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Manduessedunt Rontanorunt: Mancetter. 3 

Walter de Hastings, of Fillongley. This Walter soon parted with both places to 
Wakeline, from thence called de Mancestre^ reserving, however, the fee of Mancetter. 
This was in the year 1135. 

It is generally thought that Wakeline built the chancel, nave, and south aisle 
of the church. The north aisle is of later date. 

The first benefactor to the newly built church was Wakeline's son, Walter, who 
in 1 196 (7th Rich. I.) gave a messuage of three acres of land in Mancetter in 
perpetual alms to God and the Church of Mancetter. 

The north aisle was built probably by Sir Guy de Mancestre, who died in 
the 4th year of Edward III., and it is thought that a relative of Roger de Cropshull 
gave the window in the north aisle. There was formerly in this window a figure 
of a Sir John Cropshull who died in 1385. 

The son of Sir Guy was named Sir Edmund de Mancestre. As he died without 
male issue his estates were divided between his sisters Margaret, Joan, and Lucia. 
In the course of time the estates became very much sub-divided. 

The descendant of the eldest sister of Sir Edmund, Margaret, a Thomas Harpur 
CM" Harper (her great, great grandson) was the last of his race in Mancetter. He sold 
his share — one ninth — of the possessions of Sir Edmund to John Glover, of Baxteley. 
In this share the Manor House was included. This sale took place in 1432. 

In 1458 the Abbot and Convent of the Cistercian Abbey at Merevale founded 
a Chantry at the Altar of the Holy Trinity in Mancetter Church to celebrate Mass 
daily for the soul of the King — Henry VI. — after his departure from this life, and 
for the souls of Thomas Slawtelly and of Anne and Catherine his wives, and for 
all the souls of the faithful departed. 

In the same year a Guild was founded at the instance of John Ruggeley, then 
Abbot of Merevale, consisting of divers inhabitants of both sexes of Atherstone 
and Mancetter, who met every year upon Trinity Sunday, to choose two masters 
for the better rule and government of the Society, to which did belong one Priest 
to celebrate divine service [/. e. to say Mass] at the Altar of the Blessed Virgin 
in this church, for the good estate of King Henry VI. and his Queen during their 
life, and for their souls afterwards, and also for the good estate of all the brothers 
and sisters of the said fraternity. 

In 15 55 the Survey of Religious Houses was made, from which it appears that 
the Vicar of that day, Ranulf or Robert Barfoot or Barefoot, had as salary 
£\o I2s. 4d. The subsequent history of the church is uninteresting. 



Manduesscdnm Romanornm : Mancfiter. 




Titt: CiiUKCH (JK St. Pktku. 

Some writers have said that the church is built on the site of a Roman 
camp. Be that as it may, and leaving to conjecture whether there was formerly 
here a wooden church, snch as it was the custom to erect before the end of the 
first millenium of our era, we now proceed to describe the present church. The 
description is mainly taken from some notes made in iSS3, by Mr. J. A. Cossins, the 
present President of our Society. 

M.\-\-cetti:k CiiUKcn, St. Feteh. 

This, in many respects, was a fine and interesting church, but it has suffered 
much from a most unsatisfactory "restoration," directed by some amateur architect. 
The new details are extremely bad. The plan comprises a large and fine Chancel, 
Nave with Clerestory, North and South Aisles, each covered by a span roof. 
Tower at the west end of the nave, and a South Porch. 

The Chancel is of three bays, divided on each side by boldly projecting 
buttresses of the same dimensions from the base to the top. The angles are 
splayed off, and they were originally finished by steep gabletted weatherings which 
have been mutilated in some previous "'restoration." the up]»er parts being now 
finished with slopes. 



1^ 



No. 241 



■TANPOIIB UN'Vt*" 
LIBHAIIIC* 



DEC 1 1970 



Blrmingbam anb ilftiblant) institute. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT. 

For the Year igoo. 
VOL. XXVI. 



WALSALL : 
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. 

EY W HENRY KCIBINSON. STE.\M PRINTING WORK.S 



Birmfnobam ant) (DiMaiit) 3n0titute. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^:OU)(;iCAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT. 



Mediceval or 'Tithe'' Barns. 13 

Ely. — The barn at Ely(') was another important building ; it was demolished 
in 1843. It was of 13th century date. 219' 6" long and 39' s" wide. In each end 
gable was a triplet window of the period. 

Peterborous:h. — There were two barns at Peterborough, one which was a 
magnificent specimen, dating from early in the 14th century.(2) It was erected by 
Abbot Godfrey, and was 150' o" long and 36' o" wide externally ,(3) built of stone 
and covered with shingles. On the S.E. side were two cart porches, each 15' 8 J^" wide 
and projecting 20' 8^^" (internal dimensions) ; the entrance to one had a flat moulded 
and hooded arch, which in the other had been replaced with a heavy cambered 
lintol. Each porch had also small arched and hooded doorways in their side walls, 
flank buttresses of two stages, coped gables, and foliated apex stones ; on the 
N.E. side of the barn were cart doors, opposite those of the porches. The side 
walls were 2' f thick, and rose 9' o" to the eaves oflf a plain stone plinth ; small 
single-stage buttresses occurred to each bay, between which were long oillets with 
pointed heads and deep splays internally. The gables were diagonally buttressed 
at the angles, and had others of two stages in their centres, above and on each side 
of which were larger oillets ; these gables also were coped and had foliated apex 
stones. The roof was carried internally by a double row of I3''x 12" posts, framed 
up into massive trusses in eight bays ; and in the centre of each bay were smaller 
intermediate framings not carried up from the floor ; all were of oak and heavily 
framed and pegged together. From the floor to the ridge was about 3S'3"; the 
scantlings of the principal timber were: sole pieces, I3"x io>4'' (on which the posts 
stood); collars cambered to i8"xi2"; principal purlins, ioj4"x9>4"; other purlins, 
7"y.S"\ ^vind braces, 10" x 2^"; upper side-pieces, 9" x 8 J4"; rafters, 6" X 4". 

The other barn was also stone-built ; it was 90' o" long by 27' o" wide. Nothing 
more, however, is now known of it, and both it and the larger one were destroyed 
about the middle of last Century. 

Acton Burnell.— At Acton Burnell, near Shrewsbury, in Shropshire, there was 
a manor belonging to Shrewsbury Abbey, and attached to it was a barn of which 
there remains now only the ruins of its two gable ends ; the distance between 
these is 157' o", and their width 40' o". The side walls were low, and the roof 
rose at a sharp pitch to a considerable height ; the oillets yet existing have the 
usual square heads externally, but internally have wide rear arches with shoulder 
corbels. This barn is notable in the fact that Edward I. summoning his Parliament 
to Acton in 1283 A.l). accommodated the Commons in the barn while the Lords 
met in the Castle Hall. 



(i) Engraved in Camb. Anliq. Soc. Trans. 

(2) Parker. Domestic Archt. ; 1307 A. I)., stated by a correspondent to ** Notes attd Queries.'^ 

(3) Sir H. Dryden, whose measured drawings and notes of this and other barns now destroyed are 
invaluable records. 



14 Mediaval or ** Tithe'' Barns, 

Still remaining in the Midlands are many important and characteristic specimens 
of mediaeval barns. The counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, 
Berkshire, and, continuing further south, of Somersetshire and Wiltshire appear to 
have the largest number of examples ; between them, so far as I am at present 
aware, upwards of sixty-eight buildings (inclusive of those which are more or less 
in ruins). 



WORCESTERSHIRE. 

Little Comberton. — At Little Comberton, near Pershore, is an example of the 
smaller type of barn — probably a rector's barn — of which there must still exist a 
very large number, maintained, as already said, because they are of more practical 
size for modern farming, and are not so costly in up-keep, for since the passing of the 
Commutation Acts (6 and 7 Will. IV., &c.) their tithe purposes have ceased to 
exist. This barn is built of rough coursed rubble work of stone from Bredon 
Hill. Externally it is 75' d' in length and 25' o" in width. Its walls are 2' o" thick 
and rise about 14' o" to the eaves ; it is thatch-roofed and half hipped at both ends. 
Each of its side and gable walls are pierced with the usual deep splayed slit-lights 
or oil lets. The date is hard to determine, but it is doubtful if earlier than the 
iSth century. 

Fladbury. — Another small barn is at Fladbury. It is an unimportant, plain, 
half-timbered erection, resting on a rubble base. The date is about the end of 
the i6th century or perhaps even later. It is 105' o" long by 20' o" wide.(i) 

Charlton. — Not far distant from the above is the sometime barn, now church 
of Charlton. Architecturally it had doubtless some simplicity and grace as a 
barn, but restored as it is into a church it cannot claim success. Length 75' o", 
width 25' o". 

Besford. — Besford(2) Manor (now Besford Court) barn has peculiar interest — it 
is an example of the early timber constructions — and although now covered in 
with tarred weather boarding, here and there can be found some of its original 
plaster panels with their lath sprung into grooves in the framings. Nor is this 
its only feature, it has considerable other interest in the fact that it is a double 
barn, and of peculiar plan. It consists, indeed, of two barns, both with a cart 
porch, set together somewhat in the form of the letter L, each arm of which is 
almost the exact counterpart of the other. Externally either measures 70' o" in 
length and 28' o" in width. The timber-framed walls rise off a rubble basement 



(i) No doubt the early religious house here — a small one originally Ijelonging to Worcester but after to 
Stratford — had a barn the place of which this structure may have taken. 

(2) Belonged to Westminster at the time of the Domesday Survey, but previously to ' 



Medieval or *■ Tithe" Bams. 



lo" thick and 2' o' high,to a total height of 14' o" to the eaves, and about 32' o" to 
the gable apex. The wall framings are in 1 3' o" bays and have li'xii' and ii"x9'' 



DxiUi tan, * DdM rUicMbnW: 



k^= 




oak posts, with 9"x4j4" intermediates, ii"xio" sills and heads, and io"X4>4'' 
intermediates, all grooved for plastering. The roof trusses have 1 1" tie beams 
tapered from 18" to 11", 9'xs" queen posts, s"x7" principal rafters and straining 
pieces, and other timbers of proportionate sizes ; purlins 9" x 7", rafters 4^" X 3" ; 
it is covered in with stone shingles, and has a stone ridge and small finial crosses 
on each gable apex. There are no special features, except the crosses to indicate 
the date, and these seem to have been executed outside the usual traditions of 
mediaeval masonry, for they are rough and uncouth ; possibly it may date from 



Meciicezfal or * Tithe'' Bams. 



'7 



It is built of rubble stonework ; its wall are 2' 4" thick and are divided into 
bays by two-stage buttresses, and it is roofed in with stone shingles, In plan it 
is 127' 8" long and 38' 7" wide internally, and is divided by two rows of posts 
carrying the roof principals into three avenues or aisles ; the sides are 8' 6" wide 
and the centre about 21' 3", and its floor area amounts to nearly 5,000 square 
feet. The side walls are 2' 4" thick and rise about 13' o", and the gable ends 
are 2' 6" thick, 42' o" high, and are coped and crowned with foliated apex stones 
that once bore crosses. 



1tte Utk d lain /\ftKt3ia^^ . 



^id. 






-r*v 



^ bifLm H»M i» i/ il % ■ 



On the north-east side there are two cart porches 18' o" wide and which 
project an equal distance, but have no buttres.ses. Over the easternmost of these, and 
approached by an external stone stair, is a solar or room for the monk or bailiff who 
had charge of the barn. This is a very rare and interesting feature. On one side 
of this room, and borne externally on a bold corbel, is a very delicate and graceful 



e tho eaves, there wealhercd back 
arul splayed off to form an oct^- 
nii;il flue some 8 Tiiet in height, 
which is crowned with a pyramidal 
cap, pierced with little [minted 
and canopied slits on each face 
<i( the octagon for the ejjress of 
ihc smoke. 

In the internal angle of this 
porch, as it joins the main build- 
ing on the north side, is a shaft or 
pii — how deep extending I do not 
know, but I think not lower than 
the ground level — and continued 
up to the eaves with solid masonry 
without break or ojjening ; at the 
top it finishes abruptly and a small 
lancet slit gives light. It can 
onlj' be approached now by a 
ladder inside the barn. 

The room was lighted origin- 
ally by small lancet slits, which, 
as also the internal portion of the 
BKhno.v iNiKKion. chimney, are now blocked up and 

plastered over, and a modern window inserted in the gable end. 

The interior of the barn is very fine, it has nine bays of massive timber 
framings carried between the walls on oak posts 14" square, tapering to 10" with 
splayed base stones 21" square. The truss is of indescribable form, and resembles 
more a system of strutted beams than a roof truss proper. Its cross beams are 
9"X7", its longitudinal puriin-beams 10" x 7", strutteti with heavy timbers. The | 
purlins, wind braces, &c., arc of targe dimensions, and the common rafters 5"X4*J 
laid, as is usual, with the broader side downward. Opposite the porches are cart' 
doors in the north-west wall, and each wall and gable is pierced with long oillets 
deeply splayed internally, and about 4" wide on face, with square stone heads 
and oak lintols on the inside. There are also numerous ventilation holes through 
the walls about 6" square. The immense key, having double wards on each side,J 
was until lately in existence.'') 

This barn is a very magnificent .specimen ; it forms a singularly complel 
example of the larger kind, and although some have given its date as 1450 A.D., 
appears to be certainly not later than about the middle of the 14th century.(^) 

11} Kcfcrted 10 in Aichivol. Assoc Jinu., xxxviii. 52. 
(a) I'aiket and ArchiBot. Assoc Jaui., XJudv, J^ 




MedicFval or " Tilke" Barm. 19 

Bretforton. — The bam at Bretfijrton, or Bratfortori. a few miles from Kveshiim, 
is attached to iht Grange there, and belonfjed to Evesham Abbey, It has siilTfered 
a partial destruction, some twenty feet of \Xi- Icjigth having been cut off the north 
east end to accommodate modern cart sheds, &c. It originally was 133' o" long 
and 25' 3" wide externally, of which it still retains 1 13' 5". It has two cart porches, 
about 1/ o" wide on its southern side, and two others on the opposite, measuring 
about 14' o" each way, in having which extra porches it has some note, and also 
in its construction, the base work, the gable ends, and the southern porches being 
built of shallow coursed stonework, while the side walls and northern porches are 
of half timber-work, of oak framings of heavj- scantling, having iTx 10" posts. 
The roof is borne by very simple framed trusses, suitable to the narrow spati and 
covered with shingles. Its date is indefinite, and the absence of features to guide 
in its decision make it difficult to determine ; probably 15th century, the present 
Grange buildings being of rather later date, 

Littleton. — About three miles distant from Bretforton is a very fine barn at 
South Littleton — attached to the Manor — which in Domesday limes belonged to 




sham Abbey. It is built of a thin coursed limeslune with a finer stone for 

sings. Its sick- walls are 2' 6" thick, and ils gables 3' 3". Its external dimensions 

142' 3" length and 38' lo" width. The side walls have bays with single-stagt- 



20 



Mediceval or ** Tithe " Barns. 



buttresses, and rise 17' 6" to the wall plate. The gables have buttresses on each 
side and in the centre, and rise to about 40' o" to the apex ; they have copings, 
foliated apex stones, and a very curious form of finial. 



jJet^^ 5fl^^ . ifittoWp: 



:>^ ^ 





^ jJL^ (^ .^ k»*) 



:)t^L^lm^^V^ 




•^14^. -^iu ^ 



There is on the south side only one cart porch now remaining with buttressed 
walls, but the foundations of the other may be traced. Each were alike and had 
small side doors with pointed heads. The remaining cart entrance has a lofty 
arch with double splayed jambs. Opposite these porches are others on the north 
side, but of only shallow projection, and they also have pointed and splayed 
arches. Internally the roof trusses originally spanned from wall to wall, but (as 
is very often the case) having been badly designed to meet the thrusts of the steep 
and heavy roof, they have spread, pushing out the walls to a considerable extent, and 
insomuch that it has been necessary at some later date to strengthen the buttresses 
and to insert tie-beams and posts to secure and assist the roof At each end of 
the barn, however, the last trusses are of original design with posts, and these are 
1 2" square and rise off tapered stone bases. The sizes of the timbers of the roof are : — 
principal rafters, ii"xii", curved and carried down 6' 6" into side walls; 8''x8" 



Medice^fal or ** Tithe'' Barns. 



21 



double collar beams, strutted about \2" apart by stiff uprights and tied across to the 
principal rafters with curved braces, which, in some instances, as the roof has 
spread have torn out their tenons and pegs and fallen ; purlin beams ii"x lo", other 
purlins about S^x/", with 9"x2" wind braces, and 5"X3J4" rafters. Light and 
ventilation are obtained by oillets f o" deep in the side walls and gables, and by 
a number of small ventilation holes. The date, as indicated by the various features, 
would appear to be about the same or a little earlier than the Bredon Barn, but ncTt 
earlier than the 14th century. 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE. 

Ashleworth. — Among the barns in Gloucestershire are many fine examples. 
Belonging to the Augustinian Priory at Ashleworth is one of the 14th century 
period or early 15th. It is stone-built and now is tiled in and it still retains the 
original doors to its cart porches. It is not of great extent, 127' 4" long and 30' o" 






^ 








wide externally. On the west side are two cart porches 17' o" wide and projecting 
9' o", and with diagonal buttresses at their angles, and opposite these porches are 
doorways in the east wall; the door heads are formed with I2"xi2" cambered 
oak lintols and the jambs are splayed. The side walls of the main building are 
2' 4" thick and have shallow two-stage buttresses and the usual oillet windows. The 
gables have diagonal buttresses, and are coped and have foliated apex stones, but 
do not appear to have had any finials. The southern gable has no window or 
opening, but high up in the northern is a small quatrefoil window set in a square 
panel. The roof trusses are simple queen-post framings, with 10" x 8" tie beams, 
9^x4" collars and queens, and 8" x 7" principal rafters, they rest on two continuous 
wall plates, both 10" x 9", the inner one receiving the trusses and the outer the 
rafters. The other farm buildings here appear to be of a contemporary period, and 



22 



Mediceval or ** Tithe'' Barns. 



with the Priory (a very interesting 14th century house with fine roof trusses) and 
the Church (also most interesting) are all grouped together not far from the river 
Severn and about six miles up from Gloucester. 

Hartpury.— Four or five miles S.W. of the above is another barn, attached 
originally to the Manor of Hartpury (now demolished). It stands not far to the 
west of the church, and of about the same date as Ashleworth, or possibly a little 
earlier. Externally it is 161' o" long and 36' o" wide; it is stone-built and 



^ofllMuy B)«si^ (Qi<r(ucr9tcff^lkra . 




JUcJv^kU 




recovered with * ornamental' tile work. On the north side are two cart porches 
with diagonal angle buttresses ; the arch of one is pointed, and of the other elliptical 
(apparently only so as rebuilt, for the whole structure has undergone considerable 
modification). The porch finials are set on apex stones and are richly foliated ; those 
on the gables are, at the west a lion and at the east a dragon or gwyvern, each sitting 
astride the apex stones terminating the copings. The side walls are 3' o" thick, and 
are buttressed by original two-stage buttresses on the south side and long modern 
sloping buttresses on the north on account of the spread roof and thrust of the 
walls ; oillets of the usual form pierce each bay. Internally the building has been 
cut up with modern fittings and alterations, but some of the roof trusses are original 
and are peculiar in their form. They are collar-beam trusses, having I2"x8" cut 
collars, 13" X 9" bent braces, 14" x f principal rafters with curious 4" x 3" supplementary 
rafter-struts to the collar beam riding off the braces. Above the collar is a 
8"x8" king post with 8''x5" strutts. 

Frocester. — Belonging to Frocester Manor (now Court), some distance from 
Gloucester, is a barn of early 14th century work. The manor originally belonged 



MedicBval or ** Tithe'' Barkis. 23 

to Gloucester Cathedral.(i) The barn is of considerable length in proportion to 
its width, being 186' 11" long and only 34' o'' wide. It is stone-built and roofed 
with stone shingles and has on the east slope of the roof two (probably modern) 
triangular dormer lights. There are two porches 16' 4" wide and projecting 10' o" on 
the east side, and the four bays dividing these have massive flying-buttresses of equal 
projection to the porches. This is a point of interest ; the buttresses rise from 
3' 2" X 2' 4" bases and fly back f o" to the main walls which they strike just below 
the wall plate level, about 14' o" over all from the ground ; they appear as if to meet 
some prodigious thrust which does not exist. The walls are 2' g" thick, and on 
the west side, having only shallow single stage buttresses, have spread considerably 
and to some extent have been rebuilt. There were no doorways in the west wall of 
original purpose opposite those of the porches on the eastern side, but one has 
been subsequently made ; neither are there in the walls except those of the gables 
any oillets. The gables are coped, and each has a finial base at the ape.x, but no 
finial. The interior is of open span, with heavy collar-beam trusses, I2"x 16" collars, 
10" X 6" braces with several cross struts, 10" x 14" principal rafters, increasing to 
io"xi7", and curved and carried down 4' o" into the walls, 10" x 6" wall plates, 
g" X 5" fascias, 4^" x 5" rafters, and 6" x 6" upper collars and principals. 

Calcot. — At Calcot there is a barn originally belonging to Kingswood. It is 140' o" 
long and 37' 4" wide, of the Decorated (14th century) period, having buttressed 
walls, and porches in the form of low square towers with pyramidal roofs. Cut 
on a stone(2) in the south porch is the date MCCC, and a statement that it was 
built by Abbot Henry. Another inscription states that the structure was destroyed 
by lightning in 1728 A.D., and rebuilt the next year, but the destruction seems 
to have been confined to the roof only. 

Stanway. — On the north-east side of the county at Stanway is a small but 
beautiful barn. Here was a Grange belonging originally to Tewkesbury Abbey, but 
now standing probably on its site is a fine Tudor building known as Stanway House, 
dating from 1626, with a Gateway attributed to Inigo Jones. The barn is not 
far from the house, and is a stone-built structure with simple buttressed walls 2' g" 
thick. Externally it is 100' 6" long and 34' 10" wide ; it has a single porch in the 
centre of the north side, to which is a cart entrance having a I5"x if chamfered 
and cambered lintol for its head and splayed jambs, and also a small side door 
with a pointed head and splayed jambs. It has coped gables, foliated apex stones 
and the same curiously formed finial as at Littleton ( IVorcs.). There are no windows 
or oillets in the walls except one high up in each gable end. The interior shows a 



(i) *' Beauties." It was erected by Abbot John de Savage. 
(2) ** Anno MCCC. Henrici Abbatis xxix. fuit domus redificati." 




MeiiitEval ( 



very fine rixif; the trusses aix: ni 
single span with 14"x 13' cambered 
collar-beams. 9' X 4" curved braces, 
14" X T4" curved principals tariied 
down in the walls to within 4' 6" 
of the floor and widened out at 
the foot to as much as 2 y' x 
i' 2". [N-B. in all these roofs the 
curved timbers are usually ol se 
lected pieces of natunil k"^'"''' 
in ciirvej. The purlins ;ire 
iTxio", g'xs", and 7"xs", "iih 
two rows of wind braces, and llitr 
rafters are s"X4° : tl'*--''^ '-^ ""'>" 
slight indication of thrust or sjire.ul 
on the walls though iron bands 
have been added to the ends ,.1 
the braces to assist the roof. The 
date is I4lh centnr>'. 



■ Tuhc " Bat n 




OXFORDSHIRK. 

Bourton-on-the-HIII. — At Bourlon is a isth century stone-built barn. si>inewhat 
restored and modernized. It has on the north side a cart [x»rch with a depressed 
pointed archway with splayed jambs and a small door with a four-centred arch in 
the side wall ; over the arch in the gable is a small quatrefoil panel. On the 
south side is a sort of transept, which may have originally been another porch 
and which is now used as a stable with a lean-to extension on one side of it, 
The interior has a plain .single span roof rising off somewhat lofty side walls which 
are buttressed externally, and the east gable is further stiengihened «ilh loftj' 
buttresses of several stages. 

Adderbury. — At Adderbury, near Banburj', is a 15th century stone-built barn. 
Ii belonged till recently to New College, Oxford, and was probably built for it 
under the suiiervision of William of Wykeham. Internally it is 66' 7" long and 
21' 9" wide; its walls are 2' o" thick and have two-stage buttresses, and one of 
three stages in the centre of the northern gable-end and this wall only is pierced 
with oillets of which there are three, each having moulded rear arches. It had 
only one entrance in its original design, it was the one in the east side wall and it is 
very small, being only 5' 2" wide ; it has splayed jambs and a pointed arch. There 
is another entrance now. and many modernizations which have largely destroyed 
its original character, totally so internally. 



Mediceval or ** Tithe'' Barns. 25 

Swalcliffe. — The barn of the Grange at Swalcliffe belongs, as it did originally, to 
New College. It is of about the same date as Adderbury, but considerably more 
extensive. Its length externally is 134' 3" and its width 29' o". It has two cart 
porches with four-centred double-splayed and hooded arches and coped gables. 
The side walls are 3' \" thick and rise 15' 3" from the floor to the wall-plate, and 
have two-stage buttresses. The gables are 3' 4" thick, have three stage central and 
two-stage diagonal buttresses, and are each pierced with three oillets having stone 
louvres, they also have copings and foliated apex stones. The interior has a single 
span simple collar truss roof, covered with shingles ; the walls have carefully dressed 
stone facings and are pierced with numerous ventilation holes. 

Heyford. — At Upper Heyford is another barn under the same proprietorship 
as Swalclifife, and is attributed also to the design of William of Wykeham. Its 
date too, as that of the preceding, is late 14th century. About 1399 A.D. Wykeham 
was constituted lord of the manor by Richard 1 1., and shortly afterward the barn 
was built with other works of improvement to the manorial properties. Externally 
it is 117' 3" long and 27' 2" wide. It has two cart porches with doors opposite 
them ; the walls are of stone and are buttressed, and the gables only have oillets. 

Enstone. — Enstone barn also seems to belong to this group, and it, too, is (or 
was) the property of New College. It is referred to in Parker's Domestic Architecture 
as a granary. It is a small stone-built shingle-roofed structure, with one porch ; 
and some interest attaches itself to the fact that a tablet bearing the following 
inscription in mediaeval church text of the 14th century is built into the south side 
wall : — 

** J6ta oranoia tacta et fun&ata tuit H.S). /ftCCCXff f JJ per TRflaltedum 
&e Msniforton Hbbatem &e Xia^ncbecumbe aO esorationcm IRoberti /Dasoii 
ballapt t6ttu9 loci/* 

" This barn was founded and built A.D. 13S2 by Walter of Wyniforton, Abbot 
of Wynchecombe, at the petition of Robert Mason, bailiff of this placed 

And also built into the wall by this tablet are two female masks of apparently 
the same date. 



In other counties there are various important examples, as at: — 

Harmondsworth. — The timber-built barn at Harmondsworth(0 in Middlesex^ is 
a fine specimen. The date of it has been given as 1375 A.D.(2) It is built of oak, and 
externally is 191' o" long and 39' o" wide, and rises to the ridge 38' 8". It is said 
that originally it was of much greater extent, having had a northern wing which 
gave it a L shaped plan (like that at Besford, Worcs.). This portion, however, was 
taken down and re-erected at some distance where it still forms a building i28'o" in 



(l) At the time of the Doiues(iay there was a cell here belonging to the Abbey of the Holy Trinity, Rouen. 

(2) London and Middlesex Archivl. vol. 4. 



26 Medieval or " Tithe" Bams. 

length and 28' o" in width. The present building consists of twelve 15' o" bays ; the 




roof over is borne by two rows of posts 14" sqnare, stepped on 2'6"x r6"x4'o'' high 
stone bases. The posts are erected with the butts or thicker ends upwards, thus 
giving a wider bearing to the tie beams, which beams are 2o"x 14"; the collars 
are 14" x 8", plates 7"x6", and strutts I2"x6"; it is now covered in with tiles. 
The wall framings have 9''x9" posts, sills, and heads, with 9"x 5" intermediates, and 
they rise off rubble work basements. 

Other timber-built barns are at Biskam and Bctterton. in Berkshire, and at 
Maxstoke, in Warwickshire, and there was also a small half timber and bricknogged 
barn at Alvechurcli, near Redditch, Worcestershire, noiv pulled down. 

Coxwell.— At Coxwell, in Berkshire, is a large stone-built barn belonging to 
the manor there, which was given in 1204 A.D. by King John to Beaulieu Abbey 
(Hants.). The present barn, however, only dates from the 14th century. Its length 
is 140' o" and width 40' o", and to the ridge it rises about 47' o" ; the walls are 
4' o" thick and are buttressed. There are two porches, one on either side, giving 
the building a cruciform plan, and, being much like the barn at Beaulieu, suggests 
the possibility that it was built by the monks of that Abbey after their acquisition 
<if the manor. Internally lofty stone bases support a double row of posts which 
carry the alternate roof trusses, and divide the length into 23' o" bays. These posts 
are I5"xi5", the struts 9"x9", purlin-bea-ms is'xij" and other timbers of equally 
lai^e scantlings, and the common rafters are 40' o" long, many in single lengths. 
The alternate trusses are of 14" timbers and of the hammer-beam type with braces, 
and their principal rafters are widened out and continued down low in side walls 
where they rest on oak templates. The gables have massive buttresses, and one 



Mediaval or ** Tithe " Barns. 



27 



end is now pierced with a modern cart entrance, over which occurs a deep oil let ; 
at the opposite end, both the upper one and the lower pair of oillets remain as 
originally ; the side walls also have small oillets. Throughout the building every 
salient angle has been splayed or rounded off. 

Bradford -on -Avon. — In the district round Bath are numerous examples of 
small barns, but at Brad ford -on -A von is a notable exception, where a barn of 
considerable importance is to be found .it Barton's Farm, 

It dates from 1330 — 1350 A.D.,(0 and has considerable detail of the period and 



iJ. L^ 








JUi.UlU 




Ibwt h-fUtm. mt^ijl «». 



of much elegance. It is stone-built with carefully tooled dressings. The external 
length is 175' o" by 34' 10" width ; the side walls are 2' 6" thick, and rise 13' 10", 
and the gable walls are 4' o" in thickness, and rise 39' o" to their apices. On the 
north are two cart porches 20' o" wide and projecting an equal distance, having 
buttressed angles. To each main doorway is a depressed pointed arch, with double 
splayed jambs and with scroll mold hoods. To the small side doors are splayed 
jambs, pointed arches with flatter rear arches with wave-mold angles ; these arches 
are formed with two stones, one to each springing. The doors, though of considerable 
age, do not appear to be original. The gables are coped, have foliated saddle 
stones and carved finials. Central over the arches of the main doorways are small 

( I ) Archa.*ol. Assos. Journal. 



Mediffcal or " Tilhe " Barns,. 



quatrefoil piercings deeply splayed on the internal face. Opposite, in the south 
wall, are two shallower porches r6' o" wide and projecting only 7' G", and without 
buttresses ; they have oak Untols to the door openings, with pointed relieving 
arches over, and in the centre of each tympanum is an oillet. These gables are also 
coped and have finials, &c.. much the same as those on the north side. The side 
walls are supported by single-stage buttresses, having long shallow weatherings. 
They divide the length into bays of about ii'o", in the centre of each of which 
a 5' o' oiliet-slit occurs. The main gable ends are stiffened with buttresses, two 
similar to those of the side walls, and two of greater size and height but still only 
of a single stage. High up in the west gable is an ornate cross-oillet with roundel 
terminals of large size deeply splayed inside and having the rear arch enriched 
with a wave-mold. The copings aie much the same as the [Mirches, but the finials 
appear to have been tall crosses. The interior is particularly fine, the collar beam 
roof trusses are of single span, and have cut curved braces of elliptical contour ; 
they are cut out of timber of 14" thickness, and the principal rafter is carried down 
as usual low into the side walls and there rests on a 3' 6"x 1' S"x lo" oak template. 
The rafters are 6" x 3". have foot pists, and they rise off 7" x 22" wnll-plates. Despite 




the strung linilwring and careful construction of the roof very considerable spread J 
has taken place, and the walls are now tied in with iron rods, and have had extr 
buttresses added at several poinLs. The upper parts of the roof trusses arej 



Medueviil oj- " Tithe" Jiar. 



29 



somewhat unusual construction (see sketch), adopted no duubc to save undue lenglh 
in the timbers. The building is covered in with stone shingles, with stone ridginft- 

Glastonbury.— One of the most celebrated and ornate of barns is the "Abhols 
Barn," at Glastonbuo'.d) It dates from about 1425 A.U., or possibly a little earlier, 
and is of cruciform plan, with two carl jinrches. Internally its length is 85' o" and 




its width 35' 9". The porches are 13' y" wide and project 16' o". In the main gables 
and in those of the porches are panels bearing the symbols of the Evangelists, above 
which in each gable-end is a beautiful triangular foliated window, richly molded 
and hooded, and as a finial to the copings there is a statuette of a bishop in full 
canonical robes, standing 3' 4" high on a small stone pedestal ; the finials to the 
porch gables are richly carved and set on elaborate apex stones. The kneelers 
to the gab!e-end copings are enriched with masks, and those of the porches with 
animals astride the stones which form gablets to the buttresses. The cart entrances 
have lofty four-centred arches, over which are two-light square-headed traceried 
and molded windows. The side walls rise 18' &' to the eaves, and have massive 
gle-stage buttresses. Each bay is pierced with an oillet having a segmental 
r-arch. The end gable rises about 43' o", is buttressed and has two cross and 
two single oillets. 




30 



Medurval i 



■ Ti'f/u-' Barns. 



Abbotsbury.— Near Torqufi\-, originally altiiched to ihe Benedictine Abbey of 
Abbotsbury, of which it is almost the only remnant, and now itself is partly in 
ruins, is a remarkable barn. It has at one end an octagonal stair turret to the 
gabte, which is to be found in many French examples, but this appears to be the 
only English instance. The length of the building internally is 276' o" and its 
width 31' o". The walls are 3' 3" thick and are divided externally by buttresses 
into about 12' o" bays. It had originally two cart [xirches on the north, one of which 
is now destrojed, and opposite, in the south wall, were smaller ones. In the apex 
of the east gable is an ornate niche borne on Ihe ceutral buttress ; the flanking 
buttresses, are carried up above the roof and finished with embaltlemented copings, 
and a remarkable external parapeted passage nnis across this gable-end. The bam 
is now roofed in with thatch, carried by hammer-beam trusses, but a considerable 
part of the western end is roofless and in ruins. The structure generally has some 
ornate detail, and appears to date from Une in tin- I4lh or the beginning of the 1 5th 
century. 

Tisbury.— Tisburj- Manor (Place Farm), Wiltshire, is a nearly perfect specimen 
of a media;val house and farm of the 15th century. In the farm yard is a very 
fine stone-built barn of the period, about 189' o" long and 32' o" wide. It has good 
buttresses to its side walls. On one side is a cart porch with a lofty pointed 
archway with splayed jambs, and also on the same side are two carl doorways with 
pointed arches, but possibly of later date. The main and porch gables are coped 
and the latter are crowned with rather heavy apex stones. The walls arc pierced 
with oillets in each baj-. The roof is original, of simple form, with curved principals 
springing low down in the side wails. It is now covered in «ith thatch. 

Pilton.-At I'illun, in Souiersi-ls/tire. is a late I4lh century barn attached to 
the Gr;.ni,'e there which ljel.,!,-L^d lu (ihMunburx, and liku llic iMHM.f that Al.l.ey 



mJM. 



mi 



Mediceval or ** Tithe'' Barns. 31 

this also has the symbols of the Evangelists in the gables of the main and porch 
roofs ; above these in the main gables are two-light trefoil -headed windows coupled 
under molded hoods. The side walls are lofty and have two-stage buttresses of 
bold projection, and the end walls have very massive ones of three stages running 
as usual high up into the gable apices. The porches differ from each other in 
detail and date, one having a wide single pointed arch, and the other a four-centred 
one ; both have double splayed jambs, molded hoods and relieving arches over. In 
addition to the flank buttresses the latter porch has front buttresses also, and the 
details of these differ — the earlier porch having such as match those of the general 
walls, but to the later porch they are of two stages in front and of single stage 
to the flanks, these latter running up to and receiving the coping of the gable which 
terminates on them with foliated gablets. Over the symbols of the Evangelists 
in both porches are quatrefoil piercings, and above these again paterae charged 
with Tudor roses. The side and gable walls are pierced with cross-oillets with 
roundel terminations. The present roof covering is of thatch, and is borne on 
collar-beam trusses of single .span. 

Doultinj^. — Not far from Pilton is another fine barn at Doulting. Stone-built, 
shingle-roofed, and having four large porches. Its side walls have massive single-stage 
buttresses, and its gable ends heavy central buttresses running within a few feet 
of the apices. The porches have elliptical, chamfered and hooded arches, and small 
side doors with pointed arches. 

South Stoke. — A small but interesting barn, of the 15th century, is at South 
Stoke, near Bath, where was a manor originally belonging to the Abbey of that 
town. Its interest lies in its having a bailiff's room attached to its porch, and also 
in the later addition of a small room beyond having over it a columbarium or 
dovecote (in date about the middle of the i6th century). The barn is 71' o" long, and 
24' 3" wide internally. Its walls are 2' 8" thick, and though not originally buttressed 
at all has since been considerably so supported on account of the thrust of the 
roof, which is a collar-beam truss with later tie-beams added. 



Besides the barns described in the foregoing notes there are many others, 
not only in the Midlands but throughout most of the counties of England, some 
also in Wales, and, no doubt, yet others in Scotland. The following list briefly 
notes those that still exist or are recorded to have e.xisted, and while it is yet 
very far from perfect I hope, with the frequent notes which come to hand, at length 
to collect a record of some degree of completeness.^) 

(l) In the preparation of this list and my notes I acknowledge, with cordial appreciation, the information 
and assistance rendered me from many sources, and of which none have been more valuable and frecjuent than 
those of the President of the Archivological Society, Mr. J. \. Cossins. 



32 Mediarval or ** Tifhe'' Barns, 

LIST OF BARNS. 

Beds. Felmersham * 1 14' o" x 27' o". (^^// external dimensions,^ 

Berks. Betterton (timber built) ; Bisham (timber) ; Bradfield ; Cholsey,f 303' o" x 54' o" ; 
Coxwell, 140' 0^x40' o" ; East Lockinge ; Lymington ; Stevington ; Ufton- 
Nervet. 

Cavibs. Ely,t 219' 6" x 39' 5". 

Devons. Buckland, 180' o" ; Bucfastre, icx)' o" ; Ford ; Whitestone (near Exeter) 

Dorsets. Abbotsbury, 282' 6" x 37' 6" ; Cerne Abbas; Filler; Sherborne; Torre, 

120' o''. 
Durham. Fincale ;i- Haughton-le-Skerne (near Darlington). 
Gloucs. Ashleworth, 127' 4^x30' o" ; Bourton-on-the-Hill ; Boxwell ; Camden; 

Calcot, 140' o"x 37' 4"; Chaceley;t Frocester, 186' ii"x34'o"; Hanham Court ; 
Hartpury, 161' o" x 36' o" ; Hayles ; Llanthony ;-[■ Postlip ; Upleadon ; Sudeley 

(ruins) ; Shirehampton (near Bristol) ; VVinterbourne. 

Hants. St. Leonards (ruins), 226' o" x yf o". 

Herts. Minchin Bury ; Wigmore. 

Kent. Beartstye, 57'6"x 24'o"; Boxley ; Cuxton (brick built) ; Maidstone; Minster. 

Middlesex. Harmondsworth (timber), 191' 0^^x39' o" ; Headstone, 147' 8" x 38' 6" ; 
Pinner,t62'9"x2i'6". 

Norfolk. Brancaster ;-(- Paston. 

Northants. Peterboroughf (two), 1 50' o" x 36' o",* 90' o" x 27' o" ;* Naseby; Raunds. 

Northumberland. T}^nemouth. 

Oxon. Adderbury, 70' 7^x25' 9"; Enstone ; Heyford, 117' 3^x27' 2"; Haseley» 
84' 2" X 35' o"; Great Marlo\v;f Swalcliffe, 134 3'' x 29^0"; Tadmarton,69'i" x IqIo"\ 
Wood Eaton. 

Salop. Acton Burnell,t 157' 0^x40' o'' ; Buildwas ; Morton Bagot. 

Somersets. Doulting ; Dunster (?) ; English Combe; Glastonbury, 90' 0^x30' 9"; 
Ilchester;J Kelston; Keynsham; Meare; Pilton; Preston; Northover; Somerton; 
Taunton ; Wells ; Woodspring Priory. 

Sussex. Hurstmonceaux. 

Wilts. Avebury; Bradford-on-Avon, i7s'o"x 34' 10"; Bradenstoke; Bath Hampton; 
•Cirencester (?) ; Cherhill ; Crudwell ; Lacock ; North Stoke; South Stoke, 
76 4" X 29' 7" ; Tisbury, 189' o'' x 32' o". 

IVorcs. Alvechurch,f 54' 3" x 20' o" ; Besford (double barn, timber built), 70' o" x 28' o" 
(each); Bredon, 132' 4"X43' 3"; Bretforton,§ 133' o"x25' 3"; Comberton, 
75' o"x25' o"; Charlton. 75' 0^x25' o" ; Fladbury (timber), 105' o"x2o' o" ; 
Littleton, 142' 3"x 38' 10" ; Ribbesford. 

Warwick. Birmingham ;i; Cleeve ; Coleshill (?) ; Kenilworth ; Longbridge (near 
Warwick) ; Haseley ; Maxtoke (timber). 

York. Bolton-in-Crai^en ; Bolton Percy ; Horbury ; Selby (ruins). 

* Dimensions from the late Sir II. Drvden's measurements, 
t Destroyed. 

X Burnt down shortly since, it is said, by an incendiary. 
§ Part of this is pulled down, it is now only 112' 5" long. 
I The Rectory l)arn is marked on some old maps. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, especially 
that part of it which relates to the 
County of Warwick* 

Bv BENJAMIN WALKER. A.R.I.B.A. 
November 14th, igoo. 



I HE compilation of the great survey or valuation of the kingdom 
of Engl»nd, which, for the past seven hundred years at least, 
has been known as the Domesday Book, was determined upon 
bj- King William, in the year 1085. We maj- believe that the 
desirabLltty, the necessity even, of possessing a complete and 
authoritative list of all the landowners in his kingdom, together 
with full particulars of the taxable value and extent of their holdings, had 
long been perceived by the Conqueror. With such a list at hand he would be able 
to see at a glance who were his richest and most powerful barons on whom he 
might draw in his wars and military expeditions ; he would have trustworthy 
materials for settling any dispute with regard to the ownership of land xvhich 
might be presented to him ; and above all, and this was doubtless the principal 
object of the survey, he would be able to properly apportion any tax he might 
find it desirable to levy, and to calculate beforehand the amount which it would 
produce. 

The difficulties to be surmounted in the compilation of such a work mu.st have 
been enormous, and our wonder is not lessened when we are told that the whole 
was compiled, codified and written out in eight months. No such survey had ever been 
undertaken before in this countrj'. so that the Commis.sioners whom the king 
employed upon the work had nothing to use as a basis for their labours. It is 

* In the cumpilaiion uf (he liilliiwini; paper I have been much assisted by Sir Henry Kllis'h "General 
Inlroiluclion lu I )<iiiii^«lBy lk>ok," London. 1833: Dr. Waller de Grey Hirch's " Duniesday BiHtk, a popular 
acounl of the Kxchenucr Manuscripl s> called," London, iSSj ; the I'hoto-Zirc.jgraph cc)pj- of the pari of Ihe 
Domesday Book which contains the entriu relating lo the County of Warwick, published by the Ordnance Office, 
Southampton, 1862 ; and " Domesday Book for the County of Warwick," by William Keader, of Coventrj', ihe 
second edition. Warwick, iSSo (?|. This last is a iranscript and translation of all the entrii-s reUlin); to Warwick- 
shire, with an introduction by l-A-clyn Philip Shirley. 




34 Some Notes on Domesday Book. 

true that certain lists of districts were in existence at the time. At least two 
such lists are preserved in the British Museum, one on a fly leaf of a late tenth 
century copy of iElfric's Latin Grammar (Harley MS., 3,271, f. 6b), the other, a 
somewhat later one, in Hargrave MS., 313, f. 15b. We are also told that Alfred 
caused an Inquisition and Register to be made of his kingdom when he divided 
it into county hundreds and tithings. Such lists, however, even supposing them 
to have been accessible to the Domesday Surveyors, would have been of no 
practical purpose, certainly as far as the owners of the land were concerned, for, as 
a result of the Conquest, by far the larger number of Saxon land-owners had 
been dispossessed and their estates bestowed upon the friends and helpers of the 
Conqueror. But whatever the difficulties might be, William determined, in the 
twentieth year after his landing on these shores, that his kingdom of England must 
be surveyed and valued, and immediately the work was put in hand and carried 
through more or less as described by the anonymous writer of the Anglo-Saxon 
Chronicle. Under date 1085, he says: — "At mid-winter the king was at the city 
" of Gloucester and there had a great council and deep .speech with his Witan 
** about this land of England, how it was peopled and by what men. Then he 
** sent his men over all England into every shire, and caused to be ascertained how 
*' many hundred hides were in the shire, or what land the king himself had, and 
*' cattle within the land, or what dues he ought to have in twelve months from 
" the shire. Also he caused to be written how much land his archbishops had, and 
"his suffragan bishops, and abbots, and his earls; and, though I may relate somewhat 
" prolixly, what or how much each man had who was a holder of land in England, 
*' in land, or in cattle, and how much money it might be worth. So very narrowly 
" he caused it to be traced out, that there was not one single hide, nor one yard 
" of land, nor even, it is shame to tell, though it .seemed to him no shame to do, an 
*' ox, nor a cow, nor a swine was left, that was not set down in his writ. And all the 
"writings were brought to him afterwards. "(0 

The survey which has come down to us in the Domesday Book is not so 
minute in the particulars it records as the writer of the above extract would have 
us believe ; still the amount of detail it does contain is extraordinary, and as long 
as we bear in mind the purpose for which it was designed, and avoid trying to read 
out of it what it does not and was never intended to contain, the light which it 
throws upon contemporary history, topography, state of the people, manners and 
customs, and so forth cannot be over-estimated. 

In order to carry out the survey the kingdom was divided into districts, to 
each of which certain Commissioners or King's Justiciaries (Legati Regis as they 
are called in Domesday Book) were appointed. The names of those for the 
Midland Counties have been preserved. They are Remigius, bishop of Lincoln ; 
Walter Giffard, earl of Buckingham ; Henry de Ferrers ; and Adam, brother 



(i) ** The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," edited, with a translation, by Benjamin Thorpe, London, 1861. The 
original of the above extract is given at vol. i., p. 352, and the translation at vol. 2., p. 186. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 35 

of Eudo dapifer. It was the duty of these Commissioners to visit every place 
in the district to which they were appointed, and there, by the help of the sheriff, 
the lord of the manor, the presbyter of the church, the reeve of the hundred, the 
bailiff, and six villeins of the village, to enquire the name of the place, by whom 
it was held in king Edward's time, and who was the present possessor. Then they 
were to take note of the number of hides contained in each manor, and how 
many carucates were in demesne ; what free-men, villeins, cotarii, servi, and others 
were attached to it ; what quantity of wood, meadow, and pasture, as well as 
what mills, fish ponds, and other valuable appurtenances belonged to it. Lastly 
they were required to give a triple valuation of the estate : firstly, as it was in the 
time of the Confessor ; secondly, as it was at the time the Conqueror bestowed it 
upon its then owner ; and thirdly, its value at the time of their visit. 

The immense mass of information which was thus obtained regarding the state 
of the country and its various possessors was then sent to Winchester, at that time 
the metropolis of the kingdom, and there digested and codified, the result being the 
Domesday Book which has survived to our day. This, which is now preserved 
in the Record Office in Chancery Lane, consists of two volumes of unequal size and 
appearance. The first is the larger and more important of the two and contains the 
records of the thirty following counties in the order given : — Kent, Sussex, Surrey, 
Hampshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Somersetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall 
Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Worcester- 
shire, Herefordshire, Cambridgeshire, Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Northampton- 
shire, Leicestershire, Warwickshire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Cheshire, Derbyshire, 
Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. The second volume contains the 
surveys of the counties of Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk only. 

The origin of the name Domesday Book arose perhaps from the fact that as no 
one in the kingdom was spared and the statements it contained with regard to 
the value and other particulars of each man's holding were not open to question, 
decisions founded upon it were as irrevocable and final as those which shall be given 
at the final Day of Doom. It may also owe something to the existence of a 
somewhat similar Anglo-Saxon expression, Dom-boc, a book of dooms or laws. But 
whatever its origin may have been there is no doubt that it has been known by the 
name it now bears for more than seven hundred years. There is preserved in 
the British Museum a copy of the Epistol^e of St. Jerome,(J) in which is contained a 
letter from a certain William of Pottern, a village near Devizes, to R. (probably 
Robert), Prior of Bath. The date of this letter is about 11 98 and in it there is 
an extract from what the writer speaks of as the " Liber de domesdai." 

For many years after its compilation the Domesday Survey was preserved 
at Winchester, probably in the Cathedral. This has caused one writer (2) to suggest 
that it was originally known as Domus Dei Boc, a curious mixture of Latin and 

(1) Royai Library of Manuscripts, MS. 6 c. xi. 

(2) Stow, "Annals," London, 1631, page 118. 



36 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

Anglo-Saxon supposed to mean God's House Book. I need scarcely say that 
this derivation has nothing beside its ingenuity to recommend it. 

Domesday Book differs from the great majority of manuscripts of the period 
in the fact that it does not contain any illuminated capitals or miniatures. The name 
of the county under description is written at the head of each page in red ink, and a 
dash or stroke of the same colour distinguishes the capital letter of each new 
entry and certain of the more important words, such as the names of places, of 
tenants in capite, of the hundreds, and so on. Beyond this there is no other attempt 
at ornamentation. The writing throughout is very clear and beautiful, the letters 
being separately and distinctly formed ; whatever difficulties there may be in reading 
arise, for the most part, from the continual use of abbreviations, but these are usually 
of such a simple character that it is only occasionally that any ambiguity presents 
itself 

The language employed throughout is Latin. Here and there, however, a 
native or Norman- French word is met with. There are two such words in the 
Warwickshire portion to which I should like to direct your attention. The first 
occurs in the description of the Burgh of Warwick. In the time of the Confessor 
it was customary, we are told, for the burgesses of Warwick to send ten of their 
number to the king when he went by land against his enemies and whoever failed 
to go, after having been warned, had to pay the king one hundred shillings. The 
record then proceeds : 

Si u"* p mare ctra hoftef fuof ibat rex : uel. iiii. batfueinf 
uel. iiii. lib denario^ ei mittebant. 

That is to say that if the king went by sea against his enemies the burgesses of 
Warwick used to send him either four batsueins or four pounds of pence. The 
expression "Quatuor libra; denariorum" is interesting. It reminds us that although 
there are many varieties of money mentioned in the Domesday Book, such as 
ora, marca, solidus, denarius and so on, yet at the time of the Conquest, and for 
long after, the only one which had any visible equivalent in common use was the 
denarius or penny ; it was therefore in this coin only that any money payments could 
be made. A reminiscence of those times is still preserved in the name for the 
annual tribute paid at the feast of St. Peter to the See of Rome and known as 
" Peter's Pence." It is not, however, the word denarius to which I desire to call your 
attention, but to the word batsuein. This occurs nowhere else in the Domesday 
Book and is, really, the Anglo-Norman spelling of the modern English boatswain, 
familiarly pronounced bo'sun.(i) But boatswain, by which we understand a steersman 
or some sort of petty officer on board a ship, would be very far from a correct 
translation of batsuein in the present case. The word, as you perceive, is a compound 
of bat and suein. Bat, derived from the Late Latin batus, has now, following 
the general rule that a should become o become boat in modern English, in the 

(i) See Professor W. W. Skeat in Notes and Queries, 9th S., Vol. V., p. 384. 



Some Notes on Dotiiesday Bool: 



37 



L 



same way as the Anglo-Saxon stan has now become stone ; the (' in one ca'ie being 
expressed by a mute a and in the other by a mute final i. in early French a 
diminutive form of bat was used, battel, which has become, quite regularly, in modem 
French, bateau ; the primitive 1, however, is still retained in the word baielier, a 
boatman. The other half of the word, suein, comes from, and is in fact, the old Norse 
sweinn, the w being written by the Norman scribes as u. This word differs from bat 
in this particular that, while the one has preserved its primitive meaning but has 
altered its form, the other has retained its form but, in boatswain at any rate, lost its 
earlier meaning of labourer or servant. In the eleventh century suein still had 
that meaning and the Domesday Commissioners, when they wrote that the burgh 
of Warwick used to send the king four batsueins when he went by sea against 
his enemies, meant to say that they furnished his navy with four "Boat-servants," 
without implying that they possessed any knowledge of navigation, which, indeed, 
could not be expected in Inhabitants of such an inland town a,s Warwick. 

It is recorded in Dome.sday Book that the Earl of MelSent fXVI.J held one hide 
at Donnelie (F.2.).l') After certain other particulars have been mentioned we read 
Ibi haia hiif dimid leuil Ig. 7 tnlttt la?. 
Valuit. (/.('. the manor and all its appurtenances) xx. folid. Modo. xxx. folift. 

This word haia occurs several times in Domesday Book, principally in the western 
counties and always in forest districts. It is true no woods are mentioned by the 
Commissioners at Donnelie, but we know that it was in the very heart of the 
Arden district, at the end of the eleventh century a dense wood of which many 
vestiges remain to this day. A haia or hay in such a connection as the one here met 
with .seems to have been an inclosure into which the wild animals of the forest could 
be driven and caught ; a method of hunting still followed in certain parts of 
the world. In modern English the word is almost obsolete. In hay-net, however, it 
still survives and with practically the same meaning as it had eight hundred years 
ago, the only difference being that whereas the hay-net of to-day Is a portable 
affair principally used by poachers to snare rabbits, the haia at Donnelie was a 
permanent inclosure, half a league long, designed for catching the large game of 
the forest. Hay has also survived in many place-names. In the adjoining county 
of Northampton is the historic village of Fotheringhay and in our own immediate 
neighbourhood, in the village of Erdington, are two examples. Hay House and 
the perhaps better known Pipe Hayes, the home for many years of the Bagol family. 
It is also preserved in certain surnames, the most interesting being Hayward. The 
hayward was an officer attached to a manor or lordship whose duty it was to 
keep the hedges in proper repair, so that the cattle might be prevented from 
wandering away from the common-lands into the arable land, and this indicates 
the source from which hay comes, namely, haga. the Anglo-Saxon for an enclosure. 



(0 The pre&enl name uf this ptac 
where ihe Eail of MclUm's poiscssiot 
where ihe place is lo he found on ihe 



is Beamiescn, near HenleyinAtden. The Roman numerals (XVI.) show 
□ccur in the IXimesrIay Buok and the reference (F.X.) indicates the square 
ip which accoinpinie* this paper. 



3 8 Some Notes 07i Dowesday Book. 

the parent of the modern English hedge. It is interesting to note that this sanne 
word, under slightly different forms, is to be found in both Dutch and French as 
well as English, as is shown in the name which the capital city of the Netherlands 
bears in the three languages ; the Dutch call it s'Grafenhage, />., the Count's 
Enclosure, the French la Haye (the modern French for a hedge being une haie), and 
we in England call it The Hague, a (wooded) enclosure being called a hag in 
Cumberland to this day. Another form of haga is haw, as in the common name for 
the Crataegus oxyacantha, the hawthorn, and also in the place-name Wishaw, a 
village about nine miles to the north of Birmingham. The earliest reference to this 
place with which I am acquainted, other than in Domesday Book,(i) is in a deed 
of 29. H. 2., where it appears as Whitteshage, which clearly shows the change from 
hage to haw.(2) 

I now propose to say something of the topographical features of the County 
of Warwick at the end of the eleventh century in the light of what is contained 
in the Domesday Book. For this purpose I have constructed a map of the county 
on which I have noted all the places mentioned by the Commissioners,(3) retaining 
the spelling employed by the Domesday scribes. With regard to the spelling I 
would remark that I do not think too much regard should be paid to it. The 
scribes, it must be remembered, were Normans and foreigners who had no knowledge, 
and perhaps little interest, in the country, and it seems evident that in the greater 
number of cases they had nothing but their unaided ear to guide them in the 
spelling of the places they were called upon to write down. We must therefore 
consider that the names preserved in Domesday Book are rather the more or less 
correct phonetic equivalents of what the Norman-French scribes heard, than a reliable 
record of contemporary native spelling. For instance Napton, near Rugby, at one 
place appears as Neptone(XVI.), and at another (XVI I.), the scribe, who has evidently 
failed to catch the initial, spells it Eptone. A similar error occurs in connection 
with Bloxham, which appears among the lands held by the Bishop of Worcester 
(III) as Lochesham. Birdingbury, which occurs twice, is spelt at one place (XVII) 
Berdingeberie and at the other (VI) Derbingerie, while Wishaw appears at Witscaga, 
although the correct native spelling, as I have mentioned above, is Witteshage. 
Such lesser errors as Cliptone for Clifton, or Sucham (4) for Southam are not at all 
uncommon and a list of them would be wearisome. 



( I ) The Domesday scribes spell it Witscaga. 

(2) This tendency of ag^ to become aw is interesting. Before the Conquest the owner of Wotone (G.2) 
was Waga, a large land-owner in the district, and one of the witnesses to Earl Leofric's charter of endowment of 
the Abbey of Coventry. Although dispossessed by the Conqueror of all his estates, his name, under the altered 
form of Wawen, has sur\'ived to our own day in VVootten Wawen, the name which the village of Wotone now 
bears. 

(3) This map is leased upon the Ordnance Survey, but I have derived much assistance from the maps of 
Warwickshire by John Speed (1610), Chr. Saxton (1637), and Robt. Morden (1695), for several names and places 
mentioned by the Domesday Commissioners have disappeared even during the last two hundred years. 

(4) In Leofric's Charter of Endowment of Coventry Abbey. Southam appears as Sutham. See ]. M. Kemble's 
"Codex Diplomaticus." London, 1848, vol. IV., p. 273. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 39 

The fact that the scribes were Normans may perhaps account for the form 
under which Wibtoft appears in the Survey. The termination — toft signifies a 
homestead or inclosure, and is usually considered, like the suffix — by, to be a 
distinctive mark of Danish colonization. It is frequently met with in the Danish 
districts of the country, but is unknown in Cumberland and other parts where 
Danish colonization did not take place. In Normandy the termination is also 
well known.(i) In that district of France there are about a hundred examples, as 
Yvetot, Plumetot, Pretot, and so forth, but it will be noted that the termination 
which in England takes the form of — toft, in Normandy occurs as — tot. It was, 
doubtless, the latter form of the suffix with which the Domesday scribe was familar 
and Wibtoft therefore appears as Wibtot (D.6) in Domesday Book. 

Before leaving this question of spelling I should like to draw your attention 
to the evident dislike which the Domesday scribes had to the letter K which does 
not occur once in the whole of the Domesday Book. This is the more remarkable 
because although in modern French K is a letter very rarely met with (I doubt 
if there are more than three words in every day use which begin with it), (2) yet 
it was not so rare in the Norman dialect, for in Kilham's Dictionary (3) I find a fair 
proportion of words of which it is the initial. The cause may be found, probably, in 
the fact that the scribes were Latin scholars and wrote in Latin, and as K is an un- 
known letter in that language they carefully avoided making use of it. And in fact 
there was no need for them to use it as at the end of the eleventh century C still 
retained, in all its positions, its primitive sound now often represented by K, so 
that wherever we meet with C in the Domesday Book we must bear this in mind 
and never give it any other sound. This is proved to us, if proof were needed, in 
the fact that many names which the Domesday scribes wrote with C or the 
diagraph CH are now written with K alone as, for example, Cinton, now Kineton ; 
Berchewelle, now Berkswell ; Bichemerse, now Bickmarsh ; and Rocheberie, which 
afterwards became Rokby and has now been softened down to Rugby. 

To return to the map. The sites of the early settlements which have since 
developed into villages and towns were not chosen by our predecessors in any 
haphazard fashion ; there was always some good reason for the choice, one of the 
chief, leaving aside the question of defensibility, being the presence of water. Bearing 
this in mind the first thing I did, after having drawn the boundaries of the county, 
was to carefully lay down all the rivers. These group themselves into two distinct 
systems : the Tame in the north, and the Avon in the centre and south. The 
Tame, perhaps the more familiar to us as inhabitants of a town situated upon one 
of its tributaries, rises in the west of the county and flows at first in an easterly 
direction until it receives the waters of the Cole and Blyth, near Merston (C.3). 
Here its course changes to a northerly one as far as Tamworth, Tameworde on the 

(i) See Canon Isaac Taylor's "Words and Places." London, 1865, p. 185. 
(2) Those three words being kilometre, kilogramme (kilo), and kepi. 
(3) ** A Dictionary of the Norman or Old French Language," by Rob. Kilham. Tendon, 1779 (?). 



40 Some Notes on Domesday Book. 

map (A.3), where it is augmented by the Anker. Near this point it quits the county 
and, following a north-easterly direction, falls at length into the Trent. The Avon, 
the Warwickshire river par excellence, flows in an exactly opposite course. Entering 
the county near Clipton (E. 7), it receives the Learn near Moitone (G. 4), the Stour 
near Milecote (H. 3), and the Arrow at Salford (H. i). Near here it enters Wor- 
cestershire and, still following a south-westerly course, falls at length into the Severn 
at Tewkesbury. 

After showing the course of the rivers the next thing to do was to lay down, as 
far as I was able, the lines of communication, or in other words, the roads, which were 
in existence when the Commissioners of the Conqueror made their visit. This was a 
much more difficult matter than laying down the rivers. We must believe that there 
were many roads in existence at that time, especially in the thickly populated valley 
of the Arrow ; but this is a subject which, as far as I am aware, has been but little 
studied and as I had neither the materials at hand nor the time at my disposal to go 
into the question, I was content, after showing the great roads which form part of the 
legacy the Romans have left us, to leave the matter. Three of these Roman roads 
run through Warwickshire. On the north-east the Watling Street forms, for many 
miles, the boundary between the counties of Warwick and Leicester. The Fosse Way 
enters the county near Stratone (K.3) and, following for some distance a course 
roughly parallel to the Avon, crosses the Watling Street near Wibtot (D.6) at a place 
now known as High Cross, the site of the Roman Bennones. The third Roman road 
is the Icknield or Rycknield Street. This enters Warwickshire near Bichemerse (J. 2) 
and follows the course of the Arrow to Epeslei (F. i), where it enters Worcestershire. 
At Celboldestone (D.i) it again enters Warwickshire for a short distance and, after 
marking the county boundary across the moorland of Sutton Chase, crosses the 
Watling Street at Wall, between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield, the site of the 
Roman Etocetum. 

Having thus got together the construction lines of the map, the next thing to 
do was to fill in the villages and towns which, I judged, ought to bear some relation 
primarily to the rivers and then to the roads which I had drawn. As will be seen by 
the map my supposition was a correct one. The great majority of the names are 
to be found in the river valleys ; some, such as Celboldestone (D.i), Wibetot (D.6) 
and Aderestone (B4) are on the Roman roads, and very few, as Brailes (K.4) 
Donecerce (F.6) or Sutone (B.2) are at a distance from a river or a Roman road. 

In the fourteen pages of the Domesday Book devoted to the Survey of Warwick- 
shire reference, more or less detailed, is made to between two hundred and sixty 
and two hundred and seventy different places. The position of more than two 
hundred and forty of these has been identified (0 ; of the remainder some have 

(l) In ihe identification of the places I have generally followed Sir William Dugdale who, as is well known, 
made great use of the Domesday Book in his monumental '* Anti(juities of Warwickshire." The edition I used 
was the second, in two volumes, revised and augmented by William Thomas, D.D. London, 1730, but I had the 
first, 1656, edition always ac hand and in some cases found it the better of the two. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 41 

become obsolete and no trace of them can now be found, and others are the names of 
places now outside the boundaries of the county but which have been entered 
under Warwickshire in error or, if ever within the county, have been mised out 
of it into some other since the end of the eleventh century. There can be no doubt, 
for instance, that Eseningetone and Biscopesberie, which appear among the Warwick- 
shire manors held by William fitz Ansculf (XXVI I.), should have been entered among 
his Staffordshire manors. The hundred in which they are said to be, namely 
Cudulvestan, is the Staffordshire hundred now known as Cuddlestone, and these 
two places have been identified by Eyton (2) with Essington and Bushbury, both 
in that county and hundred. It is noteworthy that the name of the hundred has 
evidently been added after the rubrication had been finished. 

Cillentone, which appears among the Warwickshire manors held by William 
fitz Corbucion (XXVIII.), is another example of a wrong entry. It is singular that 
it appears on the same page in Domesday (243A) and is said to be in the same 
hundred of Cuddlestone, in this case spelt Colvestan and properly rubricated, as 
Esseningstone and Biscopesberie. It has been identified by Eyton with Chillington 
in Brewood, in Staffordshire. 

Earl Roger (XII.) is said to hold in Warwickshire the following manors: — 
Quatone, Rameslege, Rigge and Sciplei. No particular hundred is written against 
them but as they follow Ulvestone ('E.6), which is said to be in Stanlei hundred, we 
should suppose that they would be found somewhere in the Avon valley not far from 
Wolstan. But we might search for them in that district for ever, should I say 
till Doomsday, and never find them, for they are miles away in Shropshire, and 
are, in fact, the Domesday equivalents of Quat, Romesley, Rudge, and Shipley. 

The Church of Worcester (III.) is said to hold in Warwickshire one hide in 
Lochesham and ten hides in Spelesberie, both, nominally, in the hundred of Pathlow. 
Whether they were, at the time the Conqueror's Commissioners visited them, considered 
to be within the county of Warwick and have since been mised out of it, or whether 
the leaf or rotulet on which the original report was made became misplaced at the 
tim6 the reports were being codified at Winchester I cannot say, but there is no doubt 
that these two places are now in Oxfordshire and are known as Bloxham and 
Spilsbury. 

Having now weeded out of the county those places which are wrongly included 
in it we must take note of such others as properly belong to it but are entered under 
some other county. 

Of these there seem to be but very few, in fact I have onl}' been able to find one 
place which I can be certain is now within the borders of Warwickshire and which is 
recorded by the Domesday Commissioners under another. This is the village of 
Sawbridge, spelt Salwebridge (F. 7), which is to be found among the mt*nors held by 
Turchil of Warwick in Northamptonshire. 

(2) ** Domesday Studies, an Analysis and Digest of the Staffordshire Survey." R. \V. Eyton. London, 
188 1, p. 4 and Tab. V. 



42 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

In the Worcestershire portion we read that William fitz Ansculf held, among 
other places in that county, Escelei with its berewick of Berchelai, and Werwelie. 
Mr. Charles TwamleyO thinks that these places are all now in Warwickshire and 
supposes them to be Echels or Nechells, and Bordesley, now both included within the 
town of Birmingham, and Olton near Solihull. I have, however, not entered them 
upon my map as I do not feel at all sure that his identifications are correct. 

The following names of places also appear in the Warwickshire portion of 
Domesday Book but have never, as far I am aware, been identified with places 
either in or out of the county : — 

Altone. Nigellus de Albingi (XLI.) held two and a half hicies here. No 
hundred is given. The only other place in the county where he had any holding was 
at Aldulvestreu (A.4). 

Ermendone. William fitz Corbucion (XXVIII.) held four hides here. No 
indication of position is given. 

Holme. Turchil of Warwick (XVII.) held two hides here, one of which had been 
held before the Conquest by Uluric and the other by Ulstan. As the entry occurs 
between Niwetone (E.7) and Waura (E.7) it is probable that Holme was somewhere 
in that neighbourhood. 

Leth. Robert Dispensator (XXIII.) had one hide here. It is nominally in 
Coleshill hundred and is entered between Filingelei (D.4) and Bertanestone (E.3). 

Rincele. The Earl of Mellent (XVI.) held one hide here which was waste. 
It was nominally in Stanlei hundred and is entered between Widecote (F.4) and 
Derceto (J. 5). 

Surland. The Church of Coventry (VI.) held six hides here. It was nominally 
in Mereton hundred and is entered between Greneberge (F.6) and Derbingerie, 
i.e. Berdingeberie (F.6). 

Ulware. The Bishop of Baieux (IV.), Odo, the King's half-brother, held a hide 
and a half here. Nominally it is in Fernecumbe hundred and is entered between 
Beoshelle (F.3) and Bedeford (H.2). 

Werlavescote. The Earl of Mellent (XVI.) held 3 virgates here. It was 
nominally in Coleshelle hundred and is entered between Berchewelle (E.4) and 
Franchetone (F.6). 

While writing this paper and constructing the map which accompanies it I have 
been struck with several notable features of the record, and one of the strangest is its 
surprising incompleteness and inequality. On the one hand we have the most minute 
details given us about places which could never have been more than obscure 
villages, while on the other hand towns which were in existence centuries before 
the Conqueror was born, and which we know were busy centres of life when his 

(i) "Domesday Book for Warwickshire," by Charles Twamlev, in ^\\^ Journal of the Arc haological Society, 
Vol. XXI., p. 373. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 43 

Commissioners were travelling up and down the country, are ignored. Two very 
striking examples of this are to be found in that part of the Domesday Survey which 
deals with our own county. * The history of Alcester goes back as far, perhaps, as any 
in the midland counties. As Alauna it was an important and well-known Station in 
the far-off times of the Roman Occupation. In later times, but centuries before the 
Norman Conquest, its situation on the great highway of the Icknield Street and 
its close proximity to the great forest of the Arden made it a great iron working 
centre, and there is a story recorded of St. Egwin, the founder and first abbot 
of Evesham and third bishop of Worcester, that he visited it in order to preach to the 
iron workers, but they would have none of him and made such a clatter with 
their hammers and anvils that he fled in dismay. (') One would have thought 
that this town would have been one of the first to be visited by the Conqueror's 
Commissioners and that they would have left on record some interesting particulars 
which might throw .some light upon the condition of the iron trade in the district 
at the end of the eleventh century, for the working of iron has ever been an important 
industry and many references to it are to be met with in the Domesday Book. For 
instance, we read that at Wilmundecote (B. 3) there were two Smiths whose Smithy 
(ferraria) was valued at five shillings. At Alcester, however, not only is there no 
reference to any Smith or Smithy but the very place itself is not mentioned 
either directly or indirectly, so that, if it were not for other considerations, we 
might wonder whether the inhabitants received the Conqueror's Commissioners in the 
same inhospitable manner as they did St. Egwin some centuries previously. 

Tamworth, in the extreme north of the county, at the junction of the Tame 
and Anker, is another town of remote antiquity. A castle was built here by 
Ethelfreda, the daughter of yElfred, during the time she governed Mercia on 
behalf of her brother Edward the Elder. A fragment of it, forming one of the few 
examples of pre-Norman masonry still remaining in the county, is still to be seen 
in the curtain wall near the entrance to the present castle.(2) As Tameworthig it 
occurs in charters dating from the early part of the ninth century, and numerous 
examples of the coinage produced at the mint established here by the Mercian 
kings are still extant.(3) This must have been the most important town in the 
district and we might reasonably expect to find some reference to it in the 
pages of the Domesday Book, but although it has not been so entirely ignored 
as Alcester, for mention of it is made twice, once under Warwickshire and once 
under Staffordshire, yet in both cases it is only in the most casual way. All we 
are told is that king William held fourteen burgages there, ten as successor to 
king Edward in the Warw^ickshire manor of Coleshill, and four as the successor of 
the same king in the Staffordshire manor of Wiggington. Beyond that not a word. 

(1) See "Chronicon Abbatue de Evesham." Rolls Series. 1863, pp. 24—6. St. Egwin died A.I). 717. 

(2) Theie is a drawing of this in M. H. Bloxam's "Principles of Gothic Ecclesiastical Architecture." 
lA)ndon, 1882, vol. i., p. 45. 

(3) A large number have been found in Sweden. See the lists in * * Anglosachsiska Mynt i svenska Kongliga 
Myntkabinettet funna i sveriges jord." Stockholm, 1881. 



44 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

It would seem that the explanation of these surprising omissions is to be found 
in the fact that both Alcester and Tamworth, being royal towns and the king's 
private property, were outside the scope of the Domesday Survey. The king 
desired to possess whatever particulars it might be possible for him to obtain of 
all the manors in his kingdom, by whomsoever held, upon which taxes could be 
levied, but details of his own private possessions upon which no taxes were imposed 
for the benefit of his kingdom, as separate from himself, were in some cases omitted 
altogether, and, when entered, are more often than not manifestly incomplete. 

As an example of an incomplete entry let me give the one relating to the 
royal manor of Bidford : — 

Rex teS BEDEFORD. Rex. E. tenuit. Ibi funt. v. hide. 

Tra. e In dnio funt. v. car. 7 viii. ferui 7 v. ancilla^. 

7 xxviii. uitti 7 xiii. bord cu. xvi. car. 
Ibi. iiii. molini de. xl. iii. folid 7 iiii. den. 7 cl. ac pHi. 
Silua. iiii. leuu Ig. 7 una leuu lat. 

In this entry it will be noticed that there is a blank after "Terra est" where the 
number of carucates should have been entered, and also that no mention is made 
of the gross value. These omissions could hardly have been the result of accident, 
for all the Warwickshire manors held by the king, with the exception of three which 
I shall refer to in a moment, contain exactly similar omissions, so that there seems 
to be no alternative but to conclude either that the Commissioners sent in, by 
command, incomplete returns of the royal estates which they surveyed, or else 
that the returns were " cooked,*' if I may use the term, during their codification 
at Winchester. 

The three exceptions to this rule are the entries relating to Brailes, Cotes, and 
Sutone. The manor of Brailes, which was of the enormous extent of forty-six 
hides, is thus described : — 

Rex ten BRAILES. Eduira com tenuit. Ibi funt. xlvi. hide. 

Tra. e. Ix. car. In dnio funt. vi. 7 xii. ferui 7 iii. ancillai. 
7 c. vifti 7 XXX. bord. cu. xl. vi. car. Ibi molin de. x. foi. 
7 c. ac pHi. Silua. iii. leuu Ig. 7 ii. leuu lat. 
T. R. E. reddeb. xvii. lib 7 x. fol. Modo ualet. Iv. lib 
7 XX. fumaf falif 

From this it will be seen that the manor of Brailes, although belonging to 
the king, was as minutely described as any in the Domesday Book, and why there 
should be this difference in the descriptions of the royal estates I am at a loss 
to understand. One thing, however, is noticeable with respect to them and herein, 
perhaps, lies the key to the solution of the difficulty, and that is that the three manors 
which are fully described, namely, Brailes, Cotes, and Sutone, had been until a 
few years before the date of the Survey in the possession of Edwin, the rebellious 



Some 'Notes on Domesday Book, 45 

Mercian earl, whereas the remaining manors, namely, Quintone and Waleborne, 
Bedeford, Stanlei, and Coleshelle, were held by the Conqueror as successor to 
the Confessor. 

The number of churches, and indeed the general state of the Church at the end 
of the eleventh century, is another matter upon which Domesday Book sheds but 
a fitful light. In many counties the word ecclesia is constantly to be met with and a 
diminutive form, ecclesiola, is also occasionally found, but as far as Warwickshire 
is concerned it would appear that neither ecclesia, ecclesiola, nor any other word 
to indicate the fabric of a church, formed part of the Commissioners' vocabulary. Yet 
we cannot suppose that our county was worse off at the time of the Conquest 
in the possession of churches than other counties. In the church of Wootton Wawen 
we possess, in the substructure of the tower, vestiges of a building undeniably 
of a date long anterior to the time of the Domesday Survey, and at Loxley, near 
Stratford-upon-Avon, our President, on whom we can confidently rely in such 
matters, has told us in a Paper recently read before this Society, (0 there is still to be 
seen a fragment of rough masonry, part of it being herring-bone work, which he 
is strongly of opinion dates from pre-Norman times. At Monks Kirby and 
Dunchurch also there can be little doubt churches were in existence in very early 
times ; it is true no traces of them have as yet been observed, but the names they 
bear, written by the Domesday scribes Chircheberie and Doncirce, is evidence of 
the fact. 

Here then are two places where parts of a pre-Norman church are still in 
existence and two more where there is a strong probability a church of some 
sort was standing at the time of the Conquest ; all of them were visited by the 
king's Commissioners, and Domesday Book contains the records of what they 
found there, but in no case is there the slightest reference to any church, and the 
only remark which seems to imply the presence of any religious building is that 
at each place mention is made of a presbyter or resident priest. This has given 
rise to the supposition that in those parts of Domesday Book where direct reference 
to churches is lacking, we may surmise one wherever we meet with the word 
presbyter. There is no mention of any church in the Staffordshire portion of 
the Domesday Book, and Eyton, remarking upon the fact that at Hales in that 
county note is made by the Commissioners of a presbyter, but not of the pre-Norman 
church, says, " Ex uno disce omnes. Quot presbyteri tot ecclesiai."(2) But such a 
statement however is, I think, much too sweeping. It must always be remembered 
that Domesday Book was compiled primarily, perhaps solely, for purposes of 
adjusting the taxation of the kingdom. Churches, as such, did not pay taxes and 
were therefore entirely outside the purview of the Commissioners and any reference 
to them must, I think, be considered accidental only. If in some counties we 

(i) "Architectural Remains in Warwickshire of a date earlier than the XIII. Century," by J. A. Cossins, in 
the Transactions of the Birmingham and Midland Archaologual Society, Vol. XXV. , p. 43. 

(2) ** Domesday Studies, an Analysis and Digest of the Staffordshire Survey." R. W. Eyton, p. 24. 



46 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

find the Commissioners have failed to mention their existence may we not conclude 
that these Commissioners had a clearer perception of what they were required to 
furnish than those others who, quite unnecessarily as far as the king's instructions 
went, have burdened their returns with references to them ? 

Before leaving this subject I should like to remark that there was another 
church in existence in the county of Warwick in 1085 besides those I have already 
mentioned. This was the wealthy Abbey of St. Mary at Coventry, founded in 
the year 1047 by Leofric, Earl of Mercia, the celebrated husband of the more 
celebrated Countess Godiva. By the deed of endowment (2) it appears that he 
presented it with many manors in south Warwickshire, and these, together with 
others which the monks had since become possessed of, are all duly entered in 
Domesday Book under the heading "Terra Ecclesiae de Coventru " (VI.) At 
Coventry itself, however, not only is there no mention of the church which owned 
all these lands, but there is not even mention made of a presbyter whom we might 
certainly be expected to hear of if presbyter and ecclesia were interchangeable terms. 

At the end of this paper I have given an alphabetical list of all the places 
where a presbyter is mentioned, and on my map I have distinguished them by 
a cross and by writing the name in capitals. 

The presence of a mill was a very valuable adjunct and made a considerable 
addition to the value of any manor to which it might be attached, the Domesday 
Commissioners were therefore required by the schedule of instructions with which 
they were furnished for their guidance in making their returns, to take careful 
note of all the mills they came across. As far as Warwickshire is concerned, they 
seem to have carried out this requirement with the greatest care and thoroughness, 
and I have shown on my map every place where a mill is mentioned, marking 
it by a dot and writing the name in capitals ; in the few cases where both a mill 
and priest are mentioned as being at the same place I have made the writing 
vertical for the mill and added the usual cross for the priest. 

The persistence of these mills is remarkable and often helps in the identification 
of a name which otherwise would have been quite lost. We read, for example, that 
Robert de Statford (XXII.) held five hides at Offeworde in Fernecumbe hundred, 
and that there was a mill attached to his holding valued at four shillings. In 
Dugdale*s time, about 1640, this name had entirely disappeared as the name of 
a village, but on the banks of the Alne, and therefore in what was at the time 
of the Domesday Survey the hundred of Fernecumbe, he found a mill which 
went by the name of Offord's Mill. This he judged, and doubtless correctly, to 
be the mill of Offeworde which the Domesday Commissioners had noted and 
valued at four shillings. This mill is still shown on the Ordnance Survey maps, 



(2) Given at length in J. M. Kemble's ** Codex Diplomaticus," p. 273. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 47 

but as no distinctive name is attached to it we may conclude that it is now no 
longer known as Offord's Mill. Thus, although every vestige of the name and place 
has now disappeared, the mill still continues its life of usefulness. 



And now it is time I drew these disjointed notes to a conclusion. A recent 
writer on the subject has said " The perfect study of Domesday is a science which 
" would claim the attention of a lifetime, aye, more than a lifetime, to be strictly 
"and exclusively devoted to an unceasing enquiry into the matters of which it 
'•bears evidence," and in the short time at our disposal this evening it has been 
impossible for me to do more than touch the merest fringe of it. It would have 
been interesting, if time had permitted, to say something on the fascinating subject 
of the condition of the people and the various grades into which they were divided, 
the free-men and villeins, the borderii and cotarii, the servi, men-slaves and ancillae, 
women-slaves, whom Mr. Willis Bund (0 has suggested were in many cases captives 
taken in forays in the Welsh marches, forays which were constantly taking place 
and of which the memory is still preserved in the nursery rhyme — 

" Taffy was a Welshman, Taffy was a thief, 
Taffy came to my house and stole a leg of beef ; 
I went to Taffy's house, Taffy was in bed," etc. 

Then, also, much could be said about the great land-owners among whom 
the county was divided both before and after the Conquest. The names of all of 
them are preserved in Domesday Book, and many were interesting figures, such 
as, among the Saxons, Edwin, Earl of Mercia ; Asgar Stalre, King Edward's Master 
of the Horse ; Waga, the friend of Earl Leofric ; and Ulric Spot, Dugdale's " Potent 
Englishman " ; or among the Normans, the Earl of Mellent, to whom the burgesses 
of Warwick gave annually six sextaries of honey and five shillings ; William fitz 
Ansculf, who owned Birmingham and most of the immediate neighbourhood ; Odo, 
the Bishop of Baieux, the Conqueror's half brother ; the rapacious Urso de Abetot, 
who was, however, better known in the neighbouring county of Worcester than 
here in Warwickshire ; and many more. But a greater and more interesting figure 
than all these is the man to whom we owe this extraordinary Survey of England and 
who is constantly before us as we read it, William the Norman. After eight centuries 
we can look back upon his character without prejudice and without passion, and 
although his life was by no means a spotless one, yet we must all pay tribute 
to his indomitable energy, of which the Domesday Book is one of the most enduring 
monuments. 



(i) See "Worcestershire in Domesday," by J. W. Willis Bund, in the AssociaUd Architectural SocittUi 
Reports and Papers^ vol. 22, pt. I., p. I02. As a contribution to the discussion on this subject I have made a 
list (see List 5 at the end of this paper) of all the places in Warwickshire where Ancillie are mentioned by the 
Domesday Commissioners. From this their distribution in the county will be easily seen. 



48 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 



LIST I. 



A List of the Tenants-in-Chief who held Estates in 
IVarzuickshire at the time of the Domesday Survey. 



The order of the names is the same as in the Domesday Book. 



I. 


Rex Willelmus. 


XXIX. 


Willelmus Buenuas- 


II. 


RPISCOPUS DE CESTRE. 




LETIL 


III. 


F.PI.SCOPUS DE VVlRECESTRE. 


XXX. 


GOISFRIDUS DE MaNNE- 


IV. 


Epi.scopus Baiocensis. 




VILE. 


V. 


F.PLSCOPUS CONSTANTIENSIS. 


XXXI. 


GOISFRIDUS DE WiRCE. 


VI. 


ABB.\TIA DE COVENTREU. 


XXXII. 


GiSLEBERTUS DE GaND. 


VII. 


AbBATIA DE AbENDONE. 


XXXIII. 


GiSLEBERTUS, FILIUS 


VIII. 


ABBATIA DE BERTONE. 




TUROLDL 


IX. 


Abb.\tia DE Malmesberie. 


XXXIV. 


Gerinus. 


X. 


Abbatia de Wincelcumbe. 


XXXV. 


Urso de Abetot. 


XI. 


Abb.\tia DE Evesham. 


XXXVI. 


Stefan US. 


XII. 


Comes Rogerius. 


XXXVII. 


OSBERNUS, FILIUS 


XIII. 


Comes Hugo. 




RiCARDL 


XIV. 


Comes Albericus. 


XXXVIII. 


HaROLDUS, FILIUS COMITIS 


XV. 


CO.MITI.SSA GODEVA. 




Radulfl 


XVI. 


Comes de Mellent. 


XXXIX. 


Hasculfus Musard. 


XVII. 


TURCHIL DE VVaKWIC. 


XL. 


Nicolaus Balistarius. 


XVIII. 


Hugo de Grentemaisnil. 


XLI. 


NiGELLUS DE ALBINGL 


XIX. 


Henricus de Ferieres. 


XLII. 


Cristina. 


XX. 


Rogerius de Ivri. 


XLIII. 


Elemosine Regis 


XXI. 


Robertus de Oilgi. 




(Leveve and Kddid). 


XXII. 


ROBERTUS de STATFORD. 


XT.IV. 


RiCARDUs Forest ARius 


XXIII. 


Robertus Dispensator. 




(OR Venator) et alii 


XXIV. 


Robertus de Veci. 




TEINI ET SERVIENTES 


XXV. 


Radulfus de Mortemer. 




REGIS (AlURIC, ALSI, 


XXVI. 


Radulfus de LiMesi. 




Lewinus, Ordric and 


XXVII. 


Willelmus, filius 




GODVINUS). 




Ansculfi. 


XLV. 


Adeliz,uxorHugonisde 


:xviii. 


Willelmu.s, filius 




Grentemaisnil, Rob- 




Corbucion. 




ertus AND ANSEISUS. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 



49 



LIST 2. 



A List of the Hundreds into zukich the County of 
IVarzuick was divided at the time of the Domesday 
Survey, with some of the places in each Hundred. 



In the Domesday Book the places in each Chief-tenant's holding are grouped 
together according to the Hundreds of the County, and the name of the Hundred 
is written against the first place in the group ; all the places which follow, until 
the mention of another Hundred, being nominally in the same Hundred. There 
are, however, a large number of errors to be detected in this grouping of the 
places together, and it is not safe to suppose that any place is in a certain Hundred 
unless the name of the Hundred is written against it. In the following list only 
those places are given which have a name of a hundred written against them, and 
concerning which, therefore, there can be no doubt. 

The references, K4, etc., indicate the position of the places on the map. 
BERRICESTON. (Spelt Bedriceston occasionally). 



Berkicestone, K.4. 
Bertone, L.4. 

BOMELAU. 

Anestie, D. 5. 
bortone, c.6. 
Chircheberie, D. 6. 
focheshelle, d. 5. 
Herdebercje, E. 6. 

COLESHELLE. 

AlLESPEDE, D. 4. 

Aldulvestreu, a. 4. 
Caldecote, B. 5. 
Celverdestoche, C. 5. 
Cetitone, a. 4. 
Credeworde, C. 3. 
Etone, C. 5. 



ILMEDONE [EDELMITONE], K. 3. 

Stratone, K. 3. 



Smitham, D. 6. 
Stratone, C. 6. 
Ulveia, C. 6. 
Wara, D. 7. 
Westone, C. 5. 



Felingelei [Filunger], D.4. 
Grendone, B.4. 
Merston, C. 3. 
Merstone, D. 3. 
Ulverlei, E. 2. 
Wit ACRE, C.4. 



50 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 



FERNECUMBE. 

Benintone, H. 2. 
Beoshelle, F*. 3. 

BiCHEMEKSE, J. 2. 

coctune, g. i. 
Haseleia, F. 3. 
Haselove, G. 2. 

HiLDEBORDE [HILDEBEREURDE], 
H.2. 

FEXHOLE. 

Brailes, K. 4. 
hunitone, k. 4. 



Holehale, F. 2. 
Morton E, G. 2. 
Neweham, G. 2. 
Optone, H.2. 

SCIREBURNE, G. 4. 

Stodlei, G. I. 

WiTELAVESFORD, H. I 



OCTESELVE, J. 4. 
TlHESHOCHE, J. 4. 



HONESBERIE. (Spelt Onesberie occasionally). 



Dercetone, J. 5. 
Ferneberoe, J. 6. 
Herdevviche, H.6. 



Radwei [Rodewei], J. 5. 
rotelei, j. 5. 

Wimelestone [Wimerestone], 
H.6. 



MERETONE. 

Cliptone, E. 7. 
donecerce, f. 6. 
Eptone [Neptone], G. 6. 
Flecheniio, G. 7. 
Graneberge, F. 6. 

HiLLE, F. 6. 

PATELAU. 

Cliforde, H. 3. 
Hantone, H. 3. 
luditone, h. 2. 

5TANLEI. 

Bericote, F. 4. 

BlLVEIE [BiLNEl], E. 5. 

Bubenhalle, F. 5. 
cubintone, f. 5. 
Erburberie, G. 5. 
icetone, h. 5. 
Lamintone, F. 4. 

TREMELAU. (Spelt Tremeslau occasionally). 



hodenhelle, h. 6. 
icentone, g. 5. 
Lelleford, E. 6. 
Lodbroc, G. 5. 
lunnitone, f*. 6. 
Ulfelmescote, G. 7. 

Melecote, H. 3. 

VVlLMECOTE, G. 2. 
WOTONE, G. 2. 

MUITONE, G.4. 
RiETONE, E. 5. 
SOWA, D. 5. 

Ulvestone, E.6. 
Weston E, F. 5. 

WiTENAS, G. 4. 



Alnodestone, H. 3. 
Bereford, G. 4. 
Cedeleshunte, H. 5. 
Cestretone, G. 5. 
Edricestone, J. 3. 
Etendone, J. 4. 

FULREI, J. 4. 



LiSTECORNE, H. 5. 

Mersetone, J. 4. 
mortone, h. 4. 
Niwebold, H. 4. 
Pilardetune, J. 4. 
Taschebroc, G. 4. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 



LIST 3. 



A List of all the Places mentioned in that part of the 
Domesday Book which relates to the County of 
Warwick. 



The following list is arranged alphabetically. After the name of each place 
is a letter and number indicating the square in which it will be found on the 
map, and then the name of the Hundred in which it was at the time of the 
Domesday Survey. If this is printed in capitals, thus: COLESHELLE HUND., then 
the Hundred mentioned is written against the place, but when it is enclosed in 
brackets, thus : [Coleshelle hund.] no special Hundred is written against it, and 
the one given is that which has been last mentioned. After the Hundred will be 
found the modern name of the place, and then the name of the Tenant-in-Chief 
at the time of the Domesday Survey, with the number under which he appears 
in the Domesday Book. These particulars are followed by the number of hides,, 
etc., in the estate, and the total gross value. This last is added to show the 
fluctuations in values caused by the events of the time, and not for any purpose 
of comparing one manor with another, which cannot be done unless the values 
of all the adjuncts, such as mills, woods, meadows, etc., are taken into account. 

The occasional references to Sir William Dugdale's ** Antiquities of Warwick- 
shire" are to the second (1730) edition, edited by William Thomas. 

The references to the Ordnance Survey are usually to the one inch scale 
maps, published cir. 1831. 



ADERESTONE. B. 4. [Coleshelle hund.] Atherstone. COMITISSA GoDEVA (xv.) 
3 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 60 shillings. 

AILESPEDE. D. 4. Coleshelle HUND. Comitlssa Godeva (xv.) 4 hides. In 

King Edward's time valued at 40 shillings, afterwards at 30 shillings, which 

was its value at the time of the Domesday Survey. 

Dugdale identifies this place with Alspath, the older name of Meriden. See 
" Antiq. W arwicks," p. 984. 

ALDULVESTREU. A. 4. Coleshelle hund. Austrey. Abbatia dc Bektone 
(viii.) 2^ hides. In King Edward's time valued at 40 shillings, then at la 
shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 30 shillings. 



52 Some Notes on Doniesday Book. 

ALDULVESTREU. Henricus de Ferieres (xix.) lyi hides. " It was and is 

worth 20 shillings." 

This is nominally in Tremei.au hund., at any rate that is the last hund. mentioned, 
but on a careful examination of the text it will be noticed that a blank has 
been left for the insertion of another hund., doubtless Coleshells. For 
some reason this has never been filled in, c.f Hantone and Patitone. 

ALDULVESTREU. Nigellus de Albingi (xli.) s>^ hides and i virgate. The 
value had declined from 6 pounds to 3 pounds. 

ALNE. G. 2. Great Alne. Abbatia de WiNCELCUMBE (x.) 6 hides. The value 
had increased from 3 pounds to 4 pounds. 

ALNODESTONE. H. 3. TremelaU hund. Ayleston. NiCOLAUS BaLLSTARIUS 
(xl.) 3 hides and I virgate. " It was and is worth 60 shillings." 

ALTONE. Nigellus de Albingi (xli.) 2]4 hides. "It was and is worth 20 
shillings." 

This place has not, at present, been identified. 

ALVESTONE. H. 3. [Patelau hund.] Alveston. Episcopus de WiRCESTRE (iii.) 
15 hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards valued at 8 pounds, and 
at the time of the Domesday Survey at 15 pounds. 

ANESTIE. D. 5. BOMELAU HUND. Anstey. COMITLSSA Godeva (xv.) 9 hides 
(here and at FoCHESHELLE). In King Edward's time and afterwards valued 
at 10 pounds, and at the time of the Domesday Survey at 12 pounds. 

APLEFORD. D. 6. [For probable hund. see Hantone.] Hopsford. GOLSFRIDUS 

de WiRCE (xxxi.) 3 hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 

shillings. 
ARDRE5HILLE. C. 5. [Coleshelle hund.] Hartshill. COMITLSSA GODEVA (xv.) 

2 hides (here and at Hanslei). Formerly valued at 4 pounds but at the time 

of the Domesday Survey at icx) shillings. 

ARLEI. C.4. [Coleshelle hund.] Arley. Crlstina (xlii.) i hide. When first 
taxed it was worth 60 shillings. 

ARVE. H. I. Arrow. EpiSCOPUS Baiocensls (iv.) 7% hides. In King Edward's 

time valued at 60 shillings ; afterwards at 40 shillings ; at the time of the 

Domesday Survey it was valued at 4 pounds. 
ASCESHOT. F. 4. [Meretone hund.] Ashow. TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 

2 hide.s. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings. 
BADECHITONE. E. 5. [Meretone hund.] Baginton. TURCHiL de Warwic 

(xvii.) 4 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 50 shillings. 
BEDEFORD. H. 2. Bidford. Rex Willelmus (i.) 5 hides. The gross value 

is omitted. 
BEDEFORD. [Fernecumbe hund.] Eplscopus Baiocensis (iv.) 2^/i virgates. 

The value had increased from 12 pence to 10 shillings. 

BEDESLEI. B. 4. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Baddesley Ensor. 
TURCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. " It was and is worth 10 shillings." 



Some Notes on Dofnesday Book. 53 

BEDEWORD. D. 5. [Bomelau hund.] Bedworth. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
4 hides. " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

BELTONE. E.6. [Stanlei hund.] Hilton. COMES ROGERIUS (xii.) 5 hides, less i 
virgate (this virgate seems to have been held by TURCHIL de Warwic, see 
Bentone). The value was, at one time, 4 pounds; it afterwards declined 
to 10 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 
3 pounds. 

BENTONE. [Meretone hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) i virgate. The 
value had decreased from 5 shillings to 2 shillings. 

BENECHELIE. C. 4. [For probable hund. see Hantone.] Bentley. GOISFRIDUS 
de WiRCE (xxxi.) i hide. " It was and is worth 64 pence." 
Ansgot, a priest, was the under-tenant. 

BENINTONE. See under Benitone. 

BENITONE. H. 2. Binton. Gerinus (xxxiv.) 5 hides. The value had increased 
from 40 shillings to 60 shillings. 

BENITONE. [Fernecumbe hund.] Urso de Abetot (xxxv.) 2 hides. The 
value had increased from 16 shillings to 40 shillings. 

BENINTONE. [Berricestone hund.] WiLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION (xxviii.) 
2 hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

BENINTONE. Fernecumbe hund. Osbernus, filius Ricardi (xxxvii.) i}i 
hides (here and at HILDEBEREURDE). " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 
BENTONE. See under Beltone. 
BE05HELLE. F. 3. Fernp:cumbe hund. Beausale. EPISCOPUS Baiocensis 

(iv.) y2 hide. The value had increased from 5 shillings to 20 shillings. 
BERCESTONE. E. 3. Barston. ROBERTUS (xlv.) yi hide. "It is worth 20 
shillings." 
BERTANESTONE. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Turchil de Warwic 

(xvii.) 9 hides " It was and is worth 100 shillings." 
BERTANESTONE. [Coleshelle hund.] ROBERTUS DiSPENSATOR (xxiii.) 10 
hides. " It was and is worth 100 shillings." 

Both the above entries seem to refer to the same manor, although there is a 
discrepancy in the number of hides mentioned. 

BERCHEWELLE. E.4. [Coleshelle hund.] Berkswell. COMES de Mellent 

(xvi.) 1 hide. " It is worth 5 shillings." 

Under Northamptonshire it is noted that the Earl of Mellent held 4 hides 
at Berchkwelle, the value being given as 40 shillings. 

BERDINQEBERIE. F. 6. [For probable hund. see Patitone]. Birdingbury 

Turchil de Warwic (xvii.) i hide and ]/i virgate. The value had increased 

from 20 shillings to 40 shillings. 

DERBINGERIE. [Meretone hund.] Abbatia de CovENTREU (vi.) 2 hides. In 

King Edward's time worth 40 shillings, and afterwards 20 shillings ; at the 

time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 35 shillings. 



54 Some Notes on Domesday Book. 

BEREFORD. G.4. Tremelau HUND. Barford. WiLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION 
(xxviii,) I hide. The value had decreased from 20 shillings to 5 shillings. 

BEREFORDE. Tremelau hund. Osbernus, filius Ricardi (xxxvii.) 4 hides. 
"It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

BERICOTE. F.4. Stanlei hund. Bericote. TURCHIL de VVarwic (xvii.) 2 
hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings. 

BERMINGEHAM. D. i. Birmingham. WiLLELMUS, filius Ansculfi (xxvii.) 4 
hides. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

BERNHANQRE. D. 5. [Meretone hund.J Barnacle. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
3 virgates. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

BERRICESTONE. K.4. Berricestone hund. Barcheston. WiLLELMUS, filius 
CORBUCION (xxviii.) 2]4 hides. This value had increased from 40 shillings 
to 50 shillings 

BERRICESTUNE. Berricestone hund. Aluric (xliv.) i hide and )4 a 
virgate. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings 

BERTANESTONE. See under Bercestone. 

BERTONE. L. 4. Bedricestone hund. Barton-on-the-Heath. ROBERTUS de 
Statford (xxii.) ^ hide. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

BICHEHELLE. D. 3. [Coleshelle hund.] Bickenhill. TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 
2 hides. *' It was and is worth 30 shillings.*' 

BICHEHELLE. [Coleshelle hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. 
The value had decreased from 20 shillings to 10 shillings. 

These two entries occur together in the Domesday Hook, but the Commissioners 
make a distinction between them by calling the latter place "the other 
BiCHEHKT.LE." Probably one was Church Bickenhill and the other Hill 
Hickenhill. 

BICHEMERSE. J. 2. Fernecumbe HUND. Bickmarsh. Eddid (xliii.) 5 hides. 

The value had been 4 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was 

worth 100 shillings. 
BILLESLEI. H. 2. Billesley. Hugo de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) 5 hides. " It was 

and is worth 100 shillings." 

BILNEI. E. 5. [Meretone hund.] Binley. TURCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. 
The value had increased from 20 shilling to 35 shillings. 

BILVEIE. Stanleie hund. Abbatia de Coventreu (vi.) 3 hides. The value 
is given as 60 shillings, which was the same as in King Edward's time. 

BISCOPESBERIE. CUDULVESTAN HUND. WiLLELMUS, filius ANSCULFI (xxvii.) 

This place is entered under Warwickshire in error; it has been identified with 
Bushbury, in Cuddlestone hund., county Stafford. 

BOCHINTONE. D. 5. [Bomelau hund.] Bulkington. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
4 hides and i virgate. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 55 

BORTONE. F. 6. [Coleshelle hund.] Bourton-upon-Dunsmore. COMEsde Mellent 
(xvi.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 60 shiUings to 70 shillings. 

BORTONE. C.6. BOMELAU HUND. Burton Hastings. Henricus de Fereires 
(xix.) 4 hides. The value had been 4 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday 
Survey it was worth 40 shillings. 

BRAILES. K. 4. Fexhole HUM). Brailes. Rex. WiLLELMUS (i.) 46 hides. In 
King Edward's time it paid 17 pounds 10 shillings ; at 'the time of the 
Domesday Survey it was valued at 55 pounds and 20 semes of salt. 

BRANCOTE. C. 6. [Bomelau hund.] Bramcote. COMES Albericus (xiv.) i]4 
hides. " It used to be worth 5 shillings." The Commissioners have not 
recorded the value at the time of their visit. 

BRANCOTE. Robertus de Statford (xxii.) i hide. " It is worth 10 shillings." 
This entry has been added postscriptively. 

BRANCOTE. [Bomelau hund.] Ricardus Forestarius (xliv.) 3^ hide. "It 
is worth 2 shillings." 
BRANDUNE. E. 5. [Meretone hund.] Brandon. TURCHIL de VVarwic (xvii.) 

)4 hide. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 25 shillings. 

BROME. H. I. [Fernecumbe hund.] King's Broom. EriscOPUS Baiocensis (iv.) 
4^ hides. In King Edward's time the value was 40 shillings, and afterwards 
30 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 60 shillings. 

BUBENHALLE. F. 5. Stanlei HUM). Bubenhall. Robertus de Statford 
(xxii.) 5 hides. " It is worth 50 shillings." 

BUDEBROC. F.4. Budbrook. Radulfus de LiMESI (xxvi.) S hides. *' It was 
and is worth 8 pounds." 

BURDINTONE. K. 4. [Bomelau hund.] Burminton. ROBERTUS de STATFORD 
(xxii.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 60 shillings to 100 shillings. 

BURLEI. G. 3. [Patelau hund.] Bearley. ROBERTUS de Statford (xxii.) i 
hide. The value had decreased from 20 shillings to 10 shillings. 

BURLEI. [Fernecumbe hund.] WiLLELMUS, filius CORBUCIOX (xxviii.) 4 hides. 
The value had decreased from 60 shillings to 40 shillings. 

CALDECOTE. B. 5. CoLESHELLE HUND. Caldecote. EPLSCOPUS de Cestre (ii.) 
2 hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 40 shillings ; afterwards at 
60 shillings, which was its value at the time of the Domesday Survey. 

CALDECOTE. B. 5. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] TURCHiL de War- 
wic (xvii.) held two ^ hides here ; the value of one % hide had increased from 
4 to 8 shillings, of the other it is recorded that " it was and is worth 4 
shillings." 

CALDECOTE. G.6. [Meretone hund.] Caldecote. TURCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 
2 hides (here and at Walecote and WiLEBENE). The value had increased 
from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 



56 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

CALVESTONE. F.6. [F*or probable hund. see Patitone.] Causton. TURCHIL 
de Warwic (xvii.) i^ hide. The value had increased from lo shillings to i6 
shillings. 

CALVESTONE. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] TURCHiL de Warwic 
(xvii.) I hide. The value had increased from lO shillings to 12 shillings. 

CEDELESHUNTE. H. 5. Tremelau HUND. Chadshunt. Abbatia de CovEN- 
TREU (vi.) 5 hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 6 pounds, and 
afterwards at 3 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued 
at 7 pounds. 

CELBOLDESTONE. D. i. Edgbaston. WiLLELMUS, filius Ansculfi (xxvii.) 2 
hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

CELVERDESTOCHE. C. 5. COLESHELLE HUND. Chilvers Coton. Haroldus, 
filius comitis Radulei (xxxviii.) 8 hides. The value had increased from 
40 shillings to 50 shillings. 

CERLECOTE. H.4. [Tremeslau hund.] Charlecote. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
3 hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was valued at 50 shillings ; 
at the time of the Domesday Survey at 4 pounds. 

CESTEDONE. See under Cestretone. 

CESTRETONE. 6.5. Tremelau hund. Chesterton. Ricardus Venator (xliv.) 
3 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 100 shillings. 

CESTRETONE. [Tremelau hund.] Abbatia de Coventreu (vi.) ij^ hide. 
In King Edward's time it was valued at 40 shillings and afterwards at 20 
shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 50 shillings. 

CESTRETON [Tremelau hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. The 
value of one hide had increased from 60 shillings to 100 shillings and of the 
other from 20 shillings to 50 shillings. 

CESTEDONE. [Tremelau hund.] Henricus de Fereires (xix.) J/^ hide. 
" It was and is worth 10 shillings." 

CETITONE. A. 4. Coleshelle hund. Shuttington. CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 

5 hides, divided into two holdings of 2^ hides each. Each holding was worth 
20 shillings at the time of the Domesday Survey. 

CHENEVERTONE. G. 2. [Fernecumbe hund.] Kinwarton. Abbatia de EvESHAM 
(xi.) 3 hides. The value had decreased from 40 shillings to 5 shillings, but at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it had increased again to 20 shillings. 

CHINESBERIE. B. 3. [Coleshelle hund.] Kingsbury. COMITISSA Godeva (xv.) 

6 hides. In King Edward's time it was worth 6 pounds, which afterwards 
increased to 7 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was worth 
13 pounds "ad pondus." 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 57 

CHINEWRDE. F.4. Kenihvorth. Rex VVillelmus (i.) 3 virgates. No value 
given. 

This is the southern part of Kenilworth, the northern part being called Optone. 
With reference to Optonk and Chinewrdk the Domesday Commissioners add this 
note : "ti duo mebra iac ad Stan lei M regis." 

CHIRCHEBERIE. D. 6. Bomelau HUND. Monks Kirby. GOISFRIDUS de WiRCE 
(xxxi.) 15 hides. The value had decreased from ico shillings to 40 shillings 
but at the time of the Domesday Survey it had risen to 10 pounds. 

CILLENTONE. Colvestan iiUxND. VVillelmus, filius Corbucion (xxviii.). 

This has been entered under Warwickshire in error; it has been identified with 
(Jhillington-in-Brewood in Cuddlestone hund., county Stafford. 

CINTONE. G. 3. [Fernecumbe hund.] Kington. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 

ij^ hide. 

This manor was waste but the Domesday Commissioners valued it at 5 shillings and 
the wood at 10 shillings. 

CINTONE. H.4. Kineton. WiLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION (xxviii.) 2 hides. 
"It was and is worth 10 shillings." 

Dugdale expresses a doubt whether this refers to Kineton, Antiq. of WanvUk 
p. 559. See aLso Qu in tone. 

CLAVENDONE. G. 3. [Fernecumbe hund.] Claverdon. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 3 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 4 pounds. 

CLIFORDE. H. 3. Patelau hund. Clifford. ROBERTUS de Statford (xxii.) 
I hide and i virgate. " It was and is worth 30 shillings." 

CLIPTONE. E. 7. Meretone hund. Clifton. Comes Albericus (xiv.) 5 hides. 
In King Edward's time and afterwards it was valued at 40 shillings; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey at 4 pounds. 

CLOTONE. H. 3. [Patelau hund.] Clopton. ROBERTUS de St.\TFORD (xxii.) 5 
hides. " It was and is worth 60 shillings." 

COBINTONE. See under CUBINTONE. 

COCTUNE. G. I. Fernecumbe hund. Coughton. Turcihl de VVarwic (xvii.) 
4 hides. The value had decreased from 40 shillings to 20 shillings ; at the 
time of the Domesday Survey it had increased to 50 shillings. 

COLESHELLE. C. 3. Coleshill. Rex WiLLELMUS (i.) 3 hides. The value is 
omitted. 

CONDELME. See under CONDONE. 

CONDONE. E. 5. [Stanleie hund.] Coundon. Abbatia de CovENTREU (vi.) 3 
virgate.s. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

CONDELME. [Stanlie hund.] WiLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION (xxviii.) i virgate. 
The value had decreased from 5 shillings to 4 .shillings. 



58 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

CONTONE. H.4. [Tremeslau hund.] Compton Murdak. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 7 hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was worth 100 
shiHings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey the value had increased to 
6 pounds. 

CONTONE. [Tremelau hund.] TUKCIIIL de Warwic (xvii.) 3 hides. " It was 
and is worth 4 pounds." 

CONTONE. H. 5. [Honesberie hund.] Fenny Compton. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 4 hides and 3 virgates. The value had increased from 60 shillings to 
4 pounds. 

CONTONE. [Hone.sberie hund.] TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) held 2 hides here 
of which the value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings and 3 
hides and i virgate, of which the value had increased fron 40 shillings to 50 
shillings. 

CONTONE. K. 3. [Bedricestone hund.] Compton Scorfen. ROHERTUS de Stat- 
FORD (xxii.) I hide. " It was and is worth 10 shillings." 

CONTONE. [Bedricestone hund.] RoHERTUS de Statford (xxii.) 5 hides. The 
value had increased from 60 shillings to 100 shillings. 

These two entries come together, and are both supposed by Dugdale to refer to 
Compton Scorfen. The Domesday Commissioners, however, distinguish them 
by calling the latter Parva Contone 

Compton Scorfen is shown on Morden's Ma}) of Warwickshire, but the only 
indication of it on the Ordnance Suney Map is a district called Compton 
Scorpion Farms. 

CORNELIE. D. 4. Corley. GODVINUS (xliv.) i hide. The value had increased 
from 10 shillings to 30 shillings. 

COTES. G.4. Cotton End, near Warwick. Rex Willelmus (i.) 1 hide. In King 
Edward's time this land, with the burgh of Warwick and the third penny 
of the County, was worth 17 pounds. When ROHERTUS took the farm of 
it it was worth 30 pounds which was the value at the time of the Domesday 
Survey. 

COVENTREU. E. 5. [Bomelau hund.] Coventry. COMITISSA GODEVA (xv.) 5 
hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was valued at 12 pounds ; 
at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 1 1 pounds " ad pondus." 

CREDEWORDE. Q.^. Cole.shelle hund. Curdworth. TURCHIL de Warwic 
(xvii.) 4 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 50 shillings. 

CUBINTONE. F. 5. Stanlei hund. Cubington. ROGERIUS de IVERI (xx.) 5 
hides. " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

" Hie est de feudo episcopi Baiocensis." 

COBINTONE. [Stanleie hund.] Abbatia de Coventreu (vi.) 2 hides. The 
value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 59 

CUBITONE. [Meretone hund.] Comes de Mellent (xvi.) 3 hides. The value 
had decreased from 40 shiUings to 30 shillings. 

CUNTONE. L.4. Long Compton. GoiSFRlDUS de Mannevile (xxx.) 30 hides. 
The value had increased from 15 pounds to 30 pounds. 

DERBINQERIE. See under Berdingeberie. 

DERCELAI. B. 3. [For probable hund. see Patitone]. Dosthill (?). TURCHIL de 
Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 40 
shillings. 

DERCETO. See under Decertone. 

DERCETONE. J. 5. Onesberie hund. Burton Das.set. Haroldus, filius 
Radulfi (xxxviii.) 15 hides. The value had decreased from 26 pounds (qy.) 
to 20 pounds. 

DERCETO. [Stanlei hund.] CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 10 hides. In King 
Edward's time it was valued at 10 pounds and afterwards at 40 shillings ; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 8 pounds. 

DICFORDE. K. 3. [Bedriceston hund.] Ditchford. RoBERTUS de STATFORD(xxii.) 

2 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 4 pounds. 

DONECERCE. F. 6. Meretone hund. Dunchurch. Osbernus, filius Ricardi 
(xxxvii.) 5 hides. " It was and is worth lOO shillings." 

DONNELIE. F. 2. [Fernecumbe hund.] Beaudesert. CoMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 
I hide. The whole had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

DORSITONE. J. 2. Dorsington. Stefanus (xxxvi.) i hide. The value had 
increa.sed from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

ECLESHELLE. H. 2. [Berricestone hund.] Exhall. VVlLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION 
(xxviii.) \]/2 hides. The value had decrea.sed from 10 .shillings to 5 shillings. 

EDBURBERIE. See under Erburberie. 

EDELMITONE. See under ILMEDONE. 

EDRICESTONE. J. 3. Tremelau HUND. Atherston-on-Stour. EriSCOPUS Baio- 
CENSLS (iv.) 4 hide.s. In King Edward's time, at the time of the Domesday 
Survey, and also at the time the Bishop of Baieux received it, this manor 
was worth 4 pounds. 

EDRICESTONE. G. 3. [Fernecumbe hund.] Edstone. RoBERTUS de Statford 
(xxii.) 5 hides. "It is worth 3 pounds." 

ELMEDONE. D. 2. [for probable hund. .see PATITONE.] Elmdon. TURCHiL de 
Warwic (xvii.) ]4 hide. " It was and is worth 5 shillings." 

EPESLEI. F. L [Fernecumbe hund.] Ipsley. OSBERNUS, filius RiCARDi (xxxvii.) 

3 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 40 shillings. 

EPTONE. See under Neptone. 



6o Some Notes on Domesday Book. 

ERBURBERIE. G. 5. Stanlki HUM). Harbury. Hknricus de F^KKIERES (xix.) 

2 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 4 pounds. 

On Speed's Map of Warwickshire, dated 16 10, and on the Maps of Saxton and 
.Morden, this place appears as Marburbury. 

ERBURHERIK. Stanlki hund. Willklmus Blknuaslkth (xxix.)3 virgates. 
The value had decreased from 10 shillings to 5 shillings. 

ERBURBERIE. [Stanlei hund.] Co.MKS de Mkllknt (xvi.) 41^ hides. In King 
Edward's time it was valued at 100 shillings, afterwards at 60 shilHngs ; at the 
time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 100 shillings. 

EDBURBERIE. [Stanleie hund.] Ahhatia de Cnventreu (vi.) i hide and i 
virgate. The value had decreased from 10 shillings to 2 shillings. 
" Vasta e p exercitu regis." 

ERBURGEBERIE. [Meretone hund.] Tl'KCHlL de Warwic (xvii.) 4 hides 
" It was and is worth 60 shillings." 

ERMENDONE. WiLLELMUS, filius CoRHUClON (xxviii.) 4 hides. *' It was and is 
worth 50 shillings." 

This place has not, at present, been identified. 

ESENINQETONE. CUDULVESTAN HUM). WiLLELMUS, filius ANSCULEI (xxvii.) 

This place was entered under Warwickshire in error ; it has been identified with 
Essington, in (.'uddlestone hund., county Stafford. 

ESTLEIA. C.4. [Bomelau hund,] Astley. CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) i hide. 

"It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

ESTONE. C.2. Aston. WiLLELMUS, filius AXSCULFI (xxvii.) 8 hides. The value 
had increased from 4 pounds to 100 shillings. 

ESTONE. G. 2. Aston Cantlow. OSBERXUS, filius RiCARDi (xxxvii.) 5 hides. The 
value has increased from lOO shillings to 6 pounds. 

ETEDONE. See under Etendone. 

ETELINCOTE. J. 4. [Fexhole hund.] Idlicote. RoHERTUS de Stateord (xxii.) 
5 hides. The value had increased from 4 pounds to 8 pounds. 

ETENDONE. J. 4. Tremelau hund. Upper Eatington. TURCHIL de Warwic 
(xvii.) 2 hides (one being here the other at FuLREl). The value had increased 
from 10 shillings t(j 25 shillings. 

ETEDONE. HuciO de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) i hide. " It was and is worth 
iO shillings." 

ETEDONE. Ordric (xliv.) i hide. 
" h uasta e." 

ETENDONE. J. 3. Tremelau mund. Lower Eatington. Henricus de Ferieres 
(xix.) 17 hides. It had formerly been valued at 6 pounds, then at 4 pounds; 
at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 20 pounds. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 6r 

ETONE. C. 5. COLESHELLE HUM). Nuneaton. COMES Albericus (xiv.) Number 
of hides omitted. In King Edward's time it was valued at 4 pounds, and 
afterwards at 3 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued 
at 100 shillings. 

ETONE. [Ferncumbe hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 3 hides. The value 
had increased from 40 shilling to 4 pounds. 

Dugdale supposes this also to be Nuneaton. 

FELINQELEI. D.4. C()LP:shelle HUND. Fillongley. Alsi (xliv.) ^ hide. "It 
is worth 30 shillings." 

FILINGELEI. [Coleshelle hund.] RoBERTUS DiSPENSATOR (xxiii.) y^ hide. 
The value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

FILUNGELEI. Episcopus Constantiensis. (v.) y^ hide. The value had 
increased from 10 shillings to 30 shillings. 

FILUNGER. Coleshelle HUND. Abbatlv de Coventreu (vi.) 3^ hide. At 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 30 shillings. 

The ^'2 hide which belonged to the Bishop of Coventry came aftewards to Gerard 
de .Alspath, who held it of him in the time of Henry III., it being then called 
Old Fillongley. ^' Aniiq, of IVarwicks,^^ ^. 1024. 

FEN4NIWEB0LD. D. 6. [Bomelau hund.] Newbold Revel. GoiSFRlDUS de 
WiRCE (xxxi.) 8 hides. " It was and is worth 7 pounds." 

FERNEBERQE. J. 6. HONESBERIE HUND. Farnborough. Eplscopus de Cestre 
(ii.) 3 hides. This manor was valued at 100 shillings in King Edward's 
time, and 60 shillings when the Bishop of Chester received it. At the time of 
the Domesday Survey it was valued at 100 shillings. 

FILINQELEI. See under Felingelel 

FILUNGELEI. See under FELINGELEL 

FILUNGER. See under FELINGELEL 

FLECHENHO. G. 7. Mereton hund. Flecknoe. Episcopus de Wirecestre 

(iii.) 2 hides and % a virgate. In King Edward's time and afterwards valued 
at 10 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 20 
shillings. 

FLECHENHO. [Mereton hund.] Lewinus (xliv.) 2 hides and J^ a virgate. The 
value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

This entry is identical with the last, but has the following note : — ** Hanc t'rJ dix 
Leuuifi se tenere de Ulstano epO. sed eps ei defecit in placito. unde ipse. L» 
e in miscdia regis." 

FLECHENHO. Mereton hund. Lewinus (xliv.) \y hide. The value had 
increased from 10 shillings to 30 shillings. 
" Hie Leuuifl emit ab Aluuino fre suo." 



62 So7ne Notes on Domesday Book. 

FLECHENHO. [Meretone hund.] TUKCHIL de Warwick (xvii.) i hide and 
% a virgate. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

FLECHENOC. [Mereton hund.] TuKCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2% hides. "It 
was and is worth 30 shillings." 

FOCHESHELLE. D. 5. BOMKLAU HUxND. Foleshill. CoMlTlSSA GoDEVA (xv.) 

9 hides (here and at Anesti?:). In King Edward's time and afterwards valued 
at 10 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Sur\-ey valued at 12 pounds. 

FRANCHETONE. F. 6. [Stanlei hund.] Frankton. CoMES ROGERIUS (xii.) 4 
hides less i virgate. ** It was and is worth 60 shillings." 

FRANCHETONE. [Coleshelle hund.] COMES de Mellext (xvi.) i hide and I 
virgate. " It was and is worth 20 .shillings." 

FULEBROC, G. 3. [Fernecumbe hund.] Fulbroke. CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
2% hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 60 shillings, afterwards 
it declined to 40 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was 
valued at 60 shillings. 

FULREI. J. 4. Tremelau hund. Fulready. TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides 
(one being here and the other at Etendone). The value had increased from 

10 shillings to 25 .shillings. 

QAURA. E. 7. [For probable hund. see Hantone.] Browns Over. GoiSFRIDUS 
de WiRCE (xxxi.) 2 hides, " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

See Waura. 

The name of the under-tenant of this manor was Bruno whence, possibly, Browns 
Over. c. f. WoTONE and Scotescotk. 

ORANEBERQE. V.6. Meretone hund. Grandborough. Abbatia de Coven- 
TREU (vi.) 8 hides and i virgate. In King Edward's time valued at 6 
pounds and afterwards at 100 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey 
it was valued at 8 pounds. 

GRENEBERGE. Mereton hund. Ricardus Forestarius (xliv.) 2 hides. 
The value had increased from 20 shillings to 50 shillings. 

QRASTON. H. 2. [Berricestone hund.] Ardens Grafton. WiLLELMUS, filius COR- 
BUCION (xxviii.) 3 hides and i virgate. The value had decreased from 40 
shillings to 30 .shillings. 

QRASTONE. H. 2. [F'ernecumbe hund.] Temple Grafton. OSBERNUS, filius 
RiCARDi (xxxvii.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 3 pounds to 4 
pounds. 

QRENDONE. B.4. CoLESHELLE HUND. Grendon. Henricus de Fereires 
(xix.) 5 J^ hides. " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

ORENEBERQE. See under Graneberge. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 65 

HANSLEI. C. 4. [Coleshelle Hund.] Ansley. COMITISSA GoDEVA (xv.) 2 hides 
(here and at Ardreshille). Formerly valued at 4 pounds but at the time 
of the Domesday Survey at 100 shillings. 

HANTONE. H. 3. Patelau hund. Hampton Lucy or Bishop's Hampton. 
Episcopus de WiRECESTRE (iii.) 12 hides. In King Edward's time and after- 
wards it was valued at 4 pounds, and at the time of the Domesday Survey 
at 20 pounds. 

HANTONE. D. 2. Goiskridus (le WiRCE (xxxi.) 10 hides. "It was and is worth 
100 .shillings." 

This place is nominally in Merkton Hund., at any rate that is the last mentioned, 
but it seems from an examination of the text that a blank has been left for the 
insertion of another hund. which has never been filled in. The places which 
follow it, namely, Scotkscote, Benechelie, Cmura, War a, Niweham and 
Apleford, are all in the north of the county, and as the first two are certainly 
in Coleshelle Hund. it is probable Hanton is also, in which case Dugdale's 
identification with Hampton-in-Arden would be correct. 

I'or a similar omission of the hund. see Aldulvestkeu and Patitone. 

HARDINTONE. C. 2. Erdington. WiLLELMUS, filius Ansculfi (xxvii.) 3 hides. 
The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

HASELEIA. F. 3. Fernecumbe Hund. Haseley. Hasculfus Musard (xxxix.) 
3 hides and ^ a virgate. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 
30 shillings. 

HASELOVE. G. 2. FeRxXECUMBE Hund. Hazeler. XicoLAUS Ballstarius (xl.) 
5 hides and i virgate. The value had increased from 4 pounds to 6 pounds. 

HERDEBERQE. E. 6. Bomelau hund. Harborough Magna. RiCARDUS FoR- 
ESTARIUS (xliv.) 4^ hide.s. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 
20 shillings. 

HERDEBERGE. Anselsus (xlv.) 4 hides. The value had increased from 10 
shillings to 20 shillings. 

HERDEWICHE. H.6. HoNESBERlE HUND. Priors Hardwick. Abbatia de 
COVENTREU (vi.) 15 hide.s. In King Edward's time the value was 9 pounds 
and afterwards 4 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued 
at 10 pounds. 

HILDEBEREURDE. See under HiLDEBORDE. 

HILDEBORDE. H. 2. Fernecumbe hund. Hillborough. Urso de Abetot 

(xxxv.) \% hide. The value had increased from 16 shillings to 20 shilling.s. 

HILDEBEREURDE. Fernecumbe hund. Osbernus, filius RiCARDi(xxxvii.) 
y/2 hides (here and at Benintone). " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

HILLE. F. 6. Meretone HUND. Hill (near Leamington Hastings). ABBATIAde 
Abendone (vii.) 2 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 40 
.shillings. 



64 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

HODENELLE, H.6. Mereton HUNI). Hodnell. WiLLELMUS, filius COR- 
BUCION (xxviii.) 1 hide. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 
shillings. 

HODEXELLE. [Coleshelle hund.] CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 4 hides. It had 
formerly been valued at 20 shillings and afterwards at 40 shillings ; at the time 
of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 60 shillings. 

HODEXHELLE. [Meretone hund.] TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 5 hides. Of 

4 hides it is recorded " the value was and is 40 shillings ; " and of 1 hide that 
the value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

HOLEHALE. F. 2. Fernecumbe hund. UUenhall. Rohertus de Statford 
(xxii.) I hide. " It was and is worth 3 pounds." 

HOLME. (Meretone hund.) TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. Of i hide 
it is said that the value had increased from 5 shillings to 10 shillings and of the 
other that the value had decreased from 5 shillings to 3 shillings. 

This place has not, at present, been identified. 

HUNINQEHAM. F. 5. [Mereton hund.] Honingham. WiLLELMUS, filius COR- 
BUCTON (xxviii.) 2 hides. The value had decreased from 40 shillings to 
30 shillings. 

HUNITONE. K.4. Fexhole hund. Honington. Abbatia de COVENTREU (vi,) 

5 hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 10 pounds and afterwards at 
7 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 10 pounds. 

ICENTONE. G. 5. Mer?:T()N hund. Long Itchington. Cristina (xlii.) 24 hides. 
The value had increased from 12 pounds to 20 pounds, but the Domesday 
Commissioners record that when the king gave the estate to Cristina it 
was worth 36 pounds. 

ICETONE. H. 5. [Stanleie hund.] Bishop's Itchington. Abbatia de CoVENTREU 
(vi.) 5 hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 10 pounds and after- 
wards at 3 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued 
at 12 pounds. 

ILLINTONE. See under LiLLlNTONE. 

ILMEDONE. K. 3. Bedricestone hund. Ilmington. CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
7 hides less ^ a virgate. In King Edward's time it was valued at 7 pounds 
and afterwards at 100 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it 
was valued at 10 pounds. 

ILMEDONE. Berriceston hund. Comes de Mellent (xvi.) i hide and % 
a virgate. "It is worth 40 shillings." 
**h ti^a e in M comitis Ii.mkdon." 

EDELMITONE. Bp:rricestone hund. Robertus de Statford (xxii.) 

I hide. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 15 shillings. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 65 

LAMINTONE. F.4. Stanlki HUND. Leamington Priors. COMES ROGERIUS 
(xii.) 2 hides. It had formerly been valued at 50 shillings and afterwards at 25 
shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 4 pounds. 

LANQEDONE. K. 3. [For probable hund. see Patitone] Langdon. TURCHIL 
de Warwic (xvii.) 2^^ hides. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

LAPEFORDE. F. 2. [Fexhole hund.] Lapworth. HUGO de Grentemaisnil 
(xviii.) ^ hide. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

LEILEFORDE. E. 6. [Stanlei hund.] Church Lawford. COMES ROGERIUS (xii.) 
5 hides. It had formerly been valued at 40 shillings, and afterwards at 10 
shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 50 shillings. 

LELLEFORD. E. 6. Mereton hund. Long Lawford. GOISFRIDUS de WiRCE 
(xxxi.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 50 shillings. 

LETH. (Coleshelle hund.) ROBERTUS Disfensator (xxiii.) 1 hide. The value 
had increased from 10 shillings to 15 shillings. 

This place has not, at present, been identified 

LILLEFORD. E. 6. [Meretone hund.] Little Lawford. TURCHIL de Warwic 
(xvii.) 2 hides. The value had decreased from 20 shillings to 10 shillings 
and 8 pence. 

LILLINTONE. F.4. [Meretone hund.] Lillington. TURCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 
^2 hide. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

ILLINTONE. ^[Meretone hund.] Comes de Mellent (xvi.) 4 hides. The 
value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings. 

LISTECORNE. H. 5. Tremelau hund. Lighthorne. WiLLEMUS BuENUASLETH 
(xxix.) 5 hides (pt* inland). The value had increased from 100 shillings to 
7 pounds. 

LOCHESHAM. EPISCOPUS de WiRECESTRE (iii.) i hide. In King Edward's time 
and afterwards it w^as valued at 20 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday 
Survey at 25 shillings. 

This was supposed by Dugdale to be l.oxley, see next entry, but it is now usually 
identified with Bloxham in O.xfordshire. Sec Spelf.sberik. 

LOCHESLEI. H. 3. [Patelau hund.] Loxley. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 4 hides 
less I virgate. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 4 pounds 10 
shillings. 

LOCHESLEI. Hugo de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) i virgate. "It was and is 
worth 5 shillings." 

LODBROC. G. 5, Meretone hund. Ladbroke. Comes de Mellent (xvi.) 2 

hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 50 shillings. 

LODBROC. [Meretone hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 3 virgates. The 
value had increased from 5 .shillings to 10 shillings. 



66 Some Notes on Dofnesday Book, 

LODBROC. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Turchil de Warwic (xvii.) 
\)4 bide (here and at Redborne). The value had increased from 30 shillings 
to 40 shillings. 

LODBROC. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Turchil de Warwic (xvii.) 

2 hides and 2 vigates. The value of 2 hides and i virgate had increased 
from 20 shillings to 40 shillings, and the value of the remaining virgate had 
increased from 5 shillings to 10 shillings. 

LODBROC. Hugo dc Grentemaisnil (xviii.) 3 virgates. The value had 
increased from 5 shillings to 10 .shillings. 

LODBROC H. [for probable hund. see Petitone.] Turchil de Warwic (xvii.) 
I hide and i virgate. The value had increa.sed from 15 shillings to 20 shillings. 

LONQELEI. G. 3. [Patelau hund.] Langley. ROBERTU.S de Statford (xxii.) 
i^ hide. The value had increased from 30 to 40 shillings. 

LUDITONE. H. 2. Patelau HUND. Ludington. Comes de xMellent (xvi.) 12 
hides. The value had decreased from 8 pounds to 6 pounds. 

LUNNITONE. F. 6. Meretone HUND. Leamington Hastings. Hasculfus 
MUSARD (xxxix.) 12^ hides and ^ a virgate. The value had increa-sed 
from 10 pounds to 12 pounds. 

MACHITONE. D. 3. [For probable hund. see Patitonp:.] Maxtoke. TURCHIL 
de Warwic (xvii.) 5 hides less i virgate. The value had increased from 20 
shillings to 40 shillings. 

MALVERTONE. F. 4. [Stanlei hund.] Milverton. COM?:s de Mellent (xvi.) 2 
hides less i virgate. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 100 shillings. 

MAPELBERQE. F. i. [Berricestone hund.] Mapleborough. WiLLELMUS, filius 
CORBUCION (xxviii.) I hide. The value had decrea.sed from 20 shillings to 
15 shillings. 

MELECOTE. H. 3. Patelau HUND. Millcote. Stefan us (xxxvi.) 3 hides. The 
value had increased from 40 shillings to 50 shillings. 

MENEWORDE. C. 3. [Coleshelle hund.] Minworth. TURCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 
I hide. " It was and is worth 5 shillings." 

MERSETONE. J. 4. Tremelau hund. Butlers Marston. HUGO DE GRENTE- 
MAISNIL (xviii.) 10 hides. The value had increased from 10 pounds to 15 
pounds. 

MERSTON, C. 3. Coleshelle hund. Lea Marston. Rorertus Dispensator 

(xxiii.) 9 hides (viiii. hid.). " It was and is worth 4 pounds." 

MERSTONE. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Turchil de Warwic (xvii.) 

3 hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 67 

MERSTONE. D. 3. COLESHELLE HUND. Marston Green. RoBERTUS de OiLGl 

(xxi.) 2 hides. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

In Dugdale's time this place was known as Marston Culy. In the 183 1 edition 
of the Ordnance Survey it appears as Marston Green or Marston Culy, in the 
most recent edition it appears as Marston Green alone, so that the form 
Marston Culy has now become obsolete. 

MERSTONE. C. 5. [Bomelau hund.] Merston Jabet. COME.S de MELLENT(xvi.) i 
hide. '* It was and is worth 3 pounds." 

MERSTONE. [Meretone hund.] TURCIUL de Warwic (xvii.) i hide. The value 
has decreased from 10 shillings to 16 pence. 

"Vasta e." 

This place is entered between Lillkford, E. 6, and Asceshot, F. 4, and should 
not, I think, be identified with any of the foregoing. 

MIDELTONE. B. 3. [Tremelau hund.] Middleton. HUGO de Grentemaisnil 
(xviii.) 4 hides. The value had increased from 4 pounds to 6 pounds. 

MILDENTONE. Adeliz, uxor Hugonis de Grentemaisnil (xlv.) 4 hides. The 
value had increased from 4 pounds to 6 pounds. 

These two entries seem to refer to the same manor. 

MOITONE. See under MuiTONE. 

MOLLITONE. J. 6. [Bericestone hund.] Mollington. OsHERNUS, filius RiCARDI 
(xxxvii.) 5 hides. The value had increa.sed from 40 shillings to 60 shilling.s. 

MORTONE. H.4. Tre.MESLAU hund. Morton Morrell. CoMEs de Mellent 
(xvi.) 5 hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was v'alued at 6 
at pounds ; the time of the Domesday Survey at 1 1 pounds. 

MORTONE. E. 7. [Coleshelle hund.] Hill Moreton. C0ME.S de Mellent (xvi.) 
2]4 hides and i virgate. The value of 1 )/2 hide had formerly been 30 shillings 
and afterwards 35 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey the value had 
declined to 30 shillings. The value of the i hide and 1 virgate had formerly 
been 50 shillings which afterwards declined to 45 shillings, which remained the 
value at the time of the Domesday Survey. 

MORTONE. [Coleshelle hund.] Comes de MellExNT (xvi.) ]4 hide. The value 

had decreased from 15 shillings to 10 shillings. 

MORTONE. HU(;o de Grentemalsnil (xviii.) r/^ hide (qy.) (here and in 
WiLEBEC). The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

MORTONE. G. 2. Fernecumhe hund. Morton Bagot. RoBERTUS de Stateord 
(xxii.) 2 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 50 shillings. 

MORTONE. [Patelau hund.] RoBERTUS de Stateord (xxii.) i hide. The 
value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings. 

MORTONE. F. 5. [Mereton hund.] Marton. RiCARDU.s FoRESTARlU.s (xliv.> 
I hide. " It was and is worth 20 .shillings." 



68 Some Notes on Domesday Book. 

MUITONE. G. 4. Stanlei HUND. Myton. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 2 hides. 
In King Edward's time it was worth 3 pounds, afterwards 40 shillings ; at the 
time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 6 pounds. 

MOITONE. [Honesberie hund.] TUKCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides. This had 
formerly been valued at 100 shillings and afterwards at 40 shillings; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 6 pounds. 

This manor was held by the Earl of Mellent "de feudo T." so that possibly both 
these entries refer to the same. 

MOITONE. [Stanlei hund.] TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 2J^ hides. The value 
of I hide, which the church of S. Mary at Warwic held, had increased from 
5 shillings to 10 shiUings ; the value of the remaining i J.^ hide had increased 
from 30 shillings to 40 shillings. 

NEPTONE, G. 6. [Coleshelle hund.] Napton. COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 3 hides 
and 3 virgates. The value had decreased from 4 pounds to 3 pounds. 

EPTONE. Meretone iiund. Turciiil de Warwic (xvii.) 3 virgates. The 
value had increased from 10 shillings to 30 shillings. 

EPTONE. [Meretone hund.] TuRCliiL de Warwic (xvii.) >^ hide. The value 
had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

NEWEBOLD. E. 6. [Bomelau hund.] Newbold-on-Avon. GOISFRIDUS de WiRCE 
(xxxi.) 8 hides. " It was and is worth 100 shillings." 

NEWEHAM, G. 2. Fernecumhe HUND. Newnham. Abbatia de COVENTREU 
(vi.) 5 hides. *' It was and is worth 6 pounds." 

NIWEBOLD. F. 4. Newbold Comyn. Abbatia de Malmesberie (ix.) 3 hides. 
The value had increased from 30 to 50 shillings. 

NIWEBOLD. [Honesberie hund.] COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 2 hides. The 
value had increased from 30 shillings to 50 shillings. 

NIWEBOLD, H.4. Tremelau hund. Newbold Pacy. Hasculfus Musard 
(xxxix.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 60 shillings to 100 shillings. 

NIWEHAM. D. 6. [For probable hund. see Hantone.] Newnham Padox. 
GOISFRIDUS de WiRCE (xxxi.) I hide. The value had increased from 20 
shillings to 60 shillings. 

NIWETONE. E. 7. [Meretone hund.] Newton. TURCHlL de Warwic (xvii.) 3 
hides. Of 2 hides it is recorded that the value had formerly been 20 shillings, 
of one half-hide 10 shillings and the other half-hide 2 shillings ; the values 
remained the same at the time of the Domesday Survey. 

OCTESELVE, J. 4. Fexhole hund. Oxhill. Hu(iO de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) 
10 hides. The value had increased from 10 pounds to 1 1 pounds. 

OFFEWORDE. G. 2. [Fernecumbe hund.] Offord. ROBERTUS de Statford 
(xxii.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 3 pounds to 4 pounds. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book 69 

OFFEWORDE. [Patelau hund.] Robertus de Statford (xxii.) 

The 5 hides mentioned in the first entrj' were held by Robertus de Statford in 
his own demesne ; the second entry records that he had an under-tenant 
I^uing, who held one carucate of the inland valued at 10 shillings. 

In Dugdale's time, the only indication of this place was a Mill known as Offord's 
Mill ; this name has now disappeared, although the Mill is still shown on the 
Ordnance Survey Maps. 

OPTONE. F.4. Rex Willelmus (i.) 3 hides. The value is omitted. 

" This being that part of Kenilworth which now the inhabitants call the High Town 
and situate upon the ascent on the north side of the church," Antig of 
IVanvicks., p. 236. 

Of Optone and Chinewarde it is said '*li duo mebra iac' ad Stanlei M regis." 

OPTONE. H. 2. FERNECUMBE hund. Upton. WiLLELMUS Buenuasleth 
(xxix.) 4^ hides. The value had increased from 10 shillings to 70 shillings. 

ORLAVESCOTE. J. 5. [Honesberie hund.] Arlescott. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
5 hides. "It was and is worth 3 pounds." 

OVESLEI. Hi. [Patelau hund.] Oversley. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 3 hides. 
" It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

PATITONE. D. 3. Great Packington. TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 4 hides. 
" It was and is worth 30 shillings." 

The last hund. mentioned is Stanlei, but it is evident from an examination of the 
text that a blank has been left for the insertion of another hund., probably 
Coleshelle. The names which immediately follow Patitone are Langedone, 
Machitone, Merstone, Elmedone, Winch icelle, Dercelai, Witecore, 
Bertanestone and Bedeslei, which are all in Coleshelle hund. The 
other places which are mentioned before the name of the hund. is changed, 
viz., VVlfesmescot, Lodbroch, Caldecote, Lodbroc & Redborne, Calve- 
STONE, Rocheberie and Berdingeberie, are probably in Meretone hund. 

PILARDETONE. J. 4. [Tremelau hund.] Pillerton Hercy. HUGO de Grente- 
MAISNIL (xviii.) 10 hides. The value had increased from 10 pounds to 
17 pounds. 

PILARDETUNE. Tremelau hund. Comes Hugo (xiii.) i hide and 3 
virgates. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

PILARDETUNE. HUGO de Grentemalsnil (xviii.) 6 hides and i virgate. The 
value had increased from 6 pounds to 10 pounds. 

'i'his was held, at the time of the Domesday Survey, by the Abbey of St. Ebrulf 
in Normandy. 

In the confirmation by King William of the grant of this land to the above Abbey 
it is spoken of as Parva Pilardenton. See Antiq, of Warwicks,^ p. 616. 

It is now known as Priors Pillerton, near Pillerton Hercy. 

PRESTETONE. F. 3. [Fernecumbe hund.] Preston Bagot. Comes de Mellent 
(xvi.) 5 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 50 shillings. 



yo Some No/es on Domesday Book. 

PRESTETOXE. [Patelau hund.] COMKS de Mkllknt (xvi.) 5 hides. The 
value had increased from 30 shilh'ngs to 40 shillings. 

QUARTERCOTE. J. 4. Whatcote. HUGO de Gkentemaisnil (xviii.) 5 hides. 
The value had increased from 100 shillings to 7 pounds. 

QUATONE. Comes Rogerius (xii.) 3 hides. The value had decreased from 6 
pounds to 100 shillings. 

This is nominally in Stanlki hund. and was identified by Dugdale with Leek 
Wootton between Milvcrton and Kenilworth. It is now, however, generally 
supposed to be Quat, in Shropshikk. See Ramkslkge, Rigge and Sciplei. 

QUINTONE. Rex Willelmus (i.) 3 hides (here and at Walehorne). The value 
is omitted, as usual. 

Dugdale supposes this to be Quintone, in Ciloucestershire ( Antiq. of Warivicks.y 
p. 527); his editor, Thomas, however, identifies it with Kineton. See Cintone. 

RADWEI. J. 5. HONESBERIE HUND. Radway. AhBATIA de COVENTREU (vi.) 
3 hides. The value had increa.sed from 20 shillings to 50 shillings. 

RADWEIA. HONESHERIE HUND. RiCARDUS FORESTARIUS (xliv.) I hide. The 
value had increased from 20 shillings to 25 shillings. 

RODEWEI. HONESBERIE HUND. COMES Alberigus (xiv.) 2 hides. " It was 
and is worth 20 shillings." 

RAME5LEQE. COMES Roc;erius (xii.) i hide. The value had increased from 
30 shillings to 40 shillings. 

This, although nominally in Stani.ki hund., is supposed to be Romesley, in 
Shropshire. See Quatone, Riggk and Scipi.ei. 

REDBORNE. H.6. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Radbourn. TURCHIL 
de Warwig (xvii.) i ^^ hide (here and at LODBROG). The value had increased 
from 30 shillings to 40 shillings. 

REDEFORD. 0.5. [Meretone hund.] Radford Simele. TURGHH. de Warwig 
(xvii.) 5 hides. This had formerly been valued at 100 shillings and afterwards 
at 40 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 6 pounds. 

RIETONE. E. 5. Stanlei hund. Ryton on Dunsmore. TURGHIL de Warwig 
(xvii.) 3J4 hides. The value had decreased from 100 shilh'ngs to 60 shillings. 

RIQQE. Comes Rogerius (xii.) 5 hides. The value had decreased from 60 shillings 
to 40 shillings. 

This, like Quatone, Rameslkge and Sciplei, is nominally in Stanlei hund. It 
is generally identified, however, with Rudge, in Shropshire. 

RINCELE. [Stanlei hund.] COMES de Mellent (xvi.) i hide. When it was 
first taxed it was valued at 10 shillings. No value is given for it at the time of 
the Domesday Survey as it was waste at that time. 

This place has not, at present, been identified 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 71 

ROCHEBERIE. E.7. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Rugby. TURCHIL de 
Warwic (xvii.) 2% hides. The value had decreased from 50 shillings 
to 40 shillings. 

ROCHINTONE. F. 3. Rowington. Hugo de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) 3 hides. 
" It was and is worth 100 shillings. 

RODEWEI. See under Radwei. 

ROTELEI. J. 5. HONESBERIE HUND. Ratley. TURCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 
5 hides. This had formerly been valued at 3 pounds and afterwards at 4 
pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 100 shillings. 

SALFORD. J. I. [Fernecumbe hund.] Abbot's Salford. Abbatia de EVESHAM 
(xi.) 2 hides. The value had increased from 40 shillings to 60 shillings. 

SALFORD. H. i. Salford Priors. Leveve (xliii.) 3 hides. The value had 
increased from 40 shillings to 6 pounds. 

5ALWEBRIDQE. F. 7. Sawbridge. 

** In Sai.webridge ten Turchil (i.e. of Warwick, xvii.) de abbe (i.e. of Thorney in 
Cambridgeshire) v. hid.'" This entry appears in the Northamptonshire part of 
the Domesday Book." 

SANDBURNE. G. i. [Fernecumbe hund.] Sambourne. Abbatia de Evesham 
(xi.) 3 hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

SCELFTONE. D. 5. [Bomelau hund.] Shelton. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 

2 hides. " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

SCIPLEI. COME.S ROGERIUS (xii.) I hide. " It is worth 5 shillings." 

This place, like Quatone, Rameslege and Rigge, is nominally in Stanlei hund. 
It is, however, generally identified with Shipley, in Shropshire. 

SCIREBURNE. G.4. FERNECUMBE HUND. Sherbourn. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 2]4 hides. In King Edward's time it was worth 60 shillings and 
afterwards 40 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was worth 
50 shillings. 

SCOTESCOTE. C.4. [For probable hund. see Hantone.] Shustoke. GOISFRIDUS 
de WiRCE (xxxi.) 4 hides. " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

The nam J of the under-tenant was Sotus, from whom Dugdale thinks Shustoke 
is derived ; he remarks that he has seen it spelt Sotus stoke and Sotestoke. 
c. f Gauka and Wotone. 

SECHINTONE. See under Secintone. 

SECINTONE. A. 4. [Coleshelle hund.] Seckington. COMES de Mellent (xvi.; 
2% hides. " It is worth 40 shillings." 

SECHINTONE. Willelmus, filius Corbucion (xxviii.) 2)4 hides. "It was 
and is worth 30 shillings." 

SERVEI.EI. F. 3. [Fexhole hund.] Shrewley. HUGO de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) 

3 hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 



72 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

SMERECOTE. D. 4. [Bomelau hund.] Smercote Magna. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) I hide (here and at SOULEGE). The value had decreased from 15 
shillings to 5 shillings. 

There is no indication whatever on the Ordnance maps of this place, although on 
Morden's map of Warwickshire both a Smercote Ma. and a Smercote P. are 
shown. 

SMITHAM. D. 6. BOMELAU IIUNI). Smite. Comes Alhekicus (xiv.) 6 hides. 
The value had increased from 40 shillings to 6 pounds. 

On iMorden's map of Warwickshire both a Snite Superior and a Suite Inferior are 
shown. The only indication of these places which I am able to find on the 
Ordnance Survey maps is a Smeeton Lane or Smiteton I^ne between Brinklow 
and Stretton-under- Fosse. 

SNITEFELD. G. 3. [Fernecumbe hund.] Snitterfield. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 
4 hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was worth 4 pounds ; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 100 shillings. 

50CHEBERQE. G. 6. [Meretone hund.] Upper Shuckborough. TURCHIL de 
Warwic (xvii.) y^ virgate. " It was and is worth 5 shilling.s. 

SOCHEBERGE. [Mereton hund.] RiCARDUS FORESTARIUS (xliv.) >^ hide 
The value had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

SOCHEBERGE. [Coleshelle hund]. Comes de Mellent (xvi.) 4 hides. It 
had formerly been valued at 40 shillings and afterwards at 30 shillings ; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 50 shillings. 

SOULEGE. C. 5. [Bomelau hund.] Souley End. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) i 
hide (here and at SMERCOTE). The value had decreased from 15 shillings 
to 5 shillings. 

SOWA. D. 5. Stanlei hund. Sow. Ricardus Venator (xliv.) i hide. The 
value had increased from 20 shillings to 60 shillings. 

SOWA. [Stanlei hund.] Abbatia de Coventreu (vi.) 3)^ hides. In King 
Edward's time it was worth 40 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey 
it was valued at 60 shillings. 

SPELESBERIE. EriSCOPUS de VVirecestre (iii.) 10 hides. " It was and is worth 
ID pounds." 

This was entered under Warwickshire in error ; it is supposed to be Spilsbury in 
Oxfordshire. See Loch es ham. 

SPERNORE. G.I [Fernecumbe hund.] Spernall. WiLLELMUS BUENUASLETH. 
(xxix.) 2 hides. " It is worth 40 shillings." 

STANLEI. F. 4. Stoneleigh. Rex WiLLEMUS (i.) 6 hides. The value is omitted 

STANLEI. [Meretone hund.] CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 2 hides and i virgate. 
" It is worth 20 shillings." 

This entry comes between Bernhanghe and Illintone. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book, 73 

STODLEI. G. 1. FeRNECUMBE HUND. Studley. VVlLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION 
(xxviii.) 4 hides. ** It was and is worth 100 shiUings." 

STODLEI. [Fernecumbe hund.] WiLLELMUS BUENUASLETH (xxix.) i hide. 
" It is worth 10 shillings." 

STRADFORDE. H. 3. [Patelau hund.] Stratford-upon-Avon. EPISCOPUS de 
WiRECESTRE (iii.) 14^ hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was 
valued at 100 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey at 25 pounds. 

STRATONE. E. 5. [Stanlei hund.] Stretton-on-Dunsmore. COMES ROGERIUS, 
(xii.) 5 hides. Formerly this had been valued at 3 pounds and afterwards at 
100 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 6 pounds. 

STRATONE. C. 6. BOMELAU HuND. Stretton Baskerville. Radulfus de 
Mortem ER (xxv.) 3 hides. The value had decreased from 40 shillings 
to 30 shillings. 

STRATONE. K. 3. Berriceston hund. Stretton-on-the-Foss. GiSLEBERTUS 
filius TUROLDI (xxxiii.) 6 hides. The value had increased from 70 shillings 
to 1 10 shillings. 

STRATONE. Bericeston hund. Osbernus, filius Ricardi (xxxvii.) 2 hides. 
The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

SUCHAM. G. 6. [Stanleie hund.] Southam. Abbatia de COVENTREU (vi.) 4 
hides. In King Edward's time and also at the time of the Domesday Survey 
it was worth 100 shillings, but when the Abbey of Coventry received it it was 
valued at 60 shillings only. 

SURLAND. [Meretone hund.] Abbatia de CovENTREU (vi.) 6 hides. In King 
Edward's time this was valued at 7 pounds and afterwards at 4 pounds ; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 6 pounds. 
This place has not, at [^resent, been identified 

SUTONE. B. 2. Sutton Coldfield. Rex WiLLELMUS (i.) 8 hides and i virgate. 
** The whole manor was and is worth 4 pounds." 

TACESBROC. G. 4. [Honesberie hund.] Tachbrook Mallory. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 8 hides less i virgate. The value had decreased from 60 shillings to 
40 shillings. 

TAMEWORDE. A. 3. Tamworth. Rex WiLLELMUS (i.) 

The only reference to this important place is under Colfcshelle, where it is recorded 
that '*in Tameuuordk x burj^ses huic M ptiu." 

TASCHEBROC. G.4. Tremelau HUNO. Bishop's Tachbrook. EPISCOPUS de 
Cestre (ii.) 7 hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 3 pounds ; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey at 7 pounds, which was all its value when 
the Bishop of Chester received it. 

"This land belongs to the church of St. Chad (/. e of Lichfield)." 



74 Some Notes on Domesday Book, 

TIHESHOCHE. J. 4. Fexhole HUND. Tysoe. ROBERTUS de Statford (xxii.) 
23 hides. The value had increased from 20 pounds to 30 pounds. 

TORLAVESTONE. F.6. [Coleshelle hund.J Thurleston. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 2]/i hides. This had formerly been valued at 40 shillings and afterwards 
at 30 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 35 
shillings. 

TORLAVESTONE. Hugo de Grentemaisnil (xviii.) 2% hides. The value 
had increased from 40 shillings to 60 shillings. 

ULCHETONE. G. 5. [Stanlei hund.] Ufton. Abbatia de COVENTREU (vi.^ 4 
hides. In King Edward's time this was valued at 4 pounds and afterwards at 
40 shillings : at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at ico shillings. 

ULFELMESCOTE. G. 7. Mer?:tone HUND. Wolfhamcote. TURCHIL de War- 
WIC (xvii.) 43^ hides. '* It was and is w^orth 40 shilling.s." 

VVLFESMESCOT. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] TURCHiL de Warwic 
1 hide and yi virgate. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

ULLAVINTONE. K. 4. [Bedricestone hund.] Willington. ROBERTUS de Statfori) 
(xxii.) \yi hide. " It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

ULLAVINTONE. Gislebertus de Gand (xxxii.) i hide and \)4 virgate. 
"It was and is worth 20 shillings." 

ULVEIA. C. 6. BOiMELAU HU.ND. Wolvey. ROBERTUS de Veci (xxiv.) 5J4 hides. 
The value had decreased from . . . pounds to 50 shilling.s. 

ULVERLEI. E. 2. COLESHELLE HUND. Cristina (xlii.) 8 hides. The value had 
decreased from 10 pounds to 4 pounds. 

Arlei was also rated with this manor. 

The Ordnance Survey Maps show an Ulverley Green and also a district called 
Hullery or Ulverley in the neighbourhood of Olton. 

ULVESTONE. E. 6. Stanlei hund. Wolston. Comes Rogerius (xii.) i virgate. 
"It is worth 5 shillings." 

ULURICETONE. [Stanlei hund]. CoMEs Rogerius (xii.) 5 hides. This had 
formerly been valued at 60 shillings and afterwards at 20 shillings ; at the time 
of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 100 .shillings. 

ULWARDA. L. 4. [Berricestone hund.] Little Wolford. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 41^ hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 40 shillings. 

ULWARDITONE. G. 3. [Patelau hund.] Wolverton. ROBERTUS de Statford 
(xxii.) I hide and i^ virgate. The value had increased from 10 shillings 
to 20 shillings. 

ULWARDITONE. [Fernecumbe hund.] WiLLELMUS, filius CORBUCION (xxviii.) 
2j4 hides and 2 parts of i virgate. The value had increased from 30 shillings 
to 60 shillings. 



So77ie Notes on Dofuesday Book. 75 

ULWARE. [Fernecumbe hund.] EPISCOI'US Baiocensis (iv.) i »4 hide. The value 
had increased from 10 shiUings to 20 shillings. 
This place has not, at present, been identified. 

VOLWARDE. See under Worwarde. 

WALEBORNE. H. 4. Wellesborne Hastings. Rex Willelmus (i.) 3 hides (here 
and at QuiNTNNE). The gross value is omitted. 

WALECOTE. F. 7. [Meretone hund.] Walcote. TURCHIL de VVarwic (xvii.) 2 
hides (here and at WiLEHENE and Caldecote). The value had increased 
from 20 shillings to 30 .shillings. 

WALTONE. H.4. [Tremeslau hund.] Walton (d'Ervile). COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 5 hides. In King Edward's time and afterwards it was worth 3 pounds ; 
at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 7 pounds. 

WALTONE. H.4. [Tremeslau hund.] Walton (Manduit). CoMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 10 hides. In King Edward's time valued at 100 shillings and afterwards 
at 4 pounds ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was worth 10 pounds. 

WAPEBERIE. F. 5. [Mereton hund.] Wapenbury. GoiSFRlDUS de WiRCE (xxxi ) 
5 hides. " It was and is worth 1 10 shillings." 

WARA. D. 7. BOMELAU HUND. Church Over. ROBERTUS de Statford (xxii.) 
7 hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 100 shillings. 

WARA. D. 7. [For probable hund. see Hantone.] Cester Over. GoiSFRIDUS de 
WiRCE (xxxi.) 5 hides. " It was and is worth 40 shillings." 

WARMINTONE. J. 5. [Stanlei hund.] Warmington. COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 
13 hides. In King Edward's time it was valued at 10 pounds and at the 
time of the Domesday Survey the same. 

WARMINTONE. [Honesberie hund.] COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 2>^ hides. 
" It is worth 20 shillings." 

WARWIC. G. 4. Warwick. 

"In the Hurgh of Warwic the king has, in his own demesne, 113 houses, and 
the king's barons have \ 12, from all of which the king has his geld." 

WA5MERT0NE. G. 4. [Tremelau hund.] Wasperton. AUBATIA de COVENTREU 
(vi.) 5 hides. In King Edward's time this was valued at 4 pounds and 
afterwards at 50 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued 
at 70 shillings. 

WATITUNE. C. 5. [Coleshelle hund.] Weddington. Comp:s de MELLENT (xvi.) 

3 hides. " It is worth 30 shillings." 

WAURA. [Meretone hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) J4 hide. " It was and 
is worth 3 shillings." 

WAURE. [Bomelau hund.] CoMES Alhericus (xiv.) ly^ hide.s. It used to 
be worth 5 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Surve}' it was worth 

4 pence more. 

Dugdale identifies both the above, and also Gauka, with Browns Over. 



76 Some No^es on Domesday Book, 

WELEI. D. 7. [Bomelau hund.] Willey. COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 3 hides (here 
and at WlBETOT). See WlBETOT. 

WERLAVESCOTE. [Coleshelle hund.] COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 3 virgates. ** It 
is worth 2 shillings." 

This place has not, at i)resent, been identified. 

WESTONE. C. 5. Bomelau hund. Weston-in-Arden. Comes de Mellent (xvi.) 

2 hides. " It was and is worth 40 shilling.s." 

WESTONE. F. 5. Stanlei hund. Weston-under-Wethele. WiLLELMUS, filius 
COKHUCION (xxviii.) 2}4 virgates. " It was and is worth 10 shillings." 

WESTONE. [Meretone hund.] COMES de Mellent (xvi.) 3 hides less the third 
part of I virgate. The whole had increased from 30 shilling to 50 shillings. 

WESTONE. [Meretone hund.] TURCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) i }^ virgate. It used 
to be worth 6 shillings but at the time of the Domesday Survey it returned 
nothing. 

"Vasta, e." 

WlBETOT. D.6. [Bomelau hund.] Wibtoft. COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 3 hides 
(here and at Welei). Of 2^ hides it is stated "the value was and is 50 
shillings," and of the remaining J^ hide " the value was and is 30 shillings." 

WIDECOTE. F. 4. [Stanlei hund.] Woodcote. COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) i 
hide. In king Edward's time it was valued at 10 shillings, and at the time 
of the Domesday Survey at 30 shillings. 

WIDECOTE. [Meretone hund.] CoMES de Mellent (xvi.) 1 hide. The value 
had increased from 10 shillings to 20 shillings. 

WILEBEI. F.7. [Meretone hund.] Willoughby. TuRCHIL de Warwic (xvii.) 
yi hide. "It was and is worth 10 shillings." 

WILEBEC. Hugo de Grentemalsnil (xviii.) I'U hide (here and at Mortone). 
The value had increased from 20 shillings to 30 shillings. 

WILEBENE. [Meretone hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 2 hides (here and 
at Walecote and Caldecote). The value had increased from 20 shillings 
to 30 shillings. 

WILEBERE. [Meretone hund.] TuRCHiL de Warwic (xvii.) 5 virgates. Of 
3/4 virgates it is recorded that "the value was and is 10 shillings," and of 
the remaining i}4 virgate it is also stated that "the value was and is 10 
shillings. 

WILELEI. H. I. [Fernecumbe hund.] Weetheley. Abbatia de EvESHAM (xi.) 3 
hides. The value is omitted. 

This entry appears never to have been completed. 

WILMECOTE. G. 2. Patelau HUND. Wilmcote. OSBERNUS, filius Ricardi 
(xxxvii.) 3 hides. The value had increased from 30 shillings to 60 shillings. 



So7)ie Notes on Domesday Book. JJ 

WILMUNDECOTE. B. 3. [Coleshelle hund] Wilnecote. COMES de Mellent 
(xvi.) 3 hides. "It is worth 30 shiUings." 

Two smiths were attached to this manor and their forge (ferraria) was valued at 
5 shillings. 

WIMELE5T0NE. H.6. HONESBERIE HUND. Wormleighton. GoiSFRlDUS de 
Mannevile (xxx.) }i hide and the ^ part of one hide. The value had 
decrea.sed from 20 shillings to 1 5 shillings. 

WIMENESTOxNE. [Honesberie hund.] TURCHIL de Warvvic (xvii.) 3 hides. 
In King Edward's time and afterwards this was valued at 4 pounds and at the 
time of the Domesday Survey at 10 pounds. 

WIMERESTONE. Honesberie hund. Comes de Mellent (xvi.) lyi hide- 
It had formerly been valued at 30 shillings and afterwards at 20 shillings ; at 
the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued at 4 pounds and 10 shillings. 

WINCHICELLE. C.3. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Wigginshall. TURCHIL 
de Warwic (xvii.) 3 virgates. ** It was and is worth 5 shillings." 

WITACRE. C. 4.. Coleshelle hund. Whitacre. Hugo de Grentemalsnh. 

(xviii.) ]4 hide. " It was and is worth 2 shillings." 

WITECORE. [For probable hund. see Patitone.] Turchil de Warwic (xvii.) 
2 hides less i virgate. '* It was and is worth 10 shillings." 

WITECORE. [Bomelau hund.] ROBERTUS de Veci (xxiv.) 3 virgates. The 
value had decreased from 10 shillings to 2 shillings. 

WITECERCE. J. 3. [Bedriceston hund.] Whitechurch. COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) 
7 hides. The value had increased from 6 pounds to 8 pounds 10 shillings. 
The Domesday Commissioners record that this was reputed as two manors. 

WITECERCE. [Berriceston hund.] COMES de MELLENT (xvi.) i hide valued at 
ID shillings. 

This hide was htfld from the earl by Walterus and it is stated that it was in the 
earl's manor of Witkckrck. 

WITECORE. See under WiTACRE. 

WITELAVESFORD. H. i. Fernecumhe HUND. Wixford. Abbatia de EvESHAM 
(xi.) 5 hides. In King Edward's time this was valued at 40 shillings and 
afterwards at 30 shillings ; at the time of the Domesday Survey it was valued 
at 50 shillings. 

WITELEIA. G. 2. [Patelau hund.] Whitley. ROBERTUS de Statford (xxii.) 3 

hides. The value had increased from 20 shillings to 40 shillings. 

This place is not shown on the Ordnance Survey but is on Robert Mordern's map of 
Warwickshire (1695). 

WITENAS. G.4. Stanlei hund. Whitnash. Hasculfus Musard (xxxix.) 
2 hides. The value had increased from 60 shillings to 100 shillings. 



78 Some Notes on Domesday Book. 

WITONE. C. 2. Witton. VVlLLKLMUS, filius AXSCULFI (xxvii.) i hide. The value 
had increased from 10 shillin<;s to 20 shillings. 

WITSCAQA. B. 3. VVishaw. WiLLKLMUS, filius CORHl'croN (xxviii.) 2 hides. The 
value had decreased froin 30 shillings to 10 shillings. 

WLFESMESCOT. See under Ulkklmkscotk. 

WORWARDE. L. 3. [Bedricestone hund.] Great VVolford. KOHERTUS de 
StatforI) (xxii.) 4 hides. Of two hides it is said the value had increased 
from 20 shillings to 30 shillin<;s ; of the other two hides the value is said to 
be 50 shillings. 

VOLWARDE. [Bomelau hund.] RoRKRTUS de Statkord (xxii.) 7 hides. The 
value had increased from 20 shillings to lOO shillings. 

WOTONE. G. 2. Patflau hu\i>. Wootton VVawen. KoBKRTUS de STATKORD 

(xxii.) 7 hides. " It is worth 4 pounds." 

I'he tenant-in-chief of this manor -before the Concjuest was NN'aga, whose name 
is still [)reserved in Wootton Wawen. c. f. (iAUR.A and Scotesco rF.. 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 



79 



LIST 4. 



A List of all the Places in Warwickshire where the 
Domesday Commissioners note the presence of a 
Presbyter. 

The Roman numerals indicate the Tenant-in-Chief, see List I. ; the other 
references, A. 4, etc., show the positions of the places on the map. 



Aldulvestreu (XLL), A. 4. 
Beltone (XII.), E. 6. 
Beneciielie (XXXI.), C. 4. 

A priest named Ansgol held I hide here in pure 
alms from GoisFRn)Us dk Wirce. It was valued at 
64 pence. 

Berefokde (XXXVII.), G.4. 

BiLLESLEI (XVIII.), H.2. 
BORTONE (XIX.), C.6. 

Caldecote (II.), B. 5. 
Chinesberie (XV.), B. 3. 

2 priests here. 

Chirciieberie (XXXI.), D.6. 

2 priests here. 

Clavendone (XVI.), G. 3. 
Cliptone (XIV.), E. 7. 

COLESHELLE (I.), C. 3. 
CONTONE (XVI.), H.4. 
CONTONE (XVI.), H. 5. 

Cuntone(XXX.), L. 4. 
Derceto (XVI.) and Dercetone 
(XXXVIII.), J. 5. 

DONECERCE (XXXVII.), F.6. 

Edricestone (IV.), J. 3. 
Epeslei (XXXVII.), F.I. 
Erburgeberie (XVII.), G. 5. 

ESTONE(XXVII.X C.2. 
ESTONE (XXXVII.). G. 2. 

Etendone (XIX.), J. 3. 

FiLINGELEI (XXIII.), D.4. 

GrastOxNE (XXXVII.), H. 2. 
Hantone (III. and XXXI.), H. 3. 
Haseleia(XXXIX.), F.3. 
Herdeberge (XLV.), E.6. 

ICENTONE (XLIL), G. 5. 
2 priests here. 

ILMEDONE (XVI.), K. 3. 



Lamintone (XII.), F. 4. 

LiSTECORNE (XXIX.), H. 5. 
LOCHESLEI (XVI.), H. 3. 

LODBROC (XVII. and XVIII.), G. 5. 

A priest was under-tenant to Tukchh. dk 
Warwic (XVII.) here and had one virgate, of which 
the value had increased from 5 shillings to 10 shillings. 

LUNNITONE (XXXIX.), F.6. 

Mersetone (XVIII.), J. 4. 

MlDELTONEfXVIII.), B. 3. 
MORTONE (XVI.), H.4. 

Neptone (XVI.), G.6. 
Optone (I.), F.4. 

2 priests here. 
PiLARDETONE (XVIII.), J. 4. 
QUARTERCOTE (XVIII.), J. 4. 
RlETONE(XVII.), E. 5. 
ROCHINTONE (XVIII.), F. 3. 

Salford(XLIII.), H. I. 

SCIREBURNE (XVI.), G. 4. 

Snitefeld (XVI.), G. 3. 
Stan LEI (I.), F. 4. 

2 priests here. 

Stodlei (XXVIII.), G. I. 
Stradforde (III.), H. 3. 
Stratone (XXXIII.), K.3. 
Taschebroc (II.), G.4. 

TlIIESHOCHE (XXII.), J. 4. 

Ulfelmescote (XVII.), G. 7. 
Ulveia(XXIV.), C.6. 
Ulverlei (XLIL), E. 2. 
Uluricetone (XII.), E.6. 

VOLWARDE (XXII.), L. 3. 
WiMERESTONE (XVI.), H. 6. 
WiTECERCE (XVI.), J. 3. 
WITSCAGA (XXVIII.), B. 3. 
WOTONE(XXII.), G.2. 



8o 



Some Notes on Domesday Book. 



LIST 5. 



A List of all the Places in Wariuickshire where the 
Domesday Commissioners note the presence of 
A ncillcc. 



The Roman numerals indicate the Tenant-in-Chief, see List I. ; the other 
references, H. 3, etc., show the position of the places on the map. 



3 at Alnodestone (XL.), H. 3. 

1 at Alvestone (III.), H. 3. 
5 at Bedekokd (I.), H.2. 

3 at Brailes (I.), K.4. 

2 at Chirchebekie (XXXI.), D. 6. 
2 at Hantone (XXXI.), H. 3. 

1 at Haselove (XL.), G. 2. 

I at LiLLINTONE (XVII.), F.4. 

2 at Mersetone (XVIIL), J.4. 
I at Merstone (XVI.), C. 5. 



1 at MOITONE (XVII.), G.4. 

The church of Si. Mary, Warwick, was the 
under-tenant of this Manor. 

4 at Pilardetone (XVIII.), J.4. 

2 at QUINTONE and Waleborne 

(I.). H.4. 

1 at Stanlei (I.), F.4. 

2 at TORLAVESTONE (XVI.), F. 6. 

2 at Westone (XVI.), F. 5. 

2 at WiTELAVESFORD (XI.), H. I. 



Oil the Study of Topography. 



Bv HAROLD STUART THOMPSON. I'.A.S.L, F.L.S. 



Di-cfmber 12th, igoo. 




AVING rashly promised to dis 



i this VHgue subject, 



1 imagined it would be possible to bring togethei 
certain facts and to make certain suggestions which 
might interest a few of the younger members of 
this Society ; but then I found the subject of Topo- 
graphy so vast and so limitless, so comprehensive 
and so inseparably connected with nearly every 
other science, that I almost despaired of making 
a start. 

The relation between Topography and many branches of uaturai science 
particularly geology, botany, and zoology, is patent to all ; and its bearing upon 
archiEology in all its ramifications must be equally obvious. Not only is there an 
evident connection between Topography and the antiquarian matters of every day 
allusion, such as Folk-lore and Dialect, Ancient Manners and Customs, and Land 
Tenure ; but our subject is also closely connected with such kindred sciences as 
Anthropology and Ethnology, among others. I therefore make no apology for 
attempting to deal with my subject in the broadest possible sense. 

Get^raphy is the study of the earth. Topography is the study of places, of 
every conceivable kind ; and as the surface of the earth is, in a sense, nothing less 
than an agglomeration of places, it follows It^ically that in studying Topography 
one studies Geography, and that one cannot study Geography without studying 
Top(^raphy. 

1 therefore ask your indulgence while I say a few words on the leaching of 
Geography, and endeavour to show that whereas in Switzerland and elsewhere on 
the Continent, the minds of children are trained to observe the physical features 
of a country, and to accurately describe them ; in England the teaching of so-called 
Geography has been a miserable failure. 

1 delight to see that at our new Biriniiighacn University courses of lectures 



^M 



82 On the Study of Topography, 

on Geography are delivered under the direction of no less an authority than 
Professor Lapworth. 

" Geology is the study of the past in the light of the present, and Geography 
" is the study of the present in the light of the past." 

An excellent little book has recently been published by Miss Joan Berenice 
Reynolds, B.A.. on " The Teaching of Geography in Sivitzerland and North Italyl^ 
being the Report, presented to the Court of the University of Wales, on a visit to 
Switzerland and North Italy in 1898, as Gilchrist Travelling Student. 

Perhaps the most striking feature of the Geography lessons in Switzerland 
are the excursions which the students take at the end of term, under the guidance 
of the Professor or Master, and which many of us have come across in the course 
of our travels. 

Miss Reynolds thinks that these short tours and excursions have had much to 
do with producing what is the most striking result of the geographical teaching 
in Switzerland, and that is a remarkably detailed and living knowledge of local 
topography, combined with the power of obtaining similar knowledge of unknown 
parts by scientific observation and interpretation of maps, pictures, &c. 

Of course the thorough study of the Geography of Switzerland is furthered 
by the fact of the country being such a tourist resort on account of its scenery% and 
on account of the formation of the different Alpine Clubs, which have sprung 
into existence since the founding of the English Alpine Club in 1857. In 1878 
a special course of instruction for guides was established by the Swiss Club, including 
lessons on the Alps, map reading, orientation, and sometimes on glaciers, geology 
and botany. *' He who knows not his own cotmtry has no standard by which to 
know foreign lands," wrote Gcethe. 

Rousseau was probably the first man to introduce into Switzerland the idea 
that Geography must deal with real objects and their relative positions, rather than 
with words or even with symbols. Rousseau showed this clearly in his Emile which 
he wrote at Geneva in 1762. 

Dr. Mill, who delighted us at the Midland Institute lately with his exposition 
on ** The Geography of the English Lake District," told us a year ago that Geo- 
graphy had for 30 years been properly represented in the Universities of Germany 
and France. 

In the Swiss Universities it appears that the question whether Geography is 
a University subject is not yet settled, but some of the men look forward to the 
creation, in time, of a Faculty embracing many chairs, with what Dr. Friih calls 
** a geo-centric aim, to act as a link between the diverging ways of Physical Scil 
*'and History — to do, in fact, what Physiology and Hygiene do for tb^^ 
*' branches of the Faculty of Medicine." The University of Vie'' 
in this direction. 



On the Study of Topography, 83 

Forp:sts and Forest Treks have doubtless afforded much interest to many 
archaeologists ; so let us hope that they will not be neglected either in the National 
Photographic Survey, which is progressing so favourably in Warwickshire, or in 
the production of an Archceological Map aftd Index for the County of Wanvick^ a plea 
for which was so ably brought forward by the Rev. J. O. Bevan, F.S.A., in addressing 
this Society in February, 1898. 

The once extensive Forest of Arden has long since undergone so much change 
that we must be careful to preserve records of the portions which remain, and which, 
like the great Elm at Meriden, form landmarks in our country. Many of the finest 
oaks in Packington Park also will not survive another generation ; and two of 
the largest elms I have ever measured were blown down at Meriden Hall, in 
the gale of March 24th, 1895. They each contained about 360 cubic feet of timber, 
although the mean girth to the first fork, after allowance for bark, was not more than 
about 12 feet in each case. 

The history of our forests is inseparably connected with our social state in 
the Middle Ages, when the Village Councils met under the Moot Oak or the 
Court Ash. (We have several Gospel Oaks in Warwick.shire still.) But let us first 
deal with the word * forest' Timber is no more a necessary part of an English forest 
than of a Highland deer-forest ; for the presence or absence of timber depended very 
largely on the nature of the soil and other circumstances. Nor need the word forest 
imply an uninhabited waste, like Exmoor, for the perambulations show that whole 
villages were included in the forest bounds, and made subject to the ravages of 
the deer. 

According to Bishop Hobhouse, the result of whose researches I freely use here 
and acknowledge, the definition of a forest is " a privileged hunting area, clothed with 
" a special jurisdiction and jurisprudence. It could not be created by a subject. It 
" was vested in the Crown, or in some grantee of the Crown. The forest laws 
** were older than Canute who re-issued them in a code, which was revised by 
"Henry III." 

Our President, as a Somersetshire worthy, will, I feel sure, give me permi.ssion to 
say a few words about the ancient forests of his county. 

In May, 1298, the King's Commissioners arrived in Somerset, and organised the 
perambulations of the five Royal forests in, or on the borders of, the county, viz. : — 
Selwood, Mendip, Exmoor, North Petherton, and Neroche. The first four were royal 
forests at the time of the Norman Conquest, but Neroche was not then a forest, as 
shewn by the Carta Forestce of 1225. The Quantock Hills, which are so finely wooded 
at the present time, were probably never a royal forest ; but this was the subject of a 
local controversy three years ago, in connection with the length of time the red 
deer have been wild there. It has been fairl}' proved that deer were first turned 
out on the Quantocks early in the present century. Exmoor was the only extensive 



84 On the Study of Topography. 

Saxon forest of these four, and probably none of them originally had large areas 
of woodland suited to the growth of really good timber trees. 

But to return to the year 1298, the bounds were laid down according to the sworn 
evidence and perambulated, and a record of the reduced bounds was drawn up, which 
also contained a schedule of the manors, woods, etc., which had been wrongfully 
included within the forest since Henry ll.'s coronation. These were declared to 
be disafforested for ever. 

The New Forest at present seems in great danger of encroachment on the part of 
adjoining owners ; but in the old days encroachments were largely made by the 
Sovereign, and especially by the great hunting monarch, John, .so that the amount of 
encroachment was surprising, notwithstanding the popular Court of the Forest, the 
Swynnemote, which, from very early times, had existed for the presentment of 
the people's grievances against the forest officers. 

The Mendip perambulation of 1298 proves clearly. Bishop Hobhouse tells us, that 
the hunting forest of Mendip was a different area from the mining jurisdiction, for the 
latter is distinctly pourtrayed upon an old map of Mendip Forest, painted on canvas, 
with the mining laws drawn up by Sir Richard Choke, in 1470, but reprinted in 1687 
with the following title: — "The Ancient ] Laws | Customs and Orders | of the 
" Mines | in the King's Forrest of Mendipp | in the County of Somerset | London | 
" Printed by William Cooper at the | Pelican in Little Britain, 1687. | " 

Only five of these ancient maps, all differing slightly from each other, are known 
to exist : one of them is in the Museum at Wells, another is in the Taunton Museum, 
and a third is in the Estate Oflfice at Radstock. 

The term Mendip Forest was evidently used very vaguely ; sometimes it implied 
the hunting area, sometimes the mining area, and .sometimes the whole unenclosed 
waste on the heights of Mendip. Being poor land there was not much fine oak 
timber, as at Selwood with its clay. Nor did it produce the fine crops of elm, which 
beautify the landscape, particularly in the rich district where once was the great North 
Petherton Forest. 

The respect shown to trees by the Saxons was marked in the Domesday Book of 
Somerset by the existence of the manors (now parishes) with the single names of Oak, 
Ash, Elm, Alder (Aller), Hazel (Halse), and Thorn. Besides this, there are several 
manors or parishes which have a tree as a portion of their name ; for example, if we 
take Ash, we find that tree in the following compound names : — Ashill, Asholt, 
Ashcombe, Ashcott, Ashington, Long A.shton, Ashway, and Ashwick. 

Similar instances ought to be and probably could be found in Warwickshire, though 
Corley Ash and Ashow are the only examples that I can think of. Ashbw, near 
Stoneleigh, was Asceshot in Domesday, then Esseho, and Asscho in the time of 
Edward I., esc being a form of Ash. The Ash, however, is not so prevalent in 
Warwickshire as it is in the adjoining counties of Northants and Staffs 
this may account for the paucity of places containir 
Ashley and several Ashby's. 



On the Study of Topography. 



85 



To refer to the recent interesting lecture at the Midland Institute by Professoj 
Geddes, iin "Cyprus: a Study in Colonial Development," we were told that the 
ancient Phtenicians were the first to get Cypress timber from that island, and 
also copper (cupros), and hence the change from the Stone to the Bronze Asje. the 
bronze being made from the copper, with tlie help of tin. 

We also know that for more than a thousand years B.C. an active trade in metals 
seems to have been carried on with Britain, first by the Phcenicians of Tyre, and then 
by the Carthaginians and other Phrenician colonists who settled on the shores of the 
Mediterranean. We know that the Phcenicians bought tin from Cornwall, and there 
is every reason for believing that these bold mariners traded with the early inhabitants 
of the Mendip Hills, and got lead and tin from them. Indeed, it has even been 
suggested that the pre-Roman camp of Doleburj', on Mendip, was actually founded by 
the Ph<Enicians, who used it as an emporium for their ore before shipping it, and 
who probably made a rough road along the ridge of the Mendip Hills to the 
coast near Brean Down, which road was afterwards improved and completed by 
the Romans, who carried it eastwards to cro.ss the Fosse Road on Beacon Hill, near 
Shepton Mallet. 

It is always interesting to note the remains and trace the footsteps of the 
various tribes which in bygone ages have .successively occupied the land in which 
we dwell ; and in this utilitarian ;ige is there not a danger of forgetting how the 
elements of our language have been carried down from generation to generation and 
from century to century? 

The application of Philology to a re hteo logical investigation is a most fascinating 
study, but I refrain from making many comments thereon, except to remind you 
in connection with topographical etymology that as the Celtic names of places were 
always designed to be descriptive, we possess in the general outline and physical 
features of the country a guide and a check in our philological investigations. Even 
where great physical changes have occurred, the names of places have been retained, 
though they evidently had their origin in, and literally describe a state of things 
that does not now exist. Striking instances of this are afforded in the names of 
Chedzoy, Middlezoy, and Westonzoyland ; places which during the eariy period 
of Saxon occupation were evidently surrounded by water, but now a rich alluvial 
plain, the classic ground of Sedgemoor, surrounds the .slightly raised prominences 
of red marl upon which these villages stand. 

The names of places, and especially of rivers and hills, are the most faithful 
memorials of ancient races; when all other monuments have perished, these survive, 
and like the fossilized print of the foot of a batrachian, or the drops of rain 
on some ancient seashore, hand down to us through a succession of ages the 
remembrance of some long-forgotten fact. 

Let us take ju.st one instance of a Celtic word cropping up in different localities, 
and yet alwaj's indicating the same thing. The Celtic word Den enters into the 
names of many places associated with woods or forests. \Vc find it in the Forest 



86 On the Study of Topogi'aphy. 

of Arclen, in Warwickshire, formerly extending from the Severn to the Trent ; the 
Forest of Dean, in Gloucestershire, known to the present day by the Welsh as 
Y Ddena ; the parish of Arden-vil, in Lanarkshire ; the great Forest of Ardennes, the 
" Arduenna Silva " of Julias Caesar,!') which gives its name to a department of 
France. Taunton Dean, well known ncjt to have had its origin in any ecclesiastical 
division, is possibly from the same root, as the district is still well wooded ; but it 
has also been suggested that the derivation of Taunton Dean is from the Anglo- 
Saxon Den, a valley, which in the form of Dean, is still used in the district of 
Craven, and also at Jesmond Dene, near Newcastle-on-Tyne. 

The fertility of Taunton Dean was written about so long ago as in Michael 
Drayton's time, for in his curious rhyming itinerary, called Polyolbion, written in 
1613, we find : — 

" What eare so empty is, that hath not heard the sound 
Of Taunton's faithful Deaiie ; not matcht by any ground." 

It is with diflfidence that I suggest that this Dean is from the Celtic Den, a 
Forest ; and as the " Vale of Taunton Dean " is a frequently used term, it may 
after all spring from the Saxon Den, a Valley. Perhaps the Celtic and the 
Anglo-Saxon Den are practically the same word [?] 

Let me now say a few words in attempting to show how the physical features 
of a district have influenced its art, and by that I mean its buildings. Stone 
buildings were common in Somerset, Northamptonshire, and many other counties, 
at a time when wood was commonly used elsewhere (a wooden church I believe still 
exists in Worcestershire and in a few other places), because good building stone 
was found in those counties. 

The ancient basilica of Glastonbury was marked as something strange in its 
material of wood or wicker, and the charter which Canute granted within its walls 
was specially marked as being signed "in the wooden basilica." But when the 
same king built a church to commemorate his victory at Assandun, it was noted 
as something worthy of record that it was of stone and lime. A wooden church 
was something strange among the rich quarries of Somerset, and a stone church 
was something uncommon among the woods and sandy soil of Essex. 

According to the late Professor Freeman the early Gothic of Somerset w^as 
a style more or less of its own, but whose influence appears further afield in 
Gloucestershire and South Wales ; and the later Gothic or Perpendicular style 
was the culminating style which is common to the West of England generally, and 
which again appears in South Wales. Its peculiarities should be compared with 
those of the churches of East Anglia, the other district in England which is very 
rich in the later Gothic ; and also with the fine churches of Northants, where so 
many beautiful specimens of Perpendicular work are to be found. It is not for 
me, however, to make comparisons between the churches of Somerset and those 

(I) Casar de Bello (;all. i VI. c. 29. 



On the Study of Topography, 87 

of East Anglia, suffice it to say that in the main the East Anglian churches exceed 
in average size those of the Western county ; for the naves of many of the Somerset 
churches are too short for their height, Wrington and Bishop's Lydeard being 
noteworthy examples. 

In Norfolk, the most distinctive tower is the round tower of flint, which is of 
all dates from Anglo-Saxon to Perpendicular. The round form was no doubt 
introduced to avoid the necessity of quoins, in a district where stone is rare. 

Most of the large Perpendicular towers in East Anglia, and especially in 
Norfolk, are built of flint. Their dimensions, both as to height and bulk, are enormous 
in some cases (as at Wymondham) ; and as the flint lends itself to little ornament, 
their material and treatment unite to produce an effect of bold and rugged majesty 
quite different from the elaborate finish of the Somersetshire towers. Then again 
the lack of fine stone has also led to the frequent absence of the beautiful, pierced 
parapets of Somerset, and very often of any parapet or battlement at all. 

I have often wondered why in Western churches there should be so much 
fine mediaeval woodwork, as shewn in the beautiful bench ends, pulpits, screens, 
roofs, and font covers. It is true there was more oak timber in the West than 
in the Eastern Counties, but why such a comparative scarcity of woodwork in the 
Northamptonshire and Warwickshire churches ? With regard to Northants, the 
only theory I can suggest is that oak was never plentiful in that county, because 
to-day we find the ash to such a much greater extent than the oak. But a friend 
suggests this scarcity of carved woodwork in the Midlands may possibly have been 
due to the area of action in which the more drastic forms of the Reformation went. 

Having often in my botanical rambles noticed how characteristic and how 
constant certain plants are in certain physical districts or on certain geological 
formations, so that sometimes an experienced eye can actually determine the general 
nature of the rocks by the natural vegetation that thrives best upon them, I should 
like to give a local instance of this relation and its bearing upon antiquarian research. 

My friend, Mr. Bagnall, the author of " The Flora of Warwickshire," was long of 
the opinion that Sutton Park and Cannock Chase were originally one, not only 
on account of the similarity between the Bunter Pebble Beds and the striking 
similarity of the flora of both districts, but also, he tells me, because 30 years 
ago many of the plants common to both Chases were to be found by the side 
of neglected footways, etc., in the intervening district. 

One day, in Shaw's *' Staffordshire," Mr. Bagnall found an old Act, which .said 
that if a stag went over the dyke into Cank (Cannock) Wood, the hunters were 
allowed to follow it ; thus clearly showing that only a ditch or dyke then separated 
the two hunting areas, and proving that the theory deduced from botanical observation 
was a correct one. 

In further proof of the above theory it may be mentioned that Sutton Park is the 
most southern limit in England for two plants which extend northwards in unbroken 



88 On the Study of Topography, 

sequence to the north of Scotland, viz. : — the Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) and 
a species of Bilberry ( Vaccinium Vitis Idcea). The fact that the Crowberry is again 
found in the highlands of Devon and West Somerset does not upset the theory at all, 
for it is non-existent everywhere in England between West Somerset and Sutton 
Park, though so widely spread in the north. 

It was suggested at our last Meeting that the word Wishaw comes from HaWy a 
hedge, which itself is derived from the A.S. Haga, an enclosure in the forest in which 
the deer were driven and caught. When we remember that Wishaw lies close to the 
Royal Forest of Sutton Coldfield, which once extended much further afield, I venture 
to think that my argument tends to corroborate the suspected derivation of the word 
Wishaw. 

An interesting point in connection with Topography and Forestry is discussed in 
the Journal of Botany for January, 1901. Graf zu Solms-Lanbach suggested last 
year to Mr. G. R. M. Murray that the box and yew trees of Box Hill might probably 
be the remains of a native forest which originally clothed the North Downs — probably 
the only thing of its kind in the world — so that careful enquiry should be made 
into its history. He urged the great unlikelihood of such a soil as that of Box Hill 
being planted at all, and the still greater improbability of anyone hitting upon such a 
combination as box and yew for the purpose. In 1608 box trees from Box Hill were 
sold for £^0, so the woods must have been in existence in 1 500, at which time there 
can hardly have been much planting of woods in England. 

Tumuli and Barrows are generally found in river valleys or on hill tops, in 
both cases violating the natural laws of topography and being independent of 
the geology, so that a practised topographer can at once detect them as something 
artificial. 

In conclusion I find I have said nothing whatever about maps, though there 
are several here for you to see. In Speed's map of Somerset, dated 16 10, you 
will observe how the hills were vaguely indicated by little cone-shaped signs dotted 
more or less promiscuously all over the country ; likewise the trees and woods. The 
same lax state of things is even seen on a map of Cambridgeshire so late as 1777. 

An ordnance map of to-day, or a map published by the Swiss or Austrian 
Government is a totally different thing from the early maps. The story told by one 
of these modern maps, regarding the conditions of the district which it pourtrays, 
shows clearly that the features of a district are not scattered at random, but that 
every one is related to every other by a close chain of cause and effect ; so that from 
a good map of a region can be deduced a large part of its history. 

Finally, the best way to develop the powers of observation of the young 
people in our midst, and of attaching many of them to their rural homes, there to lead 
healthy and natural lives full of interest, is to cultivate to the utmost in them, and 
therefore first in ourselves, the habit of taking an intelligent interest in the beauties 
and the wonders of the world around us. 



Excursions. 



TO SF.CKINGTON, CI.IFTON CAMPVELLE. AND STATFOLD HALL. 



May 2gtli, igoo. 




[ l\OM Tamworth the party was conveyed by road to Seckingtoii, 
where the Church has been restored and presents few features 
of archa;ological interest. Close at hand is the fine entrenched 
camp known to the Ron^ians as Secandunum, and to the 
Saxons as Secandun. Here, according to the Saxon Chronicle, 
was the seat of Ethelbald, and of other Saxon monarchs. The 
ancestors of George Washington, also, resided at Seckington. 

Proceeding to Clifton Campville, the Church, which is unrestored but in need 
of repair, was inspected with great interest. The body of the church appears to 
be early 14th century work, though the stately spire is of more recent date. The 
arrangement of the interior is unusual, the south aisle being of .such dimensions 
as practically to form a second nave. The walls have been "beautified." as an 
i8th century inscription records, with an effect which is now exceedingly quaint. 

At Statfold Hall the company were ho.spitably received by Pipe Wolferstan, 
Esq. The Hall itself has been greatly modernised, but some portions in the rear 
are ancient ; and there is a disused private chapel in the grounds which contains 
.sepulchral effigies and other objects of Interest. Many family relics were exhibited, 
including the complete wedding suit of a Wolferstan of the iSth century. 

The return to Tamworth was arranged in time to allow of a visit to the 
Castle, now, happily, the property of the Corporation. 



TO CHIPPING CAMPDEN, BLOCKLKY, AND MORETON-IN-MARSH. 



June 22nd, igoo. 



A whole-day excursion. The church at Chipping Campden is a fine edifice in 
the perpendicular style. An early English corbel built into the vestry wall testifies 
to a former structure, of which no other ve.stiges appear to remain ; the present 



90 Excursions. 

building having been entirely erected at the period when Chipping Campden was 
the wealthy seat of the English wool trade. Very handsome and well-known 
brasses per[>etuate the memory of some eminent wool merchants ; and the stone 
monuments to members of the Smith, Noel, and Hicks families are also important. 
By the kindness of the Rev. Thomas Carrington visitors had an opportunity of 
examining the unique Cope and set of Altar Drapery, which is of so much value 
as to lead to the earnest desire that it might be placed in some national museum. 
Interesting and picturesque, but scanty, remains exist of the once noble manor 
house erected by Sir Baptist Hicks, and burned in the Civil Wars. 

After luncheon the party proceeded by road to the pretty village of Bleckley, 
the church of which may be said to present specimens of almost every known 
style of architecture, from Norman to the Churchwarden-Gothic of the late 1 8th 
century. 

On the way to Moreton, a halt was made to inspect a large tithe barn in the 
grounds of Bourton House, but time did not admit of the church being visited. 

The church at Moreton is absolutely new, and presents no features of interest 
whatever. The plate, however, w^hich is old, was exhibited. Fragmentary remains 
of the old church are to be seen in some of the gardens of the town, and the 
separate Curfew Tower is worthy of note. 

Mr. Francis B. Andrews, A.R.I.B.A., assisted the visitors much by explaining 
all the chief points in the buildings seen. 



TO ARLEY AND ASTLEY. 



July 17th, IQOO. 



A half-day walking excursion. The church at Arley has been restored, but 
the exterior is still interesting. The chief object of the excursion, however, was 
to visit the church at Astley, which was reached by very pleasant field-roads. 
The noble church of Astley was once famed far and wide as " the Lantern of 
Arden." The story of its wanton spoilation is a sad one, but enough of its ancient 
glory remains to make it worthy of most careful study. An admirable account 
of this building will be found in Mr. Walter J. Churchill's paper published in the 
Transactions of the Society for 1 899. 

A homely but very enjoyable meal was provided in the pretty village. 

Admission could not be obtained to the Castle, the exterior of which is veiy 
picturesque. 



Excursions. g i 



TO BIRT'S MORTON AND LITTLE MALVERN. 



Au£llSt 2 fid, li^OO. 



Birt's Morton Court was first visited. It is well preserved and an excellent 
example of a 15th century half-timbered manor house. The moat, broad and 
deep, is still full of water, and the secluded situation and ab.sence of modern 
surroundings combine to render it a very perfect picture of a by-gone age. The 
hou.se belonged to the Nanfan family, in \vho.se service WoLsey was as tutor. The 
utter downfall of this ambitious man was ascribed in legend to the fact that he 
had fallen asleep in the orchard here and allowed the shadow of the Ragged 
Stone to fall upon him. Yet earlier legends relate to the connection of Sir John 
Oldcastle with the mansion. The church has a fine piscina, and a curious altar 
tomb of Purbeck marble to Sir John Nanfan, Squire of the body to Henry VI., and 
founder of the family. 

Little Malvern Court is now in the occupation of W. H. Watts, Esq., and 
here the visitors were most hospitably received. The house is in itself most 
interesting, and — like Birt's Morton Court — is endowed with a wealth of legend. 
Here ma}' be seen the portrait known as that of John Inglesant, and authentic 
pictures of Katherine of Arragon, and of her daughter, the unhappy Mary. The 
travelling chest of Katherine, with her initials surmounted by a crown, is also 
preserved here. The mansion possesses a secret chamber and a private chapel, in 
which service is still regularly held. Nor are the attractions of Little Malvern 
Court confined to the house. The gardens and grounds are of great beauty, and 
one great lime tree has the reputation of being the largest of its kind in the 
kingdom. 



After the Annual Meeting of the Society on January 23rd, 1901, the President 
read a paper on the "Excursions of 1900," illustrated by a large number of lantern 
slides, contributed by himself and by other members of the Society. By this means 
it was possible not only to recall in the depth of winter the very pleasant hours 
spent in more genial surroundings, but to describe the places visited with an amount 
of detail impossible in the exigencies of a hasty visit. The success of the paper 
was such as to lead to the generally expressed desire that a similar plan should 
be adopted annually. 



Officers and Committee, igoo. 

ELECTIVE. 

J. A. COSSINS. President, 

HOWARD S. PEARSON, Honorary Sex retary, 

VVRKillT WILSON, F.R.CS., Kdin., Hon. Librarian. 

W. J. CHURCHILL, Hon. Setretary for Excursions. 

V. H. ANI)RP:WS, A.R.I.B.A. 

Ri.v. A. L. CHATTAWAV. 

HENJAMIN WALKER, A.R.I. B.A. 

EX'OFF/CJO (Officers of the Institute). 

HUME C. I'INSENT, M.A. \ . 

T. STACEV WILSON, M.I)., M.R.C.P., H.Sc. i '^^-f^'-^siaen/s. 

('.. S. NLATHEW.S, M.A., Hon. Treasurer. 
COUNCILLOR R. F. MARTINEAU, Hon. .Secretary. 



Report of the Committee for the year igoo, 

PRESENTKI) AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 23rd, 1901 



The Committee have pleasure in reporting that all the work of the Society 
has been successful during the past year. The Meetings have been excellently 
attended, and the papers read have been of interest and value. The Excursions 
have not always attracted so large a number as might be desired, but they have 
been thoroughly enjoyable, and have entailed no pecum'ary loss. 

The following papers have been read : — 

Jan. 24 — Annual Meeting, followed by an inspection of the new Library and 
Mu.seum of the Society. After the meeting the Honorary Librarian read a 
paper on " The Condition of the Library," w^hich has been circulated among 
the Members, in which he appealed for a fund for the Library. 

Feb. 21 — " Mancetter (Manduessedum Romanorum)." The Rev. FATHER ARTHUR 
Chattaway. 

March 21 — ** Midland Tithe Barns." Francis B. Andrews, A.R.LB.A. 
Nov. 14 — "Warwickshire in Domesday Book." B. WALKER, A.R.LB.A. 
Dec. 12 — ** On the Study of Topography." HAROLD S. THOMPSON, P.A.S.I- 

During the Summer the following Excursions were made: — 
May 26 (half-day) — To Seckington, Statfold, and Tamworth. 

June 20 (whole-day) — To Chipping Campden, Moreton-in-the-Marsh, and Bourton. 
July 14 (half-day) — To Arley and Astley. 
Aug. I (whole-day) — To Birt*s Morton and Little Malvern Court. 



93 

The Committee have in every instance gratefully to acknowledge the courtesy 
and hospitality with which the Members have been met in these excursions. 

The annual volume of the Transactions of the Society has been duly printed 
and issued to Members. 

The most notable event during the year has been the arrangement of the 
Library and Museum in the new rooms. The unwearied personal attention of the 
Honorary Librarian, Mr. Wright Wilson, K.R.C.S., Edin., has brought into perfect 
order what the absence of accommodation had formerly reduced to chaos. It can 
now be seen how really valuable are the possessions of the Society, and although 
but little time has passed since the Society entered into possession of its new 
quarters, yet the fact that a safe place of deposit for local antiquities is now 
provided, has already brought about a large addition to its collections. 

Among gifts by several donors two must be specially mentioned. The 
representatives of the late Dr. Martineau have presented an electrical machine 
used in his experiments by Dr. Priestley, and Alderman Martineau and Miss 
Martineau have kindly provided a glass case to preserve it ; while to Colonel 
Wilkinson the Society is indebted for a large and important collection of local 
views, maps, &c. 

The deficiency in the General Account caused by the expense of fitting up 
the Library, has been reduced by various donations to £lS 7s. od. 

The Committee desire earnestly to call attention to the continued diminution 
in the number of members. This now stands at 173, being less by ten than at 
the presentation of the last report. This result cannot but be regarded as a 
discouraging feature in a retrospect which is otherwise entirely .satisfactory. The 
Committee trust * that the Members of the Society will endeavour to bring its 
claims to the knowledge of all who care for local archaeology, and to obtain accessions 
to its strength. 









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No. 222 



BTANFOHO UN Vf «»1->V 



DEC 101970 

BinniiiGbam anb /IftiMaiit) 3^nstitute. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS. AND REPORT, 

For the Year ii)OJ. 

vol. XXVII. 



IVALSAU. 

PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBliRS ONLY, 

nV W. HKNRV ROBINSON. STEAM PRINTING WORKS. 

1903. 



£irmingbam anD flMMaiiD 5ndtitutc 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^:()LOGICAI, SOCIETY 



TRANSACTIONS, EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT. 



Birmingbam ant) /IIM6lan6 S^nstitute. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT. 

For the Year igoi. 



VOL. XXVII 




WALSALL : 
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY. 

BY W. HENRY ROBINSON, STEAM PRINTING WORKS. 

1902. 



Contents. 



FAGK 

Excursions of 1900. By J. A. Cossins ....... i 

Middleton Hall. By E. de Hamel 16 

Chipping Campden. By Joseph Crouch ....... 29 

Birmingham Springs and Wells. By Howard S. l^earson 55 

Excursions ............. 63 

Report and Accounts ........ 65 



E. 



the 



xcursions in tlie year igoo 



By J. A. COSSINS. 



Jitnunry 3jrd, ri^oi. 




' HE first excursion of the season took place on 
Saturday arternooii, May 26tli, to Tamworth, 
Seckington, and Clifton-Campville. The party 
went to Tamworth by rail, and drove from the 
station to Seckington. The very remarkable Burh 
here is of a very interesting character, and one 
of the most important earthworks of its kind in 
Warwickshire. There are al.so the not very con- 
spicuous remains of a large camp of irregular 
outline. Seckington is said to have been the scene 
of a battle between Cuthied, King of the West 
Saxons, and Ethelred, King of the Mercian.s, in 757. It is generally supposed that 
the camp was originally British, and afterwards occupied by the Romans (by 
whom the place was known as Secandune), and .subsequently by the Saxons. The 
great mound is probably of Saxon origin. 

The Church has been nearly rebuilt, and is not interesting. It is without 
aisles, and has a lofty and well proportioned tower and spire at the west end ; the 
tower is partly old, and has a remarkably good corbel table just beneath the line 
from which the spir*^ "•■ "^nt of some interest on the North 

wall of the "L, a Councillor to Queen 

Elizal '■ windows contain the 



in the year igoo. 




arms of the Washingtons, as in the Church at Sulgrave, Northaniptuiishire. George 
Washington is said to have passed some part of his bojhoiKi ht-re. 

On the way to Clifton, the party passed through the village and by the Hall 
of Thnrpe Constantine, the mansion of the In[,'e family, well known in Hirniinghain 
as the siicceswora nf the Phillips, who gave the land on which to build St. Philip's 
Church. 

The country through which we drove to our next halting place is very pretty, 
and very soon the tall slender spire of Clifton came into sight. 

We learn from Shaw's History that Clifton had, at the time of the Conqueror's 
siirvc)', a priest and a mill. It must have been of no little importance as it had 
then 46 families. It got its second name, Shaw says, from the Camvilles, who 
become jxissessed of it in the time of Henrj' the 2iid, after the Marmions. Dugdale 
says, William de Camville, soti of Richard, who was the first of the family to 
possess it, was the founder of Coombe Abbey. It then passed by (he marriage 



&iritrsio»s in the year /goo. 



of Maud to Richard Vernon, and after tn her second husband, Sir Richard Stafford, 
Knight, in the time of tidward III. Then to Heavinghams, and about the time 
of the Charleses it was sold to the Lord Keeper Coventry, whose family held 
it until 1700, when it was sold to Sir Charles Pye. He it was who bm'lt at Clifton 
two wings of a house, intending to fill up the middle some day. but never completed 
the work ; one of the wings however served the family for a residence, and a part of 
the other wing for stabling. These buildings came to the Rev. R. Watkins in 1787. 



istablewick of Clifton and Haunton 



When hearth money was collected this t 
had 56 hearths which paid £$ 12s. od. 

The Church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is nearly unrestored and of very great 
interest, although the exterior, with the exception of the steeple, is not very prepos- 
sessing. The gencrHl effect from the S.E. is chiefly remarkable for the long unbroken 
stretch of the South aisle and Chapel, and for the slender spire 160 feet high, at the 
West end. It shows on the wall of the tower, and by the lower cornice of the 
aisle, the lines of the original roofs of the 14th century. The chancel roof is modem, 
but is obviously of about the same height and pitch as the old one. On the eastern 
side of the tower a piece of the cornice remains, from which line it was raised in 
the iSlh century, probably when it had been determined to build the existing spire. 
The six windows of the aisle and chapel at a first glance appear to be alike, but on 
a closer inspection the three windows of the cha[>el are found to differ in the 
mouldings, indicating a slightly later date for ihe aisle, but showing an intention 




E.vfiirsiofis nt the year igQO. 



of the later builders to repeat the earlier windoH's. The plan comprises a long 
Chancel, Nave, South Aisle, and a Chapel forming a South Aisle to the Chancel ; a 
singular vaulted chapel on the north side, with a room over it, a south I'orch. which 
looks as if it had been rebuilt, and on the opposite side a rude modern Porch 
of brickwork. The Chancel, of the unusual length of 55 feet, is lighted by a fine 
eastern window of five lights, with reticulated cusped tracerj-, and on the north side 
by a lancet window of the 13th century and three other windows nf later date, 
with square heads. The Chancel Arch is wide and lofty, but rather poor and 
flat in detail. On the south side near the east end are mutilated triple sedilia 
and a very beautiful trefoil headed pi.scina. The Arcade by which the chancel 
opens to the chapel is of excellent architectural character, the pillars formed of a 
cluster of four large shafts with fillets on the face.s which are effectively stopped 
beneath the bells of the capitals. The Capitals are simply but beautifully moulded, 
and the bases are bold and goixi, on widely spreading square blocks. The arch 
mouldings are well designed and very effective. This arcade was probably built 
early in the 14th century. This lar^je chapel has a window nf five lights at tlie 
east end, with plain intersecting tracery now covered with cement. The three 
windows to the south are of massive character, the lights trefoilcd, with large tictofoil 
openings in the heads. The walls are thick and the mouldings of the jambs nearly 
the same without and within, the glass being placed in the middle of the wall. In 
the south-ea.st corner is a very beautiful trefoil arclieil recess of a pi.scina. The 
Chapel is divided from the Chancel wwA Aisle b)- oak parclo.se .sci-eens, which have 
been .somewhat tampered with, but are on the whole unusually [jerfi-cl, retaining tJie 
original fokling doors to the chancel and to the aisle. 




Excursions i?t the year igoo. 5 

The eastermost bay is a very beautiful work of the 17th century in imitation 
but by no means a slavish copy of, the earlier work ; the details are very delicate 
and refined. The cornice and a broad rail beneath the openings are exquisitely 
designed and executed. This screen and the doors to the Rood Screen appear to 
have been given to the church by a Rector, E. Gilbert, as on the chapel doors is 
carved " Master Gilbert, Parson of Clifton, in the year of our Lord 1634," and on 
the screen doors "H. G., 1634." The Rood Screen itself is of rather late Perpendicular, 
much mutilated, the loft gone, and with it the delicate imitation of fan groin ribs 
beneath it. In one corner of the Chapel lies a chest 7 feet long dug out of a tree. 
The ironwork about it has no distinctive character indicating its age, which with 
these "dug-outs" is always regarded as uncertain. This Chapel, it is probable, is 
the one erected by Hugo Hopwas, who, says Shaw, *' erected in 1361 a Chantry 
in this church for the health of Richard Stafford, Knight, Lord of the Manor and 
Patron of the church, and for the good estate of Maud his wife, and for the soul 
of Isabel his former wife." It is still a question as to whether the chapel on the 
North side might not have been the Hopwas Chantry Chapel, but it seems to have 
been built earlier than 1361, as there is a window in the gable, of an interesting 
semi-domestic character, which might very well be of the 13th century. 

Shaw sa}'s the .south aisle belonged to the men of Harleston, and was repaired 
by them, but now to Clifton. This probably refers to the south aisle of the nave, 
though it is worth consideration as to whether this large chapel, well enclosed by 
screens, and with its altar, &c., is not the aisle referred to. 

In the chancel on each side adjoining the rood screen are oak stalls with 
lifting mi.serere seats of the usual kind, they have beneath, carved brackets, most 
of them male or female heads, quaintly attired, the few others are large leaves ; 
they are all well and boldl)' e.xecuted, and the faces have a good deal of character. 
Shaw, referring to these .seats, says they are "after the manner of Preljendal Stalls 
for the Master and Fellows," but does not say what Master and Fellows. 

The roofs of the chapel and the aisle are continuous and nearly alike, but 
that of the chapel is of rather the better character. The)' have massive camljered 
horizontal beams, between which and the raking principals are little bits of delicate 
tracery which redeem the roof from rudeness. This is of course the second roof. 
A stone cornice over the chancel arcade, as on the exterior of the .south wall, marks 
where the steep roof of the 14th century rested. 

The arcade Ijetween nave and aisle, though bold and of pleasing proportions 
is not as good as that of the chancel. The piers are of a peculiar section, the 
mouldings of the caps small and confused, but those of the arches are of rather 
better character. 

On the north side of the nave is a .sepulchral recess with a pointed segmental 
arch, the whole projecting a few inches into the nave. Within it is a coffin lid, on 



6 Excursions in the year jgoo. 

which is a bold foliated cross. On the south side of the aisle is another deep 
recess beneath an intricately moulded semicircular arch, also no doubt sepulchral. 
Shaw says, quoting from Wyrley's " Book of Church Notes," — ** Within the arched 
" recess in the south wall was a great deal of painting, but when the church was 
"whitened (about sixty years ago) this was also washed over." On a flat stone 
under it are a frett sable, a canton gules. Under this arch was written " Here 
" lyeth the founder of the Church," and within the arch opposite " Here lyeth the 
" founder's Wife." 

Possibl)' the whitewashing referred to may have been that commemorated by 
an inscription at the west end : — 

"This Church was beautified 1726." 

" Robert Thompson 

,, ,x . -TIT I Churchwardens." 

Jlenjamui Mousley 

An inscription remaining on the wall at the back of the recess still says, "This 
" is the tomb of the founder of the Church." 

The small and very interesting chapel on the north side opens to the nave by 
a pointed arch, the inner order of which rests on carved corbels. It is lighted on 
the north b)^ a window of five acutely pcjinted five-foiled lights under an enclosing 
arch and label. On the east side is a recess, undoubtedly for an altar, and over it 
a small trefoil window. The ceiling is groined, with diagonally crossing ribs which 
rest on corl^els in the corners. 

This little chapel is now in a disgracefully dirt)* and neglected condition. Over 
it is a chamber which has certainly at one time been inhabited. There is a fireplace 
in the north-east corner, and a closet in the north-west. The fireplace had a 
cylindrical stone chimney, onl)' the stump of which remain.s. There is the window 
before referred to as of interesting character in the gable end, the lower part fitted 
for a shutter, and there are indications of a small square window on each side, both 
of which are walled up. On the south side, which is the north wall of the nave, is 
a window also blocked up, constructed to enable the occupant of the chamber to 
look into the church, but it is worthy of note that neither the high altar, the 
altar in the south chapel, nor an altar at the end of the south aisle, if there was 
one, could have been seen from this window. The late Mr. M. A. Bloxham thought 
this chamber was a damns ifidusi or anchorite's hold, but it does not appear 
probable that the occupant was one of those men who were immured for life, having 
communication with the outer world only through barred windows. I think he 
might rather have been a priest to one or both of the chantry chapels who 
inhabited this chamber, and although living a life of austerity and seclusion, had 
some measure of liberty. The means of access to the room is by a small door 
from the chancel, close to the rood screen, and a stone spiral stair. Mr. Bloxham, 



Excursions /« Ike year igoo. 




who has, iti one of his works, lii.-icui.suii al greal length the subject of anchorites. 
and the chambers they are siipjKised to have inhabited, haii examined many of 
these rooms, over porches, over vestries, in towers, and other places, and many 
years ago I was one ol a party of this society when tiiey visited this church 
with Mr. Bloxham, and had the privilege of hearing his remarks on this example. 
There is one at Warmington, over the vestry, which Mr, Hloxham considered the 
best appointed and most complete specimen he had seen. It is curiously like the 
one we are now considering. 1 have seen one at Cropredy, another at Wardington, 
and others : and onlj' about two months ago, I found an extremely gixxl example 
over the south porch of Much Wenlock Church, the plan of which is almost identical 
with this at Clifton. It has the fireplace, the closet, and other appurtenances, 1 
learnt at both places that within the memory of man they have been used as 
schoolrooms. That at Clifton is said to have accommodated 30 children. There 
are signs at Wenlock of a second storey over in which the girls were taught. The 
walls of the chamber at Wenlock have a great many deep recesses, I shoulil think 
a dozen, which no doubt the tenant found very useful. 

There are several monunifots in the church. The most remarkable is the 
fine alabaster altar tomb of Sir John Verncm and his wife, which has well carved 
recumbent effigies in the usual attitude of prayer, clothed in long robes with straight 
fohls. The tomb has three panels on each side and two al each end. The arms 



8 Excursions in the year rgoo. 

with supporters occupy the middle panels on the sides, the others having figures, 
probably of their children, in various attitudes. The wide slope of the plinth 
mouldings is curiously ornamented with birds and quadrupeds. Round the cornice 
is this inscription : " Pray for the solles of John Vernon Kt. and dame Ellyn, his 
" wiffe, they whyche John was one of they kyngs councel in Wayls and costos 
" rotuloruin of the countye of Derbye. The which died at Harleston the IX day 
"of Feb. in the yere o{ oure Lord God M.CXXXX'XLV in the XXXVI yere of Kyg 
'* Henry the Vlllth on whose sole God have mercy." 

Verses on the foot of the tomb : — 

" Pray ye for the Solle of Sir John Vernon Knight 

'* Who in justice was a spectacle to sight 

" xAnd spared not himself day nor night 

'' For the pore continually help« ym to yr ryght — 

*' In hospitality name here he had 

'* And for his depUure were heavy and sad 

" Pra)' for the solle whose bons here do rest 

" W on p Nf as ye think best 

" That he may be receyv'd into the Dyvine brest 

'* Of the eternal God qui in ca^lisest." 

A fragment of a brass representing the upper half of a woman veiled lies loose 
about the church. It is a palimpsest. 

In the chancel are some ponderous monuments on the north side, blocking 
up the windows, one is, " To the pious memory of Sir Charles Pye, but late of 
Clifton Camville, &c., &c." : a very long and very laudatory epitaph. This monu- 
ment is said to have been by Rysbach. 

There remain fragments of ancient stained glass, a part of that thus described 
by Shaw: — " In the Fast Chancel window a representation of St. Mark, and above 
three Coats of Arms, Camville, Vernon, and Clifton." 

One of the most striking and unusual features of the tower are the three 
remarkably fine windows in the north, west, and south sides. They are of very 
good proportions and detail, and the masons* work is unusually good. 

STATFOLI) HALL. 

Leaving Clifton and the courteous Rector with regret, a drive of a few miles 
brought the party to Stat fold Hall, the scat of Mr. P. G. Wolferstan, who received 
the visitors mo.st kindly and hospitably, and exposed for their inspection a large 
number of interesting and curious articles in the hall, including .some letters written 
in the 17th century by the then heir to the estates, who, much to the annoyance 
of his friends, was in love with the daughter of a neighbouring schoolmaster. The 
celebrated Hi.shop Ken was called in to admonish the youth, who con.sequently left 
home, went to London, and was never again heard of 



lo Excursions in the year igoo. 

At the west end of the south aisle is a vault belonging to the Rushouts, which 
raises the floor about three feet. Round the walls of this raised part are ranged a 
remarkable series of monuments to members of this family, from the 17th to the 
end of the 19th centuries ; many have marble portrait busts, some well executed. 

To the wall at the back of one of the sedilia niches a brass has been nailed, a 
rubbing of which may be found in our library. It is to William Neale, Vicar 
of the parish in the time of Henry VII., in his priestly robes. This was once on 
a blue stone forming part of the chancel floor, and had a long inscription, but when 
the good stone of 40 years ago was superseded by the present common tile pavement 
it was destroyed. The tower at the west end is a wretched abortion of the 19th 
century. 

Forty or fifty years ago Blockley was a thriving place and had four or five 
silk mills in full swing. The mills remain and two of them are rather interesting 
structures, but the trade is dead. A rapidly flowing stream of water, which descends 
the gorge on the bank of which the town is built, supplied the motive power to 
most of the mills. The wooded dale along which it flows is extremely beautiful. Up 
this charming wooded glen, across a breezy upland, and then by a steep descent, the 
party drove to Bourton-on -the- Hill. There, at Coombe Manor, was found a fine 
stone Early Georgian house and a good cruciform Tithe-barn. 

At Moreton-in-the-Marsh a visit was paid to the church to see the old com- 
munion plate, and the very curious little building at the corner of the street which 
combines the town lock-up, over it the watchman's room, and in a gable above the 
the roof an alarum bell. 

ARLEY AND ASTLEY. 

A rather large party went on Saturday afternoon, July 14th, to Arley station 
and walked to Arley village. The church was inspected under the guidance of 
the Rev. Mr. De Castro, the Rector. It was dedicated to St. Wilfred, is on a slight 
mound, and consists of Chancel, Nave, Western Tower, and South Porch, and appears 
to be wholly of the 14th century. The chancel is a good example of the period, with 
excellent windows, more especially the two at the west end of the chancel facing 
each other, which are alike, with very interesting and peculiar tracery. That on the 
north side has considerable remains of the original stained glass, containing figures 
more or less mutilated of St. John, the blessed Virgin, and fragments of others. 
There are also two good medallion heads, and many patterned quarries. Much 
of it is displaced, but it is not often that one meets with so valuable a bit of old 
glass, in a village church, There are on the north side some other good window.s, 
one with acutely pointed arch, and good tracery, has its sill raised considerably to 
make room for an arched sepulchral recess inside ; a very fine example, which was 
perhaps used as an Easter Sepulchre. It has a crocketted canopy with carved finial 
curiously detached from the wall, as it rises above the level of the splay of the window 



T 2 Excursions in the year ic^oo, 

1704, when Bridges Nanfan died leaving an only daughter, Catherine, who succeeded 
to the estates and married Richard Coote, by whom she had two sons. She married a 
second, third, and fourth husband — the latter when she was 72 years of age. After 
passing into two or three different families, the estate came back to a Coates, who 
held it to 1779. 

The manor house is surrounded by a moat and was otherwise fortified. The 
gateway and two circular bastions of the 14th century remain, and some outer walls 
apparently of about the same date. A building of two storeys adjoining the outer 
wall has a fine room on the upper floor, with an ornamental plaster ceiling of the 17th 
century. The chief attraction, however, is a large low room, the walls of which 
are covered from floor to ceiling with oak panelling. The chimney piece is very fine, 
but of a usual type. The date of this would probably be late in Elizabeth\s, or early in 
James the First's reign. In the middle compartment of the over-mantle are the arms 
of Nanfan Harley on the left, Cornwall on the right, and round the room are painted 
the arms of Harley, Ba.squisoille, Cornwall, Crofte, Throgmorton, Pole, Copley, Blount, 
Rudall, Wyet, Bromwhich, Minors, Vaughan Harrington, Cole, and Delabere. 

Among other interesting articles preserved in this room are some curious 
horseshoes recovered from the moat. They have a singular projecting appendage, the 
purpose of which has not been .satisfactorily explained. Specimens are also preserved 
at Montacute House, Somerset, one at least is in the Museum of the Louvre, Pari.s, 
and one in the possession of the writer of this account was dug up with several others 
in King's Sedgemoor, Somerset. 

The Church perched on high ground has a rather singular, but well-proportioned 
tower, as.sociated rather happily with its surroundings. The church itself is very 
di.sappointing, having been .shockingly restored, and retaining nothing of interest but a 
few monuments, chiefly of Nanfan.s. One of these is an altar tomb without inscription, 
but no doubt it is of a Nanfan or Nanfan.s. On the sides are very curious groups of 
kneeling figures, and on the top is the matrix of a stolen bra.s.s. There are other later 
monuments on the walls of the chancel of less interest. 

A good and well served luncheon was provided at the Duke of York Inn, and 
after a plea.sant drive, we found ourselves at Little Malvern, and were much delighted 
at the first sight of the remarkable group of buildings which .stand in this beautiful 
woody hollow. Our reception by Mr. and Mrs. Watts was most hospitable and 
kind. 

In the century after the Norman Conquest this region was an uncultivated 
wilderne.ss (a part of Malvern Cha.se), and here, about 1171, two brothers, monks of 
the priory of Worcester, retired for greater .seclusion, and with a few other monks 
founded a sinall Benedictine Priory, which .so continued for about 300 years. At the 
end of that time, however, the establishment seems to have degenerated very mucli, 
the buildings had become ruinous, and the discipline of the brotherhood very lax. 



14 Excursions in the year igoo, 

more than 70 years ago, probably many years less, and has been placed over the 
screen with which it had no connection originally. Some of the old stalls remain with 
miserere seats to turn up in the usual way, but from each of them the carved bracket 
has been roughly hacked away. 

xA great many very interesting old figured tiles remain in the chancel, most of 
which form the pavement of the space within the rail ; many of them have armorial 
bearings of Bohun, Beauchamp, England quartered with France, Mortimer Earl of 
March, and others. Two or three, more or less imperfect, retain some quaint rhymes, 
the same as are found repeated several times in Great Malvern church. As 
modernised, they read thus : — 

** Think man thy life — May not ever endure. 
That thou dost thyself, of that thou art sure. 
But that thou giv'st — Unto the executors cure 
And ever it avail ye, It is but adventure. 

No doubt many of you have met with these lines, and probably in somewhat 
varied forms. They occurred beneath a brass on the floor of Hampton-in-Arden 
church. 

The stained glass remaining in the East window is described at considerable 
length in a paper by Mr. Edmund Oldfield, Fellow of Worcester College, in the Volume 
of the A rch(£ological Journal for the year 1865, and what I have to say on this subject, 
is from his paper. 

The window in the perpendicular style is divided by mullions into six vertical 
lights with four smaller quatrefoil lights in the tracery above. The whole was filled 
with painted glass, which on a system common in the 15th and i6th centuries, was 
arranged as a single composition extending through all the openings of the window. 

In each vertical light was represented on a blue or red background a distinct 
architectural canopy in white glass, with ornaments of yellow staining and shadows 
of enamel brown, beneath which, as in a niche, were a figure or figures kneeling as in 
prayer. Each subject was complete in itself and yet formed part of the whole 
composition. Most of the glass has perished, and but two of the large panels remain. 
Fortunately a detailed description of the window, as it was when complete, has been 
preserved among the manuscripts of Thomas Habingdon, of Hindslip, which are now 
in the Library of the Society of Antiquaries. Habingdon was born about 1560, and 
was in some way connected with the Gunpowder Plot. The full description is too 
long to quote, and it must suffice to describe shortly the two lights that remain. 

The second light from the left represents the ill-fated Prince Edward, who at the 
time of the erection of the window would be in about his 12th year, as he was born on 
the 4th of November, 1470. He wears a red mantle which flows behind a red surcoat 
which appears on the arm and chest and again below the knee. On his head is a 
crown. In the second light from the right are seen the four princesses, the Lady 



Excursions in the year igoo. 1 5 

Elizabeth of York and her three sisters. Ehzabeth, and her second sister behind her, 
wear blue boddice-shaped gowns, disclosing in one a gold embroidered stomacher ; 
in the other this part is destroyed. Above the gown is a mantle of crimson, bordered 
with ermine. They are diapered with flowers and foliage. The colours are of 
heraldic character, and resemble in this respect Prince Edward's, and were the reverse 
of the Duke of York's colours. 

The head dresses are all interesting : that of the Princess Elizabeth exhibits one 
of the latest representations of the horned tire which still remains. 

The head dresses of the younger princesses are varieties of the latest modification 
of the steeple or chimney tire. 

Of the four other vertical lights the two central contained the portraits of 
Edward the Fourth and his Queen, but of this group only a few doubtful fragments 
remain. The outer light on the left which represented the Duke of York has 
perished, but of that on the right, which contained a figure of the donor, some small 
portions are left. At the foot of the window some disjointed fragments of the 
inscriptions remain. 

These lights were carefully re-leaded about 60 years ago under the care of 
Mr. Winston by Ward and Nixon, who did not attempt to restore missing fragments 
by other than plain glass. 

Some repairs to the tower and church have just been completed. The house has 
been very much modernised, but retains in rather obscure parts many important 
remains of the ancient buildings, the chief of which is a fine oak roof of what must 
have been an important apartment, but this can only be found by creeping through a 
small hole in the ceiling now beneath it. 

Some interesting family portraits remain, but the one which received the most 
attention was a faded painting of Williams, a Carthusian Monk of the beginning of 
the 17th century, who had an eventful career during a period of persecution. 

It was this portrait that interested Mr. Shorthouse so deeply, the subject of the 
picture being the John Inglesant of his famous story. 




Middle foil Hall, II arwickslnre. 



Rv EGBERT DE HAMKI.. 



I-',hiuitiy 20th, ii)Qi. 



HIS interesting old Mansion is situated on the 
extreme etige of tlie County of Warwick, the 
corner of the deer park joining up to the bridge 
over the brook that marks the county boundary 
on tlic hiffli road between Coleshill and Tamworth. 

Il has been a notable residence from a period 
considerably earlier than the Norman Conquest, 
for we find that William the 1st, or Duke William 
.i-i he was then, made frequent visits to his feeble 
Liiusin Kdward the Confessor's Court, and during 
these visits, noted for future use the most desirable 
]iropcrties in this country. 

After the death of Edward in 1065, Harold 
ascended the throne that Duke William considered belonged to him, and coivsequently 
he invaded England, defeated Harold and t(M)k jxissession in 1066, 




Middleton Hally Warwickshire, \ 7 

Now in the time of King Edward, Middleton was held freely by ** two Saxon 
gentlemen " named respectively Pallin and Turgot ; this is carefully recorded in 
the Domesday Book, published by order of William the Conqueror in 1083, wherein 
it is stated, Middleton having been confiscated by the Conqueror and granted to 
Hugh de Grentmaisnil, a powerful Norman Baron ; that Hugh de Grentmaisnil holds 
in Middleton 4 hides. 

The arable employs four ploughs, one plough and a half is in the demesne, and 
three bondmen. There are twelve villeins, with a priest, and five borders, they 
have two ploughs and a half. A mill pays 20/-, and there are six acres of meadow, 
it was worth four pounds, now six pounds. 

Thus we are able to gather that the demesne or residence and home farm 
existed as a manor house, occupied by two Saxon gentlemen in Edward the 
Confessor's time, that the home farm consisted of 100 acres of grass, which is 
about the extent of the present deer park, aud three hundred acres of plough 
land, together with a mill on the river Tame about three quarters of a mile 
distant, then worth 20/- a year, and now existing under the name of Fishhouse 
Mill, the rent of which was paid in eels and reckoned by the stick, each stick having 
25 eels. 

In addition to this we find that Middleton Hall must have been a house of 
importance, as it maintained its own private priest and was worth £i\ a year. 

Grentmaisnil improved the estate very rapidly, and brought up its annual 
value from £\ to £6. 

In all probability he pulled down and rebuilt the house, and we may attribute 
to him the ancient domestic chapel with its thick stone walls, splay window, and 
cradle roof, also that portion of the house now marked in outline by a level stone 
water table enclosing the south side from the laundry to the kitchens, and east 
side, including the chapel, aud so westwards to the original Great Hall. 

This Chapel was originally built of stone, the walls being 2' \d' thick, the 
inside length 28' o", width i3'o", height from floor to centre of cradle roof 27' o". 
At first it was probably open from flo(^r to roof, the Sacrarium being separated 
at a distance of 6' 6' from the south end by a screen, the situation of which is 
now indicated by two hollows in the west and east walls, and included the splay 
window and shouldered locker. The moulding of the doorway on the inner or 
west side is noteworthy. 

Later, in common with many similar domestic chapels the interior was divided 
into three stories, the ba.sement being reserved for the retainers and the priest. 
The space above the sacrarium was left open, as indicated by a straight joint in 
the present floor ; adjoining this was the family pew, wanned b}- a charcoal brazier 
built into the masonry by the window (a corner fireplace was added when, the 
new chapel having been built, the pew room was floored over and converted 
into a bedroom), and this pew was entered by two doors, the one communicating 



Aliddleton Hall, Wat-ivickshire. 




wiUi a narrow waiiiscutted passage Id lilt: body of the house for tht; use of the 
guests, the other opening into a perfectly appointed lady's room, beautifully fitted 
with oak cupboards and panelling. A charcoal brazier is also built into the outer wall 
and concealed by an oaken panelled door (close to it is the later corner fire-place), 
the central panel over this being cunningly hinged, behind which when opened a 
shallow cupboard is revealed, having two shelves and a loose bottom which slides 
out and discloses a recess about '& inches deep and 4 inches wide. 

A curious roughly carved wowl cornict: rim?; round the ceiling of the pew . 
room, passage, and lady's room. 

From the lady'.s room one doiir opens on the giie.-;t's passage and so to the^ 
hou.se, another, back through a .short passage (to the right of which is a small 
apartinent, communicating by a well built and worked perpendicular shaft, joining 
an arched tumicl communicating with the bed of the moat), and at the end of this 
short passage three steps give access to the Inrcis room, and this again by anotha 
door joins a main staircase. 

The lords room has two smaller rooms attached, in one of which the cupboard 
locks are curious. 

The floor above this is simply the cradle roof, and is approached by a narrow 
stairway with a window that looks out on the only fragment of old stonework 
that is still visible of the external chapel walls. 



Middleton HalL Warwickshire, 19 

Grentemaisnil had two daughters, Petroiiilla, who married Robert de Blanche- 
maines, Earl of Leicester, and Alice, married to Roger Bigot. 

Grentemaisnil died in 1094. The estate now passed by the marriage of one 
of his descendents to Robert de Marmion of Tamworth Castle, four miles distant, who 
by this shrewd and, it is to be hoped, happy alliance with the heiress of Middleton, 
united these two valuable estates. 

In 1185, we find that his grandson, Geoffrey de Marmion, granted the use of 
Middleton to the Knights Templars, a religious body more famed for scandal and 
impiety than for their spiritual profession, and it does not appear certain that they 
occupied the house at all, but rather a range of buildings beyond the moat on 
the east side, two chimnies of which still exist in the farm buildings, and a more 
extended range southwards is yet indicated by sundry irregularities in the turf 
which show up strongly in very dry and hot weather. 

Anyway they were not at Middleton in 1247, for it is recorded that in that 
year Philip de Marmion, who occupied it as his country seat, paid Thos. de Clinton 
six marks in silver for the privilege for himself and his heirs for ever of fishing 
in the river Anker between Tamworth Castle and Amington, with a fleunet, tramil, 
or saina, whenever he came to stay at Middleton, and this right is exercised 
to the present day by the tenant of Tamworth Castle (now the Corporation of 
Tamworth.) 

It has already been stated that the grass lands of Middleton were the deer 
park, and about this time Philip de Marmion, who appears to have been an 
exceedingly turbulent person, prone both to force and litigation, became involved 
in a law suit with Ela, Countess of Warwick, for hunting in her free chase of 
Sutton with horns and hounds (viz. : — with brachettis et Icporarus cristatisj, and 
taking two bucks on the Wednesday after the Feast of St. Peter and St. Paul, 30th 
Henry 3rd, and for illtreating one John de Saleybury, her forester, and taking from 
him a bow and two arrows, a horn, and a sword, &c. Philip appeared and denied 
that he had hunted in the free chase of Ela, and stated he had hunted in his own 
wood of Middleton. 

The jury say that Philip hunted as deposed, on the day in question, but they 
are ignorant whether he took two bucks or not ; that John, the forester of the 
Countess, captured two greyhounds of Philip, and committed them to one of the 
men of the Countess to conduct them to Sutton, and that the said Philip took 
away the greyhounds from him, and struck him on the head with his fist, and 
knocked him off* his horse ; and afterwards the men of Philip came up, of whose 
names they are ignorant, and took away from him his bow and arrows, and 
horn, &c., and the jury say there has alwa}'s been dissension between the ancestors 
of Philip and the Earls of Warwick respecting the said chase, and when a certain 
man of the ancestry of Philip was taken hunting in the chase, and taken to 



20 Middleton Hall, Warwickshire, 

Warwick, that Robert Marmion, the father of Philip, had paid a fine for him 
of 20/- ; and they say that the said chase is the free chase of the Countess, and 
is not appurtenant to the manor of the said Philip at Middleton, and that the 
king had given the chase to Henry, Earl of Warwick, to hold as freely as he (the 
king) had ever held it. Verdict for the Countess, and Robert de Hundesacre, the 
attorney of Philip, is committed to prison because Philip was not present at the 
inquisition. On Jan. 26, 1261, Philip de Marmion was fined by the king because 
his hounds, in running some does on Cannock Chase, started and killed a brocket, or 
two year old red deer. 

Philip Marmion appeared by attorney against Robert le Poter of Draytone, 
Henry de Brok, William, son of Ralph de Draiton, Hugh de Draytone, Robert 
Parson of Draiton, Robert Champeneis, Robert de Faresleye, Henry de Wirleye, 
William de Hopwas, William Serle, Walter Serle, Richard de Inge, and thirty 
seven others named, for entering his wood at Middleton, and cutting down and 
carrying away his trees. The defendants did not appear, and the Sheriff" is ordered 
to attach them for fifteen days from Hillary (M. 11.) 

Philip Marmion appeared against Richard de Flottebrook for coming vi et 
armis to his house in Middleton, co. Warwick, and wounding and illtreating his 
men there, and carrying away goods to the amount of ;£^20 ; Richard did not 
appear, and had previously made default. The Sheriff" is therefore ordered to 
distrain him, &c., and to have his body in court at fifteen days from St. John the 
Baptist (M. 16.) 

Again Philip Marmion was summoned to answer the complaint of Ela, the 
Countess of Warwick, that he had constructed a pen (saltatoriam) in his park at 
Middleton to the injury of the forest of the said Countess in Sutton. Philip admitted 
he had made a saltatoriam (or deerleap), but denied that the wood of Middleton 
formed any part of the forest of Sutton, and it was therefore lawful for him to 
chase and capture animals in the said wood at his will, and to sell and to take 
estovers (or an allowance of wood) in the said wood without view of any forester, and 
it was ordered that a jury be summoned of Knights both from Staff"ordshire and 
Warwickshire, because the said forest was on the confines of Staff"ordshire, and 
a jury elected by the consent of both parties came to Oxford on the octaves of 
Holy Trinity and stated that Philip had erected a saltatoriam in his park at 
Middleton to the injury of the forest of the said Countess in Sutton, because none 
of the ancestors of the said Philip had ever erected one in that wood before, and 
that the wood of Philip at Middleton is within the bounds and metes of the said 
forest, but that the said Philip and his ancestors could always give or sell the wood 
at their will so long as they made no destruction or exilium. It is considered 
that the saltatoria should be pulled down at the cost of the said Philip, and Philip 
is in misericordia, and the Countess is also in misericordia for a false claim, because 
she pleaded that Philip could not give away or sell the wood, which is the several 



Middleton Hall, Waiivickshire. 21 

wood of Philip, without her permission. The damage of the Countess was afterwards 
taxed at 100 marks (M. 19.) 

However, these deer leaps do not seem to have been pulled down, as they 
are still to be seen in the park fence by the high road, one between the Hall and 
the road is 100 yards long with a trench 18 feet wide ; though, possibly, this is 
only a sunk fence to improve the view from the Hall. Two others gave access 
to the north half of the park, an area of about 50 acres, which was carefully 
planted and arranged for harbourage and furnished with winter sheds. This part 
of the park or deer drive had a central clump of trees enclosed in an embanked 
circle 100 yards across, from which radiated 6 avenues each 20 yards wide, and 
extending to the outer boundary ; one of these avenues faces the deer sheds, another 
leads to the Staffordshire corner, the next to a deer leap 12 yards wide and trenched 
3 yards broad. The fourth faces a second deer leap 14 yards wide with 33^ yards 
trench, the remaining two finish by the brook. 

The spaces between these avenues were planted with willow, hasel, &c., to 
form covert for the deer, and this portion has always been recognised as the 
"Quarters." In the year 1285, Philip applied for and obtained a right of court 
leet and gallows. On the death of Philip, the last of the Marmions as Lord of 
Middleton and the Staffordshire part of Tamworth, in 1291, his property was 
divided between his three daughters : Joan, whose daughter Joan Mortein, married 
Alexander de Freville in 1333; Maseru, married to Ralph le Cromwell; and 
Matilda, who espoused Ralph de Boteler. 

At this point we must digress a little, and leaving the Hall, take note of the 
Church built in the village. 

In 1257, the Dean and Chapter of Tamworth, of which Sir Philip de Marmion 
was an important member, bought from him the advow.son for £\o sterling, and 
(besides) a further yearly payment of £^ 13s. 4d. to Merivale Abbey during the 
life of William de Farnham. 

PVom the Staffordshire Plea Rolls we find that this William de Farnham 
appeared against the Dean and Chapter of Tamworth in a plea that they should 
hold to a fine made between Philip Marmion and the Chapter respecting the 
advowson of the Church of Middleton, by which fine the Dean and Chapter conceded 
to the said William 10 marks to be paid yearly to him for his life. 

The defendants did not appear, and the Sheriff had been commanded to 
distrain them and produce them at this day, and had done nothing, and sent no 
writ. The Sheriff is therefore in misericordia, viz. : — Leon de Kynefare. 

"The Sheriff is commanded as before to distrain the Dean and Chapter and 
"to produce them at fifteen days from St. Martin (Oct. iith) and to be present 
" himself to hear judgment on his own default (M. 3. dorso)." 

For the next 300 years this Chapter appointed the stipendiary to Middleton. 



2 2 Middleion Hall, Wanvick shire. 

In 1542, the Rectory of Middleton was held by John Willoughb}-, who received 
a grant of ;£'8 from the Dean and Chapter of Tamworth. 

In 1 58 1, the Rectory was sold to Francis Willoughby then lord of the manor. 

The Church is interesting for its horseblock in the wall, old font bowl, and 
yew trees in churchyard, doorway on south side, hagioscope and roughly carved 
wood screen, together with the Willoughb}' and Londonderry monuments and 
floor brass to Sir Richard l^ingham. 

It also contains the helm and gauntlets of a captain in Richard's army, who 
lost his life when escaping from Hosworth T^ield in 1485, and who together with 
his charger was drowned in the marsh, now Middleton Pool, where in recent years 
their remains were disco\cred. 

Alexander de Freville left a son, Sir Baldwin, who died in 1343, a grandson 
of the same name who died in 1375, and a great grandson who died in 1387, and 
left his share of Middleton to his widow Joice, she married Sir Adam Peshale, who 
sold back his share in 1389 to the 4th Sir Baldwin, a great great grandson of Sir 
Alexander, for £200 sterling. 

This Sir Baldwyne, as we learn from the Warwickshire Pleas, was sued by 
John Hillary, for a third part of the manor of Middleton, which Richard Hillary, 
parson of the church of Wymondham, had given to Henry Hillary and Joan his 
wife (Joan was one of the co-heiresses of Philip the last Lord Marmion), and to 
the heirs of their bodies, and which should descend to him by the form of gift, and 
he gave this descent. 

Henry Hillary — Joan living temp E. I. 
Edward. 

John, the plaintiff. 

Baldwyne stated he was not tenant of the third part which was claimed, and 
John pleaded that on the date of the writ, viz., "28th June, 49 E. III. Baldwin 
" held the tenements, and appealed to a jury, which was to be summoned for three 
" weeks from Easter (m. 420 dorso)." 

This Sir Baldwin evidently took a keen interest in the place, and to him we 
may attribute the building of the second chapel, and in Dugdale's Warwickshire, 
under the head of Middleton, we find the following note: — "whereupon Sir Baldwin 
" Freville Knight procured from Richard Scroop, Bishop of Coventre and Lichfield 
"about the 14th. R. 2. (1291) License to have an Oratorie or private chapel within 
" his manor house there." 

This chapel was built on the north side of the Hall, just within the moat, its 
length was 2f o'\ width 15' 8", height 20' 6", and, like the ancient chapel, originally 
open from base to roof; the walls were half timbered, filled in with plaster, the 
east end, which is still visible, has four moulded arches. Against this east end 
a belfry stood, the bell from which is still attached to one of the Hall chimnies 



Middkton Hall, Warwickshire. 



23 



fur outdoor use. As time went on this chapel, like the old one, was curtailed iti 
size by the insertion of a floor, and the removal of the lower half of the belfry. 
The bases of the elegant columns were cut off and rudely pieced to the shafts 
above the new floor, and the top of the belfry was afterwards converted into a 
priest's hiding place, for use when the pniclice of the Roman Catholic religion was 
prescribed. 

The timber of the sides and roof of this belfry is carefully and elegantly 
worked in trefoil design, and when discovered by me in 1889, the roof was still 
partially covered with tiles. 

The inside is 3' 6" x 4' o", the riHif 3' o" in perpendicular measurement, wall 
plate to floor 6' 9", or 9' 9" in full heiylit, open work oak beams in roof, design 
quatrefoil, and trefoil below. This ronf was cased externally with lath and plaster 
and tiled ; west side open and filling space formed by the northern of the four 
trefoil headed oaken frame-work arches that formed the east end of the chapel, of 
these the two central ones are equal, and higher than those on either side. 




The north ^i^i^; ,,i l;.. ^;.,i.:...v,. ;.-. lijici, i;..i.-.iuiiLii .L^ ilic woodwork is not 
made up with white plaster, and is cut in half by a cross beam, above which is 
a trefoil framing, below a shaped diamond or shouldered lancet aperture. This 
side communicates with an upright shaft 2' 0° x 2' 9', extending upwards to the 
roof of enclosing building, and affording possibility of escape for priest if pursued. 



^mI 



24 Middle ton Hally Warwickshire. 

East side and gable, — the latter contains an inverted trefoil, resting on a 
somewhat convex principal, below this the side is divided by a cross beam, the 
upper panel worked in trefoil and filled with plaster (on which is traced a figure 
of a man and a rough outline of a crowned head), below the space is filled with 
a shouldered cross design forming a trefoil above and below, also plastered up. 

The south side is 4' o" long, the upper panel a trefoil design filled with 
plaster, bearing tracing of a boat with three men rowing, and signatures Yelyam 
Balleard (William Ballard), John Miles, F'eb. 14, 1821, Francis. These markings 
on the plaster point to a time when this space was previously entered from the 
roof; and the Francis was probably Sir Francis Lawley, the others the workpeople 
engaged on the repairs. 

The beam across the south opening of the east chapel framing is rabbetted 
with a square groove 9" in length on the north side, with a similar one on south 
side, indicating the presence of a tudor doorway. 

There are also the remains of a carved capital surmounting a semi-hexagonal 
shaft similar in design to those in the wood screen in Middleton Church. 

This priests' hiding place was very carefully concealed, being situated at the 
back of the east end of the chapel it could be entered from beneath the altar 
where the removal of a plaster panel on the north side gave access to the upright 
space, 2' o" X 2' 9", that rests on the overhanging portion of Henry Willoughby's 
rooms. By ascending this with a rope or moveable ladder the prie.st would find 
himself in a roof that included the old belfry, which was concealed from the 
rooms below b}' a lath and plaster screen and two cupboard doors. At the back 
of these doors wooden bars had been fixed to serve as steps and a rough wooden 
peg attached, on which it is presumed the priest would hang his vestments before 
opening the two rudely constructed doors at the back of the cupboard and escaping 
under the shelves into the room behind, and so to other parts of the house. 

Sir Baldwyn Freville died in 1400 at Middleton, and was buried with his wife 
beneath a freestone tomb in Tam worth Church, and his .son the fifth and last Sir 
Baldwin died unmarried in 141 8, leaving a will under which on the death of 
Elizabeth, Lady Ferrers, in 1452, the Manor of Middleton, now valued at £ii 
5s. 2i^d., was left to Margaret, wife of Hugh Willoughby. (Hugh died in 1431, and 
Margaret took for a second husband Sir Richard Bingham, who in turn died, and 
was buried beneath a brass in the chancel of Middleton Church in 1476.) 

Lady Bingham, who was 74 at the time of Sir Richard's death, did a great 
deal towards the restoration of Middleton Church, and was alive in 1505, being 
then 103 years old. 

At Margaret's death the propert}- passed to her grandson by her first husband, 
Sir Henry Willoughby, father of Sir Hugh Willoughby the explorer, and has been 
held by the Willoughbys ever since, the present representative being Lord Middleton 
of Wollaton, the 9th Baron. 



Middleton Hall, Warwickshire. 25 

To Sir Henry Willoughby we attribute the rooms east of the 2nd chapel with 
their overhanging first floor, their wooden cornices, the servants' hall, and rooms 
over, together with the old chapel and the oak panelling all along the east side of 
the house. He died 1528. 

In 1553, his third son. Sir Hugh Willoughby the explorer, assumed the com- 
mand of an expedition of three ships to the White Sea, and as we learn from 
Dr. Hamel's work on England and Russia, opened up for the first time a trade 
between these two countries. From thence he sailed to the coast of Lapland, 
where, caught by the ice, he and his ship companions perished miserably, and their 
floating tombs were discovered in 1555. 

During the year 1566 Queen Elizabeth, after visiting Coventry on the 17th 
and 18th of August, went on to Kenil worth Castle, where she rested until the 
24th. Lady Middleton writing from Birdsall, says: — "The Duchess of Chandos, 
** Cassandra Willoughby, daughter of the Natural Philosopher, in her MS. book 
"states that in August, 1566, Francis Willoughby (the builder of Wollaton) and 
" his Father in law, John Littleton of Frankley had been helping to entertain Queen 
" Elizabeth at Killingworth for on the 24th Sir John writes that Francis was sought 
"for within an hour after he was gone, to be knighted with himself and five others," 
whose names are given. 

Francis had doubtless hastened to Middleton to prepare for the Queen's reception, 
for the Duchess continues : — " Lady Arundel (of Wardour, Francis's sister Margaret) 
"gives an account of ye Earl of Leicesters entertaining of ye Court at Kellemyale, 
" his house, and she appears to write with pleasure of an entertainment which he 
"gave to Francis Willoughby, &c." (Kellemyale is Kenilworth). 

Lady Middleton adds that there is another MS. book at Wollaton which states 
" that Francis Willoughby and Harry Goodyer were knighted over a circle of bricks 
"in the Great Hall of Sir Francis's house of Middleton, where the Queen kept 
"court for a week (/. e. from Aug. 24 to Aug. 31), on which date she proceeded to 
"Oxford. During that week it is recorded that 69 beeves, 128 sheep, and more 
" than 2000 chickens, with other provisions in proportion, were consumed." The Great 
Hall was afterwards enlarged by the removal of the Queen's Chambers above it. 

In April, 1603, James 1st visited Middleton Hall on his way from Scotland to 
London, and whilst there knighted Sir Percival Willoughby, Member for Tamworth, 
who had married Bridget, eldest daughter of Sir Francis Willoughby, Knight, of 
Wollaton, and thereby acquired that noble seat and a greater part of Sir Francis's 
large estates, including Middleton. 

Sir Percival opened up the Great Hall by at once removing Queen Elizabeth's 
rooms and panelling the walls in pure Jacobean fashion to a height of 16' o", the 
total height being 24' 6". The time of this alteration we gather from an old stone 
fireplace now in the farm buildings, bearing a shield and the date 1604. 

During the time Sir Percival was at Middleton Lady Willoughby, wife of Sir 



26 Middle ton Hall, Warwickshire, 

Francis died, leaving five daughters, of whom Bridget, wife of Sir Percival was one. 
Lady Willoughby possessed such a terrible temper that, when she died, one daughter 
wrote to another, ** join with me in thanksgiving for our happy deliverance." 

Sir Francis shortly after married a second and young wife, who brought him 
a son and heir. He was now desirous of resuming possession of Middleton, and 
sent a captain and troop of men to eject Sir Percival, but the latter defended it 
stoutly, and the soldiers withdrew. A little later the boy died and so the difficulty 
ended. 

Sir Percival was succeeded by his only son Sir Francis Willoughby, who 
married Lady Cassandra Ridgway, daughter of Lord Londonderry, and their son 
Francis, born in 1635, distinguished himself in co-operation with John Ray, who 
was tutor to his sons, as a naturalist ; together they studied the working of the 
sap in trees, and discovered that acorns should be sown where the oaks were to 
stand, in order to prevent damage to the tap root which must occur in transplantation. 
The gardens and park still afford proof of their botanical investigations. 

Willoughby also was the first to apply the scientific classification of birds into 
groups, which has been followed and improved on by subsequent writers. 

Ray's panelled room overlooking the courtyard on the north side is still an 
object of interest to visitors. Two curious old tables, temp. Chas. I, still exist 
in the Hall. 

During the years 1663 ^^ '^76 that Ray was at Middleton he was studiously 
working at the botany of the district, and filling the Hall gardens and neighbouring 
woods with curious plants, many of which still survive, and when Gibson edited 
his new edition of Camden's Britannia in 1695, he was greatly indebted to Ray 
for his lists of country plants, and especially for .such as grew in the county of 
Warwick in general, and Middleton in particular. 

In 1668, Francis Willoughby married Emma, second daughter and co-heiress 
of Sir Thomas Barnard, and had three children, Francis, Cassandra, and Thomas. 
On his marriage he fitted in corner fire-places to several rooms on the north and 
east side of the house, these being a novelty just introduced, and as to which Pepys 
in his diary writes, " I do not like the new fashion of fire-places across the corner 
of the rooms." 

Francis Willoughby died in 1672, at the early age of thirty seven, leaving 
Ray, who gave the name to the Ray Society, to superintend the publication of 
his works on Ornithology, Ichthyology, and Entomology. 

Willoughby was succeeded by his son Francis, who was created a baronet 
on the 7th April, 1677, and died in 1688, and was succeeded in turn by his brother, 
now Sir Thomas, who after having served in six Parliaments under King William 
and Queen Anne, was elevated to the peerage on Jan. 1st, 17 12, as first Baron 
Middleton. 



Middleton Hall, Warwickshire. 27 

This marks another epoch in the history of the Hall, and was commemorated 
by the iron gates in the garden, the extension of the great Hall, and the introduction 
of the north dining room, drawing room, and library. This Lord Middleton died 
in 1729. 

There are scattered about the Hall indications of ornamental renovations during 
the Georgian period, as evidenced by a ceiling in the north store room, an Adams 
oven door in the kitchen, some handsome cornices in the north dining room 
and library, and an Adams chimney breast in the latter, which suggests 1785 as 
an approximate date. 

Nothing further of note appears to give character to the tenure of the next 
four lords of Middleton so far as this estate is concerned, and we pass on to 1793 
when Henry, 6th Baron, married Jane Lawley, and died without issue in 1835, being 
succeeded by his cousin Digby Willoughby, the 7th Baron. 

During this period another important change occurred, for as a consequence 
of the introduction of the Lawleys the VVilloughbys ceased to live at Middleton, and 
from about 1802 to 1853 it was tenanted by Sir Francis Lawley, brother to the 
Lady Middleton of that date, who was allowed to make some important alterations 
by adding the south dining room and bedrooms over, and removing the front 
entrance from the west to the north side. 

This north entrance was originally approached by a bridge over the inner 
moat (the arch of this bridge still exists beneath the gravel at the front door), but 
so much refuse was thrown from the windows into the moat that it became insanitary 
and Sir Francis had it filled in along the north front of the house, two smaller pollard 
wych elms mark the spot were it joined the outer moat. 

In 1854, Mr. John Peel followed as tenant ; he dried the moat altogether, and 
pulled down the archway and stabling on the inner side of the north length of the 
moat which he found in a ruinous condition. 

The turret clock was moved to the farm buildings, and the arch of the gateway 
was built into the garden wall at the west end of the stable yard. 

The moat ran from the main pool southwards to the bridge ; it then turned 
to the east, and again continued southward to enclose the house, thence westwards 
to beyond the terrace, turning east again along the front line of the house, the 
outer wall which was of brick coped with stone has been removed, and only a 
short length at the north end of the terrace remains intact ; this is 35 feet wide 
and now filled in to 5 feet deep. 

When Mr. Peel came, the park was stocked with deer, but at his request 
these were done away with. This park contains the remains of two elm avenues 
stretching from the high road to the Hall. These elms are 120 feet high, well stocked 
with owls and jackdaws, but they have reached their limit of e.xistence and every 
year sees some break down or blow over. There is one grand oak in the park 
26 feet in girth at the base and 30 yards across its spread of branch. The garden 



28 Middleton Hall, War^vickshire, 

used to contain a handsome stone orangery or temple, which unfortunately was 
replaced by Mr. Barclay with a modern conservatory. The pool, 20 acres in extent, 
and fed by Lanjjley Brook, is full of interest. Durinfj the great gale that signalised 
the la.st day of the 19th century the rush of water into the lake at Middleton 
was so strong that it made a clean breach 34 feet, expanding to 42 feet wide 
and 6 feet deep, through the dam that carries the carriage drive, the escaping 
torrent of water being ,so powerful as to excavate a hole i2 feet deep below the 
surface of the field at the foot of the embankment, ami to carry large ashlar stones 
and ma.sses of the di.splaced masonry for cocisiderable distances. This storm resulted 
in the mo.st disastrous floods all over the country that have occured for five and 
twenty years. 

Many varieties .of wild fowl visit the pool from time to time, and owing to 
its great si/,e are quite safe from .serious molestation. In summer the white water 
lilies make a very lovely picture, the flowers being superb and exceptionally large. 

The arms of the Willoughby family are displayed on the spout heads, and 
consist of two bars charged with three water boiigcts, or buckets, and a crowned 
owl, the crest of the Middleton and Wollaton-Willoughbys as distinguished from 
the Saracen's Head of the facnily of Wiiloughby of Eresby. 

On the death of Mr. I'eel in 1872, he was succeeded by Mr. Barclay, and in 
i8b6 I became tenant of the Hall and have ilerived much interest and enjoyment 
ill unravelling the archx'ological and other details so briefly dealt with here, not 
the least of which arose from the visit of Sir Benjamin Stone, Mr, Pickard, and 
other members of the Warwickshire Photographic Survey during the time they 
were collecting the very beautiful phot<^raplis, some of which, by the kindness of 
Mr. Pickard add additional intcre.st to this accoiLUt. 




Chipping Cainpden. 



By JOSEPH CROUCH. 



March 20th, igoi. 




T appears to me that there are two distinct duties of an 
Arcliaiological Society. One is to record fact.s, the 
other to put facts together in such a way as to build 
up history. It is due to the pain.staking work of 
Societies like this that the hi.storian is able more 
accurately to describe the actual daily life of byegone 
limes. The iiiformation thus collected i.s of the most 
varied character, and is to be obtained from many 
sources; — old records, charters, inquisitions, old buildings, 
old cu.stoms, the minute books of trading and craft guilds, pleas in manorial and 
other courts. 

Many of these are however inaccessible to the ordinarj- investigator as they ' 
are in the form nf original documents in public and private muniment rooms. 

The second object, though not so laborious, is perhaps more fascinating, that 
is, to select from these masses of undigested materials such important facts as 
will enable us to obtain a picture of the everyday life of a place or to understand 
some special phase of life illustrative of a particular period or locality. 

Everj' town and village in the land was in a way a picture in miniature of the 
whole of England, an epitome of the national life. The cu.stoms of the manor were 
practically the .same in Kent as in Northumberland. Husbandry was conducted 
throughout the country after the methods laid down by Walter de Henley, from 
the 13th to the 16th century. The masons or carpenters building a church or a 
manor house in Lincolnshire or Shropshire would follow the same genera! lines 
of plan and u.se the same characteristic mouldings and features in one county as 
in the other 

The King's court was constantly moving from place to place and doing its 
utmost to preserve uniformity of procedure in the common law of the land. 



30 Chipping Campden, 

The same economic changes were gradually taking place throughout the country, 
and every village and town will furnish materials for delineating the gradual growth 
of English life and character, so that if we desire to obtain a perfectly accurate 
idea of the conditions of mediaeval England we may do so from materials existing 
in the Midland Counties as well as from sources further afield. 

Having this idea in my mind, on a former occasion when I was invited to 
read a paper before this Society, I chose Henley-in-Arden as typical of a small 
market town of the Middle Ages, and from existing information I tried to explain 
the methods of conducting business in those days. 

To-night I have chosen the little Cotswold town of Chipping Campden, and 
shall endeavour to present a picture of the borough and manor in the 1 2th and 
13th centuries, and again in the 14th and 15th centuries, when the town was at 
the height of its prosperity owing to the growth and importance of the wool trade, 
and to say a few words as to its condition in the 17th century. In dealing with 
my subject I do not propose to give an account of ever}' incident that is on 
record in the history of the borough, but I propose rather to deal with those 
special points of interest that will illustrate the particular phases of mediaeval life 
that I shall endeavour to describe, having principally in mind the way in which 
it illustrates the social and economic problems of those days. 

Chipping Campden is in the Hundred of Kiftsgate, in the County of Gloucester, 
85 miles from London by the old coach road which passes through Campden on 
the wa}' to Worcester, which town lies 23 miles further on to the north west. This 
portion of the County of Gloucester shoots up into the Counties of Worcester and 
W^arwick in a very curious way in the shape of a narrow tongue which at one 
point is not more than a hundred yards wide. 

The town itself nestles in a hollow of the Cotswolds four hundred and seventy 
feet above sea level, and apart from its natural advantages, is perhaps in itself the 
most picturesque of all the Cotswold townships. The weathering qualities of the 
rich brown limestone of this district are well known and are nowhere seen to 
better advantage than at Campden on a sunny day in the early summer or autumn. 
A stranger visiting the borough for the first time might easily imagine he was 
living in the seventeenth centur}% and many of the quaint gabled houses date back 
to even a inuch earlier period. There is no black and white or brick architecture 
here, walls and roofs, alike of cottage, manor house and church, are built of stone 
quarried out of the neighbouring hills. The march of modern progress has to a 
large extent left the old town alone, and nowhere in England can one call up 
with less effort of the imagination a picture of Fllizabethan England than here. 
But there are remains of buildings in Campden, apart from the church, of a much 
earlier date than the 17th Century, and walking round the town one is confronted on 
every hand with signs of an ancient prosperity which needs some adequate 
explanation. Passing down the main street of the town on the right hand side from 



Chipping Campden, 3 1 

the Railway Station one sees a fine specimen of the 14th Century town house in 
excellent preservation. The entrance doorway is particularly good, and the two-storied 
bay window with its cusped and floriated heads and panelled work between the 
storeys is equal to anything to be found in the Colleges at Oxford or Cambridge. 

On the opposite side of the way is another building of the same date with 
mutilated remains of what was once a fine oriel window. 

The history of these two buildings will explain much of the past prosperity of the 
town. The first was the residence of William Grevel, " formerly a citizen of London, 
and the flower of the wool merchants of all England, who died on the first day 
of October Anno Domini 1401." The building with the mutilated oriel was the 
ancient Wool Exchange of the town. Campden was the centre of the Wool trade of 
the Cotswolds, and the history of the wool-trade of England in the Middle Ages is a 
history of the foundation of our commercial prosperity. 

The name Campden is derived from two Anglo-Saxon words Camp a battle and 
dene a valley in a wood, and it is generally supposed that Campden was the site of 
some sanguinary conflict in Anglo-Saxon times. According to an ancient chronicle 
quoted in Powel's " Cambria," " Mounte Campeden" was about the year 689 the 
meeting place of the Saxon kings, where in reply to an insolent message from lyor 
and Henyr, sons of the daughter of Cadwalader, sometime King of Britain, they 
chose that worthy knight Inas, King of West-Sex to be their Sovereigne ; who having 
taken their homage, advanced his standard, and marched forth against lyor and 
Henyr, and set upon them, and they were faine to forsake their tents and flie into 
Wales." 

In Domesday we read " The same Earl holds Campedene, Earl Harold held 
"it. There are xv. hides paying geld (tax). In demesne there are vi. carucates 
"(plough tillages) and L. Villeins and viii. boors (bordarii) with xxi. Carucates. 
"There are xii. serfs — ii. mills paying vi^^- ii^- There are iii. female serfs (ancilla?). 
" It was worth xxx*>- now xx^i-" 

The Rev. E. S. Bartleet points out that he is not aware of any single manor 
in Gloucestershire where the number of " Villani" recorded in Domesday is as great 
as fifty, so that this Domesday reference proves that at this early time Campden 
was a place of some importance and well worth recording in the King's tax book. 
The Saxon Earl was the ill-fated Harold who fell with so many brave Englishmen 
around the Standard at Senlac. 

The Norman Earl who came into possession of most of Harold's estates, including 
the Manor of Campden, was Hugh Lupus, nephew of the Conqueror, who in 1070 
was created earl of Chester, and was responsible for keeping the King's peace 
along the northern Marches of Wales. Like many other of the boisterous spirits 

of the age he ended his life in a Monastery. S. Werburg's Chester was an old 

« 

foundation from whence the Earl expelled the secular Canons and which he had 
re-founded under the Benedictine rule. From the year 1093 ^o ^^e year 1538, under 



32 Chipping Campden. 

the endowment of Hugh Lupus, the good people of Campden had to send yearly 
tithes to the Monks of S. Werburgh or to Worcester, of " corn, fowls, calves, swine 
" and lambs, and of butter and cheese and of everything titheable." This first 
Norman lord of the manor died at S. VVerberg's, July 27th, iioi, and was buried 
in the Abbey. 

Richard, the second Earl of Chester, was drowned in the " White Ship " with 
his ill-fated relative, Prince William, in 11 20. 

Ranulph, " the Mean," was the next Earl of Chester, but he does not appear 
to have possessed the manor of Cam[)den, which became part of the property of 
the Earl of Gloucester, whose daughter however took it back again into the Earldom 
of Chester as part of her marriage portion, she having married Ranulph de 
Gernons, son of Ranulph the Mean, who in due time had become 4th Earl of 
Chester. 

This Ranulph died by poison in 1 153, and his son Hugh, surnamed Keveliok, 
succeeded him. Dugdale, in his Monasticon, states that Hugh gave his lordship 
of Combe, which was part of the Manor of Campden, as a cell to the Abbey of 
St. Mary, Bordesley, to maintain six monks. But this is apparently a mistake, as 
there is no evidence of the existence of a cell at Combe, although it contained 
a grange of the Abbey until the dissolution, and according to a subsequent charter 
of the time of Richard I. the gift of Combe is described as made by Ranulph. 

These gifts to the great religious houses were of constant occurrence, and were 
often not unmixed blessings to the places affected. They caused much ill-will 
amongst heirs-at-law, and the presence in the village of monks from a distant 
monastery often caused difficulties with the parish priest. The monks claimed 
that they were outside the control of the secular clergy, and so long as they carried 
out the policy of their Abbot they were apt to ignore local feelings and even set 
the bishop himself at defiance, having at their back the wealth and resources of a 
powerful religious corporation. On the other hand the constant intercourse between 
the village and the monastery would no doubt bring fresh ideas into the place, and 
on the whole would probably be an advantage, and help to break down the narrow 
parochialism of the times. 

The estate at Combe would no doubt be managed by a bailiff appointed by 
the Abbey. 

Hugh Keveliok joining in the rebellion against Henry H., was taken prisoner 
in 1 173 and deprived of his earldom, and his lands forfeited. 

Up to this time Campden had been suffering from an absentee landlord, who 
only showed his interest in the affairs of the town when he held his court and 
received his fines and perquisites. As a result however of the sequestration of 
Hugh Keveliok's estates a grant of the manor of Campden was made by the King 
to Hugh de Gondeville, one of the most active and trusted ministers of the King. 
We find his name attesting royal charters. In 1158 he was apparently governor 



Chipping Campden. 33 

to the King's son, and formed part of the embassy to the Pope in 1 162 in reference 
to the disputes with Becket. He was Sheriff of Northants and Southants, and 
one of the justiciars for one of the six circuits into which the whole of England 
was divided by the Assize of Northampton in 1176, which was an expansion of 
the Assize of Clarendon held in 1166. These two Assizes were the beginning of 
the fabric of our judicial legislation, and in the provision of these Assizes we find 
the origin of trial by jury. 

No doubt Hugh de Gondeville was an able and energetic man, and was the first 
man in authority to take anything like an active interest in the place. 

He probably was the first resident owner of the Manor and the people of 
Campden found a great advantage in dealing more directly with their landlord, 
instead of, as had hitherto been the case, through the intermediary of the 
Steward of the Manor. Besides, the things that were necessary to their happiness 
were brought under his direct notice, and one thing that they particularly desired was 
a weekly market, so that the business of the place could be conducted on sound and 
business-like lines, and by the gift of a charter Campden became a borough with the 
right to hold a weekly market, and this was the first important step in the history of 
the town. 

The original Charter is not in existence, but there is a confirmation by Henry HI., 
dated Westminster i6th April, 1247, of "the grant by Hugh de Gundevill to the 
" burgesses of burgages in the borough of Campeden, and the grant which Ranulph 
" formerly Earl of Chester made to the same burgesses, that they and all who shall 
"come to the market of Campeden shall be quit of toll; and if any of his free 
** burgesses of Campeden shall fall into his amerciament, he shall be quit for 
"xii^l* unless he shall shed blood or do felony." (0 

The prefix Chipping from the old English Chyppen seems to suggest that the 
Market at Campden was of some local importance. 

Another proof of the interest that Hugh de Gondeville took in local affairs is the 
foundation of what is called " the free chapel of S. Catherine within the Court of 
" Campeden." 

It is not always easy to analyse the motives of these gifts for religious purposes. 
A benefactor of the Church might be a very good man or a ver>' bad man, he might 
be prompted by sincerely religious motives, or, on the other hand, by feelings of 
remorse for acts of violence which were not uncommon in those turbulent times. 
Hugh de Gondeville was undoubtedly on the side of the king against Thomas 
a Becket, and when in 1170 he was at Winchester, he actually received an order 
from the Constable of Normandy to go to Canterbury to arrest the Archbishop but the 
impetuous fury of Fitzurse and his companions rendered the expedition unnecessar}*. 
Probably, however, his motives were those of a man of the world who had a 
sincere belief in the offices of the Church, but no time to give to personal acts of 



(l) Charter Roll, 31st Ily. III. m.4. 



34 Chipping Campden, 

piety : and he may have felt too the injustice of the arrangement by which the cure of 
souls at Campden was farmed out by the Monastery at Chester to a vicar whose 
income was small and precarious, while the chief of the tithes were zealously collected 
and the proceeds devoted to the support of what he would probably consider a parcel 
of lazy monks at Chester. 

This foundation of the free chapel of St. Katherine took place somewhere between 
the year i i8o and 1 184. Hitherto the grants had been made to distant foundations, 
to St. Werburgh at Chester or to St. Mary Hordesley, but in this case the grant was a 
local one. The Rev. S. IC. Bartleet quotes the note in Bishop Wulstan's Regi.ster 
almost in full, and as there are a number of Campden names of the twelfth century 
contained in it I have quoted it from his transcript. (') 

The chapel was generously endowed, and one notices that the undertaking was 
" by Counsel and Assent of the clergy and laity" and the two priests held each their 
hide and \\\\\{ "in prebenduin by rendering to the Mother Church one pound of incense 
annuall)'. No doubt the assent of " Osmund the Parson" was gained by the concession 
of the tithes of four of the manor mills and his tender susceptibilities as incumbent of 
the parish church were mollified by the clause in the Charter which stated that "they, 
•' (the chaplains), shall swear fealty to the parson of the Mother Church, and they will 
" not u.surp anything of oblations or tithes, or other things belonging to the Mother 
" Church against the will of the parson." 

In the year 1253, from a memorandum in the jurors' report of the inquisition of 
Roger dc Somery's death, we learn that the two chaplains had been reduced to one, 
and that a fixed sum of 30s. per annum was made to him by the reeve. Either the 
services of the customary tenants had been commuted for a fixed money payment on 
their part, or the grant of land had been taken over by the lord of the Manor again 
and a definite sum in money paid by him instead. 

The site of this ancient chapel is unknown. 

Hugh de Gondeville apparently was unmarried, as no mention is made in 
the Charter of wife or child and on his death the manor was granted again to the Earl 
of Chester (Ranulph de Hlundville), and in 1 199 a portion of the manor situate at 
Broad Campden was granted by him to Gwimar Briton, and came probably through 
this source to the well-known Cornish family of de Grenville, and this portion of 
the manor became a separate but subordinate manor, and was eventually incorporated 
in the principal manor then held by Thomas Smyth in Elizabeth's reign. 

Ranulph dc Blundville renewed, in 12 17, the Charter made by de Gondeville, 
and obtained the further conce.ssion of a fair for three days, viz. : S. James' Day 
and the two days following. (2) 

The terms of this Charter are not recorded, but the Charter granted to the 
City of Coventry by the same Earl granted to the burgesses ** that they should 



(i) See Appendix i. 
(2) Close Rolls 2nd Henry III. 



Chipping Campden, 35 

"hold a portmote and choose some one man among them well skilled in the laws 
"and customs, who in his (the Earl's) stead should be judge over them."(0 It 
may be assumed that the Charter to Campden was on similar lines, and there 
certainly was a bailiff there as early as 1272. This term "port" was used to 
designate any market town or any place of mercantile importance, and the portmote 
was the Court of the market, and the bailiff would not only witness all transactions by 
bargain and sale, but also preside over the Council of capital burgesses or towns 
mote.(2) The advantages of a market town are apparent when it is remembered 
that all transactions in business were illegal unless made "in port" and before 
the " porte-reeve." This Charter for Market and Fair, together with the original 
one granted by Hugh de Gondevijle, were, as I have already pointed out, confirmed 
again by Henry HI. in 1247. The Fair was equally important in the Middle 
Ages, and these subsequent Charters freed the burgesses from tolls in markets and 
fairs throughout the country. The value of a grant like this will be evident when 
it is remembered that such a privilege struck a death blow at local monopoly and 
protection, and that every market or fair in the land was by this clause thrown 
open to the burgers of Campden. These Clauses were of course becoming common 
in the Charters of the times, and gradually broke down the narrow and exclusive 
isolation of the towns. 

The old Market-hall, built by Sir Baptist Hickes in 1627 at a cost of £^, still 
remains, but is little used to-day. It is a quaint and characteristic building of one 
storey high, gabled and parapetted all round with wide arches with excellent 
abutments at the corners, and is built on an "island" in the middle of the main 
street of the Borough, which here widened out, no doubt in earlier times to receive 
the Market Cross. The interior is interesting as a specimen of the simple direct 
work of the mason and carpenter of the times. 

On the death of Ranulph de Blundeville in 1231 his lands were divided among 
his four sisters. The second sister Mabel, who had married William de Albini 
Earl of Arundel, died before her brother Ranulph, and her son William became 
lord of the Manor of Campden. 

William de Albini was succeded in 1234 by his brother Hugh who died in 1243. 

Hugh dying without issue, Roger de Somer\' became lord of the Manor of 
Campden, through Nichola, sister of Hugh de Albini, and was prominent on the 
King's side in the Baron's War, being taken prisoner at Lewes. 

It was this Roger de Somery who was instrumental in confirming the Charters 
for Markets and Fairs to which 1 have already referred, and he further made a 
grant of free warren in all his demesne lands at Campden. 

Roger died in 1273, and on his death the manor was divided between his 

(l) Dugdale's Warwickshire. 
(2) See 1st Report on Market Rights and Tolls, p. 14. 



36 Chippivg Campden, 

four daughters, who were co-heiresses to their mother's estates. Their names were: — 
Joan, married to John le Straunge ; Mabel, married to Walter de Suley ; Maud, 
married to Henry de Erdington ; Margaret, married to Ralph de Cromwell. 

I do not propose to describe at this point in detail the history of the Manor 
through the various descendants of these four parceners, but shall only refer to 
such matters coimected with it as are necessary to the proper understanding of 
the subject, or will throw light on the manners and customs of the times, and in 
this connection I have given in the Appendix (a) quotations from the inquisition 
held on the death of Roger de Somery in 1273 » (t>) a list of the burgesses, free 
tenants and villains of the borough and manor with the rents and services under 
which they held their property ; (c) extract from an inquisition taken at Campden 
in 1295 on the death of John de Ludlowe, who had held the portions of the manor 
originally held by John le Straunge and Henry de P>dington.(0 

From these extracts it is possible to reconstruct a vivid picture of the little 
Cots wold borough and manor in the early years of King Edward I. 

The various grades of social life are clearly defined. At the head was the 
lord of the Manor, Roger de Somery, a courtier and a soldier, who would often 
be entertaining noblemen and their suites, and occasionally too perhaps royalty 
itself, and thus bring much of varied life and colour into the borough. At the 
time of his death he was apparently rebuilding the manor house, which stood in 
the centre of the demesne, surrounded by garden, herbage, curtilage, and dovecot. 
The demesne consisted of 320 acres of arable land 128 acres of which are described 
as being profitable, and 192 acres are very poor, and w^orth altogether £^ os. od. a 
year or y\, an acre. In addition to these there were 20 acres of meadow land 
worth 40s.. and a "spinet," or rough pasture interspersed with trees and braken, 
containing 62 acres, the pasturage of which was worth ;^3 ids. od., and in addition 
the "feugeria" or braken sold to the tenants is said to have produced yearly i8d. 

Beyond the plough-land and the meadow was the " wold," a common pasture 
in which the lord had the right to graze 1000 sheep, this is set down as being 
worth 20s. Near the house was the fish pond in which fresh fish for Lent and 
fast days were kept. This is put down as being worth 6s. 8d. The manor further 
contained four mills, three of which (excepting the tithes) belonged entirely to 
the manor, and two parts of the fourth ; the remaim'ng two parts of this fourth 
mill probably went with the sub-manor at Broad Campden. 

It is not certain that Roger lived entirely at his Manor of Campden, probably 
not, but during his absence Robert the Reeve, or Steward of the Manor, would 
look after the estate, and in the absence of the lord would preside at the Court leet. 

As far as I can discover the site of the ancient Manor house is unknown, but 
it is probable that Sir Baptist Hickes built Campden House upon the site of the 
more ancient building. 

( I ) See Appendix 2 and 3. 



Chipping Cantpden. 2>7 

The lord of the Manor, by his bailiff, was the largest cultivator of the soil in 
the Manor. Apart from his large flocks of looo sheep in pasture on the Wold, he 
had 230 acres under plough tillage. 

The principal crop grown would be wheat, as from other sources it is known 
that about 40 per cent, of the arable land was usually devoted to the culture of 
wheat, which was then as it is to day the principal food of the community. 

Oats were largely grown and came next in importance, and would probably 
be about 25 per cent. Although in the Northern Counties oats were used for 
human food, this was not common in the Midlands, and in these districts and the 
South they were grown chiefly for horses. 

Next in quantity comes barley, not quite so much as the oats. These were 
of two qualities, a fine and a coarse, the former used for beer almost exclusively, and 
the latter for beer occasionally, but more commonly for feeding pigs and poultry. 

Rye was grown in small quantities, and mixed with wheat made a coarse bread. 

The only other crops grown were probably beans, peas, and vetches, but these 
were not often grown for human consumption. 

The chief stock in addition to the sheep were cattle, horses and pigs. There 
were large quantities of geese, ducks, and fowls. 

The dovecot will be noticed as one of the appurtenances to the manor, and 
this was an important perquisite of the lord of the Manor. Prodigious numbers 
of these birds were kept, and though they doubtless plundered the lord's fields, 
they must have been a greater nuisance to the tenants. The right to keep a 
pigeon-house or dovecot was confined to the lords of the Manors, who could 
punish in their own courts anyone who imitated their practice. The value of a 
pigeon was about a farthing. 

So much for the lord and his demesne, now for a picture of the town and 
villagers. 

Next in importance to the lord of the Manor and his reeve, was the parson 
of the parish church. The rectorial tithes were impropriated as we have already 
seen by the Monastery of S. VVerburg at Chester, and the monks probably managed 
the estate by means of a steward, who, in addition to keeping an eye on the 
yeoman's corn strip and closes, his fold yard and his shearing stead, his poultry 
run and his cheese loft and dairy, must pay a daily visit to the four mills of 
the Manor and count the sacks of corn and see that the monastery had their 
tithe on the profits of grinding the same. The monastery was also apparently 
engaged in farming operations direct, for at the dissolution of the monasteries 
265 acres were scheduled as glebe land. All the greater tithes were appropriated 
by the monks who expknted the services of a poor vicar, who had to make both ends 
meet as best he could on the allowance made him by the monks, and such further 
income, graduated according to the means of his parishioners, as was produced 



o 



8 Chipping Canipden. 



by churchings, weddings, and burials, his Easter dues and his price for obits and 
masses. 

The most important lay tenant of the Manor was the miller. At this time it 
will be remembered there were four mills, and in the list of tenants two of the 
millers are mentioned by name, viz., Walter the Miller, who owned one burgage 
and a shop, and apparently carried on a retail business in the borough, apart from 
his profits from the mill, and A lured of the mill of Birton or Berrington, who held 
half a virgate (16 acres) in customary service. Alice, daughter of Robert the miller, 
is also mentioned as holding a messuage of the yearly value of iiiid. 

Waller, the miller of Campden, is typical of his class, as pictured for us in 
the ballads and legends of the Middle Ages. A thriving, sometimes quarrelsome, 
overbearing man, who was constantly at loggerheads with the authorities. He 
probably lived in the centre of the town at what is now known as " Haydon's Mill." 

As we shall see later on he is at one time accused by the bailiff of manslaughter, 
and being thrown into prison at Gloucester, let out on bail, and afterwards acquitted. 
On another occasion the sheriff confiscated one of his horses, for probably acting 
as ringleader of the burgesses against the authority of the County. Again, he is 
imprisoned by the Walter de Bocking who had given bail for him when charged 
with manslaughter, and has to pay his share of two marks together with another 
townsman imprisoned on a similar count. Altogether he appears to have been 
a man of independent character who resented interference with what he considered 
his private or public rights. 

Let us take a closer look at the borough aiul the manor and its inhabitants. 
The town itself probably occupied the main lines as at present. The Manor House 
would be near the church, the shops and houses of the burges.ses and free tenants 
straggling clown the broad street of the town, while the customary tenants of the 
Manor had built their cottages as near as the)' could to their open strips of arable 
land. Their little farms varied in area from 16 to 32 acres. They were not neatly 
enclosed with trim cut hedges as is almost universal to-day, but in open fields, 
or strips which were divided by balks on which the grass was left growing, and 
which when harvest was gathered, became for a time the common pasture. These 
tenants, apart from their right of pasturage on the Wold, held in all for fixed 
services which we shall refer to somewhat later, something like a thousand acres, 
and numbered nearly forty heads of households. 

The burgesses, shopkeepers, and free tenants were over eighty in number, and 
held their property by a fixed money payment ; allowing five for each head of a 
household mentioned in the Inquisition we have a population of burgesses, freeholders 
and serfs, of something like six hundred, and this will give us an excellent idea 
of the size and importance of the town in or about the year 1272. 

Let us see what we can discover as to the occupations of the townsmen. I 
have already referred to the Reeve or Bailiff, and the Miller. 



Chipping Campden. 39 

Henry the Clerk was a man of wealth, apparently holding three burgages and 
a half and one messuage, for which he paid a yearly rent of i\i From the careful 
and elaborate manner in which the various accounts of the Manors were kept in 
these days it is quite clear that the services of such scribes were in great demand. 
Thorold Rogers has pointed out that " the art of account keeping and engrossing 
" must have been very generally known considering the demand which must have 
" been made on the Scribes' labours, and instruction must have been far more 
"readily accessible than modern writers are apt to imagine/'(i) 

Robert the Goldsmith held one burgage worth xiid. At first sight one wouljd 
think that there would not be much work for one following a craft of this kind 
in a remote country town like Campden. Hut one must remember that the Age 
was one of great magnificence, and what with the costly services of plate in use 
at the Manor house, and the elaborate vessels required for the services of the 
church, and the more simple trinkets worn by the burgers' wives and daughters, 
there would no doubt be a good living for such an artificer. Besides the richly 
engraved and inlaid armour and dagger and sword handles, there would be chains 
and seals, buckles and other toys, which the extravagant taste of the times demanded. 
Then again we must remember that the craftsman of the Middle Ages did not, at 
least at this time, provide the raw material ; he was simply a workman who fashioned 
according to his skill the materials supplied by his patron. 

Two other craftsmen are mentioned by name, each of whom was necessary 
to the comfort and happiness of the town. Adam the Smith was a customary 
tenant, farming 16 acres at Berrington, and Philip le feyter, who held half a 
burgage worth 6d. by the year in the town of Campden. The Smith did all the 
work in iron necessary in a large agricultural parish, and the fitter, probably a 
more expert workman, made swords, daggers, armour, bits and spurs and other 
articles in metal required in war and in the chase. 

Henry the Tailor held half a burgage worth 3d. by the year. Judging from 
the value of his holding tailoring was not a very profitable industry. 

Geoffrey the Bedell held half a burgage worth vi^- by the year, and the 
women who were in business were Dyonisia the Nurse, who was a burgess of the 
borough rich enough to pay xviii^- a year, and Emma la Gardinere who paid 
xiid. a year for her cottage. 

It will be noticed that there were at least four women holding burgess rights, 
besides a number holding a cottage <jr a messuage or holding land in villainage. 

The total income in rent from the burgesses and freeholders was £6\ 4s. 3d. A 
farm labourer, as we shall see later on, had id. a day. Assume that the average 
wage of a farm labourer to-day is 26, or thirty times as much, it will be seen 
that the rent value of the town was at least ;^i850 a year. Each tenant holding 

(i) Thorold Rogers' **Six Centuries of Work and Wages," p. 50. 



40 Chipping Campden. 

a virgate of land or 32 acres owed his lord 60 days' service, viz. : from the feast 
of St. John the Baptist to Michaelmas, four days in the week to wit Monday, 
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, unless they be feast days. In addition they 
must reap the lord's crops six days a year and plough three days a year each, that 
is to say about 70 days* work a year was done on the lord's farm. These services 
were described as being worth id. a day or in modern value say 2/6 a day. In 
other words they paid in labour for 32 acres an equivalent rent in modern value 
of £^ 5s. od. per annum, or something like 5/- an acre. There were over a thousand 
acres in villainage, so that from this source the lord of the manor received what 
was equal in modern value to ;£^2 50.(1) 

Add to these pleas and perquisites and the profit on the farm, and it will be 
seen that the Manor was a very valuable property at this time. 

It will be seen from these references that the ownership of real estate under 
more or less onerous conditions was practically universal. A landless man was 
an outlaw, a stranger, one registered in no manor, a thief. There are here owners 
of real estate like Emma la Gardinere, whose possessions are limited to a cottage 
and its surrounding curtilage, while others at the top of the social scale like Robert 
the Miller or Ranulph Papelard, who each own both burgage and shop, but whether 
they are burgesses or cottagers they each have the protection of the law and fixity 
of tenure. 

Let us continue our picture of the town as related by authentic records still 
in existence. In the year 1275, or three years after the division of the Manor 
before referred to, a Royal Commission visits the borough. It was the same 
Commission that reported on the misdeeds of Walter the Miller already referred 
to. " The jurors say that the town of Campden hath assize of bread and beer 
" by what warrant they are ignorant and how long." " They (the jurors) say that 
" when the marshalls of the lord king come to the market of Campden to view 
" the measures, to correct the false and retain the good, after the departure of the 
"said marshalls, they again resume the false and put away the good, contrary to 
" the provision of the marshall." 

" They say that the Manor of Campeden appropriates to itself a certain liberty 
" to distrain foreigners, namely, one freeman for the fault of another, of whom he 
** is not surety, and to retain the distraint until he shall have given satisfaction 
*' by what warrant they are ignorant." 

" The jurors say that Walter the Miller was accused by Adam Merlarve, bailiff 
"of Campeden, of manslaughter and sent to the Castle of Gloucester and there 
" imprisoned and delivered by Walter de Rocking for 20^- which he gave him (as 
"bail probably), and after that the said Walter the Miller put himself in prison 
"(surrendered to his bail) and was acquitted b)- his count}'." 



(I) For customary services of the Manor see Appendix 3. 



Chipping Campden. 41 

" They say that Peter de Chavent, Sherifif of Gloucester, and Walter de Rocking 
"ammerced the borough of Campden in 20*- and caused Walter the Miller of the 
"same town to be distrained of one horse of the value of half a mark."(0 

These extracts are interesting in giving us an idea as to the commercial 
morality of the times. Social reformers are apt to think that laws against the 
adulteration of food and drink are quite of modern growth. Ruskin, in " F'ors 
Clavigera," quotes from a speech by John Bright in the early .seventies, in which 
he bitterly oppo.ses a bill for preventing the adulteration of food. After referring 
to the hardship of having weights and measures constantly tested by paid inspectors 
he goes on to say, "It is quite impossible that you should have the oversight of 
" the shops of the country by inspectors, and that you should have persons going 
" into shops to buy sugar, pickles, and cayenne pepper, to get them analyzed and 
" then raise complaints against .shopkeepers and bring them before the magistrates. 
*' If men in their private businesses were to be tracked by Government officers 
** and inspectors every hour of the day life would not be worth having, and I 
•* recommend them to remove to another country where they would not be .subjected 
" to such annoyance." 

What John Bright considered an unwarrantable interference with the rights 
of private individuals was done as a matter of course in Campden in the 13th 
century, and the assize of bread and beer had been kept time out of mind. 

With regard to the controversy with the King's Marshal Is in the matter of 
weights and measures, that was another question. The fact is the battle for 
municipal freedom had begun in the boroughs, and though in this case perhaps 
they were wrong, yet it was only part of a bigger question that was agitating the 
minds of men all over the country. They had by the grant of their Charter the 
right to govern themselves ; they elected their own bailiff, and they resented 
interference with their liberties, whether by the King's Marshall or by the Sheriff 
of the county, who as we have seen inflicted a fine on the borough and distrained 
a horse belonging to Robert the Miller in consequence of the burgesses refusing 
to answer summons more than twice instead of four times a year at the Hundred 
of Kiftsgate. 

It was not necessarily because they wished to defraud each other or strangers 
coming to the market to buy and sell, but at this time and right into the middle 
of the 15th century the customs varied in different towns, and probably the men 
of Campden objected to newfangled methods of weighing and measuring, just as 
we to-day resist the metrical system which is practically accepted by every other 
commercial nation in the world. 

In regard to the claim of the burgesses to distrain foreigners or traders from 
another town for debts or sureties incurred by others, this, as Mrs. Green points 



(I) Hundred Roll 4 Ed. i. 



42 Chipping Cantpden. 

out in her "Town Life in the Fifteenth Century/'d) was a common practice of 
the times, and was indeed only a broadening out of the old law, "If one misdo 
let all bear it," and was a step in the direction of that commercial integrity which 
is essential to the success of all sound business transactions. 

There are accounts on record which prove that the men of Campden were 
like many other townsmen of the Middle Ages, a turbulent lot, apt to quarrel 
among themselves and with their neighbours outside. 

It is not my intention here to give a description of the complications which 
ensued as a result of the partition of the Manor on the death of Roger de Somery 
in 1273. I want to give, however, a slight picture of the Borough in the 14th century, 
especially during the last half of the century, when Campden was at the height 
of its prosperity, and perhaps the most thriving of all the Cotswold towns. 

It has been pointed out by Mr. Thorold Rogers(2) that England had virtually 
the monopoly of the wool trade from the earliest records to at least the middle of 
the 17th century. The unrestrained export of this commodity more than once 
determined the policy of the Low Countries. If supplied freely and plentifully 
the Flemish burgers throve accordingly ; if it were curtailed or prohibited trouble 
was sure to arise. The burger life of Ghent, Bruges, M alines, and a thousand 
towns depended on this important raw staple. Mr. Rogers further points out that 
as far as he can discover it is almost the only article on which an export duty 
could be put, the whole of which was paid by the foreign consumer. The conditions 
by which such a tax can be produced are four: — 

1. It must be a necessity. 

2. There must be no substitute for it. 

3. There must be no other source of supply. 

4. There can be little or no economy practised in the use of it. 

Such an article was English wool. It was a necessary material for clothing 
and no material could be used in its stead, and in no other country than England 
could wool at this time be produced in sufficient quantities. And so, although the 
average price of wool in the 14th century was about £6 os. od. the sack of 364 
lbs.. Parliament was over and over again able to put on this staple what was 
practically an ad valorein duty equal to iocs, the sack, without in any way interfering 
with the demand or reducing the price to the grower. The immense rolling tracts 
of the Cotswolds furnished pasture to the numberless flocks of native long-wooled 
sheep that browsed upon its surface, and wool became its especial article of produce 
and a .source of wealth to its inhabitants, and all through the 14th century the 
Cotswolds were alive with merchants who exported wool in large quantities to 
Flanders. But it must be remembered that although the work of collecting from 
the growers and storing of the wool was undertaken by English merchants, the 



(I) "Town Life in the Fifteenth Century," Vol. i. p. 183. 
(2) Thorold Rogers' '*Six Centuries Work and Wages," p. 78-79. 



Chipping Campden, 43 

actual business of supplying the foreign consumers was undertaken by one or 
another of those great foreign trading corporations who controlled the great con- 
tinental routes of the north-east. The " Men of the Empire," or the Hanse of 
Cologne, commanded the whole of the trade to the east, which at that time passed 
through Germany. The Flemish Hanse of London carried goods gathered from 
half Europe to the great Fairs of Champagne, and it was through these two great 
Companies that England first exchanged her wool for certain necessaries, such as 
salt fish and iron and wood, and a few luxuries such as spices and silks from 
the Levant. Later on we find the commerce with the east undertaken by the 
Florentines, Genoese, and Venetians.(i) It was the merchants of Lubeck who, when 
Edward III. had ruined the banks of Florence, were the farmers of the English 
wool trade, and throughout the 14th century strangers held the carrying trade to 
and from England. All the profits of transit and barter were secured by alien 
dealers, who traveiled throughout the country from village to village to freight 
their vessels which lay in every harbour. So helpless were we at this time as a 
naval power that the Dutch jeered at the ships engraved on the coins of Edward 
III., and asked by an insolent pun, " if a ship, why not a sheep instead "? suggesting 
that we knew more about rearing sheep than building and manning ships. 

In this connection I find from the Calendar of Patent Rolls of Edward III. the 
following entry dated at Campden, July 29th, 1332: — ''Acknowledgment of the 
" King*s indebtedness to his merchants, James Nicholas, Bartholomew de Barde and 
** the other merchants of the Society of the Bardi of Florence in 350 I. paid at his 
** request to Anthony Pessargue for the furtherance of his business in France, Gascony 
"and the Court of Rome, with promise to pay the sum at Michaelmas. 

By K. on the information of the Chancellor. 

Mandate in pursuance to the treasurer and barons of the Exchequer of the 
King's Chamberlains. 

Again in 1338 I find the following entry under date F'eb. 26th, "Protection 
*' until Whit Sunday for Godekin de Ryvele merchant of Almain, and his servants 
" while carrying to Boston and there storing divers wools bought in divers parts of 
" the realm and now lodged at Newark." 

In 1354, Queen Phillipa's Crown was redeemed from the merchants of Cologne 
("The Men of the Empire"), by whom it was held in pawn, by the king sending 
over a sufficient quantity of wool to produce the required sum, ;^2500, the price 
at which it was sold being is. 3^d. lb. 

This was not the first time the king had been compelled to pawn his wife's 
property to provide for his debts, for I find under date 14 Hldward III. (i 341) the 
following note : — " All the King's wool in the County of Gloucester q'sont eismees 
"a D saks, was applied in the use of Queen Phillipa in aid of discharging her debts 



(i) Mrs. Green, "Town Life of the Fifteenth Century," Vol i. p. 75. 



44 Chipping Cantpden. 

"and in part paying thereby the sum of vii. M. cccL. xxv. Li due for bills on 
"the \vardrobe."(i) 

In the 14th century a great industrial revolution was taking place in England. 
The large landed proprietors, rich in flocks, who were sufficiently wealthy to enter 
the company of the Staplers and share their profits, desired above all things an 
abundant supply of wool for export ; on the other hand the smaller men, the 
farmers and yeomen who had no share in the profits from the great monopolists 
of the Staple, and who were obliged to accept practically what the large buyers 
cared to offer, — for all wool for export could only be sold through the medium 
of the Staple, — naturally sided with the townsfolk, who saw two profits if the 
raw material were made into cloth at home. This meant ruin to the Flemish 
trade but undreamed of prosperity to England, and the latter policy fostered 
by Edward III. wh(; had married a Flemish Princess, was eventually successful, 
for "Bruges, which in the 13th century had 40,000 looms, was at the end of the 
"15th century offering citizenship at a mere trifle to draw back inhabitants to its 
"deserted streets. Ypres, which in 1408 had a population of from 80,000 to 100,000 
"and from 3,000 to 4,000 cloth workers, had in i486 only from S,000 to 6,OO0 
" inhabitants."(2) When Edward III. came to the throne, as Fuller has quaintly 
put it, the English were ignorant of the art of weaving, "as knowing no more 
" what to do with their wool than the sheep that wear it." 

"Now," however, says he, "was the English wool improved to the highest profit 
" passing through so many hands, every one having a fleece of the fleece ; Sorters, 
" Kimbers, Carders, Slinsters, Weavers, Fullers, Diers, Pressers, Packers." 

It was a period of transition, the period that listened to the preaching of 
Wycliffe*s "poor friars" who raised their voice at every village cross in the land 
against the growing wealth of the day, which the}- saw in greater contrast to the 
poverty and misery of the poor. It was during this period that the Black Death 
first showed itself in England, a!id the first statute of labourers was enacted. It 
saw as a result of these enactments the peasant revolt under Wat Tyler and John 
Ball, and it listened to the denunciations of the rich uttered by Langland and 
Walt Brut, but while these champions of the very poor were preaching their go.spel 
a great nation was being born, and new forces (;f thought and feeling were breaking 
their way through the crust of feudalism which had already done its work. Langland 
in " The Vision of Piers Plowman," shows us one side of the picture. Chaucer, in 
his " Canterbury Tales," shows us the other. 

Campden, during this period of transition, was at the height of its pro.sperity. It 
was not only the trading centre for the Cotswold wool, but at this time it had become 
the emporium of practically the whole of the wool produced in Wales, and one 



(i) Fosbroke's "County of Gloucester." 
(2) Mrs. Green, "Town Life in the Fifteenth Century," vol. i, p. 65. 



Chipping Campden 45 

of the richest and most influential of the wool merchants of Gloucestershire, and 
probably of all England, was William Grevel, of Campden. He is said to be of 
Flemish descent, his ancestors probably coming over in the reign of Edward III. 
He was a very wealthy man and bought- much land and property in and about 
Campden, and when he died in 1401 he was buried in the Church of Campden. 
From this rich Campden wool merchant the present noble family of Warwick is 
descended, and the present Earl still bears the Grevel Arms. 

In the church at Campden is a brass to the memory of this famous merchant 
and his wife Marion. This brass is one of the largest and finest in the county, and 
contains the following inscriptions : — 

^ Hie jacet Wilelmus Grevel de Campdene | quondm' Civis London* & flos 
m'cator* lanar' tocius Anglie qui obijt p'mo die Mense Octobris An' | dn'i milTm'o 
C.C.C.C p'mo. 

^ Hie jacet Mariona Uxor | predicti Wilemi que obijt Decimo die Mensis 
Septembris Anno d'n'i Mill'm'o CCC° Lxxx° vi" Quor a'i'ab' [p'picie] tur Deus. 
Amen. 

TRANSLATION. 

Here lies William Grevel, of Campden, formerly a citizen of London and the 
flower of the wool merchants of all England, who died on the first day of October 
Anno Domini 1401. Here lies Marion, wife of the aforesaid William, who died 
on the tenth day of September, Anno Domini 1386, on whose souls may God have 
pity. 

The two important buildings in the town, which are the memorials of the 
wealthy wool merchant, William Grevel, are the church and the beautiful 14th 
century house still standing in the main street of the town. 

The Church is now dedicated to S. James, but in Grevel's time it was dedicated 
to the Blessed Mary. Its architecture is uniform throughout and is of early 
perpendicular work, having been erected probably between 1390 — 1402, and in 
my opinion both it and Grevel's house show unmistakeable signs of the influence 
of Flemish workmen. The nave is 60 feet in height and 58 feet in length, with 
the north and south aisles making a total width of 58 feet. The total length of 
the church is 130 feet. 

Grevel was probably responsible for the idea of rebuilding the Parish Church, 
and no doubt found a great deal of the necessary money. The tower is particularly 
fine, and the detail generally is extremely interesting. 

I shall conclude my notice of Campden by a reference to the town in the 
17th century. I have mentioned that the Manor came into the possession of 
Thomas Smith, in Elizabeth's time, who for some time lived here, and was buried 
in the chancel of Campden Church in 1593. In 1609 his son Anthony Smith 



46 Chipping Campdefi 

sold the Manor to Baptist Hyckes, a wealthy mercer of London. He was a money 
lender, tof), and one way or another managed to make an immense fortune. 

About 1613 Sir Baptist built a large mansion at Campden close to the church, 
for his residence. His benefactions to the town were very numerous, consisting 
of the almshouses, which form such a charming picture in the foreground of pictures 
of the church, and which were erected by him at a cost of ;^i,ooo with an endowment 
of ;^I40 per annum ; the market house, at a cost of £gOy already referred to; and 
numerous valuable gifts to the town and church, many of which still remain. 

During this time the ancient Charter was renewed. 

(Hampden's connection with the Civil Wars would in itself furnish sufficient for 
a paper, for Kdward Lord Noel, Sir Baptist Hicks's s(Mi-in-law, was an ardent 
supporter of the royal cause, but died at Oxford in March, 1642. His son Baptist 
Noel, 3rd Viscount Campden, however, raised a troop of horse and a company 
of foot at his own cost, which Carlyle speaks of as " a horde of plunderers which the 
** old newspapers call Campdeners — followers of a certain Noel Viscount Campden." 

Campden house was fortified for the king, and was the scene of many sanguinary 
conflicts, and the registers in 1665 contain a number of pathetic references to burials 
of several of the garrison of Campden House. 

On the 7th May, 1645, the Royal Army left Oxford, marching towards 
Worcester, and drawing out all the garrisons on the wa}' for the expected battle 
eventually fought at Naseby. Sir Henry Slingby, in his Memoirs, writes, " Before 
*' we started the Prince (Rupert) had given cominand to Col. Bard, Governor of 
" Campden. to march along with the regiment, and lest the enemy should make 
" use of the house for garrison when he had left it, being so near Evesham, the 
*• Prince likewise commanded it to be burnt, which I set on a light fire before we 
'* marched. A house, as my lord Campden says, that hath cost ;f 30,000 in building 
and furniture. 

This was on the 10th May, 1645, and as we learn from the "Weekly Account," 
under date May I2th, 1645, "On Saturday last his Maje.sty in the evening went 
" down by Broadway t(^ Evesham, and Prince Rupert marched in the rear guard 
"over Broadway Hill by the Light of Campden House which they say was then 
*'on fire." 



u 



ti 



it 



it 



Chipping Campden, 47 

APPENDIX /. 

'* Be it known, as well to present as future, that I, Goiideviile, have given and 
"granted, for the safety of my soul and the souls of my ancestors, three hides 
of land in the vill of Westington, with all their appurtenances, free and quit of 
all secular service, to the service of the chapel of blessed Virgin Katharine, which 
" I have founded in my court of Campedene, in perpetual and pure alms ; that 
"is to say half a hide of land which William Ailwy holds, and a virgate of land 
" which Hardyns holds, and a virgate which Levi holds, and a virgate which 
" Aluered holds, and a virgate which William Collyns holds, and a virgate which 
Walter fitz Gumuld holds, and a virgate which Alured fitz Ralph holds, and a 
virgate which William fitz Walter holds, and a virgate which Avord fitz Hurbert 
"holds, and a virgate which Anfrid fitz Suam holds, and a virgate which Geoffrey 
" Clarke holds, from the demesne messuage in the vill of Campedene before the 
"gate of my court, that is to say from the messuage of Serlo the cook, to the 
" house of Herbert Salins, deacon of the mother church. 1 have established also, 
"by counsel and consent of clergy and laity, two priests in the said chapel, so 
"that one priest shall hold * in prebendam' a hide and a half, and the other a hide 
"and a half, from the three hides aforesaid, by rendering to the mother church 
"one pound of incense annually. This is done in the presence of Baldwin, Bishop 
"of Worcester, by will of Osmund, the parson, so that the aforesaid chapel may 
"have full liberty. 

" I have given also to the mother church aforesaid of the manor Campedene, 
"by this concession, the tithes of four mills of the said manor, which before it 
" had not, in pure and perpetual alms. 

" The presentations of the chaplains of the chapel aforesaid shall belong to my 
" heirs ; and when they are presented to the Bishop, and instituted by him, they 
" shall swear fealty to the parson of the mother church, and that they will not 
" usurp anything of oblations, or tithes, or other things belonging to the mother 
" church, against the will of the parson." 



APPENDIX 2. 

In the inquisition, taken after the death of Roger, on the Wednesday after 
the Feast of S. Dionysius, 1273, there is a long and elaborate description of the 
manor of Campden, with the names of all the burgesses and tenants. The 
jurors find that " he held the manor of Campeden in chief, as part of the barony 
"of Chester, coming to him by Nichola de Albaniaco, his first wife, one of the 
"heirs of Hugh de Albaniaco, Earl of Arundel, who was one of the heirs of 
" Ranulph, formerly Earl of Chester. They say that there is a certain messuage, 



48 Chipping Cantpden, 

"partly built, worth yearly, with garden, herbage, curtilage, and dove cote, one 
" mark ; and there are in demesne three carucates of land, containing 4 virgates 
"of profitable and 6 v'irgates of very poor land, each virgate containing 32 acres, 
and they are worth 4l»- per annum ; price of an acre 3d. 

" Also there are 20 acres of demesne meadcnv worth 40s. Also there is a 
" certain spinet containing 62 acres, the pasture whereof is worth ^"^ los., and 
"the 'feugeria' to be sold of the aforesaid spinet is worth yearly i8d. There is 
"also a common pasture called the Wold in which the lord can have 1,000 sheep 
" of his own, and it is worth 20s. There is also a certain fishpond worth 6s. 8d., and 
" 3 mills, and 2 parts of one mill, and 2 men belonging to the said mills, and there 
"are certain free tenants who pay rents amounting to 16s. 4d. 

I give the list of free tenants, customars and burgesses later in the description 
of the inquisitions which record the division of the manor among the co-heiresses. 
These customary tenants are described generally as having their holdings in West- 
ington, or, in some cases, in " Byriton in the Marsh." 

The value and extent of the manor is thus summed up by the jurors : — 

"And so there are in all 31 virgates of land and 4 acres which render yearly 
"of rent of assize £7 os. 7j/^d. And the works of the said customars are worth 
"yearly £g 10s. i^d. Moreover each virgate of land ought to do three ploughings 
"worth 7s. 9d., price of each ploughing id. ; and also 6 bedrepes in the autumn, 
"which are worth by the year 23s. 4d., price for each bedrepe ij^d. Sum of 
"ploughings and bedrepes 31s. Sum of whole rents and services £\% 18. 8^d. 
". . . . Sum of cottage rents 2s. Also the tallage of the customars is worth 
"in average years 53s. 4d., though they can be tallaged at the will of the lord. Pleas 
"and perquisites and other customs are worth yearly 13s. 4d. Sum of the whole 
"e.xtent ^^49 8s. 23/^d. and one pound of pepper." 

A long list of burgesses is then given which is thus summed up: — 

"The total 75 burgages and a half burgage and a fourth part of one burgage, 
" and 2 1 messuages, which render by the year £\ 1 2s. Pleas and perquisites of 
" the said borough are worth 40s. Sum of the whole rents of borough, with pleas 
"and perquisites, X"6 15s. lod. and one pound of cummin. 

"They say also that Isabella de Albeniaco, Countess of Arundel, has a certain 
" part of the foreign manor, as well as of the borough, in dower, and it is worth 
**. . . . , and the said Countess recovered the said part of Roger de Somery 
"before the Justices of the Bench; and the said Roger called to warranty Roger 
"de Monte Alto and John fitz Allen, from whom the said Roger received yearly 
" lOOs., that is to say at Coventry from Roger de Monte Alto sos., and at Arundel 
"from John fitz Allen 50s. Sum of the sums of att the extent aforesaid, as 
"well of the foreign manor as of the borough, ;£^6i 4s. oi^d. and one f>ound of 
" cummin and one pound of pepper. 



^^ 



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Chipping Campden 49 

** Richard de Greinville and Richard de Cromlyn hold Brode Campeden for 
half the fee of one knight, and they owe suite to the lord's court every three 
weeks. They say that there are more fees belonging to the said manor whose 
" names they know not. And they say that upon their oath that Margaret, wife 
"of Ralph de Cromewell ; Joan, wife of John le Straunge ; Mabel, wife of Walter 
"de Suyllye ; and Maud, wife of Henry de Erdington, are next heirs of the .said 
" Nichola who was wife of Roger de Somery aforesaid, and are of full age. 

" Memorandum that there is in the court aforesaid a certain chapel of S. 
" Katharine, of old time founded ; and there is a certain chaplain serving the .said 
" chapel who receives every year by the hand of the reeve 30s." 

The four daughters described above received, at the death of Roger de Somery, 
each a fourth part of the Manor of Campden. The partition is described in great 
detail, and I venture to give the record of it in full, as it is .so complete a de.scription 
of the borough and manor in 1273. 

" The part of Sir Ralph de Cromwell of the said manor, viz., one virgate of 
"good land and one virgate of poor land, and one acre of the value of one acre 
" which Christina the widow holds above her virgate : five acres of meadow to every 
" part, ^"^^ acres of spinet to every part, also three mills and two parts in one 
" mill, with two men for whose profit they shall be sustained. And each part 
" has a fourth part of the profit, saving nevertheless to the chaplain .serving the 
"chapel of S. Katharine xxx^ which the .same receives every year, and a certain 
" fishpond shall be common to the parceners." 

Of the cu.stomars of Westington belonging to Sir Ralph de Cromwell : — 

Gilbert Harding holds one virgate. 

Ivo le Bond holds one virgate. 

John Sparc holds one virgate. 

Roger le Neuman holds one virgate. 

William fitz Robert holds one virgate. 

Robert de Ualeby, of Byriton, holds one virgate. 

•Robert Golightly, of Westington, holds one virgate and a half 

Adam de Munndevill holds half a virgate of the .service of William 

de We.stington of quit rent ...■ ... ... ... ... xvi<* 

Of the Burgesses of Campden. 

Master Roger, for iii burgages 

Thomas Power, for one burgage 

William de Belloloco, for one burgage 

John de Castello, for one burgage 

Richard Beaufiz sen^-. for one burgage 

Richard Beaufiz junr* & Stephen de Gernington, for one burgage ... xiii<J 

William de Monemut and Robert de Seleby, for one burgage ... xiii«^ 

• Hobl)e Golightly, probably an anccster of Kolxirt, wa.s hanged at Campden for theft alxmt 1221. See 

Seldon's Select IMeas, Vol. I , case 1 57. 



nis 

iid 

• • • • 1 

xinid 
xijtl 
xii^ 



50 



Chipping Campden, 



...viid dim 

xixd dim 

xiiid 

iis 
xiid 

Campden. 



William Bunhameiyn, for half a burgage 

John Fraunceis, for one burgage and a half ... 

William de Caucir, for one burgage 

John Pape, for ii burgages 

William Thurborn, for two parts of one burgage 

Sum of this parcel xv^i vi« q. 

The part of s^ John Mxtraneus followeth of the Burgesses of 

William Dot, for half a burgage 

Dyoiiisia the nurse, for half a burgage... 

William King, for one burgage 

John IVest, for one burgage 

Robert Daw, for half a burgage 

John de A Ides well, for half a burgage... 

Philip le feytr. for half a burgage 

Robert de Aston, for one burgage 

Agnes la Kard, for one burgage 

Walter the miller, for one burgage and one shop 

Richard Child, for half a burgage 

John Tressant, for one burgage 

Thomas de Hurton, for half a burgage 

Thomas Botte, for half a burgage 

Walter Hamelyn, for half a burgage .. 

Walter de Blackelee, for half a burgage 

Robert le Messer, for ii burgages 

William King for one burgage ... 

Thomas Eadmund, for one burgage ... 

Thomas Faukes, for half a burgage ... 

William King, for two shops 

William Thurberne, for one messuage .. 

Isolda de Thernishille, for one messuage 

Ranulph Papelard, for one messuage and one shop .. 

Simon Griuel, for half a burgage 

Robert de ffornham, for one burgage ... 

Part of the same Sr John of We.stington of Biriton : 
Walter de Conygcote holds one virgate. 
Gilbert atte Grene holds one virgate. 
Roger Abovenhirth holds one virgate. 
A lured of the Mill of Birton holds half a virgate. 
Adam the smith holds one virgate. 
The heir of le Dispencer holds one burgage worth ... ... ... ix^ 

Alexander le Myr, one cottage... ... ... ... ... viii^ dim 

Sum of this parcel xv^i vi-** q. 



• • • • 




vid 






xviiid 






xxd 






xxd 






• • • • J 

nnd 






vid 






vid 






xvid 






xvid 






xxiiid 






viiid 






xixd 






viiid 






viiid 






viiid 






viiid 






lis vid 






xiid 






xiid 






vid 






xiid 






iid 






iid 






viiid 






* * * 1 

VIU" 






x-1 



Chipping Campden, 



51 



The part of Henry de Erdington followeth of the customars of Westington. 

Richard Russell holds one virgate of land. 

Reginald le Messer holds one virgate. 

William Baret holds one virgate. 

William le Neuman holds one virgate. 

Richard Spearrawek holds one virgate. 

Robert de Quenton holds one virgate in Biriton. 

John Partriche holds half a virgate. 

Christiana the widow holds one virgate and four acres. 

Thomas Attesloth holds half a virgate. 



The part of the said H^nry of the free tenants : 

William de Westington, for two virgates 

with homage and escheat, because the residue of his rent is 
assigned to the other portions equally to be performed. 



The part of the said Henry of the Burgesses 

Henry fitz Margerie, for one burgage ... 

William Gilbert, for one burgage 

Robert Cattle, for one messuage 

Ralph Bond, for one messuage ... 

Thomas Lee, for half a burgage 

Alice, daughter of Robert the Miller, for one messuage 

Adam Page, for half a burgage 

John Campiun, for half a burgage 

Matilda de ffulford, for half a burgage 

Thomas Grivil, for half a burgage 

William de Saynebyr', for half a burgage 

William de Hippelee, for half a burgage 

Henry le Tailur, for half a burgage . . 

Cecilia de Ilmeden, for half a burgage 

Robert . . . ., for half a burgage ... 

John Daw, for one burgage 

Thomas de Upton, for one holt 

John de Biriton, for one messuage 

Robert the goldsmith, for one burgage 

Geoffrey le Bedell, for half a burgage ... 

Edward Felath, for one burgage and one messuage .. 

John le Fort, for two burgages ... 

Roger de Honingham, for half a burgage 

Gilbert de Kinton, for half a burgage ... 

Robert Child for half a burgage 

John de Cruce, for one burgage 



of Campdcn. 



viis x^ 



x^ 
xd 
iiid 

iii<* 

\^ 

nij" 

• • • • 1 

una 

• • • • I 

ini" 
vid 

• • • • 1 

niid 

vid 
viiid 

iiid 

iiiid dim 

viiid 

xiiid 

vid 

• • • • J 

nnd 

xiid 

vid 

xvd 

iiis iid 

xvd 

iid 

xxiid 

XX iid 



52 Chipping Campden. 

Hugh Rige, for one messuage ... .. ... ... ... .. iii^ 

John Gole, for one messuage ... ... ... ... ... ... vii^ 

Isabella fforde, for one burgage one pound of cummin price ... xix^ dim 

William le Prude, for half a burgage ... ... ... .. ... viii^ 

William le Francis, for one messuage ... .. ... ... ... \\^ 

Sum of this parcel xv^» vi* q. 

The part of Sir Walter de Suly of Campden followeth of the customars 

of Westington : 

Henr^' le Erie holds one virgate of land 
Geoffrey de Ulmo holds one virgate. 
William Daniell holds one virgate. 
William de Tyw holds one virgate in Alhbleted. 

The part of the same Sir W. of Biriton : 

Richard de Norton holds one virgate. 
Alice the widow holds half a virgate. 
Ale.xander de Myr holds half a virgate. 
Robert Osemund holds half a virgate. 

The part of the same Sir W. of the free tenants and cottagers : 

Richard, the reeve, and three other tenants, for one virgate in ... \\\^ 

William Calf, for two virgates iiis and half a pound of pepper price Vm^ 
Robert Caspy, for one virgate, half a pound of pepper, price with 

homage and escheat ... ... ... ... ... iiii^ 

Emma la Card inere, for one cottage ... ... ... ... .. xii<J 

Of the services of William de Westington of net rent ... ... iis x<^ 

The part of the said Sir W. of the Burgesses : 

William Calf, for one burgage ... ... ... ... ... ... iiis iiid 

Matilda, daughter of Hugh Marger, for half a burgage ... vi<l 

Walter le , for one burgage ... .. ... ... ... ii* 

John King, for two burgages ... ... ... ... ... ... lis vid 

John de Cheltenham, for one burgage... ... ... ... ... xii^ 

Thomas, son of Hugh Marger, for one burgage ... ... ... xii^ 

Richard de Homenton, for half a burgage ... ... ... ... viii<l 

Geoffrey .... , for half a burgage ... ... ... ... iiii<l 

William de Monemut, for one burgage ... ... ... ... viii<^ 

Henry the Clerk, for three burgages and a half burgage and one 

1 1 1 ^^>^ U Clk4^^ ••• ••• ••• •■• ••• ••• ••• •■• llA lAl 

John Sterwayell, for half a burgage ... ... ... ... ... \\\\^ 

Philip de Murs, for half a burgage ... ... ... ... ... \\^ 

Hugh Fitz . . . , for one burgage ... ... ... ... ... xd 



Chipping Camp den. 



53 



William Sparc, for one burgage 

William Sage, for half a burgage 

Henry ie . . . , for half a burgage ... 

Richard Beaufiz junr. and Walter Goselay, for ii shops 

John de Linham, for one messuage 

William Sloth, for one burgage 

Sum of this parcel xvl» vis q 

Sum total of extent of Campden 









xiid 








iid 








• • • • 1 

una 








* ... 1 
nii<i 








• • • • 1 

una 








\\\^ 


• • • 


Ixili 


• • * •« 

nns 


• • • 

niq 



APPENDIX 3, 

John de Ludlovve, who acquired the moiety in 1286, died in 1295. An 
inquisition taken at Campden on the eve of the Assumption of S. Mary shews 
that he held a moiety of the manor of Campden of the King in chief, for one-fourth 
part of a knight's fee. The jurors report that ** there is a messuage, with garden, 
" herbage, curtilage, and dovecote, value xiiis iiii^. There are in demesne x acres 
"of meadow worth xxd» a certain common pasture in the spinet and upon the 
" wold and in other commonable places, worth yearly x^ ; four water mills, the 
** moiety being worth ix^»- In Villenage there are xiii virgates and iiii acres of 
** land worth in rent of assize 11 x** vii<* dim., price of each virgate iiii« vid. And 
"the tenant of each virgate shall work from the Feast of S. John Baptist to 
" Michaelmas for iiii days in the week, to wit on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 
" and Thursday, unless they be feast days, and each tenant's work is worth vs — 
** price of each day's work from S. John the Baptist to the Gules of August i^* and 
** from that day to the Feast of S. Michael i^ dim ; sum of the whole work Ixvis iiid 
" And they owe six bedrippes worth yearly ixs xi^ dim., price of each bedrippe 
" id dim. And they owe iii ploughings and they are worth iii^ iiid jij q^ price of 
*' each ploughing id- And there are free tenants, and they render yearly rent of 
"assize ii^ id. And there are burgesses of the borough who render yearly rent of 
"assize xxiii^ iid. Pleas and perquisites and other casualities are worth yearly x^- 
" Bogo, son of the said John, is his next heir, and is of the age of twelve years." 




November ijt/i, igoi. 




IR J. BENJAMIN STONE, M.P, J. P., read a paper on ** Warwickshire 

Customs and Superstitions," illustrated by a lar^e number of most 

valuable lantern slides. There was a crowded attendance, and the 

paper was heard with ^reat interest, but the Committee regret that Sir 

Benjamin's public enga[jements rendered it impossible for him to prepare it 

for publication. 



Birjuiughani Springs and IVells. 



H \' HOWARD S . 1' K A K S O N . 



D,rriii/u-p- 1 1 lit. igor. 





on the spot. 
existence. The 



.\IO\G the many subjects of archsological interest 
which attach themselves in a greater or less degree 
to the ancient town o{ Birmingham, the .subject oT 
thi-; paper may be said in one sense to occupy the 
first position, since there can lie no doubt that the 
abiindiint supply of water determined the actual 
existence of our city. Water is always an obvious 
necessity of iife, but in the many ages which pre- 
ceded the provision of our artificial supply, it was 
a necessity of life that water should be already 
t Birmingham had no other advantage or reason for 
nd it was somewhal barren heath, it ;idjoincd no great 



^aM 



56 Birmingham Springs and Wells, 

highway, it possessed no navigable river, and it had no unusual natural wealth. The 
one only reason for the original settlement must be found in the fact that it had a 
stream capable of turning a mill, and that water for domestic use was everywhere 
for the seeking. 

/\11 ancient descriptions testify to this. The first, that of Leland in 1538, 
speaks of the brook, and the mansion house of timber, ** hard in the ripe as the 
" brooke ruimeth downe," and continues, " as I went through the ford, by the bridge, 
"the water ran down on the right hand, and a few miles below goeth into Tame, 
' ripa (/extra. This brook above Dirtey (Ueritend) breaketh in two arms, that a 
*' little beneath the bridge close again." 

So Camden, the writer of the ne.xt description, in 1586, mentions that the 
lower part of the town is " very watery." This peculiarity was the direct cause 
of the foundation of our second church, that of St. John, in Deritend. The hamlets 
of Deritend and Bordesley were in the parish of Aston, to which church the 
inhabitants had to look for all spiritual aid, though the church of St. Martinis 
was not man}' yards away. The agreement entered into for the foundation of the 
new church is based upon the ground of " the flooding of the streams and the 
*' obstructions after, and especially in winter time # • • happening, • • • and 
'* lest it should befall that the infants dwelling in the said towns or hamlets of 
*' Deritend and Bordesley for want of the rite of baptism might perish for ever." 

A still earlier proof of the watery nature of early Birmingham may be found 
in the singular deviation of the Roman Road or Ryknild Street. Had the natural 
line of this road been continued it would have cro.ssed our modern Broad Street 
and Islington Row ; instead of that it diverges by Icknield Street, Chad Valley 
and Richmond Hill to Selly. The supptxsition of \Vm. Hutton that this deviation 
was owing to Roman fear of Birnn'ngham and of its capacity for making and 
bearing arms, is perhaps the wildest flight of that honoured but irresponsible 
historian. The obvious reason is to avoid the valley of the Rea, which at some 
seasons of the year, must have been an impa.ssible swaitip. 

With the River Rea, which, however dispised now, is undoubtedly the mother 
of Birmingham, I am not here specially concerned. I will merely mention, in 
proof of its value, the mills which are known to have been worked by it or by 
its affluents, These begin with Pebble Mill in the Pershore Road. Then follow 
Avern's Mill, in Edgbaston Road ; the Speedwell Mill, the Town Mills, in Lower 
Mill Lane ; the Thread Mill, probably beside the Moat ; a Corn Mill, between 
Digbeth and Bradford Street (built 1548; ; a Malt Mill, in Upper Mill Lane ; a Mill 
at Vaughton's Hole, the Shovel Mill in Fazeley Street, and the Heath Mill. In 
the 1 8th century the Rea was at least so far pleasant and navigable that plea.sure 
boats were regularU- kept for hire near the Apollo House in Mo.seley Street. 

The springs and streams which ultimately found their way into the Rea are 
so numerous that I can do little more than barely mention them and note their 



Birmingham Springs and Weils. 57 

probable courses, and for the information I can give on this head I am mainly 
indebted to Mr. Joseph Hill, whose knowledge of our local antiquities is unrivalled, 
and whose stores are always freely opened to his friends' enquiries. The con- 
figuration of the ground caused streams to pour down from almost every quarter, 
and these, though now practically made obsolete by the drainage arrangements 
of a great city, have in many cases left their mark, in the determination of the line 
of a street, in local names, or in local memories. 

Of these the most important were perhaps those running from the high land 
of Edgbaston by the present Spring Road and Spring Vale, and flowing across 
the Bristol Road, where a foot bridge with hand-rail existed within living memory. 
From these or from the springs they doubtless fed at Lady Well, the two moats 
of the Manor House and the Rectory were filled. They thus formed an actual 
reason for the site of the Saxon, and afterwards Norman, Hall at Smithfield. A 
further supply, from a stream probably flowing down what is now Needless Alley, 
crossed New Street and gave the name of the Froggery to the marshy bottom, where 
there was an early tan-yard. This was joined by a water course coming down 
Dudwall Lane or Dudley Street, and the two, polluted by sewage and the refuse 
water from the tan-pits in Edgbaston Street, ultimately became an open .sewer known 
as Pudding Brook, marked as "common sewer" as late as the map of 1760, and 
having at last to be diverted from the lord's moat and turned into the Rea. This 
lamentable stream became a /ocns ciassicus for its filth. In 1766 an advertisement 
in Arts' s Gazette offers "a very good Garden and a neat Summer House near 
" Pudding Brook in Birmingham. The purchase will be about ten guineas." In 
1780 Hutton writes, ** Near the place where the small rivulet di.scharges itself into 
'* the moat, another the same size is carried over it, and proceeds from the town 
** as this advances towards it, producing a curiosity seldom met with ; one .stream 
'* running south and the other north for half a mile, with yet only a pathway of 
"three feet asunder. This surprised Brindley the famous engineer." In 1794 "the 
" wife of James Devonport, pocket-book maker, unfortunately falling into the place 
"called * Pudding Brook,* near this town was suffocated in the mud." In 1829 is 
advertised " a Garden situate in the third walk on the left hand leading from 
" Hurst Street, Pudding Brook, Birmingham. The Garden contains choice Goose- 
" berry, Currant, and other Fruit Trees and Variety of Vegetables, with a Wood 
" Summer-house recently built." The advertisement reminds us that the valley 
of the Rea was formerly full of the gardens so dear to the heart of the Birmingham 
tradesman. Finally, James Dobbs, the once popular local comedian, at his benefit 
at the Theatre Royal, on November 24th, 1828, introduced a new .song called 
" I can't find Brummagem," in which he says : — 



(4 



They've filled up poor old Pudding Brook, 
Where in the mud I've often stuck, 
Catching jackbanils near Brummagem." 



38 Birmingham Springs and Wells, 

Ultimately Ryan's Circus in Bradford Street was built on the dried-up bed 
of the unsavoury stream. This afterwards became the Circus Chapel, and is now 
part of the site of the City Meat Market. 

The Manor House was ruined and uninhabited even in the time of Edward 
Birmin^^ham. A factory was erected on its site about 1725, but slij^ht vestiges 
of the old hail in which the Court Leet had been held remained until 1816, when 
the moat was filled up and the present Smithfield formed. Traces of the moat 
have been revealed by excavations made in the present year. 

A stream from Colmore Row rose near Church Street, and crossing Great 
Ciiarles Street and Livery Street, flowed into the great pool formed by a strong 
flood (^f water from the Sand Pits, formerl}- an impassable marsh of such magnitude 
as to cause the divergence of the very ancient road to Welshpool, which had to 
run by Easy Hill and Cottage Lane. The water flowing from the pool was forded 
in Sandy Lane (Snow Hill) and in VValmore Lane, and joined Hockley Br(X)k. A 
large old-fashioned boat was found in the bed of the pool at the building of the 
theatre in Snow Hill. It was cut through to make way for a wall, but is still 
there, and the name of Water Street c<jmmemorates the pool. A small tributary 
from a spring in SJiadicell Street is said to have been called St. Chad's Well, and 
a doubtful legend relates that it still exists near the altar of the cathedral. 

On the south and east of the high land on which St. Phillip\s Church stands 
w-ere several streams. Crooked Lane marked the course of one, and an important 
well was behind the Old Lamb House (Suffield's). This crossed Carr's (God's 
Cart) Lane, where there was an important pool with flood-gates, which were exposed 
to view when Carr's Lane tunnel was made. Further east, in the Priory Grounds, 
was a spring called Scite's Well, near John Street. The water from this crossed 
Dale End, and formed a boundary of the manor. It was crossed by a ford and 
a foot bridge, and a bar was placed across the bridge and kept locked. Behind 
the Toll Booth in front of the Fountain Inn, and near the Swan, was a large spring 
which perhaps gave its name to the Fountain Inn. The water from the two 
last-named springs may have combined to form the certainly considerable stream 
which crossed Moor Street on the site of the Woolpack Inn, and which is frequently 
referred to in old deeds under the name of Harsan's or Hassam's Dvch. Yet 
another stream seems to have come from Steelhouse Lane, its narrow course forming 
the** Gullet." 

The more distant springs at Saltlcy have the peculiarity of affording chalybeate 
water. These appear to have been at least three in number. One, mentioned b}* 
Hutton, still existed in 1838 at the side of the steep lane leading from Bloomsbur)* 
to Saltley. Another was in Great Francis Street, Ashted, and was a well in the 
fields, with stone coping. A third is said to have been in Church Road, near Arthur 
Road. Near one of these springs a tragedy occurred in 18 17, a Mr. Pennington being 
shot on P'eb. 6th, when on his way to Coleshill. The lane where this happened 



Birmingham Springs and Wells. 59 

was called Pennington's, afterwards corrupted to Penitent's Lane. The chalybeate 
springs which were once much valued, are said to have been destro}'ed by the 
making of the railway. A correspondent of the Weekly Post, however, says that 
they have merely been co veered over by the jerr)'-builder, and regretfully describes 
the beauties of Saltley even as late as 1844, when there were but 40 houses in the 
hamlet. 

The number of wells in old Birmingham must have been past counting ; indeed 
wherever an inhabitant cared to go to the expense of sinking one it must be obvious 
that his supply of water would be sure. And all the wells appear to have supplied 
excellent soft water, with the single exception of one in St. Martin's Lane, from 
which the water was hard. It has been authoritatively stated that from two springs 
at Lady Well two entirely different waters flowed. It is clear, however, that all hou.ses 
had not wells or pumps, since the supply of water by carts from certain public 
wells became a somewhat important business, and long survived the introduction of a 
public supply. Some of the water carriers were characters in their way, and more 
than one could describe Talavera and Waterloo from his personal experiences. One 
is said to have possessed a voice of such abnormal power that when he was crying 
water in Aston Street he could be heard in the centre of the town. 

The public wells are of sufficient importance to deserve .some notice. The 
chief were those of Lady Well, and a very ancient one behind St. Martin's Church, 
believed to have been called the Holy Well. This seems to have been afterwards 
the " Cock Pump," so named, no doubt, from an adjoining tavern. When this was 
disu.sed the .same .source supplied a notable public pump erected b\' William Hollins 
in the Bull Ring. This strange erection was in the Egyptian style of architecture, 
made fashionable by the Battle of the Nile, and its designer vigorously defended 
it in a letter to the Birmingham Gazette of January i8th, 1S08, in which he explains 
its ** pyramidical form " as an emblem of the God Osiris, and of the sun. Sculptures 
of papyrus, Grecian honeysuckle ornament and other ornaments are all elaborately 
expounded, and a particular fitness is claimed for the lion's head by which the 
water issued. In an amusing pasquinade which followed in a few days, the pump 
is made to complain that it has been " so transmogrified that he is scarcely known 
"by his best friend.s," and .solemnly to disown all Mr. HoUins's "incoherent rhap.sody 
"about Basilicas, Lotuses, Papyrus, Pyramids, Fire, Ashes and Water, Egypt and 
" Greece, departed Heroes, Urns, Statues, &c." 

Another large supply of water was obtained from deep wells in Well Lane, 
discovered when Messrs. Goflfe built their mineral water factory. Though originally 
very ancient, the.se wells had been improved by an artesian bore four hundred feet 
deep as late as 1854. A great tank holding 3,000 gallons, bears an in.scription 
recording all particulars ; yet this tank was buried and would almost appear to 
have been forgotten. 

It only remains to add that the famous Digbeth water had in 1837 a |)rospective 
rival in a .spring di.scovered \\\ St. George's Place, Hospital Street, the water of 



6o Birmingham Springs and Wells, 

which was certified by Messrs. Southall to be very pure, and to contain less 
earthy matter than the Uigbeth Water. 

Of all the Birmingham springs the two at Lady Well were undoubtedly the 

most important. These formed a large source of supply to the water carriers, who 

loudly remonstrated when in 1818 it was proposed to close the wells to the public. 

A broadsheet, printed by M. Wadsworth, 90, Moor Street, contains two poetical 

effusions; "The Vain attempt to take Lady Well," to the tune of " Ge ho, Dobin," 

and " Lines spoken at the Meeting of the Watermen and other inhabitants of the 

"town of Birmingham, held August loth, 1818." The evil attempt is attributed 

to "Mr. Blubber and his friend Nick the Devil." It appears to have been foiled, as 

we may judge from the last stanza of the first poem, which runs : — 

** 'I'hen rejoice fellow townsmen, rejoice and be gay, 
r'or over oppression we have gained the day ; 
Our children to theirs of this conquest shall tell, 
While for ever secured is the Rights of the Well. 

Fal theral, &c."(i) 

The closing of the well to the public was possibly for the purpose of the 
improvement of the Baths which were once fashionably attended and even famous. 
From time immemorial there had been a pool here known as the Cold Bath. But 
the establishment which succeeded was of an ambitious character, and under the 
management of Messrs. Monro (whose name survives in Monro Square), it attained 
celebrity. A tiny undated pamphlet exists entitled *' A Treatise on the Virtues 
**of Cold and Warm Bathing, with general instructions in the Art of Swimming, 
** together with a description of Lady Well Baths in Birmingham." 

In this little book Hutton is quoted : " At Lad)' Well are the most complete 
'* Baths in the whole island ; they are seven in number, erected at the expense of 
"near 1,000/. That appropriated to swimming is 18 yards by 36, situate in the 
"centre of a garden, in which are 24 private undressing houses; the whole surrounded 
" b\' a wall near ten feet high. Pleasure and health are the guardians of the place." 
According to the detailed description which follows the first bath was ".solely 
" appropriated to the use of ladies." The floor of the private room belonging to 
this bath is laid with small squares of marble, and adjoining that is a convenient 
dressing room. Upon a tablet over the finmtain are the following lines, addressed 
to the ladies : — 

"O'er this cool stream the goddess Health presides. 

And through the silent wave perpetual glides ; 

Plunge then, ye fair, with fortitude descend. 

The indulgent goddess will her influence lend. 

By her kind aid the faded cheek resumes 

The rouge celestial, and with beauty bUxDms. 

Seize then her offer, try the lucid spring. 

And with returning health her virtues sing." 



(l) A facsimile of this broadsheet is appended. 




THE VAIN ATTEMPT 

TO TAKE 

Lady Well. 



TUNE^Gc ho Dobbin. 

ONE Tiieiht Mr. Blubber, and hi> friend Kick thfl 
flrvil. 
M.-l lo^elher ta uiual to tlir up some evH ; 
VVIjit sul)jcct to fix on they scarcely ru\i\ii Icl!. 
Till 2t lenglb ibcy bctliought them <j{ taking tbe Well. 
iallber4l,*c 

The plan was propoiM by the devil btmirlF, 
And npprov'd on by Blubtier, the poor silly eir ; 
Stuck biK hanili in hii pockets, ami with t ^n at rwcU» 
He BMd in hii heart, •• 1 II be lor.I of ihr Wfrll." 
I'ftl Ihe Tdl, ^c. 

" But pprhap«"iaid the devil, " the people will riot, 
"buoie means muit lie taken to keep them iill quiet; 
" The watermen too muFt have W4l«r to lell, 
" And they'll surely diepule your takiilg the Well." 
fal the ral, ^c 

*< Friend Nirlc" said old Blubber,'* don't tlunh ma a 

chump : 
*' Near tc the spot I'll put for them a pump: 
" Tiiii method 1 think will all trouble dispel, 
V And 1 shall with ease cl^m rights lo the VVell." 
Fal the ral, {re. 

The plan being adopted, the work was brzan ; 
But, as might be expected, wa» ended in (un ; 
For Blul>I«r'« deceivM by hii black Prince of Hell, 
And ve iiill maintaio our tighli to the Well. 
fal tlic rail &c. 

The^ rejoice /cUow ttwrrnmrn, rejoice and be gay, 
For over oppreii^en wte h.ivi^ ^:>itre"l Ih- ri jy ; 
OyB chiHien to TnKiRt oflh!'co"q>ii.-«i (killti-ll, 
Vf'hile for ever iMurd ii the Hit^'- fl' the Well, 
Fkl the ral, -4*. 

J. R. 




LINES, 

Spoken at the Meetini; of the Wtttermta 
and other Inhabitanti of the Town of 
Birmingham, held August 10, 1S18. 



AS Lacy V>.'ELLbai long been left 
Unto tliis T.'wn h generous Gift, 
bliull one man dare to claini it ihen, 
Against the Kigbls of other Men ? 

No [ he'« UTiwiie that entertotni 

Such I'lle notions in his braini : 

Yet, acliods of thit bace <tithonaur, 

fia»c been ilUmpted by Mr. 8 " • ' • " r ! 

He saw poor men a Vread did get. 
Which made hit fat guti foum and fret; 
With envious eyes he saw their work*— 
Hii heart mahcioiM ai a Turk. 

Thu» .poke the Dolt, " The Well lit take, 
*■ And by its iprijigs a fortune make ; 
•■ None ibail have water butt bote, that pay, 
" I'll lock it up and keep the key. 

" And by this trade "lis pretty clear, 
*' I shall make some score pounds a year." 
This resolution made, the dunce, 
Taney's the Well his own at once. 

He tries his strenelh, behold it faill [ ! ! 

He now in anger biles his nails ; 

Our Rights have struck his (-ftbhs dead | 

He like a bull-rush hangs his head. 

His haughty countenance has flown, 
Huiia ) my boyi, tlie Welt's our own ) 
Our liights Ii3ve dvercome the evil. 
And JUSTICE reigns above the DEVIL I 

J. R. 



Printed by H. Wadswortr, 90| Moor Strtct. 
Biriuiogham. 



Printed by H. WjUJiwoRTB, Koi 90t 
Moar btrect, fiirminglnai. 



Birmingham Springs and Wells. 6i 

There was another long inscription over the seat, and in the gentlemen's cold 
bath " underneath an elegant picture/' were four more quatrains, while a long 
quotation from Thomson adorned the swimming bath. There were also a temperate 
bath, a hot bath " of veined marble," and a bath " to accommodate the indigent," at 
*' two-pence each time, or five shillings and sixpence per quarter." An advertisement 
in Arts' s Gazette in 1791 speaks of a "green walk round the water, with twenty-five 
*' Diving Boxes and Bowers ; the whole enclosed with walls and lofty trees." "Genteel 
" and constant attendance/' is also promised. The terms were two-{)ence to a 
shilling a time, or twenty-five shillings a year. 

In Drake's " Picture of Birmingham, 1825/' an excellent account of these baths, 
which were evidently regarded with some pride, is given. The baths are still 
spoken of as " perhaps the most complete in the kingdom." " Leaving the baths/' 
the author says, "and making a tip-toe peep over a wall, we notice the very ancient 
** Parsonage House of S. Martin's, a curious, low, straggling building, surrounded 
"by a moat, like the Manor House. Keeping along the wall of the garden or 
"paddock belonging to the parsonage, we enter Smallbrook Street by Ladywell 
** Walk. On our right we observe a long range of low building, with a high roof 
** This was the old Tithe Barn belonging to the Parsonage ; useful in its original 
" capacity, w^hen the ground about it was ploughed and sowed, now more appropriately 
" and profitably employed as warehouses and shopping." 

Ducrow's Circus stood on the Parsonage Ground several weeks, and about the 
same time a man named Painter was murdered there. Two men were hanged at 
Warwick for this, and one man turned King's Evidence. In 1813, one of the 
so-called "religious" riots, for which our town has been too famous, occured. Jews, 
Catholics, and Baptists appear to have been attacked with indiscriminate rage ; and 
a " Meeting House near Lady Well " was among those wrecked. Four young men 
received sentences of seven year's transportation for this offence. 

Perhaps no part of old Birmingham has suffered so much from the inevitable 
march of improvement as this. It is sad to look upon it in its present state, and 
to remember that the paths by the side of the old streams must once have been of 
great rural beauty, and from time immemorial the chosen promenade of the sparse 
inhabitants of the infant town. In them long forgotten patriarchs must have 
found a quiet resting place for their declining strength. \\y them the mature 
manhood of the little place must have paced lost in meditation on long vanished 
anxieties. Along them the young men and maidens of old, old Birmingham must 
have lingered lovingly — aimless and content. Men must have talked here of Cressy 
and Agincourt, of the bloody field of Towton, of the Armada, of the Civil War, and 
of Marlborough's victories. Later on the fashionable company in the baths must 
have held agitated counsel during the long agony of the Napoleonic wars and 
exulted over the crowning victory of Waterloo. 

It is all gone now, and the glory has departed from these scenes. Ladywell 



62 Birmingham Sprifigs and Wells. 

Walk is a dingy alley. The Batli^ are in the occupation of Mr. Turner, whose 
vast stores of timber completely hide the site of the swimminjj bath, and fill every 
room in the old building, the dressing rooms included. The Corporation has closed 
the famou.s wells as unfit for human use. One of them was even lost to memory 
until a cart load of timber disappeared into it some seven years ago. The bath 
house has been stuccoed out of all recognition, and is almost hidden by sttcks 
of wood, yet visitors still from time to time ask leave to inspect the old place, and 
meet with courteous consent. Indeed they are so numerous that the advertisement 
of 1791, from which I have quoted, has been thoughtfully reprinted for their benefit. 
I doubt if a single trace ()f all the old springs and pools and rivulets of Birmingham 
is now visible. 

We fetch our water frinn more distant sources, and the rain floods from Central 
Wales will soon fall only lo fill our reservoirs. The local springs which once 
determined the site of Birmingham are polluted, discredited and disused. The 
Rea alone survives, and even n<iw sometimes arises in its might and becomes 
formidable. But the general aspect of our river is now neither romantic nor 
venerable ; and even the mother of Birmingham has seen far better days. 




Excursions. 



TO HINCKLEY AND STOKK GOLDING. 



May iSth, igoi. 




T Hinckley the party was met by Mr. Harold, under whose able 
leadership the fine church was visited. The 14th century roof 
was greatly admired, and the church generally presents an 
appearance of stateliness and dignity. It has, however, suffered 
somewhat from restoration, in the course of which years ago, the 
valuable and interesting stained glass then remaining in the windows was lost. 
Apart from the church Hinckley ha.i little of arch .to logical value, but the town 
is in parts not unpicturesque. 

A pleasant walk brought the party to Stoke Guiding, a village of great 
interest The church here is uiirestored, and deserves the mo.st careful study. The 
windows are singularly fine. The village is .strangely and uncomfortably paved 
with rounded pebbles. From its street a good view of the site of the momentous 
battle of Bosw<)rth Field ma)' be had, and adjacent is the Crown Hill, on which the 
Crown of England is said to have been found after the battle hidden in a hawthorn 
bush. The rough and uneven field is still thickly bestrewn with hawthorn bu.shes 
and but little effeirl of the imagination is needed to conjure up the ha.sty coronation 
of Henrj- of Richmond and the advent of the great Tudor dyna.sty. 



TO KOURTON-OX-THH-WATER AND SLAUGHTER. 



June igt/i, igoi. 



This whole-day excursion led to a vtwy little visited and somewhat inaccessible 
part of Gloucestershire, much of the time being taken up in driving among the 
interminable slopes of the Cotswold range. 



64 Excursions. 

The little town of Bourton is of a charmini^ and most unusual character, the 
river Windrush practically fonnin|j the centre of the main street. Under happier 
circumstances the scene must have been one of ^reat beauty, but unfortunately steady 
rain set in, and Bourton was only too literally under a cloud. A protracted and rather 
uncomfortable drive in the afternoon brouijht the party to the Manor House of 
Slaughter. The exterior of this is in good preservation and well deserves study. 
The interior was courteously made free to visitors, but it is now that of a farm house, 
and not very much is left of antiquity beyond the walls. 



TO LONG ITCHIXGTOX AND STOCKTON. 



Ju/y ijt/i, igoi. 



A half-day excursion to two very interesting Warwickshire villages. At 
Itchington the church is attractive and instructive. It was evidently enlarged 
within the century following its erection, and the transition from Early English 
to the succeeding style is clearly marked. 

Not much can l^e said as to the Church at Stockton, which has been greatly 
restored. Archdeacon Colley, however, kindly exhibited to the party the ancient 
Registers, which date from Elizabethan times. The prosperity of Stockton lies in 
its lias quarries, which are extensively worked for cement. Here .some little while 
ago, a fine fossil skeleton of the dinosaurus was discovered, which is now preserved 
in the Natural History Museum at South Kensington. 



TO GLOUCESTER, ASHLEWORTH, AND DEERHURST. 



July Jist, i()oi. 



The party, on arriving at Glouce.ster, visited the beautiful Cathedral, which 
was carefully examined under the courteous guidance of the Dean. Proceeding 



Excursions. 65 

thence to Ashleworth the triple attraction was found of the Church, the Tithe 
Barn, and the Manor House, which latter was visited by the kind permission of 
Mrs Clarke. A similar courtesy on the part of Miss Fuljames at the Old Vicarage, 
Hatfield, and of Miss Surman at the Great House, enabled those present to examine 
these very interesting houses. 

The Church at Deerhurst, and the still more interesting Saxon Chapel, erected 
by Odda, close to it, are priceless relics of our most ancient ecclesiastical architecture, 
and were most carefully noted, 

The return journey was taken from Tewkesbury, but that grand old town was 
reached too late for more than a pleasant walk through its historic streets. 




f 



Officers and Couiuiittee, ic^oi. 



ELECTIVE. 

j. A. COSSINS. President, 

HOWARD S. PEARSON, Honorary Secretary. 

VVRIOHT WILSON, F.R.C.S., Kdin., Hon. Librarian. 

W. J. CHURCHILL, Hon. Secretary for Excursions. 

F. H. ANDRLWS, A.R.I.RA. 

Rkv. a. L. CHATTAWAY. 

BENJAMIN WALKER, A.R.LB.A. 

EX-OEEICIO (Officers of the Inslilule). 

HUME C. I'INSENT, M.A. \ j-.,p., j 

T. STACEV WILSON, M.D., M.K.C.P., B.Sr. ) '"' ^'''^" ^" ^' 
O. S. .\L\THEWS, M.A., Hon. Treasurer. 
COUNCILLOR R. V. MARTINEAU, Hon. Secretary. 

Report of the Coiuinittee for the year igoi, 

PRKSENTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, JANUARY 22nd, 1902. 



The ('oniiniltcc arc 14 lad to he ahle to record a )'ear's work of the Societ) 
which has been in all resj)ecls well maintained. The papers read have been of 
much interest, and have been unusuall)- well attended. The excursions, also, have 
been attractive, instructive, and in every wa}' successful. 

The followinj^ papers have been read : — 

Jan. 23 — Annual Meeting, followed b}- a paper on the *' Excursions of 1900," by 
the President, Mr. J. A. C'ossiNS. 

Feb. 20—" Middleton Hall." E. HE Hamel. 

March 20 — " Chipping Campden." JosElMl C'kouciL 

Nov. 13 — *' The Popular Customs and Superstitions of Warwickshire." SiK BEN- 
JAMIN ST()NE, M.1\ 

Dec. II — *' Hirmingham Springs and Wells." Howarh S. PEARSON. 

During the Summer the following PLxcursions were made: — 
May 18 (half-day) — To Hinckle)- and Stoke Golding. 
June 19 (whole-day) -To Hourton-on-the- Water and Slaughter. 
July 13 (half-da}) — To Lung Itchington and Stockton. 
July 31 (whole-day; -To Gloucester, Ashleworth, Hasfield, and Deerhurst. 

The Members attending the Excursions have, in every case, met with the utmost 
attention and courtesy. 



67 

The annual volume of the Transactions of the Society has been issued in due 
course, and will be found, it is believed, a valuable addition to our knowledge of 
local archaeology. 

The Library and Museum arc now in complete order, and are regularly open 
to Members every Wednesda)- evening throughout the \ear from 5.30 to 7.30. The 
Library grows yearly, and is now an important aid to study ; while the Museum 
forms a safe and permanent |)lacc of deposit for local and other antiquities. Among 
the gifts to the latter, a most interesting collection of pre-historic Egyptian antiquities, 
presented by the Kgypt Exploration Fund, calls for special comment. 

The Societ}' has sustained a severe loss b)- the resignation of Mr. Walter 
J. Churchill, who has left the neighbourhood. Mr. Churchill has long been a 
most enthusiastic supporter ol the Societ)', and has for some )'ears also rendered 
it invaluable service as Hon. ICxcursion Secretary. The Committee are glad to be 
able to announce that Mr. Ben. Walker, A.R.I.H.A., has kindly consented to succeed 
Mr. Churchill in this office. 

The Committee have again to note the continued diminution in the number of 
Members. This is now 171, as against 173 last )'ear, and though the loss is small 
it cannot but be regarded as disappointing. The small subscription asked of five 
shillings per annum is certainlx' more than repaid In- the animal volume of 
Trans«icti()ns, and the Committee again earnestly express the hope that the excellent 
work done by the Societ}- ma)- meet with more sympathetic support. 



1 






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DEC 1 1970 



Birmiugbam an6 /Ifti&laiib Jiistitute. 



"BIRMINGHAM ARCHMOLOGICAL SOCIETr. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

.EXCURSIONS. AND REPORT. 

for tlie Year igo2. 

VOL XXVIIl. 



WALSALL 
PUrNTED FOR SUHSCRIBEk 
BV VV. HENRY ROI"- '1" ..... ...,,., 



Btrmtudham au^ ^DtMan^ 3ndtttiitc. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH.4<:OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT. 



BirminGbam anb /IftiManb institute. 



"BIRMINGHAM ARCHMOLOGICAL SOCIETT. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT, 

/^or the Year igo2. 



VOL. XXVIII. 




WALSALL : 
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, 

BY W. HENRY ROBINSON, STE.AM PRINTING WORKS. 

•903- 



Contents. 



PAGE. 

Excursions in the year 1901. By J. A. Cossins ...... i 

Mediieval Seals of Worcestershire. By Francis B. Andrews, A.R.I.B.A. 15 

Mummers and Minstrels. By William Hale, F.R.I. B.A ly 

The Manor and Castle of Weoiey. By Frank S. Pearson, LL.B. 51 

Excursions ............. 69 

Report and Accounts .......... 71 



E 



xcnrsiojis in 



the ) 



ear igoi. 



Bv J. A. COSSINS. 



Jiuiuary j^itd, /tj02. 




TO STOKE GOI.DING. Etc. 



I HE first excursion of the season took place on May 
iSlh. The day was fine and the arrangements 
worked out satisfactorily. 

The party left New Street Station and arrivinf^ al 
Hinckley visited the church, where they met Mr. 
Harold, a local antiquary, to whom we are much 
indebted for an account of the recent history of the 
church, and who was so ycwd a.i to accompany us 
to Stoke Golding. 
Hinckley lias a large church with a very massive tower at the west end, 
surmounted by a tall well-proportioned spire of the i8th century. The whole of 
the church has been very considerably re-cased and restored, and retains but 
little to interest the antiquarj'. The nave arcades are, however, dignified and 
well-proportioned, the stair to the rood-loft remains, and there are two very quaint 
and interesting monuments of the 17th century which retain the old colouring. 

Near the church are small indications of the site of the Alien Priory of 
Hinckley. This was a small establishment belonging to the Abbey of Lyra in 
Normandy, and occupied by two Benedictine Monks. This house shared the fate 
of all the Alien I'riories, being often seized during the wars with France, and it 
was wholly suppressed by Henry V. The walk to Stoke Golding was very pleasant. 
partly through fields. This place was once a chapelry belonging to the Alien 
Priory of Hinckley, but the inhabitants seem to have had practically full parochial 
rights from a distant period. In 1293, Nicholas de Warwick and his wife Joan 
gave this Manor to Alice, widow of William de Hinckley in exchange for the Manor 
of Fulbrook in the County of Wiirwick. The church was dedicated to St. Margaret 



Birmingbam aub nl^tMan^ 3n8tttutc. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCHi4-:OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT. 



BirmitiGbam aiib /IftiManb institute. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCHMOLOGICAL SOCIETr. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT, 

J^or the Year igo2. 



VOL. XXVIII. 




WALSALL : 
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, 

BY W. HENRY ROBINSON, STE.AM PRINTING WORKS. 



6 Excursions in the year igoi. 

where was a royal mint in Saxon times, and where coins were struck in the reigns 
of Ethelred II., Canute, and Harold I. The Saxon Chronicle says that in A.I). 952 
King Eadred commanded Archbishop Wulstan (of York) to be brought into the 
fastnesses of ludanbyrig because he had been often accused to the King. He was 
released in A.D. 954, and re-instated in his office at Dorchester (Oxon). 

Close to the village of Id bury are the remains of a Roman Camp. It is on 
high ground, oblong in shape, and covers an area of alxnit 18 acres. Some of the 
older inhabitants of the place remember it surrounded by a high mound or rampart 
of earth and stone, but this was levelled some 60 years ago. 

Several Roman coins and other relics of antiquity have been discovered therein 
and some skeletons have been dug up very recently on the border of the camp, 
lying very near the surface. There is a tradition of a great battle having been 
fought here between the Saxons and the Danes. 

The church, dedicated to St. Nicholas, has some Norman details, and it is 
probable that considerable parts of the walling are of the same period. It consists 
of a nave with north aisle, at the west end of which is a small quaint tower of 
two stages. The upper stage of the south wall has a row of four-light deeply 
moulded windows with four centered arches. There is a small south porch, and 
on the north side a Norman doorway, now walled up, with shafted jambs and 
.shallow chevron and other enriched mouldings. 

The west window of nave and the east of chancel are both of three lights, and 
of the 14th century ; that of the chancel is very small. At the west end of the 
north side of the chancel is a rather singular recess of the 15th century, probably 
intended for a tomb. It is lighted on the north by a small window of three 
lights. The east window of the aisle is a go(xl example of cus[)ed intersecting 
tracery of the early part of the 14th centur)-. 

A picturesque sanctus bell cot, with the bell remaim'ng in it, stands on the 
eastern gable of the nave. It is a very interesting and singular example, surmounted 
by a large crocketted pinnacle, with a smaller one on each side. It adds much to 
the picturesqueness of the view of the church especially from the north east. 

Little Ri.ssington Church, which we next visited, is beautifully .situated, but 
has been restored, and hardly repaid the trouble of walking to and from it. A rather 
curious feature of the interior is a stone octagonal pier built Ixitween the two piers 
from which one of the arches of the nave arcade springs, to prevent it from 
giving way under the weight of one corner of a small quaint tower which stands 
over the west end of the north aisle. 

We arrived at Bourton-on-the Water just as it began to rain. The village 
is extremely prett)', a briskly flowing stream running through its midst, dividing 
the wide area between the houses into two parallel streets which communicate 
by several light footbridges. There are several old houses, but wc were prevented 
by the rain from examining the place properl)'. The church is Georgian and ugly. 



Excursions in the year igoi. 7 

After a substantial meal at the Hotel, we drove on to Naunton, and here again 
found the church quite spoilt by " restoration." 

At Slaughter we had rain again, but not enough to prevent us from visiting 
the very fine old 17th century Manor House, of which we managed to get some 
photographs in spite of the wet. There are not many of the original features of the 
interior left unaltered. 

The church has some early 13th century work, but this too has been " restored," 



TO STOCKTON AND LONG ITCHINGTON, July 13111. 

The very small party walked from Long Itchington station to Stockton, 
celebrated for its great quarries of limestone, and for the large lime and cement 
works in the neighbourhood. 

The district is very interesting because of the conspicuous evidences of the ice 
age, and was carefully surveyed by the late Mr. Crosske}', who was a great 
authority on the Glacial period. Several large granite boulders, which must have 
been conveyed by ice, probably from Mount Sorrell in Leicestershire, have been 
found embedded in clay. The largest of them was mounted on a bed of concrete, 
in a conspicuous position in the village, at the expense of the inhabitants. 

The church is no longer interesting to antiquaries, the nave and aisle having 
been nearly rebuilt in 1863 and 1873. A little old work remains in the chancel, 
but it is much modernised. Some of the windows are old, of about the beginning of 
the 14th century, with good geometrical tracery. The east window is of three 
trefoiled lights with a large quatrefoil in a circle in the head. On the sides are 
windows of the same general character of two lights each. 

The tower is of the 15th century, of an ordinary type, but of very pleasing 
proportions and detail. It has good buttresses at the north-west and south-west 
corners placed diagonally. The parapet is battlemcnted, with a good cornice 
ornamented by carved human heads at wide intervals, and at each corner is a 
crocketted pinnacle. The belfry windows are of two trefoiled-t ransomed lights 
under a four-centred arch. 

A pleasant walk of about two miles, brought the party to Long Itchington. The 
village, and the well proportioned tower of the church as seen froin the footpath 
across the fields, was until lately, very attractive and picturesque, but some hideous 
modern brick hou.ses since built completely ruin the scene. When the little 
river Itchen, from which the place takes its name, is crossed by a foot bridge, .some 
good old half-timbered cottages come into view. At the end of the village, adjoining 



8 Excursions in the year igoi. 

The Green, is a remarkably fine many-gabled manor house that has an interesting 
history. I learn from Dugdale that Itchington had, when the Domesday Survey 
was made, a church, two priests, and a mill ; and was possessed by a lady, 
Christina by name. It was then one of the chief towns of the shire and contained 
24 hides. 

The estate, however, passed to the Limesey family, who held it until the time 
of King John, when it passed to the Odingsells. It was forfeited to the crown in 
the time of Edward III., but came back somehow to the Odingsells, for we find 
that one of them by his will made in 1493, "bequeathed his body to be buried before 
"the high altar in the chancel of the Church of the Holy Trinity here at Itchenton, 
" and willed that Margaret his wife should for the health of his soul give £/\. to 
"a friar or priest to sing a trental of St. George there for the space of one year 
" next ensuing his decease." 

A John Odingsell, in the time of Queen Klizabeth, betaking himself to extravagant 
courses, died in a miserable condition of poverty, so much so that if a tenant of 
his, named Harewood, had not taken him into his hou.se, he would have died in 
the street. The celebrated Robert, Karl of Leicester, then obtained the estate, and 
here at his house he entertained Queen Klizabeth, when on her progress towards 
Kenilworth in 1575. 

Laneham says " that there was pitched here a tent which for number and shift 
of large and goodlye rooms might be comparable with a beautiful Pal lass,*' and 
further on he says " it had seaven cart lode of Pynz pertaining to it." 

The property afterwards came to the families of Newdegate and Leigh. 

Some say that the existing old half-timbered hou.se on the Green is the one 
where Queen Klizabeth dined when on her way to Kenilworth, and that it then 
belonged to one Edward Fisher, alias Hawkins, of Warwick, whose father held 
the church estate here. 

The celebrated Wolstan, Bishop of Worcester, was born at Long Itchington early 
in the 1 ith century. 

There were other important and large landowners here, and I am unable to 
say if the old house on the Green is on the site of the house in which the Oding.sells 
and other proprietors lived, or whether it appertained to one of the smaller estates. 
Bascot, and the very interesting place Stonythorpe, were then members of Long 
Itchington. 

The church was restored in 1866. The nave, chancel, and tower were built, it 
is said, by the monks of Maxtoke Priory in the 14th centurx*. which would seem 
probable if the style of the architecture did not seem to be too early, for the celebrated 
William de Clinton, the founder of the Priory, possessed the advow.son of this church 



Excursions in the year igoi. 9 

about the ist or 2nd year of Edward III., and in the 6th of Edward III. gave the 
church to the warden of the Chantry of Maxtoke for the good of his soul, but soon 
after having begun to build the Priory at Maxtoke he annexed the chantry and 
the appurtenances thereto to the new priory, and the advowson of the church and 
the lands to it belonging, to the use of the Canons of Maxtoke. 

Whether the Maxtoke Monks built the nave and chancel or not it is quite certain 
that a church of the 13th century or earlier was nearly all pulled down to make place 
for the present fabric, for the south aisle is of the early period of that century. 

As it now stands the church has a long and very fine chancel, nave, south aisle, 
and western tower. The aisle retains three of its original lancet windows, one at 
the west end, and two on the south side. The south door is of the same period, with 
a moulded semicircular arch, and shafts with carved capitals, in the jambs. The 
easternmost window on the side is an insertion of the 14th century. The inner sill 
is placed near the floor to serve as a seat. There was undoubtedly an altar at the 
east end of this aisle for in the south wall are two recesses with pointed arches near 
the east end, with an inner trefoiled arch resting on dwarf columns, with moulded 
caps and bases, and to the east of these a mutilated piscina, with trefoiled arched 
niche. The aisle is built of very thin courses of lias limestone, with quoins and details 
of sandstone. The chancel is divided into three bays by bold buttresses with gabled 
terminations, now mutilated. The east window is of five lights with modern tracery. 
The other windows are well proportioned and interesting. Some of them are 
figured in " Paley's Manual of Gothic Architecture." 

The priest's door and the north door leading to the vestry are both very well 
proportioned and moulded. A very interesting Easter sepulchre of unusually small 
size is on the north side, and a mural monument of the 17th century, with an 
engraved brass plate with a quaint inscription. 

The arcade between aisle and nave is good and interesting, with octagon piers 
having moulded capitals and bases. The easternmost arch springs from a very good 
.semioctagonal moulded corbel, ornamented with carved rosettes. 

There is a modern porch of the most commonplace but pretentious description, 
which we were plea.sed to .see is rapidly dropping to pieces. 

The chancel arch is a very fine one, springing from triple-shafted piers, with 
moulded caps and bases. The terminations to the hood mould on the chancel 
.side are very singular. On the south side is the carved figure of a woman fondling 
a young child, and on the north a grote.sque figure of a monkey also fondling 
its young. In the south pier is a plain squint commanding a view of the high 
altar. The roofs are new throughout, the skinny deal principals resting on old 
grotesquely carved corbels. 




It is popularly said to have iK-tn brou^ln fiiiin Maxluke at llic dissolution 
of the Priory. I ain generally inclincil m doubt these traditions ; I have met with 
so many which are obviously without rouiuiation, but in this instance i am inclined 
to think it at least probable, because of the intimate relations between the priory 
and church, and because the screen is not a fn»u\ fit to the present opening, 
appearing as if it had been cut about and pieced out. 

All the other furnilure of the church is modern. 



rilH.ll li> the menK^rj- of John 
ir of mil- Lord i$22. He was 



Dllgdale records a sepulchral brass pl.ii 
Odingsell, of Long Itchington, who died in 
gentleman usher to Henry VII. 

The tower is well proportioned, .-\t about a third i.f its height is a singula 
band of quatrefoils carried quite round the tower, ami the same feature appeanj 
on the inside. Within the battlementetl parapet appears the bjise of a spire whid 
was probably never carried any higher. 

TO GLOUCKSTKR, ASHLKWOKTM AND DKKRHUKST. Jii.v iiST. 



On arriving at Gloucester the parly went ii 
it appeared that all had seen it more than or 



- to the Talhedral. and a)th< 
■ two hours spent in and ab< 



Excursions in ihe year igot. 

it were very thi>roiij;hly eiijoj-eJ. Any de-'scription o^ the fabric which cuuld be 
CompresNed into the space at my disposal would be quite useless lo these to whuni 
it is already well known, and nearly as much so to those who have tievur seen it. 




After an unsatisfactory hi.ich at the hutul. wc- ^^..^M five miles to the little 
village of Ashlewurtli, and visited the Manor House of the 14th CKiitury, the hall 
of which has a fine (lak roof with fjood moulded principals and carved braces, with 
two tiers of wind braces in each bay. The windows are verj- good antl most of lliem 
retain their original liaccries and mullions. The fine stone newelled staircase and 
other notable features of the interior were examined with much interest. Near the 
Manor House is an ulil barn of the 15th century. 

Ashleworth belonfjed to the Anglo-Saxon Berklej-.s, but was given by the 
Conqueror to Robert Fitzharding, whi) presented the manor and church to St. 
Augustine's Abbey, Bristol, which held it until the dissolution of tlie Monastery, and 
it sub.sequently came to the .see of Bristol to which the patronage then belonged. 

The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, stands near the Manor House. It has 
one aisle on the south side of the nave, and a we-tern t.mer, Mirmounled bv a 



12 Excursions in the year igoi. 

spire of later date. The most remarkjible features of the interior are the fine 
cradled roofs, and the very unusual extent to which herring-bone masonry has 
been used in the north wali of the nave. There are some good lancet windows 
of the 13th century in the chancel, and a curious recess, prnbablj- built to receive 
a sepulchral monument. 

In the churchyard is a tall cro.ss on an octagon base above two high surrounding 
steps. The head has sculptured groups of figures, one of which represents the 

crucifixion. 




Our next stop was at a fine large oak-framed house, now called the old Vicaragt 
It looks however too important for a vicarage of its time, about the end of the 
l6th century, and yet has hardly the character of a manor house. The room on 
the right hand when entering has a very elaborately framed ceiling, with heavy 
oak-moulded beams. We were received very kindly bj' the lady occupant, but 
could not learn much of the ancient history of the house. 

We then drove on to Hasfield, where is a church very bcainifully situated, and 
owing to the ivy and other climbing plants abf)Ut it very attractive at fir.st sight. On 
examination, however, we found it had been made absolutely repulsive by restoration, 
so we returned to our carriages and drove toward Deerhurst. On our way we 
noticed a fine old house standing in a lane about half a mile awaj' on our left. 
Towards this we therefore turned the horses' heads and were well rewarded. It 



Excursions in the year n)ol . I3 

is A grand old fabric, about uiii: halT of oal% limber fraiiiiiiy and the ulher halt 
■ell built of a fine oolite >li)ne. The prevailing' opinion \vii> llial llie uak part was 




le 17th I 
ne li^df, 



I of the early part of the i6lh century, and that the owners in ll 
had resolved to re-build it in stone, and succeeded in only finishing 1. 

We met with a very cordial reception, and were shewn some panelled rooms 
I and a good oak staircase of about the lime of James I. 

A very pretty drive then brought us to Deerhursl. This is a place of extreme 
historic and antiquarian interest. The name is thought to have been derived from the 
I British Dwr Water, and Anylo- Saxon Hurst, a wwxi. Bede mentions the monastery 
I as famous in his time. It is said to have been founded ab<nU ;i5, destroyed by 
r Danes, rebnill by Kdward the Confessor, consecrated in the year 1056. It was 
I then made an Alien Hriory. 

Henry VI., in the 19th year of his reiEii, dissolved the mojiastcrj' and gave 
I most of the lands to Eton College and the rest to Tewkesbury Abbey. 

.An inscribed stone was dug up towards the end of the 17th century at Deerhuist 
and is now preserved among the Arundelian Marbles at Oxford, which says that 
the Church was built by Odda, who dieil In 1056. 

The church is of extreme interest, and inidoiibtcdly of pre-Norman date, but 
the arcades were in.serted in the 13th cen'.ury. It is much to be regretted that 
e have not the original arches. 



■iAdA^B^ 



i^a^ 



'4 



Excursions in the year rgor. 



The tower is very curious. In the first fluor it is divided inidwiiy by a wall, just 
as the early Norman castlt-s generally were ; fnr instance, the keejjs of London. 
Mailing, and Rnche';lCT Castles. I lliink it not improlwble ttial llic iM.slcrn chamber 




formed by tlic divis 
view of the interior v 



s put to afford a sight of the high altai 



The 



ii<lo> 



urious and Saxon-like; one < 
This has f.iften been enj^raved. 



the 



:el arch 
id there was a I 



<ir the < 
[all dom< 



M^nor House. Here wa.s 
ic chapel of early character. 



very ■ 
of two lights particularly sc 
spire, blown down in 1666, 

Near the church is all that remains 
discovered, about 15 or 30 j'ears ago, a an 
probably pre-Norman, There has since this 
opinion as to whether the stone recording tb 
chapel or to the church, 

We had an oul-of-dixir lea at the manor, and drove on to Tewl(^bury, but were 
too late to see the interior of the great church, so had to content ourselves with 
a look at the exterior, and a saunter through the picturesque streets of the town to 
the railway station. 



discover)- been much difference of 
e bm'lding by Odda referred to this 



T^he Mediceval Seals of 
J J orcesfers/nre, 

Hv TKANCIS R ANDREWS. A.K.i.H.A. 
b'ehriiiiry ii)t/i. 11)112. 




i\S as til llicir i-eiiiote aiiliqiiily will nnt l)c 
In- waj-of iiitroduclioii to a con!>ideratini) uf llic iticdixval 
seals i)f Wtirccstersliire. Such a phase of tht- subject has 
.ilrL-adj- been ably dealt with by previous Mnlers.l'l and 
lull lillle |)ri.jrl<i the iotli ceiilury concerns (he preseni 

In the 9tl) and [Oth centuries, and foi some long 

lime after, the use of seals was extrcmelj rare. Chiro- 

i-mp/is. subscribed by their attestators with the siyn of 

the cross, being the usual form of document. Nor wjus it until the greater security 

of the Norman sealed deed had proved itself over the Saxon's Chirograph a\ Iniienlnrc 

that the use of the seal becaine at all general in England. 

Occasionally a somewhat primitive compromise was effected ; it is reported^ 
of William the Conqueror and of Malcolm III. of Scotland, that they ratified some 
of their grants by biting the wax with their teeth in the jiresence of witnesses, a 
method of " imii-Hturc" never contemplated by the law, and this expedient, in the 
absence of their seals, was adopted occasionally by others of less importance, it 
is said that some of the berTefaclors of Castleacre. in Norfolk, bit the wax.(3) 

In the papers already referred to much has been .said on various matters 
toncerniiig seals generally ; of the material of which the matrices were made, of 
the substance in which they were impre.ssed, and the meihods of impression and 
attachment to the various instruments, it is not necessar)- therefore to go again 



(0 ItiahupurSalisliHi 
Rev. A.S. PoHer, M.A. 

iH Tayht /.»/-... ,t/. 



Art ha. I ml. 

UK. SSi. K/fii, 



!«/. ^. W. H. St. John Hope, M.A. /■/«-. Am. .%«., vol. il. 
■li. vkI. .ri., //, a. W. Snli Bm^DKlun. K.S.A. ffham Atcia. 



(3) Ihid. 



1 6 The Medicrjal Seals of Worcestershire, 

over the same ground, but, previous to the consideration of the immediate subject 
of this paper, I should like to make some note as to the custody of the seal in 
monastic houses, a matter of great importance, as its whole value lay in the secure 
keeping of its matrix.(0 

Religious orders had each their separate regulations regarding the custody of 
their common seal. In some cases the Abbot held it alone, in others he held 
it jointly with specially elected meml>ers of his house.(2) In 1305, the law taking 
note of the need that the seal should be securely held, directed by Act of Parliament 
that in Cistercian and Pnemonstratensian houses the prior and four eligible brethren 
of each monaster}- should be entrusted with its care.(3) 

Tanner (4) says that the Prjecentor of the Convent had charge of the chapter 
book and seal. And, as if for further security, another officer is referred to at 
Bur>',(5) as the ** Magister Cereorum," or keeper of the wax for sealing the various 
deeds, leases, &c., of the house. 

At Worcester, payments by the Prior's Chaplain are mentioned in the Regtstcr}<^) 
to the Sacristan for wax for the Prior's Seal, as half-yearly of xijd. 

" De Sacrista vigilla Natalis Domini pro cera ad sigillum Prions ... xijd. 
Item: In festo S. Joh. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... xijd." 

There is no other note in that Rtgistcr on the subject, but it is elsewhere 
recorded that among the "dewtyes that our reverend fader in GoD ye prior of 

" Worc'r owt to have of the celerar's office he shal 

" receive of everie convent seale Sealyde ijs."(7) 

Despite all efforts for security sometimes the convent seal was lost. It is 
recorded(^) that at St. Nicholas' Monastery, E.xeter, on 8th Nov., 1400, the little 



(1) In the 1535 Visitation, s|)ecial en<juiry was directe<I *' whether the Convent Seal In; securely kept under 
** three locks,'* ami in 1538, the Visitors were ordered by the ('ommission lo *' incontinently call for the Convent's 
** Seal and to cause the same to in? put in sure keeping;." 

(2) From the Annals of Croxden Abbey (Staffs.) C///^''///V2<-. '*MCCCXIII. x kal. junii .... Dompnus 
** R. de Esseby otHcium Abl)atis dimisit, et Dompnus I'honuis de Castrelone, Prior donms, dictum ofticium per 
**electioncm canonicani in crastino recepit. Fraclum est autem ibidem coram visitatoribus et toto conventu, in 
** pleno parliamento, contrasi^illum Abbatis d<mms consuetum, et ordinatum est, qu<>d Bat, secundum statutum 
** regium, commune sigillum, in cusunlia iiij Monachorum de <iignioribus domus, ut ibidem dicilur, de cetero 
**de|x.>nendum. Kactumcjue est ita, et traditum prim<» in custtnlia in fest») sancti Martini." Co/L 'I'of*. et gen, 
//. jtJj. Or from Kynesham Abl)ey (Oxon). Heneiiiitiiie. '* Ksl archa una deposilis secularium assignata sub 
**tribus seris quarum claves cust<Kliunt prior et alii duo Iratres in capitulo assignati. In hac arch reponitur theca 
**duabus »eris assignata in <jua reconditur majus sigillum conventus, et hal)et unam clavem dompnus abbas, 
**et alius frater cunmumi consilio capituli sicut et alii fratres supra constitutus " ; et seq. De Sigi/lo Cotwentus^ 
scilicet quomodo cu^todiatur et quando ma^iium quatido parvum Sigilintu appouetur. Libro Statutorttm Monaste* ii 
de Eyiteshtint. M. S. IJ<k11. (ex. Dugdale, vol. ii.) 

(3) Taylor, /ndex, Moh. See also Wilkin's Concil. Ma.;. Rtil.y Vol i. p. 655. *' De sigillis auctenticis et 
**dc custo<lia eorum." 

(4) Not. .Mon. (5) Taylor, Index. (6) AV;'. iVon.n Candcn Soc. 

(7) MS. dated 1504 and sealed with the Convenlual Seal under the hiuid of Thoma>< 

(8) Oliver, Mon, Dioc. Exoniensis. 



The Mediceval Seals of Worcestershire, \j 

box containing the conventual seal was left in the Chapter House and was stolen 
in the course of the day. The diocesan, Bishop Stafford, required the thief to 
restore it within 15 days under pain of excommunication. It was restored, where- 
upon the Prior was charged to break it up and cause another to be made, '' de 
diversa sculptura et de alia formal' albeit at the Dissolution that same seal was 
still in use. 

From these records it appears that the custody of the seal was usually entrusted 
to the Abbot or Prior conjointly with others of the house, but there was, of course, no 
right given them of attaching it to deeds, &c. ; on such occasions the whole chapter 
with considerable ceremony, decided by vote. 

Another ceremony in relation to a bishop's, an abbot's or other official's seal was 
that of its blessing prior to adoption ;(0 and yet another, the breaking of it on 
the decease or dismissal of its owner. This latter ceremony, however, was not 
always observed, and the frequency with which it was neglected is evidenced by the 
matrices of such seals still extant, but for such a custom and the fact that at the 
Dissolution seals were deemed neither valuable nor useful, there would be an immense 
number of them yet in existence.(2) 

At Durham, the breaking of the seal was noted with care.(3) Of Ralph Flambert 
(1099 — 1 128) it is recorded, "Post cujus mortem fracta fuerunt sigilia ejusdem et 
Sancta Cuthberto oblata." Of Bishop Anthony Bck, in 1284 A.D. : — '* In die 
"sepulturae ejus, fracta fuerunt ejus sigilia et Sancto Cuthberto oblata." Other 
notices of equal purport may also be found : — " Post mortem Richardi Byry episcopi 
**fracta fuerunt iiij sigilia ejusdem," A.D. 1345, and of which broken pieces the record goes 
on to say, a silver-gilt chalice was made by Richard of Wolveston, the feretrarius^ 
for the altar of S. John the Baptist. 

There is a local note, though of rather late date, as to the making of a matrix, 
from X\\Q Journal o{ Prior Moore, of VVorcester,(4) as follows: 1532. " It'ni to John 
"Crancks for makyng and gravyng the pr's newe seale weying iij unces for to serve 
" hym yt shalbe pri'r hereafter. The scripture of the said seale is on ye on side 

"*sigiirm prior' Wigornie,' and the scripture on the other side , . ."(5) I 

am not aware of any e.xtant impression of this seal. 

This man Cranks was a Worcester silversmith, plying his trade independently of 
the convent, albeit very glad of its custom, for many other items of his handiwork 
are referred to in the same Journal, but I think in earlier days .some officer of 
the house was usually sufficiently skilled to be able to sink the various matrices 
needed from time to time; certainly this was so in the earliest days. It is recorded 



(i) Maskell. Mon, Hit. EccUs. Ant^l.f 2\u\ Edit. ii. 
(2) There are some 25,ocx> Seals in the British Museum. (3) .Surlees Soc., Vol. ii. IVilis ami Inventories, 

(4) Prior Moore's Journal, 15 18. 

(5) In another MS. this blank inscription is given as: "Oswaldus I'aties VVulstanus .Munach» .rum, servant 
** hos fratres deleant comissa reorum," which is almost exactly the same as on the Be of the 15th century seal f>f 
the Dean and Chapter. 



(8 



The Mediceval Seals of Worcestershire. 



II e[rrkstasttral 



)]^^rs0nal 



III. 



IV. 



I 



of Bishop Dunstaii himself that he made some such small articles.(0 At Durham 
the feretranus (an official of the same office as the tumhanus of Worcester) appears 
associated with the ceremony of the breaking of the old seals and the subsequent 
treatment of the fragments ; possibly it was he who provided the new ones for the 
newly elected officials. 

The Seals of Worcestershire may be divided into classes thus : — 

I. INC ITTTH I :-i^ I'M I ^ For Special Purposes. 

{a) Of the Episcopate. 
{h) Monastic Institutions. 
(c) Special Seals, Chantries, &c. 
{d) Peculiar Jurisdiction. 
[ {a) Towns. 

* \ (b) Scholastic. 
^ (a) Equestrian. 

* I (/;) Heraldic. 

Of the first class. Royal Seals, there is but one example of which I am aware, 
and that one not of great importance. It is that of Edward VI. 

An ornamental shield of arms, quarterly i and 4 Ancient France, 2 and 3 
England, with royal supporters ; above is a royal crown, and below a triangular 
tablet lettered ** PRO: EPATV: WIGORVM . + ." Inscription round the border:— 

* SIGILLVM : REGIAE : MAIESTATIS : : AD : CAVSVS : 

ECCLESIASTICAS. 

II 6[ttksta5tttaL 

As is usually the case so is it in Worcestershire, the seals of ecclesiastical 
institutions arc those which have survived in by far the greatest number. They 
include those of the episcopate, of the various monastic houses, and also special 
seals of chantries, of hospitals, of peculiar jurisdictions, &c. 

' (a) Great Seals or Seals of Dignity of 
Bishops.(2) 

{/>) Counter Seals (3) (contra sigilla anti 

or sithsigilla ). 
{d) Private Seals.(4) (secreta). 
(e) Seals ad causas.is) 
(/) Signets.(6) 



1. 



Of tlj^ e[piai:^pate 



(i) See foot note under Dunstan's Seal below. 

(2) The Grea/ Seal or Seal of Dij^nity was for charters and other important deeds aftecting the property of 
the See, or of the house, or to authenticate copies of important documents such as Papal Bulls, tS:c. 

(3) Counter Seals were for further security to the Great Seals ^ and were impressed on the wax of the former 
at the back. Private seals were also used occasionally for this purpose. 

(4) The Secretum or Sigillum privatum was for deeds concerning the personal estate of the bishop or abbot. 

(5) Ad causas Seals were for copies of acts of court, letters, marriage licenses, »S:c., and minor instruments. 

(6) The Signet was for private correspondence. 



The Meducviil Seals of Worcestershire. 



Of Oinnaatcrits 



^pftial 



r (rt) Great Seals. 

I («) Counter Seals. 

i {e) .Abbot or other officials. 

I M Ad causas. 

i ia) Chantries. 

I \b) Guilds. 

I (ir) Ho.spitals. 

\{d) Peculiar Juri.sriiclion.lil 



Of tilt 6[pi5rnpatt. 



or the seals of the Kpiscopnte I do not propose to say much, because the 
series has been very ably dealt with by the Rev. A, S. Porter, M.A.. F.S.A.. in 
a paper to the Wore. Dioc. Archl. Soc., and which has been issued in vol. xx. pt. ii. of 
tile Assoc. Soc. Reports. 





-St-al uf IJLsh..p Wul^mii. Sc.ll i.f ULshop Dunslaii. 

[ should, however, like to draw attention to the very distinct setiuence, i>r 
evolution of ilesign exhibited by the Great Seals, from that of liishop Simon of the 
second quarter of the 12th century, down to the commencement of the Renaissance 
as instanced in the seal of Nicholas Heath at about the middle of the 16th century. 

The early form of seal, such as those of Bishops Simon. Pageham. or Roger 
Fitzcount, exhibits the effigy as the dominant feature of the design, and the field 
remains plain, but, by the time of the episcopate of Walter de Cantilupc, in 1237 
A.I>., the plain field gives place to one more or less charged, and though the 
seal of Godfrey Gifford, 1268 A.n., fails to carr>' forward the general development, 
yet at the opening of the 14th century, the pause is fully made up in the delightful 
seal of hi.s successor. William Gainsborough, which is the earliest instance of a 
new era. It being the first Worcester example of the inlroduclion of architectonic 
treatment, in the use of a canopied niche. After this date the niche and other 
details became indispensable in seal design, with more and more richnes.s. developing 
almost identically as did the details of the architecture of their periods. In 137; 
( 1 1 S«alK of ['emliai Jurisdicllon were ihoie of parishes, &c. . exempt frmn F.piicKpal Juiudicli'in. 



20 The Mediceval Seals of Worcestershire, 

A.D., the seals of Henry of Wakefield, his seal of dignity, his ad causas, and 
secretum^ furnish examples of tabernacle work of increasing elaboration (and of 
curiously similar motif va design). 

Another point to be noted in the later treatment is that almost immediately 
architectural forms were admitted the predominance of the central episcopal figure 
was reduced, and at length dismissed from that position. In the seal of dignity of 
Wakefield it appears there for the last time, and in the succeeding examples it occupies 
the base of the seal and an attitude of prayer, the centre being afterwards filled 
up with representations of the coronation of the Virgin or the figures of the Trinity 
in canopied niches rich with tabernacle-work. 

It may be also noted that the earlier seals have their legends circumscribed 
in Lombardic characters, rude in the earliest examples, improved into good form in 
the seals of Cantilupe and Cobham, but in the seal of Wakefield (1375 A-'^O ^^^y 
are replaced by black letters, which remain until changed to the Roman capitals 
of the Renaissance.CO 

The Skals ok the Monastery ok Worcester. 



Qatfeirral jS^als. 



The Seal of the Cathedral Church of the i ith centur}- is the finest example, it 
bears out the method of design of early seals, and to the figure is given the 
important position. It is of the Virgin crowned, seated on a throne and holding 
the Holy Child and in her right hand a fleur de lis.(2) The legend is: — 

* SIGILLVM SCE DEI GENITRICIS MARIE WIGORNENSIS ECL'E. 

The rev, is a small oval counter seal formed of an antique gem exhibiting a 
female figure pouring out a libation to a diety, and circumscribed with the motto : — 

* HABVNDANS CAVTELA N NOCET 

It was a frequent custom to take such antique gems and to make them up 
with a metal setting duly engraved with some befitting Christian legend to connect 
them with ecclesiastical purpose. For example, the monks of Durham taking an 
oval gem bearing the head of Jupiter Tonans they let it into a brass mount and 
encircled it with the words : — 

CAPUT SANCTI OSWALDI REGIS.(3) 



(I) Mr. St. John Hope says periods might be .allotted by date as follows : — {a) Roman Caps., c. 1072-1174 ; 
{b) Rude Lombardic, c. 1174-1215; (r) Good Lombardic, c. 1 206-1 345 ; (r/) Bold black letter, c. 1 345- 1 425 ; 
(/) Full close black letter, c. 1425- 1500 ; (/) Roman Caps., after I5c». Proc. Ant. Soc. XII L 2*i. S. 

(2) This seal is almost exactly similar to Great Malvern ohv, 

(3) Fosbrokc : Antiqs. 



The Medieeval Seats of Worcestershire. 2 i 

And for an instance more pertinent to our subject 
the counter seal of St. Dunstan may be taken— a small 
secretum attached to a deed dated A.l>. 959 — and is of an 
antique gem surrounded by the inscription : — 

DUNSTAN EPii WIGORN. 

And which seal moreover was probably of the handiw'ork 
of Dunstan himself, who is recorded to have executed such works.(') 




jECnIiftearon. 



Of early date also is the seal of the Archdeacon of Worcester; of it, however, only 
fragments remain. It exhibited the Virgin holding the child on h church, and in 
the base the Archdeacon praying. The legend is very incomplete: 

S' ROI . . . . AKCHIDIACONI .... 



iDcan aitb C(lja|iUr, 



There are fairly good impressions of the 15th century circular seal of the Dean 
and Chapter with its reverse: and also that of the later Foundation, A.IX 1542, 
both ob. and reverse ; on the former is depicted the .scene of the Nativity, and 
on the latter Henry VIII. on a throne and surrounded by a number of ecclesiastics, 
and the following legend is circumscribed : 

. . , QUI + I'ROVOC . . . . + REGKM + PECCAT + IN + 
ANI .... VERBES + 20 +. 

( Qui piovacat I'uiii, fiiccul in animum suiiin. Prov. xx. 2.) 

Referring to Prov. xx. 2, " He that provoketh him (i.e. this King) to anger 
sinneth again-st his own soul." 

Later still than these are the seals of the VICAl^ GHllHUAD, 1560 A.0., 
IPHH PUBBBXIDAHY. 1619 A.I1., and the OBBICIAD Pl^IllClPAD also of 17th 
century date, but none of these have any special interest. 



ii Of (DoitastsruB. 



The next serie-s to be considered are the seals of the Great Benedictine Houses 
of the county— Evesham, Pershore, and the Malvern. 

(1) Liiir Gar.il, she: tul. ztlo. " Unu^ annulu^ ... qui fuil lie falnica Saticli Dunslani ;" aAsa Ryiner\ 
Faedera, vol. 2, 204, " Item Un .itiei ii'ui , . . le i|uel Seint Duiislan foi^ <le ites niayns," A.u. 1313, 



The Medifsval Seals of Worcestershin 



0besbam. 



The 13th century circular(') seal and its reverse of F^vesham Abbey are most 
interesting examples, and of complex desif^n. 




Obv. In the centre at tlic bottom of the obverse is a representation of the 
well-known legend of the vision of the swine-herd Eoves, nhich is enclosed in a 
trefoiled ribbon, bearing this inscription : — 

« coves . Hen ■ woneoe . aiit . was . swon 
v-o\\ . PI . Men CDepeip pis . eovisHOM.ca) 

Of which verse the late VViUlani Hamper gave the following(J) translation : 
" Koves here dwelt and was a swain. 
For why (/>. the cause why) men call this Kovesham," 

Outside the ribbon on either side is a tree, and abrwe at the top of the seal 
is a church with a tall spire on a central tower, and other architectural features, and 
over the roof is a cinquefoil. To the right, and beneath two arches, is Ecgwine, 
Bishop of Worcester (693 — 71"). the founder of the Abbey, kneeling toward the 
Virgin on the left, who is accompanied by two attendants (as in the vision) — one 
a man (?) in a long cloak, the other a woman with ;i book. The Virgin is crowned 

(I) Circular Seals, Mr, F«sl)ri)kc says, evidence ki>yall3- a* among Ihe foundiT- ur chief Iwiiefaclor!;. Bril. 
Mm. 

(I) This vcrsu Dugdale irausliifi'— " linves here weiidi'd »ilh hi.-i \«ine, Kq;«iii named (il) Vic Eoiiiibain." 
Mm. Aug!., vol. ii., H-hi-re ho «ive=, an ulaNiratc explanalion of his v>.Tsion. 

(3) Archatlegia. xix.,66. 



■Mtl 



i^'r 



The Afediava/ Seals of Worcestershire. 



n 



and bears a long cross, and to her the Bishop is addressing the words inscribed 
below ihe church, 

ecce DOC Qv?r eteGi. 

[Ecce locum quern elegi : Belaid the place which I have chosen.] 

To the right of the bishop is a tree, under which the Vii^in is seated as she 
appeared in the vision to Eoves, and above her head is a cinquefoil. The legend 
on the mai^in is: — 
SItilDDVM SArjCTe fflAI^ie ET SANTl eCGWINI 6PI GOVfiSH AJIieNSIS 

moNASitei^ii. 

f Seal of the MonasUry of the Holy Mary and of Ecgwin Saint and Bishop at Evesham.) 

[or the Seal of the Monastery of St. Mary and St. Ecgwin the Bishop, at Evesham. ] ( 1 1 

Rev. The reverse of this seal is also of complicated desigTi. It is roughly 
divided into two parts by a series of gablets and arches, the former crocketted 
and the latter foliated. In the upper portion on the right is Bishop Ecgwine 




kneeling and presenting the model of a church to the Virgin, who is seated, in a 
niche having a foliated arch, and has the Holy Child on her knee. On the church 
is a six-leaved rose, and on either side are fleurs-de-lis. In the lower half of the 
seal the three royal patrons are shown^Kenred, King of Mercia — Offa, King of 
the East Angles, and Ethelred — they are crownetl and are sitting on a bench 



(1) The Seal of .St. .Mary and of St. K<%win l>i-Jiop. iiT ihe .M.ir 



rsham, I >iigda1e Mim. Ang. aai. i. 



24 



The MedifTval Seals of IVorcesfersh. 



■tre. 



prcs 



St, the 



middle 
tablet 



passant 
Bishop 
behind 



side by side ; the mie to the extreme left has a falci 
one holds a sceptre, and the first is turned in profile. 
or charter inscribed — 

DAMUS I^GGie DIBGl^ TATI. 

(IV,- giv.- -..■it/i ri'y,>l miniijjn-no:)^^) 

Attached to the tablet is a large oval seal charged with the three lions 
guardant o^ England, and above is a fleur-de-lis. Another representation of 
Ecgwine is placet! at the right, mitred, kneeling and receiving the charter ami 
him is his chaplain or attendant also kneeling. The crrciitnscription is : - 

DICTIS . eCGWINI . IJANOl . ^fiGGS , JUVliei^A . fPl\IllI oniiii 
V1|DG . PIG . llIirGT . AVDA . SAGI^AfPA , MAl^IG. 

(At Ecgwine's request three kings bestow gifts, from all of which the Convent o 
Mary prospers.i^) 
At Ecgin's call, three kings ivith bounty fc«/c,(3) 
Whence godly prosfers Mnrfs sncred dome. 



■ pointed oval seals, said by Dr. W. de Gray Hirch tu be 
■cular ones, and execnteil within the same centiir)' (/.f. Ijthj. 
charged somewhat as the former, but w'ah greater simplicity. 





Kveshiim .•\l.bev. Oh: nnd A'n: (laLur .seal, rcluivd nl,..iii ■ .k -ihii.l] 

and the workmanship is ..f mnch inferior character, and the legends are varied 

if Ihe early circular 



slightly. Also in the 15th 
seal and with considerable 
the engraver. 

Another Evesham seal 

(1) T™„slali...„ are ^nven in 



iiilury another copy \va. 



rcuracy. but the legend nn the scroll is corrupted by 
; the lid caiisus Seal just previ.nis Ui the l^issulution' | 



(21 11>i.1. 



(J) \ 



TIk Medireval Seals of Worcestershire 



A.D. 1532. It is a pDinted nval and exhibits the Abbi>t (mitred) knedint; before 
S, Ecgwiiie, who -itands and holds in his right hand a cross and in his left a book. 
, *SieiItD. ABBATIS . GT GOUVeNT' . GVeSHAMIG. AD, CAVSAS . TANTV 

In the Chapter House, Westminster, is an impression of another Evesham 
seal, that of Abbot Lichfieldl'l (whose campanile still stands near the river). In 
his Ristoty of Evfsham. Mr. May refers to one of Abbot Roger, and to a i4th century 
seal, and also others as beint; in the possession of the late Mr. Rudge, of Evesham. 



)^jrsljor£. 



that of Pershore. Of this Abbey there remains 

inter seal. I*) The former is a fine example of 

a pointed oval, jjin long by 2,'^ broad. Its 



The next Benedictine house > 
the 12th century seal and a small 
the Great Seal of a Convent. I 
inscription is: — 

ill SIGIDL' . BGA.T.g . fHAIf^IG . 6T . SCG . GADBVl^RG . VIItGl'qiS 
PSOI^GlfSlS GCDGSie. 

It exhibits the Virgin crowned, sitting 
on an enriched throne and holding the child 
an her left knee. The child's head is en- 
circled with a plain nimbus and he lifts his 
right hand in bcnetliction. In her left hand 
the Virgin holds a sceptre fleur-de-lizc. On 
the field to the right of her head is an estoile 
of six points, and to the left a crescent. To 
her right stands S. Peter holding two keys 
over which is a quatrefoil. To the left S. 
Paul holding a sword erect by the point, and 
over the head of each a star. In the base 
under a trefoil is S. Eadburga three-quarter 
length, holding in her right hand a chalice, 
and in her left an open book (referring to 
the legend of her choice in childhotid). On 
each side a small star.(3) 

■^AM.e; f?„^/,W. ^^_^__ 

(1) Inscriljeil S' CI.EMENTIS DKI GUATIA ABBATIB EVKSHAME, and eshHiilinB ihe \\<^in bikI 
I'Child in a labernacled niche, with side niches, oiilain Kccelesiaslics, and belinv another, bclw«:ii L«.i shigldi : 
KEkdiani) and Ahiikv of Evf-sham. 

[») See my pmpiT on Pershaie Atlty in Ihe Societj-'s Transaciiuns, 1897. 

,) Dugdalc shows a sea] (omewhnl differeni, Moti. AHgl. ii., pi. xiiL.. but it 'm douljiful if ihtre was iiny 
IT GrcKt ScbI. as this one is attachwl Ik a deed among the Sheldon MS.S. dated Mareli 25, 1509. 




The Medim'iil Seals of Worcfslershre, 

The Counter Seal is sinal), i5-BX i 'a. a pointed 
oval, and (if r^lh century date. It shows the Virgin 
seated on a throne, crowned, bending slightly forward 
and turned to the right, and in her arms holding 
the child with a beaded nimbus ; before kneels S. 
Kadburt;a in adoration. The circumscri|)tion is: — 
* SIGIDM . SCG , MAl^ie . Ell . SC 



.Another Counter Seal, not previously noted, is 
kntiwn.l') It is of 13th century, very mirch defaced, 
when perfect a pointed oval, 2 Veins, long b>- I |^„in.s. 
broad. It shows a three-quarter figure, probably 
of the Abbot under whose rule it was engraved, 
and below under a trefoil Iwo small half-length 
figures in ecclesiastical co.siumc face to face. The 
inscrijMion is :- 
^ SIGIDD. ...A-TIS . ei' . C01[Vei[.TVS 
DG PGI^SOI^.... 

There is also a seal of ..ne ..f the Abbots 
of the house, Roger de Kadein' 1 1234— 49 
A.U.J; it is a pointeil oval ^V^w. by 1 l8in., 
and show.s the Abb<it full length holding a 
pastoral staff in his right hand, an.l in his 
left hartd a bo<jk. The inscriiilion is: — 

^ SIGIDD' . 1|0 . . . . UGI . Gi^A . , . BATIS 
PGl^SOlf^G. 



Ptrshore AbhL-y f Stal a/ Aiim Jfagtrj. 

\\) II is uilachdl isuMtr tn the Gt«iil Seal tu a lease dntcd 25th March. 1509, ill which iiiiic William 
Cnmplon wa.s Alitmi and Is referred lo in the deed, but Ihe seal is much earlier. 




&vm Qalbrrn. 



77/f Mftiirpz^ai Seals of Wonestershirt. 




Tlic seals of the I'rinry of llifat Malvern 
iiicliiric a i3ih century iininloti dval (ireat 
slmI (if coiisulenible richness uC delail Its 
sLibjecl, IJI1 the nhv. is the Virjjiii crowned 
M^<.\ seated on a . arvet! ihrnne hnl.liiijj the 
H..lj' fhiki „n lier lap. and in her ri^ht 
Iiaiid a .SL-e|>!rL- ; her feet resl mi an ornate 
fix^tstofjl. The Child has a niinl.us and lifts 
the rijihl hand in bciiedirtion, and hnld.s a 
bu-.k in its left 



IDFjVM see MAl^IG MAI/VGl^ljIK. 

To the above is a small c<'iniler seal. 'J'he arch- 
angel Michael, the patronal saint, half-ltrnnth, his winjjs 
espandecl and holding in his hands a three -[xiintcd 
tronn. Oelow arc three wavy lines rcferriTiy. Mr. Hirch 
says, to the "sea of gla.SH" of the A|X)caly|>s(;."l 

fThese seals are attached to a charier in Hereford 
liedral.J 

There is alstt another 13th century seal of rather late 
dale, 1287 — 1300 A.I>.. and its design is very similar to 
the previous, and it bears the same counter "cal. 

Grolt \UX\cm < CeuHlfr Sad) 

The .seal of Thomas fde Wick f?) A.l>. 1217;, prior of the house, exists attached 
I to a cli;ifter in the Hnttsh Museum. Il exhibits the Virgin anil Thilrl under a 
caitopy — between the archangel Michael on the left, nimbus.scd, an<l on the right 
another figure — ^possibly the Baptist also iiimbussed and raising the right hand ifi 
benediction, and in the left hand an Agnus Dei '?,i, above his head an t-»loite. In 
Ihe Iwse the prior praying under trefoil arch- 
il) sieiDDViu . THoiiie . PHioi^is , iiiAioi^is . (nAr;vei\n-. 



f Jiittlf fljalbrrn. 



ThcfL- are two seals •>f the Friorj- of SS. Mar>-. Gilc, and John the Kvangclist 
|[-Rt Utile Malvern. The earlier is of t2th ccnlur>- i tt is imperfect, but oho^^s the 
Abbul S. Giles full length, holding a pastoral slalTand a book.suid b circumscribed: — 
...bL-Vm : .SCI : eeiDII : ABBATIS : I^Ve : MebVC 

) I ( RmlMKn* t*. 6, lO. 



28 The Mediieval Seals of Worcestershire. 

The other seal is the common seal of the Priory, and was the one attached 
to the Surrender papers. (0 

It exhibits the Virgin with nimbus standing holding the Child, and in her 
left hand a sceptre fleur-de-lis. On her left is St. Giles with a fawn, on her right 
St. John ; each in a tabernacled niche. In the ba.se a shield charged : Arg. on a 
fesse between three cock's heads erased, Sa, a bishop's mitre. Or. Bishop Aicock^^) a 
benefactor. 

S' COG DOMYS SIYG Pl\IOI\ATYS MADYAI^lUG MIOl^. 



©oriisbg* 



The CistercianU) Abbey of St. Mary of Bordesley (between Redditch and 
BeoleyJ is the next house of importance. Of it there is the common seal of date 
1520 A.I)., and which was attached to the Surrender documents (17 June 30, Henry 
VIII). It is 3>^in. x i>^in., but not a perfect impression. The subject is the 
coronation of the Virgin. She is seated in a carved and canopied double niche, and 
below under a foliated arch is an Ecclesiastic kneeling in adoration. 

SIGIDD' GGDG BGATG MAI\IG DG BOl^DGSDG. 

There are two seals of Abbot of this house, but neither have been identified ; one 
is of the 13th century. And a fragment of another of 1465 A.D., a seal of William 
Halford's. 



I)tii^Ug* 



At Dudley the Clugniacs(4) had a Priory, under the patronage of St. James 
Their common seal of the 13th century is known, and is of characteristical early 
form, exhibiting St. James (or a prior) standing and holding in the right hand a 
long cro.ss and in the left a book. 

S' COI^YmG PiyO... DYI3GDGYG. 

(sic. J 

There is also a tiny fragment of a seal under the dale of 1434 A.I)., showing 
St. James in profile, wearing a flat cap and carrying a book, as a part of the 
treatment of the design on the left hand side. 



(1) Dugdale, Vol. iv. 447. 

(2) Arms of ihe Priory, Dugdale says, which is a mistake. 

(3) Cistercians were known as the Grey Monks, a ref«»rmed order of the Benedictines, founded in Citeaux in 
Burgundy in 1098, they came to F^ngland in 11 28. Their Abbeys were usually placeil in lonely places, often in 
well-wocxied and watered valleys, and they devoted their manual laljour to farming, &c. 

(4) Ciiiiiftiacs were a refined order of Benedictines, dating from 912 from C'lugny in Burgundy. They came 
over to England temp. Henry II. Some of their Monasteries were <l()uble for men and women. They performe<l 
no manual lalxmr, and permitted free conversation. 



Tfie Mediceval Seals of Worcestershire. 29 



liakaotom* 



The PraBmon.stratensiaii(0 Order had an Abbey at Halesowen. It was dedicated 
to SS. Mary and John the Evangeh'st. 

The Convent Seal is of 1531 A.D., a pointed oval exhibiting the Virgin seated 
on a throne holding the Holy Child, her feet on a raised corbel, and in her hand 
a sceptre. 

.... YGTYS GCGDIG SC€ MAl^IG D 

Of Thomas de Barmyngham (Birmingham) Abbot of the house in 1543 A.D., 
there remains an impression of his seal ; it is, however, only a fragment, and its 
legend quite defaced. 



anbbiU. 



The Cistercians had a Priory dedicated to St. Mary at Cokehill, for the use 
of six nuns and a prioress. An impression of the seal {temp, Henry VHI.) is 
attached to a deed in the Augmentation Office. 

It shows a full length figure of a lady, said to be the foundress, Isabella de 
Beauchamp, Countess of Warwick, but she was probably only a benefactress. On her 
left wrist she has a falcon ; the right hand is destroyed, and the legend partly so: — 

SIGIDD SAI^GTG (Marie.) 

At Westwood, near Droitwich, there was another nunnery (2) for six sisters 
dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. A very poor impression of its isth centur}' 
seal exists. Its subject is the Annunciation, and it is enriched with canopy work; 
the legend is defaced. 



XSJiatttzXtx Briars. 



Various Orders of the Friars had small houses in Worcester — the Grey Friars 
or Minorites, and the Friars of the Order of the Trinity. Of this latter Order 
only traces of their house existed, and these were lately swept away.O) The onl}- 
seal attributed to these orders is one to the latter, and about this there is doubt 
as to whether it may not be the seal of the Church of St. Nicholas. 



(i) Pramotistratennans were a regular order of Canons founded at Preniontre in 1120. Halesowen was an 
important house of the order. 

(2) Of the Order of Ft)ntevrAld. 

(3) In the Parish of St. Nicholas, toward the bottom of Angel Lane, l)etween that and Kroad Street, was a 
religious house belonging to the F^riars of the Order of the Holy Trinity for the Ke<lemplion of Captives. 
Dugdale vi. 1565. 



30 



The Mfditrvitl Seals of Worcestershire. 



It is (jf 15th century dale, and sluiws St. Nicholas (the ArchbishopJ with mitre 
standing in » niche bestowing pastoral blessing ; in the niche under a very small 
arch is ail ecclesiastic kneeling in prayer. 

.^igilllili rof sri' nicli'i Imgorn'. 

{a) Under the head of Sj^cial Seals I have put first those of Chantries, the only 
example of this class known lo nie is thai of: 



Qorton Holltot. 




Morton Kolliol (Castlf Morton} of which there is a bright 
iiri|ire.-ision fmm the matrix, which wa.s found in 1848 at Lamel 
Hill, near YorkC) It is of 13th century date; exhibits the 
Virgin and Child in the centre, and ha.s in the base an ecclesiastic 
(the Warden) praying. 

S' COMVllG C-.T-OIJI CAPGL-r/fi BG MA1\IG BG 

{Common S(at of the Keeper of the Cluipcl of St. Maty at 
Morton Folliot. ) 



Hipplt. 



(/') Of the Kiiral Deanery of Kippie there is a 14th century .seal exhibiting the 
Virgin and Child under a canopy borne on shafts, and beneath in the base under 
an arch an ecclesia.stic kneeling and in prayer. 

S' DGCAIjAJl'.' S^G MAl^IG TJG I^IPBGD. 

((■) There are three .seals known of the Hospital of St. Wlstan at Worcester, oiwfl 
each of the 14th, 1 5th, and i6th centuries, fc'ach show St. Wlstan, as the founder, ii|f 
the act of blessing, and circumscribed : — 

r,fl/l Cei,t. SIGinnV HOSPlCIl W<ir;STAI(I 

Ijt/l O'ttt. SIRIIjDVJH : COMMVlie : HOSPITADLS : SAIJCfPI : 
WnSTAlU : WI«01\T(. 

l6lh Cent. S' COMVIIG . DOmVS . SCI . WJiSTAIII . IVXTA . SADTV. 



tc CKcavALiiins ir 



II kncieiil Tuliiutat Ceinelery, 1iy |. Tliunuan, K-vj., M. [). 



The Medicroal Seals ol M'orcestet shii\ 



31 



(rf) Of Peculiar jurisdiction I know of five examples — Little Malvern (of which 
Dtigdale said the matrix existed), of the 14th century: Hartlebiiry of the 15th; 
Hanbtiry, one of the i6th and one 1753 : and Alvechiirch, dated 1742. 



Hittk JDttlbtrn. 



Exhibits Si. Giles (tli( Patron oj the Priory) in a 
canoijied niche, caressinfj; a fawn, and is inscribed :— 
SIGILDV JUl^ISIJICCIOmS PAl^VG MADVei^iue. 



Jiirttlburn. 



{ llartlchury). Shows St. James the Greater standing 
on a c.>rl.>el, with a stafi" and escallop, ^incl a wallet at 
his t,'irdle : inscription : — 

.^igillu prrnltaris iurisMrrionis &£ 
Ijfrtilbum. 
Ranburg. 

The earlier shows the Virgin and Child, and in the 
shield, charged: — a fe.<s between, six martlets. 
SIGIDDV PfiCVDIAI^IS lUHISDICTIOllIS 

eccDie De HAi^Bei^i. 

The later seal is of heraldic treatment in ilesign, 
^hewing a field charged with a half length female 

\\. OF THK I'KCUI.IAR JUKISUICTION 
OF HANBURY. 1753. 



She 



chill 



tith 



the west cud. lidijvv two oriiamciual sliields 
that on the sin. charged with ar. (?), a 
chevron, gu., between three escallops, and 
h a negro's head as crest : on the dex.. 
I party per pale : first, iir. a bend, gu. -. second, 
ten torteaux in pile. See 0/ Worcester, a 
bishop's milre -stringed as crest, 

THE SEAL OF THE I'ECULIAR 

JURISDICTION OF AI.VECHURCH. 

1742. 



The Medueval Seals of Worcestershire. 



Oibil. 



in) This class iTiclndes Seals of Towns and those fi>r Civil Purposes. 



Qlortcster, 




A yeneraj view of the Cathetlral, with 
central spire, btlow a roinid headetl door-way 
with hinged fokling dimrs. and various other 
details somewhat irrmulariy groujjed. The 
circumscription is: — 

siGiDLVM coMnivi^e civivm 



SSorrcstcr. 

Statute Marchant, 1654 a.d. A lower with portal 
portcullis, hinged doors. 

TIIK SKAI.K OK THK STATUTK MARCHANT 
OK WORCKSTKR. 

Mnrrcstcr. 

IlailifT Attached to a Court roll <lated 6 Richard 
II. This also e.\hiliils a ti>wer with round arched portal 
and hinged doors. 

(I.'nlil this seal was iliscovered by Mr. Noake in a 
chest in St. Swithin's Church in Oct., 1891, no impression 
<.f the HaililTs Seal was known.] 

S. BAr;L-lV(H\Um GIVIT-ATIS WYOOI^ll. 



The Mdiieeval Seals of li'orccslershin 



X)roillDkh. 




I5tli century. A shield of arms : party per 
pale: Dcx. a sword palewisc siirmoiitited by two 
iions passant, .SV« : quarterly: i and 4. chequy. 
2 . 3 two barrows palewisc, in fess. Town of 
Dn.itwich. 

^igillbm rommnnc bilk 
tugrlju. 



Broittoiib. 



A later Seal : bears the 



cuat of arms iirni 



Broittoirb. 



0lTt5lTam. 




r Seal, but similar lo the last in all details. 



The Seal, ok and trv., of AD. 1604. the 
silver matrices of which are yet iii existence 
anil use. 

Obv. a shield of arms : a priiice'.s coronet 
between in chief, two ostrich feathers jewelled 
and in base: a garb within a burdiire 
bezant^. Borough of Evesham. 



SIGILLVM liVKGI. KVESHAMIEXSI.K, 



The Medkfvai Seals of IVorceslershii 




Rtv. A town with a domed tower in 
ihe centre, and other towers and domes. Ttf 
base a label inscribed EVESHAM, Ab. 

cadiant sun. 

I,IHP:R ah HENRICO FACTVS SVM 
rRINCIl'K BVRGVS, 1604. 



A 17th century Seal. An anchor, over all a feller 
k, containing, on the dex., a .sword erect, and on the 
Town of Bewdley. 

SIGII.I.VM LIBERTATIS BURGI DE BEWDLEY. 



IBrto&kii. 



.\ smaller Seal, but as the last, and with legend :— 
SIGILI.VM OI-KK [Al.E DE BEWDLEY. 

('') ^^^ ^fljolaStif ^CalS '^"'y those of Kidderminster and Hartlebur>- 
Grammar SclinuU are known. 



Ki^^fntiinsl^r. 




Bears the curious form of cross known as the_^^/ or 
siiuislica, over which is the date 1619. Oji each side a 
sword points downwards, and in base a kid couchant (by 
way of rebus or the name of the town). 

SIGLVM. FRATKRN'ITATIS . FDE! . COMIS. T.I.I 

lvdi.liberi.de KIDDERMNSER. 



The Medi^Fval Seals of Worcestershire. 35 

^E^artklnirg. 

Dated 155S A.U Exhibits ihc Viri,'iii and Cl.ild 
under a curtained canopy. 

SIGILLV GVBERNATORV LIUKRK SCOLE fN 
HAKTII.HVKY, A" 155S. 

IV ;;g£rs0nal B^als. 

("J Glqucstrian. 

The Seal of Waleran, Earl of Mellent and VVorcesier. This is a largi; circular 
seal showing tsn ohv. and rex'. the knight on horseback. The legends are: — 

Ohv. * SIGII.LVM : G[VA]LERANNI . COMITIS . VVIGORNIE. 
Rev. * SIGILLVM . GVALKRANNl . CO . . . IS . MELLEXTI, 




Tllis Seal and those of Willelmus Folet, of Longdan (late !3th ccnluryj and of 
Willelmus FoHot, of Maherti (also laic 1 2th century), are the only examples of Worces- 
tershire equestrian seals known to me. Of both Folet and Koliot's there are two 
examples, one a little later than the other in each case, but practically alike in 
design. The legend on those of the former is ; — 



and of the latter :- 



+ SIGILLVM WILLELMI KOLKT. 



+ SIGILL* WILl.KLMI FOLIOT. 



The Mediceval Seals of Worcestershire. 



(-*) Ii«ral5u. 



The following consist of small seals shewing coats of arms charged with the 
blazon of their respective owners, and, except on the later ones, with their names 
circumscribed : — 



Henry de Ribbesford, Knight 

John Botiller (^^ JF/V^^ 

John Bottourty (Lor{i 0/ J Veo/eye) ... 

John de Sapy (Lord of Rudmarky Redmarley D'Abitot) 

Richard de Piriton, Clerk 

John de Beauchamp (of Poyivyk), Knight ... 

'Y\iox\YA'^^\?\ {Vicar of Kidderminster) 

Richard Kenley 

]o\\x\ BourwQ (of the Hoite), Knight 

Thomas Watson, Gent 

Edward Sheldon (^^^^£?/^j^... 

¥.Av!'Axd SovnQTSQi ( Earl of ]Vorcester) 

John Rous (of Rousletich), Knight ... 



Knight 



1326 A.D. 
1357-77 A.1). 
1 161 A.D. 
1365 A.D. 
I 370 A.D. 
1370 A.D. 
I 388 A.D. 
1426 A.D. 
1571 A.D. 
1591 A.D. 
161O A.D. 
161O A.D. 
1 64 1 A.D. 



For the loan of a large number of the blocks illustrating this paper acknowledgment 
must be made of the courtesy of the publishers of " Historic Worcestershire," by W. Salt 
Brassington, F S.A., and of "The Benedictine Abbey of St. Mary of Pershore,'' by Francis 
B. Andrew.s, A.R.l.B A. 



Munifners and Mmsfrels. 



liv WIIJ.IAM HALE, F.R.I. B. A. 



March i^th, i^02. 



" Many precious relics 
And customs uf our rurul ancestry 
Are gone iir stealinn from us." ^ lV.'tJs7Vi/r/A. 



IIKN \vc can finrl a little quiet time now-a- 

days amid the bu.stle and excitement of 

business, not lo say pleasure also, many 

of us, I hope. liUe to think and possibly 

dream pleasantly and affectionately over 

what we call "the good old times." But 

while .some, |>erhapH, lament that the present 

times are n(rt as were the old, there are 

more who are thankful they are not ; and 

while looking back with affectionate venera- 

tiun, and even a little superstition, Tor we 

are all mure or lc^.^ supers tiUoU'^. on llie ijiiaint manners and social customs of our 

forefathers, these fully appreciate the advances which education and more [reneral 

civilization have effected. 

A French Chronicler (Froissart) .says that the English amused themselves 
saiffy. after the fashion of their country ; but a writer on " Merry England " in the 
" New Monthly " of 1825, indicates Blindman's Buflf", Hunt the Slipper, Hot Cockles. 
and Snap Dragon, together with Field Sports, Practical Jests, and Christmas Gambols 
as pleasures of which the English «ere very fond. 

Brand and many other writers seem to think that "popular notions and vuljjar 
ceremonies" are a .sort of .survival of heathen rites and ceremonies, some of which 
were allowed, in some form or other, to be associated with the introduction of the 
Christian religion, in the hope of making the transition from ihe worship of idols 




38 Mummers and Minstrels. 

easier and more popular, for Fuller, in his Church History, remarks **that as careful 
** mothers and nurses, on condition that they can jjet their children to part with 
" knives, are contented to let them pla}- with rattles, so they (the heads of the 
"church) [xirmitted ignorant people to still retain some of their fond and foolish 
** customs, that they mij^ht remove from them the most dangerous and destructive 
"superstitions.'* Men arc but children of larger growth, and are not weaned all 
at once, and reformations are usually more lasting when made imjjerceptibly, while 
^ood humour and cheerfulness are undoubted aids to true flevotion. It was thought 
that b\' ordering the principal Christian festivals at the same time of the year as 
the heathen ones it would "be easier" in the words of an old divine (Dr. Warnistr}*) 
who lived in the middle of the 17th century, ** to vindicate such times from the 
service of the devill." 

The people, generally, during the monotony of their labours and existence, 
needed frequent holidays or opportunities of relaxation, and those in authorit}', both 
in Church and State, wisely deemed it best to provide or encourage sports and 
games following or in connection with the numerous religious festivals, and it has 
been suggested, no doubt with considerable probabilit}', that a profusion of pageants 
and ceremonies kept the i>eople in good humour and diverted their attention from 
their position. The origin of popular customs in general cannot well be studied 
without gaining a useful insight into human nature. 

Customs vary in different parts of a country, and even in a small di.strict 
customs may have entirely disappeared, or ma)* even have never existed in one 
part or parish, whilst still popular in that adjoining ; and in our criticisms of any 
custom, however absurd it ma\' now appear, it is well to bear in mind our altered 
conditions. The reasons for originating or adopting and perpetuating .such cu.stom^ 
if now appearing trivial and foolish to us, may Ixf so only by the light of fuller 
and more intelligent knowledge. 

The old custom of "Munnning," one of the subjects on which I am privileged 
to .sa)' a few words t(; }'ou this evening, appears to have arisen man}- ages back, so 
far back indeed that, like old customs in general, its real origin appears to be 
lost in the '* mi.sts of anticjuit}." Tradition, itself of course a proof of great age, 
gives no reliable data on which to base reasons, aiul although generally truthful in 
transmitting "vulgar rites and popular opinions," \et it often hands these down 
to us in a more or less altered or mutilated form, the outward expression of the 
customs having outlixed the knowledge of the reasons or causes which gave rise 
to them, and when tr)'ing to trace old customs back to their source it is difficult 
and often impossible to tell which stream of facts to follow in order to reach the 
fountain head. C'ustoms often merge one into the other, var^'ing only according 
to geographical position or the season of the )ear, and being, as a rule, transmitted 
orally, the\' altered b}' degrees even in the same county, according to the intelligence 
of the inhabitants generally ; or were perhap.b varied, as Sam Weller said of 



Mtimmers and Minstrels. 39 

spelling, according to taste and fancy, the grosser forms dying off hardest among 
the more superstitious and imperfectly educated. 

Mumming is said to have derived its name from the Danish " Mumme," or 
the Dutch word " Momme," meaning Masker, and Dr. Johnson describes a Mummer 
as " one who performs frolics in a personated dress." 

The custom is supposed to have originated with the festival days added to 
the ancient Saturnalia. In the Christian era Mumming usually began on Christmas 
eve, when men and women disguised their sex by exchanging clothes, visited 
from one neighbour's house to another, made merry with them and partook of their 
good cheer, still keeping themselves unknown if possible. The heathen Saturnalia 
were celebrated in December and, for the reasons before alluded to, some of the 
customs were, on the introduction of Christianity, engrafted on those pertaining to 
Christmas, particularly the feasting and revelling. 

Some of these masqueradings and revellings appear to have been conducted with 
some amount of propriety and were exceedingly popular. In Henry's ** History 
of Britain," it is stated that ** in the year 1348 eighty tunics of buckram, 42 visors 
"and a great variety of other whimsical dresses were provided for the disguisings 
"at the feast of Christmas"; and Stow gives an account of a mummery in 1377, 
made by certain citizens of London to please young Prince Richard, son of the 
Black Prince. He says "on the Saturday before Candlemas, in the night, 130 
"citizens, disguised, and well horsed, in a mummerie, with a number of trumpets, 
"sackbutts, cornets, shalmes, and other minstrels, and with torchlights of wax, rode 
" to Kennington beside Lambeth," where the young prince and his mother were. 
This was a very grand mumming, as one represented an Emperor, another a 
Pope, and others 24 Cardinals, preceded by 48 Knights, each accompanied by his 
esquire, and followed by 8 men wearing black visors, " not amiable," as Stow 
remarks but " as if they had been legates from forrain Princes." 

These mummers entered the hall, where the Prince and his mother, with the 
lords in attendance, came to meet them, " whom they did salute and played dice, but 
" so cast them that the Prince always won the cast " ; the prince's mother and 
the lords also played dice with these disguised citizens, who came provided with 
jewels and gold rings and plate, which they lost by this method of throwing the 
dice. The prince and lords afterwards joined the mummers in the dancing which 
followed, and the historian adds " they were then made to drink and they departed 
" in order as they came." 

The citizens of London .seem to have been famous for this custom, as we 
read that there was a mumming in Henry IV.'s time, when he kept Christmas at 
Eltham, in the second year of his reign, then " 12 aldermen of London and their 
"sonnes rode a mumming and had great thanks," possibly for the valuables they 
lost at dice ; but another mumming, also to Henry IV., was intended to have 
had more serious consequences. Several nobles, dukes, and earls had arranged 



40 Mummers a7id Minstrels, 

for a mumming "to be showed to the kynge" on the Twelfth Night, but upon 
the very day "the Duke of Aumarle" disclosed to the king that he and the other 
lords had arranged to slay him during the mummery. 

These mummings before kings and princes appear to have been different in 
character from those in vogue among persons of less distinction, and although the 
latter were, perhaps, not made use of to conceal conspirac)- to murder, still abuses 
of another kind crept in, as may be readily supposed, and early in Christian times 
in England, it was decreed that such exchanging of dress should no longer be 
countenanced, and later on " In the reigne of King Henrie the e)ght it was ordayned 
" that if any persons did disguise themselves in apparel and cover their faces with 
" visors, gathering a company together, naming themselves mummers, which use to 
" come to the dwelling places of men of honour and other substantial persons, whereupon 
" murders, felonie, rape, and other great hurts and inconveniencies have aforetime 
"grovven and hereafter be like to come, by the colour thereof, if the said disorder 
" should continue not reformed," that then " thc}- should be arrested, by the King's 
" liege people, as vagabonds, and be committed to the gaole, without baylc or 
" mainprise, for the space of three months, and to fine at the King's pleasure ; and 
" every one that keepeth any visors in his house to forfeyte 20s." 

Mummings among the common people were, as we can well understand, of a 
rougher and ruder kind and have, in some parts, been retained in a somewhat 
varied form in the countr)' districts until the present day. These may be thus 
generally described: — About Christmas time a party of five or six }'oung men, dressed 
in more or less grotesque costume, in some measure selected to accord with the 
various characters they are supposed to represent, and further decorated with ribbons 
or coloured papers, call at the houses and enquire if the mummers are wanted. If 
permission be granted the so-called play begins.(r) 

The characters general 1)- are Moll}\ of course dressed as a woman, comically 
imitating a woman's voice, and carrying a broom ; King George^ or sometimes St 
George or Prince George, dressed as a knight ; Beau Slasher, representing a French 
Officer or often a Turkish Officer ; Doctor, in knee breeches and tail coat ; Jack 
Vinnyy a fool or jester ; Happy Jack, a sort of tramp or beggar in tattered garments, 
and Old Beelzebub, attired as Father Christmas is usually depicted. 

Moll)' usually enters first, and the others follow singly as called in, either by 
Molly or the immediately preceding character. Molly having cleared a sufficient 
space with her broom recites a lot of doggrel, such as " We be come this Christmas 
time to make a little rhyme," and with further jargon hopes Christmas will never 
be forgot. She then calls in King George, who on entering asserts " I am the 



(i) Formerly they seem lo have entered as a matter of riglit or custom into the house place or common 
kitchen, and made room for themselves l>y one of their band swin^in<; a bladder attached by string to a stick, at 
the other end of which was a ladle in which money was collected at the end of the performance. 



Mummers and Minstrels. 41 

King of England, the greatest man alive/* he further describes his own prowess 
and declares that he cares for neither Spaniard, French, or Turk, and ends by a 
general challenge to all and sundry. This is immediately accepted by Beau Slasher, 
who enters and declares " I be a bold French Officer,'* and gives an account of his 
antecedents and general bringing up. He fights King George and is generally 
slain, but in some renderings I have, I find he kills King George, at any rate 
one or the other is slain, and the survivor calls aloud for the Doctor who at once 
comes in and, before proceeding to business, gives a curious account of his upbringing 
and travels, and winds up by saying to the dead man ** Here take a little out of 
my bottle and put it down thy throttle," and further advises him to " Rise and 
fight again.'* He does rise but as a rule does not fight again. 

Sometimes the raising a dead man to life is too great a task for the Doctor, so 
he calls Jack Vinny to his aid. He enters, but before giving any assistance he 
puts himself right as to his name, which he says is not Jack Vinny but Mr. John 
Vinny, and having described what a great man he is, to prove this to the Doctor 
he declares he can cure a magpie of the toothache, and on the Doctor enquiring 
how, he replies " Cut off his head and throw his body into the ditch " ; then 
Mr. John Vinny takes out a bottle, fully describes the mixture, which, amongst 
other ingredients, contains "one pennyworth of pigeon's milk," and is to be "well 
shaken afore taken"; he administers the draught which restores life to the dead 
man, who at once rises and dances with the Victor. In some cases the Doctor 
restores the dead to life by taking out a tooth, using in the operation an enormous 
pair of tongs, and shews a horse's tooth as the one he had just extracted from the 
man. 

After this Molly calls in Happy Jack, who, on entering, describes his troubles 
and large family, which he usually carries on his back in the shape of dolls, he begs 
for " roast beef, plum pudding, and mince pie." 

Beelzebub is then called in by Molly, who concludes the introduction with 
" Ben't he now a jolly old man " ; this the latter verifies by saying — 

" Here comes I, ain't been yet, 
With my great head and little wit ; 
My head's so big, and my wit's so small, 
So I brings my fiddle to please ye all." 

And so the play ends, having lasted some twenty minutes or so, Beelzebub 
begins to play the fiddle, to which all dance ; several songs are sung or mimicked 
often by gesticulation only, and Molly collects the money in the ladle. 

In .some parts of the country as at Islip, about six miles north of Oxford, 
the Duke of Northumberland is substituded for Beau Slasher. At Bampton, also in 
Oxfordshire, Father Christinas himself appears ; also the King of Prussia, a Turkish 
knight, Tom the Tinker, a Soldier, Robin Hood, and Little John. In Derbyshire 



42 Mummers and Minstrels. 

Sir Guy "one of the chiefest men in the World's Woncler/* as he modestly describes 
himself, is introduced, and at Whitehaven they have Alexander, the King of Egypt 
and Prince (ieorj^e, who is descril>e<l as his son. The only character that always 
seems to have a place is Prince (ieorj^e or St. or King George, and the only 
unalterable part is the collection of the money at the finish. 

Last Near an attempt was made to revive the rude custom of mumming at 
Xorthficid, but I do not think it has l)een repeated, and like many others, the cu.stom 
is gradually disappearing throughout the country. 

I have endeavoured to fiiul some kind of authorit)' for the origin or meaning 
of the dialogues used, but although the main incidents of the play are on the 
whole very similar, in different districts the words used vary considerably, as might 
naturallx' Ixi ex|)ected, from lx*ing handed down by word of mouth from generation 
to generation b}- generally illiterate men. Attempts have been made to trace the 
origin to some of the ancient " mysterie " or "miracle" pla}'s, and more especially 
that of St. George and the Dragon, still the connection is but conjecture, and the 
basis for " The Hook of the Words" must remain the chief my.stery after all. The 
rude and barbarous jargon now used apjx.*ars to be strung together with bad rhyme 
and less reason, to Ix; varied at will bv each actor. 

I will give you one short but complete address of Molly's, as in use in Berk.shire, 
from which I l)efore quoted : — 

** .A room, a nM)m, I do |)resume. 
For me and mv brave men ; 
For we be come this Christmas time 
To make a littK- rluine. 
And ere we come at Christmas time. 

Welcome, or welcome not, 
Hoping old I^ither Christmas 

Will never be forgot. 

Last Christmas Day I turned the spit. 

Burned mv fin<»ers, and of it vet. 

A Npark fit w over the stable. 

The skinnner hit the ladle ; 

Ah I sa\'s the gridiron, can't \'«»u two agree, 

1 be justice, bring em afore me. 

And now we shows activitv t)f \'outh, 

Activity of age ; 
Such aclic>n you never see 

C|)on another staj^e. 
And if ye won't lH.*lieve what 1 have had to say, 
Walk in. King (ieorge, and clear the way." 



Mummers and Mitistrels, 43 

In Derbyshire it is St, George who comes in saying : — 

** I am St. George the noble champion bold 
And with my glittering sword 
IVe won three crowns of gold ; 
It's I who fought the fier}- dragon, 
And brought it to the slaughter ; 
And so I won fair Sabra, 
The King of Egypt's daughter. 

In Sheffield, a similar mumming play is peformed at Easter by boys, and the 
characters and dialogue, although differing in parts somewhat from those adopted 
by the older youths in various parts of the country, yet undoubtedly had the 
same origin. It is here named "The Pace Egg," and I understand it is sometimes 
performed at Christmas time. 

St. George in person, or under the guise of King or Prince, is almost always 
the leading gentleman, fighting and death are mimicked, and the doctor is called 
in and brings the slain to life. This is the whole plot, if such it can be called, and 
the acting is mysterious buffoonery from beginning to end. 

In some parts and in earlier times some of the mummers were disguised as 
bears, unicorns, &c., and those unable to disguise themselves in any other way, 
blacked their faces. Fine dresses and oddity were their chief aim in trying to 
surprise their neighbours. 

There appears to have been still another class of mumming in which the 
squires* sons and daughters often participated, and in some country houses it is 
said the wardrobes were ransacked for dresses, all kinds of costumes being pressed 
into the service of mumming, and "the gentler sex had their faces blacked with 
cork and decorated with mustachios to make them look fierce," as the chronicler 
adds. 

It is possible that mumming, as performed now and for many decades, may 
be based on a rude remembrance of old plays combined with the Morris dance, both 
having, in course of years, degenerated into mere buffooner}-, and may have gradually 
developed into mumming as we find it. Mr. K. H. Binney, of Oxford, who is 
making a study of the History of Modern Mummery, and to whom I am indebted 
for some valuable information, tells me that the earliest reliable mention of this 
mumming he has so far been able to trace is at Exeter, in or about 1737. There 
is, however, a fragment of a dialogue quoted from a Harleian MS. in " Notes and 
Queries," 2nd S., Vol. XII., of a similar type of play. 

Each parish provided its own amusements at the numerous festivals kept during 
the year, when plays and masques and Morris dances were frequently going on, and 
in the churchwardens* accounts may items of sums of money paid for vi.sors, stuff 
for dresses, &c., for the mummers at Christmas appear. 

The Morris dance is said to have been introduced from Spain. It was danced 



44 Mummers and Minstrels, 

])}' }'()iin<^ men "dressed up," and with j^audy coloured ribbons about their clothes, a 
fair h()\' taking the part of a j^irl called Maid Marion. In the time of Henry 
VI 11. Morris dancers were exceedinj^ly |K)pular at festivals. This dance was 
occasionally performed in the naves of the churches.! n The Whit.suntide Mummers 
usually had their first dance there and then proceeded on their rounds, but in 
the rei^ii of this kin^ they were latterly only allowed to use the churchyard for 
the dance, the minstrels jjlayin*^ in the church porch, and, comfjaratively, but .some 
few years aj^o the Horn dancers executed their steps in the churchyard of Abbott's 
Bromley, Staffordshire, to the accompanying music played in the church j)orch. There 
were several excellent photo^ra[)hs by Sir Benjamin Stone in the recent Photographic 
Kxhil)ition of j^roups of these dancers who now occasionally give this form of Morris 
dance. 

It is ncn unlikeU', as in course of time saints* days and opportunities for merr>-- 
making became less, that surviving customs retained the forms from all .sources 
which best i)leased the poj)ular fanc\-. As an instance of this, at the old harvest 
home festivities, when there was "tlisguising" of another kind, as well as masking, 
Hone states that in addition to the usual chosing of Lord and Lady and their 
court, and the mock ceremonies in connection therewith at the beginning of harvest, 
any custom which created a hearty laugh was welcomed by the rustics, and in 
particular this was common ; a \<>ung man, dressed as a woman, is seized with a 
most violent pang of toothache, the doctor is sent for and .soon arrives mounted 
on one of the men as a horse and carr}'ing a milking stool and a pair of tong.s. 
Leaning on the stool, he proceeds with the help of the tongs, to extract the 
tooth, which, in the form of a stout piece of tobacco i)ipe, he shews to his admiring 
au<lience, a performance similar to that before-mentioned as Ix^'ing exhibited in .some 
parts by the mummers at Christmas now. 

Another kindred custom was lM<nigh Momlay, formerh- ke[)t on the first Monday 
after Twelfth Da)'. This custom aj)pears to have died out ; but there were dressings 
uj), dancing, songs, visiting from village to village, and a \'outh, dres.sed as a girl 
called "Bessie," who took a leading part, as diil ** Maid Marion" of the Morris 
dancers, and ** Molly" of the Mummers, all of whom alwaxs looked after the money. 

The author of " T'airy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland," says 
** There are romantic remains of antiquity iionnected with the celebration of May-day 
"in that countr)' of imagination," antl that " Muimners in Ireland are clearly a family 
"of the same race with those festive bands termed Morris dancers in Lngland. They 
"appear at all seasons in Ireland, but Ma\-da\' is their favourite and proper 
"festival." Mumnnnir was also in vo»rue in the ScilK' Isles. 

Jack in the green on Ma\'-da\- is one form in which Morris dancing is still 
maintained in some parts of Lnglanil, and formerly the Hobb\-horse was as.sociated 
with the Morris dance. 



(I) W. Ainlrcws, C.'uri«)U.s Church ('ii>toins. 



Mummers and Minstrels. 45 

In Staffordshire there was a special dance called the Hobby-horse dance ; the 
horse was made of thin pieces of wood and the man danced astride. A large pot 
was taken round while the dance proceeded, and "all people who had kindness 
for the good intent of the sport," contributed as they felt disposed, and the 
money, after paying for cakes and ale provided by the Reeves of the towns, was 
expended in repairs to the church and keeping of the poor. 

Somewhat akin to the Mummers, and possibly another source of inspiration 
to the later mummings, were the doings of the Lords and Abbots of Misrule, also 
a Christmas custom, at which some one suitable to the post was elected Prince, Lord 
or Abbot, who chose the different members of his court and following, and within 
certain limits their power for mischief and putting things topsey turvey was absolute. 

Queen Elizabeth and her Court visited the Court of the Prince of Misrule, who 
kept up his state at Gray's Inn from his election just before Christmas, 1594, till 
Shrove Tuesday following, when his reign ended. This Prince chose the officers 

of his court, and the authorities of the Temple Inn chose an Ambassador who 

«. 

visited it. The Prince in the latter part of his reign is supposed to visit Russia 
and returns in state up the Thames from Greenwich, and finally disappears into 
a rock on Shrove Tuesday. The sports in connection with the reign of the Lord 
of Misrule were very extensive. It is recorded that the Queen in person thanked 
the Prince. 

Evelyn, under date Jan. ist, 1662, says " I went to London, invited to the 
"solemn foolerie of the Prince de la Graingc at Lincoln's Inn, where came the 
"King" — "it began with a grand masque, with mock princes, nobles, knights of 
** the sun, and ended with a banquet." Pepys also refers to this same entertainment 
when he says, "Comes by the King's Lifeguards, he being gone to Lincoln's Inn 
" this afternoon to see the revels there ; there being, according to old custom, a 
"prince and all his nobles and other matters of sport and custom." 

Besides the celebrations at the Inns of Court this custom of choosing Lords 
of Misrule extended to other parts of the country, and was especially carried out 
at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, with that exuberance of spirits wiiich 
still characterises the undergraduates there. At Cambridge, in the latter part of 
the i6th century, the heads of colleges solemnly debated whether they should 
deprive the students of their usual Christmas liberty in carrying out the customary 
Lord of Misrule proceedings ; but one of the Dons, more wise than his fellows, 
objected to this being done, " because," said he, "in these twelve days," the period 
this freedom lasted, "we can more easily discover the true disposition of our students 
" than in the whole twelve months before." 

A noted Lord of Misrule was one George Ferrers, with whose performances 
King Edward VI. was much pleased. In the entries of privy purse expenses, 1490 
to 1503, there are several items of payment to "Lords of Misrule." On March 



46 Mummers a^td Minstrels, 

3rd, 1490, one Jacques Haulte, was paid £^2 i8s. 6^d., a very considerable sum, 
" in full payment for the disguising at Christmas." 

Accompanying or following the Mummers, in former days, generally came the 
Minstrels ; they were always favourites, welcome alike in cottage and hall, according 
to their degree. 

Minstrelsy is a comprehensive term. The earliest traditions and records remind 
us of viols and timbrels, accompanying the dances, and in one form or other it 
has spread, from the east, from before the times of the Troubadour down to the Waits 
who now scarcely delight our ears as they too often herald the approach of 
Christmas. 

I can now give but a very brief and incomplete survey of this large and 
fascinating subject. 

The civilization of Byzantium had a great influence on music, and this influence 
was spread rapidly throughout Europe by those returning from the Crusades. The 
Saracen infidels were also a civilized race and for a long-time occupied Spain as 
part of their empire, and amongst them were a race of wandering minstrels, whose 
usual themes were love and noble deeds. Music, however, was not associated with 
the Mahomedan religion as its founder said " Music must be kept in check," and even 
bells were not used to call the faithful to prayer. In social life it was after a 
time tacitly allowed, and it is said that the Arabs had in use some 60 stringed 
instruments, including no less than 32 kinds of the lute. 

The object of the good musician in early days was ** to utter clever words and 
make your hearers understand every word as you chant it," to the accompaniment 
of the lute or other instrument. We can well understand, therefore, how welcome 
were the travelled minstrels who sang of love and deeds of chivalry, and carried 
news from country to country. Caliph Haroun-al-Raschid, whom all remember 
in the " Arabian Nights' Entertainments," was one of the Minstrels' most liberal 
patrons, and the eastern people of all ranks were ever ready to receive and reward 
the strolling minstrels. A selection of musical instruments was kept in some of the 
better class houses for tho.se minstrels who wished to use them in addition to or in 
substitution of those they carried. 

Minstrelsy pa.ssed on to Provence, cordially welcomed b}^ the nobility and people 
generally, the Seigneurs living in the Chateaux in comparative peace, gladly cultivated 
the art and many in their own persons became known as Troubadours, or as the word 
meant, inventors of poetry. 

The stream of minstrelsy moved on to the British Isles, and the Norman 
Knights, in their return from the Holy Land, al.so brought back the Troubadour 
custom from the people through whose lands they passed, and thus in a short 
time many knights of courtly bearing here took up the role of Troubadour, which 
calling was generally understood to indicate a nobleman. 



Mummers and Minstrels. 47 

Early in the spring, the Troubadour, fully armed and on his steed, would leave 
his castle, accompanied by his servants called gleemen or jongleurs, on foot, and 
travel from castle to castle on the lookout for adventures, the jongleurs chanting 
the verses their master had composed.(0 On reaching a castle where he was sure 
of a hospitable welcome, he dismounted and was assisted to disarm by the owner 
and his family, who all thought it an honour to assist, they then arrayed him in 
a costly mantle and conducted him to the hall, his followers the jongleurs striking 
up their music, the Troubadour also chanting and playing. 

The Troubadour took part in any tournament that might be going on, and 
these were often arranged in honour of his visit, and he therein was bound to 
maintain the name and fame of his lady-love against all comers, so that when 
two Troubadours happened to meet at the same castle, we may imagine the 
contention in verse and the lists was keen. The expenses attached to the life of 
a Troubadour were necessarily very considerable, and of course could not be incurred 
by any one not of rank and means. He was expected, in his turn, to be more 
hospitable than any ordinary lord or knight, and many were thus ruined and went 
to the Crusades to court a soldier's death fighting for the Holy Sepulchre. 

The Troubadours seem, on the whole, to have had a very refining influence 
on society, although there are instances of the reverse. 

The gleemen or jongleurs, who went with the Troubadours, in addition to singing 
and accompanying their master's songs, often took part in a little play and were 
attired to represent the characters they personated ; they also performed tricks, 
played games, and were jugglers and buffoons. They were near their master at 
tournaments, outside the barrier, playing their instruments, describing his courage 
and deeds, and hurling defiance at his antagonist, and if their lord was wounded or 
killed they attended to him. These are among the instructions Girard Calanson, a 
Troubadour, gave to his jongleurs, " Learn my good jongleurs, to act well, to speak 
" well, and to extemporise rhymes well. Learn to invent clever and amusing games 
"to please people." They were also to learn to play the tabor, cymbals, and 
bagpipe, and throw and catch apples on points of knives, to imitate songs of birds, 
pretend to attack a castle, jump through hoops, and do many other things, and 
finally, if they could prepare nine instruments of ten chords and learn to play 
them well, he considered they would be able to furnish him with ample melody. 

The jongleurs were well cared for by their masters, who often became much 
attached to them. Certain jongleurs were appointed King's jongleurs, and in 
Edward the Third's time their pay was 7)^d per day. 

After a time the Troubadours disappeared, and poetry and music seem to have 
pursued, to some extent, separate courses ; poetry describing subjects more elaborate 
and of deeper and more lasting interest, while the briefer and more impulsive tales 
of love and adventure were sung by the jongleurs themselves, to whom a roving 



(l) J. F. Rowbolhani's ** Troubadours and Courts of Love.'' 



48 Mummers and Miustrels. 

life had become a necessitv. Hut even Fx'fore the decadence of the Troubadours 
some jongleurs left their masters, and vvanderinj^ amongst the crowds of pilgrims 
journey inj:^ to and from the numerous shrines they, in a lower level of society, 
imitated their masters in son^. Hence came the wandering Minstrels of the British 
Isles, who as stated by Strutt, " used to stroll alK)Ut the country and at fairs, feasts, 
"weddings, &c., did play and sonietimes sing to their musick," *' uj)on tenches or 
** barrel heads where the\' have none other audience than lK)ys and country fellows 
** that passe by them in the slretes, or else blind harpers or such tavern minstrels 
** that give a fit of mirth for a groat." The songs or ballads were of considerable 
length, divided into "fits" or parts, and the minstrel had a groat for each "fit," 
" their matter l)eing for the most part stories of old time," " made purposely for the 
** recreation of the common peoi)le at Christmas dinners and brideales, and in taverns 
and alehouses, and such other places of base resort." With these Strutt classes the 
Waits or Wakes {\\\^ latter I think the more appr()|)riate term). The name Waits is 
said to have been derived from *' The Wait," the OKI English name for hautlx)y. 

The occupation of these wandering Minstrels must have been a ver\' lucrative 
one, as ever\' Saint aiul ever\' trade had its holida\' with accompanying festival 
and merrymaking. The\' wore dresses of gaudy colour, stockings and ho.se, shoes 
having large rosettes, bright hued jackets (lec( crated with ribbons anil rosettes, and 
generally a red hat turned up with yellow ; the chief or squire of minstrels having 
aKso a |)eacock's feather in his hat. As the\' apj)roached a village they were 
welcomed b\- (»ld and \'oung, and soon attracteil an au<lience who freely applauded 
and paid up when the hat went round at the close of their })erformance ; offers 
too of bed and board were often made and accepted, but if not the minstrel was 
not above seekin<{ rest at an\' conveiuent ha\'stack. 

Hut the wandering minstrel, roving from country to country, seemed to belong 
to none in particular and had no legal reined)* if robbed or injured, although he 
found the law active enough against him should he transgress. They .soon however 
sought strength by ass(»ciating in self-defence, antl Ciuilds of Minstrels aro.se, and 
(Mice a }'ear ever\' minstrel was accustomed to attend his loilge on guild day. Many 
of these lodges numbered u|)wards (»f ^po memlHMs. .\mong these guilds were 
those of (anlerburv, York, Chester, Heverlev, Dutton, and Tutburv. lohn of 
Gaunt granted a charier to a guild at Tutbury appointing a c(»urt to Ixi held at 
which a King of Minstrels was elected every \'ear on the da\' after the festival of the 
Assumption of the Virgin. The king tried those charged with misdemeanours during 
the year, and gave licenses for the conn'ng year. Then the Ranger of the Forest 
l)rovi<le(l a dinner at Tutbury Castle ; a buck was killed and a procession formed 
to the High Cross, all carrying green boughs and one the buck's head ; the minstrels 
two and two going before to the church where the buck's head was o ffe ret 1, each keeper 
paying id., and the minstrels [)laying the while, then high mass was celebrated 
and on leaving church they went off to dinner. The following day the proce.ssion 
was again formed and proceeded to church where each nn'nstrel paid id. as a due 



Mummers and Minstrels. 49 

to the Vicar of Tutbury. On returning to the Castle Hall the business of the 
** King's" Court was transacted with the usual formalities of Courts of Justice, and 
all men were sworn "to keep the king of music's counsel and their fellows and 
" their own." Then followed a charge from the steward extolling the antiquity 
and excellence of the noble science, and the formal proceedings were finished by 
the election of the new king, who was taken alternately from Staffordshire and 
Derbyshire. The outgoing king then gave a diimer ; afterwards came bull baiting, 
the poor animal first having had his horns and tail cut off, his body smeared with 
soap, and his nose filled with pepper. This custom, so far as the bull baiting was 
concerned, was abolished in 1778 by the Duke of Devonshire, it having lasted some 
400 years. 

In some parts the chief minstrel was called "Alderman," and in others "Marshal." 
Minstrels of Chester passed into the city free of tolls on condition that they 
sang at the gates before entering. The minstrels cho.se St. Julian as their patron 
saint, as he, to atone for his sins, vowed to take everybody into his house, and the 
Wandering Minstrels, although vagabonds, might justly claim his shelter under such 
a comprehensive term. 

Later on these minstrels .seem to have given up much of their wandering 
life, and to have congregated in certain parts of the town which were usually 
denominated St. Julian's quarter, and they found ready employment, being always 
willing when messages came to them, to supply bands or single minstrels. Some 
however still preferred a life more full of adventure, and taking their wives and 
families with them in caravans, they introduced them as glee maidens, often attired 
in bright coloured clothes, .short petticoats, red stockings, and buskins of leather, and 
an abundance of .sham silver chains and jewellery, and .sometimes accompanied by 
goats, performing dogs and dancing bears, &c. 

There are records of minstrels in early times having attained great eminence 
and wealth. In 1 102, when Henry I. was king, St. Bartholomew's Priory Hospital 
and Church in Smithfield, London, was founded by Rahere, a minstrel of the 
king, and he was described as " a pleasant witted gentleman." But it is recorded 
of another minstrel or jongleur to a king, who had engaged him to lull him to 
sleep every night by telling stories, that he not only succeeded in this, but the 
romances became so prosy or dull that he him.self went to sleep in the middle of his 
narrative. 

It would be unprofitable to follow the further decadence of the Strolling 
Minstrels, but the German band.s, barrel organs and other .street musicians, are with 
us still for those to appreciate who can. 

The decline of ancient methods of merrymaking in our villages is, in .some 
respects, perhaps to be regretted, as the labourers' life there is now relieved by 
but few pleasures, and this may be one of the reasons why the younger villagers 



50 Mummers and Minstrels. 

migriite to the towns. Old customs, however, have fought hard and cnaiiy still 
survive, especially ir. the more secluded parts, but in some places near to populous 
towns the authorities have sometimes had to intervene and suppress some, such 
as "Wakes" and "Mops" which, having survived the needs of their original insti- 
tution, have been latterly mainly kept alive by lar^e incursions from the towns, and 
have often changed their character from a simple rustic celebration to one of drunken- 
ness and vice. Still, as lovers of things ancient, we may, with Sir Walter Scott, regret 
the decay of some old customs and especially such as are connected with that time 
of year when love and kindly feelings to all are generally most expressed, and we 
may say with him — 

" England was merry Kngland when 
Old Christmas brought his sports agaiii ; 
A Christmas gambol oft would cheer 
A poor man's heart through half the year." 




John Buttetourt 
mans of Northfe 
d \vt- the App to hy 
rem thereof to his 
e thereof levyed in 
wardi t'cij xxiij 



leased the said castell of VVeley 
Cradley Haggeley and Oldswy 
and to his heires of his bodie 
ight heires as it appeth by a 
uindena Hillarij Anno rV 



fgh Northfeld Cradley and Oldswynford 

Iter And to ye manos of Bordesley & 

And . . mano of mere Hoiidesworth 

ches of ... . Houndesworth and 



Jo 
M 

Jo 
R 
M 
h 



nupt' 
filie 
Grev d 
feld' 
lis qui 
exit 



e 



Jocosa nupt 



m Burnel 
tf sine ex. 



Hugh Burnell aft' 

eath of yis Joyse held Hu 

the said Manos Mi 

ye App for t*me of 

s lyfe by v*tue 

a Fyne to hym 

vied in Cro Assc. 

nis Ao r'r' Rici s'cdi 

It is also found by an office of the Countie 

Staff A*» r*r' H. quiti . . yt- ys- Hugh Burnell 

held the said Mans in Corn of Staff' . . . 

Mans &c for t'me of his lyffe The reu 

thereof belonging . . Mo . . ce Berkley 

Joyce his wyff . . of Adam Peseall 

Joyse his wyfe H . . gh Strandley The 

iche & Adam and also the said 

gh Strandley and . . yce his wyfe seually by 

seiiall fynes giint . . The reusion of both ther 

ts by ye name of A . . rde pt for either of 

to dyus psones . . hose estate in the 

ij jptf oofi James . . rmond Erl of 

Wiltshire opt»*yned and purchased 



Katerina 
nupt Mauricio 
Berkley Militf 
et hue? exit*. 



Mauricus 
nupt' Johane 

filie Johis 
Denhm militf 
et huet exit' 



Mauricius nupt' 

Alianore filie 

Wiffi Moundford 

Milit' & hue? ex. 



Wiffs Miles nupt' 

filie Humf?i Staff. 

. ord milit' et 

&. ^<* #w 

nuer ex. 



Margaret a 
Monialis de 
Nonnetton. 



Agnes 
Monialis 
de Elstowe. 



This Adam and Joyse his vvyfP gunted 

Teiicon of ye iijde pt of the said Man 

deceasse of the said Hugh Bu 

,to Johan lady Burgavenny 

it appeareth by a fyne 

in C?o Alai A^ r'r' Henr v^i 

:. . . in the pmisses by 

conveyaunce James er . . . 

Wiltshire opteyned. 



Kicus nupt' 
Elizabeth filie 
Humf?i. Conyngesby 
Milit' et hue? ex. " 



ys Will'm Berkley . . yght by indenture dated 
xj yere of King H . . ry the vij^h conenuted 
Erie of Ormond to make or cause 
be made to ye same Thomas and his heires 
fyne feoffamct and covenant colat'all 
release & other ... a sure and suffici 
estate of and in the . . ordships townes and 
of Newport p ... ell and Lyndford in the Com 
of Bukf of the Manos of Hondesworth mere and 
Clent in the Corn of Stafff The Manos of 
Oldswynford Haggeley and Cradley in ye 
Com of Worceter The Manos of Swansey 
tulburne in the in ye Corn of Ca 

rige The Manos of Bordesley & Heyborns 
ye view of Frank plegg . . Aston in ye Corn of War- 
wyke Alle whiche esta . . were made Accordingly 
as it is supposed, By reason of which estatf ye 
heires of the said s* W^ . . I'm byn estopped to 
anything in any of ye said Manos &c. 



Johes nupt' 

filie Wiffi 

Denys Milit' 

qui hue? ex. 



II 

sr 



Jocosa 

nupt' 

William 

Bermigha 

et hue? ex. 



Margareta 

nupt* Rico 

Mutton et 

tiuer ex. 



The Manor and Castle of PVeoky. 



Rv FRANK S. I'EAKSON. LL.B. 



Nm'emher i2tli. ignz. 



IS are rrniii pholi^mpha liy lIow«Hl> S. PlSARiioN*, Esq., and Mtss EvKt.VN M. JUF 
reprinied liy the kind pctniission of F. H. T. Jbhvoisb, Esq,. Editor of Tht An/estor. 




K years ago 1 
a paper on 
and Weolev. 



hwd the honour to read before this Society 
the Historj- of the Manor of Northfield 
It had been i^iigfjested by a previous 
paper I had read on the manor in the reign of Henry 
VI., anil il was avowedly a sketch, it could be no 
more, of the Historj' of the Manor. Since then I 
have gathered together something more of the Manor's 
History, and I would ask any of my audience who 
may have aught of my previous paper in their recol- 
lection to pardon any re]jelition 1 may make and to 
treat this p;iper as iiUin;^ in the details I then lightly sketched. There is no such 
thing a.s finality in the quest of history, fresh sources of infonnation are di.sclosed, 
often by the purest accident, and once pre-cnnceived ideas and cherished theories have 
to go by the board, and on an improved foundation one is tempted to build up 
a new superstructure of theory — only for demolition in the future. So I think it 
not ^>erhaps idle or out of place to put on record from time to time all that can 
be learned of a comparatively miknown and historically unimportant Manor like 
Northfield. It lay far remote from strife and turmoil, no great family ever made 
it their home, no battle of historic fame was ever fought within its boundary, not 
even King Cliades or Queen Elizabeth are recorded by the vaguest tradition to 
have stayed one single night nnder any roof the manor held. .And so perhaps 
if we could rightly understand its history it would teach us more of the development 
of England, of the slow growth of the nation, than one could learn from the vivid 
history of Warwick or the romance of Kenilworth, 

To-night I prD|)Ose to deal with the owners of the manor and iheir Manor 



52 The Manor and Castle of Weoley, 

House of Weoley Castle, rather than with the manor itself. For of the latter I 
think I am correct in saying that of all the ancient houses in the neighbourhood 
of Birmingham there is not one of which so little either of the house itself or of 
its owners, is known as there is of Weoley Castle. To many well acquainted 
with our local antiquities, its very site is unknown, and often a modern castellated 
house lying some two hundred yards to the right of the foot of Griffin's Hill on 
the Bristol Road is pointed out as being erected on the site of Weoley Castle. I 
have the good fortune to-night not only to be able to tell you exactly where 
Weoley Castle stood, but to give you an absolutely faithful contemporary account 
of what it really was, a very strongly fortified manor house, some five centuries ago. 

To make myself clear to my hearers to-night I must first give an outline of 
the boundaries of the manor. The Manor of Northfield and Weole}' was a large 
manor lying south-west of Birmingham, touching at the nearest point to the City, 
the city and Warwickshire boundary, about lOO yards north of the Pebble Mill 
on the Pershore Road, and thence extending as far as Kitwell which is close to 
Rubery. Its boundaries are practically co-extensive with the boundaries of the ancient 
parish of Northfield. I am tolerably sure myself that at some remote period there 
were two manors, one of Northfield, the other of Weoley, and that the Bourn (or 
boundary) Brook was the line of division, and thence derived its name. For a 
certain space, it is true, it is the boundary between Northfield and Edgbaston, but 
if the major part of its course is traced, and regard is had to the ancient tithings 
into which the manor was divided, you are forced to regard it as having at one 
time divided the two manors of Northfield and Weoley from each other. When 
they were united I cannot say, but the language of all the earlier documents 
clearly implies that they had once been distinct, and curiously enough Weoley 
was the most important. As good an example as any of what I refer to appears 
in the Red Book of the Exchequer (20 Ed. HI.j, where John de Bottetort was said 
to be Eord of the Manor of Northfield (which formerly belonged to John de Somery) 
who was raised to the Barony of Dudley and the Manor of Weley. However 
this may be. I cannot at present furnish direct proof of the union of the two 
manors, although apart from the language of the early records, the long distance 
between the church and the manor house appears to be additional confirniation of my 
view. 

At any rate, in the time of William the 1st Northfield is described as being 
held by William Fitzansculf. It had formerly been held by a Saxon proprietor 
Alwold or Alwode. It contained six hides in demesne, one carucate and a priest 
It had 7 villeins, 16 Bordarii, and 6 Cotarii, classes of tenants whose exact position 
is still a matter for speculation. These held 13 carucates and there might be five 
more. The manor boasted two men servants and one maid, a wood half a league 
long and three quarantines broad. In the time of the Confessor it was worth £^ 
per annum, at the time of Domesday Survey ;^S per annum. Now it is clear to my 
mind that this does not include Weoley. There is no mention of any capital messuage 



The Manor and Castle of Weoley, 53 

and yet Weoley Castle, from its name and from the very peculiar position chosen 
for its site, must be certainly as old as Saxon times. The position I will deal 
with in the second part of my paper, but the name I may speak of at once. My 
attention was first drawn to its significance by Mr. Arthur T. Wheeley, to whom 
I desire to express my indebtedness. He pointed out that the word Weoley, which 
still presents in.superable difficulties to the compiler of directories, and which all 
earlier writers spelt as convenience dictated, was really composed of two Saxon 
words, "Hvveol" and " Ig " Hweol means a circular framed thing, as a "wheel," in 
modern English " Ig " or " Ey " means an island, and is a word in common 
use on the Thames, where " ey," " eyot/' or " ait," is commonly used to denote 
a small island. To give another instance, Alfred the Great was driven by the 
Danes to Thorney Island in Somersetshire. " Thorney " was Thorn ig in Saxon, or 
the Thorn Island. Later on "ig" became a termination whose value was forgotten 
and we get the duplication of Thorney Island. So it seems clear that Wheolig, or 
the "round island," passed through Weoleg, Weolegh, to Weoley and Weley, all 
forms of spelling to be found in the Rolls. The peculiar position of the castje 
proves this derivation of the name to be absolutely correct, and I have here court 
rolls ranging from Henry IV. to modern times, through which the changes in spelling 
may be traced. 

To-night I desire first of all to trace the descent of the manor and so far as 
1 can the history of those who owned it from William Fitzansculf, who did actually 
come over with the Conqueror, for, the higher criticism notwithstanding, William 
1. did not come absolutely singlehanded. VV^illiam Fitzansculf held it as part of 
the vast estate he received in the Midlands. He had one daughter whose name 
I believe to have been Amice or Havice ; she married one Gervase Paganel, and 
died in Fitzanscul f's lifetime, leaving a son, also Gervase Paganel, and a daughter, 
Havice. (This is rather an important correction of my previous paper in which 
I said that the manor passed directly from Fitzansculf to the Somerys.) Gervase 
Paganel succeeded in right of his deceased mother to the manor of P'itzansculf He 
never married so far as I can discover, and certainly if he did died childless, for 
to him succeeded his sister Havise, who had married Roger de Somen. • In the 
time of King John (Red Hook of the Exchequer, 12 and 13 John) the manor was 
held by Ralph de Somery, whose arms were — or. Two lions passant azure ; arms 
which Habington records as appearing in the east window of the south aisle of the 
church, and there quartering ist, Argent a cross crosslet azure (Malpas), 2nd, Or, a 
lion rampant gules (Charlton of Powes), quartering Arg a saltire engrailed gules 
(Typtote), 3rd as 2nd, 4th as ist. In another window the arms of Somery again 
appeared impaling gules a cross Moline Arg (Beke) quartering Sables a cross 
engrailed Or over these two a crescent azure. In the ist year of the reign of 
Edward I. the Manor of Weoley was held by Roger de Somery, and in the Inquisition 
po.st Mortem we have the first known accurate extent or enquiry since Domesday, 
as to the contents and value of the manor. 



54 7^^^ Manor and Castle of IVeoley, 

The enquiry itself was held on Friday in the Octaves of St. Mathew, ist 
Edward I. (1273), on the oaths of Richard de Cofton, Adam de Cashall, John de 
Weoley, John de Middleton, Gregory de Cofton, Matthew the Goldsmith, Ralph 
the Barber, and Elias the Smith. It was found that the manor contained 300 
acres of arable land in demesne, worth 8d. per acre, or ;^io a year for the whole. 
The ineadow was worth 30s. yearly, the vivaries were worth without waste two 
marks. There were two water mills worth yearl)- five marks, the pannage of the 
customary tenants was worth yearly 3s. ; the pannage of the park was worth yearly 
two marks ; the herbage of the park, if there were no deer, would be worth yearly 
lOOs. The rent of the free tenants was 77s. 9^d. per annum, the rents of assize 
paid by the villeins amounted to £\g os. id., the tallage by the year was worth 
seven marks, the wood that cc)uld be sold from the park without waste was worth 
20s., and the fines of frankpledge £2 15s. od. The manners and customs of the 
age appear to have been curious, for in addition to the enquiry as to the value of 
the manor, it was necessary the same day, before practically the same person, to 
hold another inquisition, inasmuch as Sir John de Hampton, Sir Ralph de Cromwell 
Sir Jeoffrey de Lucy, Sir Grymbalde Pauncefote, Sir Richard de Cosford (they seem 
to have hurried up from all parts of the country side), and others found and hunted 
deer in the said park. From other entries this seems to have been quite a thirteenth 
century custom, when your neighbour died to poach his deer. To this Roger de 
Somery his son Roger succeeded, and died in 1291, and we have a record extant 
of the manor of '* Weleie " made at Northficld on Saturday next after the feast 
of St. Luke the Evangelist, 19 Edward I. (1291). This extent refers to the 
"capital messuage," and this is the first direct reference to Weoley Castle I have 
been able to find. It was found to be worth yearly I2d. As in my last paper, 
I set out this at length I oinit it now. It states among other things "that 
in the park were found no deer." Sir John de Hampton and his friends appear 
to have harried them out of existence. Probably when all the VV^orcestershire 
Inquisitions are published we shall get similar periodical extents on the death of 
each owner, but at present all we can say is that in the family of Somery the 
manor remained until Edward HI., when John de Somery died, leaving no male 
issue, and John de Hampton, Lord of Kinver and Stourton Castle, held "Welegh" 
during the minority of Joan, the sister and one of the co-heiresses of Joan de 
Somery. Joan de Somery afterwards married Thomas de Botetort, who (12 Edward 
HI.) was .seized of land in Northfield and " VVeley." 

I am enabled, by the courtesy of my friend Mr. F. W. T. Jervoisc, the de.scendant 
of a subsequent owner of the manor, to shew you here the Pedigree of the Botetort 
family, commencing with the Lady Joan de Botetort. This pedigree was evidently 
prepared for the purposes of the subsequent Burnell litigation and is of great 
interest. The notes set out the various manors the Bottetorts were lords of, and 
among others Aston in the county of Warwick. The arms of Botetort were 
Or: a saltire engrailed sables, and I am inclined to think that the quartering 



The Manor and Castle of Weoley^ 55 

assigned by Habington to Typtote in the achievement in the window of Northfield 
Church already referred to are really the arms of Botetort. As the pedigree shews 
the manor remained with the Botetorts till the 9th Richard II., they where seized 
of the Manor of Northfield in the Hundred of the Halfshire and of the Castle 
of Weoley (formerly the lands of Somery). John de Botetort\s heiress was his 
granddaughter, Joyce, who had married Sir Hugh de Burnell. Sir Hugh was 
Governor of Bridgnorth Castle in 1386, and was one of the Lords who received 
Richard's abdication in 1399. He was Knight of the Garter in 1406, and in 
Mr. St. John Hope's recent work "The Stall Plates of the Garter Knights," his 
arms are figured on his stall plate as Or : a saltire engrailed sable, Botetort quartering 
arg. a sable lion crowned or, within a bordure azure. The mantle of the crest is 
sable and ermine and the crest itself is a curious fan-shaped object with ribs and 
tassels, which it is suggested is a conventional form of the burr bush, a plant on 
which Burnell is more or less a pun. Sir Hugh was summoned to Parliament 
as Baron of Weolegh Castle from 7th Richard II. to his death 8th Henry VI. Why 
he should have been summoned as Lord of Weolegh two years prior to the death 
of his wife's grandfather, John de Botetort, I cannot say, but probably there was 
some .sort of settlement of this manor on their marriage, for Joyce Burnel, 
probably to perfect this marriage settlement, confirmed Weoley Castle to her 
husband for his life, by a fine levied after their marriage, and in his possession it 
remained till the time of his death. Sir Hugh and his wife died childless, and 
are said to have nominated many co-heirs, to one of whom, Catherine, cousin of 
Joyce Burnel, Northfield and Weoley passed. She had married Sir Maurice de 
Berkeley, who got possession in her right. The period of the Wars of the Roses, 
which we have now reached, was however not merely one of contests of arms, but 
of contests at law as well, and in 17th Henry VI. we find Maurice de Berkeley, 
grandson of Maurice and Catherine de Berkeley, actively engaged in litigation with 
James Ormonde, Earl of Ormonde, and afterwards Earl of Wiltshire, who had 
acquired the shares of some at least of the other co-heirs. This Maurice was 
lord of the manor at the date of the court roll of Henry Vi., which I have and 
in the 32nd year of Henry VI., the litigation between the various representatives 
of Joyce Burnel was concluded, and Maurice de Berkeley was secured in the 
possession of Weoley, dying "seized, 14th Edw«l- IV., of the Manor of N'field, the 
Castell of Weoley, and leaving William de Berkeley his son and heir." The arms 
of Berkeley were Gules a chevron between 10 cros.ses patt^e, six in chief, four in 
base, argent. 

From a legal point of view the descent of the manor as I have traced it, is 
extremely interesting. One sees the battle between the Roman Law of Wills and 
Inheritance and the English Common Law. The phra.se "nomination of co-heirs" is 
one absolutely familiar to the student of the Roman Law, ab.solutely foreign to 

'"r^mmon Law, as we have received it. If the Common Law rules of 
n recognised at the death of Joyce Burnel there would have 



56 The Manor and Castle of Weoley, 

been no possible question as to the descent of her lands, but the lawyers of the 
day evidently recognised this right to nominate heirs. It bears out what I 
have often felt myself, viz., that the real struggle between the Common Law and 
the Roman Law was not at the date of Magna Charta but far later. Regarding 
as I do the Roman Law as the most successful attempt mankind has yet made 
to approach the ideal law, I cannot but regret the issue of the struggle, but in 
the words of the Jurist Papinian, probably the greatest lawyer the world has ever 
seen, "The law a people useth, if it be not opposed to the law of nature, that is best.** 

I fear I have stra)'ed from the subject. I left the manor with William de 
Berkeley ; he was a boy of 16 at his father*s death, and I fear fell on evil times 
(nth Henry VII., 1495). He was attainted and his forfeited manors of Northfield 
and Kidderminster were granted to John Lord Dudley, and the grant was afterwards 
confirmed to Edward Lc^rd Dudley, his grandson and heir. William de Berkely 
was not wholly despoiled, for in 1503, 19th Henry VII., Richard Berkeley his 
son and heir, described as late of Weley, in the county of Worcester, was enabled 
to re-purchase some of the forfeited estates from Edward Lord Dudley. The purchase 
did not, however, extend to Weoley, which by the Act of Authority, 1523 (14 and 
15 Henry VIII.) is confirmed to Edward Lord Dudley (Proviso XXXV.), and 
in 1536 (27 Henry VIII.), Edward Lord Sutton conveyed the manor to Richard 
Jerveys, citizen and mercer of London, for 1200 marks. I have the original 
conveyance signed by Edward Lord Dudley. Unfortunately the seal has gone, but 
otherwise it is in fair preservation, and a most verbose and redundant document 
it is too. Again, by the courtesy of Mr. Jervoise, I can shew you a photo, of 
Richard Jerveys. He was a native of Kidderminster, son of Thomas Jerveys, and 
born in 1500. He married Wenefride Stathum, the widow of William Stathum, and 
daughter of John Bernerd, and had three sons, Barnard, Thomas, and Richard. He 
must have been a man of culture as well as of wealth, for he was intimate with 
Sir Thomas More, who was godfather to his second son. It is possible that the 
portrait is by Holbein. His arms are shewn — they are Arg. a chevron between 
3 eagles close (in later coats they are blazoned as displayed), sable. Crest, a tiger's 
head, erased sable. He was Alderman and Sheriff of London, bought property 
largely in Hampshire (where the seat of the family now is), Worcestershire (including 
a house in Worcester to which he retired) Shropshire, and Nottinghamshire. He 
was succeeded by his son Thomas Jerveys, who went to the Bar. His mother, 
Wenefride, gave him and his brother Richard, who was at the Inner Temple, sound 
advice. She writes : " I pray you and your brother not to be so large in your 
expense for if you be yi wolle melte as hotter yn ye sonne." Thomas married 
Ciceley Ridley, a Shropshire heiress, and was the first governor of Stourbridge 
Grammar School. He died at the family .seat at Butford, near Salisbury, under 
very suspicious circumstances. His widow offered a large reward for information 
but without avail. He left an only son, Thomas, a year old. His guardians were 
Rowland Lucas and Francis Newport, and guardianship was then a thing worth 



The Manor and Castle of Weoley, 57 

having. They sold their rights to Sir George Wrottesley, who in 1601 sold it to 
Sir Richard Powlett, of Herriard, for £\\oo, he wishing to marry his daughter 
Lucy to the ward, who does not appear to have any voice in the matter. His 
arms impale those of Powlett. In 161 1 King James knighted him; he sat in 
Parliament for Whitchurch, Hants, first with his wife's cousin and then with his 
son Richard, during the long and short Parliaments of Charles I. He espoused 
the Parliamentary cause, commanded a regiment of horse, and in 1644 succeeded 
the Duke of Lennox as Steward of the Manor of Richmond. He was succeeded 
by his son, Captain Thomas Jervoise, a very prominent soldier in the Parliamentary 
army, who in turn was succeeded by his son Thomas, whose daughter, Elizabeth, 
married Samuel Clarke, son of Sir Samuel Clarke, of West Bromwich. She had 
a son Jervoise Clarke, to whom his grandfather Thomas Jervoise, demised Northfield 
and Weoley, and who on succeeding to his property took the name of Jervoise. He 
married Anne Huddlestone. The family group is painted by Chamberlayne just 
before the death of their only daughter Anne. The dog was taken to London 
specially to be painted. 

The further descent of the manor through the Clarke Jervoises will be found 
in my last paper where the pedigree is given in extenso. It is sufficient here 
to say that it remained in the family till early in the 19th century, when it was 
purchased by Daniel Ledsam, to whose descendants it still belongs. I trust I 
have not been wearisome or played too much the part of the "skreeche owle 
hoverynge over the graves of the dede," but I am pleased and satisfied to have 
traced the descent of the manor in my two papers clearly, from Fitzansculf the 
Norman to the present day. 

Now for the Castle of Weoley, probably the most interesting part of my 
paper to my hearers. The ancient castle of Weoley was situated quite close 
to that curiously-named modern village of brick makers, California, lying to 
the south-west of Harborne. Cut off as it is by the canal from any road, difficult 
of access even to those who know its exact situation, it is little wonder that so 
few know it. Once one is there, and has eliminated the modern canal from one*s 
mind, the reason why it was called Wheol-ig, the round island, is apparent at 
once. It lies in a valley commanded by hills on the north and south, the valley 
itself sloping to the east very gradually, with a little stream meandering down it. 
In Saxon days that valley was undoubtedly a swamp, and on the round island in it 
some remote Saxon Thane made his rude moated and stockaded home, after the 
fashion of Cedric the Saxon\s house in Ivanhoe. It is said by Nash and others 
that Weoley Castle never was a place of strength, as it is commanded by the 
adjacent hills, a statement I am afraid I have quoted. 

But in Saxon times it must have been a place of great strength. In those 
days command of ground mattered nothing, long distance weapons were non- 



58 The Manor and Castle of Weo/ey. 

existent, hand to hand fighting was the order of the day, and the defences on 
which reliance was placed were stockades and water, plenty of it. And so the 
Saxon built his fortified home on the round island, in the marsh where he could 
dwell secure amidst his ample moats. As time went on and the cloth yard shaft 
was a thing of dread, the moats were deepened and widened and the stockade 
replaced by an outer wall three feet thick of squared blocks of sandstone, the round 
island became a parallelogram with rounded angles defended by towers at the 
corners. On the north side of the castle one can still find inside the huge blocks 
of squared sandstone which were the lower corners of the castle wall ; and built 
into the adjacent farm buildings, and the sides of the adjacent canal cutting, one 
can find any quantity of similar dressed stones, for when Weoley Castle became 
a "ruined castle" it had the fate of a good many other ruined buildings, it became 
a convenient quarry for all and sundry. 

It is curious how vague the ideas of Weoley Castle seem to have been. Nash 
says it was situated very low and could never have been of much defence, as it 
is commanded by the adjacent hills Nothing remained in his day but a part 
of the south wall (as a matter of fact the wall though much overgrown can still 
be traced all round the parallelogram of the castle). He thinks the sha[)e was 
a parallelogram, which is correct ; that it had an area in the middle, which is also 
probably correct. He further says that it had a large deep moat filled by a brook 
on the north, which should be the west, and the whole area of castle and moats 
he estimates at two acres. It is nearer four. 

The next description I have been able to find is a most remarkable one by 
George Alexander Cook, who published a Topographical Description of Worcester- 
shire somewhere about the beginning of the 19th century. It is most characteristic 
of him that he forgot to date his book and that he uniformly calls Weoley *' Wroley," 
though few people ever do spell it right. He brackets together Hagley Hall, the 
Leasowes near Halesowen, and Wroley Castle, as the three most beautiful places 
in Worcestershire. He says : — " The extent of the ruins of this castle strongly 
"bespeak its former importance. They occupy a space of not less than 17 acres, 
"and are situated in a park of 1800 acres, the property of J. Clarke Jervoise, Esq., 
" then representative in Parliament for the Isle of Wight. The moats extend for 
" the most part from half an acre to two acres, are generally square, the breadth 
" of the trenches varying from 8 to 80 yards. The castle, which was enclosed within 
*' these moats, was of great size and strongly built. Its site is occupied by a 
"garden, so laid out that the remains of the walls form the divisions between the 
"garden beds which in their turn are formed from the rooms of the building." A 
strange mixture of fact and exaggeration. 

Let us now see what Weoley Castle really was, for, situated on the swampy 
island I have tried to describe, there grew to be a strongly fortified house with 
very remarkable moats. To deal with the house first, although it had no "keep," yet 
it was always called the Castle of Weoley. Richard Jerveys, in that " Book of 



The Manor and Castle of Weoley. 59 

Evidences'* I have before referred to, apparently copied an Inquisition of 1424(11 
Henry VI.) in which it is described — "as the Castell of Weoley with a water 
"called the mote compassing the ist Castell, in which is a great halle with a great 
"chambre in the upper ende, and a norsery and other little chambres above and 
"beneath, and Cellers in same end. And also a great chambre in the nether end 
"of the 2^ Halle with other chambres to the same annexed. A pantrye and a 
"botyre in the 2^ end of the id halle. A Kichen with a larder annexed. A 
"Chapell set by hitselfe on the north part of the Castell covered wit lead, and 
" a vestre adjoining the same Chapell. A house for a chambre standing by hitselfe 
" in the same part of the castell with a stable under. A house for a chambre 
"standing by hitself on the north parte of the I'^t castell. A house for a bakehouse 
" and a brewhouse and one other house standing alone for a wardrop w^ a garner 
" under. Item VI., turrets of stone whereof the gate at the entre of the 2^ Castell 
" is one with 6 chambres and chymies (chimneys) in the same. Item in the 2^ Castell 
"in one littel gardeyn w^ herbes and vynes next the great hall. Item in the utter 
"court there is a barne of XI. spaces covered with stone." I believe the "spaces'* 
referred to represent certain conventional divisions or measurements for the 
assessment of tithe. The description then proceeds — " A house for a stable next 
" the said barne contg. 5 spaces covered with stone, a house for a dayre containing 
" ij spades covered with stone, a hose (sic) for the office of the laundrye cont; iij 
" spaces covered w^ strawe. A gate with a chambre thereuppon next the park 
"covered w^ stone and a house for a stable of V. spaces covered wi strawe next 
"the utter gate for strangers' horses to be put in. Item ij gardens lying to pasture 
" whereof one lieth next the mote on the southe parte and the other lyeth next 
" the laundry. Item : they say of the demean lands that is to say two fields 
"called the Westfield and Blakemore which be worth by year © shillings. Item 
" the herbage of the pasture of the demaynes of Syndeley (probably Shendley) and 
"*Punebron' to be worth by year xiiis- iiijci. Item, the herbage of the pasture of 
"the field called Mylle Field is worth by year xxd." Then follow other details 
of the manor lands which I will not weary you with. The park is said to contain 
deer, and there were " ij ponds or pooles one called Brodepoole and and the other 
"called Myllepoole, together with the waters of the mote about the castell whereof 
" the fishing is worth by yere vi. iiij." 

From this description is known, for the first time, what Weoley Castle was 
when its ownership was title to Sir Hugh Burnell to be summoned to Parliament, and 
when Sir Maurice de Berkeley was its lord. A house of importance, strongly 
situated against sudden attack, but of no strength against a siege or artillery, and 
in no important position tactical or strategical. When it came to be destroyed I 
do not know, but Thomas Jervoise, the grandson of Captain Thomas Jervoise, lived 
principally at Northfield, and died unmarried in 1776 at the age of 81. I cannot 
think, however, that he lived at Weoley Castle, for the only note we have so far 
been able to find as to its coi" " ' * «ofne draft particulars for a contemplated 



6o The Manor and Castle of Weo/ey. 

sale, dated about the middle of the 17th century, in which it is described as a 
" ruyned castell," and the fate of "ruyned castells" is unhappily well known in 
antiquarian societies. 

The most striking feature of the castle must have been its moats, of which I 
have several photographs, from which their extent even to-day may be appreciated. 
The moats on the eastern and southern sides remain, those on the northern and 
western sides are filled in, though their ancient shape and extent are clearly apparent. 
Probably this filling in took place when the causeway to the modern Weoley Castle 
Farm was made, and also when the canal was dug, the enterprising promoters of 
which found Weoley Castle a convenient quarry for ready dressed stones, and its 
moat a convenient "tip" for the excavated soil. The moats are extremely wide, and 
I should say averaged 20 feet deep, rendering the castle practically impregnable 
to hand to hand fighting as they ran right up to its walls. There is a very peculiar 
feature on the east side c>f the castle. The moat there was double, a narrow 
causeway separating the moat into two equal parts. As the east was the side 
of the castle least liable to attack, the object of the double moat is not apparent 
at first sight, but my own idea is that when moats were no longer of their former 
importance from a military point of view, they gained in importance from a culinary 
aspect, and that this divisi(;n was to create a stew pond for my Lord the Pike and 
his Excellence the Carp, both persons of high distinction in medi*tval times. It 
is simply a suggestion, but the description of the Castell I have read to you dwells 
on the fishing in the pools and in the moat. 

At the present day the site of the castell is re[>resented by a large parallelogram 
surrounded on the east and south by the existent moats, and on the north and 
west by the filled-in moats, still swampy and marshy. The island which thus 
forms the site of the castle is considerably raised above the level of the moats, 
and the outer walls can be distinctly traced with their courses of dre.ssed sandstone. 
The island is cultivated as a kitchen garden, and I think the tradition to which 
I have referred, viz., that its beds were divided by the ancient divisions of the 
castle is probably correct. The present tenant of Weoley Castle P^arm, which stands 
on the southern side of the moat, tells me that in the old island on which the castle 
stood there is scarce 18 inches of soil. l^elow that they came to bricks, hewn 
stones, broken tiles, all the debris of a ruined house. Nothing so far as he knows 
of any moment has ever been discovered, and so far as I know, nobody has ever 
tried to discover it. It might be worth while to try a little digging there some 
day and see the result. 

I have no doubt whatever that the foundations of the old castle buildings are 
there still and clearly to be traced. The six turrets of stone were placed, it is 
easy to see, one at each angle of the castle, and the remaining two at the Inner and 
Utter or Outer Gate ; the description I have read refer to these. These gates were 



The Manor and Castle of Weoley. 6i 

at the south-western angle of the castle, approached by an ancient hollow-way 
leading down from Northfield through Shendley Field. How old these ancient 
roads are their depth will tell. The old disused hollow-way which leads to the old 
castle is, in places, some twelve feet or more, worn away by the use of ages. Even 
the modern farm grows old, but standing by it, it is not hard to reconstruct the 
ancient castle and to picture to oneself some of those who must have ridden down 
that forgotten road to their ancient home. Fitzansculf, in his chain armour, with 
his troop of men-at-arms, his only daughter, whose name is almost forgotten, and 
her child Havise, heiress of possessions in which Birmingham would have been a 
mere incident, the long line of Somerys, the longer line of Botetorts, Joyce Burnel 
and her husband the knightly Sir Hugh de Burnel, the brave and unfortunate de 
Berkeleys, Richard Jerveys who in his turn was to found a family that should take 
a high place in his country's history. How one would like to know some of them. 
William Fitzansculf, Havice and Jervoise Paganel, Roger de Somery, Joan Botetort, 
Joyce and Sir Edward Burnel. It is quite hopeless : the fair ladies and the gallant 
knights are dead, and remain only in musty records ; the old home of Weoley is a 
kitchen garden, their park altered beyond all recognition, even if they could visit 
it again. Ave et vale. They played their part in the building of England, and 
so far as we can tell played it well. May it be the same to be said of us, some 
five centuries hence. 



By way of appendix to my paper, I add a copy of an ancient, and probably 
(as a whole), unique, document of the XIV. century. It commences with an order, 
dated 26 Feb., 16 Edward II., 1322-3, to John Walwayn, the King's Escheator 
"beyond" Trent, to deliver possession of the vast estates of that great feudal lord, 
John de Somery, then lately deceased, to his two sisters and heiresses, separately, the 
partition having been officially arranged beforehand ;* this is followed by further 
details of the division of the estates, and the document concludes with summaries 
of four " fines," passed in Michaelmas term n Edward III., 1358, about which time 
it is probable the parchment was penned. The original is in the possession of 
F. H. T. Jervoise, Esq., who lent it to me. My thanks are due also to Mr. W. B. 
Bickley, who has made the transcribing of the document a labour of love. 

The upper part of the parchment has, unfortunately, been damaged in such a 
wa) that some of the words are lost ; these, however, we have endeavoured to 
supply, our conjectural sentences appearing between brackets. 

John Walwayn was really the Escheator citra Trentam, and I may call attention 
to the curious use, in these old records, of the words "citra" and "ultra," which depended 
upon the location of the king at the time the writ, or mandate, was issued. In the 
instance before us, the king was at Aberford, in Yorkshire, so that the word " ultra " 
was correctly applied. 

* A summary of the first part of the document has been printed by the Record Commissioners. 



62 The Manor and Castle of Weoley. 



Anno r r E. fit. E. xvj<^*- 



[Sofny 

* Salt'm Sciatis qd de feod allilitu que f unt Jotiis * ^ 

defunct' qui de nofe teunit in capite in ballina vra die] 

« « « « « 

* quo obijt et que occone mortis eiusdem capt sunt in man * * 

[vram de assensu Johanne que fuit vx Thome Botleourt s'eda] 

♦ « ♦ « ♦ 
[& alt'ius] 

* sor 05 * * hered pdci Johis assignauim^ Johi de 

[& Margarete vxi eins Einese so roj & hered ipius] 
Sutton & * * * * 

* * * J(jh[is] de [Somy.] feod subscript' vidett 

feod vnius Milotf cu ptifi in * * 

* « « « « 

* & qd ad xU-, Mediate vni^ feod Milit' eu ptifi in 

Morf in eodem Com quam .... * * * 

« ♦ « « ♦ 

Militf & dimid cu ptifi in Oupenne RushalT ^^ Bysshebury in eodem Com qd idem 
Witts ♦ * * ^^^^ p^-pj inparna Barr* in. 

eodem (^ofh qd idem Witts tenet "^^ que ad xx^., feod ♦ -x- * 

ptifi in Pyrie 

in eodem Com qd idem Witts tenet et qd ad xl«. Mediet vni^ feod Milit 
cum ptiii in Amelcote in eodem Com qd idem Witts tenet ad xx^. tV part' vni^ 
feod Milit' cu ptifi in Wofie in eodem Com qua Witts de Wofie tenet & qd ad 
xiijs- iiijtl., feod vni^ Milit' cum ptifi in Tresele in eodem Com qd hered Robti Walrent 
tenent & qd ad xU-, Mediet vni^ feod Militf cu ptifi in Seysdon in eodem Com qd 
Thomas de Bradley tenet et qd ad xxs* feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in Netherton in eodem 
Com qd Robtu . . Buffrey tenet ^^ qd ad xl^t feod vni^ Milit* cu ptifi in Esyndon' in 
eodem Coin qd Rofetus de Esyndon* tenet "-^ qd ad xl**-. feod vni^ Milit' cum ptifi 
in Homeley in eodem Corn qd Witts de Bereford' tenet «!t qd ad xls» feod vni^ 
Milit' cu ptifi in Magna Barr' in eodem Com qd Hugo de Plery tenet & qd ad 
xls-» feod vin^ Milit' in patynghm in eodem Com qd Radus Basset tenet & qd ad 
xU-f quart' partem feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in lynteley in eodem Com qd Edus de 
Haggeley tenet ^^ qd ad x*** duo feod Militu cu ptin in Outon* •^ Womburne in 
eodem Com que I'homas de Outon' tenet que ad iiij^'-, feod vni^ Milit* cu ptifi in 
Byrmynghm in Com War? qd Witts de Birmynghm tenet vnacii maritag hered 
eiusdem Witts cu accident & qd ad xl*-* feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in Kyngeston* in 
Coin Oxofi qd idem Witts tenet ad xl^., extendunt p annu in pptc ipius Margarete 
ipam de feod pdict' s'cdm legem & consuetudinem regni nri . . ontingefi. Assignanim^ 
eciam de assensu pdce Johanne pfat* Join & Margarete de feod Milit' que lucia que 



64 The Manor and Castle of Weoley. 

qd de feod Milit' que fuer Jotiis de Somy defunct* qui de nob tenuit in capite in 
balliua vra die quo obiit que occone mortis euisdem capt* sunt in manu uram de 
assensu Johis de Sutton' ^^ Margarete vx Eynese sorox & hered pdci Jotsis de Somy 
Assignauim^ Johanne que fuit vx Thome Beutteourt scde sorox & alia hered pdci 
Jotiis de Somy feod subscr videh Mediet* feod vni^ Milit' cu ptin in Westbromwiche 
in Com Staff' quam Ricus Marhm tenet ^^ que ad xxs- Mediet' feod vni^ Milit' cii 
ptin in eadem villa in eodem Coin quam Steptius Deueros tenet ^'^ que ad xx*-* 
Mediet' feod vni^ Milit' cu ptin in Eggebaston* in Com Warr' quam Witts Birmynghm 
tenet & que ad xx** 1 quintam ptem feod vni^ Milit' cum ptin in Salteley in eodem 
Com quam JotSes Gobant tenet "-^ que ad viij^* tricesimam s'cdam partem feod vni^ 
Milit' cu ptin in Nechills in eodem Com quam Witts de Castell' tenet '^^ que ad 
xv<^" octauam partem feod vnius Milit' cum ptifi in Bromevviche in eodem Com 
quam Henr fit Rofet' tenet & que ad vs-i quint' ptem feod vnius Milit' cum ptin in 
Casteir Bromewiche in eodem Com quam Ancelm^ de Bromevviche tenet ^^ que 
ad viijs-f tricesimam scdam ptem feod vni^ Militis cum ptin in Bromevviche in eodem 
Com quam Henr fil' Robt' tenet <^^ qua ad xv<i- Tricesimam scdam ptem feod vni^ 
Milit' cum ptin in eadem villa in eodem Com quam Thomas de Castell' tenet & que 
ad xv<l-» tricesimam scdam ptem feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in eadem villa in eodem 
Com qua Waltus de Clodeshall' tenet •^^ que ad xv<^- decimam ptem feod vni^ Milit' cu 
ptifi in eadem villa in eodem Coin quam Johes BradewalT tenet et que ad iiij**-» feod 
vni^ Milit* cu ptifi in Erdyngton' in eodem Corn qd Henr de Erdyngton' Rogus 
Hillory & Ricus de Pipe tenent et qd ad xls» tricesimam s'cdam ptem feod vni^ 
Milit' cum ptifi in Doddeston' in eadem Coin quam Rogus de Aylesbury tenet & que 
ad xv<l-' octaum ptem feod vni^ Milit' cum ptin in Witton' in eodem Coin quam 
Johes Dyxley tenet ad vs.» decimam ptem feod vni^ Milit' cum ptifi in Aston & 
Doddeston' in eodem Coin quam Henr de Erdyngton tenet ad iiijs» feod vni^ Milit' 
cii ptifi in Haggeley in Coin Wygorn' qd Edus de Haggley tenet siinul cu maritag 
hered eiusdm Edi cu acciderit et quod ad xb-* Mediet' feod Milit* cii ptifi in Pebmor' 
in eodem Coin quam Sarra de Pebmor' tenet et que ad xxs » Mediet' feod vni^ 
Milit' cum ptin in Frankeley in eodem Corn quam Adam de Hervvynton' tenet et 
que ad xxs» quartam ptem feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in Churchehull' in eodem Com 
qua Prior de Dudley tenet et que ad x^' feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in Belnebrocton' 
in eodem Coin qd Guydo de Bello Campo nup Comes Warr' tenuit ad 
xls-» vicesimam t'ciam ptem feod vni^ Milit' cu ptiii in Selley in eodem Corn quam 
Galfrus de Selley tenet et que ad xvij^l' quartam ptem feod vni^ Militf cum ptin 
in Northfeld' in eodem Corn quern Johes de Middelton' tenet, et que ad x'** feod 
vnius Milit' cum ptifi in Barnake in Cori'i North qd Galfrus de Selley tenet et qd 
ad xl«-» feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in Terynghih Filgraue ^^ Astvvode in Coin 
Buk' qd Rogus Terynghih tenet et qd ad xl^* quatuor feod Milit' cii ptin 
in Hoggeston & Dorton in eodem Coin que Witts Byrmynghih tenet et que ad 
viijli , Mediet feod vni^ Militis' in eodem Coin cu ptifi in Kseleberovve qua Nich 
de Cantilupo tenet et que ad xxs- feod vni^ Milit* cum ptifi in Thellethorpp' in 



The Manor and Castle of Weoley. 65 

Com Rottot qd Witts Thelthorp' tenet ei qd ad xl^- feod vni^ Milit' cu ptin in 
Werseley in Com Buk* qd Ricus de Engeney tenet et qd ad xK extendunt p annii 
hend in ppte pdce Johanne ipam de feoct pdict' s'cdm legem ^^ con§ regni nri contingen* 
Assignauim^ eciam de assensu pdcoj^ Jotiis de Sutton' ^ Margarete pfat' Johanne 
de feod Milit' que lucia que fuit vx dci Jotiis de Somy tenet in dotem de hereditat 
pdca Et que post mortem pfate lucie ad pfat' Jotiem de Sutton' & Margareta 
Johannam & hered ipai Margarete ^^ Johanne reut deberent feod subscr videft feod 
vni^ Milit' cu ptin in Emfeton' in Com Buk' qd Thomas de Furneux tenet et qd 
ad xls» feod vni^ Milit' cu ptin in Chicheley in eodem Com qd Witts de Mordaunt 
tenet et qd ad xb- quart' ptem feod vni^ Milit' cu ptin in Ekeney in eodem Com 
qm Rofetus de Ekeney tenet et qd ad xs-, Mediet' feod vni^ Milit' cu ptifi in Astvvode 
in eodem Com qua Rofetus de Rokeley tenet et que ad xx^* quart' ptem feod vnius 
Milit* cu ptin in Croule parua in eodem Com qua Johcs PateshuH' tenet et que 
ad xs» Mediet' feod vni^ Milit' cu ptin in Merchelewyn in eodem Com quam Witts 
de Bledelowe tenet et que ad xx«-. duo feod Milit' cu ptifi in Ouyng & Merschton 
in eodem Com que Witts Penros tenet et que ad iiij*'-, quart' ptem feod vni^ 
Milit* cu ptifi in Caldecote in eodem Com quam Nictius de Eure tenet et que ad 
xs-» duo feod Milit' cu ptifi in Stoke Ditton & Cheselhmton' in eodem Com que 
Rofetus Pogays tenet ad quatuor lib?, quarta ptem feod vni^ Milit cu ptifi in 
Walston & Newport Paynell' in eodem Coin qua Ricus Toures tenet et que ad 
xs- extendunt p annu post mortem ipius lucie hend in ppte dee Johanne ipam in 
de s'cdm legem ^^ consuetudine pdict' contingent,' Et ideo vob mandam^ qd eidem 
Johanne feod pdict* cu ptifi in dcis Corn Staff' Warr' Wygorn' Rotel' ^^ Buk' que 
occone mortis pdci Johis de Somy fris ipax Margarete & Johanne capta sunt in 
manu uram libar' & ei feod pdict' cum ptin in dco Com Buk' que pfata lucia sic 
tenet in dotem de hereditate pdca post mortem eiusdem lucie fit^.w^ assign fac saluo 
iure cuiush T! R! apud Aberford' xxvjt<^- die Februarij Anno regni nri xvj E.' fil 
Regis E.' 

Rex eidem Esc suo saltm' Sciatis qd de Aduocacob} eccHax que fuerunt Johis 
de Somy defunct' qui de nob tenuit in capite in balliua vra die qui obiit et que occone 
mortis eiusdem capt' sunt in manu uram de assensu Johis de Sutton' "^^ Margarete 
vxis eius Eynesse sorox & Altius hered pdci Johis de Soihy assignanim^ Johanne 
que fuit vx Thome Botteourt s'cde soroa & hered ipius Johis de Soihy aduocac 
subscript' videH aduocatoe ecclie de Mere in Forton' in Com Staff' que ad xx'»-, 
Aduocac eccfie de Honesvvorth in eodem Com altius vicib) pstand' eandem que ad 
xl. marc', Aduocac eccHe de veteri Swynford in Com Staff' & Wygorn' que ad x^i- 
extendunt p annu hend in ppte pfate Johanne ipam de aduocacoib} pdcis s'cdm 
legem & consuetudinem regni nri contingefi, Assignauim^ eciam de assensu pdeoi 
Johis ^^ Margarete pfat' Johanne aduocac ecclie de Clent in Com Staff' qua lucia 
que fuit vx pdci Johis de Sofhy tenet in dote de hereditate pdca Et que post mortem 
pfate lucie ad pfatos Johem ^^ Margarete ^^ Johannam & hered ipax Margarete & Johanne 
reu^ deberent que eciam ad xl marc extendit p annu post mortem ipius lucie in 



66 The Manor and Castle of Weoley. 

ppte pdce Jonanne ipam in s'cdm legem & consuetudinem pdict' contingen. Et ideo 
vob mandam^ qd eideni Johanne aduocacoes pdcas in Com Staff* ^^ Wygorn* que 
occone mortis euisdem Johis de Somy fris ipai Margarete ^^ Johanne capt* sunt in 
manu uram lifear. At ei aduocac pdict' qua pfata lucia sic tenet in dotem de hereditate 
pdict* post mortem eiusdem lucie tSend assign fac saluo inre cuiuslt, T! R! vt sup &c. 

'* Dudlegh, 

*' Perticipacio trai -^^^ ten que fuerunt Johis de Somy fact* Anno E*. fil Regis 
E.' xvji*>- 

'^Jotii de Sutton* ^ Margarete vxi eius Einecie soroi «s^ vni liered ipius Johis 
de Somy. 

*' Castru de Dudley cu ptin in Com Staff' ff Mafiiu de Seggesley cum chacia 
de Ponsenel in eodem Com ff Maner de Nona Swynford' Regis in eodem Com 
ff villa de Dudley cu ptin in Com VVygorn'. Maner de Bradfeld in Com Berk*, ff 
Maner de Solehm in eodem Com ff quedam terr ^^^ ten in Bastenden' in eodem 
Com ff quedam terr '^^ ten in Rouvveley Somy in Com Staff' ff quedam terr & ten 
in Prestvvod' in foresta de Kynford, &c. 

•' Weolegh, 

'^ Perticipacio terr ^^ ten que fuerunt Johis de Somy fact' Anno E.* HI Regis 
E.' xvjto- 

" Johanne que fuit vx Thome de Bottecourt s*cde sorox "-^ vni hered del Johis 
de Somy Castrum de Rege Maner in North feld* cu ptin Com Wygorn ff Maner 
de Cradeley cu ptin in eodem Com ff Maniu de veteri Swynford' cum ptin in eodem 
Com ff Maner de Bordesley cu ptin in Coin Warr ff Maner dt* Clent cum ptin 
in Com Staff* ff Maner de Bobyngton cum ptin in eodem Com ff Maner de 
Hounesworth' [Rege*] cum ptin in eodem Com. ff Maner de Mere cu ptin in 
eodem Com. ff Maner de Newport paynell' cu ptin in Com Buk' quedam tr & ten 
cu ptin in Bohynton' in Com Staff'. 

*^ In tres scptimanas sci Michis Anno r'.r'. E.' t'cij xxxij^^- int Johem fit Johis 
de Botteourt et Matildam filiam Johis Grey de Rotherfeld que? & Johem Butteourt 
Milit' deforc de Manijs de Vpton' ^ Canteley concess' eisdem Johi fit Johis & Matilde 
& hered de corporib} ij5o^ Johis fit Johis •Jt Matilde exeunt tenend de pdco Johi 
Boutteourt, &c. reddend inde annuatim eidem Johi Boutteourt vna Rosam ad festii 
Nat sci Johis Bapte p omi s'uic, Et fac capital dno s'uic &c. Et p defcu exit' pdca 
Mania reuti &c. Johi Boutteourt & hered suis, &c. 

" Eodem Anno & t*mino int* eosdem Johem fit Johis * Matildam querent* et 
pdcos Johem Boutteourt & Jocos* vx eins deforc de Mafiijs de Woketcr 

tenend eisdem Johi fit Johis '^^ Matilde ^^ hered de corporib) eox Itime pcreat*, Maniu 
de pua lynford* de Rege ^^ Maniu de Woketon de pdco Johe Boutteourt & Jocose & hered 
ipius Johis reddend vnam rosam ad pfatos Johem "^^ Jocosam ^^ hered ipius Johis 
^ capit dnis s*uic &c et p defcu exit* pdict* Maner reuti* deber ad pfatos Johem 
Boutteourt •^' Jocosam ^^ hered ipius Johis, &c. 



* Interlineations. 



The Manof and Castle of Weoley. 67 

" Eodem Anno ^ I'liiino inl eosdtrm Johem *; Jocosam quer et I'homa & Henr 
deforc de Maiiio de Newport payneli' concesS eisdem Johi & Jocose t'minu 

vite eo» et post decesS remanef Johi fit eiusdem Jofsis * Matilde lilie Johis le Grey 
de Rotherfeld * hered de corporib) ipas Johis '*i Et p defcu exi? remaner 

rectis hered ipius Johis de Boutteourt. 

" Eodem Anno * t'mino int' eosdem de Castro de Weolegh *: Maiiijs de Northfeld 
Cradley Haggeley * olde Swynford cum ptin et cum aduocacoib} ecctias de 

eosdem Mahioa. Et p defcu hered pdici' Castru Mahia pdicl' remaner hered ipius 
Johis . . ." 





LADY JERVOISE 

DAUGHTER AND HEIKESS OF SIR KlCllAkli I'AI 
(IK ilKKRIAKD Co. HANTS 
MAKKIEt) SHt THOMAS JEKVOISE KNT. 

OK CHICLMAKSH ANH WKOI.KV CASTI.li n 




|N December loth, Mr. W. FOWLER CARTER, B.A., read 
a very interesting and valuable paper on ** The Monuments 
in St. Martin's Church," illustrated by original photographs 
and lantern slides. 

As Mr. Carter is publishing a work on the subject, it has not been 
considered desirable to reproduce this paper in the Transactions of 
the Society. 



Excursions. 



TO SHIFNAL AND TONG. 



May jist, ig02. 




k N reaching Shifnal the party, which numbered 31, drove to Tong. 
The very interesting church was here visited under the guidance 
of the Rev. J. G. Audio. The date of erection is known to 
be the first decade of the isth century, and the original design 
has been singularly little altered in the centuries which have 
elapsed. The octagonal central tower, the Golden Chapel, and 
the fine monuments of the Vernon family, are the most notable 
features, but an added interest has been given by the use of the Church and 
churchyard as the scenes of some of the most pathetic incidents in the "Old 
Curiosity Shop." Tong Castle, which was seen by permission of Mrs. Hartley, is 
of recent date, but the site is imposing. On the return to Shifnal, the Rev. J, 
Ovis-Brown conducted the party over the church, where the Norman remains and 
the curiously-constructed parvise attracted much attention. The ancient camps 
still exi.sting in the glebe land were also seen. 



TO BROADWAY AND STAN WAY HOUSE. 



June i8th, tgo2. 



At this whole-day excursion 16 members and friend.s were present, Mr. Alfred 
Haye.s, M.A., undertaking the leadership of the party The well-known attractions 
of Broadway were carefully examined, including the church of St. Eadburgha, and 
the Grange of the Abbots of Pershore. A pleasant drive then led through Buckland, 
with its ancient church and rectory, to Stanway House, which has a gateway by 
Inigo Jones, and was seen by the kind permi.ssion of Lord Elcho. 



JO Excursions. 

TO KNOWLE, TEMPLE BALSALL, AND BERKSWELL. 



July i2t/i, igo2. 



The company at this excursion was not large, numbering only 12, but the 
excursion proved extremely instructive and interesting. The Collegiate Church 
of Knovvle is well known, but many points of importance were made clear by the 
careful explanations of Mr. J. A. Cossins. A perfect study may here be made of 
the alterations in size and plan effected by the changes in feature of an ecclesiastical 
structure. Among these the most striking were caused by the alteration of the 
original plan to suit the purposes of a Collegiate Church ; the chancel being greatly 
lengthened and at the same time lowered in level. The Rood Screen, though 
damaged by restoration, remains still the pride of Knowle. 

At Temple Balsall the church forms, on the contrary, one single and undivided 
structure, while the grotesque frieze decorating the exterior, is one of the most 
remarkable exemplifications of ancient carving in the neighbourhood. The Grange 
and Refectory of the Knights Templars still survives, though strangely modernised 
in outward appearance. The Almshouses erected by the beneficence of Lady 
Leveson, are more recent, but scarcely less attractive. 

The church at Berkswell, which was last visited, presents almost every variety 
of architecture from the 12th to the 17th century. The Norman crypt, evidently 
once a place of pilgrimage, is an almost unique and most striking feature. 



The last excursion of the year was announed for July 30th, but it was found 
that the date, which had been necessarily postponed on account of the Coronation, 
was too late for the convenience of the members. It was therefore deemed advisable 
to omit it. 



Birmingjjam anb JUiblanli finstitute 



BIRMINGHAM A RCH/EO LOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Officers and Committee. 

President : Honorary Librarian : Honorary Secreiaty : 

J. A. COSSINS. FRANCIS B. ANDRKWS., A.R.I.H.A. HOWARD S. PEARSON. 

Honorary Excursions Secretary : 

B. WALKER, A.R.I.H.A. 

Cotnmittee : 
COLONEL C. J. HART, LT.-GEN. A. PHELPS, WRIGHT WILSON, F.R.C.S. (Edin.), 

and the four Officers of the Institute. 



Report of the Committee for the year igo2, 

TO BE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, JAN. 21st, 1903. 



The Committee have again pleasure in recording a year of very successful 
work. The papers read have been of interest and of permanent value as contributions 
to the history of our city and its neighbourhood, and have in every case been fully 
attended. 

The Excursions also have been full of interest and instruction, and have been 
well attended, involving no charge upon the finances of the Society. The date 
of the last excursion was unfortunately deferred by reason of the Coronation 
festivities ; and it was ultimately found on that account impossible to carry out the 
arrangements made. 

The following is a list of the papers read during the year : — 

Jan. 22 — Annual Meeting, followed by a paper on " Excursions of 1901." J. A. 
COSSINS. 

Feb. 19 — " Mediaeval Seals of Worcestershire." Francis B. Andrews, A.R.I. B.A. 

March 19 — " Mummers and Minstrels." WiLLIAM Hale, F.R.I. B.A. 

Nov. 12 — "The Manor and Castle of Weoley." FRANK S. PEARSON, LL.B. 

Dec. 10 — "The Monuments in St. Martin's Church." W. Fowler Carter, B.A. 

The Excursions held were as follows : — 

May 31 (half-day)— To Tong and Shifnal. 

June 18 (whole-day) — To Broadway. 

July 12 (half-day) — To Knowle, Temple Balsall, and Berkswell. 



72 Annual Report for igo2. 

The Committee again acknowledge with gratitude the uniform courtesy they 
have met with in these Excursions from all having control over the places visited. 

The annual volume of Transactions has been duly issued to the Members. 

The Committee have to deplore the unusually heavy losses which the Society 
has sustained during the past year from various causes. 

The death of Mr. Sam. Timmins, J. P., F'.S.A., has been a blow to many Societies, 
and, indeed, to the City in general. No Society, however, can have more reason 
to regret this loss than the Birmingham Archaeological Society, of which he was 
practically the founder, and for many years the President. He had not for .some 
time past been able to .share actively in our work, but his name will be held in 
grateful remembrance by all who love the study of our local antiquities. 

By death, also, the Society has lost the companionship of Mr. W. B. Malins, for 
many years an enthusiastic member, and a regular attendant at all its meetings and 
excursion.s. 

The Committee also report, with great regret, the resignation, owing to ill-health, 
of Mr. Wright Wilson, F.R.C.S. (Edin.), whose services in connection with the 
Honorary Librarianship have been so valuable. They have been happy in obtaining 
the consent of Mr. PVancis B. Andrews, A.R.I.B.A., to act as his successor. 

The Honorary Excursions Secretary, Mr. Ben. Walker, A.R.I.B.A., has also 
found his engagements incompatible with his tenure of this office, and the Com- 
mittee have been compelled with much regret to accept his resignation. 

While there is every evidence of energy and vitality in the work of the Society, 
a .still further diminution of membership has to be chronicled. It is impossible to 
imagine that this results from any absence of interest or of usefulness in the work 
done. The attendances are sufficient to disprove this, independently of the fact 
that the Society is actually the only one which in any way fosters the stud}"^ of local 
archaeology. The falling-off in the membership is almost entirely such as is natural 
and inevitable, arising from los.ses by death or removal. The difficulty ari.ses from 
the fact that new members do not come forward in sufficient numbers to compensate 
for these losses. At the present moment the issue of the Transactions alone would 
absorb more than the entire income, but that the illustrations are for the most part 
generously given by the readers of the papers. The Committee feel that the position 
of the Society has only to be known in order to ensure more liberal support being 
given, and they very earnestly appeal to their fellow members to use their personal 
influence in this direction, and to introduce new subscribers. 





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9•r'^N*■a^^r^ UK VCHBIT 

TTACKS 

DEC 10 1970 



JSivmingbain aii& /IN6Iant> Jnstitutc. 



'BIRMINGHAM .IRCHMOLOGIC^L SOClETr 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS. AND' REPORT, 

For the Year igoj. 
VOL. XXIX. 



WALSALL : 

I'KINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, 

BV VV. HENRV ROBINSON, STEAM PRINTING WORKS. 

1904- 



£trmfngbam anb flMManb 3n0titutc. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^:OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



TRANSACTIONS, EXCURSIONS, AND REPORT 



BtrminGbam ani) /IftiManb institute. 



'BIRMINGHAM ARCHMOLOGICAL SOCIETT. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS. AND REPORT, 

J^or the Year igoj. 



VOL. XXIX. 




WALSALL : 
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, 

BY W. HENRY ROBINSON, STEAM PRINTING WORKS. 

1904. 



Contents. 



PAGE. 

Excursions in the year 1902. By J. A. Cossins i 

The Antiquity of Iron. By Colonel Charles J. Hart 22 

The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. By Arthur Westwood 40 
Alkerton Church and its Sculptures. By Howard S. Pearson . . . .63 

Chaddesley Corbett. By John Humphreys, F.L.S 71 

Excursions 96 

Report and Accounts 98 



JStrmingbam anb /IftiManb institute. 



mRMINGHAM ARCHMOLOGICAL SOCIETT. 



TRANSACTIONS, 

EXCURSIONS. AND REPORT, 

J^or the Year igoj. 



VOL. XXIX. 




WALSALL : 
PRINTED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY, 

BY W. HENRY ROBINSON, STEAM PRINTING WORKS. 

1904. 



2 Excursions in the Year igo2, 

Archceological Journal \x\ 1846, from which I derived much of what I am giving you 
of the history of the foundation of the church, speaks of the erection of the fabric as a 
re-building, but no remains of an earlier edifice can now be found. 

The plan comprises a large chancel ; nave, with north and south aisles, and a 
tower and spire over its eastern end ; a mortuary chapel, a south porch, and a vestry. 

The nave communicates with each aisle by four arches, three of which form 
regular arcades, but those supporting the steeple are of a much more massive 
construction, and spring from large compound pillars such as are usual in a regular 
cross church ; indeed it seems very probable that such an arrangement was the 
original intention of the designer, but that he modified his plan by omitting the 
previously intended transepts. Although the roof of the nave is nearly flat, the 
lean-tos of the aisles are of a fairly good pitch ; the half gables at the end finished 
with stone copings. 

Externally the bays of the aisles are divided by well-proportioned buttresses, and 
at the corners of the aisles, chapel, porch, and vestry, are single buttresses placed 
diagonally ; but at each corner of the chancel are two, at right angles to each other. 

The windows throughout are of good design, that at the east end of the chancel 
is particularly fine. Although the traceries are all of perpendicular character, con- 
siderable traces of the previously prevailing curvilinear style are clearly apparent in 
most of them. 

The tower and spire are of charming proportions, and admirably suited to the 
general character of the church, the effect being much improved by the judiciously 
placed row of spire lights, and the pinnacles which accentuate the angles of the 
octagon ; and the corners of the weatherings to the base. 

The belfry storey is an unequal sided octagon, with windows of two lights on the 
cardinal sides only ; it has a low embattled parapet with small crocketted pinnacles 
at the eight corners. The slopes by which the square base joins the octagon are 
effectively managed, and the little pinnacles seated on the square corners are artistically 
placed. These slopes as seen from within have plain triangular faces, an unusual 
arrangement. 

The exterior of the chancel is of very good design. On the south side it is 
divided into three bays by bold and lofty buttresses, terminating in crocketted 
pinnacles ; the windows are lofty and of three lights each ; the roof is nearly flat 
and the parapet embattled. 

The interior of the church is of extreme interest, and from many points of view 
very beautiful. Of the constructive features, the great piers and arches carrying the 
tower, and the north and south arcades, are the first to command attention. The 
arches are all of two orders, those on the south side have plain splays which die 
effectively into an octagon just above the capitals ; but those on the other side are 



Excursions in the Year igo2. 3 

moulded, the principal member being a wave moulding, and they are higher than 
those on the south. The pillars are octagonal with effectively moulded capitals. 
These differences make one question whether, after all. Mistress Isabel Penbrugge did 
not re-model a previously existing church of which, possibly, the north arcade was a 
comparatively recently built part. It would probably then have had a nave with one 
aisle only and no central tower, the chancel arch occurring where the westernmost 
arch under the tower now stands. 

The mortuary chapel of the Vernons is a very interesting and beautiful adjunct 
to the church. I do not know precisely what is its date, but it certainly is not earlier 
than the i6th century. It was probably built as a chantry chapel, and to receive the 
tombs of Sir Henry Vernon and Anne, his wife. He died in 1515. The chapel 
opens to the church by a wide and deeply moulded elliptical arch, beneath which is an 
altar tomb with recumbent effigies of some of the Vernons. Just to the west of the 
arch is a door by which the chapel is entered from the south aisle. 

This chapel is groined with fan vaulting, in traceried segments of circles as is 
usual, with circles in the intervening spaces, from which hang pendants terminated by 
carved bosses. On the west side is a canopied niche containing a half-length figure 
holding a book, and in the act of turning the pages. This is the bust of Arthur 
Vernon, son of Sir Henry Vernon. This Arthur was Rector of Whitchurch, Salop, 
and died in 1517. On the eastern wall of the chapel is the inscription following: — 

" Pray for the soul of Sir Henry Vernon, Knight, and Dame Anne, his wife, 
" which lie here . . . ^ of our Lord 1 5 1 3 — made and founded this chapel and 
"chantry, and the said . . . departed the 13th day of April in the year above 
"said, and of your charity for the soul of Arthur Vernon, priest, son of the said Sir 
" Henry, on whose soul I-H-S have mercy. Amen." 

A good deal of coloured decoration still remains in this chapel. 

There is a very fine series of tombs in the church other than those in the chapel, 
affording an excellent study of the change of style from the earliest, which is good 
perpendicular work of the early half of the 1 5th century, down to the latest, of the 
middle of the i6th or later. There are also some small mural tables and a brass. 

The roofs are good, though simple, and have curved wall brackets. 

The rood screen remains, and there is a screen across the south aisle dividing off 
the eastern bay ; both are very elaborate and fine examples. There is a set of stalls 
in the chancel with good carved brackets to the lifting seats ; some of the poppy heads 
are very fine. The benches in the nave are bold and good, the ends with sunk 
traceries and heavy moulded cappings. Some fine fragments of stained glass remain 
here and there in the windows. 

There is a triple set of sedilia, and a piscina, but not of very remarkable 
character. The font is an octagon, and of simple character. 



Excnrsioiis in the Ye 



igo2. 



After leaving the church, the party, by the kind permission of Mrs, Hartley, drove 
through the park. The so-called castle is a late i8th century erection of a fantastic 
character, without beauty or any features of interest. The lodges are of the same 
period and style. 

Returning to Shifnal, tea was taken at the " Jeriiingham Arms" Hotel, after 
which the church wa.s visited. The Rev. Caves Brown kindly pointed out the parts 
uf chief interest. It is a wonderfully good and large cros.s church, with many Norman 
remain.s. Mo.st of tlie windows are of decorated character, some new and others 
restored, the flowing traceries being of very excellent design. The exterior of the 
building is of remarkably plea.sing proporlion.s, and the interior of very interesting 
character, a fine late Norman chancel arch, and a curious stone gallery connected 
with a chamber over the south porch, being very striking features. It is however, in 
many ca-ses, hard to say which is real medieval work and which only imitative. The 
excursion was considered to have been wholly successful. 

" Lady Harries gave to Tong, about the year 1630, the beautiful and costly 
"ciborium, a .sacramental vessel of the time of Henry VI H," " It stands 1 lins. high. 
" and is nf silver gilt, richly chased, having a central barrel of crystal sins, deep, 25* 
"outside diameter. It probably belonged to the ancient College of Tong, and held 
" the sacred wafers." ul 




Excursions in the Year ig02. 5 

BROADWAY, STANWAY, &c, June i8tii, 1902. 

The sixteen members and visitors who took part in this excursion left New 
Street Station at 9.40, and when they arrived at Evesham found carriages waiting by 
which they were conveyed to the old church of St. Eadburgha, the Parish Church 
of Broadway, which is now nearly two miles from the village, and therefore only 
maintained for burial and other occasional services. It is very unfortunate that this 
interesting and beautiful old church should have been so far abandoned, as it is to be 
feared that when the graveyard can be no longer used for burials it may be allowed 
to fall gradually into ruins. There is however no immediate fear of such a misfortune 
as it is now in good condition, though divested of some of its fittings. The plan 
comprises chancel, nave with north and south aisles, transepts, and north porch. In 
the 13th century the nave had aisles of four bays, but no transept. In the 15th 
century a desire for central towers prevailed in the neighbourhood, and here, strong 
piers and arches were built within the lines of the old arcades, on which a good tower 
was erected, and north and south transepts were added, but the piers and arches of 
the eastern bay were allowed to remain. 

The arcades are of the transitional character of the close of the 12th century, the 
pillars cylindrical, some with the scalloped capitals so common in the Norman period, 
whilst others are moulded ; but all bear pointed arches of two-splayed orders on the 
side towards the nave, and but one towards the aisles ; a rather unusual arrangement. 
The nave roof is constructed of collared and braced rafters, the curved braces forming 
pointed arches. It was plastered, but the lath and plaster was removed when the 
church was overhauled about 40 years ago. The curved braces rest on moulded wall 
plates, enriched by carved four-leaved ornaments at intervals. 

A fine oak pulpit of the 15th century remains, and under the tower are a few 
benches of the same date. 

The exterior of the church is now of perpendicular character, it having been 
re-modelled when the transepts and tower were added. It is very picture.sque and 
beautiful, the warm ocherous lichen covered oolite stone harmonising charmingly w^ith 
the fine groups of large elms growing near. 

The stair turret to the belfry and top of the tower is carried up at its north-east 
corner, and serves also to give access to the rood loft. It is a very effective feature 
of the exterior. 

It is worth noticing that one of the dedications of Pershore Abbey, to which 
Broadway Church belonged, was also the rare one to St. Eadburgha. 

Near the churchyard is " The Court," an old mansion of the Sheldons, a small 
remaining part of which has lately been incorporated with a recently-built house. 
The party here received very kind attentions from the Rector, and from Mr. Davis, 
a local antiquary. 



6 Excursions in the Year igo2. 

Returning to the village, we stopped at the Old Grange, built in the 14th centur>' 
by the Abbots of Pershore, where we were very kindly received by Mr. Millet, the 
well-known and celebrated artist. 

This is one of the best preserved houses of its class and date now existing in 
England. Although on a very small scale it comprises all the usual apartments 
and arrangements of very much larger manor houses. It will be remembered that 
Pershore Abbey had very large possessions at Broadway, and it is probable this 
house, though ordinarily occupied by a bailiff, was occasionally visited by the Abbot, 
when he would usually occupy the upper room, or solar, which in an ordinary manor 
house would be the ladies' room. On the ground floor the plan consists of two 
principal apartments, one of which was open to the roof, the other — beneath the 
apartment we suppose to have been the Abbot's room — was probably an entrance 
hall in which much of the administrative business of the estate may have been 
conducted. Some have, however, supposed it to have been a kitchen. There is on 
the ground floor also a cellar, and a buttery, or pantry. On the upper floor, over the 
buttery, is an extremely interesting little domestic chapel, with a small aperture in 
the wall by which the occupants of the hall were enabled to hear the services that 
were being performed in the chapel. In the solar is also an aperture through which 
might be seen what was going on in the hall. The chapel has a good window of two 
lights in the gabled end, and on each side a small one of one light. The hall is 
lighted on the east by a pair of lofty coupled lights with trefoiled heads, and divided 
in height about midway by a transom. There is also a curious window of tw^o lights 
placed diagonally. Adjoining the older part is an apartment, added probably in the 
1 6th century, with a bedroom over. 

Mr. Millet has repaired the house with great skill, and every lover of ancient 
domestic architecture has reason to be very grateful to him for preventing this 
valuable old house from becoming a ruin. Mr. Millet has a remarkably good 
collection of old furniture, obsolete articles of domestic use, &c., in which the 
visitors were much interested. 

** The Lygon Arms," at which the party lunched, is a grand old inn of which 
there are records existing as far back as the beginning of the i6th century. It was 
originally known as the ** White Hart." Its first occupier, so far as is known, was 
John Trevis, or Trevers, and it remained in the possession of the Trevers family until 
the beginning of the last century, when it was purchased by the Lygons, of Madresfield, 
and the name was then changed to " The Lygon Arms." Both Charles I. and 
Cromwell are said to have slept there. 

After lunch the party drove on to Buckland, probably once Bocland, and saw the 
church, which was restored in 1880 — 1885, by which process it lost so much of its 
interesting character, that in describing it I think it better to go back to some notes 
I took some years before the Philistines descended upon it. 



Excursions in the Year igo2. 7 

" The church is very interesting and beautiful, and with the exception of the 
" introduction of some good oak wainscoting, a pulpit and desk, and a western gallery, 
" all probably of late in the 17th century, it is much as it was four hundred years ago. 
** The original figured tile pavements remain throughout the church as do most of the 
" massive framed, panelled, and moulded oak benches in the nave. A few later pews 
"of different character have however been erected near the east end. There is a good 
"deal of 13th century work in the church, early lancets remaining at each end of the 
" south aisle. The nave arcades are good, the pillars consisting of quadruple clustered 
"shafts with moulded capitals. The old three-decker pulpit and reading desk, though 
" not in accordance with modern feeling, are interesting and picturesque." 

These have been removed, and the plaster has been hacked off the walls ; some 
of the old figured tiles are laid in the south aisle, but the nave and chancel are paved 
with modern mechanical-looking imitations of some of the ancient tiles. In the aisles 
are some curious old seats with canopies ; there are slight remains of ancient painted 
decoration on the roof of the nave. 

The oak benches have been re-constructed, and such of the old woodwork as was 
considered sound re-used. 

The east window retains some valuable painted glass in three compartments 
representing the three sacraments of Baptism, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction. 
This was repaired by William Morris & Co., and is now in a sound condition. 
Mr. Waller, the Architect who restored the church, considered there were traces of a 
Norman church, which consisted of but a chancel and nave ; but we did not succeed 
in finding anything we thought earlier than the 13th century, the general effect being 
that of a 15th century church. 

The tower of the 14th century has a belfry storey which was added about a 
hundred years later. 

The Vicar then allowed us to see the fine old Rectory of the 15th century, the 
principal feature of which is the hall, a fine apartment with good oak roof carried by 
hammer beam principals, with angels carved at the ends of the lower beams. The 
timbers are finely moulded, and the general effect is much improved by curved wind- 
braces to the purlins. The hall is lighted by good transomed windows of two lights, 
with trefoiled heads. Below the transom the old shutters remain. 

In the house a velvet embroidered cope is preserved, but it has been cut up and 
converted into a rectangular cloth, which has served as an altar cloth, and later on as 
a funeral pall. It is supposed to be of the 14th century. An old Maser bowl with 
a silver rim is also among the interesting things which were shewn to the visitors. 

We then drove on to Stanway House, where we were met by Mr. St. Aubyn 
Weston, who proved to be an excellent and indefatigable guide, shewing us all the 
interesting features and contents of the house, the great barn, and the church. 



8 Excursions in the Year ,igo2. 

Stan way House is a very imposing and grand building. Some parts no doubt 
remain of the work of Abbot Richard Cheltenham, of the time of Henry VH. ; but 
the greater part is of the time of James I. The entrance front faces a court i lo 
feet long by 55 feet wide, the house being on the east side, the gatehouse on the 
south, a wall on the east, divides the court from the churchyard, which is entered by 
a very pretty old gateway of Renaissance character. 

The principal front is remarkable for its great extent, and for the large number 
of its mullioned and transomed windows. The enormous bay window at the dais end 
of the hall is divided by mullions and transoms into 60 divisions. The long row of 
gables by which this front is finished is another striking feature, hut the general effect 
is rather flat. The gatehouse is a fine work of Renaissance character, and is 
attributed to Inigo Jones. 

There are some good pieces of old furniture remaining in the house, the most 
remarkable of which is a fine and rare example of a shovel-board table, about 1 5 feet 
long, in perfect condition. 

The church has been nearly re-built ; it consists of chancel, nave, and a good 
western tower. 

The nave and chancel probably retain some of the original Norman walling, and 
a corbel table of late Norman or transitional work remains nearly intact on the 
north side of the chancel, consisting of a series of small semi-circular arches resting 
on grotesquely carved corbels. This is now the most interesting feature of the 
church. That on the south side is but a modern imitation. The chancel appears to 
have been vaulted, for on the north side is an attached triple clustered pillar of 
transitional character, which has every appearance of having been designed to carry 
the ribs of a groined roof 

When the church was restored the very fine late Norman semi-circular chancel 
arch was pulled down, and a modern pointed arch erected in its stead. Mr. St. Aubyn 
took us to see the materials of the old arch, which arc stacked up against the 
wall of some outbuildings, together with stone coffins, and many other discarded 
antiquities. The party expressed much regret at the sight of these wasting 
fragments of very fine work. Some old quoins remain on the exterior of the east 
end of the nave and elsewhere, which are chamfered in a very unusual way, and 
enriched with a shallow ornament of the Norman or transitional period. 

At the direction of Lord Elcho, who was not at home, tea was served to the 
visitors on their arrival. Before leaving, a carefully prepared and very interesting 
paper on the history of the house and its successive occupiers was read by Mr. St. 
Aubyn Weston, after which a vote of thanks was passed to Lord Klcho, and to Mr. 
St. Aubvn for his paper and excellent guidance. 



Excursions in the Year rgo2. 9 

Mr. St. Aubyn Weston's Paper. 

The Manor is traditionally said to have been given to Tewkesbury Abbey by Oddo 
and Dodo in 715. In 1066 there was here a monastic cell which was — long after — 
converted into an Abbots' country seat. This was re-built and enlarged in th6 time 
of Henry VII. by Abbot Richard Cheltenham. Leyland speaks of it as a " fayre Manor 
place." At the dissolution of the monasteries it was granted to the Traceys of 
Toddington. The existing house was built by Sir Paul Tracey, son of Richard Tracey, 
and his wife, Barbara Lucy, of Charlecote, in the reign of James 1 

When Sir Paul died in 1620, the estate passed to his grandsons, Sir Humphery 
and Sir John Tracey, who died in 1651 and 1657 respectively. Sir John left the Manor 
to Fernando, younger son of John, third Viscount Tracey, who married Katherine, 
daughter of Sir Antony Keck. He was followed by John Tracey, who married Anne, 
daughter of Sir Robert Atkins. Then came Robert Tracey, who married Anna Maria, 
daughter of Sir John Hudson, and died September, 1 767 ; his brother, Antony Tracey, 
who married Susan, daughter of the Duke of Hamilton ; his daughter, Henrietta 
Charlotte, wife of Edward, Viscount of Hereford ; her sister, Susan Tracey, wife of 
I^rd Elcho ; and Francis, sixth Earl of Wemys. 

It is now the property of his eldest son, Lord Elcho. There is an interesting 
series of portraits of Traceys and Kecks in the house, but they are not of much 
artistic merit. 

The party then went on to Stanton House, where Mrs. Wedgwood, the occupier, 
kindly allowed them to inspect the exterior of the house. 

This Manor of Stanton was given to Winchcome Abbey by Ranulph, King of 
the Mercians, and it appears to have remained in the possession of that Abbey until 
the dissolution, when the Manor, and that of Snowshill, were granted by Henry VIH. 
to his last wife, Katherine Parr, in dowery. On her death it went to the Earl of 
Warwick, and was soon after cut up and sold in holdings of various sizes, the Stanton 
House and the part of the Manor remaining to it, to Isods and Wynyattes, the latter 
of whom still hold it. 

The Church of St. Michael adjoins the grounds of the house, from which its 
graceful spire is a very beautiful object. It was restored by Sir Arthur Bloomfield, 
but time being pressing it was not visited. 

The village has a very old-world look ; nothing about it seems more recent than 
the 17th century. On the Village Green are the base and shaft of an ancient cross. 

At Evesham tea was served, and after a saunter through the town, the party left 
the station for Birmingham at 9.0 o'clock. 



Excursions in the Year /go2. 



1 1 



From Dugdale we learn that Walter Cooke, a Canon of Lincoln, late in the 
reign of Richard II., erected a chapel in the village of Knovvle, with a tower, steeple, 
and bells, at his own expense; and in the fourth year of Henry IV. he founded a 
chantry here for either one or two priests. In the 14th year of the same reign (that 
is ten years after), he procured a licence to institute, in conjunction with some other 
persons, a guild within the chapel. About four years after, being much advanced in 
ecclesiastical dignity, he prevailed upon Elizabeth, the widow of Lord Clinton, to 
assist him in founding a college of ten chantry priests, for which permission was 
granted in the 4th year of Henry V. But in the reign of Henry VII [., at the 
dissolution, there were but two chantry priests on the foundation, and the revenues 
were stated at only ;£'22 3s. 3d. 



-."TMC CHUKCH _ 

- KNOWue - 




- ^<^out4D fU^K -^ 



It is doubtful if ten chantry priests were ever established here, the endowments 
not being enough to maintain them. 

We learn from the above extract that Walter Cooke, after erecting the chapel, 
first founded a chantry, secondly a guild within the chapel, and thirdly a college of 
chantry priests, and we shall see that it is clearly shewn by the church, as now 
existing, what alterations and extensions were successively made to adapt the 
buildings to the changes of the establishment. 

Whether there had been an earlier chapel on the site is not known ; but the Bull 
granted to Cooke for the building of a chapel seems to imply there /uid been a 
previous building. Of the chapel built by Cooke the present tower is, probably, all 



Mr. Bickley says, **The Cookes were a family of importance that had long resided in the neighbourhood of 
Knowle. and 'tis certain that Walter Cooke was a very rich man." — Register of the Guild of Knowle. 



Excursions in the Yeiir igo2. 



that survives in situ ; but it appears very likely that sorr 
formed a part of the urifjinal structure, and lighted the i 
added for they would have been comparatively Tiew, ami 



^ of the existing windows 
ave before the aisles were 
:oiild be easiU- liansfcrred 




to the new walls. These early windows can be easily distLLiyuished by the shape of 
the arch and the character of the tracery. That the first nave had no aisles seems 
pretty clear, and the apjiearance of the eastern wall of the tower as seen from the 
nave tends to confirm this opinion. The view, looking west, shews a set-off which 
almost certainly marks the lines of the original roof, and abtne it is the walled-up 
doorway which gave access to the "leads." 



Excursions i» the Year igo2. 

The cliapel.as first built, probabij- much resembled the Guild Cha|)L'l at Stratford- 
on-Avon, allhuiinh earlier in date, less tofty. and rather simpler in its details. 




I have sometimes thought the small transept on the north side of the first 
chancel was built as a chantry chapel before the aisles were added ; but the existence 
of one of the windows [ believe to have been taken out of the sides of the original 
shape, built into its eastern wall, has somewhat shaken this opinion. 

As the nave arcade on the south side has been restored it is hard to say how far 
it resembled that on the north before that operation ; but the wall is certainly 
thicker, and the proportions and details differ somewhat. It is therefore improbable 
that the aisles were built at the same time, and I think the north aisle was first 
erected, possibly, when the "guild within the chapel " was established ; and some four 



Excursions 



1^03. 



or five years after, when the foundation of the ciiajitry phc^ts was granted, llie niher 
aisle was built, the clerestory erected, and the chancel lengtheiied and properly fitted 
lip with stalls. Then it was that the screen between nave and chancel was moved 

further towards the cast, and the oritrinal seflilia antl |)isciiia iheiefi'ic aljandoiied. 




There can be no doubt as to the position ot the screen originally, as ihe duor 
from the staircase to the rood loft remains, and the piscina remains in its old position. 
An indication of the extension of the south aisle is marked by one of the buttresses of 
the chancel now embedded in the east end wall of the aisle. A pi.scina and aumbry 
shew that here was a chapel and that an altar stood against its east wall. 

The condition of the exterior of the eastern wall of the chancel shews that 
buildings were once attache:! to this end of the church, and there can be no doubt 



Excursions in the Year igo2, 15 

tbese were built, when the chancel ivas leiij^lhcned, for dwellings for the chantry 
priests. That these biiildiiit;s comniunicated directly with the chancel is shewn by h 
small doorway now visible from the chancel. .■Vnd as the.se buildings extended tolhe 
boundary of [he churchyard, cutting off all means of communication between its 
north and .south sides at that end, the floor of the sacrarium was kept high enough to 
allow a passage to be formed beneath it, the archways of which remain on both sides. 
The hi{;h level at which the floor at the east end then was, is a{>parent from the 
po-iitiims of the sedilia and piscina, which are jnst at the proper height for the floor at 
thai lime. 




i6 



Hxrursioiii in l/ie Year igo2. 



When in the time of Henry VIII. the college was suppressed, the doinesDi 
buildings were pulled down, and there remained no necessity for the passage under 
the floor, the nyienings were built up and the floor lowered to a more convenient level, 
leaving the sedilia far above a practicable height.* 

The nave arcades, though not badly proportioned, are ]x>or in detail. They are 
not quite alike, and as the south .side was "set out" with five arches extending to the 
end of the lengthened nave, and the other with but four to the obtusely pointed arch 
of the transept, they are necessarily not apposite each other. 




Excursions in llu- Year ig02. 



17 



The arches are poiticeil and spiayed in two courses, and spring from octagon 
pillars which have very poorly moulded capitals and bases. 

The clerestorj' is lofty, with windows of three Hj^hts with good traceries under 
four eentred arches without labels. The battleinentcd parapets and crocketted 
pinnacles, both to aisle and clerestory, are on the soiitli side only, and are modern. 
On the north side the clerestory parapet is plain, and the aisle has dripping eaves. 

The roofs of nave, chancel, and aisle are all of low pitch and covered with lead. 
The timber work is of the simplest construction, but .some of the principals retain traces 
of coloured decoration. There is a slight drop in the height of the roof at the line to 
which the first chancel e.\tended, blit there is no chancel arch or other con .struct ion at 
mark of division. 

! was told by the late Mr. Allen Everett, the artist, that he remembered seeing 
paintings above the position of the rood loft, which comprised full length figures of 
the Virgin Mary, and two other figures, one of which was an angel, lie also said 
that in the chancel were two very curious state pews, probably Jacobean, with car\ed 
posts supporting canopies like an old fashioned bedstead. 

The ri.>od screen has been much 
repaired, but on the whole judiciously, 
and is a fine specimen, and by far the 
most striking object belonging to the 
church. Some of the old choir stalls 
remain, and have lately been replaced 
in what were probably their original 
positions. They are of the usual type, 
with turn-up miserere seats. The 
brackets beneath are carved. Two of 
those that remain have .satirical devices, 
one representing a monk preaching to 
two animals, the others have foliage 
only. 

Tliere were also fragments of desk 
ends, with poppy heads, of one of which I 
give an Illustration. 

There is an account of this church 
ill the 6.5rd volume of The Gentleman's 
Mngttsine for 1793, In which it is stated 

^ that there were seven stalls on one side, 

and six on the other. " All have foliage 

except the two first. One has a fox .silting holding an open book ; an ape holding a 

bag in his left, pointing to it with his right, a bear looking at it ; the other, a lion erect, 

supported by a horse and a unicorn in the same posture." 




1 8 Excursions in the Year igo2. 

The contributor to The Gentleman's Magazine further says of the fittings : " the 
five panels of the south pew have (each) a dragon carved in relief Two pews under 
canopies with wreathed pillars at entrance, their west faces formed b}' rich carved 
screens of wood with a projecting canopy in front of very rich foliage.*' He also describes 
a great number of fragmentary subjects in stained glass remaining in the windows, and 
many monuments, none apparently of very much interest excepting the two floor slabs 
now remaining at the entrance of the chancel. One, a circular grey stone, retains the 
matrices of a group of small brasses including a circular band or ring, which probably 
had an inscription, and within it arc indications of a scroll and two shields. This, says 
Dugdale, tradition makes the grave of VVtr. Cooke. The other, just within the 
screen, is a large rectangular grey slab, which retains the sinkings that once held three 
effigies, some small groups of children, two shields, and an inscription. Hamper, in a 
letter to T/u Gentleman s Magazine in August, 1808, says the brass still remained in 
the church, though torn from its slab. His version of the inscription is very different 
from that in "Dugdale." Hamper's is "Ofyf charite praye for ye sou lie of Mai.ster 
John Dawbbes Courtte, Esquier, who decessed the XVI. daye of July, Anno 
M.V.C. XLHII., and for ye sowlles of Katrine and Elizabeth, his wyves, on whose 
so wiles Jh'us have mercy. A-M-E-N." * 

The exterior, in spite of a certain coarseness of character, is rather striking 
because of the great number of large traceried windows, the long lines of embattled 
parapets, &c. The rather earlier tower is of pleasing proportions and of simple 
detail. Its western door is now the only entrance to the church, but there is a north 
doorway now walled up, and as late as Hamper's time in 1808, there was a south door 
in the westernmost bay of the nave and a porch over it. 

The view of the south side of the church contributed by him to the magazine 
shews the porch ; a rude and comparatively modern construction. 

A part of the chantry chapel and the north wall of the aisle is built of light 
grey sandstone, but the church is built chiefly of the heavy coloured coarse brown 
sandstone of the distiict. The points of junction of the earlier masonry with the 
subsequent additions can be seen in many places very plainly. 

The eastern window of the south aisle retains a few quarries of ancient glass. 
The sacred monogram surrounded by rays ; the letter " M " crowned ; emblems of 
Luke and John ; and some simpler figured panes. 

The font is of the 15th century ; an octagon bowl with quatrefoils on the eight 
faces, connected with the stem by a large hollow. 



* Mr. Hannelt, in *' The F'orest of Arden," gives a very inleiesting extract from the notes of one Vincent, 
preserved among the Ilarleian MSS. Mr. Vincent, writing in 1592, when he visited the churches of the 
neighbourhood, says of Knowle : *' There is tlie picture of a man like a country m'chanl w'th a side cassock and 
a square pouch, underwritten Rich. Wright, and this Wright was ihe upp sc, old. S'gne Christopher 

Wright." 

Hannett says there were here also sixty years ago, monuments to the memory of the Grevilles, Greswolds of 
Malvern Hall, Spooners of Ilenwood Hall, and Dorsets. 



1 


p £.vcur.u'o>is in Ihe Year igo2. 19 ^^^^^| 

There are two ancient chests, both dug out of solid trunks ; one is 7ft. 6in. long, ^^^^^^^^^^| 
and aft. oin. wide. In one, in 1S64, I found the stained glass of the east window that ^^^^^^^^| 
lad been taken out to make way for the new glass. It was of comparatively- recent ^^^^^^^H 
date, and of no great merit. ^^^^^^| 


1 


. 


« 


tL 




•'^ ,.ill 
1''." 


ill, n.rv^'^'^Mi 

\ .;■ ,, ' 


^^^^B Near the west end of the church is nn interesting oak framed huiise of the [5th ^^^^^^| 
^^^^M century, which tradition says was the guild house. It is now the residence and sho[> ^^^^^^| 
^^^1 or a draper. I wiLS allowed tu examine the interior and found it to be nio.st ^^^^H 
^^^1 interesting. I have no doubt whatever of it.s having been the houst; of the Guild. ^^^^H 
^^^1 The ground storey was originally one large apartment with two rows of octagon oak ^^^^H 
^^^1 pillars supporting the ponderous beams and joists of the npper floor. ^^^^H 

^^^^1 Temple HalsnII, about two miles distant, was our next stopping place. On our ^^^^^^| 
^^^^B way we drove by some good old half-timbered cottages, with pretty gardens : and ^^^^^H 
^^^^1 passed Knowle Hall, a modern house at .some distance from the road. The old hall ^^^^^^| 
^^^^1 stood nearly close to the highway and seems to have been of a respectable antiquity, ^^^^^^M 
^^^1 though the view of the E planned front in Smith's History of Warwickshire does not ^^^^H 
^^^H suggc;st than the first George. ^^^^H 

^^^^ Springfield House, on our left hand, next attracted [he notice of the party. It ^^^^H 
^^^H was the residence of the BouUbees, now an absolutely uninteresting cubical block of ^^^^H 



20 Excursions in the Year igo2 

brickwork. The gardens and the great fish pond are however worth more than a 
passing notice. 

Temple Balsall very soon came within sight, and we began to be influenced by 
the very interesting associations of the place. Although it is so generally well known 
to Warwickshire people, I shall venture, for the sake of those who do not know much 
about it, to give a brief account of its very interesting history, gathered from Dr. 
Thomas's Dugdale, and other sources. 

When the Knights Templars began to obtain possession here I do not know 
precisely, but it probably was soon after the establishment of the order which took 
place in A.I), ii i8. Dugdale gives a list of their possessions in Warwick.shire, which 
were enormous, and it is obvious the order was popular. " In the 52nd year of 
" Hen. III. they obtained from that king a Charter of Freewarren in all their demesne 
** lands here, a weekly market and two fairs ; and in the 13th of Ed. I. they obtained 
** a full confirmation from the heir to Roger, the first donor, for which they made him 
" partaker of all their prayers. But their prosperity was but of brief duration. In 
" Anno 1307, 1st of Ed. II., by the King's special command and a bull from the Pope, 
"they were generally throughout England laid hold of and cast into prison, and 
"shortly after their whole order became condemned under Pope Clement V., 131 1, 
" and their possessions in England passed into the King's hands, and many of the 
" heirs of the donors became possessed of them, this manor of Balshall returning to 
" a Roger de Mowbray but for about one year only, for by a general decree of Pope 
" Clement they were annexed and incorporated to the Knights Hospitalers, who were 
" already of great wealth, and possessed much land in this county. There is a record 
" which says that all the tenants of the Hospitalers did use to erect crosses upon their 
" houses, for it says * The better Fruition of the many privileges belonging to 
" those lands.' " 

Now as to what remains to us of the buildings erected by these religious 
fraternitie.s. 

We do not know how long it was after the Templars became possessed of the 
place that " they [quoting now from Dugdale] erected a church fit for their service of 
•* God and a house for Habitation, and then sent a part of their Fraternity here and 
" made it a preceptory." There may have been an earlier church than that now 
standing, but it seems hardly probable ; I think therefore we may safely conclude 
that the exquisitely beautiful structure now existing is the church spoken of in the 
record, and this is wholly of one period, probably within the last ten years of the 
13th century ; the details affording good reasons for believing it could not have been 
completed until very near the end of the century. The Templars did not therefore 
enjoy worshipping in their new church long, as the order was suppressed in the 
year 131 2. 

The church seems to have been allowed to fall into decay, for the Hospitalers 
did not found here a commandery as the Templars had done, and the dilapidations 



Excursions in the Year igo2. 2 i 

had become so bad in 1677, when the property came to belong to Lady Levinson, 
that considerable repairs were effected by that lady, including an entirely new roof; and 
it is generally supposed that the quaint little square tower which, until lately, stood 
on the south-west corner of the nave, was built at this time. Fortunately, excellent 
drawings of the church as it then appeared were published by R. and J. A. Brandon, 
in " Parish Churches," dated 1848. There is also a very beautiful engraving, shewing 
the church and the old hall near it, in the X. vol. of The Gentleman's Magazine (new 
.series), 1838. Both shew the square turret, the eaves without parapets, and round 
balls on the gables in place of crosses. The roof was then finished inside with a flat 
ceiling, Dr. Thomas says, divided into squares, at the angles of which were coats of 
arms ; but, he adds, these are now removed into the great hall. 

All that now remains of the ancient domestic buildings is comprised in the 
building near the west end of the church, called the Great Hall. That there were in 
the time of the Templars other and much more extensive buildings I have no doubt ; 
the land on the south-west side of the churchyard retains signs of trenches and of 
what was probably a fish pond. 

The old timber framed house near the church may be as old as the church, 
though it is much more likely to be 100 years or more later. It originally consisted 
of a large hall divided into nave and aisles by two rows of octagonal oak pillars which 
supported the main principals of the open roof At the west end of the hall is a 
building placed transversely to it, as was usual. This is of two storeys, and probably 
the lower of them was the kitchen, and the upper a private room or solar. There 
were some buildings at the other end of the hall, and these may have had a passage 
direct to the Church, for there are corbels remaining on the western gable end that 
appear to have been built in for carrying a wooden plate, which must, I think, have 
formed part of a lean-to roof On the whole I am disposed to think this building was 
erected by the Hospitalers as a grange for the occupation of a bailiff, or manager of 
this part of their estates, and probably here the courts were held for business of all 
sorts. 

The late Mr. Allen Everett made a good sketch of the end of the interior of the 
hall, which is preserved among the collections of our Society. Since then the hall 
has been divided and turned into cottages. 

We then drove on to Berkswell and saw the church and crypt, and the well, all 
of which have been fully described and illustrated in the " Transactions " for the year 
1 88 1, after which, and tea at a cottage, the return journey to Birmingham was safely 
accomplished. 



T^lie Antiquity of Iron 
til Britain. 



Hv COLONKI. CiiAKI.KS J. HART. 



i-ti'ritiuy iSl/i, Jt/"J. 




wliori I liad iho lioDour to read 

a |)ai)c-r <iii "The Old Ironwork 

I irtiUfd the development of 

ik hislorically. and selected the 

lu ci'innienienient of the subject. 

^sinned frimi this that iron was 

■iniiilry by the Normans, or 

imental iroiuvurk was unknown 

c (imijuenir came; the reason for 

cluKcn w;us that I was unable to 

discmer any examples <if nrnainenlal ironwiirk still existing in Warwickshire earlier 

than the middle <il'th< 

William lliittim w;is quite cnrrecl when lie meiHiuiTS Aston furnace as a pre- 
K<imari ironwnrks, and his snt-i^estion thai the swi.nls. spears, shields, and scythes of 
the chariot whe.-ls used by llie Hriltnis at;;uiisl tlie Romans wen; snppiicd by "the 
black artists i)l" tlie IJinniiij^ham torjie '" is nut l)y any means improbable. His 
ilescriptiiin <if it is as fnlliiws, " fur meltinj; ironst'ine and rediicinj; it into pigs ; this 
"has tlie appearance uf ^'reat aiili(|iiity. I-'rnm (lie melted ore is pr<Mluced a cinder, 
"iff which iliere is an enin-niuus mimntain. I*'runi an attentive survey, the observer 
" w-iiuld .siip]Mise so pnHU^,fi<ins a lu-ap ci>ul<l mil accumulate in a hmxircd generations." 

In my fiinner pajKrr 1 was obli'-ed to pass by this early antiquity of the meta), 
but the subject has interested nie ever since, and it hius been my study to endeavour 

to trace out wbat is known of tlie introduction or the early use of iron in this country. 
Naturally. I was unable to confine my research to Hritain. and the .subject broadened 
until it resolved itself into the (juestion : Where diil the knowledge of iron come from. 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain. 23 

and how and when did it come to Britain? For although iron might occasionally 
have been smelted by accidental discovery, and used, it is certain that the general use 
was, as in the case of other metals, and indeed in every advance in civilization, the 
result of exchange of ideas between neighbouring nations. Thus the knowledge of a 
metal so useful in warfare and in industry would only require time to spread from 
East to West, from North to South, or vice-versd. In attempting to form an idea of the 
extent to which ironwork was used in the early period of man's life in Britain,yand 
an approximate time when it first became known, we should naturally first turn to 
the examination of examples still remaining to us. These, however, get more scarce 
as we go back, until we find that the earliest ironwork on church doors, which are the 
most ancient pieces of ironwork still doing duty, date from a period not earlier than 
1000 A.D. 

As in my former paper, I selected this date as the starting point from which I 
traced the development of ornamental ironwork from Mediaeval to Renaissance times, 
so now I propose to take the same date, but work in the reverse direction. 

In the early days, however, changes were made more slowly, and fashions in art, 
which in the mediaeval times lasted a century, and in modern times for a decade only, in 
pre-Norman days occupied several centuries before they passed away. Consequently 
we must abandon the mediaeval "centuries" and divide our subject into periods, viz.: 
Anglo-Saxon, Roman, and Early British. The Anglo-Saxon period lasted for about 
600 years, from 449 A.D., when Hengist and Horsa landed in Kent, until 1066 A.D., 
when William of Normandy began his reign. 

The Roman occupation endured 465 years, from 55 B.C., the date of Julius 
Caesar's invasion, until 410 A.D., when the Roman soldiers were withdrawn from 
Britain to defend the Eternal City against an incursion into Italy of Alaric the 
Goth. 

The period before the Roman we term the Early British, and our knowledge 
of the arts and industries of the ancient Britons is limited to what we can gather 
from early classic writers and the examination of drifts and barrows. 

In opening our investigation at the year lOOO, we are at once struck with the 
large number of churches that were now commenced to be built. The reason is 
obvious : 1000 A.D. was generally believed to be the millennium, and Christ's second 
advent was then anticipated. It may therefore easily be imagined that as the fateful 
year approached there would be little done in buildings of ornamental character, and 
metalwork as well as architecture was under a cloud. Who was to spend time in 
decoration when a year or two might bring eternity? We can realise also when 
once the terrible year was passed and the i ith century had well begun, what a rebound 
there would be ; everyone was then anxious to do something for the service of 
the Church as a thanksgiving. It was thus that architecture revived and artistic 
smithing really came into prominence, and examples of this early ironwork still exist 



24 The Antiquity of Iron in Britain. 

at Stiilinj^flcet in Yorkshire and Staplchiirst in Kent. The former has the crescent- 
shape hin^e with ends fashioned like serpents heads, tojrether with a ship in which 
stand two human figures, and these hinj^es are undoubtedly of Danish inspiration. A 
^rim association of the Danes exists in the popular mind with hinge-work, when 
occasionally a pirate Dane was captured and flayed and his skin was nailed to the 
church door, under the ironwork. At Worcester Cathedral are still |)reserved some 
fragments of human skin which were taken from the doors; these are probably relics 
of a prisoner condemned for sacrilege. 

That ornamental hinges were as earl}* as the 9th and loth centuries we know 
from miniatures in the MarK* Kn«^lish illuminated manuscripts of that time. For 
instance, in the C'laudian manuscript in the Hrilish Museum we have illustrations of 
Noah's Ark, the door of which has ver\* eIal>orate hin«^es ; and of the jjates of 
Paradise, covered with iron scrollwork. In the (!otlonian manuscript of " Caedinon's 
Metrical i'araphra^e " is a nn'niature of the consecration of a Saxon church, with 
elaborate iron hinges and a weather-cock on the tower with a most ferocious bird. 

Possibly the artists on vellum made the ironwork more elaborate than the 
blacksmith would do, but it is verv certain that ornamental work of this character 
must have Ix-en in use at this period, or it would not have Ixren drawn. These church 
door hinges appear to l)e the most elaborate pieces of ironwork thus illustrated, and it 
is probable that on them the smith was lavish of his labour, as they were always in 
evidence to advertise his skill as a craftsman. 

Snnths are fre(juentl}' mentioned in Domesda}- book. ** In the city of Hereford, 
*' there were si.\' smiths, who paid each one penn\- for his forj^e, and who made one 
"hundred and twenty pieces of iron from the kinj^'s ore. To each of them, three 
pence was paid as a custom, and thex* were freed from all other .services. Gloucester 
paid to the kini; thirt\-six dicras of iron a dii ra bein^ one hundred bars), and one 
*' hundred dnclile rods, to make nails for the kinj^'s .ships." In a district of Somerset, 
it is twice stated that a mill yielded two plumbas of iron. 

TIk! ("oitoiiian and llarleian manuscripts also abound in illustrations of Saxon life, 
showing hinj^es of doors, aj^ricultural implements, weapons, smiths working at the 
for[^e, &c. We know that the monks were well accustomed to handicraft, and so the 
illuminators in the convent^ were thoroui;hl\' conversant with the smithy. The 
venerable \\k.\\k\ in his " Life of the Abbots of \\"i-armouth," tells us that one ofthe.se 
ecclesia.stii s, bein*^^ a strong man. and of a humble disposition, used to assist his 
monks in their several labours, sometimes i^uidin^ the plou^di by its .stilt or handle, 
** and sometimes forj^in^ instruments (»f husbandr\' with a hammer upon an anvil." 

Dunstan, who in 960 A.D. was appointed b\- luli^ar to Ixj Archbishop of 
Canlerbnr\ . was a skilled blacksnnth, and ever\one will recall the storv of his combat 
with the (le\il. who^^e nose he e\entually seized with his red-hot ton^s. 



*t 



4t 



• » 



4> 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain. 25 

Doubtless it was due to Dunstan that King Edgar issued the order: 
" We command that every priest, to increase knowledge, diligently learn some 
"handicraft." (0 

Here we have the reason why so much fine work was lavished on ecclesiastic 
buildings ; the monkish craftsman was anxious to do his best for his church, and 
was not hampered by financial considerations, or by the competition of modern days, 
when a low price is better esteemed than quality. 

It must be admitted that political events in the Saxon period did not tend to 
the encouragement of art and architecture. The Britons, for nearly 500 years, had 
been little more than slaves under the imperious Roman rule ; were unaccustomed 
to warfare and without leaders, so that when their protectors were removed they 
quickly fell a prey to any piratical horde that attacked them. The Angles, the 
Saxons, the Jutes, the Danes, the Picts, and Scots in turn kept the unfortunate 
islanders ever in fear of the loss of life and property ; and if by chance the invaders 
left them undisturbed for a short time, the kings of the Heptarchy seized the 
opportunity to enlarge their boundaries at the expense of their neighbours. 

Occupied, therefore, in repelling foreign invasions or in internal dissensions, the 
inhabitants of Britain bestowed a lesser portion of their time on the cultivation of the 
useful arts ; and the iron manufacture apparently was limited to the production of 
instruments of agriculture and warfare. In this state the iron industry remained for 
several centuries without amelioration. 

As I mentioned before, we know that the art of working iron and steel for 
military purposes was much practised in this island before the Norman conquest, 
and are told that not only was the army of Harold well supplied with weapons and 
defensive armour of steel, but that the horses were covered with steel and iron plates, 
and that every officer of rank maintained a smith, who constantly attended his 
master to the wars, and took charge of his arms and armour. The chief smith was 
an officer of considerable dignity in the courts of the Anglo-Saxon and of the Welsh 
kings, where he enjoyed many privileges, and his pay was higher than that of any 
of the other artificers. In the Welsh court, the king's smith sat next to the domestic 
chaplain, and was entitled to a draught of every kind of liquor that was brought into 
the hall. 

There were, however, two classes of smiths ; those who forged arms and weapons 
for military purposes, and others who were employed in fabricating the more humble 
implements of agriculture and articles required for the daily purposes of life ; and, 
unfortunately, whilst the former enjoyed the honours I have mentioned, the latter 
were only bondmen. 

In Ingulph's "Chronicle of the Abbey of Croyland," we read of a charter, dated 
1501, or deed of gift by Thorold, the brother of Lady Godiva of Coventry. This gift 

(i) Wilk. Leg. Anglo-Sax., 83. 



26 The Antiquity of Iron in Britain. 

is the vill of Spalding;, and enumerates all lands, tenements, &c., that he hands over 
to found a cell of monks. Amonjjst other property he specifies his servants, " also 
*' Hardyn^ the blacksmith, and all his |XJople, together with all the goods and 
** chattels which he possesses in the said vill, and in the fields and marshes thereof, 
** without any exception or reservation whatever." 

These serf communities could do nothin*^ without the con.sent of their lords ; a 
<lauglitcr could not ho. married, a son could not practise smithcraft or become a bard 
without special jxirmission. 

In the |>oem of Heowulf, of the loth century, occur passages which show that 
chain armour was in use at that time : — 

" Their battle-mail shone 

" Hy hard bands well locked. 

*' The shining iron rings 

" Sung against their weapons 

" When they to the palace 

" In their formidable apparel were delighted to go. 

** Heowulf addressed him ; 
*' The mail shone upon him ; 
** The heavy net was linked 
" \\y the smith's care." (O 

Or, to go farther back, the Welsh bard Aneurin, who flourished in the 6th century, 
and fought against the Saxons, states that their leader was armed in scaly mail, 
carrying a projecting shield and a slaughtering pike. 

In the earliest Welsh romances, long anterior to the Arthurian cycle, the western 
parts of Britain are regarded as the home of skilful handicraft. The fashioning of 
iron cauldrons, the enamelling of sword-hilts, the colouring of sword blades, the 
sharpening of javelin points, &c., are generally associated with the West of Britain. 

Both war and agriculture demanded the whole work of the smith, which was 
indeed a most important trade in these days. Aldhelm (de Laud-Virg, 298), a writer 
of the 8th century, takes the trouble to describe the convenience of the anvil, the 
rigid hardness of the glowing tongs ; and to remark that the *' gem-bearing belts, and 
■"diadems of kings, and various instruments of glory, were made from the tools of 
*' iron." In a dialogue, the isern-smitha (Anglo-Saxon name for blacksmith) eulogizes 
his trade: "Whence the share to the ploughman or the goad, but from my art? 
*' Whence to the fisherman an angle, or to the shoe-wryhta an awl, or to the sempstress 
**a needle, but from my art?" The other replies: "Those, in thy smithery, only give 
"*' us iron fire-s|)arks, the noise of beating hammers and blowing bellows." 



(i) Shun Ml TuriUT, IIi>l. An^lo-Suxmis. 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain 27 

Still there was ornament applied to weapons and even to the domestic utensils 
of which we have some few examples preserved to us, especially buckets, candelabra, 
lanterns, &c. 

To show what use was made of iron by the Romans at the time of the conquest 
of Britain, we cannot have better authority than Pliny, who wrote his Natural 
History early in the ist century. After treating of other metals, he says: "It 
" remaineth now, in the next place, to discourse of the mines of iron, a metal which 
"we may say is both the best and the worst implement used now in the world ; for 
" with the help of iron we break up and tear the ground ; we plant and plot our 
" groves ; we set our vineyards and range our fruitful trees in rows ; we prune our 
" vines, and by cutting off the superfluous branches and dead wood, we make them 
"every year to look fresh and young again. By means of iron and steel we build 
" houses, hew quarries, and cut in stone ; yea, and in one word, we use it to all other 
"necessary uses of this life. 

" Contrariwise, the same iron serveth for wars, murders, and robberies ; not only 
"to offend and strike therewith in hand, but also to reach and kill afar off, with divers 
"sorts of darts and shot ; one while discharged and sent out of engines, another while 
" launched and flung by the force of the arm ; yea, and sometimes let fly with wings. 
"This I take to be the wickedest invention that ever was devised by the head of 
" man ; for to the end that death may speed away the faster to a man and surprise 
" him more suddenly, we make it to fly as a bird in the air, and to the arrow headed 
" at one end with deadly iron we set feathers at the other, whereby it is evident that 
" the mischief proceeding from iron is not to be imputed to the nature of it, but to the 
" unhappy wit of man. 

"But to come unto the nature of iron, herein appeareth still the same goodness 
"of Nature, that this metal, working such mischief as it doth, shall be revenged of 
" itself, and receive condign punishment by its own rust. See also the wonderful 
" providence of Nature, who maketh nothing in the world more subject to death and 
"corruption than that which is most hurtful and deadly to mankind." 

Pliny says again : " As for the kinds of iron, many there are, and all distinct. 
" The first difference arises from the diversity of the soil and climate where the mines 
" be found ; for in some places the ground and the position of the heavens do yield 
" only a soft ore, and coming nearer to the substance of lead than iron ; in another 
"the metal is brittle and short, standing much upon a vein of brass, such as will not 
"serve one whit for stroke and nail to bind cart wheels withal, which tire, indeed, 
" should be made of the other, which is gentle and pliable. Moreover, some kind of 
" iron there is that serveth only, if it be wrought in short and small works, as, namely, 
" for nails, studs, and tacks employed about greaves and leg-harness." 

Certain it is that throughout the period during which the Romans had possession 
of Great Britain, the manufacture of iron was carried on to a large extent. One of 



28 The Antiquity of Iro7i in Britain. 

their largest ironworks was situated at Bath, being chosen not only for the deposits 
of iron ore, but for its proximity to large forests, from which an abundant supply of 
wood was available for making charcoal. The vast mounds of scoriae which long 
formed a distinguishing feature in this neighbourhood attested the extent to which 
the Romans carried on the manufacture of iron. Beds of iron scoria?, containing 
coins or other Roman remains, tell where iron was extracted in the Forest of Dean, in 
Herefordshire, and in Monmouthshire. The Sussex clay-ironstone was well known, 
if not worked on so large a scale as afterwards by the English from the 13th to the 
18th century. It may well have been these beds which Caesar had in mind when he 
said that iron was got in the coast region. 

It has been stated that the Emperor Adrian, who came to Britain in 120A.D., 
established a fabrica or military forge at Bath. The fabrica was a college of 
armourers, where the various military weapons used by the Roman soldiers were 
manufactured. The army smiths were formed into companies, each governed by its 
own president or head, denominated the primicerius. No person was permitted to 
forge arms for the Imperial service unless he were previously admitted a member of 
the Society of Fabri, and to secure the continuance of their labours after they had 
been instructed in the art, a certain yearly stipend was settled on each armourer, who 
(as well as his offspring), was prohibited from leaving the employ till he had obtained 
the position of primicerius. Finally, that no one might quit his business without 
detection, a mark or stigina was impressed upon the arm of each as .soon as he 
became member of the fabrica. 

This fabrica at Bath furnished arms not only to the garri.son of the colony, but 
to the troops at Carleon, Chester, and Ilchester, to the whole army and stations 
throughout Britain, and to some bodies of Roman soldiers on the Continent. 

In other parts of the country, and especially in Sussex, large quantities of slag 
have been found together with Roman coins and pottery. In a field at Maresfield, 
Sussex, a layer of cinder was regularly drawn from for road-mending, and in this 
cinder coins of Nero, Vespasian, and Diocletian have been discovered. 

With their comparatively rude appliances the Romans could not extract the iron 
to the best advantage, and it has been found possible to utilize their waste by 
re-smelting the slag and cinders and extracting metal. 

In 1677, Andrew Yarranton published a book called " Improvement of England 
by Sea and Land," and in it occurs the following passage: — 

" There is great benefit to the kingdom in general by the sow iron made of the 
ironstone and Roman cinders in the Forest of Dene, for that metal is of a most 
gentle, pliable, soft nature, quickly and easily to be wrought into manufactures 
^'over what any iron is, and it is the best in the known world. And the greatest 
" part of this sow iron is sent up Severn to the forges to Worcestershire, Shropshire, 
^* Staffordshire, and Cheshire, and there is made into bar iron." 






The Antiquity of Iron in Britain. 29 

In Roman days we gather that although iron was abundantly used for weapons 
and for agricultural purposes, its use in architecture was small and of no importance 
for ornamental accessories. 

In the days of the Romans the architecture expressed solidity, strength in 
construction and breadth in line were aimed at rather than grace and lightness, whilst 
it was entirely free from quaintness and freshness. Everything was done to rule 
and order, and this style was consequently very unfavourable to the use of ironwork ; 
the use of straight lines and severe symmetry could not give to accessories in iron 
that importance that they had in the more florid architecture of the Middle Ages. 
The Roman ironwork appears to have been limited, and more particularly to the 
satisfaction of material requirements. Professor Aitchison claims that in the Baths of 
Caracalla, a large ceiling was supported on iron girders. 

No doubt the rods of iron were constantly used to strengthen the arch, and it is 
highly probable that those used in Rome itself were exported from Britain. Iron 
gates and grilles of the plainest character or ornamented with bronze were used 
both in Rome and in Britain ; and probably hinges of a massive but plain description 
were also constructed. When the Romans desired to give richness of effect, it was 
to the choice of metals rather than its form that they looked, and instead of making 
the handles, hinges, &c., of ornamental iron, they preferred to use bronze for this 
purpose. 

Roman andirons have, I believe, been found in Britain, and also some remains of 
iron window guards, but it is in museums that we must look for the scanty relics 
of Roman smith-craft. 

It is interesting here to note that in the treaty which Porsena granted to the 
Roman people after the expulsion of their kings in 509 B.C., we find it expressly 
stipulated that iron shall be only employed for the cultivation of the fields. 

In discussing the use of iron in pre-Roman times, it will be well first of all to 
gather from classic authors what was known of Britain at the period immediately 
preceding the Roman invasion. 

Julius Czesar, in his *' De Bello Gallico," speaking of Britain, says: "They use 
"brass money, and iron rings of a certain weight. The provinces remote from the sea 
" produce tin, and those upon the coast, iron ; but the latter in no great quantity. 
"Their brass is all imported." (0 

This passage indicates an error somewhere, for it was well known in Caesar's time 
that tin was only obtained in Cornwall, upon the coast. In stating that iron was 
produced upon the coast, he doubtless referred to Sussex, where it is well known that 
iron was smelted even before the Romans came to Britain. This allusion of Caesar's 
is of value in proving that iron was being produced in Britain fifty-two years before 
the Christian era. 



(i) Czesar's Commentaries, Book V., chap. x. 



C 



30 The Antiqtiity of Iron in Britain. 

Diodorus Siculus, writing of Britain shortly after the death of Caesar, says: 
** Now we shall speak something of the tin that is dug and gotten there. They that 
" inhabit the British promontory of Belerium, by reason of their converse with 
" merchants, are more civilized and courteous to strangers than the rest are. These 
" are the people that make the tin, which, with a great deal of care and labour, they 
" dig out of the ground ; and that being rocky, the metal is mixed with some veins of 
** earth, out of which they melt the metal, and then refine it; then they beat it into 
** four-square pieces like a die, and carry it to a British isle near at hand, called Ictis. 
" For at a low tide, all being dry between them and the island, they convey over in 
" carts abundance of tin in the meantime. Hence the merchants transport the tin 
** they buy of the inhabitants to France ; and for thirty days' journey they carry it in 
" packs upon horses' backs through France, to the mouth of the river Rhone." 

It is true that this description of the tin industry of Cornwall does not apply to 
iron, but we know that iron was in use at this time, and the extract is interesting to 
show that the Britons were expert tin smelters, and also to indicate the commerce 
which at that time was carried on between Cornwall and the Continent. 

If in conjunction with this account of tin working wc take his .statement of the 
method of iron working in one of the Sicilian isles, there can be little doubt that we 
have a fairly accurate description of the iron manufacture in Britain half-a-century B.C. 
Speaking of /Elhalia, he says: "This island abounds with ironstone, which they 
"dig and cut out of the ground to melt, in order for the making of iron ; much 
"of which metal is in this sort of stone. The workmen employed first cut the stones 
"in pieces, and then melt them in furnaces built and prepared for the purpose. In 
" these furnaces the stones, by the violent heat of the fire, are melted into several 
" pieces, in form like to great sponges, which the merchants buy by truck and 
" exchange of other wares, and transport them to Diccearchia and other mart towns. 
" Some of these merchants that buy of these wares cause them to be wrought by 
" coppersmiths, who beat and fashion them into all sorts of tools, instruments, and 
" other shapes and fancies ; as some they neatl}' beat into the shape of birds, others 
"into spades, hooks, and other sorts of utensils, all which are transported and carried 
" about into several parts of the world by the merchants." 

Diodorus also tells how the iron was used for arms and armour amongst the 
Gauls and the inhabitants of Spain. Of the former he says : " Some wear iron 
" breastplates, and hooked, but others fight naked. For swords they use a long and 
" broad weapon called Spatha, which the}- hang across their right thigh by iron or 
" brazen chains. Some gird themselves over, their coats with belts gilt with gold or 
"silver. For darts they cast those they call Lances, whose iron shafts are a cubit 
" or more in length, and almost two hands in breadth. For their swords are as big 
"as the javelins of other people, but the points of their javelins are larger than 
" those of their swords ; some of them are straight, others bowed and bending 



The Aniiqtiity of Iron in Britain. 31 

" backwards, so that they not only cut, but break the flesh ; and when the dart is 
" drawn out, it tears and rends the wound most miserably." 

Speaking of the Celtiberians or Spanish : " Some of them are armed with the 
" Gaulish light shields, others with bucklers as big as shields, and brazen helmets 
" upon their head, adorned with red plumes. They carry two-edged swords exactly 
** tempered with steel, and have daggers beside, of a span long, which they make use 
" of in close fights. They make weapons and darts in an admirable manner ; for they 
"bury plates of iron so long under ground, till the rust hath consumed the weaker 
** part, and so the rest becomes more strong and firm. Of this they make their 
*' swords and other warlike weapons ; and with these arms, thus tempered, they so cut 
"through everything in their way, that neither shield, helmet, or bone can withstand 
" them." 

But we have literary evidence even earlier than this. During the decay of the 
Phoenician cities, when all the isles of the ocean mourned over the fall of Tyre, 
the Greek and the Roman longed for a share in the Phoenician trade with the 
mysterious tin islands of the West. In the lifetime of Alexander the Great, and of 
Aristotle, about 350 B.C., the Greek colonists of Marseilles fitted out an expedition for 
exploring the Western Ocean. The command was given to Pytheas, who had won 
renown by his studies in mathematics and navigation. It is from the fragments that 
remain of his works that we get our information about the earliest stage of the 
history of British trade and industry. He saw the abundant wheat of a Kentish 
harvest ; he was struck by the great barns in which the corn was threshed ; he tasted 
mead made of wheat and honey, but did not visit the interior, and did not see the tin 
mines. 

Two hundred years later, the geographer Posidonius, Cicero's tutor, visited the 
West, and, crossing over to Britain, he pierced farther into the West than Pytheas 
had done. He saw the more savage life of the interior, and visited the tin districts of 
Cornwall. He found the tin-workers hospitable, civilized, and expert at their work. 
He states that tin is not found upon the surface, but that it is dug up, and also that it 
is conveyed from the Britannic Isles to Marseilles. 

It has been stated that Britain was discovered by Pytheas in 325 B.C., but that is 
a Greek discovery, and it in no w^ay disproves the belief that the Phoenicians knew of 
its existence centuries before this. Strabo says : " Formerly, the Phoenicians carried 
" on this trade from Gades (Cadiz), concealing the passage from everyone ; and when 
"the Romans followed a certain shipmaster, that they also might find the market, the 
"shipmaster of jealousy purposely ran his vessel upon a shoal, leading on those who 
"followed him into the same destructive disaster; he himself escaped by means of a 
"fragment of the ship, and received from the State the value of the cargo he had 
" lost." 

Hecataeus, writing in the 4th century B.C., mentions an island over against Gaul, 
as big as Sicily, under the Arctic Pole, whose soil is rich and fruitful, the climate 



32 The Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 

temperate, the inhabitants worship Apollo above all other gods, and Apollo has there 
a stately grove, and renowned temple of a round form, beautified with many rich 
gifts, and that there is a city consecrated to Apollo; that the inhabitants of the island 
have a language of their own, but have been visited by Greeks, who had made divers 
gifts inscribed with Greek characters. This island is, of course, Britain, and Avebury 
the temple of Apollo. 

Aristotle, writing in 345 B.C., distinctly alludes to Albion and lerne, two very 
large islands beyond the Pillars of Hercules. 

The mention of the lernian Isles in the Argonautica, like the quotation from 
Hecataeus, may be received as confirmatory of a vague knowledge possessed by the 
Greeks in the 4th and 6th centuries H.c. regarding the British Isles. That this 
knowledge was derived through, and purposely mystified by the Phoenicians, we may 
be assured, as we have seen the extreme jealousy with which they regarded, and the 
success with which they baffled all attempts to discover the route to the islands 
whence they procured an abundant supply of tin. This jealousy is evident in the 
treaty concluded between the Romans and Carthaginians in the middle of the 4th 
century B.C. By it the Romans bound themselves not to extend their voyages to the 
West beyond Tarseius. Herodotus, in the 5th century B.C., admits that he knew 
nothing of the Cassiterides ; but the same paragraph contains the important addition, 
" from which we get tin." 

A century later, viz., in the middle of the 4th century B.C., all we can learn from 
Aristotle is that he knew that the Britannic Isles were in the ocean beyond the 
Pillars of Hercules ; that the two largest were called Albion and lerne ; and that 
these isles lay beyond the Celts. 

Polybius, in the 2nd century B.C., mentions the Britannic Isles and the 
preparation of tin. 

Hitherto the traffic from Britain to the Mediterranean seems to have been 
monopolised by the Phoenicians, but in the 1st, or possibly in the 2nd century B.C., 
Publius Crassus made known to the Romans the route by sea from the Pillars of 
Hercules to the tin islands. 

The Weald of Sussex and the sandy heaths of Surrey are seamed with trenches 
cut in search of iron by the early inhabitants of Britain, followed by the Romans. 
The iron known as kidney iron, from its appearance, is found in the greensand, hard 
by the chalk, and in the midst of the forest land, and all that was necessary to 
produce a flux was therefore at hand. 

With rude bellows of skins, or with a fan, a sufficient draught could be produced 
which would smelt the ironstone in a charcoal furnace, if to it a few lumps of chalk 
were added. After that the hammering out of tools came as a matter of course. 

In the primitive method of making iron, we have, first, an iron ore rich in 
metallic iron, easily smelted, and yielding quickly the most valuable product ; 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 33 

secondly, fuel in the form of charcoal ; and, thirdly, a closed furnace, supplied with a 
blast or current of cool air, produced by the simplest form of bellows. The charcoal 
would be supplied to the furnace, lighted in the first instance probably by wood in a 
dried state ; and when brought to a condition of active combustion, and forming a 
somewhat dense mass of hot-burning fuel, the iron ore would be added — this probably 
being broken up in small pieces if the nodules in which it was dug up or mined were 
large. The bellows would then be set to work to make the heat more intense than 
before, till the ore would become partially melted, and would fall to the lower part of 
the furnace in a semi-fluid or what is technically called a pasty condition. It would 
soon be discovered that this pasty mass, if taken out at a high heat, could be 
hammered or compres.sed so as to form a mass more or less uniform or homogeneous 
in character. This, when allowed to grow cold and again heated, would be found to 
possess malleable properties, and could therefore be hammered or forged or drawn 
into its various forms. 

In these primitive methods it would be only the richest iron ores which would be 
dealt with, for the reason that the simple apparatus at command would in effect be 
capable of melting or reducing only the ores most easily acted upon by heat. And 
in those early times the fuel used — indeed, the only one practically at command — 
would be wood. This at first would be used in its natural, but in a dried condition. 
The very process of so burning it would soon lead to the discovery of the art of 
making charcoal ; and the value of this in the reduction of iron ores would also 
be early known. 

It is now believed by all antiquaries who have made prehistoric archaeology a 
special study, that the "Iron Age*' was preceded by the "Bronze Age;" but this 
does not mean that iron was not to a limited extent used even when bronze was the 
staple metal. The term "Bronze Age" is applied to that period when bronze was 
used for cutting purposes, and for such use as would be better met by iron if it had 
been known and was available in any quantity. Thus the transition from the 
"Bronze Age" to the " Iron Age" only denoted that iron had come into use, chiefly 
for weapons, and not that bronze had ceased to be used. 

The examples of bronze weapons that are remaining to us, and may be seen in 
our museums, are, many of them, ornamented with much elaboration and with great 
beauty ; and the metal workers, when they became accustomed to using iron in place 
of bronze, would naturally attempt to introduce similar ornamentation, as far as the 
material would admit. 

Before the coming of the Romans, the bronze axes had been discarded in favour 
of the new iron swords and spears. These were at first imported from Gaul, but the 
Britons soon learnt to manufacture them for themselves. The sword blades were 
iron, manufactured in the south-west of the island ; the sheaths were bronze, and the 
hilts were beautifully decorated with studs of red coral. The scythe-blades attached 
to the war-chariots of Cassivelaunus were undoubtedly of British manufacture. 



34 T^f^^ Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 

An important archaeological discovery was made near Driflfield, East Yorkshire, 
by Canon Greenwell. At Danesdale are a number of mounds which for years have 
been popularly and locally known as *' Danes' Graves." Further investigation has 
been made, with the result that Canon Greenwell has come to the conclusion that 
these graves, which are protected by a wood, are not Danes' graves at all, but belong 
to an age at least a thousand years before the conquest — that is, to about two 
thousand years ago, and prior to the Roman invasion. In one of the tumuli laid bare 
were found, not only the bones of an ancient Briton, but the iron tyre of his chariot, 
the iron bit and trappings of his horse, and a bronze pin, beautiful in design, and 
enamelled. The discovery of these, together with the shape of the graves and the 
curled-up position of the skeletons, leaves no doubt as to the age to which they 
belong. Thirteen of the 178 graves were oj^ened, and all contained evidence of their 
ancient origin. 

The pin that has been found is a specimen of early British enamelling, and of a 
type peculiar to the iron period. It has a peculiar twist in the shank, which makes 
its origin certain. Two other similar graves have been opened at Arras and Beverley, 
in which chariots were found, and in the one at Arras the tyres and naves of the 
wheels were complete. The tyres were iron, but the naves bronze. There were also 
an iron mirror with bronze mountings, the end of a shank of a bronze whip, and two 
or three rings through which the reins (jf the chariot would be carried. These 
antiquities are now in the British Museum. 

Sir John Evans says : " There is every probability of a transition having 
** gradually taken place in this country, from the employment of bronze for cutting 
** tools and weapons of offence to the use of iron or steel for such instruments ; in 
"other words, from a Bronze Age to an Iron Age, such as that to which the term 
*' ' Late Celtic ' has been applied. 

" That this transition must have been effected, at all events in the South of 
** Britain, prior to the Roman invasion, is shown, as has already been pointed out, by 
*' the circumstance that the early swords found in France belong in all probability to 
^* a period not later than the 4th or 5th century B.C., while the southern parts of 
" Britain had, long before Caesar's time, been peopled by Belgic immigrants, who 
^'either brought the knowledge of iron with them or must have received it after their 
'* arrival from their kinsmen on the Continent, with whom they were in constant 
** intercourse. In the more northern parts of Britain and in Scotland an acquaintance 
*' with iron was probably first made at a somewhat more recent period ; but in the 
*' Late Celtic interments in Yorkshire no coins are present, and the iron and other 
'* objects found exhibit no traces of Roman influence. Moreover, the Roman 
** historians, who have recorded many of the manners and customs of the northern 
" Britons, do not in any way hint at their weapons being formed of bronze. 

" The connection between France and Britain during the Bronze Age cannot be 
^* denied, and in many respects there is an identity of character between the bronze 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 35 

"antiquities of the North of France and the South of England. The North of 
" France cannot, however, at any time since the first discovery of bronze, have been 
"absolutely shut out from all communication with the South and East. The East 
"must always have been affected by the habits of those who occupied what is now 
" Western Germany ; and the South can hardly have been exempt from the influence 
"of Italy, if not, however, of other Mediterranean countries. 1 am inclined to think 
" that these external influences acted also on the bronze industry of Britain, not so 
" much directly as indirectly, and that some of the types in this country may be 
"traced to an Italian or German origin as readily as to a French." 

It has been supposed that the discovery of iron arose either from pieces of rich 
iron ore becoming accidentally imbedded in the domestic fire, the burning embers of 
which would easily reduce them to the metallic state, or it may have arisen from 
primitive man, having already obtained the metal copper from certain stones, experi- 
menting with others in the same manner in his rude furnace, when, if these consisted 
of iron ore, metallic iron would be produced. But if this is correct, we should find 
that the Copper or Bronze and the Iron Ages were practically the same, instead of the 
Bronze Age lasting for centuries without any indication of iron. That bronze was used 
so long before iron was known points not to accidental discovery which might occur 
anywhere and at any time, but rather to the fact that the knowledge was passed from 
man to man, from country to country. 

We know that in various parts of the world, especially in Africa, the natives have 
passed from the Stone Age into the Iron without the intermediate stage of Bronze, 
but this arises from the fact that iron was brought there by traders before they had 
discovered any metal for themselves. 

In all probability meteoric iron was universally known and used long before 
smelted iron was discovered. Its scarcity would prevent its coming into general use, 
and it would therefore be most highly valued and only manufactured into the most 
costly weapons. Doubtless the lump of iron, mentioned by Homer as being one of 
the prizes at the funeral games of Patroclus, was of this character. Dr. Flinders Petrie 
discovered in the temples of Abydos a piece of iron in a bundle of copper tools of the 
6th dynasty, or about 3400 H.C., when hitherto not a scrap of iron had been found in 
Egypt which could be certainly dated before lOOO B.C., whilst iron was not in familiar 
use in that country till the Greek times. Thus we see that in some way the Egyptians 
had a piece of iron, apparently only worked into a wedge, two or three thousand years 
earlier than the general use of that metal. 

It is probable that although the Britons did not understand how to extract iron 
from the ore even when they made constant use of the more complex alloy of bronze, 
iron was known and used even in the Bronze Age, and this was manufactured from 
meteorolites which had fallen on the earth in an almost pure metallic state. This is 
proved by analyses of the iron of prehistoric weapons, which show that many of the 



36 The Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 

earliest specimens contain a considerable percentage of nickel, and this alloy does not 
occur in any known iron ores, but is invariably found in meteoric or telluric iron. 

Professor Boyd Dawkins, in an interesting lecture at the Midland Institute, in 
1902, stated that the earliest people known to have occupied the British Isles 
belonged to the Neolithic Age, the age of polished stone implements. This race was 
the Iberian, and came from the Sc)Uth, invading Europe from Asia Minor and the 
region beyond. These people were conquered and driven West by a new race of 
more savage character, named Goidels, who gave to France its ancient name of Gaul. 

Having bronze weapons, these people tried them on the more peaceful Iberians, 
who had only stone axes ; consequently the displacement of one stage of civilization 
by another was effected by violent means. At a British village near Glastonbury, all 
the skulls were found outside the gate, and were those of people who had died violent 
deaths, and who had been struck in the back of the head as they were running away. 
The .shape of the skulls showed that these were Iberians. They were, however, 
avenged later on, at the beginning of the prehistoric Iron Age, when the Goidels were 
also driven West by a Southern race which made its way here from the Continent, 
and which left its mark in the name of Briton. The Brythons had iron weapons, and 
the bronze men had to succumb. When, therefore, Pytheas mentions the name 
** Britain " in his voyage in 325 B.C., it is evident that in his day the Brythonic 
invaders were in possession, and Britain was in the Iron Age. 

Centuries before the Christian era wave after wave of the fair-haired peoples of 
Northern Europe had from time to time burst from the heart of Germany over the 
great mountain barriers into the southern lands. 

Not only did these warriors from the north differ in stature and complexion from 
the southern peoples, but their arms were of a perfectly distinct type. Their chief 
weapon was a long iron sword ; with trenchant strokes delivered by these long 
.swords the Celts had dealt destruction to their foes on many a field. They used not 
the thrust as did the Greeks and Romans of the classical period. This is put beyond 
doubt by Polybius, who, in his account of the great defeat of the combined Celtic 
tribes, when they invaded Italy in 225 B.C., tells us that the Romans had the 
advantage in arms, " for the Gallic sword can only deliver a cut, but cannot thrust." 

Again, in his account of the great victory gained over the Insubres by the 
Romans in 233 B.C., the same historian tells us that the defeat of the Celts was due to 
the fact that their long iron swords easily bent, and could only give one downward 
cut with any effect, but that after this the edges got .so turned and their blades .so 
bent, that unless they had time to straighten them with the foot against the ground, 
they could not deliver a second blow. " When the Celts had rendered their swords 
** useless by the first blows delivered on the spears, the Romans closed with them, and 
" rendered them quite helpless, by preventing them from raising their hands to strike 
** with their swords, which is their peculiar and only stroke, because their blade had no 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 2>7 

" point. The Romans, on the contrary, having excellent points to their swords, used 
" them not to cut, but to thrust ; and by thus repeatedly smiting the breasts and 
" faces of the enemy, they eventually killed the greater part of them." 

There were in Europe, north of the Alps, two distinctive and independent iron 
civilizations, called respectively that of Hallstadt and that of La Tene, after the 
most important finds of these remains. The Hallstadt is the earlier ; it derives 
its inspiration from Northern Italy, both as to shapes and as to ornamentation. The 
La Tene iron manufacture was independent. It extended throughout Gaul and 
Great Britain and Ireland, and is found along the I^anube and Rhine valleys. It is 
associated with Celtic copies of Macedonian coins, and with the ornamentation of 
spirals and interlacings of lines, so characteristic of Celtic art, which reached its 
perfection in the illuminations of Irish MSS. and Scottish brooches and crosses, 
and which was imitated by the Scandinavians. Both the Hallstadt and La Tene 
ironwork exhibit a servile imitation of bronze, an inability in the manufacturers in 
dealing with iron, to break away from traditional forms and methods which belonged 
to the alloy which had been so long in use. Whether in swords, in torques, or 
buckets, it is the same, the iron articles are copies of those which had preceded them 
in bronze. It is therefore certain that in Europe, whatever may have been the case 
elsewhere, the iron age succeeded one of bronze, just as bronze came in after the age 
of polished stone. 

The Hallstadt area extended over a considerable country in the region 
surrounding the head of the Adriatic, especially in Umbria and Venetia, and the 
earliest graves investigated in these parts produced a number of swords that are 
approximately about lOOO B.C 

Of the swords thus found it is interesting to notice that some were entirely of 
bronze, some were entirely iron, and others had the hilts of bronze with blades of iron. 
The blades of all of them were the leaf shape so characteristic of the Bronze Age, and 
not being sharply pointed they were more adapted to the stroke than for a thrust. 
This discovery indicates the gradual supersession of bronze by iron, and also that the 
use of both metals had been developed on the same spot by the same people. When 
we realize that Hallstadt is less that forty miles from Noreia, the Noricum of the 
ancients, whose iron was famed for its excellence and hardness throughout the world, 
it is not .surprising that in this locality weapons were found, the possession of which 
made the race irresistible. The Hallstadt culture reached its zenith about 800 B.C., 
but during the last centuries of its existence it was replaced in Gaul by a later Iron 
Age — La Tfene period. The remains of this period are scattered over the whole of 
Western Europe, and it was the Celts of these parts, moving always in a westerly 
direction, who eventually found their way to Britain. 

And now to summarize the information which has been placed before you in 
rather a discursive manner. That it has been diffuse is to be expected when we have 
had under observation a period of some 2,000 years, and have sought knowledge 



38 The Antiquity of Iron in Britain, 

in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, and have delved in Anglo-Saxon MSS., and 
the works of Greek and Roman historians ; and have also derived information from 
the ransacking of graves of warriors who died nearly 3,000 years ago. 

As the result of our enquiry we find, first, that at the time of the Norman 
couquest iron was the one material for all weapons and defensive armour, as well as 
for agricultural implements. We can realize also, from examples that fortunately 
remain to us, that wrought iron was extensively used for ecclesiastic architecture 
in the form of grilles, hinges and handles for doors, vanes and finials, &c. 

During the later centuries of the Anglo-Saxon era, iron was also used in a 
decorative manner for architectural detail, whilst for weapons and agricultural 
implements, and for ordinary domestic utensils, it was in general use as far back 
as the Roman occupation. 

We also find a similar state of things at the Roman invasion, and there is no 
doubt that Britain was far advanced in the Iron Age at that period, and probably 
this was the case for at least two centuries B.C. 

It is of course certain that the transitional stage when Bronze was being 
displaced by Iron was a very gradual one, and the low state of civilization and the 
lack of communication would make the change exceedingly slow. 

It is also clear that the use of Iron in Britain was not indigenous, was not a native 
discovery, but that, as in the case of Bronze, the knowledge and use of the metal was 
imparted by contact with foreigners. 

It has been shown that there was constant communication and traffic and barter 
carried on, not only with the Phoenicians, but with the inhabitants of Gaul for 
centuries previous to any historic record. 

We have also .seen that Britain was periodically ravaged not only by piratical 
adventurers from all parts of the Continent, but by tribes who, having conquered the 
natives, eventually .settled down in possession of their iand.s. This last result would 
be considerably quickened when the invader was armed with sharp iron swords and 
the defenders had to rely upon the soft bronze. The immen.se superiority would be 
so obvious that the universal adoption of iron for weapons and other cutting tools 
and implements would only be a question of time. 

That iron weapons were used by Continental nations as early as 500 B.C. we have 
abundant historic evidence, and archaeological discoveries have brought to light in 
Northern Italy iron swords dating back as far as 1000 B.C. Again, at La Tene, on 
Lake Neuch&tel, iron swords of a later date have been discovered, as well as remains 
of extensive ironworks. 

It is therefore argued that the use of iron in Europe started from Hallstadt, the 
ancient Noricum, and carried up the Danube and down the Rhine and Rhone it 
eventually was brought by one of these Celtic invaders into Britain. 



The Antiquity of Iron in Britain. 39 

It is not at all improbable that for this precious gift we have to thank the 
Brythons, that tribe which conquered the country in the 4th or Sth century B.C., and to 
whom we are also indebted for the name Britain. 

We cannot conclude better than with a short extract from Locke's " Essay on 
the Human Understanding" (book iv., chap. 12), written when America had only 
been colonized about one hundred years : — 

" Of what consequence the discovery of one natural body, and its properties, may 
*' be to human life, the whole great continent of America is a convincing instance ; 
" whose ignorance in useful arts, and want of the greatest part of the convcin'ences of 
*' life, in a country that abounded with all sorts of natural plenty, I think may be 
** attributed to their ignorance of what was to be found in a very ordinary despicable 
** stone — I mean the mineral of Iron. 

" And whatever we may think of our parts or improvements in this part of the 
*• world, where knowledge and plenty seem to vie with each other, yet, to anyone that 
" will seriously reflect on it, I suppose, it will appear beyond doubt, that were the use 
" of iron lost among us, we should in a few ages be unavoidably reduced to the wants 
"and ignorance of the ancient savage Americans, whose natural endowments and 
" provisions came in no way short of those of the most flourishing and polite nations. 
" So that he who first made known the use of that contemptible mineral, may be 
** truly styled the Father of Arts, and Author of Plenty." 



The Manufacture of 
IVrought Plate in Birmingham. 

Wilk Notes upon Old Birmingham Silversmiths. 
Bv ARTHUR WESTWOOD. 

March iSth, Ipoj. 




EFORE entering upon the reading of this paper, it 
will be well at the outset to make it clear, for the 
information of those of you who may not be familiar 
with tlie subject, and for the better understanding of 
the remarks 1 have to make, that from very early 
times the gold and silver workers of England have 
not been at liberty to make and sell their wares 
without conforming to certain statutorj- rules enacted 
from time to time. 

One of these regulations deals with the standard or quality of the gold and silver 
to be wrought into plate. It is perhaps needless to say that gold and silver plate or 
money are never ma<le of pure gold or pure silver alone ; in the pure state they would 
be too soft for use and service. The laws have at all times permitted a minimum 
amount of copper or other base metal to be incorporatetl with the precious metals. 
The mixture or alloy thus obtained is harder and more workable, but is, of course, of 
somewhat lower value, hence the temptation to make a fraudulent profit by the 
addition of an undue amount of base metal (" the benefit or gains," writes an old 
goldsmith, "i-s so bewitching"). This it has been the object of the legislature to 
check by fixing a limit to the addition. 

" It will be acknowledged," says Lord Bacon, "even by these that practice it not, 
■'that clear and round dealing is the honour of man's nature; and that mixture of 
" falsehood i.s like allay in coin of gold and silver, which may make the metal work 
"the better, but it embaseth it." 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 4 1 

The opening words of the earliest statute enacted in 13CX), in the 28th year of 
Edward I., deal with this matter. 

"It is ordained that no goldsmith of England, nor none otherwhere within 
" the king's dominions, shall from henceforth make or cause to be made any manner 
" of vessel, jewel, or any other thing of gold or silver, except it be of good and true 
" allay, (that is to say) gold of a certain touch, and silver of sterling allay, or better at 
" the pleasure of him to whom the work belongeth." 

The legal standards have varied from time to time, but the interdict holds to this 
day. Certain articles, however, at different times have been exempted from the 
general control of the assay laws, as to which I shall have something to say later on. 

The gold or silver plate-worker is held to mark all his goods with his private 
mark ; the mark having been first registered at one of the assay offices. This 
obligation dates from the year 1363, or, at any rate, that is the first time mention of it 
occurs in any statute. 

The words are : " And every master-goldsmith shall have a mark by himself, and 
" the same mark shall be known by them which shall be assigned by the king to 
" survey their work and allay." 

The articles stamped with the maker's mark have next to be sent to the office 
where the mark is registered, in order that the standard may be verified and to 
be provided with the authorised marks, commonly called hallmarks, before they may 
be disposed of This regulation also dates from the year 1 300, and the words of the 
Act are as follows : — 

" And that no manner of v^essel of silver depart out of the hands of the workers 
" until it be as.sayed by the wardens of the craft ; and that, further, that it be marked 
" with the leopard's head." 

The assay office at London was then the only one in existence, and the leopard's 
head was the mark authorised to be used there. Later, when the provincial offices 
were created, other marks (distinctive of each office) were also used for this purpose, 
e,g,^ the X crowned and the castle at Exeter, the three castles at Newcastle-upon- 
Tyne, the crown at Sheffield, and the anchor at Birmingham. 



@ @ 61 



FIG. I. — MARKS STAMPED AT BIRMINGHAM ON STERLING SILVER WARES. 

This is all we need trouble about at present as to the assay regulations, except 
perhaps to mention that any breach of them was and has continued to be visited with 



42 The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 

penalties varying according to the gravity of the offence. The penal clause in the 
earliest Act above referred to runs as follows : — 

" And if any goldsmith be attainted hereafter, because that he hath done 
"otherwise than before is ordained, he shall be punished by imprisonment, and by 
** ransom at the king's pleasure." 

I have not been so fortunate as to discover any traces of the manufacture of 
silver plate in Birmingham of an earlier period than about the middle of the i8th 
century. 

Knowing the comparatively recent growth of this city, which, although of ancient 
origin as a place of habitation, was little more than a village two hundred years ago, 
this was to be expected. 

There were, however, men dwelling in the town as early as the 1 6th century who 
were designated by the name of "goldsmiths"; but they were in reality money- 
lenders and bankers, and were not concerned in fashioning with hammer and hand 
any sort of work in gold or silver. 

For centuries Birmingham has been the home of busy workers in iron. In the 
17th century the making of wares of brass also became one of its staple industries, as 
it still continues to be. So that on the introduction of the manufacture of silver and 
gold, more malleable and ductile materials, there were capable workers with an 
hereditary capacity for such work, derived through generations of skilled artificers in 
metal. Contrary to ancient chronology, the Golden Age here follows the Iron Age 
and the Brazen Age. 

Before 1700 I believe that the manufacture of wrought plate within this town 
either did not exist or was inconsiderable. But if at this date or earlier there were 
any plate-workers living in the town, the early records of the old assay offices having 
been lost, their names are not recoverable. 

I believe, then, that before the middle of the i8th century little wrought plate 
was made here. Probably numbers of little toys and trinkets of gold and silver, 
"heaps of hair-rings, and cypherd seals," the sportive products of the forge, were 
fashioned here before this date, as later they were in large quantities. 

" E'en then, these arts employed my infant thought ; 
" Chains, bracelets, pendants, all their toys I wrought." 

These small articles were made principally by those dexterous artists, the 
toymen, the fathers of the gold and silver industry in the town, who produced 
such wares in an infinite variety. It is perhaps necessary to explain that the toys for 
which Birmingham was known the world over were not what we now understand by 
that name, the playthings of childhood, but they were ornamental and useful knick- 
knacks and trinkets, " rich trifles, serious bagatelles," elaborated especially from steel, 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 43 

hand-wrought and lustrous as the diamond, and also of more precious materials, such 

as gold and silver, enamels, ivory, and tortoise-shell, as well as the base metals and 

their alloys, stone and hardwood. The word ** toys " was a comprehensive term for 

an assemblage of numerous kinds of more or less tasteful wares, of small dimensions, 

and varying from a few pence to many guineas in value. It included much of what is 

now termed jewellery, and small articles of plate, sword hilts, gun, pistol, and dagger 

furniture, buttons, buckles, bracelets, rings, necklaces, seals, chains, chatelaines, charm.s, 

mounts of various kinds, ^tuis, snuff boxes, and patch boxes, those small toilet boxes, 

often with a mirror in the lid for the considered adjustment of the tiny black patches 

it held, an affair of no less importance than a practised exercise of that " little modish 

machine," the fan. 

"A bill, a jewel, watch or toy, 

" My rivals give — and let them ; 

" If gems or gold impart a joy, 

" I'll give them when 1 get them." 

Their wares then included a multiplicity of articles of ever-changing fashion, 
a large proportion of which were for the use and adornment of the ladies — good 
customers of the toymen — who, with an endless choice of " varying vanities," were 
unfailing in their attempts " to shift the moving toyshop of their heart." Not only 
were they held in repute at home, but also on the Continent many years before 
Burke alluded to Birmingham as *' the toyshop of Kuropc." 

The traveller Misson, visiting Milan towards the end of the 17th century, speaks 
of the "fine works of rock crystal, swords, heads of canes, snuff boxes, and other fine 
*' works of steel " he saw there, but remarks that " they can be had cheaper and better 
"at Birmingham." A century later their wares still maintained their reputation 
abroad, for, according to a French encyclopaedia of arts and crafts of that period, the 
toys imported from England, particularly those coming from Birmingham, were 
beyond dispute superior in workmanship to those obtained from (jermany, ox even to 
those of French manufacture. 

F'or the manufacture in silver or in gold of many of the small wares made by the 
toymen and others it was not needful to take out a licence, nor were they required to 
be hallmarked, as articles of a larger and heavier kind from very early times were 
required to be before they might be sold. Such wares had lx:en expressly exempted 
from the compulsory operation of the assay laws, anrl, later, from the obligation to 
take out a license (imposed by an Act of the year 175H; f(*r permissi(Mi to manufacture 
wares of gold not exceeding 2dwts., or wares of silver nr^t exceeding sdwt.s. ; fr^r this 
had been found, in the words of an Act passed in the fr^llowing year 0759;, 
"detrimental to the toy and cutlery trades of this kingd(*m." The chief .seats r^f 
these trades were then Birmingham and Sheffield, and the words are interesting 
as shewing that previous to this year working in gold and silver was an impfjrtant 
branch of those trades. 



44 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham, 



The articles exempted from assay, and which the toymen and others were free to 
make and sell without licence, provided they did not exceed the weights above 
mentioned, were such as 



Jewellers' work set with jewels or stones 
(except mourning rings, which, for a 
reason I am not able to give, were 
required to be assayed and marked). 

Jointed night-earrings of gold, 

Finger rings. 

Chains, 

Necklace beads, 

Lockets, 

Hollow or raised buttons. 

Sleeve buttons, 

Thimbles, 

Coral sockets and bells, 

Ferrules, 

Pipe-lighters, 

Cranes for bottles. 



Very small book-clasps, 

Jointed stock or garter clasps. 

Snuff* box rims, whereof tops or bottoms 

were made of shell or stone. 
Sliding pencils. 
Toothpick, tweezer, pencil, and needle 

cases. 
Filigree work, 
Tippings or swages on stone or iv^ory 

cases. 
Mounts, screws, or sto[)pers to stone or 

glass bottles or phials. 
Small or slight ornaments put to amber. 
Wrought seals and seals with cornelian 

or other stones set therein. 



It is to be remembered that no trade corporations existed in the town, restricting 
the exercise of manual trades to their own members ; and, says Matthew Boulton, 
*' the inhabitants are too sensible of the disadvantages of such societies to wish for 
" any," consequently every man was free to follow whatever trade or trades he 
pleased. Often two -trades were combined, as appears from the early directories, in 
which such queer conjunctions of trades as the following are to be found : — 

Plater, steel snuffer and frying-pan maker 

(and, we may add, silversmith) ; 
Gun and pistol maker and grocer ; 
Jeweller and publican ; 
Publican and schoolmaster. 

In the early days of the making of plate in the town there were few or none who 
were occupied solely in the manufacture of silver wares, but this was commonly 
followed as a branch of some other trade, such as the making of gilt metal and plated 
goods. The dexterity gained in the exercise of the one trade could be as profitably 
exerted, when there was occasion, in the other. 

It was about the middle of the i8th century that England began to take the lead 
as a manufacturing country, mainly owing to the improvements effected in the 
production of iron. Following the augmentation of the wealth and consequent 
increase in prosperity and in refinement of the people, there began a growing demand 
for articles of luxury. Evidences of this we find in the extended use of silver 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 45 

for personal adornment as well as for household purposes. In this direction the 
Birmingham workers found a new outlet for their activities, not yet in the production 
of costly plate for the wealthy, but in such serviceable wares as were suited to the 
taste and purse of a more numerous class then rising in numbers and increasing 
in power, the well-to-do middle classes. Formerly they had been proud of the 
possession of a few silver spoons, cherished heirlooms, willed from father to son. 
Instead of silver vessels, their sideboards or dressers were resplendent with well- 
scoured pewter, no mean substitute for, and rivalling in form and workmanship, the 
wares of the more precious material. 

The habit of drinking tea now becoming general, further extended the use of 
silver in the equipage of the tea table, particularly in the shape of teaspoons and 
caddie-spoons, of which a great variety of pretty patterns were made here. Tea- 
caddies of silver were not produced in any great number, but those of hardwood and 
tortoise-shell, mounted with silver, were largely produced. Of table plate, forks, at 
the beginning of the century, were not in common use, even amongst the higher 
classes ; they now began to be forged in silver in increasing quantities, though these 
were not habitually used even by the rich until towards the end of the century, steel 
being deemed sufficient for daily use. Hafts of steel knives and forks were frequently 
wholly of silver, or ornamented with silver caps and ferrules, as at the present day. 
This was a branch of the trade carried on here, but perhaps to a greater extent 
in Sheffield. The young ladies of the genteel boarding-school, opened in the Crescent 
in 1793, by Mrs. and the Misses Eves, were by advertisement desired to bring with 
them " a silver spoon and knife and fork ; " the latter articles, if of steel, no doubt 
satisfying the fastidious requirements of that select institution. 

Collectors of antique plate find to their cost that silver forks of the early years of 
the 1 8th century are scarce ; that silver spoons of the same date are not very 
common, but that spoons of the latter half of the century are plentiful, and to be 
purchased from the dealers for little more than the value of the silver. 

Of the branches of trade carried on in the i8th century, those of the button and 
buckle makers probably engaged the greatest number of workers. In 1790, when 
the buckle trade was beginning to decline, it is said that 20,000 persons found 
employment in this business in Birmingham and neighbourhood. These articles, 
fortunately for the makers, were most subject to the caprice of fashion, rapidly 
varying in size, shape, and in ornamentation, as tailor or shoemaker or royal will 
might decree. 1778. — " We stopped again at Wirgman's, the well-known toy-shop, in 

" St. James's Street After he had been some time in the shop, he sent for 

" me to come out of the coach, and help him to choose a pair of silver buckles, as 

" those he had were too small This choosing of silver buckles was a 

** negotiation. * Sir,' said he, * I will not have the ridiculous large ones now in fashion ; 
" * and I will give no more than a guinea for a pair.' Such were the principles of 



46 The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham, 

"the business; and after some examination he was fitted." d) Both were largely 
exported ; buttons advertised as of " English manufacture" were sold in quantities by 
the best houses in Paris, but probably these were mostly of steel. This is in contrast 
with a practice of the present day, if it be true, as is alleged, that much of the jewellery 
now made here is retailed in deference to the purchaser as the latest Parisian or 
London fashion. 

That worthy historian of Birmingham, William Hutton, writing in i78i,on the 
subject of the Birmingham button, says : " In some branches of traffic the wearer calls 
*' loudly for new fashions ; but in this the fashions tread up(jn each other and crowd 
*' upon the wearer ; " and of buckles, '' this offspring of fancy, like the clouds, is ever 
"changing. The fashion of to-day is thrown into the casting pot to-morrow." 

Silver watch-cases began to be made here in the latter half of the i8th century, as 
also at Coventry, where watch making appears to have originated contemporaneously 
with the Birmingham silver trade. 

The making of silver gun and pistol furniture and sword and dagger hilts was 
another important branch of the silver trade at this time. Candlesticks, snuffers and 
snuffer trays, inkstands, snuff" boxes, and cases of various kinds are also enumerated 
as having been manufactured here before 1773. 

At the time of which I have been speaking there was no assay office in this 
town, where makers of silver or gold plate could have their wares assayed and 
marked. In the year 1700, an Act had been passed establishing or re-establishing 
offices for the assaying and marking of wrought plate in the cities of York, Exeter, 
Bristol, and Chester. In the following year the same privilege was granted to the city 
of Newcastle-upon-Tyne. These then, with London, were the only towns in England 
where plate could be stamped with the authorised marks, without which it was not 
permitted to be sold. It is certain that at this date the manufacture of wrought plate 
in Birmingham was (if it existed) inconsiderable, or the makers would have petitioned 
for the establishment of an office here. The Act conferring this privilege upon the 
plate-workers in the first-mentioned towns, recites as a reason for the grant that the 
goldsmiths, silversmiths, and plate- workers remote from London were under great 
difficulties and hardships in the exercise of their trades for want of assayers 
in convenient places to assay and touch their wrought plate. This was the 
disadvantageous state of affairs at Birmingham until the }'ear 1773, when an Act was 
obtained for the opening of an assay office in the town. The Act was obtained 
mainly by the exertions of Matthew Boulton, with the powerful aid of the then 
Earl of Dartmouth, who at that time was Colonial Secretary. The difficulties the 
trade then laboured under can be imagined, for the nearest assay towns were London 
and Chester, the one upwards of 1 10 miles, and the other 80 miles distant. 



(l) Boswell's Life of Johnson. 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 47 

The delay occasioned in sending their deh'cate wares so far, the damage they 
were liable to in the accidents of the carriage by slow-moving wagons over the rough 
roads of the period, in which the wagons often sunk to the level of their axles ; the 
damage due to careless packing and re-packing, and the risk of theft inseparable from 
so tempting a material ; these were among the trials of the Birmingham silversmiths. 
Moreover, the existing assay offices were under the control of the goldsmiths' 
companies of the respective towns, so that their fresh designs were necessarih'' 
communicated to their trade rivals before they had reaped benefit from them. 

We can understand that this, in the words of the petition for an assay office, was 
attended with a considerable expense, hazard, and delay, injurious to the trade and 
obstructing all improvements and increase thereof 

As late as the year 1780, when the roads had been much improved, the journey 
to London by coach occupied two days, but the stage wagons were a week on the 
road. 

Under these discouraging circumstances it is to be wondered at that any plate 
was made in Birmingham, at any rate, before 1773. However, in the quarter of 
a century preceding the establishment of the Birmingham office, a considerable 
amount of plate was made, probably the greater part to the order of shopkeepers 
and others in London, to whom it was sold in a nearly finished state, and, being 
hallmarked in the name of the purchaser at the London office and bearing his mark, 
it is unfortunately not now to be identified as Birmingham work. Unfortunately, 
because we could wish for the credit of some part of those treasures exhibited in the 
cabinet of the plate collector, which, although they bear the mark of a noted London 
goldsmith, may be in fact the handiwork of the founders of this now important 
Birmingham industry. 

We learn from evidence given before a Parliamentary Committee in the year 
1773, that the workers in gold and silver at the time immediately before the 
establishment of the assay office were considerable in number, for upwards of forty 
master-workers had taken out a plate license ; others there were, no doubt, who were 
content to make only the smaller wares for which a license was not required, besides 
a number of workers engaged in allied trades, such as carvers, chasers, engravers, 
designers, enamellers, jewellers, &c. 

It may be of interest to note that the silver worked up in Birmingham was 
derived principally from the lead-smelting works in Flintshire. 

Matthew Boulton, who, in the year 1764, had set to work in his new factory at 
Soho, on what was then a desolate heath in the neighbourhood of the town, began to 
manufacture solid silver plate in association with John Fothergill. In the following 
year, 1765, the extent and variety of silver wares fashioned by them were not 
exceeded by any firm, certainly by none out of London, and for workmanship and 



48 The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 

design, in the judgment of those best qualified to speak, were not surpassed by any 
makers of the period. 

Writing of Soho, as he saw it in the year 1768, Dr. Erasmus Darwin says: ** Here 
" are toys and utensils of various kinds, in gold, copper, tortoise-shell, enamels, and 
" many vitreous and metallic compositions, with gilt, plated, and inlaid works, all 
** wrought up to the highest elegance of taste and perfection of execution." 

The finest silver candlesticks of this period that I have had the pleasure of 
inspecting were made by Houlton and Fothergill, and hallmarked at Birmingham in 
the year 1774. A set of four of this elegant pattern, said to have been designed by 
Flaxman, were recently exhibited in the Fine Arts Society's Exhibition in Bond 
Street. 

An old apprentice of Matthew Boulton, afterwards employed by a noted London 
goldsmith, giving evidence before a Parliamentary Committee in the year 1773, when 
it was sought to prove, by the opponent of the measure, that little large plate was 
made in Birmingham, and that little was of a slight and superficial character, and 
therefore an assay office in the town was not required, stated that when he lived with 
Mr. Boulton he made solid silver tureens, coffee pots, candlesticks, and various other 
articles, some of which were stamped and others cast ; that the heaviest candlesticks 
he had seen were made by Mr. Boulton, at Birmingham, and that they were also the 
best made and the handsomest pattern he ever saw. The.se were made to order for 
London, but the pattern was designed in Mr. Boul ton's manufactory ; they were 
assayed at Chester, where Mr. Boulton had all his goods assayed (as there was no 
assay office in Birmingham). He said also that the candlesticks were considerably 
damaged in the carriage to Chester, and that these were not the only goods he had 
known to have been damaged in the carriage. 

Further proof that large plate was being made appears from the following list of 
wares entered by Matthew Boulton at the Birmingham Assay Office on the opening 
day, Augu.st 31st, 1773 :— 

Oz. 

1 Tea Vase ... ... ... ... 100 

2 Tumblers ... ... ... ... 8 

24 Bottle Stands ... ... ... 136 

\. \J^^ \ \ ••• •«« ••• ••• v^ 

6 pr. Candlesticks ... ... ... 116 

I Coffee Pott Cover ... ... ... i 

I Candlestick Branch ... ... 19 

I Tea Pott ... ... ... ... 17 

30 pr. Buckle Rims ... ... ... 38 

I Plain Coffee Pott ... ... ... 18 

I Wrought do. ... ... ... 32 

I Two-handle Cup ... ... ... 39 



dwls. 


grs. 


10 


12 


16 





19 





19 





13 





8 


12 


I 





5 





6 


12 


18 





3 






The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 49 



Oz. 


dwts. 


grs 


15 


6 





24 


I 





2 


10 





3 


18 


6 


20 


3 


6 


13 


18 





25 


16 


12 


2 


•4 


6 


•« 

3 


7 





163 


•4 





13 


10 


12 


4 


«4 


6 


3 


2 


12 


4 


12 






A X^L 1 c^ i 1 w ••• ••• ••• ••• 

4 Pierced Bottle Stands 
2 Punch Ladles 
2 Wine Strainers 

1 Tea Pott ... 

2 Cream Juggs 
I pr. Butter Boats 
I pr. Spurs ... 

^ t^ IV^ W do ... ... ••• ... 

I Epergne ... 
14 Spoons 
I Sugar Basket 
I Do. Dish 
Tea Vase furniture ... 

Matthew Boulton was the first manufacturer to enter silver wares at the assay 
office for hallmarking. He was also the first manufacturer to have goods returned to 
him from there not hallmarked, but carefully, if not skilfully, battered out of all 
recognition, such being the penalty a manufacturer has to suffer for error in alloying 
his silver. This necessary but unpleasant duty the assay officers are required to 
perform in the interests of the public whenever the quality of the silver by accident or 
design is not of the legal standard. 

The variety and weight of articles entered in this the first year of the office 
by Matthew Boulton would be considered great even at the present day. The wares 
included — in addition to the articles enumerated in the above list — waiters, plates, 
cruet-frames, egg-stands, saucepans, mugs, tankards, terrenes, mazerines, casters, 
forks, teaspoons, tea tongs, punch strainers, marrow spoons, soup ladles, knife and 
fork hafts, mounts for glass cruets, tea urns, .sconces, snuffer pans, lamps, sword hilts, 
clasps, whip caps, snuff boxes, trowels, flagons, and sacrament cups, &c. 

I am not able to name many of the manufacturers who were engaged in making 
gold and silver wares before the day of the Birmingham Assay Office, for, as above- 
mentioned, the earlier records no longer exist. 

The following 18th century workers I find sent wares to be marked in London: — 

Carter, Thomas, Plate-worker, Edmund Street. 

Cooper, Benjamin, Small-worker, entered his mark 27th February, 1748. 

Fox, Robert, Spoonmaker. 

GiMBLETT, John, and WnxiAM Vale, Watch-case Makers, entered their 

mark 24th January, 1770. 
Gratrix, Edward, Buckle Maker. 
Green, Thomas, Buckle Maker. 



50 The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 

Homer, Mark, Gold-worker. 
Jackson, James, Small-worker. 
Palmer, Daniel, Buckle Maker. 
Parker, Reuben, Watch-case Maker. 
S.MITH, John, Small-worker. 
Turner, John, Plate-worker. 
WRKiiiT, James, Plate-worker. 

Similarly at Chester were re<^istered : — 

BOULTON & FOTHERCIILL, Soho, Birmingham, 
Gimblett, John, and Wh.llvm Vale, Watchmakers. 
Glmblett, John, junr. 

The following names were also registered at London ; though not Birmingham 
men, they worked within the district afterwards assigned to the Birmingham Assay 
Office :— 

Adams, Joseph, Buckle Maker, &c., Walsall, entered 25th September, 1772. 

Bradshaw & RVLEV, Watch-case Makers, Coventry, entered 1745. 

Mercer Brotheks, Watch-case Makers, Coventry, entered 1770. 

Of the first two names on the list registered at London I have no information. 
Their names are not to be found in the earliest known directory of Birmingham, 
published in 1770, or in the books of the assay office. 

The next firm on the list is that of John Gimblett and WILLIAM Vale. 
They were wholesale watchmakers, and their manufactory, situated in Snow Hill, was 
of sufficient importance to be visited by persons of distinction passing through the 
town. They carried on this business to nearly the end of the century. 

Of the next two firms, EDWARD Gkatrix and Thomas Green, I have no 
information, nor is either to be found ow the office books. 

Mark Homer, was principally a maker of what are generally known as Sheffield 
plated-wares, from the method of their manufacture having been di.scovered in that 
town, but of which greater quantities were made in Birmingham. He resided in 
Cherry Street, in 1770; his name does not appear on the office books in 1773. 

The next name on the list is that of James Jackson, who was the first 
Birmingham a.ssay master and one of the guardians of the assay office named 
in Act of 1773. In 1745 it appears, by an advertisement in the Binningfiam 
Gazette^ that he was about to remove his business, that of a goldsmith and jeweller, to 
other premises, known by the sign of The Hand and Ring, in High Street. He was 
one of that local body, the Commissioners of the Street Act, compo.sed of fifty of the 
principal men in the town, who, before the charter of incorporation was obtained, had 
control of certain local affairs. His name appears in the first Street Act of 1769. 
He served as warden and treasurer of the Old Meeting, and was a member of that 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 5 1 

useful charity, Lench's Trust, of which he was elected and served as bailiff. He died 
25th March, 1792, when the following appreciative notice appeared in the Gazette : — 

Died. — On Sunday, the 25th ult., Mr. James Jackson, assay 
master, in this town. Strict integrity, constant benevolence, 
and unaffected piety distinguished his character as a man and 
as a Christian. 

The name of Daniel Palmer is not met with in the office books, nor in any 
of the early directories, unless perhaps he was of the firm of Palmer & Perkins, 
merchants, of Edmund Street, in 1770. 

John Smith, the next name, I have naturally failed to identify. 

John Turner, senior, who was of No. 24, Great Charles Street, in 1770, and 
is registered at the assay office as of the same address in 1773. He was in a 
considerable way of business as a maker of small silver wares, such as snuffboxes, 
clasps, seals, and buckles of various kinds. In 1779 he was joined by Matthew 
Linwood (a connection of what degree I am ignorant), of the Miss Linwood, who 
was celebrated for her artistic needlework, specimens of which are in the South 
Kensington Museum. He was one of the thirty guardians named in the Assay Act 
of I773» ^'^d o^ retiring from business about the year 1781, he was appointed a 
warden, in which office he served a term of one year. 

James Wright, the last on the list of those entered in London, was a maker 
principally of Sheffield plated-goods, of Freeman Street, in 1770, and registered of 
the same address in 1773. He was one of the guardians of assay named in the Act, 
and one of the first wardens elected in that year, and was again elected in 1777. He 
died in or shortly before the year 1781. 

From this year, 1773, onwards, to the year 1854, all plate-workers' names, their 
private marks, and addresses were registered, and all their goods assayed and marked, 
at the Birmingham assay office. 

Taking the names as they appear on the register, which was opened on the 31st 
August, 1773, the first entry, as was fitting, is as follows: — 

" BOULTON & FOTHERGILL, Plate-workers, Soho, near Birmingham." 

Reference has already been made to this department, not the least important of the 
several trades carried on in that huge factory raised by Matthew Boulton at Soho. 
It was as an offshoot of this silversmith's business that Boulton erected his mint, 
utilising in the operations of coining and stamping of metals the skilled engravers 
whom he had trained and the machinery he had brought to perfection. The 
Government were forced to have recourse to him in 1797 for the production of a 
large coinage of copper, and afterwards for the fitting up of the coining department of 
the Royal Mint. The machinery he there erected was until within recent years in 
full work. In his own mint at Soho were engaged many medallists, of whom Droz> 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 53 

May, Benjamin, silversmith, New Street. He was also a plater and steel 
worker. The silver wares made by him were sword hilts, spurs, snuffers, buckles, and 
other small articles of plate. He served the office of low bailiff in 1784, and retired 
from business about the year 1787. One of his apprentices was James Luckcock, the 
" father of Sunday school instruction in Birmingham." 

Benton, James, silversmith and toymaker, No. 3, Bath Street, and afterwards 
removed to No. 8, Great Charles Street (succeeded by Groves and J. Benton). 

Adams, Joseph, silversmith, Walsall ; a hardware manufacturer, of Adams's 
Row, Walsall, and also a maker of small silver wares, such as buckles, seals, tea- 
tongs, &c. As before mentioned, he was one of those makers whose mark was 
registered at London prior to the opening of the Birmingham Assay Office. He was 
one of the guardians of assay appointed by the Assay Act of 1773. 

GiMBLETT, John, junr., and William Val?:, watch-case makers. No. 107, Snow 
Hill. This is also one of the firms above referred to as registered at London, also 
at Chester. 

Freeth, Charles, silver-caster, Great Charles Street. This business was carried 
on until the middle of the last century, under the successive styles of Charles Freeth, 
C. Freeth & Sons, John Freeth, Freeth & Jones, Freeth & Jennings ; after which the 
name of Freeth disappears from the firm. The silver wares made by the founder of 
the firm, possibly a relative of the locally famous ballad maker, " Poet Freeth," whose 
father was named Charles, included gun and pistol furniture, sword hilts, spurs, 
spoons and forks, tea urns, cabinet furniture, buckles, &c. 

Phipson, Thomas, No. 61, New Street. Born in 1738, he was the eldest child 
of Dr. Thomas Phipson, of Stourbridge, and came to Birmingham as a boy. He 
served in several public offices, and was appointed assay master in the year 1789. 
He was the founder of the firm of Clifford's Limited, who still continue in the old 
premises in Fazeley Street. The silver wares made by him were chiefly buckle.s. 
He died in the year 18 14. 

Wright, James, silversmith, No. i, Freeman Street. This was the silversmith 
before mentioned who was registered at London. 

Clowes, Thomas, No. 86, Moor Street. He was a hardwood and ivory turner, 
and a maker of small silver wares, such as castor tops. The style of the firm was 
Clowes & Son about 1800, when the manufacture of silver by them appears to have 
been dropped. 



54 77/e? Ma7iufactMre of Wrought Plate in Birmingliam, 

Phillips, William, buckle maker, Coleshill Street. 

BUNNEY, Joseph, gunsmith, No. 25, Snow Hill ; a maker of gun and pistol 
furniture and .seals. 

Parker, Edward, No. 24, Moor Street ; a buckle maker. 

Dewson, Benjamin, and William Taylor, Wolverhampton. They were 
makers of silver spectacle frames, and also steel workers. 

Turner, John, No. 24, Great Charles Street; one of those who registered at 
London, above referred to. 

Grice, William, gunsmith ; a maker of gun and pistol furniture, of 43, Bull 
Street. Died 1790. 

MvND, Thomas, Catherine Street; a buckle and toy maker, one of the guardians 
of assay, and, I believe, a relation of Matthew Boulton. In Pye's Provincial Tokens 
there is a description of certain tokens, now scarce, made by him. 

BiCKLEY, Richard, No. 8, Smallbrook Street ; a buckle and seal maker and 
caster of gun furniture. 

TUTIN, William, No. 12, Coleshill Street ; a buckle maker and manufacturer of 
the mixed metal named Tutania ; *' a friendly, cheerful companion, and exceedingly 
fond of a pipe," says Poet Freeth, who 

" Makes a song and forms a buckle 
" Whilst a pipe's between his lips." 

Richards, Thomas, High Street. He was the son of Thomas Richards, who 
came to Birmingham from Sussex about the middle of the i8th century. In 1770, he 
was carrying on the business of a jeweller in the High Street. A few years later he 
had acquired the business known as Moody's Toyshop, in the same street. Shortly 
afterwards he took his son Theophilus into the firm, then trading as Thomas 
and Theophilus Richards, goldsmiths and jewellers. In the Concise History of 
Birmingham, published in 1808, it is written that "the shop of Messrs. Richards, in the 
" High Street, is the toyshop of Birmingham ; for the elegance of its appearance and 
" the multiplicity of its valuable articles, it is scarcely rivalled." 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmiiix/iam. 




It was owe of the show-piaces in the town ovei' wliicli distinynislied strangers 
were usually conducted. In 1S02 they had the honour of a visit from Lord Nelson, 
Sir William and Lady Hamilton. Both partners were elected guardians of assay. 
The business was removed to New Street, and continued under the styles of 
Richards & Edwards and Edwards & Ball down to the middle of the last century. 



56 The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 

Roper, Joseph, Queen Street ; a button and buckle maker and plater. 

WiLLMORE, Thomas, and Alston, Colmore Row. These were two notable 
Birmingham men, who were associated in several commercial undertakings in this 
town, Alston was a native of North Berwick, and commenced his busine.ss career in 
Birmingham as a boy, under the care of Samuel Garbett, a partner of Dr. Roebuck 
in the chemical works then in Steelhouse Lane, where oil of vitriol was first 
manufactured by the modern process which was discovered by Dr. Roebuck. Alston 
was one of the assay guardians appointed by the Act of Parliament, and acted as a 
warden for many years. The silver articles made by this firm were principally 
buckles, buttons, seals, &c. 

Baker, Samuel, High Street ; a shop, No. 4, Lichfield Street. He was an ivory 
and hardwood turner, and a maker of small articles of silver ; a Quaker, and one of 
the leading members of that society ; elected a guardian of assay in 1786. He died 
in the year 1812 or 1813. 

Orton, James, buckle maker, No. 18, Coleshill Street ; also a maker of jewellery. 

Crowther, George, instrument case maker, No. 87, Dale End ; a maker of 
snuff boxes, lancet and other cases. 

All of the above firms were registered at the Birmingham office between August 
31st, 1773, and June 30th, 1774. Then follow the following names registered in the 
office year 1774-5 • — 

Sawyer, Edward, spoonmaker. No. 19, Great Charles Street; a maker of all 
kinds of silver ladles and spoons and other table ware ; also of buttons and buckles. 
He died in 1780. 

BURBIDGE, Thomas, silversmith, No. 19, Lichfield Street. 

Colemore, Samuel, a plater and buckle maker, of Digbeth. 

Greaves, James, silversmith, No. 6, Newhall Street ; also a plater and buckle 
maker. 

Pemberton, Samuel, Snow Hill ; a maker of innumerable small articles of 
silver. He died in 1784. The business was continued by his son Samuel, who was 
appointed a guardian of assay in 1773. His eldest daughter married Charles Lloyd, 
the poet, and friend of Coleridge and Charles Lamb. Dying in 1803, he was 
succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, who was also, in 1808, elected a guardian of 
assay. 

Clay, Henry, silversmith, High Street. This I believe was a branch of the 

papier jnac/uf business, for the manufacture of which Henry Clay had taken out a 

patent in the year 1772. He served his apprenticeship with John Baskerville, the 

printer, then in business as a japanner. In 1790 he was appointed High Sheriff for 

Warwickshire. 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birmingham, 57 

Taylor, John, Esq., silversmith, High Street; the only "esquire" on the 
register. He, with Sampson Lloyd, established in 1765 the first Birmingham 
Bank. He was appointed a guardian of assay by the Act of 1773; High Sheriff 
of Warwickshire, 1786. 1786, August 17th. — " Sr. Robert Lawley is gone to town 
" with the High Sheriffe to present an address. We suppose the Esqr. of Bordesley 
"will return Sr. John." 1786, August 21st. — " Our Sheriffe is returned Mr. T." (0 

The following were entered in 1775 : — 

Porter, Richard, silversmith, Smallbrook Street ; a plater, silver spoon and 
saddlery furniture maker. 

Porter, Thomas Reeves, spur maker, No. 34, Smallbrook Street ; a bit and 
spur plater ; probably a connection of the last named. 

Wood, Henry, and Thomas Withnoll, No. 29, Great Charles Street, makers 
of silver rules and mathematical instruments. 

Sharp, Joseph, silversmith, High Street ; a maker of small articles of silver. 

BiSSELL, Isaac, gunsmith, Cradiey ; afterwards of King Street, Birmingham. 

JesSON, John, silversmith, Wolverhampton. 

The following names were entered in 1776: — 

Greaves, James, silversmith, No. 6, Newhall Street. 

Whitehouse, John, silversmith, Wednesbury. 

GOODALL, John, silversmith. Great Charles Street ; of the firm of Freeman and 
Goodall, factors. 

WiNFIELD, Edward, silversmith, Snow Hill ; also a plater and engraver. 

Heath, Thomas, watch-case maker. West Orchard, Coventry. 

Moore, John, silversmith, Belchers Yard, Edgbaston Street ; was a maker of 
large silver plate. 

Alston, James, button maker. Church Street. This is the Alston before 
mentioned, of the firm of Willmore & Alston. 

The following were entered in 1777 : — 

Perry, Levy, silversmith, No. 20, Bartholomew Chapel ; a maker of silver 
instrument cases, boxes, and buttons. 



(I) "The Rilands of Sutton." 



58 The Manufacture of Wro2ight Plate in Birtningham, 

Skipp, George, buckle maker, No. 17, Mount Pleasant. 

Tayleur, John, buckle maker, London (?). 

Guest, John, snuffbox maker, No. 8, Edmund Street. 

Warner, Thomas, silversmith, Colmore Row ; a gold, .silver, and gilt toymaker. 

Lewin, William & Benjamin, silversmiths. No. 61, Bartholomew Row; platers 
and makers of silver snuffers and spurs. 

Clocker, Thomas, buckle maker, No. 28, Colmore Street. 

Bentley, John, silversmith. Great Charles Street. 

No new entries in 1780, and only one Coventry firm entered in 178L The 
following is the only entry in 1782 : — 

Eggerton, Thomas, silversmith. No. 13, Freeman Street. 

The following entries in 1783 : — 

Shaw, John, silversmith, No. 6, Navigation Street ; a well-known maker of 
snuff boxe.s. 

Kendall, Jos., silversmith. Dale End ; a maker of sword hilts. 

Blair, David, gunsmith, Birmingham. 

LiNWOOD, Matthew, silversmith, No. 23, Great Charles Street; a buckle maker 
and plater; guardian of assay, 181 1-27. 

The following entries in 1784: — 

Westley, Charles, silversmith. High Street ; a factor, goldsmith, and jeweller. 
Died 1 79 1. 

Smith, John, silversmith. No. 42, Weaman Street ; a plate-worker. 

Harvey Samuel, gunsmith. High Street ; son of Samuel Harvey, who died in 
1783. This family for centuries carried on the trade of sword cutlers in Birmingham. 

Taylor, Edward, gunsmith. No. 29, Dudley Street. 

Smith, William, silversmith, Newhall Street ; jeweller and button maker. 

Meadows, Henry, silversmith. No. 42, Weaman Street. 

Here follow some entries of a later date : — 



The Manufac/ure of Wrougkl Plate in Birmingham. 



59 



Hancock, CharlKS, silversmith, jeweller, and toyman, of New Street, where 
he was e.stHblished before 1800. He entered his mark at the assay office in 1808. 
About the year 1828 he was joined by Samuel Keeley, the name and style of the 

firm becoming Hancock & Keele)', and a few years later Samuel Keeley. 



f^ V^^% \ 



i S SB la R! 


ss 


- 


i i S lei 


11 


S 





RVLAMi, Wll.l.IAM, & Son, platers, silversmiths, and manufacturers of plated 
and brass coacii, harness, and saddlery furniture, and military ornaments, William 
Ryland was established in New Street before 1770. He entered his mark at the 
assay office in rHoo. He died in the j'ear 181O. Readers of Wm. Hutton's diar)' 
will remember that he was an intimate friend of that author. 



6o 



The Manitfadure of Wrought Plate in Birmingham. 



Taylor, JosiiS'il, toymaker Rnd silversmith, originally nf Aston, who removed 
to Newhall Street, Birmingham, before 1796. Entered his mark at the assay office 
in 1790. In 1815 the style of the firm was Taylor & Perry. 







' "1 




^, ■ 


^ 




jT. 


viftk 




^,r^M 


Jt4^wl 


^ 


.. -r.s.c. "■'^ 


"^^ \ 


2^9^ 


^ 'ajxaiirtc.A... 


ik!l» 


-^Hlgnn 


^Jm z-os<rj)<j}r. yjl 


hH^^^^ 


^^VHIH^^^^^ 


^j^^-^'-'^"***^^'^^ 


'^"""- * 







ThomasoN, KuWAKU, of Church Street and Cuhnure Row. Entereil his mark 
at the assay office iti the year 1S06. He was the son of Edward Thomasoii, buckle 
maker. At the age of 16 he was apprenticed to Matthew Houlton, wilh whom he 
remained until he attained tlie age of 21 years. Me started in business by himself in 
the year 1793 as a maker of gilt and plated buttons, afterwards adding the making of 
jewellery and the stamping of medals and tokens, bronze casting, and manufacture of 
silver plate. After Si^lui, his \\as the most extensive mamifactnry in Birmingham, 




ipijaseiifiii 11 i i|| 




EOttURD rBf/AiASGJ¥S MAXCFACrO/tVCHVraraSTKEKT BlSAa3rGUAU 



The Manufacture of Wrought Plate in Birtningham. 



6i 



The finest medal struck by hini wa.s that hi memury of M. Houlton, engraved by 
W. Wyon, from a portrait, muddled in wax by Ruwe. Another fine work of his 
w;is the making a copy in bronze of the celebrated Warwick Vase. This copy 
is now at Aston Hall. In 1833 he received the honour of knighthood. In 1835 
he retired from business, and was succeeded by George Richmond Collis. 

WatEKHOUSE & Ryland, makers of silver and plated wares, of Hill Street, 
successors to the firm of VVaterhouse & Lif^htfoot. They entered their mark at 
the assay office in 1810. 

ScUDAMOkE, Jeremiah, toymaker and caster, of Spiceal Street, before the 
year 1810. Entered his mark at the assay office in 1800. 

SHKkWOOD. John, plater and silversmith, then of the Upper Priory, Steelhouse 
Lane, entered his mark at the assay office in 1817. 

Bower, Joseph, maker of silver and plated wares, entered his mark in 1823. 

Ryland, William, silversmith and plater, of 167, Great Charles Street. 
Entered his mark 1838. 




The Manufactnre of Wrougkl Plate in Birinins;ham. 



l^ARKER. JuHN, & SONS ; John Parker entered his marlc in 1834. 



St'OONKK, Clowes Si 

Street, entered his mark 
Clowes. 



Co. ; WilHam Spooner, silver plater, of New .Market 
1 1815, A few j'ears later he was joined bj- Thomas 





Alkerfoii C/mrch and its 
Scitlpftires. 

By HOWARD S, FK ARSON. 




Noviinbt'r nth, 1903. 



, HE little hamlet of Alkerton, sometimes spelt Okertoii, 
and in ancient times Aiilkrynton, is about six miles 
north-west of Banbury, and narrowly escapes being 
numbered among our own Warwickshire possessions, 
since it is but about a mile from the county boundary. 
The church and rectory, one or two farmhouses and a 
half-dozen of picturesque cottages, with steep thatched 
roofs and dormer windows, comprise the whole village. 
The situation is romantic and beautifnl, on the steep 
slope of a hill, with a charming view across a densely 
wooded little valley to the neighbouring village of 
Shuttington, half-a-mile away. The habitations of 
man are few, and nearly hidden by luxuriant foliage. 
The first sight of Alkerton is one not easily to be 
forgotten. After a very abrupt descent, a sudden turn in the road brings into view 
the church and vicarage, nearly buried in trees, and facing to the south-west on a 
natural terrace on the hillside. Below the church the slope becomes almost 
precipitou.s, and the valley is reached by a long and picturesque flight of stone steps. 

The church, though small, is of exceeding interest. The plan mainly consists 
of a chancel and nave, with a massive tower, what Mr. Baldwin Brown would call 
an "axial tower," intervening, and a south aisle. The character of the architecture 
is too clearly marked to leave any doubt as to the resijective ages of different 
parts of the building. 

The original church was probably built in the latter part of the 12th 
century, and has the characteristic marks of the transition from Norman to Eariy 



64 Alkerton Church and its Sculptures. 

English. The massive tower, and its position, are marked Norman features. The 
pointed arches of the arcade ; the double, splayed section of the arches, with 
splayed labels on both sides ; and, above all, the very strongly characteristic 
carved capital, are all of Transitional character ; though the massive cylindrical 
pillar certainly has a Norman appearance. The arch of the tower next the nave 
is of so good and well -developed an Early English, that it is rather difficult not to 
suppose it a later insertion. There are, however, no indications in the construction 
of the masonry to evidence this. On the contrary, the eastern members of the 
arch die away into the walls on each side in a perfectly usual and natural way, 
which would hardly have been the case had the arch been inserted after the 
erection of the tower. 

On the south side of the tower is an interesting door of transitional character, 
with pointed outer arch and a solid tympanum with a corbelled lintel, or Carnarvon 
arch — as it is sometimes called — to the actual doorway. It has a dripstone with a 
carved head at the apex, and, though very simple and plain, is a very pleasing 
example of its class. The chancel arch is remarkably fine, with detached banded 
shafts and well-moulded capitals and bases. The arch mouldings are extremely 
good, and characteristic of the work of the first quarter of the 13th century. 

In quite the latter part of the 14th century the building was much altered in 
general appearance by the removal of the old steep roof, and the substitution of 
one with very low pitch, covered with lead ; a rather early instance of the gaining 
fashion of flat, leaded roofs, with the resulting opportunity for lofty clearstories, 
which became so common in the 15th century. The windows are, with the 
exception of that at the west end, square-headed. One, to the east of the porch 
on the south side, is of three lights, ogee-headed and trefoiled, with Perpendicular 
tracery over. The mullions, jambs, and tracery are all moulded, and the square 
labels have returned ends. All the other windows are of two lights, and of the 
same general character ; the clearstory having four on the south side and but two 
on the north. The chancel, having been re-built in the 17th century, is ineffective 
and of a debased Gothic. The east and south windows are both of three lights, 
with poorly designed and rudely executed details. 

From the consideration of the points which mark the epochs of the construction 
of the building, we may now pass to note some interesting architectural features. 

The stairs to the rood-loft still exist, and although they now give access only 
to the belfry, they retain the doorway above as well as below, showing that the 
space beneath the tower aKvays belonged to the chancel, which was divided half- 
way by the second arch, as is frequently the case. 

The arches of the tow^er, especially that next the nave, are distorted, and the 
detached shafts of the pillars are forced somewhat out of place by the enormous 



Alkerton Church and its Sculptures, 65 

superincumbent weight of the tower, and of the heavy peal of bells. The details 
are very good and well-proportioned, and the suite of arch mouldings very effective. 
It is seldom one meets with so fine a chancel arch, even in churches of much 
greater pretensions. 

A central tower would seem an anomalous arrangement unless transepts were 
contemplated in the plan. That this was so in the present case is proved by the 
existence of blind arches on the north and south sides of the tower. 

The space beneath the tower has on each side stone benches, and on the north 
side, on the floor and close to the wall, was once a very much worn sepulchral 
effigy in sandstone ; probably that of a knight, but with all the smaller details 
completely gone. This is now removed to the floor on the south side of the 
chancel. 

On the north side of the chancel is an aumbry, which until recently retained 
the old door ; which has since been reconstructed. Near it is a quaint mural 
tablet of the 17th century. 

The font is probably of the early part of the 12th century. It is very simple, 
but of pleasing and suitable character, consisting of a slightly tapering circular 
bowl with a moulding round the edge, on a short cylindrical foot with moulded 
cornice and base. It formerly stood against the central pillar of the arcade, but 
is now at the west end of the aisle, and has lately been mounted on two steps, 
the upper of which is octagonal. The altar is raised no less than ten steps above 
the nave, giving an appearance of considerable dignity. 

The porch is of very large dimensions for so small a church. The outer 
arch is very simply moulded with a quarter round and hollow, and the doorway 
to the church is of the same general character. On the right hand of the 
doorway is a large and well-preserved holy-water stoup, and on each side is a 
stone bench. It is quite probable the massive oaken south door is the one that 
was hung there in the 14th century. It has good ancient strap hinges and bands, 
and is still in good order after opening and shutting for generation after generation 
of parishioners for some five hundred years. 

The church presents a striking example of the preference so generally shown 
for the south side. By far the larger portion of the churchyard is usually on this 
side ; and if there is but one aisle, it is seldom to be found on the north. The 
church itself also most usually stands on the north side of a village, and the 
principal entrance is certainly, in nine cases out of ten, on the .south. In cases of 
excommunication, the excommunicated person, if he were present, was always 
dismissed from the Church by the north door, and the north side of the church- 
yard, according to Brand, " is the part appropriated for the interment of unbaptised 
infants, of persons excommunicated, of those who have been executed, or of those 
who have laid violent hands upon themselves." 



66 Alkerton Church and its Sculptures. 

The remarkable carved cornice under the parapet on the south side will be 
dealt with later on. 

The foregoing account of the church describes it as it was about seven years 
ago, but at that time the roofs were very dilapidated, and many repairs were 
needed. Moreover, the then rector insisted on having an oi^an chamber added on 
the south side. This was done by extending the walls and roof of the aisle eastward 
as far as the chancel, cutting an archway through the east wall, and opening tbe 
blind arch on the south side of the tower. The foundations of the tower having been 
found to be very defective, these alterations could not be safely undertaken without 
an exten,sive, difficult, and somewhat risky underbuilding of the immense south-west 
pier, but the task was accomplished with perfect success. The old 13th century 
door was taken out, and re-built as an entrance to the organ chamber. The 14th or 
iSth century roof of the nave was patched, spliced, and repaired with great skill 
by a very experienced church-repairer. The aisle roof had to be almost, and the 
chancel roof entirely replaced, but the latter was quite valueless. Stonefield stone 
tiles were substituted for the previous Welsh slates. The whole of this restoration 
was done under the personal care of Mr. J. A. Cossins. 

Undoubtedly the most remarkable feature in Alkerton Church is the singular 
sculptural frieze, corbel table, or cornice which runs along the top of the clearstory 
on the south side. That this most quaint and interesting series of sculptures had 
the object of pourtraying some story or moral in consecutive form seems certain. 
Unfortunately no record of the intention, nor even any early comment or description, 
remains ; and we are left to conjecture as to the actual purpose of the designer. 

The most elaborate explanation attempted may be found in J. Meade Falkner^s 
" History of Oxfordshire," and also in Murray's " Handbook of Oxfordshire," and 
connects the sculptures with the life of the Black Prince. It is, briefly, as follows. 
Beginning at the east end a dragon may be seen, in allusion to the dedication of the 
church to St. Michael. Then follow, the guardian angel of the Prince as a child, the 
Lamb of God — setting forth his youthful innocence, two nurses with grotesque heads, 
and his mother — Queen Fhilippa — with her dog. Then comes the period of early 
manhood; the Prince's sports, hunting, archery, and falconry; and his lady love 
with her amusements — a pet squirrel, the harp, a tame bear, and the hand oi^ans. 
His entrance into public affairs is marked by the lion of England, a figure of 
Edward the Third with a sceptre, and the fieur-de-lis of France. The Prince himself 
follows, with three trumpeters, which may well symbolise his waHike triumphs. 
Finally, we have, in allusion to the Prince's eariy death, figures emblematic of the 
joys of heaven, the pelican symbolical of our Lord, and the dove of the Holy Spirit, 
Three angels bear up the soul to eternal blis.s, and finally the dragon re-appears, but 
this time as vanquished by St. Michael. That the whole typifies the vicissitudes of 
human life, ending in the victory over sin and a triumphant ascent to heaven, will 
scarcely be contested. Whether any particular life was thus endeavoured to be 



I 

I 
I 

I 



68 AlkertoH Chtirch and its Sculptures, 

chronicled, and if so, what life, will depend upon the weight we attach to the 
evidently royal figures, and to the representation of the fleur-de-lis. 

From the close connection of the Black Prince with Oxfordshire during his early 
life, the probability would appear to be in favour of his being the subject. The few 
notes of the chief events of his life which follow are therefore appended as a reference 
to dates. 

Edward, the Black Prince, was born at Woodstock, June 15th, 1330. He was 
educated at Oxford under the care of Dr. Burley, of Merton College. He played an 
important part at the Battle of Crecy when 16, and totally defeated and captured 
King John of France at Poictiers on September 19th, 1354. In 1361 he married 
Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent 
and son of Edward I. He was her third husband. In 1362 he was created Duke of 
Aquitaine. In 1367 he went to the assistance of Peter the Cruel, King of Castille, 
and won his third great victory, that of Navarete. Returning to England in 1371, he 
opposed the policy of the Court, and died June 8th, 1376. 

It must be obvious that the sculptor who, in his effort to tell the story of life, 

was confined to the narrow limits of a corbel-table, must have worked under great 

difficulties. Only a kind of hieroglyphic expression was possible to him, and with 

the death of those immediately interested the clue to the meaning would be for ever 

lost. Thus, for five hundred years, in all the seclusion of a remote Oxfordshire 

hillside, — 

" Far from the madding crowd's ignoble strife," 

these quaint conceptions have dumbly stiiven to tell their lost story. They have 
stood through the feeble reign of the Black Prince's son, and the usurpation 
of Bolinbroke ; through the utter overthrow of English rule in France by the 
inexplicably strange agency of Joan of Arc ; and through all the bloody nightmare 
of the Wars of the Roses. They have witnessed the Tudors and the long struggle of 
the Reformation, the defeat of the Armada, and the downfall of the power of Spain ; 
the Stuarts and the fight for national liberty ; the Restoration and the Hanoverian 
line ; the loss of the American colonies, and the ultimate triumphs of our country in 
the Napoleonic struggle, the Crimean, and the South African wars. The invention of 
printing, and the very discovery of America have been but episodes in their long 
existence. 

Through all the immeasurably momentous changes of these eventful centuries 
they have remained the same ; unaltered, save by the slowly wearing tooth of time. 
That tooth is slowly, but very surely, wearing them away. Years ago, by the care of 
our Society, and by the skill of Mr. Harold Baker, the photographs which are here 
reproduced were secured. Ere long these will be the only decipherable record of a 
vigorous and notable effort to preach at least one " sermon in stones." 

The interest of Alkerton is not exhausted by its remarkable church. Hard by 
stands a stone-built rectory of the 17th century. It is of the ordinary Oxfordshire 



Alkerton Church and its Scuiptures. 69 

type, built of the prevailing oolite stone, with steep stone-covered roofs, stone-coped 
gables, mullioned windows, and a Tudor arched doorway. The principal room has 
a good stone chimney-piece, enriched with curious painting ; and also shows one 
side of the cylindrical shaft in which the original spiral staircase ran until it was 
superseded by a modern one of wood. The house, although good of its kind, is 
simple and plain enough, but, were it devoid of every architectural grace, it would 
still be interesting from its association with the pathetic story of the once famous 
mathematician Lydiate. 

Thomas Lydiate was born at Alkerton, where his father was chief proprietor and 
patron of the living, in 1572, when Shakespeare was a schoolboy. A born student, 
he obtained a scholarship at Winchester, and proceeded to New College, Oxford, 
where he became fellow in 1593. In 1603 he relinquished his fellowship, and entered 
the service of Henr)'^, Prince of Wales, who appointed him his cosmographer and 
chronologer, and also his reader, by which we may perhaps understand, his librarian. 
His salary for these offices was 40 marks per annum (about ;^i6o in our money) ; 
and under the Prince's patronage he published his great chronological work, the 
" Emendatio Temporum." But the early death of Henry dispelled all his hopes of 
lettered ease. He had acquired the friendship and warm esteem of Archbishop 
Ussher, who took him to Ireland and obtained for him a fellowship at Trinity 
College, Dublin. Other Irish preferments were offered, but not given, and, apparently 
in despair of any other livelihood, he accepted the living of Alkerton, which he had 
declined when he had the prospect of an occupation for which he was probably better 
suited. The rectory house is of his time, and was probably built by his father. 
From Alkerton he conducted a furious controversy with the learned Scaliger, who 
replied in those terms of unmeasured personal abuse once so common in learned 
disputes, as even the august example of Milton reminds us, but now happily confined 
to political discussion. In this battle Lydiate was generally adjudged the victor. It 
was his last triumph. Becoming security for a friend, or, as some accounts say, for a 
brother, he was thrown into prison, first in Hoccardo in Oxford, and then in the 
King's Bench. In prison he still unweariedly continued his studies, and produced his 
commentary on the Parian Chronicle. The friendly help of Laud and Ussher at 
length procured his release, and he returned to Alkerton, but not to peace. His 
connection with Royalty, and with Laud, ensured the bitter hatred of the Parlia- 
mentary party to a poor student whose life was really spent in the remote past, and 
whose connection with the present was scarcely more than an accidental thread. 
Twice his rectory was pillaged, and the gaols of Banbury and Warwick knew him as 
a familiar inmate. He returned to Alkerton only to die, and here he passed away on 
the 3rd of April, 1646, just three weeks before Charles left Oxford to fly in disguise 
to the Scottish camp at Newark. 

He was the author of many published works which in his day gained him much 
fame, and of many more which are still extant in M.S. So great was once his 
reputation that he has been compared with Bacon, to the disadvantage of the latter. 



JO Alkerton Church and its Sculptures. 

But this is not the only monstrous comparison of which poor Bacon has been the 
unconscious victim. Lydiate was really the type of the devoted student whose hard 
lot it is, because he cannot chaffer and struggle with the crowd, to be treated with 
contumely and injury by the world his studies would have benefited. His story 
seemed pathetic enough to Samuel Johnson, whose own troubles of the same kind 
prompted him to sympathy, and who wrote poor Lydiate's only epitaph is his 
** Vanity of Human Wishes " : — 

"If dreams yet flatter ; once again attend : 
Hear Lydiate's life and Galileo's end." 

Yes, his only epitaph. Some twenty years after his death, the Society of New 
College, Oxford, did indeed place in Alkerton Church a modest memorial to the 
student who had been one of their fellowship. He was the only man of any note 
who ever came out of Alkerton ; and it would seem incredible that neither local 
patriotism nor sympathy for — 

" Learning, late deceased in beggary/' 

should have made any effort to save this poor tribute to his memory. Yet so it was. 
The epitaph was painted on the plaster, or, according to one account, engraved on a 
black marble slab, and when whitewash became the fashion, it was duly covered. 
Later on bare stone became the fashion, and the memorial which the whitewashers 
had only obscured, the restorers totally abolished. Truly, if a prophet has little 
honour in his own country, it would seem that a student may have less — or none — in 
his own parish. Honour and dishonour have long been indifferent things to Lydiate, 
but it is the duty of all students of archaeology to protest against the ravages 
committed by those whose very office should make them the reverential custodians of 
the memorials of the dead. 




Chaddesley Corbett 

and the Roman Catkolic Persecuiion in Worcestershire in connection xvith 
the TitHS Gates Plat, in the rcigit of Charles II. 

Bv JOHN HUMPHREYS, F.L.S 



Dfti'iiih-r i^lh, fpoj. 




HADDESLEY Corbett is a typical Worcestershire 
village, lying in the midst of a fertile country, mid- 
way between Bromsgrove and Kidderminster. The 
village street of half-timbered houses nestles under 
the shelter of the venerable Parish Church, which 
dates back to the Norman Conquest ; and it has been 
unaffected by the rush and whirl of life of the past 
century ; so that here we may still see a picture of 
rural EtiglaiHi as it was two centuries ago. 

CiiaiKlcsicy was evidently first a clearing in the forest, and even now it is 
surrounded by woods, such as the Chaddesley Woods, Randan Wootis, Pepper Wood 
and Fenny Rough, which originally formed the great forests of Feckenham and 
Pyperode, and which covered the greater part of East Worcestershire. 

In the Domesday Survey of Worcestershire, compiled in the year 1086, we find 
the manor owned by a Lady Kddive, Eadgifu. She is stated to have hekl it in the 
time of King Edward the Confessor, and had remained in undisputed po.ssession 
since the Conquest in 1066. This is a very remarkable fact, for we fiml in examining 
the list of land holders in 1086 that every other Saxon had been dispossessed, and 
Normans had been established in the vacant estates. 

She must have been a lady of great importance, for Chaddesley, or Cedeslai, as it 
was then termed, consisted of 3,000 acres of land, three mills, salt pans at Droitwich, 
and houses at Worcester belonging to the manor. The population consisted of 33 
villeins, or sinail freeholders, 20 bordars. or cottagers, two priests with four bordars. 
The lady uf the manor possessed eight serfs and bondwomen, probably ; 



7 2 Chaddesley Corbett. 

captured in forays on the Welsh border. No mention is made of a church, thouy^h 
there is little doubt such existed, as the fine font is considered to be Saxon. 

The manor afterwards passed into the hands of the Corbets, in whose possession 
it remained from about 1200 to the reign of Henry VI. ; the family name still 
survives attached to the village as Chaddesley Corbett. 

About 1280 Edward I. appointed Peter Corbet chief forester in the royal 
Midland forest, ordering him " to take and destroy in all forests and parks, and other 
" places within our counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Hereford, Salop, and Stafford, 
" in which wolves are found, the wolves, with men, dogs, and his own devices in every 
" way he thinks proper." 

In the reign of Henry VI. Chaddesley Corbett passed into the possession of the 
Barons of Abergavenny, and then to the Keauchamps and Packingtons. 

The church is dedicated to Saint Cassian, probably the John Cassian, priest and 
abbot of St. Victor's, Marseilles, who lived in the fifth century, and left behind a great 
reputation for sanctity and missionary zeal. It consists of a chancel, nave, north and 
south aisles, with tower and spire at the west end, and contains a very fine font of 
Pre-Norman workmanship, one of the finest specimens in the county, of massive 
design, with ornamentation of serpent or dragon forms, and twisted lines, carved boldly 
upon the bowl. 

A fine Norman doorway on the north side of the chancel and the piers and 
arches of the north aisle represent the oldest portion of the church ; the arches in the 
south aisle are early English, probably dating back to the 12th century. On the 
south side of the chancel are three beautiful windows of the decorated period, and 
three sedilia, and a piscina. 

Outside the south wall of the aisle, is the canopy of the tomb of probably the 
builder of the church, which has considerably weakened the wall, necessitating the 
erection of unsightly buttresses ; and near by is a leper window now built up. 

At the east end of the south aisle is a remarkable brass memorial, thought to be 
the oldest \\\ Worcestershire, to the memory of Thomas Forest, Keeper of the Park of 
Dunclent, and of Mary, his wife. 

On the north side of the chancel, separated from it by two pointed arches, is 
St. Nicholas' Chapel, formerly the private chapel of the Throckmorton Family ; but 
in the year 1864, when the church was restored, it was transferred to the Parish. 

In the north-east corner lie two stone figures, the one a cross-legged knight in 
chain armour, supposed to represent one of the redoubtable Corbets ; and the other 
an ecclesiastic with hands raised in an attitude of prayer. 

Here are several fine monuments, one erected to the memory of Humfrey 
Packington, lord of the Manor of Chaddesley Corbett, who died on the 6th of 
August, 1 63 1. 



Chaddesley Cor belt. 73 

The principal monument, around which much of the interest of my story centres, 
is to Mary, the elder of Humphrey Packington's two daughters, with the following 
inscription : — 

" Here lies the Eldest Daughter, and Coheire of Humphrey Packington, Esqre, 
" Lord of ye Manor of Chadesley Corbet, and the incomparable Widow of Sir John 
" Yate. of Buckland, Knight and Baronett, the Lady Mary Yate, of pious memory, 
** whose loss is too great to be forgotten. 

" She lived for the common good, and died for her own. 

" She lived too well to fear death, and could not have died if the prayers of the 
" poor had prevailed. Her prudence in ye management of a bad world, was alwaies 
" aiming at a better. 

" Her justice was more than exact in paying all she owed, even before it was due. 

" Her fortitude was built upon her faith, a rock which no storm could move. 

" Her temperance was grounded on her Hope and Charity, wch raised her heart 
" so much above ye world, that she used it without enjoying it. 

" She bestowed it liberally upon those who needed it, lived in it as unconcernedly 
" as if she never loved it, and left it as easily as if she had allwaise despised it. 

" Ripe for Heaven, and as full of vertue as of daies, she died in ye 86th year of 
"her age, the 12th day of June in the year of our Lord, 1696, after having been lady 
" of this manor 65 years. 

Rkquiscat in Pack. 

" This is a dutyful tribute, erected by her Daughter Apolonia Yate." 

Her residence was at Harvington Hall, the seat of the lords of the Manor of 
Chaddesley Corbett, lying to the north about a mile away at a little distance from the 
main road between Bromsgrove and Kidderminster. 

This venerable mansion is still standing, though fast hastening to decay, and 
before many years will be a heap of ruins, from the rotting of the beams and the 
falling in of the roof; indeed within the last few years considerable destruction has 
taken place, and the floors of the U})per rooms are insecure and dangerous. It dates 
probably from the time of Henry VHI., and must have been one of the largest and 
most important residences in the county. The Moat still surrounds it, growing 
masses of the Sweet Flag, A torus Calamus^ which 1 have found occasionally in 
blossom — a rare occurence. The plant was probably grown for strewing on the 
floors, a delicious citmamon-like odour being exhaled from the leaves when trodden 
upon. The Sweet Flag is comparatively rare in East Worcestershire, I have found 
it at Lord Windsor's seat, Hewell Grange, and at Grafton Manor, near Bromsgrove, 
the ancestral home of the Earls of Shrewsbury, where it was very likel)- grown for the 
same purpose. 

Alterations and additions from time to time have quite obliterated the original 
plan of the building, but the very irregularity adds to its charms, and allows the 
imagination to play over the labyrinth of rooms and passages. 



74 Chaddesley Cor belt. 

Harvington Hall is inseparably bound up with the story of the Catholic 
persecution in Worcestershire, and the life and death of the last Worcestershire 
Martyr. 

The bitter strife engendered at the time of the Reformation has taken centuries 
to subside. England was divided in the time of Henry VHI. into two distinct 
parties — Catholics and Anti-Catholics — who persecuted one another when either party 
was in the ascendant. 

The barbarous judicial murders by Thomas Cromwell, of innocent old men and 
women, in connection with the robbery and suppression of the monasteries and 
religious houses, were avenged in the reign of Queen Mary by the cruel martyrdom 
of Protestants, and when Elizabeth ascended the throne the pendulum again violently 
swung back to the persecution of the Catholics, and the unhappy country was 
distracted and torn with dissensions, arising from this miserable state of affairs. 

In Queen Elizabeth's reign an Act was passed ordering every Catholic priest to 
quit the kingdom within forty days on pain of death, and those who gave aid or 
support to them were also condemned to death, just as if guilty of theft or murder, 
and power was granted by Parliament to Her Majesty to destroy all priests who, being 
exiled, should return to England, or who should dare to enter her dominions, such an 
act being declared high treason. 

The penalty for saying masses was 200 marks (13s. 4d. a mark) and imprisonment 
for life. To harbour a priest was felony, and the penalty hanging, but without the 
subsequent cutting down alive, disembowelling and quartering. That the penalties 
were inflicted, even upon women, we know full well. 

After the death of Elizabeth the Catholics hoped for greater toleration from 
James I., and for a short time after his accession a respite from their sufferings was 
enjoyed, but it was of very brief duration. A weak tool in the hands of his powerful 
Minister, Cecil, he again revived the Penal Code, with even additional severity. 

A fresh enactment passed in the third year of his reign declared that : — 

" All persons married otherwise than in some open church or chapel, and other- 
" wise than according to the orders of the Church of England, by a minister lawfully 
*' authorised, shall be disabled to have any freehold dower, thirds, &c., and every 
" Popish recusant within one month after the birth of any child of his shall baptize 
"the same in the open parish church, under a penalty office, and if any Popish 
" recusant shall be buried other than in the church or churchyard or not according to 
" the ecclesiastical laws of the realm, the executors shall forfeit ;^20. 

The heir of a Catholic if a recusant was to pay the debts his predecessor had 
incurred for recusancy. The husband of a recusant woman, although he should be a 
Protestant, was deprived of all participation in public affairs. 



Chadiiesley Corhett. 75 

There was no sanctity to the homes of the Catholics, which were liable to be 
entered day or night, by savage pursuivants armed with swords, to the terror of weak 
women and children, in search of hidden priests. 

Slight wonder is it then, that the Catholics deprived of civil liberty, tortured and 
oppressed, maddened with a sense of the injustice and hopelessness of their position, 
determined to strike a blow at their oppressors, and a band of resolute and determined 
men allied to the best of the English aristocracy framed, and prepared for execution 
the senseless scheme of the Gunpowder Plot. 

The failure of the plot served only to increase their sufferings, and in Worcester- 
shire this was especially the case, as many of the leading county families were 
involved in the conspiracy — such as the Wintours of Huddington, Lytteltons of 
Hagley, and many others connected with them by marriage. 

After the failure of the plot the conspirators sought safety in this county, and 
were finally either slain or captured at the house of Stephen Lyttelton, near 
Stourbridge. 

Mr. Noake says : " The remembrance of the Gunpowder Plot was long kept up 
" in Worcestershire, with probably greater animus against Popery than in most other 
" counties, owing to the local incidents already described. Time brought no relief to 
" this unhappy people, for in 1641 a Parliamentary order was sent down from London 
"ordering the Sheriff" of Worcester to suppress any meetings of the Catholics, 
"and the Mayor of Worcester in 1642 was entreated by the trained soldiers and 
" commoners of the city to make order that no Papists or recusants be suffered to 
" take houses nor be residents within the city." 

In the State Paper Office is an interesting report from Dr. Bilson, Bishop of 
Worcester, to Sir Robert Cecil, the Secretary of State, concerning the condition of 
Worcester Diocese in the latter part of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. 

" I have reviewed the state of Worcester Diocese, and find it as may somewhat 
" appear by the particulars here enclosed, for the quantity, as dangerous as any place 
" that I know. 

" In that small circuit there are nine score recusants of note, besides retainers, 
" wanderers and secret lurkers, dispersed in forty several parishes, and six score and 
" ten households, whereof about forty are families of gentlemen that themselves or 
"their wives refrain the Church, and many of them not only of good wealth, but of 
" great alliance as the Windsors, Talbots, Throgmortons, Abingtons, and others, and 
" in either respect if they may have them forth, able to prevail much with the simpler 
" sort." 

When the Commonwealth came into existence Churchmen and Dissenters 
combined to denounce them ; they were oppressively taxed, denied all share in the 
government of the country, deprived of their liberties, and withheld the protection of 



76 Chaddesley Corbett, 

the law, and we learn from Mr. Noake that "in 1643 sequestrators were appointed for 
" the several counties, whose duty it was, amongst others, to seize and confiscate two 
" parts of three of the estates of all Papists for the use of the Parliament, and 
" Cromwell ordered all priests to quit the kingdom on pain of death." 

Amongst the papers of the Berringtons, of Little Malvern Court, is treasured a 
record of the visit of pursuivants to Little Malvern Court, in 1641, which throws 
interesting light upon these troublous times. 

The document states : " The.se are to give notice to all tho.se whom it may or 
" shall concern that I, Charles Wright, messenger and .servant of the Commons House 
" of Parliament, have made diligent .search in the house of Thomas Ru.ssell, of 
" Mawborn parva (Little Malvern), in the county of Worcester, esquire, for Jesuites 
" and Romish priests, also massing stuffs, Popish relics, Popi.sh books and warlike 
*' ammunition, but did not find any such in the house, as John Bayley of Worcester, 
" who was with me at the searching of the house, doth witness, as also, that the said 
" Thomas Ru.ssell is, and will be ready at all times to attend the pleasure of the 
" honorable house. 

" Given under my hand 
" Feby 28th 1 64 1 

" Charles Wright Me.ssenger 
" John Bayle of 

" Poyke (Powick)." 

Nevertheless missionary priests travelled from end to end of the kingdom visiting 
the scattered Catholic families, and administering the con.solations of religion to the 
faithful few, in secret garrets and chambers zealously guarded by the hou.sehold. 

Worcestershire was distinguished by the number of eminent mi.ssionaries, who 
for centuries kept alive the flickering flame of their religion ; di.sguised as friends or 
laymen they pas.sed from house to house, stimulating, encouraging, and consoling the 
little band of Catholics. 

In the time of Queen Elizabeth, Father Oldcorne resided at Hindlip Hall as the 
friend of Thomas Abington, the Worcestershire historian, and brother-in-law of Lord 
Mounteagle of Gunpowder Plot fame. He acted as missionary priest for North-east 
Worcestershire, and was subsequently executed in London in 1606, for sheltering 
some of the conspirators. But in 1633 ^^^ counties of Worcester and Warwick 
were made into a province under the charge of the Society of Jesus, many of the 
records being fortunately still in existence, with the names of the places served by the 
Society, such as Badgecote, Cooksey, Hindlip, Huddington, Pursall Hall, Rushock, 
Grafton Manor, and Spetchley, in East Worcestershire. 

The average number of priests serving the district was eight, and their work 
must have been very disheartening, for we find that in face of the persistent 



Cliaddesley Cor belt. 7 7 

persecution their annual converts were but few in number ; the average being 
twenty, the highest forty-three, and the lowest eleven. 

Foley, in his ** Records of the English Society of Jesus " gives a catalogue of 
articles belonging to this province in the year 1687, the year preceding the Titus 
Oates Plot, which includes : — 

" A library at Grafton, my Lord Shrewsbury's house, two trunks of books at 
" Gubbershill ; at Ravenshill (near Tibberton) residence of Mr. Thomas Berkeley, 
" two fair vestments, one old black vestment, silver and silk to make a vestment, a 
** large mantel of silk to make another, a very fair chalice, a sylver Crucifix upon an 
" ebony Cross, and a trunk of books ; and at Sir Isaac Gibson's, a closet of books as 
" you go upstairs, also a chest of books in a room behind ye chapel 1, two vestments, 
" ante-pendiums, an altar stone^ a faire Crucifix, &c." 

The altar stone mentioned was a small square stone, whereon five crosses 
were incised, carried about by the missionary priest, on which the sacred vessels 
were placed for the Sacrament of the Mass. 

Such was the condition of the Catholics in Worcestershire, when, in 1678, in the 
reign of Charles II., England was thrown into a state of tumultuous excitement by 
the revelation of a Jesuit Plot to assassinate the King and subvert the Government 
and destroy the Protestant religion, by the impostor Titus Oates. He was an 
unscrupulously vile character, a Baptist minister before the Restoration, Chaplain in 
the Navy afterwards, from which office he was expelled for infamous conduct, then 
feigning conversion he was admitted into the Jesuit Colleges at Valladolid and St. 
Omer, but was subsequently turned out for disgraceful behaviour. 

His story was unsupported by evidence, but he gained only too easily the 
support of the populace, and as a writer remarks : — " Public opinion was formed 
" without reason. The accumulated suspicion and hatred of years swelled into an 
" overpowering volume of tumultuous emotion. Scarcely the most sane escaped the 
" prevailing contagion of prejudice and terror." 

Parliament met on October 21st, 1678, and The Test Act was passed in both 
houses, which declared every individual refusing to take the oath of supremacy and 
allegiance, and to receive the Sacrament according to the rite of the Church of 
England, should be incapable of holding any office, civil, naval, or military. 

Furthermore it was required that a declaration denying transubstantiation and 
declaring the " adoration of the Virgin Mary and other saints, and the Sacrifice of the 
" Mass, to be superstitious, and idolatrous, should be subscribed by all persons holding 
" office, under the penalty of a fine of five hundred pounds, and various legal 
" disabilities." 

In London five Jesuits were put to death in the most cruel fashion, being hanged, 
disembowelled, and quartered ; Lord Stafford was beheaded, and the Archbi.shop of 




78 Chaddesley Corbett, 

Armagh executed at Tyburn, and eight priests in various parts of the county 
suffered martyrdom. 

Well may Mr. Pollock, the author of the " Popish Plot," exclaim that " the trials 
" in connection with the Titus Oates Plot are a standing monument to the most 
" astounding outburst of successful perjury which has occurred in modern times. It 
" is due to their connection with these trials that posterity has branded the names of 
" three Judges with lasting infamy, and that fourteen men executed as traitors have 
" earned the reputation of martyrs." 

After the trials and executions were over and men began to breathe more freely, 
it is some slight satisfaction to know that the scoundrel Oates was brought to trial 
and convicted of wilful perjury. In passing judgment the court lamented that it 
could not inflict the penalty of death upon him for the innocent blood his perjuries 
had caused to flow. 

A letter dated May i8th, 1685, and preserved in the public archives at Brussels, 
contains the following account of his sentence : — 

" This day Titus Oates performed the first part^of his^sentence by standing in the 
" pillory before Westminster Hall Gate. He first walked about the Hall with an 
** inscription of his crime written on a paper, and being brought to the king's bench, 
"desired my Lord Chief Justice to protect him from the rabble; * for,' says he, *I 
" suffer for my truth,* and being hence carried and put in the pillory, he said that 
"*they might there see the late King (Charles II.), the Lords and three Houses of 
" Commons standing in him upon the pillory.' He was well pelted with eggs, and 
** bore all with invincible impudence. He is to-morrow to stand in the same manner 
"before the Exchange, and upon Wednesday whipt from Aldgate to Newgate,, and 
" from thence on Friday to be the like to Tyburn, with his face to the gallows ; on 
" every 9th August in the Palace Yard ; every loth at Charing Cross, and ever>' 
" nth at the Temple ; and every 2nd September before the Old Exchange. Once 
" a year during his life to be stript of his canonical habit, and pay ICXX) marks upon 
" each indictment, and be imprisoned during life." 

There was staying in London on a visit at that time Father John Wall, who for 
more than twenty years had been labouring as a missionary priest at Harvington, in 
Worcestershire. He was the son of a Lancashire gentleman, and was born in 1620, 
and when quite young entered the English College at Douay, in France, and in 1641 
he went to Rome, where he joined the English College, and was ordained priest in 
1645. At the age of thirty-two he joined the Franciscan Convent at Douay, and 
within six months so great was his reputation, he was made vicar of his convent, and 
shortly afterwards Master of the Novices. In 1656 he was sent to take charge of the 
Harvington Mission in Worcestershire, where for more than twenty years he diligently 
carried out the duties of his sacred office. 



ChadcUsUy Corbeii. 



79 



The King's ProclamaUon ordered ail Catholics to leave London by the Friday 
following, and Father Wall hurried down to Worcestershire to his beloved Mission, 
where he was the guest of Lady Yate, the lady of the Manor of Chaddesley Corbett, 
at her home at Harvington Hall. 

Lady Mary Yate was a very remarkable person and a staunch Catholic, though 
descended from the Packinglons, a strictly Protestant house. She became a convert 
about the time of her marriage to Sir John Yate, and was quickly followed by her 
mother into ihe Catliolic Church. The stone erected to her memory in Chaddesley 
Corbett Church testifies to the nobility of her character, and her private virtues. She 
came into the jiosse.ssion of the family estates, which were very extensive, at the death 
of her father. Humphrey Packington, in 1631, and at the time of our story would be 
in her seventieth year. 




Harvington Hall, like all Ihe mansions of the Catholic gentry, was provided with 
a number of cunningly devised hiding places, where the priest might remain securely 
hidden, while Ihe building was searched by pursuivants. 

The cliief designer of such in the reigns of Elizabeth and the early part of 
James I., wa.s Brother Nicholas Owen, or Littli; John as he was tercncd, who was 
captured at Hindlip Hall, near Worcester, witti Father Garnet, in ciincciioti with the 



8o 



Chadiiesley Corbelt. 



Gunpowder Plot, and who subsequently died in the Tower from the excessive torture 
to which he was subjected, in onler to obtain information concerning the Catholic 
nobility by whom he was employed. It is very probable, therefore, that the 
Harvington hiding-places were devised by him. 

Nearly at the top of the main staircase one of the .steps was hinged, giving 
access to a small room, very skilfully contrived, which communicated also with the 
banqueting hall by a small aperture near the ceiling, by which food might be 
conveyed to the concealed priest. The floor of the hiding-place is still covered with 
dried rushes and flags, said to l>e the actual mat used by Father Wall. 



^ 


1 
1 

1 


\ 


^ 


W- . 


■ 




■_J 



Leading from the |)rinci|jal bedroom in front is a coiridor to the niNiiis beyond, 
and here we may again see that one of the boards of the passage is hinged, and 
when raised, the fugitive descended into a dark cavernous hole, carefully bolting 



Chaddesley Cor belt, 8 1 

and securing the board above his head ; the rude ladder by which he escaped is still 
existing. The priest could only stand or sit, the cavity being too narrow for him to 
lie down. A chink in the woodwork, high up, communicated with the porch outside, 
through which broths or milk could be sucked with a straw. 

A third very interesting place of concealment was accidentally discovered four 
years ago by the falling of some plaster in a side staircase. In a panelled room 
known as Father Dodd's Library, where he compiled his celebrated " Church 
History," is a bookcase or closet fixed to the wall. Near the ceiling is apparently 
one of the main upright beams supporting the house, but a careful examination will 
show that it swings inwards by pushing, being suspended upon an iron rod let into 
the wall, giving access to a small hollow sufficiently large to accommodate a person 
in a sitting or lying position. A strong bolt effectually protected him and prevented 
further pursuit, and he was doubtless nourished by means of a straw passed through 
a chink in the wall from the dark back staircase. 

A very curious picture of the watchful care and suspicion over the movements of 
of the Catholics is shown in one of the State papers of the period, which gave " a 
** passport for Continental travel to Dame Mary Yate, a daughter of the house 
•'of Packington, she being then about seventy years of age, which allowed her 
" f>ermission to pass beyond the seas for the benefit of her health, on condition that 
** she should give security not to enter any plot or conspiracy and should not repair to 
the citie of Rome, or returne unto this Kingdom, without first acquainting one of His 
Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, and on this condition only was the said 
" dame to embarque with her trunks of apparel, and other necessaries not prohibited, 
*' at any port of this Kingdom, and from thence to pass beyond the seas provided that 
" she depart this Kingdom within fourteen days." 

East Worcestershire was at this period mapped out into small mission stations, 
which acted as rallying places for the faithful, usually the houses of the Catholic 
gentry, and a chain of such establishments united the important controlling centre at 
Grafton Manor, the seat of the Earl of Shrewsbury in the north, with Harvington 
further south. Those within the immediate neighbourhood of Chaddesley Corbett, 
though nominally under the charge of the Jesuits, were undoubtedly associated 
with the labours of Father Wall, for we know that he was apprehended at Rushock, 
where he had doubtless been officiating. The most interesting are Badgecourt, 
Purshall Hall, and Rushock, all within a few miles of Harvington. 



it 



ti 



Chaii<kshj Corbell. 




I 



BADGECOURT, 

Badgecourt, now occupied as a farm, was once a moated manor-hoiisc of 
considerable dimensions. The moat, with the exception of a small portion which 
still remains as a pond, was filled up years ago. The house is probably of 
Elizabethan age, half-timbered, the front being concealed by a modern framework 
of timber and lath and plaster, but the sides and back walls are still in a good state 
of preservation, the old timber and beams showing little signs of decay. Badgecourt 
formed part of the Cooksey estate, which was mentioned in the Domesday Survey 
of Worcestershire as Cochesei. About the year 1400 the Cookseys were one of 
the two greatest families in Worcestershire, and amongst their possessions was the 
Manor of Cooksey in Upton Warren. 

In 1480 died Hugh Cooksey, the last of his race, and his great estates were 
divided between the next-of-kin, the Riissells of Strensham and Wintours of 
Haddington, the latter inheriting the Upton Warren estates. The name Cooksey 
still survives in Cooksey and Cooksey Lodge, two adjacent farms. The estates 
continued in the hands of the Wintours of Huddington until the year 1605, when they 
were confiscated to the Crown for the share of the family in the Gunpowder Plot. 
The entrance hall contains fine oak panelling, and the arms of the Wintours, willi 
quarterings of Huddington, Cromeley, Talbot, Stafford and Cassey, and others, 
surmounted by the Wintour crest, a falcon surrounded by a coronet. In Himbleton 
and Huddington Churches the crest is represented by a hawk alighting upon a 



Chadtiesley Corhvlt. 



battlement or tower. Tlie drawing and dining rooms are splendidly panelled, the 
latter containing a second escutcheon of the Wintour arms over the mantelpiece. 

The best bedroom walls are covered with oak panelUng in an excellent state 
of preservation, and around the fireplace I discovereii a series nf enamelled tiles with 
the arms of the Tatbots. Huddingtons, Wintoiirs, Casscys. and other noble families 
with whom they were associated. Many are verj- perfect, especially the Wintours 
and Talbots, the latter showing the hound uf the Talbots surrounded with the words, 
"Sir John Talbot." 

This Sir John Talbtjt succeeded to the Talbot estates in 1529, and was father 
to John Talbot of Grafton, whose daughter Gertrude married Robert Wintour, the 
Gunpowder Plot conspirator; the tiles may tiierefore suggest the probable date xvhen 
Badgecourt was built. 

It was the home of Miss Helen Wintour, the daughter of Robert Wintour of 
Huddington, who was executed in London a.i one of the principal conspirators in 
connection with the Gunp<.iwder Plot. She devoted her long life to acts of charity 
and work of the Church, spending much of her time in making elaborate vestments 
for the use of the missionarj- priests, and died at Badgecourt on May 5th, 1671, seven 
years before the Titu.s Oatcs Plot. 

Kr<3m Foley's Records of the 
Si'cictj- of Jesus we learn that she 
worked a splendid set of vestments 
and copes of the richest texture, which 
are now preserved in Stonyhurst Col- 
lege. These beautifully wrought relics 
of antiquity were exhibited at South 
Kensington some years ago, anii were 
greatly admired. 

They consist of a very elegant 
■^tole, chasuble, cope, and accompani- 
ments, all in red, known as Penteco.-^t 
vi.--lnients, and specially designed for 
use on that feast, being profusely 
adorned with representations of the 
cloven tongues, with the Wintour 
arms, a falcon alighting upon a tower. 
and the words, " Orate pro me. Helena 
de Wintour," embroidered upon it, 
massively interwoven with gold orna- 
mented with flowers, and containing 
an extraordinarily large and splendiil 
pearl. 



84 



Chaddesley Corbclt. 



She made also another set of white Mass vestments similarly rtdorned. using in 
the two sets four hundred and seventy-one lai^e pearls. There is also preserved at 
the Presbytery. Worcester, one of Miss Wintour's vestments, remarkable for the 
richness of the pomegranates worked upon it in silver and gold. She bequeathed 
them to the Worcestershire Mission, with the stipulation that they should not be 
sent for safely beyond the seas lest they should never come back again, and ihey 
were no doubt used by Father Wall during his twenty years' mission. 

For many years they were kept in small mission-hou.ses, where they received 
very careless treatment, and it was not till 1854 that Father Henry Campbell, of 
Grafton Manor, near Bromsgrove, in whose keeping they then were, transferred them 
to the care of Stonyhurst College. 

Badgecourt passed into the possession of the Earls of Shrewsbury, and we find 
that among the list of Roman Catholics, non-jurors, and others connected with the 
county of Worcester who refused to take the oath of allegiance to King George 1. in 
1715, was George Talbot, Esq., of Badgecourt, a relative of the house of Shrewsburj'. 
The property is now owned by Lord Edmund Talbot, brother of tlie Ouke of 
Norfolk, so that it must have remained in Catholic hands for many centuries. 

PURSHALL HALL. 

Situated some mile or mile-and-a-half from the highroad leading from Broms- 
grove to Kidderminster, at a distance of four mile.s from liromsgrove, stands an old 




Chaddesley Corbett. 85 

farmhouse, rapidly falling to decay, but which from the general appearance must hax-c 
been once of considerably larger proportions. It is approached by narrow lanes, and 
lies snugly ensconced far from the busy haunts of men, right in the heart of t^-pical 
Worcestershire countr\" scener>'. There is nothing out\i*ardly to strike the e\"e, only 
a large farmhouse, shorn of its former extensi\*e proportions, exhibiting all the 
elements of approaching decay. 

Much of the histor>' of England is connected with these out-of-the-world farm- 
houses, whose general appearance suggests the storj- of better days in times far 
distant, when they formed the homes of families who have written their names largely 
in count}' and English histor>% many of them in letters of blood. 

Purshall is first mentioned in the reign of King John, when Henr\' de Peramorte 
was Lord of Purshall, and, according to Xash, in the time of Richard II., Purshall 
Hall was occupied by the Purshall family. 

In 1560 Edmund Purshall died at the great age of 96, and was buried in 
Elmbridge Church, and there are inscriptions recording the death of his eldest son, 
Gerald, in 1585, in his 80th year, and of Mar\% wife of James Purshall, of Purshall 
Hall, son of the said Gerald, who died in 1675. 

In 1634 the fortunes of the family seem to have been at a low ebb, for we read 
that in the same year John Purshall, of Elmbridge, disclaimed arms. But prosperity 
evidently returned half-a-century later, for in 1682 the family apjjeared and entered a 
pedigree, but the arms they exhibited, being those of Purcell, were not admitted. 

It is, however, in connection with the Roman Catholic persecution in Worcester- 
shire that the interest of Purshall Hall is principally associated. And if with the 
kind permission of the tenant we ascend the staircase, and still farther continue our 
ascent up a ricketty flight of stairs, we shall see an entrance to what appears to be a 
lumber room or large attic immediately underneath the roof, with no window or 
aperture to admit the light, and which still enshrines a ruined altar, with the remains 
of its tattered altar cloth crumbling to dust. The altar rails and kneeling bench are 
still almost |>erfect, preserved to us through the centuries by successive occupiints of 
this lonely farmhouse, and telling the story most eloquently, of the midnight meetings 
of devout worshippers, who, by loneK* lanes and field paths, had assembled here to 
receive the consolations of their religion from the hands of the heroic Father Wall ; 
we can picture it all, the kneeling worshippers in the upper room, lit with candle or 
nLsh-light ; and we can scarceh' doubt that this was the scene of his lalx>urs, for we 
know that in the month of December, 1678, he was arrested at Rushock Court, a 
farmhouse about a mile distant, where he had gone to spend the night. 

Who knows the sighs, the tears, the supplications to Heaven, that this room has 
witnessed — that again in peace and safety these poor Catholics might publicly 



Cliaiidesky Corbeit. 



worship God, and that their priests be no more homeless outcasts, and that the 
privileges of a restoration to their former religious liberty might be granted to them ! 




For more thnii two hundred years that upper room ;it Purshall Hall has been 
kept sacred by successive occupants ; no desecratin}^ hand has removed its mouldering 
altar, and to-day it speaks most eloquently of the time 

" When man pent up his hrother men, 
Like brutes within an iron den," 
and of the noble martyrs who 

" Proud of Persecution's rage, 
Their belief with blood have seal'd," , 

Father Wall came down to Worcestershire in the last week of October, 1678, a«d 
remained hidden in the ncijjhbourhood for two months, but in December, while 
staying as the guest of his friend, Mr. F'inch, at Rushock Court, he was arrested. 

His capture was really an accident, for the .sheriff's officer, with six or eight men. 
went to Rushock Court in the middle of the night to arrest a gentleman for debt, and 
breaking down the doors they entered the bedroom and arrested Father Wall, and he 
was taken before Sir John i'ackington, who committed him to Worcester Castle, 
where he lay impri.foned for five month.s. 

On the 2Sth of April he was brought to trial before Judge Atkins at the Assizes. 
The charges against him were that, being born within the dominions of the crown of 



Chaddesley Cor belt. 87 

England, he had gone abroad, and had taken orders in the Church of Rome, had 
returned to England to promulgate the doctrines of the said Church, and had refused 
to take the oath of allegiance and supremacy, whereby he was guilty of treason, under 
the statute of Elizabeth 27, ch. 2. Besides these, there were other counts against him 
alleging that he had said Mass and heard confessions, that he had received converts, 
and finally that he was a Jesuit, under most of which counts he would be guilty of 
treason under the statutes of Elizabeth and James I. 

Only one witness appeared voluntarily against him, and this man was a native of 
Stourbridge, who having been reprimanded by Father Wall on account of his vicious 
life, took this opportunity of revenge. 

The counsel for the prosecution having stated the case in a violent address, in 
which he recapitulated the horrible calumnies and pretended disclosures of Titus 
Oates, the witnesses were called, and then Father Wall was asked if he had anything 
to say, for in those days persons arraigned on charges of treason were not allowed the 
privilege of counsel. 

The martyr neither confessed nor denied his priesthood, but conducted his 
defence in such a manner as to gain for himself a reputation of great wisdom and 
prudence. Nevertheless, the Jury brought him in guilty, and Judge Atkins sentenced 
him to be hanged, drawn and quartered. 

On hearing his sentence. Father Wall bowed his head and said aloud, " Thanks 
be to God ! God save the King, and I beseech God to bless your lordship and all 
this honourable bench ! " 

" You have spoken very well," replied the Judge, " and I do not intend that you 
shall die, at least, not for the present, until I know the King's further pleasure." 

From a narrative written by himself, and now preserved among the records of 
the English Franciscans at Douay, we know many particulars of his imprisonment 
and sufferings. 

" After the Judge was gone from the bench, several Protestant gentlemen and 
" others, who had heard my trial, came to me, though strangers, and told me how 
" sorry they were for me ; to whom, with thanks I replied, that I was troubled they 
" should grieve for me or my condition, who was joyful for it myself; for I told them 
** I had professed this faith and religion all my lifetime, which I was as sure to be true 
" as I was sure of the truth of God's Word, on which it was grounded. For my own 
** part, I told them I was as ready, by God's grace, to die to-morrow, as I had been to 
*' receive sentence of death to-day, and as willing as if 1 had a grant of the greatest 
" dukedom." 

It does not appear whether Judge Atkins really exerted himself to obtain a 
reprieve as he had promised. 



88 Chaddesley Corbett. 

About this time twenty-four priests received sentence of death, in various parts 
of the kingdom, for the exercise of their functions. Most of them, after condemnation, 
were sent to London, to undergo the ordeal of a private examination before 
Shaftesbury and his assistants, Oates, Bedloe, and Drydale ; but their innocence was 
proof against the influence of threats and promises. Not one admitted any knowledge 
of the supposed conspiracy, not one could be induced to lend his aid to the informers. 
The House of Commons grew impatient under the delay ; several of the members 
called aloud for their blood, and an address was presented to the King, soliciting their 
immediate execution. 

The council remanded them to their former prisons, and having granted reprieves 
to some, abandoned the remainder to their fate. 

" Pleasington suffered at Chester, Evans and Lloyd at Cardiff, Lewis at Usk, 
" Postgate at York, Mahony at Ruthin, Johnson at Worcester, and Kemble at 
" Hereford. Of these two had passed their eightieth year ! " 

Father Wall, after he returned to Worcester, wrote the following letter to Mr. 
Charles Trinder, Counsellor, afterwards sergeant-at-law : — 

" Sir, — with my service, I return you thanks for the twenty shillings. 

" I am safe returned from London, whither I was sent to be examined by Mr. 
" Oates and Bedloe, Drydale and Prance, to see if any of them had anything against 
" me as guilty, concerning these great disturbances of the times. I was very strictly 
" examined by all four, several times over, in that month I stayed at London, and 
" thanks be to God, I was, after the last examination, publicly declared innocent and 
** free of all plots whatever, by Mr. Bedloe, who examined me last ; and he was so 
** kind to me, that he told me publicly, that if I would but comply in matter of religion, 
" that he would pawn his life for me, that for all I was condemned, yet I should not 
" die. 

" I was also offered the same after my first examination, though I should have 
" been never so guilty, if I would have done what was against my conscience. But I 
" told them I would not buy my life at so dear a rate, as to wrong my conscience. 

" How God will please to dispose of all us that are condemned, none know. 
** Some think it is concluded we must all die ; and yet because it will not appear 
" grateful in the eyes of rational and moral men, to see us die merely for conscience 
** sake, I have been several times informed from London since I came down that, if 
" possible, some will do their best to bring some of us, one way or other, into a plot, 
" though we have all at London been declared innocent after strict examination. 

" God's will be done. 

" The greater the injury and injustice done against us by men, to take away our 
" lives, the greater our glory in eternal life before God. This is the last persecution 
" that will be in England ; therefore I hope God will give all His holy grace to make 
" the best use of it. 



Chaddesley Corbet t. 89 

" All these things have been sufficiently prophesied long since, and I do no 
** way question the truth, though it is like some will suffer first, of whom, I have a 
" strong imagination, I shall be one. 

" God's will be done on earth, as it is in heaven, and in mercy bring me happy 
" thither. 

" I subscribe. Sir, your faithful servant, 

" Francis Webb." 

Father Wall's " strong imagination " had rightly foreshadowed his own suffering. 

Sergeant Trinder wrote at the bottom of this letter : " This holy priest, some- 
** times called Mr. Johnson, whose true name was Wall, was martyred at Worcester. 
" He was equally courageous and cheerful at his apprehension, during his imprison- 
** ment, at his trial, and to his death. A true account of all which might deservedly 
"fill a volume." 

Four months had elapsed from the time of Father Wall's condemnation, before 
he was told to make ready for death. When it became known that his hour was 
drawing near, Father William Levison went to visit him in prison, and wrote a 
letter giving an account of him to the English Franciscans. Bishop Challoner was 
able to procure a copy of it, as follows : — 

" Of late, I was desired, and willingly went, to visit our friend, Mr. Webb (Father 
" Wall), prisoner at Worcester, whose execution drew near at hand. I came to him 
" two days before it, and found him a cheerful sufferer of his present imprisonment, 
" and ravished as it were with joy with the future hopes of dying for so good a cause. 

" I found contrary to both his and my expectation, the favour of being with 
** him alone ; and the day before his execution I enjoyed that privilege for the space 
" of four or five hours together, during which time I heard his confession, and 
" communicated him, to his great joy and satisfaction. 

" I ventured likewise, through his desire, to be present at his execution, and 
" placed myself boldly next to the under-sheriff near the gallows, where I had the 
" opportunity of giving him the last absolution just as he was turned off the ladder. 

** During his imprisonment he carried himself like a true servant and disciple of 
" his crucified Master, thirsting after nothing more than the shedding of his blood for 
" the love of his G(k1, which he performed with a courage and cheerfulness becoming 
" a valiant soldier of Christ, to the great edification of all Catholics and admiration of 
" all Protestants, the rational and moderate part especially, who showed a great sense 
" of sorrow for his death, decrying the cruelty of putting men to death for priesthood 
" and religion 

" He was quartered, and his head separated from his body according to his 
** .sentence. His body was permitted to be buried, and was accompanied by the 
" Catholics of the town to St. Oswald's churchyard, where he lies interred. His head 



90 



Chaddesley Co> belt. 



" I got privately, and conveyed it to Mr. Randolph, wlio will be careful to keep it till 
■■ opportunity serves to transport it to Douay, etc. 

" The miseries we here he under are great, and I hope our brothers in safety will 
'■ be mindful of our condition in their best thoughts, and beg of God we may cheerfully 
"bear our crosses, and if it be His holy Will, courageously sacrifice our lives, in 
" defence of our religion, which is the earnest desire of, etc., 

" William Levi.son. 
"Aug 25, 1679." 

Father Wall was hanged at Red Hill, near Worcester. August 32nd, 1679. 

Shortly before his death he composed a long documenl, which he gave to a friend 
to be printed, containing a profession of his faith, an abhorrence of the crime for which 
he was charged, praying for God's mercy upon himself, the whole Chuich. the King 
and Kingdom and his persecutors ; he declared he forgave the latter from his heart, 
and asking pardon for his sins commended his soul to God. The original document 
is in the library at Oscott, and the " Public account of his Execution." which the Rev, 
Mon.signor Parkinson has most kindly allowed me to photograph. 



5«otojtoitst3cmo»Sii63rcf,/,;^ 




Cliaiideslcy Corbett. g i 

Father Wall's prediction that the persecution in England would end with his 
martyrdom has been verified, for since the time of Charles II. no Catholic has sealed 
his faith with his blood. 



[£.)-/;rt</v f,om the Original Printed Copy in Oscotl College /.ibraiy.'] 




A true copy of the Speech of Mr. Franci."! Johnstons, alias Dormore, alias Webb, 
alias Wall, a Priest of the Church of Rome, (Who was Convicted before Mr. 
Justice Atkins, at Worcester, last Lent Assizes, upon an Indictment on the 
Statute of the 27th Eliz. Cap. 2.) Which he spake upon the Ladder, 
immediately before his Execution, on Fryday last, August 32nd, 1679. 

With Animadversions upon the same. 

'Tis expected that I should say something of the Plot ; as to this I shall 

declare two points of my faith. 



9 2 Chaddesley Cor belt. 

First : I believe that all are bound to obey the King and his Laws. 

Secondly : I do declare that those that do break the law in word or any 
action, that doth act anything against his Majesty's life that it is a sin unto 
damnation as much as it was a sin unto Judas to destroy Christ. 

A second damnation is that if any man knows of an evil against his Majesty, 
his Kingdom and Nation, and do hide and not discover it, he shall answer for 
those mischiefs that come thereby. 

A third damnation is to die in this Lie, and with this Perjury in his mouth, 
that he loses Heaven, and all the enjoyments and dies in greater sins than 
the devils themselves. 

Fourthly : I should have been guilty of my own death, for that Justice 
Atkins offered me my Life, if I would confess what I knew of the Plot ; which 
had I known and not discovered would have made me the cause of my own 
death, which would have been a fourth damnation. 

I would have said more but that I gave my speech to a friend to be printed. 

Mr. Sherif: 1 pray Sir, speak on what you have to say, and no one shall 
interrupt you. 

Mr. Johnston : Now I have no more to do, but to make my peace to 
Almighty God, with all the powers of my soul, that I may have his mercy and 
pardon of my sins, and therefore I beg that all the Catholics that join in Union 
of this .same Faith, would make an address unto God for me, that we may receive 
pardon for our sin.s. 

I have nothing now but wishes left. 

I offer first my life in satisfaction for my sins, and for the Catholick cause : 
and I beg for those that be my enemies in this my death, and I desire to have 
them forgiven, because I go to that World of Happiness sooner than I should 
have gone. And humbly beg pardon from God, and the World, and this I beg 
for the merits and mercy of Jesus Christ. 

I beseech God to bless his Majesty, and give him a long Life and happy 
reign in this world, and in the World to come. 

I beseech God to bless all my Benefactors and all my Friends and those that 
may have been any way under my charge, and I beseech God to bless all the 
Catholicks and this Nation. 

I beseech God to bless all that suffer under this Persecution and to turn this 
our Captivity into Joy : that they which Sow in Tears may Reap in Joy. 

I be.seech God to save the Death of my Body and to receive my Soul. 

I have no more to say. 

Jaylor : Sir, please give the signe when you plea.se to be turned off. 

Mr. Johnston : I will give you no signe; Do it when you will. (And so he 
was Executed.) 



Chaddesley Corbeii. 03 

Footnote, being animadversions upon the same. 

And thus this Popish faction design to delude the world by pretending that 
they dye only as Martyrs for their Religion. 

This Priest with great asseverations denies his knowledge of the Horrid and 
Damnable Plot wherein we have not much reason to give credit to him, since it 
has lately so fully and undenyably been demonstrated that Lies, £qui\*ocations, 
yea, and the most solemn asseverations and untruths e\*en at the last moment, 
are not only Lawful, but Meritorious, when it may advance the interest of 
Holy Church. 

Besides, if I forbid a man to come into my house upon pain of death, and he 
will be so obstinate, notwithstanding he knows the penalt}', to rush in upon me, 
if he lose his Life in the Quarrel, he will be judged by all wise men to die like a 
Fool, and his blood is up>on his own head. 

Again, we are fully satisfied that whoever shall seduce any of the subjects of 
this Kingdom to the Popish Religion, does at the same instant make the person 
seduced a Rebel and Traytor against his Prince, and the Countrey : since in 
a letter written by that blessed Saint Hartcourt lately departed at Tyburn, he 
does there allow his proselytes to take the Oaths of Allegiance and Supremacy, 
reser\ing the sense they may take it in to themselves, whereby we may evidently 
perceive that they make use of Religion only as a Politick Engine which they 
manage, as ma\' best serve their cursed designs, and that no Oaths, Tests or 
Obligation whatsoever, can possibly bind or oblige them, but that they may be 
indulged in breaking or evading the force thereof, which our wise ancestors were 
ver)' sensible of, and therefore with great prudence made this Excellent Law, 
against their Leaders, since (if a Factious Priest must have the sole command of 
the conscience, and whatever he commands, must be indispensably obeyed^ no 
Prince, nor Government can p<jssibly be safe or secure, and therefore such 
persons of such principles, as the Romish Clergy vow and own, ought with the 
greatest Reason to be h(K)ted out of the world as being the most cursed and 
dangerous enemies to mankind. 

Let us therefore conclude with the Prayer of the Church in the old Liturg}-. 

Be thou O Lord our mighty Protector, and scatter our cruel Popish Enemies, 
who delight in Blood, strengthen the hands of our Gracious King, the Nobles 
and Magistrates of this Land, with Judgment, and Justice, to cut off those 
workers of Iniquity. 

Whose religion is Rebellion, whose Faith is Faction, whose practice is 
Murthering Souls and Bodies, and root them out of the Confines and Limits of 
this Kingdom, that they may never prevail against us, nor Triumphe in the Ruine 
and destruction of thy Church and People. Amen. 

Through the Georgian period persecution still continued, and as late as 1769, the 
Hon. James Talbot was tried for his life at the Old Bailey for saying Mass, and only 
escaped for want of evidence. 



94 Chaddesley Corbett. 

In 1791 a Bill was passed repealing various statutes, and tolerating the schools 
and religious worship of the Catholics, and in the same year Robert Berkeley, of 
Spetchley, John Baynham, of Purshall Hall, and others subscribed certificates that 
they had set apart rooms in their respective houses for Roman Catholic worship, and 
in 1796 Andrew Robinson, of Grafton Manor, and Richard Cornthwaite, of Harvington 
Hall, set apart rooms for the same purpose. But it was not until 1829 that the 
Catholic Emancipation Act became law, and Roman Catholics, like their fellow- 
citizens, were allowed absolute liberty of thought and action in matters of religion. 

In the little Catholic churchyard at Harvington a monument was erected in 
August, 1879, to commemorate the bicentenary of Father Wall's martyrdom, in the 
midst of the scenes he loved so well, and in close proximity to the old mansion which 
sheltered him for so many years, which is visited by pilgrims of all shades of religious 
opinions to do honour to a good man, and a devoted servant of God. 

On the Crucifix is the figure of the hanging Saviour, with the words : — 

" Deus meus, at omnia," 

and the following inscription : — 

In Memory of 

Father John Wall, O.S.F., 

In religion Father Joachim of S. Anne, 

Who obeying God rather than man 

For twelve years ministered the Sacraments to the 

Faithful 

In this and other parts of Worcestershire 

In daily peril of death. 

And at the back of the Cross the inscription is continued : — 

He was born in 1620 

Ordained priest, 1646. 

Was taken at Rushock Court December, 1678, 

And put to death for the Faith 

at Worcester 

On the Octave of the Assumption, 1679. 

We can all now join in the sentiments of the old writer and say: — 

" The humble, the meek, the merciful, the just, the pious, and the devout are 
" everywhere of one religion, and when Death has taken off the mask, they will know 
" one another, though the liveries they wear here make them strangers." 



Clmddesley Cor belt. 95 

WORKS CONSULTED. 

Foley's " Records of the Society of Jesus." 

" Records of Stonyhurst College." — By Fathers Gruggen and Keating, S.J. 

Catholic Truth Society's Publication. — Ven. Edward Oldcome, S.J. — By Rev. John 
G. McLeod. 

" Heraldry of Worcestershire." — Grazebrook. 

" Victoria County History of Worcestershire." 

Habington's " Survey of Worcestershire." 

Noake s " Worcester Sects." 

" Rambles and Researches in Worcestershire Churches." — Stanton. 

" Parishes of the Diocese of Worcester." — Miller. 

"Condition of the Catholics under Charles II." — Comtesse de Courson. 

" Faithful unto Death." — An account of the sufferings of the English Franciscans 
during the i6th and 17th centuries, from Contemporary Records. — J. M. Storie. 

" Extracts from the State Papers relating to the City and County of Worcester." — 
William A. Cotton. 

"The Popish Plot."— John Pollock. 

I have to express my sincere thanks for much kind assistance from Monsignor 
Parkinson, who most willingly permitted me to have access to the library at Oscott 
College, and to photograph original manuscripts ; to Monsignor Browne, of Stony- 
hurst College ; and the Rev. Father Kernan, of the Presbytery, Worcester, who 
supplied me with photographs of the Wintour Vestments; and to my friend, Mr. Carr, 
and to my wife for the set of photographs which illustrate this Paper ; and for much 
ready help from the Rev. Dom Bede Camm, of Erdington Abbey. 




Excursions. 



TO BADGECOURT, PURSHALL HALL, HARVINGTON HALL. 

AND CHADDESLEY CORBETT. 



May 2j^rd^ ^QOJ- 




HIS excursion, under the able leadership of Mr. John Humphreys, 
F.L.S., proved a very successful and popular one, being attended 
by no less than 62 members and friends. 

The objects of chief interest visited will be found to be fully 
explained in Mr. Humphreys' paper on Chaddesley Corbett, 
which is included in the present volume. 



TO OVERBURY, CONDERTOX CAMP, BECKFORD, GREAT 

WASHBOURNE, TEDDINGTON AND 

TEWKESBURY. 



J 14 ft e 1 7 til, 190J. 



On this excursion the number attending was 14. The interest of the district 
visited was great but the weather was unfavourable and compelled the relinquishment 
of some small portion of the plan. 



Excursions. 97 



TO HUDDINGTON AND HIMBLETON. 



July nth, ipoj. 



Mr. John Humphreys again kindly conducted this excursion, the attendance at 
which was small. By the kindness of the Rev. Gordon Poole the churches at 
Himbleton and Huddington were visited and carefully explained, tea being served in 
the rectory grounds. The connection of Huddington with the Gunpowder Plot was 
made clear in a brief paper read by Mr. Humphreys. 



TO HEREFORD AND LEDBURY. 



Ju/y 22nd, iC^OJ. 



At this, the last excursion of the season, the attendance was 10. By the courtesy 
of the Dean, the Cathedral at Hereford was very carefully and thoroughly examined, 
the ancient and interesting cathedral library being also thrown open to inspection. 

At Ledbury the church, which has many features of importance, was visited. 
The whole town may be said to be picturesque and attractive, and its connection with 
the early life of Mrs. Browning gives it an added charm. 



IBirmingtiatit anh g^Manh Instittttf. 



BIRMINGHAM ARCH^OLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Officers and Committee. 

President: Honorary Librarian: Honoraiy Secretary: 

J. A. COSSINS. FRANCIS B. ANDREWS, A.R.I.B.A. ■ HOWARD S. PEARSON 

Honorary Excursions Secretary : 
VV. II. LORD. 

Committee : 
COLONEL C. J. HART, H. WALKER, A.R.I.B.A., C. J. WOODWARD, B.Sc, 

and llie four Officers ot the Instilule. 



Report of the Committee for the year igoj, 

TO BE PRESENTED AT THE ANNUAL MEETING, JAN. 20th, 1904. 



The Committee record with satisfaction the success of all the work of the 
Society during the past year, and are glad to be able to .say with confidence that, 
both in instructivene.ss and in interest, the excursions and the papers read have 
fully maintained the high standard already reached. 

During the year the following Papers have been read : — 

Jan. 21 — Annual Meeting, and paper on " Excursions of 1902." J. A. COSSINS. 

Feb. 18 — ''The Antiquity of Iron." COLONEL Hart. 

March 18 — "Old Birmingham Silversmiths." ARTHUR Westwood. 

Nov. II — ''Ancient Carvings at Alkerton Church." HOWARD S. PEARSON. 

Dec. 9 — '*Chaddesley Corbett," JOHN Hu.Ml'HREVS, F.L.S. 

And the following Excursions have been held : — 

May 23 (half-day) — To Purshall Hall, Badgecourt, and Chaddesley Corbett. 
June 17 (whole-day) — To Overbury, Conderton Camp, Beckford, &c. 
July 1 1 (half-day) — To Huddington and Himbleton. 
July 22 (whole-day) — To Hereford and Ledbury. 



Annual Report for igoj, 99 

The excursions have all been well attended and very enjoyable, and the 
papers have in every instance attracted large audiences. 

The annual volume of Transactions has been duly issued to the members. 

During the year the Society has lost by death its old and valued member, 
Mr. C. T. Saunders. Other losses have been incurred by removal or illness, and 
the membership at present stands at 168, as compared with 163 in 1902. 

The Committee has with great regret to announce that Mr. W. H. Lord has 
found it impossible to continue in office as Honorary Excursions Secretary. The 
loss of Mr. Lord's services to the Society will be the more felt because of the 
perfection of the arrangements under his care, which so greatly added to the 
enjoyment of the excursions. 

In the autumn of 1903 several letters appeared in the local press expressing 
anxiety to develop the study of local archaeology, but representing that the necessity 
of becoming a member of the Midland Institute was a hindrance to many who 
would otherwise gladly join the Society. The Committee, very anxious to obtain 
a cordial union among all in the district who are interested in archaeological work, 
at once laid the matter before the Council of the Institute, who most generously 
waived their own claims and consented to the admission of outside subscribers to 
all the privileges of membership of the Archaeological Society at a payment of 
half-a-guinea per annum. 

The Committee desire to express their warm appreciation of the liberal con- 
cession made by the Council. They trust that the Society may now unite for 
common work all local archaeologists, and that its utility and importance, now 
placed upon the widest possible basis, may proportionately and constantly increase. 
They now present the proposed alteration in the constitution of the Society for 
confirmation by the members. 

The Committee also propose that in future the Annual Meeting shall be held 
at the beginning of the session. This is so obviously the natural and most 
convenient plan that it will probably meet with general acceptance. 

In conclusion, the Committee gratefully record their indebtedness to all who 
have assisted in carrying out the engagements of the year, and to the authorities 
concerned who have so courteously accorded every facility upon the excursions. 
They trust that with altered and less restrained conditions the Society may enter 
upon an enlarged and lasting sphere of usefulness and prosperity. 






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