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THE  GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE 
LIBRARY. 


THE 


GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE 
LIBRARY: 


BEING 

A  CLASSIFIED  COLLECTION   OF  THE   CHIEF  CONTENTS  OF 
THE  GENTLEMAN'S  MAGAZINE  FROM  1731  TO  1868. 


EDITED  BY 

GEORGE    LAURENCE    GOMME,    F.S.A. 


ENGLISH    TOPOGRAPHY. 


LONDON : 
ELLIOT    STOCK,    62,     PATERNOSTER    ROW,    E.G. 

1891. 

A 


DA 


PREFACE. 


THERE  is  need  for  but  very  few  words  of  preface  to  these 
collections  of  English  Topography  from  the  old  Gentleman's 
Magazine.  This  first  volume  completes  three  of  the  home  counties, 
giving  notes  and  information  about  the  counties  generally,  and 
about  twenty-five  towns  in  Bedfordshire,  twenty-six  towns  in  Berk- 
shire, and  thirty-six  towns  in  Buckinghamshire.  Unequal  as  this 
information  is  in  length  and  interest,  it  will,  I  think,  be  generally 
admitted  that  there  is  a  great  charm  about  these  contributions,  which 
were  sent  for  the  most  part  by  writers  living  in  the  places  they  describe, 
or  visiting  them  in  the  quiet  and  ease  of  olden  times. 

English  villages  and  towns  are  interesting  from  many  points  of 
view,  and  I  confess  that  these  papers  are  singularly  deficient  in  one 
of  the  most  important  contributions  which  local  history  can  supply, 
namely,  the  facts  and  phases  of  local  institutions.  But  this  is  com- 
pensated for  by  the  great  interest  of  the  family  history  connected  with 
the  places.  At  the  time  most  of  these  papers  were  written  families 
were  identified  with  localities  by  many  ties  that  now,  alas !  seem  to 
be  fast  vanishing.  Their  deeds,  their  gifts,  their  charities  are 
recorded  very  often  on  the  memorials  in  the  parish  church.  Much 
of  their  family  history  and  many  links  in  their  pedigree  are  also  to 
be  obtained  from  this  source,  and  perhaps  there  are  few  pages  of 
the  old  magazine  more  replete  with  general  interest  than  these. 

The  inscriptions  and  epitaphs,  often  quaint  and  singular,  besides 
being  valuable  as  part  of  the  history  of  the  locality,  have  been  printed 
in  this  volume  pretty  fully.  I  have  erred  on  the  side  of  giving  too 
much,  and  fear  that  in  the  succeeding  volumes  I  must  place  greater 
restrictions  upon  myself.  Local  charities,  gifts  of  almshouses,  bene- 
factions of  various  kinds  are  recorded  in  these  inscriptions,  and  these 
are  of  some  considerable  importance  to  the  present  day,  when  so 
much  attention  is  being  paid  to  the  question  of  funds  devoted  to 
charitable  purposes. 

Nothing  has  struck  me  with  more  force  in  preparing  these  pages 
for  printing  than  the  great  need  there  is  for  a  dictionary  of  family 


vi  Preface. 

monuments.  Place  after  place  is  described,  and  in  the  churches 
are  frequently  fine  monumental  memorials  of  families  formerly  con- 
nected with  them.  Some  of  these,  as  at  Aldworth,  described  on 
pages  106-108  by  our  old  friend,  John  Carter,  are  of  considerable 
artistic  worth.  Very  little  is  done  in  the  interest  of  Christian 
antiquities,  in  spite  of  the  efforts  of  Mr.  Romilly  Allen  and  others  ; 
and  it  is  a  pleasing  thought  that  perhaps  readers  who  dip  into  these 
volumes  may  have  their  attention  directed  to  this  subject,  and  so 
bring  about  what  certainly  should  not  be  left  any  longer  unaccom- 
plished. Cough's  and  Weever's  books  are,  of  course,  well-known  and 
valued.  But  they  are  not  complete,  and  they  need  fresh  arrange- 
ment and  fresh  descriptions.  Our  archaeological  societies  frequently 
busy  themselves  over  much  printing  and  much  description  of 
objects  and  places  that  are  already  adequately  dealt  with ;  but 
combined  action  to  place  on  record  proper  accounts  of  the  family 
monuments  of  England  would  be  work  worthy  of  any  eminent  society 
or  individual. 

It  is  necessary  to  repeat  here  a  word  of  warning  to  readers.  These 
papers  are  reprints.  They  contain  errors,  no  doubt  due  to  insuffi- 
cient information  on  the  part  of  their  several  writers.  But  the  errors 
may  be  avoided  by  modern  inquirers  if  their  object  is  the  sober 
investigation  of  local  history ;  and  at  the  same  time  the  information 
given  may  form  the  basis  of  future  research.  Much  of  this  informa- 
tion has  passed  away  with  the  writers.  Monuments  have  perished, 
brasses  have  been  removed  into  all  sorts  of  places  by  eager  and 
ignorant  innovators,  churches  have  been  restored ;  some  have  been 
destroyed  by  fire  or  other  causes. 

I  have  not  added  any  notes  to  these  volumes.  It  was  practically 
impossible ;  first,  on  account  of  the  space  which  is  wanted  for  the 
reprint  of  the  original  articles  ;  secondly,  on  account  of  the  difficulty 
of  fixing  upon  a  limit  for  notes  on  a  subject  of  this  kind.  With  Mr. 
Anderson's  admirable  bibliographical  account  of  the  topographical 
collections  in  the  British  Museum,  too,  notes  are  hardly  required. 
Omissions  in  the  text  are  always  indicated,  and  articles  wholly  omitted 
are  noted  at  the  end  of  each  county.  No  alterations  are  made  in 
the  text,  so  that  each  article  stands  or  falls  upon  its  merits ;  and  I 
have  retained  all  references  to  the  illustrations. 

My  thanks  are  greatly  due  to  Mr.  Frank  A.  Milne,  who  has  read 
the  sheets  for  me  throughout. 

G.  L.  GOMME. 
BARNES  COMMON,  S.W., 
Augttst  i,  1891. 


CONTENTS 


BEDFORDSHIRE  : 

General 

Ampthill 

Aspley  Guise    - 

Bedford 

Biggleswade     - 

Bletso 

Cardington 

Clifton  Hoo 

Cockayne  Hatley 

Cople 

Dunstable 

Elstow 

Eversholt 

Eyworth 
.   Flitton 

Leighton  Buzzard 

Luton 

Millbrook 

Northill 

Sanday 

Steventon 

Stotfold 

Sutton 

Toddington 

Warden 

Woburn 

Wrestlingworth 
BERKSHIRE  : 

General 

Aldermaston     - 

Aldworth 

Benham 

Bray 

Buscot 

Childrey 

Cholsey 

Cumner 

Donnington 

Dudcote 

Englefield 

Faringdon 


3—" 

n  —  13 

18—22 

22  —  29 

29-31 

31 

31—35 
35-38 
38—42 
42-48 
49—52 
52—53 

53-55 
56—59 
59—60 
60—67 
68—71 


72—73 
73—75 
75-80 
80—86 
86—87 
87—88 
88—90 

93—103 
103—104 
104  —  109 
109—112 
112  —  119 

119  —  I2O 

1  20 

I2O—  121 
I2I—I43 

143—144 
144  —  146 
146—147 
147—156 


Vlll 


Contents. 


B  ERKSHI  RE— continued. 

Fyfield 

East  Hendred  - 

North  Hinksey 

Hurley 

Milton 

Newbury 

Reading 

Shottesbrooke  - 

Tilehurst 

Twyford 

Uffington 

Wantage 

Windsor 

Witham 
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE  : 

General 

Agmondesham  (Amersham) 

Ashridge 

Aylesbury 

Beaconsfield 

Bletchley 

Brickhill 

Buckingham     - 

Chalfont 

Chilton 

Chiltern  Hills  - 

Cliefden 

Ellesborough    - 

Eton 

Farnham  Royal 

Hambledon 

Hanslope 

Horton 

Ivinghoe 

Lekhamsted 

Maid's  Morton 

North  Marston 

Newport  Pagnel 

Pitchcott 

Quainton 

Quarrendon 

Stewkley 

Stoke  Pogis 

Stony  Stratford 

Taplow 

Thornton 

Upton 
Walton 
Wenge 

Weston  Underwood 
Willien 
Wycombe 
INDEXES  : 

Index  of  Names 
Index  of  Subjects 


157-158 
158—189 
189—191 

191 

191 
192—200 

2OI 
2O  I  —  2O2 

2O2 

2O2—203 
203—231 
231—240 

243—269 
269—277 
277—278 
278—280 
280—281 
281—282 
282—284 

284 

284—285 
285—287 

287 
287—288 

288 
288—291 

291 

291 

291—293 
294—297 

297—303 
303—304 
304—305 
305—313 
313-315 
315—319 
319—323 
323—335 
335—336 
336—337 
337—338 
338—339 

339 

339—343 

343—344 

344 

345 

345-346 
346—347 


365-371 


Bedfordshire. 


VOL.  XII. 


BEDFORDSHIRE. 


[1816,  Part  //.,  //.  312-314  ;  and  1817,  Part  //.,  //.  584-586.] 

MR.  URBAN, 

IF  you  deem  the  following  compendium  of  the  county  history  of 
Bedford  worthy  of  insertion  in  your  very  respectable  magazine,  I 
intend  sending  a  similar   epitome  of  two   English   counties  every 
month  until  the  whole  be  completed. 

The  baptisms,  marriages,  and  burials  are  those  registered  in  the 
year  1810.  \Thcse  are  omitted.^ 

The  population  is  according  to  the  census  of  1811.  \This  is 
omitted ,] 

The  biography  is  confined  exclusively  to  natives,  with  the  place  and 
year  of  their  birth,  unless  otherwise  mentioned. 

BYRO. 

ANCIENT  .STATE  AND  REMAINS. 

British  Inhabitants. — Cattieuchlani  or  Cassii. 

Roman  Province. — Flavia  Csesariensis.  Stations,  Durocobrivae, 
Dunstable  ;  Salenae,  Sandy. 

Saxon  Heptarchy. — Mercia. 

Antiquities. — Tottenhoe  Castle  and  Maiden  Bower  British  Earth 
Works,  Dunstable  and  Bushmead  Priories,  Elstow  and  Luton 
Churches,  Leighton  Buzzard  Cross,  Warden  Abbey,  Felmersham 
Church. 

Ampthill  was  the  residence  of  Catharine  of  Arragon,  whilst  her 
divorce  was  pending.  She  was  here  cited  to  attend  the  Commis- 
sioners at  Dunstable,  but  refused  to  obey  their  summons.  On  the 
site  of  the  castle  is  a  Gothic  column  erected  in  1770  by  the  Earl  of 
Upper  Ossory,  with  an  inscription  by  Horace  Walpole.  In  the 
church  was  buried  Sir  John  Churchill,  Lord  Fanhope,  one  of  the 


Bedfordshire. 


warriors  in  the  van  at  Agincourt,  with  his  wife  Elizabeth,  widow  of 
John  Holland,  Duke  of  Exeter,  and  sister  of  Henry  IV. 

PRESENT  STATE  AND  APPEARANCE. 

Rivers. — Ouse,  Ivel,  Lea,  Ouzel,  Hiz. 

Inland  Navigation.— Grand  Junction  Canal,  Ouse  and  Ivel  rivers. 

Imminences  and  Views. — Dunstable  Chalk  Hill,  hill  near  Luton, 
Millbrook  Churchyard,  Tottenhoe  Castle,  Ridgmont  Rove. 

Seats. — Woburn  Abbey,  Duke  of  Bedford ;  Ampthill  Park,  Earl  of 
Upper  Ossory,  Lord  Lieutenant  of  the  County  ;  Luton  Hoo,  Mar- 
quis of  Bute ;  Wrest  Park,  Countess  de  Grey  ;  Southill,  Lady  Eliza- 
beth Whitbread ;  Chicksand  Priory,  Sir  George  Osborne,  Bart.  ; 
Hinwick  House,  Richard  Orlebar,  Esq.  ;  Aspley  Guise,  Rev.  W.  O. 
Smith  ;  Arsley,  Sir  John  Jackson,  Bart.  ;  Battlesden,  Sir  G.  O.  P. 
Turner,  Bart. ;  Blunham  Closes,  Mrs.  Campbell  ;  Bromham  House, 
Hon.  John  Trevor  ;  Bushmead  Priory,  Rev.  H.  W.  Gery  ;  Carding- 
ton,  George  Curtis,  Esq.  ;  Chasson,  Sir  Henry  Langley,  Bart. ; 
Colworth  House,  late  W.  L.  Antonie,  Esq.  ;  Cople,  Earl  Ludlow ; 
East  Hide,  Robert  Hibbert,  Esq.  ;  Egginton,  F.  R.  Moore,  Esq. ; 
Eversholt,  Dame  Judith  Monnoux  ;  Flitwick,  Robert  Trevor,  Esq.  ; 
Harlington,  Mrs.  Jennings ;  Harold,  Robert  Garstin,  Esq.  ;  Hasells, 
Francis  Pym,  Esq.  ;  Hawnes  House,  Lord  Carteret ;  Henlow, 
George  Edwards,  Esq. ;  Hockliffe  Grange,  Rich.  Gilpin,  Esq.  ; 
Hockliffe  Lodge,  Mrs.  Glossett ;  Houghton  Regis,  Hen.  Brandreth, 
Esq. ;  Howberry,  J.  Polhill,  Esq.  ;  Ickwell,  C.  Fyshe  Palmer,  Esq.  ; 
Jckwellbury,  John  Harvey,  Esq.  ;  Kempston,  Robert  Dennis,  Esq. ; 
Kempstonbury,  William  Long.  Esq. ;  Melchbourn,  Lord  St.  John  ; 
Milton  Bryant,  Sir  Hugh  Inglis,  Bart.  ;  Milton  Ernest,  Mrs.  Mary 
Boyden  ;  Mogerhanger,  Godfrey  Thornton,  Esq. ;  Oakley  House, 
Duke  of  Bedford  ;  Odell  Castle,  Thos.  Alston,  Esq.  ;  Ridgmont,  Dr. 
Macqueen ;  Roxton,  C.  J.  Metcalf,  Esq. ;  Sandy  Place,  Hon. 
Samuel  Ongley ;  Sandy  Rectory,  Rev.  Sir  P.  Monnoux,  Bart.  : 
Sharnbrook,  John  Gibbard,  Esq. ;  Shippingley,  John  Parker,  Esq. ; 
Stockwood,  John  Crawley,  Esq.  ;  Stratton,  Charles  Burnett,  Esq. ; 
Sutton,  Sir  M.  R.  Burgoyne,  Bart.  ;  Tempsford,  Sir  Charles  Payne, 
Bart. ;  Tingrith,  C.  D.  VVillaume,  Esq. ;  Turvey  Abbey,  John 
Higgins,  Esq.  ;  Turvey  House,  Mrs.  Higgins  ;  Warden,  Lord  Ongley. 

Members  of  Parliament.  —  For  county  2  ;  Bedford  2  ;  total  4. 

Produce. — Barley,  wheat,  beans,  butter,  larks. 

Manufactures. — Thread-lace,  straw-plait. 

HISTORY. 

A.D.  571,  at  Bedford,  Britons  defeated  by  the  Saxons  under  Cuth- 
wulf. 


Biography.  5 

A.D.  917,  at  Leighton  Buzzard,  Danes  defeated  by  Edward  the 
Elder. 

A.D.  921,  Tempsford  taken  from  the  Danes,  and  their  king  put  to 
death  by  Edward  the  Elder. 

A.D.  1138,  Bedford  Castle,  under  Milo  de  Beauchamp,  after  a 
long  siege,  taken  by  Stephen. 

A.D.  1154,  at  Dunstable,  amicable  meeting  between  Stephen  and 
Henry,  Duke  of  Normandy,  afterwards  Henry  II. 

A.D.  1216,  Bedford  Castle,  under  William  de  Beauchamp,  one  of 
the  associated  barons,  taken  by  Fulk  de  Brent,  to  whom  it  was 
bestowed  in  recompense  by  King  John. 

A.D.  1224,  Bedford  Castle,  under  Fulk  de  Brent,  after  a  siege  of 
two  months,  taken  by  storm,  and  destroyed  by  Henry  III. 

A.D.  1533,  at  Dunstable,  sentence  of  divorce  between  Henry  VIII. 
and  Catharine  of  Arragon  pronounced  by  Cranmer,  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury. 

BIOGRAPHY. 

Beaufort,  Margaret,  mother  of  Henry  VII.,  Bletsoe,  1441. 
Boleyn,  Anne,  queen  of  Henry  VI11.,  Luton  Hoo,  1507. 
Bowles,  Edward,  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  Sutton,  1613. 
Bunyan,  John,  author  of  "  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  Elstow,  1628. 
Byng,  John,  unfortunate  admiral,  Southill  (shot  1757). 
Chishull,  Edmund,  divine  and  antiquary,  Ey  worth  (died  1733). 
Dillingham,  Francis,  one  of  the  translators  of  the  Bible  in  1607,  Dean. 
Dilly,  Charles,  bookseller,  Southill,  1739. 
Dilly,  Edward,  bookseller,  Southill,  1732. 

Dunstable,  John  of,  u  John  of  all  Arts,"  inventor  of  counterpoint 
in  music  (died  1455). 

Eades,  Richard,  Dean  of  Windsor,  tragic  writer  (died  1604). 
Fisher,  Jaspar,  author  of  sermons  and  a  play,  about  1588. 
Harpur,  Sir  William,  founder  of  Bedford  School,  Bedford  (died 

1574)- 

Joy,  George,  translator  of  the  Bible,  friend  of  Tindal  (died  1553). 

Norton,  Thomas,  translator  of  the  Psalms  with  Sternhold,  Sharpen- 
hoe  (died  1600). 

Osborne,  Francis,  author  of  "  Advice  to  a  Son,"  letters  and  poems, 
about  1588. 

Osborn,  Francis,  miscellaneous  writer,  Chicksand,  1588. 

Palmer,  Samuel,  Nonconformist,  Bedford,  1740. 

Pomfretj  John,  poet,  Luton,  1667. 

Reinolds,  John,  epigrammatist,  Toddington. 

Richardson,  William,  editor  of  Godwin  "  De  Prassulibus  "  [1616], 
Wilhamsted,  1698. 

Rowe,  Nicholas,  dramatic  poet,  Little  Berk  ford,  1673. 


6  Bedfordshire. 

Salmon,  Nathaniel,  topographer  and  antiquary,  Meppershall  (died 
1740). 

Salmon,  Thomas,  historian   and   geographer,   Meppershall  (died 

1743)- 

Settle,  Elkanah,  rival  of  Dryden,  Dunstable,  1648. 
Sclater,  William,  divine,  Leighton  Buzzard  (died  1627). 
Staunton,  Edmund,  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  1600. 
Tumor,  Sir  Christopher,  judge,  Milton  Ernest  (died  1675). 
Tumor,  Sir  Edmund,  loyalist  and  benefactor,  Milton  Ernest,  1619. 
Whitbread,  Samuel,  brewer,  benefactor,  Cardington. 
Wingate,  Edmund,  arithmetician,  Sharpenhoe,  1593. 

MISCELLANEOUS  "REMARKS. 

Offa,  the  great  King  of  Mercia,  was  buried  at  Bedford. 

The  first  recorded  theatrical  representation  in  this  kingdom  was 
at  Dunstable  in  the  year  mo,  when  the  play  of  "The  Miracles  of 
St.  Catherine,"  written  by  Geoffrey,  a  Norman  (afterwards  Abbot  of 
St.  Albans),  was  performed  in  the  priory. 

Sir  Samuel  Luke,  of  Wood  End,  was  the  original  of  Butler's 
"  Hudibras." 

Stillingfleet  composed  his  "  Origines  Sacrae  "  at  Sutton. 

Battlesden  was  the  seat  of  Sir  Saunders  Duncombe,  who,  in  1634, 
first  introduced  into  this  kingdom  the  use  of  sedans,  and  obtained  a 
patent,  vesting  in  himself  and  his  heirs  the  sole  right  of  carrying 
persons  in  them  for  a  certain  time.  It  is  probable  that  Sir  Saunders, 
who  was  a  great  traveller,  had  seen  them  at  Sedan,  in  France,  where 
Dr.  Johnson  supposes  that  they  were  first  made.  It  is  a  singular 
coincidence  that  hackney  coaches  were  first  introduced  into  London 
by  Captain  Bailey,  in  the  same  year. 

At  Bedford,  in  St.  Paul's  Church,  is  the  monument  of  the  bene- 
factor Sir  William  Harpur,  and  his  wiie. — John  Bunyan  was  co-pastor 
with  Samuel  Fenn  of  the  old  Independent  Meeting-house  in  Mill 
Lane,  and  continued  in  that  situation  till  his  death  in  1698.  His 
"  Pilgrim's  Progress  "  was  composed  during  his  confinement  in  the 
county  gaol. 

At  Biggleswade,  June  16,  1785,  120  houses  were  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  loss  was  estimated  at  ^24,000. 

In  Bromham  Church  is  the  monument  of  the  first  Lord  Trevor, 
Chief  Justice  and  Privy  Seal,  who  died  1730. 

In  Cardington  Church  is  a  tablet  to  the  memory  of  John  Howard, 
the  philanthropist,  who  resided  for  several  years  in  a  house  near  the 
churchyard;  and  a  splendid  monument,  the  last  and  one  of  the  best 
works  of  the  statuary  Bacon,  to  the  memory  of  Samuel  Whitbread, 
father  of  the  late  statesman. 

In  Charlton  Church  is  a  memorial  of  Thomas  Willes,  "who  lived 


Miscellaneous  Remarks. 


parson  of  Carlton  and  Chillington  about  threescore  and  ten  years  ; 
he  died  August  2,  1602,  aged  above  an  hundred." 

At  Chalgrave  resided  and  died  Sir  Nigel  Loring,  knighted  by 
Edward  III.  for  his  bravery  at  Sluys,  in  1340,  and  one  of  the  Knights 
of  the  Garter  at  its  institution. 

Clapham  Manor  House,  in  1648,  was  for  several  months  the  prison 
of  the  learned  and  pious  Dr.  Hammond. 

Copel  was  the  burial-place  of  Sir  Samuel  Luke,  the  original  of 
Butler's  "  Hudibras,"  with  whom  the  poet  lived  as  clerk  at  his  seat  of 
Wood  End.  Luke  died  in  1670. 

In  Eyworth  Church  are  monuments  of  Sir  Edmund  Anderson, 
Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas,  and  of  Alice,  Viscountess 
Verulam,  widow  of  the  great  Lord  Chancellor  Bacon. 

In  Flitton  Church  are  numerous  monuments  of  the  Greys,  Earls  of 
Kent. 

At  Harlington  and  Wood  End  resided  Edmund  Wingate,  the 
arithmetician. 

Harold  was  the  residence  of  the  learned  physician,  Richard  Mead, 
whose  wife  died  there,  and  has  a  monument  in  the  church. 

Hawnes  was  the  rectory  of  Thomas  Brightman,  commentator  on 
the  Canticles  and  Apocalypse. 

Higham  Gobion  was  the  rectory,  residence  and  burial-place  of  the 
Orientalist  Dr.  Edmund  Castell,  who  died  there,  1674,  aged  ^8. 

Houghton  Conquest  was  the  rectory,  residence  and  burial-place  of 
Dr.  Zachary  Grey,  editor  of  "Hudibras,"  who  died  there  1766,  aged 
78. — The  park  house  was  built  by  Mary,  Countess  of  Pembroke,  the 
subject  of  Ben  Jonson's  beautiful  epitaph  ;  and  here  it  is  said  that 
Sir  Philip  Sydney,  whilst  visiting  his  sister,  composed  great  part  of 
his  "  Arcadia." 

Maulden  was  the  rectory  of  the  poet  Pomfret. 

At  Potton,  in  1783,  fifty  houses  were  destroyed  by  fire  ;  the  damage 
exceeded  ^£25,000. 

In  Southill  are  monuments  of  the  brave  Admiral  George  Byng, 
first  Viscount  Torrington,  who  died  in  1733;  and  of  his  unhappy 
son,  John  Byng,  shot  1757. 

Sutton  was  the  rectory  of  Edward  Stillingfleet,  afterwards  Bishop 
of  Worcester. — The  popular  tradition  of  a  rhyming  grant  of  this  town 
and  Potton  by  John  of  Gaunt  to  Roger  Burgoyne  appears  to  be 
destitute  of  foundation,  as  there  is  no  evidence  that  these  places  were 
ever  in  the  possession  of  the  pretended  grantor. 

At  Toddington  was  the  seat  of  Henrietta,  Baroness  Wentworth, 
and  the  scene  of  her  love  for  the  unfortunate  Duke  of  Monmouth  ; 
she  died  of  a  broken'  heart  in  a  few  months  after  his  execution,  and 
lies  buried  under  a  costly  monument  in  the  church,  where  is  another 
monument  for  Lady  Maria  Wentworth,  who  died  in  1632,  aged  18, 
with  a  most  extravagant  epitaph  by  the  poet  Carew. 


8  Bedfordshire. 

Wilden  was  the  rectory  of  Francis  Dillingham,  one  of  the  trans- 
lators of  the  Bible. 

NATURAL  CURIOSITIES. 

[1764,  Pp.  59-61.] 

The  natural  curiosities  in  Bedfordshire  are  not  many.  Dunstable 
is  said  to  be  remarkable  for  larks,  which  are  in  greater  plenty,  and  of 
a  larger  size,  near  this  town  than  anywhere  else  in  the  kingdom. 

At  Barton,  a  seat  about  eight  miles  from  Luton,  in  the  road  from 
London  to  Bedford,  there  is  a  petrifying  spring ;  and  at  Aspley 
Gowiz,  called  Ashley  Guise,  a  village  near  Woburn,  it  is  said  there  is 
a  kind  of  petrifying  earth.  As  a  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  report, 
a  ladder  was  formerly  shown  at  Woburn,  which,  having  been  for 
some  time  buried  in  this  earth,  was  dug  up  petrified. 

A  mine  of  gold  is  said  to  have  been  discovered  at  Pollux  Hill  in 
this  county,  about  the  year  1700,  which  was  seized  for  the  king,  and 
granted  by  lease  to  some  refiners,  who,  though  they  produced  gold 
from  the  ore,  found  the  quantity  so  small  that  it  was  not  equal  to  the 
expense  of  separation. 

In  the  "  Philos.  Trans.,"  vol.  xxviii.,  p.  273,  an  account  is  given 
by  Dr.  Slare  of  his  grandfather,  a  gentleman  of  this  county,  who  at 
the  age  of  eighty-five  years  had  a  complete  new  set  of  teeth,  and  his 
hair,  which  was  as  white  as  snow,  became  gradually  darker :  after 
this  he  lived  about  fourteen  years  in  great  health  and  vigour,  and  in 
the  hundredth  year  of  his  age  died  of  a  plethory  for  want  of  bleeding. 

It  is  also  recorded  upon  a  tomb-stone  in  Dunstable  Church  that  a 
woman  of  that  place  had  nineteen  children  at  five  births,  having  been 
thrice  delivered  of  three,  and  twice  of  five. 

Walsingham,  the  historian,  in  his  "Ypodigma  Neustriae"  [1574], 
p.  153,  relates  that  on  the  ist  of  January,  in  the  year  1399,  just  before 
the  civil  wars  broke  out  between  the  houses  of  York  and  Lancaster, 
the  river  Ouse  suddenly  stood  still  at  a  place  called  Harewood,  near 
Turvey,  about  five  miles  from  Bedford,  so  that  below  this  place  the 
bed  of  the  river  was  left  dry  for  three  miles  together,  and  above  it  the 
waters  swelled  to  a  great  height.  The  same  thing  is  said  to  have 
happened  at  the  same  place  in  January,  1648,  which  was  just  before 
the  death  of  King  Charles  I.,  and  many  superstitious  persons  have 
supposed  both  these  stagnations  of  the  Ouse  to  be  supernatural  and 
portentous ;  others  suppose  them  to  be  the  effect  of  natural  causes, 
though  a  probable  natural  cause  has  not  yet  been  assigned. 

ECCLESIASTICAL  ANTIQUITIES. 

As  to  the  ecclesiastical  antiquities  of  this  county,  there  seems  to 
have  been  a  monastery  at  Bedford  pretty  early  in  the  Saxon  times,  to 
which  Offa  was  a  very  considerable  benefactor,  as  appears  by  an 


Ecclesiastical  A  ntiqu  ities. 


account  of  some  donations  in  Spelman's  "Concilia,"  vol.  i.,  p.  319. 
There  was  also  a  college  of  prebendaries  at  the  Church  of  St.  Paul, 
before  the  Norman  conquest ;  but  one  of  them  having  killed  a  butcher, 
they  were  obliged  to  remove  from  their  habitations,  which  were  round 
the  church ;  and  Roisia,  the  wife  of  Pagan  de  Beauchamp,  who  built 
Bedford  Castle,  erected  a  priory  for  their  reception  at  a  place  about 
a  mile  distant  from  Bedford,  which,  from  this  new  building,  acquired 
the  name  of  Newenham,  which  it  still  retains.  Simon  de  Beauchamp, 
the  son  of  Roisia,  having  confirmed  his  mother's  act,  has  by  some 
been  considered  as  the  first  founder  of  this  priory ;  and  was  called 
on  his  tomb,  which  stood  before  the  high  altar  of  the  old  church  that 
was  demolished  in  the  time  of  King  John,  "  Fundator  de  Newenham." 
This  monastery  was  dedicated  to  St.  Paul,  and  had  yearly  revenues  to 
the  value  of  ^293  53.  nd.,  says  Dugdale;  but  according  to  Speed 
they  amounted  to  ^343  155.  5d. 

Some  townsmen  of  Bedford  founded  an  hospital  in  the  south  part 
of  the  town,  some  time  before  the  thirtieth  of  Edward  I.,  and 
dedicated  it  to  St.  Leonard.  In  this  hospital  there  were  six  chaplains, 
and  the  revenue  was  valued  at  ^£46  6s.  8d. 

In  the  time  of  Edward  II.,  Mabilia  de  Pateshull,  lady  of  Bletneshoe, 
founded  a  house  of  Franciscan  friars  in  the  north-west  part  of  the 
town;  valued  by  Dugdale  at  ^3  133.  2d.,  and  by  Speed  at  ^5  per 
annum. 

There  is  now  a  priory  or  hospital  adjoining  St.  John's  Church ; 
it  consists  of  a  master,  who  is  rector  of  the  church,  and  of  ten  poor 
men.  This  house  is  said  by  some  to  have  been  founded  in  980  by 
one  Robert  Deparis,  who  was  the  first  master ;  but  others  are  of 
opinion  that  it  was  built  and  endowed  by  some  townsmen  in  the 
reign  of  Edward  II.  It  is  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and 
at  the  dissolution  the  yearly  value  was  £2  i  os.  8d.  The  patronage 
is  in  the  mayor,  aldermen,  bailiffs,  and  common  council  of  Bedford. 
Pagan  de  Beauchamp,  and  Roisia  his  wife,  also  founded  a  priory 
at  Chicksand,  near  Shefford,  for  canons  and  nuns,  according  to  the 
rule  of  St.  Gilbert  of  Sempringham.  It  was  dedicated  to  the  Blessed 
Virgin,  and  at  the  suppression  was  endowed  with  £212  33.  5d.  per 
annum,  according  to  Dugdale,  and  ^230  33.  4d.,  according  to 
Speed. 

At  Elstow,  about  a  mile  from  Bedford,  over  against  Newenham, 
was  an  abbey  of  Benedictine  nuns,  founded  in  the  reign  of  William  I. 
by  Judith,  niece  to  the  Conqueror,  and  wife  of  Waltheof  Earl  of 
Huntingdon.  It  was  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity,  St.  Mary,  and 
St.  Helena,  the  wife  of  Constantine  the  Great.  It  was  valued  at  the 
suppression  at  ^284  123.  nd.  per  annum,  according  to  Dugdale, 
and  ^325  2S.  id.  by  Speed. 

At  Melchburne,  about  eight  miles  north-west  of  Bedford,  was  a  pre- 
ceptory  of  the  Knights  Hospitallers  of  St.  John  of  Jerusalem,  which, 


i  o  Bedfordshire. 

in  the  time  of  Henry  I.,  w?.s  endowed  by  the  Lady  Alice  de  Clare- 
mont,  Countess  of  Pembroke ;  and  at  the  dissolution  had  lands  to 
the  value  of  ^241  95.  lod.  per  annum. 

At  Dunstable  King  Henry  I.  built  and  endowed  a  priory  of  Black 
Canons  to  the  honour  of  St.  Peter,  whose  yearly  revenues  amounted 
to  £344  J3S-  3^.  There  was  also  at  this  place  a  house  of  Preaching 
Friars,  which  was  established  about  the  year  1259,  and  valued  at 
,£4  1 8s.  4d.  per  annum. 

At  Warden,  about  three  miles  south-west  of  Biggleswade,  there 
was  an  abbey  for  Cistercian  monks,  founded  by  Walter  Espec  in  the 
year  1135,  and  dedicated  to  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Its  annual 
revenues  are  rated  by  Dugdale  at  .^389  i6s.  6d.,  and  by  Speed  at 
£442  us.  i  id. 

At  Millbrook,  near  Ampthill,  was  a  small  cell  of  Benedictines 
belonging  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Albans,  a  market-town  of  Hertford- 
shire, dedicated  to  St.  Mary  Magdalene. 

The  abbey  at  Woburn  was  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary ;  and  the 
annual  income  was  ^£391  i8s.  2d.,  according  to  Dugdale,  and 
^430  133.  i  id.,  according  to  Speed. 

In  a  wood  near  Market  Street,  about  three  miles  from  Dunstable, 
was  a  nunnery  of  the  Benedictine  order,  dedicated  to  the  Holy 
Trinity.  The  site  and  some  adjacent  lands  were  given  by  the  Dean 
and  Chapter  of  St.  Paul's,  London,  in  1145  >  ar|d  it  was  soon  after 
built  and  endowed  by  Geoffrey,  Abbot  of  St.  Albans.  Dugdale 
values  this  nunnery  at  ^£144  i6s.  id.  per  annum,  and  Speed  at 
^143  1 8s.  3d. 

At  Harewood,  a  few  miles  north-west  of  Bedford,  there  was  a 
priory  of  canons  and  nuns,  according  to  the  institution  of  St.  Nicholas 
of  Arrouasia  ;  which  afterwards  consisted  only  of  a  prioress  and  three 
or  four  nuns  of  the  order  of  St.  Austin.  It  was  built  in  the  reign  of 
King  Stephen  by  Sampson  le  Fort.  The  lands  were  rated  at  the 
dissolution  at  ^47  35.  2d.  per  annum,  but  the  clear  yearly  value  was 
,£40  i8s.  2d. 

At  Grovebury,  in  the  parish  of  Leighton,  there  was  a  convent  of 
foreign  monks,  the  manor  having  been  given  by  Henry  II.  to  the 
runs  of  Fontevralt  in  Normandy.  It  suffered  the  fate  of  all  foreign 
priories  during  the  wars  with  France,  and,  after  having  been  several 
times  granted  to  private  persons  for  life,  was  at  last  given  to  the 
Dean  and  Canons  of  Windsor,  in  Berkshire,  in  whose  possession  it 
still  remains. 

There  was  also  at  Leighton  a  house  of  Cistercian  monks,  which 
was  a  cell  to  Woburn  Abbey. 

At  Bushmead,  near  Dunstable,  there  was  a  priory  of  Black 
Canons,  founded  by  Hugh,  the  son  of  Oliver  Beauchamp,  and 
dedicated  to  St.  Mary.  Its  annual  revenue  was.  according  to 
Dugdale,  £ji  135.  gd.,  according  to  Speed,  £81  133.  5d. 


Ecclesiastical  Antiquities.  i  r 

At  Farle,  near  Leighton,  there  was  a  master  and  brethren,  subor- 
dinate to  the  great  foreign  hospital  of  Santingfield,  in  Picardy,  to 
whom  this  place  had  been  given  by  Henry  II.  It  was  afterwards 
granted  by  Henry  VI.  to  the  fellows  of  King's  College,  Cambridge. 

At  Hockley-in-the-Hole,  about  five  miles  from  Dunstable,in  the  road 
to  the  city  of  Coventry,  there  was  an  hospital  for  a  master  and  seven 
brethren,  in  the  time  of  King  John,  dedicated  to  St.  John  the  Baptist. 

At  Caldwell,  near  Bedford,  there  was  a  house  of  religious  brethren 
of  the  Holy  Cross,  founded  by  Robert,  the  son  of  William  of 
Houghton,  in  the  time  of  King  John,  and  dedicated  to  the  honour 
of  the  Blessed  Virgin.  Some  time  before  the  dissolution  it  became 
a  priory  for  about  eight  Augustine  canons,  and  was  dedicated  to  St. 
John  the  Baptist  and  John  the  Evangelist.  Dugdale  says  it  was 
valued  at  ^109  8s.  50).  per  annum,  and  Speed  at  ^148  153.  xod. 

Speed  mentions  a  college  at  Eatonford,  near  Dunstable,  dedicated 
to  the  body  of  Christ ;  but  Bishop  Tanner  is  of  opinion  that  this  was 
only  a  gild,  to  which  belonged  one  or  more  chantry  priests.  The 
lands  were  rated  at  £1  i6s.  per  annum. 

At  Northill,  about  three  miles  distant  from  Biggleswade,  the  parish 
church,  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  was  in  the  time  of  Henry  IV.  made 
collegiate,  and  endowed  for  the  support  of  a  master  or  warden,  and 
several  fellows  and  servants,  as  an  act  of  merit  for  the  soul  of  Sir 
John  Trally,  knight,  and  Reginald  his  son,  by  his  executors.  The 
revenue  was  £61  55.  5d.  per  annum. 

At  Biggleswade  there  was  a  college  dedicated  to  the  Holy  Trinity, 
and  valued  at  ^7  per  annum. 

Ampthill. 
[I796,/.  641.] 

In  the  Earl  of  Upper  Ossory's  park,  at  Amplhill,  Bedfordshire,  are 
some  of  the  most  venerable  oak-trees,  perhaps,  in  the  kingdom.  In 
the  hurricane  on  the  5th  of  November  last,  these  majestic  vegetables 
suffered  severely,  some  being  entirely  split  and  destroyed,  and  others 
torn  and  disfigured.  As  the  lapse  of  time  and  future  storms  will 
continue  to  impair  them,  it  is  desirable  to  have  them  noticed  and 
recorded  in  your  valuable  repository,  for  which  purpose  I  send  you 
the  measures  and  dimensions  of  six  of  these  noble  trees. 

Circumference. 
No.    ft.    in. 

1.  24  10  At  the  height  of  9  feet  from  the  ground. 

2.  36    o  Close  to  the  ground. 

24  o  At  the  height  of  5  feet  from  the  ground. 

25  o  At  the  height  of  13  feet  from  ditto. 

12     o  Of  the  first  branch,  measured  close  to  the  trunk,  which  is  n  feet  from 

the  ground. 
8     8  Of  the  same  branch,  measured  6  feet  from  the  trunk. 

The  diameters,  from  bough-end  to  bough-end,  of  this  tree,  No.  2,  are 
94  feet  by  88. 


1 2  Bedfordshire. 


No.    ft.    in. 

3.  19    o  At  6  feet  from  the  ground. 

4.  23     6  At  the  height  of  7  feel  from  the  ground. 

5.  27     o  At  3  feet  high. 

6.  16     o  At  the  height  of  6  feet. 

The  diameters,  from  bough-end  to  bough-end,  of  this  tree,  No.  6,  are 
106  feet  by  102  ;  within  whose  circumference  are  contained  943 
square  yards,  sufficient  to  shade  314  horses,  or  5,092  men,  allowing 
a  space  of  20  by  12  inches  for  each  man. 

The  inclosed  sketches  happened  luckily  to  be  taken  before  their 
venerable  remains  were  removed.  —  Yours,  etc., 

AMPTHILLIENSIS. 

[1816,  Part  //.,  /.  105.] 

I  send  you  some  ancient  inscriptions,  taken  from  brass  plates, 
which  have  been  removed  from  the  stones  in  which  they  were 
originally  inserted,  and  are  now  preserved  in  the  town-chest  at 
Ampthill. 

i.  Jfjir;  jacent  SSiUm's  J$)tcche'tik  SStolman  q'nbam  m'tator  et  Jocn'teiuns 
startle  bilk  Calisie  qui  ofliit  xiiii  bie  <$tarcii  Q.  J33ni  mmd  ft  b'na  glgnes 
ur  rf'  op'  ai'abus  p'picietur  be'. 

Three  loose  escutcheons,  which  evidently  belonged  to  the  above, 
have  a  woolsack  and  merchant's  mark. 


2.  Of  go'  charite  prag  for  the  sonic  of  John  gJarnarb,  Jute  of 
Cliapman  anb  Cglgn  his'  tojjfc  tohigcht  (Elgn  iep'tcb  to  @ob  the  xxb  bag  of 
in  2'  get'  of  our  Jorb  gob  m'  to.  tot.  on  tohosf  soulis  Jku  hatoe 


of  <|ftatt,  o  gob  in 
that  hast  allonc  all  thing  in  orbcnance, 

the  trcapas  of  mj)  Jutoentf, 
thg'kc  lorb  up  on  mion  ignorance, 

mio  soulc  all  mi)  misgobcrnauncc, 
me  to  blisse  tuhm  thou  art  ttcruall, 
(fiber  to  joge  toith  his  JlungeUs  ecJcstiall. 

On  a  loose,  broken  stone  in  Milbrook  Church  is  the  figure  of  a 
priest,  in  brass,  and  under  it  the  following  lines  [see  p.  62]  : 

"  Robert  Were  priest  under  this  ston  lyeth, 
That  Jh'u  m'cy  and  lady  help  cryeth, 
Prayeth  for  my  soule  for  Charetye  now 
As  ye  wolde  other  dede  for  yow." 

In  Maulden  Church,  on  the  north  side,  is  a  handsome  altar-tomb, 
inlaid  with  the  effigies  of  a  gentleman  in  armour,  and  his  wife,  with 
escutcheons  in  brass  at  the  corners,  and  one  over  their  heads. 
Around,  on  a  fillet  of  brass  on  the  moulding,  this  inscription  in 
Roman  capitals  : 

HIC  JACENT  CORPORA  RIC'l  FALDO  AR1VJIGERI  ET  ANPHILICI^E  CHAMBERLIN 
UXORIS  EJUS  QUI  QUIDEM  RICARDUS  OBJIT  VI'°  DIE  DEChMBRIS  ANNO  D'.MI 
1576  ANPHILICI/E  VJRO. 


Amp  thill.  13 


On  the  slip  of  brass  on  which  they  stand, 

CCELESTIA   SEQUIMUR,   TERRESTRIA   SPERNIMUS. 

And  on  the  same  stone, 

RICARDUS   FALDO   OBIIT   ANNO   DOMINI  '1576. 

At  the  east  end  of  this  tomb,  in  the  wall,  is  the  small  brass  figure 
of  a  young  lady  kneeling  at  a  desk  ;  behind  her  a  lozenge  with  three 
bucks'  heads  caboshed.  At  her  feet  in  Roman  letters  : 

ANNA   FALDO   FILIA   RICARDI 
FALDO   ARMIGERI   OBIIT 
PRIMO   DIE   APRILIS   ANNO 
1594   AETATIS    1 8. 

The  arms  of  Faldo,  which  are  on  both  the  above  monuments,  are 
three  bucks'  heads  caboshed.  Crest,  three  arrows,  one  in  pale,  two 
in  saltier,  passing  through  a  ducal  crown. 

FPRAEWDSEERYIC. 
Aspley  Guise. 

[1845,  Part  I-,PP-  33-36.] 

Understanding  that  the  church  of  Aspley  Guise,  Bedfordshire,  is 
about  to  be  rebuilt,  I  presume  to  send  you  a  description.  I  am  not 
aware  why  it  is  proposed  to  be  rebuilt,  in  place  of  enlargement.  I 
remember  that  the  present  exemplary  Archdeacon  of  Bedford,  Dr. 
Bonney,  recommended  a  new  aisle  on  the  south  side,  for  which 
there  was  sufficient  room.  No  doubt  there  may  be  very  good 
reasons  for  a  different  arrangement.  The  church  was  certainly  much 
too  small  for  the  increased  population  of  the  parish,  amounting  to 
1,100  or  thereabouts,  and  a  very  considerable  portion,  nearly  all  the 
gallery,  was  occupied  by  the  inmates  of  a  boarding-school  in  the 
village. 

This  church  was  pretty  fully  described  in  Parry's  "  History  of 
Woburn,  the  Abbey,  and  Russell  Family,"  etc.,  1831,  p.  151.  It 
consists  of  a  short  nave  and  north  aisle,  with  three  arches  only,  a 
middle-sized  chancel,  and  a  tower,  which  will  probably  remain.  It 
is  of  decent  height  for  the  church,  with  a  very  slender  leaded  spire, 
and  of  great  strength,  the  walls  towards  the  top  being  a  yard  and  a 
half  thick.  It  contains  four  bells,  the  three  first  not  very  good,  but 
the  tenor,  weighing  16  cwt.,  of  pretty  good  and  deep  tone. 

There  is  a  view  of  this  church  in  the  "  Antiquarian  and  Topographi- 
cal Cabinet,"  from  a  drawing  byG.  Shephard,  taken  from  a  hill  above 
the  west  end,  in  which  the  tower  formed  a  prominent  and  pictur- 
esque object 

The  church  is  dedicated  to  St.  Botolph  (a  saint,  according  to  my 
own  experience,  rather  more  popular  in  the  eastern  and  north-eastern 
parts  of  this  kingdom  than  any  other).  From  the  shape  of  the 
arches  and  the  octagonal  columns,  I  should  suppose  it  not  to  be 
older  than  the  fifteenth  century.  Octagonal  columns,  apparently  of 


14  Bedfordshire. 


the  later  period,  are  found  in  the  church  of  Flemersham,  Beds, 
which  village  contained  the  seat  of  the  late  excellent  antiquary  and 
botanist,  Mr.  Marsh,  a  most  pleasing  specimen,  to  all  who  ever  saw  him, 
of  quiet  primitive  simplicity,  varied  learning,  and  Christian  kindness. 
The  west  front  is  a  grand  specimen  of  the  early  English. 

There  is  also  a  window  of  two  lights  on  the  south  side  of  the 
chancel  at  Aspley,  the  flowing  contour  of  the  upper  part  of  which 
seems  to  indicate  the  fourteenth  century.  Also  an  altar  tomb  in  a 
continuation  of  the  north  aisle,  with  a  recumbent  effigy  in  chain  mail, 
supposed  to  be  that  of  one  of  the  Guises,  of  about  the  time  of 
Edward  III.  Arms  on  the  tomb — on  a  bend,  three  escallop  shells  in 
a  bordure  engrailed.  The  other  monuments  are  three.  On  the 
north  side  of  the  chancel  a  brass  tablet  for  William  Stone,  of  Burn- 
ham-by-Sea,  Norfolk,  and  about  thirty  years  rector  of  this  parish,  in 
the  seventeenth  century,  with  the  following  excellent  Latin  hexa- 
meters : 

"ES   MIHI    MORS   LUCRUM. 

Subjacet  inclusus  Gulielmus  Stonus  in  urna, 
Cui  natale  solum  Norfolcia,  villaque  Burnham 
Oceanum  juxta  ;  non  ampla  stirpe  creatus  ; 
Veste  Magisterii  quern  Cantabrigia  cinxit : 
Sederat  hie  hyemes  decies  ter-quinque  peractas, 
Septuaginta  duos  vitse  compleverat  annos, 
Cum  tria  Jacobus  moderasset  lustra  Britannos  ; 
Spe  certa  fidens  virtute  resurgere  Christi, 
Et  cum  ccelicolis  seternam  ducere  vitam." 

A  heavy  marble  monument  in  the  north  aisle  for  a  person  who 
was  killed  by  the  overturn  of  a  carriage,  "  Currus  eberso  ";  a  large 
and  handsome  tabular  one  for  the  late  respected  and  generous  Mr. 
William  Wright,  who  is  styled  the  "  second  founder  of  Aspley  School." 
This  school,  a  private  grammar,  etc.,  school,  was  established  soon  after 
the  commencement  of  the  last  century,  and  was  ornamented  with 
extensive  and  appropriate  buildings  by  Mr.  Wright,  and  has  had 
formerly  upwards  of  two  hundred  scholars.  Many  persons  from 
every  part  of  the  kingdom,  including,  no  doubt,  some  of  your  readers, 
have  been  educated  at  it,  also  many  respectable  foreigners.  The 
present  master  and  proprietor  is  the  Rev.  R.  Pain,  B.C.L.,  of  Pem- 
broke College,  Oxon. 

There  is  one  benefaction  of  about  ^12  per  annum  for  bread,  I 
think  on  St.  Thomas's  Day  ;  and  afield  of  two  acres  is  left,  for  taking 
care  of  the  church  clock,  to  the  parish  clerk. 

The  only  feature  which  redeems  the  church  from  insignificance  is, 
or  was,  a  double  tier  of  small  circular  windows,  filled  with  quatre- 
foils,  under  the  battlements  of  the  nave.  In  the  churchyard  is  the 
tomb  of  Lieut.-Colonel  Arthur  Owen,  of  a  Welsh  family,  a  former 
inhabitant  of  this  parish,  much  esteemed  for  the  honour  and 
humanity  of  his  disposition. 


Aspley  Guise.  15 

Aspley  is  situated  in  Manshend  Hundred  and  Deanery  of  Flitt, 
two  miles  north  of  Wobmrn.  It  receives  its  second  name  from  the 
Gyse  or  Guise  family.  The  manor  was  anciently  in  the  Beauchamps, 
as  parcel  of  the  Barony  of  Bedford.  Simon  de  Beauchamp  sur- 
rendered it  by  way  of  a  composition  to  Guy  de  VValery,  who  had 
laid  claim  to  his  whole  barony  :  Reginald  de  St.  Walery  gave  it  to 
Hubert  de  Burgh,  Earl  of  Kent  and  Grand  Justiciary  of  England, 
whose  widow,  Margaret,  daughter  of  the  King  of  Scots,  died  seised 
of  it  as  her  dower,  in  1259.  After  this  Aspley  became  the  property 
and  chief  seat  of  the  Gyses  or  Guises,  ancestors  of  the  Gloucester- 
shire family  of  that  name.  Anselm  de  Gyse  had  this  manor  in 
marriage  with  a  daughter  of  Hubert  de  Burgh  above-named.  In 
1540  John  Guise,  Esq.,  gave  the  manor  of  Aspley  to  Henry  VIII.  in 
exchange  for  lands  in  Gloucestershire.  It  is  probable  that  the  King 
granted  it  to  Sir  Ralph  Sadleir,  whose  descendants  are  still  possessed 
of  it. 

Aspley  had  for  a  short  time  a  market,  perhaps  for  about  fifty 
years,  which  speedily  fell  into  disuse  or  decay  on  the  grant  of  a 
market  to  the  Abbot  of  Woburn  (two  miles  off).  It  has  been  popu- 
larly believed  that  the  market  was  transferred  to  Woburn,  but  this  is 
a  mistake  ;  the  fact  simply  being,  as  Browne  Willis  once  observed  to 
an  inhabitant  of  Aspley,  "  You  see  the  abbot's  market  swallowed  up 
yours." 

Aspley  has  no  antiquarian  relics,  unless  the  fossil  earth  or  petrified 
wood  be  considered  so,  as  having  been  commemorated  by  Drayton 
in  his  "Polyolbion." 

"That  little  Aspley's  earth  we  anciently  enstyle, 
Midst  sundry  other  things,  a  wonder  of  our  isle." 

The  fuller's  earth  pits  are  not  now  in  this  parish.  There  exists 
only  a  hollow  filled  with  trees  and  brushwood,  which  was  the  original 
one.  Those  now  in  use,  though  only  about  200  yards  distant,  are  in 
the  parish  of  Wavendon*  and  county  of  Buckingham. 

The  parish  of  Aspley,  containing  above  2,000  acres,  is  very  healthy, 
the  soil  being  principally  sand  and  gravel,  and  the  water  lying  low 
down,  from  30  to  60  feet.  It  is  chiefly  celebrated  for  its  beautiful 
"  wood,"  which  was  diffusely  celebrated  by  the  late  Mr.  J.  H.  Wiffen 
in  a  beautiful  poem  in  the  Spenserian  stanza,  entitled  "Aonian 
Hours."  It  is  very  extensive,  abounding  with  oaks  and  various  other 
trees,  including  alleys  of  larch,  and,  in  one  very  extensive  dell,  cedars 

*  In  this  parish — the  conscientious  and  talented  rector  of  which,  the  Rev.  J. 
Fisher,  is  not  unknown  in  the  literary  world — is  a  good  instance  of  compensation 
to  the  poor  on  enclosure.  About  forty  or  fifty  years  ago  a  portion  of  heath,  on  which 
the  poor  had  the  right  of  digging  turf,  was  conveyed  to  the  then  Duke  of  Bedford 
on  condition  that  he  should  deliver  yearly,  for  ever,  100  tons  of  coals,  free  of 
carriage,  to  the  poor  of  Wavendon.  As  coals  are  sold  there  in  the  winter  to  the 
poor  by  the  petty  dealers  at  is.  gd.  or  2s.  per  c\vt.,  it  is  considered  that  they  have 
gained  by  the  bargain. 


1 6  Bedfordshire. 

of  Lebanon.  Above  is  a  riding,  from  which  about  twenty  church 
towers  and  spires  can  be  seen  on  a  clear  day.  In  this  wood  are  also 
a  profusion  of  that  pleasant  and  wholesome  wild  fruit  called  here 
huckle-\)en\es,  and  elsewhere  wfortte-berries  and  ^//-berries ;  also 
"lilies  of  the  valley"  (for  which  it  is  especially  famed),  wild  hyacinths, 
primroses,  etc.,  and  those  poetical  accessories  the  "  nightingale  "  and 
"glow  worm." 

The  "  Black  Watch  "—Sidier  Z>Au—now  the  42nd  Highlanders, 
great  part  of  which  mutinied  from  an  encampment  at  Highgate, 
after  having  been  scandalously  and  cruelly  treated  by  the  ministers 
of  George  II.  in  being  lured  to  London  for  the  purpose  of  being  sent 
abroad  after  a  solemn  promise  to  the  contrary,  are  said  to  have  parted 
in  this  wood,  after  passing  through  the  Duke  of  Bedford's  park,  and 
to  have  stayed  some  time  in  its  recesses.  And  it  is  believed  that 
some  little  action  took  place  between  them  and  a  party  of  the  king's 
troops,  either  in  the  north-western  part,  near  the  beautiful  healthy  dell, 
or  the  immediate  vicinity. 

The  farms,  at  least  those  principally  within  the  parish,  are  generally 
small,  there  being  only  one,  I  believe,  exceeding  150  acres.  There 
are,  however,  some  large  plantations  of  fir  and  larch,  besides  the 
great  wood.  Game  is  very  plentiful.  Of  water  there  are  only  a  few 
very  small  ponds.  There  is  one  windmill.  I  am  not  certain  whether 
there  is  anything  worthy  of  being  called  a  brook — of  which  there  are 
some  considerable  ones  with  mills  on  them  in  the  neighbourhood — 
flowing  through  the  parish. 

Partly  in  this  parish,  and  partly  in  that  of  Wavendon,  lies  the 
hamlet  of  Hog's-stye-end,  containing  about  300  inhabitants,  a  small 
number  of  respectable  houses,  and  an  ancient  Quakers'  meeting- 
house, in  a  pleasant  situation,  of  homely  and  dwelling-house  appear- 
ance, said  to  be  coeval  with  the  rise  of  that  respectable  body.  There 
is  also  a  good  inn  (which  has  also  been  a  boarding-school),  which, 
before  the  railroad  days,  had  a  considerable  traffic.  The  hamlet 
stands  on  the  old  highroad  to  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Chester,  etc., 
which  runs  through  Woburn  and  Newport  Pagnell.  The  former 
interesting  little  town,  well  worthy  a  visit,  has  also  suffered  heavily, 
like  some  others,  from  the  "  mammon  "  of  railway  speculation,  now 
needing  all  the  patronage  and  influence  which  can  be  afforded  by  the 
Bedford  family,  its  natural  protectors,  some  of  whom  have  done  so 
much  for  its  ornament  and  benefit. 

As,  however,  this  name  appeared  cacophonous  to  its  more  polite 
inhabitants,  attempts  have  been  made  more  than  once  to  "  reform  it 
altogether  "  to  "  Woburn  Sands,"  or  "  The  Sands,"  and  partly  with 
success.  Still  "Hog's-stye-end,"  vulgarly  dis-syllabled  into"Hogs- 
teen'd,"  yet  lives. 
At  Aspley  is  a  strong  petrifying  spring,  from  which  the  petrified 


Aspley  Guise.  17 

ladder  at  Woburn  Abbey  was  taken.  Aspley  is  well  known  for  a 
considerable  distance  round  as  conspicuous  for  the  number  of 
genteel  families  which  it  contains.  Here  was,  but  I  believe  no  longer 
is,  the  library  of  the  late  R.  T.  How,  Esq.,  an  excellent  and  bene- 
volent specimen  (of  which  also  there  was  another)  of  the  Society  of 
Friends,  containing  five  or  six  thousand  volumes  of  various  descrip- 
tions, including  illustrated  French,  Italian,  and  Dutch  ones,  a  few 
rich  illuminated  manuscripts,  and  sixty  editions  and  translations  of 
the  Bible.  Amongst  the  volumes  was  a  grand  folio  of  great  size 
and  thickness,  finely  bound,  called,  if  I  recollect  rightly,  "Suecia 
Illustrata,"  or  "  Depicta."  It  contained  three  or  four  hundred  large 
views,  not  only  of  all  the  principal  churches,  palaces,  etc.,  in  Stock- 
holm— three  or  four  to  some,  including  interiors,  as  of  the  Ritter- 
holms  Church — but  in  all  the  principal  towns  of  the  kingdom,  and 
the  villas  and  armorial  bearings  of  the  principal  nobility.  Several 
of  the  plates  were  very  large  views  of  entire  places,  including  Stock- 
holm under  various  aspects,  with  the  islands  and  course  of  the 
Maelar  Lake  (Lacus  Maleoticus).  On  the  whole,  it  was  a  far  grander 
work  than  anything  of  the  kind  yet  published  in  England,  and  its 
value  could  scarcely  have  been  less  than  ^100.  It  therefore  excited 
some  surprise  that  a  small  and  not  rich  northern  country  should 
have  produced  such  a  one.  The  date,  I  think,  was  somewhere  about 
1740,  and  the  titles  and  explanations  were  in  Latin.  It  contained 
the  former  old  palace,  with  the  great  and  lofty  tower  of  Drie  Kronen, 
or  The  Three  Crowns  (Turns  Trium  Coronaruni).  It  seems  probable 
that  this  fine  work  was  not  known  to,  or  it  would  have  been  alluded 
to  by,  Dr.  E.  D.  Clarke,  whom  the  writer  had  the  honour  of  knowing 
whilst  living,  and  writing  a  brief  sketch  of  after  his  lamented  death.* 
There  were  also  one  or  two  similar  works,  but  much  inferior  in  size 
and  beauty,  on  Holland,  including  views  and  plans  of  gardens.  The 
motto  of  this  gentleman,  whose  family  had  been  Dutch,  was  (if  I 
spell  it  right)  "  Unda,  freyheit,  freyhende  " — Virtue,  Liberty,  Peace. 

The  "  Great  House,"  an  excellent  mansion,  with  large  walled 
gardens,  came  by  purchase  from  the  family  of  Scott  (who  have  a 
hatchment  in  the  chancel — motto,  "  Honestas  est  optima  polititia  ") 
to  Mrs.  Smith,  daughter  of  Mr.  Harvey,  of  the  adjoining  parish  of 
Hulcot,  the  patronage  of  which  church,  consolidated  with  Salford,  is 
in  the  family,  and  it  is  now  possessed  by  the  eldest  son,  the  Rev. 
E.  O.  Smith.  Their  ancient  seat  is  engraved  in  Fisher's  "  Collections." 
They  were  intimately  connected  with  the  honourable  families  of  Boteler 
and  Charnock,  of  whom  some  account  will  be  found  in  the  work 
twice  mentioned  above.  Some  charities  have  been  left,  yearly  added 

*  In  the  Literary  Gatette,  1821  ;  also  of  Mr.  J.  II.  Wiffen,  translator  of  Tasso, 
etc.,  in  the  same,  1836  ;  also  of  the  late  benevolent  and  generous  Duke  of  Bedford, 
in  the  Morning  Chronicle,  1839  ;  and  (second  shorter  notice)  of  the  excellent  Mr. 
Tate,  of  St.  Paul's,  formerly  of  Richmond,  in  the  Times  of  September,  1844. 

VOL.   XII.  2 


1 8  Bedfordshire. 

to  by  the  present  possessors  of  the  estates,  and  to  this  amily  the 
church  of  Hulcot,  built  by  one  of  the  Charnocks,  was  lately  indebted 
for  complete  new  fittings  of  fine  old  carved  wainscot.  But  not  having 
seen  this  work,  or  knowing  from  whence  it  was  brought,  I  cannot 
speak  of  it  personally.  Two  persons  above  mentioned,  Browne 
Willis  and  Mr.  Marsh,  were  related  to  this  family. 

Here  is  also  a  solid  and  handsome  mansion,  with  gardens  built  by 
the  late  Colonel  Moore,  of  the  Bedfordshire  militia,  two  cottages 
ornees,  belonging  to  W.  F.  Kerr,  Esq.,  and  there  are  some  other  good 
houses,  including  the  parsonage  house,  which  is  close  by  the  church 
gates,  also  a  handsome  house  built  by  T.  Parker,  Esq.,  who  is,  I 
believe,  nearly,  if  not  quite,  the  father  of  the  medical  gentlemen  in 
this  county,  enjoying  in  viridi  senectute  the  respect  for  talents  and 
humanity  of  all  classes  of  men. 

The  living  of  Aspley  was  about  fifty  years  ago  consolidated  with 
Husborn  Crawley,  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  distant,  the  service  at 
the  latter  being  performed  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  between  two  at 
Aspley.  The  church  of  Crawley,  much  superior  to  that  of  Aspley, 
stands  on  elevated  ground,  nearly  equally  distant  from  the  two  places, 
and  has  a  lofty  tower,  conspicuous  in  most  directions,  and  a  fine  peal 
of  six  bells,  which  can  be  heard  at  a  considerable  distance,  and  are 
very  popular  in  the  neighbourhood.  Of  this  building  also  a  full 
description  was  given  as  above. 

The  lately  deceased  rector  of  Aspley,  the  Rev.  T.  Farmer  (for- 
merly Rector  of  St.  Luke's,  Old  Street),  was  nephew  of  the  celebrated 
Dr.  Farmer,  of  Emanuel  College,  Cambridge,  and  though  of  some- 
what brusque  manners  for  a  clergyman,  had  much  integrity  and 
kindness  of  heart.  The  present  rector  is,  I  understand,  the  Rev. 
John  Vaux  Moore,  of  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  grandson  of  Colonel 
Moore  above  mentioned.  J.  D.  PARRY. 

Bedford. 
[See  Gent.  Mag.  Lib.,  Romano- British  Remains,  i.,  pp.  3-4.] 

[1849,  Part  /.,  pp.  598-601.] 

When  the  visitor  crosses  the  bridge  here,  he  finds  the  former  view 
of  St.  Paul's  Church  impeded  by  a  tall,  gawky,  stilted-looking  house 
of  several  stories,  and  thinks  that  the  town  would  have  done  better  to 
have  bought  off  the  party  with  ^500  than  to  have  suffered  such  an 
erection  on  that  spot.  On  inquiry,  however,  he  ascertains  that  it  is 
the  parsonage  house  of  the  parish,  lately  so  rebuilt. 

Bedford  has  fully  doubled  its  population  since  1811,  when  it  was 
not  quite  5,000;  it  is  now  about  10,000.  The  size,  however,  of  the 
"  new  town "  is  scarcely  commensurate  with  the  great  increase. 
There  are  some  neat  "  terraces  "  in  a  superior  suburban  style ;  the 


Bedford.  1 9 

poorer  parts  are  too  crowded.  The  mortality  in  some  quarters  has 
been  much  above  the  average,  and  attention  is  at  length  directed  to 
improvements,  making  sewers,  etc.  One  thing  at  least  surprises — 
the  excessive  number  of  "  beer  shops ;"  in  some  of  the  new  parts 
they  average  one  to  eight  houses. 

There  is  but  one  "  view "  near  Bedford,  from  what  is  called 
Foster's  Hill,  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile  off,  and  yet  the  path 
and  lane  to  it  would  disgrace  the  poorest  country  village.  We  may 
allow  that  the  footpaths  on  the  roads  are  neatness  itself.  The  river 
strikes  as  of  very  respectable  width — perhaps  about  the  same  as  at 
Magdalen  Bridge,  Oxford,  or  rather  that  of  the  Thames  at  Henley. 

Attention  has  been  much  engaged  of  late  on  the  age  and  intended 
form  of  St.  Paul's,  the  venerable  ecclesiastical,  and  formerly  collegiate, 
church.  A  Mr.  Jackson,  who  appears  to  be  an  intelligent  and  rising 
architect  here,  read  before  the  Literary  and  Scientific  Institution,  on 
the  24th  of  June  last,  a  diffuse  paper  which  was  complimented  as 
"  valuable  "  by  the  archdeacon  and  several  gentlemen  present.  Of 
the  two-fifths  of  it  which  were  that  gentleman's  own,  the  writer  fully 
believes  this  to  have  been  true ;  of  the  other  three  he  may  perhaps 
wish  it  to  be  so,  as  they  were  taken  precisely  from  his  own  publica- 
tion, though  that  fact  was  forgotten  to  be  stated. 

Mr.  Jackson  thinks  it  was  originally  a  small  Norman  cross  church, 
without  aisles,  of  which  the  present  tower  formed  a  part.  But  it  does 
not  appear  to  the  writer  in  that  light.  The  church  was  demolished 
about  1220,  when  the  Norman  style  was  going  out,  and  there  are  no 
specific  indications  of  the  tower  being  spared,  which  is  somewhat 
heavy  and  plain,  but  affords  no  proofs  of  Norman  architecture. 
There  may,  certainly,  have  been  a  northern  building,  transept,  or 
chantry,  but  this  "  says  nothing."  There  may,  too,  have  been  three 
successive  churches,  or  it  may  have  lain  in  ruins  for  a  century.  On 
the  age  of  the  present  church  Lysons  and  Rickman  differ  :  the  former, 
always  respectable  ;  the  latter  ingenious,  but  perhaps  more  fanciful. 
It  was  probably  erected  about  1350  or  1400.  But,  in  a  map  which 
belonged  to  Mr.  Gough,  older  than  1290,  Bedford  appears  to  have 
had  a  spire. 

The  peculiarity  of  this  church  consists  in  having  two  aisles,  wh;ch 
may  be  called  a  double  nave,  of  equal  and  considerable  height,  and 
nearly  exactly  equal  width,  with  a  double  tier  of  windows  on  both 
sides,  which  gives  it  a  grand  appearance.  It  has  also  pinnacles,  two 
fine  west  windows,  and  two  porches,  of  which  the  southern  one  has 
two  stories  with  statues,  and  is  the  record-room  of  the  corporation. 
The  tower  is  at  the  east  end  of  the  north  aisle,  properly  flanked  on 
the  south,  and  there  are  two  chancels.  The  extreme  length  (from 
the  writer's  former  measurement)  being  147  feet,  and  the  breadth  45  ; 
the  second  length  in  the  county,  only  exceeded  at  Luton.  The  spire 
is  reported  to  be  60  yards  high,  the  same  as  at  St.  Mary's,  Oxford  ; 

2 — 2 


2  o  Bedfordsh  ire. 

the  tower  contains  eight  bells,  the  tenor  being  upwards  of  27  cwt, 
with  chimes  erected  in  1754,  prior  to  which  most  of  the  bells  had 
been  recast. 

In  the  north  chancel  is  the  epitaph  of  Muriel  Calt,*  engraved  in  a 
continuous  style,  perhaps  of  the  fourteenth  century: 

"  Muriel  Calt  gyt  issi. 

De  sa  alme  Deus  eyt  mercy 

Ky  por  sa  alme  priera 

XL  iours  de  pardun  auera.»J« 

'•  Muriel  Calt  here  doth  lie, 
God  of  her  soul  have  mercy. 
Whoever  for  her  soul  prays 
Shall  pardon  have  of  forty  days." 

In  the  year  1832  the  church  was  "improved,"  or  altered.  The 
neat  wainscot  fronts  of  the  galleries,  which  are  suitably  large  for  the 
population  of  the  parish,  were  retained ;  but  the  square  fluted  pilasters 
have  been  replaced  by  very  slender  iron  ones,  which  is  a  poor  change. 
The  fine  and  distinguishing  traceried  stone  pulpit  fixed  to  a  pillar,  a 
real  old  one  before  a  single  modern  imitation  had  been  made,  has 
been  banished  to  the  chancel.  Some  loose  benches  in  the  very 
centre  of  the  church,  instead  of  free  pews,  are  a  perfect  abomination. 
Yet  the  worst  of  all  relates  to  the  organ.  This  was  a  fine  old  one, 
date  1715,  by  Father  Schmidt,  afterwards  improved  ;  and,  in  lieu  of 
being  repaired  or  enlarged,  it  was  sold  for  ^50 — about  the  price  of 
the  case !  The  Moravians,  who  have  an  establishment  here,  had 
the  good  sense  to  appreciate  its  worth,  and  in  their  chapel,  though 
reduced,  it  is  much  admired.  The  substitute  here  is  perhaps  quite 
equal  to  the  price — ^400  only — by  Flight  and  Robson.  This  is 
now  placed  at  the  east,  in  lieu  of  the  west,  end,  which  possibly  may 
be  an  improvement,  as  also  the  altered  place  of  the  pulpit  may  be, 
only  it  is  not  the  proper  pulpit,  which  may  yet  be  returned.  The 
tracery  of  the  chancel  windows  has  been  restored  of  late  years. 
There  is  no  probability  of  this  church  having  possessed,  or  being 
intended  to  possess,  a  third  (north)  aisle  of  the  same  dimensions, 
although  the  point  has  been  mooted.  Amongst  very  few  churches  (if 
any)  on  the  same  plan,  there  is  one  approaching  to  it  on  a  smaller 
scale,  but  with  a  fine  roof  to  one  of  the  aisles,  at  Ruthin,  North  Wales. 
At  Reading  the  aisles  are  not  similar,  or  equal.  There  is,  however, 
a  little  resemblance  in  St.  Helen's,  Bishopsgate.  This  church  (St. 
Paul's)  is  now  undergoing  the  process  of  reroofing,  some  of  the 
ornamental  work  being  fit  to  be  replaced ;  and  it  is  satisfactory  to 
add  that  it  will  be  releaded,  instead  of  being  reduced  to  a  covering 
of  slate.  It  was  fortunate  that  the  discovery  was  made  in  time,  as 
the  ends  of  the  main  beams  were  more  decayed  than  the  centres. 

*  In  Speed's  plan,  the  lane  which  still  runs  parallel  with  the  side  of  the  school 
is  termed  Call's  Lane. 


Bedford.  2 1 

When  these  lay  in  the  churchyard  part  of  the  wood  appeared  rotted 
to  the  consistence  of  snuff.  The  columns  in  the  interior  are  of  so 
hard  a  stone  that  a  workman  was  engaged,  many  years  ago,  three 
weeks  in  boring  a  hole  through  one  for  a  special  purpose. 

In  the  part  south  of  the  tower,  which  shows  signs  of  former  painting 
and  gilding  in  its  roof,  is  the  substantial  mural  monument  erected  to 
Sir  William  Harpur  and  his  "dame,"  or  Lady  Alice,  and  an  altar- 
tomb  has  since  been  placed  over  their  grave  at  the  archdeacon's 
court  in  the  south  chancel. 

The  four  lofty  and  conspicuous  dials  of  the  clock — a  new  one, 
erected  in  1812  at  a  cost  of  ^400— are  becoming  much  more 
venerable  in  appearance  than  useful,  and,  as  the  expense  of  regilding 
would  most  likely  not  exceed  ^"50,  it  would  be  better  undertaken  at 
once.  A  plan  for  lighting  the  clock  was  ineffectual  several  years 
back,  about  the  same  time  that  a  correspondent  of  the  Times 
recommended  the  Janus-like  projecting  one  of  Bow  Church,  Cheap- 
side,  to  be  illuminated,  which  would  have  been  very  useful. 

A  chapel  of  ease,  misnamed  Trinity  Church,  has  been  erected  at 
the  "new  town"  in  this  parish.  It  is  a  building  of  three  aisles, 
without  arches  and  columns,  in  the  early  pointed  siyle,  with  coupled 
lancet  windows.  The  tower  is  the  best  part  of  it,  having  triple  belfry 
windows.  The  east  end  is  a  poor  imitation  of  the  Temple,  London, 
and  a  belfry  window  in  the  centre  of  the  roof  is  most  ungainly.  The 
tower  only  contains  one  bell,  and  the  interior  has  no  organ.  Adjacent 
is  a  small  burying-ground,  but  insufficient  for  the  additional  require- 
ments. This  building  is  stuccoed  of  a  yellowish  cast,  which  perhaps 
is  not  the  most  appropriate  colour. 

The  pretty  little  rural  church  of  St.  Peter's  has  had  a  north  aisle 
added.  The  west  end  has  also  been  lengthened. 

The  clumsy  piers  which  separated  the  north  aisle  of  St.  Mary's 
Church,  which  aisle  was  erected  just  before  the  destruction  of  the 
church  of  "  St.  Peter's,  Dunstable,"  which  stood  opposite,*  have  been 
replaced  by  neat  clustered  columns,  with  lighter  arches.  The  pews 
have  been  demolished,  and  open  seats  substituted,  on  which  tastes 
will  differ ;  but  there  is  a  neat  screen  of  wainscot,  with  quatre-feuilles 
in  front  for  the  organ.  The  six  musical  bells  here  are  one  of  the 
lightest  sets  in  England. 

St.  John's  Church  has  undergone  no  alteration. 

The  new  "miniature  cathedral"  of  St.  Cuthbert  is  well  enough,  or 
grand  enough,  in  itself,  with  two  exceptions:  (i)  The  common  house- 
slates  on  a  "Norman"  building;  if  lead  could  not  be  afforded,  it 
should  have  been  slab-slate  (such  as  may  be  seen  at  Caernarvon),  as 
used  at  Camberwell  New  Church — or  at  least  green  Westmorland ; 
and  (2)  an  immense  tower,  large  enough  for  ten  bells,  containing  one 
small  one.  This,  as  at  the  church  at  Netting  Hill,  is  a  "hollow 

*  Lysons. 


2  2  Bedfordshire. 

mockery";  and,  if  nothing  more  was  intended,  a  little  turret  or  bell- 
gable  would  have  been  a  great  deal  more  suitable. 

The  former  miserable  building,  which  had  an  aisle  and  chancel 
under  one  roof,  tiled  and  broken  in  outline,  and  a  cupola,  with 
latterly  a  still  worse  substitute  in  the  centre,  appears  of  the  same 
form  in  Speed's  plan  (1610)  of  the  town — in  which  also  the  town 
appears  to  have  been  quite  as  large  as  it  was  thirty  years  ago. 

The  new  school  buildings,  for  the  prosperous  foundation  of  Sir 
William  Harpur,  form  a  handsome  though  straggling  pile,  with  a 
tower  in  the  centre  copied  from  that  of  the  Indigent  Blind  Asylum, 
St.  George's  Fields,  and  not  unlike  the  entrance-gate  of  Wadham 
College.  It  is  much  to  be  regretted,  however,  that  the  expenses  of 
this,  and  purchasing  ground  and  houses,  amounting  altogether  to 
between  ^30,000  and  ^£40,000,  have  caused  embarrassment  to  the 
noble  charity.  The  grammar  school  should  have  been  included  in 
this  expense,  if  required  to  be  rebuilt  at  all.  But  it  would  be  a 
thousand  pities  to  destroy  the  present,  built  in  1767,  and  the  most 
pleasing  edifice  in  the  town.  It  might  obviously  be  enlarged  at  the 
back,  and  the  head-master's  outbuildings  transferred,  or  his  house 
altogether  rebuilt  elsewhere. 

J.  D.  PARRY. 

[1834,  Part  11.,  p.  296.] 

An  ancient  cinerary  urn  was  recently  dug  up  by  some  workmen 
while  excavating  a  cellar  in  the  High  Strett,  5  feet  below  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  the  same  being  found  deposited  near  to  a 
human  skeleton. 

Biggleswade. 
[See  Gent.  Mag.  Lib.)  Archaology,  i.,  p.  123.] 

[1830,  Part  If.,  pp.  19-23.] 

Biggleswade,  a  market  town  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  is  situate  on 
the  great  north  road  at  the  distance  of  fort) -five  miles  from  London. 
It  gives  name  to  the  hundred  in  which  it  is  situate.  The  ancient 
name,  according  to  Domesday  Book,  was  Bicheleswade;  but  since 
the  compilation  of  that  book  it  has  undergone  several  changes,  for 
the  most  part  orthographical  —  viz.,  Bikeleswade,  Bigelesworth, 
Biglesward. 

In  ancient  records  it  is  called  the  borough  and  foreign  of  Bipgles- 
wade,  and  it  hath  now  its  bailiwick  or  franchise,  to  which  the  tolls  of 
the  market  and  fairs  are  payable.  The  present  proprietor  of  the 
bailiwick  is  Mr.  Simeon  Sell. 

We  learn  from  the  Norman  survey  that  the  manor  was  then  held 
ly  Ralph  de  Lisle,  and  was  rated  for  ten  hides.  Theie  were  seven 
villeins,  ten  bordars,  and  three  servi ;  also  two  mills  of  475.  3  early 
value.  Its  value  was  £\i  j early.  In  the  time  of  Kirg  Ldward  the 


Biggleswade.  23 

Confessor,  Stigand  the  archbishop  held  this  manor,  and  it  was  then 
worth  ;£io. 

Richard,  the  tenth  and  last  Abbot  of  Ely,  perceiving  that  encroach- 
ments were  daily  being  made  upon  the  privileges  of  their  monastery, 
obtained  a  grant  from  Henry  I.  making  their  abbey  a  bishopric,  but 
Richard  died  before  it  was  put  into  execution.  Now,  as  there  was 
no  province  assigned,  the  king  sent  for  Robert  Bluet,  then  Bishop 
of  Lincoln  and  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  and  obtained  of  him 
that  the  county  of  Cambridge  might  be  the  province  of  the  new 
bishop ;  in  lieu  of  which  three  manors,  part  of  the  possessions  of  the 
abbey  of  Ely,  were  surrendered  to  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln — viz., 
Spaldwick,  Biggleswade,  and  Bugden.* 

The  grant  ot  Henry  I.  only  mentions  the  vill  of  Spaldwick,  and  is 
to  this  purport :  "  The  King,  having  taken  into  consideration  the 
state  of  his  kingdom  of  England,  and  finding  that  the  harvest  was 
great  but  the  labourers  few,  and  therefore  the  labour  too  much  upon 
them,  etc.,  with  the  advice  of  the  Pope  Pascal  did  convey  and  make 
over  the  vill  of  Spaldwick,  in  the  county  of  Huntingdon,  part  of  the 
possessions  of  the  monastery  of  Ely,  with  all  its  rights  and  appurte- 
nances, to  the  church  of  Lincoln,  and  to  Robert  Bishop  of  the  s^me 
see,  and  to  his  successors  for  ever,  in  as  free  and  ample  a  manner  as 
ever  the  monastery  of  Ely  had  held  it,"  etc.  Browne  Willis  states 
that  Biggleswade  was  obtained  by  the  successor  of  Bluet,  lor  which 
he  was  to  make  the  king  an  annual  present  of  a  rich  gown  lined 
with  sables,  worth  one  hundred  marks ;  and  we  accordingly  find  that 
the  manor  was  granted  f  to  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln  without  any 
allusion  to  any  assignment  of  the  county  of  Cambridge  as  a  diocese 
for  the  Bishop  of  Ely. 

The  Bishops  of  Lincoln  continued  to  hold  the  manor  and  enjoy 
the  privilege,  as  is  evident  from  the  extracts  from  the  public  records 

*  Coke's  account  of  the  Franchise  of  Ely,  in  the  4th  vol.  of  his  Inst. 

t  "  Inspeximus  insuper  cartam  Celebris  memorise  Domini  H.  quondam  regis  An- 
glise  progenitoris  nostri  in  hrec  verba  :  H.  rex  Angliee,  Archiepiscopis.  etc.,  salutem, 
bciatis  me  redclidisse  et  concessisse  Deo  et  Ecc^esix,  beatse  Maiias  Lincolniae,  et 
Alexandro  Episcopo  et  omnibus  successoribus  suis  imperpetuum,  manerium  de 
Bicheleswada,  cum  terris  et  hominibus  et  omnibus  ipsi  manerio  pertinentibus,  in 
bosco  et  piano,  in  aquis  et  extra,  in  pratis  et  pasturis,  in  molendinis  et  eccles  a  : 
in  via  et  semitis,  in  piscariis,  cum  soc;i  et  saca,  et  tol  et  team  et  infangenetheof, 
cum  omnibus  libertatibus  et  quietationibus  et  consuetudmibus  et  omnibus  rebus 
eidem  manerio  pertinentibus,  ita  bene  et  in  pace  et  honoririce  et  quiete  optinendis 
Ecclesias  Lincolniensi  et  pnetaxato  Episcopo,  et  omnibus  succe>soribus  ejus,  sicut 
esjo  unquam  manerium  iliud  melms  et  liberius  tenui  duin  fuit  in  manu  mea,  vel 
aliquis  qui  illud  liberius  ante  me  tenuisset.  Hanc  itaque  redditionem  et  conc^s- 
sionem  meam,  sicut  snperius  deter minatum  est,  factam,  collaudo,  collaudaiam 
confirruo,  et  illam  prsefatae  Ecclesire  et  Episcopo  Alexancro  et  successoribus  ejus 
integre  illibateque  perman.suram  regia  auctoritate  et  a  Deo  mihi  concessa  potentate 
coroboro.  Testibus  Rogeio  Episcopo  Sarum,  etc.,  etc.;  apud  Gillingham,  anno 
ab  incarnatioue  Domini  m.llessimo  centessimo  tricessimo  secendo." — Dugd. 
Monast.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  201. 


2  4  Bedjoi  -dsh  ire. 

given  beneath,*  until  4th  Edward  III.,t  when  Henry,  Bishop  of 
Lincoln,  was  surrmcnfd  to  answer  by  what  authority  he  clairred  to 
have  in  his  manor  of  Biggleswade  view  of  frankpledge,  with  all  things 
to  view  of  fiankpledge  lelonging  twice  in  a  year — viz.,  one  after  the 
feast  of  St.  Michael,  and  another  after  the  feast  of  Easter — of  all 
resiants  and  tenants  within  the  same  manor;  with  soc,  sac,  toll, 
theam,  infangthef  &nd  outfangthef,  gallows,  tumbrell.  pillory,  and  thew 
at  Biggleswade,  and  one  market  at  Biggleswade  on  Monday,  and  one 
fair  there  yearly,  on  the  eve  and  on  the  day  of  the  exaltation  of  the 
Holy  Cross,  with  pleas  of  market  and  fair,  and  toll,  etc.,  and  to  have 
free  warren  in  all  their  demesne  lands  in  the  aforesaid  manor,  etc. 

And  the  bishop,  by  Thomas  de  Huntington,  his  attorney,  came ; 
and  as  to  the  view  and  also  the  aforesaid  liberties  of  sac,  soc,  toll, 
and  theam,  infangthef,  etc.,  and  the  fair  aforesaid,  says  that  he  and 
all  his  predecessors  from  the  time  whereof  the  memory  of  man  does 
not  exist  to  the  contrary,  were  seised  both  of  the  aforesaid  liberties, 
as  well  as  the  appurtenances  to  the  aforesaid  manor,  and  by  that 
authority  he  claimed  the  liberties,  etc.  And  as  to  the  market  at 
Biggleswade,  he  said  that  the  Lord  King  Henry,  by  his  charter, 
which  the  Lord  King  Edward  reciting  confirmed,  and  which  confir- 
mation was  then  produced,  granted  to  Hugh,  the  second  Bishop  ot 
Lincoln,  a  predecessor  of  the  then  present  bishop,  that  he  and  his 
successors  for  ever  should  have  a  market  at  Biggleswade,  which  his 
father  granted  and  gave  to  him,  and  which  the  same  bishop  had 
always  up  to  that  time  quietly  enjoyed,  with  all  liberties,  rights,  and 
customs  of  a  kind  appertaining  to  a  market,  and  by  that  authority  he 
claimed  the  aforesaid  market,  etc.  And  as  to  the  free  warren 
aforesaid,  he  says  the  Lord  King  Edward,  by  his  charter  then  pro- 
duced, granted  and  confirmed  to  the  then  present  bishop  that  he 
and  his  successors  for  ever  might  have  free  warren  in  all  his  demesne 
lands  at  Biggleswade,  although  such  lands  were  not  in  the  bounds 
of  the  king's  forests,  etc.,  and  by  that  authority  he  claimed  free 
warren,  etc. 

I  find  no  change  in  the  proprietor  of  this  manor  until  the  time  of 
Edward  VI.,  when  Henry  Holbech,  alias  Rands,  was  removed  from 
the  see  of  Rochester  and  confirmed  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  August  20, 
1547,  in  order  that  the  estates  belonging  to  the  see  of  Lincoln  might 
be  given  up  to  the  crown,  which  he  readily  yielded  to.  Before  he 
had  been  possessed  thereof  a  month  he  in  ore  day  confiscated  all  the 
principal  manors  belonging  to  his  bishopric,  alienating  September  26, 
1547,  the  lordship  and  manor  of  Biggleswade,  with  more  than  twenty 
others. 

*  E'p's  Line'  ten'  in  Eykelesw  ade  Str'tton  H'd'm'  di'  feod'  de  Bnronia  Eccl'ie 
me.  Testa  de  Nevill.  Ep'us  Lincoln  omnes  habet  regales  Jibertates  infra  maner' 
et  Hundred'  de  Bykeleswade.  29  H.  III.  Inq.  post  mort. 

t  Pleas  of  quo  warranto. 


Biggleswade.  25 

By  an  inquisition  taken  at  Ampthill  January  14,  3rd  Edward  VI., 
it  was  found  that  Sir  Michael  Fisher,  Knt.,  who  died  June  18, 
2nd  Edward  VI.,  possessed  of  this  manor,  together  with  that  of  Clifton 
and  some  others,  left  his  granddaughter  Agnes,  the  daughter  of  John 
Fisher,  which  Agnes  was  found  to  be  his  heir,  being  then  twenty-two 
years  old,  and  the  wife  of  Oliver  the  first  Lord  St.  John.*  [See  p.  29]. 

The  manor  afterwards  became  a  part  of  the  crown  possessions, 
and  was,  February  18,  1772,  leased  to  Robert,  Earl  Granville,  for  the 
term  of  thirty-one  years,  and  by  the  then  last  survey  f  was  valued  at 


Soon  after  the  expiration  of  the  above-mentioned  lease  it  was  sold 
(by  auction  at  Garraway's  Coffee-house,  September  10,  1807)  to  Sir 
Francis  Willes,  Knt.,  for  the  sum  of  ^2,180.  Sir  Francis  died 
October  30,  1827,  seised  of  the  manor,  which  he  devised  to  Peter 
Harvey  Lovell,  Esq.,  a  minor,  the  present  proprietor. 

The  parish  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Andrew,  is  in  the  deanery  of 
Shefford;  but  being  a  prebend,  the  prebendary  having  a  peculiar 
jurisdiction  throughout  the  parish,  is  exempt  from  archidiaconal 
visitation  ;  the  wills  of  those  persons  who  died  possessed  of  per- 
sonalty in  this  parish  only  are  proved,  and  other  ecclesiastical  affairs 
are  transacted  in  the  peculiar  of  the  prebendary. 

The  vicarage  was  endowed  (1277)  by  one  Thomas  Northfleet, 
Prebendary  of  Biggleswade  ;  he  presented  Walter  Justice  to  the  same, 
who  was  canonically  instituted  under  duty  of  residence.  It  appears 
from  the  endowment  that  the  prebendary  reserved  to  himself  and  his 
successors  portions  of  the  altarage,  viz.,  the  tithes  of  wool  and  lamb, 
also  all  mortuaries,  with  the  tithes  of  tradesmen  arising  from  trade  ; 
the  residue  of  the  altarage,  for  the  sustenance  of  the  vicar  and  his 
ministers,  was  stated  to  be  the  four  principal  offerings  through  the 
year,  with  the  other  offerings  on  the  days  of  All  Saints,  and  of  the 

*  Created  baron  of  the  realm  by  letters  patent  bearing  date  January  15,  1558, 
by  the  title  of  Lord  St.  John  of  Bletsho. 

t  Account  of  manors  held  by  lease  from  the  Crown. 

J  In  the  Val.  Eccl.  of  Henry  VIII.  we  find  that  Biggleswade  was  worth  per 
annum  — 

£    s.    d.  £  s.  d. 
In  rents  of  assize        ...         ...         ...         ...         ...  36     4    6 

Farm  of  demesne  lands,  with  toll  of  market  and  fair  1  1     o    o 
Farms  of  the  mills  there        ...         ...         ...         ...   17     o    o 

Common  fines...         ...  .      ...         ...         ......     o  14     4 

Perquisites  of  court    ...         ...         ......         ...068 

--  65     5     6 
REPRISES. 

Fee  to  Francis  Brian,  steward  of  lordship  there    ...     2     o    o 
Fee  to  Henry  Whitened,  bailiff       ...         ...         ...200 

Fee  to  George  Cock,  reeve  and  bailiff       ...         ...     i     i     o 

--  5     i     ° 


Clear  yearly  value      ...         ...         ...         ...       60    4    6 


2  6  Bedfordshire. 

Purification  of  the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary,  and  others,  as  well  at  funerals 
as  at  marriages  and  purifications  or  churchings,  and  whatsoever  else 
due  in  name  of  an  offering  ;  together  with  the  tithe  of  milk,  cheese, 
also  of  mills,  with  the  tithes  of  calves,  foals,  pigs,  geese,  flax,  hemp, 
and  curtilages,  with  the  payment  at  Christmas  called  ploughboot,  and 
also  the  oblations  which  the  faithful  in  Christ  for  the  time  to  come 
might  put  into  the  trunks  or  chests  of  Biggleswade  and  of  Stratton. 
The  vicar  by  himself,  and  other  necessary  and  proper  ministers,  was 
to  serve  the  prebendal  Church  of  Biggleswade,  and  find  two  waxlights 
in  full  service,  and  two  processional  lights,  and  one  lamp  burning  in 
the  chancel,  together  with  wine,  frankincense,  and  wafers,  and  was  to 
answer  proportionably  for  extraordinary  charges;  but  the  prebendary 
was  to  provide  priests,  to  do  duty  in  the  chapels  of  the  said  prebend, 
in  such  manner  as  he  had  been  accustomed  to  do,  etc. 

In  the  "Ecclesiastical  Taxation"  of  Pope  Nicholas,  it  is  thus 
recorded  of  the  prebend  :  "  Ecd'ia  Prebendal'  de  Bikeleswade, 
£46  135.  4d.  ;"  but  the  vicarage  is  not  separately  alluded  to.  We 
find,  however,  from  an  Inquisition  of  Ninths,*  granted  i5th  Edward 
III.,  that  the  vicarage  was  returned  as  worth  £15  ios.  3d. 

The  prebend  is  rated  in  the  king's  books  at  ^42  175.  6d.t 

In  Browne  Willis's  "Survey  of  the  Cathedrals"  is  given  the 
succession  of  the  prebendaries  of  this  church.  The  present  pre- 
bendary is  the  Rev.  George  Thos.  Pretyman,  of  Wheachamstead. 

The  present  vicar  is  the  Rev.  Edw.  Barker  Frere. 

Anciently  there  was  a  guild  or  fraternity  called  "the  Fraternity  of 
the  Holy  Trinity  in  the  Church  of  St.  Andrew  in  Biggleswade,"  of 
which  we  find  the  following  entry  in  the  Val.  Eccl.  of  Henry  VIII., 
made  about  the  time  of  its  suppression,  [iv.  198.] 

"  Rob'tus  Rypam  p'sbit'  frat'nitat5  sive  gilde  S'c'e  Trinitat5  in  eccl'ia  S'ti  Andree 
in  Bygleswade  p'dict'  h'et  in  clar'  denar'  de  gardianis  d'ce  frat'nitat8,  £j. 

"  I'm  p'd'c'i  gardiani  h'ent  in  terr'  et  ten'  posit'  in  man'  mort'  p'  nup'  Regem 
E.  iiijtu  et  valent  nisi  ultra  rep's,  £6  133.  4d. 

*  In  this  aid  34  marks,  I  is.  8d.,  were  paid  l.y  the  parish  of  Biggleswade. 

t  The  following  extract  is  from  the  Val.  Eccl.  of  Henry  VIII.  :  [vol.  iv.  198]. 

£   s.  </. 

Bygleswade.     Will'm's  Seg've  vicarius  ib'm  he't  in  clar'  den'ijs 

ultra  rep's  p'  annu'  ...         ...         ...         ...    10     o    o 

Georgius  Hennege  decanus  Lincoln'  p'hend  ib'm 
' 


h'tt  de  firmario  ejusd'm  p'bend'...         ...         ...   50     o    o 

In  den'ijs  solut'  p'ori  S'ti  Joh'is  Jer'l'm  in    £    s.  d. 

Anglia'  p'  pens'  antim   ...         ...         ...     3     6  8 

Et  p'  porc'one  solut'  subdecano  et  Chore- 

stall'  Lincoln'  p'  annu'            ...         ...     4    6  o 

In  toto         .........  7  12     8 

Et  reman'  dare      ...         ...  42     7     4 


Biggleswaae.  27 

A  grant  respecting  this  guild  may  be  seen  Pat.  i4th  Edward  IV., 
p.  2,  m.  4. 

The  chancel  was  built  by  John  Rudyng,  a  prebendary  of  this 
church  (being  collated  1467  ;  he,  however,  resigned  it  for  that  of 
Sutton  in  Bucks,  1468).  The  eastern  window  is  of  very  uncommon 
dimensions,  and  is  much  admired. 

Upon  entering  the  chancel  door,  to  the  right  are  three  stalls,  over 
each  of  which  is  a  plainly  carved  Gothic  arch ;  here  is  no  piscina 
adjoining,  which  frequently  is  the  case.  A  specimen  having  the 
three  stalls  and  piscina  may  be  seen  at  Cockayne  Hatley,  in  this 
county. 

At  the  foot  of  the  steps  leading  from  the  altar  are  several  slabs  of 
blue  stone,  which  have  contained  plates  with  inscriptions  and  other 
devices,  but  most  of  them  being  mutilated,  there  are  no  inscriptions 
now  legible. 

In  the  centre  of  the  chancel,  but  at  some  distance  from  the  altar, 
is  an  immense  blue  slab,  being  n  feet  6  inches  long,  and  5  feet 
6  inches  wide,  which  covers  the  remains  of  the  John  Rudyng  before 
mentioned,  and  which  has  the  following  imperfect  inscription.  Those 
parts  which  are  included  in  brackets  are  now  torn  off,  and  are 
supplied  from  Browne  Willis,  who  supposes  that  this  monument  was 
placed  here  in  the  lifetime  of  Rudyng,  before  he  obtained  his  other 
preferments.  On  a  scroll  in  black  letter  is  the  following  couplet : 

"Quatuor  O  Sancti  me  Bedford  Archlevitam 
John  Rudyng  famulum  precibus  defendite  vestrum." 

Round  the  verge  of  the  slab  : 

["  Rudyng  marmoreus  lapis  est  datus  iste  Johanni, 
Quern  crucis  ethereus  Rex  salvet  ab  ore  Tyranni,] 
Haud  pessumdet  eum  Baratri  resupina  potestas, 
Lumen- sidereum  sed  ei  det  Diva  Majestas. 
Qui  gravis  in  vita  Legu'  vir  erat  graduatus, 
Bis  Prebendatus  et  Bedford  Archilevita, 
Et  meritis  magnus  sancti  Rector  Michaelis 
Glowcetir,  ut  cells  hilarescat  det  sacer  agnus. 
[Hujus  Basilice  sponsus  fuerat  meritosus, 
Talis  erat  qualem  descripsi  plus  liberalem."] 

There  were  five  other  lines  originally,  but  these  were  torn  off  when 
Browne  Willis  saw  the  monument.  Near  the  top  of  the  stone  was  a 
large  brass  plate,  equal  in  its  dimensions  to  one  at  the  bottom.  At 
the  man's  side  the  figure  of  death  still  remains.  The  brass  at  the 
bottom  is  inscribed  with  the  following  curious  dialogue,  inclosed  in 
lines  alternately  raised  and  sunk  : 

"  Tu  fera  Mors  quid  agis  humane  prodiga  stragis, 
Cedo  quot  offendis  quod  in  hunc  discrimina  tendis, 
Die  cur  tela  struis  nature  depopulatrix, 
Die  cur  non  metuis  hunc  trudere  vasta  voratrix, 
Cur  te  non  puduit  fatali  sorte  ferire, 
Vivere  quem  decuit,  et  plebs  lacrimatur  obire." 


28  Bedfordshire. 


"  Mors. — Crede  nee  injurias  mortalibus  hunc  dare  somnis, 
Namque  meas  furias  caro  tandem  sentiet  omnis, 
Horrida  tela  fero,  morsu  necis  urgeo  seclum, 
Nee  vulgo  nee  hero  parcens  traho  singula  mecum. 
Quid  valet  altus  honos,  Rex,  Dux,  Princepsque  Sacerdos 
Hanc  subeunt  sortem,  nequeunt  precurrere  mortem. 
Mors  ego  sum  finis  lustrantibus  hie  peregrinis, 
Terminus  itineris  quern  nee  preterire  mereris. 
In  scriptis  legitur,  Caro  quevis  morte  potitur, 
Et  vox  applaudit  vulgo,  mors  omnia  claudit." 

Nearly  opposite  to  the  pulpit,  in  the  middle  of  the  nave,  is  a  stone, 
with  brasses  inlaid,  of  one  William  Halsted,  originally  having  a  wife 
on  each  side  of  him :  the  husband  is  decollated.  One  of  the  wives 
is  inhumanly  torn  from  his  side,  and  the  other,  being  on  the  right  of 
him,  has  JUiria  on  her  right  shoulder,  and  the  following  inscription 
at  their  feet : 

"Hie  jacent  Will'ms  Halsted,  qui  obiit  xxx  die  Januarii,  Anno  D'n 
MCCCCXLIX0.  Et  Isabella  ac  Alicia  [Anna,  in  Cough]  uxores  ei'de  .... 
quor'  a'i'ab'  p'pciet'  de,  Am'e." 

Very  near  to  the  last  is  another  thus  inscribed : 

41  Exuviae  Reverendi  Georgii  Gibson,  quadraginta  sex  annis  hujus  Parochiae 
vicarii,  hie  sunt  sepultae.  Sancti  Evangelii  pastor  verus  et  fidelis  fuit,  sacro 
munere  fungendo  constans  et  diligens,  in  privati  vita  clarum  et  magnificum  exem- 
plum  innocentise  et  virtutis  ;  post  longam  vitam  laboris  in  vinea  sacra  Domini, 
supremus  rerum  Arbiter  hinc  evocavit,  vicessimo  nono  die  Julii,  setatis  anno 
septuagessimo  sexto,  Anno  Domini  millessimo  septingentessirno  sexto.  Ricardus 
Rudd  scripsit." 

Another  has  : 

"  Hie  jacet  Owinus  Bromsall,  Armig.,  films  Rad'  Bromsall,  de  Beeston,  in  com. 
Bedf.  qui  obiit  .  .  .  die  Octob.  1663,  et  Blandina  uxor  et  filia  Blandina,  e  dextra 
parte  jacentes.  Anno  aetatis  fere  58." 

In  the  south  aisle  is  a  handsome  marble  monument,  inclosed  with 
iron  rails  (which  have  been  permitted  to  fall  into  a  most  disgraceful 
condition),  to  the  memory  of  Sir  Thomas  Bromsall,  who  was  seated 
at  Stratton  in  this  parish,  which  is  thus  inscribed  : 

"  Depositum  Thomae  Bromsall,  Militis  :  Qui  cum  legum  jurumq'  custos  esset 
acerrimus,  ea  tamen  fuit  morum  suavitate,  ut  tot  fere  nmicos  habuerit,  quot  fami- 
liares  :  letissima  fcemina  in  2rlas  nuptias  ascita,  foelicitatis  specimen  videbatur,  cum 
subito  post  trimestres  nuptias  vix  tridui  moibo  extinctus :  quam  brevia  humana 
pint  gaudia  documentum  ingens  factus  est.  Vidua  moesiissima  hunc  statui  lapidem 
jussit,  illi  quidem  in  memoriam  sibi  vero  cum  Deo  viam  luerit  ut  aegium  spiritum 
trahere  desinit  delectum,  pro  cineris  consortio,  receptaculum.  An.  D.  1706, 
aetat.  63.' 

On  a  plain  marble  monument,  very  near  to  the  last,  we  read : 

"Beneath  this  stone  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Harriot,  daughter  of  Admiral 
Sir  Richard  King,  Bart.,  married  to  Brigadier-General  Charles  Barnett,  Feb.  22, 
1796  ;  died  in  child-bed  Sept.  17,  1799.  She  was  deservedly  lovtd,  and  ever  will 
be  lamented  by  her  afflicted  husband. 

"The  said  Charles  Barnett  died  at  Gibraltar  on  the  loth  of  October,  1804,  of 
the  fatal  epidemic  fever  that  raged  there,  and  w  as  by  his  own  direction  buried  in 


Biggie  swade.  29 

the  convent  chapel  without  military  honours.  He  was  Major-General  of  his 
Majesty's  forces,  second  Major  of  his  Majesty's  third  regiment  of  foot-guards,  and 
second  in  command  in  that  garrison.  His  civil- and  military  virtue  has  been  amply 
acknowledged  and  recorded." 

In  the  chancel,  near  to  the  altar,  are  several  monuments  to  the 
family  of  the  Barnetts,  who  have  for  some  time  been  seated  at 
Stratton.  The  following  inscriptions  are  copied  from  the  monuments  : 

"In  the  grave  beneath  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Elizabeth  Barnett,  who 
died  at  Stratton  on  the  3<Dth  of  July,  1775.  She  was  twenty  years  the  wife  and 
thirty  years  the  widow  of  Curtis  Barnett,  Esq.,  who  died  at  Fort  St.  David's,  on 
the  coast  of  Coromandel,  on  the  29th  of  April,  1746,  and  was  then  Commander- 
in-Chief  of  his  Majesty's  squadron  in  the  East  Indies." 

On  the  same  monument : 

"  In  the  grave  beneath  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Amelia  Barnett.  She  de- 
ceased on  the  8th  Feb.,  1808." 

Another  has : 

"  In  the  grave  beneath  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Charles  Barnett,  Esq.,  son 
of  Curtis  and  Elizabeth  Barnett,  born  in  the  city  of  Gibraltar  May  Ijth,  1733. 
Deceased  at  Stratton  July  27th,  1811." 

In  the  north  aisle  of  the  church  is  a  neat  tablet,  which  is 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Barbara  Dorothea  Lewis,  the  sister  of  Richard 
Lewis,  Esq.,  of  Lantrillio  Grosseny,  in  the  county  of  Monmouth,  by  whom  this 
tablet  is  dedicated.  She  departed  this  life  the  3d  day  of  June,  1823,  aged  77." 

In  this  aisle  are  memorials  to  several  of  the  Rudd  family,  who  were 
formerly  resident  in  this  town ;  but,  as  I  have  already  trespassed  upon 
the  space  assigned  for  topographical  communications  in  your  valuable 
miscellany,  I  have  thought  it  prudent  to  omit  them.  I  must  also, 
from  the  same  motives,  for  the  present  omit  an  account  of  the 
hamlets  of  Stratton  and  Holme,  in  this  parish,  which  shall  be  com- 
municated in  a  future  number  of  your  magazine.  [These  were  not 
printed.]  Yours,  etc.,  C.  C. 

Bletso. 

[1799,  Part  //.,  pp.  745.  746.] 

Bletso,  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  between  six  and  seven  miles 
north  of  Bedford,  was  the  estate  of  the  Pateshulls,  then  of  the  Beau- 
champs,  and  by  marriage  with  the  heiress  of  the  latter  to  Oliver  St. 
John,  whose  great  grandson  was  created  by  Queen  Elizabeth  Baron  St. 
John,  of  Bletshoe,  being  the  second  baron  of  her  creation.  [See  p.  25.] 

The  house,  built  in  form  of  a  quadrangle,  entered  from  the  south, 
stood  at  a  small  distance  from  the  church  to  the  north.  Only  the 
north  side  remains  occupied,  by  a  farmer,  but  retaining  no  internal 
marks  of  ancient  grandeur  except  at  the  east  end,  where  there  is 
an  ascent  by  a  spacious  staircase  to  the  upper  rooms.  This  side,  of 
which  I  send  you  a  drawing  (Plate  II.,  Fig.  2),  was  built  of  brick,  and 
we  may  presume  the  whole  house  was  built  of  the  same  material. 


30  .    Bedfordshire. 

The  piers  of  the  gate  and  bridge  over  the  mote,  now  filled  up,  remain 
in  front. 

The  church,  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel 
of  one  pace,  divided  by  a  rich  wooden  screen.  The  nave  has  a 
south  aisle  and  porch ;  on  the  east  pediment  a  rich  cross  ;  in  the 
south  wall  of  the  chancel  a  single  stall  or  niche  ;  in  the  north  wall  a 
large  pointed  arch.  The  tower  is  in  the  centre,  and  there  is  a  gallery 
at  the  west  end  of  the  church.  The  font  is  ociagon  on  an  octagon 
shaft. 

A  cemetery  having  been  erected  for  the  St.  John  family  by  the 
present  lord,  the  family  monuments  have  been  removed  into  it. 

The  first,  on  the  south  wall,  is  a  beautiful,  well-preserved  group  of 
alabaster  figures,  representing  an  old  man  kneeling,  bare-headed, 
divided  beard  ;  five  sons,  one  with  a  beard,  whiskers,  a  cape,  and 
armour  ;  the  others  in  beards  and  ruffs ;  two  smaller  in  armour  ;  a  boy 
in  a  coat,  with  a  skull  at  his  feet.  The  lady  is  in  a  close  cap  and  ruff, 
long  sleeves  fastened  with  tapes,  and  gilt-embroidered  cuffs  ;  four 
daughters  behind  her,  one  wringing  her  hands.  Under  them  this 
inscription  in  capitals  :  [Omitted.] 

Arms,  quarterly  of  twelve : 

1.  St.  John. 

2.  Az.  ermine,  a  lion  rampant  V.  crowned  O. 

3.  A.  a  fess  between  6  cinquefoils  G. 

4.  V.  a  bend  cottized  between  6  martlets  O. 

5.  V.  a  lion  passant  between  6  mullets  and  z  cinquefoils  O. 

6.  Erm.  on  a  fess  3  crosses  moline  O. 

7.  G.  on  a  fess  O.  between  6  birds  O.,  a  star  G.  or  S. 

8.  A.  a  fess  S.  between  3  crescents  G. 

9.  A.  a  cross  S.  between  15  billets  S. 

10.  Quarterly,  O.  and  G.  a  bend  G. 

11.  Paly  of  5  A.  and  S.  on  a  bend  G.  3  eagles  displayed. 

12.  Barry  of  5   O.  and  G.  in  chief  a  lion  passant  guardant  G. 
impaling,  Bendy  of  5  A.  and  S. ;  also  impaling,  Quarterly  of  6  : 

1.  Paly  A.  and  G. 

2.  Barry  A.  and  Az. 

3.  G.  a  spread  eagle  A. 

4.  O.  a  fess  nebule"  A.  and  V. 

5.  Barry  of  5  A.  and  S.  in  chief  3  stars  S. 

6.  Ermine,  a  fess  between  3  hedgehogs  O. 

At  the  top  of  the  monument  St.  John  with  quarterings. 

Crest :  On  a  mount  V.  a  falcon  rising  Proper,  belled  O.  and  ducally 
gorged  G. 

On  the  south  wall,  St.  John  and  Cavendish  single,  and  the  first 
impaling  the  second,  in  memory  of  Oliver,  fifth  Baron  St.  John,  and 
second  Earl  of  Bolingbroke,  who  married  Frances,  third  daughter  of 
William  Cavendish,  Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  died  without  issue  1687. 


Cardington — Clifton  Hoo.  31 

There  are  also  tablets  of  white  marble  in  memory  of  a  son  born 
1781,  died  1794,  and  two  twin-daughters,  who  were  born  and  died 
within  the  month,  1785. 

The  living  is  a  rectory  in  the  gift  of  Lord  St.  John. 

R.  G. 
Cardington. 

[1797,  Part  /.,  p.  200.] 

Enclosed  I  send  you  a  drawing  of  Cardington  Cross  (Plate  5i.), 
which  was  erected  in  the  course  of  last  year  by  Samuel  Whitbread, 
Esq.,  and  is  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  three  roads  leading  to 
Bedford,  St.  Neots,  and  Cardington. 

W.  PARSLOW 
Clifton  Hoo. 

[1844,  Part  II.,  pp.  153-IS5-] 

As  I  hold  that  in  matters  of  topographical  import  accuracy  of  in- 
formation is  a  great  desideratum,  I  trust  that  the  following  remarks 
may  be  deemed  sufficiently  important  for  insertion  in  your  pages. 

The  Saxon  Chronicle,  under  the  date  A.D.  742,  says  : 

"There  was  a  large  synod*  assembled  at  Cloueshou  (Cliffs  Hoo), 
and  there  was  Ethelbald,  King  of  Mercia,  with  Archbishop  Cuthbert, 
and  many  other  wise  men."f 

Rapin  the  historian  is  more  particular  in  his  information,  but  has 
the  synod  under  a  rather  different  date,  and  says  : 

"  In  747  was  held  at  Cloveshoo,  a  cliff  in  the  kingdom  of  Kent, 
a  national  synod,  at  which  Ethelbald,  King  of  Mercia,  was  present, 
with  twelve  bishops  and  a  great  number  of  lords.  That  Cuthbert, 
Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  who  was  president,  read  Pope  Zachary's 
letter,  wherein  the  pope  admonished  the  English  to  reform  their 
lives,  and  threatened  those  with  excommunication  that  continued  in 
their  wicked  courses.  They  made  twenty-eight  canons,  most  of  them 
relating  to  ecclesiastical  discipline,  the  government  of  monasteries, 
the  duties  of  bishops  and  other  clergymen,  the  public  service,  singing 
psalms,  keeping  the  Sabbath  and  other  holidays." 

Another  synod,  the  Saxon  Chronicle  says,:}:  was  holden  in  822  at 
Cliffs  Hoo ;  but  Rapin  has  it  in  800,  and  is  more  circumstantial,  and 
says  it  was  held  under  Adelard,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  and  con- 
vened for  the  recovery  of  certain  church  lands  usurped  by  the  kings 
of  Mercia. 

Rapin  further  says,  three  years  after  (viz.,  803)  another  council 

*  Witenagemote,  or  Parliament. 

t  Vide  Ingram 's  edition  and  translation,  p.  67.  See  also  Spelman's  "Con- 
cilium," i.  230. 

£  Ingram's  edition  and  translation,  p.  86 ;  and  Spelman's  "  Concil."  for  the 
whole  of  the  synods. 


3  2  Bedfordsh  ire. 

was  held  at  the  same  place,  wherein,  according;  to  Pope  Leo's  con- 
stitution, and  with  the  consent  of  Cenulph,  King  of  Mercia,  the 
archbishopric  of  Lichfield  was  reduced  to  a  bishopric  as  formerly. 

In  the  notes  upon  Rapin  by  Tindal  and  Smollett,  as  to  these 
synods  being  held  at  Cliffs  Hoo,  in  the  kingdom  of  Kent,  it  is 
observed  : 

"  Cliff  or  Hoo  is  a  -town  on  a  rock  near  Rochester.  But  the 
presence  of  the  King  of  Mercia  at  this  and  some  other  councils  held 
at  Cloveshoo  makes  it  supposed  that  it  is  the  same  with  Abingdon, 
in  Berkshire,  about  the  middle  of  the  nation,  anciently  written 
'  Shovesham  '  by  mistake  for  Clovesham  or  Cloveshoo." 

Now,  the  learned  Camden  (vol.  i.,  p.  159)  observes  upon  these 
synods  or  councils  at  Cloveshoo,  under  the  head  Abingdon  : 

"That  it  was  in  ancient  times  called  Sheovesham.  It  is  not  un- 
reasonable to  think  this  the  very  place  where  two  synods  were  held, 
one  in  the  year  742  and  the  other  in  822,  both  said  to  be  at 
Cloveshoo ;  for  though  it  hath  been  settled,"  says  Camden,  "  in 
Kent,  at  a  place  called  Cliff  at  Hoo,  yet  that  conjecture  is  wholly 
founded  upon  the  similitude  of  names,  and  doth  by  no  means  agree 
with  what  is  supposed,  that  Cloveshoo  was  probably  in  Mercia,  and 
Ethelbald,  King  of  the  Mercians,  had  the  greatest  hand  in  it,  because 
the  Saxon  annals  mention  him  particularly  as  present ;  and  Cliff  at 
Hoo,  in  Kent,  is  too  much  in  a  corner  to  answer  the  character  of 
Cloveshoo,  which  is  mentioned  but  twice  in  the  annals,  and  both 
times  said  expressly  to  be  the  place  of  a  synod.  And  in  a  council 
at  Hertford  in  672  we  find  it  decreed  that  there  should  be  two  synods 
yearly ;  but  because  there  were  several  incidental  causes  which  might 
prevent  them,  it  was  unanimously  agreed,  however,  that  there  should 
one  meet  yearly  the  first  day  of  August  at  the  place  called  Clofeshoh, 
which  cannot  be  supposed  unreasonably  to  point  out  a  place  so  little 
for  the  convenience  of  most  of  the  members,  but  may  very  rationally 
be  meant  of  this  place  (Abingdon) — a  place,  perhaps,  by  reason  of 
its  situation,  as  eligible  by  all  parties  as  could  be  well  thought  of." 

Yet  in  another  place,  under  the  head  Cliff  at  Hoo,  Kent,  Camden, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  Sir  Henry  Spelman  and  Mr.  Talbot, 
both  eminent  antiquaries  (alluding  to  these  councils  or  synods), 
observes : 

"  The  first,  called  by  Cuthbert,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  at  which 
was  present  Ethelbald,  King  of  Mercia,  A.D.  742  ;  the  second,  under 
Kennulph,  also  King  of  Mercia,  A.D.  803  ;  and  a  third  under  Ceolwulf, 
his  successor,  A.D.  822.  Upon  which  account  Mr.  Lambard  also 
doubts  whether  Cloveshoo  were  not  in  Mercia  rather  than  in  Kent, 
the  kings  of  Mercia  being  either  present  at  them  or  the  councils 
called  by  their  authority,  neither  of  which  would  probably  have  been 


Clifton  Hoo.  33 

at  a  place  so  remote  from  them  (as  Cliff  at  Hoo,  in  Kent)  or  so  in- 
commodious for  such  a  purpose.  Nevertheless  Mr.  Lambard,  upon 
the  authority  of  Talbot  (yet  reserving  a  power  of  revoking  upon 
better  information),  agrees  that  Cliff  at  Hoo  must  be  the  place,  and 
the  ratner  because  he  finds  no  such  place  as  Cloveshoo  within  the 
precincts  of  Mercia,  although  there  be  divers  places  there  that  bear 
the  name  of  Cliff  as  well  as  this." 

With  submission,  however,  to  so  grave  an  authority  as  that  of 
Camden,  I  think  he  could  not  have  seen  or  at  least  examined  that 
copy  of  the  Saxon  Chronicle  kept  or  compiled  at  Abingdon.  He 
would  there  have  seen  that  these  synods  (or  one  of  them)  were  there 
said  to  have  been  held  at  Claveshoo,  not  Sheovesham  (Abingdon) ; 
and,  indeed,  Leland  the  historian  calls  Abingdon  anciently  "  Seukes- 
ham,"  "whether  from  record  or  mistake  I  know  not,"  says  Camden, 
and  the  affinity  of  the  name  Sheovesham  or  Seukesham  to  Cloveshoo 
seems  to  me  very  small  (independently  of  that  place  or  Abingdon 
being  as  it  was  in  the  West  Saxon  kingdom,  and  not  in  Mercia,  and 
Egbrichus,  then  King  of  the  West  Saxons,  was  not  present  thereat, 
though  a  renowned  Christian).  Besides,  the  termination  "ham" 
instead  of  "  hoo  "  is,  I  think,  definitive  that  this  latter  place  could  not 
be  the  Cloveshoo,  as  "  ham  "  is  the  Saxon  house,  farm,  or  village, 
and  "  hoo  "  the  Saxon  high.  I  think,  therefore,  I  have  disposed  of 
the  probability  that  ever  Sheovesham,  Seukesham,  or  Abingdon  was 
or  were  the  locality  of  this  synod,  or,  indeed,  of  any  of  these  synods. 
With  regard  to  Cliff  at  Hoo,  in  Kent,  its  situation,  as  will  be  seen 
by  the  map,  renders  it  most  improbable  even  for  a  Kentish  synod, 
being  that  of  a  chersoncsus,  and  not  approachable  by  land  except  on 
one  side  of  it — viz.,  that  between  Rochester  and  Gravesend ;  and 
that  the  kings  of  Mercia,  and  their  dukes,  lords,  and  prelates,  etc., 
should  be  drawn  such  a  distance  out  of  their  own  territories  to  attend 
synods  in  two  of  the  cases — viz.,  that  of  taking  the  archiepiscopal 
seat  from  Lichfield,  and  that  of  obtaining  the  restoration  of  property 
taken  from  the  Church  in  Mercia — seems  altogether  improbable. 

I  shall  now  proceed,  without  further  preamble,  to  fix  the  locality 
of  these  synods  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  a  part  of  the  Mercian 
kingdom.  It  must  be  premised  that  this  district  seems  to  have  been 
a  species  or  sort  of  terra  incognita,  never  having  had  its  own  par- 
ticular or  exclusive  historian.  Its  division  into  a  county  by  the  name 
of  Beddanford,  or  Bedford,  did  not  take  place  until  the  reign  of 
Alfred  (about  a  century  after  the  holding  of  the  synods  at  Cloveshoo), 
which  would  be  another  reason  why  a  more  particular  or  explanatory 
account  of  the  situation  of  Cloveshoo  had  not  been  given  by  historio- 
graphers. And  Bedford  must  at  that  time  have  been  a  small  place, 
though  daily  growing  into  more  importance  by  one  of  the  vicinal 
ways,  probably  made  by  Ostorius,  the  Roman  propraetor,  from  Tow- 
cester  (the  ancient  Tripontium)  by  Newport  (Nova  Porta),  through 

VOL.  xii.  3 


34  Bedfordshire. 

the  Ouse  at  Bedford,  to  Salaena  (Sandy),  passing  through  it,  and 
earthworks  being  thrown  up  on  one  side  of  the  river,  and  a  sort  of 
military  defence  /made  and  kept  by  troops  at  the  passage,  as  was 
customary  at  great  rivers,  the  people  began  to  draw  themselves 
together  to  such  localities,  to  partake  of  such  defences,  and  to  build 
houses  ;  which  in  this  case  (Bedford)  was  increased  by  King  Offa  the 
Mercian  taking  to  its  situation,  and  afterwards  more  increased  by 
King  Edward,  who  built  that  part  of  the  town  south  of  the  Ouse — 
— viz.,  St.  Mary  Street  and  Potter  Street,  or  Porta  Street  (the  street 
of  the  vicinal  way  or  passage  to  Salsena,  or  Sandy). 

We  come  now  to  observe,  that  at  the  west  end  of  the  town  of 
Clifton,  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  and  in  a  line  leading  to  Mepper- 
shall  and  Shetlington,  is  an  ancient  way,  which,  before  the  late 
inclosure  of  Clifton,  was  and  is  yet  called  the  Hoo  way,  and  at  the 
extremity  of  it,  as  it  enters  and  crosses  the  London  and  Bedford 
roads,  which  separate  the  parishes  of  Clifton  and  Meppershall,  is 
there  called  Clifton  Hoo.  This  place,  the  Hoo,  is  the  highest 
place  in  Clifton  parish,  and  commands  an  extensive  view  of  Bedford- 
shire on  the  one  side,  and  into  Herts  on  the  other.  And  on  the 
north  side  of  it,  looking  down  on  Shetford,  or  ShefTord,  about  half  a 
mile  hence,  is  quite  a  declivity.  On  the  right  hand  of  this  Hoo 
way,  in  Clifton  parish,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  town  before  the 
inclosure,  was  a  large  quantity  of  argillaceous  earth  thrown  up,  much 
resembling  an  ancient  barrow  or  tumulus,  but,  instead  of  being  round 
like  the  Roman  tumulus,  was  oblong,  like  that  of  the  Danes  or  Saxons, 
according  to  Olaus  Wormius,  and  the  descent  therefrom  was  gradual 
into  the  valley,  admitting  of  a  famous  opportunity  of  being  addressed 
therefrom,  and  I  can  almost  figure  to  myself  Archbishop  Cuthbert 
(the  holy  Cuthbert)  surrounded  by  Ethelbald  the  king,  the  twelve 
bishops,  the  dukes  and  nobles,  reading  to  this  admiring  primitive 
Christian  assembly,  on  the  onset  of  their  synod,  the  letter  of  Pope 
Zachary  to  him  on  Christian  duties. 

This  place  is  distant  from  Hertford,  where  the  synod  was  held  in 
the  6th  of  Ethelred,  King  of  the  Mercians  (directing  a  synod  or  council 
to  be  held  yearly  at  Clives  Hoo),  about  twenty-five  miles,  and  in  a 
direct  line  by  the  great  road  leading  from  London  to  Bedford  and 
into  the  heart  of  Mercia,  and  it  is  remarkable  from  this  spot  were 
roads  leading  crosswise  into  almost  all  parts  of  England  ;  besides, 
it  is  seated  in  a  fine,  sound,  gravelly  soil,  in  an  open  situation  (the 
Open  fields),  about  two  miles  from  Arlsey,  a  market  town  in  the  time 
of  the  Saxons,  and  about  five  or  six  miles  from  Ashwell,  a  borough  in 
the  time  of  the  Saxons,  and  both  of  which,  according  to  the  Domes- 
day Survey,  remained,  and  were  such  in  the  time  of  Edward,  and 
subsequently  of  the  Conqueror.  Biggleswade,  also  another  Saxon 
and  hundred  town,  only  four  miles  from  Clifton,  and  having  a  market, 
temp.  Henry  I.,  the  grandson  of  the  Conqueror,  and  Clifton  itself 


Cockayne  Hatley. 


being  in  the  time  of  King  Alfred  a  place  of  so  much  importance  as 
to  give  name  to  the  hundred  in  which  it  is  situate,  and  consequently 
affording  convenience  for  the  holding  of  its  Hundred  Court  and 
Stotfold  (anciently  called  Stalfalt)  little  more  than  three  miles  from 
Clifton  Hoo,  being  in  the  time  of  Edward,  and  subsequently  of  the 
Domesday  Survey,  so  large  as  to  have  four  mills — one  is  led  to 
suppose  it  may  have  been  equally  capable  of  affording  convenience 
for  travellers  at  the  time  of  these  synods. 

Clifton  derives  its  name  from  its  situation,  the  town  on  the  cliff. 
An  old  farm,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  locality  of  this  synod,  or  not 
so  much,  but  directly  by  the  Hoo  way,  is  now,  and  has  from  antiquity, 
been  called  the  Hoo  Farm.  And  at  the  time  of  the  Domesday 
Survey,  we  have  other  towns  in  its  neighbourhood,  all  equally  high 
situations,  such  as  Silvershoo,  (Silsoe),  Cain-hoo,  and  Millo. 

Yours,  etc.,  W.  CHAPMAN. 

Cockayne   Hatley. 

[1801,  Part  II.,  pp.  1183-1184.] 

Cockayne  Hatley,  Bedfordshire,  is  a  pleasant  village  situated  on  an 
eminence  in  the  north-east  corner  of  the  county  of  Bedford,  with 
woods  to  the  north  and  west,  and  a  beautiful  and  extensive  prospect 
over  the  adjacent  country  to  the  south  and  east.  It  contains  four 
farms,  the  rectory  house,  and  a  few  cottages. 

The  church  is  an  ancient  regular  structure,  with  a  nave  and  side- 
aisles,  built,  as  supposed,  by  Sir  John  Cokayne,  as  his  arms  are  on 
the  brackets  that  support  the  rocf,  and  in  many  other  parts  of  the 
church.  On  the  north  side  of  the  nave  is  a  raised  altar-tomb,  which 
covers  the  remains  of  Sir  John  Cokayne,  Knt.,  Chief  Baron  of  the 
^Exchequer  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  IV.  On  the  top  was  his 
effigies  engraved  on  brass,  with  his  arms  at  each  corner,  but  now 
entirely  gone. 

In  the  south  aisle  is  a  very  handsome  monument,  with  the  figures 
of  an  armed  knight  and  his  lady  kneeling  at  an  altar,  with  the  follow- 
ing inscriptions  above  and  below  them. 

Over  the  man  : 

"  S.  DEO.  O.  M. 

Memoriaeq.  et  Mortalibus 

Exuviis  C.  L.  V.  D.  PATRITII  HOME, 

Equitis  Aurati,  cui  ex  nobilissima 

Familia  HOMEA  de  WEDDERBURNK, 

Apud  SCOTOS  oriundo,  Musis  sanct. 

ANDREANIS  innutrito,  Artiumque  ibidem 

Mro  dein  circa  annum  salutis 

CID  ID.LXXXVII. 

a  Rege  magisterio  canum  leporum 

rariorum  donate,  Regemq.  eodem  munere 

in  ANGLIAM  secuto  ibique  accipitrum  Regiorum." 

3—2 


36  Bedfordshire. 

Over  the  woman  : 

"  Custodian 

Adepto  probeq.  functo, 

denato  denique  aetatis  X'ti 

A°.  CIO.IDCXXI.  suse  vero 

XLIX.  atq.  in  colonia  ccelesti 

nunc  recensito,  lectissima  conjux 

ELIZABETHA,  Filia  JOHANNIS  COKAYNE, 

de  COKAYNE  HATLEY,  in  com. 

BEDF.  Armigeri,  in  conjugalis  fidei 

Corporisq.  aeternum  indivulsi  sponsionem 

amorisque  monumentum  hoc  statuit." 

Under  the  woman  : 

"  In  Cl.  V.  Dominum  PATRITIUM 
HOME,  vulgo  HUME,  SCOTUM. 
Quam  male  convenit  tibi  Natio, 

Quam  male  Nomen  ! 

Istud  Humum  Hominemq.  sonat, 

sonat  ilia  Tenebras." 

Under  the  man  : 

"  Vita  sed  illustris,  nee  propter 

HUMUM  tibi  neque 
nudum  Hominem  speraret,  erat ; 

nunc  corpore  tandem, 

atq.  homine  exuto,  O  quantum  mutatus  ab  ILLO  es  ! 

Corpus  Humo  Tenebrisque  relinquis,  caetera  vivis, 

sternum  indutus  LUCEMQ.  POLUMQ.  DEUMQ." 

In  the  middle  aisle  are  the  following  inscriptions  on  brass,  very 
well  preserved. 

A  man  in  armour,  and  a  woman,  with  this  inscription  : 

"  Of  your  charitie  pray  for  the  soules  of  Edmund  Cockayn,  esquyer,  and  Eliza- 
beth, his  wife  ;  which  Edmund  decessed  the  3  day  of  September,  the  year  of  our 
Lord  1565  ;  on  whose  soules  Jesu  have  mercy." 

Below,  twelve  boys  and  four  girls. 

Arms — On  the  dexter  side,  ar.  three  cocks  gu.  for  Cockayne.  On 
the  sinister,  a  chevron  between  three  padlocks. 

On  the  second  stone,  the  effigies  of  two  women  and  four  children  ; 
the  inscription  gone. 

On  the  third  stone,  a  man  in  armour,  part  of  an  inscription : 

"  Quisquis  estis,  q'ua'  sicus,  sta,  plege,  plore." 

On  the  fourth  stone,  a  man  and  woman  with  a  cross  between 
them  •  below,  five  boys  and  five  priests  ;  inscription  gone. 
On  the  fifth  stone,  a  man  between  two  women  : 

"  Orate  p'  anima  Will'mi  Cockyn,  Armg'i,  Dorothee  et  Kat'ine  ux.  ej.  qui 
quidem  Willmus  ob'it  xii°  die  Februarii,  A°  L)ni  M°CCCCC°XXVII." 

Two  boys  and  two  girls  below,  with  the  arms  of  Cockayne  at  each 
corner. 


Cockayne  H alley.  37 


On  the  sixth  stone  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  John  Cockane,  esq.,  who  departed  this  life  Jan.  the  5th, 
Anno  Dom.  1718,  aetat.  77." 

On  the  seventh  stone  : 

"  Here  lyes  the  body  of  Elizabeth  Cockayne,  relict  of  John  Cockayne,  esq.,  of 
Cockayne  Hatley,  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  who  departed  this  life  May  the  I2th, 
1739,  in  the  gist  year  of  her  age." 

On  the  eighth  stone  : 

"  Here  lyes  the  body  of  Elizabeth  Cockayne,  daughter  of  John  Cockayne,  esq., 
and  Elizabeth  his  wife  (of  Cockayne  Hatley,  in  the  county  of  Bedford),  who 
departed  this  life  the  2i>th  day  of  November,  1736,  aged  62  years." 

On  the  outside  of  the  church  is  a  small  slab  of  marble  fixed  in  the 
wall,  with  the  following  inscription  : 

"Near  this  place  lieth  the  body  of  Rob.  Porteus,  Cl.,  late  rector  of  this  parish, 
who  died  April  the  i8th,  1753,  in  the  49th  year  of  his  age." 

The  above  inscription  is  in  memory  of  the  elder  brother  of  the 
present  worthy  and  pious  Bishop  of  London. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  church  stands  the  old  family  mansion  of 
the  Cockaynes,  surrounded  with  a  broad  and  deep  moat,  over  which 
is  a  drawbridge.  The  entrance  to  the  house  is  through  an  ancient 
porch  into  a  large  hall  (that  occupies  the  whole  height  of  the  build- 
ing) with  a  curious  timber  roof,  and  a  music-gallery  at  one  end,  built 
in  the  reign  of  William  Rufus.  The  ends  of  the  house  are  of  a  more 
modern  date.  The  estate  continued  in  the  family  of  the  Cockaynes 
till  about  the  year  1740,  when  it  came  to  Savile  Cockayne  Cust,  Esq., 
who  left  it  to  Sir  John  Cust,  late  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
and  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Miss  Lucy  Cockayne  Cust. 

Yours,  etc.,  MATT.  RUGELEY. 

[1821,  Part  II.,  p.  1 1 6.] 

In  the  course  of  the  present  year  I  visited  Cockayne  Hatley,  a 
village  within  three  miles  of  Potton.  It  derives  its  name  from  the 
family  of  Cockayne,  and  is  now  the  property  of  the  Hon.  and  Rev. 
Henry  Cust,  who  is  also  rector  of  the  parish.  The  village  is  small, 
and  situated  amongst  grounds  of  pasture,  well  planted,  and  screened 
from  the  north  and  north-east  by  Hatley  Woods.  The  mansion, 
formerly  the  seat  of  the  Cockaynes,  has  lately  been  improved,  and 
the  grounds  ornamented,  by  the  present  possessor,  and  is  a  short 
distance  from  the  church,  which  stands  within  the  domain. 

The  church  consists  of  a  chancel,  nave  and  aisles,  with  a  tower  at 
the  west  end.  The  date  of  these  appears  to  be  the  fifteenth  century, 
excepting  the  east  window  of  the  church,  which  is  modern,  and  in 
the  foliated  style  of  the  fourteenth  century;  an  exact  copy  of  a 
window  in  the  church  at  Wilbraham,  in  Cambridgeshire.  The 
whole  church  is  now  under  repair,  by  the  direction  of  the  present 


38  Bedfordshire. 

excellent  proprietor,  who  has  not  only  erected  the  window  described, 
but  ornamented  the  tower  with  four  pinnacles,  judiciously  adapted 
to  the  rest  of  the  fabric,  and  restored  the  painted  glass  in  the 
windows,  according  to  the  remnants  of  the  original  left  in  them. 

On  the  floor  are  some  interesting  grave-stones,  inlaid  with  brasses, 
to  the  memory  of  the  Cockaynes ;  and  one,  from  which  the  brasses 
have  been  erased,  to  the  memory  of  a  De  Brien,  whose  family  were 
anciently  proprietors  of  the  estate,  and  gave  their  name  to  Milton 
Brien  (now  called  Bryant),  at  the  opposite  extremity  of  the  county. 
But  that  which  riveted  my  attention  was  the  pulpit-cloth  and  cushion 
of  purple  velvet ;  the  former  being  a  portion  of  the  canopy,  and  the 
latter  of  the  pall,  that  covered  the  remains  of  our  late  beloved 
sovereign  King  George  III.  These,  together  with  the  robe  of  a 
Knight  of  the  Garter,  of  the  same  colour  and  material,  which  forms 
the  covering  for  the  Communion-table,  came  into  the  hands  of  the 
rector  from  the  church  of  Windsor,  in  which  he  fills  the  place  of  a 
canon ;  and  never  were  relics  arranged  with  greater  taste  or  applied 
with  better  judgment.  H.  K.  B. 

Cople. 

[1826,  Part  I.,  pp.  499-502.] 

The  picturesque  village  of  Cople  is  situate  in  the  hundred  of 
Wixhamtree,  four  miles  distant  from  Bedford,  near  the  retired  village 
of  Cardington,  for  some  time  the  place  of  residence  of  the  philan- 
thropic Howard. 

I  cannot  find  that  it  is  recorded  in  Domesday  Book  ;  it  appears, 
however,  to  have  belonged  to  the  adjacent  Priory  of  Chicksand  at  a 
very  remote  period.  In  i;th  Edward  I.  mention  is  made  of  meadow 
and  wood  land  in  the  parish  of  "  Coupoll."*  By  the  same  name  it  is 
noticed  in  two  Inquisitions  taken  towards  the  close  of  the  same 
reign. f  In  3rd  Edward  II.,  William  de  Rous  appears  to  have  held 
inter  alia  divers  tenements  in  "  Coupel,"  and  ten  acres  of  land  in  the 
adjoining  parish  of  Kerdington,J  or  Cardington.  "Johannes  de 
Nevill  le  Raby,§  Chevalier,  et  Elizabetha  uxor  ejus,"  held  in  i2th 
Richard  II.,  twenty  knights'  fees  pertaining  to  various  manors, 
mostly  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  among  which  "Coupell"  is  men- 
tioned. i|  The  name  occurs  again  in  the  twenty-second  year  of  the 
same  reign,  when  it  appears  that  Thomas,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  held 
rents  and  services  in  this  and  several  other  manors.lF  They  are 
again  noticed  in  an  escheat  taken  the  following  year,  wherein  the 
name  is  written  "  Coupill."**  It  is  thus  recorded  in  the  valuation  of 
benefices,  temp.  Henry  VIIJ.  :f| 

*  Esch.,  17  Ed.  I.,  No.  57.  t  Ibid.,  34  Ed.  I.,  231,  237. 

t  Ibid.,  3  Ed.  II.,  15. 

§  Raby  in  Durham,  the  head  of  the  Barony  of  Nevill. 
II   Esch.,  12  R.  II.,  40.  IT  Ibid.,  22  R.  II.,  101. 

Ibid.,  I  Hen.  IV.,  71  a.  ft  Val.  Eccl. 


•** 


Copie. 


39 


"  Cowpull,  Reel"  imp'priat'  prioratui  cle  Chicksaund.  Adam  Mulsworth  vicarius 
ib'm  h'et  in  minut's  xmis  et  al'  ad  vicar'  s"  p'tinen'  p'ann.  ^viij.  In  sinod'  & 
procur'  solut'  arch'o  Bedd'  p'  ann.  iijj.  et  reman'  ultra  \ijl.  xvij.c.  Inde  (xma)  .  .  . 
xvs.  viija'." 

The  parish  church,  engraved  in  Fisher's  "Views  in  Bedfordshire," 
has  recently  undergone  extensive  repairs.  It  contains  several 
memorials  and  funeral  monuments  of  much  interest.  Before  the  altar 
are  the  effigies  in  brass  of  Nichol  Rouland  and  his  wife ;  under- 
written is  in  black  letter : 

"  Nichol  Rolond  et  Pernel  sa  femme  gist  icy,  dieu  de  lour  almes  eit  mercy. 
Amen." 

On  the  south  side  of  this  monument  is  another,  commemorating 
one  of  the  same  family  with  this  inscription,  in  black  letter,  under- 
neath the  figure  of  a  man  in  armour : 

"Walter  Rolond  gist  icy,  dieu  de  sa  alme  eit  mercy.     Amen." 

Both  these  memorials  are  without  date,  but  may  be  referred  to  a 
very  remote  period.  A  manor  in  Cople,  bearing  the  name  of  this 
family,  in  whom  it  was  formerly  vested,  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  Lysons.* 

On  the  north  side  of  Nichol  Roland's  tomb  are  brasses  representing 
a  man  in  complete  armour,  with  a  lion  at  his  feet,  and  a  woman.  In 
black  letter : 

"  Hie  jacent  Johan'es  Launcelyn,  Armiger,  qui  obiit  vii  die  mensis  May  anno 
d'ni  miU'imo  ccccxxxv0,  et  Margareta  ux*  ei"  quor'  a'i'b's  p'p'ciet'  deus.  Ame'." 

The  family  of  Launcelyn  were  considerable  benefactors  to  the 
building  of  the  church,  as  appears  from  their  armst  being  cut  in 
stone  on  one  of  the  pillars. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  chancel  is  an  altar-tomb,  inlaid  with  the 
figures  of  a  man  in  armour,  and  his  wife ;  beneath  the  husband,  four 
sons,  and  nine  daughters  below  the  wife.  At  the  corners  of  the  tomb 
were  four  escutcheons,  of  which  the  second  is  lost.  The  first, 
quarterly  first  and  fourth  Gray.  \  Second  and  third  Launcelyn, 

quartered  by  a  water  bouget.  The  third,  Gray ;  fourth, 

Launcelyn.  On  its  north  side  are  the  arms  of  Launcelyn  and  Gray 

*  Mag.  Brit.,  Bedfordshire. 

t  Gules,  a  fleur-de  lis  argent ;  argent,  a  fleur-de-lis  sable.  Both  these  bearings 
are  appropriated  by  Edmondson  to  the  Launcelyns  of  Bedfordshire. 

+  On  the  pillar  at  the  foot  of  this  tomb  are  these  arms  in  their  proper  tinctures, 
almost  obliterated  by  whitewash.  Mr.  George  Howard,  in  his  "  Lady  Jane  Grey 
and  her  Times,"  gives  as  the  bearing  of  that  family,  "  Barry  of  six  arg.  and  azure, 
in  chief  3  torteaux  ermine."  If  we  dispense  with  the  last  word  in  this  description 
— which,  by-ihs-bye,  seems  to  be  altogether  an  interloper — the  arms  alluded  to  at 
Cople  will  be  correctly  set  forth.  They  make  some  figure  in  the  old  poem  called 
"The  Siege  of  Karlaverock"  (see  pp.  412,  418),  as  the  cognizance  of  Henri  de 
Grai  : 

"  Banier  avoit  e  par  droit  conte 
De  VI  piecis  la  vous  mesur 
Barre  de  Argent,  e  de  Asur.' 


40  Bedfordshire. 

on  separate  escutcheons ;  the  last  of  these  is  repeated  once  on  its 
west,  and  twice  on  its  south  side.     In  black  letter : 

"  What  can  myght,  pow'r,  or  auncye'  bloode  avayll, 
Or  els  riches  that  men  cownte  felicite  ? 
What  can  they  hclpe  ferful  dethe  to  assayll  ? 
Certes  nothinge,  and  that  is  p'vyd  by  me 
That  had  thos'  giftis  rehersid  wr  all  plente 
Neu'thelesse  yit  am  I  leyd  lowe  in  clay 
That  whylom  was  squyer  called  Thos.  G'ye. 

"  Benet  my  wyf  eke  is  fro  this  world  past, 
Yit  we  trust  to  be  had  in  memory 
As  longe  as  the  paryshe  of  Coople  shall  last, 
For  our  benefitis  don  to  it  largely 
As  witnesse  xxli  pownd  w'  other  giftis  many, 
Wherfor  all  cristen  men  that  goe  by  this  way 
P'y  for  ye  soules  of  Benet  and  Tho's  Gray."    [Cf.  1815,  ii.  394.] 

Over  an  altar-tomb  at  the  east  end  of  the  north  aisle  are  the 
figures  of  a  man  and  woman  praying  at  a  fald-stool ;  behind  the 
husband  five  sons,  and  four  daughters  behind  the  wife.  The 
inscription  is  in  black  letter  : 

"  Here  lyeth  Nicholas  Luke,  esquyer,  one  of  the  Barons  of  the  Exchequer  at 
Westminst'r  and  Cecyle  his  wyfe,  one  of  the  daughters  and  heyre  of  Sr.  Thomas 
Waulton,  Knyght,  which  Nicholas  decessyd  the  xxii  day  of  October  in  the  yere  of 
our  Lorde  God  mccccclxiii.  On  whose  soules  Jesus  have  mercy." 

In  the  upper  corners  are  escutcheons.  The  first,  Luke.*  The 
other,  party  per  pale:  ist,  three  lions  rampant;  2nd,  a  chevron, 
in  dexter  chief  an  annulet.  On  the  tomb  are  two  escutcheons. 
The  first,  Luke  impaling  Waulton.  The  second  Waulton  singly. 
The  last  words  of  the  inscription,  as  is  very  frequently  the  case,  have 
been  mutilated. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  chancel,  over  an  altar-tomb,  on  the  south 
side  of  which  is  an  escutcheon  bearing  the  arms  of  Launcelyn,  are 
the  figures  of  a  man  in  his  robes,  and  his  wife  in  a  kneeling  posture. 
The  labels  from  their  mouths  have  been  torn  away,  and  the  close  of 
the  inscription,  which  is  in  black  letter,  is  obliterated. 

"  Here  lyeth  Sr  Water  Luke,  Knyght,  one  of  the  Justyces  of  the  Plees  holden 
before  the  most  excellent  prynce  King  Henry  the  eyght,  and  dame  Anne  his  wyffe 
Norysthet  unto  his  seyd  magesty  and  one  of  the  doughters  and  heyre  of  John 
Launcelyn,  Esquyer,  whyche  seyd  Sir  Walter  decess>d  the  xxith  day  of  July  in 
the  xxxvith  yere  of  the  reygne  of  our  Sovraygne  Lorde,  and  the  say&dame  Anne 
decessyd  the'  ix  day  of  September  in  the  xxx  yere  of  the  reygne  of  the  seyd 
most  gracyus  sovrange  lord.  On  whos  soulls  ihu  have  m'cy,  a'." 

The  Luke  family  for  a  series  of  years  held  the  manors  of  Wood 
End  in  this  parish,  which  has  been  confounded  with  a  place  of  the 
same  name  in  Toddington.  The  names  of  Nicholas  and  Sir  Walter 
Luke  are  affixed  to  several  returns  in  the  Valor  of  Henry  VIII.  The 
wife  of  this  last-named  gentleman,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  inscription 

*  Sa.  a  bugle-horn  stringed  and  tassellcd  or.  t  !•£.,  nurse. 


Cople.  4 1 

given  above,  was  nurse  to  that  monarch,  and  daughter  of  John 
Launcelyn.  Sir  Oliver  Luke  and  his  son  Sir  Samuel  were  both  in 
the  service  of  Parliament  during  the  civil  wars  :  the  latter  was  scout- 
master for  Bedfordshire,  Surrey,  and  some  other  counties.  But  what 
has  distinguished  him  more  than  all  his  virtues,  is  the  portrait  of  him 
drawn  by  the  inimitable  Butler  in  his  "  Hudibras,"a  name  unequivo- 
cally applied  to  him  in  that  satirist's  poem  "  Of  Dunstaple  Downs." 
Little  respecting  this  worthy  can  be  added  to  the  notices  which  have 
already  appeared  in  your  former  volumes.  The  family  remained  at 
Wood  End,  now  reduced  to  a  single  farm-house,  until  1732,  when 
the  "  last  Luke  "  was  buried  in  the  parish  church — there  is  a  spot  in 
the  vicinity  of  Cople  which  still  bears  the  name  of  Hudibras'  Hole. 

On  the  pavement,  south  aisle,  are  the  indents  of  brasses  represent- 
ing a  man  and  his  wife,  with  labels,  which  are  gone,  as  well  as  the 
"  sonnes  ".from  the  lower  part  of  the  stone.  The  effigies  of  the  two 
daughters  still  remain  under  the  flaw,  in  which  the  wife's  "pourtraic- 
ture  "  has  been  placed.  The  inscription  is  in  black  letter. 

"  Here  lyeth  Thomas  Spenser  of  this  towne,  gent.,  and  Anne  his  wife,  da.  to 
Robert  Bulkeley,  esquire,  which  Thomas  deceased  the  3rd  of  December,  1547, 
and  Anne  departed  the  28  of  January,  1590,  having  had  between  them  two  sonnes 
and  two  daughters." 

The  manor  of  Rolonds  was  in  this  family  previous  to  the  year  1642. 

In  the  wall  of  the  south  aisle,  under  an  escutcheon,  Bulkeley 

quartering,  eight  lozenges,  3,  2,  3.     The  inscription  is  in  black  letter. 

"  Hereunder  lyeth  Robert  Bulkeley,  esquer,  and  Jone  his  wyfe  hauynge  betwene 
them  VI  sonnes  and  foure  daughters,  wch  Robert  decessyd  the  xviil  day  of  June 
in  the  yere  of  our  Lorde  God  MCCCCCL,  on  whose  soules  Jhesu  have  mercy. 
Amen." 

On  a  brass  plate,  an  arch,  over  which  is  inscribed,  "  HABEMUS 
BONUM  DOMINUM  +  HABEMUS  BONUM  DOMINUM."  A  man  in  armour 
on  the  left,  kneeling  at  a  fald-stool,  a  label  from  his  mouth  has  the 
words  "  Deus  misereatur  nostri."  Opposite  the  husband  is  a  woman 
in  the  habit  of  the  times,  likewise  kneeling.  On  the  scroll  from  her 
mouth  is  written,  in  continuation  of  her  husband's  prayer  :  "  Et 
Benedicat  nobis."  In  the  centre  is  the  same  escutcheon  as  on  the 
preceding  monument,  surrounded  with  mantling,  surmounted  by  a 
crest,  and  subscribed  with  the  motto,  "THYNK,  AND  THANK  GOD." 
Over  the  four  sons,  who  are  kneeling  behind  their  father,  are  the 
letters  T.  E.  c.  w.,  probably  their  initials.  Over  the  daughters, 
A.  D.  M.  E.*  The  inscription,  in  black  letter,  is  as  follows : 

*  Can  this  arrangement  of  the  letters  bear  any  allusion  to  the  sentence  in- 
scribed on  the  arch  above  !  From  the  circumstance  of  the  phrase  being  repeated, 
I  do  not  think  it  unlikely.  Such  a  conceit  I  imagine  to  be  quite  in  character 
with  the  notions  of  our  ancestors  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

"  Habemus  bonuni  dominum  tecu' 
Habemus  bonum  dominum  ad  me." 


4  2  Bedfordsh  ire. 

"Here  under  lyeth  buryd  ye  bodyes  of  Robert  Bulkeley  esquier,  and  of  Joane 
his  wyffe,  doughter  unto  Syr  William  Gascoyne,  Knyght,  who  dep'tyd  this  lyfie 
ye  yere  of  our  Lord  God,  1556,  on  whos  soules,  O  Lord  Jesu  Crist  have  m'cy." 

In  the  middle  aisle  is  the  figure  of  an  ecclesiastic.  There  are, 
besides,  many  other  memorials  deserving  of  notice  in  this  church  : 
one  of  the  bells  has  this  inscription,  in  a  mixed  and  apparently  very 
ancient  character : 

"  Hydelis  Mecuris  nomen  campana." 

Yours,  etc.,  D.  A.  BRITON. 

Dunstable. 
[iSi6,Parf //.,//.  393.394-] 

I  here  annex  a  plate  of  the  remains  of  the  palace  at  Dunstable,  in 
Bedfordshire,  now  called  Kingsbury  (see  Plate  I.).  The  part  seen  in  the 
foreground  of  the  print,  between  two  pinnacles,  is  supposed  to  have 
been  the  hall,  but  is  now  used  as  a  barn.  It  is  built  with  Toternhoe 
stone,  dug  out  of  an  ancient  and  celebrated  quarry  upon  the  downs 
in  this  vicinity. 

This  palace,  in  its  entire  state,  extended  over  the  whole  of  the 
ground  now  occupied  by  the  farmhouse  and  yard  which  belong  to 
Mr.  Oliver. 

Henry  I.  appears  to  have  been  the  builder  of  it,  and  to  have  re- 
sided in  it,  although  it  is  more  frequently  designated  King  John's 
Palace. 

The  lands  attached  to  it  extended  into  the  adjoining  parish  of 
Houghton  Regis,  which  there  can  be  little  doubt  was  so  denomi- 
nated from  having  been  a  part  of  the  royal  domain,  and  in  contra- 
distinction to  another  Houghton,  lower  down  in  this  county,  for 
many  years  the  property  and  abode  of  the  family  of  the  Conquests, 
and  after  them  called  Houghton  Conquest. 

Yours,  etc.,  G.  O.  P.  T. 

[1819,  Part  I.,  p.  400.] 

There  are  considerable  remains  of  the  old  priory  of  Dunstable,  in 
Bedfordshire,  in  the  house  on  the  east  side  of  the  street,  now  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Gresham.  When  I  had  an  opportunity  of  visiting 
it  last  November,  I  found  all  the  rooms  on  the  lower  floor  with 
vaulted  stone  roofs  groined ;  whence  it  appears  probable  that  they 
are  a  part  of  the  ancient  cloisters,  which  have  undergone  no  other 
change  than  being  floored,  and  furnished  as  modern  sitting-rooms. 

Yours,  etc.,  G.  O.  P.  T. 

[1845,  Part  //.,  //.  472-476.] 

The  town  and  church  of  Dunstable  have  been  several  times  alluded 
to  in  antiquarian  works,  your  own  excellent  miscellany  included. 

The  confusion  of  cases  and  other  trifling  points  would  of  course  have  been  over- 
looked for  the  sake  of  bringing  about  such  a  "  pleasaunte  "  consummation. 


Dunst&ble.  43 


But  I  have  found  reason  to  think  that  they  have  scarcely  had  full 
justice  done  them  as  objects  of  general  interest  connected  with  por- 
tions of  English  history,  royal  residence,  and  ecclesiastical  topo- 
graphy ;  or  that  the  small  town  persons  may  hear  of  or  pass  through 
is  as  well  known  as  it  may  claim  from  having  once  been  "  famous." 

Of  the  etymology,  or  early  history,  both  of  which  have  been  else- 
where given,  time  and  space  do  not  here  serve  for  discussion. 
Although,  however,  both  Lysons  and  Britton  have  devoted  satisfac- 
tory attention  to  Dunstable,  I  am  not  aware  of  any  separate  attempt 
towards  its  history  except  a  number  of  the  "Bibliotheca  Topo- 
graphica  Britannica."  It  was  intended  to  have  been  included  in  the 
second  Part  of  "  Illustrations  of  Bedfordshire,"  the  first  part  of  which 
included  Luton,  Bedford,  etc.,  by  the  present  writer,  1827  ;  but 
£200  at  least  having  been  lost  by  that  part,  with  no  prospect  of 
further  support,  the  design  was  abandoned.  This  was,  however,  the 
only  attempt,  and  has  been  the  only  one  towards  the  general  descrip- 
tion of  the  county  of  Bedford  for  about  forty  years.  The  present 
respected  Archdeacon  of  Bedford  has  mooted  a  county  history.* 

There  is  no  doubt  of  the  existence  of  a  Roman  station,  Magio- 
vintum,  on  the  neighbouring  downs,  or  that  Dunstable  was  a  place 
of  some  importance  before  the  Conquest.  It  had  not  a  market  at 
that  period,  nor  until  about  two  hundred  years  after.  The  only 
markets  in  Bedfordshire  at  the  Domesday  Survey  were  Bedford, 
Leighton,  Luton,  and  Arleseyf  (now  a  village  on  the  road  to  Bal- 
dock).  The  priory,  early  founded  and  royally  endowed,  speedily 
raised  its  interests  and  fame,  which  were,  during  nearly  three  cen- 
turies, confirmed  by  a  royal  residence.  The  situation  was  healthy, 
lofty  as  regards  the  Midland  counties,  and  not  difficult  to  guard ; 
and  only  a  stage  beyond  St.  Albans,  then  a  place  of  no  inconsider- 
able importance.  But  the  royal  visits  do  not  appear  to  have  much 
or  at  all  affected  the  country  below  the  downs. 

The  Priory  possessed  great  powers  and  immunities,  which  more 
than  once  led  to  serious  disputes  with  the  townsmen,  then,  no  doubt, 
a  much  more  numerous  population  than  subsequently.  But  the 
glory  of  the  priory,  besides  the  church  and  royal  favour,  is  its 
I  Chronicle,  published  by  Hearne  in  the  original  Latin,  which  is  far 
from  inelegant,  and  of  which,  from  its  general  interest,  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  an  English  version  would  be  acceptable.  It  furnishes 
many  useful  elucidations  of  English  history.  The  only  explanation  I 
ever  saw  of  "  Pope  Nicholas'  Taxation  "  is  there  given,  and  it  contains 
full  particulars  of  the  famous  siege  of  Bedford  Castle  against  the 
rascally  rebel  Falkes  de  Breaute,  introducing  us  to  the  modes  of 

*  A  catalogue  of  the  most  remarkable  monuments  remaining  in  the  churches 
of  Bedfordshire  has  been  recently  published  in  the  "Topographer  and  Genea- 
logist," vol.  i. 

f  A  series  of  charters  relative  to  the  history  of  Arlesey  has  been  published  in 
the  "  Collectanea  Topographica  et  Genealogica. " 


44  Bedfordshire. 

warfare  of  the  times.  We  read  of  the  petraria^  mangonella,  and  cattus 
(a  shed  on  wheels,  pushed  up  to  the  walls,  under  cover  of  which  men 
undermined  them,  a  sort  of  conglomeration  of  the  Roman  testudo\ 
and  learn  that  the  Dunstable  men  carried  off  horses  with  harness, 
oxen,  and  bacones  (whether  entire  live  hogs  or  flitches  I  cannot  say), 
as  the  meed  of  their  exertions. 

There  is  a  more  important  event,  however,  at  a  later  period 
associated  with  the  priory  history,  the  citation  and  divorce  of  the 
unfortunate  and  very  ill-used  recusant  Queen  Katharine,  who  then 
lodged  at  the  Castle  of  Ampthill,  a  large  polygonal  pile  with  many 
towers,  which  the  writer  elsewhere  described,  from  a  plan  belonging 
to  Lord  Ossory,  as  "  five-sided  segments  of  octagons."  Shakespeare, 
who,  perhaps,  was  never  at  Ampthill,  though  he  must  have  several 
times  passed  through  Dunstable,  has  much  mistaken,  or  the 
chronicler  he  followed,  the  distance.  He  says :  "  Dunstable  six 
miles  from  Ampthill,"  whereas  by  the  nearest  route  it  would  be  about 
twelve,  and  that  by  cross-roads. 

The  last  prior,  Gervase  Markham,  for  his  complaisance  in  this 
matter,  and  ready  surrender  of  the  monastery,  received  the  large 
pension  of  ;£6o — equal  to  at  least  ^1,000  at  the  present  time. 

The  Priory  Church  must  have  been,  when  entire,  in  the  first  class 
of  its  kind.  Several  may  have  exceeded  it  in  dimensions ;  though 
supposing  the  "Virgin's  (Lady)  Chapel,"  in  which  Archbishop 
Cranmer  pronounced  the  divorce,  to  have  been,  as  usual,  east  of  the 
choir,  and  of  good  size,  the  entire  length  could  scarcely  have  been 
less  than  250  feet,  and  may  have  been  upwards  of  300.  There  are 
no  present  indications  of  transepts,  though  there  may  have  been  such. 
And  I  never  heard  of  any  successful  attempt  to  trace  the  foundations 
eastward.  But  from  its  bold  architecture  and  fine  west  front,  with 
(then)  two  handsome  towers,  with,  no  doubt,  a  corresponding  centre 
one,  it  might  have  vied  with  several  cathedrals,  English  and  foreign. 

Dunstable  Church,  as  it  now  is,  presents  one  of  the  few  examples 
in  England  of  a  complete  Norman  nave,  truncated  of  its  eastern 
accompaniments,  forming  a  modern  parish  church.  The  finest  is,  of 
course,  at  Steyning,  but  there  the  tower  is  modern,  having  been 
erected,  like  that  of  St.  Bartholomew's,  Smithfield,  about  the  time  of 
Elizabeth.  At  Dunstable  it  is  one  of  the  ancient  ones  on  the  original 
plan.  The  present  length  of  Dunstable  Church  is  120  feet,  or  that 
of  the  nave  and  chancel  of  St.  Mary's,  Cambridge ;  at  the  end  is  a 
projection  of  a  few  feet  beyond  the  arches,  which  I  do  not  suppose 
to  have  been  part  of  the  tower,  imagining  the  clustered  columns  now 
visible  outside  the  east  wall  to  be  the  western  ones ;  on  each  side  are 
six  arches,  nearly  30  feet  high,  with  strong  clustered  columns ;  some 
of  the  capitals  having  grotesque  animal  figures.  The  side  and 
clerestory  windows  are  what  Mr.  Rickman  calls  pointed  "insertions," 
and  generally,  if  not  entirely,  of  the  fifteenth  century.  In  the  south 


Dunstable.  45 


aisle  is  an  upper  range  of  windows,  but  I  think  not  in  the  north ;  the 
aisles,  or  part  of  them,  are  vaulted;  the  roof  of  the  centre  is  a  flat 
timber  one,  moderately  ornamented.  The  west  front  has  been  called 
"one  of  our  national  curiosities,  from  the  singular  admixture  of 
Norman  and  pointed  arches."  What  is  still  more  singular  is  that 
they  are  so  curiously  blended  that  the  reason  and  date  of  the  dis- 
similarity cannot  be  easily  conjectured.  The  entrance  arch  on  the 
south  side  (of  the  front)  is  an  enriched  decidedly  Norman  one,  much 
larger  than  that  of  the  Temple  church.  Above  are  two  very  lofty 
pointed  ones,  and  to  the  left  a  handsome  and  bold  gallery  or  cloister 
(early  English)  leading  to  the  north  tower :  this  is  now  the  only  one, 
the  south  tower  having  fallen  down  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and 
also  the  subsequent  turret,  seen  in  Britton's  view.*  The  tower  is 
handsome,  with  some  flint  chequerings  and  stone  rosettes,  and  a 
corner  staircase  turret,  and  crowns  the  roof  boldly.  The  churchyard 
is  confined  to  the  west  and  north  sides. 

The  lower  part  of  the  rood  loft  now  forms  the  front  of  the 
western  gallery,  and  is,  I  believe,  perfectly  sound.  At  the  east  end 
of  the  north  aisle  is  a  part  railed  in,  and  filled  with  handsome 
monuments  of  families  now  or  once  connected  with  the  place.  Over 
the  Communion-table  is  a  painting  decidedly  the  largest  of  its  kind 
in  England.  It  fills  up  the  greater  part  of  the  east  wall,  and  must  be 
nearly  30  feet  high,  and  of  proportionate  width.  It  was  painted  and 
well  finished  in  every  part  by  Sir  James  Thornhill,  and  represents 
the  Last  Supper,  with  architecture  and  draperies,  and  the  heavens 
opened  in  the  centre.  It  was  given,  according  to  a  Latin  inscription 
on  it,  by  Jane  Cart  and  Frances  Ashton,  and  is  understood  to  have 
cost  £s°°-  A  clock  at  the  west  end  of  the  nave  also  bears  the 
inscription  "  Ex  dono  Joannis  Cart,"  of  the  same  family.  Those  two 
ladies  also  gave  the  Communion  plate  and  the  pulpit  cloth.  The 
latter  is  a  very  handsome  one,  covering  the  whole  front,  of  crimson 
velvet,  with  a  glory,  in  figures  and  letters,  embroidered  at  the  corners 
in  gold,  and  had  formerly  at  the  bottom  gold  fringe  of  extraordinary 
depth ;  but  some  sacrilegious  rascal  having,  by  entering  the  vestry, 
cut  off  and  abstracted  the  fringe,  the  cloth  was  for  many  years  in 
abeyance.  On  the  restoration  of  the  bishop's  visitation,  which  had 
for  some  time  been  transferred  to  Luton,  in  1822,  the  cloth  was 
renovated  and  refitted  with  fringe,  though  not  equal  to  the  former, 
at  a  cost  of  ;£6o. 

The  inhabitants  have  "  from  time  immemorial "  taken  a  pride  in 
and  liberally  kept  up  their  church.  The  original  organ,  erected 
about  sixty  years  ago,  was  a  small  one,  but  of  surprising  power  for 
its  appearance,  and  beautiful  tone,  and  was  so  exquisitely  played  by 
Mr.  Gresham — remembered  as  a  musician  and  composer  for  some 
distance  round — that  persons  have  been  attracted  from  London  to 
*  "Architectural  Antiquities  of  Great  Britain." 


46  Bedfordshire. 

hear  it.     It  was  replaced  by  one  of  greater  power  a  few  years  back. 
The  tower  contains  a  good  ring  of  eight  bells,  recast  from  six. 

The  curious  epitaph  formerly  in  the  middle  aisle  is  now  understood 
to  be  merely  a  conceited  mode  of  informing  us  that  a  woman  had 
nineteen  children.*  It  has  never  been  Englished  that  I  am  aware, 
and  the  following  version  may  pass  in  the  absence  of  a  better : 

"  Hie  William  Mulso  sibi  quern  sociavit  et  Alice, 
Marmore  sub  duro  conclusit  mors  general  is. 
Ter  tres — bis  quinos — hec  natos  fertur  habere, 
Per  sponsos  biuos.     Deus  his  clemens  miserere. 

"  One  common  death,  beneath  this  marble  sound, 
Hath  William  Mulso  and  his  Alice  bound. 
By  husbands  two,  thrice  children  three,  twice  five, 
Doth  fame  report.     Kind  God  their  spirits  shrive  !" 

The  family  of  Mulso  was  formerly  of  some  importance  in  North- 
amptonshire.! It  may  be  mentioned  that  there  is  a  village  of  this 
name  between  Woburn  and  Newport  Pagnell. 

The  rectory,  owing  to  the  parish  being  the  smallest  "  town  "  one  in 
England,  comprising  less  than  400  acres,  is  small ;  I  believe,  with 
the  surplice  fees,  under  ^200  per  annum.  The  late  rector  was  the 
Rev.  Solomon  Pigott.t  formerly  lecturer  of  St.  James's,  Clerkenwell, 
who  was  the  author,  several  years  ago,  of  "  The  Antidote  to  Suicide," 
a  work  treating  the  subject,  as  adapted  to  different  cases,  on  general, 
historical  and  moral  grounds,  with  both  ability  and  feeling.  There 
is  an  endowment  of  ^£30  per  annum  for  an  afternoon  lecture,  to 
which  £20  has  usually  been  added  by  the  parishioners,  who  also, 
twenty  years  ago,  subscribed  ^400  for  a  parsonage  house. 

Elkanah  Settle,  the  poet,  who  has  a  mural  stone  without  the  south 
walls  of  St.  Giles-in-the-Fields,  and  Sylvester  Daggerwood,  the  actor, 
were  natives  of  Dunstable ;  and  there  is  now  in  London  another 
respectable  and  kind-hearted  septuagenarian  "  artist "  in  his  way,  and 
of  copious  historical  and  antiquarian  lore  to  boot,  who  has  celebrated 
his  native  place  in  one  or  two  of  his  poetical  "  placards,"  which 

*  Fuller,  "Worthies,"  under  Bedfordshire, quoting  Hakewill's  "Apology,"  p.253, 
says  :  "  It  appeareth  by  the  epitaph  in  the  church  that  she  had  nineteen  children 
at  five  births  ;  viz.,  three  several  times  three  children  at  a  birth  and  five  at  a  birth 
two  other  times."  But  the  meaning  appears  simply  to  have  been  that  the  lady 
had  nineteen  children  by  her  two  husbands  ;  "  thrice  three,"  perhaps,  by  the  first, 
and  "twice  five"  by  the  second.  In  the  edition  of  Fuller,  1811,  it  was  imagined 
that  it  was  the  husband  that  had  nineteen  children  ;  but  in  the  Bedfordshire 
Collections,  p.  174,  we  are  assured  that  binos  sponsos  was  the  correct  reading,  and 
if  so  hec  must  have  been  the  word  in  the  preceding  line,  and  not  hie.  The  groups 
of  children  in  brass  represented,  according  to  a  tricking  on  a  Digby  pedigree, 
eleven  sons  and  seven  daughters — in  all  only  eighteen  instead  of  nineteen  ;  but 
there  was  probably  a  mistake  in  copying  them.  (These  remarks  are  derived  from 
the  Catalogue  of  Bedfordshire  Monuments,  before  mentioned,  in  No.  I.  of  the 
Topographer  and  Genealogist}. 

f  See  a  pedigree  in  Bridges'  history  of  that  county,  vol.  ii.,  p.  259. 

J  Mr.  Pigott  and  his  literary  labours  were  noticed  in  1845,  ii.,  p.  431. 


D  unstable.  47 


everybody  has  seen,  whom  the  writer  knew,  with  his  most  beautiful 

and  innocent  assistant,   Miss  Margaret   M ,   fifteen  years  ago, 

being  no  less  renowned  a  personage  than  "  Dancing  Master  Wilson." 

The  population  was  formerly  small,  and,  notwithstanding  the 
decided  salubrity  of  the  air,  nearly  stationary.  In  1801  it  was  only 
1,299;  in  1811  it  had  increased  to  1,600;  and  is  now,  I  believe, 
considerably  above  2,000.  Water  lies  very  deep,  and  the  town  was 
principally  supplied  from  ponds  kept  up  for  that  purpose;  but  I 
believe  an  artesian  well  is  either  completed  or  in  progress. 

The  town  is  fairly,  though  not  handsomely  built,  and  consists 
principally  of  one  street,  about  half  a  mile  long.  The  footways  have 
some  flag  pavement,  but  are  principally  broad  ones,  of  pebbles.  The 
market-house  is  an  ancient  building,  with  a  gable  on  Tuscan  pillars; 
the  market  and  fairs  are  at  present  moderately  attended.  Of  the 
inns,  whose  "occupation,"  it  is  hoped,  may  return,  the  Sugarloaf 
and  Saracen's  Head  were  well  known  to  travellers. 

The  inhabitants  are  "  musical,"  and  have,  or  had,  a  considerable 
amateur  band. 

The  "  straw-plait  trade  "  I  imagine  (writing  the  whole  of  this  article 
from  memory)  to  have  been  established  about  150  years.  .  .  . 

A  branch  to  Dunstable  of  the  Birmingham  railway,  with,  I  believe, 
a  cut  of  only  six  miles,  has  just  obtained  an  Act  of  Parliament.  These 
are  the  "circumstances"  I  alluded  to  at  the  opening  of  this  com- 
munication. Dunstable  may  now  be  still  more  known  and  visited 
by  the  antiquary  and  the  seeker  after  a  bracing  air  and  a  fine  and 
lofty  open  country,  and  therefore  these  few  observations  be  not 
entirely  worthless  in  your  pages. 

The  poor  plait-workers  being  now  secure,  would  that  we  could 
improve  the  state  of  the  poor  pillow-lace  makers  in  Beds,  Bucks,  and 
elsewhere !  Their  earnings  have  been  reduced  to  a  third,  and  in 
some  cases  fourth,  of  what  they  were  thirty  years  ago,  partly  from 
disuse  of  lace,  partly  by  extensive  use  of  the  cheap  and  brittle 
machine  lace.  Lace,  however,  might  be  used  in  many  cases  where 
it  is  not  now,  and  so  not  interfere  with  the  other  trade. 

Dunstable  has  yet  a  better  name  than  antiquities,  trade,  or  the 
epicurean  one  of  its  "larks."  It  is  eminent  in  the  neighbourhood 
for  its  charitable  endowments  by  large-hearted  natives,  which  spirit 
may  the  inhabitants  never,  in  any  day  of  hard  dealing  with  the  poor, 
the  worst  thing  that  man  can  do,  lose  !  What  these  are  I  cannot 
now  detail,  but  know  them  to  be  extensive  and  various :  there  is  an 
excellent  charity-school,  very  handsomely  built,  well  endowed  to 
clothe  and  apprentice  forty  boys.  And  there  are  numerous  alms- 
houses.  One  of  these  to  the  north  of  the  church  deserves  especial 
mention.  It  was  built  and  endowed  by  Mrs.  Blandina  Marsh  and 
another  lady,  and  consists  of  six  excellent  houses,  with  fore-courts 
and  gardens,  for  as  many  "  decayed  maiden  gentlewomen,"  the  funds 


48  Bedfordshire. 


for  whom  were  formerly  as  much  as  ^30  per  annum  each,  and  are 
now  about  ^20.  It  is  very  creditable  to  the  feelings  of  the  in- 
habitants that,  to  spare  those  of  the  inmates,  amongst  whom  have 
been  persons  who  formerly  kept  their  carriages,  they  never  consider 
this  as  an  almshouse,  but  have  denominated  it  the  "  Ladies'  Lodge," 
placing  it  fully  on  a  level  with  the  Charterhouse,  etc.,  and  the  inmates 
take  rank  as  gentlewomen. 

Yours,  etc.,        J.  D.  PARRY. 

[1806,  Part  L,  p.  216.] 

"John  Vaughan,  killed  by  a  piece  of  timber  falling  out  of  his  own  carriage, 
November  8,  1759,  aged  42." 

The  subject  carved  above. 

"  In  memory  of  Mr.  Edward  Lanjford,  of  St.  Alban's,  died  December  6,  1753, 
aged  38." 

"  Edward  Gosbell,  died  1789,  aged  60,  in  the  44th  year  of  his  service  in  this 
parish. " 

"  Anne  (wife  of  William  Gratwick,  master  of  the  free-school  in  this  town,  is  here 
interred) ;  she  died  July  7,  1719,  aged  42  :  two  of  her  children  died  in  infancy, 
anno  menseque  supradictis." 

"  Also  the  body  of  Moses  Gratwick,  who  was  master  of  the  free-school  in  Dun- 
stable  ;  and  was  just  and  good  to  all  under  his  care  ;  he  died  September  17,  1741, 
aged  56." 

"  Esther  Noble,  died  December  26,  1786,  aged  19.     And  Mark,  an  infant." 

[Inscription  omitted.] 

"Joseph  Pomfret,  of  London,  Mercer, 

died  1753,  aged  66. 
Amy,  his  wife,  died  1766,  aged  75." 

Arms  :  Quarterly,  a  bend     Crest,  arm  and  sword. 

"  Richard  Briggs,  Charles  and  Vertue,  his  son  and  daughter,  died  August  10, 
1660,  aged  54." 

"  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  born  November,  1605,  and  died  November  n,  1686,  aged 
81." 

'  Anne  Wright,  daughter  of  Richard  and  Elizabeth  Briggs,  died  1693-4,  aged  55." 

'  Fanny  Cotes,  died  September  3,  1786,  aged  66." 

'  Here  lieth  the  body  of  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hill,  clerk,  rector  of  this  parish  25 
years,  who  died  17  .  ." 

'Tho.  Hill,  died  2  July,  1773,  aged  43." 

'Frederic,  son  of  Tho.  Hill,  died  1770,  aged  37." 

On  the  north  side  of  the  churchyard  six  almshouses ;  and  on  the 
pediment, 

"  This  lodge  was  built  and  endowed 
in  1743,  pursuant  to  the  will  of 

Mrs.  Blandina  Marsh. 
Repaired  and  beautified,  anno  1758." 

Arms  :  in  a  lozenge  vert,  between  four  quatrefoils  or. 

"  She  was  daughter  of  John  Marsh,  of  this  town,  and  died  unmarried  December 
28,  1741." 

D.  H. 


Elstow.  49 

Elstow. 

[1826,  Part  //.,//.  105-107.] 

The  village  of  Elstow  is  situate  at  the  distance  of  about  one  mile 
and  a  half  from  Bedford,  and  is  noted  for  its  having  been  the  site  of 
an  abbey  of  Benedictine  nuns  founded  in  the  time  of  William  the 
Conqueror,  by  his  niece  Judith,  the  wife  of  Waltheof,  Earl  of 
Huntingdon.*  The  two  fairs  held  here  annually  for  cattle  of  all 
sorts  are  of  considerable  note  and  antiquity,  the  tolls  accruing  from 
them  at  the  dissolution  of  monasteries  bein^  rated  at  £j  izs.f 

The  name  of  this  place  is  written  Elnestov  in  Domesday  Book, 
where  it  is  said  to  be  taxed  for  three  hides  and  a  half,  and  to 
contain  seven  plough  lands.  It  lies  in  the  hundred  of  Redbourn- 
stoke,  or  Radborgestoc,  as  it  is  called  in  this  survey,  and  was  held,  at 
the  time  alluded  to,  of  Judith,  Countess  of  Huntingdon,  by  "the 
monks  of  St,  Mary." 

The  parish  was  enclosed  by  Act  of  Parliament  passed  in  1797, 
when  the  number  of  acres  was  estimated  at  1,060.  According  to 
the  census  taken  in  1821,  the  houses  were  102  ;  families  employed  in 
agriculture,  87;  trade,  etc.,  18 ;  others,  4;  total,  109.  Males,  251  ; 
females,  297  ;  total,  548. 

The  family  of  Hervey  early  had  possessions  here ;  for  it  appears, 
by  the  register  of  the  monastery  of  St.  Edmond's  Bury,  that  Osbert 
de  Hervey,  justice  itinerant  temp.  Richard  I.,  from  whom  the 
present  and  fifth  Earl  of  Bristol  is  nineteenth  in  descent,  held  lands 
in  "  Helnfestune."J 

The  Church  of  St.  Mary  at  Helenstowe  (see  Plate  I.)  was  dedicated 
to  the  Holy  Trinity,  and  St.  Helena,  mother  of  Constantine  the 
Great,  from  whom  the  village  appears  to  have  taken  name,  for  Dug- 
dale  calls  it  "Helenstowe,  i.e.,  Helene  statio."  By  some  mistake  he 
places  it  "in  agro  JBerrocensi"  a  circumstance  alluded  to  and 
rectified  by  KenneL"§ 

It  was  endowed,  inter  alia,  with  the  villages  of  Elstow  and  Wils- 
hamsted,  and  five  hides  and  a  half  in  Meldon.  Mr.  Lysonsl]  quotes 
Kennet  as  his  authority  for  supposing  the  manor  of  Maid-berry  to  be 
included  in  this  grant.  Medbury  is  a  farm  situate  in  the  parishes 
above-named,  but  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  either  of  the 
"  villages  "  named  in  the  deed  of  conveyance.  It  cannot  be  the 
other  land  spoken  of,  which  is  also  mentioned  in  Domesday  Book  as 
"five  hides,  one  virgate,  and  a  half"  in  Meldon  or  Maulden,  which 
is  the  modern  name.  It  must,  notwithstanding,  have  belonged  to 
Elstow  Abbey,  for  in  the  account  of  its  revenues  at  the  Dissolution, 
which  were  valued  at  ^"284  123.  nfd.,  mention  is  made  of  23.  6d. 
received  of  the  Prioress  of  Sapwell  (qy.  Sopewell)  for  lands  in  Made- 

*  Dugd.  Mon.,  new  edit.,  iii.  412.         f  Valor  Eccl.         +  Collins's  "  Peerage." 

§  Par.  Anlicp,  62.  |j  Magna  Brit.,  i.  150. 

VOL.  XII.  4 


50  Bedfordshire. 

bury.*  It  came  afterwards  to  Richard  Fitzhugh,  who  died  seised  of 
it  in  1557. t 

There  are  but  few  remains  of  the  conventual  buildings  except  the 
church  (see  the  plate),  which  is  ranked  by  Mr.  Lysons  "  among  the 
most  ancient  remains  of  ecclesiastical  architecture  in  Bedfordshire." 
There  is  a  good  south-west  view,  from  a  drawing  by  T.  Hearne, 
F.S.  A.,  in  Farington's  Illustrations  of  Lysons.  Another  view  from  the 
same  point,  and  a  view  of  the  south  porch,  were  published  in  vol.  ii. 
of  the  "  Ancient  Reliques."  '  The  chancel  Mr.  Lysons  considers  as 
unquestionably  part  of  the  original  church  of  the  monastery,  and 
instances  the  arches  of  the  nave  as  specimens  of  the  earliest  style  of 
Gothic  architecture.]:  Over  the  north  door,  which  is  beautifully 
ornamented  with  zigzag  mouldings,  is  a  rude  piece  of  sculpture, 
which  I  conceive,  from  its  peculiar  appropriateness  to  such  a  situa- 
tion, is  intended  to  represent  our  Saviour's  charge  to  Peter,  who  is 
certainly  meant  by  the  figure  holding  the  keys  to  the  spectator's  left 
hand. 

In  the  south  aisle  of  the  chancel  is  the  tomb  of  Elizabeth  Hervey, 
an  abbess  of  Elstow,§  from  whose  brother  John  the  present  Earl  of 
Bristol  is  twelfth  in  descent.  It  has  a  neat  brass  effigy,  with  her 
hands  elevated,  and  a  crosier  across  her  right  arm  ;  and  surrounding 
the  stone  is  this  inscription,  with  blank  places  for  the  dates  : 

•%•  ©rate  pro  animvt  bomine  (Elizabeth  ^crtojj,  xjvtonb.im  Jlbbjttiasf  monaa- 
icrii  be  (Elitrstoto,  x|ttt  flbiit  bic  tnensis  ^Inno  bomini  nuUcsima 

fluingcntcstmo  Cujus  sniinc  tt  a  tutu  a'  flbclium  bcfuttctorum  brus  pwpicie- 
tur.  3l4H<£Jt. 

Above  her  head  has  been  some  religious  representation,  probably 
of  the  Trinity,  with  a  scroll  beneath,  but  both  gone.  There  have 
also  been  four  shields  at  the  corners  of  the  stone,  of  which  that  near 
the  left  foot  is  alone  remaining  (and  the  tomb  was  in  the  same  state 
when  visited  by  Mr.  Cole  in  1759),  viz.,  party  per  pale,  on  the  male 
side,  quarterly,  one  and  four,  a  lion  rampant  argent,  within  a  bordure 
gobone  argent  and  sable,  for  Nernuitt ;  two  and  three,  gules,  on  a 
bend  argent  three  trefoils  slipt  vert,  for  Hervey ;  and  on  the  female 
side,  a  chief  indented,  which  Mr.  Gough,  with  great  probability, 
supposed  to  be  intended  for  Paston,  argent,  six  fleurs-de-lis  and  a 
chief  indented  or. 

In  explanation  of  the  appearance  of  the  coat  of  Nernuitt,  it  must 
be  observed  that  the  abbess  was  fourth  in  descent  from  John  Hervey, 

*  Valor  Eccl. — This  does  not  appear  in  the  "  New  Monasticon." 
t  Escheats  Ph.  and  Mary.  J  Magna  Brit.,  pp.  28,  29. 

§  "The  Messrs.  Lysons  call  Elizabeth  Hervey  the  last  abbess  ;  and,  in  account- 
ing for  the  blank  spaces  in  the  epitaph,  for  the  dates,  say  that,  '  as  she  survived 
the  dissolution  of  the  abbey,  it  is  probable  that  her  body  never  reached  its  intended 
place  of  sepulture.'  But  whatever  may  have  been  the  date  of  her  death,  she 
certainly  had  three  successors  as  abbesses  of  Elstow  previous  to  the  dissolution." — 
The  "New  Monasticon,"  vol.  iii.,  p.  412. 


Elstow.  5 1 

who  married  Margaret,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Sir  John  de  Nernuitt 
(and  it  was  sometimes  usual  for  families  who  had  m  irried  an  heiress 
with  whom  they  acquired  much  property,  to  bear  the  arms  of  such 
heiress  in  the  first  place) ;  and  wjth  regard  to  the  coat  of  Paston, 
that  the  abbess's  mother  was  of  that  family. 

Sir  George  Hervey,  nephew  of  the  abbess,  whose  will  bears  date 
April  7,  1520,  ordered  his  body  to  be  buried  in  the -parish  church  of 
Thurley,  or  in  the  monastery  of  Elstow,  if  he  should  decease  there  ; 
and  that  a  marble  stone,  of  the  price  of  four  marks,  should  be  laid 
over  the  bodies  of  John  Hervey  and  his  wife,  one  of  the  daughters 
and  heirs  of  Sir  John  Nernuytt,  Knt.,  who  lie  there  buried.* 

Adjoining  the  former  is  a  similar  tomb,  inlaid  with  the  brass  figure 
of  another  lady,  in  a  mantle,  hood  and  wimple,  and  large  mittens  on 
her  hands,  and  a  small  dog  at  her  feet.  The  inscription,  of  which 
some  is  lost,  and  part  of  the  remainder  displaced,  seems  to  have  run 
as  follows : 

Jttargeria  bis  bibvtata 

<J|Hlta  giabulphi  ....  be'tnrve  ^Vcartt 

3&jac  jacet  tit  fossa  bat.t  [stint  ubt  toermitnts  ossa], 

[Cttjus]  ut  alta  pttat  loca  floriba  pace  p'henni, 

(Sptriius  iata  toibens,  trini  pulses  pktatm. 

©but  ante'  anno  b'ni  ....  in  iufltl'  <SVi  Jttich'is  ^UchangT. 

At  the  left-hand  corner  of  this  slab  is  a  shield,  bearing,  as  Mr. 
Gough  says,  per  pale  indented  argent  and  gules. 

Both  these  brasses  are  engraved  in  Mr.  Gough's  "  Sepulchral 
Monuments,"  vol.  ii.,  plate  cxxii. ;  and  the  former  in  Fisher's  "  Bed- 
fordshire Views."  Mr.  Gough  says  of  it :  "This  is  the  oldest  figure 
I  have  met  with  of  an  abbess  on  a  sepulchral  monument ;  one  may 
apply  to  her  habit  that  line  in  Chaucer's  description  of  a  prioress  : 
"  Ful  semely  her  wimple  ypinched  was." 

The  other  figure  Mr.  Gough  considered  might  represent  another 
abbess  of  the  same  house. 

Over  the  altar-piece  is  a  monument  to  the  memory  of  Sir  Humphrey 
Ratcliffe,  representing  his  effigies  and  that  of  his  wife,  both  kneeling, 
surmounted  by  a  shield  of  many  quarterings.  He  was  second  son  of 
Robert,  first  Earl  of  Sussex  of  the  name,  and  married  Isabel,  daughter 
and  sole  heiress  of  Edmund  Hervey,  of  Elstow,  Esq.,  by  whom  he 
had  issue  two  sons  (the  youngest  of  whom,  Edward,  was  sixth  and 
last  earl)  and  four  daughters.  He  resided  in  the  abbey-house,  of 
which  he  obtained  a  grant  in  1553,  and  died  in  1566. 

There  are  also  several  memorials  of  the  families  of  Compton, 
Lovett  and  Hillersdon. 

The  font  is  engraved  in  Lysons.  It  is  octagonal,  ornamented 
with  Gothic  tracery,  foliage,  etc.  A  stone  coffin  dug  up  in  or  about 
the  church  is  placed  in  a  small  recess  at  its  west  end,  and  used  as  a 

*  Collins'  "  Peerage." 

4—2 


5  2  Bedfordsh  ire. 

coal-trough.     An  old  key  found  in  a  coffin  at  Elstow  is  engraved  by 
Mr.  Fisher. 

The  tower  is  altogether  detached  from  the  church,  a  circumstance 
by  no  means  common.  The  belfry  is  furnished  with  a  ring  of  five 
bells,  bearing  severally  these  inscriptions  : 

"  God  save  our  King.     1631." 

"  Praise  the  Lord.     1602." 

"  Christopher  Graie  made  me.     1655." 

"yBCDEFG  ABCDE 


"  Be  yt  knowne  to  all  that  doth  me  see 
That  Newcome  of  Leicester  made  mee.     1604." 

The  picturesque  ruins  of  a  large  mansion  (shown  to  the  left  hand 
in  the  plate),  which  add  considerably  to  the  beauty  'of  the  place,  are 
described  with  more  truth  than  elegance  in  the  following  lines. 
[Omitted]. 

Over  the  porch,  on  a  stone  shield,  are  the  arms  of  the  Hillersdons, 
a  chevron  between  three  bulls'  heads.  This  family  became  possessed 
of  the  manor  "  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.,  or  perhaps  earlier,"*  and 
built  this  house,  which,  with  the  manor,  was  purchased  of  their 
female  heiresses  in  1792  by  the  late  Samuel  Whitbread,  Esq.,  M.P. 
for  Bedford.  The  greater  part  of  it  was  pulled  down  a  few  years 
after. 

The  great  tithes  of  Elstow  were  appropriated  to  the  abbey,  and 
came  with  the  manor  to  Mr.  Whitbread,  who  received  at  the  enclosure 
an  allotment  in  lieu  of  them.  The  vicarage,  which  is  in  the  diocese 
of  Lincoln  and  archdeaconry  of  Bedford,  also  accompanied  the 
manor,  and  the  present  incumbent  is  the  Rev.  T.  Cave,  presented  by 
Samuel  Whitbread,  Esq. 

In  conclusion,  this  article  would  be  imperfect  were  it  not  men- 
tioned that  at  Elstow  was  born  of  mean  parentage,  in  1628,  John 
Bunyan,  the  author  of  the  "  celebrated  theological  romance  called 
Pilgrim's  Progress." 

Yours,  etc.,         D.  A.  BRITON. 

Eversholt. 

[1841,  Part  I.,  p.  384.] 

I  send  you  a  drawing  of  the  building  proposed  to  be  erected  in 
the  parish  of  Eversholt,  Bedfordshire,  combining  a  day-school, 
infant-school,  and  Sunday-school.  There  is  every  reason  to  hope 
that  the  feoffees  of  the  town  estate  will  be  induced  to  allow  its  being 
built  on  the  ground  now  occupied  by  the  poor-house,  and  the  occu- 
pation of  which  is  such  as  to  be  quite  injurious  to  the  moral  and 
religious  habits  of  the  parish. 

*  Magna  Brit.,  p.  81. 


Eversholt.  — Ey  worth.  5  3 


The  estate  mentioned  was  left  in  the  early  part  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's reign,  and  although  the  original  intentions  of  the  founder  have 
not  been  discovered,  it  is  very  clear  it  was  never  intended  by  him  to 
relieve  the  poor-rate,  which  did  not  exist  at  the  time  of  his  bequest. 
In  the  memory  of  many  of  the  inhabitants  there  was  a  good  and 
efficient  school  in  this  building ;  but  this  has  long  ceased  to  exist, 
and  the  building  is  appropriated  in  the  improper  manner  mentioned. 
The  want  of  a  national  school  is  deeply  felt  in  the  parish.  .  .  . 

Yours,  etc.,  JOHN  MARTIN. 

Eyworth. 

[1803,  Part  II.,  pp.  1005-1007.] 

Eweworth,  or  Eyworth,  is  a  small  village  in  Biggleswade  hundred, 
in  the  county  of  Bedford.  It  was  purchased  by  Sir  Edmund  Ander- 
son, Knt.  (the  judge  that  condemned  Mary  Queen  of  Scots  at 
Fotheringay  Castle),  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  It  continued 
in  the  family  until  the  year  1773,  when,  by  the  death  of  Sir  Stephen 
Anderson  (the  last  of  that  name),  it  came  to  Anderson  Pelham,  Esq., 
of  Brocklesby,  in  the  county  of  Lincoln,  now  Lord  Yarborough. 

The  church  is  a  neat  ancient  structure,  with  a  nave  and  south 
aisle,  and  a  spire  steeple  at  the  west  end  (Fig.  3). 

The  living  is  a  donative  in  the  gift  of  Lord  Yarborough. 

In  the  chancel,  on  the  south  side,  under  an  arch  richly  ornamented 
with  armorial  bearings,  and  supported  by  Corinthian  pillars  of  beauti- 
ful marble  of  various  colours,  lies  Sir  Edmund  Anderson  in  his  robes, 
and  his  lady  in  the  dress  of  the  time.  On  the  tombs  below  are  two 
sons  and  four  daughters,  kneeling. 

Over  them  is  this  inscription  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  bodies  of  Sir  Edmond  Anderson,  knt.,  Lord  Chief  Justice  of 
the  court  of  Comon  Pleas  24  ytars  and  a  half;  and  Dame  Magdalen,  his  wife, 
daughter  of  Christopher  Smith,  esq.  They  had  issue  three  sons  and  six  daughters  ; 
viz.,  Edmond,  who  married  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Thomas  Inkpenn,  esq.,  and 
died  without  issue;  Sir  Francis  Anderson,  knt.,  married,  first,  Judith,  daughter 
of  Sir  Stephen  Some,  knt.,  and  after  Audrey,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Bottiler,  knt. 
and  bart. ;  and  William  Anderson,  who  married  first  Johana,  daughter  of  Thomas 
Essex,  esq.,  and  after  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Sir  Thomas  Darnell,  knt.  The  two 
elde.-t  daughters  died  young;  and  Margaret,  the  third  daughter,  married  to 
Sir  Thomas  Monson,  knt.  and  bart.  Katherine,  married  to  Sir  George  Booth, 
knt.  and  bart.;  Grefill,  married  to  Sir  John  Shefield,  knt.,  eldest  sonne  of  Ed- 
mond Lord  Shefield  ;  and  Elizabeth,  married  to  Sir  Hatton  Farmer,  knt.  The 
said  Sir  Edmond  dyed  the  first  of  August,  1605,  being  74  years  and  upwards  of 
age.  And  the  said  Dame  Magdalen  departed  this  life  the  9th  of  January,  1622, 
being  79  years  and  upwards  of  age." 

On  the  north  side  of  the  chapel  is  an  elegant  monument,  with  the 
effigies  of  a  man  in  armour,  kneeling  between  two  ladies,  with  this 
inscription  over  them  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  bodye  of  Sir  FrancU  Anderson,  late  of  Eyworth,  in  the  county 
of  Bedford,  knt.,  son  and  heire  of  Sir  Edmond  Anderson,  knt.,  late  Lord  Chief 


54  Bedfordshire. 


Justice  of  his  Majestie's  courte  of  Comon  Pleas  at  Westminster;  who  was  first 
married  to  Judith,  daughter  of  Sir  Stephen  Soame,  knt.  and  Alderman  of  London, 
by  whom  he  had  issue  two  sons.  And  afterwards  married  to  Audry,  daughter  of 
Sir  John  Buttler,  of  Hatfield  Woodhall,  in  the  county  of  Hartford,  knt.,  by  whom 
he  had--  sue  I  son  and  2  daughters.  The  said  Sir  Francis  departed  this  transi- 
torie  life  the  22d  day  of  December,  Anno  Dom.  1616,  in  whose  sacred  memorie 
the  said  Lady  Anderson  erected  this  monument  at  her  own  p'per  cost  and  charges." 

On  a  lofty  monument  of  white  marble,  richly  gilt  and  decorated, 
stands  the  figure  of  a  man  and  woman  in  the  dress  of  the  time,  each 
with  their  kfc  hands  on  their  breast,  and  holding  in  their  right  hands 
a  heart  between  them,  inscribed,  "To  God,  1638";  and  over  the 
heart  a  crown,  inscribed  "  Ex  gratia  mei  debito."  Over  them,  on  a 
slab  of  black  marble,  this  inscription  : 

"These  liv'd  in  that  they  lov'd, 
God  made  them  one  ; 
He  dies,  and  thus  disolv'd 
Loe  she  is  none. 
Delay  not,  then,  till  fate 
Shall  stop  her  breath, 
To  tell  what  day  she  died, 
His  was  her  death. 

"  In  the  sepulchre  of  his  fathers,  towards  the  upper  end  cf  the  chancel  'on  the 
North  side,  lyeih  buried  the  body  of  Edmond  Anderson,  esq.,  eldest  sonne  and 
heire  of  Sir  Francis  Anderson,  knt.,  grand-sonne  of  Sir  Edmond  Anderson,  some- 
time Lord  Chief  Justice  of  the  Common  Pleas.  He  married  Alice,  the  sole 
daughter  and  heire  of  Sir  John  Constable,  of  Dromanby,  in  the  countie  of  York, 
knt.,  by  whom  he  had  issue  onely  one  daughter,  named  Dorothy.  He  all  this  lime 
truly  professed  and  constantly  adhered  to  the  true  and  uncorrupted  truth  of  Chri-t 
Jesus,  and  as  he  held  the  unitie  of  the  spirit  with  the  church,  so  also  the  bend  of 
perfect  peace,  love  and  charitie  with  men.  In  somme  he  so  liv'd  here  on  earth, 
as  justly  argues  to  all  the  world,  that  God  who  gave  him  that  grace  hath  received 
him  to  mercy  ;  to  which  he  went  on  the  4th  of  April,  Anno  Dom.  1638  ;  leaving 
behind  him  the  said  daughter  aged  7  years  and  a  half,  and  his  wife  a  sorrowfull 
widow,  who  with  him  hath  intomb'd  her  heart,  and  hath  pledg  [*  here  follows  a 
long  erasure],  dedicating  this  s-mall  monument  to  his  dear  and  loved  memorie 
which  in  the  meane  time  she  fully  contemplates." 

Over  the  man,  "  Morte  separati ";  over  the  woman,  "  Tamen  in 
Deo  convenimus."  Under  the  man,  '•  Veni ;  domine  Jesu,  cito 
veni " ;  under  the  woman,  "  Quamvis  incumbo,  tamen  vocante 
magistro  resurgam." 

On  a  small  monument,  on  the  south  side  of  the  chancel,  is  this 
inscription  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Magdallena  Gaclbury,  the  sole  and  only  daughter  of 
Richard  Gadbury,  of  Eyworth,  gentleman,  and  of  Margaret  Gaclbury,  his  second 
wife  ;  which  said  Magdallena  Gadbury  lived  the  age  of  5  years  and  7  days.  She 
depaiUd  this  transitorie  life  the  i6th  day  of  February,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
God  1618,  in  whose  sacred  memorie  the  aforesaid  Richard  Gadbury,  her  father,  hath 
erected  this  monument. 

*  Tradition  says  that  the  lady  made  a  solemn  vow  never  to  take  a  second 
husband,  and  had  the  vow  recorded  on  the  monument  ;  but  veiy  soon  after  his 
death  married  again,  and  ordered  the  inscription  to  be  erased. 


Ey  worth.  55 

"  Christ  is  to  both  in  life  and  death  advantage. 

For  as  in  Adam  all  dye,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive." 

Arms,  gules,  a  cross  or,  between  four  goats'  heads  erased,  ar. 
The  following  inscriptions  are  on  the  floor. 

On  a  black  marble  stone,  plated  with  brass,  is  engraved  a  man  and 
woman,  with  this  inscription  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  bodye  of  Richard  Gadbury,  late  of  Eyworth,  gentleman, 
together  with  Margaret,  daughter  of  Thomas  Anderson,  late  of  Castlethorpe,  in 
Lyncolneshire,  esq.,  his  second  wife,  who  left  unto  certain  feoffes  in  trust  for  the 
perpetual  benefit  of  the  poor  of  Eyworth,  six  acres  of  arable  land  lying  in  the 
fields  of  Wrestlingworth,  and  8  acres  of  arable  land  lying  in  the  fields  of  Dunton. 
The  said  Richard,  being  about  the  age  of  63  years,  departed  this  life  October  the 

16,  An.  Dom.  1624.  And  the  said  Margaret  being  about  the  age  of .  They 

had  issue  one  only  daughter,  MagJallena,  in  whose  memory  they  erected  the  little 
monument  placed  in  the  South  side  of  this  chancel  wall." 

'•Here  lieth  the  bodie  of  John  Glynne,  esq.,  son  of  Sir  William  Glynne,  bart., 
and  of  Dame  Penelopie,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Stephen  Anderson,  esq.,  of  Eyworth, 
who  died  the  12  day  of  March,  1661,  aged  37  years." 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  the  virtuous  Lady  Dame  Mary  Anderson,  wife  of  Sir 
Stephen  Anderson,  bart.,  and  daughter  of  Sir  John  Glynne,  knt.,  one  of  his 
Majesties  serjeants-at-law,  who  departed  this  life  Feb.  the  25th,  1661." 

"  Here  lyeth  interred  the  body  of  Dame  Alice,  baroness  Verulame,  Vicountesse 
St.  Albans,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Benedict  Baruham,  Alderman  of  London. 
She  departed  this  life  the  2Qth  of  June,  Anno  D'ni  1650." 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Dame  Dorothey  Con>table,  the  widdow  of  Sir  John 
Constable,  late  of  Dromanby,  in  Yorkshire,  and  daughter  and  coheire  of  Benedict 
Barnham,  Alderman  of  London.  She  departed  this  life  the  8  day  of  June,  Anno 
D'ni  1649.  Neare  hereunto  also  are  interred  the  bodyes  of  1  homas,  John,  Edmond, 
Francis,  and  Elizabeth,  children  of  John  Cotton,  esq.  (son  and  heire  of  Sir  Thomas 
Cotion,  bart.)  and  of  Dorothy,  his  wife,  daughter  of  Edmond  Anderson,  esq.,  by 
Alice,  his  wife,  who  was  daughter  of  the  saide  Lady  Constable,  which  5  children 
died  in  their  infancy.  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Edrnond  Anderson,  esq.,  who 
departed  this  life  August  the  6th,  1763." 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Sir  Stephen  Anderson,  bart.,  who  departed  this  life 
Jan.  the  9,  1707." 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Mrs.  Catherine  Anderson,  who  departed  this  life 
April  the  gth,  1705." 

"  Here  lieth  interred  the  pious  and  generally  honoured  Mistress  Katherin 
Anderson,  wile  unto  Stephen  Anderson,  esq.  She  was  of  a  noble  extraction,  and 
her  virtues  above  it." 

"  In  memory  of  Edmond  Anderson,  esq.,  who  departed  this  life  April  the  1st, 
1740,  aged  54  years." 

In  the  church  : 

"  In  his  family  vault  under  the  chancel  of  this  church  lyeth  the  body  of  Edmond 
Anderson,  of  Mag.  college,  Cambridge,  designed  to  be  rector  of  Brougliton,  in  the 
county  of  Lincoln,  second  son  ot  Sir  Stephen  Anderson,  of  Eyworth,  in  the  county 
of  Bedford,  bart.,  died  ix  Feb.  1766." 

Arms  in  the  east  window.  Az.  a  chevron  between  three  escalops, 
or  ;  on  a  chief  or,  a  lion  passant  guardant.  Parted  by  bend  sinister, 
a  lion  rampant,  counterchanged  or  and  sable. 

In  the  north  window.  Gules,  a  chevron  or,  between  three  pelicans 
arg. 


5  6  Bedfordsh  ire. 


Flitton. 

[1821,  Part  I., pp.  393- 395.] 

Flitton  is  a  small  village  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  about  three 
miles  from  the  town  of  Ampthill.  It  was  anciently  called  Flictham, 
and  Fleet,  and  gives  its  name  to  the  hundred  and  deanery  in  which 
it  is  situated. 

The  parish  church,  of  which  I  send  a  drawing  (see  Plate  I.),  is  not 
remarkable  for  its  architecture  or  antiquity,  but  has  become  celebrated 
as  the  place  of  sepulture  of  the  noble  family  of  Grey,  who  possessed 
the  now,  unhappily,  extinct  title  of  Duke  of  Kent.  It  consists  of  a 
nave,  with  north  and  south  aisles,  separated  by  six  pointed  arches, 
springing  from  elegant  clustered  columns.  The  tower  at  the  west 
end  is  lofty  and  well-proportioned,  with  a  large  turret  at  the  south- 
east angle,  and  contains  four  bells  and  a  clock.  The  clerestory  has 
six  windows,  with  a  turret  at  the  east  end.  The  church,  both  in- 
ternally and  externally,  is  much  out  of  repair.  The  font  is  plain  and 
octagonal,  with  rude  carvings  of  flowers  and  armorial  shields  under- 
neath ;  on  the  south  side  of  the  altar  is  a  piscina.  There  are  some 
slight  remains  of  painted  glass  in  the  upper  part  of  two  or  three  of 
the  aisle  windows,  but  they  are  too  insignificant  for  notice.  The 
corbels  are  "carved,  grotesque,  and  grim."  The  arch  opening  into 
the  tower  differs  from  the  others,  being  very  plain,  with  semi-octagonal 
columns ;  over  the  entrance  into  the  chancel  the  royal  arms  are 
painted  in  fresco,  but  much  faded  ;  above  are  the  initials  A.  R.,  i.e., 
Anna  Regina,  and  underneath,  "Semper  eadem."  On  the  north 
side  of  the  nave  hangs  a  hatchment  with  the  motto:  "Nee  cupias, 
nee  metuas."  In  the  church  are  several  modern  tablets  and  some 
tombs  of  a  more  ancient  date  with  brasses.  On  the  second  pillar  on 
the  scuth  is  a  tablet  commemorative  of  Bartholomew  Gate,  gent, 
who  died  in  1684,  ast.  78,  and  had  been  forty  years  "Gentleman 
Usher"  to  Annabella  Countess  Dowager  of  Kent.  Within  the  altar 
rails  is  the  tomb,  with  the  effigies  in  brass,  of  Thomas  Hill,  who  died 
April  2,  1601,  aged  101,  receiver-general  to  "three  worthy  Earls  of 
Kent,"  Reginald,  Charles,  and  Henry ;  above  is  his  coat  of  arms,  and 
underneath  the  following  lines  : 

"  Aske  how  he  lived,  rnd  you  shall  know  his  end. 
He  died  a  saint  to  God,  to  poore  a  friend. 
These  lines  men  know  doth  truly  of  him  story, 
Whom  God  hath  called,  and  seated  now  in  glory." 

In  the  same  part  of  the  church  are  interred  three  of  the  Grey 
family.  Of  the  monumental  chapels,  one  is  collateral  with  the 
chancel,  and  separated  by  an  iron  gate  under  an  arch ;  this  was 
erected  upwards  of  200  years  ago,  but  has  been  since  modernized. 
Four  others  are  of  Grecian  architecture,  with  semicircular  arches 
and  pilasters,  and  were  erected  (as  it  appears  from  an  inscription  in 


Flitton.  5  7 

the  centre  one),  and  the  chancel  altered,  by  Henry  Duke  of  Kent, 
A.D.  1701.  The  windows  are  in  that  nondescript  style  sometimes 
called  modern  Gothic. 

In  the  first  chapel  are  four  monuments ;  the  first,  that  of  the  Lady 
Jane  Hart,  daughter  of  John  Evelyn,  Esq.,  of  Godstone,  Surrey,  wife 
and  relict  of  Sir  Eustace  Hart,  and  formerly  of  Sir  Anthony  Ben. 
This  monument  was  erected  by  her  daughter,  Annabella,  Countess 
Dowager  of  Kent.  She  died  in  1671,  aged  83.  Her  character 
is  portrayed  in  a  long  eulogium,  which  in  the  quaint  style  of  the 
times  affirms  that  she  will  rise  "  one  of  the  most  glorious  pieces  of 
the  resurrection."  Beneath  is  a  female  figure  of  white  marble,  in  an 
attitude  of  grief. 

The  next  is  that  of  Lady  Elizabeth  Talbot,  Countess  Dowager  of 
Kent,  second  daughter  and  co-heiress  of  Gilbert  Earl  of  Shrewsbury  ; 
she  died  at  "  hir  house  in  Whitefriers,"  December  7,  1651.  The 
third  is  that  of  Henry  Earl  of  Kent,  Lord  Hastings  Weisford,  and 
Ruthin,  Lord-Lieutenant  of  Bedford,  the  founder  of  this  chapel,  who 
died  January  31,  1614,  and  Mary  his  wife,  daughter  of  Sir  Robert 
Cotton,  of  Combermere,  in  the  county  of  Chester,  and  relict  of 
Robert  Earl  of  Derby,  who  died  November  16,  1680,  and  was  buried 
at  Great  Gaddesden  in  Hertfordshire.  On  this  are  two  fine  old 
recumbent  figures  in  red  marble,  with  robes,  ruffs,  and  coronets,  their 
hands  joined  in  the  attitude  of  prayer.  Above  are  the  family  arms, 
with  the  motto  :  "  Foy  est  tout." 

The  last  has  also  two  recumbent  figures  in  white  marble,  with  full 
robes  and  coronets,  and  four  smaller  ones  at  the  corners  of  the  tablet 
above.  The  first  represents  Justice  with  her  balance ;  the  second, 
with  a  serpent  in  her  hand,  and  her  eyes  uplifted,  is  immortal 
Wisdom ;  the  third,  leaning  on  a  broken  Corinthian  column,  is 
Patience  or  Fortitude ;  the  fourth,  with  a  broken  vessel,  and  in  a 
distressed  attitude,  is  Charity.  This  monument  commemorates 
Henry  Earl  of  Kent,  etc.,  who  died  in  1651,  and  Annabella  his  wife, 
by  whom  it  was  erected. 

On  the  floor  of  this  chapel  are  the  tombs  of  Henry  Grey  Earl  of 
Kent,  who  died  1729,  and  Charles  his  brother,  also  Earl  of  Kent, 
who  died  1723,  and  an  ancient  tomb,  with  the  effigies  in  brass  of  a 
man  in  armour,  having  a  sheathed  sword  in  his  left  hand,  but  the 
inscription  is  obliterated.  Behind  one  of ,  the  pillars  of  Lady 
Elizabeth  Talbot's  monument  is  an  old  two-edged  sword  and  a  rusty 
iron  gauntlet. 

In  the  central  chapel  are  the  monuments  of  the  Lady  Annabell  de 
Grey,  eldest  daughter  of  Henry  Duke  of  Kent,  who  married  John 
Lord  Glenorchy,  eldest  son  of  the  Earl  of  Breadalbane,  and  died 
July  20,  1718,  leaving  one  son  and  one  daughter,  afterwards 
Marchioness  de  Grey,  and  also  that  of  Anne  de  Grey,  her  sister,  who 
married  Lord  Charles  Cavendish,  and  died  September  20,  1733. 


58  Bedfordshire. 


Both  are  executed  in  black,  white,  and  gray  marble,  and  ornamented 
nearly  in  a  similar  manner. 

In  the  north  chapel  are  three  monuments.  The  first  has  a  noble 
sarcophagus  of  black  marble  resting  on  claws,  on  which  reclines  the 
effigies  in  a  Roman  dress,  of  Anthony  de  Grey,  commonly  called 
Earl  of  Harrold,  created  Baron  Lucas  of  Crudwell,  who  married  Lady 
Mary  Tufton,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Thanet,  and  died  1723.  The 
next  is  that  of  Henrietta  de  Grey,  third  daughter  of  Henry  Duke  of 
Kent,  who  died  January  4,  1716-17,  aged  14.  On  this  is  sculptured 
a  youthful  form,  wiih  a  pleasing  and  innocent  countenance,  looking 
up  to  heaven  ;  in  her  hand  is  a  book  resting  on  a  cushion  ;  above  is 
a  pyramid,  crowned  with  an  urn,  and  encircled  with  a  wreath  of 
flowers.  The  third  is  dedicated  to  the  memory  of  Henry  de  Grey, 
son  of  the  Duke  of  Kent,  who  died  December  4,  1717,  in  the  twent)- 
first  year  of  his  age.  His  effigy  is  in  a  loose  dress.  Above  is  a 
pyramid  similar  to  the  last,  with  a  wreath  of  flowers  most  minutely 
and  beautifully  sculptured.  In  the  same  chapel  is  a  neat  urn  of 
white  marble,  on  a  pedestal  of  Purbec  stone,  to  the  memory  of  the 
Lady  Gregory,  daughter  to  the  same  Duke  of  Kent. 

The  south  chapel  has  only  one  monument,  that  of  Philip  Earl  ot 
Hardwicke,  who  died  May  16,  1790,  erected  by  his  wife  Jemimn, 
Marchioness  of  Grey  and  Baroness  Lucas,  who  died  January  u,  1797. 
On  this  is  a  beautiful  figure  in  white  marble  leaning  against  an  urn. 
In  her  countenance  deep  grief  is  inimitably  depicted,  nor  can  the 
exquisite  Mowings  of  her  drapery  fail  to  command  the  delighted 
attention  of  every  beholder. 

In  the  last  chapel,  to  the  east,  is  one  large  monument  of  white  and 
veined  marble.  In  the  centre  is  a  sarcophagus  of  dark  marble, 
nearly  similar  to  the  former.  On  this  is  the  recumbent  effigies  of 
Henry  de  Grey,  Duke  of  Kent,  in  his  full  robes,  with  his  peer's  cap 
in  his  hand.  By  Queen  Anne  he  was  created  Marquis  and  Duke  of 
Kent,  Lord  Chamberlain,  Knight  of  the  Garter,  and  Lord- Lieutenant 
of  Bedford  and  Hereford.  He  was  one  of  the  regents  named  by 
George  I.,  afterwards  appointed  Lord  Privy  Seal  and  to  a  variety  of 
other  offices.  By  George  II.  he  was  created  Marquis  Grey.  He 
erected  a  magnificent  town  house,  and  laid  out  the  gardens  ot  Wrest. 
His  character  is  recorded  in  terms  of  high  eulogium. 

On  the  right  is  the  effigy  of  his  first  wife,  Jemima,  daughter  and 
co-heiress  of  Lord  Crewe,  who  died  July  27,  1728. 

On  the  left  is  a  tablet  commemorating  his  second  wife,  Sophia, 
daughter  of  William  Lord  Portland,  \\ho  died  June  14,  1748,  and 
underneath  that  of  her  daughter,  Anna  Sophia,  who  married  the  K.ev. 
John  Egerton,  successively  Bishop  of  Bangor,  Lichfield  and  Coventry, 
and  Durham,  and  died  November  21,  1748. 

In  the  parish  of  Fiitton,  about  one  mile  from  the  church,  is  the 
ancient  hamlet  of  Silsoe,  formerly  Silvei&ho,  and  a  town  of  seme  si/e 


Flitton. — Leighton  Buzzard.  59 

and  consequence,  having  a  market  on  Tuesdays,  granted  to  Ralph 
FitzRichard,  A.D.  1319.  This  has  long  been  disused,  and  it  has  now 
dwindled  to  a  small  but  neat  village.  It  has  still  two  fairs  annually, 
May  1 2th  and  September  2ist.  A  national  school  has  been  established, 
and  a  good  school-house  erected  by  the  Countess  de  Grey,  and 
received  into  the  connection  of  the  Bedfordshire  National  Society. 
Here  is  a  chapel  of  ease,  dedicated  to  St.  James.  A  double  tier  of 
three  plain  pointed  arches  resting  on  low  octagonal  columns  divides 
it  into  a  nave  and  two  side-aisles,  with  clerestory  windows,  and  the 
chancel  at  the  east  end.  The  interior  is  very  neat ;  a  handsome 
gallery  has  been  erected  parallel  with  the  whole  west  end,  and  the 
pews  have  been  painted,  etc.  The  altar-piece  is  well  wainscoted, 
and  has  a  painting  representing  the  "Adoration  of  the  Shepherds," 
the  production  of  Mrs.  Mary  Lloyd,  and  presented  by  her  to  the 
chapel.  Who  this  lady  was  I  am  not  able  exactly  to  ascertain.  Over 
the  west  end  is  a  small  and  ugly  steeple  and  spire,  containing  two 
prayer-bells  and  a  clock. 

The  present  Rector  of  Flitton-cum-Silsoe  is  the  Rev.  T.  T.  James, 
whose  name  is  known  to  the  public  by  two  volumes  of  interesting 
"  Travels  in  Russia,  Poland,"  etc.  The  parish  church  is  dedicated 
to  St.  John  the  Baptist,  and  the  living  is  in  the  gift  of  Christchurch, 
Oxford. 

Adjoining  the  village  is  Wrest  Park,  the  ancient  seat  of  the  Grey 
family.  A  perfect  and  complete  account  of.  this  mansion  will  far 
exceed  the  present  limits  ;  it  must  therefore  be  left  to  a  future  letter 
or  correspondent.  The  front  is  neatly  built  of  white  stone,  with  a 
plain  pediment  in  the  centre,  and  a  covered  portal  beneath.  The 
interior  has  a  fine  and  valuable  collection  of  family  portraits.  The 
gardens  have  long  been  esteemed  as  the  favourite  resort  of  the  sur- 
rounding country.  They  were  principally  laid  out  by  the  celebrated 
Brown,  and  are  ornamented  with  imitations  of  antique  temples, 
hermitages,  Chinese  bowers,  etc.,  and  a  very  noble  banqueting-house. 
They  are  surrounded  by  a  fine  serpentine  river  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
in  length.  This  is  at  present  the  residence  of  Annabell  Hume, 
Baroness  Lucas,  lately  created,  by  letters  patent,  Countess  de 
Grey.  ...  J.  D.  PARRY. 

Leighton  Buzzard. 

[1844,  Part  I.,  p.  155.] 

I  was  not  long  since  in  the  church  at  Leighton  Buzzard,  in  Bed- 
fordshire. It  is  under  repairs,  and  not  altogether  injudicious  repairs. 
But  I  must  take  leave  to  question  the  propriety  of  ejecting  an  old 
carved  pulpit,  of  the  date  1638,  and  very  good  for  its  time,  to  give 
place  to  some  feeble,  though  possibly  more  uniform,  work  of  yester- 
day. This  old  pulpit  is  now  lying  in  the  south  chapel  amidst  a  heap 
of  paraphernalia  that  have  been  put  aside — tables  of  benefactions, 


60  Bedfordshire. 

torn  achievements,  and  such-like.  The  north  chapel  has  been  re- 
floored,  and  two  stone  coffins,  discovered  during  the  operation,  have 
been  unceremoniously  turned  out  of  the  church  altogether.  The 
font  in  this  church  is  well  known  to  the  antiquary.  The  authorities 
should  make  some  sacrifice  to  clean  and  preserve  it. 

Yours,  etc.,  L. 

[1819,  Part  /.,  p.  400.] 

As  considerable  doubt  has  existed  respecting  the  age  of  the  cross 
at  Leighton  Buzzard,  I  would  suggest  the  probability,  at  least,  of  its 
being  as  old  as  the  time  of  Edward  III.  It  appears  from  a  MS.  in 
my  possession  that  that  prince  frequently  passed  through  Leighton 
in  the  pursuit  of  his  favourite  amusement,  hawking,  while  he  resided 
at  Kingsbury  Palace,  Dunstable ;  and  I  have  a  copy  of  an  order 
from  him  to  the  sheriff,  to  repair  the  bridges  between  Leighton 
Buzzard  and  Fenny  Stratford. 

G.  O.  P.  T. 

Luton. 

[1778,  p.  505-] 

I  send  you  herewith  an  engraved  plate,  with  a  short  description  of 
it,  which  I  believe  your  antiquarian  correspondents  will  deem  a 
curiosity. 

Yours,  etc.,        A  CONSTANT  READER. 

This  elegant  chapel  or  baptistery  is  situate  in  the  body  of  the 
church  of  Luton,  in  the  south  aisle  thereof,  and  towards  the  west 
end.  It  is  a  stone  building  of  fine  Gothic  sculpture,  probably  built 
about  the  time  of  King  Richard  II.,  in  which  is  a  font  now  constantly 
used.  On  the  top  (within)  is  represented  a  vine,  a  dragon,  and  a 
lamb,  which  latter  is  defending  the  vine  from  the  injuries  of  the 
dragon. 

This  hexagon  chapel  is  large  enough  to  contain  twelve  persons  - 
with  ease.     What  makes  the  font  extremely  remarkable  is  the  singular 
situation  thereof — viz.,  in  the  body  of  the  church  ;  contrary  to  that 
of  all  other  fonts,  which  have  immemorially  been  placed  at  the  west 
end  of  their  respective  churches. 

[1822,  Part  II. i  p.  269.] 

Masons  are  at  present  employed  in  Luton  Church,  Beds,  in 
removing  the  well-known  baptistery  from  its  situation  at  the  west 
end  of  the  nave  to  a  place  near  the  east  window,  with  the  intention, 
we  presume,  of  opening  the  west  door  as  the  principal  entrance. 

[1782, /.  479] 
A   correspondent   in  your  last   magazine*  has  quoted   Leland's 

*  [See  1782,  p.  432,  a  review  of  Memoirs  of  Lord  Wenlock.] 


Litton.  6 1 

curious  notice  of  a  stately  mansion-house,  which  was  begun  by  Lord 
Wenlock  at  Luton  in  the  reign  of  Edward  IV.  The  portico,  all  that 
was  finished,  now  remains  complete  in  a  wood  near  Luton.  It  is 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  in  brick  of  the  florid  Gothic  that 
I  remember.  Lord  Wenlock  is  buried  in  the  church  of  Luton  under 
a  magnificent  altar-tomb,  with  an  inscription  in  old  English  rhyme. 
There  are  other  antiquities  at  Luton.  In  the  old  chapel  of  Lord  Bute's 
house  is  preserved  a  fine  Gothic  wainscot  in  oak  richly  sculptured, 
which  was  put  up  by  Sir  Thomas  Pope,  the  founder  of  Trinity  College, 
Oxford,  in  the  chapel  of  his  house  at  Tyttenhanger,  in  Hertfordshire, 
about  the  year  1548.  It  was  removed  from  Tyttenhanger  to  Luton 
in  entire  preservation  by  the  family  of  Napier,  tenants  to  Trinity 
College,  in  the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  I.  SPECULATOR. 

[1817,  Part  IT., pp.  5-8.] 

On  a  late  tour  through  Hertfordshire  [Luton  is  in  both  counties, 
Beds  and  Herts],  after  having  surveyed  the  venerable  Abbey  of  St. 
Alban's,  my  attention  was  attracted  to  the  magnificent  villa  of  the 
Marquis  of  Bute,  at  Luton  Hoo.  I  presume,  in  two  distinct  points 
of  view,  that  the  following  information  may  not  be  wholly  unaccept- 
able to  certain  of  your  readers  who  understand  and  feel  the  beauties 
of  architecture  and  painting.  First,  that  the  library,  which  was  con- 
sidered by  its  designer,  Robert  Adam,  as  his  chef  d'ozuvre,  both  in 
point  of  elegance  and  contrivance,  has  never  been  hitherto  described  ; 
and  secondly,  that  a  collection  of  pictures  made  by  a  Prime  Minister 
of  this  country  has  never  been  made  known,  in  detail,  by  a  printed 
catalogue ;  while  that  of  another  nobleman,  who  enjoyed  the  same 
eminent  station  some  years  before  him,  is  never  mentioned  but  with 
unbounded  praise  or  regret  for  its  removal  from  England  almost 
beyond  the  reach  of  civilized  Europe,  and  of  which  the  memory  only 
is  preserved  to  us  by  a  series  of  engravings.  Luton  is  scarcely 
known  as  a  similar  repository  (and  may  it  long  remain  !) ;  while 
Houghton  is  called  by  virtuosi  "  classic  ground,"  as  having  once  con- 
tained the  most  princely  collection  of  paintings  ever  made  in  this 
kingdom. 

The  testimony  of  Dr.  Johnson  is  decisive,  not  because  the  arts 
were  neither  seen  nor  understood  by  him,  and  that  he  refused  to 
praise  what  he  was  unable,  from  defect  of  vision,  to  discriminate,  this 
instance  being  excepted;  but  that  he  readily  acknowledged  the 
superiority  of  this  palace  in  particular.  After  visiting  Luton  with  Mr. 
Boswell,  he  said  :  "  This  is  one  of  the  places  I  do  not  regret  having 
come  to  see.  It  is  a  very  stately  place  indeed ;  in  the  house  magnifi- 
cence is  not  sacrificed  to  convenience,  nor  convenience  to  magnifi- 
cence. The  library  is  very  splendid,  the  dignity  of  the  rooms  is  very 
great,  and  the  quantity  of  pictures  is  beyond  expectation — beyond 
hope."  (Boswell's  "  Life  of  Johnson,"  vol.  iv.,  p.  134.) 


6  2  Bedfordshire . 


In  1762,  when  Lord  Bute  had  attained  to  the  summit  of  his 
political  power,  he  purchased  the  unfinished  mansion  of  Sir  Robert 
Napier,  and  soon  afterwards  resolved  upon  making  a  grand  addition, 
in  which  the  genius  of  R.  Adam,  whom  he  patronized,  should  have 
its  fullest  scope,  uncontrolled  by  any  consideration  of  expense.  At 
the  same  time  Shelburne  House  was  rising  from  its  foundations  upon 
a  plan  of  the  same  architect.  Popular  clamour  was  then  so  vehement 
that  Lord  Bute  was  induced  to  sell  his  intended  London  residence 
to  Lord  Shelburne,  and  the  vast  designs  at  Luton  were  suspended  in 
their  full  extent.  What  had  been  begun  was  then  completely 
finished  ;  and  Adam  has  transferred  to  England  the  splendours 
of  the  Palace  of  Diocletian  at  Spalatro,  which  he  has  so  ably 
elucidated. 

Those  who  attributed  the  payment  of  the  large  sum  required  for 
both  these  sumptuous  buildings  to  his  command  of  the  public  purse, 
were  injurious  in  their  censures,  not  considering  that  after  the  death 
of  Mr.  Wortley,  Lord  Bute  enjoyed  an  estate  of  at  least  ^20,000  a 
year  in  right  of  his  countess.  In  consequence  of  these  unpleasant 
observations,  which  were  not  unfrequently  obtruded  on  his  ear,  Luton, 
with  its  splendid  embellishments,  was  no  longer  submitted  to  public 
inspection,  and  was  seen  only  by  special  favour ;  and  accordingly, 
notwithstanding  a  liberal  permission  given  by  the  late  noble  possessor, 
has  been  very  rarely  visited,  even  by  connoisseurs. 

From  the  grand  suite  of  apartments,  the  ceilings  of  which  are 
ornamented  with  the  best  efforts  of  the  pencil  of  Cipriani,  I  select 
the  library  for  an  attempt  at  description.  It  was  built  in  1767,  and 
consists  of  five  apartments,  the  total  extent  of  which  is  144  feet,  and 
is  calculated  to  contain  25,000  volumes.  The  height  of  each  room 
to  the  cornice  is  19  feet,  and  the  book-cases  of  mahogany,  with  gilt- 
wire  lattices,  are  halt  that  elevation  ;  and  above  them  are  ranged 
some  of  the  largest  and  most  valuable  of  the  pictures.  The  books 
are  easily  accessible  (which  is  no  inconsiderable  advantage),  and  in 
each  division  of  the  book-cases  there  are  about  nine  rows  on  an 
average,  and  eighteen  books  in  a  row.  Folio  volumes  are  placed  at 
top  and  bottom,  then  quartos,  and  lastly  octavos  in  the  middle,  which 
mode  has  been  found  to  include  the  greatest  number  within  the  same 
space.  At  the  foot  of  the  book-cases  is  placed  a  single  step,  which, 
opening,  forms  boxes  for  maps  on  rollers,  and  before  them  are  tables 
covered  with  green  cloth,  upon  which  are  placed  beautiful  models,  in 
cork,  of  Greek  and  Roman  architecture ;  they  are  wired  in  front,  and 
contain  large  portfolios  of  prints  and  drawings,  atlases,  plans  and 
elevations.  The  rooms,  at-  either  end,  have  folding  doors,  by  which 
they  are  rendered  distinct  from  each  other ;  but  the  centre  room  has 
an  arcade  of  Ionic  pillars,  supporting  a  beam,  which  crosses  the  arch 
at  its  springing.  Of  the  books  it  is  needless  to  speak  in  praise,  as 
their  extreme  rarity,  and  the  excellence  of  the  editions,  are  sufficiently 


Luton.  63 

known  to  all  bibliographers.     A  more  splendid  temple  of  the  muses 
is  nowhere  seen. 

Of  the  pictures,  the  number  of  which  excited  from  Johnson  such 
ejaculations  of  astonishment  and  praise,  I  will  only  give  a  list  of  about 
one  hundred,  with  a  few  observations  occasionally. 

COLLECTION   OF   PICTURES   AT   LUTON,  MADE  BY  JOHN,  EARL   OF 
BUTE,  1762 — 1780. 

Raffaelle, 

1.  Madonna,  Bambino,  and  cherubs. 

The  Caracci. 

2.  St.  Francis — small. 

3.  Madonna  and  Bambino. 

4.  Assumption 

5.  Holy  Family,  with  St  Lucia. 

Guercino. 

6.  Funeral  of  a  young  man. 

7.  Assumption  of  the  Virgin. 

GuiJo. 

8.  Venus  and  Cupid. 

9.  Daedalus  and  Icarus. 

10.  Venus  and  Cupid. 

Corregio. 

11.  Virgin  reposing  on  a  cloud. 

1 2.  Virgin  asleep,  the  child  embracing  her — small,  but  exquisite. 

And.  SacchL 

13.  Mercury  acquainting  Vulcan  with  the  infidelity  of  Venus. 

P.   Veronese. 

14.  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine. 

Parmegianino. 

15.  The  same  subject. 

Schedoni. 

1 6.  Holy  Family. 

Benv.  Garofalo. 

1 7.  Riposo  in  Egypt. 

Murillio. 

]  8.  Bambino  asleep  with  the  Madonna. 

19.  Assumption  of  the  Virgin  (on  marble). 

Luca  Giordano. 

20.  Venus  and  Neptune. 


64  Bedfordshire. 


Parmegiano. 

21.  Marriage  of  St.  Catherine. 

Barocchio* 

22.  Holy  Family. 

Albano. 

23.  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 

Eliz.  Sirani. 

24.  Madonna  and  Bambino  asleep. 

Tintoretto. 

25.  Juno  distributing  gold. 

Vasari. 

26.  Holy  Family. 

Salv.  Rosa, 

27.  Wounded  Soldier. 

A.  del  Sarto. 

28.  Holy  Family. 

Titian. 

29.  Venus  reposing  in  a  dressing-room. 

Carlo  Maratti. 

30.  Holy  Family.     From  the  frequent  repetition  of  this  subject  he 

was  called  by  his  contemporaries  "Carluccio  delle  Madonnine." 

P.  Bordone, 

31.  Christ  and  the  Centurion. 

LANDSCAPES,  BATTLE  PIECES,  ETC. 

RuysdaaL 

32.  Rocks  and  cascade. 

Rosa  da  Tivoli. 

33.  Landscape. 

34.  Companion. 

Zuccarelli. 

35  and  36.  Landscapes — very  large. 

37  and  38,  39  and  40.  Companions.  These  were  procured  for  Lord 
Bute  by  Mr.  Smith,  Consul  at  Venice,  as  those  for  the  King 
now  at  Windsor. 

Tempesta. 
41.  Landscape. 

BusirL 
42  and  43.  Ditto. 


Lilt  on.  65 

Hackaert  and  Lingelbach. 
44  and  45.  Views  among  the  Alps. 

Vander  Hagen. 

46.  View  in  a  thick  forest. 

Cvyp. 

47.  View  on  the  Maes. 

Occhiale, 

48.  View  of  the  Tiber. 

Nich.  Poussin. 

49.  View  near  Marino. 

50.  Do.  near  the  Lake  of  Narni. 

51.  Do.  on  the  Annio,  near  Vicovaro. 

Ismen.   Vecchio. 

52.  Landscape. 

53.  Sea  Port. 

Berghem. 

54.  Landscape — winter  scene. 

Vande    Velde. 

55.  Views  in  the  Alps' — figures  by  Teniers. 

Hackaert. 

56.  Battle  of  Solebay,  painted  for  King  James  II. 

Teniers. 

57.  Boors  in  a  Village,  carousing. 

Vander  Meulen. 

58.  Battle  piece. 

Victor. 

59.  A  tooth-drawer. 

60.  Butcher  with  attendants. 

Rotenhamer  and  Velvet  Breughel. 

61.  Madonna  and  Bambino,  with  St.  John  offering  fruit  and  flowers. 

Verkolie. 

62.  Dutch  boor  and  milk-maid. 

Old  J.  B.  Franks. 

63.  Connoisseurs  in  the  gallery  of  a  Virtuoso. 

64.  Companions,  with  pictures,  shells,  etc.   These  are  most  curiously 

finished. 
VOL.  xii.  5 


66  Bedfordshire. 


PORTRAITS. 
Cuyp. 

65.  Himself,  as  Orpheus  surrounded  with  beasts. 

P.  P.  Rubens. 

66.  A  laughing  hoy. 

67.  An  artist,  one  of  his  scholars. 

68.  His  wife  (Helena  Formann)  and  child,  with  himself,  in  a  fruit 

market. 

69.  Stag-hunting — himself   and   other   portraits — animals    by    De 

Heiisck.     Very  large,  in  the  same  style,  and  of  equal  dimen- 
sions with  the  celebrated  Boar  Hunting  at  Corsham. 

Rubens  and  Jordaens. 

70.  Adoration  of  the  Magi. 

71.  Judgment  and  punishment  of  Midas. 

72.  Mary  Magdalene   washing   Jesus'   feet. — All   the    figures    are 

portraits. 

73.  Diogenes  searching  for  an  honest  man.     Jordaens,  as  Diogenes, 

finds  Rubens. 

Titian. 

74.  Ant.  Grimani,  Doge  of  Venice. 

75.  Hernando  Cortez. 

Rembrandt. 

76.  His  son. 

Velasquez. 

77.  Innocent  X.  (Pamfili). 

Vandyck. 

78.  Sir  W.  Howard,  K.B.,  when  young,  afterwards  the  unfortunate 

Viscount   Stafford,    beheaded    16 — .      From    the    Arundel 
Collection.  % 

Old  Stone. 

79.  Children  of  King  Charles  I. 

Dobson. 

80.  Ben  Jonson. 

81.  Mrs.  Jane  Lane,  who  conducted  Charles  II.  after  his  escape  from 

the  Battle  of  Worcester. 

Walker. 

82.  Pym. 

83.  Ireton. 

Corn.  Jansen. 

84.  Pensionary  De  Witt. 

85.  His  sister. 


Luton. 


67 


Breughel. 

86.  Duchess  of  Montespan. 

Mrs.  Beale. 

87.  Herself. 

Sir  J.  Reynolds. 

88.  John,  Earl  of  Bute,  as  Prime  Minister,  receiving  a  despatch  from 

his  secretary,  Charles  Jenkinson,  afterwards  Earl  of  Liver- 
pool.— This  is  one  of  Sir  Joshua's  early  pictures,  and  is 
singularly  curious  for  the  character  displayed  in  both  the 
portraits. 

89.  John,  Earl  of  Bute,  in  his  robes  of  the  Garter. — Full  length. 

90.  Mary,  Countess  of  Bute,  daughter  of  Edward  Wortley  Montagu, 

Esq.,  and  the  justly  celebrated  Lady  Mary. — Full  length. 

91.  Charles  James  Fox,  in  early  life. 

92.  Dr.  Armstrong,  the  poet. 

A.  Ramsay. 

93.  The  Princess  Dowager  of  Wales.  — Whole  length.     Presented  by 

her  Royal  Highness  to  the  Earl  of  Bute. 

Unknown. 

94.  Lady  M.  Pierrepoint,  as  a  shepherdess,  sitting  under  a  tree. — 

Miniature. 

C.  Jervas. 

95.  Lady  M.   Wortley  Montagu,  reclining,   in  a  Turkish  costume : 

painted  for  Pope — but  it  is  uncertain  if  it  ever  came  into  his 
possession. 

Vander  Meulen. 

96.  Coronation  of  Louis  XIV.  at  Rheims. 


97- 


Margaret,  Queen  of  Scots,  daughter  of  King  Henry  VII.,  from 
whom  the  present  royal  family  are  lineally  descended.  She 
is  represented  as  offering  her  hand  in  a  dance  to  Archibald 
Douglas,  her  second  husband.  This  curious  picture  was 
purchased  out  of  the  Arundel  Collection.  See  Walpole's 
Anecdotes,  8vo.,  vol.  i.,  p.  451. 

The  admirers  of  the  Flemish  and  Dutch  schools  will  have  the 
highest  gratification  in  inspecting  a  collection  of  their  works,  with 
which  the  upper  apartments  are  replenished,  and  which  has  certainly 
no  rival  in  England.  It  is  not  equalled  for  merit,  variety  or  number. 

The  names  of  their  most  eminent  painters — of  Gerard  Dow, 
Janstein,  Paul  Brill,  Le  Nain,  Swannevelt,  Vanhuysum,  Van  Harp, 
Brawer,  Van  Goyen,  Molinaar,  Ostade,  Peter  Neefs,  Breughel,  etc., 
appear  in  the  catalogue  of  their  most  genuine  and  excellent  pictures. 

E.  M.  S. 

5-2 


68  Bedfordshire. 

Millbrook. 

[1828,  Part  II.,  pp.  201-203.] 

Millbrook  is  a  small  but  extremely  picturesque  village  in  the 
Hundred  of  Redbournstoke  and  deanery  of  Flitt,  Bedfordshire. 

I  find  from  Domesday  Book  that  it  was  taxed  for  v  hides,  and 
contained  vj  plough  lands,  two  of  which  were  in  demesne.  When 
the  survey  took  place  it  was  valued  at  ^3,  of  which  305.  only  was 
received ;  but  during  the  Confessor's  time  it  is  stated  to  have  been 
worth  iocs.  It  seems  to  have  consisted  principally  of  woodland, 
which  afforded  pasture  for  100  hogs. 

In  the  record  alluded  to  it  is  called  Melehroc.  It  is  sometimes 
written  Mulebrok,  Mulbrok,  and  Mollehrok,  but  most  frequently 
Milbroke.  In  4th  Henry  IV.  it  is  mentioned  by  its  present  name,  and 
the  variety  of  ways  in  which  it  is  spelt  maybe  attributed  to  remissness 
in  the  writer  rather  than  to  any  actual  change  in  its  etymology. 

In  the  Domesday  survey  ij  mills  valued  at  vj  shillings  are  noticed, 
and  I  learn  from  Dugdale  that  at  a  subsequent  period,  "  Johannes 
Molendinarius  tenuit  Molendinum  de  Melebroche,  p'  xs.  ex  dono 
Roberti  de  Aubeni,"  There  is  still  a  stream  of  water  existing  at  this 
place,  which  is  probably  the  same  with  one  described  several  centuries 
ago  in  these  words,  "  Aqua  quas  ab  curia  descendit  ad  ecclesiam, 
usque  ad  Sibbenorum."  Hence  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
village  derived  its  name  from  some  millbrook  in  or  about  it. 

There  was  at  this  place  a  cell  of  Benedictine  monks  belonging  to 
the  abbey  of  St.  Albans  until  about  the  year  1119,  when  Geoffrey, 
the  sixteenth  abbot  of  that  place,  "  transtulit  Monachos  de  Mulebrok 
ad  Heretnitorium  de  Modri,  Moddry,  or  Beau-lieu,  in  Bedfordshire."* 
In  a  charter  of  this  cell  Milbrook  and  its  vicinity  are  described  in  a 
manner  unusually  concise.  Its  possessions  in  that  place  are  said  to 
comprise  "  totum  ab  bosco  extra  closum,  usque  ad  culturam  quae  est 
juxta  ecclesiam,  et  croftam  Sigodi  filii  Samari,  et  croftam  Uhteredi, 
et  croftam  Alwardi  de  Broma,  et  veteres  terras,  et  montem  veterem 
juxta,  et  pratnm  quod  fuit  Ricardi  filii  Radulfiad  Bromam,et  pratum 
quod  prestitum  fuit  Turgedo  de  riominio  domini." 

The  country  hereabout  is  so  beautifully  undulated  with  wood  and 
dale  that  it  would  be  difficult  at  this  time  to  point  out  the  identical 
"mount"  characterized  by  the  epithet  "old"  in  the  foregoing  de- 
scription. In  some  MS.  lines  on  Milbrook,  which  I  have  by  me, 
one  of  these  knolls  is  thus  introduced  :  [Omitted.] 

In  the  account  of  Milbrook,  part  of  which  we  have  just  quoted, 
"xvi  acras  de  terra  warreni"  are  mentioned.  In  i3th  Edward  II.  the 
Prior  of  Beau-lieu,  or  Bellum-locum,  appears  to  have  been  summoned 

*  Mr.  Lysons,  by  a  slip  of  the  pen,  says  "  Hertfordshire,"  probably  because  it 
was  united  to  the  Abbey  of  St.  Albans,  by  virtue  of  a  bull  from  Pope  Eu- 
genius  IV. 


Millbrook. 


on  a  writ  of  quo-warranto  to  show  by  what  right  he  claimed  the 
exercise  of  free-warren  here.  His  reply  states  that  he  had  received  a 
grant  of  it  from  Edward  I.,  which  was  actually  the  case  in  1294.  A 
writ  of  the  same  nature,  regarding  his  title  to  hold  a  court  leet,  and 
claim  waif,  or  the  forfeited  goods  of  felons  and  outlaws  in  Mellebrek, 
issued  shortly  afterwards,  and  was  answered  by  the  prior  in  person. 
I  find  also  the  master  of  the  Knights  Templars  twice  summoned  on 
similar  charges,  and  the  Abbot  of  Warden  sued  for  exercising  the 
right  of  free-warren. 

Almeric  de  St.  Amand  held  Melebroke  Manor  under  an  extent  in 
1  4th  Edward  I.  In  4th  Edward  II.  Mulbroke  was  possessed  by  one 
of  the  same  name.  Johannes  deSancto  Amando  held  it  in  the  same 
year  of  the  following  reign.  It  seems  afterwards  to  have  belonged 
to  the  abbot  and  convent  of  Warden,  for  whom  it  was  held  in  iyth 
Edward  III.,  with  remainder  to  himself,  by  Almeric  de  Sr.  Amand. 
The  same  party  had  services  and  tenements  in  Mulbroke.  A  manor 
and  120  acres  of  land  in  Milebrouk  and  Ampthull  appertained  to  the 
family  of  St.  Croix  about  this  time,  the  name  of  Peter  de  Santa  Cruce 
'as  owner.  occurring  in  23rd  and  36th  Edward  III.* 

Almeric  de  St.  Amand  was  seised  of  various  possessions  in  Mel- 
broke  in  5th  Richard  II.  A  subsequent  inquisition  was  taken  on  his 
death  in  4th  Henry  IV.  In  the  first  of  these  escheats  he  is  named 
conjointly  with  his  wife  Alionora,  whom  he  left  his  executrix. 

In  the  Valor  of  Henry  VIII.  is  the  following  entry  respecting  this 
place  : 

"William  Gray,  rector  of  Mylbrook,  represented  on  his  oath  that  the  value  of 
his  rectory  there,  exclusive  of  IDS.  8cl.  payable  to  the  Archdeacon  of  Bedford  for 
synodals  and  proxies,  was  per  ann.  £9  i6s.  2d." 

The  church  (see  the  plate)  stands  on  an  eminence  which  commands 
a  beautiful  and  extensive  view  over  the  vale  of  Bedford.  From  its 
elevated  site  it  is  visible  at  a  great  distance,  and  serves  as  a  landmark 
to  this  recluse  village.  In  the  chancel  is  a  tablet  to  the  memory  of 
Dr.  George  Lawson,  one  of  the  former  rectors  of  Milbrook,  who  died 
in  1684.  On  its  north  side  is  a  handsome  altar-tomb  with  full-length 
figures  of  William  Huett,  Esq.,  and  Mary,  his  wife,  surmounted  by 
this  inscription  : 

"  Hie  jacet  Armigeri  Gulielmi  corpus  Huetti 
Uxorisque  sure  Marire  quam  fata  priorem 
Eripuere  ;  duos  natos  hinc  mortua  mater 
Post  se  sollicito  patri  mundoque  reliquit. 
Haec  est  conditio  status  hie  ;  hsec  gloria  carnis 
Nostra  sit  ;  haec  quamvis  non  est  lux  crastina  nostra. 


*  In  the  49th  year  of  the  same  reign  Thomas  de  St.  Croix  had  remainder  of 
the  manor,  which  was  held  by  John  Cheyney,  Knt. 


/o  Bedfordshire. 

Near  this  monument,  on  the  pavement,  is  the  figure  of  an  eccle- 
siastic, with  this  inscription  :  [See  ante,  p.  12.] 

IRobtrt  88Jm  pmst  bnb'  this  eton  Igth 
"(that  Jh'tx  m'rj)  anb  laog  help  trjxcth 
JJragcth  for  ing  soble  for  chargit  noto 
jls  jjc  toolb  otfur  btie  for  jjotu. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  chancel  is  a  beautiful  monument  com- 
memorating a  daughter  of  Lord  Holland's,  who  died  in  early  life. 
The  marble  bust  with  which  it  is  surmounted  is  not  less  admired  for 
its  simplicity  and  sweetness  of  expression  than  for  the  skill  displayed 
in  its  execution. 

The  tower  appears  to  have  contained  originally  three  bells,  two  of 
which  only  remain,  with  these  inscriptions  : 

<S;tncta  Jttnm,  ora  pro  nobis. 
"  Richard  Chandler  made  me,  1676." 

In  the  church  windows  are  the  arms  of  Sir  John  Cornwall,  who 
purchased  the  manor  of  the  Beauchamps,  to  whom  it  came  after  the 
St.  Amands.  He  was  created  Baron  of  Milbrook  in  1442,  but  is 
better  known  by  his  other  title  of  Lord  Fanhope.  He  did  not  long 
enjoy  this  honour,  for  he  died  either  in  the  following  year  or  soon 
after.  f)uring  the  summer  of  1825  I  spent  many  pleasant  hours  in 
Ampthill  Park,  where  this  worthy  had  once  "  a  large  and  princely 
house  like  a  castle  "  on  the  spot  now  occupied  by  an  obelisk,  sur- 
mounted by  a  shield  bearing  the  arms  of  Catherine  of  Aragon.  The 
base  is  inscribed  with  some  appropriate  lines  by  the  classic  and 
elegant  Horace  Walpole.  It  appears  from  an  engraving  given  in 
Fisher's  "Illustrations  of  Bedfordshire"  that  his  effigy  and  that  of 
his  lady  in  stained  glass  are  or  were  to  be  seen  in  the  parish  church 
of  Ampthill.  He  was,  however,  most  probably  buried,  according  to 
the  directions  given  in  his  will,  in  the  chapel  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
by  him  founded  in  the  churchyard  of  the  Friars  Preachers  near 
Ludgate.  Leland  calls  him  "  a  man  of  great  fame  in  outward  warres, 
and  very  rich."  The  first  part  of  this  sentence  may  be  true  enough  ; 
his  "  good  name  "  I  should  be  very  loth  to  "  filch  "  from  so  brave  an 
officer,  but  as  far  as  regards  his  "  trash,"  it  may  be  pertinent  to  state 
that  at  his  death  it  was  not  excessive.  To  John,  his  son,  at  Ampthill, 
he  bequeathed  ccc  marks,  to  go  to  his  other  son  Thomas  in  the 
event  of  the  first  dying  under  age. 

Leland  describes  Ampthill  Castle  as  "standing  stately  on  a  hill 
with  four  or  five  faire  towers  of  stone  in  the  innerward,  beside  the 
basse  court."  Lord  Fanhope  distinguished  himself  at  Agincourt, 
although  I  do  not  find  that  he  is  particularly  mentioned  on  this 
occasion  by  our  old  chroniclers.  Hollinshed  tells  us  of  two  ships 
"  belonging  "  to  him,  which  were  driven  into  Zeland  on  their  return 


Northill. — Sanday.  7 1 


from  that  engagement."  He  married  Elizabeth,  Countess  Dowager 
of  Huntingdon  ;  and  this  connection  Leland  supposes  to  have  been 
*'  a  great  cause  of  the  sumptuous  building  "  at  Ampthill,  which  was 
constructed  of  ''  such  spoils  as  it  is  said  he  won  in  France." 

Yours,  etc.,         D.  A.  BRITON. 

Northill. 

[i  798, /.  205] 

Northill  is  a  very  pleasant  village  about  six  miles  south-east  of  Bed- 
ford. The  church  (see  Plate  II.)  is  built  of  sandstone,  and  is  a  very 
ancient  structure.  The  tower  is  cracked  from  the  top  to  the  ground 
three  sides  of  the  square,  and  till  lately  was  principally  held  together  by 
strong  iron  cramps ;  but  there  being  great  reason  to  apprehend  its 
falling,  a  four  feet  thick  brick  wall  is  just  finished,  which  fills  a  very 
lofty  arch,  the  former  entrance  from  the  belfry  into  the  body  of  the 
church.  The  east  window  in  the  chancel  is  much  admired  for  its 
painted  glass.  The  monuments  in  the  church  are  many  and  hand- 
some. 

W.  P. 

Sanday. 

[1764,  p.  60.] 

At  Sanday  or  Salndy,  near  Biggleswade,  supposed  to  be  the  ancient 
Salense,  there  was  once  a  British  fort,  near  which  the  Romans  had 
afterwards  a  camp.  Many  urns  of  glass,  and  one  of  a  red  substance 
like  coral,  with  an  inscription,  have  been  dug  up  in  a  field  called 
Chesterfield,  which  is  now  a  gardener's  ground.  They  all  contained 
ashes,  and  were  some  years  ago  in  the  possession  of  a  gentleman  at 
Bedford.  Many  Roman  coins  and  urns  were  also  dug  up  near  the 
camp  about  the  year  1670,  some  of  which  were  presented  by  Mr. 
Thomas  Crysty  to  the  University  of  Oxford.  About  forty  years  ago 
there  was  in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Hooker,  who  was  then 
Rector  of  Sanday,  a  ring  which  had  been  brought  him  by  a  poor 
woman,  who  dug  it  out  of  the  ground  as  she  was  weeding.  What 
the  substance  of  the  ring  was  he  could  never  discover,  but  he  says  it 
was  exceedingly  light,  very  black,  and  exquisitely  polished.  It  had  a 
seal,  on  which  was  represented  a  crucifix,  with  a  figure  in  the  posture 
of  worship  on  each  side.  Round  the  seal  was  written  in  letters  of 
gold,  "In  hoc  signo  vinces."  The  figures  of  the  seal  were  also  of 
the  same  colour.  The  fort  at  Salndy  was  destroyed  by  the  Danes 
when  they  took  winter  quarters  in  this  county.  Their  camp  was  at 
Temsford,  near  the  conflux  of  the  Ouse  and  the  Ivel,  where  they  also 
built  a  castle,  the  ruins  of  which  are  yet  to  be  seen. 

*  Of  this  affair  he  gives  a  doleful  account.  "  Pitie  it  was,"  he  says,  "to  see 
how  some  Frenchmen  were  suddenly  slicked  with  daggers  ;  some  were  brained 
with  pollaxes,  some  slaine  with  malles,  and  others  had  their  throats  cut." 


7  2  Bedfordshire. 

Steventon. 

[1812,  Part  //.,  pp.  9,  IO.] 

To  the  account  of  Steventon,  or  Stevington,  in  Bedfordshire,  given 
by  Messrs.  S.  and  D.  Lysons  in  the  first  volume  of  their  valuable 
work,  "Magna  Britannia,"  p.  135,  the  following  notes  and  accom- 
panying drawings  may  not  be  thought  an  unacceptable  addition  ; 
and  for  which  you  will  be  chiefly  indebted  to  the  kindness,  hospi- 
tality, and  frankness  in  communication,  of  the  Vicar  of  Stevington, 
my  much-respected  friend,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Orlebar  Marsh,  of 
Felmersham.  (See  Plates  I.  and  II.) 

Of  the  castle  which  Baldwin  Wake  had  the  king's  license  to  erect 
in  1281,  the  site  may  be  traced  in  large  earthworks  near  the  Ouse, 
beside  the  footpath  which  leads  to  Pavenham. 

On  the  floor  of  the  church,  in  the  middle  aisle,  is  the  figure  of  a 
knight  in  brass  with  the  following  inscription  on  a  label  beneath  him  : 

"  Orate  pro  ai'a  Thome  Salle  armig'i  qui  obijt  21  die  mense  Ap'lis  Anno  D'ni 
M.CCCCXXII." 

The  arms  are  two  crocodiles  in  saltire.  (See  Plate  II.,  Fig.  3.)  I 
was  not  able  to  obtain  any  information  of  this  Thomas  Salle,  except 
that  which  is  contained  in  the  inscription  above  quoted. 

The  figures  (Plate  II.,  Figs,  i  and  2)  are  carved  in  wood,  as  orna- 
mental finishings  to  the  upright  ends  of  the  benches  in  the  nave  ; 
and  it  appears  very  probable  that  they  have  a  reference  to  the  drink- 
ing, or  church  ale,  for  the  maintenance  of  which  seven  acres  of 
land  are  stated  by  Messrs.  Lysons  to  have  been  bequeathed 
before  the  Reformation.*  Fig.  i,  I  apprehend,  was  designed  to 
represent  two  veteran  bibbers,  naked,  except  about  the  waist, 
drinking  out  of  a  bowl  (perhaps  for  a  wager)  in  a  position 
calculated  both  by  its  awkwardness  and  assimilation  to  the 
brutes,  to  excite  the  mirth  and  ridicule  of  the  spectators.  Fig.  2 
may  possibly  have  an  allusion  to  the  painful  consequences  of  exces- 
sive drinking,  especially  when  the  liquor  is  either  in  too  high  a  state 
of  fermentation,  or  too  stale.  As  the  ends  of  many  of  the  seats  have 
been  cut  off,  it  is  not  improbable  that  there  were  originally  more  of 
these  grotesque  sculptures. 

The  foregoing  conjectures  are  offered,  subject  to  the  correction  of 

*  Of  these  drinkings,  or  give-ales,  some  very  interesting  notices  may  be  seen  in 
the  twelfth  volume  of  "  Archseologia,"  p.-  10,  communicated  to  the  Society  of 
Antiquaries  by  the  late  Rev.  Samuel  Denne,  of  Wilmington,  in  Kent,  my  early 
friend,  and  during  many  years  one  of  your  correspondents.  Mr.  Denne's  paper  is 
in  explanation  of  some  sculptures  over  the  porch  of  Chalk  Church,  in  Kent,  not 
less  grotesque  or  curious  than  these  at  Stevington,  supposed  by  him  to  allude  to  a 
give-ale  there  founded  ;  the  principal  figure  of  which,  Mr.  Denne  conjectured,  was 
intended  to  represent  a  posture-master  exhibiting  his  antics  to  the  half-inebriated 
crowd,  while  a  jolly-faced  gentleman  below,  whose  countenance  is  marked  with 
an  "  indelible  smirk,"  appears  to  be  pledging  him  in  a  full  tankard. 


Steventon.  — Staff  old.  7  3 


more  expert  antiquaries  \  although  I  am  aware  that  the  use  of  gro- 
tesque sculpture  in  sacred  places,  erected  during  the  prevalence  of 
popery  in  England,  and  which  so  ill  accords  with  piety,  or,  in  many 
instances,  even  with  decency,  has  never  yet  been  satisfactorily 
accounted  for. 

From  the  rock  on  which  Stevington  Church  is  built  issues  a  spring 
of  clear  and  most  excellent  water.  This  spring  is  called  in  old 
writings,*  and  even  to  the  present  time,  Holy  Well.  The  principal 
stream  proceeds  from  the  arched  recess  under  the  north  chancel  of 
the  church  (see  Plate  I.) ;  some  smaller  streams  trickle  out  of  the 
rock  higher  up,  and  run  down  the  road,  the  whole  falling  into  the 
Ouse  at  a  very  short  distance,  as  does  the  water  of  an  incrustating 
spring  at  the  distance  of  about  two  or  three  fields  from  the  church 
towards  Pavenham. 

Very  near  to  the  church,  on  the  south  side,  stands  a  long  range  of 
low  stone  buildings,  designed  for  separate  inhabitation ;  each  apart- 
ment opening  under  a  small  pointed  arch  to  the  area  in  front,  and  no 
internal  communication  existing  between  any  two  of  them.  A  gate- 
house, or  porter's  lodge,  and  an  unroofed  chapel,  were  also  standing 
here  within  the  memory  of  man,  of  which  the  foundations  may  still 
be  traced.  These  edifices  Mr.  Marsh  supposes  to  have  been  occu- 
pied by  some  religious  fraternity,  although  no  other  memorial  of  that 
fraternity  has  been  discovered.  I  much  regret  that  I  have  it  not  in 
my  power  to  offer  you  the  drawing  of  them  which  I  made  last 
summer,  but  of  which  I  had  the  misfortune  to  be  robbed,  with  many 
papers,  and  other  interesting  articles,  by  some  person  yet  unknown, 
who  happened  to  be  in  attendance,  for  such  nefarious  purposes,  no 
doubt,  upon  the  Oxford  races. 

An  inhabitant  of  Stevington,  named  Fisher,  by  his  will,  dated 
February  10,  1500,  gave  ^20  "to  the  repair  of  the  chapel  infra 
(query  intra)  cemeterium." 

At  the  east  end  of  the  village  there  was  formerly  a  park,  long  since 
turned  into  pasture,  and  at  present  the  property  of  the  Duke  of 
Bedford. 

The  Earls  of  Derby  had  estates  at  Stevington,  which  afterwards 
came  to  the  Alstons,  now  of  Odell  Castle.  A  grant  is  yet  in  the 
possession  of  that  family,  signed  by  Stanley,  Earl  of  Derby.  Tradi- 
tion relates  the  building  above,  supposed  to  be  monastic,  to  have 
belonged  to  them. 

Yours,  etc.,  T.  FISHER. 

Stotfold. 

[1827,  Part  II.,  pp.  401,  402.] 

The  parish  of  Stotfold,  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  and  diocese  of 
Lincoln,  is  forty  miles  from  London,  and  lies  about  five  miles  south- 
*  An  acre  of  ground  in  the  West  Meadow  is  said  to  abut  on  Holy  Water. 


74  Bedfordshire. 


east  of  Shefford,  on  the  borders  of  Hertfordshire,  the  road  from 
Shefford  to  Baldock  going  through  it.  The  population  taken  in  1821 
was  695. 

A  manor  in  Stotfold,  which  was  parcel  of  the  barony  of  Bedford, 
and  descended  by  female  heirs  to  the  Mowbrays  and  Berkeleys,  was 
given  by  the  Marquis  of  Berkeley  to  Sir  Reginald  Bray.  This,  by 
the  name  of  Lord  Bray's  manor,  is  the  property  of  Isaac  Hindley, 
Esq.,  who  purchased  it  in  1786  of  the  Dentons,  whose  ancestor 
acquired  it  in  like  manner  of  the  Ansells  in  the  year  1617. 

Another  manor  in  Stotfold  was  given  by  one  of  the  Beauchamps, 
barons  of  Bedford,  to  the  priory  of  Newnham,  and  after  the  Refor- 
mation was  granted  in  1546  to  Richard  Kyrke.  After  having  been 
for  a  short  time  in  the  families  of  Butler  and  Ansell,  it  passed  to  the 
Lyttons,  of  whose  descendants  it  was  purchased  in  1795  by  the  pre- 
sent proprietor,  John  Williamson,  Esq. 

The  church  (see  Plate  II.)  is  dedicated  to  St.  Mary,  and  is  a 
handsome  Gothic  structure  ;  it  consists  of  a  nave,  chancel,  and  side 
aisles,  with  a  square  tower  63  feet  high,  embattled ;  the  whole  of  the 
church  is  covered  with  lead.  Having  been  lately  repaired,  the  inside 
walls  were  found  to  contain  a  number  of  curious  fresco  paintings. 
I  send  you  drawings  of  two  of  them,  viz.,  St.  George  and  the  Dragon, 
and  the  angel  Gabriel  with  the  golden  scales  and  Satan,  as  mentioned 
in  the  fourth  book  of  Milton's  "  Paradise  Lost,"  line  998. 

The  master  and  scholars  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  are 
patrons  of  the  vicarage,  and  impropriators  of  the  great  tithes,  which 
with  the  rectorial  manor,  now  vested  in  the  college,  were  given  by 
Simon  de  Beauchamp  to  the  priory  of  Chicksands. 

In  an  ancient  book  of  Endowments  of  Vicarages  in  the  time  of 
Hugh  Wells,  formerly  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  who  began  to  preside  over 
that  see  in  the  ye.ir  1209,  remaining  in  the  registry  of  the  Lord 
Bishop  of  Lincoln,  it  is  recorded  that  "  the  Vicarage  of  Stotfaud, 
which  belongs  to  the  Priory  and  Convent  of  Chickesand — by  the 
authority  of  a  general  council — is  endowed  with  all  altarage  and  all 
small  tithes,  besides  flax — and  with  a  competent  parsonage  house  to 
be  assigned  to  it  by  the  Prior  ;  and  the  Vicar  shall  pay  to  the  Prior 
three  pounds  annually — and  the  Prior  shall  defrayal!  the  regular  and 
usual  expenses  of  that  Church. — The  total  value  of  the  Vicarage  is 
15  marks."  A  copy  of  the  original  endowment  in  Latin  was  taken 
by  Mr.  John  Fardell,  deputy-registrar  at  Lincoln,  and  is  copied  in 
the  parish  register  at  Stotfold. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  the  various  benefactions  given  at 
different  times  for  the  poor  of  the  parish,  and  the  augmentation  of 
the  vicarage : 

Benefactions  to  the  Poor. — William  Field,  of  Furnival's  Inn, 
London,  gentleman,  gave  a  sum  of  money  which  was  invested  in  the 
purchase  of  a  close  of  ground  containing  one  acre  and  a  half,  situate 


Stotfold. — Sutton.  75 


in  Up  End  in  Stotfold,  called  Withe's  Close,  the  rent  of  which  is 
divided  between  the  vicar  and  the  poor. 

John  Fitzakerly,  by  his  will  dated  3rd  September,  1610,  proved  in 
Doctors'  Commons,  gave  to  the  poor  five  pounds  yearly,  for  ever, 
payable  out  of  his  farm  and  lands  in  Stotfold,  and  which  was  granted 
and  confirmed  by  indenture  bearing  date  ist  October,  1628,  by 
William  Ford,  the  devisee.  The  estate  is  now  the  property  of 
Malcolm  Macqueen,  Esq.,  and  the  same  yearly  sum  of  five  pounds 
is  paid  by  him. 

William  Trimer,  alias  Eaton,  by  his  will  dated  27th  June,  1713* 
proved  at  Bedford,  gave  five  shillings  out  of  a  close  called  Morrell's, 
in  Stotfold,  to  be  paid  to  the  overseers  yearly,  for  ever,  to  buy  shoes 
for  poor  children.  This  is  now  paid  by  Edward  Sanders,  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  same  close. 

There  are  eight  acres  of  land  lying  in  the  common  fields  of  Stot- 
fold, belonging  to  the  poor,  the  rent  of  which  is  laid  out  yearly  in 
bread,  and  given  to  the  poor ;  but  the  donor's  name  is  not  known. 

Jane  Brooks,  by  will  dated  4th  April,  1795,  proved  at  Hitchin, 
gave  to  Joseph  Parker  ;£i6o,  upon  trust,  to  pay  one  fourth  part  of 
the  interest  to  the  minister  and  churchwardens  of  Stotfold,  to  be 
distributed  to  the  poor  in  bread  twice  a  year,  on  Christmas  Day  and 
Good  Friday  for  ever. 

Henricus  Octavus  Roe,  of  Baldock,  gentleman,  purchased  a  piece 
of  land  at  Stotfold,  adjoining  the  churchyard,  containing  one  rood, 
which  was  conveyed  by  indenture,  inrolled  in  Chancery  iath  March, 
1808,  in  trust  for  a  school  for  instructing  poor  children  in  reading, 
writing,  the  Church  Catechism,  etc. 

Benefactions  for  augmenting  the  vicarage  : 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Adams  gave          ...         ...         ...         ...  ...         ...  ...  ^100 

The  Society  of  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  the  Patrons  300 

Sir  Jeffery  Elwes   ...         ...         ...         ...          ...         ...  ...         ...  ...  200 

The  Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty           ...         ...  ...         ...  ...  200 

In  1824,  the  Society  of  Trinity  College...         ...         ...  ...         ...  ...  300 

The  Rev.  John  Brasse,  B.D.,  Vicar        ...         ...         ...  ...         ..  ...  5°° 

Henricus  Octavus  Roe,  son  of  the  Rev.  Sam.  Roe,  M.A.,  late  vicar  ...  100 

The  Governors  of  Queen  Anne's  Bounty            ...         ...  ...         ...  ...  9°° 

A  CONSTANT  READER. 

Sutton. 

[1810, /fer/  /.,//.  35,36-] 

Sutt'on  is  a  small  village  near  Potton,  in  Bedfordshire,  and  in  the 
hundred  of  Biggleswade.  It  was  formerly  part  of  the  demesne  of 
John  of  Gaunt,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  and  was  given  to  an  ancestor  of 
the  present  possessor.  Sir  Mountague  Burgoyne,  Bart.,  by  the  follow- 
ing laconic  deed  of  gift : 

"  I,  John  of  Gaunt 
Do  give  and  grant 


76  Bedfordshire. 

To  Roger  Burgoyne, 

And  the  heirs  of  his  line, 

The  Manors  of  Sutton  and  Potton, 

Until  the  world's  rotten." 

The  family  mansion  is  a  large  modern  building,  seated  in  the 
middle  of  a  small  but  beautiful  park,  with  a  fine  stream  of  water 
meandering  through  the  whole  length  of  the  park,  which  i$  adorned 
with  many  stately  trees  and  shrubs  in  the  modern  taste ;  round  the 
sides  are  several  openings,  with  sunk  fences,  to  let  in  a  view  of  the 
adjacent  country,  that  makes  it  appear  much  larger  than  it  really  is. 

At  a  small  distance  from  the  house,  on  the  south  side,  is  about  an 
acre  of  ground  surrounded  with  a  broad  and  deep  foss,  on  which  (as 
tradition  says)  stood  the  manor-house  of  John  of  Gaunt,  which  was 
taken  down  in  the  year  1665,  and  the  George  Inn  at  Potton  built 
with  the  materials. 

The  church  (see  Plate  II.,  Fig.  2)  is  an  ancient  regular-built 
structure,  with  a  nave  and  side-aisles,  and  a  tower  and  clock  at  the 
west  end. 

Against  the  north  wall,  on  a  tomb  of  beautiful  workmanship,  under 
an  arch  richly  adorned  with  coats-of-arms,  banners,  and  trophies, 
supported  by  Corinthian  pillars,  lies  the  effigy  of  John  Burgoyne,  Esq., 
in  armour,  his  head  supported  with  an  helmet,  and  his  legs  by  a  pair 
of  gauntlets  joined  ;  at  his  feet  a  talbot  couchant.  Over  him  is  the 
following  inscription  : 

"The  tombe  of  Jhon  Burgoyne,  of  Sutton,  esq.,  sone  and  heire  of  Thomas 
Burgoyne,  esq.,  and  Anne,  daughter  of  Jhon  Bowles,  of  Newton,  in  the  county  of 
Hertford,  Esq.  (which  Anne  was  after  the  decease  of  the  said  Thomas  married 
unto  Sir  Roberte  Catlin,  Lord  Chief  Justis  of  England.)  Obiit  An.  Dom.  1604, 
April  27,  retatis  suse  67. 

"  Viator,  istic  nobilis  Burgoyne 

Quiescit  umbra  sub  benigni  marmoris, 

Onustus  annis  &  tamen  ccelebs  senex, 

&  (quod  senecta  vix  ferat)  larga  manu  : 

Cum  dote  multa,  nee  mellallis  ditior 
Quam  largitate,  plurimu'  fecit  boni,  at 
Quod  nunc  reportat  optume  fecit  si  hi." 
On  one  side : 

"Cultor  erat  pacis,  Justus,  bonus,  ultor  iniqui  : 
Conditur  hoc  tumulo  corpus,  pars  altera  ccelo." 

On  the  other  side : 

"  Here  sleeps  the  body  of  an  aged  wight, 

Whose  hart  was  set  on  bounty,  peace,  and  right. 
John  Burgoyne,  sonne  of  Roger  Burgoyne,  esquire." 

On  the  top  of  the  monument,  the  arms  of  Burgoyne,  gules,  a 
chevron  between  three  talbots  or,  on  a  chief  embattled  argent,  three 
martlets  sable.  On  the  front  of  the  tomb,  on  a  shield  parted  per 
pale,  on  the  dexter  side  Burgoyne  ;  on  the  sinister,  on  a  chevron 
between  three  boars'  heads  couped,  three  escalops.  In  a  shield, 


Sutton.  77 

baron  and  femme,  in  the  first,  three  lions  passant,  a  chief;  in  the 
second,  on  a  chevron  between  three  boars'  heads  couped,  three 
escalops.  In  a  lozenge,  on  a  chevron  between  three  boars'  heads 
couped,  three  escalops. 

Yours,  etc.,         M.  R. 

[1810,  Part  I. ,  pp.  105,  106.] 

Against  the  east  wall  of  the  church  : 

A  sarcophagus  of  white  marble,  with  two  cherubim  upon  it  weep- 
ing, one  with  an  hour-glass,  the  other  holding  a  torch  reversed, 
extinguished.  Under  it  this  inscription  : 

"  Hie  subtus  requiescit 

Rogerus  Burgoyne,  Miles  et  Baronettus, 

fil.  Joh'is  Burgoyne,  Baronetti, 

ex  Jana  conjuge, 
sola  herede  Guil.  Kempe  de  Spaines  Hall, 

in  com.  Ess.  arm. 
Vir,  intemeratae  religionis, 

singularis  prudentise, 
animi  in  egenos  munifici, 

in  ceeteros  hospitalis, 

erga  omnes  comis  et  candidi, 

summaeque  qua  reliquas  virtutes 

velabat,  modestiae. 

Bis  ad  Magna  Regni  Comitia 

lectis  totius  Comitatus  Bedf.  et  \Varw. 

suffragiis  evocatus  est. 
Commune  omnium  vivus  delicium, 

mortuus  desiderium. 
Primis  nuptiis  duxit  Annam,  fil.  et 

hasredem  Caroli  Snelling, 
Civis  Londin.  quse  decem  illi  peperit 

liberos :  supersunt, 

Jana,  Joh'nes,  Anna,  Maria,  et  Jurlitha, 
Ex  secundo  conjugio,  cum  Anna  fil. 

Joh'nis  Robinson 
de  Deighton  in  agro  Ebor.  arm.  septem 

suscepit  liberas  : 

in  vivis  adhuc  manent,  Elizabetha,  Anna, 
/  et  Philadelphia. 

Vidua,  pro  sua  in  virum  pietate,  marmot 

hoc,  tantis  virtutibus 

et  affectui  impar,  cum  lacrymis  consecravit. 
Obiit  Sept.  16,  anno  Dom.  1677,  setat.  59." 

On  a  lofty  monument  of  white  marble,  with  a  cherub  on  each  side 
weeping,  is  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Hospes,  hoc  m  armor  respice, 
nee  siccis  oculis,  narq  flent  et  marmora. 

Pise  hoc  memoriae  sacrum  est 

D'ni  Johannis  Burgoyne,  Bar'ti, 

hujus  olim  pagi,  nunc  ccelorum  incolse. 

Uxorem  unicam  duxit  Constantiam, 

Richdi  Lucy  de  Charlecote  in  com. 

Warw.  armig"  filiam  : 


78  Bedfordshire. 


Ex  ea  prolem  numerosam  suscepit. 

Patri  septem  supersunt  liberi, 
qui  mortuutn  lugeant,  virtutes  emulentur. 

Vitae  fuit  integer,  scelerisque  purus, 
amans,  indulgens,  mitis,  Maritus,  Pater, 

Dominus  ; 
Amicus,  qualem  optes,  cui  parem  vix 

inveneris ; 
Officium  prolixe  professus,  plus 

semper  re  prsestitit, 
nee  przesenti  iinportunus  amico,  nee 

absentis  immemor. 
Quamque  Deum  (quod  summum)  sancte 

amaret, 
amore  in  proximum  (quo  optime  probes) 

testatus  est, 
humano  generi  benevolus,  soils 

infensus  vitiis. 

Nee  satis  duxit  voluisse  bene  ; 
meritis  &  egentibus  fecit  bene  : 

ipse,  quod  fecit,  siluit. 
Ast  bona,  quee   multa  fecit,  opera 

eum  eloquuntur 
Orborum  fuisse  Patrem,  Pauperum 

Patronum. 

Veris  hisce  vivendi  artibus 
omnibus  (ac  merito)  charus  setatem 

exegit ; 
annumque  vixdum  quinquagesimum 

octavum  emensus, 

terras,  crelum  peliturus,  reliquit. 

Modicum,  si  annos  computes,  vixit, 

Sed  qui  tarn  bene  vixit,  vixit  dm, 

Eternum  vivet. 

Mori  desiit  nono  die  Apr.  an.  Dom.  1709.] 
Marmor  hoc,  eximii  in  virum  affectus 

indicem, 
Virtutum  aemula,  conjux  mcesta  posuit.' 


On  the  tomb  below  : 


"  Abire  ne  properes,  Viator  : 

Te  secunda  vocant  funera, 
Et  quos  fidus  amor  ter  decennium  et 

amplius  junxerat, 

Mors  fida  magis  eternum  conjunxit : 

Hocce  etenim  cum  marito  marmore  tegitur 

Dom'nae  Consta'tiae  Burgoyne  exanime 

depositum  : 

Ipsam,  ne  quseras  hie,  in  coelum  abiit, 
Deo  cui  inservivit  in  omne  sevum  fruitura. 

Eximium  fuit,  dum  vixit,  exemplum 
in  parentes  pietatis,  in  virum  obsequii, 

in  liberos  amoris, 
in  proximum  charitatis,  in  Deum 

religionis. 
Seu  Virgo,  seu  Conjux,  seu  Vidua 


Sutton.  79 


ornate  adeo  has  vitae  vices  sustinuit  ; 
ut  qucm  locum  cunque  occuparet,  huic 

natam  dixisses. 

LIIOS  annos  in  terris  commorata, 
XXIId°  die  Apr.  anno  Salut.  MDCCXI. 

hinc  migravit ; 

Morte,  suis  improvisa  non  sibi,  occubuit. 
Nam  mortem  semper  intuenti,  nulla 

mors  inopina. 
Lector,  ne  luges  extinctam  :  mortem  non 

vitam  reliquit, 

Christo  enim  viventibus,  mors  vivendi  est 
Initium,  moriendi  Finis." 

Upon  a  black  marble  stone,  under  the  above  monument,  is  part  of 
an  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  bodie  of  Sir  Robert  Catlin,  Knight,  late  Lord  Chief  Justice 
of ." 

Over  the  entrance  to  the  family  vault  is  a  black  maible  stone,  with 
a  calvary  Cross  mounted  on  three  greezes  engraven  on  brass,  with 
the  following  inscription : 

"Of  your  charytie  pray  for  the  soules  of  Thomas  Burgoyne  and  Elizabeth  his 
wife,  which  Thomas  decessed  ye  ix  day  of  August,  the  year  of  our  Lord  God  a 
thousand  five  hundred  sixteen,  on  whose  soules,  and  all  Chrysten  soules,  Jesu 
have  mercy.  Amen." 

In  the  south  aisle  is  a  monument  with  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Here  lieth  birried  the  body  of  John  Symcotts,  gent,  who  died  the  2ist  October, 
1649,  aged  84  years,  and  of  Elizabeth  his  wife,  who  died  the  l6th  of  January, 
1646,  aged  88  years.  They  were  married  55  years,  and  had  five  sonnes  and  two 
daughters,  whereof  three  sonnes  and  one  daughter  survived  them." 

Arms,  a  chevron  engrailed  between  three  spear-heads. 

On  two  neat  tablets  of  white  marble  are  the  following  inscriptions  : 

In  memoriam 

Susannas  charissimse  uxoris 

Thomse  Richardson  Rayment  (aliter 

Raymond)  feminae 

pro  pietate,  morum  suavitate, 

et  ergo  egenos  charitate, 

spectabilis. 

Obiit  I3mo  die  Decembris,  1772, 
aetatis  48  ; 
et  abitur 

ubi  praemium  virtutibus  debitum 
recipiebit. 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Thomas  Richardson  Rayment,  gent.,  late  of  Potton, 
in  this  county,  who  died  the  3Oth  day  of  September,  1784,  aged  63  years." 

In  the  chancel : 

"John  Steevens,  born  Feb.  the  nth,  1670,  buried  Feb.  the  nth,  1689." 
"Lucy  the  daughter  of  Mr.  William  Steevens,  Rector  of  this  Parish,  was  born 
May  31,  1679,  and  buried  Jan.  9,  1699." 


So  Bedfordshire. 


««  H.  s.  E. 

Reverendus  Matthias  Heynes,  A.  M. , 

hujus  Ecclesie  Rector : 
vir  multis  et  eximiis  virtutibus 

honestatus  : 

Fide,  Pietate,  Humilitate, 

integra,  prisca,  Evangelica, 

suavitate  morum  amabili, 

modestia  prudenti 

spectabilis, 
Parens,  maritus,  pastor,  laudatissimus  ; 

uxorem,  filinm, 

(quam  prolem  unicam  reliquit) 

affectus  comitate, 

gregem  vigilantia, 

amicos  amicitia, 

egenos  beneficentia, 

omnes  humanitate  devinxit, 

et  merit6  memores  sui  fecit. 

Multiplici  literarum  et  artium 

scientia 
optime  instructus  et  eruditus  emicuit : 

prsesertim 

Theologia,  Mathemate,  et  MusicH. 

Omnibus  exemplum  salutare, 

suis  luctus  et  desiderium. 

Intravit  in  requiem  Dei 

Julii  5to,  an0  Dni  1751,  setatis  sure  59. 

et  auxit  Chorum 

canentium  Halleluja. 

A.  Heynes,  vidua  supradicti  M.  Heynes, 

ob.  Mar.  12,  1762,  an.  ae.  82." 

"Here  lyes  intered  ye  body  of  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  William  Steevens,  who 
departed  this  life  ye  i6th  of  September,  1721,  in  the  8gth  year  of  his  age.  He 
was  Rector  of  this  Parish  56  years.  He  married  Mrs.  Margaret  Battie,  daughter 
of  John  Battie,  esq. :  they  lived  together  56  years,  and  had  four  sons  and  three 
daughters." 

"In  memory  of  Edward  Crane,  D.D.,  LL.D.,  Prebendary  of  Westminster  29 
years,  and  46  years  Rector  of  Sutton,  who  departed  this  life  the  I5th  of  June, 
*777>  aged  8l  years." 

The  living  is  a  rectory  in  the  gift  of  St.  John's  College,  Oxford. 
The  late  rector  was  the  Rev.  Samuel  Kettilby,  D.D.* 

In  the  east  window  are  the  arms  of  Henry  IV. 

M.  RUGELEY. 

Toddington. 

[1803,  Part  //.,/.  1005.] 

Having  on  an  excursion  into  Bedfordshire  sketched  the  church  of 
Toddington,  I  take  the  liberty  of  sending  jt  to  you  for  the  Gentle- 
man's Magazine.  (See  Plate  I.) 

Toddington,  vulgb  Tuddington,  in  Bedfordshire,  five  miles  north-east 

*  He  died  June  25,  1808.     See  vol.  Ixxviii.,  p.  657. 


Toddington.  8  1 

of  Dunstable,  stands  on  a  hill  supposed  to  be  the  highest  ground  in 
the  county,  had  formerly  a  market  on  Saturday,  but  long  since  discon- 
tinued. This  town  has  nothing  lelt  of  its  former  flourishing  state  in 
the  time  of  the  Earl  of  Stafford's  family,  residing  here  at  the  manor- 
house,  built  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth  by  Sir  Thomas  Cheyne, 
knight  or  baronet,  who  also  lived  here,  besides  many  other  eminent 
persons.  The  manor-house  is  entirely  gone,  excepting  what  is  con- 
verted into  a  farm-house  at  one  corner  of  the  old  foundation  —  not  an 
eighth  part  left.  The  church  is  built  in  the  cruciform  shape,  and  is 
in  tolerable  condition,  etc.,  excepting  the  two  wings,  which  are  in 
ruins  through  want  of  repair.  The  church  has  gone  through  a  repair, 
but  not  these  chapels,  as  the  families  of  Cheyne  and  Wentworth  are, 
I  suppose,  extinct.  There  is,  in  a  field  where  I  stood  to  take  the 
sketch  of  the  church,  a  large  conical  mound  of  earth,  supposed  to  be 
Roman  ;  but  I  think  it  too  small  for  any  defence  ;  I  should  imagine  it 
to  be  a  barrow,  for  a  great  battle  was  fought  in  Chalgrave  Field,  near 
this  place,  but  in  another  parish,  or  thrown  up  by  the  Danes  when 
they  were  in  Dunstable,  this  town  being  the  direct  road  from  this 
place,  through  Houghton  Regis,  Chalgrave,  Toddington,  and  Ampt- 
hill,  to  Bedford. 

J.  S.  B. 

[1804,  Part  I.,  pp.  505-508.] 

Allow  me,  by  way  of  supplement  to  the  account  of  Tuddington 
Church,  to  present  you  with  an  account  of  the  monuments  of  the 
Cheneys  in  the  south  chancel  there,  now  fast  dilapidating. 

On  the  west  side,  on  an  altar  tomb  with  five  quatrefoils,  is  a  cross- 
legged  figure  in  a  round  helmet,  a  surcoat,  long  sword,  pointed  shield 
charged  with  the  arms  of  Cheney,  on  a  chevron  three  fleurs-de-lys  : 
at  his  feet  a  shaggy  lion.  This  monument  may  belong  to  John  de 
Chenei,  Sheriff  of  Bucks  and  Bedfordshire,  gth  and  xoth  Edward  I., 
who  is  the  first  of  the  family  mentioned  by  Sir  W.  Dugdale,  vol.  ii., 
p.  290. 

In  two  pointed  flat  arches  on  the  south  wall,  in  whose  spandrels 
are  quatrefoils  with  blank  shields,  are  altar  tombs  with  like  quatrefoils 
and  shields,  a  man  in  a  pointed  helmet,  with  his  arms  on  it,  lying 
with  his  head  on  a  helmet,  shoulders  on  a  cushion  supported  by 
angels  supporting  a  scroll  across  his  neck  inscribed  : 

mci  ?pf«s  stc'  inia'  tua  : 


and  his  girdle  charged  with  flowers  and  swans  alternately,  plated 
armour,  his  arms  on  his  breast,  gauntlets,  mail,  pointed  skirts,  round 
knee,  shoulder  and  elbow  pieces,  and  dagger,  plated  shoes,  a  lion  at 
his  feet.  Under  the  other  arch  at  his  feet,  his  lady  in  a  rich  reticu- 
lated head  dress,  with  an  embroidered  bandeau  or  frontlet  with  a 
swan  in  the  centre,  on  a  double  cushion  with  tassels,  supported  by 

VOT,.   XII.  6 


82  Bedfordshire. 

angels ;  she  is  habited  in  a  loose  mantle  and  kirtle,  bound  by  a  rich 
girdle  with  a  large  buckle,  her  sleeves  terminated  in  falling  ruffles  ;  at 
her  feet  a  griffin.  This  may  belong  to  William  de  Chenei,  of  whom 
Dugdale  says  that  he  was  in  the  insurrection  with  Edward,  Duke  of 
Lancaster,  i5th  Edward  II.,  and  suffered  death  at  York  with  others 
of  that  party. 

The  first  monument  on  the  east  side,  the  feet  to  the  east  wall,  is 
that  of : 

"DAME  ANNE  CHEYNE,  DAUGHTER  AND  HEYRE  OF  SIR  JOHN  BROUGHTON, 
KNIGHT,  MARRYED  TO  SlR  THOMAS 

"CHEYNK,  KNIGHT,  WARDEN  OF  THE  ClNCQ  PORTS,  TREASOROR  OF  HER 
MAJESTIES  HOUSEHOLDS,  OF  THE  ORDER 

At  the  head : 

"OF  THE  GARTER,  AND  ONE  OF  HER  MAJESTIES  PRIVIE  COUNSELL,  WHO 

South  side  : 

"  HAD  BUT  ONE  ONLY  CHYLDE,  THE  SAME  BEINGE  THE  LORD  HENRY  CHEYNE, 
AND  SHE  DIED  THE  l6  DAIE  OF  MAIE,  THE  THYRD  YEARE  OF  QUEEN 
ELIZABETH  HER  REIGN E,  ANNO  DNI  1591." 

She  is  habited™  a  close  cap,  ruff,  mantle,  gown,  and  bodice,  her 
head  on  two  embroidered  tasselled  cushions.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  tomb  an  empty  shield  between  two  crests,  a  demirose  radiant, 
and  a  squirrel  G.  cracking  a  nut. 

At  the  head  of  the  tomb,  quarterly  : 

1.  A  chevron  between  three  stars. 

2.  Three  bearded  heads.     Beard.     Edmondson. 

3.  A  chevron  between  three  barbolts  or  pheons.     Foster.     Edm. 

4.  Cheney. 

5.  Quarterly,  a  bend. 

6.  Per  less. 

7.  A  bend  vaire  between  six  escalops.     Beople.     Edm. 

8.  A  saltire  engrailed. 

9.  On  a  cross  five  escalops.     Stonham.     Edm. 
jo.  Paly  of  six.     Burgat..     Edm. 

11.  A  horse  barnacle.     Barnack.     E. 

12.  A  fess  dauncette  between  six  cross  croslets  pattee.     Engayne. 
Edm. 

13.  A  cross  engrailed.     Bloyne. 

14.  In  fess  two  lions  passant  gardant.     Denston.     E. 

15.  On  a  chevron  a  fleur-de-lis  (three  fleurs-de-lis.    Pever  of  Bed- 
fords.     Ed.). 

On  the  south  side  the  squirrel,  and  another  crest,  two  horns  of  a 
bull  A.  on  the  curled  scalp  O. 

This  was  the  second  wife  of  Thomas,  who  died  in  1559,  and  was 
buried  at  Minstre,  in  Shepey,  Constable  of  Queenborough  Castle, 
ist  Henry  VIII.  ;  Governor  of  Rochester  Castle,  iyth  Henry  VIII.  ; 
Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports,  and  treasurer  to  the  King,  3151 


Toddington.  83 

Henry  VIII.,  and  one  of  the  challengers  at  the  interview  of  the 
Champ  de  Drap  d'Or ;  also  Governor  of  Do,ver  Castle  and  treasurer 
of  the  household  to  Edward  VI. ,  and  Warden  of  the  Cinque  Ports 
under  Elizabeth.  By  this  lady  he  left  issue  Henry  Cheney,  who 
being  knighted  at  his  own  house  here,  5th  Elizabeth,  had  summons  to 
Parliament,  141)1  Elizabeth,  and  1589,  29th  Elizabeth,  was  one  of  the 
peers  appointed  to  try  the  Queen  of  Scots.  He  married  Jane,  daughter 
of  Thomas  Lord  Wentworth,  and  having  built  a  noble  house  at 
Tuddington,  where  Mr.  Camden  says  he  had  his  residence,  he  died 
without  issue. 

Not  far  from  this  tomb  is  another,  with  the  figure  of  a  man  in 
armour,  on  a  mat ;  his  head  bare,  on  a  laced  cushion,  with  short 
beard  and  whiskers,  plated  armour,  the  seams  laced,  his  legs  broken 
off  at  the  knees.  The  arms  in  three  compartments  removed  from 
the  side  of  the  tomb ;  but  at  the  end  were  these  quarterings,  now 
displaced  and  broken,  and  of  the  thoys,  the  supporters,  only  the 
hoofs  remaining. 

i.  Ermine  on  a  bend  three  martlets.     Daubeney.     E. 

2^  Five  lions  rampant,  a  canton  ermine.* 

3.  Ermine  in  chief  parted  per  pale,  a  trefoil  in  the  dexter  corner. 

4.  A  chevron  between  three  stars,  as  before. 

5.  As  2. 

6.  As  3,  the  chevron  ermine. 

7.  Cheyne. 

8.  As  5. 

9.  As  6. 

10.  As  7. 

11.  As  8. 

12.  In  chief,  a  lion  passant. 

13.  As  9. 

14.  As  10. 

15.  As  ii. 

16.  Three  lozenges  in  fess,  in  chief  a  fleur-de-lis. 

17.  As  12. 

18.  As  13. 

19.  The  boars'  heads. 

20.  As  14. 

21.  On  a  chevron,  a  cross  pattee. 

This,  by  azure,  the  cross  engrailed  or,  the  arms  of  Broughton, 
may  be  the  monument  of  Sir  John  Broughton  before  mentioned, 
father  of  the  last-mentioned  lady. 

At  his  left  hand  is  another  altar  tomb,  of  very  short  proportions, 
the  upper  part  plundered  of  its  marble,  and  the  brickwork  bare. 
On  it  the  figure  of  a  lady  in  a  furred  mantle,  kirtle,  and  wimple. 

*  Azure  6  lions  rampant,  3  and  3  Cheney  of  Kent.  Edmondson. — Hasted,  ii. 
662,  gives  these  to  Shurland. 

6—2 


84  Bedfordshire. 


On  the  north  side  of  the  tomb,  quarterly  : 

T.  A  chevron  between  three  leopards'  faces.      Wentworth. 

2.  Quarterly  i,  4  plain,  2,  3  a  fret ;  over  all  a  bend. 

3.  Two  chevronels. 

4.  Barry  of  six  ;  a  canton. 

5.  Paley  per  fess  engrailed.     Qu.  :  Quarterly  per  fess  indented? 
'Perrot. 

6.  Three  fishes  hauriant. 

7.  Qu.  Gules,  in  chief  azure,  three  torteaux.      Wanton.     E. 

8.  21.  A  saltire  engrailed. 

9.  Barry  of  6,  6  martlets.     Cheney  of  Bedfordshire.     (Edmondson.) 

10.  A  fess  between  two  cottises. 

11.  A  bend  engrailed  between  two  cottises. 

12.  Two  chevronels  engrailed,  a  chief. 

13.  Three  cinquefoils. 

14.  Five  lions  rampant,  in  a  canton  annulet. 

15.  20.  A  fess  between  3  leopards'  faces. 

1 6.  A  saltier. 

17.  Three  mascles  in  fess. 

1 8.  A  spread  eagle. 

19.  A  cross  engrailed. 

22.  In  a  border  three  lions  passant  gardant. 

23.  A  lion  rampant. 

On  a  tablet  at  the  head  of  the  tomb  : 

"HERE  LYETH  DAME  JANE,  LATE  WIFE  OF  SIR  HENRIE  CHEYNE,  KNT., 
LD.  CHEYNE  OF  TODINGTON,  AND  ELDEST  DAUGHTER  OF  SIR  THOMAS 
WENTWORTH,  AND  LORD  CHAMBRRLAINE  TO  KING  EDWARD  THE  SIXT, 
WHO  DECEASED  THE  l6  DAIE  OF  APRIL  A°  D'  1614." 

"  Here  lies  my  bodie  in  Corruption's  bed, 
My  soul  by  faith  and  hope  to  Heaven  is  led, 
Imprisoned  by  life,  Death  set  me  fiee, 
Then  welcome  Death,  step  to  seternitie." 

All  that  Dugdale  says  of  the  ancient  family  of  Cheney  is  confined 
to  the  two  persons  represented  in  the  two  oldest  monuments  here, 
and  three  of  the  surname  of  Ralph  before  them  ;  but  he  "  chiefly 
speaks"  of  the  Cheneys  of  Shurland,  beginning  with  John  of 
Shurland,  and  his  descendants  from  Eleanor  de  Shotesbroke,  his 
wife.  That  these  were  descended  from  the  ancient  Cheneys  is  clear 
from  these  monuments,  though  the  connection  is  not  otherwise  kept 
up.  The  ancient  arms  of  the  family  appear  on  these  to  be  a  chevron 
between  three  fleurs-de-lis — not  attached  to  them  by  Edmondson. 
Hasted  gives  them  on  a  bend  Sa.  3  martlets  O.  Edmondson  gives 
those  of  Shurland  Az.  6  lions  rampant  A.  3  and  3.  Hasted,  ii. 
662,  b,  says  the  Cheneys  bore  A.  on  a  bend  S.  3  manlets  O. ; 
which  coat,  on  their  marriage  with  the  Shurlands,  they  bore  in  the 
second  place,  and  that  of  Shurland  in  honour  of  the  alliance  in  the 


Toddington.  85 

first  place.  Az.  5  lions  rampant  A.  canton  Erm.  (Ib.  66 1,  a). 
"  Lord  Cheney  bore  his  own  coat  first,  and  that  of  Shurland  second  ; 
afterward  those  of  Shotesbroke — Broughton  ;  Beard,  Foster,  Peever 
— Loring;  Beaple,  Bloone — Mansuk;  Perrott — Hemgrave;  Stonham, 
Bargat,  Barneh — Nome  ;  Engaine,  Dawbney,  Denston,  and  Wanston." 
Ib.  662,  b. 

On  the  floor  on  the  north  side  of  this  chancel  is  a  slab,  formerly 
covered  with  brass  figures,  retaining  only  a  female  one  ;  and  rather 
under,  at  the  south  end,  two  plain  tombs,  supposed  for  children  of 
the  family.  A  recess  on  the  south  wall  forms  a  double  locker  with  a 
shelf  of  wood. 

To  the  chancel  on  the  north  side  adjoins  a  singular  stone  building 
of  three  stories.  The  lower  room,  7^  feet  high,  has  in  the  north  wall 
two  recesses  answering  to  two  above,  and  in  the  south  wall — and  with 
a  chimney,  the  base  of  which  is  2 \  feet  above  the  pavement — and  into 
the  east  wall  is  let  an  altar-stone  with  five  small  crosses  within  it. 
The  second  floor,  which  is  ascended  by  the  stairs  that  go  out  of  the 
chantry,  has  a  square  room  of  the  same  size  as  the  chantry,  strongly 
guarded  by  an  iron-bound  door,  fastened  by  a  bar  let  through  the 
upper  floor.  The  third,  or  upper  room,  has  in  the  east  and  west  wall 
four  recesses  about  18  inches  wide,  by  2  feet  6  inches  high,  and 
8  inches  deep.  A  piscina,  in  the  east  wall,  and  on  the  west  and  south 
two  windows  guarded  with  wooden  shutters. 

The  mouldings  over  the  windows  on  the  north  side  of  the  church 
are  adorned  with  figures  of  beasts  and  birds,  and  grotesque  groups. 
On  the  roof  of  the  nave  are  eight  wooden  figures  of  angels  about 
5  feet  high,  bearing  the  instruments  of  the  Passion,  a  guitar,  two 
blank  shields,  and  one  with  the  arms  of  Cheney,  a  chevron  charged  with 
three  fleurs-de-lis,  impaling  quarterly  a  bend — which  coat  appears 
among  the  quarterings  on  the  tomb  of  Dame  Anne  Cheney. 

On  a  tomb,  now  destroyed,  in  Cheney's  chancel,  was  this  inscrip- 
tion : 

"  Here  lies  William  and  Harries  Wentworth,  second  and  third  sons  to  the  right 
hon.  Lord  Wentworth  and  now  earl  of  Cleveland,  and  to  the  Countess  Ann  his 
wife,  the  eldest  of  which  died,  A.D.  1623,  in  the  6th  year  of  his  age ;  and  the 
other  died  A.D.  1622,  in  the  second  year  of  his  age." 

In  the  north  chancel,  the  burial-place  of  the  Wentworths,  are  these 
inscriptions : 

1.  "  Lady  Mary  Wentworth,  daughter  of  Thomas  earl  of  Cleveland  (by  Anne 
his  first  wife)  died  Jan.  1632,  aged  18  years." 

2.  "  Here  lieth  the  body  of  the  right  hon.  Thomas  Lord  Wentworth,  son  and 
heir-apparent  to  Thomas  earl  of  Cleveland,  by  Ann  his  wife,  and  colonel  of  his 
Majesty's  (King  James  II.)  guards,  and  gentleman  of  his  said  Majesty's  most 
honourable  Privy-council.     Buried  March  7,  1684." 

3.  "  Lady  Lucy*  Wentworth,  second  wife  of  Thomas  earl  of  Cleveland  (and 

*  (Dugdale,  ii.  310,  makes  her  marry  John  Lord  Lovelace,  and  her  sister  Anne 
die  unmarried.)  Le  Neve's  MS.  says  that  Mary,  who  had  the  title  of  Baroness 


86  Bedfordshire. 

daughter  of  Sir  John  Went  worth  of  Gofield  in  the  county  of  Essex,  bart.),  died 
Nov.  23,  1651." 

4.  "  The  right  hon.  Lady  Henrietta  Maria  Baroness  Went  worth  of  Nettlestead 
(daughter  of  Thomas  Lord  Wentworth,  and  sole  heir,  successor  to  her  grand-father 
in  the  barony  of  Wentworth),  died  unmarried,  April  23,  1686." 

5.  "  Anne  first  wife  of  Thomas  earl  of  Cleveland  (and  daughter  of  Sir  John 
Crofts  of  Saxham  in  the  county  of  Suffolk)  died  Jan.  16,  1637." 

6.  "  The  right  hon.  Thomas  earl  of  Cleveland,  Lord  Wentworth,  and  Lord 
Wentworth  of  Nettlestead,  lord  lieutenant  of  the  county  of  Bedford,  and  captain 
of  his  majesty's  band  of  pensioners,  colonel  of  horse,  and  commander  of  a  brigade 
of  horse. 

He  lived  honestly,  and  died  piously. 

Died  March  25,  1667,  aged  76." 

7.  "  The  right  hon.  Lady  Philadelphia  Viscountess  Wentworth,  relict  of  Thomas 
Lord  Viscount  Wentworth,  died  May  4,  A.D.  1696." 

8.  "  Sir  Henry  Johnson,  knt.,  died  Sept.  the  29,  1719,  aged  60." 

9.  "  The  right  hon.  Thomas  earl  of  Strafford,  Viscount  Wentworth  (of  Went- 
worth Woodhouse,  baron  of  Stamborough,  Roby,  New  Marsh,  and  Overstey),  died 
Nov.  1739." 

10.  "  The  right  hon.  Anne  countess  dowager  of  Strafford,  wife  of  Thomas  earl 
of  Strafford  (and  daughter  of  Sir  Henry  Johnson,  knt.  also)  mother  to  William  the 
present  earl  of  Strafford,  died  Sept.  19,  1754,  aged  54  years." 

11.  "  Lady  Anne  Campbell  countess  of  Strafford  (wife  of  William  the  present 
earl  of  Strafford,  daughter  of  his  grace  John  the  late  duke  of  Argyle  and  sister  to 
Mrs.  Cole),  obiit  IO  March  1791,  setatis  sux  69." 

12.  "  The  right  hon.  Lady  Anne  Connolly,  obiit  17  February  1797,  setatis  suse  85." 

The  title  of  Cleveland  died  with  Thomas  son  of  the  last  earl  with- 
out issue,  1664;  but  the  barony  of  Wentworth  came  to  his  sister 
Anne,  who  married  John  Lord  Lovelace,  whose  son  John  left  only 
a  daughter,  who  was  succeeded  in  title  by  his  cousin  Neville,  with 
whom  the  title  became  extinct,  1736. 

The  estate  at  Tuddington  passed  to  another  branch  of  the  Went- 
worths  by  the  marriage  of  Thomas  Earl  of  Strafford  to  the  heiress  of 
Sir  Henry  Johnson,  of  Tuddington,  the  issue  of  which  was  William 
Karl  of  Strafford,  who  died  in  1799;  Anne  married  to  William 
Connolly,  Esq.,  heir  to  Sir  George  Howard,  and  Harriet  to  Henry 
Vernon,  Esq.  Their  mother  died  in  1754.  D.  H. 

Warden. 

[1815,  Part  L,  p.  577.] 

The  sketch  which  accompanies  this  is  a  view  of  the  only  remains  of 
Warden  Abbey  in  Bedfordshire  (see  Plate  I.).  The  rest  of  the 
building  is  entirely  destroyed,  and  the  materials  removed ;  and  these 
few  remains  were  in  a  state  of  dilapidation  that  threatened  a  similar 
fate  at  the  time  this  sketch  was  made. 

The  estate  is  the  property  of  Samuel  Whitbread,  Esq.  It  is  called 
the  Abbey  Farm  ;  and  as  there  is  a  good  modern  farm-house  upon  it, 
the  name  alone  probably  in  a  few  years  will  be  the  only  memorial  to 
be  found  of  this  seat  of  ancient  bigotry. 

Wentworth  in  her,  died   1697  ;     but  the  Extinct  Peerage  says  Anne  married 
Lovelace,  and  Mary  died  single.     Dugdale,  ii.  310,  calls  her  Catharine. 


Warden — Woburn  Abbey.  87 

The  ruin  is  deserving  of  notice.  It  is  a  brick  building  embattled ; 
the  door-case  and  window-frame  stone  :  all  the  arches  are  circular 
except  that  of  the  door.  In  the  middle  of  the  front  of  the  building, 
on  the  first  floor,  is  an  immense  chimney,  diminishing  by  stages,  and 
finishing  in  a  most  beautiful  spiral  column.  It  is  not  possible  to 
convey  a  correct  idea  of  the  delicacy  of  this  piece  of  architecture,  but 
upon  a  much  larger  scale  than  your  limits  will  allow.  It  is  really 
surprising  that  it  should  so  long  have  resisted  the  ravages  of  time. 

Yours,  etc.,  H.  WALTER. 

Woburn   Abbey. 

[1749, /.  153.] 

Upon  the  north  side  of  the  area  of  the  present  house,  called 
Woburn  Abbey,  part  of  one  of  the  abbey  church  stone  walls  lately 
stood ;  on  the  south  side  of  the  wall's  place,  two  stone  coffins  were 
found,  one  of  which  consisted  of  several  loose  stones  set  in  the 
ground,  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  wall's  place  (and  doubtless 
within  the  church  when  standing)  a  very  large  oblong  square  Purbeck 
stone  was  dug  up,  which  lay  over  some  bones,  and  which  had  been 
ornamented  with  brass.  Among  the  ornaments  defaced,  four  fields, 
or  escutcheons,  appear  towards  the  bottom  of  it,  placed  quadrangular- 
wise  ;  between  which,  nigh  the  two  uppermost,  a  figure  like  a  man 
is  to  be  seen,  with  a  mitre  on  his  head. 

To  this  wall  a  range  of  buildings  was  joined,  which  being  now 
pulled  down  to  make  room  for  new  buildings,  showed  plain  vestiges 
of  cloisters,  for  in  sinking  a  cellar  six  stone  coffins  more  were  found, 
one  ot  which  was  very  large,  being  in  the  inside  6  feet  8  inches  long, 
with  a  place  shaped  for  the  head,  as  the  rest  have,  more  or  less. 
All  or  most  of  these  coffins  have  two  or  three  holes  at  the  bottom. 
Their  covers  are  not  of  single  stones,  but  made  of  several.  I  was 
told  the  stones  over  the  large  coffin  were  laid  in  mortar.  On  the 
west  side  of  the  spot  where  these  coffins  stood,  two  pots,  or  urns, 
were  found  pretty  nigh  each  other,  one  of  which  I  saw  dug  up.  It 
was  not  red,  but  of  a  pale,  dirty  colour.  The  remains  in  it  were  a 
mixture  of  earth  and  pieces  of  something  that  was  of  a  tawny  black 
colour.  That  these  urns  were  repositories  of  human  bowels  is 
generally  believed.  On  a  skull,  belonging  to  some  bones,  lying  in 
stiff  blue  clay,  some  black  cloth  was  found  in  two  or  three  pieces, 
being  torn  by  the  labourer's  pick-axe,  and  was,  without  doubt,  a 
monk's  cowl,  which  he  had  on  when  interred.  A  large  piece  of  the 
body  part  of  a  corpse  was  found  here  with  the  flesh  on,  and  which 
looked  as  if  lime  had  penetrated  its  substance,  for  it  was  white  both 
outside  and  inside,  and  was  somewhat  tough  when  cut  with  a  knife. 
The  several  pieces  of  shoes  likewise  found  here  are  certain  indica- 
tions of  some  monks  being  laid  in  the  ground  with  them  on,  and 


88  Bedfordshire. 

which  appear  to  have  had  very  wide  toes.  It  is  thought,  when  the 
rest  of  the  ground  is  opened,  where  cellars  are  sinking,  more  coffins 
will  be  found. * 

The  abbey  was  a  house  of  Cistercian  monks,  and  was  founded  by 
Hugh  de  Bolebec,  anno  1145,  was  dissolved  by  Henry  VIII.  and 
granted  by  Edward  VI.  to  John  Russell,  first  Lord  Russell,  and 
afterwards  Earl  of  Bedford,  qui  ob.  i4th  March  anno  1554. 

Yours,  RUSTICO. 


Wrestlingworth. 

[1815,  Pan  /.,  pp.  404,  405.] 

If  the  following  brief  notes,  which  were  taken  in  haste  on  the  2ist 
of  last  month,  meet  with  your  approbation,  the  insertion  of  them  in 
your  magazine  will  greatly  oblige. 

Yours,  etc.,  RICHMONDIENSIS. 

Wrestlingworth,  in  the  county  of  Bedford,  about  three  miles  from 
Potton  and  five  from  Biggleswade,  is  a  rectory  in  the  hundred 
of  Biggleswade  and  deanery  of  Shefford,  in  the  gift  of  the  crown, 
rated  in  the  king's  books  at  ^£7  6s.  8d. ;  certified  value  ^48  45.  2d. 
For  the  following  particulars  relating  to  the  descent  of  property  I  am 
indebted  to  Messrs.  Lysons's  "  Bedfordshire,"  pp.  155.  156  : 

"  King  Henry  III.  in  1218  gave  the  manor  to  Isolda  de  Dover  till 
such  time  as  he  should  please  to  restore  it  to  the  heirs  of  Reginald 
Damartin,  Earl  of  Boulogne,  whose  property  it  had  been,  promising 
her  in  that  case  to  give  her  a  pension  in  lieu  of  it.  After  that 
it  was  successively  in  the  families  of  Huntercombe  and  Raghton ; 
from  the  latter  it  passed  by  a  female  heir  to  the  Asplions.  In  1475 
it  was  granted  to  Anthony  Lord  Grey,  of  Ruthin ;  in  1485  to 
Margaret  Countess  of  Richmond,  who  settled  it  on  Thomas  Earl  of 
Derby.  Of  late  years  it  was  in  the  family  of  Downing,  and  is  now 
the  property  of  Jacob  Whiuington,  Esq.  An  estate  in  Wrestling- 
worth,  which  belonged  also  to  the  Downings,  forms  part  of  the 
endowment  of  the  college  which  is  to  be  built  in  Cambridge, 
pursuant  to  the  will  of  Sir  Jacob  Downing.  The  parish  has  been 
enclosed  by  an  Act  of  Parliament,  passed  in  1801,  when  allotments 
of  lands  were  assigned  to  the  rector,  and  to  the  Rector  of  Cockayne 
Hatley,  Thomas  Ryder,  Esq.,  and  others  who  had  portions  of  tithes 
in  Wrestlingworth  ;  under  the  same  Act  part  of  Hartley  Field  was 
allotted  and  added  to  the  parish  of  Wrestlingworth,  which  was 
computed  to  contain  about  1,860  acres." 

*  We  have  received  from  another  hand  the  inscription  of  a  stone  coffin  since 
dug  up,  in  runic  characters.  See  Miscellaneous  Plate  at  (a).  An  explanation  of 
it  is  desired  from  some  of  our  learned  readers. 


Wrestlingworth .  8  9 


The  rectory-house,  which  is  situated  at  the  east  end  of  the  church, 
was  formerly  surrounded  by  a  moat,  at  present  choked  up,  but  partly 
discernible.  The  house  appears  ancient  and  incommodious.  The 
by-roads  in  this  part  of  Bedfordshire  are  very  bad.  The  unusual 
phenomenon  of  a  post-chaise  passing  through  the  village  never  fails 
in  throwing  the  whole  pari>h  into  great  consternation. 

According  to  the  return  made  to  Parliament,  pursuant  to  the  Act 
for  ascertaining  the  population  of  the  kingdom  in  1801,  there  were  in 
Wrestlingworth  56  inhabited  and  three  uninhabited  houses ;  74 
families,  including  330  persons.  In  that  of  1811 — 57  inhabited 
houses  and  one  building  ;  65  families,  including  366  persons. 

The  church,  which  is  dedicated  to  St.  Peter,  consists  of  a  tower, 
nave,  north  and  south  aisles,  chancel,  and  south  porch.  At  the  west 
end  of  the  nave  is  a  commodious  gallery  erected  for  the  children  of 
the  Sunday-school.  The  font  stands  on  the  north  side  of  the  nave, 
and  is  adorned  with  quatrefoils.  The  reading-desk  and  pulpit  are 
fixed  in  the  north-east  corner.  There  is  a  south  door  into  the 
chancel,  and  near  it  a  large  slab  once  inlaid  with  the  figure  of  a  man, 
with  a  label  from  his  mouth,  under  a  canopy — all  the  brass  is 
gone. 

Within  the  altar-rails  an  upright  stone  is  thus  inscribed  : 
"  Ricardus  Thistlethwait,  Bacal.  Artium,  1657." 

In  the  south  wall  there  are  three  stone  seats  for  the  officiating 
ministers  and  a  piscina.  Over  the  latter  there  is  a  mural  monument 
of  white  marble  bearing  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  Body  of  Mary  the  wife  of  Timothy  Bristow,  late  of  this  Parish, 
gent.  :  she  was  daughter  of  Edward  Herbert  of  Kingslanley,  in  the  county  of 
Hertford,  gent.,  by  Jane,  daughter  of  John  Chishull,  gent.,  and  Susan  Combe  his 
wife  :  she  died  the  fourth  day  of  December,  1729,  aged  65  years.  Timothy 
Bristow*  her  son  was  admitted  to  Francis  Combe's  exhibition  in  Sidney  College, 
Cambridge,  Jan.  14,  1697,  and  enjoyed  the  same  six  years." 

Against  the  north  wall  there  is  a  neat  monument  of  white  marble, 
composed  by  and  erected  at  the  expense  of  the  Rev.  Charles 
Simeon,  M.A.,  Fellow  of  King's  College,  Cambridge  : 

"  In  memory  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Crowder,  M.A.,  late  Fellow  of  Magdalen 
College  in  Cambridge.  He  commenced,  and  after  14  years  finished,  his  minis- 
terial course  as  Curate  of  this  Parish.  Having  experienced  in  his  own  soul  the 
power  and  grace  of  Christ,  his  first  care  was  to  recommend  the  Saviour  to  his 
flock;  and  in  this  he  laboured  with  fidelity  and  success  No  less  active  in  his 
regard  to  their  temporal  welfare,  he  showed,  in  a  distinguished  manner,  how  much 
good  a  resident  Minister,  with  a  contracted  income,  but  a  benevolent  heart,  may 
through  God's  help  effect.  His  humility  and  meekness,  his  wisdom  and  candour, 
his  spirituality  and  cheerfulness,  his  fortitude  and  zeal,  were  uniformly  conspicuous, 
and  have  endeared  his  memory  to  all  who  knew  him,  but  most  of  all  to  those  who 
knew  him  best.  Reader,  be  thou  a  follower  of  him,  as  he  was  of  Christ.  He  died 
March  19,  1804,  aged  42." 

*  A.B.  1700,  A.M.  1/04. 


90  Bedfordshire. 


In  the  churchyard : 

"  Maria  Bristow,  uxor  Timothei,  Feb.  26,  1687,  demta  est. 

"  Qualis  erat  vivens,  si  poscas :  audijt  una  : 
Martha  Domi,  Domino  Sara,  Maria.Deo." 

The  present  worthy  rector  is  the  Rev.  D.  Lewis,  A.M.,  late  of 
Jesus  College,  Oxford,  and  Rector  of  Kimbolton,  in  the  county  of 
Huntingdon.  The  Rev.  Robert  Clowes,  A.B.,  of  Magdalen  College, 
Cambridge,  is  the  present  curate. 

RlCHMONDIENSIS. 


[Omissions :    The  following  articles  are  not  reprinted,  as   they  are    not    of 
importance  : 

1764,  pp.  57,  58,  Description  of  the  county  of  Bedford. 

1818,  Part  I.,  pp.  321,  323,  The  drainage  of  Bedford  and  adjoining  levels. 

1821,  Part  I.,  pp.  409,  410,  Etymology  of  several  towns  in  Bedfordshire. 

References  to  other  volumes  of  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine  Library  : 
Roman  Remains  :  Bedford — Romano- British  Remains,  3,  4,  237. 
Saxon  Remains  :  Biggleswade,  Kempston — Archeology,  i.  123  ;  ii.  171-3. 
Architectural :  Bedford,  Dunstable,  Elstow — Arch.  Ant.,  i.  94;  ii.  215-219. 
Folklore  :  Poptilar  Superstitions,  94.] 


Berkshire. 


BERKSHIRE, 


[1816,  Part  II., pp.  314-316;   ancl  l8l7,  Part  TI.tpp.  587-592.] 

ANCIENT  STATE  AND  REMAINS. 

British  Inhabitants. — Attrebates  and  Bibroces,  and  Segontiaci. 
Roman   Province. — Britannia    Prima.      Stations,    Spinae,    Spene ; 
Calleva  Attrebatum,  Wallingford  or  Reading  [Silchester  in  Hants] ; 
Bibracte,  Bray. 

Saxon  Heptarchy. — Westsex. 

Antiquities. — White  Horse,  374  feet  long,  cut  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
and  Uffington  Castle,  earthwork ;  Windsor,  Donnington,  and  Wal- 
lingford Castles;  Abingdon,  Reading,  and  Bisham  Abbeys;  St. 
George's  Chapel,  Windsor;  Avington  Church;  monuments  in  Aid- 
worth  Church. 

Wayland    Smith    Cromlech,   Uffington    Church,   Childrey  leaden 
font,  Wallingford  Bridge  of  nineteen  arches,  Appleton  Manor-house. 
The  village  of  Sunning  was  once  an  episcopal  see,  and  had  nine 
bishops. 

In  Abingdon  Abbey  had  sepulture  St.  Edward,  king  and  martyr; 
Robert  d'Oyley,  builder  of  Oxford  Castle,  and  tutor  of  Henry  I. ; 
and  its  abbot,  the  historian,  Geoffrey  of  Monmouth.  Here,  in 
1107,  Egelwinus,  Bishop  of  Durham,  was  imprisoned  and  starved 
to  death. 

In  Bisham  Abbey  were  buried  William  Montacute,  Earl  of  Salis- 
bury, who  fought  at  Poictiers ;  John,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  who  con- 
federated against  Henry  IV.,  and  was  slain  at  Cirencester  in  1400; 
Thomas,  Earl  of  Salisbury,  "  the  mirror  of  all  martial  men,"  "  Henry 
the  Fifth  he  first  train'd  to  the  wars,"  slain  at  the  siege  of  Orleans  in 
1428  ;  Richard  Nevile,  Earl  of  Salisbury  and  Warwick,  beheaded  at 
York  in  1460  for  his  adherence  to  the  House  of  Lancaster ;  Richard 
Nevile,  Earl  of  Warwick  and  Salisbury,  "proud  setter-up  and  puller- 


94  Berkshire. 

down  of  kings,"  and  his  brother,  the  Marquis  of  Montague,  both 
slain  at  the  battle  of  Barnet  in  1471 ;  and  Edward  Plantagenet,  Earl 
of  Warwick,  son  of  George,  Duke  of  Clarence,  who,  bred  up  from  his 
cradle  in  prison,  was  beheaded  in  1499  for, attempting  to  taste  the 
sweets  of  liberty. 

At  Windsor,  John,  King  of  France,  and  his  son  Philip,  taken  at 
Poictiers,  and  David,  King  of  Scotland,  taken  at  Nevill's  Cross,  were 
prisoners  on  parole.  In  St.  George's  Chapel  were  entombed  Anne, 
Duchess  of  Exeter,  sister  of  Edward  IV.,  she  died  in  1475  ;  William 
Lord  Hastings,  high  chamberlain,  beheaded  by  Richard  III.  in 
1483  ;  Sir  Reginald  Bray,  prime  minister  of  Henry  VII.,  who  died 
in  1503  ;  and  Charles  Brandon,  Duke  of  Suffolk,  favourite  of 
Henry  VIII.,  who  died  in  1545.  The  beautiful  roof  was  erected 
in  1508. 

Sunninghill  was  the  residence  of  Queen  Isabella  during  the 
interval  between  the  deposition  and  death  of  her  husband  Richard  II. 

Abingdon  and  Reading  were  mitred  abbeys,  the  former  founded  in 
667  by  Cissa,  King  of  Westsex,  and  Heane,  his  nephew  ;  the  latter 
in  1 12 1  by  Henry  I.,  who  was  educated  at  Abingdon,  and  with  his 
second  wife,  Adeliza,  buried  at  Reading. 

Windsor  Castle  was  founded  by  William  the  Conqueror,  but  owes 
its  magnificence  to  Edward  III.  and  his  architect,  William  of  Wyke- 
ham,  Bishop  of  Winchester. 

In  St.  George's  Collegiate  Chapel,  Windsor,  a  most  beautiful 
specimen  of  the  florid  Gothic,  lie  the  remains  of  Henry  VI.,  removed 
hither  from  Chertsey  ;  of  Edward  IV.  and  his  queen,  Elizabeth 
Widville  ;  of  Henry  VIII.  and  his  queen,  Jane  Seymour ;  and  of 
Charles  I. 

PRESENT  STATE  AND  APPEARANCE. 

Rivers. — The  Thames. 

"  The  Kennet  swift,  for  silver  eels  renown'd  ; 
The  Lodden  slow,  with  verdant  alders  crown'd." — POPE. 

The  Isis,  Lambourn,  Ock,  Auborn,  Cole,  and  Emme. 

Inland  Navigation. — Wilts  and  Berks,  Thames  and  Isis,  Kennet 
and  Avon  canals  ;  Thames  River,  Kennet  River. 

Eminences  and  Views. — White  Horse  Hill ;  Round  Tower, 
Windsor  Castle ;  Cuckhamsley  Hill ;  Cooper's  Hill ;  Farringdon 
Hill ;  St.  Leonards  and  Sinodun  Hills. 

Natural  Curiosities. — At  Catsgrove  Hill,  near  Reading,  a  stratum 
of  oyster-shells  and  other  marine  exuviae ;  Windsor  Forest,  Maiden- 
head Thicket,  Cumner  and  Sunninghill  medicinal  springs. 

Seats. — Windsor  Castle,  his  Majesty  ;  Frogmore,  her  Majesty ; 
Park  Place,  Earl  of  Malmesbury  ;  Coleshill  House,  Earl  of  Radnor, 
lord-lieutenant  of  the  county ;  White  Knights,  Marquis  of  Bland- 


Seats.  95 

ford ;  Wytham  Abbey,  Earl  of  Abingdon  ;  Sitwood  Park,  Sir  James 
Sibbald,  Bart. ;  Basildon  Park,  Sir  Richard  Borough,  Bart  ;  Alder- 
maston  House,  W.  Congreve,  Esq.  ;  Appleton,  Robert  Southby,  Esq. ; 
Arborfield,  S.  W.  Parrett,  Esq.;  Ardington,  W.  W.  Clarke,  Esq.; 
Ascot,  Daniel  Agace,  Esq. ;  Ashdown  Park,  Earl  of  Craven  ;  Barton 
Court,  Charles  Dundas,  Esq. ;  Beams,  H.  L.  Hunter,  Esq. ;  Bear 
Place,  Sir  Moses  Ximines,  Bart. ;  Beaumont  Lodge,  Viscount  Ash- 
brook  ;  Becket  House,  Bp.  of  Durham ;  Beenham,  Rev.  J.  Bostock ; 
Benham  Place,  Margravine  of  Anspach ;  Bere  Court,  Rev.  Dr.  S. 
Breedon ;  Betterton,  Rev.  J.  Collins ;  Bill  Hill,  General  J.  L. 
Gower ;  Billmgbeare,  Lord  Braybrook ;  Binfield,  Claude  Russel, 
Esq. ;  Binfield  House,  Onesiphorus  Elliot,  Esq.  ;  Binfield  Place, 
Lord  Mark  Kerr ;  Binfield  (Pope's  house),  T.  Neale,  Esq.  ;  Bisham 
Abbey,  George  Vansittart,  Esq. ;  Bradfield  Hall,  Stephen  Wilson, 
Esq. ;  Bradfield  House,  Rev.  Henry  Stephen  ;  Bray  wick  Lodge,  Sir 
J.  W.  Waller,  Bart.  ;  Buckland,  Sir  J.  C.  Throckmorton,  Bart. ; 
Bucklebury,  H.  H.  Hartley,  Esq.  ;  Burnham  Grove,  Sir  W.  Johnston, 
Bart. ;  Buscot  Park,  E.  L.  Loveden,  Esq. ;  Calcot  Park,  John  Bla- 
grave,  Esq. ;  Cannon  Hill,  C.  S.  Murray,  Esq.  ;  Carswell  House, 
Henry  Perfect,  Esq. ;  Caversham  House,  Major  Marsack ;  Chaddle- 
worth,  R.  W.  Nelson,  Esq.  ;  Challow,  Exuperius  Turner,  Esq. ; 
Charlton  House,  W.  H.  Price,  Esq. ;  Circourts,  Sir  Charles  Saxton, 
Bart.  ;  Clewer  Lodge,  John  Ramsbottom,  Esq.  ;  Coley  Park, 
Berkeley  Monck,  Esq. ;  Compton  Beauchamp,  J.  A.  Wright,  Esq. ; 
Culham  House,  Hon.  Fr.  West ;  Culverlands,  Sir  G.  Blane,  Bart.  ; 
Donnington  Castle  House,  Col.  Stead ;  Donnington  Grove,  John 
Bebb,  Esq. ;  Down  Place,  Henry  Harford,  Esq. ;  Early  Court, 
Rt.  Hon.  Sir  W.  Scott ;  Englefield  House,  Richard  Benyon,  Esq. ; 
Farley  Hill,  R.  Stephenson,  Esq. ;  Farringdon  House,  —  Bennett, 
P^sq.  ;  Fernhill,  Lady  Metcalfe ;  Grazelly,  Sir  John  Simeon,  Bart. ; 
Greenham,  James  Croft,  Esq. ;  Grove  House,  Old  Windsor,  Lady 
Onslow ;  Haines  Hill,  late  Mrs.  Colleton  ;  Hall  Place,  Sir  Wm. 
East,  Bart. ;  Ham  House,  Mrs.  Walcot ;  Hempstead  Lodge,  Earl 
of  Craven ;  Hendens,  Rev.  Dr.  Trenchard  ;  Hendred  (East),  Basil 
Eyston,  Esq. ;  Heywoor),  John  Sawyer,  Esq. ;  Hinton,  Rev.  John 
Loder ;  Hully  Grove,  Sir  A.  S.  Hamond,  Bart.  ;  Holme  Park, 
Richard  Palmer,  Esq.  ;  Hungerford  Park,  John  Willes,  Esq. ;  Hurst 
House,  Mrs.  Wowen ;  Inholmes,  —  Seymour,  Esq. ;  Ives  House, 
Thomas  Wilson,  Esq.  ;  Kingston  Bagpuze,  Adam  Blandy,  Esq.  ; 
Kingston  Lisle,  A.  E.  M.  Atkyns ;  Lady  Place,  G.  A.  Kempenfelt, 
Esq.  ;  Langley  Park,  Sir  Walter  James,  Bart. ;  Lockynge,  Sir  H.  W. 
Martyn,  Bart.  ;  Lockynge,  J.  P.  Bastard,  Esq. ;  Lovel  Hill,  Charles 
Shard,  Esq. ;  Luckley  House,  C.  F.  Palmer,  Esq. ;  Macham,  George 
Elwes,  Esq. ;  Maiden  Earley,  Edward  Golding,  Esq. ;  Maidenhead, 
Sir  William  Herne ;  Maidenhead,  Lady  Pocock ;  Midgham  House 
W.  S.  Poyntz,  Esq. ;  Milton,  Mr.  Barrett ;  Oakfield  House,  Mrs. 


96  Berkshire. 

Brocas ;  Padworth  House,  R.  Clerk,  Esq. ;  Penel  Place,  James 
Bonnel,  Esq. ;  Prior's  Court,  J.  T.  Wasey,  Esq. ;  Prospect  Hill, 
J.  Liebenrood,  Esq. ;  Purley  Hall,  late  Rev.  Dr.  Wilder ;  Purley, 
Hon.  Mrs.  Storer;  Pusey  House,  Hon.  Philip  Pusey;  Radley  Hall, 
Sir  George  Bowyer,  Bart. ;  Ruscombe,  —  Cummings,  Esq. ;  St. 
Leonard's  Hill,  Earl  Harcourt ;  Sandleford,  Rev.  M.  Montague ; 
Shaw,  Sir  Joseph  Andrews,  Bart. ;  Shinfield  Park,  E.  F.  Maitland, 
Esq. ;  Shottesbrooke  House,  Arthur  Vansittart,  Esq. ;  South  Hill, 
Earl  of  Limerick ;  Sparsholt,  —  Williams,  Esq. ;  Standen  House, 
Thomas  Michel,  Esq. ;  Stanlake,  Sir  N.  Dukinfield,  Bart. ;  Stubbings, 
Lady  Dorchester ;  Sulhamsted,  William  Thoytes,  Esq. ;  Sunning- 
hill  Park,  G.  H.  Crutchley,  Esq. ;  Sutton  Courteney  Rectory,  Fr. 
Justice,  Esq. ;  Swallowfield  Place,  T.  H.  Earle,  Esq. ;  Swinley  Lodge, 
Marquis  Cornwallis ;  Temple  House,  Owen  Williams,  Esq. ;  Tid- 
marsh,  Robert  Hopkins,  Esq. ;  Titnest,  Sir  Home  Popham  ;  Tubney 
Lodge,  J.  J.  Lockhart,  Esq. ;  Wadley  House,  W.  Y.  Mills,  Esq. ; 
Wallingford,  -  -  Blackstone,  Esq. ;  Waltham  Place,  Philip  Raw- 
lings,  Esq. ;  Warfield  Grove,  Earl  of  Mountnorris ;  Warfield  House, 
Sir  J.  B.  Walsh,  Bart. ;  Wasing  Place,  Wm.  Mount,  Esq. ;  Welford 
House,  J.  A.  Houblon,  Esq. ;  West  Court,  Rev.  Ellis  St.  John  ; 
White's  Place,  J.  H.  Leycester,  Esq. ;  Willows,  Townley  Ward,  Esq. ; 
Windsor  Park  Cottage,  Prince  Regent ;  Windsor  (Old)  Manor-house, 
H.  Isherwood,  Esq.  ;  Windsor  (Old),  Sir  J.  Harrington,  Bart. ; 
Windsor  (Old)  Lodge,  William  Webber,  Esq. ;  Winkfield  Place, 
Standlake  Batson,  Esq.;  Winkfield,  J.  Bannister,  Esq.;  Woodley, 
James  Wheble,  Esq. ;  Woodside  House,  Rev.  Dr.  Ogilvie ;  Wool- 
hampton  House,  Viscount  Falmouth ;  Woolley  Park,  Rev.  Philip 
Wroughton ;  Yattenden,  J.  A.  Gallini,  Esq. 

Produce. — Barley,  wheat,  beech-trees,  peat,  timber. 

Manufactures. — Paper,  blankets,  copper,  cotton,  sacking. 

HISTORY. 

A.D.  659,  at  Aston  Upthorpe,  Cenowalch,  King  of  Wessex,  de- 
feated by  Wulfere,  King  of  Mercia. 

A.D.  742,  at  Abingdon,  the  "Cloveshoo"  of  the  Saxon  annals,  a 
synod  was  held ;  and  again  another  synod  in  822. 

A.D.  796,  at  Abingdon  Egfryd,  son  and  successor  of  Offa,  the 
powerful  King  of  Mercia,  died,  alter  a  reign  of  four  months. 

A.D.  871,  at  Englefield,  Danes  defeated,  and  their  King  Sidrock 
slain  by  Earl  Athelwolf,  after  which  they  retired  to  Reading,  where 
they  entrenched  themselves,  and,  in  a  sally  from  that  place,  made  a 
successful  attack  on  King  Ethelred,  in  which  the  brave  Athelwolf 
was  killed. 

A.D.  871,  at  Ashdown,  Danes  defeated,  and  their  king,  Bacseg, 
slain  by  Ethelred  and  Alfred.  To  commemorate  this  victory,  it  is 


History.  97 

supposed  that  the  white  horse,  the  standard  of  Westsex,  was  cut  on 
the  hill  of  that  name. 

A.D.  878,  at  Eddington,  near  Hungerford,  Alfred,  in  the  disguise 
of  a  harper,  visited  the  Danish  camp,  and  obtained  such  information 
as  enabled  him  to  surprise  and  totally  defeat  them. 

A.D.  925,  at  Farringdon,  Edward  the  Elder  died, 

A.D.  1006,  Reading  destroyed  by  Sweyn,  King  of  Denmark. 

A.D.  1 1 22,  at  Windsor,  Henry  I.  married  to  his  second  queen, 
Adeliza,  daughter  of  Godfrey,  Duke  of  Lovaine. 

A.D.  1127,  at  Windsor,  David,  King  of  Scotland,  Stephen,  Earl 
of  Boulogne  (who  afterwards  usurped  the  English  throne),  and  the 
principal  barons,  swore  fealty  to  the  Empress  Maud. 

A.D.  1153,  at  Wallingford,  the  convention  which  assigned  the 
crown  to  Stephen  for  life,  but  with  succession  to  Henry  Plantagenet. 

A.D.  1349,  April  23,  at  Windsor,  Order  of  the  Garter  instituted  by 
Edward  III. 

A.D.  1359,  at  Reading,  John  of  Gaunt,  son  of  Edward  III.,  married 
to  his  first  wife  Blanche,  daughter  of  Henry,  Duke  of  Lancaster. 

A.D.  1385,  at  Wallingford,  died  Joan,  "the  fair  maid  of  Kent," 
widow  of  Edward,  the  renowned  Black  Prince. 

A.D.  1387,  at  Radcot  Bridge,  Robert  de  Vere,  Marquis  of  Dublin, 
favourite  of  Richard  II.,  defeated  by  Thomas  of  WToodstock,  Duke 
of  Gloucester,  Henry,  Earl  of  Derby  (afterwards  Henry  IV.),  and  the 
barons. 

A.D.  1431,  at  Abingdon,  commenced  an  insurrection  under  William 
de  Mandeville,  whose  object  was  to  level  all  distinctions.  It  was  sup- 
pressed by  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  and  Mandeville  executed. 

A.D.  1464,  at  Reading,  the  marriage  of  Edward  IV.  with  Elizabeth 
Widville,  widow  of  Sir  John  Grey  of  Groby,  first  publicly  declared. 

A.D.  1643,  April,  at  Caversham  Bridge,  the  Earl  of  Forth,  with 
the  van  of  Charles  I.'s  army,  repulsed  in  an  attempt  to  relieve 
Reading,  by  the  Earl  of  Essex. 

A.D.  1643,  September  3,  at  Newbury,  indecisive  battle  between 
Charles  I.  and  the  Earl  of  Essex.  The  Earls  of  Sunderland  and  Caer- 
narvon, with  the  amiable  Lord  Falkland,  were  slain  on  the  king's  side. 

A.D.  1644,  October  27,  at  Newbury,  indecisive  battle  between 
Charles  1.  and  the  Parliamentarians  under  the  Earl  of  Manchester 
and  Sir  Wm.  Waller. 

A.D.  1644,  Donnington  Castle  heroically  and  successfully  defended 
in  two  sieges  against  the  Parliamentarians  by  Colonel  Sir  John  Boys. 

A.D.  1645,  at  Radcot  Bridge,  Sir  William  Vaughan,  Colonel  Lyttle- 
ton  and  200  Royalists,  taken  prisoners  by  Cromwell. 

A.D.  1646,  Wallingford  Castle,  in  July,  surrendered  by  Colonel 
Blague  to  Sir  Thomas  Fairfax. 

A.D.  1648,  at  Windsor,  the  unhappy  Charles  I.  spent  his  last 
Christmas. 

VOL.   XII.  7 


98  Berkshire. 

BIOGRAPHY. 
Alfred,  Wantage,  849. 

Backhouse,  William,  astrologer  and  alchemist  (died  1662). 
liacon,  Phanuel,  poet,  Reading,  1700. 
Baker,  William,  learned  printer,  Reading,  1742. 
Banks,  John,  miscellaneous  writer,  Sunning,  1709. 
Barbour,  Jeffery,  benefactor,  Abi  igdon. 

Barnard,  Sir  John,  patriotic  Alderm  in  of  London,  Reading,  1685. 
Beauchamp,  Richard,  Bishop  of  Salisbury  (died  1482). 
Becket,  William,  surgeon,  Abingdon,  1684. 
Blagrave,  John,  mathematician,  Reading,  about  1550. 
Blagrave,  Joseph,  astrologer,  Reading,  1610. 
Bradfield,  John  de,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  Bradfield  (died  1283). 
Bullock,  Henry,  divine,  correspondent  of  Erasmus. 
Butler,    Joseph,    Bishop    of    Durham,    author    of    "Analogy   of 
Religion,"  Wantage,  1692. 

Chandler,  Samuel,  Dissenter,  Hungerford,  1693. 
Coates,  Charles,  historian  of  Reading,  Reading  (died  1813). 
Davis,  Henry  Edwards,  defender  of  Christianity  against  Gibbon, 
Windsor,  1756. 

Dickenson,  Edmund,  physician,  Appleton,  1624. 
Dodwell,  William,  divine,  Shottesbrooke,  1710. 
Drope,  Francis,  author  on  fruit-trees,  Cumner. 
Drope,  John,  phvsician  and  poet,  Cumner. 
Edward  III.,  Windsor,  1312. 

Eldt-rfield,  Christopher,  divine,  Harwell  (died  1652). 
Eleanor,  Countess  of  Berry,  eldest  daughter  of  Edward  I.,  Windsor, 
1266. 

Farringdon,  Anthony,  divine,  author  of  sermons,  Sunning,  1576. 
Fell,  John,  Bishop  of  Oxford,  Longworth,  1625. 
Foster,  John,  Master  of  Eton,  classical  scholar,  Windsor,  1731. 
Godwin,  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Bath  and  Wells,  Wokingham,  1517. 
Gunter,  John,  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  1625. 
Hearne,  Thomas,  antiquary,   Littleford   Green,   White  Waltham, 
1680. 

Henry  VI.,  Windsor,  1421. 

Hickes,  Caspar,  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  about  1620. 
Hilsey,  John,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  East  Ildesley  (died  1540). 
Holt,  Sir  Thomas,  lawyer,  Reading. 

Hungerford,  Sir  Thomas,  first  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Commons, 
51  Edward  III.,  Hungerford. 

Hungerford,  Walter,  lord  high  treasurer  to  Henry  VI.,   Hunger- 
ford. 

Hyde,  Thomas,  Roman  Catholic  divine,  Newbury  (died  1597). 
Kendrick,  John,  benefactor,  Reading  (died  1624). 
Kimber,  Isaac,  biographer  and  historian,  Wantage,  1692. 


Biography.  99 

Laud,  William,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  Reading,  1573. 

Lloyd,  William,  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  one  of  the  seven  imprisoned 
bishops,  Tylehurst,  1627. 

Lyford,  William,  divine,  Peysmore  (died  1652). 

Margaret,  Duchess  of  Brabant,  third  daughter  of  Edward  I., 
Windsor,  1275. 

Mary,  nun  at  Ambresbury,  sixth  daughter  of  Edward  I.,  Windsor, 
1279.  ' 

Mason,  Sir  John,  statesman,  Abingdon,  about  1500. 

Mayew,  or  Mayo,  Richard,  Bishop  of  Hereford,  Chancellor  of 
Oxford,  Hungerford,  fifteenth  century. 

Merrick,  James,  poet,  translator  of  the  Psalms,  Reading,  1719. 

Moore,  Edward,  author  of  "  World,"  "  Gamester,"  "  Fables," 
Abingdon,  1712. 

More,  Sir  Francis  lawyer,  author  of  "Reports,"  East  Ildesley,  1558. 

Morland,  Sir  Samuel,  ecclesiastical  historian,  about  1620. 

Neville,  Henry,  republican,  author  of  "  Plato  Redivivus,"  Billing- 
beare  (died  1694). 

Newcome,  William,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  Barton-le-Clay,  1729. 

Penrose,  Thomas,  poet,  Newbury,  1743. 

Phipps,  Sir  Constantine,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  Reading 
(died  1723). 

Piers,  John,  Archbishop  of  York,  South  Hincksey. 

Pordage,  Samuel,  romance  and  dramatic  writer,  Bradfield  (flourished 
temp.  Car.  II.). 

Pye,  Henry  James,  poet  laureate,  Farringdon. 

Ramme,  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Ferns,  Windsor  (died  1635). 

Reading,  Hugh  of,  Abbot  of  Reading,  theologian,  Reading  (flourished 
1 1 80). 

Reading,  William  of,  Archbishop  of  Bordeaux,  Reading,  temp. 
Henry  III. 

Reynolds,  Walter,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  chancellor  to  Ed- 
ward II.,  Windsor  (died  1327). 

Rich,  Alice,  Prioress  of  (Jatesby,  canonized,  Abingdon  (died  1270). 

Rich,  Edmund,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  canonized,  Abingdon 
(died  1240). 

Rich,  Margaret,  Prioress  of  Catesby,  canonized,  Abingdon  (died 

i257> 

Rich,  Robert,  biographer  of  his  brother  St.  Edmund,  Abingdon 
(died  1250). 

Rogers,  Benjamin,  musician,  ecclesiastical  composer,  Windsor 
(seventeenth  century). 

Sewell,  George,  poet  and  physician,  Windsor  (died  1726). 

Shepreve,  John,  scholar,  Sugworth  (died  1542). 

Smith,  Sir  Thomas,  secretary  to  James  I.,  Abingdon  (died  1609). 

Stevens,  William  Bagshaw,  poet  and  divine,  Abingdon,  about  1755. 

7—2 


ioo  Berkshire. 

Stonehouse,  Sir  John,  physician  and  divine,  1716. 

Tomlyns,  Samuel,  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  Newbury, 
1632. 

Twiss,  William,  Calvinistic  divine,  Speenhamland  (died  1645). 

Umpton,  Sir  Henry,  Elizabeth's  ambassador  to  France,  challenger 
of  the  Duke  of  Guise,  Wadley  (died  1596). 

Wallingford,  John  of,  historian,  Wallingford  (flourished  1195). 

Wallingford,  Richard  of,  Abbot  of  St.  Alban's,  mechanic,  Walling- 
ford (died  1335). 

White,  Sir  Thomas,  benefactor,  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  1553, 
Reading. 

Worral,  John,  bookseller,  author  of  "  Bibliotheca  Legum,"  Reading 
(died  1771). 

Young,  Edw.,  Dean  of  Salisbury,  theologian,  father  of  the  poet, 
Woodhay,  1642. 

Wynchcombe,  John,  "Jack  of  Newbury,"  wealthy  patriotic  clothier, 
Newbury  (flourished  temp.  Henry  VIII.). 


MISCELLANEOUS  REMARKS. 

Simon  Aleyn,  who  died  in  1588,  was  the  "Vicar  of  Bray"  of  pro- 
verbial versatility. 

In  the  Little  Park,  Windsor,  stood  "  Herne's  Oak,"  the  scene  of 
the  exposure  of  "  Sir  John  "  in  Shakespeare's  "  Merry  Wives." 

At  Windsor  the  accomplished  Earl  of  Surrey  composed  his  sonnets 
to  the  "fair  Geraldine." 

Cooper's  Hill  is  the  theme  of  Denham,  and  Farringdon  Hill  of 
Pye. 

Near  Binfield  was  the  residence  of  Pope's  boyish  days,  and  here 
his  "Windsor  Forest"  was  composed.  The  river  Lodden  is  the 
subject  of  his  fable  of  Lodona  in  that  poem. 

"  Molly  Mog  "  of  Gay's  ballad  was  the  daughter  of  John  Mog, 
landlord  of  the  Rose  Inn,  Wokingham,  and,  in  dcspire  of  her  charms, 
died,  in  1766,  a  spinster. 

At  Abingdon  School  were  educated  Lord  Chief  Justice  Holt,  Dr. 
Newcome,  Archbishop  of  Armagh,  and  Richard  Graves,  author  of 
the  "Spiritual  Quixote."  Thomas  Godwin,  author  of  "  Roman  and 
Jewish  Antiquities,"  was  one  of  its  masters.  George  Benson,  the 
Biblical  critic,  was  minister  of  the  Presbyterian  meeting-house  in  this 
town. 

Aldworth  was  the  residence  of  Sir  Nicholas  de  la  Beche,  who 
superintended  the  education  of  the  glorious  Black  Prince. 

Arborfield  was  the  seat  of  Edward  S'anden,  Esq.,  the  last  heir 
male  of  his  family,  the  lover  in  the  ballad  of  "  Molly  Mog." 

Beenham  was  the  rectory,  residence,  and  burial  place  of  Thomas 


Miscellaneous  Remarks.  101 

Stackhouse,    author   of    "History   of    the   Bible"   and    "Body  of 
Divinity."     He  died  there  1752,  aged  72. 

Besils  Legh  was  the  property  and  residence  of  William  Lenthal, 
speaker  of  the  Long  Parliament. 

In  Binfield  Church  are  monuments  of  Admiral  Sir  Edward  Vernon, 
captor  of  Pondicherry,  who  died  1794;  and  of  Catharine  Macaulay 
Graham,  historian,  who  resided  at  Binham  the  latter  part  of  her  life, 
and  died  there  in  1791,  aged  61. 

Bisham  was  the  seat  of  Sir  Edward  Hoby,  speaker  of  Elizabeth's 
Parliament  and  writer  on  controversial  divinity. 

Bradfield  was  the  rectory  of  the  enthusiast,  Dr.  John  Pordage, 
head  of  the  Behmenists  (who  was  also  Vicar  of  St.  Lawrence, 
Reading) ;  and  of  William  Lloyd,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Worcester. 

Brighiwell  was  the  rectory  of  Thomas  Godwin,  author  of  "Roman 
and  Jewish  Antiquities,"  who  died  there  in  1642  ;  and  of  Edw.  Ber- 
nard, the  astronomer  and  critic. 

In  Burklebury  Churchyard  is  a  yew-tree  9  yards  in  girth. 
Childrey  was  the  rectory  of  Dr.  Edward  Pocock,  the  orientalist. 
At  Cumner  manor-house,   in   1576,  the  Countess  of  Leicester  is 
supposed  to  have  been  murdered  by  the  contrivance  of  the  earl,  her 
husband,  and  through  the  instrumentality  of  Sir  Richard  Verney. 

Donnington  Caste  is  said  to  have  been  the  retirement  of  the 
father  of  English  poetiy,  Geoffrey  Chaucer.  It  was  certainly  the 
residence  of  his  son.  Donnington  Grove  House  was  built  for  his 
own  residence  by  James  Petit  Andrews,  the  chronological  historian. 

At  Enborne  is  an  ancient  custom  that  if  the  widow  of  a  copyholder 
should  marry  again,  or  be  guilty  of  incontinence,  she  forfeits  her 
life-interest  in  her  late  husband's  copyhold,  which  is  only  recoverable 
by  her  riding  into  court  upon  a  black  ram,  repeating  some  ludicrous 
lines  (see  Spectator,  Nos.  614  and  623),  when  the  steward  of  the 
manor  is  obliged  to  reinstate  her  in  the  copyhold. 

Englefield  was  the  retirement  of  the  antiquary  Elias  Ashmole, 
historian  of  the  Order  of  the  Garter.  In  the  church  is  a  monument, 
with  an  epitaph  by  Dryden,  on  John  Paulet,  fifth  Marquis  of 
Winchester,  the  heruic  defender  of  Basing  House,  Hants.  He  died 
in  1674. 

At  Faringdon  was  buried  Sir  Henry  Umpton,  Elizabeth's  spirited 
ambassador  to  France. 

Fern  Hill  was  the  seat  of  General  Clayton,  who  was  slain  ut  the 
battle  of  Detdngen,  in  1743. 

East  Hampstead  was  the  rectory  of  Dr.  Durell,  the  Biblical  critic. 
In  the  church  were  buried  Sir  William  Trumbull,  secretary  of  state 
to  William  III.,  who  died  in  1716;  and  Elijah  Fenton,  the  poet, 
who  died  in  1732 — boih  friends  of  Pope,  and  both  commemorated 
bj^epitaphs  from  his  pen. 


IO2  Berkshire. 

At  West  Hanney  is  a  tablet  to  the  memory  of  Elizabeth,  widow  of 
Enward  Bowles,  who  died  in  1718,  aged  124. 

East  Ilsley  was  the  rectory  of  Richard  Wightwick,  joint  founder  of 
Pembroke  College,  Oxford ;  and  West  Ilsley,  of  Mark  Antonio  de 
Dominis,  Archbishop  of  Spalatro,  who  first  acc<  unted  for  the  pheno- 
mena of  the  rainbow  in  his  book,  "  De  Radiis  Visus  et  Lucis  ;"  and  of 
Godfrey  Goodman,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Gloucester. 

To  Letcombe  Basselt  Dean  Swift  retired  after  his  unsuccessful 
attempt  to  reconcile  Lords  Oxford  and  Bolingbroke  in  June,  1714  ; 
and  during  his  residence  there  for  three  months,  in  the  house  of  his 
fiiend  Mr.  Gery,  he  wrote  his  "  Free  Thoughts  on  the  Present  State 
of  Affairs." 

In  Newbury  Church  was  buried  its  famous  native,  John  Wynch- 
combe,  who  died  in  1519.  There  is  a  fine  inscription  by  the  present 
poet  laureate  for  a  column  in  Newbury  Held. 

At  Reading  Free  School  were  educated  Archbishop  Laud ;  Bla- 
grave,  the  mathematician  (who  has  a  monument  in  St.  Lawrence's 
Church)  ;  Merric  k,  the  pott,  and  Coates,  the  local  historian,  all  natives 
of  this  town.  One  of  its  masters,  Julinus  Palmer,  sufiered  martyrdom 
in  Mary's  reign.  In  St.  Giles'  Church  was  buried  its  Calvinistic  vicar, 
the  Hon.  Bromley  Cadogan. 

Sandleford  House  was  the  seat  of  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Montague, 
author  of  "Observations  on  Shakespeare." 

Shottesbrooke  was  the  vicarage  of  White  Kennett,  afterwards 
Bishop  of  Peterborough.  In  the  church  was  buried  the  learned 
Henry  Dociwell,  whose  principal  work,  "  De  C>clis  Veterum,"  was 
written  in  this -town.  He  died  in  1711,  aged  70.  In  the  church- 
ward is  the  tomb  of  Francis  Cherry,  the  friend  of  Dodwell,  and  the 
patron  of  the  antiquary  Hean.e,  who  died  in  1713,  aged  48. 

In  Shriverjham  Church  are  monuments  ot  John  Shute,  first 
Viscount  Barrington,  author  of  "  Miscellanea  Sacra,"  who  died  1734, 
agtd  55;  and  ot  the  veteran  admiral,  the  Hon.  Samuel  Barrington, 
victor  at  St.  Lucie,  with  an  epitaph  by  Mrs.  Hannah  More. 

At  Spene  is  tl  e  monument  of  the  late  Margrave  of  Anspach,  who 
died  at  Binham  Place  in  1806,  aged  69 — the  inscription  written  by 
the  margravine. 

Ulton  Court  was  the  seat  of  Francis  Perkins,  Esq.,  who  married 
Arabella,  the  "  Belinda"  ot  Pope's  "Rape  of  the  Lock,"  which  the 
poet  dedicated  to  her  under  her  maiden  name  of  Fermor.  She  died 
at  Ufton  in  1738. 

Wallingford  was  the  residence  of  Sir  William  Blackstone,  author 
of  "  Commentaries,"  who  was  Member  of  Parliament  for  the  borough, 
erected  the  spire  of  St.  Peter's  Church,  and  lies  buried  in  the 
chancel. 

Wargrave  was  the  vicarage  of  Dr.  Derham,  author  of  "Physico- 
Theology."  In  the  church  is  the  irscnun  ent  of  The  mas  Day,  author 


Miscellaneous  Remarks.  103 


of  "  Sandford  and  Merton,"  who  was  killed  by  a  fall  from  his  horse 
in  1789,  aged  41. 

White  Waltham  was  the  burial-place  of  Sir  Constantine  Phipps, 
Lord  Chancellor  of  Ireland,  who  resided  at  Heywood  House.  The 
father  of  the  antiquary  Hearne  was  parish-clerk  here. 

Windsor  Terrace,  the  noblest  walk  of  the  kind  in  Europe,  was 
made  by  Elizabeth,  and  extended  by  Charles  II.  :  it  is  1870  feet 
long.  St.  George's  magnificent  hall  is  108  feet  long.  In  St.  George's 
Chapel  were  interred  the  amiable,  beloved,  and  universally  deplored 
Princesses  Amelia  and  Charlotte  of  Wales  ;  Henry,  Marquis  of  Wor- 
cester, the  noble  defender  of  Raglan  Castle,  Monmouthshire,  who 
died  1646,  aged  81  ;  Bruno  Ryves.  author  of  "  Mercurius  Rusticus," 
who  died  1677,  aged  81 ;  Francis  Junius,  the  etymologist,  who  died 
at  the  house  of  his  nephew,  Dr.  Isaac  Vossius,  in  this  vicinage,  1678, 
aged  90;  and  Dr.  Douglas,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  "the  scourge  of  im- 
postors and  terror  of  quacks."  who  died  here  in  1807.  In  the  parish 
church  were  buried  Lord  Chief  Justice  Reeve,  who  died  in  1736; 
and  William  Heberden,  the  physician,  who  died  in  1801.  The  last 
state  prisoner  confined  in  the  castle  was  Marshal  Belleisle.  The 
Great  Lodge  in  Windsor  Park  was  the  residence  of  William  Duke  of 
Cumberland,  conqueror  at  Culloden,  who  died  in  1765.  In  Old 
Windsor  churchyard  is  the  tomb  of  Mary  Robinson,  actress  and  poet, 
who  died  in  1800,  aged  43. 

At  Wokingham,  in  1590,  died  its  native  Thomas  Godwin,  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells,  aged  73  ;  and  in  1682,  Thomas  Buck,  aged  115. 

At  Yattenden  Carte  wrote  the  greater  part  of  his  "  History  of 
England."  He  lies  buried  in  the  church  without  any  memorial. 

BYRO. 

[1784,  Part  //.,/.  734.] 

I  send  you  an  impression  of  a  seal-ring  dug  up  a  few  years  ago  m 
Berkshire,  and  when  first  found  was  hung  on  an  iron  ring  along  with 
a  key,  but  the  two  latter  articles  mouldered  immediately  to  dust  on 
being  exposed  to  the  air.  The  seal-ring,  being  made  of  brass,  has 
been  more  durable,  and  is  in  almost  periect  preservation.  It  is  very 
heavy  and  clumsy,  large  enough  to  go  on  a  thick  man's  thumb,  and 
very  little  worn.  Perhaps  some  one  of  your  correspondents  may  be 
able  to  explain  the  marks. 

VALERIC. 
Aldermaston. 

[1843,  Part  /.,  p.  194.] 

January  7. — The  old  mansion  of  Aldermaston  in  Berkshire,  the 
seat  of  William  Congreve,  Esq.,  was  materially  injured  by  fire,  li  \vao 
the  ancient  mansion  of  the  Forsters.  Queen  Elizabeth  visited  Sir 
Humphrey  ForsUr  there  in  1601,  and  during  the  civil  war  it  is 
frequently  mentioned  as  being  successively  occupied  by  the  generals 


104  Berkshire. 

of  both  armies.  It  was  almost  wholly  rebuilt  in  1636;  but  a  large 
stack  of  brick  <  himneys,  variously  ornamented,  remains  from  the 
more  ancient  mansion.  This  is  still  standing,  and  we  are  happy  to 
add  that  the  loss,  on  the  whole,  is  not  so  great  as  was  at  first 
imagined.  It  is  thought  that  two-thirds  of  the  mansion  may  be  readily 
restored  to  a  habitable  state.  The  lofty  hall,  which  is  surrounded  by 
a  spacious  gallery,  and  the  staircase,  are  uninjured.  All  beyond  the 
staircase  is  destroyed,  excepting  the  great  aining-room,  which  may 
possibly  be  repaired. 

Aldworth. 

[1760, /.  458.] 

There  is  a  little  village  commonly  called  Alder,  but  whose  true 
name  is  Aldworth,  about  four  miles  south-east  of  Market  llsley  in 
Berkshire.  It  is  pleasantly  situated  on  a  hill,  and  has  several  old 
beech-trees,  that  grow  on  the  top  of  a  warren.  But  there  is  in  the 
church-yard  the  largest  yew-tree  I  ever  saw.  I  mtasured  it  a  few 
days  ago,  and  found  its  trunk  or  stern  to  be  9  yards  round,  at  about 
4  or  5  feet  height  from  the  ground,  where  its  circumference  is  the 
greatest ;  ami  from  whence  it  runs  tapering,  and  rises,  as  well  as  I 
could  guess,  about  20  or  25  feet  high;  and  the  branches  spread  about 
7  or  8  yards  from  the  trunk  on  every  side.  How  old  this  yew-tree  is, 
I  could  not  learn. 

In  the  church  there  are  nine  ancient  monuments,  with  the  figures 
of  the  persons  that  are  buried  there,  cut  out  in  stone,  and  lying  upon 
them  :  about  five  of  which  are  Knights  Templars,*  as  appears  from 
their  being  dressed  in  armour,  and  lying  with  one  leg  across  the 
other.  These  figures  are  larger  than  the  human  size,  and  therefore 
they  are  looked  upon  by  the  common  people  to  have  been  giants  ; 
but  some  of  them  are  so  mutilated  and  broken  that  I  could  not 
determine  exactly  how  many  of  them  were  Knights  Templars. 
There  is  also  in  the  church-yaid,  close  to  the  church,  another 
monument,  but  it  is  sunk  so  low  in  the  ground  that  I  could  not  tell 
whether  it  belonged  to  one  of  that  order  or  not. 

As  it  is  very  uncommon  to  see  so  many  of  these  knights  buried  in 
so  retired  a  country  village,  I  made  a  particular  inquiry  about  them, 
and  was  told  that  formerly  the  family  of  De  la  Beche  had  a  mansion 
house  on  a  neighbouring  hillr  and  it  is  supposed  that  these 
monuments  were  of  that  family,  and  there  is  a  farm  here  still  called 

Beche  Farm  from  them 

A.  B. 

[*  In  1760,  p.  525,  is  a  note  quoted  from  Dugdale  that  cross-legged  effigies  are 
indicative  not  of  Knights  Templars,  but  of  those  who  were  in  the  wars  in  the  Holy 
Land.] 


Aldworth.  105 

[1798,  Part  II.,  p.  1013.] 

You  receive  a  view  of  Aldworth  Church,  Berks,  which  I  shall  be 
haj  py  to  see  preserved. 

Aldworth,  vulgarly  called  Alder,  is  a  scattered  village,  situated  on 
very  hitih  ground,  about  midway  between  Reading  and  Wantage, 
viz.,  twelve  miles  from  each,  and  four  from  Ilsley.  It  is  a  vicarage  in 
the  deanery  of  Newbury,  and  hundred  of  Compton,  in  the  patronage 
of  St.  John's  College,  in  Cambridge,  formerly  remarkable  for  being  the 
loidship  of  the  ancient  family  of  De  la  Beche,  who  had  a  castle  here, 
some  lemains  of  which  are  still  to  be  traced,  and  whose  heirs  male 
were  extinguished  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.  and  are  supposed  to 
be  interred  under  the  monuments  hereafter  mentioned.  One  of  the 
family  was  high-sheriff  of  this  county,  1313.  The  heiress  of  this 
family  was  afterwards  married  into  the  name  of  Whitlock. 

The  church  (Fig.  2)  is  a  small  but  ancient  fabric,  built  chiefly  of 
flints,  and  consists  of  two  parallel  naves  ;  but  the  chancel  and  tower 
are  both  attached  to  that  on  the  north,  though  the  south  body  or  aisle 
seems  principally  to  be  occupied  by  the  congregation  at  divine 
service.  The  form  of  the  tower  is  a  parallelogram,  extremely  plain, 
and  is  said,  by  the  inhabitants,  to  have  been  originally  much  higher 
than  at  present. 

The  yew-tree  in  the  churchyard  bears  evident  marks  of  extreme 
old  age,  and  may  not  improbably  be  conjectured  nearly  coeval  with 
the  church  :  it  is  likewise  wonderful  for  its  bulk,  the  body  thereof 
measuring  upwards  of  9  yards  in  circumference,  spreading  its 
arms  to  a  vast  extent  every  way  ;  but  its  once  lofty  head  is  decayed, 
and  the  whole  is  rapidly  on  the  decline. 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  STONE. 

[1798,  Fart  II.,  p.  1095.] 

The  inside  of  Aldworth  Church  (Plate  II.)  is  awfully  grand  and 
venerable,  being  adorned  with  monuments  of  Knights  Templars  and 
ladies  under  arches  in  the  walls,  most  curiously  wrought  in  the  Gothic 
style,  which  occupy  both  sides  and  middle  of  the  church. 

in  arch  L,  at  the  east  end  of  the  north  wall,  is  a  huge  statue  of 
freestone,  in  armour,  ornamented  with  foliage,  lying  on  his  left  side, 
cross-legged.  One  arm  and  one  foot  broken. 

In  II.,  or  the  middle  arch,  lies  another  in  plain  armour,  one  leg 
gone;  at  his  feet  a  lion. 

In  III.,  towards  the  west  end,  another,  similar  to  the  latter,  his  left 
hand  grasping  a  shield.  The  right  hand  and  both  feet  are  oft 

IV.  Near  the  south  door,   and    opposite  the  last-mentioned,   is 
another,  much  mutilated.     Wants  the  head,  and  both  arms  and  legs. 

V.  In  the  middle  arch,  in   the  south  wall,  lies  the  statue  of  a 
woman,  holding  her  hands  together  in  a  praying  position.     This  is 
pretty  perfect. 


1 06  Berks  hire. 

VI.  Under  the  windows,  at  the  east  end  of  the  same  wall,  is  a 
knight,  armed,  recumbent  on  his  left  side,  as  it  were,  facing  the  first 
described  in  the  north  wall ;  his  right  hand  on  his  sword.     Wants 
both  feet  and  one  arm. 

VII.  Under  the  middle  open  arch  between  the  aisles,  in  the  centre 
of  all,  oh  a  raised  tomb,  is  the  statue  of  a  man  lying  on  his  back,  and 
habited,  as  it  seems,  in  a  surcoat  of  leather  laced  up  the  sides  with  a 
thong.     His  hands  are  closed  together  in  a  devotional  posture.    Both 
legs  are  gone. 

VIII.,  IX.  In  the  last  open  arch  eastward,  which  divides  the  nave 
and  aisle,  and  almost  under  the  pulpit,  on  another  raised  tomb,  lie 
the  statues  of  a  man  and  woman  with  their  hands  respectively  closed 
in  a  devout  attitude.  The  woman's  head  and  one  arm  gone ;  the 
man's  arms  from  the  shoulders  to  the  wrists,  and  one  foot,  broken 
away  ;  his  face  cut  flat. 

All  these  statues,  especially  of  the  men,  are  of  a  gigantic  size, 
particularly  No.  I. 

In  the  south  wall,  on  the  outside  of  the  church,  is  an  arch,  where 
another  effigy  has  formerly  lain,  but  is  now  gone. 

In  the  middle  of  the  church,  on  a  grave-stone,  is  a  plate  of  brass, 
engraved  with  the  figure  of  a  man  in  a  gown,  and  his  wife  in  her 
usual  habit.  At  their  feet  this  epitaph  : 

"  Of  your  charite  pray  for  the  soules  of  Richard  Pygot,  and  Allys  his  wife,  on 
whose  soules,  and  all  Christian  soules,  Jhesu  have  mercy." 

J.  STONE. 

[ 1 799,  Fart  L,  p.  38.] 

An  account  of  the  Aldworth  monuments  in  vol.  Ixviii.,  1013, 
is  reprinted  in  the  parochial  history  of  that  village  occurring  in 
Mores's  Collections  for  Berkshire ;  being  No.  XVI.  of  "  Bibliotheca 
Topographica  Britannica,"  in  which  is  a  plate  of  five  of  these  monu- 
ments. 

SCRUTATOR. 

[1799,  Part  /.,//.  274-276.] 

I  send  you  an  account  of  Aldworth  Church,  Berks  ;  that  is,  a 
description  of  the  building  and  the  decorations  contained  therein, 
Irom  the  sketches  which  I  made  on  the  spot  in  the  year  1793. 

First  Sketch.  South  view  of  the  church. — The  first  object  in  this 
view  that  claims  our  attention  is  a  yew-tree  of  prodigious  bulk,  and 
superior  in  its  size  to  any  tree  of  that  kind  which  1  have  hitherto 
witnessed  in  our  cemeteries  in  any  part  of  the  kingdom.  Its  body  is 
remarkable,  being  of  an  urn-like  form,  and  very  regular  in  its  sweep- 
ing lines ;  its  branches  spread  to  a  prodigious  distance,  and  shoot  up 
to  an  immense  height.  The  whole  of  this  antique  vegetating  com- 
panion of  Aldworth  Church'  for  so  many  past  centuries  still  appears 
perfect,  fresh,  and  green. 


Aldworth.  107 

The  church  itself  is  in  the  common  form  of  our  ancient  simple 
parish  churches,  consisting  of  a  body  and  chancel,  with  a  porch  on 
the  south  side,  and  a  tower  at  the  north-west  angle.  In  the  centre 
division  of  the  south  wall  of  the  body  of  the  church,  made  by 
buttresses,  is  an  arched  recess,  which  gave  me  the  idea  that  here 
originally  might  have  been  a  small  chapel,  and  in  this  recess  a 
tomb,  etc. 

Second  Sketch.  Inside  view  of  the  church  looking  east. — It  is 
divided  by  octangular  columns  into  two  equal  aisles ;  from  that  on 
the  north  side  this  view  is  taken.  In  the  foreground  is  the  font,  of 
the  most  simple  and  humble  design.  On  each  side,  against  the 
north  and  south  walls,  and  between  the  octangular  columns,  are 
those  superb  monuments  and  tombs  which  have  raised  my  admiration 
to  that  excessive  height,  while,  in  the  breast  of  my  friend  Mr.  Stone, 
they  wtre  unable  to  excite  but  very  feeble  sensations.  At  the  east 
end  of  the  north  aisle  is  an  open  screen  giving  admittance  into  the 
chancel,  where  are  two  ancient  stalls  to  the  right  and  left. 

Third  Sketch.  The  plan.  (See  Plate  I.) — A.  remains  of  an  arched 
recess  in  the  south  wall ;  B.  porch  ;  C.  door  entering  into  the  church  ; 
D.  south  aisle ;  E.  pulpit ;  F.  over  this  part  is  the  tower ;  G.  font ; 
H.  north  aisle;  I.  screen  entering  into  the  chancel;  J.  chancel;  K. 
ancient  stalls  ;  L.  old  pews  ;  M.  modern  pews  ;  N.  octagon  columns  ; 
O.  first  monument  on  the  north  side.  I  here  observe  that  the  three 
monuments  on  this  side,  and  the  three  monuments  on  the  south  side, 
are  similar  in  design,  and  are  composed  of  enriched  arches,  with 
pilasters,  columns,  and  pinnacles.  Within  the  arches  are 'tombs, 
whereon  are  laid  statues  of  the  finest  taste  and  execution  that 
sculpture  tan  boast  of.  ... 

The  statue  belonging  to  this  monument  (fourth  sketch]  is  a  knight 
cross-legged  and  armed.  His  head  is  turned  to  the  right ;  the  left 
hand  holds  a  shield,  and  the  right  hand  holds  the  pommel  of  the 
sword  ;  the  attitude  represents  this  statue  as  preparing  for  action.  I 
lament  to  say  that  the  upper  part  of  the  right  arm,  the  lower  parts  of 
the  legs,  and  the  lower  part  of  the  shield,  are  destroyed. 

P.  Second  monument  (fijth  sketch].  The  statue  is  a  knight  armed 
and  cross-legged ;  his  head  is  turned  to  the  right ;  the  right  hand  is 
on  his  breast ;  on  the  left  arm  is  slung  the  shield,  while  the  right 
hand  has  hold  of  the  pommel  of  the  sword;  the  feet  are  supported 
by  a  lion,  as  an  emblem  of  courage,  the  usual  accompaniment  of  our 
ancient  warlike  statues;  as  the  dog,  the  emblem  of  faithfulness,  was 
introduced  upon  most  occasions  to  suj  port  the  feet  of  the  female 
statues.  The  attitude  of  the  statue  btfore  us  bespeaks  the  position 
of  a  solditr  after  victory  receiving  stime  high  honour  fiom  his 
sovereign.  The  upper  part  of  the  right  aim  and  the  left  leg  are 
destroyed. 

Q.  Third  monument  (sixth  sketch).    This  statue  is  a  knight  armed 


io8  Berkshire. 

and  cross-legged.  The  statue  reclines  on  the  right  side;  the  head  is 
resting  on  the  right  arm.  The  feet  in  this  specimen  are  supported 
by  an  angel  in  a  delicate  and  pleasing  manner.  The  armour  is 
decorated  in  a  very  splendid  style ;  while  the  surcoat  is  disposed 
over  it  in  fine-designed  drapery.  The  attitude  shows  the  reposed 
state  of  an  heroic  and  dignified  warrior,  after  having  quitted  the 
theatre  of  the  world  for  the  calm  retreats  of  peaceful  vales  and 
sequestered  mansions.  I  may  observe,  the  position  of  this  statue  is 
without  a  parallel  in  our  ancient  sculpture  ;  and  I  may  flatter  myself 
that  I  am  not  presumptuous  when  I  assert  that  no  Roman  or  Grecian 
performance  can  excel  it  either  in  point  of  excellence  of  design  or 
execution.  My  indignation  knows  no  bounds  when  I  reflect  that 
much  of  the  face,  great  part  of  the  right  arm,  the  lower  part  of  the 
left  arm,  and  a  considerable  portion  of  the  legs  and  of  the  angel,  are 
destroyed  ! 

R.  First  monument  for  the  east  on  the  south  side  of  the  church 
(seventh  sketch).  The  statue  is  a  knight  armed.  This  sculpture  has 
been  so  barbarously  used  that  no  idea  can  be  conveyed  of  the  intent 
of  the  attitude ;  the  head,  arms,  and  legs  are  destroyed,  and  leave  us 
but  the  remains  of  a  fine-formed  body,  and  a  part  of  the  supporting 
lion. 

S.  Second  monument  (eighth  sketch}.  The  statue  is  a  female. 
The  dress  consists  of  the  wimple  and  an  elegant  dispersed  drapery 
on  the  head ;  on  the  body  is  a  loose  vest ;  and  from  the  shoulders 
depends  a  robe,  which  is  thrown  into  graceful  drapery  by  the  action 
of  the  arms.  The  head  of  this  statue  is  supported  by  two  angels, 
one  on  each  side.  I  do  not  find  any  supporters  for  the  feet.  The 
form  and  attitude  of  this  statue  is  loveliness  itself;  and  however  my 
feelings  were  hurt  to  note  the  destruction  committed  on  the  preced- 
ing statues,  yet  in  this  example  I  have  the  extreme  satisfaction  to 
say,  excepting  the  right  hand,  that  it  is -in  as  perfect  a  state  (almost) 
as  when  it  came  from  the  artist's  hands.  This  pleasing  consideration 
had  nearly  made  me  overlook  the  state  of  the  supporting  angels, 
which  are  mutilated  in  a  most  shocking  manner. 

T.  Third  monument  (ninth  sketch}.  The  statue  is  a  knight  armed, 
and  the  face  is  turned  to  the  left;  the  left  arm  is  uplifted,  and 
the  right  hand  is  drawing  the  sword  from  the  scabbard.  Although 
the  face,  the  lower  part  of  the  left  arm  and  legs,  are  destroyed,  yet 
enough  is  left  us  to  perceive  that  this  statue  represents  a  warrior  in 
an  animated  attitude,  as  intent  on  performing  some  glorious  achieve- 
ment. 

U.  First  tomb  in  the  centre  of  the  church  (tenth  sketch}.  The 
position  is  of  a  person  after  death,  laid  in  an  exact  manner  on  the 
back,  with  the  arms  in  a  praying  posture.  The  whole  statue  is  re- 
maining except  the  legs.  I  must,  however,  observe  the  human  figure 
is  here  finely  represented. 


Aldworth. — Benham.  109 


V.  Second  tomb  (eleventh  sketch).  Here  are  two  statues,  a  knight 
and  a  lady.  The  knight  is  armed,  and  in  the  regular  praying  position 
just  described;  his  feet  are  supported  by  lions.  The  dress  of  the 
female  is  a  tight  vest  on  the  body,  and  from  the  shoulders  the  flowing 
robe  depends,  which  is  brought  round  the  lower  part  of  the  statue  by 
the  left  arm,  while  the  hand  is  employed  in  holding  the  cordon  of 
the  robe;  the  feet  are  supported  by  dogs.  The  attitude  is  truly 
dignified  and  elegant,  and  conveys  a  perfect  idea  of  a  refined  age 
(the  fourteenth  century,  when  these  statues,  from  the  fashion  of  their 
armour  and  dresses,  were  executed).  .  .  . 

W.   Door  of  admittance  into  the  church  from  the  north  side. 

X.  Windows. 

Y.  Part  of  the  famous  yew-tree. 

Mem.  The  tallest  of  these  statues  does  not  exceed  6  feet  3  or  4 

inches 

AN  ARCHITECT.     [J.  CARTER.] 

Benham. 

[1828,  Part  /.,  pp.  497,  498.] 

After  the  memoir  of  the  Margravine  of  Anspach  in  your  last  num- 
ber, the  accompanying  view  (Plate  II.)  of  her  seat  at  Benham, 
which  is  situated  about  a  mile  west  of  Speen,  will  probably  be 
interesting. 

The  house  is  a  regular  building  of  the  Ionic  order,  composed  of 
freestone,  with  an  elegant  portico  on  the  south  front.  It  stands  on 
a  sloping  bank,  embosomed  in  a  deep  and  solemn  grove,  where  uni- 
formity of  tone  has  been  judiciously  prevented  by  the  intermixture  of 
trees  of  various  coloured  foliage.  A  handsome  sheet  of  water,  sup- 
plied by  the  silver  Kennet,  and  bounded  with  agreeable  lines,  flows 
before  the  mansion,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  is  a  small  wooden  bridge 
of  three  arches,  built  after  a  Chinese  design.  The  north  side  of  the 
grounds  is  ornamented  by  woods,  which  extend  to  the  western  gate, 
and  conceal  the  termination  of  the  park,  which  is  confined  by  a 
sweep  of  the  Bath  road.  The  general  character  of  the  place  is  sim- 
plicity and  beauty.  The  scenery  is  too  regular  to  be  picturesque, 
and  too  tame  to  be  romantic. 

On  the  south,  beyond  the  vale,  which  is  intersected  by  the  Kennet, 
there  is  a  fine  prospect  of  Hampstead-Marshal  Park,  and  its  woody 
accompaniments.  The  grounds  on  this  side  are  agreeably  varied  in 
appearance,  and  decorated  with  clumps  of  stately  trees,  whose  deep 
shadows,  playing  on  the  water,  give  animation  and  contrast  to  the 
contiguous  scenery.  The  high  grounds  on  the  west  are  crowned 
with  extensive  woods,  behind  which  are  bold  projecting  tracts  of  the 
Wiltshire  Downs.  Towards  the  east,  the  eye  ranges  over  a  large 
district  of  well  -  cultivated  country,  interspersed  with  wood,  and 
diversified  with  a  tract  of  prolific  meadowland. 


1 1  o  Berkshire. 

Such  is  the  description  of  Benham  given  in  the  "Beauties  of 
England  and  Wales,"  but  the  presiding  genius  of  the  scene  shall 
speak  of  it  herself.  The  margravine  has  dilated  on  the  place  with 
evident  satisfaction,  in  her  autobiography,  having  introduced  the 
subject  in  the  following  manner : 

"  My  eldest  son,  who  had  all  the  military  fervour  of  the  times 
upon  him,  left  all  his  comforts  and  enjoyments  to  follow  the  cam- 
paign in  Holland,  and  in  other  places.  The  only  property  over 
which  his  father  had  given  him  the  control  was  Benham,  and  this  he 
sold.  This  was  a  favourite  spot  with  me  and  Lord  Craven,  and  it 
gave  me  infinite  pain  to  see  it  parted  with.  I  had  built  it  myself, 
with  my  husband's  permission,  and  laid  out  the  grounds  according  to 
my  own  taste ;  nor  would  I  suffer  any  of  the  modern  landscape  gar- 
deners to  interfere,  though  strongly  pressed  to  allow  them.  The 
famous  man  named  Capability  Brown  was  desirous  of  being  employed ; 
but  as  he  had  already  laid  out  twelve  thousand  pounds  for  Lord 
Craven,  at  Coombe  Abbey,  I  thought  it  unnecessary  to  be  more 
plundered,  and  trusted  to  myself  for  adding  to  Nature.  I  had 
always  a  satisfaction,  when  very  young,  in  observing  natural  beauties, 
the  graces  of  which  I  particularly  studied. 

"  Benham  was  most  likely  originally  a  seigneurie,  centuries  before 
the  Craven  peerage  was  created ;  and  it  is  probable  that  Hoe  Ben- 
ham  was  part  of  the  domain  with  Benham  Row,  and  almost  all  the 
lands  which  surround  it ;  that  it  was  thus  in  William  the  Conqueror's 
time,  or  Edward  III.'s ;  and  that  what  is  now  called  Hoe,  was  the 
French  word  haut,  as  the  land  is  higher  there  than  that  which  imme- 
diately touches  the  site  on  which  Benham  House  stands,  and  parted 
from  that  by  turnpike  roads,  and  a  great  many  enclosed  lands  be- 
longing to  a  variety  of  persons. 

"  I  leave  to  youthful  and  romantic  minds  to  imagine  how  tyranny 
or  hospitality  was  exercised  in  the  lordship  of  Benham  ;  how  many 
knights  in  armour  defended  or  offended  ladies  mounted  on  white 
palfreys ;  I  confine  my  account  of  Benham  to  what  I  have  been  able 
to  transcribe  from  the  records  of  England,  and  my  own  knowledge 
of  it — from  the  days  in  which  our  forefathers  first  travelled  in  their 
own  coach-and-six,  down  to  this  modern  epoch,  when  peers  mount 
their  own  coach-boxes,  and  ladies  take  rambles  on  donkeys. 

"The  first  Earl  of  Craven,  after  having  signalized  his  personal 
courage  in  the  unfortunate  wars  of  Germany  (to  preserve  Bohemia 
and  the  Palatinate  to  King  James  I.'s  daughter),  bought  Benham  of 
a  Sir  Francis  Castillon,  whose  father,  John  Baptiste  Castillon,  for  his 
faithful  military  services  in  Queen  Elizabeth's  reign,  received  as  a  re- 
ward from  that  munificent  queen,  Benham,  Valence,  and  Wood- 
speare.  Castillon,  I  believe,  was  originally  spelt  Castiglione,  as  the 
family  was  originally  Piedmontese.  Thus  Hoe  for  haut,  curfew  for 
courre-feu,  bell  and  savage  for  Mle  sauvage,  have,  by  lapse  of  time, 


Denham.  1 1 1 

been  turned  into  a  sort  of  English,  which  is  now  not  exactly  under- 
stood. 

"  From  the  time  of  that  purchase  by  the  first  Earl  of  Craven  to 
this  day  Benham  had  been  preserved  in  the  Craven  family  till  the 
present  Earl  sold  it  to  the  Margrave  of  Anspach.  Mr.  Lysons,  in 
his  '  Berkshire,'  quotes  Fuller's  quaint  language,  who  says  that  the 
lands  in  Berkshire  are  very  skittish,  and  apt  to  cast  their  owners ; 
and  expresses  a  hearty  wish  that  the  Berkshire  gentry  may  be  better 
seated  in  their  saddles,  so  that  the  sweet  places  in  this  county  might 
not  be  subject  to  so  many  mutations.  I  must  observe  that  his  lan- 
guage is  not  the  language  of  truth ;  it  is  the  gentry  who  have  volun- 
tarily quitted  their  saddles,  and  not  the  lands  that  cast  their  owners. 
For  some,  many  excuses  may  be  found — accumulated  taxes,  and  the 
exorbitant  price  of  all  the  first  necessaries  of  life,  together  with  the 
many  ingenious  ways  tradespeople  have  of  cheating,  make  it  im- 
possible for  a  gentleman  to  live  at  his  seat — or,  indeed,  hardly 
anywhere ;  so  that  one  half  of  our  nobility  and  gentry  are  poorer 
than  the  poor ;  or  owe  a  wretched  existence  to  places  or  pensions 
unworthy  their  birth  or  sentiments ;  and  we  see  some  of  the  finest 
and  prettiest  places  in  England  possessed  by  nabobs,  bankers,  or 
merchants. 

"  It  was  reserved  for  my  bright  star — that  noble  star  which  presided 
at  my  birth— to  save  Benham  from  this  humiliation.  It  was  reserved 
to  the  best  of  men  to  be  the  guardian  angel  over  a  mother's  fears, 
and  snatch  from  degradation  the  work  of  her  taste,  to  replace  it 
irrecoverably  in  her  hands,  that  it  might  end  in  being  an  eternal 
monument  of  his  excellence ;  and  the  only  wish  I  form  is  to  preserve 
both  his  name  and  Benham  from  being  injured  or  debased  by 
ignorance  and  stupidity  in  future.  In  the  History  of  England  the 
reign  of  King  James  I.  will  furnish  my  reader  with  the  melancholy 
fate  of  his  daughter  Elizabeth,  who,  in  her  nephew  King  Charles  II. 's 
reign,  retired  finally  to  England,  where,  after  living  in  the  Earl  of 
Craven's  fine  mansion  in  Drury  Lane  not  much  more  than  one 
twelvemonth,  she  died,  and  is  buried  in  Westminster  Abbey. 

"  But  what  that  warlike  and  magnificent  earl  did  for  her  I  fear  is 
scarcely  on  record.  When  my  natural  as  well  as  acquired  taste  for 
everything  good  and  noble  made  me  curious  to  find  some  books 
or  manuscript  that  could  gratify  my  curiosity  as  to  that  period  of  the 
Craven  family,  it  was  with  difficulty  I  could  obtain  any  satisfaction, 
as  there  were  neither  libraries  nor  books  in  any  house  of  any  Craven. 
An  old  steward  of  the  family  at  last  took  some  pity  on  my  disappoint- 
ment, and  perhaps  felt  some  regard  for  a  girl  of  seventeen  who  could 
feel  any  delight  in  poring  over  such  relics ;  so  he  brought  me  the 
plans  of  the  palaces  the  Earl  of  Craven  built  at  Hampstead ;  he 
showed  me  a  bond  of  the  Queen  of  Bohemia's  for  forty  thousand 
pounds,  which  the  gallant  earl  had  lent  her ;  in  short,  he  instructed 


1 1 2  Berkshire. 

and  amused  me  very  much.  It  was  supposed  the  Earl  of  Craven 
was  privately  married  to  the  queen. 

"This  place,  and  many  other  things,  Lord  Craven  had  left  me  by 
will ;  but  this  will  he  subsequently  altered,  when  in  a  state  of  health 
wherein  he  was  unfit  to  do  so.  By  this  alteration  he  deprived  me  of 
the  place,  and  gave  it  to  his  son.  Wlien  the  margrave  purchased  it 
for  me,  he  took  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  and  Lord  Moira,  now  Marquess 
of  Hastings,  for  trustees,  under  a  deed  of  gift ;  and  I  was  empowered 
by  that  deed  to  give  or  dispose  of  it,  in  his  lifetime,  as  I  pleased." 

Benham,  with  the  whole  of  the  margravine's  property  in  England, 
is  left  to  the  Hon.  R.  Keppel  Craven. 

Bray. 
[See  Gent.  Mag.  Lib.,  Romano-British  Remains,  i.  5.] 

[1844,  Part  I.,  pp.  133-135-] 

I  herewith  send  you  a  view,  painted  on  the  spot  in  1835,  of  one  of 
a  class  of  buildings  now  becoming  rare — viz.,  the  Church  House  at 
Bray,  in  Berkshire,  which,  although  it  has  recently  lost  much  of  its 
antique  appearance,  is  still  interesting  on  account  of  its  picturesque 
projecting  gable,  and  the  lichgate  under  it. 

Church  houses  standing,  as  this  does,  within  churchyards,  if 
originally  built  for  the  residence  of  chantry  priests,  or  of  the 
parochial  clergy,  were  no  doubt  consecrated  "  ad  opus  ecclesiai,"  and 
repaired  by  the  lords  of  manors  or  the  churchwardens,  as  parsonages 
still  are  or  ought  to  be.  A  few,  however,  were  originally  used  as 
manor-court  houses,  or  as  our  modern  vestry-rooms,  or  as  bede- 
houses,  or  hospitals  for  persons  who  performed  their  religious  services 
in  some  particular  chantry ;  but  most  of  them  have,  since  the 
Reformation,  been  appropriated  to  parochial  poor  generally. 

Lichgates  are  so  denominated  from  the  Anglo-Saxon  word  lie — 
dead  body,  because  "  through  them,"  says  Todd,  "  the  dead  are 
carried  to  the  grave."  Those  in  towns  are  often  substantial  arches  of 
masonry,  as  was  that  recently  pulled  down  at  Great  Marlow,  and  the 
beautifully-sculptured  entrance  to  St.  Giles'  Churchyard,  Westminster 
— if,  indeed,  so  modern  an  edifice  may  be  deemed  a  lichgate.  In 
villages,  however,  they  are  commonly  mere  wooden  porches,  open  at 
their  sides,  with  thatched  or  tiled  roofs,  covering  a  gate  which  almost 
invariably  turns  upon  a  central  pivot.  Hone,  in  his  "  Table-Book," 
considers  them  merely  "as  resting-places  for  funerals,  and  for  the 
shelter  of  the  corpse  until  the  minister  arrives  to  commence  the  ser- 
vice for  the  dead  ;"  but,  since  they  are  usually  too  small  for  such 
purposes,  I  am  inclined  to  consider  a  lichgate  rather  in  the  nature  of 
the  ancient  ante-porticus  to  the  atria  or  courts  of  ancient  basilical 
churches,  and  symbolically,  perhaps,  as 

"Anarch  of  triumph  for  Death's  victories." 

Bray  Church  House,  I  am  credibly  informed,  was  erected  for  the 


Bray.  1 1 3 

abode  of  the  chaplain  of  St.  Mary's  chantry,  which  John  Norys,  Esq., 
added  to  the  east  end  of  the  north  aisle  of  Bray  Church  A.D.  1446. 
But  all  traces  of  the  altar  and  its  appurtenances  in  this  chantry,  or  of 
any  screens  that  may  have  formerly  separated  it  from  the  parochial 
chancel  or  the  north  aisle  and  its  painted  glass,  have  disappeared ; 
and  the  only  remaining  designations  of  its  origin  (although  nearly 
effaced  by  whitewash)  are  certain  scutiferous  angels  carved  in  relief, 
some  with  the  ancient  bearings  of  Norys  of  Ocholt — a  chevron  inter 
three  ravens'  heads  erased — and  others  with  this  same  coat  impaling 
a  bearing  like,  probably,  an  otter,  otters  having  been  subsequently 
granted  by  Edward  IV.  as  supporters  to  the  Norris  family — one  of 
those  few  families  privileged,  though  not  ennobled,  to  have  supporters, 
and  of  which  honour  two  boldly-sculptured  and  interesting  specimens 
(the  otters  supporting  the  shield  by  holding  its  base  in  their  mouths) 
still  exist  within  shallow  niches  high  up  in  the  east  wall,  but  also 
bedaubed  with  whitewash,  so  that  they  have  become  almost  unin- 
telligible. 

Previously,  however,  to  the  "  beautification  "  which  Bray  Church 
suffered  about  three  years  ago,  there  was  likewise  against  the  east 
wall  of  this  chantry  a  tablet  of  gray  shelly  marble,  on  which,  flatly 
raised  above  its  surface,  are  two  figures  kneeling  at  a  fold-stool — one, 
a  man  in  armour,  invested  with  a  mantle  having  on  the  left  shoulder 
the  cross  encircled  with  the  mottoed  garter  of  the  order  of  St.  George 
of  England;  the  other,  his  wife,  in  a  full-sleeved  gown  and  ruff; 
behind  the  man  six  boys,  and  behind  the  woman  six  girls,  all  in 
attitude  of  prayer.  At  the  upper  part  of  this  tablet  are  engraved  on 
scrolls  these  sentences,  viz.  : 

"  Vivit  post  funera  Virtvs." 

"  Penitendum  est,  nam  moriendum  est." 

At  the  dexter  upper  corner,  on  a  shield  (No.  i),  surrounded  by  a 
wreath  of  bay,  is  this  coat-of-arms  — viz.,  a  bend  engrailed,  cotised 
(for  Fortescue) ;  quartering  Fretty,  in  chief  three  roses ;  a  crescent 
for  difference. 

At  the  sinister  upper  corner,  on  a  shield  (No.  2),  is  a  coat  of  eight 
quarterings — viz. :  ist  and  8th,  a  plain  field,  quartering  a  fret ;  over 
all  a  fesse  charged  with  a  crescent  for  difference ;  Norreys  of  Lanca- 
shire. 

2nd.  A  raven  rising. 

3rd.  A  cross  moline. 

4th.  A  fret. 

5th.  A  cross  botonee. 

6th.  A  lion  double-queued  rampant. 

7th.  Three  bars. 

On  the  fold-stool  is  the  coat  No.  2.  impaling  coat  No.  i.    Between 

VOL.    XII.  8 


1 1 4  Berkshire. 

the  figures  of  the  man  and  woman  is  the  Norris  motto,  "Faithfully 
sarve  ";  and  under  them,  cut  in  small  capitals,  this  inscription  : 

"  WILLIAM  NOR  REVS,  of  Fifield  in  Bray,  Esq.,  who  was  Vsher  of  the  P'liament 
House  of  the  Noble  Order  of  the  Garter,  a  Getlema  Pencioner,  Comptroler  of  the 
works  of  Windesor  Castle  and  Parks  ther,  &  Keeper  of  Follijhon  Parke,  w0*1 
offices  he  had  by  ye  gifte  of  Qween  Marie,  enjoyed  theime  duringe  life,  most  faith- 
fully servinge  his  noble  Soveraine  Qweene  Elizabeth,  a  Justice  of  peace  of  Bark- 
shere,  euer  of  honest  behavior  and  good  reputation  :  favoringe  the  vertvvs, 
plesurinqe  mannie,  hurtinge  none,  died  at  his  howse  of  Fifild,  16  Aprilis,  1591, 
at  the  Aage  of  68  years,  after  he  had  be  marled  43  years,  &  had  issue  6  sons  & 
6  doughters,  &  is  interred  by  his  Awncestors,  under  the  stone  graven  wlh  his 
armes  herebefore  liinge. 

Innocuus  vixi,  si  me  post  funera  Isedas, 
Crelesti  Domino,  facta  (sceleste)  lues. 

Maria  ex  Fortescuoru  familia  adhuc  superstes  vidua  relicta  supradicti  Willielmi 
Norreys,  hoc  monumentum  suis  expensis  optimo  suo  marito  defuncto  curavit  fieri 
9  Augusti,  1592." 

But,  with  the  usual  ignorance  of  churchwardens,  though  not  without 
a  very  respectful  private  remonstrance  from  my  pen  to  the  Vicar 
during  the  progress  of  this  "  beautification  "  on  the  impropriety  of  dis- 
placing any  memorials  of  the  dead  (and  especially  of  the  relatives  of 
the  pious  founder  of  this  chantry)  from  their  pristine  situation,  the 
aforesaid  tablet  has  been  removed  to  a  pier  of  the  south  aisle,  and  the 
"  stone  graven  "  alluded  to  in  the  above  inscription,  and  others  that 
covered  the  remains  of  the  "awncestors"  of  the  Norys  family,  have 
been  placed  in  an  opposite  corner  under  the  theatrical  inclined-plane 
pe\ving  with  which  the  parishioners  of  Bray  are  now  accommodated. 
And,  not  to  notice  sundry  other  desecrations,  the  figured  tiles 
foimerly  about  the  altar  have  been  variously  dispersed,  and  sup- 
planted by  a  wooden  block  pavement ;  and  the  brass  of  Justiciary 
Laken,  of  1475,  removed  from  the  east  end  of  the  south  aisle  of  the 
chantry,  which  was  probably  of  his  wife  Syferwast's  family,  has  been 
so  placed  under  the  pulpit  (with  his  head  dishonourably  northward) 
that  the  tips  of  his  shoes  are  the  only  parts  now  visible.  Future  anti- 
quaries must  therefore  contemplate  the  official  costume  displayed  by 
this  interesting  brass  either  in  Gough's  great  work  on  "  Sepulchral 
Monuments,"  or  among  the  accurate  representations  of  brasses  now 
in  course  of  publication  by  the  Messrs.  Waller,  to  whom  some  time 
since  I  presented  a  rubbing  from  it.  Fortunately,  however,  the  plain 
brass  labels,  with  the  following  memorials  of  the  first  chantry  priest 
and  of  a  contemporary  vicar,  yet  remain,  although  their  portraitures 
have  long  ago  disappeared  : 

°18)\t  jacet  Jftagistr  SSiU'm's  £pgrr,  bicvm'  mli'c  ie  $rajje,  rjnt  obiit  nlti'o 
Me  Jrtttuar'  Jlo  JTrtr  m°  cccc°  xl°  oij'  a'i'e  p'p'c't'r  bens. 

(Onite  p'  ai'a:  J)n'i  ^Lhomt  JltUlubc  (CapcUani,  tuj'  ni'c  p'p'mtr  JTs. 
JUnen. 

St.  Mary's  Chantry  is  mentioned  in  the  will  of  its  founder,  and  was 
chiefly  maintained  by  certain  lands  attached  to  Fyfield  House  Estate, 


Bray.  1 1 5 

enumerated  in  an  "  Extent  of  the  Royal  Manor  of  Braye"  now  in  my 
possession,  taken  in  the  third  year  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  at  which  time  a 
John  Norris,  successor  to  an  Edward  Norris,  held  that  mansion. 

Yours,  etc.,  PLANTAGENET. 

My  friend  "  Plantagenet "  having  intimated  to  me  his  intention  of 
transmitting  to  you  a  view  of  the  old  building  at  the  south-east 
entrance  of  Bray  Churchyard,  I  beg  to  accompany  his  communication 
with  a  copy  from  the  Tower  Rolls  of  the  Foundation  Charter  of  St. 
Mary's  chantry  in  Bray  Church ;  from  which,  and  from  the  figures 
1448  cut  into  an  oak  beam  on  the  west  side  of  the  porch  constituting 
the  lower  portion  of  this  building,  I  conclude  that  it  was  erected  by 
John  Norys,  Esq.,  as  a  residence  for  the  chaplain  of  the  aforesaid 
chantry,  founded  by  him  A.D.  1446. 

The  edifice  was  repaired,  but  with  considerable  modification,  four 
or  five  years  ago  by  the  present  incumbent  of  Bray;  and  "Planta- 
genet's  "  representation  is  the  more  valuable  as  accurately  showing  its 
original  form. 

Yours,  etc.,  G.  C.  G. 

FOUNDATION  CHARTER  OF  THE  NORRIS  CHANTRY,  IN  THE  PARISH 
CHURCH  OF  BRAY,  BERKSHIRE. 

[Pat.  25  Hen.  VI.  p.  i,  m.  26.] 

De  Cantaria  fundanda. — Rex  omnibus  ad  quos,  etc.  salutem. 
Sciatis,  quod  de  gratia  nostra  speciali,  concessimus  et  licentiam 
dedimus  pro  nobis  et  haeredibus  nostris,  quantum  in  nobis  est, 
Willielmo  episcopo  Sarum,  Johanni  Norys  armigero,  et  Thomae 
Lude  vicario  parochialis  ecclesiae  de  Bray,  quod  ipsi,  aut  duo  seu 
unus  eorum  diutius  supervivens,  ad  laudem  et  gloriam  Dei,  quandam 
Cantariam  perpetuam  in  honore  beatissimse  et  gloriosissimas  ac 
intemeratae  Virginis  Marias  infra  dictam  ecclesiam  de  Bray,  de  uno 
Capellano  perpetuo  divina  in  honore  beatissimae  et  gloriosissimae  ac 
intemeratae  Virginis  Mariae  ad  altare  dictae  Virginis  infra  dictam 
ecclesiam  de  Bray,  Sarum  diocesi,  pro  bono  statu  nostro  dum 
vixerimus  et  ipsorum  Episcopi  Johannis  et  Thomae  ac  omnium 
aliorum  qui  terras  et  tenementa  seu  possessiones  aliqua  ad  sustenta- 
tionem  Cantariae  seu  Capellani  ejusdem  dederint  seu  contulerint,  vel 
alias  ad  sustentationem  Cantariae  et  Capellani  hujusmodi  manus 
porrexerint  adjutrices,  et  pro  anima  et  animabus  suis  postquam  ab 
hacluce  migraverimus  et  nugraverint,  animabusque  omnium  fidelium, 
singulis  diebus,  nisi  rationabilis  excusationis  causa  interveniat, 
celebraturo,  aliaque  pietatis  et  caritatis  opera  juxta  ordinationem 
ipsorum  episcopi  Johannis  et  Thomae  aut  duorum  seu  unius  eorum 
diutius  viventis  in  hac  parte  faciendam  imperpetuum  impleturo, 
facere,  fundare,  et  stabilire  possint  et  possit ;  et  quod  Cantaria  ilia 

8—2 


1 1 6  Berkshire. 

cum  sic  facta  fundata  et  stabilita  fuerit  Cantaria  beatse  Marias  de 
Bray,  ac  quilibet  Capelhnus  Cantariae  illius  pro  tempore  existens 
capellanus  perpetuus  ejusdem  Cantariae  imperpetuum  nuncupentur. 
,Et  quod  Capellanus  Cantarios  illius  cum  Cantaria  ilia  sic  facta 
fundata  et  stabilita  fuerit,  et  quilibet  successor  suus  Capellanus 
Cantariae  illius  per  notnen  Capellani  Cantarise  Beatae  Marige  de  Bray 
sit  persona  abilis  (sic)  in  lege  ad  prosequendum  et  defendendum 
omnimodas  actiones  reales  personales  et  mixtas  sectas  querelas  et 
demandas  in  quibuscumque  curiis,  etcoram  quibuscumque  justitiariis 
et  judicibus  spiiitualibus  et  temporalibus,  et  quod  possit  in  eisdem 
respondere  et  responderi,  et  sit  similiter  persona  abilis  (sic}  in  lege 
ad  perquirendum  terras  tenementa  redditus  et  servitia,  et  alias 
possessiones  qusecumque.  Concessimus  etiam  quod  cum  Cantaria 
ilia,  cum  sic  facta  fundata  et  stabilita  fuerit,  Capellanus  Cantariae 
illius  pro  tempore  existens  terras  tenementa  et  redditus  ad  valorem 
decem  librarurn  per  annum,  quae  de  nobis  immediate  teneantur  in 
capite,  seu  alias  per  servitium  militare  de  quacumque  persona,  seu 
quibuscumque  personis,  ea  ei  dare  concedere  sive  assignare  volenti- 
bus,  se  volentibus  perquirere  possit  habenda  et  tenenda  sibi  et 
successoribus  suis  Capellanis  Cantariae  praedictse  in  suam  sustenta- 
tionem  et  supportationem  onerum  eidem  Cantariae  necessarie 
incumbentium  juxta  ordinationem  in  hac  parte  ut  praemittitur 
faciendam  imperpetuum.  Statute  de  terris,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 
Teste  Rege  apud  Westmonasterium  ix  die  Septembris. 

[1798, /fcr/7.,/.  30.] 

The  Society  of  Antiquaries  should  know  that,  at  an  old  farm-house 
in  the  parish  of  Bray,  in  Berkshire,  called  Ockwells,  is  a  hall,  in 
which  are  preserved  entire  some  beautifully-painted  windows  of  a 
very  ancient  dale,  hitherto  undescribed  by  any  author.  They  escaped 
the  notice  of  the  famous  Thomas  Hearne,  though  the  place  of  his 
nativity  is  within  an  easy  walk  of  this  retired  spot.  A  future  volume 
of  "  Archaeologia  "  might  be  enriched  with  a  minute  account  of  them, 
were  a  person,  qualified  to  give  such  account,  employed  to  inspect 
and  examine  them. 

Yours,  etc.,  HINT. 

[1798,  Part  //.,/.  762.] 

At  the  farm  called  Ockwells,  near  Maidenhead,  lately  inquired 
after  in  your  magazine,  and  belonging  to  the  representatives  of 
Penyston  Powney,  Esq.,  deceased,  is  a  very  large  old  house,  probably 
the  manor-house.  In  the  great  hall  is  a  window  of  six  bays,  contain- 
ing the  following  coats-of-arms  : 

1.  Defaced. 

2.  The  arms  of  England.     Crest,  a  lion  on  a  cap  of  maintenance. 

3.  Quarterly,  the  arms  of  England,  impaling,  i.  three  bars  gules; 


Bray. 


117 


2.  3.  4.  are  fragments;  5.  sable,  three  fishes  hauriant.     The  shield 
is  surmounted  by  a  crown :  supporters,  an  antelope  and  an  eagle. 

4.  ist,  and  4th,  az.  a  fess  between  three  leopards  faces  or.     2nd, 
and  3rd,  gu.  a  lion  double  queue  of  the  second. 

5.  The  arms  of  England.     Supporters,  two  antelopes. 

6.  Arms  defaced.     Crest,  an  eagle. 
In  a  side  window  of  three  bays  are  : 

1.  Quarterly,   ist,  and  4th,  gules,  a  fess  between  six  martlets  or. 
Two  gules,  two  lions  argent.     Three  az.  three  fishes  naiant  argent. 

2.  Arms  defaced.     Crest,  a  mitre. 

3.  A  cross  patonce  between  four  martlets  sable.     Crest,  a  mitre. 
The  arms  of  the  abbey  of  Abingdon. 

In  another  window  are  the  arms  of  Mortimer.  Crest,  a  ducal 
coronet ;  and  the  following  coats  : 

1.  Argent,  a  chevron  between  three  blackamoors'  heads  sable. 

2.  Quarterly,   ist  and  4th,    sable,  a  stag's    head   or,  holding   an 
arrow  in  its  mouth.     2nd  and  3rd,  argent,  a  chevron  between  three 
squirrels. 

The  motto,  fn>tl)futti)  sferbe,  is  repeated  diagonally,  forming  the 
groundwork  of  the  windows.  The  motto,  ijumfale  ft  lotall,  occurs  in 
a  few  places. 

Yours,  etc.,  S.  C. 

[1 1<$,Part  1 1.,  p.  933.] 

I  observe  in  your  excellent  "Repository,"  p.  762,  a  letter  signed 
S.  C.,  in  answer  to  an  inquiry  respecting  a  farm  called  Ockwells, 
near  Maidenhead,  belonging  to  the  representatives  of  Penyston 
Powney,  Esq.,  deceased.  Your  correspondent  mentions  that  there 
is  at  the  said  farm  a  very  large  house,  probably  the  manor-house,  in 
the  hall  ot  which  is  a  window  of  six  bays,  containing  sundry  ancient 
coats-of-arms,  which  he  describes;  and  one  of  them  in  these  words, 
"  Argent,  a  chevron  between  three  blackamoors'  heads,  sable."  These 
are  the  arms  of  the  family  of  Ives,  a  branch  of  which  came  into  this 
country  with  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  one  of  the  name  and 
family  being  at  that  time  *  bishop  of  Chartres ;  and  their  arms,  as 
above  described,  are  now,  or  lately  were,  fixed  up  in  a  public  edifice 
at  Bayeux,  in  Normandy,  together  with  those  of  that  duke,  and  of 
many  others  who  accompanied  him  in  his  expedition  against  England. 

Yours,  etc.,  ANTIQUARIUS. 

[1798,  Part  //.,  pp.  1007,  1008.] 

I  am  somewhat  surprised  that  no  Berkshire  antiquary  has  yet 
furnished  you  with  a  better  and  more  correct  account  of  the  noble 
mansion  now  called  Ockwells  Farm.  I  am  no  antiquary,  although  a 

*  "  Dictionnaire  historique,  portatif,"  etc.,  vol.  i.,  p.  807,  printed  1754,  for  Daniel 
Aillaud,  at  the  Hague. 


1 1 8  Berkshire. 

great  admirer  of  real  antiquities;  and,  happening  to  be  born  within 
two  miles  of  Ockwells,  I  can  give  some  account  of  the  traditions 
concerning  it.  It  was  universally  said  to  have  been  originally  a 
palace  of  some  of  our  early  Edwards  or  Henrys — I  think,  the 
former.  In  a  window  of  the  noble  hall  are  painted  on  the  glass  the 
arms  of  some  of  our  rnonarchs — I  think,  before  the  union  of  Ireland. 
The  late  George  Monk  Berkeley,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  born  at  Bray,  in 
which  parish  Ockwells  stands,  had  procured  drawings  of  all  the  arms 
there  depicted.  He,  as  a  great  collector,  wished  to  have  procured 
the  glass,  but  thought  it  wrong  to  rob  the  old  mansion,  by  applying 
to  Mr.  Finch,  the  landlord,  for  it. 

Ockwells  has  been  but  very  few  years  the  property  of  the  Powney 
family — I  believe,  not  more  than  about  fifteen.  It  was  for  some 
centuries  in  a  family  of  the  name  of  Day.  An  heiress  of  that  family 
marrying,  carried  it  into  the  family  of  the  late  Mr.  Finch,  of  Watford, 
in  Hertfordshire,  in  whose  possession  I  well  know  it  was  in  the  year 
1781,  and,  I  believe,  several  years  since  that  time.  It  was  for  much 
more  than  a  century  back  rented  by  a  relation  of  the  heiress  Day 
(i.e.,  Mrs.  Finch),  by  the  famous  Sir  Thomas  Day,  who  lived  to  near 
the  age  of  an  hundred  :  the  keenest  of  hunters,  the  hardest  of 
drinkers,  he  being  said  to  have  destroyed  more  young  men  in 
Berkshire  than  even  the  sword  does  now.  His  knighthood  some 
persons  affected  to  laugh  at ;  but  I  have  often  heard  my  father,  a 
Berkshire  man,  say  that  he  was  a  real  knight,  although  he  might  not 
have  paid  his  fees.  The  mode  this  :  Being  a  man  of  good  fortune, 
although  a  farmer,  he  was  always  excellently  mounted  at  the  chase, 
and  very  frequently  spurred  on  and  opened  gates  or  tore  up  an 
hedge  for  Queen  Anne  to  pass,  so  much  as  to  attract  her  majesty's 
notice  ;  and  you  know,  Mr.  Urban,  politeness  (a  pretty  accomplish- 
ment for  all,  as  we  read  in  the  Wise  King's  Proverbs,  which 
contain  directions  for  behaviour  in  every  rank,  from  the  king  to  the 
cobbler)  is  now  styled  la  vielle  court.  Her  majesty  thanked  him  for 
his  constant  attention  and  asked  his  name.  He  replied,  "  Thomas 
Day  ;  happy  to  serve  your  majesty."  The  queen  said,  "Well,  sir,  I 
will  make  you  a  knight  in  token  of  my  gratitude."  She  called  for  a 
sword,  which  instantly  presented,  Mr.  Day  dismounted,  dropped  on 
one  knee,  and  her  majesty  said,  "  Rise  up,  Sir  Thomas."  My  father 
has  often,  when  I  was  young,  riding  out  with  him,  shown  me  the 
gate  at  which  Sir  Thomas  Day  v\as  knighted.  I  remember  Sir 
Thomas  well ;  I  conceive  I  was  about  ten  years  old  when  he  died. 
1  think  that  to  the  last  he  drank  every  morning  about  five  o'clock, 
when  he  rose  (not  when  he  went  to  bed,  as  is  now  the  case),  a  good 
bottle  of  his  own  fine  seven  years  old  home-brewed  strong  beer ;  as 
did  another  farmer  in  that  neighbourhood,  who  always  rose  at  four, 
and  who  attained  to  the  age  of  105  years. 

A  considerable  part  of  the  mansion  of  Ockwells  was,  and  not  a 


Bray.  1 1 9 

great  many  years  ago,  burnt  down,  by  a  beggar  shaking  out  the 
ashes  of  his  pipe  amongst  the  straw  of  the  farm-yard.  I  saw  the 
ruins  standing  about  twenty  years  ago. 

1  dare  say  that  many  more  particulars  concerning  Ockwtlls  may 
be  learned  by  applying  to  —  Eurningham,  Esq.,  the  great  grandson 
and  heir  of  Sir  Thomas,  and  his  son.  Where  Mr.  B.  now  resides 
1  do  not  know;  he  was,  some  years  ago,  a  member  of  St.  Mary  Hall, 
Oxford. 

A  NATIVE  OF  BERKSHIRE. 

[1801,  Part  I.,  p.  422.] 

"The  Native  of  Berkshire"  who  asserted,  vol.  Ixviii.,  p.  1,007, 
that  the  estate  of  Ockwells  was  in  possession  of  Mr.  Finch,  of 
Watford,  in  1781,  was  certainly  right,  as  I  can  assure  you  that  I 
resided  within  a  mile  of  that  place  from  1784  to  1798,  and  remember 
that,  when  Mr.  Powney  sold  his  estate  at  Old  Windsor  to  Mr.  Isher- 
wood,  brewer,  of  New  Windsor,  part,  if  not  all,  of  the  money 
produced  by  that  sale  was  paid  to  Mr.  Finch  for  the  Ock wells 
estate,  which  was  rented  by  a  person  of  the  name  of  Lucas. 
Ockwells  was  said  to  have  been  the  residence  of  Charles  Brandon, 
Duke  of  Suffolk,  the  great  favourite  and  brother-in-law  of  Henry  VIII., 
having  married  his  sister  Mary,  Queen  Dowager  of  France,  widow 
of  Louis  XII.  .  .  . 

Mr.  Payn,  the  at'orney  of  Maidenhead,  could  readily  resolve  the 
doubts  of  your  positive  correspondent,  having  been  employed  by 
both  the  Powney  and  Isherwood  families  in  the  transaction  of  the 
business  of  the  sale  of  the  Old  Windsor  and  Ockwells  estates. 

You  may  depend  on  the  veracity  of 

A  NATIVE  OF  WILTSHIRE. 

Buscot. 

[1802,  Part  H.,J>.  1095.] 

The  parish  of  Buscot  is  in  Berkshire,  adjoining  Oxfordshire,  Wilt- 
shire, and  Gloucestershire.  The  church  is  small,  consisting  of  a 
single  aisle.  It  is  ancient ;  but  that  as  well  as  the  churchyard  is  in 
such  a  state  of  repair  and  neatness  as  does  credit  to  my  excellent 
friend  the  rector,  as  well  as  the  parish. 

The  chancel,  ornamented  with  two  elegant  mural  monuments, 
belonging  to  the  family  of  Loveden,  is  probably  more  ancient  than 
the  body  of  the  church,  one  of  the  windows  being  lancet-shaped  ; 
but  what  is  particularly  observable,  and  is  the  occasion  of  my  troubling 
you  with  this  account,  is  the  singular  form  of  the  arch  which  separates 
the  chancel.  It  may  be  called  a  Saxon  arch,  for  it  is  supported  by 
two  round  pillars  on  each  side,  about  six  inches  distant  from  each 
other,  having  rude  Saxon  capitals ;  and,  as  is  usual  in  that  style,  the 
adjoining  capitals  are  somewhat  dissimilar,  and  the  arch  itself  is 


1 20  Berkshire. 

ornamented  with  zigzag  work  of  tolerable  workmanship,  ytt,  not- 
withstanding this  Saxon  appearance,  the  form  of  the  arch  is  pointed 
rather  sharply.  To  me,  who  am  but  a  novice  in  such  pursuits, 
this  arch  appeared  singular,  and  I  should  be  obliged  to  "An 
Architect,"  or  any  other  antiquarian  correspondent  of  yours,  if  he 
would  inform  me  whether  it  really  be  so  or  not.  S. 

Childrey. 

[1800,  Part  I.,  p.  201.] 

I  send  you  a  sketch  (Plate  L,  fig.  i)  of  the  almshouse  of  William 
Fettyplace  at  Childrey,  Berks,  who  founded  the  same,  in  1526,  for 
one  chaplain  or  cantarist,  and  three  almsmen,  together  with  a  chantry 
in  the  south  aisle  of  Childrey  Church,  wherein  the  said  cantarist  and 
almsmen  were  to  pray  for  the  soul  of  the  founder,  and  for  the  souls 
of  all  his  family  (by  name)  for  ever.* 

At  the  Reformation  this  chantry  was  valued  at  £8  per  annum, 
which  is  now  applied  as  a  salary  for  a  schoolmaster,  and  the  house 
above  mentioned  appointed  for  his  residence. 

In  the  tower  of  the  church,  which  stands  at  a  little  distance  west- 
wards, is  a  ring  of  six  small  bells,  said  to  be  the  most  musical  in  the 
kingdom  for  their  number  and  size.  I  have  heard  them,  and,  indeed, 
the  tones  are  exquisitely  fine.  The  tenor  is  in  the  key  of  A. 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  STONE. 

Cholsey. 

[1816,  Fart  L,  p.  105.] 

Permit  me  to  register  in  your  valuable  Miscellany  a  few  de- 
scriptive remarks  upon  Cholsey  Barn,  in  Berks,  accompanied  by 
a  south-east  view  (see  Plate  /.),  which  it  was  found  expedient  to 
have  taken  down,  from  its  dilapidated  state,  in  May,  1815,  The 
barn  was  situated  about  100  yards  north  of  the  Parish  Church,  at 
the  northern  edge  of  the  village.  It  measured  the  extraordinary 
length  of  303  feet,  was  51  feet  high  and  54  feet  wide;  the  upright 
walls,  which  were  not  more  than  8  feet  in  height,  were  composed  of 
a  variety  of  materials,  cemented  together  with  fluid  mortar.  The 
interior  was  separated  into  three  aisles  by  seventeen  stone  pillars  on 
either  side,  each  measuring  a  yard  square,  and  rising  above  two- 
thirds  the  height  of  the  building  ;  these  supported  the  immense  roof, 
the  framework  of  which  was  chiefly  of  hewn  oak,  but  some  few 
beams  were  of  chestnut.  The  rafters  were  widely  placed,  and  braced 
together  by  timbers,  which  formed  obtuse  arches.  The  number  of 
tiles  taken  from  the  roof  is  calculated  to  have  been  nearly  230,000, 
many  of  them  of  unusual  size  and  thickness. 

*  For  a  very  particular  account  of  this  foundation,  see  "  Biblictheca  Topo- 
graphica  Britannica,"  No.  XVI.,  under  the  article  '•  Childrey," 


Cholsey.  1 2  r 

The  extent  of  this  building,  independent  of  its  supposed  antiquity, 
has  always  been  sufficient  to  recommend  it  to  the  notice  of  the  topo- 
grapher, but  it  does  not  appear  hitherto  to  have  been  particularly 
remarked,  and  the  date  of  its  erection  is  always  considerably  over- 
rated. 

Mr.  Snare,  of  Reading,  who  published  some  account  of  the  churches 
and  lands  formerly  annexed  to  Cholsey  Abbey,  in  a  note  (vol.  ii., 
p.  8)  says  there  can  be  no  doubt  but  this  barn  was  erected  about 
the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century,  because  it  resembles  in  the 
form  and  pitch  of  the  roof  the  house  of  the  Friars  Minors  in  that 
town,  known  to  have  been  erected  about  that  period ;  but  neither 
the  framework  nor  the  form  and  pitch  of  the  two  roofs  bear  the  least 
affinity  towards  each  other. 

Mr.  Gilpin,  in  his  "  Description  of  Forest  Scenery,"  mentions  the 
discovery  of  the  date  1101  in  some  part  of  the  interior,*  but  after 
a  strict  search,  when  the  tiles  were  removed,  no  date,  either  on  wood 
or  stone,  was  to  be  found  earlier  than  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century.  The  construction  of  this  barn  does  not  warrant  the  slightest 
supposition  of  its  having  been  erected  earlier  than  the  latter  end  of 
the  fifteenth  or  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  and  as  we  are 
destitute  of  any  positive  evidence,  there  can  be  no  other  guide  to  a 
safe  conclusion. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  abbot  and  convent  of  Reading,  who 
were  lords  of  the  manor  from  the  foundation  to  the  dissolution  of 
that  abbey,  experienced,  as  improvements  in  agriculture  advanced, 
the  necessity  of  such  a  store-room,  as  one  less  capacious  at  that 
time,  when  they  added  the  tithes  of  the  whole  village  to  the  manor 
farm  of  1,000  acres,  must  certainly  have  been  found  inadequate ;  as 
of  late  years,  without  any  tithes,  the  produce  of  the  farm  alone  has 
been  sufficient  to  fill  this  barn  and  two  others  of  smaller  dimensions. 
On  the  east  side  of  one  of  the  pillars  in  the  south  row  was  a  marble 
lozenge-shaped  stone,  recording  an  extraordinary  performance  of 
manual  labour  in  the  following  words  :  "  In  this  Barn  James  Landsley 
thrashed  for  Mr.  Joseph  Hopkins  5  quarters,  y|  bushels  of  wheat  in 
13  hours,  on  March  15,  1747."  This  man  was  a  native  of  Chievely, 
in  Berks.  He  died  at  work  in  this  barn,  where  he  had  constantly 
laboured  for  upwards  of  sixty  years,  in  the  spring  of  1808,  aged  95. 

Yours,  etc.,  JAMES  HUNT. 

Cumner. 

[1821,  Part  II.,  pp.  34,  35.] 

The  parish  of  Cumner,  or  Cumnor,  is  situated  in  the  Hundred  of 
Hormer  (anciently  written  Hornemere)  and  the  deanery  of  Abingdon, 
at  the  north-western  extremity  of  the  county  of  Berks.  In  length, 

*  More  probably  "  1501." 


122  Berkshire. 

from  Chelswell  Farm,  in  its  south-eastern  verge,  to  Eynsham  Ferry, 
its  north-western  limit,  it  extends  five  miles ;  and  in  breadth,  from 
Botley  to  Bablock  Hythe  (a  ford  over  the  Isis),  nearly  four  miles. 
On  the  north  it  is  bounded  by  Wytham,  on  the  east  by  the  liberty  of 
Secleworth  and  Ferry  Hinksey,  on  the  south  by  Eaton  and  Apple- 
ford,  and  on  the  west  by  the  river  Isis.  It  comprises  several  hamlets, 
which  together  contain  about  130  houses  ;  and  its  population  has 
been  recently  ascertained  to  amount  nearly  to  1,000  souls. 

By  several  deeds  and  records  appertaining  to  its  history,  the  name 
of  Cumner  appears  in  former  times  to  have  been  variously  spelt.  In 
the  most  ancient  of  these  documents  it  is  written  Colrnan  opa,  which 
Dugdale  asserts  it  to  have  derived  from  Colman,  an  Irish  or  Scotch 
saint,  who  flourished  about  the  fifth  or  sixth  centuries  of  the  Christian 
era,  as  he  interprets  the  denomination  to  signify  Colemanni  ripa,  or 
Colman's  bank ;  and  Dr.  Buckler,  either  confiding  iu  the  plausibility 
of  this  etymology,  or  imposing  implicit  confidence  in  the  authority  of 
its  learned  interpreter,  presumes  that  the  church  itself  might  have 
originally  claimed  St.  Colman  as  its  patron  saint,  and  subsequendy 
transmitted  its  name  to  the  parish  at  large. 

Could  this  etymology  be  substantiated,  we  might  be  furnished  with 
an  incontrovertible  criterion,  by  which  we  might  determine  the 
antiquity  of  Cumner  ;  but  I  am  somewhat  apprehensive  that  it  is  too 
vague  to  be  entitled  to  implicit  reliance.  The  real  origin  of  Cumner, 
like  that  of  most  other  parishes,  is  shrouded  in  that  darkness  which 
envelops  the  whole  of  the  early  British  history,  and  which,  if  it 
cannot  be  dispelled  from  the  foundations  of  cities,  renowned  in  the 
most  distant  periods  of  our  history,  how  can  we  expect  to  display  the 
establishment  of  an  obscure  and  humble  parish,  whose  annals  might 
have  been  devoid  of  interest,  and  whose  situation  originally  presented 
nothing  more  than  a  dreary  waste  ? 

The  claim,  however,  which  Cumner  lays  to  a  very  considerable 
antiquity  cannot  be  questioned.  In  the  eighth  century  it  appears  to 
have  been  included  in  the  possessions  of  the  monarchs  of  the  Western 
Saxons.  It  is  mentioned  by  name  in  a  grant  of  some  land  situated 
in  this  parish  to  the  abbot  and  monks  of  Abingdon  by  Ceadwalla  ; 
and  from  several  popular  antiquities  it  is  mauitest  that  Cumner  was 
the  mother  church  ot  some  of  the  neighbouring  parishes.  From  the 
Crown,  it  appears  to  have  progressively  flowed  into  the  hands  of  the 
society  mentioned  above.  King  Edgar,  in  968,  presented  it  with 
thirty  tenements  at  Cumner ;  and  when  Edward  the  Confessor  en- 
riched it  with  the  valuable  domain  of  the  Hundred  of  Hornemere, 
the  remaining  portion  of  the  parish  must  have  been  annexed  to  its 
enormous  possessions,  as  it  is  wholly  contained  in  this  sp'endid 
endowment. 

The  parish  of  Cumner  remained  in  the  possession  of  this  opulent 
establishment  nearly  five  centuries;  but  when  the  Act  was  passed  for 


Cumner,  123 

the  entire  suppression  of  religious  houses,  it  again  reverted  to  the 
Crown.  Thomas  Rowland,  the  last  abbot,  on  February  9,  1538, 
ceded  all  that  vast  property,  with  which  the  munificence  of  sovereigns 
and  piety  of  nobles  had  enriched  this  immense  foundation.  It  was 
retained  by  the  king  only  eight  years,  as  appears  by  his  Letters 
Patent,  dated  at  Windsor,  October  8,  1546,  by  which  the  lordship, 
manor,  and  rectorial  tithes  of  Cumner,  with  all  its  rights  and  appur- 
tenances, and  particularly  the  capital  messuage,  called  Cumner 
Place,  and  the  close  adjoining,  called  the  Parke,  and  the  three  closes 
adjoining,  called  Saffron  Plottye,  etc.,  in  consideration  of  two  closes 
in  St.  Thomas's  Parish,  Oxford,  the  site  of  Rowley  Abbey,  and  the 
sum  of  ^310  i2s.  9d.  in  money  besides,  paid  into  the  Court  of 
Augmentations,  were  granted  to  George  Owen,  Esq.,  Physician  (in  re 
medica  nobis  a  conciliis),  and  John  Bridges,  Doctor  in  Physic.  About 
the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century  it  was  held  by  Anthony  Forster, 
Esq.,  who  made  the  manor-house  his  residence  ;  and  it  has  sub- 
sequently passed  unto  the  Abingdon  family,  in  whose  possession  it 
still  continues. 

Whether  there  was  any  manor-house  at  Cumner  whilst  the  manor 
was  held  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  kings  is  very  uncertain,  nor  can  I  find 
it  recorded  at  what  period  the  abbot  and  monks  of  Abingdon 
founded  here  a  cell.  The  buildings  which  recently  remained 
appeared,  from  an  ancient  document,  to  have  been  constructed  by 
the  society  as  a  place  of  retirement  during  the  prevalence  of  the 
plague,  or  any  other  contagious  distemper  at  Abingdon.  It  was  a 
very  common  practice  amongst  the  ecclesiastics  of  the  middle  ages 
to  erect  houses  of  this  description  in  healthy  situations,  either  to 
avoid  infectio.n  or  otherwise  for  the  recovery  of  those  who  had  been 
.infected.  If  I  might  hazard  a  conjecture  as  to  the  period  at  which 
this  place  was  originally  erected,  I  should  certainly  ascribe  it  about 
the  middle  of  the  fourteenth  century,  when  that  universal  plague 
which  is  recorded  by  Henry  Knighton  to  have  originated  in  India 
made  such  tremendous  havoc  throughout  Asia  and  Europe.  In 
England  it  was  introduced  in  Dorsetshire,  whence  it  proceeded, 
desolating  all  the  intervening  counties,  to  London.  There  it  raged 
with  such  extreme  virulence  that  "scarcely,"  says  Stow,  "the  tenth 
person  of  all  sorts  was  left  alive."  The  ordinary  churchyards  were 
inadequate  to  receive  the  dead,  and  fields  were  obliged  to  be  chosen 
and  appointed  for  that  purpose.  Abingdon,  then,  must  certainly 
have  been  a  participator  in  the  general  calamity,  and  as  it  was  built, 
in  common  with  other  ancient  towns,  in  a  most  crowded  manner,  it 
must  have  nourished  and  experienced  most  deplorably  its  desolating 
influence.  It  might  have  extended  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  abbey, 
who,  warned  by  its  consequences,  m'ght  have  been  induced  to  erect 
the  place  in  the  salubrious  village  of  Cumner,  to  avoid  the  effects  of 
any  similar  visitation  in  future.  The  principal  positions  of  the  build- 


1 24  Berkshire. 

ings  displayed  in  their  architectural  features  that  style  which  un- 
doubtedly characterizes  those  buildings  that  were  construc'ed  during 
the  reign  of  our  third  Edward  ;  and  no  fragments  whatever  have  in 
any  part  been  discovered  which  could  possibly  have  been  attributed 
to  a  period  more  remote. 

When  the  place  at  Cumner  again  reverted  to  the  Crown,  or  by  whom 
it  was  tenanted,  has  eluded  my  research,  but  we  may  rightly  infer, 
from  the  terms  in  which  it  is-  mentioned  in  the  grant  to  Dr.  Owen, 
cited  above,  that  it  was  not  suffered  to  go  to  decay.  When  it  was 
occupied  by  Forster,  it  was  not  only  thoroughly  repaired,  but  likewise 
enlarged,  to  render  it  suitable  for  that  hospitality  for  which  the  pro- 
prietor was  famed ;  and  here  it  was,  being  on  a  visit,  the  Countess  of 
Leicester  met  with  her  untimely  end.  In  the  succeeding  century  the 
taste  of  the  nobility  and  gentry  suffered  a  complete  revolution,  as  it 
respected  their  ancient  residences  ;  and  Cumner  Hall,  in  common 
with  many  other  fabrics  of  a  similar  description,  was  abandoned  to 
neglect  and  decay  for  the  more  commodious  though  less  spacious 
mansions  which  were  the  fashion  of  those  times.  At  length  the 
ruined  hall  was  patched  up  for  the  residence  of  a  farmer,  the  chapel 
was  converted  into  a  stable  and  the  hall  to  a  granary.  Soon  after- 
wards the  upper  story  of  the  southern  side  fell  down,  and  on  the  de- 
parture of  the  farmer,  the  residue  of  the  pile  was  parcelled  out  into 
small  tenements,  and  let  by  the  lessee  at  Abingdon  to  the  poorer 
classes.  About  eleven  years  ago  the  lease  expired,  and  the  Earl  of 
Abingdon  caused  the  whole  to  be  pulled  down,  to  procure  materials 
for  the  rebuilding  Wytham  Church.  There  the  beautiful  windows  of 
the  hall  were  again  erected,  and  the  outer  gateway  of  Cumner  Hall, 
as  erected  originally  by  Forster,  now  forms  the  entrance  to  Wytham 
Churchyard. 

[1821,  Part  II.,  pp.  201-205.] 

The  cell,  place,  or  as  it  was  subsequently  termed,  the  hall,  occupied 
a  gentle  eminence  pleasantly  situated  on  the  southern  side  of  the 
road,  towards  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  village,  commanding  an 
agreeable  prospect  over  the  vale  beneath,  and  sheltered  from  the 
chilling  blasts  of  the  north  and  eastern  winds  by  the  hills  of  Botley 
and  Cumnerhurst.  The  buildings,  though  they  presented  no 
appearance  of  grandeur,  were  constructed  in  a  style  far  superior  to 
the  other  lazarettos  in  the  vicinity  of  Oxford  ;  so  that  they  were,  in 
some  degree,  characteristic  of  the  opulent  society  to  which  they 
appertained.  The  principal  apartments  were  situated  at  a  short 
distance  from  the  road  (the  intervening  space  being  occupied  by  a 
court-yard),  and  disposed  in  a  quadrangular  form,  and  enclosing 
an  area,  which  extended  72  feet  in  length  from  north  to  south, 
and  52  in  breadth  from  east  to  west.  The  offices,  as  may  be  seen 
by  the  foundations,  were  erected  behind  the  western  side  of  the 


Cumner.  125 

quadrangle,  and  along  the  east  and  western  sides  of  the  court-yard. 
The  grounds,  attached  to  these  buildings,  lay  towards  the  south  and 
west :  they  were  not  very  extensive,  and  a  considerable  portion  being 
allotted  to  a  pleasure  garden,  the  park,  was  so  very  much  contracted, 
that  it  is  reported  to  contain  no  more  than  twenty-five  acres.  The 
author  of  "  an  historical  account  of  Cumner,"  has  expressed  a 
conjecture,  that  "  the  park,  at  the  period  when  the  place  was  more 
highly  favoured,  extended  to  the  boundary  of  the  next  parish,  a 
distance  of  three-quarters  of  a  mile  from  the  house,"  with  which  I 
should  be  inclined  to  coincide,  had  I  not  seen  an  ancient  record, 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  vicar,  in  which  the  park  is  expressly 
termed  an  adjoining  close. 

The  court-yard  was  spacious,  and  separated  from  the  road  by  a 
lofty  and  substantial  wall,  which,  from  a  portion  still  remaining, 
appears  to  have  been  constructed  of  squared  stones  of  a  magnitude 
equally  unusual  and  unnecessary,  in  works  of  this  description. 
Towards  the  western  end  of  this  wall  was  situated  the  principal 
entrance,  which,  from  an  inscription  carved  over  it,  and  copied  by 
Dr.  Buckler  previous  to  its  removal,  was  erected  by  Forster  in  the 
year  1575.  When  the  place  was  pulled  down,  it  is  reported  that  the 
Earl  of  Abingdon  ordered  this  entrance  to  be  carefully  taken  down, 
intending  to  have  it  rebuilt  at  a  principal  entrance  gateway  to  his 
park  at  Wytham  ;  but  afterwards,  considering  the  inscription  it  bore 
was  more  applicable  to  a  sacred  edifice,  he  changed  his  purpose,  and 
caused  it  to  be  re-erected  at  the  entrance  to  Wytham  Church-yard 
from  the  village.  It  is  very  evident,  however,  that  there  is  some 
incorrectness  accompanying  this  popular  tradition :  the  gateway 
removed  to  Wytham  never  could  have  formed  the  principal  entrance 
to  Cumner  Place,  for  it  has  suffered  no  alteration,  or  diminution  in 
any  of  its  parts,  and  yet  its  width  is  not  a  third  the  width  of  a  pair  of 
old  gates  yet  remaining  at  Cumner,  which  are  reported  formerly  to 
have  hung  beneath  the  carriage  gateway.  But  if  we  advert  to  the 
modes  of  constructing  entrance  gateways  practised  during  the  Tudor 
period,  we  shall  discover  the  duplex  form,  which  consisted  of  a 
postern  attached  to  the  carriage-gate,  to  have  been  most  prevalent. 
Of  such  a  construction  is  the  entrance  to  the  outer  court-yard  of  the 
manor-house  in  the  neighbouring  village  of  Yarnton  (co.  Oxon.) 
erected  during  this  period  ;  the  postern  of  which  corresponds,  in  some 
respects,  with  the  gateway  at  Wytham,  although  neither  so  elegant  in 
its  form,  nor  correct  in  its  details.  I  suspect,  therefore,  that  the 
gateway  removed  to  Wytham  was  merely  the  postern,  and  that  the 
carriage  entrance,  to  which  it  was  appended,  has  been  totally 
demolished. 

This  postern  (for  so  I  shall  presume  to  term  it)  is  of  the  pointed 
style  of  architecture,  and  although  erected  at  that  period  when  this 
mode  of  building  was  extremely  vitiated,  and  about  to  be  entirely 


126  Berkshire. 

disused,  is  particularly  correct  in  its  design,  and  the  mouldings  are 
remarkably  bold  and  well-wrought.  The  door-way  measures  8 
feet  in  height,  and  3  feet  4  inches  in  width,  and  is  formed  by 
an  elegant  pointed  arch,  enclosed  by  an  architrave  of  a  square 
form,  the  spandrels  being  filled  with  trefoil  panels.  The  architrave 
on  the  exterior  is  enriched  with  a  deep  hollow  moulding,  and  bounded 
by  a  sub-architrave  supported  by  two  slender  circular  columns, 
having  octangular  capitals.  The  gateway  is  surmounted  by  a  neat 
entablature,  terminated  by  a  small  embattled  cornice,  between  which, 
and  the  graduated  coping  of  the  wall,  is  inserted  a  panel  of  an 
oblong  form,  inscribed  with  the  words  IANVA  VIIVE  VERBVM  DOMINI.* 
(See  Plate  I.) 

The  principal  entrance  to  the  quadrangle  was  by  means  of  an 
archway  9  feet  in  height,  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  northern 
side,  and  exactly  opposite  the  gateway  communicating  between  the 
road  and  the  outer  court-yard  ;  and  was  formed  by  an  architrave 
composed  of  plain  moulding,  rising  from  the  ground.  The  arch-way 
was  groined,  and  decorated  at  the  intersection  of  the  ribs  with  a 
central  sculptured  boss.  The  rooms  on  the  ground  story  of  this  side 
were  four  in  number,  two  being  situated  upon  each  side  the 
entrance  ;  they  were  rather  small,  but  well  proportioned,  and  highly 
finished.  The  door  cases  were  very  elegant ;  the  windows  were 
uniform,  of  the  Tudor  fashion,  composed  of  two  cinquefoil  arched 
lights,  enclosed  in  square  frames ;  and  the  chimney-pieces  were 
richly  adorned.  Two  of  the  door-cases  were  removed  to  Wytham, 
one  of  which  was  erected  at  the  west  end  of  the  tower,  and  the  other 
forms  a  communication  between  the  Earl  of  Abingdon's  garden  and 
the  churchyard ;  several  of  the  windows  were  likewise  inserted  in 
divers  buildings,  under  the  direction  of  the  earl,  but  the  chimney- 
pieces,  through  the  unskilfulness  of  the  workmen,  were  broken  to 
pieces,  in  extricating  them  from  the  walls  in  which  they  had  been 
wrought;  and  it  is  probable,  that  had  not  sketches  been  made  o 
two  of  the  entablatures  belonging  to  them,  for  Mr.  Alderman  Fletcher, 
of  Oxford  (who  has  devoted  immense  labour,  and  considerable 
expense,  to  form  a  collection  of  materials  for  the  elucidation  of  the 
antiquities  around  the  city  in  which  he  resides),  not  a  memorial  of 
them  would  have  been  preserved.  The  worthy  alderman,  with  his 
accustomed  liberality,  readily  submitted  these  to  our  inspection,  and 
inasmuch  as,  in  some  degree,  they  display  the  decorative  taste  of  our 
ancestors,  we  have,  with  his  permission,  represented  them  in  the 
annexed  plate. 

The  eastern  end  of  the  buildings,  upon  this  side,  abutted  upon  the 

*  In  the  back  of  this  gateway  is  placed  another  panel,  inscribed  HN.  MN. 
AN0.  1571  ;  but  as  this  gate  does  not  agree  with  that  copied  by  Dr.  Buckler,  I 
should  apprehend  that  it  has  no  relation  whatever  with  the  building  in  which  it  is 
inserted. 


Cuwner.  127 

churchyard  ;  and  in  a  print  recently  engraved  of  Cumner  church, 
after  a  drawing  by  Dr.  Vyse,  this  portion  of  the  fabric  is  (although 
but  indifferently)  represented.  The  gable-end  of  the  roof  was 
surmounted  by  a  small  stone  cross,  beneath  which  was  a  window 
enclosed  in  an  elegant  pointed  architrave,  and  composed  of  two 
cinquefoil  lights,  divided  horizontally  by  a  transom  with  elaborate 
tracery  in  the  head  of  the  arch.  This  window  appertained  to  an 
apartment  that  extended  the  whole  length  of  the  side,  which  in  the 
original  appropriation  of  the  building  might  have  been  intended  for 
a  dormitory,  but  it  was  known  to  the  villagers  by  the  denomination 
of  the  "  long  gallery."  The  entrance  to  it  was  by  a  plain  pointed 
arched  doorway,  situated  in  the  outer  court,  at  the  north-west  corner 
of  the  quadrangle,  communicating  with  a  circular  newel  stone  stair- 
case leading  to  a  doorway  at  the  western  end  of  the  apartment.  In 
addition  to  the  large  window  at  the  east  end,  it  had  a  range  of 
windows  on  each  side,  which  looked  into  the  quadrangle  and  court- 
yard ;  these  were  generally  corresponding  with  those  lighting  the 
rooms  beneath,  and  previously  described,  though  a  few  varied  from 
this  form. 

At  the  northern  extremity  of  the  western  side,  was  a  large  room 
that  projected  a  short  distance  beyond  the  line  of  the  other  buildings; 
and  from  a  double-arched  entrance  in  its  southern  side,  com- 
municating immediately  with  the  hall,  it  was  probably  originally 
designed  for  the  buttery.  It  had  a  window  in  its  east  and  western 
sides,  of  a  square  form,  and  divided  into  three  cinquefoil  lights ;  and 
likewise  two  doorways,  one  in  the  projection,  communicating  with 
the  quadrangle,  and  another  leading  into  a  back-yard,  where  the 
kitchen  and  other  offices  were  situated.  Over  this  room  was  a 
spacious  and  elegant  apartment,  the  ascent  to  which  was  by  the 
staircase  before  mentioned  ;  it  possessed  only  one  window,  but  this 
is  reported  to  have  been  the  largest  and  most  elaborate  throughout 
the  place ;  on  which  account  it  has  been  accurately  represented  in 
its  present  state,  as  re-erected  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  chancel  of 
Wytham  Church.  (See  Plate  I.)  The  extent  and  appropriation  of 
this  apartment  I  was  unable  to  learn,  its  condition  having  been,  long 
prior  to  its  demolition,  so  extremely  ruinous,  that  the  villagers  were 
in  continual  apprehension  of  its  fall. 

There  is  some  reason  to  believe  (if  any  credit  can  be  attached  to 
the  tradition  of  the  village)  that  this  was  the  chamber  in  which  the 
unfortunate  Countess  of  Leicester  reposed  the  evening  previous  to 
her  decease.  Ashmole  remarks  that  the  lady  was  removed  from  the 
apartment  where  she  usually  lay  (situated  at  the  other  end  of  the 
hall)  to  another,  "where  the  bed's  head  of  the  chamber  stood  close 
to  a  privy  postern  door,  where  her  murderers  in  the  night-time  came 
and  stifled  her  in  her  bed,  bruised  her  head  very  much,  broke  her 
neck,  and  at  length  flung  her  downstairs."  No.v,  although  the  in- 


128  Berkshire. 

habitants  of  Cumner  retain  no  tradition  of  the  chamber  to  which 
she  was  removed,  yet  the  manner  in  which  this  apartment  communi- 
cated with  the  staircase  so  precisely  corresponds  with  Ash  moles 
description,  that  I  cannot  help  regarding  it  to  have  been  that  in 
which  the  Countess  met  with  her  untimely  death,  and  especially  as 
there  was  no  room  communicating  with  this  staircase  besides,  except 
the  long  gallery,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  tradition  of  the  village 
asserts  that  the  Lady  Dudley  was  discovered  lying  dead. 

The  great  hall  was  situated  in  the  centre  of  the  western  side.  It 
was  of-an  oblong  form,  measuring  44  feet  in  length  from  north  to 
south,  and  22  in  breadth  from  east  to  west.  The  walls,  though  they 
were  but  14  feet  in  height,  and  exceeded  a  yard  in  thickness,  were 
strengthened  by  large  projecting  buttresses  on  each  side,  to  support 
the  enormous  weight  of  the  roof,  which  was  of  an  equilateral  shape, 
and  covered  with  tiles.  The  principal  entrance,  which  was  at  the 
north  end  of  the  east' side,  is  now  erected  in  the  porch  of  Wytham 
Church,  and  is  composed  of  a  pointed  arch  enclosed  iri  a  square 
architrave,  and  bounded  by  a  sub-architrave.  Opposite  to  this  was 
another  doorway,  of  very  rude  workmanship,  communicating  with 
the  offices  behind,  and  over  which  was  the  date  1571  carved  between 
the  initials  of  Forster's  name.  There  were  two  windows  on  each 
side,  for  the  reception  of  which  the  walls  in  those  parts  were  carried 
up  a  considerable  height  above  the  springing  of  the  roof,  and  ter- 
minated with  pedimental  heads  surmounted  by  cross  capstones. 
The  windows  were  bounded  by  pointed  architraves,  and  enclosed 
by  sub-architraves  springing  from  corbels  representing  human  heads ; 
they  were  each  divided  by  a  mullion  into  two  lights,  subdivided  by 
a  small  transom,  the  upper  divisions  being  ornamented  with  trefoil 
or  cinquefoil  arched  heads.  The  tracery  was  fanciful  and  elegant; 
but  as  verbal  descriptions  are  utterly  inadequate  to  convey  an  idea 
of  such  intricate  yet  beautiful  forms,  three  of  the  most  curious  of 
the  windows,  as  they  are  re-erected  in  Wytham  Church,*  are  accu- 
rately represented  from  actual  admeasurement  in  the  accompanying 

*  The  sedulous  attention  which  the  Earl  of  Abingdon  has  bestowed,  to  preserve 
every  fragment  of  ancient  art,  whether  curious  or  beautiful,  deserves  the  loudest 
applause.  How  different  has  been  the  feeling  which  he  has  displayed,  to  that 
which  is  generally  manifested,  when  an  old  mansion  is  consigned  to  destruction. 
Not  a  member  of  this  building,  which  could  be  preserved  entire,  remains  unappro- 
priated, but  every  portion  has  been  attributed  to  some  building  with  the  most 
exact  judgment.  The  harmony  and  propriety  with  which  such  various  parts  have 
been  arranged  in  Wytham  Church,  furnish  a  singular  proof  of  his  lordship's  archi- 
tectural skill  ;  and  the  ancient  disposition  and  character  of  our  Ecclesiastical 
Architecture,  are  unquestionably  better  preserved  there,  than  in  any  other  fabric  of 
recent  origin,  erected  in  the  same  style,  that  has  fallen  beneath  my  inspection. 
The  windows,  which,  whilst  they  remained  at  Cumner,  were  rapidly  advancing  to 
utter  ruin,  derive  new  strength  and  beauty  from  their  appropriation  ;  and,  no 
longer  exposed  to  the  brutal  wantonness  of  the  vulgar,  may  furnish  for  ages  de- 
lightful subjects  for  the  contemplation  of  the  architectural  antiquary. 


Cumner.  129 

plate  (see  Plate  I.).  Each  of  these  win  lows  was  formerly  filled  with- 
painted  glass,  and  many  curious  fragments  remained  even  after  the 
hall  was  converted  into  a  granary ;  but  through  the  mischievous 
sport  of  the  village  children  in  throwing  stones  at  them,  not  a  vestige 
was  left  at  the  period  when  the  hall  was  pulled  down.  Dr.  Buckler 
observes  that  in  the  year  1755  "the  arms  of  the  abbey  were  to  be 
seen  prettily  painted  in  the  remains  of  one  of  the  windows ;  but 
some  careless  hand,  or  the  fingers  of  some  admirers  of  antiquity, 
has  now  (August  17,  1759)  robbed  us  of  them."*  The  roof  was  of 
timber,  and  richly  ornamented ;  it  was  supported  by  immense  arched 
beams  of  wood,  carved  with  bold  and  handsome  mouldings  resting 
on  stone  corbels  sculptured  to  resemble  angels  and  other  figures 
bearing  shields,  some  charged  with  arms,  and  others  quite  plain. 
The  principal  cross-beams  at  their  intersection  were  adorned  with 
bosses,  on  which  were  carved  shields  of  arms  and  flowers ;  the  panels 
of  the  roof  were  ceiled.  So  firmly  were  these  beams  compacted, 
that  they  were  with  the  greatest  difficulty  severed,  and  many  split 
to  pieces  in  wrenching  them  asunder.  At  the  south  end  of  the  hall 
was  a  curious  chimney-piece  of  stone  ;  the  uprights  were  wrought 
into  "channelled  mouldings,"  and  supported  an  entablature,  at  each 

*  It  is  much  to  be  regretted  that,  in  the  present  age,  when  so  general  an  admira- 
tion of  the  works  of  antiquity  is  professed,  the  infamous  practice  of  plundering 
from  ancient  buildings  some  portions  of  their  adornments  is  not  abandoned. 
But,  alas  !  with  what  sorrow  have  I  frequently  beheld  many  of  the  sublimest 
efforts  of  the  genius  of  our  ancestors  most  wilfully  and  grievously  mutilated,  to 
furnish  the  cabinets  of  some  of  these  admirers.  It  is  not  merely  the  rude,  un- 
lettered peasantry  that  defaces  the  venerable  monuments  of  the  piety  and  genius 
of  our  forefathers,  but  likewise  those,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  who  are  ever  raising  an 
outcry  against  innovation,  and  perpetually  boasting  of  their  vigilance  in  preserving 
our  architectural  antiquities  from  the  "unfeeling  hand."  It  is  these  persons,  thus 
screened  from  suspicion  for  a  time,  who  have  done  the  greatest  mischief,  and 
who,  had  they  been  unchecked,  would  have  ruined  all  our  finest  monuments  of 
art  ;  but  at  length  detected,  I  trust  they  will  extend  the  deplorable  devastation 
hitherto  committed  no  further.  I  myself,  Mr.  Urban,  knew  a  person  famed  for 
his  extensive  knowledge  in  the  antiquities  of  the  middle  ages,  but  now  no  more, 
who  would  indulge  his  splenetic  disposition  towards  his  contemporaries,  and 
abuse  them  for  removing  an  old  wall,  possessing  not  the -slightest  relic  of  an  orna- 
ment that  interfered  with  a  useful,  nay,  a  national  improvement ;  and  yet,  when 
unperceived,  would  pillage  without  hesitation  the  decorations  of  a  tomb  whose 
beauties  were  unrivalled,  although  the  fragments  thus  severed  from  the  maid 
design  were  entirely  useless.  I  had  hoped — nay,  fondly  imagined — that  it  were 
he  alone  who  could  have  acted  so  base  a  part,  but  recent  experience  has  prove't 
my  expectations  to  have  been  ill-founded.  I  have  lately  beheld  a  tomb,  gorgeously 
adorned  with  all  the  ornament  the  pointed  style  of  archuectuie  could  bestow, 
reduced  to  a  lamentable  state  of  ruin  (as  I  am  informed)  through  some  affected 
admirers  of  ancient  art,  who  removed  a  portion  which  age  had  loosened,  and 
thus  yielded  a  greater  hold  for  the  corroding  tooth  of  time  to  effect  a  wider 
devastation.  If  reflection  could  at  all  point  out  to  their  view  the  inconsistency  of 
their  conduct,  and  the  irreparable  mischief  they  are  likely  to  become  the  authors 
of,  I  think  they  would  desist  ;  but  if  the  evil  be  not  speedily  removed,  it  will 
call  loudly  for  the  imperative  injunctions  of  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  preserve  our 
ecclesiastical  buildings  from  mutilation,  and  their  ornaments  from  destruction. 
VOL.  XII.  9 


1 30  Berkshire. 

end  of  which  was  a  shield,  one  of  them  being  charged  with  the  arms 
of  the  abbey  of  Abingdon,  but  the  other  was  quite  plain  ;  the  centre 
contained  the  letters  j.  H.  s.  embossed  in  a  curious  cypher,  and 
the  intermediate  spaces  were  divided  into  square  panels  ornamented 
with  circles  enclosing  quatrefoils. 

At  the  southern  end  of  the  hall  was  a  neat  room,  lighted  by  a 
square  window,  separated  into  two  divisions,  each  terminated  by  a 
cinquefoil  arched  head.  The  original  entrance  to  it  was  by  a  small 
doorway  of  the  Tudor  fashion,  but  this  was  subsequently  assigned 
solely  to  the  chamber  above,  and  another  doorway  having  a  semi- 
circular arched  head  cut  through  the  solid  wall  instead  of  it.  This 
room,  I  was  informed,  had  been  always  called  the  butler's  pantry, 
though  for  what  reason  I  could  not  ascertain.  Above  was  a  large 
and  handsome  apartment,  having  in  its  eastern  side  an  elegant 
pointed  arched  window,  nearly  resembling  those  of  the  hall.  This, 
having  been  assigned  to  the  Countess  of  Leicester  during  her 
visit  to  Forster,  has  ever  since  been  termed  the  Lady  Dudley's 
Chamber. 

The  southern  side  of  the  quadrangle,  which  abutted  upon  the 
pleasure-garden,  is  reported  to  have  contained  those  apartments 
which  were  most  elegantly  finished;  but  previously  to  the  remem- 
brance of  the  most  aged  inhabitants  of  the  village  they  had  fallen 
into  complete  decay.  At  the  time  when  the  place  was  pulled  down 
the  shell  of  the  lower  story  alone  remained,  which  contained  a  range 
of  windows  corresponding  in  architectural  feature  with  those  upon 
the  opposite  side.  At  the  western  end  was  a  handsome  doorway, 
which  communicated  with  the  garden,  of  similar  dimensions,  though 
richer  in  its  execution  than  that  which  led  into  the  hall.  At  the 
south-eastern  angle  was  situated  the  chapel,  which  remained  much 
more  perfect  than  the  other  buildings  upon  this  side.  It  measured 
in  length  about  22  feet,  and  15  in  breadth.  The  eastern  end  some- 
what resembled  the  eastern  termination  of  the  long  gallery;  the 
windows  upon  the  south  side  were  small,  but  bounded  by  pointed 
architraves ;  and  the  north  side  was  attached  to  the  buildings  which 
formed  the  eastern  side  of  the  quadrangle.  The  entrance  was 
formed  by  a  plain  pointed  arch  at  the  south-east  corner  of  the  build- 
ings. The  roof  of  the  interior  was  finely  timbered,  the  beams 
reposing  upon  corbels  grotesquely  carved,  respecting  which  many 
popular  tales  had  been  circulated  to  alarm  the  timorous,  but  the 
whole  of  the  paving  and  seats  had  been  removed  before  this  portion 
of  the  building  had  been  assigned  to  unhallowed  purposes. 

The  eastern  side  of  the  quadrangle,  which  formed  the  western 
boundary  of  the  churchyard,  was  composed  of  buildings  of  a  more 
ordinary  character.  In  the  centre  was  a  small  archway  (represented 
in  the  plate  of  Cumner  Church,  together  with  a  chimney-piece,  on 
the  entablature  of  which  is  a  series  of  quatrefoils  rudely  indented, 


Ciimncr.  1 3 1 

wrought  up  in  the  wall),  through  which  a  communication  was  main- 
tained between  the  place  and  the  churchyard.  The  lower  story  of 
this  range  contained  two  rooms  on  each  side  the  gateway,  and  the 
upper  was  divided  into  five  apartments.  Beneath  this  and  the 
northern  side  of  the  quadrangle  was  an  extensive  range  of  cellars, 
but  in  what  part  the  entrance  to  them  was  situated  does  not  now 
appear. 

The  out-buildings  attached  to  this  "monkish  edifice,"  as  it  is 
termed  by  Dr.  Buckler,  are  now  levelled  to  the  foundation,  and  the 
remembrance  of  them  obliterated  from  the  recollection  of  the 
villagers,  excepting  a  large  barn  which  stands  to  the  north-west 
of  the  quadrangle.  This  was  erected  for  the  reception  of  the 
rectorial  tithes,  but  its  present  appropriation  not  demanding  such 
an  extent  as  it  originally  was,  one  side  of  it  has  been  taken  down, 
and  its  breadth  contracted  several  feet.  The  walls  of  the  garden 
have  likewise  been  demolished,  although  the  terrace-walks  yet  retain 
their  elevated  crests.  The  close  at  the  western  end  of  the  buildings 
which  skirts  the  southern  side  of  the  village  is  still  called  the  park, 
and  a  few  clumps  of  trees  that  still  remain  serve  to  render  its  appear- 
ance somewhat  picturesque.  At  the  south-west  corner  of  it  is  a  large 
pond,  which  the  superstitious  villagers  still  point  out  to  the  observa- 
tion of  the  curious  as  being  the  receptacle  of  the  unquiet  spirit  of 
the  murdered  lady,  which  had  ever  haunted  the  buildings  where  she 
suffered  her  calamitous  death,  and  molested  the  repose  of  its  in- 
offensive inmates,  until  it  was  brought  to  obey  the  mandates  of  the 
exorcist,  and  consigned  to  this  watery  bed  until  the  arrival  of  the 
general  day  of  doom. 

[1821,  Part  II.,  pp.  310-312.] 

We  now  come  to  the  church,  the  first  establishment  of  which  is 
involved  in  equal  obscurity  with  the  foundation  of  the  hall.  On 
whatsoever  side  we  turn,  we  find  an  equal  deficiency  of  documents, 
by  which  we  might  determine  the  amiquities  of  this  place  ;  nor  can 
we  refrain  from  condemning  the  oscitancy  of  our  ancestors  in 
omitting  to  collect  such  records  and  traditions  as  might  have  fur- 
nished us  with  a  clue  to  direct  us  in  our  pursuits,  and  have  yielded 
us  a  series  of  incontrovertible  facts,  by  which  the  origin  of  our 
national  antiquities  could  be  deduced.  Still,  the  foundation  of  the 
church  can  alone  be  attributed  to  that  period  at  which  Cumner  was 
rendered  parochial,  but  whether  that  circumstance  was  coeval  with 
the  first  formation  of  the  village'  or  not,  appears  impossible  to  be 
determined.  The  root  of  the  name  of  the  village  is  evidently  to  be 
found  in  the  Celtic  Cwm,  but  as  that  word  was  subsequently  retained 
in  the  vocabulary  of  the  Anglo-Saxons,  no  satisfactory  inference  can 
thence  be  deduced  by  which  we  could  assign  the  village  a  British 
original;  and  though  the  elevated  spot  called  Cumner-hursr,  from 

'9  2 


132  Berkshire. 

its  shape  and  situation  might  appear  to  be  such  a  position  as  the 
Britons  would  select  for  one  of  their  hill  fortresses,  yet  not  a  single 
vestige  of  a  foss  or  vallum  can  be  discerned  upon  it,  even  when 
explored  with  the  strictest  scrutiny.  The  village,  however,  by  those 
records  which  I  have  cited  in  the  commencement  of  this  paper,  is 
decisively  proved  to  be  of  considerable  antiquity,  and  one  particular 
may  lead  us  to  imagine  that  the  parish  itself  may  boast  of  an  extent 
at  least  coeval,  if  not  superior,  to  the  date  of  the  earliest  of  these 
documents.  The  original  extent  of  the  parish  was  very  great ;  it  not 
only  included  the  two  Hinxeys  and  Wooten,  together  with  the 
chapelry  of  Seckworth  within  its  boundaries,  but  also  the  present 
parish  of  Cassenton,  situated  on  the  Oxfordshire  side  of  the  river,  now 
termed  the  Isis,  but  invariably  denominated  by  every  ancient  author 
the  Thames.  .  .  .  Bede  observes  that  when  Birinus,  the  first  Bishop 
of  Dorchester,  was  completely  established  in  his  new  diocese,  he 
erected  and  consecrated  many  churches  therein  ;  that  the  parish 
church  at  Cumner  was  one  of  these  I  dare  not  positively  affirm  ;  but 
its  proximity  to  the  episcopal  seat,  and  the  circumstances  which 
serve  to  show  that  the  parish  could  not  have  been  laid  out  at  any  other 
period  than  during  the  authority  of  the  West  Saxon  Sovereigns  and 
West  Saxon  Bishops,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  are  strong  arguments 
to  urge  in  support  of  the  idea,  which,  could  it  be  substantiated,  would 
prove  the  building  of  Cumner  Church  to  have  taken  place  between 
A.D.  636  and  650. 

[1821,  Part  //.,//.  403-405.] 

The  church  is  situated  to  the  east  of  the  site  of  the  Place  ;  and, 
owing  to  a  sudden  rise  of  the  ground,  is  elevated  several  feet  above 
the  road,  and  the  area  of  the  quadrangle.  It  is  not  remarkable  for 
extent,  nor  does  it  display  any  of  those  architectural  enrichments 
which  render  some  of  our  village  churches  subjects  of  popular 
notoriety  ;  yet  it  is  nevertheless  deserving  of  notice,  inasmuch  as 
"  it  is  reckoned,"  says  Dr.  Buckler,  "  the  handsomest  parish  church 
in  this  neighbourhood."  Though  its  primitive  form,  by  repeated 
innovations,  has  been  greatly  changed,  it  still  retains  some  portions 
characteristic  of  remote  antiquity,  which  may,  in  some  degree,  enable 
us  to  ascertain  its  pristine  character,  from  which  the  period  of  its 
erection  may  be  deduced.  In  its  present  state  it  displays  in  its 
ground  plan  a  nave,  having  an  aisle  on  the  north  side,  with  a  chapel 
projecting  from  the  eastern  end  of  the  south  side,  a  square  tower  at 
the  western,  and  a  chancel  at  the  eastern  end.  Mr.  Lysons,  and 
subsequent  writers,  have  regarded  the  chapel  as  a  south  transept,  but 
their  opinion  is  certainly  erroneous,  as  this  portion  of  the  fabric  is 
evidently  extraneous,  and  was  not  comprehended  in  the  original 
design. 

The  parish  churches  which  lay  claim  to  the  most  antiquity  are 


Cumner.  133 

those  small,  massive  buildings,  which  have  no  visible  distinction  in 
the  masonry  to  separate  the  chancel  from  the  nave,  and  terminate 
at  the  eastern  end  in  a  semicircular  form.  A  few  of  this  description 
are  still  remaining,  scattered  through  various  parts  of  England  and 
Wales.  To  these  succeeded  those  of  an  oblong  form,  called  by  Dr. 
Stukeley  "four  square"  (from  their  length  being  generally  found  to 
be  four  times  their  breadth),  having  a  tower  supported  by  semii- 
circular  arches,  situated  between  the  nave  and  chancel.  In  subse- 
quent periods  these  were  a^ain  enlarged,  and,  in  imitation  of  the 
conventual  churches,  were  furnished  with  a  cross  aisle,  or  transept  ; 
but,  ultimately,  the  transept  was  abandoned,  and  churches  of  this 
form  entirely  superseded  by  those  composed  of  a  nave,  with  lateral 
aisles,  a  chancel,  and  a  square  tower  at  the  western  end.  This  con- 
tinued for  ages  the  radical  form  of  our  parochial  churches,  and 
though  the  size  and  decoration  depended  upon  the  extent  of  th« 
parish,  and  the  zeal  and  opulence  of  the  inhabitants,  yet  the  dis- 
position of  the  pile  was  seldom  varied,  unless  it  was  connected  with 
some  religious  establishment,  or  monumental  chapels  were  erected 
for  the  reception  of  the  relics  of  such  illustrious  families  as  resided 
within  the  district  to  which  the  church  was  attached. 

It  was  soon  after  the  adoption  of  this  latter  style  that  the  church 
at  Cumner  was  erected,  and  just  preceding  the  period  when  the 
semicircular  arch  was  superseded  by  the  lofty  pointed.  The  rudely- 
sculptured  corbels,  upon  which  the  beams  supporting  the  roof  of  the 
side-aisles  rest,  may  seem,  from  the  barbarity  of  their  execution,  to 
claim  for  themselves  a  superior  antiquity ;  but,  seeing  that  the  style 
of  workmanship  cannot  furnish  a  criterion  sufficiently  certain,  by 
which  the  period  of  its  execution  can  with  accuracy  be  determined, 
it  is  better  to  adhere  to  conclusions,  which  may  be  deduced  from  the 
general  and  characteristic  features  of  the  architecture,  whence  we 
may  infer  that  the  most  ancient  portions  of  the  present  church  were 
erected  towards  the  close  of  the  twelfth  century. 

The  tower  has  suffered  but  little  from  the  effects  of  innovation ;  it 
is  of  square  form,  and  evidently  coeval  with  the  oldest  portions  of 
the  building.  It  measures,  externally,  nearly  20  feet  in  length  upon 
each  side,  and  the  walls,  at  the  base,  are  nearly  4  feet  in  thickness. 
It  is  built  of  boulder  stones,  but  quoined  with  ashlar,  and  at  present 
is  covered  with  a  thick  coating  of  rough  cast.  It  is  divided  by 
bands,  carried  along  each  side,  into  three  stories,  at  each  of  which 
there  is  a  slight  diminution  in  the  thickness  of  the  walls.  At  each 
extremity  of  the  western  front  it  was  strengthened  by  a  slightly-pro- 
jecting pilaster ;  that  to  the  north  still  remains,  but  the  southern  one 
is  superseded  by  an  angular  buttress  ;  at  the  eastern  ends  of  the 
north  and  south  sides  it  is  flanked  by  two  large  piers,  projecting 
2  feet  6  inches  from  the  wall ;  but  these  are  carried  up  no  higher, 
than  the  band,  which  terminates  the  first  story. 


1 34  Berkshire. 

The  entrance  to  the  tower  is  by  a  semicircular  arched  doorway, 
each  side  of  which  is  adorned  by  a  slender  circular  pillar,  without 
bases,  resting  on  plinths  raised  about  a  foot  above  the  ground,  and 
having  toliated  capitals  of  rude  workmanship.  These  support  an 
arch  of  a  semicircular  form,  on  the  edge  of  which  is  wrought  a  plain 
circular  moulding.  The  shaft  on  the  southern  side  is  perfectly  plain, 
but  that  on  the  north  was  intended  to  have  been  carved  in  a  spiral 
form,  although  the  mason  only  wrought  it  half-way  up,  and  even  the 
grooves  in  the  lower  portion  are  at  present  nearly  obliterated. 

Immediately  above  this  doorway  is  a  small  window  having  a 
pointed  arched  head,  which  is  bounded  by  an  architrave,  whose 
extremities  are  carved  to  resemble  snakes'  heads.  The  upper 
division  of  the  tower  is  lighted  by  seven  windows,  two  upon  each 
face,  except  the  south,  which  contains  but  one,  and  that  placed  in 
the  centre ;  they  are  of  the  lancet  form,  and  are  bounded  by  archi- 
traves, composed  of  circular  mouldings,  which  spring  from  the  band 
separating  the  second  and  third  stories.  Level  with  the  springing  of 
the  arched  heads  of  these  windows  is  a  circular  moulding,  which  is 
continued  in  the  intervals  of  the  windows,  along  each  side  of  the 
tower,  and  being  continued  over  the  heads  of  the  windows,  forms  a 
sub-architrave  to  them.  This  division  of  the  tower  is  terminated  by 
a  block  cornice,  upon  which  is  erected  a  lofty  and  embattled  parapet 
(erected  subsequently  to  the  lower  portion),  which  contains  two  em- 
brasures on  each  side.  At  the  north-west  angle  is  fixed  a  copper  rod 
supporting  a  vane  resembling  a  cock. 

The  interior  of  the  tower  was  originally  intended  to  communicate 
with  the  nave  by  a  lofty,  pointed  arch,  enriched  with  bold  mouldings 
springing  from  three  pillars  of  a  circular  form  on  each  side.  The 
bases  of  these  are  at  present  concealed  by  the  pewing  of  the  nave, 
and  the  capitals,  which  are  globated,  have  been  greatly  injured  in 
fitting  up  a  gallery  that  extends  across  the  arch.  The  western 
entrance  is  now  disused  by  the  congregation,  except  the  choral  band, 
who  frequent  the  gallery.  Just  above  the  arch  of  entrance  the 
tower  is  floored,  for  the  convenience  of  ithe  ringers,  who  found  the 
great  altitude  of  the  bell-chamber  from  the  ground  occasioned  an 
oscillation  ot  the  rope,  producing  an  irregularity  in  their  perform- 
ances ;  this  stage  is  lighted  by  the  small  window  previously  described. 
The  second  story  of  the  tower  is  occupied  by  the  clock,  the  face  of 
which  was  placed  on  the  southern  side,  fronting  the  road,  in  the 
year  1812.  This  chamber  is  extremely  dark,  and  the  floor  much 
decayed.  The  ascent  thus  far  is  by  a  circular  newel  staircase, 
erected  in  the  south-eastern  corner  of  the  tower,  A.D.  1685.  It  is 
constructed  of  wood,  and  defended  on  the  outer  side  by  balustrades 
and  handrails.  From  this  room  we  ascend  by  a  ladder  to  the  bell- 
loft,  in  which  are  six  bells,  hung  in  substantial  wooden  frames,  which 
were  made,  as  appears  by  a  date  carved  on  one  of  the  beams, 


Cumner.  135 

A.D.  1607,  besides  a  prayer-bell,  hung  in  the  western  window  of  the 
northern  side.  Each  bell,  on  a  rim  around  the  upper  part,  contains 
an  inscription  as  follows  : 

On  the  1st  bell,  Henri  Knight  made  me,  Anno  1717,  T.  B.  I.  C. 
On  the  2nd  bell,  William  Perry,  George  Godfrey,  1666. 

1  On  the  3rd  bell,  H.  K.,  1621,  Edward  Cook,  Henry  Taylor,  churchwardens. 
On  the  4th  bell,  Henry  Knight  made  me,  1620. 
On  the  5th  bell,  Let  your  hope  be  in  the  Lord,  1623,  E.  K. 
On  the  6th  bell,  God  prosper  the  Church  of  England,  1 700,  Abra.  Rudhall. 

This  last,  which  is  the  largest  bell,  is  reputed  to  weigh  upwards 
of  two  thousand  pounds.  The  weight  of  the  whole,  indeed,  appears 
to  have  exceeded  what  the  tower  was  intended  to  sustain,  so  that  it 
has  been  obliged  to  be  braced  up  with  iron  rods  on  the  north  and 
south  sides.  On  one  of  the  beams  is  placed  a  ladder,  by  which  is 
the  ascent  to  the  leads,  on  which  is  this  inscription  : 

"  WILLIAM   SELWOOD,   KEARNEY   GODFREY,   CHURCHWARDENS  ; 
JOHN    KING,    PLUMBER,   1796;" 

and  from  which  the  rain-water  is  discharged  through  the  mouths  of 
two  grotesque  figures,  projecting  from  the  north  and  south  sides  of 
the  block  cornice  before  described.  From  hence  we  gain  a  most 
delightful  prospect  on  all  sides,  except  the  east,  where  it  is  inter- 
cepted by  the  superior  elevation  of  Cumner-hurst.  The  view 
extends  over  a  great  portion  of  the  counties  of  Bucks,  Gloucester- 
shire, and  Oxford,  a  tract  in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation,  richly 
studded  with  copses,  and  agreeably  diversified  with  hedge-row 
timber. 

[1821,  Part  //.,//.  489,  490.] 

The  aisle  of  the  church  of  Cumner  is  constructed  of  similar 
materials  and  in  a  similar  manner  to  the  tower,  though  the  doorway 
and  windows  appear  to  have  been  substituted  for  others  of  a  more 
ancient  form.  The  entrance  is  formed  by  a  plain  pointed  arch, 
before  which  is  a  large  wooden  porch  constructed  in  the  Doric  style. 
The  windows  are  uniform,  and  three  in  number,  one  of  which  is  in- 
serted in  the  western  end ;  the  others  are  disposed  on  each  side  the 
doorway.  They  are  severally  divided  into  two  trefoil-arched  lights  by 
a  central  mullion,  and  ornamented  with  a  quatrefoil,  and  lateral 
tracery  in  the  head  of  the  outer  frame.  The  parapet  is  plain,  and 
assumes  a  pedimental  direction  at  eaqh  end. 

The  appearance  of  the  southern  side  of  the  nave  has  undergone 
considerable  alteration  since  its  original  erection.  The  ancient 
windows  have  all  been  closed  up,  and  superseded  by  a  solitary  one 
towards  the  western  extremity,  of  a  very  unpleasing  form.  In  the 
upper  course  of  the  masonry  there  was  inserted  a  series  of  corbels> 
with  their  faces  grotesquely  and  ludicrously  carved,  upon  which  the 
beams  sustaining  the  outward  covering  of  the  roof  reposed  ;  but  these, 


1 36  Berkshire. 

with  the  exception  of  a  few  yet  remaining  near  the  part  where  the 
chapel  projects  from  the  nave,  are  all  cut  away.  The  original  altitude 
of  the  wall  has  been  augmented  with  a  clerestory  having  four  windows 
on  the  north  and  two  on  the  south  side,  all  of  a  square  form.  The 
parapet  is  lofty,  and  enriched  with  a  handsome  moulding  charged  with 
roses  and  divers  other  flowers.  It  is  carried  entirely  along  the  nave, 
except  where  it  is  inierrupted  on  the  south  by  the  intervention  of  the 
chapel ;  but  at  the  east  end  it  takes  a  pedimental  direction,  corre- 
sponding in  outline  with  the  elevation  of  the  roof.  The  apex  of  the 
pediment  was  formerly  surmounted  by  a  neat  stone  cross,  now 
extremely  mutilated  ;  and  the  angles  were  adorned  with  pinnacles, 
but  the  bases  are  the  only  indications  of  these  which  at  present 
remain. 

The  chapel  projects  about  20  feet  in  length  from  the  eastern 
part  of  the  nave.  It  is  lighted  by  three  windows,  each  varied  in  its 
form  and  dimensions  from  the  other.  That  on  the  west  side  is  of  a 
very  singular  character,  and,  with  one  in  the  neighbouring  church  of 
Ferry  Hinksey,  which  has  been  accurately  represented  to  illustrate  an 
article  in  vol.  Ixxxvii.,  part  i,  p.  393  [see  fast,  p.  157],  comprises  the 
only  specimens  of  this  species  that  I  am  acquainted  with.  The 
summit  of  the  outer  frame  terminates  in  a  pedimental  form.  It  is 
divided  into  three  dayes,  the  heads  of  which  are  described  by  lines 
drawn  parallel  to  the  outer  frame,  from  the  extremity  to  the  mullions, 
and  adorned  with  trefoil  tracery  ;  and  by  the  intersection  of  these 
mouldings  the  pedimental  head  is  divided  into  three  lozenge-shaped 
compartments,  each  pierced  in  a  quatrefcil  form.  The  window  at  the 
southern  end  is  large  and  handsome,  precisely  according  with  that  at 
the  eastern  end  of  the  chancel ;  but  at  present  it  is  much  dilapidated, 
a  portion  of  the  tracery  and  outer  arch  having  been  destroyed.  It  is 
divided  into  three  ogee  arched  headed  lights,  from  the  apices  of  which 
two  other  arches  of  corresponding  shape  arise,  which  again  sustain  a 
third  course,  thus  dividing  the  outer  arch  into  three  larger  and  four 
smaller  compartments,  respectively  adorned  with  quatrefoil  and  trefoil 
tracery.  The  eastern  window  is  of  a  similar  disposition  with  those  of 
the  aisle.  The  south  wall  is  carried  up  in  a  pedimental  direction,  and 
is  surmounted  by  a  large  square  stone  carved  with  trefoil  heads,  upon 
which  was  originally  an  ornamental  stone  cross.  The  east  end  of  the 
chancel  corresponds  with  the  south  end  of  the  chapel,  excepting  that 
it  is  bounded  by  two  small  piers,  whilst  the  chapel  is  flanked  by 
angular  buttresses.  There  are  two  windows  on  the  southern  side, 
each  divided  into  two  lights,  with  a  quatrefoil  occupying  the  head  of 
the  outer  arch.  On  the  north  side  there  is  but  one  small  window,  of 
the  lance  form,  placed  near  the  western  extremity.  The  entrance  is 
formed  by  a  plain  pointed  arch  ;  it  is  of  very  contracted  dimensions, 
and  abuts  upon  the  window. 

The  soil  of  the  churchyard  being  considerably  higher  than  the  pave- 


Cutnner.  137 

ment  of  the  chancel,  occasions  a  descent  of  several  steps  into  the  in- 
terior, which  is  rather  spacious,  and  of  an  interesting  appearance.  It 
is  connected  with  the  nave  by  a  lofty  pointed  arch  resting  on  sculp- 
tured corbels,  beneath  which  one  of  the  former  Earls  of  Abingdon 
caused  a  screen  of  wood  to  be  erected,  which  was  recently  removed, 
agreeably  to  the  suggestions  of  the  present  vicar,  who  justly  regarded 
the  style  in  which  it  was  composed  incongruous  with  the  architecture 
of  the  church  itself.  Along  each  side  is  an  ancient  desk,  the  ends  of 
which  are  decorated  with  fleurs-de-lis,  etc.,  and  one  is  adorned  with 
shields  charged  Avith  the  implements  of  our  Saviour's  passion.  The 
space  enclosed  by  the  altar-rails  is  elevated  considerably  above  the 
floor  of  the  chancel,  and  contains  three  ancient  monuments,  two  of 
which  are  composed  of  slabs  inlaid  with  brasses  ;  the  other  is  a  rich 
altar-tomb  to  the  memory  of  Anthony  Forster,  placed  against  the 
north  wall.  The  brass  which  lies  northward  represents  a  male  and 
female  figure  clad  in  the  customary  dresses  of  the  times,  with  their 
hands  closed  in  the  attitude  of  prayer.  At  their  feet  was  a  long  plate 
containing  an  inscription,  now  removed  ;  but  between  the  figures,  on 
a  small  square  plate,  is  this  inscription  : 

Dcbjrtht  cStimerioone,  baftcr  io  Itlcjjimalti  S^gllgams  at  jCorMb  in  the 
•ccxtntjjc  of  gatk,  *axntgtr. 

A  small  plate  on  the  left  hand,  though  nearly  effaced,  contains  the 
following  arms  :  A  chevron  between  three  water-hougets  impaling  the 
arms  of  Williams,  described  beneath.  The  other  brass  represents  a 
woman  with  a  shield  of  arms  on  the  one  side,  and  two  little  boys  on 
the  other  ;  and  on  an  oblong  plate  beneath  them  this  inscription  : 

"Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Katherin,  sometyme  the  wyffe  of  Henry  Staverton, 
Gent,  in  the  countie  of  Bark,  esquier,  who  dyed  a  good  Christian,  the  22°  daye  of 
Dec.  [in  the  year*]  of  our  Lord  God  1557." 

Arms  quarterly,  first  and  fourth,  two  organ-pipes  in  saltire,  between 
four  crosses  pate  ;  second  and  third,  within  a  bordure  charged  with 
roundells,  a  chevron  ermine  between  three  lions'  heads  erased  ;  a 
chief  barre  nebule,  surmounted  by  a  pale  charged  with  a  pelican. 

[1821,  Part  II.,  pp.  598-601.] 

Against  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel  is  a  rich  altar-tomb  to 
Anthony  Forster,  Esq.,  who  has  been  brought  into  so  much  notice  by 
the  author  of  "  Waverley."  The  tomb  is  elevated  by  a  basement  of 
free-stone,  and  is  composed  of  Purbeck  marble.  The  plinth  is  orna- 
mented with  a  small  arched  trefoil  panel  at  each  extremity,  the  space 
between  which  is  filled  by  a  series  of  circles  enclosing  quatrefoils. 
The  front  of  the  tomb  is  separated  into  three  square  compartments, 
enriched  with  very  elaborate  tracery,  and  the  sides  each  contain  one 

*  The  words  between  brackets  are  wanting  on  the  plate,  but  are  here  inserted 
from  an  ancient  Mb.  volume  of  inscriptions. 


1 38  Berkshire. 

panel  similarly  adorned  ;  the  centre  of  every  compartment  contains  a 
small  brass  plate,  on  which  is  engraven  a  shield  of  arms.  There  are 
several  brass  plates  likewise  inserted  in  the  masonry  at  the  back  of 
the  monument,  the  largest  of  which  represents  an  esquire  clad  in 
complete  armour  (except  his  head-piece,  which  is  deposited  near  his 
feet),  kneeling  at  prayer  on  a  cushion  before  a  faldstool,  on  which  lies 
a  book  open  ;  with  his  wife  and  three  children  in  the  same  attitude, 
habited  in  the  dresses  of  the  Elizabethan  period.  Beneath  these 
figures,  upon  five  other  plates,  some  Latin  verses*  *re  engraved. 

It  is  somewhat  singular  that  no  mention  is  made  in  any  of  these 
inscriptions  of  the  death  of  Forster  or  his  wife ;  nor  is  there  any 
parochial  record  existing  to  prove  that  he  died  at  Cumner.  Did  he 
die  elsewhere,  and  was  his  monument  erected  during  his  lifetime  ? 

On  brass  plates  over  the  figures  the  following  arms  are  engraved  : 
In  the  centre,  quarterly,  first  and  fourth,  three  huntsmen's  horns 
stringed  ;  second  and  third,  three  phaeons,  their  points  upward  ;  with 
mantling  and  crest,  which  is  a  stag  lodged  and  regardant  gules, 
charged  on  the  side  with  a  martlet  or,  and  pierced  through  the  neck 
with  an  arrow  argent. 

Behind  the  lady  this  coat :  quarterly,  first  and  fourth,  two  organ- 
pipes  in  saltire,  between  four  crosses  pate ;  second,  a  raven  ;  third 
(within  a  bordure  charged  with  roundells),  a  chevron  ermine  between 
three  lions'  heads  erased  ;  a  chief  barre  nebule',  surmounted  by  a  pale 
charged  with  a  pelican. 

Behind  the  esquire,  the  arms  of  Forster,  impaling  those  of 
Williams. 

The  other  shields  dispersed  over  the  tomb  are  repetitions  of  these 
three. 

At  the  corners  of  the  slab  of  Purbeck  marble  which  covers  this 
tomb  are  placed  four  small  and  ill-proportioned  pillars  of  the  Ionic 
order,  sustaining  a  large  canopy,  the  roof  of  which  is  sculptured  into 
fourteen  circular  panels,  with  quatrtfoil  tracery  disposed  in  two  rows. 
Over  each  pillar  is  a  small  circular  pinnacle,  and  the  front  of  the 
canopy  is  divided  into  two  compartments  by  a  fifth,  which  terminates 
beneath  in  form  of  a  boss,  and  is  charged  with  three  hunters'  horns 
stringed,  carved  in  relief.  The  front  is  ariorned  with  panels  similar 
to  those  which  decorate  the  roof,  and  is  terminated  by  a  neat  foliated 
cornice. 

Near  the  altar-rails  is  a  slab  thus  inscribed  : 

"Joannes  Baker  de  Ecclesdon  in  com.  Sussexise,  Generosus,  obiit  die  8°  Januarit 
1672." 

Arms,  a  fess  engrailed,  between  three  swans'  heads  collared,  and 
erased  at  the  bottom  of  the  neck. 

The  chapel  is  connected  with  the  nave  by  a  plain  but  sulstamial 

*   These  verses  are  printed  in  1821,  Part  I.,  p.  387. 


Cumner.  139 

pointed  arch.  On  each  side  the  eastern  window  is  a  sculptured  corbel 
inserted  in  the  wall,  and  near  the  south  end  a  piscina  of  very  elegant 
workmanship.  Beneath  the  south  window  are  two  stone  coffins 
(represented  in  the  plate  of  doorway,  etc.,  of  Cumner  Hall,  p.  201) 
under  two  arches,  enriched  with  elaborate  though  sadly  dilapidated 
tracery.  The  windows  yet  retain  a  few  inconsiderable  fragments  of 
painted  glass.  Upon  the  west  side  of  the  windows  at  the  south  end 
is  a  neat  mural  monument  with  the  following  inscription  : 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Buckler,  D.D.,  whose  mortal 
part  is  under  this  stone  deposited.  He  was  Vicar  of  this  parish,  Fellow  of  All 
Sculs,  and  Keeper  of  the  Archives  in  the  University  of  Oxford,  to  the  welfare  and 
happiness  of  which  places  he  chiefly  devoted  his  time  and  his  talents — talents 
which  in  all  probability  would  have  advanced  him  to  high  stations,  had  they  been 
less  under  the  influence  of  those  honest  principles  which,  although  they  greatly 
dignify  a  character,  are  not  always  of  use  on  the  road  to  preferment.  In  truth, 
he  preserved  his  integrity  chaste  and  pure.  He  thought  liberally  and  spoke  openly ; 
a  mean  action  was  his  contempt.  The  world  is  not  without  proofs  of  his  literary 
abilities.  He  possessed  not  great  revenues,  secular  honours,  or  court  favours  ; 
but  he  enjoyed  blessings  of  a  much  higher  estimation — a  competency,  a  sound 
mind,  a  benevolent  heart,  a  good  conscience,  and  a  faith  unshaken.  He  departed 
this  life  the  24th  of  December,  1780,  aged  64  years." 

Over  the  inscription  is  placed  the  following  shield  of  arms  :  sable, 
on  a  fess  or  three  mullets  argent,  between  three  greyhounds'  heads 
erased  of  the  third. 

Against  the  south  wall  of  the  nave,  near  the  chapel,  is  a  small 
square  brass  plate  inscribed  with 

"  An  Epitaph  upon  ye  death  of  James  Welsh. 

"  The  body  of  James  Welsh  lyeth  buryed  heere, 
Who  left  this  nnrtall  life  at  fovrescore  yeare  ; 
One  thousand  and  six  hundred  twelve  he  dyed, 
And  for  the  poore  did  christianly  prouide, 
Accordynge  to  the  talent  God  had  lent, 
Five  poundes  he  gave,  of  zeale,  and  good  intent  ; 
The  fruite  makes  knowne  the  nature  of  the  tree, 
Good  life  the  Christian,  even  so  was  hee  ; 
Whose  tyme  well  spent  unto  his  soule  did  gaine, 
The  heavenly  rest  where  holy  saynts  remayne. 

"  This  memory  a  lovinge  wife  vnto  her  husband  gave, 
To  shew  her  hart  remembers  him,  though  death  inclose  his  grave, 
The  gilt  he  gave  vnto  the  poore,  she  haih  inlarg'd  the  same, 
With  five  pounds  added  to  his  five  vnto  her  Christian  fame, 
Hath  placed  them  both  to  the  chvrchemen  here  no  wise  to  be  delay 'd, 
But  that  yearely  to  the  poore  of  Comner  be  a  marke  of  silver  pay'd, 
Which  is  the  fvll  appointed  rente  of  the  whole  bequeathed  some, 
And  so  for  ever  shall  remayne,  vntill  the  daye  of  dome. 
In  Comner,  for  the  poore's  reliefe,  Margery  Welsh  doth  will 
The  charge  of  this,  when  is  she  deade,  may  be  performed  still." 

Nearly  adjoining  is  a  neat  mural  monument  of  marble,  ornamented 
with  two  fluted  pilasters  in  the  Doric  style,  thus  inscribed  : 


1  40  Berkshire. 

"Nigh  this  place  lieth  the  bodies  of  Dudson  Bacon,  of  this  parish,  esq.,  and 
Anne,  daughter  of  Thomas  James,  esq.,  of  Serlwell,  in  the  forest  of  Dean,  in 
the  county  of  Gloucester,  his  wife  ;  the  latter  of  which  departed  this  life 
Sept.  9,  A.D.  1711,  aged  57  ;  the  former  Oct.  17,  A.D.  1715,  aged  55." 

Over  the  entablature  are  these  arms  :  argent,  a  fess  gules,  between 
three  buckles  of  the  second  ;  impaling  azure,  on  a  chevron  or  three 
purses  sable,  between  three  lions  passant  gardant  of  the  second. 
Crest,  a  fox  sejant,  the  dexter  paw  elevated. 

Upon  the  same  side,  westward  of  the  window,  is  a  mural  freestone 
monument  inscribed  : 

"  In  memory  of  Norris  Hodson,  shipwright  and  mariner,  born  in  this  town  the 
I4lh  of  June,  1716,  and  died  on  board  of  his  Majesty's  ship  the  Gloucester,  in  the 
squadron  commanded  by  Commodore  Anson,  on  the  I4th  of  June,  1741,  and  was 
buried  in  the  great  South  Sea,  in  hope  of  a  joyful  resurrection,  '  when  the  sea 
shall  give  up  her  dead.' 

Our  life  is  ever  on  the  wing, 

And  death  is  ever  nigh  ; 
The  moment  we  begin  to  live, 
We  all  begin  to  die." 

This  monument  was  erected  at  the  sole  expense  of  Mr.  Quainton, 


Arms  :  quarterly,  first  and  fourth,  argent  ;  second  and  third,  gules, 
a  fret  or  ;  over  all  a  fess  azure.  Crest,  a  raven  rising. 

The  roof  is  of  timber,  and  the  panels,  which  are  formed  by  the  in- 
tersection of  the  beams,  are  ceiled.  The  timbers  are  supported  by 
brackets  pierced  with  quatrefoils,  resting  on  corbels  as  rudely  carved 
as  those  which  have  been  previously  noticed  on  the  exterior  of  the 
southern  side. 

The  nave  is  connected  with  the  aisle  by  three  arches  of  the  pointed 
form  resting  on  two  columns,  and  a  pier  at  each  end.  The  pillars 
differ  in  their  shape,  one  being  of  a  circular,  and  the  other  of  an 
octangular  form.  The  piers  are  square,  but  have  a  torus  wrought  out 
at  their  angles  on  the  side  next  the  nave. 

In  the  western  window  of  the  north  side  is  a  curious  little  fragment 
of  painted  glass.  It  represents  a  lady  kneeling  before  a  faldstool,  on 
a  chequered  pavement,  with  her  hands  closed.  A  legend  in  old 
characters  surrounded  this  subject,  which  is  of  a  circular  form  ;  bur, 
through  the  negligence  of  the  glazier,  the  pieces  have  been  so  dis- 
placed as  to  render  the  whole  illegible.  I  am  informed  that  this 
ancient  morceau  is  not  indigenous  to  the  church,  but  that  it  was 
transported  from  the  Hall  to  its  present  situation  by  the  grandfather 
of  the  present  clerk. 

At  the  east  end  of  the  aisle  are  some  old  seats,  the  carvings  at  the 
ends  of  which  are  executed  with  great  spirit.  In  the  east  pier  is  an 
elaborate  piscina,  very  similar  to  that  noticed  in  the  description  of 
the  chapel.  The  beams  of  the  roof  rest  on  large  stone  corbels,  most 
hideously  and  grotesquely  caived.  The  eastern  end  is  raised  one 


Cumner.  1 4 1 

step  above  the  paving  of  the  church,  and  was  appropriated  as  a 
burial-place  for  the  Peacock  family,  in  memory  of  which  the  following 
monuments  have  been  inscribed  : 

Against  the  eastern  wall  a  tablet  of  marble,  with  this  inscription  : 

"  Hie  jacet 
Alicia  Peacock, 

relicta 
Caroli  Peacock, 

quae 
vixdum  viginti  annos  virluata 

compleverat. 

Propter  pietatem  erga  liberos, 

Erga  pauperes  liheralitatem, 

Erga  omnes  benevolentiam, 

lugenda  obiit, 

die  Mali  xxi, 

D'ni,  1715, 

^Etatis  suse  50." 

Arms  :  gules,  a  fess  argent  between  three  plates,  each  charged 
with  a  lozenge  sable ;  impaling,  vert,  on  a  chevron  or  five  mullets 
sable,  between  three  griffins'  heads  erased  of  the  second. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  pier  is  a  neat  mural  monument,  thus  in- 
scribed : 

"  Near  this  place  lies  interred  the  body  of  Whorwood  Peacock,  gentleman,  who 
departed  this  life  August  n,  1759,  aged  72,  in  humble  hope  of  a  joyfull  resurrec- 
tion through  the  merits  of  his  dear  Saviour.  He  was  a  sincere  friend  and  good 
Christian,  which  make  him  much  lamented.  To  whose  memory  this  monument 
is  erected,  by  his  only  surviving  sister  Mrs.  Mary  Peacock.  Here  also  lieth  the 
body  of  Dean  Peacock,. gent.,  and  of  Mary  Peacock,  the  sister  of  Dean  and 
Whorwood  Peacock.  She  departed  this  life  Nov.  30,  1761,  aged  69  years.  And 
from  her  affectionate  regard  to  this  place  of  her  birth  and  family,  bequeathed  the 
Vicar  and  Churchwardens  the  sum  of  five  hundred  pounds  in  trust,  to  distribute 
the  yearly  interest  thereof  to  a  schoolmaster  and  schoolmistress,  and  three  poor 
old  maidens  or  widows,  in  the  manner  and  proportions  particularly  mentioned  in 
her  will.  May  the  objects  of  her  charity  always  show  their  gratitude  to  her 
memory  by  their  thankfulness  to  God,  and  a  proper  use  of  her  bounty  to  them  !" 

Arms :  gules,  a  fess  argent  between  three  plates,  each  charged  with 
a  lozenge  sable. 

On  an  upright  freestone  : 

"Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Francis,  the  daughter  of  Charles  Peacock,  and  Alice 
his  wife,  who  departed  this  life  March  the  I2th,  an.  Dom.  1688-9,  aged  II 
months. 

Thrice  happy  child,  for  surely  she 

Was  borne  on  purpose  for  to  be 

Translated  to  eternitie." 

In  the  churchyard  is  the  basis  of  an  old  stone  cross,  and  the 
memorial  of  an  old  shepherd  who  attained  the  age  of  107  years. 

Near  the  church  is  the  schoolhouse,  which  was  erected  with 
materials  obtained  from  the  Place.  The  school  is  supported  chiefly 


142  Berkshire. 

by  the  legacy  of  Mrs.  Peacock,  and  the  office  of  pedagogue  is  held  by 
the  parish  clerk. 

The  antiquities  of  Chilswell  and  Dane  Courts  are  too  intricate  for 
me  to  take  them  into  consideration  at  present.  At  the  latter  hamlet 
there  was  anciently  a  mansion-house,  and  a  large  stone  statue  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  which  formerly  adorned  it,  stands  now  in  the 
garden  of  Mr.  Salisbury  Richards,  near  Ferry  Hinksey. 

The  parish  register  is  very  old,  but  contains  no  entry  worthy  of 
particular  notice  ;  and  with  respect  to  the  old  customs  which  formerly 
prevailed  here,  I  refer  your  readers  to  the  account  of  this  parish  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Buckler,  contained  in  the  "  Bibliotheca  Topographica 
Britannica." 

Y. 

[\%2i,Part  I.,p.  389.] 

A  few  particulars  which  I  have  gleaned  of  Cumner  may  be  here 
introduced ;  the  manor  was  subsequently  in  the  possession  of  a  family 
named  Pecock,  of  whom  Richard  Pecock,  Esq.,  compounded  for  his 
estate  in  the  Civil  Wars  at  ^140.  By  the  following  relation  it 
appears  that  Cumner  was  molested  in  those  times,  as  it  might  be 
without  any  wonder  from  its  vicinity  to  the  garrisons  at  Oxford  and 
Abingdon. 

"Thursday,  February  26  (1644-5). 

"To  present  you  with  as  honest  men  as  those  of  Evesham;*  and 
honeste  you  will  not  deeme  them  to  be,  when  you  heare  they  came 
from  Abingdon,  to  a  place  called  Cumner,  in  no  smaller  a  number 
than  500  :  where  their  Chieftanes  view  the  Church,  goe  up  into  the 
Steeple,  and  overlook  the  Country,  as  if  they  meant  to  garrison  there ; 
but  rinding  it  not  answerable  to  their  hopes  and  desires,  they  descend, 
but  are  loath  to  depart  without  leaving  a  marke  of  their  iniquitie  and 
impiety  behind  them  :  some  they  employ  to  take  downe  the  Weather- 
cock (that  might  have  been  left  alone  to  turne  round),  others  to  take 
down  a  Crosse  from  off  an  Isle  of  the  Church  (and  this  you  must  not 
blame  them  for,  they  are  enemies  to  the  Crosse),  others  to  plunder 
the  countrymen's  houses  of  bread,  beare,  and  bacon,  and  whatsoever 
else  was  fit  for  the  sustentation  of  man." — "Mercurius  Academicus," 
p.  100. 

Mr.  Owen,  into  whose  possession  Cumner  came  after  the  dissolu- 
tion, was  also  Lord  of  Godstowe  Manor. 

Yours,  etc.,        J.  M.  L. 

P.S. — Query,  was  Anthony  Forster  related  to  the  family  of  Hanslape 
in  Bucks,  who  bore  the  same  arms  ?  In  their  genealogy  occurs  an 
Anthony  Forster,  Esq.,  who  died  in  1610. 

*  Evesham  was  surprised  by  Sir  William  Wallet's  horse  in  June,  1643. 


Cumner. — Donnington.  1 43 

[1850,  Part  I.,  p.  69.] 

September  29. — During  the  last  few  weeks  the  original  Bear  and 
Ragged  Staff  public-house,  at  Cumner,  has  been  taken  down.  This 
was  the  house  of  which  mention  is  made  by  Sir  Walter  Scott,  in  his 
novel  of  "Kenihvorth,"  where  the  parties  met  who  were  concerned 
in  the  tragical  fate  of  the  Lady  Amy  Dudley. 


Donnington. 

[1797,  Part  L,  p.  185.] 

Inclosed  is  a  view  of  Donnington  Castle,  in  Berkshire  (Plate  I., 
Fig.  i),  drawn  on  the  spot  in  the  year  1782;  which,  if  you  think  it 
is  worthy,  I  should  be  glad  to  see  engraved  in  your  valuable  re- 
pository. Donnington  Castle  is  seated  on  an  eminence,  and  stands 
at  a  small  distance  from  a  village  of  the  same  name  about  a  mile 
from  Newbury,  half  a  mile  from  Speenhamland,  and  near  the  rivulet 
of  Lambourne.  It  appears  by  a  MS.  in  the  Cotton  library  that,  in 
the  reign  of  Edward  II.,  Donnington  Castle  belonged  to  Walter 
Adderbury,  son  and  heir  of  Thomas  Adderbury,  who  gave  the  king 
loos,  for  it;  and,  towards  the  latter  part  of  the  reign  of  Richard  II., 
Sir  Richard  Atterbury,  of  Adderbury,  obtained  a  license  to  rebuild 
it.  From  him  it  descended  to  his  son  Richard,  of  whom  it  was  pur- 
chased by  Sir  Geoffrey  Chaucer.  About  the  year  1397  that  bard,  in 
the  seventy-eighth  year  of  his  age,  retired  to  Donnington  Castle  :  here 
he  spent  the  last  two  or  three  years  of  his  life,  and  died  in  London 
in  1400.  Thomas  Chaucer,  his  son,  succeeded  to  the  castle.  It 
went  with  his  daughter  Alice  to  her  third  husband,  William  de  la 
Pole,  first  earl,  and  afterwards  duke,  of  Suffolk,  who  resided  chiefly 
here  and  at  Ewelm.  At  the  decease  of  this  lord  (who  was  beheaded 
by  the  partizans  of  the  Duke  of  York)  the  castle  came  to  his  son 
John,  and  from  him  descended  to  Edmund  de  la  Pole,  Duke  of 
Suffolk,  the  last  of  that  name,  who,  engaging  in  treasonable  practices 
against  Henry  VII.,  was  executed,  and  his  estates  escheate<l  to  the 
Crown.  Donnington  Castle  remained  under  this  forfeiture  till  the 
thirty-seventh  of  Henry  VIII.,  as  appears  by  an  Act  of  Parliament  then 
passed,  whereby  that  king  was  authorized  to  erect  this  castle,  and 
three  other  places  therein  named,  into  as  many  honours,  and  to 
annex  to  them  such  lands  as  he  should  think  proper.  It  afterwards 
came  into  the  possession  of  Charles  Brandon,  Duke  of  Suffolk, 
probably  by  the  grant  of  Henry  VIII.  In  the  reign  of  James  I. 
Donnington  Castle  belonged  to  the  family  of  Packer;  and,  in  the 
time  of  the  Civil  War  was  owned  by  Mr.  John  Packer,  when  it  was 
fortified  as  a  garrison  for  the  king,  and  the  Government  intrusted  to 
Colonel  Boys.  During  these  troubles  it  was  twice  besieged  ;  once 
on  the  3ist  of  July,  1644,  by  Lieut. -General  Middleton,  who  was 
repulsed  with  the  loss  of  a  great  number  of  men ;  and  again, 


144  Berkshire. 

September  27th,  in  the  same  year,  by  Colonel  Horton,  who  raised  a 
battery  against  it,  and  with  his  shot  demolished  three  of  the  towers 
and  part  of  the  wall.  The  place  was  relieved,  after  a  siege  of  nineteen 
days,  by  King  Charles,  who  rewarded  the  governor  with  the  honour 
of  knighthood.  When  a  period  was  put  to  the  Civil  War,  Mr.  Packer 
pulled  down  the  ruinous  part  of  the  building,  and  with  the  materials 
erected  the  house  standing  under  it.  The  castle,  when  I  was  there, 
belonged  to  Dr.  Hartley,  who  married  an  heiress  of  the  name  of 
Packer.  J.  H.  J. 

Dudcote. 

[1820,  Part  //.,  //.  605,  606.] 

It  was  supposed  by  an  ingenious  antiquary  in  its  neighbourhood 
(Mr.  Matthews,  attorney  at  law,  of  Wallingford),  to  borrow  its  etymo- 
logy from  T/iud,  in  the  Saxon  language,  or  Toad  in  English  ;  he 
having  observed  that  many,  if  not  most,  of  the  villages  in  its  neigh- 
bourhood derive  their  names  from  animals  ;  such  as  Moalesford,  or 
Malesford ;  Starwell,  or  Starewell ;  Stagbourn,  from  Stage,  a  serpent, 
and  a  multitude  of  others. 

The  extent  of  the  village  is  two  miles  and  a  half  in  length,  one 
mile  and  a  quarter  in  breadth,  six  miles  and  a  half  in  circumference, 
and  contains  eleven  hundred  and  sixteen  acres. 

The  number  of  houses  in  it  is  twenty-seven,  which  contain  about 
two  hundred  inhabitants. 

The  manor,  which  holds  a  Court  Baron,  has  frequently  changed 
its  possessors;  it  was  anciently  in  the  hands  of  the  Blounts,  and 
others,  until  it  was  possessed  by  the  Stonor  family,  whose  arms  are 
on  the  north  window  of  the  chancel,  and  thus  blazoned  : 

Azure,  two  bars  dancettee  or,  a  chief  of  the  last.  It  was  an 
Oxfordshire  family  of  considerable  antiquity,  and  remarkable  for  its 
landed  property,  which  at  one  time  reached  from  Watlington  to 
Reading,  in  length  at  least  fifteen  miles  ;  but  the  greatest  part  of  the 
estate  is  now  in  possession  of  the  neighbouring  gentry  by  purchase. 

John  Stonore,  whose  tomb  yet  remains  in  Dorchester  Church,  was 
Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench  in  1330,  vid.  Kennet's  Par. 
Antiq.,  fol.  403,  465,  466,  474.  Thos.  de  Stonore  was  witness  to  a 
grant  of  a  manor,  lands,  etc.,  from  Sir  Robt.  de  Poynynges,  etc.,  to 
Joan,  relict  of  Sir  R.  Camoys,  in  the  year  1416,  vid.  ut  supra,  fol. 
561-677.  In  Wood's  MSS.  at  Oxford,  No.  8465,  may  be  found  the 
pedigree  of  Stonor,  as  collected  and  fairly  transcribed  by  Mr. 
Sheldon,  of  Beoley  (co.  Warwick),  who  was  the  greatest  collector  of 
genealogic  and  heraldic  matter  that  perhaps  ever  lived. 

The  manor  was  sold  free  by  Thos.  Stonor,  Esq.,  in  the  year  1663, 
to  Mr.  White,  who  disposed  of  it  to  Mr.  Richard  Blake,  whose  son 
Henry,  in  the  year  1778,  sold  it  to  John  Baker,  Esq. 

The  church,  which  is  a  strong  Norman  edifice,  was  probably  dedi- 


Dudcote.  145 

cated  to  St.  Michael,  from  the  feast  being  on  the  Sunday  next  after 
Michaelmas. 

The  registry  commences  in  the  year  1562. 

The  living  is  a  rectory,  with  no  appropriation  of  tithes  but  to  the 
incumbent.  Its  antiquity  appears  in  an  extract  from  an  ancient 
valuation  of  the  benefices  in  Berks  (an  old  manuscript,  in  folio,  in 
the  archives  of  the  public  library  at  Oxon),  entitled  "  Liber  Taxa- 
tionum  omnium  beneficiorum  in  Anglia,"  supposed  to  have  been 
compiled  ann.  20  Edw.  I.,  1292.  Decanatus  de  Abendon,  Ecclesia 
de  Dudecote,  15  marcs. 

September  5,  1689,  ist  W.  and  M.,  Robert  Lydall,  citizen  of 
London,  and  fishmonger,  and  Richard  Matthew,  of  Hamsted  Norris, 
in  co.  Berks,  gentleman,  for  the  sum  of  ^430  sold  to  the  Principal 
and  Fellows  of  Brasen  Nose  College  the  perpetual  patronage  and 
advowson  of  Dudcote  after  the  death  of  John  Cawley,  D.D.,  the 
present  incumbent,  and  Rector  of  Henley  in  Oxon. 

£     s.    d. 

In  Lib.  Reg 20     12     6 

Yearly  tenths  ...         ...         ...         ...       2       13 

After  the  death  of  Dr.  Crawley  the  college  presented:  in  1709, 
John  Hyde,  B.D. ;  in  1711,  Henry  Newcome,  M.A. ;  in  1750, 
Thomas  Cawley,  M.A.  ;  in  1768,  Ralph  Nicholson,  M.A. 

In  the  year  1775,  when  the  footway  to  the  church  was  new  laid,  a 
discovery  was  made  in  taking  up  the  old  one,  which  may  not  unuse- 
fully  employ  the  skill  of  an  antiquary.  Two  broad  stones,  which 
filled  up  one  part  of  the  causeway,  were  found,  on  the  reverse,  to 
contain  the  effigy  of  an  abbot  or  bishop,  and  a  close  search  supplied 
the  legs  and  feet  of  the  same,  with  a  pastoral  staff  or  crosier,  the  top 
of  which  was  broken  off",  so  that  it  is  not  an  easy  matter  to  ascertain 
whether  the  subject  of  it  was  a  mitred  abbot  or  otherwise.  In  the 
Supplement  to  Dugdale's  "  Monasticon,"  by  Stevens,  there  is  a 
catalogue  of  the  abbots  of  Dorchester,  the  third  of  which  (to  the 
best  of  my  recollection,  for  I  have  no  opportunity  of  consulting  the 
book),  is  Radulphus  de  Dudecote,"and  in  Browne  Willis's  "  History 
of  Abbeys,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  175,  "  Ralph  de  Dudecote  occurs  abbot.  He 
died  ann.  1294,  and  was  succeeded  by  William  Radford." 

Now,  it  is  not  impossible,  without  incurring  the  censure  of  a  laugh, 
with  which  these  inquiries  are  generally  attended,  to  suppose  that 
the  above  Ralph  of  Dudecote  might  be  interred  in  the  place  of  his 
nativity,  and  his  monument,  long  held  in  veneration,  was  only  re- 
moved when  its  decay  suggested  it,  at  the  time  when  the  church  was 
new  seated,  from  whence  the  materials  of  the  good  abbot's  monu- 
ment mitjht  with  no  great  impropriety  fill  up,  as  far  as  it  went,  the 
church-way.  .  .  . 

The  air  of  it  is  healthy,  and  the  general  longevity  of  its  inhabitants 
no  small  recommendation  in  its  favour. 

VOL.    XII.  10 


146  Berkshire. 

In  1777  was  buried  Joan,  wife  of  Frances  Sayer,  aged  75. 
In  the  same  year  was  buried  Ann  Prater,  aged  93. 
In  1779  was  buried  Jane  Garliok,  aged  83. 
In  1780  was  buried  Francis  Sayer,  aged  77. 
In  1781  was  buried  Wm.  Beezley,  aged  72. 

Englefield. 

[1799,  Part  /.,//.  30,  31.] 

The  following  epitaph  is  copied  from  a  monument  erected  in  the 
parish  church  of  Englefield,  in  the  county  of  Berks,  to  the  memory 
of  three  grandchildren  of  Sir  Nathan  Wrighte,  kniphr,  lord  keeper 
of  the  great  seal  in  the  reigns  of  King  William  and  Queen  Anne. 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of 

FRANCIS  WRIGHTE,  esq. 

who  died  Nov.  i,  1751,  aped  31  ; 

ANNE  WRIGHTE,  who  died  the  3rd  of 

Oct.  1770,  aged  55  years  ; 
and  particularly  of  NATHAN  WRIGHTE,  esq. 
who  died  the  7th  of  June,  1789, 

aged  73  years  ; 
grand-cHliren  of  the  Right  Hon. 

Sir  Nathan  Wrighte,  knt. 

lord  keeper  of  the  great  sea',  and 

great  grand-children,  by  the  mother's  side, 

of  the  most  noble  and  renowned 

John  Fowlett,  Marqviis  of  Winchester. 

Elizabeth,  widow  of  Nathan  Wrighte,  esq. 

hath  erected  this  monument." 

Nathan,  third"  son  of  Sir  Nathan  Wrighte,  entered  into  holy 
orders.  He  left  four  children  by  his  wife  Anne,  sole  daughter  and 
heiress  of  Lord  Francis  Powleit,  of  Englefield  House,  one  of  the 
sons  of  John,  Marquis  of  Winchester,  by  his  second  wife,  Lady 
Honora,  daughter  of  the  Earl  of  Clanrickard.  Po-vlett,  the  eldest 
son  of  the  Rev.  Nathan  Wrighte,  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Richard 
Tyssen,  of  Hackney,  by  whom  he  left  an  only  son,  Powlett,  but  nine 
months  old  at  the  time  of  his  decease.  Anne  and  Francis  died 
unmarried.  Nathan,  upon  the  death  of  his  nephew,  Powlett  Wrigh'e 
the  younger,  July  22,  1779,' succeeded  to  the  estates  at  Englefield, 
etc.  He  married,  fir.et,  Elizabeth  Dowle,  of  Cricklade,  co.  Wilts  ; 
and,  secondly,  Elizabeth  Frewcn,  widow  of  the  Rev.  John  Frewen, 
Rector  of  Tortworth,  co.  Gloucester.  By  the  decease  of  Nathan,! 
June  7,  1789,  without  issue,  the  family  of  Sir  Nathan  Wrighte's 
second  son  became  extinct,  and  the  Englefield  estates  devolved, 

*  George,  the  lord  keeper's  elde«t  son,  was  many  years  clerk  of  the  crown,  and 
died  March  6,  1724-1725  ;  and  William,  the  fifth  son,  was  Recorder  of  Leicester 
1729-1763. 

t  Another  Nathan  \Vrighte  died  December  7,  1793,  aged  tighty-six.  Whose 
son  was  he  ? 


Englefield. — Faringdon.  1 4  7 

according  to  the  direction  of  the  last  Powlett  Wrighte,  to  his  half- 
brother.  Richard  Benyon,  Esq.,  of  Gidea  Hall,  son  of  Governor 
Benyon,  by  Mary,  the  widow  of  the  first  Powlett  Wrighte,  elder 
brother  of  the  persons  to  whom  the  above-mentioned  monument  has 
been  erected. 

A  similar  monument  has  been  erected  by  Mrs.  Wrighte  to  the 
memory  of  her  first  husband,  in  the  church  of  Tortworth,  co. 
Gloucester.  Mr.  Frewen  was  also  the  younger  son  of  a  respectable 
Leicestershire  family,  which  has  taken  the  name  of  Turner,  and  has 
been  seated  at  Cold  Orton,  in  that  county,  and  at  Northiam,  co. 
Sussex.  He  died  1767,  aged  thirty-five,  leaving  Selina,  his  only  child, 
who  married,  1794,  to  the  Rev.  James  Knight  Moor,  under-master 
in  King  Edward  VI.'s  school  at  Sherborne,  co.  Dorset. 

Englefield  House  is  situated  about  a  mile  from  the  west  end  of  the 
village  of  Theale.  Some  of  Mr.  Urban's  correspondents  may,  per- 
haps, be  able  to  say  at  what  period  it  was  erected,  and  whether  it 
was  ever  the  residence  of  the  illustrious  Marquis  of  Winchester,  who 
so  nobly  distinguished  himself  in  the  defence  of  the  royal  cause 
during  the  Civil  Wars. 

S.  M.  D. 

Faringdon. 

[1785,  p.  433-] 

Memorandum,  March  18,  1749,  I  was  at  Faringdon.  The  east 
end  of  the  church  is  very  remarkable  for  its  antiquity  ;  the  windows 
thereof  being  as  old  as  those  of  the  Temple  Church,  and  of  the  same 
form.  On  the  south  side  of  the  altar  is  the  monument  of  the 
founder,  now  unknown.  On  the  north  side  of  the  chancel,  in  an 
ancient  chapel,  are  several  fine  modern  monuments  of  the  family  of 
the  Pyes,  the  present  lords  of  the  Manor  of  Faringdon. 

In  the  middle  of  the  church,  on  the  north  side,  some  ancient 
monuments  of  the  family  of  the  Darnleys,  the  ancient  possessors  of 
this  manor.  The  church  is  in  good  repair.  Part  of  the  steeple 
having  been  destroyed  in  Oliver's  time,  there  only  remains  a  square 
tower,  not  much  higher  than  the  church.  Near  the  church  stands 
Mr.  Pye's  house,  situated  in  a  park,  which  commands  a  fine  prospect 
every  way.  The  house  is  not  yet  finished  :  the  east  front  is  badly 
contrived  ;  and  the  north  front  will  want  a  true  or  an  artificial  window 
to  make  it  regular.  [Also  printed  1815,  Part  II.,  p.  203.] 

A.  C.  DUCAREL. 

[1796,  Part  I.,  p.  13.] 

The  beautiful  spot  called  Faringdon  Hill,  celebrated  in  a  poem  by 
Mr.  Pye,  poet-laureate,  the  late  owner,  being  shortly  to  be  ploughed 
up  and  defaced,  I  send  you  a  drawing  (Plate  II.),  hoping  thereby  to 
preserve  its  appearance  to  future  ages.  Faringdon  Hill,  so  called 
from  the  neighbouring  town,  is  an  eminence  rising  easily  from  the 


148  Berkshire. 

vale  of  White  Horse,  the  whole  of  which  it  commands,  as  well  as 
an  extensive  prospect  over  part  of  Oxfordshire,  Gloucestershire,  and 
Wiltshire.  It  has  a  fine  grove  on  the  top,  which  is  a  noted  land- 
mark, being  seen  at  a  great  distance  every  way. 

Faringdon  is  a  neat  market  town  on  the  great  London  road  from 
Abingdon  and  Oxford,  leading  to  Gloucester  and  South  Wales.  It 
had  formerly  a  castle,  demolished  by  King  Stephen ;  part  of  one  of 
the  buttresses  is  still  remaining.  Here  was  likewise  a  priory,  which 
was  made  a  cell  to  the  abbey  of  Beaulieu,  in  Hampshire,  by  King 
John. 

The  church  is  an  ancient  fabric,  partly  of  Saxon  architecture.  It 
consists  of  a  nave  and  two  side-aisles,  separated  by  round  pillars  and 
semicircular  arches,  a  large  and  lofty  chancel,  and  it  had  a  double 
transept ;  but  one  of  the  south  aisles,  with  the  spire,  and  part  of  the 
tower,  were  beaten  down  by  the  artillery  of  the  Parliamentary  army, 
commanded  by  Colonel  Sir  Robert  Pye,  whose  house,  which  then 
stood  near  it,  was  a  royal  garrison  !  Pieces  of  bomb-shells  and 
cannon-balls  are  frequently  found  in  the  churchyard. 

Here  are  many  ancient  and  curious  monuments,  particularly  one 
for  Thomas  de  Farington,  on  brass  plates,  buried  1394;  and  a 
very  superb  one,  of  alabaster,  for  Sir  Henry  Unton,  of  Wadley,  near 
this  town,  who  challenged  the  bold  Duke  of  Guise  in  Queen 
Elizabeth's  time;  and  some  elegant  modern  ones  for  the  Pye  family. 

The  following  anecdote  was  communicated  by  J.  Geree,  of  New- 
bury,  to  J.  Bradley,  Vicar  of  Faringdon,  October  22,  1773  : 

"  Henry  Umpton,  knighte  (or  Unton,  or  Upton),  was  born  at 
Wariley,  in  Berkshire.  He  was  employed  by  Queen  Elizabeth 
embassador  into  France,  where  he  behaved  himself  right  stoutly  in 
her  behalf,  as  may  appear  by  this  particular.  In  the  month  of 
March,  1592,  being  sensible  of  some  injury  offered  by  the  Duke  of 
Guise  to  the  honour  of  the  Queen  of  England,  he  sent  him  this 
ensuing  challenge  : 

" '  Forasmuch  as  lately  in  the  lodging  of  the  Lord  Du  Magne,  and 
in  publick  elsewhere,  impudently,  indescreetly,  and  over-boldly,  you 
spoke  badly  of  my  soveraign,  whose  sacred  person  here  in  this 
country  I  represent,  to  maintain,  both  by  word  and  weapon,  her 
honour  (which  never  was  called  in  question  among  people  of  honesty 
and  virtue) ;  I  say  you  have  wickedly  lied  in  speaking  so  basely  of 
my  soveraign  ;  and  you  shall  do  nothing  else  but  lie  whensoever  you 
shall  dare  to  tax  her  honour.  Moreover,  that  her  sacred  person 
(being  one  of  the  most  complete  and  virtuous  princesses  that  lives  in 
the  world)  ought  not  to  be  evil  spoken  of  by  the  toungue  of  such  a 
perfidious  traytor  to  her  law  and  country  as  you  are.  And  hereupon 
I  do  defy  you,  and  challenge  your  person  to  mine,  with  such  manner 
of  arms  as  you  shall  like  or  chuse,  be  it  either  on  horseback  or  on 
foot.  Nor  would  I  have  you  to  think  any  inequality  of  person 


Faringdon.  149 

between  us,  I  being  issued  of  as  great  a  race  and  noble  house  every 
way  as  yourself.  So,  assigning  me  an  indifferent  place,  I  will  there 
maintain  my  words,  and  the  lie  which  I  gave  you,  and  which  you 
should  not  endure  if  you  have  any  courage  at  all  in  you.  If  you 
consent  not  to  meet  me  hereupon,  I  will  hold  you,  and  cause  you 
to  be  generally  held,  for  the  arrantest  coward,  and  most  slanderous 
slave,  that  lives  in  all  France.  I  expect  your  answer.' " 

This  Henry  was  son  to  Sir  Edward  Umpton,  by  Anne,  the  eldest 
daughter  of  Edward  Seymour,  Duke  of  Somerset.  Sir  Henry  died 
in  the  French  king's  camp,  whence  his  corpse  was  brought  to 
London,  thence  to  VVadley,  and  buried  at  Faringdon,  in  the  north- 
aisle  of  the  church,  on  July  8,  1596. 

For  want  of  issue  male  a  great  part  of  the  land  belonging  to 
Unton's  family  devolved,  by  an  heir-general,  to  the  Purefoys  of 
Wadley. 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  STONE. 

[1796,  Part  H.,  pp.  1069-1071.] 

The  enclosed  (Plate  II.)  is  taken  from  a  gallery  at.  the  south  end 
of  Unton's  chapel  in  Faringdon  Church.  It  exhibits  seven  different 
monuments,  five  of  which  are  described  by  Mr.  Ashmole  in  his 
"Antiquities  of  Berkshire,"  collected  about  the  middle  of  the  last 
century.  As  some  of  the  inscriptions  are  since  become  illegible,  I 
shall,  without  farther  apology,  give  them  verbatim  from  the  above 
work. 

In  an  aisle  or  chapel  on  the  north  side,  commonly  called  Unton's 
aisle,  under  which  is  a  vault,  where  several  of  the  family  have  been 
interred. 

On  a  marble  gravestone  lying  in  the  middle  of  the  said  aisle,  three 
figures,  in  brass  plates,  of  a  man  armed,  and  two  women  holding  up 
their  hands  in  a  devotional  posture  ;  and  under  their  feet  is  this- 
inscription  : 

"  (Drate  pro  animabtts  ^homc  <dpfarjmbon,  armigcri,  xruonbam  Somtnt 
be  rdfrarnham,  ct  be  JCusteshuJU,  qvu  obiit  secunbo  bie  cdfebr.  anno  Domini 
4!tt<£(C(£J:<2n3I  -ftlargaretc  nxoris  rjua  quc  obtit  secunbo  4^"'  smio 
Domini  jiti (EOT (£<£!£,  ct  glatennc  Jhmcltcpolr,  ffltc  ct  her.  prebtctorum  ^homc 
ft  (ittargarete,  xjue  obtif  xt  bit  jpc'ccmb.  anno  Domini  ^UCCCCCQT^CEIt: 
.quorum  ammabus  propidctur  Jkus. 

"  We  pray  you,  in  the  worship  of  the  Trinity,  for  our  sowles  sey  Pater  and  Ave." 

At  each  corner  of  the  gravestone  were  coats-  of-arms;  but  they  are 
torn  away,  and  were  probably  so  in  Ashmole's  time,  as  he  takes  no 
notice  of  them.  The  inscription  is  somewhat  more  abbreviated  than 
it  is  here  given.  This  monument  appears  on  the  foreground  in  the 
annexed  plate. 

In  the  same  chapel,  under  the  north  window,  is  a  fair  raised  monu- 
ment of  gray  marble,  on  which  is  fastened  a  brass  plate  with  this 
inscription  : 


1 50  Berkshire. 

"  g9m  tmbrr  litih  <Sir  gUrxanba:  Union,  kniflht,  ^arj  anb  IKabj}  CrdJ,  his 
tojifcs,  toh'fh  ^Urxanbrr  bmaerb  Ih*  xbi  baja  of  ^pmmtorr,  1547,  in  ilu  first 
Hear  x>f  mtr  (Sobcraiiu  |Cm'b  ^ing  (Ebtoavb  the  <8ixth.  (Dn  toluis*  souk, 
anb  on  all  Chriet.cn  sotxhs,  Jlu$«  hatot  mmjj.  ^wcn." 

Over  it,  a.  man  kneeling  between  two  women ;  on  each  of  their 
vests  their  coats  of  armour. 

On  the  man's  are  : 

Bl.  on  a  fess  engrailed  or,  a  greyhound  current,  sable,  between 
three  half-lances  with  their  points  upwards,  argent,  Unton  ;  quartering, 
gules,  two  chevrons  argent,  on  the  first  a  point  of  ermine,  a  martlet 
for  difference. 

On  one  woman's  coat : 

Unton,  quartering  Fetiplace,  impaling,  argent,  a  cross  engrailed, 
gules,  between  four  water-bougets ;  quartering,  gules,  billety,  and  a 
fess  or. 

On  the  other  wife's  coat : 

Unton,  quartering  Fetiplace,  impaling  Bulstrode  ;  quartering,  (i) 
ermine,  two  horse-barnacles,  gules,  a  chief  paly,  (2)  on  a  chevron 
gules,  between  three  squirrels,  sable. 

Behind  the  man  are  the  figures  of  seven  sons,  and  behind  one  of 
the  wives  are  three  daughters. 

At  the  corners  : 

Bouchier,  impaling,  gules,  a  bend  between  six  cross  crosslets, 
argent. 

Unton,  impaling  Bouchier. 

Unton,  quartering  Fetiplace. 

The  same  as  the  last  again. 

Under  the  aforesaid  light,  near  the  former,  on  a  raised  alabaster 
monument,  are  the  proportions  of  a  man  and  woman  lying  along, 
holding  up  their  hands  in  a  devout  posture  of  prayer,  and  on  the  verge 
is  this  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  Sir  Thomas  Unton,  knight,  and  dame  Elizabeth  his  wife." 

At  the  bottom  are  these  arms  : 

Unton,  quartering  Feteplace,  impaling,  bl.  three  griffins  rampant, 
argent. 

Unton,  quartering  Feteplace. 

Against  the  east  wall  of  the  said  chapel  is  erected  a  very  fair  arch- 
monument  of  marble,  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  this  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  Sir  Edwnrd  Unton,  knight  of  the  most  roble  order  of  the  Bath, 
who  married  Anne,  countess  of  Warwick,  daughter  to  Edward  Seymer,  duke  of 
Somerset,  and  Protector  of  England,  by  whom  he  had  five  sons,  whereof  three 
died  young  in  the  life  of  their  father ;  two,  namely  Edward  and  Henry,  only 
survived,  and  succeeded  him,  the  one  after  the  other,  in  their  father's  inheritance; 
and  two  daughters,  Anne,  married  to  Sir  Valentine  Knightly,  knight,  and  Scissill, 
married  to  John  Wentworth,  €84." 


Faringdon.  \  5 1 


Over  it  are  these  arms  : 

Union,  impaling  Bulstrode. 

Union,  impaling  Bouchier. 

Union,  quartering  (i)  Feleplace ;  (2)  bl.  Ihree  griffins  rampant, 
argent ;  (3)  gules  on  a  bend  argent,  five  birds  sable  ;  (4)  gules,  a  fess 
between  three  right  hands,  couped  argent;  (5)  the  same  as  the  first, 
impaling  Seymer,  a  pale,  with  lions  and  fleurs-de-lis,  quartering  (i) 
gules,  two  wings,  or;  (2)  verry,  argent,  bl. ;  (3)  argent,  three  demi- 
lions  rampant,  gules ;  (4)  in  bend,  argent  and  gules,  three  roses  in 
bend,  counter-charged  ;  (5)  argent,  on  a  bend  gules,  three  lions' 
faces,  or. 

Oudley,  with  quarterings,  impaling  Seymer,  with  quarterings,  as 
before. 

Seymer,  with  quarterings,  impaling  quarterly quartering 

(i)  vert,  three  greyhounds  current,  or;  (2)  sable,  a  bend  between  six 
cross  crosslets,  argent ;  (3)  argent,  three  saltires  engrailed,  sable,  a 
crescent  in  fess  point. 

Over  it,  in  a  lozenge,  Seymer,  with  quarterings. 

On  one  side,  Union,  impaling,  bl.  a  chevron  between  three 
lozenges,  or. 

On  the  other  side,  Seymer,  impaling  Wenlworlh. 

Over  all,  Union,  with  quarlerings  and  crest. 

At  the  sides  of  the  monument  are  supporters,  a  unicorn  argent, 
and  a  bull  blue,  gorged  with  a  crown  or. 

On  a  lablet  hanging  against  the  west  wall  of  the  same  chapel  is  this 
inscription  : 

"  Virtuti  et  honor!  sacrum.  Henrico  Untono,  equiti  aurato,  Edwardi  Untoni, 
equitis  aurati,  filio,  ex  Anna  comitissa  Warwici,  filia  Edvardi  de  JS'co  Mauro  ducis 
Somersetti,  et  Anglise  Protectoris ;  qui  opti.naium  artium  studiis,  a  prima  astate, 
in  academia  Oxon.  enutritus ;  magnam  orbis  Christian!  partem  perlustravit  ;  ob 
virtutem  bellicam  in  Zutphanioe  obsidione,  dignitate  equesiri  donatus ;  propter 
singularem  prudentiam,  spectatam  fidem,  et  multiplicem  rerum,  iterum  Icgatus 
a  serenissima  Angliae  regina,  ad  Christianissimum  regem  missus  in  Galliam  ;  a 
qua  ad  celcstem  patriam  emigravit  23  die  Martii,  anno  salutis  MDXCVI.  Dorothea 
uxor  charissima,  rilia  charissimi  viri  Thomse  Wjoughten,  ex  equestri  ordine,  qute 
maximo  cum  luctu  corpus  hue  transferendum  curavit,  in  fnutui  amoris  et  con- 
jugalis  fidei  testimoniuin  hoc  monumentum  moeitissima  posuit,  MDCVI." 

In  1658  this  last  stone  was  put  up,  because  the  former  was  pulled 
down  in  the  civil  wars  about  the  year  1643. 

At  the  same  time  the  effigies  of  his  lady,  which  appears  kneeling 
on  the  floor,  is  said  to  have  been  thrown  down  and  mutilated,  which 
before  stood  on  a  pedestal  at  the  foot  of  her  husband's  monument, 
and  must  have  been  there,  or  on  the  pavement,  in  Mr.  Ashmole's 
time,  though  he  makes  no  mention  of  it. 

The  monument  which  remains  to  be  described  is  that  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  the  chapel.  It  is  of  fine  white  marblf,  and  has  the 
following  inscription  : 


152  Berkshire. 

"  Hoc  nomini  sacrum, 

Ilenrici  Purefoy, 

de  Wadley,  in  Bercheria,  baronetti, 
Parentum  haeredis  turn  Gorgii  ibidem 

armigeri, 
turn  Catharines,  2°  genitoe  coheredis 

Henrici  Wilughby, 
de  Risley,  in  Darbiensi  agro,  baronetti ; 

xiui  Augusti,  anno  sera; 

Christianse  MDCLIV.  nati,  xvn  prefati 

mensis  die,  MDCLXXXVI.  denati. 

Juxta  quicquid  ejus  emori  potnit 

erigendum  curavit 
Wilughby  Aston,  Baronetti." 

The  arms  are  supported  by  weeping  youths  in  a  reclining  posture ; 
over  all  are  cherubim's  heads,  encircled  with  clouds ;  and  the  whole 
is  terminated  by  a  handsome  urn. 

In  the  list  of  benefactions,  set  up  against  the  front  of  the  gallery,  is 
the  following  extraordinary  one  : 

"  Sir  Henry  Unton,  knight,  the  26th  of  June,  1591,  leased  for  land  called  the 
Sands,  in  Westbrook,  to  5  inhabitants  of  the  port  of  Faringdon,  in  trust,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  said  port,  in  pursuance  of  the  4  surviving  trustees 
(which  number,  by  subsequent  deeds,  is  enlarged  to  five)  should,  from  time  to 
time,  assign  the  land  to  15  other  inhabitants  of  Port,  to  be  nominated  by  the 
inhabitants  of  Port,  to  these  uses,  viz.  The  rents,  or  so  much  as  should  be  necessary, 
to  be  employed  towards  tasing  the  poor  inhabitants  of  Port  from  taxes  and  pay- 
ments imposed  upon  them  for  houses  inhabited  by  them  in  Port ;  for  reparation 
of  causeways;  payment  of  fifteenths  ;  setting  out  soldiers;  reparation  and  main- 
tenance of  the  port-arms,  and  drummers'  pay ;  for  the  reparation  cf  the  port-well 
and  port -sluices ;  charges  of  buckets  and  fire-hooks  ;  wages  of  marshalls ;  con- 
veying passengers  and  cripples  ;  sending  men  to  gaol  and  house  of  correction  ;  and 
for  relief  of  impotent  and  poor  people,  and  also  from  the  like  taxes  and  payments 
for  public  service?,  so  as  they  might  not  be  thereby  overburthened ;  and  the  overplus 
to  be  kept  for  increase  of  stock  for  the  same  uses  under  more  pressing  occasions  ; 
and,  in  the  mean  time,  such  stock  to  be  lent,  on  good  security  to  some  young 
hopeful  tradesman  in  Port,  and,  if  poor,  to  be  lent  gratis  ;  and,  if  no  such  poor 
tradesman  to  whom  it  may  be  fitly  lent,  then  the  same  to  be  lent  to  others  upon 
good  security  for  some  fit  consideration,  and  the  profit  therefrom  to  be  employed 
in  setting  out  poor  and  friendless  apprentices  to  husbandry  or  honest  trade  ;  and 
the  trustees  to  account  yearly  for  the  rents,  and  the  employment  thereof,  to  the  next 
justices,  and  the  lord  of  the  manor  (if  he  will  be  present),  who  are  to  settle  any 
question  touching  the  performance  of  the  decree,  and,  in  case  of  difficulty,  to 
it-sort  to  the  justices  of  assize  of  Berks,  on  their  circuit,  for  advice." 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  STONE. 

[1800,  Part  I.,  pp.  505,  506.] 

The  enclosed  view  of  Pleydell's  aisle,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
chancel  in  Faringdon  Church,  was  taken  from  the  staircase  leading 
to  the  organ-loft,  through  an  arch  in  the  east  wall  of  the  upper  north 
transept. 

In  the  middle  of  the  floor  is  a  large  marble  gravestone,  on  which 
are  embossed  the  figures  of  a  man  and  woman,  and  under : 


Faringdon.  153 

"  Hie  jacet  TOBIAS  PLEYDELL,  armiger,  et  ELINOR,  uxor  ejus,  qui  quidem 
Tobias  obiit  decimo  octavo  die  Octobris,  anno  Domini  millessimo  quingentesimo 
octogenttsimo  tertio. 

Beati  qui  moriuntur  in  Domino" 
Towards  the  west  end  is  a  gravestone  with  this  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  BARTHOLOMEW  YEATE,  esq.,  who  departed  the  7th  of 
August,  an.  Dom.  1708,  aged  23." 

At  the  head  of  the  stone  the  arms  of  Yeate — viz.,  embattled  per 
fess,  or  and  gules,  between  three  gates  changed. 

On  one  of  the  buttresses  of  the  tower,  which  projects  into  the  aisle, 
is  a  neat  monument  with : 

"  Hanc  juxta  columnam  dorminnt 

reliquiae   LIONELLI  RICH,  generosi ;   qui  obiit  vicesimo  tertio'  die  Decembris, 
1 742,  setatis  40. 

Filius  erat  natu  tertius  Lionelli  Rich,  de  Dodswell,  in  comitatu  Glocestri, 
armigeri  ;  et  uxorem  duxit  Annam,  Henrici  Pye,  armigeri,  filiam,  quse  marmor 
hoc  voluit  extrui. 

Amoris  et  gratitudinis  monumentum." 

The  arms  on  the  top  are  : 

Parted  per  pale,  sable  and  gules,  a  crosslet  fitche  or,  between  four 
fleurs-de-lis  of  the  same,  impaling  Pye,  ermine,  a  bend  of  fusil  gules. 

On  a  slab  of  white  marble  lying  on  the  floor  near  the  north-east 
corner : 

"Here  lies 
Sir  ROBERT  PYE,  knt. 

lord  of  this  manor. 

He  was  esteemed  a  fine  gentleman 

by  all  who  knew  him. 

Here  also  lies 
Dame  ANNE,  his  wife 

daughter  of  the 

famous  Mr.  Hampden. 

They  lived  together  sixty  years 

with  great  reputation  ; 

and  both  died  A.D.  1701. 

His  grandson,  Henry  Pye,  esq. 

laid  this  stone  over  them, 

A.D.  1730." 

Against  the  north  wall,  towards  the  east  end,  is  a  noble  monument 
of  white  marble,  with  columns  of  blue,  in  the  Corinthian  order,  sup- 
porting cherubs  of  alabaster,  one  of  them  holding  a  skull.  Over  the 
centre,  on  variegated  marble,  the  arms  of  Pye  impaling  Curzon — viz., 
argent,  on  a  bend  sable  three  hawks  or,  collared  and  armed  gules  ; 
crest,  a  crosslet  fitch£  gules,  between  two  wings  proper.  Over  all,  an 
urn  adorned  with  festoons  of  flowers. 


154  Berkshire. 


"  His  subtus  jacet 

JANA  PYE, 

uxor  Henrici  Pye, 

de  Faringdon,  in  comitatu  Berch. 

armigeri, 

et  Nathaniel  Curzon, 
de  Kettleston,  in  agro  Derbiensi, 

baronetti, 
filia  natu  secunda ; 

orta  ex  familia 

propter  antiquitatem 

ac  intemeratam  in  ecclesiam  fidem 

pariter  illustri. 

Vixit  tanquam  vitse  coelestis  provida, 
tanquam  ejusdem  secura  obiit ; 
in  Deum,  parentes,  conjugetn, 

semper  pientissima. 

Prima  et  pnepropera  puerperia  immaturfi 
abrepta 

f  salutis  humanse 
die  Martii  1510  annoq.  -!  I7obto, 

\  setatis  suse  23tio. 

In  seternam  uxoris  desideratissimse  memoriam,  atque  fihi  vix  matri  supcrstitis, 
upremum  hoc  amoris  dolorisque  monumentum  posuit  maritus  moestissimus. " 

The  next  monument — namely,  the  middle  one,  against  the  same 
wall — is  of  most  beautiful  variegated  marble.  It  is  supported  by 
columns  of  the  Doric  order,  crowned  with  elegant  urns.  The  arms 
on  the  top  are  Pye  impaling  Bathurst — viz.,  sable,  two  bars  ermine  in 
chief,  three  crosses  patde  or.  Motto,  "  In  glorior ";  crest,  as  the 
former. 

On  a  small  tablet  under  the  arms  : 

"H.  S.  I. 

ANNA  PYE, 

Henrici  Pye,  de  Faringdon  Magn. 

in  com.  Berch.  arm. 

uxor  altera  et  desideratissima  ; 

Benjamin  Bathurst,  in  agro  Northampton, 

militis, 
filia  unica ; 

honoratissimi  Allen  Bathurst,  baronis, 
soror  charissima." 

Under  this,  on  a  large  table  between  the  columns  : 

"  Siste  gradum,  viator  ! 

Ecce 

variolarum  spolia  ! 

nunquam,  eheu,  splendidiora  ! 

Uxorum  lectissimam,  optimam, 

amicam  cordate  sinceram, 

matrem  pientissimam 

sustulerunt ; 

omnium,  quibus  nota,  delicias. 

Familiarium  decus, 

inopum  patronam, 

amoverunt  ; 


Faringdon.  155 

rei  ceconomicre  pertissimam, 

fidei  Christianas  colentissimam, 

pietatis  omnimodre  observantissimam, 

eripuere. 
Virtutes  tamen  remanent  intactae  ; 

his  ilia 

non  amplius  fungi  poteat, 
in  seternum  vero  fruitur  ; 

his  nos 
haud  amplius  frui  possumus, 

sed  perpetui  fungamur. 
Sin  dotes  eximise  tarn  animi  quam  corporis 

deflendae  sint, 

Luctui  conjugis  nullus  erit  modus. 
Ob.  6to  Octobris,  anno  Dom.  1729, 

setat.  suae  39." 
Below  all : 

"  Caro  huic  nomini 

suum  postremo  superaddi  voluit 

conjux  amantissimus 

Henricus  Pye ; 

ut  idem  marmor, 

quod  cineribus  pretiosissimis  ante- 

hac  sacraverat, 

mutua  nomina, 

mutuam  fidem  et  amorem, 

posteris  annotaret." 

Westward  of  the  last-mentioned,  against  the  same  wall,  is  a  grand 
obelisk  of  gray  marble  finely  embellished  with  suitable  ornaments, 
particularly  a  capital  bust  in  alto-relievo  of  the  late  Admiral  Pye, 
over  a  superb  urn  of  white  marble  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  HENRY  PYE,  of  this  place,  and  afterwards  of  Knotting, 
in  the  county  of  Bedford,  esq.  He  was  descended  of  a  very  antient  family,  whose 
dignity  he  sustained  and  adorned  with  the  added  merits  of  his  own  amiable 
virtues.  He  had  a  gracefulness  in  his  person,  an  affability  in  his  demeanour,  a 
courtesy  and  politeness  in  his  manners,  with  an  open  benevolence  and  generosity 
in  his  disposition,  which  plainly  denoted  him 

The  true  English  Gentleman. 

He  married,  first,  Jane,  daughter  of  Sir  Nathaniel  Curzon,  bart.  who  died  and  left 
no  issue.  The  sorrow  he  felt  at  her  death  he  affectionately  expressed  by  the 
monument  he  erected  to  her  memory.  But  this  loss  was  abundantly  supplied  by 
his  happy  union  with  Anne,  daughter  of  Sir  Benjamin  Bathurst,  knt.  and  sister 
of  Allen  Lord  Bathurst,  of  Cirencester,  in  the  county  of  Gloucester  ;  a  union  more 
intimately  endeared  to  him  by  a  numerous  offspring  of  sixteen  children,  thirteen  of 
whom  lived  to  share  his  active  love  and  zeal  for  their  welfare  after  the  severe  loss 
of  a  most  affectionate  mother,  to  whose  remembrance  he  consecrated  the  adjoining 

monument.  He  married  also,  in  the  year  1732-3,  Isabella,  daughter  of Warren, 

esq.  who  survived  him,  and  lies  buried  near  this  place. 

"  His  second  son,  Vice-admiral  Thomas  Pye,  erected  this  marble  in  testimony  of 
his  grateful  duteous  respect  to  his  father,  who  died  January  6,  1749,  aged  65. 

"  And  in  memory  of  WILLIAM  PYE,  a  brother  he  loved  and  lamented,  who  fought 
and  fell,  as  became  a  soldier,  in  an  engagement  near  Bengal,  in  the  East-Indies, 
on  Feb.  5,  1759,  aged  30." 

Several  escutcheons  and  funeral  flags  are  dispersed  in  various  parts 


156  Berkshire. 

of  this  aisle,  whose  armorial  bearings  are  nearly  the  same  as  those 
already  noticed.  J.  STONE. 

Fyfield. 

[1804,  Part  L,  p.  409.] 

I  am  induced  to  send  a  south  prospect  of  the  venerable  church  of 
Fyfield,  Berks  (Plate  II.*),  in  hopes  you  will  favour  your  readers  with 
it,  in  addition  to  those  already  given  in  your  British  Archseologia.  The 
exterior  of  this  building  is  gloomy  in  the  extreme,  and  appears  to 
have  been  built  at  the  time  of,  or  soon  after,  the  Conquest.  The 
beautiful  Saxon  door  still  remains  entire,  and  exhibits  some  curious 
devices  which  I  am  at  a  loss  to  decipher  ;  for  the  preservation  of  it 
we  may  thank  the  worthy  curate  of  Fyfield,  who  is  himself  an 
antiquary,  and  a  frequent  reader  of  your  instructive  magazine.  The 
nave  is  supported  by  three  octagonal  Saxon  pillars;  and  it  is  evident, 
from  the  cornice  on  the  north  and  south  sides,  that  this  church  was 
built  in  the  form  of  a  cross  ;  but  when  reduced  to  its  present  size  I 
can  get  no  information.  The  chancel  contains  nothing  worth  notice. 
The  stone  cross  in  the  churchyard  was  erected  in  1627,  as  appears 
by  the  following  inscription  : 

"  This  cross  was  erected 

in  the  yeare  1627, 

at  the  ex  pence  of 

WM.  UPTON,  esq." 

G.  ELLERTON. 
East  Hendred. 


I  send  you  a  sketch  from  a  glass  quarry  which,  if  not  remarkable, 
is  interesting  as  being  commemorative  of  Hugh  Faringdon,  the  last 
Abbot  of  Reading,  who,  in  company  with  two  of  his  religious,  suffered 
death  in  the  year  1539,  for  refusal  to  acknowledge  the  royal 
supremacy  in  things  spiritual. 

The  original  pane  has  long  been  carefully  preserved  in  a  lancet 
window  on  the  north  side  of  the  old  chapel  of  the  manor  of  arches, 
at  East  Hendred,  the  seat  of  C.  J.  Eyston,  Esq.,  whose  ancestors 
have  there  resided  for  six  centuries. 

In  the  centre  is  shown  the  abbot's  crozier,  between  his  initials, 
which  are  united  with  the  usual  cordon  and  tassels. 

The  only  remark  I  wish  to  offer  upon  the  design  is  that,  in  this 
instance,  no  veil  or  sudarium  is  introduced,  whereby  the  pastoral 
staff  of  an  abbot  is  ordinarily  distinguished  from  that  of  the  bishop. 
Whether  the  omission  is  intentional,  as  indicating  •  an  "  exempt  " 
abbot,  or  accidental,  I  do  not  attempt  to  decide,  as  bishops  in 
England  used  it  formerly  as  well  as  abbots. 

The  following  passage  has  reference  to  this  subject  : 

"Abbatiali   denique   baculo   apponendi  jampridem  solitum    fuit 

*  [This  is  marked  in  the  Index  of  Plates,  p.  139,  published  in  1821,  as-  a  "pre- 
tended view  of"  the  church.] 


East  Hendred. — North  Hinksey.  157 

sudarium  ad  differentiam  baculi  episcopalis  :  quod  etiam  in  actis 
ecclesise  Mediolanensis  exprimitur :  Orario,  inquit  S.  Carolus, 
loquens  de  baculo  pastoral!,  aut  sudario  non  ornatur  si  episcopalis 
est :  quo  insigne  abbatialisab  illodistinguitur.  Notat  hsec  Haeftenus 
loco  laudato  :  additque,  hoc  sudarium,  seu  velamen  appendi  solitum 
in  signum  subjectionis,  quemadmodum  mulieri  datur  velamen  supra 
caput,  subjectionis  indicium  sub  viro.  Quare  abbatissa?  etiam  hodie 
baculo  hujusmodi  velamen  appensum  habent." — Pontificate  Ro- 
manum,  Commentariis  Illustratum,  auctore  Josepho  Catalano 
Presbytero,  torn,  i.,  p.  289. 

I  may  mention  as  a  fine  example  of  a  crozier  of  times  past,  with 
the  veil  attached  to  the  crook,  that  now  used  by  the  Benedictine 
Abbess  of  East  Bergholt,  near  Colchester. 

For  the  same  reason  as  that  of  appending  the  veil  to  the  abbatial  staff, 
i.e.,  in  token  of  subjection,  the  crosses  of  the  religious  orders,  when 
joined  with  others  in  procession,  must  have  a  veil,  the  capitular  or 
stational  cross  at  the  head  of  the  procession  being  alone  uncovered  ; 
and  in  like  manner  the  cross  of  a  filial  church  when  following  that  of 
the  mother  church. 

Yours,  etc.,  C.  A.  BUCKLER. 

North  Hinksey. 

[1817,  Part  L,  p.  393.] 

The  small  villages  of  North  and  South  Hinksey  are  situated  on 
the  northern  boundary  of  Berkshire,  within  one  mile  and  a  half  of 
the  city  of  Oxford,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  each  other. 
The  former  is  often  called  Ferry  Hinksey,  from  the  usual  means  of 
approaching  it  on  the  Oxford  side.  It  occupies  the  base  of  a 
portion  of  the  high  ground  which  stretches  round  Oxford  from 
south-east  to  west,  and  is  washed  by  a  branch  of  the  Isis.  Its 
ancient  appellation  was  "  Hengestesigge  (a  pathway  on  the  side  of  a 
hill),"  and  presuming  this  definition  to  be  correct,  the  word  is 
accurately  descriptive  of  its  local  situation. 

The  church  of  North  Hinksey  is  small,  and  of  considerable 
antiquity ;  it  is  noticed  in  the  "  Beauties  of  England  and  Wales  "  as 
follows  : 

"  The  church  is  a  low  structure,  apparently  of  very  remote  origin : 
it  consists  of  a  tower,  a  nave,  and  chancel ;  the  south  (and  only) 
doorway  is  of  Saxon  workmanship.  The  weathering,  or  outer 
moulding,  is  supported  on  one  side  by  the  bust  of  a  warrior,  and  on 
the  other  is  terminated  by  the  rude  head  of  some  animal ;  within  this 
are  four  series  of  zigzag,  with  an  inner  moulding  of  pellet  sculpture, 
resting  on  two  moderate-sized  pillars,  with  hatched  capitals.  The 
nave  is  divided  from  the  chancel  by  a  circular  arch,  over  which  the 
Creed  and  Lord's  Prayer  are  inscribed,  with  the  king's  arms  painted 
in  the  centre.  This  church,  and  the  neighbouring  one  of  South 


158  Berkshire. 

Hinksey,  were  formerly  chapels  of  ease  to  Cumner,  whence  they 
were  separated  at  the  commencement  of  the  last  century  by 
Montague,  second  Earl  of  Abingdon." 

The  doorway  above  mentioned  is  under  the  porch  seen  in  the 
annexed  view  (see  Plate  I.).  The  singularly  pointed  window  near 
the  porch  has  terminal  heads  to  its  weather  moulding.  The  font  is 
of  the  age  of  Charles  II.  and  has  no  pretensions  to  notice. 

In  the  churchyard  is  a  plain  but  ancient  cross,  which  has  sustained 
no  other  injury  than  its  exposed  situation  subjects  it  to,  excepting 
the  removal  of  its  surmounting  emblem. 

"  The  manor  formerly  belonged  to  the  abbey  of  Abingdon,  and  was 
granted  to  Owen  and  Bridges,  and  by  them  conveyed,  in  1547,  to 
Sir  John  Williams  and  Sir  John  Gresham,  knts.  At  a  later  period  it 
was  for  many  years  in  the  Perrot  family.  It  is  now  the  property  of 
Earl  Harcourt."* 

In  the  chancel  is  a  large  gravestone  to  the  memory  of  Thomas 
Willis,  gent,  who  lost  his  life  in  defence  of  the  royal  cause  at  Oxford, 
August  4,  1641.  He  was  an  ancestor  of  the  celebrated  antiquary 
Browne  Willis,  who  renewed  the  inscription,  and  recorded  on  the 
same  stone  the  death  of  his  own  son  Francis.  (See  the  epitaph  in 
Nichols'  "Literary  Anecdotes,"  vol.  viii.,  p.  221.) 

South  Hinksey  Church  is  of  a  more  recent  date  ;  it  is  small  and 
uninteresting.  The  chancel  is  of  modern  construction. 

X. 
Hurley. 

[1831,  Part  L,  pp.  9-12.] 

The  parish  of  Hurley,  in  Berkshire,  is  beautifully  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  about  thirty  miles  from  London. f  In  the 
Norman  survey,  commonly  called  Domesday,  it  is  said  to  have 
lately  belonged  to  Efgen,  probably  a  Saxon  or  Danish  family,  but  to 
be  then  in  the  possession  of  Geoffry  de  Mandeville.  This  person 
had  greatly  distinguished  himself  at  the  battle  of  Hastings,  in  which 
King  Harold  was  defeated,  and  received  this  estate  from  William 
the  Conqueror,  among  other  spoils,  as  the  reward  of  his  valour  and 
attachment.  Towards  the  end  of  the  Conqueror's  reign,  that  is, 
A.D.  1086,  Geoffry  de  Mandeville  founded  here  the  Priory  of  St. 
Mary,  to  this  day  commonly  called  Lady  Place,  and  annexed  it  as 
a  cell  to  the  great  Benedictine  Abbey  of  Westminster. 

*  Lysons'  "  Britannia,"  i.  293. 

t  The  Vale  of  Hurley,  containing  the  town  of  Great  Marlow  and  Bisham, 
Hurley  and  Medmenham,  ancient  monastic  establishments  (the  latter  on  the  Buck- 
inghamshire side  of  the  Thames,  within  less  than  two  miles  of  each  other,  and 
interspersed  with  gentlemen's  seats,  farms,  and  all  the  varie'y  of  cultivation,  and 
bounded  by  sylvan  hills,  between  which  the  river  winds  in  picturesque  meanders), 
is  unquestionably  one  of  the  most  charming  scenes,  though  of  limited  extent,  in 
England. — See  Moritz's  "Travels  through  England  "  in  Mavot's  "  British  Tourists," 
vol.  iv. ,  p.  67. 


Hurley.  159 

The  charter  of  the  foundation  is  still  preserved  in  the  archives 
there.*  In  this  instrument  the  founder  calls  himself  Gosfridus  de 
Magnavilla,  and  recites  the  motives  of  his  donation  :  "  Pro  salute  et 
redemptione  animse  meae,  et  uxoris  meae  Lecelinae,  cujus  consilio, 
gratia  divina  providente,  hoc  bonum  inchoavi,  et  pro  anima  Athe- 
laisae,  primae  uxoris  mese  (matris  filiorum  meorum)  jam  defunctse 
necnon  et  hseredum  meorum  omnium  mihi  succedentium." — For  the 
salvation  of  my  soul,  and  that  of  my  wife  Lecelina,  by  whose  advice, 
under  the  providence  of  Divine  grace,  I  have  begun  this  good  work, 
and  also  for  the  soul  of  Athelais,  my  first  wife,  the  mother  of  my 
sons,  now  deceased  ;  and  also  for  the  souls  of  all  my  heirs  who  shall 
succeed  me.  He  then  recites  the  particulars  of  his  endowment,  and 
its  object :  "  Ad  sustentationem  monachorum  in  eadem  ecclesia  Deo 
imperpetuum  servientium." — For  the  support  of  the  religious  order 
serving  God  perpetually  in  this  church.  And  after  some  terrible 
imprecations,  in  imitation  of  Ernulphus,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  against 
all  persons  who  shall  violate  or  diminish  this  his  foundation,!  he 
concludes  with  these  words  :  "  Ex  hac  vero  donatione  mea  et  insti- 
tutione,  concilio  proborum  sumpto  virorum  tria  acta  sunt  Brevia, 
unum  apud  Westmonasterium,  aliud  apud  eandem  ecclesiam  de 
Hurleia,  tertium  mihi  et  hseredibus  meis  succedentibus,  pro  loci 
integritate  seterna  et  stabilitatereposui." 

William  the  Conqueror  approved  and  confirmed  the  endowment 
of  the  founder  of  Hurley  Priory ;  and  afterwards  Pope  Adrian  IV. 
in  a  bull  dated  1157,  confirmed,  among  other  possessions,  to  the 
Abbey  of  Westminster,  "  Cellum  de  Herleya  cum  eadem  villa,  cum 
omni  obedientia  et  subjectione,  et  pertinentiis  suis." 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  observe  that  the  first  subscribing 
witness  to  the  charter,  and,  indeed,  the  person  who  consecrated  the 
new  convent,  was  0smund,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  originally  a  Norman 
nobleman,  Count  of  Seez,  in  that  province.  He  was,  in  the  sequel, 
made  Earl  of  Dorset,  and  Lord  High  Chancellor  of  England  ;  and, 
finally,  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  which  diocese  he  governed  with  remark- 
able goodness  and  assiduity  from  1078  to  1099.  He  is  commonly 
reputed  to  be  the  author  ot  the  Ritual  called  the  Use  of  Sarum,  and 
was  canonized  long  after  his  death. 

Gilbert,  Abbot  of  Westminster,  another  subscribing  witness,  was 
also  of  a  Norman  family,  which  had  produced  several  great  men  ; 
among  the  rest,  his  grandfather  and  uncle,  who  were  particularly  dis- 

*  In  the  splendid  edition  of  Dugdale's  "  Monasticon  "  lately  published,  vol.  iii., 
p.  438,  we  find  a  copy  of  the  charter  of  the  foundation,  with  some  slight  variations, 
chiefly  verbal,  and  sometimes  literal :  Ex  Regist.  de  Walden  penes  comitem 
Suffolcise,  an.  1650,  hodie  MS.  Harl.  Mus.  Brit.,  3,697,  fol.  51,  b. 

t  "  Omnes  infractores  seu  diminutores  hujus  meae  elemosinse  excommunicari,  ut 
habitatio  illorum  perpetua  cum  Juda  maledicto  proditore  Domini,  et  viventes, 
descendent  in  reternoe  proditionis  baratrum  cum  Dathan  et  Core,  cum  maledictione 
rcterna,"  etc. 


1 60  Berkshire. 

tinguished.  He  had  been  educated  in  the  Monastery  of  Bee,  in 
Normandy,  under  Lanfranc  and  Anselm,  successive  archbishops  of 
Canterbury,  with  the  latter  of  whom  he  kept  up  a  constant  corre- 
spondence, founded  on  a  sincere  friendship.  He  was  repeatedly 
employed  in  embassies  by  Henry  I.,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  very 
honest  and  good-natured  man,  and  learned  in  all  the  sciences  of  the 
times.  Some  of  his  theological  writings  are  still  extant.  He  died  in 
the  year  1117,  and  lies  buried  under  one  of  the  three  old  stone 
effigies  which  still  remain  in  the  pavement  of  the  great  cloisters  in 
Westminster  Abbey,  near  Mr.  Pulteney's  tomb.  In  his  time,  Geoffry 
de  Mandeville  himself  was  interred  in  the  little  cloisters  of  West- 
minster Abbey,  in  a  chapel,  now  a  courtyard,  belonging  to  the  house 
of  the  receiver  of  the  abbey  rents. 

Geoffry,  the  son  of  the  founder,  created  Earl  of  Essex,  was  like- 
wise a  benefactor.  He  married  Roisia,  sister  to  Aubrey  de  Vere, 
first  Earl  of  Oxford.  This  lady  caused  a  subterraneous  chapel  to  be 
cut  out  of  the  solid  chalk,  near  the  centre  of  the  present  town  of 
Royston,  in  which  she  was  buried.  This  chapel,  on  the  walls  of 
which  many  rude  figures  are  still  to  be  seen  in  relievo,  after  being 
lost  and  unknown  for  ages,  was  accidentally  discovered  by  some  work- 
men in  1742,  and  an  account  of  it  was  published  by  Dr.  Stukeley. 
It  is  well  worthy  the  attention  of  tourists  ;  and  being  perfectly  dry 
and  easily  accessible,  is  often  visited  by  strangers  passing  between 
London  and  Cambridge. 

To  return  from  this  digression.  The  Earl  of  Essex  was  Standard- 
bearer  of  England,  in  the  times  of  the  Empress  Maud  and  of  King 
Henry  II.  The  family  seems  to  have  acquired  considerable  posses- 
sions, and  probably  gave  rise  to  several  distinguished  individuals, 
who,  in  their  posterity,  may  still  be  existing  in  honourable  stations. 

As  to  Hurley  Priory,  except  that  Godfrey,  the  prior  in  1258, 
exchanged  the  greatest  part  of  the  tithes  belonging  to  the  original 
endowment,  with  the  Abbot  of  Walden,  for  the  church  of  Streatley, 
in  Berkshire,  it  remained  nearly  in  the  same  condition  for  about  450 
years.*  It  was  suppressed,  among  the  lesser  monasteries,  in  the 
twenty-sixth  year  of  Henry  VIII.,  1535,  when  the  annual  income, 
according  to  Dugdale,  amounted  to  £121  i8s.  5fl. ;  according  to 
Speed,  ;£i34  ios.  8d.f 

In  the  thirty-third  year  of  Henry  VIII.  the  Priory  of  Hurley 
became  the  property,  by  grant,  of  Charles  Howard,  Esq.,  and  three 
years  afterwards  the  site,  then  and  ever  since  called  Lady  Place, 
from  the  convent  having  been  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  as 

*  It  appears  from  a  deed  executed  in  the  I5th  of  Richard  II.,  that  Edith,  sister 
of  Edward  the  Confessor,  had  been  buried  at  Hurley,  on  which  and  some  other 
claims  the  prior  and  monks  obtained  the  appropriation  of  the  church  of  Warefeld 
from  the  king. 

f  In  the  valuation  of  Pope  Nicholas  we  find  this  entry:  "Ecclesia  de  Hurle 
cu'  vicar'  indeci'abili,  Prior  Rector,  io/.  Taxatio  decima,  il." 


Hurley.  1 6 1 

already  mentioned,  became  the  property  of  Leonard  Chamberleyn, 
Esq.  From  him  it  passed  the  same  year  to  John  Lovelace,  Esq., 
who  died  in  1558.*  The  son  of  that  gentleman  went  on  an  expedi- 
tion with  Sir  Francis  Drake  against  the  Spaniards,  and  with  the 
money  acquired  in  this  adventure  built  the  present  house  on  the 
ruins  of  the  ancient  convent. 

Of  the  original  buildings  belonging  to  the  priory,  the  only  visible 
parts  remaining  are  the  abbey  yard,f  behind  the  parish  church,  on 
the  north  side,  and  some  parts  of  a  chapel,  or  rather,  as  it  is  gene- 
rally supposed,  of  the  refectory  (now  stables),  of  which  the  window- 
arches,  though  formed  of  chalk,  are  still  as  fresh  as  if  lately  erected. 
The  durability  of  chalk,  indeed,  is  wonderful,  when  once  it  becomes 
indurated  by  the  sun  and  air,  and  fixed  in  an  erect  position.  In  the 
house  itself,  however,  some  remains  of  the  form  of  the  convent  may 
s'ill  be  traced.  Under  the  great  hall,  which  strikes  every  spectator 
for  its  grandeur  and  proportions,  is  a  vault  or  cellar,  in  which  some 
bodies  in  monastic  habits  have  been  found  buried,  probably  some  of 
the  priors,  as  is  indicated  by  the  staff  on  the  stones  covering  their 
remains.  This  hall,  and  the  cross  rooms  at  the  east  end,  seem  to 
have  been  the  church,  not  of  the  parish  but  of  the  convent ;  and  the 
numerous  small  apartments  at  the  west  end,  forming  the  boundary 
of  the  parish  cemetery,  appear  to  have  been  the  dormitories  of  the 
monks. 

Respecting  the  Lovelace  family,  long  the  proprietors  and  occupiers 
of  Lady  Place,  it  is  proper  to  notice  that  it  soon  grew  rich  and  power- 
ful in  this  country,  and  was  ennobled  in  the  reign  of  Charles  I.  under 
the  title  of  Lord  Lovelace,  Baron  of  Hurley.  In  the  succeeding  reign 
it  lived  in  great  splendour.  Two  or  three  ceilings  painted  by  Verrio, 
probably  at  the  same  time  with  those  in  Windsor  Castle,  and  more 
particularly  the  landscapes  by  Salvator  Rosa  in  the  great  room,  attest 
the  magnificence  and  wealth  of  the  family. 

During  the  short  reign  of  James  II.  private  meetings  of  some  of  the 
leading  nobles  of  the  kingdom  were  held  here,  in  the  subterraneous 
vault  under  the  great  hall,  for  calling  in  the  Prince  of  Orange  ;  and 
it  is  said  that  the  principal  papers  which  brought  about  the  Revolu- 
tion were  signed  in  the  dark  recess  at  the  extremity  of  that  vault.  It 
is  certain  that,  after  King  William  obtained  the  crown,  he  visited 
Lord  Lovelace  at  Lady  Place,  and  descended  with  him  the  dark  stairs 
to  see  the  place.  Inscriptions  recording  this  visit,  that  of  George  III. 
and  of  General  Paoli  in  1780  to  the  same  vault,  as  the  cradle  of  the 
Revolution,  were  put  in  it  by  a  worthy  proprietor,  Joseph  Wilcocks, 
Esq.,  who  will  again  be  mentioned  in  the  sequel. 

*  It  has  been  supposed  that  Lovelace  the  poet,  who  died  in  1658,  was  of  the 
same  family. 

t  In  the  walls  bounding  this  quadrangle  a  former  proprietor  of  Lady  Place, 
Joseph  Wilcocks,  Esq.,  has  put  up  tablets  with  inscriptions  recording  some  eminent 
persons  connected  with  the  foundation  of  the  priory. 

VOL.  XII.  I  T 


1 62  Berkshire. 

On  the  decline  of  the  Lovelace  family,  which  speedily  followed, 
the  estate  was  sold  under  a  decree  of  Chancery.  One  part  of  it,  by 
far  the  most  valuable — the  manorial  rights,  the  impropriate  rectory, 
and  the  advowson  of  the  vicarage— became  the  property  of  Robert 
Gayer,  Esq.,  who,  according  to  Bishop  Tanner,  possessed  various 
accompts,  rentals,  and  charters  of  the  priory  ;  though  no  register  of 
it  is  known  to  exist,  nor  any  regular  list  of  the  priors.  This  estate, 
with  its  appurtenances,  was  subsequently  purchased  of  the  Gayer 
family  by  the  late  Duke  of  Marlborough,  who  died  in  1817.  His 
grace  afterwards  exchanged  them  for  lands  in  Oxfordshire  with 
Thomas  Walker,  Esq.,  of  Woodstock,  from  whose  granddaughter  and 
sole  heir,  Miss  Freind,  married  to  Henry,  Lord  Viscount  Ashbrook,  it 
has  lately  descended  to  their  only  surviving  son,  the  Hon.  Henry 
Flower,  who,  on  coming  into  its  possession,  assumed  by  royal 
authority  the  name  of  .Walker. 

The  remaining  part  of  the  Lovelace  estate,  consisting  of  Lady 
Place  and  the  Woodlands,  was  purchased  by  Mrs.  Williams,  sister  to 
Dr.  Wilcocks,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  which  lady  in  one  lottery  had  two 
tickets  only,  and  one  of  them  came  up  a  prize  of  ^500,  the  other 
of  ^20,000,  with  which  she  purchased  the  property  here.  The 
daughter  of  Mrs.  Williams,  married  to  Dr.  Lewin,  Chancellor  of 
Rochester,  possessed  it  from  her  mother's  death  in  1745,  and,  dying 
without  issue,  bequeathed  it  to  her  relative,  Joseph  Wilcocks,  Esq., 
son  of  the  bishop,  who,  on  succeeding  to  it  in  1771,  and  not  being  able 
to  let  the  house  to  a  tenant,  came  to  inhabit  it  himself,  and  died  there 
at  an  advanced  age.  He  was  the  author  of  a  posthumous  publication 
under  the  title  of  "  Roman  Conversations,"  written  when  a  young 
man,  but  suppressed  from  a  modesty  of  disposition,  for  which,  as  well 
as  every  amiable  virtue,  he  was  distinguished  through  life. 

The  next  person  in  the  entail  was  the  brave  and  unfortunate 
Admiral  Kempenfelt,*  who  went  down  in  the  Royal  George,  as  is  well 
known,  in  Portsmouth  Harbour.  His  brother,  Gustavus  Adolphus 
Kempenfelt,  Esq.,  succeeded  to  Lady  Place,  and  made  it  his  resi- 
dence ;  but  dying  unmarried,  as  his  brother  and  Mr.  Wilcocks  had 
been,  and  being  last  in  the  entail,  he  left  the  property  to  his  relative, 
the  late  Mr.  Richard  Troughton,  of  the  Custom  House,  who  resided 
only  occasionally  -here,  and  whose  representatives  sold  the  estate  in 
lots  about  three  or  four  years  ago.  The  mansion  called  Lady  Place 
and  part  of  the  estate  were  purchased  for  the  Hon.  Henry  Walker, 
and  the  remainder  by  the  late  Sir  Gilbert  East,  of  Hall  Place,  Bart., 
in  the  parish  of  Hurley. 

The  old  mansion  of  Lady  Place,  with  its  enclosure  of  fifteen  acres, 

*  It  has  been  said,  but  the  writer  of  this  knows  not  on  what  authority,  that  the 
Kempenfelts  were  descended  from  the  Will  Wimble  of  the  Spectator.  The 
portrait  of  the  admiral  in  his  uniform  is,  or  was  lately,  to  be  seen  in  the  great 
room  occupying  the  east  side  of  Lady  Place. 


Hurley.  163 

having  fish-ponds  communicating  with  the  Thames,  and  venerable 
even  in  decay,  having  been  much  neglected  or  inadequately  occupied 
for  so  manv  years,  is  almost  past  repair  as  a  modern  habitation  ;  nor 
is  its  future  destination  at  present  known.  It  cannot  fail,  however, 
to  be  agreeable  to  the  numerous  readers  of  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine 
to  have  an  accurate  view  of  a  place  of  such  notoriety  (see  Plate  I.), 
from  a  recent  drawing  by  that  celebrated  artist,  John  Buckler,  Esq., 
F.A.S.,  to  whom  and  his  son,  John  Chessell  Buckler,  Esq.,  author  of 
"  Observations  on  the  Origin  il  Architecture  of  Magdalen  College, 
Oxford,"  and  of  "  An  Account  of  the  Royal  Palace  at  Eltham,"  our 
ecclesiastical  and  other  antiquities  are  under  the  highest  obligations 
for  correct  delineation  and  description. 

W.  M. 

[1838,  Part  II.,  pp.  276,  277.] 

At  the  conclusion  of  a  very  interesting  account  of  Lady  Place,  at 
Hurley,  Berks,  in  a  former  number  of  your  magazine,  your  corre- 
spondent remarked  "  that  the  mansion  is  almost  past  repair  as  a 
modern  habitation  ;  nor  is  its  future  destination  at  present  known." 

It  was  with  feelings  of  something  more  than  common  disappoint- 
ment and  regret  that,  on  revisiting  yesterday  this  old  spot,  I  found 
that  the  mansion  had  entirely  disappeared.  In  the  centre  of  the  lawn 
where  so  late  stood  that  noble  pile  was  a  heap  of  bricks  and  stones, 
while  beneath  small  portions  of  the  arched  cellaring  were  still 
standing.  On  inquiring  in  the  village,  I  was  told  that  the  house  had 
been  pulled  down  last  year,  the  materials  having  been  sold  by  auction  ; 
and  that  during  this  work  of  destruction  some  of  the  floorings  had 
given  way,  burying  a  portion  of  the  dwelling  in  the  vaults  below,  and 
with  it  the  walls  of  the  great  saloon,  reputed  to  be  the  work  of 
Salvator  Rosa. 

We  have  often  heard  of  a  state  of  melancholy  repose  ;  and  when, 
previously  to  the  destruction  of  Lady  Place,  the  visitor  entered  on  the 
lawn  with  its  long  rank  grass,  and  beheld  a  large  mansion,  which  at 
the  first  glance  appeared  as  if  never  touched  since  the  days  of 
Elizabeth,  while  around  it  some  magnificent  spreading  cedars  still 
pointed  to  where  the  pleasure-grounds  had  been ;  and  then  passing 
along  its  vast  marble  hall,  equalled  by  few  for  its  grandeur  and  pro- 
portions, and  through  innumerable  apartments,  their  walls  attesting 
much  of  their  original  splendour,  but  in  none  the  slightest  token  of 
habitation  or  the  smallest  mark  of  furniture,  all  alike  silent  and  deso- 
late— this  feeling  was  experienced  in  a  very  extraordinary  degree. 

It  is  a  little  curious  to  mark  the  chances  and  changes  of  this  place 
and  its  inhabitants.  Of  the  piety  of  the  fair  Lecelina,  the  foundress 
of  the  priory,  and  of  its  peaceful  and  sluggish  inhabitants  for  near 
five  hundred  years,  the  destruction  of  the  establishment  and  a  noble 
mansion  arising  on  its  foundations  from  the  legalized  piracy  of  a 

II — 2 


164.  Berkshire. 

successful  and  noble*  buccaneer,  while  his  gallant  descendant,!  by 
his  secret  counsel,  held  in  a  vault  perhaps  over  the  very  spot  where 
lay  the  mouldering  remains  of  the  fair  foundress  of  the  priory,  success- 
fully urges  the  complete  overthrow  of  that  form  of  worship  of  which 
she  appears  to  have  been  so  zealous  and  pious  a  supporter.  With  the 
extinction  of  the  family  of  Lovelace  the  glory  of  Lady  Place  appears 
to  have  departed,  and  one  tomb  in  the  little  village  church,  though 
crumbling  in  decay,  attests  something  of  the  former  magnificence 
of  the  Lovelaces,  Lords  of  Hurley. 

Yours,  etc,,  WICCAMICUS. 

[1839,  Part  I.,  pp.  257-263.] 

In  7your  magazine  for  January,  1831,  is  an  account  of  the  founda- 
tion of  Hurley  Priory,  with  notices  of  its  several  possessors  since  the 
Dissolution,  but  there  is  no  description  of  the  church  or  the  memorials 
of  the  Lovelaces  therein,  or  the  mansion  erected  by  them  upon  the 
site  of  the  conventual  buildings  ;  and  as  the  learned  writer  of  the 
account  alluded  to  is  now  deceased,  the  following,  I  trust,  will  not  be 
deemed  an  unwelcome  supplement  to  his  previous  communication. 

I  venture,  therefore,  to  furnish  you  with  a  somewhat  detailed  de- 
scription of  the  church  as  it  now  exists,  with  a  few  incidental  observa- 
tions on  its  ancient  form  and  certain  of  its  rites,  but  shall  avoid 
speaking  much  further  of  the  mansion,  which  has  already  been  the 
subject  of  your  recent  pages,  except  to  mention  some  particulars 
concerning  its  remains,  and  shall  conclude  by  briefly  explaining 
the  former  alliance  of  the  Lovelace  family  with  that  of  Baron  King, 
for  whom  the  Lovelace  title  has  been  lately  revived. 

To  treat,  however,  at  once  of  all  these  matters  would  extend  this 
paper  to  a  length  unsuitable  to  your  miscellany.  I  must,  therefore, 
here  confine  myself  to  a  description  of  the  exterior  of  the  church,  ex- 
planatory of  the  accompanying  plate,  and  reserve  for  a  subsequent 
contribution  the  description  of  its  interior,  and  the  other  subjects 
above  proposed. 

Herlei  Church  is  mentioned  in  Domesday  Book  as  part  of  the 
manor  of  the  Norman  baron  "  Goisfridus  de  Mannevile,  in  Benes 
hundred  in  Berkesir,"  and  was  therefore  probably  a  parish  or 
manorial  church  endowed  with  land  It  was  then,  as  until  very 
lately,  in  the  diocese  of  Sarum,  but  is  now  in  the  diocese  of  Oxford, 
though  still  in  the  deanery  of  Reading,  in  the  archdeaconry  of 

*  Sir  Richard  Lovelace,  first  Lord  Lovelace,  of  Hurley,  a  companion  of  Sir 
Francis  Drake.  He  built  the  mansion  with  the  money  gained  in  his  expedition. 
To  this  nobleman  Shirley  dedicated  his  "  Lady  of  Pleasure." 

f  John,  third  lord,  an  early  friend  of  the  Revolution,  was  taken  prisoner  going 
to  join  the  Prince  of  Orange.  At  the  accession  of  the  prince  he  was  made  captain 
of  the  band  of  pensioners.  He  lived  in  a  most  prodigal  and  splendid  style,  which 
involved  him  in  much  difficulty,  and  at  his  death  a  great  part  of  the  estates 
were  sold. 


Hurley.  165 

Berks ;  and  is  a  discharged  vicarage,  with  a  net  yearly  income  of 
^163,  in  the  patronage  of  the  eldest  son  of  Viscount  Ashbrook, 
who  is  also  impropriator  of  the  rectory.  The  church  will  contain 
350,  of  a  population  of  nearly  1,200,  chiefly  agricultural,  and  con- 
sisting of  about  200  families  residing  in  as  many  houses.  It  is 
situated  near  the  Thames,  about  half-way  from  Henley  to  Marlow, 
in  one  of  those  luxuriantly  wooded  pastoral  localities,  so  generally 
chosen  for  religious  houses,  it  having  been  the  chapel  of  a  priory 
there  founded  and  endowed  by  the  above-named  Goisfridus  de 
Magnavilla,  through  the  persuasion  of  his  wife  Lecelina,  A.D.  io&6,. 
and  dedicated  to  the  Virgin  Mary,,  by  the  celebrated  St.  Osmund,  as 
more  particularly  stated  in  the  paper  of  your  deceased  correspondent. 

This  church  is  constructed  with  large  rough  masses  of  indigenous 
chalk  and  flint,  irregularly  cemented  together  with  coarse  mortar. 
The  quoins  and  dressings  of  the  ancient  door  and  windows  of  the 
side  walls  are  mostly  of  a  grayish-  stone,  perhaps  also  found  in  the 
neighbourhood,  but  some  are  of  Oxfordshire  yellow  oolite,  those 
of  the  west  end  being  of  a  different  kind,  the  fine  freestone  from 
Caen,  in  Normandy.  The  walls,  yet  perfectly  upright,  are  almost 
4  feet  thick,  and  have,  without  the  aid  of  any  buttresses,  for  several 
centuries  sustained  the  thrust  of  a  heavy  tiled  roof,  although  pro- 
bably intended  only  to  support  a  lighter  roof  of  shingles  or  of  straw, 
with  which  the  roots  in  this  sylvan  cultivated  district  would  naturally 
be  made.  Certes,  our  Saxon  and  early  Norman  architects  were 
ultra-observers  of  the  builder's  adage,  "  stronger  than  enough." 

Hurley  Church  consists  merely  of  a  chancel  and  a  nave,  with  a 
modern  south  porch,  and  is  of  that  peculiarly  long  oblong  form 
attributed  to  Saxon  churches,  its  interior  measurement  being  19  feet 
9  inches,  by  95  feet  2  inches,  almost  5.  squares  in  length.  Its  ends 
are  placed  toward  the  east  and  west,  as  common  to  all  churches, 
unless  when  the  nature  of  their  sites  prevented  such  position.  It 
has  no  interior  columns  or  arches*  being  of  one  pace,  that  is,  without 
aisles.  The  nave  and  chancel  are  co-equal  both  in  breadth  and 
height ;  but  we  have  reason  to  believe,  from  certain  appearances  in 
the  south  wall,  that  the  chancel  had  a  semi-hexagonal  east  end,  and 
extended  nearly  12  feet  further  eastward.  Its  present  termination  is 
a  straight  blank  wall,  perhaps  erected  at  the  building  of  the  mansion 
after  the  Reformation,  when  the  porch  was  also  probably  added. 

From  the  preceding  general  description,  we  presume  that  this 
church  existed  before  the  Norman  survey,  end  that  it  was  adapted 
to  the  purposes  of  the  priory  by  the  reparation  of  its  dilapidated  parts 
and  the  addition  of  a  west  end,  in-  which  opinion  we  hope  to  be 
borne  out  by  our  subsequent  description  and  remarks. 

In  the  upper  portion  of  the  western  gable,  and  on  the  adjoining 
ridge  of  the  roof,  is  a  square  belfry-turret  of  weather-boarding,  and 
luffer  boarded  openings..  It  is  provided  with  a  large  sun-dial,  and 


1 66  Berkshire. 

surmounted  by  a  low  pyramidal  tiled  spire,  finished  with  a  rude 
wooden  cross.  The  western  wall,  as  seen  in  our  plate,  is  strengthened 
at  its  angles  by  large  square-set,  sloped-headed  buttresses,  an  argu- 
ment for  its  more  recent  date  than  that  of  the  side-walls,  which  have 
none;  Saxon  buttresses,  if  so  they  may  be  called,  being  merely 
ornamental  narrow  stripes  of  stone,  like  those  upon  St.  Peter's 
Church  at  Baiton,  in  Lincolnshire,  and  on  St.  John's  sub  Castro  at 
Lewes,  the  refuge  place  of  Harold  after  his  defeat  at  Hastings.  The 
buttresses  against  this  western  wall  being,  however,  purely  con- 
structional, the  architect  had  surely  some  good  reason  for  thus 
strengthening  it.  It  is,  therefore,  not  improbable  that  formerly  the 
gable  was  surmounted  either  with  a  bell-turret  of  heavy  masonry,  or 
that  the  bell  or  bells  were  hung  in  one  of  those  pierced  secondary 
gables  which  overtop  a  roof  like  chimney-stacks,  and  which  we  some- 
times see  in  Normandy  and  various  parts  of  England. 

The  western  doorway  is  a  wide  low  semicircularly  headed  triple 
arch,  but  its  proportions  have  been  much  altered  by  the  elevation  of 
the  ground  about  it,  and  by  its  being  blocked  up  with  a  brick  and 
rubble  wall,  so  that  only  the  face  of  the  superior  archway  is  now 
visible.  This,  however,  is  in  good  condition,  and  is  decorated  with 
a  bold  zigzag  bead,  cotised  on  each  side  by  two  zigzag  conjoined 
fillets  studded  with  closely  placed  square  stunted  pyramids  somewhat 
like  the  early  English  tooth  ornament ;  above  and  below  which  is  a 
concentric  large  bead,  the  whole  being  under  a  bold  dripstone 
originally  corbelled,  and  resting  on  the  outward  ends  of  narrow 
moulded  imposts.  Beneath  these  imposts  are  broad  pilaster-like 
jambs,  having  in  hollow  chamfer  at  the  inward  edge  a  cylindrical 
edge  shaft,  with  a  small  singly  cleft  cushion  capital,  the  abacus  of 
which  is  a  continuation  of  the  impost ;  but  the  base  of  this  column 
must  be  much  under  ground,  its  capital  now  being  only  about  4  feet 
above  its  surface.  Interiorly,  this  arch  has  been  cut  rudely  upwards, 
so  that  only  part  of  its  original  soffit  remains.  It  has  plain  sloped 
jambs,  having  also,  in  hollow  chamfered  edges,  a  shaft  similar  to  the 
exterior  shafts,  and  which,  like  them,  has  its  base  hidden.  But  as 
the  interior  shafts  are  visible  2  or  3  feet  lower  than  the  exterior 
shafts,  it  is  very  probable  that,  similarly  to  other  Saxon  churches,  the 
floor  was  originally  lower  than  the  ancient  doorsill  and  natural  level 
of  the  ground. 

Through  the  before-mentioned  wall,  now  blocking  up  the  western 
doorway,  is  a  modern  door.  But  this  was  evidently  never  made  for 
its  present  purpose,  being  too  short  to  reach  the  highest  part  of  the 
arch  above,  and,  therefore,  stuck  in  at  one  side  of  it,  and  is  altogether 
so  unbecoming  to  its  station,  that  the  putting  up  of  this  deformity 
should,  doubtlessly,  have  been  prevented  by  the  rural  dean. 

We  often  think  that  to  every  diocese  should  be  attached  an 
architect  well  versed  in  the  practice  of  Gothic  architecture,  to  design 


Hurley.  167 

any  necessary  reparation,  enlargement,  or  rebuilding  of  the  churches, 
parsonages,  schools,  and  every  other  parochial  building  in  the  said 
diocese;  and,  moreover,  that  all  candidates  for  holy  orders  should 
possess  a  competent  knowledge  of  the  principles  of  ecclesiastical 
architecture,  to  enable  them  to  superintend  the  execution  of  such 
design  of  the  architect  in  their  respective  parishes. 

In  the  lower  portion  of  the  gable,  and  immediately  above  the 
doorway,  and  very  like  it  as  to  plan  and  decoration,  is  the  western 
window.  This  is  a  semicircularly  headed  double  arch,  under  a  small 
dripstone,  which  has  had  a  cable  moulding  and  corbel,  the  edge  of 
the  upper  arch  resting  on  the  abacus  of  a  cushion  capital  of  a  slender 
edgeshaft.  The  faces  of  these  arches  are  adorned  with  a  compound 
zigzag,  in  excellent  preservation,  consisting  of  three  beads  and  a 
cabetto,  the  soffit  of  the  upper  arch  having  a  simpler  zigzag,  of  one 
small  and  one  large  bead  conjoined.  The  face  of  the  sub-arch  is 
almost  similar  to  that  of  the  upper  arch,  but  has  a  hollow  chamfered 
edge  containing  a  bold  bead.  These  arches  sprang  formerly  from 
imposts,  of  which  one  only  now  remains.  This,  being  the  only 
western  window,  is  larger  than  the  Norman  windows  generally  are, 
though  of  itself  it  is  in  good  proportion,  being  about  two  squares  in 
height,  inclusive  of  its  head  and  sides.  The  glazed  part,  the  wind 
door,  which,  before  the  use  of  window  glass  in  the  seventh  century, 
church  windows  literally  were,  has  been  much  shortened,  and  is  now 
divided  by  a  large  well-moulded  mullion,  evidently,  however,  a  mere 
adventitious  support  of  the  incumbent  architrave,  although  evincing 
at  the  same  time  a  praiseworthy  elegance,  in  which  our  modern 
churchwarden  reparations  are  so  lamentably  deficient.  The  glass 
quarries  are  set  lozenge  ways,  some  few  being  stained  with  diaper 
work,  and  their  leaden  frame  is  inserted,  as  that  of  very  ancient 
windows  always  is,  directly  into  the  stone  sides  of  the  archway.  It 
is  also  attached  to  iron  stanchions,  which  are  here  continued  to  the 
soffit  of  the  arch,  and  help  the  mullion  to  uphold  this  interesting  and 
now  rare  specimen  of  a  Norman  west  window.  Above  this  window, 
irregularly  embedded  in  the  wall,  are  two  small  corbel  heads. 
Another  is  in  its  original  situation,  perhaps,  as  one  of  a  corbelled 
tablet  still  discernible  at  the  base  of  the  bell-turret,  and  another 
occupies  the  summit  of  the  dripstone. 

The  south  wall  has  seven  windows,  three  of  them  being  of  Saxon 
character,  like  those  in  the  north  wall,  hereafter  to  be  described,  and 
four  are  insertions  which  have  taken  place  at  various  dates.  The 
eastward  one  is  of  the  former  class,  having  been  merely  lengthened 
at  the  bottom,  but  has  chamfered  edged  jambs.  The  second  is  in 
the  style  of  the  fourteenth  century,  of  large  dimensions,  good  design,, 
and  excellent  execution,  consisting  of  two  boldly  trefoliated  ogee 
lights,  under  a  large  quaterfoliated  ogeed  central  spandrel,  and 
pierced  lateral  spandrels  similarly  foliated  to  the  central  one,  which 


1 68  Berkshire. 

itself  has  also  other  small  pierced  spandrels.  The  general  architrave 
of  this  window  has  pointed  deeply  undercut  mouldings,  and  a  boldly 
moulded  corbelled  dripstone,  the  jambs  being  handsomely  moulded, 
as  is  also  the  mullion,  out  of  which  flows  the  tracery  of  the  head. 
The  third  window  is  of  two  plain  square-headed  lights,  its  general 
architrave  and  mullion  being  merely  a  bold  semi-cylinder.  The 
fourth  is  of  two  lofty  sharp-headed  lights  between  a  large  pointed 
central  spandrel,  the  mullion,  the  arch  heads,  and  general  architrave 
being  moulded.  The  fifth  is  one  of  the  Saxon  windows  much 
lengthened,  retaining  its  original  square  jambs,  and  possibly  also  its 
lozengy-quarried  glass.  The  sixth,  the  head  of  which  occupies  the 
lower  part  of  another  of  the  Saxon  windows,  is  of  two  cinquefoliated 
pointed  lights,  under  a  horizontal  moulded  head,  with  small  plain 
spandrels,  handsomely  moulded  jambs  and  ramified  mullion,  of 
which  the  central  moulding  is  continued  up  to  the  head.  The 
seventh  is  another  of  the  Saxon  windows,  perhaps  in  its  original 
state,  having  a  semicircular  head  and  straight  sides.  This  is  about 
three  diameters  in  height,  being  19  inches  wide,  but  internally  the  sides 
slope  to  a  width  of  nearly  3  feet.  On  the  roof,  almost  above  the 
sixth  window,  is  a  modern  dormer  window  of  two  lights,  wiih  figured 
scalloped  wooden  gable. 

Under  the  second  window  from  the  east  is  a  shallow  square- 
headed  recess,  in  which  is  an  ogee-headed  pierced  spandrelled 
panel.  What  this  was  is  difficult  to  say.  It  is  too  near  the  ground 
to  have  been  a  stoup,  and  is  too  small  for  the  doorway  to  a  crypt, 
being  only  22  inches  wide  and  34  inches  in  height.  It  may,  however, 
have  been  the  window  of  a  crypt,  or  an  opening  through  which  to 
view  and  worship  from  the  churchyard  the  relics  of  some  saint 
immured  within  the  chancel ;  to  which  latter  opinion  we  are  most 
inclined,  on  account  of  there  being  also  a  monumental  recess  in  the 
interior  south  wall,  corresponding  in  situation  with  this  exterior 
recess. 

A  little  further  eastward,  under  a  pointed  arch,  is  the  chancel 
doorway,  originally  in  the  elegant  style  of  the  fourteenth  century ; 
but  its  head  is  now  occupied  by  two  plain  pointed  couped  lights  and 
an  oblong  richly  moulded  sexfoil,  now  blank,  with  which,  no  doubt, 
the  heads  of  the  lights  accorded  before  their  tracery  was  cut  off  for 
the  insertion  of  this  other  deformity  to  which  Hurley  Church  has 
been  subjected,  the  door  itself  being  square-headed,  mean,  and  dis- 
proportional. 

The  south  doorway  of  the  nave  is  an  insertion  of  the  twelfth 
century  into  the  old  Saxon  wall.  It  is  a  triple  archway,  but  we 
shall  here  only  notice  its  exterior  arch,  which  is  pointed,  and  has  a 
continuous  cylindrical  moulding  set  in  a  hollowed  edge,  and  although 
without  a  dripstone,  there  is  no  appearance  of  its  having  had  an 
ancient  porch.  The  present  porch  is  comparatively  modern,  and 


Hurley.  1 69 

was  probably  intended  for  a  school  or  parish  vestry  room,  being 
unusually  spacious,  and  furnished  with  a  brick  boarded  bench  on 
either  side,  and  an  old-fashioned  table.  Its  front  has  a  pointed  door 
and  two  small  pointed  windows  under  a  boldly  scalloped  gable. 

The  north  side  is  but  little  better  than  a  blank  wall,  and  being 
now  almost  deprived  of  its  plaster  coating,  its  various  materials  and 
irregular  courses  are  very  visible.  The  doorway  and  the  windows 
are  all  stopped  up,  the  latter  flush  with  the  wall.  The  doorway  is  a 
double  semicircularly-headed  low  archway  of  gray  freestone.  The 
faces  of  its  arches  are  plain,  and  spring  from  abacus-like  imposts,  the 
whole,  excepting  a  concentric  dripstone,  which  is  a  chalk  fillet  with 
chamfered  upper  and  lower  edges,  being  in  such  good  condition  that 
this  doorway  has  apparently  been  erected  long  after  the  original 
formation  of  the  wall,  in  place  of  a  doorway,  to  which  the  above- 
named  dripstone  belonged.  This  northern  wall  was  probably  of  two 
different  eras.  Its  eastern  part  and  oldest,  seemingly,  terminated 
about  4  feet  westward  of  the  door  above  described.  This  had  four 
small  windows,  with  plain  semicircular  heads,  like  those  we  have 
spoken  of  as  Saxon  windows  in  the  south  side,  their  heads  being 
about  5  feet  below  the  eaves.  Its  western  portion  had  two  windows 
larger  than  those  just  mentioned,  with  traces  of  a  third,  and  near  the 
extreme  western  end  is  a  well-marked  appearance  of  this  end  having 
been  added  to  the  more  ancient  Saxon  nave,  as  we  have  previously 
presumed.  At  the  north-east  and  north-west  angles  of  this  north 
wall  are  remains  of  some  squared  masonry,  as  if  of  two  return  walls ; 
and  in  its  eastern  portion  about  9  feet  from  the  ground  are  the  ends 
of  six  beams,  which  have  been  sawed  off,  and  were,  probably,  the 
supports  of  the  roof  of  a  corridor  from  the  prior's  apartments  to  the 
north  church  door. 

Near  the  west  end  of  the  church,  one  of  the  rooms  built  on  the 
site  of  the  monastery  has  been  very  meritoriously  converted  by  the 
present  vicar  into  a  school  room.  This  parish  has  no  regularly 
endowed  school,  although  formerly  a  day  school  for  eight  children 
was,  and  perhaps  still  is,  supported  by  the  owner  of  Hall  Place,  and 
another  for  sixteen  more,  by  a  beneficent  lady,  no  longer  a  parish- 
ioner. It  is  hoped,  however,  that  as  now  a  convenient  school-room 
has  been  provided,  the  numerous  poor  of  Hurley  will  not  want 
adequate  means  for  the  completion  of  the  vicar's  benevolent  inten- 
tions. 

The  churchyard  is  spacious,  and  well  fenced  from  improper  uses 
by  a  substantial  wall,  the  entrance  being  a  handsome  double  gate, 
generally  locked  and  protected,  as  is  also  the  coping  of  the  wall,  by 
strong  iron  spikes.  The  pathway  through  it  to  the  porch  is  wide  and 
neatly  gravelled.  Its  mouldering  heaps  are  kept  decently  turfed, 
while  some  are  classically  shaded  by  a  funereal  yew,  a  solemn  cypress, 
and  a  lofty  pine.  It  has  a  few  table  tombs,  but  the  inscriptions  on 


1 70  Berkshire. 

these  will  be  more  appropriately  related  with  the  epitaphs  of  the 
interior  of  the  church. 

The  ancient  cemetery  of  the  monastery  was  probably  a  small  quad- 
rangle on  the  north  side  of  the  church,  but  which,  with  the  exception 
of  the  corridor  before  mentioned,  bears  no  marks  of  ever  having 
been  surrounded  with  an  ambulatory,  or  what  we  call  cloisters.  The 
east  and  west  and  western  half  of  the  north  sides  are  comparatively 
modern  domestic  buildings ;  but  the  eastern  half,  now  a  stable,  is  of 
the  fourteenth  or  fifteenth  century,  and  was  no  doubt  the  conventual 
hall,  or  refectory.  It  is  constructed  of  soft  chalk  and  flint,  the  dress- 
ings being  wholly  of  chalk.  The  doorway  and  two  of  its  five 
windows  are  visible  in  our  accompanying  plate.  The  former  is 
opposite  to  the  northern  doorway  of  the  church,  of  which  it  seems  to 
be  an  imitation,  as  well  as  another  loftier  doorway  further  east,  now 
converted  into  a  recess.  The  windows  are  narrow  externally,  though 
much  splayed  inwards,  and  have  boldly  trefoliated  lancet  heads.  The 
north  side  of  this  refectory  had  a  doorway  with  ogee-edged  jambs, 
and  three  long  windows  of  two  pointed  lights,  above  which  is  a 
central  spandrel ;  but  these  windows  have  been  partly  blocked  up, 
and  externally  much  mutilated,  though  internally  their  chalk  archi- 
traves, and  a  moulded  canopy  or  labels  with  returns  continued  as  a 
wall  tablet,  are  in  excellent  preservation. 

The  lower  parts  of  the  south  windows  .have  been  converted  into 
panels,  against  some  of  which  are  attached  black  marble  and  slate 
slabs,  inscribed  with  various  passages  from  ancient  charters  illus- 
trating the  history  of  the  priory ;  and  on  lead  and  copper  plates  are 
the  apocryphal  armorial  bearings  of  those  persons  principally  con- 
nected with  its  foundation.  These,  with  other  historical  inscriptions 
in  the  cellars  of  the  late  mansion,  were  put  up  by  Mr.  Wilcox,  F.S.A., 
who  delighted  in  the  antiquity  of  his  residence  ;  but,  as  the  latter 
have  been  already  mentioned  in  the  pages  of  an  instructive  cheap 
contemporary,  we  will  here  record  only  those  first  alluded  to,  as  they 
existed  in  1825,  since  which  some  of  them  have  proceeded  to  decay 
and  obliteration. 

In  the  eastern  panel  was  a  leaden  plate,  now  gone,  on  which  might 
be  discerned  the  arms  of  Edward  the  Confessor,  viz.,  a  cross  patonce 
between  five  martlets,  and  this  inscription :  "  King  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor, principal  founder  of  Westminster  Abbey,  after  the  time  of 
KingSebert  and  King  Offa."  In  another  panel,  on  a  copper  plate,  is 
painted  a  shield,  quarterly,  or  and  gules,  an  escarbuncle  of  eight  rays 
sable,  ensigned  with  a  coronet  of  five  points  pearled,  the  arms  of  the 
Mandeville  family,  and  this  inscription,  viz. :  "  I,  Maud,  daughter  of 
King  Henry,  and  Governess  of  the  English,  do  give  and  grant  toGaufred 
de  Mandeville,  for  his  service,  and  to  his  heirs  after  him  hereditarily, 
the  earldom  of  Essex,  and  that  he  have  the  third  penny  of  the  sheriff's 
court,  issuing  out  of  all  pleas  as  an  earl  ought  to  receive  from  his 


Hurley.  171 

county  in  all  things.  This  is  the  ancientest  charter  that  Mr.  Camden 
ever  saw."  Beneath  is  a  slate  slab  thus  engraved  :  "  The  priory  of  St. 
Mary's,  Hurley,  founded  in  the  reign  of  William  the  Conqueror,  by 
Geoflry  de  Mandeville  and  his  wife  Lecelina,  A.D.  1086,  a  cell  to 
Westminster  Abbey."  In  the  panel  over  the  door  of  the  refectory  is 
a  copper  plate,  nailed  to  the  plaster,  on  which  is  painted  a  shield  or, 
with  traces  of  a  fess  between  three  martlets  sable,  ensigned  with  a 
coronet  as  before  :  the  arms,  we  suppose,  of  the  Count  de  Seez  ;  and 
under  it  this  inscription  :  "  Osmund  the  good,  Count  of  Seez  in 
Normandy,  afterwards  Earl  of  Dorset,  and  Lord  High  Chancellor  of 
England,  and  at  last  Bishop  of  Sarum,  consecrated  this  church  of 
Hurley,  A.D.  1086,  and  died  December  4,  1099,  in  the  reign  of 
William  Rufus."  Underneath  this  is  a  black  marble  oblong  slab, 
thus  engraved :  "  Extract  from  the  conclusion  of  the  charter  by  the 
founder  of  Lady  Place,  Hurley.  Contestor  igitur  omnes  filios  meos 
heredes  videlicet  et  omnes  posteros  meos  Deus  augeat  et  stabiliat 
vitam  illorum  in  seterna  beatitudine  et  habeant  partem  in  elemosyna 
mecurn  in  coelesti  requie.  Testes  Osmundus  Episcopus,  Gislebertus 
Abbas  Westmonasterii,  Lecelina  domina  uxor  mea,  Willelmus  de 
Magna  Villa,  Ricardus  de  Magna  Villa,  etc."  In  the  original  charter, 
still  extant  in  Westminster  Abbey,  Richard's  name  does  not  appear, 
and  this  extract  is  so  defective  that  to  us  it  is  not  intelligible.  It 
should  have  been:  "Contestor  igitur  omnes  filios  meos,  hseredes 
videlicet,  et  omnes  posteros  meos,  per  tremendum  Dei  judicium,  et 
per  omnem  potentiam  ejus  in  ccelo  et  in  terra,  ne  ipsi  faciant  aut 
facere  sinant  ullam  infractionem  huic  donationi  mese,  immo  augeant 
et  stabiliant  illam,  ita  ut  Deus  augeat  et  stabiliat  dies  et  vitam  illorum 
in  seterna  beatitudine,  et  habeant  partem  in  ilia  mea  elemosina 
mecum  in  ccelesti  requie."  In  a  small  modern  quaterfoliated  cir- 
cular panel,  below  one  of  the  windows,  engraved  on  slate,  is  this  : 
"  Laetabitur  solitudo  :  florebitque  sicut  lilium  ;"  and  on  a  chalk  stone 
these  fragmental  words  :  "...  paradise  celeste.  Amen." 

The  Saxon  character,  with  which  we  have  thus  invested  our  sub- 
ject, is  most  forcibly  demonstrated  by  the  northern  wall  of  the 
church,  but  on  account  of  the  extreme  simplicity  of  those  features  com- 
monly designating  the  date  of  edifices  of  the  mediaeval  ages,  and  its 
almost  utter  destitution  of  any  distinguishing  ornament,  it  affords  us 
only  a  negative  proof  of  this  character.  Presuming,  however,  from 
the  style  of  decoration,  that  the  west  end  of  Hurley  Church  was  com- 
menced at  the  period  of  the  establishment  of  the  priory,  the  year  in 
which  Domesday  Book  was  finished,  it  is  sufficiently  evident  that  the 
north  and,  probably  also,  the  south  wall,  if  judged  of  by  the  differ- 
ence of  their  materials  and  manner  of  construction,  are  assuredly  of 
some  other  period.  Knowing,  moreover,  each  style  of  architecture 
subsequent  to  the  Norman  era,  with  none  of  which  the  features  of  the 
north  wall  correspond,  we  strenuously  maintain  that  this  part,  at 


172  Berkshire. 

least,  is  older  than  that  era,  and,  though  rude,  as  genuine  a  specimen 
of  Saxon  building  as  any  existing  church  hitherto  denominated. 

If  we  reflect,  likewise,  that  Herlei  is  stated  in  the  Norman  survey 
to  have  possessed  in  the  Coniessor's  time,  when  held  by  Esgar,  and 
thence  called  Esgareston,  all  the  constituents  of  opulence  common 
to  that  period,  viz.,  mills,  fisheries,  meadows,  woods,  and  swine,  we 
cannot  but  suppose  that  it  was  also  then  provided  with  a  church. 
And  considering  the  apparent  restoration  of  one  half  of  the  north 
wall,  there  is  great  probability  that  this  identical  church  may  have 
been  one  of  those  ravaged  and  partly  ruined  by  the  Danes,  A.D.  870, 
during  their  occupation  of  Reading,  or  in  894  when  they  traversed 
Herlei  on  their  march  "  up  by  Temese,"  from  Essex  to  Gloucester- 
shire, as  we  are  informed  by  the  Saxon  Chronicle,  and  as  attested 
by  an  encampment,  called  the  Danes  Ditches,  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  the  edifice  we  have  thus  endeavoured,  however 
unintelligibly,  to  describe. 

[1839,  Part  II.  t  pp.  27-32] 

The  northern  wall  is  quite  blank,  its  Saxon  windows  and  the  door- 
way having  been  blocked  up  flush  to  its  surface,  and  the  whole  so 
plastered  over  that  their  former  situations  are  hardly  discernible. 
The  eastern  is  a  mere  partition-wall,  and  also  blank.  The  windows 
of  the  south  wall  I  have  fully  described  in  my  previous  paper,  and 
need  here  only  state  that  the  Saxon  jambs  are  much  splayed,  and 
that  the  modern  windows  have  their  jambs  and  mullions  moulded 
and  otherwise  ornamented,  like  those  of  the  exterior.  The  southern 
entrance  to  the  nave  is  a  compound  doorway  of  three  several  receding 
arches.  The  loftiest  and  first  in  order,  reckoning  from  within,  and 
which  may  be  called  the  constructional  arch,  is  semicircularly  headed 
and  square  edged,  having  in  hollowed  chamfers  edge-shafts  with  small 
but  mutilated  bases,  astragals,  and  singly-cleft  cushion  capitals.  The 
second  is  a  square-edged  segmental  arch  stopped  by  the  jambs  of  the 
first ;  and  the  third,  or  sub-arch,  being  pointed,  designates  this  door- 
way as  an  insertion  of  the  twelfth  century,  and  an  example  of  the 
gradual  transition  of  Norman  into  pointed  architecture.  The  door  is 
of  oak,  but  modern  and  strongly  made.  Nearly  above  this  doorway 
was  one  of  the  little  Saxon  windows,  and,  though  now  merely  a  plain 
niche,  yet  interestingly  shows  that  the  jambs  of  Saxon  windows  were 
less  sloped  than  those  of  their  Norman  successors.  The  chancel 
doorway  has  plain  sloped  jambs  ;  and  the  interior  arches  of  the 
Norman  west  doorway  and  window  we  have  previously  noticed. 

The  floor  of  the  nave  is  on  a  much  lower  level  than  the  ground 
surrounding  it,  the  western  and  southern  entrances  having  each  a 
descent  of  four  steps  inwards.  The  chancel-floor  is  one  step  higher 
than  that  of  the  nave,  and  the  floor  of  the  altar-place  is  two  steps 
higher  than  the  chancel ;  but  this  elevation  is  in  part  evidently 


Hurley.  173 

modern,  the  base  of  the  Lovelace  monument  being  hidden  by  it. 
With  respect  to  this  difference  of  levels  of  the  lower  floor  and  the 
churchyard,  although  it  may  in  some  degree  be  attributed  to  the  in- 
terments of  many  centuries,  I  still  think  that  it  was  originally  intended 
to  be  so ;  and,  when  so  considerable  as  in  the  present  case,  that  it 
demonstrates  the  Saxon  origin  of  all  churches  similarly  circum- 
stanced. 

The  pavement  consists  principally  of  common  square  red  tiles ; 
but  in  the  chancel  and  altar-place  are  some  with  glazed  green  and 
yellow  surfaces,  and  several  of  those  small  figured  tiles  denominated 
Norman,  variously  adorned  with  quater  and  octo-foliated  circles  and 
gyrons  of  different  angles ;  though  none  have  any  more  decidedly 
heraldic  bearings  than  leopards'  faces,  and  large  single  fleurs-de-lis. 

The  figures  on  these  ancient  tiles  are  mostly  red  and  yellow,  but  a 
few  are  of  a  bluish  tinge,  and  imperfectly  vitrified,  as  if  only  half 
baked. 

The  ceiling  is  apparently  of  lath  and  plaster.  Its  eastern  part  is  of 
irregular  polygonal  form,  beneath  which  are  two  tie-beams.  The 
western  portion  is,  however,  semi-decagonal,  and  has  four  tie-beams 
with  queen-posts,  braces,  and  straining-beams,  being  open  on  two  of 
its  faces  to  the  purlins  and  rafters  of  the  roofs  slope.  The  ancient 
ceiling  was  either  flat  or  (more  probably)  sloped,  and  open  to  its 
timber  frame ;  for  there  are  no  remains  of  shafts  or  pilasters  or 
corbel-brackets,  from  which  any  groined  or  vaulted  ceiling  could 
have  sprung — a  fact  corroborative  of  our  previously  expressed  opinion 
that  the  exterior  was  originally  covered  with  wooden  shingles  or  with 
straw. 

Attached  to  the  surface  of  the  eastern  tie-beam  are  three  rough 
planks,  whereon  probably  the  holy  rood  or  crucifix  and  other  images 
were  placed,  but  now  supporting  the  royal  shield  ;  the  emblem  of  the 
loyalty  of  our  national  church  supplanting  thus  the  objects  of  former 
Romish  superstition.  On  either  side  of  this  shield  are  boards  cut  in 
the  shape  of  and  painted  something  like  couchant  lions,  which,  if  the 
practice  of  setting  up  the  royal  arms  in  churches  be  so  old  as  the 
time  of  Edward  IV.,  were  no  doubt  meant  for  his  supporters,  as  at 
one  period  of  his  reign  couchant  lions  were.  The  tie-beam,  which 
was  westward  of  the  rood-loft,  has  been  sawed  away  for  the  evident 
purpose  of  rendering  the  rood  more  visible  to  persons  at  the  west  end 
of  the  nave.  These  kind  of  images  and  paintings,  which  before  "  the 
schoolmaster  was  abroad "  were  merely  meant  as  children's  and 
laymen's  books,  although  afterwards  perverted  by  priestcraft  and 
ignorance  to  superstitious  purposes,  were  ordered  by  Elizabeth  to  be 
destroyed  and  defaced,  and  their  places  occupied  by  the  Creed  and 
Lord's  Prayer  and  select  portions  of  Scripture.  Accordingly,  we  here 
find  that  on  the  north  wall  are  three  and  on  the  south  four  such 
inscriptions,  all  surrounded  with  the  flowing  ornaments  so  common 
at  the  time  when  we  suppose  they  were  first  put  up. 


1 74  Berkshire. 

The  sanctuary  or  altar-place  is  spacious,  and  divided  from  the 
chancel  by  a  wooden  railing  of  well-turned  spiral  balustres  ;  but  we 
did  not  see  any  pulvinar  or  cushion  for  the  convenience  of  communi- 
cants when  on  the  genuflexorium,  or  kneeling-step,  at  communion- 
time.  The  holy  table  is  neatly  made,  and  stands  at  the  extreme 
upper  end  of  the  chancel.  It  is  of  wood,  as  ordained  by  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  as  primitive  Christian  altars  always  were  until  the  time 
of  Constantine,  stone  altars  being  then  considered  more  consistent 
with  the  magnificent  churches  which  Christians  had  permission  to 
erect  after  their  first  persecutions  had  ceased.  The  pallium  is  a  decent 
blue  woollen  cloth,  and  so  large  as  to  completely  hide  the  table — a 
fashion  derived  from  the  amplitude  of  covering  formerly  necessary  to 
hinder  profane  hands  from  touching  it.  The  sacred  vessels  consist 
of  a  silver  flagon  and  chalice  for  the  wine,  and  paten  for  the  bread ; 
but  they  have  no  devices  or  inscriptions,  as  we  were  informed  by  the 
vicar,  at  whose  residence  they  now  are  kept.  The  alms-vessel,  how- 
ever, is  of  wood,  and  not  a  silver  basin  as  it  should  be,  the  use  of 
wooden  vessels  having  only  been  allowed  during  the  century  succeed- 
ing to  the  ravages  of  the  Danes. 

The  altar-piece  is  of  mahogany-coloured  woodwork.  It  is  in  the 
Roman  style,  and  consists  of  a  pedestal  base,  above  which  are  two 
semicircularly  headed  panels  and  two  lateral  square-headed  ones,  all 
flanked  by  fluted  pilasters,  supporting  a  triglyphed  and  dentilled 
entablature,  but  with  a  truncated  pediment.  Between  the  heads  of 
the  central  panels,  surrounded  with  a  glory  of  gilt  radii,  is  an  inverted 
triangular  gilt  space,  on  which  are  inscribed  the  four  Hebrew  letters 
signifying  "  Jehovah."  In  the  central  vacuity  of  the  pediment  is  a 
small  carved  and  gilded  dove,  symbolic  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  imita- 
tion of  the  gold  vessel  wherein  the  Eucharist  was  kept ;  but  which  in 
primitive  churches  was  suspended,  as  if  hovering  over  the  altar.  In 
the  two  central  panels,  on  a  white  marbled  ground,  is  a  copy  of  the 
Decalogue  plainly  written  in  small  black  Roman  letters  ;  and  in  the 
lateral  panels,  on  a  black  ground,  are  representations  of  Moses  and 
Aaron  standing  on  marble  pedestals.  Moses  has  a  venerable  beard, 
carrying  under  his  right  arm  the  two  graven  tables  of  stone,  with  his 
rod  and  left  hand  pointing  upwards.  Aaron  is  in  the  holy  garments 
peculiar  to  his  office  as  high-priest,  namely,  the  linen  trousers,  the 
blue  robe  with  golden  bells  at  its  lower  border,  the  ephod  or  girdle, 
and  embroidered  breastplate,  the  precious  stones  upon  his  shoulders, 
and  the  mitre,  with  gold  forehead-plate  ;  and  from  his  right  hand 
swings  a  golden  censer.  This  Roman  style  of  altar-piece,  so  common 
still  not  only  to  our  Gothic  parish  churches,  but  also  to  many  collegiate 
chapels  and  cathedrals,  is  quite  discordant  with  them,  considered 
architecturally.  In  the  latter,  however,  we  are  happy  to  observe  that 
they  have  in  many  instances  been  removed  from  before  the  ancient 
altar-screens  they  had  so  long  concealed,  or  have  been  supplanted 


Hurley.  175 

by  new  designs  more  appropriate  to  the  style  of  the  edifices  contain- 
ing themx  although  they  are  yet  far  from  what  they  might  be  in  this 
respect. 

Directly  under  the  rood-loft  beam,  and  dividing  the  chancel  from 
the  nave,  is  a  well-designed  open  screen  of  lime  or  sycamore,  or 
some  such  close-grained  wood,  too  well,  however,  executed,  to  have 
been  made  at  the  public  cost,  unless  in  times  more  munificent  than 
ours,  and,  therefore,  probably  the  gift  of  some  pious  public-spirited 
parishioner.  It  is  in  the  Italian  taste,  and  was  most  likely  erected 
in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century.  This  screen  (if  so  it  may  be 
called,  not  having  any  lattice-work  or  the  cancelli  which  ancient 
chancel -screens  invariably  had,  and  whence,  indeed,  the  word 
"  chancel "  is  derived)  consists  of  a  narrow  central  semicircularly- 
headed  archway  between  two  wide,  flat-headed  openings,  flanked  by 
rectangular  ornamented  pillars  supporting  a  neatly-carved  entablature, 
the  console,  or  key,  and  spandrels  of  the  central  arch  being  adorned 
with  finely-cut,  flowing  foliage.  Against  the  north  and  south  walls 
of  the  chancel  is  a  continuation  of  this  screen-work  as  a  return  arch, 
like  that  just  described,  but  with  a  console  embellished  with  a 
beautifully-carved  cherub,  thus  giving  to  the  backs  of  the  manorial 
and  vicarage  pews  somewhat  the  appearance  of  stalls  in  a  cathedral. 
This  returning  portion  of  the  screen  is  not  extended  so  far  on  the 
north  as  on  the  south  wall,  where  some  of  the  panelling  partly  hides 
a  recess  in  -which  has  been  the  altar-tomb  we  have  before  alluded  to 
as  probably  the  tomb  of  a  prior  or  benefactor  to  the  church,  or  the 
shrine  of  some  more  saintly  personage. 

The  baptistery  pew  is  under  a  north  gallery,  and  near  the  western 
door,  through  which  everyone  about  to  be  received  into  Christ's  • 
church  should  properly  enter,  now  that  fonts  are  no  longer  kept  in 
porches  or  detached  buildings,  as  they  anciently  were.  The  font  is 
placed  in  the  south-west  corner  of  the  pew,  which  has  a  seat  on  its 
north  side  for  the  sponsors,  that  they  may  conveniently  turn  to  the 
west  when  renouncing  the  devil,  and  to  the  east  upon  their  assent  to 
the  creed  and  promise  of  obedience.  It  is  of  the  reddish  compact 
sandstone  of  which  ancient  fonts  are  generally  made,  but  its  "  comeli- 
ness" has  been  defaced  by  time,  and  its  "cleanliness"  by  dirt,  so  that 
it  would  certainly  "  occasion  contempt  and  aversion "  were  it  now 
put  to  its  former  use.  Exteriorly  its  plan  is  octagonal,  as  recom- 
mended by  St.  Ambrose,  being  also  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a 
truncated  inverted  pyramid,  and  has  a  boldly  moulded  base  and  rim. 
Its  upper  surface  being  only  about  3  feet  from  the  ground,  it  has  not 
the  step  or  platform  at  its  base*  which  fonts  often  have,  whereon  the 
priest  stood  for  the  "discreet -and  wary"  dipping  and  lifting  out  of 
the  infant.  It  is  embellished  at  each  angle  with  small  buttresses, 
each  face  consisting  of  a  trefoliated  ogee-headed  and  finialed  panel 
with  large  trefoil  spandrels.  It  is  probably  of  the  fourteenth  or 


176  Berkshire. 

fifteenth  century,  and  therefore  old  enough  to  demonstrate  that 
Hurley  Church,  although  conventual,  was  also  a  baptismal  or 
parochial  one.  Being  nearly  22  inches  wide,  its  concavity  is  suffi- 
ciently capacious  for  the  immersion  of  naked  infants  of  the  early 
age  of  eight  days,  when  properly,  unless  too  weak,  they  should  be 
baptized.  "  In  these  degenerate  days,"  however,  our  children  are 
always  presumed  to  be  too  weak  for  immersion,  whereas  among  our 
more  robust  ancestry  immersion  was  performed  at  each  separate 
mentioning  of  the  three  Persons  of  the  Trinity.  The  common  basins 
which  we  sometimes  see  instead  of  a  font  are  disgraceful  to  the 
sanctity  of  public  baptism,  and  were,  moreover,  positively  prohibited, 
as  well  as  sprinkling,  by  the  canons  of  1571  and  1584.  This  font 
is  lined  with  lead,  and  has  the  usual  hole  at  bottom  for  conveying 
out  the  water  after  administration  of  the  rite,  or  at  most  every  seven 
days,  by  a  channel  through  the  pedestal  or  shaft  into  the  ground. 
On  its  leaden  rim  the  marks  of  two  iron  staples  still  attest  that  it 
had  formerly  a  cover,  which  was  no  doubt  kept  reverently  locked 
down,  that  its  contents  should  not  be  employed  for  any  purposes  of 
sorcery  or  witchcraft.  Immediately  above  the  font  is  a  large  ring 
inserted  into  the  under  part  of  the  gallery,  from  which  the  cover  was 
suspended  by  a  cord  and  pulley  when  the  font  was  used — a  circum- 
stance which  makes  it  not  unlikely  that  the  cover  was  massive,  and 
handsomely  carved. 

Attached  to  the  wall  of  the  baptistery  pew  is  a  covered  shelf  for 
charity  bread ;  but  the  thrice-locked  "  poore  mennes  boxe,"  with  a 
hole  through  the  top,  ordered  by  James  I.  to  be  fastened  up  in 
every  church,  and  which,  we  believe,  should  still  remain,  has  been, 
in  these  days  of  compulsory  charity,  removed,  as  no  longer  neces- 
sary. 

The  pulpit  and  reading-desks  are  conveniently  situated  on  the 
south  side  of  the  nave,  and  were  probably  put  up,  as  most  of  our 
wooden  pulpits  were,  in  the  early  part  of  James  I.'s  reign.  This 
pulpit  is  neatly  made  of  wainscot,  and  is  of  hexagonal  form,  as  well 
as  the  sounding-board,  a  handsomely  inlaid  piece  of  joinery  project- 
ing from  the  capital  of  an  oaken  fluted  pilaster  attached  to  the  wall. 
The  pulpit  cloth  and  cushion  are  of  blue  velvet,  now  much  faded  ; 
but  the  books  are  in  good  condition,  being  almost  new,  and  are  of 
the  full  size  enjoined  by  the  canons  so  to  be. 

The  pews  extend  on  both  sides  from  near  the  west  end  to  the 
altar-rails.  They  are  of  one  height,  but  of  irregular  dimensions,  and 
mostly  of  plain  deal  or  beechen  panelling,  their  ends  being  painted 
to  represent  wainscot.  All  have  boarded  floors,  and  two  have 
woollen  linings  and  comfortable  cushions  and  hassocks,  with  which 
latter  accommodation,  adopted  first  when  church  floors  ceased  to  be 
strewed  with  straw  or  rushes,  and  peculiar,  we  believe,  to  English 
churches,  each  person  should  be  provided,  as  several  portions  even 


Hurley.  177 

of  our  reformed  liturgy  require  the  kneeling  posture  for  its  correct 
celebration. 

At  the  west  end  of  the  church  is  a  small  music-gallery,  the  front 
of  which  was  formerly  a  series  of  balustrades,  and  also  a  plain  narrow 
gallery  returning  on  the  north  side. 

The  ringing-loft  is  partitioned  off  from  the  back  of  the  west  gallery, 
and  above  it  is  the  belfry,  in  which  are  three  variously  sized  bells. 
One  is  thus  inscribed:  "This  bell  was  made  1602,  J.  V"  Another 
has  the  letters  E.  R.  and  a  crown  upon  it,  hung  up,  no  doubt,  in 
Elizabeth's  reign ;  and  the  third  has  some  old  English  characters 
which  we  could  not  get  at  to  decipher,  and  was,  no  doubt,  one  of 
the  priory  bells,  and  as  such  may  have  been  honoured  with  chrism 
and  consecration. 

In  the  ringing-loft  is  an  antique  chest — -the  former  register-chest, 
perhaps ;  the  upper  parts  of  porches  and  of  towers  having  been 
formerly  the  usual  muniment  rooms  for  the  depositing  of  parish 
papers  and  other  property.  The  modern  register-chest  is  of  iron, 
and  kept  at  the  vicar's  residence.  The  registers  are  perfect  from  the 
year  1563. 

Under  the  north  gallery,  at  the  extreme  west  end,  is  a  small  space 
completely  enclosed  with  laths  arranged  in  a  cancellated  manner  and 
reaching  to  the  ceiling,  the  original  purpose  of  which  we  cannot  con- 
ceive, unless  possibly  it  was  the  baptistery,  or  vestiary,  or  a  place  for 
the  catechumens  of  more  modern  times,  the  young  unruly  children  of 
poor  parishioners. 

Opposite,  on  the  south  side,  are  wooden  stairs  leading  up  to  the 
galleries,  and  a  dark  enclosure,  the  use  of  which  was  fully  explained 
by  its  contents,  an  old  chest  for  funeral  furniture,  the  bier,  "  a  pick- 
axe and  a  spade,"  and  other  instruments  to  which  we  all  some  day 
must  be  indebted  for  our  viaticum  to  mother  earth. 

The  principal  monument  in  Hurley  Church  is  that  to  the  memory 
of  three  of  the  early  Berkshire  Lovelaces.  It  is  against  the  north 
wall  of  the  chancel,  and  is  in  the  mixed  Italian  or  cinque-cento  style 
so  prevalent  soon  after  the  Reformation,  when  its  central  part  was 
probably  erected.  But  although  the  general  design  is  not  inelegant, 
its  execution,  especially  of  the  wings,  is  rude,  and  being  of  a 
crumbling  stone,  many  ornamental  parts  are  loose,  and  the  whole 
will  soon  tumble  to  pieces  unless  the  munificence  of  the  newly- 
created  Earl  of  Lovelace  should  think  fit  to  order  its  immediate 
restoration.  This  monument  is  nearly  12  feet  high,  and  now  consists 
of  three  compartments  flanked  by  fluted  Ionic  columns,  which  support 
an  entablature  and  attic  embellished  in  the  style  above  alluded  to, 
and  surmounted  on  each  side  by  a  skull.  The  central  compartment 
is  a  large  tablet,  bordered  with  billets  and  scrolls  in  high  relief  and 
arabesque-like  ornaments.  It  is  now  blank,  but  Ashrnole  states  it  to 

VOL.  XII.  12 


178  Berkshire. 

have  been  occupied  by  the  following  quaint  verses  painted  in  black 
letter  : 

"  LOVELACE,  thy  name  layes  clowne  a  lasting  love, 

Thy  Title,  Worship,  Justice,  and  Esquire. 

Thy  wedded  Grace  gives  graces  from  above 

Her  father  Sampson's  vertues  to  aspiere. 

Joyne  thyne  and  hers  the  difference  is  not  od, 

Grace  onely  grace,  amiyi?/;«  the  grace  of  God. 

Blessing  the  poor,  more  blessed  thou  didst  thrive, 

Six  sons,  two  daughters  Messed  have  thy  bed  ; 

Thy  lyfe  in  Christ  then  blessed  thou  alive, 

Thy  lyfe  in  Christ,  and  blessed  art  thou  ded. 

Blessed  by  name,  by  title,  and  by  wife  ; 

By  Father;  Children;  Poore;  by  Death  and  Lyfe." 

On  the  base  of  this  monument,  in  Ashmole's  time,  the  following 
inscription  was  also  visible,  but  is  now  concealed  by  the  raising  of  the 
altar-place  floor,  as  before  mentioned  : 

"JOHANNES  LOVELACE,  armiger,  mortem  obiit  25  August!,  1558,  et  uxor  ejus 
obht  12°  Novembris  Anno  1579." 

Above  the  entablature,  against  the  centre  of  the  dado  of  a  kind  of 
attic,  is  a  large  stone  shield  sculptured  and  emblazoned  with  the  old 
Lovelace  and  Eynsham  arms,  viz.,  gules  on  a  chief  dancette"  sable 
three  martlets  argent ;  quartering,  azure,  on  a  saltier  engrailed  argent 
five  martlets  sable,  in  the  fess  point  a  mullet  or.  At  either  side, 
standing  insulated  on  the  blocking-course  of  this  attic,  fully  sculptured 
and  of  large  size,  is  the  Lovelace  crest,  viz.,  on  an  oak-branch  laying 
fessways  proper,  with  acorns  or,  an  eagle  displayed  sable,  bearing 
upon  the  breast  a  mullet  or. 

The  lateral  compartments  are  occupied  by  stone  effigies,  about  3  feet 
high,  of  Richard  Lovelace,  Esq.,  and  Sir  Richard  Lovelace,  his  son, 
but  both  now  literally  totter  on  their  knees.  The  first  is  "  habited," 
as  Ashmole  merely  says,  "  in  the  fashion  of  his  times,"  in  a  close 
doublet  with  sleeves,  and  fastened  down  the  front  of  the  body  with 
buttons  and  loops,  but  finishing  just  above  the  knees  in  full  round 
skirts.  About  the  neck  and  wrists  are  small  ruffs,  his  hair  being 
closely  cut,  but  his  beard  and  mustachios  are  long.  He  holds  his 
right  hand  on  his  breast,  and  his  left  hand,  from  its  position,  probably 
held  a  skull.  Sir  Richard  is  "gallantly  armed,"  having  over  his 
doublet  a  suit  of  the  plate-armour  peculiar  to  his  times,  when  armour 
was  beginning  to  be  laid  aside.  This  consists  of  a  gorget,  a  cuirass 
with  skirts  of  overlapping  plates  called  tassets,  the  garde  de  reines, 
and  "  cuisses  on  his  thighs,"  with  epauldrons,  brassarts,  elbow-pieces, 
and  vambraces  upon  his  arms.  He  also  has  a  ruff  and  closely-cut 
hair,  but  his  beard  is  pointed  like  that  of  other  cavaliers,  and  of  their 
sovereign,  Charles  I.  The  right  arm  hangs  by  his  side,  but  the  other 
fore-arm,  and  the  hilt  of  a  sword  which  was  suspended  by  a  narrow 
belt  diagonally  across  the  hips,  have  disappeared.  Above  them 


Hurley.  1 79 

respectively  are  these  inscriptions   in   badly-engraved   gilt    Roman 
capitals : 

"  Richard  Lovelace,  sone  of  John  Lovelace,  Esquire,  lived  vertuously,  and 
departed  this  life  the  I2th  day  of  March,  An.  Dni.  1601." 

"  Sir  Richard  Lovelace  knighted  in  ye  warrs  sonne  of  Richard  Lovelace,  Esquire, 
lived  worthelye  and  departed  this  life  ....  Anno  Domini  .  .  .  ." 

Against  the  entablature  above  the  esquire  is  a  small  stone  shield 
thus  sculptured  and  emblazoned :  Lovelace  quartering  Eynsham,  as 
before,  impaling,  azure,  a  cross  patonce  or.  Above  the  knight,  in  a 
similar  shield,  Lovelace  and  Eynsham,  impaling  Dodsworth,  vert,  a 
chevron  argent  between  three  bugle-horns  sable.  Ashmole  states 
these  figures  to  be  kneeling,  but  although  their  knees  do  seemingly 
rest  on  cushions,  yet  being  in  a  front  position  and  projecting  only  a 
little  from  the  wall,  there  is  no  room  behind  them  for  their  legs,  so 
that  they  appear  rather  to  be  standing  upon  amputated  stumps  than 
kneeling.  The  central  portion  of  this  monument  was,  no  doubt,  for 
John  Lovelace  only,  and  if  erected  soon  after  his  decease  in  1558,  as 
probably  it  was,  may  be  considered  an  early  example  of  the 
renaissant  Roman  or  Italian  style,  and  perhaps  from  a  design  of  the 
celebrated  John  of  Padua.  The  inscription  recording  the  lady's  death 
was  probably  added  afterwards,  as  the  wings  certainly  were,  if  we 
may  so  judge  by  their  ruder  workmanship,  compared  to  that  of  the 
centre,  from  which  they  have  been  evidently  imitated.  It  would 
seem,  moreover,  from  the  omission  of  the  date  of  Sir  Richard's  death, 
that  these  wings  were  put  up  by  him  after  his  money-making  expe- 
ditions with  Sir  Francis  Drake,  and  before  his  ennoblement  in  1627. 
He  did  not,  however,  flatter  the  "  spirit  of  his  sire  "  or  himself  by 
employing  the  best  artists  of  his  time ;  nor  have  his  successors 
evinced  more  taste  by  their  beautifications  of  this  monument ;  its 
shields  and  crest  having  been  incorrectly  emblazoned  as  above 
described,  and  the  figures  and  mouldings  painted  with  coarse 
distemper  colours. 

PLANTAGENET. 

[1839,-  Part  II.,  pp.  I39-I4SO 

Against  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel,  further  westward,  is  a  beauti- 
ful white  marble  monument  by  Flaxman,  representing  two  kneeling 
children  in  alto-relievo,  one  a  girl  raising  a  handkerchief  to  her  eyes, 
the  other  a  boy,  hiding  his  face  and  leaning  on  a  reversed  extinguished 
torch,  supporting  a  tablet  surmounted  by  a  draped  urn,  and  which  has 
this  inscription  in  capitals  : 

"  In  the  family  vault  near  this  spot  are  deposited  the  remains  of  the  Right 
Honourable  DEBORAH  SUSANNA  VISCOUNTESS  ASHBROOK,  the  beloved  wife  of 
the  Right  Honourable  Henry  Jeffrey  Flower,  Viscount  Ashbrook,  Baron  Castle 
Durrow,  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  who  departed  this  life  on  the  241)1  of  March, 
1810,  in  the  thirty-first  year  of  her  age,  leaving  issue  two  boys  and  three  girls. 
All  who  had  the  happiness  of  this  lady's  acquaintance  can  bear  testimony  to  her 
bright  example  in  the  characters  of  wife,  mother,  and  friend.  The  peaceful 

12 — 2 


180  Berkshire. 

virtues,  affection,  faith  and  humanity,  were  early  cherished  in  her  bosom,  and 
continually  exercised  in  promoting  the  happiness  of  her  fellow  creatures.  Animated 
through  life  by  the  purest  principles  of  religion,  she  bore  the  last  awful  trial  with 
the  cheerfulness  of  pious  resignation,  supported  by  the  Christian's  best  hope,  and 
feeling  only  for  the  unhappiness  she  was  conscious  her  death  must  occasion  to  her 
surviving  friends.  Her  much  loved  lord  has  caused  this  monument  to  be  erected 
as  a  small  tribute  of  affection  to  the  sacred  memory  of  a  wife  so  justly  endeared 
to  him." 

Against  the  north  wall  of  the  nave  is  a  marble,  mantel-shaped 
tablet  thus  inscribed  : 

"  Underneath  lyeth  the  body  of  the  Right  Hon.  the  Lady  MARY  SCOTT,  third 
daughter  of  His  Grace  the  Duke  of  Buccleugh.  Born  the  2ist  of  October  1725, 
and  died  the  2oth  of  May  1743." 

And  on  it  are  emblazoned  these  arms,  viz.,  the  bearings  of  King 
Charles  II.,  debruised  by  a  baton -sinister  argent,  quartering  Scott, 
viz.,  or,  on  a  bend  azure  a  mullet  of  six  points  between  two  crescents 
of  the  field. 

Francis  Duke  of  Buccleuch  rented  Hall  Place  in  Hurley  parish  of 
William  East,  Esq.,  who  had  purchased  it  in  1730. 

Near  this  is  a  small  marble  tablet : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Sir  GILBERT  EAST,  of  Hall  place  in  the  county  of 
Berks,  Bart,  who  was  born  i?th  April,  1764,  died  nth  Dec.  1828." 

Further  westward  is  a  large  white  marble  tablet  surmounted  with  a 
small  shield,  on  which  are  sculptured  in  relief  these  arms,  viz.  :  Six 
broken  bones  chevron-wise,  the  joints  almost  meeting  in  pale,  in  a 
canton  the  letter  H,  impaling  a  cross  moline ;  motto,  "  Virtus  sola 
nobilitas."  The  inscription  is  as  follows  : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory  of  Le  Commandeur  HYPPOLYTO  JOSEPH  DA  COSTA,  who 
died  on  the  xi  day  of  September  MDCCCXXIII.  aged  XLVI  years.  A  man  no 
less  distinguished  by  the  vigour  of  his  intellect,  and  his  proficiency  in  science  and 
literature,  than  by  the  integrity  of  his  manners  and  character.  He  was  descended 
from  a  noble  family  in  Brazil.  In  this  country  he  resided  for  the  last  XVIII 
years,  and  from  hence  by  his  numerous  and  valuable  writings  diffused  among  the 
inhabitants  of  that  extensive  empire  a  taste  for  useful  knowledge,  a  fondness  for 
the  arts  which  embellish  life,  and  a  love  of  constitutional  liberty,  founded  in 
obedience  to  wholesome  laws,  and  in  the  principles  of  mutual  benevolence  and 
good  will.  A  friend  who  knew  and  admired  his  virtues  has  thus  recorded  them 
for  the  benefit  of  posterity." 

This  friend  was  H.R.H.  the  Duke  of  Sussex.  Senhor  da  Costa 
lived  in  a  small  neat  house,  the  residence  of  the  present  vicar. 

Nearly  under  the  above  inscription  hang  in  a  frame  the  printed 
directions  concerning  registers  of  the  fifty-second  year  of  George  III., 
now  obsolete;  and  on  the  south  wall  hangs  the  table  forbidding 
certain  kindred  from  marrying  together. 

On  the  chancel  floor  are  some  ancient  gravestones  of  the  coarse 
shelly  marble  they  were  generally  formed  of.  One  was  inlaid  with 
brasses  representing,  under  handsome  conjoined,  crocketed, 
pinnacled  and  finialed  canopies,  two  small  busts  with  an  inscrip- 
tion under  them.  Another,  now  partly  hidden  by  a  pew,  had  a 


Hurley.  1 8  i 

large  central  shield  and  small  ornaments  at  its  corners ;  and  a  third, 
also  partly  under  a  pew,  has  two  brass  scrolls,  one  inscribed  "  $l)u 
mercj),"  the  other  "  lafcj)  Ijelp."  A  large  sand-stone  slab  is  thus 
inscribed  : 

"Underneath  this  stone  is  the  family  vault  of  the  Right  Hon.  Henry  Jeffery 
Flower,  Viscount  Ashbrook,  March  1810." 

In  the  nave  on  two  white  sandstones,  neatly  bordered  with  black 
marble,  and  placed  beside  each  other,  are  these  inscriptions  : 

1.  "ANNE  CASAMAJOR,  fourth  daughter  of  Henry  and   Elizabeth  Casamajor, 
died  Sept.  27,  1786,  in  the  36th  year  of  her  age.     Have  mercy,  gracious  Heav'n, 
and  thou  cold  Eirth,  thou  common  parent,  take  her  to  thy  bosom,  and  let  her  rest 
with  thee.     Also  HARRIET  CASAMAJOR,  born  May  1756,  died  April  3rd  1831. 

2.  "  ELIZABETH,  daughter  of  Will"1  and  Elizth  Whitehead,  of  Tockington,  in 
the  parish  of  Olveston  and  county  of  Gloucester,  and  relict  of  HENRY  CASAMAJOR, 
Esq.,  of  the  city  of  Bristol,  died  the  fifth  day  of  Sept.  1785,  in  the  seventieth 
year   of  her   age.      She   left    seven   children,    Henry,    Mary,    Elizabeth,   Anne, 
Henrietta,  Harriott,  and  Hannah,  wife  to  Sir  William  East,  Bart.,  of  Hall  Place 
in  this  parish." 

In  a  small  brass  lozenge  over  the  first  inscription  are  the  arms  of 
Casamajor,  viz.,  quarterly,  i  and  4.  Sable,  a  lion  rampant  argent, 
2  and  3.  Argent,  a  crescent  sable.  In  a  similar  lozenge  over  the 
second  inscription  is  the  coat  just  blazoned,  impaling  azure,  a  fess 
between  three  fleurs-de-lis  or  (Whitehead). 

Westward  of  these  is  a  shelly  marble  slab,  on  which  in  Ashmole's 
time  was  a  "  brass  figure  of  a  man  in  armour "  with  a  greyhound 
under  his  feet ;  but  this  has  been  removed,  except  the  upper  part  of 
his  helmet,  and  its  mantling,  wreath  and  crest,  a  talbot's  head  couped 
and  collared.  At  the  four  corners  of  this  slab  were  small  shields, 
though  not  noticed  by  Ashmole.  The  black-letter  inscription,  how- 
ever, remains,  and  is  as  follows  : 

"  Percelebris  Doyly  tenet  hie  locus  ecce  Joannem, 

Eheu,  quern  pestis  hinc  inopina  tulit. 
Dum  sibi  vita  comes,  fuit  hie  preclarus  et  annis 

Sanguineque,  et  virtus  claruit  ampla  viro. 
Tecum  igitur  pie  Christe  Jhesu  fac  vivat  in  evum 
Armiger  iste  sibi  celica  dona  parans. 

Obiit  iiiito  Idus  Februarii  Anno  Dni.  I  «  92." 

We  cannot  here  inquire  how  the  above  Arabic-Indian  numeral  Q, 
the  aspirated  F  or  V  of  the  Pelasgian  alphabet,  was  superseded  by 
our  modern  triangular  or  crucial  figure  4,  but  will  only  observe  that 
originally,  perhaps,  in  order  to  denote  half  of  the  number  8,  one 
half  of  the  extremely  ancient  figure  8  would  naturally  be  employed, 
and  that  when  the,  comparatively  modern,  cipher  of  nullity  o  came 
into  use,  the  number  4  was  distinguished  by  a  circle  of  a  different 
size,  or  by  the  addition  of  tails,  as  in  our  original. 

Close  westward  to  this  last  is  another  ancient  slab,  on  which  was 
a  narrow  cross  patonce  of  brass  with  a  short  inscription  over  it.  If 
this  slab  had  the  very  ancient  appearance  of  a  broken  one  just  at  the 


1 8  2  Berkshire. 

entry  into  the  chancel,  or  another  at  the  porch-door,  we  might  be 
tempted  to  suppose  that  this,  the  cross  of  King  Edward  the  Confessor, 
was  intended  to  point  out  the  place  of  sepulture  of  no  less  a  personage 
than  Editha,  his  sister,  and  who,  according  to  the  following  document 
yet  preserved  in  the  archives  of  Westminster  Abbey,  was  actually 
here  buried. 

"  Anno  XVmo  Ricardi  Secundi  ....  Prior  et  conventus  de  Hurley  supplicaverunt 
domino  Regis  ut  pro  reverentia  dominae  Edithse  sororis  Sancti  Regis  Edward, 

confessoris   ibidem  sepultae, placeat   eidem  domino  Regi  appropriare  eis 

ecclesiam  de  Warefeld  Saium  diaecesis  unde  ipsi  patroni  sunt  et  ab  antiquo 
fuerunt." 

This  lady,  however,  if  really  the  sister,  and  not  the  virgin  queen 
Editha  or  Egitha  of  St.  Edward,  must  have  been  his  eldest  half- 
sister,  of  whom  Speed  says  "  her  name  is  not  to  be  found ;"  although 
our  more  learned  contemporary,  Ulster  King,  has  stated  that  she 
was  an  Edgiva  (perhaps  synonymous  with  Editha,  and,  as  Speed 
also  says),  the  wife  of  Ethelstan,  "  a  general  slaine  by  the  Danes  in 
the  yeare  1010." 

The  only  other  sepulchral  inscription  now  visible  within  the 
church  is  that  upon  a  large  slab  near  the  porch,  indicating  the  grave 
of  Senhor  da  Costa.  Not  far  from  this  is  a  small  square  pit  with  a 
ringed  wooden  cover,  merely  to  receive,  we  presume,  the  sweepings 
of  the  floor,  although  the  acumen  of  a  more  learned  antiquary  might 
possibly  divine  some  more  dignified  use  for  it. 

Of  the  inscriptions  in  the  churchyard  we  shall  only  notice  those 
upon  the  larger  tombs,  leaving  the  "  village  Hampdens "  in  their 
quiet  obscurity. 

Near  the  porch  is  a  handsome  table  tomb  to  "  William  Thomson, 
of  St.  Andrew's,  Holborn,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,  Gent,  High 
Constable  of  the  hundred  of  Ossulston  26  years,  who  died  Aug.  24, 
1688,  aged  64.  And  Ann  Tedway,  widow,  late  of  this  parish,  and 
sister  to  William  Thomson.  She  died  at  Mary  bone,  19  Sept.  1687, 
aged  66."  Arms,  a  tiger  passant,  gardant,  between  three  cross 
croslets,  impaling,  ermine,  on  a  chief  dancette  three  escallops. 
Crest,  a  lion  rampant.  Another  is  "  To  the  Memory  of  Mrs.  Anne 
Fox,  widow  of  the  late  Sackville  Fox,  Esq.,  of  East  Horsley,  in  the 
county  of  Surry,"  but  without  date.  Another  to  "  Jonathan  Gills, 
1728,"  and  one  to  "Joseph  Ben  well,  Gent,  son  of  Joseph  and  Ann 
Benwell,  who  died  April  18,  1773,  aged  65."  On  a  head  stone  is 
"  The  Rev.  Alban  Thomas,  late  Vicar,  departed  this  life  August  the 
19th,  1789,  aged  52."  Another  "to  the  memory  of  George  Pring, 
Esq.  of  Hammersmith,  in  the  county  of  Middlesex,"  where  he  was 
much  respected  as  a  skilful  surgeon  and  intelligent  member  of 
society,  well  known  to  the  writer  of  this  article.  (See  his  epitaph  at 
Hammersmith  in  Faulkner's  recently  published  history  of  that 
parish). 


Hurley.  183 

The  achievements  in  Hurley  Church,  November  26,  1834,  were 
the  following,  here  numbered,  however,  not  in  the  order  as  they  are 
attached  to  the  walls,  but  nearly  in  that  of  their  respective  dates : 

No.  i.  In  a  lozenge,  presumed  for  John  Lovelace's  widow,  1579, 
or  the  daughter  more  probably  of  an  early  Lovelace ;  Lovelace 
quartering  Eynsham,  which  families  were  united  in  Kent  previously 
to  1465,  viz.,  i  and  4,  gules,  on  a  chief  indented  sable  three  martlets 
argent ;  2  and  3,  azure,  on  a  saltier  engrailed  argent  five  martlets 
sable. 

No.  2.  For  Richard,  first  Lord  Lovelace,  1634.  Lovelace 
quartering  Eynsham.  Crest,  on  a  staff  ragulee,  fessways,  vert,  an 
eagle  displayed  argent,  on  the  breast  a  mullet  sable.  Supporters,  on 
either  side,  an  eagle  displayed  argent,  on  the  breast  a  mullet  sable. 

No.  3.  In  a  lozenge  for  the  first  lord's  widow,  Margaret  Lovelace 
quartering  Eynsham,  impaling  argent,  a  chevron  between  three  bugle 
horns  stringed  sable.  (Dodsworth.) 

No.  4.  In  an  oval  shield  on  the  gable  of  the  east  wall,  for  John, 
second  Lord  Lovelace,  who  died  at  Woodstock,  but  here  buried 
1670.  Lovelace  quartering  Eynsham,  impaling  sable,  a  chevron 
between  three  leopards'  faces  or ;  a  crescent  for  difference  (\Vent- 
worth),  crest  as  before.  Supporters,  on  either  side,  a  Pegasus  pur- 
pure,  winged  argent.  Motto,  "  Premium  virtutis  honor." 

No.  5.  For  Francis,  brother  of  the  second  lord,  from  whom  the 
present  Countess  Lovelace  is  descended.  Lovelace  quartering 
Eynsham,  impaling,  sable,  on  a  chevron  between  three  leopards' 
faces  or,  an  eagle  displayed  of  the  field  (Wentworth  ?).  Crest  as  before. 

No.  6.  For  John,  third  lord,  1693.  Lovelace  quartering  Eynsham, 
crest,  supporters,  and  motto  as  before. 

No.  7.  On  the  ground,  all  black,  for  Williams  (the  brother, 
probably,  of  John  Williams,  Esq.,  the  husband  of  Mrs.  Margaret 
Williams).  Argent,  a  greyhound  courant  sable,  between  three 
Cornish  choughs  proper,  a  border  engrailed  gules,  charged  with 
eight  crosses  patee  or,  and  as  many  bezants  alternately.  Crest,  a 
cubit  arm  erect,  habited  sable,  charged  with  a  cross  patee  or,  between 
four  bezants,  cuffed  azure,  holding  in  the  hand  an  oak  branch  leaved 
and  fructed  proper. 

No.  8.  Dexter  side  white,  for  Margaret,  wife  of  Dr.  Lewin,  buried 
with  her  husband  at  Broxbourne,  Herts,  1763,  in  a  shield  sur- 
mounted by  a  gold  cherub.  Per  pale  gules  and  azure,  three  bucks' 
heads  erased  or,  in  an  escutcheon  of  pretence,  Williams  as  before. 

No.  9.  Ground  all  black,  for  Joseph  Wilcocks,  Esq.,  F.S.A.,  who 
died  suddenly  at  Slough,  in  Buckinghamshire,  1791.  Ermine,  a 
chief  cheque'e  or  and  azure.  Crest,  an  eagle  displayed  or.  N.B. — 
On  a  painted  window  of  the  late  mansion,  in  the  armorial  bearings 
of  Bishop  Wilcocks,  father  of  the  above  Joseph,  the  chief  was 
cheque'e  or  and  gules. 


1 84  Berkshire. 

No.  10.  Ground  all  black,  for  G.  A.  Kempenfelt,  Esq.,  1808. 
Quarterly,  i  and  4,  argent,  on  a  mount  vert  a  man  in  complete 
armour,  his  sinir^er  arm  embowed,  holding  in  his  dexter  hand,  above 
his  head,  a  sword,  all  proper.  2  and  3,  per  pale  argent  and  vert,  a 
saltier  counter-changed,  a  canton  ermine.  Crest,  a  demi-man  in 
armour,  attired  in  a  cap  gules,  holding  in  his  dexter  hand  a  sword, 
all  proper,  between  two  wings  vert. 

No.  n.  Dexter  side  black,  for  William  East,  Esq.,  of  Hall  Place, 
and  of  Kennington,  Surrey,  1737.  Sable,  a  chevron  between  three 
nags'  heads  erased  argent,  impaling,  paly  of  six  gules  and  sable, 
three  eagles  displayed,  two  and  one,  ducally  crowned,  or.  (Cooke, 
of  Harefield.)  Crest,  a  horse  passant  argent  (recte  sable). 

No.  12.  Ground  all  black,  for  Anne,  the  widow,  who  died  1762, 
of  the  above  W.  East,  Esq.,  in  a  lozenge.  East  impaling  Cooke. 

No.  13.  Ground  all  black,  for  Sir  W.  East,  first  baronet,  who  died 
1819.  In  a  small  shield  East  (but  with  chevron  or),  impaling 
quarterly,  i  and  4  sable,  a  lion  rampant  argent,  langued  gules,  2  and 
3,  argent,  a  crescent  sable.  (Casamajor.) 

No.  14.  Dexter  side  black  for  Sir  Gilbert  East,  second  baronet, 
1828.  East,  impaling  argent,  on  a  pile  vert  three  dexter  gauntlets 
(recte  hands  couped  at  the  wrist),  argent  (Joiiffe).  In  the  chief 
point  a  baronet's  badge.  Crest,  a  horse  passant  sable.  Motto, 
"  J'avance."  All  the  above-named  Easts,  except  perhaps  William  East, 
Esq.,  were  buried  at  Witham,  in  Essex. 

No.  15.  Dexter  side  white,  for  the  wife  of  Viscount  Ashbrook, 
here  buried,  1810,  whose  son,  the  Hon.  Henry  Walker,  is  now  lord 
of  the  manor.  Quarterly  i  and  4,  ardent,  on  a  chevron  voided  sable, 
between  three  ravens  proper,  each  holding  in  his  beak  an  ermine 
spot  of  the  last,  as  many  pellets  (Flower).  2  and  3.  Gules,  three 
towers  argent  (Flower).  In  an  escutcheon  of  pretence  quarterly,  i 
and  4.  Gules,  a  chevron  erminois  between  three  stags'  heads 
caboshed  argent,  attired  or  (Freind).  2  and  3,  per  chevron  argent 
and  sable,  three  crescents  counterchanged  (Walker).  Supporters  on 
either  side  a  tiger  regardant  proper,  ducally  gorged  and  chained  or. 

No.  1 6.  Ground  all  black,  for  Joseph  Benwell,  of  Eton,  1773. 
Argent,  six  pellets,  three,  two  and  one.  Crest,  a  garb  or,  entwined 
by  a  serpent  proper,  its  head  issuing  through  the  ears  of  corn  to  the 
sinister.  N.B. — Mr.  Benwell  was  one  of  five  gentlemen  who  all 
died  a  few  weeks  after  dining  together  at  Salt  Hill,  in  Buckingham- 
shire, in  consequence,  it  was  said,  of  having  eaten  certain  poisonous 
viands,  but  more  probably  from  having  caught  a  fever  of  some 
pauper  they  had  examined  in  their  magisterial  capacity.'" 

Of  these  achievements,  Nos.  i,  2,  3,  5  and  6  have  been  taken 
down,  because  it  is  stated  that  "  scarcely  any  part  with  the  exception 

*  See  Mr.  Cole's  note  on  Burnham,  in  the  "  Collectanea  Topographica  et 
Genealogica,"  vol.  iv.,  p,  265. 


Hurley.  185 

of  their  frames  remained,"  although  we  had  no  difficulty  in  decipher- 
ing them  five  years  ago.  But  such  memorials  should  never  be 
removed.  It  is  their  age  that  gives  them  value.  When  intelligible 
they  are  sometimes  the  only  records  of  important  facts ;  and  when 
defaced,  and  even  tattered,  are  not  inapt  objects  for  impressing  on 
our  minds  (and  where  more  properly  than  in  a  church  ?)  the  "  pomps 
and  vanity  of  this  wicked  world." 

No.  i,  if  put  up — as  we  conjecture — in  1579,  was  perhaps  the 
oldest  hatchment  in  England — pennons,  banners  and  real  coats  or 
tabards  having  been  at  that  period  the  usual  family  memorials  placed 
about  the  tombs  of  nobility  and  gentry. 

Number  1233  of  the  Lansdowne  MSS.  contains  some  notes  of  this 
church,  taken  April  13,  1661,  and  conjectured  by  Mr.  Douce  to 
have  been  Strype's,  though  Strype  was  not  born  till  1643,  which 
state  that  "in  ye  body  of  Hurley  church  agl.  the  n.  wall,  is  a  little 
tablet  put  up  for  one  Mris.  Stampe,  and  thereon  painted  A.,  three 
barrs  gemells  S.,  impaling  S.  a  fess  between  2  chevrons  Or  a  crescent 
A.,  quartering  i.  Or,  an  eagle  displayed  G.  2.  S.,  a  bend  lozengy  A. 
3.  S.  on  a  cross  engrailed  Or  a  crescent  S.  4.  G.  a  cross  moline  A. 
5.  as  the  ist.  Crests  :  the  first,  an  arm  B.  goutte'  A.  holding  .  .  .  . ; 
the  other,  a  demi-unicorne  rampant  Or."  The  author,  however,  is 
mistaken  as  to  the  person  for  whom  the  tablet,  as  above  blazoned, 
was  put  up ;  the  coat  of  Stampe  being  very  different  from  it.  The 
same  MS.  also  states  that  "  in  two  south  windowes  "  were  these  arms  : 
"Verrey  A,  G."  and  "  B.  three  arrowes  Or,"  and  notices  the  Love- 
lace monument  as  of  "  faire  alabaster,"  but  which  certainly  it  is  not. 
His  blazonry,  however,  of  its  arms  is  so  nearly  correct  that  the  above 
blazonry  may  be  relied  on,  forgiving  him,  as  we  hope  to  be  ourselves 
forgiven,  a  few  trespasses  against  heraldic  technicality.  He  also 
mentions  the  Doyly  brass,  and  gives  the  Arabic  numeral,  but  does 
not  notice  any  of  the  Lovelace  achievements,  though  such 
memorials  had  been  in  use  for  more  than  sixty  years  previous  to 
his  visitation. 

Against  the  north  wall  of  the  nave  is  a  large  wooden  tablet  divided 
into  four  compartments,  of  which  the  central  two  are  occupied  by  the 
Creed  and  Paternoster,  the  lateral  compartments  having  thereon  the 
following : 

"  Benefactors  to  the  parish  of  Hurley.  Sir  Richard  Lovelace,  knight,  in  the 
year  1625,  did,  by  indenture  grant  two  several  annuities  to  be  payable  out  of  his 
rates  at  Hurley,  Aldworth,  and  Ashampstead,  or  any  of  them,  to  certain  trustees 
therein  nominated,  and  to  their  heirs  and  assigns  for  ever,  upon  the  following 
trusts,  confidences  and  conditions  only,  viz. :  that  they  should  pay  the  one  annuity 
of  61.  13^.  4*/.  to  the  vicar  of  Hurley  for  the  time  being,  upon  condition,  and 
so  long  only  as  the  said  vicar  shall  continue,  live,  and  be  resident  upon  the  said 
vicarage,  and  shall  preach  every  other  Sunday  by  himself  (or  some  other  lawful 
minister)  in  the  parish  church  of  Hurley,  and  in  his  prayer  shall  pray  to  God  to 
bless  the  heir  which  shall  then  be  of  the  said  Sir  Richard  Lovelace  (naming  him) 
his  family  and  progeny;  and  also  that  they  should  pay  the  other  annuity  of 


1 86  Berkshire. 

IO  quarters  of  sweet,  clean,  and  well-winnowed  rye,  to  the  churchwardens  and 
overseers  of  the  parish  of  Hurley  for  the  time  being,  to  be  by  them  distributed  by 
equal  portions  upon  every  second  Friday  in  the  year,  that  shall  happen  between 
the  last  day  of  September  and  the  first  day  of  August  following  among  10  poor 
persons  that  were  born  and  do  live  in  the  said  parish,  who  are  burdened  with  a 
number  of  children,  or  by  reason  of  age  and  other  infirmities  are  unable  to  get 
their  living  by  their  labour,  and  are  nominated  by  the  heir  of  the  said  Sir  Richard 
Lovelace  for  ever.  N.B.  The  aforesaid  indenture  was  endorsed  in  Chancery  the 
2Qth  of  January,  1639-40,  by  William  Stanley,  clerk." 

"Mr.  Francis  Bradley,  Gent.,  in  the  year  1730,  bequeathed  five  pounds  to  be 
added  to  the  stock  of  this  parish,  willing  the  interest  thereof  to  be  distributed  on 
every  Xmas  day  yearly  for  ever,  among  the  poorest  housekeepers  therein  at  the 
discretion  of  the  ministers,  church-wardens,  and  Mr.  Joseph  Benwell." 

"Mrs.  Lewin,  daughter  and  heiress  of  Mrs.  Williams,  of  Lady-Place,  Hurley, 
bequeathed  by  her  will,  dated  January  4,  1753,  five  pounds  annually  to  five  poor 
families  in  this  parish,  at  the  discretion  of  the  minister  and  churchwardens.  Mrs. 
Lewin  departed  this  life,  making  a  codicil  of  her  will,  March  30,  1763  " 

"Mr.  Joseph  Benwell,  of  Eton,  Bucks,  April  10,  1773,  by  will,  gave  I5o/.  to 
the  poor  of  the  parish  of  Hurley,  to  be  disposed  of  at  the  discretion  of  Mr.  John 
Franklyn  and  Mr.  Thomas  Micklem  of  Hurley,  who  purchased  2C9/.  is.  2d.  four 
per  cent,  stock  with  the  above  sum,  Dec.  23,  1783." 

On  a  smaller  tablet  against  the  north  wall  of  the  nave  : 

"  Benefactions.  The  2  tenements  on  the  east  side  of  the  Vickeridge  house  at 
Hurley,  directly  against  the  house  and  gardens,  belong  to  the  repair  of  Hurley 
church  for  ever.  Put  up  in  the  year  1728  by  Nath1.  Micklem,  Joseph  Benwell, 
churchwardens." 

"  There  is  a  piece  of  ground  called  Bradley's  acre  containing  2  roods  and 
36  poles  and  a  half,  situated  in  a  common  field  called  the  Clays,  adjoining  Frog- 
mill  farm  in  this  parish.  It's  now  let  for  I/.  I2s.  per  year,  and  the  money  is  to  be 
distributed  among  the  poor  of  the  parish  of  Hurley.  Tho5.  Kebble,  Nathaniel 
Guy,  churchwardens,  1818." 

On  the  south  side  of  the  nave  are  these  : 

"Joseph  Wilcox,  esquire,  of  Lady-Place,  left  by  will,  in  the  year  1792,  to  the 
parish  of  Hurley,  the  right  of  sending  three  in-patients  annually  to  the  Westminster 
Infirmary." 

"  Gustavus  Adolphus  Kempenfelt,  esquire,  of  Lady-Place,  left  by  will  in  the 
year  1808,  the  sum  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  3  pr.  cent,  consolidated 
annuities,  to  the  ministers  and  churchwardens  of  the  parish  of  Hurley  in  trust,  the 
interest  whereof  to  be  distributed  annually  among  the  most  necessitous  poor  of  this 
parish.  Thomas  Micklem,  Willian  Stevens,  churchwardens  of  this  parish,  1809." 

"  Sir  William  East,  Bar'.,  late  of  Hall-Place,  did  by  his  will,  dated  April  23, 
1813,  give  to  trustees  twelve  London  Assurance  shares,  in  trust  to  pay  the  annual 
profits  thereof  to  a  poor  man  and  his  wife,  parishioners  of  and  resident  in  the 
parish  of  Hurley,  but  not  receiving  support  from  the  parish,  to  be  nominated  by 
the  owner  for  the  time  being  of  Hall-Place." 

This  last  charity  has  been  something  improved  by  the  present 
baronet,  Sir  Clayton  East,  and  his  brother  ;  but  Mrs.  Lewin's  bequest 
has  not  been  paid  for  several  years,  her  estate  being  too  poor  to  con- 
tinue it.  The  rye  of  the  Lovelace  charity  has  been  exchanged  for 
flour  ;  but  the  vicar  receives  his  stipend,  although  he  has  long  ceased 
to  pray  nominally  for  the  progeny  of  Sir  Richard. 

We  will  now  advert  briefly  to  the  Kentish  origin  of  the  Berkshire 


Hurley.  187 

Lovelaces,  and  their  connection  with  the  family  of  Lord  King  of 
Ockham. 

John  Lovelace,  Esq.  (to  whom  the  inscription  on  the  now  hidden 
base  of  the  monument,  as  above  quoted  from  Ashmole,  alludes),  was 
probably  a  great-grandson  of  Richard  Lovelace,  of  London,  who  pur- 
chased Bay  ford,  in  Sittingbourne  in  Kent,  A.D.  1440;  whose  son, 
Lancelot,  bought  Hever  Castle,  and  married  the  heiress  of  the 
Eynsham  family,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons,  of  which  the  eldest 
was  Sir  Richard  Ix)velace,  of  Bethersden  in  Kent,  and  Marshal  of 
Calais,  who  died  without  issue  A.D.  1501.  The  second  was  William, 
married  to  Lora  Peckham,  of  Yaldham,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons, 
John  and  William,  from  whom  the  poet,  Richard  Lovelace,  and  many 
others  are  descended.  The  third  was  John  Lovelace,  the  first  we  find 
settled  in  Berkshire,  and  father,  probably,  of  John,  the  subject  of  the 
monument,  and  ancestor  of  the  subsequent  Lords  Lovelaces  of 
Hurley. 

This  family  of  Lovelace  and  that  of  King  are  thus  connected,  viz. : 
Anne,  third  daughter  of  Thomas,  third  Lord  Wentworth  (created  Earl 
of  Cleveland  in  1625),  married  John,  second  Baron  Lovelace,  and  in 
1686,  on  the  death  of  her  niece,  Henrietta  Baroness  Wentworth, 
became  heir  of  her  father  and  succeeded  to  the  barony.  By  Lord 
Lovelace  she  was  the  mother  of  John,  third  Lord  Lovelace,  and  of 
Margaret,  wife  of  Sir  William  Noel,  the  great-grandfather  of  Sir 
Edward  Noel,  who  in  1745  became  heir  of  Martha  Baroness  Went- 
worth, the  only  daughter  and  heir  of  the  said  John,  third  Lord 
Lovelace.  He  thereupon  became  Baron  Wentworth,  and  in  1762 
was  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  viscount.  He  was  father  of  Judith, 
who  married  Sir  Ralph  Milbanke,  and  by  him  was  mother  of  Ann 
Isabella,  wife  of  George  Gordon  Lord  Byron,  the  celebrated  poet ; 
their  only  child,  Ada  Augusta,  married  William  Lord  King,  who  in 
1838,  being  advanced  to  the  dignity  of  an  earl,  revived  the  title  of 
Lovelace  out  of  respect  to  his  wife's  family — a  title  which  had 
become  extinct  in  the  peerage  upon  the  death  of  Neville,  the  last 
lord,  in  1736. 

Although  this  paper  has  extended  to  perhaps  a  tedious  length,  we 
must,  as  promised,  give  some  account  of  the  demolished  mansion 
called  Lady  Place.  This  was  Elizabethan,  but  never  so  magnificent 
as  many  houses  of  that  style.  In  plan  it  was  like  the  letter  H,  the 
north  front  having  been  almost  similar  to  the  south  front,  for  an 
accurate  view  of  which  we  are  indebted  to  your  number  for  February, 
1831.  It  stood  partly  on  the  ancient  stone  foundations  of  the  priory, 
but  the  celebrated  vault  and  its  superstructure  were  of  brick,  excepting 
the  west  wall,  which  was  partly  of  chalk.  The  second  story  was 
adorned  with  Tuscan  pilasters,  and  the  third  with  columns.  The 
gables  of  the  dormer  windows  were  round-headed,  and,  on  the  north 
front,  between  them  were  obelisk-like  pinnacles.  The  south  or  prin- 


1 88  Berkshire. 

cipal  entrance  was  Tuscan,  and  had  over  it  the  Lovelace  and  Eynsham 
arms ;  and  the  windows,  of  which  some  were  bayed,  had  mullions 
and  square  heads.  The  parapet  was  plain,  as  were  the  chimneys, 
though  some  were  octagonal. 

Interiorly,  the  centre  was  occupied  by  the  hall  and  staircase.  This 
hall  was  spacious,  but  of  irregular  plan  and  height,  its  staircase 
portion  having  been  lofty.  The  other  portion  was  much  less  so,  and 
had  its  ceiling  sustained  by  two  wooden  columns  with  well-worked 
Corinthian  capitals.  Here  was  an  elegant  chimney-piece  of  black 
marble,  mantle  and  jambs  flanked  with  carved  pilasters,  and  sur- 
mounted by  an  entablature,  on  the  frieze  of  which,  carved,  painted, 
and  gilt,  were  the  Lovelace  and  Eynsham  arms  and  supporters.  The 
panelling  of  this  hall  was,  however,  mean,  having  been  merely  of 
mahogany-coloured  deal,  slightly  moulded.  The  staircase  and  its 
gallery  had  a  railing  of  small  twisted  balustres.  The  steps  were  of 
deal,  and  perhaps  of  comparatively  late  erection  ;  but  the  walls  and 
ceiling  of  this  staircase  were  well  worthy  of  observation,  having  been 
embellished  with  groups  of  foliage,  flowers,  fruit,  birds,  and  instru- 
ments of  war,  the  chase,  and  music,  interspersed  with  the  arms  and 
crests  of  the  Lovelaces  and  their  connections,  all  beautifully  executed 
in  high  relief,  partly  of  plaster  and  partly  of  papier-mache,  and  in 
excellent  preservation. 

The  arms  were  those  of  Lovelace,  quartering  Eynsham,  Wentworth, 
and  Pye  ;  from  which  it  would  appear  that  they  were  probably  put 
up  between  the  years  1680  and  1690.  Here  and  there,  among  the 
foliage,  were  stags  at  gaze,  the  Wentworth  crest,  and  monograms  of 
the  word  "  Lovelace." 

In  the  hall  were  the  modern  arms  of  Westminster  Abbey,  and  in 
the  principal  chambers  were  other  coats,  viz.  :  the  Lovelace  and 
Eynsham  arms  and  supporters,  the  arms  of  Lewyn  and  Williams,  and 
of  Dr.  Wilcox  as  Bishop  of  Rochester  and  Dean  of  the  Order  of  the 
Bath  ;  a  shield  charged  with  a  single  crescent,  and  a  fleur-de-lis ;  and 
on  a  black  shield  a  monogram  of  the  first  Greek  letters  of  the  word 
"  Christ,"  curiously  supported  by  swords  and  spears.  Some  rooms 
had  very  old  paper-hangings,  while  others  had  their  panels  coloured 
like  marble,  and  another  had  small  panels  painted  in  blue  and  white, 
with  subjects  resembling  those  of  Dutch  tiles. 

But  the  room  which  attracted  the  greatest  admiration  was  the 
saloon,  above  stairs.  This  was  about  44  feet  long  by  24  feet  wide, 
and  surrounded  by  landscapes  in  chiaroscuro  on  deal  panels  of 
various  sizes,  from  14  inches  by  32  inches  to  4  feet  6  inches  by  6  feet 
6  inches.  They  were  all  painted  in  oil  in  a  free  style,  the  small  ones 
with  a  greenish  gray  colour,  but  the  large  ones  with  reddish  brown, 
the  high  lights  of  all  being  put  on  with  silver  lacker.  They  were 
views  of  the  wild  scenery  of  Calabria,  and  more  probably  from  the 
pencil  of  Pietro  Tempesta  than  of  Salvator  Rosa,  to  whom  they  were 


Hitrley. — Milton.  189 

attributed.  The  ceiling  was  also  in  oil,  and  not  improbably  by 
Verrio,  having  been  well  designed  and  finely  coloured.  It  repre- 
sented an  assemblage  of  gods  and  goddesses  previous  to  a  banquet, 
if  we  may  so  judge  from  a  curious  cooking  scene  introduced  in  one 
corner,  the  principal  figure  of  which  held  a  large  knife,  while  another 
had  a  spit  on  which  were  two  fowls,  and  several  boys  winged  like 
angels  carried  fruit.  The  figures  of  these  cooks  were,  we  believe, 
interpolations  by  one  Francis  Thorn,  of  Vauxhall,  who  many  years 
ago  was  employed  to  restore  the  ceiling  and  varnish  the  panelling. 

In  this  mansion,  no  doubt,  were  several  portraits  of  its  ancient 
possessors ;  and  some  of  them,  we  are  told,  are  at  the  farmhouse 
close  by,  one  representing  a  person  in  ecclesiastical  robes  ;  another 
is  the  portrait  of  a  king  (William  III.  possibly),  and  another  that  of 
a  lady.  It  has  been  said  that  all  the  Lovelace  portraits  were  removed 
some  years  since  ;  and  certainly  one  was  sold  last  year  by  a  picture- 
dealer  in  Marylebone  Street  to  a  gentleman  in  the  north  of  England, 
probably  of  the  Milbanke  family. 

This  celebrated  mansion  having  for  many  years  been  tenantless, 
the  proprietor  disposed  of  it  in  lots  by  public  auction,  December,  1837, 
having  previously  offered  it  altogether  for  ^500,  although  it  realized 
^£1,500  piecemeal,  much  competition  having  existed  among  the 
neighbourhood  for  its  ornamental  portions.  Mr.  Budd,  solicitor,  ot 
Newbury,  expended  nearly  ^300  for  about  thirty  of  the  panels,  the 
columns  and  fireplace  of  the  hall,  with  the  staircase  and  stairs.  A  few 
of  the  best  panels  were  bought  by  Fuller  Maitland,  Esq.,  of  Park 
Place,  near  Henley  ;  and  two  pairs,  6  feet  4  inches  by  4  feet  2  inches, 
by  Mr.  Preece,  upholsterer  at  Maidenhead.  Mr.  Green,  of  Wycombe, 
has  also  some.  The  painted  ceiling  tumbled  to  pieces  on  the  removal 
of  its  framework,  but  a  few  of  the  heads  were  preserved  by  Mr. 
Freebody,  carpenter,  at  Hurley.  All  the  beautiful  papier-mache*  works, 
about  twenty  in  number,  were  purchased  by  Mr.  Bond,  builder,  at 
Marlow,  who  sold  them  to  someone  in  London.  They  came  off  the 
ceiling  with  but  little  injury,  and  whoever  is  their  present  owner 
possesses  a  work  of  "  rare  art." 

PLANTAGENET. 

Milton. 

[1798,  Part  I.,  pp.  113,  II4.] 

Milton  (the  only  name  which  this  parish  was  ever  known  to  have, 
and,  without  any  variation  in  the  spelling,  supposed  to  have  been 
given  it  for  the  being  a  town  with  a  mill  in  it)  is  situated  three  miles 
south  of  Abingdon.  A  brook,  springing  from  a  village  called  Ginge 
upon  the  Downs,  runs  through  it,  turning  a  mill,  and  empties  itself 
into  the  Thames  at  Sutton  Courtney. 

The  parish  of  Milton,  two  miles  and  three  quarters  in  length,  one 
mile  and  a  quarter  in  breadth,  eight  miles  in  circumference,  contain- 


190  Berkshire. 

ing  J>373  acres,  is  bounded  by  Drayton  on  the  north,  by  Sutton 
Courtney  on  the  east,  by  Hendred  on  the  south,  and  by  Steventon 
on  the  west.  There  are  in  the  parish  about  forty  houses  and  200 
inhabitants,  who  generally  live  to  a  great  age,  it  being  esteemed,  with 
reason,  a  very  healthy  spot ;  one  manor,  with  court-leet  and  court- 
baron,  the  property  of  Bryant  Barrett,  Esq.,  purchased  by  him,  to- 
gether with  the  estate,  of  the  family  of  the  Gallons,  the  ancient 
possessors  ever  since  the  f'me  of  Henry  VIII.  The  noble  mansion 
belonging  to  this  manor  and  estate,  built  by  Inigo  Jones,  and  lately 
put  in  complete  and  elegant  repair  and  enlarged  with  two  wings  by 
Mr.  Barrett,  the  present  occupier  and  possessor,  has  had  the  very 
extraordinary  honour  of  receiving  as  its  guests  two  of  the  most 
renowned  monarchs  which  have  existed  since  the  time  of  the  famous 
architect  by  whom  it  was  constructed,  Peter,  the  civilizer  of  Russia, 
and  William,  the  deliverer  of  Britain,  of  glorious  and  immortal 
memory.  The  bed  in  which  these  royal  visitors  had  successively 
been  lodged,  furnished  with  scarlet  cloth  lined  with  white  satin,  was 
presented  by  the  Calton  family  to  their  amiable  friend  Mrs.  Mary 
Walker,  in  whose  house  in  this  parish  it  is  still  standing.  The  white 
satin  has  indeed  been  long  since  quilted  up  into  petticoats,  and  the 
scarlet  cloth  is  faded — and  what  will  not  fade  but  the  remembrance 
of  virtuous  and  heroic  deeds  !  Nos  nostraque  debemur  morti.  But  it 
is  much  less  faded  than  one  would  imagine  for  its  age ;  as  if  it 
partook  of  the  properties  of  its  present  comely  owner,  who,  at  an 
advanced  period  of  life,  preserves  a  freshness  and  features  in- 
dicative of  a  beauty  which  in  its  bloom  must  have  captivated  all 
beholders. 

The  living  is  a  rectory,  the  advowson  of  which  was  purchased  of 
the  Calton  family  by  the  late  rector,  Mr.  James  Warner,  a  remarkably 
good  man  and  able  magistrate,  who  held  it  thirty-five  years ;  and  his 
son,  Mr.  James  George  Warner,  the  present  rector  and  patron,  late 
of  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  bids  fair  to  do  as  much. 

No  appropriation  of  tithes  but  to  the  rector.  The  register  begins 
in  the  year  1590.  The  church  is  a  pretty  tight  little  country  church 
built  of  stone  long  before  the  dissolution  of  monasteries.  There  are 
two  monuments  in  it,  one  to  the  late  rector  and  his  wife  and  the 
other  to  their  son  Thomas.  The  feast  is  held  on  the  third  Sunday 
after  Trinity,  and  the  custom  they  have  in  the  parish  is  for  every 
man  to  get  drunk  who  can  get  the  liquor;  and  the  fast  is  often 
observed  even  to  the  fourth  Sunday  after  Trinity,  in  consequence  of 
the  expensive  folly  and  disabling  madness.  A  road  called  the  Port- 
way,  at  the  south  end  of  the  parish,  is  supposed  to  have  been  made 
by  the  Romans. 

It  is  a  remarkable  circumstance  attending  the  worthy  esquire,  Mr. 
Barrett,  whose  arms  are  gules  on  a  chief  indented,  argent,  three 
escalop  shells,  gules,  that  after  having  lived  for  eighteen  years  without 


Newbury. — Reading.  191 

issue  by  his  first  lady,  he  has  now,  exclusive  of  some  which  he  has 
lost,  eight  fine  children  living  by  his  present  lady,  Winifred,  daughter 
of  John  Eyston,  of  Hendred,  Esq.,  a  distinguished  family  in  this 
county,  which  is  said  to  have  formerly  had  the  noble  name  of 
Athelstan,  and  the  name  is  now,  by  traditional  pronunciation,  com- 
monly called  Aylstan. 

J.  W. 
Newbury. 

[1772, p.  561.] 

Mr.  Andrew's  house  at  the  Grove,  near  Newbury,  in  Berkshire 
(see  the  plate),  is  built  in  the  Gothic  style,  and  the  grounds  about  it 
are  ornamented  with  much  taste.  The  situation  is  on  a  rising  ground 
backed  by  a  hill  crowned  with  wood,  out  of  which  rises  Donnington 
Castle.  A  lawn  spreads  around  the  house  and  falls  to  a  very  fine 
water,  a  stream  enlarged  into  a  river,  which  takes  a  winding,  easy 
course,  near  a  mile  long  and  of  considerable  breadth  ;  there  are  three 
or  four  islands  in  it,  one  of  which  is  thickly  planted,  and  affords 
shelter  to  many  swans  and  wild-fowl  which  frequent  the  water,  at  the 
same  time  that  they  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  place.  Over  the  river 
the  country  consists  of  corn-fields  which  rise  agreeably.  The  lawn  is 
very  neat,  the  trees  and  clumps  well  managed,  and  the  wood,  in 
which  the  water  terminates  at  each  end,  finishes  the  scene  in  a 
pleasing  manner.  There  is  a  winding  gravel-walk  through  both  the 
groves  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  opens  to  several  retired  and 
pleasing  scenes  ;  at  one  spot  is  a  pretty  rustic  Gothic  temple  built  of 
flint  near  a  cascade,  which  the  river  forms  by  falling  over  a  natural 
ridge  of  stone.  The  whole  place  is  laid  out  with  great  taste. 

Reading. 

[1796,  Part  L,  p.  373.] 

Inclosed  is  a  drawing  of  a  brass  coin  of  the  same  size  (Fig.  6). 
It  is  in  my  possession,  and  was  some  years  since  dug  up  among  the 
ruins  of  Reading  Abbey,  in  Berkshire.  Being  at  a  loss  to  discover 
its  meaning,  I  shall  esteem  it  as  a  favour  if  you  will  engrave  it,  and 
shall  be  much  obliged  by  an  explanation. 

L.  KNAP]>. 

[1841,  Part  IT.,  f.  531.] 

Whiteknights. — The  materials  of  this  mansion,  formerly  the  resi- 
dence of  the  late  Duke  of  Marlborough,  near  Reading,  and  the 
subject  of  a  folio  volume  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hofland,  have  been  dis- 
posed of  by  auction ;  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  weeks  there  will  be 
no  vestige  left  of  this  once-admired  residence,  formerly  visited  by 
royalty,  and  a  very  favourite  resort  of  the  queen  of  George  III.  The 
gardens,  woods,  and  pasture-land  were  sold  on  October  5,  in  lots 
varying  from  three  to  forty  acres,  affording  a  wide  field  to  the  build- 
ing speculators. 


192  Berkshire. 


Shottesbrooke. 

[1840,  Part  I.,  pp.  128-134.] 

The  Church  of  St.  John  Baptist,  Shottesbrooke,  is  a  perfect  model 
of  an  ecclesiastical  edifice.  The  structure  is  the  entire  work  of  one 
period,  and  possesses  the  advantage  of  an  ascertained  date,  and, 
what  is  met  with  in  few  ancient  churches,  one  style  of  architecture 
pervades  the  whole  design,  even  to  the  minor  portions.  For  sym- 
metry and  beauty  it  has  few  equals ;  the  plan  is  harmonious,  the 
architecture  chaste  and  elegant 

In  the  year  1337  Sir  William  Tressell,  of  Cubblesdon,  in  Stafford- 
shire, who  had  shortly  before  purchased  the  manor  of  Shottesbrooke, 
founded  a  college  for  a  warden  and  five  priests,  or  if  the  revenue 
would  bear  it,  five  more  were  to  be  added  (but  the  number  of  ten 
was  never  to  be  exceeded)  and  two  clerks.  This  college  he  endowed 
with  the  church  of  Shottesbrooke,  and  an  annual  rent  of  403.  charged 
on  this  manor ;  a  fire  occurring  soon  after,  which  damaged  the 
college,  some  further  endowments  appear  to  have  been  bestowed 
upon  it,  but  the  church  evidently  sustained  no  injury,  and  to  this  day 
remains,  as  far  as  the  architecture  of  the  structure  is  regarded,  nearly 
in  the  same  state  as  when  it  came  out  of  the  hands  of  the  founder. 

The  plan  is  cruciform,  consisting  of  a  nave  flanked  by  two  uniform 
porches,  a  transept  and  chancel,  with  a  central  tower  and  spire  ;  there 
are  no  aisles  to  either  portion,  and,  what  is  remarkable,  it  has  no 
extraneous  chapels  or  other  appendages.  The  plan  is  in  consequence 
an  entire  and  unbroken  cross. 

Hearne,*  somewhat  hastily,  assumed  that  the  church  was  built  in 
the  form  of  a  cross  in  allusion  to  the  arms  of  the  founder,  Sir  William 
Tressell,  being  a  cross  flory  ;f  and  he  has  been  followed  by  the 
editor  of  Ashmole's  "  Berkshire  Collections  "  (Sir  Edward  Bysshe)  as 
well  as  by  Lysons  ;  but  there  can  be  no  ground  for  this  supposition  ; 
the  plan  was  influenced  by  a  nobler  and  holier  conception ;  the 
cruciform  arrangement,  so  common  in  our  ancient  churches,  was  not 
adopted  to  perpetuate  the  heraldic  insignia  of  a  family,  but  was 
chosen  in  remembrance  of  the  emblem  of  our  holy  faith,  the  blessed 
Cross — at  once  the  memorial  of  man's  salvation,  and  the  distin- 
guished badge  of  the  Catholic  Church. 

The  architecture  is  of  the  description  which,  according  to  a  some- 
what fashionable  nomenclature,  is  called  the  "  decorated  "  style  ;  but 
as  it  is  a  far  plainer  building  than  a  number  of  other  structures  of 
earlier  as  well  as  of  later  periods,  we  do  not  recognise  in  it  the  truth 
of  the  designation :  its  distinguishing  characteristics  are  the  flowing 
tracery  of  the  windows,  and  the  small  angular  caps  which  terminate 

*  Account   of  some  antiquities  between   Windsor   and   Oxford. — Lei.    Itin., 
vol.  v.,  p.  130.  t  Or,  a  cross  flory,  gules. 


Shottesbrooke.  193 


the  buttresses.  The  parapets  are  finished  with  a  coping  without 
battlements,  and  the  gables  of  the  building  are  lofty  and  acute, 
leading  up  gracefully  and  naturally  to  the  tall  and  slender  steeple, 
which  appropriately  rises  from  the  centre  of  the  building. 

The  view  of  the  church  which  forms  the  subject  of  the  engraving 
is  taken  from  the  north-west,  and  the  artist  (Mr.  John  Buckler,  F.S.A.) 
has  shown  the  nave  and  one  of  its  porches,  the  north  transept,  with  the 
tower  and  spire  ;  and  it  is  admirably  chosen  for  the  display  of 
the  character  and  uniformity  of  the  architectural  features  of  the 
building.  The  "entire  structure  is,  however,  so  concealed  with  trees 
that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  see  the  church  in  any  point  of  view  so 
perfect  as  that  shown  in  the  engraving. 

The  nave  contains  no  less  than  three  entrances,  each  of  which 
consists  of  a  neat  equilateral  pointed  arch,  with  moulded  jambs  and 
architrave.  The  principal  one  is  in  the  west  front,  over  which  is  a 
window  of  three  lights,  with  quatrefoil  tracery  in  the  head  of  the 
arch ;  above  this  rises  a  gable  bounded  by  a  coping  and  surmounted 
by  a  cross,  a  fragment  of  which  still  exists.  The  angles  of  the  front 
are  strengthened  by  bold  duplicated  buttresses,  which  are  less  splayed 
than  usual,  and  finished  by  neat  caps,  each  enclosing  within  the  head- 
line five  cusps.  The  flanks  of  the  nave  have  each  a  window  of  two 
lights  on  either  side  of  the  porch,  of  the  same  general  pattern  as 
that  seen  in  the  transept.  The  porches  have  pointed  arches  of 
entrance,  surmounted  with  gables  finished  as  the  principal  elevation. 
At  the  corners  are  angular  buttresses,  and  in  the  flanks  small  trefoil- 
headed  lights. 

A  similar  style  of  design  is  observable  in  the  north  transept.  The 
large  window  is  of  three  lights,  the  tracery  cuspated,  the  lines  flow- 
ing, and  in  each  flank  wall  is  a  window  as  before  described. 

The  uniformity  of  the  architecture  is  continued  in  the  choir.  At 
the  east  end  is  a  large  and  magnificent  window  of  five  lights,  with 
cuspated  tracery  in  the  head  of  the  arch,  the  lines  flowing  with  great 
elegance.  The  design,  though  closely  assimilating  with  the  archi- 
tecture of  those  in  the  nave  and  transepts,  is,  in  consequence  of  its 
situation  above  the  high-altar,  of  greater  importance  and  beauty. 
The  elevation  terminates  with  a  gable  and  cross,  and  the  angles  are 
buttressed  as  in  the  other  portions  of  the  structure.  The  side-walls 
are  made  by  buttresses  into  three  divisions,  each  containing  a  window 
of  the  like  design  as  those  in  the  nave  and  transept.  In  the  centre 
of  the  church  rises  a  square  tower  in  two  stories  above  the  roof;  in 
the  upper  story  is  a  neat  window  of  two  lights,  and  the  elevation  is 
finished  with  an  embattled  parapet.  At  the  north-west  corner  a 
hexagonal  turret,  erected  for  the  purpose  of  enclosing  a  staircase, 
rises  from  the  ground  to  a  few  feet  above  the  parapet,  where  it  is 
finished  with  a  low  pyramidal  roof;  the  interior  is  lighted  at  intervals 
by  small  loops.  The  present  entrance  to  this  staircase  is  by  a  modern 

VOL.    XII.  13 


1 94  Berkshire. 

aperture  in  one  of  the  exterior  faces.  An  octangular  spire  rises  from 
within  the  battlement  of  the  tower,  of  a  graceful  and  elegant  form  ; 
it  is  lighted  by  four  angular-headed  loops  at  about  a  third  of  its 
height,  and  is  finished  with  a  capital  and  vane.  In  its  original  state 
this  spire  was  enriched  at  its  base  by  a  group  of  pinnacles,  which 
very  gracefully  avoided  the  abruptness  consequent  on  the  change 
from  the  square  to  the  octagon  in  the  two  members  of  the  steeple. 
From  the  leads  of  the  tower  may  be  seen  the  square  bases  of  these 
pinnacles,  which  are  fixed  to  the  several  faces  of  the  spire,  to  the 
number  of  twelve.  Four,  of  a  larger  design  than  the  others,  corre- 
spond with  the  angles  of  the  tower;  the  other  eight,  which  are 
smaller,  are  placed  in  pairs  on  those  faces  of  the  spire  which  cor- 
respond with  the  sides  of  the  supporting  tower.  All  these  pinnacles 
have  been  removed,  or  have  fallen  from  the  effects  of  time.  When 
perfect,  the  effect  of  the  entire  structure  must  have  been  very 
superior  to  its  present  appearance.  The  lofty  and  taper  pinnacle, 
springing  from  the  group  of  smaller  ones,  somewhat  in  the  style  of 
the  spire  of  St.  Mary's,  Oxford,  must  have  formed,  on  the  whole, 
a  perfect  and  very  beautiful  composition.  In  its  present  defective 
state  it  possesses  great  beauty,  and  whether  the  spire  is  viewed  from 
a  distance  above  the  surrounding  foliage,  or  nearer  from  the  adjacent 
park,  its  graceful  form  and  elevation  render  it  a  very  pleasing  orna- 
ment to  the  neighbouring  scenery.  The  scientific  observer,  however, 
cannot  view  it  without  feelings  of  pain,  and  anticipations  of  its  de- 
struction at  no  very  distant  period.  In  the  last  century  the  upper 
part  was  struck  by  lightning,  and  though  repaired  at  the  time,  the 
fissures  now  appear  to  be  opening,  and  evidently  threaten  destruction 
to  the  structure. 

The  interior  possesses  less  of  the  original  character  than  the  out- 
side ;  plaster  ceilings  and  pewing  have  done  much  to  destroy  the 
effect  of  the  structure  when  in  its  pristine  state.  The  nave  and 
transepts  are  pewed,  and  a  gallery  is  erected  in  the  north  transept. 
The  nave  is  well  proportioned  and  very  light,  occasioned  by  the 
number  of  windows  in  comparison  with  the  space.  The  west  window, 
in  its  original  state,  was  doubtless  filled  with  stained  glass,  represent- 
ing, perhaps,  the  portraits  of  the  benefactors,  whose  arms  still  exist 
in  the  tracery.  The  font  retains  its  original  situation  in  the  middle 
of  the  nave,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  west  door.  It  is  of 
dimensions  sufficiently  large  for  immersion,  and  octangular  in  form  ; 
it  stands  on  a  platform  of  the  same  shape.  The  architecture  is 
coeval  with  the  church,  and  partakes  of  the  elegant  character  of  the 
entire  edifice.  The  following  woodcut  will  save  further  description. 
The  height  is  3  feet  2  inches,  and  the  diameter  31  inches. 

Four  pointed  arches,  neatly  moulded,  and  of  considerable  span, 
separate  the  four  principal  members  of  the  building,  and  serve  to 
sustain  the  tower.  On  the  west  side  of  the  north  transept  is  a  low 


Shottesbrooke.  195 


cuspated  arch,  now  walled  up,  but  which  formed  the  original  entrance 
to  the  staircase  of  the  tower.  The  choir,  which  constitutes  the 
chancel  of  the  present  church,  has  lost  its  rood-loft  and  screen,  but 
even  now  possesses  many  interesting  features.  On  the  south  side, 
inserted  within  the  wall,  still  remain  the  three  stalls  for  the  clergy 
officiating  at  Mass ;  they  are  of  equal  size  and  height,  and  in  plan 
half  of  a  hexagon  \  each  stall  has  a  trefoil  head  with  cusps  in  the 
spandrels,  and  at  the  east  side  is  a  piscina  of  the  same  form  and 
design.  In  the  opposite  wall  is  a  trefoil-headed  arch  enclosing  a 
small  recess,  which,  from  the  appearance  of  the  wall  on  the  outside 
of  the  edifice,  has  probably  been  deeper  than  at  present ;  this  niche 
served  for  the  reception  of  the  elements,  and  in  which  they  remained 
until  the  offertory,  when  they  were  removed  to  the  altar.  The  side- 
windows,  in  common  with  most  works  of  the  period,  have  internal 
arches  of  a  pointed  form  dying  into  the  jambs. 

There  still  exists  a  considerable  quantity  of  stained  glass  in  the 
several  windows  of  the  church,  though  greatly  obscured  by  dirt. 
The  east  window  was  once  resplendent  with  pictures  of  saints  and 
the  arms  of  benefactors  j  of  these  the  following  are  the  scanty 
remnants : 

St.  John  the  Evangelist. 

St  John  the  Baptist. 

Angel  with  censer. 

A  bishop. 

St.  Katharine. 

Saint  with  dragon. 

Another,  defaced. 
These  are  in  tolerable  preservation. 

There  are  also  the  following  shields  of  arms : 

1.  Cheque  azure  and  or. 

2.  Gules,  a  lion  rampant  or  (perhaps  LfAlbini). 

3.  Gules,  three  lions  passant  gardant  in  pale  or,  a  bordure  argent. 

4.  Azure,  on  a  bend  argent,  cotised  or,  between  six  leopards'  faces 
of  the  last  a [defaced]. 

5.  Barree  or  and  azure,  an  inescutcheon  argent. 

6.  Argent,  three  fusils  conjoined  in  fesse  gules.     Montacute, 

The  tracery  of  the  choir-windows  contained  a  single  shield  in  each. 
Of  these  there  remain  on  the  north  side  ...  a  saltire  ...  it  is 
plastered  over,  and  the  colours  indistinguishable. 

South  side : 

1.  Gules,  three  cross-crosslets  and  a  chief  or.     Arderne. 

2.  Sable,  a  cross  engraile"e  or,  a  bend  ermine. 

In  the  east  window  of  the  south  transept  is  the  bust  of  a  knight  to 
the  breast.  He  has  pourpoint  over  his  armour,  on  the  head  a  bacinet 
with  a  visor  raised  to  show  the  face,  which  has  large  mustachios ;  a 
gorget  of  mail  is  seen  at  the  chin.  Round  the  head  are  the  remains 

13—2 


196  Berkshire. 

of  a  quatr.efoil,  showing  a  relic  of  the  leadwork  of  the  ancient 
glazing.  There  are  also  various  fragments  in  the  opposite  and  in 
the  south  windows,  including  some  neat  and  not  inelegant  quarries. 
In  the  eastern  window  of  the  north  transept  are  the  remains  of  a 
crucifix. 

The  lateral  windows  in  the  nave,  like  those  of  the  choir,  each 
contained  a  single  shield  ;  of  these  only  two  remain,  in  windows  on 
each  side  of  the  nave,  and  which  are  repetitions  of  each  other,  viz., 
quarterly,  i  and  4,  or,  frettee  azure  ;  2  and  3,  barre"e  or  and  azure. 
Penbruge. 

In  the  west  window  are  three  shields  : 

1.  Or,  a  saltiie  gules. 

2.  Quarterly,  first  and  fourth,  azure,  three  fleurs-de-lis  or ;  second 
and  third  gules,  three  lions  passant  gardant  in  pale  or,  a  bordure  azure, 
charged  with  fleurs-de-lis  or. 

3.  Argent,  on  a  chief  azure  two  mullets  or. 

The  above  are  all  the  remains  of  the  stained  glass  which  once 
embellished  the  windows  of  this  elegant  church. 

The  sepulchral  remains  are  worthy  of  attention. 

The  monuments  of  the  founder,  Sir  William  Tressel,  and  his  lady, 
Maud,  daughter  of  Sir  William  Butler,  Lord  of  Wemme,  occupy  the 
entire  north  wall  of  the  transept.  The  two  monuments  are  exactly 
similar;  they  are  altar-tombs,  surmounted  with  canopies  of  four 
arches,  each  of  elegant  form,  separated  by  pinnacles.  In  the  spandrels 
are  sixteen  shields,  which  are  represented  as  suspended  by  belts  from 
hooks.  These  shields  were  once  emblazoned  with  armorial  bearings, 
now  entirely  obliterated.  On  three  of  the  shields  the  remains  of 
armorial  bearings  are  visible  in  consequence  of  the  lines  having  been 
traced  with  a  point  on  the  surface  of  the  stone.  The  following  may 
be  distinguished  : 

i.  Three  lions  rampant,  impaling  .... 

2 impaling  three  lions  rampant. 

3 a   lesse   engrailed  ....  in   the   dexter    chief    a   lion 

rampant,  which  is  probably  one  of  three ;  the  whole  within  a 
bordure  ;  but  these  are  in  all  probability  the  remains  of  the  arms  of 
"  Richard  Powle,  some-time  Register  of  the  Chancery,"  and  Anne 
Chester,  his  wife,  and  Henry  Powle  and  Katharine,  his  wife,  which, 
with  the  dates  1583  and  1628,  had  been  usurpingly  substituted  for 
the  orginal  bearings,  and  which  remained  in  Ashmole's  time,  the 
Povvles  being  buried  in  the  same  transept. 

The  founder  lies  within  the  westernmost  of  these  tombs,  and  in 
Hearne's  days  was  to  be  seen  through  a  defect  in  the  wall  "  wrapt  up 
in  lead,"  and  his  wife  "  in  leather,  at  his  feet." 

The  next  in  point  of  importance  is  a  rather  singular  monument,  to 
the  memory  of  William  Throkmorton,  warden  of  the  college.  The 
effigy  of  the  deceased,  smaller  than  life,  attired  in  a  long  gown,  with 


Shottcsbrooke.  197 


his  doctor's  hood  and  cap,  having  the  hands  conjoined,  lies  wiihin  a 
stone  coffin  against  the  north  wall  of  the  choir.  Across  the  middle 
of  the  effigy  is  a  slab  of  stone,  bearing  a  brass  plate,  with  the  following 
inscription  : 

"^)m  Igjth  ESJjjll'm  ^Elmrchmnrhm,  p'st,  boctor  of  Jatoc,  lute  twrbcn  of 
this  shurclt^  tuhtch  occessib  the  xti.  bau  of  <5anuari,  Qn'o  b'ni  jftUmocxxb  ; 
on  tuhois  exrute  Jh'u  haue  .Jttcrcj).  Jlnu'. 

"(6  terra  in  bilem  res  o  Into  corpore  ternrm  <S;tncfnm  e.vpccto  bet  miiseri- 
covbts  opcm  (Sxspu'to  *i  in  fibu'  rtbibibe  cavnis  amicm'  l£t  i.inbcm  c.vcdsi 
rcgmt  bentrt  poll." 


The  brasses  are  very  interesting.  In  the  centre  of  the  chancel  on 
a  large  slab  is  one  of  rather  unusual  occurrence,  as  it  represents  two 
male  effigies.  That  on  the  dexter  side  is  a  priest  in  vestments,  the 
face  bearing  the  impress  of  age  ;  the  hands  are  conjoined  on  the 
breast.  The  stole,  maniple,  and  bordure  of  the  alb  are  ornamented 
by  devices  almost  peculiar  to  effigies  of  the  fourteenth  century,  which 
are  squares,  containing  crosses-cramponee  alternating  with  quatrefoils. 
The  shoes  are  pointed.  The  other  effigy  represents  an  aged  and 
demure-looking  man  with  a  forked  beard  and  mustachios,  having  a 
wrinkled  forehead,  and  the  hair  stiff  and  combed  off  the  face.  The 
dress  is  a  tunic,  close  fitting  and  buttoned  up  the  front,  reaching  to 
the  calves.  From  the  middle  a  short  swonl  depends  from  a  girdle  ; 
a  mantle  is  worn  over  the  tunic,  fastened  by  three  buttons  on  the 
right  shoulder  and  falling  gracefully  over  the  left  arm.  On  the  legs 
are  hose,  with  pointed  shoes.  The  two  effigies  sUnd  within  a  rich 
double  niche,  which  formerly  had  a  slender  column  in  the  centre, 
and  is  covered  with  two  cinquefoil  arches,  with  sweeping  canopies, 
richly  crocketed  ;  in  each  is  a  rose.  At  the  feet  of  the  effigies  was 
originally  an  inscription  on  a  narrow  plate  of  brass,  which  has  been 
removed.  Between  the  canopies  is  a  small  quatrefoil,  which  doubt- 
less once  contained  some  religious,  or,  in  modern  phraseology, 
superstitious  representation.  With  these  exceptions,  and  a  trifling 
mutilation  of  the  pinnacles,  this  brass  is  in  fine  state  of  preservation. 
The  effigies  are  each  4  feet  2  inches  long,  and  the  entire  brass  7  feet 
7  inches  long,  and  2  feet  7  inches  in  breadth.  It  is  engraved,  from 
a  most  incorrect  drawing  by  Ashmole,  in  "  Bib.  Top.  Britannica," 
No.  xvi. 

The  date  of  this  brass  is  late  in  the  fourteenth  century,  and  it  may 
fairly  be  presumed  to  commemorate  the  first  master  of  the  college, 
with  his  brother.  The  ages  appear  to  be  equal  ;  their  lives  perhaps 
were  pleasant,  and  in  their  deaths  they  were  not  divided.  This  brass, 
with  the  monument  of  Dr.  Throkmorton,  are  the  only  two  in  the 
church  which  commemorate  sacerdotal  personagrs. 

On  the  floor  of  the  north  transept,  at  the  foot  of  the  monument  of 
the  founder  and  his  lady,  lies  a  brass  of  a  lady  clad  in  a  long  gown 
covering  the  feet,  and  bound  round  the  middle  with  a  girdle  hanging 


1  98  Berkshire. 

down  in  front.  The  head-dress  is  reticulated,  with  a  veil  ;  the  neck 
covered  with  a  barbe  ;  the  costume  being  that  of  a  widow.  The  head 
reclines  on  two  ornamented  cushions,  and  on  a  surrounding  ledge, 
at  the  corners  of  which  were  the  symbols  of  four  Evangelists,  of  which 
the  angel  and  the  lion  only  remain,  there  was  an  inscription,  of  which 
the  words  in  black  letter  only  are  preserved  : 

leg  Q\st  Dame  Margaret  qui  fuist  le  femme  Monsir  F  .  .  . 

penoebrggg  •Cheua/iVr  priez  pur  luy  a  dieu  quit  de  salute  eit  pitie  et  mercy. 
Amen. 

This  slab  commemorates  Margaret,  daughter  and  heir  of  Sir  William 
Tressel,  the  founder,  and  widow  of  Sir  Fulke  Pennebrygg.  She  died 
in  1401.  This  brass  is  engraved  in  Cough's  "Sepul.  Mon.,"  vol.  ii., 
pi.  v.,  p.  ii. 

On  the  floor  of  the  same  transept  is  an  effigy  of  a  gentleman,  in 
plate  armour,  bare-headed,  with  straight  hair.  Below  is  the  following 
inscription  : 


"  gijere  Igrth  tlu  bobp  of  |iiuharb  (igll  squger,  late  sergeant  of 
hous  toth  gigng  henrg  the  bit.  ;  anb  also  togih'iligng  henre  bin.  ;  anb  baglg 
of  the  bit.  hunbrebs  of  (Eokam  anb  $rag  ;  the  tohtche  gUcharb  bcecsseb  ge  bit. 
bag  of  Stugusi,  tlu  gere  of  oar  |Corb  ©ob  <|rl0bc.xi,  o'  tohose  soule  JThu' 
haxu  m'eg.  " 

In  the  same  transept  another  brass  represents,  with  admirable 
fidelity,  one  of  the  bluff  yeomen  of  the  bluff  King  Henry,  accompanied 
with  his  three  wives.  He  is  represented  in  a  furred  gown,  bearing 
on  the  left  shoulder  a  crown  as  the  badge  of  his  office.  His  wives  are 
represented  one  on  his  right  side  and  two  on  his  left  Below  the 
second  wife  are  three  sons  and  two  daughters,  and  under  the  third 
wife  one  daughter.  There  are  two  inscriptions,  one  in  English, 
which  shows,  in  one  point  of  view,  at  least,  that  he  was  useful  in  his 
generation. 

The  other  inscription  is  in  Latin,  and  is  remarkable  as  the  pro- 
duction of  a  lady,  Elizabeth,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Sir  Anthony 
Cooke,  who  had  a  taste  for  this  kind  of  composition.  The  following 
are  transcripts  of  both  inscriptions  : 

"  <$)ere  Igeih  £3urieb  Thomas  <$oke,  toho  for  his  grrat  age  anb  beriuous 
]Eicf  teas  ^Rfbmmxb  of  ail  nun,  anb  jromcnJg  callcb  father  Jjloke  ;  cveatcb 
<Eao,uier  bg  Hgnge  gtfenrg  the  biii.  gqe  toas  of  stature  high  anb  comlg,  anb 
for  his  mrllence  in  artilarie  mabe  gotnan  of  tlu  rrotone  of  (Englanb  ;  tohich 
hab  in  his  Jiff  three  toifes,  anb  bg  eberg  of  them  som  frttgte  anb  ofsprgnge 
anb  ^Peceisscb  the  xxi.  bag  of  JUgust,  1567,  in  the  gere  of'  his  age  gxxxbit. 
Jleabing  bthgnoe  hgm  Julian,  hts  las-t  toief,  ttoo  of  hfs  brotherne,  one  sister, 
one  onlg  sonne,  anb  ij.  baughters  Igbing." 

"  (Epiiaphia  b'ne  ®ltiab«th  Bobbie  in  morte'  lEhome  ^loke. 

"  ©  multnm  bilette  sener  pater  atq'  boc.ite  bel  quia  granbeuus,  bel  qnia 
probus  eras.  ^Innos  bixisti  nobies  becem  atq'  satelles  <^fibus  eras  regum 
fibus  rrasq'  tuts.  Jam  satis  fuiutus  balcas,  seb  ta  bcus  alme  <§ic  tnthi 
concrbas  biuere  sicq'  ntori." 


Shottesbrooke.  199 


Father  Noke  has  a  happy,  contented  expression  in  his  countenance. 
He  looks  like  a  man  who  enjoyed  this  world,  and  the  good  things 
thereof;  and  never  having  heard  of  any  theories  of  population,  he 
prided  himself  upon  his  '•  fruyte  and  ofspringe,"  and  without  doubt 
his  royal  masters  and  mistresses  did  the  same. 

Above  the  effigies  is  the  following  shield  of  arms  :  ...  on  a  fesse 
cotised  .  .  .  between  three  leopards'  faces  ...  a  bow  .  .  .  be- 
tween two  ducal  coronets  .  .  . ;  crest,  on  a  wreath,  a  lion's  paw 
erased  and  erected  .  .  .  environed  with  a  ducal  coronet  .  .  .  and 
holding  an  arrow  .  .  . 

There  are  numerous  modern  monuments  to  the  Cherry  family, 
and  to  Dodwell  the  antiquary. 

The  floor  of  the  chancel  has  originally  been  covered  with  coloured 
tiles  of  good  workmanship.  The  pavement,  when  entire,  formed  a 
kind  of  mosaic.  Several  octagon  tiles  remain,  with  various  devices. 
One  appears  to  be  the  symbol  of  St.  John,  with  the  inscription 
(IOPSNNES) ;  on  another  is  a  lion's  face  ;  on  a  third,  a  man  armed 
with  a  sword,  and  at  his  feet  a  dragon. 

There  is  another  monument  which  cannot  be  passed  without 
notice.  This  is  a  coffin-lid,  ridged  and  once  ensigned  with  a  cross, 
which  lies  in  the  churchyard,  in  the  angle  between  the  south  tran- 
sept and  the  choir.  This  tomb  the  author  so  often  quoted,  T. 
Hearne,  says  is  that  of  the  architect,  and  he  gives  the  following 
particulars  :  "  They  say  (and  it  hath  been  a  constant  tradition)  that 
this  person,  having  either  laid  the  last  stone  of  the  spire,  or  else 
fix'd  the  weathercock,  call'd  for  some  wine  or  ale  on  purpose  to  drink 
the  King's  health,  which  being  brought  up  to  him,  he  had  no  sooner 
drunk  it  but  he  accidentally  fell  down,  was  dash'd  to  pieces,  and  was 
afterwards  buried  under  the  spire,  with  this  rough  stone  over  his 
grave."  This  is  probably  a  mere  village  tradition.  The  stone  is 
evidently  older  than  the  church,  and,  in  all  probability,  has  lain  in 
the  churchyard  ever  since  the  present  one  was  built,  having  been 
preserved  from  the  former  church ;  for  Shottesbrooke  possessed  a 
church  at  the  period  of  the  Domesday  survey.  The  modern  brick- 
work under  this  coffin-stone  was  set  up  when  a  modern  rector 
(Richard  Clear)  was  buried  beneath  it  by  his  own  direction,  at  which 
period  no  remains  of  a  prior  interment  were  discovered. 

Shottesbrooke  Church  and  its  localities  were  favourite  subjects 
with  old  Tom  Hearne.  In  a  gossiping  note  on  "Crosses,"  to  his 
edition  of  "  Robert  of  Gloucestre's  Chronicle,"  he  gives  many  par- 
ticulars of  the  church  and  adjacent  college;  the  latter  structure  exist- 
ing at  that  time  as  a  farm-house,  on  the  south  side  of  the  church. 
He  thus  describes  a  curious  appendage  to  the  latter :  "  Some  years 
agoe  there  was  a  passage  from  this  farm-house  overthwart  the  church- 
way,  and  so  down  a  pair  of  steps  by  a  door,  into  the  south  chancel, 
or  south  cross  of  the  church,  where  there  is  a  seat  that  belongs  to 


2oo  Berkshire. 

them  lhat  live  in  the  farm-house."  He  adds  :  "  I  know  not  for  what 
reason  it  was  pull'd  down,  unless  it  were  to  make  the  church  look 
more  uniform  (as,  indeed,  destroying  antiquity  and  committing 
sacrilege,  is  too  commonly  nowadays  call'd  uniformity) ;  but  it  was 
destroyed  so  lately,  that  I  well  remember  people  frequently  talk  of 
it  when  I  was  a  schoolboy,  and  to  relate  that  it  conducted  into  the 
church ;  and  that  those  of  the  college-house  and  farm  us'd  com- 
monly to  come  into  the  church  that  way." 

The  arch  of  entrance  may  still  be  traced  in  the  wall  of  the  tran- 
sept ;  and  a  gap  in  the  garden-wall  opposite  has  evidently  been  filled 
up.  This  singular  passage  must  have  been  a  humble  specimen  of 
a  covered  walk,  like  the  magnificent  passage  into  Wells  Cathedral, 
leading  from  the  vicar's  college  to  the  chapter-house  and  cathedral. 

The  two  spacious  halls,  with  their  chimneys  and  the  parlours,  and 
other  remains  of  the  college,  existing  when  Hearne  wrote,  have  long 
since  been  removed  ;  a  cottage,  which  probably  formed  a  part  of 
those  buildings,  is  the  only  portion  which  now  exists;  and  the  "brave 
old  orchard,"  with  its  "  trees  in  forms  of  crosses,"  which  in  part 
existed  in  Hearne's  time,  has  also  disappeared ;  and  all  the  remains 
on  which  the  good  old  antiquary  loved  to  dilate  have  vanished, 
leaving  the  church  the  sole  remains  of  the  foundation  of  Sir  Wm. 
Tressell.  This  structure,  it  has  been  shown,  is  possessed  of  a  high 
degree  of  interest.  Every  admirer  of  genuine  old  English  architec- 
ture should  pay  it  a  visit,  and  will  be  certain  to  leave  it  highly 
gratified.  He  will  see  in  it  an  elegant  specimen  of  the  workmanship 
of  the  fourteenth  century,  and  a  beautiful  and  correct  model  of  a 
church ;  and  it  would  be  pleasing  if  the  description  would  end  here ; 
but  the  pleasure  afforded  by  the  examination  of  the  church  is  damped 
when  the  spectator  looks  to  the  upper  part  of  the  spire,  and  sees  the 
rents  which  show  themselves  at  the  angles  of  the  stonework,  and 
which  may  at  no  distant  period  occasion  the  destruction  of  the  spire, 
and,  in  all  probability,  of  the  choir  also.  That  this  is  no  fancied  alarm 
will  be  seen  by  anyone  who  views  the  openings  from  the  interior. 
The  ruin  might  be  arrested  by  rebuilding  the  upper  part  of  the  spire, 
or,  at  least,  banding  it  with  metal ;  but,  as  it  is  scarcely  to  be  sup- 
posed that  the  small  parish  will  accomplish  this  work,  we  can  only 
look  to  individual  munificence  for  its  preservation.  To  one  sole 
benefactor  are  we  indebted  for  the  entire  church  ;  let  us  hope  that 
it  will  be  fortunate  enough  to  owe  the  trifling  repairs  it  now  requires 
to  a  similar  source.  It  is  truly  to  be  wished  that  this  description 
may  be  the  means  of  calling  that  attention  to  the  defect  which  may 
lead  to  the  preservation  of  this  beautiful  example  of  genuine  church 
architecture ;  as  a  small  expense  may  now  effect  so  desirable  an 
object,  which,  if  longer  delayed,  will  lead  to  the  destruction  of  the 
entire  pile. 

E.  I.  C. 


Tilehurst. —  Jwyfora.  201 

Tilehurst. 

[1827,  Part  II.,  p.  212.] 

Being  lately  on  a  visit  in  Berkshire,  I  was  accidentally  at  the 
church  of  Tilehurst,  near  Reading,  in  which  there  is  a  very  splendid 
monument  to  Sir  Peter  Vanlore,  a  merchant  of  London,  who  died 
just  two  centuries  ago  (1627).  The  family  of  Sir  Peter  is  extinct, 
and  the  fine  monument  is  likely  to  fall  into  decay,  unless  some  lover 
of  antiquity  undertakes  to  repair  it. 

Ashmole,  in  his  "  History  of  Berkshire,"  gives  an  account  of  it, 
and  by  the  following  epitaph,  he  appears  to  have  been  both  rich  and 
virtuous: 

' '  When  thou  hast  read  this  stone,  here  lies  Van  Lore, 

Thou  need'st  no  story  to  inform  thee  more  ; 

A  long,  industrious,  well-spent  lyfe  has  shone, 

His  worth  as  farre  as  our  commerce  is  knowne. 

His  conversation  London  hath  approved, 

Three  English  Monarchs  have  employed  and  loved. 

His  industry,  his  providence,  and  care, 

Let  his  enriched  family  declare  ; 

The  poor  his  bounty  spake,  that  he  was  not 

A  slave  at  all  to  what  his  wisdom  gott. 

After  full  four  score  yeares  to  him  here  lent, 

The  greatest  part  in  one  chaste  wedlock  spent, 

His  soule  to  Heaven,  his  earth  to  earth  is  come, 

Utrect  his  cradle,  Tilehurst  loves  his  tombe." 

He  left  nine  daughters  and  one  son,  who  was  made  a  baronet 
1628. 

WM.  WADD. 
Twyford. 
[1781, //.  454,  455.] 

Amongst  the  objects  which  strike  my  eye  when  travelling,  the 
humble  edifice  which  the  hand  of  Piety  has  reared  in  former  times,  as 
an  asylum  forage  and  poverty,  never  fails  to  engage  my  attention.  .  .  . 

These  thoughts  have  often  occurred  to  me,  and  were  revived  some 
time  ago  on  riding  through  a  little  village  in  Berks,  called  Twyford. 
On  the  left  hand  of  the  road  is  a  small  building  inscribed  "Deo  6- 
pauperibus,  1640  ;"  placed  by  the  roadside  to  excite  the  charity  of 
others,  not  to  proclaim  that  of  the  founder,  whose  name  is  not  men- 
tioned. Some  of  the  windows  are  entirely  broken,  and  the  wall 
which  incloses  the  garden  is  so  decayed  that  it  will  probably  soon 
become  useless.  I  could  not  help  stopping  my  horse  to  ask  one  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  whom  I  saw  in  his  shop,  the  purpose  of 
the  foundation,  and  the  reason  of  its  present  neglected  condition. 
The  intelligence  I  got  did  not  reach  so  far  as  the  founder ;  but  he 
said  it  was  designed  for  three  men  and  three  women,  who  had  each 
an  apartment,  a  piece  of  garden,  and  one  shilling  and  sixpence  a 
week  ;  that  there  was  a  chapel  and  a  hall ;  that  there  was  an  estate 
in  some  county,  he  did  not  know  where,  given  to  support  it ;  that  the 


2O2  Berkshire. 

trustees  used  to  meet  once  a  year,  to  inspect  the  management,  and 
had  some  cold  meat  prepared  for  their  coming,  the  remains  of  which 
furnished  a  good  meal  for  the  paupers ;  that  the  trustees  were  all 
dead,  and  there  was  no  one  properly  appointed,  but  their  squire 
received  the  rents  and  paid  the  weekly  pensions.  He  added  that, 
as  there  had  not  been  an  annual  meeting  for  some  years,  the  money 
usually  expended  on  that  might  put  the  place  into  repair.  .  .  . 

I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  this  neglect  is  general ;  the  same  road 
furnishes  an  instance  to  the  contrary  in  one  at  the  entrance  of 
Maidenhead,  which  is  in  good  and  neat  condition.  Another  is  to 
be  seen  going  into  Chelmsford,  which  the  bounty  of  a  Mildmay 
erected  about  two  centuries  ago,  and  the  generosity  of  a  descendant 
lately  rebuilt.  Indeed,  many  more  might  be  easily  enumerated — 
but  enough  for  this  time. 

S.  H. 
Uffington. 

[1796,  Part  L,  p.  105.] 

Inclosed  (Fig.  2)  is  an  exact  delineation  of  the  figure  called  the 
White  Horse,  as  it  appears  at  about  a  mile  distance  from  the  hill 
on  which  it  is  cut,  supposed  by  Wise*  and  other  antiquaries  to  be  a 
monument  of  the  West  Saxons,  made  in  memory  of  a  great  victory 
obtained  over  the  Danes,  at  Ashdown,  near  it,  by  King  Alfred, 
A.D.  871.  Thus  Mr.  Pye,  in  his  "Poem  of  Farringdon  Hill," 
describes  it : 

"  Carved  rudely  on  the  pendant  sod,  is  seen 

The  snow-white  courser  stretching  o'er  the  green  ; 

The  antique  figure  scan  with  curious  eye, 

The  glorious  monument  of  victory  ! 

There  England  rear'd  her  long- dejected  head, 

There  Alfred  triumph'd,  and  invasion  bled." 

After  this  manner  our  horse  is  formed,  on  the  side  of  a  high  and 
steep  hill,  facing  the  north-west.  His  dimensions  are  extended  over 
an  acre  of  ground  or  thereabouts.  His  head,  neck,  body,  and  tail 
consist  of  one  white  line  ;  as  does  also  each  of  his  four  legs.  This 
is  done  by  cutting  a  trench  into  the  chalk,  of  about  2  or  3  feet  deep 
and  about  10  feet  broad. 

J.  STONE. 

"Wantage. 

[1796,  Part  I., p.  105.] 

Fig.  3  is  the  top  stone  of  the  old  Market  Cross  at  Wantage ;  but 
it  has  not  been  standing  there  for  upwards  of  a  century.  It  appears 
to  be  very  ancient,  though  the  date  is  uncertain :  the  townsmen 
have  a  tradition  among  them  that  it  was  erected  by  King  Alfred, 
who  was  born  there.  We  read  in  Camden  that  the  market  was 
obtained  by  Sir  Fulk  Fitzwarin,  about  the  year  1316.  It  is  octa- 
*  See  Wise's  letter  to  Dr.  Mead. 


Windsor.  203 

gonal,  and  is  adorned  all  round  with  half-length  figures  of  saints  or 
apostles  in  alto-relievo ;  it  was  lately  presented  to  me  by  the  town, 
and  is  at  present  erected  on  a  mount  in  my  garden. 

J.  STONE. 

/ 
Windsor. 

[1804,  Part  I L,  pp.  1008,  1009.] 

Old  Windsor  is  a  beautiful  village  in  Berkshire,  situated  on  the 
banks  of  the  Thames,  about  two  miles  from  the  town  of  Windsor. 
From  its  contiguity  to  the  royal  residence,  it  is  resorted  to  by  many 
persons  of  distinction,  and  contains  several  elegant  mansions. 
Beaumont  Lodge,  the  seat  of  —  Griffiths,  Esq.,  is  a  noble  modern 
edifice,*  and  should  not  be  passed  unnoticed. 

The  church  is  the  most  romantic  and  beautiful  I  ever  saw.  You 
proceed  through  a  row  of  majestic  elms,  leading  from  the  monastery 
to  the  church  gate,  which  is  continued  by  a  row  of  beautiful  larches 
to  the  west  door.  Many  of  these  trees  are  dispersed  over  the  church- 
yard, besides  an  exceeding  fine  yew.  The  church  contains  some 
monuments.  The  pulpit  is  covered  with  crimson  velvet,  lately  pre- 
sented by  Mrs.  Buckworthr  of  Bishopsgate.  Time  would  not 
permit  me  to  make  a  drawing  of  the  church,  yet  any  of  your  corre- 
spondents by  so  doing  will  very  much  oblige.  In  the  churchyard  is 
a  monument  recently  erected  to  the  memory  of  the  celebrated  Mrs. 
Robinson,  containing  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Mrs. 

MARY  ROBINSON, 

author  of  Poems, 

and  other  literary  works, 

died  the  26th  of  December,  1800, 

at  Englefield  cottage, 

in  Surrey, 
aged  43  years." 

[Verses  omitted.] 

Yours,  etc.,  C.  H. 

[1850,  Part  L,  pp.  I37-I43-] 

It  is  now  some  years  ago  since  a  series  of  views  of  several  of  our 
ancient  royal  palaces  appeared  in  the  Gentleman  s  Magazine.*? 
Windsor  Castle  was  not  among  them,  our  object  being  rather  to 

*  Beaumont  Lodge  is  an  old  house,  and  the  embellishments  were  made  a  few 
years  since  under  Mr.  Emlyn,  of  Windsor,  conformably  to  an  order  of  architecture 
of  his  invention,  which  he  styles  the  "  British  Order,"  and  which  was  duly  noticed 
in  our  vol.  Hi.,  p.  77.  Mr.  Griffiths,  if  we  are  not  misinformed,  has  lately  agreed 
to  sell  this  estate  to  a  noble  lord,  and  the  completion  of  the  purchase  is  delayed 
only  on  account  of  some  law  adjustments. 

f  Theobalds  in  February,  1836  ;  Nonesuch  in  August,  1837  ;  Richmond  in 
January,  1838  ;  Greenwich  in  January,  1840. 


2O4  Berkshire. 

present  what  was  rare  and  curious  than  to  include  an  edifice  which, 
however  pre-eminent  its  claims  to  attention,  is,  in  its  general  aspect, 
familiar  to  the  eye,  from  a  long  succession  of  views  taken  in  every 
stage  of  its  existence,  and  from  nearly  every  possible  point  of 
approach.  And  yet  it  may  be  generally  remarked  of  views  of 
Windsor  Park,  even  down  to  the  present  day,  that  accuracy  is  a 
quality  of  very  uncommon  occurrence — the  giant  masses  of  building, 
placed  at  various  elevations,  the  complication  in  their  arrangement 
or  distance,  and  the  town-like  extent  of  the  whole,  have  apparently 
proved  too  much  for  the  ordinary  powers  or  the  ordinary  industry  of 
our  draughtsmen  of  landscape ;  and  when  their  too  hasty  or  too 
careless  productions  have  been  translated  by  the  engraver,  he  has 
frequently  converted  houses  into  towers,  chimneys  into  turrets,  and 
alcoves  into  gateways,  and  mixed  the  nearer  and  more  distant  fea- 
tures into  indistinct  and  unintelligible  confusion. 

Several  admirable  views  of  Windsor  Castle,  etched  by  Wenceslaus 
Hollar,  are  contained  in  Ashmole's  "  History  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter,"  fol.  1672;  and  they  are  the  more  valuable  from  having  been 
taken  before  the  considerable  mutations  which  were  made  during 
the  reign  of  King  Charles  II.  Not  the  least  interesting  is  the 
"  Prospect  from  the  North,"  which  bears  the  name  of  Christopher 
Wren  as  the  draughtsman,  and  which  was  etched  by  Hollar  in  the 
year  1667. 

Batty  Langley  the  architect,  in  1743,  published  four  prints  of 
Windsor  Castle,  showing  its  architectural  plan  and  elevations.  They 
profess  to  represent  the  structure  as  erected  by  Edward  III.,  but 
really  exhibit  it  as  altered  by  Charles  II.,  before  whose  time  there 
were  very  few  windows  opened  through  the  exterior  walls. 

There  are  some  good  modern  views,  lithographed,  since  the  last 
alterations,  and  the  magnificent  work  completed  in  1841  under  the 
title  of  "  Illustrations  of  Windsor  Castle,"  by  the  late  Sir  Jeffrey 
Wyatville,  R.A.  (edited  by  Henry  Ashton,  architect),  supplies  all 
the  information  that  can  be  required  on  its  present  architectural 
condition. 

The  north  front  was  the  only  one  which  had  formerly  many 
windows.  It  was  here  that  additional  buildings  had  been  added 
successively  by  Henry  VII.  and  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  the  latter  had 
formed  before  it  the  magnificent  terrace-walk  which  is  now  open  to 
the  public.  This,  therefore,  became  the  principal  exterior  front,  and 
was  that  which  an  artist  was  most  likely  to  choose  if  about  to  take 
only  a  single  view.  Drawn  by  L.  Knyff,  this  front  was  engraved  on  a 
large  plate  by  J.  Kip  in  the  reign  of  Queen  Anne;  it  is  drawn  in  the 
reign  of  Charles  II.  in  a  picture  attributed  to  Sir  Peter  Lely,  where 
the  king  and  a  hunting  party  are  grouped  in  the  foreground  (en- 
graved by  R.  Godfrey,  1775);  st^^  earlier,  it  is  represented  at  the 
head  of  Speed's  map  of  Berkshire;  but  earliest  of  ail,  its  aspect  was 


Windsor.  205 

first  published  to  the  world  in  Braun's  "  Civitates  Orbis  Terrarum," 
from  the  pencil  of  George  Hoefnagle  of  Antwerp,  in  the  year  1573. 
It  is  from  this  very  curious  print,  of  which  no  copy  has  ever  before 
been  made,  that  we  have  derived  the  view  of  "  Windsor  Castle  in 
the  time  of  Elizabeth"  which  accompanies  the  present  paper.  The 
figures  placed  in  the  foreground  were  probably  intended  by  the 
artist  for  the  queen  herself  and  some  of  her  attendants,  though  it  is 
scarcely  probable  that  he  had  authority  for  supposing  that  her 
majesty  was  accustomed  to  rest  on  the  arm  of  any  of  her  gallant 
courtiers,  even  if  she  had  at  hand  her  special  favourite  the  Earl  of 
Leicester.  But  the  greyhound  which  runs  before  the  party  seems  to 
show  that  the  artist  was  aware  of  that  animal  being  one  of  the 
heraldic  symbols  of  our  monarchs,  and  represented  in  the  same  way 
on  some  of  their  great  seals. 

The  North  Terrace  was  formed  by  Queen  Elizabeth  immediately 
under  the  walls  of  the  castle,  and  supported  by  wooden  piles,  in  the 
manner  shown  in  this  view,  and  in  this  view  only.*  It  extended 
towards  the  east  some  distance  beyond  the  tower  at  the  north-east 
angle  of  the  castle.  There  was  here  a  bridge  over  the  fosse,  with  a 
gate  and  steps  leading  down  into  the  Home  Park,  and  at  the  extreme 
end  was  a  pavilion  or  banqueting-house,  which  appears  in  Speed's 
map  with  a  smoking  chimney,  and  in  Norden's  view  is  represented 
as  an  octagon  building  with  a  cupola.  It  was  22  feet  in  diameter, 
and  had  windows  on  every  side.  This  was  removed,  probably, 
in  the  seventeenth  century,  and  in  Pote's  plan  of  1749  a  dial  stands 
at  the  termination  of  the  terrace,  and  the  same  still  remains  near  the 
spot. 

The  line  of  building,  commencing  from  the  east,  is  composed  as 
follows  :  At  the  north-east  corner  was  the  Lyons'  Court,  a  place 
where,  no  doubt,  in  ancient  times,  some  of  those  "  royal  beasts " 
were  confined  :  on  this  very  spot,  now  the  state  dining-room,  Queen 
Victoria  entertains  her  most  distinguished  visitors.  The  next  por- 
tion of  the  structure,  which  presented  only  a  blank  wall,  contained 
apartments  connected  with  the  kitchen.  The  present  front  has  here 
been  erected  by  Sir  Jeffrey  Wyatville  in  advance  of  the  original,  by 
which  means  he  formed  between  the  modern  and  the  ancient  wall 
(which  was  left  standing)  a  narrow  gallery,  in  which  is  now  deposited 
a  very  valuable  armoury,  chiefly  collected  by  King  George  IV.,  but 
first  arranged  under  the  direction  of  H.R.H.  Prince  Albert.  The 
next  tower  is  that  to  which  the  name  of  the  Cornwall  Tower  is 
now  given,  and  which  presents  much  the  same  outline  at  the  present 

*  Mr.  Ashton  says  it  was  partly  supported  by  cantilevers.  Before  the  close 
of  Elizabeth's  reign,  or  in  that  of  her  successor,  the  wooden  wall  was  supplied  by 
one  of  stone,  with  buttresses,  as  shown  in  a  bird's-eye  view  by  John  Norden,  the 
surveyor,  in  the  MS.  Ilarl.  3749,  which  is  engraved  as  a  vignette  at  the  commence- 
ment of  Sir  Jeffrey  Wyatville's  work. 


206  Berkshire. 

day;  but  its  three  windows  have  been  replaced  by  a  very  large  one 
with  a  pointed  head  (perhaps  more  correctly  belonging  to  ecclesias- 
tical buildings),  in  the  centre  of  which  stands  the  magnificent  mala- 
chite vase  presented  to  her  Majesty  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  This 
was  the  guard  chamber  of  the  old  state  apartments,  and  is  now 
called  the  "saloon,"  or  "  drawing-room."  Next  succeed  the  rooms 
which  used  to  be  called  the  "presence  chamber"  and  "audience 
chamber."  The  more  picturesque  buildings  of  Henry  VII.  come 
next,  and  then  a  portion  which  is  represented  in  no  other  view  of 
the  castle  but  the  present.  On  the  spot  where  Queen  Elizabeth 
erected  her  new  gallery,  within  a  few  years  after  this  view  was  taken, 
there  seems  to  have  stood  an  ancient  round  tower  and  some  other 
buildings  of  lower  elevation.  Lastly,  we  arrive  at  the  gate  of  en- 
trance of  the  Upper  Ward,  the  arch  of  which  is  now  the  most  ancient 
piece  of  masonry  about  the  castle,  retaining  its  groove  for  the  port- 
cullis and  the  tenons  of  its  massive  bolts. 

From  this  point,  immediately  below  the  Round  Tower,  extends  a 
portion  of  the  curtain-wall,  which  also  retains  some  ancient  features 
in  its  battlements  and  loopholes.  The  remainder  of  Hoefnagle's 
view,  which  represents  the  buildings  of  the  Lower  Ward,  St.  George's 
Chapel,  and  the  town  of  Windsor,  we  have  deferred  for  a  second 
plate. 

That  part  of  the  castle  which  was  added  by  Queen  Elizabeth  is 
now  one  of  its  most  interesting  features,  though  built  on  a  scale  of 
less  magnificence  than  most  other  parts.  Its  exterior  is  well  known, 
lor  the  public  passage  to  the  North  Terrace  passes  under  it,  but  the 
interior  is  a  more  privileged  place.  It  now  contains  a  very  valuable 
library,  formed  for  the  most  part  since  George  the  Fourth  made  his 
munificent  donation  of  the  royal  collection  of  books  to  the  British 
Museum.  The  collection  of  engravings  is  also  extensive.  Her 
Majesty's  librarian  is  J.  H.  Glover,  Esq.,  F.S.A. 

It  appears  that  important  works*  were  in  progress  from  the  year 
1570.  A  new  gallery  and  banqueting-house  were  in  contemplation 
in  1576,  and  erected  shortly  after.  The  latter  was  the  pavilion  at 
the  east  end  of  the  terrace  already  mentioned.  The  gallery  has  had 
the  singular  good  fortune  to  escape  every  successive  alteration. 

The  author  of  the  "Pursuits  of  Architectural  Innovation"  was  in 
1805  invited  to  Windsor  to  witness  the  demolition  of  the  internal 
fittings  of  these  apartments ;  and  he  states  that  he  found  several  of 
them  made  bare  to  the  walls,  and  the  floors  strewed  with  the  Tudor 
ornaments  and  devices  from  the  ceilings. f  Mr.  Ashton,  however, 

*  Mr.  Ashton  has  given  a  careful  account,  from  documentary  evidence,  of  the 
progress  of  the  works  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  to  which  we  can  only  make  this 
general  reference. 

t  No.  Ixxxvi.  of  "Pursuits  of  Architectural  Innovation,"  by  John  Carter,  F.S.A., 
in  the  Gent,  Mag.  for  July,  1805.  [See  Gent.  Mag.  Lib.,  "  Architectural 
Antiquities,"  part  i.,  pp.  254-269.] 


Windsor.  207 

assures  us  that  these  decorations  "  have  been  restored  with  scrupu- 
lous fidelity,"  and  some  of  the  original  features  have  not  been  even 
"restored,"  particularly  a  fine  Elizabethan  chimneypiece,  an  engrav- 
ing of  which  forms  the  title-page  to  the  second  volume  of  Britton's 
"Architectural  Antiquities  of  Great  Britain."  On  its  upper  cornice 
is  the  date  of  its  erection,  disposed  as  follows  on  a  range  of  small 
shields  : 

JKTA.  TIS   5O   REG   NI    25   E.    R.    A°   D°    IOOO   500  83 

Elizabeth  was  then  in  the  fiftieth  year  of  her  age,  and  she  had 
been  for  half  her  life  a  queen.  The  circumstance  of  her  age  being 
thus  declared  is  perhaps  contrary  to  our  customary  ideas  of  the 
virgin  monarch's  wishes ;  and  it  is  further  remarkable,  because  in 
Mr.  Britton's  work  the  figures  50  are  misprinted — SO.  On  the 
entablature,  immediately  above  the  opening  of  the  chimney,  is  a 
series  of  ten  of  the  heraldic  beasts  of  the  blood  royal,  viz.,  the  lion, 
dragon,  greyhound,  antelope,  bull,  white  hart,  crowned  falcon,  boar, 
tiger  (?),  and  swan.  The  crowned  falcon  (which  belonged  to  the 
queen's  mother,  Anne  Boleyne)  is  four  times  repeated  upon  four 
square  panels  above. 

The  reign  of  Elizabeth  did  not  pass  without  finding  some  writers 
willing  and  able  to  commemorate  the  glories  of  Windsor  Castle. 
Camden  expatiates  on  the  beauties  of  the  situation  with  much  elo- 
quence. "  Certainly,"  he  says,  "  a  royal  residence  could  scarcely 
possess  a  more  delightful  site.  Agreeably  placed  on  a  lofty  hill,  it 
enjoys  the  most  beautiful  prospect  all  around.  In  front  it  looks  down 
upon  a  valley  spreading  far  and  wide,  shining  with  cornfields,  or 
verdant  with  meadows,  here  and  there  clothed  with  wood,  and  watered 
by  the  gentle  Thames.  Behind  several  hills  rise,  neither  rugged  nor 
very  lofty,  crowned  with  thickets,  and  devoted  as  if  by  Nature  her- 
self to  the  chase." 

In  the  remainder  of  his  account  of  Windsor  it  is  remarkable  how 
closely  Camden  has  followed  the  account  given  in  Braun's  "Civitates," 
and  which  accompanies  the  engraving  from  which  our  plate  is  copied. 
This  account  was  furnished  to  the  publisher  by  one  Emmanuel 
Demetrius  and  by  George  Hoefnagle  the  draughtsman ;  and  nearly 
five-and-twenty  years  later  the  traveller  Hentzner  copied  the  same 
more  directly,  combining  with  it  some  passages  from  Camden,  and 
some  original  observations  of  his  own.  Of  Hentzner's  "  Itinerary," 
it  will  be  recollected,  a  translation  (so  far  as  England  was  concerned), 
was  published  by  the  Hon.  Horace  Walpole.  Not  following  that 
version  literally,  we  shall  translate  for  ourselves  the  descriptive  por- 
tions of  the  original  account  of  1575  as  the  most  appropriate  accom- 
paniment to  Hoc fnagle's  view  : 

"  Windsor,  a  royal    castle    in  England,    supposed  to  have  been 


208  Berkshire. 

originally  founded  in  the  reign  of  King  Arthur,*  and  then  enlarged 
with  many  buildings  by  Edward  III.,  occupies  a  hill  on  a  very  agree- 
able site,  eighteen  miles  fro-n  London,  the  capital  of  the  kingdom. 
It  is  distant  from  the  Thames  one  hundred  and  ten  paces.  It  com- 
mands a  pasture  country  of  incredible  sweetness,  and  so  level  that 
the  eye  can  easily  range  for  the  distance  of  ten  miles  without  any 
impediment,  in  which  the  hunter  and  nobleman  can  enjoy  the  exer- 
cise of  falconry  or  the  chase.  This  Castle  is  most  celebrated  for  its 
royal  residence,  its  magnificent  tombs  of  the  kings,  and  the  ceremony 
of  the  Companions  of  the  Garter."  (Here  follows  some  account  of 
the  Most  Noble  Garter.) 

"  There  are  three  principal  and  very  large  Courts,  which  give 
great  pleasure  to  the  beholders;  the  first  is  inclosed  with  most  ele-' 
gant  buildings  of  white  stone,  flat-roofed,  and  covered  with  lead ; 
here  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  are  lodged  ;t  in  the  middle  is  a 
detached  house,  remarkable  for  its  high  towers,  which  the  governor 
inhabits.  In  this  is  the  public  kitchen,  well  furnished  with  proper 
utensils,  besides  a  spacious  dining-room,  where  all  the  Poor  Knights 
eat  at  the  same  table ;  for  into  this  Society  of  the  Garter  the  King 
and  Sovereign  elects,  at  his  own  choice,  certain  persons  who  must 
be  Gentlemen  of  three  descents,  and  such  as,  for  their  age  and  the 
straitness  of  their  fortunes,  are  fitter  for  saying  their  prayers  than  for 
the  service  of  war:  to  each  of  them  is  assigned  a  pension  of  ^18 
per  annum  and  clothes ;  the  chief  institution  of  so  magnificent  a 
foundation  is  that  they  should  say  their  daily  prayers  to  God  for  the 
King's  safety  and  the  happy  administration  of  the  kingdom,  to  which 
purpose  they  attend  the  service,  meeting  twice  every  day  at  chapel. 
The  left  side  of  this  Court  is  ornamented  by  a  most  magnificent  chapel, 
of  134  paces  in  length  and  16  in  breadth ;  in  this  are  18  seats,  fitted 
up  in  the  time  of  Edward  III.  for  an  equal  number  of  Knights. 
This  venerable  building  is  decorated  with  the  noble  monuments  of 
Edward  IV.,  Henry  VI.  and  VIII.,  and  of  his  wife  Queen  Jane. 
It  receives  from  Royal  liberality  the  annual  income  of  ^"2000  ;  and 
that  still  much  increased  by  the  munificence  of  Edward  III. %  and 
Henry  VII. 

"  The  second  Court  stands  upon  higher  ground,  and  is  inclosed 
with  walls  of  great  strength,  and  beautified  with  fine  buildings.  It 

*  For  "  King  Arthur "  we  may  fairly  read  William  the  Conqueror,  who  re- 
purchased the  town  of  Windsor  from  the  monks  of  Westminster  (to  whom  it  had 
been  given  by  the  Confessor),  and  acknowledges  in  his  charter  that  he  did  so 
"  because  that  place  appeared  useful  and  convenient  to  him  on  account  of  its  con- 
tiguity to  water-carriage,  to  the  forest  for  hunting,  and  in  many  other  things  con- 
venient to  kings,  and  especially  to  the  royal  residence  (regite  ptrhendinationi)" 
The  principal  works  of  the  original  castle  have  been  attributed  to  Henry  I. 

t  The  writer,  it  will  be  observed,  confounded  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  with 
the  Poor  Knights  ;  and  the  number  of  either  class  was  then  xxvi.,  not  xviii. 

+  Evidently  a  mistake  for  Edward  IV. 


Windsor.  209 

was  an  ancient  castle,  of  which  old  annals  speak  in  this  manner  : 
King  Edward,  A.D.  1359,  began  a  new  building  in  the  Castle  of 
Windsor,  his  native  place,  for  which  reason  he  took  care  it  should  be 
decorated  with  larger  and  finer  edifices  than  other  places.  In  this 
part  of  the  Castle  were  kept  prisoners  John  king  of  France  and  David 
king  of  Scots,  over  whom  Edward  triumphed  at  one  and  the  same 
time.  It  was  by  their  advice,  struck  with  the  advantage  of  its 
situation,  and  out  of  the  sums  paid  for  their  ransom,  that  by  degrees 
this  Castle  stretched  to  such  magnificence  as  to  appear  no  longer  a 
fortress,  but  a  town  of  proper  extent,  and  impregnable  to  any  human 
force  ;  and  this  particular  part  of  the  Castle  was  built  at  the  sole 
expense  of  the  king  of  Scotland,  except  one  tower,  which,  from  its 
having  been  erected  by  the  bishop  of  Winchester,  prelate  of  the 
Order  of  the  Garter,  is  called  Winchester  Tower.  There  are  a 
hundred  steps  to  it,  so  ingeniously  contrived  that  horses  can  easily 
ascend  them.  It  is  an  hundred  and  fifty  paces  in  circuit,  and  within 
it  are  preserved  all  manner  of  arms  necessary  for  the  defence  of  the 
place.* 

"  The  third  Court  is  much  the  largest  of  any,  built  at  the  expense 
of  the  captive  king  of  France  ;  as  it  stands  higher,  so  it  greatlv 
excels  the  two  former  in  splendour  and  elegance ;  it  extends  148 
paces  in  length,  and  97  in  breadth.  In  the  middle  of  it  is  a  fountain 
ot  very  clear  water,  brought  under  the  ground  at  an  excessive 
expense  from  the  distance  of  four  miles.  Towards  the  east  are 
magnificent  apartments  destined  for  the  royal  household ;  towards 
the  south  is  a  tennis-court  for  the  amusement  of  the  court ;  on  the 
north  side  are  the  Royal  apartments,  consisting  of  magnificent 
chambers,  halls,  and  stoves, f  and  a  private  chapel \  handsomely 
adorned. 

"  On  this  side,  too,  is  that  very  large  banqueting-room,  78  paces 
long  and  30  wide,  in  which  the  Knights  of  the  Garter  annually 
celebrate  the  memory  of  their  tutelar  saint,  St.  George,  with  a  solemn 
and  most  pompous  service. 

"  From  hence  runs  a  walk  of  incredible  beauty,  380  paces  in 
length  and  seven  in  breadth,  sustained  all  along  with  wooden  piles, 
set  round,  and  forming  a  platform  from  whence  the  nobility  and 
persons  of  distinction  can  watch§  the  coursing  and  hawking  which 

*  This  is  a  description  of  the  Round  Tower,  which  Hoefnagle  confused  with 
the  Winchester  Tower  ;  and  in  his  engraving  the  words  "  Winchester  tour  "  are 
written  in  error  against  the  former. 

t  Hypocaustis  in  the  original,  probably  meaning  what  the  Germans  call  stoves  ; 
that  is,  rooms  provided  with  fireplaces.  Britton  has  engraved  two  more  ancient 
stone  chimneypieces  in  the  castle,  besides  that  already  described. 

J  Hentzner  here  adds,  "the  roof  of  which  is  embellished  with  golden  roses 
and  fleurs-de-lis." 

§  The  pleasure  of  deer-hunting  was  at  that  time  derived  as  often  from  witnessing 
as  following  the  chase,  for  which  purpose  standings  were  erected  in  parks. 
VOL.  XII.  14 


2io  Berkshire. 

take  place  in  the  wide  area  below ;  for  the  fields  and  meadows,  clad 
with  variety  of  plants  and  flowers,  swell  gradually  into  hills  of 
perpetual  verdure  quite  up  to  the  castle  walls,  and  beyond  stretch 
out  in  an  extended  plain,  that  strikes  the  beholders  with  dHight." 

Such  is  the  original  account  of  Windsor  Castle  procured  by  Braun 
from  Demetrius  and  Hoefnagle  ;  but  we  have  further  a  very 
interesting  addition  to  it,  made  by  Hentzner  in  the  year  1598  : 

"  Besides  what  has  been  already  mentioned,  there  are  worthy  of 
notice  here — two  rooms,*  ceiled  and  wainscoted  with  looking-glass  ; 
the  bedchamber  in  which  Henry  VI.  was  born  ;  queen  Elizabeth's 
bedchamber,  where  is  a  table  of  red  marble  with  white  streaks ;  a 
gallery  everywhere  ornamented  with  emblems  and  figures  impressed 
in  plaster,!  etc.  ;  a  chamber  in  which  are  the  royal  beds  of  Henry 
VII.  and  his  queen,  of  Edward  VI.,  of  Henry  VIII.,  and  of  Anne 
Boleyne,  all  of  them  eleven  feet  square,  and  furnished  with  hangings 
that  glitter  wiih  gold  and  silver  ;  queen  Elizabeth's  bed,  with  curious 
coverings  of  embroidery,  but  not  quite  so  long  or  large  as  the  others  ; 
a  piece  of  tapestry,  in  which  is  represented  Cluvis,  king  of  France, 
and  an  angel  presenting  to  him  the  fleu r-de-lis.  to  be  borne  in  his 
arms — for  before  that  time  the  kings  of  France  bore  three  toads  in 
their  shield,  instead  of  which  they  afterwards  placed  three  fleurs-de-lis 
on  a  blue  field ;  this  antique  tapestry  is  said  to  have  been  taken 
from  a  king  of  France  while  the  English  were  masters  there.  We 
were  shown  here,  among  other  things,  the  horn  of  a  unicorn,  of 
about  eight  spans  and  a  half  in  length,  valued  at  above  ^100,000; 
the  bird  of  paradise  (of  which  he  adds  a  very  long  description),  and 
a  cushion  most  curiously  wrought  by  queen  Elizabeth's  own  hands." 

Our  space  will  not  suffice  to  trace  with  any  minuteness  the  times 
and  seasons  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  residence  in  Windsor  Castle,  but 
we  may  very  briefly  notice  some  of  the  more  prominent  memorials 
which  are  preserved  in  connection  with  it. 

Among  the  royal  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum  (12  A.  XXX.)  is 
preserved  a  small  quarto  volume,  bound  in  vellum,  and  bearing  on 
its  gilded  sides  the  royal  arms,  impressed  in  the  quaint  style  of  the 
times,  which  appears  from  its  title \  to  have  been  presented  to  Eliza- 
beth on  her  "  long-wished-for  arrival  "  in  Windsor  in  the  year  1563  ; 
and  if  that  was  her  first  visit  as  queen,  she  was  not  there  at  all  lor 
nearly  five  years  after  her  accession. 

*  Hypocausta  again,  which  Walpole  has  translated  "bathing-rooms,"  but 
probably  Hcntzner  meant  only  rooms  with  fireplaces. 

t  No  doubt  the  gallery  of  Elizabeth's  own  building.  Walpole  omitted  to 
translate  the  important  words  "  gypso  impressis." 

£  "  Ue  adventu  gratissimo  ac  maxime  exoptato  Elizabethae,  nobilissimae  ac  illus- 
trissimse  Reginse,  Anglise,  Francis,  et  Hibernian,  Fidei  Defensatricis,  ad  has  arces 
Vindesorenses  suas,  AUtonensium  Scholarium  maxime  triumphans  ovatio,  1563." 
The  volume  is  filled  with  more  than  seventy  exercises,  in  Greek  and  Latin,  of 
the  "grex  Etonensis,"  all  complimentary  to  the  queen. 


Windsor.  2 1 1 

In  the  following  year,  however,  the  queen  was  resident  in  Windsor 
Castle  at  the  time  of  the  proclamation  of  peace  with  France,  "  and 
the  same  peace  was  proclaimed  with  sound  of  trumpet,  before  her 
Majestic  in  her  Castle  of  Windsor,  there  being  present  the  French 
ambassador."  This  took  place,  we  believe,  on  the  i3th  of  April,  the 
same  day  on  which  the  peace  was  proclaimed  in  London. 

The  old  historians  of  the  Garter  lament  that  Elizabeth  did  not 
keep  its  feasts  with  punctuality  at  Windsor.  Very  frequently  she 
deputed  one  of  her  principal  noblemen  to  be  the  lieutenant  of  the 
sovereign ;  and  she  was  the  first  monarch  who  adopted  the  plan  of 
celebrating  St.  George's  Day  at  her  other  palaces  instead  of  its  proper 
locality.  VVe  must  not,  however,  omit  to  notice  the  very  interesting 
picture  in  which  she  is  represented  as  walking  in  procession  with  the 
knights  of  the  order,  which  has  a  view  of  Windsor  Castle  in  the 
background.  This  was  drawn  by  Marcus  Gerard  in  the  year  1578, 
and  was  beautifully  etched  by  Hollar  in  1666  for  Ashmole's 
History  of  the  Order. 

After  Elizabeth  had  enlarged  the  royal  lodgings  in  the  way  we 
have  already  described,  she  undoubtedly  spent  a  greater  portion  of 
the  year  at  Windsor  than  before.  In  the  year  1586  she  was  certainly 
there  for  many  weeks  together,  a  fact  which  is  recorded  by  a  little 
book*  which  was  put  forth  by  one  Edward  Hake,  who  styles  himself 
of  Gray's  Inn,  and  who  was  Mayor  of  Windsor  that  year.  On  the 
queen's  arrival  in  the  town  on  the  loth  of  August,  this  gentleman 
delivered  a  congratulatory  speech,  and  at  her  departure,  which  was 
eleven  weeks  after,  her  highness  sent  to  him  her  gracious  thanks,  not 
only  for  this,  but  also  for  a  longer  oration  which  he  had  delivered  in 
the  Guildhall  on  her  birthday. 

In  several  other  years  we  find  Queen  Elizabeth  staying  at  Windsor 
in  the  autumn  after  the  conclusion  of  her  more  distant  progresses  ; 
but  the  last  sojourn  of  hers  which  we  shall  notice  is  that  of  the  year 
1593,  when  she  was  there  on  the  ist  of  August,  and  remained  till  the 
month  of  November.  On  the  2ist  of  the  former  month  some  alarm 
was  excited  from  a  page  of  Lady  Scrope,  who  was  a  lady  of  the 
queen's  bedchamber,  having  died  "of  the  sickness  (i.e.,  the  plague), 
and  that  in  the  keep  within  the  castle."  A  removal  to  Hampton 
Court  was  consequently  talked  of,  but  the  alarm  passed  away,  and 
her  majesty  was  glad  to  linger  at  this  delightful  residence.  On  the 
loth  of  October,  when  prevented  by  the  weather  from  riding  abroad, 
she  began  a  translation  of  "  Boethius  de  Consolatione  Philosophic," 
and  during  the  next  few  weeks,  as  she  had  similar  leisure,  she 
pursued  this  task  to  its  conclusion.  Mr.  Bowyer,  who  was  keeper  of 
the  records  in  the  Tower — and  it  may  be  presumed  her  majesty's 
assistant  in  this  her  learned  work — has  recorded  a  calculation,  or 
rather  two  calculations,  of  the  time  it  occupied.  The  second  of 
*  Reprinted  in  Nichols's  "  Progresses,  etc.,  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 

14—2 


2 1 2  Berkshire. 

them,  and  therefore  it  may  be  supposed  the  most  correct,  will  be 
sufficient  for  our  present  purpose  : 

"  The  computation  of  the  dayes  and  houres  in  which  your  Majestic 
be^an  and  finished  the  translation  of  Boethius :  Your  Majestic  began 
your  translation  of  Boethius  the  tenth  day  of  October,  1593,  and 
ended  it  the  fifth  of  November  then  next  immediately  following, 
which  were  fyve-and-twenty  dayes  in  all.  Out  of  which  25  days  are 
to  be  taken,  fowre  Sondayes,  three  other  holly  dayes,  and  six  dayes  on 
which  your  Majestic  ryd  abrode  to  take  the  ayre ;  and  on  those 
dayes  did  forbeare  to  translate,  amounting  togither  to  thirtene  dayes. 
Which  13  being  deducted  from  25  remaynith  then  but  twelve  dayes. 
And  then  accompting  twoo  houres  only  bestowed  every  day  one 
with  another  in  the  translating,  the  computation  fallith  out,  that  in 
fowre-and-twenty  houres  your  Majestic  began  and  ended  your 
translation."* 

Such  was  Windsor  Castle  in  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  and  such  the 
manner  in  which  her  time  was  there  spent.  Having  fulfilled  all  the 
duties  of  business  or  of  state,  she  "  rode  abroad,"  either  on  horse- 
back or  in  an  open  chariot  (as  we  see  her  in  the  view  of  Nonsuch 
Palace),  or,  in  the  case  of  a  rainy  day,  she  occupied  her  time  in 
"  curious  needlework,"  or  in  the  more  intellectual  employment  of 
maintaining  her  skill  in  languages,  recurring  for  that  purpose,  with  a 
perseverance  seldom  witnessed,  to  the  studies  and  exercises  of  her 
youthful  days. 

JOHN  GOUGH  NICHOLS. 

[1850,  Part  I.,  pp.  379-38L] 

The  second  portion  of  Hoefnagle's  view  of  Windsor  Castle, 
showing  the  buildings  of  the  Lower  Ward,  St.  George's  Chapel,  and 
the  town  of  Windsor,  as  it  nestled  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  in  the  days 
of  Elizabeth,  is  given  in  our  present  plate. 

The  main  features  of  the  picture  still  remain  in  the  days  of  Queen 
Victoria,  modified  rather  than  materially  altered  by  the  processes  of 
time  and  reparation.  We  will  pursue  our  enumeration  of  them  as 
they  occur  in  the  line  of  view.  The  first  is  the  Winchester  Tower,  so 
named  after  the  Edwardian  architect  of  the  castle,  and  which,  at  the 
gracious  command  of  King  George  IV.,  became  the  residence  of  its 
modern  architect,  Sir  Jeffrey  Wyatville,  who  renewed  upon  this  tower 
the  memorable  inscription : 

HOC   FECIT  WYKEHAM 
ANNO   DOMINI    1356. 

Camden  says  : 

"  Near  the  Round  Tower  is  ano^ier  high  tower  called  Winchester 

*  Nichols's  "Progresses  of  Queen  Elizabeth,"  2nd  edit.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  564.  This 
document  was  overlooked  by  Mr.  Park  in  his  edition  of  the  "  Royal  and  Noble 
Authors,"  and  the  queen's  manuscript  does  not  appear  to  have  been  discovered  by 
any  of  our  literary  antiquaries. 


Windsor.  2 1 3 

Tower,  from  Wyckham,  bishop  of  Winchester,  whom  Edward  III. 
made  overseer  of  the  work.  Some  say  Wyckham,  after  he  had  built 
this  tower,  caused  to  be  inscribed  on  a  certain  inner  wall  these  words, 
This  made  Wyckham,  an  expression  which  in  the  English  language, 
which  has  few  distinctions  of  cases,  is  so  ambiguous  as  to  leave  it 
uncertain  whether  he  made  the  castle  or  the  castle  made  him.  This 
was  reported  to  the  king  by  some  who  envied  him.  as  if  Wyckham 
arrogated  to  himself  all  the  honour  of  the  building.  The  king  resenting 
this,  and  reproaching  him  with  it,  he  replied  that  he  had  not  assumed 
to  himself  the  honour  of  such  a  magnificent  and  royal  building,  but 
that  he  thus  acknowledged  how  much  he  owed  his  advancement  to 
the  building  :  '  I,'  said  he,  '  did  not  make  the  castle,  but  the  castle 
made  me,  and  raised  rne  from  a  low  rank  to  the  king's  favour,  to 
wealth  and  honour.'" 

Sir  Jeffrey  Wyatville  restored  the  inscription,  not  in  the  interior, 
but  on  the  exterior  of  this  tower;  and  not  in  the  English  language, 
but  in  Latin,  which  (as  the  English  translators  of  Camden  have  had 
occasion  to  observe)  is  too  precise  to  preserve  the  supposed  ambiguity 
of  sense.  But  as  for  the  anecdote  itself,  it  may  be  concluded  that  it 
was  not  contemporary  with  the  royal  founder  and  the  episcopal 
architect  of  Windsor  Castle  ;  for  the  form  of  expression  is  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  practice  of  their  day  to  place  the  objective  case 
before  the  verb ;  and  similar  ancient  inscriptions  have  been  observed 
in  other  parts  of  the  country. 

The  next  portions  of  the  structure  are  the  houses  of  the  dean  and 
canons  of  St.  George's  Chapel.  The  deanery  has  only  one  narrow 
window  looking  out  to  this  front.  The  windows  of  the  canons' 
houses  have  been  opened  from  time  to  time,  though  the  curtain-wall 
of  the  castle  or  the  houses  themselves  have  been  built  above  it ;  and 
subsequently  to  the  period  of  our  view  they  have  partly  assumed  the 
ordinary  appearance  of  red-brick  fronts.  One  of  them  has  been 
latterly  altered  in  good  taste  to  a  castellated  conformity  with  its  situ- 
ation, at  the  expense  of  the  present  occupier,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Keate, 
But  the  general  renovation  of  the  western  portions  of  Windsor  Castle 
may  be  said  to  be  still  in  progress 

From  the  first  tower  of  this  pile  of  buildings  descends  the  public 
passage  known  as  the  Hundred  Steps,  and  which  appears  to  have 
been  a  very  ancient  postern  of  the  castle  leading  to  the  river- 
side. 

The  polygonal  roof,  surmounted  by  a  cross,  is  apparently  that  of 
the  chapter-house.  In  Norden's  view*  the  transepts  of  the  chapel 
and  its  two  western  chapels  are  drawn  with  swelling  bulbous  roofs,  as 
are  the  western  turrets ;  but  in  the  present  view  the  north  transept 
has  a  sloping  roof,  and  the  western  turrets  have  lofty  pinnacles. 

The  high  roof  seen  next  the  transept  appears  to  bo  that  of  the 
*  Engraved  in  Sir  J.  Wyatville's  illustrations. 


214  Berkshire. 

hall  built  in  the  year  1519  for  the  commons  of  the  chaplains  and 
choristers.*  It  is  now  converted  into  one  of  the  canons'  houses. 

We  proceed  along  further  houses  of  the  members  of  the  collegiate 
chapel  until  we  see  the  long  high  roof  of  their  present  library.  This 
building  is  not  particularly  noticed  in  the  histories  of  Windsor ;  but 
it  appears  to  have  been  an  ancient  hall,  and  was  probably  the  original 
common  hall  or  refectory  of  the  college,  in  reference  to  which  the 
hall  erected  in  1519,  just  above  mentioned,  was  termed  the  New 
Commons. 

Above  the  range  of  houses  is  seen  St.  George's  Chapel,  which  then 
retained  a  multitude  of  vanes,  each  supported  by  one  of  "  the  king's 
beasts  " — the  lion,  the  dragon,  the  antelope,  the  greyhound,  etc.  It 
was  in  the  reign  of  Henry  VII.  that  the  chapel  received  these  its 
crowning  embellishments.  By  an  indenture  made  June  5th,  1505, 
John  Hylmer  and  William  Vertue,  freemasons,  were  engaged  in  con- 
sideration of  the  sum  of  ^700  to  build  the  roof  of  the  choir  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  roof  of  the  body  of  the  chapel  had  been  built, 
"with  archebotensf  and  crestys  and  corses,  with  the  king's  beasts 
standing  on  them,  to  bear  the  fanes  on  the  outside  of  the  said 
choir." 

These  ornaments  are  not  properly  shown  by  Hoefnagle,  but  they 
appear  in  Hollar's  view  of  the  chapel,  and  a  comparison  of  his  print 
with  those  in  Brition's  "  Architectural  Antiquities "  will  show  how 
much  the  building  has  lost  since  they  disappeared.  As  Mr.  PoynterJ 
has  remarked,  "Their  removal  has  left  an  abrupt  and  unfinished 
character  upon  the  pinnacles,  which  is  the  only  defect  in  the  archi- 
tecture." 

The  fine  old  tower  which  terminates  the  north  front  is  that  called 
Julius  Cesar's  or  the  Bell  Tower.  It  is  placed  so  as  to  command  the 
passage  across  the  river  and  its  approach  from  the  Buckinghamshire 
side,  and  has  a  grand  effect  from  the  High  Street  of  Eton.  The 
wooden  belfry  which  is  now  standing  upon  it  is  apparently  of  the 
seventeenth  century ;  but  it  is  remarkable  that  its  vane,  in  the  form 

*  "  Edes  pro  sacellanorum  et  choristarum  conviviis  extructe,  A.D.  1519."  In- 
scription still  over  the  door. 

f  This  has  been  explained,  Arc-boutants — flying  buttresses  ;  but  (remembering 
how  often  the  contraciion  for  er  is  overlooked)  we  are  inclined  to  suggest  a  some- 
what different  reading,  with  the  same  sense,  namely,  arche-botereus.  The  crests 
were  the  ridge-mouldings  of  these  buttresses  ;  the  corses  the  shaft-pinnacles  which 
terminate  in  an  embattled  cornice,  on  which  the  beasts  and  vanes  were  placed. 

£  The  magnificent  work,  entitled  "  Illustrations  of  Windsor  Castle,  by  the  late 
Sir  Jeffrey  W>atville,  R.A. ,  1841,"  which  was  quoted  in  our  former  article  as  the 
work  of  Mr.  Ashton,  has  this  line  on  its  title-page,  "Edited  by  Henry  Ashton, 
architect."  But  we  now  observe,  modestly  placed  at  the  end  of  the  excellent 
historical  introduction,  the  signature  of  "Ambrose  Poynter,  Poets'  Corner, 
i  Dec.  1840,"  to  whom  therefore  the  literary  credit  of  the  work  is  due,  and  we 
are  glad  of  this  opportunity  of  rendering  him  that  justice,  and  correcting  our 
former  misapprehension  un  the  subject. 


Windsor.  2 1 5 

of  the  ancient  tau  cross,  which  it  still  retains,  is  seen  in  the  ancient 
view  at  the  top  of  Speed's  map  of  Berkshire,  though  possibly  it  may 
not  have  been  noticed  by  one  out  of  a  hundred  of  subsequent 
draughtsmen.  With  what  allusion  it  was  so  shaped  does  not  appear. 
In  the  foreground  of  the  view  are  some  of  the  private  buildings  of 
the  town.  Leland  in  his  Itinerary  asserts  that  the  present  town  of 
Windsor  arose  after  the  rebuilding  of  the  castle  by  King  Edward  III.,* 
Old  Windsor  being  a  village  a  mile  distant  from  the  castle.  A 
market-cross  was  erected  1380,  early  in  the  reign  of  King  Richard  II. 
This  perhaps  supports  the  idea  that  the  size  and  importance  of  the 
town  increased  at  that  period ;  but  it  was  certainly  a  town  before,  for 
King  Edward  I.,  by  a  charter  granted  in  1276,  had  declared  it  a  free 
borough,  and  made  it  the  place  of  ho'ding  the  county  assizes  instead 
of  Wallingford.  New  Windsor  also  sent  two  burgesses  to  Parliament 
in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.  Subsequently,  from  134.0  to  1446,  it 
returned  no  members ;  but  Browne  Willis  suggests  that  such 
omission  was  conceded  as  a  mark  of  special  indulgence,  it  being  then 
esteemed  rather  a  burden  than  an  honour  or  advantage  to  send 
representatives  to  Parliament.  It  was  not,  however,  a  large  town  in 
the  days  of  Elizabeth  ;  for  in  1555,  according  to  an  account  taken 
by  order  of  Cardinal  Pole,  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  had  been 
only  1,000. 

Having  now  completed  our  remarks  on  this  venerable  and  stately 
structure  (so  far  as  a  brief  survey  of  us  exterior  features  as  viewed 
from  the  north  immediately  suggests),  and  having  introduced  our 
dissertation  by  the  eloquent  eulogy  of  our  great  topographer  Camdan, 
and  illustrated  it  with  the  interesting  descriptions  of  Demetrius  and 
Hentzner,  we  will  conclude  in  the  vrords  of  another  Elizabethan 
writer,  William  Lambarde,  who  in  his  "  Dictionariurn  Anglias,"  com- 
piled a  long  account  of  Windsor  t 

"  Theise  therefore  summarilie  are  the  beginninges  and  increases  of 
this  statelie  College  and  Castle  Royal :  the  whiche,  whether  you 
regarde  the  wholesomenes  of  the  aire  itse Ife,  the  naturall  bewtie  and' 
strengthe  of  the  scituation  of  the  place,  the  pleasante  pastime 
ministered  out  of  the  Forrest,  chases,,  and  parkas  that  are  annexed 
unto  it,  the  good  neighbourehoode  of  that  noble  ryver  which 
runnethe  by  it,  or  the  re>pective  commoditie  of  that  most  flourish- 
ing citie  that  is  not  past  halfe  a  dayes  journey  removed  from  it  [nowr 
A.D.  1850,  not  past  halfe  an  houre],  you  shall  fynde  it  comparable 
with  any  prince's  palaice  that  is  abroade,  and  farre  surmounting  any 
that  we  have  at  home." 

J.  G.  NICHOLS. 

*  "  The  towne  of  New  Windelesore  was  erected  sins  that  king  Edwarde  the  iij, 
reedified  the  castelle  ihere." — Leland,  Itin.  iv.  47. 


2 1 6  Berkshire. 

[1842,  Part  L,  p.  591.] 

I  send  jou  a  drawing  (see  the  plate)  of  one  of  the  beautiful  old 
doors  in  St.  George's  Chapel,  Windsor,  together  with  a  facsimile  of 
the  inscription  carved  upon  it.  My  attention  was  first  called  to  this 
inscription  in  consequence  of  having  been  informed  that  no  one  had 
hitherto  been  able  to  decipher  it. 

The  door  on  which  it  is  to  be  seen  is  the  one  at  the  entrance  of 
the  small  chapel  near  the  south  door,  in  which  the  gentlemen  of  the 
choir  deposit  their  surplices.  This  has  been  generally  called  the 
Aldworth  Chapel,  but  was  originally  that  of  Dr.  Oliver  King,  Bishop 
of  Bath  and  Wells. 

The  words  appear  to  be 

"  De  sursu  est  (liber)  ut  disca." 

A  book  is  represented  with  its  chain  by  which  it  was  formerly  the 
custom  to  attach  books  to  the  desk  or  shelf;  and  by  the  hand  issuing 
from  clouds  at  the  commencement  of  the  line  it  would  appear  that 
allusion  was  intended  to  be  made  to  the  Holy  Scriptures,  "  given — 
from  above — for  our  learning." 

The  letters  are  of  nearly  the  same  elegant  pattern  as  those  of  the 
inscriptions  carved  at  the  back  of  the  lower  seats  of  the  choir  (being 
the  20th  Psalm  in  the  Vulgate),  engraved  in  the  Introduction  to 
Cough's  "Sepulchral  Monuments,"  vol.  ii.,  pi.  xxiv. 

Yours,  etc.,  ED.  JESSE. 

[1843,  Part  II.,  p.  303.] 

During  some  late  alterations  at  Windsor  Castle,  on  the  North 
Terrace  was  discovered  an  arched  subterranean  vault  of  21  feet  in 
height,  20  feet  long,  and  n  feet  wide,  constructed  of  pointed  brick- 
work. In  proceeding  to  the  eastward  six  more  arched  chambers, 
communicating  with  each  other  by  means  of  low  arched  openings, 
were  found.  Likewise  the  same  number  of  chambers,  of  the  like 
character  and  construction,  leading  to  the  eastward  towards  the 
Winchester  Tower.  These  works  were  constructed  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Elizabeth.  The  roof  in  many  places  was  thickly  studded 
with  innumerable  stalactites,  many  upwards  of  3  feet  long.  The  sides 
of  the  vaults  were  also  covered  with  beautiful  specimens  of  stalag- 
mites. 

[1839,  Part  /.,//.  48,  49.] 

In  the  last  number  of  the  Quarterly  Review  there  is  an  article  on 
Mr.  Loudon's  "Arborttum  Britannicum,"  in  which  a  statement  of 
mine  respecting  the  identity  of  Herne's  Oak  is  called  in  que.'-tion. 
There  are  so  many  agreeable  associations  connected  with  this  cele- 
brated tree,  ai.d  it  is  so  mixed  up  with  everything  that  makes 
Windsor  interesting  to  its  numerous  visitors,  that  I  ftel  I  am  doing  a 


Windsor.  217 

ittle  public  kindness  in  endeavouring  to  prove  that  one  of  the  last  of 
our  Shakspearian  relics  may  still  be  seen. 

Many,  like  myself,  are  fond  of  strolling  along  the  Elizabethan  walk 
of  the  Little  Park  on  a  fine  summer's  evening,  while  perhaps  the  last 
faint  streaks  of  a  setting  sun  are  resting  on  the  castle  towers  and 
glimmering  amongst  the  branches  of  the  fine  avenues,  indulging  their 
imagination  with  the  comic  scenes  of  the  "  Merry  Wives,"  and  resting 
with  interest  and  complacency  on  the  spot  where  they  are  supposed 
to  have  taken  place.  To  those  who  partake  of  this  enthusiasm  the 
statement  in  the  Quarterly  .Review,  to  which  I  have  referred,  would 
destroy  much  of  the  interest  which  attaches  itself  to  Windsor  if  it 
remained  uncontradicted.  I  will  now  endeavour  to  prove  that  the 
statement  in  question  is  entirely  erroneous,  and  that  the  admirers  of 
Shakspeare  may  still  see  the  tree  which  he  has  immortalized. 

In  speaking  of  oaks  the  Quarterly  reviewer  remarks  as  follows : 
"  Among  his  anecdotes  of  celebrated  English  oaks  we  were  surprised 
to  find  Mr.  Loudon  adopting  (at  least,  so  we  understand  him)  an 
apocryphal  story  about  Herne's  Oak,  given  in  the  lively  page  of  Mr. 
Jesse's  '  Gleanings.'  That  gentleman,  if  he  had  taken  any  trouble, 
might  have  ascertained  that  the  tree  in  question  was  cut  down  one 
morning  by  order  of  King  George  III.  when  in  a  state  of  great  but 
transient  excitement ;  the  circumstance  caused  much  regret  and 
astonishment  at  the  time,  and  was  commented  on  in  the  newspapers. 
The  oak  which  Mr.  Jesse  would  decorate  with  Shaksperian  honours 
stands  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  real  Simon  Pure.  Every 
old  woman  in  Windsor  knows  all  about  the  facts." 

I  do  not  intend  to  dwell  on  the  spirit  of  contradiction,  to  say 
the  least  of  it,  in  which  this  passage  was  written,  but  will  proceed 
to  facts. 

The  story  to  which  the  Quarterly  reviewer  refers,  of  a  tree  having 
been  cut  down  by  order  of  George  III.  "  when  in  a  state  of  great  but 
transient  excitement,"  is  well  known,  and  was  often  repeated  by  his 
late  majesty  George  IV.  ;  who,  however,  always  added,  "  That  tree 
was  supposed  to  have  been  Herne's  Oak,  but  it  was  not."  There  is 
no  occasion  to  go  into  the  particulars  of  this  story,  as,  luckily  for  my 
argument,  the  person  is  still  alive  who  heard  the  order  given  by 
George  III.  to  fell  a  tree  in  the  Little  Park,  about  which  some  angry 
words  had  passed  with  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and  he  assures  me  that 
the  tree  was  an  elm.  I  do  not  feel  myself  at  liberty  to  mention  his 
name,  but  he  informs  me  that  the  tree  stood  near  the  castle,  that  it 
was  cut  down  early  one  morning,  and  he  points  out  the  spot  \\^here  it 
grew.  The  whole  character,  however,  of  George  III.  would  of  itself 
be  a  sufficient  guarantee  that  Herne's  Oak  was  not  cut  down  by  his 
order.  He  always  took  a  pride  and  pleasure  in  pointing  it  out  to  his 
attendants  whenever  he  passed  near  it,  and  that  tree  was  the  one 
whose  identity  I  am  now  advocating.  It  may  also  be  doubted 


2 1 8  Berkshire. 

whether  any  monarch  would  venture  to  incur  the  odium  and  unpopu- 
larity of  felling  such  a  tree  as  Herne's  Oak. 

Soon  after  the  circumstances  referred  to  took  place  three  large  old 
oak-trees  were  blown  down  in  a  gale  of  wind  in  the  Little  Park,  and 
one  of  them  was  supposed,  by  persons  who  probably  took  little 
trouble  to  inquire  into  the  real  facts  of  the  case,  to  have  been  Herne's 
Oak.  This  windfall  was  cut  up  into  small  pieces  and  sold  to 
carpenters  and  cabinet-makers  in  the  neighbourhood,  who  found  it 
very  profitable  in  calling  the  articles  they  made  a  part  of  Herne's 
Oak,  and  disposing  of  them  as  Shaksperian  reliquiae.  These  circum- 
stances combined  might  probably  give  rise  to  a  report  in  the  news- 
papers of  the  day  that  Herne's  Oak  was  no  longer  in  existence.  It 
would,  however,  have  been  a  kind  act  if  the  reviewer  of  the  Quarterly 
had  informed  the  public  in  what  year  and  at  what  date  the  particulars 
he  mentions  are  to  be  found  in  the  newspapers  he  refers  to. 

To  set  the  matter  at  rest,  however,  I  will  now  repeat  the  substance 
of  some  information  given  to  me  relative  to  Herne's  Oak  by  Mr. 
Ingall,  the  present  respectable  bailiff  and  manager  of  Windsor  Home 
Park.  He  states  that  he  was  appointed  to  that  situation  by  George  III. 
about  forty  years  ago.  On  receiving  his  appointment  he  was  directed 
to  attend  upon  the  king  at  the  castle,  and  on  arriving  there  he  found 
his  majesty  with  "the  old  Lord  Winchelsea."  After  a  little  delay  the 
king  set  off  to  walk  in  the  park,  attended  by  Lord  Winchelsea,  and 
Mr.  Ingall  was  desired  to  follow  them.  Nothing  was  said  to  him 
until  the  king  stopped  opposite  an  oak-tree.  He  then  turned  to  Mr. 
Ingall  and  said,  "  I  brought  you  here  to  point  out  this  tree  to  you.  I 
commit  it  to  your  especial  charge,  and  take  care  that  no  damage  is 
ever  done  to  it.  I  had  rather  that  every  tree  in  the  park  should  be 
cut  down  than  that  this  tree  should  be  hurt.  This  is  Herne's  Oak." 
Mr.  Ingall  added  that  this  was  the  tree  still  standing  near  Queen 
Elizabeth's  walk,  and  is  the  same  tree  which  I  have  mentioned  and 
given  a  sketch  of  in  my  "  Gleanings  in  Natural  History."  Sapless  and 
leafless  it  certainly  is,  and  its  rugged  bark  has  all  disappeared  : 

"  Its  boughs  are  moss'd  with  age, 
And  high  top  bald  with  gray  antiquity ;" 

but  there  it  stands,  and  long  may  it  do  so,  an  object  of  interest  to 
every  admirer  of  our  immortal  bard.  In  this  state  it  has  been  pro- 
bably long  before  the  recollection  of  the  oldest  person  living.  Its 
trunk  appears,  however,  sound,  like  a  piece  of  ship-timber,  and  it 
has  always  been  protected  by  a  strong  fence  round  it — a  proof  of  the 
care  which  has  been  taken  of  the  tree,  and  of  the  interest  \\hich  is 
attached  to  it 

Having  stated  the  above  fact,  I  may  add  that  George  III.  was 
perfectly  incapable  of  the  duplicity  of  having  pointed  out  a  tree  to 
Mr.  Ingall  as  Herne's  Oak,  it  he  had  pieviously  ordered  the  real 
Herne's  Oak,  "  the  Simon  Pure,"  to  be  cut  down.  1  have  also  the 


Windsor.  21$ 

authority  of  one  of  the  members  of  the  present  royal  family  for 
stating  that  George  III.  always  mentioned  the  tree  now  standing  as 
Herne's  Oak. 

King  William  III.  was  a  great  planter  of  avenues,  and  to  him  we 
are  indebted  for  those  in  Hampton  Court  and  Bushey  Parks,  and  also 
those  at  Windsor.  All  these  have  been  made  in  a  straight  line,  with 
the  exception  of  one  in  the  Home  Park  which  diverges  a  little,  so  as 
to  take  in  Herne's  Oak  as  a  part  of  the  avenue — a  proof,  at  least,  that 
William  III.  preferred  distorting  his  avenue  to  cutting  down  the  tree 
in  order  to  make  way  for  it  in  a  direct  line,  affording  another  instance 
of  the  care  taken  of  this  tree  150  years  ago. 

I  might  multiply  proofs  as  to  the  identity  of  this  interesting  tree 
were  it  necessary  to  do  so.  The  reviewer  of  the  Quarterly  refers 
me  to  the  old  women  of  Windsor.  I  will  only  add  that,  had  that 
gentleman  taken  the  same  trouble  that  I  have  done  to  ascertain  from 
these  descendants  of  Mrs.  Ford  and  Mrs.  Page  which  they  con- 
sidered to  be  the  real  Herne's  Oak,  he  would  have  been  told  that 
they  had  often  danced  round  it  in  their  younger  days,  "  had  couched 
in  the  pit  hard  by,"  and  that  it  was  still  standing,  although 
"  A  harden'd  stump,  bleach'd  to  a  snowy  white." 

T  am,  sir,  yours,  etc.,  EDWARD  JESSE. 

[1840,  Part  T.,  pp.  243,  244.] 

Some  observations  by  Mr.  Jesse  having  occurred  in  your  number 
for  January,  1839,  on  the  identity  of  Herne's  Oak,  in  contradiction 
to  a  statement  of  the  Quarterly  Review^  and  these  having  been 
commented  upon  by  the  editor  ot  the  "  Pictorial  Shakspere,"  I  beg  to 
present  you  with  an  accurate  portrait  of  the  tree  so  denominated, 
and  of  its  accompaniments,  as  they  appeared  in  1822.  Since  my 
sketch  was  painted  this  venerable  tree  has  been  protected  from  the 
wanton  injury  of  curiosity-mongers  by  a  fence,  but  many  of  its  larger 
branches  have  "  toppled "  to  its  base,  and  it  is  now  completely 
"bald  with  dry  antiquity."  The  low  ground  "hard  by,"  which  is 
"  the  pit "  of  Sir  Parson  Evans  and  his  fairies,  has  been  almost  rilled 
up  with  rubbish  from  the  old  castle,  and  would  have  been  altogether 
effaced  but  for  that  feeling  against  the  unnecessary  destruction  of  any 
local  illustration  of  olden  times  which  your  repertory  has  so  long 
inculcated  and  so  arduously  cherished. 

In  judging  of  the  aforesaid  controversial  inquiries,  the  reader 
should  refer  to  the  work  of  Mr.  Charles  Knight,  the  ingenious  editor 
alluded  to,  who  is  a  native  of  Windsor,  and  therein  passed  the  chief 
part  of  his  youth.  He  was  probably,  even  in  his  "  boyish  days," 
intelligent  enough  to  know  the  historical  character  of  a  certain  tree, 
ycleped  Herne's  Oak,  which  had  been  recently  cut  down  and 
manufactured  into  snuff-boxes,  etc.,  as  well  as  the  pretensions  of 


220  Berkshire. 

another  tree  still  existing,  more  lately,  and  perhaps  more  truly,  called 
Herne's  Oak,  though  Gilpin  thought  it  was  too  young  to  be  entitled 
to  such  an  honour. 

Since  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Jesse  to  the  surveyorship  of  the 
royal  parks  and  palaces,  this  gentleman  has  ex  officio,  and  no  doubt 
con  amore,  become  acquainted  with  each  sire  of  Windsor  forest ;  but 
he  may  not  have  had  such  ample  opportunity  for  investigating  the 
matter  through  the  testimony  of  old  inhabitants  of  the  town  as  Mr. 
Knight  has  had. 

"  Non  nostrum  tantas  componere  lites,"  for  notwithstanding  all  the 
arguments  of  either  party,  "  adhuc  sub  judice  lis  est."  Their  differ- 
ence, however,  seems  to  be  less  as  to  the  site  than  as  to  the  identity 
of  our  subject.  But  familiar  as  we  are  with  this  site,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  make  ourselves  intelligible  without  a  ground-plan  of  the 
castle-ditch,  the  pit,  and  all  those  trees,  both  formerly,  and  yet, 
standing  near  them.  During  the  next  summer  we  will  carefully 
review  the  locality,  and  impart  to  you  any  new  opinion  we  may  form 
about  it,  aided  by  that  of  "every  old  woman  in  Windsor"  from 
whom  we  can  gain  authentic  intelligence. 

In  the  meantime,  having  no  better  evidence  than  tradition 
whereon  to  found  our  present  judgment  —although  we  confess  that 
Mr.  Knight's  information  has  somewhat  modified  it — we  must  main- 
tain with  Mr.  Jesse  that  the  isolated  position  (as  shown  in  our  plate) 
of  this  ancient  oak  in  William  the  Third's  avenue  of  elms  strongly 
indicates  some  reason  for  thus  admitting  it  into  their  company  and 
protection  ;  and  this  reason  was,  probably,  the  honour  it  had  acquired 
one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago,  from  the  reputation  of  as  long  a 
previous  period,  of  being  the  identical  Herne's  Oak  of  our  immortal 
bard — "  provided  always  "  that  Shakespeare's  local  portraitures  were 
not  such  picturesque  compositions,  got  up  of  detached  bits,  merely 
for  poetical  effect,  as  those  of  too  many  pseudo-historical  novelists 
and  romancers  of  the  present  day. 

I  am,  yours,  etc.,  PLANTAGENET. 

[1840,  Part  I.,  p.  381.] 

My  argument  rests  upon  the  following  facts,  viz.  : 

That  his  late  Majesty  George  IV.  constantly  assorted  that  Herne's 
Oak  had  not  been  cut  down  by  order  of  George  III.,  but  that  it  was 
still  standing. 

That  I  have  been  personally  assured  by  a  member  of  the  royal 
family,  not  only  that  Herne's  Oak  had  not  been  cut  down  by  com- 
mand of  George  III.,  but  that  the  king  was  in  the  constant  habit 
of  pointing  out  the  present  tree  as  the  real  Herne's  Oak. 

That  the  communication  made  by  Mr.  Engall  to  me  of  the  present 
oak  having  been  placed  under  his  charge  by  Gtorge  III.  as  the 
real  Herne's  Oak  would  appear  conclusive  as  to  the  point  in  dispute, 


Windsor.  221 

as  this  was  net  done  during  a  season  of  afflicting  malady,  but  at  a 
time  when  the  king's  strong  and  retentive  memory  was  in  full  force. 
Mr.  Engall  is  incapable  of  inventing  such  a  story,  and  the  strongest 
reliance  may  be  placed  on  his  accuracy.  Mr.  Knight  says  he  did  not 
reside  at  Windsor  forty  years  ago.  I  said  about  forty  years  ago, 
repealing  Mr.  Engall's  words  which  I  wrote  down  at  the  time.  They 
might  imply  generally  thirty-seven  or  thirty-eight  years.  The  exact 
date  can  be  readily  obtained. 

I  might  refer  to  the  late  Sir  Herbert  Taylor,  the  late  Sir  David 
Dundas  and  others  (who  had  the  best  opponunities  of  ascertaining 
the  facts)  as  constant  assertors  of  the  identity  of  the  present  Herne's 
Oak.  I  will,  however,  only  refer  to  many  aged  and  respectable 
inhabitants  of  Windsor,  who  have  assured  me  that  they,  and  their 
fathers  and  mothers  before  them,  had  always  considered  the  tree  in 
question  as  the  one  referred  to  by  Shakspeare. 

I  readily  admit  that  there  might  and  probably  were  two  or"  more 
oaks  in  the  park,  which  were  called  "  Herne's  Oak,"  and  whether 
one  of  these  was  cut  down  by  order  of  George  III.  or  blown 
down  is  now  of  little  consequence.  I  admit  that  an  old  oak  was  cut 
down  near  the  picturesque  dell,  which  Mr.  Knight  so  feelingly  laments 
should  have  been  filled  up,  and  that  that  oak  was  supposed  by  many 
persons  to  have  been  Herne's  Oak.  I  admit  the  probability 
of  George  III.  having  told  Lady  Ely  that  he  had  inadvertently 
given  directions — when  he  was  a  young  man — for  having  some 
unsightly  old  oaks  in  the  park  cut  down,  and  that  he  was  afterwards 
sorry  he  had  given  such  an  order,  because  he  found  that  amongst  the 
rest  the  remains  of  Herne's  Oak  had  been  destroyed.  But  having 
made  these  admissions,  I  must  again  refer  to  the  constant  assertion 
of  George  IV.,  viz.,  that  George  III.  thought  that  he  had  cut  down 
Herne's  Oak,  but  that  he  had  not.  It  is,  I  think,  evident  that  he 
was  afterwards  undeceived  in  this  respect. 

Lady  Ely  told  Mr.  Nicholson  that  George  III.  informed  her 
he  had  caused  the  tree  in  question  to  be  cut  down  when  he  was 
a  young  man.  Now,  George  III.  was  born  in  1738,  and  Mr. 
Knight  says  that  Mr.  Delamotte  made  a  drawing  of  the  tree  from 
another  drawing  of  it  made  by  Mr.  Ralph  West,  the  eldest  son  of 
the  President,  some  fifty  or  sixty  years  ago — so  that  George  III. 
could  not  then  have  been  a  young  man,  although  Mr.  Knight's 
Herne's  Oak  must  have  been  standing  at  that  time.  I  cannot  think 
that  Mr.  Crofton  Croker  has  added  any  weight  to  his  friend  Mr. 
Knight's  arguments. 

Yours,  etc.,  EDW.  JESSE. 

[1841,  Part  /.,//.  373-378.] 

Having  in  my  communication  of  March,  1840,  promised  to  re- 
survey  the  locality  of  the  tree  now  called  Herne's  Oak,  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  its  pretensions  to  that  title,  I  here  send  you 


222  Berkshire. 

what  additional  information  I  have,  personally  and  by  letter,  gained 
concerning  it,  from  old,  intelligent,  and  respectable  inhabitants  of 
this  town  and  vicinity,  together  with  a  reduced  portion  of  Collier's 
plan  of  Windsor  Little  Park  in  1742,  and  a  rude  ground-plan  from 
my  own  admeasurement,  explanatory  of  the  following  observations ; 
which,  however,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  tend  only  to  a  conclusion  that  the 
Herne's  Oak  of  Shakspeare  was  long  ago  destroyed. 

The  tree  from  which,  in  1822,  I  made  the  painting  engraved  for 
your  magazine  of  1840,  has  been  lately  so  altered  in  appearance  by 
the  fall  of  an  elm  upon  its  branches,  that,  but  for  the  accompany- 
ing avenue  therein  depicted,  and  in  the  portrait  of  this  tree  at  the 
head  of  Mr.  Knight's  local  illustration  of  Act  V.  of  his  Shakspeare's 
"  Merry  Wives,"  these  representations  would  scarcely  be  taken  for 
portraits  of  the  same  tree.  This  introduction  of  accompanying 
scenery  in  all  local  portraiture  is  necessary  (especially  in  topo- 
graphical and  historical  subjects,  where  truth  is  too  often  smothered 
in  artistical  effect),  because  I  apprehend  that  from  the  omission  of 
such  accomplishments  in  a  woodcut  of  it  in  Mr.  Jesse's  "Gleanings," 
and  just  republished  in  his  "Summer's  Day  at  Windsor,"  many  have 
supposed  this  oak  to  be  an  isolated  tree  at  some  distance  from  either 
the  avenue  or  pit — the  very  circumstances  whence  it  derives  its  chief 
character. 

For  the  better  direction  therefore  of  visitants  to  Windsor  Little 
Park,  a  board  has  lately  been  affixed  by  Mr.  Jesse  to  this  tree,  whose 
pretensions  we  are  scrutinizing,  kindly  telling  them  : 

"  There  is  an  old  tale  goes  that  Herne  the  hunter, 
"  Some-time  a  keeper  here  in  Windsor  forest, 
"  Doth  all  the  winter  time  &tfull  midnight 
'"  Walk  round  about  this  Oak." 

Now,  since  Mr.  Jesse  must  be  fully  aware  that  a  contrary  opinion 
still  prevails  as  to  this  oak,  I  presume  that  this  authoritative  board, 
with  this  full  new  reading,  is  likewise  hung  upfutty  to  try  this  ques- 
tion, and  as  a  kind  of  champion's  shield  for  any  Shakspearian 
knight  to  run  full  tilt  at.  I  venture  therefore,  according  to  the  laws 
of  chivalry,  to  touch  it,  not  in  outrance,  but  in  courtesy  only ;  and, 
trusting  that  your  pages  will  not  be  deemed  unfitting  lists  wherein  to 
tourney,  shall  commence  by  an  inspection  of  both  sides  of  this,  per- 
haps party-coloured,  shield  ;  assigning  as  much  as  possible,  in  the 
course  I  am  about  to  run,  the  word  this  to  denote  Mr.  Jesse's  present 
claimant,  and  the  word  the  to  distinguish  the  extinct  tree. 

The  bailiff  of  the  Little  Park  and  all  his  labourers,  and  two  old 
octogenarian  widows,  formally  hostesses  of  the  White  Hart  and 
Garter,  and  the  Castle  Inns,  believe  that  Mr.  Jesse's  tree  has  always, 
in  their  remembrance,  been  called  Herne's  Oak.  Another  wit- 
nesseth  that  she,  when  young,  often  danced  about  it  with  the 
same  belief,  her  information  having  been  derived  from  a  keeper  in 


Windsor.  223 

the  Little  Park  who  died  twenty  years  since,  aged  eighty-nine,  and 
whose  grand-daughter  bears  almost  similar  testimony.  But  these 
assertions  of  park-keepers  and  labourers  should  be  cautiously  re- 
ceived, for  reasons  which  will  be  sufficiently  apparent. 

The  best  evidence  in  favour  of  this  oak,  now  in  an  avenue  of  elms, 
would  be  the  statement  of  our  late  excellent  and  revered  mon- 
arch, George  III.,  were  his  statement  founded  upon  documental 
authority;  but  it  is  probable  that  if  any  record  had  existed  relating 
to  this  tree,  directly  or  indirectly,  his  majesty  would  have  discovered 
and  published  it ;  and  as  he  only  stated  that  this  was  the  tree  re- 
ported to  him  as  really  Herne's  Oak,  by  the  best  authorities  of  his 
time,  I  must  beg,  in  the  absence  of  any  document,  most  respectfully 
to  doubt  whether  the  king  had  better  reasons  for  his  statement  than 
this  "tale  delivered"  to  him,  and  "received,"  as  in  duty  bound,  by 
those  about  him,  "  for  a  truth." 

A  clever  artist  who  many  years  resided  in  the  Little  Park,  and  with 
whom  I  have  much  corresponded  on  this  subject,  confirms  the  late 
and  present  bailiff's  account  of  George  II I. 's  repeated  statement 
that  this  existing  tree  was  Herne's  Oak,  and  that  the  avenue  of 
elms  wherein  it  stands  was  planted  in  such  a  direction  as  to  take  this 
tree  into  one  of  its  lines  for  the  sake  of  honour  and  protection.  But 
we  must  recollect  that  this  asseveration  was  made  after  his  majesty's 
lamented  mental  malady,  and  possibly  during  some  temporary 
excitement  which  the  sight  merely  of  this  tree  might  have  caused  ; 
for  I  am  told  that  the  king  was  excessively  annoyed  by  the  obstinacy 
of  the  public  in  not  crediting  his  statement,  and  took  every  oppor- 
tunity to  contradict  their  opinion,  that  an  old  oak,  which  had  been 
felled  by  his,  perhaps  inadvertent,  consent,  was  really  the  tree  alluded 
to  by  Shakspeare.  The  destroyed  tree,  which  my  intelligent  corre- 
spondent well  remembers,  from  his  father  having  had  a  seat  and 
other  articles  made  from  its  hard,  dark  wood,  was  at  that  time  the 
only  dead  oak  in  the  Little  Park,  and  stood  about  6  yards  outside 
the  present  north  row  of  the  avenue,  and  on  a  spot  north-eastward 
of  Mr.  Jesse's  tree,  where  there  is  now  a  slight  projection  of  the 
pit's  edge,  and  the  precise  locality  of  which  was  personally  shown 
me  by  a  reverend  gentleman,  whose  further  testimony  I  shall  here- 
after mention. 

That  George  III.,  subsequently  to  the  removal  of  the  late  tree, 
strenuously  maintained  the  pretensions  of  this  existing  tree  is  well 
illustrated  by  an  anecdote  related  to  me  by  the  present  bailiff, 
viz.,  that  his  majesty  once,  on  his  return  to  the  Queen's  Lodge,  his 
then  residence  here,  found  a  couple  of  chairs  which  had  been  pre- 
sented to  him  as  relics  of  Herne's  Oak,  but  which  were  imme- 
diately turned  out  of  doors  upon  his  majesty  ascertaining  that  his 
favourite  tree  still  existed. 

This  leads  us  to  look  at  the  other  side  of  our  subject.     Mr.  C. 


224  Berkshire. 

Knight,  no  mean  authority  to  begin  with,  has  publicly  stated  his 
belief  that  "the  real  Herne's  Oak  was  cut  down  some  fifty  or  sixty 
years  ago,"  though  he  does  not  tell  us  where,  precisely,  it  was 
situated. 

A  worthy  shopkeeper  in  Peascod  Street,  eighty-four  years  old, 
states  that  the  hollow  tree  denominated  Herne's  Oak,  when  he 
was  a  boy,  was  cut  down  about  forty-five  years  since.  He  remembers 
it  standing  very  near  Mr.  Jesse's  oak,  and  that  both  trees  were  then 
alive,  this  present  tree  being  comparatively  vigorous.  The  last  im- 
portant fact  is  corroborated  by  my  intelligent  correspondent  I  so 
often  quote,  who  says  that  in  his  boyhood  the  late  tree  was  dead, 
and  so  much  decayed  as  to  have  been  almost  "a  "blotch"  in  the  sur- 
rounding verdure,  but  that  this  present  tree  then  "  bore  the  look  of 
life ;"  from  which  circumstance  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gilpin,  and  no  doubt 
many  others,  considered  this  too  young  to  have  been  the  "  blasted 
oak  with  great  ragg'd  horns"  of  Shakspeare's  time. 

Another  correspondent  says  that  when  a  singing-boy  here,  in  1786, 
he  often  got  into  the  old  hollow  tree,  called  Herne's  Oak  by  his 
father,  a  native  of  Datchet,  and  who,  as  foreman  in  the  park,  assisted 
in  cutting  down  and  grubbing  up  the  tree.  He,  moreover,  states  that 
from  the  said  oak,  in  1783,  his  father  gathered  an  acorn,  which  he 
once  fondly  hoped  to  have  seen  planted  with  due  ceremony  on  the 
site  of  its  departed  parent. 

An  ingenious  artist,  now  at  Eton,  but  a  native  of  Windsor,  asserts 
that  when  a  boy  a  portion  of  the  root  of  Herne's  Oak,  big  enough 
for  a  gun-stock,  was  given  him  by  the  man  who  cut  it  down. 

The  late  Miss  Drewe,  of  Datchet,  stated  to  a  friend  of  mine  a  few 
years  since,  as  they  "  walked  by  this  Herne's  Oak,"  that  its  present 
name  was  not  conferred  upon  it  until  some  time  after  the  demolition 
of  another  old  tree  she  remembered  formerly  possessing  that  title, 
which,  she  shrewdly  observed,  would  never  probably  become  extinct 
for  want  of  future  claimants. 

My  reverend  friend  near  Henley,  to  whom  I  have  above  alluded, 
made  a  sketch  of  the  tree  called  Herne's  Oak  in  1788,  and  then 
alive,  which  evidently  was  not  a  portrait  of  Mr.  Jesse's  tree,  but  of 
the  old  oak  once  near  it ;  and  his  drawing  is  so  like  the  prints  of 
Herne's  Oak,  after  West  and  Delamotte,  that  no  doubt  the  subject 
of  their  studies  was  also  tlie  destroyed  tree. 

To  explain  the  above  apparent  discrepancy  as  to  the  condition  of 
the  late  tree,  I  must  remark  that  this  testimony  refers  to  the  period 
prior  to  its  death  in  1790,  as  well  as  to  the  interval  between  1790 
and  1796,  when  its  destruction  occurred,  as  stated  in  an  "Ode  upon 
Herne's  Oak  being  cut  down  in  the  spring  of  1796,"  published  that 
year  in  the  Whitehall  Evening  Post. 

Still  stronger  testimony  entitling  the  late  oak  to  the  honour  which 
was  given  it,  is  the  information  of  the  daughters  of  Dr.  Lind,  many 


Windsor.  225 

years  a  physician  here,  who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  George  the 
Third,  and  was  an  intimate  friend  of  the  late  Bishop  Goodenough, 
sometime  Canon  of  Windsor,  both  Fellows  of  the  Antiquarian  Society, 
and  who  always  showed  their  visitors  the  old  cut-down  tree  as  the 
Herne's  Oak  of  Shakspeare. 

A  daughter  of  Colonel  Rooke,  who  long  resided  in  Windsor 
Castle,  says,  that  many  years  ago  her  father  was  told  by  an  old  man 
that  his  (the  narrator's)  grandfather  often  talked  about  Herne's  Oak, 
pointing  out  as  such  the  old  tree  on  the  edge  of  a  gravel-pit.  This 
lady  also  remembers  that,  in  her  father's  opinion,  the  very  remote 
age  of  this  old  man's  grandfather  gave  to  his  testimony  peculiar 
authority. 

The  strongest  proof,  however,  is  Collier's  map  of  1742,  which 
actually  points  out  "  Sir  John  Falstaff's  Oak,"  as  being  not  in  the 
present  avenue,  but  outside  it,  near  the  edge  of  the  pit :  and  since 
Mr.  Collier  was  a  resident  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  tree  he 
thus  distinguishes,  I  consider  his  map  so  irrefragable  a  record  of  its 
locality  and  character  a  hundred  years  ago,  that  I  cannot  but  recant 
the  feeling  in  favour  of  Mr.  Jesse's  tree,  which  I  had  too  hastily 
adopted  in  my  former  communication  on  this  subject. 

From  my  late  survey,  I  have  ascertained  that  the  avenue,  although 
so  mutilated  in  many  places  as  hardly  to  be  now  recognisable  as 
such,  consisted  originally  of  the  three  rows  shown  in  Rocque's  and 
Collier's  maps. 

Rocque,  in  1738,  lays  down  this  avenue  perfect  and  triple  until  it 
forms  its  S.W.  angle;  where  it  becomes  double,  and  takes  the  direc- 
tion of  the  present  boundary  wall.  Collier,  however,  in  1742,  gives 
it  as  triple  eastward  only  from  the  pit ;  and  as  he  represents  some  of 
the  deficiencies  we  now  see  in  it,  he  is  more  to  be  relied  on  than 
Rocque,  whose  plan  seems  to  have  been  laid  down  rather  from  an 
old  map  than  from  his  own  survey.  Although  this  avenue  has  since 
been  much  tempest-torn,  the  gaps  were  chiefly  made  in  1796  by  Mr. 
Frost,  then  bailiff  of  the  park,  who  not  only  cut  down  and  grubbed 
up  every  dead  tree  therein,  but  perpetrated  such  havoc,  by  lopping 
and  topping  this  once  fashionable  promenade,  that  it  was  a  theme  of 
regret  and  condemnation  to  all  Windsor. 

It  will  be  seen  by  my  annexed  plan,  that  the  portions  of  this  third 
line  now  deficient  are  the  whole  north  row  westward  of  an  elm  100 
yards  east  of  the  late  oak  ;  as  also  the  whole  middle  row  eastward  of 
the  pit,  and  a  large  part  of  the  south  row. 

Part  of  Rocque's  north  row  of  elms,  if  ever  complete,  must  have 
been  either  in  the  pit  or  on  the  pit's  edge,  and  have  since  been 
undermined  by  gravel-digging — the  pit's  edge  being  now  almost  close 
to  the  former  middle  row.  A'nd  however  we  may  doubt  whether  the 
north  row  existed  westward  of  the  pit,  it  was  certainly  continued 
(although  with  intervals)  from  the  destroyed  oak  to  the  aforesaid  elm 

VOL.  XII.  15 


226  Berkshire. 

ioo  yards  eastward  of  it — Rocque's  former  middle  row  being  now  the 
north  row  of  that  part  of  the  avenue  running  south-westward.  The 
whole  south  row  is  yet  perfect,  except  where  a  great  opening  was 
made  for  a  vista  from  the  castle  by  King  William  IV.  about  eight 
years  ago,  when  all  the  remaining  middle  row  eastward  of  the  pit 
was  removed,  and  this  then  triple  avenue  deprived  of  its  pristine 
character. 

The  argument  that  Mr.  Jesse's  oak  was  taken  into  the  avenue  for 
honour  and  protection  is  therefore  nullified  by  the  above-stated  facts 
of  another  oak  formerly  existing  in  another  row,  and  which  oak  my 
correspondent  well  remembers  to  have  formerly  terminated  a  frag- 
ment of  the  northward  row  above  described,  and  of  which  one  of 
the  elms  was  continued,  as  he  says,  to  very  near  the  pit. 

I  infer,  then,  that  the  situation  of  neither  tree  depended  on  their 
celebrity  when  the  avenue  was  planted,  but  on  their  happening  to 
occupy  certain  parts  of  the  direction  which  it  necessarily  took,  if,  as 
I  believe,  it  was  once  a  boundary  of  the  park.  My  inference  is 
founded  on  a  manuscript  map  by  Norden,  of  1607  (before  the 
avenue  was  planted),  in  which  these  and  other  isolated  trees  are 
seemingly  laid  down  ;  but,  be  it  observed,  he  does  not  name  any 
one  of  them  as  "  Herne's  Oak,"  although  he  particularizes  "  the 
Lodge,"  "the  Course,"  and  "the  Standinge"  whence  Queen  Eliza- 
beth used  to  shoot  the  passing  deer. 

Having  thus  invalidated  the  presumed  characterizing  property  of 
the  avenue,  let  us  consider  that  of  the  pit.  Now,  the  vicinity  of 
some  pit  sufficiently  deep  and  abrupt  to  conceal  a  few  persons  is,  of 
all  others,  the  one  circumstance  with  which  any  tree  aspiring  to  the 
title  of  "  Herne's  Oak"  ought  necessarily  to  be  accompanied.  Mr. 
Knight  "  has  satisfied  himself  that  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of 
the  little  dell,"  as  he  calls  it,  "was  the  site  of  the  Herne's  Oak  of 
Shakspeare."  But  I  am  not  so  satisfied,  if  by  the  little  dell  he 
means  the  sunken  ground  lately  filled  up.  For  although  this  dell 
was  deepened  about  sixty-four  years  since  for  chalk,  wherewith  to  fill 
up  the  castle  ditch,  I  am  inclined  to  think  that  it  was  not  then  much 
enlarged,  because  Collier,  in  1742,  shows  us  that  the  southern  edge 
of  this  dell  was  then  close  to  the  avenue  as  it  now  is — and  a  certain 
appearance  of  some  ancient  oaks  still  standing  very  near  its  northern 
boundary  sufficiently  attests  that  they  were  originally  planted  in 
a  pit  or  dell,  and  that  the  ground  about  them  has  been  since  filled 
in.  This  dell  was  within  these  twenty  years  almost  eighty  yards 
square ;  and  if  of  that  extent  (as  I  believe)  in  Shakspeare's  time, 
could  never  have  concealed  the  fairies  as  he  represents.  Besides, 
Mrs.  Page  expressly  says  that  the  fairies  were  to  rush  "  from  forth 
a  saw-pit,"although  our  local  commentators  on  the  subject  have 
either  overlooked  it  or  else  boldly  supposed  that  a  saw-pit  was  too 
small  to  have  contained  all  the  fairies ;  but  who,  not  amounting  to 


Windsor.  227 

more  than  eight  or  nine,  might  therein  have  sufficiently  obscured 
their  lights — which  I  maintain  they  could  not  have  done  in  the  dell, 
however  overgrown  with  thorns  and.  underwood  it  might  then  have 
been.  It  is,  however,  not  improbable  that,  in  this  formerly  secluded 
corner  of  the  park,  a  saw-pit  once  existed,  and  that,  on  account  of 
this  seclusion,  the  conscience-stricken  "  Home"  selected  one  of  the 
oaks  there  for  his  suicidal  purpose. 

The  great  distance  of  the  dell  from  the  castle  ditch,  wherein  Page 
and  his  proposed  son-in-law  couched,  while  Falstaff  and  the  Merry 
Wives  passed  to  their  rendezvous,  may  also,  reasonably  enough,  be 
supposed  to  weaken  the  pretensions  of  any  tree  near  this  dell.  For 
Page's  party  would  certainly  have  been  nearer  the  place  of  their 
proposed  enterprise,  could  they  have  found  any  other  fit  conceal- 
ment. But  as  they  were  to  remain  in  the  castle  ditch  from  ten  to 
twelve  o'clock,  is  it  not  probable  that  Herne's  Oak  was  so  near  the 
ditch  that  they  could  not  have  quitted  it  without  being  heard  or 
seen  by  Falstaff? 

This  circumstance  inclines  me,  therefore,  to  doubt  whether,  after 
allour  specious  ratiocination,  the  true  locality  of  Shakspeare's  scene 
be  not  on  the  north  bank  of  the  dell,  where,  about  seventy  years  since, 
was  a  Herne's  Oak,  and  behind  or  southward  of  which  bank  con- 
cealment might  have  been  more  effectual ;  or,  from  what  I  have  said 
just  above,  that  it  should  be  sought  for  nearer  to  the  castle  ditch 
than  the  dell  so  long  supposed  to  be  the  true  locality.  And  I  con- 
fess that  the  discovery  of  an  ancient  saw-pit  "hard  by"  the  remains 
or  well-authenticated  site  of  some  very  aged  oak,  and  not  far  from 
the  castle  ditch,  would  easily  convert  me  from  the  opinion  to  which, 
for  want  of  documental  authority  to  the  contrary,  I  now  evidently 
lean,  viz.,  that  the  destroyed  tree  had  much  better  claims  to  the  title 
which  Collier's  map  gave  it  one  hundred  years  ago — and  so  multitu- 
dinous a  mass  of  respectable  testimony  since — than  this  present 
pretending  rival.  And  such  a  tree,  I  understand,  was  blown  or 
cut  down  many  years  ago  near  the  old  path  to  Datchet  by  Dodd's 
Hill,  not  far  from  the  ancient  chalk-pit  there,  and  which  also  so  far 
bore  the  character  of  Herne's  Oak  as  to  have  been  danced  about  in 
that  belief.  Moreover,  is  it  in  nature  possible  that  the  oak  of 
Shakspeare,  which  he  says  was  supposed  by  the  "superstitious  idle- 
headed  eld,"  to  have  been  repeatedly  blasted  by  the  spirit  of  Herne, 
could  have  "contended  with  the  fretful  elements,"  so  as  to  have 
remained,  almost  to  this  day,  not  only  standing,  but  alive  and  bear- 
ing fruit  ?  Surely  the  blasting  faculties  of  the  spirit  since  it  ceased 
"  to  walk  the  earth"  must  have  been  counteracted  by  the  "  creative 
powers"  of  the  "young  imagination"  of  your  correspondent's  late 
beautiful  poem  on  the  old  tree. 

Yours,  etc.,  PLANTAGENET. 


228  Berkshire. 


[1841,  Part  I.,  pp.  600-603.] 

As  you  have  permitted  your  correspondents  to  address  you  on  the 
controversy  respecting  the  identity  of  the  celebrated  Herne's  Oak, 
alluded  to  in  Shakspeare's  "Merry  Wives  of  Windsor,"  I  beg  to  offer 
to  your  notice  some  observations  on  the  subject  which  I  was  induced 
to  write  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Jesse's  erroneous  statement  in  his 
"  Gleanings  in  Natural  History,"  being  myself  in  possession  of  facts 
which  bear  very  strongly  on  the  question. 

In  the  year  1788  I  became  a  resident  at  Windsor,  and  in  that 
year  I  made  a  drawing  of  what  was  then  generally  believed  to  be  the 
real  Herne's  Oak.  Mr.  Francis  Nicholson,  the  celebrated  artist, 
made  a  copy  of  that  drawing  in  1820,  and  had  a  lithographic  print 
taken  from  iu  There  certainly  were  two  opinions  respecting  the 
identity  of  the  tree ;  but  I  have  no  hesitation  in  asserting  that  the 
best  informed  persons  were  decidedly  satisfied  that  the  tree  I  allude 
to  was  that  described  by  Shakspeare.  I  can  mention  two  whom  I 
consider  to  be  high  authorities  on  the  subject — the  late  Bishop  of 
Salisbury  and  Mr.  West,  the  President  of  the  Royal  Academy.  The 
late  Bishop  of  Salisbury  (Dr.  Fisher),  then  a  canon  of  Windsor, 
pointed  out  the  tree  to  me,  who  had  recently  become  a  resident  at 
Windsor.  Having  been  several  years  a  preceptor  in  the  royal 
family,  he  was  of  course  in  the  best  society,  and  likely  to  obtain  the 
most  correct  information  on  the  subject,  to  which  his  peculiar  taste 
and  talents  naturally  directed  his  attention.  Mr.  West  was  at  that 
time  a  resident  at  Windsor,  and  it  may  readily  be  imagined  that  his 
professional  pursuits  and  his  well-known  abilities  and  judgment  would 
be  particularly  given  to  the  consideration  of  the  subject,  and  induce 
him  to  make  such  investigations  as  would  satisfy  his  mind  upon  it. 
I  often  heard  him  speak  with  great  interest  on  the  question,  upon 
which  he  certainly  entertained  no  doubt  whatever.  When  the  tree 
was  felled,  by  order  of  George  III.,  he  was  so  much  concerned 
that  so  great  a  curiosity  should  be  removed,  that  he  requested  a 
fragment  of  the  wood  might  be  given  to  him,  that  he  might  preserve 
it  as  a  relic  of  the  celebrated  tree  alluded  to  by  Shakspeare,  which 
must  have  been  so  ancient  and  so  singular  in  its  appearance  long 
before  Queen  Elizabeth's  time*  as  to  have  occasioned  a  romantic 
story. 

Whilst  I  was  making  my  sketch,  H.R.H.  the  Princess  Mary,  accom- 
panied by  a  lady  with  whom  I  was  acquainted,  was  walking  in  Queen 
Elizabeth's  avenue.  They  came  up  to  me,  and  H.R.H.  looked  at 
my  sketch.  It  was  not  to  be  supposed  that  H.R.H.  was  a  critical 
reader  of  Shakspeare  at  that  early  period  of  her  life,  but  it  was  not 
improbable  that  she  had  heard  the  general  opinion  as  to  the 

*  Shakspeare  says,  "an  old  tale  goes,"  and  "the  superstitious  idle-headed 
eld  received  and  did  deliver  to  our  age,  etc. 


Windsor.  229 

identity  of  the  tree  from  the  conversation  of  others,  and  had  H.R.H. 
perceived  that  I  was  in  error,  it  would  certainly  have  been  made 
known  to  me. 

Mr.  Jesse,  in  his  "  Gleanings,"  describes  the  situation  of  the  tree, 
which  he  supposes  to  be  Herne's  Oak,  as  being  "  near  the  footpath 
which  leads  from  the  Windsor  Road  to  Queen  Adelaide's  Lodge  in 
the  Little  Park ;"  and  adds  that  this  path  "  is  stated  to  have  passed 
in  former  times  close  to  Herne's  Oak."  He  admits  that  at  present 
it  is  "  at  a  little  distance  from  it."  But  he  is  quite  mistaken  on 
this  point.  There  was  no  path  in  that  direction  when  I  made  my 
drawing  in  1788.  It  is  comparatively  modern.  At  the  time  I  allude 
to,  the  path  from  Windsor  Town  to  Datchet  went  between  the  castle 
and  the  Queen's  Lodge,  under  the  South  Terrace  (as  Mr.  C.  Knight 
observes  in  his  pictorial  edition  of  Shakspeare),  and  entered  the 
Little  Park  near  the  south-east  tower  of  the  castle,  passing  from 
thence  to  the  descent  called  "  Mother  Dodd's  Hill,"  to  the  left  of 
the  cottage,  since  called  "  Queen  Adelaide's  Lodge."  When  the 
great  alterations  were  made  in  the  castle  a  few  years  since  by 
George  IV.,  and  the  Queen's  Lodge  was  pulled  down,  this  path  was 
entirely  closed,  and  a  new  footpath  was  then  made  from  Windsor 
Town  to  Datchet,  entering  the  Park  from  the  London  Road  not  far 
distant  from  the  Long  Walk,  and  passing  to  the  right  of  Queen 
Adelaide's  Lodge.  This  is  the  path  Mr.  Jesse  alludes  to,  which 
never  was  nearer  the  tree  than  it  now  is,  and  had  no  connection 
whatever  with  the  real  Herne's  Oak. 

It  is  very  true  that  a  footpath  which  led  across  the  park  did  pass 
close  to  Herne's  Oak.  But  it  was  not  the  modern  path  to  which 
Mr.  Jesse  alludes,  nor  the  old  path  which  I  have  mentioned  as  enter- 
ing the  park  near  the  south-east  tower  of  the  castle,  and  leading  to 
Datchet,  but  another  path  which  entered  the  park  at  the  same  gate 
and  led  to  the  Ranger's  Lod^e  near  Frogmore,  passing  close  by  the 
real  Herne's  Oak,  just  where  it  crossed  the  avenue  called  "Queen 
Elizabeth's  Walk"  (now  called  by  some  "King  William  III.'s 
Avenue"). 

In  a  letter  I  have  seen,  in  which  Mr.  Jesse  attempts  to  justify  the 
statement  in  his  "  Gleanings,"  he  says  :  "  the  tree  which  was  felled 
stood  near  the  castle,  away  from  the.  footpath,  having  no  pit  near 
it."  In  all  this  he  is  completely  mistaken.  The  tree  which  was 
felled  was  not  "  near  the  castle,"  but  as  distant  from  it  as  Mr.  Jesse's 
tree — it  was  not  "away  from  the  footpath,"  for  the  path  which  I 
have  described  above,  leading  from  the  castle  to  the  Ranger's  Lodge, 
came  close  by  it — and  so  far  from  "  having  no  pit  near  it,"  it  actually 
stood  upon  the  very  edge  of  the  pit,  as  my  drawing  will  show,  though 
Mr.  Nicholson,  when  he  copied  the  sketch,  thought  proper  to  omit 
it,  as  he  did  also  the  trees  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Walk  which  were 
close  adjoining. 


2  3O  Berkshire. 

Mr.  Jesse  t>ays  also  in  the  same  letter  that  "the  footpath  across 
the  park  from  Windsor  to  Datchet  has  existed,  for  centuries,  and  is 
the  only  one  in  the  park."  That  which  I  have  described  above,  as 
entering  near  the  castle  and  passing  to  Datchet,  had  existed  for 
centuries,  but  that  to  which  he  alludes,  as  I  have  stated,  was  quite 
modern.  Nor  was  there  "only  one"  path  through  the  park,  for  I 
have  shown  that  there  was  one  from  the  castle  to  Datchet,  and 
another  from  the  castle  to  the  Ranger's  Lodge.  Hence  Mr.  Jesse's 
reasoning  on  the  subject  entirely  falls  to  the  ground.* 

Mr.  Jesse  also,  in  his  "  Gleanings,"  endeavoured  to  strengthen  his 
argument  by  the  description  he  gives  of  this  tree,  which  is  certainly 
an  ancient  and  a  damaged  one.  A  reference  to  the  print  of  it,  how- 
ever, which  he  has  given  in  his  "  Gleanings,"  will  show  that,  though 
old  and  decayed,  there  is  nothing  which  indicates  magnificence  or 
grandeur.  But  the  real  Herne's  Oak  was  a  majestic  ruin,  of  very 
great  antiquity,  and  obviously  of  superb  dimensions.  It  stood  so 
very  near  to  Queen  Elizabeth's  Walk  that  I  cannot  have  a  doubt  but 
that,  if  it  had  not  been  considered  a  great  curiosity  at  that  period,  it 
would  have  been  taken  away  when  that  avenue  was  planted. 

It  has  been  supposed  that  that  part  of  Queen  Elizabeth's  Walk 
consisted  originally  of  three  rows  of  trees,  though  scarcely  any  remain 
which  can  be  considered  to  have  formed  the  row  on  the  north  side. 
If  this  were  the  case,  the  real  Herne's  Oak  must  have  stood  exactly 

*  It  appears  that  Mr.  Jesse',  in  his  letter  to  you  of  February  24,  1840,  admits 
that  he  was  in  error  respecting  the  footpaths,  but  he  perseveres  in  the  same 
opinion  concerning  the  tree,  and  rests  his  argument  on  what  was  stated  to  have 
been  said  by  their  majesties  King  George  III.  and  King  George  IV.  The  former, 
it  seems,  had  different  opinions  upon  the  subject  at  different  times.  Whether 
either  of  their  majesties  entered  more  into  the  question  than  in  listening  to  what 
they  occasionally  heard  from  those  with  whom  they  conversed,  I  am  not  competent 
to  determine. 

There  were  eminent  men  living  at  Windsor  at  the  time  I  allude  to — Bishop 
Douglas,  for  instance,  then  Dean  of  Windsor,  and  several  of  the  canons  (among 
whom  were  Mr.  Cornewall,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Worcester,  Mr.  Majendie,  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Bangor,  Mr.  Fisher,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Salisbury,  and  Dr. 
Hallam,  Dean  of  Bristol,  and  Mr.  Wilson,  the  preceptor  of  Mr.  Pitt),  Mr.  Salus- 
bury  Brtreton,  an  antiquary  of  note,  Dr.  Heberden,  Dr.  Lind,  Dr.  Biddk,  Mr. 
W'est,  and  other  respectable  persons  whose  families  had  long  resided  there.  The 
general  opinion  which  then  prevailed  was  decidedly  that  the  tree  felled'  by 
George  III.  was  the  real  Herne's  Oak.  It  is  clear  that  the  author  of  the  article 
in  the  Quarterly  Review  on  London's  "Arboretum  et  Fruticetum  Britannicum  " 
was  convinced  that  the  general  opinion  coincided  with  that  which  I  have  main- 
tained. After  such  a  lapse  of  time  I  cannot  take  upon  myself  to  assert  that  I 
ever  heard  any  of  the  persons  I  have  alluded  to  express  an  opinion  upon  the 
subject,  except  Dr.  Fisher  and  Mr.  West.  All  I  mean  to  say  is,  that  when  a 
general  opinion  prevailed  where  men  of  eminence  resided,  it  afforded  a  very 
slrong  presumption  that  it  was  founded  on  good  authority.  I  am  very  certain 
that  such  a  person  as  Mr.  West,  living,  as  he  did,  in  the  best  society,  and 
possessing  so  much  taste  and  talent  would  never  have  taken  such  an  interest 
in  the  tree  unless  he  had  been  persuaded  on  the  best  authority  that  it  really 
was  that  which  Shakspeare  has  described. 


Windsor.  2  3 1 


in  that  line,  and  probably  it  might  be  intended  to  mark  its  conse- 
quence by  its  being  included  in  a  conspicuous  part  of  the  avenue. 
But  this  supposition  furnishes  another  proof  of  Mr.  Jesse's  mistake, 
as  his  tree  must  have  been  in  the  middle  row,  and  consequently 
hidden  from  public  observation  in  all  directions,  which  can  never  be 
supposed  would  have  been  done  to  the  real  Herne's  Oak. 

The  tree  which  I  drew  as  the  real  Herne's  Oak  in  1788  was 
alive  at  that  time,  and  had  a  small  portion  of  foliage.  In  the  follow- 
ing year  it  put  forth  a  few  leaves,  and  in  1790  it  ceased  to  vege- 
tate. It  was  afterwards  felled  by  the  order  of  George  III.  It  was 
understood  at  the  time  that  his  majesty  had  been  advised  by  his 
farming  agent  to  cut  down  several  trees  in  the  Little  Park  which 
were  entirely  dead,  and  that  a  general  order  for  that  purpose  was 
accordingly  given  and  acted  upon.  Herne's  Oak  was  amongst  the 
number,  most  seriously  to  the  regret  of  all  who  were  interested  in 
the  subject. 

Mr.  Knight,  in  his  pictorial  edition  of  Shakspeare.has  entered  much 
into  the  merits  of  the  question,  and  inserted  prints  illustrative  of  the 
different  opinions.  That  which  is  placed  at  the  commencement  of 
the  fifth  act  is  obviously  the  same  tree  of  which  I  made  a  drawing 
in  1788.  I  admit  that,  to  give  it  a  marked  character,  I  took  a  little 
liberty  by  introducing  the  castle.  By  reference  to  the  plan  of  the 
park,  in  your  magazine  for  April,  an  accurate  eye  may  perceive  that 
in  the  direction  in  which  the  tree  is  drawn  the  castle  could  not  be 
seen.  For  this  purpose  I  merely  turned  a  little  to  the  right  hand, 
without  moving  from  the  place  where  I  stood.  In  all  other  respects 
the  drawing  was  an  accurate  portrait.  Mr.  Delamotte,  it  appears  (or 
rather,  perhaps  I  should  say,  Mr.  Ralph  West,  from  whose  sketch, 
Mr.  Knight  tells  us,  Mr.  Delamotte's  was  taken),  has  also  introduced 
the  castle. 

Yours,  etc.,  A.  E.  HOWMAN. 

Witham. 

\\m,PartII.,pp.  651-654.] 

The  following  brief  notes  of  a  decayed  village  in  Berkshire  are 
much  at  the  service  of  your  readers. 

Yours,  etc.,  H.  E. 

Witham,  about  three  miles  and  a  half  from  Oxford,  had  formerly  a 
nunnery,  which  was  removed  from  Abingdon  soon  after  690.  It 
continued  till  780,  when  it  was  ruined  in  the  wars  between  Offa, 
king  of  the  Mercians,  and  Kinewulf,  king  of  the  West  Saxons. 

"  Oxfordshire,"  saith  Mr.  Warton,*  "  with  some  of  the  adjacent 
counties,  was  included  in  Offa's  kingdom  ;  and  he  is  supposed  to 
have  kept  his  court  at  the  fortress  or  castle  of  Witham,  near  Oxford, 
*  "  History  of  Kiddington,"  p.  27. 


232  Berkshire. 

which  he  had  won  irom  Kinewulf,  king  of  the  West  Saxons."  "The 
fortress,"  continues  Mr.  Warton,*  "probably  stood  on  the  site  of  the 
present  ancient  mansion-house  of  the  Earl  of  Abingdon,  built  about 
the  reign  of  Henry  VI." 

Here,  however,  I  cannot  but  differ  from  him.  Witham  is  situated 
at  the  foot  of  the  hill  which  retains  its  name,  and  though  Mr.  Warton 
was  unable  to  discover  any  mounds  or  trenches  on  the  summit  of 
Witham  Hill,  yet  it  was  in  every  respect  commodious  for  a  Roman 
Specula,  the  site  of  which  might  afterwards  have  been  occupied  by 
the  Saxons. 

The  fortress,  or  castle,  seems  to  have  been  erected  by  Kinewulf, 
super  montem  de  William,  merely  for  the  sake  of  opposing  the  incur- 
sions of  Offa,  in  whose  hands  it  appears  shortly  afterwards  to  have 
fallen  by  the  chance  of  war.f  The  words  super  montem  de  Witham 
clearly  indicate  the  site  of  the  fortress  to  have  been,  not  the  spot 
whereon  the  Earl  of  Abingdon's  mansion  now  stands,  but  near  the 
summjt  of  Witham  Hill.  I  have  carefully  examined  the  hill.  On 
the  summit,  near  its  eastern  declivity,  I  found  many  large  stones,  in 
some  parts  regularly  disposed — the  massive  fragments  of  a  desolated 
fortress. 

The  present  venerable  mansion  of  the  Earl  of  Abingdon  was  (as 
was  before  observed)  erected  about  the  reign  of  Henry  VI.,  prior  to 
the  relaxation  of  feudal  tenure.  Upon  the  traveller's  first  approach 
he  cannot  but  recall  to  his  memory  the  fortified  dungeons  of  our 
ancestors,  whose  martial  tempers,  whilst  they  consulted  the  magni- 
ficence of  petty  tyranny,  seem  to  have  forgot  convenience.  The 
embattled  tower  in  the  centre  is  surmounted  by  two  octangular 
turrets,  and  the  edifice  itself  surrounded  by  a  moat.  The  old  hall 
remains  in  its  ancient  state,:}'  and  I  must  own  that,  upon  my  first 
entrance,  I  beheld  with  romantic  pleasure  the  vestiges  of  former 
hospitality  and  munificence.  The  prowess  of  our  martial  ancestors, 
the  celebrated  feats,  the  genius  of  chivalry,  rushed  on  my  imagina- 
tion. 

The  church, §  in  the  diocese  of  Sarum  and  archdeaconry  of  Berks, 
is  small.  The  boarded  roof  is  supported  by  three  arches  of  wood. 
Against  the  wall,  on  either  side  of  the  nave,  is  a  series  of  rude 

*  "  History  of  Kiddington,"  p.  27  in  note. 

f  Mr.  Warton  thinks  it  was  connected  with  Seckworth,  a  desolated  adjacent 
town.  Mr.  Warton  was  wrong  in  his  assertion  ("History  of  Kiddington,"  p.  27) 
that  a  barn  and  a  pound  were  the  only  remains  of  Seckworth,  as  it  contains  five 
houses.  In  the  Bodleian  Valor  of  1291  it  is  called  Seweckworth  ;  and  the  Abbot 
of  Abingdon  is  said  to  have  had  a  pension  of  iijs.  from  its  church  (valued  at  cs. ), 
no  remains  of  which  now  appear. 

t  In  the  west  window,  in  a  circular  shield,  are  the  old  arms  of  England  ;  nigh 
which,  in  three  other  circular  shields,  are  a  red  rose,  a  fleur-de-lis  and  a  portcullis. 

§  It  is  a  rectory,  in  the  gift  of  the  Earl  of  Abingdon,  valued  in  the  taxation  of 
1291  at  cs.  ;  out  of  which  the  Abbot  of  Abingdon  received  one  mark.  It  is  valued 
in  the  Liber  Regis  (n.  904)  at  £j  55.  2$d. 


Witham.  233 

grotesque  ornaments  in  stone,  resembling  heads  with  caps  similar  to 
those  worn  by  canons  regular  of  the  order  of  St.  Austin — which  at 
first  led  me  to  conjecture  that  the  church  might  have  been  originally 
built,  or  perhaps  rebuilt,  by  the  prior  and  convent  of  Abingdon,*  to 
whom  the  manor  of  Witham  appears  to  have  belonged  in  the  Saxon 
times,  as  well  as  at  the  time  of  forming  the  Domesday  Survey.t 
Certain  it  is,  a  church  then  existed  here.j 

In  the  English  Chartulary  of  Godstow  Nunnery,  §  among  Dr. 
Rawlinson's  MSS.  in  the  Bodleian  Library,||  is  "A  Chart  made  by 
dyvers  juggys  against  ye  p'son  of  Wyhtham,"  wherein  it  appears  that 
the  prior  of  St.  James's,  Northampton,  received  a  mandate  from 
Pope  Gregory  IX.  relative  to  a  complaint  made  by  Robert,  parson 
of  Witham,  that  the  abbess  and  convent  of  Godstow,  John  Lucy, 
priest,  Roger  Wytham,  and  other  clerks  and  laymen  of  the  dioceses 
of  Lincoln  and  Salisbury,  had  wronged  him  of  certain  "  possessions, 
tethys,  dewteys,  and  othyr  thynges,"  whereby  he  was  commanded  to 
call  the  parlies  before  him,  and  "  make  a  dewe  ende  bytwene  hem." 
Robert,  parson  of  Witham,  stated  that  the  abbess  and  convent  had 
for  the  last  six  years  withheld  payment  of  tithes  coming  from  a  croft, 
called  "  Wydehey  wlin  the  boundes,  termys,  or  markys,  of  hys 
churche,  of  Wyhtham,"  amounting  to  xviijs.  The  abbess  and  con- 
vent replied,  they  did  not  believe  the  said  croft  to  be  situated 
within  the  bounds  of  the  said  parish  ;  and,  if  it  was,  they  were  not 
bound  to  pay  tithes,  "  for  hyt  is  nouale,  that  is  to  sey,  a  feld  yerly 
tyllyd,  or  ellys  euyry  othyr  yere,"  which  being  proved,  the  prior  gave 
sentence  in  favour  of  the  abbess  and  convent  of  Godstow,  and  the 
parson  of  Witham,  his  successors  "  and  his  churche,  were  put  to 
perpetual  silence;"  dated  4  id.  Feb.,  1420. 

Sir  Walter  occurs  parson  of  Witham,  43  Edward  III.1T  The  fol- 
lowing rectors  occur  in  the  parish  register  : 

Starkey  occurs  1559. 

John  Brickendon,  D.D.,  occurs  in  1625.  He  died  December  6, 
1645,  as  appears  by  the  following  singular  entry  in  the  register: 
"  Johannes  Brickendon,  S.  S.  theologiae  dr,  et  hujus  loci  quondam 
rector,  obiit  Decemb.  6°,  1645,  Ingepennse,  Atrebatensium  deponitur." 
He  was  succeeded  on  the  7th  of  December  by 

Anthony  Hodges,  B.D.,  who  was  buried  here  on  January  15, 
1685-6  ;  and  on  July  12,  1686, 

William  More,  M.A.,  was  presented  by  James,  Earl  of  Abingdon, 
to  whom  he  was  chaplain. 

Robert  Lydall,  B.D.,  Fellow  of  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  was 

*  Though  the  abbey  there  was  for  monks  of  the  Benedictine  order, 
t  "Domesday,"  i.,  fol.  59. 

%  "  Ibi  seccl'a  7  molin'.  de  x  fol'."     Ibid.,  L  59.     The  mill  still  remains. 
§  Fol.  iii.  b.  and  iii.  a.  II  No.  1330. 

IT  Ibid. 


234  Berkshire. 

presented  on  August  28,  1712.  He  died  February  20,  1741-2,  aged 
sixty-four,  and  was  buried  in  the  chancel  on  March  2  following.  He 
was  succeeded  by 

William  Bertie,  D.D.,  rector  of  Albury,  in  the  county  of  Oxford, 
and  uncle  to  the  present  Earl  of  Abingdon.  He  was  succeeded  by 

Christopher  Robinson,  D.D.,  here  as  well  as  at  Albury,  both  of 
which  are  in  the  gift  of  the  Earl  of  Abingdon.  He  is  now  rector, 
August  12,  1797. 

The  pulpit  of  Witham  Church  is  of  Dutch  oak.  In  lozenges,  on 
the  two  panels  of  the  back,  in  letters  inlaid,  is 

16  14 

EDMVND  IESPER 

GRENE  WELLAR 

CHVRCH  WARDENS 

The  green  pulpit-cloth  is  dated  1625.  The  pall  (used  at  funerals) 
is  of  fine  blue  cloth,  embroidered  ;  on  it,  "  E.  P.  T.  W.  AN'.DO'. 
1635."  The  table  at  the  altar  is  of  oak,  the  legs  carved;  and  at  the 
north  end,  in  a  shield, 

"  IAMES   COLES, 
MATHEW    BULL, 
1626." 

In  a  north  window,  nigh  the  west  end  of  the  nave,  are  the  portraits 
of  King  Edward  II.  and  his  queen.  His  majesty  is  depicted  in  a 
bipid  curled  beard,  and  on  each  of  their  heads  an  open  crown  fleury. 
These  were  probably  put  up  in  the  succeeding  reign  at  the  expense 
of  some  pilgrim  travelling  to  his  shrine  at  Gloucester,*  Witham 
lying  in  the  road  thereto. 

Mr.  Ashmole,  in  his  "  History  of  Berkshire,"  has  recorded  only 
one  inscription,  viz.,  "  In  the  chancel  of  this  church  lies  a  gravestone, 
whereon  is  the  pourtraicture  in  brass  of  a  man  in  armour,  and  also  of 
his  wife.  The  circumscription  (cut  likewise  upon  brass)  is  much 
defaced,  whereof  only  thus  much  of  the  writing  remains  : 


frlia  btcta  gltcitrbi  SStjigtham,  fl 
animalms  p'pimtut  Jipnts.    jlnrctt." 


From  the  following  inscription,  on  a  flat  stone  in  the  chancel,  it 
would  seem  that  these  brasses  were  removed  in  1730  by  order  of 
Montague,  Earl  of  Abingdon. 

*  The  adjacent  town  of  Seckworth,  we  are  told,  formerly  abounded  in  inns  for 
the  reception  of  pilgrims  (Mr.  Warton's  "  Kiddington  ").  And  the  learned  editor 
of  the  Britannia,  in  his  "Additions  to  Mr.  Camden,"  i.  271,  informs  his  readers 
that  "the  town"  of  Gloucester  "was  scarce  able  to  contain  the  votaries  that 
flocked  to  offer  at  Edward  II.  's  tomb  ;  and  the  Abbey  register  affirms  that,  if 
all  the  oblations  had  been  expended  on  the  church,  a  new  one  might  have  been 
built  from  the  ground." 


Witham.  235 

"Robert  de  Wigtham  marryed  Juliana, 
daughter  of  Sir  John  Golafifre,  of  Fyfield, 

in  this  county ; 

by  whom  he  had  issue 

Richard,  and  seven  daughters. 

She  }  died  in  the  year  {  "7^8. 
Richard  de  Wightham  marryed  Allison, 
daughter  of  Walter  Daundsey  ....  of  Ox- 
fordshire ; 
by  whom  he  had  one  daughter,  named 

Agnes, 
marryed  to  Wm  Browning,  of  Saresden, 

in  Oxfordshire. 
She,  with  Robert,  Juliana,  and  Richard, 

was  here  buried  ; 

as  appeared  by  a  broken  inscription 

upon  the  brass  border  of  a  black  stone, 

put   over  them    by   the   order   of  Agnes 

Browning. 

Which  being  decayed, 

and  the  brasses  lost  or  defaced, 

the  Right  Honble  MOUNTAGUE,  Earl  of 

ABINGDON, 

to  perpetuate  the  piety  of  so  good  a  daughter, 

commanded  this  stone  to  be  laid 

in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1730." 

The  legend  of  this  inscription  is  in  a  great  measure  obliterated  by 
the  damp  situation  of  the  church,  so  that  I  was  necessitated  to  supply 
some  parts  from  a  copy  taken  by  the  parish  clerk  in  1776  or  1777. 

The  brasses  were  removed  to  a  south  window  nigh  the  east  end  of 
the  church,  on  one  side  of  which  is  the  effigies  of  Richard  Wigtham* 
(to  the  knees  only)  in  plated  armour,  with  a  pointed  helmet.  Opposite 
to  him,  his  lady  in  a  large  mitred  head-dress,  kirtle,  with  long  sleeves 
banded  at  the  wrists,  over  it  a  long  gown  with  hanging  sleeves, 
fastened  just  below  the  breasts  by  a  girdle  studded  with  roses. 
From  her  necklace  (composed  of  a  double  row  of  long  squares)  is  a 
cross  patee  pendant,  and  at  her  right  foot  a  little  dog,  with  a  collar 
of  roundels.  Over  the  woman  these  arms :  a  bar  between  two 
mullets,  impaling  nebulae  on  a  bar,  three  roundels.  The  left  of 
these  appears  likewise  beneath  her.  Over  the  man,  a  bar  between 
two  mullets  ;  beneath  him  the  same,  impaling  as  before. 

On  a  stone  fixed  against  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel  is 

"  1617. 

Heare  lies  buried  the  bo 
die  of  JOHN  PAYNTON, 

which 

deceased  the  14* 
of  Feabeary." 

*  In  the  English  Chartulary  of  Godstow  Nunnery,  before  mentioned,  Robert 
Wygtham  occurs  as  witness  to  different  deeds  of  43  Edward  III.,  I  Richard  II., 
6  Richard  II.,  12  Richard  II.,  19  Richard  II.,  21  Richard  II.,  and  5  Henry  IV. 
Richard,  his  son,  occurs  also  in  the  8th  and  nth  years  of  Henry  IV. 


236  Berkshire. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  altar  rails,  on  a  flat  stone  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  body 

of  the  Rev.  Mr.  KOBKRT  LYDALL,  B.D., 

late  fellow  of  Mary  Magdalen  college 

in  Oxford, 

rector  of  this  parish,  and  chaplain  to 
the  Right  Hon.  Montague, 

Earl  of  Abingdon. 

He  departed  this  life  Feb.  20,  1741-2, 
aged  64." 

Near  the  Wigtham  inscription  is  a  gravestone  for  Mr.  Edward 
Purcel  (brother  to  the  well-known  Harry  Purcel,  so  much  renowned 
for  his  skill  in  music),  who  died  January  20,  1717,  aged  sixty-four 
years.  The  lower  part  of  the  legend  of  this  stone  is  obliterated. 

The  parish  register  of  burials  begins  1558,  but  that  of  marriages 
and  baptisms  in  1559.  In  1559  there  were  four  baptisms,  four 
marriages  and  five  burials.  In  1796,  six  baptisms,  six  burials  and 
one  wedding  only.  The  following  singular  entries  occur : 

CHRISTENINGS,  1579. 

"  Francis  Norys,  sonne  of  William  Norris,  esquier,*  xix  Julii." 

"  1625.  8  christenings,  2  marriages. — It  is  remarkable  that  in  this 
yeare,  being  a  time  of  plague  and  mortality  over  this  whole  king- 
dome,  there  was  no  buriall.  Laus  Deo." 

"  1645.  Mr.  Edward  Sackvile,t  second  son  to  the  Right  honour- 
able Edward,  Earle  of  Dorset,  was  married  to  the  Right  honourable 
Brigit  Lady  Norrice,f  the  24  of  December." 

"1646,  Aprill  nth.  Mr.  Edward  Sackvile,  second  son  to  the 
Right  honourable  Edward  Earle  of  Dorset,  unfortunately  slayne  by  a 
souldier  of  Abingdon  garrison  neere  Comner,  in  the  county  of  Berks. 
Was  buried  May  i8th." 

"Buryed,  anno  1658,  the  Honorable  Edward  Wray,  esquier,  lord 
of  this  manner  by  the  marriage  of  the  Right  honorable  Lady  Eliza- 
beth, daughter  and  heiress  to  the  Lord  Noreys.  Dyed  at  Fritwell, 
in  the  county  of  Oxon',  the  2oth  day  of  March,  1657,  and  was 
interred  heere  March  29th." 

"The  Honourable  Francis  Berty,  4th  son  to  the  Right  honourable 
Robert  Earl  of  Lyndsey,  and  lord  high  chamberlayne  of  England, 
slayne  at  the  first  Newbery  fight  on  the  king's  party,  was  here 
interred,  October  loth,  1658." 

"  Peregrine  Hector,  an  Indian  boy  from  Bengal,  about  eight  years 
old,  belonging  to  the  Right  honourable  Anne,  countess  of  Abingdon, 
after  having,  by  her  order,  been  instructed  in  as  much  as  he  was  at 
that  age  capable  of  understanding  of  the  Christian  religion,  was 
baptized  Dec.  29th,  1700." 

*  Lord  of  the  manor.  \  In  gilt  letters. 


Witham.  237 

[1804,  Part  I.,  pp.  207-209.] 

To  the  topographical  description  of  Witham  in  Berkshire,  inserted 
in  your  Miscellany  for  August,  1797,  permit  me  to  make  the  follow- 
ing additions  (E.  H.)  : 

P.  651.  Witham,  q.  Withig  Ham,  or  the  Village  among  the  Willows, 
from  its  situation  on  the  brink  of  a  river. 

The  extract  from  Domesday  in  p.  652  is  faulty;  as  a  more  accu- 
rate inquiry  has  convinced  me  that  it  is  described  under  the  name 
of  Winteham,  when  it  was  held  of  the  Monastery  of  St.  Nicholas, 
Abingdon,  by  Hubert.  See  Domesday,  i.,  fol.  58  b. 

P.  653.  To  the  account  of  Anthony  Hodges  the  following  anec- 
dote may  be  added,  from  one  of  Tom  Hearne's  manuscripts  in  the 
Bodleian  :  "  Parson  Hodges,  of  Wightman,  made  a  bargain  with 
those  he  married,  that  if  they  did  not  repent  in  a  year's  time,  they 
should  present  him  with  a  pair  of  gloves.  Accordingly,  one  couple 
that  he  married  did  not  repent  in  that  time,  and  therefore  they  pre- 
sented him  with  a  pair  of  gloves,  made  of  the  skin  of  a  lamprey, 
which  occasioned  these  verses  :  . 

"  Has  Rectori  dant  nubentes 
Anno  post  non  psenitentes    , 
Chirothecas  nuptiales. 
Quis  ostendet  mihi  tales  ?" 

After  William  More,  M.A.,  add :  William  Titly,  D.D.,  Fellow  of 
Corpus  Christi  College,  and  Chaplain  to  Montague,  Earl  of  Abing- 
don, occurs  rector  of  Witham,  1709.  His  sermons  are  enumerated 
in  Cooke's  "  Preacher's  Assistant,"  vol.  ii.,  p.  339.  He  printed  a 
speech  on  Dr.  Turner's  death,  1714  ;  and  a  "  Book  of  Devotions," 
dedicated  to  the  Countess  of  Abingdon. 

Ib.  When  gathering  materials  for  the  account  of  Witham,  I  was 
not  aware  that  the  Witham  inscription,  cut  1730,  by  order  of  Mon- 
tague Earl  of  Abingdon,  had  been  extracted  from  Leland's  "Itinerary," 
vol.  iv.,  p.  5.  Whence  it  appears  that  Robert  de  Wightham  died  in 
1406;  and  that  the  names  of  his  seven  daughters  were,  "Marie, 
Elizabeth,  Elianore,  Caterine,  Margaret,  Felice,  and  Agnes."  It  is 
singular  that  Mr.  Ashmole,  in  his  "  History  of  Berkshire,"  should 
have  preserved  no  more  of  the  old  inscription  than 

....  filia  iitcia  gjlicarbi  SUgghtham  flm  obiit  .... 
Quorum  animabus  propictetur  2P*us.    ^tnun. 

when,  according  to  the  inscription  of  1730,  enough  then  remained  to 
show  that  Agnes,  wife  of  William  Browning,  of  Saresdon,  in  Oxford- 
shire, with  Robert,  Juliana,  and  Richard  de  Wightham,  were  there 
buried. 

Of  the  battle  fought  between  Offa  and  Kinewulf,  at  the  time  that 
Witham  Castle  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  former,  I  shall  add  a  few 
particulars.  Tradition  represents  one  of  the  armies  (perhaps  that  of 


238  Berkshire. 

Kinewulf)  to  have  been  drawn  up  on  the  northern  declivity  of  Cum- 
nor  Hill,  on  what  is  now  called  Sandfield  (where  Hearne  mentions 
armour,  swords,  and  human  bones  to  have  been  found)*;  and  the 
other  on  the  opposite  declivity  of  Witham  Hill,  near  the  present 
desolated  village  of  Dane  Court.  A  small  valley  divided  them. 
Here,  said  my  informer  (an  old  inhabitant  of  Dane  Court),  the 
battle  began,  and  thence  "  this  piece  had  the  name  of  Holdesneld." 
How  much  credit  may  be  attached  to  this  tradition  it  is  impossible 
to  say ;  but  holb  in  the  Saxon  language  signifies  a  carcase  ;  signifi- 
cant, perhaps,  of  the  slaughter  made  by  Offa. 

Mr.  Warton  ("History  of  Kiddington,"  p.  26)  represents  Offa  to 
have  been  "  an  encourager  of  arts  and  civilization,  who  softened  the 
ruggedness  of  a  barbarous  people."  Nor  was  Kinewulf  below  him 
in  the  scale  of  civility.  I  have  an  ancient  MS.  Chronicle  of  Glaston- 
bury,  in  the  handwriting  of  brother  John  Merylynche,  1411,  which 
gives  the  following  character  of  him  : 

"Suscepit  regni  gubernacula  Kinuulfus.  Clarus  etille  quidem 
mor'  composico'ne  milicieq ;  gestis ;  sc.  uno  sola  adv'sus  Offam 
regem  Mercior'  prope  benesigtune  p'iio  iiijto,  et  vicesimo  regni  anno 
victus,  m'ltisq;  p'inde  dampnis  afflict0  fsedo  ecia'  exitu  finem  vite 
fortitus.  Nam  cum  vno  &  triginta  annis  nee  ignave  nee  immodeste 
regnasset :  seu  rer' gloria  elatus  quod  nihil  sibi  obviaturu' crederet ; 
seu  posteritati  sue  metuens,  contra  quam  Kineardu'  Sigebirhti  fr'em 
increscere  cerneret,  ilium  p'vincie  terminos  coegit  exedere.  Qui 
cedendum  tempori  ratus  dissimulate  animo  quasi  volens  p'fugit. 
Mox  cum  furtivis  conventiculis  p'ditam  imp'  bor'  manum  contrax- 
isset:  solitudinem  Regis  auspicatus  nam  animi  causariis  concesserat: 
cum  expeditis  eo  sup'uenit  &  ibi  dum  illu'  alienis  amoribus  inser- 
vientem  audisset  ex  insidiis  domu'  foris  obsedit. 

"  Rex  ancipiti  discrimine  p'motus  cu'  p'sentib'  ponderato  consilio, 
fores  occlusit.  Sperans  latrones  vel  mulcere  alloquio,  vel  terrere 
imperio  ;  cum  neutrum  p'cederet  ira  p'citus  in  Kineardu'  insiliit, 
minimu'q  ;  abfuit  q'm  vita  privaret.  Sc.  a  multitudine  circu'ventus 
du'  cedere  dampnu'  glorias  arbitral'  morte"  p'be  ultus  occubuit" 

The  hall  in  Witham  House  no  longer  remains  in  its  ancient  state  : 
though  the  shields  in  the  great  west  window  are  preserved. 

Seckworth,  which  Mr.  Warton  thought  had  some  connection  with 
Witham,  is  mentioned  by  Dr.  Buckler  in  Mr.  More's  "  Berkshire  Col- 
lections," p.  17. 

In  the  28th  of  Henry  VIII.,  the  farm  of  Sugworth  or  Seckworth 
(still  remaining  at  the  edge  of  Botley)  was  granted  by  the  abbot  and 
convent  of  Abingdon  to  John  Audelet  and  Catharine  his  wife.  And 
in  the  33rd  of  Henry  VIII.,  the  King's  Commissioners  made  a  certi- 
ficate of  the  free  chapel  (for  to  such  had  the  church  dwindled)  of 
Seckworth.  It  was  then  said  to  be  in  the  parish  of  Wytham,  but  is 
*  "  Liber  Niger  Scaccarii,"  p.  570. 


Wit  ham.  239 

now  esteemed  to  be  extra-parochial.  These  deeds,  with  many  others 
of  greater  curiosity,  were,  1759,  an  heirloom  to  the  neighbouring 
vicarage  of  Cumnor  ;  and,  it  is  hoped,  yet  remain  there.  A  few 
traces  of  Seckworth  are  still  visible  on  the  brink  of  the  river,  parting 
off  the  territories  of  the  Attrebatii  and  Dobuni. 

To  return,  however,  to  Witham.  The  town  seems  originally  to 
have  been  situate  somewhat  northward  of  the  present  town,  nigh 
to  the  mill ;  in  Witham  field,  close  by  the  mill,  the  plough  has 
frequently  been  hindered  by  small  masses  of  rubble  stone,  and 
other  signs  of  foundations.  With  this,  too,  will  agree  the  situation 
of  the  graves  in  the  churchyard,  which  were  always  made  in 
the  most  frequented  quarter,  with  the  view  of  reminding  -those 
who  passed  to  pray  for  the  welfare  of  the  souls  of  their  departed 
relations.  They  are  here  placed  on  the  north  side  of  the  church  :  a 
sufficient  proof  that  the  notion  of  the  south  side's  always  having  had 
the  preference  is  a  vulgar  error. 

The  conjecture  that  the  church  of  Witham  was  originally  built  by 
the  monks  of  Abingdon  seems  confirmed  by  their  Chartulary  in  the 
Cotton  Library  (Claud,  c.  ix.,  f.  no  b.)  where  King  Edwy,  in  955,  is 
represented  to  have  given  them  twenty  cottages  in  Hengestesigs  (the 
Hinxeys),  Seouecanworthe  (Seckworth),  and  Wihtham,  as  members 
of  Cumnor.  This  donation  was  confirmed  in  968  by  Edgar,  who, 
assisted  by  the  clamours  of  Dunstan  and  his  friends,  first  deprived 
his  brother  of  half  his  kingdom,  and,  when  melancholy  brought 
him  to  the  grave,  seized  the  whole. 

The  manor-house  of  Witham,  lately  inhabited  by  the  Earl  of 
Abin°don,  was  once  in  possession  of  the  Harcourt  family.  Among 
the  indefatigable  Roger  Dodsworth's  collections  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  is  a  volume  of  "Wills,"  abridged  from  the  originals  in  the 
Prerogative  Office,  London,  1661,  where,  at  fol.  49  b,  we  have 
the  following  : 

"2  H.  7,  15  Sept.  1480.  I  Richard  Harecourt,  of  Wigtham  com' 
Berks,  knight,  bequeth  my  body  to  be  buryed  in  the  Church  of  our 
Lady  in  the  Abbey  of  Abbingdon.  It'  I  bequeth  to  the  Abbey  of 
Abbend'  all  the  lands  and  tenements  in  Tylgarsley  &  Fyrth  to  fynd 
a  priest  to  pray  for  ye  soule  of  Edyth  my  late  wief  and  Dame  Kate- 
ryne  my  now  wief.  It'm.  /  bequeth  to  the  reflation  of  the  Churche  of 
Wyghtham  xxli.  William  Harecourt  the  Test,  sonne.  The  Test, 
had  the  Manner  of  Wyghtham  and  Sowkeworth. 

"  Proved  25  Oct.  a°  sup'dco' 

"  Ex  off.  Prerog.  Lond  Reg.  Logge,  f.  204  b." 

The  lands  and  houses   at    Medley  (in  the  vicinity  of  Witham) 

were  given  to  the  nuns  of  Godstow  in   King  Henry  II. 's  time  by 

Robert  de  Witham,  who  had  three  daughters,  who  were  nuns  there.* 

This  donation  was  afterwards   confirmed  by  Vincent  de  Witham, 

*  One  of  this  family,  Agnes  de  Witham,  became  abbess,  1425. 


240  Berkshire. 

his  son,  who  was  otherwise  a  benefactor  to  the  nunnery. 
Hearne,  in  one  of  his  publications  (I  think  the  third  volume  of 
William  of  Neubridge),  writes  :  "  The  Wighthams  were  persons  of 
note  and  distinction.  Rosamund  was  well  acquainted  in  the  family, 
and  she  received  signal  favours  from  it ;  she  became  acquainted  there 
by  her  interest  with  the  nuns  of  Godstowe." 

At  the  Reformation,  when  the  Lincoln  diocese  was  dismembered, 
Medley  was  appropriated  to  the  bishopric  of  Oxford.  A  handsome 
mansion  was  afterwards  erected  here,  the  remains  of  which  are  yet 
visible.  It  was  engraved  in  a  quarto  plate  by  Dr.  Richard  Row- 
landson. 

I  have  now  only  to  add  that  Whitam  occurs  in  the  very  ancient 
map  of  England  engraved  in  Mr.  Cough's  "  British  Topography ;" 
that  Hearne  ("Liber  Niger  Scaccarii,"  p.  591)  mentions  the  rinding 
of  coins  where  Witham  Castle  stood ;  and  that  on  the  opposite  side  of 
the  Gloucester  road  to  that  on  which  the  remains  of  Witham  Castle 
are,  at  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  is  an  artificial  hill,  called 
"  Beacon  Hill."  On  this  hill,  when  commotions  of  the  State  were 
more  frequent  than  at  present,  a  beacon  was  erected,  which  faced 
another  upon  Faringdon  Hill. 

E.  H. 

[The  following  articles  are  omitted  as  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  print : — 

1743,  pp.  585-6,  Lambourn  Stream. 

1765,  p.  452,  Windsor  Palace  and  Park  described. 

1782,  p.  558;  1802,  Part  ii.,  pp.  Iii6,  1117,  Maidenhead  Seal. 

1788,  Part  i.,  p.  208,  Reading  Abbey  [by  Samuel  Johnson]. 

1809,  Part  i.,  pp.  429,  430,  Report  of  the  present  state  of  Windsor  Forest. 

1821,  Part  i.,  p.  232,  Wantage  Cross. 

1844,  Part  ii.,  pp.  151-3,  Herne's  Oak. 

References  to  other  volumes  of  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  Library : — 

Prehistoric  Remains :  Abingdon,  Yattendon — Archeology,  i.  26,  75,  76. 
Roman  Remains :  Blewberry,  Bray,  Chaddleworth,  Newbury,  Pangbourn, 

Standfordbury — Romano- British  Remains,  i.  4-7. 
Dialect :  Popular  names  for  birds — Dialect,  p.  332. 
Folklore  :  Custom  at  Abingdon — Manners  and  Customs,  190. 
Architectural  Antiquities:  [Appleton,  Windsor — Arch.  Ant.,   i.  254-269, 

382 ;  ii.  222]. 


Buckinghamshire. 


VOL.  Xlt.  ' 


B  UCKINGHAMSHIRE. 


[1816,  Part  //.,  //.  415-417;  1818,  Part  /.,  //.  105-109;  1821,  Part  /., 
//.  506-510.] 

ANCIENT  STATE  AND  REMAINS. 

British  Inhabitants.-. — Cattieuchlani,  or  Cassii,  and  Dobuni. 

Roman  Province. — Flavia  Csesariensis.  Station. — Magiovintum, 
Fenny  Stratford. 

Saxon  Heptarchy. — Mercia. 

Antiquities. — White  Leaf  Cross,  cut  on  the  side  of  a  hill  near 
Risborough;  earthworks  at  Kimble  Hill;  Nutley  and  Medmen- 
ham  Abbeys  ;  Chetwode  Priory  ;  Stewkley,  Hanslope  and  Olney 
Churches  ;  Eton  College,  founded  in  1441  by  Henry  VI. ;  Hillesden 
Church;  Leckhamsted  font ;  Borstall  Horn,  engraved  in  "Archseo- 
logia,"  vol.  iii. ;  Aylesbury  was  the  burial-place  of  St.  Osyth,  and 
Buckingham  of  the  infant  St.  Rumbald ;  Brill  was  a  favourite  re- 
sidence of  Henry  II.,  John,  and  Henry  III. ;  Berrysted  House,  in 
Ivinghoe,  was  the  seat  of  the  warlike  Henry  de  Blois,  Bishop  of 
Winchester,  brother  of  Stephen;  at  Chetwode  is  the  earliest  well- 
authenticated  specimen  of  stained  glass  in  England,  which,  if  coeval 
with  the  church,  as  appears  most  probable,  was  placed  there 
in  1240. 

Stewkley  Church  is  one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  Saxon  archi- 
tecture in  the  kingdom. 

At  Ashridge  was  the  first  house  of  the  Bon-hommes,  the  last 
Order  of  Friars  that  visited  England  :  they  were  brought  over  in 
1283,  by  Edmund,  Earl  of  Cornwall. 

PRESENT  STATE  AND  APPEARANCE. 

Rivers. — Thames,  Ouse,  Thame,  Coin,  Ouzel,  Wick,  Loddon. 
Inland  Navigation. — Grand  Junction  Canal,  with  Buckingham  and 
Wendover  branches ;  Thames  and  Isis  Canal. 

1 6 — 2 


244  Buckinghamshire. 


Eminences  and  Views. — Chiltern  Hills,  Salt  Hill,  Taplow  Hill, 
Kimble  Hill,  Belinesbury  Hill,  Hedsor  Hill,  Tower  of  Pen  Church, 
Whitchurch,  Bow-Brickhill,  Brill  and  Ellesborough  Hills. 

Seats.  —  Stow,  Marquis  of  Buckingham,  lord-lieutenant  of  the 
county.  Ankerwyke  House,  J.  Blagrove,  Esq.;  Ashridge  Park,  Earl 
of  Bridgwater;  Aston  Abbots,  Colonel  Freemantle  ;  Aston  Clinton, 
Viscount  Lake  ;  Barley-end  Hous^,  Mrs.  Lucy ;  Biddlesdon  Hous<% 
—  Moyer,  Esq.  ;  Borstall,  Sir  John  Aubrey,  Bart. ;  Bradenham, 
John  Hicks,  Esq. ;  Briyhtwell,  Hon.  George  Irby ;  Bulstrode,  Duke 
of  Somerset;  Butlers,  Mrs.  Tompkins;  Caversfield,  Joseph  Pullock, 
Esq.  ;  Chalfont  House,  Thos.  Hibbert,  Esq. ;  Chequers,  Robert 
Greenhill,  E->q. ;  Chesham,  William  Lowndes,  Esq. ;  Chicheley, 
Charles  Penfold,  Esq.;  Clieveden,  Countess  of  Orkney;  Court 
Garden,  Viscount  Gardiner;  Danesfield,  Mrs.  Scott;  Datchett,  Hon. 
Gen.  Needham  ;  Delaford  Park,  Charles  Clowes,  Esq. ;  Denham 
Court,  Sir  George  Bowyer,  Bart. ;  Dinton  Manor-house,  Rev.  W. 
Goudall ;  Ditton  Park,  Lord  Montague  ;  Dodershall,  William  Pigott, 
Esq. ;  Dorney  Court,  Sir  Charles  Harcourt  Palmer,  Bart. ;  Dourton, 
Sir  John  Aubrey,  Bart.  ;  Dropmore,  Lord  Grenville  ;  Dunscombe 
Place,  P.  D.  Pauncefort,  Esq. ;  Ey thorp,  Earl  of  Chesterfield ; 
Fawley  Court,  Strickland  Freeman,  Esq.  ;  Formosa  Place,  Sir  S. 
Young,  Bart.  ;  Gothurst,  Miss  Wright;  Haddington  House,  Hon. 
Lieutenant-General  Vere  Poulett  ;  Hall  Barns,  Rev.  Edw.  Waller; 
Halton  House,  Rev.  J.  Wells  ;  Hampden  House,  Viscount  Hamp- 
den ;  Hanslape  Park,  Edward  Watts,  Esq. ;  Harleyford,  Sir  Wm. 
Clayton,  Bart.  ;  Hartwell,  Rev.  Sir  George  Lee,  Bart.  ;  Hedsor 
Lodge,  Lord  Boston;  Hitchendon,  Countess  of  Conyngham  ;  Hor- 
senden,  John  Grubb,  Esq.  ;  Hyde  Lodge,  Robert  Ward,  Esq.  ; 
Iver,  Lord  Gambier ;  Langley  Park,  Sir  R.  Bateson  Harvey,  Bart. ; 
Langport,  Edmund  Dayrell,  Esq.  ;  Lathbury,  ^M.  D.  Mansel,  Esq.; 
Latimers,  Lord  George  Cavendish  ;  Lillies,  Lord  Nugent ;  Lilling 
stone,  Richard  Dayrell,  Esq. ;  Linford,  Rev.  H.  U.  Uthwat ;  Lins- 
lade,  Sir  Andrew  Corbet,  Bart.  ;  Liscombe,  Sir  Jonathan  Lovett, 
Bart.;  Little  Hanvood,  Rev.  Mr.  Langston  ;  Mai  low  Place,  Owen 
Williams,  Esq.  ;  Mile-end,  Rev.  John  Hinde ;  Missenden  Abbey, 
J.  O.  Oldham,  Esq.  ;  Nether  Winchendon,  S.  B.  Morland,  Esq. ; 
Newlands  Park,  —  Allen,  Esq. ;  Oak-end,  R.  Srwell,  Esq. ;  Oving, 
Colonel  N.  Hopkins ;  Parmoor,  John  D'Oyley,  Esq. ;  Penn  House, 
Viscount  Curzon ;  Peterby  Lodge,  Lord  Dormer  ;  Richings  Park, 
J.  Sullivan,  Esq.;  St.  Leonard's  Hill,  Earl  Harcourt;  Shalleston, 
G.  H.  P.  Jcrvoise,  Esq.  :  Shardloes,  Thomas  Drake  Tyrwhitt  Drake, 
Esq.  ;  Shenley,  Rev.  P.  Knapp  ;  Stockgrove,  Edward  Hanmer,  Esq. ; 
Stoke  Farm,  Earl  of  Sefton  ;  Stoke  Place,  R.  W.  H.  H.  Vyse,  Esq. ; 
Stoke  Poges,  John  Penn,  Esq.  ;  Taplow,  late  Marchioness  of  Tho- 
mond  ;  Taplow,  Lord  Riversdale  ;  Taplow,  Pascoe  Grenfell,  Esq.  ; 
Thornton  Hall,  Sir  Thomas  Shepherd,  Bart. ;  Turville  Park,  Thomas 


History.  245 

Butlin,  Esq.  ;  The  Vache,  —  Gaskell,  Esq. ;  Tyringham,  William 
Praed,  Esq.;  Waddesdon,  Sir  George  Nugent,  Bart;  Wavendon, 
Henry  Hugh  Hoare,  Esq. ;  Weedon  Lodge,  John  T.  Morin,  Esq.  ; 
Westthorp  House,  General  Nugent ;  Weston  Underwood,  George 
Courtenay,  Esq. ;  West  Wycombe  Park,  Sir  John  Dashwood  King, 
Bart.  ;  Whaddon  Hall,  Wm.  Lowndes,  Esq. ;  Wilton  Park,  James 
Du  Prd,  Esq. ;  Winslow,  William  Selby,  Esq.  ;  Wotton  Park,  Mar- 
quis of  Buckingham  ;  Wycombe  House,  Lord  Carrington. 

Produce. — Corn,  cattle,  butter,  ducks,  fuller's  earth. 

Manufactures. — Lace,  paper,  malt. 

HISTORY. 

A.D.  43,  near  Buckingham,  Caractacus  and  Togodumnus,  sons 
of  Cunobeline  (the  "Cymbeline"  of  Shakespeare)  were  successively 
defeated  by  Aulus  Plautius,  the  Roman  general. 

A.D.  291,  at  Caversfield,  Carausius  slain  in  battle  by  the  treachery 
of  Alectus. 

A.D.  527,  at  Chersley,  Britons  defeated  by  the  Saxons  under 
Cerdic  and  Cyndric. 

A.D.  571,  Aylesbury,  "  regia  turris,"  taken  from  the  Briton?  by 
Culhwulph,  brother  to  Ceaulin,  King  of  the  West  Saxons. 

A.D.  661,  Ashendon,  and  the  adjacent  country,  plundered  by 
Wulpher,  King  of  Mercia. 

A.D.  871,  at  Ashendon,  the  Danes,  under  Bagsey  and  Halden, 
defeated,  after  a  whole  day's  conflict,  by  King  Ethelred  and  his 
brother  Alfred. 

A.D.  907,  at  Ickford,  a  treaty  signed  by  Edward  the  Elder,  with 
the  Danes. 

A.D.  913,  Buckingham  fortified  on  both  sides  of  the  Ouse  by  the 
Danes. 

A.D.  918,  Buckingham  fortified  by  Edward  the  Elder,  who  re- 
mained there  four  weeks  with  his  army.  At  the  same  time,  Earl 
Thurcytil,  with  the  chief  thanes  of  Bedford  and  Northampton,  sub- 
mitted to  him  there. 

A.D.  921,  Aylesbury  and  Bernwood  Forest  plundered  by  the 
Danes. 

A.D.  941,  Aylesbury  and  Bernwood  Forest,  with  the  north-east 
parts  of  the  county,  plundered  by  the  Danes. 

A.D.  loio,  Buckingham  seized  by  the  Danes,  who,  after  plunder- 
ing the  neighbourhood,  proceeded  along  the  Ouse  to  Bedford. 

A.D.  1215,  Hanslape  Castle,  garrisoned  by  William  Lord  Mau- 
duit  against  King  John,  taken  and  demolished,  December  18,  by 
Falcasius  de  Breant. 

A.D.  1233,  Brill,  and  the  adjacent  country  (the  property  of  Richard 
Earl  of  Cornwall),  laid  waste  by  Richard  Sward,  an  outlaw. 


246  Buckinghamshire. 


A.D.  1266,  at  K.ymble,  Sir  David  de  Offyncthone  and  Adam 
Gordon  defeated  ;  Gordon  taken  prisoner  by  Prince  Edward. 

A.D.  1267,  at  Brickhill,  Henry  de  Pudereschue  (seneschal  to  the 
Earl  of  Gloucester),  surprised  and  taken  prisoner,  and  his  forces 
defeated,  by  Reginal  Gray. 

A.D.  1290,  at  Ashridge,  a  Parliament  held  by  Edward  I.,  remark- 
able for  a  spirited  debate  on  the  origin  and  use  of  Fines. 

At  Stony  Stratford,  the  body  of  Queen  Eleanor  rested ;  a  cross 
was  erected  to  her  memory  at  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  and  demo- 
lished in  the  civil  wars. 

A.D.  1299,  the  resort  of  pilgrims  and  processions  to  the  holy  well 
at  Linslade  prohibited  as  profane,  by  Oliver  Sutton,  Bishop  of 
Lincoln. 

A.D.  1323,  at  Aylesbury,  the  rebel  barons  marching  through  the 
town,  with  an  intention  to  plunder  the  Abbey  of  St.  Albans,  one  of 
the  chiefs  in  that  design  suddenly  died. 

A.D.  1483,  at  Stony  Stratford  (April),  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
afterwards  Richard  III.,  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham,  took  posses- 
sion of  the  person  of  Edward  V.,  and  in  his  presence  arrested  Lord 
Richard  Grey,  Sir  Thomas  Vaughan,  and  Sir  Richard  Hawte,  who 
were  conveyed  to  Pomfret  Castle,  where,  with  the  Earl  of  Rivers, 
they  were  beheaded  without  trial. 

A.D.  1484,  near  Stony  Stratford,  Walter  Hungerford,  a  partisan 
of  Henry,  Earl  of  Richmond,  escaped  from  the  custody  of  Robert 
Brakenbury,  Lieutenant  of  the  Tower. 

A.D.  1541,  October  16,  at  Chenies,  a  council  held  by  Henry  VIII. 

A.D.  1554,  at  Ashridge,  Elizabeih,  afterwards  queen,  arrested  by 
Sir  Edward  Hastings,  Sir  Thomas  Cornwall,  and  Sir  Edward  South- 
well, on  suspicion  of  being  concerned  in  the  insurrection  under  Sir 
Thomas  Wyat,  and,  although  confined  by  illness,  was  compelled  to 
rise  from  her  bed  and  set  off  for  London  in  the  queen's  litter. 

A.D.  1566,  at  Bradenham,  Queen  Elizabeth  sumptuously  enter- 
tained by  Edward,  Lord  Windsor,  on  her  return  from  Oxford. 

A.D.  1570,  at  Newport  Pagnel  (October  5),  during  the  violent 
tempest  that  happened  throughout  the  kingdom,  a  remarkable  inun- 
dation from  a  spring  at  the  back  of  the  Saracen's  Head  Inn  :  at  the 
same  time  two  houses  were  thrown  down  by  the  shock,  and  a  man 
and  woman  crushed  to  death  by  their  fall. — At  Quarendon,  three 
thousand  head  of  sheep,  besides  other  cattle  (belonging  to  Sir  Henry 
Leigh)  drowned  by  a  violent  flood. 

A.D.  i6ot,  at  Stoke  Poges,  Queen  Elizabeth  entertained  by  Sir 
Edward  Coke,  who  presented  her  with  jewels  to  the  value  of  ^1,000. 

A.D.  1642,  August  18,  Boreton  House,  the  seat  of  Sir  Richard, 
Lord  Minshul,  plundered  by  Lord  Brook  and  the  Parliamentarians 
to  the  amount  of  ^2,000. — October  27,  Aylesbury  successfully  de- 
fended by  Colonel  Bulstrode  against  Prince  Rupert. — January  27,  at 


History.  247 

Brill,  Parliamentarians,  under  Hampden,  Arthur  Goodwin,  Pye  and 
Grenville,  defeated  by  Sir  Gilbert  and  Colonel  Charles  Gerard.— 
March  21,  Aylesbury  unsuccessfully  attempted  by  the  king  in 
person. 

A.D.  1643  (May),  Swanburne  and  other  villages  plundered  by 
Sir  John  Biron  and  Lord  Chandos. — July  i,  at  Padbury,  Parlia- 
mentarians under  Middleton  defeated  by  Sir  Charles  Lucas. — July  5, 
Parliamentarians  defeated  near  Buckingham,  by  a  party  of  Prince 
Rupert's  horse. — August  23,  at  Aylesbury,  grand  rendezvous  of  the 
Parliament's  forces  in  the  associated  counties,  under  Lord  Grey  and 
Colonel  Harvey,  for  the  relief  of  Gloucester. — October,  at  Padding- 
ton,  Royalists,  under  Captain  Crofts,  defeated  by  Colonel  Arthur 
Goodwin. — October  n,  Newport  Pagnel  taken  by  the  Earl  of  Essex. 
— December,  High  Wycombe  successfully  attacked  by  Prince 
Rupert. — March,  Hillesden  House  (which  the  garrison  of  Ayles- 
bury had  attempted  in  vain),  taken  by  the  soldiers  of  Newport 
Pagnel,  under  Manchester,  Cromwell,  and  Sir  Samuel  Luke.  Bor- 
stall  House  taken  from  the  Parliamentarians  by  Colonel  Gage. 

A.D.  1644,  June  22,  the  king  came  to  Buckingham,  where  he 
received  the  news  of  the  queen's  safe  delivery  of  the  Princess 
Henrietta  at  Exeter. — On  the  r6th  July,  Greenland  House,  the  seat 
of  John  D'Oyley,  Esq.,  taken  by  Major-General  Browne. — December, 
at  Crendon,  Royalists  under  Colonel  Blake  (Governor  of  Wallingford) 
defeated  by  Colonel  Crawford,  Governor  of  Aylesbury. — January, 
Sir  S.  Luke  sent  down  to  Newport  Pagnel,  the  king's  troops  draw- 
ing that  way. — March,  Colebrooke  and  Twyford  plundered  by  the 
Parliamentarians. 

A.D.  1645,  May,  Borstal  House  successfully  defended  against 
Skippon. — June  5,  Fairfax  repulsed  by  the  garrison  of  Borstal,  whence 
he  retired  to  Brickhill  on  the  pth,  marched  to  Sherington,  where 
he  called  a  council  of  war,  and  sent  Colonel  Hammond  to  hasten 
Cromwell  towards  Naseby. — December,  Colonel  Whalley  sent  into 
Buckinghamshire,  to  prevent  incursions  of  the  Royalists. — February 
20,  at  Stony  Stratford,  Parliamentarians  defeated  by  Captain  Dagrell. 
— March  7,  near  Stratton-Audley,  Parliamentarians  defeated  by  a 
party  from  Borstal  House,  and  Major  Abercromby  (of  Scotland),  their 
commander,  slain. 

A.D.  1646,  June  10,  Borstal  House,  the  only  garrison  remaining 
for  the  king  in  this  county,  taken  by  Fairfax. 

A.D.  1647,  at  Colebrooke  (in  August),  head-quarters  of  Fairfax 
and  the  army. 

A.D.  1659,  at  Newport  Pagnel  (August  22)  Sir  George  Booth 
arrested  in  a  woman's  habit,  at  the  George  Inn. 

A.D.  1746,  at  Lathbury,  a  spirited  attempt  made  by  Mrs.  Symes 
to  obstruct  the  Duke  of  Cumberland  in  his  march  to  Scotland. 


248  Buckinghamshire. 


BIOGRAPHY. 

Aldrich,  Robert,  Bishop  of  Carlisle,  applauded  by  Erasmus, 
Burnham,  about  1488. 

Alley,  William,  Bishop  of  Exeter,  translator  of  the  Pentateuch, 
High  Wickham,  about  1510. 

Allibond,  John,  satirist,  Chenies  (flor.  1648). 

Alston,  Joseph,  contributor  to  the  "  Lacrymse  Cantabrigienses  " 
1695,  Brad  well  Abbey. 

Amersham,  John  of,  friend  of  De  Whethamsted,  Amersham  (flor. 


Anderson,  George,  mathematician  and  accountant,  Weston,  1760. 

Andrewes,  Henry,  planted  the  "  Lathbury  Tree,"  Buckingham, 
1669. 

Andrewes,  Margaret,  "A  Virgin  and  a  Saint,"  Lathbury,  1667. 

Andrews,  James,  mechanic,  Olney,  1734. 

Annesley,  Francis,  first  Lord  Mount-Norris,  Newport  Pagnel,  1585. 

Atterbury,  Lewis,  divine,  Caldecot,  1656. 

Atterbury,  Francis,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  Milton  Keynes,  1662. 

Ayre,  Giles,  divine,  Dean  of  Winchester,  Burnham. 

Baldwin,  John,  Chief  Justice  of  Common  Pleas,  benefactor, 
Aylesbury  (died  1538). 

Basset,  Fulco,  Bishop  of  London,  Wycombe  (died  1258). 

Bate,  George,  physician,  Maid's  Morton,  1608. 

Beke,  Richard,  parliamentarian,  Dinton,  1629. 

Bernard,  Thomas,  martyred  1521,  Hitchendon. 

Bickley,  Thomas,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  Stow,  1506. 

Bidun,  John  de,  founder  of  Lavendon  Abbey,  Lavendon    (died 

*255> 

Bigg,  John,  the  "Dinton  Hermit,"  Dinton  (died  1696). 

Biscoe,  John,  Nonconformist  divine  and  author,  Wycombe  (died 
1679). 

Bolebec,  Hugh  de,  founder  of  Woburn  and  Medmenham  Abbeys, 
Whitchurch. 

Bolebec,  Jane,  Countess  of  Oxford,  Whitchurch. 

Boughen,  Edward,  suffering  divine,  author. 

Bovington,  Edmund,  benefactor  to  King's  College,  Cambridge, 
Burnham,  1510. 

Bradford,  Rodolph,  reformer,  Twyford  (died  1538). 

Bradshaw,  Francis,  author  of  "The  World's  Wisdom,"  1598. 

Briggs,  Sampson,  contributor  to  "  Lycidas,"  Fulmere  (slain  1643). 

Brokle,  John,  Lord  Mayor  of  London  1643,  draper,  Newport 
Pagnel. 

Buckingham,  Owen,  Lord  Mayor  1705,  benefactor  to  Reading, 
Colebrooke. 

Buckingham,  Thomas  de,  theologian,  Buckingham  (died  1349). 


Biography.  249 

Buckingham,  John,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  Buckingham  (flor.  1363). 

Bulstrocle,  Edward,  lawyer  (died  1655). 

Bunney,  Francis,  calvinist,  Chalfont,  1543. 

Burney,  Edmund,  divine,  author,  Chalfont  St.  Giles,  1540. 

Bust,  Matthew,  Master  of  Eton  School,  author,  Eton  (died  1638). 

Butler,  Charles,  author  of  "  The  Female  Monarchy,"  on  Bees, 
Wycombe  (died  1647). 

Carroll,  John,  married  seven  (maiden)  wives,  Olney,  1695. 

Gary,  Henry,  first  Earl  of  Monmouth,  translator,  Great  Linford. 
1596. 

Chalfont,  Christopher,  divine,  benefactor  to  King's  College, 
Cambridge,  Marlow  (died  1666). 

Chalfont,  Richard,  loyal  divine,  author,  Wycombe,  1607. 

Chaloner,  Thomas,  author,  regicide,  Steeple-Claydon,  1395. 

Chester.  Anthony,  Loyalist,  Chicheley,  1593. 

Chetwode,  Robert,  founder  of  the  Hermitage,  temp.  Hen.  I., 
Chetwode. 

Chetwode,  Thomas,  warrior,  Chetwode  (flor.  1428). 

Chetwood,  Knightly,  Dean  of  Gloucester,  author,  Chetwode,  1650. 

Cleaver,  Euseby,  Archbishop  of  Dublin  (died  1819). 

Cleaver,  William,  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph,  Twyford. 

Clutterbuck,  Thomas,  suffering  divine,  Dunton. 

Collins,  Daniel,  divine,  Eton  (died  1648). 

Collins,  Samuel,  divine,  Eton  (died  1651). 

Cosin,  Robert,  martyred  1518,  Buckingham. 

Cox,  Richard,  Bishop  of  Ely,  one  of  the  composers  of  the  Liturgy, 
Whaddon,  1499. 

Crab,  Roger,  the  "  English  Hermit,"  beginning  of  the  sixteenth 
century. 

Cracherode,  Clayton  Mordaunt,  virtuoso,  Taplow,  1730. 

Crates,  John,  Lord  Mayor  1542,  salter,  Bierton, 

Croke,  John,  Chief  Justice  of  the  King's  Bench,  Milton  (died 
1619).  . 

Croke,  Unton,  parliamentarian,  Chilton. 

Crompton,  William,  Nonconformist,  Kymble  parva. 

Crooke,  Sir  George,  Lord  Chief  Justice,  Chilton,  about  1611. 

Davers,  Robert,  loyalist  (died  1722). 

Denton,  Alexander,  suffering  loyalist,  Hellesdon,  1596. 

Denton,  Alexander,  judge,  chancellor  to  the  Prince  of  Wales, 
Hellesdon,  1679. 

Denton,  William,  physician,  Stow,  1605. 

Dickinson,  Edmund,  ejected  divine,  Eton  (died  1669). 

Digby,  John,  loyalist,  warrior,  Gothurst,  1604. 

Digby,  Mary,  suffering  loyalist,  Gothurst  (died  1653). 

Digby,  Sir  Kenelm,  Gothurst,  1603. 

Dorman,  Thomas,  Roman  Catholic  divine,  Amersham  (flor.  i       ). 


250  Buckinghamshire. 


Dormer,  Jane,  Duchess  of  Feria,  Wenge  (flor.  1559). 

Dormer,  Robert,  first  Earl  of  Carnarvon,  loyalist,  Wenge,  1610. 

D'Oyley,  Charles,  parliamentarian,  friend  of  Fairfax,  Turville. 

Dumville,  Ann,  "Ter  per  vices  dentivit,"  Olney,  1705. 

Duncombe,  Charles,  Lord  Mayor  1709,  eminent  banker,  Drayton- 
Beauchamp. 

Dunton,  John,  divine,  father  to  "  Honest  John,"  Little  Missenden, 
1628. 

Ellis,  Philip,  Bishop  of  Pavia,  author  of  Sermons,  Waddesdon. 

Ellis,  Welbore,  Bishop  of  Meath,  Waddesdon  (died  1733). 

Ellis,  William,  secretary  to  James  II.  and  the  Pretender,  Waddes- 
don (died  1732). 

Finch  Heneage,  Lord  Chancellor  Nottingham,  Ravenstone  (died 
1682). 

Fleetwood,  James,  Bishop  of  Worcester,  Chalfont  St.  Giles,  1602. 

Flete,  John,  Lord  Mayor  1693,  Bourton,  1647. 

Flood,  Ralph,  scholar  (drowned  1624). 

Forster,  Edmund,  loyalist,  Hanslape,  1602. 

Forster,  John,  horticulturist,  Hanslape,  1626. 

Fountaine,  John,  "Turn-coat  Fountaine,"  Ivinghoe. 

Franke,  Mark,  ejected  divine,  author,  Brickhill,  1613. 

Franklin,  William,  friend  of  Wolsey,  recovered  Norham  Castle 
from  the  Scots,  Bledlow  (died  1555). 

Franklin,  William,  ejected  divine,  Eton. 

Gibbewin,  Geoffry,  justice  itinerant,  Marsh  Gibwen  (flor.  1220). 

Giffard,  Walter,  Earl  of  Buckingham,  Buckingham  Castle  (died 
1164). 

Goad,  Roger,  divine,  Houton  (died  1610). 

Goodall,  Edward,  Roman  Catholic  divine,  Horton. 

Goode,  William,  translator  of  the  Psalms,  Buckingham,  1762. 

Goodwin,  Francis,  senator,  Bishop's  Wooburn,  1564. 

Gray,  Arthur,  Lord  de  Wilton,  suppressor  of  Desmond's  rebellion, 
Whaddon  (died  1593). 

Gregory,  Henry,  scholar,  Amersham. 

Gregory,  John,  divine,  Amersham,  1607. 

Grenville,  George,  statesman,  Wotton,  1742. 

Grenville,  Richard,  parliamentarian,  Ludgershall,  1612. 

Grenville-Temple,  Richard,  Earl  Temple,  statesman,  Wotton, 
1711. 

Griffin,  John,  mechanic,  Moulsoe,  1692. 

Haddon,  Walter,  scholar,  1516. 

Hampden,  Griffith,  entertained  Queen  Elizabeth,  Great  Hampden. 

Hampden,  Osbert,  "  Commissioner  for  the  expulsion  of  the 
Danes,"  1043,  Great  Hampden. 

Hampson,  Mary,  eminent  for  her  piety,  Taplow  (died  1677). 

Harding,  Thomas,  martyred  1521,  Chesham. 


Biography.  251 

Harley,  John,  Bishop  of  Hereford,  Newport  Pagnel,  1 504. 

Harrington,  Catherine,  beautiful  wife  of  Sir  James  Harrington, 
Fulmere. 

Harris,  John,  divine  and  author,  Padbury,  1580. 

Hastings,  Edward,  Lord  Hastings  of  Loughborough,  benefactor, 
Stoke  Poges  (flor.  1550). 

Higgons,  Theophilus,  Catholic  divine,  Chilton,  1578. 

Holmes,  Thomas,  martyred  1521,  Amersham. 

Holyman,  James,  Bishop  of  Bristol,  Cuddington  (died  1558). 

How,  Josias,  author  of  a  sermon  printed  in  red  letter,  Grendon 
Underwood. 

How,  William,  Bishop  of  Orense  in  Spain,  Wycombe  (flor.  1526). 

Humphrey,  Laurence,  Dean  of  Winchester,  scholar,  Newport 
Pagnel,  1527. 

Hungerford,  Thomas,  Yorkist,  Stoke  Poges. 

Hungerford,  Walter,  Lancasterian,  Stoke  Poges. 

Jennings,  Samuel,  Quaker,  controversialist  (flor.  1670). 

Ingoldsby,  Francis,  parliamentarian,  royalist,  Lenborough. 

Ingoldsby,  Henry,  parliamentarian  and  royalist,  Lenborough,  1622. 

Ingoldsby,  Sir  Richard,  only  regicide  who  had  a  free  pardon, 
Lenborough  (died  1685). 

Keach,  Benjamin,  Nonconformist,  Stoke-Hamond,  1640. 

Keach,  Elias,  Baptist,  divine  and  author  (died  1699). 

King,  Henry,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  poet,  versifier  of  Psalms, 
Wormenhall,  1591. 

King,  John,  Bishop  of  London,  Wormenhall,  1559. 

King,  John,  divine  and  author,  Wormenhall  (died  1639). 

King,  Philip,  suffering  divine,  Wormenhall  (died  1666). 

Ladyman,  Samuel,  Presbyterian,  divine,  author,  Dinton. 

Lathbury,  John  de,  eminent  theologian,  Lathbury  (flor.  1506). 

Lea,  John,  benefactor  to  St.  John's  College,  Oxford,  Quarendon 
(died  1610). 

Lee,  Cromwell,  lexicographer,  Burston  (died  1600). 

Lister,  Martin,  physician  and  naturalist,  about  1638. 

Lister,  Sir  Matthew,  physician  to  Charles  I.,  and  President  of  the 
College,  1565. 

Lovel,  Salathiel,  "  Obliviscor  of  London,"  recorder  and  judge, 
Lekhamstead. 

Lovett,  Richard,  electrician,  Chalfont  St.  Giles,  1692. 

Maccarnesse,  Samuel,  suffering  divine,  Stony-Stratford. 

Man,  Thomas,  martyred  1518,  Amersham. 

Martin, ,  antiquary,  friend  of  Fuller,  Newport  Pagnel. 

Matthew,  John,  the  first  bachelor  Lord  Mayor  of  London,  in  1491, 
Sherrtngton. 

Mauduit,  William,  rebel  baron,  Hanslape  (died  41  Hen.  III.). 

Mayne,  Simon,  regicide,  Denton,  1614. 


252  Buckinghamshire. 

Mead,  Matthew,  Nonconformist,  1629. 

Mentemore,  Michael  de,  Abbot  of  St.  Albans,  Mentemore  (died 


Montague,  Richard,  Bishop  of  Norwich,  Dorney,  1578. 

Morden,  James,  martyred  1521,  Chesham. 

Morell,  Thomas,  scholar,  author  of  "Thesaurus,"  Eton,  1703. 

Mountague,  Thomas,  Master  of  Eton  School,  Eton,  1615. 

Munday,  John,  goldsmith,  Lord  Mayor  1522,  High  Wycombe. 

Nicoll,  Richard,  divine  and  author,  Clifton  Reynes,  1732. 

Nicolls,  Ferdinando,  Nonconformist,  1598. 

Nichols,  William,  polemic  divine,  1664. 

Norman,  Joan,  martyred  1521,  Amersham. 

Odell,  Thomas,  dramatic  writer,  about  1700. 

Olney,  John,  founder  of  Weston  Church,  Weston  Underwood 
(died  1395). 

Osyth,  St.,  daughter  of  Fredeswald,  a  pagan  king,  Quarendon 
(beheaded  in  the  year  600). 

Oughtred,  William,  mathematician,  Eton,  1574. 

Owen,  Thankful,  Nonconformist,  Taplow  (died  1681). 

Pakington,  John,  suffering  loyalist,  Aylesbury  (died  1680). 

Parsons,  William,  chronologist  and  cypherer,  Langley  (flor.  1689). 

Passelewe,  Robert,  statesman,  Bishop  of  Chichester,  Drayton 
Passelewe  (died  1252). 

Penn,  Sibyl,  nurse  to  Edward  VI.,  Great  Hampden. 

Perrott,  John,  remarkable  swindler,  Newport  Pagnel,  1723. 

Pennington,  John,  admiral,  loyalist,  Chalfont  St.  Peter's  (died 
1646). 

Peters,  Richard,  ejected  divine,  Horton  (died  1557). 

Phillips,  Thomas,  biographer  of  Cardinal  Pole,  Ickford,  1708. 

Pickfat,  -  ,  author  of  a  Letter  of  Mason  the  Enthusiast,  1695. 

Randal,  John,  divine,  Great  Missenden  (flor.  temp.  Jac.  I.). 

Rave,  Robert,  martyred  1521,  Dorney. 

Revis,  John,  benefactor  to  Newport  Pagnel,  Newport  Pagnel. 

Rawlins,  Thomas,  witness  against  Charles  J.,  Hanslape. 

Raneson,  Joseph,  divine  and  author,  Aylesbury  (died  1719). 

Sandys,  Henry,  Lord  Sandys,  loyalist,  Latimers  (slain  1644). 

Scot,  Thomas,  draper,  Lord  Mayor  1447,  Dorney. 

Scot,  William,  soldier,  leveller,  and  demagogue,  Westrop. 

Serjeant,  William,  benefactor  to  King's  College,  Cambridge, 
Hitcham. 

Sharrock,  Robert,  miscellaneous  writer,  Adstock,  seventeenth 
century. 

Shaw,  George,  zoologist,  Bierton,  1751. 

Shoemaker,  Christopher,  martyred  1518,  Great  Messenden. 

Smith,  John,  divine,  benefactor  to  King's  College,  Cambridge, 
Eton,  1627. 


Biography.  253 

Smith,  Richard,  bibliomaniac,  Lillingston  Dayrell,  1590. 

Smith,  William,  Master  of  King's  College,  Cambridge,  Prince's 
Presborough  (died  1615). 

Smith,  William,  soldier,  loyalist,  Buckingham,  1616. 

Sparke,  William,  divine  and  author,  Bletchley,  1587. 

Stokes,  David,  ejected  divine,  Biblical  commentator,  Eton  (died 
1669). 

Stokes,  John,  Catholic,  orator,  Eton  (died  1559). 

Stokes,  John,  benefactor  to  Queen's  College,  Cambridge  (died 
1568). 

Stokes,  Matthew,  antiquary,  Eton,  1515. 

Symes,  Jane,  Jacobite,  Lathbury,  1705. 

Taverner,  Philip,  divine  and  controversialist,  High  Wycombe  (flor. 

1657). 

Temple,  Peter,  regicide,  author  of  "  Man's  Masterpiece,"  Stanton 
Barry. 

Temple,  Dame  Hester,  lived  to  see  seven  hundred  descendants, 
Latimers,  1569. 

Temple,  Purbeck,  parliamentarian,  Stanton  Barry  (died  1695). 

Temple,  William,  philosopher,  friend  of  Sydney  and  Essex,  Stowe, 

1554- 

Throckmorton,  John,  patron  of  Cowper,  author,  Weston  Under- 
wood (died  1819). 

Tillesworth,  William,  martyred  1518,  Amersham. 

Tyringham,  Anthony,  suffering  divine,  Tyringham  (died  1659). 

Tyringham,  Edward,  loyalist,  Tyringham  (slain  1642). 

Tyringham,  John,  commander  at  Wakerield  Green,  Tyringham 
(beheaded  1461). 

Tyrrell,  Thomas,  parliamentarian,  Judge  of  Common  Pleas, 
Thornton,  1594. 

Wagstaffe,  William,  physician,  humourist,  Cubbington,  1685. 

Ward,  Ann  Kemp,  a  child  of  extraordinary  abilities,  died  1816, 
Chicheley,  1812. 

Weedon,  Cavendish,  lawyer,  modellist,  Chelton. 

Wendover,  Richard  de,  Bishop  of  Rochester,  Wendover  (died 
1250). 

Wendover,  Rcger  de,  historiographer  to  Henry  III.,  Wendover. 

Weston,  Edward,  statesman,  author  of  Sermons,  1700. 

Weston,  Richard,  Earl  of  Portland,   statesman,  Chicheley  (died 

1635)- 

Whitehall,  Robert,  author,  Amersham  (died  1685). 

Wilkinson,  Edward,  rhetorician,  early  scholar,  Waddesdon,  1607. 

Wilkinson,  Henry,  Nonconformist,  Waddesdon,  1609. 

Windsor,  Sir  William,  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland,  temp.  Edward  III., 
Eradenham. 


254  Buckinghamsh  ire. 


Young,  John,  titular  Bishop  of  Calipoli  in  Greece,  Newton  Longue- 
ville  (died  1517). 

Young,  William,  historian  of  Athens,  1749. 

Young,  Edward,  Bishop  of  Dromore,  Eton  (died  1772). 

MISCELLANEOUS  REMARKS. 

Amersham  was  represented  in  Parliament  by  the  poet  Waller,  and 
the  patriot  Algernon  Sydney. 

Ankerwyke  was  the  seat  of  the  statesman  Sir  Thomas  Smith ; 
under  whose  roof  John  Taylor,  the  deprived  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  died 
in  1553.  Near  the  house  is  a  yew-tree,  which  at  6  feet  from  the 
ground  measures  30  feet  5  inches  in  girth. 

Aylesbury,  during  the  interregnum,  was  represented  in  Parliament 
by  the  two  regicides,  Scott  and  Mayne  ;  and  in  the  present  reign  by 
the  notorious  John  Wilkes. 

At  Beaconsfield  lie  the  remains  of  Waller  and  of  Burke. 

Bletchley  was  the  rectory,  and  Burnham  the  vicarage,  of  William 
Cole,  the  well-known  Cambridge  antiquary. 

Brightwell  Court  was  the  seat  of  Charles  Boyle,  Earl  of  Orrery, 
the  inventor  of  the  astronomical  machine  named  after  his  title,  and 
the  antagonist  of  Bentley,  who,  it  was  said,  had  rather  have  been 
roasted  than  Boyled. 

At  Buckingham,  March  15,  1725,  138  houses,  more  than  one- 
third  of  the  town,  and  property  to  the  amount  of  ^40,000,  was 
destroyed  by  fire. 

Bulstrode  was  built  in  1686,  for  his  own  residence,  by  the  in- 
human Lord  Chancellor  Jefferies. 

Burnham,  Desborough,  and  Stoke  are  the  three  •  Chiltern 
Hundreds. 

At  Chalfont  St.  Giles  Milton  finished  "  Paradise  Lost,"  and  at 
the  suggestion  of  Elwood,  a  Quaker,  began  "  Paradise  Regained." 

The  Chiltern  Hundreds,  a  range  of  chalk  hills,  principally  in  this 
county,  have  stewards  appointed  by  the  chancellor  of  the  exchequer 
with  a  salary  of  203.  and  all  fees.  By  accepting  this  nominal  office, 
a  member  vacates  his  seat  in  Parliament. 

Cleifden,  burnt  May  20,  1795,  was  tne  palace  of  Frederick,  Prince 
of  Wales,  father  of  his  majesty,  and  erected  by  the  witty  and  profligate 
Villiers,  second  Duke  of  Buckingham,  "  whose  character  is  described 
by  Dryden,  and  whose  death  by  Pope,  in  lines  never  to  be  forgotten. "> 

Ditton  was  the  seat  of  Sir  Ralph  Winwood,  author  of  "Memorials," 
and  secretary  to  James  I. 

Drayton  Beauchamp  was  the  rectory  of  "  the  judicious"  Hooker, 
author  of  "  Ecclesiastical  Polity." 

At  Edlesborough,  in  1675,  was  buried  Michael  Fenn,  aged  124; 
and  in  the  churchyard  is  a  monument  for  Thomas  Edwards,  author 


Miscellaneous  Remarks.  255 

of  "  Canons  of  Criticism,"  who  resided  at  Turrick,  in  this  parish, 
and  died  there  1757,  aged  58. 

At  Eton,  Bishops  Fleetwood  and  Pearson,  the  learned  John  Hales, 
Sir  Robert  Walpole,  Lord  Chancellor  Camden,  and  Cole  the  Cam- 
bridge antiquary,  were  foundation  scholars.  Oughtred  the  mathema- 
tician; Boyle,  the  philosopher;  Waller,  the  poet;  Pitt,  Earl  of  Chat- 
ham ;  Horace  Walpole,  Earl  of  Orford ;  Gray,  the  poet ;  Bryant,  the 
mythologist;  Archbishop  Cornwallis;  Charles  James  Fox;  Pratt, 
the  first  Earl  Camden ;  Nicholas  Hardinge,  clerk  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  and  his  son  George,  the  eminent  Welsh  judge,  were 
educated  here. — The  procession  of  the  scholars,  "  ad  montem,"  to 
collect  money  for  salt,  whence  the  place  has  acquired  the  name  of 
Salt  Hill,  appears  to  have  been  coeval  with  the  foundation  of  the 
college,  and  most  probably  was  the  same  as  the  ancient  customary 
procession  of  the  Bairn,  or  Boy-bishop. — In  the  chapel  were. en- 
tombed John  Longland,  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  confessor  to  Henry  VIII. ; 
Sir  Henry  Savile,  scholar ;  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  statesman  and  poet ; 
and  its  provost,  Francis  Rous,  speaker  of  Cromwell's  Little  Parlia- 
ment. In  the  cemetery  belonging  to  the  chapel  lie  the  remains  of 
the  ever-memorable  "  John  Hales." 

Farnham  Royal  was  the  burial-place  of  Dr.  Chandler,  Bishop  of 
Durham,  and  of  the  mythologist  Jacob  Bryant,  who  resided  at  Cip- 
penham  (where  he  was  frequently  visited  by  their  majesties,  the  king 
often  coming  alone  and  staying  several  hours  with  him)  and  died 
there  in  1804,  aged  89. 

Fawley  Court  was  the  seat  of  Sir  Bulstrode  Whitlock,  author  of 
"  Memorials,"  who  died  in  1675,  and  was  buried  in  Fawley  Church. 
In  Fenny  Stratford  Church  is  the  monument  of  the  antiquary 
Browne  Willis,  who  died  in  1760,  aged  78. 

Gregories  was  the  seat  of  the  statesman  and  orator  Edmund 
Burke,  who,  by  his  masterly  exposition  of  French  principles  in  all 
the  fulness  of  their  deformity  and  terrors  of  their  operation,  "  stood 
between  the  dead  and  the  living,"  and  "stayed  the  plague." 

Grendon  was  the  rectory  of  Samuel  Clarke,  author  of  "  Biblical 
Annotations  and  Concordance,"  who  was  ejected  by  the   Act   of 
Uniformity,  and  died  at  Wycombe  in  1701. 
Hall  Barns  was  the  seat  of  the  poet  Waller. 

In  Hambledon  Church  is  the  monument  of  Sir  Cope  D'Oyley  and 
his  wife,  with  a  quaint  poetical  epitaph,  most  probably  by  Quarles, 
who,  was  Lady  D'Oyley's  brother. 

Hampden  was  the  seat  and  burial-place  of  the  patriot  Hampden. 
Near  Hampden  House,  a  little  south  of  the  avenue,  was  the  land 
for  which  205.  ship  money  was  assessed  on  Hampden,  whose  resist- 
ance occasioned  the  memorable  trial.    He  died  June  24,  1643,  about 
three  weeks  after  the  battle  of  Chalgrove  Field, 

At  Hartwell,  in   1810,   died  her  most  Christian  majesty  Marie 


256  Buckinghamsh  ire. 


Josephine  Louise  de  Savoie,  consort  of  Louis  XVIII.  Hartwell  was 
finally  quitted  April  20, 1814,  by  Louis  XVIIL,  who  made  his  public 
entry  into  London  the  same  day. 

In  Hedsor  churchyard  is  the  monument  of  Nathaniel  Hooke, 
author  of  the  Roman  History,  who  died  in  1673. 

At  Hillesdon  is  the  tomb  of  Godfrey  Boate,  judge,  the  subject  of  a 
quibbling  elegy  by  Swift. 

At  Hitcham  was  buried  Dr.  John  Freind,  the  historian  of  physic, 
who  died  in  1728,  aged  52. 

In  Hitchendon  churchyard  is  the  monument  of  Joseph  Stennet, 
the  Sabbatarian  Baptist,  who  died  in  1713,  and  whose  portrait  was 
engraved  by  Vertue. 

At  Horton,  Milton  resided  with  his  father. 

Ickford  was  the  rectory  of  Calybute  Downing,  a  celebrated  divine 
of  the  seventeenth  century. 

Lathbury  was  the  donative  of  Dr.  Chelsum,  who  defended  Chris- 
tianity against  Gibbon. 

Middleton,  or  Milton  Keynes,  was  the  rectory,  from  1693  till  his 
death  in  1726,  of  Dr.  Wotton,  the  critic  and  antiquary,  whose  reflec- 
tions on  "Ancient  and  Modern  Learning  "were  written  here  in  1694. 

Newenton  Longueville  was  the  rectory  of  William  Grocyne,  tutor 
to  Erasmus,  and  the  first  Greek  professor  at  Oxford. 

Newton  Pagnel  in  1645  was  under  the  government  of  Sir  Samuel 
Luke,  the  original  of  Butler's  "  Hudibras."  In  the  churchyard  is  a 
poetical  epitaph  by  Cowper,  on  Thomas  Abbott  Hamilton,  who  died 
in  1788. 

In  Oakley  Church  were  buried  Admiral  John  Tyrrel,  who  died 
1692,  and  James  Tyrrel,  author  of  "  History  of  England,"  who  died 
in  1745. 

Olney  was  the  vicarage  of  Moses  Browne,  author  of  "  Piscatory 
Eclogues  ;"  and  for  many  years  the  residence  of  the  poet  Cowper, 
whence  he  removed  to  Weston  Underwood. 

In  Quainton  Church  is  the  monument  of  the  Orientalist  Richard 
Brett,  one  of  the  translators  of  the  Bible,  who  was  rector  from 
1595  till  his  death  in  1637. 

At  Ravenstone  is  a  splendid  monument  of  its  native  Heneage 
Finch,  Lord  Chancellor  Nottingham. 

At  Slough,  in  Dr.  Herschell's  garden,  stands  the  forty-feet  reflecting 
telescope  of  his  own  construction,  with  which  his  principal  discoveries 
were  made. 

Stoke  Golding  was  the  resilience  of  Lord  Chief  Justice  Coke, 'who 
died  there  September  3.  1634. 

Stoke  Poges  churchyard  is  the  scene  of  Gray's  "  Elegy,"  and 
his  burial-place  :  the  old  Manor  House  is  described  in  his  "  Long 
Story" — a  distant  prospect  of  Eton  is  the  theme  of  one  of  his  odes. 

Stow,  its  gardens,  and  Lord  Cobham,  its  illustrious  possessor,  are 
immortalized  in  the  verses  of  Pope. 


Miscellaneoits  Remarks.  257 

At  Stowe,  on  a  visit  in  1742,  died  Jam^s  Hammond,  the  amatory 
poet. 

Water  Stratford  was  the  rectory  of  the  religious  enthusiast  John 
Mason. 

Wendover  had  the  honour  of  returning  the  patriot  Hampden  in 
five  Parliaments. 

At  Weston,  near  Olney,  Co>vper  lived,  and  has  described  the  scenery 
in  his  poems. 

Wexham  was  the  rectory  of  William  Fleetwood,  from  1705  to 
1708,  when  he  was  made  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph :  he  published  his 
"  Chronicon  Pretiosum"  during  his  residence  here. 

Whaddon  was  the  seat  of  the  brave  Arthur  Lord  Grey,  who  in 
1568  was  visited  there  by  Queen  Elizabeth.  He  died  in  1593,  and 
was  buried  in  the  church.  His  secretary  Edmund  Spenser  is  said 
to  have  been  frequently  resident  with  him  at  this  seat,  and  to  have 
composed  parts  of  his  "Faerie  Queene"  under  a  great  oak  in  the 
garden. 

Whaddon  Chase  was  the  residence  of  Browne  Willis,  the  antiquary, 
the  subject  of  a  ludicrous  ballad  in  the  "  Oxford  Sausage." 

Winchendon  (Over)  was  the  seat  of  the  famous  Marquis  of 
Wharton,  and  the  still  more  famous  duke,  Colley  Gibber,  riding 
with  the  latter  in  his  coach  near  this  place,  where  the  soil  is  a  stiff 
clay,  and  the  roads  very  deep,  said,  "  Report  states  your  grace 
to  be  running  out  of  your  estates  :  you  will  never  run  out  of  this." 
The  mansion  was  pulled  down  in  1760. 

At  Wooburn  was  a  palace  of  the  Bishops  of  Lincoln.  In  it  died, 
in  1513,  William  Smith,  the  founder  of  Brazen-nose  College,  Oxford; 
in  1520,  Thomas  Atwater;  and  in  1547,  John  Longland,  confessor 
to  Henry  VIII. 

Wycombe  was  the  vicarage  of  Dr.  Gumble,  the  biographer  of 
Monk,  and  who  assisted  him  in  concerting  measures  for  the  Restora- 
tion. Among  its  representatives  in  Parliament  were  Edmund 
Waller  the  poet,  Sir  Edmund  Verney,  standard-bearer  to  Charles  I., 
who  was  slain  at  Edge-hill,  and  Thomas  Scot,  the  regicide.  In  the 
church  were  buried  Martin  Lluellin,  poet,  Principal  of  St.  Mary's 
Hall,  who  died  1681 ;  and  William  Henry  Fitz-maurice  Petty,  first 
Marquis  of  Lansdowne,  for  a  short  time  Prime  Minister  of  England, 
and  afterwards  a  leading  oppositionist,  who  died  in  1805. 

Notes  in  Buckinghamshire. 

[1849,  Part  /.,//.  4I-43-] 

Circumstances  caused  me  during  last  autumn  to  make  some 
observations  in  two  counties  after  a  lapse  of  near  upon  twenty  years, 
the  results  of  which  may  not  be  entirely  barren  of  temporary 
entertainment  to  a  certain  number  of  your  readers. 

VOL.  xn.  17 


258  Bvckinghamsh  ire. 


The  three  Brickhills  [see  post,  282-284]— 

"Three  Erickhills  all  of  a  row, 

Little  Brickhill,  and  Great  Brickhill,  and 
Brickhill  Bow  "- 

according  to  a  nursery  rhyme  of  the  neighbourhood  forty  years  since, 
have  some  features  of  interest  independent  of  the  not  usual  number 
of  three  places  of  the  same  name,  occupying  a  parallel  line  in  a  hilly 
quarter.  Little  Brickhill  was  "  their  ruler,"  having  been  the  assize 
town  of  Buckinghamshire  for  a  considerable  portion  of  the  seven- 
teenth century — a  fact  but  little  known  in  the  immediate  vicinity, 
and  scarcely  making  its  way  in  any  historical  allusions  respecting  this 
county ;  and  the  cause  is  still  more  unknown,  at  least  as  far  as  the 
writer  has  ever  been  able  to  gather  any  information  on  the  subject. 
It  must  be  supposed,  therefore,  to  be  dependent  on  its  having  bem 
situated  on  the  great  road  from  London  at  that  time — the  old 
Coventry  and  Shrewsbury.  Yet  then,  again,  it  stood  on  the  extreme 
limit  of  the  county,  only  three-fourths  of  a  mile  from  Bedfordshire, 
and  a  grievous  distance  from  several  other  parts.  Stony  or  even 
Fenny  Stratford,  further  on,  would  have  appeared  more  eligible. 

The  market  then  was  perhaps  in  existence  as  a  fair  (or  the  ghost 
of  one)  as  now ;  but  from  every  probable  indication  it  did  not 
then  contain  a  hundred  and  fifty  houses ;  it  now  has  not  a 
hundred,  forming,  however,  rather  a  town-like  street,  rising  up  a  hill 
crowned  by  the  church.  The  gaol  was  in  the  road  leading  to  Great 
Brickhill,  and  the  gallows  on  the  heath  leading  to  Woburn  ;  of  an 
assize  hall  I  do  not  know  that  any  trace  exists.  The  parish  register 
gives  the  number  of  forty-two  executed  criminals  in  a  smaller 
number  of  years ;  a  sad  record,  but  not  worse  than  thirty  or  twenty- 
five  years  ago,  when  hanging  for  the  offence  of  horse-stealing 
existed  here  and  in  Bedfordshire  to  a  shocking  degree.  Unless 
there  be  a  parallel  instance  at  Wilton,  I  do  not  know  another  such 
village,  a  quondam  assize  town  200  years  ago,  south  of  the  Tweed. 

The  railway  here  has  "  done  a  little  wrong  ";  some  folks,  as  in  other 
parts,  think  it  a  great  one.  The  "  occupation's  gone."  Twelve  inns, 
including  two  posting  ones,  and  the  celebrated  George,  are 
reduced  to  seven,  with  no  posting  unless  by  previous  advice;  and 
thirty-three  coaches  daily  to  none,  and  a  waggon  or  two,  now  looked 
upon  as  "  somethings." 

The  church  is  an  ordinary  sized  one,  and  never  could  have 
belonged  to  a  large  town.  It  has  two  aisles,  with  four  arches,  I 
believe  early  Gothic,  and  neat  octagonal  piers  ;  a  chancel,  rebuilt  in 
brick,  probably  about  200  years  ago;  and  a  small  south  chancel, 
called  the  "  lord's  aisle  ";  a  small  chapel  on  the  north  side  of  the 
nave  was  pulled  down  100  years  back.  The  tower,  at  the  west  end, 
is  rather  picturesque,  the  remainder  of  the  exterior  having  been 
neatly  modernized.  It  has  very  heavy  buttresses,  yet  is  scarcely 


Notes  in  Buckinghamshire.  259 

safe.  Four  bells  were  formerly  in  the  belfry,  of  which  one  has 
disappeared,  and  another  is  slightly  cracked,  with  a  little  or  "saint's" 
bell.  .  .  . 

The  Shire  Oak,  which  divides  the  counties,  is  a  small  tree,  but 
apparently  centuries  old,  and  likely  to  last  others. 

At  Bow  Brickhill,  the  hill  on  which  the  church  towers  is 
599  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  A  grove  of  firs,  which  relieved 
it  at  the  back,  has  been  unfortunately  cut  dowh.  This  church 
can  be  seen  in  many  directions,  including  below  Northampton 
about  thirty  miles  off;  when  the  Ordnance  survey  was  made 
some  years  ago  tents  were  pitched  in  the  churchyard ;  and  a 
large  gilt  globe  was  placed  on  the  tower  as  an  object  by  Mr.  Fairey, 
steward  to  the  Uuke  of  Bedford,  but  fell  into  decay.  Unless, 
however,  at  sun  rise  and  sef,  the  view,  which  includes  about  fifty 
churches,  is  not  striking.  The  church,  i.e.  the  old  part,  standing  in 
a  fair-sized  churchyard,  is  decent,  with  two  aisles,  a  small  chancel, 
and  a  tower.  A  popular  preacher  ten  years  ago,  who  attracted  a 
numerous  congregation  from  neighbouring  parishes,  had  a  new  aisle 
built,  in  the  neatest  style  of  ugliness  imaginable,  which  now  is  of 
little  use  to  the  quiet  population.  The  village,  sloping  down  the 
hill,  and  containing  with  the  parish  400  inhabitants,  has  little 
remarkable.  A  parochial  chapel  formerly  stood  in  the  green,  and 
the  church  was  empty,  only  being  used  for  occasional  services,  but 
was  refitted  in  the  time  of  the  celebrated  antiquary,  Browne  Willis. 

Great  Brickhill,  not  much  larger  than  the  other  two,  is  also 
commandingly  situated,  and  particularly  neat.  The  road  from 
Little  Brickhill  is  very  romantic,  and  a  place  for  "  gipsying."  The 
church  here  is  of  unusual  shape,  having  three  aisles,  without  a 
clerestory  or  transepts,  but  the  tower  in  the  centre,  and  the  aisles 
continued  half-way  along  the  chancel.  The  exterior  is  neat,  with 
substantial  battlements  ;  and  the  churchyard  very  pretty,  with  a  time- 
honoured  appearance.  In  the  tower  are  six  bells ;  tenor  nearly 
fifteen  hundred-weight,  the  most  harmonious  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  ;  and  a  sanctus  bell  of  superior  tone.  The  interior 
was  well  repaired,  pewed,  and  ornamented,  with  a  spacious  gallery, 
twenty  years  ago,  at  a  cost  of  ^1,200  by  P.  D.  P.  Duncombe,  Esq. 
lord  of  the  manor,  who  has  since  erected  a  village  school.  In  the 
south  aisle  are  two  handsome  mural  monuments.  Here  is  a  famous 
set  of  singers,  in  an  excellent  old  style ;  some  of  whom  have  been 
performers  for  fifty  years,  singing  psalms  and  anthems,  with  their 
instruments — clarionet,  bass  viol  (the  old  viol  de  gamba),  etc.,  and 
chanting  the  "  Benedictus,"  "  Magnificat,"  etc.,  quite  equal  to  an 
organ.  .  .  . 

Wavendon. — The  chancel  here  has  just  been  rebuilt,  through  the 
liberality  of  Mr.  Burney,  the  present  rector.  Mr.  Fisher,  the  late 
incumbent,  some  of  whose  poetical  works  have  been  reviewed  in 

17  —  2 


2  6o  Buckinghamsh  ire. 


your  miscellany,  sleeps  near  the  east  end,  externally.  "  No  stone 
marks  the  spot ;"  but  probably  his  family  or  friends  will  still  erect 
one.  Of  the  interior,  the  late  Sir  Henry  Hugh  Hoare  observed  that 
the  lofty  arches,  with  clustered  columns,  not  a  common  thing  in  this 
part  of  Bucks,  or  Beds  either,  were  "  the  best  he  had  ever  seen  in  a 
village."  He  purchased  many  of  the  wainscot  fittings  of  old  St. 
Dunstan's,  Fleet  Street ;  and  for  his  liberal  contributions  to  the 
rebuilding  they  presented  him  with  the  rich  inlaid  pulpit,  which  is 
accordingly  here.  Part  of  the  altar-piece  forms  a  screen  for  the 
tower,  and  the  remainder  will  be  placed  in  the  chancel.*  The 
tower  is  pretty  large  and  conspicuous,  and  contains  five  coarse-toned 
bells,  tenor  seventeen  hundred-weight. 

The  heath  in  this  parish  and  Bow  Brickhill— the  Wavendon 
portion  purchased  of  the  poor  for  100  tons  of  coals  yearly  by  the 
Duke  of  Bedford — commands  some  fine  prospects.  Service  is  now 
performed  in  a  schoolroom  at  Hogstye  End,  on  Woburn  Sands.  .  .  . 

Buckinghamshire  is  one  of  two  or  three  counties  only  in  England 
which  has  no  town  with  more  than  one  church,  i.e.  an  ancient 
parochial  one.  .  This  is  strange,  as  it  has  two  county  towns,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  others  of  old  rank  and  repute.  Bedford, 
with  five  churches,  formerly  seven ;  and  Huntingdon,  with  formerly 
fourteen,  and  still  four  parishes,  in  an  extremely  small  county,  are 
decided  contrasts.  Newport  Pagnell,  in  Bucks,  is  a  place  of 
considerable  business ;  and  Eton,  of  course,  has  its  particular 
celebrity,  and  advantages  of  vicinity.  Stony  Stratford,  alone  in  this 
county,  had  once  two  churches,  St.  Mary  Magdalen  and  St. 
Giles ;  but  one  of  them  was  demolished  in  the  last  century  (the 
parish  being  still  retained) ;  and  the  body  of  the  other,  which  had 
been  burnt,  was  rebuilt  to  some  considerable  size,  the  interior  neat 
and  light,  partly  resembling  Somers  Town  Chapel  near  the  New 
Road,  St.  Pancras.  This  neat  and  respectable  town,  consisting 
almost  entirely  of  one  street  of  a  mile  in  length,  with  2,000 
inhabitants,  was  much  dependent  on  the  old  North-Western  Road, 
which  had  passed  through  it  from  time  immemorial. 

The  churches  of  Buckinghamshire  are  quite  equal  to  the  average 
in  size,  neatness,  and  curiosity,  and  the  visitor's  eye  may  detect 
objects  of  interest  in  remote  and  secluded  localities.  The  spire, 
however,  is  a  rare  object  of  sight,  in  which  this  county  may  resemble 
Hertfordshire.  There  are  in  Bucks  only  four  spires  (of  stone — a 
folio  Geography  of  the  last  century  states  them  as  only  two), 
Buckingham,  Hanslape,  Olney,  and  another  ;  the  spire  of  the  old 
church  at  Buckingham  was  200  feet  high,  the  present  is  150  feet. 
Hanslape,  a  handsome  one,  with  flying  buttresses,  was  above 
200  feet  high.  It  was  burnt  down  by  lightning  in  June,  1804, 

*  Since  the  above  was  written  a  paragraph  has  appeared  in  the  Builder  stating 
that  Wavendon  Church  is  now  being  pulled  down  for  rebuilding. 


Notes  in  Buckinghamshire.  261 

and  is  now  only  150  feet  high;  but  being  built  on  high  ground  is 
far  conspicuous,  especially  beyond  Ridgmont,  Beds,  a  distance  about 
sixteen  miles  as  the  crow  flies. 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  D.  PARRY. 

[1849,  Part  1.,  pp.  156-158.] 

In  Bletchley  Church  [see/<w/,  281-282]  the  only  new  thing  of  interest 
is  a  barrel-organ,  of  decent  though  not  imposing  appearance.  The  fine 
works  of  Browne  Willis,  which  cost  ^1,500  in  the  aggregate,  are  still 
rich,  though  faded.  The  chancel  ceiling,  with  the  Twelve  Apostles 
and  the  Glory  at  the  end,  will  yield  to  none  of  its  immediate  class  in 
England;  the  chancel,  altar,  and  gallery  screens,  Ionic  and  Corinthian, 
and  pewing  of  excellent  wainscot,  may  see  centuries  yet :  the  careful 
marbled  painting  of  the  pillars  and  arches  is  in  surprising  preserva- 
tion. Of  the  pulpit  and  chancel  hangings  the  velvet  is  decidedly 
changed,  but  the  gold  fringe  is  as  fresh  as  yesterday  ;  thus  showing 
that  the  manufacture  then  was  much  better  than  now.  Browne 
Willis  recast,  and  probably  added  to  the  number  of  the  bells,  which 
amount  to  eight,  with  a  tenor  of  20  cwt.  of  pretty  good  tone ;  but 
the  chimes,  which  play  every  third  hour,  a  rare  concomitant  of  a 
country  village,  are  amongst  the  best  in  England.  The  tower,  which 
he  also  furnished  with  good  pinnacles,  is  not  unlike  the  handsome 
one  of  Crawley,  near  Woburn  ;  the  churchyard,  rather  too  small,  has 
an  avenue  of  yews,  of  which  the  writer  never  saw  another  instance  ; 
the  large  old  parsonage  has  been  handsomely  rebuilt  of  late  years. 

It  appears,  by  the  local  papers,  that  an  annual  dinner  is  held  in 
memory  of  Browne  Willis,  at  Fenny  Stratford. 

Fenny  Stratford,  in  this  parish  and  that  of  Simpson,  is  one  of  the 
smallest  market-towns  in  England  ;  population  about  a  thousand. 
The  market,  or  some  shadow  of  one,  and  fairs,  remain.  Here,  also, 
railway  travelling  has  made  a  sad  difference,  but  all  the  houses  of 
entertainment  remain,  though  with  diminished  receipts,  and  it  bears 
its  reverses  "like  a  gentleman."  Canal  traffic  still  exists,  and  may 
be  improving.  The  antiquary  and  picturesque  tourist  should  view 
a  magnificent  stack  of  chimneys  on  an  old  house  in  the  cross  street 
leading  to  Bletchley,  exactly  "  as  large  as  a  church  tower,"  and  re- 
sembling one  in  the  prospect  of  the  place.  Last  summer  the  chapel 
was  slightly  damaged  by  lightning,  which  injury  is  now  repairing; 
its  neat  brick  walls  and  tower  with  stone  mullions,  etc.,  are  good 
specimens  of  taste  130  years  ago.  Everything  which  Browne  Willis 
did,  whose  remains  are  interred  here,  was  munificent ;  the  wainscot- 
ing, altar-piece,  and  gallery  are  even  finer  than  at  Bletchley  :  the 
ceiling  is  painted  with  the  arms  of  benefactors,  panelled,  with  gilt 
borders.  The  beautiful  little  east  window,  which,  it  strikes  the 
writer,  might  be  by  Oliver,  like  that  at  North  Hill,  Beds,  might  laugh 
at  the  overloaded  tawdriness  lately  introduced  at  Westminster 


262  Buckinghamshire. 


Abbey.  The  bells  are  only  two,  but  excellent ;  and  the  tenor  has 
the  boldness  to  ring  the  curfew  in  this  little  place  at  eight  every 
evening. 

In  a  notice  of  Browne  Willis,  given  in  "  Chambers's  Journal,"  a 
few  years  back,  it  was  said  that,  although  by  his  large  expenses  he 
had  reduced  his  estate  from  ^2,000  per  annum  to  ^1,000,  he 
was  loo  high-minded  to  raise  the  rents  of  his  tenants.  The 
writer  has  heard  it  said  that  "  he  was  a  mere  antiquary — had  no 
feeling  of  religion,"  etc. — but  his  epitaph  here,  written  by  himself, 
looks  much  otherwise:  "O  Christe,  soter  et  judex,  huic,  peccatorum 
primo,  misericors  et  propitius  esto  !" 

On  the  north  wall  is  a  table  of  collections  made  in  neighbouring 
churches  in  both  counties  towards  the  erection.  Woburn  was  about 
£4  i os.  This  chapel  was  handsomely  enlarged  for  £600  or  ^700 
twenty-five  years  back. 

Simpson  Church,  one  mile  north  of  Fenny  Stratford,  as  Bletchley 
is  south-west,  is  of  singular  ichnography.  It  has  a  wide  nave  aisle, 
and  a  very  slender  tower,  barely  half  its  width,  but  rather  lofty  in 
the  centre ;  a  small  chancel,  and  two  small  transepts.  There  is  a 
similar  disposition,  but  with  a  full-width  tower,  at  Stoke  Hammond  ; 
also  at  Sundon  (Beds).  At  the  west  end  has  been  a  good  window, 
and  there  are  two  pretty  good  ones  on  the  south  side  ;  but  the 
interior,  which  has  no  gallery,  is  plain  to  absolute  meanness,  and 
would  be  much  benefited  by  any  little  liberality  in  neat  ornament. 

The  village  has  some  poor  cottages.  It  is  pre-eminently  "  fenny," 
as  the  low  strands,  and  rows  of  poplars  with  discoloured  stems, 
clearly  indicate.  A  bridge  is  now  very  properly  erected  over  the 
dangerous  "  ford,"  which  horses  sometimes  refused,  and  where  Mr. 
Sibthorpe,  a  respectable  farmer,  occupying  the  whole  of  the  small 
parish  of  Walton,  was  drowned  twenty-five  years  ago.  The  "  old 
river,"  running  through  here  to  Leighton,  I  am  informed,  loses  itself 
in  the  ground,  at  the  "  downfall,"  as  it  is  termed,  near  the  Dunstable 
Hills.  At  Fenny  Stratford,  before  the  entrance,  is  a  good,  lofty 
brick  bridge,  of  three  arches,  one  of  which  is  scarcely  filled  in 
general,  and  the  visitor  wonders  of  the  others,  as  we  read  of  the 
Manzanares  Bridge  at  Madrid,  "  how  the  plague  they  got  there !" 
But  he  might  have  seen,  in  October  last,  the  three  filled,  and  the 
waters  rising  6  feet  above  their  level,  over  a  neighbouring  meadow. 
They  "  soon  rise  and  soon  sink  "  in  this  quarter. 

Newton  Longueville,  also  I  believe  termed  "  Newton  in  the  Clay," 
two  miles  west-by-north  of  Bletchley,  by  a  dreary  road  passing  the  works 
of  the  intended  Oxford  railway,  has  a  singular  old  church,  the  in- 
terior of  which  is  little  known,  as  being  Norman  beyond  question. 
The  upper  moulding  of  the  arches  has  been  curved  so  as  to  resemble 
pointed  ;  but  the  arches  are  round,  with  zigzag  mouldings,  and  the 
columns,  or  some  of  them,  are  circular,  and  have  their  capitals  sup- 


Notes  in  Buckinghamshire.  263 

ported  by  corbeb,  at  (what  may  be  termed  for  this  occasion)  the 
corners  of  the  columns  ;  a  variety  seen  at  St.  Anne's,  Lewes,  Sussex, 
but  perhaps  in  few  other  places.  There  are  only  two  arches  on 
each  side  of  the  nave,  of  which  the  writer  has  only  observed  one 
other  instance,  at  Seaford,  which  is  mentioned  in  his  "  Coast  of 
Sussex  "  ;  there  is,  however,  a  north  chancel  here,  with  two  pointed 
arches,  as  at  Bletchley.  The  windows  are  all  "perpendicular,"  and 
neat;  the  tower  not  large  or  high,  but  containing  six  fair-toned  bells, 
recast  from  five;  tenor,  13^  cwt.  The  interior  is  decent;  the  pulpit- 
cloth  of  green  velvet,  a-  pleasing  variety,  and  the  king's  arms  in  an 
efficient  position  in  front  of  the  gallery.  The  singing  is  rather 
primitive,  in  parts,-  and  not  bad,  but  without  any  instruments. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  churchyard  is  a  mansion  apparently  of 
some  antiquity.  .  .  . 

Wing,  about  four  miles  from  Leighton  Buzzard,  has,  in  a  large  and 
fine  church,  one  of  the  largest  west  windows  in  a  tower  often  to  be 
seen.  The  writer  is  informed  that  it  has  in  addition  a  heavy  peal  of 
bells  for  a  village  ;  tenor,  30  cwt.  or  upwards. 

The  little  original  church  of  Linslade,  which  formerly  contained 
about  a  hundred  inhabitants  only,  has  some  handsome  fittings,  and 
stands  in  a  romantic  nook,  with  a  little  cliff,  wood  and  water.  At 
the  "  New  Town,"  by  the  Leighton  railway-station,  containing  about 
a  thousand  inhabitants,  a  new  church  is  building,  of  one  aisle ;  the 
tower,  as  often  now,  somewhat  foolishly  placed  on  the  north  side. 
It  is  of  brown  stone,  with  good  white  mullions,  etc.,  and  appeared 
to  the  writer  likely  to  turn  out  picturesque. 

Soulbury,.a  good  church  of  three  aisles,  but  with  little  remarkable. 
With  the  former,  this  belongs  to  branches  of  the  Lovat  family  (not 
of  the  northern  executed  politician). 

Walton,  of  one  aisle,  neat,  modernized.  Woughton  on  the  Green, 
respectable,  of  three  aisles.  Great  Woolston,  of  two.  Little  Wools- 
ton,  of  one  ;  one  of  the  poorest  and  smallest  in  the  county,  with  a 
wooden  steeple. 

Milton   Keynes,  or  Lower  Milton,  in  rather  an  aqueous  region, 
has  a  respectable  church,  with  a  spacious  nave  and  chancel,  and  the 
tower  (or  some  other  ancient  part  of  the  building)  on  the  north  side. 
Broughton,  one  aisle,  neat,  if  not  handsome. 
Willen,  very  small,  in  the  patronage  of  Westminster  School ;  the 
writer  was  informed  that  it  has  a  roof  of  mahogany,  but  possibly  this 
was  a  mistake  for  some  fine  kind  of  wainscot. 

Gayhurst,  beyond  Newport  Pagnell,  commonly  pronounced  Gee'rst; 
the  little  Grecian  church  adjoining  the  mansion,  engraved  by  Pen- 
nant, very  graceful  and  elegant. 

Lathbury  and  Haversham  (near  Hanslape),  two  churches  of  three 
aisles  each,  very  neat,  and  similar  in  appearance.  At  the  latter  the 
south  aisle  is  prolonged,  and  forms  a  chapel,  in  which  is  a  place  for 


264  Buckinghamshire. 


the  singers.  The  monument  here  of  Lady  Clinton,  engraved  by 
Lysons,  which  is  under  a  cusped  ogee  arch,  is  one  of  the  most  really 
elegant,  though  not  diffusely  adorntd,  of  its  class  in  England. 

Sherrington,  near  Newport,  has  three  aisles,  with  a  tower  in  the 
centre,  as  at  Great  Brickhill. 

Chicheley,  ditto,  is  built  on  the  plan  of  St.  Peter's,  Bedford ;  a 
nave  and  chancel,  with  a  large  tower  in  the  ct-ntre,  without  other 
buildings.  An  old  tale,  told  elsewhere  (as  at  Hasborn  Crawley,  in 
Beds),  of  a  capful  of  silver  crowns  being  thrown  into  a  bell  whilst 
the  process  of  casting  was  going  on,  is  said  to  have  been  actually 
verified  here  in  the  case  of  a  Squire  Chester,  at  the  mansion  just 
by,  who  rendered  this  handsome  service  to  the  tenor  of  six ;  and  is 
further  reported  to  have  had  a  silken  rope  made  for  himself  to  ring 
with.  .  .  . 

The  writer  is  told  by  a  West-countryman  that  there  is  a  similar  case 
at  Plympton,  Devon,  of  no  great  weight,  but  beautiful  tone,  the  tenor 
bearing  this  inscription,  conimemorative  of  some  lady  who  treasured 
up  silver  for  this  purpose,  about,  as  he  believes,  the  reign  of 
William  III.  : 

"The  reason  why  I  ring  so  loud, 
It  is  my  Lady  Catherine  Stroud." 

Lastly,  here,  North  Crawley,  about  four  miles  south-east  of  New- 
port, has  a  spacious  and  fine  church,  of  stately  appearance;  the 
clerestory,  which  is  lofty,  is  parti  cularly  fine ;  the  columns  of  the 
arches,  however,  five  on  each  side,  being  different,  rather  detract 
from  the  effect.  It  was  well  repaired,  at  ^boo  expense,  by  the 
parishioners  twenty-five  years  ago.  Its  chancel,  also,  is  large,  and 
has  a  curious  and  lofty  screen,  with  heads  painted  on  it,  at  the 
entrance.  The  tower  is  lofty  and  elegant,  with  double  belfry  windows 
and  a  leaded  spire,  and  has  a  commanding  aspect,  being  also  situated 
on  ground  above  the  surrounding  levels.  It  contains  five  sweet- 
toned  bells  ;  tenor,  about  16  cwt. 

The  chancel,  dedicated  with  the  church,  and  a  salubrious  well  in 
the  churchyard  to  St.  Firmin,  was  rebuilt  in  the  fifteenth  century  by 
a  priest  named  Peter,  and  bears  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Petrus  cancellnm  tibi  dat,  Firmine,  novtllum. 
Ut,  quum  lauderis,  Deo,  Petri,  memoreris. 

Thus  Englished  (for  the  first  time): 

"  Peter,  O  Firmin,  gives  thee  free 

A  chanctl  new  ami  trim, 
So,  when  thou'rt  praised,  tliou'lt  mindfu    he 
To  pray  to  God  for  him." 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  D.  PARRY. 


Notes  in  Buckinghamshire.  265 

[1796,  Part  //.,//.  840-843] 

Aston  Clinton,  a  small  village  in  Buckinghamshire,  seven  miles 
from  Great  Berkhamstead,  and  four  from  Aylesbury,  in  the  most 
pleasant  vale  of  Aylesbury. 

The  church  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel  of  one  pace.  The  nave 
rests  on  four  arches,  and  two  of  the  pillars  opposite  to  each  other 
are  round;  and  over  the  interstices  are  very  small  clerestory 
windows.  The  nave  has  a  south  aisle  and  porch,  on  the  west  side  of 
which  last  is  a  door  with  a  flat  point.  The  arch  of  this  porch  rests 
on  two  monks'  heads,  and  is  adorned  with  lambs  and  other  beasts, 
and  roses.  The  nave  has  also  a  north  aisle,  whose  windows  have 
b^en  modernized,  but  not  the  door.  The  tower  is  embattled,  and 
secured  by  very  heavy  spreading  buttresses  at  the  angles. 

In  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel  are  three  stalls,  or  stone  seats,  or 
semicircular  recesses,  on  the  same  level  above  and  below  ;  two  of 
them  under  a  window ;  and  the  other  adorned  with  a  bouquet,  point, 
and  finials,  close  to  the  south  door.  See  Plate  II.,  Fig.  i. 

In  the  north  wall,  opposite  to  these,  is  a  small  niche  (Fig.  2)  with 
a  flowered  arch,  bouquet  point,  and  on  the  top  of  the  pillars  two 
figures,  that  on  the  west  broken,  on  the  east  a  female.  On  each  side 
ot  the  pillars  is  a  very  narrow  slit.  Whether  this  be  the  remains  of  a 
holy  sepulchre  must  be  left  to  the  determination  of  better  judges. 

In  the  chancel  are  memorials  of : 

Thomas  Walker,*  S.T.B.,  rector,  fellow  of  Sidney  College, 
Cambridge,  who  died  November  14,  1716,  aged  59. 

William  Gerrard,  of  Christ  Church,  Oxford,  died  June  19,  1706 
aged  63!. 

Peter  Waldo,  J  S.T.P.,  son  of  Daniel  Waldo,  of  Harrow,  Esq., 
rector  thirty  years,  married  Emma,  daughter  of  Theophilus  Leigh,  of 
Addlesthorp,  Gloucestershire,  died  June  25,  1745,  aged  74. 

The  font  is  marble,  inscribed ; 

"  H.  Grange  dedit  1682." 

In  the  church  of  Aylesbury  is  a  mural  monument  to  Dorothy, 
daughter  of  Lord  Paget,  and  her  husband,  Sir  Henry  Lee.  Qu.,  If 
daughter  of  William  Lord  Paget,  who  is  said  by  Dugdale  (ii.  391) 
and  Collins  (vii.  n)  to  have  been  married  to  Sir  Thomas  Willough by, 
and  her  elder  sister,  Anne,  to  Sir  Henry  Lee? 

Hardwick,  four  miles  from  Aylesbury,  has  a  church  of  one  pace, 
with  a  south  porch  of  stone,  flat  leaded  roof,  and  a  south  aisle,  in 
which  is  a  piscina,  stopped  up.  The  nave  rests  on  five  pointed 
arches  on  clustered  columns,  and  clerestories  above.  The  whole  is 

*  Among  the  Cambridge  graduates  I  find  Thomas  Walker,  of  Sidney,  A.B. 
1677,  A.M.  1681,  S.T.B.  1688. 

t  William  Gerard,  of  Christ  Church,  A.M.  1688.     Ox.  Grad. 

J  Peter  Waldo,  of  Wadham  College,  A.M.  1675  ;  of  All  Soul's  B.  and  D. 
1720.  Ib. 


266  Buckinghamshire. 


neatly  paved ;  and  over  the  north  door  of  the  chancel,  under  the 
roof,  the  date  1613. 

In  the  chancel,  a  mural  monument  for  : 

"  Sir  ROBERT  LEE,  son  and  heir  of  Benedict  Lee,  of  Hurcot,  Bucks,  second 
brother  to  Sir  Robert,  of  Burston.  He  was  born  1545,  died  at  Stratford  Lang- 
thorn,  in  Essex,  was  buried  at  Hardwick,  1616,  and  married  Lucie,  daughter  of 
Thomas  Pyggot,  of  Beauchamp,  Bucks." 

"  THOMAS  WOOD,*  LL.D.,  rector,  commissary  and  official  of  this  archdeaconry,+ 
formerly  barrister  of  Gray's-inn,  died  1722,  aged  61  ;  married  Joan,  daughter  of 
Hugh  Barker,  esq.,  of  Great  Horwood.  She  died  1733,  aged  55." 

"  JAMES  FUSSEL,J  A.M.,  22  years  rector,  died  1760,  aged  60." 

"M.  S. 
GEORGII  BRIDLE,  A.M. 

Novi  coll.  Ox.  socii, 
propter  literarum  optimam  peritiam 

et  castam  morum  integritatern 
Wiccami  cognatione  et  munificentia 

vere  digni ; 

cujus  sub  aedibus  prope  a  cunis 

enutritus,  auctus,  consummatus  erat, 

et  post  paucorum  annorum  disciplinam 

Wintonii  inchoatam  Oxonii  perfectam 

ob  promptam  eruditionem 
et  praecipuam  indolis  suavitatem 

juventuti  informandae 

juvenis  designatus  erat : 

hinc  muneri  utcunque  importune 

in  gymnasio  Bedfordiensi 

per  34  annorum  spatium 

usque  ad  extremam  vitse  horam 

strenue  et  feliciter  invigilavit, 

puerorum  sicut  omnium  queiscunque 

eximise  animae  dotes  cordisque  mansuetudo  enotuere 

deliciae  et  dolor. 

Fratri  dilectissimo,  virtutibusque 

quas  novi,  quas  amavi,  quas  eheu  perdidi 

hoc  desiderii  nostri  monumentum 

cum  lacrymis  pono  J.  B. 

Decessit  1 1  die  mensis  Augusti, 

a°  salutis  n'rae  1773, 

setatis  suae  58. 

Juxa  reliquias  fratris  suas  condi  voluit 

Johannes  Bridle,  S.  T.  P.  hujusce  eccleslse 

per  52  annos  rector  pius,  vigilans,  eruditus  ; 

amplissime  bona  ad  varias  benignitates 

erogavit  vivens,  legavit  moriens  : 
quot  et  quantse  fuerint  enuroerari  venint 

loquentur  posteri. 

Obiit  7  die  Jan.  setatis  suae  86, 

A.D.  1792. 

C.  T.  Patten  fecit,  Bristol." 

*  He  was  of  New  College,  Oxford,  B.C.L.  1687,  D.C.L.  1703. 

+  Buckingham. 

J  He  was  of  New  College,  Oxford,  A.M.  1726. 


Notes  in  Buckinghamshire.  267 

Arms  :  Az.  on  a  bend  cotised  A.,  three  stars  A. 
Crest :  A  hand  Sa.  holding  a  scythe  O. 

"JOHN  DUMMER.*  rector  15  years,  died  1694,  aged  73." 
"  RICHARD  HARRIS,!  A.M.  49  years  rector,  died  1713,  aged  76." 
"RICHARD  HARRIS.J  of  Leighton  Buzzard,  son  of  Richard  Harris,  of  North- 
ampton, clerk,  died  1704,  aged  29." 

One  of  the  two  churchwardens,  whose  names  are  inscribed  on  the 
gallery,  is  John  Bonneycastle,  1767.  .  .  . 

Whitchurch,§  five  miles  from  Aylesbury,  five  from  Winslow.  The 
church  is  neat,  consisting  of  a  nave  and  chancel,  with  two  aisles  to 
the  former,  a  south  porch,  and  an  embattled  tower  at  the  west  end, 
on  each  side  of  the  window  of  which  is  a  handsome  niche  for  a 
statue,  one  on  the  middle  bar  and  one  ^bove.  The  four  arches 
of  the  nave  are  pointed,  on  octagon  pillars.  Three  broad  steps 
lead  to  the  altar ;  and  in  the  south  wall,  within  the  rails,  is  a  double 
piscina,  and  under  a  large  plain  arch  two  steps,  probably  serving  as 
stalls  or  seats  (see  Fig.  3). 

On  the  east  face  of  the  partition  of  the  chancel,  or  bottom  of  the 
old  screen,  at  the  back  of  a  seat,  is  this  inscription,  cut  in  low  relief, 
and  polished  by  being  sat  against : 

®rat*  pro  bono  stain  magisiri  glob«rti  $3.otol  or  flotoi, 
the  last  letter  or  letters  being  hid  by  the  elbow,  and  the  three  first 
words  chipped  out,  but  not  so  completely  as  not  to  be  yet  read. 
Imperfect  traces  of  other  words  remain  about  the  same. 

At  the  east  ends  of  the  seats  are  fleurs-de-lis,  and  on  them  shields 
with  a  pastoral  staff  over  the  initials  "  R.  H.,"  and  over  these  letters 
two  stars,  a  plain  scroll  below  the  shield,  and  at  the  back  a  shield 
with  a  single  star  (Fig.  4).  These  may  be  the  initials  and  arms  of 
Richard  Hobbs,  last  abbot  of  Woburn,  to  which  abbey  this  church 
and  vicarage,  now  in  the  crown,  belonged.  He  was  a  great  bene- 
factor to  the  town  of  Woburn,  where  he  built  the  church  ;  and  his 
initials  are  to  be  seen  on  the  cupola  on  the  top  of  its  tower.  He 
was  attainted  of  high  treason  for  denying  the  king's  supremacy,  and 
hanged  at  Woburn  a  little  before  the  Dissolution.|| 

In  a  pillar  of  the  south  arch  of  the  nave  is  a  small  niche  ;  and  in 
an  angle  of  the  opposite  arch  the  ascent  to  the  rood-loft.  In  the 

*  He  was  of  New  College,  where  he  took  the  degree  of  A.M.  1734,  B.D.  1753, 
D.D.  1758.  (See  Gent.  Mag.,  vol.  Ixii.  580.) 

f  He  was  A.M.  of  New  College,  1660. 

+  I  find  no  person  of  these  names  at  New  College  before  1737,  when  Richard 
Harris  took  the  degree  of  A.M.  there. 

§  In  the  Topographer,  vol.  iii.,  p.  297,  are  a  few  notes  taken  in  this  church, 
which  do  not  interfere  with  the  present,  except  in  supposing  that  "under  the  two 
arches  in  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel  (Fig.  3)  were  deposited  Hugh  and  Walter 
de  Bolbec,  two  brothers,  successively  lords  of  this  manor  after  the  reign  of 
Richard  I. 

II  Willis's  "Mitr.  Ab.,"  ii.  4. 


268  Buckinghamshire. 

south  wall  of  the  east  end  of  the  south  aisle,  a  pointed  niche  and  a 
square  recess  communicating  with  each  other. 

Winslow  is  a  small,  neat  market-town,  nine  miles  from  Aylesbury. 
The  approach  to  it  is  by  an  avenue  of  elm-trees;  and  at  the  entrance 
of  the  town  stands  a  handsome,  spacious,  modern  house,  belonging 
to  Mr.  Selby,  of  Whaddon  Chase,  with  a  good  view  in  front  of  it. 

The  church  is  of  one  pace,  with  a  north  and  south  aisle,  embattled 
tower,  and  south  porch  with  a  rich  niche  over  its  point.  The  nave 
rests  on  three  pointed  arches  on  octagon  pillars.  In  the  east  window, 
A.  frette  az.  on  a  dexter  canton  G.,  a  muzzled  bear's  head,  which  is 
the  crest  ;  under  it,  A.D.  1700.  Achievements  for  the  Selby  family. 
The  lady  of  William  Lowndes  S.  daughter  of  Mr.  Goosetree,  of 
Missenden,  died  March  22,  1786:  A.  a  chevron  between  three 
squirrels  gules.  Another  for  the  late  Mr.  Selby,  impaling,  G. 
6  escallops  O.  In  the  middle  aisle,  a  slab  for  Robert  Lowndes, 
1683. 

Padbury,  five  miles  from  Winslow,  two  from  Buckingham.  The 
principal  things  remarkable  in  the  church  here  are  three  coats  of 
arms  in  plaster  on  the  south  front,  three  fleurs-de-lis  quartering  a 
saltire.  In  the  south  porch  a  mural  tablet  to  : 

"JAMES  AYRE,  21  years  vicar  of  this  church,  and  rector  of  Plumpton,  co. 
Northampton,  died  Aug.  9,  1785,  aged  50,  and  was  interred  in  this  porch  by  his 
own  desire." 

His  brother  succeeded  him  in  this  vicarage,  which  is  in  the  gift  of 
the  crown.  The  west  tower  has  an  innumerable  number  of  bands 
or  fascias,  and  slopes  upwards  above  the  last  to  the  battlements. 

In  the  south  wall,  within  the  rails,  a  piscina,  a  square  locker,  and, 
between  them,  higher  up,  a  longer  locker. 

In  the  east  wall  of  the  north  aisle,  a  piscina. 

In  the  north  wall  of  the  same  aisle,  a  pointed  arch,  as  of  a  tomb. 

In  the  south  wall  of  the  south  aisle,  the  piscina  with  nail-head, 
quatrefoils,  and  the  locker  (Fig.  5). 

Turweston,  a  small  village  in  Buckinghamshire,  about  one  mile 
east  from  Brackley.  The  church  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel  of 
one  pace.  The  nave  rests  on  one  pointed  and  three  round  arches. 
By  the  pulpit  are  three  small  brass  figures  of  a  man  in  a  gown,  and 
two  wives  ;  that  on  his  right  hand  in  flowing  hair,  that  on  the  left  in 
the  veil  head-dress,  and  underneath  this  inscription  : 


(Drat*  p'  a'i'abbs  ^Lhome  ©triw  Johanne  •&  dHaigaret  uxxjr,  «u'  xjucrum 
a'i'abus  p'picittur  ^cns. 


In  the  north  wall  of  the  chancel  a  flowered  arch  ;  and  before  it,  on 
the  floor,  a  very  fine  brass  priest,  but  the  ledge  round  him  gone. 

Against  the  south  wall  of  the  chancel,  over  a  piscina,  a  mural 
tablet  to  Simon  Heynes,  Esq.,  who  died  April  10,  1628. 

Yours,  etc.,  P. 


Notes  in  Buckinghamshire.  269 

[1820,  Part  //.,/.  326.] 

In  the  "  Beauties  of  England  and  Wales,"  vol.  i.,  p.  342,  I 
observed  the  following  : 

"According  to  the  tradition  which  accompanies  the  quaint  distich : 

'Tring,  Wing,  and  Tvinghoe,  did  go, 
For  striking  the  Black  Prince  a  blow.' 

Those  places  were  formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  Hampden  family, 
but  what  degree  of  credit  is  to  be  attached  to  these  lines  we  know 
not ;  for  the  particulars  of  the  circumstance  to  which  they  relate 
have  eluded  our  inquiries. 

Tradition  says  that  Edward  III.  and  his  son,  the  Black  Prince, 
once  honoured  Lord  Hampden  with  a  visit  at  his  seat  at  Great 
Hampden,  now  Wendover,  in  Bucks,  for  many  generations  the  pro- 
perty of  this  ancient  family ;  and  that  whilst  the  prince  and  his 
host  were  exercising  themselves  in  feats  of  arms,  a  quarrel  rose 
between,  them,  in  which  Lord  Hampden  gave  the  prince  a  blow  on 
the  face  ;  the  king,  in  consequence  of  this  outrage,  quitted  the  place 
in  great  wrath,  and  punished  Lord  Hampden's  misbehaviour  by 
seizing  on  some  of  his  most  valuable  manors,  which  gave  rise  to  the 
following  impromptu  by  some  of  the  court  wits  : 

"  Tring,  Wing,  and  Ivinghoe, 
Hampden  did  forego, 
For  striking  of  a  blow, 
And  glad  he  did  escape  so." 

Mr.  Lysons,  however,  in  his  "  Magna  Britannia,"  adds  : 
"  This  tradition,  like  many  other  of  a  like  nature,  will  not  bear  the 
test  of  examination  ;  for  it  appears  by  record  that  neither  the  manors 
of  Tring,  Wing,  or  Ivinghoe  ever  were  in  the  Hampden  family." 

Yours,  etc.,  W.  S. 

Agmondesham. 

[1797,  Part  II.,  fp.  569-573.] 

The  church  of  Agmondesham  (Amersham)  has  been  rebuilt,  by 
some  of  the  Drake  family,  on  the  old  foundations,  and  consists  of  a 
nave,  with  two  aisles,  two  transepts,  and  a  south  porch,  a  chancel 
with  a  north  chapel  (the  burying-place  of  the  family),  a  vestry,  and 
an  embattled  square  tower  with  a  hexagon  one  on  the  side. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  chancel,  within  the  rails,  is  a  marble 
monument  with  a  half-figure  of  a  man  in  a  gown  and  wig,  lifting  up 
the  left  hand,  the  right  on  his  breast ;  and  this  inscription : 

"  Gulielmus  Drake,  eq.  &  haronettus,  Francisci  Drake  ex  Joanna  conjuge  filius, 
natu  maximus  avi  materna  ex  asse  haeres  amplissimo  fundo  &  grandi  pecunia 

locupletatus 

qua  patre  quo  se  sere  alieno  liberaret  liberaliter  sublevabat, 
gratus,  pius,  nee  in  fratrem 

minus  benignus  cui  paterna  res  ex  testamento  cesserat ;  sedem  Xti  Ox.  quam 
tirocinio  juvenis 


2  7O  Buckinghamshire. 


ornaverat  multis  post  annis   grata  munificentia  prosecutus  est,  senex  studior' 

cultor'  &  sautor* 
libros  optimae  monetse  undiq.  conquisivit,  Latinos  praesertim  scriptores  eos  puta 

qui  genuinam 
sapientiam,  qui  sinceram  prudentiam  edocerent  hos  in  deliciis  habuit,  ex  his 

documenta  vitre  hausit, 
horum  assidue  dum  per  oculos  licebat  lector,  deficiente  oculor'  acie  quod  diu 

ante  mortem 
contigit  anagnosta  quern  ad  ib  alebat  prselegente  auditor  sapere  didicit  &  fari, 

sibi  consulere  & 
reipublicse,  neq.  eum  amoenitates  consecrandi  gratia,  nee  quo  tempora  niquissima 

ilia  falleret, 
solum  studiis  sese  abdidit :  erant  alia  majora :  bonus  audebat  esse  temporibus 

malis  :  quippe 
Deo  se  pium,  regi  fidum,  ecclesise  obsequentem,  quum  hsec  ipsa  criminis  loco 

essent  constantius 
(uti  virum  fortem  decuit)  non  sine  aliquo  discrimine  praestat.     Impios  rebellum 

conatus  ex 
pietate  odit,  ex  prudentia  contempsit,  ex  utraq.  incolumis  evasit ;  laqueos  con- 

scientire  injectos 
domi  prudens  elusit,  peregre  vitavit  absens  ;  opes  avitas  his  artibus  non  servabat 

modo  sed 
&  adauxit  cautus  rer'  fuar'  administrator  &  tamen  Justus  erga  omnes,  beneficus 

cuiq. 

bono,  in  suo  qua  vivus  qua  moriens  perqu'  liberalis,  universse  vitse  munia  strenue 
implevit.     Ad  hsec  peregrinatio,  literatum  otium,  &  coelebs  vita  insigne 
adjumentum  prsebuerunt.     Nimirum  bene  latebat  ut  bene  viveret.     Nee  tune 

tamen  loco 
deerat  dum  latuit,  dum  abfuit  :  aluit  interea  familiam,  juvit  viciniam  £  pau- 

peribus, 

cum  in  vita  turn  in  morte,  avi  scil.  exemplum  secutus  multum  profuit. 
Quid  multa  :  vir  ab  omni  parte  desideratus  tandem  63  a-tatis  anno 
migravit  ad  superna.     Tu  lector  tEternitatem  cogita. 
Joanna  Gul.  Totehill,  ex  Catharina  conjuge  filia  Franc0  Drake,  armigero, 
(ex  antiqua  Dracor'  prosapia  de  pago  haud  ignobili  cui  nomen  Ash 
in  agro  Devon,  oriundo)  in  matrimonio  tradita,  fcemina,  si  qua 
unquam  extitit,  prseclarse  indolis,  humanitate  haud  vulgari,  eximiisque 
qua  naturse  qua  gratis  dotibus,  pietatis  cultu  tantum  prsecellens  ut  libro 
etiam  ab  idoneo  auctore  non  magis  quam  teste  conscripto  vita  ejus 
inclarescerat,  &  ex  vita  itidem  liber  claritatem  quam  dabat  acceperat. 
Verbo  dicam,  vita  pariter  &  morte  sancte  defuncla  est,  in  coelis  versata 
dum  diem  in  terris  ageret  :  40  annor'  agens  obiit,  variumq  ;  parentem 
maritum  duosq  ;  filios  atq  :  unicam  filiam  superstites  reliquit,  relicto 
simul  exemplo  quo  et  vivere  discerent  &  discerent  mori. 

M.  S. 

Gulm  Totehill,  arm',  apud  Devonienses  honesto  loco  natus  antiquis  majoribus 
&  moribus, 

academicis  primo  studiis  imbutus  mox  jurisprudent^  nomen  dedit,  cuius  ad- 
mod  urn 

peritus  evasit,  &  in  ilia  paloestra  se  exercuit  donee  unus  e  6  clericis  cancellarke 
(quos 

vocant)  crearetur.  Vir  singular!  prudentia,  eximia  pietate  &  charitate  in 
pauperes 

spectabilis  :  inter  alia  apostolic!  praecepti  memor  (qui  non  lahorat  nee  manducat) 

egenis  suppeditabat  materiam  industriae  ut  haberent  unde  proprio  non  minus 
labore 


Agmondesham.  271 


quam  aliena  largitione  victitarent  &  omnis  ignavise  prtEcideretur  occasio.     In 

qua  re  etia' 

raroseculi  exemplo  largos  sumptus  moriens  legavit  ;  69  setatis  anno  fato  cessit 
Catharina  hujusce  Gulielmi  consors  Joh'is  Denham,  eq.  aur.  qui  &  e  regii  scac- 

carii  baronibus 
unus  extiterat,  soror,  mulier,  supra  quam  clici  posset   sancta  &  Celebris  cum 

animo  turn  vita 
seu  mores  sive  pietatem  species  omnigenis  virtutibus  instructa,  oeconomia  cum 

primis 
prudentia   insignis,  fceminse  vere  Xtianae,  proboe,  conjugis  matris  pientissimse 

atq  ;  optima?, 
matris  familias    muneribus   per    omnem  vitam  cum    laude   functa  tandem  60° 

setat  anno  vitam  cum  morte  commutavit." 

On  the  south  side  of  the  chancel  : 

Over  a  black  marble  cenotaph,  medallions  of  a  man  and  woman, 
under  a  pediment  and  four  pillars,  and  at  top  two  boys  : 

"MoUNTAGUE  DRAKE,  esq.,  son  of  Sir  William  Drake  of  Shardelows,  knt. 
by  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  William  Mountague,  lord  chief  baron  of  the  Exchequer, 

a  man  of  probity  and  honour,  eminent  in  all  the  private  virtues  of  life. 
He  served  in  parliament  for  this  borough  with  reputation  to  himself  and  to 

those  whom  he  represented. 

He  married  Jane,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Garrard,  of  Lamer,  in  Herts, 
bart.,  by  Catharine,  daughter  of  Sir  John  Enyon,  of  Northamptonshire,  bart. 
who  survived  her  husband  26  years. 
He  died  June  23,  1698,  aged  25  years. 
She  died  April  I,  1724,  aged  49, 

and  left  two  children  ;  Mary,  married  to  Redmond  Everard,  bart. 
and  Mountague  Garrard  Drake,  of  Shardlows,  esq.,  who  erected  this  monument. 

Arms  :  Drake,  impaling  on  a  fess  S.  a  lion  passant  A. 

On  the  south  side,  without  the  rails,  under  a  whole-length  figure 
of  a  man  treading  on  a  globe,  inscription,  w  TO.  %a1u,  leaning  on 
another  inscribed,  ra  ava  (ppovsu.  On  an  urn,  "  Resurgam." 

"  The  depositum  of  Henry  Curwen,  esq.,  only  son  of  Sir  Patricius 
Curwen,  of  Workington,  bart.,  and  Lady  Isabella,  one  of  the  daugh- 
ters and  coheirs  of  Sir  George  Selby,  of  Whitehouse,  in  Durham,  kt., 
descended  from  the  noble  family  of  Gospatricks,  earl  of  Northum- 
berland, and  of  his  house  23d  in  lineal  descent  since  the  Conquest, 
who  was  sent  hither  to  be  instructed  in  learning  under  the  tuition  of 
Charles  Croke,  D.D.,  rector  of  this  parish,  and  died  set.  14,  21  Aug., 
1636." 

A.  a  fret  G.,  a  chief  az.,  with  a  label  of  5  points.    Crest,  a  unicorn. 

The  communion-table  is  of  wood,  with  Etruscan  feet  and  border. 

Against  the  north  wail  of  the  chapel,  a  marble  monument,  with  a 
figure  of  a  man  sitting  on  a  mattress,  his  right  hand  on  his  breast, 
his  left  arm  reclined  on  a  cushion.  His  wife  sits  at  his  feet,  reclin- 
ing on  her  left  elbow,  and  resting  her  right  hand  on  an  open  book,  a 
boy  extinguishing  a  torch,  and  holding  a  medallion  of  a  boy's  head. 
P.  Scheemakersyra/. 


272  Buckinghamshire. 


MOUNTAGUE  GARRARD  DRAKE,  of  Shardeloes,  esq.,  who  died  in  the  35th  year 

of  his  age,  April  26,  1728. 
He  was  descended  of  an  antient  and  honourable  family,  from  whom  he  derived 

many  conspicuous  advantages  as  well  as  large  possessions  ; 

but  he  was  in  himself  a  gentleman 
of  fine  and  distinguished  accomplishments, 

of  great  and  exemplary  virtues, 
of  a  nature  sincere,  noble  and  disinterested. 

So  qualified,  he  some  time  represented 
this  county  and  this  borough  in  parliament, 
where  he  executed  the  trust  reposed  in  him 

with  honour,  justice,  and  fidelity  ; 

with  a  spirit  superior  to  all  temptations  ; 

with  a  due  concern  for  the  privileges  of  the  subject ; 

with  a  strict  regard  to  the  prerogatives  of  the  Crown  ; 

with  a  religious  zeal  for  the  security  of  the  Church  ; 

with  a  constant  steady  adherence  to  those  principles 

on  which  the  ecclesiastical  and  civil  constitution 

of  England  is  founded. 
Nor  was  his  character  less  amiable  in  private 

life  than  in  his  public  station. 
Such  a  loss  would  be  for  ever  lamented, 
were  it  not  impious  to  repine  even  at  the 

severest  dispensations  of  Providence, 

and  were  it  not  a  consolation  in  the  midst  of 

affliction  that,  of  three  sons,  Mountague 

Garrard,  William,  and  Thomas,  the 

issue  of  his  marriage  with  Isabel, 
daughter  and  heiress  of  Tho.  Marshall,  esq. 

he  left  the  two  younger  surviving  and 

grown  up,  to  the  imitation  of  their  father's 

virtues,  under  the  care  and  guidance  of  a 

most  pious  and  affectionate  mother,  who 

erected  this  monument  as  a  perpetual 

memorial  of  her  esteem  and  veneration 

for  the  best  of  husbands." 

On  his  cenotaph,  a  figure  of  Abundance  with  a  cornucopia. 
Arms  on  this  monument : 
Quarterly  of  16. 

1.  1 6.  Drake. 

2.  G.  on  a  chief  A.  3  mullets. 

3.  G.  3  bars  A.  on  the  middle  3  stars. 

4- 

5,  12.  Barry  of  6  A.  and  az. 

7,  9.  A.  2  chevrons  az. 

8.  V.  6  lions  rampant  O. 

10.  On  a  bend  between  2  cottises  a  lion  rampant. 

11.  Montague  quartering  Monthermer. 

13.  A  lion  Mountague. 

14.  A  chevron  between  3  crescents  A. 

15.  Az.  between  3  beasts'  heads  A. 

1 6.  A.  a  chevron  between  3  crows  S. 


Agmo  ndesham.  273 


Opposite  is  the  monument  of  Elizabeth  Raworth,  wife  of  William 
Drake.  A  modern  figure  of  a  lady  kneeling  to  a  book  on  a  table 
covered  with  a  fringed  cloth,  her  hands  elevated ;  six  children  behind 
her  praying ;  the  eldest  boy  bowing  down,  the  youngest  sits  looking 
in  a  book.  On  a  cenotaph,  on  each  side  of  which  sit  two  weeping 
boys  holding  flowers,  this  inscription  : 

"  ELIZABETH, 

daughter  of  John  Raworth,  esq. 
wife  of  William  Drake,  esq. 

born  I  Aug.  1725, 
deceased  4  Feb.  1757, 

aged  32. 

She  had  eight  children, 

six  of  whom  survived  her. 

This  monument  was  erected  by  her  husband." 

On  the  base  these  lines  : 

11  Peace  to  these  dear  remains,  the  sacred  dust 

Where  late  fair  Virtue  dwelt,  and  where  again 
Beauty  shall  dwell  when  Heaven  revives  the  just ! 

Where  now  shall  Piety  in  all  her  train 
A  mind  so  gentle,  good,  and  lowly,  prove  ; 

Life  so  devout,  and  pure  of  every  stain  ? 
Oh  1  early  lost,  say,  was  it  heavenly  love, 

Too  strongly  glowing  for  a  mortal  breast, 
That  bore  the  soul  to  its  own  place  above  ? 

Then  joy  was  felt  where  saints  in  glory  rest, 
Where  seraphs  sing ;  but  we  with  sighs  pursue 

With  fond  regret  the  parting  spirit  blest, 
And  mournful,  weeping,  bid  a  long  adieu.' 

Over  the  door  of  this  chapel,  a  white  marble  long  Roman  urn,  with 
two  lamps  at  the  extremities  of  the  top ;  and  on  the  front : 

"M.  s. 

RACHEL  ELIZABETH  DRAKE, 
daughter  of  Jeremiah  and  Susan  Ives, 

of  Norwich, 

wife  of  William  Drake,  jun.,  esq. 
died  August  4,  1784, 

aged  23. 

She  left  two  daughters,  infants. 
Her  circle  of  life,  though  small, 

was  complete. 
Quaeque  tibi  virtus  &  gratia  amabilis  uxor, 

Vita  imitanda  vale,  morte  imitanda  vale." 

An  oval  white  marble  with  the  figure  of  a  woman  leaning  on  an 
urn  on  a  pedestal,  inscribed : 

"  M.  S. 
MARY, 

daughter  of  William  and  Jane 
Hussey, 
wife  of 

William  Drake,  jun. 
She  died  Oct.  23,  1778, 

in  her  2Oth  year. 
She  was  truly  amiable. 
Cara  Maria,  vale  :  veniet  felicius  sevum 
Quando  iterum  tecum,  si  modo  dignus,  ero." 
VOL.    XII.  1 8 


2  74  Buckinghamshire. 


On  the  vestry  north  wall,  a  white  marble  tablet  for 

"Dr.  THOMAS  DRAKE,  rector  of  Amersham,  who  died  April  12,  1775,  and  his 
wife  ELlZABtTH,  daughter  of  Isaac  Whittington,  esq.  of  Orford  house,  Essex,  who 
died  July  17,  1765. 

Foelices  animve,  sit  honestum  &  amabile  siquid, 
Nulla  dies  unquam  memori  vos  eximet  sevo. 

Moerens  frater  P.  C." 

On  achievements  in  the  vestry. 

Drake  quartering  Az.  on  a  bend  A.  between  two  cottises  O.  a  lion 
rampant  S.  or  G. 

2.  Montague  quartering  Monthermer, 

3.  A.  on  a  fess  Az.  a  lion  passant  A. 

4.  Barry  of  7  A.  and  G.  a  canton  Er. 

5.  G.  on  a  fess  dancette  A.  between  6  cross  crosslets  fitche  O. 
3  anchors  S.  imp.  Paly  of  6  G.  and  Erm.  Raworth. 

Other  impalements. 

A  chevron  between  three  blackmoors  heads  S. 

Drake,  with  a  crescent  impaling  G.  2  bars  cheque*  O  and  A. 

Drake,  with  barry  of  7  A.  and  G.  a  canton  Erm.  on  a  shield  of 
pretence. 

Drake,  with  the  fess  dancette  between  6  cross  crosslets  fitch£  on  a 
shield  of  pretence. 

Drake,  with  5  quartering*. 

On  a  tablet  of  black  marble  over  the  south  door  of  the  chancel : 

"  Mrs.  JOAN  DRAKE,  wife  of  Francis  Drake,  of  Esher,  one  of  the  gentlemen  of 
the  privy  chamber  in  ordinary,  daughter  to  William  Totehill,  of  Sharlees,  died 
1 8  April  1625.  Her  son  John  died  before  her;  and  she  left  two,  William  and 
Francis,  and  a  daughter  Joan  ;  and  her  husband  erected  the  monument." 

On  the  south  side  of  the  chancel,  without  the  rails,  two  figures,  of 
a  man  in  a  flowing  wig,  long  neckcloth,  full-buttoned  coat  and  sash 
or  gown,  roll-ups  and  ruffles,  resting  his  right  hand  on  a  pillar  and 
extending  his  left ;  and  a  woman,  holding  an  open  book  in  her  right 
hand,  resting  her  head  on  her  left  arm  on  the  pillow : 

"GEORGE  and  ELIZABETH  BENT,  of  Cosby,  co.  Leicester,  esq.  He  died  Mar. 
29,  1711.  Her  mother  Elizabeth,  relict  of  William  B.  of  C.  erected  this  monu- 
ment, and  died  9  June,  1730." 

Az.  on  a  fess  O.  between  6  bezants  3  hearts,  impaling  Barry  of 
6 .0.  and  Az.  frette  O. 
'  On  a  black  marble  table  adjoining : 

"  Deo,  ecclesia,  &  patiperibus, 

Mrs.  ELIZABETH  BENT, 

widow,  of  this  town,  did  by  her  will,  dated  25  June,  1728,  and 
proved  in  the  Prerogative-court,  June  9,  give  and  appoint 

the  sum  of  700!.  to  be  laid  out  in  free- 
hold lands  of  inheritance,  and  vested  in  trustees,  to  the  intent, 
that  the  annual  rent  or  income  of  the  said  land  should  be  paid, 
vearly  and  every  year,  for  ever,  to  the  rector  of  this  parish  for  the 


Agmondesham.  275 


time  being,  he  the  said  rector  preaching  4  sermons  yearly, 
viz.  one  on  the  first  Thursday  in  January,  one  other  on  the  first 

Thursday  in  April,  one  other  on  the  1st  of  July,  and 

one  other  on  the  first  Thursday  in  October,  and  administering 

the  holy  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  the  parish  church 

of  Agmondesham  the  next  Sunday  after  such  preaching  each  of 

the  said  sermons  ;  and  the  said  Elizabeth  Bent  gave  moreover  the  sum 

of  lool.  to  be  laid  out  and  settled  in  like 
manner,  the  interest  whereof  to  be  annually  divided  upon 
Christmas-day,  among  six  poor  godly  widows  of  Agmondesham, 
who  shall  constantly  go  to  the  parish  church  there, 
and  receive  the  same  as  often  as  the  same  is  admin- 
istered ;  which  distribution  she  appointed  to  be  at  the  discre- 
tion of  the  rector  and  churchwardens  of  the  said  parish 
for  the  time  being,  for  ever,  in  conformity  whereunto  her  sur- 
viving executor  hath  purchased  a  farm  in  the  said  parish, 
called  or  known  by  the  name  of  Stockplace,  to  answer  the 
intent  of  the  donor  as  to  both  the  said  benefactions,  and 
hath  vested  the  same  in  trustees,  and  caused  this 
monument  to  be  set  up  in  perpetual  memory 
thereof,  as  expressly  directed  by  her  will." 

East  end — In  the  north  transept,  a  marble  tablet  to 

"CHARLES  EELES.  esq.  of  London,  sixth  son  of  James  Eeles,  of  this  pnrish 
who  died  17  May,  1727,  aged  60." 

Another  to 

"ISAAC  EELES,  and  MARGARET,  March  9,  1763,  aged  60." 

Arms. — A.  3  eels  swimming  proper :  on  a  shield  of  pretence,  Per 
saltire  Erm.  O.  and  Az. 

Brass  in  south  transept  under  a  man  in  a  furred  gown,  and  woman 
in  the  veil  head-dress  : 

©rate  pro  a'i'ab's  Jah'is  btlapcnne,  ft  (Elte.ibeth,  nxortss  tine,  tflie  petri 
battrj,  anrrgm,  xjuc  rjuibcm  (Elizabeth  xrbitt  bicestmo  prime  bic  metis, 
^tobcmbris,  anno  b'ni  i%S<E°JBJ£I.    (Et  bict'  Joh'is  obtit  xx  septimo  bt* 
tne's  bece'bris,  anno  b'ni  J&^CjcjyE^EI.  qtwrr'  a'i'ab'  p'picietur  beus. 

31  men. 

In  the  north  aisle,  under  a  boy  in  a  gown  kneeling : 
"JOHN,*  sov  OF  FRANCIS  DRAKE,  OF 

ESHER,  IN  THE  COUNTY  OF  SURREY,  ESQ. 
.  BY    JOHA'     HIS     WIFE,     DAUGHTER     OF 

WILLIAM 

TOTEHILL,     OF     SHARLOWES,     ESQ.     BY 
CATHERINE, 

HIS  WIFE,  DIED  2D  APRIL,  IN   THE  4TH 
YEAR   OF   HIS  AGE." 

*  I  take  him  to  have  been  the  son  of  that  good  lady,  wife  of  Francis  Drake,  of 
Esher,  esq.,  who  was  "under  the  power  and  severe  discipline  of  Satan  for  the 
space  of  ten  years,  and  redeemed  from  his  tyranny  in  a  wonderful  manner  a  little 
before  her  death,  and  instrumentally  by  the  extraordinary  paines,  prayers,  and 
fasting,  of  four  reverend  divines."  See  her  history,  1659,  I2mo;  British  Topo- 
graphy, II.  276  ;  and  her  epitaph  in  this  church  of  Amersham. 

1 8— 2 


2  76  Buckinghamshire. 


On  another  plate  : 

"HAD  HE  LIVED  TO  BE  A  MAN, 
THIS  INCH  HAD  GROWN  BUT  TO  A  SPAN. 
NOW  IS  HE  PAST  ALL  FEAR  OF  PAIN  ; 
'TWERE  SIN  TO  WISH  HIM  BACK  AGAIN. 
VIEW  BUT  THE  WAY  BY  WHICH  WE  COME, 
THOU'LT  SAY  HE  's  BEST  WHO  's  FIRST 

AT   HOME." 

Under  a  brass  figure  of  a  man  in  pouched  sleeves,  cropped  hair, 
and  gown,  and  woman  in  the  like  sleeves,  and  reticulated  head- 
dress : 

§ic  iacet  ^jenrous  gjrttuenell,  artnig.  et  ^Ueattora,  ttx.  etas,  film 
ugonis  ijjjrdton,  Slit  theme  $relton,  militis,  qut  xnttbcm  3&)enricu3  obiit 
27  ite  Januarii,  ^°  ^'nt  £&<£&<£€££<£  quor'  a'i'ab'*  p'piciet'  JP's. 


In  the  north  aisle,  a  large  brass  figure  of  a  man  in  large  sleeves  and 
standing  cape,  short  hair  ;  and  a  woman  in  the  like  sleeves,  short 
waist,  veil  head-dress.  The  inscription  (the  beginning  hid  by  the 
skirting  of  the  wainscot)  as  follows  : 

"  .....  acent  THOMAS  CARBONEL,  armig.  &  ELIZABETH,  ux.  ei.  Que  qui- 
dem  Elizabeth  obiit  xin  die  Octob.  A.  d'ni  MCCC 

"  .....  III.  &p'dictus  Thomas,  obiit  xxn  die  Aprilis,A°  D'ni  MCCCCXXXII. 
Quor'  animab's  p'picietur  Deus.  Amen." 

Another  brass,  of  a  headless  man  in  large  sleeves  and  shoes. 

The  east  window  is  adorned  with  ten  whole-lengths  of  saints,  put 
in  by  Mr.  Drake  when  he  rebuilt  the  church,  brought  from  Lamer  ; 
James  the  Great,  Peter,  James  the  Less,  Jude,  Thaddeus  and  Mathias 
(three  together)  ;  Andrew,  John,  Simon,  Bartholomew,  Matthew 
holding  a  saw  and  square,  Philip  a  cross,  Thomas.  The  four 
Evangelists  above,  and  Faith,  Hope,  and  Charity. 

In  the  middle  of  the  town  are  six  almshouses,  founded,  for  six 
poor  widows  at  4d.  a  week  each,  by  Sir  William  Drake,  with  this 
inscription  : 

"  Sir  WILLIAM  DRAKE,  of  Shardloes,  in  the 

county  of  Bucks,  knight  and  baronet, 

in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1657,  to  the 

glory  of  God,  and  for  the  relief  of  six 

poor  widows,  well  reputed  in  this 

parish,  hath  built  six  alms-houses 

with  all  conveniencies  to  them,  and 

a  very  good  allowance  for  ever, 

at  his  cost  and  charges." 

Arms  and  crest  of  Drake. 

He  built  also  the  town  hall  and  market-place. 


Agmondesham.  277 


PEDIGREE    OF    DRAKE. 

William  Totehill,  of  Shardelowes=f  Catharine,  dau.  of  Sir  John  Denham. 

i 

Francis  Drake,  of  Esher,  esq.=pjoan,  died  1625 

i—  -  —    - -----  -  -   —  I  —  .  . 

Sir  William,  kt.  bt.  d.  single  aged  63,  purchased       John,  died  at     Francis    Joan 
Agmondesham,  heir  to  his  maternal  grandfather         four  years  old  | 

Samuel  Trotman,  of  Suton,  co.  Glouc.=Elizabeth  Mountague,  i675=pSir  William 

Jane  Garrard,=j=Mountague,  d^      Mary=Tyrrwhit     Francis,  William,  Elizabeth, 
d.  1724,  49.  1698,25  Charles,  Dorothy,  all  d.  infants 

Isabella  Marshall,  d.  I744=FI7I9,  Mountague  Garrard     Mary=Sir  Redmond 

l 1 1  Everard,  bt. 

Elizabeth=j=William,  LL.D.,  M.P.  for  Ag-     Thomas,  rector  of  Ag-=j=Eliz.  Whitting- 


Raworth 

mondesham,  d. 

1796,  Aug.  8.      mondesham,  d.  1775 

j    ton,  d.  1775. 

Isabell,  m. 
Tho.  Dorrien 

m.  Tho.  e. 
of  Macclesfield 

Sarah,  m.  Au- 
gustus Pechel 

Isabel,  m. 
George  Talbot 

William,  LL.D.,  M.P.    Thomas  Drake  John,  rector   Char.  Drake    Isabel  Elizab. 

for  Agmondesham,  d.    Tyrwhit,  M.P.  of  Agmonde-    Garrard,  b.     m.  — 

1795,  m.  i.  Mary  Hus-   for  Agmonde-  sham,  m.  —    1755,  now       Frank 

sey  ;    she   died   1778:   sham,  1796,  m.  Wickham         of  Lamer 
2.  1781,  Rachel  Ives,   —  Wickham 
d.  1784. 

2  daughters  II  children 

R.  W.  G.  K. 

Ashridge  House. 

[1802,  Part  IL,  pp.  611-612.] 

You  will  join  your  regrets  to  mine  for  the  demolition  of  Ashridge 
House,  the  seat  of  religion,  royalty  and  nobility  from  the  reign  of 
Elizabeth  to  the  present  time ;  of  the  Bon  Hommes  till  the  Reforma- 
tion ;  of  Queen  Elizabeth ;  and  of  the  Egerton  family,  who  got  it  by 
exchange  in  the  second  year  of  the  reign  of  James  I.  In  their  early 
possession,  Milton,  who  lived  at  Horton,  near  Colnebrook,  at  no 
great  distance  from  it,  was  a  partaker ;  and  wrote  his  celebrated 
mask  of  Comus,  to  be  performed  by  the  younger  branches  of  the 
family,  a  copy  of  which  was  found  in  the  library  (now  waiting  for 
Mr/ King's  hammer  to  disperse  it  for  ever*),  and  published  by  Mr. 
Todd  1798  (see  vol.  Ixviii.,  p.  703).  How  far  that  intelligent  editor 
was  consenting  to  the  dispersion  of  a  library,  if  not  formed,  certainly 
noticed  by  the  first  earl,  one  of  Milton's  actors,  who  ordered  an 
analysis  to  be  made  of  it  in  twenty-four  volumes,  one  for  each 
letter — how  far  he  witnessed  the  demolition  of  a  series  of  old  portraits 

*  The  sale  was  recalled,  and  the  books  mostly  bought  in  ;  but  two  sales  have 
been  made  of  assortments  from  it,  in  the  beginning  of  the  present  year. 


278  Buckinghamshire. 

on  wood  and  canvas  in  one  promiscuous  blaze — how  far  he  will 
consent  to  improve  this  imperfect  account,  and  tell  what  portraits 
were  preserved — must  be  left  to  his  own  best  judgment.  If  there 
is  any  consolatory  reflection  left,  it  is  to  learn  that  the  house  had 
fairly  stood  its  time,  as  fairly,  perhaps,  as  a  building  left  a  prey  to 
damp,  neglect  and  non-residence  could  be  said  to  incur  a  fair  decay. 
Damp  of  a  reservoir  in  their  centre  had  nearly  effaced  the  paintings 
of  the  history  of  Christ,  in  forty  compartments,  on  the  inner  walls  of 
the  cloister,  which  were  probably  not  older  than  the  Reformation 
(which  Mr.  Carter,  though  he  made  a  formal  request  for  that  purpose, 
was  not  permitted  to  copy),  and  which  must  be  completely  done  away 
by  the  removal  of  the  stones,  to  be  re-erected  in  a  neighbouring  park, 
by  whose  proprietor  they  were  purchased.  The  late  duke  offered 
a  large  sum  to  re-erect  them,  but  nobody  would  undertake  it.  The 
house  was  incapable  of  repair,  and  the  owner  had  provided  a  lodge 
for  his  residence  in  the  park.  The  materials  are  lying  on  the 
banks  of  the  navigable  canal,  to  be  applied  to  warehouses  and  other 
appropriate  buildings.  The  principal  furniture  that  came  to  auction, 
including  a  few  old  pictures,  was  bought  by  London  brokers  :  much 
of  the  gilded  carving,  for  the  sake  of  the  gold,  by  a  -virtuoso  inn- 
keeper at  Aston  Clinton,  near  Aylesbury,  who  also  purchased  the 
pulpit.  As  you  may  hope  for  further  particulars  from  some  corre- 
spondent in  the  neighbourhood,  I  forbear  to  trouble  you  any  longer. 

B.  B. 

Aylesbury. 

[i $20,  fart  /.,//.  13  15.] 

I  make  no  apology  for  sending  you  a  notice  of  the  discovery  ol  a 
great  number  of  human  bones,  which  were  some  time  ago  dug  up  in 
the  vicinity  of  Aylesbury.  Some  workmen  employed  in  digging 
gravel  in  the  northern  part  of  the  parish,  discovered,  within  a  few 
yards  of  the  course  of  a  small  brook  which  separates  it  from  the 
neighbouring  parish  of  Brieton,  and  very  near  to  the  turnpike  road 
leading  from  Aylesbury  to  Winslow,  the  remains  of  several  skeletons. 
They  were  found  lying  in  various  directions  and  postures  ;  some  with 
the  heads  towards  the  east,  others  the  contrary  way,  and,  in  a  word, 
as  if  thrown  promiscuously  .into  holes  which  had  been  hastily  dug  to 
receive  them.  Some  of  them  were  within  three  feet  of  the  surface, 
others  four  or  five,  bu%  according  to  the  information  given  me  upon 
the  spot,  none  at  a  more  considerable  depth.  The  number  of  skele- 
tons amounted  to  thirty-eight,  and  as  the  labourers  proceed  in  getting 
up  the  gravel  it  seems  probable  that  many  more  may  be  hereafter 
discovered.  The  bones  are  for  the  most  part  those  of  adult  subjects, 
and  from  the  appearance  of  the  teeth,  with  few  exceptions,  scarcely 
past  the  middle  age.  Some  locks  of  hair  were  observable  still  hang- 
ing to  one  or  two  of  the  skulls,  and  at  least  in  one  of  them  the  brain 


Aylesbury.  279 

had  not  wholly  lost  its  figure  or  consistency.  These  latter  were 
embedded  in  the  dark-coloured  stiff  clay,  which  obtains  very  gener- 
ally in  and  about  the  Vale  of  Aylesbury,  and  is  known  by  geologists 
under  the  appellation  of  oak-tree  clay.  Where  the  bones  had  lain 
in  the  beds  of  gravel  they  generally  appeared  drier  and  more  decayed. 
Some  few  of  the  bones  evidently  belonged  to  tall  men,  but  afforded 
nothing  very  particular  with  reference  to  their  stature.  The  meadow 
in  which  these  relics  have  been  found  abounds  with  green  patches, 
irregularly  distributed  about  its  surface,  and  there  are  evidently 
enough  to  be  traced,  several  holes  or  pits  which  have  not  yet  been 
examined.  With  the  exception  of  a  small  buckle  found  lying  upon 
the  neck  of  one  of  the  skeletons,  and  a  piece  or  two  of  a  horse- 
shoe, I  could  nor  ascertain  that  anything  whatsoever  which  might 
have  been  supposed  to  be  buried  at  the  same  time  with  the  bodies 
was  discovered.  .  .  . 

The  most  probable  account  is  that  these  were  the  bodies  of  soldiers 
slain  during  the  civil  wars  of  Cromwell.  History,  it  is  true,  has  not 
preserved  many  particulars  of  the  contests  to  which,  at  that  eventful 
period,  we  may  venture  to  refer  the  loss  of  so  many  lives ;  but  it  is 
quite  too  much  to  suppose  that  these  bones  have  lain  here  ever  since 
the  Saxon  times,  a  period  of  more  than  twelve  hundred  years  having 
intervened  since  the  reduction  of  the  town  of  Aylesbury  by  that 
people,  under  Cuthwolf.  The  spot  in  which  they  have  been  found 
is  about  a  mile  northward  of  the  parish  church  ;  the  ground  imme- 
diately contiguous  has  been  of  late  years  considerably  raised,  in 
order  to  form  and  improve  the  line  of  turnpike  road  which  formerly 
was  in  wet  seasons  frequently  overflowed  by  the  neighbouring  brook. 
Over  that  brook  (which  by  the  bye  is  the  original,  though  here  in- 
considerable, stream,  that  after  a  course  of  a  few  miles  is  dignified 
by  the  title  of  "the  river  Thame  ")  is  a  small  bridge  of  two  arches, 
forming  one  of  the  principal  approaches  to  Aylesbury,  and  very 
probably  a  spot  where  it  may  have  been  thought  proper  to  station  an 
advanced  guard  for  the  protection  of  the  southern  bank,  and  to 
interrupt  an  enemy  in  advancing  towards  the  town. 

According  to  Lord  Clarendon's  account,  Aylesbury  was  garrisoned 
for  the  Parliament  during  1644  and  the  succeeding  year,  and  although, 
as  Mr.  Lysons  truly  observes,  "  it  does  not  appear  to  have  sustained 
any  siege  from  the  royal  army,"  it  was  deemed  of  great  importance, 
and  in  all  probability  must  have  been  exposed  to  the  occasional  loss 
of  many  of  the  troops  stationed  there,  as  well  as  very  likely  to  have 
been  the  means  of  destroying  numbers  of  assailants  in  those  preda- 
tory excursions  which  there  is  good  authority  for  believing  to  have 
been  at  the  time  very  common  in  this  neighbourhood,  although  not 
particularized  by  the  historians  of  that  period.  Boarstall  or  Borstal 
House  (situated  upon  an  ancient  domain  now  belonging  to  the  family 
of  Aubrey),  then  one  of  King  Charles's  garrisons,  was  a  perpetual 


280  Buckinghamshire. 

annoyance  to  the  Parliamentary  forces  at  Aylesbury.  In  the  spring 
of  the  year  1644  Boarstall  was  one  of  the  smaller  garrisons  which  it 
was  thought  advisable  to  abandon.  It  was  accordingly  evacuated  by 
the  King's  forces  and  the  fortifications  destroyed.  Immediately  the 
Parliamentarians,  who  "  had  experienced  much  inconvenience  from 
the  excursions  of  their  neighbours,"  took  possession  of  it,  and  greatly 
annoyed  the  royal  garrison  at  Oxford,  by  intercepting  provisions, 
etc.,  whereupon  Colonel  Gage  undertook  to  reduce  it,  which  he  is 
related  to  have  effected  with  great  gallantry,  Lady  Denham,  the 
then  proprietor  of  the  mansion,  having  fled  away  in  disguise  ;  and 
"the  garrison  left  there  by  Colonel  Gage  nearly  supported  itself" 
(says  Lord  Clarendon)  "by  depredations  in  Buckinghamshire,  par- 
ticularly in  the  neighbourhood  of  Aylesbury."  It  also  appears  that 
the  king  fixed  his  headquarters  at  Buckingham  for  some  time  in 
1644.  Hence  it  seems  but  reasonable  to  suppose  that  severe  con- 
flicts might  have  taken  place  in  the  vicinity  of  so  important  a  post 
as  this  of  Aylesbury,  although  not  particularly  described  or  handed 
down  to  us  in  the  page  of  history :  and  that  the  bones  now  dis- 
covered may  be  more  reasonably  referred  to  that  period  than  to  one 
so  much  more  remote  as  the  days  of  our  Saxon  ancestors,  is  con- 
firmed by  their  general  appearance,  freshness,  the  mode  in  which 
they  were  buried,  the  particular  spot  where  they  have  lain,  and  every 
other  circumstance  connected  with  the  subject  which  has  come  to  the 
knowledge  of 

AN  OLD  CORRESPONDENT. 


[1842,  Fart  /.,  p.  650.] 

During  the  repairs  which  have  for  some  time  been  going  on  in 
this  noble  edifice,  several  fine  arches  of  the  twelfth  century  were 
discovered,  covered  over  with  plaster  and  rubbish.  At  a  vestry  held 
to  consider  of  the  restoration  of  them,  it  was  resolved  that  the  parish 
highly  approved  of  what  had  been  done  by  the  churchwardens, 
and  directed  that  the  church,  including  the  arches,  should  be  re- 
stored as  near  as  possible  to  the  original  state ;  to  this  motion 
only  eight  persons  dissented.  It  was  also  resolved  that  in  future 
no  parish  vestry  should  be  held  in  the  church,  but  in  the  grammar 
school. 


Beaconsfield. 

[1810,  Part  II.,  p.  105.] 

The  annexed  view  of  Beaconsfield  Church,  Bucks  (see  Plate  I.), 
was  taken  from  the  window  of  a  back  parlour  at  the  Saracen's  Head 
Inn.  The  monumental  inscriptions  of  this  place  are  preserved  in 
"  The  Topographer,"  Vol.  IV.,  p.  67  ;  and  I  shall  only  point  out  to 


Bletchley.  281 

your  readers  the  pyramid  seen  in  the  churchyard,  as  the  tomb  of  the 
gentle  Waller — 

"  Maker  and  model  of  melodious  verse." 

Yours,  etc.,  WILLIAM  HAMPER. 

Bletchley. 

[1794,  Part  L,  p.  305.] 

Bletchley,  in  the  county  of  Bucks  (see  Plate  II),  is  a  very  con- 
siderable village,  one  mile  south-west  of  Fenny  Stratford  ;  its  situation 
is  healthy,  but  low.  The  only  thing  in  it  worthy  of  observation  is 
the  church,  which  is  a  noble  structure.  [See  ante,  p.  261.]  Between 
the  years  1704  and  1707,  Browne  Willis,  Esq.,  LL.D.,  contributed 
largely  towards  the  repairing  and  beautifying  it ;  of  which  he  was 
patron,  and  to  which  he  gave  a  set  of  communion  plate. 

Yours,  etc.,  W.  P. 

[1828,  Part  II.,  pp.  214,  215.] 

...  I  was  summoned  to  attend  the  Bishop  of  Lincoln's  primary 
Visitation  of  his  Clergy  on  Tuesday,  September  2,  at  Newport  Pag- 
nell,  and  went  thither  some  days  previously.  On  Monday,  a  brother 
clergyman  of  the  same  diocese  kindly  walked  with  me  to  the  once 
flourishing  and  extensive  village  of  Bletchley,  near  Fenny  Stratford, 
informing  me  on  our  way,  that  of  Bletchley  Church,  Browne  Willis, 
who  died  5th  February,  1760,  at  Whaddon  Hall,  was  a  most  liberal 
patron.*  We  inspected  the  church,!  which  is  under  slight  repair, 
together  with  the  neat  and  commodious  parsonage,  closely  adjoin- 
ing the  churchyard.  We  visited  also  a  truly  noble  spot  just  by,  in 
former  years  the  well-known  seat  and  place  of  residence  of  a  suc- 
cession of  noble  owners,  viz.,  the  Giffards,  Clares,  and  Greys.  The 
last  noble  family  possessed  the  place  above  400  years,  until  the 
attainder  of  Thomas  Lord  Grey  in  1603.  King  James  granted  it  to 
the  Duke  of  Buckingham.  In  1674  his  son,  the  second  duke,  sold 
the  place  to  Dr.  Willis,  grandfather  of  the  celebrated  antiquary, 
Browne  Willis.  His  grandson,  John  Willis,  who  took  the  name  of 
Fleming,  sold  this  place  ;  which  has  recently  become  the  property 
of  —  Harrison,  Esq.,  whose  tenant  dwells  in  a  cottage  of  modern 
erection,  on  the  edge  of  the  grounds.  The  mansion  has  now  wholly 
disappeared ;  although  out-houses  yet  remain  in  a  state  of  abandon- 
ment. Even  of  the  ponds  in  front  of  the  lawns,  designed  alike  for 
ornament  and  use,  the  one  is  quite  filled  up,  and  the  other,  still 
ample  and  deep,  and  still  stocked  with  fish,  is  thickly  overspread 

*  Browne  Willis  expended  in  the  whole  ^1,346  on  the  repairs  and  ornaments 
of  the  church,  including  eight  bells,  and  handsome  Communion-plate.  Ample 
memoirs  of  Browne  Willis  will  be  found  in  Nichols's  "  Literary  Anecdotes,' 
vol.  vi.,  p.  1 86. 

t  Engraved  in  vol.  Ixiv.,  p.  305. 


282  Buckinghamsh  ire. 

with  sedge  and  a  species  of  gorse  and  luxuriant  aquatic  plants  ; 
whilst  the  straight  and  spacious  avenues  adorned  with  stately 
groves,  whose  high  tops  and  mossy  branches  wave  in  the  summer 
breeze,  now  afford  shelter  and  shade  only  to  bleating  flocks  and 
lowing  herds  grazing  beneath  them.  The  green  walks  are  neglected ; 
in  them  the  busy  hum  of  men,  with  the  prancings  of  gaily  caparisoned 
steeds,  and  the  joyous  bark  of  dogs,  and  the  rattle  of  chariot-wheels, 
are  heard  no  more. 

Such  of  your  numerous  readers  as  may  be  fond  of  antiquarian 
researches,  and  the  sight  of  genuine  portraits  of  distant  date  in  fine 
preservation,  with  specimens  of  bibliomaniacal  rarity  and  vertti,  will 
have  their  laudable  taste  fully  gratified  by  a  call  at  the  church  and 
parsonage  of  Bletchley.  In  the  former  exisf  most  valuable  tablets 
and  inscriptions,  with  a  handsome  recumbent  figure,  in  snow-white 
marble,  of  Richard  Lord  Grey,  who  died  in  1442.  The  figure  was 
recut  at  Mr.  Willis's  expense.  In  an  oaken  case  made  skilfully  to 
fit  it,  there  is  preserved  likewise  one  of  the  most  sumptuous  folio 
Bibles  extant,  bound  in  crimson  velvet,  and  edged  and  clasped  with 
broad  and  solid  silver  plates.  In  the  hall  and  in  the  parlour  of  the 
latter  are  suspended  (in  tarnished  frames,  unequivocally  symptomatic 
of  decay}  several  capital  portraits  of  uncommon  merit  and  great  value; 
among  these  my  judicious  mentor  and  guide  particularly  pointed 
out  to  my  notice  a  representation  in  oil-colours  of  Archbishop  Laud, 
who  was  consecrated  primate  in  August,  1633,  and  was  beheaded 
on  Tower  Hill  in  January,  1644-45.  An  iron  chest  in  the  hall 
contains  many  important  archives  and  records.  The  paintings  are 
perfect ;  but  they  all  require  cleansing  and  mastic  varnish  for  their 
preservation  :  those  in  the  hall,  more  especially,  need  to  be  removed 
to  a  drier  and  more  dignified  situation  than  what  they  occupy  at 
present.  .  .  .  Yours,  etc.,  W.  B. 

Brickhill. 

[1798,  Part  //.,/.  835.] 

Brickhill  [see  ante,  p.  258-259]  is  a  large  village,  with  two  tolerable 
inns,  on  the  road  from  Dun.-table  to  Stony  Stratford,  equidistant 
nine  miles  from  each  and  three  from  Woburne. 

The  church  consists  of  a  nave  and  chancel  of  one  pace,  with  a 
south  aisle  to  both.  The  chancel  is  of  brick.  There  is  a  south 
porch  to  the  nave,  which  rests  on  four  pointed  arches  and  octagon 
pillars. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  altar  a  tablet  to  : 

"CHARITY  BAKER,  died  June  26,  1735,  aged  47. 

"CHARLES  BAKER,  died  1755,  aged  84,  who  kept  the  White  Lion  inn  in  this 
town  30  years." 

In  the  south  chancel,  which  belongs  to  the  lord  of  the  manor,  the 
altar-step  and  piscina ;  and  in  the  east  wall  a  locker. 


Brickkill.  283 

Slab  for  Mary,  wife  of  Barth.  Lifull,  steward  to  Lord  Favershamr 
who  died  in  1754,  aged  56. 
On  a  brass  in  the  south  aisle : 

"  Sacred  to  the  memory 

of  ROBERT  SELING, 
who  died  1692,  aged  22. 

The ing  head  and  honest  heart, 

Rare  blood,  and  curteous  hand,  every  part, 

Of  Robert  Seling,  all  with  one  consent, 

Tho'  each  deserv'd  a  separate  monument. 

He  was,  believe  me,  Reader,  for  'tis  rare, 

Vertuous  tho'  young,  and  learned  tho'  .  .  . 

Not  with  his  blood  or  Nature's  gift  content, 

He  paid  them  both  the  tribute  which  they  lent, 

His  ancestors  in  him  fix  their  pride  ; 

So  with  him  all  reviv'H,  with  him  all  died. 

O,  cruel  Death,  as  heare  alone  to  bee 

The  ruine  of  a  family. 

Learne,  Reader,  heare,  tho'  ....  this  hath 

Time  breeds  distemper  in  the  noblest  blood. 

Learne,  Reader,  that  .  .  with  our  glory  come 

Hear's  no  distinction  'twixt  the  house  and  tomb." 


On  a  board  in  a  frame  against  a  south  pillar  : 


"  Here  beneath  lyeth  interred  the  body  of 

[WILLIAM 

BENNETT,   sonne  and    heyre  to   William 
[Bennett,  of  the 

citty  of  Chester,  alderman,  and  justice  of 
[peace,  who  was 

maior  of  the  said  citty,  1652.     He  died  in 
[this  towne,  on  his 

returne  from  London  to  Chester,  on  the 
day  of  March,  1658." 


In  a  border  ingrailed,  A.  2  barrs  G.  in  chief  a  label  of  3  points  ; 
on  the  upper  bar,  a  crescent  O.  Crest,  a  horse's  head  A.  Benet. 

Also,  twice,  Benet  impaling,  quarterly,  i  and  4.  3  crescents  A; 
2  and  3,  Az.  and  G.  on  a  chevron  ingrailed,  between  3  martlets  O. 
a  crescent  G. 

At  the  west  end,  a  mural  marble  : 

"  In  memory  of  JOHN,  only  son  of  Thomas  Martin,  minister,  and  Anna,  his 
wife,  died  1733,  aged  13. 

"  Here  lies  the  body  of  a  virtuous  youth, 
Whose  earliest  years  were  spent  in  seeking  truth. 
But  he  a  victim  fell  by  conquering  Death, 
And  by  one  fatal  stroke  resign'd  his  breath. 
Yet  his  victorious  soul  does  hallelujahs  sing 
To  him  that  gave  him  life,  the  Heavenly  King." 

A  slab  at  the  bottom  of  the  north  aisle  for  : 

"T.  MARTIN,  vicar  32  years,  who  died  Nov.  16,  1717,  aged  54. 
"Anne  died  Sept.  19,  1754,  aged  63." 


284  Buckinghamshire. 


The  font  is  shaped  like  a  cup,  on  a  round  shaft  and  hexagon  base. 
In  a  pillar  at  entering  the  chapel,  is  a  piscina.  On  the  screen,  G.  a 
crest  A.  and  A.  a  cross  G. 

Two  shillings  in  bread  is  given  to  twelve  widows  and  widowers 

from every  Sunday,  by  the  bequest  of  an  old  maiden 

lady. 

The  Register  of  all  begins  1559.     In  it  is  an  entry,  1624  : 

"At  vestry,  ordered  by  Sir  Pexuall  Brocash,  lord  of  the  manor, 
Francis  Clethero,  V.  &c.,  suit  before  John  Smith,  LL.B.  commissary 
and  official  of  the  archdeacon  of  Berks,  i6s.  4d.£,  laid  on  Sir  Pexuall, 
1623,  for  repair  of  church,  refused,  because  the  isle  in  the  upper  end 
of  the  church,  adjoining  to  the  chancel  on  the  south,  is  kept  from 
him,  and  divers  persons  of  mean  quality  permitted  to  hold  the  same, 
and  sit  therein  in  time  of  divine  service ;  agreed  he  and  succeeding 
lords  shall  quietly  ....  [The  rest  of  the  leaf  cut  out.] 

Yours,  etc.,  D.  H. 

Buckingham. 

[1776,  /.  188.] 

March  26. — The  tower  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  parish-church 
of  Buckingham  suddenly  fell  down,  and  so  much  damaged  the  rest 
of  the  building  that  the  whole  is  daily  expected  to  be  in  ruins. 

Chalfont. 

[1802,  Part  L,  p.  487.] 

Chalfont  St.  Giles  (principally  remarkable  for  the  residence  of  the 
immortal  Milton)  is  situated  in  the  county  of  Buckingham,  at  the 
distance  of  twenty-three  miles  from  London.  The  church  is  an 
ancient  building,  consisting  of  a  nave,  chancel,  and  side  aisles,  with 
a  square  tower  embattled,  at  the  west  end  of  the  nave,  which  is 
divided  from  the  side  aisles  by  six  pointed  arches,  viz.,  three  on 
each  side,  and  from  the  chancel,  by  one  of  the  same  kind  :  the 
chancel  has,  on  the  south  side,  an  elegant  mural  monument,  erected 
to  the  memory  of  Sir  Hugh  Palliser;  and  within  the  communion- 
rails  is  an  ancient  altar-tomb,  the  inscription  on  which  is  nearly 
illegible.  At  the  upper  end  of  the  north  aisle  is  a  brass,  having 
the  effigies  of  a  man  in  sacerdotal  vestments,  but  the  inscription  is 
torn  off;  there  are  also  two  other  defaced  and  imperfect  brasses 
in  another  part  of  the  church ;  and  at  the  upper  end  of  the  south 
aisle,  within  a  pew,  is  an  altar-tomb  in  very  bad  condition. 

The  house  in  which  Milton  resided,  during  the  time  of  the 
plague  of  London,  in  the  year  1655,  was  taken  for  that  celebrated 
poet  by  Elwood,  the  Quaker :  it  is  a  very  small,  ancient  building, 
of  red  brick  and  timber,  now  inhabited  by  people  in  an  inferior 
condition.  On  the  front  of  the  house  is  a  shield,  containing  a 


Chilton.  285 

coat-of-arms,  which  is  so  defaced  by  time  and  weather  that  I  was 
unable  to  emblazon  it.  H.  S. 

Chilton. 

[1808,  Part  //.,//.  673-675.] 

Chilton,  county  Bucks,  is  a  retired  village,  situate  about  four 
miles  north  of  Thame,  county  Oxon.  The  manor,  at  the  com- 
piling of  Domesday  Book,  belonged  to  Walter  Giffard,  and  the 
succeeding  owners  are  thus  enumerated  by  Messrs.  Lysons  in 
their  "  Magna  Britannia,"  vol.  i.,  p.  541 : 

"  Paulinus  Peyvre,  the  opulent  steward  of  Henry  III.'s  house- 
hold, had  a  seat  at  Chilton,  and  was  possessed  of  the  manor, 
which  continued  some  time  in  his  family.  Before  1550  it  passed 
to  the  Crokes  by  purchase,  from  the  family  of  Zouche ;  it  was 
again  alienated  in  or  about  1682,  and  having  been  successively 
in  the  families  of  Limbrey  and  Harvey,  passed  to  the  Carters, 
and  is  now,  by  marriage  with  the  heiress  of  that  family,  the  property 
of  Sir  John  Aubrey,  Bart.,  whose  seat  is  in  the  neighbouring  parish 
of  Dourton.  Chilton  House,  the  seat  of  the  late  Mr.  Carter,  is 
unoccupied." 

The  church  (see  Plate  I.)  is  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  of  which 
the  tower  (containing  three  bells)  is  the  north  transept,  the  belfry 
being  open  to  the  nave. 

At  the  west  end  is  a  large  marble  monument,  after  the  manner 
of  an  altar-piece;  the  centre  tablet  thus  inscribed  : 

Under  this  monument  interred  in  the  vault  lye  the  remains  of  Richard  Carter, 
esq.  Patron  of  the  Church,  and  Lord  of  the  Manor  of  Chilton  ;  native  of  the  city 
of  Oxford,  and  early  in  his  youth  a  member  of  Baliol  college  in  that  University, 
from  whence  he  removed  to  the  Inner  Temple,  London.  In  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne  he  was  put  into  the  Commission  of  the  Peace  for  the  county  of  Oxford.  In 
the  year  1715,  under  the  appointment  of  Francis  Earl  of  Godolphin,  Lord  Lieu- 
tenant and  Gustos  Rotulorum,  he  was  made  a  Deputy  Lieutenant  for  that  county. 
In  1719-20,  he  was  appointed  junior  Judge  for  the  counties  of  Anglesea,  Caernarvon, 
and  Merioneth,  in  North  Wales ;  and  the  year  following  was  advanced  to  the 
dignity  of  Chief  Justice  of  the  Grand  Sessions  for  the  counties  of  Glamorgan, 
Brecon,  and  Radnor  in  South  Wales,  in  which  he  continued  to  the  time  of  his 
death  ;  maintaining  always  the  character  of  a  just  magistrate  and  an  upright  judge. 
He  departed  this  life  the  6th  of  Jan.  1755,  aged  83. 

On  the  left-hand  tablet : 

In  the  vault  underneath  lie  the  remains  of  George-Richard  Carter,  esq.  eldest 
son  of  Richard  Carter,  esq.  He  died  Jan.  25,  1771,  in  the  52d  year  of  his  age, 
leaving  out  of  six  children  by  Julia  his  wife  only  two  surviving  daughters,  Martha- 
Catherine  and  Julia-Frances.  A  sound  understanding,  a  benevolent  disposition, 
and  a  peculiar  good  humour,  rendered  his  character  as  truly  amiable  as  his  integrity 
did  respectable. 

On  the  right-hand  tablet : 

Interred  in  the  vault  beneath  lie  the  remains  of  Julia  the  wife  of  George-Rich. 
Carter,  esq.  together  with  four  children.  She  departed  this  life  the  4th  of  De- 
cember, 1768,  in  the  44th  year  of  her  age.  She  was  a  chearful  and  sincere  friend, 
a  charitable  benefactress  to  the  poor,  an  affectionate  wife,  and  a  tender  mother. 


286  Buckinghamshire. 


A  pointed  arch  leads  into  the  chancel,  which  is  divided  from  the » 
nave  by  a  carved  wooden  screen.  The  chancel  is  also  longitudinally 
divided  by  another  screen  of  the  same  kind.  The  door  being 
locked,  and  no  key  to  be  procured,  I  was  prevented  from  examin- 
ing a  fine  old  monument  with  two  recumbent  figures,  and  several 
slabs  on  the  floor  to  the  memory  of  the  Crokes.  "  The  monument  of 
Sir  John  Croke,  who  died  in  1608"  (continue  Messrs.  Lysons, 
"  Magna  Britannia,"  ut  supra}  "  is  much  ornamented  in  the  style 
which  then  prevailed,  and  has  his  effigies  in  armour.  Sir  John  was 
father  of  Sir  John  Croke,  the  celebrated  lawyer,  famous  for  his 
zealous  opposition  to  the  tax  of  ship-money,  in  the  reiijn  of 
Charles  I.  He  was  a  native  of  Chilton,  and  lies  buried  in  the 
church  there,  without  any  memorial.  On  the  south  side  of  the 
entrance  into  the  chancel  was  a  stone  desk  and  pulpit ;  the  desk 
remains,  with  the  steps  which  led  to  the  pulpit.'"  With  deference 
to  the  opinion  of  these  judicious  antiquaries,  I  cannot  help  thinking 
that  it  is  the  pulpit  which  now  remains  ;  and  that  the  stairs  led 
into  the  rood-loft.  Would  not  a  desk  be  quite  unnecessary  previous 
to  the  Reformation  (and  surely  this  is  of  earlier  date),  till  which  time 
the  services  were  performed  at  the  altar?  A  pulpit  would  of  course 
be  used  for  exhortatory  addresses,  for  which  purpose  we  find  it 
(without  a  desk)  in  Roman  Catholic  chapels  of  the  present  day. 

In  the  chancel  is  a  niche  for  the  piscina,  in  which  the  ironwork  of 
the  hour-glass  is  now  laid.  The  font  is  octagonal,  on  a  round  stand, 
and  does  not  appear  very  ancient. 

"  The  Rectory,  to  which  manorial  rights  were  annexed,  was  given 
to  Nutley  abbey,  by  its  founder  Walter  Giffard  :  the  impropriation 
is  now  vested  in  Sir  John  Aubrey,  who  is  patron  of  the  donative. 
At  Easington,  a  considerable  hamlet  of  this  parish,  was  formerly  a 
Chapel  of  Ease.  The  manor  of  Easington,  which  was  for  many 
generations  in  the  noble  family  of  Stafford,  has  of  late  years  been 
annexed  to  Chilton." — LYSONS,  ut  supra. 

Chilton  and  Easington  are  thus  recorded  in  Domesday  Book, 
vol.  i.,  fol.  147,  col.  i,  under  "Terra  Walterij  Gifard,"  inTicheshele 
hundred: 

"Walter  himself  holds  Chiltone.  It  answers  for  10  hides.  The 
arable  is  10  ploughlands.  In  the  demesne  are  four  hides,  employ- 
ing four  ploughs,  and  10  villans,  with  four  bordars,  have  six  ploughs. 
There  are  three  bondmen,  a  meadow  of  the  measure  of  three  plough- 
lands,  and  a  wood  affording  pannage  for  100  hogs.  Its  whole  value 
is  seven  pounds  ;  when  entered  on  (by  Walter  Giffard)  it  was  worth 
eight  pounds,  and  as  much  in  the  time  of  King  Edward  the  Con- 
fessor. Aide,  the  son  of  Coding,  a  thane  of  King  Edward's,  held 
this  manor. 

"Roger  holds  HESINGTONE  of  Walter.     It  answers  for  15  hides. 


Chilton.  287 

The  arable  is  four  ploughlands  ;  two  are  in  the  demesne,  and  five 
villans  have  two.  Here  are  two  bondmen,  and  a  meadow  of  the 
measure  of  two  ploughlands.  It  is,  and  always  was,  valued  at  60 
shillings.  Alric  the  son  of  Coding,  held  this  manor,  and  had  a 
power  to  alienate  it." 

Yours,  etc.,  WILLIAM  HAMPER. 

[1809,  Part  I.,  p.  497.] 

The  annexed  view  of  Chilton  Church,  Bucks,  will  illustrate  the 
description  of  that  parish,  already  printed  in  the  LXXVIIIth  volume 
of  your  magazine,  p.  674. 

W.  H. 

Chiltern  Hills. 

[1826,  Part  L,  p.  424.] 

Mr.  W.  Savage  communicates  the  following  concise  account  of  the 
stewardship  : 

"  Chiltern,  a  ridge  of  hills  traversing  the  county  of  Bucks  a  little 
to  the  south  of  its  centre,  and  reaching  from  Tring  in  Hertfordshire 
to  Henley  in  the  county  of  Oxford.  Of  the  hundreds,  the  jurisdic- 
tion was  originally  vested  in  peculiar  courts,  but  came  afterwards  to 
be  devolved  to  the  county  courts,  and  so  remains  at  present:  except- 
ing with  regard  to  some,  as  the  Chilterns,  which  have  been  by  privi- 
lege annexed  to  the  crown.  These  having  still  their  own  courts,  a 
steward  of  these  courts  is  appointed  by  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer,  with  a  salary  of  twenty  shillings  and  all  fees,  etc.,  belong- 
ing to  the  office ;  and  this  is  deemed  an  appointment  of  such  profit, 
as  to  vacate  a  seat  in  Parliament." 

Cliefden. 

[1795,  Part  /.,  p.  363.] 

I  scarcely  need  inform  your  numerous  readers  that  Lord  Inchi- 
quin's  house  at  Cliefden,  Bucks,  which  has  suffered  lately  so  much 
by  fire,  was  built  by  that  Duke  of  Buckingham  who  died  "  in 
the  worst  inn's  worst  room."  It  was  of  red  brick  coped  with 
stone,  in  the  same  style  as  the  queen's  palace  at  London,  and 
built  probably  by  the  same  architect.  The  apartments  were 
none  of  them  large :  the  prospect  from  the  south  is  delight- 
ful. Perhaps  we  have  to  lament,  amongst  many  others,  the  loss 
of  the  following  portraits :  several  of  the  Hamilton  family,  who 
bore  a  part  in  the  rebellion  ;  George  Fitzroy,  Duke  of  Northumber- 
land, natural  son  of  Charles  II. ;  Queen  Anne,  when  princess,  whole 
length,  by  Sir  Godfrey  Kneller ;  Duke  of  Hamilton,  who  was  killed 
by  Lord  Mahon ;  Duchess  of  Richmond,  whole  length,  a  black  stick 
in  her  hand,  an  animated  countenance,  tempting  Charles  I. ;  Princess 
Dowager  of  Wales,  mother  of  the  present  king. 


288  Buckinghamshire. 

The  tapestry  was  very  good ;  one  part  shows  the  town  of  Ramillies, 
with  soldiers  carrying  wood;  an  old  shepherd  smoking  his  pipe,  who 
is  said  to  have  betrayed  the  French,  is  finely  worked.  It  is  hoped 
some  person  who  has  taken  a  full  account  of  the  pictures  and  tapestry 
will  favour  you  with  it. 

N.  D. 
Ellesborough. 

[1802,  Part  II.,  p.  630.] 

Ellesborough  is  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  Chiltern  Hills,  about 
three  miles  from  Wendover,  in  Buckinghamshire.  The  first  syllable 
of  its  name  may  probably  be  derived  from  the  Saxon  word  eald, 
signifying  old  ;  and  this  conjecture  receives  additional  strength  from 
its  situation  on  the  Roman  military  way  called  the  Ikenild-street. 
The  church  is  a  handsome  old  building,  consisting  of  a  nave,  chancel, 
and  south  aisle,  at  the  west  end  of  which  is  a  square  tower  embattled. 
The  nave  is  divided  from  the  aisle  by  four  pointed  arches,  and 
receives  light  from  the  same  number  of  windows,  which  are  large, 
and  of  elegant  workmanship.  The  south  aisle  contains  a  large  mural 
monument,  of  variously  coloured  marble,  having  the  recumbent 
figure  of  a  lady  in  the  dress  of  Charles  I.'s  time,  with  a  long  Latin 
inscription,  expressing  that  it  is  erected  to  the  memory  of  Dorothy 
Croke,  but  there  is  no  date.  The  chancel  is  divided  from  the  nave 
by  a  handsome  pointed  arch ;  the  windows  on  the  sides  being  square, 
are  evidently  modern,  but  two  circular-topped  apertures  at  the  altar 
appear  to  be  of  considerable  antiquity.  Against  the  south  wall  is  an 
elegant  monument  to  the  memory  of  Sir  John  Russel,  father  to  the 
baronet  of  that  name,  whose  death  is  noticed  in  your  Obituary,  p.  592  ; 
another  to  the  memory  of  G.  Wallis,  rector,  who  died  in  1666  ;  and 
in  the  pavement  is  a  flat  stone  to  the  memory  of  G.  Hakewell. 

Checquers,  the  ancient  and  venerable  mansion  of  the  Russels  (who 
are  lineally  descended  by  the  female  side  from  Cromwell),  is  situated 
on  a  beautiful  hill  among  the  woods  in  this  parish,  and  is  now  under 
a  complete  repair  according  to  the  design  of  the  late  possessor. 

H.  S. 

Eton. 

[1798,  Part  /.,/.  ill.] 

If  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  insert  this  sketch  of  Eton  College 
(fig.  4)  in  your  next  vacant  plate,  you  will  highly  oblige, 

Yours,  etc.,  A.  A. 

[1846,  Part  /.,/>/.  381-383-] 

In  the  year  1717,  Dr.  Rawlinson  published  "Proposals  for  Printing 
the  History,  Antiquities,  &c.,  of  the  famous  College  of  St.  Mary  at 
Eton,  from  its  first  foundation  to  that  time,  wherein  were  to  be 
preserved  all  the  inscriptions  on  the  monuments  and  gravestones 


Eton. 


289 


formerly  in  the  college  chapel,  but  then  disordered,  dispersed,  or 

removed; the  whole  compiled  from  printed  and  manuscript 

authorities,  with  an  appendix  of  charters  in  the  Tower,  Rolls  Chapel, 
Augmentation  Office,  Bodleian,  and  other  libraries,  and  in  public 
offices  and  private  hands." 

Now,  sir,  as  this  was  never  done,  nor  ever  will,  perhaps,  be  done, 
although  the  Muniment  Room  and  Library  of  the  college  would 
afford  ample  materials  to  any  of  its  Fellows  for  so  doing,  and  seeing 
that  the  chapel  is  about  to  be  newly  roofed,  stalled,  and  floored,  as 
these  last-named  operations,  however  able  and  careful  the  hands  to 
which  they  have  been  entrusted,  may  possibly  cause  a  further  "  dis- 
ordering, dispersion,  removal,"  or  concealment — I  beg  to  send  you 
a  list  of  the  memorials  therein  noted  by  me  in  1838,  and  of  others 
recorde'd  in  a  MS.  by  Strype,  in  the  British  Museum,  as  existing  in 
1661. 

And  as,  upon  the  taking  up  of  the  present  floor  (which  was  laid 
down  in  1700,  and  is  a  foot  or  two  higher  than  the  original  floor),  it 
is  not  improbable  that  several  of  the  memorials  recorded  by  Strype 
in  1 66 1  may  be  still  found  in  their  pristine  situation,  I  venture 
respectfully  to  suggest  to  the  provost  and  fellows  of  Eton  College 
that  such  memorials  should  remain,  inserted  in  the  new  pavement, 
as  nearly  in  their  original  situation  as  possible  ;  or  be  otherwise  pre- 
served with  honour  and  respect,  many  of  them  being  to  the  memory 
of  preceding  provosts,  fellows,  and  other  celebrated  Eton  men. 


Memorials  in  the  Chapel  of  Eton  College,  1838. 


Henry  Bost  . 
Richard  Arden 
Robert  Rede 

Richard  Grey 

Willm.  Boutrode  . 

Herman  . 

Roger  Lupton 
Thomas  Edgcomb 
Thomas  Barker     . 
Thomas  Smith 
— — Page     . 
Edward  Underhyl 
Edmund  Hobart  . 
John  Clavering     . 
Philip  Botteler      . 
Thomas  Allen 
Henry  Wotton 
Jane  Goad    . 

VOL.  XII. 


Provost      . 

Fellow       . 

Gentleman         . 

Lord     Grey  '  Cotenore,  Wylton 

Ruthyn          . 
Pety  Canon  of  Wyndesore  . 

Provost      . 
Vice  Provost      . 
Vice  Provost     . 
Fellow       . 
Fellow       . 
Citizen  of  London 
Son  of  Sir  Henry  H. . 
Vice  Provost      . 
Fellow       . 

Fellow 

Kt.  Provost 


MVIV 
MVIX 
MVXV 

MVXXI 

MVXXII 

1525 

MVXL 

J545 

MVLVII 


1582 
1606 
1607 

1612 
1613 
1636 

1639 
1657 


290 


Buckinghamshire. 


Other  Memorials  recorded  by  Strype  in  1661. 
Edith  Westburn    . 


Godfrey  Harman  . 
Edward  Awdley  . 
William  Tanton  . 
Richard  Chamberlayn 
John  Gregory  . 
Henry  Smith  . 
John  Cleterbooke  . 
-  Cater  .. 
John  Longland  . 
Alexander  Philippe 


Fellow 


Vicar  of  Upton  .  . 
Fellow  .  .  .  . 
Surveyor  of  the  king's  works 
Fellow  .... 
..... 
Bishop  of  Lincoln  .  . 
Chantry  Priest  for  Dr.  Lupton 


1474 
1483 
1498 

1504 
1512 
1528 
1544 
1546 
1547 
1558 


Robert  Stokys  .  . 
-  Bradford  . 
Anna  Day  .  .  . 
John  Hammond  .  . 
Robert  Nycolls  .  . 
Thomas  Kendall 
Henry  Savile  .  . 
John  Parsons  .  . 
Melichizadak  Bradwood 
Henry  Savile  .  . 
Joane  Bell  ... 
Thomas  Murray  . 
John  Barker  .  . 
John  Welles  .  . 
John  Bust  ... 
Katherine  Townsend  . 
Elizabeth  Baker  .  . 
James  Lluellin  .  . 
Francis  Rous  .  . 
Alexander  Southwood  . 
Maria  Bateman  .  . 
John  Chelde 

Strype  also  states  that  in  the  window  of  Lupton's  Chapel  was  this 
coat  :  viz.,  A.  on  a  chevron  S.  between  three  ravens'  (wolves')  heads, 
erased  S.  three  lilies.  On  a  chief  gules  a  Tau  cross  between  two 
escallops  or  :  and  in  other  windows  the  bearing  attributed  to  Edward 
the  Confessor;  the  coat  of  Henry  VI.,  founder  of  the  college;  of 
Nicholas  Bnllingham,  Bishop  of  Lincoln  from  1560  to  1570  ;  of 
Magdalen  Hall,  Oxford,  put  up  probably  by  Bishop  Longland,  he 
having  been  principal  of  Magdalen,  and  a  coat  composed  of  "gules, 
a  lion  rampant  or,  quartering  sable  a  fret  ...  in  a  garter,"  put  up 


Wife  of  Provost  Day 
.... 
Auditor  of  the  College 

Son  of  Provost  Savile 

.... 

Citizen  of  London      . 

Kt  Provost        .. 


Gentleman 
Scholar      . 


Gentleman  ... 
Provost  .... 
Gentleman  .  .  . 
Wife  of  Richard  B.,  Fellow 


1560 
1563 

1589 
1592 

1604 
1612 
»i6i8 
1621 
1623 
1623 
1624 
1630 
1635 
1640 
1641 
1643 
1643 
1657 
1657 


Farnham  Royal.  291 


probably  for  one  of  the  two  last  Fitz-Alans  Earls  of  Arundel  and 
Knights  of  the  Garter.  W.  B. 

Farnham  Royal. 

[1811,  Part  II.,  p.  216.] 

The  following  inscription  on  a  tablet  against  the  north  wall  in  the 
parish  church  of  Farnham  Royal,  Bucks,  to  the  memory  of  that  late 
much  celebrated  and  respected  writer,  and  most  truly  pious  Chris- 
tian, Jacob  Bryant,  Esq.,  of  Cippenham,  may  be  acceptable  to  many 
of  your  readers.  Yours,  etc.,  W.  X.  Y.  Z. 

"  M.  S.  JACOB  BRYANT, 
Collegii  Regalis  apud  Cantabrigienses 

olim  Socii ; 
qui  in  bonis  quas  ibi  hauserat  artibus 

excolendis  consenuit. 
Erant  in  eo  plurimae  literas, 

nee  ex  vulgares, 

sed  exquisitse  qusedam  et  reconditse, 

quas  non  minore  studio  quam  acumine 

ad  illustrandum  S.  S.  Veritatem  adhibuit : 

Id  quod  testantur  scripta  ejus  gravissima, 

tam  in  Historic  Sacrse  primordiis  eruendis, 

quam  in  Gentium  Mythologia  explicandU 

versata  : 

Libris  erat  adeo  deditus, 
ut  her  vitse  secretum  iis  omnino  deditum, 
praemiis  honoribusque 

quse  illi 

non  magis  ex  Patroni  nobilissimi  gratia, 
quam  suis  meritis  prsesto  erant, 

usque  prseposuerit. 

Vitam  integerrimam  et  vere  Christianam, 
non  sine  tristi  suorum  desiderio  clausit, 
Nov.  13,  1804.     Anno  setatis  suse  89." 

Hambledon. 

[1792,  Part  II.,  p.  980.] 

In  Hambledon  Church,  Bucks,  is  the  following  epitaph  : 

"Of  your  charite  pray  for  the  soule  of  Maister  RAUFFE  SCROPE,  parson  of  this 
churche,  which  decessyd  the  2d  day  of  Marche,  in  the  yere  of  our  Lord  MCCCCCXVI. 
Whose  soule  God  pardon." 

If  these  scraps,  Mr.  Urban,  are  acceptable,  I  have  many  more  such 
at  your  service.  K.  Z. 

Hanslope. 

[1799,  Part  I.,  pp.  457,458-] 

You  will  herewith  receive  a  south-east  view  of  the  Church  of 
Hanslope,  a  parish  situated  in  the  north  end  of  Buckinghamshire. 

The  church  (Plate  II.)  is  reckoned  one  of  the  finest  pieces  of 
Gothic  architecture  in  the  country.  The  steeple  is  186  feet  high; 
and  the  length  of  the  church,  including  the  chancel  and  steeple,  is 
131  feet  6  inches,  the  breadth  being  60  feet  7  inches,  both  admea- 
surements being  taken  within  the  walls.  It  has  a  nave  and  two  aisles; 

19 — 2 


2  9  -  Buckinghamshire. 


and  the  aisles  are  supported  each  by  three  pillars.  In  the  steeple 
are  five  exceedingly  good  bells.  I  cannot  learn  anything  satisfactory 
concerning  the  antiquity  of  the  church  ;  but  it  is  unquestionably 
very  ancient.  The  living  is  a  vicarage,  worth  no  more  than  between 
^70  and  ;£8o  per  annum.  The  Rev.  Henry  Davies  is  the  present 
incumbent.  The  corporation  of  Lincoln  are  patrons  of  the  living, 
and  have  received  an  allotment  of  land  instead  of  tithes  ;  which,  till 
the  parish  was  inclosed,  which  took  place  about  twenty  years  ago, 
were  paid  in  kind.  .  .  . 

Hanslope  stands  on  the  summit  of  a  hill,  and  there  is  a  gradual 
descent  from  it  on  all  sides.  It  is  five  miles  distant  from  Newport 
Pagnell,  and  about  the  same  distance  from  Stony  Stratford.  Formerly 
there  was  a  market  kept  here;  but  it  has  been  discontinued  for  many 
years,  the  place  having  fallen  much  into  decay.  An  annual  fair  is, 
however,  still  held  here  on  Holy  Thursday  for  cattle,  etc.,  and  the 
feast  in  commemoration  of  the  dedication  of  the  church  is  observed 
on  the  first  Sunday  after  St.  James's  Day. 

The  whole  parish  is  about  four  miles  in  length,  and  nearly  the 
same  in  breadth,  and  contains  about  1,200  inhabitants.  There  is 
very  little  common-ground.  The  soil  in  general  is  a  strong  clay, 
and  well  adapted  for  producing  all  kinds  of  grain  ;  consequently 
considerable  quantities  are  grown  here. 

Edward  Watts,  Esq.,  of  Hanslope  Park,  is  lord  of  the  manor. 
Lace-making  constitutes  the  principal  employment  of  the  females, 
and,  indeed,  is  the  only  manufacture  in  the  neighbourhood.  Though 
the  village  is  built  on  an  eminence,  it  is  not  reckoned  healthy ;  one 
cause  of  which  may  be  attributed  to  the  water,  which  is  unwhole- 
some both  in  the  springs  and  ponds  ;  the  sedentary  lives  of  many  of 
the  inhabitants  may  be  also  assigned  as  another  cause,  lace-making, 
obliging  them  not  only  to  sit,  but  also  in  a  bending  position,  which, 
no  doubt,  is  unfriendly  to  health.  Add  to  this,  in  winter  these  people 
associate  together  in  close  rooms,  to  keep  themselves  warm,  firing 
being  very  dear  ;  and  thus,  of  course,  breathing  a  very  impure  atmos- 
phere; the  consequence  of  which  is,  they  in  general  look  pale  and 
sickly.  The  following  epitaph  upon  a  stone  in  the  church)  ard 
seems,  however,  to  contradict  what  has  been  just  advanced  respect- 
ing the  unhealthiness  of  the  place  : 

"In  memory 

of  JOSKPH  Cox,  sen. 

who  departed  this  life  the 

nth  January,  1759, 

aged  92  years. 

Also,  ELIZABETH,  his  wife, 

died  March  15,  1762, 

aged  IOI. 

Their  descendants,  at  her  death, 

were  10  children,  62  grand-children, 

and  102  great-grand-childrtn  ; 

in  all  174.'* 


Hanslope.  293 


On  a  flat  stone,  in  the  nave,  is  a  brass  plate,  with  the  followin 
inscription  : 

"  MARMORE   SUB    HOC    REQVIESCIT    COR- 
PUS  MARINE, 
FILT^E     THOM^;     BICHMORE,     EXPECTAN- 

TIS   RLSVR- 
RECTIONEM    GLORIA,    QVJE    HAC    E    VITA 

DISCESSIT 
ULTIMO      DIE      IANUAKII      AN*O      DOMINI 

,  .  l6O2,    CVM 

SEXTVM   ANNVM    ^TATIS    COMPLEVERAT. 
CHR1STUS   SOLVS   MIHI   SALUS." 

On  a  white  marble  slab,  fixed  in  the  wall  of  the  church,  is  the 
following  account  of  the  several  benefactions  to  this  parish  : 

"  BENEFACTIONS. 

"  William  Fox,  Isabel  Barnwell,  and  a  person  unknown,  gave,  by  will,  lands  and 
tenements,  now  in  trust  in  the  hands  of  the  feoffees,  of  the  annual  rent  of  6o61. 

"Lucy  Lady  Dowager  Pierepoint  gave,  by  will,  for  the  education  of  a  certain 
number  of  boys,  vested  in  the  hands  of  the  minister  and  churchwardens,  200!. 

"Richard  Miles  gave,  by  will,  charged  annually  on  a  messuage  or  tenement, 
close  or  pasture  ground,  and  premises,  in  Hanslope,  to  be  distributed  weekly  in 
bread  amongst  twelve  poor  widows,  paid  by  his  executor,  5!.  45. 

"  Mary  Newman  gave,  by  will,  land  and  tenements,  vested  in  the  minister  and 
churchwardens,  the  annual  rent,  to  be  distributed  amongst  poor  widows,  3!.  35." 

WILLIAM  ROBINSON  LAWFORD. 
[1805,  Part  I.,  p.  401.] 

I  send  you  a  drawing  of  the  church  at  Hanslope,  after  the  damage 
by  the  storm,  June  23,  1804,  of  which  you  gave  a  short  account  in 
your  last  volume.*  The  following  particulars  were  from  the  very 
respectable  curate  of  the  parish. 

Yours,  etc.,  D.  H. 

"  There  can  be  no  doubt  but  that  the  accident  was  occasioned  by 
the  lightning  striking  the  spire  near  the  apex,  which  for  some  yards 
downward  was  clasped  with  bars  of  iron,  it  having  received  some 
damage  by  lightning  several  years  ago.  .  .  .  The  chief  weight  of  the 
spire  falling  on  the  church,  crushed  the  roof,  the  electric  matter 
accompanying  it  and  making  many  lesser  explosions  in  the  church; 
evident  marks  of  which  were  visible  in  almost  every  window,  and  on 
several  parts  of  the  interior  side  of  the  walls.  .  .  . 

"  An  account  of  the  accident  appeared  in  the  '  Monthly  Maga- 
zine,' written  by  Mr.  Bevans,  of  Leighton-Buzzard,  which,  in  many 
respects,  is  evidently  very  erroneous." 

W.  SINGLETON. 

*  See  vol.  Ixxiv.,  p.  68 1. 


?  9  4  Buckinghamsh  ire. 


Horton. 

[1791,  Part  //.,  pp.  713-716.] 

The  lovers  of  antiquity  will  not  be  sorry  to  know  that,  by  acci- 
dentally meeting  with  an  auctioneer's  hand-bill,  on  the  fourth  and 
last  day's  sale  of  a  tradesman's  effects  in  the  Strand,  where  the  late 
Francis  Brerewood,  Esq.,  had  lodged  near  fifteen  years  ago,  and, 
from  narrow  circumstances,  had  left  his  property  behind  him,  many 
writings  of  this  and  of  the  last  century  were  preserved  from  destruc- 
tion. His  chest  had  been  three  days  sold  and  delivered  to  a  broker, 
the  purchaser  of  it,  as  waste-paper,  from  whom  they  were  redeemed. 
Among  this  collection  are  many  articles,  some  of  which,  probably, 
may  be  deemed  worthy  of  the  public  eye,  as  well  as  the  originals  of 
others  that  have  received  the  public  admiration  in  Mr.  Urban's 
"  Miscellany"  more  than  fifty  years  ago.  Such  as  in  vol.  vii.,  p.  760, 
"  Verses  to  Charles,  Lord  Baltimore,  written  in  Gunpowder  Forest 
in  Maryland  ;"  vol.  xiv.,  p.  46,  "  Winter  ;"  vol.  xvi.,  p.  157,  "  Spring;" 
ib.,  p.  265,  "Summer":  by  Thomas  Brerewood,  Esq.,  elder  and 
only  brother  of  the  above,  who  died  in  1748. 

Thomas,  the  father  of  these  two  brothers,  the  younger  of  whom, 
Francis,  died  ten  years  ago,  at  the  age  of  eighty-two,  was  the  grand- 
son, by  a  second  marriage,  of  Sir  Robert  Brerewood,  Knight,  who 
was  chosen  Recorder  of  his  native  city,  Chester,  15  Car.  I.,  1639; 
and  in  1643  was  creates  one  of  the  judges  of  the  Common  Pleas. 

The  ancestors  of  this  family  were  citizens  of  Chester,  and  for 
some  time  had  held  large  possessions  there.  They  had  repeatedly 
filled  the  offices  of  major,  aldermen,  and  sheriffs  of  this  city;  wherein 
Robert  Brerewood,  the  grandfather  of  Sir  Robert,  died  in  the  year 
1600,  in  his  third  mayoralty.  He  is  denominated  "Wet-glover."* 
A  very  excellent  chaiacter  is  given  of  him  by  William  Webb,  in  Daniel 
King's  "  Vale-Royal  of  England,  or  County  Palatine  of  Chester," 
folio  1656,  Part  II.,  p.  43.  .  .  . 

The  second  son  of  Robert  Brerewood  last  mentioned  was  Edward, 
the  famous  scholar,  of  Brazen-nose  College,  in  Oxford,  \vho  was 
afterwards  chosen  the  Professor  of  Astronomy  in  Gresham  College, 
London,  the  author  of  several  learned  woiks;t  some  of  which  were 

*  "  Some  Antiquities  touching  Chester,"  by  Sir  Peter  Leicester,  Bart.,  London, 
1672,  p.  187. 

f  The  following  books  written  by  him,  are  taken  from  Ward's  "Professors  of 
Gresham  College,"  fol.  1740,  74,  75. 

1.  De  Ponderibus  et  Pretiis  Veterum  Nummorum,  eorumque  cum  Recentioribus 
Collatione,  Lib.  I.     Londini,  1614,  410. 

2.  Enquiries  touching  the  Diversities  of  Languages  and  Religions  through  the 
chief  Parts  of  the  World.     Lond.  1614,  23,  35,  410;   1647,  etc.,  8vo. 

3.  Elementa  Logicse,  in  Gratiam  studio:-as  Juventutis  in  Academia  Oxoniensi. 
Lond.  1614,  15,  etc.,  8vo. 

4.  Tractatus  quidam  Logici  de  Prsedicabilibus,  et  Praedicamentis.     Oxon.  410, 
1628—1638,  etc.,  8vo. 


Horton*  295 

published,  by  his  nephew  Sir  Robert,  after  his  decease,  which  hap- 
pened on  the  4th  of  November,  1613,  by  a  fever,  in  his  48th  year. 
Edward  Brerewood  is  mentioned  in  high  encomium  by  Dr.  Fuller,* 
in  his  "  Worthies  of  England,"  where  his  name  is  spelt  Brierwood. 

An  elder  brother  of  Edward  was  John,f  the  father  of  Sir  Robert, 
who,  as  Sir  Peter  Leicester!  tells  us,  was  sheriff  of  that  city,  though 
his  name  appears  to  have  been  omitted  in  the  list  of  those  officers. 
Sir  Robert  Brerewood  was  twice  married  ;  first,  to  Anne,  daughter 
of  Sir  Randle  Mainwaringe,  of  Over-Pever,  in  that  county,  who  died 
in  1630  ;  his  second  lady  was  Katherine,  daughter  of  Sir  Richard  Lea, 
of  Lea  and  Dunhall,  in  Cheshire,  and  left  several  children  by  each 
of  them.  He  died  in  1654,  at  Chester,  aged  67  years,  and  lies 
buried  in  St.  Mary's  Church  there.  Lady  Brerewood  §  survived  him 
thirty-seven  years. 

The  large  property  of  which  Sir  Robert  Brerewood  died  possessed, 
which  was  said  to  be  not  less  than  ^8,000  a  year,  was  secured  by 
him  in  tail  male  on  the  issue  of  both  marriages.  The  last  heir  by 
the  first  marriage  died  in  1748,  without  suffering  any  act  to  bar  the 
entail ;  a  surviving  sister  took  possession  of  the  property,  to  whom 
Francis  Brerewood,  it  would  seem,  was  unknown.  She  took  the 
most  quick  methods  to  alienate  the  property,  regardless  of  the 
remonstrances  of  her  friends,  or  the  will  of  her  ancestor.  That  Mr. 
Brerewood  was  necessarily  involved  in  various  suits  at  law,  in  quest 
of  his  right,  is  a  fact  well  known,  I  believe,  to  many  learned  gentle- 
men of  the  last  as  well  as  of  the  present  age;  and  which  may  be  seen 
from  stated  cases  answered  in  his  favour  by  some  of  the  first  names 
in  this  century,  and  now  in  my  possession.  How  hard  is  his  case ! 
Some  doggerel  verses,  I  have  somewhere  seen,  are  not  inapposite  to 
his  fate  : 

"  Nor  Blackstone  any  pleasure  brings  ; 
His  rights  of  persons  and  of  things 
Would  make  us  beggars  were  we  kings." 

Plate    II.    presents    a    west  view   of    Place    House    in  Horton, 
near  Colebrook,  Bucks.     The  manor  of  Horton  did  belong  to  the 

5.  Tractatus  duo  :  quorum  primus  est  de  Meteoris,  secundus  de  Oculo.     Oxon. 
1631,  38,  8vo. 

6.  A  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath,  1611.     Oxf.  1631,  4to. 

7.  Mr.  Byfield's  Answer,  with  Mr.  Brerewood's  Reply.     Oxford,  1631,  4to. 

8.  A  second  Treatise  of  the  Sabbath ;  or,  an  explication  of  the  Fourth  Com- 
mandment.    Oxford,  1632,  410. 

9.  Commentarii  in  Ethica  Aristotelis.     Oxon,  1640,  410. 

10.  A  Declaration  of  the  Patriarchal  Government  of  the  Ancient  Church. 
Oxford,  1614,  4to.  ;  Lond.  1647  ;  Bremen,  1701,  8vo. 

*  Folio,  London,  1662 — Chester,  190. 

t  Not  the  son  of  Robert,  as  is  represented  by  A.  Wood,  Athense  Oxon.,  vol.  i. 

J  "Some  Antiquities  touching  Chester,"  by  Sir  Peter  Leicester,  Bart.,  London, 
1672,  p.  187. 

§  See  Doctor  Edmund  Mainwaringe's  Letters,  where  he  mentions  Ladie  Brere- 
wood, Topogr.,  vol.  i.f  p.  4.. 


296  Bucking  ham  sJi  ire. 


Scawens^who  sold  it  some  time  ago.  Sir  Thomas  Scawen,  Knight, 
Alderman  of  London,  appears  to  be  the  last  owner  of  it  of  that 
family.  It  is  now  in  a  widow  lady  of  the  nan  e  of  Hickford,  whose 
husband's  father  is  said  to  have  kept  an  assembly  room  in  Brewer 
Street,  Golden  Square,  and  to  have  purchased  the  manor  of  a  Mr.  Cook, 
of  Beaconsfield.  Ti  is  mansion  was  occupied  by  Thomas  Brerewood 
the  elder,  the  beginning  of  this  century;  it  appears  to  have  been 
built  about  the  early  part  of  Elizabeth's  reign,  and  was  moated  round. 
The  Brerewoods  laid  out  a  large  sum  of  money  in  improving  the 
house,  garden,  and  canals,  which  lie  below  the  bed  of  the  river  Coin, 
from  which  they  are  separated  only  by  a  bank.  They  purchased  from 
the  proprietors  of  the  adjoining  mills  leave  lor  an  opening  to  feed  the 
canals  from  the  main  river,  at  the  expense  of  no  less  a  sum  than  ^300. 
In  the  extremity  of  the  garden,  from  the  earth  dug  out  in  forming 
these  canals,  they  made  a  mount,  whose  perpendicular  height  is  about 
18  feet;  at  the  basis  of  which  is  a  leaden  canister,  containing  some 
coins  of  the  time,  with  the  names  of  the  family  and  friends  who  were 
present  at  the  ceremony;  and,  being  young  men  of  spirit  and  fashion, 
they  did  much  improve  this  old  mansion  to  the  tasle  of  the  times. 
Across  the  principal  canal  they  threw  an  arch,  on  which  they  built 
an  elegant  pavilion,  which  was  fitted  up  with  much  expense  of  furni- 
ture, carving,  and  gilding,  as  a  library.  This  edifice  did  not  long 
survive  the  old  house,  being  quite  cleared  away  some  years.  The 
garden  walls  are  built  of  remarkably  large  brick,  15  inches  by  yj, 
made  from  a  bed  of  clay  found  there  at  the  time  of  digging  and 
enlarging  the  canals,  which  the  gardener  says  are  deemed  in  measure 
equal  to  an  acre  of  land.  After  this  family  left  Horton,  the  house, 
wanting  repair,  was  occupied  by  Mayhew,  a  gardener,  for  near  forty 
years,  who  rented  the  garden  grounds. 

Sixteen  years  ago  the  house  was  taken  down,  being  in  ruins  ;  the 
site  of  it  and  the  gardens  is  six  acres,  let  to  Mr.  Cox  for  £22  los. 
per  year. 

The  house  did  join,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  plate,  to  the  south  side 
of  the  tower  of  Horton  Church. 

The  church  is  an  old  building.  From  the  Roman  semicircular 
arch  on  the  front  door,  which  is  well  preserved  with  its  waved  or 
zigzag  mouldings,  we  may  venture  to  pronounce  this  church  to  be 
built  in  the  twelfth  century,  if  not  before,  as,  what  we  now  call  the 
Early  Norman  architecture  was  totallv  disused  after  the  time  of 
Henry  III.,  viz.,  1250  ;  when  the  Saracenic  pointed  arch,  commonly 
called  the  Gothic,  prevailed. 

In  a  chapel  or  the  north  side  of  this  church,  with  a  boarded  floor 
which  opens  in  the  middle,  is  the  family  vault  of  the  Scawens  ;  but, 
from  its  present  decayed  and  neglected  state,  we  may  infer  that  this 
family  also  is  no  more. 

In  the  centre  of  the  chancel  lies  the  mother  of  our  immortal 


Ivinghoe.  297 

Milton,  who  died  in  the  zpth  year  of  the  poet.  On  a  blue  slab  are 
these  words:  "  Heare  lyeth  ihe  body  of  Sara  Milton,  who  died 
3d  of  April,  1637";  and,  on  her  right-hand,  a  worthy  and  much- 
esteemed  clerg}man  of  this  parish,  in  these  words,  "  Robert  Nanney, 

I734-" 

From  a  drawing  in  my  possession,  I  find  the  arms  of  Brerewood 
thus  blazoned:  Ermine,  two  pails  vaire",  Or  and  Arg.  on  a  chief,  Az. 
a  bezant  between  two  garbs,  Or.  Crest,  on  a  wreath,  two  swords 
in  saltire,  Gules,  pommels  and  hilts  Or,  piercing  a  ducal  coronet 
proper. 

Yours,  etc.,  C.  P. 

Ivinghoe. 

[1812,  Part  /.,//.  209,  2IO.] 

Ivinghoe,  or  Ivingo,  co.  Bucks,  seven  miles  south-east  from 
Uunstable,  near  the  Chiltern  Hills,  is  a  vicarage  in  the  hundred  of 
Cotslow  and  Deanery  of  Muresley,  in  the  presentation  of  the  Bridge- 
water  family;  rated  in  the  King's  books  at  ^12  i6s.  id.,  and  is  a 
discharged  living,  of  the  clear  yearly  value  of  ^36  i6s.  6|d. 

The  old  Roman  road,  called  the  Ikenild  Way,  which  runs  through 
the  kingdom  from  Portsmouth  to  Tynmouth  Haven,  passes  very 
near  this  place,  but  is  impassable  in  winter  or  very  wet  weather  for 
carriages. 

Ivinghoe  is  seated  low,  but  dry,  on  a  rock  of  ragstone,  an  un- 
enclosed open  tract  ot"  land  extending  from  Dunstable  to  Tring. 
The  air  is  pure,  blowing  continually  fresh  from  the  Downs.  The 
town  has  evidently  been  of  much  larger  extent  than  at  present.  On 
removing  some  earth  lately  by  the  plough,  a  skull  and  bones  were 
dug  up  on  a  place  called  Windmill  Hill ;  and  some  have  been  found 
in  cellars  in  all  parts  of  the  town  when  digging. 

Henry  of  Bloys,  in  France,  or  Henry  de  Blois,  Bishop  of  Win- 
chester, made  this,  among  others,  his  place  of  residence,  as  we  find 
on  record.  He  built  a  seat  here  called  Berrystead  House,  which 
has  long  been  converted  into  a  farm-house ;  and  all  that  remains  is 
an  old  kitchen  with  a  two-tunnel  fireplace,  the  tunnels  built  lozenge 
ways.  It  being  the  manor  house,  the  court  leet  and  baron  is  held 
in  a  large  room  in  it,  twice  a  yc  ar.  It  is  situated  in  the  south-east 
corner  of  the  churchyard,  and  is  now  the  property  of  the  Earl  of 
Bridgewater,  lord  of  the  manor. 

The  above  De  Blois  had  the  grant  of  a  market  on  Thursdays  for 
this  town  in  1318.  The  present  market,  if  it  may  be  so  cal'ed,  is 
held  on  Saturday,  for  butcher's  meat  and  straw  plait,  with  two  or 
three  stalls.  The  market-house  is  not  much  superior  to  a  large  tiled 
cow-crib!  The  first  fair,  on  St.  Margaret's,  was  granted  in  1227; 
and  another,  on  the  Assumption  of  the  Blessed  Virgin,  by  the  charter 
of  1318.  The  present  fairs  are  held  on  May  the  6th  and  October 


298  Buckinghamshire. 

1 7th  for  cattle,  and  several  good  drapers',  shoes,  clothes,  and  other 
stalls. 

It  had  originally  a  gaol,  and  criminals  were  executed  at  a  place 
called  Gallows  Knot.  A  large  round-house,  which  stood  in  the 
middle  of  the  town,  was  pulled  down  about  twenty  years  ago,  with 
a  cage  and  stocks  beneath,  in  consequence  of  a  fire  in  the  town,  and 
has  not  since  been  erected. 

The  church  (see  Plate  I.)  is  an  ancient  Gothic  structure,  of  the 
cruciform  plan,  standing,  originally,  in  the  centre  of  the  houses.  It 
is  a  lofty  building,  but  small.  At  a  distance  it  looks  like  a  small 
cathedral,  the  shell  being  a  fine  piece  of  good-proportioned  architec- 
ture, as  observed  by  Browne  Willis  when  he  visited  it.  The  side 
aisles  are  not  so  long  as  they  are  high,  being  nearly  the  height  of  the 
nave.  It  consists  of  a  nave,  two  side  aisles,  north  and  south  aisle, 
and  chancel,  with  a  strong  square  embattled  tower  in  the  intersection 
of  nave,  north  and  south  aisles,  chancel,  etc.,  surmounted  with  a 
moderate  spire  covered  with  lead;  a  handsome  lofty  porch  at  the 
west  end,  having  an  embattled  parapet  crowned  with  the  arms  of 
Edward,  France  and  England  quartered  on  a  plain  shield,  with  crown 
and  supporters,  two  lions  apparently,  placed  in  the  front,  carved  in 
stone,  as  also  a  cross  over  it.  Above  this  porch  is  the  large  west 
window,  containing  four  lighfs,  with  lofty  mullions  and  ramified  head, 
over  which  is  a  niche  for  the  Virgin,  etc.,  and  above  that  another 
stone  cross,  neatly  wrought,  and  porch  north  and  south.  The  nave 
has  a.  series  of  five  windows  of  three  lights  each.  The  whole  pile 
has  an  embattled  parapet,  except  the  side  aisles,  which  are  plain, 
most  of  them  leaded  for  preservation,  as  is  the  roof  entirely,  buttresses, 
projections,  etc.  The  tower  rises  two  stories  above  the  nave,  of  good 
proportion,  with  a  small  square  tower  at  the  north-west  corner,  called 
by  the  inhabitants  the  Bushel  Tower,  having  had  a  bushel  measure 
placed  on  it,  containing  a  fruit  tree.  On  the  spire  is  a  gilt  ball  and 
weathercock.  The  tower  story  on  the  east  side  has  two  lancet 
windows,  and  several  circular  ones  are  stopped  up.  There  are  four 
entrances  to  the  church,  north,  west,  and  south  porches,  and  small 
door  in  the  chancel.  The  whole  is  built  with  flint  and  stone  grouted  ; 
and  freestone  internal  and  external  angles,  windows,  frames,  and 
door-cases,  all  rough  cast. 

The  internal  architecture  is  not  inelegant.  The  nave  is  separated 
from  the  side  aisles  by  two  rows  of  octagon  columns  with  foliage 
capitals,  four  on  each  side,  five  pointed  arches,  plain  mouldings,  but 
bold.  The  nave  is  open  to  the  roof,  and  all  other  parts  of  the  church. 
The  timbers  and  rafters  are  ornamented  with  pendant  angels,  parti- 
cularly over  the  part  where  the  rood-loft  was,  with  a  block  and  pulley, 
originally,  I  suppose,  for  a  lamp  to  be  suspended.  The  roof  rests 
on  long  posts,  set  on  corbels  of  stone,  curiously  carved  into  wry  faces, 
as  if  they  were  sensible  of  the  weight  of  the  roof  on  their  shoulders. 


Ivinghoe.  299 

The  posts  are  between  the  windows,  and  are  carved  to  represent  the 
twelve  Apostles,  not  badly  executed.  The  pulpit  is  against  one  of 
the  south  pillars  near  the  transept,  being  handsomely  carved  oak, 
with  the  Resurrection  on  the  back ;  a  thick  sounding-board  carved 
into  tracery  or  fretwork,  a  reading-desk  and  clerk's  desk  decreasing 
in  height.  The  iron  crane  and  frame  to  place  the  hour-glass  in  still 
remain.  There  are  but  few  pews,  being  chiefly  very  ancient  stalls, 
the  tops  of  which  are  carved  in  a  rude  and  irregular  manner.  There 
is  a  newly-erected  gallery  at  the  west  end;  on  each  side  of  the 
window  over  it  are  two  remarkably  fine  slender  columns  at  the  edge, 
from  the  springing  of  the  arch  to  the  bottom,  with  capital  and  base. 
A  stone  seat  runs  round  the  back  of  the  side  aisles.  A  very  ancient 
stone  font  stands  near  the  south-west  corner  of  the  nave;  it  is  of  an 
octangular  shape,  and  has  formerly  had  one  round  pillar  at  each 
corner,  as  the  tops  and  bottoms  plainly  show ;  they  stood  clear  of 
the  octagon  foot  it  now  rests  on.  The  whole  of  the  church  is  neatly 
paved,  but  wants  a  thorough  repair. 

Yours,  etc.,  J.  S.  B. 

[1812,  Part  I., pp.  315-318.] 

In  the  north  and  south  aisles  of  the  church  are  some  memorials 
of  the  families  of  Duncombe  and  Neale.  In  the  centre  of  the 
north  aisle  is  a  plain  high  table-tomb,  the  stone  of  which  is  inlaid 
with  several  brasses  of  effigies  and  inscription.  Near  it  a  hand- 
some table-tomb,  inclosed  with  iron  rails,  with  a  gray  slab  on  the 
top,  for  the  Neales,  with  the  arms  only  carved  at  top  ;  above  which 
is  placed  a  mural  monument  of  white  marble,  of  excellent  workman- 
ship, supported  by  angels'  heads,  with  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Deborah,  late  wife  of  Francis  Neale,  esq.  one  of  the 
daughters  of  John  Kidgell,  gent.  ;  who  departed  this  life  March  26,  1714,  in  the 
66th  year  of  her  age.  She  had  issue  three  daughters,  Marthanna,  Deborah,  and 
Frances ;  whereof  Marthanna,  who  died  an  infant,  lyeth  buried  by  her.  In 
memory  of  whose  piety  towards  her  God,  charity  to  her  neighbours,  loving  deport- 
ment to  her  said  husband,  and  motherly  care  and  affection  to  her  children,  he  the 
said  Francis  Neale,  her  said  husband,  haih  caused  this  monument  to  be  erected." 

Against  the  east  side  are  two  piscinae  for  holy  water  in  the  wall ; 
above  which,  over  a  pointed  window,  are  two  circular  windows  inter- 
sected with  stone  circles,  something  like  a  Katharine-wheel  window. 
On  the  opposite  side  are  two  long  lancet  windows,  in  which  two  or 
three  pieces  of  painted  glaas  still  remain,  and  a  few  pieces  in  some 
of  the  other  windows.  On  the  north  side  is  a  large  window,  three 
lights,  long  mullions,  pointed  and  ramified  head.  On  the  floor,  a 
stone  to  the  memory  of  the  Blackheads,  on  brasses,  with  their 
efrigies,  in  very  good  preservation.  The  stairs  up  the  tower,  and  to 
the  temporary  ringing-floor,  stop  up  the  view  from  east  to  west, 
through  the  lofty  arches  of  the  tower,  which  stands  on  four  massy 
columns  or  piers.  In  the  floor  beneath  is  a  large  blue  stone,  the 


300  Buckinghamshire. 

oldest  in  the  church,  date  1368,  supposed  to  be  Norman-French  by 
the  inscription,  which,  as  well  as  the  effigies,  are  on  brass. 

In  the  south  aisle,  near  the  tower,  is  another  table-tomb,  for  the 
Duncombes,  covered  with  a  marble  slab,  of  a  hard,  green,  mottled 
cast,  with  inscriptions  and  effigies  on  several  brasses  :  close  to  which 
is  a  piscina  on  the  east  side ;  on  the  other  side  of  a  banister  rail,  on 
the  floor,  a  blue  stone,  with  this  inscription  : 

"Here  lies  the  body  of  William,  the  son  of  John  Duncombe,  of  Barley-end, 
gent,  and  Sarah  his  wife ;  obiit  9  Septembris,  1739,  setatis  n." 

Above,  on  the  south  side,  another  piscina.  The  windows  in  this 
aisle  are  the  same  as  the  noith  aisle. 

The  Lucys  of  Barley-end,  the  last  family  in  that  house,  lie  buried 
here  also  ;  but  no  stone  nor  a  memorial. 

The  chancel  is  divided  from  the  other  parts  by  an  oak  screen, 
painted  and  gilt,  with  six  of  the  Apostles  portrayed  at  the  bottom, 
three  on  each  side  of  the  folding  doors.  Within,  are  old  oak  stalls  ; 
two  on  each  side  of  entrance,  against  the  screen,  for  superiors,  and  a 
long  seat,  with  a  front,  on  each  side  against  the  wall.  In  the  centre 
of  pavement  a  stone  as  follows  : 

"  Here  lieth  the  body  of  Henry  Cooley,  gent,  who  departed  this  life  March  the 
28th,  anno  Dom.  1714." 

Against  the  north  side,  above  it,  a  mural  monument  of  white 
marble,  of  exactly  the  same  form  as  in  the  north  aisle,  and  of  equal 
workmanship,  with  this  inscription  : 

"  Near  this  place  lies  interred  among  his  ancestors,  the  body  of  Henry  Cooley, 
of  Seabrooke,  in  the  parish  of  Chaddir.gton,  in  the  county  of  Bucks,  gent,  son  of 
Francis  Cooley,  gent.  ;  by  whose  death  he  became  heir  and  next  successor  to 
Henry  Cooley,  his  late  grandfather,  of  grateful  memory,  whom  he  truly  repre- 
sented in  all  virtuous  qualifications.  He  married  Mary,  the  daughter  of  VVrn. 
Jarman,  of  Little  Gaddesden,  gent,  with  whom,  but  the  short  space  of  one  year 
before,  Death  dissolved  the  bands  of  iheir  inviolable  affections,  and  paried  the 
most  united  and  happy  paire ;  leaving  issue  by  her,  Henry,  his  only  son  and  sole 
heir,  an  infant  about  a  month  old.  He  was  a  person  pious  in  his  life,  peaceable 
in  his  conversation,  and  just  in  all  his  dealings  ;  a  most  dutiful  son  to  his  mother, 
tenderest  of  husbands  to  his  wife,  the  best  of  masters  to  his  servants  ;  and  is 
deservedly  lamented  by  all  that  knew  him.  He  departed  this  life  the  2oth  day  of 
March,  anno  Domini  1714,  in  the  35th  year  of  his  age. 

"Thus  quick  the  nimble  sands  between 
them  run,  [was  done  ; 

Time   turn'd    the   slender  glass,    and    all 

Death  them  cut  off  the  fruitful  branch, 
and  so  [grow-" 

Left  all  our  hopes  from  one  fresh  bud  to 

Above  the  other,  in  the  pavement,  another  for  the  Cooleys,  but 
not  legible.  Near  to  which,  in  the  north  wall,  is  a  very  ancient 
altar-tomb,  under  an  arch,  with  a  rich  cornice,  o«  which  lies  a  stone 
effigies,  in  episcopal  or  canonical  robes  ;  his  head  rests  on  a  pillow 
laid  angle-ways  upon  another  laid  straight  ;  his  hands  in  the  attitude 


Ivinghoe.  301 

of  prayer,  arms  bare  to  the  elbow,  and  a  kind  of  apron,  pointed  at 
the  bottom,  to  his  knees,  upon  his  vestment,  over  which  is  a  kind  of 
gown,  and  a  wig  very  much  like  what  is  called  a  Welsh  wig.  No  in- 
scription is  to  be  discovered :  it  is  generally  supposed  to  be  the 
tomb  of  the  founder  of  the  church,  or  somebody  from  the  abbey  of 
Ashridge,  called  the  Bonhommes.  Some  have  said  that  it  is  Peter 
Chaceport.  I  suspect  that  the  tomb  was  not  originally  placed  here, 
but  removed  from  another  part  of  the  church.  The  arch  and  figure 
do  not  correspond,  the  figure  appearing  more  ancient.  Within  the 
rails,  at  the  south  corner  of  the  table,  a  small  stone  for 

"Win.  East  bury,  Vicar,  died  Oct.  1st,  1728,  aged  about  80  years." 

There  are  a  few  ornamental  tiles  (one  inscribed,  "  I.  G.  1706.")  in 
the  pavement,  which  is  two  steps  higher  than  the  other  part  of  the 
chancel.  There  is  no  altar,  nor  piscina  here  ;  a  pointed  table  only, 
of  oak,  rather  curious,  and  always  covered  with  fine  green  cloth. 
The  walls  above  and  around  it,  on  each  side,  are  miserably  daubed 
to  represent  wainscot.  A  large  east  window  above,  four  lights, 
ramified  head ;  two  windows  on  the  south,  and  one  on  the  north. 
The  roof  is  open  to  view,  ornamented  with  angels,  full  length,  each 
bearing  shields,  charged  with  a  cross  or  circular  wreath,  with  stone 
corbels  like  the  church.  Two  stone  crowned  heads  project  from  the 
walls,  one  opposite  the  other  ;  an  iron  staple  over  each.  The  view 
of  the  west  window  here  would  have  a  fine  effect,  if  not  obstructed 
by  the  ringing  floor  through  the  arches  of  the  tower.  The  ringing 
floor,  I  should  suppose,  might  have  been  on  the  floor  above,  as  the 
clock  there  might  be  otherways  disposed  of,  having  no  dials.  In  this 
floor  are  deposited  an  iron  frame,  which  the  pan  went  into,  fixed  on 
a  high  pole  for  a.  fire-beacon,  which  used  to  stand  on  a  hill  near  the 
town,  called  Beacon  Hill;  and  a  windlass  for  lowering  the  bells. 
Two  lancet  windows  light  this  story,  and  may  be  traced  in  the  wall ; 
a  number  of  arches  filled  close  up,  apparently  windows,  or  openings, 
formerly  ;  if  so,  the  tower  then  must  have  been  handsome,  with 
circles  similar  to  St.  Alban's.  The  story  above  is  occupied  by  a 
peal  of  five  heavy  bells,  and  a  saint's  bell.  The  tenor  is  a  very  fine 
one,  both  in  tone  and  shape,  about  33  cwt.,  richly  ornamented  about 
the  crown,  with  the  following  inscription  round  that  part,  "  Sana 
Marit.  Christi  Plebesque  Religio  Vdna  1618."  Beneath,  "P.  B.- 
.H.  K.  Churchwardens." — On  another,  "  Sambosa  Polsada  Monde 
Maria  Vocata,  1635."— On  another,  "  I.  R.-C.  1685."— On  ano- 
ther, "William  Buncombe,  Francis  Neale,  esqrs.  Churchwardens: 
Chandler  made  me,  1718." — On  another,  "Richard  Hall  made  me, 
1746;  William  Hayton,  esq.  Richard  Sawell,  gent.  Churchwardens." 
The  sixth,  or  saint's  bell,  hangs  in  one  of  the  beltry  windows ;  no 
inscription.  Though  the  tower  is  large,  one  of  the  bells  is  neces- 
sarily hung  above  the  other.  Above  is  to  be  seen  the  framework  of 


3O2  Buckinghamshire. 


the  spire,  sound  oak  timbers  well-framed  together ;  but  it  has  con- 
siderably weakened  the  top  of  the  tower.  On  the  east  side  the  parapet 
is  much  out  of  the  upright ;  over  the  window  it  is  tied  together  with 
iron  bolts,  etc.  One  window  of  two  lights,  stone  mullions  on  each 
side.  Rooks  burrow  in  the  walls. 

The  view  of  this  church  in  your  last  number  is  from  what  is  called 
the  Warren  Stile  in  the  churchyard,  and  is  a  south-west  prospect. 
The  church  does  not  stand  due  east  and  west,  according  to  the  points 
on  the  ball,  which  were  placed  by  compass  about  twenty  or  thirty 
years  ago. 

In  the  place  called  the  Warren  are  traces  of  foundation  of  Bishop 
Blois's  palace  or  seat. 

There  are  many  entrenchments  on  the  hill  near  this  place,  and  a 
deep,  long  place,  called  Incombe  or  Ingcombe  Hole,  about  600 
paces  long,  and  between  30  and  40  feet  wide,  and  the  same  in  per- 
pendicular depth,  sloping  on  each  side  to  the  angle  45°,  covered 
with  a  fine  turf:  it  is  in  the  shape  of  a  horse-shoe;  and  tradition 
states  it  to  have  been  occasioned  by  the  blood  of  the  Danes  ! 
An  entrenchment  crosses  it,  which  does  that  or  anything  else  away. 
In  my  humble  opinion,  it  may  have  been  a  quarry,  used  by  the 
Romans  for  making  the  Icknild  Road  ;  this  part  being  all  rag- 
stone,  of  which  roads  are  now  usually  made.  Tradition  likewise 
states  it  to  have  been  made  by  the  Romans  within  their  camp  to 
screen  their  men.  That  there  was  formerly  a  camp  here  the  works 
thrown  up  prove;  but  such  an  excavation  could  never  have  been 
intended  as  a  place  of  refuge.  Another  tradition  may  also  here  be 
noticed,  viz.,  that  the  women  went  out  of  the  towns  in  the  night 
and  slew  all  the  red-haired  men  (the  Danes)  whilst  asleep  in  their 
camp. 

Combe  Hole,  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill,  is  deep,  long,  and 
serpentine,  and  a  spring  of  water  issues  out  in  the  middle.  In  the 
vicinity  is  a  romantic  place,  called  Ward's  Comb,  full  of  fine  wood 
belonging  to  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater,  with  three  farm-houses  and  cot- 
tages in  it.  Near  this  is  the  Ivinghoe  Coursing  Ground.  Nearer 
the  town  is  another  deep  place,  called  Brook  Comb  Bottom.  'These 
four  places  with  the  name  of  Comb,  it  may  be  presumed,  furnish  a 
proof  of  a  camp  having  been  here,  as  Combes,  Comb,  as  well  as 
Comp,  in  Saxon  signifying  camp. 

Barley  End  House,  the  seat  of  the  Duncombes  before-mentioned, 
is  an  old  building  (in  the  shape  of  a  half  H)  with  a  lath  and  plaster 
front.  A  branch  of  this  family  lies  at  Battlesden  in  Bedfordshire.* 
Mrs.  Lucy,  the  last  occupier  of  the  house,  lies  buried  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  south  aisle.  It  is  now  the  property  of  the  Earl 
of  Bridgewater,  who  is  building  a  most  magnificent  mansion  in  the 
castle  and  church  Gothic  style,  in  Ashridge  Park. 
*  See  "Topographer,"  vol.  i.,  p.  494. 


Ivinghoe.  303 

At  the  top  of  one  of  the  hills,  called  Druid's  Mount,  some  large- 
sized  bones  were  dug  out  of  a  tumulus  some  years  back ;  near  which, 
on  a  proud  eminence,  stands  Crawley  Wood,  seen,  it  is  said,  at  the 
distance  of  100  miles,  and  at  Portsmouth.  It  is  a  large  circle  of 
beech-trees,  the  property  of  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater,  a  fine  situation 
for  a  prospect-tower  (for  which  a  design  has  been  made). 

The  principal  land-holders  are,  the  Earl  of  Bridgewater  and  Wm. 
Hayton,  Esq.,  of  Aldbury,  who  has  a  large  mansion,  shut  up  with 
pleasure-grounds  and  paddock,  in  the  town ;  near  which  remains  a 
small  part  of  a  very  old  house,  supposed  to  have  been  a  nunnery. 
Mr.  Meacher,  the  proprietor  of  an  extensive  ale-brewery,  has  a  hand- 
some large  square  house  adjoining  ;  but  there  are  no  other  houses 
worth  notice  except  Berrystead  House  mentioned  in  p.  209. 

J.  S.  B. 

[1812,  Fart  I.,  p.  610.] 

To  J.  S.  B.'s  church  notes,  etc.,  from  Ivingo,  Buckinghamshire, 
permit  me  to  make  the  following  additions  and  corrections. 

P.  316.  Only  two  of  the  six  figures  painted  on  the  west  face  of 
the  screen  which  separates  the  chancel  from  the  body  of  the  church, 
have  the  apostolic  nimbus  or  glory  round  their  heads :  one  of  these, 
which  has  on  that  account,  I  doubt  not,  been  purposely  injured,  is, 
by  the  symbol,  St.  John  :  the  other  is  still  more  defaced,  and  un- 
known. The  remaining  four,  which  escaped  mutilation  when  saints 
and  other  objects  of  superstitious  worship  were  going  out  of  fashion, 
are  a  cardinal,  and  three  bishops ;  and,  as  they  exhibit  some  strong 
traits  of  character  or  likeness  in  their  countenances,  the  appropriation 
of  them,  in  connection  with  the  history  of  the  church,  will  afford 
opportunity  for  curious  speculation  and  research  to  the  antiquary. 

The  ancient  inscription,  '•'•supposed  to  be  Norman  French"  is  as 
follows  : 

"  Rauf  Fallywolle  qe  morust  le  iij.  jo.  de  mai  Ian  de  g'ce  Me  CCC  XLIX  &  Lucie 
sa  fe'me  qe  morust  le  vintisme  jour  de  januer  Ian  de  g'ce  Me  CCC  LXVIII  gisent  icy 
dieu  de  lour  almes  eit  mercy." 

The  brass  figure  of  the  woman  has  been  stolen  away,  and  that  of  the 
man  decapitated. 

P.  315.  The  monuments  of  the  Buncombes  are  already  engraved, 
as,  perhaps,  hereafter,  will  be  the  screen  and  paintings  above  men- 
tioned. 

Yours,  etc.,  T.  FISHER. 

Lekhamsted. 

[1816,  Part  II.,  p.  497.] 

Allow  me  to  send  you  the  following  representation  of  the  curiously 
ornamented  font  in  Lekhamsted  Church,  mentioned  by  Mr.  Lysons, 
in  his  "  Magna  Britannia,"  vol.  i.,  p.  489  ;  and  to  solicit  that  it  may 


304  Buckinghamshire. 


obtain  admission  into  your  magazine.  Perhaps  I  ou^ht  also  to 
inform  you,  that  although  it  is  not  my  first  attempt  at  drawing,  it  is 
absolutely  my  first  at  etching  upon  copper. 

The  figures  represented  on  the  panels  of  this  font  are,  ist,  St. 
Catherine ;  2nd,  Mary  and  the  infant  Jesus ;  3rd,  Four  roses ;  4th, 
Two  leaves  within  a  garter  in  the  figure  of  a  heart ;  5th,  The  rood  ; 
6th,  Not  visible,  owing  to  the  font  standing  against  a  pillar ;  yth,  A 
bishop ;  and  8th,  a  grotesque  figure,  perhaps  a  dragon,  out  of  whose 
mouth,  as  it  appears  to  me,  proceeds  a  tree.  A  friend  of  mine,  who 
is  versed  in  antiquities,  has  informed  me  that  the  tree  was  used  in 
monkish  times  to  represent  the  Church,  and  the  dragon  the  Evil 
Spirit,  or  Devil.  He  therefore  suggests  that  the  present  sculpture 
may  be  designed  to  figure  the  dragon  gnawing  at  the  root  of  the  tree, 
or,  without  a  metaphor,  Satan  trying  to  undermine  the  Church. 

This  ancient  church  of  Lekharnsted  has  about  it  many  traces  of 
Norman  or  Saxon  architecture ;  particularly  a  circular-headed  and 
much  ornamented  door  on  the  north  side ;  of  which  I  have  a  drawing 
that  shall  be  much  at  your  service. 

Yours.,  etc.,  H.  VV. 


Maid's  Morton. 

[1804,  Part  II. ,  p.  813.] 

The  church  of  Maid's  Morton,  near  Buckingham,  dedicated  to 
St.  Edmund  the  King  and  Martyr  (Plate  II.,  Fig.  i)  is  a  neat,  ele- 
gant structure,  delightfully  situated,  built  by  two  maiden  sisters,  of 
the  family  of  the  Peovers,  about  1450,  28  Henry  VI.  It  consists  of 
a  nave,  or  body,  and  a  chancel,  with  a  small  vestry  on  the  south 
side  ;  and  has  a  neat  embattled  tower  at  the  west  end,  in  which  were 
three  very  tolerable  good  bells,  anno  1717  run  into  five  small  bells. 

The  chancel  is  26  feet  long,  and  16  broad.  The  length  of  the 
church  is  41  feet,  and  breadth  24  feet ;  length  of  the  belfry,  17  feet 
and  12  broad.  The  whole  fabric  is  leaded;  and  in  the  windows, 
which  are  lofty  and  uniform,  was  a  good  deal  of  painted  glass  ;  but 
it  is  so  defaced  that  nothing  can  be  made  out.  Here  were  some 
paintings  on  the  chancel  walls,  but  they  have  been  also  defaced. 
The  roof  of  the  porches  and  tower  entrance  are  arched  over  with 
stone. 

In  the  middle  of  the  church  is  a  large  ancient  marble,  on  which 
were  the  effigies  of  the  above  two  maiden  sisters,  in  brass,  with  an 
inscription  under  them  ;  but  it  is  torn  off,  boih  the  effigies  and  in- 
scriptions ;  but  the  arms  are  in  two  escutcheons,  remaining. 

The  stone  being  some  years  ago  taken  up,  a  large  stone  coffin  was 
discovered,  in  which  tradition  says  these  two  sisters'  bodies  were 
deposited. 


Maid's  Morton. — Norlli  Marston.  305 

Over  the  north  and  south  doors  are  their  arms  painted  against  the 
wall,  and  these  words  wrote  : 

"  Sisters  and  maidens,  daughters  of  the  lord  Peover,  the  pious  and  magnificent 
founders  of  this  church." 

The  two  sisters  are  said  to  have  been  joined  together. 
Terrier,  Oct.  29,  1605.     George  Bate,  rector. 

The  homestall,  containing  2  acres ;  the  garden,  a  rood.  The 
parsonage  of  stone,  containing  4  bays  and  10  rooms  ;  a  hall,  kitchen, 
buttery,  4  chambers,  and  3  cock-lofts.;  2  barns,  one  of  5  bays,  the 
other  of  4  ;  a  hovel  of  3  bays.  Meadow  in  Deep  Mead,  12  poles ; 
in  Middle  Field,  6  poles  :  in  all,  4  acres.  Arable  in  Chatwell  Field, 
i  acre,  6  roods,  n  lands.  In  the  Upper  Field,  i  acre,  i  rood, 
8  lands  ;  in  the  Lower  Field,  2  acres  4  lands.  In  Holeway,  2  acres, 
4  roods,  8  lands.  In  Causeway,  i  acre,  2  roods. 

The  total  contents  of  the  glebe-land  of  the  rectory  of  Maiden- 
Moreton  (as  it  is  called  in  some  accounts)  is  24  acres  and  i  yard. 

Colonel  Purefoy,  of  Warwickshire,  ordered  the  cross  on  the  top  of 
the  steeple  to  be  cut  down  in  1642  ;  by  its  fall  had  nearly  beat  out 
the  soldiers'  brains. 

1653.  The  people  would  be  married  at  the  church,  and  their 
children  baptized,  contrary  to  Cromwell's  order. — BROWNE  WILLIS. 

Rev.  William  Hutton  became  proprietor  of  Moreton  Rectory 
anno  17  .  .  His  son,  the  Rev.  James  Long  Hutton,  LL.B.,  is  the 
present  rector. 

A.  Z. 
North  Marston. 

[1820,  Part  I  I.,  pp.  490-492.] 

North  Marston,  formerly  Merstone  or  Meerston,  probably  derived 
its  name  from  low  marshy  ground,  denoted  by  the  Saxon  word  mere, 
in  which  it  is  situated:  the  addition  "  North"  distinguishing  this 
parish  from  another  called  Fleet  Marston,  about  five  miles  distant 
from  it,  towards  the  south-east. 

North  Marston  is  about  four  miles  south-south-east  of  the  small 
market  town  of  Winslow,  and  one  mile  south  of  the  turnpike  road 
from  Buckingham  to  Aylesbury. 

In  the  ancient  division  of  the  county,  North  Merstone  was  included 
in  the  hundred  of  Votesdone  (Waddesdon),  since  comprised  in  that 
of  Ashendon;  and  in  ecclesiastical  matters  is  reckoned  in  the  deanery 
of  Waddesdon,  and  subject  to  the  Archdeacon  of  Buckingham 
and  Bishop  of  Lincoln.  The  parish  is  bounded  on  the  north  by 
Grandborough,  on  the  north-east  by  Swanbourn  and  Oving,  with 
which  parishes  an  angle  of  the  parish  of  Dunton  also  adjoins  it  on 
the  same  side.  On  the  east  and  south-east  it  is  bounded  by  Oving; 
on  the  south  by  Pitchcott  and  the  hamlet  of  Denham  in  Quainton ; 
on  the  south-west  by  Hogshaw ;  ami  on  the  west  and  north-west 

VOL.   XII.  20 


306  Buckinghamshire. 

by  Grandborough.  It  is  computed  to  contain  about  one  thousand 
eight  hundred*  acres  of  land,  of  which  twelve  hundred  are  said  to 
be  in  pasturage,  four  hundred  in  meadow,  and  only  one  hundred 
in  arable.  The  parish  occupies  a  sort  of  recess,  separated  by  the 
hills  of  Quainton  and  Pitchcott  from  the  vale  of  Aylesbury ;  the 
soil  is  in  general  a  stiff  black  clay  (called  by  geologists  oak-tree 
clay) ;  and  the  arable  land  is  chitfly  employed  for  the  production  of 
wheat,  barley  and  beans,  with  some  oats. 

Nearly  contiguous  to  the  south-east  side  of  the  village,  and  about 
a  furlong  from  the  church,  rises  a  copious  spring  of  pellucid  water, 
very  slightly  chalybeate,  but  containing  in  solution  a  considerable 
quantity  of  calcareous  earth,  which  fills  a  reservoir  seven  or  eight 
feet  in  depth,  and  six  feet  square,  called  "  Holy  Well,"  though 
more  commonly  "The  Town  Well."  It  is  inclosed  by  walls,  partly 
stone  and  partly  brick,  and  covered  with  a  shed  of  boards,  and  a 
flight  of  stone  steps  descends  into  the  water. 

This  spring  was  formerly  held  in  great  repute  for  its  medicinal 
virtues  and  even  miraculous  effects,  which  in  the  ages  of  superstition 
and  bigotry  were  attributed  to  the  blessing  bestowed  upon  the  water 
through  the  devout  prayers  of  Sir  John  Schorne,  the  pious  rector  of 
this  parish,  about  the  year  1290.  Such  was  its  fame  that  the  village 
is  said  to  have  become  populous  and  flourishing  in  consequence  of 
the  great  resort  of  sick  persons  who  visited  it ;  but  it  has  long  de- 
clined in  reputation,  and  lost  all  its  sanctity  excepting  the  name,  and 
is  at  present  seldom  resorted  to,  unless  by  the  inhabitants  of  the 
immediate  neighbourhood,  who  make  no  scruple  to  use  it  for  com- 
mon domestic  purposes.  The  superfluous  water  which  runs  off 
forms  a  small  rill,  which  takes  a  north-western  course,  and  joining 
a  brook  in  the  contiguous  parish  of  Grandborough,  is  carried  along 
with  it  into  the  river  Ouse. 

The  population,  in  the  returns  made  to  Parliament  in  1801,  was 
stated  at  487  inhabitants,  occupying  77  houses.  In  1806  the  number 
had  increased  to  573,  and  at  present  may  be  computed  at  about  630. 
Of  these  the  males  are  principally  employed  in  agriculture,  and  the 
pursuits  and  occupations  immediately  connected  with  it,  and  most 
of  the  females  and  children  in  the  manufacture  of  lace.  In  the 
above  list  are,  however,  included  nine  or  ten  families  whose  livelihood 
is  chiefly  obtained  by  the  business  of  conveying  calves  bred  on  the 
dairy  farms  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  parishes,  to  distant  markets, 
and  a  few  others  who  follow  mechanical  trades  and  handicrafts. 
Some  of  the  houses  of  the  village  bear  evident  marks  of  antiquity; 
and  a  considerable  number  have  been  taken  down  within  the  last 

*  There  is  evidently  a  mistake  in  Parkinson's  Tables  annexed  to  the  "  Survey 
of  the  County  of  Bucks,"  by  the  Rev.  St.  John  Priest,  in  which  the  number  of 
acres  is  stated  at  1,600  in  one  table,  and  in  another  it  is  said  that  i,7?6  acres  have 
b«en  inclosed. 


\ 


North  Marston.  307 


century,  several  small  freeholds  having  been  sold  to  the  larger  pro- 
prietors, or  to  other  purchasers,  so  that  the  number  of  persons  who 
have  a  right  of  voting  at  the  election  of  representatives  in  Parliament 
for  the  county  scarcely  exceeds  one-fourth  of  those  who  about  fifty  or 
sixty  years  ago  enjoyed  that  privilege.  The  number  of  houses  was 
also  reduced  by  a  destructive  fire  about  the  year  1700,  which, 
according  to  tradition,  consumed  many  of  the  buildings  in  "  High 
Street,"  as  the  main  road  or  street  is  in  the  old  writings  denominated. 
At  present  the  farms  are  from  about  40  to  200  acres  each.  There  is 
one  flour-mill  in  the  parish,  of  recent  erection. 

There  are  two  manors  in  the  parish  ;  the  superior  or  paramount 
manor,  holden  by  Mrs.  Heaton,  as  lessee  under  St.  John's  College 
in  Oxford  ;  and  the  inferior  manor  (which  pays  tithes  to  the  former), 
held  by  lease  from  Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  by  John  Ingram 
Lockhart,  Esq.,  who  married  the  daughter  of  the  late  lessee,  Francis 
Wastil,  Esq.,  formerly  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Oxfordshire  Militia 
and  high  sheriff  of  that  county,  whose  first  wife  became  entitled  to  it 
under  the  will  of  her  maternal  aunt  —  Gibbert,  to  whom,  with  other 
property,  it  had  reverted,  on  the  decease  of  — •  Saunders,  Esq.,  heir 
of  an  ancient  family  long  resident  at  North  Marston,  and  originally 
lessees  under  the  before-mentioned  college.  It  is  believed  that  this 
estate,  which  was  included  amongst  the  early  possessions  of  Mag- 
dalen College,  had  previously  belonged  to  the  Hospital  of  St.  John 
at  Oxford,  and  wa,s  granted  to  William  of  Waynfleet,  the  founder,  by 
King  Henry  VI.  about  the  year  1457  ;  but  no  account  on  which  any 
reliance  can  be  placed  being  preserved  of  the  foundation  of  the  said 
Hospital,  besides  that  of  its  having  been  in  existence  in  the  reign  of 
King  John,  it  seems  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  ascertain 
through  whose  hands  this  manor  passed  after  the  time  of  the  Domes- 
day survey,  until  it  was  vested  in  the  Hospital  ;  it  certainly,  however, 
admits  of  conjecture  that  that  establishment  having  been  professedly 
devoted  to  the  use  and  accommodation  of  pilgrims  and  sick  persons 
resorting  to  certain  salubrious  fountains,*  or  sacred  springs  (as  they 
were  then  esteemed),  might  have  been  originally  endowed  with  the 
estate  under  consideration,  as  an  offering  piously  made  by  some  of 
Sir  John,  or  St.  John,  Schorne's  devotees.  This  circumstance,  how- 
ever, is  merely  conjectural. 

The  manor-house,  which  had  been  the  mansion  of  the  Saunderses, 
was  taken  down  in  the  last  century,  and  part  of  the  stables  was  then 
converted  into  a  farm-house,  which  is  now  occupied  by  one  of  Mr. 
Lockhart's  tenants. 

In  the  year  1785  the  open  and  common  fields  were  inclosed,  under 

*  "  The  Hospital  of  St.  John  the  Baptist  was,  about  the  year  1233,  either  rebuilt 
or  repaired  by  Henry  III.,  and  is  said  to  have  been  intended  for  infirm  persons,  or 
poor  strangers  travelling  to  .V.  Pride  swyde's,  St.  Edmund's  Well,  and  other  places 
of  superstitious  resort.  They  were  possessed  of  several  churches  and  manors," 
etc. — "Chalmers's  Hist,  of  Oxford,"  vol.  i. ,  p.  196. 

2O —  2 


Buckinghamshire. 


an  Act  of  Parliament,  by  which  an  allotment  of  land  was  assigned  to 
the  dean  and  canons  of  Windsor,  as  impropriators,  in  lieu  of  tithes  ; 
and  about  ten  or  twelve  acres  set  apart  as  a  compensation  for  the 
right  of  common  belonging  to  the  poor  inhabitants  of  the  parish. 

The  effect  -of  such  inclosure  is  stated  in  the  Agricultural  Survey  of 
the  County  to  have-  been '"  a  decrease  of  breeding  stock,  and  of  the 
produce  in  wheat  and  other  grain,  and  an  increase  of  feeding  stock." 
It  is  also  fair  to  remark  that,  besides  the  advantage  of  bringing  into 
cultivation  the  whole  extent  -of  waste  and  unproductive  land,  the 
inclosure  has  had  a  manifest  tendency  to  improve  the  roads,  and  to 
ameliorate  the  -condition  of  the  lower  classes,  whilst  it  must  be  ac- 
knowledged to  have  diminished  the  number  of  small  farms,  and 
thrown  the  freehold  property  into  fewer  hands. 

In  the  "  Appendix  to  the  General  View  of  the  Agriculture  of 
Bucks,"  by  the  -Rev.  St.  John  Priest  (p.  385),  the  number  of  farm- 
houses in  North  Marston  is  stated  to  be  8,  and  of  cottages  15  :  errors 
the  less  excusable  in  a  work  of  such  a  nature,  and  professed  to  be 
compiled  from  actual  and  personal  observation  ;  on  which  account 
only  they  are  here  particularly  noticed. 

Perpetual  Curacy. 

The  patronage  being  vested,  together  with  the  impropriation  of 
the  great  tithes,  in  the  dean  and  chapter  of  Windsor,  was  formerly 
leased  by  that  body  to  Mr.  Cutler,  and  subsequently  to  the  late 
James  Neild,  Esq.,  of  Chelsea,  one  of  his  majesty's  justices  of  the 
peace  for  this  county,  as  also  for  Middlesex  and  Surrey,  sheriff  of 
Bucks  in  1804;  and  more  distinguished  by  his  philanthropic  and 
benevolent  exertions  to  ameliorate  and  improve  the  state  of  prisons, 
of  which  he  was  the  author  of  an  able  and  very  interesting  account. 
It  is  at  present  in  the  possession  of  John  Camden  Neild,  Esq.,  his 
son,  who  is  also  proprietor  of  other  estates  in  the  county. 

The  living  being  certified  in  the  king's  books  to  be  of  the  annual 
value  of  ^33  153.  and  discharged  from  the  payment  of  first-fruits 
and  tenths,  was  in  1732  augmented  with  a  donation  of  £200  by  the 
executors  of  Edward  Lord  Bishop  of  Chichester,  in  addition  to 
Queen  Anne's  bounty. 

Perpetual  Curates. 

1587.     Edmund  Cowdell  lived  here  49  years.     Mr.  Robinson  and 

Mr.  Wentworth  a  little  while  between. 
1636.     Hanniball    Barnes    lived    here  22   years.      —  Thorogood, 

2  years. 

1660.     John  Virgin,  34  years. 

1695.     Edward  Sherrier,  B.A.  (late  Rector  of  Addington),  3  years. 
1698.     Richard  Purchase,  44  years. 
1742.     Purchas  Deuchfield,  32  years. 


North  Marston*  309 


1774.     Richard  Deuchfield,  32  years. 

1806.     William  Pinnock    (late    Rector,  of   Great    Woolston),  the 
present  worthy  incumbent. 

[1820,  Part  II., pp.  580-583.] 

The  church,  which  is  dedrcated  to  St.  Mary,  stands  on  a  gentle 
eminence  at  the  north-eastern  extremity  of  the  village,  and  consists 
of  a  nave  and  side  aisles,  with  a*square  tower  at  the  west  end,  about 
60  feet  in  height ;.  and  at  the  east  end  a  chancel,  handsomely  built 
in  the  Gothic  style,  with  arched  windows,  having  stone  mullions  and 
tracery.  The  length  of  the  whole  edifice  is  95  feet  within  the  walls  ; 
the  belfry,  at  the  west  end,  measuring  17  feet,  the  nave  38,  and  the 
chancel  about  40 :  the  width  of  the  nave  and  aisles  being  42 1  feet, 
and  of  the  chancel  22^ 

It  is  said  that  the  chancel  was  built  out  of  the  offerings  at  the 
shrine  of  Sir  John  Schorne  ;  which,  according  to  the  account  pre- 
served in  the  history  of  Windsor,  and  cited  by  Mr.  Lysons,  in 
"  Magna  Britannia/'  vol.  i.,  p.  603,  amounted  ta-no  less  an  average  sum 
than^fov?  hundred  peunds  per  annum' (equal,  as  the  last-named  writer 
observes,  to  ^5,000  (according  to  the  present  value  of  money) ;  and, 
therefore,  affords  some  degree  of  probability  in  support  of  such  a 
tradition.  It  may  with  greater  certainty  be  affirmed  that  this  part  of 
the  building  bears  a  near  resemblance  to  the  architecture  of  the 
tower  of  St.  Mary  Magdalen  College,*  and  other  works  of  the  same 
period,  and  affords  a  beautiful  specimen  of  the  improved  Gothic. 
Of  the  shrine  above  alluded  to,  Browne  Willis  mentions  that  it  was 
so  famous  that  direction-posts  had-  been  standing  in  the  lifetime  of 
his  informants,. which  pointed  out  the  roads  leading  to  it.t 

The  principal  entrance  to  the  church  is  by  a'  porch  on  the  south 
side,  which  projects  about  10  feet;-. the  doorway  being  a  Gothic 
arch.  There  is  also  a  door  at  the  west  end,  another  on  the  north 
side,  and  a  third  on  the  south  side  of  the  chancel.  The  windows  of 
the  church  are  square-headed,  with  mullions,  excepting  one  at  the 
east  end  of  the  south  aisle  which  has  a  Gothic  arch  with  tracery,  the 
weather-ledge  terminating  with  a  carved  head  on  one  side,  the  other 
hidden  by  the  projection  of  one  of  the  buttresses  of  the  chancel. 
The  whole  roof  is  covered  with  lead,  and  the  parapet  is  surmounted 
with  coped  battlements,  to  which  are  affixed  small  pinnacles,  three 
on  each  side  of  the  church,  to  correspond  with  the  richly  figured 
decorations  of  the  buttresses-of  the  chancel.  Of  the  latter  there  are 
ten,  besides  a  pinnacle  on  the  centre  of  the  east  end,  beneath  which 
is  a  beautiful  canopied  niche,  containing  a  pedestal,  supported  by  an 
angel,  with  wings  expanded,  immediately  over  the  great  east  window, 
which  is  elegantly  storied,  although  but  few  vestiges  remain  of  the 

*  Engraved  in  Gent.  Mag.,  1817,  vol.  Ixxxvii.,  i  ,  p.  9. 
t  Collections  in  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford. 


3 1  o  Buckinghamshire. 

coloured  glass  with  which  all  the  chancel  windows,  at  least,  were 
once  adorned.  The  effect  of  the  elegant  architecture  of  the  chancel, 
when  viewed  from  the  north-east,  is  considerably  heightened  by  two 
octagonal  pillars,  ranged  with  the  pinnacles,  and  a  delicately  formed 
and  embattled  turret,  on  the  north  side,  above  the  roof  of  a  small 
vestry-room,  which,  with  an  apartment  over  it,  are  attached  to  the 
chancel. 

A  richly  ornamented  frieze  is  carried  round  the  chancel,  charged 
with  heads  of  monstrous  animals  and  grotesque  figures  of  men,  with 
asses'  ears  ;  the  latter  in  various  dresses,  some  ecclesiastical  and  evi- 
dently designed  as  caricature  resemblances  of  monks.  There  are 
twelve  on  the  south  side,  six  at  the  east  end,  and  nineteen  on  the 
north  side,  the  latter  being  chiefly  the  heads  of  quadrupeds. 

In  the  interior  the  ceiling  of  the  church  is  of  wainscot,  divided 
into  compartments,  the  beams  resting  on  brackets  adorned  with 
figures  of  angels  holding  musical  instruments.  The  walls  have 
painted  on  them  numerous  texts  of  Scripture  ;  as  also  the  front  of  a 
gallery  at  the  west  end.  Over  the  south  door  are  the  words,  "  Re- 
member the  poor."  The  Decalogue,  the  Creed,  and  the  Lord's 
Prayer  are  also  painted  on  the  wall,  and  the  royal  arms  above  an 
open  screen,  once  painted  and  gilt,  which  separates  the  nave  from 
the  chancel.  At  the  east  end  at  the  south  aisle,  on  each  side  of  the 
window,  is  a  lofty  niche  ;  and  under  a  pointed  arch  close  to  it,  in 
the  east  wall,  is  a  piscina,  or  holy-water  pot,  in  good  preservation. 
Near  the  window,  on  the  wall  below,  on  the  north  side,  are  two 
cavities,  probably  designed  to  hold  the  furniture  or  decorations  be- 
longing to  an  altar  which  once  stood  here.  But  whether  this  were 
the  shrine  of  the  saint  before  mentioned,  may  be  disputed.  The 
font  stands  on  a  square  basement,  raised  above  the  floor,  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  the  church  ;  and  is  supported  by  a  pedestal,  to 
which  are  attached  four  large  shields  borne  by  angels,  which  being 
formed  of  very  soft  stone  are  worn  or  rubbed  almost  plain.  The 
font  itself  is  octagonal,  each  face  or  compartment  being  ornamented 
with  carving  :  one  of  them  contains  a  rose,  others  four  vine-leaves 
with  their  tendrils  intertwining  in  the  centre  ;  another  a  rose  and 
fasces,  a  shield  with  three  chalices,  or  cups,  and  another,  two  ragged 
or  knotted  staves  saltirewise. 

There  are  two  arches  on  each  side,  between  the  nave  and  aisles, 
supported  by  four  pillars  ;  those  on  the  north  side,  each  composed 
of  four  circular  columns  clustered  together.  And  of  those  on  the 
south  side,  one  of  them  octagon,  with  each  of  its  sides  concave  or 
grooved ;  and  the  other  fancifully  cut,  so  that  the  several  angles  of  an 
octagon  are  made  to  resemble  the  o.  g. 

The  door  which  formerly  led  to  the  rood-loft  still  remains  behind 
the  pulpit.  The  covering  of  the  latter  is  of  blue  cloth,  with  I.  H.  S. 
and  the  date  1 706  embroidered  in  silver. 


North  Marston.  3 1  r 


In  the  floor  of  the  north  aisle,  near  the  font,  and  partly  covered 
by  a  pew,  is  a  large  blue  slab,  in  which  are  the  marks  where  brasses 
have  been  formerly  inserted,  either  of  coats  of  arms  or  small  figures  ; 
and  a  fillet  of  brass  still  retains  the  following  inscription  : 

"^ic  jacet  Joh'es  IJtrgtne  olhn  gSallibus  istins  bille,  flat  obttt an. 

b'mn.  mill.  ....7....  <£€<£  gessiw mmo. 

Near  the  east  end  of  the  north  aisle,  immediately  over  the  pew 
belonging  to  the  manor,,  at  present  held  by  Mr.  Lockhart,  is  a  marble 
tablet  in  memory  of  ''Sarah,  wife  of  Richard  Saunders,  of  Aylesbury, 
Gent,  who  died  26  Nov.  1749,  aged  54  years:  and  of  Richard 
Saunders,  who  died  6  Dec.  1751,  aged  56." 

A  piece  of  land  of  about  two  acres,  in  the  contiguous  parish  of 
Oving,  is  said  to  be  annexed  to  the  stipend  of  the  minister  of  this 
parish,  on  condition  that  the  vault  beneath  be  never  suffered  to  be 
opened  ;  or,  in  default,  the  said  land  to  be  forfeited  to  the  lord  of 
the  manor. 

The  chancel  has  its  western;  end  fitte-i  up  in  the  manner  of  a 
choir,  with  three  stalls  on  each  side,  of  oak,  having  folding  seats 
very  richly  carved  and  ornamented  with  foliage.  Before  these  stalls, 
and  also  continued  on  either  hand  against  the  side  walls,  are  desks 
with  much  carving,  but  of  inferior  design  and  execution  to  that  of 
the  seats.  The  ceiling  is  of  wainscot,  in  compartments,  and  the 
panels  over  the  east  end,  within  the  communion-rails,  have  bosses  or 
knobs  in  the  centre  of  each.  The  beams  rest  on  brackets,  with 
figures  of  birds  and  angels  bearing  shields. 

On  the  south  side  of  the  altar  are  three  stone  seats  or  stalls,  with 
Gothic  pillars,  canopies,  and  tracery,  all  of  equal  height.  The  cano- 
pies are  vaulted,  with  eight  ribs,  terminated  by  a  rose  in  the  centre 
of  each.  They  are  in  good  preservation,  excepting  that  in  front  the 
ornaments  above  the  niches  have  been  disfigured  by  the  erection  of 
an  ill-designed  monumental  tablet,  which  destroys  the  symmetry  of 
the  arches,  of  which  some  of  the  carving  and  decorations  have  been 
even  chipped  off  to  make  room  for  it.  A  long,  clumsy,  wooden  desk 
has  also  been  fixed  up  within  the  pillars  of  the  stalls,  to  which  is 
chained  the  book  of  Homilies,  accompanied  by  some  other  religious 
tracts  :  Erasmus's  Colloquies ;  the  Works  of  Ursinus,  translated  by 
Hy.  Parrie,  fol.  Oxon.  1587;  Bishop  Jewel's  Works  in  English,  1609; 
and  a  large  folio  without  a  title,  printed  in  1578.  By  whom  placed 
there  is  unknown. 

Close  to  the  upper  or  easternmost  stall  is  a  piscina,  under  a  sharp- 
pointed  arch,  of  the  time  of  King  Henry  III.,  ornamented  with 
foliage. 

Against  the  north  wall,  within  the  rails,  is  a  lozenge  of  white 
marble,  with  the  following  : 

"  In  memory  of  Richard  Purchas,  late  minister  of  this  parish,  who  departed  this 
life  Aug.  29,  1742,  aged  71." 


312  Buckinghamsh  ire. 


Against  the  south  wall,  on  a  similar  lozenge  : 

"  In  memory  of  Purchas  Deuchfield,  late  minister  of  this  parish,  who  departed 
this  life  Dec.  n,  1774,  aged  59." 

On  another : 

"  Rebecca  relict  of  the  Rev.  Purchas  Deuchfield,  departed  this  life  May  14, 
1784,  aged  66." 

On  another,  against  the  south  wall,  without  the  rails : 

"  In  memory  of  the  Rev.  Richard  Deuchfield,  who  departed  this  life  September 
29,  1805,  aged  6 1  years." 

On  a  brass,  inserted  in  a  large  blue  slab  within  the  rails  : 

"  Filia  Richardi  Sanders,  legitima  conjux 
Sanders  et  Cookson,  Richardique  Thomse, 

Quse  septem  liberos  peperit  predicto  Richardo  ; 
Tantum  duo  gerit  Elizabetha,  Thornse, 

Quse  dedidit  vitam  Julii  vicesimo  quinto 
Faucibus  avaris  postea  ssevi  Lethi, 

An.  Dom.  1656." 

On  a  tablet  of  variegated  marble,  affixed  to  the  north  wall,  are 
notices  of  the  death  of 

"Eleanor  Saunders,  an  infant,  14  June,  1696." 

"Thomas  Saunders,  an  infant,  18  Nov.  1699." 

"Thomas  Saunders,  Gent.,  4  Jan.  1704,  aged  44  years." 

"Elizabeth,  widow  andjelict  of  Thomas  Saunders,  5  April,  1744,  aged  84." 

Three  large  stones  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  appear  to  have  been 
sepulchral,  but  have  no  inscriptions  remaining.  In  one  of  them  are 
grooves,  in  which  a  label,  and  probably  coats  of  arms  were  inserted. 

In  the  centre  of  the  north  wall,  on  a  plain  brown  stone,  with  the 
figure  of  a  hand  in  relief,  at  the  bottom,  pointing  to  the  floor,  and 
encircled  with  the  words  "  He  lise  just  down  thare." 

"Heare  lieth  the  body  of  Mr.  John  Virgin,  minister  of  North  Maston,  who 
deceased  this  life  the  nth  day  of  January,  1694,  aged  77  years." 

On  a  large  brass  plate,  also  in  the  north  wall : 

"In  memory  of  Elizabeth  Saunders,  widow,  who  died  Feb.  n,  A.D.  1615, 
setatis  suae  74." 

Johan.  Saunders,  Dr.  of  Physick,  D.D. 

[Inscription  omitted.] 

On  another  large  brass,  affixed  to  the  south  wall,  in  capitals : 
"The  body  of  Richard  Sanders,  Gent,  who  died  A.D.  1602,  setatis  67." 

Then  the  engraved  figure  of  a  man,  in  a  long  cloak,  kneeling  at  a 
desk  with  books  (shut)  before  him ;  his  hands  pressed  together  in  a 
devotional  attitude ;  near  the  portrait  a  shield  of  arms.  Party  per 
chevron,  argent  and  sable,  three  elephants'  heads,  erased,  changed. 
Below,  a  skull  encircled  with  a  garter,  and  the  motto,  "  Sum  quod 
eris,  fuerimo  quod  es."  The  bones  of  a  leg  and  foot,  of  a  hand  and 
arm,  and  two  thigh-bones,  saltirewise  [inscription  omitted]. 


North  Marston.  313 


On  the  north  side  of  the  chancel  is  a  door  leading  into  a  small 
square  turret,  divided  into  two  apartments,  one  above  the  other,  and 
communicating  by  means  of  a  flight  of  steps,  part  wood  and  part 
stone.  In  the  lower  room  is  a  piscina,  on  an  octagon  pedestal, 
under  a  canopy  or  arch  of  stone,  projecting  from  the  south  wall  near 
the  entrance.  This  is  conjectured  to  have  been  a  cell  or  confessional, 
belonging  to  the  monk  who  had  the  care  of  the  lights  which  were 
accustomed  to  be  kept  burning  at  shrines  and  altars  ;  and  the  upper 
room  is  supposed  to  have  been  his  dormitory  ;  a  square  hole  through 
the  wall  affording  an  opportunity  of  looking  into  the  chancel. 
There  is  also  a  fireplace  in  this  apartment,  which  is  at  present  con- 
verted into  a  schoolroom  for  the  children  belonging  to  the  parochial 
Sunday-school. 

The  tower  contains  five  bells,  besides  the  sermon-bell,  and  a  clock. 
The  first  bell  has  the  motto,  "  Sonoro  sono  meo  sono  deo."  The 
second  and  third,  the  initials  "J.  K."  and  date,  "  1627."  The  fourth 
has  the  words,  "Richard  Chandler  made  me,  1699  ;"  and  the  great 
bell  (which  was  recast  in  1763)  the  names  of  Lester  and  Pack  of 
London. 

The  Register  commences  in  1587  (29th  Eliz.),  and  the  baptisms 
appear  to  have  been  regularly  entered  from  that  time  to  the  present 
day;  but  during  Cromwell's  usurpation,  from  the  year  1642  to  1646, 
no  burial  is  inserted  ;  and  no  marriage  from  1642  to  1648.  At  the 
end  of  one  of  the  Register-books  is  the  following  memorandum  : 
"  Jan.  29th,  Ed.  Oviat,  an  obstinate  absentee,  who  would  not  be 
buried  in  ye  churchyard,  but  in  his  orchard."  The  year  is  not 
stated,  but  the  entry  appears  to  have  been  made  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  Rev.  Purchas  Deuchfield,  who  became  minister  in 
1742,  and  died  in  1774;  and  it  is  reported  by  persons  still  living 
that  they  remember  Oviat's  widow  having  been  buried  in  a  similar 
manner.  The  orchard  adjoins  the  churchyard. 

The  accompanying  sketch  of  the  parish  church  (see  the  Plate) 
has  been  kindly  supplied  by  a  young  gentleman  residing  at  North 
Marston,  to  whom,  and  to  his  respectable  family,  the  writer  respect- 
fully acknowledges  his  obligations  for  many  of  the  above  particulars, 
and  other  useful  information. 

VIATOR. 

Newport  Pagnel. 

[  1 820,  Part  12. ,  pp.  1 24- 1 25.  ] 

In  perusing  various  accounts  of  the  discovery  of  the  lead  at 
Newport  Pagnel  (mentioned  by  F.  L.  W.),  I  am  sorry  to  find  that 
they  have  all  lost  sight  of  Weever's  original  statement.  As  the  book 
is  of  rare  occurrence,  and  no  work  relating  to  that  town  contains  the 
following  extract,  no  apology  is  necessary  for  laying  it  before  your 
correspondent : 


314  Buckinghamshire, 

"  In  the  north  aile  of  the  Parish  Church  of  Newport  Painell,  in 
Buckinghamshire,  in  the  year  1619;  was  found  the  body  of  a  man 
whole  and  perfect  ;  laid  downe,  or  rather  leaninge  downe,  north 
and  south  :  all  the  concavous  parts  of  his  body  and  the  hollownesse 
of  every  bone,  as  well  ribs  as  other,  were  filled  up  with  sollid  lead. 
The  skull,  with  the  lead  in  it,  doth  weigh  thirty  pounds,  sixe  ounces, 
which,  with  the  neck-bone,  and  some  other  bones  (in  like  manner 
full  of  lead)  are  reserved,  and  kept  in  a  little  chest  in  the  said 
church,  neare  to  the  place  where  the  corps  were  found ;  there  to 
be  showne  to  strangers  as  reliques  of  admiration.  The  rest  of  all 
the  parts  of  his  body  are  taken  away  by  gentlemen  neare  dwellers, 
or  such  as  take  delight  in  rare  antiquities.  This  I  saw." — Funeral 
Monuments,  p.  30. 

Mr.  Cole  (MSS.,  vol.  xxxviii.)  informs  us  that  the  head  was,  in 
1776,  preserved  in  the  Library  of  St.  John's  College,  Cambridge. 

Whether  any  fragments  of  these  bones  are  yet  in  existence  I  have 
not  learned  ;  such  a  discovery  would  be  interesting,  as  it  would 
show  what  antiquaries  were  living  in  the  neighbourhood.  I  make 
no  doubt  that  the  well-known  Dr.  Richard  Napier  was  one  of  the 
depredators.  It  would  be  useless  to  follow  the  ignis  fatuus  of  con- 
jecture as  to  the  person  so  interred ;  tradition  has  been  silent  on  the 
subject,  although  it  is  probable  that  some  distinguishing  honour 
was  conferred  on  the  deceased. 

I  meet  with  no  particular  mention  of  Newport  Pagnel  prior  to 
the  Conquest,  notwithstanding  Mr.  Baxter  has  placed  Lactorodum 
there.  ["  Nova  Porta  Paganelli  hodiernum  est  Lactorodum."] 
Salmon*  also  calls  the  town  "  Nova  Porta,  which  gives  strong  hints 
of  a  Military  Way,  in  many  countries  called  the  Port  Way";  and 
in  another  place  says,  that  "  Newport  and  Bedford  are  proofs  of 
a  great  way  going  between  them."  The  late  Bishop  of  Cloyne 
(Lysons'  "Mag.  Brit.,"  vol.  i.)  has  shown  that  this  boasted  "Port  Way" 
is  one  of  Mr.  Salmon's  "  dreams ;"  but,  if  we  cannot  fix  a  station 
at  Newport,  we  may  at  least  place  it  on  a  military  road.  The 
Akeman  Street  passes  by  Hide  Land,  near  Buckingham,  through 
Calverton,  and  having  crossed  a  brook  there,  ''goes  up  the  hill," 
where  are  evident  remains  of  a  fortification.  From  thence  it  runs 
by  the  east  side  of  Stony  Stratford,  through  Wolverton,  Stanton- 
Barry  and  Linford  to  Newport  and  Bedford. 

The  history  of  this  part  of  the  country,  while  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Saxons,  is  no  less  obscure.  In  the  year  1010  the  Danes 
entered  it  from  Oxfordshire,  and  proceeded  "  along  the  Ouse  until 
they  came  to  Bedford,  and  thus  on  to  Tempsford,  burning  wherever 
they  went,  and  then  they  returned  to  their  fleet  with  their  plunder, 
and  divided  it  amongst  the  ships."!  Their  progress  must,  therefore, 
have  been  nearly  in  a  line  with  the  "  Akeman  Street." 

*  Survey  of  England,  1728. 

t  Saxon  Chronicle,  translated  by  Miss  Gurney. 


Newport  Pagnel.  315 


At  the  Conquest,  Newport  was  the  only  borough  in  the  county,  the 
town  of  Buckingham  excepted.  As  a  stronghold  it  must  have  been 
an  immense  acquisition  ;  for  it  not  only  possessed  a  castle  itself,  but 
similar  ones  were  erected  at  Wolverton,  Hanslape,  and  Lavendon; 
so  that  a  circle  of  fortification  was  extended  around  the  country. 
The  materials  for  its  early  history  are,  however,  scanty;  and  it  is 
upon  the  Annals  of  the  Garrison  during  "  The  Grand  Rebellion " 
that  we  principally  pride  ourselves.  For  the  present  it  may  be  suffi- 
cient to  enumerate  the  names  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  which  may 
be  ranged  under  the  banners  of  either  party. 

Loyalists. — Throckmorton,  Digby,  Tyringham,  Longueville,  Ches- 
ter, Napier,  Forster,  Dillon,  Slingsby,  Hacker,  Andrewes,  Crane, 
Hillersden,  Lane,  Willoughby. 

Parliamentarians. — Andrewes  (alter  et  idem\  Temple  (of  Santon- 
Barry),  Lane,  Tyrell,  Buncombe,  Rawlins. 

Before  I  quit  the  subject,  let  me  contribute  a  small  addition  to, 
or  perhaps  subtraction  from,  the  "Nonconformist's  Memorial."  In 
that  work  it  is  stated  that  John  Gibbs,  Vicar  of  Newport  Pagnell, 
was  ejected  some  months  before  the  Bartholomew  Act,  for  refusing  to 
admit  the  whole  parish  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  On  the  arrest  of  Sir 
George  Booth,  I  find  that  Mr.  Gibbs  took  horse  and  rode  imme- 
diately to  London,  to  communicate  the  welcome  intelligence  to 
the  Parliament  :*  "  the  House  being  informed  that  Mr.  John  Gibbs, 
Minister  of  Newport-Pannel,  was  at  the  door,  he  was  called  in ;  and 
being  at  the  Bar,  gave  an  account  to  the  Parliament  of  the  appre- 
hending of  Sir  George  Booth  the  last  night  at  Newport  Pannell." 
Whether  Sir  George  took  any  part  in  his  expulsion,  as  a  return  for 
this  favour,  I  know  not,  though  it  is  not  unlikely.  Whether  he  was 
ejected,  or  not,  is  uncertain  ;  for  he  first  intruded  into  the  Vicarage  of 
Newport  in  1646,  when  Samuel  Austin,  the  lawful  vicar,  was  (as 
Browne  Willis  supposes)  "thrust  out."  He  received  no  presentation 
whatever  to  the  benefice  (although  in  Carpenter's  "Anabaptist,"  1647, 
he  is  described  as  newly  settled  in  place),  and  in  1650  it  was  returned 
to  be  vacant.  The  Reverend  Robert  Marshall  was  presented  by  the 
crown,  January  16,  1660 ;  so  that  I  do  not  see  on  what  claim  Calamy 
has  placed  Mr.  Gibbs  among  the  ejected  ministers. 

Yours,  etc.,  LATHBURIENSIS. 

Pitchcott. 

[1817,  Part  //.,  pp.  397-399-] 

Pitchcott  is  a  very  small  village,  consisting  of  only  five  houses, 

situated  upon  the  summit  of  a  lofty  eminence  bordering  the  vale  of 

Aylesbury,  and  about  six  miles  and  a  half  W.N.W.  from  that  town. 

The  church,  chancel,  and  tower  measure  altogether  on  the  outside 

*  Merc.  Polit.,  Aug.  25,  1659. 


3 1 6  Buckinghamshire. 

about  26  yards,  the  latter  being  about  13  feet  square,  and  the  chancel 
about  17  or  18  feet  in  length.  The  building  is  of  stone,  with  gable 
roofs  to  the  church  and  chancel,  tiled,  but  at  present  in  very  bad 
condition.  The  tower  is  about  40  feet  in  height,  without  battle- 
ments, a  double  cornice  or  moulding  being  carried  round  it  at  the 
summit  The  church  doorway,  on  the  north  side,  has  been  stopped 
up,  as  also  two  narrow  low  entrances  into  the  chancel  opposite  to 
each  other,  which,  from  the  accumulation  of  earth,  especially  on  the 
southern  side,  measure  only  5  feet  in  height  The  chancel  is  lighted 
by  two  narrow  pointed  windows  on  each  side,  more  than  half  closed 
with  brickwork,  about  4  feet  6  inches  by  i  foot,  and  one  larger 
modernized  window  at  the  east  end.  There  is  a  door  at  the  west 
end  of  the  tower,  now  entirely  disused;  the  only  entrance  being 
under  a  tiled  porch  on  the  south  side  of  the  church,  which  bears  the 
date  1662. 

The  chancel  is  separated  from  the  body  of  the  church  by  a  par- 
tition, in  which  is  a  small  door,  placed  there,  it  is  said,  by  the  desire 
of  a  former  incumbent  to  exclude  the  wind ;  and  if  the  chancel 
were  then  in  the  same  state  as  at  present,  not  without  good  reason, 
for  the  roof  is  broken  and  the  walls  are  cracked  A  communion- 
table there  is,  which,  with  the  decaying  rails  that  enclose  it,  are  the 
only  objects,  besides  a  small  stone  wall  fixed  diagonally  against  the 
side  of  the  south-west  window,  and  a  piscina  in-  a  niche  within  the 
rails,  to  withdraw  the  attention  of  an  examiner  from  the  damp,  moss- 
grown  walls  and  slippery  pavement.  Near  the  south  wall  is  a  large 
brown  stone,  without  ornament  or  inscriptk>nr  which,  tradition  says, 
covers  the  grave  of  a  Bishop  Saunders.  There  is  neither  pew  nor 
seat  in  the  chancel ;  but  a  quantity  of  rotten  and  decayed  matting 
lies  in  a  heap  at  one  quarter,  which,  perhaps,  once  served  for  the 
communicants  to  kneel  upon,  but  is  at  present  as  inferior  to  the 
litter  used  by  the  neighbouring  farmers  for  their  pigs  as  are  the 
rough,  uneven  stones  on  which  it  lies  to  the  cleanly,  well-paved  floors 
of  their  dairies.  The  door  before  mentioned  being,  however,  usually 
kept  shut,  the  disgraceful  appearance  of  this  part  of  the  edifice  is 
excluded  from  common  view. 

The  body  of  the  church  is  scarcely  in  a  better  condition.  A 
portion  of  the  ceiling  has  fallen  down  and  left  a  dismal  hole,  through 
which  the  naked  tiles  of  the  roof  are  seen,  and  the  worshippers  may 
be  literally  sprinkled  with  "  the  dew  of  heaven."  The  pulpit  cloth 
and  cushion,  moth-eaten,  if  not  ragged,  and  the  minister's  Common 
Prayer-Book,  with  its  loose  and  tattered  leaves  ready  to  be  dispersed 
by  every  puff  of  wind,  too  forcibly  obtrude  themselves  to  be  over- 
looked. Two  pews  there  are,  and  also  a  few  seats,  but  I  saw  no 
desk  for  the  clerk ;  and  when  I  inquired  which  was  the  rector's  pew, 
was  informed  that  the  boards  of  it  had  been  taken  away  by  a  tenant 
about  fifty  years  ago,  to  be  converted  into  shelves.  A  chalice  or 


Pitchcott.  3 1 7 

flagon,  and  a  pewter  plate  or  two,  are  said  to  be  all  the  utensils 
belonging  to  the  altar ;  and  one  of  the  neighbouring  farmers  occa- 
sionally supplies  a  tablecloth  at  the  time  of  celebrating  the  Com- 
munion. 

There  are  four  bells  in  the  steeple,  of  which  the  wheels  and 
apparatus  are  so  much  decayed  that  two  of  them  are  useless;  one 
of  the  bells  has  the  date  1661  or  1667.  The  ascent  to  the  top  of 
the  tower,  which  is  about  40  feet  in  height,  is  by  a  spiral  but  very 
narrow  staircase  of  stone  on  the  southern  side  of  the  belfry. 

The  only  monumental  inscriptions  are  upon  a  wooden  tablet  near 
the  pulpit,  in  memory  of  the  family  of  Lee ;  and  a  stone  on  the  out- 
side of  the  east  end  of  the  chancel  for  "  Nicholas  Wallis,  who  died 
in  1802,  aged  73,"  and  was  once  the  respectable  occupier  of  the 
manor-house  and  farm,  and  a  generous  benefactor  to  the  poor.  The 
writer  of  this  account  remembers  having  read  with  much  pleasure  in 
the  public  newspapers  the  grateful  thanks  of  the  prisoners  in  the 
county  gaol  for  five  guineas  from  a  noble  earl  as  a  Christmas  dona- 
tion, and  to  Mr.  Nicholas  Wallis,  of  Pitchcott,  for  a  fat  ox. 

To  the  above  remarks  it  may  not  be  improper  to  add  that  the 
parish  of  Pitchcott  is  not  included  in  the  survey  of  Domesday  Book, 
and  that  in  some  topographical  publications  if  has  been  incorrectly 
stated  that  the  parish  church  was  a  member  of  North  Merston,  with 
which,  however,  it  has  no  other  connection  than  proximity  of  situa- 
tion. It  is  stated  in  the  agricultural  survey  of  Buckinghamshire  to 
contain  about  600  acres  of  land,  of  which  100  acres  are  said  to  be 
arable;  but  this  estimate  is  not  at  all  correct,  the  proportion  of 
arable  not  being  so  great.  About  120  acres,  formerly  the  estate  of 
Paul  Wells,  Esq.,  are  tithe-free.  The  manor  was  anciently  held 
under  the  Bohuns,  Earls  of  Hereford,  as  paramount  lords  in  temp. 
Edward  III.,  and,  according  to  the  account  of  Mr.  Lysons  in 
"  Magna  Britannia,"  was  in  the  family  of  Vernon  in  1377  and  1557. 
Mr.  L.  farther  states  that  it  was  purchased  of  Sir  Walter  Pye  in 
1603  by  an  ancestor  of  Thomas  Saunders,  Esq.,  the  present  pos- 
sessor, and  also  patron  of  the  rectory ;  but  that  gentleman  does  not 
take  notice  that  the  advowson  was  vested  jointly  in  two  branches  of 
the  same  family.  Ecton  has  given  the  names  of  Thomas  Saunders, 
Esq.,  with  the  dates  1685  and  1725,  as  if  he  had  presented  to  the 
living  in  those  years,  and  of  Sir  Thomas  Saunders,  "  hoc  vice,  1727." 
It  seems  probable  that  the  manor,  as  well  as  advowson,  was  likewise 
divided,  for  rents  were  undoubtedly  paid  to  a  person  of  the  name  of 
Mead  during  part  of  the  last  century,  and  a  purchase  was  effected 
of  that  share  of  the  estate  by  Thomas  Saunders,  of  Brill  House,  in 
Bucks,  Esq.,  formerly  Governor  of  Fort  St.  George,  in  the  East 
Indies,  who  presented  his  relative,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lally,  to  the  rectory, 
and  died  about  the  year  1776.  He  was  succeeded  by  his  son 
Thomas,  who  served  the  office  of  sheriff  of  the  county  about  1784 


3 1 8  Buckinghamshire. 


or  1785,  and,  dying  without  issue,  the  property  has  devolved  to  a 
relation  of  the  same  name. 

Of  the  five  houses  of  which  the  village  consists,  three  belong  to 
grazing  and  dairy  farms,  one  is  the  rectory-house,  and  another  a 
cottage ;  the  two  last  mentioned  being  divided  into  tenements,  and 
inhabited  by  poor  families. 

The  rectory  is  rated  in  the  king's  books  at  ;£io  per  annum.  The 
actual  value  more  than  half  a  century  ago  was  between  £120  and 
^130  per  annum,  but  it  must  have  been  considerably  increased  of 
late  years,  and  land  contiguous  to  that  appropriated  to  the  parson  is 
now  let  for  near  50  shillings  per  acre.  Residence  in  such  a  parish 
and  such  a  parsonage  may  be  very  reasonably  dispensed  with,  but 
a  more  becoming  state,  both  of  the  house  of  God  and  that  of  the 
rector,  is  required  by  common  decency,  if  not  by  the  Ordinary,  and 
the  laws  of  the  land. 

The  benefice  has  been  successively  held  by  Atkins,  

Lally,  Bourne,  and  the  Rev.   William   Hughes,   the   present 

worthy  incumbent,  who  was  presented  to  this  rectory  about  1786, 
and  is  also  Rector  of  Bradenham,  in  the  same  county,  where  he 
resides ;  the  church  of  Pitchcott  having  been  from  time  immemorial 
served  by  a  curate,  usually  minister  of  one  of  the  neighbouring 
parishes,  and  divine  service  being  performed  once  every  Sunday. 

The  parish  is  included  in  the  hundred  of  Ashingdon  and  deanery 
of  Wadderton,  and  is  subject  in  ecclesiastical  matters  to  the  Bishop 
of  Lincoln  and  Archdeacon  of  Buckingham. 

The  summit  of  the  hill,  near  the  church,  commands  a  remarkably 
fine  and  extensive  prospect  over  the  vale  of  Aylesbury,  aptly  enough 
described  by  Drayton  as  "  wallowing  in  her  wealth,"  to  the  beautiful 
woods  and  plantations  at  Albury  and  Ashridge,  the  seat  of  the  Earl 
of  Bridgewater,  on  the  borders  of  Hertfordshire  (more  than  twenty 
miles  distant),  on  the  east ;  the  Chiltern  Hills  and  a  range  of  bold 
eminences  stretching  towards  the  course  of  the  Thames  on  the  south- 
east, and  an  immeasurable  expanse  towards  the  west,  where  the  eye 
is  lost  in  the  indistinctness  of  the  objects  which  form  the  horizon, 
and  spontaneously  withdraws  itself,  to  contemplate  that  carpet  of 
verdure  with  which  the  fertile  district  around  us  is  covered— the 
neat  farmhouses,  spruce  hedgerows,  and  comfortable  cottages,  which 
bespeak  the  industry  and  opulence  of  the  more  immediate  neigh- 
bourhood. 

Before  the  construction  of  the  turnpike  road  from  Aylesbury 
through  Winslow  to  Buckingham,  the  communication  between  the 
former  place  and  the  north-western  parts  of  the  county  was  by  means 
of  a  track  long  since  disused,  and  now  nearly  obliterated,  which 
crossed  the  parish  of  Pitchcott,  and  is  delineated  in  some  of  the  old 
maps.  At  present  there  are  only  two  roads  through  the  parish,  one 
from  north  to  south,  passing  near  the  east  end  of  the  church,  and 


Pitchcott.  319 

the  other  an  obscure  track  running  partly  along  its  western  border ; 
but  on  the  brow  of  the  hill,  near  the  manor-house,  are  still  remaining 
the  marks  of  a  very  ancient  road,  which  points  nearly  north  and 
south,  and  was  probably  the  original  line  of  communication  with  the 
villages  of  Oving  and  Whitchurch,  and  parts  adjacent. 

Yours,  etc.,        VIATOR. 

[1822,  Part  II., p,  605.] 

In  the  edifice  which  I  before  described  I  have  now  the  pleasure 
of  correcting  my  former  description  in  vol.  Ixxxvii.,  ii.,  p.  397  (anno 
1817),  by  saying  that  the  whole  of  the  exterior  is  now  in  a  respect- 
able condition  of  neatness,  and  even  the  little  cross  upon  the  eastern 
gable  restored  to  its  place  ;  the  windows  new  glazed  or  mended,  the 
roof  repaired,  the  bells  once  more  tunable  ;  the  disgraceful  condition 
of  the  floor  and  walls  no  longer  the  subject  of  complaint ;  a  new 
pulpit  substituted  instead  of  the  miserably  decayed  old  one,  and  a 
new  desk  for  the  clerk,  who  formerly  had  none  at  all ;  the  partition 
broken  down  between  the  nave  and  chancel,  the  ceiling  rendered  at 
least  decent,  and  the  whole  structure  creditably  neat  and  in  good 
order. 

VIATOR. 

Quainton. 

[1817,  Part  II.,  pp.  418-420.] 

I  am  persuaded  that  you  will  admit  the  following  description  of 
Winwood  s  Almshouses,  at  Quainton,  a  considerable  village  in  Buck- 
inghamshire, about  six  miles  west-north-west  from  Aylesbury. 

This  charitable  institution  was  founded  by  Richard  Winwood,  Esq., 
son  of  Sir  Ralph  Winwood,  Knight,  who  was  secretary  of  state  and 
a  privy  councillor  to  King  James  I.,  and  author  of  the  "Memorials" 
which  bear  his  name.  Mr.  Winwood  possessed  very  considerable 
estates  in  Buckinghamshire,  and  resided  occasionally  at  Denham,  an 
ancient  manor-house,  formerly  the  seat  of  the  Iwardbys,  which  was 
situated  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  Quainton  Church,  on  the  site 
at  present  occupied  by  a  moated  farmhouse,  which,  together  with 
the  contiguous  estate  bordering  upon  the  same  parish  northward, 
and  "extending  between  four  and  live  miles  to  Hogshaw,  and  the 
vicinity  of  Claydon,  is  now  the  property  of  the  Lord  Francis  Godol- 
phin  Osborne,  second  son  of  the  late,  and  brother  of  the  present, 
Duke  of  Leeds.  This  estate,  with  others  at  Baylies  and  Wexham, 
near  Colnbrook,  having  after  Mr.  Winwood's  death  passed  by  a 
female  heir  to  Ralph  Duke  of  Montagu,  and  subsequently  to  Francis 
Earl  of  Godolphin,  were  by  the  latter  nobleman  bequeathed  to  the 
present  possessor. 

Mr.  Winwood  also  held  the  manor  of  Ditton,  in  Stoke  Poges 
(where  his  father  the  secretary  had  built  a  seat),  and  having  pur- 


320  Buckinghamshire. 

chased  a  chapel  there  which  had  formerly  been  a  chantry,  dedicated 
to  St.  Mary,  but  fallen  into  a  dilapidated  state,  he  repaired  it,  and 
settled  fifty  pounds  per  annum  upon  the  minister,  for  whom  also  he 
built  a  house  ;  and  directed  by  his  will  that  the  patronage  of  the 
donative  should,  in  default  of  heirs,  belong  to  the  proprietors  of  the 
manor.  After  his  decease,  it  accordingly  came  to  the  before  men- 
tioned Ralph  Duke  of  Montagu,  and  the  late  Earl  of  Beaulieu  in 
right  of  his  lady,  who  was  Duchess  Dowager  of  Manchester,  daughter 
and  sole  heiress  of  John  Duke  of  Montagu  :  and,  on  the  decease  of 
Lord  Beaulieu,  in  1803,  passed  to  Katherine  (now)  Duchess  Dowager 
of  Buccleugh,  with  remainder  to  her  Grace's  second  son,  the  Lord 
Henry  James  Montagu  Scott,  Baron  Montagu. 

The  almshouses  at  Quainton  stand  contiguous  to  the  west  side  of 
the  churchyard,  at  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  village,  and  are  sub- 
stantially and  regularly  built  of  brick,  consisting  of  eight  several 
tenements  or  dwellings  under  one  roof.  The  north  or  front  aspect 
of  the  building  has  two  porches,  or  principal  entrances,  each  com- 
municating with  two  of  the  houses :  and  the  four  others  open 
severally  (two»on  each  side)  into  a  small  court,  separated  from  the 
street  by  a  low  wall.  The  south  side  of  the  almshouses  has  a  large 
piece  of  garden-ground  attached ;  and  a  close  of  land  contiguous 
forms  a  portion  of  the  estate  belonging  to  the  charity. 

The  building  is  of  two  stories,  finished  above  the  windows  with 
gable  points  ;  and  over  the  doors  is  the  following  inscription  : 

"  1687. 

These  Almshouses  were  then  erected  and  endowed,  by  Richard  Winwood,  esq. 
son  and  heir  of  the  Right  Hon.  Sir  Ralph  Winwood,  knight,  Principal  Secretary 
of  State  to  King  James  the  First." 

Above,  between  cornucopias,  are  the  arms  of  Winwood,  impaled 
with  Read  of  Berkshire.  On  the  dexter  side,  quarterly,  ist  and  4th 
quarter,  argent,  a  cross  croslet  sable ;  and  and  3rd  qr.  argent,  three 
fleurs-de-lis  sable  :  sinister,  gules,  four  wheat  sheaves  separated  by 
St  Andrew's  cross,  or.  Crest,  a  black  eagle  rising  out  of  a  mar- 
quis's coronet,  or  circlet  of  gold,  set  with  balls  and  strawberry-leaves 
alternately. 

The  almshouses  were  originally  endowed  for  the  reception  of  four 
poor  widowers,  and  four  poor  widows ;  and  if  a  sufficient  number  of 
fit  objects  could  not  be  found  within  the  parish,  the  vacancies  to  be 
filled  up  trom  the  parish  of  Stoke  Poges.  Each  person  to  receive 
one  shilling  and  sixpence,  afterwards  augmented  to  two  shillings  per 
week ;  to  be  annually  supplied  with  a  load  of  beech-wood  from  the 
Chilterns,  a  woody  tract  occupying  the  south-eastern  angle  of  the 
county ;  and  a  long  cloak  of  strong  brown  cloth  for  the  men,  and  a 
gown  of  the  same  for  the  women,  on  the  sleeve  of  which  was  borne 
a  brass  badge  with  the  arms  of  the  founder,  and  in  which  they  were 
enjoined  to  attend  Divine  service  in  the  parish  church  every  Sunday, 


Quainton.  321 

Wednesday  and  Friday,  and  at  such  other  times  as  it  was  celebrated 
there.  Medical  attendance,  in  case  of  sickness  or  accident,  was  also 
to  be  provided ;  and  it  has  been  usual,  when  the  infirmities  of  age 
required  it,  that  a  son  or  daughter,  or  some  other  proper  attendant, 
was  permitted  to  become  an  inmate  with  the  widower  or  widow 
respectively. 

A  farm  in  the  open  and  common  fields  of  Quainton,  of  about  120 
acres  of  land,  together  with  four  tenements  and  a  close  of  land 
adjacent,  was  settled  upon  the  almshouses  for  ever,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  certain  trustees  ;  who  were  formerly  accustomed  to  make  an 
annual  visitation  or  inspection  of  the  premises,  and  to  examine  the 
accounts  of  the  charity  in  a  formal  manner ;  but  for  some  years  past 
this  has  been  discontinued,  and  the  whole  management  of  the  affairs 
of  the  charity  left  to  one  respectable  individual.  Formerly  there 
were  associated  in  the  direction  of  the  trust  many  of  the  most  distin- 
guished persons  residing,  or  having  property,  in  the  neighbourhood  ; 
and  it  is  within  the  remembrance  of  persons  now  living  in  the  parish 
that  such  visitations  have  been  attended  by  the  late  Richard  Lord 
Viscount  Say  and  Sele  of  Doddershall,  Philip  Earl  of  Chesterfield 
of  Eythrop,  Richard  Hopkins  of  Oving  House,  Esq.,  Thomas  Green 
of  Whitchurch,  Esq.,  Philip  Bridle,  D.D.,  Recior  of  Hardwtck, 
Francis  Gresley,  LL.B.,  Rector  of  Grendon  Underwood,  and  the 
then  rector,  or,  in  his  absence,  the  resident  curate  of  Quainton. 

The  state  of  the  institution  at  present  is  that  six  only  of  the  alms- 
houses  are  occupied  by  three  poor  widowers  and  three  widows ;  and 
that  the  two  remaining  habitations  are  tenanted,  one  of  them  by  the 
clerk  of  the  parish  and  his  wife,  and  the  other  (after  having  been  a 
long  time  shut  up)  by  a  family  which  vacated  a  house  for  the  use  of 
the  curate. 

The  men  now  receive  45.  each  per  week,  and  the  women  45.  6d., 
and  they  sometimes  wear  the  gown  and  badge ;  but  Divine  service 
having  been  discontinued  at  the  parish  church  on  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays  (notwithstanding  the  number  of  inhabitants  has  increased  to 
more  than  eleven  hundred)  their  attendance,  excepting  on  Sundays, 
has  been  dispensed  with.  An  allowance  of  coal  has  been  substituted 
for  the  load  of  wood ;  which,  having  become  scarce  and  dear,  and 
the  former  of  late  years  considerably  reduced  in  price  by  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Grand  Junction  Canal,  may  be  deemed  a  salutary  and 
economical  improvement  in  the  regulations  of  the  charity.  The 
farm  is  at  present  let  on  lease  at  about  ^80  per  annum,  the  tene- 
ments before  mentioned  at  about  403.  each,  the  close  contiguous  to 
the  almshouse  retained  in  the  hands  of  the  rector  (but  on  what  terms 
I  was  not  able  to  learn),  and  a  becoming  attention  evidently  paid  to 
the  preservation  of  the  building  in  good  repair.  .  .  . 

In  the  porches  of  the  building  are  hung  up  tables  containing  the 
names  of  several  persons  who  from  time  to  time  have  been  admitted 

VOL.   XII.  •  21 


322  'Buckinghamshire. 

into  these  almshouses  ;  but  they  have  become  scarcely  legible,  and 
no  entries  appear  to  have  been  made  since  about  the  year  1777. 

Mr.  Winwood,  founder  of  the  almshouses,  lies  buried  in  a  chapel 
contiguous  to  the  north  side  of  the  chancel,  which  is  now  made  use 
of  as  a  vestry-room.  His  effigies,  cut  in  white  marble,  in  armour, 
with  a  fine,  full-bottomed  periwig,  and  that  of  his  lady  in  a  loose 
drapery,  or  night-dress,  are  recumbent  on  an  altar-tomb  covered  with 
a  slab  of  black  marble.  The  tomb  is  placed  on  an  elevated  plat- 
form, or  Deis,  at  the  east  end  of  the  chapel,  three  or  four  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  floor ;  is  inclosed  with  iron  rails,  magnificently  gilt, 
and  under  a  richly  embossed  painted  and  gilt  awning  or  canopy, 
which  forms  the  ceiling  of  that  part  of  the  chapel.  A  large  silken 
banner,  the  surcoat  and  gauntlets,  as  well  as  the  achievements,  are1 
decayed  and  gone,  but  the  helmet  and  crest  still  remain  suspended 
against  the  wall.  At  each  corner  of  the  tomb  is  a  small  figure  of 
plaster  kneeling  on  a  cushion  in  a  mournful  posture,  and  on  the  front 
is  a  rude  outline  of  a  human  skeleton. 

In  the  centre  is  a  shield  of  arms,  the  colouring  now  scarcely 
discernible;  but  it  appears  to  be  Winwood  impaling  Read  and 
Winwood,  quarterly.  On  a  drapery  of  white  marble,  ornamented 
with  festoons  of  flowers,  is  the  following  inscription  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  body  of  Richard  Winwood,  esq.  (one  of  the  Deputy  Lieve- 
tenants  of  tliis  County  in  the  reign  of  King  Charles  the  Second)  son  and  heir  of 
the  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Ralph  Winvvood,  knight,  principal  secretary  of  state  to  King 
Charles  the  First.  He  married  Anne,  one  of  the  daughters  of  Sir  Thomas  Read, 
of  the  County  of  Barks,  knight  ;  and  departed  this  life  ye  28  day  of  June,  Anno 
Domini  1688-9,  in  tne  8oth  year  of  his  age." 

Along  the  verge  of  the  tomb  : 

"  Here  lyes  also  interred  the  body  of  the  said  Anne,  who  departed  this  life  the 
1st  day  of  May,  Anno  Dom.  1691." 

"This  monument  was  erected  at  the  charge  of  the  abovesaid  Mrs.  Winwood, 
in  memory  of  her  dear  husband,  A.D.  1689." 

Below  : 

"Here  also  lyes  interred  in  ye  vault,  three  nieces  of  ye  above-mentioned  Mrs. 
Winwood,  viz.  Elizabeth,  Susanna,  and  Martha  Rachael,  daughters  of  Sir  Gilbert 
Cornwall,  Knight,  and  Baron  of  Burford,  in  co.  Salop." 

The  figures  upon  the  tomb  are  well  cut,  and  the  execution  of  the 
whole  masterly ;  but  it  appears  to  have  been  injured  by  some  in- 
judicious attempts  to  clean  it. 

In  this  chapel  are  two  large  windows  with  stone  mullions  and 
arches,  one  of  them  now  partly  stopped  up  with  brickwork  ;  and 
contiguous  to  the  outside  of  the  chapel,  within  an  inclosure  of  iron 
palisades  (to  the  shamefully  decayed  state  of  which  it  is  probable 
that  the  cows  which  are  very  improperly  kept  in  the  churchyard 
may  have  contributed)  is  a  monumental  tablet  charged  with  an  in- 
scription, which,  as  it  will  soon  be  illegible,  I  am  encouraged  to 


Quainton. — Quarrendon.  323 


transmit,  in  order  that  the  memory  of  a  good  man  may  not  entirely 
perish.  The  letters  are  very  faintly  cut  in  a  blue  stone  : 

"  In  spe  beatae  resurrectionis  quiescit  infra  hunc  tumulum,  sua  cura  sibi  suisq. 
dum  apud  vivos  fuit  extructum,  (inter  charos  at  heu  !  brevis  sevi  liberos  Annam, 
Winwoodum,  Georgium)  BENJAMIN  ARCHER,  S.T.B.  hujus  Ecclesise  per  quad- 

raginta  annos  Rector.     Qualis  fuerit  

omnibus  indicabit  supremus  dies.  Annauxor  fidelis,  moesta  defuncti  vidua,  necnon 
filii  quotquot  sunt  superstites,  Benjamin,  Gilbertus,  Edvardus,  Thomas,  Patris 
optimi  de  se  meriti  nunquam  immemores,  nunquam  satis  memores  futuri,  pietatis 
et  officii  ergo  posuerunt.  Obdormivit  in  Christo  xx  die  Augusti  anno  Salutis 
MDCCXXXII.  aetatis  sure  LXXXI." 

Yours,  etc.,  VIATOR. 

Quarrendon. 

[1817,  Part  L,  p.  504.] 

In  the  vale  of  Aylesbury,  and  in  the  richest  part  of  that  pasturage, 
which,  ever  since  the  days  of  Drayton  (and  perhaps  long  before),  has 
been  celebrated  for  the  value  of  its  soil  and  produce,  is  now  standing, 
in  a  melancholy  state  of  ruinous  dilapidation,  a  chapel,  which,  from 
the  fragments  of  old  sepulchral  stones  still  remaining,  was  evidently 
the  burial-place  of  the  Earls  of  Lichfield  for  many  ages. 

I  am  informed  that  neither  the  proprietors  of  the  surrounding 
estate,  nor  its  occupiers,  give  themselves  any  trouble  about  the 
matter ;  but  that  the  edifice  and  its  contents  are  suffered  to  crumble 

into  dust,  without  any  attempt  to  restore  or  preserve  them 

Perhaps  some  of  your  readers  will  be  able  to  inform  me  who  was  Sir 
Harry  Lee,  knight,  whose  lady  was  buried  at  Aylesbury  in  1584,  with 
the  following  very  singular  lines  inscribed  upon  her  monument : 

"  If  passing  by  this  place  thou  doe  de- 
sire [marble  lie ; 
To  know  what  corpse  here  shry'd  in 
The  sum  of  that  which  now  thou  dost 
require,  [descrie. 
This  scle'der  verse  shall  sone  to  the 
Entombed    here    doth    rest    a   worthie 
Dame,  [bloud ; 
Extract  and  born  of  noble  house  and 
Her  sire  Lord  PAGET  hight  of  worthie 
fame,  [floud 
Whose  virtues  cannot  sinke  in  Lethe 
Tho  bretheren  had  she,  Baro's  of  this 
realme  ;                           [he  hight, 
A  Knight  her  freere,  Sir  Harry  Lee 
To  whom  she  bare  three  impes,  which 
had  to  name                        [spight : 
John,  Henry,  Mary,  slayn  by  fortune's 
First  two  bei'g  yong,  which  caus'd  their 
pare'ts  mo'e,                 [her  years  : 
The  third  in  flower  a'd  prime  of  all 
All  three  do  rest  within  this  marble  stone, 


324  Buckinghamshire. 

By  which  the  fickl'ess  of  worldly  joyes 

appears.  [crimson  flowers 

Good   friend,   stick   not    to   strew   wi'.h 

This  marble  stone,  wherein  her  cin- 

deisrest;  [powers, 

For  sure  her  ghost  lives  with  the  heav'ly 

And   guerdon   bathe   of  virtuous   life 

possest."  .  .  . 

VIATOR. 

[1817,  Part  //.,//.  105-108.] 

In  my  letter  on  the  ruinous  state  of  Qnarrendon  Chapel,  Bucks, 
(Part  I.,  p.  504)  I  was  led  into  a  mistake  by  the  oral  account  given  me 
in  the  neighbourhood,  which  I  hope  you  will  be  so  good  as  to  enable 
me  to  correct,  by  the  insertion  of  the  following  description  of  that 
edifice,  the  result  of  an  attentive  personal  examination  of  the  spot. 

Quarrendon  Chapel  stands  in  the  nook  or  corner  of  a  fine  meadow 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  vale  of  Aylesbury,  about  two  miles  and  a 
half  distant  from  that  town  on  the  north-west,  and  between  the 
turnpike  roads  which  respectively  lead  thence  to  Bicester  and  to 
Winslow.  It  is  also  more  than  two  miles  from  Bierton,  to  which 
parish  it  is  stated  by  Ecton  to  be  a  chapel  of  ease ;  and  I  am  in- 
formed that  a  small  stipend  of  ten  or  twenty  pounds  per  annum  is 
paid  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  parish  of  Quarrendon  to  the  vicar  of 
the  mother  church.  The  building  has  been  suffered  to  fall  into  such 
a  state  of  decay  that  divine  service  has  ceased  to  be  performed  in  it 
for  several  years :  and  at  present  it  affords  a  melancholy  object  of 
contemplation,  not  merely  from  its  dilapidated  condition,  but  from 
the  mutilation  of  some  elegant  monuments  of  the  former  proprietors 
of  the  contiguous  estate,  which  are  allowed  to  moulder  into  dust, 
without  the  least  attempt  being  made  to  preserve  them  from  the 
injuries  of  the  weather,  and  the  complete  destruction  which  awaits 
them  when  the  remainder  of  the  roof  shall  follow  that  portion  of  it 
which  has  already  fallen  down.  Not  a  pane  of  glass  remains  in  any 
of  the  windows  :  the  roof  of  one  half  of  the  body  of  the  chapel,  and 
a  portion  of  the  wall  near  the  south-west  corner,  has  fallen ;  all  the 
pews  and  seats,  as  well  as  the  reading-desk,  pulpit,  etc.,  are  gone ; 
part  of  the  floor  has  been  dug  up,  and  a  breach  made  in  the  wall 
between  the  body  of  the  chapel  and  the  small  chancel  at  its  east  end. 
Two  octagon  pillars  on  each  side,  which  support  the  arches  that 
separate  the  aisles  are,  however,  still  in  good  preservation,  and  the 
outer  walls  are  strong.  The  roof  which  remains  having  lost  many  of 
the  tiles  with  which  it  was  formerly  covered,  is  decaying,  and  the 
ceiling  of  the  side-aisles,  which  was  divided  into  compartments,  and 
handsomely  finished,  is  fallen  amongst  the  rubbish  that  covers  the 
floor.  At  the  west  end  is  a  strong  frame  of  timber,  which  may  be 
conjectured  to  have  formerly  supported  a  turret,  and  perhaps  a  bell  ; 


Quarrendon.  325 

but  no  vestige  of  the  upper  part  of  the  building  at  that  end  can  be 
traced. 

The  chancel  at  the  east  end  measures  about  22  feet  by  15  feet, 
and  contains  the  relics  of  three  large  and  apparently  very  elegant  and 
expensive  monuments :  two  on  the  north  side,  and  one  on  the  south. 
Neither  rails  nor  communion-table  (if  there  ever  were  any)  remain, 
and  the  floor  is  strewed  with  fragments  of  the  statues,  cornices,  and 
ornaments  of  the  monuments,  either  accidentally  or  wantonly  broken 
off,  intermingled  with  the  ceiling  and  walls,  and  other  rubbish. 

The  most  perfect  of  the  three  monuments  consists  of  a  magnificent 
sarcophagus,  on  which  is  the  recumbent  effigy  of  a  personage  in  a 
coat  of  mail,  and  over  it  the  mantle  and  collar  of  the  Order  of  the 
Garter :  the  whole  of  alabaster,  painted  and  gilded  in  a  very  superb 
style.  The  head  is  towards  the  altar,  resting  on  a  helmet  of  beauti- 
fully polished  alabaster :  the  left  arm  broken  off  at  the  elbow,  as  also 
part  of  the  right  hand,  which,  irom  the  position  of  the  arm,  seems  to 
have  grasped  (perhaps)  a  sword,  and  the  point  of  the  beard  and  nose 
of  the  statue  are  gone.  The  mantle  is  thrown  back  to  display  the 
armour ;  and  the  collar,  as  well  as  the  garter,  is  delicately  finished. 
The  azure  of  the  latter,  and  the  gold  letters  upon  it,  are  still  quite 
fresh ;  but  the  colour  of  the  mantle  is  much  faded.  The  feet  of  the 
statue  have  been  broken  off,  and  a  beautiful  cornice  which  ornamented 
the  canopy  or  awning  over  the  figure  lies  in  fragments  around.  This 
canopy,  which  is  exteriorly  carved  and  painted  to  resemble  small 
tiles  of  Delft,  is,  on  the  inside,  divided  into  numerous  small  com- 
partments, ornamented  with  flowers  richly  gilt  and  rests  upon  two 
pilasters  with  Corinthian  capitals,  next  the  wall,  and  in  front  upon 
termini,  of  alabaster,  highly  finished,  with  the  figures  of  warriors 
having  on  rich  crested  helmets.  On  slips  of  jasper,  inserted  along 
the  front  of  the  pediment,  is  the  motto  FIDE  ET  CONSTANTIA  :  and 
on  a  dark  stone  behind  the  effigy,  the  following  inscription : 

Fide  et  Constantia    f  Vixit  Deo  ;  Fatriae  et  Amicis,  annos  [         ]. 
Fide  et  Constamia  -j    Christo  sp'vm  ;  carnem  sepulchre  commendavi. 
Fide  et  Constantia    [  Scio,  credo,  expecto  mortuoruro  resurrectionem. 

On  each  side  are  trophies  in  well-executed  relief. 

On  the  body  of  the  sarcophagus,  below,  on  two  tablets,  these  lines  : 
[omitted]. 

Above  the  monument,  against  the  north  wall,  is  the  shield  of  arms, 
enclosed  by  a  garter  and  motto. 

Dexter  side :  quarterly.  In  the  first  quarter,  argent,  a  bar  and 
three  crescents  sable.  Second  quarter  gules,  a  lion  rampant  or. 
Third  quarter  gules,  two  wolves  (or  foxes)  passant  or.  Fourth 
quarter  argent,  a  bar  and  unicorns'  heads  sable. 

Sinister  side :  in  the  first  and  fourth  quarter,  argent,  a  bar  and 
three  roses  sable.  Second  quarter,  in  a  field,  azure,  powdered  with 


326  Buckinghamshire. 


eij:ht  stars  or,  an  escutcheon  of  pretence  ermine.  Third  quarter 
within  a  border  azure,  with  ten  stars  or,  a  lion  rampant  azure,  in  a 
field  argent. 

Between  this  monument  and  the  east  end  of  the  chancel  is  placed 
in  the  wall  a  tablet  within  a  frame  of  alabaster,  bearing  the  date  1611, 
and  the  letters  "Sustine  do  pergo,"  with  the  following  inscription  in 
capital  letters : 

"  Sir  Henry  Lee,  Knight  of  the  most  noble  Order  of  the  Garter,  sonne  of  Sir 
Anthony  Lee,  and  Dame  Margaret,  his  wife,  daughter  to  Sir  Henry  Wiat,  that 
faithful  and  constant  servant  and  counsellor  to  the  two  Kings  of  famous  memory, 
Henries  the  VII.  and  VIII.  Hee  owed  his  birth  and  childhood  to  Kent,  and  his 
highly  honourable  uncle  Sir  Thomas  Wiat,  at  Alington  Castle ;  his  youth  to  the 
Courte  and  Kinge  Henry  the  VIII.  to  whose  service  he  was  sworne  at  xiiii  yeares 
olde  :  his  prime  of  manhood,  after  the  calme  of  that  best  prince  Edward  the  Sixt, 
to  the  warrs  of  Scotland  in  Queen  Maries  days,  till  called  home  by  her  whose 
soddeine  death  gave  beginninge  to  the  glorious  reigne  of  Queen  Elizabeth.  He 
gave  himself  to  voyage  and  travaile  into  the  flourishing  States  of  France,  Itally, 
and  Germany,  wher  soon  putting  on  all  those  abilities  that  became  the  backe  of 
honour,  especially  skill  and  proof  in  armes,  he  lived  in  grace  and  gracing  the 
Courtes  of  the  most  renowned  Princes  of  that  warlike  age,  returned  home  charged 
with  the  reputation  of  a  •well-formed  travellour,  and  adorned  with  those  flowers  of 
knighthood,  courtesy,  bounty,  valour,  which  quickly  gave  forth  their  fruite  as  well 
in  the  fielde  to  the  advantage  (at  once)  of  the  two  divided  parties  of  this  happily 
united  State,  and  to  both  those  Piinces  his  Sovereignes  successively  in  that  expe- 
dition into  Scotland  in  the  year  1573;  when  in  goodly  equipage  he  repayreci  to 
the  siege  of  Edinburgh,  ther  quartering  before  the  Casile,  and  commanding  one  of 
the  batteries,  he  shared  largely  in  the  honor  of  ravishing  that  maiden  forte ;  as 
also  in  Courte,  wher  he  shone  in  all  those  fayer  partes  became  his  profession  and 
vowes,  honouring  his  highly  gracious  Mris  with  reysing  those  later  Olimpiads  of 
her  Courte  justs  and  tournaments  (thereby  trying  and  treyninge  the  courtier  in 
those  exercises  of  armes  that  keepe  the  person  bright  and  steeled  to  hardinesse, 
that  by  softe  ease  rusts  and  weares)  wherein  still  himself  lead  and  triumphed, 
carying  away  great,  spoyles  of  grace  from  the  Soveraigne,  and  renowne  from  the 
worlde,  for  the  fairest  man  at  armes  and  most  complete  courtier  of  his  times,  till 
singled  out  by  the  choice  hand  of  his  Koyall  Mris,  for  meed  of  his  worth  (after  the 
Lieutenancy  of  the  Royall  Manour  of  Woodstocke,  and  the  office  of  the  Royall 
Armory),  he  was  called  up  an  Assessour' on  the  bench  of  Honour  emonge  Princes 
and  Peers,  receivinge  at  her  Majesties  hands  the  noblest  order  of  Garter,  whitest 
the  worme  of  time  gnawinge  the  roote  of  this  plant,  yeldinge  to  the  burden,  age, 
and  the  industrye  of  an  active  youth  imposed  on  him,  full  of  the  glorie  of  the 
Courte  he  abated  of  his  sence  to  pay  his  better  parte,  resigned  his  dignity  and 
honour  of  her  Majties  Knighte  to  the  adventurous  Compt  George  Earle  of  Cum- 
berlande,  changinge  pleasure  for  ease,  for  tranquillity  honour,  making  rest  his 
sollace,  and  contemplation  his  employment,  so  as  absenting  from  the  world, 
present  with  himself,  he  chose  to  loose  the  fruit  of  publique  use  and  action  for 
that  of  devotion  and  piety,  in  which  time  (besides  the  building  of  four  goodly 
manors,)  he  revived  the  mines  of  this  Chappell,  added  these  Monuments  to  the 
honour  of  his  blood  and  friends,  reised  the  foundation  of  the  adjoining  hospitall  *, 
and  lastly,  as  full  of  years  as  of  honour,  having  served  five\  succeeding  Princes, 
and  kept  himself  reight  and  steady  in  many  dangerous  shockes,  and  three  utter 

*  Such  is  the  expression  ;  but  as  no  account  is  preserved  of  any  such  establish- 
ment, it  is  difficult  to  understand  whether  it  is  meant  that  he  destroyed  or  began 
the  erection  of  such  a  work. 

f  In  the  lines  on  the  monument  six  Princes  are  mentioned. 


Quarrendon\ 


turnes  of  state,  with  a  body  bent  to  earth,  and  a  mind  erected  to  Heaven,  aged  80, 
knighted  60  years,  he  met  his  long  attended  ende,  and  now  rests  with  his  Re- 
deemer, leavinge  much  patrimony  with  his  name,  honour  with  the  world,  and 
plentifull  teares  with  his  friends.  Of  which  sacrifice  he  offers  his  part,  that,  beinge 
a  sharer  in  his  blood  as  well  as  in  many  of  his  honourable  favors,  and  an  honourer 
of  his  virtues,  thus  narrowly  registreth  his  spread  worth  to  ensuinge  times. 

WILLIAM  SCOTT." 

On  the  opposite  side  is  a  large  altar-tomb  with  pillars  of  Sussex 
marble  (which  appear  to  have  been  broken  and  repaired  with  white 
stone)  supporting  a  canopy  or  entablature,  under  which  are  recum- 
bent figures,  as  large  as  life,  of  an  armed  knight  and  his  lady.  The 
feet  towards  the  altar  :  the  hands  pressed  together  in  a  devotional 
attitude,  but  the  fingers  and  part  of  the  feet  broken  off.  These 
figures,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  tomb,  are  of  alabaster  and  well 
sculptured  ;  but  the  features,  as  well  as  the  more  delicate  work 
of  the  ornaments,  defaced.  On  a  blue  stone,  at  the  back  of  the 
recess  in  which  the  effigies  repose,  on  rolls  of  well-imitated  mats,  is 
an  inscription  much  injured  by  the  corrosion  of  time  and  the  damp, 
the  following  words  only  being  now  legible  : 

"  ......  Anthony  Lee,  Knight  of  worthy 

name, 
Syre  ....Sr  Henry  Lee  of  noble  fame, 

Sonne....  Robert  —  here  tombed  lies 

Wher  .  .  fame  an  .  .  memory  never  dies  ;  [remainder  omitted]- 

On  each  side  are  trophies  and  fretwork  ornaments  richly  carved. 

The  front  of  the  tomb  is  divided  into  compartments,  with  tablets 
corresponding  with  those  on  the  opposite  monument  of  Sir  Henry, 
and  inscribed  with  about  an  equal  number  of  lines,  probably  in 
metre,  but  so  much  injured  that  the  word  Margery  and  some  few 
letters  here  and  there  are  all  that  can  be  read. 

Under  the  canopy,  but  above  the  inscription,  is  a  stone  shield 
with  the  paternal  coat  of  Lee.  In  a  field  argent,  a  bar  and  three 
crescents  sable  ;*  impaled  with  another  coat,  probably  that  of  the 
Wyats.  And  above  the  monument  the  same  arms  repeated  as  on 
Sir  Henry  Lee's  coat,  but  without  the  garter. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  these  personages  were  the  father  and 
mother  of  that  accomplished  courtier  ;  but  it  is  impossible,  unless 
some  account  has  been  preserved  (and  I  am  not  aware  that  there 
is),  to  discover  for  whom  the  third  tomb  or  monument  was  erected  ; 
the  remains  of  it  being  only  the  basis,  and  the  projection  of  the 
cornice  or  arch  with  some  small  portion  of  the  pillars,  of  Sussex 
marble,  which  formerly  decorated  as  well  as  supported  it.  Enough 
is  left  to  show  that  it  is  of  the  same  workmanship  as  the  others  ;  the 

*  Perhaps  the  armorial  bearings  here  noted  may  not  be  technically  described  ; 
but  so  far  as  relates  to  the  colouring,  quartering,  and  distribution  of  the  several 
parts,  they  are  carefully  correct.  Painters  and  sculptors  are,  like  topographers, 
sometimes  very  indifferent  heralds. 


328  Buckinghamshire, 

materials  of  which  it  is  composed  being  the  same,  but  differing  in 
the  form  of  the  arch,  and  the  circumstance  of  its  being  of  consider- 
ably smaller  dimensions.  Neither  arms  nor  inscription  can  be 
traced. 

The  chancel  which  contains  these  fragments  of  sepulchral  splendour 
has  two  windows,  that  at  the  east  end  consisting  of  three  lights,  and 
a  smaller  on  the  south  side.  Some  rude  timbers  are  still  remaining 
within  the  arched  doorway  communicating  with  the  church,  and 
against  the  partition  above,  but  within  the  latttr  are  two  slender 
irons,  which  appear  to  have  been  designed  to  sustain  banners  or 
achievements.  The  shields  of  arms  over  the  respective  monuments 
appear  to  have  been  formerly  surmounted  with  crests,  which  seem  to 
have  been  broken  off;  and  as  the  door  of  the  edifice  is  left  open 
(the  lock  having  been  broken)  and  the  building  is  reported  to  be 
occasionally  converted  to  the  use  of  feeding  or  sheltering  cattle 
within  its  walls,  it  may  reasonably  he  expected  that  every  day  will 
diminish  the  remains  of  its  pristine  elegance,  and  increase  the  diffi- 
culty of  ascertaining  its  ancient  state. 

There  is  neither  architectural  magnificence  nor  picturesque  beauty 
in  the  exterior  to  attract  the  notice  of  the  curious,  or  deserve  the 
attention  of  the  artist.  A  pretty  correct  notion  may  be  formed  of 
the  general  outline  and  style  of  the  monuments  by  referring  to  the 
construction  of  those  which  mark  the  age  of  James  I.,  to  which  they 
evidently  belong.  .  .  . 

The  neighbouring  estate  is  now  the  property  of  James  Dupre, 
Esq.,  into  whose  hands  I  know  not  whether  it  came  by  purchase  or 
affinity  to  the  Lichfield  family  ;  but  in  either  case,  if  this  account 
of  the  state  of  Quarrendon  Chapel  should  happen  to  meet  his  eye, 
I  trust  that  that  building  will  not  long  remain  in  a  condition  so 
disgraceful  to  the  established  religion,  and  to  those  feelings  of 
gratitude  and  respect  for  departed  worth  which  are  among  the 
most  amiable  dispositions  of  the  mind. 

VIATOR. 

[1817,  Part  II.,  p.  115.] 

In  reply  to  Viator  (Part  I.,  p.  504),  who  laments  the  ruinous  state 
of  the  monuments  in  Quarrendon  Chapel,  situated  (it  must  be 
admitted)  in  the  most  fertile*  part  of  the  Vale  of  Aylesbury,  of 
course  yielding  a  rich  revenue  to  the  wealthy  proprietor,  yet  in- 
sufficient for  the  purpose  so  laudably  wished  by  your  correspondent, 
I  presume  the  lady,  to  whose  memory  the  monument  was  erected  in 
Aylesbury  Church,  was  the  wife  of  Sir  Henry  (there  named  Harry) 
Lee  of  Quarrendon,  in  the  county  of  Buckingham,  Knight  of  the 

*  Fuller,  who  wrote  upwards  of  a  century  and  a  half  ngo,  says,  "that  one  entire 
pasture,  called  Beryfield,  in  the  Manor  of  Quarrendon,  is  let  yearly  at  eight 
hundred  pounds,  and  the  tenant  not  complaining  of  his  bargain."  What  must  be 
the  present  rental  ?  See  Fuller's  "  Worthies  of  Bucks,"  edited  by  Nichols,  p.  133. 


Qu  a  rrendon.  329 

Garter.  Sir  Henry's  own  monument  remains  among  the  sadly 
neglected  memorials  of  ancient  heroism  and  worth  in  the  chapel  of 
Quarrendon,  where  other  ancestors  of  the  Earls  of  Lichfield  and 
their  successors,  in  the  family  possessions,  the  Dillon  Lees,  Viscount 
Dillon,  of  the  kingdom  of  Ireland,  lie  entombed. 

I  am  fully  satisfied  that  the  lady  whose  singular  epitaph  Viator  has 
transcribed,  was  the  wife  of  Sir  Henry,  because  the  inscription  on 
his  own  monument*  is  silent  about  his  wife  and  children,  who  all 
died  before  him,  and  had  sepulture  in  the  adjoining  parish  of 
Aylesbury ;  and  it  is  certain  that  Sir  Henry  Lee,  K.G.,  inter- 
married with  Anne,  daughter  of  William  Lord  Paget,  from  a 
branch  of  which  family  the  Marquis  of  Anglesey  is  descended, 
and  that  Lord  Paget's  two  sons  were  successively  peers  of  the 
realm,  viz.,  Henry,  created  a  Knight  of  "the  Bath  at  the  coronation 
of  Queen  Mary,  and  summoned  to  Parliament  the  8th  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  and  who  died  A.D.  1569.  Thomas,  his  brother,  suc- 
ceeded him,  and  had  summons  to  Parliament  the  i3th  of  the  same 
reign.  The  Baronet  family  of  Lee,  of  Hartwell,  is  descended  from 
the  Leghs  of  the  ancient  house  of  High  Legh,  in  Cheshire,  a  differ- 
ent lineage  to  the  Lees,  subsequently  Earls  of  Lichfield,  Viscounts 
Quarrendon,  etc  ;  and  there  is  no  cognizance  in  the  armorial  bear- 
ings of  either  family  that  indicates  affinity. 

The  Rev.  Sir  George  Lee,  Bart.,  A.M.,  and  F.A.S.,  rector  of 
Water  Stratford,  second  and  only  surviving  son  of  Sir  William,  fourth 
baronet,  and  his  wife,  Lady  Elizabeth,  daughter  of  Simon,  first  Earl 
Harcourt,  is  the  present  proprietor  of  Hartwell  House,  where  Louis 
XVIII.  found  a  kind  asylum  during  some  years  of  his  exile  in  this 
country,  which  he  quitted  on  the  morning  of  the  2oth  of  April, 
1814,  and  made  his  public  entry  into  London  on  the  evening  of  the 
same  day. 

Yours,  etc.,  ANTIQUARIUS. 

[1817,  Part  li.,  /.  489.] 

Several  communications  having  lately  appeared  in  your  miscellany 
regarding  the  present  deplorable  condition,  and  descriptive  of  the 
interest  connected  with  Quarrendon  Chapel,  near  Aylesbury,  Bucks, 
I  presume  that  external  and  internal  representations  of  this  curious 
building  (see  Plates  I.  and  II.),  as  it  appeared  in  1815,  may  not  be 
unacceptable  to  some  of  your  readers.  .  .  . 

The  construction  of  Quarrendon  Chapel  throughout  is  indeed 
excellent ;  the  masonry  regular,  and  the  windows  and  south  door 
well  finished.  Its  plan  is  uniform,  having  a  centre  and  side  aisles, 
which  are  opened  to  each  other  through  elegant  pointed  arches  rest- 
ing upon  octagonal  capitals  and  columns.  The  roof  is  handsome, 

*  The  inscription,  with  a  copy  of  which  this  correspondent  has  favoured  us, 
will  be  found  in  a  preceding  communication,  p.  107. 


33O  Buckinghamshire. 

having  at  its  main  beams  flat  arches,  which  combine  numerous 
mouldings,  and  stretch  across  between  the  windows,  resting  upon 
stone  brackets,  sculptured  with  human  heads,  grotesque  animals, 
leaves,  etc. ;  the  intermediate  spaces  are  filled  with  purlings  and 
rafters  ;  but,  though  the  whole  is  constructed  of  excellent  and  sub- 
stantial Irish  oak,  the  neglect  of  the  external  roof  has  dilapidated 
some  portions  of  them  towards  the  west  end,  which  is  rapidly  in- 
creasing, and  will  ere  long,  unless  some  means  of  preservation  are 
adopted,  demolish  the  whole.  The  pews,  pulpit,  etc.,  have  been 
wholly  removed,  and  very  little  of  the  regular  stone  pavement 
remains. 

A  plain  arch  connects  the  body  of  the  chapel  with  the  chancel, 
the  latter  being  very  small  and  nearly  filled  with  the  monuments 
described  by  your  correspondent,  p.  114,  which  gives  it  more  the 
character  of  a  sepulchral  chapel  than  the  service  part  of  the  building. 
It  is  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  preference  which  appears  to  have 
been  always  given  by  the  founders  and  benefactors  for  these  situa- 
tions of  interment ;  except  a  few  instances  in  some  larger  edifices, 
but  the  greater  number  are  otherwise ;  and  the  unadorned  arched 
recess,  to  be  seen  in  the  chancel  walls  of  many  old  churches,  doubt- 
less once  contained  the  plain,  uninscribed  gravestone,  the  ornamented 
cross,  the  statue  of  the  founder,  or  the  brass  figure. 

Yours,  etc.,  $. 

[1818,  Part  I., pp.  116-120.] 

I  have  been  induced  to  extend  my  researches  respecting  the 
mutilated  monuments  at  Quarrendon,  and  discover  that  the  third 
tomb,  which  I  stated  in  a  former  letter  to  have  been  so  much 
decayed  as  to  prevent  my  hazarding  a  conjecture  for  whom  it  was 
designed,  was,  in  all  probability,  intended  as  a  memorial  of  a  lady 
of  the  name  of  Vavasor  (I  do  not  venture  to  say  of  the  family  once 
proprietors  of  an  estate  at  Woughton  near  Newport  Pagnell),  who 
appears  to  have  been  the  noble  Knight's  Dulcinea  in  his  old  age ; 
perhaps  after  the  death  of  his  lady  of  "  illustrious  blood  and  fame," 
who  is  buried  at  Aylesbury,  and,  as  "  Antiquarius"  observes,  not 
mentioned  in  the  monumental  inscription  at  Quarrendon. 

It  appears  that  chastity  and  knighthood,  Mr.  Urban,  were  not 
always  concomitants,  whatsoever  they  might  have  been  in  the  age  of 
Don  Quixote,  or  may  be  in  our  own  times  •  and  that  this  star  of 
courts,  and  rose  of  chivalry,  was  not  content  with  having  (according 
to  the  pompous  display  of  his  achievements  upon  the  tablet  in  the 
chapel)  "  ravished  the  maiden  fortress  of  Edinburgh,"  and  won  her 
garter  from  his  royal  mistress  ;  but,  on  retiring  from  the  world,  "  to 
rest  and  contemplation,"  he  must,  forsooth,  fall  desperately  in  love 
with  a  damsel  of  such  exquisite  beauty  and  accomplishments  that  he 
determined  to  perpetuate  the  remembrance  of  his  gallantry  by  a 


Quarrendon.  331 

splendid  monument  and  the  following  lines,  which  Browne  Willis 
copied,  and  Mr.  Lysons  (whose  account  I  had  overlooked)  has 
quoted  from  Mr.  Willis's  papers  : 

"  Under  this  stone  interred  lies  a  fair  and  worthy  dame 
Daughter  to  Henry  Vavasor,  Ann  Vavasor  her  name  ! 
She  living  ivith  Sir  Henry  Lee  for  love,  long  time  did  dwell : 
Death  could  not  part  them  ;  but  here  they  rest  in  one  cell !" 

Whether  the  noble  knight  and  the  worthy  dame  were  literally 
buried  in  the  same  grave  (and  if  so,  Virgil  might  have  supplied  no 
bad  epitaph  in 

"  Speluncam  Dido,  dux  et  Trojanus  eandem 
Devenient ") 

may  probably  not  long  remain  doubtful ;  for  such  is  the  condition  of 
the  chapel,  that,  if  a  few  pigs  should  chance  to  stray  amongst  the 
ruins,  as  well  as  "  sheep  and  oxen,  and  all  the  beasts  of  the  field," 
which  have  free  access  to  it,  they  may  anticipate  the  researches  of 
the  curious  and  the  learned,  by  unceremoniously  opening  the  hallowed 
depository  of  so  much  valour  and  beauty  ! 

Whether  any  other  individuals  belonging  to  the  Lee  family,  besides 
those  enumerated  in  the  preceding  communications,  were  buried  at 
Quarrendon,  I  have  not  been  able  to  ascertain.  Report  says  that 
sepulchral  stones  have^'been  removed,  with  the  rest  of  the  pavement, 
to  make  a  cellar  in  a  neighbouring  farm-house ;  and  it  is  certain  that 
at  least  one  has  been  converted  into  a  hearth-stone  in  a  cottage  near 
the  spot ;  for  the  marks  of  the  brasses  once  inserted  in  it  are  still 
visible  : — but  further  this  deponent  saith  not ! 

Of  the  hospital,  alluded  to  in  the  inscription,  it  has  been  already 
said  that  there  are  no  remains  :  but  near  the  south  side  of  the  chapel, 
a  large  piece  of  meadow,  perhaps  two  acres  in  extent,  is  enclosed 
with  banks,  which  give  it  the  appearance  of  having  been  once  moated 
round.  Mr.  Lysons  says,  that  "  the  ancient  seat  was  pulled  down 
in  the  early  part  of  the  last  century ;"  and  here  may  have  been  the 
site  of  it.  Where  were  situated  the  "four  goodly  mansions"  which 
Sir  Henry  Lee  built,  as  recorded  on  the  monument,  perhaps  "Anti- 
quarius  "  may  be  able  to  afford  some  information.  At  present  I  find 
mention  made  in  direct  terms  of  only  one  of  them — his  paternal  seat 
at  Burston,  in  the  parish  of  Aston  Abbots,  about  three  miles  from 
Quarrendon  eastward.  The  old  mansion  there,  in  which  Sir  Anthony 
Lee  resided,  who  was  knight  of  the  shire,  and  father  of  Sir  Henry,  is 
said  to  have  been  nearly  rebuilt  by  the  latter,  but  left  incomplete  at 
his  death,  and  has  been  since  demolished,  excepting  a  portion  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  walls,  which  may  be  still  traced  in  the  offices  and 
garden  belonging  to  a  farm-huuse,  of  late  years  erected  with  the 
materials  of  the  old  mansion,  and  in  which  a  square  stone  window- 
case,  with  mullions,  on  the  south  side  towards  the  east  end,  is  also 
observable  as  a  relic  of  the  former  building. 


3  3  2  Buckinghamshire. 


It  may  be  remarked  that,  if  the  knight  displayed  no  better  taste  in 
architecture  than  he  seems  to  have  done  in  the  choice  of  situation, 
it  is  not  at  all  surprising  that  those  labours  of  his  life  have  been 
suffered  to  fall  into  decay,  and  to  moulder  with  his  bones.  Burston 
house  was  built,  if  not  in  the  very  worst  situation,  certainly  in  almost 
the  very  worst,  which  could  have  been  selected  in  the  whole  neigh- 
bourhood. .  .  . 

Besides  the  house  at  Burston,  it  is  probable  that  another  of  the 
works  alluded  to  might  be  the  mansion  at  Weedon,  formerly  the 
jointured  residence  of  Anne,  Countess  of  Lindsey,  who  was  the  relict 
of  Sir  Francis  Lee,  and  died  in  1709  :  which  house  having  Quarren- 
don  Chapel,  and  great  part  of  the  Vale  of  Aylesbury,  in  view  from 
its  principal  front,  occupied  the  site  of  Lillies,  now  the  seat  of  the 
Lord  George  Grenville,  Baron  Nugent,  being  part  of  the  estate  which 
was  sold  by  Lord  Dillon  in  1801  to  George  Nugent  Grenville 
Temple,  late  Marquis  of  Buckingham. 

In  addition  to  the  particulars  before  communicated,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  remark,  that  Margaret  the  Lady  of  Sir  Anthony  Lee,  is 
represented  on  the  monument  in  a  close  head  dress,  with  a  circlet  or 
bandeau  of  gold  richly  ornamented  with  pearls  :  a  chain  necklace 
with  square  links,  and  a  jewel  pendent  from  it :  the  gown  close,  with 
long  stays  or  body,  and  a  gold  chain,  also  with  square  links,  by  way 
of  girdle;  and  an  oval  ornament  as  large  as  a  modern  watch  (perhaps 
an  etwee  case)  hanging  as  low  as  the  knee. 

This  lady  is  called  on  the  tablet  belonging  to  her  son  Sir  Henry's 
monument  (for  excepting  the  word  Margery,  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
inscription  upon  her  own  tomb  is  illegible)  "  Dame  Margaret,  the 
daughter  to  SIR  HENRY  WIAT,*  that  faithful  and  constant  servant 
and  counsellor  to  two  kings,  Henry  VII.  and  VIII.,"  etc. ;  and  it  is 
remarkable  that  in  the  declaration  circulated  by  Perkin  Warbeck, 
when  with  the  Scottish  forces  he  entered  Northumberland  to  claim 
the  Crown,  the  name  of  Henry  Wyat  is  mentioned  as  one  of  King 
Henry  VII.'s  especial  favourites  and  advisers.  [See  Lord  Bacon's 
History  of  the  reign  of  that  monarch,  in  which  the  manifesto  is 
reported  to  be  copied  from  the  Cottonian  MSS.] 

A  coat  of  arms  on  a  shield  of  white  stone,  apparently  more  modern 
than  the  rest  of  the  decorations  of  the  monument,  was  in  my  former 
account  stated  to  be  "  the  paternal  coat  of  Lee  (argent  a  fess  between 
three  crescents  sable),  impaling,  probably,  Wyat."  The  figures  on 
the  sinister  side,  which,  partly  from  their  obscurity,  and  perhaps 
partly  from  my  own  inexperience,  I  could  not  decipher,  appear,  on  a 
moie  careful  inspection,  to  be  a  pair  of  very  ancient  and  uncouth 
pincers,  the  blades  open  by  a  spring.  The  effigy  of  Sir  Anthony  Lee 
lies  on  a  roll  of  mat,  which  also  supports  his  head.  The  head  of  the 
lady  reposes  on  cushions,  or  pillows,  very  well  executed. 

*  Rd.  Wyatt,  esq.,  occurs  Sheriff  of  Bucks  in  1410,  1416,  and  1424;  probably 
of  the  same  family. 


Quarrendon.  333 

Holinshed  relates,  that  in  a  great  storm,  which  happened  in  1570, 
Sir  Henry  Lee  is  said  to  have  lost  3,000  sheep  at  Quarrendon,  besides 
other  cattle.  It  is  probable  that,  at  that  period,  the  number  of  sheep 
kept  there  might  be  more  considerable  in  proportion  to  heavier  stock 
than  of  late  years ;  and  Drayton,  after  mentioning  the  glebe  and 
pasturage  of  the  Vale  of  Aylesbury,  adds, 

"That  as  her  grain  and  grass,  so  she  her  sheep  doth  breed 
For  burden,  and  for  bone,  all  others  that  exceed  !" — Polyolbion. 

The  only  dates  remaining  upon  the  monuments  are  those  of  1573, 
the  period  of  the  expedition  into  Scotland  (the  i6th  of  Elizabeth), 
and  1611,  when  it  is  presumed  that  Sir  Henry  Lee  died.  It  is 
recorded  that  he  attained  the  age  of  fourscore,  so  that,  according  to 
the  above  account,  he  must  have  been  at  the  time  of  the  storm  in 
the  vigour  of  life,  and  perhaps  engaged  in  attendance  upon  the  court 
or  the  wars.  May  it  not  therefore  be  supposed  that  the  rebuilding 
of  the  chapel  by  this  personage  had  been  rendered  necessary  by  the 
destructive  effects  of  that  calamity?  for  Sir  Anthony,  his  father, 
having  died  about  the  year  1550,  it  is  unreasonable  to  imagine  that 
his  monument  (if  he  had  any  before  the  rebuilding  of  the  chapel) 
had  become  decayed  in  the  short  space  of  twenty  years,  or  that  he 
was  buried  in  a  mere  heap  of  ruins,  although  I  can  meet  with  no 
other  account  of  the  storm  than  that  which  has  been  already  cited. 

The  original  chapel  is  said  to  have  been  founded  about  the  year 
1392,  by  John  Farnham,  and  dedicated  to  St.  Peter.  It  was  a 
chapel-of-ease  to  the  vicarage  of  Bierton,  being  in  the  hundred  of 
Aylesbury  and  deanery  of  Wendover. 

The  manor  of  Quarrendon  was,  according  to  Holinshed,  part  of 
the  ancient  possessions  of  the  Fitz  Johns,  and  came  by  a  female  heir 
to  the  Beauchamps.  This  account  carries  us  no  higher  than  to  the 
reign  of  Henry  III.  Whether  it  were  in  earlier  times  in  the  hands 
of  the  Bolebecs,  can  only  be  conjectured ;  but  there  are  some  remains 
of  an  ancient  road  eastward  of  Buryfield,  the  so  much  celebrated 
piece  of  rich  pasturage  noticed  by  "  Antiquarius,"  which  still  retain  the 
appellation  of  Bullbeck  Gate,  and  from  their  vicinity  to  other  con- 
siderable estates  of  that  opulent  and  powerful  family,  seem  to  afford 
some  show  of  probability  in  support  of  such  an  opinion.  It  is  more 
certain  that,  on  the  attainder  of  Thomas  Beauchamp,  Earl  of  Warwick, 
it  was  granted,  in  1397,  to  Thomas  Mowbray,  Duke  of  Norfolk,  who 
also  suffering  attainder  soon  afterwards,  it  reverted  to  the  Crown, 
and  in  1512  was  granted  to  Robert  Lee,  esq.,  who  was  a  descendant 
from  the  younger  branch  of  the  Lees  of  Lea,  in  Cheshire  [Benedict, 
fifth  son  of  John,  by  Elizabeth,  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  —  Wood, 
of  Warwickshire,  in  temp.  Edward  III. ;  for  which  I  am  obliged  and 
indebted  to  your  respectable  correspondent  the  "  Octogenarian "], 
seated  at  Quarrendon  "as  early  as  the  year  1460,  and  who  had  been, 
for  some  time,  lessees  under  the  Crown." 


334  Buck  inghamsh  ire. 


Sir  Henry  Lee's  qualifications  as  a  statesman,  or  rather  a  courtier, 
seem  to  have  resembled  those  of  his  father-in  law,  William  Lord 
Paget,  who,  like  him,  also  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  four  succeeding 
princes,  Henry  VIII.,  Edward  VI.,  Mary,  and  Elizabeth.  By  what 
compass  the  latter  nobleman  steered  so  safe  a  course  through  the 
dangerous  commotions  which  agitated  both  Church  and  State  in 
those  eventful  reigns,  may  perhaps  be  gathered  from  the  axioms  of 
his  commonplace  book,  now  in  the  possession  of  his  descendant 
Lord  Boston,  which  thus  concludes  : 

"  Fly  the  courte. 
Speke  little. 
Care  less. 
Devise  nothing. 
Never  earnest. 
In  answer  cold. 
Lerne  to  spare. 
Spend  in  measure. 
Care  for  home. 
Pray  often. 
Live  better. 
And  dye  well." 

The  rewards  Sir  Henry  Lee  received  from  his  sovereigns  have 
been  before  mentioned :  in  later  days  his  descendant,  Sir  Edward 
Henry,  was  created  Viscount  Quarrendon,  and  Earl  of  Lichfield,  in 
1674,  which  titles  becoming  extinct  on  the  decease  of  George  Henry, 
the  last  heir  male  of  that  family,  who  was  Chancellor  of  the  University 
of  Oxford,  and  died  in  1776,  the  manor  and  estate  descended  to 
their  representative,  Henry  Augustus  Dillon -Lee,  Lord  Viscount 
Dillon  in  Ireland,  by  whom,  in  the  year  1802,  it  was  sold  to  James 
Dupre,  esq.,  of  Whitton  Park,  the  present  possessor. 

Quarrendon  is  stated,  in  the  Agricultural  Survey  of  the  County  of 
Bucks,  to  contain  1,500  acres  of  land*  of  which  only  7  or  8  are  in 
arable,  and  the  remainder  in  pasturage,  or  meadow.  The  number 
of  farm-houses  5,  of  cottages  four,  and  of  inhabitants  55.  The 
average  of  rents  from  403.  to  6os.  per  acre ;  the  whole  parish  tithe 
free.  The  soil  is  in  general  a  deep  rich  clay,  extremely  fertile  and 
productive ;  and  the  experience  of  agriculturists  leads  them  to  prefer 
grazing  and  feeding  oxen,  to  keeping  a  dairy  of  cows.  The  parish 
maintains  its  own  poor  distinctly  from  Bierton,  to  which  the  chapel 
here  only  was  formerly  appendant. 

It  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Hardwick,  on  the  east  by  Bierton 
and  Aylesbury,  on  the  south  by  Aylesbury  and  Stone,  and  on  the 
south-west  and  west  by  Fleet  Marston,  being  separated  from  the 
latter  by  a  brook  which  is  formed  by  the  union  of  several  rivulets 
from  the  north-west,  north,  and  east  (whose  divided  streams  isolate 
some  of  the  rich  pastures,  and  in  wet  seasons,  by  overflowing  their 
banks,  perform  a  sort  of  natural  irrigation),  and  runs  south-west  in  a 


Quarrendon .  335 


tortuous  course  near  Eythrop  and  Winchendon,  until,  on  the  verge 
of  the  county,  it  is  dignified  with  the  title  of  the  River  Thame. 

The  turnpike  road  leading  from  Aylesbury  to  Bicester  in  Oxford- 
shire, runs  along  the  border  of  a  portion  of  the  parish  of  Quarrendon 
on  the  south  ;  and  is  supposed  to  occupy  the  track  of  a  vicinal  way, 
which  has  been  often  erroneously  taken  for  the  Akeman-street,  with 
the  course  of  which,  as  the  Bishop  of  Cloyne  observes  [Lysons, 
"Mag.  Brit,"  vol.  i.,  p.  484],  it  by  no  means  agrees.  The  line  of 
that  vicinal  way,  however,  by  whatsoever  name  it  may  have  been 
originally  called,  as  laid  down  in  the  best  maps,  appears  to  have  been 
broken,  and  no  traces  of  it  preserved,  from  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
eastward  of  Aylesbury,  to  the  distance  of  more  than  three  miles 
westward  of  that  town,  in  the  direction  of  Quarrendon  and  Fleet 
Marston.  Near  the  last-named  place  the  present  road  makes  a 
sudden  flexure ;  but  whether  the  ancient  way  ran  to  the  northward 
of  it,  can  only  be  conjectured.  In  that  case  it  must  have  passed 
near  the  site  of  Quarrendon  Chapel ;  and  the  old  track  from  Ayles- 
bury to  Buckingham,  which  unquestionably  left  Hardwick,  and  the 
modern  line  of  the  turnpike  through  Winslow,  on  the  right  hand, 
and  passed  through  Claydon,  might  have  branched  off  from  this 
vicinal  way,  and  have  intersected  the  Vale  of  Aylesbury  very  near 
the  spot  before-mentioned,  which  is  still  called  Bullbank  [Bolebec] 
Gate.  The  Roman  remains  in  this  part  of  the  kingdom  are  but  few, 
and  the  materials  for  its  ancient  history  very  scanty ;  but  an  attentive 
examination  of  the  features  of  the  country,  even  at  this  distant  period, 
would,  I  am  persuaded,  throw  much  light  upon  the  very  imperfect 
accounts  of  it  which  have  hitherto  appeared,  and  remove  many  of 
the  doubts  which  have  been  entertained  respecting  its  condition  in 
early  times.  .  .  . 

VIATOR. 
Stewkley. 

[1862,  Part  I.,  fp.  473-4750 

Most  of  your  readers  are  probably  acquainted  with  this  interesting 
church,  either  from  actual  inspection  or  from  the  engraving  of  it  in 
Lysons.  Its  history  is  also  well  known  as  part  of  the  history  of 
art  in  this  country.  It  is  the  sister  church  to  Iffley,  built  on  the 
same  plan,  in  the  same  style,  and  probably  by  the  same  architect, 
as  both  churches  were  given  about  the  same  time  to  the  Priory  of 
Kenilworth.  Hitherto,  for  seven  hundred  years,  Stewkley  Church 
has  been  fortunate  enough  to  escape  any  alteration,  and  it  is  conse- 
quently the  most  perfect  example  of  a  rich  Norman  church  of  the 
middle  of  the  twelfth  century  that  we  have  remaining  in  England. 
But  after  escaping  the  perils  of  the  Reformation,  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  the  great  rebellion  of  the  Puritans  in  the  seventeenth,  and 
the  ignorance  and  apathy  of  the  churchwardens  of  the  eighteenth, 
it  is  about  to  fall  in  the  nineteenth  under  the  hands  of  modern 


336  Buckinghamshire. 


fashion,  which  has  been  more  destructive  to  our  old  parish  churches 
than  all  the  others  put  together.  The  west  end  is  to  be  pulled  down, 
and  the  nave  lengthened  15  feet,  or  one  bay,  on  the  pretext  of 
making  more  room,  but  in  reality  to  get  rid  of  an  ugly  western 
gallery,  which  holds,  in  fact,  more  people  than  the  proposed  new  bay 
of  the  nave  will  hold,  and  is  nearer  to  the  desk,  the  pulpit,  and  the 
altar.  .  .  . 

The  circular  which  is  issued  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  money, 
under  the  pretext  of  accommodating  a  larger  number  of  worshippers, 
states  that  the  parish  is  three  miles  long,  and  the  population  1,500, 
while  the  church  accommodation  is  only  200.  Surely  this  is  a  strong 
case  for  a  chapel-of-ease,  and  not  for  a  mere  temporary  rnake-shift, 
which  would  destroy  the  original  plan  and  proportions  of  the  old 
church  for  ever,  whilst  the  next  incumbent  will  still  cry  out  for  a 
chapel-of-ease.  This  gallery  hides  nothing  but  a  part  of  the  small 
west  window,  the  head  of  which  is  seen  above  it,  and  a  small  part  of 
the  top  of  the  two  side  doorways,  which  would  be  avoided  altogether 
by  raising  the  front  of  the  gallery  about  a  foot.  It  seems  to  me  just 
a  case  where  a  medieval  architect  would  have  shown  his  skill  by 
making  this  useful  gallery  an  ornamental  feature.  This  was  the  great 
glory  of  the  medieval  architects.  They  never  shirked  a  difficulty, 
but  made  useful  things  ornamental  also.  The  modern  fashion  of 
abusing  all  galleries  appears  to  me  to  be  carried  to  an  absurd  length. 
Galleries  of  several  kinds  were  freely  used  in  the  middle  ages,  and 
were  no  dissight  to  the  building.  .  .  . 

JOHN  HENRY  PARKER. 

.'  Stoke  Pogis. 

On  the  south  part  of  the  church  of  Stoke  Pogis,  in  Buckingham- 
shire, I  found  a  carved  stone  of  i  foot  10  inches  square  (Fig.  7),  the 
arms  of  the  family  of  Hastings,  and  pertaining  to  the  lords  of  Hunt- 
ingdon. The  bearing  is  pearl,  a  Maunch  diamond.  This  escutcheon 
is  encompassed  with  the  motto  of  the  Garter;  very  probably  bestowed 
upon  Edward,  Lord  Hastings,  who  was  highly  advanced  by  Queen 
Mary. 

Upon  looking  over  Camden's  "Britannia,"  I  find :  "Stoke  Pogeis, 
called  so  from  the  Pogeis,  formerly  lords  of  it,  from  whom  it  devolved 
by  right  of  inheritance  to  the  Hastings  (having  first  descended  by 
marriage  to  the  Molins,  from  them  to  the  Hungerfords,  and  by 
Thomas  Lord  Hungerford's  daughter  and  sole  heir  being  married  to 
Edward  Lord  Hastings  and  Hungerford,  to  the  Hastings).  In  this 
parish-church,  George  and  Anne,  the  first  Earl  and  Countess  of 
Huntingdon,  lie  interred ;  which,  probably,  might  induce  Edward 
Lord  Hastings  of  Loughborough,  their  third  son,  greatly  favoured 
and  advanced  by  Queen  Mary,  to  found  a  hospital  here,  whither  he 
himself,  upon  the  death  of  the  queen,  retired  to  a  house  adjoining, 


Stony  Stratford.  337 


and  there  died.     He  is  buried  in  a  chapel  built  by  him  for  the  use 
of  the  hospital. 

"Also  Henry,  Earl  of  Huntingdon,  his  nephew  by  the  brother, 
built  there  a  splendid  house."  J.  A.  REPTON. 

Stony  Stratford. 

[1820,  Part  IL,  pp.  321,  322.] 

Although  I  cannot  suppose  that  any  of  your  correspondents  are 
well  acquainted  with  the  state  of  roads  and  names  of  hostelries  in 
Buckinghamshire  during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  yet  it  may  be  iu 
their  power  to  favour  me  with  information  as  to  what  follows  : 

In  "  The  First  Part  of  Sir  John  Oldcastle,  by  William  Shakspeare," 
1660,  occurs  this  passage  : 

"  Osiler.  Tom's  gone  from  hence ;  he's  now  at  the  Three  Horse- 
loaves  at  Stoney  Stratford.  How  does  old  Dick  Dun  ? 

"  Carrier.  Uds  heart,  old  Dun  has  bin  moyr'd  in  a  slough  in 
Brickhill  Lane.  A  plague  'found  it !  yonder's  such  abomination 
weather  as  was  never  seen." 

We  are  told  by  Dr.  Percy,*  from  the  Household  Book  of  the  Earl 
of  Northumberland,  that  horses  were  not  so  usually  fed  with  corn 
loose  in  the  manger,  in  the  present  manner,  as  with  their  provender 
made  into  loaves.  As  I  have  not  the  immediate  opportunity  of 
referring  to  Browne  Willis's  MS.,  I  am  unable  to  say  whether  any 
such  inn  was  known  in  Stony  Stratford  ;  though,  if  I  recollect  rightly, 
one  called  the  Horse-shoe  stood  at  the  lower  end  of  the  town,  near 
to  Old  Stratford. 

It  appears  that  till  a  garrison  was  established  at  Newport  Pagnell 
in  1643,  trie  road  from  Woburn  through  that  town  to  Northampton 
was  but  seldom  used.  Queen  Elizabeth,  however,  came  by  that 
way,  in  the  summer  of  1575,  in  one  of  her  progresses. 

Stony  Stratford  was  one  of  the  places  where  the  hearse  of  Queen 
Eleanor,  wife  to  Edward  I.,  rested  ;  and  a  cross  was  erected  to  her 
memory,  which  was  demolished,  with  the  rest,  by  order  of  the  Parlia- 
ment, during  the  rebellion. 

In  Speed's  "  History  of  England"  I  find  mention  made  of  the 
arresting  of  the  young  King  Edward  V.  by  the  Duke  of  Gloucester, 
as  follows : 

"  Now  was  the  King  in  his  way  to  London,  gone  from  North- 
ampton, when  the  Dukes  of  Gloucester  and  Buckingham  came 
hither  (Northampton),  where  remained  behinde  the  Lord  Rivers, 
the  King's  uncle,  intending  on  the  morrow  to  follow  the  King,  and 
be  with  him  at  Stony  Stratford,  twelve  miles  hence,  early  ere  hee 
departed."  (P.  885.) 

"  They  tooke  the  way  to  Stony  Stratford,  where  they  found  the 
*  Malone's  "Supplement  to  Shakspeare,"  Tol.  ii.,  p.  349. 

VOL.   XII.  22 


338  Buckinghamshire. 


King  with  his  company,  ready  to  leape  on  horse-back,  and  depart 
forward  to  leave  that  lodging  for  them,  because  it  was  too  strait  for 
both  companies."  (Pp.  885-6.) 

"  And  as  soone  as  they  came  in  his  presence,  they  alighted  down 
with  all  their  company  about  them,  to  whom  the  Duke  of  Bucking- 
ham said,  'Goe  afore,  Gentlemen,  and  Yeomen,  keepe  your  roomes.' 
In  which  goodly  array  they  came  to  the  King,  and  on  their  knees, 
in  very  humble  manner  saluted  his  Grace,  who  received  them  in 
very  joyous  and  amiable  manner,  nothing  knowing,  nor  mistrusting 
as  yet  what  was  done." 

"  And  forthwith  they  arrested  the  Lord  Richard,  Sir  Thomas 
Vaughan,  and  Sir  Richard  Hawt,  Knights,  in  the  King's  presence, 
and  brought  the  King  and  all  hiscompanie  backe  unto  Northampton, 
where  they  tooke  again  further  counselL"  (P.  886.) 

Mr.  Malone,  in  his  edition  of  the  play  alluded  to,  seems  to  have 
been  ignorant  of  the  true  signification  of  "  Brickhill"  (for  he  has 
divided  it  into  Brick-lane) ;  that  place  takes  its  name  from  a  small 
market  town  in  Bucks,  near  Hockliffe,  where  the  assizes  were  occa- 
sionally held  in  those  times.  It  appears  by  the  parish  register  that 
on  June  9,  1562,  one  James  Shakespear  suffered  death*  and  was 
buried.  In  the  same  drama  is  introduced  a  Sir  Richard  Lee,  of 
St.  Albans  :  this  character  the  editor  probably  considered  as  ficti- 
tious ;  but  it  is  curious  that  a  Sir  Richard  Lee  received  a  grant  of 
part  of  the  lands  belonging  to  St.  Albans  Abbey,  at  Sopwell,  in  the 
immediate  vicinity  of  that  place.  Whether  his  son  was  murdered, 
as  appears  in  the  play,  I  have  not  seen;  he  died  in  1575,  leaving  two 
daughters  co-heiresses. 

Shakspeare  was  in  the  habit  of  gleaning  incidents  wherever  he 

travelled.     He  took,  as  we  learn  from  Aubrey,  the  humour  of 

the  constable,  in  "Midsummer  Night's  Dream,"  at  Grendon,  in  Bucks, 
lying  there  on  midsummer  night ;  the  constable  was  living  there  about 
1642.  "  Mr.  Jos.  Howef  is  of  that  parish,  and  knew  him  .  .  .  ." 

Yours,  etc.,  LATHBURIENSIS. 

Taplow. 

[1792,  Part  II.,  p.  980.] 
In  the  chancel  of  Taplow  Church,  Bucks,  were  these  inscriptions  : 

"  Here  lyeth  the  bodyes  of  ROBERT  MANFELD,  esq.  and  JANE,  his  wife  ;  which 
Jane  was  one  of  the  daughters  of  Peter  Fetiplace,  esq.  ;  which  Robert  deceased 
the  xx  day  of  August,  in  the  yeare  of  our  Lord  MCCCCC  :  and  the  said  Jane 
deceased  the  XVI  day  of  December,  in  the  yere  of  our  Lord  God  MCCCCCXlil. 
On  whose  soules  Jhesu  have  mercy." 

*  No  commentator  upon  Shakspeare,  I  believe,  has  mentioned  this  circum- 
stance. Some  of  your  readers,  perhaps,  may  be  able  to  discover  whether  the 
criminal  was  related  to  the  poet. 

t  Josias  Howe,  an  eminent  loyalist  and  ejected  Fellow  of  Trinity  College, 
Oxford. 


Thornton.  —  Upton.  339 

"Of  your  charite  pray  for  the  soules  of  THOMAS  MANFELD,  esquyer,  and 
AUGNES,  his  wyf,  one  of  the  daughters  and  heyres  of  John  Trewonwall,  of 
Mollashe,  in  the  county  of  Kent,  gentylman,  and  for  the  prosperite  of  Katern, 
now  lefte  wedowe  of  the  sayde  Thomas  Manfelde  ;  whiche  Thomas  decessyd  the 
xv  day  of  August,  a°  D'm'i  MCCCCCXL.  On  whose  soul  God  have  mercy." 

Thornton. 

[1801,  Part  //.,  p,  1081.3 

The  Church  of  Thornton,  Bucks  (Plate  II.),  is  placed  in  a  beautiful 
lawn  near  the  mansion  called  Thornton  Hall,  and  is  of  great  antiquity. 
There  is  no  certain  account  of  its  date.  We  rind  in  the  year  1238, 
22  Henry  III.,  Hugh  was  the  rector.  Its  present  lord,  Thomas 
Sheppard,  Esq.,  who  married  the  daughter  of  Doctor  Cotton,  by  his 
wife  Hester-Maria  Tyrrel,  when  he  first  caine  here,  found  it  much 
dilapidated  He  immediately  applied  for  a  faculty,  and  repaired  and 
beautified  it,  adding  a  new  north  aisle  where  an  old  one  once  stood ; 
and  it  is  now  a  neat  uniform  building,  and  a  pattern  for  all  churches 
and  chapels  for  the  purpose  of  pure  devotion.  It  has  several  monu- 
ments dreadfully  mauled  by  time,  with  a  neat  one  to  the  memory  of 
Sir  Thomas  Tyrrel.  Here  Wm.  Bredon  was  vicar;  who  was  not 
only  a  most  profound  divine,  but  absolutely  the  most  polite  person 
for  nativity  in  his  time,  strictly  adhering  to  Ptolemy,  which  he  well 
understood.  He  had  a  hand  in  comprising  Heydon's  "  Defence  of 
Judicial  Astrology,"  being  at  that  time  his  chaplain.  He  was  so 
given  over  to  tobacco  and  drink,  that,  when  he  had  no  tobacco,  he 
would  cut  the  bell-ropes  and  smoke  them,  from,  I  suppose,  too  much 
drink.  See  "  History  of  Lilly's  Life  and  Times,"  p.  44. 

Upton. 

[1846,  Part  //.,  pp.  604-608.] 

The  church  is  particularly  interesting,  at  once  from  its  antiquity 
and  its  present  deserted  state.  In  consequence,  ostensibly,  of  the 
increased  population  of  the  road-side  town  of  Slough,  which  is 
situated  in  the  parish  of  Upton,  a  new  church  was  erected  in  the 
year  1839  upon  a  fresh  site,  when  the  ancient  church  was  dismantled, 
and  it  now  remains  in  a  condition  approximating  to  ruin,  except  that 
the  walls  and  roofs  are  still  in  a  substantial  state.  .  .  . 

Upton  Church  has  been  but  little  altered  from  its  original  Norman 
state,  except  by  the  insertion  of  windows.  It  consists  of  a  nave 
without  aisles,  a  flat-topped  tower,  and  a  chancel.  The  tower,  which 
stands  between  the  nave  and  chancel,  is  not  quite  so  wide  as  either 
of  them ;  its  interior  width  is  1 2  feet  5  inches,  that  of  the  chancel 
15  feet  7  inches,  and  that  of  the  nave  19  feet  9  inches.  The  total 
length  of  the  church  is  about  90  feet,  of  which  the  length  of  the  nave 
is  55  feet  6  inches. 

Except  a  low  wooden  screen  yet  in  the  chancel,  but  from  which 
the  carving  has  been  torn  off,  and  the  font,  bells,  and  pulpit,  which 


340  Buckinghamshire. 


have  been  removed  to  the  new  structure,  the  whole  remaining 
furniture  was  sold  by  the  parish  for  the  paltry  sum  of  ten  pounds, 
whereas  it  certainly  should  have  been  preserved,  for  the  more  decent 
performance  of  the  burial  service,  which  still  occasionally  takes  place 
within  this  time-hallowed  fane. 

The  walls,  about  3  feet  thick,  and  built  throughout  of  flint  and 
chalk,  are  still  perfectly  upright,  although  without  bonding  or  other 
support  except  four  slender  buttresses  at  the  sides  and  west  angles  of 
the  chancel.  The  quoins  and  dressings  are  apparently  of  Caen  stone, 
but  not  of  "  long  and  short  work,"  and  some  of  the  internal  mould- 
ings are  of  hard  chalk.  The  nave  and  chancel  roofs  are  now  loftily 
pitched  and  of  tiles ;  but,  as  there  is  no  sign  of  the  nave  having 
originally  had  any  other  than  a  flat  ceiling  of  wood,  its  roof  was 
probably  once  lower,  and  of  lead  or  shingle. 

Of  the  original  windows  not  blocked  up,  four  are  in  the  chancel, 
four  in  the  nave,  and  two  in  the  lower  part  of  the  tower:  those 
blocked  up  being,  one  in  the  east  gable  of  the  chancel,  and  a 
circular  one,  or  "  bull's-eye,"  in  the  west  gable  of  the  nave.  But  the 
windows  which  no  doubt  formerly  existed  at  the  east  and  west  ends 
of  this  church  have  been  replaced  by  windows  of  the  fifteenth 
century,  and  of  which  period  there  are  also  four  in  the  nave.  The 
original  windows,  and  especially  the  bull's-eye,  have,  interiorly,  wide 
splays,  but  plain,  except  those  in  the  chancel,  all  of  which  have 
moulded  edges,  and  one  a  zigzagged  soffit.  Their  glazing  is  of  small 
lozengy  panes  set  into,  and  almost  flush  with,  the  outer  face  of  the 
walls.  The  windows  of  the  upper  stages  of  the  tower,  although 
square-headed,  are  also  probably  of  Norman  date.  But  this  it  is 
difficult  to  ascertain,  because,  internally,  the  tower-floors  have  been 
removed,  and,  externally,  these  windows  are  mostly  enveloped  with 
ivy,  growing  from  a  trunk  nearly  three  feet  thick,  at  the  north-eastern 
angle  of  the  nave. 

From  this  ivy  we  may  be  allowed  perhaps  to  conjecture  that  Upton 
church  tower  was  the  "ivy-mantled  tower"  of  Gray's  "Elegy  in  a 
Country  Churchyard ;"  situated,  as  it  is,  within  a  poet's  ramble  either 
from  Eton  College,  where  he  was  at  school,  or  from  his  occasional 
residence  with  his  mother  and  aunt  at  Stoke-Pogis,  and  which  latter 
circumstance  is  the  only  one  warranting  the  supposition  that  Stoke 
churchyard  is  the  scene  of  this  elegy.  But  Stoke  Church,  we  beg  to 
say,  is  a  spired  church,  and  (as  its  last  worthy  vicar  proved  to  us  by 
the  churchwardens'  account  book)  the  yew-trees  there  had  been  but 
very  recently  planted  when  the  elegy  was  written.  Whereas  at 
Upton,  not  only  have  we  a  very  remarkable  ivied  tower,  but  also  the 
shade  of  a  widely-spreading  ancient  yew,  and  "  rugged  elms :"  not 
to  mention  that  the  curfew  bell  of  Windsor  Castle,  yet  regularly 
tolled,  would  be  much  more  audible  at  Upton  than  at  Stoke. 

The  three  doorways  of  Upton  Church  have  all  Norman  portions. 


Upton.  341 

That  for  the  priest  on  the  south  side  of  the  tower,  and  which 
measures  6  feet  2  inches  by  2  feet  2  inches,  although  it  has  had  its 
external  heading  altered  into  Tudor  form,  still  retains  its  original 
moulded  inner  head  and  its  oaken  door,  as  shown  in  our  plate.  The 
doorways  of  the  nave  are  3  feet  5  inches  in  width,  and  are  situated 
directly  opposite  each  other  in  its  north  and  south  walls,  and  nearly 
equidistant  from  its  east  and  west  ends.  The  southern  doorway  is 
concealed  by  a  modern  brick  porch ;  but  the  northern  one,  now 
internally  blocked  up,  is  adorned  with  the  columns  and  zigzag 
mouldings  of  the  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  and,  as  well  as  the 
priest's  doorway,  still  retains  a  contemporary  oaken  door  and  its 
hinges,  as  shown  in  the  wood-cut  at  the  head  of  this  article. 

From  the  external  plainness  of  this  church,  its  interior  would  not 
be  thought  likely  to  afford  so  good  an  example  of  ecclesiastical 
architecture  as  its  chancel,  especially,  does ;  and  we  shall  therefore 
describe  this  portion  somewhat  in  detail.  Its  ceiling  consists  of  two 
groined  quadripartite  vaults,  transversely  divided  by  a  plain  broad 
flat  rib  springing  from  a  cplumnar  pier  half-engaged  in  the  north  and 
south  walls.  These  columns  have  thrice-cleft  capitals,  and  the 
intervals  between  each  cleft  are  studded  with  the  pearl  ornament. 
The  capitals  are  flanked  by  corbels  of  the  same  size  and  fashion  as 
the  capitals  themselves,  from  which  corbels,  and  similar,  though 
smaller,  corbels  in  the  four  corners  of  the  chancel,  spring  the  diagonal 
ribs  of  the  vault — these  ribs  consisting  of  a  bold  torus  applied  to  a 
flat  rib  of  the  same  breadth  as  the  transverse  rib  first  mentioned. 
At  5  feet  6  inches  from  the  floor,  along  the  northern,  eastern,  and 
southern  walls — but  not  passing  over  the  piers — is  a  bold  and  broad 
chamfered  fillet,  bounding  the  sill  of  the  windows  and  supporting  the 
corner  corbels  before  mentioned. 

The  chancel  arch  is  wide  and  lofty,  and  springs  from  pilasters 
nearly  three  feet  wide,  which  are  embellished  at  the  angles  with  a 
slender  column,  and  have  the  many-cleft  capital  shown  in  our  plate. 

It  may  here  be  mentioned  that  the  chancel  is  still  chiefly  paved 
with  ancient  figured  tiles,  though  much  the  worse  for  wear.  One  of 
the  patterns  (composed  of  four  tiles)  is  restored  in  the  annexed 
engraving. 

The  interior  of  the  tower  has  nothing  remarkable  that  has  not  been 
already  mentioned,  except  a  small  and  very  plain  holy-water  stoup 
in  the  south  wall,  and  a  similar  plain  aumbry,  or  credence  recess,  in 
the  north  pilaster  of  the  chancel  arch.  We  may,  however,  here 
remark  that  in  the  upper  part  of  the  west  wall  of  the  tower  is  a 
window,  now  closed,  precisely  like  those  in  the  other  walls  which 
open  to  the  air  •  and  as  this  window,  if  unclosed,  would  open  under 
the  roof  of  the  nave,  we  therefore  infer,  as  before  conjectured,  that 
originally  the  nave  had  a  flatter  roof  than  the  present  one. 

The  nave,  now  that  the  font  has  been  taken  to  the  new  church, 


342  Buckinghamshire. 


contains  nothing  of  Norman  times  except  the  windows  and  doorways 
already  noticed.  But  at  its  east  end,  which  is  3  feet  thick,  and  is  in 
fact  the  west  wall  of  the  tower,  are  three  arches  of  some  interest. 
The  central  one  is  quite  plain,  if  not  rude,  and  semicircularly  headed, 
1 2  feet  high,  by  4  feet  3  inches  in  width ;  and  has  ever  been,  no 
doubt,  a  way  between  the  nave  and  tower.  The  arch  on  the  north 
flank  is  pointed,  and  has  been  long  filled  up.  It  is  12  feet  high  and 
6  wide.  But  this  seems  rather  to  have  been  a  hagioscope,  or  aperture 
by  which  persons  in  the  nave  might  see  through  the  tower  into  the 
chancel,  than  a  way  or  passage — its  sill  being  4  feet  from  the  ground. 

It  is  also  remarkable,  and  perhaps  unique,  on  account  of  its 
mouldings — which  are  in  the  style  of  the  thirteenth  century — being 
made  of  wood.  These  mouldings  are  alternately  dog-tooth  mould- 
ings and  small  tori — all  springing  from  clustered  columns,  with  bell- 
bases  and  capitals,  adorned  with  upright-flat  and  knobbed  foliage, 
painted  red,  while  the  columns  are  embellished  with  spiral  red  stripes 
and  dots. 

An  arch,  also  now  filled  up,  on  the  south  flank  of  the  central 
archway,  is  more  lofty,  and  of  later  date  perhaps  than  that  last 
described.  Its  mouldings  are  of  chalk,  and  simple,  but  deeply 
undercut,  and,  having  its  sill  almost  as  low  as  the  ground,  it  once 
probably  served  as  a  passage  into  the  tower,  as  well  as  for  seeing  the 
high  altar  in  the  chancel. 

There  is  another  pointed  arch  in  the  south  wall,  close  to  the  east 
end  of  the  nave,  of  nearly  similar  character  to  that  just  described, 
except  that  its  sill  is  4  feet  from  the  ground ;  and  from  this  circum- 
stance we  are  inclined  to  think  that  this  arch  was  the  heading  of  an 
altar-place  or  small  chantry. 

We  have  yet  to  mention  that  the  arch,  or  recess  as  it  now  is,  which 
contains  the  interesting  wooden  mouldings  before  noticed,  has  behind 
some  comparatively  modern  plaster,  and  inscribed  on  a  more  ancient 
plastering,  the  Creed,  in  characters  painted  apparently  soon  after  the 
Reformation,  but  now,  in  great  measure,  hidden  by  a  Bulstrede 
monument,  erected  in  the  time  of  Charles  I. 

It  may  here  be  noticed  that,  in  various  parts  of  the  church,  relics 
of  ancient  paintings  and  inscriptions  have  been  discovered  beneath 
the  whitewash.  The  only  intelligible  fragment,  however,  is  a  repre- 
sentation on  the  north  wall,  near  the  east  end  of  the  nave,  of  an 
angel  carrying  to  heaven  the  human  soul,  in  the  form  of  a  naked 
kneeling  figure,  and  a  scroll  beneath,  inscribed  (the  initial  letter  in 
red): 

(D'ne tuas  adtplebo.) 

Several  of  the  sepulchral  memorials  are  left,  both  in  the  nave  and 
chancel.  Under  the  tower  (as  seen  in  our  plate)  is  the  gravestone  of 
the  illustrious  astronomer  Sir  William  Herschel,  thus  inscribed  : 


Upton. 343 

H.  S.  E.  GULIELMUS  HERSCHEL,  Eq.  Guelp.  natus  die  15*  Nov.  1738,  obiit 
25  Aug.  1822. 

A  marble  tablet  on  the  north  wall  near  the  grave  has  this  in- 
scription : 

H.  S.  E.  GULIELMUS  HERSCHEL,  Eques  Guelphicus,  Hanovise  natus  Angliam 
eligit  patriam,  Astronomis  setatis  suas  prsestantissimis  merito  annumeratus  ;  nam, 
ut  laeviora  sileantur  inventa,  planetam  ille  extra  Saturni  orbitam  primus  detexit, 
novis  artis  adjumentis  innixus  quse  ipse  excogitavit  et  perfecit  coelorum  perrupit 
claustra,  et  remotiora  penetrans  et  explorans  spatia  immensos  stellarum  duplicium 
gyros  astronomorum  oculis  et  intellectui  subjecit  ;  qua  solertia  radios  solis  analysi 
prismatic^  in  calorem  ac  lumen  distinxerit,  qua  sedulitate  nebularum  et  phantas- 
matum  extra  systematis  nostri  fines  lucentium  naturam  et  situs  indagaverit  (quicquid 
paulo  audacius  conjecisset  ingenita  temperans  verecundia)  ultro  testantur  hodie 
quales  ;  vera  esse  quae  docuit  pleraque,  siquidem  futuris  ingeniis  subsidia  debitura 
est  Astronomia,  agnoscent  forte  posteri.  Vitam  utilem  innocuani  amabilem  non 
minus  felici  laborum  exitu  quam  virtutibus  insignitam  et  vere  eximiam  morte  suis 
et  bonis  omnibus  deflenda  nee  tamen  immatura  clausit  die  xxv.  Augusti,  A.  S. 
MDCCCXXII.  suce  vero  Ixxxiv. 

Lady  Herschel  is  commemorated  on  another  tablet : 

"  Near  this  place  are  deposited  the  remains  of  Dame  MARY  HERSCHEL,  daughter 
of  Adee  and  Elizabeth  Baldwin,  of  Slough,  Bucks,  widow  and  relict  of  Sir  William 
Herschel,  K.G.H.  Born  June  I2th,  1750,  died  January  6th,  1832." 

A  tablet  to  the  memory  of  Frederick  Baldwin,  of  Upton,  who  died 
May  1 7th,  1805,  aged  32,  is  affixed  to  the  wall  of  the  church  on  the 
outside  near  the  tower  door. 

In  the  chancel  is  a  tablet 

"Sacred  to  the  memory  of  WILLIAM  BONSEY,  esq.,  of  Slough  Farm,  in  this 
parish,  who  departed  this  life  the  i6th  of  December,  1830,  aged  86  years.  Also 
of  MARY,  his  wife,  who  departed  this  life  the  i6th  of  November,  1826,  aged  74 
years.  In  life  they  were  much  esteemed  and  respected,  in  death  deeply  lamented. 
Their  remains  are  deposited  in  a  vault  under  the  chancel." 

William  Bonsey,  Esq.,  the  son  of  this  gentleman,  is  the  present 
lay  Rector  of  Upton. 

Within  the  altar-rails  there  still  remain  some  sepulchral  brasses 
of  the  family  of  Bulstrode.  Others,  which  have  now  been  removed, 
were  affixed  to  stones  in  the  centre  of  the  nave,  where  there  is  also  a 
monument  to  some  members  of  that  family :  as  well  as  some  tablets 
to  the  members  of  the  family  of  Lascelles,  Earl  of  Harewood.  .  .  . 

B.  N.  J. 
Walton. 

[1810,  Part  //.,/.  439-] 

In  a  tour  last  summer,  passing  through  the  small  and  rural  village 
of  Walton,  in  Bucks,  situated  in  the  meadows  by  the  lesser  Ouse,  I 
found,  in  the  church  of  that  place,  the  following  epitaph,  engraven  on 
a  brass  mural  plate,  in  the  chancel.  I  was  particularly  struck  with  it, 


344  Buckinghamshire. 


as  a  most  affectionate  proof  of  a  fond  parent,  as  well  as  the  elegance 
of  its  style. 

Yours,  etc.         I.  H.  R.  N. 

"  Elizabetha  vale,  mea  lux,  mea  vita,  quousque 

Jungimur  in  ccelis,  filia  chare,  vale  ; 
In  vultu  virtus,  tenerisque  resplenduit  annis 

Innocuae  vitae  cum  probitate  fides. 
Eheu  tam  cito,  quod  resecabat  stamina,  pollet 

Alropos,  ac  vitse  parcere  parca  tuae. 

"  Elizabeth,  the  daughter  dear 

Of  William  Pyxe,  here  lies  intered. 
O  that  her  death  for  manie  a  yeare 

Almighty  God  would  have  defered  ! 
Her  mother's  hope,  her  father's  joy, 

And  eke  her  friends'  delight  was  shee  ; 
She  was  most  kind,  courteous,  not  coye, 

A  meeker  soul  there  could  not  bee. 
A  modest  hue,  a  lovely  grace, 

Appeared  in  her  beauteous  face. 

"  But  now,  alas  !  her  life,  behold, 

In  tender  budde  is  fall'n  away  ; 
Her  comely  corps,  senceless  and  cold, 

Intombed  is  in  earthye  clay ; 
Her  soul  with  Christ,  which  did  her  save, 

Enjoys,  no  doubt,  celestial  joyes  ; 
Satan  no  power  over  her  can  have  ; 

She  is  preserv'd  from  hell's  annoyes. 
Dear  Besse,  adieu  !  adieu  I  say, 

Untill  we  meet  in  heaven  for  aye. 

"  She  departed  this  life  4th  Jan.,  1617,  and  the  II  year  of  her  age." 

Wenge. 

[1812,  Part  L,  p.  619.] 

I  have  been  favoured  with  the  following  summary  of  the  history  of 
the  Alien  Priory  of  Wenge,  in  Buckinghamshire,  to  which  it  appears 
that  the  seal  engraved  in  Plate  II.,  Fig.  7,  of  April,  formerly  belonged: 
"The  Church  and  other  lands  here  being  given  by  Maud  the 
Empress  to  the  Monastery  of  St.  Nicholas  at  Angiers  in  France,  a 
cell  of  Benedictine  monks  from  them  settled  at  a  hamlet  in  this 
parish,  since  called  Ascotts.  After  the  Parliament  had  dissolved  the 
Alien  Priories,  King  Henry  V.  in  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign  granted 
this  of  Wenge  to  the  Prioress  and  nuns  de  Pratis,  near  St.  Albans, 
which  was  suppressed  by  Cardinal  Wolsey,  in  order  to  be  annexed  to 
his  commendatory  abbey  of  St.  Alban  ;  but  he  afterwards  getting  a 
grant  of  it  for  himself,  upon  his  attainder,  this  manor  and  rectory 
were  given,  23  Henry  VIII.,  to  John  Penn,  and  were  granted  as 
parcel  of  the  late  monastery  of  St.  Alban." 

YourSj  etc.,         H. 


Weston-  Underwood. —  Willien.  345 

Weston-Underwood. 

[1828,  Part  //.,  //.  603,  604.] 

It  has  been  my  fate  to  see  Weston-Underwood  Hall,  a  venerable 
Gothic  mansion,  one  of  the  seats  of  the  ancient  family  of  Throck- 
morton,  levelled  with  the  dust.  This  mansion,  the  major  part  of 
which  was  supposed  to  have  been  built  about  five  or  six  centuries 
ago,  was  seated  upon  the  brow  of  a  hill  well  flanked  by  its  old 
hereditary  trees,  about  the  distance  of  a  mile  from  the  town  of  Olney, 
in  Buckinghamshire.  The  grounds  which  surrounded  it  descend 
with  a  beautiful  sweep  to  the  river  Ouse,  whose  delightful  meanderings 
were  the  favourite  resort  of  the  melancholy  Cowper.  From  the 
terrace,  on  the  right  of  the  mansion,  are  seen  the  stately  groves  of 
Tyringham,  once  the  domain  of  the  knightly  family  of  that  name, 
one  of  whose  warlike  sons  lost  his  life  on  the  bloody  plains  of 
Wakefield.  The  front  view  comprises  the  picturesque  village  of 
Emberton  and  Clifton  Hall,  late  the  seat  of  the  Small  family.  On 
the  left  is  the  town  of  Olney,  with  its  Gothic  church  and  ancient 
bridge  .  .  .  There  is  scarcely  a  place  in  this  part  of  the  kingdom  equal 
to  it  in  point  of  diversified  view,  poetical  recollections,  and  interest- 
ing antiquity  .  .  .  The  family  has  always  been  firmly  attached  to 
the  Catholic  faith,  and  of  course,  in  the  earlier  ages  of  the  Reforma- 
tion, very  unfavourably  disposed  towards  the  Government.  One  of 
them  suffered  the  punishment  of  death  for  being  deeply  concerned 
in  one  of  the  various  plots  to  free  Mary  of  Scotland  from  her  im- 
prisonment by  Elizabeth ;  and  I  believe  tradition  informs  us  that 
there  was  scarcely  a  plot  to  accomplish  Catholic  ascendancy,  and  the 
restoration  of  the  Stuarts,  which  had  not  the  name  of  Throckmorton 
attached  to  it.  ... 

The  oldest  wing  of  this  mansion  was  appropriated  for  a  Catholic 
chapel.  During  the  work  of  destruction,  several  secret  passages, 
trap-doors,  sliding  panels,  and  other  places  for  concealment  were 
discovered ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  further  remark  that  most  of  them 
had  communication  with  the  chapel. 

Z. 

Willien. 

[1792,  Part  11.,  p.  1 1 68.] 

Willien  is  a  small  village  in  the  county  of  Buckingham,  about  fifty- 
three  miles  distant  from  London,  and  two  S.W.  of  Newport  Pagnell, 
the  road  passing  through  it  thence  to  Fenny  Stratford.  The  only 
thing  worthy  of  notice  is  the  church  (Plate  II.),  which  is  a  remarkable 
neat  edifice  of  brick  and  stone  (of  the  Corinthian  Order)  erected  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Richard  Busby,  who  augmented  the  vicarage  with  all  the 
rectorial  tithes,  and  left  a  valuable  collection  of  books  for  the  use  of 


346  Buckinghamshire. 


the  neighbouring  clergy.     "  Willien  is  in  the  gift  of  Christ-church, 
Oxford." 

Yours,  etc.,        W.  P. 

Wycombe. 

[1800,  Part  If.,  p.  1160.] 

In  your  review  of  Bishop  Smyth's  Life,  by  the  very  learned  and 
ingenious  Mr.  Churton,  p.  962,  it  appears  that  the  population  of 
this  town  and  parish,  in  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  was 
about  one  thousand  souls.  About  the  year  1774  a  very  accurate 
account  of  the  inhabitants  was  taken  at  the  request  of  Dr.  Price  : 
they  amounted  to  rather  more  than  four  thousand ;  and  I  think  it 
will  appear,  when  the  new  Act  of  Parliament  is  enforced,  that  some 
hundreds  will  be  added  to  that  number.  The  same  church  is  stand- 
ing, and  in  good  repair,  that  Bishop  Smyth  visited ;  besides  which, 
a  very  neat  and  commodious  chapel  of  ease  has  been  lately  erected 
and  endowed,  by  the  benevolence  of  a  private  gentleman  in  a  remote 
and  populous  part  of  the  parish.  Within  the  town  are  five  Dissent- 
ing meetings  of  different  descriptions  ;  all  open,  and  attended  every 
Sunday. 

K. 

[1827,  Part  /.,  pp.  493,  494.] 

Eleven  gold  British  coins  were  lately  found  by  a  shepherd  boy 
in  the  parish  of  Wycombe,  Bucks.  Whilst  trying  to  catch  a  mole, 
he  took  up  an  oblong  flint,  and  began  to  dig,  when  two  of  the  coins 
dropped  from  an  aperture  at  the  least  end,  and  on  breaking  the  stone 
nine  more  were  found.  The  stone  in  size  and  shape  resembled  a 
swan's  egg,  though  rather  flatter.  The  whole  of  the  coins  weighed 
about  two  ounces.  There  was  a  uniformity  of  execution  in  them  all, 
and  a  great  similarity  in  the  impressions,  especially  on  the  reverse, 
yet  in  some  degree  they  varied  from  each  other.  Similar  coins  are 
engraved  in  Ruding's  "Coinage,"  British  Series,  Plate  II.,  Nos.  37 
and  38.  On  one  side  were  a  horse,  the  sun,  etc.  Mr.  Ruding  says 
these  coins  are  usually  denominated  British ;  though  he  acknow- 
ledges that  we  have  no  positive  evidence  to  justify  their  appropriation 
to  this  island.  They  are  found  chiefly,  but  not  exclusively,  in 
Britain. 

The  situation  of  the  hill  on  which  the  coins  were  found  has  a 
claim  to  public  notice  ;  not  only  as  it  presents  from  its  summit  one 
of  the  richest  and  most  varied  landscapes  in  the  county  (the  details 
of  which  it  may  not  be  necessary  to  give),  but  as  it  bears  evident 
traces  of  having  been  a  British  or  Roman  station.  The  vestige  of  an 
outwork  remains.  There  are  two  fosses  on  the  north  and  east  sides, 
where  the  hill  is  very  sloping,  each  forming  the  segment  of  a  circle ; 
and  the  south  and  west  sides  of  the  station,  on  one  continued  level, 
were  flanked  by  a  large  beech  wood,  a  part  of  which  is  still  standing. 


Wy  combe.  347 

A  few  years  ago  a  chalk-pit  was  opened  on  the  east  side  of  the 
hill  near  the  bottom,  and,  when  a  few  yards  into  it  was  cleared  away, 
a  stratum  of  flint  was  discovered  in  a  solid  bed  of  chalk  (for  the  hill 
chiefly  consists  of  that  material),  and  running  for  several  yards  in 
a  horizontal  direction,  about  3  or  4  feet  from  the  surface,  and  i  foot 
below  it  another  layer  of  flint  in  a  parallel  line  with  the  upper  one. 
The  whole  of  the  flints  were  completely  flat,  and  about  the  thickness 
of  a  house  tile.  .  .  , 

W.  S. 


{Omissions:  The  following  articles  are  not  reprinted,  as  they  are  not  of  im- 
portance : 

1748,  p.  506,  Newport  Pagnell,  quotation  from  Weever,  as  printed  on  p.  314. 
1851,  ii.,  pp.  487  493,  Hartwell  House,  a  review  of  Smyth's  sEdes  hart- 
welliamz. 

1862,  i.,  pp.  602-604,  748-751,  Stewkley  Church. 
1862,  ii.,  p.  211,  Restorations  at  Eton  College. 

References  to  other  volumes  of  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  Library : — 

Roman  Remains  :  Beaconsfield,  Boarstall,  Brill,  Buckingham,  Fescote,  Lee, 
Long  Crendon,  Olney,  Thornborough,  High  Wycombe — Romano- 
British  Remains,  7-13,  261. 

Anglo-Saxon  Remains :  Buckingham — Archeology,  ii.  258. 

Architectural  Antiquities  :  Stony  Stratford  Church,  Hall  Barns — Architectural 
Antiquities,  i.  95-6,  380  ;  ii.  162. 

Folklore :  Ad  Montem  Festival  at  Eton  ;  blossoming  of  Glastonbury  Thorn 
at  Quainton — Manners  and  Customs,  203-207,  210.] 


Indexes. 


INDEX  OF  NAMES. 


Abingdon  (Earl  of),  mansion  of,  232  ; 
pulls  down  Cumnor  Hall,  124,  128; 
seat  of,  95 

Adams  (Rev.  Dr.),  benefaction  of,  75 
Adelard  (Archbishop),  synod  under,  31 
Agace  (Daniel),  seat  of,  95 
Aldrich  (Robert),  birthplace  of,  248 
Alfred  (king),  birthplace  of,   98,  202  ; 
visits   Danish    camp,    97  ;     defeats 
Danes,  202 

Allen  (Thomas),  memorial  of,  289 
Alley  (William),  birthplace  of,  248 
Allibond  (John),  birthplace  of,  248 
Alston  (Joseph),  birthplace  of,  248 
Amand  (Almeric  de  St.),  manor  of,  69 
Amelia  (Princess),  burial-place  of,  103 
Amersham  (John  of),  birthplace  of,  248 
Anderson  (Sir  E.),  seat  of,  4 ;  monu- 
ment of,  7  ;  estate  and  family  tombs 

of,  53 

Anderson  (G.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Andre wes  (Henry),  birthplace  of,  248 
Andrewes  (Margaret),  birthplace  of,  248 
Andrews  (J.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Andrews  (Sir  J.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  96 
Andrews  (J.  P.),  residence  of,  IOI 
Anspach  (Margrave  of),  monument  of, 

1 02 
Anspach   (Margravine  of),  seat  of,  95 

no 

Antonie  (W.  L. ),  monument  of,  4 
Archer  (Rev.  B. ),  tomb  of,  322 
Arden  (R.),  memorial  of,  289 
Ashbrook     (Viscount),    seat    of,     95 ; 

monument  of,  179 
Ashmole  (E.),  residence  of,  101 
Ashton   (Francis),   gifts   to   Dunstable 

Priory,  45 
Atkyns  (A.  E.  M.),  seat  of,  95 


Atterbury  (F.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Atterbury  (L.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Atterbury  (Sir  R.),  seat  of,  143 
Aubrey  (Sir  J.,  Bart.),  seats  of,  244,  279  ; 

manor  of,  285 
Audelet  (J.),  grant  to,  238 
Austin  (Rev.  S.),  vicarage  of,  315 
Awdley  (Edward),  memorial  of,  260 
Ayre  (G.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Ayre  (Rev.  J.),  vicarage  of,  268 

Backhouse  (W.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Bacon  (D.),  and  wife,  monument  of,  140 
Bacon  (P.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Baker  (C.),  and  wife,  tablet  to,  282 
Baker  (E.),  memorial  of,  290 
Baker  (J.),  of  Ecclesdon,  tomb  of,  138 
Baker  ([.),  manor  of,  144 
Baker  (W.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Baldwin  (F.),  tablet  to,  343 
Baldwin  (J.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Banks  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Bannister  (J.),  seat  of,  96 
Barbour  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Barker  (J.),  memorial  of,  290 
Barker  (T. ),  memorial  of  289 
Barnard  (Sir  J.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Barnard  (J.),  inscription  to,  12 
Barnes  (Rev.  H.),  living  of,  308 
Barnett  (Amelia),  monument  of,  29 
Barnett  (E.),  monument  of,  29 
Barnett  (H.),  monument  of,  28 
Barnwell  (J. ),  benefaction  of,  293 
Barrett  (B.),  manor  of,  190 
Barrett  (— ),  seat  of,  95 
Barringtons  (family  of),  monuments  of, 

102 

Basset  (Fulco),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bastard  (J.  P.),  seat  of,  95 


352 


Index  of  Names. 


Bate  (G.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bateman  (M.),  memorial  of,  290 
Batson  (S.)>  seat  of,  96 
Beauchamp  (Hugh),  priory  founded  by, 

10 
Beauchamp    (Pagan     de),    and   wife, 

priory  founded  by,  9 
Beauchamp  (R.)>   Bishop  of  Salisbury, 

birthplace  of,  98 
Beauchamp  (Simon  de),  account  of,  9  ; 

gift  by,  74 
Beauchamps  (Earls  of  Warwick),  manor 

of,  333 

Beaufort  (M.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Beaulieu  (Earl  of),  advowson  of,  320 
Bebb  (J.),  seat  of,  95 
Beche  (Sir  N.  de  la),  residence  of,  loo, 

104 

Becket  (W.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Bedford  (Dukes  of),  seats  of,  4 
Beerley  (W.),  burial-place  of,  146 
Beke  (R.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bell  (Joane),  memorial  of,  290 
Bennett  (W.),  tomb  of,  283 
Bent  (G.),  and  wife,  monument  of,  274 
Benwell  (J.),  tomb  of,  182  ;  benefaction 

of,  1 86 

Benyon  (R.),  seat  of,  95,  147 
Bernard  (E.),  rectory  of,  101 
Bernard  (T.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Berry,  (Eleanor, Countess  of),  birthplace 

of,  98 

Bertie  (Hon.  F.),  burial-place  of,  236 
Beezley  (W.),  butial-place  of,  146 
Bertie  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of,  234 
Bichmore  (M.),  tablet  to,  293 
Bickley  (T.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bidun  (John  de),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bigg  (J.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Biscoe  (J.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Blackstone  (Sir  W.),  monument  of,  IO2 
Blagrave  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98  ;  seat  of, 

95 

Blagrave  (I.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Blagrove  (J.),  seat  of,  244 
Blandford  (Marquis  of),  seat  of,  94 
Blandy  (A.),  seat  of,  95 
Blane  (Sir  G.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  95 
Blois  (Henry  of),  seat  of,  243,  297,  301 
Bluet  (R.),  Bishop  of  Lincoln,  grant  of, 

23 
Bohuns  (Earls  of  Hereford),  manor  of, 

3'7 

Bolebec  (Hugh  de),  abbey  founded  by, 
88  ;  birthplace  of,  248 

Bolebec  (J.,  Countess  of  Oxford),  birth- 
place of,  248 


Boleyn  (Anne),  birthplace  of,  5 
Bonnel  (J.),  seat  of,  96 
Bonsey  (W.),  advowson  of,  344 
Booth  (Sir  G.),  arrest  of,  247,  315 
Borough  (Sir  R.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  95 
Bost  (H.),  memorial  of,  289 
Bostock  (Rev.  J.),  seat  of,  95 
Boston  (Lord),  seat  of,  244 
Boteler  (P.),  memorial  of,  289 
Boughen  (E.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Boutrode  (W.),  memorial  of,  289 
Bovington  (E.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bowles  (E.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Bowles  (Elizabeth),  tablet  to,  102 
Bowyer  (Sir  G.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  96,  244 
Boyden  (Mary),  seat  of,  4 
Boys  (Colonel   Sir  J.),  defends  Don- 

nington  Castle,  97 

Bradfield  (John  de),  Bishop  of  Roches- 
ter, birthplace  of,  98 
Bradford  (R.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bradley  (F.),  benefaction  of,  186 
Bradshaw  (F.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Brad  wood  (M. ),  memorial  of,  290 
Brandreth  (H.),  seat  of,  4 
Brasse  (Rev.  J.,  B.D.),  benefaction  of,75 
Bray  (Sir  R.),  manor  of,  74;  burial-place 

of,  94 

Braybrook  (Lord),  seat  of,  95 
Breant  (F.  de),  takes  Hanslape  Castle, 

245 

Breaut£  (F.  de),  siege  of  Bedford  by,  43 
Breedon  (S.),  seat  of,  95 
Breedon  (Rev.  W.),  vicarage  of,  339 
Brerewood  (family  of),  account  of,  294-6 
Brett  (Rev.  R.),  rectory  of,  and  monu- 
ment to,  256 

Brickendon  (Rev.  J.),  rectory  of,  233 
Bridgewater(Earl  of),  seat  of,  244,  302, 

3i8 

Bridle  (Rev.  G.),  monument  of,  266 
Briggs  (R.  and  family),  tombs  of,  48 
Briggs  (S.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Brightman  (Rev.  T.).  rectory  of,  7 
Bristow  (M.),  monument  of,  89 
Brocas  (Mrs.),  seat  of,  95 
Brocash  (Sir  P.),  manor  of,  284 
Brokle  (J.),  birthplace  of,  248 
Bromsall  (Sir  O.),  tomb  of,  28 
Bromsall  (Sir  T.),  monument  of,  28 
Brook  (Lord),  exploit  of  in  the  Civil 

War,  246 

Brooks  (J.),  bequest  by,  75 
Broughton  (Sir  J.),  monument  of,  83 
Browne  (Rev.  M.),  vicarage  of,  256 
Brudenell  (Sir  H.  and  wife),  monument 

of,  276 


Index  of  Names. 


353 


Bryant    (J.),    school   of,    255;    burial- 
place  of,  255  ;  memorial  of,  290 
Buckingham  (J.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Buckingham  (O.j,  birthplace  of,  248 
Buckingham  (T.  de),  birthplace  of,  248 
Buckingham  (Giffard,   W.,    Earl    of), 
birthplace  of,  250  ;  manor  of,  285-6  ; 
seat  of,  281 

Buckingham  (Villiers,  G.,  first  Duke  of), 
grant  to,  281 

(second  duke,)  seat  of,  256 

Buckingham    (Marquis    of),    seat    of, 

244-5 

Buckler  (Rev.  B.),  monument  of,  139 
Bulkeley  (R.  and  wife),  tomb  of,  41 
Bullock  (H.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Bulstrode  (Colonel),  defends  Aylesbury, 

246 

Bulstrode  (E).,  birthplace  of,  249 
Bunney  (F. ),  birthplace  of,  249 
Bunyan  (John),  birthplace  of,  5 
Burgoyne  (J.),  tomb  of,  76 
Burgoyne  (Sir  M.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  4 ; 

demesne  of,  75  ;  mansion  of,  76 
Burgoyne  (R.),  grant  to,  7,  75  ;  tomb  of, 

77 

Burgoyne  (T.  and  wife),  tomb  of,  79 

Burke  (E.),  seat  of,  256;  monument 
of,  255 

Burnett  (C.),  seat  of,  4 

Burney  (E.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Busby  (Rev.  R.,  D.D.),  church  built 
by,  346 

Bust  (J.),  memorial  of,  290 

Bust  (M.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Bute  (Marquis  of),  seat  of,  4,  61 ;  pic- 
tures at  seat,  63 

Butler  (C.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Butler  (J.),  Bishop  of  Durham,  birth- 
place of,  98 

Butlin  (T.),  seat  of,  244 

Byng  (J.),  birthplace  of,  5 ;  monument 
of,  7 

Byng  (G.),  monument  of,  7 

Cadogan  (Hon.    B.),  burial-place    of, 

102 

Call  (M.),  epitaph  of,  20 
Camden  (Pratt  C.,  Lord  Chancellor), 

254 

Campbell  (Mrs.)i  seat  of,  4 
Caractacus,  defeat  of,  245 
Carausius,  murder  of,  245 
Carbonel  (Sir  T.  and  wife),  monuments 

of,  276 

Carington  (Lord),  seat  of,  245 
Carnarvon  (Earl  of),  death  of,  97 

VOL.    XII. 


Carnarvon  (Dormer,  R.,  Earl  of),  birth- 
place of,  250 

Carrol  (J.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Cart  (J.),  gifts  of,  to  Dunstable  Priory, 

45 

Carter,  family  of,   manor  and  monu- 
ments of,  285 
Carteret  (Lord),  seat  of,  4 
Gary  (H.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Casamajor  (family  of),  monuments  of, 

181 
Castell  {E.),   rectory  and  burial-place 

of,  7 
Catherine  of  Arragon,  residence  of,  3  ; 

divorce  of,  44  ;  obelisk  to,  70 
Catlin  (Sir  R.),  tomb  of,  79 
Cave  (Rev.  T.),  vicarage  of,  52 
Cavendish  (Lord  G.),  seat  of,  244 
Cenowalch  (King  of  Wessex),  defeat  of, 

96 

Cerdic  and  Cyndric,  victory  of,  245 
Chalfont  (C. ),  birthplace  of,  249 
Chaloner  (T.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Chamberlayn  (R.)»  memorial  of,  290 
Chamberleyn  (L.),  manor  of,  161 
Chamberlin  (Sir  R.  F.  and  wife),  inscrip- 
tion to,  12 

Chandler  (S.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Charles    II.,    alterations    of    Windsor 

Castle  by,  204,  211 

Charlotte  (Princess  of  Wales),  burial- 
place  of,  103 

Charlotte  (Queen),  seat  of,  94 
Chatham  ( Pitt,W.,  Earl  of),  school  of,255 
Chaucer  (G.),  poet,  residence  of,  IOI 
Chaucer  (T.),  seat  of,  143 
Chelde  (J.),  memorial  of,  290 
Cherry  (F.),  burial-place  of,  102 
Cherry  (family  of),  monuments  of,  199 
Chester  (A.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Chesterfield  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  244 
Chetwode  (R.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Chetwode  (T.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Chetwood  (K.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Cheyne  (Sir  T.),  manor-house  of,  8r 
Cheyne  (family  of),  monuments  ot,  8 1 
Chishull  (E.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Churchill  (Sir  J.),  burial-place  of,  3 
Cissa  (King  of  Wessex),  abbey  founded 

by,  94 

Clare  (family  of),  seat  of,  281 
Clarke  (S. ),  seat  of,  255 
Clarke  (W.  W.),  seat  of,  9? 
Clavering  (J.),  memorial  of,  289 
Clayton  (General),  seat  of,  101,  143 
Clayton  (Sir  W.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  244 
Cleaver  (E.),  birthplace  of,  249 

23 


354 


Index  of  Names. 


Cleaver  (W.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Clerk  (R.),  seat  of,  96 
Cleterbooke  (J.),  memorial  of,  290 
Clinton  (Lady),  mooument  of,  264 
Clowes  (C.),  seat  of,  244 
Clutterbuck  (T.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Coates  (C.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Cobham  (Lord),  seat  of,  256 
Cokayne  (Sir  J.),  church  built  by,  35  ; 
family  tombs,  35,  38  ;  mansion  of,  37 
Coke  (E.,  Lord  Chief  Justice),  residence 

of,  256 
Cole    (Rev.    W.),    rectory    of,    254; 

school  of,  254 
Colleton  (Mrs.),  seat  of,  95 
Collins  (D.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Collins  (Rev.  J.),  seat  of,  95 
Collins  (S.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Congreve  (W. ),  seat  of,  95 
Constable  (Dorothy),  tomb  of,  55 
Conyngham  (Countess  of),  seat  of,  244 
Cooley  (family  of;,  monuments  of,  300 
Corbet  (Sir  A.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  244 
Cornwallis  (Marquis),  seat  of,  96 
Cosins  (R.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Cotes  (F.),  tomb  of,  48 
Courtenay  (G.),  seat  of,  245 
Cowdell  (Rev.  E.),  living  of,  308 
Cowper  (W.),  residences  of,  256 
Cox  (J.  and  wife),  epitaph  of,  292 
Cox  (R.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Crab  (R.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Cracherode  (C.  M.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Crane  (Rev.  E.),  tomb  of,  80 

Crates  (J.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Craven  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  95  ;  mansion 
of,  III 

Craven  (Hon.  R.  K.),  estate  of,  1 12 

Crawley  (J.),  seat  of,  4 

Croft  (J.),  seat  of,  95 

Croke  (D.),  monument  of,  288 

Croke  (J.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Croke  (IL),  birthplace  of,  249 

Croke  (family  of),  manor  of,  285  ;  monu- 
ments of,  286 

Crompion  (W.),  birthplace  of,  249 

Crooke  (Sir  G. ),  birthplace  of,  249 

Crowder  (Rev.  J.),  monument  of,  89 

Crutchley  (G.  H.),  seat  of,  96 

Crysty  (T.),  gift  of,  to  Oxford  Univer- 
sity, 71 

Cumberland  (Duke  of),  residence  of,  103 

Curtis  (G.),  seat  of,  4 

Curwen  (H.),  tomb  of,  271 

Curzon  (Viscount),  seat  of,  244 

Cust  (S.  C.),  estate  of,  37 

Cuthbert  (Archbp.),  synod  under,  31,  32 


Cuthwolf  (King),  taxes  Aylesbury,  279 

Da  Costa  (H.  J.),  monument  of,  180 
Daggerwood  (S.),  birthplace  of,  46 
Darnley  (family  of),  monuments  of,  147 
Davers  (R.),  birthplace  of,  249 
David  (King  of  Scotland),  imprisonment 

of,  94,  209 

Davies  (Rev.  H.),  vicarage  of,  292 
Davis  (H.  E.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Day  (Anna),  memorial  of,  290 
Day  (Sir  T.),  estate  of,  118 
Day  (Thomas),  monument  of,  102 
Dayrell  (E.),  seat  of,  244 
Dayrell  (R.),  seat  of,  244 
Denham  (Lady),  seat  of,  280 
Dennis  (R.),  seat  of,  4 
Denton  (A.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Denton  (W.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Deparis  (Robert),  founder  of  priory  at 

Bedford,  9 
Derby  (Earls  of),  estates  of,  73 ;  grant 

to,  88 
Deuchfield   (Rev.   P.),  living  of,  308; 

tomb  of,  312 
Deuchfield  (Rev.   R.),  living  of,  309; 

tomb  of,  312 

Dickenson  (E.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Dickinson  (E.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Digby  (J.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Digby  (Sir  K.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Digby  (M.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Dillingham  (F.),  birthplace  of,  5  ;  rec- 
tory of,  8 

Dillon  (Viscount),  manor  of,  334 
Dilly  (C..),  birthplace  of,  5 
Dilly  (E.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Doclwell  (H.),  burial-place  of,  IO2 
Dodwell  (W.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Dominis  (M.  A.  de),  rectory  of,  IO2 
Dorchester  (Lady),  seat  of,  96 
Dorman  (T.),  birthplace  of,  249 
Dormer  (J.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Dormer  (Lord),  seat  of,  244 
Douglas    (Rev.  Dr.,   Bishop  of  Salis- 
bury), burial-place  of,  103 
Dover  (Isolda  de),  manor  of,  88 
Downing  (C.),  rectory  of,  255 
Downing  (Sir  J.),  foundation  of  college, 

88 

D'Oyley  (C.),  birthplace  of,  249 
D'Oyley  (Sir  C.),  monument  of,  255 
D'Oyley    (Sir  J.),  seat  of,  244;   seat 

taken,  247 

D'Oyley  (R.),  burial-place  of,  93 
Doyly  (J.),  tomb  of,  181 
Drake  (M.  G.),  monument  of,  272 


Index  of  Names. 


355 


Drake  (M.,and  wife),  monument  of,  271 

Drake  (T.  D.  T.),  seat  of,  244 

Drake  (Sir  W. ),    monument  of,  269 ; 

almshouses  founded  by,  276 
Drake  (family  of),  monuments  of,  273- 

4-5  5  pedigree  of,  277 
Drope  (Francis),  birthplace  of,  98 
Drope  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Dukinfield  (Sir  N.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  96 
Dumner  (Rev.  J.,  D.D. ),   monument 

of,  267 

Dumville  (A.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Duncombe  (C.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Duncombe  (P.  D.  P.),  church  restored 

by,  259 

Duncombe  (Sir  S.),  seat  of,  6 
Duncombe  (family  of),  monuments  of, 

299,  300,  302  ;  seat  of,  302 
Dundas  (C.),  seat  of,  95 
Dunstable  (John  of),  birthplace  of,  5 
Dunton  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  250 
Dupre  (James),  estate  of,  245,  328,  334 
Durell  (Rev.  Dr.),  rectory  of,  101 
Durham  (Bishop  of),  seat  of,  95 
Dyer  (W.),  monument  of,  114 

Eades  (R.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Earle  (T.  H.),  seat  of,  96 
East  (SirG.).estateof,  162;  tablet  to,lo8 
East  (Sir  W.,  Bart.),  seat  of,  95  ;  bene- 
faction of,  1 86 

Eastbury  (Rev.  W.),  tomb  of,  301 
Edgcomb  (T.),  memorial  of,  289 
Edmund  (Earl  of  Cornwall),  introduces 

an  Order  of  Friars,  243 
Edward  (the  elder,  King),  death  of,  97 
Edward    (King    and   Martyr),    burial- 
place  of,  93 

Edward  III.,  grant  of,  26;  palace  of, 
60  ;  institutes  Order  of  Garter,  97  ; 
birthplace  of,  98 ;  rebuilds  Windsor 
Castle,  209,  215 

Edward  IV. ,  marriage  of,  97  ;  burial- 
place  of,  94 

Edward  V.,  seizure  of,  246,  337-8 
Edwards  (G.),  seat  of,  4 
Edwards  (T.),  monument  to,  254 
Eeles  (Charles,  Isaac,  Margaret),  tablets 

to,  275 

Egelwinus  (Bishop  of  Durham),  im- 
prisonment of,  93 

Egfryd  (King  of  Mercia),  death  of,  96 
Egerton  (family  of),  seat  of,  277 
Elderfield  (C.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Eleanor  (Queen),  crosses  in  memory  of, 

246,  337 
Elizabeth    (Queen),    statue    of,    142 ; 


enlarges     Windsor     Castle,     204-5  > 
visits  to  it,  206,  210;  arrest  of  when 
princess,  246  ;  visits  Lord  Windsor 
and  Sir  E.  Coke,  246  ;  residence  of, 
277  ;  a  progress  of.  337 
Elliot  (O.),  seat  of,  95 
Ellis  (P.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Ellis  (Wellbore),  birthplace  of,  250 
Elwes  (G.),  seat  of,  95 
Elwes  (Sir  J.),  benefaction  of,  75 
Espec  ( W.),  abbey  founded  by,  10 
Essex  (Earl  of),  at  the  first  battle  of 

Newbury,  97 

Ethelred  (King),  victory  of,  245 
Exeter,  (Anne,  Duchess  of),  burial-place 

of,  94 

Eyston  (B,),  seat  of,  95 
Eyston  (C.  J.),  seat  of,  156 

Faldo  (Sir  R.),  inscription  to,  12 
Falkland  (Lord),  death  of,  97 
Falmouth  (Viscount),  seat  of,  96 
Fanhope    (Lord),    burial-place   of,    3  ; 

previous  name  of,  70 ;  at  Agincourt,  70 
Farington  (Thomas  de),  monument  of, 

148 

Farmer  (Rev.  T.),  rectory  of,  18 
Farnham  (J  ),  chapel  founded  by,  333 
Farringdon  (A.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Fell  (J.),  Bishop  of  Oxford,  birthplace 

of,  98 

Fenn  (M.),  burial-place  of,  254 
Fenton  (E.),  burial-place  of,  101 
Fettyplace    (W.),    almshouse   founded 

by,  119 

Field  ( W. ),  benefaction  of,  74 
Finch    (H.,    Lord   Chancellor),    birth- 
place of,  250  ;  monument  to,  256 
Fisher  (J.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Fitzakerly  (J.),  benefaction  of,  75 
Fitzjohns,  manor  of  the,  333 
Fitzwariu  (Sir  F. ),  market  obtained  by, 

202 

Fleetwood  (J.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Fleetwood  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of,  257 
Flete  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  250 
Flood  (R.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Forster  (A.),    manor  -  house    of,    123  ; 

tomb  of,  137 

Forster  ( E. ),  birthplace  of,  250 
Forster  ( J. ),  birthplace  of,  250 
Fort  (Sampson  le),  priory  built  by,  10 
Forth  (Earl  of),  repulse  of,  97 
Foster  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Fountaine  (J.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Fox  (Anne),  tomb  of,  182 
Fox  (C.  J.),  school  of,  255 

23—2 


356 


Index  of  Names. 


Fox  (W.)»  benefaction  of,  293 
Franke  (M.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Franklin  (W.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Frederick  (Prince  of  Wales),  palace  of, 

256 

Freeman  (S.),  seat  of,  244 
Freemantle  (Colonel),  seat  of,  244 
Freind  (Dr.  T-),  burial-place  of,  256 
Freind  (Dr.  T.),  burial-place  of,  255 
Frere  (Rev.  E.  B.),  vicarage  of,  26 
Fussel  (Rev.  J.),  rectory  of,  and  monu- 
ment of,  266 

Gadbury  (M.),  tomb  of,  54 

Gadbury  (R.),  tomb  of,  55 

Gallini  (J.  A.),  seat  of,  96 

Gambier  (Lord),  seat  of,  244 

Gardiner  (Viscount),  seat  of,  244 

Garlick  (J.),  burial-place  of,  146 

Garston  (R.),  seat  of,  4 

Gayer  (R.),  manor  of,  162 

Geoffrey  (Abbot  of  St.  Albans),  play  of, 

6  ;  nunnery  built  by,  IO 
Geoffrey  of  Monmouth,  burial-place,  of 
George  III.,  seat  of,  94  [39 

George  (Prince  Regent),  seat  of,  96 
Gerald  (Sir    G.),    defeats    parliament- 
arians, 247 

Gerrard  (W.),  memorial  of,  265 
Gery  (Rev.  W.  H.),  seat  of,  4 
Gibbard  (J.),  seat  of,  4 
Gibbewin  (G.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Gibbs  (Rev.  J.),  vicarage  of,  315 
Gibson  (G.),  tomb  of,  28 
Gills  (J.),  tomb  of,  182 
Gilpin  (R.),  seat  of,  4 
Glossett  (Mrs.),  seat  of,  4 
Goad  (T-),  memorial  of,  289 
Goad  (R.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Godolphin  (Earl  of),  estate  of,  319 
Godwin  (T.),  birthplace  of,  98  ;  rectory 

of,  1 01  ;  death  of,  103 
Golding  (E.),  seat  of,  95 
Goodall  (E.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Goodall  (Rev.  W.),  seat  of,  244 
Goode  (W.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Goodman  (G.,  Bishop  of  Gloucester), 

rectory  of,   102 
Goodman  (Col.  A.),  defeats  Royalists, 

247 

Goodwin  (F.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Gosbell  (E.),  tomb  of,  48 
Gower  (General  J.  L.),  seat  of,  95 
Graham  (C.  M.),  monument  of,  IOI 
Granville  (Earl),  manor  of,  25 
Gratwick  (A.),  tomb  of,  48 
Gratwick  (M.),  tomb  of,  48 


Graves  (R.),  school  of,  100 
Gray  (T.,  poet),  school  of,  255  ;  scene 
of  the  "  Elegy,"  256,  340 ;   burial- 
place  of,  256  ;  residence  of,  340 
Gray  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of,  69 
Greenhill  (R.),  seat  of,  244 
Gregory  (H.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Gregory  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  250  ;  memo- 
rial of,  290 

Grenfell(P.),  seat  of,  244 
Grenville  (G.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Grenville  (R.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Grenville  (Lord),  seat  of,  244 
Gresham  (Sir  John),  manor  of,  158 
Grey  (Anthony  de),  monument  of,  58 
Grey  (Countess  de),  seat  of,  4 
Grey,  of  Ruthin  (Lord),  grant  to,  88 
Grey  (Lord),  seat  of,  257,  281  ;  monu- 
ment of,  282  ;  memorial  of,  289 
Grey  (Lord  Richard),  arrest  of,  246 
Grey  (Zachary),  burial-place  of,  7 
Griffin  (John),  birthplace  of,  250 
Grocyne  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of,  256 
Grubb  (J.),  seat  of,  244 
Guises,  supposed  tomb  of  one  of,  14 ; 

seat  of,  15 

Gunter  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Gyll  (R.),  monument  of,  198 

Haddon  (W.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Hake  (E.),  Mayor  of  Windsor,  211 
Hakewell  (G.),  monument  of,  288 
Hales  (J.),  school  of,  254;  burial-place 

of,  255 

Halsted  (W.  and  wife),  tomb  of,  28 
Hammond  (J.),  death  of,  257  ;  memo- 
rial of,  290 

Hamond  (Sir  A.  S.),  seat  of,  95 
Hampden  (G.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Hampden  (John),  seats  in  Parliament 

of,  257  ;  land  of,    255 ;  burial-place 

of,  256 ;  seat  of,  256 
Hampden  (O.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Hampden  (family  of),  former  lands  of, 

269  ;  visit  of  Edward  III.  to,  269 
Hampden  (Viscount),  seat  of,  244 
Hampson  (M.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Hanmer  (E.),  seat  of,  244 
Harcourt  (Earl),  seat  of,  96,  239,  244  ; 

manor  of,  1 58 

Harding  (T.),  birthplace  of,  250 
Hardwicke  (Earl  of),  monument  of,  58 
Harewood  (Lascelles,  Earls  of),  family 

tombs  of,  344 
Harford  (H.),  seat  of,  95 
Harley  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  257 
Harman  (G. ),  memorial  of,  290 


Index  of  Names. 


357 


llarpur  (Sir  W.), birthplace  of,  5  ;  monu- 
ment of,  6,  21  ;  school  founded  by,  22 

Harrington  (C),  birthplace  of,  251 

Harrington  (Sir  J.),  seat  of,  96 

Harris  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  251 

Harris  (Rev.  R.,  and  son),  monuments 
of,  267 

Hart  (Lady  J.),  monument  of,  57 

Hartley  (H.  H.),  seat  of,  95 

Harvey  (J. ),  seat  of,  4 

Harvey  (Sir  R.  B.),  seat  of,  244 

Hastings  (Lord),  birthplace  of,  251  ; 
burial-place  of,  94 ;  manor  of,  and 
hospital  founded  by,  336 

Hastings  (Weisford,  Lord),  monument 
of,  57 

Hawte  (Sir  R.),  arrest  of,  246 

Hayton  (W. ),  residence  .of,  392 

Hearne  (T. ),  birthplace  of,  98 

Heaton  (Mrs.),  manor  of,  307 

Heberden  (W. ),  burial-place  of,  103 

Hector  (P.),  baptism  of,  236 

Henry  I.,  priory  founded  by,  IO  ;  grant 
of,  23  ;  palace  of,  41  ;  abbey  founded 
by,  burial-place  of,  94 ;  second  mar- 
riage of,  97 

Henry  II.,  grant  of,  1 1 ;  residence  of,  243 

Henry  III.,  residence  of,  243 

Henry  V.,  grant  of,  345 

Henry  VI.,  grant  of,  II  ;  burial-place 
of,  94  ;  birthplace  of,  98 

Henry  VII.  enlarges  Windsor  Castle, 
204,  206 

Henry  VIII.,  burial-place  of,  94; 
council  held  by,  246 

Herne  (Sir  W.),  seat  of,  95 

Herschel  (Sir  W.),  residence  of,  256  ; 
telescope  of,  257  ;  tomb  of,  343 

Hervey  (E.),  tomb  of,  50 

Hervey  (family  of),  possessions  of,  49 

Heynes  (M.  and  wife),  tomb  of,  80 

Heynes  (S.),  tablet  to,  268 

Hibbert  (R.),  seat  of,  4 

Hibbert  (T.),  seat  of,  244 

Hickes  (G.),  birthplace  of,  98 

Hicks  (J.),  seat  of,  244 

Higgins  (J. ),  seat  of,  4 

Higgons  (T.),  birthplace  of,  251 

Hill  (T.,  and  son),  tombs  of,  48,  56 

Hillersdon  (family  of),  manor  of,  52 

Hilsey  (J.),  birthplace  of,  98 

Hinde  (Rev.  J.),  seat  of,  244 

Hindley  (Isaac),  manor  of,  74 

Hoare  (H.  H.),  seat  of,  245 

Hobart  (E. ),  memorial  of,  289 

Hohbs  (R.),  Abbot  of  Woburn,  hanging 
of,  267 


Hoby  (Sir  E.),  seat  of,  101 

Hodges  (Rev.    A.),  rectory  of,    233  ; 

anecdote  of,  237 
Hodson  (N.),  monument  of,  40 
Holbech    (H.,    Bishop     of    Lincoln), 

manor  of,  24 
Holland  (Lord),  monument  to  daughter 

of,  70 

Holmes  (T.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Holt  (Lord  Chief  Justice),  school  of,  IOO 
Holt  (Sir  T.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Holyman  (J.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Hooke  (N.),  monument  of,  255 
Hooker  (Rev.  R. ),  rectory  of,  254 
Hopkins  (Colonel  N. ),  seat  of,  244 
Hopkins  (R.),  seat  of,  96 
Horton  (Colonel),  besieges  Donnington 

Castle,  144 

Houblon  (J.  A.),  seat  of,  96 
Houghton  (R. ),  founds  a  priory,  II 
How  ([.),  birthplace  of,  251 
How  (R.  T.),  library  of,  17 
How  (W.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Howard  (C. ),  manor  of,  160 
Howard  (J.),  memorial  of,  6  ;  residence 

of,  38 

Huett  (W.  and  wife),  monument  of,  69 
Hughes  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of,  318 
Humphrey  (L. ),  birthplace  of,  251 
Hungerford  (T. ),  birthplace  of,  98,  251 
Hungerford  (VV.),    birthplace    of,    98, 

251  ;  escape  of,  246 
Hunter  (H.  L. ),  seat  of,  95 
Huntingdon  (Earl  of,  and  wife),  burial? 

place  of,  336 
Huntingdon  (Elizabeth,    Countess  of), 

marriage  of,  71 

Hutton  (Rev.  J.  L.),  rectory  of,  305 
Hyde  (T.),  birthplace  of,  98 
Hylmer  (J.),   work   at    St.    George's, 

Windsor,  214 

Inchiquin  (Lord),  seat  of,  287 
Inglis  (Sir  Hugh),  seat  of,  4 
Ingoldsby  (F.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Ingoldsby  (H.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Ingoldsby  (Sir  R. ),  birthplace  of,  251 
Irby  (Hon.  G.),  seat  of,  244 
Isabella  (Queen  of  Richard  II.),  resi- 
dence of,  94 
Isherwood  (H.),  seat  of,  96 

Jackson  (Sir  J. ),  seat  of,  4 

James  (Rev.  T.  T.),  rectory  of,  59 

James  (Sir  W. ),  seat  of,  95 

Jeffries  (Lord  Chancellor),  seat  of,  254 

Jennings  (Mrs.),  seat  of,  4 


358 


Index  of  Names. 


Jennings  (S.)>  birthplace  of,  251 
Jervoise  (G.  H.  P.),  seat  of,  244 
Joan,  widow  of  the  Black  Prince,  death 

of,  97,  209 
John  (King  of  France),  imprisonment 

of,  94 

John  (King),  residence  of,  244 
John    of    Gaunt,     demesne    of,    75  ; 

manor  of,  76  ;  first  marriage  of,  97 
Johnston  (Sir  W.),  seat  of,  95 
Joy  (G. ),  birthplace  of,  5 
Judith  (niece  to  the  Conqueror),  abbey 

founded  by,  9 

Junius  (F. ),  burial-place  of,  103 
Justice  (F. ),  seat  of,  96 
Justice  (Rev.  W.),  vicarage  of,  25 

Keach  (B.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Keach  (E. ),  birthplace  of,  251 
Kendall  (T. ),  memorial  of,  290 
Kendrick  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  98 
Kennett  (Rev.  W. ),  vicarage  of,  IO2 
Kent  (Greys,  Earls  of),  burial-place  of, 

56  ;  monuments  of,  7,  57,  58 
Kempenfelt  (G.  A.),  seat  of,  95,  162  ; 

benefaction  of,  180 
Kerr  (Lord  M.),  seat  of,  95 
Kettilby  (Rev.  S.),  rectory  of,  80 
Kimber  (Isaac),  birthplace  of,  98 
King  (H.),  birthplace  of,  251 
King  (J.),  birthplace  of,  251 
King  (Sir  J.  D.),  seat  of,  245 
King  (P.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Knapp  (Rev.  P.),  seat  of,  244 
Kn;ght  (C.),  birthplace  of,  219 
Kyrke  (R. ),  manor  of,  74 

Ladyman  (S.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Lake  (Viscount),  seat  of,  244 
Landsley    (J.),   extraordinary  feat    of, 

121 

Langford  (E.),  tomb  of,  48 

Longley  (B.),  prints  of  Windsor  Castle 

by,  204 

Langley  (Sir  H.),  seat  of,  4 
Lalhbury  (John  de),  birthplace  of,  251 
Laud  (Archbishop),  birthplace  of,  99 ; 

school  of,  1 02  ;  picture  of,  282 
Launcelyn  (family  of),  tombs  of,  39 
L  .wson  (G.),  monument  of,  69 
Lea  (J.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Lee  (Sir  A.),  tomb  of,  327,  332  ;  seat 

of,  331 

Lee  (C.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Lee  (Rev.  Sir  G. ),  seats  of,  244,  329 
Lee  (Sir  II.),  tomb  of,  326,  331  ;  seat 

of,  331  ;  monument  of,  265 


Lee  (R.),  manor  of,   333;   monument 

of,  265 

Lee  (Lady),  monument  of,  323,  329 
Lenthal  (W.),  seat  of,  101 
Lewin  (Mrs.),  benefaction  of,  186 
Lewis  (B.  D.),  monument  of,  29 
Leycester  (J.  H.),  seat  of,  96 
Lichfield   (Earls    of),    burial-place    of, 

323  ;  estate  of,  328  ;  title  created,  334 
Liebenwood  (J.),  seat  of,  96 
Limbrey  (family  of),  manor  of,  285 
Liraerick  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  96 
Lindsey  (A.,  Countess  of),  seat  of,  332 
Lisle  (R.  de),  manor  of,  22 
Lister  (M.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Lloyd  (W.),  birthplace  of,  99;  rectory 

of,  101 

Lluellen  (J.),  memorial  of,  290 
Lluellin  (M.),  burial-place  of,  257 
Lockhart    (J.     Ingram),    seat   of,    96 ; 

manor  of,  307 
Loder  (Rev.  J.),  seat  of,  95 
Long  (W.),  seat  of,  4 
Longland  (J.),  memorial  of,  290;  burial- 
place  of,  255 

Loring  (Sir  N.),  residence  of,  7 
Louis  XVIII.,  residence  of,  256,  329; 

death  of  his  queen,  255 
Loveden  (family  ofj,  monuments  of,  119 
Loveden  (E.  I..),  seat  of,  95 
Lovel  (S.),  birthplace  of,  251. 
Lovell  (H.),  manor  of,  25 
Lovelace  (J.),  manor  of,   161  ;   family 

ennobled,  161 ;  visit  of  William  III. 

to,  161  ;  family  monuments  of,  177; 

connection  with  family  of  Kings  of 

Ockham,  187 

Lovelace  (Sir  R.),  benefaction  of,  185 
Lovett  (Sir  J.),  seat  of,  244 
Lovett  (R.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Lowndes  (W. ),  seat  of,  244-5 
Lucas  ( Sir  C.), defeats  Parliamentarians, 

247 
Lucy  (Mrs.),  seat  of,  244,  302;  family 

burial-place  of,  300 
Ludlow  (Earl),  seat  of,  4 
Luke  (N.),  tomb  of,  40 
Luke  (Sir  O.),  in  the  Civil  War,  41 
Luke    (Sir    S.),    original    of    Butler's 

"Hudi'oras,"  6,  256;  burial-place  of, 

7  ;  in  the  Civil  \Var,  41 
Luke  (Sir  W.),  tomb  of,  40  ;  estate  of,  40 
Lupton  (R.),  memorial  of,  289 
Lydall    (R. ),    sells    an    advowson    to 

Brasenose     College,     Oxford,    144  ; 

rectory  of,  233  ;  tomb  of,  236 
Lyford  (W.),  birthplace  of,  99 


Index  of  Names. 


359 


Maccarnesse,  (S.),  birthplace  of,  251. 
Macqueen  (M.),  estate  of,  75 
Maitland  (E.  F.),  seat  of,  96 
Malmesbury  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  94 
Man  (T.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Manchester  (Earl  of),  in  the  Civil  War, 

97 

Mandeville  (G.  de),  manor  of,  158, 
164;  priory  of,  158,  171;  burial- 
place  of,  1 60 

Mandeville  (W.  de),  revolt  under,  97 

Manfeld  (family  of),- tombs  of,  338 

Mansel  (M.  .D. ),  seat  of,  244 

Margaret  (Duchess  of  Brabant),  birth- 
place of,  99 

Markham  (G. ),  last  prior,  of  Dunstable, 

44 

Marsack  (Major),  seat  of,  95 
Marsh  (B.),  founds  almshouse,  47 
Marsh  (Rev.  T.  O.),  seat  of,  14 
Marshall  (Rev.  R.),  vicarage  of,  315 
Martin  (family  of)  tombs  of,  283 
Martin  (the  antiquary),  birthplace  of, 

251 

Martyn  (Sir  H.  W.),.seat  of,  95 
Mary  (daughter  of  .Edward.  I.),   birth- 
place of,  99 

Mason  (Sir  J.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Matthew  (J.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Matthew  (R.),  sells  an  advowson  to 

Brasenose  College,  Oxford,  144 
Maud  (Empress),  fealty  sworn  to,  97 ; 

grant  by,  345 

Mauduit  (W.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Mayew,  or  Mayo  (R.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Mayne  (S.),  birthplace  of,  251 
Mead  (M.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Mead  (R.),  seat  of,  7 
Mentemore  (M.  de),  birthplace  of,  252 
Merrick  (James),  birthplace  of,  99 
Metcalf  (C.  J.),  seat  of,  4 
Metcalfe  (Lady),  seat  of,  95 
Michel  (T.),  seat  of,  96 
Middleton    (Lieut. -General),    besieges 

Donnington  Castle,  143 
Miles  (R.),  benefaction  of,  293 
Mills  (W.  G.),  seat  of,  96 
Milton      (John),      "  Paradise      Lost " 
finished,  and  "Paradise  Regained" 
begun,  254 ;  residence  of,  256,  284 ; 
"  Comus,"  277  ;  tomb  of  his  mother, 
297 

Monck  (B.),  seat  of,  95 
Monnoux  (Sir  P.),  seat  of,  4 
Montague  (Lord),  seat  of,  244 
Montague  (Rev.  M.),  seat  of,  96 
Montague  (R. ),  birthplace  of,  252 


Montagu   (Duke  ol),   estate    of,   319;. 

advowson  of,  320 
Moore  (E.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Moore  (F.  R.),  seat  of,  4 
Moore  (Rev.  J.  V.),  rectory  of,  18 
Moore  (Colonel),  mansion  of,  18 
Morden  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  252 
More  (Sir  F. ),  birthplace  of,  99 
More  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of,  233 
M-orell  {T. ),  birthplace  of,  252 
Morin  (J.  T.),  seat  of,  245 
Morland  (L.  B.),  seat  of,  244 
Morland  (Sir  S.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Mount  (W.),  seat  of,  96 
Mountague  (Thomas),  birthplace  of,  252 
Mountnorris  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  96 
Mount-Norris    (Annesley,  F.,    Lord), 

birthplace  of,  248 
Malso  (W.),  tomb  of,  46 
Munday  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Murray  (C.  S.),  seat  of,  95 
Murray  (T. ),  memorial  of,  290 

Nanney  (R. ),  tomb  of,  297 
Neale  (T. ),  seat  of,  95 
Neale  (family  of),  memorials  of,  299 
Needham  (General),  seat  of,  244 
Neild  (J.  C.).  advowson  of,  308 
Nelson  (R.  W.),  seat  of,  95 
Neville  (H.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Newcome  (W. ),  birthplace  of,  99 
Newman  (M.),  benefaction  of,  293 
Nicholl  (R.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Nichols  (W.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Nicholls  (F. ),  birthplace  of,  252 
Noble  (Esther),  tomb  of,  48 
Noke  (T.),  monument  of,  198 
Norfolk  fMowbray,  T.,  Duke  of), manor 

of,  333 

Norfolk  (Duke  of),  manor  of,  38 
Norman  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Northfleet  (T. ),  endowment  by,  25 
Norton  (T.),  birthplace  of;  5 
Norys  (F. ),  christening  of,  236 
Norys,   memorials  of  family    of,    113, 

114,  US 

Nugent  (Lord),  seat  of,  244,  332 
Nugent  (General),  seat  of,  245 
Nugent  (Sir  G.),  seat  of,  245 
Nycolls  (R. ),  memcrial  of,  290 

Odell  (Thomas),  birthplace  of,  252 
Offa  (King  of  Mercia),  burial-place  of, 
6  ;    residence   of,    231  ;    victory   of, 

237 

Ogilvie  (Rev.  Dr.),  seat  of,  96 
Oldham  (J.  O.),  seat  of,  244 


360 


Index  of  Names. 


Olney  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 

Ongley  (Lord),  seat  of,  4 

Ongley  (Hon.  S.),  seat  of,  4 

Onslow  (Lady),  seat  of,  95 

Orkney  (Countess  of),  seat  of,  244 

Orlebar  (R.),  seat  of,  4 

Orrery  (Boyle,  C.,  Earl  oO,  seat  of,  254 

Osborn  (F.),  birthplace  of,  $ 

Osborne  ( F. ),  birthplace  of,  5 

Osborne  (Lord  F.  G.),  estate  of,  319 

Osborne  (Sir  G.),  seat  of,  4 

Osmund  (Bishop  of  Salisbury),  account 
of,  159,  1 60,  171 

Ossory  (Earl  of  Upper),  seat  of,  4 

Osyth  (S.),  birthplace  of,  252;  burial- 
place  of,  243 

Oughtred  (W.),  birthplace  of,  252; 
school  of,  254 

Owen  (Lieutenant-Colonel  A.),  tomb  of, 

14 

Owen  (G.),  grant  to,  123,  142 
Owen  (T.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Oxenbridge  (J.  and  F.),  memorials  of, 

290 

Pakington  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Palliser  (Sir  H.),  monument  of,  284 
Palmer  (C.  F.),  seat  of,  495 
Palmer  (Sir  C.  H.),  seat  of,  244 
Palmer  (R.),  seat  of,  95 
Palmer  (S.),  birthplace  of,  JJ 
Parker  (J.),  seat  of,  4,  143 
Parker  (T.),  seat  of,  1 8 
Parrett  (S.  W.),  seat  of,  95 
Parsons  (J.),  memorial  of,  290 
Parsons  (W.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Passelewe  (R.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Pateshull  (M.  de),  foundation*  of,  9 
Pauncefort  (P.  D.),  seat  of,  244  • 
Payne  (Sir  C.)»  seat  of,  4 
Paynton  (J.)i  tomb  of,  235 
Peacock  (family  of),  monuments  of,  141 
Pelham  (A.),  estate  of,  53 
Pembroke  (Claremont,    Lady    A.    de, 
Countess    of),    preceptory   endowed 

by,  9 

Penfold  (C.),  seat  of,  244 

Penn  (J. ),  seat  of,  244  ;  grant  to,  345 

Penn  (S.),  birthplace  of,  252 

Penne  (J.  de  la,  and  wife),  monument 

of.  275 

Pennington  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Penrose  (T.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Peover  (family  of),  tomb  of,  304 
Perfect  (H.),  seat  of,  95 
Perkins  (F.),  seat  of,  102 
Perrott  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 


Peters  (E.),  birthplace  of,  252 

Petty  (W.   H.   F.),   Marquis  of  Lans- 

downe,  burial-place  of,  257 
Peyvre  (P.),  seat  and  manor  of,  285 
Philippe  (A.),  memorial  of,  290 
Phillips  (T.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Phipps    (Sir    C.),    birthplace  of,   99; 

burial-place  of,  103 
Pierrepont  (Lady),  benefaction  of,  293 
Piers  (T.)>  birthplace  of,  99 
Pigott'(Rev.  S.),  rectory  of,  46 
Pigott  (W.),  seat  of,  244 
Pinnock  (Rev.  W.),  living  of,  309 
Plautius  (Aulus),  victory  of,  245 
Pleydell  (Sir  T.),  tomb  of,  153 
Pocock  (Rev.  E.),  rectory  of,  101 
Pocock  (Lady),  seat  of,  95 
Pole  (W.  de  la),  Duke  of  Suffolk,  seat 

of,  143 

PolhillQ.),  seat  of,  4 
Pomfret   (Rev.   J.),   birthplace  of,  5; 

rectory  of,  7 

Pomfret  (J.,  and  wife),  tomb  of,  48 
Popham  (Sir  H.),  seat  of,  96 
Pordage  (S.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Poulett  (Hon.  V.),  seat  of,  244 
Powney  (P.),  manor-house  of,  116 
Poyntz  (W.  S.),  seat  of,  95 
Praed  (W.),  seat  of,  245 
Prater  (A.),  burial-place  of,  146 
Price  (W.  H.),  seat  of,  95 
Pring  (G.),  tomb  of,  182 
Pudereschue  (H.  de),  capture  of,  246 
Pullock  (J.),  seat  of,  244 
Purcel  (E.),  tomb  of,  236. 
Purchase   (Rev.    R.),   living  of,   308; 

tomb  of,  311 

Purefoy  (H.),  memorial  of,  152 
Purefoy  (Colonel),  cross  cut  down  by, 

305 

Pusey  (Hon.  P.),  seat  of,  96 
Pye  (H.  J.),  birthplace  of,  99  ;  seat  of, 

M7 

Pye  (family  of),  tombs  of,  154-5 
Pye  (Colonel  Sir.  R.),  in  the  Civil  War, 

148;  tomb  of,  153 
Pye  (Sir  W.),  manor  of,  317 
Pygot  (R.,  and  wife),  tomb  of,  106 
Pyke  (E.),  epitaph  of,  344 
Pym  (F.),  seat  of,  4 

Raby  (J.  de  N.  le),  estate  of,  38 
Radnor  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  94 
Ramme  (T. ),  birthplace  of,  99 
Ramsbottom  (J.),  seat  of,  95 
Randal  (J.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Raneson  (J. ),  birthplace  of,  252 


Index  of  Names. 


Ratcliffe  (Sir  H.),  monument  of,  50 
Rave  (R.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Rawlings  (P.),  seat  of,  96 
Rawlins  (T.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Rayment  (T.  R.,  and  wife),  tomb  of, 

79 
Reading  (Hugh,  Abbot  of),  birthplace 

of,  99 

Reading  (William  of),  birthplace  of,  99 
Rede  (R.),  memorial  of,  289 
Reeve  (Lord  Chief  Justice),  burial-place 

of,  103 

Reinolds  (J.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Reynolds  (W.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Revis  (J.)>  birthplace  of,  252 
Rich  (A.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Rich  (E.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Rich  (L.)i  monument  of,  153 
Richardson  (W.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Richmond  (Countess  of),  grant  to,  88 
Riversdale  (Lord),  seat  of,  244 
Robinson  (Rev.  C.),  rectory  of,  234 
Robinson  (Mary),  tomb  of,  103  ;  monu- 
ment of,  203 
Robsart   (A.),   murder   of,    101,    127 ; 

visits  Cumnor,  130 
Roe  (H.  O.),  bequest  of,  75 
Rogers  (B.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Rouland  (N.,  and  wife),  monument  of, 

39 

Rous  (F.),  memorial  of,  290 
Rous  (W.  de),  estate  of,  38 
Rowe  (N.),  birthplace  of,  5 
Rudyng  (J.)>  chancel  built  by,  27  ;  tomb 

of,  27 
Rupert  (Prince),  taxes  High  Wycombe, 

247 

Russel  (C),  seat  of,  95 
Russel   (Sir   J.),   monument  of,   288; 

seat  of,  288 

Russell  (Lord),  grant  to,  88 
Ruthin  (Lord-Lieutenant  of  Bedford), 

monument  of,  57 
Ryves  (B.),  burial-place  of,  103 

Sackville  (E.),  marriage  of,  236  ;  death 

of,  236 

Sadleir  (Sir  R.),  grant  to,  15 
St.  Croix  (P.  de),  manor  of,  69 
St.  John  (Rev.  E.),  seat  of,  96 
St.  John  (Lord),  seat  of,  4  ;  wife  of, 

25  ;  estate  of,  29  ;  family  monuments 

of,  30 
Salisbury    and    Warwick    (Earls    of), 

burial-place  of,  93 
Salle  (T.),  tomb  of,  72 
Salmon  (N.),  birthplace  of,  6 


Salmon  (T.),  birthplace  of,  6 
Sanders  (R.,  and  family),  tombs  of,  312 
Sandys  (Lord),  birthplace  of,  252 
Saunders  (R.,  and  family),  tombs  of, 

3".  3" 

Saunders  (T.),  manor  of,  317 
Savile  (H.),  memorial  of,  290 
Sawyer  (J.),  seat  of,  95 
Saxton  (Sir  C.),  seat  of,  95 
Sayer  (J.  and  F.),  burial-place  of,  146 
Scawen   (family  of),   manor   of,   296 ; 

vault  of,  296 
Schorne  (Rev.  Sir  J.),  rectory  of,  306  ; 

shrine  of,  309 

Sclater  (W.),  birthplace  of,  6 
Scot  (T.,  regicide),  seat  in  Parliament 

of,  257  ;  birthplace  of,  252 
Scott  (Lady  M,),  monument  of,  180 
Scott  (Right  Hon.  Sir  W.),  seat  of,  95 
Scot  (W.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Scrope  (R.),  epitaph  of,  291 
Sefton  (Earl  of),  seat  of,  244 
Selby  (W.),  seat  of,  245 
Seling  (R.),  monument  of,  283 
Sergeant  (W.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Settle  (E.),  birthplace  of,  6 
Sewell  (G.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Sewell  (R.),  seat  of,  244 
Seymour  (Queen  Jane),  burial-place  of, 

94 

Shard  (C.),  seat  of,  95 
Sharrock  (R. ),  birthplace  of,  252 
Shaw  (G.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Sheppard  (T.),  seat  of,  339 
Shepherd  (Sir  T.),  seat  of,  244 
Shepreve  (J.),  birthplace  of,  99 
Sherrier  (Rev.  E.),  living  of,  308 
Shoomaker  (C.),  birthplace  of,  252 
Sibbald  (Sir  J.),  seat  of,  95 
Simeon  (Sir  J.),  seat  of,  95 
Smith  (Rev.  E.  O.),  living  of,  17 
Smith  (H.),  memorial  of,  290 
Smith  (J.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Smith  (Rev.  W.  O.),  seat  of,  4 
Smith  (R.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Smith  (Sir  T.),  birthplace  of,  99;  seat 

of,  254  ;  memorial  of,  289 
Smith  (W.),  birthplace  of,  253  ;  death 

of,  257 

Somerset  (Duke  of),  seat  of,  244 
Southby  (R.),  seat  of,  95 
Southwood  (A.),  memorial  of,  290 
Sparke  (W.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Spenser  (E.),  "Faerie  Queen,"  257 
Spenser  (T.,  and  wife),  tomb  of,  41  ; 

manor  of,  41 
Stackhouse  (Rev.  T.),  rectory  of,  100 


362 


Index  of  Names. 


Stafford  (family  of),  manor  of,  286 
Standen  (E.),  seat  of,  100 
Staunton  (E.),  birthplace  of,  6 
Staverton  (K.),  monument  of,  137 
Stead  (Colonel),  seat  of,  95 
Steevens  (J.),  tomb  of,  79 
Steevens  (Lucy),  tomb  of,  79 
Steevens  (Rev.  W.),  tomb  of,  80 
Stephen  (Rev.  H.),  seat  of,  95 
Stephenson  (R.),  seat  of,  95 
Stevens  ( W.  B. ),  birthplace  of,  99 
Stigand  (Archbishop),  manor  of,  22 
Stillingfleet  (Rev.  E.),  rectory  of,  ^ 
Stokes  (D.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Stokes  (J.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Stokes  (M.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Stokys  (R. ),  memorial  of,  290 
Stone  (W.),  inscription  to,  14  ;  memo- 
rial of,  14 

Stonehouse  (Sir  J.),  birthplace  of,  100 
Stonor   ( J. ),   tomb   of,    144 ;    seat    of 

family,  144 

Storer  (Hon.  Mrs.),  seat  of,  96 
Strafford  (Earl  of),  estate  of,  86 
Stratford  (Rev.  W.),  rectory  of.  257 
Suffolk,  Brandon  (C.,  Duke  of)',  burial- 
place  of,  94  ;  residence  of,  119,  143 
Sullivan  (J. ),  seat  of,  244 
Sunderland  (Earl  of),  death  of,  97 
Surrey  (Earl  of),  sonnets  of,  100 
Swift  (Dean),  residence  of,  102 
Sydney  (A.),  seat  in  Parliament  of,  254 
Sydney  (Sir  P.),  writes  "Arcadia,"  7 
Symcott's  (J.,  and  wife),  tomb  of,  79 
Symes  (J.),  birthplace  of,  253 

Talbot  (Lady  E. ),  monument  of.  57 
Tanton  (W.),  memorial  of,  290 
Taverner  (P.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Temple  (H.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Temple  (P.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Temple  (W.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Temple  (R.,  GrenviDe- Temple,  Earl), 

birthplace  of,  250 

Thistlethwait  (R. ),  monument  of,  89 
Thomas  (Rev.  A.),  tomb  of,  182 
Thomond  (Marchioness  of),  seat  of,  244 
Thomson  (W.),  tomb  of  18 
Thornton  (G. ),  seat  of,  14 
Thoytes  (W.),  seat  of,  96 
Throckmorton  (J.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Throckmorton  (Sir  J.  C. ),  seat  of,  95 
Throckmorton  (W.),  monument  of;  196 
Throckmorton  (family  o.~),  seat  of,  345 
Tillesworth  (W.),  birthplace  of.  253 
Titley  (Rev.  W. ),  rectory  of,  237 
Togodumnus,  defeat  of,  245 


Tomlyns  (S. ),  birthplace  of,  100 
Totehill    (Sir   W.,  and  Lady),    monu- 
ment of,  270 

Townsend  (K.),, memorial  of,  290 
Trally  (Sir  J.),  endowment  by,  II 
Trenchard  (Rev.  Dr.),  seat  of,  95 
Tressel  (M, ),  monument  of,  198 
Tressel    (Sir    W.),    manor    of,    192; 

monument  of,  196 
Trevor  (Hon.  J.),  seat  of,  4 
Trevor  (R. ),  seat  of,  4 
Trevor  (Lord),  monument  of,  6 
Trimer  (W..),  bequest  of,  75 
Trougbton  (R.),  estate  of,  162 
Trumbull  (Sir  W.),  burial-place  of,  101 
Turner  (E.),  seat  of,  95 
Turner  (Sir  G.  O.  P.),  seat  of,  4 
Tumor  (Sir  C.),  birthplace  of,  6 
Tumor  (Sir  E.),  birthplace  of,  6 
Twiss  (W. ).,  birthplace  of,  IOO 
Tyringham  (A.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Tyringham  (E.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Tyrrel  (Admiral  J.),  burial-place  of,  256 
Tyrrel  (Sir  T.),  monument  of,  339 
Tyrrell  (T.),  birthplace  of,  253 

Umpton  (Sir  H.),  birthplace  of,   100, 
148  ;  burial  place  of,  101  ;  anecdote 
of,  148  ;  benefactions  of,  152 
Umpton  family,  monuments,  148,  150-1 
Upton  (W. ),  cross  erected  by,  156 
Uthwall  (Rev.  II.),  seat  of,  244 

Vanlore  (Sir  P.),  monument  of,  201 
Vansittart  (A.),  Seat  of,  96 
Vansittart  (G.),  seat  of,  95 
Vaughan  (J. ),  tomb  of,  48 
Vaughan  (Sir  T. ),  arrest  of,  246 
Vavasor  (A.),  tomb  of,  331 
Vere  (R.  de),  victory  <>f,  97 
Verney  (Sir  K.),  seat  in  Parliament,  257 
Vernon  (Admiral   Sir  E. ),  monument 

of,  101 

Vernon  (family  of),  manor  of,  317 
Vertue  (W.),    work,   at  St.    George's, 

Windsor,  by,  214 
Verulam  (Viscountess),    monument  of, 

7  ;  tomb  of,  55 
Virgin  (Rev.  J.),  living  of,  308  ;  tomb 

of,  311,  312 
Vyse  (R.  W.  H.  H.),  seat  of,  244 

Wagstaffe  (W. ),  birthplace  of,  253 
Waldo  (Rev.  P.),  memorial  to,  265 
Walker  (Hon.  H.),  estrie  of,  162 
Walker    (Rev.    T.),    rectory    of    and 
memorial  to.  265 


Index  of  Names. 


363 


Waller  (Rev.  E.),  seat  of,  244 

Waller  (E.,  poet),  burial-place  of,  256  ; 

seatsinParliamentof.254,257 ;  school 

of,  254  ;  seat  of,  255  ;  tomb  of,  281 
Waller  (Sir  J.  W.),  seat  of,  95 
Wallingford  (Richard  of),  birthplace  of, 

100 

Wallingford  (John  of),  birthplace  of,  IOO 
Wallis  (Rev.  G.),  monument  of,  288 
Wallis  (N.),  tomb  of,  317 
Walpole  (H.),  Earl  of  Orford,  school 

of,  255 

Walpole  (Sir  R.),  school  of,  254 
Walsh  (Sir  J.  B.),  seat  of,  96 
Ward  (A.  K.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Ward  (R.),  seat  of,  244 
Ward  (T.),  seat  of,  96 
Warner  (Rev.  J.  G. ),  rectory  of,  190 
Warwick  (Earl  of),  execution  of,  94 
Wasey  (J.  T.),  seat  of,  96 
Watts  (E.),  seat  of,  244  ;  manor  of,  292 
Webber  (W.),  seat  of,  96 
Weedon  (C.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Wells  (Rev.  J.),  seat  of,  244 
Wells  (P.),  estate  of,  317 
Welsh  (J.),  epitaph  of,  139 
Wendover  (R.  de),  birthplace  of,  253 
Wenlock     (Lord),    mansion     of3    6 1  ; 

burial-place  of,  61 

Wentworth  (family  of),  monuments  of,  85 
Went  worth  (Baroness),  seat  of,  7 
Wentworth  (Lady  M.),  monument  of,  7 
Were  (R. ),  inscription  to,  12,  70 
West  (Hon.  F.),  seat  of,  95 
West  burn  (E. ),  memorial  of,  289 
Weston  (E.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Weston  (R.),  Earl  of  Portland,  birth- 

place  of,  253 

Wharton  (Duke  of),  seat  of,  257 
Wheble  (James),  seat  of,  96 
Whitbread  (Lady  E.),  seat  of,  4 
Whitbread  (S.),  birthplace  and  monu- 
ment, 6  ;  erection  of  cross  by,   31 ; 

estate  of,  52,  86 

White  (Sir  T.),  birthplace  of,  100 
Whitehall  (R.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Whitlock  (Sir  B.),  seat  of,  255 
Whittington  (J.),  estate  of,  88 
Wightwick  (Rev.  R. ),  rectory  of,  IO2 
Wigtham   (De),  family   of,   tombs    of, 

235  ;  benefactions  of,  239 
Wilcocks   (J.),   benefaction    of,    186 ; 

manor  of,  161 

Wilder  (Rev.  Dr.),  seat  of,  96 
Wilkes  (J.),  seat  in  Parliament  of?  254 


Wilkinson  (E.),  birthplace  of,  253 

Wilkinson  (H.),  birthplace  of,  253 

Willaume  (C.  D.),  seat  of,  4 

Willes  (J.),  memorial  of,  290  ;  seat  of,  95 

William  I.  founds  Windsor  Castle,  94 

William  III.,  avenues  planted  by,  219 

Williams  (Sir  J.),  manor  of,  158 

Williams  (O. ),  seat  of,  96,  244 

Williamson  (J.),  manor  of,  74 

Willis  (Browne),  monument  of,  255  ; 
seat  of,  256 ;  dinner  in  memory  of, 
261  ;  restores  Bletchley  Church,  261, 
281  ;  gifts  of,  and  epitaph  of,  262 

Willis  (T.),  monument  of,  158  ;  memo- 
rial of,  6 

Wilson  (S.),  seat  of,  95 

Wilson  (T.),  seat  of,  95 

Wilton  (A.  Gray,  Lord  de),  birthplace 
of,  250 

Wingate  (E.),  birthplace  of,  6;  resi- 
dence of,  7 

Winchester  (Marquis  of),  monument  of, 

101 

Windsor  (Sir  W.),  birthplace  of,  253 
Winwood  (Sir  R.),  seat  of,  254  ;  alms- 
houses  founded  by,  319,  320  ;  manor 
of,  319  5  family  tombs  of,  322 
Wolman  (W.  H.),  inscription  to,  12 
Wood  (Rev.  T.),  monument  of,  266 
Worcester    (Marquis  of),   burial-place 

of,  103 

Worral  (J.),  birthplace  of,  IOO 
Wotton  (H.),  memorial  of,  289  ;  burial- 
place  of,  255 

Wray  (Hon.  E.),  death  of,  236 
Wren  (Sir  C.),  drawings  of  Windsor 

Castle  by,  204 
Wright  (J.  A.),  seat  of,  95 
Wright  (W.),  monument  of,  14 
Wrighte  family,  monuments  of,  146 
Wroughton  (Rev.  P.),  seat  of,  96 
Wyatville  (Sir  J.),  alterations  to  Wind- 
sor Castle  by,  205  ;  residence  of,  212 
Wykeham   (William  of),    additions  to 
Windsor  Castle  by,  212 

Ximines  (Sir  M.),  seat  of,  95 

Yeate  (B.),  tomb  of,  153 
Young  (E.),  birthplace  of,  TOO,  254 
Young  (J.),  birthplace  of,  254 
Young  (Sir  S. ),  seat  of,  244 
Young  (W.),  birthplace  of,  254 

Zouche  (family  of),  manor  of,  285 


INDEX  OF  SUBJECTS. 


ABBESS  sculptured  on  sepulchral  monu- 
ment, 51 

Abbey  churches,  93 

remains,  86-87,  87-88 

Abingdon,  33,  93,  94,  96,  97,  98, 99, 
100 

Adstock,  252 

Agmondesham,  see  "  Amersham  " 

Agricultural  labour,  121 

Aisles,  three,  parish  churches  with,  259, 
263 

Aisles,  double,  in  churches,  19 

Akeman  Street,  314,  335 

Albano,  pictures  by,  64 

Aldermaston,  103-104 

Aldworth,  100,  104-109 

Ales,  church,  represented  on  sculptured 
bench-ends,  72 

Almshouses,  48,  120,  276,  319-322 

Altar-piece,  painted,  59 

Amersham,  248,  249,  250,  251,  252, 
253,  254,  269-277 

Ampthill,  3,  11-13 

Andrew  (St.),  dedication  to,  25 

Ankerwyke,  254 

Antiquaries,  destruction  by,  129 

Appleton,  98 

Arborfield,  100 

Armour,  monumental  figures  in,  12,  36, 
39,  4i,  53,  57,  76,  81,  83,  104,  105- 
106,  107,  108,  109,  113,  138,  178, 
234,  235,  286,  322,  325,  327 

Arms,  family,  13,  30,  39,  40,  48,  50,  51, 
52,  53,  55,  72,  76,  81,  82,  83,  84, 
113,  116-117,  138,  140,  141, 144,  150, 

151,  »53,  154,  170,  171,  178,  179, 
180,  181,  183-185,  188,  190,  195,  196, 
199,  235,  266,  267,  271,  272,  274, 
275,  283,  290,  297,  320,  322,  325, 
326,  327 


Ashdown,  96 
Ashendon,  245 
Ashridge,  243,  246 
Ashridge  House,  277-278,  302 
Aspley  Guise,  8,  13-18 
Aston  Clinton,  265 
Aston  Upthorpe,  96 
Augustines,  priories,  etc.,  of,  II 
Aylesbury,   243,   245,   246,  247,   248, 
252,  254,  265,  278-280 

Barley  End  House,  302 

Barn,  120-121 

Barocchio,  pictures  by,  64 

Barrows,  81 

Barton,  8 

Barton  le  Clay,  99 

Beacons,  fire,  301 

Beaconsfield,  254,  280-281 

Beale  (Mrs.),  pictures  by,  67 

Bedford,  4,  6,  8-9,  18-22,  33,  260 

Bedfordshire,  1-90 

Beenham,  100 

Bells,  church,  42,52,  70,  120,  135,  177, 

259,  264,  292,  301,  313,  317 
Bench-ends,    sculptured,    representing 

church  ales,  72 
Benedictines,  priories,  etc.,  of,  9,  10, 

49,  68 

Benham,  109-112 
Berghem,  pictures  by,  65 
Berkshire,  93-240 
Bernwood  Forest,  245 
Besils  Legh,  101 

Bibles,  collection  of,  at  Bletchley,  282 
Bierton,  249,  252 
Biggleswade,  6,  u,  22-29 
Billingbeare,  99 
Binfield,  loo,  101 
Bisham,  93,  101 


Index  of  Subjects. 


365 


Bishop,  early,  painting  of,  at  Ivinghoe, 

303 

Bishopric  of  Ely,  formation  of,  23 
Bishopric,  obsolete,  93 
Bishops  Wooburn,  250 
Black  Canons  of  St.  Peter,  priories  of, 

10 
Black   Watch,  Highlanders,   battle  at 

Aspley  Guise  with,  16 
Bledlow,  250 

Bletchley,  253,  254,  261,  281-282 
Bletso,  29-31 
Bones,  human,  discovered  at  Aylesbury, 

278 

Bones,  giant,  found  in  tumulus,  303 
Bonhommes,  order  of  friars,  243 
Books  by  E.  Brerewood,  294 
chained,   in   churches,   311  ;    re- 
presentation of,  at  Windsor,  216 
Bordone  (P.),  pictures  by,  64 
Borstal,  247 
Borstall  Horn,  243 
Botolph  (St.),  dedication  to,  13 
Bourton,  250 
Bradfield,  98,  99,  101 
Bradenham,  246,  253 
Bradwell,  248 
Bray,  112-119 
Brenghel,  pictures  by,  67 
Brickhill,     246,     250,    258,    282-284, 

338 

Bridge  at  Wallingford,  93 
Brightwell,  IOI 
Brightwell  Court,  254 
Brill,  243,  245 
Britton  (D.  A.)  on  Cople,  38-42  ;  on 

Elstow,  49-52  ;  on  Millbrook,  68-70 
Bromham,  6 

Brook  Comb  Bottom,  302 
Broughton,  263 
Buckingham,  243,  245,  247,  248,  249, 

250,  253,  254,  260,  284 
Buckinghamshire,  243-347 
Bucklebury,  101 
Buckler  (C.  A.)  on  East  Hendred,  156- 

IS7 

Building  tradition,  199 
Bulstrode,  254 
Burnham,  248,  254 
Burston,  251 
Buscot,  119-120 
Bushmead,  10 
Busiri,  pictures  by,  64 

Caldecot,  248 

Caldwell,  II 

Caracci,  pictures  by,  63 


Cardinal,  early  painting  of,  at  Ivinghoe, 

303 

Cardington,  6,  31 
Carter  (J.),  on  Aldworth,  106-108 
Castle,  143 

Windsor,  204-214 

site  of,  72 

Caversham  Bridge,  97 

Caversfield,  245 

Ceilings,  painted.  62 

Chalfont,  249,  250,  251,  252,  284-285 

Chalgrave,  7 

Chalk  for  building  purposes,  161 

Chalk,  Kent,  72 

Chantries,  85,  115-116,  1 20 

Chapman  (W.)  on  Clifton  Hoo,  31-35 

Charities,   47,    74-75,    152,    186,   201, 

292,  319 
Charlton,  6 
Charter  of  foundation  of  priory  at 

Hurley,  159,  171 
of  St.  Mary's  chantry,  Bray,  115- 

116 

Checquers,  a  seat  of  the  Russels,  288 
Chenies,  246,  248 
Chersley,  245 
Chesham,  250,  252 
Chests,  parish,  26,  177 
Chetwode,  243,  249 
Chicheley,  249,  253,  264 
Chicksand,  9 
Childrey,  101,  120 
Chiltern  Hundreds,  254,  287 
Chilton,  249,  251,  253,  285-287 
Chimney  architecture,  87 

brick,  104 

Chimneypiece,  Elizabethan,  207 

Cholsey,  120-121 

Church  ales  represented  on  sculptured 

bench-ends,  72 
Church  house,  112 
Church  plate,  174 
Cipriani,  ceilings  painted  by,  62 
Cistercians,  buildings  of,  10,  88 
Civil  war  events,  Charles  I.,  97,  103, 

142,   143,   148,   158,  246,  247,   279, 

315.  337 

Clapham,  Beds,  7 
Cleifden,  254,  287-288 
Cliff  at  Hoo,  32 
Clifton  Hoo,  31-35 
Clifton  Reynes,  252 
Clovesho,  identification  of,  with  Clifton 

Hoo,  31-35 

Cockayne  Hatley,  35-38 
Coffins,  stone,  in  churches,  51,  87 
Coins  discovered,  71,  191,  240,  346 


366 


Index  of  Subjects. 


Colebrooke,  247,  248 
Collegiate  church,  192 
Colman  (St.),  dedication  to,  122 
Combe  Hole,  302 
Common  fields,  75 

lands,  purchase  of,  260 

Cooper's  Hill,  100 
Cople,  7,  38-42 
Corregio,  pictures  by,  63 
Councils,  Anglo-Saxon,  31-35 
Crawley,  North,  264 
Crawley  Wood,  303 
Crendon,  247 
Cross,  town,  31,  60 

stone,  141,  156,  158 

cut  on  side  of  hill,  243 

Eleanor,  at  Stony  Stratford,  337 

market,  202,  215 

Crozier,  abbot's,  figured  on  glass,  1 56 
Cruciform  churches,  192 
Cubbington,  253 
Cuddington,  251 
Cumner,  98,  IOI,  121-143 
Cumnor  Hill,  remains  found  at,  238 
Customs,     see     "Ales,"      "Gloves," 
"Manorial,"  "Marriage,"  "Nursery" 
Cuyp,  pictures  by,  65,  66 

Danes  at  Sanday,  71 

battles  with,  96,  238,  245,  314 

tradition  concerning,  302 

Denton,  251 

Desborough,  254 

Dinton,  248,  251 

Ditton,  254 

Dobson,  pictures  by,  66 

Domesday  Survey,  quotations  from,  22, 

38,  49,  68,  164,  172,  237,  286 
Donnington,  97,  101,  143,  144 
Doorways    of    St.    George's    Chapel, 

Windsor,  216 
Dorney,  252 

Drama,  first  recorded  representation,  6 
Drayton  Beauchamp,  250,  254 
Drayton  Passelewe,  252 
Dress,  female,  monumental  figures,  51, 

54,  57,  81,  82,  83,   108,   109,  113, 

138,  198,  235,  288,  332 

judges',  see  "Judges" 

Druids'  Mount,  303 

Ducarel  (A.  C.)  on  Faringdon,  147 

Dudcote,  144-146 

Dunton,  249 

Dunstable,  5,  6,  8,  10,  42-48 

Easington  Manor,  286 
Eatonford,  II 


Eddington,  97 

Edlesborough,  254 

Edmund  (St.),  king  and  martyr,  dedi- 
cation to,  304 

Edward  II.,  portrait  of,  234 ;  see 
"  Pilgrims  " 

Edward  III.  at  Leighton  Buzzard,  60 

Elizabeth,  translation  of  Boethius  by, 

212 

Ellerton  (G.)  on  Fyfield,  156 

Ellesborough,  288 

Elstow,  9,  49-52 

Ely,  formation  of  the  bishopric,  23 

Enborne,  101 

Enclosures,  15,  49,  52,  88,  308 

Englefield,  96,  101,  146,  147 

Entrenchment  at  Wycombe,  346 

Epitaphs,  12,  13,   14,  20,  27,  28,  29, 

35.  36>  37,  39,  40,  46,  48,  50,  51,  53- 
55,  69,  72,  76,  77-80,  82,  84,  85-86, 
89,  90,  106,  114,  137,  139,  140,  141, 
146,  149,  150,  151,  152,  153,  154, 
155,  178,  179,  180,  181,  182,  186, 
197,  198,  201,  203,  234,  235,  236, 
237,  266,  267,  269,  272,  273,  274, 
275,  276,  282,  283,  285,  291,  292, 
293,  297,  299,  300,  305,  311,  313, 
317,  322,  323,  327,  331,  338,  343, 

344 
Eton,   249,   250,  252,  253,  354,  255, 

288-291 

Eversholt,  52-53 
Eyworth,  7,  53-55 

Fairs,  49,  59,  297 

Faringdon,  97,  99,  100,  IOI,  147-156 

Farle,  II 

Farmhouse,  116-117 

Farnham  Royal,  255,  291 

Fawley  Court,  255 

Feast,  church,  190 

Fenny  Stratford,  255,  261 

Fern  Hill,  101 

Fires,  254,  307 

Firmin  (St.),  church  and  well  dedicated 

to,  264 
Fisher    (T. )    on    Ivinghoe,    303 ;    on 

Steventon,  72-73 
Flitton,  7,  56-59 
Font,  leaden,  93 

church,  175,  243,  265,  284,  299 

immersion,  194 

Fox  (C.  J.),  portrait  of,  67 
Franciscan  friars,  houses  of,  9 
Franks  (J.  B. ),  pictures  by,  65 
Frescoes  found  in  churches,  74,  342 
Fuller's  earth  pits,  15 


Index  of  Subjects. 


367 


Fulmere,  248,  251 
Fy/eld,  156 

Gabriel,  angel,  fresco  of,  74 

Gallows,  manorial  rights,  24,  258,  298 

Gardens,  59 

Garofalo  (Benv.),  pictures  by,  63 

Garroway's  Coffee  House,  auction  at, 

25 
Garter,  knights  of  the,  lodgment  of,  at 

Windsor,  208 

Gateways,  entrance  (Tudor),  125 
Gayhurst,  263 
George  (St.),  and  the  Dragon,  fresco  of, 

74 

George  III.,  relics  of  funeral  of,  38 
and  Herne's  Oak,  216-218,  220, 

221,  228 
Gilbert   (St.)  of  Sempringham,  priory 

under  rule  of,  9 
Gilds  at  Biggleswade.  26 
Giordano  Luca,  pictures  by,  63 
Glass,  use  of,  in  churches,  167 

stained,  earliest  specimen  of,  243 

Gloves  presented  to  priest  on  successful 

marriages,  237 

Godstow,  gifts  to  nunnery  of,  239 
Gold  mine  at  Pollux  Hill,  Beds,  8 
Gothurst,  249 
Gregories,  255 
Grendon,  255 
Grendon  Underwood,  251 
Guercino,  pictures  by,  63 
Guido,  pictures  by,  63 
Guitar,  sculptured,  85 

Hackaert  and  Longelbach,  pictures  by, 

65 

Hackney    coaches,    first    introduction 

of,  6 

Hagen,  Vander,  pictures  by,  65 
Hall  Barns,  255 
Hambledon,  255,  291 
Hamper   (W.)   on    Beaconsfield,   280- 

281  ;  Chilton,  285-287 
Hampden,  Great,  250,  252,  255,  269 
Hampstead,  East,  101 
Hanging  for  horse-stealing,  258 
Hanney,  West,  102 
Hanslape,  250,  251,  252,  260,  291-293 

Castle,  245 

Hardwick,  265 
Harewood,  10 
Harlington,  7 
Harold,  7 
Hartwell,  255 
Harwell,  98 


Haunted  pond,  131 

Haversham,  263 

Hawnes,  7 

Hedsor,  256 

Helena  (St.),  church  dedication  to,  49 

Hellesdon,  249,  256 

Hendred,  East,  156-157 

Henry  L,  palace  of.  at  Dunstable,  42 

Herne's  Oak,  Windsor,  216-231 

Higham  Gobion,  7 

Hincksey,  North,  157-158 

Hincksey,  South,  99,  158 

Hitcham,  252,  256 

Hitchendon,  248,  256 

Hockey  in  the  Hole,  1 1 

Hog's-stye  End,  hamlet  of,  16 

Hoo  in  place  names,  33,  35 

Horn,  Borstall,  243 

Horse,  white,  cut  out  of  turf,  93,  97, 

202 

Horton,  250,  252,  256,  294-297 
Houghton  Conquest,  7 
Houghton  Regis,  42 
Hour-glass  in  churches,  299 
Houses,  old  family,  29,  61-62 
Houton,  250 
Howman  (A.  E.)  on  Herne's  Oak,  228, 

231 

"  Hudibras,"  character  in,  41 
Hughenden,  see  "  Hitchenden  " 
Hundreds,  22,  35 
Hungerford,  98,  99 
Hunt  (James)  on  Cholsey,  120-121 
Huntingdon,  260 
Hurley,  158-189 
Husborn  Crawley,  1 8 

Ickford,  245,  252,  256 
Ikenild  Way,  297 
Ildesley,  East,  98,  99,  102 
Infangthef,  manorial  rights,  24 
Ingcombe  Hole,  302 
Innocent  X.,  portrait  of,  66 
Inns,  old,  143 

Inscriptions,  see  "Epitaphs" 
Ireton,  portrait  of,  66 
Ivinghoe,  243,  250,  269,  297-303 

Jansen  (Corn.),  pictures  by,  66 

Jervas  (C.),  pictures  by,  67 

Jesse  (Edward)  on  Windsor,  216  ;  on 
Herne's  Oak,  216-219,  220-221 

John  (St.)  of  Jerusalem,  Knights  Hos- 
pitallers, preceptories  of,  9 

John  of  Gaunt,  residence  of,  at  Sutton. 
76 

Jonson  (Ben),  portrait  of,  66 


Index  of  Subjects. 


Judges'  robes  sculptured  on  monument, 

53 

•         costume,  temp.  1475,  114 

Katherine  (Queen),  divorce  of,  44 
Kent,  72  n. 

Kinewulf  (King),  character  of,  238 
Kingsbury  Palace,  Dunstahle,  42 
Kitchen,  old,  at  Ivinghoe,  297 
Knapp  (L.)  on  coin  found  at  Reading, 

191 
Kymble,  246,  249 

Labour,  agricultural,  121 

Lace-making,  292 

Langley,  252 

Lathbury,  247,  248,  251,  253,  256,263 

Latimers,  252,  253 

Lavendon,  248 

Lawford  (W.  R.)  on  Hanslope,  291- 

293 

Leighton,  10,  59-60 
Leighton  Buzzard,  5,  59-60 
Lekhamsted,  251,  303-304 
Lenborough,  251 
Letcombe  Bassett,  IO2 
Libraries,  old,   17,  61;  see  "Bibles," 

"Books" 
Lichgates,  112 
Linford,  Great,  249 
Linslade,  246,  263 
Lillingston  Dayrell,  253 
Longevity,  cases  of,  8 
Longworth,  98 
Louis  XIV.  (coronation  of),  picture  of, 

67 

Ludgershall,  250 
Luton,  60-67 

Magiovintum,  Roman  station,  43 

Maid's  Morton,  248,  304-305 

Manor-houses,  81,  93,  297 

Manor  rights,  24 

Manorial  customs,  101 

Maratti  (Carlo),  pictures  by,  64 

March,  247 

Margaret,  Queen  of  Scots,  portrait  of, 

67 

Market  cross,  202,  215 
Market-houses,  47 
Markets,  15,  22,  24,  43,  47,  59,  148, 

258,  261,  292,  297 
Market  Street,  10 
Mario w,  249 
Marriage  custom,  237 
Marsh  Gibwen,  250 
Marston,  North,  305-313 


Martin  (John)  on  Eversholt,  52-53 

Mary  (St.),  dedication  to,  30 

Maulden,  7,  12 

Medley,  239,  240 

Melchburne,  9 

Mentemore,  252 

Meulen  (Van  der),  pictures,  by,  65,  67 

Millbrook,  10,  12,  68-71 

Mjlton,  189-191 

Milton  Keynes,  248,  249,  256,  263 

Missenden,  Great,  252 

Missenden,  Little,  250 

Mittens,  sculptured,  on  female  tomb- 
figure,  51 

Moated  houses,  37,  89 

Montagu  (Lady  M,  Wortley),  portrait 
of,  67 

Monuments,  family,  see  "Epitaphs" 

Moulsoe,  250 

Murillo,  pictures  by,  63 

Music-gallery  in  hall,  37 

Musical  instruments,  sculptured,  85 

Newbury,  97,  98,  99,  100,  102,  191 
Newport   Pagnel,  246,  247,  248,  251, 

252,  256,  260,  3 1 3-3 15 
Newton  Longueville,  254,  256,  262 
Nicholas  (St. )  of  Arrouasia,  priories  of, 

10 

Nichols  (J.  G.)  on  Windsor,  203-215 
Northill,  II,  71 
Nursery  rhymes,  258 

Oak-trees,  large  size,  11-12 
Oakley,  256 

Occhiale,  pictures  by,  65 
Olney,  248,  249,  250,  256,  260 
Organ  at  Dunstable,  45 
Outfangthef,  manorial  rights,  24 

Padbury,  247,  251,  268 

Paddington,  247 

Paintings  at  Hurley,  161 ;  at  Luton, 
63-67 

Palaces,  royal,  118,  203 

Parker  (J.  H.)  on  Stewkley  Church, 
335-336 

Parmegiano,  pictures  by,  64 

Parmegianino,  pictures  by,  63 

Parry  (J.  D.),  notes  on  Buckingham- 
shire, 257-264 ;  on  Aspley  Guise, 
13-18;  on  Bedford,  18-22;  on  Dun- 
stable,  42-48  ;  on  Flitton,  56-59 

Paul  (St.),  dedication  to,  12 

Pedigree  of  Drake  family,  277 

Peter  (St.),  dedication  to,  89 

Petrifying  springs,  8,  16 


Index  of  Subjects. 


[69 


Peysmore,  99 

Pictures,  see  "  Paintings,"  "  Portraits,"' 

"  Saints  " 
Pilgrims  to  shrine  of  Edward   II.   at 

Gloucester,  234 
Pillory,  manorial  rights,  24 
Pitchcott,  315-319 
Place  rhymes,  258 
Plague,  123,  '21 1 

Plautius  (Attlus),  campaign  of,  245 
Ploughboot,  a  Christmas  payment,  26 
Plympton,  264 
Pollux  Hill,  8 

Poor,  gifts  to  the,  see  "Charities" 
Poor,  land  of  the,  sold,  260 
Porch,   sculptured,  at   Chalk   Church, 

72 
Portraits,  collections  of,  59  ;  at  Bletch- 

ley,  282  ;  at  Cleifden,  287  ;  at  Luton, 

66,67 
of  Edward  II.   and  his   Queen, 

2J4 

Potton,  7 

Poussin  (Nich.),  pictures  by,  65 
Preaching  Friars,  houses  of,  10 
Prebendary  jurisdiction,  Biggleswade, 

25 

Priest,   effigies  of,   in   full  canonicals, 

197 

Princes  Risborough,  253 
Priory  of  Dunstable,  remains  of,  42,  43, 

44 
Pym,  portrait  of,  66 

Quainton,  256,  319  323 
Quarrendon,  246,  251,  252,  323-335 

Radcot  Bridge,  97 

Raffaelle,  pictures  by,  63 

Ramillies,  Battle  of,  on  tapestry,  288 

Ramsay  (A.),  pictures  by,  67 

Ravenstone,  250,  256 

Read  ing, '94,  97,  98,  99,  100,  102,  191 

Red-haired  men,  tradition  concerning, 
302 

Registers,  parish,   142,   145,  190,  236, 
258,  284,  313 

Rembrandt,  pictures  by,  66 

Repton  (J.  A.)  on  Stoke  Poges,  336- 
337 

Restoration,  church,  20,  59,  60 

Reynolds  (Sir  J.),  pictures  by,  67 

Rhyming  charter  to  Sutton,  7,  75 

Ring,  seal,  discovered  at  Sanday,  71, 
103 

River,  bursting  of  banks  of,  supersti- 
tion, 8 
VOL.'' XI  I. 


Roman  battles,  245 

earth  mound,  81 

entrenchments,  302 

remains,  71,  335 

roads,  33,  34,  190 

stations  in  Berkshire,  93  ;  near 

Dunstable,  43  ;  of  Salenae,  7 1 

Rosa  (Salv.),  pictures  by,  64,  161 

Rotenhamer  and  Velvet  Breughel,  pic- 
tures by,  65 

Rubens  (P.  P.),  pictures  by,  66 

Rugeley  (M.),  on  Cockayne  Hatley, 
35-37  >  on  Sutton,  77-80 

Runic  inscriptions,  88 

Ruysdaal,  pictures  by,  64 

Sables,     gown      lined     with,     temp. 

Henry  I.,  23 

Sacchi  (And.),  pictures  by,  63 
Saints,  paintings  of,  300,  303,  304 
Saints'  bells,  259,  301 
Salenae,  site  of,  at  Sanday,  71 
Salt  Hill,  Eton,  255 
Sanday,  71 

Sarto  (A.  del),  pictures  by,  64 
Sarum  ritual,  159 
Saxon  battles,  245 
Schedoni,  pictures  by,  63 
Schools,  local,  14,  22,  52-53,  169 
Schoolhouse,  141 
Sculpture,  grotesque,  in  churches,  72, 

73.85 

Seal-rings  discovered,  71 
Seckworth,  238 

Sedan  chairs,  first  introduction  of,  6 
Seukesham,  33 
Sheovesham,  33 
Sherrington,  251,  264 
Shire  Oak,  259 

Shottesbrooke,  98,  102,  192-200 
Shrivenham,  102 
Simpson,  262 
Singleton  (W.)  on  storm  at  Hanslope, 

293 

Silsoe,  or  Silversho,  hamlet  of,  58 
Sirani  (Eliz. ),  pictures  by,  64 
Skeletons  discovered  near  Aylesbury, 

278 

Slough, 256 

Soc  and  sac,  manorial  rights,  24 
Soulbu'-y,  263 
Southill,  7 
Spaldwick,  23 
Speenhamland,  100 
Spene,  102 

Springs,  medicinal,  94 
Stanton  Barry,  253 

24 


370 


Index  of  Subjects. 


Steeple  Claydon,  249 

Steventon,  72,  73 

Stewkley,  335-336 

Stoke,  254 

Stoke  Golding,  256 

Stoke  Hammond,  251,  262 

Stoke  Poges,  246,  251,  256,  336 

Stone     (J.)     on    Aldworth,    105-106; 

Childrey,  120;  Faringdon,  147-156; 

Uffington,  202  ;  Wantage,  202-203 
Stone  (Old),  pictures  by,  66 
Stony    Stratford,  246,   247,  251,  260, 

337-338 

Storms,  246,  293,  333 
Stotfield,  73-75 
Stow,  248,  249,  253,  256,  257 
St  ration  Audley,  247 
Sugworth,  99 
Sundon,  262 
Sunning,  93,  98 
Sunninghill,  94 
Superstitions,  popular,  see  "Building," 

"Haunted,"  "Redhaired,"  "River," 

"Wells" 

Sutton,  6,  7,  75-80 
Swanburne,  247 

Tapestry  work  at  Cleifden,  288 
Taplow,  249,  250,  252,  338-339 
Taxes,  payments  made  out  of,  152  ;  sec 

"Trade" 

Tempesta,  pictures  by,  64 
Tempsford,  5 
Teniers,  pictures  by,  65 
Terrier  of  Maid's  Morton,  305 
Theam,  manorial  rights,  24 
Thew,  manorial  rights,  24 
Thornhill  (Sir  James),  church  painting 

by,  45 

Thornton,  253,  339 
Tilehurst,  201 

Tiles,  ornamental,  in  churches,  301,  341 
Tintoretto,  pictures  by,  64 
Tithes,  description  of,  25-26 
Titian,  pictures  by,  64,  66 
Tivoli  (Rosa  da),  pictures  by,  64 
Toddington,  7,  80-86 
Toll,  manorial  rights,  24 
Tower,  church,  detached,  52 
Trade,  taxation  of,  for  the  church,  25 
Tradition,  building,  199 
Trees,  see  "  Oak,"  "Yew  " 
Tring,  269 

Tumbrell,  manorial  rights,  24 
Tumulus  at  Ivinghoe,  303 
Turf  monuments,  93,  97,  202,  243 
Turville,  250 


Turweston,  268 

Twyford,  201-202,  247,  248,  249 

Tylehurst,  99 

Tyringham,  253 

Umngton,  202 
Ufton  Court,  1 02 
Upton,  339-343 

Urns,  funeral,  discovery  of,  22,  66,  71, 
87 

Vandyck,  pictures  by,  66 
Vasari,  pictures  by,  64 
Vecchio  (Ismen),  pictures  by,  65 
Velasquez,  pictures  by,  66 
Velde  (Vande),  pictures  by,  65 
Verkolie,  pictures  by,  65 
Veronese  (P.),  pictures  by,  63 
Verrio,  ceilings  painted  by,  161 
Victor,  pictures  by,  65 

Wadd  (W.)  on  Tilehurst,  2OI 

Waddesdon,  250,  253 

Wad  ley,  100 

Walker,  pictures  by,  66 

Wallingford,  97,  106,  102 

Walter  (H.)  on  Warden,  86-87 

Walton,  263,  343-344 

Wantage,  98,  202-203 

War,  early  implements  used  in,  44 

Wardon,  10,  86,  87 

Wards  Comb,  302 

Wargrave,  102 

Water  Stratford,  257 

Wavendon,  259,  260 

Way  land  Smith  Cromlech,  93 

Wells,  Holy,  73,  246,  264,  306,  307 

Wendover,  253,  257 

Wenge,  250,  263,  269,  344 

Weston,  248,  257 

Weston  Underwood,  252,  253,  345 

Wesirop,  252 

Wexham,  257 

Whaddon,  249,  250,  257 

Whitchurch,  248,  266 

White  Waltham,  98,  103 

Whiteleaf  Cross,  243 

Wilden,  8 

Willen,  263,  345 

William  III.,  revolution  proceedings  in 

favour  of,  161 

and  Herne's  Oak,  219,  220 

Winchendon,  257 

Windsor,  94,  97,  98,  99,  IOO,  103,  203- 

231 

Winslow,  267 
Witham,  231-240 


Index  of  Subjects. 


371 


Woburn,  10,  87,  88 
Wokingham,  98,  100,  103 
Wooburn,  257 
Woodhay,  100 
Woolston,  263 
Wormenhall,  251 
Wotton,  250 
Woughton,  263 
Wrestlingworth,  88-90 


Wycombe,  High,  247,   248,  249,  251, 
252,  253,  257,  346-347 

Yattenden,  103 

Yeoman  of    Henry   VIII.,    tomb    of, 

198 
Yew-trees,  104,  105,  106,  254 

Zuccarelli,  pictures  by,  64 


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In  a  handsome  vols.,  demy  8vo.,  tastefully  printed  and  bound  in  Roxburgh,  250  copies,  price 
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and  signed. 


Boyne's  Tokens. 


Issued  in  England,  Wales,  and  Ireland,  in  the  Seventeenth  Century,  by  Corporations,  Tradesmen, 

and  Merchants. 

A  new  and  greatly  augmented  Edition,  with  Notes  of  Family,  Heraldic  and  Biographical  Interest 

respecting  the  various  Issuers  of  the  Tokens,  and  connecting  them  with  important  families  of  the 

present  day.     Illustrated  with  Engravings  and  Plates. 

Edited  by  G.  C.  WILLIAMSON. 

Published  Quarterly,  price  25.  ;  Annual  Subscription,  55.  6d. 

The  London  and  Middlesex  Notebook : 

An  Illustrated  Magazine  devoted  to  the  Local  History  and  Antiquities  of  the  Cities  of  London  and 

Westminster  and  the  County  of  Middlesex. 
Edited  by  W.  P.  W.  PHILLIMORE,  M.A.,  B.C.L. 
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Tastefully  printed  in  old-faced  type,  bound  in  cloth,  price  55. 

New  Studies  in  Old  Subjects. 

Being  a  Re- examination  of  some  familiar  Scenes  and  Topics  in  English  History. 

By  J.  A.  SPARVEL-BAYLY,  F.S.A. 

"Maybe  opened  anywhere  and  found  agreeable  and  easy  reading  Mr.  Sparvel-Bayly  is  a 
collector  of  curious  and  entertaining  facts,  and  sets  them  forth  in  a  pleasing  form.  The  suggestive- 
ness  of  the  book  will  commend  it  to  the  general  reader." — Saturday  Review, 

In  crown  8vo.,  tastefully  printed  and  bound  in  cloth,  and  published  at  45.  6d. 

The  King's  Book  of  Sports : 

A  History  of  the  Declarations  o_f  King  James  I.  and  King  Charles  I.,  as  to  the  Use  of  Lawful 

Sports  on  Sundays,  with  a  Reprint  of  the  Declarations  and  a  Description  of  the  Sports  then  popular. 

By  L.  A.  GOVETT,  M.A.,  Oxon. 

CONTENTS:  i.  King  James  I. — 2.  The  Declaration,  or  Book  of  Sports — 3.  Sports  of  the  Time, 
Lawlul  and  Unlawful. — 4.  The  Re-issue  of  the  Book  of  Sports.— 5.  The  Results  of  the  Re-issue. 

"  Mr.  Govett  adds  much  matter  of  antiquarian  interest,  showing  the_  conditions  under  which  it 
was  issued,  and  gives  a  short  and  valuable  synopsis  of  historic  information  bearing  on  the  question. 
The  book  is  both  pleasant  and  valuable."—  Notes  and  Queries. 

A    NEW   WORK    ON    OLD    CHELSEA. 
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is.  6d.  each. 
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Memorials  of  Old  Chelsea. 

A  new,history  of  The  Village  of  Palaces.     By  ALFRED  BEAVER. 

The  story  of  this  famous  village  is  prefaced  by  a  lengthy  historical  introduction,  intended  to  give 
the  reader  a  general  idea  of  the  whole  subject,  to  link  its  local  record  with  the  history  of  the  nation, 
and  to  incorporate  such  information  as  cannot  now  be  assigned  to  any  particular  part  of  Chelsea 
as  known  by  us  in  the  present  day.  The  various  places  of  interest  are  then  treated  in  del  ail,  and 
special  attention  is  paid  to  those  parts  which,  owing  to  the  lack  of  material,  were  left  in  an 
unsatisfactory  condition  by  previous  writers. 

LONDON  :    ELLIOT   STOCK,  62,  PATERNOSTER   ROW,   E.G. 


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