A tour through the island of Great Britain : divided into circuits or journies ...

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N THE CUSTODY OP THE .

BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.

SHELF N°
■'>0A *i>

E. and C. UlI.LV, J. mCHOLS, W. rLEX.MSX, ".UWLUjraTH,

G. Burnet, and J, Bsli., 1778.

O

Vol. I facing Tit/f .

I*abncr fatty

TOUR

THROUGH THE ISLAND OF

GREAT BRITAIN.

DIVIDED IN TO

CIRCUITS or JOURNIES.

C O N T A I

I. A Defcription of the Principal J
Cities and Towns, their Situa-
tion, Government, and Com-
merce.

II. The Cuftoms, Manners, Ex-
ercifes, Diverfions, and Em-
ployments of the People.

III. The Nature and Virtue of the
many Medicinal Springs with
which both Parts of the United
Kingdom abound.

IV. An ample Defcription of
London, including Wejiminfler
and Soutbivark, their Bridges,
Squares, Hofpitals, Churches,

N I N G,

braries, Shipping in the Thames,
and Trade, by means of that
noble River, &c.

V. The Produce and Improve-
ment of the Lands, the Trade,
and Manufactures.

VI. The Sea Ports and Fortifica-
tions, the Courfe of Rivers, and
the Inland Navigation.

VII. The Public Edifices, Seats,
and Palaces of the Nobility
and Gentry.

VIII. The Ifles of Wight, Stilly,
Portland, Jerjey, Guernfey, and
the other Englijb and Scoiijh Ifles
of moft Note.

Palaces, Markets, Schools, Li-

Interfperfed with Ufeful Obfervations.
Particularly fitted for the Perufal'of fuch as delire to Travel

over the ISLAND.

'

Originally begun by the Celebrated Daniel De Foe, continued by
the late Mr. Richardson, Author of ClariJ/a, Sec. and brought
down to the prefent Time- by Gentlemen of Eminence in the 'Li-
terary World.

The EIGHTH EDITION,

With great Additions and Improvements.

IN FOUR VOLUMES.

VOL. 1.

LONDON:

Printed for W. Strahan, J. F. and C. Rivington, J. Bucklanb,
R. Baldwin, T. Longman, T. Caslon, J.Richardson,
T. Lowndes, W. Stuart, T. Becket, S. Bladon, T. Cadell,
E. and C. Dilly, J.Nichols, W. Flexney, W, Golds:, ith,
G. Burnet, and J, Bell, 1778*

v*

Oi\.l

PREFACE.

Long Preface muft undoubtedly appear
unneceiTary to a work, which has already
fo far received the fanclion of the Public, as to
have gone through eight editions. It would,
however, be doing injuftice to the original
author, as well as depriving the reader of
the fatisfaction he ought to have, in knowing
how much he may depend on the merits of the
piece, if we did not tranfcribe the following ac-
count which he gives of the pains he took, and
how well qualified he was for fuch a talk.

"The preparations for this wc the

author) have been fuitable to my earne:
cern for its ufefulnefs. - Seventeen vef)
circuits,, or journies, have been taken through
divers parts feparately, and three general toufs
over almofi: the whole EngViJh part of the Lftand;
in all which the author has not been wanting to
treafure up juft remarks upon particular places
and things.

" Besides thefe feveral journies in England,
he has alfo lived fome time in Scotland, and has
travelled critically over great part of it: he has

a 2 viewed

PREFACE.

viewed the north part of England, and the fouth
part of Scotland, rive feveral times over. All
which is hinted here, to let the readers -know,
what reafon they have, ro be fatisned with the
authority of the relation. "

This was part of the author's preface to his
firft edition.

The fucceeding editions received great im-
provements, as well as very coniulerable addi-
tions -, which not only lime, but the erecting
of new (trucfures, the adorning of many fine
feats, and the alterations in harbours, .ports,
and havens, made neceflary to be taken notice
of. Such changes will always happen, as leave
room for improvement in a work of this nature.

With refpect to the prefent edition, the whole
is brought down to the month of Anguft,
1778, and prefents to the reader a modern
geographical date of Great Britain. Whoever
fhall compare the former edition with the pre-
fent, will be convinced of the labour this has
coif, and the attention that has been paid to its
improvement.

Modern travellers have enabled us to give
a more accurate description of the principality
of Wales, than could reafonably be expected
in the former edition, many gentlemen having,

fince

PREFACE,

fmce that time, traverfed the Weljh mountains,
and critically noticed the towns, modes, man-
ners, and cuftoms, of that part of our ifland.
The accounts of the Englljh and Scotch iflands
are, in general, confiderably improved, and fome
of them entirely written afrefh. The defcription
of every county in the kingdom has been mo-
dernized, and many of their natural beauties,
hitherto unnoticed, brought forth to view,
particularly thofe of the northern counties, as
Torkfhire> Lancajhire, Wejlmorland, and Cum*
ber land. The two lad counties were formerly
confidered as little better than barren and in-
hofpi table deferts, and, being fo remote from
the metropolis, were feldom vifited as the ob-
jects or pleafure, till the amazing improvements
lately made (and (till making) in all the roads
through the kingdom, gave a fpur to travellers
of independent fortunes, who have now made
us almofl as well acquainted with the northern,
as we before were with the fouthern parts of
our ifland.

Many of the firft literary characters of the
age, at the two univeriities, and in moft capital
towns, have favoured us with their afliftance,
which we here gratefully acknowledge. The

value

PREFACE.

value of their favours would have been confi-
derably encreafed, had we been permitted
to mention their names. 'Pennant, John/on,
Hut chins, Enfield, Campbell, Burn,- and other
modern writers of reputation, rrave been care-
fully confulted, and occasionally followed.

From thefe copious fources of materials,
from the informations of gentlemen refi'dent on,
or in the neighbourhood of, the fpots they
have 'described, and from our own obfervations
in the courfe of our journies, we flutter our-
filveSj that theprefent edition will beconfidered,
by every traveller, as a ufeful companion, on
a tour through the whole or any part of Great
Britain*

To this edition the proprietors have added
two modern maps, of England and Scotland \
which every reader will confider as an improve-
ment to a work of this nature.

CON-

CONTENTS

T O

VOLUME I.

LETTER I.

A Defcription of ^ art of the County of Eflex, and
"**~ of the County of buftolic, tffc. Page i

LETT ER- II.

A Defcription of the Counties of Norfolk and Cam-
bridge, and that Part of EiTex not touched on in the
former, 48

LETT E R in.

A Defcription of the County of Kent, &V. 106

LETTER IV.

A Defcription of the County of SmTex, other Parts of
Kent, and Parts of Hants, Surry, &fV. 156

LETTER V.

A Defcription of Part of the County of Middlefex,
Part of Hants, and the County of Wilts , &c. 232

LETTER

CONTENTS.

LETTER VI.

A Defer tpthn of the County of Dorfet, Part of Somer-
fetfhire, Devonfhire, Cornwall, &c. 292

LETTER VII.

A more particular Defcription of the Scilly Iilanc's,
than had been given before, 372

A TOUR

» i. mi —in i mum i

T

O U

R

THROUGH THE ISLAND OF

GREAT BRITAIN.

L t T T E R L

^.Description of Part of the County
of Essex, and of the County of Suf-
folk, &c*

p|j5$* SET out from London on my firft jour-
^%Sjjr ney, Eaftward ; and took a circuit down
I ^ iJ§\ by the coaft of the Thames through the
SM-Rtf1^ marines or hundreds, on the South-fide
,^^^i> of the county of Effex, to Malt/en, Col-
chefter, and Harwich', thence continuing on the coaft
of Suffolk to Tar mouth; thence round by the QdgQ of
the fea, on the North and Weft- fide of Norfolk, to
Lynn, IViJbich^ and the IVaJh \ thence back, again on
Vol. I. B the

2 ESSEX.

the North-fide of Suffolk ; thence into the county of
Cambridge ; and fo to the Weft-part of EJfex, ending
it in Muldlefex, near the place where I began; re-
ierving the middle or centre of the feveral counties to
ibme little excui lions, which 1 made by themfelves.

After we have palled Mile End, as it is called (a
Part of the Town not thinly inhabited) the fir ft vil-
lage we come to is Bow, where, ibme years ago, a
large manufactory for the making of porcelain was
eftabliflied. Large quantities of tea-equipages, plates,'
di flies, tureins, &c. were made at this place ; but,
whether from the clumiinefs of the manufacture,
which, being chiefly deligned for common ufe, was
made ftrong and heavy, or want of capital in the"
undertakers, or the more profperous endeavours of
iimilar eftablifhments, it has long been at an end.

Pafling Bow Bridge, where the county of EJfex
begins, 1 came firft to the village of Stratford, which
is creatly increafed of late years in houfes and inha-
bitants, every vacancy being filled' up, in a manner,
with the addition of two little new-built hamlets, as
they may be called, on the foreft-iide of the town ;
namely, Maryland-Point, and the Gravel-Pits, one
facin^ the Road to Woodford and Epping, and the
other that to I If or d* As for the hither-part, it is
almoft joined to Bow, in fpite of rivers, canals,
marfhy grounds, &c.

The fame increafe of buildings may be fcen pro-
portionally in the other villages adjacent, cfpeciallyon
the foreft-iide; as at Low-Layton, Layton-flcne, Wdl-
thamjhw, li'oodford, IVanflead, IVcjl-Ham, Plaiftozv,
Upton, &c. anil this, generally {peaking, of handfome
large houfes, from 50/. a year, and upwards, being
chieily the habitations of the rich citizens, who are
able to keep a country-houfe, as well as a town cn^,
or of inch as have Icit-off trade altogether. This is
apparent from the number of carnages which arc

kept

ESSEX. 3

kept in the circle already mentioned, which, I ana
credibly informed, do not amount to lefs than between
three and four hundred.

There have been difcerr.ed of late years, in the
bottom of Hackney Marjh, between Old Ford and the
Wyck, the remains of a great ftone-caufeway, which.
is fuppofed to have been the highway, or great road,
from London to EJJex, infteadof that which now leads
over the Bridge between Bow and Stratford.

That the great road lay this way, and that the
great caufeway continued juft over the river, where
now the Temple Mills ftand, and paffed by Sir Henry
Hicks's houfe at Ruckbolt, is not doubted ; and that
it was one of thofe famous highways made by the
Romans, there is undeniable proof, by the feveral
marks of Roman works, and by Roman coins, and
other Antiquities, found there, fome of which were
collected by the late Reverend Mr. Strype, vicar of
Low-Layton.

The land in the neighbourhood of Stratford,
Maryland-Point, &c. has of late years been much
improved by the cultivation of potatoes, which have
increafed fo much, as that fome hundred acres are
annually planted-there ; but by the culture of thefc
roots, the great tithes of thefe parifhes are reduced to
lefs than half of their former value, nnce it has been
determined that the tithe of potatoes belongs to the
vicar.

From hence the great road pafled up to Lnyton-
Jlone, a place known now by the fign of the Green-
Man, formerly a lodge upon the edge of the forefl: •
and, crofting by Wan/lead- houfe, the noble feat of
Earl Tilney, went over the fame river, which we now
crofs at I/ford; and, pafting that part of the great
foreft called Henault-forefl, came into the prefent
great road, a little on this fide the Whalebone, a place
to called, becaufe a rib- bone of a large Whale, taken

B z in-

4 ESSEX.

in the river of Thames, was fixed there in 165B, the
year that Oliver Oomwell died, and continued until
1764.

According to my Intention, of effectually viewing
the fea-coafts of Effex, 'Suffolk, and Norfolk, I went
from Stratford to Bathing, chiefly inhabited by
Fifhermen, whole fmacks ride in the Thames, at
the Mouth of Barking Creek, from whence their
rfh are fent -up to London, to the market at
-Bllingfg'tte, in final 1 boats.

Theie hfhing-fmacks are very nfeful vefTels to the
public upon many occasions ; as particularly in time
of war they are ufed as pre fs- fmacks, running to all
the Northern and Weftern coafls to pick up feamen
to man the Navy, when any expedition is at hand
tli at requires a fudclen equipment. At other times,
bt;n^ excellent failers, they are tenders to particular
men of war; and, on an expedition, they have been
made ufe of as machines for the blowing-up fortified
ports, as formerly at St, Malo, and other places.

Barking is a good market town on the river Lee,
which empties itfelf into the Thames, a little below
the town, and by means of which it carries on a good
-trade in various articles. Here formerly was a rich
abbey of Nuns, of the Order of St. Benedict, and
the (econd in England in point of antiquity, being
founded by Erkenvua!dy bifhop of London, in 666.
Of the building, however, there remain only two
gate houfes, the one of ftone, and the other of

brick

This fide of the county is rather rich from the
nature of its land, than from the number of its inha-
bitants which is occaiioned by the unhealthincfs of
the , ir ; for thefc low marfh-grounds, which, with
all the fouth fide of the county, have been gained,
as it were, out of the river I humes, and the fea,
,, herd the river is wide enough to be called ib, begin

here,

ESSE X. g

Here, or rather at Weft Ham, by Stratford, and- ex*
tend themfelves from hence Eaftward; growing wider,,
till we come beyond Tilbury^ when the flat country
lies fix, feven, or eight. miles in breadth,, and is botlv
unhealthy and unpleafant.

However, it is very good farming in the marines,,
becaufe the landlords let good pennyworths, though.
the land is rich ; for, it being a place where every
body cannot live,, thofe that venture it will have eri*-
couragement ; and it is but reafonable they fhouid..

In paffing from Barking to Dagenham, we faw th<?
place where was the famous breach, that in 1707
laid near 5000 acres of land underwater; but which,,
after near ten years inundation,.and the works being-,
feveral times blown up, was atlafl effectually flopped-
by captain Perry, wTho for feveral years had been em-
ployed in the Czar of Mitjcovys works,, at Veromt%a,
on the river Don* The church is a handfbme (jstbif:
building ; and a clear brook runs through the town,
and turns a mill. Several gentlemens feats are here:
fcattered about ; and particularly that of Thomas Fan-
Jhaw., eiq* whole family has long rellded at this-
place.

From hence, through a continuation of fhady:
lanes, which bring you down upon the meadows of
nv-rfhes, you come to Raynham, a finall but pretty
village, .where captain Hark, about fifty years lince9.
made a wharf and creek from it into the 7 bames, and
thereby increafed the trade of the place. The
church has rather a mean appearance; but part of h
is of Saxon architecture. The knights of St. "John-
of Jerufalem had here formerly a manor, park,, and
lodge, of retirement.

From Raynham, the road runs along the edge o£
the marines, from whence it turns up into the counr
try, and, after a continued rife of more than as
»iilex it divides at the fummit of the hill. The left>

B 3 Hand!

o ESSEX.

hand road lead's to Homchurchy and Romford; aim!
that on the right, to Avclcy. A little further is the
entrance into lord Dacres grounds, through which n.
neat gravel walk winds near a mile, furrounded with
large paftures, which ilope gently down to the park
E aft ward, which is well planted, commanding South-
ward the village of Aveleyy and a pretty vale in which
it ftands, with a moil pleafant and broken country
beyond. On the North, the eye extends over a
woody tract, the Warley and Brentwood hills, in which
villages and farm houfes are interfperied. On reach-
ing the houfe, which ftands a little way in the park,.
©ntheEaft, you difcover the offices, furrounded by a
fkreen of dins. To the South, is an exteniive lawn ;
and the Weft is fringed with plantations of ancient
and lofty trees. The hqufe is defended from the
North bv a grove of very high and venerable limes,
which joining to woods ftill larger, they make a
continuation of fhade for a mile at leaft. A fer-
pentine river croftes the Eaftern fide of the paik, and
lias all the appearance of nature, though in fact only
the work of art. This feat is called Bellhoufey from-
the name of its ancient owners, w7ho built it in the
reign of Henry VIII. and is of the ftyle of that time,
which, in all the later alterations, has been ftriclly
adhered to.

About a mile Southward lies Aveley, a neat village,
formerly a market-town. It is fituated in a valley,
and is watered by a little brook, defcending from the
hills at the upper end of it towards Thorndon.

The fmall village of Purfiect lies at the mouth of
this valley, cloie to the Thames^ inhabited chiefly by
ihe people belonging to the chalk-pits, which are in
the hands of a company, who carry on from hence a
very great traffic for lime. The walks among^ the
vaft caverns here are very romantic, and the views
from the tons of the hills delightful. Here are likewife

a very

ESSEX. 1

a very large magazine for gun powder, belonging to
government; and a hand tome houfe and pleaiant gar-
den, for the reception of the board of ordnance.

A little beyond this place lies Grays, a fmall mar-
ket-town, fituated on the edge of the river Thames,
from whence great quantities of corn are exported.

Great part of the lands in the Levels, efpecial'y
thofe on this fide Eajl-Tilburyr are held by the
farmers, cow -keepers, and grafing -butchers, who-
live in and near London, and generally flock them
with Lincoln/hire and Leicefterjhire wethers (which they
buy in Smitbfield in September and Oclober, when the
graliers fell off their flocks), and feed here till Cbrijl-
mas or Candlemas ; and though they are not made
much fatter here than when bought in, yet very
good advantage accrues by the difference of the price
of mutton between Michaelmas when cheapeff, and
Candlemas when deareft ; and this is what the but-
chers call, bv wav of excellence, right marfh-mutton.
This mutton is generally taken, by perfons who are
ignorant in the choice of meat, to be turnip fed, be-
caufe the fat generally turns yellowifh ; but this is a
great miftake ; for the fheep, which are fatted with
turnips, are by far the beft of any killed for the
markets.

At the end of thefe marines, clofe to the e#ge of
the river\ ftands Tilbury fort, which may jtiftly be
looked upon as the key of the city of London : it is a
regular Mortification ; the defign of it was a pentagon,
but the water -baftion, as it mould have been called,
was never built : the plan was laid-outby Sir Martin
Beckman, chief Engineer to king Charles II. who alfo
defigned the works at' Sheernefs. The efplanade of
the fort is very large, and the bailions the largefl of
any in England, The foundation is laid upon piles
driven down, two-an-end of one another, fo far, till
they were avTured they were below the channel of the

B 4 river,

S . ESSEX.

river, and that the piles, which were fhod with iron,
entered into the iblid chalk-rock, adjoining to the
chalk-hills on the other fide.

The works to the land-fide are complete ; the
bafcions are faced with brick. There is a double
ditch or moat, the innermofc of which is 180 feet
broad ; a good counterfcarp, and a covered way
marked out, with ravelins and tenailles ; but they
have not been completed.

On the land-fide there are alfo two fmall redoubts
c: brick ; but the chief flrength of this fort on the
land-fide confifts in being able to lay the whole level
■under water, and fo to make it impoflible for an ene-
my to carry on approaches that way.

On the fide next the river, is a very flrong cur-
tain, with a noble gate called the Watergate in the
middle, and the ditch is palifadoed. At the place
where the water- baftion was defigned to be built, and
which, by the plan, fhould run wholly out into the
. ver, fo as to flank the two curtains on each fide,
Qwds an high tower, which, they tell us, was built
in Queen Elizabeth's time, and was called the Blotk-
bouje.

Before this curtain, is a platform in the place of a
counterfcarp, on which are planted 106 cannon, ge-
nerally carrying from 24 to 46 pound ball ; a battery
ib terrible, as to fhew the conference of that place:
bciides which, there are fmaller pieces planted between
them ; and the baftions and curtains alfo are planted
with guns, fo that they muft be bold fellows who
will venture in the biggcit fhips to pafs fuch a battery,
if the men appointed to ferve the guns do their
duty.

From hence there is nothing for many miles toge-
ther remarkable, but a continued level of unhealthy
marfhes, called The Three Hundreds, till we come before
Leigh) and to the mouth of the rivers Chehner and

Blackwater^

ESSE X,- g?

Bkickwatcr, except that the towns of Horndon, Rayleyx^
and Rochford, lie near the fea coaft, extending ma
the order 1 have named, but are of no note The
above rivers, united, m..ke a large firth, or inlet o£
the. fea, which our fifhermen, and feamen, who ufc
it as a port, call Maiden- -water*

In this inlet is Ofey or Ofytb ifland, fo well known:
By our London men of pleaiure for producing fuch vafB:
numbers of wild-ducks, mallards,, teals, and" wid-
geons, that the ifland feems covered with them at:
certain times of the year; and they go from London, fair
the pleafure of (hooting, and often come home witbb
an EJJlx ague on their backs, which- they find am
heavier load than the fowls they have ihot^

On the more, beginning a li ttle below Convey Jjland^
or Leigh Road, lies a great fhoal or fand, called the,-
Black Tail, which runs out near three leagnes into the.
fea, Due-EafT. ; at the end. of itfTands a pole or man:,
fet up by the Trinity-houfe of London, as a fea- mark :
this is called Shoe-beacon, from the point of "land!
where tills fand begins, which is called §hoeherry-nefsy:.
from a town of that name, which ftands by uv.
From this, fand, and on the edge of Shwberry before r
it, or South-weft of it, all along, to the mouth c&
Colchejler- water, the fhore is full of fhoais and fands^
with ibme deep channels between ; all which are fa-
full of fifh, that the Barking fmacks are well em-
ployed here,, and the fhore fwarms^befkles, with fmalL'
fifher-boats, belonging, to the villages and towns ort
the coaft, which come-in every tide with wliat they,
take, and, felling the fmaller fifty in, the country^
fend the beft and largeft upon horfes, which travel,
night and day, to the London markets,.

On this fnore alfo are taken the beft : and 'moll "re*
lifhing, though not the largeft, oy fie rs in EnglancL„
The fpot from whence they have their appellation is-
a little bank called Wallot, or IValfteet, in themoutru

BS of

\o ESSEX.

of the river Crouch, called Crookfea-water ; but the
chief place where thefe oyfters are now had is from
Wivenhoe, and the ill ores adjacent, whither they are
brought by the fifhermen, who take them at the
mouth of Colchefter -water, and about the fand they
call the Spits, and carry them up to Wivenhoe, where
they are laid in beds or pits on the more, to feed, as
they call it; and then, being barrelled up, and carried
to ColcheJIer, which is but three miles off, they are fent
to London by land, and are from thence called Col-
chejler oyfters. A great quantity of thefe oylters are
brought from the coaft of Suffix, near Bognor -rocky
where I have feen more than a dozen velTels together
dredging for oyfters, which were carried to ColcheJIer
2nd laid in their beds.

The following fhort account of the nature ©f thefc
Green or ColcheJIer oyfters, and the manner of ma-
naging them, cannot fail of being acceptable.

<c In the month of May the oyfters call: their
fpawn, which the dredgers call their Spat*. It re-
itmbles a drop of candle-greafe, and is about the
bignefs of an halfpenny. The' Spat cleaves to ftones,
old oyfter-fhellsj pieces of wTood, and fuch-like
things at the bottom of the fea, which they call
cultch. It is probably conjectured, that the Spat, in
24 hours, begins to have a fhell.

" In the month of May the dredgers (by the law
of the admiralty-court) have liberty to catch all
manner of oyfters, of what ftze foever. When
they have taken them, with a knife they raife the
fmall breed from the cultch ; and then they throw
the cultch in again, to preferve the ground for the
future, unlefs they be fo newly fpat, that they cannot
be fafeiy fevered from the cultch. In that cafe they
are permitted to take the ftone or fhell, &c. that
the fpat is upon J one fhell haying many times 20
fpats.

«*A0sa

ESSEX. ii

tc After the month of May, it is felony to carry-
away the cultch, and. punifhable to take any other"
oyfters, unlefs it be thofe of fize, that is to fay,
about the bignefs of an half-crown piece, or when,
the fhells being fhur, a fair fhilling will rattle be-
tween them.

" The places where thefe oyfters are chiefly caught,
are called the Burnham, Maiden, and Coln-zuaters :
The latter takes its name from the river Gain?,
which paiTes by Cokhefter, gives name to that
town, and runs into a creek of the fea at a place
called the Hythe, being the fuburbs of the town.

" This brood, and other oyfters, they carry to
creeks of the fea, at Brickelfea, Merfea, Langenlioy
Fihagrihugo, Wyvenhoe, Tohfbury, and Saltcat, and
there throw them into the channel, which they call
their beds, or layers, where they grow and fatten;;
and in two or three years the fmalleft brood will be
oyfters of the ftze aforefaid. Thofe oyfters^- which
they would have green, they put into pits about three
feet deep in the falt-marihes, which are overflowed
only at fpring-tides, to which they have Unices, and
let out the falt-water till it is about a foot and a half-
deep.

" The pits in which the oyfters become green,,
are thofe which are only overflowed by the fea in;
fpring-tides j fo that during the nep-tides a green;
fcum is formed over the furface of the water,-
which, being taken-in by the fifh daily, gives themj
their green colour, for which reafon the people
of Colcbefter never chufe to eat the green oyfters^
but always prefer the white, believing them- to be-"
more wholefome.-

" The oyfters, when the tide comes in, lie with
their hollow fhell downwards j and, when it goes
©urx they turn on the other fide. They remove not^

B- 6 from4

iz ESSE X.

from their place, un'.efs in cold weather, to cover
themfelves in the ooze.

" There are great penalties by the admiralty-court
laid upon thofe that fifh out of thofe grounds which
the court appoints, or that deftroy the cultch, or
that take oyfters that are not of fize, or that do not
tread under their feet, or throw upon the ihore, a
fiih which they call a five-finger, refembling the
rowel of a fpur, becaufe that fifh gets into the
oyfters when they gape, and fucks them out.

u The reafon why fuch a penalty is fet upon any
that fhall deftroy the cultch, is, becaufe they find,
that, if that be taken away, the ooze will increafe;
and then muffels and cockles will breed there, and
deftroy the oyfters, they having not whereon to ftick
their fpat.

" The oyfters are fick after they have fpat, but in
June and July they begin to mend, and in Auguji
they are perfectly well. The male oyfter is black-
iicK, having a black fubftance in the fin; the
female, white -fick (as they term it), having a milky
fubftance in the fin. They are fait in the pits, falter
in the layers, but falteft at fea."

They take alio at Cclchefter fine Soals, which gene-
rally yield a good price at London market ; alfo fome-
times middling turbot, with whitings, codlings, and
large flounders.

In the feveral creeks and openings, on this fhore^
are alfo other iflands, bat of no great note, except
Mafe)\ which lies between the two openings of
Maiden- water and CoUkfier-ivater; and is a place of
fuch difficult acceib, that it is thought 1O00 men
might keep poiTeflu n of it againft a great force, whe-
ther by lander fca. G n 'his account, and becaufe,
if pofieffid by an er.emy, it would fhut-up all the na-
vigation and fifhery on that fide, a fort was built on

th?

ESSE X. *.|

the South-earl point of it; and generally, in a
Dutch war, a ltrong garrifon is kept there to de-
fend it.

At this place may be faid to end what we call The
Three Hundreds of Ej/ex, which include the marfhy
country ; to wit, Bamjiahle hundred, Rochford hun-
dred, and Dengy hundred.

One thing deferves mention here ; which is, that
all along this country it is very frequent to meet with
men that have had from 5 or 6, to 10 or 12 wives;
and I was informed, that in themarfhes, over-againft
Canvey Ijland, was a farmer, who was then living
with the 25th; and that his fon, who was but 3^
years old, had already had abcut 14. Indeed this
part of the ftory I only had by report, though frorrt
good hands ; but the other is well known, and will-
be attended, about Fobbing, Curringham, Thunder -fly -,
Benfleet, Prittleivell^ IVakering, Great Stambridgey.
Crickfea, Burnham, Dengy, and other towns of the
like htuation. The realbn, as a merry fellow told
me, who faid he had had about a dozen, was this,
that they being bred in the marfhes themfelves, and
feaibned to the place, did pretty well ; but that they
generally chofe to leave their own lafTes to their
neighbours out of the marfhes, and went into the
uplands for a wife : that, when they took the young
women out of the wholefome frefh air,, they were
clear and healthy ; but, when they came into the
marfhes amongfr. the fogs and damps, they prefently
changed complexion, got an ague or two, and feldom
held it above half a year, or a year at mofl : and
then, faid he, we go to the uplands again,, and fetch
another. So that marrying of wives was reckoned a
kind of good farm to them. Nor do the men in thefe
parts hold it out, as in other countries j for we feldom
meet with very ancient people among the poor ; in-
foxnuch that hardly one half of the inhabitants are

natives

t<. ESSE X.

natives of the place ; but fuch as come from other
parts, for the advantage of good farms.

From the marines, and low grounds, being not
able to travel without many windings and indentures,,
by reafon of the creeks and waters, I came up to the
ancient town of Maiden, fituate at the conflux of two
principal rivers, the Cbelmer and the Black- water ,
where they enter the fea* It is built in the form of a
crofs, is a liberty in itfelf, and has a convenient
haven for fhips of about 400 tons : it confifts of one
ftreet near a mile long, befides lanes, &c. It is go-
verned by two bailiffs, fix aldermen, a fteward,
recorder, &c. and fends two members to Parliament.
Here is a good public library for the ufe of the
miniiler and the clergy of the hundreds adjoining to
the fea ; and any gentleman may borrow a book,
upon depositing the value of it. It was founded by
Dr. Plume, archdeacon of Rochejler*

The channel called Maiden-water is navigable to
the town; where, by that means, is a great trade
for carrying corn by water to London', the county
of EJ/ex being (efpecially on that fide) a great corn
country.

Maiden was a Roman colony, which Camden dif-
fidently conjectures to be the ancient Camukdunuitu
But Mr. Salmon will have it to be the Villa Fauftini,
which has been lb long attributed to St. Edmund' s-
bury : but, however that be, it was here the Britons,
under the valiant Queen Boadicca, cut in pieces the
ninth legion. She killed there, and in her march to
London, above So,cOO Romans, and deftroyed the
colony ; but fhe was afterwards overthrown herfelf in
a great battle, 8o>oco Britons flain, and herfelf and
daughters mod inhumanly treated and di (graced, by
thofe great reformers of the world, who, in her
cafe, forgot not only the honour due to the fex^ but

that-.

3

esse m. tS

that which the truly brave fhew to the brave iit
misfortune.

Being obliged to come thus far into the Uplands, I
made it my road to pafs through TVitham> a pleafant,
well-fituated market-town, in which, and in its
neighbourhood, are the feats of many gentlemen of
good fortune and families. It has feveral fine innsy
and many people refort hither in fummer, to drink a
chalybeat- water, called the Spa* At this place is the
feat of lord Abercorn^ which generally had the honour
of accommodating the late king, on his progrefs to
and from his German dominions ; and has fre-
quently been of the fame eonfequenee to other royal
perfonages, particularly to her preient majefty, who
was received and entertained here. on. her firfl arrival
in England,

Nearer Chelmsford^ hard by Boreham, is the fa-
mous feat of BeaulieUj in which king Henry VII F.
very much delighted. It is now called Newbal/, and
was the feat of John Olmius, Efq; now of his fon,
lord fVahham^ of the kingdom of Ireland, It is
the largeft edifice in the county next Audley-end,

The product of all tins part of the country is-
corn, as that of the marfhy-feeding grounds is grafs^
where their chief bufinefs is breeding of calves,
which I need not fay are the beii and fatteft, and the
largefl veal in England^ if not in the world.

Colchsjler^ the Colonia of the Romans^ is pleafantly
iituated upon an eminence above the river Colne. It
is a large and populous town, adorned with handfome
ftreets ; and though it cannot be faid to be finely
built, yet there are abundance of good houfes in it.
In the conclufion of the great civil war it fuffered a
fevere fiege, which, as it made a refolute defence,
was turned into a blockade, wherein the garrifon^
and inhabitants alfo, fufFered the utmofl extremity of
hunger, and were at iaft obliged to furrender at dif-

^retion;

x6 ESSE X.

cretion ; where their two chief officers, Sir Cbarte
Lucas and Sir George Lijle, were cruelly mot to death,
tinder the caftle-wall, for their bravery.

The battered walls, the breaches in the turrets,
and the ruined churches, Hill fliew marks of this
liege, except that the church of St. Mary (where
was the royal fort) is rebuilt; but the fteepie, which
was two-thirds battered down (the befieged having a
large culverin upon it, which did much execution),
remains Hill in that condition.

The lines of contravallation, which furrounded
the whole town, and the forts of the befiegers, re-
main very vifible in many places.

The river Colne, which paffes through the town,.
encompafTes it on the north and eaft ; and ferved, in
time of war, for a complete defence on thole fides*.
There are three bridges over it, and it is navigable
within three miles of the town, for mips of large
burthen ; a little lower it may receive even a royal
navy ; and up. to that part called the Hytbe, clofe to
the houfes, it is navigable for hoys and fmall barks.

The Hytbe is a long ftreet, palling from well to
caft, on the fouth fide of the town, and is fo popu-
lous towards the river, that it may be called The
Trapping of Cokhejier. There is one church in that
part of the town, a large quay by the river, and a
good cuftom-houfe.

The town chiefly fubfifts by the trade of making
bays, though indeed all the towns around carry oa
the fame trade ; as Kehedon, Witham, Coggejhall,
Braintree, Bocking, &c. and the whole country, large
as it is, may be laid to be employed, and in part
maintained, by the fpinning of wool for the bays-
trade of Colchejler, and its adjacent villages.

The town of Colchejier has been fuppofed to con^
tain about 40,000 people, including the out-villagcs.
within its liberty, of which there are many, the li-
berty

ESSEX. 5^

berty of the town being of a large extent. It is go-
verned by a mayor, high-fteward, a recorder, or his
deputy, eleven aldermen, a chamberlain, a town-
clerk, eighteen affitt ants, and eighteen common -coun-
cilmen ; and fends two members to parliament.

There are in Cdch'Jier ten par ifh- churches, and
five meeting- houfes, whereof two for quakers ; be-
tides one Dutch and one French church* Its other
public edifices are,

1. Bay hall, where the goodnefs of the manufacture
of bays made in this town is afcertained by a corpo-
ration eitablifhed for this purpoie, coniiiling of a let
of men called governors of the Dutch Bay-hall,

2. The Guildhall of the town, called by them the?
Moot-haii; contiguous to which is the town-gaol,

3. The IVork-houfe for the poor.

4. A Grammar Free-fchool ; which has good al-
lowance for the matter, who is chofen by the town.

5. The Cajlle of Colchcjler is a monument of the
antiquity of the place, being built, as the walls of the
town alio are, with Roman bricks ; and the Roman
coins dug up here, and plowed up in the fields adjoin-
ing, confirm it. The inhabitants boaft, that Helena^
the mother of Conjlantine the Great, firfl Chriftian,
emperor of the Romans, was born here; but it would
be hard to make it out. Mr. Camden fays, That
this caftle was, in his time, ready to fall with age ;
and yet it has flood a great number of years fince,
and perhaps is not much worfe than it was then, al-
though it received feveral cannon fhot in the laft
fiege of the town, which made no impreflion upon it,
as the beiiegers found, and therefore left-off firing
againft it; an4 the rather, as the garrifon made no
great ufe of it againft them. It has been much
demolifhed iince by the hands of a private perfon,
and confiderably repaired by Mr. Gray, There was

iikewife

i8 ESSEX.

likewife a Roman military way from Colchejler, \y
Braintree, Dunmow, and farther that way.

6. Two charity-fchools, fnpported by iubfcription.

From Colchejler I took a turn down to the coaft.
The land running out a great way into the fea, ibuth
and fouth-eaft, makes that Promontory of land,
called the Nafe, well known to feamen who ufe the
northern trade. Here is feen a fea open as an ocean,
without any opposite (bore, though it is no more
than the mouth of the Thames. This point, called
the Naje, and the north-eaft point of Kent near Mar-
gate, called the North Foreland, make the mouth of
the river, and the Port of London, and is above Co
miles over.

The port of London is underftood to reach no far-
ther than Grave/end in Kent, and Tilbury-point ift
Ejfex ; and the ports of Rochejler, Milton, and Fever-
Jhara, belong to the port of Sandwich,

In like manner the ports of Harwich, Colchejler ;.
Wyvenhoe, Maiden, Leigh, &c. are faid to be mem-
bers of the port of Ipfwich.

This obfervation may fuffice for what is needful ta
fee faid upon the fame fubjecl:, when I come to fpealc
of the port of Sandwich, and its members, and their
privileges with refpect to Rochejler, Milton, Fever-
/ham, 6cc. in my circuit through the county of Kent.

At Walton, under the Nafe, they find on the fhorc
copperas -Hones in great quantities; and there are
feveral large works called copperas -houfes, where it
is made with great expence.

From hence we go back into the county about four
miles, becaufe of the creeks which lie between ; and,
turning eavt again, come to Harwich, on the utmofl
eaftcrn point of this large county.

Harwich is a town ftrong by fitnation, and may
be made more fo by art. The harbour or road is
one of the fecurefl: in England, and covered at the

entrance

ESSEX. 19

entrance by hangar d -forty and a battery of guns to
the fcaward, juft as at Tilbury, and which fufficiently
defend the mouth of the river. Though the entrance
or opening of the river into the fea is very wide,
efpecially at high- water, at leaft two miles, if not
three, over; yet the channel, in which the {hips
mull: keep and come to the harbour, is deep, narrow,
avid lies only on the fide of the fort ; fo that all fhips
which come in, or go out, rauft come within gun-
fhot of the fort.

The fort is on the Suffolk fide of the bay, but
{lands fo far into the fea, upon the point of a fand,
or fhoal, running out towards the Effex fide, that,
in a manner, it covers the mouth of the haven. The
making this place, which was formerly no other
than a fand in the fea, folid enough for the founda-
tion of fo good a fortification, coft many years la-
bour, frequent repairs, and a prodigious expence ;
but it is now fo firm, that neither ftorms nor tides
'afFeft it.

The harbour is of a vaft extent ; for the river Stour
from Maningtree, and the river Orwel from Ipfwich,
empty themfelves here : the channels of both are
large and deep, and fafe for all weathers; and Where
they join, they make a large bay, or road, able to
receive the biggeft fhips of war, and the greateft
number that ever the world faw together. In the
Dutch war, great ufe was made of this harbour ; and
there have been 100 fail of men of war with their
attendants, and between 3 and 400 fail of colliers,
ail riding in it at a time, with great fafety and con-
venience.

Harwich is the port where the packet-boats be-
tween England avid. Holland go out, and come in.

The people of Harwich boafr, that their town is
wailed, and their flreets paved, with clay; and yet,
that one is as ftrong, and the. other as clean, as thofe

that

*€> ESS E. X.

that arc built or paved with ftone. The facl is in -
deed true; for there is a fort of clay in the cliffy
"between the town and the ZW-0^/ji// adjoining, which,
when it falls down into the fea, where it is beaten
with the waves and the weather, turns gradually into
ftone. But the chief reafon affio-ned is from ti e
water of a certain fpnng or well,, which,, riling in
the cliff, runs down into the fea among thofe. pieces
of clay, and petrifies them as it runs ; and the force
of the fea often ftirring, and perhaps turning' .the
lumps of clay, when florins of wind may give force
enough to the water, caufes them to harden every
where alike ; otherwife thofe, which were not quite
funk in the water of the fpring, would be peirijried
but in part. Thefe ftones are gathered, up to pave
the ltreets, and build the houfes, and are indeed very
hard. It is alfo remarkable, that fome of them,
taken up before they are thoroughly petrified, will,
upon breaking them, appear to be hard as a lions
without, and foft as elay in the middle ; whereas
others, that have lain a due time, will be thorough
ilone to the centre, and full as hard within, as with-
out.

On the promontory of land, called Beaccn-h\lly
which lies beyond, or behind the town, toward the
fea, is a l.ight-houfe, to give the fhips direction in
their failing by the harbour, as well as their coming
into it at night.

This town was formerly fortified ; but in the reign
of king Charles I. the fortifications were demolifhec!.
It has iince been ordered to be fortified again, and
ground has been bought accordingly, to- the king's
ule, by act of parliament ; but nothing more has,
been done in it yet j and, indeed, it is many years
iince the government, having a better fecurity in
the Brltijh fhipping, have had occailon to fortify
iowns to the landward.

Harwich*

ESSEX. 2i

Harwich may be faid to be a neat, clean, well-
-built'town; enjoys a good maritime trade; is go-
verned by a mayor, eight aldermen, twenty-four
capital burgeifes, and a recorder ; the mayor has a
power to keep courts of admiralty, which haye a
jurifdiclion over all naval affairs ; the town has a
market every Tuefday and Friday », and two annual
fairs; one on May-dayy the other on Oclober the
1 8th; and returns two members to parliament.

Landguard-fort was built in the reign of king
James I. and was a much more" confiderable fortifi-
cation then, than at prefent ; having had four baf-
tions, named the Kings^ the Queens, Holland's, and
Warwick *s, mounted with 60 very large guns, par-
ticularly thofe on the royal baflion, where the king's
flandard was difplay'd, which would throw a 28
pound ball over Harwich -, and it had a confhnt
garrifon, with a chapel, and many houfes, for the
governor, gunners, and other officers. But it has
been demoiifhed, and a fmall platform made inftead
of it, by the water-fide ; but yet, as the particular
current of the channel, which fhips rnuft keep in,
obliges them to pafs juffc by the fort, the harbour is
fufficiently defended on the fea-lide from any fudden
invaiion.

At Harwich are two hot and two cold fait- water
baths, of elegant fr.ru£t.ure and curious contrivance,
with private dreffing- rooms for gentlemen and ladies,
feparated from each other.

The buildings (land in a large refervoir, contain-
ing many hundred tuns of pure fea- water, renewed
by every tide from the fea ; from this refervoir the
baths are continually fupplied with pure running fea-
water, at every hour of the day, by a contrivance
that exactly reiembies a natural fpring.

For

22 ESSEX.

For the convenience of fuch as have not ftrength
or courage to plunge them fe Ives, there is a crane-
chair of particular contrivance.

There are alio vapour-baths, either for hnmerfing
the whole body, or any particular limb or limbs, in
the fleam or vapour of hot fea-water. Here is alio
partial large bathing, for which a curious machine is
provided to throw fea-water, either hot or cold (in
a continual ftream, and any defired velocity) upon
any part of the body.

On the road from London to Colchejler lie four
good market- towns, at nearly equal diftance from one
another, Rumford, Brentwood, Ingatjlone, and Chefaif-
ford. Rumford is noted for two markets, one for
calves and hogs, the other for corn and other pro-
vifions, moflly bought up for London market,

Rumford is governed by a bailiff and wardens,
who are empowered by patent, though no corpora-
tion, to hold a court every week, for the trial of
treafons, felonies, debts, or other actions. It has a
charity-fchool for 50 boys and 20 girls,

Brentwood and Ingatjione are large thoroughfare
towns, fullof good inns, chiefly maintained by the
multitude of carriers and paffengers conltantly pall-
ing this way to London, with droves of cattle, pro-
visions, and manufactures.

Chelmsford is chiefly fupported by the fame bulinefs.
It is the county-town, where the aflizes are held ;
and ftands on the conflux of two rivers, the Cbelmer,
whence the town derives its name, and the Cann ;
and has one church, and a good free-fchool belong-
ing to it, founded and endowed liberally by king
Edward VI. Alfo a charity-fchool for 45 boys, and
25 girls, who are taught, clothed, and apprenticed,
by private donations.

Eaft of Brentwood, lies Biller'icay, a pretty con-
iiderable market town. Here 1 muft recollect, that

near

E S S E X. Eg

near Hsrndsn, on the fummit of a vail hill, the molt
aftonifhing profpeft, that ever was beheld by human
eyes, breaks almoft at once upon one of the dark
lanes. Such a prodigious valley, every where paint-
ed with the.fineft verdure, and interfered with num-
berlefs hedges and woods, appears beneath you, that
it is paft deicription, the Thames winding through it,
full of fhips, and bounded by the hills of Kent.
Nothing can exceed this amazing profpec~t, unlefs it
be that which Hannibal exhibited to his difconiblate
troops, when he bade them behold the glory of the
Italian plains !

Near Chelmsford ftands a feat of the late right ho-
nourable eari Fitzwalter, which is feen on the left-
hand of the road, juft before you enter the town.
The houfe is large, and, having been rebuilt by the
late earl, makes an handfome appearance.

Five market-towns fill up the reft of this part of
the county, Dun?nowy Braintree, Thaxted, Halfted%
and Coggejhall) all noted for the manufacture of bays.
But Dunmow I muft "particularly mention, on account
of the famous old ftory of the flitch of bacon (given
at Little -Dunmow in its neighbourhood) which is
this :

One Robert Fit'zwalter, a powerful baron in this
county, in the time of Henry III. inftituted a cuf-
tom in the priory here, " That whatever married
man did not repent of his being married, or differ
and difpute with his wife, within a year and a
•day after his marriage, and would fwear to the
truth of it, kneeling upon two hard-pointed ftones
in the Priory Chicrchyard, -fet up for that purpofe,
in prefence of the prior and convent, fuch perfon
ihould have a flitch of bacon."

1 his has been actually claimed and received, at
different times. The form of the oath taken by the
new-married couple is as follows :

" You

U SUFFOLK.

H You do fwear, by cuftom of confefrloii,
That you never made nuptial tranfgreifion ;
Nor, fineeyou were married man and wife,
By houfhold brawls, or contentious ftrife,
Or otherwife, in bed or board,
Offended each other in deed or word ;
Or, in a twelvemonth's time, and a day,
Repented not in thought any way;
Or, fince the church clerk laid Amen,
Wifh'd yourfelves unmarry'd again ;
But continue true, and in defire,
As when you join'd hands in holy choir."

The flitch of bacon being thus claimed by the
married couple, the court then pronounces fentence
for the fame in thefe words :

Si Since to thefe conditions, without any fear,
Both, of your own accord, do freely fwear,
A whole gamon of bacon you do receive,
And bear it away with love and good leave :
For this is the cuftom of Dunmoiv well known ;
Tho' the pleafure be ours, the bacon's your own."

This cuftom, however, is now fupprefs'd by Mr.
Crawley, the lord of the manor, who, being per-
fectly fatisfied, that it had been wrongfully claimed,
and was always productive of idlenefs and riotings,
was warranted to do fo by the nature of the original
grant.

I fhall now, in purfuance of my firft delign, pro-
ceed to the county of Suffolk.

From Harwich therefore, having a mind to view
the harbour, I fent my horles round by Maningtree,
a good, but dirty market- town, where is a timber-
bridge over the Stour ; ©r, as it is more ufually called,

Alaning-

SUFFOLK. 2$

Maninpr ee-water ; and took a boat for Ipfwich up
the river Grw?l9 known by the name of Ipfwich-
water. The paiTage up this river is exceedingly-
beautiful, each fide being adorned with elegant feats ;
lord Shrpbrockes (late lord Ortvell's), and Mr. Ber-
mr^s new houfe at JVoolverftone, claim our attention.

In a creek in this river, called Lavington-creeky we
faw at low-water fuch fhoals of mufTels, that great
boats might be loaded with them, and the quantity
fcarce diminifhed to the eye.

Not far from Mdning tree is Mijlley Hall, the feat
of the right honourable Richard Rigbfo which pof-
fefles beauties that will reward the delay and atten-
tion of the traveller, efpecialiy when the river which
flows bv it is at high water.

Ipfwich is feated at the diflance of 12 miles from
Harwich, upon the cdgQ of the river, which taking
a fhort turn to the weft, the town forms there a kind
of iemi-circle, or half-moon, upon the bank of the
river. It is very remarkable, that though fhips of
500 tons may, upon a fpring-tide, come up very
near this town, and many fhips of that burden have
been built there, yet the river is fcarce navigable
above the town, cot even for the fmalleft boats -3 nor
does the tide, which rifes fometimes 13 or 14 feet,
and gives them 24 feet water very near the town,
flow much farther up the river than the town.

Few places in Britain are qualified like Ipfivich for
carrying on the Greenland fifhery; whether we re-
lpe£t the cheapnefs of building, and fitting out their
fhips and fhallops ; furnifhing, victualling, and pro-
viding them with all kinds of ftores ; convenience
for laying up the fhips after the voyage j room for
erecling their magazines, warehouses, ropewalks,
cooperages, &V. on the eafieft terms; and efpeciaily
for the noifome cookery, which attends the boiling
their blubber, which may be on this river, remote
Vol. I. C from

a6 SUFFOLK.

from any place of refort ; then the nearnefs to the
market for the oil, when it is made; and, which
above all ought to be regarded, the conveniency that
arifes from this confideration, that the fame wind,
which carries them from the mouth of the haven, is
fair to the very feas of Greenland.

Ipfwich was formerly much more considerable for
trade that at prefent; particularly in the clothing
branch ; it is now principally employed in the corn
and malting trades ; and may be accounted a neat
and well-built town, and much larger than many
cities; carries on ftill a considerable maritime trade,
there being three yards constantly employed in fhip-
building, and above j 50 fail belonging to the port.

It has a very fpacious market-place ; and in the
midft of it is a fine crofs, in which is the corn-
market. Adjoining are the fhambles or butchery,
very commodious, and vulgarly, but erroneously,
fuppofed to have been built by cardinal IVolfey ; for
it owes its original to a much later date, wz. to the
40th year of queen Elizabeth. Behind this is the
herb-market, and in a ipacious Street a little distant
is a market for butter, poultry, and other country
provisions, and another for fifh, with which the
town is ferved in great plenty. It has five market-
days weekly; Tuefday and Tburfday for butchers
meat ; Wednefday and Friday for fifh ; and Saturday
for all forts of provisions. It has alfo five annual
fak*s ; one on April 23, one on May 7 and 8, one
on July 25, one on the nth and 12th of Augufl for
cattle alfo, and the fifth on September 14 for lambs ;
and is alfo a very considerable one for butter and
c^eefe, to which the whole country round refort, to
furnifh. themfelves with winter Stores ; as do alfo
many of the London dealers in thofe commodities,
who, however, are not fuffercd to buy till after the

flrSt three days of the fair.

There

SUFFOLK. 27

There are even now in this town 12 parifh-
churches, out of 14, which there once were ; and
two chapels in the corporation-liberty, out of feve-
ral which have been demolifhed, befides meeting-
houfes, &c.

Here are alfo a fine town-hall, with a fpacious
council-chamber, and other commodious apartments;
a fhire-hall, where the county feflions are held for
the division of Ipfwich ; a large public library, ad-
joining to a noble hofpital founded by the town,
called ChriJTs Hofpitai, for the maintenance of poor
children, old perfons, and maniacs ; and in it rogues,
vagabonds, and fTurdy beggars, are kept to hard
labour. Alfo adjoining to this is a good free-fchool;
and there is like wife the noble foundation of Mr.
Henry Tooley^ anno 1556, for poor old men and
women.

It is a town corporate, governed by two bailiffs,
a recorder, 12 portmen, four of which, befides the
bailiffs, are juflices of the peace, two coroners, 24
common-councilmen, who. are alfo high-confbbles,
and 12 of them headboroughs, and 15 pettv-confta-
bles. It fends two members to parliament.

Its privileges are extraordinary ; for the bailing
pals fines and recoveries, hear and determine cauies,
as well criminal as civil, arifing in the town, and
even crown cauies, preferable to any of his majefty's
courts at Weftminji er . They appoint the aflize of
bread, wine, beer, &c. No freeman can be obliged
to lerve on juries out of the town, or bear any
offices for the king, without his own confent, fherifTs
for the county excepted. Nor are they obliged to
pay any tolls or dudes in any other parts of the
kingdom, having caft the city of London in a trial
at law for duties demanded by the city for freemens
fhips in the river Thames. They are entitled to all
waifs, eftrays, &c. to all goods cait on fhore within

C z their

-S SUFFOLK.

their admiralty-jurifdi&ion, which extends on the
coaft of EJpx beyond Harwich, and on both fides the
Suffolk coaft; and their baiiifFs even hold their admi-
ralty-court beyond Lnndguard-fort^ &c. And by a
folemn decifion in their favour by an inquifition
taken at Ipfwich in the 14th of Edward III. they
carried the point, which Harwich contefted with
them, of taking cuftoni-duties for goods coming into
Harwich haven, which was determined Co belong
iblely to the bailiffs and burgeffes of Ipfwich.

I fhall juft mention, in this place, though it be
generally known, that the famous cardinal [Volfity,
archbifhop of York, wTas born in this town, his father
being a butcher in it; though, according to Dr.
FiddeSy who publifhed his life, he feems to have
been a man of fubftance for thole times.

The country round Ipfwich, as are all the counties
fo near the coaft, is chiefly applied to corn, of which
-a very, great quantity is continually fhipped off for
London ; and fometimes they load corn here for
Holland, efpecially if the market abroad is encou-
jraging.

There is a great deal of good company in this
town ; and though here are not fo many of the gen-
try as at Bury, yet it has more than any other town
in the county.

Thc?na$ Fonnereau, Efquire, member of parliament
for Aldborough, has a fine feat and park adjoining to
this town; the houfe indeed is -built in the ancient
tafte, but very commodious ; it is called Chri/i-
church, and was a priory, or religious houfe, in for-
mer times. The green and park are a great addition
to the pleafantneis of this town, the inhabitants
bein<r allowed to divert thcmlelvc;; there with walk-
ings bowling, &c.

In this park are fome of the moil beautiful deer in

. kingdom; they are of a dir.o -white colour fpottcd

with

SUFFOLK. 39

with black, like harlequin, dogs, with bald faces :
thefe, intermixed with the fallow deer, make a fine
variety in a park.

From Ipfwich I went to Hadky, which has been
a town corporate, but a quo warrant) being brought
againft their charter, in the reign of king James II.
it has not been renewed fince. Here are two weekly-
markets, and two annual fairs. It deals much in
cofrn, and abounds with all manner of provifions.
The town is large, and tolerably well built; but,
being in a bottom, is generally dirty. Its church is
a handfome building, graced with a fpire-fteeple and
ibme curious painted windows, the gift of the pre-
fect retlor, Dr. Tanner-, -and, being near the middle
of the town, is an ornament to it. It is of fome
note lull for the manufacture oi woollen cloths, but
not of fomuch as it was formerly.

A little to the fouth-weft lies Neylend, a large
market-town in a bottom, upon the Stour, over
which is a good bridge. It has a church, a charity-
fchool, for 40 boys and 20 girls ; and here too the
bays trade is carried on.

Higher up to the north -weft ftands Sudbury, fituate
upon the fame river, which is now made navfgabic--
for barges from Maningtree hither, and gives a great
addition to their trade. It is a very ancient town,
governed by a mayor, a recorder, feven aldermen,
a town-clerk, a bailiff, twenty-four common-coun-
cilmen, and two ferjeants at mace; and at prefent
conflfts of three diftinft parifhes, which have each
an handfome and large church ; though one of them
is rather a chapel of eafe. It has an handfome
bridge over the Stour, leading into EJJ'ex, This town
was one of the firlf places at which king Edward III,
placed the Flemings, whom he allured hither to teach
the Englijh the art of manufacturing their own wool,
of which before they knew nothing; and here the

C -i woollen*

30 SUFFOLK.

woollen trade hath continued ever fince in a flourifh-
ing way. The inhabitants at prefent employ them-
ielves in making favs, perpetuanas, 6cc.

Near Sudbury is Long Melford, a pleafant village,
and perhaps one of the largefr. in England, being about
a mile in length. The church is a fine edifice, and
Hands at the north- end of it. Melford has an an-
nual fair, lever al good inn«^ many handfome houfes,
and creditable inhabitants; and here is the feat of
the late Sir Cor dell Flrebrace, Bart, and that of Sir
Mordaunt Martin, Bart, Here lived the unhappy
Mr. Drew, who, in the year 1739, was barbaroufly
murdered ; and his fori, Charles Drew, executed for
it, who effected it either with his own hands, or by
thole of another perfon whom he procured to do it,
by ihooting him, for the fake of enjoying his eftate.
This parricide was attended with circumflances of
great horror.

In my way from hence to St. Edmund^ s-bmy, I
pafled-due north through Lavenham, or Lanham, a
pretty good town, ftanding upon a branch of the
river Breton* It has a fpacious market-place, which
was formerly of much better ace ount than at prefent.
It had many years ago great advantage from its trade
in blue cloths; but though this is loft, yet it has a
good trade for ferges, fhalloons, fays, he. made
here ; fpins a great deal of fine yarn for London, and
has of late fiourifhed much, by fetting up an hall
for felling wool, the town being conveniently fituatcd
for that purpofe.

The church and tower here are juftly accounted
the finer} in the county. The church was rebuilt
in the time of Henry VI. and the tower, which is
137 feet high, with fix large and excellent bells, ends
blunt and plain; whence it is probable, that it was
intended to be carried higher, it is fituate on a hill
en the well- fide of the town.

Eaft

SUFFOLK. 3t

Eaft of Lav-enham, and pretty near it, is Blldejlon,
a market-town, noted for the clothing trade, its good
church, its mean buildings, and dirtinefs.

Bury St. Edmunds is fituate on the weft fide of the
river Bourn, or Lark, which within thefe few years
has been made navigable from Worlington, or Milden-
hall, where the Lark falls into the Oufe. It is fo
regularly built, that almoft ail the ftreets cut one
another at right angles. It ftands on an eafy afcent,
and overlooks a fruitful incioled country on the foutli
and fouth-weft ; on the north and north-weft, die
moil delightful champam fields, which extend them-
felves to Lynn, and that part of the Norfolk coaft ;
and on the eaft the country is partly incioled, and
partly open. No wonder then that it is called the
Montpelier of Suffolk, and even of England : and in-
deed a certain ancient author fays no more than it
deferves; "That the fun fhines not upon a town
more agreeable in its iituation.'>

It is governed by an alderman, who is their chief
magiftrate, a recorder, 12 capital burgeffes, and 24
common-councilmen, and fends two members to par-
liament.

It has two plentiful weekly markets on Wednefdays
and Saturdays', and three annual fairs, one three
days before and three days after the feaft of Si,
Matthew ; and it is generally protracted to a fort-
night's length, for the diverfion of the nobility and
gentry that refort to it in great numbers.

The abbey, once lb famous, was firft built of
wood by Sigebert king of the Ea/i -Angles, foon after
chriftianity was planted here ; and, when finifhed,
(about the year 638,) that king retired into it, and
ihut himfelf from the world.

King Edmund, from whom the town takes its
name, began to reign over the Eaft- Angles anno 855,
in the 14th year of his age, and reigned 15 years,

C 4 being

3* SUFFOLK.,

being killed anno 870, as fuppofed, at Hoxne, at 29
years eld ; and bis corpfe was 33 years after removed
to Bury, The abbey was much enriched thereby,
and the monks, who were of the Benediftine order,
found means, about the year 1C20, to get it intirely
to themielves, excluding the ieculars ; and king
Canute, in the 4th year of his reign, founded a more
magnificent church, in honour of St. Edmund, which
was finifned in 12 years, and dedicated to Chriji,
St. Alary, and St. Edmund.

Uvites, prior of Hi*lm9 who was confecrated the
firit abbot, anno 102C, got the abbey exempted from
epilcopal jurifdi&Loo, and encornpafled that and the
town with a wall and ditch; the ruins of which, in
ftveral places, are fail to be feen ; and the abbots
afterwards were made parliamentary barons. But in
the reign of king Henry VIII. it ran the common
fate of all religious homes.

When the abbey was in its profperity, there was
a chapel at every one of the five gates, and the town
abounded with chapels and oratories. But at this
time there are only two churches, which indeed- are
very beautiful and {lately, and iland in the fame
church-yard; the one dedicated to St. Mary, the
other, built in the reign of Eduuard VI. to St. 'James.
The church of St. Mary has on the north-fide of
the altar (to which we approach by a fine afcent of
fix fleps) the tomb of Mary queen of France, filler
of Henry VIII. and wife of Charles Brandon duke
of Suffolk. There are other handibme monuments
in this church.

The other moft remarkable public buildings are
the abbey-gate, which is flill a fine monument of
what the abbey once was; the Guild-hall ; the Wool-
hall ; the Shire-houfe ; the Market-crols ; and the
Grammar- fchool, endowed by king Edward VI.

As

SUFFOLK, S3

As I made fome (lay at Ipfwich and Bury, I made
feveral excursions more inland than I had at firft in-
tended, and viiited the following towns :

As, firft, Bcxford, which is about feven miles-
from Sudbury, and is a neat and well-built village,
and carries on a considerable traffick. Queen Eliza'
beth founded here a grammar free-fchool.

At Bures on the St our king Edward was crowned,,
and not at Bury. It has a good bridge on that river..
Anno 1733, ^e ^Plre °f the freeple of the handibme-
church here was burnt by lightning, the bell- frames
•leitroyed, and the bells melted.

Clare is iituate on the Stour9 alout 14 miles from
Bury, and i$ but a poor town, and dirty, the ftreets-
being unpaved, But yet the civil and fpiritual courts
are held at it, and it has a good church ; it (hews
ftiii the ruins of a (trong caitie, and an old monaf-
tery. It has a manufacture of fays j and gives title
of marquis to his grace the duke of Newcajlle of the
Pelham family, as it did to that of Holl&s before.

Haverhill (rands partly in Effexy and partly in Suf~
folk. By the ruins of a church and caiiie (fill to be

n here, it appears to have been of greater conie-
<-uence formerly than at prefent. There is a charity-
fchool here. Now I am at this place, Iiharlijnfl
mention

X,idgater on account of its giving birth and name
to the famous poet, orator, mathematician, and phi-
Jofopher, John Lidgate, who died in 1440. Here-
arc to be ieen the ruins of a {Irons* cattle*

St ike juxia hi ey land has a fine church and fteeple.
Gijford's-ball, in this parifh, is a noble old feat be-
longing to Sir Francis Mawiocky Bart, and Tendering—
hall was the feat of the late Sir John William^ alder-
man of London^ and now of lady Rowley , relic! of
Sir JVilliam Rowley^ knight of the bath, and admiral
of the fleet..

•C 5 Siratfor*

34 SUFFOLK.

Stratford is a thoroughfare village of great traffick,
and is employed in the woollen manufactures.

Eaftber'gholt) near four miles from Stratford, and
half a mile north of the Stour, is a large and hand-
iome village, employed in the woollen way, but not
to fo great a degree as formerly. It has a good
church, but the fteeple is in ruins, and the bells are
Jung by hand, in a kind of cage, fet up in the
church-yard. A little fouth. of the church is an
•elegant houfe of J of eph- Chaplin Hankey, efquire,
banker in London,

Needham is a thoroughfare town, about nine miles
north-weft from Jpfwich, It is tolerably well built,
has feveral confiderable dealers in if, and formerly
carried on a large trade in the woollen manufactures,
which it has ioit for fame years.

Stow-market, about three miles from Needham, is
a tolerable town, with a fpacious church, and fpire-
fteeple.

And' five miles farther, being eight from Bury, is
Wulpit, famous for the white bricks made there. It
has an handfome church, with a mean fpire ; but the
gothic church, with a room over it, is very beautiful.

Ixworth, about feven miles from Bury, is a dirty,
ill-built town, with a mean market ; but it is a
thoroughfare town, and has two annual fairs.

Botfdale is a long mean-built thoroughfare town,
yet it is remarkable for a grammar free-fchool,
founded by Sir Nicholas Bacon, and cftablifhed by-
queen Elizabeth. The matter and ufher are to
be elected out of Bcnct College, Cambridge, where
Sir Nicholas was educated. The matter enjoys
a. falary of 20 /. per annum, befides the bene-
fit of the ichool-houfe ; and the ufher 8/. with a
houfe and yard. The fchool- houfe was the gift of
the late Edmund Britijfe, efquire. Sir Nicholas alfo
bequeathed 20/. a year to the faid college for fix
Scholars out of this fchool, to whom like wife arch-

bifhop

SUFFOLK. 3£

bifhop Tenifon is faid to have given fix pounds annu-
ally. There is a mean market here every Thurfday,
and an annual fair on Holy Thurfday. .

Milden-haV) about io miles north-weft from Bury,
is fituate on the river Lark ; it is a town of very ex-
tenfive limits, pleafant and well-built, and has a fine
church, and lofty fteeple. It has a plentiful Friday
market, and a very confiderable annual fair, which
lafts four days. A little north of the church is the
manfion-houfe of Sir Thomas Hanmer, Bart, who, ia
the reign of queen Anne, was fpeaker of the houfe
of commons, and now of Sir Thomas-Charles Bun-
bury, Bart. In the year 1507, a great part of this
town was combined bv lire.

Ichvorth is the feat and noble park belonging to
the earl of Br'ijhl : it is upwards of ten miles in
circumference, and for the beauty and value of its
woods has fcarcely its equal in the kingdom.

In the neighbourhood of Bury St. Edmunds alio is
Rujbbrook, a fine place, formerly the feat of the
noble family of 'Jermyns lord Dover, and now be-
longing to Sir Charles Davers, Bart, member in the
prefent parliament for the lafr mentioned borough.

Clifford alfo, the ancient feat of lord Cornwall's^
is not far diftant, with feveral others, verv aprceablv
fituated and adorned with the beauties of art and
nature.

Debenham, 12 miles north of ' Jpfwich, is a tolera-
bly clean, though mean-built town, and among very
dirty and heavy roads, being feated on a hill. The
church is a good building, the market-place tolera-
ble, and there is a free-fchool, founded bv appoint-
ment of Sir Robert Hitchem.

Mendlejham is a dirty and poor town, but has an
handibme church, and a fmall Tuefday's market.

Eye is a town corporate, governed by two bailiffs,
ten principal burgefles, and 24 common-council-

C 6 men :

36 SUFFOLK.

men ; fends two members to parliament, and gives
title of baron to earl Cornwallis, It is fituate in a
bottom between two rivers, is meanly built, and the
ftreets dirty. Near the weft-end of the church are
, ftill to be' feen fome of the ruinous walls of the
caftle.

From Bury I returned, by Stoiv-?narket and Need-
bam, to Ipfwicb, that I might keep as near the eoaft
as was proper to my defigned circuit ; having deter-
mined to take the opportunity of making two or
three excuriions to • IVoodbridge, Aldborough, and
Southwold, to make my obfervations on that part of
Suffolk which I have not yet touched upon. From
Ipfwich therefore I went to IVoodbridge, and from
thence to Or ford on the fea-coaft.

jyoodbridge is a market-town, limited on the river
Deben, about it miles from the lea. This river
being navigable to the town for iliips of coniiderable
burden, it drives a pretty good trade with Holland,
Newcajiley and London ; and has paiTage-hoys, that
go to and return from London weekly. It traded
formerly in fack-cioth, and now in refining fait. - It
has a fine church with a Heeple. The fhire-hall is
an handfome pile of building, where the quarter-
feffions for this part of the county are held, and
under it is the corn-crofs. One ftreet in it, called
£tone-/lreet, is well-built and paved ; but the reft are
dirty. The market place is alio well enough built ;
but the reft of the town is mean. The quays and
warehcuies are very commodious; and here is a
grammar fchool, and an alms-houfe, erected iu
1587, by Thomas Seckfcrd, mafter of the requefts,
for thirteen- men and three women, which is well
endowed. It has a pretty good market on IVedntf-
days, and two annual fairs.

Walton has been an ancient market- town ; and,
though die market is now difukd, the crois is ft ill

remain-

SUFFOLK. 37

remaining. In the neighbouring parifh of Felixjl 'ow9
on the cliff from the fea, and about a mile from the
Coin fide of Woodbridge-haven, are difcerned the
ruins of a quadrangular caitle advantageoufly fitua-
ted ; of which nothing now remains but the founda-
tion of one fide of the wall. The reft has been
devoured by the fea ; and in all probability thefe re-
mains mull in a few years undergo the fame fate.
It was built principally of rock-ftones ; but the
many Roman bricks ftill to be (ccn, and Roman coins
which have been difcovered among the ruins of the
fide walls, as they have been waihed away by the
fea in the prefent age, are an undeniable evidence,
that it was a place of confiderable antiquity, pro-
bably a Roman colony, which might give name to
the hundred of Colnies, in which it flood,

Now begins that part, which is ordinarily called
High Suffolk; which, being a rich foil, is for a long
way wholly employed in dairies ; and famous for the
bell butter, and perhaps the worft cheefe. in Eng-
land: the butter is barreled, and fometimes pickled
up in fmall calks, in which it keeps fo well, that I
have known a firkin of Suffolk butter fent to the'
Weft Indies, and brought back to England again,
perfectly good and fweet ; but, for frefh-butter, no
place has lb good as Cambridge*

From hence turning down to the fhore, we fee
Orfordnefs, a noted point of land for the guide of
the colliers and coafters, and a good fhelter for them
to ride under, when a ftrong north eaft wind blows,
and makes a foul fliore on the coaft. Here is a
light- houfe.

Orford is fituate on the north-weft fide of the
river Ore, whence it had its name. It was formerly
a town of good account, having a ftrong caftle of
reddifh ftone for its defence, of which, and of a
Btnediftine nunnery near the quay, are ftill to be

feen

jg- S U F F O L K.

feen confiderable ruins. The fea has fo much with-
drawn itfelf from this town, that it is robbed of its-
chief advantage, and deierves not the name of an
•harbour. The town is mean, and no one contends
for an interefr. in it, but fuch as want to makethem-
felves a merit in the choice of the two members it
returns to parliament. It is a town corporate, and
is governed by a mayor, 18 portmen, and 12 bur-
geifes ; it has alio a mean Monday market, and an
annual fair. It had the honour to give title of earl
to the brave admiral Ruffel, which, after being many
years extincl, was revived in the perfon of Sir Ro-
bert Walpo!ey whole grandibn now enjoys it.

About three miles from Orford is Aldborough^ a
town pleafantly iituated in a valley. It has two
ftreets, each near a mile long ; but its breadth, which
was more considerable formerly, is. not proportion -
able, and the fea has of late years fwallowed up one
whole ftreet. The town, though meanly built, is
clean, and well inhabited, chiefly by feafaring peo-
ple. The fea wafhes the eaft-fide of it, and the
river Aid runs not far from the fouth-end of it,,
affording a good quay. In the adjacent fea?, fprats,
foals, and lobfters, are caught in abundance. The
town trades toNewcciflle for coals ; and from hence
corn is exported. The manor of Aldborough, as alfo
the manors of Scots and Tafkards in the neighbour-
hood, formerly belonged to the monallery of Snape,
and were firft granted, with that monaftery, to car-
dinal JVolfey, and foon after to Thomas duke of Nor-
folk. Jldborough is pretty well iituated for flrength,
and has feveral pieces of cannon for its defence.
The church, which is a good edifice, ftands on an
hill a little weft of the town. It is a town corpo*
rate, governed by two bailiffs, ten capital burgeiles,
and 24 inferior officers 5 and fends two members to
parliament,

From

SUFFOLK. 39

From Aldborougb) I pafied through Saxmundham, a
iittle dirty market-town, to Dunwicb, a very ancient
town, which, by Roman coins dug up there, is fup-
pofed to have been a Roman ftation. In the reign
of IVilliam I. it was fo considerable a place, that it
had 130 burgefTes, and was valued to that king at
50/. and 60,000 herrings. We read, that in the
reign of Henry II. it was a very famous village, well
ftored with riches, and fortified with a rampart, fome
remains of which frill appear: it is governed by two-
bailiffs, and fends two members to parliament.

Before thefe times, in the reign ci king Sigebert,
anno 6 30,- Dunwicb was a bifhop's fee; and fo con-
tinued till W'illiam L made his chaplain bifhop of it,
2nd tranllated the fee to Thetford, which was after-
wards tranllated from thence to Norwich.

There were feveral religious houfes in Danwicby
and fome pretend no lefs than fifty churches ; but
there is a certain account of fix parifh churches, and
three chapels, befides the feveral religious houfes.
Four of thefe parifh churches, and the three chapels,
have bren long devoured by the fea ; and one of the
others met with the fame fate in this age, fc> that
there is only one now flianding ; and what remains
of this once famous place, is but a pitiful parcel of
forry cottages, yet it fends two members to parlia-
ment.

From Dunwicb we went to Smthwould, pleafantly
fituated on an hill, and aimoft furrounded with the
fea and the river Blyth\ over which it has a bridge*
It drives a confiderable trade in fait and old beer, and
in herrings, fprats, &c. The coafi: lies due north
from Orfordnefs to Soutbwould ; a bold more, and
fafe anchoring all the way. A little to the fouth of
the place laft mentioned, the fea breaking in upon
the fhore makes a creek, which, when entered, fpread-
ing out, divides to Dunwicb) Southwould, and WaU

derfwick*

4o SUFFOLK.

derfwick. While the town of Dunwich retained any
trade, fhe laboured inceftantly (her very exiftence
depending upon it) to diftrefs Scuthwculd; till, to
end the difpute, the latter was incorporated by
Henry VII. This town of South-would, which, like
Dunwich, Hands on a clilf, at the coming in of the
tide, is almoft furrounded by the ocean.

ScuthwQuld is a member of the port of Yarmouth ;
and JValberJwlck, commonly written JValderfwid, is
a creek to Southwould, At prefent thefe places arc
but little regarded, but our pofterity will, from exr
perience, diicover, that a navigable river and good
harbour deferve to be purchafed here, though at a
considerable expence.

The bay before the town, anciently called from
thence Soul-bay, now commonly, though corruptly,
Sole-bay, was a frequent ftation of the royal navy
during the Dutch wars, and is memorable for two
famous lea-fights, the former, June 3, -1665, and
the latter, May 28, 1672, both to the diiadvantage
of the Dutch.

This bay. was formerly bounded by Eajlon-nefs; fo
called, becaufe fuppofed to be the moft eaftern point
of this coaft, and another cape to the fouth-eaft of
Dunw'uh -, but the fea having removed thefe marks,
it may now be faid to leave' Covehith-nefi, with the
Burnet, a fand lying before it, on the north, and
Iborp-nefs on the fouth, a very commodious road for
fnips, and juftly famous for its rifhery, particularly
for foals, which, in point of lize and flavour, are
not inferior to any caught upon the coaft of this
iiland.

1 had now the opportunity I hinted at, of making
excurfions into the main inland parts of Suffolk, ad-
jacent to thofe towns, which I fhall transcribe from
my memorandum- book, in the order 1 let them
down.

In

SUFFOLK. 4t

In the hundred of Hart/mere ftands Brome, a noble
eld maniion, which for many ages has been the feat
of the noble family of Cornwallis? and gives the title
of vifcount to earl Gornivallis,

tVickham Market is (ituated about four mites from
TVoodbridge. The church is built on an hilJ, and,
though the fleeple be but 23 ya:ds high, affords the
befl proipe£f. of any in Suffolk; for, in a clear day,
near 50 parifh-churches may be feen from it. It is
now only a village, but has fome trade, and the civil
and fpiritual courts are held in it.

Snape was once noted for a famous monafbery, few
remains of which are now to be feen. It has a con-
siderable annual fair for horfes, which lafhfour days,
* beginning Auguft 11, to which the London jockies
re fort.

At Eafton is the feat of the earl of Rochford.

Letheringham was of note for a little priory, which
was obtained at the diifolution by Sir Antony Wing-
field ; who died without iffue male. It was con-
verted into a maniion -houfe, and is now the feat of
the ancient family of the Nauntons. Sir Roger
Naunton was in the reign of king "James I. fecretary
of flate, and mailer of the court of wards and
liveries. He died anno 1630. In the abbey is along,
gallery, adorned with feveral valuable pictures ; and
in Letheringham church are fome elegant monuments
of the Wingfields and Nauntons*

Rendeljham was anciently famous for being the
royal relidence of Redwald king of the Eaji Angles.
Hugh Fifz Otho procured a market and fair for this
. town from king Edward L Digging here about 60
years ago, an ancient lilver crown was found, weigh-
ing about 60 ounces, fuppbfed to have belonged to
Redwald, or fome other king of the Ea/l Angles ;
which was fold, and melted down for the fake of the
metal.

A

42 SUFFOLK.

At Butley, two miles Weft of Offord, was a priory
of canons regular; founded by Ranulpb de Gfanville,
chief juftice of England, to the honour of the BlefTed
Virgin. The ruins of the abbey, which are ftill to
be feen, fliew it to have been very large, and the
gate-houfe is a magnificent building, it remains in-
tire, and is embellifhed in the front with many coats
of arms, finely cut in ftone. *

Framlingbam,{iX.uxX.z North weft of Aldborough, is a
large town, well-built, and pleafantly feated near
the head of the river Ore ; it has a fpacious market-
place; the church is built of black flint, and is a
very ftately and noble edifice, wherein feveral of the
Mowbrays, dukes of Norfolk, lie buried. The eaftle
is a fine piece of antiquity 3 being a large, beautiful,
and ftrong building, and contains within the walls
now Handing an acre, i rood, 1 1 perches, and was
formerly much larger. Its walls are 44 feet high,
very thick, and pretty intire ; and it has 13 towers,
14 feet higher than the walls, two of which are
watch-towers. It was both by art and nature for-
merly very ftrong. There are two good alms-houfes,
and a free-fchool^ founded by Sir Robert Hitcbam
(who is interred in the church), for 40 poor boys,
who are taught to read, write, and call accompts ;
and io /. is given to fettle each of them apprentice.
This gentleman bought of the duke of Norfolk the
eaftle, manor, &c. and gave them to Pembroke-ball,
in Cambridge, which has now a book of this noble
family's houfekeeping, like that of Percy s, pub-
lished by Dr. Percy, To this eaftle queen Mary I.
retired, when the lady Jane was proclaimed queen by
the Nortbumberland faction.

Hale/worth, North-eaft of Framlingbam, is a large

and good market-town, fituate upon the river Blytb,

which runs through it. The ftreets are clean, and

partly paved. It has a very neat church, beautifully

4 decorated

SUFFOLK. 43

decorated within ; and is noted for linen-yarn, which
is fpun in the neighbourhood.

Blithburg) four miles Eaft of Halefworth, was for-
merly a place of good note ; but now has nothing to
recommend it but its church, which is a fine old
building, and kept in good repair.

Hoxne is the place where Edmund^ king of the
Eaji- Angles, was murdered by the Pagan Danes, be-
caufe he would not renounce his faith, in the year
870; and his body was removed to Bury, as men-
tioned before; In this parifh is a fine feat belonging
to Mr. Maynard,

Bungay is delightfully fltuated on the river Wave-

I ney, which, being navigable from Yarmouth, is a be-
nefit to its trade. It is well-built, and confifts of
two diftincl: parifhes, with two parifh-churches an-
fvvering to the largenefs of the town, one of which is

. a fumptuous ftruclure (wherein is erected a fine
double organ) ; and its beautiful fteeple (in which is
a ring of eight bells) is an ornament to the town.

-Between thefe two churches are to be feen the ruins
of a Benedicline nunnery. Here alfo remain the ruins
of a very flrong cattle, iuppofed to have been built
by the Bigods earls of Norfolk. Here is a market
weekly on Thurfdays, well ferved with all manner of
provihons. There is alfo a large common belonging
to the town, which is of great advantage to the in-
habitants. This whole town (except one final 1
ftreet) was deftroyed by fire March 1, 1689; the
lofs was computed at 29,896 /. and upwards.

In this excurfion I ftretched to Beccles, ftill farther
North-eaft ; a large maket-town, fituate on the
Waveney* It has a fine church and fteeple, and a
plentiful market. The ftreets are well paved and
clean, but the houfes are but ordinary. The ruins
of another church, called Innate church, are to be

feea-

44 SUFFOLK.

feen here, which was formerly the parifh-chu*ch to
the town.

Burgh-caflle, fitvmte at the mouth of the Waver; c\'y
was a place of confiderable note in the time of the
R, mans. The walls on the Eaft, North, and South
vfide, are flill Handing, pretty intire. The river
being a defence on the Weil:, no wall was wanting
there.

I returned from thefe excurfions to Southwould, in
order to proceed on my journey, according to my nrtt
plan.

This town in particular, and fo at all the towns on
this coafu, from Orfordnefs to Tnrmcuth^ is the ordi-
nary place where our fuir.mcr friends the fwallows
firft land, wheo they come to vSfit ns j and here they
may be faid to begin their voyage, when they go back.
into warmer climates. I was fome years before ac
this place, about the beginning of Ottober ; and,
lodging in an houfe that looked in the church-yard,
I obfe-rved in the evening; an unufual multitude of
fwallows fitting on the leads of the church, and co-
vering the tops of feveral honfes round about. This
led me to enquire what was the meaning of fuch a
prodigious multitude of fwallows fitting there } I
was anfwered, that this was the feafon when the
fwallows, their food failing here, began to leave us,
and return to the country, wherever it be, from
whence they came ; and that, this being the ncareft
land to the oppoiite coalr, and the wind contrary,
they were waiting for a gale, and might be faid to be
wind-bound.

This was more evident tome, when in the morn-
ing I found the wind had come about to the North-
weft in the night, and there was not one fwallow to
be fecn.

Certain it is, that the fwallows neither come hither
merely for warm weather, nor retire merely from

cold :

SUFFOLK. 45

cold : tliey (like the fhoals of fifli in the fea) putfue
their prey; being a voracious creature, and feeding as
they rly ; for their food is the infefts, of which, in
our iummer evenings, in damp and moift places, the
air is full; and, when cold weather comes in, and
kills the infects, then neceflity compels the fwallows
to quit us, and follow their food to fome other cii*
mate. It is a common faying, when the fwallows
fly low, that " we fhali have rain." The reafon is,
the atmosphere at that time being heavy, as it always
mull be before rain, the in feels cannot rly fo high as
in a lighter atmofphere j and the fwallows natu-
rally follow their prey in whatever region they find
thein.

This palling and repsffing of the fwallows is ob-
fer-vec! no where fo much as on this Eaftern coaft;
namely,' from above Harwich to the Eaft point of
Norfolk, calied Wintertonnefs, North, which is op-
posite to Holland,

This part of England is remarkable for being the
firft where the feeding and fattening of (Keep and
other -cattle with turnips was pra&ifed, which is
made a very great part of the improvement of their
lands to this day ; and from whence the practice is
fpread over. moll of the Eaft and South parts of Eng-
land, to the great enriching of the famers, and in-
crease of fat cattle.

For the fupplies of the markets of London with
poultry, in which thefe countries particularly abound,
they have within thefe few years found it practicable
to .make the geefe travel on foot, and prodigious
numbers are brought up to London in like droves
from the fartheft parts of Norfolk, even from the
fen-country, about Lynn, Dozvnhcm, IVi/bich, and
X\xt IVaJJjn; as alio from all the Eaft- fide of Nor-
folk and Suffolk \ and it is very frequent now to meet
loop or 2000 in a drove. They begin to drive them

generally

46 SUFFOLK.

generally in Auguft, when the harvcft is< almoir over,
that the geefe may feed on the ftubbles as they go.
Thus they hold on to the end of OSiober, when the
roads begin to be too ftiff and deep for their broad
feet, and fhort legs, to march in.

Belides fuch methods of driving thefe creatures on
foot, they have invented a new kind of carriage,
being carts formed on purpofe, with four ftories of
ftages, to put the poultry in, one above another,
whereby one cart will carry a very great number;
and, for the fmoother going, they drive with two
horfes abreaft ; thus quartering the road for the eafe
of the poultry, and changing horfes, they travel
night and day ; fo that they bring the fowls 70, 80,
or 100 miles in two days and one night. The
horfes are fattened together by a piece of wood
lying crofs-wife upon their backs, by which they are
kept even and together ; and the driver iits on the
top of. the cart, as in the public carriages for .Ahe
army, &c.

In this manner vaft numbers of turkey-poults and
chickens are carried to London every year, which
yield a good price at market.

In this part, which we call High-Suffolk, there are
not fo many families of gentry or nobility, as in the
other Side of the country : but it is obferved, that,
though their feats are not here, their eftates are; and
the pleafure of Weft -Suffolk is much of it fupported
by the wealth of High- Suffolk ; for the richnefs of
the lands, and application of the people to all kinds
of improvement, are fcarce credible. The farmers
alfo are fo considerable, and their farms and dairies
fo large, that it is frequent for a farmer to have
1000/. ftock upon his farm in cows only.

From Southwould, coaft-wife, I proceeded to Leoftofy
a considerable market-town, {landing near the fea.
It is indifferently well-built. The church, which is

fituatc

SUFFOLK. 47

fituate near a mile on the Weft-fide of the town,
is a good building ; but, for the eafe of its inha-
bitants, there is a chapel in the town, wherein divine
fervice is fometimes celebrated. The Nefs below the
North end of the town is the moft Eaftern point of
land in Britain. Its principal trade is fifhing for
herrings and mackrel. It has a market weekly on
Wednejdays \ and two fmall fairs yearly; the one on
the i ft day of May, and the other on the 29th of
September, Beftdes the prefent chapel, here was for-
merly, at the South -end of the town, a chapel called
Goodcrofs-Chapel, which hath been long lince deftroyed
by the fea. This town, having been part of the an-
cient demefnes of the crown, hath a charter, and a
town-feal ; but the greateft privilege it now enjoys
from its charter, is, that of its inhabitants not ferving
on juries, either at the feffions or affizes.

LET.

48 NORFOLK.

LETTER II.

Containing a Def caption of the Counties of Norfolk
and Cambridge, and that Part of Essex, not
touched on in the former,

FROM High-Suffolk, I pafTed the Waveney,
near Scholc-Inn ; and i'o came into Norfolk ; and
here we iee a face of diligence fpread over the whole
country : the vaft manufactures carried on chiefly by
the Norwich weavers employ all the country round
in fpinning yarn for them; and alfo ufe many thou-
fand packs of yarn, which they receive from Dublin*
and the counties of England as far as Yorkftire and
JVeJlmorland*

This fide of Norfolk is very populous, and filled
with a great number of considerable market- towns:
infomuch.that between the borders of Suffolk and the
city of Norwich on this fide, which is not above 22
miles in breadth, are the following market-towns;

Thetford, Hingham, . Harle/lon,

Dis, AttUborough, Eajl-Dercham,

Harling, lVindhamy Watton, c\C
Buckingham,

Mod of thefe towns are very populous and large;
but that which is mofl remarkable is, that the whole
country round them is interfperfed with villages fo
large, and lo full of people, that they are equal 10
market-towns in other counties.

An eminent weaver of Norwich gave me a fcheme

of their trade on thii> occaiion, by which, calculating

I from

NORFOLK.

49

-from the number of looms at that time employed
in the city of Norwich only, he made it appear, that
, there were 120,000 people bufied in the woollen and
filk manufactures of that city only : not that the
people all lived in the city, though Norwich is very
large and populous ; but they were employed in fpin-
ning the yarn uied for fuch goods as were all made in
that city.

This fhews the wonderful extent of the Norwich
manufacture, or fluff- weaving trade, by whkh -£o
many families are maintained.

This throng of villages continues through all the
Eail part of the county, which is of the greatefl ex-
tent, and where the manufacture is chiefly carried on.
If any part of it be thin of inhabitants, it is the Weil
part, drawing a line from about Brandon, South, to
IValfingham, Nonh. This part of the county, in-
deed, is full of open plains, and fomewhat fandy and
barren, but yet feeds great flocks of fheep.

NORWICH is the capital of the count}', and
the centre of all the trade and manufactures which
I have juit mentioned ; an ancient, large, rich, and
populous city.

There are in this city 32 parifhes, and 36 churches,
befides two meeting-houfes of Quakers, one of
Prefbyterians, two of Roman Catholics, one of
Independents, one of Anabaptifts, and two of Me-'
thodiits. The caflle is ancient and decayed, and
now for many years paft made ufe of as the county
gaol.

This city, it is faid, was built by the Saxons out
of the ruins of Venta Icenorum, now called Cajler,
where fome years fince were found feveral Roman
urns. In the time of the Saxons it was the principal
feat of the Eafi- Angles, and was reduced to afhes by
Sueno the Dane, It was re-edified, and famine only
compelled it to yield to William the Conqueror.

Vol. I. D The

<o NORFOLK.

The famous rebellion of Rett, the tanner of JFind-
ham, in the reign of Edward VI. reduced it again
to a ruinous ftate ; but it was happily reftored by
queen Eli%abeth, who fent hither part of the Flemings
that came over from the cruel perfecution of the
duke of Alva ; to whole induftry and example is
owing the rich manufacture of (tuffs for which this
city is fo famous.

This city is furrounded by a wall, except on the
laft fide, where the river ' t' enfum, for upwards of
half a mile, fupplies its place. The city within the
walls, and the boundary of the river, is reckoned
three miles in circumference, taking in more ground
than the city of London within the walls ; but much
of that ground lies open in paflure-fields and gardens;
nor does it feem to be, like fome ancient places, a
decayed, declining town, the walls only marking out
its ancient dimenfions ; for we have no caufe to
fuppofe, that it was ever larger or more; populous
than it is now. But the walls feem to be placed, as
if it were expected that the city would in time
increafe fufficiently to fill them up with buildings.
There are 12 gates, which, give entrance to the

city.

Norwich is governed by a mayor, recorder, two
fheriffs, fteward, 24 aldermen, 60 common-council,
with a town clerk, fword-bearer, i$c. and fends two
members to Parliament.

There are annually chofen eight wardens of the
worried -weavers, four out of the city, and four out
of the adjacent country, who are iworn to take care
that there be no fraud in the ipinning, weaving, or
dying the fluffs.

The cathedral is a fine fabrick, and the fpire-
fteeple beautiful, and, next to Salijbury, and the cur
pola of St. Paul's, the higher* in England. The
bifhop's ice was hrft at Thetfird, from whence it was

tranflated

NORFOLK. 51

tranflated hither in the 12th century ; yet the church
has fo many antiquities in it, that our late great
fcholar and phyflcian, Sir Tho?nas Brown, thought it
worth his while to write a book, called Repertorium,
cvc. to collect the monuments and infcriptions in this
church.

Here is a very fine market for corn, flefh, fifh,
and poultry ; and what we have faid of this laft
article in Suffolk may be truly applied to Norfolk j
all which are generally fold at very reafonable rates,
fo that the woollen manufacturers can live as cheap
here as in mofl parts of England, There is alio a
place called the Madder-market, from whence we
may conclude, that Madder was formerly cultivated in
this county, as it certainly was in many other parts
of England. In fhort, the culture of this valuable
dye was difcontinued on account of the many difputes
with the clergy about tithes, fo that when the tithe
of Madder was determined to be vicarial, it was to-
tally neglected^ and our neighbours the Dutch availed
thcmfelves of this, and Jiaye for many years pad re-
ceived between one and two hundred thoufand pounds
fterling from England annually for this dye; but the
tithe is now fettled by act of parliament, fo that
disputes can no longer retard its cultivation.

The river JVenfum runs through this city, and is
navigable for 30 miles without the help of locks or
Hops ; and being iricreafed by other waters, paiTes
afterwards through a long track of the richer! mea-
dows, and the larger!, take them altogether, that arc
any where in England* lying for many miles in
length, from this city to Yarmouth, including the
return of the faid meadows on the bank of the
Waventjy South, and on the river Thyrn, North.

There are five large bridges over the river running
through the city, called Cijlany, Blackfriars3 Fye-
bridge. fVhiis-fr'iars^ and Bijhipjgate bridges.

D 2 One

52 NORFOLK.

One thing is proper to be mentioned here, which
hiftory accounts not. for. It is this; the river
Waveney is a considerable river, and of a deep and full
channel, navigable for large barges as high as Beccles
and Uungay-y it runs for a courfe of about 50 miles,
between the counties of Suffolk and Norfolk, as a
boundary to both; and pufhing forward, though with
a gentle fcream, no one would doubt, when they fee
the river growing broader and deeper, and going di-
rectly towards the fea, even to the edge of the
beach, and within a mile of the main ocean, but
that it would make its entrance into the fea at that
place, and afford a noble harbour for fhips at the
mouth of it; when, on a fudden, the land riling
high by the fea-fide, croffes the head of the river,
like a dam, checks the whole courfe of it, and it
returns, bending its courfe weft, for two miles, or
thereabouts; and then turning North, through
another long courfe of meadows (joining to thofe
juft now mentioned), feeks out the river Wenfwn,
joins its water at Burgh caille with that, and both
find their way to the fea together.

In this vaft track of meadows are he] a prodigious
number of black cattle, which are faid to produce
tie fitteft beef, though not the largeft, in England ;
and the quantity is fo great, that they not only
fupply the city of Norwich, the town of Yarmouth^
and the country adjacent, but fend great quantities
ct them weekly, in all the winter- feafon, to London.

And this in particular is worthy remark, that the*
erofs of all the Septs cattle, which come yearly into
England, arc brought to a (mall village lying North
of the city of Norwich, called St. Faith's, where the
Norfolk gibbers go and buy them.

Thefe Scots runts, as they call them, coming out
of the cold and barren mountains of the highlands in

tland9 feed I eag< rly on the rich pafture in thefe

marflies, "

NORFOLK,. 53

•
marfhes, that they thrive in an unufual manner, and

grow very fat ; and the beef is fo delicious for taite,^

that the inhabitants prefer them to the Englifb cattle, ;

.which are much larger and finer to look at. Some

have told me, and I believe with truth, that there

are above 40,000 of thefe Septs cattle fed in this ■

county every year, and moft of them in the marfhes

between Norwich, Beccles, and Yarmouth ,. in which

they are fed till winter, when they are removed into

the drier fandy land, where they conftantly have

large crops of turnips,- on which they are fatted ; and

their dung is fo good manure to the land, that they

always have a good crop of corn: afterwards, i Before

the graflers made ufe of - this manure, there were

many eltates in this county, where the land was lett

under five fhiilings per acre3"which have iince been,

lett for twenty.

Great-Yarmouth (fo called to difTinguifh it from a
fmall village in its neighbourhood, denominated
Little -Yarmouth) is an ancient town, much older
than Norwich*.

It is fituated on a peninfiila between the -river1
Wenfum and the lea ; the two lafi lying parallel to'
one another, and the town in the middle. The river
lies on the Weft-lid e of the town, and being grown
very large and deep, by receiving all the rivers on
this fide the county, forms the haven ; and the tow a
facing to the Weft alio, and open to the river,- :makes'
the fineft quay in Engftinrfc if not. \\\- Europe, '"at \t
equalling that of Mar fellies itfelf.

The greateft defect of this beautiful town feems
to be, that though it is very rich, and increaflng in
wealth and trade, and confequently in people, there
is not room to enlarge it by new buildings ; being1
precluded on the Weft and South -lutes by'the rfrer,
and on the Eaft fide by the fea," io that there is no'
room- but on the.. North-end without the gate; and'

D 3 there.

54 N O R F O L K.

there the land is not very agreeable ; but had they
had a larger fpace within the gates, there would be-
fore this time have been many fpacious ftreets of
buildings erected, as is done in fome other thriving
towns in England.

The number of veflels employed by this town in
the fifhery is 150, and between 40 and 50 fail in
the exportation ; which is made to Genoa, Leghorn,
Naples, Mejfina, and Venice, as 'alfo to Spain and
Portugal: and with them are likewife exported great
quantities of worfted fluffs, and fluffs made of filk
and worfted, camlets, &c. the manufactures of the
neighbouring city of Norwich, and the places ad-
jacent.

Befides this, they carry on a very confidcrable
trade with Holland, exporting a vafl quantity of the
worfted manufactures every year. They have alfo a
tifhing- trade to the north feas for white-fifh, which
from the place are called the north-fea cod.

They have likewife a confiderable trade to Norway,
and to the Baltic, from whence they bring back deals,
and fir-timber, oaken planks, baulks, barling?, fp'arp,
oars, pitch, tar, hemp, flax, canvas, and iail-cloth,
with all manner of naval ftores, for which they ge-
nerally have a confumption in their own port.

Add to this the coal -trade between Neuca/lle and
the river Thames, in which they are fo improved of
late years, that they have now a greater fhare of it
than any other town in England; and have quite
wrought the Ipfwich men out of it, who had for-
merly the chief fhare of the colliery in their hands.
The quantity imported, one year with another, is
about 35,000 chaldrons.

For the carrying on of all thefe trades, they have
a very great number of fhips, either of their own,
or employed by them.

The

NORFOLK. 55

The quantity of corn and malt exported from this
town exceeds that of any port in England, London
not excepted. Of late years, it has amounted to
upwards of 220,000 quarters per annum.

Beiides fifhing-vefTels above mentioned, the inha-
bitants of this town are owners of about 25O mips..
The haven was preferved, and the piers maintain-
ed, by contribution, till the time of king Charles II*
And it ought to be mentioned to the honour of the
public- fpiritednefs of their anceftors, that in queen
Elizabeth's time the town, out of its corporation-
eftate, and public trealure, expended 31,000/. a:
very great fum in thefe days ; but a much greater in
thofe. In the reign of Charles II. an aft palled,,
giving power to levy certain duties for the fame good
purpoies, and thefe have been continued by fubfe-
quent afts.

To all this I rauft add, without compliment to the
town, that the merchants, and even the generality
of traders of Yarmouth, have a very good reputation
in trade, as well abroad as at home, for fair and
honourable dealing ; and their feamen, as well
matters as mariners, are juftly efteemed among the
ableft and moil expert navigators in England,

This town, however populous and large, had till
lately but one parifh church, dedicated to St. Nicholas,
though it is very large. It has an high fpire, which
appears crooked in whatever direction you view it,
and is an ufeful fea-mark. It was built by that fa-
mous bifhop of Norwich^ Herbert Lczinga, wha
flou rimed in the reign of William II. and Henry I.
William of Malm/bury calls him Vir pecuniofus, from
the works of charity and munificence which he has
left as witnefles of his immenfe riches ; for he built
the cathedral church, the priory for 60 monks, the
bifhop' s palace, and the parifh church of St. Leonard*
all in Norwich ; this great church at Yarmouth, the

D 4 church

56 NORFOLK.

church of" St. Margaret at Lynn, and of 6V. Mary at
Elmham. A new chapel, called St, George's, was
built here in 17 16.

Here is a fine market-place, and the ftreets are all
exactly ftraight from north to fouth, the lanes or
alleys, which they call Rows, crofting them in
ftraight lines alio from e aft to weft ; fo that it is the
moft regular-bmlt town in England, and feems as if
it had been erected all at once, upon an uniform
plan.

The corporation fends two members to parliament,
;.nd confifts of a mayor, recorder, aldermen, cham-
berlain, 36 common-councilmen, and a town- clerk;
and is a court of record, and of admiralty : in the'
firft they try civil dairies for unlimited fums ; 'and in
the other have a power to try, condemn, and exe-
cute, without waiting for a warrant from above.
This power they exerted once, in executing a cap-
tain of one of the king's fhips of war in the reign
of king Charles II. for a murder committed in the
ftree't; the circumftance of which did indeed call
' for juftice; but fome thought they would not have
ventured to exert it, as they did. However, I never
heard, that the government refented it, cr blamed
them for it.

This town is bound by its charter, granted by
Henry III. to fend to the fheriff of Norwich, every
year, a number of herrings baked in 24 fafties,
which are to be delivered to the lord of the manor
of Eajl Carlt'n, who is to give a receipt for them,
and then to carry them to the king.

It is a well governed town; and I have no where
in England obierved the Sabbath-day more ftrictly
kept, or the breach of it fo conftantly puniihtd, as
in this place, which I mention to their honour.

Clay and Blackney rrc regarded jointly as a part of
Yarmouth', Clay is looked upon as the principal place,

though

N O ■ R F O L K. 57

though Blackney gives name to that creek which tup-
plies them both with an harbour. They have be-
tween them 15 fail of fmall veffels, and it may be
60 fifhing boats. It is thought they expert 20,000
quarters of malt and hard corn, and carry at 1 eaft as
much coaft- wife : thev brinsr in about 6000 chal-
drens of coals, and the remainder of their trade
conflfts in deals, balks, fir-timber, pantiles, and. iron,.

From Yarmouth I refolved to purfue my firft de-
sign ; to wit, to view the fea-fide on this coaft, which.
is particularly noted for being one of the moil dan-
gerous and moft fatal to failors in all Britain ; and
the more fo, becaufe of the great number of fnips5
which are continually going and coming this way, in
their paffage between London and all the northern
coafts of Britain,

The reafon of which is, that the fhore, from the-
mouth of the river Thames to Yarmouth Road, lies in
a ftraight line from fouth -fouth-eaft to north-north-
weft, the land being on the weft or larboard-fide,
From Winter tonnefs, which is the utmoft eafterly
point of land in the county of Norfolk, and about ~
four miles beyond Yarmouth, the fhore falls off for
near 60 miles to the weft, as far as Lynn and Bcjion^
till the fhore of Lincoln/hire trends north again for
about 60 miles more, as far as the Number ; whence
the coaft of Yorkjhire, or Holdernefs, which is part of
the Eaft Riding, fhoots out again into the lea, to
the Spurn, and to Flamborough- Head, as far eaft. al-
moft as the fhore of Norfolk had given back at i¥in~
terton, making a very deep gulf, or bay, between
thofe two points of Winter-ton and the Spurn-Head ';
fo that the fhips going north are obliged to ftretch
away to fea from Winter tonnefs; and leaving the light
of land in the deep bay that reaches to t lynn, and
the Thore of Lincolnfoire, they go north, or ftill
north north -weft, to meet the fhore of Holdernefs,

D 5 i.hicn

SS NORFOLK.

which runs out into the fea again at the Spurn : this
they leave alfo, and the firft land they make is
called, as above, Flamborough -Head ; fo that JVinter-
tonnefs, and Flamborough-Head, are the two extremes
of this courfe. There is, indeed, the Spurn-H^ad
between ; but, as it lies too far in towards the Hum-
her, they keep out to the north, to avoid coming
near it.

In like manner the fhips which come from the
North, leave the fhore at Flamborough-Head ; and
ftretch away fouth-fouth-eaft for Yarmouth Reads;
and the firft land they make is TVintertonnefs, as
above. Now, the danger of the place is this : if
the fhips coming from the north are taken with an
hard gale of wind from the fouth-eaft, or from any
point between ncrth-eaft and fouth-eaft, fo that they
cannot weather Wintertonnefs, they are thereby kept
within that deep bay ; and, if the wind blows hard,
are often in danger of running on fhore upon the
rocks about Cromer, on the north-coaft of Norfolk,
or ftranding upon the flat fhore between Cromer, and
IVeHu All the relief they have, is gocd ground-
tackle to ride it out, which is very hard to do there,
the fea coming very high upon them ; or if they
cannot ride it out, then to run into the bottom of
the great bay, to Lynn or Bojion, which is a very
difficult and defperate pufh : io that fometimes, in
this diftrefs, whole fleets have been loft here all
together.

in the fame danger are fhips going northward ; for
if, after patting by Hinterton, they are taken fhort
with a north-eaft wind, and cannot put back, into
the roads, which very often happens, they are driven
upon the fame coaft, and embayed juft as the latter.
The danger on the north-part of this bay is not the
fame, becaufe if fhips going or coming fhould be
taieq ihort on this fide Flamborough, there is the

river

NORFOLK. 59)

river Number open to them, and feveral good roads
to have recourfe to ; as Burlington Bay3 Grim/by
Road, the Spurn Head, and others where they ride
under fhelter.

The dangers of this place being thus considered,,
it is no wonder, that upon the fhore beyond Tar-
mouth there are no lefs than four light-houfes kept
flaming every night, befides the lights at Cajier9
north of the town, and at Goulfhney fouth ; all
which are to direct iailors to keep a good offing, in
cafe of bad weather, and to prevent their runnings
into Cromer Bay, which the feamen call the Devil's
Throat.

As I went by land from Yarmouth north-weft, along,
the fhore towards Cromer, and was not then fully
mailer of the reafon of thefe things, I was furprizect
to fee, in all the way from WinterUn, that the far-
mers and country- people had fcarce a barn, {bed,,
liable, or pales to their yards and gardens, or an hog-
ilye, or necefTary- houfe, but what was built of old
planks, beams, wales, timber, &c. the deplorable
wrecks of ftrps, and ruins of mariners, and mer-
chants fortunes ;. and in fome places were whole
yards filled, and piled up very high, with the fame
fluff, laid up for the like building purpofes.

About the year 1692, a melancholy inftance of
what I have faid happened : a fleet of 2O0 fail of
light colliers went out of Yarmouth Roads with a fair
wind, to purfue their voyage, and were taken fhort
with a florm of wind at north-eaft. After they were
palfed IVintertonnefs a few leagues, fome of them,,
whofe mailers made a better judgement of things, or
who were not fo far out as the reft, tacked and put
back in time, and got fafe into the Roads ;. but the
reft, pufhing on, in hopes to keep out to fea, and
weather it, wtre by the violence of the florm driven:
back, when they were too far embayed to weather:

D 6: //w/snr-

6o NORFOLK.

Wtntertonnefi) and fo were forced to run weft, all
fhifting for themfelves as well as they could : fome
ran away for Lynn- Deeps, but few of them (the
night being fo dark) could find their way thither;
fome, but very few, rid it out, at a diftance ; the
reft, being above 140 fail, were all driven on more,
and dallied to pieces, and very few of the people on
board were laved. At the very fame unhappy junc-
ture, a fleet of loaden (hips was coming from the
north, and, being juft croffing the fame bay, were
forcibly driven into it, not able to weather the Nejs,
and, fo were involved in the fame ruin as the light
fleet was ; alfo fome coafting vefTels laden with corn
from Lynn and If ells, and bound for Holland, were,
with the fame unhappy luck, juft come out, to begin
their voyage, and fome of them lay at anchor: thefe
alfo met with the fame misfortune; fo that, in the
whole, above 200 fail of fhips, and above ioco
people, were loft in the difafter of that one miferable
night, 'very few efcaping.

Cromer is a market-town clofe to the fhore of this
dangerous coaft, and formerly had two parifh
churches, one of which, with many houfes, was
fwallowed up by an inundation of the fea : I know
Nothing it is famous for (beiides its being thus the-
terror of the failors), except good lobfters, which
are taken on that coaft in great numbers, and carried
to Norzvich, and in fuch quantities fomctimes too, as
to be conveyed by fea to London*

Farther within the land, and between this pb.ee
and Norwich, are feveral good market-towns, and a
great many villages, all diligently applying to the
woollen manufacture; and the country is exceeding
fertile, as well in corn as pafture; particularly the
pheafants were in fuch great plenty, as to be feen in
the flubble like cocks and hens; a teftimony (by the
way) that the county had more iradeiinen than gen-
tlemen

NORFOLK. 6r

tremen in it. Indeed this part is fa intirely given up
to induftry, that what with the feafaring-men on the
one fide, and the manufacturers on the other, we
faw no idle hands here, but every man bufy. Some
of the principal of thefe towns are ;

1 . Hickling and North- Waljham^ noted only for a
market each.

2. Ayljham, a populous, and pleafant town, where
a court is kept for the duchy of Lancajler^ the manor
having, by Edward III. been granted to .John of
Gaunt, duke of Lancafler.

At Wolterton\ox<\ Walpole has a feat, well environed
with wood ; and adjoining to tVolterton park is Blick-
ling, the feat of the earl of Buckinghamfnire. The
park is large, and the water, in the form of a great
winding river, is one of the fineft in the kingdom.
It is near a mile long, and in general from two to
four or five hundred yards over : the colour is very:
bright ; but what renders it uncommonly beautiful,
is the noble accompanyment of wood. The bills-
rife from the edge in a various manner : in fome
places they are lteep and bold, in others they hang
in waving lawns, and fo crowned and fpread with
wood, that the whole fcene is environed with a dark
fhade, finely contracting the brightnefs of the water.
Some woods of majeflic oaks and beech dip in the
very water, while others gently retire from it, and
only fhade the diftant hills. Sometimes they open
in large breaks, and let in the view of others darker
than themfelves, or rife fo boldly from the waters-
edge, as to exclude every other view. About the
centre of the water, on the right of it, is a pro-
jecting hill, thickly covered with beech : their Items-
are free from leaves, but their heads unite and forni
fo deep a gloom, that not a ray of the fun can find
admittance, while it illumines the water, on which
you look both ways. This partial view of the lake

(for

62 NORFOLK,

(for the branches of the beech hang over the water,,
and form an horizon for the fcene) is ftrikingly beau-
tiful, and you dwell on it with uncommon pJeafure.
The houfe is unfortunately fituated clofe upon one
end of the water; but it is a large and ^ood one.

3. Worfted, for the invention and twirling of yarn,,
fo called; alfo famed for {lockings and fluffs.

4. Cation, a hamlet to Norwich.

5. Reepham, for a good malt-market; having no
church at all out of three ; for there are only the
ruins of one Of them Handing. Tne chief trade of
this town is in malt, of which great quantities are
fold in its market.

6. Holt, for giving two lord mayors of the name
of Grejham, (who were brothers) to London,, in 1537,
and 1547.

7. Fakenham, one of the belt maiket- towns in
the county ^ and

8. St. Faith's, whither the drovers- bring their
black cattle to fell to the Norfolk grafiers.

Not far from Cromer is Grejham, the birth-place
of the generous founder of the Royal Exchange and
Grejham College, London*

From Cromer we rode on the ftrand, or open fhorer
to Weyburn Hope, the fhore fo flat, that in fome
places the tide ebbs out near two miles. From V/ey-
burn weft lies Clye, where are large (alt-works, and
very good fait made, which is fold all over the coun-
try, and form times fent to Holland, and to the
Baltic.

Wells, three leagues weft, by north of Clay, is a
member of the port of Lynn, and much moie con-
fiderable than any of the fore-mentioned places ; its
inhabitants having at pre fent about 30 veifels, three
of which are upwards of 100 tons; and befides thefe,.
at leaft a dozen of fiihing-boats; employing in the
\\1io1j not lefs than 200 u.tn,

Holkham,

NORFOLK, 6 j

Holkham, the feat, or rather palace of Tho?nas
Wenman Coke, efquire, one of the reprefentatives of
the county of Norfolk, cannot be viewed with too
much attention. The firft objects, on entering it
from the fouth, are a few fmall clumps of trees,
which juft catch your attention, and give you warn-
ing of an approach. They fketch out the way to a
triumphal arch, under which the road runs. This
ftructure is in a beautiful tafte, and finifhed in an
elegant manner : it is extremely light, and the white
flint ruftics have a fine effect. A narrow plantation
on each fide of a broad villa leads from hence to the
obeliik, at the diftance of a mile and a half. This
plantation, I mutt here obferve, ought to be much
broader, for you fee the light through many parts of
it ; but I apprehend it only a fketch of what was
defigned by the late earl of Leicejler, who built this
feat, and not meant as complete. At the bottom of
the 'hill, on which the obeliik ftands, are the two
porters lodges, fmall, but very neat ftruftures.
Riiing with the hill, you approach the obeliik,
through a very fine plantation, and nothing can be
attended with a better, effect: than the vifta's opening
at once. Of thefe there are eight : i. To the fouth
front of the houfe. 2. To Holkham church, on the
top of a fteep hill, covered with wood : a moft beau-
tiful object. 3. To the town of IVells, a parcel of
fcattered houfes appearing in the wood. 4. To the
triumphal arch. The reft direct the eye to diftant
plantations. Viftas are by no means the tafte of the
preient age ; but fuch a genius as the late lord Lel-
cefler might be allowed to deviate from fajhlon in
favour of beauty and propriety. The houfe is ele-
gant, and, for the moft part, built of curious white
brick.

Bumham-Overy, two. leagues further weft by fouth,
is, accounted a creek to JVelh9 and is- a little growing

place,

64 NORFOLK.

place, having fix vefTels belonging to it. But Bran-
cafter, which is very near, and is alfo a creek to
Wells, is now, and was formerly, much fuperior to
it. This, as the beft and moft accurate critics agree,
was a Roman ftation, called by them Brannodunu??iy
and was die head-quarters of the colonel of the Dal-
matian horfe, ported here under the command of the
count of the Saxon fhore for the protection of the
country. All circumftances concur in the fupport of
this opinion; the name fignifies a camp or fortrefsr
feated on a hill, overlooking the fea; there have
been coins, urns, and other antiquities, frequently
found in the neighbourhood ; but what is moft to be
relied on, is the admirable lituation of the place at
the elbow, where the coaft runs away fouth, and
where the province was expofed to the depredations*
of pirates, dreaded in thofe days, though unheard-of
in ours.

From the fea-coaft we turned to the fouth weft,,
through Snettijham, a fmall market-town, to Cajlle-
ri/ing, which yet fends two members to parliament ;
but fhews a great many marks of Ro?nan, Saxon,
and Danijb antiquities in and about it.

On the left we faw Waljingbam*, an ancient town,
famous for the old ruins of a monaftery there, and
the fhrine of our Lady, as noted as that of St. Thomas
Becket at Canterbury, hence called, Our Lady of JVal-
ftngbmn. Two wells here are ftill called by the name
of the lie fled Virgin.

Near this place, at Raynbam, is the fine feat of
the lord vifcount Townfljend, where is a moft admi-
rable picture of Belifarius- in diftrefs, by Saliator
Rofa.

Not far diftant is Houghton, the feat of the earl of
Orford, containing the largeft and fined collection
of pictures in England, Many of the trees were
planted by Sir Robert IValpole himftlf.

The

NORFOLK. 65

The extent of the building, including the colon-
nade and wings, which contain the offices, is 450
* feet; the main body of the houfe extends 166 feet.
The hall, which is fmifhed in the infide with ftonej
is a cube of 40 feet ; the falon 40 by 30 feet ; and
the other rooms are 18 feet high. The ruftic and
attic {lories are 12 feet high each ; under the ruftic
ftory are arched vaults. The whole building is of
ftone, and is crowned with an entablature of the
Ionic order, and a baluflrade above ; and there is a
cupola at each corner of the houfe with lanterns
upon them.

; The houfe, for the compafs of ground it ftands
on, is reckoned as convenient, as finely ornamented,
and as well furnifhed; as any houfe of its day, in -
the kingdom.

The whole tra& of country from Holkham to
Houghton was a wild {heep-walk, before the fpirit of
improvement animated the inhabitants of this county,
which is become' remarkable for the extent of its
farms, the plenty of its produce, the knowledge of
hu.lbandry, and the riches of its farmers. The ufe
of marl and the practice of incloiing has given a new
appearance to the face and inhabitants of this flou-
riming part of the kingdom.

We proceeded hence to Lynn, another rich and po-
pulous port-town, well built, and well iituated, upon
the river Oufe ; which has the greater! extent of
ipland navigation of any port in England, London
excepted.

It was firfc called Lynn Epifcopi, as the property of
the bifhop of Norwich, till the diflblution of mo-
nafteries by king Henry VIII. when that prince be-
coming its poffeffor, conferred on it the name of
Lynn Regis.

It is Iituated upon the Great Oufe, about ten miles
from the ocean, encompaffed with a deep trench,

walled

66 NORFOLK.

walled almoft all round, containing about 2400
houfes, and divided by four rivulets arched over with
about 15 bridges. It extends along the eafl-fide of
the river; which in hiuh fpring-tides flows above
20 feet perpendicular, and is about the breadth of
the Thames above bridge for the length of a mile,
and is divided into nine wards. On the north-end,
towards the fea, frauds St. Ann s Fort, with a plat-
form of 12 large guns, commanding all the mips
which -pafs by the harbour; and towards the land,
befides the wall, there are nine regular baftions, and
a ditch, nearly in the form of a femi-circle, which
make it above half a mile in breadth. The town
is fo ancient as to be fuppofed the fame with Maiden-
Bourn, according to feveral old hiftorians.

The town-houfe, called Trinity-ball, is an ancient
and noble building, which makes a fine appearance.

Adjoining to it is the houfe of correction, called
Bridewell, with apartments proper for the reception
of fuch as are put there, who beat and drefs hemp
during their confinement.

The Market-crofs is a new edifice of free-ftone, in
the modern tafte, 70 feet high, erected on four ftep?,
neatly adorned with ftatucs, and other ornaments ;
with an infcription, giving an account of its former
condition, andprefent re-building.

St. Nicholas's chapel is very ancient, and flands at
the north end of the town. It is an appendage to
St. Margaret's, and is efteemed one of the finefr and
largefl: religious fabrics in England ; it has a bell-
tower of free-ftone, and a pyramidal o&angular
fpire over it, both which together are 170 feet irom
the ground.

All- Saints church, in South- Lynn, belonging for-
merly to the Carmelite or White Friers, on the ruins
of whofe monastery it is built* Though not large,

it

NORFOLK, 67

it is neat, folid, and regular, in form of a crofs,
within a church- yard well walled in.

At a imall dijftance from the town {lands a ruinous
pile, called The Lady's Mount, ox Red Mount', where-
in formerly was a chapel dedicated to the blefled
Virgin, which ferved as a receptacle for pilgrims
travelling this way towards the celebrated convent of
Our Lady at Walftngham,

The library at St. Nicholas was erected by a volun-
tary fubfeription of feveral hundred pounds ; to
which the late lord vifcount Townjhend (who took
his title of baron from this town) Sir Robert Wal-
pole, Sir Charles Turner, and Robert Britriffe, efq;
deceafed, were confiderable benefactors. There is
alio another library at St. Margaret's, to which the
late Thomas Thurlin, D. D. prefident of St, Johns
college in Cambridge, bequeathed all his books; and
alio left an exhibition of fix pounds a year to a poor
fcholar, who fhould go from the grammar-fchool to
St, Johns college in Cambridge; and forty (hillings
yearly towards the cloathing three of the pooreft in-
habitants of Gaywood, &c.

From Lynn, I bent my courfe fbuthward to Down-
ham, where is an ugly wooden bridge over the Oufe ;
at which, as Hollingjhed informs us, in OSiober
1568, were taken 17 monftrous fifhes, from 20 to
27 feet long.

When we were at Downham, we took a turn to
the ancient town of Thetford, fituated partly in Nor-
folk, and partly in Suffolk. It was railed on the ruins
of the ancient Sitomagus, which was deftroyed by
the Danes, Ic is at prefent but meanly built ; but,
by the ruins of churches and monafteries ft ill re-
maining, appears to have been formerly of great
account; and even fo far back as the time of king
Edward the Confejfor, it had 947 burgeffes, and in
that of William L 720 manfions. On the Suffolk fide

there

68 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

there now remain the ruins of fix churches and mo-
'naileries, and there were feveral others in the town ;
but now there are but three parifh churches Handing
intire, one on the Suffolk, and two on the Norfolk
fide. It is, however, a town corporate, governed by
a mayor, aldermen, and common-council ; has three
annual fairs, and a plentiful weekly market. In the
7th year of king James I. an act palled for the
founding of an hofpital, a grammar- fchool, and
maintenance of a preacher in this town for ever,
according to the lait will of Sir Richard Fulmerfion*
Sir Jofeph William] on, fecretary of Hate to king
Charles II. built here a new council-houfe, and was
otherwiie a good benefactor to the place. There is
a large mount here, calitd Cajile-hill, thrown up to
a great height, and fortified with a double rampart,
which Sir Hsnry Spelman thinks was a Danifh camp*
The Lent affizes are ufually held here ; and the town
fends two members to parliament.

From Tbttford we crofTed the Oufe to Brandon in
Suffolk, which gives the title of an EngUjh duke to
the duke of Hamilton of Scotland. This is no. ill-
built town, and has a good church belonging to it.
It gave a lord mayor to London, anno 1445, to wit,
Sir Simon Eyre, draper, who built Leadenhall for the
ufe of the city, and left 5000 marks, a very great
J urn in thofe days, to charitable ufes. Brandon has
loft its market, but flands conveniently upon the Oufe,
over which it has a bridge, and a ferry to convey
goods to and from the iile of Eh* to which w«
directly bent our courfe, and entered Cambridgcfinre..

We made an excurfion from Ely northwards up to
the Fens; but we faw nothing that way worth re-
marking, only deep roads, vaft drains, and dykes of
water, which are all navigable* though, with ai|

this,

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 69

this, a very rich foil, bearing a great quantity of
hemp, but a bad unwholefome air.

Wifbich, however, which lies on the northern
extremity of the county, has not only been of note
in the time of William I. who built a cattle here,
but is now a well-built market town, has a good
town -hall, and is efleemed the beft trading town in
the ifle of 'Ely, as having the convenience of good
water-carriage to London, whither they fend great
quantities of rape or coal-feed, oil and butter, and
bring back all forts of commodities, with which the
whole ifle is furnifhed 5 for it has a plentiful
market.

A good way lower down, to the fouth-weft, are
the market-towns of Merfi and Thorney ; the firft is
very inconliderable, the other is delightfully fituated ;
and the land about it very fruitful in grafs and trees ;
and lince the fens have been drained, it produces
very good crops of corn. His grace the duke of
Bedford has a good old feat at Thorney, which the
late duke annually embellifhed by plantations of
trees, &c. having an exteniive eftate of 19,000
acres of land in this level.

The IJle of Ely is encompaffed with the Oufe, and
other waters. The city is fituated on a hill, in the
middle of a great plain. The foil is exceeding rich,
and the city is encompaffed with gardens, the pro-
duce of which is fo excellent, that it furnifhes all
the country for feveral miles round, even as far as
. Cambridge and St. Ives; the former of which has
almoft all its garden-fluff from hence. Great quan-
tities of ftrawberries are cultivated here, patticularly
of the white wood fort.

Ely is obferved to be the only city in England fub-
ordinate to the- bifhop in its civil government, and
unreprefented in parliament. Here is a free-fchool
and two chaVity-fchools.

The

70 CAMBRI D G E S H I H E,

The minfter is a noble Gothic ftruclure, and has
been, within thefe few years, thoroughly repaired,
and coniiderably beautified, by the munificence and
public fpirit of the dean and chapter, and the late
bifhop, Dr. Matthias Maw/on ; in particular, by
removing the choir to the eaft end of the church *.

On the eaft lide of the Cam, a little below Ehy
ftands Soham, a little market town towards the bor-
ders of Suffolk, near the marfhes, which were for-
jnerlj dangerous to pafs ; but now there is a caufe-
way made, which leads very fecurely over them.
Here are the remains of an ancient church, which
was ruined by the Danes, and a charity- fchool for
near ioo children.

We proceeded hence to Newmarket. At Chippen-
ham, near Snaiiwell, we faw a noble feat of admiral
RuJJell, created earl of Orford, for the glorious
victory obtained under his command over the French
fleet, and the burning their fhips at La Hogue, in-
1692.

The iituation of this houfe is low, and on the
edge of the fen country; but the building is fhewy,
the apartments noble, and the gardens are large, but
in the old tafte. On the earl's death it devolved to
Samuel Sandys, efquire, father of the prefent lord
Sandys, in right of his wife, one of the earl's heirs;
but is now alienated frcm that family, and belongs
to Grifpe Molineux, efquire, in right of his wife,
daughter of George Montgomery, efquire. This gen-
tleman has planted the verge of that part of his
eftate, which is on Newmarket heath, with five or
iix rows of trees.

Arriving at Newmarket in the month of Oflober,
I had the opportunity to fee the horfe races, and a
great concouvle of the nobility and gentry, as well
from London, as from all parts of England,

* Vide Bcnrham's Amupmi-s of Kly.

New-

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. Ji

Newmarket is a Ivandfome well-built town; and,
being a thoroughfare, reaps no fmall advantage by
that means, as well as from the races. It confifts
chieflv of one lono- flreet. the north fide of which is
in Suffolk^ and the ibuth in Cambridgejhire. The
town has two churches belonging to it, and a free-
fchool endowed by king Charles 11.

I went in the intervals of the fport to fee the fine
feats of the gentlemen in the neighbouring county ;
for this part of Suffolk, being an open champain
country, and in an healthy air, is formed for plea-
fure, and all kinds of rural diverfion ; and the coun-
try is accordingly in a manner covered with fine feats
of the nobility and gentry.

Eujlr.-hall, the feat of the duke of Grafton, lies
in the open country towards the fide of Norfolk, not
far from Thetford, a place delightful in nature, and
greatly improved by art.

From thence I went to Rufibrook, formerly the
feat of the noble *fami!y of fermyns, lord Dover^
and now of the houfe of fir Charles D avers, baronet.
Then we faw Brent ly, the feat of the earl cf Dyjerty
and Culford, the ancient houfe of lord Cornwall! s.
John Syvionds, efquire, has built a beautiful houfe
about a mile and a half from Bury ; and fir Charles
Bunbury has greatly improved his feat at Barton, by
the addition of a very large and fine room.

We entered Cambridgejhire out of Suffolk with all
the advantage that can be imagined ; juft upon thofe
pleafant and agreeable plains, called Newmarket-heath,
Acrofs which extends a fortification, or ditch, with
a rampart, commonly called The DeviPs Dyke, but
is beft known by the name of Rech Dyke, from Rech%
a fmall market town lying near the heath. It is
fuppofed to have been the boundary of the kingdom
of the Eajl Angles.

Paffing

72 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

Pailing this ditch, we fee from the hills called
Gogmagog, or rather Hcgmagog, a rich and pleafant
vale weftward, covered with corn-fields, gentlemens
feats, villages; and at a diflance, to crown all the
reft, that ancient and truly noble univeriky and
town of Cambridge^ capital of the county.

Cambridge/hire, except the fen parr, is aim oft
wholly a corn-country; and of that corn, five pans
in fix of all they fow is barley, which is generally
fold to Ware and Royjion, and other great making-
towns in Hertford/hire, and is the fund from whence
that vaft quantity of malt, called Hertford/hire
malt, is made, and which is efteemed the belt in
England.

On the top of Hogmagog-bilU appears an ancient
camp, or fortification,, with a rampart and ditch,
which moft of our writers fay was neither Roman
nor Saxon, but Britijb. King Ja?nes II. caufed a
fpacious ftable to be built in the area of this camp,
for his running-horfes, and made old Mr. Frawpton
mafter or infpe&orof them. The late earl Gedolphin
had here a fine houfe on the very fummit of the hill,
to which his lordfhip frequently reforted, efpecially
in the racing feafon.

As we defcended weftward, we faw the fen-country
on our right, almoft all covered with water, like a
fea. The Michaelmas rains, having been very great
that year, fent down vaft floods of water from the
upland counties; and thofe fens being the fink of
no lets than 12 counties, they are often thus over-
flowed. The rivers which thus empty ' themielvcs
into thefc fens, and carry off the water, arc the Cam
or Grant, the Great Ouje and Little Oufe, the AW,
the WeUand, and the river which runs from Bury to
MildenhalL 1 he counties which thefe rivers drain
as above, are thofe of

2 Lincoln* '

C A M BRIDGESHIRE. 73

Lincoln , Warwick , Rutland,

* Cambridge, Oxford, Norfolk,

* Huntingdon, Leicejler, Suffolk, and

* Bedford, * Northampton, EJ'ex.

In a word, all the water of the middle part of Eng-
land, which does not run into the Thames, or the
Trent, comes down into thefe fens.

In thefe fens are abundance of, thofe admirable
pieces of art called decoys, or rather duckoys ; and it
is incredible what quantities of wild-fowl of all forts,
duck, mallard, teal, wigeon, &x. they take in them
every week during the feafon : it may indeed be
guevTed at in fome meafure by this, that there is a
duchy not far from Ely, which yields the landlord
500/. a year clear of the charge of maintaining a
great number of fervants for the management; from
whence alone they affured me at St* Ives (a town on
the Oufe, whither the fowls are always brought to be
conveyed to London), that they generally fent up
3000 couples a week.

There are more of thefe about Peterborough, from
whence waggon loads are fent up twice a week to
London. 1 have feen thefe waggons, before the act
of parliament to regulate carriers, drawn by ten or
twelve horfes each, fo heavy were they loaden.

As thefe fens appear overwhelmed with water, I
obferved, that they generally at the latter part of the
year appear alfo covered with fogs ; fo that, when
the downs and higher grounds of the adjacent coun-
try glittered with the beams of the fun, the Ifle of
Ely leemed wrapped up in mift and darknefs, and no-
thing could be difcerned, but now- and then the cu-
pola of Ely minder.

One could hardly fee this from the hills, without
concern for the many thoufand families cenfined to

* Thofe marked with (•*) empty all their waters this way, the reft
kut in fart.

Vol. I. E thofe

74 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

'thofe Fogs, who had no other breath to draw, than
what muft be mixed with the choaking vapours,
which fpread over all the country ; but, notwith-
standing this, the people, efpecially thofe that are
uied to it, live as healthy as thole in a clearer air,
<except now-and-then an ague, which they make light
-of* and there are great numbers of very ancient
people among them. An aft paffed a few years ago,
for the more effectual draining and prefervation of
Haddenham Level in the IJle of Ely, which contains
•6500 acres, and which were chiefly overflowed through
the nested of prcferving and clearing the out-falls
into the fea ; but as thele grounds are naturally very
rich and fertile, it may be imagined, what a benefit
muft accrue to the public by this means, when the
xh-ainino- and recovery of them can be completed.

In the neighbourhood of Cambridge is held Stour-
Iridge Fair, To called from a bridge over the brook
Stour, which runs by the old Paper Mills into the
river' Grarft. This fair was formerly by much the
mod coniklerable in England. Its ftaple commodities
are wool, hops, leather, cheefe, and iron ; woollen-
drapers and mercers, and many other trades, for-
merly reforted here from London, and formed dif-
ferent forts of mops ; but the number of thefe is now
decreafed : however, the trade of the above ftaple
commodities is ftill very confiderablc. No coaches
come from London, as formerly, to ply at this fair,
the town furnifhing great numbers tbemfelvcs, which
are perpetually hurrying from Cambridge to the fair,
and back again, while it lairs. This fair is laid out,
(ince the alteration of the ftylc, on the 4th of Sep-
tember, by the mayor and aldermen of the corporation,,
when people be£in to build their booths; and on the
iSth of September, annually, it is proclaimed, with
g*e*t iohunnity, by the vice-chancellor, doclors, and
proftors of the univufitv, and by the mayor and

aldermen

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 75

aldermen of the town, each body in their fcarle'c
robes. Then the fair begins, and continues a fort-
night; during which time it formerly was crowded
with people, who came from diftant as well as the
neighbouring counties ; and the town of Cambridge^
and the neighbouring villages, were io full of people,
that they could fcarce find room for them or
their hories ; but the numbers are now much lefs.
The entertainment people meet with here, conlifrs
chiefly of oyfters, herrings, and ftubble-geefe.
There ufed to be plays acted every evening, and
mufic booihs during the fair ; but the univeriity not
approving of thefe diveiiions, they are now dis-
continued.

The two universities of Cambridge and Oxford are
fo much the glory of this nation, that it would be an
almoft unpardonable defect in fuch a work as this,
not to take particular notice of them. I fhall refer
that of Oxford to its proper place; and here give a3
brief an account as lean of this of Cambridge, and of
the originals and founders of the feveral colleges,

together with the favours and advantages that have

1 • • 1

been within thefe few years conferred upon it by his

late majefty, and other benefactors.

The town is governed by a mavor, high- Steward,
recorder, 13 aldermen, 24 common-couneilmen, a
town-clerk, and other officers ; but with regard to
the government of the univerfity, that has a chan-
cellor eligible every three years, aut manere in
eodem officio durante tacito confenfu fenatus Cantab''.
,The pre lent chancellor is his grace the duke of
Grafton. He hath under him a CommiiTary, whj
i holds a court of record of civil caufes for all privi-
jleged perfons and Scholars, under the degree of mailer
;or arts.

They have alfo an high fteward, chofen by the
!fenate, and holding by patent from the univerfity.
[The prefent high-fteward is the earl of Hardwicke.

E z The

76 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

The vice-chancellor is annually chofen on the 4th
of November, by the body of the university, out
of two perfons nominated by the heads of ths
colleges.

Two proctors are alfo annually chofen, as at Oxford^
as alfo are two taxers, who, with the proctors, have
cognizance of weights and meafures, as clerks of the
market.

The univerfity has a Cuftos Archivorum, or
regifter; three Eiquire Beadles, one Yeomen Beadle,
and two Library keepers.

The proctors vifit the taverns, and other public-
houfes, and have power to punifli offending fcholars,
and to fine the public-houfes who entertain them.

As to the antiquity of the univerfity of Cambridge^
the ftory goes, that Cantaber, a Spaniard, 270 years
before thrift, firft founded it; and that Sebert, king
of the Eaji Angles, . rcftored it, Anno Cbrijii 630, Af-
terwards, as the learned Camden obferves, it lay a
long time neglected, and was overthrown by the
Danijh ftorms, till all things revived under the
Norman government. Soon after inns, hotels, and
halls, were built for ftudents, though without en-
dowments.

I fhall now give a brief account of the colleges;
and begin with,

1. Peter-House,

Which was founded by Hugh Baljham, bifhop of
Ely, anno 1257, when only prior of Ely. But at
firft the fcholars had no other conveniences thaa
chambers, which exempted them from the high
rates impofedon them by the townfmen for Wlgings.
The endowment was fettled by the fame Hugh, when
bifhop, anno 1284, for a matter, 14 fel; • ws, &c.
Which number might be increased or diminifhed

according

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 77

according to the improvement or diminution of
their revenues.

a. Ci.are-Hall

Was founded in the Ye*r 1340, by Richard Badew,
chancellor of the univerfity, and, in the year 1347^
was rebuilt by lady Eli%abetb Burgh, third lifter and
coheir of Gilbert* earl of Clare, wife of 'John de
Bugh, lord of Connaught in Ireland. Dr. Badew had
before built an houfe called Univerjlty Hall, wherein
the fcholars lived upon their own expence for 16
years, till it was accidentally deflroyed by fire. The
founder, finding the charge of rebuilding would ex-
ceed his abilities, had the kind afliilance of the faid
lady, through whofe liberality it was not only re-
built, but endowed for the maintenance of one
mailer, ten fellows, and ten^ fcholars, and fhe gave
it the name of Clare Hall. This college conlifts of
one grand court, all of free-Hone, of the Tufcan
and Ionic orders, adorned with pilafters, and two
noble porticos; it is one of the neatefl and moil
uniform houfes in the univerfity, and is delightfully
fituated, the river Cam running by the garden and
walks. It has lately had a beautiful chapel added
to it, which coll 7000 /.

3. Pembroke-Hall

Was founded in the year 1343, by the lady Mary
St. Paul, countefs of Pembroke, third wife to Audo-
mare de Valtntia, earl of Pembroke ; who, after his
death, intirely fequellered herfelf from all worldly
delights, and, among other pious acls, built this
college, which has been lince much augmented by
the benefactions of others. The chapel, built by Sir
Chrijiopber Wren, is one of the moll elegant and bell
proportioned chapels in the univerfity.

E 3 4. St.

;3 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

4. St. Bbnet's, or Corpus-Christi
College,

Was founded by the focie'ty of Friers of Corpus
Chrifli} in the year 1350. This role out of two
guilds or fraternities, one of Corpus Chrijli, and the
other of the Blejfed Virgin, which after a long emu-
lation, being united into one body, by a joint in-
rerelr. built this college, which took its name from
the adjoining church of St* Benedict. Their greater!:
benefactor was Dr. Matthew Parker, ence matter of
the college, and afterwards archbifhop of Canterbury,
who, bv his prudent management, recovered leveral
rights of the college ; and, befides two fellowfhips
and 14 fcholarfhips, and the advowfon of the living
of St. Mary Abchurch, in London, gave a great num-
ber of excellent MSS. to their library, which were
rnoftly collected out of the remains of the old abbey-
libraries, colleges, and cathedrals, and chiefly relate
to the hiftorv of England. This college, being; now
in a ruinous condition, is intended loon to be rebuilt,
by the benefactions of Dr. Mawfm, the late bifhop
of Ely, &c. the plan being already engraven.

5. 7'rinity-Hall

Was founded in the year 1351, by William Bate"
wan, bifhop of Norwich. It was built upon a place
which once belonged to the Monks of Ely* and was
i.n houfe for fludents befor the time of bilhop Bate-
man, who, by exchange for the advowfons of certain
rectories, got it into his own poilefrion. He was a
great mafter of civil and canon law; whereupon the
mailer, two fellows, and three fcholars (the number
appointed by him at the firft. foundation), were
obliged to follow thofe two itudies. It has been
fince much augmented by benefactors, and has been

all-

C A M B R I D G E S H I R E. 79

all new cafed with (lone ; and a large benefaction is
expe&ed loon to fall in, which will enable the. fo-
ciety to extend two wings down to the river*

6. Gonvile and Caius College..

Anno 1348, Edward Gonvile founded an hall,
called after his name, upon the place where now are
the orchard and tennis-court of B enet- College \ but,.
within five years after it was removed into the place
where it now Hands, by bifhop Bateman^ founder o\
Trinity-hall. Anno 1557, John Qiius, doctor of
phvfic, improved this hail into a new college, fince
chiefly called by his name ; and it has of late years
received confiderable embellifhmentSy &c.

7. King's College

Was founded in the year 14.4.1-, by king Henry VT,
It was at firft but fmall, being built by that prince
for a rector and 12 fcholars only.. Near it was a little
hotel for grammarians, built by William Bingham,
which was granted by the founder to king Henry ^ for
the inlargement of his college. Whereupon he united
thefe two, and, having enlarged them, by adding the
church of St. John Zachary, founded a college for a
provoft, 70 fellows and fcholars, three chaplains, &c.
The chapel belonging to this college is defervedly
reckoned one of the fineil Gothic buildings now re-
maining in Europe. It is 304 feet long; its breadth,,
including the cells or burial-places on each fide, is 73,
feet without, and 40 within ; its height to the bat-
tlements is 91 feet; it has not one pillar in it, though
it has two roofs, the flrfc. of ilone, and the other of
timber covered with lead. It has 12 large windows
on each iicle, finely painted ; and the carving, and.
other workmanfhip, of the flails is truly elegant. It-
is remarkable, that the walls of the anti-ehapel are;

E 4. muck

%e CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

much more ornamented than thofe of the choir or
ehapel. The eaft end, under the fine painted win-
dow, has been lately fitted up with great tade in the
Gothic ftyle, at the expence of 1500/. from defigns
of Mr. James EJfex, architect, of Cambridge. It
conftitutes one fide of a large fquare ; for the royal
founder deii^ned, that the college fhould be a .
quadrangle, all of equal beauty ; but the civil wars,
in which he was involved, with the hcufe of Torky
prevented his accompliming it; and the profecution
of his good deiign was referved to our own time.
What has been added within thefe few years pafb is
not only an ornament to the college, but to the .
whole univerfity. The new building, which is of
Portland fbne, runs from the weft-end of the chapel,
a little detached from it, to the fouthward, makes
another fide of the fquare, and contains fpacious
chambers and apartments^ being 236 feet in length,
forty-fix in breadth, and near. 50 feet high.

February, 1 7 34, the workmen, digging for the
foundation of the new buildings of this college, found
a great number of broad pieces of gold, of the coin
©f king Henry V. exceeding fair. As foon as it was
known, the governors of the college got out of the
workmens hands a confiderable number, which
they made prefents of to their particular benefactors,
and divided among themfelves, and the fellows of the
college ; but it is fuppofed, that the workmen fecreted
many ; for this coin was very fcarce before, but after
this was much eafier to. be met with.

8. Queen's College

Was founded by queen Margaret of Jnjou, wife
of king Henry VI. in the year 1448, but thetrouble-
fome times that followed would not give her leave
to complete the fabric. The firft mailer of it, Andrew

Ducket,

CAMBRIDGESHIRE, 81

Ducket, procured great fums of money from well-
dilpofed perfons, towards finifhing this work ; and
fo far prevailed with queen Elizabeth, wife of king
Edward IV. that fhe perfected what her profefled
enemy had begun. The reverend Mr. Ferdinands
Smythes, fenior fellow of ghteerfs College, who died in
November 1725, gave i^co/. to the fame, to be ap-
propriated to the ufe of three bachelors of art, till the
time of their taking their matters degree. This
college is much improved by a large new building,
according to which the front towards the river is in-
tended to be completed.

9. Catharine-Hall

Was founded in the year 1459, by Dr. Robert
Woodlark, third provoil of Kings College \ and the
hall was built over againft the Carmelites houfe, for
one matter and three fellows. The numbers have
been iince greatly increafed, as well as the revenues,
by a late confiderable benefaction, and a new build-
ing is added, at the eafl-end of the mailer's lodge,
and the whole is parted from the ftreet by an hand-
fome brick-wall, with ftone columns and iron gates.
Dr. Thomas Sherlock, late bifhop of London, gave, in
his life-time, 65O/. for fitting up an hand fome room,
as well for the reception of the college library, as of
his own books, which were placed therein afcer his
deceafe. He likewife gave the iron palifades, at the
back of the college.

10. Jesus College

Was founded anno 1497, by John Alcock, bifhop
of Ely, out of an old Benedicline nunnery dedicated
to St. Radegund, given him by king Henry VII. and
pope Julius II. on account of the (candalous incon-
tinence of the nuns, in order to be by him converted

E 5 to

8* CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

to this ufe. And this prelate eftablifhed in it a matter,
fix fellows, and iix fcholars ; but their numbers have
been much increafed by after-benefactions.

ii. Christ's College

Was founded by the lady Margaret, countefs of
Richmond and Derby, mother of king Henry VII.
anno 1506, upon the place where God's Houfe for-
merly flood. She fettled there a matter and 12 fel-
lows, &c. which number in king Edward Vl's time
being complained of as favouring of fuperftition, by
alluding to our Saviour and his 12 Difciples, that
prirtce added a 13th fellowfhip, with fome new fcho-
larfhips. This college has been, within thefe few
years pail, adorned with a very fine new building,
and the whole court cafed with ftone, and fafhed
on the inflde.

12. St. John's College

Was founded in the year 1509, by the fame lady,,
upon the place where, anno n 34, Nigel or AW,
fecond bifhop of Ely, founded an hofpital for canons
regular ; which, by Hugh de Balfkam, was converted
into a priory dedicated to St, John, and, by the ex-
ecutors of the faid countefs of Richmond, into a col-
lege, under the name of the fame faint. For fhe
died before it was fmifhed, which retarded the wTork
for fome time ; but it was afterwards carried on by
her executors ; and in the beginning of the reign of
king James I. was greatly inlarged with fine new
buildings. This college, pleafantly fituated by the
river, is no lefs remarkable for its number of ftu-
dents, and its beautiful groves and gardens, than for
its ftricl: and regular difcipline. It has a noble li-
brary, which has been of late years greatly aug-
mented by the acceffion of the library of Dr.
2 Gunnings

C A M B R I D G E S H I R E. 83;

Gunning, bifhop of £/y9 and of that of Matthew
Prior, efq. who continued fellow of this Society till
the day of his death, or nearly fo. One fide of the
firft court, oppofite to the chapel, has been lately in<
a manner rebuilt, and the rooms- all new laid out,,
fafhed, and faced with ftone.

13. Magdalen College

Was founded anno 1542, by Thomas Auiley, lord*
chancellor of England, and was afterwards inlarged
and endowed by Sir Chrijlopher Day, lord chief jus-
tice of England, This college ftands by* itfelf on the "
north- weft fide of the river, and hath been of late
years improved and adorned by an handfome piece of
building. A fellowship of a confiderable value has
been lately founded at this college, which is appro--
priated to gentlemen of the county of Norfolk, and
called The ! raveling Norfolk Fellow/hip.

To the library of this college were left a collection-
of books and MSS. by Samuel Pepys, efq; as alfo •
great numbers of papers relating to the navy and
admiralty. The benefactor bequeathed the prefTes,.
as well as the books and papers; and they are kept in*
the manner he left them.

14, Trinity College

Was founded anno 1546, by king Henry VIII. out
of three others, St. Michael's college built by Hervie
of Strati on in the time of Edward \\. King's Hall9
founded by Edward III. and Fenwick's Hotel, Its
worthy m after T. Nevil, dean of Canterbury, repaired,
or rather new-built, this college, with that iplen-
dor and magnificence, that, for fpacioufnefs and the
beauty and uniformity of its buildings, it is hardly
to be outdone. All which have been ftnce ftiil further
improved by a moft noble and itately library, pre-

E 6 fen ted

84 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

fented by the famous Dr. Ifaac Barrow ; and buftt
by Sir Chrifiopher Wren at 20,000/. expence : a
building, for the bignefs and defign of it (fays a
right reverend prelate) perhaps not to be matched in
thefe kingdoms. This college is likewife rendered
famous on account of feveral great men it has edu-
cated, as the lord Bacon , Sir Ifaac Newton, Mr.
Cowley, Dr. Barrow, Mr. Dry den, Mr. Ray, Dr.
Bintley, and Dr. Smith, its late learned m after. July
4, 1755, was eredted in the anti -chapel, by Dr.
Smith, that noble marble ftatue of Sir Ifaac Newton,
which is allowed, by the beft judges, to be a com-
plete mafter-piece of the celebrated Mr. Roubiliac,
and is thus defcribed by an ingenious modern poet;

Hark / where the organ, full and clear,
With loud hofannas charm the ear,
Behold (a prifm within his hands)
JbforVd in thought great Newton /lands t
Such was his brow, and look ferene,
/lis ferious gait, and mufing mien ;
When, taught on eagle wings to fly %
He traced the wonders ofthefky ;
¥he chambers of the fun explord,
Where tints ofthoufand hues were Jhr V.

15. Emanuel College

Was founded anno 1584, by Sir William Mildmay,
chancellor of the exchequer to queen Elizabeth, in a
place where was formerly a convent of Dominicans,
founded in the year 1280, by the lady 4lice, coun-
tefs of Oxford, After the fuppreflion of monafteries
it came into the pofTeftion of Mr. Sherwood of whom
Sir Walter feems to have bought it. It has a very
neat chapel, built by the bounty of Dr. William
Sancro/t, archbifhop of Canterbury, and others. And
the library belonging to it received a fine addition

by

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 85

by the valuable collection of books of the fame arch-
bifhop, given to it on the deceafe of that prelate.
This building has been very much improved by a
fine and extenfive front to the ftreet, of regular ar-
chitecture.

16. Sidney-Sussex College

Was founded in 1598, by virtue of the will of
the lady Frances Raddiff, countefs dowager of Suffix^
who died anno 1589, and by her will left 5000/.
for the founding of a college, to be called Sidney*
Suffix. It was erected on the place where formerly
the monaftery of Grey-Friers, built by king Edward I.
had flourifhed. But though this college owes its
rife to the bequeft of this lady, and the care of her
executors, it is exceedingly improved by the bene-
factions of Sir Francis Clerk> who, befides erecting
the buildings in the fecond court, augmented the
fcholarfhips, and founded four feilowfhips more ; and
moreover Sir John Brereton left to it above 2000 /.
It has been greatly improved, partly in its hall, in
the time of its late matter, and a handfome chapel is
now building.

Thefe are the fixteen colleges or halls in this
univerfity.

The fchools of this univerlity were at firft in pri-
vate houfes, hired from ten years to ten years for
that purpoie by the univerfity ; in which time they
might not be put to any ether ufe. Afterwards pub-
lic fchools were built at the charge of the univerfity,
in or near the place where they now ftand : but the
prefent fabric, as it is now built of brick and rough
ftone, was erefted partly at the expence of the uni-
verfity, and partly by the contributions of feveral
benefactors.

The whole number of fellows in the univerfity is
406, and of fcholars 666; befides which there are

236

86 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

236 inferior officers and fervants of various kinds$
who are maintained upon the foundation. Theie,.
however, are not all the ftudents of the univerfity ;
there are two forts of ftudents, called penfioners, the
greater and the lefs :" the greater penfioners are, in
general, the young nobility, and are called fellow-
commoners, becaufe, though they are fcholars, they
dine with the fellows ; the lefs are dieted with the
fcholars; but both live at their own expence. The
nobility,, which includes baronets, are called and
rank as noblemen ; and as fuch are intitled to degrees,,
without waiting the ftatutable time. There are alio
a confiderable number of poor fcholars, called lizars :
thefe, though riot abfolutely of the foundations, are
capable of receiving many benefactions, called ex-
hibitions ; which afiiftthem greatly in pairing through
fuch an expenfive education; but the number of
thofe penfioners and fizars cannot be afcertained, as-
it is in a ftate of perpetual fluctuation.-

The Univerfity Library was firft built by Rotherham, .
archbifhop of Fork, who, with Ton/la/, bilhop of
Durham, furnifhed it with choice books ; few whereof
are to be found at prefenr.. But it contained never-
thelefs about 14000 books, when his late majefty
king George I. was gracioufly pleafed, in the be-
ginning of his reign, to purchafe the large and cu-
rious library of Dr. John Moor, bifliop of Ely, who*
died July 30, 1714, and, as a mark of his royal
favour, to beftow it upon this univerfity.

There have been very lately great additions and
alterations made in the library, for the better difpo-
fition of this valuable royal prefent, which confifted
of upwards of 30,000 volumes, and cod: the king
7O00 guineas. And Charles, the firft: lord vifcount
cfownJbend, having underftood that the univerfity, to
fhew their gratitude, and do honour to the memory
of his majefly king George I. intended to erect a

flatue

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 87

ftatue of that monarch, was pleafed to offer to caufe
the fame to be carved, and fet up in the faid library
at his own expence ; which generous tender was re-
ceived by the univerfity in the manner it deferved,
and with circumftances equally to their own and his
lordfhip's honour. And in the month of Oclober
1739, in purfuance thereof, a fine marble ftatue of
this great prince was accordingly erected in the fe-
nate-houfe of the univerfity; on which are the fol-
low: ng infcriptions ; viz. On the front 1

GEORGIO f

Optimo Principi,

Magna Britannia Reg:,

Ob infignia ejus in banc Academiam,

Merita,

Senatus Canfabrigienjis

In perpetuum

Grati Animi Tejiimonium

Statuam

Mortuo ponendam

Decrevit.

That is, By the fenate of Cambridge it was decreed,
that a flatue fhould be ere£led to his late mofl ex-
cellent majefty George I. king of Great Britain, as
a perpetual monument of their gratitude for his
fignal benefits to this univerfity. On the left :

CAROLUS

Vicecomes Townfhend,

Summum turn Academicsy turn

Reipublica Decus,

Pro Eximia, qua Regem coluerat,

Pietate, proque fingulari,

^ua Academiam foveraty

Caritate, Statuam

A Senatu

S8 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

A Senatu Academico decretam

Sumptibus fuis e M armor e

Faciendam locavit.

That is, Charles lord vifcount Townjhend, a principal
ornament both of the univerfity and the ftate,
agreeably to his lingular loyalty towards his prince,
and the particular affection wherewith he had fa-
voured the univerfity, engaged to have the ftatue,
which was decreed by the fenate of Cambridge,
made of marble at his own expence.

CAROLUS Film

Vicecomes Townfhend,

Virtutum aque ac Honorum

Paternorum Hares,

Statuam,

£htam Pater Morte fubita abreptus

Imp erf eel am reliquerat*

Perficiendam,

At que in hoc ornatijfimo

Academics Loco collocandam

Curavit.

That is, Charles the fon, lord vifcount Town/bend,
heir alike to the virtues and dignities of his father,
caufed this ftatue, which his father, furpriled by
fudden death, had left imperfect, to be completed,
and erected in this moft honourable place of the
univerfity.

The fame beneficent king, not contented with
having given this noble inftance of his royal bounty
to the univerfity of Cambridge, in the year 1724 was
gracioufly plcafed to confer another mark of his favour
upon them, and which extended to the univerfity of
Oxford, in creating a new eftablifhment in a moft
Wi'ful branch of learning, which was much wanted,

and

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 89

and for which till that time there had been no provi-
fion : this was, to appoint two perfons, not under
the degree of mailer of arts,, or bachelor of laws,
jkilled in modern hitlory, and in the knowledge of
modern languages, to be nominated king's profefTors
of modern hiftory, one for the univerfity of Cambridge •,
and the other for that of Oxford-, who are obliged to
read lectures in the public fchools, at particular
times; each of which profefTors to have a itipend of
400 /. per. annum : out of which each profeffor is
obliged to maintain, with fufficient falaries, two per-
fons at leaf!:, well qualified to teach and inftrudt in
writing and fpeaking the faid languages, gratis,
twenty fcholars of each univerfity to be nominated
by the king, each of which is obliged to learn two,
at leaft, of the faid languages.

The fame prince alfo was pleafed to appoint twelve
perfons, chofen out of each of the univerfities, to be
freachers in the royal chapel of Whitehall, at Hated
times, with a falary of thirty pounds to each ; and
declared, that he would caufe a particular regard to be
\ to the members of the two univerfities in the difpo-
fitionsof thofe benefices wfiich fell into the royal gift.

A very fine marble ftatue, by Ryfbrack, of Charles
duke of Somerfety who was chancellor of this uni-
verfity for above fixty years, was placed, in July
1756, in the fenate-houfe at Cambridge, on the right
hand of the door, as you enter. It exhibits a noble
figure of the duke in the younger part of his life,,
railed on a fquare pedeflal, and in the Vandyke drefs,
with the enfigns of the order of the garter, leaning
in an eafy pofture on his left arm, and holding out a
roll in his right-hand. The whole piece has a very
graceful and majeftic look, is extremely well exe-
cuted, and does honour to the artift. It was a prefent
made to the univerfity by the duke's illuftrious
daughters, the marchionels of Granby and lady

Gucrnfey*

90 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

Guemfey. The following infcription in capitals is
fet on the front of the pedeftal :

Carolo

Duel Somerfetenfi

Strenuo juris Academici Defenfori

Acerrimo Libertatis Publica vindici

Statuam

LecliJJimarum Matronarum Munus

L, M.- ponendam decrevit

Academia Cantabrigienfis

£>uam Pr&fidio fuo munivit

Auxit Munificentia

Per annos plus fexaginta

Cancellarius,

That is, To Charles duke of Somerfet, a ftrenuous
defender of the rights of the univerfity, a zealous-
afiertor of public liberty, this ftatue, the gift of
two moft excellent matrons, was willingly ancf
defervedly placed by the decree of the univerlity*
which he, chancellor of it above fixty years, de-
fended by his patronage, augmented by his muni*
fience.

On the reverfe :

Hanc ftatuam

Sute in parentem pietatis

In academiam Jludli

Adonumentum

Qmatiffimce Fasmina

Francifca Marchionis de Granby Conjux

Charlotta Baronis de Guemfey

S. P,faciendam curaverunt

1756.

Tkaif

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 91

That is, This ftatue, a monument of filial duty to
their parent, of their affection for the univerfity,
the moft accomplifhed ladies, Frances, wife of the
marquis of Granby, Charlotte, of lord Guernfey9
caufed to be erected at their own expence, 1756.

An Italian ftatue of Fame, by Borotta, brought
from Cannons, the feat of the late duke of Chandois,
was prefented to the univerfity by Peter Burrely
junior, efquire.

In the year 1766, his grace the duke of Newcaftle,
chancellor of the univerfity, placed a fine ftatue of
king George II. in the fenate-houfe, oppofite to that
of his royal father George I. as a monument of gra-
titude to his royal mafter, and of regard to the uni-
verfity. On the front of the pedeflal is the following
infcription :

Georgio Secundo,

Patrono fuo, optime merentiy

Semper Venerando ;

Quod volenti Popula^

JuJliJJime humanijjime-y

In Pace C3* in Bella

Feliciter imperavit ;

Quod rfcademiam Cantabrigienfem

Fovit, auxit, ornavit;

Hanc Statuam,

Mtertium, faxit Deus, Monumentum

Grati animi in Regem,

Pietatis in Patriam,

Amoris in Academiam,

Suis Sumptibus, poni curavity

Thomas Holies,

Dux de Newcaftle

Academics Cancellariusy

A.D. 1766.

Thai.

9£ CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

That is, To George II. his ever honoured and truly
deferving patron, who happily, inoft juftly, and
moft clemently, governed a willing people, ii-i
peace and in war ; who cherimed, enriched,
adorned, this univeriitv of Cambridge : this Statue
was erected as a lailing monument of his gratitude
to his king, of his piety to his country, and love
to this university, at his own expence, by Thomas
Holies duke of NewcnjVe, chancellor of the uni-
verfity, in the year 1766.

On the 29th of April, 1 7 ^5, his grace the duke
of Nevucaftle, chancellor of this university, attended
by the heads and doctors, and almoft all the mem-
bers of the fenate-houfe, proceeded from Clare-hall
to the place intended for the erection of a new pub-
lic library ; and there his grace, after a fhort addrefs
in Latin for fuccefs to the undertaking, laid the firft
frone, in the hollow part of which was placed a
great number of gold and Silver pieces of his late
majefty's coin ; and, in another part' of it, a copper-
plate, with the following infcription :

Conjlantia /Ei emit atique facr urn ,

Lotus hoc Orientate Bibliotheca Public*}

Egregia Georgii I mi

Britanniarum Regis.

Liberalitate locupletata

Vetuflate obfoletam inflauravit

Georgii Ildi Principis optimi

Munificentia,

/lecedente

NolWffimorum virorum,

Thomae Holies Duels de Newcaftle,

Academics Cancellarii

Philippi Comitis de Hardwicke Anglise Cancellarii

Academi* Jummi Senefchalli

Ac

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 95

Ac plurimorum Prafulum, Optimatum,

Alior unique Academic fauiorum

Propenfa in Rei literaria incrementum

Splendoremque, benignitate*

Lapidem hunc immobilem,

Operis exordium

Ipjius aufpiciis fufcepti,

. AuSforitatey Patrocinio, Procuration,

Feliciter, Deo propitio, perjiciendi,

Circumftante frequentijjima Academicorum Corona I

Prid. Kalend. Mail, M.dcc.lv,

Sua manu folemniter pofuit

Academice Cancellarius.

That is, Sacred to Conftancy and Eternity, this eaft
fide of the public library, enriched by the lingular
liberality of George I. king of Great Britain,
when decayed with age, was rebuilt by the muni-
ficence of the beft of princes George il. with the
additional bounty of the moft noble Thomas Holies,
duke of Newcajlle, chancellor of the univerfity,
Philip earl of Hardwicke, lord high- chancellor of
England, high-fteward of the fame, of feveral
prelates, noblemen, and other patrons of the uni-
verfity, warmly afFected to the increafe and fplen-
dor of learning. This immoveable ftone, the
beginning of the work, under the faid aufpices,
authority, patronage, and procuration undertaken,
and, by God's help, to be happily perfected, in
prefence of a numerous aflembly of the gentlemen
of the univerfity, the chancellor thereof laid fo-
lemnly, with his own hand, on the laft day of

4>"7> J755-

Some other benefactions to this univerfity, within
thefe few years pad, are as follow :

0n

54 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

On the death of Mrs. Addenbroke (Afar. 1720)
widow of an eminent phyfician of that name, the
fum of about 4000/. devolved to this university ;
which, by the doctor's will, was to be applied to the
building and furnifhing a phyfical hofpital in Cam-
bridge, in which poor difeafed people were to be ad-
mitted for cure gratis. The mailer and fellows of
Catharine-hall were appointed truftees of this charity.
This hofpital was erected a few years after ; but one
of the executors of Mrs. Addenbrokey in whole hands
the money was lodged, failed, which put a (lop to
the, completing of this building. But in the year
1758, the univerfity having obtained a decree in
Chancery for a fum of money ariling from the eftate
of the trultee, in whofe hands the money had been,
they finifhed the building, and opened it for a pub-
lic infirmary, under the fan£lion of an a£l of par-
liament. Dr. Walker ; fub-mafter of Trinity-college,
who died December 15, 1 764, in his life-time pur-
chafed for 1600/. near five acres of ground for a
phyfic-garden, and made a donation of it to the uni-
verfity, and by his will left 50 /. a year for the fup-
port of it ; but further afliitance is wanting to bring
it to perfection.

Dr. John Woodward, who died April 25, 1728,
left to the univerfity of Cambridge a fum of money,
for erecting a le&urefhip for Natural Philoibphy,
with a provifion of 150/. per annum for the lupport
and maintenance of the fame for ever. He likewife
bequeathed to the faid univerfity his colkclion of
foirils, and other natural curioiities, and fuch a part
of his library moreover, as was nccelfary to illuf-
trate his faid collection. The Woodwardian lecturers
have been, I. 1 73 1 , Conyers Middlctzn, D. D.

2. 1734, Cburles Mafon, B. D. afterwards D. D.

3. 1762, John Ajichrll, B. D. 4, 1764, Samuel
Ogdtn, D. D. the prefent profeffor.

Thomas

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 95

Thomas Lowndes, efq; who died in 1748, bequeath-
ed his eftate at Overton and Smallwood, in Chejhire, to
found a profefforfhip of geometry and aftronomy in
this univerfity, to be called by his name.

His prefent majefty has beftowed 100 /. per ann.
on the profeffor of anatomy, the fame mm on the
profeffor of botany, and the like on the profeffor of
chemiftry ; but, fince the death of the laft profeffor,
payment of the ftipend has ceafed, though the pre-
fent profeffor is faid to be in every refpeft deferving
of fuch or greater favours.

Cambridge- ca file was built by William the Con-
queror, as one of thofe many which he erected in
divers parts, to curb his new iubjects. It was ftrong
and ftately, and had in it, among other fpacious
apartments, a magnificent hall. This being neg-
lected, the (tones and timber of it were afterwards
begged of Henry IV. by the mafter and fellows of
King s Hall, towards the building of their chapel.
Nothing is now {landing but the gatehoufe, which is
the county gaol, 'and an artificial high hill of a fteep
afcent, and level at top.

Adjoining to the town-hall of Cambridge, is a new
' fhire-houfe, built with brick and ftone, at the ex-
pence of the county; wherein are two courts; one
for nifi prins, the other for criminal caufes ; wThich
were opened by lord chief juftice Willes^ and Mr.
Baron Clarke, dugujl 11, 1747.

The town of Cambridge is very large ; mofl: of its
ftreets are narrow, the houfes ill-built, and the
greateft part of them much out of repair ; fo that,
were it not for the colleges, and other public edifices,
it would make but a mean appearance ; yet both uni-
verfity and town agreed in rejecting the moft favour-
able opportunity that could be hoped for, of paving,
lighting, Sec. under ah a£t of parliament, about
feven or eight yeais ago; and yet, it is laid, they

value

96 CAMBRIDGESHIRE.

value themfelves- upon being one of the firfl paved
towns.

Here is a good market for fifh, butter, garden-
ware, Sec. at the upper end of which is a very hand-
fome conduit, which fupplies the inhabitants wirh
frefh water : this is brought by a fmall channel from
a brook about three miles from Cambridge, and is
coiweyed through the principal itreet to the different
parts of the town, at the expence of Hobfon the let-
ter-carrier, who left an eftate in land to the corpora-
tion, for keeping the channel and conduit in conftant
repair for ever.

From Cambridge the road lies north- weft, on the
edge of the fens, to Huntingdon* On the great poft-
road betwixt Royflon and Huntingdon fhinds the little
market-town of Caxton, remarkable for being the
birth place of Caxton, the firft printer in England,
who died in the year i486. The Roman way palTes
from Arington N. W. through Holm into this town,,
and' fo on to Papworth, higher up on the fame road ;
which three 1 aft- mentioned places are villages only.
On this fide, it is all an agreeable corn country,
adorned with feveral feats of gentlemen ; but the
chief is Wimple-hall, formerly built, at a vaft ex-
pence, by an earl of Radnor. It was afterwards
bought by his grace John Holies Cavendijh, duke of
Newca/lle-, in a partition of whole vaft eftate, it fell
to Edward earl of Oxford and Mortimer, in right of
his lady, the only daughter of the laid dukej who
brought the earl this eftate, and many others, fuffi-
cient to denominate her one of the richeft heireftes
in Great Britain ; but his lordfhip parted with it, a
little before his death, to the right honourable the
then lord chancellor Hardwicke, whole fon, the pre-
fect earl of Hardwicke, now poflelles it. It is litua-
ted in a dirty country; and, after the coft beflowed
upon it from its firft owner to this time, the gardens

and

CAMBRIDGESHIRE. 97

and building are both greatly improved, efpecially by
die prefent pofTeiTor.

In the neighbourhood of Cambridge, towards Gog"
migog hills, are many faffron grounds, where a much
greater quantity of faffron is annually produced than
at or about Saffron Walden ; fo that the market, which
was formerly kept there for this commodity, is now
kept at Linton, 2l fmall market-town, of no note,
faving that a Roman military way falls into the/to-
ing here.

Near this town is a noble feat lately belonging to
the right honourable lord Montfort, called Horfeheatb"
ball, built by the earl of Jrlington, in the reign of
Charles II. and laft fold in 1777. The- houfe ftand's
on an eminence, fo as to command a profpecr. to the
oppofite fide of the county, which is upwards of
twenty miles. The building is lofty, and the apart-
ments large ; the two ftaircafes, one on each fide of
the hall, are much larger and heavier than would be
built in thefe times ; but it is faid, that lord Burling-
ton was againfl: pulling them down.

The hall is very noble; it is thirty- five feet fquare,
and thirty feet high ; the approach to this hall is by
a noble flight of Hone fteps, the floor being ele-
vated nine feet from the ground ; fo that the fervants
offices are below, on the level of the ground; but,
belides thefe, there are two wings of offices of a
large extent ; fo that the whole front is near 500 feet
in length: the park was not very large, but the late
lord Montfort added more land to it: the roads to this
park from Linton, and through the park, are made
very good, though it is in a very dirty country.

Moft of the lands in this, and fome other parts of
this county, are fo full of melilot, as to fill the land,
and become a very bad weed ; for the feeds mix with
the corn in fuch quantities, as to give a naufeous
tafte to their bread, which is very difagreeable to

Vol. I. F Grangers,

98 ESSEX.

Grangers, though- the inhabitants, who have been
long accuftomed to eat it, do notxovnp'ain of it.

Yxqvtl Cambridge Jhir-e, my defign. obliging me, and
the direct road in part concurring, 1 came back,
through the weft- fide of the county of Effex, and
firfl to Saffron Wulden*

Saffron IV alden is a fine town, with a good church,
.where -?it.ands a monument of the lord Audley, chan-
cellor to king Henry VIII. who made him a grant
of certain lands belonging to a diilblved monaflery
near this town, which takes its name from the great
quantities of fafTron which formerly were cultivated
hereabouts, and anfwered exceeding well in the ma-
nufacturing. How it came into decay, nobody
could account to me, though there may be ftiil ilea
a great, many acres of fafTron ground about this
town. This commodity was never known to grow
in England^ till the reign of Edward. III. This \
town was incorporated by Edward III. with 24 al-
dermen, out of whom were yearly chofen a treasurer
(the head officer for that year), and two chamberlains
his affirmants. But by a charter of king James 1L
it has a mayor, befides 1 1 aldermen, a recorder, and
town -clerk. It has two fairs a year, an alms-hpufe
well endowed, and a free-ichool on a royal, founda-
ti n.

Near this town, on the fide of Cambridge road, ,
Hands the noble and ftately palace of Dudley- Inn, or
Judley-End) formerly the largefl palace jn England \
ai d though a great part of it has been pulled down,
is ftill one of the melt, magnificent ftru£hires in the
kingdom. It was built out of the,wiins of the above
mentioned monaflery, by Thomas, fecond fon of
Thomas, duke of Norfolk, who married the only
dughter and heirefs of the afore-named lord Audley*
ri his Thomas was fummoned to parliament in queen

£li%a-

ESSEX. 99

Elizabeth's time, as lord Dudley of JValden\ and was
afcerware's created earl of Suffolk by king James I. to
whom he was fii ft chamberlain, and afterwards lord
high tre^furer. It was defigned for a royal palace
for that king; and when it was finifhed with all the
elegance and polite tafte of the times, the king was
invited to fee it ; and, as he paffed to Newmarket, he
tO( k up a night's lodging there: when, after having
viewed it with great furprize and aftonifhment, the
earl aiked him, how he approved of it? Wfeo an-
fwered, Very well. But troth, man, faid he, it is
too m.<ch for a king ; but it inay do for a lord high-
treafurer ; and fo left it upon the earl's hands, who
is reported to have had then an eftate of 50,000 /. a
year. King Charles II. purchafed this houfe, and fo
it became, what it was originally defigned for, a
royal palace. The king mortgaged the hearth-tax
to the earl, to anfwer the purchafe-money ; and ap-
pointed James, then earl of Suffolk, houfekeeper
thereof, with a falary of 1000 1. a year; which
office continued in the family till the Revolution,
when the hearth-tax was abolifhed ; and, the exi-
gence of the ilate being fuch, as it could not afford
to pay the purchafe money, king William III. re-
granted the faid houfe to the family; upon which
Henry earl of Suffolk (who, in his father's life-time,
was created earl of Bi-don^ to qualify him to hold
the marfhal's ftafT) pulled down a great part of this
noble edifice : and yet it is ftiil, as I have faid, very
ilarge, and makes a grand appearance. The apart-,
:ments above and below are very lofty and fpacious ;
and there was a gallery, which extended the whole
length of the back-front of the houfe, and was
judged to be the largelt in England ; but it has been
'pulled down feveral years. Behind the houfe is a
fine park, extending to Saffron Walden, well ftored
with deer $ in which there is a riling fppt of ground,

F 2 whereoa

ioo ESSEX.

whereon if the lioufe had been erected, it would
have had a much better efTecl: as to profpect ; for its
prefeht fituation is low. In 1764, the ground, in
the front of the houfe, was elegantly laid out, and
a fine fubftantial flone bridge built over the river,
made out of a ditch, by iir John Griffin Griffin,
knight of the bath, the prefent owner, who has very
coniiderably improved both houfe and gardens.

At a fmall town called Littlebv.ry, not far from
Audley-Inn, is an houfe which was erected by the
famous Mr. Winftanley, who built Eddyjhne light-
houfe, and perifhed in it, as I fhall mention in its
place, The fame gentleman was famous alio for his
water- works, full of whimlical, but ingenious con-
trivances.

• But I ought not to omit, that near Icleton and
Stretba/y upon the river Cam, lies. Chejlerford; where,
in the year 17 19, were difcovered the vejVigia of a
Roman city. The foundation of the walls is very
apparent quite round, though level with the ground,
including about 50 acres. Great part of it ferves
for a caufeway to the public Cambridge road from
London. The ( rown Inn is built upon it. In the
north-weft end of the town is the foundation of a
Roman temple. Many Roman coins have been found
in the Borough Field, as they term the an:ient city,
whofe name was Camboritum, according to Dr. Stukeley.
In this parifh, they fay, has been a royal manor.
Not far off, by Audky-lnn, is a great Roman camp,
upon an eminence, where now fland the ruins of an
hunting- tower ot brick.

A little north of this part of the country rifes the
river Stour, which, for a courfe of tifcy miles or
more, parts the two counties of Suffolk a^d Ejjcx \
pafhr: thro »gh or near Haveril, Clare, Cavendijh%
Ibfetfird, Sudbury, :: tiers, Nay land, Stretjord, Ded-
ham, Maningtr.ee> and into the fea at Harwich,

As

ESSE X. ioi

As we came on this fide, we Saw at a di dance

Braintree and Backing, two large and populous towns,

which join together, being parted by a little Stream

of water. Theie were formerly very rich and fiou-

rifliing, occasioned by the great trade for bays, which

were manufactured in fuch quantities in theie two

towns, *as to lend weekly to London four, five, or fix

waggons laden with them ; but this trade having

greatly decreafed in a few years, the inhabitants were

in a very miferable condition ; for, by an increaie of

■their poor, their parifh-rates were rifen fo high, that,

in the year 1738, the poor's rate in Becking parilh

Iwas nine Shillings in the pound; which, together

:\vith their other rates and taxes, rendered it very

[burdenfome to all the inhabitants; and at the fame

time, the Imall-pox having infeiled both the towns,

'their markets were almofl deferted by the country -

1 people. The parifh of Backing is a rural deanry, a

peculiar of the archbifhop of Canterbury, and the

living is valued at upwards of -500/. per annum.

Near Braintree is the parifh of Black Notley, in
which are a few fcattered houfes, Scarcely worth
noticing, except in honour to the memory of the
late learned Mr. Ray, (author of " The Wifdom of
God, manifefted in the Works of the Creation,"
5* The Synopfis Plantarum," and many other valut-
able books) who was born and refided here ibme of
the latter years of his life. Here he alfo died, and
\ was buried in the church-yard, over whofe grave a
monument was erected, with an inscription in Latin.

The country hereabout is pleafant, having many
i rifings and falls, with great plenty of water. The
; fields are well cultivated, fo as to render the whole
face of the country like a garden.

Near Braintree is Felfied, a Small village, noted
for a flourishing free- School, of an ancient founda-
tion, in the patronage of the earl of Winchelfea.

F 3 Ingate*

ioa ESSEX,

Ingatejl one-hall^ one of the family feats of Fore
Petre, lies at a fmall diftance from the public road,,
on the right hand, about a quarter of a mile fhort
of Ingatejhne town.

The houfe is lituated very low, fo as not to be
feen at a fmall diftance. It is a large, irregular
building, and the gardens are old ; though there
were many alterations made in them for the better
by the late lord before he came of age; but as this-
was not the feat where he intended to refkie, hit
lordfhip did not employ his fine genius in modelling
of thefe gardens; but his whole thoughts were benE
to embellifh his noble feat at Thorndon> which is
fituated on a Fifing ground, about three miles on the
right-hand of Brentwood.

Tborndon Place is a new and moft fbperb flruc-
ture. The father of the prefent lord Petre had
begun and half completed a very large houfe
at the extremity of the park, and the termina-
tion of an avenue near four miles in- length, and had
provided every material for the completion of it, even
to the doors, floors, wain footing, &c. when he died-,
leaving his fon, the prefent lord, an infant ; whoj
ibon after he came of age, pulled down the houfe
his father had begun, and with its materials, and
thole prepared by the late lord, which had been care-
fully preferved, has erected in the centre of the
avenue, and in a very commanding fituation, one of
the fineft houfes in England. The park is very ex-
teniive, and finely timbered ; the menagerie is a
delightful fpot, and the woods cai boaft not only of
the rineft trees of this country, but alio the greateft
variety of exotics, which have attained a perfection
never before known in this climate.

In the parifh church of Ingateftone are to be feen
the monuments of this noble family, who by a con-

ftant

ESSE X. 103

{font feries of beneficent acYions to the poor, and
bounty upon all charitable occafions, gained to them-
ftlves an affectionate efteem through all that part of
the country, fuch as no prejudice arifing from a dif-
ference in religion could or ought to impair; for
great and good actions command our refpedt, what-
ever the religious opinions of the benefactors may be.

From hence we crofted the country to the great
foreft, called Epping Firefly reaching almoft to Lon-
don The country on that fide of Ejfex is called the
Roodings, I fuppoie, becaufe there are no lefs than
ten towns almoft all together, called by the name of
Hooding; and is famous for good land, good mult,
and dirty roads, the latter being in the winter hardly
palTable for horie or man. In the midft o:~ this we
fee Chipping Onger, Hatfield Broad Oak, Epping, and
many forefl- towns, famed alfo for agriculture and
good malt.

On the fouth-weft of the county is Waltham Abbey,
which was formerly a monaftery, built by Harold^
fon to earl Godwin, in honour of the crofs. The
town is faid to have been built and peopled by one
Tovius, towards the latter end of the Saxon reigns.
This town is feated on the river Lee, where the
ilreams, being divided, inclofe feveral fmall iflands,
which, in times of great floods, are commonly over-
flowed : but thefe meadows produce great plenty of
grafs in fummer, fo that here are many dairy farms,
which turn to good account.

The abbey is turned into a feat. The gardens
belonging to it were, fome years fince, in great re-
pute ; but, fince the tafte for incloled gardens has been
condemned, they have been little frequented.

At this abbey was buried the body of king Harold,
flam in the great battle in Sujfex, againft IVilliam the
Conqueror, whole mother begged that favour of the

F 4 vi&orj

104 -ESSEX.

victor; a monument was built for him, on which
was engraven an epitaph *.

From hence I came again over the lower or weftern
part of the foreft, where it is befpangled with vil-
lages, filled with fine feats, mod of them built hyj
citizens of London ; but the luftre of them teems to.
be intirely eclipfed by V/anJled Houfe, the magnifi-
cent palace of earl Tilnry, which I barely mentioned
before. ,

7 his noble feat, which was built by fir Jcfiah
Child, the grandfather of the prefent earl of Tilneyt
is efieemed, and with jufeice, one of the raoft beau-<
tiful and magnificent private houfes in Europe. It
is of Portland flone, and the front towards the foreft,
though it has given hints to fucceeding architects,
has never been rivaled by the many imitations of it;
but ftill boafts the fineft elevation not only in this, but
perhaps any other kingdom. The interior decora-
tions pofTefs all the elegance and fplendor of their
day ; there are many very grand and compleat apart-
ments, and the gallery, or, as it is generally called,,
the Ball Room, is one of the moft elegant, pleafing,
and beft proportioned rooms I ever favv. To magni-
ficence and elegance may be added, a wonderful de-
gree of convenience which this houfe pofTefTes, and
is, in general, too little confidered where fplendor
and fliow are fuch principal objects. The original
plan of the architect, Mr. Colin Campbell, is not, nor,
f fuppofe, ever will be, finifhed.. The prefent lord
Ttiney, who had fome thoughts of compleating it,
" was advifed by the moll eminent architects in Europe,
whom he confulted, to give it no other {unfiling but
that which it at prefent poflefles, confining of the
grand cnclofure and its decorations, which forms the
entrance to the principal front. The park, though
it is by no means equal to the houfe, is very hand-

* Sec Wccvcr'* Funeral Monument', p. 643.

fome,

ESSEX. 105

fome, and well planted ; but as the earl of Tilney
is hereditary ranger of Epping Fore/?, the whole of
that extenfive tract may be confidered as his park.
The gardens are very large, adorned with buildings,
and finely watered. In fome parts they may, indeed,
partake of a greater formality than is confident with
the prefent tafte ; neverthelefs, they are a very pro-
per appendage to the magnificent edifice which
crowns them. The prefent lord has formed, by the
fide of the river, a very curious grotto, which will
not fail to attract the attention of the naturalist, by
the variety, rarenefs, and judicious difpofition, of
the fhells, minerals, foffils, petrifactions, &c. with
which it is adorned. Upon the whole, and every
circumftance belonging to this place confidered^, its
beauty, fituation, vicinity to the capital, &c. it
may be efteemed the nobleft villa in Europe.

From earl Tilney s houfe, and the reft of the fine
dwellings on that fide of the foreft (for there are
feveral good houfes at IVanJled, only that they feem,
as I have faid, all loft in the luftre of his lordfhip's
palace), I went fouth, towards, the great road over
that part of the foreft called- the Flats ; and by this
turn came neceflarily on to Stratford, where I fee
out. And here I fhaU conclude my fecond letter*

F 5 LET-

teS KEN T.

LETTER III.

Containing a Description of the County $f
Kent, csV.

SHALL begin my account of the famous
county of Kent at Deptford. It was anciently
called IV eft Greenwich >, and is a large town, and fo
much improved, that an handfome new church has •
been built there, dedicated to St. Paul.

At Deptford is a fcciety, founded in the year 1515,
by fir Thomas Spert, knight, and incorporated by
Henry VIII. by the name of " The Matter and
Wardens of the Holy Trinity" 1 heir bnf.nefs
(which is a matter of the higheft importance) is to
take cognizance of all fea marks, and to erect li?ht-
houfes, upon the feveral coans of the kingdom, for
the fecurity of navigation ; to direct the re-placing
or repairing of inch as may be removed or -decayed,
and to proiecute every perion who wilfully and mali-
ciouily deitroys or injures them. The cleanimg of
the Thames, and the preventing and removing ob-
structions upon the river, are within their province.
They fupply the fhips that fail from the river with
fuch ballaft as is taken out of it to inereafe its depth,
for which the owners of them pay the company one
fhilling per ton. There are likewife feveral other
privileges belonging to this company, which is go-
\erned by a maikr, four warden?, ei^ht afliflants,
and eighteen elder brethren.

Befides Trinity Houfe, there is alfo in Deptford
another building, called Trinty hofpital^ which has
thirty-eight houfes fronting the flrcet. This is a
more Jiandfome ftruftuse than the other, though not

ft

K EN T, 107

fo ancient, and has a large garden belonging to it.
This, as well as the former, is for decayed pilots,
matters of (hips, or their widows.

But what Deptford is mod noted for, is its noble
idock, where the royal navy was ufed to be built and
repaired, till it was found more convenient to build
the larger (hips at Woolwich, as 1 fhall mention in
its place; notwithstanding which, the whole area of
the yard is now enlarged to more than double what
it formerly was : it has a wet dock of two acres, for
fliips ; and another of an acre and half, for mails j
befides an inlargement of its ftorehoufes, dweliing-
houfes, launches, 6cc. fuitahle to it. More than a
thoufand men are conftantly employed in the ieveral
departments of it.

From Deptford I proceeded to Greenwich, one of
the rrioft delightful fpots in Britain.

The park, perhaps, has as much variety, in pro-
portion to its fize, as any in- the kingdom ; but the
views from the obfervatory (called Flamfiead Houfe\
and the One Tree Hill, are beautiful beyond imagi-
nation, particularly the former. The projection of
thefe hills is fo bold, that you do not look down upon
a gradually-failing Hope or flat inclofures, but at
once upon the tops of branching trees, which grow
in knots and clumps, out of deep hollows and fhady
dells The cattle feeding on the lawns, which ap-
pear in breaks among them, feem moving in a region
of fairy land. A thoufand natural openings among
the branches of the trees, break upon little pic-
turefque views of the fwelling furf, which, when
illumined by the fun, have an effect plealing beyond
the power of fancy to exhibit. This is the fore-
ground of the landfcape : a little further, the eve
falls on that noble ftructure the hofpitai, in the
midft of an amphitheatre of wood. Then the two
reaches of the river make that beautiful Terpentine

F 6 fwee

n

108 KEN T.

fweep wKich forms the IJle of Dogs, and prefents
the floating millions of the Thames, To the left ap-
pears a fine tra£t. of country leading to the capital^
which there finifhes the profpect.

The ground on which part of the hofpital now
Hands, is the fame on which was formerly fituated
the royal palace of our kings. Here Henry VIII.
held his feafts with joufls and tournaments : the
ground, which was called the Tilt Yard, is the fpot
on which the eaft wing of the hofpital is built.

The park was inlarged, walled about, and planted,
by king Charles II. foon after the Reftoration ; and
the defign or plan of a royal palace was then laid
out, one wing of which wras finifhed in a magnificent
manner, and makes now the firfl wing of the hofpi-
tal towards London.

The royal palace now remaining, was originally
built by Humphry duke of GlouceJIer, furnamed the
Good, brother of Henry V. and called by the faid
duke Placence. King Henry VII. much enlarged it,
added' to it a fmall houfe of Friers Mendicant, and
finifhed a tower begun by duke Humphry on the top
of the hill, where now Hands the royal obfervatory ;
the beautiful and extenfive profpedts from which
we have already mentioned. It was completed
by king Henry VIII. and afterwards much in-
larged and beautified by Henry Howard, earf of
Northampton, who dwelt in it. Here queen Mary
and queen Elizabeth were born ; and here died king
Edward VI.

This fuperb hofpital was begun by king Charles II.
who finifhed one wing at the expence of 36,000 /.
intending it for a palace j king William III. erected
the other wing, in 1694, and applied it to the relief
of feamen, their widows, and orphans; queen Anne
and king George I. continued the work ; but his late
majefty finifhed this grand deiign. Three tables are

hung

KENT. 109

hung up at the entrance into the hall, which record
the names of feveral generous benefactors to this
noble charity, amounting in the whole to the fum of
58,209/. And in the year 1732, the forfeited
efbite of the late earl of Der went water (being by
means of the right honourable the lord vifcount
Gage, a peer of Ireland, recovered out of the hands
of certain private perfons who had purchafed the
fame, at a rate vaftly difproportionate to the value),
amounting to near 6000 /. per annum, was given by
parliament to carry on and complete this work ;
which has enabled them to profecute it with fuch
vigour and fucceis, that a great progrefs has been
made fince that time towards completing this fump-
tuous edifice.

The hall is very noble, and finely painted by the
late lir James Thornhill. At the upper end of it, in
an alcove, are reprefented the late princefs Sophia,
king George I. king George 11. queen Caroline, the
late queen dowager of PruJJia, daughter of king
George I. Frede* ic prince of Wales, the duke of Cum-
berland, and the five princefTts, daughters of king
George II. On the cieling over the alcove, are her
late majefby queen Anne, and prince George of Den- '
mark ; and on the cieling of the hall, are king
William and queen Mary, with feveral fine emble-
matical figures.

On a pedeflal in the middle of the area of the
hofpital, fronting the Thames, is a ftatue of his ma^
jetty king George II.

Anno 1705, 100 difabled feamen were the firft
that were received into this hofpital; but the preient
number Was made up, in December 1737, a complete
1000. To each 100 penfioners fix nurfes are allow-
ed, who are to be feamens widows, at 10/. per an-
num, and 2 s, per week more to thofe who attend in,

the

no KENT.

the infirmary. Their common cloathing is blue,
with brafs buttons.

7'he chapel is decorated with curious carved work,
and is as gay, with gilding, as if the true proteftant
fimpiicity were forgotten in its ornaments, &c.

The church of Greenwich is a handibme new-built
edifice, dedicated to St. Alphage, archbifhop of Can-
t.rhury, who is faid to have been k riled by the Danes
on the fpot where the church ftands, anno 1012.

There are two free-fchools in this parifh ; one
founded by fir William Boreman, knight ; the other
fc t up by Mr. John Roan, who left his eftate for
teaching boys in reading, writing, and arithmetic;
allowing 40 j a year for each boy's cloaths : their
number is 20.

There is alfo an handfome college in this town,
which fronts the river,, for the maintenance of 20
poor men and a matter, founded and well endowed
by Henry earl of Northampton, and committed by him
to the care of the Mercers Company of London. A
chapel' belongs to this college, where the earl's body-
is laid, which, as well as his monument, was re-
moved hither a few years ago, from the chapel of
Dover caftie, whereof he was confhble.

This town may be faid to be one of the genteeltfl,
as well as pleaiantefr, in England: the inhabitants are
many of them perfbns of note and fafhion, who have
ferved abroad in the fleets or armies, and here pais
the lemainder of their days in eafe and delight;
having the pleafure to reflect upon, the dangers they
have gone through, and the faithful and honourable
parts they have acted on the public itage of life in
their countiVs caufe.

A market was erected in the year 1737 at this
town, the direction of which is in the governors of
the hoipital ; and the profits which ftiall ariie from

it

KENT. nr

if are to be carried to the ufe of that 'fine foundations
This market is kept every IVedncfday and Saturday.

The river Thames is here very broad, and the.
channel deep; and the water, at fome very high
fpring-tideSy is fait ; bat, in ordinary tides, fvveet
and frefti. The king's yatchs generally lie here.

Near the town of Greenwich, flood for many years
a magazine for gunpowder, in which frequently were
repofited from 6 to 8cOO barrels. The apparent
danger it was expofed to, of being blown-up by
treachery, lightning, or other accidents, adiing from
its defenceless iituation and ruinous cond tion, and
the extendve and fearce-reparable damage, which
the exploiion of fuch a quantity of gunpowder might
have been attended with, not only to that part of the
town n^arcft to it, but to the roval palace and the
magnihcent hofpital there, and. which might even bv
the ihock affect the dock- yards and ftorehoufes both
at Deptford and IVcolwichy and even the cities of
London and Wefiminfler, as well as the banks of the
river on both mores, and the navigation upon it,
occafionedy to-long ago as in the year 17 iB, an ap-
plication to parliament for the removal of the ma-
gazine to fome fafer and more convenient place; and
his majefty king George I. was pleafed then to give
orders to the officers of the ordnance to remove it.
But no provifion being made for purchafing land to
bsiild another, and to defray neceffary expences, no-
thing was done in it; and the old magazine grew
more and more dangerous, and out of repair.

In the year 1750, the application to parliament
was renewed, when his late majefty gave orders for
an eftimate of the expence to be laid before the houie;
wdiich was done in 1754. together with a furvey,
recommending a proper place, he.

The good work, in the year 1760, was folicited
with fuch proper efFecl, that an a& pafTed in the

begirw

ii2 KEN T.

beginning of that year, intituled, " An act for tak-
ing down and n moving the magazine for gunpowder,
and all buildings thereunto belonging, fituate near
Greenwich in Kent, and erecting inftead thereof a new
magazine for gunpowder at Purfltct, near the river
Thames, in the county of EJfex, and applying a fum
of money towards thofe purpofes ; and for obviating
difficulties arifmg upon an aCt, made in the laft feffion
of parliament, for a weekly compofition for lands
and hereditaments, purchaied for his majefty's fervice
at Portfmouth, Chatham, and Plymouth"

i he country behind Greenwich adds to the pleafurc
of the place : Black Heath, both for beauty of fitua-
tion, and an excellent air, is not outdone by any fpot
of ground in England* Indeed, all around it are
fcattered the villas of the nobility, gentry, and ca-
pital merchants : it may number the duke of Mon-
tague, the lords Dartmouth, Chefterfield, Falkland,
and many others oi rank and fortune, among its in-
habitants.

Near this is a van: hill, where the London archers
performed their exercifes upon grand occasions, and
were fomctimes vilited by the fovereigns : whence it
took the name of Shooters Hill,

On the eaft-fide of Black Heath ftands the hofpital
built by fir John Morden, bart. a Turkey merchant.
Several years before his death, which happened in
1708, he erected this fpacious itruclure, in form of
a college, folely at his own charge, in a field called
Great Stone Field, not far from his own habitation,
for the reception of poor, decayed, honeft merchants,
whereof in his life-time he placed 12 there. But,
by reafon of great lofTes, they were reduced to four
in the lady Mordents time, who was forced to re-
trench the expences of the houfe, becauie the lhare
allotted her by the laft will of fir Johny and fome

parts

KENT. 113

parts of KIs eflate, did not anfwer fo well as was
expected.

When flie died, fir John's whole eftate coming to
the college, the number was again increafcd, and
there are at this time 35 poor gentlemen in the
houfe; and the number not being limited, they are
to be increafed as the eftate will afford ; for the
building was defigned for, and will conveniently
hold, 40.

Seven Turkey merchants have the direction and

, viiitation of th;s hofpital, and the nomination of. the

peribns to be admitted into it; and as often as any

of thefe feven die, the furvivors are to choofe others

to fill up that number.

The treafurer of this hofpital has 40/. per annum.
There is alfo a chaplain, who is to read prayers
twice a day in the chapel, and to preach twice every
Sunday, His falary at hrft was 30/. a year ; but the
lady Morden doubled it at her death. She was in
other refpedts a benefaclrefs to the college \ and as
fhe put up her hufband's ftatue in a niche over the
gate of the college, the truftees have alfo put up her's
in another niche adjoining to that of her hufband.

The penfion is 20/. per annum each. At firfb
they wore gowns, with the founder's badge, wThkh
for lbme years pall has been difcontinued.

The chapel within the college is neatly wainfcoted,
and hath a coftly altar-piece ; and it has a burying-
place adjoining, for the members of the college.
The founder, according to his own defire, was
buried in a vault under the communion-table of this
chapel.

The chaplain, the treafurer, the merchants, are
all indifpenfably obliged to be relident there ; and,
unlets in cafe of iicknefs, no other perfons are to
refide, live, or lodge there; and no one is to be ad-
mitted

tr4 K- E N* T.

mitted as a perrfioner, who cannot bring a certificate"
to prove himfelf upwards of 60 years of age.

In a word; as the fituation of the place is pleafant^. •
the air good, and the endowment diffident, this ma/'
be laid to be one of the moft comfortable and elegant
pieces of charity in* England.

Near this college, on- the fouth^eaft. extremity of*
Black Heath, is a noble houfe, or rather palace, built
by the late fir Gregory Page, bart. whole father was'
a brewer at Greenwich. It is one of the fine!! feats
in England belonging tc- -a private gentleman ; ancF
the park, gardens, and country without, and the*
mafterly paintings, rich hangings, marbles, bafTcy
relievos, within the houfe, command1- the attention*
cf every perfsn of genius and tai^e. Sir Gregory
Page, at' his death, bequeathed this feat, with a large
cftate, to his nephew fir Gregory Turner, of Ambrofe-
den, in Oxfordjhire, bart. who has taken the name
and arms of Page, in compliance with his uncle's
requeft ; but not reading here, the houfe has* beeir
lately let to the eaxY-o^SuJfilk.

It was begun, raifed, and covered, in the fpace of
II months; which fhews how foon a large building-
may be finifhed, where money> the finews of build-
ing, &c, is not wanting.

On the other fide of the heath, north, -is Charlton,"
a well-built pleafant village. The church was
beautified and repaired by o:der of fir Adam Newton v
bart. who- was -preceptor- to king James the FirftV'
fon, prince Henry. It is one of the neateft churches
in this countv.

At the entrance of this village, fronting Black
Heath, Hands -an ancient houfe, built by the fame
fir /idam Newton, who' had this manor granted to
him by king* James I. It is a long pile of building
in a Gothic tafte, having four turrets on the top :
the court before the houfe is lpacious, at the entrance

of

KEN T. ri$

of which are two large Gothic piers to the gates,
and in a line on the outfide of the wall is a long row
of cyprefs trees, which are fome of the oldeft in'
England, On the back of the" houfe are large gar-
dens, remaining in the fame tafte in which they were
formerly laid out; and behind thefe is a' fm all park,,
which joins to Woolwich Common. This- houfe is now
in the poffeffion of the marquis of Lothian,

Charlton is noted for the fair held in its neighbour-
hood on St, Lukes day, Oftober 18, called Horn Fair\
the rudenefs praclifed in which, in a civilized, well-
governed nation, may well be fa id to be unfufFerable.
The mob at that time take all kinds of liberties, and
the women are eminently impudent that day.

A vulgar tradition gives the following origin to*
this diforderly fair; namely, " That one of the
kings of England^ fome fay king jfohn, for he had a
palace at Eltham in this neighbourhood, being hunt-
ing near Charlton^ and feparated from his attendants,
entered into- a cottage, and found the mi ft re fs of it
alone; and fhe being handfome, the king took a
liking to her ; and, having prevailed over her mo-
defty, juft in the critical moment her hufband came
in ; and, threatening to kill them both, the king was
forced to difcover himfelf, and to compound wit!*
gold for his fafety, giving the man moreover all the
land from thence as far as the place now called
Cuckold's Point; and, making him mailer of the
whole hamlet, eftablifhed a fair in favour of his new
demefne ^ and in memory thereof, horns, and wares
and toys of all forts made of horn, are fold at this
fair.

Through this town lies the road to Woolwich^ a
town lituated on the bank of the river, and wholly
taken up by, and in a manner railed from, the yards
and works erected there for the naval fervice. For
fcere, when the buiinefs of the royal navy increafed,

n6 KENT.

and queen Eli%ahetb built larger and greater fhips of
war than were ulually employed before, new docks
and launches were erected, and places prepared for
the building and repairing mips of the largeft fize ;
becaufe here was a greater depth of water, and a
freer channel, than at Deptford.

The docks, yards, and all the buildings belong-
ing to it, are encompafTed with an high wall, and
are fpacious and convenient; and Co prodigioully full
of all forts of i\ ores of timber, plank, marts, pitch,
tar, and other naval provifions, as can hardly be
calculated.

Befides the building-yards, here is a large rope-
walk, where the biggeit cables are made for the men
of war; and, on. the eafl or lower- part of the town,
is the gun-yard, commonly called the Park, or the
Gun-park, where is a prodigious quantity of cannon
of all forts for the fhips of war, every fhip's guns
apart ; heavy cannon for batteries, and mortars of
all forts and iizes ; infomuch that, as I was informed,
here have been fometimes laid up at once between 7
and 8000 pieces of ordnance, befides mortars, and
fhells almoit beyond number.

Here aifo is the houfe where the firemen and en-
gineers prepare their lire-works, charge bombs, car-
caffes, and grenadoes, for the public fervice. The
royal regiment of artillery does duty at Woolwich,

Here is ulually a guard fhip riding, efpecially in
time of war. The town of late years is much en-
larged and beautified; feveral line docks, rope-yards,
and capacious magazines, added ; and the royal
foundery for cannon repaired and improved. 1 he
Thames is here at high water near a mile over, and
the water fait upon the flood ; and as the channel lies
flraight eafl and well for about three miles, the tide
runs very ftrong, and the river is entirely free from
ihoals and fands, and I, as feven or eight fathom

water;

KENT. 117

wa-er; fo that the largefl fhlps may ride here with
iafetv, even at low water *.

The parifh-church of Woolwich was lately rebuilt
as one of the 50 new churches.

From this town, till we come to Grave/end, the
whole {hore is low, and fpread with marfhes and un-
healthy grounds, except fome few intervals, where
the land bends inward, as at Erith, Green-hithe,
North-fleet, &c. in which places the chalk hills
almoft join the river ; and from thence the city of
London, the adjacent counties, and even Holland and
Flanders, are fupplied with lime, or with chalk to
make it. Juft above Erith, tfands Belvidere, once
the feat of lord Baltimore, afterward of the late
Sampfon Gideon, flock-broker, in London, and is now
the property of his fon fir Samp/on Gideon bart. who
is now erecting a very large houfe, which will in-
clude one drawing room only of the former manfion.

From thefe cliffs, on the river-fide, the rubbifh
of the chalk, which they muft be otherwife at the
charge of removing, is bought and fetched away by
lighters and hoys, and carried to all the ports and
creeks in the oppolite county of Ejfex, and even to
Suffolk and Norfolk, and fold there to the farmers to
lay upon their land, which they do in prodigious
quantities.

This is the practice in all the creeks and rivers in
Effex, even to Maiden, Colchefter, the Nafe, and into
Harwich harbour up to Manhigtree and Ipfwich; as
alfo in Suffolk, to Aldborough, Grford, Dunwich,
Southwold, and as high as Yarmouth in Norfolk.

Thus the barren foil of Kent (for fuch the chalky
•grounds are efteemed) makes the flrong clay lands
of Effex rich and fruitful; and the mixture of earth

* According to Camden, the fhip Harry Grace de Dieu was built here
as early as the third of Henry VIII.

3 forms

IV

K E N T.

forms a composition, which, out of t\ro barren ex-"
trcmes, makes one prolific mtdium.

Behind thefe marfhy grounds in Kent, at a frnall
diPance, lies the road from London to Dover, ca
which, or near it, are feveral good towns.

Eltham was formerly a royal palace, when the
court was kept at Greenwich ; and queen Elizabeth,
who (as before laid) was born at Greenwich, was
often carried to Eltham by her nurfes, to draw-in the
wholeibme air of that agreeable place ; but at prefent
there are few or .no iigns of the old palace to be
feen.

It is now, however, a pleafant town, very hand-
ibmely built, full of good houfes; and many families of
rich citizens inhabit. there, who bring a great deal of
goad company with them. The manor is held under
lea fe from the crown by fir John Shaw, whole feat
and plantations here do honour to his tafte.

Near Eltham lies Chefilhurjl, where is the bury ing-
place of the family of the IPtdfwghams, who leiided
in this parifh for levera' generations.

This village is noted for the retirement of the
famous Camden, who rtiided here for feveral years,
and here compoied the greatcit part of his Annals of
queen Elizabeth. Here the present lord Camden has a
very hand Tome and pleafant feat, in whole park may
be feen that celebrated piece of ancient architecture,
called the Lantern of Demojlhenes, executed in all irs
proportions, which ferves as the covering of a
fpring.

Near this are feveral other towns and villages, a*
Bexley, Crayford, Foot\s Cray, North-Cray, &c. At
Foot's Cray, is a handfomc feat, inhabited by Thomas
Townjhend, efq; brother of the late lord vifcount
Townjhend.

From this fide of the country, all pleafant and
gay, we go over Shooter's IIill^ where the face of

tilings

K E N T, ,rrg

things Cc^ms quite altered ; for here we have but a
ehaU'ysioil, and far from rich ; much overgrown with
coppice- wood, which is cut for faggots and bavins,
iujd fent up by water to London. Upon the top of
this hill, is a fpring which conftantly overflows the
well, and in the fevcreft winters is not frozen. From
hence there is a profpect which mull convey a very
grand idea of the riches and commerce of our metro-
polis to foreigners who pafs over it in their way
from Dover to London; as the view of vthe Thames
cov£red with Hupping from thence to the capital,
whole fteeples and towers feem as it were mingled
with the mafts, is the moft magnificent commercial
profpecf the world can afford.

Between Shooter's Hill and Dartford, at no great
diftance from the road, is Danfon-Hill, the new-
built feat of fir John Boyd, baronet, which contains
fome elegant apartments, and is furrounded with
lawns, woods, and fine water.

Dartford is,an handfome large town, having fome
good houfes in it, and is finely watered by two or
three good fprings ; the river goes through the town,
and difcharges itielf into, the Thames,

The faril mill.alfo, for flitting of bars of iron for
making of wire, was on this river.

There are two church-yards here, one contiguous
to the church, and the other on the top of the hill
towards Nortb-Jleet ; in the latter of which you may
look over the tower of the church, the ground rifing
fuddenly fo very high.

Here is a very good market for corn on Saturdays,
and an annual fair on the 2 2d of July,

Grave/end lies on the north-fide of Kent, on the
river Thames, about feven miles eaft from Dartford,
and about the fame diftance from Rochefler* The
towns of Grave/end and Milton were incorporated in
the 10th year of queen Elizabeth, by the name of

the

120 KEN T.

the portreve, jurats, and inhabitants, of the towns
of Grave/end and Milton, As this place is the moft
frequented paffage of taking boat for London, by.
peribns who come from Dover, Rochejler, &c. or
through any part of Kent, from foreign parts, queen
Elizabeth ordered the mayor, aldermen, and com-
panies of the city of London,. to receive all eminent
ftrangers and embafladors here in . their formalities,
and fo to attend them to London in their barges, if
they came by wrater ; and if they came by land, they
were ordered to meet them on Black-heath, on horfe-
back, in their gowns.

- King Henry VII] . raifed here a platform of guns, .
and another at Milton) as well as two others over-
againfl them on the EJfex fide, for the fecurity of the
river. But, fince the erection of Tilbury-fort, thefe
have been demolifbed. ■:

Here is a very handfome charity given by one Mr.
Henry Pinnock. in the year 1624, of 21 dwellings,
and. an houfe for a matter-weaver to employ the
poor ; and a good eftate is alfo fettled for the repairs.

In this town, on the eaft-fide, is ftill ftanding the
body of an ancient chapel, which feems to have be-
longed to fome religious houfe. A market is kept
here on Wednefdays and Saturdays, and an annual fair
on the 13th of Oclober, which laffcs a week.

There have been very great improvements made of
the lands near this town within a few years pail,
by turning them into kitchen-gardens, the land being
frefh for this purpofe, as alfo pretty moift, and the
town having a ( ood quantity of dung made in it, with
which they manure the land : it produces good gar-
den-fluff in great plenty, wherewith they not only
iupply the towns for feveral miles round, but alio
fend great quantities to the London markets ; parti- >
cularly afparagus, which is fo much tfteemed, that
the name of Grave/end will bring a better price, than

what

KENT.

121

what is brought from any other place, this having
obtained a greater reputation than Batterfea, which
was fome years fince famous for it.

As Grave/end is the great ferry (as they call it) be-
tween London and Eaft-Kent : it is hardly credible
wfcat numbers of people pais here every tide, as well
by night as by day, between this town and London,
Moft of the lower people of Eaft-Kent, when they
go for London, go no farther by land than this town :
then for 9 d. in the tilt-boat, or 1 s. in a fmall boat
or wherry, are carried to London by water. Tide-
coaches convey them to and from Rochejler, Chatham,
tkc. at is, 6d. each.

The only place remarkable hereabouts is Gad's
Hill, im mortal i led by Shakefpeare and Fal/lajf, as
this is fuppofed to have been the fpot, on which
prince Henry and his difiblute companions robbed the
Sandwich carriers, and the auditors, who were car-
rying money to his father's exchequer.

t From Gad's Hill we come to Rochejler bridge, the
higheft, and the itrongett built, of all the bridges in
England, except thofe of London and Wejlminjler.
Some indeed fay, the bridge of Newcajlle upon Tyne
exceeds all the bridges in England for flrengih ; but
then it is neither fo high, nor fo long, as this at
Roch'Jier. it is fupported by 11 arches, and was
built in 1392 by that famous captain in the wars of
France, fir Robert Knowles, in the reign of Henry IV.
(an account of which may be feen in Lombard's
fer ambulation of Kent, Edit. 1576) and railed in
with iron at the charge of archbifhop TFarham. It
is 560 feet long, and 14 broad.

The river Medway, at this place, is very broad
and rapid, capable of receiving fhips of the greateit
burthen, and is above fix hundred feet wide. Ro-
chejler was the Roman city Durobriva, and was very
ftrong, being walled about and ditched, Many an-

i¥ 0L% *• G ticjuities

i22 KENT.

tiquities have been found hereabouts. This city
Hands in an angle of the river, and feems to have
been of a fquare form, the ancient Ti'atHng-llreet
running directly thro >gh it. Moft of the walls 0 ill
remain ; and a large piece of the Roman wall, made
of rubble- Hone laid Hoping fide-ways, is to be feen
near that angle below the bridge, encompaiTed by
the river, wuh Roman bricks in ieveral places.

Rochefter, Strood, and Chatham, are three diftindt
towns, but in a manner contiguous.

Rochejhr has fufFered very much by fire and war.
It coivfifts chiefly of an ill-built long ftreet. Strood is
feparated from it only by an handibme ftone bridge,
and may alone pais for a imall city, being well-
built, but has nothing -very remarkable in it.

The cattle of Rochejhr was erected, as Lombard
thinks, by king William I. upon one angle of the
river. The walls of the great tower now left are
feven feet thick. The body of the cathedral was
built before the Conqueft, and repaired by bifhop
Gundulph, who likewife built the caftle. The great
tower is called GundutpKs Tower, The chalky cliff
under the caftle- wall, next the river, is a romantic
fight. The rapidity of the flream waftes it away,
and then huge tracts of the wall tall down. On the
north-fid e of the north- weft tower of the church,
lately rebuilt, is GundulpWs effigies. The front of
the church is of the o'd work, but a new window
is put in the middle. The eaflern gate of the city is
now pulled down ; the ftones were of a Roman cut.
The town-hali and charity-f« hool are two of the beft
public buildings in Rochejhr and Strood, except the
churches. Rochejler returns two members to par-
liament, and is governed by a mayor, recorder, and
12 aldermen, of whom the rm.yor is one, \i com-
nion-councilmen, a town- clerk, three ferjeants at

mace, and a water-bailiff.

7 But

KENT. 123

But Chatham, being the chief arfena! of the royal
navy of Great Britain, is the molt considerable of the
kind in the world. It was made a royal yard by-
queen Elizabeth, and owed it? firft eftablifhment to
that great learn an, fir John Hawkins, who defcrves to
be filled the father of our mariners, for fettling that
ineftimable fund of charity there, denominated from
thence the Cheft of Chatham. The private buildings,
as the houfes of the fea- officers, directors, inlpe&ors,
and workmen belonging to the royal navy, are
well-built, and many of them ftately. But the pub-
lic edifices there are indeed, like the fhips them-
felves, furprifingly large, and in their feveral kinds
beautiful. The warehoufes, or "rather ftreets of
vvarehoufes, and ftorehoufes for laying up the naval
treafure, are the larger! in dimension, and the moll
in number, that are any-where to be fcen in the
world. The rope- walks for making cables, and the
forges for anchors and other iron-work, bear a pro-
portion to the reft ; as alfo the wet-dock, canals, and
ditches, for keeping malls and yards of the greateffc
fize, where they lie funk in the water to preferve
them: the boat-yard, rope-yards, the anchor-yard,
forges, founderies, all not eafy to be defcribed. *

Rochefer has a market every Friday, and, by-
grant from king Henry I. two annual fairs ; w%.
May the 30th, and December the 12th. The ground
on that fide of the town next the river is very low
and marfhy, being overflowed by every high tide,
which renders the fituation unpleafant, and the air
unwholefome, from the vapours which arife from
thefe fait marfhes.

ft is about 16 or 18 miles from Rochejier bridoe to

Sbeernefs fort by water, on the river Medway; of

his it is about 14 miles to Black-fakes. The chan-

nel is fo deep all the way, the banks fo foft, and the ■

reaches of the river fo fhort, that, in. a word, it is

G % the

124 KENT.

the fafeft and beft harbour in the world ; and we faw
two mips, of 80 ouns each, riding afloat at low-
water, within mufquet fhot of Ro.hefler bridge. The
fhips ride as in a mill-pond, or a wet-dock, except
that being moored at the chains, they fwing up and
down with the tide; but as there is room enough,
they are moored in fuch a manner, that they cannot
fwing foul of one another : nor did I ever hear of any
accident that befel any of the king's fhips here by
ftorms and weather, except in that dreadful tempeft
an 1703, when the Royal Catharine was driven on
fhore, and, receiving damage, funk ; and the fhip
being old, could not be weighed up again.

There are two caftles on the fhore of this river,
©ppofite to each other, the one at Upnor, the otha
called Gillingham caftie, both defigned to guard twc
reaches of the river ; befides, at a place called Tht
Swamp, a fort now known by the name of Bird\
2$eft Fori, and another at Cock-am IVood ; all which
(though they might be made of great icrvice in time
of war, in cafe of fuch another daring attempt as the
Dutch made upon the royal navy in this river, 0
the 22d of June, 1667) I found* neglccSted when
laft viiited them.

Sheet Kefs, which guards the entrance into the rivei
at the point of the iile of Sbepey, is a regular fortifi
cation, and has fuch a line of heavy cannon com-
manding the mouth of the river, that no fleet of
men of war could attempt to pals by, without ha-
zarding being torn to pieces.

It is not only a fortrefs, but a good town with fe
veral ilreets in it, and inhabitants of ftveral forts,
but chiefly fuch whofe bufinefs obliges them to re-
fide here. The officers of the ordnance have here
an office ; they being often obliged to be at this
place many days together, e i pec i ally in time of war,
when the rendezvous of the fleet is at the Nore, to

KEN T. 125

fee to the furntfhing every fliip with military ftores,
as need requires, and to cheque the officers of the
ihips jn their demands of thole ftores, &c.

Here is alio a yard for building fhips, with a dock
intended chiefly for repairing mips that may meet
with any fudden accident. But ^then it is to be ob-
ferved, that thofe are generally but for fifth and
fixth-rate mips, imall frigates, yachts, and fuch
vefTels ; though once, when I was there, I faw one
upon the flocks of 64 guns*. This yard is a late
thing alfo, and built many years fince that fort.
In making feme alterations at Sheernefs, anno 1760,
a ball was found that weighed 64 pounds, fuppofed to
have been fired by the Dutch in their attempt above
mentioned.

Shepey Ifle is -fuppofed to be fo called, from its
being one of the firfc places in England where fheep
were kept, or from its affording great plenty of thofe
u :ful animals. This iiland is encompaffed with the
mixed waters of the Thames and the Medivay on the
weft, with the Swale on the fouth, and with the main
ocean on the north and eaft. It hath great plenty
of good corn, but w^nts wood. It is about 21 miles
in compafs. Copperas and brimftone were formerly
made in the ifle of Shepey.

Here are feveral Tumuli, in the marfhy parts all
over the iiland, fome of which the inhabitants call
Coterels : thefe are fuppofed to have been caft up iri
memory of fome of the Dantjb leaders, who were;
buried here; for the Danes have often made this
iiland the fcene of their ravages and plunder.

There was anciently a bridge and caufeway be-
tween this ifle and Harty : this was called Thrembethe-
bridge, as afterwards the ferry was called Tremod-

* It is now very mach augmented, and rendered in all refpe&s fo
commodious, that ihips ©f greafcforce are built there.

G 3 Ferry*

126 KEN T.

Ferry* The common way into this ifland, from the
main land of Kent, is .by King's Ferry, where a long
cable of about 140 fathom, being f aliened at each
end acrofs the water, ferves to. get over the boat by
hand.

On the main fide of the ferry is a fmall ftone
building, which will hold nine or ten perfons : this
is laid to have been erected by one George Fox, who
flaying once there a long while in the cold, waiting
for the ferry-boat, and being much affected with it,
built this place, to fhelter others from the like incon-
venience.

In the upper grounds of this ifland is great plenty
of good corn ; but equal fcarcity of freili water, mcft
of their fprings being brackifli.

A great number of marine plants grow in the fait
marfhes, which induce the curious in botany to vilit
this ifland frequently in the midft of fummer, when
the plants are in perfection. This place is alio re-
markable for the moft curious petrefactions.

At the fouth-weft point of the ille of Shepey, where
the Eaft Swale parts from the weft, and palles on as
above, ftands ^ueenbarough; lb called by king Ed-
ward III. in honour of his queen Philippa, daughter
to William earl of Hainault and Holland- Here was a
caftle erected by king Edward III. as a defence of the
mouth of the river Medway. This caftle was re-
paired in, the year 1536, by king Henry VIII. who
at the fame time built others at Deal, IValmcr, &c.
tfor the defence of the fea-coafts. The governors of
Queenborough caftle were formerly honoured with the
title of conftable ; and by the lift of them it ap-
pears, that many of them were men of great con-
£deration.

At prefent there are not any remains of this caftle
to be feen; the ground where it flood is moated
round ; and there is a well, about 40 fathom deep,

{till

• K E N T. 127

{Till remaining. By the feveral ordinances which
were made by king Edward III. relating to naval
affairs* it appears this place was then very famous ;
but at prefent it is a miferable dirty fifhing town;
yet has a mayor, aldermen, &c. and fends two
burgeffes to parliament; although the chief traders of
this town feem to be alehoufe-keepers and oyfter-
catchers, and their votes at an election for parlia-
ment-men are the principal branch of their fcandalous
traffick. A pernicious practice ! too much followed
in better towns, and which may one day be of fatal
eonlequence to the liberties of Britain.

Here we took boat, and went up the Raft Swale to
Milton, or Middleton, as formerly called, which lies,
as it were, hid among the creeks.* for it is almoft out
of fight as well by water as by land; and yet it is a
large town, has a confiderable Saturday market, for
corn, fruit, and other provision; and the oyfters
taken in the grounds about this town are the moffc
famous of any in Kent. This town is governed by
an officer, who is called by the old Saxon name Port-
reve; he is chofen annually on St. James's day, and
fupervifes the weights and mealures all over the
hundred of Milton. It had anciently a royal palace
for the Keniijh kings, and was Itiled the royal town
of Middleton.

I took a view, while I was in thefe parts, of Cob"
ham-hall^ fix miles from Chatham, the feat of the earl
of Darnley, an handfome brick houfe, built by Inigo
Jones, and remarkable for the excellent marble chim-
ney-pieces in moft of the rooms.

At Raynham church, near Rochefter, we faw feveral
monuments of the family of the earl of Thanet ; and
thefteeple is reckoned a lea-mark.

From hence, keeping the coafr. and the great road
together (for they are ftill within view of one
another), we come to Sittinghourn} formerly a market-

G 4 town,

i28 KENT.

town, but ftill a confiderable thoroughfare, and full
of good inns.

Juft by the town are the ruins of a fortification
railed by king Alfred, when in purfuit of the Dana,
called Bay ford cajlle. Here they boafl much of one
John Norwood, eiq; having entertained king Henry V.
on his triumphant return from France in 1420;
and though the entertainment was, according to the
times, very elegant, yet the whole expence of wine
amounted to no more than 9 s. 9 d. being one penny
per pint.

In January 1 7 38, were found in a fhaw belonging
to the eftate of fir John Hales, in the neighbourhood
of TunJlall, feveral hundred broad pieces of gold,
which were thought to have been concealed in the
civil wars by an anceftor of fir John. They were
found by a poor boy, who was rambling in the cop-
pice, and, not knowing their value, was playing with
iome of them at a farmer's, who got poileflion of
them; but, not being able to keep thefecret, he re-
funded 624 of the broad -pieces for the ufe of the
crown, though iir John laid claim to the whole, as
did the lord of the manor of Milton, which is para-
mount to that of TunJlall.

From Sittingbourn we came to Fever foenn, a large
iine town, having one long and broad ftreet: it has
a good market-houfe, where the market is kept on
Wednefdays and Saturdays', and there are two annual
fairs in this town, of 10 days each ; viz. on Febru-
ary the 25th, and on Auguft the 22cl. This town is
well peopled, and in a flourifhingftate, being in the
neighbourhood of one of the licit parts of Kent, and
having a commodious creek to brino; in, or carry out,
their goods; but many of the inhabitants have earned
on the fmuggling trade for years, for which this

creek lies very convenient.

; The

KENT. tag

The fifhermen here have a good cuftom : they
will admit no one to take out his freedom, unlefs he
be a married man.

They have aIro a law among themfelves, by which
they are retrained from bringing oyfters into the town-
but at certain times, and in limited quantities; fo>'
that it is impoflibie to get any oy Hers there, but at
particular times.

At Feverjham was a monaftery, founded by king
Stephen in 1 147, where he was buried with his fa-
mily. At preient none of its extenfive buildings re-
main entire, its two gates being lately taken down^-
after attempts to preferve them had proved fruitlefs.
At the diffolution, they fay, the coffin of lead,
which held the royal body,- was taken up and fold;*
but the corpfe was thrown into \ht Thames, and taker*
up by fome fifhermen. Here, in the year 9O3, king"
Etbelflan enabled laws*

In the year 1754, the nave or body of the old-
church, being found to be in a very hazardous flate,.
a new and handfome one has been built under theN
direction of Mr. Da?ice, which, with its fine organ,-
&c. coft upward of 3000 /..

It was at the mouth of this Swale, namely, at Shell--
vefs, fo called from the abundance of oyfter-fhells al-
ways lying there, that the fmack in which the late
king James II. embarked for his efcape into Prancex
ran on fhore, and being boarded by the fifhermen,.
the king was taken prifoner*, the* fifhermen and'
rabble treated him, even after they were told who he
was, with the utmofl indecency,, ufing his majefty
with fuch perfonal indignity,, and' fearching him it*
fo rude a manner, that the king faid, " he was never
more apprehenfive of lofing his life than at that
time." He was afterwards carried by them up to the
town, where he was not more nobly treated for fome
time, till certain neighbouring gentlemen of the

G 5, county/

%

i3o KEN T.

county came in, who underftood their duty better,
by whom he was preferved from farther violence,
till coaches and a guard came from London, by the
prince of Orange's order, to conduct him with iafety
and freedom to London.

From this Eaft Swale, and particularly from thefe
three towns, ^ueenborougb, Milton, and Feverjham,
the fifh-market at Billing [gate is fupplied with feveral
forts of flfh ; but particularly with the beft and
largefl oyflers, fuch as ibme call {tewing, others
Milton oyflers ; as they are from the EJJex fide with a
imaller as well as with a greater fort, called W'alfleet.

I fhall now crofs the hills from Milton to Maid-
Jloney on the river Medway, near ten miles diftant
from Rochefter, to the fouth-eaft.

Maid/lone is a very ancient town : the river Med-
way, over which it has a bridge, is navigable up to
it by large hoys, of 50 or 60 tons burden, the tide
flowing quite up to the town.

Here is carried on a manufacture of linen-thread,
and likewife in the neighbourhood are great planta-
tions of hops, which were fuppofed to be firlt planted
here at the beginning of the Reformation 3 which,
gave occafion to the following diflich :

Bays, reformation, hops, and beer,'
Came into England all in a year.

Maid/lone is eminent for plenty of provifions, for
richnefs- of lands, and for the beft market in the
county, not excepting either Rochefler or Canterbury.
It has alio an handibme bridge, which, in the opi-
nion of fome, is inferior only in length to that of
Rochejler.

From this town, and the neighbouring parts, Lon-
don is fupplied with more particulars than from any
fmgle market-town in England*

j. From

K E N T. 131

U From the Weald of Kent, which begins but
about fix miles off, and particularly from that
part which lies this way, they bring the large
Kentijh bullocks.

2. From hence are brought great quantities of the
largeft timber for fupply of the king's yards at
Chatham, and often to London ; moft of which
is at prefent brought by land-carriage to Maid"

jlone.

3. From the country adjoining, great quantities
of corn are brought up to London ; alfo hops,
apples, and cherries.

4* A kind of paving-ftone, called Kentijh-rags,
about eight or ten inches fquare, exceeding du-
rable, ufed to pave court-yards, &c.
5. Fine white fand for the glafs- houfes, ufed for
. melting into flint- glafs, and looking- glafs plates;
and for the ftationers ufe alfo, vulgarly called
writing-fand.
All that fide of the countv which I have mention-
ed, as it is marfhy and unhealthy, by its fituation
among the waters, is chiefly inhabited by (hip-build-
ers, fifhermen, feafaring-men, and husbandmen, and
fuch as depend upon them ; and very few families of
note are found anions; them. But as foon as we come
down Boxley Hill from Rochefter, or Hollingbourn Hill
from Milton, to the well-watered plain on the banks
of the Medway, we find the country every where
befpangled with populous villages, and delicious feats
of the nobility and gentry ; and efpecially on the
north-fide of the river, beginning at Aylesford on
the Mcdway, the feat of the earl of that name, and
looking eaft towards the fea, to Eajlweil near JJhford7
lately the feat of the earl of Winchelfea,

There is not much manufacturing in this county ;
what is left is chieny at Canterbury, and in this
town of Maid/lone, and its neighbourhood. The

G 6 man v..

132 KEN T.

manufacture of this town is principally linen- thread,
which they make to pretty good perfection, though
not extraordinary fine. At Cranbrook, Tcnterdcn,
Goudhurfly and other villages in the neighbourhood
of this place, was once a considerable clcathing-
trade carried on ; and the Yeomen of Kent, of whom
fo much has been laid by Fame, and who inhabited
thefe parts, were generally much enriched by it; but
that trade is now almolt entirely decayed.

This town of Maulflone is a peculiar of the arch-
bifhop of Canterbury, who is the proper incumbent,
and puts in a curate to officiate for him. The srch-
bifhop had a palace here, now belonging to lord
Ro?nney, which is efteemed very ancient, to which
there is a chapel belonging. The architecture is
Gothic, but good of the kind; and fome parts of it
have been repaired after the modern manner. Maid-
Jlcne was a Roman ftation, named Vagniauc, or Mad**
viaca, from the Briti/h word Mudwag, the mea-
dows on the river Vaga, which are here beautiful.
The archiepifcopal palace was founded by John
Vffordy and finifhed by Simon Ifftp, The college
or hofpital was erected by archbiihcp Boniface, and a
charity by Thomas Jrundel, now the free-fchool.
About the year 1720, feveral canoes were dug up,
made of hollowed trees, in the marihes of the river
Afedivay above Maidftone. In the lands of Dr. Dodd
at Aldington, near Mailing, in the year 17 20, a
Britijh coin of eleclrum, a mixed metal of gold and
filver, was found in the foundation of a ftone wall:
the convex fide was plain ; on the concave was a
Britijh horie, rude enough.

The aflizes are generally held here, and always
the county elections. It is governed by a mayor and
12 jurats, and returns two members to parliament.

Charing, not far off, was the ancient Du > olenum^

fkuated upon a fpring of the river Lvu Here the

5 arch-

KENT. 133

nrchbifhops of Canterbury had a caftellated palace,
given them by one of the firft Saxon kings, of which
there are large ruins.

In my way to Maid/lone, on a former journey,- I
faw Mereworth Ca/He, two miles S. E. of Mailing,
the feat of lord Le Defpencer, but now let to James
Butler, efq ; a fine piece of architecture, deligned by
Colin Campbell, in imitation of an houfe in Italy built
by the famous Palladio, It is a fquare, extending
88 feet, and has four porticoes of the Ionic ordey.
In the middle there rifes above the roof a lemicirci*-
lar dome, which has two lhells ; the one forms the
ftucco cieling of the falon, being 36 feet diameter;
the outward fheJl is carpentry, covered with lead.
Between thefe two fhelis is a ftrong brick arch, that
brings 24 funnels to the lantern ; which is finifhed
with copper : but by this contrivance the misfortune
is, that the chimnies often fmoke. On a riling
ground, within a mile and a half of Aylesford, I
viewed an antiquity, vulgarly called Kettfcotty-boufe,
conhftina; of four £,reat itones, of that kind called
Kentijh-rag, and then deemed the tomb of Catigarn,
brother of Vortigern, king of the Britons, flain in
battle, and there buried. This ancient remain is
fituated about a quarter of a mile to the right of the
great road leading from Rochefler to Maidftone \ two
of thefe ftones are fet parallel ; a third at the weft-
end, perpendicular to thefe two, and doling the end;
the fourth, which is the largeft, is laid tranfverfely
over, but neither mortifed, nor parallel to the hori-
zon, but reclines towards the weit, in an angle of
nine degrees. Perhaps theeaif-end, now open, was
formerly clofed, ss at about 70 yards to the N^W.
lies another Lrge (tone, of the fame .ort and form.
. In profecuting my journey from Maidjlone to Can-
terbury, I cannot help mentioning Lenham, a town
about 1 7 miles diftant from that city -} in relation to

which

134 KEN T.

which the right reverend continuator of Camden re-
cords the following extraordinary circumftance :

" At Lenham, lays he, is a thing exceeding re-
markable, mentioned on the tomb of Robert Thcmp-
foriy efq; in the church there, who was grandchild
to that truly religious matron, Mary Honywood, wife
of Robert Honywood. of Charing, eiq. She had at
her deceafe, lawfully deicended from her, 367 chil-
dren; 16 of her own b^dy; 114 grand-children;
228 in the third generation ; and nine in the fourth.
Her renown liveth with her pofterity ; her body lieth
in the church, and her monument may be {een. in
MarJis Hall, in EJfex, where fhe died."

- From hence I purfued my journey to Canterbury *,
which all writers agree was called, by the Britons,
Caer-Kent, and is the Durovernum of the Romans ;
of which city, and its antiquities, fo much has been
faid, and fo accurately, that I need no more than
mention it briefly. However, I obierve here,

1. That Augufline, the monk, the firft chriftian
preacher that came from Rome into this ifland, fet-
tled in this place : but that he was the firft that
preached chriftianity in this iiland (as fome have fug-
gefted) is a miflake ; as the famous conference be-
tween him and the monks of Banchor in Wales fufri-
ciently teftifies.

2. That feven archbifhops of Canterbury, includ-
ing that Augujiine, lie buried here in one vault.

* Canterbury is feated in a pleafant valley, about a mile wide, between
hills of a moderate height, and eafy afccnf, with fine fprings rifing from
them j bef des wh;ch the river Stour runs through it, whole ltrcam?,
by often dividing and meeting again, water it the more plentifully, and
forming iflandi ct various tizes, in one of which, formeriy called Bin*
neivitb, the weftern part of the city (rands, mak-.s the air good, and
the foil rich Such a fituation could hardly want inhabitants, while
thefc parts had any inhabitants at all j nor was any fpot more likely to
unite numbers in forming a neighbourhood or a city, than one fo well
prepared by nature for defence and cultivation. — Cijilnigs Walk in and
about the City of Canterbury.

3. That

KEN T. ,3S.

3. That Thomas Becket, archbifhop of this fee,
infulted the king his fovereign in an unfufferable
manner ; inibmuch that in the reign of Henry II.
1 1 70, he was here murdered in the cathedral, by the
connivance, as fome fay, of the king ; and thev
fhevv what they call his blood upon the pavement at
this day.

4. That they fhew the {tones round his fhrine (by
being afterwards canonized) worn away to a flope,
by the knees of the pilgrims, who vifited it.

5. That the bodies of king Henry IV. and of Ed-
ward the Black Prince , are buried here ; and the mag-
nificent effigies of the latter, very curioufly carved,
lies on his tomb or monument. Here is a pretty
chapel, originally deligned for the celebration of
maifes for the foul of king Henry IV.

6. That the immenfe wealth offered by votaries
and pilgrims, for feveral ages, to the fhrine of Beckett
was fuch, that the famous Erafmus, who faw it, fays
of it thus: "All fhone, fparkled, glittered, with
rare and very large jewels ; and even in the whole
church appeared a profufenefs above that of kings."
In fhort, gold was one of the meanneft treafures of
his (hrine; and at the diffolution, as Dugdale ob-
ferves, the plate and jewels filled two great chefts,
each whereof required eight men to carry it out of
the church. And Camden fays, " the name of Chri/i9
to whom it was dedicated, was aimofl laid afide for
that of St. Thomas"

7. That all this immenfe treafure, with the lands
and revenues of the whole monastery, were feized
upon by king Henry V III. at the general fuppreflion
of religious hcufes, except fuch as are annexed to the
deanry and chapter, and to the revenue of the arch-
bifhoprick, which are not very confiderable.

8. Here are alfo to be feen the monuments of car-
dinal Chauiiony cardinal Fob, archbifhop Chickley9

arch-

i36 KEN T.

archbifhop Peckham, carved in wood upwards of 450'
years ago; archbifhop IVarhan, the duke of Cla-
rence's, fir George Rooke's, with many others of leis
note.

The cathedral is a large and noble- pile of build-
ing; very curious remnants of painted glals are ftill
to be feem in the windows. It is entirely vaulted
with ftone, and of a very pretty model; but much
too high for its breadth, as all Gothic buildings were,
except York. The middle tower is very beautiful;
but the towers, called Bell Harry Steeple, from a bell
fo denominated, at the weft end and weft front, are
much inferior, and very little of fymmetry was ob-
ferved by the firft builder, if we fuppofe the whole*
was ere&ed at once. 7'he metropolitan chair, fnp-
poied formerly to belong to the Saxon kings, is of
grey marble, {landing behind the high altsr. The
c!oifters are good, and near them a very large chape],,
called the Sermon-boufe, roofed with Irijh oak. Under
the choir is a large proteflant French church, of
curious Saxon architecture, given firlt by queen Eli-
zabeth to the Walloons, who iled hither from the per-
fection of the duke tf Alva. The number of thele
refugees has been fince very much increased by French
prcteftants, obliged to leave their native country,,
through the cruelty of Louis XIV.

The clofe, where the houfes of the prebendaries
fland, is very fpacious and fair, and a great many
good houfes are built in it, and ibme with pretty-
gardens. This city fends two members to parlia-
ment, and has a free fchool, founded by king-
Henry VIII. It is governed by a mayor, a recorder,
12 aldermen, a fherifT, 24 common councilmen,
&c. &c.

Here are many remains of Roman and Saxon build-
ings. This city is ftrongly walled about, with many
towers at due intervals, a deep ditch dole underneath,

and

KEN T. 137

and a great rampart of earth within. The materials
of the walls are chiefly flint.

The caftle was built by the Saxons^ long before
the Co .queft, of the fame form, and the walls of
the fame thicknefs, with that of Rocbefier. Dungeon*
bill? a very high mount, feems to have been an out-
work of the old cafrJe. The top of it is equal to
the top of the caftle, and exhibits a fine profpect
over the city and country. Oppofite to it, without
the walls, is an hill, feeming to have been raifed by
the Danes when they belieged the city.

Of St. Auguftines monaftery, two gates remain
next the city, and both very irately. One led to
the monaftery, the other to the cemetery, and a
great compafs of ground is inclofed within the wall.
There were coivinual quarrels between the monks of
St. Augufline and thole of Cbriji Churchy both very
rich, and very contentious,

Near this monaftery is a vaft angular piece of a
tower (belides half of another) about 30 feet high,
which has been undermined by digging away a
eourfe at bottom, in order to be thrown down ; but
happened only to disjoint itfelf from the foundation,
and lodged itfelf in the ground in the prefent inclin-
ing Hate. Thus, being equally poifed, it prefents a
view of terror, and forbids a too nearaccefs.

The adjacent clofe is full of religious ruins, and
in a corner of it are the walls of a chapel, faid to
have been a chriftian temple before Augujline's time,
and re-con fecrated by him to St. Pancras. Near it
is a little room, laid to have been king Etbelberfs
pagan chapel.

Eaftward of this, and farther out of the city, is
St. Martin s church, faid to be Augujline's firft fee,
and the place whither king Etbelbert's queen ufed to
repair to divine ferv ce. It is built moftly of Roman
brick. In the middle is a very large old-fafhioned

font,

138 KEN T.

font, fuppofecl to be that where the king was bap-
tized.

North of the city is a very fmall remainder of the
chapel belonging to the priors of St. Gregorys, founded
by arch hi (hop La <; franc about 1 1S0.

The city has been much advantaged by the fettle-
ment in it of 2 or 3000 French proteiiants, men,:
women, and children, owing to the aboxementioned
expuliion of the French proteftants under Lewis XIV.

The employment of thofe refugees was chiefly
broad-filk weaving, which has fuffered ieveral changes
and alterations -> but is {till carried on here to feme
account.

. But what have added moil to the advantage of
Canterbury, are the hop-grounds all round the p'ace,
to the amount of feveral thoufand acres, infomuch,
that Canterbury was, for fome timer the greater! plan-
tation of hops in the whale ifland.

Whitjtabte, a place of little confequence in former
times, is now, from its being a kind of port to Can-
terbury, become a town of briik trade, and a great
deal of bufinefs. Fever foam was indeed of note in
early times, but would probably have fliared the fate
of other towns, and funk in confequence of the lofs
of its famous abbey, but for its commodious creek,
by which it is not barely fuilained, but is in a very
thriving condition, exporting (when they are plenty)
large quantities of oylfers to Holland. The fame
may be affirmed of Milton and ^ueenborough in the
ifle of Shepey, and if we take in Rochejler, and its
dependencies on the Medivay, we may, without in-
jury to truth, afTert, that there come annually from
thele places to London, from 7 to 900 vellels of all
iizes.

The more from Whltfiable, and the Eaft Swale,
affords nothing remarkable but lea-marks, in particu-
lar the two fpices of Reculder, the Roman Regulbrum,

and

KENT. i39

and other fmall towns on the coaft, till we come to
Margate, noted formerly for king fVillianPs frequently
landing there in his returns from Holland, and for
{flipping a vaft quantity of corn for the Landkn
market, molt, if not all of it, the product of the iile
of Tbanet, in which it ftands. A tract of country
about nine miles from eaft to weft and eight from
north to fouth, and boafls a ftate of arable cul-
tivation, not to be exceeded if equalled in any
part of this kingdom.

Margate is now become a place of great refort for
' fea-bathing, where every accommodation is prepared
that the place will admit of to render immerflon in
the fait water pleafant and efficacious. Hence, from
a fmall town, inhabited only by fishermen and
fmugglers, Jt is now encreafed to a place of veryr
conliderable magnitude, and adorned with houfes fit
for the reception of people of the firft rank, and
•with places of amufement and recreation which will
fatisfy thofe who are the molt addicted to them*
People alfo of the middle and inferior clafles may
have recourfe to the benefits of this place by the
cheapnefs of a fea voyage ; as hoys and yatchts are
continually palling between this place and London for
the conveyance of goods and paffengers at a very cheap
rate.

To the left of Margate, between North Down.
and King's Gate, are Hackendown Banks , two tumuli
or barrows of earth, which mark the fpot whereon a
bloody battle was fought between the Danes and
Saxons in the year 853, and where, on digging, re-
gular graves with fkeletons, urns, &c. &cu have been
found. To perpetuate the memory of b is action,,
the late lord Holland erected a monument ..ith proper
inferiptions.

At a fmall diftance from hence is an indenture in
the cliff called Kings- GaUx which. name it received

Ho .KENT.

by order of king Charles the fecond, who landed here
with the duke of York in his paflage from Dover to
Loruion on the thirtieth of June 1683. At this place,
fituate on a fmall but pleaiant bay, is the delightful
and elegant feat of the honourable Mr. Charles Fox,
and built by his father lord Holland. It is intended
to refemble an Italian villa ; but more particularly
that of Tally's Formian Villa, on the coaft of the bay
of Baia, near the city of Pwz%olo. It is a l^rgeand
elegant ft.rudt.ure, contains fome very noble apart-
ments, is adorned with a great number of fine antique
flatues, buftcs, balTo relievos, he. and at the fame
time, from itfelf as well as the furrou riding build-
ings, poiiefles a Angularity which baffles all de-
fer ipt ion.

At about the diftance of half a mile from King's Gate,
is the extreme point of the North Foreland, which
is the extremity of Eajl England. This cape projects
a great way into the fea in the form of a baftion ;
and a line drawn from hence due north to the Nafe
in Effex may be faid to form the mouth of the river
Thames and the port of London, On the point, in
the year 1683 was erected a ftrong octagon flint
building, on whofe top a large fire of coals is kept
biazir.g all night as a guide for fhips failing near the
coaft.

From hence you defcend to Broad Stairs, or
Bradjlow, part of the parifh of Saint Peter. In the
year 17^9, it fent thirteen iloops to Ireland for the
cod fifhery, but the trade has, of late, much de-
clined. Oppoiite to this place are the Goodwin Sands,
which extend in length, from north to fouth, about
ten milcs^ and in breadth about two, and are vifible
at low water. Scarce a winter pafTes but they prove
the grave of many vefTels ; as the (hips that (hike
feldom efcape, being generally fwallowed up in a few
tides, and ibmetimes in a few hours.

From

KENT. 141

From this point weft ward, we proceeded to Ramf-
rate, fituate in the cove of achalkv cliff. It was For-
merly hut an obfcure fiihing village, but fince the
year 1688 has been improved and enlarged by a fuc-
ccfsful trade to Ruffia and the eaft country. But
what renders it moft worthy of notice, and attracts
mulcitudes of ftrangers, is the new harbour, which
is one of the moft capacious in England> if not ia
Europe, It was begun in the year 1750, and, though
delayed by various interruptions, is almoft entirely
compleated. It confifts of two piers, that to the eaft
is built wholly of Pur beck ftone, and extends itlelf
into the ocean near 800 feet before it forms an angle :
its breadth on the top is 26 feet, including a ftrong
parapet wall, which runs along the outlide of it.
The other to the weft is conftructed of wood as far
as the low water mark, but the reft is of ftone.
The angles, of which there are five in each pier,
conftft of 160 feet each, with o&agons at the end
of 60 feet diameter, leaving an entrance of 200 feet
into the harb mr, the depth of which admits of a
gradual encreale of 18 to 36 feet.

This harbour is intended as a place of refuge for
mips in the frequent hard gales of wind from iouth*
e..ft to eaft-north-eaft, when they are expofed to the
greateft danger in the Downs. But after all the im-
menfe coil attending this ftupendous work, not lefs
than 300,000 /. after all the time, trouble, and
contrivance, which have been employed and exerted
in compleating this enormous undertaking, it collects
fo much land, mud, &c. that it, by no means, an-
swers the great end defined by its conftruction.

A gentleman, well known for his mechanical fkill,
is faid to have actually invented a machine by which
the harbour may be effectually cleared, of its incum-
brances, and prevented from re-collecting them ; and
the inhabitants of the place exprefs themfelves in

the

1 42 KEN T.

the mod fanguine tone of expectation with regard to
the fuccefs of it.

Proceeding to the fouthward in our way to Sand-
wich, we palled two or three houfes which are the
only remains of the antient town of Stoxar, well
known to the Ant'quanes of this country, to many
of whom it has furnifhed a very curious fubje£t of
refearch and examination.

About a mile to the right of this place is RUhbo-
roughy the Rutuprum of the Romans, and their firft
and moft confiderable Hation in this kingdom,
being the chief port from whence they carried on
their trade and connections with the continent. The
remains of the caftle are fiill vifible, and appear of
confiderable extent. The walls, whole original height
cannot be afcertained, becaufe they are no where
perfect, are, in fome parts, near twelve feet in thick-
nefs, compofed chiefly of flints and Roman bricks,
the latter are fix teen inches in length, eleven broad,
and the intervening fpaces filled up with round beach
fiones. The whole eaftern fide of the ca(ile is funk
down and deftroyed by the fall of the cliff, the
remainder is ruinous and overgrown with ivy,
and Hands a melancholy monument of its prifline
greatnefs.

Upon an eminence near the caftle are the remains
©f an amphitheatre made of turf, where the garrifon
is fuppoied to have exercifed themfelves in the manly
diversions of thole days. The foil is gravel and land,
and has long been ploughed over. To thofe who
may with for a particular account of, and examina-
tion into, thefe venerable remains, I fhould recom-
mend a very ingenious little dilcourie by Dr. Battely^
entitled Antiquitates Rutupin<r, a translation of which,
with explanatory notes, has later, been publifhed by
the reverend Mr, Duncombs of Canterbury*

One

KENT. 143

One mile from Stonar, after crofling the Stour by
the new bridge ive entered Sandwich, This town is
firuatcH near a mile and an half from the lea, is one
of the cinque ports, and, of eourfe, fends two mem-
bers to parliament. It lies in the bottom of a bay,
at the moirh of the river Stour, and was formerly a
town of great repute and trade ; but the harbour
being, in a great meafure, choaked up, it is now
fallen into decay. It contains three parifh churches.
There was formerly a fourth, but there are now no
remains of it ; the church-yard is ftill enclofed, and
ufed for the interment of fir angers. It has alfo
three hoipitals, a cuftom-houfe, a quay, and a free-
fchool It is governed by a mayor, jurats, and com-
monalty ; and when any buiinefs is to be tranfacled
at the town -ha 11, the freemen are fummoned to ap-
pear by the found of a brazen horn of great anti-
quity, blown by the cryer in ftated parts of the
town.

The river is now about ninety feet wide at high
water, over which horfes, carriages, &c. were ufed
to be conveyed in flat-bottom boats; but, in the
year 1756, the prefent bridge was begun, large con-
tributions being given by the reprefentatives of the
town, the neighbouring gentry, and inhabitants, for
that purpofe. The ftreets of Sandwich are narrow
and irregular, and its trade confifts chiefly in coals,
fir, timber, deals, &c. with whicn the country is
fupplied. There is (hipped alfo at this port, for the
London markets, corn, malt, fruit, and garden feeds,
for the latter of which the foil of this place is in
great repute.

Six miles from hence is Wingham^ which gives title

of baron to earl Cow per. From Sandwich 1 went to

; Deal, called by. Ccefar, Dola% he having landed not far

from that place. Near it is the famous road for

ihipping, fo well known all over the trading world

by

144 K EN T.

by the name of the Doivns, and where almoft ail
fhips which arrive from foreign parts for London, or
go from London to foreign parts, and pafs the chan-
nel, generally flop ; the homeward-bound, to dif-
patch letters, fend their merchants and owners the
good news of their arrival, and fet their paffengers
on fhore; and the outward-b>ui d, to take in frefh
provifions, to receive their lafl orders, letters, and
farewels, from owners and friends, <Nx. Sometimes,
when the wind preients fair, fliips come in here, and
pafs through at once, without coming to an anchor;
for they are not obliged to flop, but for their own
convenience.

Notwithstanding the decayed condition of this
place, it might be made one of the belt harbours on
the coafr, by cutting a new channel for the river
about a mile and an half through the land-hills to
the fouth-eaft, as the water of the river Stcur would
fufficiently fcour it, did it run in that direction.

The Downs would be a very wild and dangerous
road for ihips, were it not for the South Foreland, an
head of land forming the eaft point of the Keniijh
fhore; and is called the South, as its fituation ret'pects
the North Foreland', and which breaks the fea off,
which would otherwife come rolling up from the
weft to the Goodwin fands.

.And yet on fome particular winds, and efpecially
if they over-blow, the Downs proves fuch a wild
road, that fhips are driven from their anchors, and
often run on fhore, or are forced on the Goodwin*
Sands, or into Sandwich-bay, or Ram] gate fier, in
gret diflrefs : this is particularly when the wind blows
hard at ibuth eaft, or at eaft by-north, or eaft-north-
eaft, and fome other points ; and terrible havock has
been made there at fuch times.

But the mofi unhappy inflance that can be given
of any difafter in the Downs, was in the time of that

terrible

KENT. t4,*

■terrible temper!:, which we call, by way of diftin£tion,
The Great Storm, November 27, 1703. Unhappy in
particular, for that there chanced at that time to be
a great part of the royal navy come into the Downs,
in their way to Chatham, to be laid up.

Five of the biggeft (hips had the good fortune to
pufh through the Downs the day before, finding the
wind blew7 then very hard, and were come to an an-
chor at the Gunfleet ; and had they had but one fair
day more, they had been all fafe at the Nore, or in
the river Medway, at Black-flakes.

There remained in the Downs about 12 fail, when
this terrible tempeft began, at which time England
may be faid to have received the greateft lofs that ever
happened to the royal navy at one time, either by
weather, by enemies, or by any accident whatfoever.
The fhort -account of it is as follows:

7 he Northumberland, a third -rate, carrying 70
guns, and 353 men.; the Refloration, a fecond rate,
carrying 76 guns, 386 men; the Stir ling- Caflle, a
fecond rate, carrying 80 guns, and 400 men, but
load only 349 men on board ; and the Mary, a third-
rate, of 64 guns, having 273 men on board ; thefe
vere all loft, with all their men, except one man out
}f the Mary, and 70 men out of the Stv ling-Caflle,
■vho were taken up by beats from Deal.

Befides thefe, the Jofs of merchants fhips was
HBteeding great, not here only, but in almoft all
:he ports in the fouth and weft of England, and alio
n Ireland.

The town of Deal is very much improved of late
,rears; to which the great refort of feamen from the
hips in the Djivns has not a little contributed.

The great conyeniency of landing here has alio
>een of infinite benefit to the place, io that it is large
tnd populous, contaming upwards of 4000 inhal i-
ants, is divided into the upper and lower towns, ; nd

Y°l. I. H adcrned

H6 KEN T.

adorned with many good' buildings, being, in efh
the principal place upon the' Downs ; and, on that
account, having both in war and peace a continual
rsi'ort ofpeople. Henry VIII. for its protecYicn, not
only built a caflle here, but alfo two others, ore on
the north called Sandown caflle, and another on the
fouth, ftilcd Walmer caflle ; fo that, in all refpe&s^
£Wis the moft flour: filing place upon this coaft,
enjoys a very conflderable portion of trade, and has,
for the prefent, eclipfed Sandwich, the port to which
it is a member. Several perfons alio re fort here in
fummer-time for fea-bathing; but the fhore being
very bold and fteep, the machines cannot be drawn
by horfes as at Margate, but are let down by a
cap (hi n.

I took a view of Sandown caflle, Deal and JVa:?ncr

cullies,

Sandown caflle is compofed of .four lunettes of very
thick arched work of (ion?, with many port holes
for great guns. In the middle is a great round
tower, with a ciflem at top; and underneath, an
niched cavern, bomb-pi»oof. A fofs encomp-.iies the
who!-*, to which is a parage over a draw-bridge.

•Eetween Walmer caflle and Deal wasprchab'y the
fpot where Gefar landed in his iirft expedition, be-
caufe it is the fkft place where the more can he
afcended -north of Dover; and exactly anfwers his
OMcd dh*ance of eight miles. In his fecond expe-
dition,' -vvkh many more fhips, and upon a more

•feci knowledge of the country, he might land at

; ,:,',/ (lands in a mod romantic fituation : it is a
valley i arid the only one about this c^ait
i inwards of the cliff, which
very high. The fca formerly came a g

ort. And

have been found alx The Roman city

Dubru

KENT.

Dubrts was to the fouth of the river. The P.o??ian

■'Tin? Jlveet enters it at Bi<ri?i-rate, cominw verv*

raignt from Canterbury over Barbam^down, where it

i h very perfect. Some of the walls are 'left. Tnd

churches are of a very antique make; that of 5/..

■Martin was collegiate, founded by Wightrea king of

,AW, and is a venerable ruin. It was built in form

of a crofs. Or the priory (now a farm-hoirfe) are

large remains. 1 he hofpital, or Mat/on Digit, over-

[againft it, is made a ftore-houfe. Here the khVht^

tefpitallers, or tempters, lodged, as they came mm

went out of the kingdom. I he piers' which form

. haven, or large bafon, are coftly and frreat

rks. ^ Above is a fort with four baitions of modem

- 1 he broad beach, which lies at the mouth of

. great valley, and was the harbour in ■C^fiSs

ie, is very delightful. One long {Ireet hdre

is named S/iaregate, from the moil tremendo-.^

ks of chalk which project directly over the"

monies.

The caftle is the ftrongeft fortification, perhaps, in
world, for an old one. It takes up thirty acres

lis fcite ; and forms an amazing collection of fhclls
iitches, arerus, embattle ments, &c. to render it im-
pregnable according to the antient mode of flrength
md defence. But this grand and memorable fortrefs,
once the key of Britain, and which has ib often pro-
:ectedjier from ilavery and foreign dominion, is now
legle&ed and in decay, and its materials at the
nercy of thofe whole appointments give them a
>ower over it.

Thebrafs gun, called Queen Elizabeth's Pochi

H is a great curioiity, 22 feet lonr, and is ex-

rellently well wrought, requires 15 pounds of powder,

I carries a ball (even miles. Here are two very old

-'$> and a brafs horn, which feem to be the entires

)i authority belonging to the conftable of the cal?:e,

H 2 or

148 KEN T.

or lord warden of the cinque ports. One part of tin
fortifications confifts of a circular work, in which
{lands an old church, faid to have been built by Lu-
cius the firft Chriftian king of Britain, out of fome of
the Roman ruins ; for there are huge antiquities of
Roman brick laid into the work; -and the remainder
is of ftone, originally cut by the Romans. It is in form
of a crofs, and has a fquare tower in the middle.
The ftone windows are of much later date than the
building: but the greateft curiofity is the pharos,
or Reman watch-tower, ftanding at the weft-end of
the church. This building was made ufe of as a
fteeple, and had a pleating ring of bells, which fir
George Roeke procured to be carried away to Portf-
tnoutb. Since which time, the lead which covered it
has been taken away by order of the officers of
ordnance ; fo that this rare piece of architecture i«
left expofed to the fea and weather. Here was found
a coin of Dioclefian. The Erpinghams arms, vert,
an efcutcheon, between eight martlets, argent, arc
patched up againft one fide of the pharos ; fo that it
ieems to have been repaired in the days of king Henry
V. when the lord Erpingham was warden of Dover
cattle.

Upon another rock, overagainft that on which
the caftle is fituated, and almoft as high, are the
remains of an old watch 'tower, now vulgarly called
Bredenftcne, otherwife Dcroi?s Drop, from the ftrength
of the mortar. Here the new conftable of the cattle
is fworn. Under this place king Henry VIII. built
the mole or pile called the Pier, that fhips may ride
therein with great fafety. But though it was done
with valt labour and cxpence, by large beams fattened
in the lea, bound together with iron, and great piles
of wood and ftone heaped upon all ; yet tae fury of
the fea was foon too hard for the work, and the
limbers beginning to disjoint, queen Elizabeth ex-
pended

KENT.. 14$

pcnJed great fums upon it. And feveral a&s have
palled to repair and reftore the fame ; fome of which
alfo include the reftoration and prefervation of the
harbour of Rye.

Dover , the Port us Dubri-s of the Romans, is one:
of the cinque-ports, and was formerly bound to fend
21 mips for the wars. Here moft of the bufinefs of
thefe ports in general is done, and the courts are
kept. The other cinque-ports are Haflings, Hythe,
Romney, and Sandwich. Haftings has two appendages,
namely, IVinchelfea and Rye, which, as well as
Haftings, are in Suffix, and the others in Kent; they
have all great privileges; their burgelTes, on the co-
ronation of our fovereigns, fupport the canopy over
their heads, have a table at the king's right hand,
the canopy for their fee, and enjoy other privileges.
The lord warden of thefe five ports is generally one
of the fjrft noblemen in the kingdom.

Dover \s incorporated by the name of the mayor,
jurats, and commonalty, and as a cinque-port fends
two members to parliament. It {till Continues to be
the ftation for mails and pacquet-boats to Calais,
OJiend, &c. &c. and derives no fmall benefit from
that circumftance, fince the vifiting the neighbouring
continent is much the fafhion with us, and that the
higher claffes of France have given the Ton to excur-
fions to this kingdom.

There are no lefs than fix regular packet-boats,,
and the common fare of a pafienger is 10 j. 6 d»
Thefe fail regularly, unlefs the wind is unfavourable,
on Saturdays and Tuefdays. There are alfo feveral
bye-boats, with elegant accommodations, in conflant
employ. From hence, alfo, are exported the chief
part of the Englijb hories intended for foreign
markets.

Dover has a market on Wednefday and Saturday,
and a fair on the 2.2d of November. It is iituated

H 3 72. miles

i.:o K E' N T2

7? miles from London, 16 from Canterbury, and ij
iro .'it/rVZ?, and machines fet out and return

feom the capital every day..

Beyond this place, to the fouth, in the road to

Folkfhne,,_ is a cliff of a very great height, which,

though it may not entirely anfwer to the following

-.ription of the poet Sbakefpeare, in his tragedy of

j Lea-, is fufficient to rill any one who venti

k with terror and altonifhment.

There is a cliff, whofe high and bending head
■ Loo ks fearfully on the confined deep.

%o dizzy *ti s to ca ft ones eyes fo low !
' e crows and choughs, that wing the 'midway air,
- . :■■•■;: fcarce fo grofi as beetles. Half-vjay down,
;e that gathers jainphire'r dreadful trade !
.■ he ferns no bigger than his head.
The fijhermen, that walk upon the beach,

Ike mice, and yon tail anchoring bark
ntwjtfd to her cock. ; her cock a buoy,
-v ft too fmall for fight. The murmuring fui'gey.
ci hat oer i miber'd idle pebbles chafes,

; highp i'li look no more,
• my brain turn, and the deficient fight
pie down headlong.

From Dover to Folkftone are fix or feven very ro-
mantic miles: the road runs a!on<* (he e<J(*es of vaft
precipices, the fhore very high and hold, and nobly
yaritd. From the hill, going down to the lower
tpvwn-i the view is glorious: you look down on the
line iweep of incloiures, many of them grafs, of
moft pk-afmg verdure. The cc\gc of the lower
onds defenbe as Leautiful an outline as can be
imagined, the union of Tea and land being complete,
v were fortunate in an azure iky and clear fun ;
fo that the ocean prefemed a vail cxpance of- bur*

niihed

K E Nf T„ fgjf

aifned" ill ver. The hills of France fave the eye the
fatigue of an unbounded range of iky and water. A,?
you defcend the hill, the profpect extends to the
right ; the vale opens, and fpreads to the view a fine
range of inclofures, bounded to the land by many
hills, riling in a great variety of forms : the whole
lery magnificent.

Folkjhne is a little village now, which the iea has

ide great inroads upon; but which formerly mads
a greater figure. A copious fpring went through the
town. Two pieces of old wall, feemingly Roman,
hang frightfully over the cliff, Here are feme old
guns, one, of iron of a very odd caft, doubtleis as old
as the time of king Henry VI II. Many Roman coins
have alio been found. And here a nunnery was built
by Eanfvide, daughter of Eadbald, king of Kent*
This place is now principally of note for a multitude
of fifhing-boats belonging to it, which are one p^rt
of the year employed in catching mack r el for the
city of London, The Folkjhne men catch them, a:-d
the London and Barkin? mackarel-fmacks, of which I
have fpoken at large in Ejfix, come down and buy
them, and whifk away to market under fuch a croud
of fails, that one would "wonder they could be£i&
them. About Michaelmas, thefe FolkfioHe barks,
among others from Sborebam, Brightbelmfione-, and
Rye, go away to Yarmouth and Leofloff, on the goa \
of Norfolk and Suffolk, and catch herrings for the
merchants there.

Sandgate caffle, fituated in the bottom of two hills,.
on the iea-fhore, hath about 16 guns to defenchthe
fifhing-craft from the infults of privateers, in time
tof war : it was built by king Flemy V III,

After we have paffed this caftle, we enter upon the
beach. Here are many fprings, which, defcendmg
from the higher ground, link immediately into I
beach, rendering it a little boggy.

H 4 " fy)be%

t& KEN T.

Hyihe, one of the cinque-ports, and which,, a**
fuch, returns two members to parliament, Hands 01*
the edge of the lefs ridge ; but the marfn has inter-
cepted it from the lea.

Hytbe in Saxon Signifies a port or ftaticn; but afc
prefent it hardly anfwers the name *T for the lands-
iiave fo choaked it up, that the fea is fhut out from
it to a great diitance. This town, as alfo Weft Hythey
from which the fea retired above 200 years ago, owe
their original to Lemams, or Limne^ a Roman port,,
now a little village adjoining, which was formerly a.
very famous port, before it was fhut up with fands
thrown in by the fea ; which gave rife to the two
Hythes before mentioned, which, in their turns, have
met with the fame fate. A particular providence
happened at Hytbey April 24, 1739- About elevea
o'clock the fleeple of their church, in which were fix
bells, fell down. About 10 perfons were prefent.
when it fell, waiting in the church-porch for the
keys to go up into the fleeple for a view; but fome-
delay being made in bringing them, they happily
received no other damage than being greatly frighten-
ed. In a vault under the church we faw a vaft heap
of human bones, fome of an extraordinary fize, faicl
to be gathered up after a bloody battle fought be-
tween the Britons and Danes > of which, however,,
there is no memorial.

Hyt.be had anciently four parifhes, though noflr
there is only a chapel dependent upon the parifh.-
church of Saltwood. Hence it appears, that the-
welfare of all thefe places, fpringing from their
ports, fhiitedas thofedid; this of Hytbe is now in a>
manner urerly loft, notwithstanding fome chargeable,
attempts to reilore it. Hytbe is governed by a mayor,
jurats, &c.

About a mile diftant from it is Saltwood-caftle, an-
ciently a ftrong feat of the archbiihop of Canterbury ;.

but

K t N' T.

153

tut alienated from the fee by archbifhop Cram?iery
and now the property of fir Brook Bridges, bait.
The outer wall has towers and battlements, and a
deep ditch. Within, and on one iide, Hands the
main body of the palace. There are two great and

■ high towers at the gate of this, over which are the
arms of archbifnop Courtney, the founder. This
inner work has a ftronger and higher wall, with a
broad embattled parapet at top. Wittain is a court,
but the lodgings are all demolifhed. The floor of
the ruinous chapel is ftrongiy vaulted. In the middle
of the court is a large fquare well, feemingly Roman,
They fay that anchors have been dug up hereabouts,
which makes it likely that the Romans had here an
iron forge'; and fome will have it, thatthe fea came
up formerly to it, and ground this opinion on thefe
anchors found here.

A little way farther (at the end of the Stane-ftreet,
the Roman road from Canterbury) is the port of
Lemanis or Limne, mentioned above. At Limne

I church, from the brow of the hill, may be difcerned
the ruinous Roman walls, fituate alrnofr. at the bottom
of the marfhes. A pleafant brook, which rifes from
the rock, weft of the church, runs for fome fpace
on the eaft fide of the wall ; then pafTes through ir,
and fo along its lowermoft edge, by the farm-houfe
at bottom ; here coins have been found. Once the
fea-bank broke, and admitted the ocean into all the
adjacent marfhes. The port is now called Shipway,
where the lord warden of the cinque ports was for-
merly fworn, the courts kept, and all the pleas re-
lating thereto, till Dover fuperfeded it.

Romney is ahandibme town, and likewife a cinque-
port,- and corporation, governed by a mayor, jurats,
and commonalty, and, as fuch, returns two members
to parliament : it is the chief town of the marfh-

j grounds which were anciently part of the fea, called

H £ Romh.j-

1 54- KENT.

Rrmr.ey-marjh ; and has Old Romney and Lech for its.*;
members. It is feated on an high hill of gravel and
land, and on the weft fide of it had a pretty large
harbour, guarded againft mod winds, before the lea.
retired from it. In the year 1287, when the towaS
was at its, height, it was divided into 12 wards, hadj
. <parlfh churches, a priory, and an ho 1 pit a 1 for
the lick. But it has been dwindling till it came to
its pre Tent low condition, ever fince the reign of
Edward I. when an inundation of the fea deftroyed
roen, cattle, and houfes, threw down a whole popu-
lous village called Pro m-hill, and removed the Rothcry
which ul'ed to empty itfelf into the fea at Romney, out;
of its channel, Mopping up its mouth, and opening
it a nearer paffage into the fea by Rye, leaving,
here only a little bay for fifhing-boats. The town
chiefly fubufts by grazing cattle in the marfh, which.
contains between forty and fifty thoufand acres of
firm, fruitful land, the richeft pafture in England*.

From .Romney- marjh the fhore extends itfelf a great.
way into the fea, and makes that point oi land called
]j£no\nj). Jufl by the river Rotber ftands the little
town of Jppledore, which,, by difule, has loft its
market, and is of no note now. The fea formerly
came up to it*

. Tenter den, a corporate town, lies a little to the
N. W. of Jppledore, near the Weald. Here is a.
grammar free-lchoo!, founded by Mr. Hayman, the
anceftor of fir Peter. It has a very good and high
ftceplc, which, they fay,, was the caulc of the.

■ Th»i is probably the fpot, vvh'ch the elepant and able writer of the
i/b Lett r% again ft Voltaire had in view, when he mentions the ;

:mber of ftn-ep fed in a certain quantity of marihy ground.
To whom the wag of Ferny rfpiies, that lheep are apt to rot in marfliy
grounds ; that he has left his fo; and advifts the owner to convert itum
into. 1 as carp will thrive in fuch places. The anfwer is, that

(fin Romney marjb will never take his advice, but
fetid (hsej ;v.iv; to their great profit.

Goodwin

KEN TV 155

Goodwin Sands, an eft ate that belonged to earl Good-
win, and was guarded from the Tea by a wall ; but
they were fo intent on building the fteeple, that the
wall was neglected, and the land overflowed, which
they could never afterwards recover.

Jfhford, alio a corporate town, (lands on the great
road, upon the river Stour. It is a pretty well built
market-town, with feveral genteel families in ir.
The church is large, and was formerly collegiate :
they hold pleas for any thing, not exceeding twenty
marks.

Near this town is an ancient feat of the Tufcn
family, called Hothfield, which is large, but iituatect
in a low marfhy foil, which renders it unhealthy ;
and not far from hence is Eajiwell, the houie and-
very extenfive park of the earl of JVincheljia.

1 Newendon deferves to be mentioned for what.it
once was, having formerly been a fine city, which
Camden calls Jnderida. it was ilefifoyed by the
Saxons, but rebuilt in the reign of Edward I. and
called Newendon, as much as to fay, according to
Camden s etymology, a new city in a little valley.
It had then an harbour much frequented ; but it is
now a moil miierable village, with a few poor houfes
in it, the befl an alehoufe; and the church' isill-
buiit, and out of repair. It has a very indifferent
bridge over the Rother, a rapid river, which divides
at this. place Kent from SuJJex, and about nine mi.es
off empties itielf into the harbour of Rye. Roman
coins have been dug up here.

North- weft of Newendon is Cranbrook, a market-
town, noted for having been one of the firft places
re the cloth-manufacture was let up in England',
and adjoining to it is a feat and park of the preu t

ke of St, Allans*

U 6 J, E T>

tSb S U S S E X*

LETTER ..IV.

Containing a Description of the County cf SussExy
other Parts a/Kekt, and Part of Hants,
Surrey, c^V.

IN OW enter the county ef Sujex, and (hall be-
gin with- an account of Rye,
It is fituated in the moll eaftern part of Suffix, uporr
an hill, which is encompaffed with rocks, that are
inacceffible on the fea-fide. There is nothing now,
but fome remains of its old walls, to be feen, and
the ditches are almoft filled up. Its trade is in hops,
wool, timber, kettles, cannon, chimney-backs, Sec,
which are call: at the iron-works at Bakely, about four
miles from Rye, on the north-weft;,, and Breed, about
five miles diftant fouth-weft. It is a very great mis-
fortune, that its harbour has been fo much damaged
by the'-fea, and neglected ; for it is almoft filled up-
in feveral places, where it was formerly the deepeft
and moft convenient. Some considerable families,,
who have lands near, have taken advantage of this,-
to extend them farther upon thofe fands, which the
jea in ilorms has thrown up againft them ; and by
digging ditches, and making drains, there are now
fields and meadows, where anciently was nothing but
water. By this means, mips only of a middle fize
can come within any convenient diftance of the town ;
whereas formerly the largeft veflels, and even whole
fleets together, could anchor juft by the rocks, on
which the town ftands : and as this port lies over-
jigainfl: Dieppe in France, and there is no other port
between Portfmouth and Dover, which can receive
(hips of burden, not only the dangers of the fea, but,

in

SUSSEX. i5y

in time of war, of the enemy, were efcaped by the
convenicncy of this harbour. But it being by the
means I have mentioned, and by the inning of the
channel and wafte lands (which prevented the flux-
and reflux of the tide) in danger of being utterly
loft, feveral acts of parliament have paffed, in order,
as much as pofiible, to remove thefe impediments.

The houfes of Rye are well-enough built, *and of
brick, though generally old-fafhioned ; but there
are fome very neat ones of a modern tafte. There
is a fmall fettlement of French refugees in this to wn?
mollly fifhermen, who have a minifter of their own.
Archbifhop Wake was intrufted by the king with
money for the relief of refugees, and it is probable
that the minifter here might be paid out of this fund.
The church is handfome and large ; but there are fa
many diffenters in tke town, and fo few of the eftab-
lifhed church, that they have walled off, and con-
Yerted the weltern part of it into a magazine for
planks. But there are two welt-built meeting-*-
houfes, one for the prefbyterians, the other for the
quakers. Another church, which belonged to a
monaftery now demolifhed, isalfo turned into a kind
of ftorehoufe for planks, hops, and other merchan-
dize. At the north-earr. of Rye are the remains of
an old fort, which commands the town and harbour,
and ferves for the town-gaol.

The corporation, which is only by prefcription,
conlifts of a mayor, 12 jurats, and the freemen.
Here is a free grammar-fchool, which was erected, in
1644, by Mr. Peacock, one of the jurats, who alfo
endowed it with 32 /. a year, for teaching all the
children of the town.

Old IVinchelfea ftood upon the fea-fhore, about two
or three miles from the place where the New ftands.
It had formerly a large and fpacious harbour, was a
place of great uade; an4 had ng kfs thai* 18 churches

tit

i5S SUSSEX.

in it. But it was entirely deftroyed by the Tea, and
that fmall part which is not buryed in the fands, is
now marfli and meadow- land. To the S. W. of Ryey
and the N. E. of New IVinchelfea^ is ft:!l to be feen,
in the midft of a large plain, an old tower, which
probably flood by the fea.

New IVinchelfea is faid to have been built by king
Edward I. partly on an hill about two miles from
the Old, and the like diftance from Ryey and panly
in a little valley, where it had an harbour ; but,
anno 1250, the latter part of this met with the fame
fate as the former. It never was comparable to the
old town, having but three parifh-churches when it
moil flourifhed ; and now there only remains the
chancel of one, which is more than large enough for
the inhabitants. But yet the town was every where
accommodated with fine ftone arched vaults, which
were commodious for the cambrick manufactory, and'
induced fome gentlemen in London (who had formed
a defign to introduce that branch of trade into Eng-
land) to cftablifh it here, which was begun, but loon
declined. Some of the ftone-work of the three gates
ii flill to be feen. The fea is now above a mile-
diilant from it, the harbour being choaked up with
fands; and grafs grows, not only where the harbour-
was, but even in the flreets ; and indeed there are
only a few houfes remaining in the upper part of the-
town. Among the ruins of the walls to the S. £.
are the remains of a caftle, as fome fay j or of a>
monaftery, as others will have it.

IVinchelfea furnifhed the fleet of Edward HI. \
2 1 fhips, and 596 feamen.. Hairy VIII. for the
protection of it, built Camber Caflle, at the expente
of 23,000/. which, even in the purie of the crown,
was no inconfiderable fum in thofc days.

Ha/lings is the chief of the five cinque-ports, and,
with its two members above, was obliged to furnuh

lhes

SUSSEX. 1-9

the king with 20 fhips for any naval expedition, in
yecompence for the ample immunities it enjoyed, as
one of the five ports. It is about eight miles from
IVinchelfea. It confifts of two great ftreets, with a
parifh-church in each, and feveral good houfes ; but
its harbour, formerly fo famous, is now a poor road
for fmail veffels, having been ruined by the ftorms5
' which from time to time have been fo fatal to its
neighbouring ports of Rye and Wincbelfea. We faw
here the ruins of an ancient caftle ; and, about three
miles off, Bull-hide Haven, where William the Nor-
man is laid to have landed upon his invalion of Eng-
land \ though fome fay it was at Hajiings, and others
at Pevenfey, an harbour more weftward, which has
likewife been deftroyed by the fea. But, be that as
it will, it was at Hajiings that he muftered his army,
after he had burnt his fhips, being determined to-
conquer or perifh in the attempt; or rather, as an-
other author has obferved, that he might not be
obliged to divide his army, which muft have been
the cafe, if he had preferved his mips ; and proba-
bly, while he made an advance into the country, at
the head of part of his army, Harold might have
Hepped in between, and. cut off thofe who were left
to guard the fhips, and then with more eafe have at-
tacked, and perhaps beat, that part commanded by
the Norman himfelf.

The decifive battle .which he fought, anno 1066,,
with king Harold, was upon a plain called 'Heath-
field, about feven miles from Hajiings #. • In the
place where Harold's body was found, the Norman
instituted an abbey of Benedlcline monks, dedicating,
it to St, Martin ; and from the fight afore faid, it is,
called Battle-abbey; and foon drew to it, by a fair

* King Harold 'had hurried from Stamford Bridge in Tork/h:re, where
he had defeated the king of JSlorivay ; but was here. forced to yield vic-
tory, ccowp, and life, to a more fovtunate invader,

held

i60 S Ur S S E X.

held every Sunday and holiday, fuch a refort, that i
became an handfome town. It flill retains the name
of Battle, and fome remains of the abbey are yet to-
be feen, and make part of the houfe of the lord yifc
count Mont acute,

A little beyond Ha flings to Bourn, we rode uporr
the fands in a flraight line for 18 miles, all upon the
coaft of Suffix, patting by Pemfey or Pevenfey Haven
afore mentioned, and the mouth of the river, which
comes from Battle, without fo much as knowing that
there was a river, the tide being out, and all the
water finking away in the fands. This town of
Battle is remarkable for little now, but making gun-
powder, and the beft perhaps in Europe. Near Battle
they fhew us an hill with a beacon upon it, now
called Beacon-hill, but was formerly called Standard^
hill j where the Norman fet up his great fland arc! of
defiance, the day before the deciiive battle with
Harold and the EngHJh,

From the beginning of Romney-marjh, that is to
fay, at Sandgate or Sandfoot-cajlle, near Hythe, to this
place; the country is a rich fertile foil, full of feed-
ing grounds; and an incredible number of large
fheep are fed every year upon them, and fent up to
London market.

Befides the vaft flocks of fheep, as above, abun-
dance of large bullocks are fed in this part of the
country; and efpecially thcfe they call ftallecl or
houfe-fed oxen, from their being kept within the
farmers fheds or yards all the latter feafon, where
they are fed for the winter-market, and generally
deemed the largefl. beef in England.

In Romney marfo, as in other parts of England, are
found great timber trees, lying at length under
ground, as black as ebony, and fit for ufe, when
dried ia the fun.

From

KENT. i6t

From hence it was that, turning north, and tra-
Verfing the deep, dirty, but rich part of thefe two-
counties, my curiolity led me to fee the great foun-
deries, or iron-works, which are in this county, and
where they are carried on at fuch a prodigious ex-
pence of wood, that, even in a country almore all
over-run with timber, they begin to complain of the
great confumption of it by thofe furnaces, and the
apprehenfion of leaving the next age to want timber
for building their navies.

After I had been fatigued in parting this deep and'
heavy part of the country, I thought it would not
be foreign to my defign, if I refreshed myfelf with a
view of Tunbridge-welh, which were not then above
12 miles out of my way.

Tunbridge-welhy remarkable for their chalybeate
fprings, and the refort of company during the fum-
mer months, is about five miles from the town of
the fame name. They are fituate in a fmall valley,
through which runs a fmall ftream which divides
Kent from Suffix, They might, with more pro-
priety, be called Spelhurft-weUs, as they rife in the'
parifh of that name. To this place great numbers
refort for health, and, perhaps, more for pleafure,
as it is well calculated for both. Accommodations
of every kind are prepared for the reception of com-
pany. Immediately adjoini ng to the wells are many
good houfes, the affembly rooms, coffee-houfe, cir-
culating library, and taverns, and fhops of all deno-
minations, the latter of which are ranged on one
fide of a walk called the Pantiles, from its pavement,
and whofe oppofite fide is (haded with lime trees ;
and before the fhops, along the whole of the build-
ing, is a projecting colonade, which ferves as a pro«
tection againft unfavourable weather. Here the
company refort during the time of water-drinking,

which.

rSx „ KENT.

which is before break/aft, and at noon, and alio
the evening previous to the balls, concerts, or card-
aflemblies. Anions the many ihops whole commo-
dities are exhibited to allure, are thole which fell the
ware peculiar to this place, called the Tunbridge
Ware. it is chiefly of maple, holly, an 1 fuch
woods, that the turners of ibis place make their dif*
ferent toys. I have feen tea-cheits, dreinng-boxes,
&c* of this manufacture,, which would have been
confidered as extremely beautiful, and purchafed at
no little coft, if they had been the produce of Ben"
gal or China.

The two 1 Us which rife immediately from the
wells are ca; ..eel Mount S'on and Mount Ephrahn,
where a pre, c many convenient and very pleafant
houfes have been built, for the accommodation of
families refc.rting hither. The air is excellent, and
there is plenty of provifons. Here the fmall bird
called the 7/heat-ear, and by fome the Englijh Orto-
lan, brougnt from the fouth downs near Lewes in
SuffeXy is to be had in great perfection. There is a
commodious chapel, whofe minifter is fnpported by
the voluntary contributions of the company ; and a
diifenting meeting houie, whofe- paflor receives his
principal fupport from the fame fource. Lady Hunt-
ingdon, whofe zeal is well known, has alio built a
very elegant eh?pel at this place, to check, by the
power of her preachers, the reigning influence of
diilipation, which public places are, I muil own,
very much calculated to encreafe.

This little place polleffes a fingular and romantic
appearance. By the fide of the road, defcending
from Mount Ephraimy are fome projecting rocks
of a very confiderable fizc ; but about two miies from
the wells, in a very retired and. tranquil (pot, there
is a very confiderable cluflre of them, that form a
&rand and affecting object, Beneath tlife fhade which

tbit

K' E N~ T. Wf

this rocky pile cafts over the adjacent meadow, or i;i
the interftices- of them, companies from the wells
frequently enjoy their breakfafling and tea -chinking
parties in great luxury.

It may not be improper to remark, that cheapnefs
is by no means a charac~t.erift.ic of this place j which,
however, may in fome degree be excufed, by the
consideration that the feafon does not laft more than
three months ; and that during the reft of the year
the place is entirely deferted ; though it may poffi*
bly receive fome frnall advantage from a turnpike-
road which is now made to pais through it to Lewes
and Brighthelmftone, in Sujfex.

Between this place and the town of Tunbridge,
about one mile to the left, is Penjburft, the feat of
Mrs. Perry, which was the manfion of the Sidney
family. It was- the fcene of fir Phillip Sidney's poetic
dreams ; and has fince heard the warb'.ings of the
poet Waller in praife of his Sachariffa, who was an
inhabitant of it, and whofe picture is dill prefer ved.
It is a noble old ftructure, and, though its park l§
greatly diminiihed by enclofures, frill retains much
of its ancient beauty and magnificence.

Tunbridge is a market-town, fituate upon the river
Tunn, which runs almoft immediately into the Mei-
tuay. On the fouthern bank of the river are to be
feen the ruins of an old caftle, built by a natural
ion of Richard I. duke of Normandy, who, accord-
ing to Camden, exchanged his lordfhip of Bryany in
that dutchy, for Tunbridge, The church is a modern
building, but the houfes are ill-built. There is a
considerable free-fchool, founded by fir Andrew J 'uddy
lord mayor of London, and left by him to the direc-
tion of the Skinner's company.

From hence, I made an excurfion to Sevenoaks, a
frnall market- town about feven miles diflance, fa
called from feven large oaks which grew near the

place*

x64 S U S S E X.

place. It has an hofpital for maintaining ancTtcach-
ing poor children, erected by fir William Sevenoaky
lord mayor of London, who was a foundling, and
took his name from this town, Almofl adjoining, I
faw Knowle, the antient and magnificent feat of the
duke of Dorfet. It is fituate in the middle of a very
large park, remarkable for its fine woods and fpread-
ing beeches, nor is it deficient in beautiful varieties
of hill and dale, and extenfive profpecls. Indeed
this place is almoft encircled with feats of the nobi-
lity and gentry. The duke of Argyle, the lords
Stanhope and Amherft, fir Charles Farnaby, Mr. Evelyn,
and many others, have added greatly to the beauty
of its environs by their buildings and plantations.

Returning by Tunbrldge, I re-entered Suffix at
Lewes, through the deepest, dirtieft, but in many
refpec"ts the richer! and molt profitable country in all
that part of England.

The timber I faw here was prodigious, as well fot
lize as plenty ; and feemed in ibme places fuffered to
grow, only becaufe it was fo far off any navigation
that it was not worth carrying away. In dry fum-
mers, indeed, a great deal is carried to Maidjlone,
and other places on the Medway ; and fometimes I
have feen one tree on a carriage, which they call
a tug, drawn by 22 oxen ; and even then it is car-
ried fo little a way (being thrown down, and left
for other tugs to take up, and carry on), that fome-
times it is two or three years before it gets to Chat-
ham ; for if once the rains begin, it flirs no more
that year ; and fometimes a whole fummer is not dry
enough to make the roads paflable.

Lewes is a pleafant town, (50 meafured miles from
London) large, well-built, agreeably fituated in the
jniddle of an open champaign country, and on the
edge of the South-downs, the moil delightful of their

kind

SUSSEX. |*f

"kind in the nation ; it lies on the bank of a little
wholefome frefh river, within eight miles of the fea,
and was formerly encompafTed with a wall ; but there
are few remains of it now to be feen. But what
contributes to the advantage of this town is, that
both it, and the country adjacent, are full of the
feats of gentlemen of good families and fortune ; of
which the Pelbams muft be named with the firft,
whofe chief, at prefent, is Thomas lord Pelham. Here
are alfo the ancient families of Gage, Shelly, &c*
formerly Roman- catholics, but now proteft ants, with
many others. Lewes returns two members to parlia-
ment. It has iix churches in it, four in the town,
and two in the fuburbs ; there is alfo a very pretty
town houfe new-built of brick. It has no manufac-
tory, though it flands very convenient for trade, and
has a river navigable for flat-bottomed boats from
Newbaven. The river is called the Ouze, and is
•navigable five miles higher than this town. Near it
is an old demolifhed- caflle, in the neighbourhood of
which was fought that bloody battle between king
Henry III. and his barons; the event of which con-
ilrained the king to accept of hard conditions of
peace, and to give his fon as an hoftage for perform-
ance. The caftle is lately repaired, and there are
now fev-eral handfome rooms in it. Here are like-
wife feveral very good inns. The church in that
part which is called St. Thomas, at Cliff, is reckoned
one of the neateft parim-churches in the whole
county ; its altar is remarkably pretty ;~ it has two
pillars in the middle, between which are the ten
commandments, and two pilafters on the outfide, all
in the Doric order, with architrave, cornifh, and
frize, neatly carved and gilt, and between the pillar
and pilafter on the north fide, the Lord's prayer, and
on the fouth fide, between the other pillar and

pilafter,

3fS SUSSEX.

pilafter, the creed. It is exceedingly well pewed, an<3
has a fmall gilt organ.

Sttzfer'd, in "the neighbourhood of Laves, enjoys
the privilege of fending two reprefentatives to par*
Jiament, as one of the members of the cinque-ports.

I ought not to forget, that Newhaven, alfo in this
■neighbourhood, .was formerly noted for its fafe and
good harbour for fhips of considerable burden ; but,
for want of a proviiion for maintaining the timber
piers, which it had for time immemorial, it was quite
neglected, the harbour choaked up with fand and
beach, and the piers were rotten and decayed. To
remedy thefe evils, an ac\ pafTed, nnno 1731, for re-
pairing, and keeping in repair, the faid piers and
harbour; and this is fo.far brought to effect, that it
became very thriving both m commerce and fhip-
building. Small veffels of different fizes are built
here, and in proportion as the port improves, its
trade will increafe.

From Lewes, following ftill the range of the So,
downs, weft, we ride in view of the fea, and on a
fine carpet ground, for about 12 miles, to Brighthelm*i>
jhne, a fea port, fituated at the bottom of a bay,
formed by Beachey-Hcad to the eaft, and to the weft
by Worthing- Point. The town Hands upon a riling
ground, open to the S. E. and iheltered to the north,
by hills that are eafy of afcent, and command a plea*
fant profpect. To the weft it is bounded hv a large
corn-field, which forms a gradual defcent from the
beach to the hanks of the lea, and on the eait by a
fine lawn, called the Stcine, which is the refort of
the company for walking in an evening, and which
runs winding up into the country, among hills, to
the dillance of fome miles. The town is built in a
quadrangular form, and the iti-cets ate at right
angles with each other : they are iix in number,
beiuhs many lanes and fnuarcs 3 many of the lioufes

are

SUSSEX. 167

[fee of flint, and the windows and doors frequently
of brick- work.. Brighthelmftone is now become a
polite place, by the annual refort of the gentry in
the fummer feafon, as being the nearer! fea port to
London, and very convenient for fea-bathing ; for the
i accommodation of whom there have been two hand-
some ball-rooms built, and feveral machines for
bathing. The gentry may alfo have the ufe of
two circulating libraries, by which means fome cf
the inhabitants have of late years been greatly bene-
fited, and the provisions in that neighbourhood
greatly advanced in their price; while other families
who received no advantages from the refort of com-
:pany, have, from the encreafed price of provilions,
Been materially injured. The men of this town are
wholly employed in nThing, and the women in male-
ing their nets ; fo that it is an excellent nurfcry for
feamen. It is 57 miles diftant from London, Hence
in (as I mentioned at :Folkfione and Dover) the
ftfhermen, having1 large barks, go away to Yarmouth*
on the coaft of Norfolk^ to the fifn ing- fair there, and
hire themfelves out -for -the feamen to catch herrings
for the .merchants; and they tell us, that thefe make
a very good bufinefs of it. For fome years paft, no
inco-iliderable advantage has arifen to this town from
;the pacquet*, which fail from hence every week to.
to Dieppe in Normandy, and to thole who are not
afraid of the fea, for the paffage is upwards of twenty
leagues, it is a nearer and much cheaper route to
Paris than by the way of Calais *.

'* The road from Brighthelmftone *;o Steynhg commands to the right,
at one fpot, a moil amazing view of the lower country: )Ou look down
the deep of a hill into the wild,, quite in another region beneath you :
: a vafr range of many miles of inclofures are ken on the flat, quite rich
in verdure and wood. It is walled- in by the f weeps of bare hills, pro-
jecting in the boldeft manner : a view uncommonly linking.

From

j68 SUSSEX.

From hence, frill keeping the coaft on the left, we
come to Shoreham, a town chiefly inhabited by fhip-
carpenters, fhip-chandlers, and all the feveral trades
depending upon the building and fitting up of fhips,
which is their chief bufinefs. It frands at the mouth
of the Alder. Veffels of a large iize, fome for the
Aife of the navy, but moft for the merchants fervice,
are here conftru£ted. 1 he demand of late for thefe
is fo great, and the people fo induftrious, that it is
aiTerted, there is fometimes not fo much as a finglc
perfon who receives alms ; a circumftance worthy
not only of praife, but of imitation. Shoreham is
juuiy noted for iailors, and for neat and flout fea-
boats.

The builders of fhips feem to have fettled here
chiefly, becaule of the quantity and cheapnefs of
timber in the country behind them ; being the fame
wooded country I mentioned above, which frill con.-
tinues through this county and the next. The rivei
this town ftands upon, though not navigable for
large veffels, yet ferves to bring down this large tim-
ber in floats from Bramber, Steyning, and the country
adjacent.

The navigation through the prefent entrance into
the harbour of New Shoreham, being become dan-
gerous, an act palled in the year 1760, for erecting
piers, and other works, for the fecurity and im-
provement of it, and for keeping the fame in repair;
and to empower commiflionecs named in it, or any
eleven of them, at any time after the firft day of
July, in the faid year 1760, to make a new cut
through the fea-beach, oppoiite to the village, called
Kingjton- by-Sea, about a mile to the can" ward of the
town, and to creel a pier or piers, and to do fuch
other works as fhall be neceffary, in order to make
and maintain a new and more commodious entrance
into the faid ha:bour.

2 Shir chain

SUSSEX. 169

Shorehatn is a borough-town, which fends two
members to parliament; the election is in the inha-
bitants who pay fcot and bear lot in the faid parifh.
There is no manufactory, nor free-fchool; it is
about 57 meafured miles from London : its market is
on Saturday, principally for corn by fample, and par-
ticularly for malt for exportation ; and it has a fair,
July 25, for pedlary. There are here good oyfters
and flounders caught for the confumption of the in-
habitants. The number of votes are about 130. It
a market-place {landing on Doric pillars ; there
is an old piece of a wall flill (landing in the church-
yard, which was formerly a part of the church.

Here, in the compafs of about fix miles, are three
'borough- towns, which, fend members to parliament,
viz. Sbsrtbam,. Br amber, and Steyning,

The chief hpuie in Mhe town of Br.amher\ when I
[.vas there, was a publick-houie, the landlord whereof
iboafted, that, upon an election jufl then over3 he had
nade 300/- of one pipe of canary.

The calile of Bramber, however, appears to have
been a place of ftrength. There is,' befides part of
;he outward wall, one iide of a tower of great
peight now remaining; and it is furprifing it does
:ot tumble down with the flrit. high wind. It is
liioft beautifully covered with ivy, and is a fine object
■iewed at a diflance from the hills.

This is not the only town in this county, where
he elections have been fcandalouily mercenary, info-
nuch that it has been faid, theie was, in one king's
eign, more money- fpent at elections than all the
ands in the parishes were -worth, at 20 years pur-
•hafe.

Br amber is a borough election, by every inha*
•itant paying fcot and lot, but has no market.

Stayning is a borough-town, and has a market
•nee a month, on the lecond JVednefday.
Vol. I. I I fhall

t-/o SUSS E X.

I fhall name in particular but one more, and that
is JVinchelfea ; which is rather the fkeleton of an an-
cient city, than a real town, where the old gates (land
near three miles from one another over the fields,
and the very ruins are fo buried, that they have mace
good corn-fields of the ftreets, and the plough goes
over the foundations, nay, over the firft iioors of the
houfes, and where nothing of a town feems to
remain: yet, at one election for members, the
flruggle was fuch, between fir John Banks, and
colonel Draper, a neighbouring gentleman, that -I
was allured the latter fpent 1 1,000/. and loft it too.
What the other fpent, who oppofed him, may be
•gueffed at, feeing he who fpent moft was almofl fure
to carry his election *.

Near Steyning, the family of Fagg had an ancient
feat, which went, with a daughter of the late fir
Robert Fagg, to fir Charles Goring. And thence,
palling by the feat of fir John Shelly, prettily fituated
in the middle of a grove, we come to Jrundel, a
li'tle market-town; it has two markets, Thurfdays
and Saturdays', and four fairs; May 14, Aunijl 21,
and December 15, for cattle ; and December j 7, for
cattle and pedlary. It is. alfo a borough, and fends

* I rannot here help ad^'ng, that, fincethe reprefentatives of the.
people have the impoitant charge of watching over the pref-rvation of
tur liberties, our trade, and our property, what care ought every
cunty, city, and borough, to take, to choofe only luch as are qua-
lified for performing this Important talk ; for choofing fuch whofe in-
tegrity will render them fuperior to the temptations of a bribe, whofe
wifcom is capable of managing our interefts, and whofe greatnefs of
foul will make them think, that thsy can never do too much for thcii
country, and for their con ftituents! He who parts with his vote, and
for a iucraliveor felfi/h confideration, is inllruniental in choofing one
w horn his conscience difapproves, and who is unqualified or corrupt, i«
a fool and a madman ; is unworthy the n.ime of a Frteman, fince he,
as much as is in his power, fells himfslf and his country, and can
er have the Itaft reafon to complain, if he fiV>uld live to fee thil

,:> i^fhtution overturned, and our liberties and all our privilege*

twe

SUSSEX. 171

two members to parliament : the right of vote is in
the perfons who pay fcot and bear their lot in this
town, which may be about 160. There is here a
final 1 manufactory in hop-bagging. It is 55 meafured
miles from London, and {lands near the mouth of the
river Arun, which heretofore had a good harbour,
called Arundel Port, or the harbour of Little Hampton,
capable of receiving fhips and veffels of a confiderable
burden; but, a beach being thrown up by the fea,
it was quite choaked up, and the navigation of the
Arun obrtructed, fo that the harbour was rendered
in a manner ufelefs. But in confequence of an
aft, paffed in 1733? two piers have been erected,
which by confining the channel of the river have
deepened and made it acceffible to large coaftcrs.
Little Hampton, though at prefent an inconfide-
rable village, is likely to grow opulent by the ac-
ceflion of company, who refort hither to bathe in the
furnmer months; the beach being well adapted to
that purpofe, and affording a very extenuve and plea-
iant ride after the recefs of the tide.

One great advantage to the country, from this
river, is the {hipping off great quantities of large
timber here ; which is carried up the Thames to
Woolwich and Deptford, and up the Medway to Chat-
ham; as alio weftward to Port/mouth, and even to
Plymouth, and indeed to all the king's yards, where
the bulinefs of the navy is carried on. The timber
produced here is efteemed the be'ft and large ft that
is brought by fc a from any part of England; alio
great quantities of knee-timber are had here, the
largeft of which is valuable in its kind above the
iftraight timber.

This river, and the old, decayed, once famous
caftle at Arundel, which has the privilege to give
to its povTefTor the title of an earl and peer of the
realm without creation, belongs to the noble

1 2 family

172 S U S S E X.

family of Howard, earls of Arundel, and dukes of
Norfolk, In the church are four old and {lately mo-
numents of the earls of Arundel-, and in this
river are caught the beft and largcft mullets in Eng-
land; a fifli very good in itfelf, and much valued by,
the gentry round, and often lent up to London.
This caft!e was probably one of the ftrongeft in
England, both from its ftru&ure and fituation. To
the fouth, it is guarded from approach by the fteep-
nefs of the hill on which it Hands ; and on this fide
the windows command a very fine view of the vale
through which the Arun meanders;, on the north-
weft, which is flanked by a very deep foffe, is the
citadel, erected on another and fmaller hill, which
overlooks the caftle : many of the aniient buildings
have mouldered into ruin ; but there are ftill the
vcftiges of a very large and elegant banquctting hall,
and the gateway is in a tolerable ftate of prefervation.
It was here the emprefs Maud took refuge. Moft of
the poorer inhabitants hereabouts arc Roman Ca-
tholics, whofe want of induftry, although it is laid
to throw a very heavy tax on the benevolent fpirit of
the preient duke, is too conipicuous in the mifery of
their appearance The chapel within the cattle,
which is attended by a Rom'ijh prieft maintained h^
his grace for the purpofe, is neat, and decorated with
a very beautiful altar-piece, painted by a capital
artift.

From hence to the city of Chichejler are 12 of the
moft pleafant and delightful miles in England. The
road through which, although formed by flatute-
labour, is equal in gootlneis to moft turnpikes in
England', and on one fide of it, about 4 miles from
Aruvael, is the feat of lord Newbetg, remarkable
chief) v for the noble profpeel it commands. It has
fotIK gei nilics; and to the north of Aru

and at the bottom of the hills, and consequently in

the

SUSSEX. 17/

the Wealds is the town of Petwortk, a populous mar-
ket-town ; it Hands upon an afcent, and is dry and
healthy, with well-built houies, both in the town
and neighbourhood ; but the beauty of Petwortb is
the ancient feat of the old family of Percy, earl of
Northumberland, vvhofe daughter, the fole heirefs of
all his- vail eftates, married Charles Seymour, duke of
Somerftt ; and among other noble feats brought his
grace this of Petiuorth. It is now the feat of the earl
of Egremont, great grandfon of the faid duke, by his
fecond daughter, lady Catharine Seymour.

The duke pulled down the ancient houfe, and on
the fame fpot built from the ground one of the bell-
modelled houfes then in Britain.

The apartments are very noble, well-contrived,
and richly furniflied; but the avenues to the front
want fpace : hence the front has the appearance of
being too Ions:, and unbroken, although if the ground
could have admitted of a gradual approach towards it
through an avenue, the effecl would be equally mag-
nificent, and elegant. The difpoiitions within merit
both thefe characters, and all the principal apart-
ments are furnifhed with antique ftatues, and bulls,
fome of which are of the firft-rate value ; a lingular
circumftance attending them is, that a great many,
when the late earl bought them, were compleat in-
valids; fome wanting heads, others hands, feet,
nofes, &c. Thefe mutilations his lordfhip endea-
voured to fupply, by the application of new members,
very ill fuited either in complexion, or elegance of
finifhing, to the Roman and Grecian trunks ; fo that,
in fome refpefts, this {lately fabric gives us the idea
of a large hofpital or receptacle for wounded and dil-
abled ftatues.

From Petworth well, the country is a little lefs
woody than the Weald', and, after afcending the
South Downs, a great many fine feats begin to {hew

I 3 their

174 S U S *S E X.

their heads above the trees ; as the duke of Richmond's
feat at Goodwood, near Chichejler ; the feats of fir
Harry Feather/lone, and of the late earl of Halifax.

But the feat of lord vifcount Montagu, called
Cowdrey, near Midhurft, which fends two members
to parliament, deferves particular notice. It is
fituated in a valley, encompafled with lawns, hills,
and woods, thrown into a park, the river running;
underneath, which renders the place very agreeable
in fummer, but makes it dampifh in winter. The
houfe is fquare, and at each corner is a Gothic tower,
which have a very good effect, when viewed from
the riling grounds. The hall is cieled with Irijb
oak, after the ancient manner. The walls are painted
with architecture by Roberti, the flatues by Goupe,
the flair-cafe by Pelegrini. The large parlour, or
room at the hall, is of Holbein 's painting ; where
that great artift has defcribed the exploits of king
Henry VIII. before Boulogne, Calais, his landing at
Fort/mouth, his magnificent entry into London, &c.
In the other rooms are many excellent pictures of
the anceflors of the family, and other hiftory- paint-
ings of Holbein, relating to their actions in war. The
rooms are {lately and well furnifhed, adorned with
manv pictures. There is a long gallery with the
12 apollles, as large as life; another very neat one,
wainfcoted with Norway oak, where are many an-
cient whole-length pictures of the family, in their
proper habits. There are four hiftory-pieces, two
copies of Raphael's marriage of Cupid and Pfyche, and
fever tl old religious and military paintings from
Battle-abbey.

The park is noble, having a great variety of
grounds in it, abounding with game, and is well
wooded with pines, firs, and other evergreen-tr
which are grown to a large fize j and here arc feme

of

SUSSEX. 175,

of the largeil chefhut- trees perhaps in England, The
river Arun, gliding by Midburft, fweeps through the
park, and promotes a conftant verdure. The coun-
try adjacent ierves a contrail to this beautiful fcenery,
by its barrenefs ; fome efforts, however, which his
lordfhip has made by fir plantations, may evince,
that the moft fterile foil, and dreary region, is ca-
pable of receiving embellifhment. But the fituation
lying all along between two ridges of downs and hills
on the north, and fouth, thefe eternal barriers ex-
elude all extenfive profpect, fo that the view is rather
confined.

Chichefter is a neat city, walled round. The river
Lavant nearly encircles the walls which ar^ of great
antiquity. Four principal flreets crofs it at right an-
gles upon the cardinal points. In the centre Hands
a curious crofs, and market -houfe upon pillars,
erected by bifhop Read; three of them have a view
of the crofs from their lower ends, viz. the fouth,
weft, and eaft frreets ; but the north ftreet, being not
directly facing the fouth, has not the advantage of
this profpect. On this crofs, which is an octagon
with a large pillar in the middle, from which are
fprung eight different arches, there are three dials to
the clock; that facing the ealt has a minute-hande
There is no dial to the north, as that lide of the
crofs is not feen from the north ftreet. On the well
fide of this crois is the following infeription : ■

This beautiful crofs, erected by Edward Story^
bifhop of Chichefter •, who was advanced to that dig-
nity by Edward the IVth. 1478, was firfr. repaired in,
the reign of Charles the lid. and again in the twen-
tieth of George the lid. 1746, Thomas Wall, mayor,
at the fole expence of Charles duke of Richmond^
Lenoxx and dubigny,

I 4 And

i?6 S U S S E X.

And on the fouth fide tlie following :

Dame Elizabeth Farrington, relict of fir Richard \
Partington, baronet, gave this clock as an hourly
memento of her good-will to this city, 1724.

And on the e^fl iide, in a nitch, is a bull of king
Charles the 1ft.

Here is a handibme council-houfe ; tlie market
for corn is principally by fample, and is on a Satur-
day, and every other IVednefday is a large maiket
for live cattle, a!mofl like a fair.

A carpet manufactory, like that of TVi'ton, was
once attempted here, but was foon laid afide ; another
of needles met with the fame fate. The inequality
of the river, which often lofes its water for whole
months together, will prevent the eftablifhment here
of any manufactory, which depends upon the con-
venience of water either for bleaching, ducking, or
machinery : and the fame defect renders an artificial
navigation impracticable from the harbour to the
eity, which is an improvement that has fometimes
been in contemplation, and for which an act of
parliament was actually obtained many years ago.
It muft therefore continue to owe its iupport to the re-
fidence of the cathedral, clergy, and of leveral genteel
families living here in a fort of retirement, and
ipending their incomes ; and to the numerous (hops
which occupy the greatefr. part of this city, and fup-
ply the farmers and others in the neighbourhood with
materials for their hufbandry, cloathing, &x. chiefly
brought from London, which, of courfe, draws every
year a large balance in money from it. It is 63 miles
from London. The principal inns arc, the Dolphin,
the Swan, and the Bell.

The church takes up one of thefe quadrants. It :s
remarkable for two ailcs on both fide.-, and the
pictures of all the kings and queens of England from

IVtlliam

SUSSEX. 177

William the Conqueror to George the 1ft. On the
foathern wall, as on the oppofite wall, all the
bifhops, but very indifferently executed.

The monuments of bifhop Carleton and bilhop
King are in this church, whole effigies are curiouily
done in marble. One of the greateft ornaments be-
longing to this cathedral is the library-room, antienrly
a chapel, which has a well-chofen and valuable col-
lection of books, enriched by the donations of the
late and prefent duke of Richmond, and others. The
cieling is painted much in the fame manner as that
belonging to the knights in Wejhninfier Abbey* Un-
derneath, is a vault extending the whole length of
the building, and here are depofited the remains of
the late duke of Richmond, and many of his illuftri-
cus family.

In the year 1723, in digging a foundation at Chr-
chdter, was found, pretty deep in the ground, a large
ftone, fix feet long and three broad,, with a Roman
in-fcription on it.

This ftone was prefented to the late duke of Rich-
mond, who placed it in a temple on a mount in his-
garden at Goidvoood, between the ftatues of Neptune
and Minerva,

In the biihop's garden has been lilcewife difcovered,
at the depth. of fix or eight feet, a Roman- telTelated
pavement intolerable prefervation ; and vaft abun-
dance of Roman coins, chiefly of copper and brafs^
have been found in different parts of the city, and in
a large common field without the eaftgare, called
The Po' tfield ; moft of them of t^>e later emperors*.
The whole fpace, for about 4. miles,, between the
city and the downs, is interfered with feveral lines
©r intrenchments, formed with the utmoil regularity,,
and continuing their communication to an eminence
called" Rookh Hill (clofe by the London road), on the
fummit of which are remain* of a very extend ve
eamp, fuppofed by fome to be DaniJh0J but more-

I 5 probably

178 S U S S E X.

probably of Roman conftrucYion, as it is well known,
that their fnmmer- encampments were ufnally formed
in iimilar fituations, of which are many examples in
this kingdom. The lines which fpread acrofs the
more level country below, might probably anfwer
two very material purpofes, either for defence of the
city, or as winter-roads for the marching of their
troops, the adjacent foil for the moft part being full
of fprings at that feafon of the year. Moft of thefe
lines are terminated at proper diftances with re-
doubts, and from their prefent heighth it may be
conjectured they were originally exceedingly ftrong,
and formed by the military with infinite labour,
there being a prodigious number of large and deep
excavations adjacent to them, out of which the gra-
vel and foil appear to have been dug, and carried to
form them.

This city returns two members to parliament. It
is -not a place of much trade, nor is it very populous;
but within thefe few years they are fallen into a new
way of managing the corn-trade here, which turns
•very well to account; for whereas the farmers, ge-
nerally fpeaking, ufed to carry all their wheat to
Farnbam market, which is very near 40 miles, by
land -carriage, and from fome parts of the country
more trrah that, fome moneyed men of Chicheftery
Fmfwortb, and other places adjacent, joined their
flocks together, and built large granaries near the
Crook, where the veffels come up ; and here they
buy and lay up all the corn which the country on
that fide can fpare ; and, having good mills in
neighbourhood, they grind and drefs it, and fend it
to i, in the meal by fea.

rJ his is a great leileninor to Farnham market ; but
if the market at London is fupplicd, the coming by
fca from Ckhhejhr is every whit as much a public
good, as the encouraging of Farnbam market, which

Witt

SUSSEX. 179

was once, of itfelf, the greateft corn-market in Eng-
land, Hempjied in Hertford/hire, and London, except-
ed. This carrying of meal by fea is now prac"ti fed
from feveral other places on this coaft, even as far as
Southampton.

Chichefter, befides the cathedral, has nve final!
churches within the walls, and one without. About
three miles from it is the houfe of his grace the duke
of Richmond, called Goodwood. It was the ancient
feat of the earls of Northumberland, and in a very
ruinous condition ; but the late duke of Richmond
built fome offices, which were to have correfponded
with a maniion-houfe defigned by Colin Campbell, and
publiflied by him in his fttruvius Briiannicus. But
the late duke, a little before his death, altered his
deiign, and built a noble apartment on the fouth-
fide of the houfe, cafed with Portland flone, which
was to have been one of the wings to the houfe his
grace propofed to erect, had he lived a few years
longer. His prefent grace, without adhering flricrly
to the plan, is adding other improvements, under the
direction of that excellent artiffc Mr. Wyati, which,
when compleated, will render it a very noble and
magnificent feat. %

His grace had a noble menagerie, where he kept a
great variety of foreign animals and birds. The
park was fmall, but planted with clumps of feveral
forts of oaks, to the well and nqrth of the houfe ;
but on the eaft and fouth-fide are clumps of the dif-
ferent forts of pines and firs, and a variety of exo-
tics, under the management of his prefent grace ; it
has been confiderably enlarged by the addition of
Halnacker-park> and immenfe plantations of trees,
traverfed throughout with a variety of roads, and
cuts, which afford the mofi delightful rides, a fine
air, and lovely profbecls, and the whole is defigned

I 6 \\)

i8o SUSSEX.

to be enclofed with a {lone-wall, already carried on,
for a confiderable extent.

It has an eafy defcent to the earl:, fouth, and S. W._
with the view of a rich and beautiful landfcape,
bounded by the fea, for 30 miles in length. The
Ijle of iVtght terminates the fouth-weft proipec~t, and
St, RooFs Hill covers it from the north. His lato
grace erected a room on a rifing ground, at the upper
part of the park, called Carney feat, from whence i*
a view of the country for many milesj and a noble
profpecl of the fea, from the harbour of Portfmoutk
quite round by the Ijle of Wight, many leagues out
to fea. In this room the duke frequently entertained
company at dinner, there being a good kitchen built
near it, with many other conveniencies ; and adja-
cent to it is his grace's pheafantry, formed in a very
romantic tafle out of an old chalk-pit, and finely
adorned with fhrubberies and walks. At the very
bottom of it flands an elegant furnmer-ro. m highly
finifhed, the front opening to a diftant and very
plealing view; and behind rifes its chimney to a
great' height, in the form of a regular column^
which beheld from a diitance adds greatly, to th«
beauty of. the park and grounds.

Near Goodwood is- Haliaker, formerly in the polTef-
iion of the Delawars ; but fince purchased from the
Derby family by his prefent grace.. The houfe is the
remains of an ancient; caftle, built quadrangular^
with a court-yard in the centre, but has otherwif©
nothing remarkable about it; nor is the lituation at
all well chofen, though, at the diftance of about 100
yards from.it, is a fpot which commands one of the
fineft profpeets imaginable. — In the difpofition of his
new and enla-ged park, his grace feems intent oil
uniting the pleafurable with the profitable ; a great
part being. allotted to< agriculture, which introduces
311 elegant variety into the landfcape. Contiguous

to

SUSSEX. r&i

to the old park are his grace's tennis-court, comma*
diouily built at a great expence, and very extenfive
fruit and flower gardens, which, though a force upon
nature (the foil being a coarfe gravel, and perfectly
fberile) is now, by art and the introduction of good
mould, made productive of fruit and vegetables in
the higheft ftate of perfection.

The fituation of Chicbejier may be reckoned plea^-
fant and healthy. Towards the north it is diftant
about three miles and- a half from the Downs, and
the foil on this fide is moltly a coarfe gravel, lying to
the depth of 18 or 20 feet upon a chalky marie; to
the eaif. and weft the country is one continued cham-
paign ; and to the fouth the defcent is. gradual for
ieven miles to the fea j fo that from whatever quar-
ter the wind blows, it is fure to be ventilated with-
out interruption. The land on the fouth of it is a
rich deep mould for feme miles, affording the richeft
pafture ; all beyond this to the coaft is a clay, which
is converted for the moft part to arab'e, and efteemed
as fine corn-ground as any in the kingdom. Another
circumstance, conducive to the health of the inhabi-
tants, is the regularity of the fbeets, and which are
now much more airy than heretofore, by pulling
down the. nor thy fouth, and weft gates, that ufed t©
©bftru& the wind.; fo that it is. thought, and not ,
without good reafon, that this improvement has been
one chief means of producing a greater and more
general falubrity than was remarked before; befide%
the houies do not crowd upon each other as in molt
other, towns, but have large areas and gardens, there
.being very few, even of the meaner!, without this
conveniency ; and in each of the. four diviiions is a
large fpace. of ground unoccupied by any building*
The air might Hill admit of greater purity, it is
thought, if a long row of flately elms, which grow
along the fide of the north rampart (forming a.fhady

and

18a SUSSEX.

and agreeable walk in fummer), was cut down, fince
it is certain that they are a ikreen againft the winds
which let from that quarter. And if xto this were
added a few gravel-walks at a place called the Broil,
fituate about half a mile without the North-Jlreet, on
a riling ground, in order to afford the inhabitants
the greater convenience of exercife ; there are few
places in the kingdom would be better adapted for
an agreeable retreat to fmall families, whofe incomes
do not permit them to live in an expeniive and dilli-
pated flyle ; for having a water-carriage to Dell Quay
within about a mile's diftance, befides a land-carriage
to London, the principal neceifaries for a family are
fupplied at moderate terms. The adjacent country
is very plentiful, and the vicinity -of the fea would
over-ftock the fim-market, if it were not for the evil
herein aftermentioned, and that London did not drain
away from this part, as it does from mcil others
lying within a fimilar diftance, fo. much as to leave
the inhabitants a very fcanty portion : lobfters, how-
ever, oyfters, and the cheaper fpecies of hfh, are in
general abundant here, and cheap, and moftly brought
from Selfea ; but the Smuggling bufinefs has been and
is now the greateif. obffacle to a better rifhery oh this
coafl:. This circumftance is not properly adverted to
by the inhabitants of the town, who do not confider,
that by every pound of tea, or gallon of fpirits, or yard
of cambric, they purchafe from a fmuggler, they
give that encouragement to the occupation itlelf,
which makes it more profitable, and therefore more
eligible to the maritime people, than catching fifh
for fupplying the market.

About three miles to the eaft of Goodwood lies
Cbarleton, a fmall village, remarkable for being the
feat of fox-hunting. Hereabouts were many fmall
hunting-houfes built by perfons of quality, who
iifed to rcfide there during the fcafon for fox-hunting;

but

SUSSEX. 185

but the moft beautiful of thefe buildings is that of
his grace the late duke of Richmond,

Here is alfo a large room, which was defigned by
the right honourable the earl of Burlington, where
the gentlemen fox-hunters dined every day together^
during their flay at the village.

By the fide of this village is Charleton Forefl, which
was formerly in the pofleffion of the Lumleys, but
for fome years has belonged to the late duke of Rich-
mond, who greatly beautified it, by cutting fine rid-
; ings through the feveral parts of it, and making
I many new plantations in it.

About three miles from it is the parifh- church of
Bofom, which is a large handfome building. In it is
a very ancient monument, with a female figure upon
it, fuppofed to reprefent the daughter of king Canute.
In digging not long ago in the church, was found
the head of a man in itone. The fculpture of the
hair and features is. very diicernible. From the chin
to the crown are about 20 inches ; and confequently
the height of the whole body of the figure muft have
been about 15 feet. It is conjectured to have been
one of the Saxon idols.

From Chichefter, the road lying ftill weft, we pais
in fight of the earl of Scarborough's fine feat at Stan-
jled, an houfe furrounded with thick woods, through
which there are the moft agreeable viftas cut that are
to be feen any where in England"? and particularly
at the weft opening, which is from the front of the
houfe, they fit in the dining-room, and fee the town
and harbour of Port/mouth, the fhips at Spithead9
and alfo at St. Helens; which, when the royal navy
happens to be there, is a glorious fight.

Stanjled was the feat of the late honourable James
Lumley efquire, who left it to his nephew the late
earl of Halifax ^ by whofe will it has become veiled
in Mifs Montague, his lordfaip's natural daughter*

Tke

i«4 SUSSEX.

The park is embellifhed with two buildings, both
erected by the late carl. One is a temple called
Lumley Seat, railed in grateful memory of the donor;
it confirms of a handibme faloon ornamented with
paintings well executed : in front is a portico which
carries the view acrofs the park quite to the lea.
The other building is a triangular tower or gazebo,
conHfting of feveral ftories, and crowned at top with
a flag ftaff; from the leads of the upper ftory the eye
takes in an unbounded profpecY over that part of
Suffix which lies between the Downs and the coaft to
the eaft and fouth, and beyond the IJle cf Wight to
the weftward, having a clear view of the Britijb
Chcninil in an uninterrupted line from point to point.
The elegance however of this edifice is by no means
proportionate to the prodigious expence which the
railing of it coft his lordfhip; and, after all, there
is fo little variety in the profpecl, after feeing what
the noufe affords from its dining-room windows, that
a traveler feels himfelf in no very good humour after
tedioully climbing up {q many fteps, and to fuch a
height, to be rewarded for his pains with nothing
but difappointment. The houfe alone will recotn-
penfe his labours ; for it contains a very excellent
collection of p.clures, fome of which have been
executed by maftrrly hands ; particularly one of our
Saviour after his refurrecvtion (hewing himfelf to his
doubting dilciples. Another, much admit ed, done
by the famous Blackjmitb of Antwerp ; feveral beau-
tiful land '.capes, fruit- pieces, and portraits ; among
the latter, Van Trump, and Gtndamav the Spanijb
ambaffaelor, etteemed linking likeneffes. Nor ought
that elegant picture done by fir Jo/bita Reynold,, the
fubject Comedy and Tragedy, contending for the pof-'
ferlion of Garrick, to pais unnoticed. In th • upper
apartments are fome beautiful tapeftry- hangings, re*
preicnting different military icenes in Flanaers during

the.-

H A M P S H I R E. i85

' victorious duke of Afar /borough's campaigns.
The foil on which this houfe (lands is fo remarkably
dry, that none of theie paintings, or the furniture
of the apartments, are ever affected with damps, nor
are fires neceilary in the winter to preferve thern
from it. It may therefore be concluded that few
fituations can be more eligible for health.

In our p adage to Port/mouth, we paffed by Fare-
ham, and by Portchejler, a caftle built- out of a Ro-
man city, where many of the -French prifoners were
fecured during the time of the two late wars.

On the ea(f.-fide of the harbour lies the lfland of
Portfea, about 14 miles in compafs, fertile in corn,
and very pleafant, furrounded at high-water on all
iides by the lea ; but united to the continent at the
northern extremity by Port-bridge, which was for-
merly defended by a fortrefs.

In Port/mouth haven 1000 fail of the biggefr. fhips
may ride fecure. The mouth is not fo broad as the
Thames at IVeftminJhr, and that fecured on Go/port
fide by Charles Fort, James Fort, Borough Fort, and
Bhck-houfe Fort, which has a platform of above 20
great guns level with the water. On the other fide,
by Port/mouth, Hands South-fea Cajlle, built by king
Henry VIII. The government has within thefe few
years bought, and annually occupied, more ground
for additional works, and no doubt it may be made
impregnable ; for a (hallow wafer mav be brought
quite round it. The yards, the docks, the ftore-
houfes, where all the furniture is laid up in the
exafteil: order, (fo that the workmen can find any
implement in the dark) exceed imagination ; as do
the immenfe quantities of all forts of military and
naval ftores. The ropehoufe is 870 feet long, one
continued room, almoit a quarter of a mile, I had
the pleafure of feeing a great cable made here, ia

my

i86 HAMPSHIRE.

my firfl vifit to that place: it required icomen r»
work at it ; and ib hard is the labour, that they could
work but four hours in the day.

The fmalleft number of men continually employ-
ed in the yard is iooo, and that but barely fafficienfc
Thefe, in time of war, are difciplined and formed
into a regiment, as they were in the lair, war : the
commiffioner is colonel ; the builder is lieutenant
colonel; the clerk of the checque major; and the
reft of the officers, captains, lieutenants, csV.

Here is alio a good counterfcarp, double moatr
with ravelins in the ditch, and double paliiadoesr
and advanced works', to cover the place from any.
approach, where it might be practicable The
ftrength of the town is alio confiderably augmented,
on the land-fide, by the fortifications raifed of late
years about the docks and yards ; and thofe parts-
made a particular ftrength by themfelves ; and though,
they are indeed in feme fenfe independent one on?
another, yet they cover and ftrengthen one another,.
lb that they cannot be feparately attacked on that
fide#> while they are both in the fame hands.

Thefe docks and yards are now like a town, and
are a kind of marine corporation within themfelves j
there being particular large rows of dwellings, built
at the public charge, within the new works, for all
the principal officers of the place ; efpeciaily for the
commiffioner, the agent of the victualing, and fuch
like.

Portfmoutb returns two members to parliament. It
is a well-inhabited, thriving corporation; and is
greatly inriched by the fleet's having lb often and fo-
long lain there, as well as large fleets of merchant-
men : befldes, the confbnt lifting out of men of
war, and the often paying them, at Portfmoutb, has
made a great concourle of people to it. Camden, lb
long a^o as the reign of queen Elizabeth, takes no-
tice,

HAMPSHIRE. 187

tice, that Port/mouth was populous in time of war, but
not fo in time of peace : but now the bufinefs of the
navy is fo greatly increafed, and fo much of it
always done here, that it may be faid, that there is
more to do at Portfmouth, even in time of peace,
than was then in time of war.

The government of the place is by a mayor and
aldermen, &c. and the civil government is no more
interrupted by the military, than if there was no
garrifon there ; fo that we have very feldom had any
complaint either of want of difcipline among the
foldiers, or want of prudence in the magiflrates.
This place is vaflly improved, by being new- paved
like London,

Since the increafe of bufinefs at this place, the
confluence of people has been fo great, that, the town
not admitting any inlargement for buildings, a kind
of fuburb, or rather a new town, has been built on
the heathy ground adjoining, called The Common^
which is fo confiderable, that it promifes to outdo,
for numbers of inhabitants and beauty of buildings,
even the town itfelf ; and the rather, as it is uncon-
fined by the laws of the garrifon, and unincumbered
with the corporation-badges, freedoms, town-duties,
fervices, and the like.

July 3, 1760, at twelve in the morning, a dread-
ful fire broke out in the dock -yard of this place, in
a fine pile of building that was filled with fome of
the beft {lores for his Majefly's navy ; in the lower
part of which were pitch, tar, oil, and turpentine;
in the upper, cables, ropes, fails, and canvafs. The
next flore-houfe was the fpinning-houle, and above it
hemp. The next, where the bell flood, was a long
lane, piled up with decayed (lores; the next to that,
were the rope -makers laying-walk, and the taring -
walk, over which were fails, canvafs, and ropes ; all
which were confumed. The beams, by the violence

of

i83 H A M P SHIR E.

of the fire, flew in the air like fo many paper fer-
pents, and many of them fell in Gofport. It rained
very hard all night. It is thought that the ilorea
caught fire by the lightning, which was very terrible,
the element appearing as all on a blaze. In the
warehoufes confumed, were reported 1050 tons of
hemp, 500 tons of cordage, and about 700 fails,
Deficits many hundred barrels of tar, oil, ckc. Yet
with all this devaluation, amounting to a very great
lols, fuch was the diligence exerted, and fuch was
the quantity of ftores in the naval way at Chatha??},
and other magazines of this nature, that all was
eafily and very foon iupplied, without any very fen-
fible lofs by the public, though in the midit of a
heavy and expensive war.

Since that time, there have been other unfuccefsful
attempts .to con fume this important ftorehoufe by
fire ; even fo late, as the year 1777, a villain wa3
executed for fuch an attempt, after having fucceeded
in part 5 and the malefa£tor now hangs on a gibbet,
on the Go/port lide of the entrance of Port/mouth
harbour.

Next, we arrived at the Port/down hills ^ which are
of chalk, and at a moderate diilance from the fhore
extend themfelves into Sujfex,

Here we turned to admire the face of the ground
we had pafled. The ports, creeks, bays, ocean,
catties, and fhips, the IJJe- cf lVighty Portcbejhr, the
coniiderable town of Go/prt, Portjmoutb, S:utbamp-
toriy Chichefler, and all the coaft from Portland iile to
Sujftx, were comprehended under one view.

Upon Portfdown, near the high London r ad, the
late Peter Tay '/or, efquire, ere&cd a very handlbmfc
houfe, and at the time of his death was making
very great and extenli' e improvements around it. It
is laid this gentleman had it in actual contemplation
to i imply the town of Portfmautb with water, which

the

HAMPSHIRE. 189

the inhabitants are now obliged to fetch at a great
[diftance, by means of pipes to be laid from a fpring
near his houfe to the town; but, perhaps from the
difficulty, or immenfe expence of the undertaking,
it was not accomplished.

From Port/mouth, weft, the country lies low and
fiat, is full of creeks and inlets of the fea and rivers,
all the way to Southampton ; to that we ferry over
three times in about 18 miles, befides going over
the bridge at Tichfield. The firft of thefe ferries is
at Portfmouth itfelf, crofs the mouth of the harbour,
• from the Point above mentioned, to Go/port , a large
town and of great trade, efpecially in time of war,

■ and which has been very lately improved by an ho-
spital, and by ftrong fortifications. From thence we
ride to Tichfield, as above, where we pafs the river
utire. Thence, at about four miles, we pafs another

river at Bujfelton^ narrow in breadth, but exceeding
deep, and eminent for its being able to carry the
[l&rgeft fliips: here is a building-yard for fhips of
war; and in king Williams time two eighty-gun
: fhips were launched here. It feems, the iafety of
the creek, and the plenty of timber in the country
behind it, are the reafons of building fo much in
this place.

From hence, when we come oppofite to Southamp-
ton^ we pafs another creek, which comes down from
' IVinchcJhr, and is both very broad and deep. On
the oppofite bank frauds the ancient town of South'
ampton^ on the other fide of which comes down ano-
ther large river, called the Teft, entering Southamp-

■ ton water by Redbrldge ; fo that the town of South-
amiton {lands upon a p.nnt running out into the fea,
between two very fine rivers, both navigable for
fome way up the country, and particularly ufeful for
bringing down timber out of one of the bed wooded
counties in Britain \ for the river on the weft-fide

3 of

ioo HAMPSHIRE.

of the town comes by the edge of New Foreji* But
of late years, and llnce the above was written, there
has been Co much timber cut down in this foreft, and
fuch i.eglecl in fencing and fecuring the young trees,
that, unlefs there be more care taken to preferve it,
there will be fcarce any timber left there in a few
years ; and here it may not be amifs to take notice,
that the perfons, whofe employments were defigned
to preferve and encourage the growth of timber, are
generally the people who deftroy it ; to which they
are led by the perquisites of their places, which
ought never to be allowed. But perhaps there is
not a more extraordinary employment, than that of
furveyors of the woods, as it hath been managed of
late years.

Hence from Ports-bridge, upon a little turning cf
the fhore, we fee Havant, 2. fmall, but neat market-
town, having a market-houfe, and a good market on
a Saturday ; and in which are houfes of good accom-
modation. This place is about midway between
Pcrtfmcuth and Chicbefier ; and about two miles far-
ther from Pert/mouth, in the lame road, is the vil-
lage of Em/worthy which of late hath greatly in-
creafed in its number of inhabitants, and bids fair
to be a very large populous place, and one of great
trade; the lea coming up quite to the town, and
feveral merchants fettling there for the convenience
of trade.

Near Havant is TV-arbllngton, formerly a beautiful
feat of the earls of Sali/bury, and afterwards of the
Cottons. Before thefe lie two illands ; the larger
called Haling, the other Tbormy \ and each has its
parifh-churcb. The hills leading from Havant to
Portfmouth (on which are placed beacons, to give
notice of invaiions in times cf danger) afford a moft
delightful view of the fea for miles together.

2 Southa?nptcn

HAMPSHIRE. igr

'Southampton is a very antient town, fends two

members to parliament, and is a county of itfelf. It

fituate between the rivers Tefe or Anton, and

Aires or Itching, in the Couth-weft part of the county,

to which it gives name. It formerly contained fix

iparifh-churches, Hdy-rbodh SV. Michael's, All Saints,

St. Lawrence, St, John's, and St. Mary's, but the

two latter were united in the reign of Charles the

fecond. It has al^o a French proteftant church, a

charity-fchool, &c. This town has declined in trade

fince the beginning of the laft century ; but its com-

linercial buiinefs is bv no means inconfiderable at this

'time. Its chief trade is with Portugal, and the

[if lands of Jerfey, G item fey, Alderney, and SarL

But, though the trade of Southampton may be de-
cayed, its inhabitants are very considerable ; as the
beauty and falubritv of its fituation has induced a
'.great many very genteel and refpectable families
to make it the place of their reiidence. It is alfo
ranuch reforted to as a place .of fummer amufement;
;and, if the heakhinefs of iituation, the beauty of a
; furrounding country, the river that wafhes it, the
neighbouring Ijle of Wight, with the feats, parks,
and other objects of curiofity in its vicinity, are al-
lurements, it is no wonder that Southampton is a fa-
vourite public place, as it may be laid to pofTefs them
all in very great perfection. ■ Indeed, the defcribing

• pen of the mofl fanciful writer is not equal to the

• tafk of doing it juftice. As the falt-water tide flows
[-up the river, the advantage of bathing is another in-
.' du cement for many perfons to vifit this place; and

proper accommodations are prepared for that purpofe.

■ How far the falt-water, which certainly mingles
with a frefn-water ffcream, may anfwer the purpoies

I of aftual fea-bathing, I cannot pretend to determine.

| Though Dr. Speed, having made a comparative ex-
periment of the water at Southampton, and at the

fouth-

i92 HAMPSHIRE.

fouth-end of the IJle of Wight, declares positively,
that the former contains the fame fpeciiic quantity of
fait as the latter. But after all that can poiiibly be
faid in defence of the bathing at this place, as the
tides vary in their periods, and bathing is only prac-
ticable at high water, an evident inconvenience en-
fues, which muft interfere with a Uriel: bathing re-
gimen at this place. There are, indeed, baths
which are contrived to retain the falt-water when
the tide is ebbed; but they muft ferve fuch a
variety of people, without being replenished, as to
render the ufe of them very difagreeable.

As at other public places, aflembly-rooms, coffee-
houfes, billiard-tables, circulating libraries, play?,
&c. are open for the fubferiptions and attendance of
the reforting company ; while the delicious profpccls
which the environs afford, and the neighbouring
feats, parks, gardens, &c. invite morning and even-
ing excursions. To enter into a minute defcription
of the many delightful places which furround
Southampton would require a volume ; I fhall there-
fore only mention the names of fuch as I have feen
with great pleafure and admiration, for the informa-
tion of the traveler, that he may not be ignorant o£
what is fo well worthy his regard and attention.

The ruins of Netlcy Abbey, which is fuppofed to
have been founded fo early as the twelfth century,
from their venerable appearance and the beautv of
their Situation, never fail to inipire the attentive be-
holder with awe and delight.

Bevts Mount, the feat of {it John Mor daunt, knight
of the bath, depends, for fome of its principal
beauties on the Southampton river, and, when it is high
water, affords the moil beautiful fecnery that can be
imagined. The late lord Peterborough, to whom it
belonged, would never fufFer tin? gardens to be feen
but at that time. Mr. Ruh^boicis at Bcvis Hilly

Bdk

HAMPSHIRE. 193

Belle Kie, the houfe and gardens of die late Mr.
St. Andre ; North Stone/mm park, the feat of Mr,
Fleming ; Mr. Serle's at Teftwood, Paultons belonging
to the right honourable Hans Stanley, Cr anbury, the
feat of Mr. Dummer, Beaulieu, Lymington, Lyndhur/l,
Ramfey, Broadlands, and many other places, offer
their different beauties to the admiration of the at-
tentive traveller.

At Southampton I took a paffage to the IJIe of Wight 9
in one of the commodious boats which go thither
and return every day ; and failing down the moft
beautiful piece of water> perhaps, in the world, we
arrived at Cowes, at about the diftance of fixteen miles,
in our paffage we palled by Caljhot Ca/lle, which, of
late, has received very considerable improvements,
and feems, at a diftance, to be floating in the water.
About a mile behind this caftle, the honourable
Temple Luttrel has erected a very lofty tower, which.
:ommands a very grand and extenfive profpeft, and
affords a very fine object for the Ijle of Wight.

There are two towns which bear the name of
lowes, the eaft and weft, fituated oppofite to each
>ther at the mouth of Newport river. There is a
/aftle with a garrifon on the weft fide, that on the
altera having been long demolifned. This fortifi-
ation confifts of a fmall ftone hcufe, with a femi-
ircular battery on its north front, pierced for eight
;uns. There is a coniiderable trade carried on
here.

From hence to Newport, the chief town in this
land, is about five miles of exceeding good road,
r you may go by water up a pleafant river. New-
ort is a large, populous, neat town, well-built,
hiefly with ftone, and fituated nearly in the middle
f the ifland. It is governed by a mayor, aldermen,
pc. and, among its inhabitants, can boaft of many
"ople of fortune and confideration,

VoL- 1. & About

i94 HAMPSHIRE.

About a mile to the fouth of the town is Carijbroik
Caftle, which is faid to have been built originally by
the Britons, repaired by the Romans, and afterwards
rebuilt by Whitgar, who, according to Stowe, was
king of the ifland in the year 519. It has been,
fince thofe days, frequently rebuilt and repaired by
fucceffive monarchs; but, what makes it more in-
tereftingto the modern traveller, is, its having been,
for thirteen months, the prilbn of the unfortunate
Charles the Firft, whofe defign to efcape from thence
is fo particularly related by lord Clarendon, At this
place is a well two hundred feet in depth, and
covered with an houfe ; a pin thrown into it is near
four feconds of time in reaching the bottom, and
on ftriking the water fends up a loud and very unex-
pected found. The water is drawn up by a wheel,
worked by an afs.

- In this ifland are the feats of fir John Oglander, fir
John Barrlngton, Mr. Grofe, the right honourable
Hans Stanley, the governor, and fir Richard IVorfeley,
all .of which are in delightful fituations, and poilefs
beauties fufficient to attraft the vifits of ft rangers,
especially the latter, whole park is very romantic.
The houfe alfo is a very noble edifice, and has lately
been oompleated and fitted up in all the elegance of
modern tafte. On the weft fide of the iiland are
the Needles, which confift of feveral large chalky
rocks, one of which, that was aim oft two hundred
feet in height fiom its bafe, fell down about three

years ago.

The Ifle of Wight is almoft fixty miles in circum-
ference, and contains within itfelf the moft beautiful
fccnes that can be conceived ; but when to thei'e -ire
added, Port/mouth harbour, Spith^ad, the New
Foreft, the Hampjhire hills, the Southampton v\\
and the furrounding ocean, the idea of its profpej
and iktiauon may, in fome mealure, be conveyed

HAMPSHIRE. 19J

to the admiring reader. Next to Sicily, it is, per-
haps, the moft fruitful fpot in Europe, as it is fup-
pofed to produce fix times more than is necefTary for
the confumption of its inhabitants. The wool of
its fheep is remarkable for goodnefs, and while the
furrounding fea affords plenty of nfh, their woods
are full of game. It contains three borough towns,
Newport, Yarmouth, and Neivtown, each "of whick
fends two members to parliament.

This ifland is noted for having been once advanced
to the title of a kingdom, by king Henry VI. in be-
half of Henry Beauchamp, earl of Warvjick> his great
favourite, who was crowned king of Wight, and of
the ifles of Jerfey and Guemfey, in 1445, but, dying
two years after, the ifle loft the title; for king^rf.
ward IV. who fucceeded Henry, beftowed it upon
his father-in-law, Richard Woodville, earl Rivers*
with the title of Lord of Wight, as was the late earl
of Derby; and as the prefent duke of Athol was
lord of the Jjle of Man ; but he fold his fovereignty
:o the crown of Great Britain.

Returning to Southampton, I was at the extent of
ny propofed journey we.fl, intending to look -no far-
ther this way for the prefent. 1 went north-eaft,
eaving Winchefter a little on the left, and came into
he Port/mouth road at Peter sfieid, a town chiefly
loted for its inns, and {landing in the middle of a
:ountry that ufed to abound with oak- timber, and
vhich returns two members to parliament. From
lence we came to Aton, and in the road thither be^ar*

little to tafte the pleafure of the weftern downs*
vhich reach from Winchejier almoft to that place.

The duke of Bolton has two noble feats in this
ounty, one between Alton and Alresford, (which is
o\v running to ruin) and one at Bafmg, of which
jereafter.

& * Jim

i96 SURRY.

Alton is a fmall market-town of no note ; yet has
a manufactory of corded druggets, figured barragons,
fer^e de nims ; has a market on Saturdays, r.nd a fair
on new Michaelmas-day. It is 50 meafured miles
from Hyde- park- corner, in the main road to JVinchefttr
and Southampton', has but a fmall mean church, and
the two principal inns are, the Swan, and the JVhite-
bart. A fmall rivulet, called the Tray, which riles
about half a mile from this town, runs through it,
and empties itfelf into Guilford river. There is not
any considerable manufacture in all this part of Eng-
land, except a little drugget and ilialloon-making;
otherwife the whole counties of Kent, Suffix, Surry,
and Hampjhire, are not employed in any confiderabie
woollen manufacture.

From Alton we came to Farnham, a large populous
market-town, the fartheft that way in the county of
Surry, from London; and, excepting Hempfiead and
London, was once the greater! corn -market in Eng-
land, particularly for wheat, of which vaft quanti-
ti s" uled to be' brought hither every market-day.
But for fome years paif, its market for corn has very
much dwindled ; but it has fo greatly improved in
its hops, for upwards of 50 years together, that it
maybs laid to outdo Canterbury, Maid/lone, and any
of the places in Kent, moft noted for that commo-
dity ; and this not only in quantity, but goodnefs.
In ilior-, all the neighbourhood about Farnham is
one tfcnerai hop-ground; and, to fhew the excellency
of the ham hops now lead the prio

markets in t . 1 heir fupericritv in this

article is owing 10 their great caie in picking, drying,
and fin. fogging.

At this town is a cattle built by a bifhcp of Hrm-
che er, which has been poffefltd by tie bifhops of
that diocefe from king Stephens time to this day ;

yet,

SURRY. 197

yet, though it is a fine fituation, and affords a noble
profpect, it is bleak, and the apartments are too nu-
merous to be warm. The kitchen utenfils exhibit a
pleafing idea of the old Englijhhofy'it, lity ; for which

j benevolent purpofe fuch immenfe revenues were for-
merly given to ecclefiailics. This palace is a magni-

! ficent ffruclure, it is deeply moated, and ftrongly

: walled, with towers at prop r diftances. It {lands
upon the edge of an hill, where t^ere is a fine park,
(locked with deer, the property of the bifhop, who
has them lent, together with fruit from the garden,

I &C. to fupply his. table at London.

One large and broad ftreet of the town belcw-hill
fronts the caftle, in which an elegant mufick room

\ has been lately built, at the expence of Mr. Baker,

■ who has furni(hed it with a very fine organ. The
refl of the 'own confifts chiefly of a long ftraight

; ftreet, crofting it at right angles. The river runs
I parallel to 11 on t'le iouth

About two mile- from Farnbam is More-park, for-

j merly the jeat of fir William Temple, who, by his

wiil, ordered his heart to be put into a china-bafon,

■ and buried under a fun-dial in his garden, which was
I accordingly performed. This houie is fituated in a
i Valley, iur rounded >n everv fide with hills, having a

running lire .am through the gardens, which, with a
finall exp nee. might be made to ferpentize through
all the adjacent meadows, in a moft delightful man-
ner. Going from this feat, on the lefi -hani, under
an high cliff is a noted kind of natural grotto, which
they call Mother Ludoe's Hole, through which runs
a tine and fironor rill of water. The grotto is large,
; but dimi lifhes and win is away, as the fpring feems
to have directed it. The owner has paved the bot-
: torn of it with a kind of moiaic tile, and has fepa-
; rated the wider part from the narrower behind by a
j little parapet, through which ifTues the flow of water,

K 3 which

j93 SURRY.

which trills through marble trough?, one below ano-
ther, till it is conveyed out of the grotto ; and there
murmuring down a coniiderable declivity, over many
artificial fteps, falls into the river on the right-hand;
all which gives a very delightful entertainment to
iuch as choofe in warm weather to make little colla-
tions or vifits, there being fettees, with arms, for
their conveniency.

From this grotto you command a fine profpecl: of
the meadows and w?oods which lie below it, and over-
againft it, and thefe are bounded again by hills;
which, makes the whole one of the moft romantic
foliations imaginable.

About a mile onwards from the above- defcribed
grotto, is a feat in the poffeMion of Thomas Orby
Hunter, efquire, who has made great improvements
in the gardens. It is built on the lite of Waverley-
abbey, a monaftery for Cijlercian monks, built by
William Giffard, bifhop of Winchester ; the kitchen
of which, and other parts of its ruins, are {till feen
pretty intire, and were a few years ago much more
fo, before it fell into the hands of a farmer, w<ho
ufed to load his teams with the ruins to mend the
roads, and for his private purpofes.

From Farnham, that I might take in the whole
county of Surry, I took the coach-road over Bagjhot-
heath, and that great foreft, as it is called, of Wind/or.

Bagjhot heath, which at prefent is an horrid barren
country, is capable of great improvement, as may
be judged by the feveral inclofures on the borders of
it, and fome in the centre alfo, which, from being
in the fame condition (as we at prefent fee the whole
face of the country thereabouts, very barren, yield-
ing nothing but heath and worts), now produces
good corn and grafs ; and in fome parts are planta-
tions of trees, which thrive well. On the edge of
this heath are feveral feats of noblemen ; but thole

which

SURRY. 199

which require notice are, firft, the late earl of
Arrans, which is a large inclofure, the wood-walks
and other plantations being upwards of two miles in
circumference ; and the park, which runs on the
other fide of the houfe, is upwards of three miles.
The plantations in this inclofure have made good
progrefs ; which is a proof, that the foil thereabouts
is capable of great improvement. This ell ate be-
longs to the crown, and, at the death of the earl of
Arran, was granted to the earl of Albemarle, who
commanded at the taking of the Havannab*

About four miles from Bagjhot, and three from
Wockenham, upon the foreft, is Eaflhamjtead Parky
late in the pofTeflion of William Trumbull, efquire,
; fon of fir William Trumbull, who was fecretary of
; ilate to kingj William III. and afterwards of the late
i honourable Martin Sandys, fecond fon of Samuel
: lord Sandys, who married Mary, his daughter and
■ heir. This was an hunting-feat of king Henry VIIL
; and to this houfe his queen retired from the court*
This park, though ftill inclofed with a pale, has been
I for feme years difparked, and turned into farms; but
• by the prefent poiTefTor is fo well laid out and im-
proved, as to have the beauties of a park, a farm,
and garden, all blended together; which renders it
extremely agreeable, and, at the fame time, profit-
, able to the mafter ; and although part of the foil of
this park is as bad as any part of Windfor Foreji, yet
by the draining and drefling of the land there have
been as good crops of hay and corn produced on it,
as could be expected from land of much greater price;
which is another ftrong proof of this foreft being
capable of great improvements. The late owner
converted the greateft part of the land into a park
again.

This defart of land, of the like kind of foil as
about Bagjhot, lies extended fo much, that fome fay

K 4 there

soo SURRY.

there are not Iefs than iOOjOCO acres, that lie alto-
gether, reaching out every way in the counties of
Surry, Hampjkire, a:d Berkjhire ; Derides a great
quantity of land, almoft as bad as that between
Godalmin and Peters field, on the road to Port/mouthy
including feme hills called the Hind-head, and others.

Through this defart we come into the great weft-,
ern read, leading from London to Salijbury, ExeterL,
&c. and pafs the Thames at Stakes.

Here recollecting that I had yet left the inland
towns of the two counties of Kent and Sujfex, and
great part of the county of Surry, out of my' "ac-
count :

From Staines I turned fouth, and S. E. to Cbertfin
another market-town, where is a bridge over the
Thames : this town is noted for the burial-place of
Henry VI. whence his bones were afterwards removed
to fVindfor by Henry VII. and alfo for its being the
retreat of the famous Mr. Abraham Cowley, where
he lived diftant from hurries of the court and town,
intirely taken up in country-bufinefs, farming, and
hufbandry, for his diverfion, and where he alfo died.
This town has alfo an handfome free-fchool, buil-t
by iir William Perkins, and communicates its name
to the hundred in which it ftands, and which is ex-
empt from the jurifdiclion of the high-fheriff, who
muft direct his writ to the bailiff of this hundred,
an officer appointed by letters patent from the ex-
chequer for life.

From this town, wholly employed in malting, and
in barge-carriages down the river to London, I went
away ibuth to lFo.king, a private country market-
town, fo out of the way, that it is very little heard
of in England, It was the laft retreat of the old
countefs of Richmond, mother to king Henry VII.
where the king her fon repaired an old royal houie,
on purpose for her refidencea and where fhe ended

her

SURRY. 201

her days in honour and peace ; the former part of her
life having been much expofed to ftorms and dangers*
It is remarkable, that the feveral relidences of this
lady are more particularly pointed out in hiflory,
than perhaps thole of any other. The market-houie
was built in 1665, by ^fames Zouch, efquire.

From hence we came to Guilford, a handfome
and conflder able market town. Here fometimes the
affizes are held, but always elections for parliament-
men for the county; the town itfelf returning two;
The river, which, according to VI r Camden, is called
the fVey, and which falls into the Thames at (htlandsr
is made navigable to this town, (and a!fo to Go-1al~
min) which adds greatly to its trade; and by this na-
vigation a great quantity of timber is brought down
;to London, not from the neighbourhood of this town
'only, but even from the woody parts of ^ujfe>- and
' Hampjhire above 30 miles from it, the country car-
riages bringing it hither in the fummer by land*

Here is a final! remainder of *n old m nutaclure
in the clothing-trade ; and it extends lttelf to Gcdal-
\min, Hafehnere, and the vale country, on the fide ot
(the Holmwood (of which I fhall ipe,k on another
©ccafion) quite to Dark'wg*

This CiOthing-trade. however finally is yet very'
iaffifling to the poor of this part of the country,,
where the lands are but indifferent,, the inhabitants,
generally cottagers, living chiefly by the commons
and heath-ground thereabouts. Here is a free-fchool
founded by Edward VI. and analms-houfe by C eorge
Abbot, arehbifhop of Canterbury, and endowed by
him with lands worth 300/. a year, of which he
[ordered 100/. to be employed in letting the poor at
work, and the other 200/. for the maintenance of &
Imailer, 12 brethren, and eight filters, who arc ea
to have is. 6d. a week. It is laid the oceafio o,r
:;thi§ endowment was to atone for, his accideri a

K 5 kiilaig

202 SURRY.

killing a game-keeper by a fhot from a crofs-bow.
The wound, we are told, was made in the enmontery
of the arm ; a term unknown to the abler! anatomifls
of thefe days. This town gives the title of earl to
the noble family of North. It is a corporation, con-
fifting of a mayor^ recorder, aldermen, &c. and the
town returns two members to parliament.

But what ftruck me moft, were the ruins of an
old caftle, and fome of the remains of a palace of
great extent, which, as appears by the beft autho-
rities, was the relidence of Ethelwald, one of the
Saxon kings, about 800 years ago. It affo appears
from the foundations that have been dug up, at ionic-
diftance from the place where the ruins Hand, that
the whole declivity of the hill on- the ealt-lide of
the river Wey was occupied by this monarch. I be-
lieve it was the queen of this potentate, Ebby, whofe
favourite relidence was called' Ebbyrs Home, or Ebb ft
TtToufe, now converted into Epfom.

There are in Guilford three churches, all very low,,
and towered. On IVednefday the 23d of April, 1740,
the -upper church at Guilford in Surry fell down. It
was an ancient building, and, not long before, 750/..
were expended' upon it in repairs ; there was preach-
ing in it on- the Sunday before,, and workmen were
employed in taking down the bells, who providen-
tially had quitted the fpot about a quarter, of an hour
before the accident happened, fo that not one perfon
received' any hint : three bells had been taken down,,
and the other three fell with thefteeple, which broke
the body of the church to pieces, though the fteeple
received but little damage by the falL It has fmce.
been rebuilt with brick.

From. Guilford the road to Farnham is very re-
markable ; for it runs along weft from Guilford,.
upon: the ridge of an high chalky hill, no wider than.
the- road itfeJf 1 and. the declivity begins on either

hand,

SURRY, 203

hand, at the very edge that bounds the highway,
and is very fteep and high. From this hill is a pro-
fpecl: either way, fo far, that it is furprifmg; ; info-
much that one fees to the north, or north-welt, over
Bagjhot-i.eath, one way, to the fouth-eaft into Suffex
the other way, almoft to the South-downs^ and weft

I to an unbounded length, where the horizon only re-
strains the eye. This hill being all chalk, a travel-
ler feels the effect of it in an hot rummer's day, when
the reflexion of the fun makes the heat almoft in flip-
portable. This hill reaches from Guilford fo far as
within two miles and a half of Farnhanu

The hill, or rather the afcent of it from Guilford*
is called St. Catharine s Hilt, where a yearly fair is
held ; on the fummit whereof fTands the gallows,

, which is fo placed, that the town's- people, from the
High-fir eeU may fit at their fhop- doors, and fee the
criminals executed.

Near Guilford, on the left-hand fide of the road
leading to Godalmin, are the remains of an ancient
chapel, fituated on the fummit of an hill, fo as to

I be feen at a confiderable diftance every way. This
is called St. Catharine's Chapel. The materials with
which this was built, are a fort of tile*, which,
when broken, has the appearance of iron within;

; and the cement which joins thefe tiles is now fo hard,

. as fcarce to be penetrated with the ftrongeft inftru-
menr. The only remains of this chapel are the
outfide walls, which being built with thefe materials
have refifted the weather, and the common fate of
things.

The great road' from London to Chichflery and from:
London to Port) "month, lying through Guilford, it is

; consequently a town very well furniflied with inns

for accommodation- of travellers.

-

* Probably thefe were Roman bricks, which were more- like tiles in
ftapc and fize than modern bricks.

K 6 A*

504 SURRY.

As is Godalmin alfo, the next town, within three
miles of it, noted likewife, of late years, for the
impoftrefs Mary Tofts, who fo long amufed ftatef-
men, divines, (one of whom explained fome parts
©f the Revelations from this affair) phyficians, ana-
tomifls, and, in (hort, all degrees of men, learned
and unlearned, with her infamous rabbit produc-
tions, &c.

Stocking-weaving is the only manufacture worthy
cf notice carried on in this town. The beft whited-
brown paper is faicl to come from hence, and that the
manufacture was fet up in the reign of 'James I. In
the year 1739, the fmall-pox carried off, in this
town, upwards of 500 perfons in the fpace of three
months, which was more than a third part of the
inhabitants.

There is another road to London from this town-
through Leatherhead, Epfom, &c. and, though it may
be two miles about, will well reward the traveller for
the lengthening his journey ; as that part of it which
lies between Guilford and Effom is, perhaps, the
mofV beautiful piece of inland road in the kingdom-
The country through which you pafs is beautifully
adorned with woods, fheep-walks, parks, gardens,
and the feats of the nobility and gentry, which greet
the eye of the traveller in a mod pleafing and de-
light ful fitccellion .

The feat of the lord Onjlowy which is the firft on
the road from Guilford, is a noble edifice, built after
an Italian model. The gardens are beautiful, and
laid out in the modem tafte. It has plenty of good"
■tfater, and commands a delightful profpe£t over a.
large country, as far as Windfor Great Park. The
houfe is i'een from the road up a grand avenue, and
prefents itfelf to travellers to be, what is really is,.
»ne of the fineft feats in this part of the kingdom.

Oa

SURRY. tog

On the fame road is an ancient feat, now in the

pofleffion of Fox, efquire, nephew to the late

lord Bingley, which, though an old building-, yet
having an open lituationin front, towards the Downs,
is rendered very pleafant; and the late poffefTorj.
being a perfon of fine tafte, beautified the houfe

1 within, and made pleafant plantations in feveral
parts of it.

Hatchlands, the feat of Mr. Sumner, and built by
the late admiral Bofcawen, difcovers itfelf in a very

: agreeable manner as you ride along : Fetcham alfo
makes a very pleafing appearance from the road ; it
is now the feat of lord bulkeley, of which he is juft
come into the porTeflion by his marriage with Mifs
Warren, daughter of fir George Warren, knight of
the bath, and grand-daughter of Thomas Nevel,
efquire, the late poffeifor of it.

Two miles from Guilford, on the banks of the
Wey, was a fine feat, which belonged to lord Onflow,
but when I faw it, it was in the poffeffion of the
late general Onflow, called Pyrford, and is exceed-
ingly pleafant, for the beautiful intermixture of wood
and water in the gardens and grounds adjoining.
The houfe was large, but mucfi out of repair; and
fince, I have been informed, is pulled down, and
moil of the timber about it fold. Adjoining to the
park is a very convenient and ingenious decoy, the
firft of the kind in this part of England, Near this
is a fmall pleafant feat, now in the poffeifion of the
right honourable lorJ King, fon of the lord chan-
cellor King. The gardens belonging to this houfe
have been lately much improved,, the waters enlarged,
and the whole opened according to the modern talte,
and, was there a better houfe, it might be reckoned one
of the prettier! villa's for a fummer retreat in that
part of the country*

At

w&

266 SURRY.

At Palnjhili, near Cobham, is the feat of the ho-
nourable Charles Hamilton \ who has made great im-
provement, by inclofing a large tract of land defign-
ed for a park, which was molt of it fo poor, as not
to produce any thing but heath and broom : but by
burning of the heath, and fp reading of the allies on
the ground, a crop of turneps was obtained ; and by
feeding fheep on the turneps their dung became a
good manure to the land ; fo that a fine fward of
grafs is now upon the land, where it was judged by
moil people impofhble to get any herbage. This is
the fort of improvement, which was mentioned in
Norfolk, where land has been raifed from five {hil-
lings an acre per annum to 30 or 40^. and were
this fort of hufbandry pra&ifed in many other parts
jj*&#, of England, it would be of great fervice to the pub-
lic, and amply increafe the value of the lands to the
proprietor.

This creation of Mr. Hamilton, for I can conflder
it as little lefs, juftifies the general opinion of his
confummate tafte and knowledge in garden and park
improvements: for, from a barren heath, by avail-
ing himfelf of fortunate inequalities of ground, ancf
by a judicious difpoiition of plantation, which is
unparalleled, with the addition of water and elegant
buildings, he has produced a place which contains
more internal beauties than can be feen in any other
park or garden in tms kingdom. I here may be
fcenes where Nature has done more forhenelf, but in
no place that I ever faw fo much has been done for
Nature as at Pains-hilL The beauty and unexpected
variety of the fcene, the happy fituation, elegant
fir uc~t ure and judicious form of his buildings; the
flourilhing Hate, uncommon diverfity, and controlled
grou] age ot his trees, and the contrivance of this
water, he. &c. will not fail to awake the 1110ft
pleafing feniations of pleafure and admiration in-

every.

SURRY. as?

every beholder of tafle and fenfibility. In the tem-
ple of Bacchus there is a very fine antique coloflai
ftatue of that god, with feveval very excellent buftos
of the Roman emperors, &c. The author of this
place having finimed his work, and attained that time
of life when fociety is more necefTary and defirable,
retired to Bath, and difpofed of this enchanting fpot
to Benjamin Bond Hopkins, eiquire, who has lately
added to its appearance by erecting a very elegant
villa in a commanding part of the park. This gen-
tleman continues to preierve and fulfill every idea of
the hrfl former of the whole.

At Cobbam, the adjoining village, is the pleafant
feat of lord Ligonier, and at Byfleet is the villa of the
earl of Tankerville. In this neighbourhood, alfo, are
the handfome and new erected feats of fir Thomas
Sezvel, mafter of the rolls, and Hr Jofipb Mawbeyy
baronet, one of the reprefentatives in parliament foe
this county..

The river Mole, which rifes near Darling, paffes-
along by the fide of this park,, and in its courfe fer-
pentizes about in 10 pretty a manner, that you fre-
quently lofe fight of it ; and by its windings makes
the courle al'mofr. four miles within the compafs of
this inclofure. Indeed this river is very narrow, and
in dry weather the current is How, and the water
not well coloured, which, it mull be allowed, takes
off from its beauty ; yet there is room for great im-
provements, by Hoping off the banks, fo as to have
a better view of the water ; and in many places, by
taking away fome of the little projection of the1
banks, it may be widened, fo as to appear confider-
able at fome difr/ance ; which, if done, would add
much to the beauty of the place*

On the left hand: of the great road to Guilford,
before we reach Ripley, is Ockham, the feat of the
right honourable lord King) whofe park joins to the

great

2o8 SURRY.

great road. This was purchafed by the -chancellor
when he was fir Peter King \ the houfe was greatly-
repaired and beautified by the late lord ; and the pre-
fent lord has made great improvements in the park
and gardens, fo as to render it as pieafant as any
feat can be. where there is a want of water.

At the north -eaft end of this range of fine feats,
is Leatherhead, a little thoroughfare town, with a
ftone-bridge over the Mole", which is fo called, from
its remarkable finking into the earth, at the foot of
Box bill, near a village called Micklcham, and work-
ing its way under ground like a mole, riling again at
or near this town of Leatherhead; where its wander-
ing ftreams are united again, and form a pretty large
river, as they were before, running together under
Leatherhead bridge, and from thence to Cobham ; and
afterwards purfues its courfe to the Thames, which it
joins at Molefey.

The town of Dorkin is eminent for feveral things
worth obfervation ; as, firft, for the great Roman
highway, call Stoney-ftreet, which paffes through its
churchyard. Secondly, for a little common or heath,
called the Cottmcn Dean, or the heath of Poor Cot-
tages (for fo the word fignifies) belonging to the
town ; and where their alms -houfe Itands, which
fome learned phyficians believe to be the beft air ir>
England. Thirdly, for Mr. Hoivard's houfe and gar-
den, called Deepden; which Hands in a fnali valley,
environed with fleep hills on every fide : the level-
ground about the houfe was laid out into pieafant
walks and gardens, which were planted with a great
variety of exotic trees and plants, and the hills were
covered with trees on every fide, excepting the foutli
afpe£l, which was planted with vines; and formerly
there has been fome tolerable good wine made there,
though the hill is fo fleep, that it is very difficult to
walk up it. At prcfent the gardens- and vineyard are

neglected,

SURRY. 209

negle&ed, and many of the exotic trees have been
destroyed. On the iummit of the hill, above the
vineyard, is a fummer-houfe, from which, in a clear
day, you may difcern the fea over the South-downs,
near Arundel,

The parifh of Dorkln extends about five miles from

1 caft to weft, and nearly the fame length from north
to ibuth, and lies in the hundred of IVootton. The

I town, though not large, is populous; the ilreets
are wide and open, and, from the fituation, naturally
clean. The church is a plain ftone building, with
a tower fbeple, in which is a ring of eight fmatl but
tuneable bells, and a fet of chimes. There is alfo
a meeting-houfe for the Prefbyterians, and another
for the Quakers.

. The market of Dorkin is the moft famous in Eng~
land for poultry, and particularly for the fatteft

igeefe and the largeft capons. They are brought
hither from as far as Horjham in Suffix ; and it is the

; bufinefs of all the country, on that fide, for many
miles, to breed and fatten them up ; and fome are fo

I large, as to be little inferior to turkies : I have ken

| them fold from 4*. to 41. 6 d. each, and weighing
from 4 to 5 or 6 lb. apiece.

On Holy Thurfday here is alfo a fair for cattle and
lambs, and it was formerly one of the greateft in
England for the latter, but of late it is much lefTened
in that refpeft, owing principally to the jobbers
about Hor/loam, who ingrofs great numbers and fend
them to Smhhfield market. Weil from the town, at
about a mile diftance, begins a range of hills, called
Ranmer^ which bound Dorkin parifh on the north.
On' the higher!: part thereof is the feat of Jtnathan
Tyersy efq; the proprietor of Faux-kall, whofe im-
provements fhewed his tafle and judgement. This

; houfe is now in the pofleflion of the honourable Peter

'King, efq,

Fron*

aio SURRY.

From Box-hill, and particularly from this part of
it, is a fine view, in clear weather, quite over the
Weald of Sujfex to the South-downs ; and, by the help
of glaffes, the town of Horjhatn, Ajldown foreft, the
earl of Egrctnonfs houfe at Petworth, and the South-
downs, as they range between Brighthelmjhne and
Arundel, may be plainly feen ; befides an unbounded
profpeft into Kent.

But a much nobler profpeft ftill does Leith-hill
afford. I ihall give it the words of Mr. Dennis *,
as written to his Friend Mr. Serjeant, as follows :

c* I never in all my life (fays that famous critic,
who deferved a better fate than he met with) left
the country without regret, and always returned to
it with joy. The fight of a mountain is to me
more agreeable than that of the moll pompous edi-
fice ; and meadows, and natural winding fcreams,
pleafe me before the mofl beautiful gardens, and the
moft coftly canals." We have lived to fee this judi-
cious choice become general, though the old neglected
bard did not. " So much (fays he) does Art appear
to me to be furpafTed by Nature, and the works of
men by the works of God.

" In a late journey which I took into the wild of
SuJJex, I palled over an hill which fhewed me a
more transporting light, than ever the country had
fhewn me before, either in England or Italy. The
profpecls, which in Italy pleafed me moft, were that
of the ValdarnO) from the Apennines ; that of Rome,
and the Mediterranean, from the mountain of Viterbo\
of Rome at 40, and of the Mediterranean at 50,
miles diftance from it \ and that of the Campagne of
Rome, from Tivoli and Frejcati ; from which two
places you fee every foot of that famous Campagne,
even from the bottom of Tivoli and Frejcati to the

♦"See his Letters Familiar, Moral, and Critical, vol. I. p. 30.

Tery

SURRY. 2U

very foot of the mountain ftterbo, without any
thing to intercept your fight. But from an hill,
which I pafTecl in my late journey into Suffix, I had a
profpeft more extenfive than any of theie, and which
furpafled them at once in rural charms, in pomp,
and in magnificence. The hill which I fpeak of is
called Leitb-billy and is about five miles fouthward
from Dorkin, about fix from Box-bill, and near 12
from Epfom, It juts itfelf out about two miles be-
yond that range of hills, which terminates the
north-downs to the fouth. When I faw, from one
of thofe hills, at about two miles diftance, that fide
of Leith-hill which faces the northern downs, it
appeared the beautifuleft profpect T had ever feen ;
but after we conquered the hill itfelf, I faw a fight
that would tranfport a (loic; a fight that looked like
inchantment and vifion, but vifion beatific. Be-
neath us lay open to our view all the wilds of Surry
and Suffix, and a great part of that of Kent, admira-
bly diverfified in every part of them with woods,
and fields of corn and pafture, being every-where
adorned with flately rows of trees.

u This beautiful vale is about 30 miles in breadth,
and about 60 in length, and is terminated to the
fouth by the majeftic range of the fouthern hills,
and the fea; and it is no eafy matter to decide,
whether thefe hills, which appear at 30, 40, 50
miles diftance, with their tops in the iky, appear
more awful and venerable, or the delicious vale be-
tween you and them more inviting. About noon,
in a ferene day, you may, at 30 miles diftance,
fee the very water of the fea, through a chafin of
the mountains. And that which, above all, makes
it a noble profpeft, is, that at the fame time that,
at 30 miles diftance, you behold the very water
of the fea, at the fame time that you behold to the
fouth the moft delicious rural profpedt in the world,

212 S U R R Y.

at that very time, by a little, turn of your head to.
wards the north, you look full over Box-hill, and fe<
the country beyond it, between that and London,
and, over the very ftomacher of it, fee St. Paul's ai
25 miles diftance, and London beneath it, and High-
gate and Hamjlead beyond it.

" It may, perhaps, appear incredible to fome,
that a place, which affords fo great and fo furprifing
a profpect, fhould have remained fo long in obfcu-
rity *5 in fo great obfcurity, that it is unknown tc
the very frequenters of Epfom and Box-hill. But,
alas! we live in a country more fertile of greal
things, than' of men to admire them. Whoever
talked of Cooper's Hill, till iir John Denham made it
illuilrioas ? How long did Milton remain in obfcu-
rity, while 20 paltry authors, little and vile, if com-
pared to him, were talked of, and admired? But
here in England, 19 in 20 approve by other people's
opinions, and not by their own.f."

The vale beneath Box- hill is, for many miles eaft
and weft, called the Holmward or Holm]. dale; in the
woody part of which were often found out-lying rec
deer ; and in the days of king Janus II. or while he
was duke of York, they hunted the largefr, flags here,
that have been feen in England. The duke took
great care to have them prelerved for his own
fport ; but they have, lince that, been moft of them
deftroyed.

This Holmward is now chiefly overgrown with
furz ; but was famous for producing fuch quantities
of ftrawberries, that they were carried to market by
horfe-loads.

It is fuggefted, that this place was, in ancient
times, the retreat, for many ages, of the native

. * This letter is dated Aug. 27, 1717.
\ A neighbouring gentleman has lately erected a tower on the fuin-
tnit of this hill, fur the better viewing the profpett.

Britons,

SURRY. 5.13

Britons, whom the Rowans could never drive out;
and, after that, it was the like to the Saxons, when
the Danes harrafled the nation, and ravaged the
:ountry wherever they came. On this account they
retain here in memory the following lines :

This is Holmefdale,

Never conquered^ never JhalL

The country, though wild flill, and perhaps hav-
ing the fame countenance now in many places, as it
had a thoufand years ago ; yet, in others, it is culti-
vated, and has roads pafTable enough in the fummer,
'}uite through it, on every fide ; and the woods are
in a oreat meafure cleared off.

Keeping along the bottom of thefe hills, and yet
not entering into this vale, the country is dry, fandy,
or gravelly, and full of gentlemen's houfes, and good
rowns ; though, if we go but a little to the right-
hand fouth, into the wild part, is a deep, ftrong, and,
in the wet feafon, an unpaffable clay.

In pafling through Holme/dale, (upon the ridge of
Imountains which extend from Kent to the Land's End)
you come to IVoiton, a fmall village, near which is
the ancient feat of the Evelyns, which is iituated
amongft meadows, having pleafant ftreams of water
pafling through them, and the neighbouring hills co-
vered with woods, which render the fituation plea-
fant in the fummer feafon ; but the roads about it
being very bad in winter, it is not fo convenient an
habitation at that feafon. There are -in the ikirts of
this parifh pits, out of which they dig jet.

Travelling Eaft at the foot of the hills, we came
to Ryegate, a large market- town, fituated in the valley
of Holme/dale ; where are ftill to be feen the ruins of
a caftle, with a long vault, and a room at the end of
it; in which, it is laid, the barons who were in arms
againftking Johnheld their private meetings.

Here

2i4 SURRY.

Here is a feat belonging to the late Mr. alderman
Parfons* family; which is beautified with plantations,
and a large piece of water. The houfe (which was
formerly a priory) is very large. There are two large
halls, each of them 50 feet long, and of a propor-
tionable breadth ; but the cielings are much too low,
which is a common fault in moft antient buildings.
There is a great quantity of carving about this houfe,
which appears to have been (landing many years.
The houfe and gardens are furrounded with hills
on every fide, fo as to render the proipe£fc very
romantic.

In this town the late lord Shaftejbury had an houfe;
to which he frequently retired, when he was inclined
to feclude himfelf from company. The houfe is now
poifeffed by a private gentleman, who has laid out and
planted a fmall fpot of ground in fo many little parts,
as to comprife whatever can be fnppofed in the molt
noble feats ; fo that it may properly be called a model
of a garden and park, for in the garden there is a
mount, a river, a parterre, and wildernefs, and
without that a lawn with four or five deer, termi-
nated by a fmall wood, and yet the whole compafs
of ground is not more than four acres. The name it
paflcs under to the inhabitants of Ryegate, is, All the
world is an acre*

Near Ryegate are two miferable borough -towns,
which neverthclefs fend each of them two members to
parliament; to wit, Gatton under the fide of the hill#
afmoft at Ryegate, which alfo returns two members;
and Blechingly more eaflward.

Ryegate is noted for a quarry of white free-ftone,
which is loft, and endures the fire very well in win-
ter, but neither fun nor air : it is much ufed by chc-
mifts, bakers, glafs-houfes, &c.

At Blechingly are an alms- houfe and a free-fchool.

At

KENT. 215

At Nuffield, between Ryegate and Blechingly, is ano-
her branch of the family of Evelyn, which has flou-
tfhed there many years.

From hence, crofling ftill all the roads leading
*rom London into Suffex, we came to a village called
jodflone, which lies on the road from London to
Lewes*

Keeping on eaft, we came to Weflerham, a neat
landfome, well-built market-town, the firft in Kent
mi that fide. The late earl of Jerfey built (or rather
inifhed, for it was begun by a private gentleman) a
/ery noble houfe here, called Squtrrhs, which is now
n the pofteffion of a defcendant of fir John Ward,
jvho was lord mayor of London in the year 17 19.
rhe houfe ftands on a fmall eminence ; but on the
)aclc of the houfe the ground rifes very high, and is
livided into feveral fteep ilopes, which, as the hills
ire to the fouth and weft of the houfe, render the
ituation damp and cold. Near the houfe are fome
Toods, through which the prefent poffeflbr has cut
cveral ridings, but many of them are too fteep for
hat purpofe ; and on the fouth-fide of the hill, above
he houfe, arife nine conficlerable fprings, which
mite at a fmall diftance, and form the river Dart,
vhich runs through Dartford, and afterwards dif-
charees itfelf into the Than>es,

Ail this part of the country, from Guilford to this
>lace, is very agreeably pleafant, healthy, and fruit-
ful ; and is overfpread with good towns, gentlemens
iioufes, populous villages, abundance of fruit, with
[K>p-gro mds and cherry-orchards, and the lands
•veil cultivated ; but all on the right-hand, that is to
ay, (outh is over-grown with timber, has abun-
dance of wafte and wild grounds, and forefts, and
ivoods, with many large iron works, at which they
.aft iron caldrons, chimney-backs, furnaces, re-
3 torts,

ai6 SURRY.

torts, boiling-pots, iron cannon, bomb-mells, hand-
grenadoes, cannon-ball,. &c. pairing by Hill Park,
Coom Park, and Montreal, the feats of the earl of
Hilljborcugh, lord Frederick Campbell, and lord
Amherjl.

From hence going forward earl, we come to River-
head, a town on the rdad from London to Tunbridge ;
and then having little to add to what we have laid of*
Kent, except fome pretty market- towns, fuch as
Wrotham, commonly called &.ooiham, Tcwn-mallingy
&c. I turned north, and came to Bromley, a mar-
ke'.-town, made famous by the palace of the arch-
bifhop of Rochefier, lately re-built ; an hofpital, or
college, built there by Dr. John Warner, lord bilhop
of Rochefter, for the relief of 20 poor widows of
loyal and orthodox clergyment who are allowed
each 20 /. per annum, and a chaplain 50 /. and it has
had many gifts and charities beftowed on it iince,
particularly an augmentation by the late bifhop
Pearce.

Near this town we turned away by Beckenham, and
through Norwood, to Croydon. In the way we faw
Dulwich or Sydenbam-wells, where great crouds of the
middling people u fed to throng every fummer from
London, to drink the waters there and at Strd'.am,
and the rather, becaufe it lies fo near London,
that they can walk to it in the morning, and return
at night.

1 he fine walk through the wood, over-againft the
Green-man, affords, when at the top of it, a noble
profpedi : but yet it is exceeded from an hill behind
the houfe at the right-hand for the diftindlncfs as
well as noblenefs of it \ for here, as from the centre
to the whole (the Oak of Honour Hill, as it is called,
jufl by you, cloatru-d very agreeably with wood),
you have in your eye (in fuch a manner, that you

can

SURRY. zij

can diftinguifh, as if in a table) the very houfes, as
well as churches, and other public edifices, from
Putney-bridge down to Cbelfea, and all the adjacent
villages, IVeftmin/ier, London, Deptford, Greenwich,
Black-wall, a confiderable part of Kent, Effi\x, and,
beyond and over the great metropolis, Highgate,
HamjieaJ, as far as the eye can reach ; a profpect fo
little known too, that it would be furprifing t q fay it,
did we not account for it by the fcndnefs which we
have for foreign curiofuies, and by the neglect, which
it is a part of an Englifiman s character to have for
thole much greater of his own.

Croydon has a great corn-market ; chiefly for oats
and oatmeal for the fervice of London. The town is
large, and full of citizens from London : in it is the
ancient palace of the archbifnops of Canterbury, and
feveral of them lie buried in the church here, which
is reckoned the largeft and handfomeft in the county;
particularly archbifhop H'hitgifi, who not only re-
paired the palace, but built and endowed the famous
aofpital (which is for a warden, and 28 men and
vomen, poor decayed houfekeepers of this town, and
:>f Lambeth), and the free fchool.

From hence we palled by Beddington, where is the
Vat or manfion-houfe of the ancient family of the
Zarews. ^ The houfe is noble, and the gardens fine ;
?et architects fay, that the two wings are too deep for
he body of the houfe ; that they fhould either have
)een more afunder, or not fo long. The court before
hem is extremely fine, as is the canal in the park
icfore the court, having a river running through it :
he gardens take up all the flat part of the park with
lftas, or profpecls, for two or three miles. The
grange-trees, which were formerly growing here in
he open ground, are now dead. They had moving
jioofes, to fhelter them in the winter from the inde-
cencies of our climate ; but a few years fince, the

Vol. I. L owner

2i8 S U R R Y.

owner was at the expence of erecting a fine green
houfe, with fafhes in front; the top of ihe houfc
to take off in fumfner : fince which time the tree
have been conftantly decaying ; for, landing as i
were in a narrow alley, between two walls, whei
the top is taken awav, the current of air is fo great
as to break the branches, and prevent the growth o
the trees. They had flood in the ground aboe io<
years, and produced annually great quantities o
fruit.

From hence it is but a little mile to CarJhaltony ;

country village, fituate among innumtrab e fpriffi

of water, which, all together, form a river in th

very flreet of the town, and, joining the other fpring

which come from Croydon and Beddivgtcn, make on

ftream, called the IVanddl. This village, thoug

lying among fuch delightful fprings, is yet uponfifl

chalk ; and, having the Downs adjoining, makes th

moft agreeable fpot on this fide of London^ as is abur

dantly teftified by its being crouded, as it were, wit

line houfes of the citizens of London ; fome of wlm!

are built with fuch a profufion of expence, that the

look rather like feats of the nobility, than the cour

try-houfes of citizens and merchants I cannot dwe

on the defcription of all the fine houfes in this an

the neighbouring villages : I fhall fpeak of them agai

in bulk, with their neighbours of Mitcham> Stnthar,

Tooting, Claphafn *, and others ; but I mull: take

trip here crofs the Downs to Epfm.

Erin peat

* Clapbaittf within thefe few years, has rifen intc confluence fro
the many new and elegant buildings erected on ihe • nd h-^

very neat chapel (opened in 1777) built < n the nuriheait. jm of
Mr. liorntoni ornamented paddock is well w< rth viewing. it is h
out in an agreeable manner, and, in fome particular?, d.fr* rent fflfl
ihe crm-non mtihnd of ikejehing th;m. It conlifts of a varied b«j
well fcattered with (ingle trees and fome clumps, and fo inclofed wi
wood as to be pcrlcttly rural, though fo near London. A gravel wa

• ru

SURRY. 2i9

"P. an fle ad- downs need no defcription other than this,
that, being fo near London, and furrounded, as they
are, with pleafant villages, the ground fmooth, foft,
level, and dry (even in but a few hours after rain),
they confpire to make the molt delightful fpoC of
ground of that kind in all this part of Britain,

Four miles over thofe delicious Downs bring us to
Epfom, a well-built, large, and handlbme village,
which abounds with fine houfes, the retreats princi-
pally of the London merchants. It was much fre-
quented, a few years ago, on account of its mineral
waters, which ilTue from a riling ground nearer
JJhted than Epfom : but they are now, though not
impaired in their virtues, yet pretty much fo in their
reputation; poflibly owing, more than any thing
elfe, to the place being too near London for a journey
for the quality and gentry; according to the old
faying, Farfetched, and dear bought, is fitteji for the
ladies.

I he town, however, for the very reafon that the
waters are lefs in repute, to wit, its vicinity to Lon-
don, is reforted to in the rummer, efpecially during
the time of the races, by people of fortune ; and

runs round the whole, and encompafTes feveral meadows, to the extent
of more than two miles. It is in moft places ihaded thickly with wood,
and on one fide very well broken with fome old oaks, &c. that grow-
out of it. Almoft in front of the houfe, it leads to a Gothic bench,
that is light and pleafmg. A* each end it terminates in a fhrubbery,
which joins the houfe, and is, in feveral inftances, very beautiful. A'
fmal! river winds through ir, gently bounded by rifing hillocks, and
fmooth green flopes, very well varied, and fpotted with ihrubs and
trees in a judicious manner. The bends of the water are natural, and
the union with the lawn and wood well imagined. To the right, it
feems loft in the retiring grove. Thefe circumftances are all executed
with real rafte 5 and, if a few others were a little altered, the whole
place would (in its ftile) be complete. The rock-work grotto ir, the
lanthorn excepted, extremely we'll executed ; but in too wild a ftile for
ntle ftream, and a fmooth ihaven lawn fpotted with fhrubs : it re-
s a romantic fituation on the banks of a rapid ftream tumbling over
1 broken fragments.

L a may,

220 S U R R \\

may, perhaps, in the revolutions of vogue and
f fhion, or whimfy, be, one day, once more, a
fhewing, or market-place for the lex.

There are a great many fine feats round this place,
which we have not room to defcribe : fuch as the late
lord Baltimore' 's, lady -Fielding's , Mr. Mitchell's at
Carfoalton, and many others ; alio that formerly
called No?fuch, which was once a royal palace, and
finely fituated. King Charles IF. gave it to the
dutchefs of Cleveland i and {he fold it to lord Berkeley^
who built a fine feat with the materials of it, near
Epfom, called Durdans. Nonfuch is now a hanclfbin|
private houfe belonging to the reverend Mr. TVhatefik
and Durdans is in the poifeffion of the earl of
Guilford*

From Epfom, that I might thoroughly vifit the
county of Sunj, I rode over frifF clays, and through
very bad roads, to Kingjlon ; from whence I had a
fine view7 of Hampton-court, at a diflance ; but that I
referve for another journey.

King /ion is a very old market-town,, remarkable for
a free-ichool, erected and endowed by queen Eliza-
beth; an aim s-ho ufe, built in 1670 by alderman
Cleave of London, and endowed with lands of- 80/. a
year, for the maintenance of fix men and fix women;
an houfe where formerly relided the great eail of
Warwick, fur named Make King, befides Coomb, which
was likewife his, but afterwards in the family of the
JJcrveys, and now in the porTeiiion oi'Jckn Spenfer, c.q;
from whence the waters of certain fprings arc laid to
be conveyed in leaden pipes under the read, and the
Thames, to Hampton-court, three miles in length.
Several of the old Saxon kings were not only crowned,
but had thei. ac'tual re fide nee here; whence it took
its name of King's Town, It had once the privilege
of fending burgellcs to parliament, but that has been

long loft.

From

SURRY. 221

FroTi hence turning fouthward, on the road to
Guilford, we come to Ejber, where was formerly a
feat built by cardinal Wolfey, to which, during his
minillry, he frequently retired for amufement. The
gare to this Gothic building remaining, was turned
inro a dwelling-houfe, purchafed by the late right
honourable Henry Peibam, efq; who beautified the
old part, made additional buildings to it in the fame
Gothic itile, and laid out the grounds about it in fo
elegant a tafte, as makes it one of the hneft feats in
the neighbourhood of London : but the houfe Hands
fo low, as not to be feen until you come very near
it ; and the river Mole, running near the back of the
houfe, renders it very damp, which greatly dimi-
nifhes the pleafure of the place, though there has been
no coft fpared to render it elegant.

Near Ejber, on the left hand of the great road, lies
Chiremont, whicji was a fmall houfe, built under an
hill covered with wood by the late fir John Van-
brugh, and purchafed by his grace the late duke of
Nevucaftle, who was at a great expence in beautifying
the gardens, &c. and adding to the houfe a great
extent of buildings, in the fame ftile with the original
houfe ; and alfo building one large room, in which
his grace entertained foreign embalfadors, and where
all the magnificent dinners, which the duke made in
the country, were ferved up. The houfe is iituatecl
fo near the hill, that the moiiture iffuing from thence
occaiions it to be damp ; and the winds, being rever-
berated back from the woods on^ the houfe, cauie
raoft of the chimnies to fmoke, fo that this is a bad
habitation in winter : but as it was the place to which
his grace ufualiy retired from public bulinefs, when-
ever his leiiure would permit, he fpared no expence
to render it as agreeable as poifible ; though, as feve-
ral perfons have had the contrivance of his gardens
and buildings, there is not any uniform tafte to be

L 3 found

222 SURRY.

found in either; which is greatly to be regretted,
fince the late noble owner has been (o much intent on
having it worthy of himfelf *.

From hence, turning on the right towards the
'Thames, we pais IVa'tcn and IVeybridge, where are fe-
veral -fine feats ; but particularly thofe of the duke of
Newcaftle and the earl of Portmore.

The firft of thefe is remarkable for its terrace,
which, from the beautiful variety of its form and
plantations, may be laid to be, rather, an elevated
lawn. It is of a very considerable extent, and is
wafhed by an artificial ferpentine river, which is fo
contrived as to appear a branch of the c\iftznt Thames,
which is feen for many miles together, and with
V/alton Bridge^ and a rich diftant country, forms
one of the moft elegant coup cC 'ceils, that can be
ken.

The other feat was beautified by. the couniefs of
Dorchejler, in the reign of king. James II. and com-
mands the conflux of the IVey and the Thames, Here
is a fine walk planted with Acacia- trees, which, at
the time of planting, were efteemed great curiofities.

But, having mentioned Walton, I mud not pafs by
the public fpirit of the late Samuel Dicker, efq; of
that place; who applied to parliament, in the fcilion
of 1747, for powers to ereft a bridge there, the
aft for which paffed in 1747, and the bridge was
fmifhed in Augufl 1750.

It confifts of four {tone-piers, between which are
three large trufs- arches of beams and joifts of wood,

* This was a very jnft defcription of the place fome years ago : but
the late lord CUve, who purchafed it at the death of the duke (•> .r
ccfile, has transformed the place into anew appearance. The park and
gardens have been improved with the utmoft art; the old houfr polled
down, and a new one built in ad'fTerent and better fjtuation, where ©•
expencewas fpared to produce the molt fuperb and highly finifli'd villi
in the neighbourhood of Lendbfit

ftrongiy

SURRY. 223

flrongly bound together with mortices, iron pins, and
cramps. Under thefe three large arches the water
conftantly runs ; befides which, there are five other
arches of brick work on each fide, to make the af-
cent and defcent more eafy ; but there is fe'dom
water under any of them, except in great floods;
and four of them on the Mtddlefex fide are ftopt up,
being on high ground, whither the floods never
reach.

The middle arch, when viewed by the river-fide,
affords an agreeable pro'peel: of the country, beauti-
fully diverfiiied with wood and water, which are
ktn through it to a confiderable diftance. The pro-
digious compafs of this great arch, to a perlbn below,
occafions an uncommon feniation of awe and far-
prize, as it appears like an overftretch, or an
extreme ; and his wonder and attention are raifed,
when he proceeds to take notice, that all the timbers
are in a falling inclination (there not being dis-
coverable one upright piece), and confiders alio the
very fmall dimenfions of the piers that fupport the
whole.

tn palling up the bridge, when you come pafl the
brick -work, the vacant interlaces between the tim-
bers yield a variety of profpect. s at every ftep, which,
when at the centre, are feen to great advantage; but
though each fide of the road is verv well fecured by
the timber and rails,, to the height of eight feet ;
yet, as it affords only a parapet of wide lattice-
work, and the apertures even with the eye are large
enough to admit the paiTage of any perfon to go
through, provided he climbs, or is lifted up;" and as
the water is feen through every opening at a great
depth below ; thofe who are not ufed to fnch views,
cannot approach the fide without fome little ap-
preiienfion.

L 4 Thefe

224 SURRY.

Thefe openings between the braces and rails
might have been eafily clofed with boards ; but they
are left To, to admit a free palTage for the wind and
air, to keep the timber more found, and that any
the leaft decay might be at once perceived and
repaired.

Without doubt it is a noble work, and well worth
the trouble of viftting. From this bridge to Hamp-
ton, the fame gentleman made a new road, which is
kept in good repair, and renders the paiTage to the
bridge verv 2;ood at all times.

Near JVeybridge is a pleafant fmall feat, lately in
the pofTeftion of Philip Sauthcote, efq; called JVobourn-
farm. The houfe is iituated low, but is nut very
damp ; and has the advantage of being fcreened from
the violence of flrorig winds, by tall trees in the
neighbourhood. In the front of the houfe is a fmafl
ifland, which, in fummer, is flocked with flieep,
which are conftantly feeding in view of the principal
rooms of the houfe. The water furrounding this
ifland is conducted in a ferpentine form. The fields
above the houfe are kept very neat, being rolled
and fed ; fo that there is a fine carpet of grats, the
walks round them being made dry by gravel, and,
on each fide, planted with fwect ihrubs and flowers,
in a rural manner. At the upper-part of thefe
fields is a fpot of ground laid out in gardens, which,
being too regular, do not fo well correfpond with
the other parts, which are laid out to anfwer the
name of a farm very properly ; but this part has
fomething of too much ftiffneis and regularity to
agree with the reft.

From this fpot of ground is a moft delightful
profpecr over a large extent of meadows bounded by
the river Thv/ics, which winds in an agreeable
manner; and, having frequently large weft-country
barges failing dn it, with their broad fails, they ap-
pear

SURRY. 225

pear as fo many moving objects in a picture, and
greatly- enliven the profpect.

'1 his gentleman was the nrft who ventured to un-
bind the fhackles, which a falfe tafte had thrown
around Nature, and give her freedom and beauty.
This place, therefore, belides the eminence it derives
from its real beauties, which are very great, claims
fome refpe£t, as being the firft example of that tavle
and judgement which has iince lb univerfally and
happily prevailed, in ground-improvements, through-
out the kingdom.

From hence alio -are feen to or 12 villages, and
feveral fine houfes; and Cbertfey and Walton bridges
appear as if they were intended for principal objects;.
Indeed the whole fpot may juftly be deemed one of
the fweeteft retirements near London.

Keeping the river now on my left, as 1 did befors
on my right hand, drawing nearer to London, we
came to Ham and Peter fbam, little villages ; the iirir,
famous for a pleafant palace of the late duke of Lau-
derdale, clofe by the river,, poffeffed by the late earl
of Dyfart ; an hqufe king Charles II. ufed to be fre-
quently at, and was exceedingly pleaied with. The
avenues of this fine houfe, to the land-fide, lead up
:o the end of the village of Peter/bam, where the
wall of New Park comes alfo clofe to the town, on
:he other lide ; in an angle of which flood a delicious
aQufe, built by the late earl of Rochejler, lord high-
trcafurer in king James II's reign, as alfo in part
j{ queen Anne s reign. 1 his fine houfe was. burnt
down in the year 1720, by an accidental fire, which
was fo fudden and furious, that the fam.lv, who
were all at home, had fcarce time to lave their
lives.

Nor was the houfe, though lb exquifitely tinifhed,
fo beautiful within and without, the greater! lofs inf-
lamed j the rich furniture, the curious co lection S

L 5 patting,

226 SURRY.

paintings, and the ineftimable library of the firft ear
of Clarendon, lord high chancellor of England, wer(
here wholly con fumed ; a lofs irreparable, as the
latter contained, among other valuable things, fe-
yeral manufcripts relating to thofe times, and tc
things tranfa&ed by himfelf, and by the king hi;
matter, both at home and abroad, beiides othei
Tare and curious collections made by that noble anc
learned author in foreign countries.

The offices efcaped the fate the houfe met with :
and on the fame fpot of ground, where the houfe
Hood, the late earl of Harrington erected another, af-
ter a deiign of the earl of Burlington ; and when J
have faid this, I need not fay it is equally a conve-
nient and elegant edifice. The front indeed, next
the court, has not a very ftriking appearance, being
very plain, and the entrance into the houfe not
greatly to be praiied ; but the fouth front next the
garden, though very plain, yet is bold and regular.
The apartments next the garden, which are chiefly
defigned for flate, are alio elegant, and beautifully
fini-fhed.

The gardens, which before were crowded with
plantations near the houfe, are now laid open in
jawns of grafs ; and the kitchen garden, which was
iituated on the eaft fV'e of the houfe, is removed out
of fieht, and that ground is now converted iiro an
open ilope of grafs, which lea Is up to a terrace
great length ; from whence is a profpeft of the river
"Than cs, the town of Twickenham, an ! all the beauti-
ful feats round about that part of the country, almoft
to King/ion bridge. On the other iide of the ten
on a riling ground, is a large olantation of vvc
and o.. the fu mit of the hill is erected a • ne
pleafure-houfe, which commands a profpect of tl e
country every way, . many miles : fo that by

foreigners

SURRY. 227

foreigners this view is efteemed the moil beautiful
of any near London,

From hence we came to Rich?nond, one of the
Runnier reiiclences of their prefent majefties, by
whofe command, under the direction of Mr. Broixfn9
the gardens of tlvs place have undergone an univerfal
improvement. The road which uled to pafs between
the garden and the Thames being removed, the form
of the magnificent terrace, fo much admired in the
reign of their late majeities, is 1 ntirely changed ;
and inftead of one great, unvaried line, now poflel-
fes all the variety which trees and gentle inequalities
can give it, and, falling in gentle and fhelving flopes
to the river, forms a mofc beautiful bank to that
noble ftream. The Dairy-houf . Hermitage, Merlin's
Cave, &c. erected by queen sardine, have been re-
moved, and the improvements of her time have
yielded to the modern and better tafte. The late
princefs dowager of Wales improved, or I may ra-
ther fay formed, the gardens, belonging to her houfe
at Kew, at a great expence. The art and contri-
vance in the difpontion of them is very confiderable ;
though a flat lpot, they poflefs a variety which can
alone be owing to the judicious contriver of them.
They are adorned with a g'eat number of buildings
in the different ftyles of European and Eajlern archi-
ll re ; the chief of which is a Cbinefe pagoda of
a prodigious height, which, while it commands,
forms a {hiking object for the adjacent country.
Here is alio a botanical garden, formed under the
direction of the late fir John Hill, which is laid to
fee one of the beft in Europe, both for the variety of
plants, and its judicious cultivation.

The town of Richmond is fo well known, and the
rich luxuriant profpect of Richmond-hill fo incapable
of being deicribed, that me particulars of the former
would be needle fs,, and an attempt at the latter im-

L 6 pertinent.

223 SURRY.

pertinent. I fhall only mention therefore that it has
an alms-houfe, built by Duppa, bifhop of JVtncheJler^
in the reign of Charles II. purfuant to a vow he
made in that king's exile, for the lupport of ten
poor widows. There is alio another alms-houfe,
endowed with above jooA a year, which has, fince
its foundation, been confiderabiy increafed by John
uM'ttchely efquire. Here are alio two charity-fchools,
one for 50 boys, the other for 50 girls.

The late lord vifcount Palmerjhn, the worthy
nephew and fuccefTor to the honour and eftate of the
great fir William Temple, had a fine feat and gardens
(hard by) at Sheen, The gardens were finifhecl, as
well as contrived, by the great genius of fir IVillianiy
and as they were his lafr. delight in life, fothey were
every way fuited to be ib to a man of his fenfe and
capacity, who knew what kind of life was belt fitted
to make a man's laft days happy.

Roehampton deferves to be particularly mentioned,
as it is one of the pleafanteft villages near London,
.having many fine houfes of merchants, which are
properly fcattered. about,, fo as not to appear like a
ibeet or town ; among thefe is the feat of lord Befs~-
borough, a moft elegant villa, and confidered as a.
model of convenience. Its architect was fir IFilliam
Chambers.

Putney Common alfo abounds with many charming;
and delightful villas. Indeed, few fituations are
equal to that brow, which, on the Putney fide, com-
mands the Thames and a great extent of highly orna-
mented country.

On the other fide of the Common is the plcafant
and well inhabited village of Wimbleton, adjoining to.
which is the houfe and moft beautiful park of
earl Spenfer, The houfe is an elegant villa, in a
fine fitu.ition, and was built in the reign of queen
Anne by Sarah dutchcls of Marlborovgh, The pre-
fers

SURRY. -29

fent noble pOiTefTor has fpared no expence in improv-
ing and adorning this charming retreat.

it is not eaiy to defcribe the beauty with which the
banks of the ;Tha?ne s fhine on either iide of the river,
from Richmond to London, much more than our an-
ceflors, even but one age ago, knew any thing of.
If for pleafant villages, great houfes, palaces, gar-
dens, &c. it was true in queen Elizabeth's time, ac-
cording to the poet, that

The Thames with Royal Tyber may compare ;

what may be faid of it now, when, for one fine
houfe to be feen then, there are, for aught I knowTr
a hundred, even as you lit in a boat, and pafs up and
down the river }

Firfb, beginning from Ham-houfe, as above, Rich-
mond Palace falutes the eye, being formerly no more
than a lodge in the park, but now makes a royal
figure.

From Richmond to London the river-fides abound
with villages, and thofe villages fo full of beautiful
buildings, charming gardens, and rich habitations of
people of quality, that nothing can equal it ; no, not
the country for twenty miles round Paris, though that
indeed is a kind of prodigy.

It isimpoffible in one journey to defcribe effec-
tually this part of the county of Surry, lying from
King/Ion to London and Greenwich, wher^ I fet
out; I muft therefore, quit the ample fubj.cl:, and
come to

Southwark, a fuburb too^ rather than a part of
London; though it returns two members to parlia-
ment ; and of which this may be laid with juflice,
that it would be

A royal 'city , were not London by*

To

230 SURRY.

To give yon a brief defcriprion of Southwark, it
might be called a long {erect, of about nine miles in
length, as it is now built on eafhvard ; reachinc
from /aux-ball to Lcndon-bridge* and trom the bridge
to Depi ford, and up to Dept ford bridge, which parts
it from Greenwich, all the wa\ winding and turning
as the river does ; except only in that part, which
reaches from Cuckold *s Point to Dcptford, which winds
fomewhat more than the river.

In the centre, which is oppodte to the bridge, it
is thickened with buildings, and may be reckoned
near a mile broad ; viz. from the bridge to the end
of Keni-llreet and Blackman Jlreet, and about the
Mint.

' The borough of Soutbwark is exceeding populous.
Take it as it was anciently bounded, it contained
nine parifhes ; but as ic is now extended, and joins
with Deptford, it contains eleven large pari flies.

A further defcription of South-war k- I defer till I
come to fpeak of London, as one general appellation
for the two cities of London, and tVefiminjl er ; for ail
the borough of Southivarh, and all the buildings and
villages included within the bills of mortality, make
but oie Lr-xooK, in the • genera-1 appellation* ■

I ihall ciofe this account of Surry with relating a
difTuiive charity of one Mr. Smith, commonly called
Dog Smith, on account of his being always accom-
panied by a dog. This pcrfon was a filvcrimith in
the city of London; ar ■: having acquired a

ge fortune in tl he quitted it, and took to

beoiiincr, in which iaTlinc he continued many years,
railing contributions on mod of the inhabnants in
this and the neir/nbourin . Hut the inha-

bitants of the town of 'm, having cxcrcii

the legal authority, and whipped him out of their
town as a common vagrant 3 he gave an inflancCat

his

SURRY. 231

his death of his having remembered the favour they
had 'conferred upon him ; for in his will he left to
the poor of every market- town in this county fifty
pound per ann im each; and to every other pariili
in Suny, fix or eight pounds yearly, more or leis,
at the difcretion of his truftees, except Miuham^
which he excluded from any benefit ariling from his
eftate.

L ETTER

*>32 MIDDLESEX.

r

LETTER V.

Containing a Description of Part of the County of
Middlesex, Part of Hants, and the County of
Wilts, &c.

S I came down from Kingflon, In my lad cir-
cuit, by the fouth bank of the Thames, on the
Surry fide of the river ; I now go up to Hampton-
court^ on the north bank, and on the Middlefex fide \.
which I mention, becaufe, as the fides of the country
bordering on the river lie parallel, fo the beauty of
the country, the pleafant fituations, the fplendor ofi
innumerable fine buildings, noblemens and gentle-
mens houfes and citizens retreats, are io equal a
match to what T had defcribed on the other fide,.
that one knows not to which to give the preference :
but as I muff, fpeak of them, again, when I come to
write of the county of Middkfex, which 1 have now
purpofely omitted ; I pals them over here, except
the palace of Hampton only, which I mentioned in
Middlefex, for the reaiens above.

Hampton court lies on- the north bank of the river
Thames, about two miles from Kingjhn. It was
built by cardinal IVolfcy, and fell to the crown, when
the king feized his effects and efiate, as did alio White-
hall, another houle of the cardinal's building.

Whoever knew Hampton- court before it was begun
to be rebuilt, or altered, by the late king JViiliamy
mutt acknowledge, it was a very complete place then,
and fit for a king: and though it m'uht not, accord-
ing to the modern method of building, pais for a
thing exquifitely fine, yet it fhevved a fttuation ex-
ceedingly capable of improvement.

tI

MIDDLESEX. 233

This her majefty queen Mary was fo fenfible of,
that while the king had ordered the pulling down the
old apartments, and building them up in that mod
beautiful form in which we fee them now appear,
her majefty, impatient of enjoying fo agreeable a
retreat, fixed upm a building, formerly made ufe of,
chiefly for landing from the river, and therefore
called the Water-gallery- Here fhe ordered all the
little, neat, curious things to be done, which fuited
her own conveniency ; and 'made it the pleafantefr.
little palace within doors, that could poffibly be
made : though its fituation would not allow it to
ftand after the great building was finifhed.

The queen had here her gallery of beauties, being
the pictures, at full length, of the principal ladies in
her retinue. Her majeity's apartments, for her pri-
vate retreat only, were exquilitely furnifhed ; and
there were among the furniture feveral curious pieces
of her own work.

The ground on the fouth-weft fide of the building
has received many alterations fince the pulling down
of the Water- gallery j which flood before this hand-
fome front of the houfe, and intercepted the profpect
of it from the river. This fpot was then laid out
into fmall inclofures, furrounded with tall hedges, to
break the violence of the winds, and render them
proper for the reception of fuch exotic plants in fum-
mer, as were moved out of the confervatories during
that feafon. In each of thefe places is contrived a
bafon, which is conftantly fupplied with water for
the fupport of thefe plants in dry weather; and as
thefe are iituated near the great apartments, moil of
the plants may be viewed from the windows ; and the
lower part of the houfe, under the great apartments,
being contrived for a green-houfe, the plants need
not be carried far, when they are removed out of or

into

234 MIDDLESEX.

into the confervatory ; which was very properly con-
trived by the defigners.

At the weft-end of this fpot was a large hot-houfe,
for the maintaining fuch tender exotic plants as re-
quire warmth to preferve them in this climate. Of
all thefe parts of gardening queen Mary was fo very
fond, that me allowed an handfome ialary to Dr.
Plukenett) a learned botanift, for overlooking and re.
giftering the curious collection of plants which were
then in that garden ; but, fince the death of tl
queen, thefe things have been fo much neglected,
that very few of the moil curious plants are now in
being there ; which is much to be lamented.

Here ftand advanced, on two pedeftals of ftone, two
marble vafes, or flower-pots, of exqu'fite workman-
fhip ; the one done by the famous ftatuary, Mr.
C-bber, father of the late poet-laureat and celebrated
comedian, and the other by a foreigner.

The parterre on that lice defcends from the ter-
race, walk by fleps ; and on the left a terrace goes
down the w^ter rule overlooking the garden on the
eafeward front, and a fiords a fine prolpect.

On the north-fide of the ho.i.c, vvh-re the chape]
and fome part of the old buildings required to be
covered from view, the ground was laid out in a
wilderness, with a labyrinth furrounded by high ef-
paber hedges ; and this was, at that time, thought
one ot the nneft diipoied parts of the garden,
as the whole contrivance of ti.e plantations is in
regular ftraight walks, to every perfon of taflc it
mull be very far from affording any pleafure, iince
nothing can be more difagree ble than to be imnu
between he 'ges, \'o as to have the eye confined to a
flrai^ht walk, and the beauty of the trc:s growing
in the quarters ntirely leciucUd from light.

As this wildernefs lies oppofite to Bufoy-parky there
was dcfigned a grand entrance thiough it to the pa-
lace

MIDDLESEX. 235

lace fronting the gates of the park ; where two large
piers were erected, to fupport a magnificent iron
gate, which was deiigned to have been put up there;
but how it came to be left untiniiTied, and the pitiful
low gates (which by no means correfpond with the
pillars) put in the place, I could never learn.

The palace within is by much the nobleft: of any
of the royal houies; and the Hate apartments, and
their conveniences, arc laid out with great judge-
ment.

King William brought into England, and placed
here in a gallery, built purpofely for them, the fa-
mous Cartoons, as they are called ; which are feven
pieces of fuch paintings as are not to be mntche<! iri
Europe. It is reported, that the late French king
offered 100,000 louis d'ors for thefe pictures; which
are fince r-moved to the queen's palace, St. James's
Park, and other fmall ones placed in their room,
which, by no means, fit the places.

There were, in all, 12 of thefe drawings; two the
king of France has, and two the king of Sardinia ;
the other was in the pofTeffion of a private gentleman
in England, who pledged it for a fura of money,
And when the peribn who lent the money found it
was to be redeemed (which he was very unwilling it
(hould be), he damaged the drawing very much;
fo that the gentleman brought his aclion, and it was
tried in Weiiminfter-hall. The fubjecl was Herod's
cruelty ; and really the cruelty of the per fan fued
towards the picture i'eems to be owing to principles
more inexcuiable, as to the motive, than thofe of
Herod,

The king brought a great many other fme pieces
to England ; and from him the love of line paintings
fo univerfally ipread itfelf among the nobility and
perfons of figure all over the kingdom, that it is in-
credible what coile5iioi.s have been made by

EngRJk

236 MIDDLESEX.

Englifh gentlemen fince that time; and how all
Europe has been rummaged for pictures to bring over
hitner.

Queen A'ary lived not to fee this palace com-
pletely finifhed ; and, it is laid, king William c!e-
iigned to have made it more capacious and noble, had
he lived.

After -the death of king William, Hampton c:wt
feemed in a manner neglected. It is an obfervatiph
made by fome, that Hampton-court ha.s, ever fince
the time of king Charles 1. been favoured by every
alternate prince. King Charles I. delighting in coun-
try retirements, touk great pleafure here ; and, had
he lived, had purpofed to improve it coniiderably 5
but it became at laft one of his prifons.

King Charles II. may well be faid to have a diflike
to the place, for the treatment his royal father
met with there ; and particularly as Cromwell after-
wards made it his fnmmer-relidence. He therefore
chofe Windfor (now one or the favourite retreats of
their prefent majefties), and beflowed van: fums in
beautifying the caflle there, which brought it to the
perfe&i n we fee it in at this day, fome few altera-
tions excepted, made in the time of king William.

King "James IT. took but little delight in retired
palaces. But king William (others fay queen Mary)
fixed upon Hampton- court , and improved it, as before
mentioned.

Queen Anne, being taken up, for one part of her
reign, in her kind regards to the prince her hufband,
was obliged to confult his health, and refide where
that confined him ; which, for the molt part, was at
Kenfington, where he died in 1708: but her majefty
always di {'covered her delight in Wind for + win re the
chofe the little houfe, as it was called, oppoiite to
the caftle, and frequently took the air in her chaife
in the parks and foreft.

The

MIDDLESEX. 237

The fine old hall, built by the cardinal, and
fitted up in the hunting ftyle, with various kinds of
ftags and deers heads (tome of them very curious),
was turned into a playhoufe in queen Anne's time,
and ftjjl wears that appearance.

In the reign of king George I. Hampton-court came
into requeft. But his late majeliy was but feldom.
there.

I ought not to omit the mention of the battles of
Alexander y wrought in fine Brujfe/s tapeftry, and put
up at this palace a few years ago; which are well
worth the obiervation of the curious.

We muft not quit Ra?npton without taking notice
of Mr. Garrick's delightful villa, which is, without
exception, one of the mod pleaiing retreats about the
metropolis. It is a nut- fhell of delights; and, though
it does not contain above fix acres of ground, yet the
plantation is fo arranged and diveriified, that the
extent of the whole appears to be infinitely greater
than it is; and wherever the eye is interrupted or
checked in its view, the termination is always beau-
tiful. It is all fairy ground, adorned with the moll
ftately trees, and here the mofl beautiful fhrubs and
exotic plants are feen in great profufion. At the
north end of the garden is a mount, which com-
mands an extenfive view into Surry. From thence
you pais, by a gradual defcent, through ah arch,
when a fine profpe£t of the Thames and Molfey-hurjl
prefents itfelf to your view. In this fituation, you
are not a little lurprized, when, looking around you,
you obferve, that the high road divides the garden
from the river :

So fair Alphseus, through fome fecret flu'ice.
Sub tervajieals, to meet his Arethufe.

The bank on the river fide is planted with the
lovers plaintive weeping willow, and, excepting one

I have

,238 MIDDLESEX.

I hava feen in Eeiv gardens, they are the fined tin
eye co.:1 ! wifh to behold. At the weir end of tin
terrace, is a temple Dedicated to the immorta
Sbakzfpe&re — an elegant piece of plain architecture
Fronting; the door ftands the figure of the fweii hard
leaning on his hand. This fuperb {Tatue is of \vhit<
marble, and is a matter-piece of the great RoubiUiac
Added to this p^raciie of iweets, is an excellent frui;
garden, in which luch protecting methods are ufec
to help and defend the bloifoms, that few nobles ir
the land boaft of fo excellent a varierv. The houfi
and plantations may vie with every thing Tufcan 01
Italian ; nor had Tivoti more learned, more witty,
nor more noble guefts, though sfuguflus was emperor.
Macenas minifter, and Ovid and Virgil vifuants
3 ..c paintings are many of them of the firit pencil,
fome of Hogarth'' , a; d more of the bell: IthftM
matters : thofe of the lower rooms are fome *\vcl! -ex-
ecuted views of Naples, But Mrs. Garrick's tatte is
fo tini erfaliy approved and admired, that what-
ever comes from her hands may be called clafikally
perfect.

From Hampton- court, I directed my oourfc for a
journey into the fouth-weft part of England; and, to
take up my beginning where I concluded my laft, ]
crolfed to Cbertfey on the Thames, from whence I
crolfed the Black Defart of Bagfioi> in my way to
Hampshire.

I fell down towards Bafwgfloke, which isfituate in
the mid ft of woods, and rich fertile pattures : the
country round abovit is fpread with the houfes of the
nobility and gentry. A little before wc came to the
town, wc palled by a h ufe built out of the ruins
and on the lite of Old Bafing-houfe, a famous for-
ti in the time of the civil wars, belonging to the

then marquis of I! r, anceiior of the duke of

B- ton,

c This

HANTS. 239

This houfe, garrifoned by a refolute band of old

foldiers, under the command of the marquis, was a

great cur') -to- the pariiament-party throughout that

whole war ; till, after a vigorous defence, it was

taken, and the brave marquis in it, by romWetl^

who, it. revenge for the ubftinate reiifta it made,

put aimoft all the garrifon to the fword. id burnt

down the noble fabric 10 the ground, whic he faid,

was fitter for the relidence of an emperoi than a

fubje£t. The pre lent hoafe is in no wife al to

the magnificence which fame gives to the ancient

houfe; whofe ilrength of building was iuch - to

reiifl: the battery of cannon in feveral attacks. is

incredible what bootv the sarrifon of this 5

j
picked up, lying, as they did, jufl on the g;

weftern road, where they intercepted the earn ,

plundered the waggons, and fuffered nothing to pj ,

• to the great interruption of the trade of the city

London*

Bafmgjioke is a large and populous town; it is .,

mayor-town, with a recorder, feven aldermen, feven

capital burgelTes, and other officers. Near the

church is a free- fchool. It has a good market for

com, efpecially barley, as there are a great many

maltfters there. Some few years ago, a manufacture

of druggets and (balloons was let up here, and fu'e-

cefsfully carried on, which employs a great number

of poor people.

Near this town a bloody battle was fought in 871,

between the Saxon* and the Danes.

From this town the o-yeat weftern road goes on to

Whitchurch, a mean town, which however has a

market, is governed by a mayor, and returns two

members to parliament. Its chief trrde is in ftialloons,

fcrges, &c.

Near this town is a fine feat of the earl of Portf-

m:uth; to which belongs a very large park, beautif A

with

240 H A N T S.

with wood and water; and the irregularity of the
ground (it having many .riling hills in it) renders the
profpecb very agreeable.'

North-eaft of Whitchurch lies Kingfcfere, a pleafant
market town on the Oxford road from Bafing fi-.ke.
It was anciently famous for having been the il at of
the Saxon kings, and from thence takes its name.

But I had like to have forgotten the famous Vin-
domlum, or Silchejrer, which is fituatecl in Hants* on
the* borders of Berk/hire, and noted for its antiquity.
..Jts-fttuation is high, hid with wood. Many were
the Roman roads which met here, though now there
is fcarce any that leads "to it; which is one reafon
why it is lb little known ; another is, its want of inns
for the accommodation of travellers; for Alder maj
a pretty neat village, ■ beautifully fituated, which is
three miles diftant, is the nearer! town where lodcing
is to be found. The walls of this city are {landing,
more or lefs perfect, quite round ; perhaps the moft
intire in the Roman empire, efpecially the north-fide,
which is a raoft agreeable fight. It is compofed of
flint and rag-ftone. There was a broad ditch quite
round, now almoft impairablc, and full of ip rings*
Here-and-there Roman bricks are left in the walls.
Though on the outfide they are of a conllderahle
height, yet the ground within is fo railed, as nearly
to be equal to the top, and that covered quite round
with oaks, and other timber-trees, of no mean bulk.
Con/iantius9 the fon of Conjiantinc the Gnat, is fa id to
have built it, and fovved corn in the track of the
walls, as an omen of their perpetuity. Now indeed
the whole city is arable, and in the fields Roman
brick, and other reliques, are fcattered, and coins
daily found. It has only one farm-houfe, and a
church. Mr. Betham, the late minifter of this place^
is buried under the north wall of the chancel vvith-
out-fide; within is another monument of a pcrfon

of

HAMPSHIRE. 241

of quality. They both were drowned in Fleet-ditch.
A fpring rifes from under the wall of the church-
yard.

Five hundred feet without the city, on the north-
eaft fide, is an amphitheatre, like that of Dorche/ler.
This noble piece of antiquity has, from time imme-
morial, been a yard for cattle, and a watering pond;
lb that it is a wonder their trampling has not defaced
it much more than it has.

Alresford was a flourifhing market-town, and
though it had no great trade, and very little, if any,
manufactures, yet, what is very remarkable, there
was no collection made in the town for the poor,
nor any low enough to take alms of the parifh.

But this happy circumftance, which fo diftinguifhed
rflresford from all her neighbours, was brought to an
end in 1710, when, by a fudden and furprifing fire,
the whole town, with both the church and market-
houfe, were reduced to an heap of rubbifh ; and, ex-
cept a few poor huts at the remoteft ends of the
own, not an houfe left Handing. The town is
HCe very handfomely rebuilt ; and the neighbouring
gentlemen contributed largely to the relief of the
Kjople, efpecially by fending in timber towards their
milding. It hath now a very great market every
fhurfday* particularly about Michaelmas , for fheep,
lorn, t£c. and a fmall market- houfe Handing on
vooden pillars.

Here is a very large pond, or lake of water, kept

Ipto an head by a ftrong Battre d'Eau* or dam,

yhich, it is faid, was made by the Romans; and is

art of the great Roman highway, which leads from

Vincbefter to Alton* and, as fuppofed, on to London*

hough we no where lee any remains of it, except

etween Winchefter and Alton* and chiefly between

bis town and the laft-mentioned.

I Vol. I. M Near

242 HAMPSHIRE.

Near this town, a little north-weft, the duke of
Bolton -has another feat, which, though not large, is
a handfome beautiful palace, and the gardens not
only very exact, but finely fituate, the profpeft and
viftas noble and great, and the whole well kept.
This houfe is now pulled down, and the materials
carried to Hackzvooa- houfe near Bafingjloke*

Near this, north, are two other noble feats; one
at Gralnge, belonging to the earl of Northington, and
built from a defign of Inigo Jones; the fecond at
ChuUn-Condover, built by fir Robert Worjley, bart.

From hence, at the end of feven miles over the
Downs, we come to the very ancient city of Wtn~\
cbefttr, called, by the Remans, Vent* Belgar urn, being
then of very great note ; and, in Britijh, Caer Gwent,
which figniries the white town, from the chalky hills
near it. Not only the great church, which is fa-
mous all over Europe, but even the whole city, has,
at a diftance, a venerable and ancient face ; and yet
here are many modern buildings, and fome very
handfome; as the college-fchools, with the epifcopal
parace, built fince the civil wars by bifhop Morley,
who laid out 2300/. for that ufe, bur, dying before it
tvas fmifhed, he left 500/. more to complete it.
The fame worthy bifhop, in 1672, erected the col-
lege in the cathedral church-yard, for 10 ministers
wfdows, and endowed it with a handfome yearly re-
venue.

The fhire-hall within the cattle was built like an
old chapel, with a body fupportcd by pillars, anc
two ailes. Over the court of Nifi Prius, above the
judge's ftat, is fixed againft the wall king Arthur*.
round-table, with the names of the knights upon it.
As to the tale of this round table, and king Ar-
thur $ 24 knights, which table, being one piece
of wood, they ftill fhew hanging up in the town-
hall faid to be part of the faid caftle, as a piece 0

antiquit]

HAMPSHIRE. 243

antiquity of 1200 years (landing, and has, as they
pretend, the names of the faid knights in Saxon cha-
racters, and yet fuch as no man can read : there is no
ground to give the leaft credit to it ; for it appears to
be of a later date, as Camden obferves.

The church, and the fchools alfo, are accurately
defcribed by leveral writers, efpecially by the Mo-
naftican^ where their antiquity and original is fully
fet forth. The outlide of the church is plain ; there
is not (except one at the weft-end) either ftatue, or
niche for ftatae, to be feen on the outfide.

The north fide is moil injudicioufly hid by an high
wall.

The rood tower is carried up but a very little
height above the roof, feemingly not more than 25
feet ; and has no proper finifhing, but is covered in,
is if the building had been left off, which, very pro-
Dably, might be the cafe, for there is ilrength
Enough below to fupport a fleeple higher than that
)f Salijhury.

IV hen one enters at the well door, under the
iniddle aile, and takes a view of it, it has a very ve-
terable and majeflic appearance. About 300 feet
rom the door, is a low icreen, which parts the
hoir from the nave, but does not intercept the view
b the eaft end, the organ being fixed towards the
liddle of the north-fide of the choir.

The vaulting of the roof is beautiful; but, look-
ig on each fide, one is offended with the maffy pil-
ars, whofe diameters are much too thick for the
iaces of the arches.

Another great deformity is the inclofure of the
:>mb of William of Wickham, which, being very
igh, and erected between two of the pillars of the
ile on the fouth fide, projects considerably, on both
des, beyond the line of thofe pillars, and fo renders
lofe villas irregular.

M 2 The

244 H A M P S H I R E.

The entrance into the choir is by a noble flight of
fteps, the whole breadth of the middle aile. The
fcreen is a fine piece of architecture, of the compofite
order. On each fide of the great arch of the en-
trance are two receffes, enriched with entablatures
and compafs pediments; wherein are placed the fta-
tues of the kings James and Charles the firft, finely
caft in copper.

This fcreen was defigned by Inigo Jones ; but,
being Grecian, is by no means proper to be joined
with the Gothic. One would imagine, that lnigo s
pride would not deign to let him give into Gothic
building ; for, in repairing part of old Paul's, he, as
far as was practicable, Romanized that building;
though fir Chrippher Wren, whofe name is very
Treat, would perhaps have done otherwife. Sir
Chrijhpher was net fo itirT, as to lay down for a rule,
that every edifice was to be defpifed which was not
copied from the buildings of Greece and Italy : him-
felfhas <nven noble fpecimens, what the force of
genius can do, befides imitating.

The crofs, from north to fouth, is quite fhut out
of the choir by wooden partitions carried up a vafl
height ; this, which is the ancienteft part of the
church, is by much the plaineft ; and, the vaulting
being left unfmifhed, all the timbers of thcroof are
expo fed to view.

The ftile of building in this part is greatly different
from the ealt and welt part : the arches are turncc
femicircular, and the pillars are of another form, anc
have a nearer refemblance of one of the five orders
and this kind of building is what fir Chrijhpher IVrn
defcribes to be the true Gothic building ; and all build-
ings with peaked arches, he fays, mould properly tx
called Saxon, and not Gothic, buildings, the Saxon
being the inventors of it : and fir Chrijhpher, in hii
6 treat)f<

HAMPSHIRE. 245

treatife concerning JVeJhwnfter-abbey? gives reafons
very conclufive for his opinion.

The Halls in the choir are of fine Gothic work-
manfhip ; to which the bifhop's throne, erected at
the expence of biihop Mew, would have been a
great additional ornament, had it been Gothic? and
pf a piece with the reft of the choir.

The ftone-fcreen, where the high altar is placed,
is an exceeding fine and tender piece of Gothic work ;
but, in the angles of the niches, where formerly
were images, the railed panels have been chipt away,
to make room for fixing, a parcel of forry urns, or
vafes, which difgrace this fine piece, and make it
mere botchery.

Having heard the altar much praifed, I viewed it
with attention.

If by the altar is meant the wood-work ere£ed
by bifliop Morley, I own, I faw nothing in that piece
to be admired. It projects over the communion-
table like a canopy, and is coved underneath to the
front. At the extremity of the front hang two large
feftoons : they are gilt, as are likewife all the carv-
ings and mouldings ; but this piece is rather mean
and tawdry, than grand or (Inking. The badnefs of
the painted decorations around the commandments,
and the writings of them, are a difgrace to the
church; and, upon the whole, this altar is not com-
parable to that in the great church at St. Albans,

"Within this church are many things worthy of
obfervation. It was, for fome ages, the burying-
place of many Englijh, Saxon, and Norman kings.;
whole remains the impious lbldiers, in the civil wars,
threw againft the painted glafs. The reliques of
fome of thefe, at the repair of the church, were
collected by bifhop Fox ; and, being put together into
fix large wooden chefts, lined with lead, were placed
on the great wall in the choir, three on one fide, and

M 3 three

A M P S H I R E.

:hree on the other; with an account whofe bones are
»^n each.cheft; viz. Egbert, who died in 835; Adul-
plus, in 859; Edrcdus, in 955; Edmundus, Canutus,
and thofe of queen Emma.

A great many perfons of rank are buried in this
church, befides the Saxon kings mentioned above.

At the weft end of this church is a window, on
the glafs of which was painted the hiftory of the
OldTe/iament; but at prefent the glafs is in a very
{nattered condition, owing, as is faid, to wantonncis
of idle children.

At the eaft-end alio is a window, on the glafs of
which, in painting, are represented three figures,
which are faid to be defigned for the Virgin Marf^
her fon Jefus Chrift, and God the father.

Over the door of the fchooi ftands a very good
flatue of the founder, made by Mr. Cibber, whole
workmanfhip are the two excellent figures over
Bethleham-gate, in London, He was the father of the
lare Galley Cibber, efquire, poet-laureat.

The clergy here live very elegantly in the Clofe
belonging to the cathedral ; where, belides the
bifliop's palace, are very good houfes, handfomely
built, for the prebendaries, and other dignitaries of
this church. The deanry is a very pleafant dwell-
ing, the gardens are large, and the river runs through
them ; but the floods in winter fometimes much in-
commode them.

As the city flands in a vale on the bank, and at
the conjunction of two fmall rivers, fo the country
rifing every way, but juft as the courfe of the water
keeps the valley open, you muff, neceflfarily, as you
go out of the gates, go up hill every way ; but, when
once afcended, you come to the mod charming plains
in England, which continue, with very fmall inter-
fections of rivers and valleys, for above 50 miles.

Here

HAMPSHIRE. 247

Here lived Conjians, the monk, who was made
C&far, and afterwards emperor, by his father Con-
Jlantine* ; both of whom uiurped the government in
opposition to Honorius-

At the fouth-iide of the weft gate of this city,
was anciently acaftle, in which, it is laid, the Saxon
1 kings kept their court ; which however is doubtful,
J and mull be meant of the JVeJi Saxons only. This
cattle has been often befieged ; particularly once by
king Stephen, with his implacable enemy the emprefs
Afaud'm it; and that lb clofely, that the emprefs
caufed a report of her death to be fpread, and, being
put into a cofiin, was carried cut as a corpfe, and fa
efcaped. y&**

Near the place where this caftle flood, the late
king Charles II. began (under the direction of fir
Chriflopher Wren) a very noble defign of a royal
palace, which, had he lived, and fmifhed it, would
certainly have made that part of the country the re-
fort of the quality and gentry of all parts of the
kingdom; for the country hereabouts far exceeds
that of Newmarket-heath for all kinds of fport and
diverfion.

The foundation was laid March 23, 1683, (in the
digging for which they found a pavement of bricks
and coins of Canjlantine the Greats ar;d others).
There was particularly intended a large cupola, 30
feet above the roof, which would have been feen a
great way at fea. The ibuth-iide is 216 feet, and
the weft 326 ; and the fheil, when it was diicon-
tinued, is faid to have coft 25,000/. for the building
was fo far profecuted, that it was carried up to the
roof, and covered.

The centre of this palace being exactly in a line-
with the centre of the weft-end of the cathedral, the

* This Confttintmt was a man of low birth, and little known.

M 4 city

248 HAMPSHIRE.

city was to have been laid open the breadth of the
tranfept or crofs of the cathedral, from north to
fouth, in a ftreet about 200 feet broad from the
palace to the cathedral in a direct: line ; and on each
fide were to have been built houfes for the nobility,
and perfons of rank; the ground for which, and
for the narks, was actually procured. ■ The parks
were to be near ten miles in circumference, and
were to tnd weft upon the open Downs, in view of
Stocklridge.

The principal floor is a noble range of apartments,
20 feet high.

7'his houfe, with a royal revenue, was afterwards
fettled by parliament, as an appendage upon prince
George of Denmark for his life, in cafe he had out-
lived the queen ; but his royal highnefs died before
her majefty. And now all hope of feeing this defign
perfected, or the houfe finifhed, is vanifhed. His
late majefty king George I. made a prefent to the
duke of Bolton of the fine pillars of Italian marble,
which were to have fupported its ftair-cafe ; and were
faid to be a prefent to the king from the great duke
of Tufcany. It was fitted up for a prifon for the
French^ taken captive in the late wars between the
two nations; and contains no lefs than 160 rooms;
in which, June 14, 1762, I was allured by the
colonel on duty, there were confined upwards of
5000 of thofe unhappy wretches.

There are feveral other public edifices in this city,
and in the neighbourhood, which I have not room
to defcribe ; as the hofpitals, and building adjoining
near the eaft gate. Towards the north is a piece of
an old monaftery undemolifhed, and which is ftill
preferved to the religion, being the refidence of fome
private Roman catholic gentlemen, where they have
an oratory, and, as they fay, live ftill according to
the rules of St. Benedift. This building is called

Hidi*

HAMPSHIRE. .249

Wde-houfe; and, as they live very ufefully, and to
•the higheft degree obliging, among their neighbours,
they meet with no obilruction from any body. This
town is now paved like London,

In the high-ftreet is a beautiful market-crofs, hav-
ing five fteps round it, which, with the place about

I it, ferves at prefent for a fifh-market ; there is alio, in
the fame ftreet, a large handfome town-hall for the
city, erected on Doric pillars, in a niche, in the
front of which is a ftatue of queen Anne^ with this
infcription, Anno Pacifico Anna Regina 17 13.— But
the lower part of this building is difgraced by being
ufed as mean dwellings for cooks fhops, barber?, he.

Beyond the river Itchin eafiward is an high hill,
called St. Giles" sy from an hofpital whofe ruins only

: are now viiible; and a church-yard, feeming to have
been a camp, befides the marks of baftions, and

I works of fortifications in the modern ftiie. Here

• JValtheof, earl of Northumberland and Huntingdon?
was beheaded by order of king William I. whofe
body was carried to Crowland, and faid to work,
miracles.

Winchester is about a mile and half within the
walls : it is a place of no trade, other than is natu-
rally occafioned by the inhabitants of the city, and
neighbouring villages, one with another; here is no
manufacture, no navigation ; there was indeed an
attempt to make the river navigable from Southampton^.
and it was once made practicable; but it never an-
fwered the expence, fo as to give encouragement to?
the undertakers to keep it up.

Here is. a great deal of good company ; and abun-
dance of gentry being in the neighbourhood adds to-
the fociableneis or the place : the clergy 1L0 here
are, generally fpeakiug, rich, and very numerous. . ,
The hofpital called, of St. Crojs,. on the fouth ®f

1 this cit^5 at a. mile's diflance. on the .road to $**(&-

25o HAMPSHIRE.

ampton, is worth notice : it was founded by bifhop
B/ois, and greatly enlarged and augmented by cardi-
nal Beaufort, whofe ilatue is placed in a niche over
the gate. The church is in the form of a crofs. and
has a large fquare tower, being one of the olden
buildings in England, Every traveller, that knocks
at the door of this houfe, in his way, and aiks foi
it, claims the relief of a piece of white bread, and
a cup of beer ; which donation is continued to this
day.

How the revenues of this hofpital, which mould
maintain the mailer and 30 private gentlemen, whom
they call fellows, but ought to call brothers, are now
Reduced to maintain only 14, while the mailer lives
in a figure equal to the bell gentleman in the county,
would be well worth the inquiry of a proper v*iiitor3
if fuch can be named. It is a fubjecfc that calls for
animadverfion more than almonY any other, when
public charities, deligned for the relief of the poor,
are embezzled by the rich, and turned to the fup-
port of luxury and pride.

The city is governed by a mayor, recorder, fix
aldermen, and J2 burgeiles ; and returns two mem-
bers to parliament.

I made an excurfion from Winchejler, to fee the
ancient town of Romfey, noted for its delightful
iituation, having all round it woods, corn-rields,
meadows, and paflures. The river, and rivulets,
which are many, have a rapid courie. The town
was queflionlefs Roman, and its name declares as
much. The church is a large, noble, ancient pile
of building, in form of a crofs, with femicircular
chapels in th^ angles.

The building is in the fame tafle and manner with
the oidcfl part of Winchejler cathedral. It has lately
been beautified; but the roof of the fouth crofs is
decayed, and, if not repaired, will fhortly f all in.

On

HAMPSHIRE. 2^t

On the outfide of the north crofs are the marks of
fome cannon-balls, which, in "the civil wars, were
fired to batter down the church; but they did no
great damage to it.

Another thing here worth notice is, that, upon
the leads of the fide-aile towards the eaft, in a cor-
ner where fome rubbifh and dirt lies, there grows a
pretty large apple-tree, which bears a good quantity
of fruit ; and is thought fuch a curiofity, that it is
fent about for prefents. At the weft end is the piece
of an old wall, probably belonging to the nunnery
built here by king Edgar. At this place is a pretty
. market- houfe, and a market on Saturdays ; as alio a
free-fchool. The ftaple commodity of this town is
a manufacture of fh a) loons. It took its name from
being, before the Reformation, peculiarly fubjec*t to the
jurifdiclion of the pope or fee of Ro?ne, Rowefey.

About a quarter of a mile from this town we faw
Broad/ands, the feat of lord Palmer flon ; the houfe is
juft fmifhed in a tafte which deferves very particular
attention. The gardens are very delightful, and
kept with great care.

Returning to IVinchefler^ we ftruck up north- weft,
and came to Stodbridge, a lorry borough-town, which
neverthetefs returns two members to parliament ;
and beino- a great thorough -fare on the fouth-weftern
road, it has many good inns, and thofe as well pro-
vided as any on that road, though it has no market.

Stockbridge is governed by a bailiff, conftable, and
ferjeants.

Still riding northward, we arrived at dndover, a
mayor, market, and borough-town, and alio noted
for being a great thorough-fare on the direct weftern
road, as well from Newbury to Salifiury, as from
London to Taunton, an i all the manufacturing towns
of Somerfitjhire, whereby it is greatly enriched, and
is a thriving* handfome, well-built, and populous

M 6 town.

252 WILTSHIRE.

towa. Here is an hofpital for fix men, built and en-
dowed by Mr. Pollen, a member for this borough,
-and a free-fchool founded Ln 1569. 1 he town is
very healthy, and pleafantly fituated juft on the bor-
ders of thofe Downs, which are commonly, though
. not properly, called Sal's foury-plains.

Near thk town is a village called Weyhill, where
the open Down-country begins ; and here, upon thefe
Downs-, is the famous Weyhill, where the greateft fair
for fheep in the nation is kept ; and principally of
«wes, for ftore • fheep for the farmers of the counties
of Berks, Oxford, Bucks, Bedford, Hertford, Mid-
dhfex, Kent, Surry, and Suffix*, who fend for thi-m
to this place.

From Andover we bent our way towards Wiltjhire,
oy Quariey-hiils , on the weft-tide of which are the
remains of a great fortification, confifting of two
outward trenches, and other works of great ftrength;
and then entering that county, and leaving Lugger-
Jball, a imall hamlet-town, noted only for returning
two -members to parliament, and for having beea
formerly the caftle of Geffrey Filzpiers, earl of Effex$
in 1 199, and lord chief juftice; on the north of us,
we came to Ambrejbury, a very ancient town, pretty
large, (landing on the river Avon9 and having feve-
ral good inns; but its market Is much decayed, and
almcft discontinued. It is faid to have taken it«
name from Ambrius, who founded here a monaftery
of Benedictines long before the coming-in of the
Saxons, who deftroved it; or from Aurelius Ambrofey
a Britifi prince, who rebuilt it, and filled it with
300 monks, to pray for the fouls of thofe noble
Britons,, who were ilain by the perfidious Hengifl the
■Saxon, who maflacred here, in cold blood, 300 of
the Britijh nobility, whom he had invited, with
their king Vm tiger n+ to meet him without arms, to

treat

WILTSHIRE. 253

treat of a league of amity, and rejoice together.
The treacherous Saxon faved only the king, whom
he obliged to give him near a third of his kingdom
€afivvard, before he would fet him at Liberty.

The monaftery at Ainbrefoury was converted into
a nunnery ; and Eleanor , king Henry Ill's queen,
-retired and died here ; whole example induced the
princefs Mary, king Edward the fecond's daughter,
.and 1 3 noblemen's daughters, to take the veil toge-
ther in this houfe. In the wall of the abbey we faw
an old grave-ftone, fuppofed of queen Guenevery
king Arthur's wife.

Here is a feat belonging to the duke of ^ueenjherry^
built by Inigo 'Jones. The prefent duke has made
great improvements in his gardens, having inclofed
and planted a large fteep hill, at the foot of which,
•the river Avon Y&ry beautifully winds, as alfo through
the greater! part of the garden.

On the bridge, over this river, is built a room
after the manner of the Cbinefe.

The ftupendous piece of antiquity, called Stone-
henge, deferves our particular notice; and I fhail
therefore borrow-from Dr. Stukeleys piece, intituled,
" Stone-hinge, a Temple reitored to Briiijh Druids"
-the following brkf account and dercription of it :

The Wiltjhire-downs^ or Salifiury-plainy is one of
the molt, delightful fpots in Britain • and Stone-henge
lias attracted the admiration of aM ages. Mr. Cam-
den fays of it, That he was grieved, that the founders
of it could not be traced out ;, but Dr. Stukeley has
-made it probable, that it was a temple of the Brrtifi
Druidi, and the chief of all their temples in this
ailancL

The ftones of which it was eompofed are not
tfa&itious, but natural jafper ; for that would have
teen a greater -wonder, than to bring them together
to the place where they arej but were brought 15 or

254 WILTSHIRE.

1 6 miles off, prodigious as they are, from thofe called
the Grey Wethers, near Abury, on Marlborough -downs,
all the greater ftones, except the a) tar, being of that
fort; for that, being defigned to reiift fire, is of a
ftill harder kind * : It is a compofition of cryftals, red,
green, and white colours, cemented by nature with
opake granules of flinty or ftony matter. The ftone at
the upper-end of the cell, which is fallen down, and
broken in half, the Doctor tells us, weighs above 40
tons, and would require above 140 oxen to draw it;
and yet is not the heavieft of them. Judge then
what a ftupendous labour it was to bring together, fo
many miles, fuch a number as were ufed here ; and
this has induced many inconsiderate people to ima-
gine, that the founders had an art of making flone,
which has been loft for many ages.

The pre Cent name is Saxon, though the work is,
beyond all comparifon, older, Signifying an hanging
flone, from the hanging parts, or impofts ; pendu-
lous rocks are ftill, in Torkjhtre, called benges.

Stone-henge ftands near the fummit of an hill ; at
half- a mile diftance, the appearance is awful ; but
as you come up the avenue in the north-eaft of it,
which fide is moft perfect, the greatnefs of its con-
tour fills the eye in an aftonifhing manner. It is in-
clofed in a circular ditch, which having palled, we
afcend 35 yards before we come at the work. The
flones are chifteled, and the infide of them had more
pains bellowed on them than the outfide.

When you enter the building, whether on foot or
horfeback, and caft your eyes around upon the yawn-
ing ruins, you are ftruck into a reverie, which no
one can delcribe, and they only can be fenlible of

• Some feem to think, they were lying fcattered above ground in the
neighbourhood, and that this circumftance encouraged the building ;
but the (tones not proving fuffiuent in quantity for the purpofe pre-
vented the dciiga being finished.

who

WILTSHIRE. 255

who feel it. Other buildings fall by piece-meal, but
here a {ingle ftone is a ruin. Yet is there as much
undemoliihed, as enables us fufficiently to recover its
form, when in its mod perfect ftate. When we ad-
vance farther, the dark part of the ponderous impofts
over our heads, the chafms of fky between the jambs
of the cell, the odd conftru&ion of the whole, and
greatnefs of every part, furprize. If you look upon
the perfect part, you fancy intire quarries mounted
up into the air; if upon the rude havock below, you
fee, as it were, the bowels of a mountain turned in-
iide out.

The whole work, being of a circular form, is
about 108 feet in diameter, from out to out. The
intention of the founders was this : the whole circle
was to conftft of 30 ftones, each ftone to be four
cubits * broad, each interval two cubits ; 30 times
four cubits is twice 60; 30 times two cubits is 60;
lb that thrice 60 cubits complete a circle, whofe
diameter is 60. A ftone being four cubits broad,
and two thick, is double the interval, which is a
£juare of two cubits. Change the places between
the ftones and their intervals, and it will make a good
ground-plot for a circular portico of Greek or Roman
work ; though thefe bodies of ftone, which are in
the nature of impofts, are wrought perfectly plain,
and fuitable to the ftones that fupport them 5 and the
chifTeling of the upright ftones is only above-ground;
for the four or five feet in length below-ground is
left in the original natural form. The upright ftones
are made very judicioufly to diminifh a little way ;
(o that at top they are but three cubits and a half
broad, and fo much nearer, as to fuffer their impofts
to meet a little over the heads of the uprights, both

* This cubit is the old Hebrew, Phoenician, or Egyptian cubit, and
^what the founders of Stone-bcnge went by, and amounts to 20 inches
four-fifths English meafure.

within

z$6 WILTSHIRE.

withkvfide and without ; by which means the up-
Tights are lefs liable to fall or fwerve.

It is to be feared, fome indifcreet people have been
digging about the great entrance, with ridiculoui i
hopes of finding treafure, and fo have loofened the
chalky foundation ; for the upper edge of the import
overhangs no lefs than two feet feven inches, which
is very confiderable in an height of 18. The whole
breadth at the foundation k but two feet and a half;
and this noble front is now chiefly kept up by the
mortice and tenon of the imports.

The contrivance of the founders in making mor-
tices and tenons between the upright ilones and the
imports is admirable * but fo contrary to any prac-
tice of the Romans, that it alone overtets their claim
to the work- Thefe tenons and mortices of this
outer circle are round, and fit one another very aptly*
They are ten inches and one half in diameter, and
refemble half an egg, rather an heinifphere; and fo
effectually keep both uprights and imports from taxa-
tion, that they muft have been thrown down with
great difficulty and labour. The whole height of
the upright and import is ten cubits and a half; the
upright, nine; the import over the grand entrance is,
in its middle lengthy n feet 10 inches, and fo is
larger than the reft; and it is alio a little broader,
mealuring on the inftde.

Of the outer circle of Stone-henge, which, in its
perfection, coniifted of 60 rtones, 30 upwards, and
go imports, there are 17 uprights left ftanding, ir
of which remain continuous by the grand entrance;
five imports upon them. One upright, at the back
of the temple, leans upon a rtone of the inner circle.
Thereare (ix more lying -upon the ground, whole, or
an pieces; fo that 24 out of 30 are frill vifible at the
fplace. T'her:^ is but one import more in its proper
place, and but two lying upon the £roundj fo that

Hi

WILTSHIRE. 2.57

22 are carried off. Hence our author infers, this
temple was not defaced, when chriftianity prevailed ;
but that fome rude hands carried the ftones away for
other uies *.' So much for the larger circle of {tones
with imports.

As to the lefTer circle, which never hap! any im-
• pofts, it is fomewhat more than eight feet from the
infide of the outward one, and confifts of 40 leffer
{tones ; forming with the outward circles, as it were,
a circular portico, a moil beautiful work, and of a
pretty effect ; they are flat parallelograms, as thofe
of the outward circle ; and their general and defigned
proportion is two cubits, or two and a half, as fuit-
•able ftones were found. They are a cubit thick, and
four and one half high, which is more than ieven
feet; this was their ftated proportion, being every
way the half of the outer uprights. Thefe flones
are of a harder compofition than the reft, the better
to refift violence, as they are leffer ; and they have
fufficient faftenings in the ground. There are but
19 of the 40 left; but 10 of them are {landing in
fitter five in one place contiguous, three in another,
two in another.

The walk between thefe two circles, which is
300 fest in circumference, is very noble and de-
lightful.

* If to bring them to this place was £0 great a difficulty, another n«
lefs ponderous would aiife, to account how they were carried off, and
whither, as there are no buildings near, nor perhaps any where, erected
•out of Aich materials. No force lefs than that of an earthquake feems
adequate to the effect of throwing down fuch vail mafles of ftone fet
upright, and connected together by the tenons of the incumbent im-
ports. It would have been more finifhed, and been vaftly ftronger, had
the imports joined together, fo as to have completed one vaft circle of
flone in the air. Something of this kind, and which for its fize pro-
duces a much more agreeable effect than Stone-henge, is exhibited by
tount Caylus in his Ganlijb ^ntiyttities, and well defexves to be compared
with the plan of Stone hmge*

Tkc

258 WILTSHIRE.

The rfdytum, or cell, into which we may fuppofe
none but the upper order of druids were to enter, is
compofed of certain compages of ftones, which our
author calls Trilithons, becaufe made each of two
upright (tones, with an impoft at top, and there are
manifeftly five of thefe remaining; three of which
are intire, two are ruined in fome meafure ; but the
Hones remain infetu. It is a magnificent niche, 27
cubits long, and as mucli broad, meafuring in the
wideft place. The ftones that compofe it are really
flupendous; their height, breadth, and thickneis,
are enormous ; and to fee fo many of them placed
together, in a nice and critical figure, with exact-
ness; to confider, as it were, not a pillar of one
ftone, but a whole wall, a fide, an end of a temple,
of one ftone ; to view them curiouily ; creates fuch
a motion in the mind, as words cannot exprefs.
One very remarkable particular in the constitution of
this adytum has efcaped all obfervers before our au-
thor, which is this : As this part is compofed of
trilithons fet two and two on each fide, and one right
before, they rife in height and beauty of the ftones,
from the lower end of the adytum to the upper end ;
that is, the two hithermoft trilithons corresponding,
or thole' next the grand entrance, on the right-hand,
and on the left, are exceeded in height by the two
next in order ; and thole are exceeded by that bekind
the altar, in the upper end of this choir ; and their
heights refpectively are 13, 14, and 15 cubits.

The impofts of thefe are all of the fame height,
and ten cubits may be fuppofed their medium mea-
fure in length. \ he artifice of the tenons and mor-
tices of thefe trilithons, and their impofts, what
conformity they bear to that of the outer circle, is
exceedingly pretty, every thing being done very
geometrically, and as would beft anfwer every pur-
pofe, from plain and fimple principles; and it is

wonder-

WILTSHIRE. 259

wonderful, that, in the management of fuch prodi-
gious ftones as thefe are, fixed in the ground, and
rammed-in like pofts, there is not more variation in
the height, diftance, &c.

Of thefe greater ftones of the adytum, as is ob-
ferved before, there are none wanting, being all on
the fpot, ten uprights, and five imports. The trili-
thon firfl on the left-hand is intire infituy but vaftly
decayed, efpecially the import, in which fuch deep
holes are corroded, that, in fome places, the daws
make their nefts in them. The next trilithon on the
left is intire, compofed of three moft beautiful ftones.
The import, happening to be of a very durable Eng-
lijh marble, has not been much impaired by the wea-
ther. Our author took a walk on the top of it ; but
thought it a frightful fituation. The trilithon of
the upper end was an extraordinary beauty; but,
probably, through the indifcretion of fomebody dig-
ging between them and the altar, the noble import is
di (lodged from its airy feat, and fallen upon the
altar, where its huge bulk lies unfra&ured. The
two uprights that fupported it, are the moft delicate
ftones of the whole work. They were, 'our author
thinks, above 30 feet long, and well chifTeled, finely
tapered, and proportioned in their dimenfions. That
fouthward is broken in two, lying upon the altar :
the other ftill ftands intire ; but leans upon one of
the ftones of the inward oval ; the root-end, or un-
hewn part of both, is railed fome what above ground.
The trilithon towards the weft is intire, except that
fome of the end of the impoft is fallen clean ofr^ and
all the upper edge is very much diminifhed by time.
The laft trilithon, on the right- hand of the entrance
into the adytum, has fuffered much. The outer up-
right, being the jamb of the entrance, is ftill ftand-
ing ; the other upright and impoft are both fallen
forwards into the adytum> and broken each into three

pieces,

26o WILTSHIRE.

pieces, as fuppofed, from digging near it. That
which is ftanding has a cavity in it, in which two
or three perfons may At warm from the weather.

Stone-benge is compofed of two circles, and two
ovals, respectively concentric. The ftones that form
thefe ovals rife in height, as nearer the upper end of
the adytum; and their mediate meafure is four cubits
and four palms. They are of a much harder kind
than the larger Hones in the lefler circle ; the founders
no doubt intending, that their leffer bulk fhould be
compenfated by foliduy. Of thefe there are only fix
remaining upright: the {tumps of two are left on
the lbuth-fide by the altar ; one lies behind the altar,
dug up, or thrown down, by the fall of the upright
there. One or two were probably thrown down by
the fall of the upright of the firft trilithon on th«
right-hand ; a ftump of another remains by the up-
right there Hill {landing.

The whole number of ftones may be thus com-
puted : the great oval confifts of ten uprights ; the
inner, with the altar, of 20; the great circle, of 30;
the- inner, of 40, which are 100 upright ftones;
■five impofts of the great oval ; 30 of the great cir-
cle ; the two ftones on the bank of the area ; the
ftone lying within the entrance of the area, and that
Handing without : there feems to be another lying
on the ground, by the vallum of the court, directly
oppoiite to the entrance of the avenue ; all added to-
gether make juft 140 Hones, the number of which
Stone-benge, a whole temple, is compofed. Behold
the folution of the mighty problem ! the magical
fpell, which has fo long perplexed the vulgar, is
broken ! They think it an ominous thing to count
the true number of the ftones, and whoever does fo,
ihall certainly die after it f* !

* The vylgar difficulty is to count the number of ftonei actually on
the fpot.

As

WILTSHIRE. 261

As to the altar, it is laid, towards the upper end
of the adytum, at prefent flat on the ground, and
fqueezed into it, as it were, by the weight of the
ruins upon it. It is a kind of blue coarle marble,
fuch as comes from Derby/hire, and laid upon tombs
in our churches and church-yards. Our author be-
lieves its breadth is two cubits three palms ; and that
its firft intended length was ten cubits, equal to the
breadth of the trilithon, before which it lies. But
it is very difficult to come at its true length. It is
20 inches thick, a jufb cubit, and has been fquared.
It lies between the two centres, that of the com-
panies, and that of the firing ; leaving a convenient
fpace quite round it, no doubt as much as was necef-
fary for this miniftration.

The heads of oxen, deer, and other beafts, have
been found upon digging in and about Stone-henge,
undoubted reliques of facrifices, together with wood-
alhes. Mr. Camden fays, mens bones have been
found hereabouts ; he means in the adjacent barrows;
and fuch our author faw thrown out by rabbits, which
have been brought hither of late years ; and, by
their burrowing, threaten thefe noble ruins, as the
greedy plough more and more invades the neighbour-
ing plain.

But eternally, as he obferves, is to be lamented
the lols of that tablet of tin, which was found at this
place in the time of Henry VIII. infcribed with 'many
letters; but in fo Urange a character, that neither
fir Thomas Elliot, a learned antiquary, nor Mr. Lilly t
firft high m after of St. Paul's fchool, could make
any thing out of it ; and which, no doubt, was a
memorial of the founders, wrhten by the Druids;
and, had it been preferved till now, would have been
an invaluable curiofity.

In the year 1635, as they were plowing by the
barrows about Normanton- ditch, they found lb large a

quantity

262 WILTSHIRE.

quantity of excellent pewter, as, at a low price,
they fold for five pounds. There are feveral of thefe
ditches, being very narrow, which run acrofs the
downs, which perhaps are boundaries of hundreds,
parifhes, &c. Thefe pewter plates might, very
poffibry, have been tablets, with infcriptions ; but,
falling into fuch rude hands, they could no more
difcern the writing, than interpret it.

Mr. Webb tells us, the- duke of Buckingham dug
about Stone- henge, perhaps much to the prejudice of
the work; as did Mr. Webb.

Mr. Hayward) late owner of Stone-henge^ likewife
dug about it, and found heads of oxen, and other
beafls bones, and nothing elie.

. Dr. Stukeley himfelf, in 1723, dug on the infide of
the altar, about the middle, four feet along the edge
of the {tone, fix feet forward towards the middle of
the adytum : at a foot deep he came to the folid chalk,
mixed with flints, which had never been ftirred.
The altar was exactly a cubit thick, i. e. 20 inches
four-fifths, but broken in two or three pieces by the
ponderous mafTes of the impofts, and one upright
flone of that trilithon, which flood at the upper encf
of the adytuirty being fallen upon it. Hence appears
the com modioli me fs of the foundation for this large
work! They dug holes in the folid chalk, which
would of itielf keep up the ftones as firm as if a
wall was built round them ; and no doubt but they
rammed up the interftices with flints. But he fays,
he had too much regard to the work, to dig any
where near the ftones. He took up an ox's tooth
above-ground, without the adytum^ on the right-hand
of the lowermoft trilithon northward.

About fix miles north-weft of this place, at a

fmall village called Sbrawton, near Longleat, the

noble feat of lord Weymouth^ is a curious pitce of

fculpture in alabafter, which had been dug in one of

1 the

WILTSHIRE. 263

;he adjacent barrows on Salisbury Plain, It is of an
oval form, about two feet in length, and one in the
broadeft part of the diameter. In the middle is re-
prefented a woman, habited as a queen, with her
globe, fcepter, crown, and mantle of ftate. In a
compartment over her head are three figures, evi-
dently reprefenting the Three Perfons of the Holy
Trinity. Round the fides are angels intermixed
with ibme of the apoftles. The exquifite workman-
fhip of the figure of the woman (who feems intend-
ed for the Virgin Mary), the ftrong as well as tender
exprefiion in her features, and the elegance of her
drapery, fhew it to be the work of a very Ikilful
hand.

We fhali now proceed to give fome account of the
famous barrows on thefe Downs ; and we fhall bor-
row from the fame learned author the following curi-
ous particulars relating to them :

The tops of all the hills, or rather eafy elevations,
around Stone- henge, are in a manner covered with
t thefe barrows, which make an agreeable appearance,
adorning the bare Downs with their figures. This
fing of barrows, however, reaches no farther than
till you loie light of the temple, as we now make no
doubt to call Stone-benge, or thereabouts. Many,
from the great number of thefe fepulchral tumuli
here, injudiciouily conclude, that there have been
great battles upon the plain, and that the flain are
buried there ; but they are really no other than
family burying- places fet near this temple, for the
fame reafon as we bury in church yards, and confe-
crated grounds.

We may readily count 50 at a time in fight from
the place, efpecially in the evening, when the {lop-
ing rays of the fun fhine on the ground beyond
them. They are moft of them of a very elegant
! bell- like form, and done with great nicety ; in

general

*64 WILTSHIRE.

general they are always upon elevated ground, and in
light of the temple, as we have faid ; for they all
regard it, and are aiTuredly the fingle fepulchres of
kings and great perfonsges, buried, during a conii-
derable fpace of time, and in peace. There are
many groups of them together, as if family burying-
places, and the variety in them feems to indicate
fome pre-eminence in the perfons interred. Moil of
them have little ditches around; in many is a cir-
cular ditch, 60 cubits in diameter, with a very
fmall tumulus in the centre. Sixty, or even ieo
cubits, is a very common diameter in the large
barrows. Often they are fet in rows, and equi-
diftant, fo as to produce a regular and pretty ap-
pearance, and with fome particular regard to the
parts of the temple, the avenues, or the Curfus,
Upon every range of hills, quite round Stone-hengey
are fucceflive groups of barrows for fome miles; and
even that named King-barrow9 by lord Pembroke's
park wall at Wilton^ is fet within view of Stem-
henge.

In 1722, the late lord Pembroke opened a barrow,
in order to find the pofition of the body obferved in
thofe early days. He pitched upon one of the double
barrows, where two are incloled in one ditch. He
made a fe&ion from the top to the bottom; an intire
fegment from centre to circumference. The com-
pofition was good earth quite through, txcept a coat
of chalk of about two feet thick, covering it quite
over, under the turf. Hence it appears, that the
method of making the barrows was, to dig up the
turf for a great fpace round, till the barrow was
brought to its intended bulk. Then, with the chalk
dug out of the environing ditch, they powdered it
all over. And the notion of fandtity annexed to
them forl-ad people trampling on them till per-
fettly fettled' and turfed ever; whence the neatnels

of

WILTSHIRE. 265

of their form to this day. At the top, or centre, of
this barrow, not above three feet under the furface,
my lord found the lkeleton of the interred, perfect,
of a reafonable fize, ths head lying northward to-
wards Stone-benge.

The year following, by my lord's order, Dr.

Stukelcy began upon another double barrow. He

began upon the lefTer, and made a large cut on the

top from eaft to weft. After the turf, he came to

the layer of chalk, as before, and then fine garden

mould ; about three feet below the furface, a layer

of flints, humouring the convexity of the barrow,

which are gathered from the furface of the downs

in feme places, efpecially where it has been plowed.

This, being about a foot thick, refted on a layer of

.foft mould, another foot; in which was inclofed an

urn full of bones. The urn was of unbaked clay,

[of a dark reddifh colour, and crumbled into pieces.

It had been rudely wrought with fmall mouldings

round the verge, and other circular channels on the

jutfide, with (everal indentions between, made with

i pointed tool. The bones had been burnt, and

:rouded ail together in a little heap, not fo muck as

1 hat-crown would contain; the collar-bone, and one

ide of the under-jaw, remaining very intire. It

Vppeared to have been a girl of about 14 years old, by

:heir bulk, and the great quantity of female orna-

nents mixed with the bones ; as great numbers of

rials beads of all forts, and of divers colours, moil

/ellow, one black; many fingle, many in lono-

Pieces, notched between, fo as to referable a ftrino- of

)eads, and thefe were generally of a blue colour.

[There were many of amber, of all fhapes and fize*,

fot fquares, long fquares, round, oblong, little, and

>reat; likewife many of earthy of different fhapes,

uagnitude, and colour; fome little and white, many

large and flattifli, like a button, others like a pully';

Vol. I. N but

*66 WILTSHIRE.

but all had holes to run a firing through, cither
-through their diameter or iides ; many of the button-
fort feemed to have been covered with metal, there
being a rim worked in them, wherein to turn the
edge of the covering. One of thefe was covered
with a thin film of pure gold. Thefe were the
young lady's ornaments, and had all undergone hre;
fo that what would eaiily confume fell to-pieces as
foon as handled ; much of the amber burnt half
through. This perfon was an heroine ; for we found
the head of her javelin in brafs. At bottom are two
boles for the pin that faftened it to the ftafT; befides,
there was a fharp bodkin, round at one end, fquare
at the other, where it went into the handle Our
author preferved whatever was permanent of thefe
trinkets ; but recompofed the afhes of the illuftrious
defuncl, and covered them with earth, leaving viiible
marks at top of the barrow having been opened (tc
diffuade any other from again difturbing them) ; and
this wTas his practice in all the reft.

He then opened the next barrow to it, inclofed in
the fame ditch, which he fuppofed the hufband 01
father of this lady. At 14 inches deep, the moulc
being mixed with chalk, he came to the intire ikele-
ton of a man, thefkull and all the bones exceedingl)
rotten, and perifhed, through length of time :
though this was a barrow of the latefl fort, as Ik
conjectured. The body -lay north and fouth, the
head to the north, as did that lord Pembroke opened.
Next he went weftward to a group of barrows.
whence Stone-henge bears eaft-north-eaft. Here is ;:
large barrow ditched about, but of an anticnt make.
On that fide next Stone-henge are ten lefler, fmall, and.
as it were, crouded together. South of the great one
is another barrow, larger than thofe of the group.
but not equalling thenrft; it fhould feem, that a
man and his wife were buried in the two lar

WILTSHIRE. £67

unci that the reft were of their children or dependents.
One of the finall ones, 20 cubits in diameter, he
cut through, with a pit nine feet in diameter, to the
furface of the natural chalk, in the centre of the
barrow, where was a little hole cut. A child's
body, as it feems, had been burnt here, and covered
:up in that hole; but, through length of time,
confumed. From three feet deep he found much
wood-ailies, foft, and black as ink, fome little bits
of an urn, and black and red earth, very rotten;
fome fmall lumps of earth, red as vermilion; fome
flints burnt through ; towards the bottom, a great
quantity of allies, and burnt bones. From this
place he counted 128 barrows in fight.

Going from hence more foutherly, is a circular
difh-like cavity, 60 cubits in diameter, dug in the
chalk, like a barrow reverfed. It is near a ^reat
barrow, the leaft of the fouth-weftern group. This
cavity is feven feet deep in the middle, extremely
well turned; and out of it, no doubt, the adjacent
narrow is dug. The ufe of it feems to have been a
)lace for facriflcing and feafting in memory of the
lead, as was the ancient cuftom. It is all over-^rown
vith that pretty fhrub Erica vulgaris, then in flower,
md fmelling like honey. He made a large crofs
eclion in its centre upon the cardinal points, and
bund nothing but a bit of red earthen pot.

He then dug up one of thofe he calls Druids bar-
ows, a fmall Tumulus, inclofed in a large circular
litch* Stom-henge bears hence north eafi. He made
1 crofs fection ten feet each way, three feet broad
)ver its centre upon the cardinal points; at Jen<nh he
bund a fquarifh hole cut in the folid chalk m the
:entre of the Tumulus; it was three feet and a half
. e. two cubits long-, and near two feet broad h e*
>ne cubit, pointing to Stone-benge directly. It was a
:ubit and a half deep from the furface. This was the

N 2 Domus

268 WILTSHIRE.

Domus exilis Plutonic, covered with artificial earth, not
above a foot thick from the furface. In this little
grave he found all the burnt bones of a man, but no
iigns of an urn. The bank of the circular ditch is
on the outfide, and is twelve cubits broad ; the
ditch is fix cubits broad (the Druids ftaff); the area
is 70 cubits in diameter. The whole 100.

He opened another of thefe of like dimensions, next
to that lord Pembroke firft opened, fouth of Stone'
henge\ and found a burnt body in an hole in the
chalk, as before.

In fome other barrows he opened, were found
large burnt bones of horfes and dogs, together with
human ; alfo of other animals, as feemed of fowl,
hares, boars, deer, goats, or the like; and, in a
<*reat and very fiat old fafhioned barrow, weft: from
Stone-henge, among fuch matters, he found bits of
red and blue marble, chippings of the flones of the
temple; fo that probably the interred was one of
the builders. Homer tells us of Achilles flaying horfes
and dogs at the funeral of his friend Patrcclus.

Lord Pembroke told the doctor of a brafs iword dug
up in a barrow here ; which was fent to Oxford. In
that very old barrow near Little Ambrejbury, was
found a very large brafs weapon, of 20 pounds
weight, like a pole-ax, faid to be given to colonel
Wyndham. In the great long barrow, farther! north
from Stone-henge> which our author fuppofes to bean
ArchdruidS) was found one of thofe brafs inftruments
called Celts, 13 inches long, which, bethinks, be-
longed to the Druids, wherewith they cut off the
miileto. Mr. Stallard of Ambrejbury gave it to lord
Burlington. It was repofited in fir Hans Shane's ca-
binet and moft probably removed, with the other
rarities of that famous colle&or, to the Britijh Mu-
seum. They dug a cell in a barrow eaft of Jmbref-
burv where they law all the bones of an horfc. We

Ji find

1

WILTSHIRE. 269

find evidently, adds the do 51 or, thefe ancient nations
had the cuftom of burning their dead bodies.

Since the time mentioned by the doctor, there
have been pieces of fpea s, and other inltruments of
war, dug up in fome of the Tumuli near Ambre/bury;
which are in the poifeffion of his grace the duke of
Shteenfberry, who has already planted four of the
largeft Tumuli with firs ; and, lince he bought the
manor of Stone-henge, has been preparing to em-
bell iili all the others within the manor with ever-
green trees, which will not only beautify the country,
but alfo become land-marks for travellers, who are
often at a lofs to find their way over thefe large plains,
if they arc not accuftomed to the roads. His grace
has alfo made ridings over the downs from Ambref-
buryy round by Stone~hengey which are planted with
clumps of evergreen trees, and are a great beauty to
thofe open downs.

Salifbury plains have little of the delightful to boaft
of, lince nothing appears but here and there a little
riling ground; poor verdure, and not a tree or drop
of water, or a gentleman's houfe, or even a cottage,
to be feen, in the v,ait extent the eye here Itretches
over. However, fome very extenlive flocks of fheep
pick up paflure on thefe extenlive plains, which, in
fome meafure, help to amufe the weary traveller in
his journey over this folitary walte.

Time, however, may alter the face of this exten-
live track, lince a great part or thefe Downs comes,
by a new method of hufbandry, not only to be made
arable, but to bear plen:iful crops of wheat, though
never known to our anceifors to be capable of any
fuch thing; nay, they would probably have laughed
at any one, that had gone about to plow up the wild
downs and hills, which they thought only fit for
flieep-walks: but experience has made the prefent
age more Ikilful in hufbandry ; for by only folding

N 3 the

270 WILTSHIRE.

the fheep upon thofe lands, after they are turned
with the plough (which . generally goes within three
or four inches of the folic! rock of chalk), they be-
come abundantly fruitful, and bear very good wheat,
as well as rye and barley. This hufbandry was in-
troduced at a time when corn bore a very high price,
the feafens having proved fo wet and coid for two or
three years, as to greatly damage the corn in the low
grounds ; and where the downs had been plowed and
fown with corn, it fucceeded fo well as to encourage
others to break up more of them : but as the land is
very fhallow, being in few places more than five
inches deep, above the chalk or flints ; fo in two or
three years it was exhaufted, and fcarce produced
double the quantity of grain which was fown upon,
it, therefore was not worth cultivating; and by
having deflroyed the fward of grafs which was upon
it before plowing, the land is now worth nothing;
fo that what was at fifft fuppofed to be a great im-
provement, proved the total ruin of thole eflates.
Tet even this mould not. difcourage a future at-
tempt, fince a different management may have happier
effects.

This plain open country contains in length from
Winchejier to Salifbury 25 miles, from thence to Dor-
cbefler 38 miles, thence to Weymouth 8 miles ; fo
that they lie 52 miles in length ; and in breadth
they reach alfo in fome places from 35 to 40 miles.
Thofe, who would make any practicable guefs at the
number of fheep which ufually feed on the downs,
may take it from a calculation made, as I was told>
at Dorcbefier, that there were 600,000 fheep fed
within the circumference of fix miles round that
town *.

* Some years ago this might have been true ; but from the increafe
ef arable cultivation, and enclofuica en the downs, the flocks mult
now be greatly diminifhed.

As

WILTSHIRE. 271

As we pa{Ted this open plain country, we faw the
ruins of a great many old Roman and Britijh camps,
and other remains of the antient inhabitants of this
kingdom, which are indeed very agreeable to a tra-
veller that has read the hiflory of the country.

Old Sarum, which is the next place we come to, is
as remarkable as any of thefe ; where is a doable in-
trenchment, with a ditch, to either of them. It is
faid, it was a Roman ftation, and the ancient Sorbio*
dummu It was deierted in king Henry Ill's time,
for want of water, when the inhabitants founded New
Sarum. The old city is of an orbicular form, ere£ted
on one of the moft elegant defigns imaginable. It
was, firft, a fortrefs of the ancient Britons, The
profpecl: of this place is at prefent very auguft, and
muft have afforded a moft noble fight, when in per-
fection. In the. angle to the north-weft flood the ca-

, thedral and epifccpal palace. The city fills up the
fummit of an high and fteep hill, near the bottom of
which runs the river Avon. Here fynods, and Bri-
tijh parliaments, have formerly been held; and hither

\ the ftates of the kingdom were fummoned to fwear
fealty to William I. In this city was the palace of
the Britijh and Saxon kings, and before them of the-

, Roman emperors. Near it is one farm-houfe; and
that is all which is left of this ancient city ; yet this

. is called the borough of Old Sarum, and fends two
members to parliament^ who are chofen by the Pro-
prietors of certain lands. Whom thofe members can
juftiy fay they reprefent, would however be hard for
them to anfwer.

Salijbitry is a large, well-built, and pleafant city;
the itreets are all built at right angles: they are, ge-
nerally, wide and fpacious ; and a clear ftream of
water, in a brick canal, runs through each. The
market- place is large, and exceedingly well fur-
nilhedi

N 4 The

272 WILTSHIRE.

The city lies at the confluence of two rivers, the
Avon and the Willy, each of thern lingly a considerable
river, but very large when joined together; and yet
much larger, when they receive the Nadder, a third
river, which joins them near Clarendon park, about
three miles below the city ; when, with a deep chan-
nel, and a current lefs rapid, they run down to Chrijl-
Church, where they empty theraielves into the iea.
From that 'town upwards, to within two miles of
Salifbury, they are made navigable; but the ftrength
of the lxream would not permit to make them fo up
to the city.

Salifbury, and all the county of Wilts, are full of a
great variety of manufactures ; and thofe too of the
moft conliderable in England , as the cloathing trade,
and that of flannels, druggets, and alfo feveral
other forts of manufactures; of which in their
place.

Calijbury has, in particular, two remarkable manu-
factures that flourifri in it, which employ the poor all
around ; namely, fine flannels, and long cloths for
the Turky trade, called Salijbury Whites,

The clofe, adjacent to the cathedral, in which live
the canons and prebendaries, is fo large and well-
built, that it looks like a fine city of itfelf.

The cathedral church was begun by bifhop Poore,
who alfo built Harnham bridge ; the work was con-
tinued by Robert Bingham, and William of York, and
finimed by Giles de Bridport, bifhop of this fee ; all
in the fpace of 42 years. It is built in the figure of
a crofs. Above the roof, which is 116 feet to the
top, rifes the tower and fpire, the fineft and higheft
in England ; being, from the ground to the top of
the weathercock, 135 yards; and yet the wall fo ex-
ceedingly thin, that, at the upper part of the fpire,
upon a view made by the late lir Chrijicpher IP') en,
the wail was found to be lefs than five inches thick;

upon

WILTSHIRE. 273

upon which a. confutation was held, whether the
fpire, or at leaft the upper part of it, fhould be taken
down, it being fuppofed to have received fome da-
mage by the great {rorm in the year 1703; but it
was reiblved in the negative ; and fir Chrijlopher or-
dered it to be ftrengthened with bands of iron plates,
which' have effectually fecured it ; and I have heard
fome of the heft architects fay, it is ftronger now,
than when it was firft built.

The tower has 16 lights, four on each fide. Its
ornaments are rich, and yet judicioufly adapted to
the whole body of the building. Bat the beauty of
it is hurt by a thin* very eafily to be remedied;
which is this : the slafs in thefeveral windows, bein<r
very old, has contracted fuch a rutt *, that it is
fcarcely to be diftinguifhed from the ftone-walls ;
confequently, it appears as if there were no lights at
jail in the tower, but only recefTes in the ftone ;
'whereas, were the windows glazed with fquares, and
kept clean (which might be done), they would be
plainly viftble at a diftance ; and not only fo, but
from all the adjacent hills you would fie the light
quite through the tower each way ; which would have
a very fine effect.

They tell us here long ftories of the great art ufed
in laying the firft foundation of this church, the
ground being marfhy and wer, occafioned by the
channels of the rivers; that it was laid upon piles,
according to fome ; and upon wool-packs, accord-
ing to others ; but this is not to be believed by thofe
who know, that the whole country is one rock of
chalk, even from the trp of the higheft hills, to the
bottom of the deeped rivers. And the foundation

* Or, rather, are fo corroded, which is the cafe of moft of the old
painted glafs-windows in England', perhaps owing to fome fairs in. the
glafs, which the air has acted upon.

N c of

.

S74 WILTSHIRE.

of woolpacks is, no doubt, allegorical, and has r<
pec~fc to the woollen trade.

There are no vaults in the church, nor cellars in
the whole city, by reafon of fprings ; very frequently
the water riles up in the graves that are dug in the
church, and is fometimes two feet high in the
chapter-houfe. Whether this is owing to fprings^
or to penning up the river Avon^ and the currents in
the ftreets, is uncertain ; but the foundation of the
church mull: be greatly impaired, and, in time,,
ruined by it. And, if it proceeds from the oofing of
water from the feveral adjacent ftrcams, I fhould
imagine, that digging a deep trench round the
church -yard, and taking off fo much of the furface
as to make a declivity each way to the trench,,
would, at leaft, keep the church dry, especially if
the water drained into it were conftantly thrown out
by an engine. And this would be an expence very
well beftowed, did it contribute,, in any degree, to
preferve the building.

In the outllde of the church there is a beautifuF
fimplicity and elegance ; but the weft-end, though*
crouded with ornamental work, is not well defigned ;
nor does the church deferve to be fo much admired-
within as without \ though its infide is certainly hurt
by the paltry old painting in and over the choir, and--
the white-wafhing lately done, wherein they, very
idly, have every where drawn black lines,, to imitate
joints of Hone.

It is the opinion of many, that this building i*
liohr and {lender to a fault; as, on the contrary, the
new part of the cathedral of Wuichejler is too heavy
and crowded : for though a building be ftrong, yet
if it has not the appearance of ftrength, it is as great
a defed in its beauty as being over cl unify.

To give an inftance of this ; let any one view the
arcade round Covent-gankn^ and the ruftic arcade of

the

WILTSHIRE. 27^

the front of the Royal Exchange, and he will be con-
vinced, that piers or pillars may be too flender, as
well as too thick. But one would imagine, that the
builder of Salisbury cathedral had been making ex-
periments to fee what he could do, rather than what'
he ought to have done ; for, it is plain, his reafon
for building To flight could not proceed from any
apprehenii n of the foundation failing, becaufe, if
fo, he would not have thought of carrying up a
fteeple fuch a vaft height.

1 he north-weft of the four pillars, which fupport
the fteeple, having bent towards the middle, was the
reafon, I fuppofe, of erecting the two lower arches,.
interfec~tinLT the <rreat ailes of the crofs from north
to fouth, to preierve the perpendicular level of that,"
and the other three pillars, as much as poffible. But
this is done in the Gothic manner, with fo much
beauty, that, were there no need of them, one
would fcarcely wifh them away. How they let this
building into the main pillars, and how they ventured
to dig for a foundation, is worth the examination of
architects.

The fteeple, befides thefe arches, is likewife propfr
by ftone-fupports, carried every way diagonally crofs
the open arcades, above the arches of the fide-ailes,.
and alio crofs the windows of the nave;, and feem
to have been done about 2CO vears ago.

The ordinary boafl of this building is contained in-
the following verfes :

As many days as in one year there heT

So many windows in one church we fee r

As many marble pillars there appear,

As there are hours throughout the fleeting year :

As many gates, as moons one year do view :

Strange tale to tell, yet not more ft range than true!

N 6 If

276 WILTSHIRE.

If this be really To, and we are to fuppofe that the
defigner had it in view when he formed h!s plan, it
W2s a confederation fo trifling and childifli, that it
calls for cenfure rather than approbation. Conveni-
ence for the intended purpofe, flrength, and then
beauty, are the three things to be confidercd in all
buildings j and happy is his genius, who fucceeds in
them all. Would any perfon therefore (except a
fantaftical monk) cramp and hurt his plan, which
unavoidably mult be the cafe, for fuch a ridiculous
end as this ? — Surely no ; we ought rather to impute
this difcovery to fome cunning obferver, who hes
found cut what the architect never thought of.

The organ in the church is fixed over the entrance
of , the choir : -it is very large, being 20 feet broad,
an 40 feet high, to the top of its ornaments. It has
50 flops, which are 18 more than what are in the
organ of St. Paul's : but the fweetnefs of the tone
of St, Paul's organ is far beyond that of Salisbury ;
though the laft is a very good iniirument.

The church has been lately repaired by the con-
tributions of the bifliop and prebendaries, let on foot
by bilhop Sherlock.

Some of the windows of the church, which efcaped
the fury of the zealots in 1641, are well painted.

There are fome very fine monuments in this
church ; particularly in that they call the Virgin
Marys Chapel y behind the altar, is a noble monu-
ment for a late duke and dutchefs of Somerfet, with
their portraits at full length. The late ingenious
and excellent dutchefs of Somerfet, of the Percy fa-
mily, alio her daughter, the marchionefs of Caer-
marthen^ and a lecond fon of her grace, both by duke
Charles Seymeur> are hkewife interred here ; as he
himfeifif.

The figure of one Pennet is reprefented here,
who, endeavouring to imitate our Saviour in farting

forty

WILTSHIRE. 277

forty days and forty nights, fell a victim to his
folly at the end of 17 days*.

There are marly ancient monuments in this church ;
to wit, bifhop Poore's, who firft began the building
of it ; bifhop Bingham s ; William of York's ; a brafs
plate in the wall for dean Gourdon a Scot ; bifhop
Andleys tomb j bifhop Salcot's ; bifhop Bridport's;
Dr. Sydenham's ; a fair well-wrought monument of
free-ftone for fir Thomas Gorges and his lady, adorned
with figures of the regular folids. A tomb for the
lord Hungerford, who was hanged and degraded, and
had a toad put into his coat of arms ; an iron twifted
wire hangs up near his tomb, fignifying an halter.
The like for the lord Stourton, whole tomb is alfo
here on the other fide of the chapel of our Lady ; a
monument of that family, with fix holes on one fide,
and fix on the other, alluding, . as his coat of arms,
to fix wells, three within his park, and three without;
the lord Cheney's tomb ; bifhop Beauchamp's ; William
Longfpeare, earl o( Sali/bury, a natural fon of Henry II.
by Kofamond Clifford, and a ftately rich monument
of the late earl of Hertford ; Dr. Wilton % with
a rebus on it, Will and Tun ; bifhop Capon's ; a gaudy
monument for fir Richard Mompejfon and his lady ;
bifhop Jewel, content with a grave ftone ; bifhop
Uval ; bifhop Cbejl. Here is iikewife a monument
to the beneficent Dr. Seth Ward, bifhop of this fee,
who founded, amongft other benefactions (which I
(hall take notice of in Hertford/hire), an handfome
college for the widows of ten minifters, allowing to
each 15/. a year ; and which has been fince obliged
to Dr. Gilbert, bifhop of this fee, and afterwards
archbifhop of York.

* This Is probably a fiction (and a fimilar tale is told ztWincbeJier ) ',
owing to a falhion, which for fome time prevailed, of reprefenting the
perfon on the upper part of the monument as dretfed and alive, and
at tke bottom as dead, and almoft reduced to a Skeleton.

The

2>& WILTSHIRE.

The cloifter is 160 feet fquare, the inner cloifter
30 feet wide, with 10 arches on each fide, the top
vaulted, aAc, covered with lead, Over the earl walk
of the doifter is a ipacious library ; but not over-
well flocked with books. The chapter-houfe is-
odtagon, and of 50 feet in diameter ; the roof bear-
ing all upon one lm all marble pillar in the centre,
which feems fo feeble, that it is hardly to be ima-
gined it can be a fufneient fupport to it. It hath 52
flails in it for the 52 prebendaries of this church.

The corporation of Sarum purciiafed a fine origi-
nal picture of queen Anne, drawn by the celebrated
Dab1, and put it up in the council-chamber of the
city. This picture formerly belonged to the fociety
of gentlemen (all members of parliament) known by
the name of The October Club, and was let up in the
great room belonging to the Relltzvern in Wefimintier%.
which then was the iign of the houfe where they ufed
to meet, till the death of that queen.

Here are three other churches,' dedicated to 67.
Martin, St. 7 b;mds9 am! St. Edmund ; and one other,,
called FlJherio'UU'n, from i;s fituation.

The charter of incorporation was granted to the
city by king Henry III. who made it a county of
itfelf ; and it fends two members to p'.vliament.

The corporate n of New Sarum confiiis of a mayor,,
recorder, 24 aldermen, and 30 common-council.
There are two free -fchools ; the one called the town
free fchool, under the direction of the mayor and
corporation ; the other in the clofe, under the di-
rection of the dean and chapter. There is alfo*
a very good antique budding, called the council-
houfe, in the lower part of which the affizes are-
held ; and the upper part is the council-chamber of
the corporation.

In 1737, an act pafTed for the better repairing
and paving the highways, Areas, and watcrcourfes,.

within

WILTSHIRE, 279

within this city; and for enlightening the ftreetsr
lanes, andpaffages; and better regulating the nightly-
watch.

From Salisbury, I went to fee the ancient houfe 2nd
feat of Clarendon, which gives title to the earl of that
name. This place ihould be called Chrendon, from
the memorable Roman camp, half a mile off the
vpark, near the Roman road, made or repaired by
Conjlantius Cblorus, father of Conjiantine, It is a
beautiful fortification, upon a dry chalky hill-
Within is a circular ditch, fuppofed to be a lefs fort
of camp for the fummer. The park is a fweet and
beautiful fpot. Here king fohn built a palace, where
feveral parliaments have been held. Fart of the-
fabric is itjll left, though they have for many years-
been pulling' it down. The materials are chiefly
flint ; and it was bu;!t upon the iide of an hill, but
no-way fortified, though it took up much ground-
This palace is called the IvJcvwr; and from it lies a>
fubterraneous paifage to the ^uetnfs Manor. Be-
tween the camp and the park was a Roman rcadr
from Sorbiodunum-y or Old S 'arum , to Winchejler.

But tliis being a large county, and full of memo-
rable branches of antiquity and modern curiolity, I
made feveral little excursions from this beautiful ipotr.
to view the northern parts of the county.

No lefs than four rivers meet all together, at or
near the city of Salisbury, the waters of three of
which run through the itreets of the city; viz. the
Nadder, the [filly, and the Avon. 1. The Naddcr
riles near the end of the Blotv-mill Courje, and paffes
by Cnilmarky a piea-fant village, noted for its quarries
of very govd white done, which rifes in many di-
meniions ; infomuch that there is now a fingle flone
lying over the mouth of the quarry like an ar-
chitrave, full 60 feet long, 12 in thicknefs, and per-
fectly without flaw. 2. The Willy riles about IVar-

minjler j

2$o WILTSHIRE.

minjler ; runs by Tarnbury^ a vaft Roman camp
(where fome diftinguifh Vefpafiaris name ; a great fe~
micircular work at the entrance; over-againft which,
on the other ride the Witty, is another camp) ; then
nlnning by Orcbeftra9 remarkable for a kind of very
long grafs, with which they fatten hogs, it gives
name to Wilton, and forms the canal before the front
of Wilton houfe; and then joining the Nadder runs
through the o-ardens at the end of the avenue. ?. The
Avon rifes from under a great ridge of the hills,
which divide Wiltjhire into the north and fouth,
adorned with the Wan/dike* It pafTes fouth ward
through a great number of villages to Ambrefbury.

On the right, about two miles from Salijbwy, and
at -about four miles farther on the fame road, you
fee a handfome building furrounded by trees, called
Stanhing ; and about feven miles from Salifbury, the
road parts and goes on the right hand to Redbridge,
and fo to Southow ; but, continuing on the ro-.d to the
left about one mile farther, is a little village, called
White PariJJj ; juft before you come to which, on
the left hand, you have a view of a pretty houfe,
called Brickworth,

What is moil worth a man of curiofity's feeing ia
this county, is Wilton houfe. It is fituated in aplea-
fant vale, having Wilton on one fide (a little town
which returns two members to parliament), and a
fpacious park on the other.

The building was begun in the reign of Henry VIII".
The great quadrangle was finifhed in the time
of Edward VI. and the porch was defigned by
Hans Holbein. The hall-fide, being burnt down
fome years ago, was rebuilt by the late Thomas earl
of Pembroke, then lord high-admiral of England, in
a very noble and iumptuous manner. The flair- cafe,
which is very large, was ordered, by the late earl,
to be painted in Chiaro obfeuro, by Van Rifquet.

The

WILTSHIRE. 281

The other parts, which were rebuilt by the firft
Philip earl of Pembroke, were all designed by the
famous Inigo Jones, and finifhed by him in the year
1640.

The canal before the houfe lies parallel with the
road, and receives into it the whole river IVUly, or
at lead is able to do fo ; it may indeed be faid, that
the river is made into a canal. When we come into
the court-yards before the houfe, there are feveral
pieces of autiquity ; as particularly a noble column of
porphyry, with a marble flatue of Venus on the top of
it ; which, as they told me, is 32 feet high, and of
excellent workrnanfhip, and that it came iaft from
Candid) but formerly from Alexandria.

As the earl of Pembroke above mentioned was a
nobleman of great learning, and a mafter in anti-
quity, he took delight in collecting fuch valuable
pieces of painting and fculpture, as made Wilton
houfe a perfect Mufeum, or receptacle of rarities 5
and we meet with feveral things there, which are to be
found no-where elfe in the world. I fhall parti-
cularize but a few; for a volume might be employed
in a full defcription of them; and indeed a volume is
actually written on the fubje£l.

The piece of our Saviour's wafhing his difciples
feet, which they fhew you in one of the firft rooms
you go into, is admirable. At the foot of the great
Hair-cafe is a Bacchus, as large as the life, done in
fine Peloponnefian marble, carrying a young Bacchus
on his arm, the young one eating grapes, and (hew-
ing by his countenance he is pleafed with the tafte of
them. One ought to flop every two fleps Of this
ftair-cafe, as we go up, to contemplate the vafl va-
riety of pictures that cover the walls, and of fome of
the beft mailers in Europe ; and yet this is but an in-
troduction to what is beyond them*

The

282 WILTSHIRE.

The great geometrical fhir-cafe is defervediy ad-
mired; and was the firft of this kind in England.

It is univerfally acknowledged, that the apartment
called the falon, and the great dining-room, are the
nobleft pieces of architecture that have been hitherto
produced : the fir ft is a cube of 30 feet ; the other is
a double cube of 60 by 30.

When you are entered thefe grand apartments, fuchr
variety {hikes upon you every way, that you icarce
know to which hand to turn yourfelf firft. On one
fide you fee feveral rooms, rilled with paintings, all
ib curious and various, that it is with reluctance you
leave them; and, looking another way, you are
called off by a vaft collection of bufts, and pieces
of the greater!: antiquity of the kind, both Greek and
Roman. Among which are the entire collection of
the cardinals Mazarine and Richelieu, and the greateft
part of the earl of Arundets, with others purchafcd
at different times.

In one end of the grand room is the celebrated
family- picture by Vandyke, 20 feet long, and 12 feet
high, containing 13 figures, as big as the life; which
rather appear as fo many real perfons, than the pro*
duction of art.

The picture over the chimney is prince Charles,
and his brothers the dukes of York and Gloucejhr..
And over the doors, on each fide of the capital pic-
ture, are two admirable portraits of king Charles I.
and his queen. The other pictures in this room are
of the Pembroke family, drawn at full length. All
by Vandyke.

It was at this hqufe, that fir Philip Sydney wrote
his Arcadia : and in the bottom pannels of the wain-
fcot of the falon, feveral incidents defcribed in that
romance are reprefentcd in miniature ; but the paint-
ing is not well done*

After

WILTSHIRE. 283

After this fine range of beauties is feen, we are far
from being at an end of our furprize ; there are three
or four rooms Hill upon the fame floor, filled with
wonder ; nothing can be finer than the pictures in
them.

In mofl of the apartments are marble chimney-
pieces of the rnofr. exquiflte workman (hip, all carved
in Italy ; with many curious flames, baflb-relievos,
and pictures of the molt famous matters. The
Loggia in the bowling green (which has pillars beau-
tifully rufticated, and is enriched with niches and
ftatues), the grotto (the front of which is curioufly
carved without, as it is all marble within, and has
black pillars of the Ionic order, with capitals of white
marble, and four fine bafTo-relievos from Florence) y
the ftables, and' other offices, are all beauties in their
kind, which would tire deicription.

The collections of head-pieces, coats of mail, and
other armour, for both horfe and men, are alfo a
curiofity. They fhew thofe of king Henry VIIL
Edward VI. and of an earl of Pembroke, nick- named
Black-Jack, which he wore when he beneged and
took Boulogne in France, being the general who com-
manded in chief under the king (which, however^
hiftory fhews is alt a fable); they are very curious
and embofled. Twelve other complete fuits of ar-
mour, of extraordinary workmanfhip, are alfo there $
the reft, being about a hundred, are only for com-
mon horfemen.

The garden front is juftly efteemed one of the
bell pieces of the renowned Inigo Jones, and is 194
feet long.

The gardens are on the fouth of the houfe, and
extend themfelves beyond the river; a branch of
which runs through one part of them. Over this
river was erected, by the father of the prefent earl,.

one

284 WILTSHIRE.

one of the moil beautiful bridges in England; on
which is an open colonnade of the Ionic order.

After you have paffed this bridge, you afcend a
fine Hoping hill, the top of which is fet off by a wild
fort of plantation.

On the fummit of this hill his lordfhip built a
fummer-room ; and from hence vou have a charming
profpecl: of the city of Sarum and the north- fide of
its cathedral.

And ftill fouth of the gardens is the great park,
which reaches beyond the vale : the view opens to
the great Down, which is properly called, by way of
diftinction, Salijbury-plain, and leads from the city
of Salisbury to Shaftsbury. Here alfo his lordfhip had
an hare-warren ; but the gentlemen complain that it
mars their game ; for that, as foon as they put an
hare^r their /port, if it be any where within two or
three miles, away me runs for the warren, and there
is an end of their purfuit. On the other h~nd, it
makes all the countrymen turn poachers, and de-
stroy the hares, by what means they can. The fa-
ther of the prefent earl of Pembroke, who had a fine
tafte in architecture, made a further improvement,
with regard to profpe£t, at this noble houie, throw-
ing down the walls of the garden, and making,
inftead of them, haw-haw walls, which afford a
boundlefs view all around the country from every
quarter.

If his lordfhip had proceeded with the defign,
which, I was told, he once had thoughts of profe-
cuting, that is, to erect a Stone henge in miniature*
as it was fuppofed to be in its perfection, according
to Dr. Stukeley, on the hill in his garden, which, as
I have obferved, overlooks the whole country round,
and on which is an equeftrian ftatue of the emperor
Marcus Aurelius, it would have added to the curio*
fities of IViltont and been the admiration of foreign-
ers.

WILTSHIRE.. 285

ers, as well as natives; for who, that fees that ftu-
pendous piece of antiquity in its ruins, would not
have been defirous to behold it as it was in its fup-
pofed flouriftiing ftate ?

Upon the highefl eminence, which overlooks TVil-
ton, and the fertile valley at the union of the Nadder
and Willy 1 is the noted place called Kingbarrow,
This is certainly Celtic, fays Dr. Stukeley, and, with
great probability, the very tomb of that Carvilius,
who attacked Cafar^s fea-camp, in order to divert his
renowned enemy from his dole purfuit of CaJJibelan,
This prince is fuppofed to have kept his royal reii-
dence at Carvilium, now Wilton, near which place
king Edgar 5 queen fpent the latter part of her life,
in a religious retirement ; and for that purpofe built
an houie there.

About three miles from Salisbury is Longford, the
feat of the earl of Radnor, It is iituated iri a plea-
fant valley, tha Avon running through his lordfhip's
garden. The houfe, built in king fames the Firft's
time, is in a triangular form, with round towers at
each corner; in which are the dining-room, library,
and chapel. The rooms, though not large, are very
pleaiant, chearful, and elegantly decorated in the
modern tafte ; and, though richly furnifhed, yet the
decorations of the rooms, and the furniture, do not
appear over gaudy ; a fault one fees in fome other
places. T\\q gallery is very fine, and contains fome ad-
mirable pictures of thegreateft mailers. At each end
of this gallery hang two landfcapes of Claud Lorrain;
the one a rifing, the other a letting fun ; emblemati-
cal of the rife and fall of the Roman empire, which
are efteemed two of the beffc pieces, now in the king-
dom, of that great mafter.

The pictures, furniture, and fitting up of this
gallery, it is faid, coft io,ooo/.

The

s>86 WILTSHIRE.-

The triangular form of this houfe is fo fingular,
that there is but one more of the lame form in Eng~
land*, and which was built by the fame perfon, at
about fix miles diftance.

Near the earl of Radnor's, on the other fide of the
river, are the feats of Thomas Duncomb, efquire, of
fir George Vandeput^ &c. which are fo fituated on the
rifing hills, as to command a profpect. of the mea-
dows, through which the river Avon ferpentizes.

The road from Wilton to Shaftsbury, called Tbi
Ten Miles Courfe, is a fine ridge of downs, continued
upon the fouthern bank of the river Nadder, with a
iweet profpe£l to the right and left all the way over
the downs, and the country on both fides. The
grandfather of the prefent earl of Pembroke placed a
numbered Hone at every mile. Between the fifth
and fixth mile is a pretty large camp, called Chifel-
bury, probably Roman, in the decline of the empire.
At "the end of this courfe are three or four Celtic bar*
rows. In this hill is a quarry of ftone, very full of
fea-fhells. Not far off, in the parifh of Tisbury,
near- IVarder cattle, is a great intrenchment in a
wood, which was probably a Britijh town near the
Nadder,

The downs and plains in this part of England
being lb open, and the lurface fo little fubject to
alteration, there are more remains of antiquity to be
leen upon them, than in other places ; and, as they
tell us, no lets than 53 ancient encampments, or for-
tifications, were in this one county; fome of which
are very vifible, and 'are of different forms, and
erected by different nations ; as Hritijh, Davijh,
Saxon, and Reman ; particularly at Ebb- down, Burr-
uood, Qldburgh-hill, Cummer fir d, Roundway-down^
St. Ann's Hill, Brat ton Caftle, CUy-hill, Stourtot;-jark9
Whitecole-hall, BattUbury, Scraibbury, Yanesbu
Frippsbury, Suthbwy- bill, Ambresbury, before de-
7 icribed,

W I L T S H I R E. 2S7

fcribed, Great Pedwyr, Eaflerley, Merdon, Anbury,
Barbury-cajlle, 5cc. At Aubury, or Aukbwy, in par-
ticular, on the eaft-fide ol the Avon, by Great Dorn-
ford, is a very large camp, covering the whole top
of an hill. On the other iide of the river, a little
higher up, is Vefpaftan's camp, called The Walls.
Near theie are two other camps ; which feem re-
mains of Vefpafians victories, and intimate-, that he
fubdued the country by inches.

North of thefe is Martin's Hall-hill, a vaft ftati-
onary Roman camp. On two fides the precipice is
dreadfully fteep. The earl of Wincbelfea has a brafs
Alexander Severus found here ; on the reverie, Jupiter
Fubninans, On the weft fide, at the top of the hill,
without the camp, is a round pit, of good fprino--
water, always full to the brim in the dneft fummers
(but never overflowing); which, at thofe feafons, is
of the greateft fervice to the country round; and
thoufands of cattle are every day driven thither, from
a considerable diftance, to drink. I am informed,
there is fuch another upon the top of Chute- billy foufh-
•eaftfrom hence, very high, and no other water with-
in fome miles of it. 1 he profpe& from Martin's
Hall-bill is exceedingly fine.

Farley, not far from Clarendon Park, was the birth-
place of fir Stephen Fox, and where ^the town, fhar-
ing in his good fortune, fhews feveral msrks of his
bounty ; as particularly the building a new church
from the foundation, and getting an aft of parlia-
ment palled for making it parochial, it being but a
chapel of eafe before to an adjoining parifh : Sir
Stephen alio built and endowed an alms-houfe here for
fix poor women, with a mafter, and a free-fchool.
The-mafter is to be a clergyman, and to officiate in
the church; which, including the fchool, is a good
maintenance.

I ought

2&8 HAMPSHIRE.

I ought not to omit mentioning the tapeftry manu-
facture at Wilton ; which was carried on, under the
patronage of the earl of Pembroke ; and which is a
great benefit to the town ; as it will be, if encou-
raged as it deferves, to the whole kingdom. The
Englijh genius for improvement is well known ; and
they are already arrived to great perfection in making
tapeftrv, and carpets of all forts.

I am now to purfue my firft deiign, and fhall take
\ the weft part of Wilt/hire in my return, where are
feveral things to be Hill taken notice of.

From hence, in my way to the Tea fide, I came to
New ForeJ?, of which I have faid fomething before,
with relation to the great extent of ground which
lies wafte, and had formerly a vaft quantity of large
timber upon it.

This part of the country is a lading monument of
the tyranny and oppreffion of William I. who laid
it open and wafte for a foreft, and for game* ; for
which purpofe he unpeopled, the country, pulled down
the houfes, and the churches, of feveral pariihes and
town?, and of abundance of villages, turning the
poor people out of their habitations and pollfeflions,
for the fake of his deer. The fame hiftories likewife
record, that two of his own fons, and particularly his
immediate fucceilbr William Rufus, loft their lives in
this foreft; William Rufus •• being (hot with an arrow
directed at a deer, which, glancing on a tree, changed
its courfe, and, ftriking the king full on the breaft,
killed him. And another fon, whilft in hot purfii't
of the game, was caught up by the boughs of a tree,

* It is probaM?, that this wafte \va3 made more with the views of a
politician than a fport man, being a convenient and onnoticeo rendez-
vous for an Eng/i/b army, in cale intelligence came of any trouhJcs in
Normandy ; or a landing- place for * Norman army, fhouid ibe Frig li/b
prove tioi'.blefomc to their conqueror*.

and

HAMPSHIRE. 289

and hanged like Abfalom. Thefe they relate as judge-
ments; and they {{ill fliew the tree on which the
arrow glanced that flew Ru/us. In king Charles IPs
time, the tree was ordered to he furrounded with a
pale, great part of which is now fallen down ; and
whether the tree they fhew us be really fo old, or
not, is to me a great queftion, the fa£l being above
600 years ago.

I cannot omit mentioning here a propofal made
fome years ago to the lord treafurer Godolphin, for
re- peopling this foreft ; which I can be more particu-
lar in *, than any other man, becaufe I had the
honour to draw up the fcheme, and argue it before
that noble lord, and fome others, who were princi-
pally concerned, at that time, in bringing over, or
rather providing for when they were come over, the
poor inhabitants of the Palatinate; a thing in itfelf
commendable, but, as it was managed, made of
no benefit to England, and miferable to thofe poor
people.

Some perfons being ordered, by the noble lord
above mentioned, to coniider of meafures how thofe
people mould be provided for, without injury to the
publick, the New Forest in Hampjhire was Wled
out to be the place for them.

Here it was propofed to draw a great fquare line,
containing 4000 acres of land, marking out two
large highways or roads through the centre, eroding
both ways; fo that there mould be 1000 acres in
each divifion, exclufive of the land contained in the
faid crofs-roads.

Then to fingle out 20 men, and their families,
who mould be recommended as honeft induftrious
people, expert in hufbandry, or at leaft capable of
being intruded in it. To each of thefe ihould be

* The writer of this part was the famous Daniel de Fo>.

VoL- *■ O parcelled,

290 HAMPSHIRE.

parcelled, but in equal diftributions, 200 acres of
this land; fo that the whole 40CO acres fhould be
diftributed to the faid 20 families; for which they
fhould have no rent to pay, and be liable to no taxes,
but fuch as would provide for their own fick or poor,
repairing their own roads, &c. This exemption to
continue for 20 years, and then to pay each 50 /. a
year to the crown.

To each of thefe families it was propofed to ad-
vance 200/. in ready money, as a flock to fet them
to work, and to hire and pay labourers to inc'.ofe,
clear, and cure the land; which, it was fuppofed,
the fir ft year, could not be fo much to their advan-
tage as the following years ; allowing them timber
out of the foreft to build themfelves houfes and barns,
fheds, and offices, as they fhould have occasion ; alfo
for carts, waggons, ploughs, harrows^ and the like
neceiTary implements.

Thefe 20 families would, by the confequence of
their own fettlements, employ and maintain fuch a
proportion of others of their own people, that the
whole number of Palatines would have been provided
for, had they been many more than they were, and
that without being any burden upon, or injury to,
the people of England; on the contrary, they would
have been an advantage, and an addition of wealth
and ftrength, to the nation,, and to the country in
particular where they fhould be thus feated.

Two things woulu have been anfwered by the exe-
cution of this fcheme ; viz,

1. That the annual rent to be received for all thofe
lands, after 20 years, would abundantly pay the
publick for the firlt disburfes

2. More money than would have done this was
tin own away upon them here, to ktep them in
fui'pence, and afterwards ftarve them ; fending

them

HAMPSHIRE. 291

them a begging all over the nation, and fhipping
them off to peiifh. in other countries.

The fpot, where the defign was laid out, was near
Lmdkurjl, in the road from Romfey to Lymington ;
whither I now directed my courfe.

Lymington is a little, but populous fea-port, {land-
ing oppofite to the IJle of Wight, in the narrow part
of the {freight, through which mips pafs in fair
weather, called the Needles ; and right againft the
ancient town of South -Tar mouth, in that ille. This
town of Lymington is chiefly noted for returning two
members to parliament, and for making excellent
fait ; from whence all thefe fouth parts of England
are fupplied, as well by water, as land-carriage. It
is governed by a mayor, aldermen, and burgclfes,
without limitation ; the mayor is chofen by the
burgeffes, and fworn. at the court of the lord of the
manor.

From hence are but few towns on the fea-coaft
well ; though feveral confiderable rivers empty them-
felves into the fea ; nor are there any harbours or
fea- ports of note, except Pool; which I (hall take
notice of in my next letter. As for Ch rift- churchy
though it {lands at the mouth of the Avon, which,
as I have faid, comes down from Salisbury, and brings
with it all the waters of the fouth and eafr. parts of
Wiltftire, and receives alfo the Stour and Piddle, two
Dorfetjhire rivers, which bring with them all the
waters of the north part of Dorfetjhire ; yet it is a
very inconfiderable, poor place, fcarce worth feeing,
although it returns two members to parliament.

O a LETTER

292 DORSETSHIRE.

LETTER VI.

Containing a Description of the County of Dorset,
Part of Somersetshire, Devonshire, Corn-
wall, &c»

I NOW enter into the county of Dorfet ; and
firft I rode north-weft into it, to fee the ancient
town of Wimburn or JVimburnminjUr. The churches
hereabouts, as well as the neighbouring countv of
Hants, called Minfters, were built by the Saxon kings
on their converlion to chriftianity. The town ftands
in a lar^e extended fertile vale, like a meadow, with
much wood about it. The rivers abound with iifh.
Here was a nunnery built in the year 712, by Cuth-
berga, lifter to king Ina. The church is a very large
one, ancient, and well-built, with a very firm,
thong fquare tower, considerably high; but was,
without doubt, much nobler, when on the top of it
flood a molt exquifue fpire, finer, and taller, if
fame may be credited, than that of Salisbury; and,
by its fituation, in a plainer, flatter country, vi b!e,
no queftion, much farther; but this moft beautiful
ornament was blown down by a iudden tempeft of
wind, as they tell us, in the year 1622.

In this church are the monuments of feveral noble
families, and of king Etheldrcd, who was flain Mi
battle by the Danes. He vasa prince famed for
piety and, according to the zeal of thofe times, was
efteemed a martyr; becaufe he died righting for his
relicnon and his country againft the Pagan Danes.

Here are alfo the monuments of the great mar-
chionefs of Exettr, mother of Edward Courtney, earl
of Devonjbire, and laft of the family of Courtney^

DORSETSHIRE. 293

who enjoyed that honour, the reprefentative and
lineal defcendant of which is the prefent Vifcount
Courtney ; and alfo of John de Beaufort, duke of
Somerfet, and his wife, grandmother of king HenrySTW*
by her daughter Margaret, countefs of Richmond.

This laft lady I mention, becaufe fhe was roundrefs
of a free-fchool ; iince inlarged by queen Elizabeth,
who augmented the ftipend, and annexed it to the
foundation. The famous cardinal Pole was dean of
this church before his exaltation.

The inhabitants of Wimburnminfler are numerous,,
but poor, and chiefly maintained by the manufacture
of knitting ftockings ; which employs great part of
the county of Dorfet, of which this is the firft town
pall ward.

IVimburn St. Giles's, in this neighbourhood, is a
very handfome feat belonging to the earl of Shafts
bwy. Its form approaches to a parallelogram, con-
filling of three parts, which feem to have been built
at different times, each of which are contracted by
two inbenchings. The eaftern part is the narrowest
and moil ancient, and feems to have been the ancient
feat of the AJhleys. The weftern part is broader than
any of the reft, and was built in 1651. The whole
is embattled. The apartments below ftairs are
efteemed the befl: in England. Adjoining to it. is a
park two miles round. The garden is pleafant and'
fpacious ; the river Allen runs through it,: and it is
adorned with feveral pieces of water, pleafure houfes,
ftatues, &c. Here is one of the fined grottos in
England, which conlifls of two parts :. the inner-
mod and lars;eft is furnifhed with a vail variety of
curious fhdls, difpofed in; the moft beautiful man-
ner ; the outer, or ante-grotto, wTith ores and mine-
rals of all kinds, collected from various parts of the
world. It was begun in 175 1. The arrangement

O 3 took,

294 DORSETSHIRE.

took up two years, and, with the expence of collect-
ing the fhells, ores, &c. coft io,00ol. *

South of Wimburn, over a fap.dy, wild, and bar-
ren country, we came to Pool, the mod confiderablc
fea-port in this part of England, and which returns
two members to parliament.

This place is noted for the heft and largeft oyfters
ift all this part of England', which the people of Pool
pretend to be excellent for pickling; and they are
barrelled up here, and fent not only to London, but
to the Weft Indies, and to Spain, Italy, and other
parts. It is obferved, more pearls are found in the
Pool oyfters, and larger, than in any others in Eng-
land.

' The entrance into the large bay of Pod is narrow ;
it is made ftill narrower by Brankfey IJland, which,
lying in the very mouth of the paflage, divides it
into two, and where is an old caftle, called Brankfey
Canle, built to defend the entrance, but without guns
at prefent, though we have been at war with France.
This illand is now the property of Mr. Strutt, who
has beautified it, and improved the value of it beyond
what could be conceived.

Pool is a neat, compact, well-built town,. much
incrcaied within thefe few years; the houfes are
moitly built of ftone. The parifh-church is large,
a royal peculiar. Here are a townhoufe, cuftom-
houfe, a convenient quay, and public warehoufes.
The bay furnifhes it with hfh in abundance, of diffe-
rent kinds. There is a great refort to their markets
and fairs ; which are now coniiderably improved, by
the new turnpike roads lately made. The inhabi-
tants will alfo reap from thence a farther benefit, by
perfons coming to bathe in the fa! t- water, for which
no place can be more proper, as there is a fufficient

* HutcbinsVUldory and Antiquities of the County of Dor Jet y printed

depth

DORSETSHIRE. 295

depth' at all times ; and as for the large tra£t that it
covers, it mult be considerably stronger and warmer
in its reflux, than it otherwife would be.

The mouth of the harbour is about three miles
fouth from Pool, the d-.pth there at high- water is
about 16 feet ; and when once fhips are in, they ride
in any of the branches of the bay as fafely and
commodioufly as can be deiired. This capacious
haven lies in the midft between Purheck and the IJle
of Wights and is faid to enjoy one advantage over all
other ports perhaps in Britain, which is, that the
fea ebbs and flows four times in 24 hours. Firffc,
with a fouth eaft and north-weft moon ; and then by
a fouth-and-by-eaft, and a north and-by-weil moon;
which fecond flood is generally fuppo fed to arife from
the return of the fore -ebb, which coming from the
Suffix coaft, between the IJle'of Wight and the con-
tinent of Hampjhire, ftrikes in here, as lying in its
way.

Pool is a borough and county of itfelf, governed
by a mayor, &c.

IVareham has been a Reman town. There has
been a cattle by the water-fide, weft of the bridge,
built by king WWiam I. perhaps upon the Rowan*
It is an old corporation now decayed, the fancis ob-
structing the paffage of the veflels ; yet returns two
members to parliament. Here, they fay, have been
a mint, and 17 parifh-churches ; of which three
only remain, viz St. Martin's, Trinity, and St.
Marys ; and they fupplied by one minjfter. I faw
a ruinous religious houfe, as 1 pafled by the river
Fromc. Two rocks about Corf-LajHe have an odd.
appearance hence,

The tower of St. Marys is its chief ornament.
It had formerly a wall and a ftrong caft'e, which
have been lon^ fince demolifhed. it coniifts now
only of two ftreets, croiling each other; and they

O 4 but

296 DORSETSHIRE.

but meanly built. However, it has ftill a market, is.
governed by a mayor, &c. The chief track here is
in tobacco-pipe clay, of which the beft in Great
Britain is dug out of Hunger-bill, in its neighbour-
hood.

South cf Wareham, and between the bay I have
mentioned and the fea, lies a large track of land $
which being furrounded by the lea, except on one
fide, is called an illand, though it is really more
properly a peninfula. This track of land is better
inhabited than the fea-coaft of the weft end of Dor-
Jetjbire generally is ; and the manufacture of block-
ings is carried on there alfo. It is called the IJle of
Purbeck, and is about 10 miles long and fix broad,
and has in the middle of it a large market town,
called Corf', and, from. the famous cattle there, the
whole town is now called Corf^Ofle. It is governed
by a mayor, aldermen, &c. and returns two mem-
bers to parliament. The lord of the manor is, by
inheritance, lord lieutenant of the ljle of Purbeck.
The church of Corf-Oaf le is a royal peculiar, large
and lofty, and has a chapel of eafe about, a mile
diftant.

This part of the country is eminent for vaft quar-
ries of {tone, which is cut out fiat, and ufed in Lon-
don, in great quantities, for paving court-yards,
Tillies, avenues to houfes, kitchens, foot-ways on
the fides of the high-ftreets, and the like ; and is
very profitable to the place, as alfo in the number of
fliipping employed in bringing it to London. 1 here
are ieveral rocks of very good marble, only that the
veins in the ftone are not black and white, as the
Italian, but grey, red, and other colours.

From hence to IVeymouth wc rode in view of the
fea. The country is open, and, in ibfne reipecls,
pieafant j but not like the northern parts of the
county, which are all fine carpet-ground, and the

hcrba0e

DORSETSHIR E. 297

herbage fo fweet, that their fiieep are efteemed the
beft in England, and their wool extremely fine.

From hence we turned up to Dorchejler, the coun-
ty-town, where the. affizes are held, and the knights
of the (hire elected. It is one of the neater! and
moll agreeable towns in the county, and exceeded by
few in England, being deliciou.il y fituated, in the
fouthern part of the county, about fix miles north;
from the Britijh- Channel, on a riling ground, which,
declines gently on the north, fouth, and eafL On
the weft' and fouth it borders on corn fields; on the
north, its high iituation overlooks- fpacious meadows,
watered by two branches of the river Frome, bounded
by hifls that rife gently beyond them. One branch
of this- river runs on the north iide of the town..
This, with feveral feats, Mr, Trench ardrs at ^'ohetony
lord Hchefter's at Stinsford, Mr. Pitt's at Kingfion, &c.
furrounded by groves of trees,, afford a variety of
objects, and form an agreeable landfcape.

At a diftance, the view of the town is very pretty;,
efpecially on the eaft and fouth.. The towers of §U,
Peter at Tordrington, which is,, as it- were, a fuburt>
to it, appear on every quarter to; advantage 5 and the:
profpe£t would be comp'eated, had the towers of the:
Holy. Trinity and All Saints been rebuilt proportionably
to that of St. Peter aftef the lire in 16 13, The
country about it is level and fruitful; abounds with,
arable and fheep-pafture,, 600,000 fheep being for-
merly compured to feed w.ithin fix miles round- this-
town,, and their number: is now greatly en< ceajfed *„
It is furrounded on the fouth and weft, a: f

the north and ealf, by 'pleafant walks
with rows of limes and fycamore ^ as are t

avenues to the town en the fouth-ve:. lie

air is pure and wholefonie,. but fharp aaic

*. Hut chins' 's Dcrjetjbire, vol; I. p. %jp»

O 5: tov-r::

298 DORSETSHIRE.

town is regularly built, the ftreets interfering" each
other at riffht angles. The buildings are chiefiv of
brick and ftone, except fome Flemijh buildings of
plaifter and timber in the corn-market, and about
St. Peter's church.

The town confifts of three principal ftreets, broad
and well-paved, which meet in the centre of the
town, at the upper end of the fouth ftreet, in which is
the corn market, the copula, or market-houfe, the
town-hall, St. Peter s church, &c. In the weft ftreet
is Trinity church, and above it the Shire hall. In
the eaft ftreet ftands All Saints church ; and below it,
at th; entrance into the town, the county-gaol.

Dorchejler was anciently encompafled with an high
and thick wall of ftone, fome remains of which are
ftill to be feen. A market is held here on Saturdays^
which is now much IefTened. Before 1730, during
the winter, great quantities of barley were brought
to this market : a double row of waggons laden with
it filled the corn market, and a fingle one extended
down through the fouth ftreet, and fometimes even
into the fields. Kere are two fmaller markets on
IVednefdays and Fridays ; and in the year are four
fairs ; at the three laft of which great quantities of
fliecp and lambs are brought for fale.

Dorchejhr certainly exifted in the Britifo age,
though we have no farther account of it but its bare
name. In the Roman times it was a place of fome
note. Richard of Cirencefier calls it the metropolis of
the Duroftriges, or the Afcrini, in the divifion of
Britain called Britannia Prima, and makes one of
the Civitates Stipendiaries^ or tributary towns. In
the Itineraries of Antoninus and R. Cirencefier^ it ap-
pears as a Reman ftation : and indeed the ancient
walls, the Via Lcmiana, on which it fluids ; the fe-
veral vicinal roads that iflfue hence ; coins, and other
pieces of antiquity found here; Maiden caftlc, and

the

DORSETSHIRE. 299

the amphitheatre at Maumbury near it ; fhew it to
have been then a place of confideration. It is go-
verned by a mayor, alderman, bailiffs, and capital
burgeiles, and fends two members to parliament.

Fordington is a large village adjoining to Dorcbeftery
on the eail:, and was anciently a fuburb to it, and
part of it. It ieems to derive its name from the ford
or pafTage over the river Frome. < The common
highway, or public road fiom London, the town of
Blandford, and other places eaft of Dorfetjbire, lie-
over part of the common or moor, through a consi-
derable length of waters, fubject to floods in the
time of heavy rains, and through a ford on the
river From.", which is a very dangerous paiTage both
for horfes and carriages, and, in times of floods,, ut-
terly impafTable.. Senfible of thefe inconveniences^
a public-fpirited lady, Mrs. Lora Pitt, propofed to
I obtain an a£l of parliament to ere£t. a bridge over the
river Frome ; and to make a caufeway to the eaft- end
of the town of Dorche/ier, over Forthington M or %.
which parTed in the feffion of 1746. She alio agreed
to maintain this road and bridge for three years, at
her own expence. The arches of the bridge extend,
over the river, and other founderous places- of the
moor, where the new road is made, which leads to=
the town of Dorche/ier. A defign of fuch public
utility greatly redounds to the honour of the lady,,
and mull have given her a fatisfa£t.ion, that only a,
generous mind can receive, from contemplating the.
eafe, iafety, and advantage, accruing from ib lau-
dable a benefaction to her fel low -fubj eels.

The inhabitants care in fetting the able poortc*
work, and relieving the aged and impotent,, is highly
praife-worthy. And fir John Child, in his treat ife on-
trade, recommends their example as worthy to be
followed by other places.

O & Within.

3oo DORSETSHIRE.

Within three miles of this town is Milton Abbey,
the feat of lord Milton, who has made tniny im-
provements here of the mod capital kind, which fo
happily unite with the beauties of the ground as to
render the whole uncommonly fine.

. 1 he great peculiarity of the place is a remarkable
winding valley, three miles long, furrounded on
every tide by hills, whofe variety is very great, It
is all lawn; and, as the furfacehas many fine iwells,
and other gentle inequalities, the effect is every
where beautiful. The hills, on one fide, are thickly
covered with wood, from the edging; cf the vale it-
felf, quite fpreading over the tops of the hills : thefe
continued fvveeps of hanging woods are very noble.
In'fome places they form bold projections, which
break forward in a pleafing {tile : in others, they
withdraw, and open fine boibms of wood, which are
as picturefque as can be eafily imagined. Throughout
the whole, the union of lawn and wood is ad-
mirable.

On the other fide of the vale, the hills are partly
bare; but are clumped with new plantations, and
fcattered with fingle trees and thorns, contrafting the
continued woods on the other hills in the bokle'b
manner. The riding that furroundsthe amphitheatre
rifes the hill on this fide, and, ikirtmg the edge of it
in the way to the houfe, looks down on the vale, and
has a full command of the vaft range of woods, which
hang on the other fides of the other hills. One of
the views is uncommonly line : it is a projection of
the oppofite hill; the iroping bend fringed with a
fidcting of wood, and the crown of the bill a Uwn
fcattered with fingle trees gently hanging to the eye:
a landfc ape truly pleafing.

in other places, you look down fteep winding hol-
low-, in which romantic clumps of wood ieem fwal-
lowtd up by the impending hills.

On

DORSETSHIRE.. 301

On riling the bill, if you turn the other wav, to-
wards the head of the vale, you look down from
without the wall, commanding all the waves of the
lawn at the bottom, which form a moft pleaiing
fcenery, and look full into a vait theatre of wood,
which terminates the vale: the view nobly romantic.

From the top of the hill, full northwards, b a very
great profpeft over the vale of Blackmoor : innume-
rable inclofures are fp re ad forth to the eye, the whole
being bounded by diftant hills.

The abbey is one of the moft antient buildings in
England, being founded by king Athcljlan. it joins
an old church, which is yet of a great fize, but was.
once as large as moll cathedrals. It is a very fine
Gothic building, and has a fret-work cieling in ftone,
remarkably light. The fituation of thefe edifices
is very fine : it is a regular knole, which fwells
boldly in the middle of the grand amphitheatre,
formed by the furrounding hills; an inftance out of
many of the judgement with which the Monks chofe
their fituaiions. In one of the rooms is a moft
agreeable copy of Titian $ famous Venus in the Tri-
buna at Florence : the foft and tender delicacy of the
"colouring, which is animated nature, is bewitching;
the grace and eafe of the attitudes are alio moft hap-
pily caught.

Few great houfes have a finer approach : his lord-
fhip has cut and formed a fpacious road, fix miles in
length, through his grounds, leading fom Blandford,
London, he. It pailes chiefly through his vaft woods,
which, as they cover the fides of hills, open in va-
rious places, and let in moft agreeable views of the
neighbouring and the diftant country. All the home
grounds are walling in, which will include a circuit
of fixteen miles ; and the tops of the nibs all planted
with a great variety of trees, to the amount of five
hundred acres. The whole of thefe works are con-
ducted

302 DORSETSHIRE.

ducted in a great ftile, with equal tafle and fpirit;
they are an ornament to the whole country, and do
honour to their noble proprietor.

A little out of the road from Dorchejler to Br id-
port, near the former town, are two very famous
objects: one, the moft complete Roman encampments
in England^ contains circumvallations, called A'iaiden-
caflle ; and the other, a remarkable amphitheatre of
earth : both well worth a traveller's observation.

At the turnpike, about half way between Dor-
chefter and Bridport, begins one of the fineft landicape
countries to the left I ever law. You there look
over a vale bounded by waving hills, all cut into
inclofures of the fineft verdure, the iea picturefquely
breaking above the hills. Mounting the hill, till
you come to the iixth mile-ftone to Bridport, you
find a fpot that is amazingly elegant : it is a circular
hollow fcoop in a vaft hill of the moft beautiful foft
green that can be imagined : the waves in it have ex-
actly the appearance of that foftnefs which is {ten
in the driven fnow. The bottom of the hollow is
cut into little ftripes of cultivation, which, from the
vaft depth of the declivity, have a picturefque ap-
pearance. In the front, before it, are beautiful
fweeps of inclofures, which keep a perpetual waving
line, forming the happieft outline to the fea that can
be imagined. To the right, the view is bounded by
diftant craggy points that project; very abruptly to the
fea.

Leaving this very fine fpot, and following the road
down the hill, you catch to the right a moft peculiar
landicape: a bold, circular, regularly-fwelling hill,
rifes out of a vaft hollow in the down : the effect un-
commonly magnificent, and would be more fo, if a
few places in it were not fear red with chalk. Imme-
diately under the hill, a little tuft of inclofures,
which feem tolled into the hollow, look wild and

pretty.

DORSETSHIRE. 30^3

pretty. Purfuing the road towards Bridport, till you
come a little beyond the fifth mile-ftone, you over-
look a very large vale, inclofed on every fide by high
hills ; and, what is uncommon, the valley itfelf
all fwelling ground, that rifes and falls in gentle in-
equalities. In the centre rifes a bold fwell ; one of
the fineft fituations I have feen for a great houfe.
From hence, the whole way to Bridport, is a per-
petual picture : all hill and dale, fome boldly abrupt,
fome gentle and more pleafing: the whole tolled about
in the wildeft manner imaginable, all cut into inclo-
fures, the hedges well fringed with trees, and every
landfcape different, but flriking.

A more varied or more beautiful country is no
where to be feen in England, than from the hrft turn-
pike out of Dorchejier, all the way to Bridport, and
well worth a long journey to fee.

Returning on the fame road to Dorchefter, I pur-
sued my journey fouthward, defignin^ to enter Brid-
port by another road. From Dorchefier it is fix miles
to the fea-fide, having the ocean in view almofi all the
way. The firfl towns we come to are TVeymouth and
Melcomb-Regis, lying at the mouth of a little rivulet,
called The IVey, for it fcarce delerve the name of a
river : however, the entrance makes a very good,
though fmall, harbour, and they are joined by a
wooden bridge of 19 arches; fo that nothing but the
harbour parts them ; yet they are feparate corpora-
tions, and choofe each of them two members of par-
liament. The occafion this : as diftintt boroughs,
they were often quarrelling about their privileges, fo
that they were both deprived of them by Henry VI.
Queen Elizabeth reflored them both, on condition
that they fliould make but one corporation, and
enjoy their privileges in common, which has cauied
both to flourifh. They are governed by a mayor,
recorder, two bailiffs, Sec. The freemen of both

vote

304 DORSETSHIRE.

vote for four burgc-vTes, though they are returned as
two for each. And the leaft freeholder has a vote,
though he be not an inhabitant.

Weymouth is a tweet, clean, well-buil: town (con-
sidering its low fituation), and clofe to the lea. {t
has a great many fubftantial merchants in it, who
drive a considerable trade, and have a -reat number
of fhips belonging to the town. They carry on, in
time of peace, a trade with France: they trade alio
to Portugal^ ^pah?, Newfoundland, and Virginia l
and have a large correspondence up in the country
for the consumption of their returns. T he wine
and Newfoundland trade are both coniiderable here at
Weymouth ; a:.d it is- a cuitom-houfe, and a good
quay.

Melcomb is, however, the largeft town, and has
feveral fireets full of good houfes, and a fine market-
place, where are two markets on Tucfday and Friday*
Together, they grow rich, by a great fea-faring
trade carried on continually.

Weymouth^ of late years, has been much frequented
for its commodious fea-bathing, which it furnifhes in
a manner fuperior to any other place in this king-
dom. The general tranquillity of its bay, the clear-
nefs of the water, the foftnefs and aimed impercep-
tible defcent of its bottom, are fo favourable for the
purpofe of fea-immerfion even to die moft timorous
and debilita eel, that I do not wonder at its being the
refort of manv people of the firft distinction. It has
all the requifke accommodations which are furnifhed
by other public places ; fuck as afiembiy- rooms,
coffee- houfes, billiard-tables, &c. &c. and houfes are
daily building for the better accommodation of com-
pany, which is found annually to incrcaie.

Without the harbour is an old caftle,. called Sand-
fort- ca I tie ; and over again ft it is PortUtnd-caftU, fi-
tuatid in the liic of that name, and the roa.l called

Portland-

DORSETSHIRE. 305

Portland-road, which affords a fafe harbour for (hips
in had weather.

From the iile of Portland comes our beft and whiteft
free-ftone, with which the cathedral of St. Paul's,
the Monument, and all the public edifices in the city
of London, are built : the quarries, whence thefe
ftones are dug, are well worth the obfervation of a
traveller.

The illand is indeed little more than one continued
rock of free-ftone, about feven miles in compafs ;
and the height of the land is fuch, that from this
illand they fee, in clear weather, above half over the
Channel to France, though here it is very broad. The
lea off this ifland, and especially to the weft of it, is
counted the moft dangerous part of the Britijb chan-
nel. Due-fouth, there is almoft a continued difturb-
ance in the waters, by reafon of what they call two
tides meeting ; which I take to be no more than the
fets of the currents from the French coaft, and from
the Englijh fhore ; this they call Portland Race-, and
feveral fhips, not aware of thefe currents, have been
embayed to weft of Portland, and driven on fhore
on the beach (of which I fhali fpeak prefently), where
they have been loft.

To prevent this danger, and guide the mariner in
thefe diftrefles, they have fet up two light-houles on
the two points of that illand, which are very ufeful
and fersuceable to (hips.

This ifland, though feemingly miferable, and thinly
inhabited ; yet, the inhabitants being almoft all itone-
cutters, we found there were no very poor people
among them ; and, when money was collected tor the
rebuilding St. Paul's, they got more in this illand,
than in tne great town of Dorchcjler.

In the year 1756, an act palled for completing a
church, the old one being too imall and ruinous,
the" cliff having fallen into the fea, whereby the

verge

306 DORSETSHIRE,

verge of the remaining part thereof was within 36
feet of the foundation of the church.

Though Portland ftancls a league from the main
land of Britain^ yet it is almofl joined by a prodigious
riff of breach, thai is to fay, of fmall (tones caft up by
the lea ; which runs from the iiland fo near the more
of England, that they ferry over with a boat and a
rope, the water not being above half a ftoncVthrow
over^ and the laid riff of beech ending, as it were, at
that inlet Qt water, turns away weft, and runs pa-
rallel with the fhore quite to Abbctfbury^ a town
about feven mi'es beyond !Ve-;mouih.

I name this to explain what I laid before of (hips
being embayed and loft here ; this is when, coming
from the weftward, they omit to keep a good offing,
or are taken fhort by contrary winds, and cannot
weather the high land of Portland ; but are driven
between Portland and the main land, and run on
fhore on that vail beach. .

. On the inlide of this beach, and between it and the
land, is the faid inlet of water ; which they ferry
over, as above, to pals and repafs to and from Port"
land. ' This inlet opens at about two miles weft,
grows very broad, and makes a kind of lake within
the land of a mile and a half broad, and near three
miles in length. At the farther!: end weft of this
water is a large decoy, and the verge of the water
well grown with wood, and proper groves of trees
for cover for the fowl. In the open lake, or broad
part, is a continual alTembly of fwans. Here the
clucks live, feed, and breed ; and the number of
them is fuch, that, 1 believe, I did not fee lo few as
7 or 8000. We faw feveral of them upon the wing,
very high in the air ; whence, we fuppofed, they
flew over the riff of beach, which parts the lake from
the fea, to feed on the fhorcs.

From

DORSETSHIRE. 307

From this decoy weft the lake narrows, and at
laft almoft clofes, till the beach joins the fliore ; and
fo Portland may be (aid not to be an ifland, but part
of the continent.

And now we came to Abbctjburyy a town anciently
famous for a great monaftery, and now eminent for
nothing but its ruins.

From hence we went on to Bridport. It confifts
of three principal ftreets, which are broad and fpa-
cious ; but were, till oflate, ill paved. The -build-
ings were chi-fly of ftone and Fiemrjb, but mean.
However, fince the year 1720, a great many good
brick- ho ufes have be..-n built here, and the ftreets
well-paved. The foil .being ftrong and rich, this
place, and the adjacent panihes, produce plenty of
excellent hemp; and the inhabitants are great artifts
in making and twifting all forts of ropes and cables.
Saturday is its market-day. It is governed by two
bailiffs, a recorder, &c. and fends two members to
parliament.

Here we faw boats all the way on the fhore
fifhing for mackrei ; which they take in the eafieft.
manner imaginable, and in fuch prodigious plenty,
that there has been a watch fet to prevent farmers
from dunging their land with them, which, it was
thought, might be apt to infect the air.

In the year 1722, an a£t paffecl for reiloring the
haven and piers of Bridport, in order to bring it to
its ancient flourifhing ftate; for heretofore it was a
place of great trade and commerce ; but, by reafon
of a general ficknefs, which fwept away the greater!
part of its moft wealthy inhabitants, and by other
accidents, the haven became neglecled, and choaked
with lands ; the piers fell to ruin, and the town, of
confequence, to decay ; ib that there was no fecurity
for fhips that happened to be driven by ftrefs of wea-
ther into the deep and dangerous bay, wherein the

haven

3o8 DORSETSHIRE.

haven formerly was, which occasioned frequent Ship-
wrecks. The ac~t therefore authorises the bailiffs and
burgelles of Bridport to levy certain tolls on divers
merchandizes, &c. in order to reftore the faid piers
and harbour. However, the aft has not yet been
fully executed.

From Bridport we came to Lyme, called Lyme- Regis.
It is governed by a mayor, recorder, &c. and returns
two members to parliament.

In Leiand's time it was in good condition ; bat
Ca?ndcn fpeaks ilightly of its harbour, and as Serving
only for hilling-barks. The trade, however, re-
vived in the reign of king James 1. the inhabitants
ftriking into a confiderable trade to Newfomdland%
France, Spain, and the Straits. It mult be faid,
that Lyme-Regis has neither creek or bay, road or
river; yet has an harbour fo con ft.ru 61 ed, that the
like is not to be found either in this kingdom or any
other ; and feems to be of the inhabitants own con-
trivance.

The materials for it were vaft rocks weighed up
out of the lea, with empty calks (at what time we
know' not), which calks being placed in a regular
order to a confiderable breadth, and carried out a
great way, fome fay 300 yards, the interitices being
filled up with earth, high and thick walls of ftone
were built upon thofe, rocks, in the m-dn fea, and
fo thick, that large buildings (among them a hand-
fome cuilom houte upon pillars, with a corn-
market under it, and warehoufes) have been erected
thereon. Opposite to this, but farther into the lea,
is another wall of the fame workmanfhip, which,
crofles the end of the In ft, and comes about with a.
tail parallel to that. Lut the point of the fir ft or
main wall is the entnm into the poit, and the
fecond or oppofitc wall breaking the violence of the.
fea from the entrance, the ihips go into the bafon,

and,

DORSETSHIRE. 509

and, being defended from all winds, ride there as
iccure as in a miff-pond or wet dock.

This lingular work, which anrwefs the intention
of a pier, is called The Cobbe ; and for keeping it in
conftant repair (which is done at the expence of the
town, and proves iometimes vary chargeable) there
are annually etibfen two Cobbe-lVardens.

The unfortunate duke of Monmduth, having with
him a frigate of 30 guns and two merchant-fhips,
landed her June 11, 1685. Many of his party were
afterwards put to death on the fpot, and their limbs
hung up in the town.

Lyme might be flrengthened by a forf; but, as the
walls of the Cobbe are firm enough to carry what
guns they pleafe to plant upon them, they did not
Teem to think it needful, eipecially as the more is
convenient for batteries ; they have therefore fome
guns planted in proper places, for the defence of the
Cobbe and the town.

Neverthe'efs it fufFered by the French war in the
reign of queen Anne\ but is recovered iince. Many
handfome ftone-houfes have been lately built by mer-
chants rellding there ; and it might be rendered of
much greater importance than it is, if any new ma-
nufacture could be introduced in the country behind it;
which is certainly plentiful enough to admit not only
of one, but of many improvements. It is not, how-
ever, unlikely, that, if the inhabitants of this part re-
curred to the very arts from which, according to the
belt authorities, the town derived its exigence near
1000 years ago, that is, making fait, it might very
fpeedily and effectually anfwer their purpofes, iince by
the help of fhallow marihes (into which the lea-
water being admitted, the relt of the work could be
eafily performed by the heat of the fun, as is done on
the oppoiite coaft of France) ^ as good fait as any
might be produced; for which the place feems to be
5 exceedingly

3io DORSETSHIRE.

exceedingly well fituated, and to have very commo-
dious advantages, as their concern in the iifhery
would furnifh an immediate market far all they could
pofTibly make.

Before we leave Lyme-Rcgis^ it may not be amifs to
mention, that, notwithstanding modern as well as an-
cient writers fpeak of the conibuclion of this port,
as fomething very Angular and extraordinary, yet
none have propofed the imitation of it, though there
cannot be a more pregnant inftance than this, of the
"poflibility of making (though it may be in a better
manner) a port upon almoft any part of our coaft,
where the conveniency of the country required, or
the opening fuch a port fhould appear the moft
probable means of improving it; one or other of
which circumftances would turn fuch ports to the ad-
vantage of moft of all the maritime counties in this
iiland. After all, Lyme, confidering the largenefs of
it, may pais for a place of wealth.

Here we found the merchants' began to trade in
the pilchard fi filing, though not to fo conliderable a
degree as they do farther weft ; the pilchards lcldom
coming up fo high eaftward as Portland, and not
very often fo high as L)?ne.

1 vifited from hence fome of the towns in the
north-weft part of the country; as blandford (in the
road between Salifbury and Dorcbejler), an hand fome
well-built town, pleafantly feated in a flexure of the
river, before charming meadows, and rich lands.
Wood thrives exceedingly here. Indeed this country
is a fine variety of clowns, woods, lawns, arable
and pafture land, rich vallies, and an excellent air.
The dry eafterly winds, the cold northern, and the
weitern moilture, are tempered by the warm fouth-
ern faline breezes, wafted hither from the ocean.
But Blandford is chiefly famous for making the
fincft bone- lace in England; where they fhewed me,

in

DORSETSHIRE. 311

in my firft vifit to it, fome fo exquifi-tely fine, as I
think I never law better in Flanders, France, or Italy;
and which, they laid, they rated at above 30/. fter-
ling a yard.

This was the ilate and the trade of the town
when I was there in my firit journey ; but 'June 4,
1731, the whole town, except 26 houfes, was con-
fumed by fire, together with the church. The con-
firmation of the people was fo great, and the fire fo
furious, that few iaved any goods.

An actpalTed in 1732, for the better and more eafily
rebuilding of this town, and for determining dif-
ferences touching houfes and buildings burnt down or
demolifhed therein ; and, as feveral wife regulations
were made by it, Blandford now makes a much better
appearance than ever.

it is governed by two bailiffs. Formerly it fent
two members to parliament; but it has loft that pri-
vilege. Anciently it was noted for the manufacture
pf band-firings, as it is now for ftraw-hats, as well
as for bone- laces. It is pleafantly fituated on the
banks of the Stour: and is furrounded with a great
number of gentiemens feats, and has a good market
on Saturdays.

From Blandford I took a turn to view one of the
largeil and mofl ftately fabricks in the kingdom: I
mean the houfe belonging to the right honourable
George Dodington, e'fq; afterwards lord Melcombe. It
is fituated in the pariih of Gunville, four miles
from Blandford, and fix from Shaftesbury and Cran-
bom. The houfe, gerdens, and park, containing
about eight miles in circumference, are now called
Ea/ibury.

You approach this houfe through a beautiful little
lawn ; and, palling through the grand arcade, on
each fide of which the offices are ranged, you land
from a flight of fteps of n feet high, under a noble

Doric

3ft DORSETSHIRE.

Doric portico, crowned with a pediment extending
62 feet, the pillars whereof are 46 fec-t high ; from
whence you enter a moil magnificent hall, adorned
with many ttatues and buffo.

The falon is one of the fined rooms in the king-
dom, and is beautifully and richly decorated. At
one end of this falon are three noble apartments ;
one hung with crimfon velvet, another with flowered
velvet, and the third w7ith fatin ; all richly laced with
gold. At the other end are a drawing-room and
large dining-room. The marble tables in thefe
rooms are exceedingly curious, and of great value;
they were purchafed out of one of the Italian
palaces.

' The main body of the houfe extends 144 feet, and
is 95 feet in depth; to which join the arcades,
which form the great court. This court is 160 feet
in breadth, in the clear; and its depth, from the
houfe to the entrance, is 210 feet. The arcades
are 10 feet wide. The offices, placed on each fide
thefe arcades, in the centre of them, extend each 133
feet,, and are in depth 161 feet. The inner court
of thefe offices are 160 feet by 80, in the clear.
Beyond thefe, oiher buildings are carried in the fame
line, 50 feet each way, and which form two other
courts ; fo that the whole front of the building and
offices extends 570 feet. Thefe buildings being of
different heights, and the turrets at each corner of
the houfe, with their Venetian windows, riling above
all the reft, give the whole ftrudture a very grand
appearance.

The gardens, to make them equal with the houfe,

will require a great deal of alteration ; they being at

firft-ill hid out. Water is here very much wanting,

and more plantations of wood would' greatly improve

the fpot.

A little

DORSETSHIRE. 313

A little mile diftant from Blandford, I vifited Mr.
PortmarCs cliff, as a curiofity. It is a hill planted it!
a beautiful and fimple irregularity, with many {lately
trees. The fine turf and foft mofiy walks, the eafy
decline in fome places, and the deep dcfcent in
others, tender the whole delightful. It is car-
ried, in a femicircular form, near two miles to-
wards Blandford, a view of which is prefented to the
eye. But what adds much to the charms of this
place, is the river Stour, which runs in fweet
meanders in the valley below. Upon the whole, it
is one of the moft fuperb and pleating fcenes of the
kind I ever faw.

From Blandford I went weft to Stourbridge^ which,
and the country round, are employed in the manu-
facture of ftockings : it was once famous for making
the^fmeft, beft, and higheft-priced knit {lockings in
England l but that trade is much decayed by the in-
creafe of the knitting-docking engine, or frame,
which has deftroyed the hand-knitting-trade, for fine
{lockings, through the whole kingdom.

From hence I came to Sberborn, a town of great
note and antiquity in the Saxon age.

Its fituation is pleafant, partly on a declining hill,
and partly in a vale, and, by its fouthern expofure,
very fertile. The buildings are old, generally of
{lone, and not very regular or lofty, having been fo
fortunate as to elcape great fires, to which fome
towns owe their regularity and beauty ; but, of late
years, feveral neat houfes have been built in the mo-
dern tafte. It is two miles in circumference, and,
including Caftleton^ is the largeft town in the county,
and the moft populous, except Pool,

We have little reafon to imagine, that this
place had any being, or was of any note, in the
Britijh or even in the Roman times, as no traces of

Vol, I. P either

3H DORSE T SHIR h.

either of thefe people appear in the name of it, nor
any barrows, coins, or forts, which feem to relate
to them.

Since the Reformation, the cleathing trade is quite
loft ; inftead of which, before 17CO, making of
buttons, haberddfhery wares, and bom-lace, em-
ployed a great many hands ; but thefe branches are
Oviw removed into the north, and principally to Man-*
chefter. At prefect, the markets and fairs, and the
paiTengers f.cm London to Exeter •, &c. are its chief
iuppoit.

Here was formerly a ftrcng caftle, which flood on

an hill in the eaftern part of Ca/tleton, to which it

Skives name. It commanded ail the adjacent vale on

the north and weft, which, being not long fince

drained, is converted into a rich meadow and ijfli-

pond. Mr Coker fays, that " Sir IValier R-.ivuigb

began very fairly to repair th is caftle ; but altering

his purpole, he built in the park adjoining to i*, from

die ground, a moft fine houie, which he beautified

with orchards, gardens, and groves, of iuch variety

and deliJiT", that whether you confider the goodnefs

of the foil, the pleafantnefs of the fear, and other

delicacies belonging to it, it is unparalied by any in

thefe parts.'* It ftancls a little north from the ruins

of the old caftle, and is built in form of the letter H.

The middle part was erecied by iir li alter Rawleigb^

and in one of the windows his arms ftid appear, and

tnis date, 1594. The reft was built by the earl of

Brijloll it is now the feat of lord Digby. The ruins

of "the caftle, fir IVaU&r RawVigb's grove, a grove

plant; d by Mr. Pope^ and a noble terpentine body of

water, with a fine ftone bridge of feveral arches over

it, made by the late lord Digby, confpire to make

this feat one of the moft venerable and beautiful in

JLngland*

Shafteflurj

DORSETSHIRE. 315

Shaftejlury is alio on the edge of this county, ad-
joining to IVHtJhire, being 14. miles from Salifhuryy
over that fine down or carpet-ground, called Salt/-
bury-plain. It is fituated upon the top of an high
hill, and which clofes the plain or downs, and whence
a new fcene is prelented ; viz. a pro'pecl: of Somer-
fetjhire and JV'iltjhire^ where it is all inclofed, and
grown with woods, forefts, and planted hedge-rows ;
the country rich, fertile, and populous; the towns
and houfcs {landing thick, and being large, and full
of inhabitants, and thofe inhabitants fully employed
in the richeft and moft valuable manufacture in the
world; viz. the EngUJh cloathing, as whites, both
for the home and foreign trade; on which I (hall be
more particular in my return through the weft and
north parts of JVihJhlre.

Sbaftefbury, a few years ago, received iome im-
provement from the generoiity of a neighbouring
gentleman, and particularly in a fine plantation on
the top of Pa- k bill) which he was fo kind as to in-
dulge the inhabitants with for a place of walking
and dr. eifion; but attempting, on the ftrength of
his good offices to she town, to recommend to them
one member of parliament out of two, he met not
with the grateful return he might have expe£led?
violence having been done to the very plantation he
had fo generouily devoted to the fervice and pleafure
of the inhabitants.

Shhfte/hury. is a great thoroughfare and poft-road,
which cauies it to be much frequented. It has three
churches. The houfes are molt of them built with
free-fione. It has a very good market on Saturday?,
is governed by a mayor, two aldermen, &c. and
fends two members to parliament.

A few miles from hence is Wardoi.r Cajtie, the
feat of lord iVardour, who has pulled down the old
houfe, and is erecting a new one, which, wh fi

P 7, finiflhldj

3i6 DORSETSHIRE.

iinifhed, will vie with the fineft edifices in this king-
dom. In the fame neighbourhood alio is Fcnt-hilly
the fine houfe of the late William Beckford efquire,
twice lord mayor of London,

We were very defirous of vifiting Stourton, or, as
it is ibmetimes called Stourbead, the fine feat of Mr.
Hoare; and, being now within a few miles of it, we
did not fail gratifying our wifhes ; and, pafling
through Merty we foon arrived at this delightful
place.

1 he houfe is built of flone, in an oblong form,
from a defign of Mr. Colin Campbell, the architect of
Wanjlead in EJfex. It confifts of a grand floor be-
tween a ruftic bafement and an attic flory, and con-
tains fome fine rooms and elegant apartments. The
principal entrance is by a double flight of ftone-fteps
into a very handfome hall, of more than 30 feet
fquare, adorned with pictures, buflos, ftatues, &c.
from thence eroding the flair-cafe. veOibule you enter
the faloon, a very noble and pleafing room, 60 feet
in length, and of a proportionable breadth and
heighth. It is lighted by three large windows at
the end, and contains only one door, which is oppo-
fite the centre window. On each fide the hall and
ialoon is a range of very handfome r-oms, confiding
of an eating-room, library, gallery, and bed-cham-
ber apartments. The whole is furniihed in a very
handfome manner, and is replete with curiofitics
and valuable pictures, fome of which are matchlefs,
and of the beft matters : the pictures hang by two
hinges at one fide, which gives an opportunity of
examining them in a proper light : I never faw this
elfewhere. This houfe, while it poflelfes a propor-
tionable grandeur, is a model for the comfortable
and convenient difpofition of its apartments, arrange-
ment of its offices, &c.

From

DORSETSHIRE. 317

From the principal front there is a very pleafmg,
diverfified profpect ; but this did not delay us from
turning through a gate to the right of the houfe into
a large lawn, whereon is a large ftatue of the Belvi-
dcre Apollo, at the end whereof a winding fhady
walk leads to a very noble avenue of fir-trees, ter-
minated by a handfome obeliik; leaving this walk,
and defcending a fhort way through a wood, you
arrive at a large tent, fixed to the fpot, and made in
the form of an eaflern pavilion. This point com-
mands a view of the lake, the pantheon, hanging
wood, the temple of the Sun, &c. which form a
fcene of the moll polifhed beauty. Defcending from
hence to the tide of the lake, and croiiing an arm
of it, by a wooden bridge, confuting of one very
extenfive and lofty arch, from a defign of Palladio,
you enter the bottom of the hanging wood, where.
Hones, roots. &c. mark the paiTage to the grotto,,
whofe pebble floor and ivy mantled roof denote it tt>
be the grotto of Nature. It receives its light from.
a circular aperture in the roof, from whence the wild
plants fufpend their dropping tendrils^ and form an
arch in the wall, through which the eye catches a
part of the lake. In a recefs in the grotto is a mar-
ble bafon, which is ufed as a cold bath, and is fup-
.plied by a beautiful dropping fpring, that diftills its
ilender ftreams around the marble flattie of a ileeping
nymph, placed in the interior part of the recefs-. In
the front of the bath, on its marble margin, the fol-
lowing lines of Mr. Pope are infcribed :

Nymph of the groty.thefe facred Jlreams 1 keep y
And to the murmur of thefe waters feep :
Ah, fpare my Jlumhersy gently tread the cave ;
And drink in ftlencer ory in filencey lave !

Almoft adjoining, is another leffer grot of the fame
kind characteriflically adorned, in which a river god

P 3 is

3i3 DORSETSHIRE,

is feen reclining irpon an urn, which is actually the
fountain of the river Stour, whofe ftream iiTues from
thence in a clear and copious ftream, which falls
immediately into the Jake. From this delicious fpot,
afceridihg by fteps.of rigged ftone, you pafs through
a fkirt of the woo J above the crotto, and descending
on the other fide to the verdant banks of the lake,
you approach the building called the Pantheon, from
the portico whereof you look back, over the lake,
to a finely wooded brow, on whofe declivity the tent
is placed which I have already mentioned. This
building is erected on the model of the pantheon at
Rome* and therefore bears its name ; and, except the
temple of Concord in lord Temple's gardens at Stew,
is the moll fuperb garden-building in Great Britain.
It contains a rotunda of about 36 feet in diameter,
which is lighted from its dome, and is adorned with
ftatues placed in niches, over which are charactcrilfic
lajfo relievos. But the principal objedt in this room,
is a modern one of Hercules by Mr. Ryjbrack, and
allowed to be the chef tfceuvre.oi that celebrated artift.
Proceeding to the right from this beautiful ftruc-
ture, the eye is furprized with a magnificent cafcade,
which falls in very fine breaks into a fhaggy valley
on the outlide of the garden, and is fupplied by the
overflux of the lake, which, by this means, never
overflows its banks, and, from the fupply of the
river, never finks beneath them, but preftrves a con-
tinual fullnefs. Pafhng onwards, through a fmall
fhrubbery, you afcend a rude flight of ftcps, irre-
gularly detached from each other, which conduit you
through various cells of ore, minerals, ftone, rnd
fuch rude materials, which form a paifage into ano-
ther part of the improvements, which are divided by
a common road, and icceive their communication
from this rude but well-conftrucled arch. Proceed-
ing up the hill, whofe fteepnefs is alleviated by a

meandrina

DORSETSHIRE. 319

meanclrlng path, you arrive at a ihidy and thick-
planted grove, where a root-houfe claims your atten-
tion; it is well and jndicioufly formed, nor is it
without the fo'emn accompanyments of eremitical
folitude, the fcull, and the bour-g afs. Pafhng from
hence along the fide of the hill, the temple of the
Sun was the next object of our admiration : it is a
very fuperb edifice, and commands a view not only
of everv thin£ hitherto defiribed, but alfo of the
adjacent country, the park, and Aifred'>s tower, a
iiicfi magnificent objec\, which will be mentioned
hereafter

Defcending a fine verdant Hope from this building

by a fubterranean grot, we pafTed under the road

over which the rugged arch had before conducted us,

and re-entered the principal part of the gardens, near

a beautiful ftone bridge of three arches, which is

thrown acrofs a br men of the lake. From this

bridge, and a little to the left of it, there is an

afTemblage of beautiful objeels both near and difrant,

fuch, indeed, as would demand the pencil of a Claude

to delineate with any tolerable degree of perfection.

Faffing from hence through the ikirts of the wood,

by a Doric building called the temple of Ceres, whofe

portico faces the lake, and winding onwards% by an

afcending embowered path, we came to a final! ruftic

green-houfe, with parterres an4 platforms of flowers,

and fcented fhmbs, in a fmall op-^h garden before it :

a path from hence leads to the gate through which we

were conducted to the vill ge, and to our inn.

Near this gate, on a fmall jutting pc nt of the
garden, which i3 let into the village as it were by a
iunk fence, ftands a gawdy, enriched, anc en crofs,
of a confiderable heighth, which, lbme years ago,
flood in the city of Urijiol ; but, bein,/ an bbftru&iori
to fome propoled improvements in that city, it was
procured by Mr. Hoare, and brought piece meal in

P 4 waggons

3*o DORSETSHIRE.

waggons to Stourhead; and, after being repaired and
richly coloured, it was erected on this fpot, where it
is a very contrafting and ornamental object.

The part of Mr. Hoares improvement already de-
scribed, is the moft clairkal and polifhed fcenc in
this ifland. But this is not all. We were ftrongly
recommended to vifit Alfred's tower, a very magni-
ficent building, erected on a fpot which is rendered
memorabh by a victory fuppofed to have been there
gained by that brave, wife, and illuftrious monarch.

Having procured a chaife for this purpofe, we pro-
ceeded, through Mr. Hoove's woods and park, to a
little building called the Nunnery. It is a Gothic
defign, and has fome good old portraits in its apart-
ment, and ferves as a place for occafional dinner. and
tea-drinking entertainments. Its fituacion is very
romantic. From hence, by a winding road, we
afcenced the terrace, which is of a great length and
breadth, and from whence there is the moft cxten-
five inland profpect I ever beheld. At the extreme
point, which is a bold jutting eminence planted with
firs, ftands Alfred's tower. It is a triangular build-
ing of white brick, large in its dim°nfions, and of
a very great height. At each angle there is a tower,
one of which contains a circular flair-cafe, that leads
to a fmall room at the top, juft iufricient for the
placing of telefcopes. From hence there is a profpect
in circumference and extent really aftonifhing. The
interior part of the building is open to the top, it
feems to be intended chiefly as an object, and a rnofl
noble one it is. For though it is without any orna-
ment, except the figure of king Alfred in a niche,
and the inlcription under it, which is over the en-
trance, and is nothing but a lofty wall of brick, with
the projecting towers of the fame materials and
plainnefs, yet fuch are the proportions, that it pof-
fefles the moft affecting fimplicity and natural gran-
deur

8 O M E m 8' E T S H J R E. 32 v

deur I ever remember to have feen in any {ingle
ftrudlure, of any kind or in any country.

Returning from hence along the terrace,, com-
manding as we palled different parts of leveral coun-
ties, we palled by the back entrance of the houie to
our inn, having made a tour of eight miles within.
the improvements belonging to Mr. Hoare. After
this long defcription I Ihall only add, that the moll
captivating beauties of nature, the higheft polilh of
art, and the magnificence ariling from largenefs of
domain and extent of profpeft, combine to conftitute
the perfection of Stourhead.

In my return to my weftern progrefs, I- palTed fome-
other little parts of Somerfetjhire, as through Evil, or
Teevil, upon the river Ivil; in going to which we
defcend: a long {beep hill, called Babylon-hill ; but
fromwhat original, I could find none of the country-
people able to inform me.

Northward, upon an high fandy hill^. by the banli
of the river Ivil, is a Roman camp, called Chcjlertoriy
under which lies the town of Sandy, the Salina oB
the Romans, where abundance of Roman and Britijh'
antiquities have, been found,, and great quantities o£
coins.

Yeovil is a market-town of good refort, and Tom a
little cloathing is carried on in and near it. Its prin-
cipal manufacture at this time is gloves.. It deals*
alio in corn j cheefe, hemp, and all forts of provifions.

It cannot pafs my oblervation here, that,, when we
are come this length from London,, the diale£tof the
Englijh tongue,, or the country way of expreffing;
themfelveSj. is not ealily underftood, It is the fame
in many parts- of England befides, but in none in fo»
grofs a degree as in this part. As this way of boorifly
ipeech is in Ireland called, the hrougue upon the tongue^
fo here.it is named jouring. It is not poiliblato ex—

E 5 pjaihi

322 SOMERSETSHIRE.

plain this fully by writing, becaufe the difference is
not fo much in the orthography, as in the tone and
accent; their abridging the fpeech, cbam, for lam;
cbil, for / will ; don, for do on, or put on > and doff^
for" do ojfr or put iff\ and the like *.

I cannot omit a lhort ifory here on this fubje£t :
coming to a relation's houfe, who was a fchool-
mafter at Martcck in SemerfetftAre, I went into hid
fchool to beg the bovs, or rather the ma/?er, a phi y -
day. I obferved one of the lowefc fcholars was read-
ing his leflbn to the u flier in a chapter in the Bible.
I fat down by the mailer, till the boy had read it out,
and obferved the boy read a Htt e oddly in the tone of
the country, which made me the more attentive;
became, on enquiry, I found that the words were
the fame, and the orthography the fame, as in all
our Bibles. I obferved alio the boy read it out with
his eyes Mill on the book, znd his head, like a mere
boy. moving from iide to fide, as the lines reached
crofs the columns of the bo k : his leffon was in the
Canticles of Solomon ; the words thefe :

" l.have put off my coat ; how fhall T put it on f
I have wafhed my feet; how fhall I defile them ?"

The lx>y read thus, with his eyes, as I fay, full on
the text :

" Chav a doffed mv coo' j how fhall I don't ? chav
a wafhed my feet; how fhall I moil 'em ?"

How the dexterous dunce could form his mouth to
cxprefs fo readily the words (which flood right print-
ed in the book) in his country jargon, 1 could not
but admire ; and much more fo, how the mailer
fhould patiently hear -fuch j&urihk.

We hkewife fee their :jfuritv^ fpeech even upon
their monuments and grave-ftones ; as for example :

* This reminds us of an old ft cry of a puLHnn, who wrote a rr.oft
Common wok) under his fign wirh thirteen falfe I; i it, s\i.

ei^ht wrcrg letters,* intfead of Che five right t yni&ltcb inftead .

ia

DEVONSHIRE. 323

in fome of the church yards of the city of Brijhl,
1 law this poetry after fome other lines

Jnd when that thou doft hear of Thick,
Think of the glajs that runneth quick.

Another.

Him Jhall never come again to we ;
hut us fiall jurely one day go to he.

From Evil, or Yeovil, we came to Crookhirn,
thence to Chard, which immediately brought me into-
Devon/hire.

\x may not be una^centable here to infert a general
defcription of this large coumy; which may convey
to the reader forne idea of the nature of the foil, its
production?, and the method of improvement, as
well as the manufactures, and merchandizes, on
which the trading part of 'the inhabitants fubfift.

The weflern part of the county bordering on Com-
wall, and all round the ikirts of Dartmore, as we If
as that large foreft itfelf, confhis of a very coarfe,
moory, or fenny foil, very barren in its nature; in
fome places productive of nothing but a dwarf kind
of furze, of little or no valise, in this part of the
county, however, of late years, the quantity of
tillage ground, which formerly was coarfe, or covered
with furze, is very great, owing chiefly to the culti-
vation of potatoes. At other places grow nothing
but rufhes, or a coarfe, four kind of pafturage,^hicn
the cattle will not feed upon ; and therefore it dries
up, and withers into a ledge The foil here is ge-
nerally a ftiff clay, through which the water cannot
foak away ; this renders it very unhealthy, especially
-to fheep, which in thofe pans are of a fmall kind,
and very fubjecTt to the rot, which (in wet feafon**

P 6 especially*

324 DEVONSHIRE.

efpecially) deflroys them in great numbers; and what,
adds to the malady is, that neither the induftry of
the hufbandman (for which this county is defervedly
famous), nor any comport, that has yet been found
out, will to any purpofe cure this fieri lity. About
Tavijlock, Bidejord, and molt towns by rivers, the
country is pretty well cultivated.

The principal, and indeed the only profitable re-
turn, that the inhabitants can make out of thofe
iterile lands, is by breeding black cattle, for which
they are very well adapted ; for here are bred thofe
fine oxen, in gi eat numbers, which, by the drovers
of Sonurfetjhii e and thereabouts, are brought up, and,
in their fiat feeding lands, betwixt Bridgivater and
Wells (which I have feen almoft covered with them).
fattened fit for S mithfi Id market, whither they drive,
and fell them to the Londoners^ who have not better
beef from any other part of the kingdom.

The northern parts of the county are of a quite
different nature from the former; for thefe generally
confift of a dry healthy foil, efpecially about llford-
comby and all along the brim of the foreft of Exmore.
Thole downs are far from being a luxuriant feeding,
but are good grazing for fheep; and being well
drelTed with lime (which is brought over hi' her by
water from Wales), dung, fand, and other comport,
manured by the indefatigable labour of the inhabi-
tants, produce tolerable crops of corn. I lay tole~
rable ; for though they far exceed the productions in
Dorfet, JViltSy tlants^ &c. (where iluggimnefs fo far
prevails, as to leave nature deftitute of the lead
human afTiflance), the fertility is by no means com-
parable to that of the eaflern and middle parts of the
county; in the former of which a. rich marl in fome
parts, and a fertile fandy foil in others, and in the
latier a fat, firong foil of a deep red colour, inter-
mixed with veins of different kinds of loam, produce

great

DEVONSHIRE, 32-5

great crops of com, and peafe, of the beft kind, not
to be excelled in the whole ifland. Neither doth it
fall behind in meadow-ground and pafturage, clover,
and trefoil grafs, and turnips; as is evident to a per-
fon who goes through any of the markets, and be-
holds the fine well-fed beef and mutton with which
they are plentifully ftored.

About Tringmouth, Dartmouth, Totnefs, Modbwy,
'Plymouth, JJhburton, and all the fouth parts of the
county (called the South-Hams), the lands are gene-
rally of a different kind from any of the former; in
moffc places very good for arable and pafture, but
efpecially for cyder-fruits*. A great part of this
large tract lies on a firatum of marble, which the
inhabitants break up, and burn into lime ; and there-
with drefs their lands, to their very great improve-
ment. Neither is this all the advantages they make
of thofe quarries ; for in many of them is found
Hone, which for its hardnefs, foundnefs, and beau-
tiful veinings, rivals the beft Italian marbles, and
falls very little, if any thing, fhort of them in luftre.
Great quantities of this (lone are fent to London, 'and
other places, where they are wrought up for the
nobleft pjrpofes. At other places, on this fouth
coaft, are quarries of ilates, for covering houfes, and
this likewife of the beft kind ; which are not only
fexched away by land carriage, to the diftance of 10,
12, and 16 miles, but great quantities of them are
fent coaft- wife to all the towns on the Br i t ijh more ;
and exported to Holland, Flanders, and other places
beyond the iea. m

The reader will not, by this defcription, conclude,
that the lands in any part of' the county are all one
and the fame kind. Downs, fens, rocks, and wood-

* The cyder of thefe parts, as well as cf fome ethers of this county,
is, to fpeak in the words of Mr. B>-:ce, " fmart and fprightiy, beauti-
fully traafpaient, cordially exhilarating, aud heauhiJy potent."

grounds,

326 DEVON SHIR E.

grounds, are interfperfed among the beft lands; as
there are alio fome good arable and pafture amongft
the moft defolats and barren; and whoever looks
round him, in his own fltuation, will know in what
fenfe to take this general defcription *.

On the borders of Dartmore, about two miles from
llfv:gton, ftand two very high rocks, called Heytor-
Rocks (7. e, high-rocks) ; from whence is a very
extenfive view of Torbay, and the country for feveral
miles round. At a little diftance from the rocks,
among an heap of large ftones, was one about eight
feet long, two broad, and three and a half thick,
called the Nut-cracker, fo equally poifed, as to be
moved up and clown by the little finger only ; but
this is now thrown down,

In feveral places are found large quantities, of very
good oak-timber, as well as afh, elm. beech, <\x.
and fuch of it as grows in places whence it can be
conveyed, either by land or water-carriage, to Ply-
mouth Dock, are there ferved in for the uie of his
majefty's navy.

Coppice -wood is fo very plenty, that although the
woollen manufactures take off great quantities in
charcoal, and yet greater quantities are expended in
common firing (there being no coal railed in this
county), yet the price is fo low, that the lands,
where it thrives well, will not generally produce
more than five fhillings per acre (cemmunibus anms').
The lands in Devon/hire^ fave only the foreft of
Dartmorc, HaUdm-hill, and fome heaths, moofs, and
coarfe downs, of no very large extent (which, for
the moft part, are not capable of improvement, even

* A defcription and hiftory of this county is now writing by, and
pr'nting fur, Mr. Cbafple, of Exeter, from whom, fhoulcl he have
hvahh to complete it, may be expected a very particular account of the
ratnral hiftory, produce, cuiloms, &c, of Di.-jor.jbht s a work much

WiUtClI.

i>y.

D E V O NSHIR E. 327

by Dcvonjhire husbandry), are divided into fmall in-
c'ofures, and (in places where any fhrubs will
grow) by quickiet-hedges, banked up four or five
feet high with earth. And as the inclofures are
fmall, fo are the farms or tenements in thefe parts,
even to a very manifeft. inconvenience. For the
general method here is, for gentlemen to leafe out
the tenements of their manors for 99 years, deter-
minable on three lives ; taking fines for fucl| leafes,
and referving no more than about a (lulling in the
pound of the yearly value.

I fhould have mentioned, that in my way from
Chard I palled through Axminjler, a pretty conside-
rable market-town, and the firfb in the county of
Devon. The great weftern ro;d to London goes
rhrough this town. Here my curiofity led me to go
into the church, and view the monuments of the
Saxon princes (or rather the bifhop of Sherburny and
two dukes)' who were ilain at the battle of Bruna-
burgh in that neighbourhood, fought by king Athel-
Jiane with feven Danijh princes ; over whom he ob-
tained the victory, in a field thence called Kings
Field to this day. The monuments of thofe Saxon
worthies were under arches in the walls of the church,
two of which have been lately filled up.

Here, in memory of the victory, king Athelflane
founded a miniler for feven priefts, which in after-
ages were reduced to two; for whom a portion of
land was allotted, called Priefi-alier, which, with
the parfonage, now belongs to two prebendaries of
the church of York*

Ford- Abbey y in this neighbourhood, was heretofore
a flately fabric, lofty, and very magnificent, adorned
with curious carvings and embellishments of the
Gothic kind, fome of whole beauties (fill remain, as
may be feen in -a print by Mr. Buck, which will be
the means of conveying -forae idea of them to pofte-

rity j

£28 DEVONSHIR E.

rity ; who would otherwife he left totally unacquaint-
ed with this amazing fine ftile of architecture, as the
devouring hand of Time will undoubtedly- deffroy.
them, and it is not likely that any more fuch will-
ever be built.

Near Axminjfer lies Kilmington^ quafi Kill- ?nen-t own y
from the great flaughter there made at the battle be-
fore-mentioned; and Afembwy, i. e. Maimburgh^
whither the maimed in that battle were fent to be
relieved ; now famous for the beft Devonjhire cheefe-

The fame road I was before in brought me from-
Axmhijhr to Homton*

This is a large and beautiful market-town, very,
populous and well-built; it returns two members to-
parliament, and is fo very remarkably paved with;
fmall pebbles,, that on both- fides the w*ay a little
channel is left mouldered up ; fo that it holds a fmall
ftream of fine clear running water, with a little
fquare dipping-place left at every doer; by which'
means every family in the town has a clear clean-
running rivulet (as it may be called) juft at their
own door. This was the condition of Ihnhon when-
I was laft there; but it was lince unhappily altered,
by a fudden and dreadful fire, which broke out in,
the town on the 19th of July 1747, about three in
the afternoon, and continued raging till four next morn-
ing ; whereby near three quarters of the town were
reduced to afhes, notwithstanding the conveniency of
water which I have mentioned at each door ; for the
calamity was fo fudden,. and the flame fo violent,,
augmented by a flrong wind, that it extended itfelf
ieveral ways at once; to the utter ruin of many
hundreds of the poor laborious inhabitants ;. fuch as
weavers, combers, &c.. very, few being able to lave
any part of their houllioltUfiuniture, or working-
tools, their only means of fubiiftence ; befides the
great lofs in woollen, linen, mercery, and

other

DEVONSHIRE. 329

other goods, to the amount of feveral thoufand
pounds.

I his town is much employed in lace-making ; and
here we fee the firft of the ferge-manufacture of De-
von/hire ; a trade too great to be defcribed in minia-
ture. It takes up this whole county, which is the
largeft and moft populous in England, Torkjhire ex-
cepted ; but Devonjhire is fo full of great towns, and
thofe towns fo full of people, and thofe people fo
univerfally employed in trade and manufactures,
that it cannot be equalled in England.

Honlton ftands^in the beft and pleafanteft part of
the whole county ; and I cannot but recommend it
to gentlemen who travel this road, that if they ob-
ferve the profpect at Honiton for half a mile, till they
come down the hill, and to the very entrance into
Honiton, the view of the country is the moft beau-
tiful landfcape in the world ; and I do not remember
the like in any one place in England, It is obferv-
able, that the market of this town was kept originally
on the Sunday y till it was changed by direction of
king John.

On the road from Honiton they have a beautiful
profpeft almoft all the way to Exeter, which is 16
miles. A few miles from the firft mentioned place,
and on this road, is a feat belonging to fir George
Yonge, bart. It is called Efcott, is pleafantly fituated,
and has a good appearance.

On the left-hand of this road lies the town of
St. Mary Ottery, fo called, as fome fay, from the ri-
ver Otter, and that from the otters formerly found
in it. This town was given by king Edward the
Confejfor to the church of St. Mary at Roan in Nor~
mandy ; but was afterwards bought by Grandifon,
bifhop of Exeter ; who made of it a quarter college
in 10 Edward III. and therein placed lecular priefts,
with other minifters, to whom he gave the whole

manor.

330 DEVONSHIRE,

manor, parifh, tythes, fines, fpiritual profits, &c.
which amounted to 3O4/. 2 s. 10 d. yearly

From hence we came to Exeter, the capital of the
county of Devon, a city which hath often changed
its name ; for it was the Pen Caer, and Caer-EJke of
the Britons ; the Augufta of the Romans ; the ljca of
Ptolemy ; the Ijca-Damnoniorum of Antonine ; the j?*-
ancejltr of the Saxons, which was afterwards abbre-
viated to Excefler and Exeter. From the great num-
ber of Monks there, it had for fome time the name
of Monkton ; but at length, from that large river
which wafhes its wralls, and bears the name of Ex,
it retains that of Exeter. It was fir ft fortified with a
ftone wall (which {till remains intire) by king
jfthel/lane; and wTas for fome time the ieat of the
IVeJi Saxon kings.

That the Romans were here is highly probable,
among other proofs, from their coins, that have been
dug up at divers places ; in particular, a gold one of
Nero, at Exeter; one of Theoclofeus, near Barnjlaple ;
feveral filver ones of Severus, and other emperors ;
but efpecially from a great quantity of them dug up
about 40 years fince at Exeter, within the clofe, to-
gether with the urn in which they were buried. I
law a great number of thofe, fome of which were of
filver ; but the greateft part of them were a mixture
of tin and copper. They had the impreflion of Got-
dianus, Philippus, and other err prors.

King Atheljtane founded here a monaftery to St.
Alary and St. Peter, for Monks of the order of St.
Beneditt. The chapel of St. Mary, now fitted up
for a library, and furnifhed with a pretty large num-
ber of books (which formerly were arranged in a
confufed, but are now placed in proper order), is the
very caftermoft part of the cathedra', and wag,
doubtlefs, the fir ft beginning of that now hand Tome
fabric. King Eiheldred founded alio, within the

clofe,

DEVONSHIRE.

33*

clofe, an houfe for Monks, and another for Nuns.
Divers other religious houfes, as the priories of
St. James, St. Nicholas, St. John Baptijl, the Grey
Friers, he. were the work, of after- ages.

The walls are in tolerable repair, and make a
walk round the city, with the pleafure of feeing a
J.ine country on oppofite hills, full of wood, rich
ground, orchards, villages, and gentlemen's houfes.
Among thefe may be reckoned, Mount Radford, the
fine feat of John Barino, efq. Ceave, a good feat
belonging to the family of Northmore ; Wear, an
handfome feat of IVilliam Spier, efq. The Retreat,

a plearant feat of Orme, efq; together with

fev^ral others. This place has one very iongftreet,
ca led High Street, broad and ftraight. The houfes
are fpacious, commodious, and not inelegant. This
ftreet is full of (hops well furnifhed, and all forts of
trades look brifk. The people are induftrious and
courteous ; the fair fex here are truly fair, as well
as numerous ; their complexion, and generally their
hair, of a fair cafl ; they are genteel, of eafy car-
riage, and good mien.

There has been of late a vaft increafe of buildings
within and without the city. The very iituation
renders it clean, dry, and airy. The foil thither
from Honiton is rather fandy than ftony. In Dr.
Mufgraves garden, an head of the emprefs Julia
Dotnna, of a ColofTean fize, was dug up. The head-
dreis is fuitable to thofe times ; and neither the man-
ner nor carving are defpicable, though the graver has
not done it juflice. . It is the nobleft rclique of Briiijb
antiquity which we know of this fort; it is 21
inches from the top of the attire to the chin, and
belonged to a ftatue of T2 feet proportion, originally
let upon fome temple or palace. There is alfo an in-
fcription of Camillus.

This

332 DEVONSHIRE.

This county remarkably abounds with pcrfons af-
flicted with the gout; which is attributed to the cuf-
tom of dreffing the lands with lime, and the great
ufe of cyder, efpecially among the meaner people.
In the nothern angles, and highefl ground of this
city, ftands Rougemont Cajtle> once the refidence of
the JVeft Saxon monarchs, afterwards of the duke
of Cornwall, and others. It is of a roundifh figure,
contains a new, large, and noble affize-houfe for the
countv of Devon, and a chapel built by the countefs
of Devon in i .. 70, which is iurrounded (except where
it has been opened for the above houfe) by a high
wall, and formerly had a deep ditch, now filled up,
with a rampire of earth parallel to the top of the
wall, forming a terrace, part of which is Hill re-
maining. The wall, overlooking the city and coun-
try around, affords a delightful profpecf, and from
the north tower thereof the view is unrivaled.

The bridge over the Ex is new and handfome, of
considerable length, and will, when finifhed, have
coll 18 or 20,coo/. In the Guildhall are the pictures
of king George II. of general Monk, of the princefs-
Henrietta Maria, youngeft daughter of Charles I*.
who was born here : as alfo thole of lord Camdenr
John Tuckfield, efq; and of John Heath, efq; lately
recorder of this city, a man greatly efteemed for his
merit and abilities.

The bifhop's fee of this weflern diocefe hath had
feveral removes ; for it was fnft at Bodmyn for the
county of Cornwall, and fince that at Taunton for
this county. Afterwards both were joined, and placed
at Crediton. And laftly, about the year 1049, king
Edward the Confejfor, and his queen Edyth, inthroned
Leofricus (who had been three years bifhop of
Crediton) into the fee of Exeter, in the following
very folemn manner :

On

DEVONSHIRE. 333

On the fou th-fide of the high altar, in the ca-
thedral, were eredled (and are there (Hll to be feen
perfect as when firft made) three feats, or al-
coves, adorned with Gothic carvings, to the height
of about 25 feet, which are fupported with brafs
pillars ; in the middle of thefe was the bifhop in-
Hailed by the king and queen. The form of words
thus :

/ kyrtge Edward^ taking Leofricke bye the ryghte
haunde^ and Edythe my queen bye the lefte, doe injlalle
hym the fyrfte and moj] famous Byfchoppe of Ex on ^ wythe
a grate defyre of aboundance of Bleffiynges to all fetch as
Jhall furder and encreafe the fame; but wythe afearfu*.
and execrable curfe on all fuch as Jhall diminifh or take
anye thynge from it.

The church may be faid to have been near 400
years in building. Its foundation is by fome faid to
have been firft laid by king Atheljlon in 932". Leofric
carried on the edifice. William Warleweft^ however,
is generally fuppofed to have laid the foundation of
the prefent choir in 11 12; but, if the three flails
before mentioned were ufed at the inftalment of
Leofric, as above, it muft have been at leaft partly
built fixty years before. Bifhop Chichefler, inftalled
1 1 28, according to fome, may be fuppofed to have
nnifhed the choir. John the Precentor made addi-
tions, which Henry Marjhall, his fucceffor, finifhed.
Peter S$uivel9 in 1284, began the nave of the church.
In about 1 3 40, bifhop Grandifon began the two laft
arches in the weft end, and finiflied it fo far as to
cover the whole roof in 1369. Bifhop Brentingham
and others made additions ; and Peter Courtenay, then
bifhop of Exeter •, afterwards of Winchejter, com-
pleted the north tower in 1485, and very remarkable
it is to fee the uniformity with which it was carried

5 on;

334 DEVONSHIRE.

on ; for nobody can di (cover the leaft incongruity in
the pans; fo much is it like the work man fh ip of one
and the fame architect.

A noble painted window, the joint contribution of
the nobility, gentry, and clergy, of the diocefe, has
lately been put up at the weft end of the church, and
does sreat honour to the tafte and execution of that
ingenious artiil. Mr. Picket, of York, the ftainer and
painter. The earl window alio is of painted glafs,
and is, as wrell as many others in this church, worthy
of notice.

In one of the towers of this magnificent piece of
antkjuity, is a very laige bell of 12,500 pounds
weight, which is 2500 pounds weight more than
Tom of Lincoln', and in, the other, the largeft ring of
(ten) bells in the kingdom. An organ of very tood
workmanfhip, and fupported by a terraftyle of beau-
tiful Gothic columns, flam's where the before menti-
oned partition wall did.: The largeffc pipes in this
innrument are of a great length, and 15 inches in
diameter; which is laid to be two inches mere than
thofe.at Uim, which is fo h.med for its largenefs.

The well-finifhed alcove of wooden w< rk for the
bifhop, and the pulpit, and pews of the like, in the
nave or bc'/'y of the church, together with the neat
marble fom, and the fine fuit of g It p'a.e for the
communion- ;ervice, are all that 1 lhall further add
about the grave and well-adapted ornaments and fur-
niture of this church.

To complete this description with a circumftance
which, 1 think, oubht by no means to be palled over:
the folemnity, decency, and affecting harmony, with
which the fervice, anci muiic, vocal and inhrumental,
is gene rally pcrfi rmed, by the choral vicars,
faniits, and chorifters ; and (which is well worthy
6f imitation) the iv imrous congregation, wbi<
winter and iu miner, attend the daily prayers at fix in
1 the

DEVONSHIRE. 335

the morning ; and theit grave and pious behaviour
there ; I lay, all this together, renders this cathedral
a glory to the diocefe, the envy of other choirs, and
the admiration of {bangers. In the Clo/e, in which
this church is ii mated, is a fpace of great area, en-
clofed with rails and polls, and planted with rows of
trees ; around which area are many handfome
houf-s, and within the rails many agreeable public
walks.

The late reverend Dr. Alured Clarke, who was
promoted to the deanry of this church, anno 1740,
was a great benefactor to it, and, we may fay, to the
c'ty and county, and, in them, to the kingdom, in
the hofpital he was the great encourager of, which is
called The Devon and Exeter Hofpital, fet up on the
model of the public infirmaries in London and Wtfi?
m'infter ; one of the mofl laudable charities that ever
was fet on foot.

His iirit work was to alter and repair the deanry-
houfe ; which his predeceffbrs had neglected ; and
this he completed within the firft nine months of his
instalment, at the expence of a.oout 800 /.

Before this was perfected, viz, in the fpring of
1741, he drew up and pubbfhed the propofal for
founding the hofpital abovefaid, for lodging, dieting,
and curing, the lick and lame poor of the county
and city ; all ranks and parties of men fell into the
laudable defign,

Befidcs the ancient buildings of a public nature,'
in the city of Exeter, there are the chapter-houfe,
and cloi.'.ers ; the bifhop's palace, the houfes be-
longing to the dean, the chancellor, treafurer, and
other dignitaries of the church; the Guildhall, the
walls, and gates of the city, with thofe of the caitle,
and the cloie ; the hofpital of St. J hn the Bcpiift,
19 parifh-churches within the city and liberties there-
of, the bridge over the river Ex, to which may be

added.

336 DEVONSHIRE.

added, fome chapels and alms-houfes, yet {landing,
and the ruins of divers others; which are monuments
of the piety of their founders, and the impiety of
thofe who neglect them.

Modern buildings of a public nature in this city
are, the caftle, the bridge, the cuftom-houie, and
the hofpital ; befides which are a workhoufe for the
poor, which is fpacious, plealant, and well con-
trived ; a large and well-built new meeting-houfe
belonging to the Prefbyterians ; the elegant build-
ing called Bedford Circus ; the mayoralty-houfe, and
feveral houfes belonging to the dignitaries of the ca-
thedral church.

This city returns two members to parliament: its
civil government is by a mayor, aldermen, and
common-council; a recorder, fherifT, four bailiffs,
a chamberlain, and town-clerk, who are attended by
a fword-bearer, who wears the cap, and carries the
fword given by Henry VII. before them to church,
and on all public proceflions ; four ferjeants at mace,
and as many ftaff-bearers ; the former in gowns, and
the latter in liveries, with badges ; and, which adds
not a little to their fplendour, they keep a band of
four muficians in conftantpay.

There are, moreover, 13 companies of incorpo-
rated trades, who, on public occalions, and on
gaudy-days, walk in the mayor's train, dreffed in
gowns, each company having a beadle in a laced
cloak, bearing the eniigns of their feveral profefiions,
to ufher them. The inhabitants are well fupplied
with water.

The river Ex was heretofore, in its main ft ream,
navigable to the walls of the city ; but, on a dif-
ference between the mayor, and the then carl of De-
von, Hugh Courtenay, on a very trifling occaiion, viz.
which of their purveyors fhould be firft fcrved with
a pot of fifh in the market, that carl revenged him-

felf

DEVONSHIRE. 337

fclf by choaking the' mouth of the river, and by
making weirs with timber, fand, &c. thereby en-
tirely ruining the navigation thereof farther up than
Topjham. And fo great were the power and obfti-
nacy of the earl at that time, that, though the. ci-
tizens obtained a decree in equity for their relief, it
Wcis never executed.

To remove this inconvenience, the inhabitants,
about 70 years flnce, by aid of an act of parliament,
at a great expence, perfected a work, which had been
beiun about joo years before. They cut a new
channel for the water, crofs which they placed
iluices, or flood-gates ; through the Iowermoft of
thofe gates, they let in the flowing tide, the ebb of
which immediately fhuts the gate, and that keeps up
a body of water for about two miles, fufficient to-
carry up the vefTels fo far in their way ; at which
place another of thofe gates fliuts, after the veifel is
pail it, by capfterns there fixed for that purpofe. It
muff be confidered, that the floor of the dyke is thus
far on a level, and confequentiy the water of an
equal depth, without the inconvenience of any cur-
rent, the lower iluice being fhut as before.

The whole declivity, from the quay at Exeter to
the lowermoff. floodgate at Top/hamy which gives the
river its current, is about eight or ten feet, all which
is funk at once here, above this fecond iluice ; and
therefore, in order to bring upfhips over this fall, it
was neceffary, that a third flood-gate fhould be
added ; which is accordingly done at about 2CO feet
from the former. And now, the fhip being between
thefe two flood-gates (the lower being kept fhut),
the uppermoft of the two is opened, and by this
means the water between them raifed to a level
with that of the remainder of the dyke above ; and
the fhip, by this contrivance, floats freely over the
riling ground; and thence on the frefh water (for

V ol. I. Q_ the

338 DEVONSHIRE.

the tide is of no farther life) for about two miles
more, which brings her to the head of the works,
(which has fometimes a very grand and piclurefque
appearance in the fall), where is another flood-gate;
and this ponds the whole river, fo as to throw the
wafte water, over a ft rong {tone weir, into its na-
tural channel. The water, fo kept back by this
upper iluice, and the weir, makes a ftagnant pool
above ; and here the vefTels lie at their moorings,
and unload at a large quay, (adjoining to the city),
whereon is an handfome and exceedingly well ii-
tuated cuftom-houfe, as well as other public ofiices.

Above this quay, is a rifing high tenter-ground,
called The Friers, open to the fouth and weft, on
which is a fine terrace walk. The profpecl: from this
ground is both beautiful and exteniive.

Beyond this, and three miles lower on the river
Ex, is Topfoam, a very pk-afant, large, and well-
built town. It has a very good quay, which is
wafhed by the tide, and on which there is a fine
profpe£t. VefTels too large forgoing through the
haven to Exeter, load and unload here. The road
between this town and Exeter is remarkably pleafant,
and many gentlemens feats adjoin thereto.

Near the mouth of the river Ex, on the weft
banks thereof, is Powderham caftle, now, and for
many ages pair, the feat of a family of Co ur ten ays,
defendants from the earls of Devon of that name ;
the prefect pofTeilbr being the right honourable
vifcount Cowtenay. This feat, built in the manner
of a caftle, was the work of Ifabel, the daughter of
Baldwin de Rivers, and widow of IVilliam de fortibus,
in the reign of king Henry III.

Hal/down is a pretty large, dry, healthy common,
of about feven miles in length, and about three in
breadth, which, though in itfelf a very flinty barren
foil, yet is its fuuation fo delightful from its height,

the

DEVONSHIRE. 339

the open profpect both by fea and land fo Engaging,
and the whole circuit thereof fo adapted to rural re-
creations, that the like number of gentlemens feats,
as lie round the fkirts thereof, within fo little com-
pafs of ground, is not to be met with at any place
that I know of, except about London. Among thofe
feats may be reckoned Mambead, a fine one belong-
ing to lord Lisburn, which commands an extenflve
profpect, and has fine plantations adjoining ; Halldon
Houfe, the very handfome feat of Robert Palk, efq.
built on the plan of the Queen's Palace ; lVhitewrty,
an handfome feat belonging to Montague Parker, efq,
Ugbrook, a fine feat of lord Clifford's, &c. On this
common the annual races are run ; and underneath
it, in the road to Plymouth, is Cbudleigb, a market
town of fome note*

Exeter is particularly famous for two things ; which
we feldom find united in the fame town ; viz. That
it is full of gentry, and yet full of trade and manu-
factures. It is likewife celebrated for having Hood
feveral lieges, and one fuccefsfully againff the infur-
gents in the time of Katies rebellion in Norfolk, when
the behaviour of the Exonians was extolled at the ex-
pence of the townfmen of Nortvich.

The ferge-market, held here every week, is very
well worth a ftranger's feeing ; and, next to the
Brigg market at Leeds in Torkjhire, is the greatest in
England. The exports of this city are eflimated at
upwards of i,ooo,oco/. annually.

The Ex, or EJk, is a very confiderable river, and
the principal in the whole county ; and, by the con-
trivance we have mentioned, fhips of ico tons nov/
come up to the city.

Exeter drives a very great correfpondence and trade
with Holland and Germany; as alio directly to Por-
tugal, Spain, and Italy; (hipping off vaft quantities
of their woollen manufacture)*; which are made not

Q_2 only

34-0 DEVONSHIRE.

only in and about Exeter, but at Crediton, TJo'niun^
Cullitohy St. Mary Ottery, Newtoii-bujhel, Jjbburicn,
Tiverton, Cullumpton, Bampton, and alrnolt every
part of the county.

On the north iide of the caftle, upon the ground
called Northemhay, are feveral beautiful public walks,
one of which extends aim oft round one fourth part
of the city, and is partly on the fummit of a preci-
pice or mound of great fteepnefs. Here are groves
and rows of trees fo planted as to make fome of thefe
walks agreeable in every fealbn of the year. The
aihze-houfe has an handfome back front, facing
nearlv the centre of this pie afn re-ground. The
chamber, to whom Northerhay belongs, have fpared
rto expence in improving it, -and have given the whole
fuch a beautiful and div.erfified appearance, as is not
to be found, in greater perfection, in any part of
the kingdom.

About eight miles north of this city, and in a very
fertile part of Devonjhire, is Creditor*, above-men-
tioned, tne of the largeft and moil antient towns in
this county. It is a place of great note for the ma-
nufactory of ferges, and fends weedy to Exeter at
leail 14 or 11500. In 1743, a tire conlumed. upwards
of 460 dweiling-houfes in this town ; another fire

o happened here a few years iince, which deftroyed
■a great number of houfes. At each time the lols was
very coniiderable, and the diftreiTes very great.

Near this town -is Greedy, an handfome feat of fir
John Davie, bart. Little Tulford, a fine feat of
Hcmy Tudfield, efq; Downs, a feat of the late John
Eul'er, efq; and fome others.

But I fli all take the northern part of this county
in my return from Cornwall, and muit now lean to
the Tbi/tli-coaft ; for, ingoing on, we in reality go
foudi-weft.

About

DEVONSHIRE. 341

About 23 miles from Exeter, and through NetvUn-
bujhel, a large market town, we go into the ancient
town of Totnefs, on the river Dart. It was formerly
of great note, anil ftill is a pretty good town, and
has fome trade ; but has more gentlemen in it than
tradefmen of note. They have a fine ftone bridge
here over the river; which, being within fevc.n pr
eight miles of the fea, is large, and the tide flow:
10 or 12 feet at the bridge. Here we had the ui-
veriion of feeing them catch fKh, with the afliltante
of a dos: ; in this manner : on the fouth-iide of the
river, and on a flip, or narrow cut or channel, made
on purpofe, ftands a com-mili ; the mill-tail, or
l floor for the water b;low the wheels, is wharfed jip on
either fide with Hone, above high-waier mark, and
for above 20 or 30 feet in It-n^c h below it, 1 ■:• i ■■■-'
part of the river toward the lea. Ac the end oi t h is
wharfmg is a grating of wood, the croiV-bars of
which ftand bearing inward, fnarp at the. end, and
pointing towards one another, as the wires of a
moufe-trap.

When the tide flows up, the fifh can with eafe go
in between the points of thefe crofs-bars ; but , the
mill being (hut down, they can go no farther upwards ;
and, when the water ebbs again, are left behind,
not being able to pats the points of the grating,
which, like a wire moufe trap, keeps them in; io
that they are left at the bottom with about a foot, or
a foot and a half water. We were carried hither at
low-water, where we law about 50 or 60 fmall fal-
mon, from 17 to 20 inches long, which the country-
people called Salmon Peal; and to catch thefe, they
throw in a net on an hoop, at the end of a pole,
the p de going crofs the hoop, which, in fome places,
they call a fhove-net. The net being fixed at one
end of the place, they put in a dog (which is
taught his trade beforehand) at the ojier end, and

0.3 ^

342 DEVONSHIRE.

he drives all the fi{h into the net; fo that only
holding the net ftill in its place, the man took
up two or three and-thirty falmon peal at the fir ft
time.

Of thefe we had fix for our dinner, for which
they afkcd a fhilling only; but, for fuch fized'hfh,
and not fo frefh, I have feen 6 J. 6 d. each given at a
London fifh-market, whither they are fometimes
brought from Cbichefier by land-carriage. They have
alfo delicate trouts here.

This excefhve plenty of good fifh (other provisions
being cheap in proportion) makes the town of Tot-
nefs a very. good place to live in ; efpecially for fuch
as have large families, and but fmall eftates ; and
many fuch are faid to come into thofe parts on pur-
pole for faving money. Totnefs is a borough by pre-
scription, and the moft antient in the county ; it being
incorporated by king John, with a mayor, 14 burgh-
maflers, a recorder, he. he. Jt was formerly walled
in, and had four gates, but only the fouth-gate and
fome parts of the reft are now remaining. Here is a
fpacious church, with a fine tower and four pin-
nacles, each above 90 feet high, a town-hall, and a
fch ool-ho ufe.

About ten miles north of Totnefs lies J/hburtcn, a
good market-town, and thoroughfare from Exeter
to Plymouth} it fends two members to parliament.
This is one of the four Stannary towns for the county
of Devon, and lies eight or ten miles from the forclt
of Dartmore. This is alfo an ancient borough by
prefcription, and is governed by a portrieve, chofen
yearly, who is the returning oflicer. It has an hand-
fome church, in form of a cathedral, with a tower
9] feet, high, and a fpire of lead. The principal
trade of tins town, and indeed of many of the towns
and villages in the county, is in the woollen ma-
nufacture.

The

DEVONSHIRE. 343

The three other Stannary towns are, Taviftock^
Plympton, and Chagf6rd9 the laft of which is a very-
poor inconfiderable place ; both Tavijhck and Plymp-
ton fend members to parliament. Plympton is muclv
decayed, but is flill a corporation town, and has" one
very good inn, and feveral other good houfes. The in-
creafe of Plymouth has caufed the decay of this place.
It was incorporated by queen Elizabeth) under a,
mayor, recorder, eight aldermen, &c. It has the
bell free-fchool in the county, being endowed with
lands to the amount of 100/. a year, and built on
(lone pillars in 1664, by fir John Maynard^ one o£
the truftees of Elizeus Hele, of Cornivood, efq ; who
gave 1500/. a year to fuch ufes.

And now, having mentioned this court of Stannary,
it may not be improper to give a further defcription
of it.

By divers charters granted to the tinners by kino;
Edward 1. &c. the court is to be held at Crocker en~
jTtfT, a noted hill and rock in the middle of the
foreif, far diftant from any houfe ; the lord war-
den of the fiannaries is the judge of this court,, on.
whofe fummons the jurors appear, who are generally
gentlemen within the jurifdicYion. I had my infor-
mation from a gentleman, who, if I miflake not, told
me, he had ierved as juror ; and that, when the
earl of Bath was lord Warden^ and held a court
there, he was attended by 300 gentlemen well
mounted.

At this delblate place (where no refreshment is to
be had, but what the company bring with them, no
ihelter from the weather, nor any thing to fit upon,,
but moor-ftones) the court is called; but then the
next act of the fteward is to adjourn to one of
the flannary towns (ufually Tavijhck) , and the
company immediately make the befl of their way
thither,

Q. 4, -At

344 DEVONSHIRE,

At this court, in former times, when the tin-
mines in this county were in a rlourifhing ftate, a
great deal of bufmefs was difpatched ; the price cf
the tin was iixed, differences in relation to the
works adjufted, and acts made for regulation of
every thing relating thereto. Several prelentments of
the jurors are printed ; and this meeting is ufually
called, The Parliament for the Stannaries ; the place
of meeting in the foreft. The Parliament -houfe ; and
the prefentment of the jurors, Acts of Parliament.

The difcontinuing the court here is complained of,
as the regulations necefiary to be made in it would,
it is imagined, be of forne confequence.

At Ljftfordy now an obfeure village, (though for-
merly of fome note, and a walled town) near the
Aloor^ is the prifoti, where parties offending againfl
the'r Hatutes were ufually put: but this, which is a
k rTeep dungeon is now (at leaf! it was a few
w..> ; e) almoit filled up with rubbifli. Offenders
u,"c >': .. ; _u m this difmal hole for a month, and
lometimes even a year, which being deemed as bad
as death itfelf feems to have' given rife to a faying
here, that it is Lydford law, to execute the criminal firjf y
and try him afterwards.

At this place is a bridge over the river Lyd, nearly
level with the road ; the water underneath, running
through the rock in a channel nearly 70 feet deep,
can hardly be (cen. The appearance of this place is
fomewhat frightful.

About a quarter of a mile from hence, a rivulet,
which runs into the river Lyd, forms a very remark-
able cataracl, by a fall of 245 feet over a fteep rock.
The flope of this rock, for the hrft 95 feet from the
head, makes an angle with the horizon of 45 de-
grees, and then projecting a very little, the re-
main J r runs 150 feet, in a direction which makes
an angle with the perpendicular considerably lefs

than

DEVONSHIRE. 345

than 4£ degrees; (o that the perpendicular of this
cafcade is 200 feet at leaft. 1 his wonderful fall of
water fills the air all around the boitom with fuch an
atmofphere of aqueous particles, and puts the air
into fuch violent agitations, that you can fcarcely
bear to ftand near the place. Travellers allow this
fall to be equal at leaft to any one met with
abroad.

At Monaton, a parifh of this county, is another
water- fall of considerable height, and which has a
very fine appearance.

From Totnefs we went flill fouth about {even
miles (all in view of the river) to Dartmouth, a
town of note, fea.ed at the mouth of the river Dart,
where it empcies itfelf into the fea, at a very narrow,
but fafe entrance. The opening into Dartmouth
harbour is not broad, but the channel deep enough
for the largefl fhip in the royal navy ; the fides of
the entrance are high, mounded with rocks ; without
which, jufl at the rirfl narrowing of the paifage,
ftands a good ftrong fort beyond a platform of guns,
which commands the port.

The narrow entrance is not much above half a
mile ; and then it opens, and naak.es a bafon, or liar-
- bour, able to receive 500 * fail of mips, where they
may ride with the greateft fafety ; and the entrance
may be chained up on occaiion. I went out in a
boat to view this entrance, and the caille, or fort,
that commands it; and, coming back with the
tide of flood, 1 oblerved fo'nie filial! fun to Ikip and
pla upon the furface of the watery upon which I
afked, What fifh they were? Immediately one of the
rowers or feamen flarted up in the boat, and throw-
ing his arms abroad, as it he had b.en ma.!, cried

* This number, although it aas the fanAion © miiiy authors', is
perhaps too great.

346 DEVONSHIRE.

out as loud as lie could bawl, A Scool ! A Scool! The
word was taken on the fhore as nattily as it would
have been on land if he had cried, fire; and, by that
time we reached the quays, the town was all in an
uproar.

The matter was, that a great Shoal, or, as they
call it, nfcool of pilchards came fwiming with the
tide directly out of the fea into the harbour. The
boat-owner lamented his being unprepared for them;
for he faid, that if he could but have had a day or
two's warning, he might have taken 200 ton of
them ; in fhort, nobody was ready for them, except
a fmall fifhing-boat or two; one of which went into
the middle of the harbour, and, at two or three
liawls, took about 40,000.

It was obferved, that beyond the mouth of the
harbour was a whole army of porpoifes ; which, it
feems, purfued thefe pilchards, and, it is probable,
drove them into the harbour. The Scool drove up
the river as high as Totnefs bridge, as we heard af-
terwards ; fo that the country-people, who had boats
and nets, caught as many as they knew what to do
with,

Dartmouth returns two members to parliament,
and is governed by a mayor, j2 mailers, or ma-
giftMtes, 12 common-councilmen, a recorder, &c.
Here are three churches, bef.de a large difTenting
rneetin-2"-houfe,, but the mother church is at a village
called ioivnjlal!, about three quarters of a mile from
Dartmouth. This church ftands on an hill, and the
tower of it, which is 69 feet high, is a fea-mark.
By a grant of Edward ill. the hurgeffes of this town
arc toll-free throughout all England ; and in the
reign of Richard II. they obtained the exclufive right
of exporting tin. The town isiituared on the weft-
fide of the baton, or harbour, in a kind of ilmicircle,
en the afcent of a ileep hill; and is large and po-
pulous,

n E V O NTHI R E. 347.

pulous, the quay is of good extent, and the ftreet
before it fpacious. Here live ibme very fiourifhing
merchants, who trade very profperoufly, and to the
moft coniiderable trading ports in Spain,. Portugal,,
Italy, and the plantations; but efpecially to New-
foundland, and from thence to Spain and Italy, with:
"rifh. They drive a good trade alfo in their own-
iifhery of pilchards, which is hereabouts carried on
with the greateft number of veflels of any port in the-
weft, except Falmouth.

The French burnt Dartmouth in Richard Fs time,
and attempted it afterwards; but werebravelyrepulfed,.
and chiefly by the women, wTho fought defperately,.
and took Monfieur Caftel their general, three lords,,
and 23 knights, prifoners, and made a great daugh-
ter among them belides ; but how this glorious a£tiom
fell to the (hare of the women, and whether the men^
were inactive or abfent, is not mentioned.

A little to the northward of this town, and to the
eaft of the port, is Tor bay, a- very good road for (hips,;
about 12 miles in circuit, though fometimes (efpe-
cially with a foutherly or fouth-eaff wind) fhips have
been obliged to quit the bay, and. put out to fea,,
or run into Dartmouth for fhelter.

In the bottom of this bay is a beautiful, well-built,.,
and finely-fit uated houfe, called Torr Abbey, formerly
^- religious houfe. And here it was that king IVH--
Uam 111. entered with a fleet of near 400 tranfports,.
and cO fail of men of war, befides frigates, under
the conduct of admiral Herbert* afterwards lord. Tor—
rington *\

About?.

* Not far from this bay, and in the pari fti of Tor-, is a very remark-
able place, called KmCs Holet not mentioned, as I can find, by ihs
writers on this county, though perhaps the grcateft natural curiofity
therein. It con fills of many caverns, into which you are led by fol-
iovviug fuUerraneous pafiiges j but it has only one outward entrance to

Q^.6 the

*•

348 DEVON.SHIR E.

About three miles to the weft of Dartmouth is a
little hilling town, called Brixhcnn, remarkable for a
fpring of water, that ebbs and flows very icniibly.

From Dartmouth we went to P/ympton, mentioned
before, formerly of great account, and the glory of
the antient earls of Devon ; where are tenures at this
day, called Cafile-guard^ for defending and repairing
the walls of the caftle ; which, however, is now in
ruins. From thence the road lies to Plymouth, diftance
about fix miles.

Between thefe towns is Saltram, an elegant feat of
John Parker^ efq; and near Plymouth is Goodauiore, a
line feat of the prefent commiffioner of the dock-
yard. There are alfo in thefe parts feveral other fine
feats.

Plymouth is indeed a town of confederation and
importance. The fituation of it is between two very
large inlets of the fea, and in the bottom of a large
found, or bay, which is encompaiTed on every iLe
with hills, and the more generally ffeep and rocky ;
though the anchorage is good, and it is pretty iafe
riding. . In the entrance to this bay lies a large and
moft dangerous rock, which at high-water is cover-
ed,' but at low-tide lies bare, where many a good
fhip has been loft, when they have thought all their
dangers at an end.

Upon the rock, which was called the Eddy/lone,
from its liquation, the ingenious Mr. If inJianUy^
whom I mentioned before, und< rtook to build a lights
houfe for the direction of labors ; and with great art
and expedition rimmed it ; which work, considering
its height, the magnitude of its building, and the

the whole. Some of thefe cavern* are very large, and through one of'
them runs a rivulet of .water The dillance from the outward entrance
to this rivulet is three or four hundred fctt; anu beyond this there are
itill more palfogM and caverns.

little

DEVONSHIRE.

349

little hold there was to fallen it to the rock, flood to
admiration, and bore out many a bitter floim.

Mr. JVin/lanley oft<jn vifited, and frequently
ftrengthened the building by new works; and was fa
confident of its hrmnefs and {lability, that he ufually
faid to thofe who doubted its flanaing in hard wea-
ther, that he only defired to be in it, when a florm
fhould happen.

But, in the dreadful tempeft of November 27, 1703,
when he happened to be fo unfor unate as to have his
with, he would fain have been on fhore, making fig-
nals for help ; but no boats durft go off to him ; and,
in the morning after the fiorm, nothing was to be
feen but the bare rock, the light houfe being gone,
in which Mr. Winflanley^ and all that w-ere with him,
perifhed ; and a few days after, a merchant's fhip,
called the Winchelfeay homeward-bound from Virginia,
not knowing the light-houfe was down, ran foul of
the rock, and was loil with all her lading, and mofr. of
her men. There w*as another light-houfe built on
the fame rock by the corporation of Trinity -houfe\
in purfuance of an act of parliament paffed in the
fifth of queen Anne, But December 2, 1755, this
took fire, and all the timber-work was burnt; but
the-ftpae wrork, 30 feet high, and founded on the
rock, remained unhurt. Admiral Weft, at Plymouth,
feeing the fire, ient out a boat, and brought off the
two men who had the care of the place.

The re-edification of this ufeful work has been
fince executed under the direction of Mr. John Smea-
ton, F. R. S. It is all of ftone, the loweft courfe
being morticed into the rock, and is thought by the
be ft judges to be the completeil performance of its
kind in Europe.

jr\s Plymouth lies in the bottom of this Sound, in the
cenire between the two waters, fo there lies againfl
it, in the lame poficion, an ifland, which they call

St.

35o DEVONSHIRE.

St. Nicholas; on which is a caftle that commands the
entrance into Ham-ou%ey and indeed that alfo into
Catwater in fome fort. On the fhore, over againu:
this iiland, is the citadel of Plymouth 9 a foiall, but
regular fortification, inacceifible by fea, but not ex-
ceedingly ftrong by land ; except that they fay the
works are of a Hone as hard as marble, and would
not foon yield to the batteries or" an enemy ; but that
is a language our modern engineers laugh at. It is
furrounded with a deep trench, out of which was
dug the ftone that built the whole citadel, which is
about three quarters of a mile in circumference, and
has 300 great guns on its walls, which ftand thick eft
towards the- fea. Several guns are alfo planted on
part of the old fort, lying almoft level with the
water ; all which gives the greatefl fecurity to the
(hips in the harbour.

The town returns two members to parliament.
It fbinds above the citade!,: upon the fame rock, and
lies floping on the fide cf it, to v. arcs the eaft, the
inlet of the fea (which is called Catwater^ and is an
harbour, capable of receiving any number of fhips,
and of anv frze) walking the eaftern fliore of the
town, where they have a kind of natural mole, -or
haven, called Suttcn Pool, from the ancient name of
the town, with a cjuav, and all other conveniences
for bringing in vcffels for loading and unloading ;
nor is the trade carried on here inconfiderable in
itfelf.

The other inlet of the fea, as I term it, is on the
other fide of the town, and is called Ha?n-:uze,
be nv the mouth of the river Tamar, a confukrable
river, which parts the two counties of Devon and
Cornwall. Here, the war with France making it
necenary that the (hips of war fhould have a retreat
nearer hand than at Port/mouth, the late king [Vulian
ordered a wet dock, with yards, dry-do^s, launches,

and

DEVONSHIRE. 35t

and conveniencies of all kinds for building and re-
pairing of mips, to be built. Thefe wet and drv-'
clocks are about two miles up the Ham-owze, and as
many from Plymouth ; 2nd, for the n-atnefs and ex-
cellency of the work, exceed all that were ever built
of the kind, being hewn out of a mine of flare,
and lined with Portland Hone. The dry-dock is
built after the mould of a nrfl-rate man of war; and
the wet- dock will contain five of the fame bigneTs.
What followed thefe, as it were of courfe, was the
building of ilore-houfes and ware-houfes for the
rigging, fails, &c. of fuch mips as may be appointed
to belaid up. there; with very handfome houfes for
the corn miffi oner, clerks, and officers of all kinds
ufual in the king's yards, to dwell in.

Adjoining the yard is abb a gun wharf, where all
the cannon belonging to the men of war, lying in
the Sound in the time of peace, are laid up. This
wharf is remarkable for being hewn out of, and con-
tained within, a folid rock, It contains an aritnal
and magazines, in which are generally kept a large
quantity of arms and flores, in like order, though
not in lb great a quantity, as thole in the Toiver of
London, It has alio, within the walls, houfes for the
officers belonging to his majefty's itores within this
place. Here are likewife fpacious and very commo-
dious barracks for the foldiers, who lie here, and
con fill of a number of fquares well Cnpplied with
water, which, in ah the reft of the town, is lo very
fcarce, that the inhabitants are obliged to purchale
it fthnoft at the price fmall-beer is fold at in other
parts of the kingdom. This place is. in (hort, now
become as complete an arfenal. and yard, for build-
in^ and fitting out men of war, as any the govern-
ment are mailer* of; and perhaps much more con-
venient than fome of them, though not 10 large :
and this has occ^iioned a proportional increafe of

build ins:

352 DEVONSHIRE.

building to the town, which is now become a very
confiderable, well-built, and large place, and has the
name of Plymouth Dock, but s_ene;ally Dock only.

Plymouth, dining the laft civil war, adhered to the
parliament, ai.d, bv an obitinate refinance, did more-
harm to the royal cauie, than any other town of the
w^lt ; the king's army being obliged to raife the
fiege, after lying before the place many months.
King Charles II. wellknowing its importance, built
the fort betore described on the brow of the hill,
at the end of the Haw, which at once awes the town,
and is a defence to the harbour. The town is go-
verned by a mayor and recorder, who are juftices of
the peace and quotum, 12 magiftrates, three of whom
are ju'flices, and ^4 common-councilmen.

Here a^e two fine churches, and two or three
meeting-houfes for diffenters, and French refugees ;
as alio a free ■ fchool, an hofpital for blue-coat boys,
and a royal hofpital for fick and wounded ieamen,
not far from the town, and is a nob:e build- ng.

Oppofite to this place, on the other fide Ham-Ou%e,
js firuated Mount Edgcmnbe, the feat of the lord
Edgcum'02, deemed one of the nobleft profpecls in
England', overlooking at once the lea, the ha;b'our,
citadel, and town of Plymouth, and the county adja-
cent for a great way. At the lame time it potfeffts,
within its own domain, all the beautus of the iiiou
inland fituaiion. In the park myrtles g;ow natura ly,
and the line woods flourim in ftrength and verdure to
the - ery brink of the ocean.

Between Mount Edgcumbe and Plymouth ar e reeled
two biit'.s, and ne.ar them an etegant building fo\ a
br ar. fairing or allemb'y room, called tlie Long Room,
t :i commodate tne gentry who rcfort t:i r'd '
tie lop of, a neighbouring hill is a bow!i:g gru,
which commands a vtew equal to that at 'M.
£Uhihe\ and at Stonehoufc, between Plyrtliutb Snd the

Dock,

4

CORNWALL. 353

Dock) is lately built a hand fome bridge over the river
Plym.

The land declining when we leave the coaft o£
Devon/hire to the fouth-weft, the firft place we meet
with on the Cormjh fhore, is Bude-haven^ on the
north coaft. in all the old maps called Becds-haven%
now not fo much as a creek in thecuftom-houfe
account, and barely fo in conception of the common
people, who fometimes fhelter their boats there. It
was, In" ages part, no doubt, a much more ufeful
place; but as in many other parts of Cornwall the
fea has encroached upon the land, fo here that ele-
ment has been driven out, as plainly appears from
the marfhy grounds through which the river Bude
runs, below Whale/borough; which marfh was evi-
dently the old haven. It might not perhaps be/found
a thmg impracticable, by cutting a canal from the
Tamar to the place laft mentioned, to bring fuch a
body of water into this diminifhed river, as would
once more effectually fcour this haven, which would
prove of inexpreflible importance to the county,
though the gaining it mould be attended with large
expences. For this being once done, the little river
rfttery, and the brook which falls into it, upon which
Launcejlon is feated, being alio made navigable to the
Ta?nar, that capital of the countv, which even now
is a fpacious and populous, though an inland place,
would have a direct, and commodious correfpondence,
both with the north and fouth Teas, or, in other words,
both with the Briftol and Bntijh channels; where-
as at prefent it has no communication with either.
Bofcajile^ corruptly for Bctreau Ca.e^ is the next
creek, and of no greater figniticance than the former.
We may fay the fame of Portftck^ the creek that
runs up to ( arantacky and feveral others \ none of
which ferve for any thing more confiderable thaa

fifhing-

354 COR N W A L L.

fiming-boats ; owing all to the fame caufes, the fands
filling them up, and the foil choaking the ruts that
run into them, fo that they are gradually (though
not irreparably) diminifhed in iize and ftrength.
But as thefe were all once naturally better, fo by the
affirmance of art, and with a moderate charge, there
is furely fcarce any of them that may not be made
harbours again.

Saitajh feems to be the ruins of a larger p'ace : it
is governed by a mayor and aldermen, has many
privileges, fends members to parliament, has the iole
oyfter-fifhing in the whole river, which is confidera-
ble. It has alfo jurifdiction upon the river Tamar,
down to the mouth of the port; fo that they claim
anchorage of all fmall fhips that enter the river.
Their coroner fits upon all bodies that are found
drowned in the river. Here is a good market ; and
it is very much benefited by the increafe of the in-
habitants of Plymouth^ as: lying near the dock at the,
mouth of the Ham-owze ; for thofe people choofe
rather to go to Saitajh to market by water, than to
walk to Plymouth by land, for their provisions ; be-
caufe, firit, as they go in the town-boat, the fame
boat brings home what they buy ; fo that it is much
lefs trouble : fecondly, becaufe provifions are bought
much cheaper at Saitajh than at Plymouth : and of
late they have fome fhips that ufe the Newfoundland
fifhery.

There is no other town upon the Tamar till we
come to Launce/tcri) the county-town, which I (hall
take in my return, except Kittington, a pretty good
market and portrevc- town, where is a good mrket-
houfc, gad a neat church-, winch, as well as the
other buildings in the town, are in good condition ;
and which lends members ;o parliament; lo I turned
weft, keeping the fouth ihorc of the county, to the

Land's frnd*

From

CORNWALL. 355

From Saltajh I went to LeJIeard, about feven miles.
This is a confiderable town, well-built, has people
of fafhion in it, and a great market : it is one of the
five ftannary-towns for Cornwall -, and was once ilill
more eminent, and had a good caftle, and a large
houfe, where the ancient dukes of Cornwall kept
their court : it alfo enjo)ed feveral confiderable pri-
vileges, efpecially by the favour of the Black Prince,
who, as prince of Wales and duke of Cornwall, re-
sided here ; and in return, they fay, this town, and
the country round it, raifed a great body of ftout
young fellows, who entered into his fervice, and fol-
lowed his fortunes in his wars. But thefe buildings
are fo decayed, that there are now fcarce any of the
ruins of the caftle, or of the prince's court, remain-
ing. Here was alfo anciently a chapel, much re-
torted to by pilgrims in popifh times ; and in the
town is a fountain of very clear water, to which
many miraculous cures were attributed.

It dill boafh of its Guild, or Town-hall, an which
is a turret, with a fine clock ; a good free-fchoo!,
well-provided ; a fine conduit in the market-place ;
an ancient large church, dedicated to St. Martin \
and a large new-built meeting-houfe for the dilient-
ers; which I name, becaufe they allured me there
were but three more, and thofe inconfiderable, in all
die county of Cormvall; whereas, in Devon/hire^
which is the next county, there are reckoned about
"jo, fome of which are exceeding large.

This town is alfo remarkable for a great trade in
all' manufactures of leather, fuch as boots, fhoes,
gloves, purfes, breeches, <kc. and fome fpinning of
late years is fee up here, -encouraged by the woollen
manufacturers of Devcnjhire. It is governed by a
mayor and burgelfes.

Between thefe two towns of Saltajh and Lejkard,
is the borough of St, Germans; which, as well as

Lcskardy

356 C O R N W A L L.

Le/kard, fends members to parliament. It is now
a village, decayed, and without any market, but the
largeft parifh in the whole county ; in the bounds of
which are contained 17 villages, and the town of*
Saltajh among them ; for Saltajb church, it feems, is
but a chapel of eafe to St. Germans. It has been
anciently a bi (hop's fee, which was translated from
Bodmyn hither, and afterwards from St. Germans to
Creditor!, then one of the belt towns in the county
of Devon, and thence to Exeter. This town takes
its name from St. German, bifliop of Auxerre in Bur*
gundy, who came over from France to preach againfr.
the here fy of Pelagius, which then began to fpread
in England, and took up his reiidence here. The
ruins of the epifcopal palace at Cuttenheck, a mile
and a half from the town, Which afterwards dwin-
dled into a farm-home, are fVill vifible. A gentle-
man, of the name of Elliot, was lately a great bene-
factor to this town, having endowed a public fchool
here, repaired the feflions-houfe, and beautified the
church; where he wa* buried,, and has a fine Italian
party-coloured marble monument erected to his me-
mory, by his widow. There is an epifcopal chair
in the church, and feveral other feats belonging to
canons. The town ftands on a riling ground, and is
built in the form of an amphitheatre.

In the neighbourhood of tl efe towns are many
pleafant feats of the Cornijh gentry, who are indeed
very numerous, and fociable, generous, and kind
neighbours to one another; they ufually inter marry
among themklves ; from whence they fay, the Pro-
verb, '7 bat all the C01 nifh gentlemen are coufins. It is
the very lame in Wales ; where the greattit compli-
ment that one gentleman can make to another of the
fame county, is to call him coufin. There is a great
conf.srmity of manners, cufoms, and ufages, be-
tween the IVelJh and Ccrmjh j who are accounted of

the

C O Pv N W A L L. 357

the fame origin, and dependents alfo of the ancient
Britons; and there is likewife a great affinity between
the old Corni/lo and Weljh languages.

On the hills north of Leskard, and in the way
between that town and Launcejlon, are many tin-
mines, and fome of the richeft veins of that metal
in the whole county ; which, when call at the
Jbowling-houfes into blocks, are fent to Leskard to
be coined.

From Leskard, in our courfe weft, we are necef-
fariiy carried to the fea-coaft, becaufe of the river
Fowey, which empties itfelf into the fea, at a large
mouth ; and hereby, this river riling in, the middle
of the breadth of the county, and running fouth,
and the river Camel rifing not far from it, and run-
ning north, with a like large channel, the land from
Bodmyn to the weftern part of the county is almoft
made an lfland, and in a manner cut off from the
eaftern ; the ifthmus, or neck of land between, being
not above 1 1 miles over.

On the fouth weft from Leskard, we come to Foy,
or Fowey, an ancient borough town, and formerly
very large and potent; for the Foyens, as they were
then called, were able to fit out large fleets, not only
of merchant-fhips, but even of men of war; and
with thefe not only fought with, but feveral times
vanquifned and routed the fquadron of the cinque-
port men, who, in thofe days, were very powerful.

Mr. Camden obferves, that the town of Foy quar-
tered fome part of the arms of every one of thofe
cinque-ports with its own ; intimating, that it had,
at feveral times, triumphed over them all : and in-
deed Foy was once fo powerful, that it fitted out
fleets againft the French , and took feveral of their
men of war, when they were at variance with Eng-
land, enriching their town by the fpoil of their ene-
mies.

Foy,

358 CORNWALL.

Foy, at this time, is a very fine town ; it lies ex-
tended on the weft fide of the river, for above a mile,
the buildings fine; and there are a great many flou-
vifhing merchants in it, who have a great fhare in
the fifhing- trade, efpecially for pilchards. In this
town is alio a coinage for the Tin, of which a great
quantity is dug up in the country north and weft.
The church is ancient, and very fine. The town
fends two members to parliament, and is governed
by a mayor, recorder, eight aldermen, &c.

The river Fowey, which is very broad and deep
here, was formerly navigable by (hips of good bur-
den, as high as the borough town of Lejlwithiel, an
ancient, and once a flouriming, but now a decayed
place; and as to trade and navigation, quite dtfti-
tute, which is occafioned by the river being filled
up with fand.

Lejlivithiel was* called, in the Brit/Jb time, Pen
XJchel Coed, i. e. an high place with wood. It be-
came fince the ancient refidence of the dukes of Corn-
wall. The ruins of a caftle belonging to them are
flillto.be feen, on a rifing ground, at a little diftance
from the town. The church is an handibme edifice;
but the fteeple carries the marks of the civil wars in
tne reitm of Charles I. when the srreat hall and ex-

o o

chequer of the faid dukes of Cornwall were alfo
utterly defaced. Some fay this town was formerly
the county-town ; and it fti.il retains feveral advan-
tages, which fupport its figure: a?, I. That it is
one of the coinage or ftannary towns, i. The com-
mon gaol for the wtfole ftannary is here, as are alio
ti'C county-courts for Cornwall. 3. It has the privi-
lege of lending two members to parliament.

Le/lwitbicl is governed by k\:tn capital burgefies,
of which one is mayor, and 17 aftirtants, or com-

mon-councilmen.

behind

CORNWALL. 359

Behind Foy9 and nearer to the coait, at the mouth
of a fmall river, which fome call Loe, though with-
out any authority, Hand two borough towns oppofite
to one another, bearing the name of Eaft Loe, and
Weft Loe. Thefe are both good trading towns, and
efpeciaily for rim ; and, which is very particular,
are like Weymouth and Melcombe in Dorfeifnire, Sepa-
rated only by the creek, or river ; and 'yet each of
them fends members to parliament. Thefe towns
are joined together by a very beautiful and iiately
ftone bridge, having 15 arches.

Eaft Loe was the ancienter corporation of the two;
and, fome ages ago, the greater and more considera-
ble town ; but now they tell us, Weft Loe is the
richcit, and has the mod mips belonging to it, but
has neither church, nor chapel, nor meeting-houfe,
in it* Were they put together, they would make a
very handibme fea-port town. Weft Loe is governed
by 12 burgeffe^, and Eaft Loe by nine, one of which
is annually chofen mayor, with a court of aldermen,
and- a recorder,

Paflin^ from hence, and ferrying over Foy river,
we come into a large country, without many towns of
note in it, but very well furnifhed with gentlemens
feats, and a little higher up with tin-works.

The fea making leveral deep bays here, they who
travel by land are obliged to go higher into the
country, to pais above the water, efpeciaily at Tre-
wardreth-bay, which lies very broad, above ten miles
within the country ; which pairing at Trewardreth, a
town of no great note, though the bay takes its name
from it, the next inlet of the iea is the famous firth,
or inlet, called Falmouth -have-. It is certainly,
next to Milford haven in South Wales, the fa i reft and
bell road for /hipping that is in the whole ille of
Britain; whether we confi'der the depth of water for
a-bove 20 miles within land ; the fafety of riding,

flickered

360 CORNWALL.

fheltered from all kind of winds or ftorms ; the good
anchorage, and the many creeks, all navigable,
where the fhips may run in and be fafe.

There are iix or {even very conflderablc places upon
this haven, and the rivers from it ; viz. Grampound,
Tregovy, Truro, Penryn, St. Mdwes, Falmouth, and
Pendennis. The five fir'ft of thele fend members to
parliament ; although the town of Falmouth, as big
as all of them together (Truro excepted), and richer
than ten finch, fends none. Indeed, till the fixth of
Edward VI. none but Launcejlon, Leskard, Left-
wit hi el, Truro, Bodmyn, Hcljion, and Bcffiiiey, lent
any.

Si. Mavjes, and Pendennis, or Pen din as (which
figriifies, in the old Briujh, the end or head of a
citv), are two fortifications placed at the points, or
entrance of this haven, oppofite to one another,
though not with a communication or view. They
are very ftrong ; the former principally by fea, hav-
ing a good platform of guns, pointing athwart the
channel, and planted on a level with the water; but
Pendennis caflle is ftrong by land, as well as by water,
is regularly fortified, has good out- works, and gene-
rally a ftrong gam Ion ; and each of them has a- go-
vernor.

St. Maives, otherwife called St. Mary's, has a
town annexed to the caftle, and is a borough ; but
has neither church, chapel, meeting -houfe, fair, nor
market.

The town of Falmouth is by much the richeft and
Left trading town in this county, though not fo an- *
cunt as its neighbour- town of Truro', and, indeed,
is in fome things obliged to acknowledge its fenio-
rity ; and the Truro men receive ieveral duties col-
lected- in Falmouth, particularly wharfage for the
merchandizes landed or fhipped oil"; but the town of
Falmouth has gotten the trade, at leaft the bell part

of

CORN W ALL. 361

of it, from the other, which is chiefly owing to the
fituation ; for, lying upon the fea, but within the'
entrance, ihips of the greatt-ft burden come up to
the very quay ; and the whole royal navy might
ride fufely in the road; whereas the town of Tnvoy
lying far within, and at the. mouth of two frefh
rivers, is not navigable for veffe's of ab sve 150 tons,
or thereabouts ; the trade at 'Truro being chiefly,' if
not altogether, for the (hipping off Block Tint
and Copper ore. the latter being lately found in
large quantities in feme of the mountains between
Truro and St. Michael's, and which is much im-
proved iince feveral mills are erected at Briftol, and
other parts, for the manufactures of battery- ware, as'
h is called,"

FalmoUth is well-built, has abundance of (hipping
belon?rnr to it, is full of rich merchants, and hdS
an increaiing trade, becaufe of the letting up, of
late ycarS; the Englijh packets between this pore and
Lijbon ; which occasions a new commerce between
Portugal and this town, amounting- to a very great
value. There are packets alfo eftablifhed to the
Gr«ym in Spain, to North America, and to the iVejU
Indies.

It is true," part of this trade was founded in a
dandeftine commerce carried on by the laid packets
at Lijbon, where, being the king's (hips, and claim-
ing the privilege of not being fearched or vifited by
the cuftom-hcufe officers, they found means to carry
off great quantities of Britijb manufactures, which
they fold en beard to the Puriugitefe merchants, and
they conveyed them en fhore, as it is fuppofed, with-
out paying cuftom.

But the government there getting intelligence of
it, and complaint being made in England alfo, where
it was found to be prejudicial to the fair merchant^
that trade has been e(Fe£ ually flopped $ but the Fal-

V'ol. 1. R v.3uilt

tfz C O R N W A L L.

mouth merchants, having by this means gotten a tafe
of the Portuguese trade, have maintained it ever fince
in fhips of their own. Thefe packets formerly-
brought over vaft quantities of gold in fpecie, either
in moidores, or in bars of gold, on account of the
merchants at London,

The cuStom-houfe for all the towns in this port,
and the head collector, is eff.ablifh.ed at this town ;
where the duties, including thole of the other ports,
are very considerable. Here is alfo a great fifhery
for pilchards y and the merchants of Falmouth have
the chief Stroke in that profitable trade.

Truro, though it gives place to Falmouth, is how-
ever a confiderable town, governed by a mayor, four
aldermen, and a recorder. The mayor is alfo mayor
of Falmouth. It Stands up the water north-and-by-
eaft from Falmouth, in the utmoft extended branch
of the haven, at the conflux of two rivers, which,
• though not of any long courfe, have a very good
appearance for a port, and make a. large wharf be-
tween them in the front of the town ; and the water
here makes a good port for fmall fhips, though it be
at the influx, but not for fhips of burden. There
are three churches in it.

Tregony, or Tregcnau (which in Britifn Signifies
the mouth- town), is a borough-town upon the fame
water, north-eaft from Falmouth, diStant about 16
miles from it, but is a town of very little trade ; nor
indeed have any of the towns fo far within the fhore
(not\vithflanding the benefit of the water) any con-
siderable trade, but what is carried on under the mer-
chants of Falmouth or Truro. It was incorporated
by James I. *nd is governed by a mayor, recorder,
and 12 capital burgeSles.

Grampound is a market-town and borough, go-
verned by a mayor, eight aldermen, a recorder, and
town-clerk, about four miles farther up the water.

This

CORNWALL. 363

This place indeed has a claim to antiquity, and is
an appendix to the dutchy of Cornwall, of which it
holds at a fee-farm rent, and pays to the king 10/.
1 1 j. id. per annum. It has no parifh- church, but
only a chapel of eare to an adjacent parifh. Here
are fome remains to be feen of a famous Cocdafalauy
which, in the Britijh, fignifles Felon wood, granted,
with all the lands in it, to the town, in king Ed*
ward HL's time.

Penrhyn, a promontory or cape, another borough-
town, governed by a. mayor, eleven aldermen, and
a common-council, a recorder, &c. and lending two
members to parliament, is up the fame branch of the
haven as Falmouth, but ftands four miles higher to-
wards the weft, upon an hill ; yet (hips come to it
of as great a flze as can come to Truro, It is a
very pleafant agreeable town, and for that reafon has
many merchants in it, who would perhaps otherwife
live at Falmouth. The chief commerce of thefe
towns, as to their fea-aflairs, is the pilchard and
Newfoundland hlhing, which is very profitable to
them all. It had formerly a conventual church,
with a chantry, and a religious houle, a cell to Kir-
ton ; but they are all demolifhed, and fcarce the ruins
cf them diftingui friable enough to know one part
from another. The fea embraces this town on each
iide,

Penrhyn is exceedingly well watered, having water
running in wooden pipes through the ftreets, and at
intervals ciflerns to receive it ; and it is fo contrived,
that what overflows the ciflern runs into another
wooden pipe ; and fo interchangeably down the hill
the town ftands upon. Belides this, almoft every
houfe hath fpring- water, a garden, and an orchard
to itfelf.

Quitting Falmouth- haven, from Penrhyn weft, we
came to Heljlon^ another borough-town, at about

R 2 feven

364 C O R N W A L L.

feven miles diftance : it ftands upon the little river
Cober, which however admits the fea fo into its bo-
fom, as to make a tolerable good harbour for fhips,-
a little below the town. It is the fifth town allowed
for the coining tin, and feveral of the fhips called
Tin Ships are laden here.

Hcljion is large and populous, and has four fpacious
Greets, an handfome church, and a good trade. It
is governed by a mayor, aldermen, and common-
council. Beyond it is a market town, though of no
refort for trade, called Market-Jew : it lies indeed
on the fea-ftde, but has no harbour or fafe road for
flipping.

At Helford is a fmall, but good harbour, between
Falmouth and this port, where many times the Tin
fhips go in 10 load for London ; alfo here are a good
number of fifhing-veffels for the pilchard trade, and
abundance of fkilful fifhermen.

Penfance is the far theft town of any note weft,,
being 289 miles from London, and within about ten
miles of the promontory called the Land's End; fo
that this promontory is from London 299 miles, or
thereabouts. This is a market-town of good bufi-
nefs, well-built, and populous; has a good trade,
and a great many fhips belonging to it, notwithftand-
ino- it is fo remote. Here are alfo a great many
o-ood families of gentlemen, though in this utrnolt
angle! of the nation ; and, which is yet more ftrange,.
the^ veins of lead, tin, and copper ore, are faid to be
feen, even to the utmoit extent of land, at low-
water mark, and in the very fea. So rich, fo valu-
able a trcafure is contained in thefe parts of Great
Britain, though they are fuppofed to be poor, be-
caufe fo remote from London, which is the centre of
our wealth.

At Penfance I faw the houfe in which they lay

(and the manner in which they prefs) their iifh,

i cfpecially

C O R N W A L L. 365

-cfpecially pilchards ; they pile them up on a bed of
great length and breadth, to wit, as long and broad
•as the houfe made for that purpofe will permit,
and breaft-high ; then in the wall behind, they have
a hole into which they thruft a rafter or poft of
timber, (which reacheth crofs the bed of fifh), and
on the other end of it hang one or two more great
Hones, of which they have many lying there, with a
great hook of iron fafte-ned in them for that purpofe ;
of thefe holes and rafters they have many all along
the bed, which prefs down the boards, wherewith I
conceive the bed of fifh is covered, and fo preis the
fifh equally underneath the bed ; they have a gutter
to receive and convey the oil which comes from the
fifh into a vefTel made on purpofe in. the ground ac
one end of the houfe.

They have a pretty quay made with a pier of ftone,
both at Penfance and St. Ives.

Between Penfance and St. Burien, a town midway
between it and the Land's End, ftands a circular
temple of the Druids, confiding of 19 ftones, the
diftance between each being 12 feet, and a 20th in
the centre, much higher than the reft ; and are not
unlike thofe of Stone-benge in IV kfnre. The parifh.
where they ftand is called Bifcardwoune, from whence
the ancient and noble fa nily of Bofcawen (vifcounts
Falmouth) derives its nam".

In CUer pari fli, in this county, fix or eight fiones
of prodigious bignefs likewife ftand up in a circle $ a
monument of the like nature.

Thefe are probably, as thofe at Stone-henge and Bu-
rien, remains of Druids temples.

And we fhall mention in this place, that ztStan-
;.tondrew, in Somerf&Jhire, is another temple of thr
Druids, called The Weddings.

The Maen-amfor .. near this town of Penfance, was
.alfo.a very remarkable ftone, which, <rs Mr. Camden

K 3 tells

366 CORNWALL.

tells us, though it be of a vaft bignefs, yet might be
moved with one finger, notwithstanding a great
number of men could not remove it from its place.
It was defh-oyed, as one of the fame fort was in Fife-
Jh're, Scotland, by one of O ivir's governors ; for tho e
reformers had a notion of thefe works being of a
luperiiitious kind.

Maen is a Brit'tfh word for a crreat ilone ; there is

p* ''a •***

one of tnefe nones, as Dr. Stukeley tell us, in Derby-
fpire^ and Mr. Triand acquaints us, that there are
aHb fuch \a Ireland, as well as Wale:: he gives the
j'wing account of this piece of antiquity.

" At a place called Maen amber, fays he, is an heap
of ftotles, roundiih, and of a vail bulk; but to ar-
tificially pitched on flat ftones, ibmetimes more,
fometimes fewer in number, that touching the great
ftone lightly, it moves, and feems to totter, to the
great amazement of the ignorant ; but ftirs not, at
leaft not fenAbly, when one ufes his whole flrength."

Near Penfance, but open to the fea, is that gulph
.they call Mount's Bay, named fo from an high hill
ftanding in the water, or rather a rock, which they
call Si, Michael's Mount ; the feamen call it only The
Corntjb Mount. On the top is a church, Which is
occaiionally ufed for divine fervice, and has a good
ring of bells in the tower. At the bottom are docks
for the building and repairing of An all veffels, with
houfes for the habitation of the artificers, he. At
low water, there is a dry paffage from the main
land to it. At Penfance is a very good road for
ihioping, which makes their town a place of |
re fort.

A little up in the country towards the north-weft
is Godolcban; which, though an hid, rather than a:
town, gives name to the ancient and noble family
of Gcd-jlpbin ; and nearer on the northern cuaft is
RyaltW) which gave the fecond title to the carls of

Go dolphin*

C O TL N W ALL. 367

'Qodolphin. This place alfo is infinitely rich in tin
mines.

But I muft not end this account at the utmoft ex-
tent of the ifland of Great Britain weft, without
taking fome little notice of thofe kind of excrefcrnces
of the ifland, the rocks of Scilly, where many good
fhips are almoft continually dafhed in pieces, and
many brave lives loft, in fpite of the mariner's belt
fkiil, or the light- houfes and other fea-marks bed
notice.

Thefe ifles, called in Latin Siiurvm Infulcs, lie
about 30 miles from the Land^s EiyL and are a duller
•of lmall iflands, to the number, as feme reckon, of
145. Scilly was once the chief in eftimation. But
St. .Mary being the fruitfulleft and largeft, though but
-nine" miles about, has now the pre-eminence; and
it has a very good harbour, fortified with a caftle
built by queen Elizabeth. Thefe ifles were con-
quered by Atheljlam, one of the Saxon kings; and
from his time they have been deemed a part of the
county of Cornwdil.

Thefe iflands lie fo in the middle between the two
vail openings of the north and fouth narrow feasj
•or, as the failors call them, the Brijhl Channel, and
*The Channel (fo called by way of eminence), that it
cannot, or perhaps never will, be avoided, but that
feveral ihips in the dark of the nighr, and in firefs of
weather, may, by being out in their reckonings, or
by other unavoidable accident?, miftake; and if they
do, they are fure, as the failors call it, to run bump
cftore upon Scilly, where they find no quarter among
-the breakers, but are beat to pieces, without any
vpoMibility of efcape.

I One can hardly mention the rocks of Scilly, with-
out letting fall a tear to the memory of fir Cloudejley
Shovel, and all the gallant fpirits with him ; who, in
'the admiral's fhip, with three other men of war,

R 4. «. and

368 CORNWALL.

and all their men, running upon thefe rocks, right
afore the wind, in a dark night, were loir, and not a
man faved, in his return from a fruitlefs expedition
againft Teuton.

They tell us of eleven fail of merchant fhips home-
ward-bound, and richly laden from the fouthward,
who had the like fate, in the fame place, a great many-
years ago ; and that fome of them coming from Spain,
and having a great quantity of bullion or pieces of
eight on board, the money frequently drives on fhore
frill, and that in good quantities, efpecially after
ilorray weather.

This may be the reafon why, as we obferved during
our fhort flay here, feveral mornings, after it had
blown fomething hard in* the night, the fands were
covered with country- people, running to and fro to
fee if the fea had call: up any thing of value. This
the feamen call going a Jhoring\ and it feems they
often find good purchafe. Sometimes alio dead bodies
are caft up here, the confequence of fhipwrecks among
thofe fatal rocks and iilands ; as alfo broken pieces of
ihi^s, cafks, chefts, and almofc every thing that will
float, or roll on fhore by the furges of the fea.

Nor is it feldom that the lavage country-people
fcuffie and fight about the right to what they find,
and that in a defperate manner ; fo that this part of
Cornwall may truly be faid to be inhabited by a fierce
and ravenous people, like thofe on the coaft of
Sujpx; for they are fo greedy and eager for prey, that
they are charged with ftrange, bloody, and cruel
dealings, even fometimes with one another ; but ef-
peciahy with poor diftreffed feamen, when they are
forced on fhore by jtempefts, and feck help for their
lives, and where they rind the recks themfelves not
more mercilefs than the people who range about them
for prey.

Here alfo, as a farther tefcimony of the immenfc

riches which have been loll at times upon this coa-ff,

«t ' .we

C O R N W A L L. 369

we found feveral engineers and proje&ors with di-
.ving engines, attempting to recover what had been
loft, and that not always unfuccefsfully.

From the tops of the hills, on this extremity of
the land, you may fee out into what they call the
Chaps of the Channel; which, as it is the greateft inlet
of commerce, and the moft frequented by merchants
fhips of any place in the world; fo one ieldom looks
out to feaward, but fomething new prefents of fhips
pairing, or repairing, either on the great or leiler
channel .

The point of the main- land, Galled the Lizard^
which runs out to the fouthward, and the other pro*
montory called the Land's End, make the two
angles or horns, as they are called, from whence it
is fuppofed this country received its firft name in
Cormvall, or, as Mr. Camden fays, Cor nubia in the
Latin, and, in the Britijh, Cemeu, as running out in
two vaftly extended horns..

The Lizard point is dill more ufeful (though not
fo far weft) than the other, which is more properly
called The Land's End, being more frequently fir It
dilcovered from the lea;- and is therefore the general
guide, and the land which the fhips choofe to make
fir ft; being then fure, that they are paft Scilly,

Nature has fortified this part of the ifland of Britain
in a ftrange , manner, and fo as is worth. a traveller's
obfervation.

Firir, there are the iflands of Scilly, and the rocks
about them; which are placed like out -works to
reiift the firft aifaults cf this enemy the ocean, -and
fo break the force of it ; as the -pi lessor ftirlings (as
they are called) are.p'aced before the folid itone-vvcrk
of London- bridge, to fence -off the force, either of the
water or ice, or any thing elfe that _might.be dangerous
to the work.

Then there are;a vafc number of funk-rocks/ fot
fncLas,are,vifIble3 . and ■ -.above water.; iwhjcjj

••3- J

:37° CORNWALL.

leflen the quantity of water, that would otherwi'fe
lie with an infinite weight and force upon the land.
1 1 is obferved, that thefe rocks lie under water for a
great way off into the fea on every fide the faid two
horns or points of land ; fo breaking the force of the
water, and IdFening the weight of it.

Bat betides -this, the whole body of the land,
which makes this part of the iile of Britain, feems
to be one folid rock, as if it was formed by nature
to refill: the otherwife irrefittible power of the ocean.
And indeed, if one were to obferve with what fury
trie fea comes on fometimes agairm: the ill ore, efpe-
<r-a!ly at the Lizard Point, where there are but few,
if any, outworks (as 1 call them) to refill it; how
high the waves come forward, fcorming on the
I ack' of one another, particularly when the wind
blows off- fea ; one would wonder, that even the
flrongefc rocks themfeives fhould be able to refill anil
repel them. But, as I faid, the country feems to
be one great body of {tone, and prepared fo on
purpofe.

And yet, as if all this were not enough, Nature has
provided another ft rong fence ; and that is, that thefe
vaft rocks are, in a manner, cemented together by the
folid and weighty ore of tin and copper, efpecially
the latter, which is plentifully found upon the very
outmoft edge of the land, and with which the ftones
may be laid to be foldercd together, left the force of
the fea mould fcparate and disjoint them, and, break-*
ing in upon thefe fortifications of the illand, deifroy
its chief fecurity *.

* It is very probac1- that all thefe ifles were once part of the main
land ; but (^ feaj vibleartty bating aguhft it, carried oft the fofter
■ ■carts, ami i=fl the harder. This procefi (if Nature and Time may !>c
ieen in tnigiaturf at the wef^ein p< fnt of the l.Je of H'lgbt, and m.my
other expo/ed places. Undoubti.dly, h id not fuch hard bodies as thofc
r<Kks be-n*hrre, the fea would have made fiill ^rc^ter haved-:, and
•cmitd *'*> jv iiiuth m^ic ul the laud.

This

CORNWALL. 37X

This is certain, that there is a more than ordi-
nary quantity of tin, copper, and lead alfo, fixed by
• the great Author of Nature in thefe very remote angles,;
fo that the ore is found upon the very furface of the
rocks a good way into the fea, and does not only lie,
as -it were, upon or between the Hones among the
•earth, which in that cafe might be warned from it
bv the fea ; but is even blended or mixed in with the
Hones themfelves, fo that the ftones muft be fplit into
■pieces to come at it. By this mixture the rocks are
made exceedingly weighty and folid, and thereby ftiil
the more qualified to repel the force of the fea.

Upon this remote.part of the ifland we faw num»-
liers of that famous king of Crows, which is known
by the name of the Cornijh Chmgh^ they are the
fame kind which are found in Syjitzerland among
the Alps, and which Pliny pretended were peculiar to
thofe mountains, and calls the Pyrrhocorax. The
body is black, the le^s, fee.t, and bill, of a yellow,
. almoft to a red. I could not find that it was af-
fected for any good quality it had ; n^r is the flefh
good to eat ;» for it feeds much on nfh and carrion ; it
is counted little better than a kite ; for it .is of a
ravenous nature, and is very mifchievous^ it will
fieal and carry away any thing about the houfe, that
is not too heavy for it, though not fit for its food; as
v-knive?, forkc, fpoons, and linen-cloths, or what-
ever it can fly away with ; fometimes, they fay, it
has ftolen bits of firebrands, or lighted candles, and
'lodged them in the ftacks of corn, and in the thatch
*©f .barns and houfes^ a,nd fct thern on fire*

.'Hcft . iLE'.T"-i

372 S C I L L t.

LETTER VII.

A more particular Description of the Scill-y

Islands.

THE Set fly iflands, of which the mofl noted arc
2.7 in number, lie, as I have laid, at about 30
miles diftance from Mount's Bay, and are thought
formerly to have been joined to that main land by an
ifthmus, or; neck of land, in length of time warned
away by the fea, in the fame manner as Great Bri-
tain is luppofed anciently to have been joined to
France,

Thefe iflands were called by the ancient Greeks
Jrlefperides and Cajjlterides, from their wefterrr fitua-
tion, and their abounding with tin. The Dutch call
them Sortings ; and in ieverab of the 'Tower • records,
and ancient manufcripts, they are cailed Sully or
Sulley, which is probably a contraction from Infula,
asjilefrom iilands.

The Seilly ifles lie due weft from the Lizard Point?
about 17 leagues, and nearly weft by fouth, from
the fouthermoib, or old land's e'nd next Mount's Bay,
ten leagues ; alfo W. S, W. from the middlemoft or
weftcrmoft land's end above nine leagues, before the
entrance of the jBrz/rVand Britijh channels. They are
feen from the land's end in a clear day, and at about
fix or ("even leagues off Smithes found, fandy ground,
and about 60 fathom water; alio from the north-
ward, at 60 fathom, only, fandy ground as far.

Twenty- one or tw-nty-two leagues W. by N. and
W, N. W. from Sciily, is a bank, on which there is
but 50, 51, or 52 fat-bom water, but between this
bank and Stilly 60 fathom*.

ffiehdU

S C I L L Y. *Y£

Beheld at a diftance, thefe iflands appear like (o
many high banks in the water, as land ufually ap-
pears off at Tea. But the rocks about the iflands,
especially thole to the weftward, appear off at fea
like old caflles and churches, with the ieaa alter-
nately flying over them in white flieets, or fleeces
of that element.

The names, qualities, &c. of thefe iflands, with
the quantity of land, in acres, contained in each,
may be feeri by the following table.

j Five larger iflands, inhabited by about 1400
people.

Acres.

1 St. Mary, — — — 1520

2 Trefco, • — — — 880

3 5/. Martin, — — 720

4 St. Jgnes, s — — — 300

5 Byyer> *~ . ~ —33°

6 Samp/on, (One family only) — — 120

Four Scattered iflands bearing grafs.

7 St. Helen, — — — 80

8 lean, — — — - — 70

9 White IJIand, — — — - $0
20 dnnet, — - — • 40

Ten eaftern iflands flocked with rabbits, and fit for
feeding cattle in fumrner,

1 1 Great Arthur, — — 30

12 Great Gcmilly, ■— — — - — 20

13 Great Gannick? — 1$

id Minewitken- — ■ — — - l,c

1 5 Nornour? -■— •■— • -— fi2

16 Little Arthur 9 '•— -- — • '■ — - 7

1 7 ■ Little Ganilly, -—- — — -'6

18 Little Gcnnic^ *—» --•— — - g

■ w MgggH

374 S C I L L Y.

Acres,,

19 Ragged IJland, — — — 5

20 ImiziJvouIs, — — — 4

Seven fcattered iflands placed about the larger!.

&I Minarcloy — — — 12

22 Gunhall, — — — IO

23 Northwithiel) — — 9

.24 White Ijland, near Samp/on, — — 7

25 Round IJland. — — — 3

26 Scilly Ijland, — — 1

-27 -Rat I/land? — — of

Sum total, 427 5I
The Half, 2 137 |
:Acres, at leafr, are tillable and i.-nproveab'e.

Belides the above, which are moft noted, there
iimay be numbered about a dozen very fmall illands
^bearing grafs ; and rocks innumerable above water.

St. Mary's is the largeft of the Sally illands, con-
taining as many houfes and inhabitants as all the
reft. Its greater! length is about two miles and a
•half, mrddlemoft breadth almofl one and a half, and
jnay be- reckoned betwixt nine and ten miles in cir-
cumference.

The -hills are rocky, riling in fome places to .a
jgreat height, and are enriched with mineral {lores.
The valleys are fertile, and the fields, like thofe in
Cornwall, are inciofed Avith flone hedges. Alfo the
Wealthy plains and turfy, downs, in fev^ral places of
-this ifland, afford their ule and ■p'eafurc. The
bighefh land yields a^profpecl: of England m - a clear
•day, and- of mips going out and returning at the
-mouths, of the channels. Here is alfo morafs-ground,
in two. parts of. this iiland, called , the U/>pi r and
j&Qwer Moors, which fu^ply the cattle with water in

5 C I L L Y. 37-5

-dry feafons; in the upper of which, the farthest
from Hugh-tovm, is a pretty large and deen la.ke.

About two furlongs from Hugh-town, the capital
of 67. Marys, to the eailward, is a curious fandy
bay, called Pomelin, where the beach, from the mark
of flood to the mark of ebb, is covered with an

^exceeding fine writing land, and of which fhip-loads
may be gathered at low-water. On account of its

.plenty and brightnefs, it is fetched by the inhabitants
for fanding their houfes in Hugh-town, and other
parts of this ifland ; and prefents of it are made to
many parts of England^ as a curiofity.

The greater! curioiities obferved in St. Mary's, are

■the rocks of Peninnls, and a fubterraneous paffage
near them, whofe entrance is called Piper's Hole, This
paffage is faid to communicate under ground with the
iiland of Tre/ca, as far as the north-weft cliffs or
banks of it, where another cavity is feen, that goes

vby the fame name with the former,,

Going in at the orifice, at Pentiums banks in St*
Mary s, it is above 'a man's height, - and of as muck
fpace in its breadth ; but grows lower and narrower
farther in. A little beyond which entrance appear
rocky batons or refervoirs, continually running over

•with frefh water, defcending, as it diililis, from the
fides of the rocky paffage : by the fall of water heard,
farther in, it is probable there may be rocky defcents

in the paffage." the drippings from the fides have
worn the paffage, as far as it can be feen, into very
various angular furfaces.

St, Marys IJland is defended by a ftrong gaTrifon?

'fituated upon the weft part of it, overlooking the

.town and ifthmus, and commanding the country that
way and to the fea about the batteries, -of which

*here-are feveral ftrong ones, mounted with 64 pieces

of cannon, fome of .18 pounders. It alfo contains a

•company of foldiers, a. mailer-gunner^ and $sx other

:,;gunner&

376 S C I L L Y.

gunners, a ftore-houfe, with arms for. arming 300
iilanders, who are obliged to aiiift the military forces
at the approach of an enemy ; a guard-houfe, bar-
racks, bridge, and ftrong gates ; and, upon the fum-
mit of the hill, above a regular afcent, going from
Hugbtoivtj, ftands his majefty's Star-cajlley with ram-
parts and a ditch about it. This caftle commands a
profpecl of all the illands and feas about them; from
^whence, in a fair day, are alfo beheld mips palling to
and fro, and England^ as though riling out of the
fea, at a diftance. Here the king's dolours are
hoifted, and appear confpicuous aloft, for fh<ps to
obferve and obey coming in. The rights-honourable
the lord GodoJphin, who is alfo proprietor, commands
as governor of all the illands ; and a lieutenant-
governor is here commirTroned to aft under his lord-
Ihip by his majeity, but not upon eftablifhment.
The captain of the company commands in his lord-
fhip's and the lieutenant-governor's abience, wfiQ
never rellde there.

About a mile foutli weft of the fouth-part of Stt
Marys garrifon, lies St. Agnes IJland, otherwile
called the Ligbt-boufe I/land, upon which Hands a
♦very high and ftrong light-houfe, feen in the night at
a great diftance, by which mips going out of, or
coming into, the two channels, avoid falling in with
the rocks, lying thicker about this than any other of
the Scilly iflands. It is alio of ufe to all coafting
veffels croffing the channel^. There is nothing par-
ticular in the foil of this iiland, different from the
reft of the [{lands, (being, in that refpecl, very
much alike,) nor of the dwellings, or delcri prion of
places, except the light-keeper's habitation and em-
ployment,, and a church in ufe for devotion.

About three miles and. a half northerly of the
fiicft northern part of St, Agnes's JJland^ or two miles
\ -northerly : from St. Marys Key, . lies . the ifland > of

Trjfak

S C I L L Y. 577

Trefco, the capital town of which is called the Dol-
phin, (probably from Godclphin,) confirming of a
church, and about half a fcore ftone-built houfes;
and near the landing-place of Trefco, in fight of New
Grim/by Harbour , ftands a dwelling called Trefco-
palace* This formerly ufed to be a houfe of refort
for matters of fhips, and ftrangers coming to this
ifland ; but the cuftom has fome time been altered to
a houfe of better accommodation, farther up the
kland. Hereabouts are feveral fcattered Hone-built
houfes inhabited by labouring people *.

About two miles from the northermofl part of
St. Marys, or one from the eaftermoft. part of Trefco,
lies the ifland of 6"/. Martin; upon the extremity of
which, at the outermoft part, ftands a day -mark,
next the coming in of Crow-found, appearing, at a
diitance, as conspicuous by day, as the light-houfo
upon St, Agnes, but is not altogether fo high and
large. It is built with rock-ftone, round next the
bottom, and tapering upwards. This ferves to direct
-veffels crofling the channels, or coming into Scllly.

Almoft half a mile from the weft-fide of Trefcv
Ifland, to the weflward of the landing-place, lies the
ifland of Bryer, which is inhabited by feveral fami-
lies, fome of a generous difpofition, and perfons of
able circumftances.

Samphir, and many kinds of medicinal herbs,
grow here, as in feveral of the other iflands.

The number of people upon the ifland of St. Mary
are about 700, including men, women, and children,
and about as many in the iflands of Trefco, St. Mar-

* The remains of the abbey are yet vifible, the fituation well chofen,
with a fine bay of f:efh water before it, half ami ie long, and a furlong
wide, vmh an ever-green bank high enough to keep out the fa, and
ferving at once to preferve the pond, and ihelter the abbey. In this pond
there are moft excellent eels, and the lands lying round it are by far the
bed i n thole iilands. Campbell's Political Survey of Great Britain.

37S S C I L L Y.

tin, Bryer, St. Agnes, and Samp fan ; in the laft and
fmalleft of which inhabited iilands lives but one
family, which goes to the places of worfhip in the |
other iilands ; here being no opportunity of public'k
devotion, nor of communication, but by means of a
boat.

The men are loyal Subjects, endowed with much
natural Strength of body and mind, giving proofs of
their fortitude in bearing fatigues and hardfhips ; are
very good feamen and pilots, and want only an op-
portunity of education, to render themfelves more
•nfeful Subjects.

The women are very dextrous in the ufe of the
needle, and alfo in talents of good houfewifery ; nor
do they want beauty, and other engaging qualities
to recommend them.

The air of there rflands (fays Mr. Campbdl) is
equally mild and pure; their winters are lcldom lub-
jeft to froft and fnow. When the former happens,
it lafts not long, and the latter never lies upon the
ground. The heat of their fnmmer is mrch abated
'by fea-breezes ; they are indeed frequently incom-
moded by fer- fogs, but thefe are not unwholefome.
Agues are rare, and fevers more fo The mod fatal
-difteinper is the fmall-pox ; yet thefe wh" live tem-
perately commonly furvive to a great age, and are
^remarkably free -from difeafes.

The foil is very good, and produces grain of all
forts, except wheat, of which they had anciently
•great quantities. They ftill grow a little; but the
bread made of it is unpie.fant. For this reafoa.,
they chiefly eat what is made of barley ; and of this |
•they ha\e Such abundance, that though they ufe it
both for bread and beer, they have more than fuffices
for their own consumption. Potatoes is a new im-
provement; and they profper to fuch a degree, that,
in fome places, they have two crops in a year. 1 hey

have

S C I L L Y. 379

liave all forts of roots, and pulfe and fallacls grow
well. Dwarf fruit-trees, goofeberries, currants,
rafbe'rries, and every thing of that kind, under pro-
per flicker, thrive exceedingly; but they have no
tall trees. The ranuncula, anemone, and moil kind
of flowers, are fuccefsfully cultivated in their gardens.
They have wild fowls of all forts, from the iwan to
the ihipe, and a particular kind called the hedge-
chicken, which is not inferior to the ortolan. Tame
fowl, puffing, and rabbits, in great number ; their
black cattle are generally fmall, but very well tailed,
though they feed upon ore-wood : their hones are
little, but ftrong and lively.

I have already faid, that fir Cloud ejley Shovel was
loft near thefe iflands, in his return from Toulon: it
*vas upon the Gilfton Ro:k, Oflober 22, 1707, and
not upon the Bijhop and Clerks, as by feme have been
represented. It was thick foggy weather, when the
whole fleet in company, coming (as they thought)
near the land, agreed to lie to in the afternoon ; but
fir CloudeJIey, in the AJfociatlon, ordering fail to be
made, firft-ftruck in the night, and funk immediately.
Several perfons of diftinction being on board at that
time were loft ; particularly the lady Shovel's twTo
fons by her former hufband, fir John Narborough^
with about 800 men. The Engle, captain Hancock^
commander, underwent the fame fate. The Romney
and Firebrand ditto flruck and were loft; but the two
captains and 25 of their men were faved. The other
men of war in company efcaped, by having timely
notice.

M

IND EX

**

V

41

I

N

D

E

-X»

TO THE

FIRST VOLUME.

A.

ABbolfbury
Abercorn, krd,
feat
Aldburgh ,

Alder, river
Aldermafton
Aires ford
Alton

Ambrefbury
Andover
A run, rimer
Arundel
Afhburton
Afhford
Audley-Inn
Aveley
Avon, river
Axminfter
Aylfham

B.

Babylon bill
Bacon, Jir Nicholas

307

A

&

16s

240

2\l
I96
252
251
I7I

Hid
342

.98

6

280

3*7
61

321
34

Bagfhot-heath

Banitead-downs

Barking

Bafmg-houfe

Bafingfloke

Battle

Bay ford cattle

Beacon-hill

Beaulieu

Beccles

Beddington

Bellhoufe

Belvidere

Bevis-mount

Bildefton

Billericay

Bird's Neil Fort

Black-heath

Blackney

Black- Notley

Black Tail

Blackwarer ri*v er

Blandford

B teeehingly

Blithburghr

198
219

4

239
ibid
160
128
20
l 5

43-
2 17

6

117

*9-

3f

22

124

1 1 2

101

9
8

310

214

- . 43"
Rbadicia,

INDEX.

Boaciicia, queen

H

Booking

ior

Bofom, church of

183

Botfdale

- 34

Bow, Porcelane

2

Boxford

35

Box-hill

210

Braditow

140

Braintree

23, 101

Br amber

169

Brancafter

64

Brardon

68

Brankfey. -Jland of 294

Brentwood 22

Bnckworih 280

Bridport 307

Bnghthelmflone 167
Briiiol, earl of ] his feat 35

Brixham, 348

Broadlands, 251

Bromley 216

Brome 41

Bude-haven 353

Bull-Hide Haven, 159
Bunbury.yfrThomas-Charles

35

Bungay 43

Bures 33

Burgh-caftle 44

Burnham Overy 6$

Bury St. Edmunds 31

BuiTelton 189

Butley 42

C,

Calfhot caftle 193
Cambiidgefhirc 63 to 98

Cambridge 74, 15 Jeq.

Canvey ///and 12

Cautcrbury 134

Caiifb rook- caftle 194

28

64

203

02

TOO

I72
279

Camakon
Caftle-rifmg
St. Catharine's hill
Catton

Caxton 96

Charing 132

Charleton 182"

Charlton 114

Chatham 123

Chelmer river, 8, 22

Chelmsford, 22

Chertfey, 20©
Chefterton, a Roman camp

321

Chefilhurft 118
Che ilei ford
Chichefter
Chilmark

Chrilkhurch 28, 29 c

Ciapham, 2.rS

Clare 32

Claiemont 221

Clarendon, feat of 2J9

Clay 56

Cke (St.) 365

Clye 62

Cobham-hall 127

Coggefhall 23

Colcheller 10, 15

Colne, river < 15, 16

Colnies, hundred cf 37

Coif caftle 296

Cornifh chough 371

Cornwall 35 2

Cottman Derm 208

Cowdry, djcribed 174

Cowes 193

Cran brook 155

Crediton 340

Crockeren Torr 343

Cromer 59

Crook Tea water 10
Croydon

Croydon
CuiFord

N D

216
35

D.

Caere, lord, his feat 6

Dagenham breach 5.

Danfon-hill 119

Darking 208

Dart, river 341

Dartford 119

Dartmouth 345

Deal i43

Deben, rwr 36

Debenham 3^

Deepden 208

Dengynefs 154

Deptrbrd 106

Devil's Dyke 71

Devon fhire 323 to 253

Doddington, George 311

Dorcheiier 297

Dorfetfhire 252 to 321

Dover 146

Dover Cliff 150

Downham 67

Downs j 44

Dulwich- Wells 216.

Dunrnow 23

Dunwich 29

Durdans 220

Dyferr, ford, bis bou/e 22$

£.

Eafthamflead Pari 199

Eafiburgholt 34

Eait-Loe 3^9

Eafton 40

Eddyitone light*houfe 348
Edgcumbe, lord, bis feat 352

Elthara 118

E X.

Ely, ijleof 69

El)', r/'/y of ibid

Epping For eft 10$

Eplbm ^04, 219

Efcott 329

Efher 22 \

Eflex, county ef, 1 to 24 j
98 to 105
Eufton-hall 71

Ex, river 336

Exeter 330, &feq.

Eye as

F.

Faith's, St, 62

Fakenham ibid

Falmouth 360

Fanfliaw, Thomas, e/q. 5
Farley 287

Farnham 185, 196

Felfted iQi

Feveverfham 128

Fitzwalter, earl, bis/eat 2$,
Folkftone \$t

Fonnereaux, Thomas, efq.

2$-

Ford -abbey 327

Fordington 299

Foreir, Epping 25, & feq.

Fowey, river 357

Fox, ftr Stephen 287

Foy 3S?

£ramlingham 42

Frome, river 299

G.

Gad's Kill 121

Garrick, Mr. bis hou/e 237
Gatton 214

Germans, St. 35^

GilKngham-

INDEX.

Gillingham-caftle

Godalmin

Godolchan

Godilone

God wood

Goodamore

Goodwin Sands

Gofport

Grafton, duke of, bis feat

Grampound

Gravel-pits

Gravefend 1 1

Grays

Greeenwich*

Grefham

Guilford,.

n

124

204
366
21;

179
348

1S9

71
$62

2

119

7
107

62

201

H.

Hackney-marm
Hadley
Halefworth
Haling
Hall-down
Halnaker/ar^
Halnaker
Hallled
Ham

Hampmire 18$ to
to 252 ; 2
Hampton court
Harold, king
Harwich
Hailings
Hatch lands
Havant
Haverhill
Helford
Ilelilon
Hen auk for eft
Hey tor rocks
Hickling

3
29

42
190

338

179

18a
23

«■$

T9£; 238

88 to n)2,

2 "-2

159
18

I.49, I58

20;

190

33

3&4

363

3
326

61

Hoare, il/r. his feat 316,

Hogmagcg hills 72

Holkham 63.

HolimvardwHolmfdale 212

Holt 62

Honiton 328

Horn- fair, its origin 115

Horfehearh-hall 97

Hoth field 155

Houghton 64

Hoxne 43,

Hugh-town 37^

Hunger-hill 296

Hybhe 149, 152

I.

Ichworth

Ingatftone

Ingatftone-hall

Jouring, defcribed

Ipfwich

Me of Wight

Me of Ely

Ifle.ofPurbeck

Ixworth

K.

5^
2 2

102

3-
25

J 93

69

29O

34

Wellington 354

Kent, the county of ICO to
1.55.5 161 to 164; 21 j to
216

Kent's Hole

Kcttfcotty-houfe

Kilmington

Ki ng barrow

Kinglciere

King's Ferry

Kingfton, Surry

L

Languard-Fort
Land's End

133

32S

2S5
249
1 26
220

21

i 9

Lavenham

I N D E X.

Lavenham
Lavingrbn- creek
Leatherhead 2

Le Defpencer, lord,

Lee, river

Leith-hill

Leoftoff

Lenham

Lelkard

Leltwithiel

Let<heringham

Lewes

Lidgate

Littlebury

Little Hampton

Lizard Point

Longford

Low Lay ton

Ludoe's Hole

Lydford

Lyd, river

Lyme Regis

Lymington

Lynn

65

30

Mel ford

30

25

Mendlefham

35

04, 208

Merfey

12

, bisjeat

Merfh

69

J33

Middlefex

232-

-i38

4

Milcen Hall

35

210

Mile End

-

2

46

Mikon

127

133

Milton Abbey

300

1 355

Miitley-Hail

*$

358

Mole, river

207

41

Monaton, water -fall

344

164

•Yiorden-coilege

I L2

33

More Park

1 y/

100

Mother Ludoe%

Hole

197

171

Mount's Bay

3(06

369

Mount Edgcam

be

3S«

285

2

N.

197

344

Nadder, river

279

ibtd.

Nafe, the

18

308

Need ham

33

291

Needles, the

194

, fgfo

Net ley abbey

192

M.

Maen-amber
Maiden -caitle
Maidlione
Maiden .
Manlngtree
M^nnock, fir Francis
Margate
$/iarket-Jew
Martin's Hall Hill
Maryland Point
Mawes St.
Med way, river
Melcomb-Regis
Vol. I.

365

302

130
14
24
33

*39

3b3
287

2> 3

300

121
3°3

Ne^vendon

New-Foreft

Newhaven

Newmarket

Newport

Nej land

Non fetch

No rf )lk, cpunty of

North -Foi eland

North- VV.-.jtham

Nor them hay

Norwich

Nut cracker^

Mutfieid

190;

4S-
1^

*5$

166

7*

19£-
29

220

-08

1. , 4

61

34°

49

326

21c

O.

INDEX.

O.

216
207

271

204

37

9

329

65

Oak of Honour Hill
Ockham
OJd Sarum
Onflow, lord
Orford

Ofey, crOfvth r/7:W
Ottery, &. Mary
Oufe, r/-xw

Oyflers, account ko-jj they
are managed IO

P.

Pagei fir Gregory Turner

Painfull 206

Pendenhis 360

Peninnis, rocks of 375

Penryn

Pen fa nee

Penfhurft

Petersfield

Peterfham

Petworth

Piper's Hole

Plaiitow

Plymouth

Ply mp ton

Pool

Port of Sandwich

lort of Ip.wich

Portland, ijle of

Portcheter-r <Ue

Porrmr.n, Mr* his

Portfdow. ills

Portfea ijland

Portfmouth

Powderham-cMUe

363

364, &feq.
163

22$
173

37S

2

34S

3+8

295

18

Hid.

3°£
185

3l3
188

i*S

ibid.

338

c/iff

Purbeck, ijleof

Purfleec

Putney

QuarW-hills
Queenboiough

R.

Ramfgate
Rawleigh, fir Walter

Raynham 5.

Reepham

Rendelfham

Richborough

Richmond

Rigby, Richard, efq. his

feat
Riverhead
P ochefter

Rochford, earl, his feat
Roehampton
Romney
Romney-marfh
Rom fey
Rother, river
Rum ford
Rum brook
Rye •
Ryegate

296

6

22S

252
126

•141

3i4
127

62

4i

142

227

H9>
J54»

2I3>

25
216

121

4i
228

J53
160
250

22

35

T57

214

S.

SafFron-Walden
Saliibury 2

SaiifbtM-y Plains
Sa'tafh
i^altram
Saltwood-caftlc

97» 98

?I, &Jeq.

269

3 54

152

Sandfoot-

INDEX.

H3>

Sandfoot- cattle

Sandgate-caftle

Sandovvn-caftle

Sandwich

Saxmundham

Scilly, rocks of

Scilly ijlands

Seaford

Sevt-noaks

Shaftfbury

Shaftibury, lord

Sheernefs

Shepey ifle, its produce

Sherborn

Sfioe-beacon

Shooter' Hill

Shoreham

Suovel, fir Cloudefley

Silchefter

Sittingbourne

Smith, Mr. bis charity

Snape

Soham

Somerfeifhire

Soal-Bay

Southampton

South-Foreland

Southwark

Souchvvould

Squirries

Stfenhing

Stanfted

Stan ton drew

Stavning

Stc - juxta Neyland

Stoke biidge

Stone -Lnge

Stour, rive A'

Stourbridge

304

1Sl

140

149

39
367, ISjeq.

3~2
166

163

3K

293

124
j 25

3X3
12

118

168

379
240

127

230

41

70

321—323

40

189

144

229

39» 44

215

280
183

36S
169

33

251

IOO
3*3

Stourton

Stow-market

Stratford

Strood

Sturbridgeyij/r

Sudbury

Suffolk, county of

Suffolk, High "

Surry 196 — 21$. 21

SufTex, the county of

161. 164—185
Sutton Pool
Swallows
Sydenham Wells

316

34

*> 34
122

14
29

24—47

37> 46
6—231

156-

350

. 44
216

29,

r.

Taviftock

Tenterden

Thames, river

Thanet, ifie of

Thaxted

Thetford

Thorndon

Thorney

Tichfeld

Tilbury-Fort

Tofts, Mary, the

woman
Topfliam
'■■ orbay
I ornefs
Tregony
Trewardeth town

Tr'nlty-houfe
Truro
Tu abridge
Tunbridge- Wells

in,

■6g,

342

*54
229

139
23
67

102
190
189

raboit

204

33,8

3M

341
362

and Bay
359

2 06
362
163
l6l

V.

INDEX.

U.

Upnor-caftle
Upton

124

2

W.

Walberfwick 40

Wal fleet, oyfter-bank 9

Walmer caltle 146

Walpole, lord) his feat 61

Walling ham 64

Wakham-abbey 103

Waitham, lord, his feat 15

Walthamltow 2

Walton 18, 36, 222

Wandell, river 218

Wanfted-houfe 104

Warblington 193

Wardour-caftle 315

Wareham 295

Watling-ftreet 147

Waveney, river, 43

W? 'erley-abbey 198

Wells 62
Wenfum, river 50, 51, 52

Weiierham 215

Weltnam 2

Wefiloe 359

Weybridge 222

Weyburn-Hope 62

Weyhill 252

Weymouth 296, 303

Whalebone 3

Whitchurch 239

Whitftabh 138-

Wickham market 41

WiLy, river 279

Wilton houfe 280, & Jeq.
Wihfhire 2_$2— 28S

Wimblecon 228

Wimbuin 292

Wimburn St. Giles 2^3

Winchelfea, 157, 170

Winchelter 242, C5 feq.
Wingham 143

V\ i nter ton 58

W.fbich 69

Witham 15

Wives, in Effex,fjort- lived

Wobourn-farm 224

Woking 200

Wolrerton 61

Woocbndge 36

Vk oodord 2

WooUerlt'one 25

Woolwich 1 15

Worried 62

Wotton 213

Wulpit 34

Y.

Yarmouth £3, & feq.

Yarmouth Roads 57

Yeovil 321

Yonge, fir George, his feat

3*9

END OF VOL. I.

.

i

#

m

m,m

I

• >