which we all swore to. Then we every 
one register'd our own names in the university book, and after 
that, one by one, we kneel'd down before the Vice-Chancellour's 
knees, and he took hold of both of our hands with his, saying to 
this effect, " Admitto te,^' &c. " I admitt you to be batchellour 
of arts, upon condition that you answer to your questions ; rise 
and give God thanks." Upon that as he has done with them one 
by one they rise up, and, going to a long table hard by, kneel 
down there and says some short prayer or other as they please. 

About six days after this (which is the end of that day's work, 
we being now almost batchellors) we go all of us to the schools, 
there to answer to our questions, which our father always tells us 
what we shall answer before we come there, for fear of his 
puting us to a stand, so that he must be either necessitated to 
stop us of our degrees, or else punish us a good round summ of 
monny. But we all of us answer'd without any hesitation ; we 
were just thirty-three of us, and then having made us an excel- 
lent speech, he (I mean our father) walk'd home before us in 
triumph, so that now wee are become compleat battchellors, 
praised be God ! 

I observed that all these papers of statutes was thus imperfect 
at the bottom, which makes me believe that they were very much 
infected with Jacobiteism. 

At this time Prince Lewis of Baden was highly caress'd in 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 33 

our court by the king and all the nobility. He liad twenty 
dishes a meal allowed him, and the king, to honnour him the 
more, delegated a great number of his gentlemen pentioners to 
wait upon him. He was a man, they say, that could not drink 
for all he was a Dutchman, yet he loved Christmas games, and 
I have heard that he lost 1000/. Stirling to the Earl of Mulgrave. 
There was bear's baitings, bulls' sport, and cock fighting insti- 
tuted for his diversion and recreation. But above all he admired 
cock fighting, saying that had he not seen it he never could have 
thought that there could have been so much vallor and mag- 
nanimity in any bird under heaven. He liked England very 
well, and once say'd, amongst some lords, that it was as happy 
and glorious a country as any in Europe, but easily might be 
the best of any in the world, if the inhabitants thereof would but 
understand and make use of the happiness thereoff. What he 
catne about is as yet kept secret however. He sent an express to 
the Emperor that he had succeeded in his negociation. He being 
ready now for his departure, the king has presented him with 
twelve of the finest horses that was ever seen, and the queen has 
bestowed upon him several household vessels of gold. Since I 
writt the former, our letters tells us further that the king has 
made him another gift of 1000 five pound pieces. A noble pre- 
sent ! 

February. Being on the 3d instant in company we began to 
talk of the great strength of some men, both of ancient and 
modem times. There was some gentlem[en] by that instanced 
in a great many Engl[ish] of late years that we[re] prodigys of 
strength. There is one Kighly now alive, a gentleman akin to the 
the Earl of . . . . who would kill the best horse or ox 
ith' world with a stroke of his bare fist. He is of so prodigious 
a strength that he would easily with one hand break the iron 
bar of a window in piece, or shatter an oak stick in pieces by 
shaking of it. He would take two men from of a table upon 
the palm of his hand and carry them twenty yards together. I 
heard of several more that could take new horse-shoes betwixt 
their hands and easily straight them, etc. Several in our com- 
pany had heard of most of these things before from very good 
witnesses, and they confirm'd the same. 

Many believes it to be certainly true that K. Charles the 2d 
dy'd a papist, and I have heard several gentlemen say that, as 
soon as ever he was perceived to be sick, the papists would not 
let any of the reformed come to him, but only papists. Others 

D 



34 THE DIARY OF 

believe charitably that he dy'd a protestant, and that this stoiy of 
his dying a papist was only an invention to delude the country, 
and it is manifest that the papists beyond see even doubted whether 
it was true or no, as appears from a passage in Voyages of the 
Jesuites to Siam, written by father Tascard. However, let him 
dy as he would, how it was is unknown to us, and only known to 
God ; yet we all know how he lived, giving himself up to nothing 
but debauchery, caring not what end went foremost if he but 
enjoy'd his misses. But I will not say any more, these things 
are better buried in oblivion than committed to memory. 

Febr. 14. This day I received twelve little retorts and three 
receivers from London, to try and invent experiments, and all the 
things that I shall do I intend to put them down in a proper book, 
and in imitation of the most learned Democritus, to give them 
the title of xetpSKfxnra^ as he did his, which being interpreted im- 
plys Experiments of my own Personal Trying, 

The retorts cost me 4d. a piece at London, and the receivers 
6d., and I pay'd for their carriage from thence hither 1 s. 6d. 

March. The 29th instant I began my journey from Cambridge 
(having now got my degrees) into the country. From Cambridge 
we went to Huntington, and then leaving the high road on our right 
we went to Haverburough, commonly called Harburg, which is a 
very fine, stately, magnificent market town, having a great many 
good houses and tradesmen in the same. From thence wee went 
[to] Leicester, which is but a large open town standing in a 
valley, off* no strength at all, nor indeed can it be of any, it is so 
badly situated ; neither is there a castle nor anything of defence 
that I could see, except a pittifull old foursquare fort, which is 
tum'd into a prison. There is a good many very handsome 
buildings in the town, and about five or six churches. From 
thence we went (through a great many little towns of no note) to 
Darby, which is a town mighty well situated, and adorned 
with many good and stately buildings, and is reckoned a rich 
town, tho' it is but built upon an indifferent soil. There is but some 
two or three churches in it at most. The spring and well waters 
tasts mighty strong of the limestone. Here are a great many 
rarities to see in and near this place, but having no time I could 
[not] go to see them. From thence, as I went along, I chanced 
to observe a leaden pump, and as I rid through Andsley" by my 

• Annesley. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 35 

Lord Chaworth's park, I saw sheep therein with four horns 
apiece. There are also therein a great many wild beasts, etc. 
From thence I came to Mansfield, which is a very handsome well 
built town ; and from thence by mistake to Bedford, which is like- 
wise well built, and of great trade. It has two churches in it, etc. 
From thence in a few hours I came to Bautry, and then through 
Hatfield, and so to the Levils, where, blessed be God I I found our 
whole family in indifferent good health. 

In my whole journey from Cambridge hither I observed 
several ruins in the little towns that I went through of ancient 
religious houses. 

Having rested myself a day or two, I went about some business 
to Doncaster. When Doncaster was builded is uncertain, however 
it sufficiently appears to be a town of considerable antiquity. 
Some think that it was built by the Eomans, because it has a 
Lattine name, being derived from the word Don or Dun^ which is 
the name of the river that runs through it, and castrum^ a castle 
or fort, which they built there : others say that it was built by 
the Dains, and called Doncaster, quasi Daincaster, a Danorum 

castris." About the year it was burnt down by 

lightning, and in Cromwell's days there was two or three valiant 
acts committed there by the royalists of Pomfract, etc. However, 
this is and always has been a town of good note, trade, and build- 
ings. It has had a strong castle in it, the ruins of which is 
visible in the walls of some houses. There has likewise been two 
churches, and a chappel which [has] now falln quite to ruin, except 
onely the great church which is dedicated to St. George. There 
is the reliques also of a religious house, in part of the ruins of 
which I have seen the entrance into a private subterranian pas- 
sage, which runs under the river in foil length, two or three miles 
to another ancient monastry. 

April. The 5th of this month I went to pay my respects to 
that ingenious gentleman Mr. Com[elius] Lee.'' After much kind 
reception he carry 'd me up into the chamb[er] to see hisunkleCapt. 

• See Hunter's South Yorkshire^ vol. i., p. 1. 

P De la Pryme appears to be in error in calling Capt. B. Sandys uncle to 
Mr. Cornelias Lee, It was the reverse. See ped. of Lee, Hunter's South 
Yorkshire, I., 177. Cornelius Lee's sister, Elizabeth, however, married 
Thomas, afterwards Sir Thomas Sandys, and not Edwin Sandys, as there 
stated. They were married at Hatfield 12th May, 1641. Robert Lee, father 
of Cornelius, in his will, 5th April, 1659, names his son-in-law. Sir Thos. Sandys, 
to whom he bequeaths Is. in satisfaction of his wife's portion, which portion 
he had had with ample addition — names Edwin, Thomas, and Henry, sons 



36 



THE DIARY OF 



Edwin Sandys's armoury, which indeed was very well worth 



of said Sir Thomas S. To Katherine S., dau. of Sir Thomas S., 30Z., when 21. 
Residue to Thomas Lee, his eldest son, and he exor. 
The pedigree should stand thus : — 

Robert Lee, of Hatfield, Esq. Will d.^Frances, bur. at Hat- 
6 Ap., 1659, p. at York, 8 Aug., 1668. | field, 6th Sep., 1655. 



Thomas Cornelius Lee,of Hat- Eliza- tSIt 



Lee, eld. field, bap. 1 May,l629, beth, 

son, bap bur. 20 June, 1701, mar. 

atH.,23 will d. 29 Oct., 1699, at Hat 

Sep.1624 pro. 6th Feb., 1701-2. field, 

di^ in A comet of horse in 12th 

June, the king's army in May, 

1699. the civil wars. 1641. 



Tho- 
mas 
San- 
dys, 
Ent. 



Susan = John 

bap. 19 Walker, 

Septem., of Mans* 

1626, m. field, 

at H. 23 Notts, 

October, gent. 
1654. 



T I I \ \ [ 

Thomas Edwin Sandys Thomas Sandys Henry Sandys, of Elizabeth, Eath« 

bap. 4th, Captain in the bap. at H. 9th the par. of St. Mar- bap. 7th erine, 

bur. 9th Earl of Oxfords Nov. 1646, of tin's in the Fields, Feb. 1648- bap. 7 

Decem., Reg., bur. at Tempsford, co. London, a capt. 9. bur. 7 Feb. 

1642, at Hatfield, 19th Bedford, clerk, •'ChiUarchus," liv- January, 1648- 

H. Oct., 1702. s.p. Uving 1704. ing 1704. 1662-3. 9. 

Sir Thomas Sandys above named is described in the Hatfield register, at the 
baptism of his son Thomas, 1646, as Knight and Baronet (Mil. et Bar.), but 
that must be a mistake, for when he died, admon. of the goods etc " Dni 
Thomae Sandys nuper de Hatfield militis defuncti" ( York Act book) was granted 
to Edwin Sandys, Esq., his son, who, had his father been also a baronet, would 
then have succeeded to the same title. 

Captain Sandys's, baptism does not occur at Hatfield, that I can discover. 
Nor have I succeeded in ascertaining the dates of his commissions. The Earl 
of Oxford's Regt. of Horse Guards, or " Oxford's Blues," is now the Royal Regt. 
of Horse Guards Blue. Probably Sandys entered as captain, as men of position 
used in those days to do. From the Historical Records of the British Army, 
by R. Cannon, Esq., of the A. G. Office, it appears that Tangier being in 1680 
threatened by the Moors, a considerable force was embarked to place that 
fortress in a state of defence. A troop of the Royal Regt. of H. G. under Capt. 
Sandys was ordered to form part of the expedition, but was afterwards counter- 
manded. In 1685 Capt. Sandys's troop was at the battle of Sedgemoor. In a 
list of officers of the Royal Regt. of Horse, 1687, Harl. MSS., No. 7018, the fol- 
lowing appear as his troop — Capt., Edwin Sandys ; Lieut,, Charles Turner ; 
Cornet, Samuel Oldfield. Capt. Sandys is mentioned in the terriers of Hatfield 
as the donor of a clock, or " watch," to the church there. — An Edwin Sandys, 
a royalist captain in the regiment commanded by Thomas Colepeper, was, in 
1663, a suppliant for the royal bounty. — Idst of Officers Claiming to the Sixty 
Thousand Pounds Granted by His Majesty for the Belief of his Truly Loyal and 
Indigent Party, 4to, 1663, p. 29. 

Cornelius Lee was a collector of antiquities, &c., Thoresby, who was on a 
visit at Capt. Hatfeild's, at Hatfield, 2d Sept., 1694, says he " made also a visit 
to Cornet Lee's who shewed me his collection of rarities, pictures, and 
armoury," {Diary I., 263.) On the 18th Jany., 1695, he mentions that he. went 
" to visit my cousin, Mr. Cornelius Lee, and view his collection of curiosities, 
when he presented me with his grand-father's pickadilly," (a ruff,) {Diary I., 
289.) Dr. Johnston states in his MSS, that he saw in the possession of Corn- 
elius Lee a large wooden cup which was found in the ruins of the castle at 
Thome, which had this verse carved about it in old characters : — 

Weel wer hym yat wist 
In whoam he mought trist. 
It afterwards came into the possession of Lord Irwin. Will 29th Oct., 1699. 
Cornelius Lee of Hatfield, gent. All my houses and lands in Hatfield, or dlse- 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. S? 

seeing, and amongst other things I beheld a whole suit of cloathes, 
coat, britches, stockings, shoes, gloves, and cap, all made of 
badger skins withe hair on, which was outward, and told me this 
story of the same. The Capt, when he was in the last Irish 
wars, was one of those that was sent into Limerick to agree with 
them about articles of surrender. When he knew that he was 
appointed to be one of them, he put on all this apparel, and went 
amongst the rest into the town ; but all those that saw the Capt. 
were so frighted that they did not know what to do ; all their 
eyes were upon him, and none had any mind to come near him. 
But one ask'd him who he was. " Zounds, man " (says he) " I am 
a Laplander, and there be aleim [i.e., eleven] thousands of us in dis 
countnr, and if yee will not agr^ to surrender soon, by the 
eternal God ! we will cut you all as small as meat for pyes. Wee 
be all clothed in de skins of beasts, and a piece of an Irish child's 
flesh is as good as venison," etc. And so he hector'd them ith' 
town, and told several of them the same tale, which frighted 
the vulgar exceedingly. But, however, the town surrendered in 
a few days. 

At this town they were put to such want of meat for their 
horses that they, having eaten every thing that was eatable, were 
forc'd at last for to send the forragers out to cut down bows of trees, 
and bring them to feed on, and lived of them thus for fifteen or 
twenty days. This 1 had from the cap [tain's] own mouth. 

April. The 9th instant I was at the house of Peter Lelew,^ who 

where within that manor, to John Hatfield, Esq., and Wm. Eratt, cleric, in trust 
(subject to a legacy of £60 to my niece Catherine Sandys, — an annuity of 24a. 
to sd. Cath. and dole to the poor of Hatfield and Kirk Bramwith) to the 
only proper use and behoof of my dear nephew, Captn. Edwin Sandys, and 
his heirs for ever. All my tythes, lands and ten, in Campsall, Norton and 
Sutton to my two nephews, Thos. and Henry Sandys, and to their heirs for ever. 
To my niece Lee Barker, £50. Sd. John Hatfield and Wm. Eratt, exors. They 
renounced 24th Jan., 1701-2, and admon. was granted, 6th Feb., 1701-2, to Capt. 
Edwin Sandys, nephew of sd. deed. This will is not registered. 

« The name of Lelew does not occur in the "Lyste of the seueral owners 
of the Dyckage of Haitfielt Chace," Anno Domini 1635, in the before-quoted 
MS. in Mr. Peacock's possession. It is, however, one of those given by Hunter, 
in his list made from the register of the chapel of Sandtoft (see S. F., i. 169-70), 
and it is of frequent occurence in the parish register of Hatfield. Pieter le 
Leu in 1681, along with others, on behalf of themselves and the rest of the ten- 
ants of the newly drained lands, represented to the Court of Sewers their want 
of a minister, in consequence of which many of the lands were at that time 
unoccupied. (See S. F., i. p. 170). On 23 April, 1752, Susanna, dau. of Isaac 
and Mary le Leu, married Mr. Thomas Dunderdale, of the Levels, whose great 
grandson, Mr. James Dunderdale, of Manchester, now living, is the owner of a 
large French Bible formerly belonging to the Le Leu family, as noticed at page 
4, ante. 



38 THE DIARY OF 

because he had been exceeding sick last summer I asked him con- 
cerning his distemper, and by what methods he was cured. He 
say'd he was taken almost of a sudden, as he was at an adjacent 
town, with an exceeding faintness, and by degrees a weakness in 
all his limbs, so that he cbuld scarce go, attended with a pain in 
his syde, which increased day by day. He lay thus sick, pained, 
and weak, several weeks, nobody thinking he would ever recover; 
but at last he did by this medicine (when all others were found 
inefficatious). He was order'd to take the jeuice of new stoned 
horse dung mingled with strong beer. No sooner had he taken 
a draught of this down but that it made all the blood in his 
veins boil, and put all his humours into such a general fermen- 
tation that he seemed to be in a boyleing kettle, etc. And this 
it was that cured him. He coveted strong beer mightily, but 
when he was recovered he could not love his horse for half a year 
after. 

It is very credibly and certainly reported that the King of 
France sayd to King James after some few complements when 
they first met, " Come, come, King James, sit down here at my 
right hand, I'll make your enemys your footstool ! " etc. But 
this he sayd after that he was a little pacify'd. But at first of 
all when he heard that the king was driven out of his dominions 
he was in an exceeding great rage, and, drawing his sword, he 
swore by the blood of Christ that he would never put it up till 
he had re-established King James on his throne ; and the queen 
swore that she would never put off her smock till she either see 
or heard that that was done. 

April 30. There came hither a while ago newse that the 
famous butcher of Leeds is going to run a great race on the 10th 
of the next month for five hundred pound. This man is the 
miracle of the age for running. His name is Edm. Preston,'' 
and yet follows his trade, for all he has thousands of pounds 
by his heels. His common race is ten or twelve miles, which he 
will easily run in less than an hower. 

There was a great runner, a Cheshire man by birth, who was 
the king's footman, who, hearing of this man's fame, sent a chal- 
lenge to him. They both met about Leeds. The Cheshire gentle- 
men took their countryman's side, and the Yorkshiremen took 

•' Thoresby alludes to this man, whom he calls " the Leeds butcher, 
Edward Preston, who was esteemed one, at least, of the best footmen in Eng- 
land. /;3000 were said to be won by him in one day, in 1683." — Diary L, p. 
1C9. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTMS. 39 

their countryman's side, and 'tis thought that there were five or 
six thousand spectators upon the spot. Both sides were sure, as 
they thought, to win, so that many of them layd all they had — 
houses and lands, sheep and oxen, and anything that would sell. 
But when they ran, the butcher outran him half in half, and 
broke almost the poor fellow's heart, who lived not long after. 
But there was such work amongst the wagerers that they were 
almost all fitt to go together by the ears. Many people lost all 
they had. Many whole familys were ruin'd. And people that 
came a great many miles, that had staked their horses and lost, 
were forced to go home afoot. This happen'd in the last year of 
King James. After which he was sent up for to London, by 
some lord, whose name I have forgott, who kept him there under 
the name of a miliar, and disfigured him so that no one could 
know him. After that he had kept him a great while, he made 
a match with another man, a famous runner, telling him his 
miller should run with him. But, in short, the miller bet and 
won for his master many thousands of pounds. 

There are such strange storys told of this man that they are 
almost incredible ; and I believe that Alexander's footman, that 
was so famous, was never comparable unto him for swiftness. I 
long to hear what he will win at this raise, for there is no fear 
but he will beat. There is gone four or five hundred people from 
hereabouts to see him run. 

May 19. Yesterday I received two letters from Cambridge, 
giving an account of all the newse, and whatever was most me- 
morable. In one of them I received a long account of a house 
that was pretended to be hanted, to this effect : — 

About a month ago it began to be rumor'd abroad that Volantine 
Austin's house' over againstourcoll[ege] began to [be] haunted, and 
strange noises were as it were heard up and down about the 
house, and thus it stood for the most part of the week, but were 
more and more buz'd up and down the town. The second week the 
noises began to be greater, and pebbles and little stones began 
to be thrown here and there through a hole under the door. 
Thus the sport continued most of that week The room, 
which was haunted, was a low ceeled room with a celler under it, 
having a bed in the room in which the Mr. and Mrs. lay every 
night. They pretended to be mighty fearfuU, and gave any one 
liberty to go where he would and search about the house. But 
the third week now coming on, on Monday night, about 2 a clock 

' This man is by trade a painter, but a poor man. Marghuil Note h}f 
Diarigt, 



40 THE DIARY OF 

at night it made a great hollow noise and gingl'd monney, and 
broke the windows by flinging little stones at them, and raised a 
stink of brimstone, and frighted several old poor women that 
watched, so that they run away into the street, and came there no 
more. But next morning all the town almost believed it, and at 
night there was above three score people flocking about the door 
to hear this spirit, among whom there was S^* Hall,' S'* Harrop," S^- 
Millard," and several other scholars of our coll[ege] of my accquain- 
tance. " Come, sais one of them, " fetch us a good pitcher of ale, 
and tobacco and pipes, and wee'l sit up and see this spirit." 
" With all our hearts," say'd three or four more ; so they sent for 
the ale, and, as they went in, the people exclaimed against them 
sadly, crying "Oh, you wicked wretches, will you have the divel 
to fetch you?" etc. Then, as soon as they got in, the man and 
woman being in bed ith' room, they exclaimed against them 
again, but they cared not, but sat singing and drinking there till 
morning, but neither heard nor saw anything. But the night 
after, which was Wednesday night, Mr. Walker, minister of the 
Round Church, and some more with him, hearing of all that had 
pass'd, went to pray in the house, and, as they were praying, they 
heard a great bellowing voice, and in at the window out of the 
fold was flung a great pot of paint with such force that it broke 
all the glass window in pieces, and had like to have hitten Mr. 
Walker on the head. All which time there was at least a hundred 
people before the dore, but when they heard such a noise, away 
they all ran as if the divel was in them, and as soon as they had 
ended their prayers away went they, also sadly frighted, and 
fully satisfy'd that it was the divel ! Now the whole town was in 
an uproar, and nothing but the divel was in every one's mouth. 
Nay, Mr. Walker had no more witt but to make a long sermon 
the next Sunday to his people in the Round Church about it, and 
to tell them the whole story of the same. 

Thursday night, Friday night, and Saturday night nothing 
was heard, tho' there was a great many earnestly expecting the 

* Clifford Hall, of St. John's, son of the Rev. John Hall, bom at Fording- 
bridge, Hants, educated -at Eton, under Rodrick, admitted pensioner, 28th Aug., 
1688, aet. 18, under Mr. Browne. He has verses in Lacrymcd Cantabrig. 1694-5. 
Sign. P2.; wasB.A., 1692-3 ; M.A., 1696. 

« Obadiah Harrop, of St. John's, B.A., 1693-4, M.A., 1697. Abdias (so it is 
in the Latin) Harrope, son of the Rev. J as. Harrope, bom at Lanjesley, Durham, 
educated at Usworth, under Mr. Stannick, admitted pensioner 3Qth May, 1690, 
aet. 18, under Mr. Orchard. 

" John Millerd, of St. John's, B.A., 1693-4, John Millard (so writes 
son of Henry Millard, Esq., bom at London ; educated at St. Paul's under 
Gale ; admitted sizar for Mr. Armstrong, 1st May, 1690, »}t. 17, under Mr 
ard. 



himaelfl 
nder Dr^^^ 
T. Orch- ^ 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 41 

same. But, Sunday night there being but few watchers, viz., 
four old women, it made a great noise and gingled money, and 
flung 6s. into the room, which lay there all the following day, and 
nobody durst take or meddle with it. 

It teing nois'd about that the disturber was come again, Mr. 
Kenyon,"" fellow of our coll[ege] and Mr. Hope,' and Mr. Hedlam,^ 
two of our fellows more, with young Sir Fran. Leicester,' made an 
agreement amongst themselves to go thither exactly when the 
disturber was playing his pranks, and to shoot off their pistols 
towards any place where the noise was heard. So having on 
Monday night by one of their spys had information that the dis- 
turber was heard, they all went, and rushing together into the 
room talked high and chairged their pistols before the people's 
faces that were there, and protested they would discharge them 
towards the place where any noise was heard, saying that it was 
a shame that a rogue and a villane should make such a noise in a 
town and disturb the whole neighbourhood with his knavish tricks, 
etc. 



* Edward Kenyon, son of Edward Kenyon, rectoi of Prestwich, Lane, 
deceased. At Stockport School, under Mr. Needham : entered pensioner 6th May, 
1681, set. 16, under Mr. Verdon. Admitted Gregson fellow, 8th Apr., 1685. His 
place was filled by Roger Kay, 19th Mar., 1688-9. B.A., 1684 ; M.A., 1688. 

Roger Kenyon, son of Edward Kenyon, rector of Prestwich, Lane, deceased. 
At Stockport School, under Mr. Needham ; admitted pensioner 10th Apr. 1682, 
under Mr. Verdon, set. 15. Admitted licentiate of the Coll. of Physicians, 22d 
Dec, 1703. A nonjuror, died at St. Germains. Helped the publication of Chas. 
Leslie's Works. Admitted Ashton fellow, 15th Mar., 1686-7, in room of Ashton. 
on 28th Febr., 1694-5. Roger Kenyon was elected to a medical fellowship in 
Dr. Stillingfleet's room. Theobald was elected in Kenyon's place 10th June, 
1696, but gave way again to Kenyon, 19th Apr., 1697. On 16th Mar., 1713-4. 
Hen. Rishton was elected (admitted 16th Mar.) into Kenyon's vacant room. 
B.A., 1685-6. Roger Kenyon " an able and orthodox divine," minister of Ac- 
crington, 1660 {WTtitaker's Whalley, 123, 395) must have been of the family. 

' John Hope, son of the Rev. Mark Hope, bom at Keddlaston, Derby ; 
at Derby School, under Mr. Ogden ; admitted pensioner 24th Apr., 1682, set. past 

16, under Mr. Coke. Admitted Plat fellow, 19th Mar., 1688-9, in Churchman's 
room. On 7th April, 1707, Wm. Wigmore was elected (adm. 9 Apr., 1707) in 
Hope's room. B.A., 1685-6. 

y Richard Headlam, son of the late John Headlam, Esq., bom at Kexby, York. 
Educated at Pocklington School, under Mr. Elletson. Admitted pensioner 26th 
May, 1682, under Mr. Billers. Admitted fellow of St. John's, 6th Apr., 1688, in 
the room of Dr. Watson. On the 11th of April, 1698, Rob. Read, co. York, was 
elected into Headlam's room (admitted 12th Apr., 1698). On the 31 st Mar., 
1707, Jo. Perkins was elected (adm. 1st. Ap., 1707), into Headlam's room. B.A., 
1685-6 ; M.A., 1696. 

* Sir Francis Leicester, Bart., son of Sir Rob. L., Bart., born at Tabley, 
Chester, educated at Eton, was admitted fellow commoner, 6th Apr., 1692, aet. 

17, under Mr. Orchard. He took no degree. He was M.P. for Newton, co. 
Lane ; mar. Frances d. and h. of Joshua Wilson, Esq., of Colton., co. York, and 
widow of Bryan Thomhill, Esq., by whom he had one d. He died 5th Aug.. 
1742, when the baronetcy became extinct. 



42 THE DIARY OF 

But the divelish disturber having att this thought it best to be 
packing, and never to come there more, so accordingly they 
frighted him so that never any more disturbance was heard there, 
and so ended the whole scene of imposture, for every one but 
old wive -5 and other such like half-witted people never reckoned 
it to be anything else. 

On Monday night likewise there being a great number of 
people at the door, there chanced to come by Mr. Newton," fellow 
of Trinity College : a very learned man, and perceiving our 
fellows to have gone in, and seeing several scholars about the 
door, " Oh ! yee fools," says he, " will you never have any witt, 
know yee not that all such things are meer cheats and impos- 
tures? Fy, fy! go home, for shame," and so he left them, 
scorning to go in. 

It is a strange and wonderful thing to consider into what 
enthusiastic whimseys almost all the nation fell in Cromwel's days, 
but especially all those that were enemys to the king, for God 
surely blinded them in their own ways, and confounded them in 
their own paths. Yet these men were the onely saints of the 
times, every one that was not of their party were accounted sin- 
ners and reprobates, and those fine times were then the days of 
the reforming of the church, and the rooting out of vice. But 
where was there more vitious times than them ? where was there 
more wickedness ever done under the colour of reforming than 
they did? For they turn'd not onlly the whole land but all 
religion upside down, and never was a nation surely sinc« 
the world begun so infatuated as they were then. The 
justices of peace marryed people then, and the ceremony in many 
places was no more than thus — when they came before the 
justice, he would say thus, — "What is your name?" to the 
man, then, " What is your name?" to the woman. When they 
had told him, then he sayd, " Have you a mind to be marry'd 
together ? " " Yes." " Well, then take you this man to your 
husband, and take you this woman to your wife, — of all which I 
myself am witness," said he, and so the marriage was ended. 
They never heeded in what place they were married, but would 
have mett these justices a hunting, or courseing, or at the ale 
house or taverns, or anywhere, and they would immediately 
have marry'd them. Then, when a child was born, and was 
brought to be christened, it was thus : — The father himself brings 
his child to the church, to the reading-desk, where having a 
bason of water ready, the priest asks the father whether that be 

« Afterwards Sir Isaac Newton. — See atUe p. 23, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 43 

his son or no ? then, " What will you have him called ?" and 
then nameing the name, he baptized them with the usual words, 
In the name of the Father, etc. But they had such names for 
their children in them days that posterity will never believe, such 
as these, — Praise God^ Love Christy Child of God, Faithful, 
Increas, Chearfull, Blessed be God, Praise, Victory, Fear God, 
Conquer thy Enemy s, and Cromwel had a commander call'd 
Praise God Barebones if you live, and his surname was Ironsides. 
And I knew two, one call'd Love the Lord all your life Wilson^ 
and the other Deliverance Smyth, etc.* 

I having oft heard that King James closeted several, nay even 
most, of the great men that were Protestants, and that were in 
office in his times, I never understood the business so thoroughly 
before as till this day that I chanced to be in company with a 
great man's son whose father was done so by. And this bringa 
into my head that I have oft heard that ingenious young man, 
Mr. Bohun (Mr. Edm[und] Bohun's son), who is now dead, tell 
how that his father, who was a justice of peace, was sent for by 
the king, and examined about several things very privately in 
his closset, and at last he told him that if he expected his favour 
he must be very kind to the Papists, and likewise be one of his 
communion. To which he answered immediately that he could 
not possibly be so. To which the king replyed in a great fury, 
" Well, look what follows," and the very next day he was turned 
out of his office, etc., etc., etc. 

I have heard of a great many more that gave the king such 
like answers, and they likewise were turned out of whatever office 
they had. Others turn'd themselves out for fear of the worst. 

Cap [tain] Edwin Sandys,*^ a very ingenious man, a good 
scholar, and one that has been almost in all engagements whether 
beyond sea or At home for this twenty years, being of the Earl of 
Oxford's regiment, the king took occasion one day to send for 
him, and having brought him into his closet he begun to talk 

* In the parish register of Wadworth, co. York, occurs the marriage of 
Samuel Cockaine with Jesset Banishment Deliverance Saunderson, 22 Jan, 1694-5^ 
The Rev. Samuel Bower, Rector of Sprotborough, 1632-1634, had a daughter 
named Deliverance, wife of William Beaumont of Doncaster, Alderman, 
whose widow she was in 1703. 

Mr. G. Steinman Steinman communicated to Hotes and Queries (4th S. III.^ 
p. 215), the fact that in the church register of St. Andrew, Holborn, it is re- 
corded that there was buried 6th Jany., 1679-80, 

" Praise God Barebone, at ye ground near ye Artillery." 

' The diarist has first written Esq,, And afterwards altered it to Kt. without 
explanation. E. S. is described in the register of his burial, 19th Oct., 1702, aa 
** Capt. Edwin Sands" only. Probably allusion was intended to be made to 
Sir Thomas Sandys, 



44 ' THE DIARY OF 

about this and that, and at last told him what he would do for 
him, and how great a commander he should be if he would but 
be a Catholik. To whom the Cap [tain] replied (in a bigg hoarse 
voyce, as he always spoke), " I understand your Majesty well 
enough. I fear God, and I honour the king, as I ought, but 
I am not a man that is given to change," which unexpected 
answer so stopped the king's mouth that he had not a word to say. 

Within a few days after, the Cap [tain] went to the Earl of 
Oxford, and would needs have given his commission up and gone 
into Holland, . etc., but the Earl would not accept of it, but 
whispered him in the ear, saying, " These things will not last 
long," meaning these actions of the king. And, just about a 
quarter of a year after, the revolution happened. 

Yet for all this, when it was happening, yet this good Cap- 
[tain] got into Windsor Castle, and kept it for the king, untill he 
run out of the land, etc. 

This relation of him I had from an intimate friend and rela- 
tion of his, and once I heard the Capt[ain] own it. But he is so 
modest a man that he never tells any of his actions but to his 
intimate friends in private. 

Not being well pleased with the country, tho' I was mighty 
much made on there, and had every thing that I could desire, I 
however begun my journey for Cambridge again on the 1st of 
July, 1694. The first day I ridd by Newark (which is a very 
handsome town, well situated, and of great trade ; there are the 
reliques of a mighty large and strong old castle, built after the 
old manner like forts, which castle held out mightily in Crom- 
well's time for the king, to Grantam, which place is famous for a 
delicate high steeple. Having lodged there that night, the next 
day by noon I got to Stamford, which is a pleasant town, very 
large and well peopled. It has some six or seven churches in 
it, etc. From thence I came to Huntington, and from thence to 
my long wish'd for place of Cambridge. 

But I had like to have forgot, as wee were coming upon the 
road, wee saw Belvior Castle, a castle indeed, strongly seated 
upon a steep mountain, and in very good repair. 'Tis the seat of 
the Earl of Rutland,'' whose estate is near twenty-three thousand 
per annum. He keeps constantly seaven score servants in pay, 
and is a man mightily beloved round about in the country. At 
the foot of this castle on the one side is as fine gardens as can 
possibly bee seen, and on the other is my lord's bakehouses, brew- 

^ John, tenth Earl of Rutland, created 29th March, 1703, Marquess of 
Granby, and Duke of Rutland, died 11th January, 1711. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 45 

houses, stables, and other such Hke out dwellings. All their pro- 
visions the[y] get up with a mighty deal of trouble, the hill is so 
steep, and there is no riding up it no sort of way, unless people 
have a mind to break their necks, but as it were by winding 
stairs. 

The next day I got to Cambridge, and was very well pleased 
to find all my friends and acquaintance in health. I blessed God 
for my being got out of the country, for when I was there they 
wearyed me almost of my life by [saying] that all learning was 
foolish further than that that would make the pot boyl. So little 
praise and thanks had I for studdying so much at Cambridge, 
etc. 

4th.* This morning I enquired of several about the truth of 
Vol. Austin's house being hanted, and I found it confirmed on 
every hand, and that it was all just so as I had it written to me 
some months aojo from Cambridge. But none that I can meet 
with, except old foolish women, believes that it was any thing 
else than a meer cheat and imposture. 

5th. Memorandum. I have heard Capt[ain] Sandys, a learned 
ingenious man, protest that he himself has seen Will[iam] Pen 
the great Quaker's name up in King James's days amongst the 
name of the Jesuit converts at Doway. I heard likewise from 
one who had been several times at Pen's house that he lives like 
a king, and had always plenty of all sorts of wine in his house, 
and good victuals, and that commonly, when he had any 
strangers, their meat was all served up in silver plates. I have 
heard likewise several times how he came to turn Quaker, from 
several good hands, which was this. He being brought up in 
Oxford was a fellow commoner there, and after that he had been 
there a great while desired something of them, which they would 
not grant Upon which he swore he would make them all re- 
pent it. Upon which, in a great huflF, he left the college, and, 
going down into the country, joyn'd himself to the seism of the 
Presbiterians ; but they having cross'd him in one of his projects, 
he turns to the Quakers, and immediately they made him 
their head; and he could rule them, foolish enthusiasts, as he 
pleased, and so he has continued amongst them unto this day. 
He carried many hundreds of family s with him into Pensilvania, 
which he so called from himself, and gave them land there. 
But, alas ! they were in a few years most of them either pined 
to dead, or else knock'd oth' head by the wild Indians. 

' Month not givdn. 



46 THE DIARY OF 

Pen bought a great many of their estates of them, and then 
sent them over. He changed so many hundreds of akers there 
with the like number of akers here, and then sent the silly 
deluded people over to possess it. He did abundance of such 
tricks in K[nig] Ch[arles] the Second's days. 

On the instant there passed the seals at London a grant 

to a gentleman to make and use post coaches, which he undertakes 
shall carry several persons a hundred miles in twenty hours. 

[^Here sex'eral pages seem to he wanting y and tlie diarist next 
appears to he referring to PeterhorougK]. 

My observations on the famous minster, or religious house, 
that was formerly thereby. 

The Mi[n]ster is a most stupendous piece of work, built after 
a most wonderfull, majestick, manner, it being almost inconciev- 
able what a prodigious deal of pains, cost, and labour has been spent 
in the raising and perfecting of the same. When I went in it, I 
found how much it had suffer'd in the late damnaWe wars, for 
here it was that they kept their horses, and defaced all the curious 
monuments therein. They pull'd some thousands of pounds of 
brass from the grave-stones and monuments ; and wherever there 
was a curious statue they puU'd it in pieces. But yet there re- 
mains several old tombstones with Saxon letters upon. They 
defac'd likewise [the] tomb of Quern Catharin wife to Har[ry" 
8, who lys on the left side of the chappel in the minster, anc, 
likewise that of Mary the Queen of Scots, who lay on the right. 
There lay likewise two bishops of York, hard by the altar, who 
dyd above 690 years ago, but their curious monuments were like- 
wise destroyed. The altar was one of the finest in the whole 
world, most of black and white marble, exalted by curious pena- 
cles, carveing, and stately figures, almost to half the hight of the 
chappel, but this likewise was utterly destroy'd in Cromwell's 
days. Harry the 8th, whose covetious fury deserves condemna- 
tion by every one, intended to pull all this stately minster to the 
ground, but that one desired him not to do such a think for the 
love of his dear queen that lay buried therein, which he heark'ned 
to, and so it was saved. But, alas I the most stately and magni- 
ficent monastry that in a manner encompas'd the whole minster, 
felt the heavy hand of covetious Harry, and was all pull'd down 
and defaced, onely the walls, most curiously carved, yet stands to 
shew what they formerly were, dwelling houses now being made 
out of them, and a most stately chappel or two that were in the 
said monastry, bigger than many churches, is converted into 
dwelling rooms. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 47 

'Tis not loner aojo that the sexton, beinof dicrcriiior to make a 
grave in the minster yard, found the body of one of the old 
monks, not consumed by time, buried, as it was the custome in 
their days, in all his best habiliments, with a sort of croiser staff 
in one hand and a book in the other quite rotten. He had like- 
wise boots and spurrs on, not in the least cankered. 

While I was here a gentleman told me that, as he was lately 
coming over Lincoln heath, suddainly the [re] arises just before 
him, with a great cry, a buzzard, which flew straight up a great 
height into the sky, and then came tumbling down again. He, 
being surrpris'd at this, immediately rid to the dead bird, and 
found that it had got in its claw a great weesel, which had fixt 
its teeth in the breast of the buzzard and suck'd it's blood. 

Here was formerly about this town or rather citty of Peterbur : 
four or five miter'd abotts here, another at Thorny, another at 
Ramsey, and others in other places. They were esteem'd as lords 
and sat in the house of pears in time of Parliament. 

Old Rich[ard] Baxter is dead, the great and famous preacher 
up of reformation and puritanism. To give the divel his due, as 
the proverb is, this Baxter was a man (as far as my accounts can 
reach, as well oral as printed), of great virtue, piety, and holiness 
of life, but exceeding passionate, and so fond of his own oppinions 
and affections that he could not abide to hear them contradicted. 
He writt much against the Church of England, but, tho' he was 
sufficiently and excellently answered by several, yet he would 
never vouchsafe to peruse the sayd answers, but had the im- 
pudence, in several of his books, to boast that his books were never 
answered, that his enemys could not confute him, and such like. 
But the older he grew he was the more peevish, and became mighty 
enthusiastical, conceited, and dogmatical in his opinions. 

As for his learning it was onely superficial, as is manifest from 
several of his books, from which it appears that he was very little 
versed in the writeings of the Fathers, and had little knowledge 
in antient Church history. About seven years ago I read one book 
of his, and I remember very well that he says therein, that from 
his birth 'till the time of his writeing that book he had but com- 
mitted about five or six sins, and one of them was that he had 
whetted a knife on the sabl ath day, etc. 

He was the great upholder of his sect of the Presbyterians, 
and gave that sect such roote that it is to be feared it will never 
be eradicated. 

His arguments in almost all his books that I have seen and 
read (which are above half-a-score^, are very weak, and has more 



48 THE DIARY OF 

of passion in them than sollid reason. Yet he strives to run all 
down before him, and calls them demonstrable, unanswerable, 
impregnable, and such like ; and has the impudence to affirm 
things for truth that are notoriously known to be false, as, 
amongst the rest, where he says,^ that the dissenters were, under 
K[ing] James' reign, the chief that fought against popery, and 
asks the question likewise, who had done or suffered more to keep 
out popery ? yet it is well enough known that there were above 
two hundred discourses published against popery in that reign, 
and there was but three of them writt by the dissenters. 

He was a man that was even blinded with passion and interest, 
so that he condemn'd things before that he understood them, and 
would not hear any one that should chance to contradict him ; so 
that as well in his history as divinity there are a great many 
errors and mistakes. 

All the publick affairs of state went on very well this year, and I 
observed that the common people were mighty well pleased thereat, 
so that there was not the least murmering either by bne or 
other. But thre years before, the nation was sufficiently full of 
discontents and grumblings, so that the last year but this the king, 
when he landed out of Holland was so coldly received that he was 
scarce so much as welcom'd when he arrived at London. But, 
alass ! as many a fair day ends in a foul shower, so this year, tho 
it begun and continued well, yet it ended the most to our sorrow 
that anyone ever did since the reign of Q[ueen] Eliz[abeth], and 
that by the death of our dear Queen Mary, which caused an 
universal sorrow in the whole nation, as well in the malecontents 
as others, for shoe was universaly well beloved of every one, and 
the most esteem'd of any that ever was since the death of Q[ueen] 
Eliz[abeth] ; and by her prudent management of all sorts of affairs 
got the love of every one, she being generaly observ'd to be a 
woman of very great witt, prudence, and cunning, yet of a free, 
liberal, and open behaviour, but never to her own hurt and dis- 
honour by blabing out of things that ought to be kept secret. 

She brought a fashon into England that was as rare here as it 
was excellent, that "was, that tho' shee had no need of working, 
yet she hated nothing more than idleness, so that wherever shee 
was going in her coach, or a foot, shee would either be knitting, 
or making of fringes. And when she had occasion to visit any 
one, she would always take her work with her, and work and 

/ In his " English Nonconformity under King Charles II. and King James 
II. truly stated, etc." London, 1689. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 49 

talk faster than any four or five people else. So that this sedulity 
and laboriousness of her's became a custome or rather fashion in 
London, and every lady followed the same, and wrought at their 
fringes, networks, and knittings, as they ridd in their coaches 
aloncr. 

They have a characteristic saying here of the K[ing], Q[ueen], 
and her brothfers] and sist[ers], and that is, that — 

King William thinks all, 
Queen Mary talks all, 
Prince George drinks all, 
And Princess Ann eats all. 

But this excellent Queen Mary of our's dy'd of the small-pox, a 
disease that has been fatal to several of the family, and her death 
so affected the king that he layd it most to heart that ever was 
seen, and fell into two swounds when he was taking his last leave 
of her. Her funeral obsequies is appointed to be in March ; and 
it is certainly thought that there will be the greatest mourning 
for her that ever was for a king or queen in Europe. Black cloth, 
that was but ten shillings a yard one day, got to be twenty 
the next, and well were those that could get it so. I hear 
that, up and down the country everywhere, all that can afford it 
do intend to be in mourning ; but they say that they do not mourn 
for the Queen of England but for the Princess of Orange. 

This month came about for a sight a little Scotchman, the 
least man that ever was heard on, for he was but two foot and 
seven inches in height. He was thirty- two years old, and had 
a son with him that was twice as bigg as himself He taught 
school in Scotland many years, and was a harsh and severe 
master. And having spent all he had there in good ale, he 
suffered himself to be carryd about for a show, so that he might 
but enjoy that good creature, night and day, which he constantly 
did in such abundance that he was very seldome sober. Telling 
this to a gentleman that was lately come from London, in re- 
quiteal for my relation — he told me another, which he would have 
counted well worthy of his time if he had gone thither on purpose 
to see him, and it was this. He saw a young, tall, slender man 
there, about twenty-five years of age, that did with his voyce 
imitate any sort of musical instruments, and play several tunes 
therewith so lively and so exactly that there was but few that 
could perceive the difference. He imitated the fiddle, the trumpet, 
the flute, the organs, the virginals, etc., with his voyce, and 
played them several tunes. Then this gentleman ask'd him if he 
could ring the bells, and he did it the most exactly that could be, 
E 



50 THE DURY OF 

raising them by degrees, then ringing a good round peal there- 
with, then setting of them all one immediately after another, and 
then ringing another; and then letting them settle one after 
another, etc. 

Feb. 9, [169]4-5 This day viz., the 29th inst. [sic.] being in 
company with Mr. Cornelius Lee,^ who was a great royalist and 
cornet of horse in the time of the late troubles, in our discourses 
about Cromwel, he gave me an account of several things that I 
had not heard or red on concerning him. 

He says that he himself and three more bound themselves in an 
oath that they would be Cromwel's death one way or other, and 
that for that end they posted incognito to London ; and after that 
they had been there a consid[erable] while, one of them inveigled 
himself in with CromwePs cook, and on a time cunningly cast a 
slow but most certain poison upon some dishes of meat that was 
going to his table, and convey'd himself away. And within a 
fourtnight he fell sick, and of that sickness he dy'd. This he does 
most constantly aver, and realy believes that he was poisn'd. 

This Mr. Lee was at Lon[don] when the king return'd, and 
hearing that Cromwel and Ireton and Bradshaw were going such 
a day to be pul'd out of their graves and hang'd at Tyburn, he 
went with a great many more to see the tragedy. Now it 
happened that there was a plank layd over a little goit or water- 
course, over which they should go. When Mr. Lee had just got 
over there was an old woman that asked him where he was going. 
" Groing, good woman," sayd he, " I am going to see Cromwel 
executed." " I, I," says shee, " many of you gos now to see 
him being dead that durst not look in his face when he was alive." 
" Very true," says he to her again as they walk'd along, " and 
if I could get the same way back I came, I would go no further, 
but the multitude of people coming will hinder me." So he 
walked on, (as he told me before several gentlemen), and when 
the[y] came there they found them all hung up but Cromwel, 
and getting as near as he could be, just came in time to see 
Crom[wel] open'd by the hangsm[an] who had no sooner cut 
the sear cloaths open, but he catches hold of a great plate 
whereon was written all Crom[wers] titles, and what he was, 
and when he dy'd. " This is it," say'd the hangsman, " that I 
look for, I have now got it." He thought it had been gold, and 
that made him so joyfull, but, to his sorrow, he found it to be 
only iron dubble guilt. 

f See ante p. 35. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 51 

The same gentleman told me several relations and storys of 
Hugh Peeters, which tho' they were very memorable, yet, be- 
cause the[y] relate to such a rogue, they are not worthy of 
setting down. 

Yet, perhaps I may spoil paper with one or two. As this 
Peters was one [day] walking in St. James's Park, in the times 
of our late destractions, there enters Cromwel likewise to take the 
air also ; but neither the one nor the other had walked very long 
before that it began to rain very hard, and Cromwel got under the 
shade, atid bidd them cany his cloak to Hu[gh] Peters to cover 
him from being wet. But he refused it, and told the bearer that 
he begg'd his highnesses pardon, and would not be in his cloak 
for a thousand pounds. 

A gentleman met him once in the street and whisperd him 
ith' ear, saying, " Peters, thou art a great knave." But he 
answ[ered] him again saying, " S*^' your fool, or else you would 
have been what I am." That gentleman had been a great 
sufferer in the royal cause. As he was preaching once in a 
church, and telling his auditors a company of delicate fine storys, 
as he usually did, he perceived a gentleman to be shrinking 
away out of the church: " Hark you, you gentleman," says he, 
"I have something to say to you, come hither, Pll tell you a 
story. There was a cock, and a frog, and an ass went once 
a traveling, and it came to pass that at length they came to a 
great river. " Well," say they one to another, " how shall we get 
over here ? " "As for me," says the frogg, I'll swimm it," " and 
I," sayd the cock, " I'll fly it over." " But the poor ass," says he, 
^^ not being willing to wet his feet wandered away be river side, 
and was at length taken and beat with many stripes. Verily 
(says he), thou art an ass or I am much mistaken, else thou 
woulds't not have left thy company hearing good and profitable 
things, and turn'd back to give heed to a simple story ; and if 
thou haddest thy right thou shouldest be scourged with many 
stripes, for, as our King Jesus says, thou deservedst it." 

This Peeters was hanged amongst the regicides, and there 
are many that dos believe that it was realy him in disguise that 
cut the said king's head off. And I heard a gentleman say that 
he had a very great hand in those unhappy times ; that there 
was one that, coming by chance into this Peeter's lodgings, 
found in one of the windows, writ with a diamond ring this 
verse, 

The greatest head ith' world since Caesar's 
Was lately crop't by Doct[or] Peters. 



52 THE DIARY OF 

for SO he used to stile himself. Which inscription, when he saw 
the gentleman take notice off, he up with his kain and broke the 
pain in pieces. 

This fellow, I mean Peters, was the greatest buffoon in all 
London, and the church he commonly preached in was usually as 
full as ever it could hold : for he made the people more sport than 
any play could do. And they would laugh as loud as if they 
were at some publick bull or bear bateing. 

The same gentleman and me talking about Selby church 
steeple that fell down about six or seven years ago,* [by] means 
of the river's undermining it, he told me that in Cromwell's days 
there was the finest painted window there that was thought to be 
in all Europe. He himself saw it several times, and heard from 
very good hands that formerly, before the troubles began, they 
had twelve thousand pound offerd for it by some popish lords, to 
send it to Rome, but they would not take. Yet in the aforesayd 
holy times Crom [well's] sold[iers] broke it all in pieces. 

March. This 2d inst. I was in company with one Thom[as] 
Oldham,* a Quaker. That which made it observable to me was 
because that he was the first learned one that ever I heard on or 
saw. He understood Latt[in], Greek, and Hebrew, but especialy 
the two former languages very well. His father was carried before 
the judges once for some misdemeanour that the light within had 
promp'd him to, and because that he would not put of his hat, one 
that stood by pui'd it off and flung it down, at which he took such 
offence that he would never put on a hat after as long as he 
lived, but went to the markets and follow'd the plow, and did all 
his business ever after barehead. 

* This tower f eH down on Sunday March 30th, IQdO.—MorrelVs Selby, p. 204. 

» Aldam. Amongst the freeholders of the manor of Warms worth, near 
Doncaster, the principal have been of the family of Aldam, who are reputed to 
have been located here since before the conquest. Their names are said to be 
among witnesses of deeds in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The 
Thomas Aldam, referred to by the diarist, was the grandfather of Mrs. Catherine 
Aldam, a maiden lady, on whose death, in 1807, the family became extinct at 
this place. He and his father, another Thomas, were among the first persons 
who were induced to adopt the peculiarities of George Fox and his associates. 
The father was one of the two Friends who attended the delivery of Fox's 
memorable declaration to the messengers of Oliver Cromwell. Iq Fox's jour- 
nal we have an account of the interruption of one of the religious assemblies 
at Warmsworth ; and it appears that one or both of the Aldams were for a 
time imprisoned in the Castle of York. {Hunter's S. K, i., ]29). The property 
passed, by devise, to a family called Pease, which assumed the name of Aldam, and 
the present representative is William Aldam, esq., of Frickley and Warmsworth, 
who was elected M.P. for Leeds in 1841, and is justly regarded as an active, 
experienced, and useful magistrate for the West Riding of Yorkshire. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMK. 53 

The Quakers now are nothing like what they were formerly. 
They are the most reformed that ever was seen. They now were 
fine eloathes, and learns all sorts of sempstry and behavour, as 
others do that are not of their opinions. And within this quarter 
of this year they have begun all over this country to put off their 
hats whenever they name the name of Jesus Christ. 

They do not now quake, and howl, and foam with their 
mouths, as they did formerly, but modestly and devoutly behave 
themselves in their devotions, making commonly long prayers, 
and then a sermon, and then a prayer after it, but this is the evil of 
them that [they] are full of tautology and vain repetitions, 
which the Apostle Paul has condemned in the service of the 
heathen. 

When any one has a mind to marry, he did formerly take the 
woman that he would have into his house, and calling in six or 
seven of his friends and neighbours, would say thus unto them, 
taking the woman by the hand — " Witness, ifriends and brethren, 
that I take this woman to me to be my wife." And so there was 
no more to do. 

When a child was bom unto any of them, the father would 
call some neighbours together, and then would say thus — " Bear 
witness, neighbours, that I call this child of mine Thomas, Mary," 
etc. , but they never christened them with any water, or any thing 
else. 

But now, times being altered, none is wed amongst them be- 
fore that they have been ask'd two years together in their meet- 
ing, etc. 

Every year four or five and sometimes more of them, within 
the precincts of this little lordship, come over to our church, and 
tho' they be men and women they are baptized in full congrega- 
tion. 

And likewise of the Presbiterians a great many round about 
come over to the church. God grant, for the love of his dear Son 
Jesus Christ, that they may all shortly and speedily do the same. 
Amen. 

5th. This day I heard of a workman at Sheffield that is much 
cryd up for his skill and ingenuity; one exper[iment] of which 
was, that he could and had smooth'd two pieces of steel so exceed- 
ing smooth and plain that they stick so fast, the one upon the 
other, that a man could scarce sever them with all his strength. 
This is common in marble. 

I was likewise in the church seeing the stone cutter make a 



54 THE DIARY OF 

monum[ent] — which should have the names of the benefactors 
thereon to the church, the school, and the poor. Amongst other 
talk he told me that marble was a sort of stone the easiest to be 
stain'd of any, and that it is no choice art to do the same, even 
through the whole stone, if it was a yard thick ; but he could give 
no reasons for the same. He says also that there is the best alabas- 
ter that ever was seen, gotten a little way beyond Nottingham. 
He says the[y] frequently wett the same, or raither, to use his 
term, the[y] boyl it in iron pottolis till all the humidity be 
evaperated, and then it becomes a most pure white powder, which 
when they have a mind to use (for molding or such like uses) 
they mix water therewith, and then it makes an image or any 
thing, harder by half than it would do otherwise. 

1695. 

11. God, I give the humble thanks for inabling me 
to make and finish now this day a book of some sixty or 
seventy sheets, which I have entitled Curiosa de se/ or. The 
Curious Missellanys and Private Thoughts of one Inquisitive 
into the Knowledge of Nature and Things, be gratious unto me^ 
enable me to finish the others that I am about making, for thy 
dear Son's sake. Amen. 

Ap. 3. Mrs. Dewey, of this town, dy'd about twelve years ago 
of the small pox.* The thing that is observable about the same 
is that, as soon as ever she went into a house where the small pox 
was, she felt as it was a vehement damp, and was almost choak'd 
therewith, tho' not one in the room felt or perciev'd it but her- 
self. But this proved her death, for shee came home and dyd of 
them. 

My mother^ being once gon to Thorn, went to see the children 

S Hunter observes that " this manuscript is supposed to be lost. Antiquaries 
are, of all classes of naen, least prone to destroy the litera scripta. But perhaps 
his maturer judgment might urge him to commit this to the flames." (5. F., i.^ 
180). Mr. Peacock, in his preface to De la Prjrme^s History of Winterton^ 
{Archceologia XL.), considers that Mr, Hunter's latter suggestion was made 
" perhaps without suflScient authority." 

* Will of Rebecca Dewie, of Hatfield, spinster, dated 13 December, 1678. 
— to my kinsman Gregory Betney, £10 ; to Mrs, Lee (Leah ?) Walker, 20s. ; to 
Mr. Cle worth, 20s. ; to Mr. Simon Simpson, to preach my funeral sermon, 20s. ; 
to the poor of Hatfield and Woodhouse, £5 ; residue to Cornelius Lee, gen 
He sole exor. Proved at York, 1^ April, 1683, by Cornelius Lee. — Met/. Test, 
60,fol. 18. 

" Mrs. Rebeccah Dewy buryed in linnen contrary to y« Act of Parliam* " BO 
March, lQ82'3,-'IfatJield RegUter. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 55 

of Christian Middlebrook, who were sick, tho' she did not know 
of what disease. Yet as soon as ever shee open'd the curtains, 
^^ Oh I" says she, " these children are sick of the measels, I feel 
so by the strong smell or damp," and shee came home and fell 
sick of them in a day or two. 

Some ascribe this dampish smell onely to fancy, because every 
one does not perceive it. But I believe that every body's corps 
are not equaly subject to these diseases, however, not at a time or 
together, therefore believes that those bodys that are fully ripe 
and apt to receive the morbific matter, imbibes the same, and 
that then they smell and perceive things that others may not do, 
by reason of their bodys not being so open as the others that 
are subject to infection. 

20. I was with Mr. Com[elius] Lee yesternight, and amongst 
other things he assured me on his own and a great many more 
people's words, that foxes, so many years old they are, so many 
livers they have, and that he himself saw one opened that had 
eight, and so they all judg'd him to be eight years old. I 
ask'd Mr. Lucas about it this day, and he says it is true. But 
that which I most boggl'd at is this. They sayd that, for a 
certain, the whelps of a shee fox never breed so long as the dam 
liveth, tho' they be never so old, and this is the reason, sayd 
they, that there are more sheep than foxes. 

24. Talking with Mr. Horatio Cay,' he says that the ancient 
Romans when the[y] conquer'd this country, as they travell'd 
through this part of Yorkshire, they seeing a part of the country 
for a huge way round about boggy and full of quagmires, they 
gave it the name of Balneum^ which now is called Bawn. 

Yesterday, which was the last of this month, I preached at 
Bramwith,*" about two miles hence ; it was the first sermon that 

' Horace Kaye, vicar of Barnby-Don, son of William Kaye, by Eliuabeth, 
daughter of Horace Eure, sister and coheir of George Lord Eure, married 16 
May, 1673, Frances, widow of Francis Gregory, esq., of Barnby-Don. — JSutUer's 
S. ¥., i., 211. 

"• Kirk-Bramwith. At a ford over the Don are two villages, one on each 
side, both called Bramwith, of which that on the south was included in the 
Warren fee and the chace of Hatfield. At the Bramwith on the north side the 
stream a church was erected, to which was assigned, as the parish, the vill of 
Bramwith. Hunter, (^S. F., ii., 477) in speaking of the church of St. Mary here, does 
not say anything respecting the "ten or twelve Knight Templars or monks" 
there lying in the days of the diarist. He remarks that " no family of any 
consequence having ever being settled within the precincts of this parish, we 
have no monuments, 0£ other memorials, except of former rectors or their 
curates." 



56 THE DIARY OF 

ovor I preacird. I observed in that little ctiircli that ther lyese 
about ton or twelve Knight Templers, or monks, who it seems 
bad ^roat huids and livein^s in these parts. That which is now 
tbo parsonagt^ waH in old tmie some castle, and moated about. 

Arurii 8." For this fortnight last past there has been a 
fortinio-tollor in thivS town, which, as soon as I heard on, I caused 
him to bo appivhondtnl and brought before the sa^es of the town, 
whoiv ho was oxamineil and searchM, but tho ne was a very 
han^Uonus gi>nt<vl, young man, every bit like a gentleman bom, 
yot bo wa.s (lio grtnitost fool that ever I cast my eyes [on]. We 
^>t all his lKK>ks and juij>ors, but what were they, think you ? 

a ci>u\j>anv of old mouldy almanacks, and several sheets of astro- 
loi^^ioal jH^luvms^ all drawn false and wrong, and Wingate's 
antluuotiok* Tlio fiJlow had scarce any sence in him, and 
in his disci>ursi^ ftwiuontlv betrav^d himself, and confest thiiii£s 
which the law would have taken hold on otherwise, Yett was 
novor a bin xindor any surpri<»e of mind« nor ever gave any oi» 
an ill wotxl^ but as all such vagrant rogoes commonly do, 
pra\-x\l l^\iinilv for the giW <»mj"iany*s health, biding God ta 
bloss tboin„ anS such like, 1 oxaanincii him almost an howex by 
m^^^lf* but ho know ni%thiug of any art or scienoe, nor did n&t 
understand tb^^t which be ]-«Pct<»aidod. He behaved himself so 
that every <%nc ^^ttyd him, aaid be sayd tiiaJ wheroever he caine 
ibe x^''om(>n >^'orc al^:J^^^ his besit fiicuds. He coniiesses al last 
tl^ai bo g^'^l^ thirty or forty pcAiud jvt annum thus, tho^ at first he 
s^yd this xK-as the first tm>e that ever he did so. He t-old about 
tiliy ivople in this ]^arish that tbex ^iould come to snddain deadi, 
>»*Mne l>e baYu>''d, seime be dro'WTQ d, aiid he trild several people 
the divel would t'et^-Ji them, ot}iers thw they should be liewit^dhed, 
«Y»d Yiamoil the -^Mtehes, ^hieh -w'ere poor good harmlt^as women- 
lu a word, he has done inerediliJe TuischifdiTi this ]iarish, and roVd 
the ]WTip]e of abex-e five poocmd. It ^ th^irr cuisrom t(> d«DT t«v«iy 
thirui' that s obj<v»rod a^raiTw^r rhoTiu tiio^ wime*«^es l»e la-ought 
a^^inst them. They Kkei^'ise alwa;v^ koq. ft ^lojvne countrnanoe, 
H*'»W»r litifv, ftud D prerendod ixiTioronce, when they come to he 
^Vftmined, t)\u\ thev tnfiv raithoT b<^ pirt} *d than punifihed. liho' 
indee<'l thi> teller 1 rake re have b<^\n a rtuil fooU tor he zmder- 
Mfood lie Ifftttiiv, nor ne »r( nor s^'ionwi. nor amid ttcarce spetQ 

*" TWr «]»^>s nrr wcm vi^x^ ro^wlarlN iiwartcuir. tiicllitfr^. wid cannot theie- 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 57 

words right, nor write but indifferently with his pen. He 
should have been whipp'd, but that the women of this town 
begg'd his pardon, and help him to contrive his escape. We 
hear since of his having broke a house and stolen several things 
at Barmby-upon-the-More, and of several of his mad pranks, etc. 
April 10. Ho, brave Russell!" what honour have you 
brought to the English nation by your thus rideing two years 
together emp[erorJ of not only the English, the French, the 
Spanish, but also of the Mediterranian sea itself. We hear that 
he will not let a ship of any nation pass the straits without his 
licence. As soon as he brought his navy hither all the king- 
doms and principalitys round about trembled. The great Duke 
of Tuscany, and the Duke of Mantua, that before would not 
winter the Germans, as soon as they heard of the English being 
passed the straits, they agreed with them about their winter 
quarters. The Pope, likewise being afraid , confirm'd the Bish [op] 
of Leige and Collen, tho' the French did what they could to 
prevent it. The French in Catalonia being flushed with victory 
as farr as they went, being just ready to besiege Barcelona, 
(which if they had done they had certainly taken it) as soon as 
they heard of the approach oi the English, they left their under- 
taking of, and never had any such thoughts again. The governors 
of Tangiers and the Algerines have sent long letters of comple- 
ments to him, and promises to furnish them with what they want, 
and to be true friends to them. Marseils and Thoulon trembled 
when they heard of their approach, and many of the inhabitants 
sent the best of their goods farr into the country. This has 
rebounded more to the honour of the English than anything that 
has happen'd these several ages. 

Edward Russell, second son of Edward, the fourth son of Francis, fourth 
Earl of Bedford, the principal undertaker of that great work known as the 
" Bedford Level." He was gentleman of the bedchamber to the Duke of York, 
but on the beheading of his cousin, William Lord Russell, he retired from 
court ; and after the accession of James 11. exerted himself to the utmost in 
promoting the revolution. Upon the advancement of the Prince of Orange to 
the throne he was made one of the privy council, and in 1690 was appointed 
admiral of the blue, advanced to the command of the navy, and appointed first 
lord of the admiralty. On the 19th May, 1692, he gave a signal defeat to the 
French fleet, commanded by Mons. de Tourville, at La Hogue" ; in 1695, he by his 
diligence, prevented the intended invasion of James II., who lay with a French 
army ready to embark near Dieppe. For these and other gallant services, he 
was, 7 May, 1697, created Baron Shingey, co. Cambridge, Viscount Barfleur, in 
the duchy of Normandy, and Earl of Orford, co. Norfolk. In May, 1701 he 
was impeached by the House of Commons, but was unanimously acquitted of the 
articles exhibited against him. His lordship died without issue 26 Nov., 1727, 
having married Lady Margaret Russell, youngest daughter of his father's 
brother William, first Duke of Bedford, 



58 THE DIARY OF 

Ap. 26. This being the visitation time, I went to Doncaster to 
see the ceremony thereof. Amongst many other observable 
things that DoctLor] Chetwood/ the archdeacon, took notice of 
in his charge to us, he sayd that he did not question but that we 
should deliver this age down to our posterity in a better condi- 
tion by half than we received it from our ancestors ; he meant in 
matters relating to the good unity and quiet of the Church of 
England. " For," sayd he, " whereever I go, I hear of dissen- 
ters coming in unto the blessed Church of England," etc. 

1695. 

June 11. About this time I was sent for into Lincolnshire, to 
Roxby, about a liveing. Having passed over the Trent at 
Althorp, or Authrop, in my going to the aforesayd town, I saw 
nothing observable but the barrenness of the country, and the 
sandy commons that I passed over ; which I no sooner saw, but 
it brought into my mind the sandy desarts of Egypt and Arabia, 
which I had a most clear idea of when I beheld these sandy 
planes. For here the sand is driven away with every wind, and 
when the wind is strong it is very troublesome to pass, because 
that the flying sand flys in one's face, and shoos, and pockkets, 
and such like, and drives into great drifts, like snow-drifts. 
This sandy plane is some miles in length, and about a quarter of 
a mile in bredth. In great winds it does great damage, for 
sometimes in a night's space it will cover all the hedges that it is 
near, and cover all the corn land adjacent, etc. I have observed 
huge. hedges quite sandy d up with it to the very top ; and a cloas 
of thistles that was one day almost a yard tall, the wind chang- 
ing, and I returning the same way the next day, I could but 
just discover the tops of them. This plane was formerly a much 
higher country than it is now, for here and there are left a few 
hills (now we may call them) three yards in height perpendicular, 
which blows away by degrees, but were formerly eaven with the 
rest of the blown away land, etc. 

June 15. I was this week at most of the towns in this comer of 

p Knightley Chetwood became Archdeacon of York in Jan., 1688-9. In 1707 
he was made Dean of Gloucester, and died in April, 1720. He was son of 
Valentine Chetwood, of Chetwood, esq., and was born in 1652. Educated at 
Eton, and King's College, Cambridge. He was a great friend of Dryden the 
poet, and had some literary repute. Thoresby records in his Diary (II., p. 261) 
21 September. 1714, that he had been visited by "Dr. Chetwood, Archdeacon 
and Dean of Gloucester," 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 59 

Lincolnshire. I observe that it is but a poor, barren country. 
Here is no land to be met with about Roxby and most of the rest 
of these towns that is above two, three, or four shill[ings] an aker. 
I was at Burton and expected to have found a fine large town there, 
but I was much mistaken, it being but little and ill built, and the 
worst market place that ever I saw,^ The Trent runs hard by it, 
and [I] heard several that was in company with me say that at 
low water it is fordable in several places, etc. 

25. Being Monday I went to Hull from Eoxby to Barton, 
and from thence over the water, which is about five miles, to 
Hull.'' We payd a groat for our passage, and a shilling for a 
horse. Hull is mightily improv'd since I saw it last ; but it is a 
mighty factious town, there being people of all sects in it. 

The 29. I agreed with Mr. Hammersley,* minister of Roxby^ 
to be his curate at Broughton in this shire. He ask'd me what 
I would have a year. I told him no more than others, viz. SOL 
per an. out of which I gave lOL sl year for my table. 

Broughton is as much as to say Burrow town from the vast 
plenty conney borrows that are round about it.' I do not find 

9 The little town of Burton-upon-Stather has ceased to have a market for 
. many years. The market place, which was on the brow of the hill west of the 
church, has long been enclosed and become private property. — Hatfield's Terra 
Incognita of Lincolnshire, p. 32. 

*" There has been a ferry over the Humber from Barton to the mouth of the 
river Hull from very early times, probably prior to the foundation of Kingston- 
upon-HuU by Edward I. A traveller, who is believed to have been none other 
than the author of Robinson Crusoe, crossed over this ferry a few years after 
Abraham de la Pryme was there. He had not a pleasant passage. " There are 
some good towns on the sea coast, but I include not Barton, which stands on 
the Humber, as one of them, being a straggling mean town, noted for nothing 
but an ill-favoured dangerous passage, or ferry, over the Humber to Hull,, 
where in an open boat, in which we had about 15 horses, and 10 or 12 cowa 
mingled with about 17 or 18 passengers, we were about 4 hours tos'd about 
on the Humber before we could get into the harbour at Hull." — Tour thro' the 
whole Island of Great Britain hy a gentleman, 3rd ed., 1742, vol iii., p. 11. 

' He was ancestor and namesake, I believe, of Mr. Hugh Hammersley, of 
Doncaster, attorney at law, and one of the aldermen who was elected mayor 
24 Sep., 1741. Alderman Hammersley married, 7 May, 1728, Elizabeth, eldest 
daughter and coheir of Wm. Wade, town clerk of Doncaster, and died in 1767, 
leaving an only son, Thomas, baptised at Doncaster 3 Nov., 1747. The latter 
settled in London, and originated the banking house of Hammersley and Co., 
in Pall Mall. He died in 1812, leaving issue. 

' Borotona, Bertone, Broctone, (Dmnesday, i., 365, 376^, Berghton, (Taxatio 
P. Nieholai, 75, col. 2). The name of this place has assuredly nothing to do 
with rabbits, though they have for ages abounded there. Beorh, or Beorg, a 
hill, and Tun, an enclosure — a town in the old sense still retained by the Lin- 
colnshire peasantry — are the words from which this name has grown up. The 
hill from which the name has been derived is a large circular sand hill, like a 
huge grave hill, but almost certainly natural, not far from the church. Thia 
mound abuts upon the old Roman way, known in books as the Ermine Street, to 
those who live near it in Lindsey as the " Ramper," or "old street," 



60 THE DIARY OF 

anything in history about it : but, however, it seems to be ancient, 
there being some lady and warriours buried therein, who per- 
haps were the founders of the church. 

12. I was with my uncle Bareel," and he tould me for a most 
certain truth that the swine herd place at Barrow, in this country, 
is worth above 30Z. a year, by reason that they keep such a vast 
company of swine in that town. 

13, 1695. Being in company at Brigg this Friday with 
several clergymen and others, we had a great deal of good dis- 
course. Some mightily talked against the late famous and ex- 
cellent edition of Camhdens Britannia^'" saying that it was not 
worth bying, and that there was a great many memorable places 
in England that had not been taken notice off*, and such like. 
But, however, let them talk as they please, I am sure that it is 
twice as good and excellent as it was before, and I am sure that there 
is no book in the world of a particular country that can compare 
with it. Rome was not all built of a day, and it is impossible that 
everything memorable should of a sudden be comprehended and 
put in any book. Every age sees something more than another, 
and every year almost some monuments are digg'd up out of the 
earth some where or other that was not discovered before, so 
that it is impossible that such a book as it should be perfect 
in toto et qudlibet parte. 

Talking likewise of Doct[or] Busby"*, who is lately dead, one 
of this company told this pleasant relation of him and Fath[er] 
Peters. 

As the doct[or] was walking out one evening in K[ing] 
James reign, to take the air, he met by chance with Father 
Peters, who had formerly been his scholar. Peters saluted him. 
'^ How," says the doct[tor] " are you that Peters that was our 
schoUer?" " Yes," says he again. " Well, but how come you 
to have this garb on?" (he being a Jesuit) ; to whom he reply 'd, 
'' I had not had it on, honourable master, but that the Lord Jesus 
had need of me." '' Need of thee"? (say'd the doct.) " I never 
heard that our Lord and Saviour had need of anything but an 
ass." And so he turned him about in a fury and left him. 

•» Forsan Beharell. — See Hunter's South Yorhshire, i., 169. 

* The first edition of Gibson's Camden's Britannia was published in one 
volume folio, 1695. It is a learned and painstaking work, but inferior to the 
second edition in two volumes, published in 1722. 

* The well known head master of Westminster school. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 61 

19. This day I went with some other company to Castor. I 
expected to have found it (that is so famous in both the Roman 
and Saxon history s) to be some great and large town, but when I 
got there I was deceived, it being but a little place, yet mighty 
famous for its great markits and fairs. It was very ill built 
before the great fire,' but now there are a great many good 
modem buildings therein. It was here that Hengist begg d so 
much ground of King Vortigem as he was able to encompass 
with an ox-hide;^ who, not well understanding his meaning, 

' " The great fire" at Caistor happened in 1681, or the following year. A 
brief was issued for collecting money to repair the losses sustained. At Youl- 
grave, in the county of Derby, the sum of 9s. 7d. was collected for this purpose 
on the 5th of June, 1682. — lielujuary, vol iv., p, 193. 

y The well known legend of the hide cut into strips is told of sundry places 
in every country in Europe. It was probably an old story when it became 
dovetailed into the legendary history of the foundation of Carthage. It need 
scarcely be added that there is no ground for believing, even in a substratum of 
fact, in the story as told above. The Diarist's authority for it, and a very poor 
one it is, is Geoffrey of Monmouth, who in book vi., chapter 11, gives the legend. 
His tale is that Hengist received as much land as he could encompass by an ox 
hide frfm Vortigem. The place so gained was called in the British tongue 
Kaercorrei, in Saxon Thancastre, that is Thong castle. Kemble, in his Saxons 
in England, i., p. 17, says that the same myth appertains to Ragnor Lodbrog. 
He quotes Rag, Lodh. Saga, cap. 19 and 20. As an instance how these old pre- 
historic legends multiply and engraft themselves on the new facts of history, he 
tells us that "the Hindoos declare we obtained possession of Calcutta by similar 



means." 



A singular ceremony annually takes place at the church of Caistor, by the 
performance of which certain lands in the parish of Broughton, near Brigg, are 
held. On Palm Sunday a person from Broughton brings a large whip, called a 
gad whip, the stock of which is constructed of ash, or other wood, tapered 
towards the top : the thong is large, and made of white leather. The man comes 
to the north porch about the commencement of the first lesson, and cracks his 
whip in f i;ont of the porch door three times ; after which, with much ceremony, 
he wraps the thong round the stock of the whip, and binds the whole together 
with a whip-cord, tying up with it some twigs of mountain ash ; he then ties 
to the top of the whip stock a small leathern purse containing two shillings, 
but originally twenty-four silver pennies, and taking tbe whole upon his shoul- 
der, marches into the church, where he stands in front of the reading-desk, 
until the commencement of the second lesson ; he then goes up nearer, waves 
the purse over the head of the clergyman, kneels down upon a cushion, and 
continues in that position, with the purse suspended over the head of the clergy- 
man, until the second lesson is ended, when he retires into the choir, and waits 
the remainder of the service. After the service is concluded, he carries the 
whip and purse to the manor house of Hundon, a hamlet in the parish of Caistor, 
where they are left, and are generally given to some person as a curiosity, A 
new whip is made every year. In the performance of this ceremony it is said 
that the whip used to be cracked over the head of the clergyman in the reading- 
desk ; but, on one occasion, the whip coming sharply in contact with the face 
of the clergyman, caused that part of the ceremony to be omitted, and the 
purse only waved over the head. It is remarkable that this tenure is not noticed 
either by Camden or Blount. — Sigtorical Account of Lincolnshire, anonymous, 
1828, vol. i., p. 186. 



62 THE DIARY OF 

granted him his request, thinking that he meant no more than he 
could cover with an ox-hide. But Henorist cut it all into small 
thongs, and by that means encompast in round about a great 
compass of land, and built an exceeding strong castle upon part 
thereof, part of whose ruins I took notice of, it being a wall five 
or six yards thick. But, when Christianity came in, they pull'd 
the castle down, and built the church in the place where it stood, 
of the stone that it was built off. In which church I observed 
one of the Knight Templars, lying with his legs a cross and his 
shield on his left arm, besides some few monuments besides. 

Mr. Baxter, minis[terj of that place, let me see about half a 
score old coins that had been digg'd up about that town, some of 
which were Soman and others Saxon coins, and he told us, in the 
pinfold hard by the church (which was in the limits of the old 
castle) that, about six years ago, there was digged up several 
huge men bones, a jaw bone of which, a very fat man, that was 
standing by, easily slipt upon his own jaw. 

This is a good town for water, for there is springs runs out 
of it on every side, and one or two is so bigg that they drive a 
water mill about. But it is no town of strength, there being 
several hills that can easily command it. 

About half a mile beyond the town, in the high road betwixt 
Horncastle and Barton, there are a great many hills cast up all 
along betwixt these two mentioned towns, which were undoubtedly 
done by the old Romans to direct their way from one place to 
the other. 

Most of the outward stones in this wall of the castle of Castor 
were charg'd with lead, as Mr. Baxter told me, who had seen 
several of them so done. 

27. It is very observable what I heard this day about Rawby 
church'' in this county, nine miles of of Brigg, to witt, that for 
all that it stands half-way upon the side of a great hill, yet in 
one side of the church, and in part of the chancel, there are such 
great springs, that they can scarce dig any graves there for the 
great quantity of water that springs there upon them. The 
graves are always above half full when they come to put the 
corps in, and that the water may not be seen, they always strew 
chaff or straw thereon before that they put the corps in, to hinder 
the water being seen by the people.* 

' Rawby is, I suppose, Wrawby, but that place is only about a mile from 
Brigg ; a portion of the town of Brigg is in Wrawby parish. 

^ The practise of putting straw at the bottom of graves when there is 
water in them is still common in Lincolnshire. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 63 

About the beginning of this year I went to preach at a toon 
called Bramwith/ a mile or two of of Hatfield. There was then 
an old clerk there that could scarce ever get a pair of spectacles 
that he could see with, his sight was either so vitiated or destroyed. 
At last an old wife tells him a way how he might see without 
spectacles — to get a prayer book printed upon yellow paper. At 
last he got such a one, and tho' it was but a small print, yet I 
observed that [he] saw and read with as much ease as if it had 
been ever so bigg. 

About half a year before my father dyd he sent one of his men 
to Doncaster about some business ; who, as he was coming whome 
in the night, when it was very dark, chanc'd to meet with an 
Ignis fatuus'^ in one of the lains, which went danceing and leap- 
ing before him, and frightened him sore. But, plucking up 
good courage within a little while (he realy takeing it to be the 
divel) was resolv'd to light of of his horse and beat it. And so, 
accordingly, he observeing that when he went it went, and when 
he stood still it stood still, he lights and tys his hors to the hedge, 
and falls at it manfully with his great stick, and beat it all to 
pieces, making one piece fly one way and another. And then, be- 
ing all in a sweat, he got tryumphantly upon his horse and came 
home, attesting seriously and soberly that he had kill'd the divel, 
which he did realy believe for a great while after. 

The like story I have heard of another man in the south ; that 
as he was coming from his work one dark night, in a lane, there 
came whisking over the hedg to him an Ignis fatuus^ which he 
getting a sight on ran away from it. But the faster he ran, the 
faster it followed him, so that he did not [know] what to do. At 
length, turning him about, he up with his stick to strike it, but it 

* See ante^ p, 55. 

'^ Mr Ernest Baker, of Mere Down, Bath, communicated to Notes and 
Queries, 6 Feb., 1869, (4th S., iii., p. 125), that on the 18th December previous, 
at about 6.45 p.m., he was riding over the Downs to Mere, when there suddenly 
appeared on his horse's head five lights, one on each ear larger than the rest, 
about the size of the flame of a small taper, of a bluish colour ; two on the 
left eyebrow, and one on the right — these were like glow-worms, or as if the 
parts had been rubbed with phosphorus. It was pitch dark, with a steady rain 
falling, yet, while the lights lasted, (which was while he rode upwards of a 
quarter of a mile), he could see the buckles on the bridle. There had been 
thunder and lightning in the afternoon. He rode steadily, trying to make out 
what it could be ; when it disappeared as suddenly as it came. The horse had 
been taken from the stable, and had only travelled half-a-mile, and did not 
perspire in the least. At page 182 Mr. C. W. Barkley suggests that this pheno- 
menon was a " Will-o'-the-wisp," or " Jack-a- Lantern," and he relates a similar 
instance, in his own family, of its appearance. In Norfolk, he says, this lumi- 
nous gas is eichaled from swampy ground, and is there called " a Lanthom-man," 
and the appearance is feared to this day. 



64 THE DIARY OF 

flinch'd his stroke two or three times. But he being resolved to 
vanquish or dy, he followed on his strokes as if it had been fpr 
his life, but always when he lifted up his great stick above his 
head to strike it, then it flew about his ears and put him in a 
most miserable condition. But, however, tho' the fight was long 
and fearful, yet the fellow got the victory over this divel, and beat it 
all in pieces. And he told it all over that he had killed the divel 
that would needs have carry'd him away ith' lane, if he could but 
have gotton hold of him. But (says he) I mall'd him. 

He that told me this story affirm'd that he saw the stick that 
this fellow kiird the divel with, and says that it was stained all 
black within towards the end with its strokes over this Ignis 
fatuiis, 

I remember likewise that I have heard a gentleman in the 
country say that he once got an Ignis fatuus^ and affirm'd that 
it was. nothing but a shineing froth. He sayd that it was as like 
the froth of water that is made from any high dessent as can be. 

Aug. 9, 1695. Gruinnes has been the greatest price this year 
that ever was known. At first when this warr begun they rise, 
and they have kept riseing ever since, so that now this year they 
go current all over for thirty shillings, and has done ev^er since 
the king went out. The reason how they came to rise so was the 
vast quantitys that the lords and gentlemen in the king's service 
carry'd out of the land. But now I hear that, for all this, yet 
there is more guinnys stirring at London than ever has been 
known, so that they are more plenty than silver. And the reason 
thereof is this ; everybody seeing how much guinnes goes for, 
all that had any gold, cups, spouns, etc., carry them all into the 
Tower and gets them coin'd into guinnes, paying some little for 
their coining, which indeed is the true reason that they are there 
stirring in such vas quantitys. 

These warrs went very hard the two or three first years after 
that the king came in, and there were general complaints about 
the heaviness of the taxes, and everybody was anctious about the 
affliirs of state, and full of cares, and doubts, and fears. But now 
the nation havein^ become used to the taxes there is none that' 
either now complains or that troubles them about the state affairs ; 
the whole country being now in as much peace as if there was 
neither any taxes nor any warrs. 

Silver money being exceeding scarce, and several beginning 
to complain of the little money that there was in the land, per- 
haps it was a piece of poUicy of K[ing] Will[iam] to make 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 65 

ginnes go so much above their intrinsiek worth, that, by thiat 
means, the rich misers, for lucre sake, might be entis'd to coin 
what gold they had, (as they have done), to the end that monney 
might be the more plentifull : which trap has taken effect, and so 
everybody talks that this great price of guinnes will fall. 

About seven years ago as they were digging a cellar in Lin- 
coln, in the chief street, the[y] found a whole large boat with a 
great many cut and squar'd stones therein/ 

Mem. They have boar'd for coals oft here in this parish of 
Broughton, and other parts of Lincolnshire, and found that there 
was coals in the soyl, but that they lay so exceeding deep that 
they were discourag'd from proceeding on in their work.* 

Aug. 12. Yesterday I was with an ingenious old man who had 
been a great royalist in King Charles the First days. Amongst 
other very observable things that he told me, and that we talk'd 
about, he says that they had a dog in their troup that every night 
had letters put betwixt his neck and his collar, which was made 

<* Many canoes and boats have been found in the low lands in Lincolnshire, 
but all, except one which is preserved in the British Museum, have perished. 
Mr. Peacock's grandfather, Mr. Thomas Peacock, could remember one being 
discovered by some workmen, whilst making a drain in the parish of Scotter. 
He communicated the fact to Sir Joseph Banks, who came over to see it, but he 
considered that the workmen had mutilated it so much that it was not worth 
preservation. When found, it lay in the earth, bottom upwards, and the exca- 
vators cut it in two before they discovered that it was a boat. A raft, of very 
primitive construction, the several pieces fastened together with wooden pegs, 
was found about fifty-five years ago at the foot of a sand hill, called Greenhoe, 
in the township of Yaddlethorpe, parish of Bottesford. The wood of which it 
was constructed was so sound, that the late Mr. William Hall, of Hull, to whom 
the property belonged, used the greater part of it for spars for some farm build- 
ings, which were being erected on the sand hill, but a stone's throw from the place. 
The hill has now nearly lost its old name, by being miscalled by a former tenant 
Yaddlethorpe grange. The late Mr. Stark, in his History of Gainshroiigh^ second 
ed., p. 5, mentions a canoe found, at a depth of 8 feet from the surface, near the 
river Witham " about two miles east of Lincoln, between that city and Horsley 
Deeps." It was thirty feet eight inches long, and measured three feet across in 
its widest part. The thickness of the bottom was between seven and eight 
inches, and it was hollowed out of a single oak tree. Another canoe was dis- 
covered about two years before, in cutting a drain near Horsley Deeps, but was 
unfortunately destroyed by the workmen. Another has been found in a meadow 
near Gainsbrough, not far from the bank of the river Trent ; and two others in 
cutting a drain through the fens below Lincoln. Stark derived the foregoing 
facts from a communication made by Sir Joseph Banks to Tlie Journal of 
Science and Arty No. ii., p. 244, 

' The coal beds, if coal there be in this part of Lincolnshire, are far too 
deep to be worked. In sinking wells, thin beds of a carboniferous shale, strongly 
impregnated with iron, are frequently come upon. They are not true coals, but 
are probably the fossil remains of sea weeds, as ammonites and other shells, once 
the inhabitants of salt water, are usually found imbedded in them, 

F 



66 THE DIARY OP 

larg a purpose, and that he would have gone to any garrison or 
place they told him off within twenty miles round about. Talk- 
ing of other ways of sending letters privately, he sayd they had 
but two more ways, and they were these : the one was to make 
hollow the wooden heells of a pair of old shoos, and so stopping 
letters therein, and then letting a flap of the inner seal fall upon 
the covering, and so to put them on a beggar's feet and send 
him where they pleas'd. The other way they had was to carry 
them in a hollow stick or crutch, that beggars walks with. 'Tis 
an observation all over England, that all these great captains and 
officers, that had any hand in fighting against King Charles the 
First, are all or most of 'em become beggars, as the[y] deserve, for 
committing such an abominable act as rebellion against one of 
the best of men. 

15. Yesterday I was at Brigg, to hear what newse there was 
stirring, but there happened to be none observable, the Holland 
males being not come. 

Yet, however, it is mightily to the honour of old England to 
hear what valiant sons she now brings forth, when all forreign 
nations expected her past bearing coragious men. 

When the king came over in 88,-^ there was but very few 
Englishmen that knew anything of the feats of warr. In Ireland 
there was but very few commanders English, all the rest being 
Dutch and French. When they besieged Lymerick, the ingeneers 
were all forreigners. But a private soldier, called Brown, taking 
notice how they cast their bombs, and how slow they were in 
doing of it, he desired lieve to see what he could do, and he was 
so fortunate as to oiitdo them, and to cast two into the citty to 
their one ; and he was the first ingeneer that we had since this 
warr begun. ^ 

But now capt. Phillips, capt. Bendbow, my lord Barclay, 
and innumerable others, are so expedite and skillfull thereat, that 
they cast them as well as any one ever did. Last year, when 
they burnt Deep [Dieppe], the Marq[uis] of Choiseul, the com- 
mander, sent letters to the French king, complaining that the 
English mortars were so bigg that they could stand far off at sea, 
out of any cannon reach from the town, and cast their bombs 
therein as they pleas'd ; and we have several mortars now that 
flings or casts bombs above two miles and an half, as the French 
know to their sorrow. 

/ William began his reign February 13th, 1689. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 67 

25. Mr. Selden, the famous antiquary, gatherd up all the old 
ballets he could meet with, and would protest that there was 
more truth in them than there was in many of our historians. 
Ex relat, amid mei doctiss, dom. Levins^ minist 

26. I have been at Castor again yesterday, on some business, 
and from thence I went to Nettle [ton] ,^ a little mile, to see some- 
thing there that I thought memorable. All along the hill side 
there, for at least a mile, lyes a long bed of sand, which has 
sprung somewhere thereabouts out of the ground, and encreas'd 
to the aforosayd bigness, having cover'd a great quantity of good 
ground, and by that means undone several poor people. Within 
these twenty years it begun to move towards this town, and all 
that part* of it that layd close to the hill edge (which was about 
twenty-five houses, with their folds and garths) has been destroyed 
hy it this several years, onely there is one house, which is a poor 
man's, that has stood it out by his great pains and labour ; but as 
for his folds and gardens they are all cover'd. It had destroy'd 
a great deal more of this town, but that, betwixt it and the afore- 
sayd houses that were destroy'd, there runs a strong water spring, 
or brook, which it cannot get over, neither can it fill it, for as 
soon as any great rains falls, either in summer or winter, upon 
the hills, it dissends through this brook, and soon washes it to its 
old channel again, etc. So that this quicksand, not being able to 
get over, it goes all along by its side and the side of the hill, and 
last yeai* broke a great hedge down, and has begun to enter 
into a piece of excellent ground, which it will most certainly 
destroy. And this was the memorable thing that I went to see. 
I have read in the Transactions of the Royal Society of a such 
like sand in the borders of Norfolk, which has almost destroy'd 
a whole town ; but that moves southward, as I remember, but 
this northward. 

[ Three pages wanting] . 



1695. 

8 (Sept. ?) This day I was asking several how they g9t wells 
digg'd in this country, seeing that it is so very rocky. They 
told me that a well will cost five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten 
pound digging, and sometimes more at after, as the stone proves 

' Kettleton is a small village, about one mile south of Caistor. 



68 THE DIARY OF 

softer or harder. Justice Nelstrop,* of Scawby, our next town, 
had a well digg'd about a year ago, and they were forced to digg 
through five or six layers of stone, some three, some four, some 
six, some eight inches thick, betwixt which commonly was a 
layer of clay. The way the[y] took to get through the stone was 
this : they swept the surface thereof clean, and made a great fire 
of wood thereon, in the well, and then cast a sackfuU or two of 
coals on, so that there was a great fire, by the heat of which the 
rock gave cracks as bigg as cannon, and pieces of four or six 
pound weight would have flown out of the very top of the well 
with great force. And then, when the fire was out, they fell on 
with their picks and chizels, and having cutt as farr as they 
could, then the[y] fired again, as before, untill the[y] found a 
spring and gott throw the rock. 

16. This day I observed a Roman way to run from Lincoln, 
and by this town, in a direct line to Humber side. It has been 
paved, and in many places the pavement is very obvious at this 
day,* as, for example, a little on this side Scawby wood, where 
I measur'd it seven yards broad. 

Septem. About the beginning of this month happen'd a most 
vehement storm. The wind was north, .which has done an 
incredible deal of damage, there being reckon'd to be lost above 
two hundred and fifty colliars' vessels, with all their men, and of 
other ships, such as pinks,-' and such, about thirty-six ; and men 
are cast ashore in such plenty, all along these coasts of Lincoln- 
shire, that people are forc'd to leave their harvest and carry them 
away in carts to bury them. Yesterday I was with one at 
Brigg that was in the whole tempest, and yet escap'd. He says 
that about an houer before it begun, they being at sea, saw a 
prodigious black cloud in the north, which swelled bigger and 
bigger, and at last it burst asunder with the dreadfulest thunder 

* Justice Nelstrop is Sir Goddard Nelthorpe, the second Baronet. He 
married Dorothy, daughter of Hugh Henne, esq., of Rooksnest, in Surrey, and 
relict of Nicholas Poultney, esq. The title became extinct, 22 Nov., 1865, on 
the death of Sir John Nelthorpe, Bart. Abms. — ^Argent, on a pale sable a sword 
erect of the field, pommel and hilt or. 

» The pavement of the Ermine Street yet exists in several places. It is 
usually visible, especially after heavy rains, in the declivity of a little hill, 
immediately to the south of the gate leading from the Ermine Street to Manby 
Hall. Probably this is the place where De la Pryme saw it. It is in the parish 
of Scawby, not more than two miles from Broughton. 

^ "A small vessel, masted and rigged like other ships, but built with a round 
stem ; the bends and ribs compassing so that her sides bulge out very much." 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 69 

and lightning that ever was seen, but especialy with the latter, for 
it came down in such flakes that all the whole sea seem'd to be 
of a flame, and then, immediately after, the storm arose out of 
that dreadfull cloud. 

29. I being in Yorkshire last week, at Sir George Cook's,* 
we heard there how that Sir William Lowther,^ a presbiterian, 
hearing of a great meeting of the townsmen of Pomfrit together, 
he goes thither, and sends them in, in the first place, a duzen of 
bottels of claridd, and then a duzen more, by which time, think- 
ing they had been a little drunk, he makes bold to go amongst 
them, and, after haveing complemented them exceedingly, he at 
length begins to tell them what he drive at, to witt, of geting 
their votes that he might be made a parlament man, and did tell 
them so many fine things, and what favours and kindness he 
would bestow upon, so that they scarce knew what to say. But 
immediately one Mr. Stables,"* sitting at the end of the table, took 
him up, saying, " Sir William, we thank you for your wine, but, 
had we understood that this was the design thereoS", we would 
have raither been without. And for our votes, I must tell you 
truly, if I had ten thousand I would not give one of them to you, 
nor to any such Commonwealth's man as you are." "la Com- 
monwealth's man!" (says Sir William) "I defy it; I scorn to be 
scandaliz'd so," etc. Upon which, and a great many more 
wordsj Sir William challeng'd Mr. Stables to the door. To 
which Mr. Stables answer'd, "To the door! I scorn to come to 
the door with any such presbiterian raskal." Upon which Sir 
William drew at him ; but the company riss up against him, bid 
him get him gone; what had he to do to intrude into their 
company, and to disturb them. And so Sir William went away, 
curseins and swearinor how he would be reven^'d of them. 
Thus this Mr. Stables saved the votes of all his company ; for 
undoubtedly, if he had not stood up to him, he had got all their 
votes. 

OcTOB. 2. I was yesterday with Mr. Anderson, of this town, 

* Sir Gteorge Cooke, of Wheatley, near Doncaster, third Baronet, died 6 
October, 1732. 

' Sir William Lowther, of Swillington and Great Preston, Bart. 

"• Probably William Stables, Alderman and twice Mayor of Pontefract. 
Alderman [Richard] Stables was one of the volunteers in Pontefract Castle on 
Christmas day, 1644. Mr. Richard Stables, no doubt the same person, was an 
inhabitant of that borough in the following year. — Drake' fi Jcmmal ; Surtees^ 
Miscellaneous^ pp. 3, 5, 62. There is a pedigree of this family, the Stables of 
Tanshelf, in JhigdaWs Visit. Mor.y 1666-6, p. 11. 



70 THE DIARY OF 

a fine gentleman, and of a great estate. Talking of the spaw 
waters of Knaresbrough, but especialy the sulphur well, and of 
the great virtue it has, amongst other things he told me that he 
was there this year, and had a waiting boy with him, that for 
about a month before, had been subject by times to have something 
to rise up in his throat, and then to vomitt blood. He caryed 
this boy to the sulfer well, and, having made him drink heartily 
of the water, he vomited up a skin, somewhat like a bladder, full 
of clotted blood. It came up, he says, by pieces, at three or four 
vomits. This is very strange, and well worth taking notice of. 
This gentleman's eldest son, about fifteen years old, often 
times of a sudden falls down, and cannot get any breath, yet 
nothing arises in his throat, and he is as lively and vigorus a 
young man as can be seen. The only thing that dos him good, 
and recovers him, is the anointing his nostrills with sweet oyl, 
and the pouring a little down his throat 

OcTOB. 3. Some may be asking in future times how the 
Jacobites behaved themselves under this government, which they 
were so much against. I answer, that when anything went of 
their side, they were very merry and joy full ; and, on the con- 
trary, were as much cast down when anything went against 
them. They were frequently exceeding bold, and would talk 
openly against the government, which the government conniv'd a 
little at, for fear of raising any bustle, knowing that they were 
inconsiderable by reason of their paucity. They set up separate 
meetings all over, where there was any number of them, at which 
meetings I myself have once or twice been in Cambridge, for we 
had above twenty fellows in our coll [^ge] that were nonjurors. The 
service they used was the Common Prayer, and always pray'd 
heartily for King James, nameing him most commonly ; but, in 
some meetings, they onely prayed for the king, not nameing who. 

About three years ago they held a great consultation at the 
then nonjuring arch-bish[op] of Canterbury's house, where about 
all the chief nonjurors were present in all England, in which the 
arch-bish[op] gave them rules how to behave themselves, and 
how they should pray for the king, and such like. 

Their meetings in Cambridge were oftentimes broken up by 
order of the vice-chancellor, but then they always met again in 
some private house or other. 

They had a custome in our college, while I was there, which 
I did not like, and that was always on publick fast days, which 
was every first Wednesday in every month, they always made a 

freat feast then and drunk and was merry ; the like they did at 
iondon. 



ABRAHAM DE LA FRTME. 71 

And at that latter place made bonefires and rung the bells on 
King James the Second's and the Prince of Wales's birth nights. 
This is all I can at present remember of them, for, God knows, 
I was once one of them myself, untill I was at length better in- 
form'd. 

Yesterday was Castor fair ; there was almost no silver to bee 
seen at it, nothing but gold. Every one had five, or ten, or 
twenty, or one hundred guinnes a piece. There was nothing 
almost to be seen for all sorts of things but gold. 

OcTOB. 20. This [day] examining and talking with several of my 
oldest parishoners ofthis town about what was memorable relating 
thereto, they tell me that this Roman way, of which I have already 
made mention, is commonly call'd amongst them the High Street 
way. 

This country has been exceeding woody to what it is now, 
above half of the woods being cut down and sold about forty years 
ago. Here was formerly very great roberys committed in them, 
this being the most dangerous place in the whole country, so that 
people durst scarce travel in companys. In this wood towards 
Thorholm more, is a low sunken place call'd Gipwell," w^^ was 
formerly a mighty deep hole, so thick beset with trees, that it 
was impossible to see the sun. Here it was that the rogues kept 
their rendisvouz and carryd all those thither that they rob'd, 
oftentimes murdering them and casting them therein. Within 
these twenty years stood a mighty great hollow tree, in which, 
when it was cut close up by the roots, was found a pair of pot- 
hooks. 

There stood a mighty great famous tree likewise by this way 
side, which was cut down about thirteen years ago. It was nine 
yards about, had twenty load of wood in it besides it's body, and 
spread at least twenty-five yards each way when it was standing. 

There is a good law at Worlebee, a town some few miles off, 
which every tennant, according to the quantity of land that he 
takes, is bound to plant yearly so many trees thereon ; but, tho' this 
law is yet in force amongst them, yet it is a great pitty that it 
is not so much regarded as formerly.*' 

• There is no such place as Gipwell now. There is a deep black bog on two 
sides of Thomholme, and it must, I think, have been some part of this that 
was formerly a pond or pool ; and if they put their victims in, I have no doubt 
they would soon sink into the bog, and never be heard of again. 

* There were bye-laws, in many manors, requiring the tenants to plant 
trees yearly. At a court of the manor of Bottesford, held April 1st, 1579, the 
following, among other regulations, was decreed by the lord and jury. 

" Item, that everie husbandman within this lordshippe [is] to sett euery 
yere vj willowes, and euery cotiger iij, and to preserve them from cattel ; in 
doing the contrary euery husbandman to forfayte xijd., and euery cotiger vjd." 



72 THE DIARY OF 

OcTOB. 25. The other day I was at the visitation at Ganes- 
burrough. I met with nothing observable by the way but some 
places that looked like old fortifications ; only at the very entrance 
of the town is a large green burrow, hollow at the top, under 
which, as I concieve, many Dains have been buried, because 
that they mightily infested this town in King William the Con- 
queror's days. The church is no splendid piece of workmanship, 
but low, narrow, and dark. I had not time to observe what in- 
scriptions there were in if 

Stow^ caused a letter to be read unto us that came from the 
bishops, which commanded us, amongst other things, to observe 
to pray for the bishops and the universitys of this land in our 
prayer before sermons,'^ and that we should always conclude the 
same with that most excellent and divine of all prayers, called the 
Lord's Prayer. It commanded also that every one that kept a 
curate should allow him proportionable to the greatness of the 
livings in which he officiated. And ordered likewise, that e very- 
Sunday, in the afternoon, wee should catechize and make chate- 
chetical lectures, or else preach twice on the day, etc. 

Everything was exceeding dear by reason that the king intends 
shortly to visite some of these parts. 

]sjQyBKR 9j.jj^ "jjjQ latter end of the last month the king made a 
journey to Lincoln, and so to Welbeck and Nottingham. He 
brought with him not above twenty nobles from London, and 
his guard, besides gentlemen that he had pick'd up in the country 
as he came along. He got into liincoln about seven a clock at 
night, and next morning went to prayers in the minster, where, 
after prayers, all the clergy had the honour to kiss the king's 
hand ; and then, when that ceremony was over, the king went 
away, and immediataly took coach for Welbeck. 

He brought with him from London all his own provision, but 
made little use of the same at Lincoln, for he eat nothing there 
but a porringer of milk. As he was at prayers several throng'd 
mightily about him, so that he could scarce get any wind, upon 

p An engjraving of the old church at Gainsbrough may be seen in Stark's 
History of Galtishro\ second edition, 1843, p. 364. It was evidently a building 
of late perpendicular date, probably erected not many years before the Refor- 
mation. With the exception of the tower, it was pulled down in 1736. 

9 The Diarist has run his pen through" Doct." before Stow, and after it ("ye 
Chancellour as I think "). He must mean the Archdeacon of Stow, who, at this 
period, was John Hutton, M.A. ; he was collated to the archdeaconry 4 November, 
1684, installed 21 February, 1684-5. He died 29 April, 1712, aged 63 years, and 
was buried at Wapenham, in Northamptonshire. — Le Neve^ ii., p. 81. 

*■ This evidently enjoins the use of the " Bidding Prayer." 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 73 

which he made signs to them with his hands to stand off. 

His comeing made a vast noise in the country, and prodiorious 
number of men went from all parts to see him ; even from York, 
and Carlisle, and Newcastle itself, as I was credibly told. 

In Lincoln there was so many, that people of all sorts were 
forst to ly in stables and barns, and every thing was so exceeding 
dear that it is incredible. 

The parriters [apparritors] were sent out, all ten miles round 
about Lincoln, to bid the clergy come in to kiss the king's hand, 
and all the constables had order to acquaint all towns and gentle- 
men with the king's comeing to Lincoln. 

I am credibly told that the town of Newark presented him with 
a silver scepter, curiously cut and ingraved, but he would not 
accept thereoff. Then they presented him with a bagg of gold, 
but he refused that also, he telling them that the taxes were great, 
etc. But at Lincoln he received one of fifty broads and fifty 
guinneys. 

1695. For all the stirr that was made at Pomfrit about S""* 
Will[iam] Lowther, yet I hear to-day that, upon better considera- 
tion, when they had not got so much wine in their heads, they 
have chosen him for their parliament man, after that he had 
clear'd himself from being a Puritan.' 

21. Having heard several more things from very good hands 
relating to the king's being in this country, I cannot but take 
notice of the same. The king was mighty nobly entertained at 
S'* John Brownley's,' twelve miles or thereabouts beyond Lincoln, 
S"^- Jo. killed twelve fat oxen and sixty sheep, besides other 
victuals, for his entertainment, and made the most of him and his 
followers that can be imagin'd. The king was exceeding merry 
there, and drunk very freely, which was the occasion that when 
he came to Lincoln he could eat nothing but a mess of milk. 

When he got to Lincoln, Mr. Dorell made as much of him as 
he possibly could, and 'tis say'd that that night's treat cost him 
above 500 pound. 

When he came to the Earl of Kingstone's, there was provided 
for him the most quantity of victuals of all manner of sorts that 
can he imagined. There was near twenty oxen kill'd, besides 

* Sir William Lowther, Mr. Monckton, and Sir John Bland, stood candi- 
dates ; the two first gentlemen were returned. The latter petitioned, but after- 
wards withdrew the petition. 
• < Sir John Brownlow, of Belton, near Grantham. 



74 THE DIARY OF 

great numbers of sheeps, and twenty-five messes of different 
meats were all served up to the king and the nobles in huge 
dishes of plate, and they had all sorts of wines that can be 
imagined. The king's guards had every one of them two bottles 
of different wines set at their trenchers, and liberty to go in the 
earl's cellars and drink what they would. 

But as for the Duke of Newcastle, tho' he went to meet his 
Majesty at Dunham ferry, and tho' he carryed him home to his 
house, yet he behaved himself the sneakinglyest to him that can be 
imagined for a man of his quality and figure. For, as he is com- 
monlv recon'd to be one of the richest and one of the cove- 
tiousest man in all England, so he made it appear so by his 
entertainment of the king, who was nothing at all made off in 
comparison to what he was at S""* Jo[hn] Brownley's, or Lincoln, 
or the Earl of Kingstone's, so that 'tis sayd that the king is sayd 
to have sayd that Brownley entertained him like a prince, King- 
stone like an emperor, and Newcastle like a clown. 

The king, because that he had the first good entertainment 
that he mett with in the country at S"^* Jo[hn] Brownley's, he has 
sent up for him to London, to honour him the more, and to re- 
quite him for his kindnesses. 

All gentlemen and great men whenever they came were per- 
mitted to kiss the kinor's hand. 

The king was, as they say, mighty nobly treated at Oxford by 
the Earl of Ormond the Chancellour, and, in a word, has got 
the greatest affections that ever was known by this progress 
into the country. 

At Lincoln, before the clergy had the great honour done unto 
them to be admitted to kiss the king's hand, the chanter* made 
this following short speech to his Majesty — • 

Mat it please your Majesty 1 

Wee, your Majesty's most dutifull and loyal subjects, y« chapter of this 
your cathedral church, together with our brethren the neighbouring cleirgy, 
humbly begg lieve to bear a part in that publick joy which ye honour of your 
Majesty's presence has spread through their country, and presume to take this 
opportunity to make your Majesty ye most humble tender .of duty ; and 
wee beseech your Majesty to believe that we are thorougly sensible of 
ye wonderfull preservation and continued favours which ye people, ye laws, 
ye church, and religion of England owe to your sacred Majesty, and by j'e bless- 
ing of God will studdy with all our might to make such a return of duty for 
the same as becomes our holy function ; and, as in duty and gratitude bound, we 
daily beseech Almighty God to preserve and bless your Majesty's person, to 
prosper your arms, and prolong your reign, to continue your Majesty a terror to 
your enemys, and glory and blessing to these your kingdoms, and a successful 

•* The Precentor. 



M 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 75 

defender of the church and religion you have so happily preserved and estab- 
lish'd, and, in God's good time, to crown your victorys with making your Majesty 
the glorious instrument of restoaring and establishing the peace of all Chris* 
tendome. 

This IS the speech, and I had it sent to me from Lincoln 
under Doct[or] Holm's own hand, having imploy'd a friend to 
get it for me. 

29. It having been hitherto the finest weather that can be 
desired, more like summer than winter, I observed that the crows 
are busy in building their nests just as if it was spring. I have read 
somewhere that there has been found young crows at Christmass 
time, and I remember that it was look'd upon as an ill omen, but 
there's nothing ominous in it. 

j)£jqber. 7^ 1695. I was with Mr. Castor, a learned and in- 
genious man, this evening, and, talking of diverse things, he tells 
me that the same Collonel Lilliston" that was a soldier in Crom- 
wel's days for the parliament, was a relation of his, and, ihat which 
is observable, he sslvs that he, the same Lilliston, was the twenty eth 
child of his parents, by one man and one. woman, and that they 
all lived to men anci woman's estate. After which Col. the same 
two people had some three or four children more, all girls, which 
lived. 

He says that Cromwel had a great many soldiers in each 
country which they calld eight-pound men, because they had 
sallery s of eight pound a year whether they served in the warrs or no. 

» Recent investigations into the pedigree of Lillingston can only discover 
the existence of thirteen children. Colonel Lillingston married Elizabeth, dau. 
of Marmaduke Dolman, of Bottesford, co. Lincoln, and is said to have died in 
HoUand in 1682. Some dim tradition of him is remembered by old people 
sixty years ago. He was spoken of as a hard featured man, who always wore 
a steel breast-plate, and held very strong puritan opinions. He had several 
children, the only one whom it is needful to mention is Luke Lillingston, bom 
at Bottesford 22 October, 1655, when his father was the owner of the property by 
parliamentary title. He entered the Dutch service, and had a subordinate com- 
mand at the siege of Grave. He was afterwards appointed Colonel of an English 
regiment. He served in Ireland and the West Indies, and rose to the rank of 
Lieut.-General. He contributed to literature a pamphlet called "Reflections 
on Mr. Barchet's Memoirs," 8vo., London, 1704. I am not aware that it has any 
other interest now, except that which attaches to excessive rarity. Only some 
three or four copies are known. There is one in the British Museum. He died 
at North Ferriby, co. York, 6 April, 1713, and was buried in the church there 
on the 9th of the same month, where there is the following inscription to his 
memory. " Here lye the bodyes of Brigadier Luke Lillingston (Son of Colonel 
Henry Lillingston, late of Bottesford, in the County of Lincoln) who departed 
this life April the 6th., 1713, in the 60th year of his age ; and of Elizabeth his 
wife (daughter of Robert Saunderson, late of Bommel, in the Province of 
Quelderland), who dyed October the 18th, 1699, aged 58. 



76 THE DIARY OF 

23. I heard this of my patron, that is just come from London, 
that the king, as he was going to Oxford, was told by one of his 
nobles (but upon what grounds it is uncertain) that his Majesty 
should be poison'd at Oxford, and desired him not to tast of any 
of their entertainment. Upon which, when he came to Oxford, 
he was exceedingly welcom'd, and carryed to the theater, which 
was full of gentry in all the gallerys, and there was a most 
splendid repast provided. But the king came in with his lords 
and nobles, and took a view of all, and having walked about for 
a while went out. As he was going out several of the mobb 
thronged in, upon which the gentlemen in the gallerys hist at them ; 
and the king, not understanding the meaning thereoff, thought 
they hiss'd at him, and took it very ill, until that the Chancellor 
and several of the heads of the university hearing thereoff went 
and told the king the true reason of their hissing. 

A great many more things I could relate about the king's 
being in the country, but I am very suspitious of them, therefore 
shall not set any of them down. 

29. Yesterday, James Middleton came over from Hatfield. 
He tells me a very merry thing that happen'd at Wroot, in the 
Isle, lately. Mr. Parrel there had a great lusty man-servant, 
but, as appears by the sequell of the discourse, not of very much 
witt. About two months ago, there comes a maggot into his 
head to turn padder upon the highway ; so he acquaints his 
master with his resolution. "Master," says he, "I have been 
two years in your service, and what I get is inconsiderable, and 
will scarce suffice my expenses ; and I work very hard. I fancy," 
says he, "that I could find out a better way to live, and by 
which I should have more ease and more money." "Ey," says 
his master, "pray what is that?" "It is," says he, "by turn- 
ing padder." " Alass ! John," says he, "that will not do; take 
my word," says he, "you'll find that a harder service than 
mine." "Well, but I'll try," says the man. And so, next 
morning, away he went, with a good clubb in his hand ; and, 
being got in the London road, somewhere about Newark or 
Grantham, there overtook him on the road a genteel man on 
horseback. John letts him come up to him, and taking his 
advantage, he catches hold of his bridle, and bidds him stand 
and deliver. Upon which he of horseback, being a highwayman 
himself, he began to laugh that a thief should pretend to rob a 
thief. "But," says he, "harken, thou padder, I'm one of thy 
trade ; but surely, thou'rt either a fool or one that was never at 
the trade before." "No sir," says John, "I never was at this 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 77 

trade in my life before." "I thought so," says the highway- 
man ; "therefore, take my advice, and mind what I say to 
you. When you have a mind to robb a man, never take hold of 
his bridle and bid him stand, but, the first thing you do, knock 
him down, and, if he talk to you, hit him another stroke, and 
say, 'Sirrah! you rogue, do you prate?' And then," says the 
highwayman, "you have him at your will," etc. Thus they 
walk'd on for about a mile, the highwayman teaching the other 
his art; and as they were going a by way to a certain town, they 
comes to a badd lane. Says the padder to the other on horsback 
" Sir, I am better acquainted with this country than perhaps you 
are, this lane is very badd, and you'll indanger [of] lying fast, 
therefore you may go through this yate,"* and along the field 
side, and so miss all the ill way." So he took his advice, and 
going that way the padder went the other way, and coming to 
the place where the highwayman should ride through a gapp into 
the lane again, this rogue, this padder, stands under the hedge, 
and as soon as ever he sees the highwayman near him, he lends 
him such a knock over the head that he brought him down 
immediately. Upon which he began to say, " Sarrah, you 
rogue, is this your gratitude for the good advice that I gave 
you?" "Ah! you villain, do you prate?" And with that 
gave him another knock. And so, having him wholy at his mercy, 
he takes almost fifty pound from him and gets upon his horse, 
and away he rides home to his master at Wroot, by another way, 
as fast as he could go, and being got home he goes to his master 
and toll's him, saying — " Tash I master, I find this a very hard 
trade that I have been about, as you sayd it would prove, and I am 
resolved to go no more, but be contented with what I have gott. 
I have got a good horse here, and fifty pound in my pocket, from a 
highwayman, and I have consider'd that I cannot be prosecuted 
for it, therefore I'll live at ease," etc. 

1696. 

Jan. 2. The king having issued out his royal proclamation, 
towards the end of the last year, that no clipped money should go 
but unto such a day, it has made a vast noise in the country, and 
most people grumbles exceedingly because that the time is so 

• 

^ Yate. Gate, the common form of the word throughout the north of 
England and Lincolnshire. 

" Seest thou not yondar hall, Ellen ? 
Of redd gold shine the yates." 

. ChUde Waters, 1. 72, Percy's folio MS., vol. H., pt. ii., p. 274. 



78 THE DIARY OF 

short, and there is no penalty layd upon those that refuses it 
until the appointed time. They say the rabble has been up at 
London about it, but they are settled again, and there was a 
libell flung up and down the streets, which the king and parlia- 
ment have promis'd two thousand pounds to any one that will 
discover the author thereofi*. 

19. Chattel eats turneps in this country better than they'll do 
hay, and they make them so sportly, lively, and vigorous that 
they play and leap like young kidds. 



Three pages wanting. 



Doct 
be vet a 



]or] Pierce' is a very learned and ingenious man, (if he 
ive), he preached a sermon that got him a great deal of 
reputation and honour, takeinor for his text these words, " From the 
beginning it was not so." This was chiefly levell'd against the 
papeists, and shew'd the novelty of popery, how that it was not 
known in the primitive times of Christianity. Not long after 

this, the Doct[or] (being of coll[ege] in Oxford), caused 

the bowhng- green of the sayd coll[ege] to be plow'd up 
and sawn with turnips, because that the schollers spent a great 
deal of their time there in that sport. Upon which, one of them, 
a while after, when the turnips were grown up, made the fol- 
lowing copy of verses, and pasted them one night upon his 
dore : — 

Where bools did run, now turnips grow, 
But from ye beginning it was not so. 

Reflecting ingeniously in the latter line upon the Doct[or'8] 
celebrated sermon. 

* Thomas Pierce, son of John Pierce, was born at Devizes, co. Wilts., (of 
which town his father was several times Mayor), was Rector of Brington, co. 
Northampton, President of Magdalen College, Oxford, and was installed Dean 
of Salisbury 4th May, 1675, which dignity he kept to his dying day. In the 
year 1683 arose a controversy between him and Dr. Seth Ward, Bishop of Salis- 
bury, concerning the bestowing of the dignities of the church of Salisbury, 
whether by the king or bishop. Dr. Pierce wrote a narrative on behalf of the 
king, which was answered by Dr. Ward ; but neither was published. Pierce, 
however, wrote a pamphlet in vindication of the king's sovereign right, which 
was printed in London in 1683. He also wrote many other works, a list of which 
may be seen in Bliss's Atherus Oxonienses^ vol. iv., p. 299. He, dying 28 March, 
1691, was buried at North Tidworth, near Ambersbury, co. Wilts., (where, several 
years before, he had purchased an estate), at which time a book, composed by 
Dr. Pierce, was given into the hands of every person invited to the funeral, in- 
stead of rings and gloves. This book was entitled '' Death considered as a door 
to a life of glory, penn'd for the comfort of serious mourners, and occasioned 
by the funerals of several friends, particularly of one who died at Easter, and 
of the Author's own funeral in antecessum." There is a long account of him 
in Catalogue of Fellows of MagdaLen CoUego, Osson. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 79 

Guinneys gos yet at thirty shill [ings] a piece. 

All sorts ot commoditys has sold very well ever since the warr 
begun, and bears a good price to this day. Wool is nineteen and 
twenty shillings a stone.. Barly is twenty two sh[illings] a quarter, 
and in Yorkshire twenty-eight, etc. 

Febr. 5. At Upper Eeasby there has been a pretty large 
handsome town formerly, but now 'tis all vanished but one single 
large farm-house. There has been a pretty larg church there, 
weH built, as appears from part thereof now standing, and the 
tradition of the place says that it has had four bells, two of which 
were broke, and the other two given to the church of Boxby, 
within the memory of man.^ 

6. And this day I went to Gokewell,' formerly called Goy- 
kewell, which was a nunnery. It seems to have been a most 
stately place.'* The walls has compassed in betwixt twenty and 
thirty akers of ground. They shew'd me a little well, which, by 
tradition, was once very great and famous ; this they called Nun's 
Well. It has run straight through the midst of this ground, 
being a great spring, and it fedd all the house with water, and 
several statues or water fountains in the courts and gardens. The 
part of the old building that stands is but very small, one room 
at most Here was a church within this nunnery, as the con- 
stant tradition says, part of which, being fitt to fall, was pull'd 
down about ten years ago ; and as they digged deep, to set down 
a stoop for a yate, the[yj found, at about four foot deep, the pave- 
ment of the sayd church consisting of larg four square pavers all 
leaded. Part of the orchard walls of this nunnery is yet stand- 
ing, and there has spread upon it and knitt into it an ivy that has 
mightily preserved it, and will keep it firm and strong many 

y There is evidence of there once having been a village at Eisby. Green 
mounds may still be seen, by which the forms of houses may be traced. They 
were probably simply cottages around the hall. This hall, once the residence of 
Sir John Aylmer, Kt., third son of John Aylmer, Bishop of London, has long 
disappeared. Its site is occupied by a farm house of the better class. The 
estate has been in the possession of the family of Elwes, of Great Billing, in 
Northamptonshire, for several generations. The church of Risby has long dis- 
appeared, the foundations alone remaining. The form of the chancel, nave, 
and tower, may still be distinctly made out, as also the enclosure fence of the 
church-yard, now but a green bank. 

' There is but little known about this small religious house. A few sculp- 
tured stones remain of its buildings. Among the proceedings of the Lincoln- 
shire Architectural Society for 1854, pp. 104-8, are transcripts of four grants of 
land which were once made to it. 

• It was built by one Mr. WilL D'Awtrey, in lattin De altd TipL^Jifarffiaial 
Nste hy diaritt. 



80 THE DIARY OF 

years, in the stones of which wall are innumerable belemnites. 
There was a little to^vn, as there most commonly was wherever 
were religious houses ; the chappel that belonged to it was pulld 
down and converted into a dwelling house, which stands on the 
north side of this nunnery, and is, to this day, called the chappel 
house. 

7. This day I made another journey, and that was to Kan- 
trop,* to enquire for antiquitys there. I find that it's true name 
is Ravensthorpe, and that there has been a town there, as is 
apparent from the foundations of many houses. I was shewed 
a place likewise, which the constant tradition of the inhabi- 
tants says was a chappel, and the cloas is called Chappel cloase 
unto this day. This place is in Appleby parish, for all that 
our parish of Broughton is betwixt. They talk that there has 
been a religious house here, or however, as I am rather apt to 
believe, a college of monks belonging to Thornholm in the 
parish of Ap]:)leDy, and very probable it is that the lord of this 
Rantrop, tho' it was in Broughton parish, might give the same 
unto the monks of Thornholm, and so by that means it perhaps 
came to be annexed to Appleby parish, tho' it be realy and truly 
in this of Broughton. All the houses at this Ravenstnorp is now 
but three or four. 

When the religious houses were standing in petty towns, the 
towns got a great sustinence by them ; but they being pull'd 
down, was the reason of the towns falling to ruin. Tomorrow I 
go see Thornton, if it be fair weather. 

8 . Yesterday I could not go to Thornton , as I proposed, but how- 
ever went to Castrop*" in this parish, which town was formerly 

* Raventhorp, pronounced by the common people Ranthrup, is a detached 
township belonging to the parish of Appleby. There are some obscure traces 
of foundations yet visible. It is not probable that the place was ever much 
more populous than it is now. There is at present but one farm house and a few 
cottages. The last census return gives the population as 26. 

^ Castlethorpe, pronounced by the common people Castorp, the same exactly 
as the Domesday spelling. When the Domesday survey was made, it formed 
a part of the possessions of Durant Malet ; and the following charter shews that 
this township, or a portion of it, was in the hands of the family of Painel, at 
a shortly subsequent period. The hand in which the charter is written and 
other circumstances, I am informed, indicate that it is not of later date than 
the reign of Henry II. 

" Notum sit omnibus, tam praesentibus quam f uturis, quod ego Willelmus 
Painel dono, & concedo, & hac me^ cart^ confirmo Philippo de Alta Ripa, filio 
Antonii de Alta Ripa, dimidiam carucatam in Eaisthorp, quam Antordus de Alta 
Ripa tenuit de me ; cum tofto quod idem Antonius tenuit in eadem villa in f eudo 
k hsereditate ; sibi & haeredibus suis tenendam de me & hssredibnsmeis, in bosco 



ABKAHAM DE LA PRYME. 81 

caird Castlethorp, from a great castle that was therein King John's 
days, the ruins of which are now scarce to be seen, onely the 
place where it stood is called Castle Hill to this day. On the 
east side on the town, on your right as you go down to the com- 
mons, here are a great many foundations of houses to be seen. 
It has been as bigg again as it is, and was once a parish of 
itself. They say that it had a larg chappell at it formerly, where 
now stands the stable on the south side of the east fold. I fancy 
that there has also been a religious house there where now the 
hall stands, because that I have observ'd, in the walls thereoif, 
arch'd windows, very low, near the ground, with cherubim heads 
on, and, -in a neighbouring house over against the way, I say 
[saw] a piece of ceiling with these letters on in great characters, 
J.H.O., which signifies Jesus Iwminum Salvator ; and this hall, I 
observe, has been moated about with a very deep ditch, as most 
religious houses were. This hall was built about the year 1600 
(as appears from a stone over the gate), out of the ruins perhaps 
of the reliofious house. 

About fifty years since there was another great hall here, that 
stood in the great cloase that lyes full west of this hall, the founda- 
tions of which are yet visible. There is to be seen about this hall 
these two coats of arms in stone.'' 

1695-6. 25. Being at Brigg yesterday with Mr. Morley, of 
Redburn, or Retburn, as it is in old deeds, and being talking of 
various things, he says that about four years ago there happened a 
mighty rain and a great flux of the springs, which are all about 
these townes here in Lincolnshire, and he says that he himself saw 
and beheld, in all the gutters and rivelets of water in the streets and 
in the flodges,^ great quantities of little young jacks, or pickerels, 

k piano, in pratis k pasturis, in viis & semitis, in aquis, infra villam & extra 
villam, & in omnibus locis, pro homagio suo, liberam & quietam ; reddendo mihi 
& haeredibus meis xijd, ad Pentecosten pro omnibus serviciis quae ad me per- 
tinent & haeredes meos. His testibus, Roberto de Gaunt, Petro de Alta Ripa, 
Toma Peitevin, Willelmo de Hedune, Philippo de Alta Ripa, Nigello filio 
Wimarc, Alexandro de Alretune, Adamo Painel, Theobaldo, Ricardo Painel, 
Gilbert© Painel, Willelmo filio Gamelli, Willelmo de Plaia, Hugone de Startune, 
Jordano filio Roberti," (Seal gone). 

The township most probably takes its name from an earthwork. A castle, 
in the sense in which the word is now commonly used, can scarcely have existed 
there at so early a time. 

<* Two shields are here sketched, one of them quarterly, but the chargea 
have not been inserted. 

* Flodge. A small sheet of water of very slight depth, on a nearly level 
surface. It is no doubt a hard form of the word Flash, Flosh, or Fleesh. It 
bears the same relation to Flash as Splotch does to Splash, Slodge or Sludge to 

G 



/ 

/ 



82 THE DIARY OF 

about the length of a man's fingure, and that when the waters 
were gone they all dy'd. I ask'd him whence he thought they 
came. He sayd he could not certainly tell, but that some thought 
they came from the clouds with the rain, but that he for his part 
believed that they came out of the springs, and that they bred there 
in great caverns of the earth. Upon which I told him the history of 
the great lake in Carniola,^ which mightily pleas'd him, and con- 
firmed him in his opinion. 

We had the newse yesterday of a great plot being discovered, 
and how the king had like to have been kill'd, and how that K[ing] 
J[ames] was ready to land, etc., which has putt the nation into 
an exceeding great fright ; they resolving every [where], as well in 
citty as country, to stand by the king with their lives and fortunes. 

[March] 10. I was yesterday with one Mr. Nevil, of WintCT- 
ton,^ who I found to be a very ingenious man. He has several 
old MSS. by him. One is a history or chronicle of England in 

Slush, or Pitch to Pick. The other form, Flash, is yet a common provincialism 
in Lincolnshire. Ferry Flash, near Hardwick Hill, on Scotton Common, appears 
in the Ordnance map. 

/ Camiola, a duchy in Germany, of which Lanbach is the capital. 

f John Nevil, of Winterton, was a member of a family that had been settled 
at Faldingworth, in the county of Lincoln, from an early period. The late Mr. 
Williamson Cole Wells Clark, of Brumby, had a pedigree of this race, labelled 
" Nevil's pedigree of Faldingworth. Collected out of evidences and ancient 
records in the custody of Mr. John Nevile, nunc de Faldingworth, 1641, by 
Dr. Sanderson, bishop of Lincolne." It was not in the doctor's autograph, and 
contained some entries of a later period than his death, but there is no reason- 
able doubt of its genuineness. Many of the charters from which it was compiled 
are in Mr. Peacock's possession. The pedigree begins with a certain Thomas 
de Nov^ Vill^, " circa tempus conquestoris Angliae," after whom follow four 
generations, for whose existence there is no other evidence except in this table, 

then comes a Thomas de Nevil, whose wife was named Johanna they are 

the first of the race whose existence appears to be proved by record evidence. 
From this Thomas, John Nevil, in whose possession the family papers were when 
Sanderson made the pedigree, was the twelfth in direct succession. He was bom 
in 1605 ; his wife was Jane, daughter of Henry Nelson, of Hougham, co. Lincoln. 
This gentleman's second son was John Nevil, the person mentioned in the text. 
He married for his first wife, Ann, daughter of John Morley, of Winterton, 
(See Peacock^ 8 Church Fumiture^ p. 164), but had no issue by her. His second 
wife was Effame Gravenor, one of the Gravenors of Messingham, but whose 
daughter is not quite certain, as the parish register is defective at the time her 
baptism would be entered. They were married 20 Nov., 1661, at that village. 
By this latter match he had three children, John, Edward, and Anne. Mr. 
Nevil filled the office of coroner for this part of Lincolnshire at the end of the 
seventeenth century. His papers relating to inquests are in Mr. Peacock's 
possession. The following is from the Winterton parish register. 1701. " Mr. 
Johne Neville was buried December the thirteenth." His son John, who lived at 
Ashby, in the parish of Bottesford, was buried at Winterton 19 April, 1736. 
There is no stone to either of them in church or church-yard. The Ajrms of the 
family are, Or, a chief indented vert, over all a bend gules. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 83 

many vols, folio, writ by one of his ancestors in 1577. He has 
also a book of heraldry in a vast large fol. as bigg as a church 
bible, made by the famous Bish[op] Sanderson, etc. He tells 
me also that Mad[am] Pelham, of Brocldesby hall, has several 
old MSS. belonging to mon[as]tres. ^^§ Mad[am] Pelham 
was daughter to Mr. Wharton, of Bever- ^quently call'd the 
rich Wharton, because that he was the ; ^man, for to be a 
gentleman only, that was in all Englanf^ ^Sjjs worth fifteen 

thousand pound a year, etc. / 




14. Yesterday I was sent for uj >unary business 

into the Levels, which having disy ^^was told a very 

tragical story that happened at Epw/ >rJout three weeks ago ; 
which is this. Ann, the wife of Th/.^^as] White, being turned 
anabaptist, or dipper,* they went wMn her, to perform the cere- 
mony of dipping upon her, to a pond or well in one of the cloases 
near adjoyning on the south side of the town. So the[y] put 
her in ; upon which shee cryd out, " Oh ! something pricks 
me ! something pricks me ! " Upon which the godly that stood 
by cryd out, " It's your sinns ! it's your sinns ! Lord have 
mercy upon you ! it's your sinns ! '* Upon which they sayd to 
their elder, '' Dipp her again over the head;" she yet crys out 
something pricks her ! and thus they dipp'd'the poor woman over 
the head five or six times, untill they almost drowned her, and 
when shee came out shee lived not over a day. It seems that 
there was fall'n some thorns in the well, or else some unlucky 
lad had put them in, and it was them that prick'd her so, and 
not her sins, as the godly thought. The woman was a young 
pretty woman, one that I had often seen formerly, and had been 
marry'd about half a year. 

12. 'Tis a very strange thing most of the soil of this coimtry 
is full of shelfish ; and such shelfish as are not described by any 
writers. In a quarry at Ravensthorp, or Rantrop, in this parish, 
was found, about half a foot within the stone, whole branches and 
boughs of trees, all petryfyd, and I have by me now a sort of 
fruit somewhat like a gord which I myself struck out of a huge 
stone, etc.* 

13. I heard an old man this day, that was one fof ] Crom- 

* In the parish register of Crowle, co. Lincoln, is the following baptism : 
1714-6. " Mary Stabler (aged about 21 years & bom of Dipper parents)." Feb. 20. 

» The fossil like a gourd was probably an Echinus, three or four species 
of which ha^e been found in the Lincolnshire oolite of this neighbourhood. 



/ 



/ 



I 

/ 



82 THE DIARY OF 

about the length of a man's fingure, and that when the waters 
were gone they all dy'd. I ask'd him whence he thought they 
came. He sayd he could not certainly tell, but that some thought 
they came from the clouds with the rain, but that he for his part 
believed that they came out of the springs, and that they bred there 
in great caverns of the earth. Upon which I told him the history of 
the great lake in Carniola,-^ which mightily pleased him, and con- 
firmed him in his opinion. 

We had the newse yesterday of a great plot being discovered, 
and how the king had like to have been kill'd, and how that K[ing] 
J[ames] was ready to land, etc., which has putt the nation into 
an exceeding great fright ; they resolving every [where], as well in 
citty as country, to stand by the king with their lives and fortunes. 

[March] 10. I was yesterday with one Mr. Nevil, of WintCT- 
ton,^ who I found to be a very ingenious man. He has several 
old MSS. by him. One is a history or chronicle of England in 

Slush, or Ktch to Pick. The other form, Flash, is yet a common provincialism 
in Lincolnshire. Ferry Flash, near Hardwick Hill, on Scotton Common, appears 
in the Ordnance map. 

/ Camiola, a duchy in Germany, of which Lanbach is the capital. 

f John Nevil, of Winterton, was a member of a family that had been settled 
at Faldingworth, in the county of Lincoln, from an early period. The late Mr. 
Williamson Cole Wells Clark, of Brumby, had a pedigree of this race, labelled 
" Nevil's pedigree of Faldingworth. Collected out of evidences and ancient 
records in the custody of Mr. John Nevile, nunc de Faldingworth, 1641, by 
Dr. Sanderson, bishop of Lincolne." It was not in the doctor's autograph, and 
contained some entries of a later period than his death, but there is no reason- 
able doubt of its genuineness. Many of the charters from which it was compiled 
are in Mr. Peacock's possession. The pedigree begins with a certain Thomas 
de Nov^ Villd, " circa tempus conquestoris Angliae," after whom follow four 
generations, for whose existence there is no other evidence except in this table, 

then comes a Thomas de Nevil, whose wife was named Johanna they are 

the first of the race whose existence appears to be proved by record evidence. 
From this Thomas, John NevU, in whose possession the family papers were when 
Sanderson made the pedigree, was the twelfth in direct succession. He was bom 
in 1605 ; his wife was Jane, daughter of Henry Nelson, of Hougham, co. Lincoln. 
This gentleman's second son was John Nevil, the person mentioned in the text. 
He married for his first wife, Ann, daughter of John Morley, of Winterton, 
(See Peacock^ 8 Church Fumiture, p. 164), but had no issue by her. His second 
wife was Effame Gravenor, one of the Gravenors of Messingham, but whose 
daughter is not quite certain, as the parish register is defective at the time her 
baptism would be entered. They were married 20 Nov., 1661, at that village. 
By this latter match he had three children, John, Edward, and Anne. Mr. 
Nevil filled the office of coroner for this part of Lincolnshire at the end of the 
seventeenth century. His papers relating to inquests are in Mr. Peacock's 
possession. The following is from the Winterton parish register. 1701. " Mr. 
Johne Neville was buried December the thirteenth." His son John, who lived at 
Ashby, in the parish of Bottesford, was buried at Winterton 19 April, 1736. 
There is no stone to either of them in church or church-yard. The Aims of the 
family are, Or, a chief indented vert, over all a bend gules. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMK. 85 

not giveing much heed to such things as these — " Come," sayd I, 
^' Mr. Parker, I'll interpret your vision unto you, that you may 
know what it means. The corps you saw carryd is the dead plot, 
which some papists have been carrying on to destroy the relm. 
The bear is King James that was coming, and the great uggly 
thing riding upon him was the King of France, for never prince 
would have been so ridden by the French king as he would have 
been had the plott taken. And the flash of fire (sayd I), in the 
exit of the scene, shews the suddain exit out of this life of these 
wicked conspirators, and their reward for the same hereafter 
must be fire everlasting." At which words he was so mad he 
did not know what to do, and went his way out of the room. 

This Parker is thought most certainly to have been in the 
plot, and so this apparition appeared to him two days before the 
knowledge of the discovery of it was known in the country. 

March the 29th. This day I was at Mr. Edwin Anderson's,' 
and his lady and I fell .into discourse about old age, and how 
old people lived formerly to what they do now. Shee told me 
that shee herself knew a woman very well that got all her teeth 
again, and her hair, after shee was eighty years old. Shee lived 
at Scotter; and I have heard since that it was most certainly 
true. 

Shee told me also that, about twenty years ago, as her father 
was dressing a great pond, by or in Scotter, there was cast up 
out of it three or four score little pretty images about a foot long, 
some in one posture some in another, but delicately cutt of ala- 
baster and other sorts of stones, and one or two there was of bras, 
one of which had a leg broken of. . 

What these has been I cannot imagine,"* whether popish or 
pagan idols. Shee has promised me shee'l procure me one or 
two, and then I shall be better able to judge what they are. I 
never heard of any monastry or religious house being at Scotter, 
so that I cannot conceive what they have belong'd to. See 
Cambd[en], new ed., p. 829. Such have been frequently foimd 
in old Roman towns in Cumberl[and]. 

t 

' Edwin Anderson. — See postea. 

**» Portions, no doubt, of tabernacle work out of some church. Some images, 
exactly corresponding to this description, were found at Epworth, in the Isle of 
Axholme, some years ago. An account of them, with engravings, was com- 
municated by Archdeacon Stonehouse to Willis* Current Notes. Mr. Stone- 
house's original drawings are in his interleaved copy of " The Isle of Axholme," 
in the library of the Dean and Chapter of Lincoln. 



86 THE DIARY OF 

There are a vast number of men taken up that had a hand 
in the late plott. They reckon that there are above two thousand 
five hundred warrens out for takeing of the rogues up. But 
they are taken fast enough without warrens, the lOOOZ. in 
new mill'd monney for the greatest rogues, and 500 for 
the less, dos feats, and there could never [have] been 
invented a better way to apprehend them than by doing so. 
Besides, some of them have got their pardons and 1000/. to boot 
for discovering the whole conspiracy, so that in a little time we 
shall have a mil acount of every thing that these rogues did 
intend to do. 'Tis sayd that there will be a great many men 
suffer. 

Apr. 1. I went this day to see Mr. Sy, minist[er] of Win- 
tringam. I enquired and lookt about for antiquitys, but could 
find none scarce. THe old Roman way has come streight 
from Lincoln thither. It leaves Winterton on the west and 
Wintringham on the east, and there are great foundations dug 
and plough'd up hard by this way near Humber, which I take to 
have been some old beach made by the Romans to bring and 
secure their shipps in, because that it encompasses a great piece 
of land, and is warp up. Here is a place in the town call'd 
chappel garth, from which we may gather that there has been a 
chappel. In the church there is nothing obsCTvable but a 
Knight Templer. Formerly, on the south side of the parsonage 
or minister's house, there stood a great hall, but now it is all 
gone. The minister of this town pays to the king two shillings 
with a few pence as due for the nunnery of Goquell or Goyk- 
well. I saw also an old coin or two of the Roman emp[ire] 
that had been found there. 



7. On the seventh instant I went to Lincoln, and took notice 
of the country all along as I rid, but saw nothing at all observa- 
ble but the old Roman way upon which we rid to the citty. It 
is twenty long miles, I think, from Broughton thither, and I 
wonder that the Romans has left us no monuments all along this 
way but the way itself. Some miles of this side Spittle, as you 
go, here seems a bury, etc. The reason why we meet with none 
here is perhaps because that this part of the nation was but 
meanly inhabited by the old Brittons, so that when the Romans 
came hither they had nobody all this way to oppose them, so 
had no need to cast up any fortifications or iutrenchmcnts. 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRTME. 87 

Spittle seems to have been an old place;" there being some 
old buildings there perhaps gave name to the town, that an old 
spittle or hospital or two, wherein were maintaind poor people 
infected with any contagious spreading distemper, as the plague, 
leprosy, or the like. Perhaps there may be some other pieces of 
antiquitys there also, but I had not time to alight or stay. The 
town seems to have been much bigger than it is now. 

From thence we went to Lincoln. The old citty stood all upon 
a hill ; and there was one inhabitant of the citty with us that let 
us see how farr the bounds of it had formerly gone, and that is 
as farr as the field now goes, which is a mile, so that now here 
is corn where once the citty stood. When we got near the 
town we observed some deep trenches, and saw the fort, and the 
minster, which last place is a most delicate building and mighty 
stately. 

We overtook upon the road an English gentleman, factor in 
Norway, with a Norwegian gentleman in company with him, so 
we went to Lincoln together, and lodged together, and had a 
great deal of talk about Norway, it's people, religion, soil, 
woods, trees, beasts, birds, buildings, etc. He says that the 
nation is exceeding poor, and that the king gets one part of a man's 
yearly estate throuought the whole land ; that the commonality 
are almost meer slaves, and mightily lorded over by their land- 
lords. He confirms that which Mr. Boyl says of the exceeding 

* Spital-in-the-ftreet is a hamlet in the parish of Hemswell. A hospital 
existed here from a remote period. Its funds were aujjmented by Thomas de 
Aston, canon of Lincoln, in the reign of Richard II. The chapel, a mean modern 
building, stands on the old site. On its front is the following inscription : — 

Fvi AO D'NI 1398 ) 

NON FVi ] 594 } DoM. Dei & pavpeevm 

SVM 1616 ) 

QVI HANG DeUS HVNC DESTRVET. 

On the wall of a cottage, once an alms-house, is this : — 

Deo et divitibus 

AO D'NI 1620. 

The sessions for the parts of Lindsey were held here in the seventeenth, and 
early part of the eighteenth, century. The court house remains, but it is now 
used as a bam. Daniel De Foe, or whoever was the author of the Tour thro' 
the wlwle Islo/nd of Great Britain^ (ed. 1742, vol. iii., p. 10), gives an inscription 
which he saw upon this building. 

HiECCB DOMUS DAT, AMAT, PUNIT, CONSERVAT. HONORAT, 
^QUITIAM, PACEM, CRIMINA, JURA, BONOS. 1620, 

Which he renders into English verse a shade more rugged than the original. 
This court does right, loves peace, preserves the laws, 
Detects the wrong, rewards the righteous cause. 

The stone remains still, but in a mutilated state. — See Allen' 8 Lincolnshire^ 

vol. ii., p. 38 ; Notes and Queries, 1st S., vol. ix., pp. 492, 652, 602 ; vol. x., p. 273. 
The old court-house has the arms of Sanderson upon it, with the badge of 

Ulster. 



88 THE DIARY OP 

great heat sometimes there, so that it is not possible almost to 
abide it. The religion there profes'd is Lutherane, and they are 
mighty religious and great maintainors of the same. 

They have none of our blind enthusiasticks amongst them, but 
has an excellent law which commands most strictly any one's 
head to be cutt of immediately that shall pretend to teach or 
inculcate any other doctrine there than that of Luther's, so that, 
by that means, they preserve the peace of the country and their 
religion mightily. There is not any one suffered to preach there 
unles of their faith, no not if they belong to envoys, ambassadors, 
or any factorys. 

There are vast quantitys of bears, foxes, leopards, and wild 
* ravinous beasts, which impoverish the country mightily by their 
destroying of cattel, and wolves are seen there in whole flocks, 
like sheep. 

The gentleman's name was Mr. Heddon, and the Norway 
man's name was James Beorgdendish ; they both came from 
Dram,** in Norway. 

When I came from Lincoln I left Spittle on the east, and so 
passing through Kirton, a fine larg town, (it having one of the 
three largest fields about it that is in all England),'' came to 
Bottsworth,^ which signifyes apple-town, and haveing some 

* Probably the sea port of Drammen, near Christiana. 

P Kirton-in-Lindsey. When De la Pryme says that this place had about 
it one of the three largest fields in England, he could not^mean that the open 
fields in the parish of Kirton were very vast, as the whole parish, including the 
old enclosure, only contains 4,510 acres. In his time the whole of the country,, 
with the exception of some small plots of enclosed land, was open on all sides- 
of this place for many miles. 

1 Bottsworth is the present popular name for the village of Bottesford. 
Budlesforde, Bulesford, (^Domesday); Botlesford, (^Rot. Chart.^ 55, Hen. III., 
pars 1) ; Botelford, Bottilford, {Testa de Nevil^ 311b., 344) ; Botenesford, (^Tax, 
p. NlcJwlai^ iv., circa 1291, p. 75b, The manor belonged to the Knights of St.. 
John of Jerusalem. Bottesford passed through the hands of many owners 
during the first fifty years that followed after the fall of the Religious Houses. 
In 1595 it formed a part of the large estates of the Tyrwhitt family ; on 
the 20th September in that year Marmaduke Tyrwhitt, of Scotter, and Robert 
Tyrwhitt, his son and heir, sold it to William Shawe, of Brumby, and Thomas 
XJrry, of Messingham^ from the former of whom, the present owner, Mr^ 
Peacock, is lineally descended. The Diarist is very far wrong in his derivation 
of the name. It may be taken from some Saxon or Danish personal name, but 
it is far more probable that it is simply the village or dwelling at the ford B5tel, 
B6tl, Btitl, Anglo-Saxon for dwelling, and Ford, a ford. 

The church is a very beautiful one. The chancel being, for its size, one of 
the finest specimens of Early English architecture in existence, but the Diarist 
is wrong in saying it is " all of squared stone." The walls are rubble, with the 
exception of the door and window jambs and the buttresses. The clerestory 
windows are alternately circles and short lancets. The chancel lights are very 
narrow lancets, some of which are engraved in SJiarpe's. Window Tracery. The 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 8& 

business there, I stay'd a while, and then went to see the churchy 
which is indeed very well and very artificialy built all of squared 
stone. There is no monuments in it, but it is very observable 
for its strange sort of windows. In the upper story of the 
church they are all round, but in the lower, almost all over the 
church, they are very long and narrow, scarce a foot wide, with 
a great deal of painted glass in them, representing many pas- 
sages in the Bible, which renders the church somewhat dark, 
and, by that means, strikes some sort of a divine fear and horror 
in the minds of the religious that come to perform their devotions, 
thither. 

I ask'd the Norway gentl[man] about witches,'' and he says 
he never saw any, nor heard but little talk of them. 

1696. April 10. I was with an old experienced fellow to-day^ 
and I was shewing him several great stones, as we walked, full of 
petrifyd shell-fish, such as are common at Brumbe, etc. He 
sayd he believed that they grew ith' stone, and that they were 
never fish. Then I ask'd him what they call'd 'em : he answer'd 



stained glass has all perished. Among some manuscript memoranda of the 
late archdeacon Stonehouse occurs the following notes on Bottesford church. 

" In this church I commenced my ministerial labours as curate to Dr. Bayley, 
on Sunday, 16th day of October, in the year 1815. The church was then in a 
somewhat dilapidated condition — old benches interspersed with high square 
pews — there were then many remnants of fine old stained glass in the windows,, 
especially in the great chancel and in the north transept. That in the north 
transept contained a representation of the crucifixion. It was purloined out of 
the church during some repairs. Mr. Clarke, of Ashby, told me that, when he 
was a boy, he used frequently to go with his playmates and break these windows 
to make toys of the glass ; that the church was open both by night and day, and 
in bad weather cattle were driven in for shelter." 

One* monumental stone still exists in the church, in a mutilated condition, 
which De la Pryme appears not to have noticed. It reads, Hic jacet joh'a 
UXOR RicARDi Bellingh'm armig' ..... cvi a'i'e p'pi'et' Dev' amen. 
The lady commemorated was Johanna, daughter of John Harbert, and relict of 
William Morley, of Holme.- The remains of an early English cross exist in the 
church-yard : it is probably coeval with the earliest part of the church. Some 
fragments of a Norman, or perhaps Saxon, font were found during the restora- 
tion of the chancel, about ten years ago. The present font is of Early English 
character. An ancient gravestone, 5 feet 3^ inches in length, was found, in 
1865, over a body in the church-yard at Bottesford, in the angle formed by the 
north wall of the chancel and the east wall of the north transept. Bottesford 
was a preceptory of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, and it is possible 
that the gravestone is a memorial of one of that brotherhood. The cross on the 
stone is incised. A sketch of it was communicated to the Society of Antiquaries- 
by Mr. Peacock, the local secretary for Lincolnshire, and was engraved in 
vol. iii. of their proceedings, 2nd S., p. 164, 

* The word has been partly erased in the original. 



90 THE DIARY OF 

milner's thumbs/ and adds that they are the excellentest things 
in the whole world, being burnt and beat into powder, for a 
horse's sore back : it cures them in two or three days. He says 
that there has carryers' men come out of Yorkshire to fetch the fish 
thither for the sayd purpose. So I have heard that some mid- 
wifes will give anything to get these sorts of shell-fish that [are] 
found here about this town of Broughton, especialy muscles, 
eoclites, etc., which they beat into powder, and give to their sick 
women, as an exceeding great medicine ad constringendas partes 
post partum. 

10. This aflbemoon I went to see Kettelby, but I found that it 
had never been a religious house, as I had been informed, but 
only a gentleman's hall. An old fellow told me that it was built 
in K[ing] James the First's days to entertain him when he came 
a hunting in these parts. The old man sayd that he had often- 
times heard say that the king, whereever he rid, never held the 
bridle fast in his hand, but always let it ly upon his horse's neck, 
and so he did when he rid a huntinof. I think I have read this 
also of that king, but I have forgot where. 

This Kettleby hall has been a very fine structure, but they 
are now pulling it down. There are stables with almost as fine 
carvings in them as ever I saw in my life.' 

12. I was talking with this gentleman likewise about Greatrix, 
the famous Irish stroker. He says that he knew him very well, and 
lodged over the way just against him in London. He has talk'd 
with him several times, and says that he seem'd to be a Strang 
conceited fellow, believing Strang things of devils, spirits, and 
witches, etc. He says he fancyd him himself to be an impostor. 
He had two or tlu'ee young men wateing upon him, who always 
pump'd the persons that were going to be stroak'd, how long 
they had their distemper, whether they thought that their master 
could cure 'em, etc. He never took one farthing for any cure 

' The "milner's thumb" occurs literally, I am told, by millions in the lias 
beds of North Lincolnshire. Their medicinal properties may still be known. 
They are curved bivalves, the perfect ones have lids to them. The name which 
geologists give them is Oryphoea Ineurva. They are found wherever the lias 
occurs in England, France, and Germany. When burnt they fall into lime, and 
if they are good for wounds, can have no other effect than a mineral one. 

' Kettelby hall, near Brigg, was the chief residence of the family of 
Tyrwhitt. The present structure is a modern farm house. The old hall was 
moated, and the present house stands within the enclosure. A private burial 
ground was attached, over the site of which the Manchester Sheffield and Lin- 
colnshire railway now runs. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 91 

that he did, nor would suffer his servants to do the same ; but 
those that were cured, out of gratitude, a good while, after, pre- 
sented him and his servants with anything that he or they stood 
in need of. While this gentleman lodged over against him, 
which was for about three weeks, there was brought unto him 
near one hundred people, of which he says that there was not over 
fifteen of them cured : upon which some people took notice there- 
off to him. " Are they not so," says he, " I thought they had 
been all cured. Either they want faith, or some of my men has 
received money." So he called up his men, who having heard 
what was sayd, — "Sarrah, you rogues," says he, "some of you, 
I believe, has made my cures ineffectual by your roguerys. John^ 
James, Thomas, Macko, Matko," says he, " I find you are the 
rogue that has received some of the poor's money, tell me ? " So he 
confes'd it. " Well," says he, " get you gone, I'll make an 
example of you." So he went down. And the next morning the 
stroker and all his men went out of town. Thus this gentleman 
told me word for word. He saw this fellow at my Lady Con- 
way's likewise, and dos confess that he did by some way or other 
strange cures there. But there were several likewise that he 
could not cure. He might say perhaps that his servants received 
money, etc. 

13. This day I took a walk in the woods, and the country 
hereabouts being full of springs, I diverted myself by weighing 
the waters, and casting strong spirits into them, and such like, to 
try whether they ran through any minerals or no, etc. ; and 
coming upon Thomham moor, just on the north side of Brough- 
ton wood, near, the same I found a spring that turned all the^ 
grass and moss that grew about it into perfect stone (which pro- 
perty belonging to that spring was never known before. ) I brought 
a great many pieces of the petrifactions thereoff home with me 
in curious shapes. I tryd the water, and found it to proceed 
fi-om iron,** etc., so that I do not question but that it is good in 
many distempers, for several spaws turns moss into stone, and 
the water itself condenses into perfect stone, as that dos at Scarr 
burrow, etc. 

Hermeston is a manour in this shire, and town is very ancient." 
It has it's name fi'om a great stone erected there on the highway, 

« Iron has been worked in this neighbourhood by the Romans. On the 
estate of Charles Winn, esq,, of Nostel, at Scunthorpe, about four miles from 
Broughton, are now very extensive iron works. 

« There is no place called Hermeston in Lincolnshire. Haxmston is a parish 
in Kestcven. I am not sure that this is the place meant. 



92 THE DIARY OP 

dedicated to Hermes ; for it was a eustome to erect and dedicate 
stones up to him, etc. 

29. Mr. Howson, our apparitor, came this [day] unto me, 
with the Association to sign, and I sign'd it accordingly; and over 
all the whole nation there are few or none that refuses the same, 
but every one signs it with the greatest alacrity imaginable. I 
was not bound with any oath or tye of allegiance to K[ing] 
J[ames], therefore I might do it with more freedome and boldness. 
The reason that it had not come amoncfst us sooner was because 
that it was put off till the Visitation, but because that cannot 
be in hast so it is sent about now. 

There lately happened a pretty (tho' inconsiderable) thing at 
London, which is mightily talk'd off all over the country. There 
are a company of rude sparks there commonly calld bullys or 
baux,"* [beaux] who, tho' most of them be but meer cowards, yet 
are for picking quarrels with one, and for hectoring, cursing and 
swearing, none can outdo them. They had lately got up a 
fashion of wearing great huge buttons, and these they called 
bully buttons. A maggot comeing lately in some nobleman's 
head (far so he was thought to bfe) to affront the conceited fopps, 
and so accordingly one evening he went to one of the coffy houses 
where these bans commonly meet, thus cloathed ; his coat was 
beset all with great turneps instead of buttons ; his hatt was 
buttoned upon the side with a huge onion ; his sword had a 
dishcloth hanging about it instead of a bunch of ribbons ; his 
muff that he wore before him was made of a little oyster barrel, 
and the wigg that he had on was all powdered with meal. He 
had six good bigg footmen wateing upon him, some of which 
carryed dridging boxes by their sides, instead of powder boxes, 
for his wigg. Thus cloathed, and thus attended, he walked 
through the streets of London to the bans' coffee-house, where 
being entered, and having strutted about the room two or three 
times, and view'd himself in the looking-glass, he went and sat 
down by the fireside, because that it was winter, and because 
that there was set four or five bans there. Haveing sat there a 

^ Manningham, in 1602, says that "there was a company of young gaUants 
sometyme in Amsterdame, which called themselves the Damned Crue. They 
would meete togither on nights, and vowe amongst themselves to kill the next 
man they mett whatsoever ; so divers murthers committed, but not one punish- 
ed. Such impunity of murder is frequent in that country." The editor in a 
note adds : — " This association was not confined to Amsterdam. A club of pro- 
fligates, under the same name, existed in London, much about this time, under 
the captainship of Sir Edward Baynham, a well known young roysterer," — 
Duiry^ Camden Society^ pub. 1868, p. 142. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 93 

bitt, he began to east his long nieald wigg backward first over one 
shoulder then over another, almost in the very faces of those that sat 
near him, on purpose to affront them. Then says he in hector- 
ing note — " Wee bans are peaceable men," and so he over with it 
two or three times. But they, tho' they whisper'd amongst them- 
selves, and were sore vexed, yet durst not attac him. Then he 
called for a dish of chocolate, and, having drunk it, he gave the 
coffy man half-a-crown, who having asked what he would please 
to have again, answered, " We bans never ask any thing again." 
and so he went out. And hearing some that begun to talk 
behind his back that durst not say a word before his face, he 
steps in again in a great fury saying, " Who is that that has the 
impudence to say that I deserve to be kick'd?" (for so one sayd), 
but nobody sayd a word to him ; upon which he sitts down again, 
calls for another dish of chocolate, and in his paying for it he put 
his hand into the wrong pocket, as he pretend [ed], and drew out 
a handfull of guinneys. Then, putting them up, he put his hand 
in the other pocket, and gave the coffee man half-a-crown, and 
so went his way, haveing sufficiently affronted and hector'd all 
the town's fopps, and out-braved them on their own dunghills. 

4 

I 

[May] 8, 1696. No clipped money being to go beyond the 
4th of May, it has putt all things to a stand, and makes the 
markates very small that was larg ones a little while since. But 
the people dos not half so much grumble thereat as they did at 
first, because that they are now used to it. This being the 8th of 
May, I was at Brigg, and nothing would be taken there but 
broad, and for all that there was not a piece of broad money 
to be seen before that day, everybody thinking there was 
none in the nation, yet now it comes out in plenty. I let with a 
gentleman at the inn that was just come from London, I asked 
him whether the king was gone or no, and he sayd "yes." 
Then I asked him about the conspirators and their number, and 
he told me that it was the deepest layd plot that was ever almost 
known, — " for " says he, " it appears that there was not a 
papist nor Jacobite in the whole nation but knew of the same, 
etc." 

15. Strang and wonderful are the actions and fancys of 
melancholy men ; so rideculous and surprising, that one that is 
not acquainted with books that treats of them, and that has 
not seen such people, could never believe them to be true. I 
have oft heard of S'- James Brooks his thinking to shoot himself 



y 



94 THE DIARY OF 

to death, but never heard so whole and particular an account of 
him as this day from some gentlemen that I was with. 

This S'- James was melancholy, and had the strangest sort of 
actions that ever man had. In the beginning of his disease he 
would have stood on his head, puU'd of all his cloaths and danced 
naked, sung in his sleep, etc. But, in length of time, growing 
"worse and worse, he scarce ever laugh'd, and when he waJk'd he 
went as easily as ever he could. One day his distemper drove 
him to such a height that he was resolved to destroy himself, and 
according [ly] having got a pistel somewhere, he goes into his 
chamber and charges it, and then, seing himself in a looking-glass, 
he holds out his pistel to his own representation in the glass and 
shoots it off, and falls down flat on his back, crying out, " I'm 
kiU'd, I'm kiU'd ! " upon which his servants running up in all 
hast saw the looking-glass all shot in pieces, and a great hole 
through the ceiling into the next room, and found their master 
lying there all his length, pretending he was kill'd, but, finding 
how it was, they were very well pleased that it was no worse, etc. 

We began likewise to talk of the indirect and foolish dealings 
and actions of K[ing] James while he was here in the nation, and 
talking of several that had turned papists he told me this observa- 
ble about the Earl of Salisbury, which I had heard several times 
before. This Earl had the ill luck to turn papist just two or three 
months before that the Prince of Orange came in, and became a 
mighty fat, unwieldy man, so that he could scarce stirr with ease 
about, tho' he was not over thirty-nine or forty years old. When 
the rumor was that the prince was coming he would almost every 
hower be sending his man to Whitehall to hear what newse there 
was. Then, when he heard that the prince was comeing and 
landed, and how he was received, he lamented sadly, and curst 
and damn'd all about him, crying, " God ! God! God 1 I 
turn'd too soon, I turn'd too soon," etc. But, a while before this, 
somebody made a long copy of ingenious verses upon him, and 
scattered them in his chamber and about the streets. They begun 
thus: — 

If Cecil* the wise 

From his grave should arise, 
And see this fat beast in his place, 

He would take him from Mass, 

And turn him to grass, 
And swear he was none of his race. Etc, 

I have forgot the rest. 

* The EarPs surname is Cecil. — Note hy Diariit» 






ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 95 

June 5. Being this day in Yorkshire I hear that a mint has 
come to York^ to coin silver tankards, plates, cups, etc. The 
poor people has been up in great numbers in Ratsdale'' by reason 
that their clipp'd money would not go, and was marching in great 
fury to one of their parlament men's houses, which they swore to 
pull down to the ground and ransack. But the gentlemen round 
about, getting immediate notice of it, soon pacifyed all by com- 
manding that their clip'd sixpences should go if not clippd within 
the innermost rimm, and by promising that they would take care 
to change their little old money for great money, and such like, 
or else they would have done a great deal of mischief. 

Talking this morning with Capt. Sandys of birds Gying over 
sea in winter into hotter climates, and such like, [he] told me 
this very observable thing. That he himself being at Deal, in 
Kent, wateing to take shining, at that time of the year when 
woodcocks were just a comeing over, saw a huge hurricane upon 
the sea, and beheld himself, the next day, some hundreds of wood- 
cocks cast upon the sea shore all about Deal, which he conjectured 
had perished in the sayd storm. 



7. This day I heard of one that is come from Lincoln, that the 
country people has been up about Stamford, and marchd in a 

freat company, very lively, to the house of S'* John Brownley. 
hey brought their officers, constables, and churchwardens amongst 
them, and as they went along, they cryd, " God bless King 
William, God bless K[ing] Wplliam]," etc. When they were 
come to S'* John's, he sent his man down to see what their will 
was, who all answered — " God bless K[ingJ W[illiam], God 
bless the Church of England, God bless the Parliament, and the 



y Although milled money had been coined from an early time in the reign 
of Charles II. (1662), the old hammered money had never been withdrawn from 
circulation. The coinage had therefore, at this time, become so diminished in 
weight by wear, and by the frauds of clippers, that it was not worth intrinsi- 
cally more than half its current value. A tax was laid on houses for the 
purpose of raising the sum of £1,200,000 to supply the deficiencies of the clipped 
coin. That the new money might be issued as soon as possible, mints were set 
up at Bristol, Chester, Exeter, Norwich, and York. The coins struck at these 
places are marked respectively, B, C, E, N, Y, under the king's bust. — See 
Hawkins' Silver Coins, p. 226. 

Thoresby says that, 6 Nov., 1703, he went *to visit Major Wyvil (son to 
Sir Christopher, the author of some learned tracts against popery). The Major, 
being concerned in the late mint at York, when the old monies were called in, 
I desired an account of what monies were coined at the mint, which, by hia 
books, he showed me was 312,520/. 0«. 6<i." — Diary y i., p. 447. 

2 Query Rochdale, — Sio orig. 



96 THE DIARY OP 

Lords Justices, and S^- John Brownley I We are King William's 
true servants, God forbid that we should rebel against him, or 
that anything that we now do should be construed ill. We come 
only to his worship to besieech him to be mercifull to the poor ; 
we and our familys being all fit to starve, not having one penny 
ith' the world that will go," etc. S'^* Jo[hn] hearing all this (as 
soon as his man) at a window where he was viewing them, sent 
them a bagg with fifteen pound in it of old mill'd m(4iey, which 
they received exceeding thankfully, but sayd the sum was so little, 
and their number and necessitys so great, that they feared it would 
not last long, therefore must be forced out of meer necessity to 
come see him again, to keep themselves and their familys from 
starving. Then they desired a drink, and S'^- Jo[hn] caused his 
doors to be set open and let them go to the cellar, where they 
drunk God bless King William, the Church of England, and 
all the loyal healths that they could think on, and so went their 
ways. 

8. This day I was with Francis Anderson, esq., lately come 
from London. I ask'd him, I believe, a hundred questions about 
this and that. He says that Ferguson (who has a great hand in 
this plot) being brought before the councell, one of them sayd, 
" Mr. Ferguson, I'll ask you but two questions" — to whom he 
answered as angerly as could be, " You ask what you will, I'll 
answer none." No more he did, but was sent straight away to 
Newgate, ^hen he came there', one of his disciples seeing him 
go in, "0, dear S^' (says he), what, are you got hither?" 
" Yes, that I am, but I would not have thee to think that I was 
put in here for picking of pockets ; " intimating that it was for 
something more worthy and noble (as he thought) than for such 
a base thing. 

About a fortnight before the late great plot broke out there 
went several spys from London to pump the clergy almost all over 
England, tho' who sent them, or what their design or intent 
was, God knows. However, they were well arm'd, and had their 
pockits full of gold and silver, and were well mounted. They 
commonly let at an ale-house ith' town, and having leam'd what 
the minister's name was, and such like, they sent for him, saying 
they were strangers and travilers, and would be very glad to 
drink a pot of ale or wine with them for company sake. I 
myself was with a friend of mine, an ingenious clergyman of 
Fishlake, near Doncaster, in Yorkshire : one of them met with him 
at Doncaster, and being both in the house together, the gentile- 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 97 

man desired Mr. Hall," the clergyman, to sit down and drink with 
him. So having asked Mr. Hall what was his name, where he 
lived, and having pump'd all out of him that he could about King 
W[illiam] and the Church of England, he writt it down in a table 
book. The gentleman sayd he came from London, and that he 
was to ride all the north part of England round, and then to 
return to London again, and I have heard from several ministers 
of the towns round about, that he always drew them on to dis- 
course about the aforesayd things, and whatever they sayd, he 
was never angry, but noted all down in his book, and always 
treated those that he sent for. Some thought this fellow was a 
spy to see which of the clergy stood true to K[ing] W[illiam], 
which not. Others thought him sent down by some presbiterians 
to see how many of the clergy stood affected to them ; and some 
thought him sent for other things. 

This day I was at Brigg to hear the newse. We had nothing 
observable but a great riseing of the mob, at and about New- 
castle, about the money not going, and we do not hear that they 
are yet quelled. 

Most people seems mightily dissatisfyed, tho' they love K[ing] 
W[illiam] very well. Yet they curse this parliament, not for 
their design of coining all new, but for their ill mannagement of it 
in setting so little time, in takeing no care to coin fast and send 
new monney out, etc. 

In most places the people has got such a way of takeing 
money now as was never in use before : I mean not in England ; 
and that is they take all by weight. Every one carry a pare 
of scales in his pocket, and if he take but a shilling in the market, 
he pulls out his scailes, and weighs it before that he will have it, 
and if it want but two or three grains they refuse it. 

And for all that the act of parliament says sixpennys shall go 
not cHp'd within the innermost rim, yet nevertheless no body will 
take sixpences unless they were never clip'd and be full weight. 

Poor people are forced to let their clip'd shillings go for 6d., 
8d., and some at lOd. a piece, and some at shops are forced to 
give as much more for anything they by as is ask'd for it, etc. 
These are very hard things, and but that the nation is so mightily 
in love with the king they would all be soon up in arms. 

The parliament promiss'd that no man should loos anything 

• John Hall does not occur amongst the vicars, and was probably curate 
only. In an Act of Chapter, 20 Nov., 1 693, at Durham, it was ordered, " That, 
if Mr. Maurice Lisle resigne the vicarage of Fishlake, Mr. John Hall shall 
shall have the next presentation." It does not appear that Mr. Lisle did resign. 
See more concerning him pottea, 

H 



98 THE DIARY OF 

by this thing, and layd a tax for seaven years for the makeing up 
the deficiency of the ch'p'd silver, yet everybody must pay the 
tax and loose vastly in their little money to boot. 

I have seen unclip'd half crowns that has weigh'd down fifteen 
shillings dipt. Some have weigh'd more. Shillings I have seen 
that has outweigh'd three, four, five, six shillings clip'd. 

And that which surpriz'd me to-day, one said unto [me] " S^' 
I have been weighing a shilling and it wanted seven groats of 
weight" ; that is, he put a broad shillpng] into one skale and a 
clip'd one into the other, and seven silver groats to it before he 
could bring it to the weight of the broad shilling. 

'Tis sayd that the parliament was not half so wise in this 
aifair about money as the[y] might have been. They studdyed 
and computed that all the clip'd money in the nation came not 
to above . . . millions, and having guessed how much would 
make up the difficiency in that summ, they lay'd this tax upon 
the houses for seven years. But now it appears since that there 
are above one hundred millions in the nation clip'd, so that it 
will not be a tax of many seaven years that can make out so vast 
a deficiency. 

And people percieving this, and finding that for the future (by 
reason of the narrowness of the coinage acts), that no money will 
be taken of them to be new minted but by weight, they will not 
feceive any but by weight likewise. There are reckoned to be 
now in the Exchecker .... millions of clip'd money, and 
yet it is as plenty here in the country as ever, so that not half 
nor quarter is yet put in thither. 

lliere was a sad thing happened the other day at Ferriby-by- 
Humber. A carefull honest pedlar woman, who had got a great 
deal of clip'd money by her through her trading, was almost 
madd for a week together when shee percieved that all her labour 
and pains to scrape up portions for her children had been to no 
purpose, and that not a penny of her money would go. Shee 
took a knife and cut her own throat, and dy'd. 

Several people went to see her, and amongst others there was 
one there who sayd thus — " It may be questioned (says he) 
whether this woman be guilty of her death or no ; I would have 
all the parlament men come and touch her,"* 

I was in Yorkshire about a week ago, and there was some 
that told me this sad story. A gentleman in Nottinghamshire, 
near Mansfield, having a huge flock of sheep, had several shep- 

^ Alluding to the old belief that blood would flow at the murderer's touch. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME, 99 

pards to keep and take care of them. The head sheppard was a 
marryd man and had a family. He came to his master saying, 
" S'^^" says he, "I want some money, I have had none of so 
long." "John," says [he], "you shall have the best money 
that I have," so he fetches him twenty shillings, and gave him 
them. But John told him that he believed they would not go. 
His master bid him trye, and if they would not, bring him 'em 
again, for they were the best he had. So he did try, and did 
bring them again because they would not go. So the poor man 
was forced to go home without any money, and he and his family 
lived of grass, rape, leaves, and such like, for above a week, 
until they were almost starved. At last it comes in his mind, 
what signifyze it, thinks he, if I take one of my master's sheep, and 
kill it and eat it, to keep me from starving : my master owes me 
a great deal more money than one sheep's worth. So having 
taken one, killed it and eaten it, his master, hearing thereoff, 
sends for him and carry s him before a justice of peace for 
stealing one of his sheep. When they were come there, and that 
the poor man had made his whole case known, the justice shaked 
his head, and said nothing for a good while, but at last dismissed 
the poor man, after a little reprimand for his boldness, but told 
the master if he had no broad money he must get some, must sell 
his sheep, etc. 

17. I was at the Visitation at Gainsbur this day, and we were 
putt to sign the Assosiation, and all did it, but onely one parson 
who had been mad formerly, and was never right well since. 
We signed one before, but it would not do, not being upon 
parchment. 

25. This day I was with one Mr.. Holland, at Winterton, who 
had under King James' days got a great estate by unlawful} 
means, and being fear'd to be call'd to an account for the same, he 
fled into America, into one of our plantations there, and is become 
a great man, having many fields, and houses, and slaves. But, 
finding that he was never call'd here to an account, so he ventered 
to come over to see all his friends. I ask'd him a great many 
things, which he gave good answers to. 

July 10. These three or four days last past I have been at 
Hatfield in Yorkshire, the place of my birth, and where many 
of my relations and very good friends lives. I was in company 



100 THE DIARY OF 

with S'^- Brotherdine Jackson/ John Ramsden, esq., Jo. Hat- 
field, esquire,*' Tho[mas] Lee, esq., Com[eliu8] Lee, gent., 
Capt[ain] Sandys, and several others, all of them learned and in- 
genious men, and worthy of all credit and honour. I heard them 
tell many observable and remarkable storys, some of which I shall 
here set down. 

Capt[ain] Sandys sayd that as a certain man was digging in 
his garden at Rumford, in Essex, about fourteen years ago, he let of 
a small vault, which he was a long while before he could get opend. 
At last having opend the same he cal'd for a candle, and looking 
in he perceived a kind of a coffin therein, which haveing taken 
out, he perceived that it was made of a green sort of glass, and 
was in leng[th] just two foot nine inches. It was excellently 
well soldered or run together, so that no .air could get in ; but, 
being broke by the country clown, he found nothing therein but 
ashes or dust, and the bones of an infant. The truth of this was 
asserted likewise by Jo. Hatfield, esq. 

Capt[tain] Sandys adds that he saw part of the glass coffin, 
and says that it was very rudely run, and was about half an inch 
thick. Whether this might be the onely child of some great 
king or queen, or the reliques of some little martyr laved up 
there in the times of popery, I shall not take upon me to decide. 

The same Capt[ain] told us also the following relation, to 
witt. That when he was quarter'd at Chelmsford, in the same 
county, a gardener, for the improvement of his garden, cast and 
cut away the skerts of a great hill or old burrow that was on one 
side of his garden ; and having done so several years, sometimes 
he found pieces of arms therein. But at last he discovered (under 
the bows of a huge old oak that grew on this hill) a great stone 
coffin between eight and nine foot long, which being open'd, there 
was nothing found therein but the ashes of a burnt body, and 
some parts of huge bones, and a bust of gold, as bigg as an egg, of 
the head of one of the Caesars. This bust he sold, takeing it to be 
brass, for two shilling, to the minister of the town, who (out of 
requital for some favours) presented it to the Repository or 
University at Oxford. The fellow, upon discovery of all this, setis 
up a shed under the aforesay'd tree, and sold ale there, haveing 
caused it to be cryed up and down the country what he had dis- 

^ Sir Bradwardine Jackson, third and last baronet of Hickleton, named in 
the Baronetage of 1727 as then living and unmarried, but what ultimately 
became of him has not been ascertained. — See HurUer's Sovth Yorkshire^ ii., 
p. 136 ; Herald and Genealogist^ part xxvii., p. 270. 

'' Of Hatfield, — Hunter's South Yorkshire^ i,, p. 177, 178 ; see antey p. 13. 



ABRAHAM D£ LA PRTME. 101 

covered, so that he got a great trade, and the capt[ain] hearing 
of it sent word thereof to the Duke of Albermarle, who, being not 
farr of, came amongst others to see it, and [the] duke, being very 
inquisitive, he took some of the dust out of the coffin in his hand, 
and smelling thereoff percieved it to be most excellently sweet, 
so that he carry'd some handfiills away with him. 

The ingenious Mr. Lee told us that he was present at the siege 
of Colchester, and that he saw the two loyal and couragious 
gentlemen, S'- Ch[arles] Lucas, and S'* George Lile, executed 
there, when the rebells took the town. He says that they were 
both brought bound into the castle-yard, and being loos'd, 
they then prayed together, and, haveing hugg'd one the other, 
they stood expecting the fatal bullets, which accordingly came 
and killed them both stark dead in a minnit, who, falling back- 
ward, lay there a good while before that they were taken up and 
buried. But, from that time to this, 'tis observed that no grass 
will grow where these two brave men fell, but that there is to this 
day the exact figure on the ground in hay time that they fell in ; 
for it is good hay and grass round about, but in these places. This 
was attested by Tha[mas] Lee, esq,, and Capt[ain] Sandys says 
that he has observed it himself. 

But when the king returned, the L^- Lucas, the brother to the 
dead of that name, erected a stately monument to the memory of 
these two brave men, with this inscription thereon,* 

Here lyes buried the renown'd 

Sr- Ch[arle8] Lucas, and Sr. George Lile. basely * 

Murder'd by the Ld. Fairfax, general 

Of the Parlament army. 

Several years after that the king was come in, and after that this 
was erected, the Lord Fairfax came to kiss the king's hand and to 
desire a favour from him, and as he was on his knees, kissing the 
the king's hand, he desired that the aforesayd monument might 
be demolish'd, for it was a skandal and stain to his family. Upon 
the hearing of which the La. Lucas (that erected it), standing by, 
humbly entreated the king that, if he was pleased to grant Fair- 
fax that favour, his majesty would be pleased to suffer him to 
erect another after the same shape. But the king answered thus, 
laying his hand on Fairfax's head, "No, no, my L*^' you have 
been a great rebell, and I was so kind as to pardon you. And as 
for the monument it shall stand as long as the world endures." 
This Mr. Lee, while he wag comet for the king, was with 

* In his chapel at Colchester. — Marginal Ncfte by Diarist, 



102 THE DIARY OF 

his friend Robin Portington/ at the fight at Horncasile, in this 
county, but it happen'd that after a sharp fight they were beat^ 
so that one was forc'd to fly one way, one another. This Robin 
in his flight and escape was met in an odd place by a country 
parson, to whom this Robin sayd thus — " Ey, by God, we have 
now beat these damn'd king's men, these roges that thought to 
have destroy'd the whole nation," etc. " Ey, S'» ey, (says he) 
I hear of it, God be thanked for the victory, their vanquish'd, 
I wish their king was but as dead as many of his adhearents are." 
" Ey, you rogue," says Mr. Portington to him, " Say you so, by 
God you'r a dead man," and, whipping out a pistol, he shot him ; 
and, as he was falling of horseback, he cryd, "Lord have mercy 
upon my soul ;" to which Robin answered, " Ey, by God, but it 
is a question whether He will or no ; however, I care not whether 
He have or no." 

This Robin came into Marshland and lurked there, and not 
very long after, as he was going over Whitgift feiTy, he say 
[saw] an ape, and playing with it, it bit his hand, which bite he 
slighting, it ganger'd and kill'd him. Mr. Hatfield sayd that he 
had several times heard his father (who was a capt[ain] in the 
parlament's army) tell this sadd story. 

After which, " Come (says Mr, Corn[elius] Lee) I'll tell you a 
fine comical story, after such tragical ones. When I was last at 
London there was this cunning trick played. There was two 
rogues sitting in the chamber of a tavern next to the street, over 
against which was a merchant's house. These rogues percieves 
through the window a casement open in a roome of the mer- 
chant's over against them, and observed that the merchant was 
taking his morning draught with' his wife before that he went out 
to the exchange. They observed likewise that they drunk out of a 
great silver tankard, that had part of the lidd broken off. * See 
you,' sayd one of them to the other, ' yon tankard shall be mine 
before two houers end. I like it very well, it is a larg one,' etc. 
* Pish,' say the other, ^how will you get it?' ^Let me alone 
for that,' says he ; and so he go's, and in the first place went 
streight into the market, and buys a great pike, and brought it to 
the merchant's house, saying, ' Madam, your husband has mett 
with two or three gentlemen of his relations, and intends to bring 

/ Of a family at Bamby-Don, co. York. Hunter {Smith Yorkshire^ i., p. 213) 
states that he was a major in Sir William Savile's regiment, and was at the 
fight at Horncastle on October 11, 1643, when Sir Ingram Hopton was slain. 
Portington was taken prisoner at the battle of Willoughby and sent to Hull, 
where he was confined until the Restoration. He died 23 December, 1660, and 
was buried at Arksey, a few miles from Barnby-Don. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 103 

them home to dimier, therefore, fearing that you might have 
nothing in the house, he has sent you this pike to prepare for 
them. And, madam, (says he) your husband bid me ask you for 
a silver tankard that has part of the lidd broken of, and desires 
you to send it to him, and he will get the lidd mended and bring 
it with him, by the same token that both of you drunk your 
morning draughts in it.' ' Ey,' says shee, * we did so,' and 
so shee fetched it, and delivered it to him. And away go's he 
with his tankard, and shews it to his companion, sa3ring, ' See 
you here, sarrah I (says he) I have got what I look'd for, I have 
Drought it with me,' etc. So they sat them down at the afore- 
sayd place and drunk on. At noon the merchant comes home, 
and as soon as his wife saw him shee fell a scowlding him, saying, 

* Ey, husband, you'r always a troubleing us thus with somebody 
or other, youv'e no prudence in you.' To which he sayd, 

* Pray, dear, what do you mean ? What do you mean, to be 
thus angry with me ? ' ' What do I mean ? (says she), 
nay, what do you mean, to play us so many foolish tricks ? ' 

* What strangers are those you'r bringing to dine with us ? ' 

* To dine with you ! I know of none — I am bringing none.' 

* No ! (says shee) what did you send yon pike for then ? ' 'I 
sent none,' says he. ' Nor you did not send for the great silver 
tankard to get mended neither, did you?' ' No,' says he, ' no 
more I did ! ' At which they both stood amazed for a while, but, 
recollecting themselves, they both concluded that some rogue had 
imposed upon them and cheated them, upon which they both ran 
out of doors, one to one goldsmith, and another to another, to lay 
wait for the plate, and so they took care for the recovering of it, 
and for the apprehending of the rogue." 

" But, in the meantime, he sat looking out of the hole in the 
glass window, and seeing them run'd one one way and the other 
another way, says he to his companion, ' Jack, I'm hungry, I'll 
'een go steal my pike, again that I gave yon merchant, and we 
will have it dress'd.' 'Pish! pish!' says the other to him, 

* you'l certainly be taken and hang'd for your being so venter- 
some. ' ' No, no,' says he, ' I will go,' and so being some- 
what disguised by pulling his sleeves of, and by tying a speckled 
handkercher about his neck instead of his cravat, he goes a back 
way, and comes running up the street to the merchant's, and with 
great joy runs in crying, ' The rogue's taken, the rogue's taken, 
God be thank'd, he's taken that stole your master's tankard, and 
he has got it again, and sent the thief to Newgate.' ' God be 
thank'd for it,' says the maid, ' I'm gladd of it.' ^ And,' says 



104 THE DIARY OP 

he, ' Your master and mistris is met at such a tavern, and they 
sent me to command you to send them the great pike that the 
damn'd rogue brought here ith' morning, for they intend to get 
their dinners there : there are several of the neighbours met there 
also, and they are very merry.' * Well, well,' says shee ; so 
shee delivers him the pike, ready to be used, and takes down a 
large silver platter and lays it thereon, and so the rogue went of 
with more than what he expected. As soon as his partner saw his 
great fortune he was amaz'd, but both of them thinking it was 
not safe for them to stay any longer there, they contrived a way 
in a box for the carriers to get their prize off, and then shifted 
for theirselves." 

" But about two houers after the maid had delivered him his 
fish, in comes her master and mistris, and as soon as ever she 
saw them, ' I'm glad at heart,' says shee to them, ' that you 
have got your tankard again, and discovered the rogue, God be 
thank'd for it, God be thank'd,' etc. ' What, what, what ails 
the lass,' say they, ' is shee madd ? Surely shoe's madd, 
she talks she knows not what.' ' Well, well ! tho' you 
make as if you had not got it, yet you have, and I am heartily 
glad of it. I sent you the rogue's pike on the great silver platter,* 
etc. ' God ! (says he) has this rogue cheated me again, 
he has not onely got my tankard but my platter also,' etc. 
Upon which they were all so mightily surpriz'd that they did 
not know what to do, but stood as thunderstruck, amazed at the 
strangness of their losses." 

It is very observable what Mr. Ramsden sayd touching clip- 
pers, which we had been talking of. He says that about nine 
years ago, when he was at London, there was a clipper taken, 
who, being a shoemaker by trade, wrought at the aforesay'd art 
openly in his shop, singing aloud, " I shall ne'er go the sooner, I 
shall ne'er go the sooner to the Stygian ferry." Thus he did for 
some two days together, but on the third he was taken, and in 
the next assises hang'd. He had been long at the trade, but 
always did it in secret ; but being turn'd a rigid predestinarian, 
he believed it in vain to work any more in secret, but took it to 
be the very same to work in publick, for no one could anticedate 
his own death. 

11. This day I went to see Madam Anderson, and falling a 
talking from one thing to another, shee ran and fetched me down 
several old coins to look at, amongst which one was a rose noble, 
one of those that Ramund Lidly is sayd to have made [by] 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 105 

chymistry. There was another of silver, which was a medal made 
upon the return of K[ing] Charles the Second ; and there was 
two or three old Saxon coins, such as is seen in the beginning of 
Cambden, and one which was a Danish one. Concerning which 
three or four last shee told me this very observable thing ; to witt, 
that about four years ago, as a man was digging in the field near 
unto Boston, in this county, he light upon a cave, which having 
broke through the wall thereof, he discovered therein the dead 
body of a man, layd in a kind of a stone coffin, which body fell 
to ashes as soon as ever he touched it. And in the cave he found 
great heaps of money, all black with age, which money he sold 
in whole baggs full, by weight, to all the neighbouring country, 
and carry'd a great quantity of it to Gainsburr, and sold it by 
weight there, and there it was that this lady got those pieces 
thereof that I saw. They were full as bigg as large sixpenys, 
and were all of them of silver, and of a great many different coins. 

Shee relates likewise that about thirty years ago there was 
•discovered a very Strang thing at Godstow, which shee had from 
many eye witnesses, and was this. As a gardiner was digging 
on the side of a great hill nigh the town, he could never proceed 
on his work for the great stones that he continnualy encounter'd 
with, therefore one advised to digg on the top of the hill, and 
having done so for half a day, he came to 'a causy, as he cauld it 
at first, but, having pull'd up many of the stones, it appear'd to 
be the roof of a great arched cave, built in manner of a church, 
in which there were several old monuments and diverse imaojes. 
Some of the latter she says were taken out and putt in the church 
of that place. 

This brings into my mind what I heard a gentleman say, last 
time I was in Yorkshire, to witt, that about the year 1659, when 
he was in Somersetshire, there was discover'd in a hole on Mal- 
vern hills, a pot full of money, many of which this gentleman 
had, but has lost them all. However, they were brass and 
copper, and had most of them the name of Lewellin on. The 
same gentleman let me se an old Athenian coin, with an owl on 
it on one side, on each side of which was an omicron and a 
eupsilon, on the other side a royal head with a crown on, with 
two ill shaped unknown letters. 

16. I was with a gentleman or two this day that came from 
London, an ingenious, knowing, understanding man, and he says 
that many of the commissioners and great men for the king 
keep spys in the citty of liondon, and in the nation, who they 



106 THE DIARY OF 

find with money, and gives them lieve to swear at K[ing] 
Wil[liam], and to drink K[ing] James his health, and to talk 
against the government, and to join themselves to all companys, 
on purpose to pump them, and to find how they are inclined. 
And when that they discover any thing they immediately give 
notice thereof to their respective masters. He says that Mons'- 
de la Rue, who is one of the chief discoverers in this plot, is a spy 
of the L*^* Portland's, and that the Duke of Devonshire, the Earl 
of Ormond, and others, keeps a great many more, some one, some 
two, and some three, a piece. 

The 18th instant, being Saturday, I went to see a place, be- 
tween Sanclif and Conisby, called the Sunken Church,^ the tradi- 
tion concerning which says that there was a church there formerly, 
but that it sunk in the ground with all the people in it, in the 
times of popery. But I found it to be only a fable, for that 
which they shew to be the walls thereof, yet standing, is most 
manifestly nothing but a natural rock, which lifts itself out of 
the ground about two yards high, in a continued line, like the 
wall of a church, etc. 

S*^- Rob[ert] Swift,* in 1612, had a great estate at Laneham, 
Upton, Gamston, etc., in Nottinghamshire. He was son to 

f Sunken Church at Sancliff yet exists, and is known by that name. The 
story is that the church and the whole congregation were swallowed up by the 
earth, but that on one day in the year (the anniversary, it is believed, of that 
on which the church went down), if one goes early in the morning he may hear 
the bells ring for Mass. The legend cannot be accounted for. A similar tale 
exists, I understand, about various other places in Britain and Germany. There 
has clearly been no church here. The stone is certainly natural. It is not so high 
now as Pryme reports. The earth has probably washed down the hill and raised 
the ground about it. There are some marks or furrows on it, which may be 
very rude carvings, but this is doubtful. As large stones are a rarity there- 
abouts, and as this is visible at a considerable distance, it may have had heathen 
rites connected with it, which have given a weird mwnory to the spot. 

* See pedigree of Swyft, of Rotherham, Doncaster, and Streetthorpe, (^South 
Yorkshire^ i., p. 204), where it appears that it was his cousin Frances (and not 
his daughter), third and youngest daughter and coheiress of his uncle, Robert 
Swyft, esq., who married Sir Francis Leake, as stated. Our Diarist, in another 
of his MSS., says of Sir Robert Swift that he bought Stristerop [Streetthorpe] 
where he dwelt. " He was an ingenious, witty, and merry gentleman, concern- 
ing whome this town (Hatfield) has many traditional storys. They tell how 
that he having once discovered a gentleman of Cantley, a town hard by, whose 
name was Mr. Slack, stealing one of the king's deer, he apprehended him, and 
having heard that he was a constant transgressor, (the assizes being then at 
York, and all ye other delinquents being sent from Thorn prison). Sir Robert 
set out with this gentleman to ye same place ; but night coming on, they took 
up their lodgings by ye way, and finding there by chance a pot of good ale, this 
Mr. Slack told him so many merry tails over ye same, and enticed them to drink 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 107 

Will[iam] Swift, esq. S^- Rob[ert] marry 'd one of his 
daughters to S'* Franc[i8] Leek, who had a son that was made 
L^ Deincourt and Earl of Scarsdale. Another daughter he 
marry 'd to S'- Rob[ert] Anstrudder. Of this S'^- Rob[ert' 
Anstrudder, or of his father, I do not know whether, is relatec 
this pleasant but certain story. 

He was sent over ambassador to the King of Denmark, and 
having been there several times before, he was highly earess'd 
by the king and all the court ; and after that dinner was ended, 
as the custome is, the king and him, and many others, fell hard 
to drinking, and, being merry, the King of Denmark made this 
pleasant proposal. " Come," says he, " my P- ambassador, I'll 
tell you what we will do. I'll send for my crown, and will set it 
on the table, and you and me will drink for it. If you make me 
drunk, you shall wear it till I be sober. If I make you drunk 
I will wear it till you be sober." So they soon agreed to this, 
and the crown was brought and set before them. So they went 
to it ; but, in short, Anstrudder made him so drunk he fell under 
the table, and the nobles, as they were commanded, set the 
crown on Anstrudder's head, who, being thus crowned, made 
them call him king, and sending for the secretary of state, he 
made several new laws, and commanded him to write them down, 
and these laws are many of them yet kept, and call'd to this day 
Anstrudder's laws. The ambassador, being thus made king, wa» 
resolved to reign as long as he could, and took such care that he 
kept the king drunk three days together, and had done it longer 
had not they feared that it might have killed him, and then, with 
a great many complements, he returned him his crown ao;ain. 

About a year after, Amstrudder* was sent again, and the king, 
meditateing reveng, sent for him in all hast, and he coraeing out 
of a close shipp in a great amaze unto the king, the king after 
haveing saluted him and he him, begim full bumpers, and after 

so long, that he got Sir Rob. and those with him dead drunk. Upon which 
takeing a piece of paper, he writt thereon these following verses : 

To every creature God has given a gift, 
Sometimes the Slack dos overrun the Swift. 

and, having stop'd them into Sir Robert's pocket (where he found them by 
chance next morning), he made his escape that night, and was not heard again 
of, of a long while. But Sir Rob., seeming as if he was not at all concerned, 
kept on his journey to York, and, haveing performed his business there, returned 
again to his -station. This Sir Rob. dyed, very much lamented by every one that 
knew him, in ye year 16-*, and was buried in Doncaster church." Hunter 
furnishes the date of his death 14 March, 1625. 

• This Amstrudder was also sent ambassador into Germany in 1630, — Mar- 
ginal Note hy Diarigt, 



108 THE DIARY OF 

a pretty hard tugg he fell'd Amstrudder down, so that he fell fast 
asleep. Upon which he searched his pocket, and found his 
papers, and what things they were that he came about. He 
immediately dispatch'd the same, and caused them to be put in 
his pocket again, and so sent him away a shippbord again, com- 
manding them to depart immediately, and be gone. Which being 
performed, and being in their fiill course to England, Amstrudder, 
awakening out of his sleep, begun to stare and wonder where he 
was, and to be so amaz'd that he did not know what to do (after 
they told him that the king commanded them to be gone in all hast 
from his coasts), fearing that he should be hanged when he got 
into England ; but then, searching for his papers, he found his 
business done, and that pleased him very well. Upon which 
being got into England, and going to meet the king on a suddain, 
the king begun to swear at [him]. " By me shaul, mon, thou 
art not fitt to gang about any business, thou art so slo,'^ etc., 
thinking that he had not yet set out on his embassage, but hear- 
ing of him that he had, he was mightily well pleased thereat, 
and asked how he came to get his business so soon done, upon 
which Atnstrudder told him the whole, which made the king 
laugh heartily. This was told me by Mr. Com[elius] Lee, a 
relation both of S^- Rob[ert] Swift's, and S'^* Rob[ert] Amstrud- 
der's, and dos attest it to be a real truth, and is mentioned in 
Loyd's Worthys in his life.-' 

The Marquis of Carmarthen and the L**- Cutts has been lately 
in disguise in England, sent from the king to pump the nation, 
and are lately returned back. 

On the 20th was taken five huge porpuses in Trent, near 
Authorp, etc. 

July 30. This day I was with one Mr. Cook, who says that 
as his brother was plowing in the fields of Darfield in Yorkshire, 
about sixteen years ago, his plow bared a all \_sic] the earth of a 
great pott like a butter pot, which, he taking notice of, he found 
and discovered that it was top full of all Roman coins, amongst 
which was several of gold, which he carry'd home, and sending 
for a goldsmith he sold them to him for one poimd, tho' they 
were worth above three times as much as he gave for them. 

My L*^* Portland is lately come over in disguise from Flan- 
ders, and, being unknown, was taken up in Kent for some great 
person lately come from France ; but he soon discovered himself 

^ See quotation therefrom, etc., in Hunter's South Torkshirdt i., p. 55. 



t'±eAH,..ii 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 109 

who he was, and so was accquitted. He came to pump the 
nation, and see how they were affected. He has a great many 
spys, and so has my L*^- Cutts, Devonshire, etc. 

There are, they say, about ninety justices of peace turned out 
for not signing the Assosiation, and about one hundred and 
twenty officers in the trainbands. 

Aug. 12. 'Tis sayd that the king looses above lOOOZ. per day 
in the excise, by reason of the ill management of the clipp'd 
money : for a great many ale houses all over the country, and 
some almost in every town, has given over brewing and selling of 
ale, because that they can get no good money for the ale that 
they shall sell. 

There is great striveings now to get interest and votes to be 
chosen parlament men, before that they know that the parla- 
ment will be dissolved ; and for all that there was an act made 
the very last year that they should [not] treat the country and 
bribe for their votes, yet, nevertheless, they carry on that course 
yet, and say that the act of parlament can take no hold of them, 
because that the old parlament is not yess [yet] dissolved, but 
that when it is dissolved that then they must not do so. 

I have promiss'd my votes for Capt[ain] Whitchcot, and 
champion De Moc, commonly call'd Dimmock.* This champion 
holds certain lands by exhibiting on a certain day every year a 
milk-white bull with black ears to the people who are to run it 
down, and then it is cutt in pieces and given amongst the poor. 
His estate is almost 2000Z. a year, and whoever has it is cham- 
pion of England ; but he ows more by farr than he is worth, 
and has no children, so that it will soon get into another family. 
The Dimmock has enjoyed it ever since Will[iam] the Con- 
queror's days, if I do not mistake. 

13. This day Mr. Bawson, an old, learned, and ingenious 
gentleman, that was at the sieg of Newark in Cromwell's days, 
in one sally that the besieged had made, a blackamore took a 
Scotch soldier prisoner ; upon which the poor Scot, being almost 

* Charles Dymoke, referred to by the Diarist, was champion at the corona- 
tion of William and Mary, and Queen Anne. He represented the county of 
Lincoln in parliament from 1698 to 1701. Dying s.p. 17 January, 1702-3, he 
was succeeded by his brother, Lewis Dymoke, M.P. for Lincoln 1702-6, and 
1710-13. He died, unmarried, at the age of 91, in February, 1760, when the 
estate at Scrivelsby devolved, under his will, upon his cousin, Edward Dymoke, 
who was at that time an eminent hatter in Fenchurch Street, London. He died 
12 September, nQO»^^See pogtea. 



.^;<f.j. 



110 THE DIARY OF 

frightened out of his wits, pray'd heartily, saying " Grod ! 
God ! God ! have mercy upon me sawl, have mercy upon me sawl, 
de deel's got my body, the deel's got my body ; " and the fellow was 
so frightened he would not follow the black, so that he was forc'd 
to kill him. He says he was in this sally, and saw this thing. 

The same gentleman says he saw a young spare thin man 
there of about twenty years old, but of vast strength. He would 
oft [have] lifted more than five men. 

ie says that at Nonersfield,' about twenty miles beyond 
York, is a vast great fortification, and that there was many 
silver and gold coins foimd there in Cromwel's days. 

S"^- Rob[ert] Amstrudder had a black, who was mighty 
religious, and would every morning walk out into the open field 
and pray to the rising sun. At last he was converted to Christi- 
anity, and lived a very examplary and pious life. 

Here is very little or no new monney comes yet down 
amongst us, so that we scarce know how to subsist. Every one 
runs upon tick, and those that had no credit a year ago has 
credit enough now, the parlament has done that which God 
himself could scarce do, for they have made the whole land oiit 
of love [with] monney, so that, whether it be clipp'd or full weight, 
they know not what to do with it, etc. 

September 3. I heard an old gentleman say that has lived at 
London all his time, that it was always the custome of Cromwel, 
when he had any great business in hand, or when his council 
asked him whether such a thing should be so or no, or whether 
such or such a great man should be executed for his loyalty or no, 
etc., — says he always, " Stay a bitt, stay a bit, I'll go consult the 
L*^- ! " and then he went up into his closset and stayed commonly 
about half a quarter of an hower, sometimes more, and then he 
always discided the thing when he came down, saying " The 
Lord will not have it so ! ' When the king was to be executed, 
Cromwell's daughter who was marryed to . . I . begged 
upon him, as it were for her own life (all in tears and morning) 
that he would not sufier such a monstrous piece of murder to be 
performed, " which, says she, " will for ever reflect upon you, 

' No such place occurs in the Yorkshire Directories. There is a place called 
Nosterfield, in the parish of West Tanfield, and liberty of Richmondshire, about 
three-and-a-half nules from Masham ; and we have Nunbumholme, three-and-a- 
half miles from Pocklington, where there was formerly a small Benedictine 
Nunnery, and where the villagers show a mound, a little above the village, at 
the bottom of a wood, as the site where the Nunnery stood. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. Ill 

and make you odious to the end of the world." " Well," says he, 
" ril go consult the L^' and what the L*^* says that will I do." So 
upon that he ran to his studdy , and [the] poor lady followed him, 
almost dround in tears, and fell down at the studdy door, weep- 
ing and lamenting. After a while Oliver comes out, crying, 
" He shall dy, he shall dy, the L*^- commands it, the L*^- commands 
it." 

This is somewhat like the actions of Baalam the sorcerrer, 
who went so oft to consult the L*^- to curse the anointed of God 
his Israel. But now, whether Oliver, who was a great polititian, 
did this on purpose to blind the eyes of the vulgar, and to make 
them believe that whatever he did was according unto the com- 
mand of God, I cannot tell ; or whether he held correspondence (if 
there can be any such thing), with the divel, who was the F- his 
god ; whom he consulted upon all occasions, I shall not determin ; 
but most certain it is that he was a very wicked man, one of no 
religion nor piety, but lived like an atheist. 

OcTOB. 10. Things are very quiet yet, but the Jacobites are 
of undanted spirits, and continues their high, impudent, treason- 
able talkings and discourses, almost as much as ever. 

New money beginns to grow plentyfull, there is no one almost 
but has some little quantity. All the mints are now in motion, 
and they give satisfaction to the country. 

13. I have heard from S'^* Edwin Sandys"* and others, 
that the Lady Amstrudder had a child when shee was ten, and 
continued to have till she was threescore, tho' indeed most of them 
dyd after they were bom. I knew a woman myself that was 
brought to bed of two children when she was eleven, and another 
I knew that had a child when she was thirteen, and shee bears 
children now, tho' shee is above fifty years old. 

Oct. 18. I have been told by several learned men that some 
of the virtuosi both at London and beyond sea have, with their 
telescopes, observed that the sun has these several months been 
cursted over its fabe with some sort of tough digested matter, 
and some says that the same was observed above a year ago, so 

*» In a former page (43) the Diarist has called his friend Edwin Sandys 
" knight," and here again he has given him the prefix of " Sir," that is if he 
is alluding to the same person. His father, Sir Thomas Sandys, is styled '^ knight 
and baronet " in the parish register of Hatfield, but the latter title must be an 
error. — See a/ntej p. 36. 



112 THE DIARY OF 

that it is notable to exert its power and heat upon those northern 
countrys (if not all others likewise) as much as it used to do, 
which is the reason that we have had no summer this year, nor 
very little last year, but continual rains and missts, to the great 
damage of harvest. 

23. I was with the ingenious Doct[or] Smart, at Brigg, and 
having asked him several questions about antiquitys and old coins, 
he says that, when he was a boy about sixteen years old, as he 
and some more of his companions where playing and casting 
handiulls of sand one at another, some of them grasped three or 
four old coins amongst the sand, and, looking further, they found 
above a peckful hid in the sand hill. They were all Roman 
emperors, and as fresh as if they were new coined, being all of 
brass or mixt mettal, and about the bigness of half crowns. The 
town's name, where they were found, is Whitburn, a fisher town 
by the sea-side, and betwixt Sunderland and Schields. 

About twenty miles beyond Doncaster there is a town they 
call Eccleston," which has an old church at it, which for its 
antiquity is become the subject of a proverb amonsgt the country 
for a great many miles round about, who, when they would ex- 
press a thing of any great antiquity, they immediatly say that it 
is as old as Eccleston church. 

10 NovB^- I have observed it two or three times, that when I 
have been in trouble, that I have always met with very comfor- 
table hopes in my reading accidentally the very appointed ser- 
vices of the church, so the last week I was presented for not 
being at the last Vissitation, and for some malitious thing layd to 
my charge, and the Sunday following, which was the third day of 
the month, in the evening prayer, I mett with those appointed 
Psalmns, the 41, 42, and 43, which yielded me a great deal of 
comfort ; and being to be at Lincoln, at the court, on Monday 
following, when I came there, the court was exceeding kind unto 
me, and sayd that I might not have troubled myself in coming, 
but might have but sent a line or two, and I should not only have 
been excused and cleer'd ; and so nothing was ill. 

The last week I took two or three new counterfeit sixpences, 
but exquisitly made, and washed with silver, being copper within. 
Munday was a sennit, they had many new sixpences stirring at 
Hull, with a Y for York on them, tho' they did not begin to coin 
such sixpences at York till the Wednesday following, so soon is 

* Probably Ecdesfield is intended. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 113 

our new money counterfeited, so that now they take new milled 
monney as well as old, onely by weight. 

The k[ing] and the parl[iament] agrees mighty well. 

11. Doct[or] Johnston," after thirty years labour in compiling 
his history of Yorkshire, gives us now some hopes to see it 

* The name of Dr. Nathaniel Johnston is one which no Yorkshire antiquary- 
can pass by unnoticed. He made very considerable collections, consisting of 
transcripts of records, copies from Dodsworth, trickings of monuments in the 
churches, and of old mansions, in Yorkshire, abstracts of evidences illustrative 
of the property, descent, and alliances of some of the principal families of the 
county of York. He put together many volumes of genealogies ; some were 
copied from public documents, but others were the compilation of the doctor 
himself, and are extremely valuable, since the facts which they contain are not 
perhaps elsewhere to be found. The whole is in fact the apparatus for a topo- 
graphical account of Yorkshire. The value of these collections is however 
diminished, to a great degree, by the hasty manner in which the manual art of 
writing was performed by him, nor can any practice in reading after him enable 
a person to determine with certainty what proper name is meant in some cases 
where it is of importance to determine it. Canon Raine says of them that " they 
are, most unfortunately, written in a hand so crabbed and obnoxious that even 
the most practised eye must look upon them with horror and amazement." — 
Yorkshire Archceolog. and Topog, Journal^ 1869, part i., p. 19. 

The father of Dr. Johnston, a native of Scotland, was a member of the 

English Church, and, at the time of his death, held the Rectory of Sutton-upon- 

Derwent. He seems to have resided, at one period of his life, at Reedness, 

in Yorkshire, for there, it is believed, the doctor was born in 1627, and was 

baptised at Whitgift. Early in life he married and settled at Pontefract, 

His wife was a daughter and coheiress of the Cudworths, of Eastfield, in the 

parish of Silkstone, an ancient family of the better yeomanry or lesser gentry. 

His practice was extensive, lying amongst the superior gentry of the West 

Riding. An account of his family was furnished by him to Sir W. Dugdale at 

the visitation of Yorkshire in 1665. At that date he was 38 years of age. 

iSurtees Society^s Publications^ vol. xxxvi., p. 6). He went to reside in London, 

and there, it is said, he was for ever giving out that he had methodized his 

collections for the history of the county, and intended to publish them. The 

work was to be in ten volumes. It was thus when our Diarist above refers to 

him. The Earl of Peterborough was the antiquarian earl whom perhaps he 

assisted in the compilation of the history of the House of Mordaunt. From 

the state of obscurity into which he fell he seems not to have emerged, and 

Hunter says that he accidentally discovered that he died in 1706. Relative to 

his property, the following is a copy of an advertisement, which appeared in the 

Gazette from Monday, March 24th, to Thursday, March 27th, 1707. 

" All the Estate of the late Dr. Nath. Johnston, consisting of a Great House, and several other 
houses and lands at Pontefract, Eastfield, Hadley House, Cravemore, and Thurgoland, in the County 
of York, is to be sold by vertue of a Decree of the High Court of Chancery, before Dr. Edisbury, 
one of the Masters of the said Court, at his Chambers in Symond's Inn, where particulars may 
be had." 

His collections fell into good hands, for they were purchased by Richard 
Frank, esq., of Campsal, Yorkshire, F.iS.A., jecorder of Pontefract and Doncaster, 
himself a diligent labourer in the cause of literature, and one who carefully- 
preserved the accumulations of others. The MSS. are now the property of the 
descendant of his brother, Frederick Bacon Frank, esq., the present possessor 
of Campsal. — See Hunter's Sovth Yorkshire, ii., pp. 465, 466 ; lb., prefaces to 
vols. i. and ii. ; Thoresby's Diary, i., p. 39. 

I 



114 THE DIARY OF 

brought to light. He has collected, for the time, all that ever he 
can find in most antient authors, and has lately sent several 
volumes thereof down into the country to crave any one's addi- 
tions or corrections. That concerning Hatfield, Thorn, Fishlake, 
etc., came to me, but I would not meddle to add anything in 
Hatfield, because that I am writing the history of that place,'' but 
I have added abundance of things to Thorn, Fishlake, Bra m with, 
Sandal, etc. 

The Doct[or] is exceeding poor, and one chief thing that has 
made him so was this great undertaking of his. He has been forced 
to skulk a great many* years, and now he lives privately with the 
Earl of Peterburro, who maintains him. He dare not let it be 
openly known where he is, and the letters are directed for other 
people that goes to him. When I write to him he desired me 

p The followiDg extract, relating to Hatfield, oat of De la Pryme's MSS. in 
the Lansdowne Collection in the British Museum, may not be unacceptable :— 

'' It is situated (as almost all ye towns of its name are), upon a pleasant, 
fruitful, and happy soil, neither too high, nor too low, too subject to durt in 
winter, nor too troublesome in summer by reason of its dust ; 'tis not too much 
exposed to winds, nor rendered unpleasant at any time by vapours or mists, but 
every thing conjoins in one to make it pleasant and neat. It stands in y© midst 
of an almost round field, not disfigured by hills and dalles, perpetually green 
with com in one part or other, and ye pleasant oaks, and woody pastures and 
closes, which encompass this field and town round about, gives a most delectable 
prospect to ye eye. 

" The town itself, though it be but little, yet 'tis very handsome and neat: 
ye manner of ye building that it formerly had were all of wood, clay, and plaster, 
but now that way of building is quite left of, for every one now, from ye richest 
to ye poorest, will not build except with bricks : so that now from about 80 
years ago (at which time bricks was first seen, used, and made in this parish), 
they have been wholy used, and now there scarce is one house in ye town that 
dos not, if not wholy, yet for ye most part, consist of that lasting and genteel 
sort of building ; many of which also are built according to the late model with 
cut brick and covered over with Holland tyle, which gives a brisk and pleasant 
air to ye town, and tho' many of the houses be little and despicable without, 
yet they are neat, well furnished, and most of them ceiled with ye whitest 
plaster within. 

" And as this town was formeily a royal village, in which ye kings had a 
pallace, so there is part of ye pallace standing, being an indifEerent larg hall, 
with great courts and gardens about the same. There is likewise a Imll or 
two of good workmanship and curiosity, with several large well built houses^ 
an ingenious and well contrived school -house, and the most stately, magnificent, 
and beautifullest church that is to be seen in the whole country ; and another 
glory of this town is, that it is not plagu'd with any dissenters. 

" Altho' this town be not dignify'd either with a market or fair, yet it stands 
BO conveniently that it is not far off of any, haveing Doncaster five milea 
distant on the west, Thorn two miles of on ye east, and Bautry seaven miles 
on ye south, so that if it stands in need of any thing, there is but a little way 
to fetch ye same. But indeed ye town of itself is so well furnished with one 
or two of almost every trade, as butchers, mercers, chandlers, joyners, cutlers, 
chirurgians, etc., that other places stands in more need of them than y« latter 
of ye former." 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 115 

superscribe his letter onely thus — For the Doctor — and then to 
wrap it in another paper, and sealing it, to superscribe it thus : 

This for the right reverend father in God, 
Tho[mas] Lord Bishop of St. David's, to be left with 
Mr. Monah, postmaster, over against 
Ax Yard, in King's Street, Westminster. 

And then, under all, he desired me to make two strokes, thus, 

• which was a private mark. 

24. I have lately written several letters to Doc[tor] Johnston, 
and informed him of a great many things of Thorn, Fishlack, 
Sandal, Doncaster, York, Pomfrit, Thorp, Burrowbrigs, Middle- 
ham, Darfield, Beverley, etc. 

About the year 1638-9 the Levels of Ancham, where the river 
Ank runneth, were drained by the instigation of the Dutch, 
several of whome were overseers in the business. The cut or 
river called New Ankam (falsly for New Ank), from five miles 
beyond Newstead to Humber, in the cutting of which river was 
found oak trees lying with their tops north east, and nothing else 
of any note. Some of the trees were plainly broke by stress of 
weather ; others, tho' very few, were plainly cutt, but the most 
were driven down root and all. The great since that they built 
at Ferriby cost above 3000Z., and had twenty-four doors, each of 
which doors were able to laid a cart and eight horses, by reason of 
their great thickness and weight, and the great quantity of iron 
that was therein. The since is sayd to have two or three flowers 
[floors], and it is added that twenty-nine waggon load of the best 
timber that could be foimd in these woods went to the pileing 
and the laying of the foundation of that since. This I had from 
several old men. 

In Haxey Carr there are several great hills not farr from one 
another called Fort Hills: when the[y] were built, or what for, 
is not easily known. 

The last time that I was in Yorkshire I was with an ingenious 
gentleman, a virtuoso, who had been in all the Irish warrs. He 
gives most lamentable accounts of every thing, too long here to 
mention. He says that one time he saw our carriages drive over 
a field in which there had been a sharp fight for the pass, and 
they drive over all the bodys of the men there killed, some of 
which was not yet dead, and their bones crack'd and broke as 
they drive over them. He says he saw three Irish men quartered 
alive by command of K[ing] W[illiam]. They put their knives 
in their breasts and so cut them up. They had impail'd two 



116 THE DIARY OF 

Englishmen that they had treacherously taken. He was likewise 
att the time in the camp at Caricfergus, where they were almost 
all pined to dead, and, being but 30,000 weak sickly men, were 
encompass'd by 50,000 of their enemys, yet durst not attack them. 
He says, as I have related before, that the common soldiers when 
they wanted any seats to sit on, they would commonly run to the 
next tents and pull out a dead man or two, stiff with cold, and, 
drawing them to the fireside, would sit on them instead of a 
bench, and smook tobacco, and sing and drink, etc. 

Decb^* 20. Monney goes for no more than it weys, nor for 
that neither. I mean no dipt monney will go now for more than 
5s. 2d. an ounce, and sometimes ten, fifteen, or more shillings 
will but weigh that, so badly was our money cliped. 

21. I was told this day a very observable thing by a very 
good hand, which is this. When Champion Dimock^ let of his 
horse to kiss K[ing] James the Second's hand, after that he had 
challenged any one that durst question the king's rights to 
the crown, as the custome is, the champion in moving towards 
the king fell down all his length in the hall, when as there was 
nothing in the way that could visibly cause the same ; where- 
upon the Queen sayd, " See you, love, what a weak champion you 
have." To which the k[ing] sayd nothing, but laught, and the 
champion excused himself, pretending his armour was heavy, 
and that he himself was weak with sickness, which was false, for 
he was very well, and had had none. 

In Haxey carr, in the Isle of Axholm, formerly called Haxe- 
holm, is to be seen several great hills which have been cast up, 
and are called by the vulgar Fort hills. 

I have writt to Doct[or] Bernard again, and have sent him a 
cattalogue of several more MSS., that are in the hands of some 
gentlemen on this side the coimtry. 

Being this day in company with one Mr. Nevil, an ingenious 
man, of Winterton, we fell into discourse about the great Irish 
hubub that happen'd soon after Kpng] Will[iam] came in. He 
told me of several men that was lall'd in the same, one perhaps 
is not unworthy of relating, and that is as follows. In the afore- 
sayd time there was one John Smith, who, belonging to Hull, 
had a vessel in Grimsby Road, and, at the same time, when all the 
great stir was, one of his men went with the country mobb to 

« See antea^ p. 109, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 117 

search a papist's house not farr of. When they were come to 
the house, this man, because that they would not give him 
entrance, he puts his musket into the window and shoots a servant 
that belonged to the house quite through the head, upon which 
he dyd immediately. This being done, they got in and haild the 
people away to the next town. But the afbresayd Smith, hear- 
ing what his man had done, he calls him abord, and so away 
they steard for Hull. But, on their course, as they were sailing, 
this man fell by chance from off the deck of the shipp into the 
sea, and was drounded, etc. 

The Andersons is a worthy and honourable family, great 
lovers of the church, and of imity and peace. Stephen Anderson 
was a great loyalist in K[ing] C[harles] the First's days, and 
was almost ruined thereby, altho' that he had a vast estate. All 
Appelby then was his, and he sould it to aid the king. He gave 
at one time 800 pounds to compound for his estate. He main- 
tained for several years a troop of horsemen at his own charges, 
and had his house at Manby thrice sacked, and every thing that he 
had taken away from him, not onely household goods, but also all 
his beasts and horses. He was in the siege of Newark. He 
had four sons, which was then but young ; which four are now 
alive, viz., S'^* Stephen Anderson, Edmimd Anderson, Francis, 
and Edwin. When a party of the enemy sacked his house the 
last time, they enquired hard for Frances his little son, who was 
then at nurse in the town of Manby, to have got him, and to 
have made his father redeem him, which so frightened the nurse 
that she takes the child, dresses it and herself all in raggs, and 
ly's it on her back, and away she ran with it to Newark, and got 
safe into the town. Mr. Edmund, and a sister that he had, was 
carry'd about almost a whole year, from place to place, the one 
in one panyer, the other in another, but, God be thank'd, never got 
any harm. These four brothers are yet alive. This I had yes- 
terday -from one of them. 

S'- Steph[en] lives at London, in Bedford Walks; Mr. 
Edm[und] at Eyworth, in [Bedford] shire, in the south; 
Mr. Frances at Manby, and has about 800/. per annum ; and Mj. 
Edwin at this town of Broughton. 

This day I read Mr. Bohim's character of Queen Eliz[abeth]. 
I remember that I have heard his son, who hang'd himself, 
several times say that his father had had that book a long while 
by him to print, and had sent it several times to be licenced 
towards its printing, but it was not suffered to be printed. At 
last of all, when I was at Cambridge, he was made a licencer to' 



118 THE DIARY OF 

the press, then it was printed. But a short while after happened 
the death of his son, which so disturbed him that he licenced 
several books which he should not, whereupon he was brought 
to the barr, and, after a confession of his fault, he receivednis 
demitts, and was turned out of his place of licencer. 

1696-7. 

Jan. 2. In this church of our's, of Broughton, is an antient 
monument of white marble, being the statues of one S'^- Henry 
Bedford and his lady, who is sayd (by tradition), to have been 
the builders of this church. They are both cut of one great 
stone, and are made holding one the other by the hand. They 
did formerly lye in a little quire on the north of the chancel ; 
but, when S'- John Anderson dy'd, his executors, that set up a 
curious fine monument to him, removed the two aforesayd statues, 
and new built the quire, and made his monument to be put 
therein, and removed the aforesayd into the rails of the communion 
table, and layd the first under an old arch which had another 
monument on it formerly, and layd his lady below by him. He 
lyes all in armor. Upon his leg, in modem but well cut letters, 
is engraved these words, "Here lyeth S^* Henry Retfort, 
Knight."'' There is his and her gravestones likewise, with their 

♦■ The inscription on the knight's leg is effaced. The Arms are correctly 
described. There is also a rampant lion in a narrow compartment at the west 
end of the tomb. The knight and lady wear each a collar of SS. Her feet rest 
on two dogs collared ; his on a lion with an uninscribed label coming out af 
his mouth. His surcoat has the arms of Bedford upon it. The two figures 
are each cut out of a separate block of alabaster, which has been painted stone 
colour. 

Gervase HoUes, in his Lincolnshire collections, noticed the f oUowing shields 
in the windows. "In fenestra australi, 1. — Kydford : argent, fretty s., a chief 
8., impaling Strange (gules, 2 Uons passant arg). 2. — Rydf ord impaJing a chief 
gules. The crest defaced." 

Henry Bedford was sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1393 ; Sir Henry lledford, 
knight, in 1406 ; and Henry Bedford in 1428. 

Mr. Peacock has a transcript (made by himself from the original in the 
possession of a friend), of a charter of Henry Bedford, of which an abstract 
is annexed. 

" Sciant, quod ego Henricus Bedford miles dedi WiUielmo Laken, Bicardo Bedford, 
& WiUielmo Staveley, maneria mea de Carleton Paynel, Lrby, Worlyly Sc Kyllyng- 
holm, cum advocacione ecclesiae de Lrby, ac reversionem manerii de Casthorp 
[Castlethorpe, in the parish of Broughton]. Quod quidem manerium Maria, 
domina de Clynton, mater mea, tenet ad terminum vitae suae. Testibus Hamone 
Sutton, WiUielmo Percy armigero, Thoma More, Thoma Chambr, Sc Bicardo 
Gunne. Dat. apud Carleton Paynel, 19 Nov., 29 Hen. vi. (Seal circular. 
Arms. — Argent, fretty sa., a chief sa. Crest. — ^A bull. Liscription. — SlGiL.... 
Bedford militis.)'* 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 119 

statues thereon, in brase, and has had their arms and inscriptions 
on formerly, but are now pull'd of. The arms of this knight and 
his lady is thus in the stonework : — 

1. — Two lions 2. — A fret of six, 3. — Redford. 

passant. and chief, impaling two 

[Strange.] [Redford.] lions passant. 

In the aforesayd little quire ly's the effigies of judge Ander- 
son, curiously cut of alabaster, leaning his head on his arm, and 
holding a book in the other hand. Round about the monument 
are many inscriptions, which here follow. 

Sr. Edmund Anderson, Kt, Ld. Chief Jus. of y« Common Pleas, had, by- 
Magdalen his wife, ye daughter of Nich. Smith, of Anables, in y« county of 
Hartford, esquire, to his 3d & youngest son Will., who lived part of his time at 
this town of Broughton, & dying here, lys buried in ye chancel of this church. 
Ye sayd Will, marry'd Joan, ye daughter of Henry Essex, of Lamboum, in yo 
county of Barks., esq., & had by her one onely son, Edmund, born at Redburn, 
in ye county of Hartford, August ye 1st, 1605, who also dyed at this place, y® 
19 of January, 1660, haveing been promoted to the degree of Baronett, ye 11 
day of Decemb. before. In memory of whome this mon. was placed here, he 
haveing so order'd it to be in his last will & testament. 

In another oval table thus : 

Sr. Edm. Anderson, Barr**. marry'd to his 1st wife, Mary, y® daughter of 
Tho. Wood^ of Audfield, in ye county of York, Esq., & heiress to Barnay Wood, 
of Killenwyck Percy, in ye county of York, Esq. He had issue by her 7 sons 
& 3 daughters. Will., Edm., Jo., Edm., Franc, Charl., & Steph., Mary, Franc, & 
Susan. After his 1st wife deceased, who dyed at Carleton, in this county, 1636, 
& lyeth interred there, he marryd to his 2d wife, Sibilla, ye relict of Edw. 
Bellot, of Morton, in ye county of Chester, Esq., & daughter of Sr. Rowl. 
Egerton, of Fardingoe, in ye county of Northampt., Baronet, who survived him 
but few months, dying at this place, 1661, & lyes interred by his side in this 
burying place. 

In another oval thus : 

Sr. John Anderson, Baronit, 3d son to Sr. Edm. (his elder brothers dying 
before his father) succeeded to his father's dignity & estate. He was born at 
this place, December ye 23, 1628, & was marryed the 5 day of Nov., 1659, to his 
wife Eliz., ye daugh. of Hugh Snawsell, of Bilton, in ye Annesty of ye county 
of York, Esq., & by her had issue one son & 4 daughters, Edm.. Eliz., Kath., 
Frances, & Mary. He dyed at this place, ye 18 day of March, 1670, & lyes 
interred in this burying place, which he built according as his father had 
ordered it to be. 

On the east end of this great monument on an oval table there 
thus : 

Here lys also interred y« body of Mary Wood, widdow to Tho. Wood, of 
Audfield, who dyed at this place, November ye 16, 1665. 

And likewise ye body of Frances, ye daughter of Will. Staresmoor, of . 
Froulsworth, in the county of Leicester, who was ye 1st wife of Francis, ye 5th 
•on of Sr. Edm. Anderson, buryed here Decemb. ye 20, 1667. 



120 THE DIARY OP 

The arms of the Woods was thus : 

On a bend engrailed 3 fleur-de-luces, with a wolf's head grinning, coUor'd, 
for it's crest.* 

Over the door of this little quire is the bust of a young man, 
thus under-written : 

In memoriam Domini Edmundi Anderson, Baronetti, qui natus est Biltoni, 
in agro Ebor., 16 die Augusti, 1660. Obiit autem Londini, 17 die Septemb., 
1676, hocq in loco sepultus jacet (rosa immatura sic nidi carpitur manu). Maes- 
tissimus patruus Carolus Anderson hoc monumentum poni curavit, Anno Dom. 

Upon a great gravestone of black marble, in the midst of the 
chancel, is this following inscription : 

Here lyeth ye body of Will. Anderson, youngest son of Sr. Edm. Anderson 
(who, by his first wife Jone, daughter to Henry Essex, of Lamburne, in ye 
county of Birks., Esq., had issue Edmund Anderson, now liveing, and by his 
second wife, Eliz., daughter of Sr. Tho, Darnes, two daughters, which dy'd 
young). He departed this life ye 2d day of August, Anno Dom. 1643, aged 62 
years. 

Upon a brass, in the midst of another black gravestone, is this 
following inscription : 

Here lyeth y^ body of Katharin Anderson, y® onely daughter of Stephan 
Anderson, of Broughton, in ye county of Lincoln, Esq., & of Katharin his wife, 
daughter to Sir Edwin Sandys, of Ombersley, in ye county of Worster, Knight, 
who dyed ye 25 of September, Anno Dni 1640.** 

Upon another stone : 

Here lyeth ye body of Mary, daughter of Edwin Anderson, Gent., and Mary 
his wife, who was buried May ye 31, Anno Dom. 1681.* 

Upon an alabaster stone thus : 

Here lyeth y® body of Elizabeth, the onely daughter of Josias Morley & 
Elizabeth his wife, who departed this life ye 22 of May, Anno 1677. 

' The crest is now broken off. The following is an inscription yet remain- 
ing.— The CoATB Armour op Barnabye Wood, op Killnwick, Esq., whosb 
HEYRESS, Mary, was pirst wife to Sir Edmund Anderson. And opposite 
to it is this. [Arms, quarterly, 1 and 4, Anderson, 3 and 4, five stars of five 
points]. The coat armor op Sir Edmund Anderson, Knt., L». Chiefb 
Justice op the Common Pleas. 

' The following explanation of the 0xn (signifying 1678), appearing on 
the monument in Broughton Church, is from Mr. W. H. Black, F.S.A., of Mill 
Yard, London. 

" is a circle divided into quarters, and therefore containing a simple cross : 
it so becomes a monogram of 1666, constructed thus : — 

The circle with the upright or polar diameter represents G), the old Roman 
numeral mark for M (Mille) ; while the two halves, or e and w sides, signify D 
and c respectively. The cross represents L, x, v, and I. All these elements, 
if used once only, make up MDCLXVI. Add the xii, then 1666 + 12 = 1678, 
two years after the man's death, in 1676 (q. e. d.), the date of the monument." 

« This is now over the chantry door. 

* Now destroyed. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 121 

This Mr. Morley was steward to S'- Anderson, and has 

got a mighty estate under him. He lives now at Redburn, in 
3iis county."' 

On an old gravestone, in the quire, in letters so old that I 
could scarce read them, is this inscription : 

Hie jacet Dom. Tho. Wats, quondam Rector hujus eeclesiae, cujus animal 
propitietur Deus. 

There is another gravestone or two written on, but they being 
modern, are so worn out, that I could not read them. 

There is a narrow black, or raither blew gravestone, with the 
superficies elevated, with a long cross thereon : and there I saw 
part of another also, which had a cross and a sword on, being a 
man of some millitary order. 

On one of the bells is written, in old text letters, this sentence : 

In multis annis eesonet campana Johannis. 

from which it seems to appear that this bell is dedicated to St. 
John.' On the other side is this : — 

Cum voce ad templum venite, 1669. 

This family of the Andersons is of no great antiquity. Judge 
Anderson's grandfather, from whom all those Anderson's are 
descended, was onely a mis'erly gripeing husbandman of Flix- 
burrow, in this part of the county, who had such good luck to 
scrape together as to make all his posterity great even unto this 
day.^ 

* There were two families of Morley in this neighbourhood. The Morleys 
of Holme Hall, in the parish of Bottesf ord, who were distinctly in the rank of the 
gentry, and the Morleys of Winterton, who were somewhat less clearly so. 
There is no evidence, that I am at present aware of, which demonstrates the 
connection of the two ; but I have little doubt that the Winterton Morleys 
were a branch of those of Holme. Fragmentary pedigrees of both are in 
Peacock'n CImrch Furniture. It is next to certain that Josias- Morley was a 
cadet of one of them, but he is not named in either pedigree. 

' The bell inscribed In multis annis eesonet' campana Johannis was 
broken up and recast about two years ago. A bell with a similar legend yet 
exists at Scotton, near Kirton-in-Lindsey. 

y Our Diarist had been misinformed when he spoke thus contemptuously of 
Judge Anderson's father's family. I believe that record evidence could, if neces- 
sary, be produced to disprove it. The Andersons are believed to have come from 
the North of England. We first find them at Wrawby, afterwards at Flix- 
borough, near Burton Stather, where the moat, which once protected their 
mansion, is stiU picturesque with trees and flowering brushwood. Edmond 
Anderson, the judge who tried Queen Mary of Scotland was the founder of the 
families now represented by the Earl of Yarborough and Sir Charles Henry John 
Anderson, of Lea Hall, baronet. The arms, as now borne, are : argent, a chev. 
between three crosses flory sable. On the Judge's seal, and others of later date,, 
the charge is, a chev. between three crosses crosslet. 



1^ 



122 THE DIARY OP 

Jan. 15. New money begins now to be pretty plentiful, and 
the country people have now left of their curseing and darning 
parlament, and begins on the other side to praise and commend 
them. 

Brigg, in this county, that I go so oft to, to see the newse, 
is a pretty large town : it has a good trade, there being no mar- 
ket-town of less than eight miles of of it. It seems not [to] be 
of any great antiquity. It stands in four parishes, and has no 
church nor chapel, so that it is plagued with dissenters. It's 
right name is Glenford Brigg,' from the consideration of which 
name it plainly appears either to have had its name and origin 
from one Glenford that built a bridge there, or else from a ford 
and a bridg over the river Ank (falsly called Ankam), which 
ford and bridg was in a shady vally, for so glen or glin signifiys 
in Welsh. 

The ground upon which the town stands seems to have been 
all washed thither from the neighbouring hills, because that 
under it is a plain moor, as they do easily find when they digg 
wells ; and in the sayd moor, and in the commons round about 
the town, is found and digged up great quantity of wood, most of 
it oak, which shows that there was indeed a shady vally here 
formerly. 

Jan. 29. This day I was with one Mr. Dent,' of Eoxby, who 

* The town of Glamf ord, Glanf ord, Glandf ord, or Glemf ord Bridge, commonlj 
called Brigg, stands in the four parishes of Broughton, Scawby, Wrawby, and 
Bigby. Till about twenty years ago there was no church, but a rery mean room was 
used for the services of the Church of England. A church has now been built, 
sufficiently large for the accommodation of the people, but in a style of archi- 
tecture, which, although we must call it Gothic, in no way reminds us of our 
ancient ecclesiastical edifices. As might be anticipated, the place is not in the 
Domesday Survey. It no doubt arose out of a collection of fishermen's huts 
around the ford of the Ank, or Ancholme. The first notice Mr. Peacock 
remembers seeing of it is a papal rescript of the time of Henry III., from which 
it appears that a hospital existed here, founded by the ancestors of Ralph Paynel. 
This hospital was subordinate to the Abbey of Selby. It seems that Ralph 
Paynel had complained to Pope Gregory IK, that the abbot and convent of 
Selby had converted to their own use this hospital. The pope therefore orders 
the Bishop of Lincoln (Grosseteste), and the dean and chancellor of the same 
church, to examine the case and do justice therein. It seems to have been 
decided that one of the brethren of Selby should have custody of the hospital, 
and reside there, but that the revenues should be expended upon the poor only. 
— Monast, Anglic.^ vol. vi., p. 688. There is a notice of the chantry at Glaunford- 
Bridge in the Patent Roll^ vii. Edward IIL, part i., no. 16 ; and of the Tolls at 
the bridge in that of Richard II., part i., no. 14. 

" Probably of the family who were sometime afterwards settled at Winter- 
ton ; of whom John Dent, of that place, who was born 25 June, 1708, and died 
in 1771, by Isabella, daughter of Thomas Aldam, of Warmsworth, was father of 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMK. 123 

tells me that he was about fifteen or sixteen years ago servant to 
one Mr. Van Akker, an Englishman, who haveing above 700Z. 
per annum, travelled with him and his chaplain (one Mr. Broom, 
who has a liveing now somewhere by Dover), over all England, 
Wales, and Scotland, and into Holland, where this Van Akker 
dyd. He says that the aforenamed chaplain writt every thing 
down that they saw in Engl[and], etc., in two larg vol. folio, 
which the aforesayd chaplain yet preserves by him in MSS. 

Feb. 7. I have found in an old bit of paper that there was a 
castle at Redbum,* in this county, and that when the Barron 
warrs was at an end, the lord of the manor puUd it down, and 
built the church of the town out of part of it, and a monastry 
out of the other part, and sold what stones spared. 

Febr. 11. Being with one Mr. Jo[hn] Worsley yesternight, 
a learned and ingenious clergyman, wee had a great deal of dis- 
course about old things.*' 

He says that when that Gen[eral] Monk called a free parla- 
ment, in which was proposed the bringing in of K[ing] Ch[arles] 
the Second, that one Comal King, parlament man for Grimsby,'' 
started up when he heard the motion made of bringing him in, 
and declared that tho' he was not against it, yet he would desire 
them that, considering they had all been in rebellion against 
him, they would take care to bring him in upon such and such 
articles, that he might not be able to hurt them. Upon this 
Gen[eral] Monk answer'd, that he should be brought in like a 
king, and not like a slave with his hands tyd ; upon which foK 
lowed many warm disputes in the house, but it at last passed 
that he should be brought in so as the gen[eral] had sayd. 

Jonathan Dent, of Winterton. The latter individual amassed very consider- 
able wealth, which he left to a son of his sister Catherine, wife of Robert 
Tricket, of Hill foot, near Sheffield, viz., Joseph Tricket, bom 1 May, 1791^. 
who, by royal license dated 11 Sep., 1834, assumed the surname of Dent in lieu 
of Tricket, purchased the estate of Ribston, Yorkshire, and was High Sheriff of 
that county in 1847. — See Burke's Diet, of Landed Gentry^ ed, 1868, p. 368. 

* Redbume. The statement about there having been a castle here and thfr 
church being built out of it is very doubtful. It is stated in the Monasticon, 
that Richard I. confirmed to the monks of Selby the church of St. Andrew, of 
Redburn, which had been given by Reginald de Crevequer, with the consent of 
Mary his wife, and that he also gave the town with forty acres of land. It 
remained a part of the possessions of the abbey until the fall of the religious- 
houses. 

« It is believed that Mr. "Worsley was an old member of the Royal Society. 

* Edward King was one of the members for Grimsby in the Parliament 
that met 25th April, 1660. 



124 THE DIARY OF 

This King was afterwards, when the king was restored, taken up 
for these words, and sent to the Tower, where after sometimes 
imprisonment, he was set at liberty, [on] paying his fee or enter- 
ing penny, as they commonly call it, which always is 50L King 
would not pay this so great a sum, so that there was a great stir 
between him and the govern [ment], but at last they agreed to 
refer the thing to the famous or raither infamous Mr. Pryn, that 
was then in the Tower digesting all the records in order. So 
having gone to him he immediately answered that no prisoner 
should pay above fourpence for his entrance, and brought an old 
rect. and proved it. Upon this there were many hard words, but 
in finej King got out by that means for nought, the governor 
bidding him get him gone. 

This Pryn that I have here mentioned was the great rogue in 
Cromwell's days, and one of the very beginners of our civil 
warrs. When the king came over, the Privy Councel did not 
know what to do with this great man, nor how to keep him from 
plotting against the government, so therefore, the king (to keep 
him employed), made him keeper of the records in the Tower, 
and commanded him to digest them all in their propper order of 
time, which he did, to the great ease of any that go's to search them. 
He also made him search for many particular cases, on purpose 
to keep him ipiployd, knowing that it was almost impossible for 
him, who had been a plotter and rebell so long, [to keep] from 
plotting again, unless that he was so fully imployd otherwise that 
he could not have time to invent and hatch mischief. He writt 
his history of K[ing] J[ames], etc., in the Tower also, to which 
work he was instigated by a certain great man, for nothing 
but the reason aforesayd, and afterwards became a mighty stiff 
man for the king and the church, and writt a " Historical Vindica- 
tion of the Supream Ecclesiastical Comii," and many things be- 
sides. 

The Winns (formerly called Gwins), lords of Appleby, Thorn- 
ton, etc., in this county, is but a family lately sprung up, tho' 
now they are dignifyd with knighthood.* George Win, in King 
James the First's days, was but a country gentleman, but 
reckon'd very rich by the gripeing methods that he used. He 
bought a great deal of land, and flourished mightily in Crom- 
wel's days. He bought Appleby of Stephen Anderson of Manby, 

* See pedigree of Winn (Hunter's South Yorkshire^ ii., p. 216). George 
Winn, here mentioned, purchased Nostel, in Yorkshire, of his younger brother, 
Rowland Winn, an alderman of London, who had bought the estate of the 
Wolstenholms, 25 May, 1654. He was created a baronet 3 December, 1660. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 125 

who, being a great loyalist, was forced to sell the same to carry 
on business. The next of the name was Edmund Win, who was 
knighted in K[ing] C[harles] the Second's days (or pretended 
to be so). He marryd to his second wife his maid servant, who 
was the daughter of one Jackson, a baker in Gainsbur, by 
whome he had two sons and three daughters. His first son, S^- 
Eowland, came to his estate about a year ago. He owns Apple- 
by and Thornton, in Lincolnshire, and Nostell, and many more 
places in Yorkshire, to the whole valine of about 3,500Z. per 
annum. He is a mighty mad, proud, spark, exceeding gripeing 
and penurious, and a great oppressour of the poor.-^ 

1697. Aprjl 1. I was asking the dark of this town of 
Broughton, this day, if never anything observable of antiquity 
had been ever diggd up in this town ; to which he answered 
nothing that ever he observed or heard of, but onely he can re- 
member very well that, when he was a boy, he saw the then clerk 
digging a grave just under the communion table, and having 
opend a coffin they found a skelliton, and, about the skull, an antient 
caul, which was a sort of cap or cornet that women wore for- 
merly on their heads, which caul was of massy leaves of gold, 
curiously embossd and flowered. He adds that the then minis- 
ter's wife got it (who was Mrs. Waterland), having given the dark 
something to hold his peace ; and he says that it was constantly 
reported that sh§e sold it at Gransburg for a great many pounds. 

" Scarburg Warning " is a proverb in many places of the north, 
signifying any sudden warning given upon any account. Some 
think it arose from the sudden comeing of an enemy against the 
castle there, and haveing dischargd a broad side, then commands 
them to surrender. Others think that the proverb had it's 
original from other things, but all varys. However, this is the 
true origin thereof. 

The town is a corporation town, and tho' it is very poor now 

f Sir Rowland Winn died 16th Feb., 1721, and was succeeded by three 
other lineal descendants of the same name. Mrs. Cappe, of York, who has left 
many notices of the Winns in the memoirs of her own life, was accustomed to 
distinguish the four baronets of the name thus : — 

Old Sir Rowland, 
Good Sir Bowlaad, 
Profligate Sir Rowland, 
Unfortunate Sir Rowland. 

Mrs. Catherine Cappe was the daughter of the Rev. Jeremiah Harrison, by 
Sarah, daughter of Edmund Winn, Esq., of Ackton, second son of Sir Rowland 
Winn, the second baronet. — See Hunter^s South Yorkshire, ii., p. 216. She 
died 27 July, 1821. 



126 THE DIARY OF 

to what it was formerly, yet it has a . . . . who is com- 
monly some poor man, they haveing no rich ones amongst them. 
About two days before Michilmass day the sayd .... 
being arrayed in his gown of state, he mounts upon horseback, 
and has his attendants with him, and the macebear[er] carrying 
the mace before him, with two fidlers and a base viol. Thus 
marching in state (as biffg as the lord mare of London), all along 
the shore side, they mate many halts, and the cryer crys thus 
with a Strang sort of a singing voyce, high and low, — 

Whay ! whay I whay 1 
Pay your gayelage, ha 1 
Between this and Michaelmas day. 
Or you'll be fined, I say 1 

Then the fiddlers begins to dance, and caper, and plays, fit to 
make one burst with laughter that sees and hears them. Then 
they go on again, and crys as before, with the greatest majesty 
and gravity immaginable, none of this comical crew being seen 
as much as to smile all the time, when as spectators are almost 
bursten with laughing. 

This is the true origin of the proverb, for this custome of 
gavelage is a certain tribute that every house pays to the . . 
. . when he is pleased to call for it, and he gives not above 
one day warning, and may call for it when he pleases. 

Capt[ain] Hatfield^ was first of all in Lambert's regiment, 
but when the king came in, and all the old rebellious regiments 
broke, he got to be in Gen[eral] Monk's regiment, and Mr. 
Com[elius] Lee was his cornet. 

S'- Corn[elius] Vermuden sold a great deal of the land in his 
lifetime. He sold the man [or] of Hatfield to S'* Edw. Osbum, 
who sold the same to Mr. Gibbons, and he sold it to S'- Art[hur] 
Ingram. 

Mr. Com[elius] Lee told me this as a most certain truth ; that 
Sir Phil[ip] Stapleton, who was Oliver Cromwell's great friend, 
went to .... to desire him to advance Mr. Cromwel to 
the honor of a lievetennant or captain's place, I have forgot 
whether, in his regiment, which thing he readily granted, and 

calling Mr. Cromwel in, the had a great deal of 

talk together, and sayd that he would grant him a commission 
for the place as soon as he had time. S^* Pliil[ip] Stappetonl 
came three times to the earl for his commission before he could 

f John Hatfield was a comet in Sir Hugh Bethel's regiment of horse, 9th 
April, 1660. — The RemongtrcDice and Address of the Armies of Bnglandj Scot' 
landj and Ireland, to the Lord Monck^ 4to, 1660, p. 14 ; see awtea, p. 13. 



ABRAHAM DK LA PRYMB. 127 

get it. Says the earl to him the last time, " S'- Phil[ip], I have 
not withheld this favour from you nor your friend on any ill will 
to either of you, but the first time I saw him, his presence made 
such an impression on my spirits that [I] cannot get shut of it, 
and I see by his face that if I advance him hee'U dim higher 
than us all, and be our ruin. I had the commission all this 
while written by me, and could not deliver the same before I 
declaird this ; and now, I bein^ somewhat at ease, take it, and do 
what you will with it." S""- Phil[ip], having got it, gave it to 
Mr. O. Cromwell, who gladly received the same. 

Wee have had a great many fast days every year since the 
king came in. They were, at first, every first Wednesday in a 
month as long as the king was away ; but they grew from little to 
little to be so neglected that nobody heeded them, almost every 
one went to their work and about their worldly concerns. The 
king's council and chief magistrates considering this, thought it 
not best to call the people to account for this, for fear it should 
inrage them ; therefore these fast days were appointed to be kept 
upon Sundays, tho' it is not handsom to fast on the day which 
has always been accounted a festival. Yet the necessity of affairs 
made it to be so. 

19. In the chancel of [Broughton] church, in the wood work 
thereof, is a coat of arms that I formerly overlooked, which is 
thus. (A rough drawmg of a St George*s cross). 

21. This day I took my horse and went to see a place called 
Gainstrop, which lys in a hollow on the right hand, and about the 
middle way, as you come from Kirton, formerly called Chiric- 
town, to Scawby. Tradition says that the aforesayd Gainstrop 
was once a pretty large town, tho' now there is nothing of it 
standing but some of the foundations. Being upon the place I 
easily counted the foimdations of about two hundred buildings, 
and beheld three streets very fare. About half a quarter of a 
mile from the sayd mind town, on the left side of the way as you 
come from the aforesayd town of Kirton, just in the road, is a 
place called the Church Garth, and they say that the church 
which belonged to Gainstrop stood there, with several houses 
about the same, all which are now ruind and gone. 

Tradition says that that town was, in times of yore, exceeding 
infamous for robbery s, and that nobody inhabited there but thieves ; 
and that the country haveing for a long while endur'd all their 
yillanys, they at last, when they could suffer them no longer, 



128 THE DIARY OF 

riss with one consent, and puUd the same down about their ears. 

But I fancy that the town has been eaten up with time, 
poverty, and pasturage. 'Tis true indeed that as this roade from 
Lincoln to Wintringham was the onely great road in former 
times unto the north, and all those that travel'd thither came here- 
on, so by reason of the great woods, which reach'd on both sides 
of the way from Scawby as farr as Appleby, there were so great 
robberys commited that travellers durst not pass but in whok 
caravans together : and in this our wood of Broughton was a 
place called Gyp or Gip-well, which was a huge great spring and 
hole in the earth, near to which place a company of rogues always 
had their rendizvouse, and those that they robb'd they carryd 
them thither, and, haveing ty'd them hand and foot, cast them 
therein, as is certainly related here by all the whole country 
round about. By this well grew several huge elm and willow 
trees, which was cutt down and cast therein, with several loads of 
earth and stones to fill the same up. Near the same also the 
thieves had several stone cabbins, and a stable for their horses, 
these were likewise cast into the said well, and so choked up the 
same that it is scarce now to be found. 

These great roberys were one of the causes that made this road, 
from Scawby northwards, to be neglected, so that Broughton, 
Apleby, Winterton, and Wintringham, that were great ana pop- 
pulous towns formerly, and most of them had marckets, soon 
decay'd and came to nothing ; for travelers, that they might avoyd 
the aforesayd dangerous woods, went over at a ford in the river 
Ank, then called Glenford, and now Brigg, and, so passing along, 
they cross'd the Humber at Barton. 

While these roberys were thus frequent, no question but some 
thieves did Uve at the aforesayd place of Gainsthorp, but whether 
they might be the occasion of the ruin of it, or raither time, 
poverty, and pasturage, I shall not trouble myself to examin nor 
decide. 

April. There was a commission* lately at Louth; amongst 
other dishes. of meat that was brought up, there was towards the 
latter end thereof a tansey.* After they had eaten of this tansey 

* Commission. The Diarist means a meeting of the Commissioners of Sewers. 
Much about the Lindsey Commissioners of Sewers is to be found in Dugdale's 
Umbanking and Draining. 

* Tansey was commonly used in cookery among our forefathers. It will 
be remembered by readers of the Spectator how beautiful the widow's 
hand and arm appeared to Sir Roger de Coverley, when she was helping him to 
some tansey (^Spectator ^ No. 113). It has not quite gone out yet in some parts 
of the country, but its use is rare. Most of the older cookery books contain 
recipes for making tansies. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 129 

all tlie commissioners fell sick. Immediately some vomited, some 
purged, some fainted, others were so gryp'd they did not know 
what to do, yet put as good face on everything as they could. 
After dinner their servants were call'd in, and being asked what 
sort of liquor they had drunk, and what sort of meat they had 
eaten, they told them the very same that came from their table, 
only they did not eat any tansey, because there was meat enough 
besides, and they savd they were very well. Upon this they sent 
for their hostes up, and asked her where shee got so much tansey 
grass this cold and backward year, to make her tansey so green 
as it was. Shee told them shee knew what they ment, and, beg- 
ging their pardons, told them that truly shee could not get any 
[thing] to make her tansey green, and that therefore, going into 
the garden, shee got a great handful of daffadilly leaves and stalks, 
and having brused them and squeezd the j use out, it was with them 
that shee had coloured it green. So they concluded that it was 
them alone that had wrought such eflFects upon them. 

1697. May 1. This day I went to take a view of the country. 
Having passed through Brigg in our way towards Melton, we 
went by a great spring, famous in days of old, called St. Helen's 
Well.-'" 

Being come to Melton, I could find little or nothing observable 
there, it being but a little poor town. The church is such a one that 
it dos not deserve the name of one, neither is ther^ coats of arms, 
monmnents, nor epitaphs therein. There is a close over against 
the church, on the south side, called the Hall close, from a great 
hall having formerly been there. Towards the north end of that 
close is a place which has been moated in, which perhaps has been 
some antient cell. 

From thence I went to Kennington, where I could find no- 
thing observable, nor any thing of antiquity. In the church, if I 
may give it so honourable a name, was only two or three recent 
coats of arms, the one being one Mr. Airy's, as we were told. 

From thence I went to Crowston, betwixt Melton and which 

flace there are certain hills (as I am told), call'd Fort Hills, but 
had not time to seek the same. There is a church, but not 
worth seeing. 

From thence I went to Ulsbee, now called Housby, which is 
a pretty large town. As you enter the same on the south side is 

i Saint Helen's Well, so named after Helen, the mother of Constantine the 
Great. The water with which the town of Brigg is supplied comes from this 
spring. 

J 



130 THE DIARY OF 

• 

a large tamulns, or bury, all hollow on the top, nnder which 
there has been some numbers slain in some battel that has been 
fought there. The church is pretty handsome and neat- In the 
quire, which belongs to the Appelyards, is a great deal of painted 
glass, and in the glass this coat of arms. [^Sable, jive fusils in 
fe88 between three mullets pierced or.^ 

From thence I went to Thornton.* I was amazed to see the 
vast stupendious fragments of the buildings that have been there. 
There is all the gait-house yet standing, of a vast and incredi- 
ble biggness, and of the greatest art, ingenuity, and workman- 
ship, that ever I saw in my life. There is four or five images, 
standing in the front thereof, of excellent simitrv and workman- 
ship, and upon ever}' exalted or tuiTited stone in the battlements 
of the gatehouse, and on the top of the turrits, stands images, 
from the middle, of men with swords, shields, pole-axes, etc., in 
their hands, looking downwards ; and I was told that upon the 
battlements of the whole college, when it was standing, was in- 

* Thornton College, founded by William le Gross, Earl of Albemarle, 
about 1139, for canons regular of the order of St. Augustin. After the sup- 
pression of the religious orders, the site of this monastery was reserved by 
Henry VIII., for the purpose of founding a college there to the honour of the 
Holy Trinity. This continued only till the second year of Edward VI. {Mtmast, 
Atigl., vi,, 325). On 13th June, second Edward VI., the site of the college, with 
the greater part of the precincts, along with divers other estates, in Thornton, 
Barrow, Goxhill, Halton, and Ulceby, were granted for a term of twenty-one 
years to Henry (Holbeche), bishop of Lincoln, for a rent of 44/. 9«. 8<f. : and by 
letters patent dated 3rd July, third Edward VI., the reversion of the same was 
granted to Robert Wode, of the Inner Temple, London, gent., from whom the 
said Henry, bishop of Lincoln, purchased the site in perpetuity. *Ihe above 
Henry " Holbeache, aliag Henry Randes, by the goodness of God, bishop of 
Lincoln," by his will dated 2nd August, 1551, disposed of this property to his 
wife, with remainder to his son, Thomas Randts. 'Ibomas Randes, of the city 
of Lincoln, gentleman, sold the same, 1st September, 1575, to Sir Robert Tyr- 
whitt, of Kettleby, knight. In 1587, dame Elizabeth Tyrwhitt was in possession 
of the premises, and by feoffment dated 24th November, 1588, she conyeyed the 
same to her grandson, Robert Tyrwhitt, the son of her son William. On the 
28th February, 1602. Robert Tyrwhitt sold the aforesaid to Sir Vincent Skinner, 
of the city of Westminster, knight. In 1720 the property passed from the 
Skinners, by purchase, to Sir Robert Sutton, of Kelham, in the county of Not- 
tingham, knight, from whose family, in 1792, the estate passed by sale to 
George Uppleby, esq., of Barrow, upon whose death, in 1816, it was again 
sold, and con veyed to Lord Yarborough. ( Notes penes Mr. Peacock, by the 
late Mr. W. S. Ileselden. of Barton-iipon-Humher). 

The figures which the diarist saw on the ramparts of the gateway have 
perished. There have been many views of the magnificent gateway of this 
house published. By far the best is a large engraving issued by subscription, 
by Mr. William Fowler, of Winterton, from a dtawing by his son, Mr. Joseph 
Fowler, in the year 1818. The view of it in the "Monagticon,"' by a strange 
blunder, is attributed by the engraver to Thomeham, or Thomholrae, an Augos- 
tinian house, in the parish of Appleby, in Lincolnshire, not one stone of wMoh 
has remained upon another for many years. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME, 131 

numerable statues of the greatest ingenuity and workmanship 
imaginable, some in shape of soldiers, others of astronomers, 
others of carpenters, others of all trades and sciences,' so that, 
looking up, the battlements of all the whole building seemed to 
be covered with armed men. There are abundance of images yet, 
on various places of the gait house, of dogs, bulls, bears, foxes, 
lions, etc. The passage all over a vast moat is of delicate work- 
manship and ingenuity, so that I cannot easy describe the same. 

There is ther the hugest finest court that ever I saw in my life, 
with two rows oF trees on each side, on both sides of which trees 
is the ruins of vast buildings to be seen, and the like almost all 
over. At the north side is the fragments of the chappel, of 
mighty fine stone, and curious workmanship, which, by the arches 
that is now stand [ing], appears to be above half buried in the ground 
in its own ruins. The drainers that drained these levels of Ank, 
vulgo Ankham, fetch'd all the stone from this chappel that they 
built Ferry Since with,"* and, by a just judgment of God upon 
[them] , for applying that to profane uses that had been given to 
God, the drainers were all undon, and the since, which cost many 
thousands of pounds building, is now coming down. 

Out of part of the old buildings is built a large but somewhat 
low hall, not farr of of the aforesayd chappel, which, with the 
whole estate, belongs to the Lady Skinner," who lives at London. 

There is a current story'' that about one hundred years ago, as 
one was pulling down some of these old buildings, they dis- 
co ver'd a little hollow room, which was a monk's cell, with the 
exact figure of [a] monk in all his cloaths, set before a little table, 

' This I bad from tradition. — Marginal note hy Diarist. 

"» Ferry Sluice should perhaps be Ferriby Sluice. There is no sluice at 
Ferry, that is Kinard Ferry, in the parish of Ouston, in the Isle of Axholme. 
De la Pryme gives a different account in his history of Winterton. Both state- 
ments may be true however. See Archceolof/ia, XL. 

» The Thornton College estate was purchased, in 1602, by Vincent Skynner, 
of the city of Westminster, esq., from Robert Tyrwhit, esq., of Kettleby. Skyn- 
ner, who was secretary to Lord Burleigh, was knighted at Theobalds, 7th May, 
1603, and waa buried at St. Andrew's, Holborn, 29th February, 1615-16. He 
had represented in parliament Truro, Barnstaple, Boston, Boroughbridge, and 
Preston. His wife was Elizabeth, daughter of William Fowkes, of Enfield, and 
widow of Henry Middlemore, of that place. She died in 1633. The widow of 
Sir Vincent's grandson, Edward Skinner (who was Anne, daughter of Sir Wil- 
liam Wentworth, second brother to Thomas, earl of Strafford), was probably 
the " Lady Skinner " referred to in the text as being the owner of the college 
in 1697. She died 20th September, 1707, and was buried at Goxhill. The pro- 
perty now forms part of the estate of the Earl of Yarborough, of Brocklesby. 

" Stukely tells this story about some one being found walled up here with 
a book and a candle, and it is repeated in Greenwood's Tour to Thoriiton Mon- 
astery, 1835, p. 26, only there we are told that the discovery was made in the 
last century. 



132 THE DIARY OF 

with an old pkrchment book before, and a pen and ink and paper, 
all which fell to ashes when they were shaked and touched. 

This has been the finest place that ever I saw in my life. If 
the gaithouse be thus neat, undoubtedly the building of the col- 
lege and the abby was one hundred times more excellent. 

From thence I went to Barton. Barton has been a very great 
and rich town formerly, but Hull, growing up, has robb'd it of all 
it's trade and riches. There are two delicat fine churches, in ex- 
cellent repair, the one dedicated to St. Peter (which church, and 
the chappel of All Saints, which formerly was in this town, but 
now is quite forgot, were given by Walter of Gant to Bardney 
.Abbey in Lincolnshire), the other is dedicated to St. Mary, but, as 
I remember, they told me that the former is the mother church. 
In these two churches has formerly been a great many grave 
stones with brasses upon them, but they were puU'd of in Crom- 
well's days, when the organs also were puU'd down. There are a 
few brasses left. I had not the time to write all their inscriptions 
down, but onely this as the most observable. Upon a great black 
stone is the image of a monk in brass, treading on two barrels. 
He was not a monk, as appears from the inscription, but it was- 
common for people that would to be buried in monks' habits, 
believeing there was such divine power therein the divels durst 
not touch them. The inscription' is this : — 

In gratis et misericordi^ Dei hie jacet Simon Seaman, quondam civis et 
vintinarius Londoniae, qui obiit 27 die mensis Augusti, anno Domini millessimo 
tricessimo tertio, cujus animse et omnium fidelium defunctorum Deus propitietur. 
Amen. Amen. 

In a brass about his head this : 

Credo quod Redemptor mens Tivit, et in novissimo die de terr^ suirectnraa 
sum, et in carne me^ videbo Deum Salvatorem meum. 

There is a great many coats of arms, which, being fresh, I did 
not take down. On a long kind of a cornish between two pillars 
is drawn the coats of arms of all the kingdoms in the world 
which traded with this town, as the tradition says. There is the 
arms of Jerusalem with this inscription in old letters, 

Rex Hieeosolim^, etc. 

Not farr of this town is a great old tree call'd St. Trunyon's 
tree, under which that St. had an altar and religious rights.' 

P The inscriptions in the churches here were printed in a history of Bar- 
ton, compiled (anonymously), from Mr. Heselden's notes, and published by 
Mr. Ball, bookseller, Barton-upon-Humber, about eight years ago. It is, I saxk 
informed, a carefully edited little book. 

9 St. Trunion. There was, half a century ago, at Barton, a spring, called 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. V^', 



3 



The field of this town is reckond the biggest in all England but 
Godmanchester. It is a custome here, as it is at Godmanchestta- 
also, whenever a king come by, all the husbandmen wait upon 
or go's to meet him with their plows. 

There is smook moneys payd at this town, which is the same 
with the old Peter's pence. 

I will go visit all these things again some day, and take a 
more particular account of them. 

23. This day I was at Brigg, towards night, and meeting 
with a very ingenious countryman he tells me that but a while 
ago, he himself saw a huge ash tree cut in two, in the very heart 
of which was a toad, which dyd as soon as it got out. There was 
no place for it to get in, all was as firm about it as could be. I 
have heard of a great many toads that have been found so like- 
wise.' 

1697. May 7. Mr. Castor, of this town of Broughton, sent me 
this day one of the finest and largest Comu Ammonis, as it came 
out of a larg round blew clay stone, that ever I saw in my life. 
It was found in the clay pit at the east end of this town. 

I was at the Visitation the other day, and there was nothing 
that I heard observable. There is a project come out for a lend- 
ing library in every deanery. I subscribed five shillings towards 
the first trial of it. 

I pay ten shillings a year towards the mantaineing of one 
Mr. Cleworth, at St. John's, at Cambridge, because Jie is a poor 
youth.' 

St. Trannian's Spring ; and in the open j&eld a thorn, called St. Trannian*s 
Tree. 

The Very Reverend Dr. Rock suggests that St. Trannian may be St. Tron, a 
native of Brabant, who preached the faith in that province in the seventh cen- 
tury. He built a monastery there, which was called St. Tron's, or St. Truyen's. 
His death took place A.D. 693. — See Butler's Lives of tlie Saints, November 23. 

»■ Smoke Money. Smoke silver, or reek pennies, were paid to the vicar in 
many parishes in Lincolnshire, as a kind of small tythe ; in lieu of tythe of fire 
wood, it has been thought. Jacob says that in 1444 the bishop of Lincoln 
issued his commission "Ad levandum le Smoke-farthings." 

' Stories of this kind have been common enough. 

' Thomas Cleworth, son of the Rev. Thomas Cleworth, of Hatfield, York- 
shire, baptized there 15th January, 1677-8 ; educated at Hatfield, under Garett ; 
admitted sizar for Wigley, 4th June, 1696, aged 18, under Mr, Nourse ; B.A. 
1699-1700 ; ordained deacon 21st September, 1701 ; priest 1st March, 1701-2, at 
York ; and then admitted to the vicarage of Campsal, co. York, on the nomin- 
ation of Colonel Lee. He died 22nd April, 1754, having been vicar fifty-two 
years. James Fretwell, a neighbour, in his diary, alluding to his death, says, 
that " He was universally respected, and that deservedly. He was a grave, 
sober, pious man, but not at all morose or cynical, but of a cheerful temper, 
and innocently pleasant in conversation." 



134 THE DURT OF 

I pay 13d. a quarter to the king, for my head, according to 
the great tax, but I was not cess'd for any money, etc. 

Being this day near unto Thornholm moor, I was asking 
several old men what was the names of such and such great hills 
in that moor. When you [go] through our wood on the Bom an 
highway, as soon as you enter through the gate on Thornholm 
moor, the place round about is called Bratton-grave-hill. The 
vulgar says that there has been by that yate several people buried 
that have hanged themselves ; amongst which there was one 
which was called Bratton, but I suspect that' there is something 
more than this in the antiquity of the name. 

About a half or rather quarter of a mile furder by the road are 
several hills called Gallow hills," which sound very ancient. 

A little furthur over aorainst, and bv a little house standing in 
Thornholm wood side, formerly called Sand Hall, are some hills 
called Averholms." On the south side of Thornholme, on the moor 
side, is two or three great hils, called Maut Hills. I have not at 
present my Saxon nor my Welsh dictionary by me, or else I 
would strive to find out the meaning of them. There are several 
more parts of the same moor called by other name, but they are 
modern names. 

Yesterday, being a day of great thunder, Mad°^- Anderson 
told me that about three years ago the thunder fell upon their 
house, or raither hall, at Broughton where they live. Part of the 
lightning flew in at a chamber window as a woman was shutting 
the casement, and scorched all the length of one side of her 
arm, and felld her down and almost stifled her. At the same 
time it came down through the chimney into the kitchin, where 
the family was all set, and, rebounding from the ground, part of 
it flew in a huge flame betwixt some of the people out of the 
south window, without breaking a bitt of the glass or making 
any hole, and the other part flew to the north side of the kitchin, 
and so into a little room, and through the north window thereof, 
makoing a larg hole. For all this nobody was hurt in the house 
but the aforesayd woman servant. But there was so great a 
smook therein, and so great a smell of gunpowder or brimston, 
that they were almost choked. Some that saw this lightning 
fall upon this hall compared it to a whole river of fire falling out 
of the air, and the hall seem'd to be totaly encompassed with 
flames. 

« That is gallows hills, where the gallows stood in antient times, that be- 
longed to the priory. {Marginal note by Diarist). This seems to shew that the 
Prior of Thornholme had capital jurisdiction here. I am not, however, aware 
of any other evidence of this. 

» For Moot Hills, perhaps.— n^eSpelman. (Diarist.) 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRYMB. 135 

14. I was at Hatfield in Yorkshire last week with the Com- 
missioners of Sewers. Justice Simpson, of Babworth, in Noting- 
hamshire, being one,"' told me that either last year or this, I have 
forgot whether, as the workmen were digging very deep to lye 
the foundation of the steeple of Babworth Church, they found the 
skull of a monstrous giant, and some of the bones. The skull 
was almost two foot diamiter, in which were many teeth, but the 
workmen casting several great stones upon the same, as they dig'd 
deeper, they broke it in pieces. But the justice, hearing thereof, 
made the stones be removed, and tho' that the skull was found all 
broke in pieces, yet they gathered up about eleven teeth, all 
wliich he gave away but three of the greatest, which he keeps by 
him, which are about three times as great as our's. 

16. This day I went to Redburn, forme^'ly called Retburn, as 
the ingenious Mr. Morlay tells me. This town was very much 
larger than it is now. Mr. Morlay tells me that within the 
memoiy of man there were above eighty farmers therein, whereas 
now there is not above thirty. It is pastureing that has undon 
it. There has been a larg castle there, with a great moat about 
it, the foundations of which is yet to see. As a man was dig- 
ging therein for stone, he found a silver cupp. This castle was 
puli'd down towards the latter end of King John's days, and out 
of part of it was the church built which is now standing. The 
church is but little, yet was given to Selby Abby, in Yorkshire, 

in K[ing] Edw[ard] the Third's time, by as we 

find in the first vol. of the Monasticon. The church is very beau- 
tifull ; there ly's an old stone in the quier under an arch on the 
northside, with the figure of a man engraved thereon, with a short 
dagger in his hand, with this inscription by him.' [Not in- 
serted]. 

** 11th May, 1697, court held at Hatfield, before Samuel Mellish, Henry- 
Cooke, William Sympson, Thomas Lee, John Hatfeild, esquires, and others. 
This was William Simpson, of Sheffield, and afterwards of Babworth, Notts. — 
See pedigree, Hunter' i South Yorkshire^ i., p. 184. Genealogical notices in Huri' 
ter's Hallamshirey 234. 

* This monumental slab yet exists ; it is put up sideways, near the north 
waU of the chancel. An engraving of it was made by the late Mr. William 
Fowler, of Winterton — the last work that admirable artist ever executed. The 
inscription, in a bold black letter character, forms two lines on the right hand 
of the figure. It runs thus : — Hic jacet dns geraldus sothill miles qui 
OBiiT Anno d'ni mill'io cccc cuius anime miserere Deus. amen. The 
knight is clad in a complete suit of plate armour, girt with sword and dagger. 
His feet rest on a collared greyhound, which has a bell to its neck. He has a 
long drooping moustache, and wears a conical helmet, without visor. The head 
rests on a double cushion, supported by two angels. There were five Gerard 
Sothills. This one is probably that Sir Gerard who married a daughter of 
Sir Gerard Salvin. — MS.^ Queen's College^ Oxford, F. 22, fol. 15. 



136 THE DIARY OF 

In Cromwell's days there was a great deal of painted glass in 
the windows of the north alley of this church, which the soldiers 
broke down with such fury that they broke also the stonework of 
the windows, and pulld of the sacred lead that covered that ally, 
and said that, seeing it was polluted and defiled by idolatrous 
images in the glass underneath, anybody might take it away, as 
they did, so that this ally fell to ruin, and was some years after 
totally pulled down, and the wall built under the arches of the 
great pillars. 

Out of the ruins also of the aforesayd castle was also built a 
large great house or hall, on the east of the castle close (which is 
eighteen or nineteen acres), which, I fancy, has been a religious 
house, a cell to the monastry of Selby, the markes of it being a 
religious house are these, the cherubim heads that are to to seen 
in many places in stone, and the heads of men in stone in many 
places. The shape of the hall like such a publick hall as we dine 
in in the Universitys, and several windows is to be seen like 
chappel windows. 

Of all heresys that ever were raised by the divel from Christ's 
days unto these, Quakerism is one of the boldest, and one that 
has made as great encrease, as I lately got a new book writt by 
De la Croese,^ a Calvinist, an impudent man, who, to palliate 
their heresy, defends their monstrous tenents to the seduceing of 
many unstable souls, and who has writt as many lys almost as 
there is pages in the book, besides the impudent reflections he 
casts upon the glorious Church of England, the best and most 
pure church in the whole world. 

God be thank'd I have onely one family* of those damn'd 
he [re] ticks in my parish. The woman is a great speaker, makes 
three or four sallys a year into the country, and has stayd out 
sometimes a month or two or three at a time, and never re- 
turned home with less than thirty or forty pounds in her pocket, 
which shee gets for the wages of her unrightiousness and 
heresy. 

This trick of the new coining of the money at such an unreason- 
able time, when we were, and yet are, engaged in a doubtfull 
warr against France, was most certainly a French trick, as 1 
have been lately inform'd ; for, amongst the letters that were 

y Gerard Croese, a protestant minister of Amsterdam, bom there, 1642 ; 
author of a History of the Quakers, 1695, octavo, in Latin, of which there exists 
an English translation. He also published "Homerus Hebraeus, sive Historia 
Hebraeorum ab Homero." 1704, octavo. He died in 1710, at a place near 
Dordrecht. 

' The Nainbys. — Marginal note by Diarigt, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 137 

intercepted and taken comeing from France, when about the 
great plot was discovered, there was plain proofs thereof; in one 
of which letters was mentioned a saying of the French King, to 
this purpose. When he had heard that the design did go on in 
reforming our coin — " This is well (says he), if this do not set 
the English doggs together by the ears, the divel himself cannot 
do't." But tlio' this work has plainly done the nation more 
huii; then all the warr and the taxes, yet, Grod be thank*d, we 
are pretty well content. | 

19. The flowers of the lillys of the valley, which grow in 
vast quantitys in these Broughton woods, are now ripe and open. 
Here is come some men from Coronel Bierly's, that is above 
fifty miles of, to begg lieve to gather some. Others are come, 
some twenty, some thirty, some forty miles. There are at least 
gather'd in these woods yearly as many as is worth GO/, or 100/. ; 
for when they are dry'd they are commonly sold for seventeen, 
eighteen, and nineteen shillings a pound.* 

29. This day being Saturday I made an inroad into the 
country to see and to examin what I could about the history and 
antiquitys thereof. 

In the first place I went to Normanby. It is but a small hamlet 
belonging to the L*^' Mulgrave, who was made marquis of the 
same since this king came in. He has a very fine well built hall 
or pallace there, but it is not great nor very stately. It is of 
modern building. 

From thence I went to Burton, which is a mile further. It is 
but a small town, for all it is a market town, and is of itself very 
poor. They have a little inconsiderable market there every 
Tuesday. It stands upon the very height of the hill, and has a 
mighty fine prospect all to the SW and WN. The church is 
built of rough stone, and has nothing worth seeing in, there be- 
ing no monuments nor no epitaphs, tho' there has been consider- 
able men buryed there, as the late L"^- and Lady Mulgraves, and 
others. This church was, in times of popery, given with the 
tithes to Freston Priory, in this county, by Alan de Creun. At 
the east end of the quire, out of the same, ly's the body of one, 
who was in times of old, vicar of the church. There has been 
several brasses on the great stone, but they are now gone. With 

« There are great quantities of Lilies of the Valley in Broughton and 
Manby woods. People still come from a great distance to gather the flowers 
and take away their roots, which are medicinally valuable. 



138 THE DIARY OF 

much to do I made out these words, Ovate pro anima. In the 
chancel is the Marquess of Normanbj's arms, thus, [shield blank] 
with two bores, supporters of the crest, which is a blew bore's 
head upon a crown. 

Not farr from this town is two hills like butt hills, they say, 
for I did not see them, onely they are too farr one from another. 
They are called Spillo hills.* 

From thence I went all along upon the brink of the hill to 
•Alkburrow, commonly called Aukbu^ow. By the wayside I 
saw a little burrow,^ very hollow in the middle. As soon as I 
came to the town I observed a four square trench encompassing 
many akers of land, which tho' it be old, yet it seems to be 
Roman, tho' it is but a small one.*' That which makes me believe 
that it is Roman, besides the squareness of it, is a tradition which 
the people has, that there is a passage under ground from it to 
Holton Bolls, which is a mile of, it being common with the 
Romans, and no nations else, to make passages under ground 
from their forts and camps to other places, to get aid and pro- 
visions into them the more secretly and safely in time of need. 
They say likewise that there has been digg'd up about the town 
several skellitons of men's bones, some of which were of a 
monstrous greatness. Below this hill, hard by the waterside, 
was built a strong little fort in Cromwell's days, which is since 
fall'n to decay. This town is certainly of greater antiquity than 
any town hereabouts ; Alkburrow signifying old town, and that 
there were several old burrows there, under which men were 
wont to be buried in time of warr. There is a pretty good 
church there, but no epitaphs nor monuments in it at present 
visible, because that the chancel, being fall'n, has buried all. 
However, these words are written on a great stone iti the wall of 
the sayd chancel, now almost illegible : — 

Richardus Bruto, nee non Menonius Hugo, 
Willelmus Trajo templum hoc lapidibus altum 
Condebant patria, gloria digna Deo. 

I 'tis a great shame and a skandall to see that chancel as it is. 
It belongs to one .... Denman, esq., to repair and keep 
in order, who has near lOOOZ. p[er] ann[imi], and lives hard by, 
and is lord of the town. Yet to his eternal shame he takes no care 
thereof. 

* A place in this parish is still called Spihoe or Spelhoe. There are also 
two artificial mounds on the south side of Burton, on the declivity of the hill, 
which seem to have been butt hills. No special name is attached to these. 

« Called Lady, or Countess Burrow. — Marginal note by Diaritt. 

* Alkborough. There is a plan of the camp here in Stukely. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMB. 139 

From thence I went to Whitten/ The town is but a little 
inconsiderable town, as most of these Lincolnshire towns are. It 
is seated mighty advantagiously, having the Humber running 
close by it. When I saw the town it put into my mind a song 
that I had heard of it, which ended at every verse thus : — 

At Whitten's town end, brave boys 1 

At Whitten's town end 1 
At every door 
There sits a . . . 

At Whitten's town end 1 

There is nothing worth seeing in the whole town. The present 
lord of it is one Mr. Plead well, who lives at London, who got it by 
marrying the daughter of S • John Morton, who was lord thereof 
before. 

About twenty years ago was part of a great hall standing on 
the west side of the church,^ in a cloase where the Mortons lived, 
but now onely part of the foundations appear. 

It is exceeding probable, and that not without some grounds 
in history also, that there was a time when that the Humber broke 
through the woulds into the now called Ouse and Trent, and 
drounded and sunk many hundreds of thousands of akers of land, 
which now lyes all on the west of it; and, besides, Trent and Ouse 
falls about a mile west of this town at present (tho' I believe that 
formerly it fell even against this town) into Humber, and caused 
abundance of shipp wraks, and such like, which occasiond this 
common saying : — 

Between Trent-fall and Whitten-ness 
Many are made widdows and fatherless. 

That which they now call the ness ly's about a mile from that 
place which they now call Trent-fall, which is against Foxlet-ness, 
in Yorkshire, which answers almost over against Alkburrow. 

But, as I sayd, I do not believe that the Trent-fall was there 
first of all, but just over against this town, from which thing this 
town had it's name, for Wite, or Witen in Saxon signify* 
sorrow or sorrowfull, which answers to the afore going verses. 

The hill which sloped the Humber, which afterwards was 
broke through, ran from Whitten high hill or ridge very much 
north east, and so butted upon the Yorkshire woulds ; but, being 
worn through by long success of time, it was all carry'd away 
and layd all along the midst, and all the north side of the 

« Whitton 18 situate at the north-west extremity of the county of Lincoln, 
on a bold cliff overlooking the Humber. 

/ The present church is a modern structure, built about sixty years ago. 
l^ot a trace of the old one is left. 



140 THE DIAUY OF 

Hiimber, where it lys to this day, for a mile in length in a great 
long bed, which is very dangerous for vessels that is not well 
acquainted with the river ; for commonly at low water the only 
channel which lys all on this side is not above twice twelve score 
yards over ; so that tho' the river be very broad here, yet that 
arises from tlie resistance to the tide that the reliques of this 
hill made, which caused it to overflow, and dround so much 
more on the Yorkshire side. 

The church of this town is but mean, and there [is] nothing 
worth seeing in it. The people has their seats full of straw to 
kneel on instead of basses. 

From thence I went to West Halton. This town tho' it bee but 
little now is nevertheless of great antiquity. It's parish is very 
large, which [is] also a good sign of its antiquity. The church 
is all now fain to ruins, but appears to have been very stately, 
magnificent, and larger than any one for a great many miles 
round about it. There are two great bells lyes buryed amongst 
the rubbish with these inscriptions upon the them .... 
and in the quire is a great stone with this epitaph on it* . . . 

As you come to this town from Whitten there is two great 
burys, hollow on the top ; and in the town, on the north side of 
the church, is a huge hill called . . . hill, where has been 
formerly a great . . . .'* 

f Spaces are left for the insertion of these, but have not been filled up. 

'* The writer has entered in the Diary a copy of a brief that had been 
issued for the rebuilding of the church, which sets forth " that the parish church 
of West Halton, together with the steeple and bells, did immediately after 
a violent tempest fall down, so that there has not been any public worship or 
preaching therein for many years, save only in a little chancel, which is now also 
become so very ruinous that the minister's dwelling-house is the only place to 
which they (the inhabitants) can resort. That the charge of rebuilding the 
church, chancel, and steeple is computed at £840," etc. To this brief the 
Diarist has appended the following annotations. 

" Ye chancel is all pretty good and firm. It will want onely a little strength- 
ening and cementing together. This church at first cost, in all likelihood, some 
thousands of pounds building at first, there having been a great deal of ex- 
cellent good workmanship about it. Ye old material is very good and fresh, 
and will do good service. 

'• Ye quakers are a mighty refractory people, and mighty backward to pay 
anything of dues to ye churches. Undoubtedly there will be but little money 
got for this good use from them. I remember that awhile ago I was with ye 
pious and learned Mr. Tho. Place, Winterton, who told me, that when he began 
at first to build and repair that church, that there met him suddenly in the street 
a grave old long-bearded quaker, who accosted Mr. Place thus : * Thou Place, (says 
he) I have a message to thee from God, who commanded me to tell thee that 
thou must desist in going out this work of the devil, ye repairing of ye steeple- 
house of this town ! ' And then ye quaker stamped at him, and denounced 
several woes against him if he did go on. These unexpected words so frightened 
and surprised Mr. Place that his hair stood p,lmost upon an end ; but having 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 141 

Wlien I was in the chancell I found that the town's chest 
was broke in pieces, and all the papers torn in small bitts by the 
birds, or else by some children. Three or four papers relating 
to the town's business, tho' of very small concern, I brought 
away with me, which I shall transcribe here, especially the 
most observable thinors in them.* 

About ten years ago almost all Castor in this county was burnt 
down. The houses were poor mean things before, but are very 
neat and handsome now, and it is observed that every town is 
betterd exceedingly by being purified by fire. 

Yesterday I was at Brigg with Doct[or] Smart, Mr. Jollence, 
and a gentleman call'd Mr. More,-' who comes out of Derbishire. 
He says that about twenty years ago, as his father was digging 
very deep in Staley parish, near Chesterfield, in the said county, 
that they found the perfect skeliton of a man of a monstrous big- 
ness; the head was able to hold two pecks of com, and this 

considered thereof, he fell more hard to ye work than ever, haveing really taken 
this fellow to have been employed by y© divel to stop ye same." 

Among the political offenders of the seventeenth century the quakers of the 

day must be enumerated. They were concerned, more or less, with exceptions 

of course, in all the plots of the time. It was their delight to abuse the minister 

in the pulpit, and the judge upon the bench. They were continually violating 

public order and decency in the grossest manner. They prophesied. They 

walked about the streets in the unadorned simplicity of our first parents. They 

howled and bellowed as if an evil spirit was within them. They professed to 

use earthly weapons as the sword of the Lord and of Gideon. Madness like 

this was of course intolerable. In 1664-5, at Beverley, John Thompson, of 

HoUin, yeoman,deposed before the justices that discoursing with Peter Johnson 

(a quaker) concerning tithes, the said Peter took the deponent, gript and shook 

him, and told him that tithes should quickly be put dovni, and if the Lord 

would put the sword into their hand they would fight the Lord's battle. Further, 

that on Sunday after Lammas day, 1663, Peter said to Mr. Henry SaUey, minister 

of HoUin, as he was going to Kilnsey to preach, " Harry, art thou going to tell 

lies as thou hast done in HoUin? repent, repent, thy calamities draw near," 

which he often repeated. Thomas Slinger, vicar of Helmsley, being about to 

inter a corpse, was openly assaulted by a party of quakers, who tore both the 

surplice and the book of Common Prayer. It was one of their practises to enter 

churches with their hats on during divine service, and to rail openly and exclaim 

aloud against the ministers with reproachful words, calling them liars, deluders 

of the people, Baal's priests, etc. One instance of this kind may be related. 

Mr. Fothergill, vicar of Orton, one Sunday exchanged pulpits with Mr. Dalton, 

of Shap, who had but one eye. A quaker, stalking in as usual into the church 

of Orton, whilst Mr. Dalton was preaching, said " Come down, thou false 

Fothergill !" " Who told thee," says Mr. Dalton, " that my name was Fothergill." 

** The Spirit," quoth the quaker. " That spirit of thine is a lying spirit," says the 

other, "for it is well known that I am not Fothergill, but peed Dalton, of 

Shap." — Rainess Depositions from York Castle^ preface, etc. 

» " The Cargraver's account, 1626." " Money disbursed by Antony Wright, 
churchwarden, 1628." "A whole Cargraver's biU of disbursements, but there 
is no year named." 

> Forsan Jalland and Mower. 



142 THE DIARY OF 

gentleman says that he has by him now one of the teeth that was 
then taken out of the skull, which weighs four pound nine ounces,* 
and that which is most strange is that this skelliton was in an 
erect or standing posture. 

25. I was at Barton yesterday with one Mijn Heer Peter Van 
Schelsbroot, an ingenious young Dutchman. 

Hard by the church of St in Barton, towards 

the north side, stands part of an old building which has been a 
chantery, called chantry house to this day. There is a famous 
well at Barton which is called S • Catharin's well, which had the 
image of that S** well cut in white marble standing by it, within 
the memory of several men now Hveing, but it was all broke in 
pieces in Cromwell's time. There is a well in Barton Fields, that 
always rises and falls with the river Ank, now called Ankam, 
tho' the well is two or three yards perpendicular above the river, 
it being on the top of the would. 

This day I was at a place called Kell Well,' near Aukburrow, 
where I got a great many pretty stones, being a kind of the 
astroites or starr-stones. There is many of them also at Whitten, 
on the cliffs, and in Coalby beck. The country people have a 
Strang name for them, and call them kestles and postUs^ which 
somewhat sounds like Christ and his Apostles.*" 

Mr. Tho [mas] Place, of Winterton, is a very ingenious 
publick spirited man." He spends his time in building, repairing, 

* These are the figures stated in the diary, but it is difficult to imagine the 
writer gravely giving credit to the statement. If the story be not a joke, it is 
probable that they were the remains of an elephant. The bones of that animal 
have frequently been mistaken for human relics. 

' Kell Well is a bubbling spring, which runs out from between the layers 
of Lias rock on the western face of the hill, near the Trent, between Burton- 
Stather and Alkborough. Keld, Keal, or Kell, is a common name for wells. 

"» The Diarist's explanation seems to be a fanciful one. The stones he 
speaks of are fragments of the arms of Pentacrinites. 

» The name of such a man deserves all the perpetuity that can be given to 
it. In De la Pryme's History of Winterton, co. Lincoln, published by Mr. 
Peacock in vol. XL. of the Arclueologm^ he alludes to the miserable condition 
of the church of that parish after the civil wars, when so many suffered. " This 
particularly of this town was," he says, " through ye same, in such a state of 
decay that, for many years after ye Restoration, there was scarce either a bit of 
glass in y© windows, or of lead upon ye roof, or any good timber about it. It 
lay almost open to all storms, so that if either rain or snow fell ye congregation 
were sure to suffer thereby. Thus it continued, until that Mr. Tho. Place, a 
most worthy gentleman of ye said town, and general promoter of everything 
that is great and good, begun to commiserate its sorrowful condition and repair 
ye same, which he so effectually promoted and performed, that in a few years 
all its breaches and cranies were mended, its roof most of it cover'd with new 
timber and lead, its windows new glaz'd, its floors new layd, its old seats tum'd 
into oak pews, its walls beautify d, its bells new cast, and its yard made level, 
handsome and neat, and most of this at his own proper costs and charges, bo 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 143 

and beautifying of churches, and most of this at his own cost. 
There is a most excellent project corned in his head of building a 
chappel at Brigg, because that that town being larg, farr from 
their churches, and having in it all sorts of sectarys, becomes 
by that means a seminary for all such like cattel the whole county 
over. To stop all this, and to quell them, he is resolved to pro- 
mote all he is able the erecting of a chappeP in the same ; and 
that the sectarys may not, as they commonly do, call us hier- 
lings, he is for having the whole neighbouring clergy to preach 
there every Sunday gratis, which no one refuses, and seeing that 
the Bish[op] of York has erected several weekly lectures on the 
market days in many schismatic towns in Yorkshire, as at Ponte- 
fract, etc., so he is for having one to be here also, at which I have 
promised to preach twice a month, besides as oft as the Sunday 
preach in 0^ comes in my course. 

Mr. Place being a layman is much envy'd by lay gentlemen 

that it is now one of ye most beautiful churches in ye country." There are 
many rich men of our own day to whom it may be said " Go and do likewise." 

The Winterton Regfister contains several notices of this family. 

1599. The 25 of December was .... Place buried. 

1601. December the 7 daye, was Henrye Place beried. 

1613. Isabell, the daughter of Will'm Place and Elizabeth his wife, May 
the 24th (bap.) 

1614. (?) William Place, September the ^th (bur.) 

1616. Jone, ye daughter of Will'm Place and Elizabeth his wife, April 14th 
bapd (buried April 23). 

1617. Thomas Place, the sonne of Will'm and Elizabeth his wife, was bap- 
tised August decimo die. 

1618. Mary, daughter of Thomas Place, gent, and Elizabeth his wife, No- 
vember 5 (bap.), [buried March 1st, 1620], 

1 622. Thomas, the son of Thomas and Elizabeth Place his wife, July 80 
(bap.) 

1624. Thomas Place was buried Desemb. 23. 

\_T1iere is a break in the Parish Register from 1639 to 1681], 

1683. Mrs. Mary Place, wid., was bur. August ye tenth. 

1691. Mary, daughter to William Place, gent, and ffines his wife, was bapt. 
April ye twenty first. 

1691. Thomas Place, gent, was bur. July ye twenty third. 

1693. Thomas, son to William ,Place, gent, and fl^es his wife, was bapt. 
July ye sixth. 

1695. William, son to William Place, gent, and ffines his wife, was bapt. 
November ye eight. 

1697. John, son to William Place, gent, and flSnes his wife, was bapt, 
September ye fifteenth. 

1703. Mrs. fl^is Place was buried April the sixth. 

1720. Thomas Place, gent, was buried July the eighteenth. 

[This is probably the gentleman whom the Diarist mentions], 

1728. Mr. William Place bur'd November ye second. 

" It is stated in Allen's Lincolnshire^ vol. ii., p. 224, without any authoritj 
being given, that the chapel at Brigg was founded by four gentlemen, whose 
names are not told us, in 1699. 



144 THE DIARY OF 

for these good deeds, therefore he has got Mr. Sye, Mr. Har- 
grave, and myself, who are publick spirited clergymen, to pro- 
mote openly the design, and he himself will do all for it that he 
can underhand. 

Wee was to have had a private meeting about it this day 
at Mr. Sy's, at Wintringham, but Mr. Place, happening to be 
not well, could not come, so our design was let fall. J had 
sent a letter to Mr. Brown, schoolmaster of Brigg(now preferred 
to three liveings in Ireland by the Bishop of Clohar), to desire his 
company, but he was pre-engaged, and so writt unto me. 

Mr. Baldwin, who was born at Doncaster, told me that about 
twenty-six years ago, in his time, there was a new window built 
in the church there, and that the cement to join the stone together 
was made of quick lime, ale, and tan water. He says that the 
whole in ale and tan water came to fifteen pound. 

There is lately cast upon the shores of Yorkshire, in Holder- 
ness, vast quantitys of a mineral, exactly like bismuth or tin glass, 
many hundred cart loads. Some believes it to be silver oar. I 
have sent for some to try what it is. I hear that they are trying 
it in many places. They used to sell it at first for Is. a bushel, 
but now they have raised it to three. 

I was with one Mr. Kidson, of Barton, yesterday, who has 
been in many countrys. He says that, when he was last at 
Amsterdam, he chanc'd to meet with a great merchant in that 
citty with whom he was acquainted, and going to the coffy-house, 
the merchant began to tell him what he was going to do with his 
son. " In the first place," says he, " I will place him for a year 
or two with a wine-cooper in this citty, to teach him thoroughly 
the excellency of wine vessels and tuns, for there is non in the 
world have so good as them made at Amsterdam. Then," says 
he, " I'll send him some more years to London to learn of the 
English the art of makeing of wines, for," says he, " there is 
none in the world like unto the English for that. They'l take 
a small vessel of wine worth about 5Z., and they'l make it im- 
mediately worth 50/. ; whereas we useing the same art in Amster- 
dam cannot give it so lively a flavour and so natural colors. 
Most wines," he says, "cannot be drunk unless they be thus dilated 
and sophisticated.' Doct[or] Merrel has writt a whole book of 
the mistery of Vintners.'' 

• 

p In a previous part of the diary De la Pryme says he had heard it certainlj 
related some years ago "that there was a man at York that made artificial wine 
so pure and natural like that nobody could discover it from the best wine that 
comes from beyond sea." 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 145 

In King Charles the Second's time there came over an am- 
bassador from Muscovy. Killegrew^ went one morning to hi» 
lodgings to complement him, and pay him a visit. After a few 
ceremonys was past, the ambassador calls for his moming'g 
draught, which was soon brought, to wit, a huge quart glass of 
brandy, and a great paperfull of pepper, a handful! of which he put 
into the glass, and haveing stir'd it well in, he drank it of to Kille- 
grew ([whoj^was the king of drinkers in them days), saying 
" this is the King of England's good health." Eallegrew look'd 
at him as if he would have look'd through, and was mighty 
loath to take such a drench next his heart, yet not knowing how 
to deny it, he took it off. The ambassador was for drinking 
several more such healths, but Killegrew (with a great deal of 
sorrow and shame), declined them, and takeing his leave he went 
to the king, swearing that he thought the divel and hell itself 
was in it : he had got a morning's draught that almost burnt him 
in pieces, and having told the whole story to the king, he laught 
heartily at him. 

July 24. Wee had a Bishop's Visitation'" on the 21st of this 
month at Gainsburg, and on the 24th I went to wait upon his 
lordship at Barton. Somebody told the bishop of the staitli- 
ness of the remaining buildings of Thornton College, upon which 
he went to see the same, and stood amazed with the august 
appearance thereof, he having never in all his life seen any build- 
ing more curious and finer wrought than it. S'* . . . . 
Skinner,* that pulPd the college down, built a most staitly hall 
out of the same, on the west side of the abby plot within the 
moat, which hall, when it was finished, fell quite down to the 
bare ground without any visible cause, and broke in pieces all 
the rich furniture that was therein. Then S'- Edm[und] Win, 
seeing no building would thrive there, he caused all the stone to 
[be] fetched away, and built a most delicate hall at Thornton 
town, but that prospered not neither, so that there is now onely 
a few of the lower walls to be seen thereon. After that . . . 
Skinner built another hall out of part of the stones that the other 
was built of, which hall now stands on the east side of the court 

9 Tom Killigrew. the famous wit, about whom so many stories are told. 
He died at Whitehallin 1682. 

' He gives the following extract, " Out of y« church book of Broughton, 
anno 1540 or thereabouts. At je Visitation r.t Spittle : — ^A quart and a half of 
claret wine. Is. 3d. ; 3 quart of sack, 2s. ; half a quart mxaidf ^~ 
of sope, 3d. ; spent in ale upon St. Hew's day, 2d," 

James Gardiner, S.T.P., was Bishop of Lincoln at* 
secrated March 10th, 1694, and died March Ist, 1 **' 

' Sir Vincent Skinner. — See Ufiteay pp. IdO-lox. 

K 



146 THE DIARY OF 

of the abby, and is all built on arches of some of the old building. 
We observed the place of the huge portcullice, which was in the 
gait house of this abby, etc. 

28. Haveing been in Yorkshire this last week, I mett with 
diverse learned and ingenious gentlemen, who told me a great 
many observable things. 

It was upon Hanson's house at Hale's Hill, in Woodhouse,' 

* Hatfield Woodhouse, near which place, in the centre of the great Hatfield 
turf -moor, were formerly about sixty acres of land, known by the name of Lind- 
holme. " It is a prevalent opinion," says Hunter {S.T., i., 196), "that here 
once dwelt some extraordinary personage who is known by no other name than 
that of William of Lindholme ; a species of Prospero, one who was in league 
with infernal spirits, and who was endued with strength far surpassing the ordi- 
nary strength of man. Two immense boulder- stones called the ' thumb-stone * 
and the * little-finger-stone,' are supposed to have been brought hither by him," etc. 
Amongst the many traditionary stories related concerning him is one to the effect 
that, when he was a boy, his parents went to Wroot feast, and left him to keep 
the sparrows from the corn or hemp seed. The account is that he drove all the 
sparrows into a barn, which was then being built, and still unroofed, and con- 
fined them there by placing a harrow against the door. After he had done this, 
"William followed his parents to Wroot ; and when scolded for so doing, he said 
he had fastened up all the sparrows in a bam, and where they found them on 
their return in the evening, one version says, all dead, except a few which were 
turned white. Since this transaction it is said that no sparrows were ever seen 
at Lindholme. Probably the setting of the waggon in the text refers to the 
story, as above, of placing a harrow against the bam door. — See more of William 
of Lindholme in Hunter ; and in Stonehou^e's Isle of Axholme, p. 393. 

The following verses on the Hermit, William of Lindholme, are by the 
Kevd. Abraham de la Pryme, F.R.S., our Diarist : — 

Within an humble lonesome cell 
He free from care and noise does dwell, 
No pomp, no pride, no cursed strife. 
Disturbs the quiet of his life. 
A truss or two of straw's his bed, 
His arms, the pillow for his head, 
His hunger makes his bread go down, 
Altho' it be both stale and brown. 
A purling brook that runs hard bj 
Affords him drink when'eer he's dtj. 
In short, a garden and a spring, 
Does all life's necessaries bring. 
What is't the foolish world calls poor, 
He has enough ; he needs no more, 
No anxious thoughts corrode his breast^ 
No passions interrupt his rest. 
No chilling fear, no hot desire, 
Freezes or sets his blood on fire, 
No tempest is engender' d-there. 
All does serene and calm appear. 
And 'tis his comfort when alone, 
Seeing no ill, to think of none. 
And spends each moment of his breath 
In preparations for his death. 
He patiently expects his doom, 
When fate shall order it to come. 
He sees the winged lightning fly 
Through the tempestuous angry sky, 
And unconcerned its thunder hears. 
Who knows no guilt can feel no fears. 

See Gentleman's Magazine^ vol. xvii, p. 23, 1747. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 147 

that S*- W[illiam] a' Lindholm set his wagon. One Hanson 
lived there then. Look and see when the Hansons bVed, and 
then you may find perhaps when W[illiam] a' L[indholme] lived. 

Near Gaubur Hall," a mile beyond Barnsley, there is a great 
coal pitt which is on fire, and has burn[ed] many years. 

There is a most delicate fine freestone at Brodsworth," but so 
porose, tho' not visible, that, troughs being made of it, it will let 
the water run out for a year or two before that the pores are 
filled up with the sediment and sand carryd in the water. 

The ingenious Mr. Place told me that, about ten years ago, 
when he was at London, he was well acquainted with one Mr. 
Kettlewell, a learned and ingenious barrister-at-law, who chanced 
to dy when he was there. When he perceived that he had but 
a small time to live he made his will, disposed of every thing, 
and sent for half a dozen fiddlers, two base viols, and other 
musick, and made them stand round about his bed, and play the 
most sweetly that ever they could, and charg'd them to play there 
till he was dead and an houer after, which thing they accordingly 
perform'd. He dyed that night, after that they had played a 
whole day before him ; and when his will came to be look'd at,"* it 
was found there that they were to continue playing before him 
night and day untill that the time came for him to be bury'd, and 
that then also they should play him even to the church porch. 

Aug. 10. Mr. Place, of Winterton, being four miles from 
Humber, and two or three from any river, digging very lately 
for a well, found the ground undigged before, and at five yards 
deep came to the root, or stratum, or layer, or shell of stone, that 

« Gawber-hall, in Bajgh (Galbergh) occurs in the inquisition of Alice de 
Lund, in 32 Edward I. It was the estate of a family named Dodworth, after- 
wards of Jenkinson, Barber and Sitwell. — Hunter's S.Y.^ ii., p. 378. 

» Near Doncaster. (See Hunter's S. F., i., p. 314). The estate at the con- 
quest was given to Roger de Busli. It passed through the Darels, and Went- 
worths, to the family of the Earl of Kinnoul, of whom was Dr. Robert 
Drummond, Archbishop of York, who died in 1777. By the sale of it by Robert, 
ninth Earl of Kinnoul, the Archbishop's eldest son, to Peter Thellusson, a 
London merchant, it was one of the places which, Hunter observes, became a 
name familiar in the courts at Westminster, under the extraordinary provisions 
of that gentleman's will, the particulars relating to which he supplies. The 
testator's eldest son, Peter Isaac Thellusson, was created Baron Rendlesham, of 
the Kingdom of Ireland, in 1806. From Charles, the third son, is descended 
C. S. A. Thellusson, Esq., born 6th Feb., 1822, who, within the last few years, 
has built an entirely new mansion at Brodsworth, and has greatly improved the 
village. This gentleman served the office of High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1866. 

" Colonel Chester, to whom I am greatly indebted for many other similar 
acts of kindness, has most obligingly mi^e a o^rAf»i <^eaiQh for this will in Lon- 
don, from 1680 to 1697, but withont 



:^ 



148 THE DIARY OF 

is all over this country. Upon it they found a great old-fashioned 
pot ear, and in the stone, which they were forced to cut through, 
the[y] found several pieces of wood somewhat heavy, but not 
petrifyd, which cracked and broke in pieces when it came to be 
dry. He gave me a larg piece in the stone, and takeing some of 
it we put it in water and it swum. 

Upon the top of the great ridg of the flying sand hills as you 
go from Santon to Burton market, in Santon parish, has been a 
great treasure of old copper coins hid ; they have frequently been 
found there by whole handfuUs, but are all so eaten away that 
nothing can be observed upon them. There was in the sayd 
sands, not long since, a fine wrought cross found, also of copper, 
about a foot and a half long, etc. 

Sept. The churches of Burtun and Butterwic were given to 
Freston Priory in Lincolnshire by Alan de Creun. Frodingham 
belonged to Birstal Priory, Messingham, Cletham, Scotter, 
Scotten, etc., to S* Peter's in Peterburg.' 

I hear that the sea formerly came up over all the marshes to 
Lincoln citty side, and that the parish of S * Botulp's was once 
fined for not keeping the sea-dike banks in repair. There is 
reckords of this to bee seen in the aforesayd church. 

The Trent, before that the Humber broke it's way into it, all 
ran by Lincoln over those marshes into the sea. There has, in 
the citty of Lincoln, been found great stathes and huge piles 
stuck down into the earth. There was, not many years ago, an 
old boat found very deep, as they were digging a well, with hewn 
stone in it, sunk perhaps in the Roman time, when they were 
bringing stone to build their coUony here. There has also been 
found many scaled fish wholy petryfyd. 

* Our Diarist has been led far astray here by the similarity of the names of 
places in the County of Lincoln. He thinks he is writing of Burton-upon- 
Stather, and East or West Butterwick in the Isle of Axholme, but the places he 
is really telling us of are Baston in Kesteven, and Butterwick near Boston. The 
Charter of Alan de Creoun and Muriel his wife to the priory of St. Guthlac 
of Croyland is given at length in the Motiastlcoti^ vol. ii., p. 120. By a typo- 
graphical error Baston is printed Burton in the charter, but is given rightly in 
the Minister's Account^ p. 125. Frieston was a cell to Croyland, and these 
properties were given " in perpetuum ad victum et ad vestimenta monachorum 
qui servient Deo in ecclesia sancti Jacobi Frestoniae." 

Frodingham belonged to Revesby Abbey. — Monast. Anglic^, v., p. 466. 

The Rectory of Messingham belonged to the Augustinian Abbey of Thorn- 
holme. — Monast, Anglic.^ vi. p. 357. 

Cleatham, Scotter, Scotton, •' et tres partes de Messingham," were in the 
abbot of Peterborough's fee. — Chron, Petribwrgense^ ed. Stapleton, p. 163, et 
passim. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 149 

Not far ofF of the Roman street that runs by Hibberstow, in 
Hibberstow Fields, appears to have been the foundations of many 
buildings. Tradition says that there has been an old citty there. 
I asked all ways that I could imagine to know the name thereof, 
but they could not tell me. Not farr from it is a place where tradi- 
tion says stood a great castle belonging to this citty. I then 
asked if there was any old coins found there, and they answer'd 
some few Bomans. I then asked if there was any springs hard 
by, and they answered that there was two ; the one called Castle 
Town spring, and the other called Jenny-Stanny well,^ perhaps 
Julius's Stony well. This was undoubtedly some Roman town, 
because that it is so near the Roman street, etc. 

There is a famous spring at Kerton, called Diana's head.' 
This coat of arms is in Wintrincrham church : — 

Or, a cross of St. George vert. Hussey, a knight family .« 

I am told that at Lindwood, in Lincolnshire, by Marcket Rasin, 
ly's buried the famous civil laywer, Lindwood, mider a fair 
monument.* 

16. There is a great teacher amongst the quakers, who has 
for this last two months made it his business to go from meeting 
to meeting prophesying unto them that the day of judgement 
was to be on the six[th] day of this month, but this sixth day 
is over, and the quaker proves to be a lyar and deciever. 

I was with Mr. Holms, min[ister] of Wrawby, yesterday. 
He tells as a most certain truth that about thirty-seven years ago 
he lived at Giggleswick (as I remember in Yorkshire, where the 
great school is), at which time one Mr. Lyster was min[ister] of 
the town. There was a quaker there, who was revelation mad, 
whome the spirit moved mightily to go to the church to repre- 
hend the congregation. Accordingly, upon a fine clear Sunday, 

y Jenny Scanny Well. This is at a farm in the parish of Hibuldstowe, now 
called Staniwells. 

* No well called Diana's Head is now known at Kirton-in-Lindsey. There 
are several bubbling springs there. One is called White Well ; another Otchen 
Well ; and a third Esh or Ash Well. Mention has been met with of this last in a 
record of the early pai*t of the sixteenth century. 

« Hussey, Dorsetshire, Hador, Gowthorp, and Linwood, co. Lincoln ; and 
of Wiltshire, or a cross vert. — Burke's Armoury. 

* Lyndwode, Bishop of St. David's, the canonist, was bom at Linwood. in 
Lincolnshire, but not buried there. Of his birth-place there cannot be a doubt ; 
he says in his will, " Lego ecclesiae de Lyndewode, ubi natus sum, antiphonarium 
meum minus de tribus." There can be no reasonable doubt but that he was 
buried 'at Westminster, He provides by his will "corpus meum sepelien- 
dum in capella Sancti Stephani apud Westmonasterium ubi munus cousecra- 
tionis accepi." 



150 THE DIARY OF 

the quaker doffs him stark naked, and takeing a burning candle 
in his hand he goes to the church, and as he entered into the 
churchyard on the one side, a gentleman of the town hapened by 
chance to enter in on the other side, who was amazed to see 
him in such a state: who, calling him by his name, sayd, " N., 
where are you going ?" " I am going (says he), to the house of 
Baal." " What house is that ?" sayd he : " That great house," 
says he, "whether thou art going." "Why so?" sayd he: 
" The spirit of God, speaking within me, commanded me to do so, 
to reprehend that conjurer Lister." " Did the spirit bid thee go 
this day to reprehend the preacher Mr. Lister at this church to- 
day? " " Yea verily," sayd he, " the spirit did." " Well, well, 
fy for shame, N.," says he, " the spirit of delusion is in thee ; it is 
the divel that leads and decieves ; this day Mr. Lister dos not 
preach here, but one Rogers, therefore you may see how you are 
deluded ; go, go home and be wiser," etc. These words so 
wrought upon the quaker that he went home much ashamed." 

This Mr. Homes was at London the year K[ing] W[illiam] 
came in. He says that, towards the latter end of the first parla- 
ment, the House of Commons had the impudence to pretend to 
meddle with the holy things of the church, and would needs have 
the cross in baptism, the surpless, and the use of the ring in mar- 
riage made indifferent things, so that people that would have them 
might, and those that would not might not ; but the House of 
Lords, tho' they argued long upon the bill, yet at last they cast 
it ©ut of the house. 

The House of Commons are commonly a company of irreli- 
gious wretches who cares not what they do, nor what becomes 
of the church and religious things, if they can but get their 
hawkes, hounds, and whores, and the sacred possessions of the 
church. It is plainly visible that the nation would be happier if 
that there was no House of Commons, but onely a House of 
Lords, who yet, nevertheless, should not have so much power as 
they have, but should be onely the eyes of the country, and of the 
council of the kino:, who should also be bound bv his coronation 
oath never to yield to any chang of the fixed ecclesiastic govern- 
ment, etc., for we commonly see that whatever mischief has been 
wrought in the nation has been carryd on and back'd by the 
House of Commons, etc., who valines the weal politic above the 
ecclesiastic, and their own worldly ends above their salvation. 

^ See a similar anecdote in Canon Raine's preface to Depositions from York 
Castle, Surtees Society^s Publications, vol. xxiii. Referred to antea, p. 141. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 151 

I have heard it from very many ministers and old people that 
the sacraments of baptism and the L^'^ supper was so little re- 
garded in Cromwel's time that they were in many towns and 
places quite left of. In many towns the L^'^ supper was not 
administered for ten or fifteen years together, and people, I mean 
especially the presbiterians and indipendants, did not take any 
care to get their children baptized : so that quakerism and ana- 
baptism spread mightily. Mr. Homes says that he has baptized 
since he came to Wrawby sometimes three, sometimes four, and 
sometimes more, altogether on one Sunday, who were at men's 
(or very near) estate, and that those were the sons of the afore- 
named sects and not of the quakers. I have heard a great 
many relations of the same in other places. 

23. I was this day with a gentleman that saw a larg piece of 
gold coin as bigg as a Jacobus, lately found at Riby in this 
county. He says that it was a Soman coin, and was such pure 
gold that [it] bended any way as easily as if it had been a thin 
plate of lead. 

There is a pretty school-house at Brigg, but not very well 
situate, nor very well contrived ; it was built and endowed by 
one S'"- John Nelthrop after his death.** 

These Nelthorps (of which there is several in this country), 
are] descended all from one Tho[mas] Nelthorp, who was taylor 
X) Queen Elizabeth, who got a great estate under her, and pur- 
chased several houses in Hull, and several manors in this countv. 

/ V 

I was at Authorp,* by Trentside, yesterday. The church is 

^ The Grammar School at Brigg was founded by Sir John Nelthorpe, the 
first baronet (created 10th May, 1666), son and heir of Richard Nelthorpe of 
Scawby, by his wife Ursula, daughter of Martin Gravenor, of Messingham. Over 
the school house door are the arms of the founder, Argent, on a pale sable a 
sword erect of the first, pommel and hilt or. Beneath them is the following 
inscription : — 

JoHAiWES Nelthorpe Barttus 

SCHOLAM HANG 

EX INSIGNI PIETATB 

PROPRIIS SUMPTIBUS ^DIFICAVIT 

BT ANNUAL! SUBSIDIO DONAVIT 

IN PERPETUUM. 

MDCLXXIin. 

A good three-quarter length portrait of the founder is in the master's drawing- 
room. 

The diarist has recorded " a true copy of so much of the aforesayd Sr. John 
Nelthorp's will, as relates to the aforesayd school," dated 11th Sept. 20 Car. 2, 
1669, in which the testator is described of Grays Inn, co, Middlesex. (pp« 326- 
329, MS. Diary), 

* Althorpe. 



152 THE DIARY OP 

well built of squared stone. On the west side of the steeple are 
these coats of arms : — 

[1. — Neville. [2. — Neville, quartering Beau- [3. — Mowbray, a lion rampant ; 
A saltire.] champ, and Newmarch, five impaling Newmarch, five 
fusils in fess.] fusils in fess.] 

with a bull's head for the crest over the second. On the south 
side is emboss'd on two great stones a ram with one foot touch- 
ing the end of a great tun or barrel, with an old I and B over 
them. This perhaps the simbol of some gentleman's name. B 
perhaps stands for Bernard or Benjamin, and the ram and tun 
joyned together makes Ramton. I have read of such a surname, 
but what their arms are I cannot tell. 

The chancel seems to have been built since4he church. Over 
the arch of the east window is the coat of arms-^ of a lion rampant, 
and over that, instead of a cros at the sumit of the gable end, is a 
great stone crown, old fashon'd. 

At the termination of the comish, on one side of the sayd 
window, is the bust or germ of a king with a crown on and 
short curld hair, and a long broad beard. On the other side is 
a bish[op] with his miter on, and a croisar staff in one hand, 
and the other held up in the form of blessing. 

On the south side of the chancel, under the termination of 
the cornish of the three great windows there, there is under the 
1st the bust of a venerable old man, with a cap on like a hat 
crown, with short curld hair and divided beard, and somewhat 
like a collar of SSS. about his neck. On the other side is the 
bust of a beautiful lady, his wife undoubtedly, in a Strang old 
kind of head dress. Under the second window a bishop with 
his miter, etc., as before, and on the other side a man with a hat 
crown cap on, without a beard, with a book in his hands. 

On the termination of the stone of the third window an old 
man's bust with a Strang capp on, tyd under the chin, falling 
down like Danish capps, on the left side of the head, and on the 
other side [a] woman's bust with the aforesayd Strang head dress 
on, onely a httle more waved and gimp'd.^ 

There is nothing worth seeing in the church, there being 
neither monuments nor good seats therein. 

Oct. 13. On the 13th of this month of Octob[erJ, I made a 
journey to Grimsby, to see that old town, and to hnd what I 

/ " Is ye armes of y« lord Mowbray who built this chancel," — Marginal 
Note "by Diarist, 

i These arms and figures are given in woodcuts in Stonehouse's I$le of 
Axholme, pp. 366 and 367. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 153 

could observable about the same. In my passage thither I went 
throw Brigg, Bigby, Riby, and Ailsby, in which towns I found 
nothing memorable untill I came to Great Coats, in which there 
seems to have been an old religious house all built of brick. It 
has turrits like the old buildings, and somewhat in the walls of 
the gaithouse, which seems to have been nitches for images, 
tho' now bricked up. It is encompass'd also with a great moat. 
I could not get time to see the church, which look'd spatious, it 
being late. From thence I went over a wath,'' which tradition 
says was formerly a great river, running through the haven by 
Grimsby, and so into Humber, which river carryd large coal 
vessels as far as Ailsby. From thence I went to Ijittle Coats, 
about which are many foundations of buildings. From thence to 
Grimsby.' Grimsby is at present but a little poor town, not a 
quarter so great as heretofore. Tfie old marqet place is lost, and 
that where they now keep it is in the midst of a street. There is 
scarce a good house in the whole town, but a larg brick one, 
which Mr. Moor, their parlament man, has lately built. The 
church, which is now standing, [is] the old great monastry 
church belonging to the monastry that then was in Harry the 
Eighth's days. It is a noble larg building of great bigness, built 
in form of a minster, but it all falls to decay, the whole town 
being not able to keep it in repair, they being so poor, and it so 

* Wath is a provincial name for a ford throughout the whole of the North 
country. 

* Great Grimsby, now a place of considerable note, under the wealth and 
activity brought to bear upon it by the improvement of its harbour and the 
introduction of its railways, is doubtless one of high antiquity also. It is situ- 
ated near to the mouth of the Humber, about forty miles north-westward from 
Lincoln. Tradition ascribes its foundation or chief advancement to a fisherman 
named Gryme, who came originally from Souldburg, and engaged in a very 
lucrative traffic with Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. The numerous artificial 
hills in the marshes adjoining the present town proclaim the spot to have been 
a station of consequence amongst the ancient Britons ; and to these, more pro- 
bably, the origin of the name may be attributed. Works of this character are 
pretty generally ascribed to a power that is superhuman, and by some have 
been not unfrequently regarded as the works of the devil. This shews their 
extreme antiquity. GHm denotes blackness, and also the look which inspires 
terror. Grim's-by, the residence of the devil ; Grim's-thorpe (villa diaboli)^ the 
village of the devil ; Grim's-dyke, the devil's ditch or dyke ; Grim's-shaw, the 
devil's wood ; etc., have all their same apparent origin from this belief. The 
arms borne by some of the families, whose surname begins with Grim, may be 
said to savour of this idea, such as Grimshaw and Grimsditch, which both con- 
tain the griffin or dragon, emblematical, it may be, of the old serpent. — See Rev. 
Dr. Gatty's edition of Hunter^s HalUmshire^ pp. 24, 26, 396, who there refers 
to what Mr. Oliver has written on the origin of the name of Grimsby ; and to 
Kotes and Queries^ first series, vols. iv. and v., for a full discussion as to th« 
origin and meaning of the word Grim. 




154 THE DIARY OF 

larg. It costs some of the house-holders 5Z. a year yearly to- 
wards it. It hangs very plainly towards the north, as if it 
would fall that way. There are several old inscriptions an^ 
monuments in it, but so dirty'd and defac'd that I could 
not read them. From thence I went to a great spot of ground 
called the old church-yard, where tradition says that the 
town's church stood, which is reported to have been bigger than 
the monastry church, tho' now there is not as much as a stone to 
be seen. 'Tis said that the town made an exchang of it for the 
monastry church with him that had got the same in Har[ry] the 
Eighth's days, because that the monastry church stood more con- 
veniently in the heart of the town, and so that thereupon the 
said town's church was pull'd down and sold, and the mon[astry] 
church preserved. Yet, for all that, the minister of the town pays 
synodal, procurations, etc., for the town church, as much as if it 
was standing. There was in this town one great abbey bordering 
upon the minster, with two frierys, one of white and another of 
grey, and a nunnery besides, and a larg chantery, all hard by 
this minster, so that it seems to have been built for them all. 
Over the nunnery gate, which is the onely part almost now stand- 
ing, I observed a coat of arms of three boar heads, with a 

bend betwixt them, A little way out of the town there was 
another pretty larg abbey, out of which, when it was pull'd down, 
the owner built a very larg stately farm-house, like a great hall, 
which remained untill within the memory of man ; at which time 
there was plainly seen to come a great sheet of fire from out of 
Holdemess, over the Humber, and to light upon which abbey- 
house, as they called it, which burnt it all down to the bare 
ground, with the men in it, and all the corn stacks and buildings 
about it. The shipmen in the road, and many more observed 
this sheet of fire to come thus, as I have related. About fa] 
quarter of a mile from the town eastward is to be seen the ruins 
of a larg hermitage, where was in the memory of man a fine 
orchard, with excellent fruit in it. 

This town was very great and rich formerly, by its hav- 
ing a larg spacious haven which brought great trafic to the 
town ; but the haven growing worse and worse for this two or 
three hundred years together, the town decayed more and more, 
and came to that poverty in which it is. Three things may 
be assigned to its decay. First, the destruction of the haven, 
which was in former times a fine larg river, and carryd large 
vessels as farr as Ailsby, as I have sayd before. That which 
destroy'd it was the Humber's wearing away the huge cliff at 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 155 

Cleythorp/ and bringing it and casting it all into Grimsby haven 
or river, and all along Grimsby coast on the north, so that the river 
was not onely fill'd thereby, but also a huge bay on the north side 
of the town, which came almost close to the town side, in which 
shipps did formerly ride with the greatest eas and advantage to 
the town imaginable. This bay being thus fill'd up, and made 
common for almost two miles broad, from the town's end to the 
Humber, the mayor and aldermen petitiond Queen Eliz[abeth] 
to bestow this new land for ever upon them and the town, which 
she did. 

I was at Cleythorp to examin about this notion, and 1 observed 
how the sea washed the cliflF away, which is nothing but clay and 
sand, and is as high as a church steeple ; huge pieces is under- 
mined and brought down every great tide as bigg as whole 
churches together, and the people of the place says that they 
have, by tradition, that there has been several miles length of land 
wash'd away, and people have been forced to pull down their 
houses and build them again furder oiF. 

I observed in the cliff how confusedly the layers of earth lay, 
sometimes sand uppermost, sometimes clay, sometimes a mixture, 
etc., but no stone amongst them. 

The second thing which has caused the decreas of Brimsby 
[Grimsby] was the destruction of the religious houses there, 
which, whereever they were, made a town always rich and popu- 
lous by their promoting of all sorts of trades, arts, and sciences ; 
and then again, they were a means for the fishing trade to be 
carryd greatly on, because they consumed a great deal of fish. 

The third thing which occasiond it's decay was the rise of 
Hull, which having first of all priviledges and advantages above 
other towns, and a fine haven to boot, robbed them all not onely 
of all their traffic, but also of all their chief tradesmen, which were 
sent for and encourag'd to live there. 

But now there is a publick spirited parlament man there, one 
of a noble soul, who is contriving by all means to make the town 
great again. He has for this two or three years last been lying 
a new sluce, and digging the haven (which now tho' digged not 
over ten yards broad at the top), to bring vessels to the townside 
again. But I told them their haven would never do unless that 

J The village of Cleethorpe, though a separate constablewick, is a hamlet 
to the neighbouring parish of Clee. It is distant about two miles and a half 
south eastward from Grimsby. Originally a fishing hamlet, it has, from its 
convenience for bathing, of late years become the resort of much company 
during the Summer. 



156 THE DIARY OF 

they make a huge stath at the aforesayd cliff to keep it from 
wearing away, etc. He is also promoting the fishery upon the 
Humber mouth for the advantage of Grimsby, and there are vast 
subscriptions already gotten towards the same ; some have sub- 
scribed lOOZ., some 1200Z., and others even 2000Z. a piece*; and 
five large fishing vessels are a building at Stockwith and other 
places for the town. He is also establishing the woollen manu- 
facture there, and has already sent down out of Oxfordshire a 
rugg and coverlet maker, and has given him wool, and his new 
house three years, rent free. 

As you go down by the haven to the Humber, there is on 
your right hand three hills cast up, with moats about them, 
called Blockhouse hills, made to defend the haven. 

I observed in a close of Mr. King's, a butcher and ale-keeper, 
who was formerly a town's 'prentice, but now one of the alder- 
men of the corporation, I observed there, I say, Engl[ish] beens, 
with stalks three yards high, others ten foot high. 

Haveing seen and learnt all at this town that I could, I re- 
turned back by Limbur, and so to Brocklesby, to the Lady 
Pellham's.' The town is but little and mean, and nothing obser- 
vable in it but three things, the great quantity of fine wood that 
is planted and improved about the same, which is not onely ex- 
ceeding pleasant, but will also be of vast advantage to the owners. 
The next thing is the church, which is little, but pretty neat. 
The steeple is spired, and built upon two arches, one to the west- 
wards, and the other to the eastwards, within the church, with a 
wall in the middle, with a window in it, the whole thus : — 



w 
"e" 



The bell strings hangs within the east arch in the church. In 

* "These 8ubsc[ription8] in geii[eral] are towards ye Royal fishery of 
Engl [and] but in partic[ular] likewise for this town." — Marginal Note hy 
Diarist. 

' Brocklesby is situate about eight miles north by east from Caistor, and 
about the same distance westward from Grimsby. This place, for a great num- 
ber of years, was the seat of the Pelhams, of which family the last male de- 
scendant was Charles Pelham, esq., on whose death, in 1763, the extensive and 
beautiful estate came into the possession of his great nephew, Charles Anderson 
esq., a descendant of a female branch of the Pelham family, whose name and 
arms he then assumed. In 1791, he was elevated to the peerage as baron 
Yarborough, of Yarborough, co. Lincoln, and died in 1823. His eldest son Charles, 
D.C.L. F.R.S., &c., bom 8th August, 1781, was created earl of Yarborough and 
baron Worsley, in 1837, and died 5th September, 1846, leaving issue, by his 
wife Henrietta Anna Maria Charlotte, second daughter of the Hon. John Bridge- 
man Simpson, Charles Anderson Worsley, second earl (the late father of the pre- 
sent earl of Yarborough, of Brocklesby), Dudley Worsley Pelham, capt. R.N., now 
deceased, and Charlotte, married to Sir Joseph William Copley, bart., of Sprot- 
borough near Doncaster, one of the members of this Society. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PIIYME. 157 

the church are many curious and excellent monuments of th© 
Pellhams, whose inscriptions Mr. Skinner, a gentleman there, 
has promised to send me. There is the most painted glass in the 
windows that ever I say [saw], with the images of the apostles 
therein, one speaking one article and another another article of 
the Creed, it being believed formerly that every one at a councill 
at Jerusalem utter'd an article thereof. 

The third thing here observ[able] is the seat of the Pellhams, 
formerly knights, tho' now the heir thereof, who is about twenty 
years of age, is onely an esq[uire], whose incom yearly is 
about 4000Z. The hall is a very fine stately building, built in 
the year 1603, when the Pelhams first came into this country 
out [of] Kent as I remember (where there is a knightly family 
of the same name). The hall is leaded upon the top, and most 
excellently furnished with all manner of rich goods and pictures 
within, of excellent painting. 

There is two carved chimney pieces of wood, of the finest 
workmanship that ever I saw. One represents Diogenes in his 
tub, speaking to Alexander, with trees, landscips, etc. ; all the 
sayd work with those verses in golden letters underneath. 

Here is also very fine gardens, with groves, pleasure houses, 
etc., and all manner of fruit. 

Not farr from this town was a place called Newsom,*" where 
formerly stood a famous priory with several houses about it, but 
now there is not as much as one stone above another to be seen, 
all be pulled down and squanderd, and brought to lay the foun- 
dation of the aforesayd hall. 

From thence I came home, observing nothing further worthy 
of note. 

17. Not far from Limbur is a town called Kealby, or Keelby, 
where there is, as they say, a double church, with a huge chan- 
cel, and several things observable about the same, but I did not 
hear thereof till I had got home. 

"* Newhouse, Newhus, or Newsome, the first monastry of the Premonstra- 
tensian order in England, was founded by Peter de Golsa circa 1043. It was de- 
dicated to the honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Martial, not St Michael, 
as has sometimes been erroneously affirmed. St. Martial was one of the first 
preachers of the gospel in France. He was the first Bishop of Limoges (see 
Acta Sanctontm, vol v., June, p. 535 573. St. Amaber, Vie de S. Martial de 
Limoges apdtre des Gaules^ Clermont 1676, 2 vols fol., Limoges 1683 and 1685). 
The foundation Charter and some other records of this house are printed in the 
Monasticon, vol. vii., p. 865. A register of this house is believed to be in the 
possession of the Earl of Yarborough. 



158 THE DIARY OF 

At Berlings,** five miles of this side Lincoln, was in antient 
times a famous monastry. The church was left standing, but 
with all the lead of and the bells gone, which church [is] now 
standing, tho' in rubbish. Yet in the same is several monuments 
and inscriptions to be observed, as I heard this day. 

When all the minsters or cathedralls and collegiate churches 
should have been pulled down in Cromwell's days, there were 
some very busy for getting a grant of Lincoln minster ; which, 
when one Capt[ain] Pert," parlament men for Lincoln, knew, 
he went to Cromwell and told him that, if the minster was pulld 
down, Lincoln would soon be one of the worst towns in the 
county, and made it so plainly out that Cromwell told him it 
should not be touched, so it was preserved. Yet this same Pert 
got great part of the bishop's lands, and upon some in the citty 

*» Barlings or Oxeney, a Premonstratensian House dedicated to the Blessed 
Virgin, founded in 1154. A register of this house, imperfect at the beginning and 
the end, is in the Cotton collection, Faustina B., I. Monast, Angl., vii. 915. 

» Original Peart, concerning whom Mr. Ross, of Lincoln, before mentioned, 
has made the following obliging communication. 

" I could like myself to have possessed some particulars of the ancestry 
and early career of the prominent actor in the municipal drama at Lincoln 
during the periods preceding and following that of the Commonwealth, but, 
from the defect of the records of our Corporation (the interval between 1638 
and 1661 being a blank), I have been able to collect nothing worth giving to you. 

"He was a member of two parliaments, 1654-1656 ; at the first, along with 
Alderman William Marshall, and at the second, with Humphrey Walcot, the 
latter being then a resident of Lincoln. 

" The two Marshalls, Robert and William, of great civic power at this unset- 
tled period, were hot parliamentarians, and were both displaced at the Restora- 
tion. 

" In 1640 Original Peart was" sheriff along with Richard Wetherall, and, 
during their sherivalty, the King, on his return from Scotland after the treaty of 
Ripon, passed through Lincoln. He appears to have met with an unaccorded 
reception by the citizens : but it is said (see a small history of Lincoln pub- 
lished in 1817). that the sovereign was met about two miles north of the city, 
viz : at Burton Wall, by Mr. Sheriff Peart. The then Mayor, Robert Beck (being 
a well known parliamentarian, as is proved by his dismissal along with the two 
Marshalls), appears to have observed a silent and inactive deportment on this 
occasion. 

"In 1650 Peart was chosen Mayor, but I can give you no particulars of his 
mayoralty. 

" In 1686 Original Peart (perhaps the same) was appointed Town Clerk or 
" clericus communitatis civ. Line," which office he appears to have held till 
1705, when Francis Harvey was chosen. 

" I have some notices of Original Peart^s descendants, but I am at this time 
unable to find them. One Robert Peart (not improbably a son of Original), 
was one of the chamberlains in 1655, and again in 1659, and died during his 
last tenure of the office. This vacancy gave rise to a dispute between the mayor 
John Leach, and the members of the common council, each party claiming the 
exclusive right of appointing the successor. The mayor submitted. 

" An unmarried daughter of Original Peart died in 1751, aged 72, as may be 
seen on one of the pavement-slabs in the Church of St. Mary-le-Wigford," 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 159 

of Lincoln built a delicate fine house, which cost him about 900Z., 
out of which he was soon turned when the bishop was restab- 
lished in K[ing] C[harles] the Second's return. 

All those, all England over, that had layd hands on those 
lands were all turned out of the same when the king returned. 

Our newse says that the presbiterians in Scotland has lately 
caused " The Whole Duty of Man " to be burnt by the common 
hangsman, and with it Whiston's ** New Theory of the Earth." 

i told them at Grimsby that it was no wonder that their town 
and trade was so decayd, and that they were so poor, seeing that 
they were all guilty of the horrible sin of sacrilege, as appeared 
by the great quantitys of religious stone that is in the walls of 
almost every house. 

There is a family of the Tully's about Grimsby, which has 
SOOL a year, but it is spending and flying now as fast as ever it 
can, great part of which were religious land. 

I was this day with a bookseller at Brigg, who was appren- 
tice to one who printed that scurrilous pamplet against Sherlock 
intitled the " Weesels," (the author of which was Durfee).^ He 
says that [he] is certain that his master got about 800Z. by it. 
He says that Durfee was forced to write an answer to it which he 
entitled the " Weesel Trapped." 

The lord or steward of this mannour of Broughton formerly 
had every year over and above their rents, Is. of every one for 
their swine going in the woods to feed, tho' there be no acorns. 
He had also a capon of every husbandry, and a hen of a whole 
cottagry, and a chicken of a halfcottagry; and in hay time every 
one that had a cottagry went a whole day to make hay for him 
in Grime cloas, and those that had half cottagrys^ went onely one 
day, and the husbandry went with their draughts to fetch it 
home and load it ; and in lieu of all this they all had a great din- 
ner at Christmas at the lord or steward's house. This is plain 
villanage, and was but lately left oif. Yet to this day some of 
the chief husbandry fetches their coals and wood. 

16. Rhodes, the bookseller that bought the coppys of the 
^^ Turkish Spy," and that printed them, has got a great estate by 

p Thomas Durfey, the notorious libeller and scribbler. 

9 This hen rent was a very common tax in the middle ages. Our ancient 
records often make mention of it. Norden and Thorpe, in their survey of the 
manor of Kirton-in-Lindsey in 1616, say that at Winterton there was paid to 
the lord of the manor of Kirton " vjd rent for six hens payable at the feaste 
of Christe's nativitie, and iiijd per ann, for warne of lande." M.S. Public Lib, 
Cambr,, iy 4-30, fol. 66. b. 



162 THE DIARY OF 

to Mr, Elways (who owns most part of Brigg, Wrawby, Roxby, 
etc., having an estate of about 3000Z. per annum), he says tlwtt 
about 27 years ago Mr. Elways did for ever give and grant imto 
his tennants of Roxby all their land to be tithetfree, which they 
have unpay'd untill this time. It was an impropriation unto 
him. 

At Scarburrow there is a wonderfiill causey called Phila 
causey, which runs with a great ridg into the sea. It [is] 
reckond to be above three miles long, and ten yards broad. It 
is all made of huge stones, four, five, six, and some seven yards 
broad and long. It is very dangerous to seamen, and occasions 
many shipwracks. 

The verses at Brocklesby Hall, under the carved work of 
Diogenes in his tun speaking to Alexander, which I had like to 
have forgot, are these. 

Vita quod haec hominis tarn sit brevis atque caduca 

Non vult Diogenes aedificare domum. 
Yob domus est in qud sapiens sua gaudia sentit 

Contentusque suis regia nulla petit, 
^mathioque duci quaerenti qualia vellet 

Munera responsum libera lingua dedit. 
Corde velim toto, rex augustissime, solem 

Ne mihi surripias quern tribuisse nequis.* 

They have a tradition at Winterton that there was formerly 
one Mr. Lacy,*" that lived there and was a very rich man, who, 
being grown very aged, gave all that he had away unto his three 
sons, upon condition that one should keep him one week, and 
another another. But it happened within a little while that they 
were aU weary of him, after that they had got what they had, 
and regarded him no more than a dog. The old man percieveing 

• These lines, as well as the foregoing monranental inscriptions, h&re been 
yery obligingly collated with the originals by the Rev. J. Byron, vicar of 
KiUingholme ; from which it appears that the Diarist had not got them literally 
correct. 

^ The Lacy's were an old Winterton family of yeoman rank. There are 
numbers of them in the register of that parish. 

John Lacy, and WiUiam Lacy, occur as parishioners of that town in an award 
between the prior and convent of Malton and the parishioners made by Boger 
Fauconbergh, esq., 10th of August, 1456, printed in vol. xl, ArcJUBologia, 

A branch of the family was settled, in the 17th century at Kirton-in-LindBey. 
Henry, Robert, Brian, and John Lacy, were tenants of that manor there, in 
16 IG. The male line ended about the beginning of this century, when the last 
of them, Thomas Lacy, died. His little property passed to a person of the name 
of Fox, who inherited some of the Lacy blood in the female line, and who wa» 
a tenant on the Kinscliffe School farm at Northorpe. His son, the late Mr. 
Thomas Fox, of Northorpe, died without issue 31st of March, 1862. The pro- 
perty is now in the hands of those who are in no way related to the old 
family, as I am informed. 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRTMB. 161 

There were many coats of arms about this monmnent which he 
has not sent. 

On the south side of the chancel is a great altar tomb, all 
bannister'd about, and adorn'd with inscriptions, arms, and crests, 
on which lyes the images of S'* William Pelham and his lady, 
with this inscription : — 

Gulielmus Pelham, nuper de Brocklesby, in com : Lin : Eqnes auratus. Li 
celeberrimis academiis, Strasberg, Heidelberg, Wittenberg, Leipsick, Parisiensi, 
et Oxoniensi magn& cum cur& educatus, artibus liberalibus imbutus, et linguas 
Germanicam, Gallicam, Latinam (nee Grsecarum rudis), non solum callens, 
sed prompts eloqui edoctus. Ab his domiciliis Mars distraxit, ubi post yarias 
pugnas, obsidiones, ^tc, sed non sine vulneribus rus contulit. Annam, filiam 
Carol i Willoughby, Baronis de Parrham, castam virginem, connubio sibi junxit ; 
ex qud liberos viginti utriusque sexAs Dei benedictione accepit, quorum septem 
filii et tres filiae in vivis sunt. Vixerunt C8Bt.eri. Reliquo temporis consumpto 
justitiam exequendo, orando, scribendo, pauperes sublevando, sacra biblia, 
antiquos patres et neotericos legendo, magnam gloriam adeptus est. Et quid 
in his profecerit meditationes in Sancti Johannis Evangelium editss, observati- 
ones in omnes Testamentorum tam Veteris quam Novi libros et diatribae in sacra- 
mentum Caenae Domini manik su& scriptae, et posteritati restauratae imperpetuum 
testabuntur. Hisce rebus et annis circiter sexaginta transactis, fide in Christum 
con Stan ti, et charitate erga proximos inviolabili, placid^ in Domino obdormiens, 
Bpiritum Deo Patri Spirituum, corpus terras matri, in die resurrectionis magno 
cum incremento recepturus, commendavit 13 Julii an'o D'ni : 1629. 

Upon the north wall of the chancel is written the following 
words,' to the memory of Thomas Eton, rector and schoolmaster 
of this town, by Doct[or] Lake, who was the scholar of his that 
was so grateful to his memory. 

Pietati et Solertiae S. 

Depositum Magistri Thomae ^ton, presbyteri, Bosworthi in agro Leicestrensi 
nati, hujus ecclesiae Brocklesbiensis quondam Rectoris et Scholarchse eximii, hie 
subtus jacet. Qui plures per annos gregem hie sibi concreditam tam vit4 
exemplari quam officiis omnimodo divinis animarum curas incumbentibus fide- 
liter pascendo, et pubem juventutem, non solum 6 familifi nobili Pelhamiana, 
tunc temporis sicut longum supra et ad praesens hie florenti, verum etiam eir- 
cumquaq. vicinam et remotiorem, tantum non in ipsa studiorum incude positam 
sed proveetiorem etiam seientiis liberalibus, tantum non universis arte perquam 
exquisite, methodo non vulgari, sed misterii instar penitus proficienti, sedulitate 
opera indef essd imbuendo, perficiendo, atque exinde de patria su& optima meritus 
mortalem summ4 cum laude absolyit telam, suique rellquit desiderium charis- 

simum et annorum, anno a partu virgineo, 1626, placid^ Christian^ admo- 

dum in Domino obdormivit, cujus memoriae meritissimae e diseipulis suis olim 
imus minimutum hoe (meliore multo dignae) gratitudinis ergo posuit memoriale, 
anno Dom : 1668. 

This day I was with Mr. Jolence," attorney at Brigg, and steward 

' This monument is now very high on the north wall of the chancel, and 
the latter part is almost illegible. It is believed that the inscription •'"•~5 

« Forsan JaUand, or Jolland. There was a George, son "^' Geo 
Scalby (Scawby ?) near Brigg, Lincolnshire, gent., entered at 
28th June, 1746 ; Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge; A,B. xit/v, « 
died 1760. — Chatham Soo.puh. Mcmch, School, 

L 



162 THE DIARY OF 

to Mr. Elways (who owns most part of Brigg, Wrawby, Roxby, 
etc., having an estate of about 3000Z. per annum), he says that 
about 27 years ago Mr. Elways did for ever give and grant unto 
his tennants of Roxby all their land to be tithetfree, which they 
have unpay'd untill this time. It was an impropriation unto 
him. 

At Scarburrow there is a wonderfull causey called Phila 
causey, which runs with a great ridg into the sea. It [is] 
reckond to be above three miles long, and ten yards broad. It 
is all made of huge stones, four, five, six, and some seven yards 
broad and long. It is very dangerous to seamen, and occasions 
many shipwracks. 

The verses at Brocklesby Hall, under the carved work of 
Diogenes in his tun speaking to Alexander, which I had like to 
have forgot, are these. 

Vita quod haec hominis tarn sit brevis atque caduca 

Non vult Diogenes aedificare domum. 
Yos domus est in qud sapiens sua gaudia sentit 

Contentusque suis regia nulla petit, 
^mathioque duci quaerenti qualia vellet 

Munera responsum libera lingua dedit. 
Corde velim toto, rex augustissime, solem 

Ne mihi surripias quern tribuisse nequis.* 

They have a tradition at Winterton that there was formerly 
one Mr. Lacy,"' that lived there and was a very rich man, who, 
being grown very aged, gave all that he had away unto his three 
sons, upon condition that one should keep him one week, and 
another another. But it happened within a little while that they 
were all weary of him, after that they had got what they had, 
and regarded him no more than a dog. The old man percieveing 

• These lines, as well as the foregoing monumental inscriptions, have been 
yery obligingly collated with the originals by the Rev. J. Byron, vicar of 
Killingholme ; from which it appears that the Diarist had not got them literally 
correct. 

^ The Lacy's were an old Winterton family of yeoman rank. There are 
numbers of them in the register of that parish. 

John Lacy, and William Lacy, occur as parishioners of that town in an award 
between the prior and convent of Malton and the parishioners made by Boger 
Fauconbergh, esq., 10th of August, 1456, printed in vol. xl, Archceologia, 

A branch of the family was settled, in the 17th century at Kirton-in-Lindsey. 
Henry, Robert, Brian, and John Lacy, were tenants of that manor there, in 
1616. The male line ended about the beginning of this century, when the last 
of them, Thomas Lacy, died. His little property passed to a person of the name 
of Fox, who inherited some of the Lacy blood in the female line, and who was 
a tenant on the Kinscliffe School farm at Northorpe. His son, the late Mr. 
Thomas Fox, of Northorpe, died without issue 3Xst of March, 1862. The pro- 
perty is now in the hands of those who are in no way related to the old 
family, as I am informed. 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRYME, 163 

how he was sleighted, went to an attomy to see if his skill could 
not aflFord him any help in his troubles. The attomy told him 
that no law in the land could help him nor yield him any com- 
fort, but there was one thing onely which would certainly do, 
which, if he would perform, he would reveal to him. At which 
the poor old man was exceeding glad, and desired him for God's 
sake to reveal the same, for he was almost pined and starved to 
dead, and he would most willingly do it rather than live as he did. 
^'Well," says the lawyer, "you have been a great friend of mine 
in my need, and I will now be one to you in your need. I will lend 
you a strong box with a strong lock on it, in which shall be con- 
tained lOOOZ. ; you shall on such a day pretend to have fetched it 
out of such a close, where it shall be supposed that you hid, and 
carry it into one of your son's houses, and make it your business 
€very week, while you are sojourning with such or such a son, to 
be always counting of the money, and ratleing it about, and you 
shall see that, for the love of it, they'll soon love you again, and 
make very much of you, and maintain you joyfully, willingly, 
and plentifully, unto your dying day. The old man having 
thank'd the lawyer for this good advice and kind proffer, received 
within a few days the aforesayd box full of money, and having so 
managed it as above, his graceless sons soon fell in love with him 
again, and made mighiy much of him, and percieving that their 
love to him continued stedfast and firm, he one day took it out 
of the house and carry'd it to the lawyer, thanking him exceed- 
ingly for the lent thereof. But when he got to his sons he 
made them believe that [he] had hidden it again, and that he 
would give it him of them whome he loved best when he dyd. 
This made them all so observant of him that he lived the rest of 
his days in great peace, plenty, and happiness amongst them, and 
dyed full of years. But a while before he dyd he ubraded them 
for their former ingratitude, told them the whole history of the 
box, and forgave them. 

There was formerly a great hospital and a free chappel' at the 
east end of Brigg built by S'* William Terwyt, vulffo Turrit, 
vallued at 201. per annum. Part of the hospital is yet standing, 
and a wall of the chappel. Within the memory of man there 
was a fine spacious court wall about between the hospital door 

* Mention is made in the last edition of the Monagticon^ vol. vii., p. 766, 
of a hospital at Wrawby, founded by Sir William Tyrwhitt, and a reference 
given to Patent Roily 20th Henry VI., pars. 1, This was probably an augmen- 
tation of the more ancient hospital there, of whidi I have before made mention. 
— Monagt. An^lic^ vii., p. 688. 



164 THE DIARY OF 

and the chappel door, but it was pulld down about forty years 
ago, because that part of it had fallen and killed a man ; and so 
they were afiraid that the rest should likewise do some such like 
mischief. Part of the town of Brigg belongs to Clare Hall Col- 
lege in Cambridg, as dos also the impropriation of Wrawby 
liveing. 

Tradition says that there lived formerly at Alkburrow a fam- 
ous heroic princes [s], who did many martial actions. They say 
that she had a huge hall in that piece of ground which I have 
described before to be a Roman fortification, and says that the 
place is call'd Countess close from her, adding that it is the most 
ancient place that is in the exchequer rolls, and always first cal- 
led there, etc. The aforesayd hollow burrow before mention'd is 
called Lady pitt, or Countess pitt, from the aforesayd Countess, 
who perhaps was lady of the town in the Saxon (or, raither, 
Dainish) days, who misserably harrasd all that and this part of the 
country, and opposing some party of the enemy might be there 
slayn and buryed. 

They have at [this] town, as also at Appleby, two Boman 

fames, the one called Grillian's^ bore, and the other Troy's walls. 
'hey are both nothing but great labarinths* cut upon the ground 
with a hill cast up round about them for the spectators to sitt 
round about on to behold the sport. The two labarinths are 
somewhat different in their turnings one from another, 

y Pro Julian. — Marginal Note hy Diarist, 

« The Appleby Labyrinth has perished, and no memory of it, as far as I 
can hear remains. The one at Alkbrough is yet perfect, but is in a decayed 
condition. There is an engraving of it in the Reports of Lincolnshire Archi- 
tectural Society, 1852, p. 258, Hatfield's Terra Incognita of Lincolnshire, facing 
title. Andrews History of Winterton, p. 78. There cannot be much doubt that 
these curious mazes are mediseval, not Roman. There are several examples of 
labyrinths in and outside foreign churches. There is one incised on one of the 
pillars of the porch of Lucca Cathedral, Didron Annales Archeologiqttes, tame 
xvii, another on the floor of the nave of Chartres Cathedral. They may perhaps 
originally have been intended as penitential pathways, but in more modem 
times they were used for popular games. They are several times referred to by 
Shakespeare, e. g. 

The nine mens morris is fill'd up with mud ; 
And the quaint mazes on the wanton green, 
For lack of tread, are undistinguishable. 

Midsummer NigMa Dream, Act 11, Scene II» 

There was formerly a maze between Famham and Guildford called Ttoj 
town. A very curious Grerman engraving of a maze is preserved in the British 
Museum, press mark 1750, c 28. Li William Lawson's Nem Orcha/rd and 
Garden 2nd edition, 1648, 4 to p. 84, there is an engraving of a square maze, 
with a tree in the midst. '^ Walls of Troy " seems to have been the name for a 
labyrinthine pattern on linen as late as the beginning of the last century. " In 

the Nurserie Two dozen and one [table cloths] of burdseye, and nine of 

several knots odd, three fyn towels and five of the Walls qf Troy^'* — IwoeWt of 
Furniture at Thv/ndertan, Dtmhar^ Social life informer daySyp, 210. 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRYMB. 165 

Nov. 20. I have now left my curacy at Broughton, in 
Lincolnshire, and am come to live at Hatfield," the better to 
carry on my history of that place. 

All the Dutch soldiers that are in England are going to be 
shipt of at Hull. All their horses are taken from [them] and it 
is sayd that they are to have others beyond sea, by which means 
the king will save a vast deal of money, who commonly pays for 
transporting ; it is sayd that every horse will cost six or seven 
poun5 transporting. 

This day I heard for a certain truth, and there are many that 
will give their oaths upon it, that Tho[mas] Hill, fowler for Mr. 
Eamsden, did shoot thirty-two pair of duck and teal at one shot 
in the Levels, in 1692-3.* 

In the south west of Yorkshire, at and about Bradfield, and 
in Darbishire, they feed all their sheep in winter with holly 
leaves and bark, which they eat more greedily than any grass. 
To every farm there is so many holly trees ; and the more there 
is the farm is dearer ; but care is taken to plant great numbers 
of them in all farms thereabouts. And all these holly trees are 
smooth leaved and not prickly. As soon as the sheep sees the 
sheppard come with an ax in his hand they all follow him to the 
first tree he comes at, and stands all in a round about the tree, 
expecting impatiently the fall of a bow, which, when it is 
falln, all as many as can eats thereof, and the sheppard go- 
ing further to another tree, all those that could not come in unto 
the eating of the first follow him to this, and so on. As soon 
as they have eaten all the leaves they begin of the bark and pairs 
it all of. 

Snow and frost is commonly very great and very long in the 
peak country of Derbishire, and oftentimes the frost is not out of 
the ground till the middle of May and after. Li 1684, when the 
great frost was, snow lay beyond several hills all the following 

* It is said at Hatfield that the Diarist lived in the house there which is 
now the property of, and occupied by, Mr. W. J. Fox, solicitor, and which was 
surrendered 30th November, 1699, by Theseus Moore to Mrs. Sarah Pryme, the 
Diarist's mother. It does not appear from the title deeds (to which Mr. Fox 
has obligingly allowed me access), that Abraham de la Pryme was ever the 
owner ; but, being a bachelor, he most likely resided with his mother, who, in 
the year 1697, was a widow of about forty-eight years of age, and outlived her 
son twenty-five years. 

* A fen-man named Bury, worthy of credit, stated that he fired a large 
duck gun at a flock of snipes that were sitting on Bled Ground, in the vicinity 
of Whittlesey mere, and at one shot killed thirty- six dozen. (Memoranda fur- 
nished by J. M. Heathcote, esq., to Lord Orford's Voyage round the Fem^ in 
1774. Edited by J. W. Childers, esq., 1868, p. 107). 



166 THE DIARY OF 

summer, and the frost was in the ground on the sun side tUl after 
July came in. 

1697. In several towns on the sea side in Holdemess is cast up 
great quantitys of coal, all in dust, which the people makes fires 
of, but it being so exceeding small that it commonly smothers all 
their fires out, unless they keep perpetualy blowing the same, 
they have found out this invention to keep it in. Their houses are 
set upon all points of the compass, and of each side of their 
chimneys they have two holes (directly against each end of their 
rangs) through the wall, these are commonly stopd with a piece 
of wood or an old cloath, and when they have any need for a fire 
they 

\The next two pages of the Diary are parted together]. 

There is a house in Winterton, on the north side of the town, not 
farr from the church, which has been a religious house. There 
was digged up a few years [ago] in the same a font very neatly 
cutt. 

The font that is in Hatfield church came from the monastry of 
Dunscroft.^ 

Doct[or] Neal, the present Doct[or] Neal's father (that is 
no[w] a dying''), was the first that found out the spaws at Knares- 
bur, by observing the place to be very much hanted with pigions, 
which came there to pick up the salt. 

December 17, 18, 19, 20. On the 17[th"l of this month wee 
had a very great snow, which was on the level ground about two 

'^ This cannot have been the case. When John, the last earl of Warren 
gave the church of Hatfield to the abbot and convent of St. Mary de la Roche^ 
in 1345, they required the residence of some one on the spot to look after their 
temporal interests in this extensive parish. For the management of their 
revenue arising from Hatfield, they erected a grange at the place called Duns- 
croft, between Hatfield and Stainford; and, having certain feudal privileges 
connected with their rectory estate, it came to be called the manor of Duns- 
croft. Some have spoken of Dunscroft as a cell to Roche Abbey. This is^ 
however, a mistake. Dunscroft was never more than a grange ; and the seal 
engraved by Mr. Rowe Mores, as the seal of the cell of Dunscroft, belongs to 
some other religious establishment. The legend is imperfect, but the name of 
the place is not Dunscroft. {Hunter* 8 South TorksMre, i., p. 187). In 1607, 
the interest, which the monks had here, had passed to the famous countess of 
Shrewsbury, and it continued in the possession of the earls and dukes of Devon- 
shire, her descendants, for several generations. At page 381 of the MS. Diary is 
the following : — " I do hereby licence, authorise, and appoint John Hatfield, 
esq,, to fish in the river Dun at his pleasure, and so farr as it runneth within 
the lordship of Hatfield, in the county of York, in as ample manner as the 
abbot of Roch or rector of Hatfield have used and enjoyed the same according 
to a free rent yearly payd for this fishing to his Majesty's recievours. Given 
under my hand the twentieth day of June, A.D. 1672. W. Devonshire." 

^ But is since recovered. — Marginal Note by Diarist, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 167 

foot and a half thick after a pretty hard frost, which, as it thow'd, 
frose again for several days. The 20[th] it thow'd exceeding fast, 
upon which there came so great a flood down that the like was 
never known. About forty-one years ago there was then the 
greatest flood that was ever remembered, but that was much less 
than this ; for this came roreing all of a suddain, about eleven 
a clock at night, unto Bramwith, Fishlake, Thorn, and other towns; 
upon which the people rung all their bells backwards (as they com- 
monly do in case of a great fire), but tho' that this frighted all, 
and called all to the banks, and bid them all look about them, yet, 
nevertheless, the loss is vastly great. The people of Sikehouse 
and Fishlake, tho' they had banks to save them, yet it topt all, 
drounded the people's beasts in their folds and houses, destroyd 
sheep, and several men lost their lives, their houses in Sikehouse, 
and many in Fishlake, being drownded up to the very eves, so 
that they reckon no less than 3000 pound damage to be done by 
the same in the parish of Fishlake. It came with such a force 
against all the banks about Thorn, which keeps the waters of 
the Levels, that everybody gave them over, there being no hopes 
to save them, and ran over them all along, and the ground be- 
ing so hard they could [not] strike down stakes upon the tops of 
their banks, to hinder the water from running over. At last, it 
being impossible that such vast waters should be contained in 
such short and small bounds, it burst a huge gime close by Gore 
Steel, near Thorn, where had been a vast gime formerly, and so 
drounded all the whole Levels to an exceeding great depth, so 
that many people were kept so long in the upper part of their 
houses that they were almost pined, while all their beasts were 
drounded about them. It was, indeed, all over, a very sad thing 
to hear the oxen bellowing, and the sheep bleating, and the 
people crying out for help round about as they did, all Bramwith, 
Sikehouse, Stanford, and Fishlake over, as undoubtedly they also 
did in other places, yet no one could get to save or help them, it 
being about midd night, and so many poor people were forced to 
remain for several days together, some upon the top of their 
houses, others in the highest rooms, without meat or fire, untill 
they were almost starv'd. The slewse at Thorn had like to have 
gone away, which if it had, it is thought that it would never have 
oeen layd again, because that the whole country would have 
petitioned against it, be [cause] it keeps the waters of of the Levels, 
for but for it they would be drounded as much as ever, so that it 
would be impossible for any [to] dwell thereon, and it is sayd of 
all hands that, if it had gone, all the whole country would have 



168 THE DIAKY OF 

petitioned against its ever being built again, so that the Levels 
must have tinereafter remained as it was before the drainage, a 
continual rendezvouz of waters ; and it is my belief that one time 
it will come to its ancient state again, which will be the ruin of 
all those that have land therein/ 

The waters upon the banks by Thorn that besides it overran- 
ing all over, and besides the aforesayd breach that it has broke 
eight or nine breaches in the sayd bank between Thorn and 
Growl, has driven away four rooms in New Rivers great bridge, 
has broke all the banks and bridges of the whole country round 
about, sweeping all away before it. In Lincolnshire, the Trent, 
by the aforesayd melt oi snow, has broke it's banks near the town 
of Morton, hard by Gainsburrow, and has driven allmost the 
whole town aww, orounding several men, women, and children. 
The banks of Vickar's dike and Dicken dike are also broken, 
bordering upon our Levells. Li a word, the loss to the whole 
country hereabouts is above a million of pounds, besides what it 
dos to the whole country round about out of our limits and 
circuits. 

All the most oldest men that are says that it is the vastest 
flood that ever they saw or heard of. 

I heard this day from a very ingenious man that the Earl of 
Craven's father was but a poor lad, that going up to London did 
not as much as know his own name, but, coming out of Craven 
in Yorkshire, they not onely gave him that for a simame, but 
also afterwards he was dignify'd with the title of that place from 
which he drew his name. He afterwards marry'd the Queen of 
Bohemia, and dyd a while ago, whose son now succeeds him./ 

* Stonehouse in a note History Isle of AxholmCy (p. 116,) quotes this entry 
in the Diary, and, with particular allusion to the latter portion of it (which he 
has given substantially and not literally) has appended the following remark 
of his own. " N.B. From this last sentence it is evident that De la Prymwe con- 
siders the works of the Participants as one cause which freely aggravated the 
mischief of these floods ; and, if he is correct, we cannot wonder that the 
inhabitants should withhold their consent from any others being erected of a 
similar nature." 

/ The ingenious man seems, as ingenious men not unf requently are, to have 
been very ignorant. There is, I apprehend, no reason to doubt the statement in 
the peerages that this family was anciently seated at Appletreewick in Craven, 
from whence they spread in several branches. The nobleman here mentioned 
was William Craven, eldest son of William Craven knight. Lord Mayor of 
London 1611, bom 1606. He was celebrated for his gallantry under Gustavus 
Adolphus, King of Sweden, was created Baron Craven 1626, and Earl of 
Craven and Viscount Uflington 1664, and died 1697, without issue. By a 
patent 1 1th Dec, 1666, the barony of Craven was limited, in the event of the EarPs 
death, s p., to Sir William Craven, great grandson of Henry Craven, elder 
brother of the Lord Mayor, pursuant to which limitation the barony devolved 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 169 

S'- Joseph WiUiamson^ that is now in so great state was also 
but one of very mean birth. 

29. S'- Clowdsly Shovel* was a poor lad,^om in Yorkshire, 
who was first ostler at an inn at Bedford, in Notinghamshire ; 
after that, being weary of his place, he went to Stockwith in' Lin- 
colnshire, where he turned tarpaulin, and from thence, getting ac- 
quainted with the sea, he grew up to what he now is. I heard a 
gentleman say, that was in the ship with him about six years ago, 
that, as they were sailing over against Hastings in Surry, says S^- 
Clowdsley, " Pilot put neer,* I have a little business a shore here,'' 
so he put nere, and him and this gentleman went a land in the boat, 
and having walked about half a mile ashore. Sir Clowdsley came 
to a little house, " Come," saysjhe to the gentleman, " my busi- 
ness is here, I came on purpose to see the good woman of this 
house." Upon which they knocked at the door, and out came a 
poor old woman ; upon which Sir Cloudsley kist her, and then 
fell down on his knees, begged her blessing, and call'd her 
mother (shee being his mother that had removed out of York- 
shire thither). He was mighty kind to her, and shee to him, 
and after that he had payd his visit, he left her ten guines, and 
took his leave with tears in his eyes, and departed to his ship. 

Ihid. After the aforesayd thow and inundation came several 
days of exceeding fine weather, but yesterday it begun again to 

on William, 2nd Lord Craven, eldest son of the said Sir William. Elizabeth, 
Queen of Bohemia, whom the Earl of Craven is said to have married, was the 
only daughter of James the 6th of Scotland, and Anne, his Queen, and was 
born in that country 19th August, 1696. She was married to the Elector Pala- 
tine Frederic the 6th, 1613. On his decease 29th November, 1632, she re- 
mained at the Hague, living in the utmost privacy. The management of her 
domestic affairs she committed to Lord Craven, who was much attached to her. 
" The most perfect friendship and confidence, and the most open and unreserved 
intimacy subsisted between them, yet such was the public opinion, or rather 
feeling, excited by that harmony of general correctness which had always distin- 
guished her, that not a breath of slander ever fell on their connection. It was 
at length believed, and probably most justly, that they had been privately 
married." — Lodge's Portraits^ vols, viii and ix. 

' Sir Joseph Williamson was son of Joseph Williamson, vicar of Bride- 
kirk; Cumberland ; M.A. and fellow of Queen's College, Oxford ; D.C.L. ; one 
of the clerks of the Council ; keeper of the paper oflB.ce ; secretary to Sir 
Edward Nicolas, knight, and also to Henry, Earl of Arlington. He was after- 
wards secretary of state himself. Knighted at Whitehall, 24th January, 1671 ; 
P.C. 11th September, 1674 ; president of the Royjd Society. Married lady 
Catherine, sister and heir of Charles Stewart, Duke of Lennox, and Baroness 
Clifton. Left no child. 

* Sir Cloudsley Shovel is said by some to have been bom in co. Norfolk, 
1660. He died 8.p.m., but had two daughters by his wife Elizabeth, daughter 
of John Hill, Esq., a commissioner in the Navy, and relict of Admiral Sir John 
Narborough, knight, of Knowlton, co. Kent. (^Marr, Lie, Vio, Qenl, Abp, 



170 THE DIARY OP 

freez very hard, and last night and this day is falhi as much 
snow as was before, so that we are exceeding fearful of another 
great thow and deluge. 

I, having left Lincolnshire, am so exceeding busy in old deeds 
and charters, which the gentlemen are pleasd to send me in on 

Ckmterbury, 1690-1, March 6, Sir Cloudesley ShoveU, of the city of London, 
knight, aged 30 and upwards, bachelor, and dame Elizabeth Narborough, of 
Knowlton, co. Kent, widow, to marry at Knowlton). The eldest daughter, 
Elizabeth, married Sir Kobert Marsham, 5th baronet, created Baron Bomney 
1716. Lady Shovel died 15th April, 1732. Sir Cloudsley was buried in West- 
minster Abbey, from his house in Soho Square, about twelve at night, according 
to Le Neve's MSS. The ceremony is recorded thus in the Abbey Register, 1707, 
December 22 : " Sir Cloudesley Shovell, Kt., Her Majesty's Vice Admirall, &c., 
in the south aisle, by the Lady Gething's monument." The following is the 
inscription to his memory : — 

Sr. Cloudesly Shovell, Knt., 

Rear Admirall of Great Britain, 

And Admirall and Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, 

The just rewards 
Of his long and faithfull services. 

He was 

Deservedly beloved of his country. 

And esteemed tho' dreaded by the Enemy, 

Who had often experienced his Conduct and Courage. 

Being Shipwreck't 

On the Rocks of ScyUy, 

In his Voyage from Thoulon, 

The 22d of October, 1707, at night. 

In the 57th year of his age. 

His fate was lamented by aJl, 

But especially the 

Seafaring part of the nation. 

To whom he was 

A generous Patron and a worthy Example. 

His body was flung on the shoar 

And buried with others, in the sands. 

But being soon after taken up. 

Was placed under this Monument, 

Which his Royal Mistress has caused to be erected 

To commemorate 
His steady Loyalty and extraordinary Virtues. 

Notes from the Will op Sm Cloudesley Shovell, op London, Ekight, 

COMMISSIONBE OP THE NAVT, DATED 20 APEIL, 1701. 

Mother, Mrs. Anne Flaxman, lands at Morston, in Norfolk. Sister Mrs. 
Ann Shorton's children — wife Elizabeth— children of my wife by her former 
husband. Sir John Narborough — ^lands in Kent. Cousin John Thurston — wife's 
youngest son, James Narborough — her daughter, Elizabeth Narborough — ^their 
eldest son. Sir John Narborough, Bart.— eldest daughter, Elizabeth Shovell — 
youngest daughter, Anne Shovell, when 21 or married — aunt Ringstead and her 
daughter Mary Ringstead — cousin Elizabeth Thurston daughter of my aunt 
Thurston deceased — ^William, Ann, and Abigail Jenkinson, son and daughters 
of my uncle Cloudesley Jenkinson — ^wife executrix. Proved (CJ,C.) 13th 
January, 1707-8, by Executrix. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 171 

every side, that I cannot take time to think or write of anything 
else. Justice Yarbur/ before he dyd, sent me a MS. of the lives 
of the Earls of Waren. 

Mr. Yarbur, of Doncaster, sent me many things relating to 
Doncaster, etc. 

Mr. Gregory, of Barmby Dunn,* sent me a coppy of the old 



In Pulman's MSS., A. ix., p. 777 (at Her. Coll.)» there is a pedigree thus 
commencing :— 



Shorel, of = Ann, d. of .... = . .Flazman 
I 2d husband. 



Sir C. S. &c., bom at , co.=Elizabetli, daughter of John=Sir John Nar- 



Suffolk, 1661. Knighted IMay, 1689, 
in Bantry Bay, shipwrecked, &c. Will 
dat. 20 Apl., 1701. 



Hill, Esq., Commissioner of 
the Navy. Ob. 15 Apl., 1732. 
Buried at Grayford, co. Kent. 



borough, 

Knt., 

Admiral. 



InlTotes and QtcerieSj 1st Ser., xii., 395, is quoted a letter written by the Rev. 
George Crokatt, rector of Crayford, in 1708, consoling lady Shovell on the loss 
of her husband and two only sons. He says that Sir C, S. was bom in Norfolk 
in 1650, of an ancient family, remarkable for loyalty, etc., and not inconsider- 
able as to estate, though lessened by their adherence to Charles I. He says the 
good old gentlewoman. Sir C. S's mother, is still alive, and enjoys no con- 
temptible competency, which has been transmitted firom father to son. And he 
adds that he writes this to correct some false stories about Sir Cloudesley's 
birth and education. 

I regard this testimony as conclusive. It was written shortly after Sir 
Cloudesley's death, and by one who evidently knew the facts. His mother's 
second marriage, to Flaxman, may account for her being at Hastings. De la 
Pryme probably was misled by the " false stories " still extant in 1708. 

Sir Cloudesley Shovel, knight (no other description), had a grant of arms 
and crest, 6th January, 1691-2, to him and his descendants. The earl marshal's 
warrant is dated 29th April, 1691. He is called in the grant Rear Admiral of 
the Blue Squadron. The arms granted were — Gu. a chev. erm. betw. two 
crescents in chief arg., and a fleur-de-lis in base or. Crest — out of a naval 
coronet, gold, a demi-lion gu., holding a sail arg., charged with an anchor sa. 
(Grants^ 4, p. 103). There is no pedigree in Le Neve's Knights ; nor is Sir (X 
in any of the lists of knights at Heralds' College. 

I am indebted to Colonel Chester for the information above furnished. 

Macaulay (Hut. England^ I., 304) says that Sir John Narborough was cabin 
boy to Sir Christopher Mings, who had also entered the naval service in that 
capacity, and that Sir Cloudesley Shovel was cabin boy to Sir John Nar- 
borough. 

The name of Cloudsley is a Yorkshire one. Thoresby, the Leeds antiquary, 
had a " cousin Robert Cloudsley." And Hunter states that the name became 
extinct at Leeds by the death, without issue, of Mr. Benjamin Cloudsley, in 
1753. — Diary, i., p. 33. 

« " Need " in orig. 

J Thomas Yarborough, esq., of Campsal, co. York, justice of the peace and 
deputy lieutenant of the west-riding during forty-seven years. Died 30th 
November, 1697, aged 73. — Htmter^s South Yorkshire, ii., 466. 

* See pedigree. — JELv/nter*8 South Yorkshire, i,, p. 211. 



172 THE DIARY OP 

charter for the fair of Stanford, and several papers relating to 
the chappel thereof and town. 

Mr. Tor/ or Tur, sent me a MS. of and about the church of 
Hatfield, etc. 

Mr. Nevil and Mr. Place, of Winterton, sent me some papers 
relating to Hatfield business, and a whole bundle of manumis- 
sions of villans,"* and charters of Franciscan privileges. One or 
two I transcribed before in this book, and put down the rest 
that related to this town in my papers, as I commonly do. 

I have received, God be thanked, a great many more notices 
about things of this town from many hands which I shall thank- 
fully remember elsewhere. 



' James Torre, a celebrated antiquary, of a family long seated at Haxey, in 
the Isle of Axholme, Lincolnshire. " He settled chiefly at York, and giving way 
most probably to the natural bent of his genius, devoted himself entirely to the 
study of ecclesiastical antiquities and family descents. He purchased an estate 
at Snydall in 1699, where he died in the same year, and was buried in his parish 
church of Normanton." — Stonehotise, Isle of Axholme^ 306-308 ; See more of 
him, Thore8hy''8 Diary, i., p. 226, note hy Hv/nter. 

*» In an illuminated pedigree of the Wortley family, of the age of Elizabeth, 
in the possession of Lord Whamcliffe, a drawing is introduced of Sir Nicholas 
de Wortley (who died 1360), surrounded by his tenants, who are receiving, ap- 
parently with great satisfaction, a charter of enfranchisement from his hands. 
From the muniments of Sir J. W. Copley, Bart., of Sprotburgh, I am enabled 
to furnish a specimen of one of these deeds of manumission. 

Omnibus Christi fidelibus hoc praesens scriptum visuris vel audituris WiUi- 
elmus fltz William de Sproteburgh armiger salutem in Domino sempitemam, 
Noveritis me manumisisse et ab omni jugo servitutis liberasse Johannem 
Plumptre de Eotington nativum meum pro quadam summa pecuniae quam 
michi dedit prse manibus, ita quod liber homo sit cum tota sequela sua bonis- 
que mobilibus et immobilibus imperpetuum. Concede autem eidem Johanni, 
cum tota sequela sua procreata et procreanda, plenam licentiam eundi, habi- 
tandi et redeundi super feodum meum ubicunque prout decet hominem liberse 
conditionis et fidelis sine perturbatione mei vel haeredum meorum. In cujns rei 
testimonium prsesentibus sigillum meum apposui. His testibus, Johanne 
Clarell, Wlllielmo Chaworth armigero, Willielmo Capron, rectore ecclesise de 
Plumptre, et multis aliis. Datum apud Sproteburgh, prime die mensis Decem- 
bris, anno ab inchoatione regni regis Henrici Sexti quadragesimo nono, etre-ad- 
eptionis regiae potestatis suae anno prime. [1470]. 

De la Pryme has copied in the Dia/ry (p. 347), deeds bearing on this sub- 
ject, of an earlier date than this. John de Loudham grants to William de 
Loudham, his brother, one Thomas Locks, of Wintrington, " nativum menm de , 
manerio meo de Wintrington, cum omnibus Kberis ejus procreatis et procre- 
andis ac omnibus catallis ejus," etc. Dated on the Sunday next after the 
translation of St. Thomas the Martyr (7th July), 10th Edward II. (1316). 
Shortly afterwards, however, viz., on the Sunday next before the feast of St. 
Margaret the Virgin (20th July), in the same year, it appears, from another 
deed, that William de Loudham released to the said Thomas Locks aU the 
right whatsoever in him which he had of the gift of Sir John de Loudham, 
knight, and made him " liberum, manumissum ab omni conditione, neza, ser- 
vitio, absolutum in perpetuum." 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 173 

Feb 6. 1697-8. Mr. Raysin, of Doncaster," has a mighty 
rare old chron[icle'| in MSS., the most splendid, glorious, and 
beautifull that ever was seen, having the most curious antient 
pictures and letters in it were ever known, all in the most richest 
colours and best proportion, etc. 

Febr. 12. Yesterday I went into the Isle of Axholm about 
some business. It was a mighty rude place before the drainage, 
the people being little better than heathens, but since that ways 
has been made accessible unto them by land, their converse 
aiid familiarity with the country round about has mightily civi- 
lized them, and made them look like Christians. There is nothing 
observable in or about Belton Church that I could perceive. 
There is a pretty excellent Church at Epworth, but no monu- 
ment, coats of arms, nor inscriptions are therein, that I could 
observe. In the north porch of the church I observed these 
two coats. 

3 serpent heads with A lion or lioness, which is 
pricked up eaxs.® the arms of the Mowbrays.? 

The chancel of the church was formerly a most stately build- 
ing, almost as bigg as the whole church, and all arched and dub- 
bled rooft, but fallmg to decay, they made it be taken down and a 
less built out of the ruins thereof, which was about twenty five 
years ago. 

All on the east end of the Church, and over against the south 
thereof, stood a famous and magnificent monastry of Carthusian 
monks, which, upon the reformation, were all e^elled, and the 
monastry pulled down to the bare ground, to the great shame 
and skandall of the christian religion ; in which ground, where 
it stood, they tell me that there has oft been found several 
old pieces of English coin, and several gold rings, but they 
could not shew me any. The Minister thereof is the famous 
Mr. Wesley,^ who set out the celebrated poem of the lAfe of 
Christ. 

* Probably alderman George Rasine, who was mayor in 1683, when Sir 
George Cooke (the first baronet) presented the corporation with their great 
mace. 

^ Stonehouse, in his l8le of Axholmey 1839, p. 152, states this coat to be 
"the arms of Sheffield." That family, however, bore a chevron between three 
garbs. 

The bearing most nearly resembles that of the family of Broxholme, to 
which, in 1680, the arms of, argent, a chevron between three brock's (or badger's) 
heads azure, were granted. It does not appear, from the account of Epworth, 
that this family h^ any connection with that town or it's church. 

P " Ye same arms is also upon ye font." — Marginal Note by Diarist. 

9 The Rev. Samuel Wesley, M.A., bom at Whitechurch in 1662, became 



174 THE DIARY OF 

The Lord Cartaref was the late lord of the Isle, but he being 
dead, his lady enjoys the same. 

Low Melwood, in the Isle of Axholm, was (I have lately 
heard) in antient time a most fine and stately priory, belong- 
ing first of all to the Knight Templers, then afterwards to the 
Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, and was dedicated, as I 
imagine, to Saint Leonard, because there is land in the Isle called 
Saint Leonard's land, which holds of the sayd Melwood. 

I have several times been at it, but I was so young I cannot 
very well remember the same. 

However, I can remember very well that [it] was a great 
and most stately building of many stores high, all of huge squared 
stone, all wholy built so upon vaults and arches that I have gone 
under the same a great way. All was huge stone starecases, 
huge pillars, long entrys, with the doores of both sides opening 
into opposite rooms. I remember the dining room also, which was 
at the end of one of those entrys, had huge long oak tables in it, 
great church windows, with a great deal of painted glass. The 
outside of the house was all butify'd with semi-arches jetting 
of the walls upon channeld pillars, and the top was all covered 
with lead. The doors were huge and strong, and ascended up 
unto by a great many steps, and places made through the opposite 
turrets to defend the same, and the whole was encompass'd with 
a huge ditch or moat.' 

There was the finest gardens, orchards, and flowers there that 
ever I saw ; but now there is, I believe, none of these things to 
be seen, for, about ten years ago, all or most part being ruinous 
was pulled down, and a lesser house built out of the same. It is 
a very unfortunate place, as commonly all religious places have 
been to the sacrilegious and wicked devourers and raptors of the 
same. No family has yet possssed it one hundred years together, 
for it has commonly a new lord every forty or fifty years. 

In a green meadow close in Stickley,' near or in Shire Oaks, 

Rector of Epworth, and died, in 1735. He was father of John Wesley, the 
celebrated founder of the people called Methodists. — See Stonelumse, Isle of 
Axholme^ pp. 176-222. At page 162 that author gives him the rectory of Ep- 
worth in 1636, which must be an error. 

»■ Sir George Carteret, baronet, so created 9th May, 1645, was Comptroller 
of the Navy temp, Charles I. — an officer of great courage and skill. In 1681 he 
was created Baron Carteret, of Hawnes, co. Bedford, and died 1695. The 
manor of Epworth was granted, together with some other crown lands, on a 
lease for 90 years, by Charles II. to Sir Geo. Carteret. 

* Stonehouse^ Isle of Axholmey p. 263, gives this entry from the Diary 
somewhat varied from the text. 

' Stickley is probably Steetley. Steetley Church is in Derbyshire, but close 
to the boundaries of Nottinghamshire and Yorkshire. It is a most beautiful 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 175 

in or near Worsop, in Darbyshire, stands a staitly well built 
chapel, all arch-roof 'd, excellently enambled and gilt ; the lead 
that cover'd the same is all stoln away, so that the weather begins 
to pierce through its fine roof, to its utter decaying. 

One Mr. Houson, of Beaverley, has several records relating 
to Doncaster and Hatfield. 

Febr 29. I have written Doct[or] Johnston, the great anti- 
quary, seven or eight sheets of pedigrees, memorable things, etc. 

Tie pedegs [pedigrees] of the Anns of Frickley, the Went- 
worths of Elmsal, the Stapletons, the Snasels, the Latimers, 
the Cholmundleys, the Ardingtons, the Husseys, the Salvens, 
the Bruces, the Buhners, the Boyntons, the Musgraves, the 
Maliverers, the Fairfaxes of Waltham [Walton], the Elands, 
Vavasors, Spekes, Copleys ; the whole pedigrees, for many 
hundred years together, of the Hothams, Salvins, Bulmers, 
Whartons, Eastofts, etc. 

I have sent him an account also [of] Phila Causey, of many towns 
on the sea side, of the feeding of their sheep with holly leaves 
about Bradfield and elsewhere. Epitaphs (out of an old MS. 
formerly belonging to Dunscroft cell), in Doncaster church and 
chapels, Snayth church, etc., with a whole description of Doncas- 
ter at larg, and of all the memorable things and places belonging 
thereto. 

The MS. aforesayd, which I mightily prize, contains, tho' in 
short, very many observable epitaphs in the aforesayd churches 
and chapels, and many in Fishlake church, Hatfield church. 
Thorn church, Holden [Howden] church, Crull [Crowle] church, 
and Haxey, Epworth, and Belton churches ; but the paper is so 
farr consumed and gone, that they are scarce legible, and some 
not. It belongs to Mr. Canby,"" of Thorn, and is bound up with 
ma[n]y records relating to his estate, so that he will not part 
with the same out of his presence. I have sent the Doct[or] as 
many of them as I transcribed at one time, and if I can pick out 
the meaning of any more for him, I intend to do it. Those rela- 

Norman building, now roofless and deserted. Around it is a churcli yard, but no 
burials have taken place there in modem times. It consists of a nave and 
apsidal chancel ; the door on the south has a slightly projecting porch ; the arch 
is composed of zig zag and beaked mouldings ; on its shafts are foliage and 
signs of the zodiac, and the arches of the chancel and apse are even more 
highly ornamented. 

« Hunter, in his preface to South Yorkshire^ vol. I., states that he had 
endeavoured in vain to trace this MS., and was fain to content himself with 
the few extracts firom it incorporated with other topographical collections made 
by De la Pryme. He added, in a MS. note, that " Mr. Elmhirst, who represents 
Mr. Canby, has it not." . 



176 THE DIARY OP 

ting to Crull, Haxey, Belton, and Epworth, I will set down, when 
I have time, in this book. 

March 16. This day I had the following papers sent me to 
interpret from almost twenty miles beyond York, there not being 
any one, lawer or whatever, that could do the same, tho' it had 
been sent and shewd to many. It is a transcript out of Doomes- 
day book, and, as near as I can imitate the letter and brevity 
thereof, I will set it down here. 

[Here follows a long extract which it is unnecessary to repeat'] 



:• 



April 23. This two or three days has been exceeding bad i 
weather, we have had a great deal of snow and a hard frost ; and 
indeed this winter has been so sevear that scarce anybody living 
ever saw the like. We have had six winters in this wintiOTi 
mighty sevear and cold, between every one of which was great 
floods (one of which was the greatest that ever was known, top- 
ping almost all the Partisipants' banks on every side), between 
every one of which was a week or above of as fine weather as 
could be, and then another storm came, etc. 

Mr. Greree,' of London, has a larg MS. in many vols, folio of 
of the antiquitys and history of Lincolnshire, written by Doct[or] ' 
Sanderson, Bish[op] of Linc[oln.] j 

I hear much of the religious assemblys and societys that are 
fixing in every city and great town of England, against al man- i 
ner of prophaness and immoraUty, but as yet cannot give a ftdl 
account thereof. 

I was the other day with Mr. Wesley, min[ister] of Epworth, 
the famous author of the poem of the Life of Christ. He sayB| 
that while he was at London, he knew a parrot that by its long 
hanging in a cage in Billingsgate street (where all the worst lan- 
guage in the city is most commonly spoke), had learned to enrse 
and swear, and to use all the most bawdy expressions imaginable). 
But, to reform it, they sent it to a coflpy-house in another street, 
where, before half-a-year was at an end, it had forgot all it's 
wicked expressions, and was so ftdl of coflfy-house language that 
it could say nothing but "Bring a dish of coffjr;" "Where's the 

* See postea. There was a John Geree, a Yorkshireman, either a bntler or 
servitor of Magd. Hall. Oxon., in the beginning of the year 1615, who became 
minister of Tewkesbury, etc. Died in Ivy Lane, London, 1648. 

Stephen Geree, elder brother to the above, also of Magd. Hall, Oxon., 1611, 
became minister of Wonnersh, near Guildford, and afterwards of Abinger, 
Surrey, — Wood's Athen, Oxon, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTMS. 177 

news,'' and such like. When it was thus throughly converted, 
they sent it home again, but within a week's time it got all its 
cursings and swearings and its old expressions as pat as ever. 

Contrary to all expectation com of all sorts is exceeding dear," 
and the weather very cold. 

This day I had a larg old book in folio sent me, entitled thus — 
*^ Ye right devout ^ much laudable^ and recomendable bohe of the life 
of the olde aurvcyent fader s hermyts^ traundatyd first out of Greke 
into Latyn by y* Blessed and Holy Saunt S*- Jet^om^ right devout 
xmd approved Doctoure of y Chirche^ and translated out of Latyn 
into Frenche^ Sf dylygently corrected in tlie Cyty of Lyonj anno 
1486, andy after ^ to witt in tlie year of our L^- 1491, reduced into 
English^ foUotmng the coppe alway under tlie correction of the Doc^ 
tours of the ChirchJ*'* 

The book itself, after such a fine title-page, is full of lyes, 
«torys, legends, foppery, and popery. It ends thus : — " Thus endyth 
the moost Vertuouse Hystorye of the Devoute and right renouned 
Lyves of the houlyfaders lyvyng in deserts^ worthy of remembraunce to 
xul well dysposed persons j which haih been translated out of French 
into Englishcj by William Caocton^ of Westmynster, late deceased^ 
und finyshd it at if last day of his lyfe. Enprinted in tlie sayd 
town of Westmynstre by Mynheer Wynkin de WordCj y^ yer of 
cur Lords 1495, and \f 10 year of our Soveragn Lordy K. Henry 
tfnth'' 

Mr. Hall, min[ister] of Fishlake, has several old MSS., both 
history and heraldry, written by Mr. Perkins, in Queen Elizabeth's 
days, a worthy and ingenious man, some of winch I have bor- 
row'd.' 

Mr. Prat, parson of Boswel^ beyond York, has gathered up a 
fine collection of medals. 

My Lady Wentworth, of Banks, near Bamsley, has also a 
delicate collection. 

Mr. Adwick, of Arksey, has several old papers, deeds, and 
MSS., as has also Mr. Washington, of Adwick hall, of which he 
has promiss'd me a sight. 

There is a town cdled Kimberworth,' two miles of of Rother- 

* The average price of wheat for the year 1698 in given as £3, Os. 9d., in a 
table reprinted &om the Mark Lane ExpresB in Natei and Queries^ 2nd S., vol. 
v., p. 144. 

* Beejfogtea. 
9 Bossall. 

' Hunter had observed this passage in the Diary. He remarks that '^ an early 
antiquary would connect the name of this township with the Cimbri ; but De la 
Pryme lived before much attention had been paid to the principles on which we 

M 



\ 



178 THE DIARY OF 

ham, 80 called from y* old Cimbri : Kimberworfh, signifying i^ 
English the town of the Cimbri. 

Mr. Midleton, of Sutton, can give larg account of the family 
of the Lees of Hatfield. 

Mr. Kitchinffman, Minpster] of by York, hda 

written a larg (Sironology, mighty ingenious and accurate, in foL 
MSS. at Mr. Hall's of Fishlake. 

Mat 4. Ever since that May came in there has been a great deal 
of snow and frost, the like never seen in memory of man. In the 
west the frost was a ffreat deal bigger than here, for it frose theise 
above an inch thick in one night, whereas it was not over half as 
thick the same night here ; the snow that fell here was also less than 
that which fell there, but however, if that it had layd, [I] believe 
that it would have been very near a foot thick. It has done great 
damage to all sorts of com and fruit, and there is so little grass that 
the greatest number of cattle have dyd that ever was known. 
About Hallifax side the necessity of the winter has caused them to 
find out a Strang new meat for their goods in winter, and that is 
this, when all their foiher was done, they took green whinz, chopt 
them a little, put them in a trough and stampt them a little to 
bruiije all their prides, and then gave them to their beasts, which 
eat on them, and fedd them better than if it had been the best hay. 

6. On the sixth of this month was the Visitation of the Arch- 
Bishop of York," who was personal there with us at Doncaster. 
He is an exceeding strict, religious, and pious man, exceeding 
humble, affable, and kind. He gave us a great deal of most ex- 
cellent advice, and talked sevearly against drunkenness, loos 
living, keeping of company, and such Uke ; desired us all to be- 
ware of the same, and beg'd on us to enter into religious associa- 
tions one with another, and with the chief of the town to suppress 
all vice, profaness, and immorality, in our respective parishes, 
etc. 

Having finished the beautifying of the church of Hatfield, 
the chief of the parish, to the number of thirty, whenft] to Doncas- 
ter to the Bishop with the ingenious and worthy niin[ister] hereof, 

may hope to analyse the terms found in our local nomenclature. The probability 
rather is that we have the name of some early settler prefixed to one of the usual 
terminals. In Domesday it is Chibereworde, an orthography which is also found 
in the BecapUulatio ; but as the letter m is found in very early charters as a 
part of the name of this place, and is, moreoyer, an efficient portion of the 
name, it is probable that it ought to have made a part of the name as written 
by the Norman scribes." See more. — Hurvter's South YorJalme^ ii., p. 26. 
" John Sharp, D.D., consecrated 5th July, 1691, died 2nd Feb., 171i. 



\ 
\ 



ABRAHAM DS Lk PRTM8. 179 

Mr. Eratt/ to thank him for haveing given them liberty and power 
to regulate the pews, and to present him with two maps of the plat* 
form of the church, as every one was seated, to get them signed by 
him, and to desire a confirmation thereof under the Beal of thq 
oflSce. As soon as ever we were got to the house where he was, Mr. 
Eratt when[t] in to acquaint [him] that we were come. The 
Bishop would not let us come any furder to wait upon him, but came 
fitreightdown into our room to wait upon us, exprest a great deal 

* William Kratt, eon of Wm. Bratt, of Wartre, in the East Riding of Tork- 
•hire, educated at Pocklington School, was admitted Sizar of St. John^s College, 
Cambridge, 4th May, 1672, when 16 years old. A.B., 1675 ; A.M., 1696 ; came to 
be minister of Hatfield in September 1689. Married 4th January, 1680, Mary, d. 
of Thomas Fitzwilliam, of Doncaster, the town clerk of that borough, and 
widow of John Gilby gent., and mercer of London. (Jackson's SUtorv 
S- George's Chwrch Doncaster, appx., xlvi.) By her Mr. Eratt had issue, with 
others, William Eratt, of Doncaster, M.D., who died 13th March, 1727, leaving 
a daughter and heir, Jane, afterwards married to Edward Forster, Esq., of 
Thome, but died 8.p. In 1701 there was published, " A Necessary Apology for 
the Baptieed Believers : wherein they are vindicated from the Unjust and Per- 
nicious Accusations of Mr. William Eratt, the Parish Minister of Hatfield, near 
Doncaster, in Yorkshire, in his Epistle to John Woodward, By Joseph Hooke, 
a Servant of Christ, and a hearty lover of all men." Our Diarist was a pupil of 
Mr. Eratt's, and he has recorded in the Diary the following specimen of versi- 
fication by him ; — 

« A MANIFESTO OF KING JAMES* RUIN." 

Hark, most unhappy and deluded king, 

Unto the cause that did thy ruin bring ; 

For thee the sockless child and parent moom'd, 

When th' trees 'ith west were unto gallows tamed ; 

For thee time-serving fayourites appear'd 

When neither truth nor justice cou'd be heard ; 

For thee tiie Fopiah judges gave the cause 

Against all right, and liberty, and laws ; 

For thee some faulty doctors did betray 

Their church ; mandamus's they had for pay. 

The freeman in his land was quite undone, 

And tiie miser scarce could call his gold his owA ; 

For thee poor Teague was forced to run away, 

To save Ms bones he fled without his pay ; 

For thee the merchant had lost all his trade, 

And hence the seaman was in harbor sta/d ; 

3Ln spite of law thou didst our law suspend, 

And fain would new ones had to serve thy endU 

Thy patriot's aim in all their loyal votes 

Was to invent and oontenance sham plots ; 

By thee no credit in the land was left. 

And little coin not counterfeit nor clip'd ; 

Yet still thy loyal slaves desire to be 

Under their former yoke of tyranny, 

To their own country's good they're strangers grown* 

Peace they would have abroad but war at home. 

What wonderous fools they are all will oondude 

To call thee just who never kept thy word. 

Bewitch'd they're sure to sign the Popish rolls, 

That priests may suck their blood and d— n their sonls. 

WUl. Eratt, Ji.A,, JOniO, d» ffa^fittd, f. 

The Kev. Wm. Eratt was buried at Hatfield 30th March, 1702. The arms 
borne by his family, as they appeared on Dr. Eratt's gravestone in Doncaster 
church, were : — ^A f ess between three estoiles. — See Mon, Int. JaoJtton'i St. 
Qeorge's Chwrch^ Doncaster^ p, 112. 



180 THE DIARY OF 

of respect unto us, and when we let him see the mapps he was 
exceeaingly pleasd therewith, and sayd they were exceeding fine 
and neat, well contrived, and mighty decent, etc., and asked se« 
Teral times before he signed them, whether every one was content 
and willing, and well pleased at the regulations made, which they 
all affirmd they were. Then he signed them, thanked us all^ 
talked a while, and as he was going out, he turned again and 
told us he would next year come to Hatfield, would give us a 
month's notice, and would confirm there, etc. 

7th. This very day Mr. Theseus Moor,*" our next neighbour, 
caused^a hen to be killd for his Sunday dinner, but, when they had 
killd her, they were all amazd when they begun to o en, all 
between her body and her skin Was contamed a huge quantity 
of a transparent matter, just like starr shot jelly (al^ut an inch 
thick in most places, and spread round about almost all over her). 
It was a water contained in tough bladers, very adherent one to 
another, but not glutinous, nor had it any smell or tast. The whole 
quantity of this stufi^ is almost as heavy as the whole hen. I have 
a good quantity of it, which I do intend to try experiments on. 
The hen thrive[d] very well, and ate heartily, seemd to be very 
fatt, and nobody suspected that she aild any thing. 

Her distemper was perhaps a kind of a dropsy, or a gather- 
ing together of a subcutanious water, occasioned by the obstruc- 
tion of the pores of the skin, which were perhaps filld up by 
some blasting or some excess or storm of this could winter, for it 
has been observed that some ones, that have been great stair 
gazers in winter nights, have by the could contracted a distemper, 
which has obstructed the pores of the skin, and caused the va- 
pours, that were to exhale, to gather between the skin and the body 
etc., an instance of which in a man is in the Transactions of the 
K.S. for the year 1665 p. 138. 

I borrowed not long ago two MS. in folio of Mr. Hall/ 

^ On the 30th Nov., 1699, Theseus Moore surrendered in the court of the 
manor of Dunscroft, by the hands of Peter Prim, one of the tenants, a house in 
Hatfield to Sarah Prim, the Diarist's mother, who was then admitted. 1 0th March, 
1718, Sarah Pryme,by Peter Pryme, surrendered the premises, described as a mes- 
suage or cottage at the east end of Hatfield, near the church, in which William 
Marryott lately dwelt, to Margaret Greenhalgh, w©- She, by will, 16th Oct., 1740, 
devised it to her daughter, Bmelia De la Pryme, wo. ; by whose devisees, James 
Pe la Pryme, of Sheffield, and James Greatrex, of Manchester, it passed, 28th 
Feb., 1772, to the Rev. Francis Proctor, Incumbent of Hatfield. Of his descen- 
dants, the Rev. Thomas Fox, a subsequent incumbent, purchased, from whom 
it has come to his son, Mr. W. J. Fox, solicitor, who has obligingly commimii- 
cated this information. 

•* 1695-6. Johannes Hall, cler., et Sarah Perkins, Vid., 17th Feb. (Mcm^ 
riage at FUhZake^ ex inform, JRev, G, Omsby, Vic,) 



\!A 



ABRAHAH DE LA PBTHX. 181 

mlnristerj of Fishlake, who had mar[ried] the relict of 
Mr. JPerkins/ 

The first I have entitled: 

Of the antiquity of Ensigns and Armes, to which is joined a catal[ogne], of the 
Creation of the Nobility of every King since the Conquest to Queen Elizabeth's 
days. By Thomas Perkins, of FishJake, Esq. 

The other I have entit ed : 

A book of the arms and pedegrees of many of the Yorkshire nobility and 
gentry : Collected by Thomas Perkins, of Fishlake, Esq. 

In which last book is contained the pede^ees of the Anns, of 
Ask, of Bigod, Bruce, Bohun, Babthorp, Sojmton, Birdhead,^ 
Barmby, Beiston, Clarrel, Copley, Constable, Clare, Castelion, 
Denman, Eastoft, Frobisher, lumival, Ferrers, Fitzwilliam, 
Fairfax, Gascoign, Harrington, Hilliard, Hilton, Holm, Hotham, 
Hasting, Lov . ., Lovetoft, Lacy, March, Montney, Melton, 
Marshd, Nigil, Nevil, Oldwarck, Peck, Portington, Perkins, 
Quinzy, Rotherfield, Hockley, Rearsby, Stappleton, Sothell, 
Swift, Strangbow, Skeam, Salvin, Stanfield, Talboys, Talbot, 
Triggot, Urslet, Vernon, Westby, Wortley, Wallis, Wentworth, 
WomJ, Woodrofe and Wombel. 

" 14th June, 1694, Johannes Hall, clericus, admissus fuit ad inserviendum 
curae animarum in ecclesia de Gisbrough, in eccl. de Upletham, et in eccl. de 
Fishlake, diaec. Ebor.'' 

He had a son, John Hall, who was Fellow of St* John^s College, Cambridge. 
24th May, 1719, in the church of St* Mary, in Nottingham, "Johannes Hall, A.B., 
e coll. Jesu Cantab." was ordained deacon, and priest in York Minster on 
March 5th, 1720-1. On April 4th, 1722, Johannes Hall, clericus, A.M., admissus 
fuit ad inserviendum curse animarum in ecdesiS de Gisborough, ac etiam in 
eccl. de Upleatham, in com. et disec. Ebor. His successor, Kichd. Cuthbert, 
A.M.« was admitted to the same cures 20th Nov., 1722. The son died in 1722, 
aged only 26, and was buried in the church at Hatfield, where there is a monu- 
ment to his memory, with the following inscription : — (Arms, arg., a chev. engr. 
between 3 talbots heads erased sable). 

Juxta situs est 
Yir verd Eximius et Marmore Dignns 

Johannes Hall, A.M.: 

Colleg. Jesu Cantab, nuperus e socijs, 

EcclesisB apud Guisbrough Pastor 

Fidus et Amabilis. 

Primsey^ puritatis Indagator Sagaz, 

Pietatis iBmulator Sanctissimus, 

Yizit Filius, Frater, Amicus, Optimus : 

Obijt, ah Juvenis ! 

^temitati tamen (si quis alius), maturus 

A.C. 1722, ^tat. 26. 

Imitemur. 

• Onthe4thFeb. 1721, Thoresby was engs dintl 
index to Mr. Perkins's manuscripts till near e 
/ u«. Burdett. 



182 . THE DIAKT or 

In the first there is . . pages, in the second there is 233. 

He has lent me also the fragment of an old MS. Chron[icle] 
in which are several things very observable, especially that about 
St. Augustine the monk killing many hundreds of the Brittans, 
because they would not submit to him, and acknowledge the Pope 
for universal Bishop. 

At Trumfleet^ water mills there [are] commonly every May 
such vast numbers of young eels comes over the wheels with the 
waters and runs into the mill, that they are forced to give over 
working, and to send into the town for the swine to devour them, 
for they are innumerable as the sand on the sea shore. 

I was a fishing in Went the other day. It is a narrow river, 
not over six yards over, but the crookedest and the deepest that 
ever I saw in my life, therefore it is rightly called Went, which 
signifys deep in Welsh. Every turn of the river makes a great 
bogg on the other side, on which the water is thrown by the 
current ; and there is delicate fish therein ; but such quantitys 
of eels that the like was never seen. Sometimes there will break 
out, or fall out of the hollow bank sides, when people are a fish- 
ing, such vast knots of eels, almost as bigg as a horse, that they 
break all their netts in pieces. 

Wroot church is of pretty great antiquity (but not so old as 
it is pretended, to witt, antienter than Lincoln minster). It ig^ 
dedicated unto St. Peter, as may appear by its feast, which 
always has been, and is, kept upon St. Peter's day unto this 
time ; tho' I have seen an old will in which was this sayd, that 
he gave five shillings to the altar of St. Pancratius, in Wroot.* 

There is a famous k[ing] of the gipsys, that's call'd Mr^ 
Bosvill,' a mad spark, that, haveing an estate of about two 

f A hamlet in the township and parish of Eirk-Sandal, six miles west froxn 
Thome, west-riding of Yorkshire. 

* The village of Wroot is situate on the west side of the Isle of Axholme, 
Lincolnshire, about five miles westward from Epworth. 

Stonehouse {Isle of Axholme, p. 385), states that this church "was rebuilt 
in the year 1794, on the old site, and about the same dimensions. The antient 
fabric, like the present, consisted only of a nave and a chancel," etc. He does 
not say to whom it is dedicated. At the present day the inhabitants appear to 
consider that they enjoy the patronage of St. Peter. In the Dancaster Chronicle, 
of 16th July, 1869, it was stated that, at that place, *Hhe feast, or anniversary of 
the dedication of the parish church, commenced on Sunday last," 11th July, 
which was old S*- Peter's day. 

* Hunter notices, him (Charles Bosvill) in Scmth Yorkshire, i., p. 68. 
Miller, in his History of Doncaster, p. 237, erroneously calls him Jcumei 
Bosvill. The following is the entry of his burial in the Register at Rossington, 
near Doncaster : "Charles Bosvill was buried on Sunday, January 30th, 1708-9, 
without affidavit." " This person," observes Hunter, " is still remembered iti 
the traditions of the village as having established a species of sovereigpaty 



/ 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. X83 

hundred per annum, yet runs about. He is mighty fine and 
brisk, and keeps comp[any] with a great many gentlemen, 
knights and esq[uires]. 

Hoppkinson's MS.-' collections are now in the hands of Mr. 
Thornton, of Leeds ; there is another coppy more correct, with 
additions, in the hands of Mr. Parker, formerly of Marlow, now 
near unto Skypton in Craven. 

On the 26 of May last, about five in the morning, in a dry 
time, I went into the garden and gathered a pint or two of dew, 
and having filtered it through a clean cloth I put it in three 
glasses, one of which I cork'd fast, the other little at all, just to keep 
dust out, and the other not at all, the first and the last I set in 
the north window of my chamber, and the second in the south 
window against the sun, the second soon grew greenish, and so 
continues ; that which was stopt fast continues its first colour almost 
as pellucid as water; but that which was not stopp'd is of a golden 
colour like urine. 

About the 10th of June I took the aforesayd bottle that was 
unstopp'd and set it in my south window, and put both into it, 
and into the other that had stood in the south window from the 
first, a wheat com apiece ; the wheat com in that which had stood 
in the south window all along germinated and shot forth roots, 
a stalk, and two blades many inches long, but the other is not 
yet germinated. 

^mong that singular people called the gypsies, who, before the inclosures, used 
to frequent the moors about Rossington. His word amongst them was law ; 
and his authority so great that he perfectly restrained the pilfering propensities 
for which the tribe is censured, and gained the entire good will for himself and 
his people of the farmers and the people around. He was a similar character to 
Bampfield Moore Carew, who, a little later, lived the same kind of wandering 
life. No member of this wandering race for many years passed near Rossing- 
ton without going to pay respect to the grave of him whom they called their 
king ; and I am informed that even now, if the question were asked of any of 
the people who still haunt the lanes in this neighbourhood, especially about the 
time of Doncaster races, they would answer that they were " Bosvile's people." 
Miller says that one of the accustomed rites of the gypsies from the south, 
when they visited Bosvill's grave, was to pour a flagon of ale thereon. In the 
burial register of Tickhill, a few miles from Rossington, occurs, "1693, July 
the 26th, Susanna, daughter of Charles Boswell, gent., a stranger." In the 
church of Winslow, co. Bucks, it is said that under a flat stone " lieth the body 
of Edward Boswell, gent., who died Aug. 30th, 1689," of whom it is a tradition 
in the parish that he was king of the beggars. Topographer^ vol. i., p. 63. 

In the churchyard of Beighton, co. Derby, is a stone in memory of Matilda 
Bosswell, who died Janry. 15, 1844, aged 40 ; also of Lucretia Smith, " Queen of 
the Gypsies," who died Nov. 20th, 1844, aged 72. Again, at Calne, is one for 
Inverto Boswell, with the figure of a horse rampant, of which a coloured draw- 
ing was exhibited at the meeting of the Wiltshire Archaeological Society at 
CMppenham in Sept., 1855, by Mr. Alfred Keene, of Bath. 

J These MSS. are now divided between the British Museum and Matthew 
WilAon, Esq., of Eshton Hall. 



184 THE DURT or 

Mr. Robert Geree,*that has the MSS. of Bi8h[op7 Sandersan^ 
cont[aining] the his[tory] of Lincolnshire, lives at Islington, and 
and is minister there. 

In the digging of the well at Mr. Place's, at Winterton afore- 
sayd, they found the earth and stone thus, three yard sand, one 
foot fine warp, in which was found the ear of a pot, two foot 
deeper a blew clay, under that, a foot deeper, a blew stone, in 
the surface of which was found wood, half wood, half stone. 

The Marquess of Normanby's hall, or pallace raither, at Nor- 
manby, by Burton in Lincolnshire, was built, most part of the 
hewn stone of it, out of Butterwick chappel' which was pulled 
down to build it. 

Several projectors have been exceeding busy this last sessions 
of parliament to have had the rivers Ayre and Chalder navigable, 
and there has been the greatest lugging and pulling on both 
sides, the one to effect, the other to hinder the same, that ever 
was known, and thousands of pet [it] ions have been sent up pro and 
con about the same ; but the parlament has broke up before that 
the bill was three times read. 

There is huge papers in print of reasons both for and against 
it, but those on the latter side are farr the strongest, tho some of 
them are weak enough, as for example this. In the bill they say 
that the sea hath water enough to supply all rivers, and that the 
making or cutting of never so many rivers out of or into any 
antient river will not abate the tide of such antient river, which 
(this answer says) is falls [false] and then proceeds thus. The sea 
onely continues flowing six hours, and such flowing is received 
into the rivers as their proportion affords room for the time to 
receive the same. Tlie river Humber, being larg, first takes in the 
tide plentifully where it flows about twenty-four foot at Hull, and 
from thence continues about twenty five miles to Owse mouth, 
where it flows sixteen foot, thence continues about ten miles to 
the mouth of Ayre (the river growing narrower), where it flows 
twelve foot, and at York flows onely two foot and a half, and that 
which is verv observable is that the water ebbs at the mouth of 
the river Humber an houer before that it beginns to flow at the 
mouth of the river Ayre. That no more water can come out of the 

* See anfea, p. 176. 

' It is said that one of the family, George Sheffield, great uncle to the 
Marquess of Normanby, '' broke his neck in a new riding house, said to have 
been made out of an old consecrated chapel." — Stonehcni^ey p. 270. 

Compare this with what the Diarist says in the Hist, of Wintertoyt, (Arehao' 
logia)^ about Ferriby Since being built out of Butterwick Chapel. The present 
hall at Normanby is a new structorei built on the site of the old one by the late 
Sir Bobert Sheffield. 



.t r' 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 185 

sea but what came in before the ebb, so that the making any new 
cutts out of the river Ouse will take out and lessen or divert part 
of the tide of the said river, as is proved by experience, there 
having been a new river at Gowle (about four miles nearer the 
sea' than the mouth of the river Ayre), for the draining of Hat- 
field Chase into the river Ouse. A since was erected to hinder 
the tide of Ouse from flowing into the sayd Gool river, and 
while the sayd sluce was kept in repair, the tide at York flowed 
two foot more than it does now, but the sluce falling into decay, 
about forty years since (which the country is not able to make 
up), Gowl river takes so much of the tyde that York hath lost 
two foot of their tvde. 

'Tis true that Gool does take some of their tyde back, not 
half so much as is here pretended, because that it is fenced out 
with huge stathes, for, if all the water might be sufferd to come 
in that would, it would weare the entrance or mouth of the river 
a vast bredth and dround and destroy the whole Levels. When 
the tides dos come, and the water rises, the Ouse water is a great 
deal higher than the water in this river, tho' it pouers therein all 
it can, because the narrownes of the mouth hinders its flowing in 
so fast as to keep it with a level with Ouse. 

July 26. We have all of us been this week voteing for par- 
lament men at York. The three competi[t]ors were the Lord 
Downs, Lord Farefax, and Sir John Kay ; with much to do after 
a soor pull, we got the two Lords chosen. The common-free inhabi- 
tants that made above 40«. a year of their common did, accor- 
ding as formerly, swear themselves worth above 40« a year free- 
hold, and were acordingly polld. Our common is freehold unto 
us, and the lord has nothing to do with it. We have charter for 
the same.*" 

"• The following letter is interleaved : — 

•* Mellwood, Ist Aug., 1698. 
" EiNDE S»»» 

" I am pritty well assured that both your selfe and brother are 
freeholders in our county. If you please both of you to be so kinde as honor me 
with your good companys and interest on Wednesday next at Lincolne, it 
would be a very obliging favour. And as I aske for myself, so I likewise begg 
ye same favour for my Mend the Champion, wherein you shaU ever oblige, 

" Yor. faithf uU humble 

" Servt., 

" Geo. Whichoot. 
" All the clergy and neighbourhood in the Isle goe along with me, will meet 
altogether at the watering place two miles on this side Lincoln, on Wednesday 
morning by nine of the clock, and so goe into Lincolne together. 

'* All the clergy goe into Lincolne to-morrow and will be glad of your good 
companys. 



186 THE DIARY OF 

I found in the newse at York that one Mr. Ardsley, a Quaker, 
is chosen parlament man for Wicham, which is such as was 
never known before ; but it came to be voted whether he should 
sit or no, so he was cast out. 

I have this day bought several old Boman coins of the bas 
empier for shillings a piece that were digged up at Alburrow, not 
far of of Burrowbrigs, at which place not long ago was found, as 
a man was plowing, a great plate of gold, wfich the country 
clown sold for five shillmgs to a Scotchman, who, coming over 
the field, chanced to see it, who sold it again for fifty pounds. 

I was very well acquainted in Cambridge* with an ingenious 

Joung man, one Tim[othy] Wallice, whose father, as I have lately 
card, is minist[er] of a town in or near Holdemess ; which man, 
about fourteen years ago, had so violent a fitt of the cold palsy, 
that, when he was recoverd out of it, he had forgot every thing, 
and was become a perfect ignorant man again. For when he 
was recovered, he coiild remember nothing of his former life or 
of his actions, nor nothing, so that he could neither write nor read, 
nor know his own children, so that he was forced to learn both 
to read and write after, and the other things that people learns 
when they are young. After which time he has had at least half 
a score fitts more (which is as strange as the aforegoing), but 
always stoppd them before that they came to the height by a 
most excellent palsy water which he has gotten. 

" [Addressed] To the Reverend Mr. Abraham Prim, or to his brother Mr, 
Peter Prim. Present." 

* The Diarist has here interleaved the following letter from his college 
friend Bennet, to which no year is given, and for t£e month it seems to be 
placed not where it should be. 

"Dears 

" I received yr. letter and humbly thank you, and do by this answer 
assure you how willing I am to renew yr. former acquaintance. You desire to 
know, St., w*. proficiency I have made in Heb. or Arab., but alas Sr. I am sensible 
I am master of nothing, and though I were as learned as I could wish myself, 
yet it does not become me to talk of my own abilities. As for news of books I 
am pretty much a stranger to them, not going as I used to y® booksellers, for I 
keep myself pretty retired, and mind such studies as y^ my reading wiU not be 
able to furnish you with any memories ; though otherwise I should be extreamly 
ready. I heartily wish you aU je success imaginable in y* studies. That MS. 
of Butcher's is called AvtiqwUy Reviewed and his design is to treat of the counties, 
but if ever I observe anything in it, of yt nature you speak, I shall take notice 
of it. Y'- chamber fellow Sibbald (now Harvy Soph in order to his degree in 
physick) has signelized his behaviour. Hob. Bead is troubled with an as- 
thma. 

" I am, S'-» 

" Yr. humble servant, 

" Feb. 18. " T. B.[bnnkt]. 

" (Addressed). — Thele To Mr. Abraham Piym at Broughton, near Glenf ord 
Briggi in Lincolshire." 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRTME. 187 

Sept 1. On the first of September, being then at Hatfield 
caxrjing on my history of that town, I was met with by the 
ingenious and reverend Mr. Banks,*" rector of the High Church of 
Hull, who, declaring that he wanted a Reader there, enticed me 
to go and accept of the place, which, after a while consideration, 
I did. 

The town is a very fine town, exceeding well governed, and 
kept in very great aw. There is two sermons every Sunday, and 
a sermon every Wednesday. There is seven or eight hospitals in 
the town, and yet, for all that, the maintaining of the poor cost them 
about 1700Z. a year, etc. I shall give a greater account of this 
town hereafter, if God please, for I have some thoughts of writing 
the history of it. 

Towards the middle of this month, Mr. Banks going to York 
to preach his course sermon, I gave with him an Elenchus Librorum 
et Capitum Historice mece Hatfieldiensis^ to shew the Bishop, who 
took it very kindly, and shewd it to the famous editor of so many 
old chronicles, the learned Doct[or] Gale,' who was likewise very 
glad thereof; who sent word to me that he would be very glad to be 
acquainted with me, and would feign see me. 

As soon as the time of the Ordination came on I went to 
Tork, and from thence to Bishopthorpe, to get into priests orders. 
Having been examined by the Bishop's two chaplains, who 
made me conster in the Greek Testament and in Cicero^s Epistles, 
and having asked me a great many questions, how I proved the 
being of the Trinity against the Socinians, and such like, I then 
went to the Bishop, who likewise asked me a great many ques- 
tions relating to divinity, and then fell of talking of antiquitys, 
asked me whether I had any old coins, whether I had any in my 

Socket, to which I answered "yes," and, upon his desire, shewd 
m several, which he was well pleased at, and bid me pursue my 
studdys, and I should not want encouragement. He sayd he 
liked my design of Hatfield very well, but sayd that I could not 

• Robert Banks, A.M., of Christ's Coll., Cambridge — ^Vicar of Trinity 
Chnrch, Hull, 1689 — 1715 ; Prebendary of Stillington at York, and Hampton at 
Southwell ; a correspondent of Thoresby and Sir Philip Sydenham. Married 
Hillicent, dau. of Sir Edward Bodes, and widow of Charles Hutton, esq., of 
Poppleton. On 14th Feb., 1714-16, admon. was granted to Millicent, his widow. 

P Thomas Gale, S.T.P., of the family of Gale, of Scruton, the well-known 
scholar and antiquary. He was Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge ; 
master of St. Paul's School, 1672-1697 ; and Dean of York from 1697 to 1702. 
He is better known for his historical collections than for his classical works, 
although he was an excellent scholar. His collection of MSS. is in the Library 
of Trinity College, Cambridge. Eoger and Samuel Gale, both of them antiqua^ 
ries of repute, were his sons. 



188 THE DIARY OF 

prove what I proposed in the three or four first chapters of my 
Elenchus, but only by conjecture and probability, to which I re- 
plied that that was enough where nothing else was to be had, 
etc. 

Then I went to Mr. Dean, that is the aforesayd famous Doct- 
[or] Gale, who was very glad to see me ; with whom I had a 
great deal of discourse. He enquired of me about old MSS. and 
historys, for he is yet collecting all he can towards another 
voUume of authors, two vollumes being allready pubUshed Vjr 
him, to his great honour and the good of the whole nation. He 
tells me [he] has searched all England, Scotland, and Ireland, 
and can find no author older than Bede, and says that all that 
has written some hundreds of years after him took all what they 
had of former times out of him. 

He says that Venerable Bede in his lifetime published two 
editions of his history ; the first was small and is yet extant in 
MS., which small one K[ing] Alfrid, lighti ng o n, translated into 
Saxon, which was printed m the same by Wheelock. He says 
that Wheeloc was a very superficial fellow, and that he scarce 
understood what he pretended to publish, as plainly appears, says 
he, by the Saxon MSS. he made use of in his edition, for he 

fmblish'd the very west of them, ftill of barbaritys and errors, and 
eft the best in MSS. 

The larger edition that Bede set out in his lifetime Is that 
which is so common, printed also with the Sa^on of the small 
one by Wheeloc. He says that he found the same in MSS. above 
six hundred years old, written in the Saxon character, which he 
compaird with the present Bede, as he did a great many more, 
but found no material difference betwixt them. 

He says, that he fully believes that whatever is related of 
Hatfield, in Bede, must be Hatfield by Doncaster. 

He says that the Bomans, in their marches, always pitch their 
camp on the south side of rivers in England, with the river 
between them and their enemy's. Says that the antient citty of 
York was undoubtedly all of it on the south side of Owse, and 
says that he believes that the first church that Edwin built in 
York was not where the minster now stands, but that it was in 
the old citty upon or near Bishops hill, near Skeldergate postern, 
etc. 

He says that the great battel, mentioned in Bede to be fought 
in Winwid field, or Winwid stream, was not near Ayre, as Mr. 
Thorsby in the new edition of Cambeden has affirmed, but that it 



u 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 189 

was near the river Went, formerly called Wennet, and before 
that time Winnid.^ 

He told me of a battel fought by the river Dun by King 
Arthur, &c., and, having encouraged me in my studdys, I tooK 
my leave of him. 

The Sunday following I was ordain'd. The chairges wa ust 
eleven shillings, besides my jomey charges, etc., 

Mr. Dean is a mighty ingenious man ; keeps correspondance 
with all the learned men in England, and has searched all the 
kingdome over for old MSS., which he is for publishing, but can 
find none no where older than, [or] better than, those he has pub- 
lished. 

He sa-^s Sir. ^im[on] Dews was a very braggodocio and 
superficiallvleamd fellow, that he pretending [pretended] to things 
he neither knew nor were able to perform. 

OcTOB. 25. There is at present great noise in the country, 
and many virulent books written about one Dugdale*^ of Sury, in 
Lancashire, who pretended formerly to be possessd, and the pres- 
biterians pretend that they, after a great many prayers and fastings, 
cast the divel out, tho' it is a plain cheat and an abominable 
imposture, and whether Mr. Joly, the great presbiterian, knew of 
it or no is uncertain. However, he makes it his by his foolish 
defending of it. 

Nov. 2. K[ing] W[illiam] is not comed over yet from be- 
yond sea that we hear of. 'Tis observable of him that he cannot 
stay or abide long imder deck, it makes him so exceeding sick, so 

V In a letter from the Diarist to Ralph Thoresby, dated May 17th, 1703 
{Tkoresby Correspondencey vol. ii., p. 3), he alludes to " the pretended battle of 
King Edwin at our Hatfield, which," he says, "since, I have found belongs to 
Edwinstone, in Nottinghamshire, i.e.y the plain above the river Vinvid, or Win- 
wid-stream, was. Dr. Gale would needs persuade me always that it was our 
river Went that divides this manor from Pollington, but I always told him 
again that I thought that was rather Winnet by Stapleton, called Innet, in 
Cheshire or Lanceshire, from a charter in the Mon. Angl,, vol. 1., and, I think, 
p. 862, where Rob. de Lacy grants to the monks of Eirkstal communitatem 
totius moras quss vocatur Winnemoor, et unam acram terras in Winnet et 
occidentali parte pontis super ripam aquae." 

^ Hunter alludes to him as " a wretched imposter named Dugdale, living 
in the wildest parts of Lancashire, whose artifice falling in with the opinions of 
too many of the Puritans respecting possession, many were deceived, and 
especially some of the most influential amongst their ministers. A catalogue 
of the tracts relating to this affair may be seen in GougJCs British Topography, 
vol. i., 506. Mr. Carrington, who published the first account of tms person, 
was a young minister, then lately settled at LuiQaatGr"^I%oresby^t JHary, 
Tol«i., p.296,na^ 



190 THE DIARY OP 

that he is oftentimes forced to have a great chair tyd above deck 
to the mast, and there to sit sometimes manj hours together with 
his nobles about him. 

Doct[or] Fall/ prsBcentor of York, did lately acquaint Mr. 
Wesley that father Simon, the author of many books, did employ 
him to speak to. 

Having lately recieved a kind letter from Mr. Taylor, I have 
this day returned him this following answer to the same. 

Eeverend Sir, 

Haveing been most of this month seeking antiquitys in ye country, T re- 
cieved your kind and oblieging letter as soon as I got home, and am exceeding 
glad to understand your good resolution of not laying down ye prosecution of y 
Sury cause, tho' your great and worthy studys otherwise might move you to y* 
same. 

I cannot but wonder sometimes at yo fate of writers, just as this very bnai* 
ness has called you from other weighty studies, which y® vanity (as you axe 
pleased to term it) of your fancy led you to think might have been of 
some service to ye publick, even so has it happend to me, none of aU ye skan- 
dalous lying pamphlets that y« godly have published these many years awaked 
me so much as this pretended divel they'd conjurd up, it being in my eys like to 
do more mischief, not only amongst ye mobb, but also amongst others that are 
superficialy leamd, and that cannot penetrate into ye depth of ye design, so that 
I flung by my Histfory] and Antiq[uities] of Hatfield, near Doncaster, my 
HiBt[ory] and Antiq[uities] of ye famous citty of Jerusalem from its first build- 
ing unto this day, my Introduction to ye excellent knowledge and studdy of 
Antiquitys, my Origins of JfTations and Languages, some almost &iished, and took 
pen in hand to draw up something to quell this monster of y® godly with, in 
such a form, and on such heads, as I have in my former letter mentioned unto 
you. But, as for my performance, I have neither had time nor opportunity nor 
those plenty of books that are requisite to make such an undertaking either 
perfect or indifferent, yet, upon ye reception of your kind letter, I have begun to 
review and new modell the same, but what I shall do therewith I know not yet. 

I am very glad of that challeng that you give ye papist priests, and their 
brethren in iniquity, about ye existence of corporial possessions in these latter 
days, not doubting at all but that it may easily be proved that they are all 
seasd long ago, as 1 have briefly indeavourd to shew from ye fathers, counoells, 
and divines, of ye Church of England. 

But that I am so f arr of off your country, and has so much business on mj 
hands, I would willingly make a jomey on purpose to examin Dugdale, for to 
try to make him confess his knavery, and shew how he did his tricks, and who set 
him on work. I humbly move this unto you to enquire furder into him, by spyg 
and underhand, and secret dealings and examinations, and to see to catcb him in 
drink, and such like ways, as also after ye same manner to pump his father and 
relations, who must necessarily be confederate with him. 

You promise, towards ye latter end of your letter, that if I desire to see the 
heads of ye chapters of your MS. you will communicate them. If you please 
you may, and I shall communicate anything I have. You add furder that 
I may do you a great kindness in somethings which relate to things you could 
not so handsomly take notice of in your sheets. To this I answer as fireely at 

' James Fall was at one time Principal of the University of Glasgow, and 
in 1692 he became precentor at York, and subsequently Archdeacon ^ Cleve- 
land. He was buried in York Minstd: June ISth, 1711. He edited the worki 
of Archbishop Leighton. ' 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 191 

to ye former, that, if you please to name what it is that may be acceptable unto 
your design, I shall very willingly communicate it unto you. 

Above all things I desire a f urder correspondence with you, and, if you please, 
ye knowledge of those other works that you are working upon. In honouring 
me as above, and acquainting me with which, you will exceedingly obliege 

Your most affectionate and humble broth, and serv., 
Hull, Novemb. 25, 1698. Abb. Pbtme. 

This day I was with one Mr. Fiddis/ a minister in Holder- 
ness, who told me that, about six years ago, going to bed at a 
friend's house, some had out of roguery fixed a long band to the 
bedclose where he lay. About half an houer after he was got to 
bed they begun to pull, which, drawing the bedclose of by degrees 
put him into a suddain fright, and, looking up, he did really think 
and believe that he saw two or three spirits stirring and moveing 
about the bed, and says but that he discovered tne string, and 
the partys confessing the fraud, he durst almost have sworn that 
he realy saw Strang things, which shews the effects of suddain 
frights. 

" Wigan, Dec. 27, *98. 
"Revd. Sr.f 

The throng of business upon my hands, when your letter came, occasioned 
my deferring to answer it till I had more leisure, for I was desirous to have 
my first book transcribed, that in these holidays my friends might peruse it. 
The heads of the chapters that it consists of are these. 

1. Quid per doemonium a quo dcemoniaci sunt dictiin sacra pagind intellU 
gendvm- est. 

2. All sint dcemoniaci (viz.) homines male spiritu corporaliter accepti, 

3. Qui sint daemoniaci quoad corpus affecti ? 

4. Qui sint dcemoniaci quoad animam affecti ? 

5. TJnde fit qtwd spirittts melius, et animam ^ corpus doemoniacorum Sfua 
a/rljitrio ullatenv^ vindicate 

6. Exturhatio dcemonum I/ocungelica inter opera^ qtuB Miraculum postulant 
ponenda est, 

7. Pseudexorcistas esse plurimos, quorum opere Satanas collusive Satanam 
(Qicit. 

8. Exorcizandi Cha/risma, qicamdiu in ecclesia florehat. 

9. Dismoniaci vere etproprie dicti qtunnodo sint digiwscendi? 

10. Dtsmmiii potestate Divina efjecti Criteria, 

11. PseudexorcistoBf ut dignoscantur, 

12. Miraculosa Deipotestas in damoniis esspugn/mdis ut dignoscatva; 

" The second book will wholly be a Thesis on the question I sent you showing 
from the aforesaid principles that there is no such thing as doemoniacks among 
Christians. The fanatical villany at the Surey led me to inquire into these mat- 
ters, and diverted my thoughts from prosecuting an attempt at accommodating 
(as far as possible) the LXX. version, and the Hebrew text, wcii. in a short time 
now I hope to return to. It bears this title, Massora duplex ; sive Puritoi 
Textus Hehraici ex hac parte ex ilia Versionis LXX, viralis, mutuis inter te 
coUationilnts et adminiculiSf Qua potuit Industriaf siM ipsis restittUa, I have 

* For an account of Richard Fiddis and his works, see JDaviei' Memmrs ef 
the York Press, pp. 123-5. 



192 THE DIARY OF 

some years since finished an essay towards it on ye New Testament, wob. I 
intend for a preface, wcii. (when the poet's date is out, and it wants not much of 
it, nonvmqtie prematur in annvm), if God preserves my life and health, shall see 
the light. This sort of learning leads me to dip a little in the Orientall 
languages (I say dip, for I cannot pretend to be a master of them), and if any 
observations I have made may be assisting to you in your treatise of the origin A 
nations and languages (which, as the others you are ingaged in, will be of ez» 
cellent use) on the least intimation you may command them : and I think you 
do very judiciously in joining these two together, for I think the dialects, etc^ 
of languages to be the best rationall guide we have to judge of the origin of 
nations, after what we have from revelation and history. 

" The Surey impostor is so arch a knave that he stands on his guard, and all 
the means we have used to bring him to a confession are fruitless, w<!l^* confirms 
me in my opinion that ye Popish preists were at the bottom of it, for he dares 
not own a correspondence with them : besides the distance I live from him is 
so great that I cannot attend his motions, and some who are near, that should 
have undertaken the cause themselves, were not so serviceable to me as thej 
might have been. 

*' The pleasure I intimated you might do me, when you publish your papers, was 
some reflections wch. the dissenters are pleased to make on me^ on account of mj 
father, as if I should, against his conscience, have pressed him to confor> 
mity, of wc^M when your papers are ready for the press, 1 shall give you a full 
account. 

*^ The stationer at London, Jones, yt is to print my answers, I fear is a knave, 
and communicates y°^* to the adverse party, for he has had them in his hands 
since the beginning of September, and I can yet hear nothing of them. 

'' I know not but that I may he card to London the next month about our 
Election here for Parliament men : I find myself ye inconvenience of not 
having a corrector of the press at London, and if any treatise of your's will be 
finish'd by that time (if I be there), I shall be ready to serve you in that 
office, as being, 

"ST., 

" yr, humble servt. and bro., 

" Zach. Taylor.* 

" Our town being a post town, your readyest direction of your letters will be to 
me at Wigan, without taking notice of Manchester, for that may occasion a 
miscarriage. 

*' [Addressed.] For the Rvd. Mr. Abraham Pryme, at his house over against 
the Great Church in Eingston-upon-Hull, in Yorkshire, these." 

Having received a large pacquet of papers from Doct. Jolm« 
ston, with a letter, I returned him this answer. 

The pacquet was eight or ten sheets of collections of pedegrees, 
monuments, and raritys that I had sent him last spring, which I 
desired again as soon as he had done with them. 

•• The writer of this letter, Zachary Taylor, was the son of another 
Zachary Taylor, master of Kirkham School. He was rector of Croston. This 
letter adds not a little to the information of him that we possess. He seems 
to have been a learned Hsebraist, but the subject uppermost in his mind 'when 
he was writing this letter was the case of James Dugdale, the pretended 
demoniac of Surey, near Whalley. Into this controversy Taylor threw him* 
self with no little enthusiasm, and two or three pamphlets attest his skill. A 
man was certidn to arouse a number of hornets in those days who said a word 
against the pc^ular belief in witchcraft. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 193 

• 

Honoured Sr. 

It being my fate to stay commonly no longer in one place than till 
I have got the antiquitys thereof, and the view of what MSS. and old deeds 
that I can meet with, having heard that there was several old things at Hull, 
which would be very acceptible unto me, 'tis about sixteen weeks ago that I 
removed thither, and, going over ye last week unto Hatfield, I found the packet 
of papers that you had directed for me at Mr. Hatfield's. They were but just 
come to his hands, and where they had lay'd ever since ye 22d of July, (for that 
is ye date of them), I know not. I received your letter with ye same, and shall 
here answer to those things that you desire, as far as I at present can, being 
both now absent from my books and my other helps. I am glad that ye papers 
about Doncaster and ye description of ye church found acceptance at your 
hands. As to ye coats of arms that you enquire about, they are all excel- 
lently and gloriously cut in great scutchions in stone, a foot and a half or 
thereabouts in length, in ye ringing loft of ye steeple," standing half a foot 
out of ye stone work of ye steeple, and all of them hangs as it were in 
their natural position but one (tho' which I have forgotten), which lya side- 
ways ; which intimates, I suppose, that ye owner was dead before ye steeple 
was finished. As for ye order of succession of ye arms I have forgot that, 
but I remember furder that in other great shields over ye sayd arms, on 
ye four inner sides of ye steeple, is fower old characters of great bigness : 
J® first is ye common old abreviation of Jesus, IHC, the second Maria thus, 
..... and what ye two others are I have forgot, and as to that shield 
with a name on I shall take notice of it next time I go, and inform you furder, 
and of other things. I have just now heard that there is one Mr. Thwaits,** 
a mercer of Doncaster, lately dead, who has most certainly left 201. per an. 
towards an afternoon sermon every Sunday in ye sayd church of Doncaster. 

As to ye charter of Conan, Duke of Richmond, I shall compare it as soon as 
I have time. The note about Trygot's daughter, that you desire to know 
what authority I have for ye same, is in a large MS. in folio of pedigrees of 
several Yorkshire familys, (of which I have formerly given you an account), 
in ye hands of Mr. Hall, minpster] of Fishlake. 

As to ye MSS. of Hampol' and Mr Nevel's, I long exceedingly myself to see 
them. 1 am fully satisfyd that there is an abundance of observable things in them. 

As to ye fanuly of ye Westbys, Mr. Westbyy has a larg scbrool, eight yards 
long, of all his discent, an account of which Mr. Hatfield (who is a relation of 
his) has promised to send you. 

As I went into Yorkshire last week I went through a town two miles of this 
side Houdon call'd Easterton,* in which is a fine church, on ye outside of which 

• See Miller's Hist. Doncaster, 91. Hwiter's South Yorhshirey i., 38-9. 
Jidckson'g St. George's Chiirchy 83-34. 

"^ Robert Thwaites, by his will, d. 6th Oct., 1698, and proved at York 22nd 
March, 1698-9, left the yearly sum of £20 for the use, benefit, and sole advan- 
tage of some discreet and learned minister who should preach every Sunday, 
in the afternoon, in the Parish Church of Doncaster. He further directed that 
such minister should " preach a sermon every year on the day of his death, in 
order and to the encouragement of charity and good works of this nature, with- 
out having any reference to this bequest." The benefactor died 3 Nov., 1698, set. 32, 

* Richard of Hampole, whose writings are well known, 

y Thomas Westby, of Ravenfield, near Rotherham, esq., returned M.P. for 
East Retford, 1710, (see ped. Hunter's S. T".,i., 397). From one of this family, 
Henry Westby, of Car-house, in par. Rotherham, whose dau. and heir married 
Edward Gill, Esq., M.P., a commander in the Parliament Army, etc., is descend- 
ed Francis Westby Bagshawe, esq., of the Oaks, near Sheffield, the owner of 
this Diary. — See Rev. Dr. Gatty's edition of Hunter's HaUamshire, 399. 

' i,e, Eastrington, 

N 



194 THE DIARY OF 

I saw five or six great coats of arms cut very artificially in ye stone work, wliichf 
if you have not taken down, I shall send them ye next time I go that way. 

When I got to Houdon I stayd there all night on purpose to view the poor 
church, which has been a most noble building, and of very excellent work. 
There is many images yet standing, on ye outside, of ye S*b., as S** Catharin with 
her wheel, S*- Lawrence with his gridiron, etc., and the stone work of the spoot 
ends is the prettyest f ancys, and ye best proportion, that ever I saw. One spoot 
end is Sampson astride upon a lyon, and very naturaly twineing his arm about 
his neck, and with his hands pulling his jaws wide open, out of which water 
flows. In another place is a shipp of stone jetting out, out of which looks out a 
water nymph, with a pitcher in her arms, with the mouth bended downwards, 
out of which pitcher ye water flows, etc. In other places other pretty fancys 
and many coats of arms. 

This chancel, which was of most curious workmanship and great bigness, 
was most sacrilegiously sufferd to fall into decay about fifty or sixty years ago, 
so that ye lead was taken of and sold, and ye fine monuments therein de- 
faced ; and on Michaelmas day two years the whole roof fell down, and pulld 
down with it most part of the walls and pillars, so that it lys now in rubbish. 

Adjoining upon this curious chancel on the south side, stands ye chapter- 
house, yet very well carvd and adornd. Over ye door as you go in out of y* 
ruined chancel is these two coats of arms : — <* 

[1. Six willow wands inter- [2. Six willow wands inter- 

laced in saltire.] laced crosswise.] 

And on the outside of ye sayd house is several more coats of arms in great 
shields, one of which is ye Howards', another is a chev[ron] with three ermins 
thereon between three starrs ; another is a plane saltier, etc. Amongst others, 
in ye windows of ye church, is gules, a great cinq[ue] foil arg. persd [pierced] 
or, and in ye church on a great altar tomb of plain workmanship is 8 or 9 
old coats of arms, and under an old fashond black marble gravestone, bom up 
by four short pillars, lys ye body of one Walter, a monk of Durham, without 
date. This church had formerly 850?. a year belonging to it, which is now 
sacrilegiously usurpd by ye family of ye Allisons, of Houden, and other gentle- 
men thereabouts. 

Hard by ye church, on ye south side, stands ye ruins of some great old 
religious house, which the constant tradition of ye town says was a great 
Bishop of Durham's pallace.^ On ye front of ye great porch is this coat of 
arms :— 

[Bishop Skirlaw, six willow wands interlaced crosswise.] 

And over ye great gate, that went to ye backside, this coat, with a mullet in y* 
midst of ye first barr : — 

[Cardinal Langley, Bishop of Durham, paly of six.] 

In ye court of this formerly great pallace the Londoners keep their mart erery 
year. The Notitia Monastica tells us that there was in former times at tJila 
town a colledge of ten prebendarys, perhaps this might be it. 

Not far of this town is Hemyngburrogh, of which you will find something 
observable in Roger Hoveden's chron. ad. an. 1072, about ye gift of y« mjS 
place by Will[iam] the Conqueror to S*- Cuthbert's in Durham. 

In an old MS. in my hands, formerly belonging to Mr. Perkins, of Fishlake, 
I find an old inquisition of ye customes of the manour of ye same town, which, 

« These are the arms of Skirlaw, Bishop of Durham. He sometimes used 
the cross in saltire. 

^ A minute survey of this palace in the reign of Elizabeth, before it was 
dismantled, has been recently published by Mr. Raine in t^e Transaction of the 
Yorkshire Architectural Society. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PKYME. 195 

because that perhaps you have not met with it, I will here transcribe. It is 
without date : — 

Dicunt Juratores supra sacramentum quod man, de Hemynghrotigh est d$ 
antiqiw dominio coronce, etc. 

Et dicit/rvt quod Prior IhrnelmuB est dominus ^tisd, man. et quod h/ibet 
visum franci plegii his in anno, scilicet, ad fest. Pasclvce, et S^i- Michaelis, et 
omnia ei tangentia, et cuHam de trilms sejftimanis in tres, et quod quilihet 
tenens dicti m-anerii (excepto presbytero tantum) sectam debet ad curiam 
prcedictam de tribtis in tres, etc. 

Et di&tmt quod quinqus te^ientes ad quamlibet curiam sedebu/nt et jv/rabu/nt 
qvjod omnia judicia in eadem curia reddend. inter dominwm et tenentem, et 
tenentem et ten-entem, et tenentem et forinsecu/m, recte judicabu/nt, qua: per eos- 
dem juratores per libcrum judicium in eadem curia reddend. pertinent judicari. 

Item dicunt quod consuetude est ibi quod quilibet Tusres Tnasculu^ post 

decessum antecessoris ^u^s hcereditare debet tenementum antecessoris sui secu/n- 

dum legem communem, et si aliquis decesserit et habet hceredem femellami . . , 

. . et exitu>s ejus hoereditabit secundum consuetudinem, et dicti hceredes 

post decessum antecessoris dicti releviare debent. 

Item dicunt quod si aliquis deforcivit aliquem de hcereditate sua, seu de 
libero tensmento, et voluit idem tenementum alienare etc., quod tunc breve de 
recto claus. ballivo dicti Prioris, etc., et in eadem curia facta est protestatio, etc., 
secundum quod materia sv4i requ/i/rit, et quod processus in eadem curia talis est 
quod prius somoniatur ; et sinonvenit resomoniatw ; et si non venit attachiatur ; 
et si non venit distringetur ; et si adhuc non venit, amittet tenementum^ suum 
petitum per defalt. ; et si aliquo tempore compertum fuit, ut postea defaU. fecerit, 
exeat Tnagna distric. 16 cap, 

Et dicunt quod ibidem est consuetude quod si alicui placuorit tenernentum 
suu/m alienare, quod veniat in plena curia coram seneschallo, sipressens sit, et 
ibidem sursum reddet in manum domini tenementum, ad opus ejtts et hceredis sui^ 
qui dictum, tenementu/m, habet^ et in eadem curia irrotulabitur prosdicta sursum' 
renditio ; et per pactum surrendri et irrotulamenti ipse qui dictum tenem. habebit 
faciatjinem cum, doming) prout concordare poterit. Et si cum domino concordare 
non poterit, tunc prcedicti quinque juratores dictum Jinem adjudicabunt, et licet 
dominus seu seneschallus absens fuerit, vel quod cum, domino concordare non 
potest, tunc quod ipse qui dictum tenement, etc., per eorum dbsentiam, non impe- 
diatur dictam terram et tenementum occupare et manu tenere, ita quod ipse seu 
aliquis pro eo paratus fuerit ad finem ilium faciendum, 

Et si senesciiallus absens fuerit, ut prcedicta sursum-renditio coram se fieri 
non poterit, quod tunc partes prasdicti venient coram, ballivo villoe prcedictce et 
coram quatuor tenentibus, vel coram quatuor tenentibus, si ballivus absens 
fuerit, et coram eis si ipse dimittere voluerit sursum, reddere potest, et tunc pra- 
dictus ballivus vel quatuor tenentes, si ballivus absens ftierit, prtBdictam surren' 
ditionem in plena curia coram seneschallo, cum, venit, presentabu/nt, et ibidem 
jurabunt modo et forma, prout supra declaratum est. 

Et si alicui placuerit dimittere tenementwm suvm, ad terminum, annortm, 
extra curiam, quod bene licebit facer e fine aliquo inde reddendo, vel si in 
curia, quod tv/nc solvetpro irrotulamento prout cum seneschallo concordare potest. 

Item dicunt quod si u^or cum viro coopt. se dimittere voluerit de tenementis 
suis tam viro quam cum, alio, quod eadem mulier coopt. veniat cora/m seneschallo, 
vel coram ballivo et quatuor tenentibus, vel coram quMitor tenentibus, si seneS' 
challus et ballivus ambo absentes fuerint, et coram eis sv/rswm reddere potest ; et 
ibidem examinetur ; et secundum, swrsum-renditionem ; et examinatio in plend 
curia irrotulabitur pro fine inde habendo, modo et forma prout supra decla/ratu/r. 

Item dicunt quod quoelibet vidua post decessum viri sui dotem debet habere, et 
quilibet sponsus omnes terras et tenementa uxoris sua post exitum, ^us per 
consuetudinem durante vita sua possidebit. 

Item dicunt quod si aliquis concedere voluerit renditionem tenementi sui in 



196 THE DIARY OF 

dotemper legem AngluB vel aliter ad terminvm vitce quod "bene licehvt ei hoc 
facere secundum consuetiidinemf et si tenens taliter ad terminum vitce attamiari 
volueritf compellatur per quanda/m, qvsrelam, in eadem curia quae dicitur Quid 
JUEIS Clamat, et Juec concessio coram seneschallo vel ballivo et quatuor tenen- 
tibtis, vel coram qtiatuor tenent. pro fine inde fadeiidOj modo et forma prmet 
superius declaratur. 

Here endeth ye inquisition. It was so very badly writt that it seems to be 
some hundreds of years old, and savors enough of ye barbarity of ye age. 

I have mett with ye Escheat rolls that you formerly sent me word of that an 
attorney in Holderness had, as also some old charters of Haltenprise Priory, 
etc., and many things relating to this town which I am coppying over, which I 
shall not be backward to communicate to you, or any ingenious man. 

Pray let me know whether this hag found acceptance, and whether it be 
come safe to your hands, by ye next post, and so wishing you all the sucoess 
imaginable in your great and noble design, 

I rest your humble friend and serv., 

Abb. FBTteB.' 

I have this day also written a long letter to Mr. Tompkinson, 
Fellow of St. John's Coll[ege], in Cambridge,*' adjureing, beg- 
ging, and praying of him to search all his old papers and de^s 
that he has, and to send me an acconnt if he have anything 
about Hatfield, and to send me what relation he can of his father, 
who was one of the famousest and best men that the town ever 
had.* 

<^ There is an interleaved reply from Dr. Johnston, dated 6th December, 
1698, acknowledging the receipt of the above "most acceptable letter." He 
says, " I return you a thousand thanks ; for I never had from any correspondent 
80 full and so apposite disertations as from yourself, and I most earnestly 
desire the continuation of your judicious observations ; and am glad yoD are 
now fixed in a place where you will have opportunity to make many remarks 
both concerning Hull and Beverley," etc. 

<* Thomas Thomkinson, son of the Rev. Thomas Thomkinson, of Hatfield, in 
Yorkshire, was baptized there 30th Aug., 1652. Was at school for two yean 
at Belton, under Balden ; admitted pensioner of St. John's Coll., Cambridge, Ist 
May, 1668, set. 16, under Watson (afterwards Bishop Watson of St. David's). 
He was B.A., 1671-2 ; M.A., 1676 ; B.D., 1682. Subscriber to CbUief^g 
Church History^ vol. ii. A nonjuror, ob. 9, Mail. 1724, sep. in saceUo Coll. 
(MS. Baker, xxxiii., 266). Minister of Trinity Church, Cambridge, 1683 (MS. 
Cole, xix, 100a). Buried in St. John's Chapel, 11th May, 1724— Register of All 
Saints, Cambridge, in MS. Cole III., 141a. Admitted Rookby FeUow of St. 
John's, 14th Mar., 1676-6, (co. Yorks.) Leonard Chappelow was elected 2Ist 
Jan. (adm, 22d Jan. 1716-6) in Thomkinson's room. This was an irregular 
election, only five seniors being present ; several other nonjuring fellows, 
among them Thomas Baker, were expelled at the same time. 

« Thomas Thomkinson, the father of the above, was vicar or Minister of Hat- 
field from 1639 to 1669. The marriage of one " Gulielmus Thomkinson et Isabella 
Willson," occurs 29th June, 1639 ; and there is the burial of Mary, daughter of 
Wm. T., 12th Oct., 1644. Thomas Thomkinson, senr., was bur. 11th March, 1644-5» 
and Isabella Thomkinson, widow, 19th Feb., 1649-60. Probably the parents of the 
vicar. Besides Thomas, I find the vicar had other children, viz., Mary bap. 22 
Sept., 1644. Jane, 21st July, 1646. Helen, 18th June, 1660, under the entiy of 
her burial, 10th March, 1663, her father has recorded of her: — 

'Ayvoi 'e/oio\ /9'io« m;, iK/utatr 6^ Tax'-iTral irapqX0c, 
*Afivov napBeviKOv vvv aKoKovBot eyti. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 197 

[1699.] 

Jan. 1. This day I went to preach at Ferriby and Kirkeller. 
The first is a little town curiously seated by the Humber side, and 
very pleasant, there being three or four very good and larg halls 
therein. The first is a very fine and stately square building 
where the old priory stood (of which priory I observed nothing 
standing but a small part of the gate). It was built, as I am told, 
by Mr. Lockwood, an alderman of Hull, who retired thither in 
summer, but never thrive after, so he dyd, and lys buryed in the 
church there, about 1670 ; and npw the hall belongs to one Mrs. 
Ransom, who is fast selling it. The second is a very staitly hall, 
at the farr end and upper part of the town, built by Mr. Ander- 
son, rector of the high church of this town of Hull about fifteen 
years ago, which his widdow lives on. The third is a very pretty 
hall built about two or three years ago by Alderman Carlin of 
Hull, prettily situate and handsome. The fourth is a fine pretty 
house on which the onely gentleman resident in the town lives, 
and that is Mr. Dawson, who has about 300?. a year. The 
church is but a mean building, and has a row of pillars in the 
middle, and nothing in it observable. In one of the windows, 
on the north side of the chancel, I saw this imperfect inscription^ 
and these coats of armes. By a woman kneeling with four 
children behind her : — 

Under her this coat : — Furder on this : — 

[Wentworth, a chevron between [Paly of four axg. and sable, on 

three leopard's faces, a cres- a bend of the first three 

cent for difEerence.] mullets or.]^ 

Robert, 28th Jan., 1654-5, bur. 12th Feb., after. Isabel, bur. 22nd July, 1666. 
The burial of Jane his wife is thus entered : — 

" Jana fidelissima Thomas Thomkinaon, cler. A.M. av^vyn's superas evasit ad 
auras (beatorum repositorium) quarto die Junij anno Domini, 1661." 

The vicar himself died 17th June, 1669. Hunter (S. Z., i., 191), states that 
the inscription on his grave-stone no longer existed, and he has printed one 
taken from the MSS. of De la Pryme. Most of the upper portion is still, how- 
ever, to be seen at the west end of Hatfield church. Together with a version of 
it in Johnston's MSS., it may be read with greater probability of correctness, 
thus : — 

Thomas Thompkinson, beatse memories, diaconus anno, 1636 : in artibus 
magister ac presbyter canonice ordinatus anno 1 639. Huic ecclesiae per annos 30 
fidelis evangelii minister. Junii 17 anno dom. 1669. sstatis suae 58, hie sepultus. 

Pacificus, charus, doctissimus, ordine mystis, 
Praebebunt villas sascula nulla parem. 

/ The inscription is so incorrectly given by the Diarist that it is not worth 
repeating. It appears to have been for Elizabeth Halldard, dau. of John Went- 
worth, 1562. 

' This is as the Diarist has tricked them, but such would be, of course, 
false heraldry. The coat is probably intended for that of Dransfield, viz., 
paly of six sa. and arg. on a bend gu. three mullets or. 



198 THE DIARY OF 

Not farr of was this coat of armes : — 

[Gtaes, a chevron between three boars' heads couped arg. arm'd or.] 

Ye arms of the knightly family of y® Whites of Hackney, 

Middlesex. 

Jan. 12. This day I writt the following letter to the Dean of 
York, the famous and learned Doctfor] Gale. 

Very Eev. S^'* 

Hayeing been so happy as to have been admitted into your 
presence when I was at York, and to have your commands layd upon me for 
ye procuring of what old Roman coins I could meet with for your use, I have 
accordingly gotten eleven from a friend of mine at Doncaster, who tells me that 
they were found not many years ago at Alburrow by . . . (some of which I 
formerly shewd to his lordship our right rev^d. diocesan), which my very good 
friend ye rev. bearer hereof would needs take ye trouble to bear them unto 
you. K all or any of them be any way acceptible unto you they are heartily at 
your service, and if any prove less acceptible unto you by your having speci- 
mens of ye same, I begg them again towards ye laying of a foundation for a 
collection for myself. I do not question but that you have met with my name 
in ye Cat[alogue] of ye MSS. printed at Oxford. If they were to do again, I 
could send them ye knowledge of many more besides those which I already 
have, and am daily collecting for myself. I hear that Sr. Willoughby Hick- 
man, of Gainsburgh, has an old MSS. chronpcle] in his possession. I writt 
lately to Mr. Wesley, min[ister] of Epworth, to send me a whole account 
thereof that I might transmit ye knowledg thereof unto you. 

I have lately found a monument in this town which was brought either from 
Beverley or Patrington, which I take to be Roman, because of it's being cutt out 
of hard milston greet, as all ye Roman monuments that I have seen in England 
are, and because that ye letters thereon are great Roman ones, a fuller account 
of which I shall send you hereafter, if that I might understand that it would be 
acceptible unto you. 

I have made bold to present you with a bottle of brandy which I sent up 
with one of Mr. Bankes's by ye carrier last. 

I heartily begg pardon for giving you ye trouble of these lines, and 
makes bold with all hearty affection to subscribe myself. 

Your most humble servant, 

Ab. Pbth. 

The coins that I sent him were these : — 

Imp. Caiu8. Pub. Licin. Vol. Postumut Atig, 

Dam. nost. Consftantius Pitts Felix Aug. 

JDom. nost. Valentlnianus Pius Felix Attg, 

Imp. Trajanus GermanUyus, etc. 

Imp. Caius Marcus Aurel. Victoriwus Aug^^ 

Gallienus Pius Felix Aug, 

Salonina Augusta. 

Imp. Caius Postumus Pius Felix Aug. 

Romulus Remus et Rcyma. 

Julia Maesa Augusta, 

Having lately received a letter from the Revd. Bfr, Taylor, I 
returned him tins answer :— 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 199 

Hull, Jan. ye 20, 1698-9. 
Rev. Sr.» 

I received your kind letter but this very week, tho* it might by 
ye date it bears* have been here long before, and thank you for giving me an 
idea of your papers, which are undoubtedly writ with an abundance more of 
accuracy than mine can pretend to, I liveingin a great and troublesome town, and 
wanting both leasure, opertunity, and books, to carry on anything to perfection ; 
but as you have given me an idea of your papers, so I shall here give you one of 
mine, as I promised. 

Mine is a loos discourse in form of a letter, where, in ye first place, after an 
introduction, I speak of ye certainty of ye being and power of evil spirits, and of 
their actions in ye times of ye Old Testament, but especially of their extra- 
ordinary and miraculous power and actions, and ye reason and necessity for 
ye same in ye times of ye New Testament, and as long as ye wonder working age 
lasted. Then haveing mention'd their wonderful! actions, that is possessions, 
in our Saviour's days, I continue ye same out of Just. Martyr, Tertullian, Origen, 
Cyprian, Minutius Felix, Lactantius, Firmicus, etc., untill that they ceased in 
ye church with ye power of ye gift of miracles. That they then ceased I have 
not only proved from ye reasonableness thereof, but also from ye down right 
assertions of both Papists and Protestants, of Aretius, Firemee (?), Becanus, 
Chemnitius, Doc [tor] Scot, Pool, etc. Then that miracles are ceased (which 
cannot be if true possessions exist), I have proved not onely from reason but 
also yetestimonysof St. Chrysost., St. Gyp., St. Austin, Greg. Mag., Stella, Acosta, 
Alsledius, Rivetus, Doct. Barrow, Bishop Jewel, B. White. B. Morton, B. Laud, 
B. Taylor, B. Hacket, B. Tillotson, etc., and from forreigners, Abutensis, Trithe- 
mius, Musso, Espensaeus, etc. Then Limborg, Stella, etc., haveing yielded that 
there are dsemoniacs amongst ye Indians, Americans, etc., I prove by Salmeron, 
Acosta, etc., that it is a vulgar error. Then I reduce ye origin of this oppinion 
of ye present existence of daemoniacs to those four heads — 1. A misunderstand- 
ing of that verse in St. Mat., ch. 17, v. 21, and that of St. Mark, ch. 16, v. 17 ; 
2ndly, to a vain ambitions emulation that was in ye beginning times of Popery 
of counterf eating this gift, and continnuing ye order of exorcists in ye church ; 
Srdly, to ye great ignorance of most men in ye wonderfuU power of many 
distempers, as of ye epilepsy, nightmare, strong convulsions, consumptive long 
fastings and raptures, madness, histerical fitts, melancholy, and the power of 
speaking Strang languages, in which I have quoted Simocata, Lamzweend, 
Lentulus, Willis, a Lapide, Salmon, Thuanus, Borellus, Citois, Sennertus, 
Paracelsus, Sanquerdus, Kircher, Moravius, Galen, Lavater, Gordonius, Car- 
danus, Fulgosus, Platerus, Cattier, Aristotle, Aritaeus, Apporor, Pomponatius, 
Guianerius, Fernelius, Guyo, Raguseius, Bennivenius, Cassaubon, Sirenius, 
Lemnius, Huartel, Helmont, etc. Then I prove ye sillyness and insufficiency of 
a balneum diaboli in melancholy distempers. Then I come to ye four causes 
which I ascribe to be to ye multitudes of impostures put upon the world in this 
kind, both of possessions and dispossessions, instanceing in Mahomet, St. 
Frances, Joan of Ark, Jetzer, ye nuns of London, ye body of Campen in 1685, 
etc. Then comeing to domestic ones, I instance in all ye famous presbiterian 
and papist imposters and daemoniacs, as Hacket, Sornwers, ye boy of Burton, 
Sarah Williams, Jo. Ash, ye boy of Bilson, John Fox, Michael Smith, ye chief 
presbiterian ministers in Cromwel'js days, ye Ld- Grandison's pretended steward, 
Tho. Sawdy, Greatrix, Spatchet, and others, from Q. Eliz. days to our's, which 
then brings me to Dugdale's, ye whole history of whom and his fitts I shall give, 
first of his artificial fitts, then of those epileptic ones, which he fell into after 
his drunken boot at Whalley, showing that there is nothing very Strang or 
uncommon therein unto any but country bumpkins, which I prove by many 
instances out of many books. Then I continnue ye history of what has 
happened about ye impostor unto this day, concluding with a few reflections. 

* Ree aMeay 27th Dec, 1698. 



200 THE DIARY OF 

All which I have jnst now finished as briefly as ever I could in about thirtr 
sheets of paper, but, I am so fearfuU and diffident of anything I do, I doubt I 
shall scarce be so bold as to sufEer it to be printed, tho' I have received this 
week a kind letter from Mr. Ck>ggan, bookseller, in the Inner Temple Lane, 
begging the coppy thereof ; but, he being a virulent presbyteriaii, I shall keep 
it out of his hands, and if you be at London next month I shall be very glad to 
venture it with you, and heartily thank you for your proffer of kindness unto 
it. 

I have writt many letters into your country and the west of Torkshire 
about this business, tho' I have got but few answers and none very material. 

I should be very glad to have notice of any old MS8. chronicles which yoa 
may have seen or heard of anywhere in y« country round about. 

I am your most humble 

Servant and brother, 

Ab. Pbtice. 

I have thi8 day been in company with Alderman Gray, and 
Alderm[an] Carlin of this town. Tnev do both attest that there 
was an old woman of Cave, who dyd about twelve years ago, 
that was universaly believed to have been born in Edw[ard] 
the Sixth's days. Many people went and has gone for this forty 
years, from time to time, to see her. 

Haveing received the aforegoing most kind and oblieging 
letter' from Doct[or] Gale, the Dean of York, I returned liim 
this answer. 

Very Rev^d* S'-* 

I am so overjoyd at ye sight of your letter that I want words 
to express my thankfulness with ; for as all sorts of antiquitys, MSS.,curiofqty8i, 
raritys, and coins, are my chief delight (next to that sacred one of my calling) 
so I am resolved to dedicate all my days to y« same ; and as I never met with 
any that gave me y^ least encouragement besides yourself, so I am not onely 
etemalcy obliged unto you for y« same, but shall always be ready to serve yoa 
to ye utmost of my power. 

I will take particular care to send you ye account of y« Roman trough stone 
that I hinted at in my former letter, as soon as I can make out y« legends on 
ye same, which is very difficult by reason of y« loss of many letters. 

I saw in my jomey to York many hundreds of tumuli, which I take to be 
Roman, at a place called Arrasy> on this side Wighton, not mentioned in any 
author, which I intend next summer to digg into and take a whole account and 
description thereof, and of all other Roman stations, monuments, streets, places 
of battle, coins, or whatever is observable whereever I come. 

Most heartily begging pardon for givcing you ye trouble of these lines I 
make bold to subscribe myself your 

Most humble servant, 

Ab. PRTn. 

[The following letter is inserted : — ] 

I doe remember I promised to give you something that*s ancient in 
Campsall church, and haveing this opertunity by my kinswoman, doe give it as 

' The letter referred to has been taken out of the journal. 

J A hamlet in the towship and parish of Market Weighton, E. R. York- 
shire. Many of these tnmuli were investigated some years ago by tho Rev. B. 
W. Stillingfleet, with vexy remarkable results. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 201 

it is cutt in wood between the church and chancell. The carracter is such as- 
every one canott read : — 

* Let f al downe thyn ne and lift up thy hart, 
Behold thy maker on yond. cros al so torn, 
Remembir his wondis that for the did smart, 
Gotyn withownt syn, and on a virgin bom, 
Al his hed percid with a crown of thome. 
Alas man thy hart oght to brast in too ; 
Bewar of the divyl when he blawis his home. 

And prai thy gode Aungel convey the.* ' 

" There is on the balke at the west end of the church the figures 161, wch. many 
very much wonder at ; most conjecture ye church was built in 1161, and soe 
then one figure ommitted. I pray for yo^. health and happines, and rest, 

" Yor. most humble servant, 

"Tho. Middleton. 
" Sutton, 25th Feb., 98-9. 

" (Addressed).— These for my worthy ffreind Mr. Primm, at his house in Hull. 
Present." 

Haveing heard that the liveing of Finningley^ is about fall- 
ing, my friends will needs have me put in for it. I have written 
several letters, and they many, to John Harvey, of Ikwelbury, 
near Norrel, in Bedfordshire, Esq., the patron thereof. 

There is no form for certificates, but are made accordingly as 
the person merits, and they are exceeding strict and sevear there- 
in at this time in signing anything but what is truth. 

My very good friend Mr. Bankes procured me this before I 
was aware thereof. 

These are to certify whome it may concern that Mr. Abr. Pryme, curat of 
St. Trenity's, in Kingston super Hull, is a person of a sober life and exemplary 
conversation, very studious, of loyal principles, a lover of his sacred Majesty 
and the present government, conformable to y doctrin and discipline of 
ye Church of England as by law established, and deserves encouragement in 
ye same. 

Witness our hands ye 8 day of Febr., 1698. 

Rich. Kidsox, B.D., and Lectr. of Hull. 
Rob. Banks, Vic. of St. Trinity's in Hull. 
Nath. Lamb, Min. of St. Mary's in Hull. 
Tho. Gale, Dean of York. 
JJOHN] Burton, D.D. 
^William] Pearson. 
^Jonathan] Dryden. 

6. Our newse this day acquaints us that the Duke of Bolton 
is dead.*" He was a man much talk'd of in K[ing] James the 

* See the inscription printed in Hunter's 8. F., ii., p. 468. " It seems," he 
says. " as if a word was wanting to complete the last line." He attributes the 
date of it to perhaps the latter part of the reign of Edward VI., but they seem 
to have a ring of Richard of Hampole. 

' In CO. Notts, near Bawtry. 

*" Charles, sixth Marquess of Winchester, created 9th April, 1689, Duke of 
Bolton, in whose descendants that title continued through a succession of six 



202 THE DIARY OF 

Second's days. He pretended to be distracted, and would make 
all his men rise up at midnight, and would go a hunting with 
torch light, and such like tricks he would of[ten] play ; but when 
King William was comed in he was then a man of a quite other 
nature. His estate, which falls to his son, the Marquis of Win- 
chester, is wourth 20,000?. a year. 

Haveing heard for a certainty that Mr. Sheppard,"min[ister] 
of Finningly is dead, I writt this letter to Squire Harvy, patron 
of the liveing : — 



Honourd S'* 

Begging pardon for giveing you ye trouble of a few lines, I humbly 
crave a favour at your hands, which I hope your goodness will not deny me of, 
that is, that you would be pleased to honour me so much as to admitt me to 
ye rectory of Finningly, in your gift, now falln vacant by ye death of Mr. 
Sheppard. None shall be more thankfuU, more carefuU to serve y® church, 
none more mindfuU of you in my prayers, none more observant of your com- 
mands, which I perhaps may be serviceable to you in in my being one of ye Par- 
ticipants of Hatfield Chace," etc, none shall be more vigilant to promote peace, 
love, virtue, and friendship amongst your tennants, and to make them, to your 



dukes, till 25th Dec, 1794. Burnet says of him that " he was a man of a strange 
mixture. He had the spleen to a high degree, and affected an extravagant 
behaviour ; for many weeks he would not open his mouth till such an hour of 
the day when he thought the air was pure. He changed the day into night, 
and often hunted by torchlight, and took all sorts of liberties to himself, many 
of which were very disagreeable to those about him. He was a man of profuse 
expense, and of a most ravenous avarice to support that ; and though he was 
much hated, yet he carried matters before him with such authority and success, 
that he was in all respects the great riddle of the age." His eldest son, 
Charles, who succeeded him as second duke, was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in 
1717, The tradition of the Marquess's wild hunting still lingers in Swaledale. 

» Peck (Hist. Ba/wtry and Thome^ etc, 1813, p. 73) has given an imperfect 
copy of his monumental inscription, in which it is stated, " obiit quinto die 
Apnlii 1699," and that he was " eruditus," and " probitate valde omatus." 

" The Participants of Hatfield Chace were and still are, the representatives 
in estate of those lands which were, on the drainage of the Level, temp. Car. 
I., assigned to the celebrated Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, the drainer, and his 
partners or participants in the undertaking, who were to be rewarded with 
one third of the recovered lands. — See an interesting account of this drainage 
in Hunter's South Yorkshire^ i., 159. 

De la Pryme appears to have given some attention to the affairs of the 
Levels, for I find that when a new Commission of Sewers was opened at Hat- 
field, 12th Oct., 1702, before the Vicount Downe and others, he (Abraham Prim, 
clerk), was sworn as a commissioner. His attendance is recorded at the 
following courts afterwards : — Hatfield, 5th Nov., 1702 ; Epworth, 20th Nov., 

1702 ; Hatfield, 2d March, 1702-3 ; Epworth, 24th March, 1702-3 ; Tumbridge, 
16th April, 1703 ; Bawtry. 27th May, 1703 : Tumbridge, 29th June, 1703 ; 
Kennell-Ferry, 16th Aug., 1703 ; Tumbridge, 4th Oct., 1703 ; Hatfield, 20th Dec, 

1703 ; do. 12th Jan. 1703-4 ; do. 29th March, 1704 ; do. 2d May, 1704 ; Tum- 
bridge, 8th May, 1704 ; Epworth, 11th May, 1704. He died in the June fol- 
lowing. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 203 

great honour and their everlasting good, both happy in this world and that 
which is to come, than I, who am, and always will be, 

Honourd Sr. 

Your most humble serv., 

A. P, 
Hull, Aprill 19, 1699. 

Haveing the oppertunity of sending a letter to the dean of 
York, by Mr. Banks's going thither, I writt him this following : 

Very Revnd. Sr., 

Being overjoy'd at this oppertunity of conveying a letter unto your 
hands, I could not but lay hold of ye same. 1 most humbly and heartily thank 
you for the great honour you did me, in subscribing ye certificate Mr. Banks 
sent you, but to my sorrow I had not ye happiness to succeed. My zeal for old 
MSS., antiquitys, coins and monuments, almost eats me up, so that I am some- 
times almost melancholy that I cannot prosecute ye search of them so much as- 
I would, which, if I had obtained the place I sought for, I should have been 
able to do. Ye inscription upon ye great trough I had sent you long ago, but 
that ye winter weather hath so f ortifyd it with dirt that there is no comeing 
nigh it. As soon as ever ye weather permitts I shall send you it. 

I received, a while ago, y* following inscription (which I take to be very 
observable), from of a great stone in ye ruins of ye chancel of ye church of 
Alkburrow, just on ye other side of Humber, in Lincolnshire. 

Richardus Bryto necnon Menorius Hugo 

Willelmus Trajo templum hoc lapidibus altum 

Condebant patria, gloria, digna Deo. 

That which makes it observable, is, that these men were y© murderers of 
Sr. Tho. Becket. 

I rest, most worthy S^., 

Your most oblieged humble Servant, 
March 16, 1698-9. A. P. 

A coppy of a letter from Mr. Taylor. [No date]. 

" Revnd. Sr., 

Not doubting but that you have received my last letter long ago^ 
that I writ unto you in Febr. last, in which I gave you an idea of ye papers I 
had drawn up about ye Sury business, this is to congratulate unto you 
ye pleasure that I have had in reading your answers to your (pretended) friend's 
2nd letter, and Jolly's vindication, in both of which, and in all that you have 
writ, you have most excellently managed the business, according to ye truth ; 
and I am exceeding glad to find that they cannot take hold (with reason) of 
anything that you have writ. Truth being such a noble thing that it stopps 
ye mouths of aU gainsayerg, tho' not ye hearts, from inventing ways to turn 
things off. 

" As in ye papers of mine, that I sent you an idea of, there is contained in 
about 8 sheets a short history of ye whole Sury business, so I perceive that you 
have in ye press a book wholy of ye same nature, I should be very glad to 
understand that your notions and mine, and ye thread of ye management of 
ye same villany jumps alike, so that there may be no discrepancy between them 
when published. 

" Therefore I make bold to set before you ye history as thus. 

" That Dugdale was put into Jolly's hands before ye Revolution by ye papists. 

*^ That Jolly understanding nothing of ye cheat," etc. (^The letter ends here)^ 



204 THE DIARY OF 

April the 9. This day I writ the following letter to Doct. 
Johii8[t]oii, of London : 

Honoured S'-* 

Haveing not heard or received any letter from you of a long 
while, I write now unto you to begg ye favour of knowing how you are in 
health, and how ye great work gos on that is under your hands — I mean 
ye history of our country, which, as I have been, so always shall be very ready 
to promote and furder, by adding to your valluable treasury ye small mites 
that are in my custody. 

I have just now finish'd a short account of ye antiquitys of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, ye succession of ye Mayors, all the observable things relating unto the 
town that happened in their times, in about 20 sheets of paper ;p as also/ 
another vol., of ye antiquitys, coats of armes, monuments, etc., of ye two 
churches, in about 50 sheets ; but, being at a loss of what is related of this 
town in Doomsday Book, which was then called Wyke, and of Myton, Scnl- 
coats, Drypool, and ye saltpitts that were here, I begg of you that you would be 
pleased to send me, out of your collections, what Doomsday Book says of 
ye sayd towns, by ye next post, and I shall be exceeding thankfull. 

I have just now got two epitaphs from ye monument maker of this town, 
which, because they are for your purpose, I here send them. 

" Here lyeth ye body of S'. Henry Thomson, late of Middlethorp, Kt., some- 
time lA' Mayor of this Citty,« who departed this life ye 26 of Aug., in ye year 
of our Ld. 1692, aged about 60 years ; and Lady An, his wife, daught. of. 
Alderm. Will. Dobson, late of l^ngston-upon-HuU, merchant, who departed 
this life ye 20 of April, in the year 1696, aged 66 years ; and two of their sons ; 
Will., aged about 6 weeks, who dyed ye 21 of Decem., 1666, and John, aged 19 
years, who dyed ye 16 of May, in ye year 1690." 

The[y] left no heirs males, and what became of their estate I cannot tell, 
except 20i. a year apeece, which they charitably gave to ye poor of ye citty of 
York, for ever. 

The other epitaph is on a new monument, lately erected in Campsal Church, 
in these words : 

Tho. Yarburg[h] de Campsall, 

Li com. Ebor., Armiger, 

Ortus 

Ex antique stirpe Yarburgorum 

(De Yarburg[h] in agro Lincoln.), 

P Writing to Thoresby four years afterwards, viz., 17th May, 1703, the 
Diarist remarks to him, " As for my history of Hull, which I drew out of all 
the records of that town, by particular order of the mayor and aldermen, I 
have not altogether finished it ; neither must I dare to publish it, till some be 
dead that are now living.'* — Thoreshy's Correspondencey ii., p. 3. 

The Rev. R. Banks, of Hull, to whom De la Pryme was sometime curate, 
also writing to Thoresby, 29th December, 1707, says, " Mr. Pryme, a little before 
he left me, took some pains to collect what he thought remarkable out of those 
records, and records in this town (Hull) which the mayor and aldermen pur- 
chased of his brother, who was at Hatfield, after his death. As to the rest of 
his MSS., they were, about two years since, in his brother's custody ; and it 
may be easily known whether he has disposed of them or no, and to whom." — 
IHd., p. 86. 

Many of the Diarist's MSS. and topographical collections passed into the 
hands of John Warburton, the Somerset Herald, and form the most valuable 
part of Warburton's Yorkshire collections, which are now in the Lansdown 
department of the British Museum. — T7iore8hy''8 Diary, ii., p. 264. 

9 York. This monument is at St. Mary's, Castlegate. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 205 

primarils annis 

Conservator pacis constitutus, 

per quadraginta et septem annos 

Magistratum exercuit. 

Vir prudens, temperans, et aequus ; 

Bonis adjator, malls obstes ; 

tarn diu et tarn bene 

Se gerebat, 

Posteris exemplar 

Vixit, 

In septuaglnta et quatnor annos, 

et obiit ultimo die Novembris, 

1697/ 

I am, &'t your most humble seryant, 

A. P. 
Hull, Aprill ye 9, 1699. 

This year we have had a fast day, to pray Gtod to turn the 
hearts of the enemys of our holy religion &om persecuting the 
poor Vaudois and French protestants. 

It is certain that they are very grievously persecuted in all 
the inland towns of Prance, and the farr provinces thereof, but 
not very much so in the cittys and places we trafic to. 

To ballanco this persecution, the papists have raised a report 
beyond sea that we do most grievously persecute, rest, bovl, and 
torment those of their religion here, and they have had great 
fasts and processions in all 3ie papist countrys for this imaginary 
persecution. 

[Letter to the dean of York]. 

Very Revemd. Sr., 

Haveing formerly had the honour to acquaint you with a mon[ument] 
in this town, which I looked upon as somewhat observable, to wit, an old trough, 
in which some famous Roman had formerly been buryd ; I lately (upon this 
good weather and happy season) went to ye place where it was, to witt, y« sign 
of ye Coach and Horses, a publick house in this town, where I found it applyd 
to ye use of watering horses in. I asked how they came by it ; they sayd they 
bought it of Ald[erman] Grey, and then went to him and asked how he 
came to it. He answer'd, his father had it before him. The trough is of a 
very hard milstone greet, eight foot long, three foot broad, and three foot deep, 
and ye bottom and sides are half -a-f oot thick ; ye cavity is of an equal bredth 
both at ye head and feet, and hath been so as long as can be remembred, and 
hath no inscription but on ye fore side, which is exactly and linealy thus.* 
The rest of ye letters in ye upper line are so worn out that I cannot send you as 
much as ye vestigia thereof. However, you may boldly and safely depend upon 
those that I have sent you ; and ye jBlgure of ye trough, as described and deline- 
ated, which any body will find to be exact that dos but view and understand 
ye same. I shall say nothing of ye meaning thereof, or of ye word CvJms here 

•■ Printed in South Yorkshire^ ii., p. 469. 

' A sketch of the stone and inscription is subjoined. As both appear in 
Mr, WeUbeloved's Mv/racum, it is unnecessary to reproduce them. 



206 THE DIARY OF 

met with, because that I donbt not that you have met with y« like in Gruter, 
and others. 

I have several accounts of great inscriptions on stones, from my correspon- 
dents (particularly of a great one at Upper Catton, in y« Wolds, etc.), but they 
send me such lame accounts of them that I darr not trust to them, and I cannot 
get ye time to go see them at present, which perhaps I may hereafter, some 
time or other, have ye oppertunity to do, which I shall most gladly send you. 

I have, for about tMs half year, been collecting all that I can find memor- 
able relating to this town, which I have just finnished, in one hundred and odd 
sheets of paper, in folio ; and am daily collecting other things. 

Begging hearty pardon for giveing you this trouble, 

I am, Very Rev. Si^-t 

Your most obed. humble serv., 

A. P. 

P.S. — Chanceing just now to look into Camb[den], ye last edit[ion], p. 718, 
I find either ye same, or an inscription very very like that which I have here 
sent you in ye former page, and, to ye best of my memory, there are several 
great I's or numeral letters, tho' scarce in ye least perceptible ; but there is not 
a letter of Diogenes. This may be some other soldier, that belonged to Petu- 
aria or Pretoriu (?) and not ye same whose epitaph Mr. Cambden gives, both 
because that Ouhvs is not mentioned in his, and that nobody would give them- 
selves ye trouble to convey such a great mon[ument] as this is from York hither, 
seeing that it is so little good to. Pardon, good Si^>>my suddain thoughts 
hereof. If I have erred, it is but like a man, 
Hull, May ye 16, 1699. 

Mr. Watson, mmLister] of South Ferriby, after havemg been 
madd a whole year, and nothing could do him good, was cured 
by a salivation in a little time. 

For the Rever[end] Mr. Z. Taylor : 

Hull, July 7. 
Revnd. Sr.» 

Haveing long ago before Christmass drawn up a few papers about 
ye Sury business, and flung them by again as a too tedious work, yet, a coppy 
getting from me was, unknown to me, put into ye press ye 4th of this month, 
with many imperfections thef ein ; however, not knowing how to help myself, I 
must, whether I will or no, be father thereof. 

I therefore, as I could not but make very honourable mention of your name 
in them, as one I must respect, so I begg that you would not be angry with me 
at ye mention thereof. In one page there is ye following expression about you, 
which, if true, I begg you would let it pass ; if not, it shall be blotted out : 

" Mr. Z. T., a man as eternaly to be commended for turning from ye seism and 
abominations of ye presbiterians, in which he was brought up, as any <rf 
ye multitude of ye others, their teachers, deserve to be, that have done ye same 
within these few years." 

I bless God that I myself was once also one of them however brought up in 
that way. 

Before Christmas, while I was busy in composing ye aforegoing papers, there 
was a stranger oft came to see me, who pretended that he came from London, 
and that he was going to Holland, to take possession of an estate there, that 
was fain unto him by ye death of his brother. He was one of ye leamedest and 
ingeniousest men that ever I talked with in all my life, and gave me severflj. 
accounts about ye Sury impostf^or], who is since accordingly gone. Since 
which time, I hear for a certain truth, that he had been preaching twelve 
months together amongst ye presbiterians at Manchester, in ye chief meeting- 
house of that town, under ye chief priest, etc., ye particulars of which being too 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 207 

long here to relate, I think I shall draw them np, and take the oppertunity of 
adcHng them to ye end of ye aforegoing papers. He went by y? name of Midgley 
here, but had another name in Manchester, which I cannot "recover. If you 
please to do me the favour to write thither, any of your friends will tell you 
what his surname was that he there went by, which will be a great kindness to 
me if you please to send me it. Ye fellow was assistant to ye chief presbiterian 
minpster] of ye town, and was perhaps a Jesuit. 

I begg your pardon that I did not write to you before this ; I all along, from 
day to day, stayd expecting your pamphlet of Y^ Divel tv/med Casuist, but 
never got it. 

If you would add anything to ye end of my papers you shaU be heartily 
welcome, if I can prevail. 

I am, your most humble and affectionate brother and serv., 

A. P. 

1699, July. I heard last week that Tho[ma8] Lee, esq., of 
Hatfield, was dead,' and then buryd. I took pen in hand and 
writ the following letter thereon unto Mr. Corh[elius] Lee, his 
brother. 

Hull, July 10. 
Dear Sir, 

I cannot but trouble you with condoling ye great breach that God has 
been pleased lately to make in your family, by ye death of your dear brother. 
Mortality is a thing that we are all subject to, and ye dark and silent grave is 
ye long home that we must all arrive at. That is ye house appointed for 
ye liveing ; that is ye place where, after all ye f ateagues, after all ye miserys, 
after all ye afflictions and troubles of this life, ye weary shall find rest and 
quiet, and sleep with ease, without disturbance, with ye greatest kings ctnd 
emperors of ye earth, in ye soft lap of our mother out of which we came, and 
unto which we must all return in ye good appointed time of God, which we 
ought, with all patience, humbly and meekly to wait for. 

Tho' that long life is troublesome, yet it is a blessing and favour of God, a 
way by which he fitts and ripens us for his kingdom, and after, in our old age, 
receives us like a shock of corn comeing in in its propper and full season : « gives 
us joy for all our sorrow, eternal life for ye vain transitory one that we here 
possessed, and pleasures so great that ey hath not seen ye like, nor ear heard 
thereof, nor could they possiby enter into ye heart of man to be conceived. 
So that tho' our change is great, yet it is fortunate, it is a happiness that we 
are to dy and not live here for ever, and one of ye greatest benefits that can 
befall us in this world, for indeed, as Solomon says, ye day of death is (if we 
do but rightly consider it) better than ye day of one's birth. We are bom unto 
a miserable world, but we dy unto a happy one ; we are here clothed with cor- 
ruption, but shall there put on ye white garments of incorruption, immortality, 
and light ; so that St. Paul, when he thought thereon, could not but desire to be 
dissolved and to be with Christ, that he might be quit of this miserable world, 
and possessor of that glorious one. So that as an old poet says, 

Why are undecent bowlings mixt 

By liveing men in such a case ? 
Why are desires so sweetly flxt 

Beproy'd with disoontentod face ? 

* See Sovth Yorkshire, i., p. 177. His burial is not recorded at Hatfield. 
" The I{;egester of the Burials from the date hereof, viz., the 27th of Aprill, 
1690, to the year 1700, were not set down by Mr, Eratt, minister." — Memoran* 
dtim in Parish Register » 

• Job, v., 26. 



208 THE DIARY OF 

For all created things at length 

By slow oormption growing old, 
Mnst needs fomJce comported streaigth. 

And disagreeing webbe unfold. 

Bat onr dear Lord has means prepared 

That death in ns may never reign; 
And has nndonbted ways declared 

How members dead may rise again. 

Dull carcasses to dnst now worn. 

Which long in graves oormpthig lay. 
Shall to y« nimble air be borne, 

Where souls before have led y« way. 

Earth take this man with kind embrace, 

In thy soft bosom him receive. 
For humane members here I place. 

And generous parts in trust I leave. 

When yc course of time is past. 

And all onr hopes f nlfill'd studl be. 
Then opening must restore at last 

The limbs in shape which now wee see. 

For as onr bodjs have been partakers also of the troubles of this world, as 
well as onr souls, so thej shall likewise be raised up to enjoj y® pleasures of 
ye world to come. 

And as it is a favour and a honour unto us for Grod to be so kind unto ns, 
poor contemptible dust and ashes, as to take us unto himself, out of the miaerys 
of this life, unto y« glorious liberty and joys of ye sons of Gk)d, so happy is oar 
deceased brother that has performed his pilgrimage and persevered unto y« end ; 
happy is he that is received into Abraham's bosom ; happy is he that luis now 
all tears wiped away from his eys, freed from all sorrows and troubles, and that 
now sitts in ye glorious presence of God, singing halleluiahs unto his most holy 
name ; unto whose blessed company, and unto which blessed place, that God 
may of his great and infinite mercy bring us all to is the hearty prayer od^ 

&t your most humble and oblieged Servant, 

A. P. 

[Letter from the Dean of York]. 

"York, July 12, "99. 

«Sir, 

Tours of May ye 15 I had, and in it ye inscription which lir. Camden 
saw here. It is certainly ye very same, tho' now somewhat hurt and maimed 
in some letters. As for ye CVBVS in ye beginning of ye 3d line I know not what 
to make of it, except we could discover ye want of another line after y« woid 

Brrvsix, of which line ye letters cvbvb might seeme to be a part 

CVM POBTiCYBYS Hic s.y.F, that is BALNEUM CUM FOB . . . ., etc I fancj 
out of Gruter, or Bheine, Sims's Inscriptions, ye like might be produced. Sir, 
seeing ye owners of ye trough make soe little esteeme of it, I would buy it of 
them, if a small matter wo^d redeeme it, but you know tis now of veiy little 
value. I wish you y satisfaction from yr correspond, about Catton, and else- 
where, and, good Sir, desist not from ye pursuit of these studyes ; I hope t&ne 
will help my lA Archb. (to whom lately I recomended you), to give yon some- 
thing for incouragement. My service to Mr. Bancks. I rest 

" Your assured friend, 
" This for Mi. A. Piyme, at Hull, etc." " T. Gaui. 

[Letter from Rev. Z. Taylor]. 

«Wigan,Joly20,'99 
"Sir, 

The Bp. being here I have not time to enlarge so much as I would, and 
therefore am constrained to enclose the account I received from ye Warden of 
Manchester, Dr. Wroe, my ever honoured tutor, to whom I sent yours, entreat- 
ing his answer. If anything be uneasy to you in his expressions, yoa miut 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRYMB. 209 

pardon it, for, had I had time, I would have transcribed what had been proper 
to you, but I had not. Your mistake in my character, I suppose, ariseth from 
my father, whose Christian name was Zachary, as well as myself, and was some 
time in the Presbyterian interest, but I thank God he left it, and died a School- 
master regularly licensd, which ye Presbyterians say I was the cause of, and will 
not forgive me for it. I think the paragraph you transcribed should either be 
struck out, or alterd, and do whether is pleasing to you, for either will be satis- 
factory to 

" Sr., 
" Your humble serv** and bro., 

"Zach. Taylob. 
" You will, I know, pardon my haste, ye bishop being to be attended. 
" (Addressed). — For the Rnd* Mr. Pryme, at his house, over against the great 
church, in Kingston-upon-Hull, in Yorkshire. These. Bj London." 

I have lately received the aforegoing letter, which is fixed 
here/ from the learned dean of York, a man never enough to be 
prased, for the great service that he hath done in rescuing the 
antiquitys of his country from oblivion, and this day I writt the 
following answer thereto. 

Very Rev. Sir, 

Your kind letter came to my hands towards the end of ye last week. 
As for ye trough, I went immediatly to examine ye owner about its price ; he says 
that it cost him 36«., and that it is so very usefull unto him that he would not 
willingly part with it for almost as much more. Ye inscription is very much 
defaced and worn, and but just legible, but no letters are more fair than CVBVS, 
and there is no casm or abreviation, or want either of line or letter near them, 
there being nothing wanting but ye word or two that is in Cambden, which are 
worn out since his days in ye upper line. I have neither Reinesios nor Gra- 
ter, but I take ye whole inscription to be read thus : — 

Marcus Verecius 
Vir Colonise Eboracensis idemq. 
Mortuus, Gives Biturix Clarissimus Vir bene 
vivens hsec sibi vivus fecit. 
For so are these letters, CVBVS, commonly interpreted upon medals and old 
monuments. 

The reason why Gambden left this part of ye inscription out, was, in all 
probability, because that he knew not what to make thereof. 

I most humbly and heartily thank you for your recomendation of me to our 
good diocesan, and for your encouraging of me to prosecute these studdys, than 
which nothing is more sweet, nothing more pleasant unto me, and I am resolved 
ardently to follow ye same. I do already find that there are a great many old 
antiquitys, monuments, inscriptions, and records, in many parts of this country, 
but there [are] very few that observes such things ; they lye buryed in oblivion, 
and becomes lost and forgotten. I heard, ye last week, of two old fonts applyd 
to profane uses, with old images and inscriptions on them, but I am so confined 
to ye reading of prayers twice every day, that I cannot get time to go see them. 
There is also in Rudston church -yard a great pillar, with Strang ingraveings* on 
it. But that which is more observable, and perhaps more worthy of your note, 
is, that, about ten days ago, was discovered in Lincolnshire, a curious Roman 

' See antea, p. 208. 

" The great stone at Rudstone has now quite a plain surface. 



210 THE DIARY OF 

pavement of mosaic work, of little stones of all sorts of colours, abont half 
JO bigness of dice, set in most curious order and figures. It was but just bared, 
and then cover'd up again, until that ye lord of ye soil comes down, which will 
be about a month hence, and then I will be there, if it be possible, to take 
ye whole figure and description thereof, and will either begg it or buy it, and 
contrive some way to take it up whole, and so set it in a table frame at my 
house at Hatfield, whither I send all ye antiquitys and raritys that I can pro- 
cure. Upon account of this, I have sent for Ciampini's famous book of 
ye Rom [an] mosaic pavements, that came out at Rome, in folio, in 1090, and 
shall take care to send you everything observable relating to ye aforegoing one 
that is so lately discover'd. Mr. Banks presents his most humble service to 
you. 

I am, most worthy Sr-, 

Your most obliedged humble serv., 

A. Prtiie. 

Haveing been taking a view of the said Koman pavements 
towards the end of the last week, I writ the learned dean this 
following letter concerning the same. 

Hull, July 22. 

Very Revnd. S'., 

Haveing made bold, in my last letter unto you, dated y© of this 

month, to acquaint you with ye recent discovery of a Rom[an pav[ement] in 
LincolnshTire], so I could not for my life (through ye vehement love and affec- 
tion that I have to antiquitys), any longer forbear going to take a view thereof 
than yesterday, which haveing performed, I shall here, as I promissd, give you 
a larger account thereof. But because that it is by a famous old Roman high- 
way, or street, as it is commonly caird, I will make bold to describe it» course 
unto you as briefly as I can. Li ye first place, because that nobody has done it 
before me, and because that I am very well acquainted with all that part of 
ye country. 

I have observed many Roman ways in that county of Lincoln, but none 
more observable than this, which runs almo&t directly in a straight line from 
London to Humber side. 

This is it that is slightly mentioned by Mr. Carabden (nov. ed., p. 470^, 
as running, says he, from Lincoln northwards, unto ye little village caU*d 
Spittle in ye street, and somewhat furdcr. From this Spittle, in this street, 
and his somewhat f unier, I shall continue it's course, and what I have observed 
worthy of note about ye same, unto Humber at'oresayd. 

It is not, perhaps, unworthy to note, that this way is call'd all along by 
ye very country people, ye high street, and is so vis»iblc that it is a great 
direction and guide to strangers and passengers to kecj) the road. It is cast up 
on both sides, with incredible labour, to a great height, and discontinued in 
many places, and then begun again, and so on to Humber side. I have observed, 
that where it runs over nothing but bare woulds and plain heath, that there it 
consists of nothing but earth, cast up, but, where it comes to run through 
woods, there it is not only raised with earth, but also paved with great stones 
set e<lge->vise, very close to one another, in a strung cement or morter, that 
yo roots of ye trees which had been cut down, to make way for ye causey, 
might not spring up again and blind ye road. Which paved causey is yet 
very strong, firm, and visible in many places of this street, where woods are 
yet stantling on both sides, as undoubtedly they were in ye Roman times, else 
it had not been paved, and in other places it is paved, where nothing of any 
wood is to be seen, tho' undoubtedly there was when it was made. In one 
plaee I measured ye bredth of y<? sayd paved street, and I found it just seven 
yards broad. 



^» 



% 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 211 

This street, or causey, in its course full north from Spittle aforesayd, runs 
by ye fields of Hibberston, in which fields, not farr of this street, is ye found- 
ations of many Roman buildings to be seen, as is manifest from their tile there 
found, and tradition says that there hath been a citty and castle there ; and 
there are two springs, ye one called Julian's Stony Well, and ye other Castleton 
Well, and there are several old Roman coins found there. Perhaps this might 
be some little old Roman town, by their highway side, and was perhaps called 
Castleton, or Casterton, from its being built in or by some of their camps that 
were then in these fields. 

About a mile furdur to y® northward, on ye west side of ye sayd street, upon 
a great plain or sheep-walk, there is very visible the foundations of another old 
town, tho' now there is neither house, stone, rubish, tree, hedge, fence, nor 
close to be seen, belonging thereto. I have counted ye vestigia of ye buildings, 
and found them to amount to about one hundred or more, and ye number of 
ye streets and lanes, which are five or six. Tradition calls this place Gainstrop, 
and I do very well remember that I have re'd, in ye 2nd volume of ye Mon. Angl, 
of lands or tenements herein given unto Newstead priory, not far of this place, 
in an island of ye river Ank, falsly called Ankam. 

About a mile or two hence, ye street runs through Scawby wood, where it is 
all paved, and from thence close by Broughton town end, by a hill which I 
should take to be a very great barrow, and that ye town had its name from it 
quasi Barrow, or Burrow town, but that it seems to be too excessively great for 
one. However, I have found fragments of Roman tiles there. 

From thence ye causy, all along paved, is continnued about a mile f urder, to 
ye entrance upon Thornholm moor, where there is a place by ye street called 
Bratton Graves, and a little east, by Broughton wood side, there is a spring, 
that I discovered some years ago, that turns moss into stone, and not farr fur- 
der stands ye ruins of ye stately priory of Thornholm, built by k[ing] Stephen. 

Opposite to this priory, about a quarter of a mile on ye west side of ye street 
is a place called Santon, from ye flying sands there, which have overrun and 
ruin'd some hundreds of acres of land, amongst which sands was, in antient 
times, a great Roman pottery, as ye learned doct[or] Lister shews, in ye Trans- 
factions] of R.S.,v. ...,p. ...jfrom yereliquesof ye ruinous furnaces, and ye many 
fragments of Roman urns and potts yet to be met with. I have also found a 
great piece of brass, in ye bottom of ye ruins of one of ye furnaces, like a 
cross, which perhaps was part of a grate to set some potts on. 

Returning back again to ye street, there are several hills, like barrows, 
thereby, on ye top of one of which is erected a great flat stone, now so far sunk 
into ye earth that there is not over half a foot of it to be seen ; but I could not 
observe any inscription thereon, tho' undoubtedly it has not been set there for 
nothing. 

Entering, then, into Appelby lane, ye street leads through ye end of ye town, 
at which town is two old Roman games yet practiz'd, ye one call'd Julian's 
Bower, and ye other Troy's Walls. 

From hence ye street runs straight on, leaving Roxby, a little town, half 
a mile on ye west, where ye Roman pavement is disco ver'd that I shall describe 
unto you* And Winterton,"' a pretty neat town, where ye worthy family s of 
ye Places and Nevils inhabit, promoters and encouragers of everything that is 
good, and great lovers of antiquitys. 

*' An engraving of the Roman Pavement at Roxby was published by the 
late Mr. William Fowler, of Winterton. 

^ Winterton. In 1866 Mr. Peacock exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries 
the original manuscript of our Diarist's history of this place, which he stated 
was given to him by his friend, the late Ven. W. B. Stonehouse, vicar of Owston, 
Lincolnshire, and Archdeacon of Stow, the historian of the Isle of Axholme. 
The latter had found it, about thirty years before, in a cottage in one of the 



212 THE DIARY OF 

Then, about three or four miles furder, leaving Wintrlngham about half a 
mile to ye west, ye said street falls into Humber, and there ends. 

All this end of ye country, on ye west side of this street, hath been full of 
Romans in old time, as may be gathered from their coins and many tyles, which 
are found all hereabouts, especially at a cliff called Winterton Cliff, where 
has been some old Rom fan] building ; and furder, about two miles more west- 
ward, is Alkburrow, which seems to have been a Rom [an] town, not only from 
its name, but also a small four-squair camp there, on ye west side of which ?s 
a barrow, caJl'd Countess barrow, or pitt, to this day. 

Haveing thus given you an idea of this part of ye country, and how and 
whereabouts this town of Roxby stands, where this Roman pavement is dis- 
covered, I shall now proseed to give you an account thereof, as I took it upon 
ye place, ye latter end of ye last week. 

Being got thither with Mr. Place and Mr. Nevil, two Winterton gent[lemen}, 
we found that ye close or garth lyes in ye town af oresayd, on ye south-west side 
of ye church. Ye lord of ye soil is Mr. Elways, a south country gent[leman}. 
Ye tenant's name is Tho[ma8] Smith. Ye occasion of its discovery was his 
digging to repair a fence between this close and another, which, as soon as he 
had discovered, he bared a little thereof (it lying about a foot and a half in 
ye ground), and digged in many places, and found it to be, as he guesses, about 
six or seven yards broad, and as many long, if not more ; but, he being not at 
all curious thereof, ye school-boys went and pull'd several curious figures in 
pieces, that he had bared, which were set in circles. 

Haveing got a spade, a shovel, and a besom, we fell to work, and with a 
great deal of labour, bared about a yard and a half squair ; in bareing of which 
we cast up many pieces of Roman tyle, y« bone of ye hinder legg of an ox or 
cow, broken in two, and many pieces of lime and sand, or plaster, painted red 
and yellow, which had been ye comish either of some altar, or some part of 
ye building that was there, whatever it was ; and we observed, likewise, that 
several great stones, in their falling, had broke through ye pavement, and there 
layd, untill that we removed them. 

Then, haveing swept ye space aforesayd, that we had bared, very clean, 
ye pavement look'd exceeding beautifull and pretty, and one would not imagine 
that such mean stones could make such pretty work, for they are nothing but 
four squair bitts of brick, slate, and cauk, set in curious figuercs and order, and 
are only of colours red, blew, and white, specimens of all which I have sent by 
ye bearer ; amongst which there is one as larg again as any of ye rest, of which 
many whole rows and rectangular figures of ye same bigness, consisting of 
blew, red, and white, were composed all on ye outside of ye smaller work. 
Ye material that these little pavers are set in, is a floor of lime and sand, and 
not plaster, as many are, which floor is so rotten with time, that one may easily 
take up ye little pavers, some whole flowers of which I intend to take up whole. 
and send to Hatfield, if it be possible. I stay only ye coming down of ye loia 
of ye soil, to see it, who, I am sure, will not regard it- Of these pavements yon 
may see many accounts in Camb [den's] nov. edit., p. 451, 603, 604, 607, etc. 
Ciampini's book upon this subject, which I thought to have got, is not to be 
had in all London. 



villages near Owston. From the signature on its cover, and the autograph at 
the end, it evidently once belonged to George Stovin, esq., a celebrated anti- 
quary in his day, and a member of a gentilitial family that had been long 
settled at Tetley, in the Isle of Axholme. He died in 1780. The MS. is styled 
A short view of ye History and Antiquities of Winterton, At ye request ef 
Thomas Place, Oent, of ye said Town, collected hy A, P., Jftn. of Thjom^ 1708. 
This MS., accompanied by prefatory observations on the family and the lijfe 
and writings of Abraham de la Pryme, the Diarist, was printed by t^e Society 
in Arclueologia, vol. xl. 



i 

I 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 213 

I have inclosed herein an exact draught of as much of this Rom[an] pav- 
[ement] as we bared and discover'd, with ye colours of ye little stones as they 
stand in ye work, which I took upon ye place ; and when that I discover and 
take ye rest, I shall make bold to present ye same unto you, with some of 
ye very figures, if I might be so happy as to know that this and they would be 
acceptible unto you. Humbly begging pardon for thus troubling you with so 
long and teadious a letter, 

I am, your most humble serv., 

A. P. 

Our newse from London this day, the 27th of August, 1699, 
says, that upon the lord major's proclaiming Bartholomew fair, 
last week, there gathered a vast crowd about him, who cry'd out 
" God bless the king and the lord major, that stands up for the 
church of England I God bless the king," etc., as before, thou- 
sands of times. 

[Letter inserted]. 

" For the Kev. Mr. Primme, at Kingston-super- Hull. 

" Gainsburgh, Aug. 29 (99). 
"St., 

" I was lately inform'd that there had bin at Hull a person who came 
from Manchester, where he had bin, for some time, a teacher to a presbyteriau 
assembly, and had a mighty reputation amongst them, who shipt from 
Hull for Holland ; a man, as I am told, of Socinian principles, and some think 
a Jesuit. If you can give me any account of this business, I beg the favour of 
you to do it. I would hope it might be serviceable to let some misguided per- 
sons see, that they are, at this day, as much imposed on as their ancestors were 
by one FaithfuU Comin, and Heath. Be pleased to give me an answer to this 
as soon as possible, and it will be a great kindness, to 

"Sir, 

" Your very humble servant, 

"A. Smtthe, 

HuU, Aug. ye ai, '99.' 
Eevnd. gr., 

Your letter came to my hands yesternight, and, in obedience ta 
your desire, I answer, that all that I told Mr. Wesley, and others, about ye per- 
son that you enquire of, is a real truth. 

He came to this town about ye middle of Septem[ber] or Octob[er], last 
year, from London, as he sayd, to go into HoUand, to take possession of an 
estate that was fain to him there by ye death of an unkle. He was of middle 
stature, in black cloths, had a sword by his side, was very neat and fine, and 
one of ye most pleasant mercurial feUows, and one of ye most universal schol- 
lars that ever I mett with, haveing all notions, new and old, and all ye most 
noble arts and sciences at his finger ends. He spoke very good Lattin, and 
had a tongue ye best hung that ever I met with ; had gold and silver plenty^ 
and kept company with most of ye great men of this town, especial the Jacob- 
ites. Sayd that his name was John Midgley, and writ it so, and that his 
brother, doct[or] Midgley, and him, were ye composers of ye Turkish Spy^ and 

' This letter is not addressed, but it is evidently an answer to the preced- 
ing one. 



214 THE DIARY OF 

that he was about thirty-five years of age, etc. I became aequainted with him, 
by chance, at ye bookseller's shop. After that he came almost every day to 
prayers in the church, and from thence to my chamber, where we sat and had 
a great deal of talk about all sorts of learning. I soon found that he was a 
ridged deist and Socinian. He turn'd of with a great deal of seeming inge- 
nuity all ye arguments and quotations that are commonly brought out of the 
antient fathers for ye divinity of ye Son and Holy Ghost, and quoted very 
readily other expressions, both in Greek and Lat[in], out of ye same fathers, 
against it. He rediculed infant baptism exceedingly, and made all religion 
nothing but state pollicy ; which pernitious whimse.vs he made it his business 
to propogate in all company he came in, bringing them in one way or other, 
etc. I remember that I asked him what he thought of ye Sury business, to 
which he readily answer'd that he had seen all ye papers thereon, and did 
believe that it was a damn'd cheat. I have heard him at other times plead 
mightily for king James, and ye celebacy of ye clergy, and say that, as he was 
not marry 'd, so he never had, nor never would defile himself with woman kind, 
etc. Haveing stay'd here about a month or six weeks, ye wind strikeing fair, 
over he went to Holland ; was landed at Rotterdam, kept company with several 
there ; stay'd some days, and then what became of him is not certain. Some 
think that he went to St. Omer*s, to give an account of his negotiations amongst 
ye dissenters in Manchester. 

Thus all noise of him ceased at this town, and we never thought more of 
him, 'til about half a year after, Mr. Colling, of this town, rideingto Manchester, 
on a py'd horse that he had bought of this spark, no sooner got he into ye town, 
but almost every body knew ye horse ; and ye old owner living there challenged 
him, sayd he lent him such a day and time to such a one, one of their assistant 
preachers, ye best man in ye whole world, tho' he had ridden away with him. 
So that by this means ye whole villany came to be discover'd and found out : 
how that the horse was Mr. Greves's, of ye said town, that ye above sayd Midg- 
ley was certainly ye man that had been preacher amongst them about a year, 
that he went there by ye name of Gacheld, had been curate to ye chief presbi- 
terian man of that town about twelve months, that he passed there for one of 
ye most pious and religiousest men that ever lived, that he administered y« sac- 
raments, etc., was cry'd up for ye most heavenly gifted man that ever came to 
town, and preached and pray'd wonderfully, etc. ; so that, when he went away, 
pretending that ye Ld- had given him a call to West Chester, he dissolv'd them 
all into tears at his farewell sermon, and told them that, tho' he should be 
absent, yet he would pray as much for them, that they might stand stedfast in 
ye faith, as if he was yet present with them, that he doubted God would let 
them see his face no more, etc., and that they would be pleas'd to administer 
somewhat of their abundance unto his necessity, for, being to take a jomey, he 
had not wherewithall to carry him on, etc. Upon this, great offerings were 
made him ; some gave him five pounds, some six, some seven, some eight, 
some more, some less ; and amongst others, besides a larg sum that the above- 
sayd Mr. Greves presented him with, he proffer'd to lend him his horse to West 
Chester, upon condition that he would take care to return him speedily again, 
etc., but mounting, insted of going to West Chester, he came streight to this 
town, and lived as before related. Yet, for all this, tho' ye wise godly were 
thus basely imposed upon, and tho' they acknowledge and confess that th^ 
were cheated, yet they have a very great love, veneration, and respect for him 
unto this day. Doctfor] Wroe, mast[er] of Manchester coll[ege], in a letter 
of his to me, says, that he preached them out of above lOOZ. that year. Other 
letters I have out of Lancashpre], since, which say that it is reported that he 
has been seen at liOndon, and that he is at present chapl[ain] to ye duchess of 
Somerset. But I look upon this as a presbiterian invention and trick, to bring 
him off from being supposed to be a papist or Boman emisary, that they them- 
selves might come of ye better. 

I leave it to your ingenuity and judgment to judge what he was, whether he 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 215 

was a papist, which 'tis exceeding probable that he was not. The presbiterians 
were exceedingly to blame. However, ye substance of all of it, with a better 
account of ye Sury delu[8ion] than, that which Mr. Taylor has given us, with a 
presbit[erian] impost[erJ at Dublin, in '94 or '96, will speedSy be publish'd, 
they being almost printed off. 

I begg pardon for my tediousness ; and, as I shall always be most ready to 
serve you in any thing in my power, so 

' I am, S^-y 

Your most humbl. ser., 

A. P. 

[Not addressed]. 

Dear Sr-, 

I am exceeding glad to hear by Mr. West that you are design'd for 
ye East Indys. Oh ! how I wish that I had ye happiness of waiting upon you 
thither, of seeing all ye raritys that you'l see, ye Strang birds, beasts, fishes, and 
wonderful works of God. Well, I am so ty'd and confined to my country, that 
I cannot attend you, or have ye liberty and good fortune that you have. Above 
all things, I earnestly beseech you to take great care of your health, to forbear 
all manner of excess of strong drinks and Strang meats, and to begin to leave 
of feeding much of flesh before you go abord, for I look upon nothing more 
prejudicii to us when we come into hot countrys than our eating so much flesh. 
There are other rules for health that I would give, if I thought that you was 
not already provided of such. Amongst other things observable about Bom- 
baim, whither I suppose you are bound, I earnestly besieech you to make ye most 
diligent inquisition that can be into ye antiquitys of ye country, ye originals of 
ye people, and their languages, what traditions they have, and for ye better 
understanding of several things in the Minor Prophets, to compare their super- 
stitions and reUgious rites therewith, for as they are ye more obscure, so I am 
of oppinion that ye right understanding of ye supersititions of ye heathen can- 
not be better illustrated and clear'd than by ye old traditions and practises that 
ye most barbarous people of ye east yet uses. I also earnestly intreat you to get 
what old books you can in ye language of those babarous countrys you come in, 
and to get them translated, and take down every inscription, epitaph, and hiera- 
gliphick that you shall see or hear of, if possible, and inquire of ye country 
people into its meaning. There is a great island call'd Canovein, near unto Bom- 
baim, in which wonderfull reliques of antiquity are to be seen. There is ye top 
of a vast rock, inaccessible to above two or 3 abreast, cut out into a citty call'd 
after the name of the island, or was perhaps antiently a great heathen temple. 
In one place there is, as it were, Vulcan's forge, all cut out of ye hard rock, sup- 
ported by two mighty collosses. Next, a temple, with a beautiful frontispiece, 
not unlike ye portico of St. Paul's west gate at London, within ye gate on each 
side stands two monstrous giants, where two lesser and one greater gate give a 
noble entrance into a temple, or vast room, which receives no light but by ye doors 
and windows of ye porch. Ye roof is, as it were, arched, or perhaps is really so, 
and seems to be bom up with vast pillars of ye same rock, some round, some 
squair, thirty-four in number, and ye comish work is of elephants, horses, lions, 
tygres, etc. At the upper end it rounds like a bow, where stands a great offer- 
tory, somewhat oval : the body of it without pillars, they onely making a narrow 
piatzo about, leaving ye nave open, it may bee one hundred foot in length, and 
in height sixty or more. ' 

Beyond this, by the same mole like industry, is worked out of ye hard rock 
a vast court of judicature or place of audience, as those that shew it name it, 
fifty foot square, all bestuck with imagrey, well engraved, according to old 
sculpture. On ye side over against ye door sitts a great image, to whome ye 
Bramins that shew strangers all these things pay always great respect and 
reverence, tho' for what they say they do not know. Him they call Jongee, or 
ye holy man. Under this vast building are innumerable little cells, or rooms, 



216 THE DIARY OF 

like stalls in stables for horses, at ye head of every one of which, is mtch>>f or 
corbells with images in them, which seems to shew that this vast work vi.-* a 
seminary of heathen devotees, and that these were their cells and dormitory^, 
and ye open place their common hall or school. Multitudes of other bnildi:<gi 
there also are in ye rock, with stately porticos and entrances, which will refini^ci 
a great deal of time to view. Pray view them all, take an exact accou'it ^r 
them, and ye draughts of aXL the most observable images and characten. *hd 
hierogliphicks, which I take to be nothing but Chinese letters ; and enquire H 
there be any medals or coins ever found thereabouts, which may inform r . 
who was yewonderfuU contriver and former of this extraordinary and l^ij:!- 
culous work. 

Not far of this same island of Canova, in ye same hay of Bombaim, a oi. 
island call'd Elephanto, from a monstrous elephant, cut out of a main rc-ck, 
bearing a young one on its back. Not f arr from it is ye effigies of an horse stuck -j p 
to ye belly in ye earth in the vaUy. From thence, climbing up unto ye su::. ••■ ■>;: 
ye highest mountain on ye island, there is another rock cutt into y« shapf. •: :' ^ 
temple or fane. It is supported with forty- two pillars, (pray examine <rf ■ '..^ 
order they are), being a square open on all sides, but towards ye east wi.t'T-' 
stands a statue with three heads crowned, with Strang hieroglyphics, which Ih^ 
sure to coppy out, I being pretty sure that they are Chinese and may be i.iUii- 
preted. On &e north side, in an high portico, stands an altar guarded by g>*aiiU, 
and immured by a square wall aU along. Ye walls are loaded with huge giant% 
some with eight hands, making their vanquish'd knights stoop for mercy. Before 
this temple there is a great tank, or cistern, full of water, and a little beyond 
it another place full of images. 'Tis sayd that this seems to be of a latter date 
than that at Canoven, because perhaps that it has not suffered so muchbf 
ye Portigals as ye first hath ; they striveing to demolish and break all these da 
reliques of Paganish. 

n you have any conveniency of going into Persia, or of sending thither, I 
should be very glad to have a full account of ye staitly ruins of Persepolis, nov 
called Chulminoor, or ye forty pillars, tho' now there are but, as they say, etghU 
teen standing. I am fully satisfyd with ye oppinion of y« learned Doct[ot] 
Frier, that this was never any king's pallace, but onely a vast heathen temple ; 
ye images of ye captives that are cutt there are exactly in ye old Persian garb or 
habit, and much ye same which ye Graurs, or Grabers, which are descend^ from 
them, wear to this day. These ruins are so exactly described by many thst 
I will not trouble you with ye being more exact in them, onely I besieech yoa 
transcribe aU ye inscriptions that you can see ; and if you find anything neir, 
be pleas'd to take notice of it. In ye mountains about these ruins, are an alum* 
dance of vast reliques, images, tombs, inscriptions, etc., which I most earnestly 
besieech you to take an exact account of. I will lay no furder burthen upon 
you, dear Sr-> y pray, for God's sake, bear and answer but this, and I will never 
trouble you again. In ye meanwhile my prayers shall never be wanting to y* 
true GkKi, ye God of sea and land, ye autiior and preserver of health, in whoms 
wee live, and move, and have our being, that he would be please'd to grant yoa 
a good voyage, perfect health, full oppertunity, and good success, in all those 
things, and that he would bring you safe home again ; which is, and always 
shall be, ye most humble prayers, untill I hear from you again, of your most 
humble friend and servant, 

A. P. 

Not many years ago, as a gentleman was digging to lay the 
foundation of his house in Boston, in Lincohishire, the workmen 

y It is to be regretted that the name of the correspondent, upon whom this 
gentle burthen was laid, is not supplied. 



ABRAHAM D£ LA PRTME. 217 

found in a great hoUow'd stone, in a great many boxes and fold- 
ings, the foUowing record, in parchment, in very old English. 

Memorandum. Anno 1309, in ye 3d year of Edw. ye 2d, ye Munday after 
Palm Sunday in ye same year, ye miners began to break ground for ye foun- 
dation of Boston steeple, and so continnued till Midd summer following, at 
which time they were deeper than the hayen by five foot ; at which depth they 
found a bed of stone upon a firm sand, and under that a bed of clay, ye thickness 
of which could not be known. Then, upon ye Munday next after ye feast of 
St. John Baptist, in ye same year, was layd ye first stone by Dame Margery 
Tilney, upon which shee layd five pounds sterling. S'* John Tusedail, then 
parson of Boston, gave also five pounds, and Richard Stevenson, a merchant 
in Boston, gave 5/. more, which was all ye gifts given at that time. 

I am sorry I cannot hear whether there were not any more 
records found with it, and I have written thither to know furder. 

'Tis sayd for a certain truth that the altitude of the steeple 
and length of the church are equal, viz., each ninety-four yards. 

The number of the stepps are 365, equal to the days. The 
windows fifty-two, equal to the weeks ; and the pillars twelve, 
equal to the number of the months in a year. 

In the 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 years of Edw[ard] the 1st, 
the majorality of York was in the king's hands, and S^- John de 
Melsa, or Meaux, was govemour of the citty, who was a great 
man of stature, and a warriour, as appeareth by some of his 
armes, namely, his helmit, still to be seen in Holdemess, at 
Albrough church, where he lyeth bury'd under a fair monument, 
no ways defaced ; upon which is ingraven, in stone, the arms of 
Roos, Oatreed, Fulco de Oyry, Hastings, Lassels, Hiltons, and 
others, this present year, 1693, still to be seen.« 

Upon several reparations makeing in our church of the Holy 
Trinity of Kingston-upon-HuU, considering that no way is 
better to preserve anything to posterity than to hide the same, it 
came suddainly into my head, seeing a convenient place, to lay 
some books up there to future ages. Upon which, haveing a great 
veneration for that most excellent of kings, k[ing] C[harles] 
the 1st, who is so much reviled and despised now-a-days, I 
wrapped carefully up his siKwi/ Ba<r«XiKij, of the first edit[ion] in '48, 
doctfor] Wagstaff's Vindication of the same against Tooland ; 
Gilbert and Young's Defence of him ; and Boscobel, or the won- 
derfuU account of k[ing] Ch[arles] the 2nd's preservation after 

* This is noticed in TJwmpiorCs History of Boston^ ed. 1820, p. 91. See a 
communication in Notes cund Queries^ 4th S. v., pp. 27, 133, upon Foundation 
and Dedication Stones. 

* PoulsoUj ii., 13. Warburton specifies fourteen coats of arms, but doci 
not name the eleventh, which is Richmond. 

P 



218 



THE DIARY OF 



Worster fight ; and, takeing a piece of parchment, I writt the 
following veries thereon. 

In perpetaam rei memoriam, in 

Perpetuam optimi Principis 
Caroli Primi, Martyris, Piissimi, 

Doctissimi, Mitissimi, Patris 

Patriae Begisq. Begum, memoriam, 

Posuit 

In hoc loco hos tres libros, 

Seryus Ghristi indignissimus 

Abr. de la Pryme, de Hatfield, 

Juxta Danum, hujus S. S. Eccl., 

Lector quotidianus. 

Qui hujuB Bibliothecse catal. 

Primo fecit. 

Hujus ecclesiae, oppidi, et 

Comitatus, historiam primo 

Composuit, etc. 

Anno ab Incarnatione 

FiUi Dei 1699. 

Then, haveing roU'd it up, and wrapt them together, I com- 
mitted them to fate.* 

Nov. THE 10. This day I received the following letter, and an 
old coin, from the worshipfull Mr. Mason, alderman of this town, 
who lives at Welton. 

" Welton, 24 Octr., 1699. 

" Mr. Prime, 

" This peece of coyne, which I reckon beareth a Boman face, was found 
by a neighbour of mine, a waller, in digging a well at Brough, a ferry towne, 

* See South Yorkshire, i., p. 180, note. 

« He had no son, it is believed, of the name of Bobert, but a son in law, 

Bev. Valentine Mason, bp. at Cherrington, co. Oxon., Nov., 1583.=rOrace Bhodes, manied at St. 
Vicarof DriffleldlDec., 1616, to3 Aug., 1686. Vicar of EUough- John's, Beverly, 11 OcMbcr, 
to n 21 Aug., 1623, till his death, in 1639. ^j 1626. 

Other Bobert Mason, third son, bom 1 632 or 33. Sheriff of Hull==Elizabeth 



i ^ tifl^ 



issue. 1675, mayor 1681 and 1696. Died 26 Feb., 1718-19, aged 
86. Will d. 6 Dec., 1712, then of Welton, gent. By sur- 
render, 16 Nov., 1694, gave £1 14s. 8d. to the poor of 
Welton. 



by Beckwith to hare UjeA 
60 years aa hiB wife. 



Hugh Mason, = . . Bev. Thomas Mason, rector Elizabeth, wife 



living 1680. 
1734. 



of Thornton, bp. at St. of Erasmus 
Mary s, Hull, Feb., 1661. Darwin. 



-f 



-f 



bur. at St. 
Mary's, Hull, 
26Nov.,1728. 



Mer(7,»Bob«rt 



bur.atSt.lIai7*f, 
HuU, 19th April, 
1717. 



Bev. William Mason,== 
vicar of Holy Trinity, 
Hull. 



Bobert, EUzabetli, bap. SI 

bp. 2 Sep., Septembor, 
1696. 1696. 



Bev. William Mason, 
the Post. 



i 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTHE. 219 

eight miles from Hull, one antient ferry towne formerly belonging the crowne ; 
the towne is on this syde Homber, nigh Trent, and is in the parish of Sllaugh- 
ton, a lordpp* bought from the crowne. The finder would gladly belieye it to 
be gold, but I deeme it bras or copper. I reckon you curious in such enquiries, 
so send it for your yeue, and, after yowr remarkes taken of it, pray retume it 
to my sonn Ro[bert],« who brings it, and give him your thoughts thereupon, who 
will communicate the same to S^m 

" Your friend, 

'^BOBEBT MABON." 

Unto which I returned, this day, the Mowing answer. 

Worshipfull Sir, 

I most heartily thank you for y« honour you did me in sending me 
y® old coin that was found at Brough. Your kind letter and it came to my 
hands yesterday. It is not gold, as ye finder imagined, but onely a mixture of 
copper and brass, as most of ye old Boman coins are. Ye effigies on it is that 
of ye famous emperor Hadrian, who, hearing that ye Brittons that his ancestors 
had conquer'd were upon ye point of rebellion, came with a mighty power into 
this land, about ye year of Christ 124, and, haveing settled sll in peace, re- 
turned triumphantly home. Ye inscription about that his coin which you wag 
pleased to send me is this : — 

Lnperator Caesar Nerva Trajanus 
Hadrianus Augustus Pontif ex max!- 
mus Pater Patriae 

On ye reyerse is ye image of Liberty, sitting at peace and ease in a chair, with 
a spear in her left hand, and a sacryfiseing dish in Jier right, as offering thanks 
to ye gods for ye happiness ye empire enjoy'd under his reign, circumscribed, 
Libertas Publica, and, under all, C. S., that is Senatus Consultn, as being 
coined to ye honour of his memory by the advice of ye senate. 

As to ye town where it was found, it was an old Boman town, y« landing 
place of their forces out of Lincolnshire, and at it, as soon as they had got 
over, they cast up three huge banks, one of which ran towards York, another 
towards ye north, by Ripplingham — ^yet to be seen — and another towards 
Beverley, and thence to Pattrington, scarce now visible. 

And, last of all, when ye Roman forces were all sent for home, in great 
hast, about ye year 400, to defend their own country from the barbarous natives 
that invaded, ye soldiers and Roman inhabitants that were very rich here hid 
their money and treasure in thousands of places in this land, in hopes to have 
retum'd again and possessed it, but they never returning is ye reason that there 
are such great number of their coins found in this nation. 

I am your most humble and oblieged servant, 

Abb. Pbtmb. 

Constant tradition says that there lived in former times, in 
Soffham,** alias Sopham, in Norfolk, a certain pedlar, who 
dreamed that if he went to London bridge, and stood there, he 
should hear very joyfiill newse, which he at first sleighted, but 
afterwards, his dream being dubled and trebled upon him, he 
resolv'd to try the issue of it, and accordingly went to London, 
and stood on the bridge there two or three days, looking about 

^ Swaffliam, 



220 THE DIARY OF 

him, but heard nothing that might yield him any comfort. At 
last it happen'd that a shopkeeper there, hard by, haveing noted 
his fruitless standing, seeing that he neither sold any wares, nor 
asked any almes, went to him, and most earnestly begged to 
know what he wanted there, or what his business was ; to which 
the pedlar honestly answer'd, that he had dream'd that if he 
came to London, and stood there upon the bridg, he should hear 
good newse; at which the shopkeeper laught heartily, asking 
him if he was such a fool to take a jomey on such a silly errand, 
adding, " I'll tell thee, country fellow, last night I dream'd that 
I was at Sopham, in Norfolk, a place utterly imknown to me, 
where, methought behind a pedlar's house, in a certain orchard, 
and imder a great oak tree, if I digged, I should find a vast 
treasure ! Now think you," says he, "that I am such a fool to 
take such a long jorney upon me upon the instigation of a silly 
dream ? No, no, I'm wiser. Therefore, good fellow, learn witt 
of me, and get you home, and mind your business." The 
pedlar observeing his words, what he sayd he had dream'd, and 
knowing that they concenterd in him, glad of such joyfull newse, 
went speedily home, and digged, and found a prodigious great 
treasure, with which he grew exceeding rich; and Soffham 
church, being for the most part fal'n down, he set on workmen, 
and re-edifyd it most sumptuously, at his own charges ; and to 
this day there is his statue therein, cut in stone, with his pack at 
his back, and his dogg at his heels ; and his memory is also pre- 
served by the same form or picture in most of the old glass 
windows, taverns, and alehouses of that town, unto this day. 

Haveing received, the last week, a kind and obliedging letter 
from the famous dean of York, which is the letter here before 
inserted,* I returned him this answer. 



Very ReY^d. Sr., 

Being gone y« last week about some very earnest business, out of this 
town unto Bautry, I had not ye happiness to meet with your most kind and 
acceptable letter (for which I most heartily thank you), unto Saturday last that 
I got back. 

It being my vanity, or curiosity, to take a strict view of all places that I 
come at, I think that I have discovered something that may be acceptable unto 
you, or which, perhaps, may be a hint to some other of your noble discoyeiTS. 
That ye Romans cut down and destroyed ye vast forrest, that grew upon 
ye Levels of Hatfield Chace, which contains about ninety thousand acres, is 
pretty certain. Upon ye borders of ye sayd Levels, I found ye last week aa 
antient town called Osterfield, on this side Bautry, and, hard by it, a great four- 
squair Boman fortification. When I saw this, I began to consider and ooDJec- 

* Not now in the Diary. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PBYMS. 221 

tore that this town might take its name from Ostorias Scapula/ that he fought 
a field or battel there, and that ye Koman encampment there found might be 
raised by him, that ye enemy he fought against might be ye old Brittains of 
ye great levels, morasses, boggs, and wooc^ adjoining, and that when he had 
vanquish'd them, he might be ye man that caused to be burnt, cut down, and 
destroy'd, ye vast f orrest that spread itself over ye sayd low grounds. 

I shall say no more, but submit this conjecture to your most pierceing and 
happy judgment, onely adding, that to ye best of my memory, ye Boman way 
from Agelorum to Danum runs not f arr of from ye lioresayd place. 

As to ye Nantz brandy, I have got you a quart of ye best that I could, and 
sent it by ye bearer, which 1 most humbly beseech you to accept of, as a present 
from 

Your most humble, most obleged. 

And obedient Servant, 
Hull, Nov. 20, '99. A. P. 

/ Hunter (South Yorkshire, i., 79), when writing about Austerfield, says, 
" We may dismiss, as scarcely worth a moment's attention, De la Pryme's con- 
jecture that the name is derived from that of the Roman general Ostorius. 
The instances are so rare, if indeed there are any instances, of a Roman patro- 
nymic entering into our local nomenclature, 4;hat it cannot in any case be 
admitted without the most indisputable evidence. And when we observe how 
many of our villages derive their names from the cardinal points, we shall 
probably not err in assigning its origin to the old form of the word east. The 
earth- work near the village is however evidently a camp of Roman construction." 



VOLUME THE SECOND 



OF THE 



LIFE 



OF 



ABEAH. DE LA PETME, 



coNTAmma an account of 

ALL THE MOST OBSERVABLE AND REMAREABLB THINGS 

THAT HE HATH TAKEN NOTICE OF, 

FROM THE YEAR 1700, 

BEGINNING AT JANUARY, UNTO THIS TIME, 

TO WITT, THE YEAR 17.... 



.». ~!"filj',^^ 






[1700]. 

This daj, Jan. the 7th, I happened to be in companj with an 
ingenious old lady of my acquaintance, who, having tabled 
several years in the family of one of the king's physicians, in 
King Charles the Second's and King James the Second's times, 
she tells me that there is no better medicine in the world for an 
asthma and shortness of breathing than this, etc. [Here follow 
recipes]. 

Our late newse out of the north tells us that the great fire 
under ground, near Newcastle, which some years ago^ burnt and 
layd wast seven miles of ground round about it, destroying 
several villages, has lately begun to smook exceedingly again, 
which very much frights the neighbours, and makes them fear 
that it is going to spread fiirder and break out again. 

Jan. 28. This day I went to Swine,* in Holdemess, to give 
them a sermon, haveing long'd to see that church and town a 
great while. The town has formerly been very larg and hand- 
som, as the people report, before the times of the Reformation, 
tho' now 'tis very mean and inconsiderable, nobody inhabiting 
the same but a few coimtry clowns. There is but three things 
that renders it now remarkable, to wit, the greatness of its par- 
ish, which hath nineteen towns and villages in it ;* secondly, the 
ruins of a famous old nunnery there built by Erenburch de 
Burtona, wife to Ulbert Constable,-' which are scarce now 

f In Sykes's Local Records^ i., 128, there is a brief notice of this fire. 
It was at Benwell, near Newcastle. But Major e longinqtuf reverentia / Dis- 
tance has lent enchantment to the Diarist's description. 

* A parish and township 7 miles N.E. from Hull, in the east-riding of York- 
shire. See Histo'ry of the Church amd Priory of Smine, in BoldemesSy by 
Thomas Thompson, F.A.S., Hull, 1824. And Poulson's Holdeme$8, Hull, 1841, 
Tol. ii., pp. 197-273. 

» "Containing the hamlets of Arnold and Rowton, Benningholme and 
Fairholm, Burton- Constable, Bilton, Coniston, and EUerby ; comprising Dow- 
thorpe, part of Langthorpe, Owborough, and Woodhall, Ganstead and Turner 
Hall, Marton, North and South Skirlaugh, Thirtleby, and Wyton." — Poulson, 

J According to Tanner, in the Notitia Monasticay the Priory of Swine was 
founded by Robert de VerU, before the end of the reign of king Stephen. Of 
his history little is known. The house, which was dedicated to the Virgin 
Mary, consisted of a prioress and fifteen nuns, at the least, of the Cistercian 
order. Erenburgh de Burton, wife of Ulbert de Constable, was only one of 
the benefactors to it. She gave a carucate of land in Freistingthorpe (Frais- 
thorpe)| in Dickering. — Dugdale's Monast, Anglic.j vol. i., p. 834. 



226 THE DIAKY OF 

visible ; and thirdly, a larg, capacious, and indifferently mag- 
nificent dmrch, which by the broken pillars and old arcnes, 
now walled up, seems to have been mucn larger and neater in 
former times ;* but, considering the havock that was made of all 
sacred things in the days of the Reformation, it is a mercy and a 
particular and great providence of God that we have what we 
have. In the body of the said church there is the old organ 
loft, and a small case of organs yet standing and perfect, tho' all 
the pipes are gone. And under an arch in the south wall lyes a 
knight in armer, with his lady by him, cut out of most white 
marble, with great exactness and curiosity. Her head-dress is a 
cap encompass'd with a roll of coronets or chaplets, by which she 
seems to have been a Tilleyol, but who he was cannot now be 
known, all the coats of armes being totally worn of : his crest, 
upon which his head lyes, is a boar's neck and head muzzled. 

In the chancel are sixteen cannons' seats, yet perfect, eight 
on the one side and eight on the other, with the canopy over 
them.' And in a little quire, on the north side of tne sayd 
chancel, was the burying places and the chantery, in which, upon 
great altar tombs, cut out in white marble, lye the eflSgieses of 
some of the BGltons, Tillyols, and others, with their ladys by 
them, made with great neatness and exactness. Bound whose 

* There is not the least doubt, says Thompson, that the church of Swine 
was, about three hundred years ago, or at the time of the dissolution of mon* 
asteries, more than double the size it is at present. 

' Thompson says, " on the south side of the chancel are still left eight fold- 
ing seats of oak;" and Poulson, "there are sixteen ancient seats placed in 
front and on each side of the pulpit, with seats to turn up, having grotesque 
carvings under them ; they have backs, with a place for the head." 

The canopy has disappeared. The £ev. C. B. NorclifEe, in 1858, noticed the 
following carvings on the Misereres. 

North Side. 

1, 2, 8, 4, 5. All modem, and the carving renewed. 

6. Woman's face. 

7. A pitcher. 

8. A man's head, wreathed. 

South Side. 

1. A Saracen's head, wreathed, blowing a horn. 

2. Two imps, or monkeys, dos & dos, between them a man's face. 
8. A preacher's head and cap, or a judge. 

4. A man's head put between his own legs. 

6. A wivem. 

€. A winged griffin. 

7. A man's face, with a beard. 

8. The face of a devil. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PBYKE. 227 

monuments hath formerly been many coats of armes, but now 
all eaten of with time, but the four following ones. 



1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 



MeltonJ. A cross moline.** 

Hiltont. Two bars. 

Sutton]. A lion rampant, oppressed or debruised by a bendlet. 

juce's. Three ludes or pikes haurient. 



These four monuments are yet encompass'd about with great iron 
bars and rails, tho' very much worn and eaten away with time. 

Upon both of the breasts of the said two knights is three 
chaplets apiece, which, if my memory fail me not, are the arms 
of the old family of the Tilleyoles.* 

On the north side of the said quire or chanteiy lys another 
knight, by himself, upon a great altar tomb, most exactly and 
neatly cut out of white marble, all in armer. But who it was is 
unknown, only it appears to have been one of the Tilleyols by 
his crest, which is an eagle's head.'' 

In the sayd quire, upon a bras plate, on a great stone, is a 
larg writeing m old munkish verse, not now legible, furder than 
that it says that a son of S^^- John Melton, K^v lys there.'' 

All the aforesayd curious monuments are most miserably 
broken and crack'd, for the fury of blind zealous men, and for 
want of repairing are now fitt to fall to the ground, the great 
stones under them all giving way. 

In the entrance into this ohantery is two great lines of write- 
ing, most curiously cut out in wood, the first containing these 
words : — ^ 

*" The arms of Melton are said to be — azure a cross patonce arg. It ift 
possible that, from their imperfect condition, the Diarist may not have sketched 
them correctly. 

» The Diarist has first written " Darcy's," and altered it to " TiUeyole's." 
The arms of Darcy were, in some instances, three roses, and three cinquefoils. 
Those of Tiliol were a Hon rampant oppressed by a bendlet. The arms of three 
chaplets of roses, are those of Hilton, of Swine, and were by them adopted a» 
being derived from their maternal ancestors, Lascelles, of Kirkby-under-Knoll. 
In several instances the Hiltons, of Swine, used as their arms two bars, and 
over all a fleur-de-lis. 

» This was Sir Robert Hilton, knight, lord of Swine, 1321. (See engraving 
in ThompmrCs History of Swi7ie, p. 92). Arms on surooat — ^two bars, over all 
a fleur-de-lis, quarterly, with three chaplets. Glover, Somerset Herald, de- 
scribes this crest as a griffin's head. {Visitation of Yorkshire, 1684). And 
Edmondson states that in a ducal coronet to have been the crest of Lascelles. 

p John Melton, Esq., son and heir of Sir John Melton, married Margery, 
daughter of William, Lord Fitz-Hugh, of Bavensworth castle, Bichmond^dre. 
Warburton, the herald, who was here in 1662, describes this 
*' a fair gravestone, and on it two pictures of braas." He alBO gi^ 
ish verse," which Thompson has printed, p. 93. 

9 Warburton, Lansdonm MSS., 894, gives the 
length. — See Thmpson, p. 88. 



228 THE DIARY OP 

Th4ynuB domini de Dwroy et heredvm mortm,, 0t finitwn ett 

hoc optics tempore Domini Theo ** Bourcy^ mMitii {JUW] et heredii domA/ni 

Thomce Da/rcy. 

And the other these, with the following five coats of armes in- 
serted between several words in it. 

Orate pro anvmaJms Thomoe Bi/mater^ CapelUmi hyjui ea/nta/ruB [Beata 
Mwrice'] et [pmmvm] aliorum capelkmorvm tarn prateritarum quam futuT' 
orv/m.' 

[Arms]. 

1 A cross flory, orpatonce, 

2 A dnqttefoil. 

3 A H^ur-de-Us, 

4 A branch of acorUy of three lea/i>et. 

5 A trefoil. 

There appears to have been a great many more coats of armes 
npon the little shields over the sayd door, but time hath eaten 
them of. 

These are all the coats of armes that are any where visible 
in the said Church, either on the outside or inside. 

This day, to wit, February the 11th, I went to preach at 
Cottingham. This town wm very famou^ in fonner Ljb, not 
onely for its largness, its great castle, call'd Baynard's castle, 
and its great market, but also for its church, which is at present, 
after all the storms of fate, very larg, beautifuU, and handsom, 
and escaped any sort of demolishing in the Reformation, save of 
the mauy chanterys in the inside, which were totaly ruin'd, in 
which were many monuments of the Estotevils, De la Wakes, 
and others, of which not the least fragment is now to be seen. 

In the body of the church is nothing now observable but the 
old organ loft, where now the clock stands, and these two follow- 
ing inscriptions, the first of which, which is that which immedi- 
ately follows, is writ upon a little table in capital letters, and 
naU'd a great height upon a piUar, which I could not read untill 
I had got a ladder to clim up to it, in these words, which seems 
to have been set up in the time of the civel war, and to relate to 
something then done. 

DEO ADJUTORE 
BERNARDUS AWMOND' ET ROBERTUS 

•" A mistake, for Geo[rgii]. 
' Thompson, p. 88. Paulson, ii., 212. 

' St. Mary's, Castlegate, York, 1745, Oct. 20, Marj, wife of Mr. Benuzd 
Awmond, buried ; 1656, April 5, Mr. Bernard Awmond, buried. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PJRTME. 229 

BELTHAM CUM ALUS 

COTTINGHAMENSIS PAROCHI^ PRIVILEGIORUM 

ADVERSUS OPPRESSIONES 

PONDEROSI PESTILENTISSmiQUE 

CONSERVATORES. 

LAUS TIBI DOMINe! 

The other is this epitaph, upon a great black marble altar grave- 
stone, on the south side of the church : 

Here lyeth the body of Sf» William Wise, late of Beverley , in the county of 
York, wJto dyed the 2d day of April, 1677,*» 

The chancel is a larg, capacious, and neat building, tho' now 
carelessly and negligently kept. In the roof of it, in four great 
pains, are the following four coats of armes, old painted, with 
the proper supporters. 

France and England, quarterly. 

Under- written thus : 

Henricus. Rex Angliae. 
The second is thus : 

Or, a lion rampant gules. 

And under-written thus : 

Jacobus, Rex Scotorum illustrissimus, anno 18. 
The third is thus : 

Or, a lion rampant gules, impaling France and England, quarterly. 
Under-written thus : 

Margareta primo genita Henrici. Regina Scotorum piasclarissima. 

And the fourth is the armes of the causer of all these, with a 
miter thereon. 

Quarterly 1 and 4, argent a nagg's head sable, 2 and 3, azure a cheyron be- 
tween three fishes erect argent. (Forman). 

Thus under-written : 

Andreas Episcopus Moravien, anno consecrationis. 

» 1654, September 26, Right Worshipful William Wise, Esq., the recorder, 
and Mrs. Frances Hartf orth, of York, married. St. Mary's, Beverley. 

It appears by an indenture of 25th Feb., 1655-6, that she was widow of 
Richard Hartforth, and had a house in Jubbergate, York (which Sir W. Wise 
sold for 60^., 16th Nov., 1670), and near one hundred acres of land in Barleby, 
from her former husband. 

1663-4, Feb. 19th, Frances, wife of William Wyse, esq., recorder of the 
town of Beverley, buried. St. Mary's, Beverley. 1677, Apnl 12, Sir William 
Wyse, buried at Cottingham, 



230 THE DIARY OF 

With the following little coat of armes on the both lidei of 

the greater : 

Argent, a saltire engrailed sable. 

And on the side of a whole balk is this fiirder inscription con- 
cerning the sayd bishop : 

Andreas Forman, Episcopns Moravien*' et commendatorius de Pettenven* in 
Scotia, et Cottingham, banc trabem cum nov^ tectur^ fieri fecit, per Magistrum 
Gilbertum Hauden nostrum procuratorem. Anno salutis hnmanss mvciY. 

Hard by, in the same roof, in less and more contemptible 
scutchions, is to be seen the following coats of armes, with in- 
scriptions also, which I could not read. 

Gules, on a bend arg. [Hc^ three eagles with double heads displayed (qiu 
proper), or. 

FiTZ Hugh. Three chevrons braced in base or, a chief of the last. 
TiLLEYOLE. Arg., three chaplets gules. 

Under all these, on both sides of the chancel, is yet standing, 
and yet to be seen, thirty-two prebendarys' or channons' sea^, 
sixteen on the one side and sixteen on the other, with seven other 
such like seats, but smaller, and lower than the rest, on the south 
wall. In the turning up of the seats in most of which canons' 
stalls is discovered great coats of armes, curiously cut on the 
lower sides. On the right side, or south side, beginning at the 
chancel door, and so proceeding, they follow thus : 

1. Three bars. 

2. An eagle, double-headed, and displayed. 

3. Six lozenges pierced. 3, 2, 1. 

4. A fess nebulee between six crosses crosslet fitch^. [Lovel]. 
6. Pool. A fess between three lions' faces. 

6. Scroop. A bend. 

7. A cross moline. [MoNCEAUX]. 

8. BOYNTON. A fess between three crescents. 

9. Peche. a fess between two cheyrons. [Lisle 7 who married 

De la Pole]. 

10. A fess dancette between six crosses, four in chief, two in base. 

[Bngaine]. 

11. A chevron between three covered cups. 

12. A lion rampant, within a bordure charged with fourteen 

cinquefoils. 

In the other side of the chancel, beginning at the aforesayd 
dore, and so proceeding, they follow thus : 

1. On a bend, three pairs of wings. [WmGlTELD, who mazried 

Pole, earl of SufEolk]. 

2. A cross flory. 1J>' Lassbls, of Sutton. 

3. A fess between six crosses flory. 

" Vulgo Murray. — Marginal note by ZHa/ritt. 
"* Vulgo Pettenween, a great monastery. — Ibid, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 231 

4. A lion rampant, crowned. [Moblby, who married de la PoleJ. 

5. A chevron between three escallops. 

6. A cross engrailed, in the dexter quarter a rose. [Upfobd]. 

7. Chequy, on a bend six (uncertain what)? abend fretty. 

[Cheney]. 

8. Six escallops, 3, 2, 1. E^STOFT's armes. 

Many are spoiled, and so consumed with age, on both sides, 
that I could not possibly make anything of them. 

Upon the fore-fronts of the great seats, that they lay their 
books on, is the miter, and the aforesayd bishop's coat of armes 
in many places. 

In the south window of the sayd chancel is yet to be seen the 
two following coats of armes in great shields : 

1. Arg., three fusils in fess gules. [Montacute]. 
This is under-written thus : 

Hen. Earl of Salsbury. 

2. Quarterly, 1 and 4 gules. In the first quarter of this wa» 

some sort of a cross [query Nevtl.] 2 and 3 chequy, az. and 
or. [NewbubghJ. 

In the east window is a great deal of painted glass, contain- 
ing the representations of Moses, David, Solomon, and Christ 
and his apostles, very well done, but somewhat defaced. And, 
amongst other armes in the sayd window, there are onely these 
three most visible and plain. 

1. S. within a bordure arg., three lions passant guardant or. 

This is imdoubtedly the armes of Edmund Plantagenet, Earl of 
Kent, who married Margaret, the daughter and heir of Thomas, 
Lord Wake ; or else is the armes of his son ; or perhaps of 
Thomas Holland, who was Lord Wake in 1397 ; or of his son, 
who dyed 1400.' 

3, 4. Quarterly, first and fourth or a fret azure semee-de-lis. second 

and third, or three bars sable. 
5. Quarterly, first and fourth grand quarterly, first and fourth sable, 

a tower or, second and third arg., a lion rampant sable, 

second and third a fret, semee-de-lis (as above). The 

armes of the family of TowAES.y 

* Query, of Elizabeth, sister to king Edward IV., wife of John de la Pole, 
duke of Suffolk. It is a very common thing for Qules to become Sable through 
age. 

y The said coats in the east window follows thus : 1, the three lions ; then 
a fret, with the former three lions, which belonged to a woman and heiress, 
empareld or quartered with it. 3 and 4, fret as marked 3, 4. The 6 as marked 
Towars. 6 and 7, two more frets, as 3 and 4. — Marginal note hy Diarist* 

Bartholomew Towers, of Leeds, was living 26th Nov.. 1690, when his father- 
in-law, Christopher Bichardson, alderman of Hull, and apothecary, made hit 



232 THE DIARY OF 

The next and last thing observable in this church, I mean ih« 
chancel thereof, is the monument of a monk, in a shaven crown, 
upon a great black gravestone, with his eflSgies thereon, all en- 
layed at length, in brass, with the following inscription on, in 
brass, roimd about him : 

Hujus' erat rector domus Nicholaus humatus/ factor et erector nida qnnso 
beatis pono vices Christi gestans dedit prebendas isti Beverlaci sex f amelicos 
pallit rixantes pacificavit, nudos armavit f aeneratum nam gemmavit sed qma 
labe carens sub cselo nuUus habetur. Natum virgo parens animas pete proplti- 
etur. Obiit in die mensis Junii, anno Dom. m.ccc.lxxxiii.<* 

Bordering upon this church-yard did Mr. Wardel,* of Hul- 
bank, whose lady is now living, erect and build an aim-house for 
six poor folk, and intended nobly to endow the same, but that he 
dy'd before that it was finished. But tho' that he did not endow 
it, yet the aforesayd number of poor people doe live therein. He 
built also a small school-house near adjoyning,'' and did actualy 

will. Hannah, his wife, died 3rd December, 1678, aged 33, M I at St 
Peter's, Leeds. Her sister, Sarah Richardson, was wife of Charles Mann, of 
Eltofts, buried 23rd October, 1723, at St. Maurice, York, but had no children. 
Her sister, Dinah Richardson, married Mark Kirkby, of Hull, merchant (will 
16th September, 1712), a native of Cottingham, to the parish school of which 
he gave " a close called Paradise, with three stray of meadow in the Inglemiie, 
a tmrf pit, or graft, in the common, and two gates in the Firth," now represented 
by sixteen acres of land. From his two daughters and co-heirs descend Toire 
of Snydall, and Sykes, of Sledmere, baronet. 

' This epitaph, as the scholar will at once see, is in hexameters, and has 
been given by the Diarist in a very incorrect way. Since the time of De la 
Pryme the inscription has been mutilated, and it has fared even worse in an 
attempted restoration, which took place some years ago. Anything more ill- 
advised could scarcely be imagined. This fanciful restoration has rendered it 
impossible to present the inscription to the reader as it once stood. The fol- 
lowing is a conjectural restoration of it. 

Hujus erat rector domus hie Nicholaus humatus 
Factor ez erector, de Luda, qusBso beatus. 
Porro vices Christi gestans dedit eoclesiarum 
Frsebendas isti Beverliaci, quoque Sarum. 
Famelicos parit, rixantes pacificavit, 
Nudos armavit &enoratam rem gemikavit, 
Sed quia labe carens sub caelo nullus habetur 
Natum, Virgo parens, animaB pete propitietur. 
Etc. 

On May 16, 1361, Dan Nicholas de Luda (Louth), chaplain, was instituted 
to the rectory of Cottingham on the presentation of Edward the Black Prince. 
On July 23rd, 1355, he was collated to the stall at the altar of St. Catharine, at 
Beverley. 

« l^s 1 do not understand, but 1 writ it down as it is there to be read. — 
Marginal note by Dia/rigt. 

* 1668, May 21st, John Wardell, of Hull Bank, gent., buried, St, John's, 
Beverley. 1676, July 22nd, Mrs. Ann Wardell, widow, gent. 

^ Of this school-house Mark Eirkby makes mention in his will, as sitaate 
in Cottingham church-yard. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMB!. 233 

endow it with five pounds per ann[um], which is constantly payd; 
whose arms is over the door, and is as follows : 

[Sketch. Gu., three scymetars, or swords, laid feaswise, the 
handles towards the siuister.] 

Yesterday I went upon some business to Hatfield, by Don- 
caster, where my relations lives, and where I set up a noble 
monument, in the church, for my father/ Amongst others, I 
went to see old Mr. Cornelius Lee, a man of the finest and ex- 
actest symetry of parts that is in the whole world. He told me, 
in a great deal of other discourse that I had with him, that he 
had a relation named Mr. Rooth, that was so dull that he could 
learn nothing at school, nor could scarce read English, being 
onely one degree from a natural fool, who fell into a violent 
sickness and feaver when he was about twenty-one years of age, 
and, in the extremity of his sickness, spoke Latin, and dis- 
cours'd readily in that language ; but, as soon as he was cured, 
he returned to his aforesayd simplicity and weakness. This he 
does attest to be a real truth. 

He says also that the occasion of the murder of Henry the 
Fourth, king of France, was his haveing discover'd to James 
the First, king of England, the design and plot of the gun- 
powder treason ; which discovery the Jesuits took so hainously 
that they hired Raviliac to stabb him, who accordingly did. 

This relation, he says, he had from the mouth of a great pope- 
ish lord, in king Charles the First's time, who had it discover'd 
to him by his confessour. That which makes this very probable 
is the words of Raviliac, which he utter'd in relation to king 
Henry, when he was examined, which were, that the king was 
false-hearted to the catholic cause, that he did not look upon him 
as one faithfuU to their interests, and such like, as is related in 
many historys. 

Yesterday I went to Sutton, in Holdemess, to bury a corps 
for Mr. Oxnard, the minister of that town,* who is not well. 
Sutton is about two miles from Hull, and stands upon a hill of 
about a thousand acres, encompass'd, formerly, with morasses, 
but now, for the most part, with low commons and meadows. 
There was, in antient time, a famous colledge^ there, for several 

** This is still in the church. 

* A Mr. Oxnard occurs as minister of Marfleet in 16S7 ; and Simon Oxnard 
as instituted incumbent of Waghen, or Wawne, 6th November, 1691. 

/ The chapel or college of St. James. In the Slnt year of the pontificate 
of Walter Gray, 1247, he released to Saer de Sutton all his right to the advow- 
son of the chapel of Sutton. In 1347 Sir John de Sutton, knight, having first 



234 THE DIARY OF 

fellows, endow'd with thirty pounds a year, in Harry the Eighths* 
time, tho' it was then given in to him but at thirteen. All the 
old building has been puU'd down, time out of mind, and in the 

place where it stood is built a great house, wherein Mr 'the 

son of , of the south, and parlament man for lives, in 

whose family it has been three or four generations, which is a 
very great wonder. Which gentleman has about 500Z. per year, 
with the coUedg lands, and tythes of the fields of Sutton, etc. 
Tbe church is built of brick, but for such a little town is pretty 
larg, great, and handsome. In the quire has been seats K)r the 
coUegians, turning up like the prebendary's seats in ooUegiRte 
churches, with the armes of the builders thereon, onely one or 
which is now remaining, which is a cross flure, which I take to 
have been the armes of the Lassels. 

But, in the very midst of the quire, upon a great antient 
tomb,* lys a knight, all in his armor, with his shield on his left 
arm, and his armes thereon, which is a lion rampant beyond a 
dexter bendlet ; and on the lowar part of the monument, round 
about, was twelve more coats of armes, some of which are now 
so very much consumed with time that they are not visible. 
Those that I could make out are as follows : 

1. A plain cross. 

2. Lucy. Three pikes haurient. 
8. A saltire. 

4. Five lozenges conjoined crosswise. 

5. [Dabcy or Saltmabsh.] Semec de crosses crosslet, and 8 cinqnefoili. 

6. A f ess nebulee between three fleur-de-lis. 

7. Barry, three chaplets. 

8. A f ess dancette between six lozenges. 

9. Lord Boss. Three water bougets. 

obtained the king's license, etc., gave the advowson of St. James, of Satton, 
which was held of the king in capites for the sustentation of six chaplainB, to 
celebrate every day in the said chapel pro salute animanim. 

8 21st June, 1709, Richard Broadreffe, esq., of Hull, and Elizabeth, his 
wife, sells the rectory of Sutton, tithes, and site of the college, to Hagh Mason, 
and trustees, Charles Parr, of York, and Francis Langley, of York. 

1740-1, Jan. 12th, Indenture between William Mason, of Hull, derk, snd 
Andrew Perrott, alderman, touching the rectory of Sutton, the site of the col- 
lege of the said rectory, 23 acres of arable glebe, 32 acres of meadow, 23 beast 
gates, Oxlands Close of 30 acres, and Rowbanks, late the estate of Hugh 
Mason, gent., deceased, father of the said William. 

Out of these premises \0l. was payable to the curate of Sutton, and 11. 17«. id, 
fee farm rent to dame Mary Barnardiston. 

* Poulson {History of Holder ness^ vol. ii., 338), gives a representation of 
this monument, which, from the arms on the shield, would appear to be that of 
a Sutton — a lion rampant, oppressed by a bend gobony. That writer adds that 
the date of the monument, from the style of the armour, is decided by Sir 
Samuel Meyrick to be that of Sir John de Sutton, who died in the 12th ol 
Edward III., 1338-9, rather than that of his son, who died in the 80th Bdward 
IIL, 1356-7. 



A 



ABRAHAM DB LA PR7HE. 235 

Tradition says that this is the monument of one Sir John 
Saar/ lord of this town, and other lordships adjoyning, who 
built for himself a great castle in the midst of the carr, about a 
quarter of a mile to the north of this town, where he liv'd, which 
is called Castle hill to this day. 

Bat I rather take him to have been S'^- John Meux, lord of 
this town, Bewick-by-Alburrow, upon the sea side, in Holder- 
ness, and other great possessions, who dy'd about the year 1377, 
and was the last of his name ; some of whose ancestors lys 
interr'd at Alkburrow aforesayd, under a such like monument, 
with many of the same coats of armes on it, as I have heard. 
Of this family of. the Meux's, see the Mon. Ang.^ vol. i., p. 704 ; 
etc. 

In the east window of the chancel of Sutton is this coat of 
armes — Gules, a lion rampant or in an orl of billets of the 
second ; which seems not to be over one or two hundred years 
old, tho' perhaps it may be more. 

In a window on the north side of the church is the armes of 
the Percys, viz. — Or a lion rampant azure. And another — 
Argent bendways three lozenges sable. To whome it belongs I 
cannot tell. This is all that I found observable in the sayd 
church. 

For this last half year, and above, I have been so exceed- 
ing busy in viewing, methodizeing, etc., the old records and an- 
tiquitys of this town, that I have not had time to consider of 
anything that is done elsewhere. 

Yesterday, being August 2, 1700, 1 writ the following letter, 
word for word, unto the very reverend, and my very good friend, 
the dean of York. 

Very Revnd- Sir, 

I have not had the happiness to hear of anything very obserrable in 
antiquity since I had the honour to be your company the last time that I was 
at York. There hath, indeed, since then, been a small canal, or Roman aque- 
duct, or pipe, diacover'd about a mile on this side Lincoln, about a foot under- 
ground, and about a foot square in cavity, of Roman brick and tile, and 
plaister'd within, conveying, in former times, water from a certain spring there, 
unto the citty ; but I am sorry that I can give you no better an account of it. 
When I had the honour to be at your chamber, I think, to the best of my me- 
mory, that you was for fixing of Praetorium at Preston. Yesterday I saw a fine 
copper medal, lately found in the fields of that town, with an empresse's head 
on the one side, circumscribed Agrippina August. ; and on the other a goddess, 
with this inscription — Diana Elucinia, and S. C. ; which, if I could have pnr- 
chas'd, I would have sent it to you. 

* Tradition is true. His name was John (perhaps Heuz), ipord LasselB 
and Baron Sayer ; when he liv'd I do not find, but I find one of the baqw 
name and tiUes that dy'd about the year 1200. — Marginal note iy Dmif^ 



236 THE DIARt OF 

I most •unestly beseech your worship that, whereaa I am at yery gtetA 
charges in keeping correspondence, and in buying of books, and in carrying on 
my studdy of antiquitys, even to the danger and hazzard of my own ruin, and 
the casting of myself into great debts and melancholy, I most earnestly beseech 
you not to let me fall under the burthen, but, as you have encouraged me, so be 
pleased to begg of his grace (to whome I present my most humble duty), any 
the first poor living that falls, that I may be at rest to prosecute my great (and 
I may realy say to my sorrow), unfortunate studdys. 

I most humbly beseech you to aid me herein, as soon as can be, and heartily 
beggs pardon, for this my great but necessitous boldness. 

I am, very revnd. sir. 

Your most humble serytM 
Hull, Aug. 3rd. 1700. A. P. 



To the aforegoing letter-' that I received from the dean of 
York, I returned the following answer. 

Very Kevnd. S'.. 

I most heartily thank you for the very great honour that you did me in 
this town, and for presenting my duty to my lord archbishop ; and shall always 
reckon myself happy in your favour and commands. I thought it would not 
be very propper for myself to be seen in the matter of the stone coffin, because 
that I had, half a year before, oftentimes ask'd the price of it, and endeaToar*d 
to have bought it for you ; therefore I got a countryman, one that I could trust, 
to go and understand the lowest price of it. And when he came there, shee and her 
friends sayd that it was a valuable rarity, and that the dean of Fork had heen 
to see it, and that it was so usef ull they could not part with it under three or 
four pounds, and would take no less for it. A day or two after I went and 
found her in the same tune, so that I left her. The best way to get it would 
perhaps be to send her some such like old trough for it, and to give her a little 
money in exchange. I am very much troubled that I should be so much more 
unfortunate than others, in not being able to get any little liveing, that I might 
be the more able to serve you and his grace. My most humble duty to his lord- 
ship, if you please. 

I am, 

Tour most ready and most aSectiqnate servant, 

A. P. 

[ ? To Dr. Sloane]. 

Honoured Sir, 

I most heartily thank you for the new Transaction that you have sent 
me, tho' I have not yet received it, and especialy for the honour that you hare 
done me in reading my letter before your society, whom I have, and always 
have had, the greatest respect for of any men in the world. You make me m 
Ipve with the studdy of shells ; and tho' I cannot be so vain as to flatter myself 
tiiat I can gather anything new therein, after the ingenious Lister, Llhwyd, 
Hook, or Woodward, yet, however, I shall augment my own collections thereby, 
and obliege my friends. And, as you desire, I will consider Dr. Hook, and 



J The Diarist has probably inserted the letter referred to in his MS, as 
occasionally his practice, but it is not there now. The Dean appears to have 
been desirous of purchasing the old stone coffin before mentioned at pagea 
206 and 208c 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTHE. %3T 

others, upon this subject, if that the ingenious Woodward do not soon come out,. 
as I hope it will, in whome I doubt not but to have full satisfaction in all the ab- 
struse parts of this curious matter. I would not have desired you to print my, 
letter verbatim^ but onely for the sake of them monuments therein, because they, 
relate to a gentleman from whome I expect some favour, there being nothing 
to be had in this town. However, I wUl not hereafter trouble you with any-; 
thing but what relates to natural history. I could have added some things to 
my former letter relating to plants and shells, but, being at work night and day 
upon the history and antiquitys of this town, 1 shall, when I see my letter 
again, give you another thereon, and shall send you the letter that I promiss'd 
you out of the East Indies. 

I am V 

Your most humble oblieged friend and servant, 

A. p: 
To the hononr'd Doctor Slone. 

Honoured Sir, 

I most heartily thank you for the Transaction that you sent me. There 
are several people in this town and country great admirers of them, and that 
constantly buys them. 

I have sent you a small rose of petryfy'd shel-fish, and some things that I 
know not what names to give to them. I would have sent more, if that I thought 
they were worthy of your acceptance and charge, and with them a letter con- 
taining a larg account of the quarrys out of which I got them, and a new 
solution of their phenomenon, and of the Noachian deluge, which, if you 
think worthy to be inserted in your Transactions, I begg that it may have that 
honour, verbatim et totaliter. I put the letter in the post, and both of them 
into the carrier's hands this morning, but I doubt that they will not come to 
you till the end of the next week. I will send you the next month the coppy 
of a very curious letter, out of the East Indies. 

I am 
Your most humble and oblieged friend and servant, 
Hull, Sept. 18, 1700. A. db la Peymb. 

To Dr. Johnston. 

Honour'd Sir, 

Tho* that the long silence that has been betwixt us might justly make it 
a doubt to one another of us whether we are yet or no in the land of the liveing, 
yet I hope that these lines will find you as I am. I have been labouring night 
and day since I writ last unto you, upon the history and antiquitys of this 
town, and of the six or seven towns in the county thereof, and have carefully 
seen, perused, and transcribed every record out of the town's hall (where are 
huge quantitys), that was anything observable, and have searched all printed 
chronicks and MSS. that I could possibly hear of relating anything concerning 
the same. After all, I confess myself at a great loss for the book of Meaux, 
which is in Cotton's library, for Button's Analecta, and some few records in the 
Towar and other places (tho' perhaps, tho' I know it not, I have most things all-, 
ready that is in them), and knowing that your collections are mighty exact, and 
contains in them all that can possibly be found in the south, in any place what- 
soever, on these subjects, I humbly propose unto you, that if you will be pleas'd 
to communicate the few things out of your papers that I want concerning this 
town and county unto me, that I will faithfully and honestly send you every- 
thing .that I have relating to any town or towns in Yorkshire, or elsewhere, and 



238 THE DIAKT OF 

shall celebrate and acknowledge eyerTwhere in mj book your extraordinary 
ciTilitj and kindness, as the greatest benefactor, promoter, and enconrager of 
the work ; by, and through whome, and which means, I shall be able to have it 
in the press in less than half a year, in folio. 

I not knowing how to write or direct this my letter nnto yon, I was forced 
to wrap it in another, and send it to Mr. Coggan, bookseller, in the Inner 
Temple Lane, to present it into yon. 

lam. 
Your most humble and affectionate friend and serrant 

A, P. 

Having now gathered and gotten almost all the antiqnitys 
that I can relatemg to this town and the country round abont, 
I begin to grow somewhat weaiy thereof, and am at present 
striveing to obtain some liveing or other, where I may live out 
of the noise and hurry of the great business that I am now by 
mv office in this great parish involv'd in ; therefore I writ the 
following letter to my good &iends the Mayor and Aldermen of 
this town. 

Honoured Crentlemen, 

Haveing had the happyness by you to be promoted to the sacred office 
and place that I now possess in this church, which, out of respect to my duty 
and to your worships, I have (tho' I say it) hitherto faithfully discharged, tho' 
it hath been both exceeding troublesome and of but very mean profit unto me, 
and having with great labour and pains put the recordis of the Corporation in 
good order, and in many other respects made it my business to serve yon and 
honour your town in every thing that I could, so by your good connivance and 
leave I have almost finished and prepared for the press the whole history, 
antiqnitys, and description thereof in long folio, containing a successive 
historical account of its original building, increas, and fortune in warrs, battels, 
sieges, revolutions of state and government, &c., from its first building unto this 
time, which, when published, will be exceedingly to the honour and glory of 
the town, and the future peace, good and welfare thereof.* And tho' I have been 

* I had hoped to have been able to have given here some better account 
than I can of the De la Pryme MSS. relative to Kingston-upon-Hull, etc 
Through the friendly and obliging assistance of Mr. Alderman Atkinson, of 
that place, the town council, at a meeting held on the 5th of August, 1869, 
very courteously passed a resolution in my favour, on the motion of the mayor, 
(J. Bryson, esq.), seconded by Mr. Richardson, that the town clerk be authorised 
to allow me such an inspection as he might think proper of our Diarist's 
collections of historical and other local incidents, which he had intended to 
publish, in order that I might for myself see if there was anything contained 
in them which might be introduced into the notes, or the appendix, to the 
D'mry now published. The privilege thus intended to be allowed to me, was 
not, however, facilitated in the manner which, under the foregoing circum- 
stances, I expected^ and. consequently, it was rendered practically inoperative. 
It is due, however, to the town -clerk, to observe that he informed me of my in- 
correctness in assuming that the corporation was in possession of any original 
collection of historical MSS. relative to Hull, by De la Pryme, for that the 
document in his possession was only a fair copy of the compilation for the 
intended history of Hull. To the civility of Mr. Leng, the bookseller, of Hall, 
I am, however, indebted for a sight of what is, no doubt, another copy of the 



ABBAHAM DE LA PBTME; 239^ 

at great charges in employing my friends at York, London, Oxford, Cambridge, 
and other places, in searching records there relating to the same, and in running 
through almost an infinite f ateague, night and day, of continual writeing, reading, 
searching, compareing, reviewing, and composing of books, records, papers, and 
deeds, concerning the same, and inserting them into the same : yet I desire 
nothing at your hands for s^\ these services nor for to enable me to finnish and 
print them, but onely that as you have interest with your parliament men, and 
with the Duke of Newcastle, and other noble % so that you would be pleased to 
send up letters by Alderman Carlil to them in my commendation, and to begg 
of them to procure for me either from the King, or the Lord Chancellor, the 
very first moderate living that falls in his Majesty's gift, which is a thing that 
they will readily grant. And at the same time, I will second the same in my 
letters to the Bishop of York, and to the Duke himself, to whome I shall present 
some books that I have lately been concern'd in. I humbly conceive that this re- 
quest is not unreasonable, else I would not have moved it unto your worships. Mr, 
Prat,' of Boswell, by York, upon his peruseing and puting in order the records 
of that famous and old citty, about eighteen years ago, desired the same favour 
at their hands, and got the sayd living that he now possesseth. And I earnestly 
beseech your worships not to deny me herein, that I may be speedily the better 
to serve you, and to finnish those books and papers, to your honour and glory, 
that I have under my hands, and thereupon shall ever remain, 

Your worships' most obliged humble servant 
April the 5th, 1701. A. P. 

Which letter their worships took very kindly, and thereupon 
writt up to London in the following words. 

[^Thdr letter is not ffiven.Ji 

same MS. It is intituled T/ie History, Antiquities^ and Description of the 
Town and County of King ston-upon- Hull, or the Annals of the said Town, con- 
taining a Successive and Historical account of its originall Building, increase, 
and fortune, and all tlie most observable thbigs tliat have happened therein or 
related thereto, from its first building unto this time : Collected out of all tlie 
Mecords, Charters, Deeds, and Evidences of tlie said Town. By Abraham de la 
Prime, Reader and Curate of the High Church of the Holy Trinity of tlie said 
Town:' 

Mr. Frost (in his Hist. Hull, 1827, p. 3), alludes to the foregoing compilation 
as being "the first attempt to give a detailed history of Hull," and says it 
formed the basis and ground- work of all subsequent accounts and histories of 
the town. Afterwards, however, he states that it had been suggested to him 
that archbishop Bramhall probably occupied himself on the history of Hull 
prior to the time when De la Pryme wrote, viz., circa, 1643. Gent, Hadley, 
Tickell, Symons, and others, have all drawn largely upon De la Pryme's industry. 
Mr. Frost also observes that Wm. Chambers, esq., M.D., a gentleman of con- 
siderable talents and eminence in his profession, compiled, with great apparent 
fidelity, from the records of the corporation, a collection of annals of the town 
of Hull, from the earliest times to the year 1766, about which period it appears 
to have been written, and that the MS. had been entrusted to him since his 
(Mr. Frost's) own Notices were printed, by Henry R. Bagshawe, esq., of Lincoln's 
Lin, barrister-at-law. 

A longer notice of De la Pryme's collections for the history of Hull will b© 
found in the Appendix. 

' Thoresby mentions having at York, August 1st, 1695, "found Parson 
Pratt, an antiquary, and, had much of his company." — Diary, i., p. 307. 

He had a small collection of antiquities. 

See him mentioned a^tea, p. 177. Boswell is BossaU. 



240 THE DIARY OF 

At the same time I writ the following letter to the Duke of 
Newcastle. 

May it please your Grace, 

I having been some few years an inhabitant of the famous town of King- 
s!ion-upon-Hull (that is blessed in your Excellencies* government of it) and the 
honourable Royal Society having printed several of my communications unto 
them, I have here, as I take myself in duty bound, made bold, with all 
humility, to lay some of them as a present at your grace's feet, knowing your 
grace's happy genius and great ingenuity in such things. I have also written 
and almost finnished the history, antiquitys, and description of the famous town, 
of Kingston-upon-Hull, in larg folio, from its first building unto this day, and 
humbly beggs that I may have the honour and happiness (when I am in a 
capacity to get it printed) to dedicate it unto your honourable name and memory, 
that you not only be famous, as you are, to this age for all noble and princely 
vertues, but may be so, also, to all future ages and prosterity for ever ; which is 
the humble request and endeavour of your grace's 

Most humble, most obedient, 

and most devoted servant, 

[A. P.] 

At the same time also I writ the following letter to the Bishop 
of York. 

May it please your Grace,. 

I have made bold upon the coming of this worthy gentleman to London, 
to prevail upon him, if that he have the happiness to see you, to present my 
most humble duty unto you, with some Transactions of the Koyal Society, in 
which they have been pleased to print several letters of mine, and which whol^ 
society have honour'd me with their public thanks for my communications unto 
them, to whome I shall continnue every month to send some very observable or 
curious things or other. I have also written and almost finnish'd the whole 
history, antiquitys, and description of this town, in larg folio, which I shall 
print as soon as ever I am able. I have acquainted his highness the duke of 
Newcastle, our governour, with the above mention'd particulars, and also writ of 
the same to the parliament men of this town, Sr. William St. Quintin and Mr. 
Masters. In short, having lived here almost three years in a state of great 
f ateague and little profit, but, (tho' I say it,) with an universal love and good 
conscience, I humbly begg of your grace and his highness that you would be 
pleased speedily to procure for me from his majesty (which I humbly concieve 
you may very easily do,) the infallible gift of the very first moderate liveingthat 
falls in the king's presentation, and it will not only put me into a capacity of 
doing more good, (which I glory in,) and of carrying on of my most laborious 
studdys of antiquitys, but also of rendering myself more fully, in every thing to 
the utmost of my power, 

Your grace's most duiif ull son and servant, 

A. P. 

To the honble. Sir. Wm. St. Quintin, and William Masters esq,, hnmblj 
present. 

Honourable gentlemen, 

I reckon it not one of the least of the favours of my life that I have tbe 
happiness to be known unto you, to have lived now almost three years in your 
town, and to have, by your good connivance and leave, perused all the old 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 241 

records of this famous corporation, put them into order and drawn out therefrom 
the whole history, antiquitys, and description thereof, in larg folio, to the 
great honour of the town, and the future peace, glory, and welfare thereof. 
And, that I may be in a capacity to finnish and print it, I have writ to the 
bishop of York to procure for me the first moderate liveing that falls in the 
king's gift, which I humbly concieve may be easily obtained. I have also writ 
to the duke of Newcastle concerning the same ; thecoppys of my letters to them 
I here send you, and do earnestly beseech you to furder the same that I may be 

in a capacity the better to serve you and this famous corporation 

[^/wre a blank occurs.'] therefrom and from multitudes of others at York, London, 
Oxford, Cambridge, and elsewhere, the whole history, antiquitys, and description 
of this famous town, to the great honour, glory, and future peace and welfare 
thereof, which, as soon as I am able, I will print in larg folio, for all which 
I most humbly begg but this favour at your hands, that, knowing you have in- 
terest with the duke of Newcastle, that therefore you would be pleased to procure 
him to beg of the king, or the lord chancellor, the very first living that is of 
any moderate vallue, that falls in his majesty's gift, for me (which, as I concieve, 
will easily be granted,) that I maybe the better enabled to carry on my studdys, 
to the honour of this town, and the more perfectly to finnish and publish the 
history thereof. I have written to the b[ishop] of Y[ork] to be pleased to move 
also in this cause for me, and in mv letter tothed[uke] of N[ewcastle,] (coppys 
of all which I have here sent you,) I have somewhat tho' obscurely hinted at 
the same. I most humbly beseech you, by all that is dear unto you, to obtain 
the above sayd favour as speedily as you can. 

For your most humble &c. 

Kingston-upon- Hull, 

Wee, whose names are subscribed, do very well know Mr, Abraham 
Pryme, clerk, and have such an esteem of him for his learning and vertue, 
and prudent behaviour and loyalty to the present government, that we 
do not doubt, whereever he sh^l be placed, he will do God and his church 
good service, and give great satisfaction to all good men, as he has done whilest 
curate here. Witness our hands the 24th of April, 1701. 



Daniel Hoar, Mayor 
Philip Wilkinson, 
Simon Sisson, 

ROBBET TRIPPET, 

William Hydes, 
Richard Gray, 



Aldermen. 



Robert Banks, Vicar of St. Trinity & 

Prebendary of York. 
Richard Kitson, B.D. and Lecturer of 

the sayd town. 
Nathaniel Lamb. Minister of 
St. Mary's. 

John Chappellow, 
Benjamin Wade, 
Richard Beamont, 

ETC. 

[After inserting two printed papers, one, ^^ A word to the wise," 
dated 29 Jan., 1701, and the other " Considerations on the present 
posture of affairs," dated Feb. 1, 1701, the diarist proceeds.] 

The aforegoing papers gives a sufficient idea of the state of 
Europe upon the meeting of the parliament, and the king layd 
most passionately before them the security of the protestant reli- 
gion, the settlement of the crown, and the safety of the nation 
upon the French king succeeding to the crown of Spain. Never 
was there more need of a good parliament than now, and scarce 
ever had we a worse. Instead of falling to business they begun to 



242 THE DIARY OF 

quarrel with one another about the silly business of elections. Sir 
Edward Seymor, a man that has been famous in the house of 
commons many years, one of the old East Indy company, and ex- 
ceeding gilty of bribery himself, crys out first against the new East 
Indy company, how they had bribed in the elections of this session ; 
thereupon impeaches Sheppard and his sons, with many others of 
the same, and blew the house of commons into such a heat 
that they sent them to' the Towar. But, being heated, they then 
condemn'd the treaty of partition as mere nonsence and stuff, 
basely reflected upon the king for the same, and Jack How,"* in 
particular, sayd that his majesty had made a fellonious treaty to 
rob the king of Spain of it's dues and rights. And furder had the 
impudence to say that the king of Spain had not made the sayd 
will, if that the king had not made that base and scandalous treaty. 
Thereupon they impeach'd the earl of Portland that sign'd it, tho', 
to behold their great impartiality, they sayd nothing to the earl of 
Jersey, secritary Vernon, or others that were equaly concerned 
in it. Then they impeached Russel, earl of Orford, the lord 
Sommers, and Montague, earl of Halifax, for many frivolous and 
vexatious things not worth mentioning, which clearly shew'd 
their spight, malice, and vilany. And for two months together 
they did nothing but scold, quarrel, and contend one with another, 
about the aforesay'd things, neglecting all manner of the necessary 
business of the nation. The Dutch writ memorials and letters to 
the king and them of what great danger not onely they but 
this nation and the protestant religion was in, yet, for all they 
heeded none of them, but went on in their villanys, till the whole 
nation was enraged against them. As for the king's friends that 
were in the house, they could not [stay] the current of the inund- 
ation, do what they could, so that they were forced to be quiet. 
At last the Kentish men petitioned them to consider the good of 

•• John Grubham Howe, esq., M.P. for the county of Gloucester, obtained 
the manor of Langar, county of Notts (where he fixed his abode), by manyin^ 
Annabella, illegitimate daughter, but coheir, of Emanuel Scrope, lord Scrope 
of Bolton, and earl of Sunderland. (The said earl having no issue by his wife, 
lady Elizabeth Manners, settled his estates upon his natural children, by Marth^ 
Jones, and the only son of this connection dying unmarried, in 1646, the three 
daughters of the same became coheirs). In 1663, Charles II., granting to Mrs. 
Howe the precedency of an earl's legitimate daughter, she became, thencefor> 
ward, lady AnnabeUa Howe. Of this marriage there were four sons and five 
daughters ; the eldest son, sir Scrope Howe, born November, 1648, was elevated 
to the peerage of Ireland, 16th May, 1701, as baron Clenawly, county Ferma- 
nagh, and viscount Howe. The second son, to whom reference is made by the 
Diarist in the text, was the right hon. John Grubham Howe, M.P. for Glouoester* 
shire. He made a distinguished figure in parliament in the reigns of king 
William and queen Anne, and was remarkable for his strenuous opposition to a 
standing army. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PATME. 24S 

the nation &c., which they took so hainously that they committed 
[them] to the gaithouse, callincr them factious, seditious, mutinous, 
and rebellious fellows. But, hearing that the citty of London 
and many other countys were also about petitioning to the same 
purpose, they not [only] grew a little calmer, but also the king's 
party took heart. Whereupon the lord Hartington told Seymour 
that he was as guilty as anybody in briberys, and that he had 
sent Sheppard to the Tower for nothing but to save himself from 
going thither. Upon that the house took it very ill, and cry'd 
out " to the barr, to the barr," but he, clapping his hand on his 

sword swore Gr d them all, he'd be the death of the first 

man that offer'd to bring him to the barr, which made them all 
mute. Soon after this, that impudent fellow Jack How (who ia 
brother to Sr. Scroop How who usualy, when he sees him begin 

to stirr, crys out '' now, what is that impudent son of a w 

going to say, if he begin there's nobody must put a word in but 
himself," &c.,) got a copy of verses upon the parliament which 
was cleav'd upon the door. He call'd this a libell, and brought 

it, in a great passion, into the house, and made 

imperfect — inserted — " the Kentish petition ^'^ at ilie quarter ses^- 
sions held at Maidstone 29 April^ 13 Wm, IIIJ] The worthy 
gentlemen of Kent, who, as they had always in former times 
the honour to lead the van of our armies for the good of the 
nation, so now, in this seditious and mutinous parliament, con- 
sidering the Strang doings therein, and the danger of the nation, 
how that it would be ruin'd if they went on in their unwarantable 
proseedings, assumed their antient honour, composed the afore- 
say'd petition, signed it, as aforesayd, and sent the same to their 
representatives in parliament by five of their countrymen, 
gentlemen of great estates, whose names were William Cole- 
peper, esq., Thomas Colepeper, esq., David Polhill, esq., Wil- 
liam Hamilton, esq., Justinian Champneys, esq., which, being 
by them deliver'd to one of their representatives, he presented it to 
the house, who were exceedingly enraged thereat, and, calling the 
five gentlemen in, ask'd them if that were their hands, to which 
they all unanimously answer'd in the affirmative; whereupon 
they were severely abused, and reprimanded, and committed to 
the custody of a sergeant-at-armes, and soone after to the gait 
house, without any warant or commitment in writing, as the Taw 
requires, and there they remain'd until the prorogation of the 
parliament. But, in the meantime, several of the house of com- 
mons, dealt privatly with 'em to have them begg pardon, or sub- 
mit themselves to the house, but they totaly refused, answering 



244 THE DIARY OP . 

that they would make them guilty of some crime against the 
laws of the laud, which they were sure they were not guilty of 
in what they had done. And their healths were daily drunk 
with that of the fouer lords, under the name Cater and Cinquej 
by the whole nation, and even in taverns and coiFee-houses, in 
the very presence of the members of parliament, while it was 
sitting. But, after the parliament was risen, then they were all 
acquitted and set at liberty, but would not pay a farding to the 
Serjeants. Then their healths were drunk openly by every one, 
and [they] was hugg'd and carres'd from one end of the citty to 
the other ; were treated one day by five hundred gentlemen of 
the citty at a treat which cost so many guinneys, at which treat 
was present nine earls. Then they were treated by the company 
of Fishmongers, or Ironmongers, I have forgot whether, and 
made free, and, haveing stay'd in the citty about a fortnight or 
three weeks, went out of the citty in the night, to avoyd tumult^ 
and, proceeding forward to their own country, were met by four 
hundred coaches, and a great number of gentlemen on horseback. 
Since which some of them have seu'd the serjeant-at-armes, upon 
a clause of the habeas corpus act, for not producing the warrant 
of their commitments, when demanded, and they will certainly 
cast the Serjeants therein. 

At the same time that this petition was makeing in Kent, 
there were the like on foot all over the nation. There was one 
from Staffordshire in town, ready to be presented, signed with 
twenty thousand hands. The citty of London also made one, 
and when it was sign'd, and came to be voted in the common 
councell whether it should be presented or no, it was carry'd in 
the negative by the single vote of sir — Bedingfield, one of the 
councel, and also parliament man for Heddon, to the great grief 
of the royalists and true patriots. 

[Not addressed]. 

Rev. Sir, 

Amongst the multitude of the papers, records, and deeds, that I haye 
been forced to turn over towards my history and antiquities of this town of 
Kingston-upon-Hull, I have discover'd, under original hands and seals, some ol 
the original indentures and deeds, yet in full vertue and force, of the foun- 
dation of a considerable hospital, and the larg endowment of the same in your 
town, about the year 1622, by one Mr. Edward Latimer, of which yourself, the 
churchwardens, and others, are perpetual trustees. And tho* all this is nothing 
to me, yet, being curious of such things, and not being able to know otherwise^ 
I begg of you that you would be pleased to honour me so much as to let me 
understand whether the sayd hospital has escaped the rapacious hands of sacHr 
legious times, and whether it yet flourishes, or no ; and if the records whidi I 
mention may be anything serviceable unto you, they shall be sent by your 

Most humblei tho' unknown servant and brother, 

A. P. 



ABRA'HAM DE LA PKYME. 245 

May it please your Grace. 

As the multitude of favours that you have been pleased to honour'me with 
shall never be forgotten, so the last of your's, in condescending to write on my 
behalf to his grace the duke of Devon[shire], shall always possess my soul with the 
greatest thankfulness that can be, for, by the blessing of God, and your kind- 
ness, it was that the duke readily granted my request. The liveing of Thorn* 
is a donative, and so dos require either institution or induction, and, my presence 
being necessary amongst them, I am forced to be in a great hurry, otherwise I 
would have immediatly wated upon your grace, to render your grace my most 
humble thanks by word of mouth, and to begg your blessing upon all my minis- 
terial indeavours. 

I am your grace's most obliged, most affectionate. 

And most obedient son and servant, 

Abr. Pbtm. 

[The original paper, of which the following is a copy, has 
been inserted in the Diary]. 

Oct. 16, 1701. 
I, Abraham de la Pryme,* clerk, now to be admitted to serve the cure of the 
church of Thorn, in the diocese of York, do declare that I will conform to the 
Liturgy of the Church of England as it is now by law established. 

Abraham Prtmb. 

These are to certify that this Declaration was subscribed before 
us by the sd. Abraham de la Prime, when he was admitted to serve 
ye cure above mentioned. Given at or. man'* of Bishopthorpe, 
under o'. hand and seal manuall, the day and year above 
written.'' 



Seal of 

Archbishop 

Sharp. 



Jo. Ebor. 

Which sayd Abraham de la Pryme did, within ye time limited by ye Act in that 
case made and provided, on a Lord's day, during Divine Service, to wit, on 
ye 13th of November, 1701, publickly read ye aforegoing certificate and declar- 
ation in ye church where he dos officiate, before ye congregation there assembled. 
In witness whereof, wee, his auditors, have hereunto set our hands, ye day and 
year above written. 

John Smyth. Jno. Wilburn. 

Dear Friend, 

I have your two letters before me concerning the prince of Wales, and 
must needs thank you for the surprizeing newse in the latter of them — ^that the 
French king should have the impudence, contrary to the treaty of Keswick, and 
other secret allyances, to trump him up at this time of day, and imperiously 
proclame him the soveraign of these dominions. I am very sorry that your sen- 
timents of that prince is not the same as mine, for I think that I have more 
reason to believe him suppositious than ever can be brought to prove him real ; 
and because that you so earnestly demand of me what I have to say thereupon, I 

• In the parish register of that place is the following entry, in the Diarist't 
own writing. — ''HOI, 1 Sept., Abr. de la Pryme obtin. Donationem Hnjus 
Eccles. de Thorn." 

• Prime has been turned into Pryme here. 

i» " Oct. 16, 1701. — Abrahamus de la Pryme, Art. Bac., admissus fuit ad 
inserviendum cur» animarum in ecclesia de Thorn." — York Begittry. 



246 THE DIARY OF 

will here freely giye you my opinion of him, but must conjure you, as yotl love youf 
friend, not to shew anybody these lines but your two good brothers, whome I 
very much respect, for their prudence and faithfull services unto me. I desire 
you to do me this kindness, not out of any fear of any man, but out of ease 
and quiet to myself, who dos not love to have my name publick in such state 
matters. It is well known that suppositious princes is no new thing. Many 
historys mentions such being trump't upon the world, and even ours, of this 
nation, hath two or three well-known relations thereof. And did not a former 
queen, Mary (who is as infamous in history as the latter will be), offer to put a 
like trick upon the nation ; pretended to be with child, and of a son too, made 

prayers be made and thanks given for the same all England over, 

that the nation might not want a prince, and the catholick cause a supporter ? 
And this had been effected and brought about, but that God was pleased to 
strike her husband's (king Philip's), heart with so much amaze and astonish- 
ment thereat, that he refused to let such an impudent cheat be put upon the 
kingdom, which was honestly and nobly done by him. The whole story of 
which you may read more at larg in Fox's Martyrology, and other credible his- 
torians. Why should you think it Strang, then, that another queen, of the sune 
name, should offer such a thing again 7 Was there not the same need ? Was 
there not the same occasion ? Was not the mighty Babel of popevy to be estab- 
lish'd now as well as formerly ? And this the only way left to bring their 
mighty designs about ? And is not the circumstances of the breeding of the 
former pretended prince as like those of the latter as anything can be 7 And 
perhaps, if king James had been as honest as king Philip, we had been no more 
troubled with the latter than with the former The duke suc- 
ceeding to the crown, after his brother's decease, and being resolved to establish 
popery, knew that all his indeavours towards the same would signify nothing 
unless that he had a son to support it after he was gone. Thereupon, as soon 
as ever he was well setled in the kingdome, the monks and freers, and the rest 
of the bald-pated tribe, begun to fling out many prophesys, revelations, and 
visions of a prince that should be bom to the king in his old age. Upon the 
pillars of the kingdom should for ever remain how that miracles were not 
ceas'd, and that God would now, as well as he had done of old, quicken dead 
flesh, and grant a child to their majestys about the time that the sun should 

' enter into the tropic of Cancer. Upon this, wagers ensued amongst the popeish 
priests of ten, nay, ten guinneys to one, that it should be a son. Masses were 
publickly commanded and sayd for the young bantling, and prayers commanded 
in all churches, to thank God for the same. The pope sent over consecrated 
clouts for the brat, part of the Virgin Mary's smock to wrap it in, and part of 
her milk to suckle it with ; and the lady of Loretto, like the oracle of Delphos^ 

prophesy'd that for certain it should be a son 

The Prince of Orange, in one of his declarations, soon after his landing, 
promised to make out the birth of the prince spurious, and it came to all, he 
either could not do it, or, however, did not do it, which is much the same, 
for, as it is in law, Quod nonpatet non est. But pray, seing that none of the 
lords or commons doubted of it, or required it at his hands, which, if they had, 
he was ready to do, what need was there of such a thing 1 Besides, upon big 
pretended father's abdication of the crown, and the settling of the succession 
upon another head, and the makeing all papists incapable of ever succeeding, 
there was no manner of need to go about so useless and ridiculous a subject ; 
and since that they have lately, the last year, excluded the house of Savoy, the 
duchess dowager of Orleans and her children, Edward prince palatine of the 
Rhine and his numerous offspring, whose births were never questioned, and 
that for nothing but their being papists, and consequently sworn enemys both 
to the church and state of this land, why should any one pretend to insist more 
upon the prince of Wales than them ? As to the depositions you tell me o^ I 
saw them twelve years ago ; they signify little or nothing, being coram mm 

judiee, and so not valid in law. But, suppose they were, they are not direct to 



ABRAHAM D£ LA PRTMS. 247 

the bnsiness and point in hand. But, suppose furdcr, if they were that thej 
are not to be trusted, they proseeding most of them from known papists, 
whome their priests had beforehand prepared for the business, and the other 
few, that came from protest ants, were known to come from such who were 
meer court weathercocks, and vallued oaths no more than their honestys.? 

To the Honoured Dr. Sloan. 

Thorn, Febr. 2d, 1701-2 
Honrd. Sir, 

According to my promiss, I have sent you by the last carrier a box with 
a score or two of those sort of cones in it that are so frequently digged up in 
these Levels, concerning which I gave you my furder thoughts in my last. 

In the same box I have sent you also the following things : a bottle of 
Nostock, or that hitherto unknown substance that is called Star Slough, or Star 
Shot Gelly, and Nostock, by Paracelsus, from Nore, nasus^ and the Teutonic 
stecken, pungere, quia fat'ido odore nares ferlt. Eobertus de Fluctibus says 
that it is, what is commonly called, a substance that falls from the starrs, and 
thereupon adds that, as he was one evening walking in the field, he had the 
happiness to see a starr shoot or fall not far from him, and that, after some 
seeking, he found a great lump of the usual gelly, which had many black spots 
in it ; and, looking by chance yesterday in the learned Chauvin, I was sorry to 
find him give the same origin thereof. Indeed I could wish, with all my heart, 
that it was the product of a star, or the^« Gceli, as some callit,for then I might, 
I think, with some reason, expect it to be impregnated with some of those won- 
derfuU vertues that Paracelsus and others have ascribed unto it. The ingenious 
Borellus tells us how mightily the chemists prize it, pretending that they can 
draw an insipid menstruum therefrom that shall raddicaly dissolve gold ; and 
I remember that, when I learned that noble science with Seignior Vigani,^ he 
preachd us a whole lecture of the virtues of this wonderfull substance, but was 
BO ingenuous as to confess that he never made tryal of the same. My lord 
Verulam was a most acute man, and one of the most ingenious that this nation 
ever bred ; yet, in Mr. BushePs extract of the Abridgment of his Philosophy, 
there is such an odd account of a certain Strang stone that his lordship made 
out of this and other substances, that I cannot but set it down, which he pre- 
sented unto prince Henry, son of k[ing] J[ames] the 1st, in the following 
words. 

"Most Royal Sr., 

Since you are by birth the prince of yonr country, and your vertues the 
happy pledge to our posterity, and that the seignory of greatness is ever 
attended more with fiatterers than faithfuU friends and loyal subjects, and 
therefore needeth more helps to discern and pry into the hearts of the people 
than private persons, give me leave, noble S^* (as small rivulets run to the vast 
ocean to pay their tribute), so let me have the honour to shew your highness 
the operative quality of these two triangular stones (as the first fruits of my 
philosophy), to immitate the pathetic motion of the loadstone and iron, altho' 
made up by the compound of meteors (as star-shot gelly, and other such like 
magical ingredients, with the refiected beams of the sun), on the purpose that 
the warmth distilled into them, through the moist heat of the hand, might disr 
cover the affection of the heart by a visible sign of their attraction and appetite 

p There is a publication styled — A Chain of Foots in the Reign of JStng 
James Il.y hein^ an exact Narrative of every transaction preparatory to, emd at 
that laboured events the birth of a pretended Prince of Wales in the year 1688, 
8ro., wrapper y 70 pages^ 1747. 
< See awtea, p. 25. 



■■.■.•I "m.^i . J.*, j. 



248 THE DIARY OF 

to each other, within ten minnits after they are layd upon a marble table or the 
theater of a looking glass." 

Which pretious stones the said Mr. Bushel says that he was never quiet in 
mind until! that he had procured them, after the prince's decease, of Mr. Archj 
Prymrose, his page, but adds nothing furder about them. Howeyer, I hope I 
may have the boldness to say that, if there ever were any such such real jewels, 
that they had something of more extraordinary vertue in them than any that 
could proseed from this gelly, or else were but of little worth. 

I think that I have formerly read in a book of the learned Dr. Merril's, a 
once famous member of your honourable society, what this wonderf ull substance 
is, in the following words : — " Stella cadens est substantia quaedam alba et 
glutinosa plurimis in locis conspicua quam nostrates Star Fain nuncupant, cre- 
duntque multi originem suam debere stellse cadenti hujusque materiam esse; 
Bed Kegise Societati palam ostendi solum modo oriri ex intestinis ranarom a 
corvis in unum locum congestis, quod alii etiam ejusdem Societatis viri pies- 
tantissimi postea confirmarunt." 

The substance he means is undoubtedly that which is all over England 
called star-shot gelly, but to his and others their origin thereof I cannot yield, 
unless that for the same thing there may be difiEerent causes, and that the £ix>ggs 
spawns in the warm south in October or November, which they do not do here 
in the cold north untill March and April following. And as for their spawn I 
am sure our country crows will not touch it. 

Sir, this Strang substance is never found in this country but in the very be^- 
ning and end of winter, when the days are very warm and the nights pretty sharpi 
when there is no such thing as f rogg spawn to be seen or heard of ; and I have 
always observed that it is most common upon bank and dike sides against the 
sun, especialy where it has shone pretty hot the day before ; and, at last, after 
having gather'd many hundred lumps of it, to try experiments upon with alcalis 
and acids, I found oftentimes small parts, as if they were of worms, amongst 
them, very pellucid or transparent, and united to the verry gelly itself. This 
made me search more narrowly into the origin thereof, and then I discovered 
that, in the beginning of winter, when there was a fine hot sunshine day, that 
many of the great sorts of earth-worms would creep out of their holes to warm 
and comfort themselves, but, being benum'd by the suddain setting of the sun, 
and the approach of cold, and not able to get into their holes again, they are, 
by the sharp frost of the following night, frosen to death, and their bodys all 
bursts, swells, expands, and becomes a perfect gelly, which soon turns into 
water, and disappears. I have, in gathering of the sayd gelly, oftentimes found 
some worms half got into their holes, half out, the uppermost part of them all 
gellify'd and expanded ; then, opening the grass with my knife, I have found 
another part, that was a little within the ground, white, as if it was boil'd, and 
a third part, a little deeper, natural, and all strongly adhering one to another. 
Some that have been all gellify'd I have oftentimes (when they are taken fresh 
the next morning), opened out to the length of four or five inches. Others, when 
the frost was not strong enough perfectly to gellify them, have been whiteish, as 
if boil'd, not very transparent, and exactly half gelly half worm, one part pretty 
thoroughly dissolved and another part not. I have also oftentimes found othen 
lying at the very roots of the grass, and there being frozen and gellify'd, it has 
all bursten upwards, because that there was not room enough beneath for it to 
expand in. Some of these greater lumps of gelly that are now and then to be 
found, may perhaps have been frcggs, that either have been surprized as before, 
or else as they lay at the roots of the grass, or in bank sides, where they com- 
i&only hide themselves all winter ; fcr the learned Helmont says, that troggi 
digged up out of the earth in winter, and expos'd to the frost, wUl turn into 
lumps of transparent geUy. But I must needs confess that I never found, any 
the least member of that creature in the many hundreds of lumps that I have 
gather'd with my own hands. 

Haveing put the sayd gelly into bottles, and letten it stand a week or twO| il 



ABRAHAM DS LA PRTME. 249 

all tnrns into a water of a soure tast, and a faint, nasty smell, well answering 
the derivation of the aforegoing word that Paracelsus gave it ; but, being let 
stand a year or more, it becomes purely insipid and inoffensive, as this is that 
I have sent you in the bottle. 

I have here, withall, furder sent you a specimen of Aparine Plinii, well 
pictur'd and described by Johnston upon Grerrard, but not found by the indus- 
trious Mr. Ray, or any of our learned botanists, that I have heard of, growing 
in England. I got it plentifully in a garth of Richard Rogison*s, of Brough- 
ton, in Lincolnshire, amongst the com. In another paper I have sent a sort of 
sissil stone, easily divisible into thin plates, frequently found in the plaster of 
Paris pitts that are here in our neighbourhood, which, whether it be the old 
fossil vitrum of the ancients, or Muscovian glass, or what it's name is, I should 
be very glad to know. 

There are so many sorts of fungi and tubera that I do not know how to name 
them, some of which, not hitherto taken notice of by any author, are very 
observable, of which I will instance, at present, in no more than fragments of 
two that I have sent you. The first of which, a four-square piece of exceeding 
lightness, and a curious fine texture, belonged to a fungus or tuber which may 
be called the biggest of all others. It grows from a small thready root to the 
roundness and biggness of a great bomb. This to which the specimen did 
belong I plucked up with my own hands, and, with a sharp [knife], and a 
plank to compress it, I cut it into a square of about a foot every way, which 
was of a most lovely russit colour. Which great rarity being accidentally 
pull*d in pieces, I have sent you part thereof, which has lost much of its colour 
that it had some years ago. 

The other round substance is the bottom part of a great cup mushroom, or 
fuz, which, when fresh and in full perfection, with the sides riseing up round 
about from the bottom, like a cupp, will hold a quart of water, after a shower, 
many of which I have formerly got upon the woulds, in Lincolnshire, in the 
hedges. 

Lastly, to help to fill up, I have put into the box a piece of the black oak 
that is digged up in this country, observable for its colour and hardness. All 
which things I hope will come safe to your hands, and I wish may be acceptible 
to you, 

I am your, ^c. 

To Dr. Slone. 

Febr. 26, 1701-2. 
Honrd. Sr. 

I not onely heartily thank you for the Transactions you sent me, but 
also haveing been pleas'd to convince me that those trees, that I called pitch 
trees, found in the Levels of Hatfield, are one of the sorts of the true fir trees. 
That which led me into an error was not onely the expressions of some famous 
authors, who had not accurately enough distinguish'd the trees, but also the 
defference that I would fain have had to the honour of the most famous Caesar, 
who so positively says that no firs grow in Brittain, tho' indeed, I might, with 
reason, have given as little heed to him in that as to the next trees that he 
mentions. I mean the beech, which he totaly excludes also. But, in short, it' 
appears that he was no more infallible than I am, and, as certainty is that' 
which we all seek for, and is valuable with all good men, so pray be pleased to 
insert a line or two into some of your next Transactions, or these very lines 
that I now write, that I am thoroughly convinced that the trees found in the ' 
abovesayd Chace are the true fir, and not the pitch tree, and that the rest of all 
the particulars of them, upon a fresh and narrow examination of them, are cJl, 
to the best of my knowledge, true and certain. 

I thank you also, very heartily, for informing me what the' ebzistaline 
B 



S50 THE DIABY OF 

BubBtanee was that I sent yoa, and am also glad to bear tbat tbe Aparine Flinii 
etc., were described in the late yolume of the ingenious and accurate Mr. Ray, 
whose memory deserres, what I hope it will have, eternal knowledge, and 
whose book I had not as then seen. 

As for the Nostock of Paracelsus, as I would not for the whole world impose 
upon any one unless I was first imposed upon myself, so I do really believe that 
it is nothing but that contemtible substance or thing that I named unto you. 
'Tis strange that it should have been so cry'd up, and have such wonderfuU 
powers ascribed unto it ; but indeed ignorance is sometimes the mother of 
devotion. 

I am infinitely obliged to the Royal Society for their pleasing to counte- 
nance my studdys, and accept of my weak endeavours. I cannot tell how to 
shew my thankfulness to tho same, furder than my most humble thanks, and 
the dedicating of the most part of that time that my vacancy from my divine 
calling will allow me, wholy unto their service, which I shall always most wil- 
lingly do. 

You was pleas'd, I very well remember, about two months ago, in a letter of 
your's to me, to desire lieve to nominate me one of your honourable fellowship. 
I writ back that I could never have expected so great an honour, but, since 
that you was pleased to name it to me, I would not be so rude as to refase it^ 
but, on the contrary, most gladly receive it. But, having heard nothing from 
you of that matter since, I am apt to believe that my letter miscarry'd. 

The press, indeed, has committed several errors in my letter, which I ascribe 
to his negligence and my short writeing, the chief of which are these follow- 
ing. [Left blank]. 

To Dr. Sloan. 

Thorn, March 27, 1702. 

Honrd. Sr., 

Your*s came to my hands some days ago, but, being performing my last 
duty to a dying friend, I could not have the happiness of answering it nntill 
now. 

I most heartily thank you for the last Transaction, and the prodrom of the 
learned Count Marsigli, tho' I have not, as yet, received them. But, above all, 
I am most infinitely obliged to the Royal Society for the great honour that they 
have been pleased. to do me, in chuseing me one of their members. Pray be 
pleased to give my most hearty thanks unto them, and assure them that I will 
always make it my business to answer the ends of their most noble foundation, 
and to serve them in everything to the utmost of my power and knowledge.' 

It is certain that nothing advances knowledge more than a ready and free 
communication of what passes curious in every part ; so, tho' many have writ 
dp venenlSf et de his a canlhus rabidls momorsi fuerunt^ as the learned ParseiiB, 
Donatus, Codronchus, and others, and have communicated relations of such to 

•• March 18, 1701-2. Mr. Cheyne and Mr. De la Pryme were proposed M 
members, ballotted for, and chosen. 

April 1, 1702. A letter was read from Mr. de la Pryme, dated March 27, 
1702, wherein he thanked the Society for the honor they had done him in choosing 
him a member ; and gave a particular account of the accidents which happena 
on the biting of a mad dog, etc. He was thanked for this communication. 

(From the Journal Book, Royal Society, vol. x., as obligingly commiinicated 
to me by Mr. Walter White, assistant secretary, who adds that, finding a bleak 
against the diarist's name, under the head " Admission," he concludes that he. 
nev^r came up to be formally admitted). 

The following is a list of papers by Abraham de la Fryxne^ printod in tht) 
Philosophioal Transactions and Abridgement. 



ABRAHAM DE LA FRTME. 251 

the learned world, yet giye me leave to ad another, that happened in the f amily 
of one of the nearest relations of mine, in these parts, some few years ago, 
upon the bite of a madd dog, which may perhaps yield you some speculations 
not unacceptable, and help to discover the subtilty of the poison of these 
creatures, and how it affects man. 

In 1695,* my brother had a pretty greyhound bitch, that had whelps. Soon 
after came a madd dog, and bit the bitch, unknown to the family. Upon which, 
about three weeks after, shee ran mad, and they were forced to kill her, but 
saving her whelps, because that no sign of madness appeared in.them. About 
three weeks more they all pull'd out one another's throats, except one, which, 
escapeing, my brother's men vallued and nourish'd, made much of it, and 
stroak'd it. At length, perceiving that it could not lap, nor swallow any liquid 
thing, they put their fingers in its mouth, and felt its tongue and throat, but 
finding nothing wrong therein, as far as they could discover, they let it alone 
a day or two longer, and then it ran madd and dyed. 

They being thus dead and gone were soon forgot, untill that, about three 
weeks after, my brother's head servant, a most strong laborious man, that had 
frequently put his fingers into the whelp's mouth, began to be troubled now and 
then with an exceeding acute pain in the head, sometimes once, sometimes 
twice a day, so very vehement, that he was forced to hold his head witjji both 
his hands, to hinder it from riveing in two, which fitts commonly held him 
about an houer at a time, in which his throat would contract, as he sayd, his 
pulse tremble, and his eys behold everything of a fiery redd colour. Thus was 
he tormented for a whole week together. But, being of a strong constitution, 
and returning to his labour, in every interval he sweat and wrought it of with- 
out any physic. 

But it went far worse with one of his fellow servants, a young apprentice of 
about fourteen years of age, who had made as much of the whelp as he, but 
was not of so strong a constitution. He was seiz'd also with a pain in his head, 
was somewhat feverish, sometimes better, sometimes worse, cough'd much, yet 
had a good stomach, eat heartily, but could drink nothing. " I know not what 
I ail," says he, " I cannot swallow any beer," etc., and so laugh'd at it. When 
he went out of door, tho' there was but a small north wind, yet he always ran 
as if it had been for his life ; when they asked him why he did so, he told them 
he could not tell, but that the wind would needs stop his breath. A day or 
two after this he was worse, and vomited a Strang nasty sort of matter, like 
black blood, which stunk like sallet-oyl, but much stronger, which he did 
several times, after which he would be pretty well, and walk about, but most 
commonly ran as hard as ever he could ; first out of one comer, then into 
another, then up stairs, then down again, as if it was for his life. But, upon 
the third day of his confinement within doors, he grew perfectly madd ; would 
start, and leap, and twist his hands and arms together, point at people, and laugh, 
and talk anjrthing that came into his mind. In some of his fitts, he was so strong 
that he was too hard for four young men to hold him down in the chair where 



Account of some Roman antiquities found in Lincolnshire 

Letter concerning Broughton, in Lincolnshire, with obser- 
vations on the shell-fish observed in the quarries about 
that place - - - - - - 

Account of trees found underground in Hatfield Chase 

On the biting of mad dogs .... 

Account of subterraneous trees - - - - 

Observations concerning vegetation - . - 

Observations on water-spouts seen in Yorkshire - 

Observations on a water-spout seen at Hatfield 

* The Diarist has recorded this at p. 131 of vol. i. of the MS. Diary, 2 Jan., 

1696, as having occurred '* about three months ago." 



Phil. Trans. 


Abridg. 


xxii. 561 


iii. 428 


xxii. 677 


ii. 428 


xxii. 980 


iv2 273 


xxiii. 1073 


iv2 218 


xxiii. 1073 


iv2 218 


xxiii. 1214 


iv2 810 


xxiii. 1248 


iv2 10ft 


xxiii. 1381 


iv2 107 



252 THE DIARY OF 

he sat. But, as soon as they were over, he was lightsom, and laugh'daiid 
talk'd very boldly, bnt all his discourse was of fighting, and how, if that they 
would but let him alone, he would leap upon them, and bite, and tear them to 
pieces. And, when any one sayd unto him that he was sure that he would not 
hurt him, hee^d been ^ways his friend, he answered sharply, that friends abd 
foes were all alike to him, hee'd tear them all in pieces, etc. About an houer 
after this his fit came again, which soon made him speechless, seiz'd wholy upon 
his brain, and then he dy'd, just before that the physician came in. 

Sr., I will not here presume to search into the particles of this poison, what 
€gure they are of, how they move, how they multiply, how they are able to 
infect a mass of other particles millions of times bigger than themselves, and 
destroy and dissolve those most curious bodys that are so fearfully and so won- 
derfully made. Neither will I conjecture why they should ly so long, com- 
monly three weeks or a month, and oftentimes much longer, before that they 
begin to stir ; why water or beer, or any cold liquid, is against them, etc. ; . 
because that such things cannot certainly be known but by great niceness, and 
repeated labour and inspection. 'Tis pity that the most noble of creatures lys 
at the mercy of the most ignoble of particles, and most wonderfull that a few 
attorns should be able to destroy a whole world, millions of times bigger than 
themselves. 

Sr., I am, etc. 

Roger Mowbray, mentioned in my last letter, did not live in 1390, as I writ 
by mistake, but in 1100, so that what I sayd about some reliques of old forrests 
of fix, then standing in these levels, is more observable than I thought of. 

To Mr. Banks, in answer to his of February 15, 1702-3. 

Eev. Sir, 

I most heartily thank you for your kind letter, and, in answer thereto, 
do confess that, while I lived in your town,' I made great collections of valuable 

' The following notice relative to the diarist's appointment to the readership 
of Holy Trinity Church, Hull, occurs in his "M.S. penes Mr. Wilson, page, 238. 

"In 1698 Mr. Abr. de la'Pr}Tne, upon the removal of Mr. Wykes, succeeded to 
the office of Reader and Curate in the church. Mr. Banks, assuming the whole 
right of chusing and inducting of one to that office himself, brought him in 
without leave of the Bench, who, through much business, forgot to take notice 
of the same ; but he afterwards, understanding the badness of his tenure, went 
into the Town's Hall unto the Mayor and Aldermen assembled in councel, and 
acquainted them therewith, who readily thereupon confirm'd him in the said 
office, without Mr. Banks's knowledge, and appointed him to be their Reader of 
the High Church." 

19 Sept., 1700.—" Upon reading of the Petition of Mr. Abraham D' La Prime, clerk, the present 
Curate of St. Trinitie's Church, it is ordered that hce continue in the said place for the year 
ensuing att the usuall salary." — (Hull Town Records.) 

" In March, 1700," he continues, "they put so much trust in him that, at his 
request, they gave him public leave to search into, peruse, and view all their old 
charters, records, and memorials of the Town, upon his request to them, in the 
following words." — 

The order here alluded to is not copied by him into the MS., but, at my 
request, it has been extracted from the records, as follows : — 

B.B. 8, p. 432. 

Tempore "Wmi. St. Quintin Bart. Major : Ao. 1699. 
8l8t March, ie99-[1700.] 

*' Mr. Abraham de la Prime the Header in St, Trinitie's Church, came and desired of the BflBdi 
that they would permit him to look over and view the Antient Charters and other Beoords and 
Antiquities belonging to this Corporation and Town, in order to compose a catalogue thereof, and 
revive the autient rights and privileges of this town. It is ordered that his request be gxaiufcady 
and that the Town Clark do atteod and assist him." 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRTME. £53 

» 

papers and MSS., but am infinitely sorry that I have little or nothing amongart 
them that might be serviceable to the great and noble design of the learnedl 
and ingenious Sir P. Sydenham, unto whome pray be pleased to present my 
most humble service, and let him know that, if he have not obtained the in- 
scriptions upon the monuments of the archbishops of York, that I will pur- 
posely go to transcribe them for him sometime this summer. 

As concerning bishop Skirlaw," I have nothing furder of him than what is 
in the AngL Sac, Goodwin, Cambden, and other printed books, excepting onely 
that Speed, in Cah D, Relig. in Chron. mo, says that he built a great 
college of Prebendarys in Hull, the certainty of which may be found amongst 
the returns of Edward VL, in the Court of Augmentations, at London. 

But, as for bishop Alcock, the most learned and pious man of his time, I 
have somewhat furder observable of him. Bishop Goodwin, and from him 
others say that he was born at Beverley, which seems not at all probable to me. 
First, because that his ancestors, William Alcock, Thomas Alcock, sheriff in 
1468, and mayor in 1478, and Robert Alcock, the bishop's father, who was 
sherif in 147 1,** and mayor in 1480, were all of them famous merchants of this 
town, and lived here. Secondly, because that old records of the town positively 
say that he was the son of the aforesayd Robert Alcock, mayor. Thirdly, 
because that, when he founded the great free school in the town of Hull, he 
founded it upon his own lands, that had descended to him from his grandfather, 
William Alcock, merchant, of the same plaoe, being a great gardeii, fifty-five 
royal ells in length, which he had bought in 1432, of John Grimsby, merchant. 
And fourthly, because that it was most commonly the custom of them days to 
build their chanterys, and chappels, and schools, and such like, in the tovvns 
where they were born, as the aforesayd bishop Skirlaw did his at Skirlaw, and 
others. This Dr. Alcock was first bishop of Rochester, and then of Worster in 
1476. While he sat there, in 1484, he founded and built a little chappel, upon 
the south side of S • Trinity Church, in Hull, joining upon the great porch, 
and dedicated it to the Holy Trinity, erecting two altars therein, the one to 
Christ, and the other to S*^ John the Evangelist, and therein and thereat fixed 
a perpetual chantery and chantor, to chant psalms and prayers every day for 
the souls of King Edward 4th, his own, his parents', and for all Christian souls, 
which he endow'd with £14 6s. 4d. a-year, issuing out of houses and lands in 
Hull, Keilby, and Bigby. About fourteen years after this, awhile before his 
death, at the earnest request of Alderman Dalton, who had marry'd one of his 
sisters, he founded a great free school in the sayd town, and endow'd it with 
£20 a-year (tho' in the survey taken of it in Edward oth's time 'tis but return'd 
in £10), out of which the master was bound to pay 403. a-year to the dark of 
Trinity Church to teach boys to sing, and to give yearly to ten of the best 
scholars in the school 6s. 8d. a-piece, if the revennues and other exigencies 
would «illow of the same ; and all children coming to the sayd school were to 
be taught gratis. About the same time did he also, by another grant, give 
twenty marks a-year to the assistant minister of St- Trinity church. All which 
charitys were ruin'd and lost in Edward 6th days, and the schoorand school- 
house pull'd down and sold. 

As for Roger de Askliam, I have nothing at all of his, but a book entitled. 
The Schoolmaster ; or a jflain and perfect way of teaching children to under- 
stand^ sj)eaky and write the Lattln tongue, bvt especially purposed for tlie 
bringing up of youth in NohlemerCs houses, and commodious for such as have 
forgot the Lattln tongue, and would by themselves, without a Schoolmaster, in 
slwrt time and with small pains recm^er it. Printed at London in 1571. 
Which indeed is a very learned and ingenious book, and has many things in it 

** The name of Skirlaw, or Skirlew, is of frequent occurrence in the parish 
register of Thorne. The college of prebendaries is Howden, not Hull. 

^ There is more exact information about the Alcocks in the TestaTnenta 
Eboracenna, " - 



i6A THE DIABT OF 

relateing to his life and conyersation in St> John's College, Cambridge,, aiul 
elsewhere, which, if desired, shall be readily sent, tho* no question but he thajt 
is composing his life has seen it. 

As to Dr* Honiwood's epitaph, tho* that I have it somewhere amcrngst mj 
papers, yet I cannot find it at present. Tet in searching I found some otheif 
such like. There is one in S^ Martinis church, in Leicester, in the following 
words : — " Here lys the bodJ of John Heyrick, of this parish, who dyed in 
1689, aged 76 years, who lived with his wife Mary, in one house, full 62 years, 
and had issue by her 5 sons and 7 daughters, and all that time never buryed 
man, woman, nor child, tho' they were some times 20 in household. The sayd 
Mary lived to 97 years, and dyed in 1611. Shee did see, before her departure, 
of her children and children's children, and their children, to the number of 
142." 

In 1656 dyed the Lady Hester Temple, wife to Sir Thomas Temple, of 
Latimer, in the county of Bucks, Knight, who had 4 sons and 9 daughters who 
lived to be marry'd, and so exceedingly multiplied that this lady saw 700 
extracted from her own body before shee dyed. 

Other nations as well as this have been as fruitful. Ludovicus Yives tells of a 
village in Spain of one hundred houses, whereof all the inhabitants issued out 
of one certain old man, who then lived, and observes that the Spanish language 
did not afford a name whereby the youngest should call the eldest, since they 
could not go above the great-grandfather's father, etc. 

I am Sir, your most, etc 

To Mr. Parrol, in London. 

Thorn, March 9, 1702-3. 
Honrd. Sir, 

It is now above six years ago that I begun to write an exact and 
faithful history of the drainage of the great Levels of Hatfield Chace, on 
purpose to preserve the worthy memory of the first noble undertakers of the 
same, and the great troubles and sorrows that they suffer'd therein, which, by 
the great blessing of God, I have almost finished in some hundreds of sheets of 
paper, onely some things I want relating to the Vermuydens, Vemats, the 
Curteens, the Cattzs, and others, which makes me most humbly begg that if 
there be any papers in your hands relating to their births, country, and pede« 
grees, estates, lawsuits, callings, or when or where they died, or in what con- 
dition, or where I might get their coats of armes, or pictures, or what became 
of Sir Cornelius Vermuden's son and two daughters, or where they live, that I 
might write or go to them. These, if you will be pleased to communicate thd 
knowledge of to me, it shall be most graitfully and thankfully received. Or, 
if that you have anything relateing to your family (which I suppose was otie of 
those concerned in the drainage)** that you have a mind to make publick, I shall 

^ This name does not occur amongst the list of foreign settlers given by 
Hunter in Sovth Yorkshire, i., pp. Ifi9-170. The Diarist's correspondent wa» 
probably connected with Mr. David PeroU (sometimes spelled Parrol and Prole), 
who is mentioned as surveyor for the Level of Hatfield Chase, on the 19th 
May, xi. Car. I. (1635), in the records of the Court of Sewers. In an order of 
the court, dated 23rd October, 1648, he is said to have "beene very carefull and 
vigilant in his office, and endeavoured, with all his abilities and skill, both by 
night and day, to preserve the works thereof." (Vol. i., p. 386). In 1649 he 
was absent, being "ymployed in ye greate fennes ;" and on 17th September, in 
that year, two other persons were jointly appointed to execute the office of 
surveyor. Mr. PeroU, however, was present again at a court held 29th Septem- 
ber, and afterwards, but appears to have died in 1655. Cornelius Peroll, or 
Perole, was appointed a sub-surveyor of the court under John Hatfield, esq., 
surveyor general of the level, by a law of sewers dated 12th July, 1677^— See 
page 76, antea. 



ABBAHAM D!E LA PATME. 255 

be very faitbfull therein. Myself am descended of the first drainers, am a 
participant commissioner of suers, fellow of the Royal Society, etc., and there- 
fore you may he sure shall he very careful! to represent every thing to the best 
that I can, yet strictly according to truth. I will add no more, but, begging 
pardon for this trouble, 

1 am, ete. 

To Mr. Thoresby, in Leeds* 

May 17, 1708, 

Honrd. Sr., 

I received your's yesterday from Mr. Hall, of Fishlake, and have 
returned this, by post, in answer thereto, hopeing that it will come safe to your 
hands. I am very much obliged to you for the great favour that you express 
towards me, and my poor studdys and endeavours ; yet none could be more 
desirous of seeing you than myself th' last year when I was at your town, to 
have got (what I so earnestly desire) a personal acquaintance with you, and 
been satisfy^d in some antient affairs that then stuck a little hard upon me, 
such as the pretended battel of King Edwin's at our Hatfield, and such like, 
which, since, I have found belongs to Edwinstow, in Nottinghamshire, *.c., the 
place where Edwin fell. Another was where the antient river Vinvid, or 
Winwid stream was mentioned in Bede. Dr. Gale would needs perswade me 
always that it was our river Went that divides this manour of Hatfield from 
PoUington, but I always told him again that I thought it was raither Winnet, by 
Stappleton, called Innet in Cheshire, or Lancashire, from a charter in the Mon. 
Afigl. vol. i., and I think p. 862, where Robert de Lacy grants to the monks of 
Kirstal communltatem totlvs morce qnce vacatur Winnemore et utiam acram 
terrcB in Winnety ex occidentali parte pontls svper rlpam a^qucs;* but I doubt 
not but to be rightly informed of this and other things by you when I have the 
happiness of seeing you at your town, which I hope will be about a month or 
six weeks hence. As for my history of Hull, which I drew out of all the records 
of that town by particular order of the Mayor and Aldermen, I have not 
altogether finish'd it, neither must I dare to publish it till some be dead that 
are yet living, remembering Camden's fate. The MSS. that I have got together 
have cost me both trouble and charge, tho' indeed not much, and I am daily 
augmenting the number of them, haveing got several since I writ that cataloguey 
of them that you saw, one of which I will here give you the title of : — Compendium 
Compertorum per Doct. Leigh et Doct. Laytan, etc. This rare book, that had 
escaped the eyes of the famous Dodsworth, Dugdale, Burnet, and others, was 
found by me the last year, in his grace the Duke of Devonshire's library, at 
Hardwick, written in H[enry] 8 or Ed [ward] 6 days, which, upon my request, 
was immediately lent me home, of which I have taken a coppy in ten sheets 
of paper. I will not mention any other things at this time unto yon, for fear 
of being tedious ; I will onely add that I have here sent \o\x what you desired 
about farthings, and shall be always very glad to serve you in any thing that 
lays in my power. 

I am, Sr., your, etc. 

To Dr. Sloan. 

Thorn, June 26, 1703. 
H. Sr., 

'Tis some time ago that I sent you an account of a spout that myself 
and many others saw in Hatfield parish in 1 (\^o^ with some few conjectures 

' Vide antea, pp. 188-189. 

y 17 December, 1702. — " Ordered that 8 guinuyes be given as a gratuity to 
Mr. Pryme for inspecting the Town's Records and Papers, and making an Index 
thereof." — Record Book. 



256 THE DIABT OV 

upon the cause of it. Since that time I have been so happy as to see another 
in the same place, which very much confirms me in my notion of the nature 
and origin of them. The weather here in this part of the country hath heea 
exceedingi wett and could, insomuch that it seemed raither to have been 
spring than midsummer. Yet, for all that, Monday, the 2l8t ditto, was 
pretty warm, on the afternoon of which day, about two of the clock, no 
wind stirring below, tho' it seem'd somewhat great in the air, the clouds began 
to be mightily agitated and driven together, whereupon they became very 
black, and were most visibly hurry'd round, as in a circle, whence proseeded a 
most audible whirling noise like that commonly heard in a mill. After a while, 
a long tube or pipe came down from the center of the congregated clouds, in 
which was most plainly beheld a swift spiral motion, like that of a skrew, or 
the Cochlea Archimedis when it is in motion, by which spiral nature and swift 
turning water assends up into the one as well as into the other. It travelPd 
slowly from west to north east, broke down a great oak tree or two, frighted 
the weeders out of the field, and made others ly down flat upon their bellys to 
save being whirPd about and kill'd by it, as they saw many jackdaws to be, 
that were suddenly cattch'd up, carry'd out of sight, and then cast a great way 
aS. amongst the corn. At last it passed over the town of Hatfield, to the great 
terror of the inhabitants, filling the whole air with the thatch that it pluck'd of 
from some of the houses ; then, touching upon a corner of the church, it tore 
up several sheets of lead, and roll'd them straingly together. Soon after which 
it dissolved and vanish'd, without doing any furder mischief. 

There was nothing more extraordinary in this than in the other that I gave 
yon a former account of, and, by all the observation that I could make of both 
of them, I found that, had they been at sea, and joyn'd to the surface thereof, they 
would have carry'd a vast quantity of water into the clouds, and the tubes 
would then have become more dense, and opake, and strong, thati they were, 
and have continued much longer. 

It is commonly sayd that at sea the water collects and bubles up a foot or 
two high under those spouts before that they be joyned ; but the mistake lya 
in the pellucidity and tineuess of those pipes, which do most certainly touch the 
surface of the sea before that any considerable motion be made in it, and that 
then when the pipe begins to fill with water it then becomes opak and visible. 

As for the reason of their small continuance and dissolving of themselves, 
after that they have drunk up a great quantity of water, I take it to be by and 
thorow the great quantity of water, that they have carry'd up, which must 
needs thicken the clouds and impede their motion, and by that means dissolve 
the pipes. 

I am, Sr., etc. 

[To Mr. Thoresby.] 

Thorn, January 25, 1708-4. 

Hon. Sr. 

I received your's sometime ago, but had not the opportunity of 
answering it untill now, being busied in transcribing the whole court rolls of the 
manour of Hatfield, from Edward the Ist's days untill now, (which will take 
me eiprht or ten volumes in folio) in which are an infinite number of things 
very observable.* I am very glad that the comp[o8ition] was acceptable unto 

« At page 53 of the 1st vol. of the MS., the diarist has entered the sub- 
stance, taken from an old paper he says he had by him, "of a strange cause 
that was brought to a hearing in Hatfield court," in the 11th year of Edward 
III. (1337), between Robert de Kotherham, plaintiff, and John de Ithon, defen- 
dant, relative to the breach of an agreement, made at Thome, for the sale and 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 257 

you, (I am sare it would not have been so to the papists in King Jamei the 2nd'8 
time, if it had been then printed, to wliome it would have given a mortall blow.) 
You may direct it to Mr. Hardwick, at Rawcliffe, for me, by which means I 
hope it will come safe to my hands. As to your other querys, I answer them 
as follows. 

Rob[ert P[ortington] whose heroic deeds I have mentioned in my MSS., was 
second brother to Roger P. of Tudworth ; which Roger had originally but a 
small estate, untill that there dy*d one Sr. Roger P. of or near Leeds, who left 
his whole estate, about £1,600 a-year, to the disposal of his wife, they haveing 
no issue. And shee being old and full of piety, caus'd her coffin to be made 
and set in her chamber by her, and designed, when shee dy'd, to leave all shee 
had to a young nephew of her's called Mr. Nevil, of Chete," and had accordingly 
given it so in her will. He, knowing this, was impatient of her death ; and, 
being once in a merry humour, went to see her, as he did frequently, and 
observing her coffin stand by her, he fell a playing thereon with his fingers, 
and sayd, " O Aunt 1 when shall I hear that ycu'r layd up in these virginalls ? '* 
Shee, hearing these unfortunate words,* sayd little, but immediately alter'd her 
will, and gave all she had to this same Roger Portington, of Tudworth, because 
he was her "husband's double name-sake, tho' not at all related. 

This Roger haveing got such a fine addition to hii^ estate, came to the 
man our hall of H [atfield], and lived there im till the time of the breaking out of the 
civil war, in which he took the King's part, was a captain, rais'd and maintain 'd 
a troup at his own cost, untill at last, haveing spent above £9,000, he was taken 
prisoner, and sent to London, where they made him pay £1,890 more for 
composition money for his estate that was left, and kept him in prison eleven 
years, until the King's return, after which he came and lived at Barmby-upon- 
Dun, and there dy'd and was bury'd.* As for his estate that was left, he 
bequeathed it to his wife for her life, and, after her decease, to the Portingtons, 
of Portington, to whome I think it went long ago, and is now almost, if not 
wholly, spent. 

The aforosayd Robert P., this Roger P.'s second brother, was major in S^^- W. 
Savil's regiment, was a valiant soldier and brave man, plunder'd the Isle of 
Axholm, was in the fight at Willoughby, there taken prisoner and sent to Hull, 
whero he lay untill the king was restored, and then comeing over Bouth-ferry, 
or, as others say, Whitgift, he there received the sleight bite of an ape, that 
was then by chance in the boat, in his hand, which gangreen'd, and shortly 
after carry'd him to prison again in the dark and silent grave.** 

delivery by the latter to the former of no less an article, whether corporeal or 
incorporeal, than a devil, bound in a certain ligament— -'.'Diabolum ligatum in 
quodam ligamine "-—in consideration of the sum. of S^d. The subject has been 
often transcribed and reprinted; and the purport of it may be read in Hunter'B 
S. Y.f i., p. 197. From an occasional inspection of these court-rolls, with which, 
through the courtesy of Rowland W. Heathcote, esq., of the Manor-house, Hat- 
field, I have been favoured, I am in a position to endorse the statement in the 
text, that they certainly do contain " an infinite number of things very observ- 
able " by the antiquary and genealogist. Most of the early ones, however, have 
suffered from a want of care on the part of their custodians, with which they 
are, at all events, not now chargeable. 

^ Chevet, near Wakefield. See ped., Bnnter^s S. F., ii., 393. 

* This *' unseemly jest" is referred to by Hunter as taken from De la 
Pryme's Diary, in S.Y., i., p. 218, where, and at p. 214, see pedigree, and further 
information as to the Portington family. 

' Died in 1683. See mon. insc. in Miller's Hist. Doncaster^ p. 238. 
Hunter's S. F., i., p. 214. ** 1683. Rogei Portington, of Barnby, Esq., was buried, 
contrary to act of parliament, ye 11th of December." [i.e, concerning the 
burying in woollen.] — Barnby Don par. register. 

^ Died 23 December, 1660, buried at Arksey. See mon. insc Miller'* Hist. 
Dofioaster, 229. Hunter's S. K, i., 214. 



258 



DIARY OF 



Hen[i7 Prortington] the greiit royalist, of whome I Bent yon the boot, «*■ 
the son of Bobert P.. esq., of Staynford, but descended from Bannbj-upon-Dnn, 
and wsB nephew to the aforeiayd Roger and Robert, of Tudworth ; and, dying 
without issue, left what he had to a brother named William, who had a Mil 
named Henry, who spent alL 

All thia I took in writing, some years ago, ftom Mr. L[8yton !] before ha 
dj'd.' 

his point, 

m om,; but Ml. 

« of his BUteij 

to Tboresby waa 

it.— See SuntfrS South TorAthire, i., p. 181. 



tt that time the latest entry ii 




APPENDIX 



GENEALOGICAL NOTICES. 



[^Inside the cover, at the commencement of the Diart/, in the 

Diarisfs own vjriting,'] 

Mat. Prym, my father, was bom ye 31 of August, 1645. 
Sarah Smagg, my mother, was born in November, 1649. 
They were marryd 3^ of April, 1670. 

Abraham Prym, y© first born, and ye author of this Bool^ 
was born ye 15*^ of Jan., 1671. 

1. Peter Prym was born ye 29tb of April, 1672. 

2. Sarah Prym was born ye 14 of Sept., 1677, 
Mary Prym was born ye 17 of Octob., 1685. 
Frances Prym was born ye 15 of Febr., 1687. 

1. Peter Prym marryd Frances, ye daughter of Franc- 
Wood, of ye Levels, July ye 25, 1695. 

1. His first born, dved soon. 

2. His 2^ son was bom Munday y® 6*- of 7 ^er. at 10 a 
clock at night, 1697. 

2. Sarah Prym was marryd unto William Oughtibridg, of 
Woodhouse, in 1696, and by him had a son named Thomas, 
born ye 1699. 

[In a different handS\ 

Thar was 5 childer more ho dyed before me father. 
Daved, 37^. ould, Jacob, 8yr- ould, Elez., ISy- ould, Maiy^ 
half a yr. ould, Elez., ly^. ould, Frances, 27'. ould. 



260 THE DIARY OF 

l^The following entry occurs at page 69 of the Diary.] 
Extracted out of y^ Register op y'" Chapppel op Santoft/ 

" Le 4 d' Avril, 1670, sent maries Abram Bareel et 
Francoise Sterpin, et Mathew Pryme, et Sara Smaque. Le 
15 Janvier, 1671, naquit Abrah. fils de Math, Pryme, et de 
Sarah Smaque, et a ete baptize le 22 du dit mois a Santoft, son 
parein est Abrah. de Prim et sa mareine Fransois Sterpin, femme 
de' Abr. Behareel, Le 9 de' Avril, naquit Pierre fils de Mat. 
Prieme, et de Sara Smaque, et ete baptize a Santoft, le 14 de 
Juillet, son parein est Pierre Smacque, et sa mareine Sara 
Jacob, femme de Isanbaer Chavatte." 



A College friend of the diarist's named Read (who had been 
on a tour into Derbyshire with Sir Thomas Bendish), in a letter 
dated Cambridge, March 3^ 1695-6, sends him a note of one 
" Phillip Pryme, Gent, of Normanton in Derbyshire. I lookt 
in ye map and found on town of y*. name ab*- 3 miles south of 
Derby itself." 

Monumental Inscriptions in Hatfield Church. 

Sacred to y^ Honour of God & ye Dead. At ye foot of This 
Pilr- lyes Bury'd in certain hope of riseins in Christ ye Body of 
Matthew Pryme, of y^ Levels, Gen*- son of Charles De la 
Pryme/ of ye citty Ipres, in Flanders, who marryed Sarah, 
ye daufjh. of Peter Smawe, Gn*- cit. of Paris, & haveing lived 
49 years in this vain world (a patern of vertue, honesty, and 
industry), departe'l to a better ye 29 of luly, A.D. 1694, 
leaueing behind him a good name, a moumfull wife, & of j j 
children whome God had given him onely five liveing, Abraham, 
Peter, Sarah, Mary, and Francis, who out of gratitude to G<Mi 
& duty to ye excellent memory of the dead did most freely, 
willingly, thankfully, and deservedly, erect this mon. to his 

• It is much to be regretted that the Registers of this chapel are not now ta 
be met with. Stonehouse (/«^ of -4a?/M?Z77^, p. 355), says, "part of them have 
been preserved by Mr. Stovin." Hunter, writing in 1828, and giving the names 
of many of the Dutch and French settlers on the Hatfield Levels, says, "of these 
it is possible to collect a pretty complete list from the register of the chapel of 
Sandtoft, which was carefully kept from 1641 to 1681, and is still in existence, or 
lately waa so. It was in the French language." {Smith Yorltshirey 1., p. 169). 
Many enquiries have been made about these records but hitherto without succesai. 
^ Both Peck and Hunter have omitted to give these words of paternity. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTMB. 861 

memory.' Here allso lyes y^ body of M™. Sarah Pryme, wife 
to y« afores<i M^- Matthew Pryme, she dyed 1729, aged 82. 

Near 

this place lyes 

Peter De la Pryme, 

Gent., of y« Levels, 

Who dy'd Nov. 25*^ 1724, aged 52 years. 

Also 
Frances, his wife, who dyd Py 12, 1707. 

Also 4 children 

Matthias, Matthew, Sarah, & David. 

Here allso lies Abraham De 

La Pryme, Gent, eldest son to 

ye aforesd Peter & Frances, he 

died Octob. 6, 1740, aged 40 

years. 

Also Emily, Relict of Abraham De La Piyme. 

who died July, 1769, aged 76. 

Also 

2 children of his son, 

Abraham De La Pryme, Gent., 

Peter & Margret. 



Sacred to the Memory of Francis & George Wright, 
Great Grandsons of Peter De La Prime, the former of whom 
fell a Victim to the climate of Tobago, the 2^ of Sept^. 1801, 
aged 29 years. And the latter to the bursting of a Gun when 
dn Duty, at the same Place, the 27t^ Oct^- 1805, aged 26 years. 
This Monument was erected by their Sister, Sally Wright, to 
ftdfil the Intention of their afflicted Mother, Sally Wright, 
who died 7^^ JanJ- 1809, aged 64 years, and whose Bemains 
lie at the foot of this Pillar. 



* "This," says Hunter, "is a beautiful specimen of what I would call the 
English epitaph ; full of that information for which people resort to the monu- 
ments of the dead ; not extravagantly encomiastic, but doing justice to the mem- 
ory of aman whom we cannot doubt to haye deserved all that is said of him; 
at the same time, simple, tender, affecting." — South Torkshirey i., p. 190. 

The arms represented on the De la Pryme monuments, at Hatfield, when Peck 
wrote his History of Bamtry and Thome^ 1813, were said to be aawre a mm 
argent; and Hunter, 1828 (^i&u/A JbrMi^^,!., p. 190), also describes them 'as 
a silver sun upon an azure field. When I saw them, in 1869, the son had been 
painted by some one «a620. . ^ 



262 



THE DIART OF 



Here Lies all 

that was mortal 

of Abraham de la 

Prymb, F.RS., 

Minister of Tbom, in the 

County of York, 

Son of Matthew de la Pryme 

m 

& Sarah his mournful Relict 

he died June yer 13th, 1704, 

in y* 34^11 year of his age. 

Tho' Snatch'd away 
in youth's fresh bloom, 
Say not that he 
untimely fell ; 
he nothing owd 
Ye years to come, 
and all that pass'd 
was fair & well. 

A painful priest, 
A faithfull fre% 
A vertuous soul, 
A candid breast, 
usefull his life 
& calm his end, 
he now enjoys- 
eternal Rest. 






I 



[The abore is on a plain stone at the foot of the north-east pillar of the 
tower. Viro monumentum haudquaquwm dignvmJ'-'] 



* Hatfield Burial, 1704, June 14, Mr. Abraham Prym. 
''Mr. Pryme, min., dyed npon June y^ 12tb, 1704, and WBS buried atfe^ 
Hatf., June 14^*" — Memorand/um in the BegUUr tf Tiame, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTHI. 263 

In memory of Emelia, wife to William Greene, esq., of 
Chesterfield, in ye county of Derby, who died April ye 1st, 1760, 
in ye 28th year of her age. Daughter of Abraham and Emily 
De la Pryme, above mentioned. 



Near This Place lyes ye Body of Sara^ ye wife of W™- 
Outibridge, of Hatfd. Wood^^s- & Daugtr. of Mat^- Pryme, 
Gent- Died March 27, 1708. Also 2 daugtrs. viz. Sar^ bur<i- 
Augst. 12,' 1708, & Elizb. burd Augst, 25, 1714. 



T, OughtHbridge^ Engraver, 

D.M.S. 

Near ys Place Lye ye Bodyes of W™- Oughtibridge & Sarah 
his wife, he was buryd July 30,^ 1728, agd 56. She dyd 1708. 
AUso 4 children, Su^n., Mat^-* Sar^^M & Ehzl^. Also Thos- 
Oughtibridge, Son to Will°^- and Sarah, he died December 2&*\ 
1756,^ Aged 54 years. 

Arms : Or on a fess sable 3 lozenges gules, impaling, azure 
a sun sable.* 

(On a Brass plate.) 

Here Lieth the Body of W. Oughtibridge, of this Parish, 
Gent., Bulled July 1728, aged 56 years. 

Nigh unto this place lies the Body of Frances, the wife of 
John Cock,* daughter of Mathew and Sarah Pryme, who 
departed this Life the 3^ of June, J745, Aged 53. Also two 
Children Hannah & Matthew, who died Infants. And John, 
who died the JS^^ of March, J747, Aged 22. Also Sarah, who 
died the 8tii of March, J763, Aged 48. 

« lOth in Register. 

/ Buried 29th, in the Register. 

f So- on the monument, but an error for 1753. His will was dated 8 Dec, 
1763, and proved at York 19 June, 1754. The burial register is 28 Dec,. 
1753. Peck, in his History of Bawtry and Thorne, 1813, p. 105, has it 1763. 

* I give the heraldry as I find it, though there is obviously some irregu- 
larity in the colours. Peck has Oughtibridge thus, in his History af, Bavstry 
and Tkorne, 1813, p. 105. 

* Peck {Hist. Bamtry and Thome^ 1813) has misprinted this name CooXe. 
Hunter the same, S.Y.^ i., 190. Pedigree in Arehoeoloyia, vol. xl., has* ifr 
80 also. It is clearly Cock, both on the monnmeat and in the register,. 



2C4 THE DIAKY OF 

Near this place lye y® remains of Thos- Johnson, of Brumby, 
in ye County of Liucolii, Gen*., buried June 29, 1 75 J, aged 63 
years. Also Mary, his Wife, who was Buried lune t£e J4, 
J767, aged 82 years. 

T. Oughtibridge^ Sculp. 

Arms : Arg. a lion (or leopard) passant guardant, on a 
chief... 3 fishes palewisa, heads downwards... impaling Pryme. 



Prom a Gravestone near the font, in St. Paul's CHURCHy 

Sheffield. 

In Memory of Ehzabeth, the wife of James De la Prime, who 
died October the ..., 1766, aged 36 years. 

Also of Charles, son of James De la Prime, Bom April the 
7th, 1759, died Novr. the 11th, 1760. Also of the second 
Charles, his son. Bom April the 9th, and died May the 24thy 
1763. Also of Peter, who was Bom April 22d, 1765, and died 
August the 15th, 1768. 



On a Tablet in North Ferribt Church. 

Mr. Francis Pryme, of Hull, died the 7ih July, 1769, 
aged 67. 

Rebecca, his wife, the 28th May, 1750, aged 39. 

Frances their daughter, the 31st Oct., 1746, aged 8 years. 

Christopher Pryme, Son of Francis Piyme, by Mary his 
first wife, the 20th Oct., 1784, aged 46. 

Alice, his Widow, died at Hull, on the 16th of October, 
1834, aged 86. 



Beneath is a shield, intended, it is presumed, to exemplify the 
arms of Mr. Pryme and those of his two wives, as follows: — Per 
pale, the dexter half parted per fess, the upper portion being 
paly of eight or and azure, on a chief of the firet a lion passant 
guardant gules: and the lower portion, azure the sun or: sinister 
half, vert a greyhound salient argent. Here, again, is a variance 
in the De la Pryme arms, the sun being given as gold. 



abraham de la pryme. 265 

Abstracts from the Wills and Administrations of the 

NAME of PrYME, IN THE REGISTRY AT YORK,-' 

27 Dec, 1669.— Charles Prime, of the Levell, in the par- 
rish of Hatfeild, yeoman. — Item, I give unto the poore of the 
Frencli and Dutch conorreo^ation of Santoft the sumnie of three 
pounds. — Item, I ^ive unto my three sonns, that is, Abraham 
Prime, and Matthias Prime, and David Prime, all my lands 
wliich is in Flanders, equally divided amongst them three. — 
Item, I give unto my sonne Abraham Prime the summe of 
ISL 65., as above 20/. which I am ingaged for my sonne Abraham 
att Gainsbrougli, to be paid by my executors hereafter nomin- 
ated, which, with one hundred and sixtie-one pound 175. alreadie 
paide to him, makes the summe of 200Z. — All the rest of my 
houses, leases, tenements, and goods whatsoever, I give unto 
my wife Prudence, and to my sonns Matthias and David, to be 
equally divided amongst them three, and make them jointe and 
sole executors. — Witnesses, Isaac Germe, Abraham Beharrel. 
[Proved 10 Jani7» 1669-70, admon. to Matthias & David Prime, 
the ex^s.] — Eeg. Test 50, fo. 451t. 

2 Jan^yM 1669-70. — Prudence Prime, of the Levell, widow. 
— To my son Jacob Coakley, 20s. — All my part of houses, leases, 
tenements, and goods whatsoever, to my sons Matthias Prime, 
and David Prime, they paying the third part of what they shall 
be valued at to my son Abraham Prime. — Said Matthias & 
David Prime ex^s. [Proved 10th Jan^y., 1669-70, admon. to 
Matthias & David Prime, sons & ex^s. of s^- deed. ] — Ee^. Test, 
50, fo. 452. 

30 Jan^y-, 1671-2. — David Prym, of the Levells, yeoman. — 
My wife Mary sole ex^ — The 3^ part of my personal estate to 
my son David P., when 21 or married, — the other 2 parts to 
my 8^ exr. — Should my wife die in her widowhood, and also my 
son, then the moiety of what she dies seized of to my brethren 
Abraham and Matthias Prim, or to their heirs or assigns, and 
the other moiety to be at her own disposal. — Benjamin Guey, 

J For the contribution of these testamentary notices the Editor is indebted 
to R. H. Skaife, Esq., of York, a gentleman who has been upon all occasions 
most ready to assist him, and whose qualifications for the labours of the anti- 
quarian scholar have been well displayed in the publication of " his first 
literary essay," Kirliby's Inqiiest, which forms the 49th volume of the works of 
this Society. 

S 



266 THE DIARY OF 

and the said Abraham & Matthias Prim, to be supervisors of my 
son David. — [Proved 26 Aug., 1672; admon. to Abraham 
Prymme brother of s<i- deed., to whom tuition of David P., son of 
gd. decd.» was also granted.] — A second grant was issued (&the 
above cancelled), 26 Oct., 1672, to Susanna Guoy, the mother^ 
& Abraham Prym, the brother of s^- deceased. — Reg. Teat 53, 
fo. 324&. 

Nuncupative will of Mary Prym, widow and relict of David 
Prym, of Haines, in the parish or chapelry of Thorne, made on 
or about 21 Aug., 1672. — ^AU my land to my son David Prym, 
if he live t(5 accomplish his full age ; if he die before, then to 
Suzans Guoy, my mother, for her life. — rem. to Suzans Flahant, 
wife of John Flahant, and to her heirs. — All my goods and 
personal estate whatsoever to my son David Prym (except my 
rings and silver thimbles, which I give to Suzans Gouy, my 
mother). — To Sarah Moore, my god-daughter, 10s. — Tuition of 
said David to my mother Suzans Gt)uy. [On 26 Oct., 1672. 
probate of the will of Mary Prym, late of Levell, par. Hatfield, a 
admon. granted to Susanna Guoy, mother of s^- dec<^-> & Abra- 
ham Pmn, gent., brother of s^. deed. Same day tuition of 
David Prym, son of s^. dec^* was granted to the said Susanna 
Guoy, his grandmother.] — Reg. Test 53, fol. 192. 

6 Oct., 1684. Admon. of the goods, etc., of David Pbymm, 
late of Levells, but dying (intestate) at Pursland, par. Crowland, 
CO. Line, granted to Susanna Gouy, his grandmotiber. — AetJBookj 
Pontefract Deanery. 

26 July, 1694. — Matthias Prim, of the the parish of Hat- 
field, yeoman. — £18 per ann. to my wife Sarah P., to be paid 
quarterly, during her life, out of all my houses and lands at 
Hatfield & Hatfield- Woodhouse, & my old farm in the Levell, 
late Mr. Dawlings. — Also to my s^- wife j£50 within 12 months 
after my decease. — To my son Abraham P., and to his heirs, all 
that my farm at Goodcock, in the occupation of Isaac Amorj, 
as also 49 acres in Wroot Carr, with the buildings, and all my 
right, title, and interest in Vanheck land. — Tw) my sd- son| 
Abraham, JBIOO out of my personal estate, to be paid within 12 
months after my decease. — My houses and lands at Hatfield k 
Hatfield- Woodhouse, and my old farm in the Levell, to my son 
Peter P., and his heirs, paying £18 yearly to his mother, as 
above bequeathed. — To my three daurs. Sarah, Mary, & Frances, 
each £200, when 21 or married. — Tuition of sd« 3 daurs. to my 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRTKI. 267 

Wife, and to my trusty & welbeloved friend W^^- Erratt, clerk, 
& Edward Forster, gent. — £5 to W^^m son of W™- Erratt, clerk, 
— To Charles Prym, my nephew, £5. — To ye poore that come to 
my funerall, five pound, to be dealt in dole in Hatfield churchy 
after I am buryed. — Residue to Peter P., my son ; he sole ex' 
[Probate of the will of Matthias Prim, ^ent., of the Levell, 
granted to Peter Prim, gent., son of said deceased, and sole 
executor, 25 March, 1695]. — N.B. This will is not registered. 

Inventory, taken 17 Janry.» 1694-5, amounted to £1316 19s. Od, 

His funeral expenses were £20. 

Paid to ye D^. & Apothecary, £17. 

Francis Oxley & Charles Prim, of [Ledle?], yeoman, enter 
bond. 

2 April, 1711, 10 Anne. — James Grbenhalqh, of Hooton- 
Roberts, clerk. — To my son, Thomas Greenhalgh, £300 when 
21. — To my son James Greenhalgh, 300, when 21. — To my daur., 
Emelia Greenhalgh, £300, when 21 or married. — Tuition of s^- 
children to my wife Margaret. She sole ex^ [Pro. 8*^ Jan^y-t 
1718-9, admon. to Margaret Greenhalgh, widow, the sole ex^ ] 
— Reg. Archiep, Dawesj fo. 106. 

Mem. — 21 Feb., 1692-3. James Grenehalgh, clerk, insi to 
Hooton-Roberts. 

26 Janry., 1718-9. Charles Willats, clerk, inst. to Plumtree, 
vice James Greenhalgh, deceased. 

20 Nov., 1724. — Peter Prym, of the Levels, par. Hatfield, 
gent. — I give unto my son Francis Prym all my share of lands 
in the Levells, late Mr. Vanheck's, and the house and land at 
Goodcop, in the manner of Epworth, to him and his heirs for 
ever, also £300 in money, to be paid him within 12 months after 
my decease by my executor. — Item, I give unto my son, Abram 
Prym, all my copyhold land and messuages, buildings, and 
appurtenances whatsoever, in the lordship and mannor of Hat- 
field, to him and his heirs for ever, and the 151 acres in Bryer- 
hills. — To my daur. Elizabeth Prym, £600, to be paid witlun 6 
months after my decease. To Susan Oughtibridge, £5, & to 
Thomas & William Oughtibridge, each £1 Is. — Residue to my 
son Abram Prym. He sole exJ*. Witnesses, W°^- Errat, W™- 
Rodwell, & Timothy Moore. [Proved 29 May, 1725, admon. to 
Abraham Prym, son and sole ex^- ] — Reg. Test, 78, fo. 117. 

16 Oct., 1740. — Margaret Grenehalgh, of Hatfield, widow. 



268 THE DIABT OF 

— To my ^anddaur. Emilia de la Prime £200, when 21 of 
married. — To my ^randdaur. Elizabeth de la Prime JB200, when 
21 or married. — My late son, James Grenehalgh, dec^ — Residue 
of my personal estate, and also my copyhold house in Hatfield, 
to my daur. Emelia de la Prime, widow, her heirs, executors, & 
administrators, subject to an annuity of £10 to M^s- Frances 
EHce, for payment of which my brother, Mr. Hugh Bosvile, 
became bound with me unto M^s. Dorothy Briscoe, decd-t mother 
of the said Mrs. Alice (dc), about May 26tb» 1721. Said daur. 
Emilia sole ex^ [Proved 14 July, 1754, admon. to Emelia de la 
Pryme, widow, daur. & sole ex^ of s^decd- ] — Reg. Test 98, 2216. 

18 Auff. 1768. — Francis Pryme, of Kingston-upon-Hull, 
esquire, — To my daur. Elizabeth Pryme £500, to be paid within 
6 months after my decease, — also £500 more, to be paid within 
12 months after my decease. — also a sum of about £93, left to 
her by her uncle and aunt, Wilham & Rebecca Thompson, & 
now in my hands, to be included in the above legacy. — To my 
s^- daur. Elizabeth £20, to be p^- w^^in one month after my 
decease. — To my daur. Nancy Pryme, £500, within 6 months, 
and £500 within 12 months, and £20 within one month aflier my 
decease. — To my daur. Sally, the wife of Mayson Wright, £20. 
— To my son-in-law Mayson Wright, £20. — My real & personal 
estate, charged with the above legacies, to my son Christopher 
Pryme. He sole ex^. [Proved 18 Dec, 1769, admon. to 
Christopher Pryme, son and sole ex^ ] — Reg. Test 113, fo. 273. 

2 June, 1769.— Emelia De la Pryme, heretofore of Hat- 
field, but now of Sheffield, widow. — To my son, James De la 
Pryme and to his brother-in-law, James Greatrex, of Manchester, 
gent., my copyhold house in Hatfield, and my copyhold land at 
Hatfield- Woodliouse, in trust to sell the same, etc. — My grand- 
daur. Mary De la Pryme (under 21). — To my grandson, James 
De la Pryme, my silver tankard. — To my grandson, Abraham 
•De la Pryme, and to my grandson, Francis De la Pryme, my 
five table spoons, marked with the Grenehalghs' crest. — To my 
granddaur. Emelia De la Pryme, my three silver castors, and 
two little waiters, marked with the Grenehalghs' crest. — Residue to 
my son, James De la Pryme. He sole ex^- [Proved 5 Nov., 
1770, admon. to James De la Pryme, son & sole ex^. ] 

10 May, 1782. — Christopher Pryme, of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, merchant. — Mentions his wife Alice, his son Qeorgd 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 269 

Pryme (a minor), and his (testes.) sisters, Nancy Pryme, Sally, 
wife of Mayson Wright, and Elizabeth Robinson. — In a codicil, 
dated 2 Oct*, 1784, he mentions his brother-in-law, the Rev. 
Owen Dinsdale. [Proved 11 Nov., 1784, admon. to the Rev. 
Owen Dinsdale, clerk, one of the ex^s.] — Reg, Test, 128, fo. 430, 
22 April, 1771. — Elizabeth Blaydes, of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, gentlewoman. — To my daur. Frances Blaydes, £1500. — 
To my nephew, James De la Pryme, of Sheffield, gent., £100. — 
and to his two sons, Abraham and Francis, £50 each, — and to 
James, Mary, and Amelia, the three other children of my said 
nephew, James De la Pryme, £10 each. To my nephew, M^- 
Christopher Pryme, my two nieces, Elizabeth and Nancy Pryme, 
and to my nephew-in-law, Mr. Mason Wright, and Sarah, his 
wife, £10 each. [Proved 12 Nov., 1772, admon. to Benjn. 
Blaydes, esq., k Frances Blaydes, son and daur. of s^i* deed- ] 

Record of the Death of the Diarist, and admission of 
HIS Heir, at the Manor Court at Epworth, 

Co. Lincoln.* 

Manerium de Epworth. — Visus Franc. Pleg. cum magna 
Cur, Leta, Cur. Baron, et Cur. placitorum honorabilis Domini Johis 
Carterett, Baronis de Hawnes, domini manerii prsedicti, infantis, 
per honorabilem dominam Graciam Carteret, gardianum suum 
ibidem tent. 18 Octob., 3 Anne, A.D. 1704, coram Augustino 
Sampson, seneschallo curiaB ibidem existente. 

Obitus Abrahami Prym. — Ad banc curiam compertum est 
per homagium quod Abrahamus Prym gens. unus customarius 
domini tenens hujus manerii tenuit sibi et haeredibus suis per 
copiam rotulorum curiae, secundum consuetudinem ejusdem 
manerii, unum cotagium sive tenementum, cum horreis et aliis 
aedificiis eidem spectantibus, jacens et existens infra parochiam 
de Belton, et vocatum per nomen de Goodcopp, nunc vel nuper 
in tenura sive occupatione Samuelis Amory, et unum clausum 
terras arrabilis prope eidem adjungentem, continentem per 
aestimacionem sex acras (plus vel minusj, abbuttantem super 
farmam terrae vocatum Sands Toft farm ex oriente, et altam 
viam ducentem inter Hatfield et Sand Toft ex boreali, et etiam 
unum parcellum terrae vocatum a tack, unam piscariam in rivo 
vocato le Old Idle, ac etiam seperalem aliam piscariam in quodam 

* Copied from the origiual, under the obliging permission of the present 
lord of the manor, Alfred Parkin, Esq. 



270 THE DURY OF 

loco vocato Thorn Bush Carr cum pertmenciis in Belton, 

obiit inde seisitus, et quod Petrus Prym est frater ejus, proximus 
haBredum, et plene astatis; cui dominus manerii praedicti per 
fienescallum suum concessit inde seisinam per stramen, secundum 
consuetudinem ejusdem manerii, habendum et tenendum praemissa 
prasdicta eidem Petro haeredibus et assignatis suis secundum 
eandem consuetudinem perredditus et servicia per consuetudinem 
inde prius debita et de jure consueta. Et dat domino de fine 
pro hujusmodi statu et ingressu ut in margine, et fecit domino 
fidelitatem, et sic admissus est inde tenens.' (Fin. xxxs. & viii^.) 

De la Pryme op the Isle op Man. 

The following Petition, addressed to the Commissioners of 
Inquiry for the Isle of Man, and published in their report 
printed in 1805, alludes to the first establishment of Cotton 
Manufacture in the Isle of Man, which had to be abandoned in 
consequence of the customs of Liverpool insisting upon the 
goods paying a Foreign Duty, after being admitted duty free 
for ten years. The works, situated at Ballasalla had, in conse- 
quence, to be abandoned, and the manufacture of cotton was never 
resumed in the island.*" 

To the Honourable His Majesty's Commissioners of Enquiry in 
the Isle of Man. The humble Petition of Abraham de la 
Pryme, Sheweth, 

That your petitioner, in the year 1779, removed with his 
family fi'om England to the Isle of Man, for the conveniency of 
water, and the low price of labour, to carry on the manu&cture 
of spinning and weaving cotton ; and, at a very great expence, 

' This appears to be the same property which had been held by Matthias 
Pryme, the father of the Diarist. 28 January, 1684-6, Richard Kingman, 
gent., and Ann his wife surrendered a cottage or tenement, with bams, kc^ 
in the parish of Belton, called Goodcopp, then or late in the occapation of 
Isaac Amory, with a close of arable land adjoining, containing six acres, 
abutting upon a farm called Sandtoft farm east, the highway leading between 
Sandtoft to Hatfield north, a parcel of land called "una Tadca" £a Tack], 
a fishery in the river of old Idle, and a several fishery in Tomebush Carr 
Paunsh, in Belton, to the use of Mathias Prim, of the Levill, in parish of 
Hatfield, gent., his heirs and assigns. — Epworth Manor Court RolU. 

*» The Rev. Wm. Gill, of the Vicarage, Malew, Ballasalla, writes in 1869, 
— " The old people here still speak of the Prymes as having been noticeable 
in their generation. Abraham lived at Ballatrick, Francis in Ballasalla house. 
The factory which Francis built still remains, but in a rained conditioiL It 
is now used as a threshing-mill." 



ABBAHAM DE LA PBTME. 271 

erected there a mill and other buildings; has ever since employed 
a great number of the inhabitants in the said manufacture, 
which employment is their whole support ; has always imported 
cotton from Liverpool, of the growth of the British Plantations, 
and regularly for ten years exported the manufacture of the said 
cotton, either in cloth or yarn, from the said Isle, by proper 
certificate to Liverpool, free from duty, as being the manufacture 
of the said Isle. 

That, last month, your petitioner imported into Liverpool, by 
proper certificate, three packs containing six hundred and thirty 
pounds yarn, and six pieces cloth in the grey, manufactured in 
tlie said Island, from the said cotton, which said packs are 
detained in the Custom House for the payment of the duty, 
which is next to a prohibition ; and, if not speedily redressed, 
the erection of the milt and other buildings .will be nearly a total 
loss to your petitioner, and he will be under the disagreeable 
necessity of removing with his family out of this Isle. How far 
his removal will be a general loss thereto, your petitioner must 
submit to your judibious consideration. 

Your petitioner begs leave to observe, that he did not appre- 
hend that cotton wool of the growth of His Majesty's Plantations, 
and spun by your petitioner, should be deemed foreign growth. 

Your petitioner also begs leave to observe that, by a late act 
of Parliament, cotton yam spun in Ireland from cotton of 
foreign growth may be imported into Great Britain, duty free, 
and that a like indulgence might have been obtained for the Isle 
of Man, if it had been mentioned at the time. 

Your petitioner prayeth that the honourable Commissioners 
of Enquiry may be pleased to take his case into consideration, 
and, reporting the same to Government, obtain for him such relief 
as he trusts it will be found to merit, and your petitioner will 
ever pray. 

Abraham de la Pryme. 
Isle of Man, 
21 Octr., 1791. 

vide Commissioner's Report, 1805. Appendix B, No. 92. 



272 THE DIARY OF 

ADDITIONAL LETTERS. 

[No address]. 
■ 

" Homsey, Decembr. 21st, 1693. 

I received your's of the 5th instant. I wish I could furnish 
you with any observations fit to promote the laudable design you 
are employed in, but fear I cannot ; however, I shall tell you 
what I 'think of the particulars named in your letter. Our 
steeple is indeed a noted sea-mark, but how long it will be so 
I know not, for it is very ruinous, and, I fear, this parish not 
able or not willing to repair it. The marr is a mile and an half 
in length, and in one place near a mile in breadth ; it is fed by 
the waters that run into it off the adjoyning higher grounds from 
the north, south, and west ; eastward it runs into the sea, iu a 
ditch called the stream dike, when the clow is opened ; there are 
many springs in it also ; the soyl is, in some .places, gravelly, in 
others a perfect weedy morass. The water is always fresh. It 
is well replenished with the best pykes, peirches, eles, and other 
fish ; the three named the best and largest that ever I saw or 
tasted. I have taken pykes a yard long, and peirches sixteen 
inches. Nuts hav bin often found in the cliffs and wood at the 
down-gate, at the beck, and other places ; but at the down-gate 
there is, or was verv latelv, a vein of wood which looks as black 
as if it had been burnt. The beck water, whence the houses are 
so called, comes from a ditch betwin the east feild and a pasture 
caird the leys, and emptys itself into the stream dike, about 
twenty yards off the clow, which is not abov a stone cast, or 
little more, from the houses called the Hornsev Beck. I had 
almost foro^ot to add that there are three hills (islands we call 
them) in the marr, two of them, at the season of the year, are 
so full of tcrn-ecro^s and birds as can be imao^ined. A man must 
be very careful if he tread not on them. I can say nothing of 
Albrough. Bridlington, I think, is taken notice of by Cambden, for 
the priory ; i)art of its church is now the parish church. The 
best and lar<xcst collection of old covns that ever I saw was that of 
my good friend's Mr. Alderman Elcock,"late of York. I suppose 

» Wlien Thoresby was at York 20 April, 1083, he dined at Alderman 
Eloock's, and Bpent the rest of the day in perusing his collection of Boman 
coins and modern medals. — Dianj^ vol. i, p. 105. And, on the 5th Sept. follow- 
ing::, he ■* liad Alderman Eloock's (of York) company viewing Roman coins and 
anliquitics." — Dta?'i/, ii. Ajjjjcndlx^ 420. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 273 

bis son, Mr. Alexius Elcock, hath them yet, and I dare say he 
will be ready to communicate them, but it is probable he may 
hav bin consulted in this busines. I hav bin told that wood (and 
I think nuts too), hav bin digged out of Armell or Ryston carr, 
not abov a foot deep from the swarth ; but that is so ordinary 
that I suppose it must be taken notice of elsewhere, particularly 
about the Levels in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. This, sir, is all 
I can think on in answer to your's. I expect to be at Hull about 
tliree weeks hence, and, if you hav not made your return before, 
shall explain to you, if you liv there, anything I have writt, if 
there be need, and it may be useful, which you may better judg 
of than I can do. One thing more : I hav bin told long ago, by 
one that could know it, that Mr. Smales, of Preston, had a 
catalogue of many towns in Holderness now swallowed by the 
sea ; his daughter, Mrs. Saunders, lives there now. It may be 
she, or Mr. Joseph Stor, of Hilston (who was, I think, his dark), 
may help you to it. If any, or all of this be impertinent, I beg 
your pardon. I would, if I could, willingly serv you, or any 
industrious person, in such an affair. 

" Your very humble servant, 

^' W. Lambert." 

Francis Elcock, mercer and grocer, was chamberlain in 1654 ; on Dec. 31st, 
1673, he was elected alderman vice Thomas Bawtry, deceased, and in 1677 filled 
the office of Lord Major. In August, 1685, he (with four others) was displaced 
by the king, and died October 26th in the following year, aged 65, being buried 
in the little chapel, on the north side of Christ Church, Oct. 28th. His will 
(which has not occurred to me) bears date Dec. 24, 1684. — Alderman Francis 
Elcock married, 1st, Sarah, daughter of Nicholas Arlush, gent., of Knedlington, 
CO. York. She was buried at the above church, 21 Oct., 1653 ; 2ndly, Aug. 
14th, 1655, at St. John's, Beverley, Sarah, daughter of Christopher Ridley, esq., 
of Beverley. She was buried '* in the clositt " at Christ Church, 24 Feb., 1699- 
1700. At this church, Alexius, [only surviving] son of Mr. Francis Elcock, 
grocer, was baptized Aug. 15, 1659. He married Margaret, eldest daughter of 
VV'm. Weddell, esq., of Earswick, near York, (by Margaret, 2nd daughter of Sir 
Wm. Robinson, Knight, Alderman of York), by whom he had (with other 
issue) Richard, baptized at Christ Church, April 10, 1692. This Richard Elcock 
married (settlements dated 14 January, 1714) his cousin, Barbara Tomlinson, 
daughter of Joseph Tomlinson, apothecary, York, (by Dorothy, 4th daughter of 
the above-mentioned Wm. Weddell, esq.), and assumed the surname of Weddell, 
pursuant to the will (dated 7 May, 1747) of his uncle, Thos. Weddell, esq., who 
bequeathed to him the greater part of his estates. 'Thomas Elcock, eldest son 
of the above Richard and Barbara, died s. p. in 1756. William, the younger 
son, assumed the name of Weddell, and married in 1771, Elizabeth, daughter 
of Sir John Ramsden, Bart., of Byrara, but died s. p. in 1792, and was buried 
at Newby. I omitted to say that the above Alexius Elcock was buried at Christ 
Church, 22nd April, 1700. His descendants inherited Knedlington, and their 
property descended to their relative, the late Earl de Grey. Alderman Elcock 
gave the clock to Christ Church. In (the so-called) Torre's Antiquities of 
York, his arms are thus blazoned : — " Gu. a saltire varrie 0. & B. inter 4 
Cocks O." 

Alexius Elcock, whose will bears date 1 9 Apl, 1 700, does not allude to his coins. 



274 THE DIARY OF 

" Camb[ridge], March the 3d, 1695.6- 

" Honest Ab™-» 

I rec[eived] yours, and return you many thanks for your 
kindness in writeing. I am hearty glad to heai- you are so welL 
I thank God I am pretty well now. My distemper, I believe, 
was neither pleurisy nor asthma, but a great and inveterate cold, 
which nothing would work upon till I was fomented. I have 
writ you here what you desired out of Pettus and Blowe. I wish 
you a good journey, and wish myself with you. there, and should 
be mighty glad if you would give me a short acc[ount] of your 
travells. You need not to have been so fearfull of trouoling (as 
you call it) me. Farther, I should be glad to be so employ'd in 
serving you, it would be utile duld^ so never spare for that reason 
again. Mr. Bennet and sir Tennant are at London this week,* 
for orders. Sir Tennant is to be conduct, of K's. Our election 
is not till the 30th of this month ; we look upon sir Lovell, 
Foulkes, and Ayzerly, of our year, to come in 



" From thence we went to Eldon Hole (being on the top of the 
highest hill in the peak fforest), which we computed to be above 

an long, and more than one hundred broad. The 

bottom (as 'twas told us), not to be fathomed; and, by pry- 
ing, I had certainly fall'n into it (for the ground is slippery), if I 
had not been caught hold of. 

" But sir Tho[mas] Bendish, with whom I travail'd, espying 
some workmen makeing of walls, for there, and in other stony 
countryes, they make their inclosures of loose stones or slates, 
instead of which, in Suffolk, Norfolk, etc., they make ditches, 
and plant them with quicksetts on the sides of the banks ; but 
in Devonshire they use high mounds of earth and flag, and plant 
them upon the very top of the mounds, and both are beneficial 
fences by their products, whereas those walls afford none ; but 
he, resolving to try some experiment, did ride to them, and, by 
our generous promises, perswaded three of them, with their 
pickaxes and tools, to mount behind us to the holes, where first 
they digged a pretty large stone, which we tumbled in, and the 
noise of its motion pleased us. Then they digged a second stone, 
as much as six of us could well roul in, (for the mouth of the hole 
was declineing), and presently laid our ears to the ground, and 
we could tell eight score distinctly before the noyse of its motion 
ceased, and then, to our apprehension, it seemed to plunge itself 
into water ; and so we tryed a third stone, of more than the for- 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRTMB. 275 

mer magnitude, with the like observations, which pleased the 
labourers, with the addition of our gratuity.*" 

" From whence we went to Buxton's well, bathed ourselves 
that night, and the next morning (of which I shall speak more 

in the word water), we went to the Devil's of Bake^ 

where we saw a large in the bottom of a steep hill, on 

the top of which stood an ancient decayed castle (of which you 
may read in Camhdens Britamiia), We had candles, and saw 
as much as we could till we were hindered by running streams. 
Now, of these two holes there are many famous storyes, but, 
some years after, upon viewing other mines, and their shafts and 
andils to them, I apprehended that this Eldon Hole was ah 
ancient shaft (made in the Bomans' time), to a mine, and that 

the Devill's A was the mouth of an andil to it . . and 

I am the rather of that opinion because I conceive that the levell 
of the water, which stopt our further passage into that andil or 

fundament of the mine, is level with the water at the of 

Eldon Hole, and the word may be applyed on two 

accounts, first, that upon a mistake of the word for the 

Latin word ars^ or art, where the Romans, when they brought 
out their oars of lead, and probably made silver of it, and did 
thereby shew their ars metallica^ which the British, not being 
latinized, called Ars, and as an art which they did not under- 
stand, they (as the vulgar do yet) attribute it to the devill, and 

so called the Devil's , or ars diabolica. Or, it might come 

from arcBj the ablative of arxj a castle, and probably this 
castle was originally built to defend the treasure which came out 
of the hole under it, or to keep the miners in awe (there being 
the like castles at the Roman mines, on the Darren hills, in 
Wales), and possibly the governour of it being severe in hi& 
duty, the vulgar (as they are apt) might call him and it Diaboli 
arx^ and since, opprobriously, the Devill's 

" Here my friend interrupted me, and asked how Eldon Hole 
(from the usuall proportion of a shaft) came to be so large. I 
answer'd that Gutta cavat lapidem^ and if one drop by often 
cadency will make an hole in a stone, it is easy to be credited 
that the fall of clouds of waters (from the time that this was a 
shaft, being about two thousand years), might well widen it from 

* Thoresby had been at this place a few years earlier. 22 July, 1681, he 
says, " Came by Eldon hole, which is indeed of a huge wideness, exceeding 
steep, and of a marvellous depth, into which I throwing a large stone it fell 
from one rock or partition as it were to another, with a great thundering noise 
for a pretty considerable time. Speed saith that waters trickling down from 
the roof of it congeal into stones." — JHa/ry^ i., 92. 



276 THE DIARY OF 

VirgiU's dimension, of tliree ulnas, yards, or ells square (for I 
conceive lie meant the shaft of a mine), to this great dimension ; 
at which he smiled. 

" Blome, Derbyshire. 

" The Bake abounds with lead, and not without veins of anti- 
mony, quarries of millstones and whetstones, wherein are divers 
strange things, or rather wonders to be seen, as the Devill's 
. . . Eldon Hole, and Pool's Hole; the chief wonder is the 
vastness of the height, length and depth of those caves, and the 
strange irregularity es of the rocks within the water that comes 

from the Devill's , which is said to ebb and flow as doth 

the ebbing and flowing well not far distant. In Pool's Hole the 
water falling down is congealed to a kind of white, brittle, shin- 
ing stone. 

" I consulted the word waters, which sir John Pettus refers 
to above, but found nothing under about the Peake, or like it. 

" Philip Pryme, gent, of Normanton, in Derbyshire. I look't 
in the map and found on town of that name about three miles 
south of Derby itself. 

" , , . . and it may be you may go before you receive 
this (which I would not . . . first, tho' I doubt does not 
answer your expectations). 

"Honest Ab 

"Your 

" (Addressed). For the Revd. Mr. Abra. Pryme, minister of 
Broughton-by-Brignf, in Lincolnshire, by way of Lincoln. Post 
paid 2d. at Cambridge." 

" Cambridge, July the 18th, 1696. 
"Honest Abraham, 

Irec[eived] both your's, and humbly beg your pardon for 
my fault, but 'tis no wonder all your charms and powers could 

not me, for it was impossible to find me out. I am now*got 

here again. I came but on Thursday, and this is the first oppor- 
tunity since of writeing. I know not how long I shall continue 
here, for I think of going into orders this next time, and then 
will exercise myself where I could light on, till further oppor- 
tunity ; and I wish heartily it might be my fortmie to come near 
you. You tempt me very mucli in telling me what great live- 
ings you have, and I am mighty glad to hear your fortune is so 
good ; and I will assure you, if I go to York (which I know not 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 277 

wlien 't will be), I will certainly call upon you. And now to 
tell you of my travells. It were enough to say I have been in 
most places about London, for it would cost a man some years to 
know all. I took a turn over to Green [wich?] where I saw the 
fine park, the k[ing] and q[ueen's] houses, Mr. Flamstead's 
house,'' where he makes all his astronomicall observations, which 
was all very fine. From thence by Blackwall, and famous ship, 
where we saw severall great merchants and men of war, as also 
all the way from London bridge to Deptford, to the number of 
severall thousands, I believe ; we went by Woolwich, and severall 
other little places on the Thames. We passed by many great 
ships, men of war, and were call'd aboard one (for they searched 
our barge for seamen) ; at last we came to Gravesend, a good 
close little town, and over against that Tilbury fort ; its strength 
lyes most in ditches and palisades, so that it makes no great 
shew at a distance, except on pretty large round tower, where 
there is, on great days, the royal standard display'd, which we 
saw. All ships are to touch there, on account of the custome, 
before they pass, which one refuseing lately was shot at, and 
presently disabled, and so taken. I saw severall men of war, 
Dutch and English, and other great ships, as East Lidiamen, 
etc. ; and it was very pretty, when one came in, to see her fire 
her guns, and the others answer her, and, after all, the fort. It 
looks mighty pretty to see them spit fire and smoake on both 
sides ; and 'tis no wonder they are blinded in sea fights, where 
there are so many, and the sport so hot, since, after the fireing 
of but half a dozen guns in on ship, she is so clouded with 
smoak as I could not see her scarce in ^ quarter of an hour ; 
and I saw the guns spit their fire, I believe, a ftiU minute from 
the crack. I saw there, one evening, when the sun shone very 
bright, from an hill, two or three hundred large ships and colliers, 
under saile all together. 'Twas a fine sight, for they came just 
against the sun, and the full white sayles look't very fine. 'Tis 
a pleasant place, and fine walking in the vast cherry orchards, 
which are all in strait rows, look which way you will, that 'tis 
very pleasant liveing there, only those great guns sometimes, by 
neglect of the gunners, are fired with ball when they should not, 
and sometimes from the ships, that not long ago (but this was 
upon occasion too), they killed ten h[orses?] in the low grounds 
with endeavouring to sink a ship that was on fire by accident, 

p Thoresby, 14 July, 1714, says he walked into the park, which wa« most 
pleasant, to the Astronomical House upon the height of all, but missed of Dr. 
Flamstead, the famous Astronomer, who was gone to London. — Dia/ry^ ii., 236. 



278 THE DIARY OF 

and might have done great damage to the rest, if not . . • . 
We staid there some time, but not without visiting several! 
neighbouring towns for a dose of good nappy ale or wine, when 
the place could afford such. We visited some parsons now and 
then, where we might have good bottled ale, for that is theire 
treat, and pipes and tobacco, for I met with none that did not 
smoak, and none met with me when I did not. 'Tis a place 
where there is abundance of chalk and limestones, and many 
huge pits, where there are excellent and curious plants, which we 
sometimes gathered, for we all pretended a little to that, the* I 
have forgot since you taught me, I am so ill a scholar. We went 
one day over a fine hill and delicate prospect to Rochester, about 
eight or ten miles, where I saw nothing but an old ruinous castle, 
or rather nothing but ruine itself; a poor sorry cathedral (but 
very clean kept, and a good organ) ; and a poor inconsiderable 
city, hardly so good as Grantham. I believe, too, I have given 
it more than its due. From thence we walk't into Chattam, a 
small tarpaulin town, joyning to Rochester. We saw the king's 
stores and the docks, which are incredible things almost ; three or 
four large men of war mending, and the sad scheleton of theRoyall 
Soveraigne. Here we refreshed ourselves with a quart or two 
of indifferent claret, and so took boat over the station of the 
grand fleet of the world, when at home, a place rather commod- 
ious than large, for 'tis but a sudden widening of the river Med- 
way for a little space, like a lake, 'tho the river itself 1 take to 
be near a quarter of a mile broad. From thence we came to 
Upner castle, but durst not attempt it, for fear of being soundly 
duck't in punch, which would not have been agreeable m so hot 
weather, and after drinking before too. So we slip't by, and 
came home sober. That was the castle the Dutch passed, when 
they burn't our fleet there, in the late wars. I saw the broken 
chain and bomb that was laid across the river to hinder them, 
but they broke it, and some demon or other had charged all the 
guns in the castle with sand, so the Dutch had litle to do but 
mind their business they came for. I have given you an account 
on that side, now for the other side. Monday morning, 5 o'clock, 
etc., we sayle from Blackfryars staires, so passed by all the city 
of London and Westminster to Lambeth and Chelsey, Cheswick 
and Putney, and other places, which you have either heard of or 
which are not worth your hearing. We came then to Mordack, 
and there landed ; a small town situate on the Thames. From 
thence we walked two miles, as if we had been in Paradise, to 
Richmond, where we saw an old house, built by John of Ghtont^ 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMB. 279 

now called the king's house; there we went over Richmond 
green, saw the wells and park, which are very fine, and a brave 
prospect from the park over to London, on side, and so all about, 
the town is but indifferent. We saw my lord Rochester's house, 
who is ranger of the park, and a great many fine seats of noble- 
men, gentlemen, and merchants of London, and the old lady 
Lauderdale's house, at Ham. Thence we went by Kingstone to 
Hampton Court, where the king's house, queen's dayry, and 
gardens, are the finest things I ever saw, and which would fill 
another sheet to relate, so let it all pass. From thence we went 
to Windsor, where we saw the castle, where we saw things inex- 
pressibly fine, as St. George's Hall and Chappell, the armory, 
king and queen's bed, closets, withdrawing rooms, dressing 
rooms, canopys of state for audience to ambassadours, with the 
chappell or the cathedrall, where hang up all the acheivements 
of the knights of the garter, the vast high terras walks, etc., 'tis 
the finest prospect . ... of you in the world. We saw 
Eaton college and school, not anything fine there ; and so home, 
per varios casus quos nunc prcescnbere longum est. Well, honest 
Abraham, I have writt now 'till I am weary. You must take it 
as it comes in my head, for I took no notes. As to my way of 
living at London, I had good company, German and Dutch 
doctors, travellers, residents, chymiste, etc., all countrymen, and 
so acquainted, and one brings one in to all three or four nights a 
week at a tavern, but, mind me, not all night. There is all 
languages spoke, Dutch, German, French, Italian, Latin, Greek, 
and I know not what. Pray excuse me any further, at this time, 
and excuse me to the . . Maxwell and Lovell are gone to L:'eland. 
'' Honest Abraham, let me hear from you. 

" I am your most affectionate ffriend and servant, 

"R. Read."' 

^^ (Addressed). For the Revd. Mr. Abraham Pryme, Minister 
of Broughton-by-Brigg, in Lincolnshire, by way of Lincolne. 
Post paid 3d. at Cambridg." 

9 Robt. Read, son of Clement Read, of York, grocer, by his first wife, and 
grandson of Clement Read, of Buttercrambe, Yorkshire, gentleman, bom at 
York, educated at the school there under Mr. Tomlinson, admitted sizar for 
Mr. Hotham, 2 May, 1690, set. 18, under Mr. Wigley. (Sec under Headlam). 
B. A. 1693-4; M.A. 1697 ; B.D. 1705. On 31 March, 1707, Jo. Perkins was elected 
(adm. 1 April) to Read's vacant fellowship. Died at York, 2 Dec, 1706. — Note 
in St. John's College Register, vol. 2, at the beginning ; See Ha/rdy^s Le Neve^ 
iii., 641, 

Clement Read, of York, married, 2ndly, at St. Saviour's, York, 17 Aug., 1686, 
Elizabeth, d. and c. of Roger Wilberfoss, of that city, haberdasher, (Sherifl 
1678) by whom he had Roger, baptized 1687, and Wilberfoss Bead, who waa 
living at Grimthorpe, co. York, in 1754. 



280 THE DIARY OF 

^' From Ipsden/ OxfordsL[ire], 

" Near Wallingford, in Berk8li[ire]. 
"Honest Abraham, 

For so I will still call you. I am still the same, and 
T hope you will be as free with me, if I may deserve that appel- 
lation. I received your's, with great joy to hear from my old 
friend ; and who, notwithstanding the longest absence of any of 
my familiars, is the dearest to my memory and highest in my 
thoughts. Honest Abraham, I thought you had quite forgot me, 
for the ceasing of our correspondence was not my fault, as I 
may conclude from your own wherein you say you received 
my last to you, since which I never had any again ; this made 
me believe you were angry with me, and the reason I thought 
was that I did not answer your request concerning two foGos 
writ by one Butcher, if my memory don't fail me, MS. you 
desired me to epitomise them for you, which I would not have 
refused you, tho' a great task, if I had had the books myself, or 
could have had conveniently those in the library, but at the time, 
if am not mistaken, I had not the use of the library. Besides, 
these are lockt up in the inner study, and not to be lent out I 
writ you what I cou'd, and I hope you have pardoned what I 
cou'd not, by writeing to me again. Sir Walter Raleigh thought 
himself pardoned by a new commission; tho' he was mis- 
taken, I hope I am not, tho', as he, I cannot at present open 
those mines you desire of me. Honest Abraham, I shou'd have 
been very ready to have served you, if I had been in Collie, 
but where I am I can not, tho' here is a study of books of the 
old parson's, who was a very learned man, bat nothing in that 
way in his study. I believe you know how I come to be here 
from sir Wilkinson, at York, and I suppose he told you I shou'd 
be at College as last Michaelmas, which indeed I did think I 
shou'd, but Mr. Headlam, our present incumbent, is still at York, 
and desires me to stay till he comes. I shou'd have answered 
you sooner, but by the date I perceive your letter had laid a 
great while at College, so 'tis not my fault. I can send you 
nothing from hence but what is in Dr. Plot. I shall be in 
College before Easter, however, so you may command any thing 
I can do this present, if it be not too late, so pray let me know 
and hear from you whilst here. 

" I am your ever most affectionate friend and servant, 

"RRkad. 

^ There is no date to this, but being directed to him at Hull, it would be 
after September 1698. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 281 

" Write to me, by London, at the vicarage at Ipsden, to be 
left at the George, in Wallenford, Barksh[ire]. 

" (Addressed). For the Rev. Mr. Abraham Pryme, near the 
High Church, in Hull, in Yorkshire, by London." 

Part of the Draft of a Letter from the Diarist to one 
OF HIS Acquaintance, whose Name is not given. 

\_Sans date. Bound up in Lansdowne MSS.y 891.] 

Right Worshipful Sir, 

Thankfulness is such an indispensible duty that I 
commonly begin all my letters with it, and by this I give you my 
thanks for the favours that I received at your hands the last time 
that I was in your town. I had returned the same to you sooner 
but that this Corporation layd their commands upon me to spend 
all my time in the searching of their records in relation to some 
suits they are going to be involved in. I hear that Mr. Gilby 
was last Sunday at your town, and that he told my brother that 
he'll never go more, and likewise that the liveings are not dis- 
posed of, so that I have yet hopes that God will incline your 
nearts to bestow the same upon me. I am sure that none shall 
more mind his duty, none live more peaceably amongst you, 
none more faithfully serve you than myself. If you desire any 
furder certificates of my life and conversation I could send you 
several from Mr. Raikes, Min[ister], of Hazil, Mr. Westby, of 
Ranfield, and other of my friends, but I am feard of being too 
troublesome unto you. I am infinitely obliged to the honoured 
Mr. White and his son for their great civilitys unto me, and had 
written unto them if I had had any thing worthy of their cog- 
nizance, to both whome pray present my most humble service 
when you have the happiness to see them. I should be very 
glad to know when you dispose of your liveing, or whether it 
would be well taken if I should come over again. We have 
here the articles of impeachment against the Lord Summers, in 
Dutch, which one of our ships this week brought from Holland, 
a short coppy of which I have here sent you in English, because 
that perhaps you have not seen the same. 

Proposals by way of Contribution, for Writing a Natural 
History of Yorkshire,^ By Jo. Browne, Dr. of Laws 

and Physick. 

First of ally The author proposes to take into consideration 

* The above printed Prospectus is inserted by De la Pryme in the Diary in 
T 



282 THE DIARY OF 

the disposition of the heavens and temperature of the air in 
respect to the various changes and alterations therein, and first 
the longitude and latitude of the country shall be reckoned in 
respect of London ; likewise the usual salubrity or insalubrity of 
the air, and with what constitutions it agrees better or worse 
than others. 

2ndli/y The water will be considered, as first rivers, with their 
bigness, course, and inundations, with all the different species of 
plants, insects, and fishes, that are to be found in them ; likewise 
lakes, ponds, springs, and especially mineral-waters, as of what 
medicinal use they are of, what sorts of earth they run through, 
their kinds, qualities, and virtues, and how examined. 

Srdlt/y The earth shall be observed, and first in its self, as to 
its dimentions, situation, figure, or the like, its plain, hills, or 
valleys, with the several kind of soyls that are there, as of clay, 
sand, gravel, &c., what are its products as to minerals, vege- 
tables, or animals; moreover, how all or any of these are or 
may be further improved for the benefit of man. Then 2ndly, 
the inhabitants themselves will be considered, that have been 
long settled there, particularly as to their ingenuity, diet, incli- 
nations, &c., with what improvements of arts have been made in 
those parts of late years ; and fiirther, the products of the earth 
will be more nicely examined, with all the peculiarities observable 
therein, as plants, trees, fruits, animals, and insects of all sorts; 
with clays, marles, boles, earths, axungiae, coals, salts, atoms, 
vitriols, sulphers, and all other minerals of what kind soever that 
the earth yields, and to what use they are, or may be apply'd 
either to meat, physick, or any other kind. 

4:thlt/j All gendemen of the same county, that contribute to 
this work, shall have the summ contributed specified, with their 
names, armes, and titles inserted, and more particular descrip- 
tions given of their several houses and families, and exact 



1697, but I have not been able to discover anything relating to the Dr. Brownei 
by whom it was issued. He is not now recognised by antiquarian authorities at 
York. The Mr. [Robert] Clark, Bookseller, occurs at the Angel and Bible, in 
Low Ousegate, 1686, and at the Crown at the Minster Gate, in 1695. He was 
also Sheriff of the city in 1690-1. 

There was an author, of the same name, of the following work, of which the 
Kev. Canon Raine has a copy. Was he identical ? 

Adenochoir adelogla ; or^ an Anatomick- Chirv/rgical Treatise of OUuuMm 
and StrumaeSj or Kiiig's-Evil, Swellingft ; together with the RoyaZ Gift tf 
Mealing^ etc. By John Browne, one of His Majestie's Chirurgeons in Ordinary, 
and Chirurgeon of His Majestie's Hospital. London, 1684, thick 9to. 

This book contains some curious information as to the touching for the erilt 
and records the numbers touched by Charles II., amountiDg to 92,107* 



ABRAHAM DE LA I^RTHB. 283 

t 

prospects taken of every gentleman's seat that are contributors. 

bthly^ All burough towns, towns corporate, and other market 
towns, shall have prospects and particular observations taken, 
with their several towns and respective constitutions faithfiilly 
described, if they be contributors hereto, for the design is not 
intended a geographical, but Natural History. 

6^A/t/, The Author proposes to make exact maps of every 
wapentake or hundred, which, with the several other cuts neces- 
sary to be inserted, will take above 150 copper plates; for that 
he has, and further designs to take an impartial survey of all 
towns and places, so that he may impose nothing credulously 
upon the world from the imexamined traditions of the ancients, 
but true and just observations taken from the natural state of 
things faithfully represented, so that by this means he cannot 
perfect such a vast work without great time and expences. 

Ithly^ Contributions will be received by Mr. Smith and Mr. 
Walford, at the Princes Arms, in Paul's Church-yard; Mr. 
Bentley, in Covent Garden; Mr, Bosvile, at the Dial over 
against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleet-street, London ; by Mr. 
Clark, Bookseller; and the Author in York, who will give 
receipts to all contributors that their money shaU be returned to 
them again, if the undertaking be not finished within 3 years. 



Note, — The design has already received very good 
encouragement from several persons of quality. 

FINIS. 

Page 5. Note. Van Valkenburgh family. Since this 
was printed, I have met with the will of Sir Matthew Van Val- 
kenburgh (or Vaulconburgh, as he writes it), baronet, dated 1st 
May, 1643, and proved in London, 23rd August, 1648. From 
this, we learn that Robert Kay, the Doncaster gentleman, who 
was charged with the riotous conduct alluded to in the note, had 
married Isabella, the widow of Sir M. Van Valkenburgh. It 
seems that Lady Van Valkenburgh was named the sole executrix 
of her husband's said will, but that she had never proved it. 
Indeed, it would appear either that a will had not been known 
of, or that it had been, for some reason or other, purposely sup- 
pressed; for, an administration, as in the ordinary case of 
intestacy, had been granted by the court at York to Sir Matthew's 
nephew, Mark Van Valkenburgh, on the 22nd January, 1645. 
Lady Van Valkenburgh's marriage with Kay must have taken 
place not long after the death of her first husband, Sir Matthew 



281- THE DIARY OF 

Van Valkenburgli (who died in April, 1644), and not long, too, 
before her own decease, which took place so soon after as the 
month of November following. Still, it was not, apparently, 
until the fourth year after her death, that the will of Sir Matthew 
Van Valkenburgh came in for probate, and then the adminis- 
tration was committed to Robert Kay, as the husband of the 
executrix, who, as before observed, had omitted to apply for it. 
Possibly it was under some claim of right arising out of this, 
his then legal position of executor, or administrator with the will 
annexed, that Kay attacked, in et armisj the house at Middle 
Ings, and forcibly ejected Mark Van Valkenburgh, in the man- 
ner stated. 

Mark Van Valkenburgh, esq., one of the Commissioners of 
Sewers for the Level of Hatfield Chase, appears to have acted as 
their collector and expenditor, he being mentioned, 28th August, 
10 Car., 1635, as having received divers sums of money of the 
Participants, and made several disbursements, and being ordered 
to account " in Englishe " on the 1st of September, at Tom- 
bridore. 

In a MS. note by Mr. Hunter, the author of South Yorkshire^ 
etc., he states that in the 21 Car. I., Sir Matthew Valkenburgh, 
bart., was outlawed, together with Sir Cornelius Vermuyden, 
and Sir Philibert Vematti, knt. and bart., at the suit of Sir 
Arthur Ingram. (The 21st Car. I. was 27th March, 1645 — 
26th March, 1646, and Sir Matthew was buried on 4th April, 
1644). 

18 Nov., 1656. Filibert Vandervert surrendered three fish- 
ings in Wrangdon, Wrangdon Hill, one Lodge Hill, whereon a 
lodge lately stood, called Patrick's Lodge, in Midlings, etc., the 
lands late of Mark Vaulkenburgh's, esq., deceased, in Thome, 
to the use of Roger Tockets, of Tockets, esq., who was admitted 
thereto. 

20 Nov., 1660. Marc Van Valkenburgh, gent., and Anne 
his wife, surrender lands called Low Middlemarsh, lying upon 
Middlemarsh Hill, in the graveship of Thome, to John Lang- 
with, of Doncaster, gent. 

1675. At the archdeacon's visitation, Hatfield, Mark Van 
Valkenburgh, gent., was presented for not paying his church 
assessment. 

1684. Do. Thorne. Marcus Van Valkenburgh, of Crowle, 
CO. Lincoln, for detaining a legacy of 3Z. due to the minister of 
the parish of Thorne. 

At a Court of Sewers, held at Bawtry, 14th September, 1675, 



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286 THE DIARY OT 

it was ordered that the 90 acres in Durtness of Sir John Anthony 
Van Valkenburgh's, late in the possession of James Cressey, be 
let to Jane Anker, widow, at £24 per annum, she paying £9 in 
part of the arrears of scotts, and the remainder as it became due, 
(£5 5s. fee-farm rent being deducted.) On the l&th December, 
1675, Robert Wright petitioned the Court that he might be 
tenant of 64 acres in Beningtack, near Tunnel-pit, the lands of 
Sir J. A. Van Valkenburgh, who is willing the scott thereon 
should be paid out of the rents thereof, and he prayed the Court 
would admit him tenant, he paying the taxes out of his rent. 

Mr. Hunter, speaking of various single houses dispersed 
through the newly recovered country, on the drainage of Hat- 
field Chase, says {South Yorkshire^ i., p. 165), "Another good 
house was built, by Matthew Valkenburgh, on the Middle Ing, 
near the Don, which afterwards became the property of the 
Boynton family." Sir John Boynton, in a codicil to his will, 
dated 11th October, 1688, gives to his nephew, William Apple* 
yard, "all the lands I purchased of Mr. Van Valkenburgh." 

Bamsden, page 6. Note. In 1621 Mr. John Bamsden i» 
spoken of as "being then the chief merchant" of Hull. 

"1637. In this year, the 7th December, died Mr. John 
Bamsden, merchant, and mayor of this town, of the plague, 
who was a pious, learned, and ingenious man, and was carried 
by visited people into St. Trinity's church, and there buried in 
the chancel, under a great marble stone, with a long inscription 
thereon. And Mr. Andrew Marvel ventured to give his corpse 
a Cliristian burial ; and there was preached a most excellent 
funeral sermon to the mournful auditors, which was afterwards 
printed." — De la Pryme^s MS. History of Hull, 

1660. William Bamsden was mayor of Hull. At York, 
the name occurs in mercantile circles. William Bamsden, late 
apprentice with Mr. William Bamsden, was admitted to the 
freedom of the Fellowship of Eastland Merchants residing in 
the city of York, 25th December, 1650. George Bamsden, 
son of William Bamsden, late alderman, deceased, the like, 16th 
August, 1661. Charles Fishwiske, 31st March, 1664, John 
Pearson, 21st September, 1669, and John Crofts, 6th May, 1675, 
were severally apprenticed to Mr. George Bamsden, merchant 
adventurer, and a free brother of the Eastland Company, within 
the city. John Pemberton, 19th June, 1667, John Drake, 26th 
July, 1678, and Joseph Thompson, 31st July, 1683, the like, to 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMB. 287 

Mr. William Ramsden, of the same fraternity. — Mr. Skaife^s 
MS, Collections^ 

]n 1631 Anthony Worrall, and Alice his wife, took proceed- 
ings in the Consistory Court of York, against one Henry 
Eamsden, of Hatfield, for attacking the fair fame and good 
character of the said Alice. 

Elizabeth, bap. 17 May, 1635 ; Henry, bap. 1 April, 1638 ; 
Grace, bap. 30 August, 1640; and Francis, bap. 16 February, 
1644-5, occur as children of Henry Ramsden. — Hatfield Parish 
Register, 

Anthony Ramsden, of Woodhouse, buried 6th June, 1669. 
Joseph Ramsden, of the Levels, bur. 23rd July, 1669. Peter 
Ramsden, bur. 14th September, 1634. Richard, son of Henry 
Ramsden, bur. 28th October, 1639. Isabel, wife of Andrew 
Ramsden, bur. 10th May, 1660. — Ibid, 

The name of Ramsden continued at Norton into the present 
century, there being a monumental inscription in Campsall church 
yard for Edmund Ramsden, late of Norton Priory, interred 
January 1st, 1809, aged 87 years. It is recorded of him that 
he was "a truly pious man, an affectionate friend, a father to the 
fatherless, a helper of the friendless;" and that "His deeds 
were done in love to Him who died to cleanse his soul from sin," 
etc. 

Extracts from the Parish Register of Thorne, relating 

TO Floods, [p. 12]. 

1681-2. Mem. A great flood, with highe winds, did break 
our banks in severall places, and drowned our towne round, upon 
Sunday at night, being January the 15th. 

1682. Mem. Our bankes did break in ye same places, and 
drowned our towne round, upon Thursday, April the 27th. 

1696. Mem. That a great flood came onn very suddenly, 
and the highest that has been known, on Munday, the 13th of 
December, in the night, and on Wednesday the 15th broke our 
bank by Gore stile, and run over the banks in many places 
besides. 

1700-1. Jan. 18. Mem. That a great flood then came 
down, being Saturday, and broke the banks in the Ashfields, and 
run over in many places besides. 

1706. A memorandum. That on Thursday and Friday, 
being 18th and 19tli daies of this inst. July, there was a great 
flood, insomuch that the banke was in great danger. 



2S8 THE DIARY OF 

P. 27. The Rev. John Symon, M.A., Magd. Hall, Oxford, 
1679; rector of Langton, e.r.y., 29th March, 1670 till 1689, 
when he refused to take the oath to William and Mary, had three 
sons at a birth, who were baptized and buried the same day, 30th 
November, 1678. 

Thoresby (13th October, 1720), mentions being "at church, 
where were baptized Abraham, Sarah, and Rebekah, the trimelli 
of Abraham Scholefield, of the Shambles." — Diary ^ ii., p. 301. 

Mem. Nov. 3, 1772. On this day, being Tuesday, between 
seven and nine of the clock in the morning, Ann, the wife of 
William Appleyard, of Snaith, was brought to bed of four female 
children, born alive, but died soon after the birth. William 
Williams^ vicar. — Snaith Parish Register, 

Descending to our own times, it was announced in the 
Doncaster and Pontefract IfewSj 14th July, 1870, that on the 4th 
of that month, the wife of Joseph Drew, of Egborough, a plate- 
layer on the Lancashire and Yorkshire railway, was delivered 
of three fiill-gro^vn healthy children, one boy and two girls: 
and that Her Majesty^s usual gift, on such occasions, of three 
sovereigns, arrived on the Monday following. These were chri's- 
tened together shortly afterwards at Kellington church, and 
were reported to be doing well. 

Page 43, and Note. Curious Names. 

1602-3. Thome. Feb. 19. Barjona Griffin and Elizabeth 
Mirfield, married. 

1659. Thorne. May 25. Mehitophell Gillam, buried. 

1692. „ Phineas Todd and Filia Clara Redman, 

married. 

1698-9. York, All Saints, Pavement, March 9, Moddoracion, 
wife of John Lupton, buried. 

1703-4. Fishlake. Feb. 16, Misericordia Todd, buried. 

1799. Rawcliffe. July 20, Laus Deo Langdale Gent, buried. 

1680. Pontefi-act. Nebuchadnezzar Tod, living. 

Page 56. Witchcraft and Sorcery. 

Doncaster. Depositions against Joan Jurdie, wife of Leonard 
Jurdie, of Rossington, wore taken before Hugh Childers, Mayor, 
Sir John Ferae, knt. Recorder, etc., on the 6th February, second 
James L, 1604-5, the 18th April, and the 16th and 18th October, 
third James I., 1605 ; and at the Borough Sessions she was 
indicted for having on the 10th April, sixth James I., 1608, 
feloniously practised witchcraft and sorcery upon Hester Dolphin, 



ABRAHAM DE LA PKTME. 289 

and on the 5th June, same year, upon Jane Dolphin, thedauorhter 
of Wm. Dolphin ; also, the like upon George Murfin, son of Peter 
Murfin, on the 27th September following. These persons are 
severtilly alleged by the Grand Jury, upon their oaths, to have 
died from the effects of her wicked arts. 

1623. At the Sessions, Jane Blomeley, widow, was indicted 
for having on the 25th June, twenty-first Jac. I., and on divers 
other days, feloniously practised and exercised certain detestable 
arts, called witchcraft and sorcery, upon Frances the wife of 
Marmaduke Craven, of Doncaster, yeoman ; by which arts the 
said Frances, from the said 20th June to the 30th of the same 
month, dangerously and mortally sickened and languished, and 
on the 30th died ; and the jurors presented that the said Jane 
Blomeley ex malidd sua precogitata^ voluntariter^ diabolice, nequiter^ 
et felonwe^ per artes prcedictasy ocddit ac interfedt the said Frances 
Craven. She was buried on the 1st July, 1623. 

1640. Rocs. John Curteis, for going to a witch in time of 
his sickness, to seek a remedy. Confessed his wife did go to one 
sus])ected to be a wizard, to enquire of the recovery of a child. 

1682. At the archdeacon of York's visitation, Spofforth, 
CO. York, Henry Wheelhouse, of Linton, presented, for going to 
a sorcerer to enquire after some stolen goods. 

Archdeacon's Vis. E.E., 1688. Kirkby Grindalyth. Thomas 
Robinson, for resorting to a sorcerer, to consult him. in order to 
his health. 

Page 60. Beharrel. An Abraham Beharell occurs as a 
witness to the will of Charles Prime, the first of the family at 
Hatfield, 27th December, 1669. (See Abstracts of Wills). To 
those interested in the name, the following may be useful. 

Mar<2;aret Beharrel, widow, bur. 6th Feb., 1731-2. Holy 
Trinity,^Hull. 

John Beharrel, bur. 24th Jan., 1653-4. Thorne. 

Isaac, son of Isaac Beharrel, bap. 5th Dec, 1669. Hatfield. 

Isaac Beharrel, and Jane Dearman, married, 28th Nov., 1666. 
Hatfield. 

Elizabeth, wife of Abraham Beharrel, bur. 11th, May, 1668. 
Hatfield. 

1691. Nov. 30. Joseph, son of Mr. Abraham Beharrell, 
bap. Waghen. 

1702. July 12. Abraham, son of Samuel Beharrell, bap. 

1708. Dec. 22. Jacob, son of Jacob Beharrel, bap. Bur. 
8th April, 1733. 



290 THE DIARY OF 

1686-7. Jan. 20. Mrs. Jane Beharrell, widow, bur. 

1691. Oct. 6. Mr. Abraham Beharrel, bur. 

1696. April 14. Isaac Beharrell, bur. 

1714. April 6. Mr. David Beharrell, bur. 

St. Martin's, Micklegate, York. John Beharrell, of Snaith, 
and Rachel Gooben, married, 26th May, 1729. 

In St. John's church, Peterborough, are memorials of 
Abraham Beharrel, gent., who died 20th March, 1765, aged 49. 
Elizabeth, his wife, 19th June, 1807, aged 83. Rebecca B., 
spinster, 2nd Nov., 1830, aged 79. Ann B., spinster, her sister, 
5th August, 1837, aged 83. 

Ratsdale, page 95. This is Rochdale. In the History of 
Roche Ahbey^ by Dr. Aveling, 1870, p. 134, is a notice of a 
royal grant, of the 35th Henry VIII., to Arthur Assheton, of 
estates of the late monastery of Roche Abbey. Amongst these 
is a tenement in Saddleworth, in the parish of Ryche Dale, 
otherwise Rattesdale. 

Page 102. PORTINGTON. {From De la Pryme's MS. History 
of Hatfield. Lansdowne MS.y 897, p. 205-206). Be it remem- 
bred that the pious and good Charles the First, with many of 
his nobles, in a jorney that they were in out of the south, came 
from Rossington briggs unto Armethorp, drunk there at a land- 
lady's that kept an alehouse, by the gravel-pit side ; from thence 
they went to Hatfield and Thorn ; and so by the guide and con- 
duct of one old Mr. Canby (unkle to Mr. Edw. Canby, of this 
town), an old officer in the late Chace, was led over John-a- 
more Long to Whitgift ferry, and from thence went to Beverley, 

The same most excellent king, also, in a jorney from Beverley 
to Nottingham, where he set up his standard, came over at the 
aforesayd ferry of Whitgift to Gool, and so along the great banks 
into this town ; call'd and drunk at an alehouse at the north end 
thereof; pass'd quite through the same, and so through the 
Levels, with design to go through the Isle into Gainsbrow, but 
being got to Santoft, where a guard was kept by the Islemen 
against the king's party then at Hatfield under Robin Porting- 
ton, who, as soon as they saw a great number comeing against 
them, all fledd ; the king, learning there that the Isle were all in 
armes against them, turn'd his course, and went down the great 
bank on the right hand, and so to a place called Bull Hassoks ; 
and leaveing Haxey, and all the Isle on the left hand, passed 
onwards to Stockwith, and so to Gainsburrow, whence to Lmcoln, 
and thence to Nottingham. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 291 

When the commission of array came out, Sir Ralf Hansby 

and were appointed to sit thereupon, upon Scausby 

Leys, beyond Doncaster, and to summon and list all men that 
could be spared in all the country round, upon which, above half 
of the inhabitants of this manner appear'd and offer'd themselves, 
with their lives and fortunes, to serve the king. 

When the king's party took Leeds, in which siege Robin, 
Roger, and Henry Portington did great service, all this lordship 
was summon'd into work at the fortifying of the town, where 
one Pool, of Thorn, got a rich booty upon the defeat of a party 
of the enemv. 

Oliver Cromwell, that great rebel and villane, marched through 
Hatfield and Thorn, with several companys of horse, into the 
north, and came the same way back. 

Page 1 04. "I shall ne'er go the sooner to the Stygian Ferry. '^ 
The words occur in the well-known duet, by Travers, 1725-1758, 
(author of "I, my dear, was born to-day ; " and " Haste, my 
Nanette.") Query. The words are older than Travers — are 
they by Prior ? 

Old Chiron thus said to his pupil, Achilles : 
" I'll tell you, young gentleman, what the gods' will is : 
You, my boy, must go — 
The gods will have it so — to the siege of Troy, 
Upon those fields to be slain. 
Thence never to return to Greece again. 
But drink and be merry. 
You'll ne'er go the sooner (bis) to the Stygian Ferry." 

Page 114. De la Pryme^s MS, History of Hatfield is com- 
prized within Lansdowne MSS., 897, Brit. Mus., and contains 
about 315 folio pages, all written very legibly in the author's 
own hand. Bound up with it is a copy of notes relating to Hat- 
field, Fishlake, and Barnby Don churches, by Torre, taken from 
his MS S. in the Dean and Chapter's Register at York, in August, 
1724, by J. Warburton, Somerset Herald. There are also included 
within it an old map of Hatfield Chase, "suruayed in the ye^r 
1633, by mee Josias Aerlebout," (since engraved and published in 
Stonehouse^s History of the Isle ofAxholme) ; a " South-east Prospect 
of Hatfield Manor;" a "Bill of all the Names of Freeholders 
within the liberty of Howdenshire that hath 40^. per annum and 
above;" "the South-east Prospect of Hatfield Church;" "the 
South Prospect of Thorn;" "the South-west Prospect of Fish- 



292 THE DIARY OF 

lake Village" (shewing the houses of Mr. Simpson and Mr, 
Perkins) ^'Barnby Dunn, the seat of Roger Gregory, esq., to 
the south; " and a north-east prospect of the same, as " the seat of 
Roger Portington, esq." 

Additional Notes concerning the Quakers.' [pp. 141-143.] 

1695. Archdeacon of York^s Visitation, Presentments. 
Hatfield. Christian Middlebrooke, and Thomas Lee, esquire, for 
not paying their assessment. 

1664. Thorne. Christian Middlebrooke and his wife for not 
being marryed according to law. 

1667. Arksey. Samuel Barlow, and Mary his wife, qnakers, 
for keeping two of his children unbaptized. 

1667. Snaith. Magdalen Dawney, John Dawney, and Susanna 
Dawney, for not coming to church, being quakers. 

[Paul Dawney, son of Robert Dawney, of Pollington, was 
bap. at Snaith, 28th January, 1613-4; his sister, Susan, 29th 
September, 1618 ; his son, Richard, 16th July, 1640. Magdalen 
Dawney was bur. 5th November, 1679]. 

1669. Batley. William Watson, for despiseing the booke of 
common prayer, and the homylyes, together with those that read 
them, protesting that he would rather hear a song of Robin 
Hood. 

Arclihishop of York^s Visitation. 

1674. Thorne. Thomas Middlebrooke, senior, for with- 
holding a close called Swanland, in Thorne, from the church. 

Hatfield. Jacob, John, and Isaac, sons of Isaac De Cow, 
for being unbaptized. Isaac De Cow, for keeping his children 
unbaptized. 

Drax. Abraham Decowe, and Sarah his wife, and Jane 
Decowe, for not coming to church. 

Archdeacon's Visitation. 

1680. Addingham. Edward Dodgson, for refusing to bring 
his dead to the church to be buried, but burying it in a place 
called a sepulchre. 

Pontefract. Nebuchadnezzar Tod, for not coming to church. 

1683. York, St. Mary's, Bishophill senior. Thomas Fox, 
who boasted that he had been att a hundred conventicles. 

* From the collections of the Revd. C. B. Norcliffe, who has obligingly 
communicated several other pieces of information. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 293 

Archdeacon of East Riding^ s Visitation, 

1675. Owthome. Stephen Eiles, for suffering his winde-mill 
to grinde upon Easter Sunday. 

1677. Owthorne. Joanna Mare, widow, for dispraceing the 
common prayer, and calling itt witchcraft, and not paying her 
church taxes. 

1665. Flambrough. Thomas Rickaby, senior, master and 
mariner, of Bridlington Key, and Timothy Preston, woollen 
draper, for keeping their hatts on in sermon tyme, upon the 29th 
of January. 

Rillington. William Trambe, brewster, for not standing upp 
att the Creed and the Gloria Patri^ and for not kneelinge at the 
Lord's Prayer. 

1670. Hollym. Peter Johnson, for keeping his two sons, 
John and Isaac, unbaptized, and his daughter Rebecca also un- 
baptized. 

Sherbum. George Owston, for a frequent goer to Quaker 
meetings, and for shuttinge the church doore upon the parishion- 
ers, taking away the key, and tying upp the bell-rope. 

1675. Hedon. Timothy Rhodes, for drinking in time of divine 
service, and playing at cards on Christmas Day. 

Page 193. De la Pryme's account of Doncaster consists of 
about ten folio pages in Lansdoume MSS.j 898, British Museum. 
Sundry matters are bound up with it, such as a letter from 
from Ralph Thoresby, of Leeds, dated 8th November, 1703, 
accompanying a transcript from Leland^s Itinerary of what 
relates to Doncaster and the neighbourhood. There are also a 
map of the west-riding of Yorkshire, performed by Johan 
Speede, 1610 ; a map of twenty miles round Leeds, dedicated 
by Mr. John Boulter to the inhabitants and others of that place ; 
a pen and ink sketch of the east prospect of Selby ; an unfinished 
one of the south-east of Escrick Hall, the seat of Beilby Thomp- 
son, esq. ; several old engraved views of seats of gentry, such as 
Sprotburgh, Sir Godfrey Copley's ; Tong, Sir Geo. Tempest's ; 
Whixley, Chr. Tancred's, esq. ; Swilling ton, William Lowther's, 
seq. ; Great Ribston, Sir Henry Goodrick's ; Newby, Sir Edwd. 
Blackett's, bart. ; Temple Newsam, Viscount Irwin's ; with "pros- 
pects " of the towns of Leeds and Wakefield, by Buck, etc. The 
account of Doncaster has been evidently submitted to Dr. John- 
ston, as it bears upon it remarks in his handwriting. All or 
most of the information it contains has become emboaied in the 
several printed works relating to the town, which renders it 



^94 THE DIARY OF 

scarcely necessary to reproduce it. After giving an account of 
the former church of St. George (unhappily destroyed by fire on 
the 28th February, 1853"*), he appears to have taken a stroll 
through the town, upon which the following may, perhaps, serve 
as a specimen of the remarks he has recorded. 

Near this church, in some of the old buildings, is yet to be seen the mini 
of the old castle, which the Romans built when they remained here ; from 
which castle this town derives its name. 

On the east side of this church, bourdering upon the church yard, is a larg 
old sacred building, of the bigness of a larg chappel, now used by the tanners. 
I take it to have been a great chantery. 

Furder southwards, in the town, stands the nave and chancel of a great 
church called St. Mary Magdalen's, (which was formerly a chappel, but waa 
made a parochial church afterwards.) The two isles, both on the north and 
south sides, were pull'd down, and now the arches are walPd up, and this great 
sacred building is now most wickedly and sacrilegious [ly] apply'd to secular 
uses." In the church or chappel yard about it is commonly digg'd up men's 
bones, and sculls, and gravestones with old Saxon letters on, etc. 

Going furder on, we come to the south-east end of the town. The first 
thing observable there is a great cross, commonly call'd the Hall Cress,"' standing 
a great height. Before the pillar for the crosses begins to arise, the pillar is 
made thus [sketch], with four round pillars running up the sides of it. I find 
that it is cemented together with oyster shells, for between every stone there is 
planely visible oister shells, some of them whole. Upon the top of this pillary 
before Cromwell's days, there stood five curious gilt crosses, a great height, 
which the rogues in his time did most wickedly shoot down, and were resolv'd 
to pull the whole building down to the ground, but could not. About ... years 
ago, when Mr. William Pattison was mayor,' he caused this cross to be repaired, 
and a ball and fane set upon the top thereof ; and as they were viewing the 
pillar very narrowly, and rubbing the moss of that was grown thereon, he dis- 
cover'd several old Roman letters, containing an inscription round the pillar, 
in great letters, which he caused to be clensed and gilt with gold, which in- 
scription is this :—[+], ICEST - EST LA - CRVICB - OTE-D-TILLI - A - KI - ALME 

DBV EN FACE MERCi. AMEN. XI. xn.,^ whlch I take to mean thus : Here 
is the cross of Otto de Tilly, unto whome God shew mercy. Amen. 

* See Hie History and Description of St, George's ChurcTi at Doncaxter, 
destroyed by fire Feb. 28th, 1853, by John Edward Jackson, M.A., of Brazenoee 
College, Oxford, rector of Leigh Delamere, and vicar of Norton, co. Wilts. 
London, 1855. 

» It had been converted into a Town Hall, and a portion of the lower part 
of it was used as the Grammar School. In 1846-7 it was taken down for the 
purpose of making some new arrangements for market purposes, when a very 
interesting discovery of the ruins of the old church of St. Mary Magdalen took 
place, a history of which, with several illustrations, was compiled by the Bev. 
J. E. Jackson, M.A., in 1853. 

^ See Miller J pp. 31-33; WainrvrigMy p. 60; Hunter's South Yorkshire, 
i., p. 10 ; Jackson's St. George's Churchy appendix, Ixxxix. Entirely removed 
in 1792, and a very indifferent substitute erected on Hob Cross, or Hall Cross 
Hill. 

* Wm. Patterson, elected 26th September, 1678. 

y The numeral figures are believed not to have been on the cross itself, but 
merely on the margin of an old painting of it, belonging to R. Thoresby, of 
Leeds, from which an engraving was made by G. Vertue in 1753, where they were 
set as a memorandum of the hours at which the sun traversed the dial which 
was set thereon. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PJRYME. 295 

Or, perhaps thus, if etri may be understood, which is most probable : — Here 
lyes under this cross Otto de Tilly, on whose soul good God have mercy. 

What the following figures should mean I cannot tell, unless it be eleven 
hundred, 12 and 1, that is 1113. 

On the right hand, over against this cross, is an old house with old 
cherubims' heads, angels, etc., where Mr. Pattison lives,* which was a great 
religious house in days of old, calPd a gild or hall, purposely designed for the 
lodgment and entertainment of all pilgryms in their travels. There was another 
of these halls down the street, allmost at the far end of the town, by the brigg, 
for the same purpose." 

About the middle way down the street from the aforesaid great cross, on 
the left hand, is to be seen in the walls the ruins of the White Friars, a great 
Priory.* There is yet good gardens within, and the walls encompass the same 
all on the backside, as they did before its destruction. Over the gate that comes 
in on the back side is engraven, in very old characters, these words, with an 
odd sort of a coat of arms between the words, thus : — 

E Th : Prior 

Anno Do: 1516. 

Going on thus from this door, all along on the backside, wee come to a gate 
called St. Pulcher's gate, which is now not onely a gate, but a prison also: but 
in former times this gate and prison was a stately chappel, built by the monks 
of the White Friery aforesayd, upon which it almost joyns; for it was a common 
thing in time of popery, not onely to build a chappel by every gate of every 
great town, and make the passage through the chappel, and to adorn all the 
inside of the chappel gate with images of the saints, etc., for to invite and begg 
of the enterers in unto the town, or the goers out, to bestow some thing upon 
the poor monks of such or such an order, for if they were never so rich yet 
they always pleaded poverty. And then, another piece of cunning they had 
herein to save and preserve the town from enemys, for as when a town is 
besieged the chief efforts are made against the gates thereof, so the enemy 
seeing that these were hallowed gates, sanctifyed entrances into the town, 
through and belonging to a holy chappel, which whoever violated was curs'd, 
therefore nobody would, in them dark times, assault a town here, so that they 
were a great safety to those places that had such chappel gates. This sayd 

' Hall Cross House, purchased and much altered, in 1811, by John Branson, 
esq., who had the honour of entertaining here her present majesty, when 
Princess Victoria, on her visit to Doncaster races, from Wentworth house, 15th 
September, 1835. Thomas Walker, esq., afterwards purchased it, and resided 
here. It is now occupied by the Rev. Wm. Gumey, M.A., head master of the 
grammar school. 

<» " Such," says the Rev. J. E, Jackson (^History of St. George^s Church, 
Ixxxviii.), " appears to have been the standard history of almost every old house 
in De la Pryme's days. But whatever Hall Cross House may have been, this was 
certainly not the case with the other." The latter stands at the northern end 
of St. Mary's bridge, in the parish of Arksey, and was for some time the resi- 
dence of a family of Wildbore. Edmund Wildbore, gent., " ad pedem pontis,'' 
died 26th April, 1694. His arms, carved in stone (a fess charged with a trefoil 
betw. two wild boars passant, crest, a boar's head erased), and dated 1690, were, 
until within a few years ago, to be seen fixed over the door of a building in the 
garden at the rear of the premises; The shield is now in my possession. Mrs. 
Mary Cooke, widow, first of John Battie, esq., of Warmsworth, and secondly, 
of George Cooke, esq., was living here when she made her will, 1st June, 1764, 
being there described of Bridge house, in the parish of Arksey. She died 22nd 
May, 1775, and was buried at Warmsworth. 

* The house of the Carmelites, or White Friars, stood in that part of Hall 
gate which is now called High-street, or rather, it occupied the site of land now 



296 THE DIARY OF 

ch[apel] was dedicated to St. Pulcheria.<' 

From the af oresayd gate south-westward, in the street going towards Balby, 
is to be seen the ruins of a larg and once stately chappel dedicated to St. 
James, all now in rubish. 

Returning therefore again, and going through St. Pulcher's chappel gate, 
and so into the High-street, and turning down unto the river, there has, before 
you come thereat, been some religious places, but what they were cannot now 
be known. 

Comeing to the river there is an excellent stone brigg over the same, of a 
great height from the water, but for all that it is so high the water was this 
winter higher than it, and drive many of the battlement stones off, (and has 
quite broke down the famous great stone bridge at Tadcaster.) 

As soon as you are pass'd over this Doncaster first bridge, in a great green 
close on the right hand, stood in former times the famous monastry of Black 
Friars,*^ (at which, as I remember, Cardinal Wolsey lodg'd in his jorney from 
Cawood to Leicester, where he dy'd,) but now there [is] nothing to see. Furder 
on yet you come to another bridge, which has formerly had a large chappel, 
over and besides the same, dedicated to St. James, most of which chappel is yet 
standing, and is now becom a dwelling-house. In the gate is nitches where the 
12 apostles stood, which were but pull'd down in Cromwell's days ; and into 
the chappel was a door and several open places, like windows, for the monk 
that was appointed to watch to gather alms, to see when people came through. 

Upon this river stands a water mill belonging to Doncaster, as built at their 
joint charge, which [is] one of the fines [t] in England, and is about one 
hundred pound a year. 

On the left side of the way, just having got over the bridge, stands a famoas 
old cross, of curious excellent workmanship, with nitches for three images to 
stand in.* 

Furder on, beyond this, stands on the righ[t] hand a gentleman's house, 
which was formerly a great hall for the entertainment of pilgrims, as the [re] 
was another at the other end of the town, as I observed before. 

Furder on, beyond this, on the left hand, stands the ruin of a hermitage,/ 



covered by the Mansion House, the Ram Inn, and other house property, inter- 
sected by Priory-place, and extending to Printing-office street. The great gate 
house stood over against the south-west end of Scot-lane. After the dissolution, 
there was here a capital messuage or mansion called the New Building. Mary, 
Viscountess Carlingford, wife of Barnham Swift, Viscount Carlingford, and 
daughter of the Earl of Dumfries, resided here. King Charles I. dined with 
her, in one of his journies through Doncaster, and planted a pear tree in the 
garden. Part of this royal memorial was blown down by a violent storm, 18th 
September, 1809, but the rest of it {gtiam scepe vldi), stood till the latter end of 

1841. 

c See Hunter, [South Yorkshire ^i.^^. 17,) who observes that "it is too much 
to invent a chapel to explain a name. There is a total absence of proof of any 
chapel of St. Pulcheria, and the name of [St.] Sepulchre-gate existed before 
the house of Carmelites." 

'^ Probably the grey friars. Though Burton says that a house of Dom- 
inicans, or black friars, was founded at Doncaster, in the reign of Edward IL, 
etc. Hunter considers that " it is nevertheless doubtful whether such a house 
ever existed." — South Yorkshire^ i., p. 19. 

* See repreientation of it in JachwrCs St. George* s Churchy appendix, xci. 
/ Among the ecclesiastical foundations in the parish of Sprotburgh, was a 
chantry or free chapel called the Hermitage. The endowment was a house for 
the cantarist, with a garden, meadow, and wood, a rent of 6a. from Conings* 
borough, and of 60*. from a farm at Creighton [Criglestone], within the lord- 
ship of Wakefield. — Runteft South Yorkshire^ i., p. 348. 




THE MILL BRIDGE CROSS, DONCASTER, 176*. 



298 THE DIARY OF 

North-Elinsal, co. York, (descended from John Wentworth, of 
that phice, by Agnes, sister and coheir of Sir Wm. Dronsfield, 
of West Bretton,) with Francis Haldenby, as may be found in 
Hunter's South Yorkshire^ vol. ii., pp. 243 and 453. 

Page 239. The Histcyry of Hull^ which forms No. 890 of the 
Lansdowne MSS.y British Museum, is not in De la Pryme's own 
handwriting, but is a copy only of the compilation made by him. 
The title-page is signed by "J. Warburton, Somerset Herald, 
owner, March 24th, 1729." In the account of the churches are 
bound up notes in another writing, probably that of James Torre. 

Lansdowne ^IS,^ 891, contains a collection of sundry manu- 
scripts, notes, and documents relating to Hull and the neigh- 
bourhood, very little of which appears to be in the writing of He 
la Pry me. Much of this is evidently a transcript of another, 
and, being an original, a more valuable compilation, which is 
now in the possession of Edward Shimells Wilson, Esq., 
F.S.A.,* of Melton, near Hull. This latter, without any doubt, 
is in the handwriting of De la Pry me. It is bound in rough 
calf, lettered, and has a printed pagination. Its size is 13 by 9 
inches, and 2^ inches in thickness. Mr. Wilson states that he 
obtained it from the late Mr. Charles Frost, F.S.A., of Hull, 
Included in it are several trickings of coats of arms, noted by 
the author, from the windows and monuments of the churches at 
Hull, and other places mentioned therein. 

This MS. consists of 703 foolscap pages. The first 242 contain 
"A short description and account of y^ two churches of the Holy 
Trinity and St. Mary, in Kingston-upon-Hull, with many other 
things relateing thereto." 

Then follows "The description of y^ town of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, with ye history and antiquities of all y^ famous places 
that either formerly have been, or at present are, therein." 

At page 309 is '^ A short account of all the religious houses, 
viz., the monastrys, frierys, colleges, hospitals, gilds, and lands, 
given to pious uses, that either have been or are within ye town 
and county of Kingston-upon-Hull." 

At page 409, " Of the colledge at Sutton, near this town." 

At page 427, " Halton price." 

* The privilege obliginglj afforded me of inspecting, at leisure, this inter- 
esting manuscript, was much enhanced by the very kind and hospitable maimer 
in which I was received and entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, who left 
nothing undone that could promote my comfort and conyenie&ce dming mj 
visit at their pleasant residence at Melton. 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRYMB. 299 

At page 439, " Mr. Bury's gift of an exhibition to Cambr." 
At page 443, " The orders and rules of y© gild or fraternity 

of St. John ye Baptist, in Kingston-upon-Hull." 

At page 455, "A short history of all y© towns that are in the 

county of Kingston-upon-Hull ; to which is added also a brief 

account of Dripool, Sutton, and Cottingham," 

This includes : — 

Page. 
North Ferriby • 457. 

Hessell 471. 

Kirk-eller 477. 

Tranby 481. 

Anlaby, pedigrees of Anlaby and Legard, of... 487. 

Willarby 491. 

Haut Emprice 494. 

Scowscots 495. 

Myton cum Tupcots 507. 

Drypool 513. 

Sutton and Stone Ferry 521. 

Cottingham 526. 

At page 537 is " An exact catalogue of all ye wardens, 
bailifs, mayors, sherifs, and chamberlains of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, that can anywhere be found upon record." [1298-1570.] 

At page 553, " The reasons and causes of ye general decay 
of trade, and scarcity of money, in ye town of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, layd before ye Privy Councel, by John Ramsden, merch." 

At page 565, " Catalogus Universalis librorum Bibliothecse 
Sacro-sanctae Trinitatis EcclesisB Eegioduni super Hull." 

At page 615, "An exact account of all ye lands, tenements, 
incomes, and reciets belonging, in ye year 1695, to ye Right 
Worshipfull ye mayor and burgesses of Kingston-upon-Hull, 
with ye disbursements and charges then going and payd out of 
ye same." 

At page 643, " The most antient laws, ordinances, and con- 
stitutions of ye town, which were according to custom proclaimed 
every year in ye market-place." 

At page 645, "An abridgment of all ye old laws, customs, 
orders, and constitutions, K.S.H. of 18 regni regis H. 6ti-» etc 

At page 673, " Of ye admiralty of this town." 

At page 683, " The customes of ye major and aldermen upon 
election day and other days." 



300 THE DIARY OF 

At page 685, " The dutys and salerys of y® major's officers/' 

At page 687, " The incorporation of merchant adventurers." 

At page 691, "A catalogue of ye benefactors and benefac- 
tions to ye town and corporation of Kingston-upon-Hull." 

At page 694, " Trippet." 

At page 695, Mention of a " licence for y^ renewing of that 
antient and laudable custom, (as they themselves call it,) of 
reading Divine Service daily in ye said church, morning and 
evening," etc., 27th Nov., 1638, by Bichard, Archbishop of 
York. 

At page 697, " The case of y® reader of Trin[ity] upon 
Hull," etc., etc. 

At page 699, "An account of y© fee farm rents payd by 
ye major and burgesses of Kingston-upon-HuU." 

At page 701, " Of ye rents of ye town of Kingston-upon- 
Hull, and ye fees paid by ye corporation in K. Henry y® VIIL'b 
time." 

At page 703, "Of the benefactors and benefactions that have 
been made to ye parochial church or chappel of St. Mary's in 
Kingston-upon-Hull." 

Cyriack Skinner. Page 160. The statement as to his 
appearing to have settled down as a merchant, in London, is 
believed to be incorrect. The supposition arose from the informa- 
tion, given by Aubrey, relative to one of Milton's unpublished 
compositions, styled Idea Tlieologice^ in manuscript, which the 
former says was." in the hands of Mr, Skinner, a merchant's 
Sonne, in Mark Lane." Anthony a' Wood repeats this, with 
mentioning Cyriack Skinner as the depository a£ this relic, and 
what the one calls Idea Theohgice^ the other adopts, but also 
terms it The Body of Dtmnity^ at that time, "or, at least. 
lately," he adds, " in the hands of Milton's acquaintance, called 
Cyr. Skinner, living in Mark Lane, London." But Archdeacon 
Todd, in his Life, etc., of Milton, 1842, shews, certainly, that it 
was into the hands of quite a different person that this MS. had 
passed : viz., a Mr. Daniel Skinner, supposed by Mr. PuIman,Qf 
the Herald's College, to be the eldest son of Daniel Skinner, 
merchant, of the parish of St. Olave's, Hart-street, which parish 
comprises a considerable part of Mark Lane. This Daniel 
Skinner had been educated at Westminster School, which he 
left for Cambridge, in 1670, where the dates of his admission, 
as a minor and a major fellow of Trinity College, are in October, 
1674, and in May, 1679. Together also with the Idea TheologuB 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 301 

were some MS. State Letters ^ both of which Daniel Skinner 
had designed to have printed by Elzevir, at Amsterdam. The 
latter, however, from political reasons, declining to do so. Skinner 
took away the manuscripts, which afterwards found their way 
into the Old State Paper Office, at Whitehall, where they were 
discovered, in 1823, enclosed in a cover directed to Mr. Skinner, 
merchant. (See more in Dr. Sumner's Preface to Treatise on 
Christian Doctrine^ hy J. Milton^ 1825. TodcTs Poetical Works 
of Milton^ 1842, pp. 184-190.) Cyriack Skinner was entered of 
Lincoln's Inn, 31 July, 23 Car. L, 1647, but there is no record 
of His call to the Bar at that Inn. He is named, in 1657, as of 
the parish of St. Martin-in-the- Fields, where he was buried on 
the 8th August, 1700. 

Julian Bower. Pa^je 164. See also an enorravinor of the 
one at Alkborough in An Historical and Descriptive account of 
Lincolnshire^ 1828, Vol. 1. p. 176 : — An account of another at 
Horncastle, ih, page 236. Likewise Notitice LudcB^ or Notices of 
Louth^ 1834. page 238. 

DuNSCROFT. Pages 166-75. In the History of Roche Ahhey^ 
by Dr. Aveling, 1870, p. 110 (note), the author states that the 
opinion of the venerable historian of South Yorkshire^ respecting 
Dunscroft, remained unaltered. In answer to his enquiries, Mr, 
Hunter, on the 13th April, 1860, wrote to him, he says, 
as follows- — " I had been long suspicious that there was 
some mistake about Dunscroft, when I met with Rowe Mores' 
engraving of the seal. The legend is imperfect, but there is 
enough to shew that the name of the place is not Dunscroft, to 
which he erroneously, as I believe, ascribed it. If there had 
been really any cell there, I must have met with something 
more decisive than the report of the antiquarian of the time of 
Torre, — some deed or document of the time when it was in 
existence, or, at least, some mention of it in such surveys as the 
' Valor ' of King Henry VIII. I have seen nothing to distrust 
the opinion expressed in the S, F. that it was the grange at which 
resided the person who attended to the interest of the monastery 
at Armthorpe, and in the level, a superior one, as the officer was 
probably a person of a superior class to the ordinary grangiarii. 
I should not have expressed myself so strongly had I had the 
least doubt about the mis-reading of the legend on the seal." 

Saunderson, MSS, pages 176 and 184. Robert Saunderson, 
D.D., born at Gilthwaite, in the parish of Rotherham, Yorkshire, 



302 THE DIARY OF 

19th Sept., 1587, of Lincoln Coll., Oxford; rector of Wibberton, 
CO. Lincoln, 1618, and shortly afterwards of Boothby-Pagnell. 
Consecrated Bishop of Lincoln, 28th Oct., 1660. Died 29th 
Jany., 1662. 

Saunderson was greatly attached to genealogical and heraldic 
studies, which he appears to have pursued more by way of 
recreation than with any definite object. Of the extensive col- 
lections which he left behind him in manuscript the larger portion 
were for a time, after having been dispersed, reunited in the 
library of the late Sir Joseph Banks. At his death they wjere 
excepted out of the number bequeathed to the British Museum, 
and were very probably designed to be heir looms at Revesby : 
they, however, became the property of his widow, and from her 
descended to the Knatchbulls. One MS. volume, which contained 
the Saunderson pedigree, remained from the first with the 
bishop's descendants, who, in process of time, falling in the 
social scale to the rank of farmers, and caring little about 
mattei's of ancestry, used the book for agricultural purposes, so 
that the prices of the sale of corn, and the registers of breeding 
of cattle, were scribbled in an ill-spelt and vulgar hand over the 
pages of the good bishop's elaborate entries. This MS. is, or was, 
in the" possession of a Mr. Clarke, now or late Cole, living near 
Normanby, in tlie county of Lincoln. 

See Raine's History of the Parish of Blyth^ 1860, pp. 73-78. 

Pratt, of Boss all. Pages 177 and 239. The following 
note, stated to occur on the fly-leaf of a book, was communicated 
to the Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica^ 1866, page 77. 

'^ This was the booke of my dear father, Mr. WiUiam Pratt, 
A.M., of Emmanuel Colledge, in Cambridge, who was Vicar of 
Bossall 28 years ; he was a man of great learning, and a great 
antiquary, excellently skilled in all sorts of medals. Obiit Anna 
Domini 1701, Jan. the 2 day. 

" Tills alsoe was tho book of my dear and pious brother, Mr. 
John Pratt, A.M., of Sidney Sussex Colledge, in Cambridge; a 
man of great learning and piety, who was Vicar of Bossall 16 
years. Obiit August the 25 day, Anno Domini 1718. 

"Margaret Pratt.** 

Page 178. The following petition, which occurs in Lansdowne 
MSS., B.M. 897, is curious, as showing that the turning of open 
scats into pews was formerly considered, by the inhabitants of 
Hatfield, to act as tho possible means of healing certain disorders 
in their parish chm'ch : — 



ABRAHAM DK LA PRYMB. 303 

To the Most Reverend Father in God, John^ Lord ArcJibishop of 

York, Sis Grace. 
The Petition of the Minister, Churchwardens, and Inhabitants of 

the Parish of Hatfield, within your Grace's Diocess, humbly 

sheweth, 

Tliat whereas we have a great parish, and an antient and 
large parish church, but that our seats therein are very old and 
irregular, and that there are at least forty householders of good 
quality amongst us, who pay considerably to the repairs of our 
sayd church, yet have no seats at all therein that they can claim 
any right to ; and, likewise, that there are differencys and dis- 
putes about the sayd seats amongst several other's. For the 
regulating of which disorders, and the incouragement of all per- 
sons to come to Divine Service, and to hear the Word of God 
preached, and to preserve peace, unity, and concord amongst us,* 

* These pews, of the old high and square order, still exist in the church of 
Hatfield. Galleries, too, fill up the upper portion of the arches in the nave, 
and on the front of them, in the wood-work, is a little ornamental moulding. 
At one end of the south gallery the whole of an arch is fitted up for a "squire's 
pew " appurtenant to the former residence of the Hatfeild and Gossip families, 
and carefully boxed off from the rest in the line, Tttot'e theatrall. On the oppo- 
site side a second is similarly arranged, probably for their servants. Another 
of these capital enclosures, on the floor, underneath the chancel screen, within 
the nave, is set apart for the use of the manor house. A large gallery fills the 
space at the western end, erected probably during the time when Wm. Drake, 
M.A., was minister (1739-67), and when Joseph Youden, Wm. Hobson. Robert 
Atkinson, and John Benson, were churchwardens, their names being placed there- 
on. Chained to a desk is a black-letter book of Homilies, dated "from Sarisbury 
11th Dec, 1569, whereat, if so minded, the passer by may stand and refresh 
himself with a perusal of " The defence of the Apologie of the Church of 
England," or with " Sermons preached by Bishop Jewel," etc. The church of 
Hatfield is a spacious and handsome edifice, built in the form of the cross, 
the tower rising at the intersection of the limbs. It is not now rich in monuments, 
and many, no doubt very interesting memorials of the past, perished in the 
great repairs and the new pewing, which took place upon " the beautifying of 
the church" in 1G97 (p. 178). For another, and perhaps more judicious, resto- 
ration (which such an edifice as this certainly deserves) the good vicar of the 
present day is, I believe, very desirous, and plans have been procured with that 
view. The spirit is willing, but the qniddam necesmrlum is not so ready. We 
want a greater number of Thomas Places than we have. — See p. 142. 

Whilst upon this subject it may not be out of place to note that, a century 
earlier, the new ordering of pews appears to have had a somewhat contrary 
effect at the good town of Hull to that produced by it at Hatfield. Our Diarist, 
in his M.S. History of the churches there, mentions that at the Holy Trinity 
Church, in 1599, "all the old pews in the body of the church, which were very 
irregular and unhandsome, were pulled up, and those made in the room thereof 
that are now standing ; and, as in such alterations, many contentions commonly 
arise, about priority, and the right and title to seats, so the ladies, in particular, 
were so offended, that the mayor, aldermen, and churchwardens, were forced to 
get an order from her majesty's high commissioners for causes ecclesiastical, 
to quiet aud settle them iu peace, in such and such seats." Ou the 31st 



30i 



THE DIARY OF 



Wee, therefore, humblj" pray your Grace to issue out your 
Grace's commission, out of your Grace's Ecclesiastical Court, 
directed to [blank for names of Commissioners] empowering 
them to regulate the sayd seats, which we conceive may best be 
done by turning them into pews, and that an assessment may 
be layd by hous row for that purpose, through our sayd parish, 
to be assessed according to equity and justice, answerable to 
ye number of every family. 

And your Petitioners shall ever pray for your Grace's long 
life and pious government over us. 

Dean Gale, pp. 208, 209.— The Rev. Dr. Thomas Smith 
writing to Pepys, 16th April, 1702, mentions that on Sunday 
morning last, he heard of the death of his learned friend the Rev. 
Dr. Gale : he doubts not but that his sons will take all possible 
care of his papers, and especially of those which relate to the 
illustrating Camden^ s Britannia^ and publish, in convenient time, 
to the honor of their father's memory, which, with those learned 
books he himself published in his lifetime, would render him more 
illustrious to posterity than any monument they could erect in 
York Wm^iGT.— Pepys' Diary ^ ed. 1849. v. 404. 

Perkins' MSS. Extracts from the wills of Rev. John Hall, 
and his son. (See page 181.) 

7 Sept., 1721. John Hall, of Gisbrough, clerk.— To be 
buried in the church yard of the parish where I shall dye. — I give 
to my son, John Hall, fellow of Jesus College, in Cambridge, out 
now resident at Stockton, in the county of Durham, clerk, all my 
books, boxes, papers, and parchments, in my study, or else- 
where, belonging to me, except such as my wife shall chuse for 
her own reading, desiring that no person, learned or unlearned, 
shiill either rifle, ransack, search, or examine the same, till my 
son John, if Uving, or some person appointed by him, come to 

October, 1598, an order appears to have issued from Matthew Hutton, arch- 
bishop of York, and others, authorizing the mayor, etc., " to place every of the 
eaid gentlewomen in places already made, or to be made, according to their 
callings or dignities, so as Mrs. Mayoress, for the time being, may keep her 
pew or place, and the other gentlewomen, the aldermen's wives, their pews or 
places, by themselves, as had been accustomed, and not thereafter to be troabled 
or molested by others, so tliat all gentlewomen resorting thither, to hear divine 
jservice and sermons, might have lit place assigned them for that purpose." It 
further appears to have been a part of the sword-bearer's duty *' to place all 
new Mrs. Mayoresses, Mrs. Sheriffs, Mrs. Chamberlains, aad any new Alder- 
women, in the church." — Be la Pry me' i MS. History^ pene^ Mr. \Y'U$oa^ 
pp. 11-G85. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 305 

examine, view, or dispose of the same. But if he be dead before 
me, I leave all ray books to my wife, her administrators, and 
assigns, and my papers I will and desire to be all burnt. Item, 
I give unto my son, John Hall, aforesaid, and his heirs for ever, 
all my reall estate, whether freehold or copyhold, lying and 
being in the manor of Hatfield, provided and upon condition 
that he pay to his affectionate mother, my affectionately tender 
wife, Mrs. Sarah Hall, one-half of the clear yearly rent of and 
for the said land, for and during the term of her life. — Provided 
also, that if my son, John Hall, shall dye without issue, lawfully 
begotten, then my will is that one halfe of my real estate shall be 
equally divided amongst such of the surviving children of my 
affectionate wife as shall then be living, by her first husband, or 
among such of them as she shall appoint by writing under her 
own hand. — S^^ wife and son ex^s — [Pro. 4th Apr., 1722, admon. 
to John Hall, clerk, son of s^ dec^- ] 

18 Sept., 1722. John Hall, of Guisbrough, clerk, being sick 
in body. — I give and bequeath unto my loveing brother, Thomas 
Perkins, of Hatfeild, co. York, gent., Matthew Mazline, of 
Cawood, clerk, and Samuel Gibson, of Lombard Str., London, 
druggist — all my estate, whether freehold or copyhold, lying in 
Fishlake, within the manner of Hatfeild, co. York, — in trust to 
be by them sold for the best advantage, for the payment of my 
debts, legacies, and funeral expenses, — To my uncle, Ralph 
Hall, in Ireland, £5. — To each of my aunt Sanderson's sons, of 
Kirkby Huer, each £10. — To my dear and affectionate freind, 
Mrs. Anne (Nills ?), of Scoley, the bed and furniture of my own 
room, the glass, and ten guineas. Residue to be equally devided 
amongst all my brothers and sisters ; my sister Barrett's 
children to come in for a sister's share. — My said loveing 
brother Thomas Perkins, Matthew Mazline, and Samuel Gibson, 
exrs — [Pro. 15th Oct., 1722, admon. to Thos- Perkins, gent., one 
of the ex^s.] 

Page 187. Lansdowne MSS., 899. 

HiSTORiA Universalis Oppidi et Parochi^ Hatfieldiensis, 
OR, Y*' History and Antiquitys of y* Town and Parish of 
Hatfield, by Doncaster. In small Books, with many 
Copper Cutts. 

Elenchus Librorum et Capitum HistoriaB Praedicta). 

Book ye 1st, in titled 

HiSTORICUS. 



306 THE DIARY OF 

The Dedication. 
The Preface. 

Ch. 1. The difficulty of finding ye originals of towns : that 
this part of y^ country over which this town and parish extends 
itself was some thousands of years ago a wilderness full of pitch 
trees, fir trees, all wild beasts, etc., uninhabited with mankind. 

■ 
Ch. 2. The discovery of ye island by y® Cimbri, their plant- 
ing all ye east and south parts of y® same ; their original Strang 
customes, manners, etc. ' 

Ch. 3. The next discoverers of this island was y® Phoenicians, 
their seating of themselves in y® south parts thereof; manner of 
fighting, customes, etc. ; wars with y© Cimbri. 

Ch. 4. Ye discovery of this island by Grecians, under 
Phileus Taurominitos, 150 years before Caesar's days ; their seat- 
ing themselves in y® south parts thereof, their wars with the 
Phoenicians, etc. 

Ch. 5. Of ye invasion of all ye south east parts of this island 
by ye Gauls and Belgians, about -GO years before Caesar's days ; 
of their seating themselves all along ye seaside, and ye inland 
adjacent country s on ye south east of this island ; of their wars 
with ye Cimbri, and their driveing them northwards to dwell in 
ye before uninhabited forests and wildernesses, by which means 
this formerly woody country, ye subject of my history, came to 
be peopled, etc. 

Ch. 6. These Cimbri, that being thus forced to live in this 
part of ye country, and to inhabit y® morasses and boggy woods 
of this parish, were called Brigantes by the Romans ; their 
assaults made upon them in the woods of this parish ; their con- 
sultations, wars, etc., under CartismanduaVen .... etc., 

with ye conquest by ye Romans .... 

return and bickering . . with ye Romans .... parish, 
which occasioned ye Romans to burn and cut down y« great 
forest of fir trees that grew in ye morasses of this parish that 
harboured tliem, etc. 

Ch. 8. l_sic] The country hereabouts being by this means ren- 
der'd quiet, y® Romans cause ye conquer'd Britons to build thenv- 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 307 

selves houses and inhabit here, by reason of ye richness and 
pleasantness of y® soil, etc., which gave origin to this town, its 
antient increase, settlement, name, revolutions, etc., imtill y® 
year of Christ 600 and odd. 

Ch. 9. How that it was a king's seat in y® Saxon's time ; of 
ye dwelling of Edwin, first Christian king of ye JSTorthumbers 
here ; history of his life, and a full account of y® great battal 
that was fought against him in ye fields of Hatfield, by Penda, 
king of Mercia, and Caadwaller, king of y® Brittans, in which 
Edwin and his son was slayn, and y® whole town bm'nt 
down, etc. 

Ch. 10. The building of y® town again, its increase and 
flourishing condition under ye succeeding kings of ye Northum- 
bers, and of several things that happened therein. Of a great 
synod that was held there under Egfrid, king of ye Northumbers. 

Of ye ravages that ye Dains made in these parts; of their 
sacking of ye town of Hatfield, and burning it down again unto 
ye bare ground. 

Of its destruction again by ye Dains, and ye revolutions, 
famines, inundations, etc., relateing thereto, unto ye year 13. . . 

Of a great earthquake that exceeding shoke tiis town, and 
ye whole country round about. 

Ch. 11. Of ye destruction of this town by Thomas, Earl of 
Lancaster, in .... ye whole history of ye invasion 
thereof. 

Of ye reversion of ye town and parish unto ye king ; of 
Phillipa, queen to Edw. ye 3^- that was brought to bed of a 
Prince, at this Hatfield, in 1335. 

Of a blazeing starr and a great mortality of men in Hatfield, 
anno 1391. 

Ch. 12. Of Hen. ye 8th jomey into Yorkshire, and his 
intended comeing into this town of Hatfield, to hunt in y® chase 
thereof. 

Ch. 13. Of ye progress that Henry, Prince of Wales, (son 
to King John ye Ist,) took into Yorkshire, and his comeing 
to this town of Hatfield, etc. 

Ch. 14. A full description of y® town, both as it has formerly 



308 THE DIARY OF 

been, and at present is ; its state, condition, delicate situation, 
neatness, conveniences, etc. 

Of y^ nature of its air, of a hurricane that happened there in 
1687. Of yc great storm of wind in 1695, with somewhat 
observable concerning ye same, and mists. 

Of y® nature of ye water that ye town is supplyd with ; with 
somewhat observable relateing to vsprings and wells. 

Of y® nature, humours, and dispositions of y® people of this 
town and parisli. Of their sports, recreations, etc. 

Of their sicknesses, diseases, distempers, etc. 

Of ye king's pallace that was at this town, part of which is 
yet standing, etc. 

Ch. 17 [_sic']. Of ye chace of Hatfield, its antiquity, bounds, 
and greatness, and its destniction by ye Dutch. 

Of ye vast numbers and plenty of deer that was therein, etc 

Of ye old laws and customes of ye chase, etc. 

Of ye officers thereof, ye king's bow bearer, ye park keeper, 
ye surveyor, ye regarders, and their stations, etc. 

Of ye park of Hatfield, its antiquity, bigness, and destruction 
by ye Dutch in 1631. 

Book ye 2nd, intitled Villaris. 

Ch. 1, Of ye origin of parishes, of ye largeness and extent 
of this at Hatfield. 

Ch. 2. Of ye towns and hamlets that both formerly were, 
and at present are, in yc parish of Hatfield ; and first of Thorn, 
its antient state, etc. 

Ch. 3. Of ye antiquity of Stainford, its greatness in former 
times ; of a famous chappel that was there formerly, puU'd down 
by K. Edw. ye 6 ; of ye present state of ye town now, etc. Of 
Tudworth, its antient and j^resent state; of ye great fisherys that 
were there formerly, etc. 

Of ye antiquitys of Dunscroft ; of ye cell belonging to Boch 
monastery that was there, etc. 

Ch. 6. \_sic] Of Woodhouse, its original greatness; and antient 
and present state, etc. 

Ch, 7. Of Bereswood, its antiquity and present state, large- 
ness, etc. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PBYME. 309 

Ch. 8. Of ye old and famous place of Lindholm, and what it 
has been. 

Book ye 3rd, intitled Ecclesiasticus. 

Ch. 1. Of ye 1st establishing of ye Christian religion in this 
land; of ye first that preached Christ in this parish, and of 
ye first church built there. 

Ch. 2. Of ye building of ye present stately church that now 
is, with ye history, ye armes, and genealogies of those worthy 
men, ye Hastings, ye Ricards, ye Nevils, ye Pawneys, and 
others that contributed thereto, etc. 

Ch. 3. Of ye solemnity of ye dedication and consideration 
thereof, with all ye ceremony belonging thereto, and ye great 
feasting that ensued thereon, etc. 

Ch. 4. The history of ye advowson of ye church of Hatfield. 
Of ye tithes, their impropriation, first unto ye monastery of St. 
Pancrace, then to St. Mary's in York, and then to Roch Abby ; 
with an ordinance for ye maintenance of ye vicar of Hatfield. 

Ch. 5. The church of Hatfield, and mother church of 
ye chappels subordinate thereto in former days. How Thorn 
came to be parochial. Ye charter of ye chappel of Thorn, with 
observations thereon. 

Ch. 6. A full and perfect description of ye church of Hat- 
field ; of all ye pictures, images, inscriptions, epitaphs, and 
reliques, that was therein a few years before ye Reformation. 

Ch. 7. Of ye great need of ye Reformation when it hap- 
pened, to clence and purify religion from all ye foppery s of 
popery, and restore it to ye pureness and undefiledness of ye 
primative ways, such as was first preachd and tought in this 
nation before that Austin ye monk landed, etc., and of y® per- 
formance thereof. 

Ch. 8. Of ye sad havok that was made of religious things in 
ye time of ye Reformation; how much churches and ye poor 
suffered thereby, and especially this of ours, etc. 

Ch. 9. Of ye reparations that have been made of and to this 
of ours, especially within these late years ; with a whole account 
thereof, and a full description of ye church as it now is, etc. 



310 THE DIARY OF 

Ch. 10. Of y® exsellency of epitaphs and funeral monu- 
ments, with an account of all those that have escaped the rage of 
men and time, and that are yet in ye sayd church. 

Ch. 11. Of y® Encaenia, or aniversary feast of ye dedication 
of ye church, and ye antient and present man[ner] of solemnizing 
of ye same. 

Ch. 12. Of ye old customes that are observed in this church 
in christnings, maryages, burials, etc. 

Ch. 13. Containing ye names, lives, and memorable deeds 
of all ye ministers of this town of Hatfield, from y® most antient 
accounts unto this day. 

Part 2. 

Ch. 1. Of ye origin of ye monastic life, and ye excellency 
thereof, if not abused. Of ye religious places that have been in 
this parish, and first of Lindholm, as ye most antient, with 
ye whole life of St. Will, a Lindholm. 

Ch. 2. Of ye origin and building of ye little monastry or 
cell of Dunscroft ; of ye number of monks therein, etc. 

Ch. 3. Of their order, rule, maner of life, devotions, houers 
of prayer, admittance of novices, etc. 

Ch. 4. Of ye dissolution of ye sayd little monastry, and 
ye abominable means and ways they took to perform ye same; 
and of ye allienation of all ye lands by King Henry ye VIIL, etc. 

Ch. 5. Of ye cursed ways and means that Henry y® VIIL 
took to dissolve and suppress all ye rest of ye monastrys and 
religious houses in ye land, and that it was plain sacriledge, 
and that every one commits ye same sin in keeping y® sayd 
lands, etc. 

Part 3. 

Ch. 1. Of ye preceptory of knight Templars ; afterwards of 
ye knights of St. John of Jerusalem that was at Crooksbroom, 
in this parish ; of ye lands belonging thereto, etc. 

Ch. 2. Of ye maner of life of those two orders ; of their 
customes, ceremonys, devotions. 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMB. 311 

Ch. 3. Of ye miserable end of ye first order, and ye abro- 
gation of ye latter in Harry ye VIIL's time, and ye aJlienation 
of their lands, etc. 

Ch. 4. Of St. Catharines cross that stood in ye west end of 
Hatfield, with the life of that pure saint. 

Ch. 5. Of St. Langton's cross in ye fields ; why so call'd, 
etc., with an account of ye patron to whome it was dedicated, 
and of all ye troubles that ensued through him, in which may be 
seen a specimen of popeish tyranny, etc. 

• 

Ch. 6. Of ye free school that is in this town, its foundation, 
dedication, endowments, etc. 

Ch. 7. Of ye benefactors since ye Reformation to ye church, 
ye poor, and ye sayd school, etc. 

Ch. 8. Of ye charitable donation unto this town that, 
having been lost this 70 years, was lately, with great charges 
and trouble, recovered by ye sayd town, etc. 

Book ye 4th, intitled CuRiosus. 

Seu de rebus curiosis Hatfieldice. Containing an account of 
all ye curiositys and raritys that are either in ye musaeum of 
ye author at ye sayd town, or dispersed elsewhere in ye privat 
hands of those that dwell in ye parish. As of almost 100 old 
Roman, Saxon, Dainish, and Grecian coins, and late medalls of 
great rarity, etc. As also petrifyd fish and shell-fish of various 
sorts, with other petrifactions of grass, moss, water, wood, bones 
of fish, etc. Strang experiments made by ye author with 
microscopes concerning the pores of glass, the particles of 
water, ye vegetation and seeding of worts, etc. With copper 
cutts, discriptions, and solutions of them all, etc. 

Book ye 5th, intitled CuRlALiS. 

Sell de rebus curice. 

Ch. 1. What manours, lordships, and townships are, 
ye original of them, and their various customes. 

Ch. 2. Of ye original of copyhold and freehold, etc. 

Ch. 3. Of ye Strang customes of this manour of Hatfield^ etc. 



312 THE DIARY OF 

Ch. 4. Of y6 old custome of rideing upon y^ wooden horsey 
in ye court-house. 

Ch. 5. Of ye fellow that sold y© divey 

Book ye 6th, intitled VlTALlS. 

Containing ye history of y® lives and memorable acts of 
ye known lords of ye manour and town of Hatfield, etc. 

Ch. 1. Ye life of King Edwin. 

Ch. 2. Ye life of Earl Godwin. 

Ch. 3. Ye life of Earl Harold. 

Ch. 4. Ye life of William ye Conqueror. 

Ch. 5. Ye Ufe of William, ye 1st Earl Warren. 

Ch. 6. Ye life of William, ye 2nd Earl Warren. 

Ch. 7. Ye life of William, ye 3rd Earl Warren. 

Ch. 8. Ye life of WilHam, ye 4th Earl Warren. 

Ch. 9. Ye life of Hamlin, Earl Warren. 

Ch. 10. Ye life of William, ye 6th Earl Warren. 

Ch. 1 1. Ye life of John, ye 7th Earl Warren. 

Ch. 12. Ye life of John, ye 8th and last Earl Warren. 

Ch. 13. Ye life of Edm. de Longley. 

Ch. 14. Ye life of Edw. Plantagenet. 

Ch. 15. Ye life of Rich. Plantagenet. 

Ch. 16. Ye life of Edward Earl of March, made king of 
England by ye name of Edward 4th. 

Ch. 17. A short account of King Edward 5th. 

Ch. 18. A short account of King Richard 3rd. 

Ch. 19. A short account of Henry 7th. 

Ch. 20. A short account of Henry 8th. 

Ch. 21. A short account of Ejng Edward 6th. 

Ch. 22. A short account of Queen Mary. 
> See antea^ p. 256, note. 



ABRAHAM DS LA PRYlfB. 313 

Ch. 23. A short account of Queen Elizabeth. 

Ch. 24. A short account of King James 1st. 

Ch. 25. A short account of King Charles ye 1st. 

Ch. 2G. Ye life of Sir Cornelius Vermuden. 

Ch. 27. Ye life of John Gibbons, esq. 

Ch. 28. Ye life of Sir Edward Osburn, knt. 

Ch. 29. Ye life of Sir Arthur Ingram. 

Ch. 30. Ye life of William Wickham, esq. 

Ch. 31. Ye life of Sir Henry Ingram. 

Ch. 32. Henry, Lord Viscount Irwing, ye present lord. 

Part ye 2d. 

The life of Thomas, Bishop of Durham. 

The life of Sir Martin Frobisher. 

Ch. 2. Ye life, history, and genealogy of ye Portingtons. 

Ch. 3. Ye life of ye Wests. 

Ch. 4. Ye history and genealogy of ye Lees. 

Ch. 5. Ye history and genealogy of y® Woodcocks. 

Ch. 6. Ye history and genealogy of ye Whites. 

Ch. 7. Ye history and genealogy of ye Greens. 

Ch. 8. Ye history and genealogy of y® Wormels. [Worm- 
leys]. 

Ch. 9. Ye history and genealogy of ye Hatfields. 

Ch. 10. Ye history and genealogy of ye Prymes. 

Ch. 11. Ye history and genealogy of ye Beamonts. 

Ch. 12. Ye history and genealogy of ye Eicards. 

Ch. 13. Ye history and genealogy of ye Atkinsons. 

Ch. 14. Ye history and genealogy of ye Oughtibriggs. 

V 



314 TEB DLLRT Or 

Ch. 15. Ye history and genealogy of y© Broughtons. 
Ch. 16. Ye history and genealogy of y© [blank]. 

Book ye 7th, intitled Belgicus. 

Ch. 1, A short recapitulation of what was sayd in ye be- 
ginning of y« first book of ye peat forrest that ran over part of 
ye morasses or levels in Hatfield parish and the country adjoyn- 
ing; of ye burning and chopping of ye same down by tlie 
Romans ; that the trees falling crossways over ye rivers stopped 
their currents, and occasioned not only the reliques of this for- 
rest, but ye whole country round about, to be drounded and 
subject to perpetual overflowing. 

Ch. 2. Of ye great height that ye rivers Ayre, Trent, and 
Humber ran, in respect of w^hat they do now, which was also an 
occasion of rendering this sayd low coimtry a perpetual randez- 
vouz of waters. 

Ch. 3. Of ye many rivers that ran formerly through these 
levels, with the names of them, etc. 

Ch. 4. Of ye many great floods that happened in this drownded 
country from ye most ancient accounts untill ye drainage in 1630. 

Ch. 5. How that, in success of time, ye muddy waters of ye 
Don and Idle, that ran through those levels, deposited so much 
silt and warp that they made a great deal of high land on both 
sides of their streams. 

Ch. 6. Of ye great trade that people carry'd on in those 
levels before ye drainage, both betwixt town and town, and also 
in fishing, fowling &c. 

Ch. 7. Of ye great benefit that ye grassmen of this town and 
manour made by ye priviledge of joysting goods upon ye common, 
granted them by King Edward ye 4:th. 

Ch. 8. Of a design that one Mr. Lavrock and his partners 
had of draining these levels, in Queen Elizabeth's days, and y« 
miscariage thereof, &c. 

Ch, 9. Cornelius Vermuden gets a sight of those levels when 



ABRAHAM DB LA PRTMl. 315 

he came down into this country with Prince Henry ; his negoti- 
ations with King Charies 1st. about the draining of them ; with 
ye articles agreed of betwixt them. 

Ch. 10. Vermuden communicats his design to several of his 
countrymen, who gladly joyn with him in ye draining of ye same; 
begins ye same ; meets with great diflScultys, &c. 

Ch. 11. Yet, for all that, overcoms them, finishes the drainage, 
which was looked upon as a vast and wonderfull work, for which 
he was knighted ; gets the same divided, and his part set out ; 
divides it amongst his partners ; buys also ye whole manor of 
Hatfield and several more, with ye King's part also, and divides 
it amongst his partners. 

Ch. 12. The [y] send for their relations and tennants from 
beyond sea, build houses in ye levels ; lives like kings ; they build 
also a town at Santoft, a chappel and parson's house, &c. The 
names of all those that came over from beyond sea, &c. 

Ch. 13. Of ye troubles that ensued this drainage, and the 
causes thereof; how all the old drainers sold their portions in the 
sayd levels, and were for the most part ruind and undone, and 
went and lived elsewhere, &c. 

Ch. 14. Of ye suit that Crowl had with the Participants, and 
the decree thereupon. 

Ch. 15. Of ye suit that Hatfield, Thorn, &c., had with ye 
Participants, &c. 

Ch. 16. Of ye suit that Fishlake, Pollington, &c., had with 
them, and of a suit now depending in ye Exchequer between 
them, &c. 

Ch. 17. Of ye great disturbances in y® Isle ; of their rising 
against ye Participants, ye then possessours and enjoyers of ye 
drained lands in their parishes ; of their destroying of ye cropp 
of 7400 acres there ; their pulling down of all y® houses thereon, 
ruining of Santoft, &c. 

Ch. 18. Of ye great suit that commenced thereupon between 
the Participants and them, with ye whole account thereof unto 



316 THE DURY OP 

this time, it not being yet ended ; and the abominable mischi^ 
the Isle men have lately done. 

Ch. 19. Of yc present state of y^ levels ; of y^ care that is 
taken to preserve them dry, &c. 

Ch. 20, 21, 22, 23, [blank]. 

Book ye 8th, intitled Georgicus. 

Ch. 1. Containing an account of ye high groimd, y© nature 
thereof, its cultivation, proper grain, encreas, &c. 

Ch. 2. The nature of ye level ground, and the town's closes, 
their cultivation, proper grain, encreas, &c. 

Ch. 3. Of ye origin of ye moor grounds in this parish, their 
nature, property, &c. 

Ch. 4. Of their digging of them into turves;" of the mem- 
orable things that they find under the same, &c. 

Ch. 5, 6, 7, [blank]. 

Book ye 9th, intitled BoTANicus. 

Containing an alphabetical enumeration, with short discrip- 
tions, of all ye trees, slirubs, hearbs, grasses, and flowers, as well 
hortal as wild,) that grows within ye bounds of this parish, with 
ye particular places where every one of them grows, &c. 

Here will follow a larg map of y^ whole parish, having every 
field, ingg, close, mested, croft, cavel, intact, &c., in the whole 
parish in it, with ye bigness and number of akers in them ; and 
who are the present owners thereof; with ye reasons why they 
are called by such and such names. 



Abraham de la Pryme contributed to the compilers of tlie 
Catalogi Libroimyn Manuscriptorum Anglim et Hibernicey Oxen., 
1G97, the following information: — 

« In the MS. Diary, p. 207, De la Pryme says, 8 Aug., 1696, " I was told 
that tlie sodds that they digg up within this country, for fiering, will, if they 
be got in thoue [? thaw,] and wett, ferment and take fire, as hay and com will 
when they are in stacks ; which is very true'' 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYME. 317 

Libri Manuscripti R. V. Abrahami Pryme, Lincolniensis. 

1. A true and faithful account of the amours of Henry the IVth, 

king of France, to the princess of Conde, and the wars that 
had like to have ensu'd thereon, but were prevented by the 
death of the king. Written by Mr. Mary, an eye-witness 
of most things. In 25 large sheets, folio. 

2. Tlie propositions made by the Lord de la Thuille, ambassadour 

extraordinary of France, to the states of the united pro- 
. vinces, in 164., with severe reflections and observations 
thereon. In 8 sheets, folio. 

3. Several speeches of Sir Edw. Philips, to queen Elizabeth, 

king James, and queen Ann,* at her coming to the coro- 
nation, in both houses of parliament, etc., with their answers, 
by queen Eliz., king James, etc. In 16 sheets, folio. 

4. A true copy of the information that Mr. Titus Oates gave in 

unto Sir Edmundbury Godfrey, about the popish plot, in 81 
articles ; to which is added his examination before the house 
of commons, and the discovery that Mr. Bedloe made to 
both houses of parliament. In 15 sheets, fol. 

5. Five speeches made in parliament, in Cromwell's days, about 

the frequent calling of parliaments ; the reforming of episco- 
pacy, etc. ; with one in defence of the earl of Strafford. 
In 6 sheets, large 4to. 

6. A letter out of the East Indies, by one Mr. John Marshal, 

giving an account of the religion, notions, traditions, and 
knowledge of the Bramins. In 3 sheets, fol.*^ 

^ These speeches can scarcely have been delivered by the same person. 
From the death of queen Elizabeth, 24th March, 1603, to the accession of queen 
Anne, on 8th March, 1702, are 101 years. A Mr. Phillips appears to have acted 
as recorder of Doncaster, probably as deputy to Mr. Serjeant (afterwards Sir 
Richard) Hutton ; for, in April, 1617, the chamberlains "paid to Mr. Phillips, 
for his halfe yeare's fee, due at our Lady-day, xl5." And, on the occasion of 
king James I. passing through the town, on the 8th of the same month, there 
was a payment "to Mr. Phillips, when he came to make the speech to the 
kinge, xliiiis." 

<^ This is noticed and copied in the MS. Diary, pp. 136-148. He says, 
under 13th January, 1696, " Haveing had by me, in a loose paper, this three or 
four years, an epistle that was writt out of the East Indys, some time ago, to ^ 
great man now alive, it will not be amiss if I, for the better preservation of the 
same, transcribe it here in my Diary. It was written from Foettipore, or else 



318 THE DIARY OF 

7. The life of Cardinal Woolsey, written bj Mr. Cavendish. Fol. 

8. A book made in queen Elizabeth's time, in answer to a popish 

book. Dedicated to her majesty. In 8 sheets, 4:to. 

9. Large excerptions out of diverse histories, in 15 sheets, 4to, 

with part of a French sermon at the end, of one that was 
converted to the protestant faith. 

10. The true doctrine of Christianity, layd down in questions 

and answers. In 14 sheets, 8vo. This is a Socinian piece, 
and proves against the Trinity, original sin, etc. 

11. Curiosa de se ; or, the curious miscellanies and private 
thoughts of one inquisitive into the knowledge of Nature 
and things. Enrich'd with great variety of matter, both 
curious, profitable, and pleasant, with a few cursory notes. 
— Vol. ii., part 1, page 254. 

Auctarium Librorum vii. Manuscriptorum Quos transmisit D. 

Abrahamus Pryme, Lincolniensis. 

1. The depositions of the islemen in 1642-8, about die ancient 

state of the Levels, etc., before that they were drained by 
the Dutch. In 12 sheets. Penes D. Abrahamum Pryme. 

2. A large chronicle, writt by Mr. George Nevil, about the year 

1577, in six vols., folio, from Brute's days unto the afore- 
said year.'' 

3. Dr. Saunderson's Heraldry, writt with his own hand ; contain- 

ing the coats of arms, pedigrees, etc., of all the families of 
the north of Trent, with a great many others of gentlemen 
elsewhere. In folio. Penes D. Joannem Nevil, de Winter- 
ton, in com. Lincoln.* 

M , by one Mr. Marshall, about the year 1680. I got the copy of it 

from Doct[or] Coga, while 1 was in the university. Yet, this is not the whole 
coppy of the epistle, but onely an extract of the most considerable things 
thereoff ; for the doct[or] himself had it [not] whole, so it was impossible that 
I should. Howeyer, as Ihad it, so I shall set it down." 

<* See the note on John Nevil, p. 82 of Diary. 

* Bishop Saunderson's book of Heraldry was in the possession of the late 
Williamson Cole Wells Clarke, of Brumby, who died about eighteen years ago. 
From him it passed to Mr. Francis Wells, of Dunstall, in the parish of Coning- 



ABRAHAM DE LA PRYMB. 319 

4. A large register of all the lands, farms, tenements, etc., that 
were given to the priory of Newstead, in the said county. 
Folio; Latin. Penes Dom. Pelham, de Brocklesby, in 
com. Line. 

The same also translated into English, for the use of her ladyship. 

6. A large MS. in folio, containing the lives, actions, and deaths 
of the earls of Warren, with several things relating to their 
affairs. Penes D. Yarburrow, de Campsel [Campsall], in 
com. Ebor. 

6. All the works of old Chaucer, in long folio. This vol. 

belonged to the monastery of Canterbury. Penes D. 
Edmund Canby, de Thorne, in com. Ebor. 

7. Great part of a large book of heraldry, curiously blazon'd, 

containing the coats of arms of all the gentry, etc., in the 
west-riding of Yorkshire. Writ by Thomas Perkins, esq., 
in the beginning of queen Elizabeth's reign. Penes virum 
reverendum D. Hall, de Fishlake, in com. Ebor. — Vol. ii., 
part^l, page 160. 



Non-Conformity. The following entry in the Diary, illus- 
trative of the strong views entertained on this subject by the 
writer, and which was omitted in its proper place, may be here 
introduced. 

1G96. Oct. 10. " Having been a little melancholy this day, 
I was very pensive and sedate, and, while I remained so, there 
came several strange thoughts in my heart, which I could not 
get shutt of. Methought I foresaw a Religious Warr in the 
nation, in which our most apostolick and blessed church should 
fall a prey to the wicked, sacrilegous, non-conformists, who 



ham, and from him to his nephew, William Cole, of Newstead, in Ancholme, 
in the possession of whose widow it now is. Mr. Peacock has examined it 
carefully ; the first part, he says, ia a copy of Tonge's Visitation of the Nortliem 
Counties. The remainder of the volume is a collection of coats of arms, not 
confined to any special locality. The greater portion of the volume is in a 
hand earlier than the time of Saunderson, but some, he thinks (but he speaks 
very doubtfully), is in his autograph. None of the other manuscripts can be 
traced. 



320 



THX DIARY OF ABRAHAM DE LA PRTME. 



should almost utterly extinguish the same, and set up in the place 
thereof their own enthusiastick follys, which God prevent ! 
however, I foresee the downfall of those famous patriots the 
Bishops, and that those that shall be the authors thereof shall 
have farr less religion and goodness in them than them, and that, 
whatever their pretence is, the chief thing that they shall pluck 
down this holy order for will be to get their lands and estates. 
Then will England be fill'd with all manner of confusion and 
horror, and shall stand like a drunken man, many years, untill 
that God have pour'd out all the wraith of His cup upon it- 




Q 



,l,.il..ll„l 



rni 









INDEX OF NAMES. 



(The letter n. after the number of the page refers to the note.) 



Abutensis, 199, 

Achilles, 291. 

Acosta, 199. 

Adwick, 177. 

Aerlebout, 291. 

Agripplnu, August., 235. 

Airy, 129. 

Albemarle, Duke of, 101. 

Albemarle, Karl of, 130 n. 

Alcock, 253. 

Aldam, 52 n., 122 n. 

Aldwark, 181. 

Alexander, 39, 157, 162. 

Alfred, King, 188. 

Algerines, the, 57. 

Allen's Lincolnshire, 87 n. 

Allen, 143 n. 

Allison, 194. 

Alretune, A. de, 81 w. 

Alsace, Philip of, x., xi. n, 

Alsledius, 199. 

Amaber, St., 157 n. 

Americans, the 199. 

Amory, 266, 269, 270 n. 

Anlaby, 299. 

Ann, 175, 181. 

Ann, Princess, 49. 

Anne, Queen of Scotland, 169 n. 

Anne, Queen, 109 n., 242 n., 317. 

Anstruther, Sir K., 107, 108, 110. 

Anstruther, Lady, 111. 

Anderson, 69, 85, 96 ; family of, 117, 
119 ; Judge (Sir E.), 119, 120, 121 
S., 117, 120, 124 ; Edmund, 117, 119 
120; F., 117; Edwin, 117, 120 
Madam, 104, 184; Sir J., 117 
Magdalen, 119 ; Sir E., bt., 119, 120 



William, 119; Sir J., bt., 119, 

and family, 121 ; C, 120 ; W., ib. ; 

Katharine, ib. ; Mary, ib. : Sir C. 

H. J., 121 n. ; C, 156 n., 197. 
Andrew, bishop of Murray, 229, 230. 
Andrews, 164 n. 
Ankerj 286. 

Aparine Plinli, 249, 260. 
Appleyard, Matthew, 6 n,, W., 286, 

288 ; (arms of,) 130. 
Apporor, 199. 
Archlmedis Cochlea, 256. 
Ardsley, 186. 
Aretius, 199. 
Aristotle, 199. 
AritoBUS, 199. 
Ark, Joan of, 199. 
Arlington, Earl of, H., 169 n. 
Arlush, 273 7i. 
Armstrong, 40 n, 
Arthington, 175. 
Arthur, King, 189. 
Asaph, St., Bishop of, Lloyd, 24 n. 
Ash, 199. 
Ashton, 41 n. 
Assheton, 290. 
Ask, 181 

Askham, de B., 253. 
Aston, de Thomas, 87 n. 
Atkinson, Alderman, 238 n. ; Robert, 

303 w., fam. of, 313. 
Aubrey, John, 9 n., 29 n., 300. 
Augustln, St., 130 n. 
Austin, 39, 45. 
Austin, St., 199, 809. 
Aveling, 290, 801. 
Awmond, 228. 
Aylmer, 79 n, 
Ayzerly, 274, 



Bacon, Lord Chancellor, 2!) n. 

Baden, Prince Lewis of, 82. 

teagBliavro, H. R., 330 n. ; R., vi. n. ; 
Sir W. C, vi. ». ; W. J., Ti., vii. a., 
laix. «, ; F. W., 193 ii., v., ri. 

Baker M n. B., G3 a. 

Balden, 96 -n. 

Baldwin, 5 n., lU. 

Ball, 132 ». 

Bangor, B^ahop of, 5 «. 

Banks, EoT. K., 187, 138, 201, 203, 
204, 208, 210, 241, 252 ; Sir J., 65 
n., 302. 

Barber, H7 n. 

Barcliet, 75 n. 

Barclay, 84 u. ; Lord, G6. 

Barebones, 43. 

Bareel, GO, 260. 

Barfleur, TiBconnt, 67 a. 

Barker L., 57 n. ; I. H., xxiii. 

Barkley C. W., 63 a. 

Barlow, 2n2. 

Barmby, 181. 

Bornardistoi^ 234 

Barrett, 305. 

Barrow, lfl9. 

Batlie, 20S n. 

Bawtry, a 73 n. 

Baxter, 17, G2. 

Bayley, m n. 

Baynliam, Sir E., 92 ii. 

Bcaucbamp, 192. 

Beaumont, 43 », 

Bcamont, 241, 313. 

BecaiiuB, IH!). 

Beck, R.. 15)4 a. 

Becket, St. Thomas, 203. 

Beckwith, 21Sjj, 

Bede, 88, 3S3. 

Bedford Earl of, Francii, E7 n. ; Wil- 
liam. Dake of, 57 «. ; W., 118 «. 

BedingBcld, 344. 

Beiloe, *, 317 

Beliarell, 60 s. 

Behiueel, or Bcharrel, 260, 265, 289, 
290. 

Bciston, ISl. 

Bclgiana, the, SOe. 

Bellew. J. F., 17 m. 

Bellingiiam, 89 ». 

Bellot, Edward, 119 ; S., ib. 

Beltham, 229. 

Bendiah, 260, 274. 

Bendlow, Capt, K. 



' NAMES. 

Benedictine Knnnery, 110 », 
Benjamin, 152. 
Beno, Fir A., 8 n. 
Bennet, 274 ; T., 186 a. 
Bennett, Thomas, 21, ib. n, 
BenniTcnius. 199. 
Benson, 303. 

Bentley, ixt., Jtud., zzxii. 
Bcorgdendieh, 88, 
Berchett, M., 4 n. 
Bernard, Dr., 116 ; 162. 
Bethel, Sir H., I2C n, 
Betney, O., 54 n. 
Bierly, Col., 187, 
Bigod, 181. 
BiSera, 41 n. 
BilBon, boy of, 199, 



Bi water, 228, 

Black, W. H., 120 n. 

Blockett, 293. 

Bland, Sir J., 73 n. 

Blaydea, 269 ; pedigree of, xxxiiL 

Bliss, 78 n. 

lilfjiuelej, S80. 

Blount, H!r C, 80 n. ; Sir T. P., 30 «. 

Blowe, 274. 

Bohemia, Queen of, 1«S «, 109 «. 

Bohnn, 117, 181 : Edmund, 26 n., 26, 

27, 43 ; Hnrophtey, 26, 27, 48. 
BoltoQ, Dukeof, aOi. 
Borellus, 199, 217. 
Boaewcll, U., 183 m. 
Bosvill, C, 182. 
Bosvilc, 2B8, 283. 
Boswell, C,S.I.E., 183 «. 
Boughton. 21 11. 
Boalter, J., 293 ; W, C, Till. 
Bower, 48 n. 
Boy of BiUon, 139. 
Boynton, 175, 181, 230 ; Sir J., « »,, 

Boyle, 21, 24, 87. 

Bradaii!Lw, 60. 

Bramhall, Archbishop, 239 «, 

Braniins, the, 216, 317. 

Branson, 296 n. 

Brewater, xav. 

Brigantea, the, 806. 

Biiscoe, 268. 

BriUins, the, 86, 158 it., It2, 219, 231, 

306, 307. 
British, the, 275. 
Broacirelle, 234 «. 
Brtjokc, Canon, viiL 
Brooks, Sir J., 93. 
Broom, 123. 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



323 



Broughton, 314. 

Brown, 66, 144. 

Browne, 21 7i., 25 «., 40 n., 281, 282 n. 

Brownlow, Sir J. 73, 74, 95, y6, 

Broxholme, 173 n. 

Bruce, 175, 181. 

Brute, 318. 

Bruto, K., 138. 

Bryson, J,. 238 n. 

Bryto, Kichard, 203. 

Buck, 19 ;i., 293. 

Buliner, 175. 

Burdctt, 181. 

Burke, xi. »., xvi. n.. 123 ti., 149 n, 

Burleigh, Lord, 131 n. 

Burnet, 202 n., 255 ; Dr., 24. 

Burton, 201, 296 ; boy of, 199. 

Burtona, de, E., 225. 

Bury, 1G5 n., 299 ; Dr., 28 n. 

Busby, Dr., GO. 

Bushel, 247, 248. 

Busli, R. de, 147 n. 

Butcher, 186 7i., 280. 

Butler, 133 //. 

Byron, Rev. J., 1G2 n. 



Caadwaller, 307. 

Caesar, 100, 249, 306. 

Camden, 105, 188, 206, 208, 209, 210, 

212,253, 255, 272, 275. 
Camden's Britannia, 60, 85, 304. 
Camden Society, 92 n, 
Campen, 199 
Canby, 175, 290, 319. 
Candler, 25 n. 
Cannon, R., 36 n. 

Canterbury, Archbishop of, 31 »., 70. 
Cappe, Mrs. C, 125 n, 
Capron, W., 172 n. 
Cardanus, 199. 
Carew, B. M., 183 n. 
Carlil, 239. 
Carlin, 197. 
Carlingf ord. Viscount and Viscountess, 

296. 
Carmarthen, Marquis of, 108. 
Carrington, 189 n. 
Carteret, Lord, 174 ; Sir G., 174 n. 
Carterett, 269. 
Carthusian Monks, 173. 
Cartismandua, Ven., 306. 
Ca.ssaubon, 199. 
Castell, P., 4 n. 
Castelion, 181. 
Castor, 75, 133. 
Catharine, Queen, 46. 



Catherine, St.. 142, 194. 

Cattier, 199. 

Cattz, 254. 

Cavendish, 318. 

Caxton, W., 177. 

Cay, H., 55. 

Cecil, 93. 

Chamber, T., 118 ft. 

Chambers, 239 n.^ vi. n. 

Champneys, 243. 

Chappel«w, L., 196 n. 

Chappellow, J., 241. 

Charles I., 3, 12, 66, 66, 117, 171 n., 

174 »., 217, 233, 290, 296 n., 313, 

316, xiii. 
Charles II., 6, 12, 33, 46, 95 n., 105, 

123, 125, 145, 159, 174 n., 225, 242 n., 

282 n, 
Chatburn, W. O., 4 n. 
Chaucer, 319. 
Chauvin, 247. 
Chavatte, 260. 

Chaworth, Lord, 35 ; W., 172 n. 
Chemnitius, 199. 
Cheney, 231. 

Cherbury, Lord Herbert of, 30 n, 
Chester, Col., viii., 147 7a., 171 n. 
Chetham Society, 161 ti, 
Chetwood, Dr., 68 ; Val., 68 n, 
Cheyne, 260. 

Childers, J. W., 166 n. ; H., 288. 
Chinese, 216. 
Chiron, 291. 

Choiseul, Marquis of, 66. 
Cholmondeley, 176. 
Chrysostom, St., 199. 
Churchman, 41 n. 
Ciampini, 210, 212. 
Cimbri, 177 n., 178, 306. 
Citois, 199. 
Clare, 181. 
Clarrel, 181. 
Clarell, J., 172 n. 
aark, 282 n., 283. 
Clarke, 89 n., 302. 
Clark, W. C. W., 82 n., 318 n. 
Clenawlf , Baron, 242 n. 
Cleveland, Archdeacon of, 190 n. 
Cleworth, 64 7i., 133, ih. n. 
Clifton, Catherine, Baroness, 169 n, 
Clogher, or Clohar, Bishop of, 144. 
Cloudsley, 171 n. 
Clynton, Maria de, 118 n. 
Coakley. 266. 
Cochlea Archimedis, 256. 
Cock, 263. 
Cocknine, 43 n. 
Codronchus, 260. 
Coga, Dr. 318 n. 



324 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Coggan, 200, 238. 

Coke, 41 n. ; Sir E., 160 n. ; Bridget, ib. 

Cole, a02, 319 n. 

Colepepper, T., 36 n., 243. 

Colin, M., XXV., xxxi. 

Collen, G. W., viii. 

Collier, 196 n. 

Colling, 214. 

Comin, 213. 

Conan, Duke of Richmond, 193. 

Conde, Princess of, 317. 

Conduitt, XXX. 

Constable, 181 ; U., 225. 

Constantino the Great, 129 n. 

Conway, Lady, 91. 

Cook, 108. 

Cooke, Sir G., 69, 173 n, ; 263 n., 296 

H. 135 71. 
Copley, 176, 181 ; Sir J. W., 166 n.j 

172 n. ; Sir G., 293 ; Lady C, 

156 71. 
Cork, Boyle, Earl of, 21 n. 
Cornbury, Lord, 22. 
Cotes, xxvii. 
Cotton, 158 n. 237. 
Coverley, Sir R., 128 ti. 
Craig, J., xxviii. 
Craven, Earl of, 168 ; family of, 168 

;i., 169 71. ; F. and M., 289. 
Creasey, 286. 
Creun, A. de, 148, ib. 7i., 187 ; Muriel 

de, 148 n. 
Crevequer, R. de, 123 » ; Mary, 123 7i. 
Croese, de la, G., 136. 
Crofts, 286. 
Crokatt, G., 171 ». 
Cromwell, 35, 42, 43, 44, 46, 50, 61, 62, 

76, 83,109, 110, 124, 126, 127, 132, 

136, 138, 142, 161, 158, 199, 291, 

294, 296. 317. 
Crusoe, Robinson, 69 w. 
Curzon, A., Hon. and Rev., 13 n. ; S. 

F,, 13 71. 
Cudworth, 113 7t. 
Curteis, 289. 
Curteen, 254. 
Cuthbert, R., 181 7i. 
Cutts, Lord, 108, 109. 
Cyprian, 199 ; St., 199. 



D 



Dalton. 141 w., 263. 

Danes, the, 16, 17 n., 35, 72, 152, 164, 

307. 
Daniel (prophet), 29. 
Darcy, 227 ;/., 228, 234. 
Darcl, 147 n. 



Darling, vl. 

Dames, Sir T., 120 ; Elizabeth, 120. 
Darwin, 218 n. 
Davenport, H., 20 n. 
David's, St., Bishop of T., 116 ; Wat- 
son, Bishop of, 196 n. ; Lyndwode, 

Bishop of, 149 n. 
Davies, 191 w. 
Dawes, 267. 
Dawling, 266. 
Dawney, 292, 309. 
Dawson, 197. 
Dawtry, 79 n. 

De-alta-rip^, 79 n., 80 n.j 81 n. 
Deckerhuel, J., 4 n. 
De Cow, 292. 
De Foe, Daniel, x., 87 n. 
De Grey, Earl, 273 n. 
Deincourt, Lord, 107. 
Delafield, ix., xii. 
De la Pierre, xii. 
De la Pole, ix., 230. 231, 231 n. 
De la Pryme, see Pryme, 
De Moc, 109. 
Democritus, 34. 
Denman, 138, 181. 
Denmark, King of, 18, 107. 
Dent, 122 ; John. 122 n. ; Jonathan, 

123 7i. ; Dr. Thomas, 29 n. ■ 
Devonshire, Dukes of, xx., 106, 166».y 

245, 256 ; Lord, 109. 
Dewes, Sir S., 189. 
Dewey, Mrs., 64. 
Diana Elucinia, 236. 
Dieppe, 57 w., 66. 
Dioderti, 4 ti. 
Diogenes, 157, 162, 206. 
Dimmock, 109. 
Dinsdale, xvi., 269 
Dobson, 204. 
Dodgson, 292. 

Dodsworth, 113 w., 147 n., 266. 
Dolman, E., 76 n. ; M., ib. 
Dolphin, 288, 289. 
Donatus, 250. 
DoreU, 73. 

Downe, Viscount, 6 w., 186, 202 n. 
Drake, S., 28 n. ; J., 286 ; WilUam, 

303 w. 
Dransfield, 197 n. 
Drew, 288. 

Dronsfield, Sir W., 298 ; Agnes, ib. 
Drummond, Dr. R., 147 n, 
Dryden, 68 n. ; 201. 
Dugdale, Sir W., 113 »., 128 n., 226, 

256, 297 ; J., 189, 190, n, 192 n. ; 

199, 203. 
Dumfries, Swift, Earl of, 296. 
Dunbar, 164 n. 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Dunderdale, 3.,i n., 37 n. 

Dantoa, J., S n. 

Durfey, T., ISU. 

Durham, Langley, Bishop of, 194 ; 
"Walter of, IKl ; Skirlaw, Biehop of, 
194 ; Thomas, Bishop of, 313, 318. 

Dutch, the, 6G, 115,106,242,308. 

DyiDOke, C, 109 n.; E., it.; L., iS. ; 
ChampioD, 116, 18G n. 



Eastland Mebchantb, 280. 
Eastoft, 175, 181, 231. 
Ediahury, Dr., 113 re. 
Edleston, ixx, xxiii. 
Edmondson, 227 ». 
Edward I., 69 n., 147 «., 217, 258. 

11., 172 «., 217,296 11. 

111., Ill,-), i;l4».. 256ij„307. 

IV., 231 "., 2;a, 312, 3U. 

v., 153,313. 

VI, 12, 180 n., 200, 201 



B, 312. 



253, 



Idward the Black Prince, 232 ». 

Edwin, King, 188, 189 «., 235,307, 312. 

Egerton, SirE., 119. 

Bgtrid, King, 307. 

E^yptittUB, 27. 

EUefl, 293. 

Eland, ITS, 

Elcock, 272, 273, and «. 

Slice, 268. 

Elizabeth, Que 



30, 177, 1 



Blletaon, 41 n 
Ellis, 



Elmhirst, 175 k. 

ElwayB, 162,212. 

Eiievir, 301. 

ElwcB, 79 n. 

Engaine, 230. 

England, king of, 145. 

English, the, 141. 

Eratt, 20 II., 37 «., 179, and n., 207 n., 

267. 
Espensceua, 199. 
Esaex, H., 110, 120 ; Joau, ib. 
Estoteril, 228. 
Eton, Thoa., IGl. 



FABaiciUS, J. A., 28 n. 
Fairffti, 101, 175, 181, 18S. 
Fall, Dr. J., 190. 
Fane, Hon. A., 8 n. 
Fanconberg, R., IG2 n. 
Felix, Min., 199. 
Fenton, 10 n. 
Ferguson, 96. 

Fertera, IBl. 

FiddiB,K., 191. 

Picemee, 199. 

Firmioufl, 199. 

■Fiahniongers' Company, 244. 

Fishwiske, 286. 

FitK Hugh, 237 »., 230. 

FitawUliom, W., 172 n. 

Fiu William, 179 »., 181. 

Flahant, 2GG. 

Flamatead, 277. 

Flagman, A., 170 n., 171 n. 

Fluctibus, de Robert, 247. 

Forman, 229, 2!I0. 

Forstec, 179 n., 267. 

Fossard, H. de, 297. 

Fothergill, 141 n, 

Foulkea, 274. 

Fowtee, W., 181 n. ; EUzabeth, iS. 

Fowler, W„ 130 «., 136 »., 211 «. ; 

Joseph, 1^0 n. 
Foi, 27 », , G.,63 n. ; 162 n. ; W. J., 

ltiS«.,ieO«. Eev.T.,]80».;199.; 

246, 286, 292. 
Frances, St., 199. 
Frank, F. B., 113 x. ; R., 1l3;t. 
Frederic, the 5th Elector Palatine, 



; the King of, 241, 



French, 57, 61 

246. 

Fretwell, J., 138 n. 
Frier, Dr„ 216. 
Frobisher, 181,313. 
Fro»t, lix., 239 n., 29. 
Fulgosns, 199. 
Fumival, 181. 



GaBEBS, 216. 

Uacheld, 214. 

Gale, Dr. Thoa. (Dean of Tork), 40 n., 
187, 188, 189, 198, 200, 201, 208, 
208, 209, 220, 265, 304, iTiii. ; Bi^er 
and Samuel, 187. 

Galui, 199. 



326 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Gamcl, 81 n. 

Gant, WalMr of, 132, 

Gardiner, T., Bishop of Lincoln, 145 n. 

Garrett, 133 n. 

Gaacoigpc, 181. 

Gatty, R«T. Dr., vi, n., 153 n., 193 n. 

Gaule, the, 306. 

Gaunt, R. de, 81 B. 

Gauni, or Gabere, 21fi, 

George, St., 35 i arniB of, 127 ; crosB, 

UO ; chnrch of, 294,' Prince, ii. 
Gent, 239 n. 
Gerec, 76,18*. 
(iermiins, tlie, 57. 
Genne, 205. 
Gcrrard, 249, 
Getting, Lady, 170 n. 
Gibbona, 126, 313. 
Gibson, 305. 
Giftord, R., 297 n. 
Gilbert, 217. 
Gilby, 179«., 281. 
Gill, K„ 193 a. ; W., !70 n. 
Gillam, 288. 
Glenford, 22, 128. 
GloBceater, Deau of, S8 «. 
G lover, 227 a. 
Godfrey, Sir E., 317. 
Godwin, Earl, 313. 
Golsa P. de, 167 «. 
Goodman, xiii. 
Gooben, 200. 
Qoodrick, 293. ' 
Goodtvin, 253. 
Oordonina, 199. 

Oowip, A., 13 M.; W., i*.; W. H., ib. 
Ooneip family, 303 n. 
Gouge, N.. 29 a. 
Gougli, xzii., 189, n. 
Gould, W,, 21 a. 
(Inuy, 266. 

Gower, Dr., 20 ; S., 20 n. 
Granby, Marquis of, H n. 
OrandisoD, 199. 

Graveno- 8S».i M., ISln.; \J.,ib. 
Gray 300, 205, 2*1 ; Walter, 233 n. 
Greatrix, 90, 199, 
Gceatrex, J., 180 a. ; 2U8. 
Grecians, the, 306. 
Greene, 263, 313. 
Oreenhalgh, 180 «., 267. 
Greenwood, 131 n. 
Gregory, 56 «., 171, 293 ; IX., Pope, 



ijreves, ai*. 

Gicy, Henry, Earl of Kent, 8n. ; An- 

tliony, Earl of Kent, 8 b. 
Grifan, B., 288. 



Grimshaw, 163 n, 

Grimeditch, 133 n. 

Gross, le W., 130 n. 

QroBseteste, Lincoln BiBhc^ of, 123*. 

GroTe, E., 29 ». 

Grater, 206, 20S, 209. 

Grymo, 1B3 n. 

Gney, 265. 

Guianupriua, 99. 

Gunne, R., 118 w. 

Guoy, 266, 

Gumey, 29E n. 

Gutblac, St., 1*8 n. 

Guyo, 199. 

OwiQB, 12*. 



Ualdonbi, 297,298. 

Halifait, Earl of, 2*2. 

Halldard, 197 «. 

Hall, 22, 40 ; William, <fi «, ; J., 97, 

30*, 306 ; 177, 178, IM, 181, 198, 

256, 306, 319. 
Hamilton, Sir G., 1* n. ; Francea, 14 

H, ; W,, 243. 
Hammerslflj, 59 ; H., ES n, ; ft Oo., 

59 n. \ Tbomas, 59 n. 
Hampole, Kichard of, 201 ». 
Hanaby, Sir R., 291. 
Hanson, 147. 
Harbert, 89 ». 
Hnrdwict, 267. 
Hardy, 279 it. 
Hargrave, 144. 
Harold, Earl, 312, 
Harrington, 181, 
Harrison, Rey. J., 126 », 
Harrop, 40. 
Hartforth, 229 ■». 
Hartington, Lord, 2*8, 
Hurrey F 58 n- ; J.. 201, 302. 
Hastings, 181, 217, 809. 
Hatfield and HatfeUd, 13, ib.n.,36n^ 

37 n., 69 n., 100, 103, 126, 135 n., 

16* n., 166 »., 198, 26* »., 308 «., 

313. 
Hauden, G., 230. 
Hawkins, 95 n. 

HajloB, Judge, 9.' 

Headlari, 41, 279 n., 280. 

Heath, 213. 

Heathcote, J. M., 16S ». i B., tIU., 

257 n. 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



327 



Hcddon, 88. 

Hedune, W. de, 81 n. 

Helen, St., 129. 

Helmont, 199, 248. 

Hengist. 61, 62. 

Henne, H., 68 n. ; Dorothy, ib. 

Henry, Prince, 247, 307, 315. 

2nd, 80 n. 

3rd, 122 n. 

4th, X. n. 

6th, 172 n. 

7th, 177, 312. 

8th, 46, 180 n., 153, 154, 234, 

255, 290, 300, 301, 307, 310, 312. 
4th, King of France, 233, 317. 



Herald and Genealogist^ 100 n. 

Hermes, 92. 

Herachell, xxxii. 

Heselden, W. S., 130 n., 132 n. 

Heyrick, 254. 

Hickman, 198. 

Hill, T., 165. ; Elizabeth, 169 n, 171 
n. ; J., ib. 

Hilliard, 181. 

Hilton, 181, 217, 226, 227, 

Hoare, 241. 

Hobson, 303 n. 

Hogarth, H., viii. 

Holbeche, H., 130 n. 

Holland, 99. 

Holies, G., W^n. 

Holm, Dr., 75. ; 181. 

Holmes, 149, 150, 151. 

Holy Trinity, the, 130 n, 

Honiwood, 254. 

Hooke, 179 n. 

Hook, 236. 

Hope, 41. 

Hopkinson, 183. 

Hopton, Sir I., 102 n. 

Hotham, 175, 181, 279 n, 

Houson, 175, 297. 

Hoveden, K., 194. 

Howard, 194. 

Howe, 242, 243. 

Howson, 92. 

Huartel, 199. 

Hugh, St., 145 n. 

Hugo, M., 203. 

Huguenots, the, ix., xii. 

Hunt, 21 w. 

Hunter, J., vi. tj., vii. n.^ xiii. ti., xiv. 
M., XV., xxiii., 4 n.^ 37 n.^ 54 ti., 65 7i., 
100 /*., 102 n., 107 »., 108 n,^ 113 n,, 
124 w., 125 /i., 135 n., 146 n., 147 w., 
153 n., 166 ?i., 171 n.^ 172 7i., 175 Tt., 
177 w., 178 71., 182 ?i., 189 n.^ 193 ti., 
197 n.y 201 7i., 202 n., 221 7t., 254 w., 
257 n.y 258 /*., 260 n.^ 261 7t., 263 7i., 



284 n.^ 286, 294 ti., 296 w., 297 ti., 

298, 301, 
Hussey, 149, 176. 
Button, J., 72 n, ; 237, 317 %. ; Dr. 

M., Archbishop of York, 304 ». ; C, 

187 w. 
Huygeus, xxv., xxviii., xxxi. 
Hydes, 241. 



Indians, the, 199. 

Ingram, 7 n,, 284 ; Sir A., 126, 313 ; 

Sir H., ib. 
Ireton, 50. 

Ironmongers' Company, 244. 
Irwin, Lord, 36 n., 293, 313. 
Israel, 111. 
Ithon, de J., 256 n. 



Jackson, Sir B., 100. 

Jackson, iv, viii, xxiv. 125, 179 w., 
193 n., 294 n. 295 n., 296 n., 

Jacob, 133 n., 260. 

Jacobites, 70, 111. 

Jalland, 141 w., 161 n. 

James, I. & II. (kings), 8, 12, 14 ti., 15, 
22, 30, 38, 39, 43, 45, 48, 57 w., 60, 
70, 71, 85, 90, 92, 94, 99, 106, 116, 
124, 179 7i., 201, 214, 225, 233,' 246, 
247, 247 n., 257, 288, 289, 313, 817. 

James, king of Scotland, 169 n.^ 229. 

James, St., 233 ^., 234 n, 

Jannings, G., viii. 

Jeffries, Lord, 9. 

Jenkinson, 147 n. ; W. A. A. C, 170 n, 

Jennings, Rd., 14 n. ; S., ib. 

Jersey, Earl of, 242. 

Jerusalem, knights of St. John, 88 n,, 
89 n., 174, 310. 

Jesuits, the, 2tZ. 

Jesus, 51, 53, 60, 81, 82. 

Jetzer, 199. 

Jewel, 199, 303 n. 

Joan of Ark, 199. 

John, King, 81, 185, 307. 

John, St., 121, 297, 299. 

Johnson, 264. 

Johnson, Kev. .f. H., 160 n. ; P., 141 
71., 293. 

Johnston, Dr., 4 7i., 36 n., 113, 114, 176, 
192, 196 %., 197 n., 204, 237, 249, 293. 

Jolence, 161. 

JoUand, G., 161 n, 

Jollence, 141. 



328 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



Jolly, 203. 
Joly, 189. 
Jones, 192, 242 n, 
Jongee, 215. 
Jurdi«, 288. 



Kay, Kobert, 6 w., 283, 284, 285 ; Sir 

J., 185. 
Kaye, H., 55 n, ; W,, ib, 
Keene, A., 183 n. 
Kent, Countess of, 8 ; Amabel, 8 n. ; 

Earl of, Anthony Grey, 8 n. ; Henry 

Grey, 8 n., 9 n. ; Edmund Planta- 

genet, 231. 
Kentish Men, 243, 243. 
Kenyon, 41. 
Kettle, Dr., 29 n, 
Kettlewell, 147. 
Kidson, 144, 201. 
Kighly, 33. 
Killigrew, 145. 
King, Col. E., 123, 124 ; 166. 
Kingman, 270 n. 
Kingston, Earl of, 73, 74. 
Kinnoul, Earl of, 147 n. 
Kircher, Father, 27, 199, 
Kirk, Col., 30. 
Kirkby, 232 n. 
Xirkbi/'s Ifiqtiest, 265 % 
Kitchingman, 178. 
Kitson, 241. 
Knatchbull, 302. 
Kneller, Sir G., 22 n, 
Knipe, 285. 



Laboucheee, xii. 

Lactantius, 199. 

Lacy, Robert de, 189 w., 255 ; family, 

162, 181. 
Lake, Dr., 161. 
Laken, vV., US n. 
Lamb, 201, 241. 
Lamber, S., 4 n. 
Lambert, 126, 273. 
Lamzweend, 199. 
Lancaster, T., Earl of, 307. 
Langdale, 288. 
Langley, 234 n. 
Langwith, 284. 
Lansdowne Collections^ 114 ti., 281, 290, 

291, 293, 297, 298, 302, 305, xv. n., 

xviii, XX. 
Lapide, a, 199. 



Laplanders, 14, 37, 

Lassels, 217, 227 w.,'230, 234, 235 n, 

Latimer, 175, 244. 

La Touche, xii. 

Laud, 199. 

Lauderdale, Lady, 279. 

Lavater, 199. 

Lavrock, 314. 

Lawrence, St., 194, 

Lawson, W., 164 n. 

Layton, 255, 258 

Leach, J., 158 n» 

Leake, Sir F., 106 w., 107. 

Lee, Elizabeth, 35 n.^ 36 n, ; Frances^ 
36 n. ; Thomas, 36 n,, 100, 101, 135 
n., 207, 292 ; Cornelius, 35, 36 »., 
50, 54 n., 55, 100, 101, 102, 108, 126, 
233 ; Colonel, 133 n. ; family, 178, 
313 ; Robert, 35 n,^ 3$ n. ; Susan, 
36 71. 

Lefevre, xii. 

Legard, 299. 

Leibnite, xxv,, xxvi. 

Leicester, Sir F., 41. 

Leigh, 265. 

Leighton, Archbishop, 190 n. 

Leland, xiii. n,^ 293. 

Le Lew, 4 »., 37. 

Lemnius, 199. 

Leng, 238 n, 

Lentulus, 199. 

Le Neve, 145 n., 170 ?i., 171 «., 279 n. 

Lennox, Duke of C, 169 n, 

Leslie, C., 41 n, 

Lewellin, 105. 

Lewis, X. 71., 67. 

Lichfield and Coventry, Bishop of, 5 «• 

Lilbum, Colonel, 4 n, 

Lile, Sir G., 101. 

Lillingston, 75. 

Limborg, 199. 

Lincoln, Bishop of, 82 n, ; Grosseteste, 
122 n. ; Holbeche, alitis RandeSy 
130 n.y 133 n,y 145 7i., 176, 302. 

Lincoln, Dean and Chapter of, 85 n, 

Lindholme, William of, 146 »., 147, 
310. 

Lindwood, 149. 

Lisle, M., 97 n, ; 230. 

Lister, 149, 150 ; Dr., 211 ; 236. 

Locke, T., 172 ft. ; xxiv. 

Lockwood, 197. 

Lodge, 169 n. 

London, Bishop of, 5 7»„ 30 fk ; Ayl- 
mer, 79 ». 

Lord Mayor of, 126. 

Longley, Edmund de, 312. 

Loretto, Lady of, 246. 

Loudham, J. de, 172 n. ; W., ib. 



INDIX or NAMES. 



329 



Loudon, 10 n. 

Lovel, 230. 

Lovell, 274, 279. 

Lovetoft, 181. 

Lowther, Sir W., 69, 73 ; W., 293 ; Sir 

J., 297. 
Loyd, 108. 

Lucas, 55 ; Lord, 101 ; Sir C, 101. 
Lucy, 227, 234. 

Lud^ (Louth), Nicholas de, 232 n^ 
Ludovicus, Vives, 254. 
Lully, R., 104. 
Lund, Alice de, 147 w, 
Jjupton, 288. 
Luther, 88. 
Llhwyd, 236. 
Lloyd, Dr., 24. 



M 



Macaulay, 171 n, 

Mahomet, 199. 

Malet, D., 80 w. 

Manchester, Earl of, 19 n. 

Mann, 232 n. 

Manners, Lady Elizabeth, 242 fi. 

Manningham, 92 n. 

Mantua, Duke of, 57. 

Marana, J. P., 26 n. 

March, 181 ; Edward, Earl of, 312. 

Mare, 293. 

Margaret, Queen of Scotland, 229. 

Margrave, 285. 

Marlborough (J. C), Duke of, 14 n, 

Marples, S., 5 n. 

Marshal, 181. 

Marshall, Aid. W., 168 n. ; R., ih,; J., 

317, 318 n. 
Marsham, Sir R., 170 n. 
Marsigli, 250. 
Martial, St., 157 n. 
Martyr, Just., 199. 
Marryott, 180 n. 
Marvel, A., 286. 
Mary, 317 ; Queen, 19, 46, 48, 49, 

121 w., 246, 312; St., 132; Magdalen, 

294; Virgin, 11, 157 w., 158 »., 225 »., 

246, 297. 
Mason, Robert, 218 ^., 219 ; Aid. and 

family, 218 ; Ped. of, 218 ; H. k W., 

234 TO. 
Masters, 240. 
Mauliverer, 176, 
Maxwell, 279. 
Mayor, viii. 
Mazline, 305. 
Meaux, 217 
Mellisb, S., 136 ft. 

W 



Melton, 181, 227. 

Melsa, or Meaux, Sir J., 217. 

Menonius, H., 138. 

Merrel, Dr., 144, "248. 

Meux, 236. 

Meyrick, 234 n. 

Michael, St., 167 n. 

Middlebrook, 66, 292. 

Midgley, Dr., 26, 207, 213, J14. 

Middlemore, H., 131 n, 

Middleton, J., 76 ; 178 ; 201. 

Millard, 40. 

Miller, W., 29 n.; 182 »., 183 »., 193 fi., 

267 TO., 294 TO. 
Milner's Thumbs, 90. 
Milton, J., 160 TO., 300, 301. 
Mings, Sir C, 171 n, 
Mirfield, 288. 
Monah, 116. 
Monceaux, 230. 
Monck, Lord, 126 n. 
Monckton, 73 to. 
Monk, Gen., 123, 126. 
Montacute, 231. 
Montague, 242. 
Monteney, 181. 
Moor, 163 ; 180. 
Moore, R., 27 ; S. and A., 27 to. 
Moore, S., 266 ; T., 267 ; T., 166 to. 
Moors, the 36 to. 
Moravius, 199. 
Mordaunt, 113 to. 
More, T., 118 ; 141. 
Mores, R.,' 166 to., 301. 
Morley, 81, 82 to., 89 to. ; Fam., 121 to. ; 

Eliz., 120 ; Jos., 120, 121, 136 ; 231. 
Morocco, Emperor of, 30. 
Morrell, 62. 

Morton, 20 to. ; Sir X, 139 ; 199. 
Mowbray, 152, 173, 252. 
Mower, 141 to. 
Murfin, 289. 

Mulgrave, Earl of, 83 : Lord, 137. 
Musgrave, 176. 
Musso, 199. 



N 



Nautbt, 136 to. 

Nanette, 291. 

Narborough, Sir J., 169 «., 170 n., 171 

to. ; Elizabeth, 170 to. ; Sir J., Bart., 

170 to. ; Elizabeth, dame, 170 to. ; 

James, 170 to. 
Neale, Dr., 166. 
Needham, 28 to., 41 to. ; P., 38 H. ; BfT. 

S., 28 TO, ; W., 28 n. 
NelMon, 82 to. 



330 



IKDEX or NAMES. 



]ffelstrop, 68. 

Kelthorpe, Sir G., 68 n. ; Sir J., 68 w., 

161 ; Richard, 151 n. ; T., 161. 
NcTil, 82, 116, 172, 281, 192, 211, 212, 

231, 257, 309, 318. 
Neville, 162. 
Newburgh, 231. 

Newcastle, Duke of, 74, 239, 240, 241. 
Newman, D., 6 n. 
Newmarch, 162. 
Newton, Dr., xxx. ; Sir I., xyii., xxiv., 

xxxii., 23, 42. 
Nicolas, Sir E., 169 n. 
Nigil, 181. 
Nills, 305. 
Noades, J., 6 n, 
Norcliffe, 226 n., 292 w. 
Norden, 159 n. 

Normanby, Marquis of, 138, 184. 
Northumbers, the, 307. 
Norwich, Bishop of, 6 n. 
Nostock, 260. 
Notes and Qiierie$y 87 n. 
Nourse, 133 n. 
Nova Villfi, T. de, 82 n. 



Oatreed, [TJjhtred] 217. 

Gates, 9, 317. 

Ogden, 4:1 n, 

Oldfield, S., 36 n, 

Oldham, T., 62. 

Oliver, 153 n. 

Orange, Prince of, 14, 67 w., 94, 246 ; 

Princess of, 49. 
Orchard, 28 n.^ 40 w., 41 n. 
Orford, Earl of, 67 n., 242; Lord 

165 n. 
Origen, 199. 

Orleans, Duchess Dowager of, 246. 
Ormond, Earl of, 74, 106. 
Omsby, Rev. G., viii., 180 n. 
Osborne, Sir E., 126, 313. 
Oughtibridge, xxiii. ; pedigree of, 

xxxiv., 259, 263, 264, 267, 313, 
OwBton, 293. 

Oxford, Earl of, 36 n,j 43, 44. 
Oxley, 267. 
Oxnard, 233 and n, 
Oyry, F. de, 217. 



!Pai»cl, 80 :»., 81 ft. 
Par»us, 250. 
I^lmeriton, Lord, xii. 



Paracelsus, 199, 247, 249, 250. 

Parham, Lord, 161. 

Parker, 84, 85 ; 183. 

Parkin, 269 n. 

Parr, 234 n. 

Parrel, 76. 

Parrol, 264. 

Participants, the, 168 «., 176, 202, 315. 

Pattison, or Patterson, 294, 295. 

Paul, Apostle, 63. 

Paynel, R., 122, n. 

Peacock, viii., 5 »., 22 ft., 37 ft., 64 n^ 

65 ft:, 82 ft., 88 ft., 89 ft., 118 ft., 121 

ft., 122 ft., 130 ft., 142 ft., 211 ft., 

319 ft. 
Peake, J., 28 ft. 
Pearson, 201, 286. 
Peart, Cap. 0., 158 ; R., ib. n. 
Peche, 230. 
Peck, XV. ft., 181, 202 ft., 260 ft., 261 n^ 

263 ft., 
Peitevin, T., 81 ft. 
Pelham, 83, 319 ; Sir W., 160, 161 ; 

Lady, 156 ; C, 166 ft. ; family of, 

iJ., 157, 161 ; H. A. M. C, 156 n. ; 

D. W., ib. 
Pemberton, 286. 
Penda, 307. 
Penn, W., 45, 46. 
Pentacrinites, 142 ft. 
Pepys, vii., 304. 
Percy, W., 118 ft. ; 235. 
Perkins, 41 ft., 177, 180 ft., 181, 194, 

279 ft., 292, 304, 306, 319. 
Peroll, 264 ft. 
Perrott, 234 ft. 

Peterborough, Earl of, 113 ft., 114. 
Peters, H., 61, 52, 60. 

pence, 133. 

Peter, St., 132. 

Pettus, 274, 276. 

Phileus, Taurominitos, 306. 

Philip, King, 246. 

Phillipa, Queen, xiii. ft., 307. 

Phillips, Captain, 66 ; Sir Edward, 

317; Mr., i&.ft. 
Phoenicians, the, 306. 
Pierce, Dr., 78. 
Pierre, De la, xii. 
Place, 140 ft., 142, 143 and ft., 144, 147, 

172, 184, 211, 212, 303 n. ; fiadij 

registers of, 143 ft. 
Plaiz, de, W., 81 ft. 
Plantagenet, Edward and Bichaidf 

312. 
Platerus, 199. 
Pleadwell, 139. 
Plot, Dr., 280. 
Plumptre, J.> 172 n. 



NDEX OF NAMES. 



'331 



Pole> de la, ix., 230, 231, ib. n. 

Polhill, 243. 

Pomponatius, 199. 

Pool, 199, 230, 291, 

Porte, de la, J., 4 n. 

Portington, 102, 181 ; 257, 258, 290, 
291, 292, 313. 

Portland, Earl of, 242; Lord, 106, 
108. 

Portuguese, 216. 

Poulson, 217 n., 225 w., 226 w., 228 n., 
234 ?i. 

Poultney, N., 68 n. 

Prat, or Pratt, 177, 239, 302. 

Preston, E., 38 ; T. 293. 

Pretender, the, xvi. 

Prior, 291. 

Prix, de la M., 4 «. 

Proctor, 20 n., 180 n. 

Prole, 254 n. 

Prospero, 146 n, 

Pryme, de la Pryme, Prime, iv., 
vi., yii., viii., 3, 8, 13, 20 n^ 
106 n.y 114 «., 131 w., 142 n.^ 
144 w., 146 w., 161 n., 165 n., 168 »., 
171 n.y 172 n^ 175 «., 177 n., 180 »., 
186 »., 192, 201, 202 «., 204 »., 208, 
209, 212 n., 213, 218, 219, 221 n., 
223, 232 w., 237, 238 n., 239 w., 241, 
245, 250 n.j 252 w., 255 »., 259, 260, 
261, 262, 263, 264^ 265, 266, 267, 268, 
269, 270, 271, 276, 279, 280, 281, 286, 
289, 290, 291, 293, 295 %., 297, 298, 
304 n,y 313, 316, 317, 318 ; Family 
Memoir of, &&, iy., xxxii ; and 
Pedigree of, xxxv. 

Prymrose, A., 248, 

Pryn, 124. 

Pulman, 171 n., 300. 

Puritanical Karnes, 43, 

Puritans, 84. 



Q 

Quincy, or Quinzy, 181, 



B 



Raguseius, 199. 

Raikes, 281. 

Raine, iv., vii., 113 »., 150 «., 141 n., 

194 n., 282 n., 302, 
Raleigh, 280, 
Ramsden, 6 n.y 100, 104, 165, 273 n., 

286, 287, 299. 
Ramton, 152. 
Randesy Thomas, 130 n. 



Ransom, 197. 

Rayiliac, 238. 

Rawlinson, R., 28 n, 

Rawson, 109. 

Ray, 249, 250. 

Raysin, 173. 

Read, R., 41 w., 186 n., 260, 279, 2M. 

Reading, 9. 

Bedford, Sir H., 117, 119. 

Redman, 288. 

Reinesius, 209. 

Rendlesham, Baron, 147 n, 

Reresby, 181. 

Rhodes, 293. 

Rhine, Prince Palatine of, E., 240. 

Rheine, 208. 

Rhodes, 159, 218 n. 

Ricard, 309, 313. 

Richard I., 123 n, 

II., X. n.j 87 n, 

III., 312. 

Richardson, 231 n., 232 n,y 238 n. 

Richelieu, xii. 

Richmond, G, Duke of, 193 ; 217 ^ 

Rickaby, 293. 

Ridley, 273 n. 

Ringstead, 170 n, 

Rishton, il n, 

Rivetus, 199. 

Robert Jordan, son of, 81 n, 

Robin Hood, 292. 

Robinson, M., 6 n. ; Robert, 6 n. ; T., 

29 n, ; B,, 369 ; M., Sir W,, 273 «. ; 

T., 289. 
Rochester, Lord, 279, 
Rock, Dr., 133 n, 
Rockley, 181. 
Rodes, C. H. R., Rer,, 13 n. ; de, W. 

H., 13 n. ; Sir E., 187 «, ; Millicent, 

ib. 
Rodrick, 40 n. 
Rodwell, 267. 
Rogers, 150. 
Rogison, 249. 
Romans, the, 35, 55, 62, 86, 91 n.; 138, 

148, 149, 161, 186, 188, 275, 294, 

306, 314. 
Romilly, xii. 
Romney, Baron, 170 n, 
Rookby, 196 fu 
Boos, 217. 

Boss, Lord, t34 ; 158 n, 
Rooth, 233. 
Botherfield, 181. 
Botherham de, Robert, 256 fi. 
Boundel, B., 6 n, 
Bue, de la, 106. 
Bussell, Admiral E., 57 ; Lady K,, 

ib, i William, Lord, ib, n, ; E., «^, 



332 



I^DEX OF NAMES. 



Buisel, Earl of Orford, 242. 
Rutland, Duke and Earl of, 44. 
Ryley, Rev, E., xiv. n. 



S 



Saab, 235. 

St. Andrew, 123 n. 

St. Augustine, 182. 

St. Catharine, 194. 

St. Jerome, 177. 

St. John, 263, 297. 

St. Lawrence, 194. 

St. Leonard, 174. 

St. Margaret, Virgin, 172 n, 

St. Mary, 297. 

St. Pancratius, 182 ; Pancrace, 309. 

St. Peter, 182. 

St. Pulcheria, 296. 

St. Pulcher, vel St. Sepulchre, 396. 

St. Quintin, 240, 252 7l 

St. Thomas, martyr, 172 n. 

Salley, H., 141 n, 

Salmeron, 199, 

Salmon, 199. 

Salisbury, Dean of 78 fi, ; Bishop of, 
ib. ; Earl of, 94, 231. 

Saltmarsh, 234. 

Salvin, 135 n., 175, 181. 

Sampson, 194, 269. 

Sandys (family, etc.), 35 n,y 36, 36 n.j 
37 w., 43, 43 n., 45, 95, 100, 101, 111, 
111 71., 120. 

Sanderson, 305 ; Dr., Bishop of Lin- 
coln, 82 n., 83, 87 n, ; Dr., 176, 184. 

Sanquerdus, 199. 

Santon, 148. 

Saracens, the, xi. 

Saunders, 273. 

Saunderson, 43 n. 

Saunderson, R., 75 n. ; Bishop, 801, 
302, 318, 319 n. 

Savile, Sir W., 102 n., 257. 

Sawdy, 199. 

Saxon Coins, 62, 311. 

Saxon MSS., 188, 

Saxons, 164, 307. 

Sayer, 235 n. 

Scapula, 0., 221. 

Scarsdaie, Earl of, 107 ; Lord, 13 w. 

Scaurus, xv. 

Scawby, 68. 

Schelsbroot, Van, 142. 

Scholefield, 288. 

Scot, Dr., 199. 

Scotland, James 6th of, 169 n, ; Anne, 
Queen of, ib. 



Scrope, of Bolton, Em. Lord, 242 n. ; 

Annabella, 242 n. 
Scroop, 230. 
Seaman, S., 132. 
Selden, J., 8, ib, n,, 9 ti., 67. 
Sennertus, 199. 
Seymour, 242, 243. 
Shakespeare. 164 n. 
Sharp, Archbishop of York, 178 «., 

245. 
Shawe, 88 n. 
Sherlock, 159. 

Sheffield, 173 n. ; G., 184 n, ; E., ib. 
Shelburn, Lord, xxii. 
Sheppard, 202, 242, 243, 
Shingey, Baron, 57 n. 
Shorten, A., 170 n. 
Shovel, Sir C, 169, 170 «., 171 n, ; 

Lady, 170 n. ; E., 170 n. ; A., ib, 
Shrewsbury, Earl of (G, Talbot), 8 n, ; 

Countess of, 166 n, 
Sibbald, 186 n. 
Sim, 208. 
Simocata, 199. 
Simon, Father, 199. 
Simpson, 54 7i, ; W., 135 ; Hon. J. B., 

156 n,, 292. 
Sirenius, 199. 
Sisson, 241. 
Sitwell, 147 «. 

Skaife, R. H., viii, 265 n,f 287. 
Skeam, 181. 
Skem, 6 n. 
Skinner, Sir V., 130 w., 131 «., 145, 

160 n. ; Lady, 131 ; Edward, ib, n. ; 

Anne, ib. ; 157, 160 ; W., 160 n. ; 

B., ib. ; Edward, ib. ; Cyriack, ib., 

300, 301 ; Stephen, ib. ; DvdUH^ 

300, 301. 
Skirlaw, 194, 253, 
Slack, 106 n. 
Slinger, T., 141 n. 
Sloanc, xix., 236, 237, 247, 249, 250, 

255. 
Smagge, S., 3 ; P., xv., 3, 269, 260. 
Smales, 273. 
Smart, Dr., 112, 141. 
Smaqtie, xv., 260. 
Smith, J., 116, 117; Nicholas, 119; 

L., 183 n. ; M., 199 ; T., 212 ; Eev. 

Dr. T., 304 ; 283. 
Smyth, D., 43 ; J., 245. 
Smythe, A., 213. 
Snasel, 175. 

Snawswell, Elizabeth, 119 ; H., t>. 
Society Royal, 67. 
Somers, Lord, 242. 
Somwers, 199. 
Somerset, Duchesa of, 214, 



INDEX OF NAMES. 



333 



Sothill, 135 n., 181. 

Spanish, the, 57. 

Spatchet, 199, 

Spectator, 128 n. 

Speed, 253, 275, n,j 293. 

Speke, 175. 

Spelman, 13471. 

Stabler, 83 n. 

Stables, 69. 

Stanfield, 181. 

Stanley, 29 n. 

Stannick, 40 n. 

Stapleton, 148 n, ; Sir P., 126, 127 ; 

175, 181. 
Staresmoor, F., 119 ; William, ib. 
Stark, 65 w„ 72 n. 
Starkey, 285. 
Startune, H. de, 81 n. 
Staveley, W., US n, 
Steinman, 43 n. 
Stella, 199. 

Stephen, King, 211, 226 n, 
Sterpin, 260 
Stevenson, 217. 
Stillingfleet, 41 n. ; 200 n, 
Stonehouse, W. B., 12 w., 85 n., 89 w., 

146 n., 152 n., 168 n., 172 7i., 173 n.y 

174 n., 182 ?i., 184 w., 211 n., 260 n., 

291. 
Stor, 273. 

Stovin, 212 n.; 2&0 n. 
Stow, Archdeacon of, 72. 
Stafford, Earl of, T., 131 n., 317. 
Straker, D., 17 ?t. 
Strange, US n., 119. 
Strongbow, 181. 
Stukeley, 131 n. ; 138 n. 
Suckling, Sir J., 29 n, 
Suffolk, Pole, Earl of, 230 ; Duke of, 

231. 
Summers, Lord, 281. 
Sumner, Dr., 301. 
Sunderland, Earl of, 242 n. 
Surtees Society, iv., v., viii,, xxiii,, 

113 n.y 1.50 n. 
Sutton, H., 118 w. ; Sir R., 130 n. ; 

arms, 227 ; S. de, 233 n. ; J. de., iJ., 

234 n. 
Sweden, King of, Gustavus Adolphus, 

168 n. 
Swift, Sir R., 106, 107, 108 j W., 107 ; 

181 ; B., 2$6. 
Swyft, 106 n. 
Sye, 144. 

Sydenham, Sir P., 187 ft, 
Sykes, 225 w., 232 n, 
Sylvius, iEn., 29, 
Symon, 288. 
Symons, 239 n. 



Tagliagozza, 13 n, 

Talbot, G., Earl of Shrewsbury, 8 n. ; 
Elizabeth, 8 w., 9 n. ; Sir G., 14 n. ; 
Richard, Earl of Tyrconnel, ib. ; Sir 
Robert, ib, ; Sir William, ib. ; 181. 

Talboys, 181. 

Taliacocius, 13. 

Tancred, 293. 

Tanner, 225 n, 

Tascard, Father, 34. 

Taylor, 21 n. ; Rev. Z., 190, 192, 198, 
199, 203, 206, 208, 209, 215. 

Teague, 179 «. 

Tempest, 293. 

Templars, Knights, 66 ft., 56, 62, 88, 
88, 89 w., 174, 310. 

Temple, 264. 

Tennant, 274. 

TertuUian, 199. 

Thackeray, xvii. 

Thellusson, C„ 147 ft. ; C. S. A., ib. ; 
P. J., ib, ; P., ib, 

Theobald, 41 ft. 

Thomkinson, 196 ft., 197 ft. 

Thompson, J., 28, 141 ft., 217 ft. ; T., 
225 ft., 226 ft., 238 ft. ; W. and R., 
268 ; E., 285 ; Rev. Dr., viii. 228 ; 
J., 286 ; B., 293. 

Thomson, Sir H., 204 ; Lady Ann, ib, 

Thoresby, vii., xiv., xxi., 10 ft., 13 ft., 
36 ft., 38 ft., 68 ft., 95 ft., 113 ft., 171 
ft., 172 ft., 181 ft., 187 7i.y 188, 189 ft., 
204 ft., 239 ft., 255, 256, 258 n., 272 
ft., 275 ft., 277 ft., 293, 294 ft. 

Thomhill, 41 ft. 

Thornton, 183. 

Thorpe, 159 7i. 

Thuanus, 199. 

Thuille, de la, Lord, 317. 

Thurston, J., 170 ft. ; E., ib, 

Thwaites, 193. 

Tickell, xxi., xxii., 239 ft. 

Tilli, Otto, or Otho de, 294, 295. 

Tillotson, 199. 

Tillyoll, 226, 227, 230. 

Tilney, 217. 

Tockets, 284, 285. 

Todd, Tod, 288, 292, 300, 301. 

Tomlinson, 273 ft., 279 ft. 

Tompkinson, 196. 

Tonge, 319 ft. 

Tooland, 217. 

Torre, J., 172 ; 232 ft. ; 273 f»., 291, 
297, 298, 301. 

Tourvillc, Mons. de, 67 ft. 

Towars, 231. 

Trajo, W., 138, 203. 



334 



INDEX OF NAME6. 



Trambe, 293. 

Trannian, St., 133. 

Travers, 291. 

Tricket, Catherine, 123 n. ; Joseph, 

123 n. ; Robert, 123 n. 
Triggot, 181. 
Trippet, 241, 300. 
Trithemius, 199. 
Tron, St., 133 n. 
Troy, King of, ix. 
Trunyon, St., 132. 
Tniyen, St., 133 n. 
Trygot, 193. 
Tully, family of, 159. 
Turks, the, xi. 
Turner, 29 n. ; C, 36 n, 
Tuscany, Duke of, 67. 
Tusedail, 217. 
Tyrconnel, Earl of, 14. 
Tyrwhitt, 88 n. ; 90 n.; Elizabeth, 

130 n. ; R., ib. ; Wm., iJ, ; R., 131 

ft. ; Sir R., 130 n. 
Terwyt (Turrit), 163. 



U 

Ufford, 231. 
Ughtred, or Oatreed, 217. 
Uppleby, G., 180 ft. 
Urry, 88 n. 
Urslet, 181. 



Valkenbubgh, Van, or Vaulcon- 
burgh, xvi., 5, and ft., 6 ft., 283, 284, 
285 ; pedigree of, 285, 286. 

Van Akker, 123. 

Vandervert, 284. 

Vanheck, 266, 267. 

Van Swinden, xxv. 

Vaudois, 24 ; the, 205. 

Van Vaulconburgh, or Valkenburgh, 
283, 284, 285 ; pedigree of, ib„ 286. 

Vavasour, 175. 

Verdon, 28 ft. ; 41 ft, 

Verecius, M., 209. 

Verli, R. de, 225 ft. 

Vermuyden, Sir C, xv., xxi., 3 ft., 6 
ft., 126, 202 ft., 254, 284, 313, 314, 
315. 

Vematti, 254, 284. 

Vernon, 181, 242. 

Verulam, Lord, 247. 

Victoria, Princess, 295 ft, 

Vigani, J. F., 25, 247. 



Vintners, the, 144. 
Virgil, 276. 
Vives, L., 254. 
Vortigern, 61. 



W 



Wade, Elizabeth, 59 it. ; William, 

ib. ; B., 241. 
Wagstaff, Dr., 217. 
Wainwright, 294 ft. 
Wake, de la, 228 ; Lord Thomas, 231. 
Walcot, H., 158 ft. 
Wales, Prince of, 71, 246, 246, 247 «., 

307. 
Walford, 283. 
Walker, 36 ft., 40 ; L., 54 n. ; T., 

295 7t. 
Waller family, 27 n, ; E., 21 ft. 
Wallice, T., 186. 
WaUis, 181. 

Walter of Durham, 194. 
Warburton, xiv., xx., xxii., 20i n^ 

217 ft., 227 ft., 290, 298. 
Ward, Dr. S., 78 7i, 
Wardel, 232. 
Warren, Jo., 29 ft. ; Earls of, xili. l^ 

166 ft., 171, 312, 319. 
Washington, 177, 
Waterland, Mrs., 126. 
Wats, Thomas, 121. 
Watson, Dr., 41 ft. ; Bishop, 196 a. ; 

206, 292. 
Weddell, 273 ft. 
Wellbeloved, 205 ft. 
Wells, 318 ft. 
Wentworth, Sir W., 131 ft., 160 n. ; 

Anne, ib. ; Elizabeth, 297 ; Sir J., 

ib. ; J., 298 ; 147 ft. ; 175, 177, 181 ; 

arms, 197, 297. 
Werneley, or Wemdley, J. C, 4 n. 
Wesley, Samuel, 173, 176, 190 ; John, 

174 ft. ; 198, 213. 
West, 215, 313. 
Westby, F., 13 ft. ; T., ib. ; 181, 193, 

281. 
Westmerland, H., Earl of, 160 ; Elea- 
nor, dau. of do., ib, 
Wetherall, R., 168 ft. 
Wharncliffe, Lord, 172 n. 
Wharton, 83, 176. 
Wheelhouse, 289. 
Wheelock, 188. 
Whichcot, G., 185 ft. 
Whiston, 159. 
White, 9 ft., 83, 198, 199, 260 »., 281, 

313. 
Whitley, C. T., ir. 



INDIX OF NAMES. 



335 



Wichcote, 109. 

Wickham, 313. 

Wiglev, 1S3 «. ; 379 ». 

Wigmore, 41 n. 

Wilburn, 246. 

Wildbore, 296 n. 

Wilkinson, 241, 280. 

Willats, 267. 

William the Conqueror, 72, 109, 194, 

312. 
King, 19, 22, 49, 64, 66, 84 n., 

95, 96, 97, 106, 116, 116, 150, 189, 

202, 242 ft., 243. 

and Mary, 109 n., 288. 



Williams, 199. 

Williamson, 297 ; J., 169 n. ; Sir. J., 

169. 
Willis, 199. 
Willoughby, 257 ; C, Lord Parham, 

161 ; Annt, ib. 
Wilson, F., 41 ii. ; J., ib. ; 43 ; M., 

183 n. ; E. S., Till., 252 n., 298, 

304 ?i. 
Willson, Isabella, 196 n. 
Winchester, Marquis of, 201 «., 202. 
Wingfield, 230. 
Winn, C, 91 n. ; family of, 124 ; G., 

ib, ; Rowland, ib. n., 125 ; Edmund, 

125 ; S., ib. n, ; Sir E., 145. 
Wilberfoss, 279 n. 
Wise, 229. 

Wode, Robert, 130 n. 
Wolf, 28 n. 

Wolsey, Cardinal, 296, 318. 
Wolstenholm, 124 n. 



Wombwell, 181. 

Wood, Mary, 119, 120 ; Thomas, 119 ; 
B., 119, 120 ; arms of, 120 ; a' An- 
thony, 300 ; Athen. Ox., 176 n. ; F., 
xvi., 269. 

Woodcock, 9, 313. 

Woodrofe, 181. 

Woodward, 179 n., 236, 237. 

Worde, W. de, 177. 

Wormley, 313. 

Worral, 181, 287. 

Worsley, Baron, 166 n. ; J., 128. 

Wortlcy, 172 n., 181. 

Wotton, W., 28 n., 29 n. ; Her. H., 
28 n 

Wright, A., 141 n. ; 261, 268, 269, 286. 

Wroe, Dr., 208, 214. 

Wyvil, 95 n. 



Yabbobough, 166 ?t., 171, 319 ; Earl of, 
84 »., 121 n., 130 n., 131 n., 166 w., 
157 n. 

Yarburgh, 204. 

York, Archbishop of, 46, 143, 147 w., 
178, 208, 239, 240, 241, 292, 300, 
308, 304 n. ; Dean of. Gale, 187 <»., 
188, 198, 200, 203, 205, 208, 209, 
220, 236, 239 ; Archdeacon of, 58 n,, 
289, 292 ; Duke of, 67 «., xiii. n. ; 
Princes of, xiii. n, 

Youdcn, 303 ». 

Young, 217. 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



ABtKGEB, 176 n. 

Ackton, 125 n. 

Accrington, 41 ?i, 

Addingham, 292. 

Adwick Hall, 177. 

Agelorum, 221. 

Ailsby, 163, 164. 

Aire, River, 184, 188, 314. 

Albrough, Holdemess, 217, 235, 272. 

Alburrow, near Boro*bridge, 186, 198. 

Alkborough, 138, 139, 142, 164,203, 

212, 235, 301. 
All-Saints, Barton, 132 ; York, 288. 
Althorp, 68, 108, 161. 
Ambersbury, 78 n. 
America, xiii., 99. 
Amsterdam, 92 n,, 136 n., 144, 301. 
Anables, 119. 
Ancholme, or Ankholme, 115, 122, 

131, 142, 211, 319 n. 
Andrew's, St., Holbom, 43 n. 
Ank, River, 115, 122, 128, 211. 
Anlaby, 299. 
Annesley, 34. 
Appleby, 80, 117, 124, 126, 128, 130 »., 

164, 211. 
Appletreewick, 168 n, 
Arabia, 58. 

Arksey, 102 w., 177, 267 w., 292, 295 n. 
Armeu, 273. 
Armthorpe, 290, 301. 
Arnold, 226 n. 
Arras, 200. 

Ash (or Ish) Well, 149 ». 
Ashby, 82 n., 89 n. 
Ashfields, 287. 
Audfield, 119. 

Austerfield, 220, 221 »., 297. 
Averholme, 134. 
Ax Yard, 116. 
Azholme, Isle of, 3, 6 n, 12 n., 83, 85 



n., 116, 131 w., 148 «., 168>., 172 n^ 
173, lb. »., 174, ib. w., 182 n., 186 »., 
211 »., 212 «., 267, 260».,29O, 291, 
315. 



B 



BABWOBTH, 135. 

Bake, 275, 276. 

Balby, 296, 297 n. 

Ballasalla, 270. 

Ballatrick, 270 ft. 

Balneum, 56, 

Banks, 177. 

Bantry Bay, 171 n. 

Barcelona, 67. 

Bardney Abbey, 132. 

Barffh, 147 n. 

Barfborongh, 13 fi. 

Barleby, 229 n. 

Barlings, 158 n» 

Bamby-Don, 66 «., 102 «., 171, 267, 

258, 291, 292. 
Barnby Moor, 57. 
Bamsley, 147, 177, 297. 
Barnstaple, 131 n, 
Barrow, 60, ISO «., 211. 
Barton, 59, 62, 128, 130 ?»., 132, 142, 

144, 145. 
Baston, 148 n. 
Bath, 63 n., 183 n. 
Batley, 292. 
Bawtry, 35, 114 n., 201 n., 202 #»., 220, 

261 n., 263 «., 284, 297. 
Bawn, 55. 

Baynard's Castle, 228. 
Bedford, County of, 36 n., 117, 174 «. 

201 ; Level, 57 n. ; Walka, 117. 
Beighton, 183 n. 
Belton, 3 «., 73 »., 173, 176, 176, 196 

»., 269, 270. 
Belvoir Castle, 44. 
Beningtack, 286. 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



337 



Benningholme, 225 n. 

Bcnwell, 225 n. 

Bereswood, 308. 

Berkshire, 119, 120, 280, 281. 

Berlings, or Barlings, 158. 

Beverley, xxii., 7, 17, 83, 115, 141 n., 

175, 196//., 198, 218 /^., 219, 229, 

232, 253, 273 «., 290, 297. 
Bcwick-by-Alburrow, 235. 
Bitrby, 122 //., 153, 253. 
Billing, Great, 79 ti. 
Billingsgate Street, London, 176. 
r.ilson, 199. 
Bilton, 119, 120, 225 n. 
Birstal Priory, 148. 
Bishop's-HilljYork, 18S, 292. 
Bishopthorpe, 187, 245. 
Blackfryars Stairs, 278. 
Blackwall, 277. 
Bled-ground, 165 n. 
Blockhouse Hills, 156. 
Blome, 276. 
Blyth, 302. 
Bombaim, 215. 
Bommell, 75 /*. 
Boothby-Pagnell, 302. 
]5ooth Ferry, 257. 
Boroughbridge, 115, 131 n. 
Boscobel, 217, 
Boston, 105, 131 n., 148 n., 216, 217, 

ib. n, 
Bosworth, 161. 

Bossall (or Boswell), 177, 239, 302. 
Bottesford, viii., Ql) n., 71 ?i., 75 n., 82 

fi., 88 /i., 89, 121 u. 
Botulph's, St. (Lincoln), 148. 
Brabant, 133 n. 
Bradfield, 165, 175. 
Bramwith, 28, 37, 55, 55 n., 63, 114, 167. 
Branam, 28 ?t. 
Bratton, 134. 
Bratton Graves, 211. 
Bretton West, 298. 
Bridekirk, 169 /i. 
Bridge-house, Arksey, 295 n. 
Bridlington, 272, 293. 
Brigg, viii., xviii., iRO, 61 «., 62, 06, 

68, 81, 90 M., 93, 97, 112, 122, 128, 

129, 133, 141, 143, 144, 151, 153, 

159, 161, 162, 163, 164. 
Brington, 78 n. 
Bristol, 95 //. 
Britain, 106 ?i., 249. 
British Embassy, xii. 
. British Museum, vi. ?/., vii. w., xviii., 

XX., 114 n., 183 /t., 204 }i., 291, 293^, 

297, 208, 302. 
Brockiesby, 83, 131 fi., 156, 160, 161, 

102, 319. 



Brodsworth, 147. 

Brough, 219. 

Broughton, xviii., 59, 61 //., 65, 68 it., 
80, 84 '/i., 86, 90, 91, 117, 118, 119, 
120, 122 n., 125, 127, 128, 133, 134, 
137, 145 71., 159, 165, 186 /i., 211, 
249, 251 u., 276, 279. 

Bruges, xii. 

Brumby, 82 7i.. 88 w., 89, 264, 318 n, 

Brussels, xii. 

Bryerhills, 267. 

Bucks, County of, 6 n., 183 »., 254. 

Bull Hassocks, 290. 

Burton, 59, 59 n., 137, 138 n., 148, 
184. 

Burton Constable, 225 n. 

Burton Stather, 121 n., 142 n., 148 n. 

Burton Wall, 158 fi. 

Burrow, Lady or Countess, 138 n. 

Buttercrambe, 279 ti. 

Butterwick, 148 //., 184. 

Buxton Well, 274. 

Bvram, 273 n. 



C 



Caistor, or Castor, 61, Q2, 67, 71, 141, 
156 //. 

Calder, River, 184. 

Calne, 183 n. 

Cambridge, vii., viii., xv., xvi., xvii., 
xviii., xxiii., xxv., xxvii., xxviii., 
xxix., XXX., 6 71., 18, 19, 28, 30, 34, 35, 
39, 44, 45, 57 w., 58 n.. 65, 70, 117, 
133, 186, 187 )i., 239, 241, 260, 274, 
276, 279, 299, 300, 302, 304 ; All 
Saints, 196 n. ; Catherine College, 
6 fi., 28 w. ; Christ's College, 187 n. ; 
Clare Hall, 164 ; Emmanuel College, 
302 ; Jesus College, 181 7i., 304 ; 
Round Church, 40 ; St. John's 
Chapel, 196 ;/. ; St. John's College, 
viii., xvii., xxix., 161 fi., 179 n., 181 
n., 196, 254, 279 n. ; Sidney Sussex 
College, 302 ; Trinity Church, 196 
n. ; Trinity College, vi., viii., 285 n. 
300 ; Hostel, xv., xvi., xvii., xxviii., 
xxix. 

Campsal, 6 n., 37 »., 113 n., 133 n.j 
171 n., 200, 204,287, 319. 

Canovein, or Canova. 215, 216. 

Canterbury, 170 n., 319. 

Cantley, 106 /i. 

Car-house, 193 u. 

Carleton, 119. 

Carleton-Paynel, 118 n, 

Carlisle, 73. 

Carniola, 82, 



338 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



Carrickfergus, 116. 

Casterton, 211. 

Casthorp, 118 n. {vel. Castlethorpe.) 

Castlegate (St, Mary's), York, 204 n. 

Castle-hill, 81, 235. 

Castlethorpe, 80 n.^ 81, 84 n. 

Castleton, 2 1 1 . 

Castleton Well, lb. 

Castleto\vn, 14i). 

Castrop, 80. 

Catiilonia, 67. 

Catherine College, Cambridge, 6 ?i., 

28 ?i. 
Catton, Upper, 206, 208. 
Cave, 200. 
Cawood, 296, 305. 
Chatres, 164 n. 
Chatham, 278. 
Cherrington, 218 ?i. 
Cheshire, co.. 28 n., 38, 41, 189 n., 255. 
Chester, 95 n. 
Chesterfield, 141, 263. 
Chelmsford, 100. 
Chelsea, 278. 
Chevet, 257 n. 
Cheetham Hill, 4 n. 
Chete (Chevet), 257. 
Chibereworde, 178 n. 
Chichester, 5 n. 
Chippenham, 183 ?i. 
Chirictown, 127. 
Chiswick, 278. 

Christ's College, Cambridge, 187 n. 
Chulminoor, 216. 
Church-Garth (Kirton), 127, 
Clee, 155 n. 
Cleethorpe, 155. 
Clermont, 157 n. 
Cletham, 148. 
Clogher, or Clohar, 144. 
Coalby, 142. 

Coates, Great, 153 ; Little, ih. 
Colchester, 21 n.^ 101. 
CoUen, 57. 
Colton, 41 7i. 

Commons, House of, 150. 
Coney Street, 6 n. 
Coningsborough, xiii, w., 296 n. 
Conington, 28 n, 
Conisby, 106. 
Coniston, 225 n, 
Corringham, 318 n. 
Cottingham, xvi., 228, 229, 230, 232 

7/., 299. 
Courtown, 14 ji. 
Covent Garden, 283. 
Countess Barrow, 212. 
Close and Pit (AUkburrow), 

164. 



Cowick, 6 n, 

Cravemore, 113 ?t. 

Craven, 168, 183. 

Orayford, 171 n. 

Creighton, vel, Crigglestone, 296 n, 

Cripplegate (St. Giles), 21 w. 

Crooksbroom, 310, 

Croston, 192 n, 

Crowland, 266. 

Crowle, 4 n., 9 n., 83 7i,, 176, 176, 284, 

285, 315. 
Crowston, 129. 
Croyland, 148 n. 
Cumberland, 85, 169 n. 



D 



Danish Coins, 311. 

Danum, 218, 221, 

Darfield, 108, 115. 

Darren Hills, 275, 

David's, St., 149 n, 

Deal (Kent), 95. 

Denmark, 153 n, 

Delphos, 246. 

Deptford, 277. 

Derbyshire, 13 n., 41 »., 141, 165, 174 
%., 175, 183 n , 260, 263, 276. 

Derby, 34 ; School, 41 n., 260, 276. 

Devil's A (Derbyshire), 275, 276. 

Devizes, 78 n. 

Devonshire, 274. 

Diana's Head Spring (Kirton), 149. 

Dicken Dike, 168. 

Dickering, 225 n. 

Don, or Dun, River, 36, 55 n., 166 n., 
189, 286, 314. 

Doncaster, vi. n.y viii., xxii., xxiv., 5 
n., 6 »., 13 71., 14, 18, 35, 43 n., b% 
n., 58, 59 n., 63, 69 n., 96, 106 «., 
107 n., 112, 113 7i„ 114 /*., 115, 144, 
147 w., 156 7i., 171, 173, 175, 178, 
179 n., 182 n., 183 n,, 188, 190 n^ 
193, 198, 233, 283, 284, 285, 288, 
291, 293, 295 n., 296, 297, 305, 817 
n. 

Dorchester, 20 n, 

Dordrecht, 136 n. 

Dorsetshire, 149 n» 

Dover, 123. 

Doway, 46. 

Dowthorpe, 226 n. 

Downs, the, 63 w. 

Drax, 292. 

Driffield, 218 n, 

Drypool, 204, 299. 

Dublin, 215. 

Dunham Jerry, 74. 



Da)EX OF PLACES. 



Bunacroft, 166, 175, 180 it., < 

310. 
Dmistall, 31S ». 
Durham, co. of, 40 m., 304. 
97 «. ; St. CuthberfB 

Prior of, 11)5 ; Caatle of, ir 
Durtnees, 286. 



Earhwick, 273 n 



Uas 



1, 193. 



Eastflpld, 

East Indies, 215, 237. 

Eiistlaud, 286. 

Kstrington, 193 n. 

Eburacum, 305 a. 

Eccleslield, 112 a. 

Ecclcston, 112. 

Edwinstowe, 189 n. 

Edwiiistow, 255. 

Egjpt, 58. 

E)!<ioiough, 238. 

Elcplianto, 216. 

Eldon Hole, 27*, 275, 276. 

Ellerbj, 226 «. 

£lloU};b(«ii, 218 n., 319. 

Elrasall, 175. 

GltoftB, 232 n. 

Elj, 19. 

Elmaal, North, 298. 

EtiGcId, 131 H. 

Eugland, xi. it., zii., xiiL, 
8, !l, 10, 13, 14, 17, 19 «„ 
88 H„ i8, 60, 66, 70, 77, 
80 «., 9B, 97, 108, 109, 123,' 12(5 
13.% 146, 156, 157 rt., 169, 165, 17B, 
188, 189, 229, 245, 246, 248, 249, 



i, 88, 88, 



Epworth, S, 5 »., 83, 85 »., 173, 174 »., 
17.i, 17fi, 198, 2112 H., 267, 269, 270 «. 

Ermine Sircet, the Boman, 69 n., 
68 ». 

Escrick, 293. 

Esh (ot Ash) Well, U9 «, 

Esliton Hall, 183 «. 

Esaei, 100. 

Eton, 40 «., 41 »., 58 h., 270. 

Europe, x., xxvi., nxrii., 241, 

Exchequer Court, 315, 

E J worth, 117. 



., n. ! 



. 97 B., 114, 116, 



Fishlake, y 

167, l7o. 177, 178, IBO «.. IHl, 19i 

194. 2m, 2W8, 291, 305, 315, 319. 
FlaiibHry, ci>. Worcester, 24 n. 
FlitiiiboruuL'h, 293. 
Flancki-a. ix., lii., xiii., 8, 108, 2SC 

265. 
Fleet Street, 288. 
Fliiborough, 121. 
Foettipora, 317 ». 
Folkarbj, 6 ft. 
Fordingbridgfl, 40 n. 
Fort Hills, 116, 116,129. 
FoxletneflB, 139, 
France, zii., SS, 9(t n., 108, 136, W 

157 B., 206, 329, 317. 
"Frnisthorpe, 226 b. 
FreistiDgtborpe, ii, 
Freston Priory, 137, 148. 
Frickley. 62 n., 175. 
Frodinghara, 148. 
Froulanorth, 119. 



GAlNflBonouoH, 65 Ji., 72, 84, 98, 105, 

135. 14;% )68, )'J8, 213, 265, 290. 
Oainatrop, 127. 128,211, 
Oalbereh, 147 «.. 
Gallow.hillh, 1,14. 
Qamaton, 106. 
Ganstead, 226 v.. 
Gauble Close, Balby, 397 n. 
Gauber Hall, 147. 
Gaunt, 0', J. house, 278. 
Geneve, 4 n. 
Genoa, 26 n 
Qerioajna, SC, 41 n. 
Germany, 82 n., 90 n., 106 »., 107 ». 
Q^leawiok, 149. 



340 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



Gillian's (or Julian's) Bower, 164,301. 

Giltliwaite, 301. 

Gipwell, 71. 

Gisborough, 181 n., 285. 

Glasgow, xvii., 18 ; University of, 

190 n. 
Glenford Brigg, 122, and n., 186 n, 
Gloucestershire, 242. 
Godman Chester, 133. 
God stow, 105. 

Gokewell (or Goykewell), 79, 86. 
Goodcock, 266. 
Goodcop, 267. 269, 270 n. 
Goole, 168, 185,290. 
Gore Steel, Thome, 167, 287. 
Go\vthorp, 149 n. 
Goxhill, 130 '/i., 131 7i. 
Grantham, 44, 73 /i., 76, 278. 
Grave, 75 n. 
Gravesend, 277. 
Gray's Inn, 151 w., 285. 
Great Britain, 271. 
Greece, 291. 
Grecian Coins, 311. 
Greenhoe, 65 ti. 
Greenwich, 277. 
Grime Close, 159. 
Grimsby, 123, 152, 153, 155. 156, 159, 

253: Koad, 116. 
Grim's-dyke,, 153 n. 
Grim's-shaw. ib. 
Grim's-thorpe, ih. 
Grimthorpe, 279 n. 
Guolderland, 75 ?/., 164 /?., 176 n. 
Guisborough, 286, 304, 305, 
Gyp, or Gipwell, 128. 

H 

Hackney, 198. 

Ilafiley House, 113 n. 

Ilador, 149 n. 

Hague, the, 169 n. 

Haines. 26G. 

Hale's Hill, 146. 

Hallicnburfr, xvi. n. 

Halifax, 178. 

Hall Cross. Doncaster, 294. 

House, ih. n. 

naltciiprisc. 19(i, '2'.)S, 299. 
Halton, 130 ?/. 
Price, 298,299. 



West, 140. 



Ham, 279. 
Hnrnpole. 193. 297. 
Hampton Court, 279. 
Hanpon's House, 146. 
Hants., CO. of, 40 /*. 



Harburg, 34. 

Hardwick, 255. 

Hill, 82 n. 

Harmston, 91 n. 

Hastings, 169, 171 n. 

Hatfield, viii., xii., xiii w., xiv. w., xviii., 
XX., xxi., xxii., 4 «., 5 w., 6, 11, 12, 
13 71., 20 n., 27 and n., 28, 35, and w, 
36 n,, 37 «., 64 »., 55 n., 63, 76, 99, 
106 »., Ill 7i.. 114. 126, 133 «., 135, 
146 «., 165, 166, 172. 175, 178. 179//., 
180, 181 n., 187, 188, 189 /*., 190 w., 
193, 196, 197 11., 202 //.. 204 n., 207, 
210, 212. 218, 233, 255, 256, 2.'>7, 
260, 261 ;/.. 2i;2, 265, 266, 267. 26«, 
269, 270 «., 284, 286. 287, 2^9, 290, 
291, 292. 302, 303, 305, 307, 308,;i09, 
310,311,312,314,315. 

Court KoUs, 256 «., 257 n. 

Chace. vi. //.. xii., xiii., xv.. 



xvi., xxi., xxii.. xxiii., 3. 4 //., 5 



w.. 



37 //., 55 n., 185. 202, 220, 284, 286, 
291, 308. 

Levels, xvi., xxi. n., 249, 251 n,^ 



254, 260 //.. 285, 287, 290. 

Woodhouse, 146 7^., 287, 308, 



Haut Emprice. 299. 

Haverborougli, 34. 

Hawnes, 174 //. 

Haxey, 115, 116, 172 //., 175, 176, 290. 

Hedingly Moor. 10 //, 

Hedon, xxii.. 244, 293. 

Heidelberg. 161. 

Helrasley, 141 n. 

Hemingborough, 194, 195. 

Hemswell, S7 ». 

Herald's College, London, 171 ?/., 300. 

Hermeston, 91. 

Hertford, co. of. xiv. n., 14 «. 119. 

Hessle, 281, 299. 

Hibberston, 211. 

Hibberst<jw, 149. 

Hibbuldstow, 149 7i. 

Hicklcton, 100 n. 

High-Street- \^''ay, 71. 

Hill Foot, 123 ;i. 

Hilston, 273. 

Hogue, La. 57 n. 

Holderness. 144, 154, 166. 186, 191, 

196. 217. 22.->, 233. 235, 273. 
Holland. 44, 4s, 66. 75 //.. 114 w., 123, 

206, 213. 214,281, 2v^5. 
Hollvm. 293. 
Hnllin. 141 n. 
Holme, 89 //. 

Hall, 121 //. 

Holton Bolls. 138. 
Housby. 129. 
Hooton 'Roberts, 267. 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



341 



Horncastle, ♦52, 101, 102 w., 301. 
Hornsev. 272. 

ft' 

Horsley Deeps, Go n. 

Hougham, 82 n. 

Howdeii, 7, 175, 193, 194, 253 n. 

Hull, vi. fi., viii., x., xvi.. xix., xx., xxi., 
fi w., 7, IG, 59 and ;i., G5 w., (river, 
59 w.), 102 //.. 112, 116. 117, 132, 
151, 155, 1G5, 184. 187, 191, 192, 193, 
19G //.. 197, 199. 201, 203, 204, 205, 
20G, 207, 20H, 209, 210, 213, 217, 
218, 219, 221, 225 w., 231 w.. 232 «., 
233, 234 «., 23G. 237, 238 //.. 239 «., 
240, 241, 244, 252 fi., 253, 255, 257 
2G4. 2f;.S, 2G9, 273. 2S0 n., 281, 286, 
289, 298. 299, 300, 303 n. 

Bank, 232. 

number, River, 59 «., 86, 115, 128, 
139, 140, 147, 148, 153, 154. 155, 
15G, 184, 197, 203, 210, 212, 219, 314. 

Ilnndon, Gl n. 

Hunslow Heath, 8, 12. 

Huntingdonshire, xvii. 

Huntingdon. 34, 44. 

Hutton Wensley, 6 n,- 



ICKWELBURY, 201. 

Idle, Old, River, 2G9. 270 n., 314. 
Indies, Kast. 215, 237,242, 317. 

AVcrst. 75 n. 

Inglemire. 232 ft. 

Inner Temple Lane, 238. 

Iiniet, 189 //.. 255. 

Ipres, 2G(). 

Ipsdf-n. 2S0. 281. 

Ireland, s. 10 //.. 14. 15, ()6, 75 n. 

Iri.sh Wnr.-;, 115. 12G w.. 141. 147 w., 

18-s, 202 //., 212 /(., 271, 279, .305. 
Irhy. lis //. 
Islington, \s\. 



J 



Kaisthorpe, 80 7i. 

Katherine's Hall, Cambridge, 28 ti. 

Kealby, or Keelby, 157. 

Kedleston, 13 «., 41 n. 

Keilbv, 253. 

Kelham, 130 7i. 

Kellington, 288. 

KeU Well, 142. 

KenneU Ferry, 202 n. 

Kennington, 129. 

Kent, 108, 157, 169 »., 170 »., 171 w., 

244. 
Kerton, 149. 
Kesteven, 91 «., 148 n. 
Kettelby, 90, 130 «., 131 n. 
Kexby, 41 7i. 
Killingholme, 162 n. 
Kimberworth, 177, 178. 
Kinard Ferry, 131 n. 
Kinscliffe, 162 n. 
King's College, Cambridge, 58 n. 
Kingstone, 279. 
King's Street, 115, 
Kirk Ella, 197, 299. 
Kirkby Gryndalyth, 289. 

Huer, 305. 

under Knoll, 227 n, 

Kirkham School, 192 n, 

xii. 

Kirk Sandal, 182 n. 
Kirkstall, 255. 

Abbey, 189 n. 

Kirton-in-Lindsey, 88, 121 n., 127, 

149 n., 159 »., 162 ». 
Kilnsey, 141 ?i. 
Kilnwick Percy, 119, 120. 
Kirmington, IGO n. 
Knaresborough, 70, 166. 
Knedlington, 273 n. 
Knowlton, 1G9 n., 170 n, 
Kyllinghohn, 118 n. 



James's. St.. Preston, 148 w. 

Park. 51. 

Jenny Stanny (or Scanny) Well, 149. 
Jerusalem. 1,32, 157, 190' «., 297. 
Jesus Collejre. Cambridge, 20, 181 n. 
John-a-more-lon^', 290. 
John's. St., Coll(!ge, Cambrigc, 133. 
Julian':, IJower. 211. 301. 

Stonv Well, 211. 

Julius' iSUmy Well, 149. 



Laibach. 82 7t. 
Lambeth, 278. 
Larabourn, 119, 120. 
Lamesley, 40 n. 

Lancashire, xii., xvi., 41 n., 189 w., 
214, 255. 

and Yorkshire Railway, 288. 

Lancaster. 189 n. 
Laneham, 106. 
Langar, 242. 
Langthorpe, 225 n, 
Langton, 288. 



342 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



Lapland, 37. 

Latimer, 254. 

Laughton-en-le-Morthing, 13 n. 

Laughton, 285. 

Lea Hall, 121 n. 

Leicester, 34, 254, 296. 

Leicestershire, 119. 

Leeds, 13 n., 38, 52 n., 171 n., 183, 231 
n., 232 n., 255, 257, 291, 293, 294 n., 
297. 

Leipsick, 161. 

Levels, vi. n., 3, 12, 18, 19, 27, 35, 37 
n., 165, 167, 168, 185, 220, 247, 259, 
260, 261, 265, 266, 267, 270 »., 273, 
285, 287, 290, 318. 

Leyden, xxv. 

Lichfield and Coventry, Bishoprick of, 
24 n. 

Liege, 57. 

Limbur, 156, 157. 

Limerick, 14 ti., 37, ^^, 

Limoges, 157 n. 

Lincolnshire, xviii., xx., xxii., xxiii., 
3;i., 5 /i., 6 /i., 10, 58, 59, 62 n., 65, 
68, 77 w., 79 w., 81, 82 /i., 83 «., 89 n., 
90 /i., 91 7i., 109 7i., 118 n., 120, 125, 
132, 133 n., 139, 142 n., 143 n., 148 
n,, 149, 156 M., 164 n., 165, 168, 169, 
170, 172 7i., 176, 184, 186 n., 203, 
204, 209,211, 216, 219, 249, 251 w., 
264, 266, 269, 273, 276, 279, 284, 
285, 301, 302, 317, 318, 319. 

Lincoln, 65, 68, 72, 73, 74, 75, 86, 87, 
88, 95, 109 7i., 128, 130 ?t., 148, 153 
n., 158, 159, 160 n., 185 m., 210, 235, 
276, 279, 285, 290. 

Castle, 19 n. 

Heath, 19, 47. 

Minster, 182. 

Lincoln's Inn, xvi., 239 w., 301. 

Lindholme, xxiii., 146 »., 309,310. 

Lindwood, or Linwood, 149. 

Lindsey, 87 /i., 128 n. 

Linton, 289. 

Liverpool, 270, 271. 

Lodge Hill, 284. 

London, viii., x. w., xx., xxx., 7, 8, 9 
and 11,, 12, 16, 30, 34. 36 w., 39, 40 
n,, 46, 48, 49, 50, 52, 69 #., 64, 70, 
72, 74, 76, 78, 79 m., 90, 92, 93, 96, 
97, 102, 104, 105, 109 %., 110, 111, 
113 ft., 117, 120 and %., 124 n., 130 
»., 131, 132, 139, 144, 147 and n,, 
150, 160, 170 7i,, 176, 179 w., 192, 
200, 204, 206, 209, 210, 212, 213, 
214, 21.5, 219, 220, 239, 240, 241, 243, 
244, 253, 254, 257, 274, 277, 278, 279, 
281, 282, 283, 300, 305. 

Nuns of, 199. 



Londonderry, 30. 

Lords, House of, 150. 

Louth, xxiii., 128, 232 w., 301. 

Loveraal, 297 n. 

Lucca, 164 n. 

Luda (Louth), 301. 

Lyons, 177. 



M 



Madingley, 28 n, 

Magdalen College, Oxford, 78 n. 

Hall, Oxford, 176 w. 

Maidstone, 243. 

Malew, 270 n. 

Malton, 162 n. 

Malvern Hills. 106. 

Man, Isle of, 270, 271. 

Manby, 68 n., 117, 124, 137 n, 

Manchester, xvi., 4 n.^ 37 »., 161 n^ 
180 /i., 192, 206, 207, 208, 213, 214, 
268. 

Sheffield and Lincolnshire Bail- 
way, 90 n, 

Mansfield, 35, 36 n., 98. 

Marfleet, 283 n. 

Mark Lane, 177 n. 

Market Basin, 149. 

Marlow, 183. 

Marseils, 57. 

Marshland, 102. 

Martin's, St., in Fields, 36 w., 301. 

Marton, 225 n. 

Mary, St., le Wigford, 168 w. 

Masham, 110 n. 

Maut, or Moot, Hills, 134. 

Meaux, 237. 

Mediterranean Sea, 67. 

Medway, Biver, 278. 

Mere Down, 63 n. 

Melton, 129. 

(near Hull) 298. 

Melwood, Low, 174, 185. 

Mercia, 307. 

Messingham, 82 ti., 88 ?»., 148 and fi., 
151 n. 

Middleham, 116. 

Middle Ings and Midlins, 6 n., 6 «., 
284, 285, 286. 

Middlemarsh, Low, 284. 

HiU, ib, 

Middlesex, 151 ?fc., 198. 

Middlethorp, 204. 

Mill Yard, 120 n, 

Morston, 170 n, 

Mortlake, 278. 

Morton, 168. 

CO. Chester, 119. 






INDEX OF PLACES. 



343 



Muscovy, 145. 
Myton, 204, 299. 



N 



Nantz, 221. 

Nantes, xiii. 
Nappa Hall, xvl. 
Naze House, xii. 
Nettleton, 67. 

Newark, 44, 73, 76, 109, 117. 
Newby, 273 ?i., 293. 
Newcastle, 73, 97, 225. 
Newgate, 96, 103. 
Newliouse, or Newhus, 157 w. 
New lUvers Bridge, 168. 
Ncwsom, 157. 
Newstead, 115, 319. 

Prioiy, 211. 

Newton, 41 ??. 

Nonersfield, 110. 

Norfolk, CO., X., 28 n., 57 n., 63 w., 67, 

U\\) n., 170 n., Ill «., 219, 220, 274. 
Normanby, 137, 184, 302. 
Normandy, Duchy of, 57 n. 
Normanton, 172 n., 260, 276. 
Northamptonshire, 72 /i., 78 w., 79 w., 

119. 
North Elmsal, 298. 
Northopc, 1C2 fi. 
Norton, vii. «., 6 n., 37 n., 287. 
Norway, 87, 88, 89, 153 n. 
Norwich, x. w., 95 n. 
Nostel, 124 /i., 125. 
Nosterfield, 110 w. 
Ncjttingham, 54, 72, 181 w., 290. 
Nottingliamshire, 5 w., 36 n., 98, 106, 

130 /^., 135, 169, 174 /i., 189 n,y 242, 

255. 
Nnnburnholme, 110 n. 
Nun's Well, 79. 







Oaks, the, v., vi., vii. n.^ xxix n.y 193 n, 

Ombersley, 120. 

Orton, 141 n. 

Ostcrfield, 220, 221 h., 297. 

Otchen Well, U9 «. 

Owborough, 225 n. 

Owriton, or Ouston, 131 /*., 211 n., 212 
/f. 

Owtliorne, 203. 

Oxonev, 15S n. 

Oxford, XX., 45, 74, 70, 78, 100, 135 w., 
101, IDS. 239, 241, 302; Lincoln 
College, 30 n., 302 ; Magdalen Col- 



lege, 78 n. ; Magdalen Hall, 176 w., 
288 ; Queen's College, 169 n. ; Trinity 
College, 29 »., 160. 

Oxfordshire, 156. 

Oxlands Close, 234 n. 

Ouse, 139, 184, 186, 188. 



Paderbobn, X. 

Paradise (a close), 232 n. ; 278. 

Paris, ix., 3, 26 »., 161, 260. 

Patrick's Lodge, 284. 

Patrington, 198, 219. 

Paul's, St., London, 40 n. 

Peak, the, 276. 

Pensilvania, 45. 

Persepolis, 216. 

Persia, ib. 

Peterborough, 5 n., 46, 47, 148, 290. 

Peter's, St. (Petersburg), 148. 

Pettenween, or Pettenven, 230. 

Phila Causey, 162, 176. 

Physicians, College of, 41 w. 

Plumptre, 172 n. 

Plumtree, 267. 

Pocklington (School), il n. 

110 7i., 179 w. 

Pollington, 189 n., 255, 292, 315. 
Pontefract, or Pomfret, 35, 69, 73, 113 

n., 115, 143,228,292,297. 
Pool's Hole, 276. 
Poppleton, 187 n, 
Portington, 257. 
Poteric, Pottery, or Pawtry Carr 

(Doncaster), 297. 
Preston, Great, 69 n, 

131 «., 273. 

Praetorium at, 235. 

Prestwich, 41 n. 
Pulham, CO. Norfolk, 25 n, 
Pursland, 266. 
Putney, 278. 



B 



Rampeb, the, 69 n. 

Rampton, 5 n., 187 n., 285. 

Ranfield (Ravenfield), 281. 

Rantrop, 80, 83. 

Ratsdale, 95, 290. 

Ravenfield (Ranfield), 13 »., 193 »., 281. 

Ravensthorpe, 80, 83. 

Ravensworth, 227 n. 

Rawby, 62. 

Rawcliffe, 6 w., 257, 288. 

Reashy (Upper), 79. 



344 



INDEX OF riACES. 



Kedhurn (or Retburn), 81, 119, 121, 

12;^, 185. 
Reedness, 113 //. 
Keswick, 245. 

Ketford, 35, 161) : E.. 193 n, 
Revesby Abbey, 14S n., 302. 
Ribston, 123 ;/., 293. 
Riby. 151, 153. 
Richmond, 278, 279. 
Richmondshire, 110 /i., 227 7i. 
Rillington, 293. 
Riplingham, 219. 
Ripon, xxii., 158 n. 
Risby, 79 //. 
Roche Abbey, 166 n., 290, 301,308, 

309. 
Rochelle, xii. 
Rochester, 253, 278. 
Rochdale, 95 y/., 290. 
Roman Way 59 //., G8, 71, 86, 149 ; 

High-street, xxiii. 
Roman Coins. Games, Monuments, 

Pavement, etc., 62, 85, 86, 164, 198, 

200. 205. 208,210, 211, 212,219,220, 

251 w., 272, 311 ; Emperors, 112. 
Rome, 52. 60, 210. 
Romford, KM). 
Rooksncst (Surrey), 68 n. 
Roos. 2S9. 
Rossington, 182 //., 183 -»., 288, 290, 

297 n. 
Rotington, 172 n. 

Rotherham, lOfJ w., 177, 193 #., 301. 
Rotterdam, 214. 
Rowbanks, 234 n. 
Rowton, 225 n. 
Roxby. xxiii., 58, 59, 79, 122, 162, 

211, 212. 
Roval Society, vi. ;/., xx., xxii., xxix., 

XXX , 123 //., 249, 250, 255. 
Rudstone, 209 //. 

\{\o\\Q Dale, alias Rattcsdale, 290. 
Rysion Oarr, 273. 



S 



Sadplkworth, 290, 

St. Andrew's (Holborn). 131 n. 

St. (^atharinc's Cross, Hatfield, 311. 

Si. DuiistanV Church, 2S3. 

St. John's ColK'go. Cambridge, 161 //., 

179 ;/.. ISl ;/. 
St. .lohn (Evan.irelist), Altar of, 253. 
St. Ltington's Cros.?. Hatliold, 311. 
St. Marijarol's, Lincoln. 285. 
St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, Loudon, 

3»; w., .'{01. 
St. Mary's Abbey, York, 300. 



St. Mary's, Bishophill. York, 292. 

St. Mary Magdalen, Church of, Don- 
caster, 294. 

St. Omer's, 2i4. 

St. Pancras, Monastery of, 309. 

St. Paul's School, London, 187 n, 

Churchyard, 283. 

Salisbury School, 21 n^ 

22, 78 «. 

Salvington, 8 tu 

Sanclif, 106. 

Sandal, 114, 115. 

Kirk, 182 w. 

Sandhall, 134. 

Sandridge, 14 n. 

Sandtoft, xiii., 3, 4 n„ 5 n., 37 ?*., 260, 
265, 269, 270 w., 290, 316. 

San ton, 211. 

Sarisbury, 303 n. 

Sarratt, xiv. n. 

Sarum, 232 n. 

Scandinavia, 17 n. 

Scar burgh, 125, 162. 

Scausby-Leys, 291. 

Scawby, 122 /*., 127, 128, 151 w., 161 
;/.., 211. 

Scilly, 170 n. 

Scrivelsby, 109 n, 

Scoley, 305. 

Scotland, xxix., 10 »., 23, 49, 113 it., 
123, 126 M., 158 »., 159, 188, 230. 

Scotten, 148. 

Scotter, 65 »., 85, 88 n.y 148. 

Scotton, 121 n. 

Common, 82 n. 

Scowscots, 299. 

Scruton, 187 n. 

Scnlcoates, 204, 299. 

Scunthorpe, 91 n. 

Sedgemoor, 36 n. 

Selby, xxii., 51, 293, 297. 

Abl)ey, 122 ;i., 123 «., 135, 136. 

Sepulchre, St. (York), 7 n. 

Shap, 141 n. 

Sheffield, v., xxix. n.^ 53, 123 /i., 180 »., 
193 //.,2r»4, 268, 269.' 

Sherburn, 293. 

Shireoaks, 174. 

Shields, 112. 

Si am, 34. 

Silkstone, 113 //. 

Skeldergate, York, 188. 

Skiptou, 183. 

Skirlaugh, North and South, 225 w., 
253. 

Slcaford. 19. 

Sledmere, 232 n. 

Snaith, 175, 288. 290, 292. 

fcinydaU, 172 «.. 232 «, 



INDBX OF PLACES. 



345 



Soho Square, London, 170 n, 

Somersetshire, 105. 

Southwark (St. Olave's), 21 n. 

Southwell, 187 n. 

SouUlbur^, 153 n, 

Spain, 241, 242, 254. 

Spclhoe, 138 ». 

Spihoe, 138 n. 

Spillo Hills, 138. 

Spittle, 86, 87, 88, 145 n., 210, 211. 

Ir^poff jrth, 289. 

Sprotborough, 156 w., 172 w., 293, 

21>6 n. 
Staffordshire, 244. 

Stainford, 166 n., 167, 172, 258, 308. 
Staley, 141. 
Stamford, 44, 95. 
St an i wells, 149 n, 
Stanwick, 28 ti. 
Stapleton, 189 «., 255. 
State Paper Office, Old, 301. 
Stacher, Burton on, 69 n. 
Steetley. 174 u. 

Stephen's, St. (Westminster), 149 n, 
Stickley, 174. 
Stillington, 187 n. 
Stockport, 28 n.y 41 n. 
Stockton, 304. 
Stockwith, 156, 290, 169. 
Stone Ferry, 299. 
Stow. 211 n. 
Strasburg, 161. 
Strectthorpe, 106 n. 
Stvgian Ferry, 104, 291. 
Sutton, 298, 299, 
Swaffam, 219, 220. 
Swaledale, 202, 

Swan land (close in Thome), 292. 
Sweden, 17 7i., 153 n. 
Swilhngton, 69 w., 293. 
Swine, 225, 226 n., 227 n, 
Switzerland, 4 n. 
Suifolk, 171 n., 274. 
Sunderland, 112. 
Sunken Church, 106. 
Surrey, 169, 176 n. 
Sury, CO. Lancaster, 189, 191 »., 192, 

203, 206, 214, 215. 
Sussex, county of, 8 n. 
Sutton, 37 7i., 178, 201, 230, 283, 234, 

235. 
Sutton-upon-Derwent, 113 n, 
Sydenham, 253. 
Sykehouse, 167. 
Symond's Inn, 113 n. 



Tablet, 41 ». 

Tadcaster, 296. 

Tanfield (West), 110 ». 

Tanglers, 30, 36 n., 57. , 

Tanshelf, 69 ». 

Tarring, 8 n. 

Temple, Inner, 130 n. 

Temple-lane, Inner, 200, 288. 

Temple Nowpam, 293. 

Tempsford, 36 w. 

Tetley, 212 n. 

Thames, the, 277, 278, 

Theobalds, 131 n, 

Thirtleby, 225 n, 

Thorparch, 13 n. 

Thorp, 115. 

Thome, vi., viii., xx., xxi., 11, 12, 36 
w., 54, 106 w., 114, 115, 167, 168, 
175, 179 %., 182 n., 202 n., 212 w., 
245, 247, 250, 253 ?t., 254, 255, 256, 
261 n., 262, 263 w., 266, 284, 287, 
289, 290, 291, 292, 308, 309, 315, 
319. 

Thom Bush Carr, 270, 

Thorney, 47. 

Thornholm, 71, 80, 91, 130 n., 134, 
148 %., 211. 

Thornton College, 130 n., 131 n, ; 
Monastery, ib.y 145, 160 n. 

Thornton, 80, 124, 125, 130, 145, 218 
n. 

Thoulon, 57, 170 n. 

Thunderton, 164 n. 

Thurgoland, 113 n. 

Tickhill, 183 7i. 

Tidworth, North, 78 n. 

Tilbury Fort, 277. 

Tiverton Lodge, 4 n. 

Tobago, 261. 

Tocketts, J^4, 286. 

Tong, 293. 

Tower, the (London), 64, 124, 237, 242, 
243. 

Tranby, 299. 

Trent (River), 58, 69, 66 w., 108, 139, 
142 »., 148, 151, 168, 219, 314, 318. 

Trent-fall, 139. 

Trinity College, Cambridge, 23, 27, 42, 
187 w. 

Troy, 211, 291. 

Troy's Walls, 164. 

Troyes, ix. 

Trumfleet, 182. 

Truro, 131 n. 

Tudworth, 257, 268, 308. 
I Tunnel-pit, 286. 

Tupcots, 299. 



346 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



Tumbridge, 202 ft., 280. 
Turner Hall, 225 n. 
Tyburn, 60. 

U 

Ullsbee, or Ulceby, 129, 130 n. 

Upleatham, 181 n. 

Upner Castle, 278. 

Upper Catton, 206. 

Upton, 106. 

Usworth, 40 n. 



ViCKAE'S-DYKB, 168. 

Vinvid, River, 256. 

W 

Wadwoeth, 43. 

Waghen, or Wawne, 233 n., 289. 

Wakefield, 267 n,, 293, 296 n, 

Wales, 123, 275. 

Wallingford, 280, 281, 

Walsham, North, x. 

Warmsworth, 62 w., 122 »., 295 n, 

Wartre, 179 n. 

Wapenham, 72 n, 

Wath, 153. 

Walton, 175. 

Wawne, or Waghen, 233 «., 289. 

Weighton, Market, 200. 

Welbeck, 72. 

Welton, 218. 

Wensleydale, xvi. 

Went, River, 182, 189, 256. 

Wentworth House, 295 n. 

West Bretton, 298. 

Chester, 214. 

Halton, 140. 

Westminster Abbey, 170 n, 

School, 60 n., 300. 

115, 130 n., 131 n., 147 n., 

149 n,y 177, 278. 
Westphalia, x. 
Whalley, 192 n., 199. 
Wheatley, 69 n. 
Whitburn, 112. 
Whitechurch, 173 n, 
Whitefriars, 9 n. 

Whitehall, 94, 145 »., 169 n,, 301. 
White-well, 149 n. 
Whitgift, 102, 113 «., 257, 290. 
WhittennesB, 139. 
Whittlesey-mere, 166 n. 



Whitton, 139, 140, 142. 

Whixley, 293. 

Wibberton, 302. 

Wickham, 186. 

Wigan, 191, 192, 208. 

Willarby, 299. 

Willoughby, 102 n, 

Wiltshire, co., 78 n., 149 n., 183 n. 

Windsor, 279. 

Castle, 44. 

Winnemoor, 189 n., 255. 

Winnet, 189 %., 255. 

Winslow, 183 n. 

Winterton, xxii., 54 w., 82, 86, 99, 116, 

121 w., 122 %., 123 w., 128, 130 w., 

131 n., 135 n., 140 n,, 142, 148 n., 

147, 159 w., 162, 164 r., 166, 172, 

184, 211,212,318. 
Wintringham, 86, 128, 144, 149, 212. 
Wintrington, 172 n, 
Winwid field and stream, 188, 189, 

255. 
Wistow, xvii. 
Witham, River, 66 n. 
Wittenberg, 161. 
Woodbridge, 26 n. 
Woodhall, 225 n. 
Woodhouse, Hatfield, 146, 269, 263, 

266, 268, 287. 
Woolwich, 277. 
Wolds, the, 206. 
Wonnersh, 176 n, 
Worcester, Bishoprick of, 24 n. 

CO. of, 120. 

218, 253. 

Worksop, 176. 
Worlebee, 71. 
Worstead, x. n. , 

Wraisbury-cum-Langley, 6 n. 
Wrangdon and Wrangdon Hill, 284. 
Wrawby, 62 w., 121 «., 122 n., 149, 

161, 162, 163 n., 164. 
Wroot, 76, 77, 146 w., 182. 

Carr, 266. 

Wyke, 204. 
Wykes, 262 n. 
Wyton, 225 n. 



Yaddlethorpb, 65 n. 

York, vii., viii., xxii., 6 n„ 7, 9, 36 n., 
64 w., 73, 96, 106 n.y 107 n., 110, 112, 
116, 125 n., 133 »., 172 »., 176, 177, 
178, 184, 186, 186, 187, 188, 190, 
200, 204, 206, 208, 217, 219, 228 «., 
229 n., 232 n., 234 n.^ 236, 239, 241, 
246, 266, 272, 273 n., 276, 279 n^ 



INDEX OF PLACES. 



347 



280, 282 n., 283, 286, 287, 288, 290, 

21)2, 21)7, 309. 
York, St. Mary's Abbey, 30§. 

Castle, 5 7*., 150 n. 

Dean and Chapter's Register, 



291. 



203. 



Ecclesiastical Court of, 304. 
East Riding Visitation, 283, 



Minster, 190 n., 304. 

Yorkshire, vi., xiv., xxi., xxii., 3, 6 w., 
17 /I., 27, 38, 41 »., 43 w., 62 n.y 65, 
69, 75 n., 79, 90, 98, 99, 105, 108, 
110 n., 113, 116, 119, 123 w., 124 »., 



125, 133 n.y 136, 139, 140, 143, 144, 
146, 147 ?i., 165, 168, 169, 174 w., 
179 7t„ 181, 182 n., 192, 193, 200, 
209, 227 w., 229, 237, 251 n., 273, 
279 n., 281, 289, 293, 298, 301, 305, 
307, 319. 

Yorkshire Archaeological Society, 194 
n. 

Ypres, ix., x., xi., xii., xv., 3. 



Zurich, 4 n. 



FINlSk 



•» 

( 



V 



RIPON : FKUiTED BY A. JOUMSON AKD CO., MARKST-PLAfS. 



ADDENDA ET CORRIGENDA. 

Page Tiii., line 22, for William read Walter Consitt Boulter. 
„ zvi., line 5, the page referring to Appendix should be 260, not 26. 



tt 



it 



it 



a 



it 



it 



it 



»» 



» 



II 



II 
II 



II 



II 



II 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 
II 



xxxiv., Oughtibridge pedigree, note c, the marriage of " William Outyhridge and MargrH 
Pamel" is registered at Fishlake, 18th August, 1710. 

4, note, line 16, M. Berchett's name was Peter. 

ib. To the list of French Ministers at Sandtoft may be added M. Caruill, or Carvill. 
His name occurs in the following entry in the register of Fishlake : — " 1658. Peter 
Mazingarb and Hester Pinchan were maryed in our parish church of Fishlc^e upon the 
xiith day of August, by Master Caruill, Minister of the French Church att Santoft, ha 
then preachinge, and takiuge the text out of the third chapter of Genesis and partt of the 
xixth verse— /or dust thou art, and unto dtut thou sh<ill returne." Whether this comforting 
assurance was specially addressed to the newly-married pair, or formed the topic of the 
general discourse, does not sufficiently appear. 

6, note, line 4, John Nodes, gent., was buried at Hatfield, 3rd April, 1669. 

9, note. Reading. Jasper, son of Nathaniel Reading, esq., was buried at Hatfield, 26 
April, 1669. 

17, note, line 9, after Bellow read a Danish trooper. In the parish register of Carleton, near 
Snaith, it is recorded,—" 1690. Deans and Polanders were quartered here six weeks, and 
yn went for Ireland under Bling William yea 3rd." — Ex inform. Rev. C. B. Nordiffe. 

23, line 9, after Febr. insert 3. 

82, line 4, for Lanbach read Laibach. 

83, note h. In the parish register of Snaith, under date 13th April, 1762, occurs the baptism 
of Elizabeth, daughter of William Ackars, of Rawcliffe, aged 79. 

97, note. The Rev. C. B. NorclifPe states it does not appear that Mr, Maurice Lisle resigned 
before the Visitation of 1695. John Hall occurs, he says, as vicar, 1699 — 1706. Within 
the cover of the register is written " John Hall, minister de Fishlake, in com. Ebor., 
1702." The living was vacant at the visitation 1707. John L'lisle was instituted 27 
Aug., 1707. 

133, note, line 13. Garett is a mistake, most likely, for Eratt. 

141, note, for Hollin read Hollim ; for Salley read Lathley, minister there 6 Oct., 1641 to 1687. 

161, note u. A George Jalland was assistant curate of Holy Trinity Church, Hull, 20 Sept., 
1756 to 1759. 

171, note. Cloudsley — a Peter Cloudsley, of Leeds, clothier, married, 27 April, 1630, Katha- 
rine, daughter of Edward Norton, of Gowdall. — Snaith Par. Regr. 

177, note w, line 1, for in read is. 

ib., note y. William Pratt, A.M., was curate of Bossall, 10th May, 1673 ; vicar 1700. John 
Pratt, A.M., vicar 1701, buried August, 1718. See also Appendix, page 302. 

179, note, line 9, for Forster read Foster. 

180, note c. One Theseus Moor was a witness, 11 April, 1709, to the will of Richard Mains- 
man, of Dikemarsh, proved at Snaith. A Theseus Moore, son of Henry M., was baptized 
14 Feb., 1666-7, at Hatfield. 

181 , note, line 4, for St. John's read Jesus. 

186, line 12. Wallice. Timothy WalUs, M.A., 18 July, 1673, R. Leven, resigned. Timothy 
Wallis, A.B., his son, 25 Dec., 1704. Do., T. W., the father, reinstituted. 

187, note o, line 2, read 1714. Rev. R. Banks being buried 14 Nov. in that year. 

196. The Greek lines at the bottom of the note should be read : — 

*A7yo5 'efJLo'i fi'ios fiv, Ix/uav i^ rax'-cra irapn\9e, 
'Ajuvov vapOeviKov vhv aKoXovOos kfut, 

201, for Kidson read Kitson. 

202, note o, line 9, for Vicount read Viscount. 

257, note, line 6, for Rowland W. Heathcote read Rowland Heathcote, 
289, line 1 , for daughter read daughters. 

293, line 36, for seq. read esq. 

294, line 34, the numeral figures should be xi., xii., i. 

303, note, line 25. Hatfield Church. Since these remarks were written I have seen a psra- 
graph in the Doncaster Gazette, of the 14th Oct., 1870, relative to this church, the substanoe 
of which is stated to be taken from Hunter and De la Pryme, wherein we are told ** tiiat 
the fine parish church of Hatfield is to be added to the list of churches in this neighbour- 
hood which have been restored to the purer style that prevailed in ecclesiaBtical architec- 
ture when the most ancient of our churches were built. . . . We are unable," the writer 
adds, " to give any details of the intended alteration, but one obvious object will be tb» 
removal of the deformities which characterized the designs of the to-called church Im- 
provers during the greater part of the G^eorgian era." 

835, first column, third line, should read Wigley, 20 n., 28 n. ; 138 n. ; 279 n. 

0., first column, after line 24 insert Wtmare, Nigellofilio, 81 n. 



^;^ 



THE SURTEES SOCIETY. 



REPORT FOR THE YEAR MD.CCC.LXVIIL 



The Council have but little to report this year to the members 
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For the other works that are in progress or prospect the 
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THE SUETEES SOCIETY, 

ESTABLISHED IN THE TBAB 1884, 

In honour of the late Robert Surtees, of Mainsforth, Esquire, 
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.^ 



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WITH THEIR RESPECTIVB SALE PRICES. 

N.B. — Of several of these volumes the number of copies on hand is very small; some will not be sold 
except to members of the Society under certain conditions ^ and all applications for them must 
be made to the Secretary. 



1. Reginald! Monachi Dnnelmensis Libellus de Admirandis Beati Cuthberti Yirtutibus. 15s. 

Edited by Dr. Raine. 

2. "Wills and Inventories, illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, &c., of the 

Northern Counties of England, from the Eleventh Century downwards. (Chiefly from 
the Registry at Durham). Vol. I. 15s. Edited by Dr. Raine. (Only sold in a set). 

3. The Towneley Mysteries, or Miracle Plays. 158. Edited by James Gordon, Esq. The 

Preface by Joseph Hunter, F.S.A. 

4. Testaraenta Eboracensia ; Wills illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, 

&c., of the Province of York, from 1300 downwards. Vol. I. 308. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

5. Sanctuarium Dunelmense et Sanctuarium Beverlacense ; or. Registers of the Sanctuaries 

of Durham and Beverley. 158. Edited by Dr. Raine. The Preface by the Rev. T. 
Chevallier. 

6. The Charters of Endowment, Inventories, and Account Rolls of the Priory of Pinchale in 

the County of Durham. 16s. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

7. Catalog! Veteres Librorum Ecclesias Oathedralis Dunelm. Catalogues of the Library of 

Durham Cathedral at various periods, from the Conquest to the Dissolution ; including 
Catalogues of the Library of the Abbey of Hulne, and of the MSS. preserved in the 
Library of Bishop Cosin at Durham. 10s. Edited by Dr. Raine. The Preface by 
Beriah Botfield, Esq. 

8. Miscellanea Biogrraphica ; a Life of Oswin, King of Northumberland ; Two Lives of Cuthbert, 

Bishop of Lindisfarne ; and' a Life of Eata, Bishop of Hexham. 10s. Edited by Dr. 
Raine. 

9. Historiae Dunelmensis Scriptores Tres. Gaufridus de Coldingham, Robertus de Greystanes, 

et Willelmus de Chambre, with the omissions and mistakes in Wharton's Edition sup- 
plied and corrected, and an Appendix of 665 original Documents, in illustration of the 
Text. 16s. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

10. Rituale EcclesiaB Dunelmensis ; a Latin Ritual of the Ninth Century, with an interlinear 

Northumbro-Saxon Translation. 15s. Edited by the Rev. J. Stevenson. 

11. Jordan Fantosme's Anglo-Norman Chronicle of the War between the English and the Scots, 

in 1173 and 1174. Edited, with a Translation, Notes, &c., by Francisque Michel, 
F.S.A. 158. 

12. The Correspondence, Inventories, Account Rolls and Law Proceedings of the Priory of 

Coldingham. 158. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

13. Liber Yitae EcclesiaB Dnnelmensis ; necnon Obituaria duo ejusdem EcclesisB. 10s. Edited by 

Rev. J. Stevenson. 

14. The Correspondence of Robert Bowes, of Aske, Esq., Ambassador of Queen Elizabeth to the 

Court of Scotland. 15s. Edited by Rev. J. Stevenson. 

15. A Description or Brief e Declaration of all the Ancient Monuments, Rites, and Customs be- 

longing to, or being within, the Monastical Church of Durham, before the Suppression, 
Written in 1593. lOs. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

16. Anglo-Saxon and Early-English Psalter, now first published from MSS. in the British 

Museum. Vol. I. 158. Edited by Rev. J. Stevenson. 

17. The Correspondence of Dr. Matthew Hutton, Archbishop of York. With a selection from the 

Letters of Sir Timothy Hutton, Knt., his Son, and Matthew Hutton, Esq., his Grandson. 
158. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

18. The Durham Household Book ; or, the Accounts of the Bursar of the Monastery of Durham 

from 1530 to 1534. 16s. Edited by Dr. Raine. 

19. Anglo-Saxon and Early English Psalter, Vol. n. 16s. Edited by Rev. J. Stevenson. 

20. Libellus de Vita et Miraculis S. Godrici, Heremitae de Pinchale, auctore Reginaldo, Monacho 

Dunelmensi. 158. Edited by Rev. J. Stevenson. 

21. Depositions respecting the Rebellion of 1569, Witchcraft, and other Ecclesiastical Proceed- 

ings, from the Court of Durham, extending from 1311 to the reign of Elizabeth. 16b. 
Edited by Dr. Raine. * 

» Members have the privilege of purchasing the first ttoenty-one volumes, or any qf them, except 
No. 2, at half-price. 



22. The Injanctioiui and other Eocleedasfcical Proceedings of Bichard Barnes, Bishop of Durham 

(1577-87). 15b. Edited by Dr. Baine. 

23. The Anglo-Saxon Hymnarinm, from MSS. of the Eleventh Century, in Durham, the British 

Museum, &;c. 16s. Edited by Bey. J. Stevenson. 

24. The Memoir of Mr. Surtees, by the late George Taylor, Esq. Beprinted from the Fourth 

Vol. of the History of Durham, with additional Notes and Dlustrations, together with 
an Appendix, comprising some of Mr. Surtees* Correspondence, Poetry, Jcc. Edited by 
Dr. Bsdne. (Only sold in a set and to a Member) . 

35. The Boldon Book, or Survey of Durham in 1183. 10s. 6d. Edited by Bev. W. Greenwell. 

26. Wills and Inventories, illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, &c., of 

the Counties of York, Westmerland, and Lancaster, from the Fourteentih Century down- 
wards. From the Begistry at Bichmond. 14s. Edited by Bev. J. Baine. 

27. The Pontifical of Egbert, Archbishop of York (781-67), from a MS. of the Ninth or Tenth 

Century in the Imperial Library in Paris, lis. Edited by Bev. William G-reenweU. 

28. The Gospel of St. Matthew, from the Northumbrian Interlinear Gloss to the Gospels, con- 

tained in the MS. Nero D. IV., among the Cottonian MSS. in the Brit^ Museum, 
commonly known as the Lindisfame Grospels, collated with the Bushworth MS. 14s. 
Edited by Bev. J. Stevenson. 

29. The Inventories and Account BoUs of the Monasteries of Jarrow and Monkwearmonth, from 

their commencement in 1303 till the Dissolution. 12s. Edited by Dr. Baine. 

80. Testamenta Eboracensia, or WiUs illustrative of the History, Manners, Language, Statistics, 
&c., of the Province of York, from 1429 to 1467. YoL 11. 25s. Bdited by Bev. J. 
Baine. 

31. The Bede Boll of John Bumaby, Prior of Durham (1456-64). With illustrative documents. 

12s. Edited by Dr. Baine. 

32. The Survey of the Palatinate of Durham, compiled during the Episcopate of Thomas Hat- 

field (1345-1382). 15s. Bdited by Bev. W. Greenwell. 

33. The Fanning Book of Henry Best, of Elmswell,E.B.Y. 12s. Edited by Bev. C. B. Bobinson. 

84. The Proceedings of the High Court of Commission for Durham and Northumberland. 14s. 
Bdited by W. H. D. Longstaffe, Esq. 

35. The Fabric Bolls of York Minster. 25s. Edited by Bev. J. Baine. 

86. The Heraldic Visitation of Yorkshire, by Sir William Dugdale, in 1665. Edited by Bobert 

Davies, Esq. (Only sold in a set and to a Member), 

87. A Volume of Miscellanea, comprising the Letters of Dean Granville, the Account of the 

Siege of Pont^Eract by Nathan Drake, and Extracts from the Bokeby CSorrespondenoe. 
Edited by Bev. George Omsby, Mr. W. H. D. Longstaffe and Bev. J. Baine. (Onl^ 
sold in a set and to a Member), 

38. A Volume of Wills from the Begistry at Durham ; a continuation of No. 2. Edited by Bev, 
W. Greenwell. (Only sold in a set and to a Member). 

89. The Gospel of St. Mark, from the Northumbrian Interlinear Gloss to the Gospels contained 
in the MS. Nero D. IV., among the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum, commonly 
known as the Lindisfame Gospels, collated with the Bushworth MS. ; a continuation of 
No. 28. 10s. Edited by Mr. (Jeorge Waring. 

40. A Selection from the Depositions in (Mminal Cases take n befo re the Northern Magistrates, 

from the originals preserved in York Castle. Seec. XVII. Edited by Bev. J. Baine. 
(Only sold in a set and to a Member), 

41. The Heraldic Visitation of the North of England, made in 1530, by Thomas Tonge, with 

an Appendix of Genealogical MSS. Edited by Mr. W. H. D. Longstaffe. {Only told in a 
set and to a Member). 

42. Memorials of Fountains Abbey. Vol. I. Comprising the Chronicle relating to the Founda- 

tion of the House, vrritten by Hugh de Kirkstall ; the Chronicle of Abbata, &c., and an 
historical description of the Abbey, with illustrations. Edited by Mr. J. B. Walbran. 
(Only sold in a set and to a Member.) 

43. The Gospel of St. Luke, from the Northumbrian Interlinear Gloss to the Goq)els contained 

in the MS. Nero D. IV., among the Cottonian MSS. in the British Museum, commonly 
known as the Lindisfame Gospels, collated with the Bushworth MS. ; a continuation of 
No. 38 and 29. 14s. Edited by Mr. Goorge Waring. 

44. The Priory of Hexham, its Chronicles, Endowments, and Annals. Vol. I. Containing the 

Chronicles, &c., of John and Bichard, Priors of Hexham, and Aelred Abbat of Bievanx, 
with an Appendix of documents, and a Preface illustrated with engravings, pp. 604. 
£2 2s. Edited by Bev. J. Baine. 

45. Testamenta Eboracensia, or Wills illustrative of the History, Manners, Langu^e, Statistics, 

&c., of the Province of York, from 1467 to 1485. Vol. III. 258. Edited by Bev. J. 
Baine. 



46 Tho Priory of Hexham. VoL n. Oontaining the Liber Niger, with Charters and other 

DooumentB, and a Preface illustrated with engravings. 16s. Edited by Ber. J. Baine. 

47 The Letters, &c.» of Dennis Granville, D.D., Dean of Durham, from the originals recently 

dlsooTered in the Bodleian Litoary. Part n. 16s. Edited by Bev. George Omsby. 

48 The Gospel of St. John, from the Northumbrian Literlinear Gloos to the Gospels in the MS. 

Nero D. IV. (A continuation of Not. 28, 89, and 48). 148. With Preface and 
Prolegomena. Edited by Mr. G«orge Waring. 

49. The Survey of the County of York, taken by John de EIrkby, commonly called Eirkb/s 
Inquest. Also Liquisitions of Knights* Fees, The Nomina villarum for Yorkshire, and 
an Appendix of illustrative documents, pp. 670. 36s. Edited by Mr. B. H. Skaife. 

60. Memoirs of the Life of Ambrose Barnes, Merchant and sometime Alderman of Newcastle- 

upon-Tyne. 21b. Edited by Mr. W. H. D. LongstafBe. 

61. Symeon of Durham. The whole of the works ascribed to him except the History of the 

Church of Durham. To which are added the History of the Translation of St. duthbert, 
tho Life of S. Margaret Queen of Scotland, by Tnrgot Prtor of Durham, &c Edited by 
by Mr. John Hodgson Hinde. 268. 

62. TheCorrespondenceof John Gosin, Bishop of Durham. YoLL 168. Edited by Bev. George 

Omsby. 

63. TestamentaEboracensia. Y0I.IY. From 1485 to 1609. A oontinaation of Nos. 4, 80, and 

46. 21b. Edited by Bev. J. Baine. 



Tfte Council propose to tded their future volumes out of fhefoUowittg manuscripts or nuUerials, or 

from others cfa simHar description, 

4r^ 1 . The Ephemeris or Diary of the Bev. Abraham De la Pryme, the Yorkshire Antiquary, in the 

latter puii of the 17th century. Now being prepared by Mr. Charles Jackson. ^ 

2. The Memorials of Fountains Abbey. VoL n. To contain the Papal Bulls, the Boyal 
Charters of Privilege, etc. With engravings of seals, &». Five sheets have already been 
printed under the editorial care of Mr J. B. Walbran. 

-*- 3. The Articles and Injunctions issued by the Bishops and Archdeacons within the Province of 
York, from the earliest period to 1662. Now being prepared by the Hon. and Bev. 
Stephen Lawley. 

^-^ 4. Symeon of Durham. Vol. 11. To eontain the History of the Church of Durham, with an 
Appendix consisting of several historical tractates, illustrative of Symeon's work. To be 
edited by Mr. Hodgson Hinde and the Secrdazy. 

6. The Aocdunt Bolls, Charters, &c., of Durham (Trinity) College, Oxford, with lists'of its early 
members, and other authentic and original information relatbig to it. To be edited l^ 
Bev. Wm. Stubbs. 

6. The Correspondence of John Cosin, Bishop of Durluun. (fathered together for the first time yX 

from the original MSS. Vol. n. To be edited by the Bev. G«orge Omsby. 

7. The Lords of the Soil of the County of Durham from the earliest period to the Beformation, 

comprising the descent of the estates and various other particulars, genealc^cai 
and heraldic, relating to their owners, illustrated with engravfiigs of seals, etc. To be 
pi-cpared by Mr. W. H. D. Longstaffe and the Bev. William GreenweU. 

..^ 8. The Letters, Despatches, Extracts from the Household Books, and other works and papers of 
Lord William Howard of Naworth, from the originals at Castie-Howard, Nawonh Castle, 
and London. To be prepared by Mr. Bobert Davies. 

9. The Lives of S. Wilfrid by Eddi, Eadmer, and Fridegodns, with other Biographical and 
Historical Documents relating to the Church of York and its rulers. To be prepared by 
Bev. William Stubbs, M^Ai 

10. A Volume of Early Bituals, supplementary to those already pnbUshed by the Society, to 

contain as many of the unpublished Pontificals as the Society can obtain access to, 
including that of St. Dunstan in the Imperial Library at Paris. To be prepared by 
Bev. Dr. Henderson. 

11. A Volume of Documents relating to the Ancient Guilds in the City of York ; to contain, ^ 

especially, the Begister of the Guild of the Corpus Christi, wtdch is preserved in the 
British Museum. To be prepared by Mr. Bobert Skaife. 

12. The Inqaisitions Post Mortem for the North of England, trom the originals at London and 

Durham. 

13. A Volume of Extracts from the Depositions preserved in the EcdeBiaBtical Conrt at York, 
from the fourteenth century downwards. 



//- '--^ f :'--±^:^^'^^^ 







.Ta. 



8 

14. The Visitation of the County o£ York in 1684, by William Flower. 

15. A Volume of "Wills relating to the Counties of Cumberland and Westmerland, 'prindpally 

from the Registry at Carlisle. 

16. A Collection of Letters and Papers relating to the Dissolution of the Northern Monasteries, 

the proceedings of the Visitors, and the opposition of the Monks. 

17. The Annals of the Pilgrimage of G-race, derived from unpublished documents of the greatest 

interest and curiosity in the State Paper Office and the British Museum. 

18. A Concluding Volume of Extracts from the Proceedings of the Ecclesiastical Court of 

Durham. 

19. A Continuation of the Testamenta Eboracensia. 

20. Memorials of Kirkstall Abbey ; The History of its Foundation ; the Chronicle of Kirkstall ; 

and Extracts from the Charter Books of that ancient house. 

21. Selections from the yearly Bolls of the Bursar of the Monastery of Durham, beginning in 

1270. 

22. The Charters and Account Bolls of the Cells of Lytham and Stamford. 

23. The Chartularies of Holm Cultram, and other documents relating to that Monastery. 

24. The Chartulary of Whitby Abbey, and the Chronicle of that house. 

25. St. Mary's Abbey, York, its Annals, by Abbot Simon de Warwick ; with Extracts from the 

Chartularies. 

26. The Charter Book of St. Leonard's Hospital at York, with several of the early Account Bolls, 

Wills of Benefactors, etc. 

27. The Evidences of the ancient Family of Calverley, from thcvpriginals in the British Museum. 

28. Letters, hitherto inedited, relating to the Outra^^, Feuds, etc., on the borders of England 

and'Scotland. • 

/29. The Autobiography of Anne Countess of Pembroke, Dorset and Montgomery, with other 
Documents relating to the house of « Clifford. 

30. The Correspondence of Thomas Baker (the " Coll. Jo. socius ejectus"), with the Literary Men 

of his day. 

31. The Correspondence of Dr. George Hickes and Hilkiah Belford, the celebrated Non>jurors and 

Antiquaries. 

82. The Correspondence of Adam Baines, the first M.P. for Leeds. 

33. A Glossary of Ancient North Country Words to illustrate and explain, eiq)ecially, the Works 
already published by this Society. 



y/^^J^ci.*/^ i^^{:^^T^ ^'^ 








9 

List of Officers and Members, June, 1868 



PATRON AND PRESIDENT. 

His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, K.G., etc. 

VICE PRESIDENTS. 

Edward Akroyd, M.P., Bank Field, Halifax. 

Robert Henry Allan, F.S.A., BlackweU Grange, Darlington. 

John Booth, jun., Durham. 

Rev. Canon Chevallier, B.D., Durham. 

Rev. John Dixon Clarke, M.A., Belford Hall. 

James Crossley, F.S.A., President of the Chetham Society, Manchester, 

Rev. John Cundill, B.D., Durham. 

Robert Davies, F.S.A., York. 

John F. Elliot, Elvet Hill, Durham. 

John Fawcett, Durham. 

Rev. William Greenwell, M.A., Durham. 

Edwin Guest, L.L.D., Master of Caius College, Cambridge. 

Thomas Duffus Hardy, Her Majesty's Deputy-keeper of Records, London. 

William Henderson, Durham. 

John Hodgson Hinde, Stelling Hall, Gateshead. 

W. H. D. Longstaffe, F.S.A., Gateshead. v 

Richard Lawrence Pemberton, The Barnes, Sunderland. 

Rev. Daniel Rock, D.D., F.S.A., 17, Essex Villas, Kensington, London. 

Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan, Bart., F.S.A., Wallington, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

The Very Rev. George Waddington, D.D., Dean of Durham. 

John Richard Walbran, F.S.A., Fall Croft, Ripon. 

Albert Way, F.S.A., Wonham Manor, Reigate. 

Rev. C. T. Whitley, M.A., Bedlington, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

Sir C. G. Young, F.S.A., Garter King at Arms. 

SECRETARY. 
Rev. James Raine, M.A.) York. 

TREASURERS. 

John Gough Nichols, F.S.A., 25, Parliament Street. Westminster. 
Samuel Rowlandson, Durham. 

MEMBERS, WITH THE DATES OF THEIR ADMISSION.* 

Richard Abbay, Great Ouseburn, Boroughbridge. 13th December, 1861. 

Sir John Dalberg Acton, Bart., Aldenham Park, Bridgenorth. 17th June, 1861. 

George E. Adams, Rouge Dragon Pursuivant of Arms, Heralds' College, Lon- 
don. 13th December, 1862. 

Rev. E. H. Adamson, M.A., St. Alban's Parsonage, Gateshead. 14th December, 
1860. 

The Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. 13th March, 1851, 

Edward Akroyd, M.P., F.S.A., Bank Field, Halifax. 15th December, 1859, 
(Vwe-President, 1866-8). 

William Aldam, Frickley Hall, Doncaster. 13th December, 1862. 

Robert Henry Allan, F.S.A., BlackweU Grange, Darlington, (Treasv/rer^ 1834- 
1844. Vice-President, 1844-1868.)t 

• The number of three hundred and fifty members, to which the Society is limited, is now 
full. Judging from past experience, there will be ten or twelve vacancies every year, and these 
will be regularly filled up. New members will be elected by the Council accoiding to priority of 
application, unless the sou or the representative of a deceased member vrishes to be chosen in hit 

phvce. 



# 



10 

William Anderson, Stonegate, York. 13th December, 1861. 

The Society of Antiquaries, London. 1st March, 1864. 

The Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 24th September, 1863. 

John Eeed Appleton, F.S.A., Western Hills, Durham. 15th December, 
1869. 

Gteorge John Armytage, Kirklees Park, Brighouse, 2nd June, 1868,* 

The Library of the Athenaeum Club, Waterloo Place, London. 13th December, 
1861. 

J. H. Aveling, M.D., Sheffield. 14th December 1860. 

J. H. Backhouse, Darlington. 6th June, 1866. 

Rev. William Baird, Vicar of Dymoke, Qloucestershire. Dec. 6th, 1864. 

Charles Baker, F.S.A., 11, Sackville Street, London. 13th December, 1861. 

E. B. Wheatley Balme, Cote Walls, Mirfleld, Normanton. 8th December, 
1863. 

J. W. Barnes, Durham, 7th March, 1865. 

Thomas H. Bates, Wolsingham. 7th June, 1864. 

Rev. Thomas Bayly, B.A., Sub-chantor of York Minster, and Treasurer of the 
Yorkshire Architectural Society. 14th December, 1860. 

William Beamont, Warrington. 28th September, 1843. 

Wentworth B. Beaumont, M.P., Bretton Hall, Wakefield. 14th March, 1862. 

Oeorge S. Beecroft, M.P., Abbey Lodge, Kirkstall, Leeds. 8th December, 
1863. 

Alfred Bell, 49, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. 31st March, 1849. 

"George Bell, York-street, Covent Garden, London. 31st March, 1864. 

The Royal Library at Berlin. 14th March, 1863. 

Sir Edward Blackett, Bart., Matfen, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 16th December, 
1859. 

Robert Willis Blencowe, Secretary of the Sussex Archaeological Society, The 
Hooke, Lewes. 13th March, 1861. 

John Booth, jun., Durham. 18th June, 1862. ( Vice-President and Local 
Secretary, 1864-8). 

Rev. Joseph Bosworth, LL.D., F.R.S., Professor of Anglo-Saxon in the Univer- 
sity of Oxford, Water- Stratford, Bucks. 14th December, 1861. 

E. C. Boville, Willington, Burton-on Trent, 15th March, 1860. 

John Bowes, Streatlam Castle, Durham.f 

Richard Bowser, Bishop Auckland. 14th March, 1863. 

Rev. Canon Boyd, M.A., Rector of Amcliffe, Skipton-in- Craven. 7th March, 
1866. 

The Viscount Boyne, Brancepeth Castle, Durham. 16th December, 1862. 

Rev. J. S. Brewer, M.A., Reader at the Rolls, and Professor of English Litera- 
ture, King's College, London. 13th December, 1862. 

Thomas Brooke, Armitage Bridge, Huddersfield. 14th December, 1860. 

Douglas Brown, 15, Hertford Street, Mayfair, London. 11th March, 1868. 

James Brown, M.P., Rossington Hall, Bawtry. 13th December, 1862. 

Alfred Hall Browne, 6, West Hills, Highgate, London. 13th December, 1861. 

Rev. John Collingwood Bruce, LL.D., F.S.A., &c.. Secretary of the Society of 
Antiquaries, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 6th June, 1866. 

The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, K.G., &c., Dalkeith. (The first Presi- 
dent oftlie Society, 1834-1837. President, 1866-8.)t 

Rev. W. E. Buckley, M.A., Middleton Cheney, Banbury. 13th March, 1861. 

Robert Anthony Burrell, Durham. 17th June, 1861. 

Thomas Burton, Tumham Hall, Selby. December, 1867. 

Rev. William Bury, Chapel-house, Kilnsey, Skipton-in-Craven. 14th Decem- 
ber, 1860. 

t Those gentlemen to whoee names a cross is appended have been members of the Society 
since its foundation in 1834. 

* Those gentlemen to whose names an asterisk is attached have become members dnring the 
past year. 



11 

C. H. Cadogan, Brinkbnm Priory, Morpeth. June ith, 1867. 

Rev. Thomas CaLvert, B.A., Diimington, Newcastle-on-1^e. ISth December, 
1862. 

Ralph Carr, Hedgeley, Alnwick. 26th September, 1844. 

Hev. T. W. Carr, Banning Rectory, Maidstone, 18th December, 1861. 

William Carr, little Gomersal, Leeds. 5th December, 1865. 

Edward Cayley, Wydale, Scarborough. 13th December, 1861. 

Rev. Reginald Arthur Cayley, Rector of Scampton, Lincoln. 18th December, 
1861. 

WilliamJChadwick, Arksey, Doncaster. 6th December, 1866. 

John Barff Charlesworth, Hatfeild Hall, Wakefield. 14th March, 1862. 

Edward Charlton, M.D., Secretary of the Society of Antiquaries, Kewcastle-on- 
Tyne. 6th June, 1866. 

Rev. James Allen Charlton, Gk)sforth, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 8th December, 1868. 

William Henry Charlton, Hesleyside, Hexham. 81st May, 1849. 

Joseph Chester, 14, St. Gteorge's Terrace, Blue Anchor Road, Bermondsey, 
London. 5th December, 1866. 

The Chetham Library, Manchester. December, 1867. 

Rev. Temple Chevallier, B.D., Canon of Durham, Professor of Mathematics and 
Astronomy in the University of Durham. 12th July, 1886. ( Vioe-PresU 
dent, 1836-1868). 

The Library of Christ's College, Cambridge. 13th December, 1862. 

The Yen. Archdeacon Churton, Crayke, Easingwold. 8rd March, 1868.* 

Rev. John Dixon Clarke, Belford Hall. 1st June, 1868. {V^oe•Pre^idewty 
1866-1868.) 

Rev. John Haldenby Clarke, M JL., Hilgay, Downham, Norfolk. 5th Decem- 
ber, 1866. 

J. W. Clarke, M. A., Trinity College, Cambridge. December, 1857. {Local 8ecre» 
tary, 1858-1868). 

Thomas K. Clarke, jun., John William Street, Huddersfield. 8th December, 
1863. {Local Secretaryy 1864-1868). 

J. W. Clay, Rastrick, Brighouse, 2nd June, 1868.* 

Edward Clayton, New Walk Terrace, York. 7th June, 1864, 

John Clayton, Newcastle-dn^Tyne. 8th December, 1868. 

The Duke of Cleveland, RaoX Castle, Staindrop. September, 1841. 

Alexander Cockbum, 12, Wi3jEer Street, Edinburgh. 6th June, 1864. 

Rev. William Collins, MA., St. Mary's, Ramsey, Huntingdon. 15th December, 
1859. 

W. H. Cooke, M.A., Q.C.,F.S.A., 42, Wimple Street, London. 6th June, 1855. 

John Cookson, Meldon Park, Morpeth. l5th December, 1852. 

The Royal Library at Copenhagen. 14th March, 1863. 

Sir Joseph William Copley, Biart., Sprotb(»x>ugh, Doncaster. 13th December^ 
1862. 

Rev. G. E. Corrie, D.D., Master of Jesi^f College, Cambridge. 28th December^ 
1837. V 

Rev. Thomas Corser, M.A., F.SJL., Bectortpf Stand, Manchester. 2tth Septem- 
ber, 1837. «; 

Joseph Crawhall, Morpeth, 3rd March, 18|8.* 

Christopher Croft, Richmond, Yorkshire. 9Gi December, 1858. 

R. Cross, Bottoms Lodge, l^ntwistle, ManchQpter. 6th December, 1864. 

James Crossley, F.S.A., President of the Ch^tiiam Society, Booth Street, Man- 
chester. 11th March, 1858. (T^-lVa»W, 1861-1868). 

Matthew T. CuUey, Copeland Castle, ""^ooUer. \lWti December, 1861. 

Rev. John Cundill, B.D., Perpetual • >^*^ oASt Margaret's, Durham. Slst 
May, 1849. {Vtoe-Preiide^ 18^< ' ^ 

Rev. J. W. Dambroogh, MJL. li Think. 6th Deo.> 

1864. 

Robert Darnell, jiin«| MCH^^ 



i 



12 

Rev. William Darnell, Bambro', Belford. 5th December, 1865. 

The Lord Bishop of St. David's, Abergwili Palace, Caermarthen. 13th March, 
1851. 

Robert Davies, F.S.A., The Mount, York. 13th March, 1851. (Vice-President, 
1861-1868). 

Rev. Thomas Dean, M.A., Warton, Lancaster. 16th March, 1861 . 

Robert Richardson Dees, Wallsend, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 15th December, 1859. 

Rev. William Denton, M.A., 48, Finsbury Circus, London. 17th June, 1861. 
(Local Secretary, 1862-1868). 

William Dickson, F.S.A., Alnwick. 12th July, 1836. 

Rev. James F. Dimock, Barnburgh Rectory, Doncaster. 8th December, 1863. 

George Dodsworth, Clifton, York. 13th December, 1862. 

Rev. W. W, Douglas, M.A., Rector of Salwarpe, Worcester. 7th Nov., 1865. 

The Hon. and Very Rev. Augustus Duncombe, D.D., Dean of York. 15th De- 
cember, 1859. 

The Right Hon. Sir David Dundas, Inner Temple, London. 30th Decem- 
ber, 1858. 

The Lord Bishop of Durham, Auckland Castle. 13th December, 1861. 

The Library of the University of Durham. 16th June, 1858. 

Rev. John Edleston, D.C.L., Vicar of Gainford, Darlington. 8th Dec, 1863. 

Rev. J. H. Eld, B.D., FeUow of St. John's CoUege, Oxford, Fyfield, Berks. 14th 
March, 1863. 

John F. Elliot, Elvet Hill, Durham. 12th July, 1836. (Vice-President, 1849- 
1868). 

Edmund Viner Ellis, Gloucester. 17th June, 1861. 

William Viner Ellis, Gloucester. 30th December, 1858. 

Charles Elsley, Mill Mount, York. 6th December, 1865. 

Rev. Richard ISlwyn, M.A., Head Master of St. Peter's School, York. 6th De- 
cember, 1865. 

Rev. Dr. English, Warley House, Brentwood. 14th March, 1862. 

John Errington, High Warden, Hexham. 14th March, 1862. 

The Lord Bishop of Exeter. 5th December, 1853. 

The Very Rev. Monsignore Eyre, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 11th December, 1866. 

Rev. W. K. Farmery, 18, Bank Street, Leeds. 7th March, 1865. 

James Farrer, Ingleboro', Lancaster. 31st May, 1849. 

Miss ffarrington, Worden Hall, Preston. 14th December, 1860. 

G. W. J. Farsyde, Fylingdales, Whitby. 8th December, 1863. 

John Fawcett, Durham. 29th September, 1842. ( Vice-President, 1843-1868). 

The Lord Feversham, Duncombe Park, Helmsley. 24th June, 1867. 

John Fisher, Masham. 14th March, 1862. 

Matthew Ford, 8, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London. 5th December, 1865. 

Charles Forrest, Lofthouse, Wakefield. 1st March, 1864. 

The Vicount Galway, M.P., Serlby Hall, Bawtry. 15th December, 1859. 

Henry H. Gibbs, St. Dunstan's, Regent's Park, London. 15th December, 
1859. 

William Sidney Gibson, F.S.A.. Tynemouth. 26th September, 1844. 

The University of Goettingen. 8th December, 1863. 

Nicholas Charles Gold, Whitefriars-street, Fleet-street, London. 8th Decem- 
ber, 1863. 

The Very Rev. William Goode, D.D., F.S.A., Dean of Ripon, 8th Dec, 1863. 

John Edward Thorley Graham, Scarbro'. 5th December, 1865. 

William Grainge, Harrogate. 25th February, 1859. 

WiUiam Gray, York. 15th March, 1860. 

Rev. William Greenwell, M.A., Librarian of the Dean and Chapter of Durham. 
28th September, 1843. (Treasurer, 18i3-lSi9. Vice-President, 1849-1868). 

John Beswicke Greenwood, Dewsbury Moor House, Dewsbury. 14th Decem- 
ber, 1860. 

The Earl de Grey and Ripon, Studley Royal, Ripon. 15th December, 1859, 



13 

Edwin Guest, LL.D., F.S.A., &c., Master of Caius College, Cambridge. {Vlos* 

President, 1856-1868).t 
Edward Hailstone, F.S.A., Horton Hall, Bradford. May, 1846. 
The Ven. W. Hale Hale, M.A., Archdeacon of London, Canon Residentiary of 

St. Paul's, and Master of the Charter House. 26th September, 1839. 
The University of Halle. 8th December, 1863. 
John Hammond, East Burton, Bedale. 8th June, 1864. 

Rev. William Vernon Harcourt, M.A., Canon of York, Nuneham Park, Abing- 
don. 14th March, 1862. 
Philip Charles Hardwick, F.S.A., 21, Cavendish Square, London. 14th March, 

1850. 
Thomas Duffus Hardy, H.M. Deputy Keeper of Records, The Rolls, London. 

13th December, 1862. (Vice-President, 1865-1868). 
William Harrison, Ripon. June 2nd, 1868.* 

William Harrison, F.S.A., &c., Samlesbury Hall, Preston. 17th June, 1861. 
Rev. W. Estcourt Harrison, M.A., Clifton, York. 13th December, 1861. 
The Right Hon. T. E. Headlam, M.P., Chancellor of the Dioceses of Durham 

and Ripon, 20, Ashley Place, Victoria Street, London, 13th December, 

1855. 
Alfred Heales, F.S.A., Doctors' Commons, London. 3rd December, 1867.* 
Henry Healey, Smallbridge, Rochdale. 14th December, 1860. 
William Henderson, Durham. 27th May, 1847, {Treamrer, 1847-1858. Vwe- 

President, 1858-1868). 
Rev. W. G. Henderson, D.C.L., Head Master of Leeds Grammar School. 31st 

May. 1849. (.Secretary, 1849-1852). 
The Lord Herries, Everingham Park, Hayton, Yorkshire. 15th December, 1859. 
Rev. William Hey, M.A., Canon Residentiary of York. 14th March, 1862. 
Rev. William Hildyard, M.A., Market Deeping, Lincolnshire. 14th March, 1862. 
John Hodgson Hinde, F.S.A., &c., Stelling Hall, Stocksfield-on-Tyne.f (.Vice- 
President, 1843-1868). 
Rev. James F. Hodgson, Staindrop, Darlington. 6th December, 1864. 
Richard Wellington Hodgson, North Dene, Gateshead. 11th December, 1856. 
Rev. Henry Holden, D.D., Head Master of Durham Grammar School. 16th 

June, 1858. 
John Dickenson Holmes, Bamardcastle. 4th June, 1867. 
The Very Rev. W. F. Hook, D.D., F.R.S., &c.. Dean of Chichester. 14th March 

18G2. 
A. J. Beresford Hope, M.P., F.S.A., &c., Connaught Place, Hyde Park, London, 

15th December, 1859. 
The Lord Houghton, Fryston Hall, Ferrybridge. 30th December, 1858. 
Fretvvell W. Hoyle, F.G.H.S., Eastwood Lodge, Rotherham. 14th December, 

18C0. 
The Huddersfield Archaeological Association. 3rd March, 1868.* 
Henry Arthur Hudson, Bootham, York. 7th March, 1865. 
William Hughes, 24, Wardour Street, London. 7th March, 1865. 
Rev. Thomas Hugo, M.A., F.S.A., The Chestnuts, Clapton, London. 14th 

March, 1862. 
The Hull Subscription Library. 14th March, 1862. 

Rev. Henry Humble, M.A., Canon of St. Ninian's, Perth. 31st May, 1849. 
Richard Charles Hussey, F.S.A., 16, King William Street, Strand, London, 12th 

July, 1836. 
Joseph Hutchinson, Durham. 6th December, 1864. 
Rev. Dr. Hymers, Brandesburton, Beverley. 30th December, 1858. 
Rev. H. D. Ingilby, M.A., Ripley Castle, Ripley. 15th December, 1859. 
Robert Henry Ingham, M.P., Westoe, South Shields.f 
C. J. D. Ingledew, M.A., Ph.D., F.G.H.S., !^ddyn-y-Sais, Caernarvon. 13th 

December, 1855. 
Henry Ingledew, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 1st March, 1864, 



14 

Charles Jackson, Doncaster. 14th December, 1860. {Local Secreta/ry, 1863- 

1868). 
Henry Jackson, St. James* Row, Sheffield. 15th December, 1859. 
William Jackson, Fleatham House, St. Bees, Whitehaven. 7th March, 1865. 
Sir Walter James, Bart., Betteshanger, Sandwich. 5th December, 1865. 
Bev. Joseph Jameson, B.D., Precentor of Bipon Minster, Bipon. 8th Decem- 
ber, 1863. 
Bev. Henry Jenkyns, D.D., Canon of Durham. September, 1888. 
Bev. J. F. Jolmson, Gateshead Fell, Durham. 11th December, 1856. 
Bev. J. W. Kemp, M.A., New Elvet, Durham. 8th December, 1863. 
Bev. John Kenrick, F.S.A., York. 15th December, 1859. 
John Henry Le Keux, Durham. 18th December, 1861. 

W. W. King, 28, Queen's Square, Cannon Street, London. 8th December, 1863. 
Bev. Francis Kirsopp, Hexham. 7th March, 1865. 
Bev. William Knight, Hartlepool, Durham. 13th December, 1862. 
John Bailey Langhome, WiD^efield. 31st May, 1849. {Local Secretary^ 1858- 

1868). 
The Hon. and Bev. Stephen Willoughby Lawley, M.A., Trevayler, Penzance. 

8th December, 1863. 
George Lawton, Nunthorpe, York. 12th July, 1836. 
The Leeds Library. 11th December, 1856. 

Octavius Leefe, 61, Lincoln's Lin, Fields, London. 13th December, 1861. 
Joseph Lees, Clarksfield Lees, Manchester. 17th June, 1861. 
Bev. H. G. LiddeU, M.A., Charlton King's, Cheltenham. 26t^ September, 1837. 
The Library of Lincoln's Lin, London. 13th March, 1851. 
William Linskill, Bllenbank, Blairgowrie, N.B. 13th December, 1866, 
The Liverpool Athenaeum. 6th June, 1866. 
William Hugh Logan, Berwick-on-Tweed. 18th June, 1862. 
The London Library, 12, St James' Square, London, 13th March, 1861. 
William Hylton Dyer Longstaffe, F.S.A., Gateshead. 17th March, 1866. ( VieC' 

Prendent, 1869-68. Local Secretary, 1858-1868). 
Bev. J. L. Low, Mj^., The Forest, Middleton-in Teesdale, Durham. 16th June. 

1858. 
Bev. Henry Bichards Luard, M.A., Begistrary of the University of Cambridge. 

24th June, 1859. 
John James Lundy, F.G.S., Assembly Street, Ldth. 16th March, 1861. 
David Macbeath, 48, Mark Lane, London. 15th March, 1860. 
Bev. E. M. Macfarlane, M.A., Dorchester, Wallingford. 7th June, 1864. 
John Whitefoord Mackenzie, W.S., Vice-President S.A. Scotland, and M.B.S.N.A4 

Cop., 16, Boyal Circus, Edinburgh. 14th July, 1836. 
Messrs. Macmillan and Co,, 16, Bedford Street, Covent Gtarden, London. 7th 

March, 1865. 
The Library of Magdalen College, Oxford. 18th June, 1862. 
The Manchester Free Library. 3rd December, 1867.* 
The Lord Bishop of Manchester, F.B.S., &:;c., Mauldeth Hall, Manchester. 11th 

December, 1856. 
James Meek, Middlethorpe Lodge, York. 6th December, 1864, 
Walter Charles Metcalfe, Epping, Essex. 18th December, 1862. 
Bobert Mills, F.S,A., Shawclough, Bochdale. 16th March, 1861, 
John Mitchell, 24, Wardour Street, London. 24th June, 1859. 
E. J. Monk, Mus. Doc, York. 6th December, 1864. 
C. T. J. Moore, Frampton Hall, Boston. 26th February, 1859. 
H. J. Morehouse, Stony Bank, Holmfirth. 3rd December, 1867.* 
M. T. Morrall, Balmoral House, Matlock Bank, Derbyshire. 16th March, 1861. 
W. W. Morrell, Selby. 3rd March, 1868.* 

Walter Morrison, M.P,, Malham Tarn, Skipton-in-Craven. Ist March, 1864. 
George GUI Mounsey, Castletown, Carlisle. 17th March, 1866. iLooaA Secre^ 

ta/ry, 1868-1868), 



15 

The Royal Library at Munich, 14th March, 1863. 

Charles Scott Murray, F.SJl., Danesfield Park, Great Marlow. 15tih December, 

1859. 
W. Magson Nelson, High Royd, Leeds. 4th June, 1867. 

The Literary and Philosophical Society, Newcastle-on-T^e. 17th March, 1866. 
Edward Hotham Newton, Westwood, Scarbro'. 13th December, 1862. 
John Gough Nichols, F.S.A., 26, Parliament Street, Westminster.f (Treaswrer 

from the Foimdation of the Society), 
Thomas S. Noble, York. 5th December, 1866. 
Rev. Charles Best NorclifEe, M.A., York. 12th March, 1862. 
The Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle. 6th June, 1866. 
John Openshaw, Bur House, BakeweU. 15th June, 1863. 
John R. Ord, Darlington, 30th December, 1858. 
Rev. George Omsby, Fishlake, Doncast<er. 24th June, 1859. 
Rev. Sir F. G. Ouseley, Bart., M.A., Precentor of Hereford, and Professor of 

Music in the University of Oxford, St. Michael's, Tenbury, Worcestershire. 

11th December, 1856. 
The Right Hon. Sir Roundell Palmer, M,P., 6, Portland Place, London. 8th 

December, 1863. 
Thomas William Parker, Northfield House, Rotherham. 6th June, 1866. 
Edward Peacock, F.S.A., Bottesford Manor, Brigg. 10th June, 1867. 
Albert Pearson, Knebworth Rectory, Stevenage. 4th June, 1867. 
Joseph Pease, Darlington. 19th December, 1864. 
George Peile, jun., Greenwood, Shotley Bridge. 7th March, 1866. 
Richard Lawrence Pemberton, The Barnes, Sunderland. 13th December, 1^6. 

{Vice-President, 1867-1868). 
Hugh Penfold, Library Chambers, Middle Temple, London. 14th March, 1862. 
James Stovin Pennyman, Ormesby Hall, Middlesbro'. 8th December. 1863. 
The Imperial Library at St. Petersburgh. 14th March, 1863. 
Rev. Gilbert H. Phillips, M.A., Brodsworth, Doncaster. 80th Pecember, 1868. 
Rev. Ralph Piatt, Durham. 30th December, 1858, 
Francis S. Powell, M.P., Old Horton HaU, Bradford. 7th June, 1864. 
The Ven. Archdeacon Prest, Rector of Gateshead, The College, Durham. 7th 

June, 1864. 
James PuUeine, Clifton Castle, Bedale. 14th December, 1860. 
Bernard Quaritch, 16, Hccadilly, London. 24th September, 1863. 
Rev. James Raine, M,A., Canon of York, York. 12th March, 1862. (Secreta/ry^ 

1854-1868), 
Rev. John Raine, M.A.. Blyth Vicarage, Worksop. 18th June. 1862. 
Rev. Canon Raines, M.A., F.S.A., the Vice-President of the Chetham Society, 

Milnrow, Rochdale. 14th December, 1860. 
J. R. Raines, Burton Pidsea, Hull. 14th December, 1860. 
Stephen Ram, Ramsfort, Goree, Ireland. 6th June, 1866. 
Sir John William Ramsden, Bart., Byram Hall, South MUford, Yorkshire. 14th 

March, 1862. 
The Lord Ravensworth, President of the Society of Antiquaries, Newcastle-on- 

Tyne. 6th June, 1856. 
W. F. Rawdon, Bootham, York. 14th December, 1860. 
Aiaiold W. Reinold, 4, Kingston Square, Hull, 8th December, 1863. 
Godfrey Rhodes, Rawdon HiU, Otley. 1st March, 1864. 
Charles H. Rickards, Manchester. 13th March, 1851. 
The Proprietors of the Ripon Public Rooms. 14th December, 1860. 
William Rivington, Hampstead Heath, London, 16th December, 1869. 
Clarence Robinson, Osmundthorpe Hall, Leeds. 3rd December, 1867,* 
T. W. U. Robinson, Houghton-le- Spring, Durham. 14th December, 1860. 
The Very Rev. Daniel Rock, D.D., 17, Essex Villas, Kensington. 14th March, 

1850. ( Vice-President, 1861-1868. Local Secretary, 1868-1868). 
Rev. H. R, Rokeby, Arthingworth Maaor, NorthautS; 14th March, 1862. 



16 

John Roper, Clifton Croft, York. 13th December, 1862. 

Rev. George Rowe, M.A., Principal of the Training College, York. 7th June, 
1864. 

Samuel Rowlandson, Durham. September, 1841. {Treasv/rer^ 1868-1868), 

J. B. Rudd, Tollesby Hall, Guisbrough. 13th March, 1857. 

John Sampson, York. December, 1857. 

George Gilbert Scott, Spring Gardens, London. 4th June, 1867. 

Simon Thomas Scrope, jun., Danby Hall, Bedale. 16th June, 1868. 

The Trustees of Dr. Shepherd's Library, Preston. 6th December, 1864. 

Thomas Shields, Scarborough. 8th December, 1863. 

Rev. E. H. Shipperdson, M.A., The Hermitage, Chester-le- Street. 6th June, 
1856. 

The Signet Library, Edinburgh. 6th December, 1864. 

Henry Silvertop, Minsteracres, Gateshead. 21st May, 1849. 

The Library of Sion College, London. December, 1867. 

R. H. Skaife, The Mount, York. 6th December, 1864. 

Rev. Alfred Fowler Smith, M.A., Rector of St. Mary's, Thetford. 6th Decem- 
ber, 1864. 

John Smith, Her Majesty's Keeper of Records, Doctor's Commons, London. 
13th December, 1861. 

John George Smythe, Heath Hall, Wakefield. 13th December, 1862. 

George Smurthwaite, Richmond, Yorkshire. 8th December, 1863. 

The Hon. Henry Stanhope. 2nd June, 1868,* 

The Statistical Society, 12, St. James' Square, London. 30th December, 1858. 

George Stephens, Professor of English Literature in the University of Copen- 
hagen. 24th September, 1853. 

The Royal Library at Stockholm. 14th March, 1863, 

John Storey, 71, Albion Street, Leeds. 6th June, 1865. 

John Stuart, New Mills, Currie, Edinburgh. Secretary of the Spalding Club, 
and of the Society of Antiquaries, Scotland. 24th February, 1863. (Local 
Secretary, 1862-1868). 

Rev. William Stubbs, M.A., Professor of Modem History in the University of 
Oxford. 13th March, 1851. {Local Secretary, 1862-1868). 

Charles Freville Surtees, M.P., Army and Navy Club, St. James' Square, Lon- 
don. 16th December, 1859. 

Henry Edward Surtees, M.P., Dane End, Ware, Herts, 10th June, 1857, 

Lady Surtees, Silkmore House, Stafford. 2nd June, 1868.* 

Rev. Scott F. Surtees, M.A., Sprotborough Rectory, Doncaster. 14th December, 
1860. 

William Edward Surtees, M.A., Seaton Carew, Durham. 15th March, 1860. 

Sir John Swinburne, Bart., Capheaton, Morpeth. 6th June, 1866. 

G. E. Swithinbank, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 14th December, 1860. 

Christopher Sykes, M.P., Brantingham- Thorpe, Hull, 15th December, 1869. 

John Sykes, M.D., Doncaster. 24th June, 1859. 

Henry Taylor, the Colonial Office, London. 6th June, 1852. 

Thomas Greenwood Teale, Leeds. 8th December, 1853. (Local Secreta/ry^ 
1862-1868). 

Wilfred Tempest, Ackworth Grange, Pontefract. 4th December, 1866. 

Christopher Temple, Q.C., Temporal Chancellor of Durham, 16, Upper Bedford 
Place, London. 6th June, 1856. 

The Library of the Inner Temple, London, 3rd December, 1867.* 

Rev. Francis Thompson, Durham. 7th March, 1865. 

Leonard Thompson, Sheriff button Park, York. 13th December, 1862. 

Sir Nicholas William Throckmorton, Bart., Coughton Court, Bromsgrove. 13th 
December, 1862. 

William Thwaites, Ripon. 7th June, 1864. 

John Tiplady, Durham. 6th June, 1865. 

Sir Walter Calverley Trevelyan, Bart., F.S.A., &c., Wallington, Newcastle-<Mi 
Tyne.f ( Vice-President from the Foundation of the Society), 



17 

The Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. June 6th, 1866. 

H. J. Trotter, Bishop Auckland. 4th June, 18G7. 

Charles Tucker, F.S.A., Secretary of the Archaeological Institute, Marlands, 

Heavitree, Exeter. 15th December, 1852. 
E. P. Turnbull, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. 7th June, 1864. 
Henry Turner, Low Heaton Haugh, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 12th July, 1836. 
llev. James Francis Turner, North Tidworth, Marlborough, 14th March, 1850. 
Edmund H. Turton, Larpool Hall, Whitby. 13th December, 1861. 
George Markham Tweddell, West Villas, Stokesley. 6th December, 1^64. 
The President of ISt. Cuthbert's College, Ushaw, Durham. September, 1838. 
The Earl Vane, Winyard, Durham. ITth March, 1855. 
The Library at the Vatican. 14th March, 1863. 
llev. C. J. Vaughan, D.D., Vicar of Doncaster, Chancellor of York, and Chaplain 

in Ordinary to the Queen. 13th December, 1862. 
Rev. Philip Vavasour, Hazlewood, Tadcaster. 8th December, 1862. 
The Imperial Library at Vienna. 14th March, 1863. 
The Very Rev. George Waddington, D.D., &c., Dean of Durham. September, 

1841. (Vice-President, 1843-1868). 
Rev. George Wade, Fulford Grange, York. 18th June, 1862. 
John Richard Walbran, F.S.A., Fallcroft, Ripon. 15th December, 1859. (Vice- 

President, 1860-1868). 
Rev. William Walbran, B.A., Radcliffe, Manchester. Gth December, 1864. 
John Hope Wallace, Featherston Castle, Haltwhistle. 14th March, 1863. 
The Library of St, Edmund's College, Old Hall Qreen, Ware. 8th December, 

1863. 
J. Whiteley Ward, Halifax. 3rd March, 1868.* 

George Waring, M.A., 2, Park Terrace, The Parks, Oxford. 14th Dec, 1860. 
Albert Way, F.S.A., &;c., Secretary of the Archaeological Institute, Wonham 

Manor, Reigate. 15th December, 1852. (Vice-President^ 1859-1868), 
Christopher M. Webster, Pallion, Bishopwearmouth. 15th December, 1859. 
His Excellency M. Van de Weyer, the Belgian Ambassador, 50, Portland Place, 

London. September, 1841. 
W. W. Wliitaker, 32, St. Ann's Street, Manchester. 16th March, 1861. 
Robert White, Claremont Place, Newcastle-on-Tyne. 12th December, 1851. 
Rev. C. T. Whitley, M.A., Vicar of Bedlington, Newcastle-on-Tyne.f (Vice- 
President, 1836-1868). 
John Whitwell, Kendall. 1st March, 1864, 
Joseph Wilkinson, Town Clerk, York. 14th March, 1862. 
E. J. Wilson, Melton, Brough, East Yorkshire. 2nd June, 1868.* 
Basil Thomas Woodd, M.P., Conyngham Hall, Knaresbro'. 8th December, 1863. 
AV'illiam Woodman, Town Clerk, Morpeth. 31st May. 1849. 
The Lord Archbishop of York. 15th June, 1863. 
Tiie Library of the Dean and Chapter of York. 13th March, 1857. 
The York Subscription Library. 16th March, 1861. 
Sir Charles George Young, F.S.A., &c.. Garter King at Arms, Heralds' College, 

London,t (Vice-President, 1836-1868). 
The Earl of Zetland, K.T., Aske Hall, Richmond. 13th March, 1851.