AN ACCOUNT OF Mr. BROME'S Three Years TRAVELS OVER England, Scotland, and Wales.
A Narrative of his first Journey.

WHen the Spring had rendred the Roads passable, and the Country was a fit­ting Entertainment for Travellers, the Gentlemen, whose Names I have given my self the Honour of Inserting in the Title, were pleased to take me for their Compa­nion, in order to have a View of those Places, which were under the same Government with the City from whence they set out, and which it was [Page] not Improper to be acquainted with before they made a Visit to Nations more [...]ote. And since it is but natural for the Inhabitants of other Coun­tries to be as inquisitive after our Scituation and Establishment, as we are after Theirs; we could not but endeavour to provide our selves with an Answer, by the Knowledge of our own Country's Constitution, before we had occasion to ask Que­stons in Relation to those of others.

As these were the Reasons which occasion'd our Journey, so we took a time in which it was agree­able to make one. The Season of the year push'd us forward, and the delights which it afforded were motives enough to persuade us to take leave of the Glorious City of London, which is Caput Gentis, and an Epitome of England.

Middle­sex.We took our Journey through Middlesex, a Country famous for its goodly Edifices, as well wisely compacted together upon the pleasant Banks of Thames; as likewise for divers stately and magni­ficent Palaces dispersed in several other parts there­of, Uxbridge to Ʋxbridge, anciently Woxbridge, seated on the Colne, which parts it from Buckinghamshire, a Town Built of late times, well stored with Inns, and of a considerable length. This was the place famous in the Year 1644. for a Treaty held be­twixt King Charles the First, and the Parliament, where after several Debates by Commissioners on both sides, the Treaty of Peace was unhappily broken off, and ended in a Deluge of Blood, which speedily over-ran this whole Nation.

Bucks.From Ʋxbridge, we came into the County of Bucks, which might possibly receive its Denomi­nation from its Fertility in Beech-Trees, there being a Province in Germany called Buchonia for that very reason: 'Tis a Country rich in Pasture, and so convenient for Grazing, that the Inhabi­tants thereof do very much addict themselves to that Employment, receiving great Advantages by [Page 3] the Vicinity of London, where the Markets are very Encouraging, the Prices being high, and the Returns considerable.

Passing through Beconsfield, Becons­field and Wickam. a Town better known, in that it was formerly part of the Inheri­tance belonging to the Noble Family of the Schu­damore's, than for any thing at present of greater Consequence, we arrived at Wickam or Wicomb, situated above a pleasant Valley, by which runs along a little Rivolet, and perhaps from this situ­ation it took its Name; for Combe, saith the Great Antiquary Mr. Somner, in his Saxon Dictionary, is a Valley enclosed on either side with Hills; and Wick, saith the same Author, is the turning, win­ding, or hollowness of Water-banks, or the cur­ving reach of a River: 'Tis a Town for large­ness and buildings, not much inferiour to any throughout the Shire; and hath a Mayor and Al­dermen to govern and support it; and is a place very much celebrated for the abundance of Bone-Lace usually made here, which brings no small Advantage and Profit to its Inhabitants.

Having refresh'd our selves a while here, we set forward for Oxfordshire, Oxford­shire. which being once entred into, we could not sufficiently enough admire the pleasantness of the Soil; for there it is that Ceres bestows her Gifts most liberally upon the laborious Husbandman; there it is the Meadows are garni­shed with Flora's curious Embellishments; and the great variety of Plants allure and invite the indu­strious Herbalist into a more strict Enquiry of their Names, Natures, and Properties: There it is where the Hills adorned with shady Woods, af­ford most delightsome Bowers to wearied Students, whilst the Silver-stream'd Rivers with their gentle Murmurs nimbly coursing along by the humble Valleys, do whet their Fancies, and scrue up their Inventions to the highest pitch. To confer upon them suitable Encomiums; What more plea­sant than Isis, afterward called Thamisis, which [Page 4] runs along the South-side, and then branching it self out in several Veins gives heart to the Ea­stern part of the County, till by a continued Cir­culation like that of the Blood, after several Win­dings, and Maeandrous Flexures, it lodgeth at last again within it self? What can be more diverting than the River Cherwell, which being well reple­nished with numerous Shoals of Fish, after it hath for a time parted this County from Northampton­shire, passeth through the midst of it, and divides it as it were into two equal Portions? In fine, Na­ture hath here so generously scatter'd all her Lar­gesses, either for Pleasure or Profit, that she cer­tainly at first designed it as a Glorious Seat for the Muses, and a fruitful Colony for Apollo's Chil­dren; and therefore we now find here one of the Eyes of this Nation, which is the Renowned Ox­ford.

Oxford. Oxford, q. Bovis Vadum, a Ford for Oxen to pass over, as the Thracian Bosphorus is called by the Germans Ochenfurt. It was anciently called Bello­situm for its healthy Air, and commodious Situ­ation betwixt two Rivers, and is so ancient a City as to fetch its Original from the time of the Bri­taine, so large, to contain 13 Parish Churches, besides the Cathedral so well adorned with private goodly Structures, as well as with divers magni­ficent Colleges and Halls, that it must needs be al­lowed to be one of the most beautiful and stately Cities in England: it is supposed by Antiquaries, to have been a place for publick Studies before the Reign of that learned Saxon King Alfred, who very much augmented it out of his Princely Favour, and Love to Learning and Religion, and it justly glories in the Ancient and Royal Foundation of Ʋniversity-College, founded by the aforesaid King Alfred, about the year 872.; afterward re-edified by William Archdeacon of Durham, or as others write, by William, Bishop of Durham, in the Reign of William the Conquerour; In the curious [Page 5] Fabrick of New-College, built by William of Wickham, Bishop of Winchester, in Richard II's time; In the Magnificence of Christ-Church, e­rected by Cardinal Woolsey, in the Reign of Henry VIII. and in Twenty two stately Colleges and Halls besides. To wave the curious Fabrick of the Schools, the admirable Structure of the Theatre, built at the sole Cost and Charges of the most Re­verend Father in God, Gilbert, late Lord Arch-Bishop of Canterbury; the famous Bodleian Libra­ry, which for a Collection of choice Books, and rare Manuscripts is not much inferiour to that of the Vatican at Rome. The Musaeum erected at the Charge of the University, for the Improvement of Experimental Knowledge: The publick Physick Garden, replenished with the choicest Plants, and surrounded with a strong Stone-Wall, at the Ex­pence of his Grace the present Duke of Leeds, to­gether with all the Customs, Privileges, Offices, and Dignities, which are already Elegantly set forth by the Ingenious Author of the Present State of England: I shall only observe, that the most Puissant King Henry VIII. erected here first a Bi­shop's See, and Endowed it, as we are informed, out of the Lands belonging to the dissolved Mo­nasteries of Abington and Osney; and for further Ornaments to the University, and Encouragement of Learning, through the Munificence of that Prince, and divers other Benefactors, there have been since added divers professors of several Arts and Sciences, to instruct the younger Pupils in their Minority, and to make them fit Instruments for the Service of Church and State.

From hence we moved forward to Burford, Burford. a Town in this County of good Note for its Anti­quity, situated very pleasantly on the side of a rising Hill: It was formerly called Berghford, or Bregforde, saith my Learned Friend, Mr. White Kennet, in his Parochial Antiquities of Oxford­shire; and as he further informs us, A Synod was [Page 6] here Convened, at which were present the two Kings Etheldred and Berthwald, Theodore, Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, Sexwolph, Bishop of Litch­field, Bosel, Bishop of Worcester, and Aldhelm, af­terward Bishop of Sherborn, then only Priest and Abbot of Malmsbury; which said Aldhelm, at the Command of this Synod, wrote a Book against the Errour of the British Christians, in the Obser­vation of Easter, and other different Rites where­in they disturbed the Peace of the Church; the reading of which Book reclaim'd many of those Britains who were under the West- Saxons.

After this, 'tis storied further, That about the year 752. Cuthred King of the West- Saxons, when he was no longer able to bear the Severe Tributes, and Exactions of Aethelbald, King of the Merci­ans, who did most cruelly oppress him, and began [...] suck the very Blood and Marrow of his Sub­jects, came into the Field against him, and in a pit [...]'d Battle at Beorgford, saith the Saxon Chro­nicle, published by the Learned Mr. Gibson, rou­ted him [...]tally, taking from him his Banners, on which was painted a golden Dragon, and so eased and freed himself and his Subjects from that Tri­butary Vassalage: The Memory whereof has con­tinued for several Ages in the Custom used here of making a Dragon, and carrying it about the Town solemnly on Midsummer-Eve, with the ad­dition of a Giant to it; the reason of which lat­ter Practice is not so easily discovered, saith the Ingenious Dr. Plot, in his Natural History of Ox­fordshire.

Having once passed from this place, we soon arrived within the Limits of Glocestershire, Glocester­shire. in the Eastern parts swelled up into Hills, called Cots­wold, which Feed innumerable Flocks of Sheep, the Wool whereof is much praised for its fineness; the middle parts consist of a fertile Plain, watered by the Severn: and the Western part, where lies the Forest of Dean, is much covered with Woods: [Page 7] 'Tis a Country happy in the Enjoyment of all things that are necessary for the Use and Service of Man; the very Lanes and Hedges being well-lined with Apple, and Pear-Trees; and the Vales, which in William of Malmsbury's time, were filled with Vineyards, are now turn'd into Orchards, which yield plenty of Sider. The Towns and Villages stand mostly thick together, and so it is po­pulous; the Houses numerous, and so 'tis sociable; the Churches fair and magnificent, and so 'tis ho­nourable: But that which is one of the greatest Blessings of all, is the Noble River Severn, than which there is not any River in all this Island for its Channel broader, for Stream swifter, for va­riety of Fish better stored, though sometimes it overflows its Banks; and when it hath roved a great way upon the Land, retires back again in Triumph as a victorious Conquerour.

This River Severn, The River Severn. or Sabrina, was so called from Sabrine, a fair Lady, concerning whom there goes this Story. Locrine, the Eldest Son of Brutus, who came first into Britain, and from whom, some Writers are of Opinion, our Country received its Denomination, took to Wife Guendoline, Daugh­ter to Corineus Duke of Cornwall, the Companion of that Noble Trojan; but notwithstanding this, he kept a very beautiful Mistress, whose Name was Estrilde, and by her had a Daughter, which he named Sabrine, whereupon he grew so enamou­red of her, that after the Death of his Father-in-law Corineus, he put away his Wife, and Married this Lady; at which Act his Wife was so extream­ly netled, that she immediately repairs into Corn­wall, makes her Complaint among her Friends, and Relations, and having gathered a great Pow­er to revenge her Injury, she fought with her hus­band Locrine at New- Troy, or London, and there slew him: After this, to execute her Revenge still in the highest degree, she took the Lady Estrilde, with her fair Daughter Sabrina, and drowned them both in this River.

[Page 8]Travelling over this delightsome Region, the first place of any Remark we arrived at, was Ci­rencester, alias Circiter Cirence­ster. It was cal­led by the Britains Kaerceri Rudborn's Hist. of Winche­ster.; which the River Corinus, or Churne rising among the Wolds passeth by and giveth it its Name: It appears to have been a place of great Antiquity and Renown, from the old Roman Coins and Medals, and divers Marble Engraven Stones, which have been digged up hereabouts: Nay, a Judicious An­tiquary Mr. Kennet has observed, That this place seems to have been as well the first, as the greatest of the Roman Stations, which the Bri­tains had before made a place of Strength, and Confluence: That this Corinium is by Ptolemy Recorded, as the Metropolis, or Chief City of the Dobuni; and was after called Corinium Do­hunorum.

The British Chronicles tell us further, That this Town was burnt down, being set on Fire by a company of Sparrows, through an Invention de­vised by one Gurmund. Certain it is, the Inhabi­tants shew a Mount below the Town; which they Report this Gurmund cast up, which they corrupt­ly call Grismund's Tower: Gris­mund 's Tower. It was a long time sub­ject to the West- Saxons; afterward the Mercians got it into their Possession, where it continued till the Establishment of the English Monarchy, under which it sustained very great Calamities, by the Incursion of the Danes: and 'tis probable, that Gur­mon the Dane, whom some Historiographers call Guthrus and Gurmundus, was a great Instrument to augment its Troubles and Oppressions: However, there are still some Remains to be seen of old Rui­nated Walls, and of an Abby built, as some con­jecture, by the Saxons; afterward much repaired, or rather rebuilt by King Henry I: 'Tis now beau­tified with a very handsome Church, having a high Spired Steeple, and hath once a Week a Market, and has formerly been Enriched with the Trade of Clothing, though that with many [Page 9] other Privileges and Immunities they enjoyed, are now impaired and gone to decay.

From hence coursing over the Wolds, we came to the top of Burlipp-Hill, Burlipp- Hill. where we had a Pro­spect of a very pleasant Vale; the Hill is craggy, steep, and high, from which descending by de­grees, and passing through a Way which was for­merly paved with Stone, and was undoubtedly one of the Roman high Ways, which here crossed one another, we came to Glocester, Glocester. called by An­tiquaries, Caer Gloyn, which took its Name either of Claudius the Emperour, or of the Beauty and Brightness thereof, which the Britains call Gloyn, though others call it Kaerclan.

'Tis a City well Seated, and as well Inhabited, and of a considerable Trade, by reason of the Ri­ver Severn, over which it has a fair Bridge, and being Navigable, Boats of great Burden come up to the Key side, loaded with several Commodities. 'Tis governed by a Mayor and Aldermen, and is adorned with 12 Parish Churches besides the Cathedral: And for the Strength of the Place, it was formerly on the Landside encompassed with a strong Wall, the standing Remains whereof shew what Force they have been of: On the Southside it had a strong Castle of square Stone now fall'n to Ruine. Craulin King of the West- Saxons Conquered this City from the Britains a­bout the year 570; and 300 years after it fell into the Hands of the Danes, who miserably de­faced it.

Soon after this Aldred, Archbishop of York, built the Cathedral, to which belongs now a Dean and Six Prebendaries and it hath been much enlar­ged by the Charity of good Benefactors, John Hanly and Thomas Early adding to it the Chapel of the Virgin Mary; N. Morwent the Forefront, being an excellent Fabrick; G. Horton adjoyn'd to it the North-Cross part; Abbot Trowcester, a very fine Cloyster, and Abbot Sebrok, a high Four square [Page 10] Steeple: As for the Southside, it was repaired by the Free Offerings of the Inhabitants at the Se­pulchre of Edward II. who lieth here Interred un­der a Monument of Alabaster; and in the Quire, under a wooden-painted Tomb, lies Robert, the Eldest Son of William the Conquerour, who was deprived both of his Life and Kingdom, by his Younger Brother Henry I. having his Eyes first put out at Cardiff-Castle; and died thereafter 26 years Imprisonment.

Here likewise is the Monument of Lucius, who is said to have been the first Christian King in Eng­land: Now, though by Bishop Burnet in his Tra­vels we are told, That there is a famous Chapel Erected to him, as their Great Apostle, near Coir, a Town of the Grisons, for the great Service he did to them, in working their Conversion; yet 'tis most probable that he lies Interred here: But how he came at first to be instructed in the Chri­stian Faith, we have the most probable Account given us by the most Learned Bishop Stillingfleet, in his Antiquities of the British Churches, which is this: That King Lucius hearing of the Christian Doctrine, either by the old British Christians, such as Eluanus and Meduinus are supposed to have been; or by some of M. Aurelius his Soldiers coming hi­ther, after the great Deliverance of the Roman Ar­my by the Prayers of the Christians, which had then lately happen'd, and occasion'd great Dis­course every where. The Emperour himself, as Ter­tullian saith, giving the Account of it in his own Letters, might upon this be very desirous to inform himself thoroughly about this Religion; and there being then frequent Entercourse betwixt Rome and Britain, by reason of the Colonies that were set­led, and the Governours and Soldiers passing to and fro, he might send Eluanus and Meduinus to be fully instructed in this Religion, and either the same Persons alone, or two others with them (called Fag [...]us and D [...]ianus commonly) coming [Page 11] into Britain, might have so great Success, as to Baptize King Lucius, and many others, and there­by inlarge the Christian Church here.

But to return from what we have made a little Digression, the Pillars of this Church are of an extraordinary Thickness, not to be Parallel'd in any Church of England: But that which makes it most Remarkable, is a curious piece of Archi­tecture at the East-end of the Quire, called, The Whispering Place; The Whis­pering Place. 'tis an Arch in the form of a Semi­circle, 30 yards in Circuit, and so rare a Contri­vance, that if any Person stand at one end of it, and Whisper never so softly, he that lays his Ear to the other end, will discover distinctly the Words he speaks.

A C D E F B is the Passage of the Voice, or Whispering Place; at A and B do the two Persons stand that Whisper to each other. At D, the middle of the Passage, is a Door and Entrance in­to a Chapel, with Window-Cases on each side of the Door; and to my best Remembrance, there are one or two Places open upward in the Roof of the passage; from whence it is the Opinion of Mr. Childrey, in his Britannia Baconica, when he has occasion to speak of this Place, that the Chapel standing so in the middle, much conduceth to the conveying of the Sound so entirely, which is hel­ped [Page 12] by the open places of the Roof before-men­tioned, for they help to draw in the Voice, which else would not so well enter into that narrow Pas­sage, but reverberate back into that broad open place before the Whispering Entry; and the Rea­son upon which he grounds his Opinion, that the Chapel doth a great part of the Work is this, Because, saith he, we see in Viols, Lutes, and o­ther Musical Instruments, there are Holes cut in­to the Belly of the Instrument just under the play­ing or striking place, which we find by Experi­ence, do much augment the Noise of the Notes, and make them more Audible.

But this being only a Conjecture, I shall leave it to be further discuss'd by those who delight in such kind of Speculation, and proceed to Lassing­ton, Astroites at Lassing­ton. a little Village near Gloucester, where are found many Astroites, or Star-stones, being about the breadth of a silver Penny, but the thickness of half a Crown, flat, and pointed like a Star, or Mullet in Heraldry, only the Points of them are not sharp, but a little roundish, and of a greyish Colour, and on both sides curiously graved, (as it were by Art) as if there were a little Mullet within the great one: Being put into Vinegar, they have a Motion like the Astroites in Germany, which the Learned Cambden speaks of; and are more fully described by Mr. Childrey in his Natural Rarities of Gloucestershire.

Having diverted our selves at Gloucester, we steer'd our Course for Tewksbury, Tewks­bury. a Market-Town of a great Trade for Cloth, Mustard-Seed, but more especially for Stockings, of which the Townsmen every Saturday buy great Quantities from the Neighbouring Inhabitants: 'Tis situa­ted among three pleasant Rivers; Severn on the one side enricheth it, and on the other Avon, and another small Rivolet which comes from the East; over each whereof stand Bridges which give En­trance into it. By the Saxons it was call'd Thro [...] [Page 13] [...]uria, from a Religious Man named Throcus, who led here an Hermite's Life, and hath been reputed famous for a Monastery, founded by Odo, and Dodo, two Saxon Noble Men, which was after­ward much enlarged by the Earls of Gloucester, who lived at Homes-Castle near to this place, Homes- Castle. and were generally here Interred. Nor is it of less Fame for the Memorable Battle fought here in 1471 be­tween the House of York and Lancaster, which bloody day decided for that time, that great Con­troversie, and left the Crown to the former.

In the Reign of King Henry III. there is a Story Recorded, of a Jew that lived in this Town, how that falling into a Jakes, or Privy, on the Jewish Sabbath, or Saturday, would by no means, out of Reverence to that Day, suffer any one to come and rescue him out of that Noisome place; where­upon Richard, then Earl of Gloucester, having some Intelligence of his refractary Sullenness, gave a strict charge, that no one should dare to take him out on the Sunday, for the Reverence of that Day; and so the poor Circumcised Wretch perished in that loathsome Dungeon through his own Folly.

Our abode at this place was but short, for we hasted into the Confines of Worcestershire, Worce­stershire. which we found a very healthful and plentiful Country: In one part it is of Note for its Cheese, in most for its Perry, which is a very pleasant Liquor, made of the Juice of Pears, growing here in abundance in the Hedges; 'tis likewise full of Salt-Pits, and hath formerly been admired for abundance of Salt-Springs, which have been very oft discovered in this County: But that which makes it most Re­nown'd, is the River Severn, which Streams along the Country, which as also the River Avon, is well replenished with divers sorts of Fish; but more particularly seem'd to be design'd on pur­pose by Nature, as Stews and Ponds, for the Pre­servation of Lampreys, a Fish of great esteem in that County, and sent far and near as a very great [Page 14] Present throughout divers parts of England; they are called Lampreys from the Latin word Lampe­tra, as if they had their Denomination from lick­ing of Rocks, they are like Eels, slippery and blackish; however, on their Bellies they are of a blewish colour; in the Spring they are most whol­som and sweet, for in the Summer the inner Nerve, which is to them instead of a Backbone, waxeth too hard for Concoction: Naturalists observe, that these Fish receive, and let in Water at seven Holes, for that they have no Gills which are any way visible; the Romans always thought this a very noble Dish, and when any Person of Quality de­sired a sumptuous Feast, he would be sure to be provided with these; and the Italians at this day are very much delighted with them, and conse­quently by their Cookery, make them exceeding delicate to the Taste, for they take a Lamprey, and killing it in Malmsey, close the Mouth with a Nutmeg, and fill all the Holes with as many Cloves, then they roll it up, and put Filberd, Nut-Kernels stamp'd, crums of Bread, Oyl, Malmsey, and Spices to it, and so they boil it with great care, and then turn it over a soft gentle Fire of Coals in a Frying-pan.

The first place we came to which was Remark­able in this County was Worcester it self, Worce­ster. where the River Severn, which in other parts of the County runs along in a swift Current, glides on here more softly with a gentle Stream, admiring as it were, this City, This City was called by the Bri­tains Ka­erkoran­gon. Rud­born. as it passeth by, which is famous both for its Antiquity and Beauty: 'Tis supposed that the Romans built it at that time when they first planted Cities on the Easternside of the Severn, to hinder the Incursion of the Britaine, who were on the other side, as they did on the Southside of the Rhine to repress the Germans: 'Tis situated partly upon the Brow of a Hill, rising with a gentle A­scent, and hath a very fair Bridge over the River, and is of great Repute for its Manufacture of [Page 15] Cloth, by which the Inhabitants become Wealthy and Creditable: The Houses are neat and well built, the Streets clean and well paved, the Churches in number many, in Order and Beauty excellent, especially the Cathedral, in which are divers small Pillars all of pure Marble, which stand in Rows, and do uphold that vast Bulk and Fabrick, some­what strange to see the Body larger than the Sup­porters, and that so small Props should be able to bear up so great a Weight: This Church, say some Historians, was first built by Ethelred, King of the Mercians, tho' others by Bishop Sexwolph Bosel was the first Bi­shop here, say the An­nals of Worce­cester. Angl. Sacr. pars prima., about the year 680, under the high Altar, where­of lies the Body of King John wrapped in a Monk's Cowl, which the Superstition of that time accoun­ted Sacred, and a very necessary Defensative a­gainst all evil Spirits: Here is likewise to be seen the Tomb of Arthur Prince of Wales, the eldest Son of Henry VII. with divers Monuments be­longing to the ancient Family of the Beauchamps: It was formerly a Cloyster for Monks, but King Henry VIII. did substitute in their Room a Dean and Prebendaries, and erected a free School for the Education of the Citizen's Children: It hath suffered great Calamities by Fire, being burnt down by the Danes about the year 104.1, after this by an unknown Casualty under the Reign of Henry I. and once again in King Stephen's days; and sure I am, it hath of later years fall'n into the Hands of some merciless Men, who were as raging as the Flames, and whose Fury was as un­quenchable as the Fire it self; Witness the grie­vous Pressures it groaned under for its Loyalty to the King, in the year 1651: For here it was, that after his long Exile, King Charles the Second arrived with an Army of Scots and some English the 22. of August, and by the Assistance of the Citi­zens, beat but the Soldiers, who kept it for the Common-wealth, and being proclaimed by the Mayor that then was, and Sheriffs, King of Eng­land, [Page 16] &c. Nevertheless, was attended with the same ill Fortune and Success, which was at that time his chief Attendants; and having but a small Army in comparison of the numberless number of Rebels that were poured in upon him, was totally defeated at this City, several of his Nobles Slain and took Prisoners, the rest forced to fly for their Lives, and himself constrain'd to make his E­scape as privately as he could, and to betake him­self into a Wood in Staffordshire, where hiding himself in the shady Boughs of a well-spread Oak, he found more Pity and Security from Trees and Woods, than from some of his own unnatural and bloody Subjects: However, this City is now again restored to its Lustre, and like the Phoenix, being revived out of its own Ashes, is raised up to its Prestine Splendour and Magnificence.

Having sufficiently satisfied our selves with the Varieties of that City, we came into the Confines of the Eastern part of Herefordshire, Hereford­shire. which appear­ed very Rocky and Mountainous at the first; but having passed those Rocky parts, we began to find the Country more pleasant to the Eye; for we discovered it to be a Fertile Soil, the Valleys thick with Corn, and the Meadows abounding with Grass, and well watered with Rivers, the Hills covered with Sheep, and the Hedges full of Apple-Trees, which bear a sort of Fruit called Red­streaks, of which they make the best Syder in Eng­land: In a word, we found it according to the u­sual Report, which is made of it, to yield to no Country in this Nation, for three W. W. W, Wheat, Wool, and Water, to which formerly might have been added Wood, but that the Iron Works have since destroyed it very much, and made it become less plentiful.

Passing through Bramyard, a small Market-Town of no great Consequence, Mereford. we came to He­reford, the chief City of this County, which is situated almost in the middle of it, and watered [Page 17] by two pleasant Rivers, Wye and Lugg, which by their happy Union not far from this place advance her Felicity, and enrich her Soil: Antiquaries are of Opinion, That this City had its Rise from A­riconium, which hath at this day no manner of Form of a Town, as having been thrown down by an Earthquake, only some do imagine it to have stood in a place which they now call Kenche­ster, three Miles distant from this City, Kenche­ster. and they do build their Conjectures from the Ruines of old Walls, which are there Conspicuous; as like­wise from some four-square paving Tiles, and thick Bricks, as well as several Roman Coins dig­ged up thereabouts, though now the place which they mention is all over-grown with Shrubs, Bushes, and Brambles: We observed, when we went to visit this place, three or four Receptacles in an old piece of Ruin'd Wall, in which the Owners had found some Urns, which argues the place to have been of great Antiquity; however, her Sister Hereford, which is now become Beauti­ful by the others Decay, justly claims the Pre-emi­nence above all other Places within this County: She is thought first to have shown her Head under the Saxon Heptarchy, and is supposed to have re­ceived great Helps and Increase by Religion; and the Martyrdom of Ethelbert, King of the East Angles, who, when he Courted the Daughter of Offa, King of the Mercians, was treacherously put to Death by Quendred, Offa's Wife: Hereupon, being Registred as a Martyr, he had a Church built, and Dedicated to him by Milfrid King of the Mercians, A. D. 825. which after the Esta­blishment of a Bishop's See in it, grew to great Wealth and Honour through the Devout and Pi­ous Liberality of the Mercians, and then of the West- Saxons, and is thought never to have suffer­ed any Misfortune, untill Edward the Confessor's time, when Griffith, Prince of South- Wales, and Algarus, having raised a Rebellion against King [Page 18] Edward, and led away Captive Leofgarus, the Bi­shop, sacked the City, and burnt the Cathedral Afterward the Normans at the East End of the Church, by the River Wye, built a strong Castle, Fortified the City with a Wall; and by the Trench near the Castle is a very fine Spring, call'd St. E­thelbert's Well, St. Ethel­bert's Well. famous formerly for Miracles, to which, no question, but in that Superstitious Age, there was a great Resort of the Lame and the Blind, with their Vows, and their Offerings; the Sanctity of Waters being such a Devout Fancy a­mong our Ancestors, as has been truly observed by that Indefatigable Searcher into Antiquity, the Ingenious Mr. White Kennet, that after Ages were forced to restrain the horrid Superstition of Well-Worship, by a Canon in a Council under Edgar, and after this too by some other Episcopal Injunctions.

Within this City are four Parish Churches, and Bishop Reinelme, in the Reign of King Henry I. founded the Cathedral that now is, being a beau­tiful and magnificent Structure, adorned with di­vers Monuments of ancient Prelates, and Abbots: To this adjoyns divers Houses, for the Dignitaries of the Church, and a College for 12 Vicars, who live after an Academical way under a Praefectus, who presides over them, and supplies them with all Necessaries, to encourage their Attendance up­on all Divine Offices: So ready were our Ance­stors to promote Learning, and advance such Per­sons whose quick and acute Parts were eclipsed un­der mean and slender Fortunes.

The City is govern'd by a Mayor, (who is An­nually sworn upon Michaelmas-Day) 12 Alder­men, a Recorder, and divers Common-Council Men; and by their Charter have Privileges for particular Companies and Societies amongst them­selves, who have several distinct Halls and Petty-Laws Enacted, for regulating and ordering their Affairs in Trade: It hath three Markets a Week, [Page 19] in which there is plenty of Corn, and all other sorts of Provisions: And finally, it is observable, That in the late Civil Wars it was never taken by the Rebels; and though the Scotch Army came a­gainst it, yet they found such hot Service without, by the playing of the Ordinance from within, that they were forced at last to Retreat Ingloriously.

Not far distant from this City stands an ancient House, Rotheras. belonging formerly to the Family of the Bodenhams, since in the Possession of the Heirs of Mr. Van-Acker, which is one of the most delight­ful and sweetest Seats in all this part of the Coun­ty, having a spacious Park before it, the River Wye behind it, pleasant Meadows on the one side, and fruitful Tillage on the other, and having had such great plenty of Apple-Trees belonging to it, as we were credibly inform'd by those that knew it, that take but one Apple from each Tree, and it would make a Hogshead of Sider; and the Country People there have a Proverb, which goes currant amongst them, Every one cannot live at Ro­theras, it having formerly been a place of too profuse Hospitality.

Having spent some time at Hereford, and being now upon the Borders of Wales, we resolved to make a visit to some parts of that Country: To this purpose we Travelled into Monmouthshire, Mon­mouth­shire. in some places very Fruitful, and in others as Bar­ren, though Nature supplies those Defects, by gi­ving the Inhabitants great plenty of Iron, which proves to them a very advantageous Commodity.

We found the ways near Monmouth very hard and rugged, Mon­mouth. and that Town to be environ'd with Hills on all sides, the Ruins of its Wall and Castle argue its great Antiquity; it hath a fair Church and Market-place, with a Hall for the Assizes and Sessions; 'tis govern'd by a Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen, and the Inhabitants do generally speak both the Welsh and English Tongue: They told us there of great Immunities and Privi­leges [Page 20] granted to them by the House of Lancaster; but for nothing is it so much Renown'd, as in that it was the Native place of Henry V. that dreadful Scourge of the French, and glorious Pil­lar of the English Nation, who Conquer'd Charles VI. King of France, and maugre all the Scoffs and Affronts put upon him by the Dauphin, as parti­cularly when he sent him a Tun of Tennis-Balls in dirision of his Youth, thinking him more fit to play with them, than to manage Arms, did at length toss such Iron Balls amongst them, that the best Arms in France were not able to hold a Racket to return them. Here likewise was born that famous British Historian, Geoffrey, Archdeacon of Monmouth, who lived under King Stephen, a­bout the year 1150, of whom is made this Ob­servation, by the Learned Archdeacon of Carlisle, in his English Historical Library, that having a pe­culiar Fancy for Stories surmounting all ordinary Faith, his History being Epitomiz'd by Ponticus Vitruvius, an Italian, is of a Complexion fitter for the Air of Italy than of England: Hither, they say, do the Welsh Men come down in great crouds out of South- Wales, as they do likewise to Ludlow out of North- Wales, and make their Appeals up­on divers Occasions, and Commence their Suits, which upon Court-days are very Numerous and Trivial, for the Yeomanry are generally warm and litigious, and make often good Work and Sport too for the Lawyers.

After we were pass'd this Town, we found the Ways still more troublesom and uneasie, and were entertained with no other Objects, but what the stony Rocks, and dangerous Cliffs, the towring Mountains, Vast high Mountains in Wales. and craggy Precipices did afford us, being covered with Flocks of Sheep, or Herds of Goats, or Multitudes of Oxen, which they call Runts. The Rusticks will tell you, that upon the Black Mountain, or near it, are some Hills which are so high, and whose Tops are so sharp, that [Page 21] two Persons may stand upon two different Points thereof, and discourse with one another, and un­derstand one another with great Facility, although they must be forced to traverse a long Circuit of Ground before they can meet to embrace each o­ther: But though I will not answer for the Truth of this Story, sure I am, that there are many of those Mountains of so unconceivable a Height, and so steep an Ascent, that they seem to be, as it were, Nature's Stair-Cases, by which we may climb up to some higher Regions, and have an Entercourse and Correspondence with the Inhabitants of the Moon, or converse more frequently and familiar­ly with the Aereal Daemons.

Having with much Difficulty scrambled over some of these Mountains, we arrived at a Town in the furthermost part of this County, which is called Chepstow, Chepstow which signifies in the Saxon Lan­guage, a Market, or place of Trade; this Town hath formerly been Fortified with Walls, though more naturally with Rocks, with which it is en­viron'd on all sides. It is still remarkable for its Castle built, as some affirm, by Julius Caesar, after he had conquer'd Britain, which is strong, and generally well guarded with a convenient Garison: 'Tis seated upon the Wye, with a strong wooden Bridge over it near its fall into the Severn. The Water flows here 11 or 12 Ells high at every Tide, as likewise at Bristol, an extraordinary pro­portion in comparison of most places besides on the English Shore. The Lords hereof have an­tiently been Earls of Pembrook, or Strighull, so cal­led from a Castle of that Name, not far distant from this place; the last of whom was Richard, Sir-named Strong-bow from his Nervous Arms, wherewith he could most dextrously use his Bow, and was the first Champion that made an Inroad for the Normans into the Kingdom of Ireland.

Whilst we were in these parts, we made the best Enquiries after South- Wales, South-Wales. which we had not [Page 22] then an opportunity to travel over, and from some of the Natives, who were very Communica­tive, and ready to make what discoveries they could of the Rarities of their own Country, we made a shift to Collect this short Account.

Breck­nockshire. Brecknockshire is one of the most Mountainous Counties of all Wales, but between its Mountains there are many fruitful Valleys; it has four Mar­ket Towns, amongst which Brecknock is the chief; Breck­nock. Mounth-Denny- Hill. three Miles from which is a Hill, called Mounth-Denny, that hath its Top above the Clouds, and if a Cloak, Hat, or the like, be thrown from the Top of it, it will, as they Report, never fall, but be blown up again; nor will any thing de­scend but Stones, or the like.

Lynsava­than Mere.Two Miles East from the same place is a Mere called Lynsavathan, which (as the People dwelling there say) was once a City, but was swallowed up by an Earthquake, and this Water or Lake succeeded in the place: They Report likewise, that after a long Frost, when the Ice of this Lake breaks, it makes a fearful Noise like Thunder, possibly, because the Lake is encompass'd with high steep Hills, which pen in the Sound, and multiply it, or else the Ground may be hollow underneath, or near the Lake.

Levenny River.Through this Lake runs a River called Levenny, without mixtures of its Waters, as may be per­ceived both by the Colour of the Water, and also by the quantity of it, because it is no greater after­ward than when it entred the Lake.

Cadier Arthur. Cadier Arthur, or Arthur's Chair, is a Hill so called on the Southside of this County, from the Tops resembling the form of a Chair, proportio­nate to the Dimensions of that great and mighty Person, upon the Top whereof riseth a Spring as deep as a Well, four-square, having no Streams issuing from it, and yet there are plenty of Trouts to be found therein.

[Page 23] Radnorshire, in the East and South parts there­of, is more fruitful than the rest, Radnor­shire. but is uneven and rough, with Mountains, yet it is well stored with Woods, watered with running Rivers, and in some places with standing Pools; the Air is cold and sharp, because the Snow continues long unmelted under the shady Hills, and hanging Rocks, whereof there are many; and upon the Borders of it, which lies next to Herefordshire, runs a long famous Ditch, which Offa, King of the Mercians, with great Toil and Labour, caused to be cast up from Deermouth to Wymouth, for the space of 90 Miles, to separate the Britains from the English: There are in it four Market-Towns, amongst which Radnor is the Principal, Radnor. being seat­ed in a pleasant Valley near the River Somergil, which runs at the foot of a Hill, on the Top whereof stands the Ruines of an ancient Castle, de­molished by that notorious Rebel, Owen Glen­dore.

Glamorganshire hath a temperate Air, Glamor­ganshire. and is generally the most pleasant part of all South- Wales; it is replenished with divers convenient Towns, a­mongst which Cardiff, Cardiff. which stands near the Sea, where Robert the Eldest Son of William the Con­queror died after a long Imprisonment, is reputed the most Eminent, a Mile above which stands also on the River Taff Landaff, Landaff. one of the four Epi­scopal Sees of Wales: 'Tis one of the most ancient Sees either in England or Wales, claiming a direct Succession from the Arch-Bishops of Caer-leon up­on Ʋske; it is adorned with a Cathedral consecra­ted to St. Telran who was Bishop here, which Church Germanus and Lupus, French Bishops, then Erected, when they had suppressed the Pelagian Heresie, preferring Dubritius, a very devout Per­son, to this Bishoprick, unto whom Meurick, a British Lord, gave all the Lands which lie be­twixt the two Rivers, Taff and Elri Mr. Whar­ton's Angl. Sacr. Pars Secunda p. 667..

[Page 24] Minyd-Morgan Hill.On the top of a certain Hill, called Minyd-Mor­gan, in this County, is a Monument with a strange Character, which the Dwellers thereabouts say, if any Man read the same, he will die shortly after.

The Springs by New­ton.Upon the River Ogmore, and near unto Newton, in a Sandy Plain, about a hundred Paces from the Severn, Springs a Well, in which at full Sea in Summer-time, can hardly any Water be took up, but at the Ebb it bubleth up amain: 'tis most ob­servable in Summer, for in Winter the Ebbing and Flowing is nothing so evident, because of the Veins of Water coming in by Showers, or otherwise; besides, it is observed, that this Spring never riseth up to the Spring, or overfloweth; and Polybius relates the same of a certain Well at Cadiz.

Clemens Alexandrinus saith, That in Britain is a Cave under the bottom of a Hill, and on the top of it a gaping Chink, where when the Wind is gathered into that Hole, and toss'd to fro in the Womb of it, there is heard, as it were, a Musical sound like that of Cymbals: It is not unlikely that he might point at the Cave at Aberbarry in this Shire, Aberbar­ry Cave. the Story agreeing very near with the Qua­lity of this Cave: It is mention'd by my Lord Bacon, in his History of Winds to this effect, That in a certain Rocky Cliff, in which there are Holes, if a Man lay his Ears to them, he shall hear di­vers Noises, and rumbling of Winds; now these Noises Cambden saith, are as well to be heard at the lowest Ebb, as the highest Flood.

Carmar­thenshire Carmarthenshire, though a most Hilly Country, yet it hath a wholsom Air, and though the Soil be not very fruitful in Corn, 'tis well stored with Cattle, and in some places yields good Pit-Coal for Fuel: On the South side the Ocean hath with so great Violence encroached upon the Land, that the Country seems to have shrunk back in a fright, and withdrawn it self more inwardly for Security.

[Page 25] Carmarthen, Carmar­then. the chief place of it being a pretty distance from the Sea, is situated between pleasant Meadows and Woods: The Residence kept here by the Princes of South- Wales, made it anciently very Eminent, and it became a Prey to the Nor­mans in the Reign of William the Conqueror.

Near Carreg-Castle are many Caves of great wideness within the Ground now covered all o­ver with green Swerd and Turf, The Caves and VVell near Car­reg-Castle. wherein 'tis pro­bable, the Multitude, when unable to bear Arms, when the Normans made their first Incursions into these parts, hid themselves during the heat of the War; where also is a Well that like the Sea, Ebbs and Flows twice in 24 hours.

That Cardiganshire being a Hilly Maritime Country, was not formerly planted, Cardigan­shire. or garnish­ed with Cities, may be gathered from that Speech of their Prince Caratacus, who being taken Priso­ner by the Romans, and carried to Rome; when he had throughly viewed the Magnificence of that City, What mean you, saith he, when you have such stately Buildings of your own, to covet such poor and mean Cottages as ours are?

Its chief Town is Cardigan, Cardigan. pleasantly seated upon the Tivy near its fall into the Sea, which Ri­ver parts this County from Pembrokeshire; and o­ver it here is a Stone-Bridge, supported by several Arches.

Pembrokeshire hath a good temperate Air, Pembrokeshire. con­sidering it lies so near to Ireland; the Inhabitants are now many of them Dutch Men, and formerly, as it appears from Giraldus Cambrensis, they were like the Romans of old, very skilful in Soothsaying, by looking narrowly into the Entrails of Beasts, and by their Manners and Language, are so near akin to the English, that upon this Account this Country is call'd Little England beyond Wales.

About Three hundred years ago it was repor­ted, That for five Generations, the Father of the Family, in the Earldom of Pembroke, whose Names [Page 26] then were Hastings, never saw his Son, the Fa­ther dying always before the Son was Born.

At the time when Henry II. made his Abode in Ireland, there were extraordinary violent and last­ing Storms of Wind and Weather, so that the San­dy Shoar on the Coasts of this Shire were laid bare to the very hard Ground, which had lain hid for many Ages; and by further Search, the People found great Trunks of Trees, which when they were digged up, were apparently lopped, so that they might see where the stroaks of the Axe had been upon them, as if they had been given but a little before; the Earth also looked very black, and the Wood of these Trunks like Ebony, as the Report then went. At the first discovery made by these Storms, the Trees we speak of, lay so thick, that the whole Shoar seem'd nothing but a lopped Grove, from whence may be gathered, that the Sea hath overflow'd much Land on this Coast, as it hath done upon the Shoars of many other Countries bordering upon the Sea, which is to be imputed to the Ignorance of former Ages, who had not those excellent Arts and Ways to re­press the Fury of the Sea, which have been since discover'd.

The Sal­mons-Leap at LilgarranAbout Kilgarran are abundance of Salmons ta­ken, and there is a place call'd the Salmons-Leap, as there is also in other Rivers, probably for this Reason, the Salmon coveteth to get into fresh Wa­ter Rivers to Spawn, and when he comes to places where the Water falls down-right, almost Perpen­dicular, as some such like places there be, he useth this Policy; he bends himself backwards, and takes his Tail in his Mouth, and with all his force un­loosing his Circle, on a sudden with a smart Let-go, he mounts up before the fall of the Stream; and therefore these downright falls, or little Cataracts are call'd the Salmons-Leap.

S. David'sIn this County is St. David's, now only a Bi­shop's, though formerly an Archbishop's See, [Page 27] Translated from hence by Sampson the last Archbi­shop, to Dole in Bretagne: Here is a fair Church, Dedicated to St. Andrew and St. David, which be­ing often spoiled and ruined by divers foreign Pi­rates as standing near the Sea, it was after this re­edified by Bishop Peter the 49th Bishop of this Di­ocess, who lived in the Reign of King Henry II. hard by which stands the Bishops Palace, and fair Houses of the Chanter, (who is next to the Bishop, here being no Dean) and of the other Dignita­ries, all enclosed round with a Wall, whereupon they call it a Close.

'Tis reported by some Historians, That while David, Bishop of this See, who was a very sharp Stickler against the Pelagian Heresie, was one day very zealously disputing against those erroneous Tenents, the Earth, whereon he then stood argu­ing, rose up by a Miracle to a certain height un­der his Feet.

From South- Wales our Curiosity led us over the Severn to Bristol, Bristol. undoubtedly one of the principal Cities in this Kingdom; if we consider the state­liness of the Buildings, or its Natural and Artifici­al Fortifications, the Commodiousness of its Har­bour, and its most pleasant Situation at the Influx of the Frome into the Avon, which five Miles from hence empties it self into the Severn, its lof­ty Churches, and its stately Palaces, the great Con­course of Foreigners, as well as the great Number of Native Citizens upon which ac­count no wonder if both the Counties both of Somerset and Glocester, do contend which of them may be most glorious and happy in its Superiority over them, and yet neither of them can attain to that Honour, it being both City and County of it self, and having particular Privileges, im­munities, and Laws of its own: 'Tis governed by a Mayor, and two Sheriffs, twelve Aldermen, with other Ministers and Officers befitting its Dig­nity; 'tis environ'd with a double Wall, and a­dorn'd [Page 28] with two Navigable Rivers: Avon, which at Spring Tides, is 11 or 12 Fathom deep, and Frome, over which stands a Stone-Bridge, with Houses built on both sides, consisting of four large Arches: It is very convenient for the Ships, and larger Vessels to Anchor in, and hath a Key suffi­ciently commodious for the Exporting and Im­porting of Goods out, or into the Merchants Houses; this returns back into the River Avon, and so both by their mutual Union enrich this City, and augment its Happiness. At what time it was first built, it is very hard to determine, only it is supposed to take its Rise in the Declination of the Saxon Empire, at the time when Harold is said to have sail'd from Brickstowa with a great Na­vy into Wales: Robert, Son of William the Con­querour made choice first of this place, to begin his War against his Brother William Rufus, and did encompass it with the Inner-Wall, as some con­jecture, part of which in some places is still to be seen; and what Spoils he then took, he lodged here for safety in the Castle, about the year 1088, as the Saxon Chronicle informs us, where himself afterward was kept Prisoner, as was also King Ste­phen, by the Order of Mawd the Empress; from which time it hath been still receiving great En­largements, and by degrees is risen to that Emi­nency we now behold it; and as its Houses are fair, and its Streets clean, so are its Gates strong, and its Churches glorious, consisting of Nineteen Parish-Churches, whereof, though that which is the Cathedral, and Mother-Church, Dedicated to St. Austen, and endowed for a Bishop by King Henry VIII. ought to have the Precedency, as well for that Honour, as for its Antiquity too, which is remarkable by the Inscription over the Door of the Porch,

Ratcliff-Church.Yet notwithstanding this, the Church of Ratcliff in the Suburbs of this City, is a more noble Structure, being curiously Arched, and made a stately Fa­brick all of pure Stone, without any Additions of wooden Beams, or Rafters; not one Stick being made use of throughout its whole Compages: The Steeple is foursquare, and of a very great height, but most artificially Carved with divers Sculptures, all at the Cost and Charge of one Mr. Cannins, a Merchant of this City, about 110 years since, who in the Erecting this famous piece of Architecture, employed at his own Expence, 800 Labourers and Artificers, besides Masons and Carpenters, to the number of 300, in all, 1100 for three years to­gether, untill the Work was totally compleated, and in it his Monument doth now stand in Marble; but may his Memory be more lasting than the Marble, and his Name more durable to succeding Generations than the noblest Mausoleum, or Mo­nument can make it.

St. Vin­cent's Rock.On the Northern side of this City are several high and craggy Rocks, by which the River Avon gently glides along, till it returns back again into the Severn, one of the chief whereof is call'd St. Vincent's Rock, which hath great plenty of Pellu­cid Stones, commonly call'd Bristol Stones: The Learned Mr. Cambden hath observ'd, That their Pellucidness equals that of the Diamonds, only the hardiness of the latter gives them the Pre-eminence; and yet certainly Nature never made greater De­monstrations of her Art than in such wonderful Phaenomena, as we here observ'd in this place, having made some of the Stones as smooth as the most expert Jeweller could have done, as round [Page 30] and sharp, as broad above, and small beneath, as the greatest Artist could have effected, shaping some of them with four, some of them with six Angles apiece, like the Stones which we usually set in Rings; and to make us still the more to ad­mire her Perfections, she hath not given them all one Colour, but some of them are like Chrystal, clear, and some are of a more ruddy and sanguine Complexion, according to the nature of the Soil, by which means she causeth the Production not to be unlike the Parent.

There is one thing here still very remarkable; and that is the Hot-Well, The Hot-Well. which is just at the bottom of this Rock, and at the very brink of the River Avon, by which, though it is still overflow'd every Tide, yet it still retains its natural heat, and by its constant Ebullitions, purgeth away all the Scum, or saltish Froth it might have contracted from the salt Water; the Water is exceeding wholsom, very good to purge away ill Humours, and purifie the Blood, it gives some ease in the Stone, and is useful, as is reported, for sore Eyes too, which makes it much frequented and resorted to by all sorts of People.

From this Renowned City we travelled into So­mersetshire, Somerset­shire. a County of a very rich Soil, Com­modious for its Havens, pleasant for its Fruit, pro­fitable for its Pasture and Tillage, and sociable for its Inhabitants. Some will have it, it takes its Name from its comfortable Air, and the wholsome re­freshing Gales it affords in Summer, which indeed then is truly affirm'd of it, though in Winter-time that part of it which lies low, moist and fenny, must needs be troublesom and unhealthy; that part of it which lies betwixt Bristol and Wells, is more Hilly and Mountainous; and the Hills call'd Men­dipp-Hills, Mendipp-Hills. under which Wells is situated, are very remarkable, being in old Records call'd Munedupp, or rather Moinedupp, from the many Knolls there visible, and steepness of their Ascents; as also [Page 31] Mineragia from their richness of leaden Mines, the Ore of which being digged thereabouts in great a­bundance, and afterward melted down into Pigs and Sows, as they are there call'd, the Lead is convey'd to Bristol, and from thence it is transpor­ted into divers other parts.

Wells, Wells. which is the chief City of the Province, receives its Denomination from the variety of fresh and wholsom Springs, which bubble up about it, the Houses therein are well contriv'd, and built of Stone, the Government by the Mayor and his Brethren safe and regular; but the chief Ornament hereof is the Cathedral, built by King Ina, in ho­nour to St. Andrew, enlarged by Kenewulph, one of his Successors, and since much enriched by the Li­berality and Piety of divers Religious Benefactors; it was made a Bishop's See in the Reign of Edward the Senior, and Athelmus was constituted the first Bishop here, Angl. Sacr, pars prima, p. 556. but afterward Johannes Turonensis uni­ted Bath and Wells together, and ever since the Bi­shop hath received both these Titles. In the late unhappy times of Charles I. this Church under­went the same Calamities, which was then in this Nation the Lot of all such Religious places, and became a grateful Prey to Rapine and Sacrilege; but at the happy Restauration of our Religion and Government, it returned again by degrees to its Primitive Magnificence and Lustre, and the Quire of it yields now to few for Workmanship, whe­ther we consider the Artificial Bosses very delicate­ly gilded, which adorn it above, or the curious Columns which uphold it below, or the Bishops Seat of Marble, set out with most glorious Embel­lishments, supported with rich Pillars, and with its Towring Pyramids being the Head and Orna­ment in a more especial manner of the Quire, as he is of the Church: To this I may add the va­riety of carved Images, which almost environ the Body of the Church without, containing the Hi­story both of the Old and New Testament, and [Page 32] the curious Architecture of the Chapter-House, sup­ported only by one large Column, which stands in the middle of it; to all which may be added the Bishop's Palace built Castle-wise of great Gran­deur, which appositely becomes a Father of the Church to be seated in.

But the most remarkable, and which cannot but have the Suffrage of all Travellers to be the most admirable piece of Nature's Workmanship in our English Nation is a place call'd Ochy-Hole, some two Miles distant from this City, 'tis a Cave un­der a high Rock, situated among the Mendipp-Hills I before mention'd, of which I shall endeavour to give a Description as briefly as I can

Ochy-Hole.After that we had with some difficulty climbed up to the top of a Rock, we went along the Brow of the Hill till we came to the Mouth of the Cave, where a Door being open'd that gave us an En­trance, we lighted up Candles to direct us in the way, and took Staffs in our Hands to support us in our Passage, and in we ventur'd: Having gone forward some few paces, we found the Cave very craggy as well as hollow, and so dark, that no­thing sure but Tartarus it self could resemble it; the Candles, though six in number, and of a large size, scarce burning so bright, as one great one doth usually in an open Room, we then thought certainly we were arrived upon the Confines of the Infernal Regions, or else were got into some such dismal place as the Italians tell us the Sibylline Grotto is, and we began to be afraid we might probably meet with the same unwelcome Entertain­ment the Boeotick Cave of Trophonius used to give those who were so curious to visit it; namely, that though they enter'd in frolicksom and merry, yet they should certainly return out of it sad and pensive, and never laugh more whilst they lived upon Earth: Such dreadful Apprehensions did at first seize upon some of us, and, indeed, we had cause to fear such dismal Operations might proceed [Page 33] from this, as well as from the other, since both were equally uncomfortable, by reason of their deprivation from the least glimmerings of light, and consequently had the same Circumstances to beget both horrour and astonishment: however we pluck'd up our Spirits, and crept in one after another, as fast as we could conveniently.

The Cave, as we went along, was parted into several kind of Rooms; the names whereof our Guides informed us to be thus: The first was the Kitchen, in which by the Door sticks out a large mass of the Rock, which they tell us was the Por­ter's Head formerly the Keeper of this Cave; it seems to bear that kind of resemblance, and tho' by that is a Stone which they call the Tomb-stone, under which they report that he lies interred, and his Dog hard by him too, metamorphos'd into the same lapideous Substance, yet their Transfor­mations are not so strange and wonderful, though perhaps something too fabulous to be given credit to, as the variety the Rock affords into which they are incorporated, part of it glistering like Silver, and part like Diamonds, and both appear­ing very pleasant to the Eye. A little farther on the Right Hand is another piece of the Rock, that bears the resemblance of a Bell; and on the Left, of a Vessel, which they term a Ceave, in which the Beer of an old Sorceress (Cousin to the famous Circe, Lady Governess of this dismal Cave) used to be work'd in. 'Tis a hollow Ci­stern of a considerable depth, always filled with Water, and now and then flowing over, to which the drops of Water which continually trickle down from the top of the Rock, add every mo­ment fresh supplies. Hard by this stands another Vessel of hers too, in which, they say, she used to wet her Malt; they call it the East-Hurdle: 'Tis likewise hollow, and of a pretty depth. And how appears to your view the old Witch her self, heating, as it were, her Furnace, which looks at [Page 34] first view black and sooty, but inwardly seems to be a Statue of Alabaster, by reason of its whiteness, though it is most probably the product of Nature, not of Art, because the place is very unfit and un­suitable for any Artist to exercise his Skill in, it being very oft so low, that it is impossible here and there for any one to stand upright in it, and therefore it was that we were enforced frequently to stoop, and buckle almost double, for fear of dashing our Heads against the Rock, until we came to some Steps we were to descend, where the descent likewise was tedious and frightful; for on the Right Hand the Rock hung over us very low and sloping, and on the Left a Rivolet which, with a pretty loud noise, glides along the Cave, made us cautious in our Steps, till at last we came Sweating into another Room, which is called the Hall; and here at first sight we were en­tertained with as great a Rarity as Nature hath in all her Store-Houses: 'Tis a Cistern almost square, about six Foot each way, and of a considerable depth, always brimful of Water, supplied by the drops which continually fall from above, and yet never runs over: and the reason is this, because as the Water increaseth, so doth the Cistern too, and both of them had then been observed, within the space of Twenty Years, to have received a conside­rable augmentation; which is the more probable, because the Water is of a petrefying nature; and if any thing be cast into it, in a short time it disco­vers this secret quality by an outward incrustation of that which is thrown in. The drops which hang above are like congealed Icecles, as clear as Crystal, some of which falling down into the Water grow harder in substance, though they ap­pear pretty pellucid. Round about this Hall hang four Stones resembling four Flitches of Bacon, for the outside is blackish, and the inside white. In this place the Daughter of the old Sorceress hath took up her residence, and appears to your Eye [Page 35] like a Statue of a Woman big with Child; she is of a different colour from her Mother, being much more dusky. But nothing is more pretty to behold than those which they call the Organ-Pipes, placed upon one side of the Rock, and are very like to those we have in our Churches, some being of bigger, and some of lesser dimensions; in the middle of a good reasonable thickness, though at the ends sharp and slender. After some more difficulties in our Passage, and no less dangerous than before, we came into another part of the Cave, more strange than any we had yet seen: 'Tis a place which they call the Dancing-Room, so well contrived and arched above, that Nature hath here wrought what Art can never be able to attain: If you look up, the variety of Colours which are there to be seen by the light of the Can­dles, and the checquered Configurations of the Rock, which is now very high above your Head, will both feast your Eyes and refresh your Body, which by that time is sufficiently wearied by the tediousness as well as the trouble of the Passage; for there is so great a glistering, such a lustre as it were of Silver and Precious Stones about you, that you would be ready to mistake your self, and think that you were in the Palace of some great Monarch of the World, and not in the subterra­neous Caverns of the Earth. If you look down, there you will find no stony, hard, rugged tract to perplex you, but a fine, even, sandy Floor to divert you; and indeed it was beyond expecta­tion, that we who had beheld before nothing but such craggy Stones and dangerous Passages, should at last arrive in so spacious and delightful a Place: They told us it was not unusual for the Gentlemen and Ladies in those Parts to bring Musick and Dance here, the Musick, by reason of the Eccho, making a Melody more sweet than ordinary. We paused and breathed a little here, delighting our selves as well with it, as also with the resemblance [Page 36] of a Chimney, which we took really to be one, it being of that Fashion, and having in it a kind of black moist matter, which, if you touch, it will stick to your Fingers and black them like Soot, and yet no Fire was ever known to be there. But we were not as yet satisfied, though we were near half a Mileunder Ground in a dismal Grotto, but went on farther to a place termed the Cellar, that is curiously Vaulted; and 'tis very usual to carry Bottles of Wine, and drink there upon a Stone Table, which is formed out of the Rock. In this place lies a huge Massy Stone, which they call the Great Gun; the nature of which is this, take it but up in your Hands, and let it fall down to the Ground, and a great Gun cannot give a louder report: We tried this experiment thrice, but we thought the Rock we were under would have rent in Pieces about our Ears, yet they who were half way in the Cave, or at the Mouth of it, or above it, heard no noise at all; this we found experimentally true, for one of the Gentlemen who entred in with us, being beat out with the difficulty of the Tracts, staid about the middle-way, and when we returned back to him, he assured us, that where he stood he had heard nothing of a noise. But at length, at the end of the Cellar, after we had gone down lower some few Steps, a Rivolet there was that gave a period to our Progress; it was pretty deep, and as clear as Crystal, the Water extream cold, but very pleasant to the Palate, and runs along the Cave sometimes in a small, and sometimes in a larger Current, where taking up some of the congealed Matter that lies at the bot­tom of it, we found it very hard, of a dusky co­lour, and of a round consistency, just as if a little company of Hailstones were cemented and joined together, and the River running along under Ground, tho' its Head from whence it first springs, like that of the Nile in Egypt, is not as yet plain­ly discovered, and conveying it self at last out of [Page 37] the Cave sets, as they say, Thirty Mills on work, after it comes into the adjacent Country.

When we were got thus far, almost a Mile under Ground, as our Guides told us, we began to consider how we should return, and get out safe again from this place of Horrour and Dark­ness to the Regions of Light, being afraid to find the same Difficulties we had encountred with in our entrance. But though the place was some­thing resembling an infernal Abyss, and our Pas­sage into it proved so troublesom and irksom, yet we came back without any toil, or rather with great facility and pleasure, notwithstanding it is impossible to find out the way without a Guide, there being so many windings and turnings; nor could the Guides themselves ever extricate them­selves out of this darksom Labyrinth, but by the light of Candles, whereby they are enabled to steer their Course. However at last we made a shift to creep up again to the top of the Rock, just as merry Lucian tells us old Menippus did out from a hole in Lebadia, after he returned from Hell, and had ended his Discourses with the Ghosts below, and went back to the place where we first dismounted, and left our Horses to graze with the neighbouring Shepherds.

After we had got breath, Bath. and were a little re­cruited, we mounted again, and rode away for Bath, which by several old Writers is called Aca­mannum, Akemancester, from the old Roman way called Akemanstreet-way; which, say Antiquaries, took its name from them that being full of Aches and Achings, made it their way to this place for ease of their Pains. We could not discover it, un­til we came just upon it, lying low, and on all sides surrounded with Hills, out of which issue forth many Springs of a wonderful virtue, though some of them are very Sulphureous and unplea­sant to the Taste. It is watered with the Avon, over which it has a Stone-Bridge, and is environed [Page 38] with a Wall, commodious for its Market-place, and handsomly adorned with three Churches, one whereof is very large and spatious, built in the form of a Cathedral, the Steeple is four-square, and hath a Ring of tunable Bells, and the Quire is grac'd with a small but sweet Organ: And in it are erected several ancient and stately Monu­ments of Persons of great Quality, and of some Bishops of this See, who have been most noble Be­nefactors to it. 'Tis govern'd by a Mayor and Aldermen, and the Assizes are generally kept there in the Summer time: But that which is most remarkable, and causeth a concourse not only of the Nobility and Gentry, but of the Commonalty too from all parts of the Nation hither, are the Baths, which are not inferiour to any whatever in Europe: The Waters herein are hot, of a blue­ish Colour, strong scent, and send forth thin Va­pours; and as, without question, they have strengthened many weak and feeble Limbs, so do they cure divers Diseases, which are incident and destructive to humane Nature, by causing Men to Sweat either more or less proportionably to their Distempers. There are four or five which are principally in request, one Triangular, and called the Cross-Bath, from the Cross that stood formerly in the midst of it; 'tis about twenty-five Foot long, and as broad at one end, the heat of it gentler than the rest, because it has fewer Springs. Whilst we continued in the Town, we were presented by the Serjeant of this Bath with a piece of Earth, which was digged up here at the loss of a Spring; it smelt like Sulphur, and burnt like Soot. We saw likewise a piece of an Elm-Tree, which was digged up at the same time, together with the Skull of a Woman taken up then too, which are supposed to have lain there many Years before the Bath was so enclosed. The Orders are strict and regular, and Persons of the greatest Quality prefer to bathe here, and to drink [Page 39] the Water hereof with Limona Sugar, rather than of the other. Hard by this stands the Hot Bath, not much frequented save by those who have quite lost the use of their Limbs, the Water hereof being much hotter than the rest. Not far from this is that which they call the Leper's Bath, which is be­liev'd to be very efficacious against that loathsom Disease, and an Hospital or Spittle, built by Reginald, Bp. of Bath, for the use of poor, aged, decrepit People. About the middle of the Town, nearer to the great Church, are the King and Queen's Baths, divided only by a Wall; the last having no Spring in it, but receiving the Water from the King's Bath, which is about 60 Foot square, and has in the middle of it many hot Springs that make its heat the greater: Each of these two Baths have a Pump to pump Water upon the Diseased; and I have observed some Persons who have been troubled with great Pains in their Heads, or other parts of their Body, have suffered very great quantities of this scalding Water to be poured on them by their Guides. Hereabouts, formerly, was found an ancient Statue of Hercules amongst other great Mo­numents of Antiquity, holding a Serpent in his Hand, which was discover'd in the Ruines of an ancient Temple, perhaps that which was here Consecrated to Minerva, and it might be thought very convenient, that he being the Tu­telary Patriot of such places, and having so fre­quently exposed himself to hard Labours, and manifold Dangers, might now and then ease, and refresh his wearied Limbs by such Purgations, as the Bath could afford him. In this, and other Baths, hang divers Crutches of lame and decrepit Persons, which they left behind them as Trophies of their Recovery, being perfectly cured of their Lameness and Infirmity, and restor'd again to their former Health and Strength. There is still one behind, which is call'd the Horse- Bath, which is said to be as effectual for the cure of lame and [Page 40] foundred Horses, and the removal of some other Distempers, which are incident to those kind of Animals.

Wiltshire.Having pass'd away some few days very plea­santly in this Town, we set forward for Wiltshire, a County healthy, pleasant, and fruitful; the Nor­thern part of it is Hilly, and hath formerly been shaded with thick Woods, and well watered with wholsom Springs; the Southern part is plain and open, very convenient for feeding great Flocks of Sheep, and through the middle of it, from East to West, a great large Ditch runs across, call'd Wanedike, the Banks whereof, as the Vulgar will have it, were thrown up by the Devil on a Wed­nesday: But the Learned Mr. Cambden is of Opi­nion, That it was made by the West- Saxons, for a Boundary to their Kingdom against the Merci­ans: We travelled over some of these wide and large Plains for near twenty Miles, untill we ar­rived at a place call'd Stonehenge, some four or five Miles distant from Salisbury.

Stone­henge.It is call'd by ancient Historiographers, Chorea Gigantum, from its Magnitude, and contains with­in the Circumference of three hundred Foot, a rude and indigested Mass of vast large Stones, rough, and of a grey Colour, 25 Foot in length, 10 in breadth, and 8 in thickness: they look as if they were hewn square, and are joyn'd two and two together, and every couple hath a third Stone lying across, which is fasten'd by Tenons that enter into Morraises, not closed with any Mortar; it ap­pears as if they had been set in three Ranks go­ing round as Circles one within another, whereof the uttermost and largest contain in compass about three hundred Foot, but the other Ranks are decay'd, and some of them being fall'n down to the Ground, as it is something difficult to compute their Num­ber, so if they be rubbed, or scraped, and Wa­ter thrown upon the Scrapings, they will (say some) heal any green Wound, or old Sore. It is [Page 41] very strange to think how such vast Bulks should happen in this place, whenas there are no other kind of Stones even of smaller Dimensions near, or about it, therefore some not irrationally con­jecture that they are not Natural, or had their first growth here, but were Artificially cemented into that hard and durable Substance from some large Congeries of Sand, and other unctuous Matter mixt together; Just as there hath been visible at Rome, Cisterns made of Sand and Chalk so artifi­cially and closely conjoyn'd, that they have pass'd for the Product of Nature, and not of Art, and therefore it is not an improbable Conjecture, which is made by the Author of the History of Alchester, Publish'd amongst other Parochial Antiquities of Oxfordshire, by the Industrious Mr. Kennet, that they are not, as some Fable, Giants Stones fetch'd from Mount-Karel in Ireland, by Merlyn's Art, that Renowned Magician, but might be made out of that Cliff over-against old Sarum, the colour of which Clay they still represent; and being scra­ped with a Knife, a Man may discern this Clay cemented with some other glewy Substance, as Plaister of Paris and such like, Erected not in Me­mory of those Nobles, whose Tombs in heaps of Earth appear still thereabouts, slain treacherously by Hengist, when he call'd, his Son-in-law Gourti­gern, and the Britains to feast there; but for a Tro­phy of some Memorable Victory thereabouts ob­tain'd, as Necham the Poet saith, by Ʋter Pendra­gon; or as others, by Arthur the Valiant, and to that seems the ancient Bard Theliesinus to allude: But Necham's Verse is this:

[Page 42] Salisbury.From hence we rode to Salisbury, or Sarisbury, which some derive from Caesar's Burg, and in our way beheld the place where formerly old Wilton, the Metropolis of this County, stood which had then upon its Gates, in honour to the Romans, a black Spread-Eagle: It was also call'd Willey, or Ellandun, that is, Elen's Town: for here, or at Chloren, or at old Sarum, saith the Al­chester Historian, being, before Guns were inven­ted, an invincible hold, St. Helen, at her return out of Wales, did remain as well for her better Safety; as also to be near the South-Seas, to ex­pect daily News and Tydings from Constantine the Emperour in the East Parts; as also from his Sons, her Nephews, who were in the Western. 'Tis si­tuated (saith Cambden) where the two Rivers, Willeybrook, and Adderbourn meet: and here it was that Egbert King of the West- Saxons in the year 823, fought the second Battle against Beor­wulphus the Mercian, so bloody on both sides, that the River Avon was dyed red with the Blood of the Slain: And in the year 871, Alfred having maintain'd a long Fight against the Danes, up­on the first onset had Success, but was at last quite Routed, his Forces defeated, and himself forced to fly to save his own Life. In the Saxon Reign it mightily flourish'd, and Edgar building there a Nunnery, made his Daughter Editha, Lady Governess thereof, afterwards being long exposed to the Fury of Suenus the Dane, who was its mor­tal Enemy, and deserted by the Bishops, who were its main support, it went to decay, and al­most return'd again into its first Principles of No­thing; and so Sorbiodunum, or old Salisbury then, and since new Salisbury, which hath sprang from that, have quite extinguish'd its Primitive Lustre and Glory. Old Salisbury was seated upon a Hill, expos'd much to Winds and Storms, very dry, barren and uncomfortable, by reason of the great defect of Water throughout the whole City, tho' [Page 43] it was well fortify'd, as appears still by some re­maining pieces of old Walls. Kinricus the Saxon; in the year 553 first sack'd, and took it, being very fortunate in all his Enterprises he undertook against the Britains; and in the Reign of Edward the Senior, Osmund, Bishop of Sherborne, Transla­ted the See hither, and built a Cathedral Church, though Suenus the Dane, not long after having ta­ken and burnt the City, that likewise underwent the same fatal Calamity, and were both levell'd with the Ground, till both of them were raised a­gain in William the Conquerour's time; for after that he had made his Progress throughout England, he at last summoned all the three Orders of the Na­tion to meet here, and take the Oaths of Allegi­ance to him: But after this, in the Reign of King Richard I. the Citizens being oppress'd by the in­solency of the Soldiers, and very much incommo­ded by a continual want of Water, resolv'd to free themselves from these Inconveniencies, by transplanting themselves into another Soil, which they unanimously agreed upon, and seated them­selves about a Mile from this place, in a more plea­sant Valley, where the Flowry Meads, and Chry­stal streamed Rivers gave them a more chearful Welcome, and endearing Entertainment. After the Plantation of this new Colony, Richard Pore first Bishop of Chichester, and then of this place, did likewise transplant the Cathedral from that barren dry place, in which it was first Erected near to the old Castle of the Earls of Salisbury, and built it at last in a more pleasant Soil, and by the Advice and Contrivance of the most excellent and ingenious Artificers, not only Natives, but Fo­reigners, whom he drew hither by his large Re­wards, he raised it to that Splendour and Magnifi­cence, that it now vies both for Stateliness and Workmanship, with the most noted Cathedrals throughout the whole Kingdom. The Steeple is built in form of a Pyramid, very high, and as the [Page 44] Pole-Star directs the Pilot at Sea, so doth this Spire direct the wandring Traveller over the Plain, dis­covering its lofty Head near the distance of twenty Miles; but the Admirableness of the Structure consists in this, That it hath as many Pillars as there are Hours in the Year, and these not so closed, but you may see the Interstices betwixt them, and shake some that are of a lesser size; as many Win­dows as there are Days in the Year, and these very Artificially adorn'd, and curiously painted to Ad­miration; and as many Gates as there are Months, all which are thus comprised in an ingenious Copy of Verses:

In English thus:

And as the Church was then Re-edify'd, so was the City much enlarg'd, by which means since its Houses are grown stately; its Guild-Hall for the use of the Mayor and Aldermen is beautiful; its Churches are many and glorious; its Streets, by reason of divers Rivolets, convey'd in Chan­nels through the midst of them sweet and cleanly; its Gardens delightful, and fragrant, and nothing wanting to please and gratifie either the Eye or Palate.

[Page 45]From hence we coursed over the Plains directly to Winchester, Winche­ster. which by Antiquaries has been call'd Venta Belgarum, as Bristol was Venta Simenorum; and amongst the Britains it had the Name likewise of Caer-Guent: It was of great Repute amongst the Romans, and no less famous in the time of the Saxons, and flourished as greatly under the Power of the Normans, till once or twice both Fire and Sword in an envious Emulation strove together to deface it; but it is grown again since very fair and populous, large and stately, is computed within the Walls to be about a Mile in length, is pleasant­ly seated in a Vale betwixt two Hills, and hath six Gates which give Entrance into the City, tho' it was much defaced in the late Civil Wars; as like­wise the Castle which formerly hath been accoun­ted altogether impregnable. This is the Castle that Mawd the Empress having held out, after she had taken it, a considerable time against King Stephen, and after by a close Siege being in great danger to be Re-taken, fearing by that means to fall into her Enemies Hand, she secured her self by this cun­ning Stratagem; she commanded it should be given out for a Truth, that she was certainly dead; and upon this order'd her self to be carried out upon a Bier, as if she had been so indeed, and by this means provided for her own safety. Upon the Wall hereof hangs the Round Table so much talk­ed of by the Vulgar, and call'd King Arthur's Round Table; whether this can justly claim so great Antiquity, as is attributed to it, I shall not under­take to determine; yet certain it is, that these very Tables are of a long standing, for formerly, after Justs and Turnaments, when there happen'd to be any great Entertainments amongst the valiant Champions of the Nation, it was usual for all such to sit round them, Mr. Whar­tons Angl. Sacr, pars prima, p. 191. least any difference should arise amongst the Noblemen about Superiority of place. About the middle of the City stands the Cathedral, built by Kenelwalch King of the West- Saxons, [Page 46] who, after the expulsion of Agilbert, con­stituted Wine a Saxon born and ordain'd in France the first Bishop there, and it hath been Dedicated to divers Patrons accordingly, as it has been re-e­dified by different Benefactors, viz. to Amphiba­lus, St. Peter, St. Swithin, and now to the holy and undivided Trinity. Here it was that Queen Emma, upon the suspicion of Adultery, by the trial of Fire Ordeal, walking barefoot over nine hot Plough-shares without hurt, ascribed this mi­raculous Proof of her Innocence to St. Swithin, Patron of this Church, and afterward in a grateful acknowledgment bestow'd great Donatives upon it. It was always held in great Veneration by the Saxons, because divers of their Kings were Interr'd in it, and was call'd by them the old Monastery, to distinguish it from the new one founded by Alured, in which he placed a Fraternity of Presby­ters, who it seems, by a great Miracle of the Cross speaking, and disapproving their Order, were all expell'd from thence by Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury, who substituted Monks in their Room: These Monasteries were joyn'd so near to one ano­ther, that it did often create a Disturbance at their Devotions, and hence arose great Feuds and Con­tentions amongst the Brethren: besides a great Cur­rent of Water running from the Western Gate of the City in divers Channels to this new Monastery, did stagnate, and so caus'd the Air to be foggy and unwholsom. Hereupon, the Church, about two hundred years after it was built, was Translated to the Northern part of the City, which they call the Hide, where, by the Permission of King Henry I. the Monks built another fair and stately Monastery, which in the space of a few years, by the Trea­chery, as some suppose, of Henry, Bishop of Win­chester, was reduc'd to Ashes: In the Conflagra­tion whereof 'tis Storied, That the rich Crucifix given by King Canutus, who was buried here in the old Monastery, saith the Saxon Chronicle, in [Page 47] the year 1036, in the making of which was ex­pended the Revenues of one whole year through­out this Kingdom, was burnt likewise; after which another Monastery was erected, which continued till the Expulsion of Monks out of England, in the Room of whom there have since been placed here a Dean and twelve Prebendaries. The Church is now curiously adorn'd with Monuments of anci­ent Hero's and Bishops of this See. William Wain­fleet Founder of Magdalen-College in Oxford, lies here Entomb'd with his Heart in his Hand, and Cardinal Beaufort, and Bishop Gardiner that bloody Scourge to the poor Protestants in Q. Mary's days, who did so insatiably thirst for the Blood of Queen Elizabeth, but was always cross'd in his most wick­ed Inclinations; there lies also the Lord Weston, Earl of Portland, whose Monument is of Brass, and by him his Father, who lies in Marble; here is likewise preserved the Chair of State, in which Queen Mary was Married to King Philip, and near to it lies Entomb'd, the Countess of Exeter, who was Godmother to King Charles II. and very re­markable is the Chappel of Bp. Fox, where he now lies, Founder of Corpus Christi-College in Oxford, which he built for his own use, together with his Study and Press for his Books all in one place; in the Quire under a plain flat Marble Stone, lies the Body of Will. Rufus. This King receiv'd his mortal Wound as he was Hunting in the new Forest, by Sir Walter Tyrrel, who shooting at a Deer, hit this Prince unawares in the Breast, of which he died immediately, and was brought hither and buried in this place; though afterwards, they say, his Bones were translated and put into the same Coffin with those of King Canutus. At the West End of the Quire stand two Statues in Brass very curiously wrought, the one of King James I. and the other of his Son King Charles I. of Blessed Memory; but that which is most remarkable in this Cathe­dral, is the rich and famous Monument of William [Page 48] of Wickham, who from a mean Beginning, by the Favour of Edward III. was created Bishop of Win­chester, and having after this run likewise through all the Grand Stages of Temporal Honour in this Kingdom, though now and then the Wheel of Fortune turn'd very cross against him, he by that means became no less a Benefactour to the Church, than he still approved himself an Ornament to the State; and to perpetuate his Name with the grea­ter Glory to succeeding Generations, he built in this City a College, and liberally endow'd it for the Education of Youth, and for a Seminary to New College in Oxford, also founded by him; and notwithstanding the great Expences he must needs have been at, in Erecting two such large and noble Structures as these were, he Re-built like­wise the present Body of the Cathedral, where his own Body lies Interr'd: Nor did all this lessen his Charity, or diminish his Hospitality, for he fed both Rich and Poor, as his Tomb Stone informs us, and for all this died exceeding Rich; and de­ceasing in the Reign of King Henry IV. when he was Fourscore years old, he bequeathed great Le­gacies to Persons of all Degrees, and gave some­thing at his Death to every Church throughout his Diocess See the Life of this Great and Worthy Pre­late. VVrote by Tho. Chandler Chancellour of Oxford. Angl. Sacr. Pars a. p. 355.. Here is one thing yet further not to be pass'd by in Silence, That when King Alfred di­vided his Kingdom into Counties, Hundreds, and Tythings, he had an Inquisition taken and dige­sted into a Register, call'd Dome-boc, which was reposited in the Church of Winchester, thence call'd Codex Wintoniensis, a Model afterward followed by William the Conquerour, in his Domes-Day Book, which Mr. Kennet observes was for some time kept in the same Church.

But to return again into our Discourse relating to the City, we find it not only to have attain'd a great Eminency for its Religious Houses, for its pleasant Gardens, for its Brooks and Meadows, for its publick and private Edifices, for its great [Page 49] Hall, wherein the Assizes are usually held for the County of Southampton, not to be parallell'd for length and breadth by any throughout this Nation, except Westminster, but likewise for the true and exact Rules of Equity and Justice, which are fol­low'd and prescrib'd by its chief Magistrates and Governours, and before we take our leaves of it, we shall add for a Conclusion, that as in the time of Athelstane King of the West- Saxons, that Invin­cible Hero, Guy Earl of Warwick, is reported, in a single Combat, to have slain Colobraild, the Danish Giant in Hide-Mead near this City; so Waltheof, Earl of Northumberland, being beheaded here with­out the Walls, in the Reign of William the Con­querour, is observ'd as the very first Example of Beheading in this Island.

Having took a sufficient Prospect of the great Curiosities of this place, Surrey, we advanc'd forward in­to Surrey, q. d. South- Rey, from its Situation on the Southside of the Thames, the Saxons calling that Rey which we term a River. The Skirts of this County are noted for their Fruitfulness; and the middle parts for their Barrenness, which has occasion'd the saying, That Surrey is like a course piece of Cloth with a fine List: However, in point of Health, the middle parts have the advantage, besides the Pleasure they yield by their Downs in Hunting and Horse-Races. 'Tis adorn'd is most places with very stately Palaces of Gentlemen and Merchants, who by reason of the Parks well stor'd with Deer, and the Rivers replenished with Fish, have no Divertisement wanting to recreate their Bodies, and gratifie their Senses.

The first Town of Note we ariv'd at here was Farnham, Farnham, receiving its Denomination very proba­bly from the great quantity of Fern which grows thereabouts. 'Tis a Town of no very large Extent, but situated in a wholsom Soil, and a pleasant Air; and for its further Accommodation, hath the con­veniencies of a Market for those Commodities [Page 50] which the Inhabitants mostly want: Here it was, that in the year 894, saith the Saxon Chronicle, King Alfred routed a great Army of the Danes, with a small Party, taking from them a conside­rable Booty, and putting them to flight to the Ri­ver Colne in Essex: After this, when King Stephen gave a general Toleration for building Castles and Fortresses, Henry his Brother, then Bishop of Win­chester, built for himself in this place a magnificent Castle, but proving in length a Nursery and Re­ceptacle for Sedition and Rebellion, King Henry III. quite demolish'd and pull'd it down, though af­terwards it was again Re-edified by the Bishops of Winchester, to whom it peculiarly belongs, and is at present a glorious Seat for the Prelates of that See.

Guilford.Passing from hence through Guilford, a Town of good Note, seated on the River Wey, consist­ing of three Parishes well frequented, and full of fair Inns, we observ'd here still the Ruines of a large old Castle near the River, and have since learnt, That the Saxon Kings had formerly a Roy­al Mansion here, in whose times it was a place of a greater Extent.

Kingston.Coming after this to Kingston, a Market-Town of good Resort, we were inform'd, that it went anciently by the Name of Moreford, but after that, chang'd its Name to Kingston, when it had the Honour to become a place for the Coronation of the Saxon Monarchs; Athelstan, Edwin, and Ethel­red, being here Crown'd Kings upon an open Stage in the Market-place.

Rich­mond.And now we began to draw near to our Jour­nies end; but calling in at Richmond, heretofore call'd Sheen, we found it still a Town of a consi­derable Account, though perhaps no less in the Reign of King Edward III. who, when he had lived sufficiently both to Glory and Nature, died at this very place. King Henry VII. gave it the Name of Richmond, from the Title he bore before [Page 51] he obtain'd the Crown of England, and ended his Life here, as did after him (here likewise) the most Glorious and Puissant Queen Elizabeth.

From hence pacing along by the Noble River Thames, which is on both sides of it wonderfully graced with many pleasant Towns and Villages, we arriv'd again in safety at the Renown'd Metro­polis of England.

AN ACCOUNT OF Mr. BROME'S Three Years TRAVELS, OVER England, Scotland, and Wales.
A Narrative of his second Journey.

AFTER some few days respite and abode in London, we began a new Progress, and passing through Newington, Totnam-High-Cross, and Edmington, Towns of good Note, by reason of divers Gentlemen, Merchants, and rich Citizens that inhabit there, we came to Waltham in Essex, of which County I shall have occasion to speak more fully hereafter.

Waltham was of old a small Village, Waltham in Essex. or rather a desolate place beset with Woods and Briars, which one Tovius in the declination of the Saxon [Page 56] Empire, a great Courtier, and a very wealthy and potent Man, first Founded, and planted there a Colony of some sixtysix Men; afterwards he de­ceasing, Athelstan his Son was deprived of his Patri­mony, and Edward the Confessor bestowed it up­on Harold, a great Favourite of his, who, having taken possession of it, constituted in it a Church of Secular Canons, and Dedicating it to the Honour of the Holy Cross, made his Vows here in hopes of a Victory, when he went to fight against Wil­liam the Conqueror; but Harold being slain, and his Army quite routed by the Normans, his Body was beg'd by his Mother, of the Norman Duke, and buried in this place. After this, the same Ab­by, in the Reign of K. Henry II. was by the King's Command much enlarged, and Regular Canons placed there to the number of Twenty-four, and Dedicated to the Holy Cross and St. Lawrence, saith the most Ingenious Mr. Tanner, in his Notitia Monastica. Richard I. still more augmented it, and so did King Henry III. with Fairs and Markets, ap­pointing one Fair in the year to last for seven days together.

Hartford­shire.We staid not long here, and therefore were pre­sently in Hartfordshire, a County every where a­bounding with fertile Fields, sat Pastures, shady Groves, and pleasant Rivolets; and the first Town here of any Remark, which presented it self to our View, was Ware, Ware. which was built, say Anti­quaries, by Edward the Senior, King of the West- Saxons, about the year 914. 'Tis watered by the River Ley, and hath a great Market for all sorts of Grain; it is populous, and well inhabited by per­sons of very good Quality and lying in the great Road to London, frequented constantly by per­sons of all degrees; and although Hartford be the Eye of the County, 'tis now inferiour to this place, since all Passages for Carriages being there ob­structed during the Barons Wars, were here freely opened to the great Advantage of this Town: [Page 57] But the most remarkable thing in Ware is the New River, or Aquaeduct, convey'd above 20 Miles together in a continued Channel from this place to Islington, from whence the Water thereof is disper­sed in Pipes laid along in the Ground for that pur­pose into abundance of Streets, Lanes, Courts, and Alleys of the City and Suburbs of London; the happy Contrivance whereof all the Citizens have daily Experience, and ought to Immortalize the Name of their Inventor, Sir Hugh Middleton, who bestow'd this most excellent Gift upon them, and consummated this good Work so useful and beneficial to the City at his own proper Cost and Charges.

We lay here one Night in the company of some Friends, Pucke­ridge and Barkway. who came along hither with us for their Diversion; but the next Morning taking a solemn farewell of them, we set forward on our Journey, and passing thro' Puckeridge, and Barkway, Towns of good Hospitality and Entertainment for Stran­gers, we were quickly arriv'd within the Precincts of Cambridgeshire.

This is an extream pleasant open Country, Cam­bridge­shire. and a place of such Variety and Plenty, that fruitful Geres with a smiling Countenance, invites the In­dustrious Peasant to behold with Joy the Fruits of his Labour, whilst she crowns his Industry with a plentiful Harvest; and as if the Earth strove not to be behind hand with him in conferring other Lar­gesses, she in divers places makes some Annual Ad­ditions of another Crop, by adorning the Fields with large Productions of Saffron, by which great Profits do continually arise: Besides, here it is that the green Banks of murmuring Rivers, and sunny Hills bedeck'd with diversity of Plants and Simples, call forth the Students from their musing Cells, and teach them Theory as well as Practice, by diving into their Natures, contemplating their Signatures, and considering their Qualities and various Effects. In a word, here is nothing [Page 58] wanting for Profit or Delight; and though the Northern parts of the County towards the Isle of Ely, lying somewhat low, are moist and Fenny, yet that Defect is abundantly supply'd by the Plen­ty of Cattle, Fish, and Fowl bred in those Fenns, and which makes the Air more healthy, the gentle Gales which are frequently stirring, drive away all thick Mists and Fogs which in some parts most annoy it; and by this means it is become a fit Seat for the Muses to inhabit, and we have no reason to complain of the Soil, since our Wise Ancestors thought it good and convenient to plant a Colony of Learned Men here, and place one of the Eyes of our Nation in this spot of Ground, the famous and most glorious University of Cambridge, which we could not in Honour pass by without a Visit.

Cam­bridge. Cambridge was formerly call'd by the Britains, Kaergrant, and Grantbridge, from a fair large Bridge made over the River Grant, which is now call'd Cam, from whence the Town it self receives its Name: It is increased much by the Ruines of Grantchester, sometimes a famous City situated a little above a Mile from this place, and the Castle that is beyond the River, the Ruines of which are still to be seen, was built, as ancient Records te­stifie, in the first year of William the Conqueror; and in the fifth year of William Rufus, in the year of our Lord, 1092, a Nobleman of the Norman Blood, nam'd Picot, a Vice-comes, or Sheriff, at the request of Hugolin his Wife, founded a Church, and Dedicated it unto St. Giles near to this Castle, placing in it a Convent of six black Canons, which was twenty years after remov'd to Barnwell, a Vil­lage near a Mile distant from this place, by Pain Reverell, where he built a Priory to the Honour of St. Giles, and St. Andrew, and endow'd it with Re­venues for the maintainance of thirty Canons of St. Austin's Order: As Mr. Tanner informs us.

As to the Antiquity of the University of Cam­bridge, if any Credit may be given to King Ar­thur's [Page 59] Diploma, which says, That King Lucius was converted by the preaching of the Doctors of Cam­bridge, for which reason he gave Privileges to that University, which were after confirm'd by King Arthur; or if the Bull of Pope Honorius the First, may be allow'd Authentick, which bearing date, Feb. 20: An. Dom. 624. makes mention of the Privileges granted to the University of Cambridge, by Pope Eleutherius, and takes notice of Doctors and Scholars Resident there at that time, Why then as it is truly observ'd by our most Learned Bi­shop of Worcester, in his Antiquities of the British Churches: This is a sufficient Proof to all that re­lie on the Pope's Authority, that in the time of King Lucius, and Eleutherius, there might be a sufficient number of Learned Men in Cambridge, to have instructed King Lucius in the Christian Faith; and that it is not improbable that Eluanus and Medwinus might be of that number, especially considering that Camboritum, or as many Copies have it, Camboricum, was a Roman Colony, and mention'd amongst the best Copies among the 28 Cities of Britain, and that the Roman Colonies had their Schools of Learning, wherein the several Professors of Arts and Sciences did instruct both the Roman and British Youth. But what ever Fa­vours the Romans were pleased to confer upon this place, 'tis certain, it met afterwards with very great Encouragement from divers other Bene­factors; and by the Countenance of Segebert, King of the East-Angles, and other Saxon Princes, it held up its Head in a flourishing Condition, till about the year 1100, as the Saxon Chronicle in­forms us. The cruel and merciless Danes laid all waste before them, and Swene their King with Fire and Sword, burnt this place to the Ground, con­trary to what we read of the Roman Captain Sylla, who, though otherwise as furious as a Tyger, or a Lion; yet when he raged in Greece, spared the much celebrated Athens for Minerva's sake: [Page 60] Yet, nevertheless, when these Storms were once blown over, in the time of the Normans Learning, began to peep out again, and seeing all was clear and quiet, sprouted up a fresh, recruiting it self by degrees, till at last, in progress of time, it re­turn'd to its Primitive State, and flourish'd more vigorously than ever it did before: For in the Reign of K. Henry I. for his Learning, sirnam'd Beauclere, it began again to be new modell'd into an University; and hereupon Religious Houses and Halls were immediately erected, and they have ever since been increasing to the number of Six­teen, namely, Twelve Magnificent Colleges, and four famous Halls, where the Buildings are so U­niform, the Chapels so Stately, the Privileges so Great, the Government so Regular, the Orders so Strict, the Ceremonies so Decorous, and the Pre­ferments so Honourable, that in all the European Countries, no, nor perhaps in all the Nations of the World can we find out one University, except­ing that of Oxford, so richly endow'd, so famous and renown'd for its Structures, so admirable for its Discipline, and so courted and address'd to for its most Polite Learning: So that when Erasmus was pleased to give us a Strain of his Eloquence, in Decyphering both their Characters, he doth it but in such a Style as is very suitable to the Sub­ject, and the Elogy is no less than what they justly deserve. I have before this, saith he, been ex­treamly well satisfy'd, and have exceedingly re­joyced, that England hath constantly been fur­nish'd with Men, who have been as Eminent for their Parts, as Learning: But now I begin to en­vy her Felicity, (had he lived now in our days, he would still have had greater reason for this Harangue) by reason that she is now so enrich'd with all kind of Literature, that by taking the Commendation thereof from other Regions, she doth marvellously obscure and eclipse their Glory, and yet this Commendation is not only due to [Page 61] England at this present time, for it is well known for divers years past, to have flourish'd with per­sons of deep and profound Learning: The Uni­versities prove this to be true, which have for their Antiquity and Worthiness contended with, and outstripped the most ancient and celebrated Academies, that ever were planted in the Christi­an World.

It might now be expected that I should further exspatiate into a more particular Description of these Famous and Ample Colleges, and give an exact Portraiture of the large and spatious Qua­drangle of Trinity-College, so excellently contriv'd, and admirably surrounded with a curious Pile of Buildings, which was at first founded by King Henry VIII.: Of the noble Fabrick of St. John's, founded by Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Darby, both which Colleges have of late years been so extreamly beautify'd and enlarg'd: Of Corpus-Christi, or Bennet-College, founded by Henry Duke of Lancaster, whose Library is so famous for its divers ancient Manuscripts, as well as from the great Honour it daily receives from His Grace, the present Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, who was formerly a Learned Fellow, and still conti­nues the greatest Glory of it: Of that unimitable Piece of Architecture in King's- College Chapel, founded by that Heroick Prince, King Henry VI. Of the Publick Schools of the University, which have been of so ancient a continuance, that there is no mention, when, or how they began: Of the Publick Library, which though it be not so spa­cious and glorious as the Vatican, or Bodleian, yet it is so well stock'd with all kind of Divine and Humane Writers, that there is not sufficient Room for all the Manuscripts, and choice Books which are daily given to it, especially if that Order be strictly observ'd, of which I have been credibly inform'd, That a Copy of every Book which is printed in England, be by the Printer presented to it.

[Page 62]I might insist further on the laudable Modes and Customs which are duly observ'd in this Renown'd University, of the large Privileges and Immunities, which have been ever granted to it, of the ho­nourable Degrees in Divinity, Law, and Physick, which are here annually conferr'd, of the great Encouragements which are daily given to all such Persons who have been most Exemplary for their Piety and Learning; for which Reason, un­doubtedly, three great and eminent Persons, the Pious and Humble, Dr. Sancroft, the Florid and Rational Preacher, Dr. Tillotson, and our present Incomparable Archbishop, whose Stations were all of them first fix'd in this place, have been suc­cessively advanced in this our present Age, to the Archiepiscopal See of Canterbury.

But since this would take up a Volume, and re­quire a much more Polite Pen to accomplish, I shall only crave leave out of a due Honour and Gratitude to Christ's-College, of which I had once the happiness to be a Member, to give a more par­ticular Account of that Society.

Christ's-College. Christ's-College was first began by K. Henry VI. and after his Decease, by the Lady Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Darby, Daughter and Heir of John, Duke of Somerset, and Mother to King Henry VII. in the place where the College of God's House had stood in the Preacher's Street (founded by Mr. Will. Bringham, Parson of St. John Zachary in London) which College, because it ne­ver came to perfection, she obtain'd of the said King, her Son, his Charter, to increase the num­ber of Students, Translating it according to her Pleasure and Discretion. After she had com­pleated this stately Fabrick, making it Quadran­gular, and very Uniform; the next thing she ac­complish'd was the planting in it a Colony of Re­ligious Men, whom she desired should be all devo­ted to the Service of God, and Study of Divinity, and their number to be Twelve Fellows under the [Page 63] Government of a Master. After this, for the better encouraging of Learning, and the enstating of this her College in a flourishing Condition, she gave several Scholarships for the maintenance of poor Students, the number of which to be about Sixty, as preparatives to the better Promotions that might attend their Industry: And that Reli­gion and Learning might be inseparable Associates she built likewise a Chapel, in which all the Members should meet twice a day, and join una­nimously in their Devotions, in which there is placed a tunable Organ, for the better promoting of fervent Piety. And because Discipline is ne­cessary in Bodies Spiritual as well as Civil, for those whose Natures might be so base and disinge­nuous, as that Rewards could not move or incite them to Virtue, she found out the more rough and harsh ways to enforce them, by inflicting such Penalties, as the very Shame thereof might be Spurs and Goads to their future Reformation; These were all comprized in a Book of Statutes, according to the Rule whereof all Persons, here to be admitted Members, are sworn to square and regulate their Actions. After all things were set­led in this admirable Decorum, this matchless Lady lived for some time in the Buildings her self, which she had designed for the use of the Master, and at her Hours of leisure wrought such curious Work in Hangings with her Needle, some of which are still preserved in the College to this day, that she seems to have been equal to Minerva her self, and to have monopoliz'd all Arts as well as Sciences in her Brains, making her Hands as well as Head to give Demonstration of her admirable Perfections, King Edward the Sixth, whether by hearing some superstitious Abuses that were put upon the Col­lege, the Master and the Fellows having by some vain Persons been called Christ and his Twelve Apostles, or whether rather being willing to fol­low the good Example of this most vertuous Lady, [Page 64] added another Fellowship, and so made the num­ber to be Thirteen. And since that by the Muni­ficence of divers other well-disposed Benefactors, there have been several Donaries conferred upon it both in Exhibitions and Scholar-ship: In pro­cess of time the House being replenished with Stu­dents, and so throng'd that the College not be­ing large enough to receive them all, they were forced to take up Lodgings in the Town. Upon this Consideration to remove all such Inconveni­encies, and preserve it in a flourishing Condition, divers Persons of Quality of the Black as well as Scarlet Robe, gave large Contributions for the enlarging of it; and by their Liberality there was some Years ago erected a new and far more noble Fabrick than the other, called the New-Building, four Stories high, built of Free-stone, and adorn­ed with curious Embellishments in the Front, in the midst whereof is a small arch'd Cloyster, and through that a Passage into the Orchard; in which are pleasant Walks, shady Arbours, and secret Re­cesses for the Fellows to retire to in Summer time: So ready and careful were our Noble Ancestors to gratifie the Muses in every respect, and to suffer them to lack nothing either for Improvement or De­light. And indeed it hath been the main care and aim of such Persons, who have been admitted Masters or Fellows, by their great Improvements in all sort of Learning, to answer those ends and designs for which they were admitted. And, not to mention several Persons deceased, who having received their first Rudiments here, became after­ward great Luminaries in the Church, and Co­lumns in the State: His Grace the present Arch-Bishop of York is a sufficient Testimony of this, whose great Learning and exemplary Piety add now at this time no less a Lustre to the Church, than it doth likewise still to this College, where he was formerly a most accomplish'd Member. And as for the present Master, the Worthy Dr. Covil, [Page 65] my most Honoured Friend, whom all ingenious Travellers highly court, and all the Learned just­ly admire; with the rest of the Reverend Fellows, who are now of that Society, there cannot possi­bly in any respect be greater Ornaments to a Col­lege, which ever hath had the Honour to enjoy such worthy Persons. For, not to look farther back than a very few Years ago, when this Itinerary was first drawn up, here was a Learned Knot of Professors all concentred in this place, which was not then ob­servable in any other College besides; the Learn­ed Dr. Cudworth, then Master, was publick Hebrew Professor; the Reverend Dr. Widdrington, my Honoured Tutour, from being Publick Orator was made Margaret Professor; Dr. Luke was Ara­bick Professor: To whom may be added the Learned Dr. Henry More, whom his Philosophical Writings did sufficiently render worthy of that Title. As for what concerns the particular Go­vernment of the College, we have annually two of the Fellows elected Deans of the Chapel, whose Office is to see that constant Attendance and good Orders be there observed, and due Penalties in­flicted upon all who presume to absent themselves from Divine Service; and likewise four Readers, one to read Hebrew, two to read Greek Lectures, and one to hear, moderate, and determine all Logical and Philosphical Disputations in Term-time: And for other Offices subservient to these; there is a Manciple, Cook, Butler, Porter, Gar­diner, with other subordinate Servants for the use of the College.

And thus I have set down a Breviate of the Modes and Orders of this House, from whence it will be easie and natural to guess at the Customs and Constitutions which are in use in all other Colleges, by this short Epitome which hath been given here of this.

But before I take leave of this most flourishing College, I must not forget the Munificence of [Page 66] some late great Benefactors, who by their generous Liberality to it have erected to themselves a more lasting and durable Monument than the Pyramids of Egypt, or the Coloss at Rhodes; The one was the Right Reverend and Learned Dr. Ward, the late Bishop of Salisbury, who hath founded here four new Scholarships of Ten Pounds a piece per Annum; The other Noble Benefactors were the Honourable Sir John Finch, Brother to the Earl of Nottingham, sometime Ambassador in Turkey; and Sir Thomas Bayns, a Physician, his Companion and Fellow-Traveller, sometime here a Student, who at their Death added to the College two more considerable Fellowships and Scholarships, for the due encouragement of Learning, and lie interred in the Chapel, as a signal Testimony of that in­dissoluble Love and Affection they had always even to the very last, for this Learned Society.

As far the Town of Cambridge it self, it is go­verned by a Mayor, who at the entrance into his Office takes a solemn Oath before the Vice-Chan­cellor to observe and conserve the Privileges, Li­berties and Customs of the University; and as the Assizes for the County are for the most part kept here, so 'tis observable that one High Sheriff serves for both the Counties of Cambridge and Hunting­don, which borders upon it. The chief Market every Saturday supplies it well with Corn, and plenty of other Provision: But nothing is more re­markable nor advantageous to it, than the great Fair annually kept within a Mile of it in Septem­ber, called by the name of Sturbridge Fair; Stur­bridge-Fair. from whence it received its denomination is uncertain, but this is most certain, that of all Fairs or pub­lick Marts in England 'tis supposed the largest, and best stored with all kind of Wares and Commo­dities, which the Londoners take special care to im­port hither. When you are within the Limits, you would rather be ready to imagine your self in some great Town, by the variety of Shops and [Page 67] multiplicity of Booths, than in a wide open Field. Now those Booths are always built for the time in which it lasts, which is about a Fortnight: Nei­ther are you presented with Booths only upon the Land, but with Booths upon the Water too, there being particular contrivances in their Boats upon the River, which runs hard by this place, for Rooms and secret Retirements, all covered a­bove for the conveniency of Strangers which re­sort thither; and indeed here is always a great concourse of People from all parts of the Na­tion.

Not far from this place appears aloft a certain ridge of Hills called Hog-magog-Hills, Hog-ma­gog Hills. fortified of old by the Danes, when they infested these Parts, with a threefold Trench, some part whereof is still to be seen.

Having paid our Devoirs, and taken a review of that which affords so great Variety, we at last took our farewell, and bidding it adieu we betook our selves into its Neighbouring County of Hun­tingdon; Hunting­donshire. 'tis a fruitful Country both for Corn and Grass; towards the East it is waterish and fenny, and hath formerly been well beset with Woods. In the Reign of King Henry the Second it had a large Forest, which he destroyed, con­verting it to other uses: 'Tis watered by the plea­sant Rivers Avon and Ouse, which render it very fertile.

The first Village we arrived at in this County was Fenny-Stanton, but found nothing observable till we came to Godmanchester, Godman­chester. a great Country Town, and of as great a Name for Tillage, situ­ate in an open Ground, of a light Mould, and bending for the Sun. Here have been observed more stout and lusty Husbandmen, and more Ploughs agoing, than in any Town besides in Eng­land, for they make their boast, that they have in former times receiv'd the Kings of England, as they passed it their Progress this way, with Ninescore [Page 68] Ploughs, brought forth in a rustical kind of Pomp for a gallant Show. Soon after King James the First came into England, the Bayliffs of this Town presented him with Seventy Teem of Horses all traced to fair new Ploughs, of which when His Majesty demanded the reason, he was answered, That it was their ancient Custom, whensoever any King of England passed through their Town so to present him; besides they added, That they held their Lands by that Tenure, being the King's Tenants. His Majesty took it well, and bad them make good use of their Ploughs, being glad he was Landlord of so many good Husband­men in one Town.

Antiquaries do affirm it to have been formerly a flourishing City, and not only the old Roman Coins, which have been digged up here, do at­test its Antiquity, but its ancient denomination too: It was formerly called Duroliponte, corruptly for Durosiponte, which in the British Language sig­nifies a Bridge over the River Ouse; but this Name being antiquated in the Saxons time, it began to be called Gormoncester by Gormon the Dane, for King Alfred having conquer'd the Danes, who had made an Invasion into these Parts, reduced them at last to these Conditions, either forthwith to give him Pledges that they would immediately depart this Land, or else that they would embrace the Christian Religion, which latter Proposal be­ing made choice of, Guthrus or Gormundus the Da­nish King with Thirty more of his Nobility was Baptiz'd into the Christian Faith, and their Prince adopted by Alfred for his Son, who changing his Name to Athelstan appointed him his Station here, and committed the Provinces of the East-Angles and Northumbers to his peculiar Charge: And if it be likewise allowed that one Machutus was here Bishop, when it was called Gumica­strum, hou! quantum mutatur! 'Tis certainly now reduced to a poor and despicable Condition, to [Page 69] what it could then glory of in former Genera­tions.

Hunting­don. Huntingdon is about a Mile distant from this place, and is the chief Town of the County, situ­ate upon the River Ouse, over which stands a Bridge made of Stone, which gives entrance in­to it; the Houses are fair, and the Streets large; 'tis adorn'd with Four Churches, and had former­ly a Benedictine Nunnery dedicated to St. James, saith the Notitia Monastica, and a Priory of Black Canons founded about the Year 1140, to the ho­nour of St. Mary, by Eustace de Luvetot; some of the Ruins whereof are still to be seen. Near the River, upon a high Hill, stands the remains of a Castle, which was built about the Year of Christ 917, by Edward the Senior: Afterwards David King of Scots waging War against King Stephen, upon the account of Mawd the Empress, who was his Neice, this was surrendred upon some certain Conditions to the Scots King, who did exceeding­ly beautifie and strengthen it, by making strong Rampires and Fortifications about it, but Henry the Second finding it in process of time a Cage on­ly for Rebels and Ringleaders of Sedition, at last quite demolished it; and from the top of this Hill is a very pleasant Prospect for the space of some Miles. The Town, which is supposed to have been the Daughter of Godmanchester, is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen, and the Assizes are held here twice a Year for the Shire, and wants no kind of Provision to entertain Travellers, who much resort hither out of the Northern Parts, the great Road to the City of London lying through it.

In this Town in the Year 1599 was that Usur­per and Religious Cheat Oliver Cromwell born and educated, whom tho' we have some just Reasons to curse in his very Name, and detest his Memo­ry as odious and execrable, yet since prosperous Successes of the most cruel Tyrants makes others [Page 70] inquisitive after those Persons, which they did so fortunately attend; it will not be amiss to tell the World, that this place gave him his first being, who, exceeding Nero in Cruelty, de­stroyed his Father and Mother too, the Father of his Country, and his Country likewise, be­ing a Murderer of the one, and a Plague to the other; who was of so unparallell'd and base a temper of Mind from his Cradle to his Grave, that nothing could stay with him, or be pleasing to him long, but what even carried the World before it, Confusion and Ruine.

From hence we passed directly into the pleasant County of Northampton, North­ampton­shire. where the Air is tempe­rate, the Soil rich, fruitful and Champaign, and having less waste Ground than any other County, withal so populous and well replenished with Towns, that in many places 20 or 30 Steeples present themselves at one view; nor is there per­haps a County, which within that compass of Ground, can shew more Noblemens and Gentle­mens Seats: For in all the dispersed Villages of this Country it is observed, that there are fixed several bright and coruscant Luminaries shining in this Orb, of whose influence the Peasantry are continually sensible, feeling divers good Effects and enlivening Operations from their Vicinity. For whilst the Noblemen and Persons of Supe­riour Ranks transplant themselves hither, and fix in this Soil, the Commonalty are quickly invigo­rated with the warmth which they communicate, whilst all Trades flourish more by those Encourage­ments they afford them, and the poor Tenant is en­abled thro' their Assistance to discharge all Rents with greater Improvement, both to their Landlords and themselves, they being like the Primum Mobile which put all the other Orbs into a continued mo­tion, or the Wheels in a Machine, which make the whole Engine move very regularly, which otherwise would be altogether useless and unser­uisable.

[Page 71] Thrapston is Twelve Miles distant from Hun­tingdon, Thrap­ston- which being the first Market Town we arrived at here, well stored with Inns, and reple­nished with all sorts of Grain, we went from thence to another Town called Kettering, Kettering which has been of much more Note than its Neighbours, by reason of a handsom Cross formerly beautified with divers Images of Christ and his Apostles, very curiously and artificially carved. And the next place of consequence is Higham-Ferries, the excellent Ornament of which place was formerly Henry Chicheley, Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, who built All-Souls College in Oxford, and another here ( Temp. Hen. V.) for eight Secular Canons, four Clerks, and six Choristers, and commended it to the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin, St. Thomas of Canterbury, and St. Edmund the Confessor.

But that which is the Ornament of the County is Northampton it self, North­ampton. a Town pleasantly seated on the River Nen, where it meets with two Rivulets, one North and the other South. This Town, as many others, fell under the Fury of the Danes, who burnt it to Ashes. In the Reign of King Ste­phen the Abby of St. Mary de Pratis for Cluniac Nuns was Founded here by Simon de Senilitz II. Earl of Northampton: And an Abby of Black Ca­nons was built to the Honour of St. James. King Henry the First was a good Benefactor, keep­ing his Court here in Lent, as the Saxon Annals tell us, in the Year 1106, and again at Easter in the Year 1122; but in the Reign of King John it suffered exceedingly by the Barons Wars. In his Successor Henry the Third's time, the Students of Cambridge are reported to have removed hither by the King's Warrant, in order to settle the U­niversity here, where Henry the Sixth had the fate to be overthrown, and taken Prisoner by his Rival for the Crown, Edward the Fourth. In the Year 1675, Sept. 3. this Town was reduced to Ashes by a general Conflagration, but by the As­sistance [Page 72] and Contributions of Charitable People, it is once more restored to greater Magnificenco and Beauty, than it ever yet before enjoyed; 'tis govern'd by a Mayor, and is the place where the County Gaol and Assizes are generally held.

War­wickshire.Our next Remove was into Warwickshire, which, as it is situated almost in the very Heart of the Kingdom, is very free from the frequent Vapours, that annoy many other places, and therefore is justly celebrated for its Health as well as Fruitful­ness.

Warwick. Warwick is the principal Town of the whole Shire, it stands on the West side of the River Avon, over which it hath a strong Stone-Bridge, and consists of two Parishes; 'tis seated in a dry and a fertile Soil, having the benefit of rich and plea­sant Meadows on the South part, with lofty Groves, and spacious Thickets of Woodland on the North; the Town has not long since suffer'd extreamly by Fire; but 'tis to be hoped it will in a little time, return again to its ancient Splendour and Renown; the chief Beauty of it is its Castle, the Seat, in times past, of the Earls of Warwick, mounted aloft upon a steep and a craggy Rock. The Collegiate Church of St. Mary was endow'd by Roger, Earl of Warwick, A. D. 1133. and a Priory of Canons Regular of the Holy Sepul­chre, was likewise founded by Henry Earl of War­wick, Temp. Hen. 1.

Guy-Cliff.Here is also Guy Cliff near Warwick, among Groves and fresh Streams, call'd Guy-Cliff, from Guy of Warwick, the Hercules of England, who having left off his noble and valiant Exploits, be­took himself, as Tradition hath it, to this place, where he led a kind of Hermetical Life, and built a Chapel, in which he was Interr'd.

The next place which claims here a Precedency, above all the rest, Coventry. is Coventry, so call'd from a Covent founded here by the Danish King Canutus, stands upon the Sherborn, which joyning with ano­ther [Page 73] Stream, runs not far from thence into the A­von. It is a City very commodiously Seated, large, sweet, and neat, was formerly fortified with a very strong Wall, and is set out and adorn­ed with right goodly Houses, amongst which there rise up on high, two spacious Churches, no­ted for their Loftiness, and the Cross for its Work­manship, standing one hard by the other, and matched (as it were) as Concurrents, one Con­secrated to the Holy Trinity, the other to St. Mi­chael, a Town that injoys a good Inland Trade by the Cloth here made, and vended, which makes it Populous and Rich; the same is a Bishop's See joyn'd with Litchfield, to which it was united by Hugo Novant, about the latter end of the Twelfth Century. Leofrick, Earl of Mercia, about the year 1050, built an Abby here for black Monks, to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin. Rob. de Limesie, Bishop of Chester, removed his Seat hi­ther, (Temp. Hen. 1.) one of whose Successors expell'd the Monks, and placed Secular Canons in their Room, A. D. 1191. but seven years after the Monks were restored. The same Leofrick, the first Lord of this City, being much offended, and angry with the Citizens, oppressed them with most heavy Tributes, which he would remit up­on no other Condition, at the earnest Suit of his Wife Godina, unless she would her self ride on Horseback Naked through the greatest and most inhabited Street of the City, which she did in­deed, being covered only with her fair long Hair: Also a Proclamation was Published, Command­ing all People to keep close within their Houses, to shut their Doors and Windows, and no Person, on Pain of Death, to appear in that Street where she Rode, nor so much as to look into it, whether out of a Window, or otherwise: Upon which, as she was Riding along Naked, one Man more cu­rious than ordinary, ventures to peep out of a Garret Window, and being immediately disco­ver'd, [Page 74] was apprehended and hang'd; as by the Effigies of a Man doth appear, that is continually kept up for a Memorandum, in a full proportion looking out of a Garret Window, and call'd by the Inhabitants, Peeping Jack. And thus did she free her Citizens of Coventry from any such further rigorous Payments.

Gatford-Gate.One thing is still observable, That at Gatford-Gate, there hangeth up to be seen, a mighty great Shield-Bone of a wild Bore, (or rather of an E­lephant, being not so little as a yard in length) which some believe Guy of Warwick slew in Hunt­ing, when he had turn'd up with his Snout a great Pit, or Pond, which is now call'd Swanse-well, but Swines-well in times past.

Coleshill and Litch­field, i. e. Cadave­rum Cam­pus, aut Campus ir­riguus, à Saxon. lec­cian, irri­gare. Mr. Gibson in his Explica­tion of Sax­on Places.Passing through Coleshill, a little Market Town, after about Twelve Miles riding the Road brought us to Litchfield, a City low seated, of good large­ness, and fair withal, divided into two parts, with a shallow Pool of clear Water, which parts not­withstanding joyn in one, by the means of two Bridges, or Causeys made over with Sluces in them, for the passage of the Water. That part which lies on the Southside of the Water, is much the greater, and divided into several Streets. It hath been, doubtless, a place of very great Anti­quity, for we read, That Oswy, King of the Northumbers, A. D. 656, built a Cathedral-Church, and placed here a Bishop, (call'd Dui­ma) for the Kingdom of Mercia; and the Saxon Chronicle tells us, Angl. Sacr Pars pri­ma, p. 423. That in the year 716, Ceolred King of the Mercians died, and was buried in this place. King Ossa, about A. D. 786, made it an Archbishops See, which Honour it injoyed for ten years, and then was again subjected to Canterbury. It was Translated, A. D. 1075. to Chester, and from thence to Coventry, A. D. 1102. but the Bi­shops not long after being setled here again, Bi­shop Clinton built a new Cathedral Church, Dedi­cating it to the Virgin Mary, and St. Chadd, and [Page 75] restored and augmented the Chapter; and now this City, and Coventry with it, make up but one Diocess under a double Name, which came to pass after the same manner, and much about the same time as Bath and Wells were joyn'd together into one Bishoprick. When this Town in the late un­happy Civil Wars fell into a state of Suffering, the Cathedral at that time was a Fellow-sharer with it, and through the insatiable Malice of some ill Wishers to it, it became a Sacrifice to their merci­less Fury; but since the happy Restauration, through the indefatigable Zeal, and boundless Charity of Bishop Hacket, and other noble and generous Benefactors, it has began again to revive out of its own Ashes, and to retrieve its Primitive Splendour and Beauty, mounting up aloft with three Pyramids of Stone, which make a lovely shew; and for elegant and proportionable Build­ings, will in due time, it is to be hoped, equal some other Cathedrals.

The next County we visited, was Leicestershire, Leicester­shire. which, though in very many parts is deep and Miry, yet the richness of the Soil doth sufficient­ly compensate for the unpleasantness of the Roads, which is generally fruitful with all sorts of Grain, especially Pease and Beans, of which there are so great Stacks, that they cover the Fields with their infinite Numbers, and what is wanting in Wood, is supply'd by their Coal-Mines, which they have in great abundance.

When we had passed through Bosworth, Bosworth and Red­more. a Mar­ket Town, famous for the Battle fought upon Red­more, near it, betwixt Richard III. and Henry VII. by the Issue whereof, the Crown return'd from the House of York, to the House of Lancaster, Liecester was former­ly call'd by the Bri­tains Ka­erlirion. Rudborn. and so an end was put to the bloody Wars, that had so long continued between those two Houses. We came to Leicester, the Metropolis of the County, which is more venerable for its Antiquity than its present Comeliness, or Beauty: I find this to have [Page 76] been a Bishop See, about the year 680, and that Sexwulphus was first installed in the Episcopal Chair, at the Command of Ethelred, King of the Mercians, which continued not long; in 914. Ethelfleda, a noble and discreet Lady, Rebuilt it, and surrounded it with Walls; after which, in the time of the Normans, it flourished exceedingly, and Temp. Henry I. Robert, Earl of Leicester, foun­ded a College of a Dean, and Twelve Prebenda­ries, the Church of St. Marys the less, in the Castle. But Crouch-back Robert, Earl hereof, having raised a Rebellion against King Henry II. the Town was Besieged, and taken, and the Castle quite dismant­led; hard by which there is a fair, though anci­ent Hospital, in the Chapel whereof, Henry, Earl of Lancaster, and Henry his Son, the first Duke of Lancaster lie Interr'd, which Duke being very A­ged, and willing to give some visible Testimony of his Charity, built this Hospital for the use and Maintainance of divers poor, aged decrepit Per­sons of both Sexes; and on the other side amongst those flowry Meadows, which the River Soar en­richeth with its bubling Streams, Robert Bossu, Earl of Leicester, built an Abby of Canons Regular of St. Austin's Order to the Honour of the Assump­tion of the Blessed Virgin, of which Order, by the consent of his Wife Amicia, he became him­self the chief Canon, and lived in this place Fif­teen years a Monk, as hoping to atone for some of his former Crimes, by taking upon him this Religious Habit. Here Richard III. was obscurely Interr'd, after that fatal Battle at Bosworth before­mention'd, and so was the great Cardinal Woolsey, in Henry VIII. Reign. In the late unhappy Con­fusions this Town had its share of Misfortunes and Calamities, though it hath very well since reco­ver'd its old Strength and Spirits; being govern'd by a Mayor, Recorder, Twelve Aldermen, and Two Chamberlains, is furnished with all neces­sary Provisions on their Market Days, the chief of [Page 77] which is Saturday, strengthned with several Gates, in one of which is kept their Magazine, and a­dorn'd with divers Fabricks both Sacred and Civil; the Cross in the High street is an exquisite piece of Workmanship, and besides five other Churches, near that which is Dedicated to St. Martyn, stands a stately Edifice, call'd, the New Hospital, built and endowed by several Pious Benefactours, for the Use of poor impotent Lazars, with a Chapel and Chaplain to read Divine Service, and Mini­ster to these helpless and indigent Creatures; and to this joyns a small, but compleat Library, which was appointed for the use of the Ministers, and Scholars, which belong to this Town: Hard by St. Mary's Church stands the Castle, in which the Assizes are held for the County; and by St. Nicho­las there is a Wall, which, by the Ruines of it, seems to be of great Antiquity, having several hollow places in it of an Oval form, of which the Inhabitants have odd and strange Conjectures, as if here the Pagans were used to offer up their Children to their Blood-thirsty Idols, or that here they made them pass through the Fire, as the Is­raelites did theirs to Moloch; but there being little probability of this, I am rather inclined to believe, that they might possibly have been some Recepta­cles for Roman Urns, which might have been pla­ced here, as have been found in divers other parts of the Nation.

Not far from hence is Carleton, Carleton. of which we were told, that most Persons that are born there, whether it be by a peculiar property of the Soil, or of the Water, or else by some other secret O­peration of Nature, have an ill favoured untu­nable, and harsh manner of Speech, fetching their words with very much ado, deep from out of the Throat, with a certain kind of wharling, the Letter R being very irksome and troublesome to them to pronounce.

Having rested at Leicester one Night, and made [Page 78] a visit to some Friends and Relations, who were seated in this place, the next day we took our leaves both of them and that place, and began a further Progress into the County, and having rode four or five Miles further, we came to ano­ther Market-Town, call'd Mount-Sorrel, Mount-Sorrel. so called from a high Mount situated in the middle of the Town. This place hath suffered much by dismal, and raging Fires, and I find in our English Chro­nicles, that it was fortified with a Castle, in the Reign of King Henry III. for the Officers and Sol­diers that were here in Garrison, made an incursi­on into the adjacent Country, to pillage and pick up what Booty they could, which the Castle of Nottingham having due notice of, resolved to set upon them, and if possible, to put a period to such grievous Calamities the poor Neighbouring Peasants at that time groaned under, whereupon they met, and fought them, took some of the chief Ringleaders, dispersed the rest, and return­ed back Victorious to their own Castle, of which brave Exploit, when News was once brought to King Henry, he commanded the High Sheriff, for the County of Nottingham, to demolish the Castle of Mount-Sorrel, which was never since Re-edified to this day.

Four Miles further, is another Market-Town, call'd Loughborough, Loughbo­rough. some will have this to be the Village that Cuthwulphus took from the Britains, a­bout the year 571, for the Saxon Name Lygean­burh is of very near Affinity to it; but the Opini­on of my Learned Friend, Mr. Gibson, seems much more probable, who, in his Explication of this place, at the end of the Saxon Chronicle, tells us, that it rather seems to point at Leighton, in Bedfordshire, for after Cuthwulphus had taken Ly­geanburh, he is reported likewise to have taken Egelesburgh, i. e. Alisbury, in Buckinghamshire, and Bennington, now Bensington, in Oxfordshire, and that the Road leads directly from Leighton to Alis­bury, [Page 79] and so to Bensington; but 'tis very improba­ble that Cuthwulphus should so order his Marches to pass from Loughborough to Alisbury, and yet take no other place in all that long March of his betwixt those two places, which are so far distant from one another: This hath been formerly reputed the second Town in this County, both for its fair Buildings, and the pleasantness of its Situation, being near unto the Forest of Charnwood, and se­veral shady Woods, and delightful Groves that lie about it, but of late Years this hath likewise undergone great Calamities from the sudden irrup­tions of Fire, and hath been almost quite destroy­ed by this merciless Element.

And here again having been generously enter­tain'd by some particular Friends in these Parts, after some returns of Thanks for their great civi­lity and kindness, we quickly arrived within the County of Nottingham.

And because according to the great Orator, Notting­hamshire. Non nobis solum nati sed Patriae, every one is obliged to be serviceable to his Country proportionable to his Abilities, and every one hath a natural Propen­sion to love that Native Soil, which first gave him a Being, I cannot but in Duty pay some acknow­ledgments of the Benefits I have received herein, both for my Nativity, and first Rudiments of E­ducation: And indeed, I may justly say, without any partiality, that it is a Province not much in­ferior to any in England, being divided into two Parts, the one whereof is called the Sand, the o­ther the Clay, but both sufficiently productive of all things necessary for Mankind. If we will take the pains to course over the Valleys, we shall find the Earth groaning under the heavy burdens of bountiful Ceres, and the Fields and Meadows in a careful contest which should appear most trim and glorious. If we will range the Woods and Fo­rests, we shall hear such Melodies by the mutual reciprocation of Birds and Trees, that one would [Page 80] think they had got the knack of speaking, and Do­dona's pratling Groves were become visible to us: If we be so curious to dig into the Entrails of the Earth, and take a view of her hidden Treasures, we shall find several Minerals to gratifie our Cu­riosity, several great Quarries of Stone, divers Mines of Coal to provide us with Fuel against the blustring Storms of Winter. If we be taken with the gentle Streams of Brooks and Rivers, Trent will not be wanting to satisfie our Desires, and will afford us, as is reported, thirty kinds of Fish to please our Palates. As for the Towns and Vil­lages they are well inhabited with industrious Tradesmen and laborious Peasants, and so 'tis po­pulous, the Edifices of Nobles and Gentlemen are thick and spacious, and so 'tis Honourable; the Churches fair and Uniform, and so 'tis glorious; and in fine, the Air clear and serene, and so 'tis salubrious. And to begin with that Town, which being the principal of all, gives a Denomination to the whole County, even that alone will be suf­ficient to set forth, and demonstrate the great Lu­stre and Symmetry of all the other Parts.

Notting­ham, by the Bri­tains call­ed Caer-Snotyn­ham. Nottingham is built upon a Rock, and is envi­ron'd with Rocks on one side, which are washed by the crooked Windings of a commodious River, hath a fair Park of the Duke of Newcastle's ad­joining to it, with Sherwood Forest bordering upon it. The Streets are large and well paved, the Market-place handsom and convenient, the Chur­ches spacious and usefully contrived, and the Houses high and stately, they are for the most part built with Brick, but some of them are rare pieces, as well for Structure as Design; and in short, the whole front of their Fabrick is beauti­fied with Sculptures, and glistering Balconies, the Inhabitants being very curious in the new Modes and Draughts of Architecture. The Castle which is on the West-side of the Town being si­tuated upon an exceeding high Rock, did former­ly [Page 81] for strength, prospect and stateliness, challenge the precedency of most Castles in the Kingdom. And here the Danes held out a very long Siege against three Kings united against them. For in the Year 868, Buthred King of the Mercians sent Ambassadors to Aethelred King of the West-Saxons, and Alfred his Brother to crave their Aid and As­sistance against the Danish Army, which they ac­cordingly obtained, for the two Brothers muster­ing up a considerable Army arrived in the King­dom of Mercia, and made no stop till they came to Snotenghaham, now Nottingham, and when the Pagans confiding in their Fortress refused to give Battel, and the Christians had then no Engines to batter or rase the Walls, the Mercians were en­forced to conclude a Peace with the Pagans, and the two Brothers to return home ingloriously with­out doing any feats. After this, saith the Saxon Chronicle, in the Year 942, the most Valiant and Puissant King Edmund not only rescued this place out of its Danish Bondage, but four other Cities, Lincoln and Leicester, Stamford and Darby, were by the same victorious Hand delivered from the Shackles and Oppressions of those most bloody Infidels. In process of time King Edward the Se­nior strengthened it with Walls; and a new Ca­stle was built by William the Conqueror. Edward the Fourth enlarged it with various dwelling Houses for Commanders and Soldiers, and in the Rock upon which the Castle stands are several small Cottages hewn out of it, in which at pre­sent dwell divers poor People: And it is report­ed that it was never taken until by a subtil Stra­tagem it was surprized by Robert Earl of Darby in the Barons Wars, who having once got this soon entred the Town, and then used the Townsmen according to his pleasure. Though I find too in the Life of King Stephen, that Robert Earl of Glou­cester invaded this Town with a great Power, and when most of the Townsmen were slain or burnt [Page 82] in the Churches, whither they fled for Refuge. There is a Story of one of them, which was richer than the rest, that being forced to return to his own House by the Soldiers that had taken him, to shew them where his Treasure lay, he bringing them into a Cellar, whilst they were bu­sie in breaking open Locks and Coffers, convey'd himself away, and shutting the Doors after him set fire on the House, and so the Soldiers, being 30 in number, perished in the Flames, which catching hold of other Buildings joining to it, al­most burnt up the whole Town. But that which makes this Castle most signally remarkable, was the discovery of the secret Amours of Roger Mor­timer Earl of March, and the Imprisonment of David Bruce King of Scots, the Relation of which I shall set down as briefly as I can.

After King Edward the Second had been Depo­sed and Murthered by the Contrivances and Plots of his own Wife Queen Isabella, and King Edward her Son had Reigned about Four Years, a Parlia­ment was called at Nottingham, where this Roger Mortimer, who was the Queen's most especial Fa­vourite, was in such Glory and Renown, that it was beyond all Comparison; none so much Lord Paramount as the Earl of March, none appears in so great an Equipage, and attended with so ho­nourable a Retinue as the Earl of March, so that the King's Train was inferiour to his, and his Ma­jesty's Glory eclipsed by the Pomp and Grandeur of one of his Nobles; for he very often would presume to go foremost with his own Officers, and was so exceeding proud and haughty, as to make all Persons cringe and do as great Homage to him as to Majesty it self: Nay he undertook to order and dispose of all Persons and Affairs ac­cording to his own Will and Pleasure; and here­upon he one day rebuked the Earl of Lancaster, the King's Cousin, for presuming to appoint Lodgings for certain Noblemen near the Court [Page 83] without his particular License and Assignation, and having dislodged the Earl with some other Persons of very great Quality, and removed them a Mile out of Town: He did by this means so in­cense the Nobility against him, that they began to pry more narrowly into his Actions, and being enraged to see his Pride and his Usurpation of such great Prerogatives, they unanimously Libelled a­gainst him, and gave it out amongst the People; that this Mortimer was the Queen's Gallant, and the King's Master, and sought by all means he possibly could to destroy the Royal Blood, and Usurp the Crown, which report did so work upon some of the King's most trusty Friends, that they got Robert Holland, who had a long time been Governour of the Castle, and knew well all the secret Corners therein, to swear Secrecy to them, and Fidelity to the King, and accordingly to assist them in those Designs they had in hand: Whereupon one Night King Edward lying with­out the Castle, both he and his Friends were brought by Torch-light through a secret Place under the ground, beginning afar off from the said Castle ('tis the Vault which is still call'd Mortimer's Hole) till they came even to the Queen's Cham­ber, which by chance they found open, being Arm'd with naked Swords in they rush'd, leaving the King in the same posture at the Door; when they had entred into the Privy-Chamber, they found the Earl of March undressed, ready to go to Bed to the Queen; but they crossed his Design, and cooled his Courage, halling him away im­mediately by force, upon which the Queen cried out in French, Good Son, take Pity of Gentle Mor­timer, suspecting her Son to have been in the Company: The Keys of the Castle were present­ly called for, and every Place with all the Furni­ture committed into the King's Hands, and Mor­timer was forthwith sent to the Tower, who being Tryed by his Peers, Arraign'd and found Guilty, [Page 84] was hang'd upon the common Gallows two Days and two Nights.

The Articles that were brought against him were divers, though his too great Familiarity with the Queen, his unpardonable Treachery to the King, and his secret Services to David King of Scots were the chief, having burnt the very Charters by which the Scotch King stood obliged to do Ho­mage to the King of England, and thereupon en­sued a great War betwixt them; for King David being spurred on by the French King invaded Eng­land, and having made a great Inroad into the Northern Counties, spoiling and burning all Pla­ces as he came along; at length at Durham his Army was routed, and himself taken Prisoner; being first sent to the Tower, afterwards committed to this Castle, where during his Confinement he engraved upon the Walls of his Apartment the History of our Blessed Saviour's Death and Passion, some of the Relicts of which are still there to be seen. After Eleven Years Imprisonment he was restored again to his Kingdom, by paying a good Ransom for his Liberty; but before he returned, he was one of the Four Kings that was nobly treated by Henry Picard, a Vintner, then Lord Mayor of London, King Edward the Third, John King of France, and the King of Cyprus, together with Edward the Black Prince, all bearing him Company at the same Table. This was about the Year 1358.

But before I leave this Town, I cannot but take notice of one thing more memorable in our Age, this being the first place where King Charles the First set up his Royal Standard against the Rebels in the late unhappy Wars; and when the King's Forces were forced to leave it, the Castle was then quite demolished, but of late it hath been curiously rebuilt, beautified and furnished by his Grace the Duke of Newcastle.

[Page 85]Having pleasured our selves with the Antiquities of this Town, we took Horse and went to visit the Well and ancient Chair of Robin Hood, Robin Hood's Well and Chair in Sherwood Forest. which is not far from hence, within the Forest of Sher­wood: Being placed in the Chair, we had a Cap, which they say was his, very formally put upon our Heads, and having perform'd the usual Cere­monies befitting so great a Solemnity, we receiv'd the freedom of the Chair, and were incorporated into the Society of that Renowned Brotherhood. But that we may not receive such Privileges with­out an honourable mentioning of the Persons that left them to Posterity, know we must that the Patent was bequeathed to the inferiour Rangers of this Forest by Robin Hood and Little John, honourable Personages indeed, being the chief Lords of some most Renowned Robbers in the Reign of King Richard the First, who descended from good Families, as some averr, but having wasted their Estates, betook themselves afterward to such profligate Courses. This same Robin Hood entertained One hundred tall Men, all good Ar­chers, with the Spoil he daily made himself Ma­ster of, upon whom Four hundred, though very well accoutred to give Battel, durst scarce make an Onset: He suffered no Woman to be violated, oppressed, or any ways molested, poor Mens Goods he spared, and did relieve the necessitous very liberally with what he got from rich Carls and Misers, he killed none willfully, and by this means he did for a long time keep up the Order of his Knight Errants, till King Richard issuing out a Proclamation to apprehend him, it happened that he fell sick at a certain Benedictine Nunnery in York­shire, called Kirkeley, (built by Reynerus Flandrensis to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin) where being desirous to be let Blood, he was betrayed, and made bleed to Death.

Having for some short time pleased our selves with our new Fraternity, we equipped again for [Page 86] a Journey, and proceeded to find out new Ad­ventures.

We travelled over the wide and desolate Forest of Sherwood for several Miles together, but met with no place of any Note till we arrived at Al­fretton, Alfret­ton. a Town within the Precincts of Darby­shire; 'tis a Market-Town, and of considerable Antiquity, being supposed first to have shewn its Head in the time of the Saxons, and to have re­ceived its primary rise from the Noble and He­roick King Alfred. The Inhabitants here, as in divers other places of this County, make a sort of Liquor which they call Ale, which is very strong and nappy, which as it hath been the old drink of England, coming from the Danish word Oela, so questionless in it self it is a very wholesom and sound sort of Drink, and therefore however it plea­sed a Poet in the time of Henry the Third, thus to descant on it:

In English thus;

I think it not amiss to invert a little his Stan­za's in the Reign of King William the Third, thus,

[Page 87]In English again thus;

After a little pause we rode on two or three Miles further, Darby­shire. till we came into the edge of those wide and dangerous Moors, which extend many Miles both in length and breadth throughout this County, where being several Bogs and dangerous Rocks, which do much annoy the Roads that lie through them, and the Roads themselves very cross and irksom to Strangers, we resolved to take a Guide to conduct us safe over them; and the Guide we happened to make choice of was a plain but sensible Peasant, going homeward with his Cart loaded with Stones; the poor Man rea­dily complied with our Proposals, whereupon taking a Horse out of his own Team, and leaving the rest to graze thereabouts till his return, our Pilot began to steer forward: As we rode along we became very inquisitive after the nature of the Soil, and the modes of the Country, of which our Guide gave us the best account which he could. The Country, saith he, Eastward is fruitful and pleasant, abounding with all sorts of Grain, but more particularly with Barley, which makes ma­ny of the Inhabitants considerable Maltsters; but the Western, into which we are now entring, and is commonly called the Peak, is Mountainous, as you see, and Rocky, though Nature makes a sufficient amends for the Barrenness of the Soil by her hidden Treasures, which are here frequently discovered. Its length from North to South is about 30 Miles, and its breadth about 20, and the Moors, upon which we now are, are of an un­known Longitude running along, they say, to the very Borders of Scotland, and having divers Names [Page 88] answerable to the places through which they are extended, out of which divers Rivolets have like­wise their Source and Original, who pay all their little Tributes to the more noble River of Trent, which receiving all their petty Homages, makes at last an acknowledgment of its Royalty to the Ocean. The River Derwent divides the County into two Portions, and in that part, which you are now going to view, you will meet with very strange and wonderful Curiosities.

As for we poor Folk that live here about these Moors, and in these parts, we make a shift to live, but it is hardly, and if any eat their Bread in the sweat of their Brows it is we; and we seem to be in a continual quarrel with the Earth, that first gave us a Being, for we are continually opening her Veins, and for Anger, eating even into her very Bowels; some of us are employed in the Quarrys for Mill, and Whet-stones, and in some places to dig Marble and Alabaster out of the Earth: Others are set to look for Antimony, or to dig for Leaden Oar, and after with great diffi­culty, sometimes, with the loss of their Limbs, they have got it up from the Mines, they are for­ced to hazard the rest by their indefatigable La­bour, before they can melt, and shape it into Pigs and Sows. Others you will meet with, who by the blackness and grimness of their Visage, you would imagine to have come out lately from some of the Infernal Regions, these are they who work in the Coal-Mines, who, indeed, one would think, by reason of the darkness and dismalness of the Abyss in which they work, should thereby be frequently put in mind of the more dreadful Abyss, even of Hell it self; but they, as well as most other Mi­ners, as they are excluded often from the least Glimmerings of Lights so they are not terrified with any approaching Shades of Darkness, which makes them generally such insensate Wretches as they are.

[Page 89]The Character this Man gave us of these Inha­bitants, was as strange and uncommon, and he had just ended his Discourse, when we Rode by a piece of Ground, which was all inclosed with Stone: We asked him the meaning of it, standing so a­lone without any other Inclosures near it, who replied, that it was customary to inclose some of their Grounds after this manner, Wood and Bu­shes here to make Hedges with, being a very scarce Commodity, and yet that all Hunters who there pursued their Game never baulked them in the least, but made their way over them with great facility, which the next day we found true, for meeting some Gentlemen in a warm Chase after a Hare, we observ'd them to Course nimbly with their light Gennets in those places, where we durst scarce Trot, and at last poor Puss to be­come the Prey of the unwearied Pursuers. Ha­ving pass'd this Inclosure, we came to the top of a high Hill, where lighting, and walking down by reason of the steepness of the Descent, at the bottom we found a little Village; and being thus safely got off from the Moors, we took leave of our Guide, and riding two Miles further, we ar­riv'd at last at our designed Stage.

And took up our Inn at Bakewell, Bakewell. which was made a Borough by Edward the Senior; it was called by the Saxons, Badecanwylla, in whose Neighbourhood, saith the Saxon Chronicle, in the year 924, King Edward Commanded a City to be built, and a Cittadel for the Defence of it 'Tis a Market-Town much resorted to by the Inhabitants of the Peak, (which by the Saxons was formerly called Peaclond) and found it a place, Seven Won­ders of the Peak. from whence we might very appositely ac­complish those designs we had proposed to our selves, of viewing the seven Wonders, which are here so famous, whereupon fitting our selves again with a Guide, we set out for the prospect of such celebrated Varieties.

[Page 90]When we were got about two Miles from that Town, we observed upon the top of a Hill, a particular piece of Ground, which was of a strange Nature, as our Guide inform'd us. It was a Field, on which, for the most part, there was very good Grass, which, within the space of a Month, would either Fat, or kill any Horse that was put into it. As we Rode on, we found our first Pilot's Description in most points truly verifi­ed, for we met divers Horses loaden with Lead and Coals, and were frequently surrounded as well with plenty of Leaden Mines, as Quarrys of Stone, and Coals, till at last we arrived at the Castle in the Peak, Castle in the Peak. which is eight or nine Miles from Bakewell; 'tis of great Antiquity by its Ru­ines, and seems to have been impregnable by its Situation upon a high and dangerous Rock, which is so steep, and craggy, that there appears but one way, by which there is any access to it.

At the bottom of the Hill, which is near two Miles in the Descent, by reason of its steepness and frequent windings, stands a Village, call'd Castleton, Castleton. sufficiently noted for that wide subterra­neous Cavern, known commonly by the Name of the Devil's Arse; The Devils Arse. it runs under this Hill upon which the Castle stands, and at its Entrance is large and capacious, though the further you go in, the more narrow it is, and contracted: Within the Mouth of it are several small Cottagers, who dwell in little clay Tenements erected therein; the top whereof is of a very great height, and appears to the Eye, as if it was Arched above, and Che­quer'd with diversity of coloured Stones: At our Entrance, the poor People were ready to attend us with Candles and Lanthorns, and by their Con­duct we ventured in, though it belonged to Satan's Territories. After we were got a little way with­in it, we found it very dark and slippery, by rea­son of a great Current of Water, which runs a­long the Cave, and were often forced to stoop, be­cause [Page 91] the further we proceeded, the Rock hung down more low and sloping; We passed still on, till at length we were stop'd by the Water, which at that time being deeper than ordinary, and bub­ling up apace in the Cave, cry'd, a Ne Ʋltra to us, though, as they say, 'tis usual, not only to wade over this with great facility, but another Current likewise, which runs along the Cave some ten or twelve yards distant from this to a third, which is impassible. The Story of the Shepherd, which pass'd over all, and at last came out into a fair delightful Field, savours too much of a Ro­mance, to be credited; however, 'tis supposed, could all these Waters be once pass'd over, there might be made some new Discoveries, though I confess I should be extream loath, were it to pur­chase the Fame of a Drake, or a Frobisher, to seek out a New found Land in so dismal a place, which both by its Name and Nature, hath so near a Relation to the Diabolical Regions.

Having made our Retreat from this Stygian Lake, Mam-Tor. and being safely return'd through the De­vils Posteriors, our Exit was as welcome as our Visit irksome, and we proceeded to take a view of the second thing, which deservedly merits the Name of Wonderful. 'Tis a high and steep Cliff, call'd Mam-Tor, from the top whereof, the Sand, though the Air be never so calm and serene, doth continually tricle down Night and Day: The Sight of which put us in mind of that Hill, where poor Sisyphus was allotted to Punishment, of row­ling up a Stone which immediately tumbled down again, and so wearied the Wretch out in an endless Labour; and this bearing some little re­semblance to that, by the frequent rumbling down of the Stones from above, which falling down from the Precipice with a very great Noise, do of­ten astonish and afright the poor Neighbouring In­habitants, made us a little stand off at a distance, believing our Curiosity would not countervail [Page 92] the Hazards we might run, or the Damage we might receive by our too near Approaches: On the Top hereof ariseth a Spring, which in some places streams along the Cliff, but affords nothing of Variety, save that it hath its source about that high Mountain.

The Spring that Ebbs and Flows. The Mar­ble Stones.The third Wonder we found as strange, which was the Spring that Ebbs and Flows like the Sea; and the fourth, which is called the Marble Stones, by their orderly disposition into several Rows, seem rather to have been the contrivance of Art, than of Nature, but that we ought not to derogate in any wise from that unimitable Parent, whose Productions are for the most part so rare and un­accountable.

Not far distant from these, the fifth Wonder presented it self to us, known by the Name of Elden-Hole, Elden-Hole. 'tis reputed a bottomless Abyss, and could never yet be fathomed by any Art of Man; the Mouth of it is very wide and craggy, but the inward Recesses contracted and intricate. The Story of the Rustick that was let down with Ropes and Candles, to give an account of this Avernal Pit, and by his diving too far into the Bowels of the Earth, was drawn up Senseless, did too truly verifie that Poetick Aphorism, Coelum & Tartarum ipsum petimus stultitiâ, and paid dear, by the loss of his Life, for his boldness and presumption, and we are as much in the Dark, concerning its Nature, as we were before: But though we can­not give a positive Account of its immense Pro­fundity, yet we may negatively conclude too, that it is not that which some represent it to be, a place where the blustering Winds Rendezvouze and Muster, for the Experiment will not hold good, That if a Cloth be trown in, it will be ross'd up again by the inpetuous Blasts from with­in; neither did we perceive, but all was very whist and still during the time we staid by it, only, if we threw into it a Stone of any bigness, when we [Page 93] laid our Ears down close to the side of the Pit, the Ratling which it made by its fall, would be very distinct and audible for a long time toge­ther, until it was got beyond our sphear of hear­ing.

Passing from this, we rode on two or three Miles further, to Buxton, Buxton- Well. a Village very Emi­nent, in the Peak, for the sixth Wonder it glories in, viz. The Hot Well. 'Tis inclosed in a fair Stone-Building, erected by the Earl of Shrewsbury, and the Water, by its Operation, being of a near Affinity with that in the Cross-Bath, draws hither in the Summer, a great Concourse of People, of all Ages and Degrees, here being Lodgings pre­pared on purpose, proportionable to their Quali­ty, or Condition. The Fountain daily purging it self, runs away in a continued Current into the adjacent Meadows, and adds a reeking colour to the other Waters with which it unites its Tepid Streams. Not far distant from this, was formerly two Springs of a contrary Nature, the one hot, and the other cold, but the Partition betwixt them being small, and no care taken to preserve them, when we were at the place, the hot one seem'd then to be most predominant.

Here is often very good Company, amongst whom we gathered up a brief account of some o­ther remarkable Places, which at that time we had not an opportunity to view. They assured us, That Darby, Darby, Quarn­don, Ked­laston, Stanley, & Wirks­worth Springs. the chief Town of the County was large, and fair, populous, and rich, consisting of five Parishes, and driving a very considerable Trade; that Quarndon Springs near that Town, are much of the Nature of Tunbridge-Wells, in Kent, and the Spaws in Yorkshire, as strong of the Mineral, and as effectual in Operation; that Kedlaston Well is said to be singular in curing old Ulcers, and even Leprosie it self; that Stanley Springs are much like Quarndon, but not altoge­ther so strong of the Mineral; and that near [Page 94] Wirksworth, another Market Town in this Coun­ty, are two Springs, the one warm and the o­ther cold, and so near each other, that one may put one hand in the cold, and the other in the warm.

Pool's-Hole.Not far from Buxton is the 7th and last Wonder, which is called Pool's-Hole, 'tis a hollow Cave un­der a high Rock, bearing some kind of resem­blance to Ochy-Hole, which I have before described, but no way so remarkable for so many amazing Varieties: Who that Pool was from whom it re­ceived its denomination, whether some Hermite, that in this close Cell resolved to live an Ancho­rite's Life, which by his Bed-Chamber here may not seem improbable, or what Queen of Scots that was, which they tell you betook her self private­ly to this Grotto, as a safe Asylum or Sanctuary, I shall by no means undertake to determine; but sure I am, that the nature of this Cave is not much different from that I now mentioned, for there are some Shapes and Figures of Animals here, as of a Lion and a Dog, and there are some colours of the Stones within not much unlike to those in the other; besides the Water which runs along it in a small current doth petrefie, and the modes ob­served both at our entrance and return are the same; for you go in with Guides and Lights, and when we came out we were met by some poor Woman, who live near to it, with Water and Herbs to purifie and cleanse our selves from any filth or dirt we might have contracted by creeping along that darksom Cavern.

But he that desires any further Satisfaction a­bout these Seven Wonders let him have recourse to an ingenious Poem called Mirabilia Pecci, which was wrote some Years ago by the famous Mr. Hobbs, who had the honour to live sometimes in the Noble Family of the then Earl, now Duke of Devonshire, Chattes­worth. who has now such a glorious Seat in the Peak, called Chattesworth, that it may be justly reputed the Eighth Wonder.

[Page 95]When we had sufficiently-feasted our Eyes with these most admirable Rarities, and refreshed our selves a while after some few troublesom Fatigues, we mounted again, and made the best of our way thro' Ashbourn, Ashbourn another Market-Town of a conside­rable Trade to Ʋtcester, or Ʋtoxeter, Utcester. which being within the Limits of Staffordshire, is situated upon the River Dove amongst verdant Meadows, and consequently rich in Pasture and Castle. Histo­rians tell us, that Ʋlferus King of Mercia, residing at his Castle of Ʋlfercester, contractly Ʋlcester, and understanding that his Son Ʋlfade had carried his Brother Ruffus, under a pretended colour of Hunt­ing, to St. Chad, a famous Father of the Church in those days, and that they were both instructed and baptized into the Christian Faith by the per­suasion of Werebode a great Favourite of his, goes immediately to the Oratory of this Holy Man, where finding both his Sons in a devout Contem­plation, he kills them immediately with his own Hand, whereupon Ermenhelde his Queen, and their Mother, entombed them in a Sepulchre of Stone, and in process of time caused a Church of Stone to be erected over them, which place was afterward called Stones, by reason of the many Stones that were brought hither by devout People in order for this sacred Structure. After this Ʋlfer, being extreamly dissatisfied with this inhumane Action, and repenting heartily for his barbarous Butchery, did himself turn Christian, and to shew his Zeal for the Christian Cause destroyed the Pagan Temples, burnt their Idols, and erected divers Churches and Religious Houses in their stead.

As we travelled along we found this County of a healthy Air and pleasant Soil, Stafford­shire. though North­ward it appears more hilly and barren; in some parts it is full of Woods, in others it abounds with Coal and Iron, and so great was formerly the number of Parks and Warrens here, that most [Page 96] Gentlemens Seats were accommodated with both. Its principal Rivers are the Dove, which so en­richeth the Ground, that the adjacent Meadows are noted for yielding, as some will have it, the sweetest Mutton in England; and the famous Trent, which runs along thro' the middle of the County, being commonly reputed the third River in Eng­land, receives its Denomination, either say some, because there are Thirty Rivolets which run into it, or Thirty sorts of Fish that swim within its Streams; nay others go so far as positively to as­sert what the Hungarians do of their River Tibiscus, that two Parts are Water, and the third Fish.

Stafford. Stafford is about ten Miles from Ʋtcester, of great Antiquity, and hath gone under divers Names; it was at first built by Edward the Senior, under the name of Betheny, where one Berteline, that was afterward Canoniz'd for a Saint for his great Piety, led an Hermites Life; afterward Statford, and now Stafford. The noble Lady Elfleda, Wife to Ethelred Duke of Mercia, was very liberal in her Contributions in order to its Repairs, as she was likewise to divers other eminent Cities, who had suffered by the Danes: 'Tis situated in a fair Soil and a sweet Air, on the Banks of the River Sowe, with a Bridge over it; 'tis adorn'd with two Churches, one whereof is very large and spacious, and a Free-School, beautified with a large and uniform Market-Place, in which is a House where the Assizes are held for the County; the Streets are clean and well paved, the Buildings of Stone and Slate, and some of the Structures are very modish and beautiful. King John made it a Cor­poration, and Edward the Sixth confirmed and en­larged the Charter. Here was a Priory of Black Canons built by Rich. Peche, Bishop of Coventry and Litchfield, A. D. 1162. to the Memory of St. Tho­mas of Canterbury, and a College of a Dean and Canons dedicated to St. Mary; and not far from hence are to be seen the Ruins of an ancient Castle [Page 97] belonging heretofore to the Barons of Stafford, but in our late unhappy Broils it underwent the same Fate which divers other Castles did then undergo.

Whilst we were resident in this place, we had some notice that the great Asylum, which preser­ved his Sacred Majesty King Charles Second, was not far from this place; whereupon being then a little impatient to behold that unparallell'd San­ctuary, we went from hence to Long Birch, Long-Birch. a pleasant Seat situate about eight or nine Miles from Stafford, and as then finding no convenient Opportunity to finish some particular Business which we had there to dispatch, we rode on till we came at last to that noted Wood, where that famous Oak stood in which his Majesty was preserved; The Royal Oak. we found it paled in with high Pales, which were beset with Spikes of Iron to keep off all Sons of Violence from offering it any harm. 'Tis true, a little before his Majesty's Restauration the whole Wood being felled, the top of this with the up­per Branches were all then lopt off, but the Body of it did then remain very firm and entire, and was ordered to be preserved to future Genera­tions.

Not far from that Wood stands a House called the White Lady's, The White Lady 's belonging to the Penderels, who though but at first of a mean Extraction and For­tune, yet could never be bribed to betray their Sovereign, who for some time lay thereabouts concealed amongst them: And indeed all things did so strangely concur to his Majesty's Protecti­on, that Providence seem'd to have laid a golden Link of Causes on purpose to be instrumental to his glorious Preservation; thus tho the Oak stood by the common High-way which led through the Wood, and the bloody Sons of Mars rode under the very Boughs of it, whilst the King was there present, though the Persons, who at first had pro­vided him that Sanctuary, being poor and indi­gent, [Page 98] might have been wrought upon to betray their Trust, and rather balanced that way by the great Rewards that were then promised, and Ma­jesty being then at a very low Ebb, a Royal As­surance of some future remembrance might have then passed for a very unsuitable and insignificant Obligation to Fidelity, and though those grand Secrets being committed to some of the other Sex might have been in danger to have slipped thro' such chinky crannies, yet all went well, not the least discovery was made of any thing, and im­partial Justice and Loyal Piety did never more visibly appear in the Cottages of the Country, than when Rural Swains became Protectors of their injured Sovereign, and Majesty was shrouded safely under a Peasant's Weeds.

We retired from hence to a Village called Tonge, Tonge. about 3 Miles farther within the Limits of Shrop­shire, which receives its Name from an old ruinated Castle belonging to the Family of the Pierpoints Isabel the Wife of Fulk Pen­bridge, Kt. Founded here a Col­legiate Church, and dedicated it to St. Bartholo­mew, A. D 1131.; where finding but little to divert us, save what the Church afforded us with its Ring of tunable Bells, one whereof is of very large size, and near akin to the famous Bell called Great Tom of Lincoln, we went to view the Slitting Mills, which slit Iron in sunder, being but a small distance from this place but the noise was so terrible before we came at them, that one would have thought the Clouds had been running Re-encounters, and Jove with his Thunder-Claps had utterly prohibited us any further access; and when we came near there was such flashes of Lightning, such hot Vapours and Steams, that we might justly conclude we were got within the Territories of Vulcan, and that these were some of the Cyclopean Race, who were here employed to hammer out their Livings with Fire and Smoke; the Wheels of the Mill are put in motion by a current of Water; that streams along by it, the Hammers which are continually redoubling their strokes are ponderous and massy, [Page 99] and the Men which are at work seem to be in no happier a Condition than they who dig at the Mines, or tug at the Galleys; for they work Night and Day after so indefatigable a manner, that the very Heat preys upon their Bodies, and shortens their Days; the place was soon too hot for us, and the noise too troublesom, and there­fore we journeyed on to visit more of the Coun­ty.

The Country appear'd to us no less pleasant than its Neighbours, Shrop­shire. and is of a wholesom and temperate Air, affording Health to the Inhabi­tants at all Seasons of the Year, this was sufficient­ly verified in old Thomas Parr of Alderbury, who lived 152 Years, and saw no less than ten Reigns; he was born here in 1483, in the Reign of Ed­ward the Fourth, and died in 1635, and lies bu­ried at Westminster: The Soil is generally fer­tile, standing most upon a reddish Clay, and yields plenty of Pit-Coals and Iron, and has ever been in great repute for its populous Towns and Castles; for bordering upon Wales the Noblemen here and Persons of Quality were very sollicitous to preserve themselves secure against any Incur­sions of the Welsh, and hereupon they fortified their Houses to prevent all Dangers; and this dividing England from Wales was call'd the Marches, for the defence of which the Lords here and Gen­tlemen have enjoy'd formerly very great Privileges and Immunities, but since the Union of these two Kingdoms, as all Hostilities have ceased, so their ancient Rights and Privileges are not now so much insisted on.

Here are found in divers parts of this County several large Elms and other Trees under Ground, which have been supposed to lie there ever since the General Deluge; they are so dry, that being slit into small shivers they burn like Candles, and are made use of sometimes by the poorer sort instead of the other.

[Page 100] Shrews­bury.In the midst of the County upon the Banks of the Severne, is seated upon a Hill the famous City of Shrewsbury, by the Britains named Caerpengren, by the Saxons called Scrobbesbirig, and by the Nor­mans Sloppesbury and Salop; 'tis almost surrounded with the River, and strengthened with a large and broad Wall, where in some places two or three may walk abreast; and upon that part of it which looks towards Wales, stands the Water-House, in which is a Well many fathoms deep, from which the Water, drawn up there by Horses in great Buckets, is conveyed by Pipes into all parts of the City, there being convenient steps contrived from the bottom of the Ground to the top of the Well, for the Beasts to go forward and backward from their accustom'd Labours. Roger Montgomery in the Reign of William the Conqueror, built on the North-side of it a strong Castle, and founded here A. D. 1083. a Benedictine Abbey to the Honour of St. Peter and St. Paul: Besides which here were likewise two Colleges of St. Mary and St. Chad. The School was Founded by the most Heroick Queen Elizabeth, which being a fair and uniform Structure built of Free-stone, is govern'd by a Ma­ster and two Ushers, and well furnished with a useful Library. As to the neatness of its Streets and Buildings it yields to few other Cities in Eng­land; and for publick Devotion it has five Parish Churches, two of which are beautified with lofty Spires; the City is governed by a Mayor, Re­corder and two Sheriffs, who live generally in great Repute and Grandeur; and the three Mar­ket-Days, which are here every Week, cause a very great Concourse both of the Welsh and other Persons, and occasions a considerable Trade in this place. Near to which a sharp Battel was fought A. D. 1673. between Henry IV. and Henry Piercy Earl of Northumberland, which place was called Battle-Field, where the King erected a College of Secular Canons to the Honour of St. Mary Magdalen, for the Honour of that Victory.

[Page 101]But I must not omit to speak of one thing more, that in the Year 1551, the Sweating-Sickness, which destroyed so many, breaking forth first here dispersed it self at length over the whole Nation.

Passing from hence we rode through Stretton, Stretton. ten Miles distant from this City, and there being three of them which join close to one another, Little-Stretton, Church-Stretton, and All-Stretton, the middlemost being a Market Town is of great­est Note.

But finding here nothing to detain us, we made no stop till we arrived at Ludlow, Ludlow. the chief Town in this County; 'tis of greater Antiquity than Beauty, situated by the River Corve, defended by a Wall and Castle, both built by Roger Earl of Montgomery. When Robert de Belasme, Earl of Shrewsbury, and Son to Montgomery, was taken Pri­soner in his Rebellion against Henry the First, the King then seised it; after this it was given away from the Crown by Henry the Second, and came into the Possession of the Lacys, from thence to the Mortimers, and at last it became the Inheritance of the Princes of Wales, and by this means be­ginning to come into great Repute, the Inhabi­tants erected here a very stately Church, so that in a little time it excelled all its Neighbourhood; Kenry Henry the Eighth instituting here the Coun­cil of the Marches. Here was Young Edward the Fifth at the Death of his Father, and here died Prince Arthur, eldest Son of Henry the Seventh, both being sent hither by their Fathers for the same end, viz. by their Presence to satisfie and keep in order the unruly Welsh.

But before I leave this County, I must not for­get Pitchford, Pitch­ford. a Village very eminent for its Well of Pitch, which though it be scumm'd off returns again, and swims aloft upon the Surface of the Water. Cambden is of Opinion, that it is rather a Bituminous kind of Matter, such as is in the Lake Asphaltites in Palestine, or in a Fountain by [Page 102] the Hill Agragas in Sicily; however the Inhabi­tants are said to make the same use of it, which they do of Pitch, but whether like that in Jewry it hath the same Balsamick Virtues of drawing out Corruption, or healing Wounds or is of any efficacy against the Falling-Sickness, I have yet met with none who have made any Experi­ment.

Coming again within the Confines of Hereford­shire, near to Richard's-Castle, Nature, which is never more curious than in her Water-Works, presented us with an exceeding great Rarity, 'tis a Well called Bone-Well, Bone-Well. upon the Surface of which are still bubbling up several little Bones of Fishes, and when those which appear above are taken away, others do immediately succeed in their room.

Lempster.We passed from hence to Lempster, a Town of great Antiquity; for here, saith the Notitia Mo­nastica, Merwald King of the Mercians first built a Nunnery about A. D. 800. which was destroyed in the Danish Wars; after that here was a College of Prebendaries, until King Henry the first annex­ed their Lands to the Abby of Reading, and so it became a Cell of Benedictine Monks to that Abby, being dedicated to St. James; some are of Opi­nion that it received its name from Linum, Flax or Hemp, which were wont to grow here in great abundance; others from Lana, Wooll, because it is supposed to have the best Wooll, known by the name of Lempster Ore, which as it makes the finest Cloth in England, so doth its Wheat the purest Bread; hence it is grown Proverbial among the Inhabitants, For Lempster Bread and Weobley Beer, none can come near. The Town is situated in a pleasant Valley, and is governed by a Bayliff and Aldermen, and adorned with a handsom Hall for the dispatching of all publick Affairs.

Our next remove was again to Hereford, where amongst other Varieties we were entertained withal in the City, there are near to it some Re­mains [Page 103] of Antiquity, which then we had an op­portunity more particularly to view, namely Sutton Walls, Sutton Walls. near to the Village of Marden, which are the Ruins of some ancient great Building, in all probability supposed to be the Mansion-House of Offa, when Kenchester flourished, or at least when Hereford was but in its Infancy: This Offa being King of the Mercians, and having in­veigled Ethelbert King of the East-Angles into his Palace, under colour and pretence of bestow­ing his Daughter upon him in Marriage, by the advice of his ambitious Wife, in hopes to suc­ceed him in his Kingdom, basely and treacherous­ly caused his Head to be striken off by one Grim­bert his Servant, and his Body being Buried upon the Banks of the River Lugg was afterward re­moved to Hereford, and over it was Built the present stately Cathedral.

Hard by Lidbury, another Market Town of this County, near to the place where the Rivers Wye and Lugg unite, is a Hill called Marckley-Hill, Marckley Hill near Lidbury. ce­lebrated by our Historians for its wonderful Tra­vel Feb. 7. 1571. for about six a Clock in the Evening on a sudden as it were rouzed out of a dull Lethargy, it moved with a roaring noise from the place where it stood, and by seven the next Morning had gone about 200 Foot, and so conti­nued its Travels for 3 days together, to the great Horror and Astonishment of all the Neighbouring Inhabitants; whereupon Kynaston Chapel, Trees, Hedges and Sheep Folds fell down, and, which adds much to the Wonder, two High-Ways were turned about 300 Foot from their former Paths, the East parts to the West, and the West to the East, Pasturage being left in the place of Tillage, and this in the place of Pasturage.

Having taken our leave of our Friends at Here­ford, we passed through Ross, Ross and Huntley. a Town noted as well for its Houses built of Stone and Slate, as for the great Vulcanian Tribe of Blacksmiths which [Page 104] there inhabit, to Huntly, a Village about fifteen or sixteen Miles distant from Hereford.

From hence, Travelling again through Glocester, we arrived at Fairford, Fairford. a Market Town, formerly of good account for its curious Church Windows, in which was pourtrayed the History of the Bible in painted Glass; until they were defaced by the malicious Hands of those, who, being all Defor­mity themselves, could not endure to see God wor­shipped in the Beauty of Holiness.

After we were gone from this place, we were quickly got within the Precincts of Berkshire, Berkshire. a County pleasant and fertile, watered with the River Isis, adorned with woody Hills, and thick Groves, and fruitful Valleys, whereof that which is called the Vale of White Horse is extreamly de­lightful, and Nature compensates the Barrenness of the Soil in one place by her manifold Gifts she bestows upon it in another.

Faring­don. Farringdon was the first Town of Note we ar­rived at, called in the Saxon Chronicle Fearndune, where about the Year 925 King Edward the Se­nior died; which tho' situated upon a stony Soil, yet is now as famous for its great Market, as it was formerly for its impregnable Fortress, erected here by Robert Earl of Glocester against King Ste­phen, which the King, though with the loss of a great number of his Soldiers, at last by his con­tinued Assaults and Batteries took and utterly de­molished. Here was a Priory of Cistertian Monks founded by King John, A. D. 1200, which was Subordinate to the Abbey of Beaulieu in Hamp­shire.

Ten Miles from this is another fair Town cal­led Abington, Abington. to which the River Isis, after it hath winded it self a long way about in a crooked Channel, makes its near approaches; it is a large and populous place, and receives its denomina­tion from a famous Abbey founded here A. D. 625, by Heane, Nephew to Cissa Vice-Roy of the [Page 105] West-Saxons; and although this Monastery did for some Years flourish exceedingly, yet it was after­wards subverted by the Fury of the Danes, but through the Bounty and Munificence of King Edred and King Edgar, it was restored again to its primitive Splendor and Greatness; and as it hath been famous for the Sepulture of divers eminent Persons, particularly of Sidemannus and Egeluinus, both ancient Bishops; and of Robert d' Oily and Al­dith his Wife, who contributed much to the Build­ing St. Mary's Church in Abington; so by the Care and Industry of the Norman Abbots it grew to that pitch of Grandeur, and so exceeding Rich and Wealthy, that it began indeed to be beyond all Comparison; and truly the Ruins of it, which are still visible, do speak it to have been a glorious Structure: As for the Town, though it had its chief Dependance on the Abby, yet from the Year 1416, after that King Henry the Fifth had Built a strong Bridge of Stone, over the River Isis, as two Verses which are written in St. Helen's Church Windows do attest.

And turned the High-way hither to make a shorter Passage, it began to be populous, and much frequented, and hath ever since been re­puted the principal Town in the County: The Inhabitants are generally Maltsters (Barley be­ing here a valuable Commodity) and great Cock-Masters too, for which little fierce Crea­tures they make frequent Matches: The Magi­strates by their Vigilancy and Care do keep up the Corporation in great Honour and Request, and the Mayor and Aldermen are diligent and circum­spect in the discharge of their Offices, and for the more great and weighty Matters, which are above their Sphere, the Judges when they come [Page 106] their Circuit, and keep the Assizes here for the County, do ease them of that trouble, by giving a final Determination of all.

When we had rode about five Miles further, we came within the limits of Oxfordshire, to a Town called Dorchester, Dorche­ster. built at first by Birinus Bishop of Caer-Dor, which Bede calls Dorcinia, and Leland Hydropolis, taking its name of the Waters it stands upon, sometimes Walled about and Castled, but all now ruined and gone, a round Hill there still ap­pearing. Here, as we are told in the History of Allchester, the Superstitious ensuing Ages built Birinus a Shrine, teaching them that had any Cattel amiss to creep to that Shrine for help, such Blindness possessed them then, that they laid the Commandments of God aside to follow their own Traditions, and yet so blind are their Posterity, that they praise their Doings. That this was a Colony of the Romans is very evident from their various Coins and Medals bearing their Stamp, which have been found hereabouts, and it is as certain that formerly it was a Bishop's See, which Birinus the Grand Apostle of the West-Saxons pla­ced here; for in the Year 635, by the Preaching of this Holy Man, King Kinegilsus and all his Peo­ple received the Christian Faith, to whom Os­wald King of the Northumbers was God Father at the Font, whereupon a Bishop's See was here fixed. But besides Kinegilsus he Baptized after that Guicheline his Son too, and after him Cuthred King of Kent, about the Year 639. He is said to have instituted Secular Canons in his Cathedral Church, who continued till in the Reign of King Stephen, Alexander Bishop of Lincoln converted them to Canons Regular. Upon the Death of Ed­ward, Aethelstan his eldest Son succeeded, and du­ring his whole Reign guarded these Parts from all disturbance of the Danes, who in January 938 held here a Council, as the Learned Mr. Kennet informs us, In Civitate celeberrima quae Dornacestre [Page 107] appellatur, and there gave a Charter, subscribed by four Tributary Kings, two Arch-Bishops, and fourteen Bishops, to the Covent of Malmsbury. Upon the Death of Ʋlf, or Wulfin, Bishop of Dor­chester, Remigius was preferred to this See, and at a Council held at London, A. D. 1072. the Epi­scopal Seat was transferred from Dorchester, as too obscure a place, to the City of Lincoln; from which time it began visibly to decline, and is now only famous for its remains of Antiquity, and for the happy conjunction of the two noted Rivers Tame and Isis.

The next Town of Note, which was obvious in the Road, was Henley, Henley. to which the River Thames, after it hath fetch'd a great Compass, doth at last approach; 'tis taken for a most ancient British Town, from Hen old, and Lhey a place; and, as Cambden and Dr. Plot suppose, was the head Town of the People called Ancalites, who submitted to Caesar: The Inhabitants are generally Barge-Men, and by carrying away much Corn and good store of Wood, of which there is great plen­ty in the adjacent Villages, in their Barges to Lon­don, do enrich the Neighbourhood, and pick out to themselves a very comfortable Subsistence.

After a little respite we proceeded on to Maiden-head, Maiden-head. which, they say, was thus denominated from the superstitious Adoration given to a British Maid, being one of the Eleven Thousand, which by the Conduct of St. Ʋrsula returning home from Rome, were all Martyr'd at Cologne in Germany, by the Tyrant Attila, that most cruel Scourge to the Christians: 'Tis of no long Date or Standing, for within this Hundred Years the Passage over the River was at a place called Babham's-End, but after that a strong Bridge of Wood was once here erected, it began to draw Strangers to it apace, and to outshine and excel its Neighbour Bray, which being now ancient gives its Name to the whole Hundred, 'tis not unlikely that the Bibroci [Page 108] were the former Inhabitants of these Parts, who did willingly of their own accord come and sub­mit themselves to Julius Caesar, and the Relicts of their Name seem to make it out, for Bibracte in France is easily contracted into Bray; and it is not at all improbable that Caesar making an Inrode in­to this County, did pass over the River not far from this place, though Mr. Kennett, I find is of Opinion, that he brought his Forces over at Wal­lingford.

Windsor.In this Hundred is Windsor, where we arrived towards the declining of the Day: This place was given away by Edward the Confessor from the Crown to the Church of Westminster, but William the Con­queror taking a great Affection to it, by reason of its pleasant Situation, made an exchange with the Abbot of Westminster for some other Lands in the room of this, and so it returned to the Crown again; the Palace here, to which the King and Court do resort in Summer time, is inferiour to none for Sight and Pleasantness, for Beauty and Magnificence throughout his Majesty's Dominions, and perhaps for curious Painting exceeds at this time all other Palaces in the Kingdom, being the admi­red Workmanship of Unimitable Seignior Verrio; in the Front lies a pleasant Vale, garnished with Corn-fields, flourishing with green Meadows, deck'd with melodious Woods, and water'd with the gentle Streams of the noble River Thames; be­hind it is a pleasant Prospect of a delightful Fo­rest, design'd on purpose by Nature for Sport and Recreation, while she so liberally stocks it with numerous Herds of Deer lurking amongst the sha­dy Thickets. In fine, 'tis such an Elysium for Pleasure and Delight, that our Kings and Princes have always chose to retire hither for their Diver­sion; and Charles the Second was so taken with it, that he yearly kept his Court here in the Sum­mer time. The Royal Castle and Chapel adjoin­ing was rebuilt by Edward the Third, who was [Page 109] Born in this Town, for Henry the First had before erected it, fortifying the same with strong Walls and Trenches; he founded also a Chantry for Eight Priests, neither endowed nor incorporate, but maintained by an Annual Pension out of the Exchequer; but Edward the Third founded this College for a Custos, Twelve Secular Canons, Thirteen Priests or Vicars, Four Clerks, Six Cho­risters, Twenty-six Alms-Knights, besides other Officers to the Honour of St. Edward the Confessor and St. George. In the Chapel lie interr'd two of our Kings, Henry the Eighth and Charles the First; and to this Castle was committed Prisoners, John King of France, and David King of Scots, by King Edward the Third. This Castle stands upon a Hill, with a stately and spacious Terrace before it, and it hath a very magnificent Church dedicated by Edward the Third to St. George, but brought to that present Splendor and Beauty, with which it is now illustrated, by King Edward the Fourth, and Sir Reginald Bray. Who this St. George was we have now mentioned, Mr. Sands in his Travels gives us the best account, That he was a Cappado­cian, advanced in the Wars to the Dignity of a Tribune, who afterward became a Soldier of Christ, and is said in Lydda to have suffered Mar­tyrdom under Dioclesian, where stands a Temple built to his Honour, as they say, by a King of England, which Church the Greeks have the Cu­stody of, and do shew a Skull therein, which they affirm to be St. George's. On this St. George's Day, which is April 23. King Edward the Third, that he might give to true Chivalry that Honour and ample Reward it deserves, constituted first the most noble Order of the Garter, appointing a select number of Twenty-six Persons of Honour to wear a blue Garter on their left Leg, with this Motto in French, Evil be to him that evil thinks. Hony soit qui maly pense, and these he call'd Knights of the Garter: Of this Order are and have been the most Puissant and Renown'd Princes [Page 110] in Christendom, this Honour being deriv'd to them from the King of England, who is the first and chief thereof; but because the Occasion of the con­stitution of this most Noble Order, as well as a List of the Persons that are Honoured therewith, are given us already by Elias Ashmole Esq and others. I shall not actum agere, but rather declare who were the Principuli, and had the Honour to stand Rank'd in the first Front of this Order, and they are these who follow, who being very Renowned in their Generation, it is pity they should be Bu­ried in the Grave of Oblivion:

• 1. Edward the Third, King of England.
• 2. Edward the Prince of Wales.
• 3. Henry Duke of Lancaster.
• 4. Thomas Earl of Warwick.
• 5. Captain de Bouch.
• 6. Ralph Earl of Stafford.
• 7. William Mountague Earl of Salisbury.
• 8. Roger Mortimer Earl of March.
• 10. Sir John Lisle.
• 11. Sir Bartholomew Burwash.
• 12. Sir John Beauchamp.
• 13. Sir Hugh Courtney.
• 14. Sir Thomas Holland.
• 15. Sir John Grey.
• 16. Sir Richard Fitz-Simon.
• 17. Sir Miles Stapleton.
• 18. Sir Thomas Walle.
• 19. Sir Hugh Wrothesley:
• 20. Sir Neel Loring.
• 21. Sir John Chandos.
• 22. Sir James Audley.
• 23. Sir Otho Holland.
• 24. Sir Henry Eme.
• 25. Sir Zanchet D'Brigecoure.
• 26. Sir Walter Paveley.

[Page 111]All these, as likewise all other Knights of the Garter, have their several Stalls allotted them in St. George's Chapel, over which hang their Escutcheons, and their Arms, and when they are present they are all arrayed with Robes and Mantles peculiar to their Order; and upon their day of admission to this Dignity, which is usually on St. George's Day, they are generally Installed, either by themselves or their Proxies, by the Prelate of the Garter, which Office is setled upon the Bishop of Winchester, and the Chan­cellour belonging to it is the Bishop of Salis­bury.

On one side of the Church stand the Houses of the Dean and Prebendaries, who are Twelve in number; and on the other side, an House not un­like the Graecian Prytaneum, for the comfortable Maintenance of Twenty-six poor Knights, who being all clad in long purple Gowns, bearing the Badge of the Cross upon them, are daily to be present, Morning and Night, at Divine Ser­vice.

Betwixt the two Courts ariseth up a high Mount, on which is set a round Tower, and hard by it riseth another lofty Pinnacle, called Win­chester Tower, of William Wickam Bishop of Win­chester, whom King Edward the Third made Over­seer of this Work, when he Built the Castle. There is a Rumour of a certain Inscription that was engraven by this Wickam upon the inner part of the Wall, after the finishing of the Tower, in these Words, This made Wickam; which bear­ing a dubious meaning, some of the Courtiers, that were his Enemies, represented them in such a sense to the King, as if he had arrogated to him­self all the Glory and Magnificence of the Stru­cture, and so had eclipsed the King's Honour, at which the King being incensed, and rebuking him for the Fact, he replied, That he did not mean that he had made the Castle, but that the [Page 112] Castle had made him, having raised him from a mean and low Condition to the King's Favour, and thereby to great Wealth and Dignity.

But before I leave this Bishop, I cannot omit one very remarkable Story which I find Record­ed of him by John de Pontoys, in his History of the Bishops of Winchester; how this Renowned Prelate discovered a notorious Cheat to Edward the Third, put upon him by his own Queen Phi­lippa; for that John Duke of Lancaster, who then went for his Son, was never Born of that Queen, but was really Supposititious, which she still con­cealed for fear of the King's Anger; but after­ward, a little before her Death, she declared the whole Truth to this Bishop, and command­ed him to tell the King the whole Matter, when he should find the most convenient Opportu­nity. Mr. Wharton's Anglia Sacra, pars prima p. 318.

New-Windsor.That which the Inhabitants call now New-Windsor, standing South-West from the Castle, began to flourish in the Reign of King Henry the Third; and the Daughter hath now quite eclipsed the Glory and Honour of the Mother, for 'tis grown very Beautiful and Populous, adorned with handsom Buildings, and a regular Corpora­tion, and sends from thence constantly two Bur­gesses to the Parliament.

Aeton College.There is one thing still more here, which is remarkable, opposite to Windsor on the other side of the River Thames, a fair Bridge of Wood leads you on to Aeton, where stands a famous College erected by that most Charitable Prince King Henry the Sixth, in which besides a very honourable Allowance for the Provost, there is a handsom Pension for Eight Fellows, and a creditable Subsistence for Sixty Scholars, who having re­ceived here the first Rudiments of Grammar and Rhetorick, are afterwards translated to King's-College in Cambridge, where they are certainly pre­ferred [Page 113] according to their civil and studious De­portment.

Having satisfied our Curiosities with these plea­sant Prospects, we took our Farewell of the Mu­ses Athenaeum, as well as Mars his Cittadel, and crossing again the River arrived at Colebrook, Cole­brook. three or four Miles distant from this place, so called from the River Cole, which gently glides along through Bucks and Middlesex; 'tis parted into several Chan­nels, over which stand as many Bridges, and by the several partitions of its Streams it encompasseth several little pretty Islands, into which the Danes fled about the Year 894. whither King Alfred pursued them, and endeavoured what he could to annoy them, till at last for want of Provision he was enforced to quit that most advantageous Post.

We passed on from hence to Brentford, Brent­ford. which receives its name from the Rivolet Brent running by it. Here in the Year 1016 Edmund Ironside did so overpower the Danes, that they fled away very ingloriously, being quite routed by him, and lea­ving a great many Men slain behind them. This Town being a great thorough Fare for the We­stern Counties, and lying near to London, is en­riched with a great Trade, and the Market draws a considerable concourse of Citizens, who flock hither on purpose to buy up such Commodities as it affords; besides the River Thames running not far from it, is very conducive to beautifie and en­rich it, whilst by that means all sorts of Goods are with great conveniency conveyed backward and forward thither.

Here met us some Friends, who from thence conducted us back to the City, where we again safely arrived after this divertive Perambulation.

AN ACCOUNT OF Mr. BROME'S Three Years TRAVELS, OVER England, Scotland, and Wales.
A Narrative of his Third Journey.

WE diverted our selves for some little time in the City, but the Pleasures therein growing nauseating and irk­som, and the Rural Diversions more pleasing and delightful, we resolved to undertake once more a Pilgrimage of a greater extent, than any we had done before; and the Vernal Season, which then began to attire the Country in all its bravery, did as mightily conduce to quicken our Resolutions in steering our Course about the Maritime Coasts of our Native Soil, as in taking [Page 115] a view of that further part of the Continent, to which before we had made no access.

Hereupon equipping our selves, like provident Pilgrims, with all things requisite for so great a Journey, we set forward, and having some Friends which accompanied us in our way, our first Remove was into the County of Essex, Essex. a Country of as great Variety as Delight, of a considerable compass and very fruitful; 'tis full of Woods and shady Groves, enriched with all kind of Grain, abounds with Saffron, and is stocked with great Herds of Kine and Hogs; hereupon the Rusticks have great plenty of Dairies, and make Cheeses massy and ponderous; the Gentry generally are courtly and affable, and the Commonalty for the most part pretty well refined; but for them who live in the Hundreds (as they call that part of the County which lying more low and flat, and near to the Sea, is full of Marshes and Bogs) they are Persons of so abject and sordid a Temper, that they seem almost to have undergone poor Nebu­chadnezzar's Fate, and by conversing continually with the Beasts to have learn'd their Manners.

Rumford was our first Stage, Rumford. about ten Miles from London, renowned for its great Market for all manner of Cattle, but more especially celebra­ted for its Hogs and Calves. After a little stop in this place, we passed on through Burntwood and In­gerstone, Burnt­wood and Inger­stone. Towns of no great Note, save one for its Free-School, and both for their Markets and Ho­spitable Inns, to Chelmsford, a Town twenty-five Miles from the City, where we took up our Quarters for one Night.

This Town stands in the Heart of the County, Chelms­ford. being formerly called Chelmerford; 'tis situate be­twixt two Rivers which meet here, viz. Chelmer from the East, and another from the South, the name whereof, if it be Can, as some would have it, we have no reason to doubt it was Old Cano­nium, which Cambden tells us stood anciently in [Page 116] this place; it was of old very famous for a small Religious House erected by Malcolme King of Scots, and for its Church-Windows (having the History of Christ and the Escutcheons of its noble Benefactors painted in them) which were batter'd down by the Instigated Rabble in the late Rebel­lion; but that which now renders it most Re­nowned, is not only the Assizes, which are held here twice a Year for the County, but likewise its great Market for Corn, which the Londoners co­ming down every Week take away in great quantities; and the Vicinity of the Nobility and Gentry, which lying round about it, do very much enhance its Glory, as well as promote its Trade.

But the Allurements of this place were too weak to detain us any longer than the Morning; for no sooner did we discern the modest Blushes upon Aurora's Cheeks, but we prepared our selves for the Farewel of our Friends, where mutually embracing each other, with some passionate Ex­pressions of Kindness at our departure, we left them to return to the City, and they with a gale of good Wishes speeded us forward on our Journey.

No sooner were they departed from us, but a Cloud of Sorrow overspread our Countenance, and, as if we had suffered an Eclipse of Friend­ship upon our Souls by their Separation from our Bodies, we began to think that of all Evils which are incident to Humanity, there is none that equals Privation, upon which account we became for a while a little discomposed in our Thoughts, till Witham, Witham. another Market Town about five Miles distant from Chelmsford, Built, as is suppo­sed, by King Edward the Senior, presented us with some other Scenes of Pleasure and Diversion.

Colche­ster.However our main drift being for Colchester, we hastned to that place, which was formerly called Kaer-Colden by the Britains; but whether it took its Name from Colonia, a Colony of the [Page 117] Romans being here planted, or from the River Colne, 'tis not much material to enquire; the se­veral Coins, which have been digged up here, bearing all the Roman stamp, do evince its Anti­quity; and whether Lucius, Helena, and Constan­tine, the first Christian King, Empress, and Em­peror in the World, were Born here or no, sure I am, that the Inhabitants speak great things of her Father King Coel, who built the Castle, (tho' others will have it Built by Edward, Son of King Alfred) and the Walls of the Town, having ere­cted a Statue for him in the midst of it, which they preserve with great Reverence to perpetuate his Memory: And 'tis as certain, that in remem­brance of the Cross which his Daughter found here, they give for their Arms a Cross engrailed betwixt two Crowns. It suffered much of old from the Fury of the East-Saxons about the Year 921, as the Saxon Chronicle informs us, who ha­ving taken it by Storm put all to the Sword, ex­cept a few, who by stealth crept away, and saved themselves by flight, and destroyed all its For­tresses, and threw down its Walls; but King Ed­ward the Confessor came and Fortified it again, and having repaired all its Breaches, and streng­thened it with a Garison, it began by degrees to recover its Losses, and retrieve its ancient Splendor and Comeliness; for, being pleasantly seated upon the Brow of a Hill, which extends its self from East to West, it quickly drew to it numerous Shoals of Inhabitants, whereby its Buildings were en­larged, and its Churches encreased to the number of 15 within the Walls, and 1 without, besides 2 Religious Houses, an Abby built here A. D. 1096. by Eudo, Steward to King Henry I. to the Honour of St. John Baptist, for the use of the Benedictine Monks, the first of that Order which was erected in England; and another Priory, saith the No­titia Monastica, Founded A. D. 1110. by Ey­nulphus, for Canons of the Order of St. Au­stin, [Page 118] and dedicated to St. Botolph and St. Julian.

In the late unhappy Civil Wars it had its share of Calamities, for being close Besieged by their Enemies, the Royalists within behaved themselves so bravely, that they could neither take it by Violence, nor enforce it to a surrender, till having block'd up all Avenues whereby the least Provision might be conveyed to them within, they were reduced to such Exigency and Want, Hunger exercising its Tyranny within the Walls, with no less rigour than the Enemy did without, that they were com­pelled by one Enemy to Surrender to another, and to fall by the Sword, rather than die by Hunger: Nor were the Royalists more famous for their Va­lour and Bravery, than the adverse Party was infa­mous for their Baseness and Treachery; for ha­ving got possession of the Town, they did not on­ly exercise the utmost Rigour and Severity upon the weaker sort, who could make no Resistance, but even in cold Blood, did they barbarously Mur­der Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle, Persons of great Integrity and undaunted Courage; who be­came Victorious to their Malice, being cruelly shot to Death by the Sanguinary Hands of the Inso­lent Soldiers in the Castle-yard; on which Spot of Ground, where they fell down dead, there hath never since, as is reported, sprouted up any Grass, as there was wont to do, the very Ground it self, it seems ever since being clad with mourning Weeds, and the Grass, as it were dreading such execrable Murders, retires and hides it self within the Bowels of the Earth: But tho' just Nemesis designs perhaps that plat, as a Monument of infamy to succeeding generations, yet doth a Vault prepared for the Fa­mily of Sir Charles Lucas secure both his own and Fellow-sufferers Body from any farther Attempts of the Sons of Violence; and being wrapped in Lead they lie in that Church, which was next to his own House, and was formerly a fair and Sumptuous Structure, but was ruinated by his Ene­mies, [Page 119] who hated the House for the Masters sake, and were so maliciously incensed against all that had relation to that Noble Family, that they sa­crilegiously violated the Tombs of the Lady Lucas and Killigrew in the Church adjoyning, and inhu­manely used their dead Bodies dismembring, and disjoynting their very Trunks, and wearing their Hair in their Hats by way of Triumph.

The Castle is now quite demolished, and gone to decay, and though they shew'd us a Brazen-Gate, which gives entrance, as they say, to a Vault fifteen Miles under-ground, yet the Stories they multiply concerning both, are so Roman­tickly idle and extravagant, that there is little cre­dit to be given to any Relations concerning them: As for the Town it is very Rich and Populous, and there are Merchants of considerable Estates, and great Traders who inhabit it; The chief Ma­nufacture of the Place is Stuff and Bays, which are from thence transported into divers parts of the World, and there being a Colony of Dutchmen planted here, they are industrious in keeping up the Trade; nor is it less Famous for its Oysters, which by the general Vogue of most Persons are reputed the best in England.

We betook our selves from hence into its Neigh­bouring County of Suffolk, which is divided into too Parts called High and Low Suffolk, Suffolk. the former of which is Miry and Dirty, the other more Plea­sant and Delightful, but both are of a fat and fertile Soil, the Air is here Wholesome and counted proper for Consumptive people; the Country abounds in Rye, Pease, and Hemp, feeds abundance of Sheep, and produceth great Store of Butter and Cheese; 'tis every where adorned with stately Pa­laces and Magnificent Edifices, to which the Parks, Replenished with Game adjoyning, are very conducive to their Profit and Delight.

The first place of note we arrived at here, was Ipswich, Ipswich. called by the Saxons Gippeswick, situate on [Page 120] the North side of the Stour, at the foot of a steep Hill, commodious for its haven, enriched by For­reign commerce, replenished with Inhabitants, a­dorned with several Magnificent Churches, and be­ing united into a Corporation is governed by two Bayliffs, who have all other Ministers befitting their Grandeur to attend them: It has been for­merly fortified with Rampires and Trenches, but to little purpose, it being incapable of Defence by its Situation, because commanded by hills on all sides, but the South, and South-east: So that the Danes did easily master it 991. who nine Years after reduced it in a manner to a heap of Ruines; in the Norman times it began to recover it self, in­somuch that it consists at this time of divers Pa­rishes, graced with many fair Buildings. The Nor­mans built a Castle, which held out Stoutly against King Stephen, but was forced at last to Surrender, and is supposed by Cambden to have been demolish­ed by Henry the Second: Here Landed the 3000 Flemmings called in by the Nobility against the said King Henry, when his Sons rebell'd against him; and 'tis very observable, that in the Civil Wars under the Reign of Charles the First, this Town stood clear of most of those Calamities which overspread and involved the rest of the Nation: The Streets are kept clean and well Pav'd, and in the midst of the Market-place, which is surround­ed with rich Shops, Stands a curious Cross with the Essigies of the great and Impartial Goddess Astraea, bearing a pair of Scales in the one Hand, and a Sword in the other, a fit emblem to re­mind the Magistrates of the exact measures they must use in the distribution of Justice, and with what Severity they must proceed in discounte­manding all the contrary acts of Violence and Oppression. The Store-houses, which are kept for the Kings Ships, do much promote the Trade of the Town; and there is no small Ad­vantage rebounds to it by the continual supply of [Page 121] Stores, which upon occasion are made for the Royal Navy.

Before the Subversion of Monasteries it had its share of some such Religious Houses, and of a Magnificent College begun by Cardinal Woolsey, who receiving here his first Breath, though of a mean Extraction, being only a Butchers Son, did at last attain to such Dignity and Renown, as to surmount most Prelatical Grandees, that have been in this Nation before him; but as he was mounted up with admiration to the Hill of Ho­nour, he did at last as suddenly tumble down head­long from that dangerous Precipice, and though it might have been as truly said of him in one, as it was of Alexander the Great in another Sense, Aestuat infaelix angusto limite Mundi, that this mi­crocosm of our English Soil was too little and nar­row for his large and boundless Thoughts, and ambitious Desires; yet behold, Sarcophago contentus, a little Urn contains all his Pomp and Grandeur, which extended it self from our British Island to the Popish Conclave at Rome, and his dust appears of no finer mold, than those poor Creatures from whom at first he lineally descended.

After some respite in this Place, we pass'd on through Needham, Stow and Wulpit, Needham, Stow and Wulpit. Towns of lit­tle Fame or Repute, but what accrues to them by their Markets, or the River Orwell, which enrich­eth the Soil, to St. Edmunds-Bury, the Eye, and in­deed the pleasant Elysium of the whole County. St. Ed­munds-Bury.

This Town is call'd St. Edmunds-Bury from Edmund the Martyr, King of the East-Angles, who for refusing to renounce the Christian Faith, was shot to Death by Arrows at Hoxon by the Danes, and was buried in this Place: It is further styled by Antiquaries Villa Faustini, and though it be not the same with the Poet Martial's, which he so elegantly describes, yet it no ways falls short in any thing, which may render it amiable or de­lightful; for 'tis Situated in a Pleasant Air, in a [Page 122] wholesom Soil, not in any part annoyed with noisom Fogs, or offensive Vapours, but so libe­rally enriched by Nature with a contribution of all Varieties, which may illustrate and beautifie it, that it draws hither great numbers of Persons of Quality; and there is hardly to be met withal in any Town Corporate of our British Island a more noble Colony, or glorious Asterism of the Gentry, than is visibly shining in this renowned Sphere.

The Town it self hath been very famous for a large and stately Monastery, Founded by Canutus in Honour of St. Edmund, whom his Father Suenus had caused to be put to Death, to expiate which Murther, being affrighted with a Vision of St. Ed­mund; he erected a curious Structure, beautifying it with costly Ornaments, enriching it with great Revenues, and offering his own Crown at the Martyr's Tomb. As the Incomes which the Monks hereby enjoyed were very considerable, so were the Privileges granted to them unspeakable, be­ing under the Government of a Seneschal or Stew­ard, who did not only govern them, but preside over the whole Town besides; by whose strict Order and Discipline the Townsmen were so awed and kept under, that in King Edward the Third's Reign, they rose up in Arms against the Monks, took away all their Gold and costly Habiliments, their Books, Charters, with the Assay of their Coins, Stamp, and all other things appertaining to their Mint, for which they were afterwards sharply punished and fined by the King, and en­forced to cry Peccavi, and make a full Restitution of what they had so unjustly defaulked from them. After this Broil was over, it encreased again in such Wealth and Honour, great Offerings being daily made at St. Edmund's Shrine, that it appear­ed rather like a City than a Monastery, so many Gates it had for entrance, and many of them Brass, so many Towers, and above all a most glo­rious [Page 123] Church; and thus it continued till the final Dissolution of it by King Henry the Eighth, since which there remains nothing now, but the Car­cass of that ancient Structure; and yet even still by its Ruins it is easie to conjecture what a maje­stick Fabrick it once was.

To this adjoins two large Churches of curious Architecture, dedicated the one to St. James, and the other to St. Mary, and in that spacious Church Yard, in which they both stand, being only part­ed by a decorous shady Walk of Trees, as the Assizes for the County are held at the further end of it, in a Court-House erected for that purpose, so there are divers Monuments dispersed all over it with various ancient inscriptions; but three Epi­taphs in a more especial manner we did more par­ticularly take notice of.

The first is an Epitaph upon Charles Granger, a Shooemaker, who died when he was almost Four­score.

The second is upon Christopher Barret's Tomb­stone, a Youth, whose Elogy is this: ‘Puer boni ingenii: Or, Puer bono ingenio.’

[Page 124]The third is upon one Joan Kitchin.

Which puts me in mind of another I met with elsewhere, which I think not amiss to insert here likewise for the Readers Diversion.

On the Front of that noble and spacious Gate, which leads into the Abbey, is a place called the Angel-Hill, very signal for its row of curious Buildings, most of which belong to Persons of Quality; and a little further in the North-Gate-street, besides several Houses of great Note and Eminency, stands the Free-School, being a new Structure erected of Brick, by the liberal Contri­bution of well-disposed Benefactors: The ancient Station for the School was formerly in the East-Gate-street, and was Built and Endowed by King Edward the Sixth with a generous Minerval for a Master and Usher, and four Exhibitions for four Scholars at their Transplantation to the Univer­sity of Cambridge; but that being very inconve­nient by reason of a little Rivolet, which running along by it, by whose muddy streams it was fre­quently overflowed, and the School it self much impair'd and gone to decay, through the care and prudence of its Governors, who are Twelve in [Page 125] number, and the assistance of some other worthy Gentlemen within the Neighbourhood thereof, it was translated at last into a better Soil, and fixed in a more pleasant and convenient place.

On the Front of it stands the Statue of King Edward the Sixth, and at the upper end of the School were placed his Royal Arms with this In­scription,

The Master and Usher, who here preside, are Persons of no less Note than Learning, and by the great Concourse of Scholars which flock hither, and have come to this place from the remotest Parts of the Nation, 'tis easie to guess at the strict­ness of their Discipline, and their admirable way of instructing Youth, which seems here to be Hereditary, there having of late been successively three Masters of great Worth and Honour, viz. Mr. Dickenson, Dr. Stephens, and Mr. Leeds, the present Master, who hath sufficiently signalized his Name to Posterity by several useful and learn­ed Books, he hath published, under the last of which I had the Happiness to receive the first Ru­diments of my Education; nor can I mention his Name without the most profound Respect, nor when I think of his manifold Favours conferred upon me, refrain from breaking forth into a Poe­tical Rapture with the sincerest Gratitude ima­ginable,

Out of this Street lies a way up into a fair Champaign Heath, where the Walks are so plea­sant, and the Air so sweet, that every gentle gale [Page 126] doth fan and clear the Blood from all gross and feculent Humours, and infusing a more than or­dinary Agility and Briskness into the Spirits, keeps the Body constantly in an even and healthy Crasis; And indeed every where about the Town there are dispersed such variety of Delights for Recrea­tion, so much Wit and Facetiousness for Diver­sion, so much gentile Complaisance for Imitation, that 'tis no wonder to behold it so Populous and so Rich, so Gay and so Glorious, and every day to receive still greater addittaments of Wealth and Honour.

As for what concerns the particular Govern­ment of the Town, 'tis under the Charge of an Alderman with Twelve Brethren, who are his Assistants, out of which the Chief Magistrate is annually elected, who have all things necessary to support their Grandeur: And for its constant sup­plies of Provision, there is weekly a great Market of Corn and all other Commodities, to be service­able to the Inhabitants; and for the farther pro­moting of our English Manufactures, there are two great Fairs kept here every Year, wherein they may furnish themselves with what their Mar­kets are not able to supply them.

Not far from this Town was that great Battel fought against King Henry the Second, in which he overthrew Robert Earl of Leicester with his Rabble of Flemmings, the Earl himself and his Wife being taken Prisoners. And here was Born Richardus de Bury, Bishop of Durham, the Governor of Ed­ward the Third when young, and famous espe­cially for a Work which he entituled Philobiblos, in the Preface of which he confesseth, Ecstatico quodam librorum amore potenter se abreptum; he was well acquainted with Petrarch the Italian, and other Learned Men of that Age: Bradwardin, Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, and Richard Fitz-Ralph Armachanus, Walter Burleigh, Robert Halcot, and other famous Men of that Age, were his Chap­lains.

[Page 127]We diverted our selves a while with our Friends, whose Civility and Kindness was as generous as their Entertainments free and cordial, but though the Charms of this place were very strong and in­viting, yet at last we were enforced unwillingly to break through these alluring Enchantments; and resolving again to seek out new Adventures, we passed from hence through Buddesdale, Buddes­dale. a Mar­ket Town of good Note, to a little Village called Scole, very famous for an Inn and Sign-Post, built by a Gentleman of this Country at a considerable Charge.

The House is of Brick, neat and uniform, Scole- Inn. and hath great variety of Objects for Diversion; in the Porch, at the four Corners, stand the Statues of two Men playing on Wind-Musick, a Tapster filling out Drink, and a Tumbler shewing of Tricks; on the two side Posts, Hercules with his Club, and Sampson with his Jaw-bone; on the Front is the Figure of the Whale vomiting up Jonah out of his Mouth; and on the East side of the House the Statue of Peace and Hope with an Anchor and an Olive Branch: But that which is most admirable, is the contrivance of the Sign-Post, which seems to contain an Epitome of O­vid's Metamorphosis in Effigie; on the top of it is an Astronomer looking through a Quadrant, and riding upon an Anchor, with the four Cardinal Virtues on each side of him; Fortitude with her Pillars, Temperance with a Cup pouring out Wine, Prudence with a Snake in her Right-hand, and Horn of Plenty in her Left; and Justice with a pair of Scales and a Sword. All along the Sign-Post stand several Images curiously carved and painted; the first represents a Huntsman equipped and accoutred with his Horn and green Jacket, as if he was then very hot upon his Chase; and next to him Actaeon transformed into a Stag, under which is this Inscription, Actaeon ego sum, Domi­num cognoscite vestrum: The next is Diana, with a [Page 128] Half-Moon upon her Head, the Planets under her Feet, her Quiver in her Hand, and her Horn by her side, and before her is a Grey hound in a close pursuit after a Hair: After which stands old Time with an Hour-Glass on his Head, a Syth in his Left-Hand, a Prodigal Youth in his Right, and Death under his Feet, with this Inscription, Tempus edax rerum. In the middle hangs the Sign of the White Hart, ingeniously contrived into an Oval Figure, with two Angels and two Lions at each corner, under one of which are placed four naked Boys pressing of Grapes, and under the other a Tumbler shewing feats of Activity. On both sides are Coats of Arms of some of the chief Fami­lies both in Suffolk and Norfolk, with Bacchus sitting astride upon a Barrel, and holding two Bunches of Grapes in one hand, and a Cup of Wine in the other; The Effigies of a Triton riding upon the back of a Dolphin; and also of a Shepherd playing merrily upon his Rural Pipe; And last of all, on each side of the Post, which supports the whole Fabrick, stands three-headed Cerberus, the great Janitor of the Infernal Court; and grisle­bearded Charon, with his Boat and Oars wafting a Wench over the Stygian Ferry.

And because I find a great Master of Wit and Poetry, Mr. Alexander Brome, exercising his Fan­cy ingeniously upon this Subject, I shall borrow from his Book that elegant Poem, which was Print­ed some years ago.

[Page 132]We reposed our selves here one Night, but the next day we travelled on to Bungay, Bungay. about eight Miles further, a place much Renown'd for some remains of Antiquity; 'tis water'd by the River Waveney, near to which Hugh Bigod, in the Barons Wars, built a Castle, which by reason of its Si­tuation, and artificial Contrivances, became so strong and impregnable, that he thought it beyond the Conquest of the most valiant Monarch, and did esteem himself so safe, when immured in this Asylum, that he would frequently Hector, and make his Brags in some such Rhymes as these;

And yet, notwithstanding such his vaunting Ha­rangues, he was afterward forced to submit both that and himself to the Mercy of King Henry the Second; and could not without great Sums of Money, and sufficient Pledges for his future Loy­alty, obtain the Favour from him, that this Castle might not be demolished, when divers others un­derwent the same Calamities.

Hales­worth.From hence passing away through Halesworth (formerly called Healsworda, which was made a Market Town by King Henry the Third, at the request of Sir Rich. Argenton, whose Families were here seated) we came to Sowld, South­wold. alias Southwold, where is a Haven of great Note in this County; 'tis situate some Miles North from Dunwich, Dunwich. an­tiently a Bishop's See, and a potent City, though now almost quite overwhelmed by the merciless Ocean; it stands upon a Cliff, the Sea on the East, the Harbour on the South, the River Blith with a Draw Bridge on the West, and a small neck of land on the North, so that it is in a manner sur­rounded with Water, especially at every Flood; its Bay, called Southwold-Bay, but commonly [Page 133] pronounced Sowlds-Bay, is chiefly made by the shooting forth of the Easton Ness, which lies North-East from it, and covers it from Northerly Winds. The commodiousness of Anchorage makes many Vessels lie near; by reason of which the Mariners become good Benefactors to it, and contribute ex­ceedingly to its Trade and Commerce: 'Tis very famous for the many Rendezvouz's of our Royal Fleets, near to which the English and Dutch have so frequently disputed their Maritime Privileges with Powder and Bullet, where their resolute Cou­rage hath been so Renown'd amongst the neigh­bouring Nations, that they have even trembled at their furious Onsets, as if every Broad-side had been a Thunder-clap from Heaven, which pre­sently threatned their immediate Destruction; that though they became Victims to each other's Fury, yet memorable Trophies of their invin­cible Valour will still remain to succeeding Gene­rations.

Lestoff, Lestoff. a little narrow Town, which stands upon the Sea, being the last Market Town we visited in this County, made us quickly a Passage for its neighbouring County of Norfolk, which are parted by the Rivers Ouse and Wavency.

'Tis a Region of a large extent, Norfolk. and near the Sea is Champaign, and yields plenty of Corn, in other parts Woody or full of Heaths, well cover­ed with Sheep and Conies; 'tis adorn'd with di­vers curious Seats of the Nobility and Gentry; and as the Villages stand thick, so the Market-Towns are numerous; but that which is too Re­markable, though in some few places the Chur­ches appear very decorous and splendid, yet the generality of them are poor and mean Fabricks, being for the most part thatch'd, or covered with Straw or Reeds, and endowed with very small and inconsiderable Revenues; a thing not much for the Honour of our English Reformation.

Yarmouth Yarmouth was the first Town of any Note which [Page 134] entertained us with a pleasant and divertive Pro­spect; the Haven is as commodious as the Town beautiful, being fortified both by Art and Nature: For although it be environed almost round with Water, on the West-side with the River Yare (from whence it receives its Name) which hath a draw Bridge over it, and from other Parts with the Ocean, unless it be Northward, where there is firm Land, yet it is likewise inclosed with a very strong Wall, upon which, besides Towers, is cast up a Mount towards the East, and are planted several Pieces of Ordnance to defend the Town and command the Sea. There is but one Church, but that fair and lofty, adorned with a high spire Steeple, built at first by Herbert Bishop of Norwich; but there are divers clean and spaci­ous Streets, on each side of which are several rows of very uniform Buildings, inhabited by wealthy and gentile Persons.

That this Town is of no great standing, but re­ceived its beginning from the Ruines of old Gari­annonum, is the general vogue of all Antiquaries: And 'tis certain that Cerdick, a valiant Saxon Cap­tain coming here to the place, which is still called Cerdick-shore, about the Year 895, as the Saxon Chronicle informs us, together with his Son Cyn­rick and five Ships; and finding it much decayed, by reason the River Yare had diverted its Current another way, planted a Colony of Saxons in a moist and watery Ground upon the West-side of the River, which place he called Yarmouth; but the Inhabitants finding both the Air and Soil very prejudicial to them, transplanted themselves to the other side of the River, called from the same Cerdick, Cerdick-Sand, and built this new Town, which in a short time grew so potent and popu­lous, that they strengthened it with a Wall, and were able to make up so strong a Body of Sea­men, as would frequently make Incursions upon the Neighbourhood of Lestoff, and the adjacent [Page 135] Cinque-Ports, against whom they had a particu­lar Antipathy, because they were excluded by them from many advantageous Privileges, which their Ancestors had enjoyed: But these private Feuds did at last end by an express Order from the King, and their Courage was quelled by a sud­den and fearful Pestilence, which in the space of one Year brought above Seven thousand Men and Women to their Graves, all which was faithfully Recorded in an ancient Chronographical Table, which formerly used to hang up in their Church; since which time, as their Grudges have ceased, so their Wealth hath encreased, and 'tis now a place of great Merchandize and Traffick, but especially renown'd for its Fishery of Herrings, of which, at the season, there is usually such plenty, that they do not only supply our own, but Fo­reign Nations too, after they have been by their great care and industry dried and salted in parti­cular Houses set apart for that purpose.

The Haven it self is capacious enough for Ves­sels of great Burdens, and standing well for Hol­land, affords a ready passage to it, and is a fre­quent Shelter for the Newcastle Coal Fleet, when distressed by Weather; but the North-East Wind being subject frequently to annoy this Coast, and drive in the Sand and Beach in great heaps, the Townsmen are forced to be at a great Expence, by removing all such Obstacles to clear their Haven.

From this place we hastned to Norwich, Norwich. which is the Metropolis of the County, situate at the in­flux of the Winsder into the Yare, and sprung up out of the Ruins of Venta Icenorum, now called Ca­stor, about three Miles distance from it, in which not many years since was found a great number of Roman Urns: And from Wic, which in the Saxon Tongue signifies a Castle, the Learned Mr. Gibson in his Explication of Places not improbably gues­seth, that it might receive its denomination.

[Page 136]This is one of the most Renowned Cities in our British Island, for whether we consider the Wealth of the Citizens, the number of Inhabitants, the great confluence of Foreigners, the stately Stru­ctures, and beautiful Churches, the obliging de­portment of the Gentry, and the laudable Indu­stry of the Commonalty, they do all concur to illustrate and dignifie it; 'tis situated on the brow of a Hill, and environed with a Wall, upon which were placed divers Turrets, and Twelve Gates to give entrance into the Town, unless it be on the East side, where the River (after it hath with many windings watered the North part of the City, having four Bridges over it) is a de­fence by reason of its deep Channel and high Banks; 'tis reputed a Mile and half in length, and half as much in breadth, drawing in it self at the South side, till it almost appear in the form of a Cone.

The great Damages it sustained, and Misfor­tunes it was exposed to, when Sucnus the Dane with his Bloody Crew took his range in these Parts; and after that William the Conqueror had settled the British Crown upon his Head, were too dole­ful and tragical a Story to relate: Nor were the Calamities it underwent less deplorable, when Hugh Bigod, Earl of Norfolk, sided with Young Prince Henry against his Father, and, as 'tis suppo­sed, re-edified the Castle which stands upon a high Hill, and was once thought impregnable, till Lewis the French Monsieur, by the assistance of the Seditious Barons, won it at last by Siege. And as if the Plague and the Sword had made a Con­spiracy together, utterly to subvert and destroy it, the Pestilence in the Reign of King Edward the Third, consumed no less than 57374, be­sides Ecclesiastick Mendicants, and Dominicans: But after this, in succeeding Ages, it began again to flourish, whilst to recruit their strength, which was much impair'd, King Henry the First per­mitted [Page 137] the Citizens to Wall the City, and King Richard the Second gave them a Grant for the Transportation of Worsted, and to advance their Trade, which was extreamly eclipsed; King Henry the Fourth renewed their Charter, and con­ferred on them the Honour to chuse every Year a Mayor, whereas by a former Order from King Stephen, they were only govern'd by Coroners and Bayliffs: And as if the Fates with no less eager­ness designed their Felicity, than before they con­sulted their Misery, the Dutch, who flock'd over hither during the Bloody Inquisition of Duke Alva, have made it very opulent by the great Trade of Says, Bays, and other curious Stuffs, which here occasion a considerable Merchandize.

Here is an Hospital, where above an Hundred Men and Women are maintained; and A. D. 1094. the Episcopal See was translated hither, being first placed at Dunwich about the Year 636. by Felix the Burgundian, who established the East-Angles in the Christian Faith; and here it conti­nued, till Bisus the fourth Bishop from him re­moved it to North-Elmham in Norfolk in 673. leaving a Suffragan Bishop at Domor or Dunwich; afterwards both Sees becoming vacant for the space of 100 Years after the Death of St Humbert alias Humbritt (who suffered Martyrdom with King Edmund by the Bloody Danes) in 995. A­dulphus, alias Athulphus, seu Eadulphus (who lived in the time of King Edwin) became Bishop of both Sees under the Title of North-Elmham; but in the Eleventh Century, Herfastus, by Bartholomew Cot­ton, in his History of the Bishops of Norwich, cal­led Arfattus, who was Chaplain to William the Conqueror, and a great Favourite of that Prince before the Conquest, as is observed by the Learn­ed Mr. Wharton in his Notes on that place, Angl. Sacr. par. prima, p. 403, 404, 406. was the Person that removed the See to Thetford, according to the Canon made in the Council of London by Arch-Bishop Lanfrank, A. D. 1075. by which it [Page 138] was provided that all Episcopal Sees should be translated from smaller Villages to more eminent Cities: But his next Successor to him, save one, Herbert Losing, settled it at last in Norwich, A. D. 1094, where it has continued ever since, found­ing a Cathedral Church to the Honour of the Holy Trinity, in which he placed Benedictine Monks, who continued till the Dissolution, at which time King Henry the Eighth put in their Room a Dean and six Prebendaries. This Church is a very stately and magnificent Structure, and famous not only for its Cross and Cloyster, but for the Roof likewise, which runs aloft over the Body of it, on which is pourtrayed to the Life the History of the Bible in divers little Images, curiously carved and adorned, from the Creation of the World to the Ascension of our Blessed Saviour, and the Descent of the Holy Ghost, with the perfect Fi­gures and Resemblances of our Lord's Crucifixi­on and Resurrection, and divers other Circum­stances that attended him, both at his Nativity and Passion. And for the Encouragement of Pie­ty and Learning, every Sunday Morning through­out the Year there is a Sermon preached by such Ministers as the Bishop shall appoint, to each of which is presented Twenty Shillings left as a Le­gacy to the Church for this Religious purpose, by one who had formerly been Mayor of this City.

But before I leave this place, as the Duke of Norfolk's Palace, adorned with curious Granaries, and a large and spacious Bowling-Alley, so the Mount on the East-side of the City, called Ket's-Castle, must not be passed by in silence, for it was the Harbour and Nest of Ket, a Tanner of Windham, that notorious Ring-leader of Rebellion in King Edward the Sixth's Days, who with no less Violence assaulting the City, than afflicting the Citizens, did at last receive the just Reward of his Rebellion, when, all the Seditious Rabble [Page 139] being persuaded to desert him, he was hanged up in Chains on the Top of Norwich Castle.

After some few Days abode in this City, we travelled on to a little Village called Tettles-Hall, Tettles-Hall. in the Parish Church whereof is erected a stately Monument of Marble, in Honour to Sir Edward Cook, that most famous Lawyer of his time; on the top are placed his Coat of Arms, with the four Cardinal Virtues to support them at each corner; his Effigies is of Marble laid out in full length, above which this Motto is engraved, Prudens qui Patiens, and underneath in Golden Characters this following Inscription.

His Epitaph this.

Next to Sir Edward stands likewise a Marble Monument of his first Wife Bridget, Daughter of John Paston Esq with Eight of her Children, six Sons and two Daughters; his second Wife was the Lady Elizabeth, Daughter to Thomas Earl of Exeter, by whom he had only two Daughters.

Having given a solemn Vale to this great Man's Tomb, Lyn. we took up our next Quarters at Lyn, which though but of a late being, having received its Original from Old Lyn, which is seated in the Marsh-Land, and is opposite against it, yet it is grown of far greater request; for the commodi­ousness of its Haven, and safe Harbour, cause a great resort of Mariners to frequent it; and the Vessels which coming loaded with Coals from New­castle, [Page 141] do lighten here their Burdens, and are con­veyed up the River by Lighters and Barges drawn along by Horses into divers parts of the adjacent Counties: 'Tis a large Town, surrounded with a deep Trench, and for the most part Walled; the Streets are well paved and kept clean, and 'tis di­vided by two small Rivers, over which there are Fifteen Bridges. It is called Old Lyn, and Linnum Regis, i. e. King's Lyn, though before the Reign of Henry the Eighth it was called Bishop's Lyn, be­cause the Ground it stands upon belonged to the Bishops of Norwich: There are five Churches (with a Free-School) to adorn it, the chief of which is a curious Fabrick dedicated to St. Mar­garet, upon the top of which stands a large and stately Lanthorn, very admirable for its rare Workmanship; and here is once a Year, about February, held a great Mart for all sorts of Com­modities, by which no small Benefit accrues to it. The Town is governed by a Mayor and Alder­men, who have received great Favours and Pri­vileges from their Sovereigns, but their chief and most munificent Benefactor was King John, who for the good Service they had done him in the defence of his Quarrel, not only presented them with his own Sword from his side (which is con­tinually carried before the Mayor, whenever he pleaseth to appear in State) but likewise gave them a great Silver Cup gilt, for the use of the Corporation; which because they shew as a main Badge and Cognizance of Royal Favour to all Strangers and Foreigners of any Note or Repute, they seldom produce it, unless filled with Wine to drink His Majesty's, and Mr. Mayor's Healths, for which there is a generous Allowance propor­tioned by the Town.

We rested here one Night, but the next Day being summoned away by the Tide, whose Mo­tions we were enforced to wait on and observe, we Ferried over into Mersh-Land, and posted [Page 142] away for the Washes, through which we were to pass into the Frontiers of Lincolnshire.

The Wash­es.The Washes are called by Ptolemy, Metaris Aestu­arium, being a very large Arm, which every Tide and high Sea covers over with Water, but when the Sea Ebbs, and the Tide is gone, 'tis as easie to pass over them, as upon dry Ground, though not without some danger for Strangers, who are unacquainted with their Tracts and Channels, which King John found true by woful Experience; for, whilst for the more speed he journeyed this way, when he was engaged in the War against the disaffected Barons, his Men not aware of such Irruptions, the Waters unexspectedly broke in up­on them, by which means he lost all his Carriage and Furniture: Hereupon, to prevent all such un­welcom Dangers, we hired a Guide to ride before us, by whose conduct we nimbly tripped over those dangerous Plains, and arrived safe at last out of these troublesom Territories of Neptune in Holland, which is one of the grand Divisions in Lincolnshire.

Lincoln­shire.This County is of a large extent, and in most places very fertile and rich in Cattel; it stretcheth out it self no less than Threescore Miles in length, and above Thirty in breadth, and is divided into three Portions, called by the Names of Holland, Kesteven and Lindsey.

Holland. Holland (so called, as some would have it, from Hay, which our Ancestors broadly term Hoy, is divided likewise into two parts, the Higher and the Lower; the Lower is a very moist and wa­tery Soil, troublesom for its deep Fens, annoyed frequently with Quagmires, which in Summer­time are so soft and pliable, that they will shake under a Man's Feet, who will be ready to sink in­to them, as he stands upon them; in that Season it is all over covered with Sheep, as in the Winter with Water, at which time there is such a vast plenty of Fish and Fowl, that many poor People [Page 143] thereabouts make a good Livelihood by catching of them.

But as the Incomes are great, and the Profits con­siderable of most Persons who inhabit these Fens, so are there some Inconveniences which are no less intolerable; for their Cattle being commonly a good distance from their Houses, they are forc'd in the Winter, when they go either to Fodder or Milk them, to betake themselves to their little Boats which they call Skirries, carrying usually two a-piece, and may be compared to an Indian Canoo, and by these convey themselves from place to place, as occasion requires; and because their Ground lies very low and flat, and East-ward adjoins to the main Ocean, lest at any time it should be over­flown by any sudden Inundations, as in stormy Weather it too frequently happens, they fence in their Lands with great Piles of Wood, and migh­ty Banks well lined and ramm'd down against the Violence of the Waves, and are forced to keep Watches with great care and diligence, as against the Approaches of a most dangerous Enemy; and yet, notwithstanding all their vigilance and fore­cast, they can scarce with the strongest Barri­cadoes, they can prepare, defend themselves from the violent Incursions and Outrages of the Sea.

Here is great plenty of Flax and Hemp, and in all these Parts many thousands of Sheep are fatted for the slaughter, but of good Bread and Water, which are the staff of Life, as great a scarcity, for the Water is generally brackish and ill relished, and the Bread as little pleasing and toothsom, be­ing made for the most part of Pease and Oats, which yet goes down as favourily with the Pea­sants, as if it had been moulded of finer Flour. Nor are their Dormitories any more pleasing or delightful, for all the Summer long there are con­tinually such swarms of stinging Gnats, and other troublesom Flies throughout all these Quarters, that a Stranger can find but a very unhospitable [Page 144] Lodging and Reception amongst those little buz­zing Misanthropical Animals. Being loth there­fore to lie at the mercy of such Enemies, or to come within the reach of their Bloody Inquisi­tion, we made all the haste we conveniently could their troublesom Territories to Boston, which lying within the Precincts of Higher Hol­land, we hoped to find more safe and inoffen­sive.

Boston.This is a famous Town, situated upon the Ri­ver Witham, more properly named Botolph's Town, from a great Saint Botolph, who had here formerly a Monastery; 'tis a place of great Note and Re­pute for Merchandize, for the Sea flowing up the River causeth a very commodious Haven, so that many times here lie a Fleet of Ships, which con­vey down Goods hither from all Parts; and the Mart which is kept here yearly doth much enrich the Town with all sorts of Commodities: There are fair and beautiful Houses seated on both sides of the River, over which is built a wooden Bridge of a great height, for the more easie converse and entercourse of the Inhabitants: The Market-place is fair and large, and on Market Days well stored with all kind of Provisions; and the Church be­ing a most curious and stately Fabrick, is chiefly remarkable for its towring Steeple, which hath as many steps in it, from the top to the bottom, as there are Days in the Year, and doth not only salute all Travellers at a great distance, but is a good Sea-mark and Direction to all Sailors.

And it seems the Lady Margaret, Countess of Richmond and Darby (of whose great Munificence I have formerly spoken) had a great kindness and e­steem for this place, for the Margaret Preacher from Cambridge doth usually once in two Years come hither to give the Inhabitants a Sermon, for which service there is a particular Salary left in Legacy by that Lady.

[Page 145]And whatever Damages it sustained formerly by the sudden Incursion of some bold and inso­lent Ruffians, who coming clad cunningly in the Habits and Garb of Monks and Friars, broke into Merchants Houses, and plundered and pillaged them, and set Fire to the Town in sundry places in the time of Edward the First; (so that, as our Chronicles tell us, Gold and Silver which was melt­ed in the Flames ran down in as rapid a stream, as the like and other Metals did at the Sacking of Corinth) yet it hath since retrieved its Wealth, and recovered its strength, for the Inhabitants ad­dicting themselves either to Merchandize, or Grazing, or both, have reduced it to a very opu­lent and flourishing Condition; and 'tis now go­verned by a Mayor and Aldermen, by whose prudent Conduct and Government it may, in all probability, long continue in that prosperous Estate. In the Coat of Arms for the Corporation there are three Crowns, relating to the three King­doms; the Crest a Ram lying upon a Wooll-Sack, the Ram signifying the great Sheep-walks in the Fens round about, and the Wool-Sack that it was a Staple Town; the Supporters of the Coat are two Maremaids, signifying that it was a Port Town.

Reposing our selves here one Night, the next Day we travelled further into the Country, and passing over some part of the Fens, we came with­in the limits of the second part of the County, called Kesteven (where as the Air is far more sweet and wholesome, so the Soil is no less rich and fruit­ful) to a small Market Town named Sleeford, Sleeford. of little account, except it be by reason of an anci­ent Castle built formerly by Alexander Bishop of Lincoln, or a House which was erected by Sir John Hussey, who in King Henry the Eighth's Days lost his Head: And from hence coming to Lindsey, the other part, which is a Champaign Heath Country, we arrived at Lincoln, the most [Page 146] eminent Place and City of this County.

Lincoln.This is the City, which Ptolemy and the Empe­rour Antoninus called Lindum, the Britains (saith Rudborne) Caerludecote; and Bede, Linde-Collina Ci­vitas; whether from its Situation upon a very high Hill, or in that it was an ancient Colony, is not material to enquire; certain it is, a great place of Antiquity, and the Remains of old Walls, and Ruines of Churches and other Edifi­ces, declare it to have been of a very long stand­ing; its Condition was always mutable according to the mutability of Affairs betwixt the Bri­tains and the Saxons; and if it was the burying place of that great Man of Valour and prowess the Noble Britain, Vortimer, as is credibly repor­ted, then this hapned contrary to his own Com­mand, for he was desirous to be interred near the Sea Shore, where he thought his very Ghost would be sufficient to Protect the Britains from all Saxon Invasions. But however, after his Death the Saxons got possession of it, and fortified them­selves on the South-side of the Hill, about which time Paulinus, having preached the Gospel in Lindsey, was the first, that converted Blecca, the Governour hereof, to the Christian Faith, and erected a Church all of Stone-work, some of the Ruines whereof remain to this Day. Afterwards it was much impaired and depopulated by the Danes, but in the Norman time it flourished so exceedingly, that it became one of the most popu­lous Cities of England. King William the Conque­rour strengthned it with a Castle, and Remigius ha­ving translated hither the Bishops See from Dor­chester (a small Town which stood in the remo­test corner of this Diocess) erected upon the top of the Hill, a large and sumptuous His suc­cessor Ro­bert Bloet [...]ounded with him the Cathedral, and endow'd the Dean and Chapter. [...]anner's Not. Monast. Cathedral mounting up aloft with high Turrets and stately [Page 147] pyramids, and dedicated to the Virgin Mary, which afterward being defaced by Fire, Alexander his Successor re-edified and beautified after a more glorious manner than before: Nor indeed did the Bishops, that succeeded him, add less to its Beau­ty and Lustre, and raised it to so great Magnificence and unconceivable Height, that its starely Towers discover themselves at many Miles distance; the Workmanship of the whole Fabrick is very curi­ous and admirable, and the carved Images on the Front of the West-end were such unimitable pie­ces of Art, (till some of them in our late unhap­py broils were sacrificed to the fury of the Inso­lent Soldiery, who committed a new Martyrdom upon the Saints in Effigie) that they did even al­lure and ravish the Eyes of all Spectatour: Nor was it less glorious without than beautified within, for besides the Bell called Great Tom, for which this Church is so famous, being cast in the Year 1610, and of a larger Size than any Bell in the King­dom, 'tis adorn'd with divers Monuments of very ancient Families; for the Bowels of Queen Elea­nor, Wife to King Edward the First, lie here in­terr'd in Copper; and the Body of the Lady Ca­tharine Swinford, third Wife to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Mother to the House of Somerset; and of the Lady Joan her Daughter, Se­cond Wife to Ralph Nevil, Earl of Westmorland; besides many other Persons of great Note and Quality.

In the former Ages of the Church, the Pre­cincts of this Diocess were of so large an extent, that the greatness hereof became even burdensom to it; hereupon they were contracted into a nar­rower compass by some Princes of this Nation; and though King Henry the Second took out of this the Diocess of Ely, and King Henry the Eighth the Bishopricks of Peterborough and Oxford, yet still it is reputed the greatest Diocess of En­gland, both for Jurisdiction and number of Shires, [Page 148] there being no less than six Counties, and One thou­sand two hundred forty seven Parish Churches, as is generally computed, belonging to it.

As for the Town, though it flourished mightily for some Years together after the Norman Conquest, by reason of a Staple for wooll, and other Com­modities setled here by King Edward the Third; yet it met still with some Calamities or other, which hindred its Growth, and eclipsed its Gran­deur for it had its share of Sufferings, both by Fire and War in King Stephen's days about which time, it seems, though the King had at first been conquered, and taken Prisoner, yet he afterward en­tred into the City in Triumph with his Crown up­on his Head, to break the Citizens of a superstiti­ous Opinion they held, that no King could possi­bly enter into that City after such a manner, but some great disaster or other would befal him; but neither did it then, or by the Barons wars after­wards sustain half the damages, which of late Years it hath received from the devouring Hands of Time, who hath wrought its downfal, and from a rich and populous City hath reduced it al­most to the lowest ebb of Fortune, and of Fifty Churches, which were all standing within one or two Centuries, hath scarce left Fifteen; so that the old Proverbial Rhymes (which go currant amongst them) seem so far to have something of verity in them:

Sure I am, that this doth abundantly verifie the verses of the old Tragedian Sophocles:

But though the City be gone to decay, the Ma­gistrates preserve their Authority, and their anci­ent Charters and Privileges are not as yet involv'd in the same Fate with the Town, which is gover­ned by a Mayor and Aldermen, and hath the Assi­zes held here, where the Judges twice a Year de­termine all Suits and Controversies depending ei­ther in the City or the County; and for provision it affords great Plenty, for 'tis replenished every Friday, which is their chief Market Day, with such variety of Fish and Fowl, to be bought up at easy and cheap Rates, that there is hardly the like to be met withal in any other City of En­gland.

From this City we set forward for Barton, Barton. a small Town Situate upon the River Humber, fa­mous for the abundance of Puits, Godwits, Knots (which are a sort of Bird so called, say some, from Canute the Dane, who perhaps brought them hither first from Denmark,) and likewise for Dottrels a sim­ple kind of Bird much given to imitation; these Dottrels, are caught by candle-light after this man­ner: The Fowler stands before the Bird, and if he puts out an Arm, the Bird stretcheth out a Wing; if he hold out his Head, or set forward his Leg, the Bird doth the like, and imitates the Fowlers gesture so long, till coming nearer and nearer by degrees, at length throws his Net over him, and so takes him.

Here we met with a convenient Passage to Fer­ry over into York-shire, York-shire. whereupon we took the first opportunity of Wind and Tide, and sailed away for Hull, which is about a League from the place on the other side of the River.

This County is the greatest in extent, being part­ed into three Divisions, which are called the West-Riding, the East-Riding, and North-Riding, amongst [Page 150] which Providence hath so wisely distributed her Blessings, that what one wants the other enjoys, and makes a compensation for the Barrenness of one part by the Fruitfulness of the other; if in one place 'tis craggy, and mountainous, in ano­ther 'tis as Rich in Corn, and Pasture; and where the Woods do not shade in Summer, and make some provision for its Inhabitants against the Winter, she provides other kind of Fuel for them within the Bowels of the Earth, and by dispersing such varieties all over it renders it a very grateful and delectable Country.

Ouse and Humber.The Rivers which water it are many, but the chief are Ouse and Humber, the first of which lodging many Rivolets within itself, dischargeth both them and itself into the Humber, who carries them all away as Tributaries to the Ocean. This River hath a very broad current, and rapid Stream, it riseth very high, when the Tide flows in upon it, and when it ebbs, the Sea returns back with such a forcible violences, that the passage thereby becomes no less rough than dangerous.

Kingston upon Hull.Upon the mouth of this stands Hull, so called from the River Hull, that runs along by it into the Humber: This Town hath been of no long date, for King King Edward the First was the Founder of it, who viewing well and considering the con­veniency of this Place, how safe a Harbour it might prove for Ships to ride in, made it first an Haven and Borough, and granted to the Inhabi­tants great Privileges and Immunities from whence it received the name of Kingston, or King's-Town, so that in few Years it arose to that degree of Dig­nity, that for stately buildings, for strong Block-houses, for well rigged Ships, for store of Mer­chants, and abundance of all other necessaries, it became the most famous and renowned Town in all these parts.

Sir Michael Dela-Pole, whose Father, a most Eminent Merchant, was the first Mayor of this [Page 151] place, being a great favourite of King Richard the Second's, after he was created This same Nobleman founded here a Carthusian Priory, A. D. 1378. as did Walter Shirlane, Bishop of Durham, a Col­lege of Prebendaries A. D. 1400. Mr. Tanner Not. Mon. Earl of Suffolk, did prevail with that King to enlarge their Charter, and the Inhabitants themselves be­ing very industrious and much addi­cted to trade for Fish into the Nor­then Islands, did at last heap toge­ther in a common Stock so great a Treasure, that it enabled them not only to fence the Town with a strong Brick Wall, but to strengthen it likewise with Towers and Bul­warks, where it was not defended by the River; and further brought such quantities of Cobble­stones for Ballast to their Ships, that therewith they paved all the Streets of the Town, which ad­ded much comeliness and beauty to its strength; and ever since it hath been reputed one of the strongest and most impregnable places in this Na­tion, for 'tis not only fortified with a Castle and Block-house to command the Sea, but is likewise environed with a double Wall, betwixt each of which are large Trenches, and hath several great Sluces so conveniently contrived, that the Flood-gates being once pulled up, they can drown all the Country, which lies within the compass of three or four Miles.

In the late Civil Wars the Hothams, being deputed Governors of this place, kept this Garri­son for the Pretended Parliament's Service, nor could all the importunity of the King or his Friends prevail with them to surrender it to his Majesty, till at last too late recanting their Actions and giving their own Party some cause to suspect their fidelity towards them, and their inclinations to be more favourable to the Royal Party, Ven­geance laid hold upon both Sir John and his Son, and being summoned up above, when they least thought of Death, were sentenc'd to die by their own Friends, who having set them on work pay'd [Page 152] them very justly the Wages which they deserved to have received from their injured Sovereign.

This place of great consequence is now under the Government of his Grace the Duke of Leeds, and the Inhabitants are still great Traders to New­foundland for Fish and Oil; and in their Trinity-House, which is an Hospital for poor and impo­tent Persons, they shew a little Boat with the Ef­figies of a Wild Man, who, they say, was found therein many Leagues off at Sea, with a huge Jaw bone of a mighty Whale, both which they brought with them from the Northern Seas.

After we had pleased our selves with the vari­ous Diversions of this place, Beverly. we withdrew from hence to a neighbouring Town called Beverly, supposed by Cambden to be the Petuaria Parisiorum, and is about seven or eight Miles further into tho Country, where John de Beverly, first of Hexham, afterward Arch-Bishop of York, a Man of great Learning and Piety, having resigned up his Bi­shoprick, came and ended his Life in Solitariness and Contemplation. The Memorial of this Holy Man was so reverend and sacred to many Kings of this Island, especially to King Athelstan, who ho­noured him as his Tutelary Saint, after the great­est Conquest he had obtained over the Danes, that for his sake they endowed it with great and sin­gular Privileges and Immunities, which it seems Athelstan did afterward enlarge, who came hither and offered his Knife at his Tomb: For in the Church, which is an ancient and goodly Structure built Cathedral-wise, is still to be read this In­scription, engraven upon the West end of the Quire in old Characters:

On each side of which are placed the Pictures both of King Athelstan and St. John,

[Page 153]Nor were there only Privileges granted to the Town, but even Foreigners did reap great Benefit hereby, by reason of an Asylum or Sanctuary, which was appointed for Persons who had com­mitted any capital Crime; for here formerly stood an old Chair of Stone, which by its description did declare as much: ‘Haeo sedes lapidea Freed-Stool dicitur, i. e. Pacis Cathedra, ad quam Reus fugiendo perveniens omnimodam habet Securitatem.’

That is, ‘This Chair of Stone is called Freed-Stool, that is, the Chair of Peace, unto which whatsoever Offender fleeth or cometh, hath all manner of Security.’

In this Church there are some Monuments of great Note, particularly those which are erected in Honour of the Earl of Northumberland, who was slain at Chivy Chase in the Conflict with Lord Douglas, and of his Lady the Countess, over whom is placed on one side the Image of our Saviour Bap­tizing an Infant, and on the other two Angels with our Lord in the middle, one of which holds the Cross, the Nails and the Hammer, which were the cruel Instruments of his Bloody Cruci­fixion. On the East side of the Town was a House of the Trinity, belonging to the Knights Hospi­tallers of St. John of Jerusalem, saith the Notitia Monastica.

The conflux of Foreigners was not formerly more remarkable here to promote the Merchan­dize of Rome, than it is now, by reason of great Fairs and Markets, which have been granted to the Town, and especially for the great Mart, which in the Month of May holds constantly a Fort­hight, which causing all kinds of Commodities to be brought hither, is no less advantageous to the Town than commodious to the Neighbourhood, who by this means may provide themselves of all [Page 154] Necessaries at a very reasonable Rate: And for the better Government of the Town, a Mayor was placed here by Queen Elizabeth, which keeps the Town in a good Decorum and Order.

We removed our Quarters from this place to York, which being the Metropolis of the County, as well as the Ornament and Safe-guard of the Northern Regions, is but one days Journey remote from it.

York. York, formerly stiled by the Britains, Caer-E­brank, from King Ebrank, the first Founder of it; and Euerwick by the Saxons, from the River Ʋre or Ouse, is for its Magnificence very deservedly reputed the second City of England; the situation of it is mighty pleasing and delightful, and the Buildings, both private and publick, stately and beautiful; 'tis rich and populous, glorious and honourable, both in respect of its being governed by a Lord Mayor, who moderates in all cases of temporal Affairs, as also by an Arch-Bishop, who is Chief Judge in all Spiritual Matters.

The River Ouse flowing with a gentle Stream from the North, divides the City into two Parts, which yet are conjoined by a strong Stone Bridge, consisting of five Arches, one of which is of so large a size, that it contains twice the breadth of any of the other: And round the City stands a thick and spacious Wall; and as on the West side 'tis fortified with a Wall and River together, and a great Gate, which is called Mikel Bar, near to which is the Mount called the Old Bale, raised and designed for a Fort by William Melton, Arch-Bishop of this See; so on the East side, opposite to the Mount, stands an ancient Castle built by William the Conqueror, which is environ'd with a strong Wall and a deep Mote, over which is a Draw-Bridge, which gives entrance into it; here is usually a small Garrison supplied by a Regiment of Soldiers, which Quarters about the City, and hath some great Guns and Ammunition suitable for the Defence of it.

[Page 155]Here are now but Seventeen Parish Churches, though formerly there were Thirty; and towards the North-East stands the Cathedral dedicated to St. Peter, being one of the most magnificent and stately Fabricks in our native Soil, near to which is the Prince's House, called commonly the Man­nor-House. This Church was first Founded by Paulinus, who converted Edwyn, King of the Northumbers, and his People to the Christian Faith, about the Year 626. It was then a mean Oratory built only of Wood, but, as we are in­formed by the Saxon Chronicle, the King consti­tuting Paulinus the first Bishop of this See, order­ed him to build a more ample Structure of Stone, but he dying before the whole was finished, it was at last compleated by Oswald; afterward, accord­ing to the various Successes and Conquests of the Nation, it flourished or decayed till the Reign of King Stephen, when a sudden Fire breaking out in the City, amongst other great Buildings consu­med this too; together with a noble Library founded at first here by Egbert Arch-Bishop of York, from whence Alcuinus, the Preceptor of Charles the Great, and Founder of the University of Paris, borrowed those Lights which have since glittered there, a Library which was stiled by the Men of those Days the Cabinet of Arts, and Closet of all the Liberal Sciences. In this forlorn Condition it continued, and lay buried in its Ashes till the Reign of Edward the First, when John Roman, Treasurer of the Church, laid the Foundation *The Notitia Mona­stica informs us, That Thomas the first Nor­man Arch-Bishop, A. D. 1067. laid the Founda­tion of the stately Cathe­dral that now is. for a new Superstru­cture, which afterward by the Mu­nificence of William Melton, and John Thursby, both Arch-Bishops hereof, together with the liberal Contributions of divers Persons a­mongst the Nobility and Gentry, especially of the Piercies and Vavasors (which their Arms and Images at the West end of the [Page 156] Church pourtray'd, the one with Timber in their Hands as finding it Timber, the other with Stones as supplying it with Stone, doth declare) reco­vered its Lustre and Dignity, that it hath now justly the Pre-eminence above all others; and out­vies all its Neighbours in Art and Stateliness.

As for the Windows, which convey Light to the whole Fabrick, they are very admirable for their Workmanship, all the Panes of Glass being exquisitely painted and adorned with most curious Colours; and in the East Window is pourtray'd to the Life the History of the Bible in very lively Representations.

The Isles of the Church are large and spacious, the Pillars strong and uniform, and the whole Body adorned with the Monuments of several Persons of Quality and Renown, who have lived and died in these Parts; amongst which is interred Mr. Swinborn, the great Civilian, who wrote con­cerning Wills and Testaments, on whose Tomb this Epitaph is engraved.

The Superstructure above is made with great Raftures of Timber which are covered with Lead, raised Spire-wise, and upon one of the Turrets is placed a Lanthorn Seventy Foot square, which discovers it self at a great distance to be a beautiful Ornament, and there are 286 Steps which lead up to it.

The Quire is well Roof'd, and curiously fur­nished with all decent Habiliments, and the Cha­pter-House, is as famous and remarkable, being [Page 157] circular, and one and twenty Yards Diameter, raised by many Pillars, and finished by an Arch or Concave on the top, having no Column at all to support it in the middle, and indeed 'tis so glorious a place, that it justly deserves the Cha­racter which is written upon the Roof of it in golden Characters.

In the Vestry upon the left hand is a little Well of pure Water, called St. Peter's-Well; in the times of Popery supposed to have been of great Virtue and Efficacy in charming Evil Spirits, and curing of Diseases, but it may be his Holiness, since the Extirpation of his Papal Authority in these Parts, hath laid an interdict upon its healing Faculty, since which time it hath ceased, no doubt in Reverence to St. Peter's Successor, from any such miraculous Operations.

The first Original of this Church's Metropolita­nism was from Pope Honorius, at which time it had not only a Superiority over Twelve Bishopricks in England, but its Primacy was dilated over all the Bishops of Scotland too; but in process of time Scotland having exempted it self from its Jurisdicti­on, other places likewise did the same, so that there are only now left four Bishopricks which are subject to this See, namely, Durham, Carlisle, Chester, and Man, or Sodor in the Isle of Man: In­deed there was afterward several private Grudges, Heart-burnings, and Contests betwixt Canterbury and York touching Precedency, Appeals, and some Ecclesiastical Privileges, but by a Decree of Pope Alexander they were quelled, who ordained that the Church of York should be subject to Canter­bury, and obey the Constitutions of that Arch-Bishop as Primate of all Britain, in such things as appertain to the Christian Religion.

[Page 158]But to return again from the Church into the City, we find it to have been a place of great An­tiquity; for it was not only famous for the Se­pulture of Eadbryth, King of the Northumbers, a­bout the Year 738, together with his Brother Eg­bert, Arch-Bishop of this See; and long before that time, of two greater and more renowned Emperors, Severns and Constantius; but likewise in that Constantine the Great, after the Death of his Father, was first here in this place saluted and proclaimed Emperor by the Soldiers, at which time it appears to have been in great Repute and Estimation, till the Romans deserting it, left it a Prey to the barbarous Nations, so that not only the Scots and Picts did depopulate and spoil it, but afterward the Saxons and Danes, as they got Possession, still Ransack'd and laid it Waste; so that about the Year 867, it grew so extreamly weak, through the grievous Oppression of the Danes, that Osbright and Ella broke easily through the Walls thereof, and encountring there the Danes, were both slain in the Battel, the Danes remaining Masters of the City, saith the Saxon Chronicle, tho they lost it at last to Athelstan, in the year 928. Nor found it kinder Usage from the merciless Nor­mans, who treated it no better than its former Ene­mies had done; so that even till after King Stephen's Days there was little left in it, by reason of so many Calamities that befel it, but a small poor shadow of a great Name; but at last after sundry bitter Blasts, and troublesom Storms, which had grievously shaken and afflicted it, a sweet gale of peaceful Days began to refresh and enliven it, and in the space of a few Years it hereby became a Wonder to it self, and a Miracle to others, by reason of its prosperous Condition, and ever since it hath increased in Honour and Wealth, in Grandeur and Power, till at last it attained to that height of Greatness in which it is now esta­blished.

[Page 159]We diverted our selves for some Days in this Ci­ty, where during our abode we had the Honour to be invited to the Lord Mayors House, who treat­ed us with all the Civility imaginable; where I cannot omit to observe by the way, that there are no Gentlemen more affable, and Courteous, more Hospitable and Generous, more Obliging in their deportment and hearty in their entertainments, to all Strangers and foreigners, than the generality of the Gentry, who are every where dispersed through these Northen Climates.

The great satisfaction we met withal here made us hope for no less in the rest of our Northern tra­vels, and giving us encouragement for a further Progress, Malton. we set forward from York to Malton a Market Town notable for the great resort of Jockeys, who flock thither in abundance to the Fair, that is held there every Year for Horses, 'tis watred by the River Rhie, and well frequented for Corn, Fish, and Instruments of Husbandry; and here are still to be seen the ruines of an old Castle belonging formerly to the Ʋrscies, who were an­cient Barons in these Parts: and in the Reign of King Stephen here was built by Eustace a Gilbertine Priory, dedicated to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin.

From hence we steered towards the Sea Coast, and came to Scarborough, Scarbo­rough. a Town very eminent for its Spaw-water and Castle, where Pierce Gavaston, the great favourite of King Edward, the Second, was placed by the King to secure him from the Ba­rons, whom he had so extreamly incensed, from which notwithstanding he was by force drawn away, and immediately beheaded by their Com­mand and Order.

The Castle is Situated upon a Rock, of a won­derful height and bigness, which by reason of its steep and craggy Cliffs is almost inaccessible, extend­ing it self into the Sea, wherewith it is encompas­sed, excepting on that Side which opens to the [Page 160] West, on the top it hath a very fair, green, and large Plain, containing diverse Acres of Ground, with three fresh Springs, one of which comes out of a Rock, and a Mill to grind Corn in case of a Siege; in the strait passage which leads up to it stands a high Tower, and beneath the said Passage stands the Town, spreading two sides North and South, but the fore-part Westward which is fenced on the front with a Wall of its own; on the East fortified by the Castle, wherein a Garrison is kept, and on both sides watered by the Sea: The Town is not very large, but conveniently built of Stone and Slate, and well inhabited, and stands bending upon the Brow of the Hill, and served for a Landmark to Ships off at Sea, till it was so much defaced in the late Civil Wars: It has a commodious Key, and enjoys a pretty good Trade.

About half a Mile from the Town near to the Sea is the Spring which they call the Spaw, The Spaw. of a very Medicinal and purgative Nature; what are the particular qualities and Mineral principles of this Well I leave to Physicians See Dr. Simpson on this Subject. and Naturalists to discuss; but sure I am but the effects of this Water have been strange and wonderful, and ma­ny Persons who in the Summer time resort hither to Drink it, do find great benefit and advantage by it.

From hence the Shore indented and interlaced with Rocks, bendeth in as far as the River Teese, and by a large compass which it fetcheth, there is made a Bay about a Mile broad, which from the Famous Outlaw Robin-Hood is called Robin-Hoods Bay: Robin-Hoods Bay. Here is a small Village, but the most cele­brated for the Fishing Trade: In all these parts, for here are caught great quantities of all sorts of Fish in their Seasons, which not only supply York, but all the adjacent Country, and hard by the Shore is a little Hully (as they call it) which is much like a great Chest, bored full of Holes to let in the [Page 161] Sea, which at high Water always overflows it, where are kept vast quantities of Crabbs and Lobsters, which they put in and take out again all the Season, according to the quickness or slowness of their Markets.

Here and all along this Coast are great plenty of Herrings; which, coming hither in Shoals out of the Northen Seas the beginning of August, are caught until November, not only by our own Fish­ermen, but by Dutchmen too: Afterward they dis­perse themselves into the British Sea, where they continue till Christmas, and then betake themselves to the Irish Coast, and after they have coasted round about Britain, away they hie into the Nor­thern Ocean, as to their own proper home, where having setled and rested themselves a while till June, they cast their Spawn and bring forth a young Frie, and then return hither in innumerable companies, and so march constantly about these Islands.

The great quantity of Fish, which is here ta­ken, causeth as great a cheapness throughout all the neighbourhood, and indeed we found every thing so plentiful and cheap in these parts, that a five Shillings Ordinary in many other places of England, would hardly produce what Sixpence or to be sure Twelvepence would here.

Four Miles further lies Whitbay, Whitbay. called by the Saxons of old Streaneshalh and Streonesheal, which probably might be taken, as the Learned Mr. Gibson observes in his Glossary, from the Saxon word Heale, which Signifies a Palace or Hall: It was formerly remarkable for a Monastery founded by St. Hilda, about A. D. 650, who died here in the Year 680. It was destroyed by the Danes, but reedified for Benedictine Monks, by William de Per­cy, to the Honour of St. Peter and St. Hilda, A. D. 1067. The Town has a convenient Harbour, that can receive Ships of considerable Burdens, and is famous for some Stones scattered here and [Page 162] there (so atificially) and yet naturally round, that one would think they had been turned into Shot for small Ordnance; which take and break by heating them red hot in the Fire, and then quenching them with cold Water, and when the crust is fallen off, you will find, Stones wrapped, and folded up together in a Wreath, looking just like Snakes, or Serpents; Nature, as one speaks, disporting her self with the production of such Phenomena, and being wearied with more serious Works, shapes and forms such things by way of Sport and Recreation: We were presented with several of divers dimensions, and one might be apt to think they were little petrified Snakes, only they are headless, and are covered over some of them with a bright shining Coat, though others again appear of a more dark and dusky Colour. But it would argue great credulity and Surperstiti­ous to attribute their Transformations to the Pray­ers of St. Hilda, as it would be Folly or Levity to ascribe to her Holiness the sudden and immature Death of certain Wild geese, which in the Win­ter, when they change their Air, and seek out for fresh Rivers, that are not frozen in the Southern Parts, by flying over some certain Fields adjoyn­ing to this place (as is reported) suddenly fall down dead to the Ground, whereas this may be caus'd by some malignant Vapours arising from this Soil, which become very noxious and destructive to them.

Not far from Whitbay stands a little Village by the Sea side called Leith, Leith. very Famous for some Alum Mines, Alum Mines. which belong to the Earl of Mul­grave now Marquess of Normanby: Here are abun­dance of Labourers employed in this Service to dig and hew this out of a high Rock, which hangs over into the Sea; this Mineral is of the colour of Slate, of which when they have got a good quantity together, they burn it as we do Lime, till it changeth to a more ruddy Colour, [Page 163] afterward they steep it in pits of Water, which are digg'd for that purpose, and when it hath lain there as many Hours as is convenient, they convey it away in certain Pipes laid along the Ground to a House below the Rock, where it is afterward boil'd and clarified, as we find it; the Charge is great, and the Trouble unspeakable before it can be purified or re­fin'd, as it ought; but the great Revenues and Profits that do amount from it, sufficiently countervail all Expences, and other inconveniencies that attend it.

From hence, all along the Shore, Other Ra­rities on this Shore, by Mul­grave-Ca­stle. are dispersed other strange and wonderful Varieties, for by Mulgrave-Castle is often found Jet, and upon the same Shore are discovered Stones, some yellow, some reddish, some with a rough cast crust over them of a Salt Nature, which by their smell and taste make a shew of Copperas, Nitre, and Brimstone; and not far from Huntcliff appear certain Rocks, Hunt­cliff. about which the Seal-fishes meet together to sleep and sun themselves, and upon that Rock which is next the Shore, one of the Seals lies to keep Sentry, and as any man approach­eth, he either throws down a large Stone, or tum­bles himself into the Water with a great noise, as a signal for all the rest to wake and get into the Water; they are not afraid of Women, but on­ly Men, and therefore they that do catch them, commonly put, on Woman's apparel, and they say, that when they are chased by Men, if they be destitute of Water, they will with their hind Feet fling back a cloud of Sand and Gravel in the Faces and Eyes of the pursuers; yea, and many times drive them away, making them by this means weary of their designs.

But we hastned from hence to Gisborough, Gisbo­rough. which stands very high, about four Miles from the Mouth of the River Tees; this is now a small Market Town, but when it appeared in its flourishing Condition, it was very renowned for a Priory of [Page 164] Black Canons, built here to the Honour of the Blessed Virgin, about the Year 1119, by Robert de Bruce, Lord of the place; and that it was the common burying Spot of all the Nobility and Gentry of this tract: 'Tis much commended for a sweet, pleasant, and healthful place; the Land a­bout it is very fertile, and, as is reported, beareth Flowers the greatest part of the Year. It abounds with Veins of Metal and Alum, Earth of sundry colours, and with some Iron; some of these Veins of Earth Sir Thomas Chaloner, Tutor to Prince Henry, first discovered, by observing that the Oaks thereabouts had their Roots spreading Broad, but very shallow within the Earth, which had much strength, but small store of Sap, and that the Earth standing upon Clay, and being of divers colours, whitish, yellowish and blue, was never frozen, and in a clear Night glistered in the Paths like Glass.

Roseber­ry-Top­ping, or Ounsber­ry-Hill.Not far from this Town is Ounsberry-Hill, or Roseberry-Topping, which mounts aloft and makes a great shew at a distance, serving unto Sailors for a mark of Direction, and to the Neighbour Inha­bitants for a Prognostication; for as often as the Head of it hath its cloudy Cap on, there com­monly follows Rain, whereupon they have a Pro­verbial Rhyme.

Near to the top of it, out of a huge Rock, there flows a Spring of Water, Medicinable for diseased Eyes, and from thence there is a most delightful Prospect upon the Valleys below to the Hills a­bove, green Meadows, delightful Pastures, fruit­ful Corn-Fields, Rivolets stored with Fish, the River Tees Mouth full of Roads and Harbours, the Ground plain and open, without danger of Inundations, and into the Sea, where Ships are [Page 165] under Sail, dancing along the proud Billows of the Ocean.

After we had travelled some few Miles from hence, we came in little time within the Liberties of the Bishoprick of Durham, Bishoprick of Dur­ham. a County very rich in its Mountains, which are inlayed with Iron, Lead and Coals, and very fruitful in its Valleys with Grass and Corn. It was formerly the Patri­mony of St. Cuthbert, who being Bishop of Lindis­ferne, and afterward Patron of the Church of Dur­ham, led a Life of such wonderful Piety and Holi­ness, that he was Canonized for a Saint, and In­vocated by some of the Kings and Princes of this Nation, as their Tutelary Saint and Protector against the Picts and Scots, who formerly did grie­vously infest these Parts, upon which account up­on him and his Successors was not only conferred and setled all the County between the Tees and the Tine, while he lived, but after his Death came divers Princes and other Potentates with the greatest Devotion imaginable in Pilgrimage to visit his Body, and offered at his Shrine an inesti­mable Mass of Treasure: To which many other great Privileges and Immunities being daily added at the coming in of the Norman Conqueror, the Bishop was reputed for a Count Palatine, and did ingrave upon his Seal an Armed Knight holding a naked Sword in one hand, and the Bishops Arms in the other: Nay, it was once adjudged in Law, that this Bishop was to have Forfeitures and Es­cheats within the Liberties, as the King had without; in short, the Bishops hereof have had the Royalties of Princes, having their own Courts of Judicature both for Civil and Criminal Causes, and Coining their own Coins: But these Royal­ties have been since taken off in a great measure, and reannexed to the Crown. However the Bi­shop is still Earl of Sadberg, a place in this Bishop­rick, and takes place in the Episcopal College next to the Bishop of London, but he is subordinate to the Arch-Bishop of York.

[Page 166] Darling­ton.We took up our first Station at Darlington on the Skerne, over which it hath a Stone-Bridge: 'Tis a Market-Town of good resort, which Seir, an English-Saxon, the Son of Ʋlph, having obtain­ed leave of King Ethelred, gave unto the Church of Durham, and Hugh Pudsey adorned it with a fair Church and other Edifices. Here was also former­ly a College for a Dean and six Prebendaries: In the Precincts of this place are to be seen three Pits full of Water, of a wonderful depth, called by the common People Hell-Kettles, Hell-Ket­tles. concerning which Sir Richard Baker in his Chronicle gives us this following Account, That in the 24th Year of King Henry the Second the Earth in this place lift­ed up it self in the manner of a high Tower, and so remained immovable from Morning until Even­ing, and then fell with so horrible a noise, that it afrighted all the Inhabitants thereabouts, and the Earth swallowing it up, made there a deep Pit, which is still to be seen to this day. That these Pits have Passages under Ground was first experi­mented, they say, by Bishop Tunstall, who, to satisfie his Curiosity herein, marked a Goose, and let her down into them, which very Goose he found afterwards in the River Tees, which runs along not far from this place.

Bishop-Aukland.From hence we bent our course to Bishop-Auk­land upon the Ware, over which it has a Bridge; 'tis a Town pleasantly seated in a good Air, upon the side of a Hill, and as it was formerly adorned with a Collegiate Church dedicated to St. Andrew, Founded by Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, for twelve Prebendaries, so is it likewise graced with the Bishop's Palace, built at first by the same Bi­shop Beck, with divers Pillars of Black and White Marble, and re-edified since by that Munificent Prelate Dr. Cosins, one of the Miracles of our Age for his great and unbounded Works of Charity: He likewise rebuilt the Chapel, and very glori­ously adorned it with the most costly Habiliments, [Page 167] that are any way befitting so Sacred a place; and the Plate which was bestowed upon it, by him, for religious Uses was of a great value: Nor was his Charity confined at home, but dispersed and diffused it self as liberally abroad, having erected here an Alms-House, as he did likewise another at Durham for divers poor People, for whom he hath allotted a comfortable subsistence. He erect­ed at Durham a Library very spacious and uniform, to which he bequeathed several Volumes of choice Books; he raised there a new Structure for the use of the Country, in which are held the Assizes and Sessions; he made the Castle, (formerly built by William the Conqueror) which was quite gone to Ruin, very useful again, and magnificent; be­sides all this, he gave some new Fellowships and Exhibitions to St. Peter's-College in Cambrige, where himself had been Master: He expended vast Sums of Money in publick Benevolences to the King, in redeeming Christian Captives at Algiers, in re­lieving the distressed Loyal Subjects, and in many other publick and pious Uses: So that both the City and Country have sufficient reason gratefully to remember him, and to wish that such Prelates may continually succeed him, who may approve themselves such Worthy Fathers of the Church, such Noble Patrons to their Country, and such Glorious Pillars of Religion.

Some three or four Miles distance from this Place is Binchester, Binche­ster. now a small Village of little repute, save for its relicts of old Walls and pieces of Roman Coin often digged up, here called Bin­chester Pennies, by which it appears to have been formerly an eminent Station of the Romans, though now 'tis nothing but a rude heap of Rubbish: And about the same distance from Binchester stands Durham, the most flourishing and principal City of this Province.

Durham is a City whose Situation is upon Hills and bottoms of Hills, Durham. and all surrounded with [Page 168] Hills, but the lower parts watered by the River Ware, which encircles the best part of it, and over which there are two Stone Bridges, so that it is a Peninsula, which Dunholme, a name by which it was formerly called, doth denote, for the Saxons called an Hill Dun, and a River-Island Holme, from whence the Latins have made Dunelmum, the Normans Duresme, and the Commonalty corruptly Durham.

The Town is pretty large, but of no great Beauty, nor seems to bear any considerable stamp of Antiquity, but to have received its first Ori­ginal from the distressed Monks of Lindisferne, who being driven thence by the Fury of the Danes came hither with the Body of St. Cuthbert, which they preserved with great care, and honoured with the greatest Veneration imaginable; at which time the See being removed hither by Bishop Aldwin, A. D. 995. he built a small Oratory of wreathen Wands, and Hurdles over the Body of St. Cuthbert, on the South-side of the City, which continued for some time, till William de Careleph, pulling down that, began a new Foundation, which was afterward finished by Ralph his Suc­cessor; after this it was enlarged by Bishop Fern­ham, and Prior Melcomb, and by reason of St. Cuthbert's Shrine, to which Persons of all Degrees did most solemnly repair with their choicest Offer­ings, it became quickly a stately and magnificent Cathedral, making a fine lofty shew, with an high Tower in the midst, and two Spires at the West end: Whose Glory and Renown the Tomb of Venerable Bede did still mightily increase, for, being a Man of great Sanctity in his Life, innu­merable Pilgrims flocked hither every Year to visit his Sepulchre, which was inclosed in St. Mary's Chapel, built by Bishop Skirlaw, at the West end of the Church, over which hangs an old Parchment, which containing a large Cata­logue of his Virtues and Graces, and extolling his [Page 169] Person with the highest Encomiums, viz. that he was Omni Major, & Angelus in orbis angulo, &c. doth at last put a period to all with this Epitaph, the Wit of that Age consisting most in such jing­ling Rhimes.

Now how it came to pass that Bede obtain'd this Title of Venerabilis, the Learned Dr. Heylin in his Geography gives us a very pleasant Relation, con­cerning which, saith he, the Legend tells us, that being Blind, his Boy had Knavishly condu­cted him to Preach to a heap of Stones, and that when he had ended his Sermon with Gloria Pa­tri, the very Stones concluded and said, Amen, Amen, Venerabilis Beda. But others of the Monk­ish Writers do assign this reason, and both true alike, that at his Death some unlearned Priest in­tending to honour him with an Epitaph, had thus far blundred out a Verse, Hac sunt in fossa Bedae —Ossa, but because the Verse was yet imper­fect, he went to Bed to consider of it, leaving a space betwixt the two last words thereof, which in the Morning he found fill'd up in a strange Cha­racter with the word Venerabilis, and so he made his Verse, and Bede obtained his Title.

To this Church, which for decency in all pub­lick Administrations, for Order of its Attendants, and Beauty of Ornaments gives place to none, being adorned with such curious Tapestry, and costly Plate, and rich Copes, and melodious Mu­sick of all sorts, which as well captivates the Eyes, as enravisheth the Hearts of all devout and pious Christians, belong a Dean, two Arch-Deacons, and twelve Prebendaries, Men of great Learning and Worth, who have each a very convenient House allotted them in the College-Yard adjoin­ing to the Cathedral, were, during their residence, which they keep by turns every Month; they [Page 170] great use Hospitality to Foreigners and Neigh­bours: And for the more convenient con­veyance of Water to their Houses, there stands a fair Fountain in the midst of that Court very handsomly contrived, and placed there for that purpose, with this Inscription engraven up­on it;

After some respite and diversion in this City, we marched on to Chester upon the Street, Chester, on the Street, alias Cun­cacester. a Village very venerable for its remains of Antiquity, for 'tis credibly believed to have been a Garrison of the Romans, where the first Wing of the Astures kept their Station: and it hath been famous for the Body of St. Cuthbert brought hither, and kept obscurely by the Bishops of Lindisferne, who re­tired to this place to secure themselves from the blustring Storms of the Danish Fury; in memory whereof when Aegelric, Bishop of Durham, laid the Foundation of a new Church in that place, he found such a vast and rich Treasure buried in the Ground, as is supposed by the Romans, that growing exceedingly Rich and Wealthy, he re­signed up his Bishoprick, and returned to Peter­borough, where he had formerly been Abbot, and became a generous Benefactor to the Fen-Country thereabouts Angl. Sacr. T. 1. p. 699, & 702. After him Anthony Beck, Bishop of Durham, and Patriarch of Jerusalem, erected here a Collegiate Church for a Dean and seven Canons, in which are since placed the Monuments of all the Ancestors of the Noble Family of the Lumleys, in a continued Line of Succession from Liulph, who lived under King Edward the Confessor, to the Reign of Queen Elizabeth.

[Page 171]From hence the Road led us directly to Gates­head, the utmost limits of this Province, Gates­head. which standing on the hither side of the River Tine, hath in all probability been a great Colony of the Ro­mans, and was called by the Latins Capreae Caput, i. e. Goats Head, by occasion of some Inn, as is generally conjectured, which had a Goats Head for a Sign, a thing not unusual in other places of the World. Certain it is, that all Historians name this place Capreae Caput, when they give us an account of the Tragical end of Walter Bishop of Durham, who being placed here by William the Conqueror, as his Substitute and Vice-gerent, became a victim to the Fury of the enraged Mul­titude, and was slain in this place upon some great distast which they took to his Govern­ment.

From Gateshead there is a large Stone-Bridge built over the Tine, a Town large, Newca­stle upon Tine. populous and rich, and is the chief place for Trade in all the Northern Parts, being enobled by a notable Haven of so great a depth, that it receives Vessels of very considerable Burthens, and is so safe a Harbour, that all Ships find here a sure Ancho­rage, without receiving any prejudice or damage by stress of Weather: The Towns stands high and low, part upon a Hill, and part in the bot­tom of it near the River, the Streets upon the ascent are exceeding steep, the Houses most of Stone, some Timber, and a few of Brick; it consists of four large Parishes with as many Pa­rish Churches, the principal whereof dedicated to St. Nicholas, stands very lofty on the top of the Hill, and looks more like a Cathedral, than a Parish Church, with a fair Steeple of curious Ar­chitecture, besides which it is adorned with a con­venient Market, a handsome Town-House, and an useful Key.

Through this Town went part of that Wall, which ran along from Sea to Sea, and was built [Page 172] by the Romans to defend the Britains against the violent Incursions and Depopulations of the Picts; and at Pandon-Gate there remains, as is thought, one of the Turrets of that Wall, differing much from the other Gates of the Town in shape and Workmanship: And though formerly it had the Name of Monks-Chester, yet after the Conquest, when Robert, Son to William the Conqueror, had raised here a new Fort to keep off the Scots, it got the Name of Newcastle upon Tine, to distinguish it from Newcastle under Line in Staffordshire.

In the Reign of King Edward the First, when the Scots came hither and infested these Parts, they took away Prisoner out of this Town a very opulent Person, who having ransom'd himself for a great Sum of Money, no sooner returned home but he began immediately to fortifie the Town, which the rest of the Inhabitants joining with him, in a short time they environed it with a strong and spacious Wall, since which time it hath not only been enabled much better to defend it self against all its Enemies, but is become a place so considerable for all Merchandize, that divers great Fleets of Ships go every Year laden from hence with many Chauldron of Coals, and return home in lieu of them other rich Commodities: And as its Commerce is great, so its Privileges are as renown'd, for our English Monarchs have ever afforded it all possible Encouragement, for Richard the Second made it a Corporation, and ordered a Sword to be carried before the Mayor, and Henry the Sixth enlarged its Charter, by making it like­wise a County Incorporate, and Queen Elizabeth still made more honourable Additions to it.

During our abode in this place we took a pair of Oars and went down in a Wherry to view Tinmouth Castle, which is about two Leagues from it.

As we passed along we found the River Tine very navigable and commodious, till we came to [Page 173] the Mouth, where it empties and disembogues it self into the Sea, and indeed 'tis there rocky and dan­gerous, for there stands two Rocks opposite to each other, upon which if a Ship happen to touch, she is in danger of being quite lost, so that the Saylors are forced to steer carefully through this dangerous gulph, and if it be foul weather or Night, when they come near it, keep off at Sea, till a fair opportunity present it self for their passage.

Upon the Mouth of the River is situated the Castle, which commands the Sea, Tin­mouth- Castle. and defends the River; on the North and East side it can no way be stormed, by reason of a high Rock, which reaching forth into the Sea, doth render it inacces­sible; and in the other parts 'tis of so excessive a height, and so well provided with great Guns and Ammunition, that a small handful of Men may be able to hold it out against the violent as­saults of a very potent Enemy: upon which ac­count Robert Mowbray, Earl of Northumberland, when he rebelled against King William Rufus, made choise of this place, as the most convenient Fortress to secure himself against the King's For­ces; who notwithstanding besieged him so closely and blocked up all Avenues by which any Provisi­on might be conveyed to him, that he was enfor­ced to Steal away to a neighbouring Monastry of Benedictine Monks, founded by himself to the Ho­nour of St. Mary and St. Oswyn, who, though an Asylum or Sanctuary for Delinquents, could not secure his Person from the Soldiers, who carried him away Captive to his injur'd Prince, from whom he received a just Reward of his Treach­ery.

On the other side of the River, Sheals. almost opposite to the Castle, is Sheals, a village very eminent for its Salt-Pans, where great quantity of Salt is boil'd and made, and on the Banks on both sides are [Page 174] many convenient Houses for the Entertainment of Seamen and Habitation of Colliers: And as here usually most of the Newcastle Coal-fleet keep their Station, so not far from hence stands Jarrow, Jarrow. for nothing so remarkable, as for being the Birth­place of Venerable Bede.

After we came ashore, we prepared for a fur­ther progress into these Northern Climates, but travelling along we found the most fertile part of Northumberland, Nor­thumber­land. which borders upon the Time, to be left behind us, for that rest appeared very rough and barren; and as the Country is Mountainous, so the Inhabitants are generally Fierce and Hardy, participating in some measure of the nature of the Soil; and as they are Stout, so it seems they are long liv'd, as appears from a Story, which is rela­ted of one Mr. Macklain, Parson of Lesbury, who died in the Year 1659. It seems that two Years before, in the Year 1657, he did renew his Youth, so that though for Forty Years before he could not read without spectacles, being then 116 Years old, he would read the smallest Print without them, and had his Hair, which he had lost, come again like a Childs, which puts me in Mind of an aged Dean, which had the like Renovation of Age, and when he died, had this Epitaph bestowed upon him by some barbarous Pen.

Picts-Wall..In divers parts of this Countrie are still to be seen many ancient pieces of that vast Wall of Stone, which the Roman Emperour Serverus by the assistance of the Britains, did erect in that place, where the the Rampire and Trench was, which the Emperour Hadrian had before cast up of Turf, it it was eight Foot broad, and twelve Foot high, ann stood in a direct-Line from East to West, it had many Towers or Fortresses about a Mile di­stance [Page 175] from one another, where there continually stood Sentinels to watch and give notice of the ap­proaches of the Enemy, and betwixt every Tow­er was placed a brazen Trunk, or speaking Trumpet, so artificially in the Wall, of which since several pieces have been taken up, that if any Soldier in one Tower did but utter the Watch­word, the sound was immediately conveyed to the next, and so to the third, and so in a trice to all the Fortresses from one end of the Wall even to the other. The boundaries of this Wall were very large, extending even from Sea to Sea, and contained in length, as is probably computed, a­bove Fourscore Miles; and he who is curious to know the direct tract thereof, let him consult Cambden's Britannia, where he will find a very full and exact account of it.

But to return again on our way, coming to Morpeth, Morpeth. a goodly Market-Town with a Castle, on the River Wensbech, lying in the great Road which leads to Scotland, we were here very gene­rously entertained by some Friends, who conduct­ed us afterward in the way towards Warkworth, The Hermi­tage by Wark­worth. where having visited an ancient Hermitage by the River Coquet, made out of a Rock, in which is a litttle Chapel hewn out of it likewise, where the Stones do appear to be worn by the frequent Prostrations of some Superstitious Papists, who fre­quently repair hither out of a pretended Zeal and Devotion; we rode away for Alnewick, which is about four Miles distance from this Religious Cell. Alne­wick.

Alnewick is situated upon the River Alne, and hath had formerly an Abby for Praemonstratensian Canons, founded by Eustace Fitz-John, A. D. 1147, which was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin; but chiefly has it been enobled by the frequent Victo­ries, which the English have obtained over the Scots; for in the first place Malcolm the Third King of Scots, who did homage to William the Conquerour for his Crown of Scotland, siding afterwards against [Page 176] him and besieging this place, was killed here by a cunning Stratagem, for Robert Mowbray, created afterward Earl of Northumberland, pretending to deliver to him the Keys of the Castle upon the top of a Spear, ran him through the left Eye Mow­bray was for that reason call­ed after­ward Pearce-Eie., of which he died immediately, and so relieved the Town again from all Extremity; and his Son, Prince Edward, coming hither to revenge his Fa­ther's Death, met with the same fatal Doom. After this, in the Reign of King Henry the Second, the English Forces behaved themselves so bravely, that they took Prisoner William King of Scots, and pre­sented him as a Captive to their Victorious Prince, having fortified this place with a strong Garrison; and in the Reign of King Edward the Fourth the Scots coming against it with another Army, were in hopes to have taken it, but the Eng­lish Army retreating, as if they had deserted it, by that means discouraged the Scots from any fur­ther Onsets, who supposing it to have been a Stra­tagem of the English, and that they had only re­treated Scythico more, the more easily to entrap them, very fairly left it to the possession of those Persons, in which at first they found it.

Bambo­rough- Castle.Ten Miles further upon the Sea stands the Castle of Bamborough, called formerly Bebbanbur, from Queen Bebba, who gave it that name: Some Wri­ters say, that it was built by King Ebrank, others by Ida Saxon Cron. A. D. 547., the first King of Northumberland, who fenced it at first with great Stakes and Piles of Timber, and afterwards with a Wall. It was one of the Receptacles of Robert Mawbray, Earl of Northumberland, in his Rebellion against King William Rufus, over against which the King plac'd a Fort to annoy him, which it did so effectually, that it forced him to desert it. In the Reign of Edward the Fourth, when the Scots invaded Eng­land in the behalf of Queen Margaret, they took this Castle, but were quickly dispossessed of it by the English Forces, who recovered it again for the [Page 177] King's Service, and delivered up the Governor, Sir Ralph Grey, to the King, who was afterward executed for holding it out against his Sovereign; but both its Beauty and Strength began visibly to decay, during the Wars betwixt York and Lan­caster, and since that, Time and Age have more prevailed against it, than all the Attacks of its most furious Enemies; for the Rampires are broken down, and the Trenches filled up, and there is little now remaining of that famous For­tress.

About a League from this Castle we saw Farne-Island, Farne-Island. being a little spot of Land inclosed with the Ocean, and encircled about with craggy Cliffs, which render it almost every where inaccessible: Hither did St. Cuthbert, about the Year 676, retire from Lindisfarne for Devotion, desiring to sequester himself from the rest of the World, where for nine Years together he lived a very solitary and reli­gious Life, till by the great importunity of King Eegfrid, and Trumwine, Bishop of the Picts, who came hither to him for that very intent and pur­pose, he was at last persuaded to remove to Hex­ham, where he succeeded Bishop Eata in that See: After two Years spent in this Bishoprick, this Holy Man foreseeing his Death approaching, be­took himself again to this very Island, where in the space of two Months, through the Malignan­cy of his Distemper, he at last breathed out his pious Soul on the 20th of March, A. D. 687. We once resolved to visit this place, but the un­seasonableness of the Weather, which happened at that time, prohibited our Passage, the Wind being so high, and the Sea so rough, that none of their small Cobble Boats durst venture off to Sea; but we were inform'd, that there was then but one House standing upon the Island, and continually such flocks of wild Fowl, who laid generally in that place, that it was not possible to walk far up­on it without treading upon some of their Eggs, [Page 178] of which here the Fishermen make a considerable advantage, by selling them abroad to the Neigh­bourhood; they are of all sizes and colours; we saw some that were much speckled, about the big­ness of Hens Eggs, and some larger than the Eggs of our ordinary Turkeys and Geese, but both were no less pleasing and grateful to the Palate: As to the Air of this place, whatever it was for­merly, it is now reputed very unhealthy, subject to the Dysentery or Bloody Flux, and other Dis­eases, by reason of the frequent Fogs that happen here; and 'tis no less troubled with Tempests of Wind, Storms of Rain, and Rage of the Sea; the Soil is barren and good for little, but what is got­ten from the Fowl, and the Fish which swim in shoals round about it.

Berwick upon Tweed.We coasted on for Berwick, which is one of the strongest Holds in all Britain, and is almost envi­roned with the Sea and the River Tweed; whence the Town took its name is not so well agreed up­on, as that 'tis a large and populous Town, well Built, and strongly Fortified; 'tis situated betwixt the two great Kingdoms of England and Scotland, and hereupon was always the first place they took care of, whenever they began to be at open va­riance with each other; and, according to the various and inconstant Successes ef each Nation, hath been held in possession by one, and some­times kept under the power of the other. Before the Reign of Henry the Second we find little or no­thing Recorded of it, for William King of Scots being taken Prisoner by the English, did first sur­render it into King Henry's hands upon condition, that unless by such a day he paid the Ransom that was demanded for his Liberty, it should always belong to the Crown of England, hereupon the King built a Castle to strengthen it, all which was afterward released to the Scots by King Richard the First, upon the payment of that Money which before had been promised. Afterward King John, [Page 179] upon a great distast he took against the Northum­bers, for doing homage to the Scotch King, won it again; and not many Years after, when Baliol King of Scots had violated his Oath, King Edward the First brought it under his Subjection, yet with­in a while after, when the Fortune of the War began to smile upon the Scots, it was unawares surprized, but in a few days the English regained it; afterward, in that loose Reign of Richard the Second, it was betrayed to the Scots, and for a long time after it was in vain besieged by the Eng­lish Forces, until King Edward the Third, that most Puissant Prince, came thundering against it, and forced his entrance: Notwithstanding in the Reign of Richard the Second, the Castle was sur­prized by certain Scotch Robbers, but they could not hold it long, for the Earl of Northumberland in a few days dislodged them of their Fortress. Scarce seven Years were over passed, when the Scots re­covered it again, not by force, but by Money, for which cause the aforesaid Earl was Impeached of High Treason, but he being a very politick Man, corrupted both their Faith and their Forti­tude, and straitway restored it to the English Crown. A great while after, when England was embroiled in Civil Wars, King Henry the Sixth flying into that Kingdom for refuge, surrendred it up into the hands of that King, to secure him his Life and Safety in that Country; but many Years were not expired before Sir Thomas Stanley did again reduce it under the command of King Edward the Fourth, but not without a great loss of his Men, and much Blood spilt about its Walls; since which our Kings have been still strengthen­ing it with new Fortifications, especially Queen Elizabeth, who to the Terrour of the Scots and Safe-guard of this Nation, enclosed it about in a narrower compass within the old Wall, with a high Wall of Stone most strongly compacted, which she hath so forwarded again with a Couter­scarp, [Page 180] a Bank round about, with Mounts of Earth cast up on high, and open Terraces above-head, upon all which are planted a double tire of great Ordnance; that when the Scots entred England in 1640, they took Newcastle, but durst not at­tempt Berwick. In this place is still maintained a constant Garrison of Soldiers, and the Guards which are placed at the foot of the Bridge which is built over the Tweed, do every Night pull up the Draw-Bridges, and lock up the Gates, which give entrance into the Town, so that there is no admission when once the day is gone.

Tweed.All along the Tweed is notable Fishing for Sal­mons, of which there is such great store and plenty in this River, that they take vast numbers at one draught, as we were credibly informed by the Fishermen of this place, who hire out the Fishery from the Lords of the River, and have each Man his Bounds set out and mark'd for him: The Salmon, which they catch, are dried, barrelled up, and transported beyond Seas, and are purcha­sed at such easie and cheap Rates, that a Man may buy one of the largest for a Shilling, and boil it, and eat it while the Heart is yet alive, a thing which is frequently practised in this place; nay, they are so common about these Parts, that the Servants, as they say, do usually indent with their Masters, when they hire them, to feed them with this Fish only some Days in the Week, that they may not be nauseated by too often eating of it; but as for all other Provisions they are scarce enough here, and dearer than in any other parts of the North; so that he that first called Berwick the little Purga­tory betwixt England and Scotland, by reason of the hard Usage and Exactions which are custo­mary here, did confer upon it a very just and de­served Title.

The Borders of Scot­land.After we were past Berwick we came into that noted Ground lying betwixt the two Kingdoms, called the Borders, the Inhabitants whereof have [Page 181] ever been reputed a sort of Military Men, subtile, nimble, and, by reason of their frequent Skir­mishes, to which they were formerly accustomed, well experienced and adventurous.

These Borders have been formerly of a far greater extent, reaching as far as Edinburgh-Frith and Dunbritton Northward, and taking in the Counties of Northumberland, Cumberland and West­morland Southward; but since the Norman Con­quest, they have been bounded by Tweed on the East, Solway on the West, and the Cheuiot Hills in the midst.

From these Borders we marched towards the Kingdom of Scotland, concerning which I shall in the first place give a brief Account of some Ob­servations we made here in general, before I pro­ceed to a particular Description of such Places and Cities through which we travelled.

From whence at first it received this denomi­nation is dubious and uncertain, Scotland. being formerly called Caledonia, from the Caledonii, a chief Peo­ple of it, and Albania, from Albany, a principal Province in the North; but as for the Inhabitants, some will fetch their Original from thy Scythi, a Sarmatian People of great Renown, who, after they had wandred about through many Countries, came at last and setled themselves in this place; but the most probable Opinion is, that they were no other than Irish, united in the name of Scot, about the declination of the Roman Empire, the word Scot signifying in their Language a Body aggregated into one out of many particulars, as the word Alman in the Dutch Language: Though I find the Scotch Historians will rather derive it from Scota, Daughter to Pharoah King of Egypt, who being given in Marriage to Gathelus, Son of Cecrops King of Athens, who with some valiant Grecians and Egyptians transplanted themselves in­to a part of Spain, then called Lusitania, but by reason of his arrival named Port-gathel, now Por­tugal; [Page 182] they afterwards setling themselves in Galli­cia, sent from thence a new Colony into Ireland, from whence at last they removed into this Country.

This Gathelus brought with him from Egypt the Marble fatal Chair, which was transported to Ire­land and to Albion, now called Scotland, wherein all their Kings were Crowned until the time of King Edward the First, who transported the whole ancient Regalia of Scotland with the Marble fatal Chair to Westminster, where it remaineth to this day; by which was fulfilled that ancient Scotch Prophecy, thus expressed in Latin by Hector Boe­thius.

In English by Raphael Holinshead.

By another Hand thus;

This Kingdom being divided into two parts by the River Tay hath thirty-four Counties; in the South part are reckoned up these that follow:

• Teifidale,
• March,
• Lothien,
• Liddesdale,
• Eskdale,
• Annandale,
• Niddesdale,
• Galloway,
• Carrick,
• Kyle,
• Cunningham,
• Arran,
• Cluidsdale,
• Lennox,
• [Page 183] Sterling,
• Fife.
• Stratherne,
• Menth,
• Argile,
• Cantire,
• Lorne.

In the North part are reckoned these Counties:

• Loquhabre,
• Braid-Albin,
• Perth,
• Athol,
• Angus,
• Merne,
• Marr,
• Buquhan,
• Murray,
• Ross,
• Southerland,
• Cathaness,
• Steathnavern.

These are subdivided again according to their Civil Government into divers Seneschallies, or Sheriffdoms, which are commonly Hereditary, and the People, which inhabit each, are called High-landers and Low-landers

The Highlanders, High-landers. who inhabit the West part of the Country, in their Language, Habit and Man­ners agree much with the Customs of the Wild Irish, Elgin. and their chief City is Elgin in the County of Murray, seated upon the Water of Lossy, for­merly the Bishop of Murray's Seat, with a Church sumptuosly built, but now gone to decay. They go habited in Mantles striped, or streaked with divers colours about their Shoulders, which they call Plodden, with a Coat girt close to their Bodies, and commonly are naked upon their Legs, but wear Sandals upon the Soles of their Feet, and their Women go clad much after the same Fashi­on: They get their Living mostly by Hunting, Fishing, and Fowling; and when they go to War, the Armour wherewith they cover their Bodies, is a Morion or Bonnet of Iron, and an Ha­bergeon, which comes down almost to their very Heels; their Weapons against their Enemies are Bows and Arrows, and they are generally reputed [Page 184] good Marks Men upon all occasions; their Ar­rows for the most part are barbed or crooked, which once entred within the Body cannot well be drawn out again, unless the Wound be made wider; some of them fight with broad Swords and Axes, and in the room of a Drum make use of a Bag-pipe. They delight much in Musick, but chiefly in Harps and Clarishoes of their own Fashion, the strings of which are made of Brass-Wire, and the strings of their Harps with Sinews, which strings they strike either with their Nails growing long, or else with an Instrument ap­pointed for that use: They take great delight to deck their Harps and Clarishoes with Silver and precious Stones; and poor ones that cannot at­tain thereto deck them with Crystal: They sing some Verses very prettily put together, containing for the most part Praises of valiant Men, and there is not almost any other Argument of which their Rhimes are composed: They are great lovers of Tobacco, and a little Mundungo will make them at any time very serviceable and officious; and as they are mostly tall and strong, they are likewise so exceeding fleet, that some of them will make nothing of it to run many Miles in a day upon an Errand, and return back again with no less Expe­dition.

Low-landers.The Low-landers inhabiting on this side the two Friths of Dunbritton and Edinburgh, and the plain Country along the German Ocean, are of a more civiliz'd Nature, as being of the same Saxon Race with the English, which is evident from their Lan­guage, being only a broad Northern English, or a Dialect of that Tongue. These People have been noted by their best Writers for some Barba­rous Customs entertained long amongst them, one of which was, that if any two were thoroughly displeased and angry, they expected no Law, but fought it out bravely, one and his Kindred against the other and his; which fighting they called [Page 185] Feids, and were reduced by the Princely Care and Prudence of King James the Sixth. To this pur­pose I have read a very remarkable Story in the Life of Robert the Third, King of Scots, how that a dangerous Feud falling out betwixt two great and populous Families in the North, Thomas Dun­bar Earl of Murray, and James Earl of Craford were sent to reduce them, who, perceiving the great Mischief likely to attend their endeavours of a forcible reducement, contrived a more subtle way to quiet them; after a representation made to the Heads of those Clans, a part, of the danger of those mutual Feuds, and of the King's Wrath against both, they advise to conclude their Feuds, as the Horatii and Curatii did at Rome, by the choice not of three, but of three hundred on each side to fight, armed with Swords only, in the sight of the King and his Nobles, whereby the Victor should gain Honour, and the Vanquish'd Safety from further Punishment, and both regain his Majesty's Favour, whereof they gave them full assurance; the Proposition is embraced, on both sides of St. John's Town Mounts raised, and Gal­leries made for the accommodation of the Specta­tors, the Combatants are chosen, and on the day appointed, together with a multitude of Beholders, all of them appear upon the place, only one through fear privately withdrew himself; this put some delay to the Encounter, the one Party look­ing on it as a dishonour to fight with the other wanting one of their number, the other Party not finding one who would engage himself to make up the number, desire one of the Three hundred to be put aside, but of all that number not one could be enduced to withdraw, accounting it an indelible Disgrace to be shufled out of such a choice Company of valorous Men: At last an ordinary Trades-man tendreth his Service, desiring no greater Reward than one single piece of Gold in hand, as an honourable Badge of his Valour, and [Page 186] an Annuity of a small Sum for Life should he sur­vive the Combat; his Demands are soon granted, and immediately beginneth the Conflict with as much fury as the height of Wrath, the insatiable desire of Honour, and the fear of Shame, more than the fear of Death, could produce, to the Horror and Amazement of the Spectators, whose Hearts tremble within them to see (as indeed it was a horrid Spectacle to behold) such a ruful sight of furious Men butchering one another; and observed it was by all, that of all the Combatants none shewed more, shall I call it Valour, than the Trades-man did, who had the good Fate to survive that dismal Day, and on the Conquering side too, whereof only ten besides himself outlived that Hour to partake with many ghastly Wounds the Honour of the Day; the Vanquished are kil­led on the place all to one, who perceiving him­self to be left alone, and being without Wounds, he skippeth into the River, by which means none of the surviving Victors being able to follow him, by reason of their Wounds, he makes a fair escape with his Life. Thus the Heads and most turbu­lent of both Clans being cut off, their Retainers are soon persuaded to Peace, and so for many Years after live quiet enough. This Fight hap­pened in the Year 1396.

The other Custom was that of Nature, that the like was scarce heard amongst the Heathens, and much less in Christendom, which did begin, as the Scotch Historians affirm, in the Reign of Ewen the Third, which Ewen being a Prince much ad­dicted, or rather given up altogether to Lascivi­ousness, made a Law that himself and his Succes­sors should have the Maidenheads or first Night Lodging with any Woman, whose Husbands held Land immediately from the Crown, and the Lords and Gentlemen likewise of all those whose Husbands were their Tenants or Homagers; this was it seems the Knights Service which Men held [Page 187] their Estates by, and continued till the Days of Malcolm Conmor, who at the Request of his Wife Queen Margaret, the Sister of Edgar Atheling, abo­lish'd this Law, and ordained that the Tenants, by way of Commutation, should pay unto their Lords a Mark in Money, which Tribute is still customary to be paid.

The Republick, or Commonwealth of the Scots, like ours of England, consists of a King, The Castles. No­bility, Gentry and Commons; whose chief Ca­stles are Edenburgh, Sterling, and Dunbarton, which last is the strongest in all the Castles in Scotland by natural Situation, towring upon a rough, craggy, and two headed Rock, at the meeting of the Ri­vers in a green Plain; in one of the Heads above stands a lofty Watch-Tower, on the other, which is the lower, there are sundry strong Bulwarks; between these two, on the North-side it hath only one ascent, by which hardly one by one can pass up, and that with some labour and difficulty, by steps cut out aslope traverse the Rock; instead of Ditches on the West side serveth the River Levin, on the South Clyde, and on the East a boggy Flat, which on every side is wholly covered over with Water, and on the North side the very upright steepness of the place is a sufficient Defence to it: Directly under the Castle, at the Mouth of the River Clyde, as it enters into the Sea, there are a number of Clayk Geese, so called, black of co­lour, which in the night time do gather great quantity of the crops of Grass growing upon the Land, and carry the same to the Sea, then assem­bling in a round with a great curiosity, do offer every one his Portion to the Sea Flood, and there attend upon the flowing of the Tide, till the Grass be purified from the fresh tast, and turned to the salt, and lest any part of it should escape, they hold it in with their Bills; after this they orderly (every Fowl) eat their own Portion, and this Custom they observe perpetually.

[Page 188] Universi­ties.The Universities are four in number, St. An­drews, Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Edinburgh, from which every Year there is a fresh supply of learn­ed Persons, fit for publick Employments and Dig­nities in Church and State.

St. An­drews.St. Andrews was Founded by Bishop Henry Ward­law, A. D. 1412. and is endowed with very am­ple Privileges, the Arch-Bishops of St. Andrews were perpetual Chancellors thereof: The Rector is chosen Yearly, and by the Statutes of the Uni­versity he ought to be one of the three Principals, his power is the same with that of the Vice-Chan­cellor of Cambrige or Oxford. There are in this University three Colleges, St. Salvator's, St. Leo­nard's, and New-College.

St. Salvator's College was founded by James Kennedy, Bishop of St. Andrews, he built the Edi­fice, furnished it with costly Ornaments, and pro­vided sufficient Revenues for the Maintenance of the Masters: Persons endowed at the Foundation were a Doctor, a Batchellor, a Licentiate of Di­vinity, four Professors of Philosophy, who are called Regents, and eight poor Scholars called Bursars.

St. Leonard's College was Founded by John Hep­burne, Prior of St. Andrew's 1520 Persons en­dowed are a Principal or Warden, four Profes­sors of Philosophy, eight poor Scholars.

New-College was Founded by James Beaton, Arch-Bishop, A. D. 1530 The Professors and Scholars endowed are of Divinity, for no Philosophy is taught in this College.

Aberdeen.In the Reign of King Alexander the Second, A. D. 121. there was a Studium Generale in Col­legio Canonicorum, where there were Professors and Doctors of Divinity and of the Canon and Civil Laws, and many Learned Men have flourished therein. King James the Fourth, and William Elphinstown Bishop of Aberdeen, procured from Pope Alexander the Sixth the Privileges of an [Page 189] University in Aberdeen, 1494. It is endowed with as ample Privileges as any University in Christendom, and particularly the Foundation relates to the Privileges of Paris and Bononia, but hath no reference to Oxford or Cambrige, because of the Wars between England and Scotland at that time, the Privileges were afterward confirmed by Pope Julius the Second, Clement the Seventh, Leo the Tenth, and Paul the Second, and by the Successors of King James the Fourth.

The Bishop of Aberdeen is perpetual Chancel­lor of the University, and hath power to visit in his own Person, and to reform Abuses; and tho' he be not a Doctor of Divinity, yet the Foun­dation gives him a power to confer that De­gree.

The Office of Vice-Chancellor resides in the Official or Commissary of Aberdeen: The Rector, who is chosen Yearly with the assistance of his four Assessors, is to take notice of Abuses in the University, and to make a return thereof to the Chancellor; if one of the Masters happen to be Rector, then is his Power devolved upon the Vice-Chancellor.

The College was Founded by Bishop William Elphinstone, Anno 1 [...]00. and was called the King's College, because King James the Fourth took upon him and his Successors the special Protection of it. Persons endowed were a Doctor of Theology, who was Principal; a Doctor of the Canon-Law, Civil-Law, and Physick; a Professor of Humani­ty to teach Grammer; a Sub-Principal to teach Philosophy, a Canton, a Sacrist, three Students of the Laws, three Students of Philosophy, six Students of Divinity, an Organist, five Singing Boys who were Students of Humanity.

The Marischal-College of Aberdeen was Founded by George Keith, Earl of Marischal, A. D. 1593. Persons endowed were a Principal, three Profes­sors of Philosophy: Since that there hath been [Page 180] added a Professor of Divinity and Mathematicks, a fourth Professor of Philosophy, twenty-four poor Scholars. Of the other two Universities I shall treat afterward.

Mountains and Ri­vers.The chief Mountains are Cheriot-Hill, and Mount Grampius, spoken of by Tacitus, the safest shelter of the Picts or North-Britains, against the Romans, and of the Scots against the English, now called the Hill of Albany, or the Region of Braid-Albin: Out of these ariseth Tay, or Tau, the fairest River in Scotland, falling into the Sea about Dundee on the East-side; Clayd falling into Dunbritton-Frith on the West-side of the Kingdom; besides which there are other small Rivers, as Bannock, Spay, Dee, well replenished with Fish, which furnish the Country with great Store of that Provision.

The Nature of the Air Soil and Commodi­ties.The Air of this Kingdom hath its variety accor­ding to the situation of several places and parts of it, but generally it is healthful, because cold: the Soil in the High-landers is poor and Barren, but in the Low-landers 'tis much better, bearing all sorts of Grains especially Oats, which are much ranker than ours in England. Their chief Commo­dities are Cloth, Skins, Hides, Coal, and Salt; their Cattle are but small, and their best Horses are commonly bred about Galloway, where Inhabi­tants follow Fishing as well within the Sea, which lies round about them, as in lesser Rivers; and in the Loches or Meers standing full of Water at the foot of the Hills, out of which in September they take in Weels and Weer-nets an incredible num­ber of most sweet and toothsom Eels: For Berna­cles, or Soland Geese, they have such an infinite number of them, that they seem even to darken the very Sun with their flight; these Geese are the most rife about the Bass, an Island at the mouth of the Frith going up to Edinburgh, and hither they bring an incredible number of Fish, and withal such an abundance of Sticks and little twiggs to build their Nests, that the People are thereby [Page 181] plentifully provided of Fuel, who also make a great gain of their Feathers and Oil: There hath been a dispute amongst the learned about the gene­ration of these Geese, some holding that they were bred of the leaves of the Bernacle-Tree falling into the Water, others that they were bred of moist, rot­ten Wood lying in the Water, but 'tis of late more generally believed, that they come of an Egg, and are certainly hatched as other Geese are. In the West and North West Parts the People are ve­ry curious and diligent in catching a Bird called the Erne, 'tis of a large size and a ravenous kind as our Hawks, and of the same quality; they give him such sort of Meat in a great quantity at once, that he lives contented therewith 14 16 or 20 Days, and some of them a Month; their Fea­thers are good for garnishing of Arrows, for they receive no Rain or Water, but remain of a du­rable Estate, and almost incorruptible; thus People use them either in a Hunting, or at Wars.

In Galloway the one half of Loch Mirton doth never Freeze, The Natu­ral Rari­ties of this Kingdom. and by Innerness the Loch called Loch­ness, and the River flowing from thence into the Sea doth never Freez, but on the contrary in the coldest Days of Winter the Loch and River do smoak and reek, signifying unto us, that there is a Mine of Brimstone under it of a hot quality.

In Buquhan, Rats are never seen, and if any be Brought in thither they will not live, this Country yields the finest Wool, and Lorne the best Barly; and in Carrick are Kine and Oxen delicious to eat, whose Flesh is very tender and pleasant, and the Fat so liquid, that it melts like Oil; and the wood or park of Cumbernauld is replenished with Oxen wild, but of such a wonderful whiteness, that there has never as yet been observed among the vast number of them the least Spot upon any of their Skins, or Horns.

[Page 192]Wolves do here much mischief, but Foxes more, howbeit, to prevent them from distroying their Poultrey, they have found out this device in Glen­moors every House nourisheth a young Fox, and then killing the same, they mix the Flesh thereof amongst such meat as they give unto the Fowls or o­ther Creatures, and by this means so many Fowls or Cattle as eat hereof are safely preserved from the Danger of the Fox by the space of almost two Months after, so that they may wander whither they will, for the Foxes, smelling the Flesh of their Fellows yet in their Crops, will in no wise meddle with them, but eschew and know such a one, al­though it were among a Hundred of others.

Their Dogs.In this Country there are some Dogs of a very strange Nature; the first is a Hound of great swiftness, hardiness, and Strength, fierce and cru­el upon all wild Beasts, and eager against Thieves that offer their Masters any Violence: The se­cond is a Ratch or Hound very exquisite in fol­lowing the Foot, (which is called drawing) whe­ther it be of Man or of Beast, yea he will per­sue any manner of Fowl, and find out any man­ner of Fish that lurks among the Rocks, or Otter that haunts the land by that excellent sent of smel­ling, wherewith he is endowed: The third sort is no greater than the aforesaid Ratches, in colour for the most part red, with black Spots, or else black and full of red matks,; these are so skilful (being brought to it by practice) that they will exactly pursue a Thief, who has Stoln any Goods, and finding the trespasser, they will with great boldness set upon him, or if for his further safety he happens to take the Water, they will persue after him, and entring and issuing out at the same place, where the party did, they will never cease their persuit, still hunting him by the Foot, till they come to the very place where the Thief has hid himself; which sort of Dogs are called Sleugh-Hounds: Upon which account there was [Page 193] a Law amongst the Borders of England and Scot­land, that whosoever denyed entrance to such a Hound in persuit made after Fellons and stoln Goods should be holden as accessary to the Theft it self.

In Kyle is a Rock of the height of 12 Foot and as much of breadth, called the Deaf-Craig, Deaf. Craig and the Rock­ing Stone. on the one side of which, though you make never so great a noise, or shoot off a Gun, it shall not be heard on the other side, except you be a good way off from it, and then the sound may be easily perceived: And in the Country of Steathern upon the Water of Farge by Balzward, there is a Stone called the Rocking Stone of a reasonable big­ness, which if a Man push with the least motion of his Finger, it will move very lightly, but if he put the whole force of his Body to it, it will signifie nothing.

In Lennox is a great Loch called Loch-lowmond, Loch-low­mond. Twenty-four Miles in length, and in breadth Eight, containing the number of Thirty little Isles, in which is observed three wonderful things; the one is Fishes very pleasant to the tast, that have no Fins to move themselves withal as other Fishes do; One sort of Fish which is pecu­liar to this Loch alone is called Powan. The se­cond, tempestous Waves perpetually raging with­out Winds, and that in the Summer-time too, when the Air, is most calm and quiet: The third, is one of these Isles, which is not like the rest u­nited close to the Ground, but is still loose and floating; and though it be so replenished with grass, thar Cattle is kept upon it, yet it is tran­sported sometimes towards one point, and some­times towards another, not unlike some little Isles near St. Omers, or the Lake Vadimon, Pliny speaks of, which being covered over with Rushes, and Reeds, and Grass, yet still keeps swimming up and down.

In Argile is a certain Stone found, The burn­ing Stone. which if it be covered but a while with Straw or Flax, will [Page 194] set them on Fire, and by East the Isle of May, which is twelve Miles from all Land in the German Sea, Inchape Roch. lies a great hidden Rock called Inchcape, very dangerous for Saylors, because it is overflowed every Tide; it is reported that formerly upon the said Rock there was a Bell fixed, which rang con­tinually, being moved by the Sea to give notice to Seamen of the Danger, which Bell was put there and maintained by the Abbat of Aberbothock, and being taken down by a Sea Pirate, a year after he perished upon the same Rock with his Ship and all his Goods.

St. Kathe­rines Well.In Lothien two Miles from Edenburgh Southward is a Spring called St. Katherines Well, flowing con­tinually with a kind of black fatness, or Oil, above the water, proceeding (as it is thought) from the parret Coal, which is frequent in these parts; 'tis of a marvelous nature, for as the Coal, whereof it proceeds, is very apt quickly to kindle into a flame, so is the Oil of a sudden operation to heal all Scabs and tumours that Trouble the outward Skin, and the Head and Hands are speedily healed by virtue of this Oil, which retains a very sweet smell: The Well at Aber­deen. and at Aberdeen is another Well very effica­cious to dissolve the Stone, to expel Sand from the Reins and Bladder, being good for the Chollick and drunk in July and August, not inferiour, they report, to the Spaw in Germany.

But to return now again to our Journy, passing through some part of the Country of March, March and Lo­thien. which lies upon the German Sea, we came to Lo­thien, called from the Picts formerly Pict-land, shooting out along from March into the Scotish Sea, and having many Hills in it, and little Wood, but for fruitful Corn-fields, for courtesie and civili­ty of Manners, commanded by some above all other Countries of Scotland; about the Year 873 Edgar King of England (between whom and Kenneth the Third King of Scots, there was a great knot of alliance against the Danes their common Ene­mies) [Page 195] resigned up his right to him in this Country, and to unite his Heart more firmly to him, he gave unto him some mansion Houses in the way, as Cambden observes out of Matthew Florilegus, wherein both he and his successors in their coming to the Kings of England, and in their return home­ward might be lodged, which unto the time of King Henry the Second continued in the Hands of the Scotch King.

The first Town of any consequence, that offer­ed it self unto us, was Dunbar, famous formerly for a strong Castle, being the seat of the Earls of March, afterwards Styled Earl of Dunbar; Dunbar. a fort many times won by the English, and as oft reco­vered by the Scots: And in the Reign of Edward the Third, the Earls of Salisbury and Arundel came into Scotland with a great Army, and besieg­ed the Castle of Dunbar Two and twenty Weeks, wherein at that time was black Agnes the Countess: who defended the same with extraordinary Valour, one time, when the Engine called the Sow, was brought by the English to play against the Castle, she replyed merrily, that unless England could keep her Sow better, she would make her to cast her Pigs; and indeed did at last force the Generals to retreat from that place: The Town stands upon the Sea and hath been fenced in with a stone Wall of great strength, though by the frequent batteries it hath of late Years received, 'tis much impaired and gone to decay; the Houses here (as generally in most Towns of Scotland) are built with Stone and covered with Slate, and they are well supplyed with provision by reason of a weekly Market which is held here: The Inhabitants are govern­ed by a Mayor and Aldermen, and talk much of great losses and calamities they sustained in the late Civil Wars, for in this place was that fatal battle fought betwixt Oliver Cromwel and the Scots, where­in he routed and cut in pieces twenty thousand Scots, with twelve thousand English Men, and ob­tain'd [Page 196] so strange and signal a Victory, that the ve­ry Thoughts of it do to this very Day still strike a terror into them; when e'er they call that bloody Day to remembrance, and think what great ha­vock and Spoil was made amongst them by the Victorious success of the English forces.

Eden­burgh.Our next Quarters we took up at Edinburgh, which is the Metropolis of Scotland, and lies a­bout twenty Miles distance from Dunbar: The Irish Scots call this City Dun-eaden the Town Ea­den or Eaden Hill, and which no doubt is the same that Ptolomy calls [...], i. e. the winged Castle, for as Cambden observes Adain in the British Tongue signifies a Wing, and Eden­bourn, a Word compounded out of the Saxon and British Language is nothing else but a Burgh with Wings: 'Tis situated high, and extends above a Mile in length carrying half as much in breadth, it consists of one fair and large Street with some few narrow lanes branching out of each side, 'tis environed on the East, South, and West with a strong Wall, and upon the North strengthned with a Loch: 'Tis adorned with stately Stone build­ings both private and publick, some of which Houses are six or seven Stories high which have frequently as many different apartments and Shops, where are many Families of various Trades and calling, by reason of which 'tis well throng'd with Inhabitants, and is exceeding Populous, which is the more occasioned by the neighborhood of Leith which is a commodious Haven for Ships, and likewise, because as 'tis the seat of their Kings or Vice-Roys, so 'tis also the Oracle or Closet of the Laws, and the Palace of Justice.

The King's Palace.On the East side or near to the Monastery of St. Cross, that was a Holy Rood, is the King's Palace which was built by King David the First, but be­ing much ruinated and impaired in the late unhap­py broils betwixt the two Kingdoms, it hath been since enlarged and beautified, and is now be­come [Page 197] a Stately and Magnificent structure: And not far from this House, within a pleasant Park adjoyning to it, riseth a Hill with two Heads cal­led of Arthur, the Britain Arthur's Chair. Arthur's Chair.

A little further stands the College Founded and Endowed by that most eminent Favourer of Learn­ing, the Wise and Learned King James the Sixth, The Col­lege. though afterward the Magistrates and Citizens of this place proved likewise very considerable Be­nefactors to it, and upon their humble Address to the same Prince, it was made an University, A. D. 1580, but the Privileges hereof were not fully confirmed and throughly perfected till the Year 1582, and have been since the same with those of any other University in this King­dom.

The Dignity of Chancellor and Vice-Chancel­lor doth reside in the Magistrates and Town Coun­cil of Edenburgh, who are the only Patrons, nei­ther was the Dignity, they say, as yet ever con­ferred upon any simple Person: The Persons en­dowed were a Principal or Warden, a Professor of Divinity, four Masters, or Regent for so they are called, of Philosophy, a Professor or Regent of Humanity or Philology: Since the first Founda­tion the Town hath added a Professor of He­brew 1640, and the City of Edenburgh hath since added a Professor of Mathematicks.

The Library was founded by Clement Little one of the Officials or Comissaries for Edenburgh A. D. 1635. The Libra­ry. since which time it is much increased both by donatives from the Citizens, as also from the Scholars, who are more in number, than in any other College in the Kingdom: and here were presented to our view two very great Rarities, the one was a Tooth taken out of a great Scull being four Inches about, and the other was a crooked Horn taken from a Gentlewoman of the City who was fifty Years old, being eleven Inches long which grew under her right Ear, and was cut out [Page 198] by an eminent Chirurgeon then living in the Town who presented it to the College.

Their Chur­ches and Parlia­ment Hou­ses.About the middle of the City stands the Cathe­dral, which is now divided into six sermon Hou­ses, for which Service there are seven other Kirks set apart besides, and not far from the Cathedral is the Parliament House, whither we had the good Fortune to see all the flower of the Nobility then to pass in state, attending Duke Lauderdale who was sent down High-Commissioner: And indeed it was a very Glorious sight, for they were all richly Accoutred and as nobly attended with a splendid Retinue, the Heralds of Arms and other Officers, that went before were wonderful gay and finely habited, and the Servants that attended were clad in the richest Liveries; their Coaches drawn with six Horses, as they went ratling along, did dazle our Eyes with the splendour of their furniture, and all the Nobles appeared in the great­est Pomp and Gallantry; the Regalia, which are the Sword of State, the Scepter, and the Crown were carried by three of the antientest of the Nobility, and on each side the Honours were three Mace-Bearers bare headed, a Noble-man bare headed with a Purse, and in it the Lord High Commissioner's Commission, then last of all the Lord High Commissioner with the Dukes and Marquesses on his Right and Left Hand it is or­dered that there be no Shooting under the highest penalties that Day, neither displaying of Ensigns, nor beating of Drums during the whole Caval­cade: The Officers of State not being Noblemen, ride in their Gowns, all the Members ride covered except those that carry the Honours▪ and the highest Degree and the most Honourable of that degree rid last.

Nor is their grandeur disproportionate to their demeanour which is high and stately, but cour­teous and obliging, having all the additional helps of Education and Travel to render it accomplish'd, [Page 199] for during their Minority there is generally great care taken to refine their Nature, and emprove their Knowlege, of which when they have attain'd a a competent measure in their own Country, they betake themselves to foreign Nations to make a further progress therein, where they do generally become so great proficients, that at their return they are by this means fitted for all great Services and Honourable employments, which their King or Country is pleased to commit to their care and fidelity, and are thereby enabled to discharge them with great Honour and applause.

On the West side a most steep Rock mounteth up aloft to a great height every way save where it looks towards the City, The Castle. on which is placed a Castle built by Ebrank the Son of Mempitius, as some Write, though others by Cruthneus Camelon the first King of the Picts about 330, Years before the Birth of our Saviour; 'tis so strongly fortified both by art and Nature, that it is accounted im­pregnable, which the Britains called Myned Agned, the Scots the Maiden Castle, of certain young Maids of the Picts Royal Blood, which were kept here in old time, and which in truth may seem to have been that Castrum alatum, or Castle with a Wing before spoken of: In this Castle is one of the largest Canons in Great Britain, called Roaring Megg, which together with two tire of Ordi­nance besides planted upon the Wall, can com­mand the City and all the Plains thereabouts: but most famous is it, in that Queen Mary was brought to Bed here of a Son, who was afterward Christened at Sterling, and called James, who at last became the Happy Uniter of the two Crowns; and in that Chamber in which he was Born are written upon the Wall these following Verses, in an old Scotch Character;

A little below the Castle is a Curious Structure built for an Hospital by Mr. Herriot, The Hospi­tal. Jeweller to the aforementioned King James, and endowed with very great Revenues for the use of poor Or­phans, and impotent and decrepit Persons, but by the ruinous and desolate Condition it seem'd at that time to be falling into, it became to us a very doleful Spectacle, that so noble a heroick de­sign of Charity should be so basely perverted to to other Evil Ends and purposes, contrary to the Will and intention of the Donor.

The City is governed by a Lord-Provost, who hath always a Retinue befitting his Grandeur; and for the punishing delinquents there is a large Tolbooth, Tolbooth. for so they call a Prison or House of Correction, where all Malefactors are kept in hold to satisfie the Law as their Offences shall require.

Within seven Miles round the City there are of Noble and Gentlemens Palaces, Castles, and strong-builded Towers and Stone houses, as we were inform'd above an hundred, and besides the Houses of the Nobility and Gentry within it, here dwell several Merchants of great Credit and re­pute, where because they have not the conveni­ency of an Exchange as in London, they meet about Noon in the High-street, from whence they adjourn to their Changes, i. e. Taverns, or other places where their business may require them to give their Attendance.

[Page 201]The Fortune of this City hath in former Ages been very variable and inconstant; Its varia­ble Chan­ges. sometime it was Subject to the Scots, and another while to the English, who inhabited the East parts of Scotland, until it became wholly under the Scots Dominion about the Year 960, when the English being over­poured and quite oppressed by the Danes were en­forced to quit all their interest here, as unable to grapple with two such potent Enemies.

A Mile from the City lies Leith a most commo­dious Haven hard upon the River Leith, Leith. which when Dessry the Frenchman for the security of Eden­burgh had fortified very strongly by reason of a great Concourse of People, which after this Flock­ed hither in abundance, in a short time from a mean Village it grew to be a large Town: In the Reign of our King Henry the Eighth, the Suffer­ings and Calamities both of it and its Neighbours were grievous and inexpressible, being both Burnt and plundred by Sir John Dudly Viscount Lisle, Lord High Admiral of England, who came hither with a puissant Army, and broke down the Peer, burning every stick thereof, and took away all the Scotch Ships that were fit to serve him, which kind of Execution was done likewise at Dunbar; afterward when Francis King of France had taken to Wife Mary Queen of Scots, the Frenchmen who in hope and conceit had already devoured Scotland, and began now to gape for England, A. D. 1560. strengthned it again with new fortifications: But Queen Elizabeth solicited by the Nobles, who had embraced the Protestant Religion, to side with them, by her Wisdom and Prowess so effected the matter, that the French were enforced to return into their own Country, and all their fortificati­ons were laid level with the Ground, and Scotland hath ever since been freed from the French, and Leith hath become a very opulent and flourishing Port, for the Peer is now kept up in so good re­pair, and the Haven so safe for Ships to ride in, [Page 202] that here commonly lieth a great Fleet at anchor which come hither Richly laden with all sorts of Commodities.

After we had spent some time in this City we went from hence through Linlithgow, Linlith­gow. a Town beautified with a fair House of the King's, a good­ly Church, a pleasant Park and a Loch a lake un­der the Palace Wall full of Fish, (of which lake it seems to have derived its Name, Falkirk. Lin in the British Tongue signifying a lake) to another Town called Falkirk Famous for the notable Bat­tle which was fought here betwixt King Edward the First, and the Scots, wherein were Slain no less than two Thousand Men: not far from which place likewise upon the River Carron was formerly situate the Famous City of Camelon, chief City of the Picts, founded by Cruthneus Camelon before the Birth of Christ 330 Year, which was destroy- by King Kenneth the Great, about the Year of Christ 846, and what was left was afterward swal­lowed up by an Earthquake, where the void place is now filled with Water.

Glasgow.At last we came to the renowned City of Glas­gow, which (lying in Liddisdail) was indeed the furthest of all our Northern Circuit; 'tis situated upon the River Glotta, or Cluyd, over which is placed a very fair Bridge supported with eight Arches, and for pleasantness of Sight, sweetness of Air, and delightfulness of its Gardens and Orchards enriched with most delicious Fruits, surpasseth all other places in this Tract; the Build­ings in this Town are very large and beautiful; and the Tolbooth itself so stately a Structure, that it appears rather to be a Palace than a Prison: This has formerly been the See of an Arch-Bi­shop, The Uni­versity. and in the Year 1554 an University which consists of one College, was founded here by Arch Bishop Turnbill for a Rector, a Dean of Fa­culty, a Principal or Warden to teach Theology and three Professors to teach Philosophy: After­wards [Page 203] some Clergymen professed the Laws here, being invited to that Profession rather by the con­venience of a Collegiate Life, and the immunities of the University, then by any considerable Sala­ry. King James the Sixth, A. D. 1577. did esta­blish twelve Persons in the College, viz. a Princi­pal, three Professors of Philosophy, called Re­gents, four Scholars called Bursars, an Oeconomus or Provisor, who furnisheth the Table with Pro­visions, the Principal's Servant, a Janitor and a Cook.

The Cathedral is a very fair ancient Fabrick, The Cathe­drel. built by Bishop John Achaian, A. D. 1135. it oweth Thanks to the Memory of King James the Sixth; and which is most remarkable, to the Mob it self at that time, for its preservation from Ruine: for the Ministers here having perswaded the Ma­gistrates to pull it down, and to build two or three other Churches with the materials thereof, and the Magistrates condescending, a Day was appointed and Workmen ready to demolish it, but the com­mon Tradesmen having notice given them of this design, convene in Arms, and oppose the Ma­gistrates, threatning to bury the Demolishers of it under the Ruines of that ancient Building, where­upon the matter was referred to the King and Council who decided the controversy in the Trades­mens Favour, and reproving very sharply the Ma­gistrates for their Order, so that it still continues with four other Churches here beside for the exer­cise of their Religion.

The City is governed by a Mayor, and is very eminent for its Trade and Merchandize, and is noted upon Record for being the place, where William Wallace, the Renowned Champion of Scotland, was traitourously Betrayed by Sir John Menteith, and delivered up to our King Edward the First, by whose Order he was afterward pub­lickly executed in Smithfield.

[Page 204] Hamil­ton-Passing away hence by Hamilton, a famous Pa­lace then belonging to Duke Hamilton, which hath a fair and spatious Park adjoyning to it, we had two Days journy very doleful and troublesome, for we travelled over wide Meers and dangerous Mountains in the Company of some Scotch Gentle­men, who were going that way for England, where the Weather was ill, the ways worse, and the long Miles with their Way-bitts at the end of them worst of all, where our Lodging was hard, our Diet course and our Bodies thin, that it might easily be discerned how we had lately pass'd through the Territorys of Famine, who Reigns very po­tently over that cold and pinching Region.

Dunfries.But coming at length to Dunfries in the County of Nidisdail it made us some amends, for being situate between two Hills upon the Mouth of the River Nid, over which is laid a Bridge of large fine Stones, it appears to be one of the most flou­rishing Towns in this Tract, notable no less for its ancient Castle and Manufacture of Cloath, then for the Murther of John Cummins, one of the most Renowned Personages for his Retinue and Equi­page in all this Kingdom, whom Robert Bruce, for fear he should fore-stal his way to the Crown, run quite through with his Sword in the Fryars Church, and soon obtain'd his pardon from the Pope, though he had committed so great a Mur­der in so sacred a place.

Anan­dale.After this we came to Anandale at the Mouth of the River Anan in the County of Anandale, bor­dering upon our own Nation, which lost all its Glory and Beauty upon the War, which was rais­ed in Edward the Sixth's Days; in these two last named Counties have been bred a sort of warlike Men, who hath been infamous for Robberys and depredations, for they dwell upon Solway-Frith, a fordable Arm of the Sea at low Water, through which frequently they have made many inroads into England to fetch home great Booty's, and in [Page 205] which they were wont after a delightful manner on Horse-back with Spears to hunt Salmons, of which there are in these parts a very great abun­dance.

After we had passed these borders we arrived again safe in our own native Soil, within the pre­cincts of Cumberland, Cumber­land. which like the rest of the Northern Counties hath a sharp piercing Air; the Soil is fertile for the most part both with Corn and Cattel, and in some parts hereof with Fish and Fowl; here are likewise several Minerals, which of late have been discovered; not only Mines of Copper, but some veins of Gold and Silver, as we were informed, have been found, and of all the Shires, we have, it is accounted the best fur­nished with the Roman Antiquities: Nor is it less renowned for its exceeding high Mountains; for beside the Mountain called Wrye-Nose, The Hill called Wrie-Nose. on the top of which near the high way side are to be seen Three Shire-Stones within a foot of each other, one in this County, another in Westmorland, and a third in Lancashire, there are three other Hills, Skiddaw, Lanvalin and Casticand, very remarkable: Skid­daw riseth up with two mighty high Heads, like Parnassus, and beholds Scruffel Hill, The Hill of Skiddaw, Lanvellin and Casti­cand. which is in Anandale in Scotland, and accordingly as mists rise, or fall upon these heads, the People thereby prognosticate of the change of Weather, Singing this Rhime,

And there goes also, this usual By-Word con­cerning the height, as well of this Hill, as of the other two.

[Page 206]Nay, so liberal to it is Nature in the distribution of her largesses, that she seems to have enriched it with every thing, that may any way be conduci­ble to Health, as well as Wealth, for here are such Varieties of vulnerary Plants, which grow plentifully in these parts, especially near to the Picts-Wall, that in the beginning of Summer, many Persons, that are curious in these things, come hither out of Scotland on purpose to Simple; here are likewise upon the Sea-Coast very frequent­ly discovered Trees at Low-water, which have been covered with Sand, and that in many other mossy places of the Shire they digg up Trees without boughs, and that by the directions of the dew (they say) in Summer, which they observe ne'er stands upon that Ground, under which they lie.

At Carlile wee took up our first qaarters in this Province, Carlile. an ancient City very commodiously si­tuated, 'tis guarded on the North side with the River Eden, on the East with Peterial, and on the West with Cawd, and besides these Natural fences 'tis fortified with a strong Wall, with a Castle and a Cittadel; the Fashion of it is long running out from West to East; on the West side is the Castle of a large compass which King Richard the Third, as appears by his Coat of Arms, repaired; and on the East the Cittadel built by Henry the Eighth: In the middle almost of the City riseth on high the Cathedral Church, being formerly a stately and Magnificent Structure, adorned with rich Copes, and other sacred Garments and Vessels, and two Unicorns Horns of great Value, which by an ancient custom were placed here upon the Altar, but now deplores the want of part of its Body being ruined by a wicked War, whilst it was only intend­ed for a House of Prayer and Peace: It was first founded by Walter, Deputy of these parts for King William Rufus, and by him dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, but finished and endowed by King Henry the First out of the Wealth which the said [Page 207] Walter had amassed for that purpose: The Romans and Britains called this place Lugoballum, that is saith Cambden the fort by the Wall, which Name it derived probably from that famous military val­lum, or Trench, which stands apparent a little from the City; and that it flourished exceedingly in the time of the Romans, the famous mention of it in those Days, and diverse remains of Antiqui­ty, which have been here frequently discovered, do sufficiently attest: After the departure of the Romans, it suffered extreamly by the insolent out­rages of the Scots and Picts, and afterward being almost quite ruined by the Danes, it lay about two hundred Years buried in its own Ashes until it be­gan again to flourish under the government and by the favour of King William Rufus, who as the Sax­on Chronicle tells us. A. D. 1092 coming hither with a great Army repaired the City and built the Castle, driving from hence the Daulphin of France, who had got too sure footing in some of those Nor­thern parts, and planted here a new Colony of Flem­mings say some Historians, whom presently upon better advice he removed into Wales, and setled in their room a more useful plantation of Southern English-men: After this here having been formerly a Covent of Monks and a Nunnery built by St. Cuthbert A. D. 686. which were both destroyed by the Danes. King Henry the First established here the Episcopal See, A. D. 1135. saith Mr. Wharton Ang. Sacr. Tom. 1. P. 699. and made Athulph Priory of St. Oswalds his Confessor Bishop hereof, and endowed it with many Honours and emoluments; in the successive Reigns of our Kings it was Subject to great casualties and misfortunes, the Scots, won it from King Stephen, and King Henry the Second recovered it again; in the Reign of Edward the First the City and Priory with all the Houses be­longing to it were consum'd by Fire, and a little after King Edward the Second came to the Crown, all the Northern parts from Carlile to York fell un­der the subjection of the Scots, at which time our [Page 208] Chronicles tell us, that the English by their faint­heartedness grew so Vile and Despicable, that three Scots durst venture upon an hundred English, when a hundred English durst hardly encounter with three Scots; but under victorious King Edward the Third the Englishmen pluck'd up their Spirits, and recovered their ancient Valour, enforcing the Scots to quit all their strong holds, and retire back again to their own Territories and Dominions; never­theless this City with the parts adjacent were fre­quently pestered by Scotch Invasions, till the hap­py Union of the two Crowns, since which time it is grown more Populous and opulent, being go­verned by a Mayor, and having the Assizes and Ses­sions held here for that County. Salkelds.

We rode away from Carlile by Salkelds upon the River Eden (where is a trophy of Victory, as is supposed, called by the Country People Long Megg' and her Daughters, being seventy seven Stones each of them ten Foot high above Ground and one of them, viz. Long Megg fifteen Foot) to Penreth, Penreth. which is saith Cambden, if you inter­pret it out of the Brittish Language, the Red-head, or Hill, for the Soil, and the Stones are here gene­rally of a reddish Colour, but commonly called Perith, sixteen Miles distant from this City.

This Town is but small in compass, but great in Trade, fortified on the West-side with a Castle of the King's, which in the Reign of King Henry the Sixth was repaired out of the Ruines of a Roman Fort, not far from it, called Maburg, adorned with a spatious Church, and large Market-place, where there is an Edifice of Timber for the use of such as resort hither to Market, garnished with Bears at a ragged Staff, which was the device of the Earls of Warwick; it belonged in times past to the Bishops of Durham, but the Patriarch Bech taking two much State upon him, and carrying himself with more haughtiness, than became him, did hereby so displease King Edward the First, that he took from [Page 209] him Werth in Tevidail, Perith, and the Church of Simondburn: But for the commodious use of this town William Strickland Bishop of Carlile descend­ed from an ancient Race in this tract, at his own proper charge caused a Channel for a Water­course to be made out of Peteril, which near unto the Bank had Plumpton Park, a large plat of Ground, which the Kings of England had appoint­ed as a Chase for wild Beasts to range in; but King Henry the Eighth disparked it, and converted it into a better Habitation for Men, it lying near to the Marches, where the Realms of England and Scotland confine one upon another.

Not far from this Town begins the County of Westmorland, West­morland. being one of the worst Countries in England, and taking its Name both from its Situa­tion and the great number of Moors in it: 'Tis likewise a Hilly Country, two ridges of high Hills crossing it as far as Cumberland, which besides their Northern Situation, sharpen the Air, and make it less Subject to Fogs and Vapours then ma­ny other Counties, by reason of which the Peo­ple are free from strange and infectious Diseases, being healthful, and living generally to great Ages, but in the Southern parts of it, it is more fruitful and pleasant.

In this County, near the River Lowther, Piramidal Stones near the Low­ther. is a Spring that Ebbs and Flows many times in a Day, and in the same place there are huge Pyramidal Stones, some nine Foot high and thirteen Foot thick, pitched directly in a row for a Mile toge­ther, Cataracks near Ken­dale. and placed at equal distances from each other and in the River Ken near Kendale are two Cata­racks, or Water-falls, where the Waters descend with a great and mighty noise, and when that, which standeth North, from the Neighbours living between them, sounds clearer and lowder than the other, they certainly look for fair or foul Weather to follow but when that on the South-side doth so, they look for Foggs and Showers of Rain.

[Page 210] Appleby.We arrived at Appleby, a Town in this County memorable for its Antiquity and Situation, having formerly been a Roman Station, and standing very pleasantly being almost encompassed with the River Eden, over which it has a Stone Bridge, but so slen­derly inhabited and the Buildings so mean, that all the Beauty of it lies in one mean Street, which riseth with a gentle ascent; in the upper part where­of stands the Castle, and in the nether end the Church, and by it a School, which Robert Langton and Miles Spencer, Doctors of Law, founded for the advancement of Learning: That this Castle was surprized by William King of Scots a little be­fore himself was taken Prisoner at Alnwick, our Chronicle-inform us, but King John, having after­wards recovered it from the Scots, bestowed it out of his Princely Favour upon Robert Vipon, for some singular services he had done to him and the State.

Burgh un­der Stane­moor.Six Miles further lies Burgh, commonly called Burgh under Stanemoor, which, though now but a poor small Village, was in all probability the place, where stood the antient Town Vertera, in which in the declining Age of the Roman Empire the Band of the Directores kept their Station, which Opinion is the more likely, becase the distance thereof from Levatra, or Bows on the one side, and Brovonacum, or Appleby on the other, being reduced to Italian Miles, do exactly agree with Antonines Computation, as Cambden observes out of his Iti­nerary; and further, for that the High-street of the Romans, as is yet evidently apparent by the Ridges thereof, leads this way directly to Brovona­cum or Appleby: But besides this, there is nothing here remarkable at all, excepting only, that in the beginning of the Norman government the Northern English conspired here first against William the Conquerour, and that the most Heroick King Ed­ward the First died here of a Dysentery A. D. 1307. and was buried at Westminster.

[Page 211]When we were past Burgh we began to climb that hilly and solitary Country exposed to Wind and Weather, Stane­moor. which because 'tis all Rocky and Stony is called in the Northern Dialect Stanemoor, and here round about us we beheld nothing but a rough, wide, mountainous Desart, save only a poor homely Hostelry, rather than an Inn, in the very midst thereof called the Spittle on Stanemoor, to entertain Travellers, and near to it a Fragment of a Cross, which we call Rere-Cross, Rere-Cross. and the Scots, Re-Cross, i. e. the King's Cross, which formerly ser­ved as a Land-mark betwixt the two Kingdoms, the same being erected upon a Peace concluded between William the Conquerour, and Malcolm King of Scots with the Arms of England on the South-side and those of Scotland on the North; and a little lower upon the Roman High-way stood a small Fort built four-square, which they called the Maiden Castle, from whence, as the Borderers re­ported, the said High-way went with many Windings in and out as far as to Carevorran in Nor­thumberland.

After we had made a shift to scramble over these Mountains we found a little Village on the other side called Bows, Bows. the same which I observed before Antonine calls Levatra, in which was formerly a small Castle belonging to the Earls of Richmond, where in was a certain Custom called Thorough Toll, and their Jus furcarum, i. e. power to hang, &c.

Through this place lies the Road to Richmond, Rich­mond. the chief Town hereabouts, encompassed with a Wall, out of which are three Gates, now well peopled and frequented: It was built upon the Norman Conquest by Alan, Earl of Bretagne, who reposing small trust in Gilling (a place or manner of his own hard by) to withstand the Violence of the Danes and English, whom the Normans had des­poiled of their Inheritance, fenced it with a Wall and a Castle, which standing upon a Rock looks down upon the Swale, over which it has a Stone bridge, [Page 212] which River was reputed Sacred by the ancient English, for that Paulinus the first Arch-Bishop of York, Baptized in it in one Day above Ten thousand Men, besides Women and Children, and then gave it the Name of Richmond, as a place of Strength and Beauty. Here is held a great Market to the benefit of the Country, who expose to Sale great quantities of Stockings, which being bought up at cheap Rates, are af­terwards sent into other parts of the Nation.

This Town gives name to five Wapentakes or Hundreds within its Jurisdiction, from hence cal­led Richmond-shire, Rich­mond­shire. a wild and hilly tract of Ground, but yielding good Grass in some places; the Hills are stored with Lead, Coals and Copper, and on the tops or surface thereof are found many times Stones like Sea Winkles, Cockles, Mus­cles, and other Fish; which saith Cambden, are either natural, or else are the Relicts of Noah's Flood petrified. Orosius speaks as much of Oysters of Stone found upon Hills far from the Sea, which have been eaten in hollow by the Wa­ter; in all likelyhood these stone Fishes are of the same kind, which some Naturalists have discovered at Alderby in Glocester-shire, and I my self have since taken up upon the high Cliffs near Folk-stone in Kent, which I shall describe more particularly, when I come to speak of that place.

But to return on our way, out of Richmond-shire we made an entrance into the West-Riding of York-shire, where we were first saluted by Rip­pon, Rippon. situated upon the River Ʋre, which divides the North and West-Riding, and is full of Crea-Fishes, the breed whereof, as they say, was brought out of the South parts by Sir Christopher Medcalfe: It received all its Dignity and ancient renown from a Monastery built here A. D. 660. by Wil­frid, Arch Bishop of York, which being together with the Town quite ruined and demolished by the fury of the Danes, it was afterwards repaired [Page 213] by Odo, Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, who translated thither the Relicks of Wilfrid; his being brought to this place from Oundle in Northampton-shire, saith the Saxon Chronicle A, D. 709. The prin­cipal Ornament of it at present is the Collegiate Church with its three lofty Spires: A Church no­ted of old for St. Wilfrid's Needle, where Wo­mens honesty was tried, it being a narrow hole in a Vault under Ground, thro' which those that were Chaste could easily pass, if we believe Tradition, but the Unchast, it seems, stuck by the way: On one side of the Church is a little College erected by Henry Bath, Arch-Bishop of York, over which presides a Reverend Dean, my worthy Friend Dr. Wyvil and on the other side of it is a great Mount of Earth called Hilshaw, cast up as is reported by the Danes.

In the Reign of Edward the Second the Scots having invaded this Nation, burnt all before them until they came to this place, which for the space of three Days they ransack'd, pillaged, and spoil­ed, receiving no less than a thousand Mark of those who fled into the Church, as an Asylum or Sanctuary, upon condition, they would not burn this place as they had done divers other Towns in the County; besides this there is nothing memora­ble, but the great number of Spurriers, who be­ing here incorporated in a Society, make the best Spurs which this Nation affords.

Hereupon we forthwith withdrew our selves to a neighbouring Village, which is called Cock-grave, of great Note for a Well, called St. Domin­go's- Well, St. Do­mingo 's-Well at Cock-grave. which is very effectual for curing many Pains and Aches, but more especially the Rickets, which occasions in Summer-time a great resort of Impotent and decrepit Persons, and little Chil­dren too, which we observed they took in their Arms, and dipped several times in the Water, which is as cold as Ice, and doth so pierce and chill the Body, that when we went out of curiosity to [Page 214] bath in it, the coldness of the Spring did mightily allay the Pleasure we expected, not being able long to continue in it, though as soon as we came out we began again immediately to be warm, and were almost ready to sweat with extreamity of heat, which is generally the operation of this cold Well.

Knarsbo­rough.Two Miles farther is Knarsborough, a place where grows great quantities of Liquorice, which by reason of its Marle is supposed to be a more kindly Earth for the production of that Plant; but more especially it is of great repute for three Rarities; the First is St. Roberts Chappel, St. Ro­berts Chappel. which is a small vaulted Hermitage hewn out of a Rock, visited very frequently by the Votaries of Rome, of which St. Robert there goes a Story, that being a Person of great Austereness and Sanctity, he begged of King John as much ground, as he could plough over from six of Clock till four with two Stags; which the King presently granted, believ­ing that the compass of Land could be but small, which he could till in so little a time, especially with such wild untractable Creatures; but the the grave Hermite having tamed two Stags, for the purpose, went to work with the Animals, and ploughed over in that time some Acres if credit may be given to the relation, in memory of which great Days work, himself and his Stags continue painted, as they were Yoked together, to this day in the Church Windows: here was likewise a Prio­ry of the Order of the holy Trinity for the Re­demption of Captives, founded by Richard Earl of Cornwal A. D. 1218. of which St. Robert was the Tutelar Saint: to which Priory, as Mr. Kennet in­forms us, he gave the Chappel of St. Robert, and the Advowson of the Church of Hamstwait.

The Drop­ing Well.The Second is the Dropping Well, into which the Water distils and trickles down from a Rock hanging over it, where if any kind of Wood is put it will in a short time be covered over with a [Page 215] Stony Bark, as hath been frequently experimented; neither doth it transform Sticks, but any other thing which is thrown into it, for besides a wood­en Dish, which lying for some considerable time in this Water, was all over incrustated, in the in­side like a smooth Hone, and on the outside as rough and cragged as an Oister, we brought away with us likewise a Mass of leaves and Stalks, which was petrified in a lump, and observed that the very Mud which lay in the bottom of the Water was just like a round congeries of Hailstones coagu­lated together, resembling very much some which we had seen before at Ochy Hole in Somerset-shire, and yet upon the top of this Rock, where this Spring-Head is discovered the like operation is not at all visible, nor doth the Water petrifie as below, which makes some conjecture, that the Water is impregnated with this Virtue by the Rock, from whence by fetching so long a compass it still keeps continually trickling down.

The last are the Spaws lying two or three Miles from that Town upon a wide Heath, The Spaws. which are two Springs a little distant from each other, the Water of the one is more toothsom and palatable, purging most by Urine, but the other is so unsa­voury, and loathsome both to the taste and smell, that he, who is not used to it, is at first enforced to Stop, his Nose, before he can take down so many Glasses, as are prescribed him, of this laxtative potion.

We happened here at the season, when there was a great confluence of the Gentry, who come hither to drink the Waters from divers places, whereupon we diverted our selves for some few Days in this place, and lighting by chance upon some old Friends and Acquaintance, who lived hereabouts, they afterward conducted us very kindly on our way to Leeds which is reckoned to be distant about twelve Miles from Knarsborough.

[Page 216] Leeds.This is one of the most opulent and populous Towns on this side of the Country, the great Trade whereof consists in Clothing, about which an incredible number of People are employed, not only in this Parish, which is of a large extent, but in the Neighbourhood too; on a Market Day it is scarce to be imagined how many Packs of Cloath are bought up and sent away; at which time there is a pretty custom observed, that as soon as the Merchants have done bargaining with their Chapmen, they commonly go together to their Brig-end shot, being a kind of Sixpenny Ordinary in a House near to the Stone-Bridge, which is built over the River Are, where their Market is kept, which having lovingly participated toge­ther, away they return every Man about his bu­siness.

Otely.Travelling away hence through Otely, a small Town belonging to the Arch-Bishop of York, situ­ated under a high and craggy Cliff, called Cherin, and having several times crossed over the Are, which Springing out of the bottom of the Hill Pennigent; doth, as it were, sport it self with winding in and out, as if it were doubtful, whe­ther it should return back to its Spring-head or run on still to the Sea, Skipton. we came to Skipton in Craven a Country so rough and unpleasant with craggy Stones, hanging Rocks, and rugged Ways, that it seems to have derived its very name from Cragg, which in the British Language doth signifie a Stone; in the midst hereof in a low bottom stands Skipton lying hid, and enclosed about with steep Hills, and precipices not unlike Latium in Italy, which Varro supposeth to have been so called, because it lieth close under the Apennine and the Alps; the Town for the bigness of it, and manner of its buildings is Fair enough, being more especially beautified with a Castle, which belongs to the Earl­dom of Pembrook; in the Reign of Edward the Second it underwent the same dismal calamities [Page 217] from the Scots, which the Neighbouring parts at the same time suffered.

A little further upon the edge of this County at Giggleswick (which is not far distant from Settle Settle. a small Market Town) we rode by a little Spring rising under a Hill, The ebbing and flow­ing Well; and Ro­binhood's Mill by Giggles­wick. which ebbs and flows several times in an Hour, it flows about a quarter of a yard high, and at ebb falls again so low, that it is scarce an inch deep with Water; and on the other side of this Hill is heard a clacking noise, such as is made by a Mill, which is caused, as is supposed, by some current of Water, which creeping under Ground falls down upon the Rocks, and this the Country people call Robin-Hood's Mill.

We arrived quickly from hence within Lanca­shire, commonly called Lonkashire, Lanka­shire. and the county Palatine of Lancaster because it gives a Title to a Count Palatine Famous for the four Henries, the 4th, 5th,, 6th, and 7th Kings of England derived from John Gaunt, Duke of Lanca­ster.: The Air hereof is thin and piercing, not troubled with gross mists or foggs, which makes that People healthy, strong, and long-liv'd; the Soil differs much in nature and si­tuation, some parts being Hilly, and others flat, and of these some being fruitful, some mossy, and others moorish, the Champain Country for the most part good for Wheat and Barly, and that which lies at the bottom of the Hill, yields the best of Oats; yet it breeds great number of Cat­tel, that are of a huge proportion, and have good­ly Heads, and large spread Horns, and for Fish and Fowl here is great abundance, particularly in Winander Meer, Winan­der Meer. which is ten Miles long and four broad, and has such a clear pebly bottom, that the common saying amongst them is that it is all paved with Stone; besides Trouts, Pikes, &c. there is one most dainty Fish called a Char, not to be found elsewhere, except in Ʋlles Water, Ulles Lake. another Lake upon the borders of Cumberland, and that two prin­cipally in Lent, at which time some zealous Roma­nists will tell you, that they more freely come to Net, than at any other season, for afterward they [Page 218] scond, and are not easily taken: Besides all this the Country abounds with Flax to make Linnen, with Turfs and pit Coal for fuel, and with Quarries of good Stone for building, and in some boggy places are digged up Trees, which will burn clear, and give light like touch-wood.

Here are three great Hills not far distant asunder seeming to be as high as the clouds, Inglebo­row, Peni­gent and Pendle. which are In­gleborow, Penigent, and Pendle, on the top of which grows a peculiar Plant called Cloudsberry, as though it came out of the Clouds: this Hill for­merly did the Country much harm by reason of an extraordinary deal of Water gushing out of it, and is now famous for an infallible sign of Rain, whensoever the top of it is covered with a mist; and by reason of the excessive height for which they are all three celebrated, there is this Proverbi­al Rhime goes currant amongst them,

Lanca­ster. Lancaster is the chief Town of the County, of no large extent, but very sweet and clean, fortifi­ed with a Castle, which is made use of for the Assizes, and adorned with one large Church, both which are situated upon a high Hill, from whence is a pleasant prospect into the adjacent Fields, which are delicately enriched with the best of Earths Ta­pestry, and are watred by the Christal streams of the River Lone, which pays here a petty tribute before it posts away to do homage to the Ocean; in the descent and sides of the Hill, where it is steep­est, hard by the Stone-Bridge, which hath five Arches, hangs an ancient piece of Wall, called Wery-wall, supposed to have been some ancient Work of the Romans, by reason of several Roman Coins, which have been found hereabouts; the grants and privileges, which have been conferred upon this Town by the Kings of this Realm, have [Page 219] been very great and considerable, and King John and Edward the Third have ever been esteemed two of its principal Benefactours.

From hence the great Road led us directly through Garstange Gar­stange. a small market Town (noted chiefly for a great Fair held here every Year in the beginning of July) to Preston Preston. being a delightful place, well peopled with the more wealthy and gentile sort, situate upon the Ribble, with a fair Stone Bridge over it; the same is honoured with the Court of Chancery, and the Offices of Justice for Lancaster, as a County Palatine, and not far from it stands Ribchester, Ribche­ster. supposed to be the ancient Bremetonacum, counted in its flourishing times the richest Town in Christendome, about which have been digged up so many pieces of Roman Anti­quity, that one may conclude it from thence to have been a place of great account in the time of the Romans.

Passing after this through Wigan another Mar­ket Town and Corporation, Wigan. well known by rea­son of the great Trade for Coverlids, Rugs, Blankets, and other sorts of Bedding, which is made there, Lever­pool. we came to Leverpool a Sea Port Town situated at the Mersey's-mouth, where it af­fords a safe Harbour for Ships and a convenient passage for Ireland; for its denfence it hath on the South side a Castle built by King John, and on the West side a Tower upon the River being a stately and strong piece of Building.

We ferried over from thence into Cheshire, Cheshire. which lies opposite to it on the other side of the River: This shire is a County Palatine, and the Earls hereof have formerly had such Royalties and Privileges belong­ing to them, that all the Inhabitants have Sworn fealty and allegiance to them as to their King; the Air of it is so healthy, that the People are ge­nerally long-liv'd, and the Irish vapours rising from the Irish Sea do sooner melt the Snow and Ice in this County, than in places further of; the Soil is [Page 220] very Rich, and is observed to be more kindly, and natural for Pasturage than Corn, which occasions here great plenty of most excellent Cheese, which together with Salt are the two grand Commodities of this County; both Men and Women have here a general commendation for Beauty and Handsome proportion, and for Meers and Pools, Heaths and Mosses, Woods and Parks, they are more frequent here than in many other Counties, besides that it is in great request for the two famous Forests Delamere and Mac­clesfield Forests. of Delamere and Macklesfield.

River Dee.In the River Dee is plenty of Salmons; and Gi­raldus Cambrensis, who lived about the Year 1200, tells us, that this River prognosticated a certain Victory to the Inhabitants living upon it, when they were in Hostility one against another, accor­ding as it inclined more on this side or that, after it had left the Channel; and it is still observed that the same River upon the fall of much Rain riseth but little, but if the South Wind beats long upon it, it swells and extreamly overflows the Grounds adjacent.

Salt Springs at Nant­wich &c.At Nantwich, Northwich, and Middlewich are the Famous Salt-Pits of this shire: the whitest Salt is made at Nantwich which is reputed the greatest and fairest built Town of all this shire after Chester: it hath only one Pit, called the Brine-Pit about some fourteen Foot from the River Wever, out of which they convey Salt-water by troughs of Wood into the Houses adjoining, wherein there stands lit­tle Barrels pitched fast in the ground, which they fill with that Water, and at the ringing of a Bell, they begin to make a Fire under the leads, where­of they have six in an House, and in them they seeth the Water, then certain Women, which they call Wallers, with little wooden rakes fetch up the Salt from the bottom, and put it in baskets, which they term Salt-barrows, out of which the Liquor runneth, and the pure Salt remaineth.

[Page 221] Chester or West- Chester as being in the Western part of the Kingdom is the Metropolis of this County, Chester. it was in ancient times called Legacestre, Caerleon, and Caerlegion, for wherever the Britains built a Town they gave it the name of Caer which is de­rived of the Hebrew Kir, and signifies a Wall in both Languages, and wheresoever the English coming in found the Word Caer in the name of any Town, they Translated it by the Word Chester, or Cestor, which was the same to them as Caer to the old Britains, which undoubtedly occasion'd the denomination of this Place; and the addition of Legion to it, was because the Twentieth Roman Legion was here placed: so that it is a City as fa­mous for its Antiquity as Situation, and of no less Renown of old for its Roman *At Caerleon was for­merly an ancient School of Learning, placed here for the Britains by the Roman Powers, Bishop Stilling­fleet, Antiq. of the Bri­tish Churches, P. 215., than 'tis now for a Dutch Colony, a People who carry Trade and Industry along with them where­e'er they go; 'Tis seated on the Banks of the River Dee, over which it has a fair Stone Bridge with eight Arches, and a Gate at each end, its distance from the River's Mouth is about 25 Miles and from the new Key, where the Ships ride, 6 Miles: 'Tis built in the form of a Quadrant, and environed with strong Walls about two Miles in compass, wth Towers and Battlements, and with­al so broad and spatious, that in some places two or three may walk a-breast upon it. The Castle, which stands upon an high Hill, near to the River, with its thundring Peals of Ordnance prohibits access to any insolent Invaders, whilst the sweet­ness and commodiousness of the City within affords great pleasure to the Natives, and no less satisfacti­on to all foreigners, who visit it; for besides the prospect of fair and uniform Houses, all along the chief Streets are Galleries, or walking places, which are called Rows, having Shops on both sides, through which a Man may walk dry in the most rainy Wea­ther from one end to the other.

[Page 222]Here are several Churches, which are very an­cient and goodly Fabricks, and though St. John's without Northgate had formerly the preeminence, yet now the Cathedral founded in Honour to St. Werburga, Daughter to Wulpherus King of Mercia, by Earl Leofrich, and afterward repaired by Hugh the first of the Norman Blood, that was Earl of Chester, doth deservedly bear away the Bell; of great repute for the Tomb of Henry the Fourth Emperour of Almain, who, as they say, gave over his Empire, and led here an Heremites Life: The Bishop's See was first placed here by Peter Bi­shop of Litchfield, who translated it from thence, but being afterwards conveyed to Coventry, and from thence setled in its primitive Station, this place continued devoid of all Episcopal Honour, till King Henry the Eighth's Reign, who having dispossessed the Benedictine Monks of their Mansions placed in their Room a Dean and Prebendaries, and made it for ever a Bishop's See. The City is governed by a Mayor and Aldermen, and was made a Coun­ty incorporate by King Henry the Seventh; and glories in nothing more than that this was the place, where the Saxon King Edgar in triumph had his Barge rowed in the way of homage by seven pet­ty Kings, or Princes (Kenneth the Third, King of Scots, being one) from St. John's Church to his own Palace, himself as supreme Lord alone holding the Helm; and here is farther a Tragical Story repor­ted, how Ethelfred, King of the Northumbers, who murdered at this place barbarosly some hundreds of Christian Monks, was here afterwards slain himself by Redwald, King of the East-Angles.

When we left this City, we took the opportuni­ty of the Sands, and passed with a Guide over the Washes into Flintshire in North-Wales, Flint­shire in North-Wales. where Flint Castle saluted us upon our first arrival; 'This Ca­stle was begun by King Henry the Second, and fi­nished by Edward the First, where King Richard the Second, ws deposed, and King Edward the Second [Page 223] met his great Favourite Gaveston at his return out of Ireland.

The Air is healthy, without any Fogs or Va­pours, and the People generally very aged and hearty; the Snow lies long upon the Hills; the Country affords great plenty of Cattel, but they are small; Millstones are also digged up in these Parts as well as in Anglesey: Towards the River Dee the Fields bear in some Parts Barley, in others Wheat, but generally throughout Rye, with very great encrease, and especially the first Year of their breaking up their Land, and afterwards two or three crops together of Oats.

Upon the River Cluyd is situated St. Asaph (an­ciently Elwy) a Town of greater Antiquity than Beauty, and more Honourable for a Bishop's See, St. Asaph. placed here about 560 by Kentigerne, a Scot, Bi­shop of Glascow, than for any thing else contained therein, by whom the Cathedral was built on the Elwy, whence the Town is called Land Elwy by the Welsh, and the Bishop Elwensis in the ancient La­tin: After that he returned into Scotland, he de­puted Asaph, a Religious and Devout Man to suc­ceed him in the Bishoprick, from whom the Place received its Denomination.

But most remarkable is this County for a little Village called Holy-Well, so famous for the strange Cures which have been wrought (as is supposed) by the Virtue and Intercession of St. Winifrid, Holy-Well, or St. Wine­fred 's Well. who is the grand Patroness thereof: The Water hereof is extreme cold, and hath so great a Stream that flows from it, that it is presently able to drive a Mill; the Stones which are at the bottom being of a sanguine Colour, are believed to have re­ceived that rubicund Tincture from the drops of Blood which trickled down this holy Virgin's Bo­dy, when she was here Beheaded by the Bloody Tyrant that would have ravished her; and the Moss which grows upon the sides, and bears a very fragrant smell, is averred to have been the pro­duct [Page 224] of her Hair, tho' I find by some we brought away with us, that in process of time it looseth all its sweetness. Over the Well stands a Chappel, dedicated to her, built of Stone after a curious manner, to which formerly was much resorting by Pilgrims, who came hither out of a blind De­votion, and the generality of the Commonalty hereabouts, who are too much addicted to Popish Superstition, are so extremely credulous to believe the Legend of this Martyr'd Virgin, and the great Miracle that was wrought by St. Benno, who restored her to Life again, as they say, by clap­ping on her Head immediately, after it was cut off, upon her Shoulders; that we happening to smile at this fabulous Relation, which we had from an old Romish Zealot, who gave his Atten­dance, it seeming indeed as ridiculous to us, as the Story of Garagantua, or the Wandring Jew, he presently observed us, and replied, That he supposed we e'er long would not believe the very Scriptures to be true; as if the Holy and undoubt­ed Oracles of God had now no more certain and infallible grounds of Veracity to enforce an assent to the Credibility thereof, than such idle and ex­travagant Fables as these, which have only been the Chymical Extracts of some Enthusiastick hot-brained Monks, dress'd up finely with some out­ward shews of probability to cheat the Vulgar into a belief hereof.

At this place we met divers Persons of as diffe­rent Qualities as Designs; some came hither for the good of their Bodies, and others, as they ho­ped for the benefit of their Souls; some we saw kneeling about the Well, mumbling over their Beads with such profound Murmurs, as the Con­jurers did of old, who used to invocate old Hecate's Assistance, and kissing the Stones on which they kneeled with as great Reverence as if the sacred Feet of St. Winefrid, or the Pope's Toe, had been there present before; others were crossing them­selves [Page 225] from Head to Foot with the Holy Water in which they bathed, supposing it as effectual to drive away all Evil Spirits from their Bodies, as the Spaniard did in Flanders, who seeing a Demo­niack exorcised, who looking earnestly upon him, a thing which he had never seen before, and being told that the Devil, when dispossessed of his for­mer hold, had a very great mind to enter into his Posteriors; leaps up immediately and clapp'd his Back-side into a Basin of Holy Water, by that means hoping to keep it free from that Black in­tending Inmate: Others were gathering up the bloody Stones, and picking up the sweet Moss from the sides of the Well, which Holy Reliques they resolved to treasure up as carefully, as the Nuns in Britany did the Bones of the Eleven hun­dred Martyr'd Virgins. And in fine, others went in purely for their Pleasure and Diversion, to cleanse and purifie themselves from bodily Pollu­tions, reserving their Souls for other kind of Lu­strations, more suitable and congruous to their Divine Nature.

Amongst these Persons we passed away some days, in which time, by conversing with the Welsh, we gathered up from them again an account of some Curiosities in these Northern Counties, which we had not then time enough personally to survey, which I shall next decypher with as much bre­vity as I can.

Montgomeryshire is a mountainous Country, Montgo­meryshire and yet very fruitful, because well irrigated, but in nothing more observable than for its excellent Breed of Horses, which are of most excellent Shapes, strong Limbs, and very swift.

The Hill Plim-limmon raiseth it self up to a won­derful height, The Hill Plim-lim­mon. and on that part where it boundeth on this Shire, it poureth forth the Severne, the greatest River in Britain, next the Thames; as likewise in the other Parts of it riseth the River Wye, and the River Rideal.

[Page 226] The Hill Cerdon.Upon Cerdon-Hill are placed certain Stones in a round Circle like a Coronet, in all probability to commemorate some notable Victory.

Merio­nethshire. Merionethshire may have a wholesom Air, but is very barren, and exceeding full of spir'd Hills, and good for little but Cattel: It was not conquer­ed by the English till the Reign of Edward the First, A. D. 1283. And in the Reign of Henry the IVth, Owen Glendover having drawn this and all Wales into a Combination against that Prince, endan­gered the loss of the whole, but that he had to do with too Martial a Prince.

The Pool near Bala.Near Bala is a great Pool of Water, that drowns at least 200 Acres of Ground, whose Nature is such, as they say, that the High-land Floods can­not make this Pool swell bigger, tho' never so great, but if the Air be troubled with violent Tempests of Wind, it riseth above the Banks; the River Dee runneth into this Pool with a swift Stream, and glides through it without mixture of Water; for in this Pool is bred the Fish called Juiniad, which is never seen in the Dee; and in Dee Salmons are taken, which are never found in the Pool. Upon the Sea Coasts of this County great store of Her­rings are taken at time of Year, and upon the West side of it the Sea beats so sore and hard, that it is thought it hath carried away part of it.

Anglesey. Anglesey is a considerable Island in the North-West part of Wales, parted from the Continent by a narrow Arm of the Sea named the Menay: The Welsh call this Island Mon or Tie-Mon, but since Edward the First conquered it from Llewellen, King or Prince of North-Wales, it got the Name of Anglesey, that is, the English Island. 'Tis in length about Twenty Miles, though in breadth scarce Seventeen; and herein are frequently found and digged up in the low Grounds Bodies of huge Trees with their Roots, and Fir-Trees of a won­derful bigness and length, which Trees some be­lieve were cut down by the Romans; so that it [Page 227] appears this Island was in times past full of Woods and Timber, but instead thereof it yieldeth now plenty of Corn, Sheep and Cattel; the Air is reasonably Healthful, save only a little Aguish at some time and in some places, by reason of the Fogs that do arise from the Sea. It yieldeth also great store of Millstones and Grindstones, and in some places a sort of Earth, of which they make Alum and Copperas, but more especially it af­fords such plenty of Wheat, it is deservedly enti­tled the Mother of Wales.

In Caernarvanshire the Air is sharp and pier­cing, and in it are the highest Hills in Wales, Caernar­vanshire. for which reason 'tis justly called the English Alps; on some of which the Snow lies long, and on others all the Year long hard crusted together.

In the Pool called Lin-paris there is, The Pool Lin-paris. as 'tis re­ported, a kind of Fish called Torroch, having a red Belly, which is no were else to be seen but here: 'Tis affirmed likewise, that on some of the high Hills of this Shire are too Meres, one of which produceth Fish, which have but one Eye, and in the other is a movable and floating Island, which as soon as any Person treads on it, presently falls into a moving posture.

Snowdown-Hills, Snow­down Hills. although they have always Snow lying upon them, yet they are exceeding Rank with Grass, insomuch that they are become a Proverb amongst the Welshmen, That those Mountains will yield sufficient Pasture for all the Cattel in VVales: And 'tis certain, that there are Pools and standing Waters upon the top of these Mountains, and they are so coated with a snowy Crust that lies on them, that if a Man doth but lightly set his Foot upon the top of them, he shall perceive the Earth to stir for several Foot from him, which probably might occasion the story of the floating Island before mentioned.

Penmaen-Mour, i. e. The great stony Head, Penmaen-Mour. is an exceeding high and steep Rock, which hangeth [Page 228] over the Sea, when it is Flood, affordeth a very narrow way for Passengers, having on the one side huge Stones over their Heads, as if they were ready to fall upon them; and on the other side the raging Ocean, lying of a wonderful depth un­der it; but after a Man hath passed over this, to­gether with Penmean-Lythan, the less stony Head, he shall come to an open broad Plain, that reach­eth as far as the River Conway, in which are bred a sort of Shell-Fish, which being conceived of an Heavenly Dew, as is conjectured, bring forth Pearl.

Bangor.Within this County is Banchor, q. Penchor, so called, a Choro pulchro, being a Bishop's See; the Church was dedicated to Daniel Bishop hereof, but that which is now standing is but a mean Structure, for Owen Glendover, who designed to have utterly destroyed all the Cities in Wales, set it on Fire, because the Inhabitants of this Place chose rather to side with the King of England than with him; hereupon the ancient Church being defaced, Henry Dean, Bishop hereof, did after­ward repair it about the Reign of Henry the VIIth. But that which is most observable, was the famous British Monastery of this place, where, as the learned Bishop Stillingfleet hath observed, Men were bred up to Learning and Devotion together, and so more resembling our Colleges than the Aegyptian Monasteries, where Men were brought up to Ignorance and Labour, as much as to De­votion. The Right Reverend Bishop Floyd, in his Historical Account of Church Government in Great Britain, tells us farther out of Bede, that here were above Two thousand Persons together in seven Colleges, of which none had fewer than Three hundred Monks in it. This we may be­lieve by what we see, saith another Historian that writ Four hundred Years after Bede's time, we see, saith he, so many half ruined Walls of Churches, so many windings of Porticos, so great a heap of [Page 229] Ruins, as you shall scarce meet with elsewhere; by which Account it seems in its flourishing State to have been not much less than one of our Uni­versities at this Day. How Twelve hundred in­nocent Monks of this Place (though the Saxon Chronicle mentions but Two hundred) who came along with their Army, by Fasting and Prayer to intercede with Heaven for its prosperous Success, were all cruelly put to Death by Ethel­frid, King of Northumberland, A. D. 607. at the Instigation of Ethelbert, King of Kent, is too Tra­gical a Story to insist long upon; but that Austen the Monk was the first Spring of this fatal Tra­gedy, moving Ethelbert to it, as he did Ethelfrid, there are not only strong Suspicions, saith the Learned Dr. Cade in his Discourse concerning An­cient Church-Government, but the thing is ex­presly affirmed by several Historians of no inconsi­derable Credit and Antiquity.

In Denbighshire the Air is cold, Denbighshire. but very whole­som, and the Snow lies long upon the Hills, which resemble the Battlements of Walls, and upon the top of Moilenny-Hill, Moilen­ny-Hill. which is one of the largest in this Shire, is a Spring of clear Water.

In this County is VVrexham, Wrex­ham. a Market Town, distant about Fifteen Miles from Holy-VVell, and much admired for the Steeple of its Collegiate Church, being a curious Fabrick, contrived ac­cording to the most exact Draught and Model of Architecture, and no where to be parallelled in those Parts for Workmanship; of which taking a transient view, we passed on again through Shrews­bury, and the Strettons to Wigmore, Strettons. Wig­more. which lies within the Confines of Herefordshire, where are the Ruins of a Castle built by Edward the Senior, and fortified by VVilliam Earl of Hereford, from whom the Mortimers, who were afterwards Earls of March, did lineally descend: That this Castle was formerly an Asylum or Sanctuary is generally re­ported by such as live near it, who will tell you, [Page 230] that whatsoever Malefactors fled hither for Refuge, and could but get his Hand within the Ringle of the Gate, secured himself from the Hands of Ju­stice, which indentical wreathed Ring of Iron they shewed us upon a Door of one of the Inns in the Town. A. D. 1100. Ralph de Mortimer founded here a little College for Secular Canons, which was 1197 changed into a Priory, and en­dowed with more Lands by his Son Hugh Morti­mer, who removed hither the Black Canons from Scobbedon, there placed by Oliver de Merlymond his Steward; it was commended to the Patronage of St. James. A. D. 921. a great Pagan Host of the East-Angles and Mercians came against this Place, which the Saxon Chronicle calls Wigingamere, but were beaten off from it by the Valour of its In­habitants, only with the loss of some Cattel, which they took away with them.

Three Miles from Wigmore, in the Road to Hereford, is Mortimer's-Cross, Morti­mer's-Cross. being a Way where four Roads meet, so called from Mortimer Earl of March, Son to Richard Duke of York, betwixt whom and King Henry the Sixth's Friends and Al­lies was fought a bloody and terrible Battle at that very Place, where were slain on the King's Party, as was computed, 3800 Men; before which Battel 'tis said that the Sun appeared to the Earl of March like three Suns, and suddenly joined alto­gether in one, for which cause some imagine that he gave the Sun in its full Lustre for his Badge and Cognizance.

Having spent some short time again with our Friends and Acquaintance at Hereford, and dis­patched some Business which called us thither, we passed on from thence to Dean, Dean. a Market Town in Gloucestershire, which gives Name to a large Forest adjoining to it, Dean- Fo­rest. a Forest formerly so shaded with Trees, and dangerous by reason of crooked winding ways, that were generally in­fested with Robbers, that King Henry the Sixth [Page 231] was fain to secure his Subjects by most strict Laws from the violence of their Assaults and daily In­cursions, but since the Woods have been thinned by the Iron Mines, to whose uses they have been of late very subservient, the Roads have not been annoyed with such troublesom Company.

After a short review of Bath and Wells, we travelled to Glassenbury, Glassen­bury. which place is famous in our old Historians for the ancientest Church in Great Britain, being, as they say, Built by Joseph of Arimathea, A. D. 41. But so far is the most Learned Bishop Stilling-fleet from giving any Cre­dit to this Story, that he looks upon it only as an Invention of the Monks of Glassenbury to serve their Interests, by advancing the Reputation of their Monastery, and instead of Joseph of Arima­thea, or Simon Zelotes, or Mary Magdalen's coming hither, he very rationally shews us, how St. Paul is rather to be looked upon as the first Founder of a Christian Church in Britain; and that there was Encouragement and Invitation enough for St. Paul to come hither, not only from the infinite num­bers of People which Caesar saith were here in his time, but from the new Settlements that were dai­ly making here by the Romans after the first Suc­cess, which they had in the Time of Claudius, when divers Colonies were drawn over hither. Here was also the first Monastery in England, Founded by St. Patrick, A. D. 425. and after­wards liberally endowed by the Munificence of King Ina, who caused his Subjects first to pay Peter-Pence to Rome, whither he travelled himself, and there at last ended his days. St. Dunstan in­troduced Benedictine Monks, and dedicated it to the Blessed Virgin Mary, after which time it thri­ved wonderfully, and became a small City full of stately Buildings, and encompassed with a strong Wall a Mile in Circumference, and had a Vault under Ground through which there was a Passage to the high Tower upon the Hill without the [Page 232] Town, which is called the Tor: And, which is very remarkable, the Abbot's Kitchen, being 20 Foot high, was built in the form of a Pyramid of pure Stone, and divided in four Angles or Corners, to each of which was allotted a Window and a Chimney, but all of them went to rack and were razed to the Ground, and there is nothing now left but the Ruins to proclaim its former Glory and Magnificence: It would be too tedious to reckon up all the Kings of the West-Saxons, with divers other eminent Persons, who were all buried here; or how at last Abbot Thurstan's Cruelty to his Monks, some of which he killed, and others barbarously wounded, A. D. 1083. was very just­ly met withal, and he severely fined by King William Rufus according to his Deserts: But this I must not omit, that this Place was a shelter to the Britains in the latter Times of the British Chur­ches, when they were miserably harassed and per­secuted by the then Pagan Saxons, and it might be of far greater request amongst the Britains, because it was the place where their King Arthur was buried; for I see no reason, saith the Learned Bishop of Worcester, to question that which Gi­raldus Cambrensis relates concerning the finding of the Body of King Arthur there, in the time of Henry the Second, with an Inscription on a Leaden Cross, which in Latin expressed that King Arthur lay there buried in the Island of Avalon; for Gi­raldus saith, he was present and saw the Body, which is likewise attested by the Historians of that time, as Leland proves at large: And the account given that his Body was laid so deep in the Earth for fear of the Saxons, farther confirms that this was a place of Retreat in the British times, but nor without the apprehension of their Enemies In­vasion.

The Woll­n [...]-Tree and Holy Haw-thorn.But to come nearer to our own Days, here was something not many Years since very notable and strange, the Walnut-Tree in the holy Church yard, [Page 233] that did never put out any leaves before St. Barna­bas Day, and upon that very Day, grew rank and full of leaves, and the Hawthorn in Wiral Park, that always on Christmas Day sprouted forth as if in May, both deserve Credit, as well as admiration, of the truth of which we were credibly informed by diverse Persons inhabitants of this place, who having then still some young Scions of each Tree remaining in their Gardens, yet did not find them blossom like the other, which through the malice and fury of some Person in the late Wars were cut down and destroyed.

From Glassenbury we rode to Taunton q. Thonton from the River Thone, which runneth through it, Taunton. a large, neat and Populous Town, pleasantly situated, beautified with fair Houses, and goodly Churches, and a spatious Market-place, enriched with fertile Mea­dows, and adorned with curious Gardens and Or­chards, 'tis mostly inhabited by Clothiers driving a good Trade in Cloath and Serges made here and in the adjacent parts; here was formerly an old Castle built by King Ina, which Queen Aethelburga de­stroyed A. D. 722. and a Priory of Black Canons was also erected by William Gifford Bishop of Winton. (temp. Hen. 1.) to the Honour of St. Pe­ter and St. Paul.

Passing through Wellington, Wellington and Co­lumpton in De­vonshire. another Market Town in this County, the Road then led us to Columpton, a small market Town in Devonshire, which King Alfred by Will bequeathed to his younger Son.

In Devonshire the Air is sharp and wholesome, the Land if not in some places so fruitful, yet through the Husband-mans industry is made capa­ble of good emprovement; its chief Commodi­ties are Wool and Kersies, Sea Fish and Fowl, and the Western parts are stored with Tin and Lead Mines, and Load-stones have been found upon Dartmoor Rocks of good value and virtue.

[Page 234]The People of this Country are strong and well made, and as they have a peculiar sort of Food, which they call White-pots, so the Women have a peculiar sort of Garment, which they wear upon their Shoulders called Whittles, they are like Mantles with fringes about the edges, without which the common sort never ride to Market, nor appear in publick.

In diverse places of this County the ways are so Rocky and narrow, that 'tis not possible for Waggons to pass, so that the Country People are forced in Harvest time to carry home their Corn upon Horses, in Crooks made for that purpose, which creates no small Toil and Labour to them.

Exmore Forrest.Upon Exmore Forest are some huge Stones, pla­ced as confusedly, as those upon Salisbury Plains, and one of them hath Danish letters upon it, di­recting passengers that way. Hubble­stow. And at Hubblestow in this County was a Battel fought by the Danes where their Banner called Reafan, in which they reposed all confidence of Victory and success, was notwith­standing taken, and Hubba their General slain.

Exeter. Exeter is the Principal City of this Province, called by the ancients Isca and Isca Damoniorum, and by the Saxs, on Ex or Exa; 'tis situate upon the West­ern Bank of the River Ex, or Isc, upon a litttle Hill, gently arising with an easy ascent to a pret­ty height, the pendant whereof lies East and West, environed about with Ditches and very strong Walls, having many Turrets orderly interposed, and six Gates, which give entrance into the City, and contains about a Mile and half in Circumfe­rence. The Suburbs branch forth a great way on each side; the Streets are broad, kept clean and and well paved; the Houses are as gay within, as trim without and there are contained in it fifteen [...] and in the very highest part of the City [...] Castle called Rugemont, for­ [...] [...] VVest-Saxon Kings, and af­terwards [Page 235] of the Earls of Cornwal, which Baldwin de Reduers, as the Saxon Chronicle informs us, A. D. 1135. holding out against King Stephen, was through scarcity of Provision enforced to surrender, and after the surrendery he with his whole family was ba­nished out of the Kingdom, Just without the East­gate are two pleasant Walks called Southney and Northney, beset on both sides with rows of high Trees, which being mounted up aloft afford a cu­rious prospect to Topsham, Topsham. the place where all the Ships and Vessels of the Citizens lie at Anchor; from whence (since the River was stop'd up by certain Wears and Dams that Edward Courtney, Earl of Devonshire, from some distast which he had took to the City, caused here to be made) all their Goods and Commodities are brought home by Land.

In the same quarter of the City stands the Cathe­dral in the precincts of whose close were in ancient times three Religious Houses, as the Ingenious Mr. Tanner's Notitia Monastica doth inform us; the first was a Nunnery which is now the Deans House, the other was a House of Monks reported to have been built by King Ethelred about A. D. 868. the third was a Monastery of Benedictines founded by King Aethelston A. D. 932. but the Monks not long after forsook it for fear of the Danes till A. D. 968. at which time King Edgar restored them, upon the removal of the Bishops See hither from Crediton A. D. 1050. the Monks were translated to VVest­minster, upon which about the same time Bishop Leafric Chaplain to Edward the Confessor, uniting the three forementioned Monasteries into his Cathe­dral Church, placed here some secular Canons de­dicating it to St. Mary and St. Peter; but the Chap­ter was not setled, till Bishop Brewer A. D. 1235. established, and endowed a Dean, and twenty four Prebendaries, to which have been since added four Arch-deacons: In this Church are six private Chappels, and a Library very handsomely built, [Page 236] and furnished by a Phisitian of this City; the Quire is curiously beautified and adorned especially with an excellent Organ, the Pipes whereof as they are of a much larger size, than any which ever we be­held in any Cathedral besides, so likewise is its Mu­sick no less sweet, and harmonious, and though this Church did through all its parts extreamly suffer in the late unhappy Civil Wars, yet it hath return­ed to its primitive beauty, and order, since the return of King Charles the second; in this Church, as likewise in most of the other Churches and Church-yards of the City, the Graves, especially of the Wealthier sort, are paved all over on the inside with Bricks, and plaistered with white Lime, where after they have interred the Corps, all the company in general, who were invited to the Fu­neral, return to the House of Mourning, from whence they came and there very ceremoniously take their leave of the party, by whom they were invited to perform these doleful obsequies.

On the West side of the City runs the River, over which is built a strong Stone Bridge with four Arches, and about the middle of the City is the Town Hall, where the Assizes and Sessions are held, it being both City and County of it self, in which hangs the Picture of the Royal Princess Henrietta Maria, Daughter to King Charles the First, who was Born here, and was given by her Royal Brother King Charles the Second to this City, which is governed by a Mayor, Recorder, two Sheriffs, and four and Twenty Aldermen, with all other Officers befitting the Dignity of so Honourable a place: The chief Trade of it con­sists in Stuffs, and Kerseys, of which there are innumerable Packs sent away every Week for London, and other places, in lieu whereof all sorts of vendible Commodities are imported hither, here being a knot of very eminent Merchants.

This City has been exposed to great Cala­mities and disasters, straitned with sieges, and ex­posed [Page 237] to the fury both of Fire and Sword, the Ro­mans had it in possession about the Reign of An­toninus, and after them the East-Saxons in the Days of King Athelstan, from whom the Danes having forced it, Suenus raged here with Ruine and De­struction, and scarce had it regained a little Strength and Beauty, when it felt the fury of the Norman Conqueror; after this it was besieged by Hugh Courtney, Earl of Devonshire, in the Civil Wars betwixt the two Houses of York, and Lanca­ster; then by Perkin Warbeck, that imaginary, counterfeit, and pretended Prince, who being a young Man of as mean a Family, as Condition, feigning himself to be Richard Duke of York, se­cond Son of King Edward the Fourth, made strange Insurrections against Henry the Seventh: af­ter this it was pestered by the seditious Rebels of Cornwal, about the Year 1549, when although the Citizens were extreamly pinched with a great scarcity of all things, yet they kept the City with Courage and Fidelity, till John Lord Russel came to succour and relieve it: And again in the late miserable Confusions it was strictly besieged by the Parliamentarian Forces, at which time it is re­ported by several Persons of good Credit and Re­pute, that it being reduced to great extremities for want of Provision, an infite number of Larks came flying into the Town, and setled in a void green place within the Walls, where they were killed in great quantities by the besieged, and eaten.

We departed from hence to Newton-Bushel, Newton-Bushel. a Town well known in these Parts for its Market, and from thence to King's-ware, King's-ware. situated below a Hill upon the River Dart, and fortified with a Castle for the defence of Vessels, which lie dis­persed hereabouts, where we ferried over to Dartmouth, opposite to it on the other side of the River.

[Page 238] Dart­mouth. Dartmouth is situate upon the brow of an high Hill, being divided into three Streets, one rising above the other, to each of which is a gentle ascent gradually by Free-stone Steps contrived and laid there for that purpose: 'Tis enriched with a safe and commodious Haven, and is guarded with a strong Castle which commands the River, being placed aloft just at the very mouth or entrance into it. The great Trade of this Place is fishing to Newfound-land, in which there are employed a great many Ships every Year: Their Chief Ma­gistrate is the Mayor, for which Office there was a Charter granted to the Town by King Edward the Third; since which it hath been subject to di­vers Changes and vicissitudes, and hath frequently couragiously held out against the French, who have endeavoured to destroy it, but especially in the Reign of King Henry the Fourth, for Monsieur de Castle having by his Men of War Stopp'd all entercourse of Traffick in those Parts, and burnt Plimouth, and being come hither to serve this place after the same manner, met with some shrewd re­pulses contrary to his expectation, and was by a company of Women, and Country People pre­vented in his designs, and having all his Men cut off, was himself also slain by the Hands of such Boors, which he always had in the greatest Con­tempt and derision.

One days visit here having satisfied our curiosity, the next gave us a sight of the renowned Town of Plimouth, Plimouth. so called from the River Plime that runs along by it: Here is one of the largest and most secure Havens in England, for before the ve­ry mouth of it lies St. Nicholas Islands, strongly fortified both by Art, and Nature, and in the Ha­ven are fortifications laid on both sides for the safe riding of Ships, and anoyance of Enemies: On the one side is Mount Batton, in which is a strong Garrison, having twelve Guns mounted upon its platforms, and on the other side the Cittadel, [Page 239] which may for Strength compare with most Pla­ces in the Nation, commanding both the Sea and Town at pleasure; Without the Walls of the Cittadel runs a Trench, out of which was dig­ed a certain kind of Marble, with which they were built, eleven foot thick at the bottom, and seven at the top, and about three quarters of a Mile in compass; upon the Walls are placed di­vers Watch-Towers, and each of them are ador­ned with a round Ball upon the top so curiously gilded, and painted with the King's Arms, that they make a glistering shew at a distance, and round about are placed between two, and three hundred pieces of Ordnance: there are two Gates, and as many Draw Bridges which gives entrance into the Castle, and upon the front are admirably carved the Arms of his Majesty King Charles the Second, by which is placed his Royal Statue, with the Arms of the Earl of Bath, who was then Governor thereof; within the Walls is the Gover­nor's House, and divers Apartments for Soldiers, a Magazine for Ammunition, and a Store-House for Provisions, and for the Strength and conveni­encies of this Fortress, which is almost impreg­nable, the Town was much obliged to the excel­lent Ingenuity of Sir Bernard De-Gum, then his Ma­jesties Engineer.

The commodiousness of the Harbour often causeth a Fleet of Ships to ride here; so that though this place was formerly but a poor despica­ble Village, 'tis now so replenished with Mari­ners, frequented by Merchants, enriched by Traffick, that it seems to outvye some great Cities of this Kingdom, being made a Corporation by King Henry the Sixth, which consists of a Mayor twelve Aldermen, and twenty-four Common-Council Men, who have a stately Guild-Hall for their more solemn Conventions, and is adorned with two handsome Churches.

[Page 240]The story of the great Giant Gogmagog, who was here worsted by the famous Champion Cori­naeus, and thrown headlong from the Haw, a Rock standing between the Town and the Ocean, hath a little too much of the Romance to gain Credit; but the magnificent House near to this Town, called Mount Edgecomb, Mount Edge­comb. adds so great a Lustre to these Western Parts, that Plimouth hath great rea­son to be proud of its Vicinity: And, which is still farther observable, it was from this Town that Sir Francis Drake set Sail A. D. 1577, when he went that Voyage in which he sailed round the Terrestrial Globe; and it was out of this Haven that the English Fleet commanded by the Lord Howard, Admiral of England, was towed by Ropes A. D. 1588. to fight the Spanish Armada, unwisely called Invincible.

Being now upon the very Borders of Cornwall, the unseasonableness of the Weather, which then happened, and the short time allotted for our re­turn to Exeter, not permitting us to take a parti­cular view of it, we made it our business to inform our selves concerning some of the most remarkable things in this utmost Region of England.

Cornwall. Devonshire and Cornish Men are more active in Wrestling, and such like boisterous Exercises, than any other Shires in England, being also more brawny, stout, and able of Body. Ordulphus, a Devonshire Man, Son of Ordarus Earl of Devonshire, was such a strong Gigantick Person, that, if Wil­liam of Malmsbury say true, he would break open any Bars of Gates, and stride ten Foot: John Bray, a Cornish Man, carried on his Back at one time a good way six Bushels of Wheaten Meal, and the Miller, a Lubber of Twenty-four Years of Age, upon the whole: And one John Roman, a thick, short Fellow, would carry at one time the whole Carcass of an Ox. There was also one Kiltor, who lying in Lanceston-Castle Green upon his Back, threw a Stone of some Pounds weight over the top [Page 241] of one of the highest Towers in that Castle. Which stoutness and goodly stature of this People Cambden reflecting on makes this Observation, That the Western People of most Countrys are the tallest and stoutest.

The Cornish Men are very healthy and long lived, Eighty or Ninety Years of Age is ordinary, as we were told, in every place, and in most Per­sons accompanied with an able use of the Body and Senses. One Polzew lived an 130 Years; a Kinsman of his 112; one Beaucamp 106; and one Brown, a Beggar, above 100; and in one Pa­rish in Queen Elizabeth's time, there died in Four­teen Weeks space four People, whose Years added together made 340: And to urge no more Ex­amples, Mr. Chamond, who lived at Stratton in this County, was Uncle and Great Uncle to at least 300; the cause of which Healthiness and longevity is in all probability the rockiness and driness of the Country, which though it be for the most part environed with the Sea, yet it hath few Marshes or Ouzy Shores, but most Sandy, and withal the Air is cleansed by frequent Winds lying open to the Sea.

The Spring is later in Cornwall than in the East Parts of England, the Summer temperate, but Harvest late, especially in the middle of the Shire, where they seldom get in their Corn till Michael­mas: The Winter is milder than elsewhere, for the Frost and Snow come very seldom, and ne­ver stay long when they do come: But this Country is much subject to Storms, lying (as I said) open to the Sea, so that their Hedges are pared, and their Trees Dwarf-grown, and the hard Stones and Iron Bars of Windows are fretted with the Weather; one kind of these Storms they call a Flaw (and so indeed in some Countrys they call any Storm of Wind) which is a mighty Gale of Wind passing suddenly to the Shore with great violence.

[Page 242]This Country is Hilly, which is one cause of the temperate Heat of the Summer, and the late­ness of Harvest, even as its Maritime Situa­tion is the cause of the gentleness of Winter; Hilly, I say, parted with short and narrow Val­leys; the Earth is but shallow, underneath which is Rocks and Shelves, so that 'tis hard to be Till­ed, and apt to be parched by a dry Summer: The middle of the Shire lies open, the Earth be­ing of a blackish colour, and bears Heath and spiry Grass; there is but little Meadow Ground, but store of Pasture for Cattel and Sheep, and plen­ty of Corn.

They have a Stone called Moor-stone, found upon Moors and wast Ground, which serves them in­stead of Free-stone for Windows, Doors, and Chimneys, it is white with certain glimmering Sparkles: They have a Stone digged out of the Sea Cliffs of the colour of grey Marble, and ano­ther Stone black as Jet, and out of the Inland Quarries they dig Free-stone: They have a Slate of three sorts, Blue, Sage-leaf coloured, and Grey, which last is the worst; and all these Slates are commonly found under another kind of Slate that they Wall with, when the depth hath brought the Workmen to the Water: They also make Lime of a kind of Marble-stone, either by burning a great quantity together with Furze, or with Coal in small Kilns, which is the cheaper way, but the first Lime is always the whitest.

For Metals they find Copper here in sundry Places, and the Ore is sometimes shipped off to be refined in VVales. And though Cicero will have none in Britain, yet Silver hath been found in this County in the time of Edward the First and Third, who reaped good profit by it; nay, Tinners do now and then find little quantities of Gold, and sometimes Silver amongst the Tin Ore; but for the generality, the Metal that the Earth abounds with here is Tin, which they discover by certain [Page 243] Tin-stones, which are something round and smooth, lying on the Ground, which they call Shoad. In their Tin-works amongst the Rubbish they find sometimes Pick-Axes of Holm, Box, and Harts-horns, and sometimes little Tool-heads of Brass; and there was once found a Brass Coin of the Emperor Domitian's in one of the Works, an Argument that the Romans wrought in those Tin-Mines in times past. Richard Earl of Corn­wall, Brother to Henry the Third, was the first that began to make Ordinances for these Tin-Works, and afterward Edmund his Son granted a Charter and certain Liberties, and prescribed with­al certain Laws concerning the same, which he ra­tified and strengthned under his Seal, and imposed a Rent or Tribute upon Tin to be paid unto the Earls; these Liberties, Privileges, and Laws King Edward the Third afterward confirmed and augmented.

On Hengsten-Down, a little above Plimouth, are found Cornish Diamonds, wanting nothing but hardness to make them valuable, being of great Beauty, some of them as big as a Nut, and which is most admirable ready shaped and polished by Nature: and in some Places on the Sea Coasts there are Pearls found that breed in Oysters and Muscles, which, though they are great, are yet not very good; here is also sometimes Agat, and white Coral, as they report: It is likewise very famous for those little Fish which they call Pil­chars, swarming in mighty great Shoals about the Shore from July to November, when being taken and garbaged, and salted and hanged up in smoak, they are in infinite numbers carried over into France, Spain and Italy, where they are very welcom Com­modities, and are called there Fumados.

Taking our leave of these Parts, and returning by Ashburton, a noted Market Town, Ashburton. we came back to Exeter, where passing away the time with some Friends we met with there, till the Assizes [Page 244] were over, we departed for Honniton, Honni­ton. a Town not unknown to such as travel into the West; from whence passing through Axminster, Axmin­ster. called by the Saxons Exan-minster, from the River Axi, which runs by it, a place famous for the Tombs of some Saxon Princes, who were slain in the bloody Battel at Bennaburg, and translated hither, we came quick­ly into Dorsetshire, Dorset­shire. a fertile County, well shaded with Woods, enriched with Pasture, and cover­ed with innumerable Flocks of Sheep, where coasting along by the Sea side, Lyme. Lyme was the first Place of Note which here appeared to us, to which there is a very troublesom access, by reason of its Situation under a high and steep Rock.

This Town, though it was formerly a poor Receptacle for Fisher-men, is of late Years redu­ced to a more flourishing Condition; the Houses, which are built of Stone and covered with Slate, stand thick, and in that part which lies near to the Sea, they are sometimes washed ten or twelve Foot high, to the great damage of the lower Rooms. Here is a little kind of Harbour called the Cobb, which being sufficiently defended from the Violence of Wind and Weather with Rocks and high Trees which hang over it, doth cause many Vessels to put in hither for shelter. 'Tis a Corporation governed by a Mayor; but of late Years for nothing more famous, than that it was the landing Place of James the late Duke of Mon­mouth, who landing here with a few Forces out of Holland, was quickly defeated, and himself brought shortly after to a very Tragical end.

Bridport.Six Miles farther we saw Bridport, placed be­twixt two small Rivers that there met together; in this Town, saith Cambden, in the Days of Ed­ward the Confessor were reckoned an Hundred and twenty Houses, but in William the Conqueror's Reign One hundred, and no more; it is now in great Vogue for yielding the best Hemp, and the great Skill of its Inhabitants in twisting Cables for [Page 245] the Royal Navy; for the Monopoly of which they had once a peculiar Patent granted them: Here was formerly an Alien Priory dedicated to St. John Baptist.

From hence the Shore, after several crooked flexures, shooteth forth into the Sea, and a Bank of Sand called Chesil heaped up thick together, with a narrow Frith between, lies in length for nine Miles, which the South Wind, when it is up, they say, commonly cuts in sunder, and dis­sperseth, but the Northern Wind binds and hardens again: By this Bank or Sand-ridge, Portland, Portland. for­merly an Island, is now adjoined to the Continent, which Name although some would derive from its lying against the Port of Weymouth, yet seems rather to have received it from Port, a Noble Saxon, who about the Year 703 grievously infest­ed this Coast: This Place was formerly extremely exposed to the Danish Outrages, and tho' by the Valour of Duke Aethelhelme they were here, A. D. 537. routed and put to flight, with the assistance of the Dorsetshire Men, as the Saxon Chronicle in­forms us, yet after this they got possession of it, and killed Duke Aethelhelme on this spot. After these Wars were over it fell into the Possession of the Church of Whinchester, when Emma, Mother to Edward the Confessor, being accused by her Son of too great Familiarity with Aldwyn, Bishop of VVinchester, and having cleared her self from that unjust Imputation, by suffering the Ordalium, (which in those Days was an usual Trial of Cha­stity) in walking bare foot upon nine Coulters of red hot Iron, which she did to a miracle without any harm or prejudice to her self; she, for a me­morial hereof, bestowed nine Lordships upon the See of VVinchester, to which her Son added this Island with many other Revenues, to expiate the Crime of his Defamatory Suspicion, and unjust Accusation of his Mother's Honesty.

[Page 246]This Island, or rather Peninsula, is scarce seven Miles in compass, rising up about the sides with high Rocks, but lying low and flat in the midst, inhabited scatteringly here and there, plentiful enough with Corn, and very good to feed Sheep, but so great scarcity there is of Wood, that for want of other Fuel they make use of Ox and Cow Dung dried for Fire.

The Portland Men (like the ancient Inhabi­tants of the Baleares in the Mediterranean Sea) were above all other English Men reputed the best Slin­gers; and they do often find amongst the Sea-Weeds Isidis Ploramos, growing without Leaves like Coral, which when it is cut waxeth hard and black, but is very brittle, and if it falls soon breaks: Here are likewise divers Quarries of excellent Stone, which being accounted the most durable and handsom for all manner of Structure, is con­veyed away in Vessels to divers Parts, but more especially to London for the rebuilding of Churches and other private Edifices. On the East side there is only one Church, and some few Houses stand­ing close to it; and on the North side is a Castle built by King Henry the Eighth, which being well Fortified commands the entrance into the Haven of Weymouth.

Wey­mouth and Mel­comb.This Town is large and populous, standing upon the mouth of a small River VVey, over against which on the other side of the Bank is Melcomb, sirnamed Regis, both of them enjoying great Pri­vileges apart, did heretofore cause no small Ani­mosities betwixt them, but, the Breaches being since made up, they are now incorporated and conjoined by a Bridge, and grown much greater and fairer in Buildings by Sea-Adventures than formerly.

Higher in the Country, about seven Miles from the Sea, lies Dorchester, Dorche­ster. which is the head Town of the whole Shire, watered by the River Frome, but neither large nor beautiful, being much de­cay'd, [Page 247] and long since dispoiled of its Walls by the Danes, who raised, as it is thought, certain Tren­ches, whereof one is called Maumbury, being an Acre inditched; another Poundbury, something greater; and the third a Mile off, as a Camp with five Trenches containing near ten Acres, called Maiden-Castle, which in all probability was a Ro­man Station; but that which argues its Antiquity is the Coin of the Romans, both Copper and Silver found there, and especially at Fordington hard by, Fording­ton. which the common People call King Dorne's Pence, whom by some allusion to the Name they think him to be the Founder of the Town: It had anciently a Castle in that place, where the Grey Friars built their Convent out of the Ruins thereof; it has three Parish Churches, and several Alms-Houses for the support and maintenance of poor impotent People; and it was formerly a no­ted Place for the Manufacture of Cloth, as it is still for Sheep, of which there are huge numbers, to the great benefit and enriching of the Country.

Our next Stage was through Bere, a little Mar­ket Town, to Winburn, which, by the distance of sixteen Miles from Dorchester, agrees right with the computation in Antonius's Itinerary, which he reckons between Durnovaria and Vindogladia, two Names by which those Places were formerly called.

Winburn is watered by the River Stowr, Bere and Winburn. in which is found, as is reported, great store of Tench and Eel, from whence, in Cambden's Opinion, it might receive its Name, Burn in the Saxon Language signifying a River: 'Tis seated upon part of a Hill, and is a Town as well inhabited now, as it was formerly by the Saxons, before whom the Ro­mans were Masters of it.

In the Year 718, according to the Saxon Chroni­cle, St. Cuthburga, Sister to Ina, King of the West-Saxons, Founded here a Nunnery for Benedictine Nuns, which was afterward changed into a Col­legiate [Page 248] Church, consisting of a Dean, four Pre­bendaries, five Singing-Men, three Vicars, and four Deacons; the famous Reginald Pool presided here as Dean, who was afterward a Cardinal and Arch-Bishop of Canterbury.

In this Church, A. D. 873. was interred King Aethelred, a Virtuous Prince, Brother to Alfred, slain in a Battel against the Danes, near the Hill Wilton, saith the Saxon Chronicle, and about the Year 961. the Body of King Sigefirth, who killed himself, was likewise buried in this Place.

Here is also interred Gertrude Blunt, Marchio­ness of Exeter, Daughter to William Lord Mount­joy, and Mother to Edward Courtney the last Earl of Devonshire of that House; and on the other side of the Quire, John de Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, and Heir to Sir John Beauchamp of Bletneshor, whose Daughter Countess of Richmond and Derby, and Mother to King Henry the Seventh, that most Heroick and Unparalled Princess, of whom I have formerly spoken, erected here a School for the Education of Youth.

Badbury.That Aethelwald having broke the League that was made betwixt his Cousin King Edward the Senior and himself, by the advice of the Danes, came hither A. D. 901. and strongly Fortified this Place, as is credibly related by Historians, as that King Edward came against him with an Army, which he encamped at Baddanbyrig, since called Badbury, upon which his perfidious Kinsman fled away to the Danes, though he was afterward taken and brought before the King, together with his Wife, whom he had stoln out of a Nunnery, and Married against the Leave of the King or Bishop. This Badbury is a little Hill upon a fair Down about two Miles from Winburn, environed with a triple Trench and Rampire, and is reported for­merly to have had a Castle, which was a Seat of the West-Saxon Kings, but of this there is not now the least Footsteps remaining.

[Page 249]From hence we travelled into Hampshire, Hamp­shire. a Country enriched with all sorts of Commodities, but especially Kerseys and Iron, Hogs and Honey; upon the edge of which stands Christchurch, Christ­church. a Town well Peopled, where is a very good Trade, especially for Silk Stockings, which are here made in great abundance: It received its Name from a Church therein dedicated to Christ, being former­ly called Twinamburn, because 'tis situate betwixt the two Rivers of Avon and Stowr, which joining together do empty themselves into the Sea at one Mouth, which, saith Cambden, Ptolomy called the Mouth of the River Alawn. It was of old Forti­fied with a Castle, and beautified with an ancient College of Prebendaries before the Conquest, but Baldwyn the Redvers, Earl of Devon, brought in Black Regular Canons (Temp. Reg. Steph.) it was dedicated to the Holy Trinity, and endowed with great Revenues, and continued in mighty Renown till the Days of King Henry the Eighth. The Church appears to have been a very curious Fa­brick, the Altar whereof hath been most richly adorn'd with fine carved Work, and at the East end is a Chappel, which hath been as admirably beautified; and on the North side of the Altar is a Chappel too, built formerly by three Virgins, which for Workmanship might have outvied with any other in this Nation, had it not been quite defaced in the late unhappy Times.

Along the East Bank of the River Avon, New-Fo­rest. Wil­liam the Conqueror demolished all the Towns and Villages, both Houses and Churches far and near, and likewise ejected the Inhabitants; and having done so, he brought all the Ground within thirty Miles compass into a Forest, or Harbour for Wild Beasts, and so it was called New-Forest: And this he did, either that the Normans might ar­rive more securely in that Place ( Normandy just lying over against it) in case new Broils should arise after his Conquests, or for the Pleasure he [Page 250] took in Hunting, or else to encrease his Treasure, for being better affected and more favourable at that time to Beasts than Men, he imposed very heavy Fines and Penalties, yea and most grievous Punishments upon all such Persons as did meddle with the Game. But it seems the Children suffer­ed for the Cruelty of the Father, for Richard his second Son, and William Rufus who succeeded him both perished in this Forest, the one with a blast of pestilent Air, the other with an Arrow shot by chance by Sir William Tyrrell; Henry likewise, his Grand-Child by his Eldest Son Robert, whilst he was here in a hot pursuit after his Game, was caught up by a Bough, where in a very short time he underwent the miserable Fate with poor Ab­salom.

But least the Sea-Coast for so long a tract as that Forest is, should lie without defence all open and exposed to any Invading Enemy, King Henry the Eighth began to strengthen it with Forts; for in that Promontory which shoots far into the Sea, and from whence we have the shortest cut into the Isle of VVight, Hurst-Castle in the Isle of Wight. he built Hurst-Castle, from whence we took Boat and crossed over to Yarmouth.

The Isle of Wight by the ancients called Ʋreta, by the Saxons, Whitland, is pleasant in its Situati­on; the Air being excellent, and the Soil fertile; in length about 20 Miles, and 12 in breadth, in form Oval, ending with two Peninsules, one East and the other West; and the Sea-Coast natu­rally fenced about with steep and craggy Rocks, amongst which the Shingles and the Needles on the North-West are well known to Seamen. It is South­ward, where it looks towards France inaccessible, but towards the North-East something Flat and level. The Island affords not only plenty of Fish, Fowl, and Venison, but great Crops of Corn, rich Meadows and shady Woods; it hath one small Forest and two Parks, and through the midst of it runs a Chain of Hills upon which is special Pa­sture [Page 251] and Forage for Sheep, the Wool of which is in as great Esteem as that of Lempster and Cottes­wold: The inhabitants, who are said to come from the Juites, an ancient People in Germany, have the Character of stout, warlike, and experienc'd Souldiers, and they did use to boast that their case was much happier then other Peoples, because they had neither hooded Monks, nor cavilling Lawyers, nor yet crafty Foxes.

The fortune of this Island hath been various and inconstant according to the alternate Conquests of the Romans, Saxons, or Normans, though at first it was a Kingdom of it self, and had a parti­cular King of its own, and received the Christian Faith from Bishop Wilfrid. For Ecclesiastical Ju­risdiction it belongs now to the Bishop of Win­chester, and for Civil Government to the County of Southampton.

In the Reign of Richard the Second the French invaded and plundred this Island, the like attempt they made again in the Reign of Henry the Fourth, but were repulsed by the couragious Islanders; and here, as our Chronicles inform us, in the Year 1176, it rained a shower of Blood for the space of two Hours together; the like is reported to have hapned at Pool in Dorsetshire, June 20. 1653.

We landed at Yarmouth, Yar­mouth. which is a handsome Town built of Free-stone, having a Castle placed almost over against Hurst, which by a mutual com­bination are Bulwarks to our Merchant-Men, and travelled from thence to Newport, Newport. which is the chief Town of the Island, where the unhappy Treaty betwixt King Charles the First, and the Parliamen­tarian Commissioners, which came to nothing, was the certain Prognostick of his unfortunate Downfal; 'tis incorporated, endowed with a Free-School, and hath the principal Market of the whole Island.

About a Mile distant from Newport stands Cares­brok Castle called by the Ancients Withgaraburgh, Cares­brook Ca­stle. [Page 252] i. e. Withgaria Castellum; for to Withgarus and Stuf­fus as the Saxon Chronicle informs us, was the Isle of Wight given by Cerdick, the first King of the West-Saxons, and Cynrick his Son about the Year 534: Tis a strong and impregnable Fortress, Seat­ed upon a high an craggy Rock, where King Charles the First being for some time confin'd, there goes this memorable Story concerning him: How that some means being found out for his Ma­jesties escape over the Castle Walls, and all things contriv'd for its speedy execution, there were like­wise two Souldiers made privy to the design, the one which kept Sentry at his Apartment, and the other who stood on that side of the Wall, where he was to descend, but the former's heart failing him did contrary to his promise, just as the King was coming out to make his escape, alarum'd the Castle and prevented his Flight, but Vengeance not longer, as we were credibly informed, over­took this perfidious Fellow, who was casually kill'd by the random Shot of a Musket.

Cows.Four Miles nearer to the Sea lies Cows, East and West Cows, both built by King Henry the Eighth, East Cows, is now ruinated and altogether decayed, but West Cows is a very commodious Haven defend­ed by a Castle, where Ships frequently put in both for Victualling and Fresh Water; Here we took Boat and set Sail for Southampton, but no sooner were we got off to Sea, but there arose such a Storm that the Seas and Winds seem'd to be in a mutual Conspiracy for our destruction, insomuch that we began to think Anacharsis the Philosopher's saying to be true, That be that was at Sea was but four or five inches distant from the Territories of Death, un­til we came into the Mouth of the River Test, formerly called Terstan, and Itching, over against Calshot Castle, Calshot Castle. placed there by King Henry the Eighth to defend the Port of Southampton, which lying up a little higher in the River, we at last ar­rived at in safety, and came on shore very early in [Page 253] the Morning, where Cerdick himself, Mr. Gib­son's Glos­sary P. 20. as some Anti­quaries will have it, arrived, called from thence Caldshort, corruptly for Cerdick-Shore.

After we had a little refresh'd our weather beat­en Carcasses, we took a view of this Town, Southam­ton. which is situated betwixt two Rivers, the one run­ning on the West side, and the other on the East; that this, or near unto it, was formerly Clausentum, is not at all improbable, an ancient Colony of the Romans, which they planted there to hinder rave­nous Depredations of the Saxons; about the Year 981, old Hanton, as it was afterward called, was ruin'd by the Danes, and in the Reign of Edward the Third plundred and burnt by the French, out of the Ashes whereof Sprung the Town now in being, which the fair and stately Buildings, with two Keys for Shipping, do highly adorn; the great concourse of Merchants, and three Markets a Week do mightily enrich; which five Parish Churches with one for the French, and an Hospi­tal called God's House doth very much enoble; which a strong Wall with seven Gates and a dou­ble ditch, and a Castle of Square Stone upon a Mount cast up to a great height built by King Richard the Second doth sufficiently defend; and in fine, which a Corporation placed there by King Henry the Sixth, who constituted it both Town an County, doth abundantly digni­fie.

Memorable is a Story here of Canutus King of Denmark, who to convince the fawning Flatterers of his Court, that his power was not, as they would have perswaded him more then humane, used this Act; being once at this Town he com­manded his Chair of State to be set upon the shore, just as the Sea began to flow in, and then sitting down before all his Courtiers he spake to that Element after this manner: I charge thee that thou presume not to enter into my Land, nor wet these Robes of thy Lord which are about me; but the Sea [Page 254] giving no heed to this his Royal Command, and keeping on its usual course of Tide, first wet his Skirts and afterwards his thighs, whereupon sud­denly rising up he broke forth into these expressi­ons, Let all the Inhabitants of the World, know that vain and weak is the Power of their Kings, and that none is worthy of that Name or Title, but he alone, who keeps both Heaven and Earth and Sea in obedience. After which he would never suffer the Crown to be put upon his Head, but presently crowned therewith the Picture of Christ at VVinchester, from which perhaps, saith Sir Richard Baker who relates this Story, arose the custom of hanging up the Arms of worthy Men in Churches, as offer­ings consecrated to him, who is the Lord of Battel.

Having spent a good part of the Day in this place, in the Afternoon we began to advance to­wards Portsmouth, which being but twelve Miles distant from this Town, we easily compass'd about the shutting in of the Day.

This Town is situated in the little Island of Portsey, Ports­mouth. which is about 14 Miles in compass, floating at a full Tide in Salt-Water, but joyned to the Continent by a Bridge on the North: it was probably so called, say our most ancient Hi­storians, from one Port a Noble Saxon, who with his two Sons, Bleda and Magla, arrived here; it is now a place of great strength and importance by reason of the Dock, where many of the King's greatest Men of War are built, those impregna­ble Wooden Walls of our British Island; 'tis forti­fied with a Wall made of Timber, and the same covered with thick Banks of Earth; 'tis likewise environed with a double Trench, over which are placed two Draw-Bridges, from which about a Mile distance is another, at all which stands Sentries belonging to the Garrison, with a little Fortress adjoining to it, which leads to the Con­tinent: To the Sea-ward is a Castle and Block-Houses, [Page 255] which being first begun by King Edward the Fourth, King Henry the Seventh, as it is re­ported, did afterward complete, which Fortifi­cations have of late Years received exceeding great augmentations by the succeeding Monarchs, especially in the late King James his Reign: Here is only one Church, and an Hospital called God's House built by Peter Rock, Bishop of Winchester, and though 'tis counted unwholesom for want of good Air and Water; yet it is much resorted un­to by Sea-faring Men; and whereas formerly it had little Trade, but what arose from the boiling of Salt, it begins of late to be in a flourishing condition, and grows very populous, and is now become one of the best Nurseries that we have for Seamen.

Our next remove was to Chichester in Sussex, Chiche­ster. which is not above half a Days Journey from Portsmouth, a good large City, well Walled, re­built by Cissa, a Saxon, the Second King of this Province, and of him so named; for by a Story of Sir Richard Baker's it seems to have had a being before Cissa's Time; for, saith he, Careticus, one of the Kings of the Britains, setting upon the Sax­ons and being beaten fled into the Town of Chi­chester, whereupon the Saxons, catching certain Sparrows, and fastning Fire to their Feet, let them fly into the Town, where lighting upon Straw, and other matter apt to take Fire, the whole City in a short time was burnt, whereupon Careticus, after a three Years unhappy Reign, flying into VVales, and dying there, the Saxons got all the East part of the Kingdom into their Possession. Yet was it before the Conquest of as small repute as circuit, being known only by an old Monastery founded by St. VVilfrid, A. D. 673. to the Ho­nour of the Blessed Virgin and St. Peter, and en­dowed by King Ceadwalla, A. D. 711. Eadbert, Abbot of this House, being consecrated the first Bishop of the South-Saxons; the Episcopal Seat [Page 256] was first placed at Selsey, till by an Edict of VVil­liam the Conquerour, which ordered all Bishops Sees to be translated out of small Towns into places of greater Name and Resort, Stigand tran­slated it hither; not many Years after which Bi­shop Rolfe built a Cathedral, which before he had finished was consumed by Fire, but by his own endeavours, and the bounteous Liberality of King Henry the first, it was raised up again; and Suffering the same dismal Calamity in the Reign of King Richard the First, Seffrid, the Second Bishop of that name, restored it once more to its primitive Lustre and Grandeur; since which the City began mightily to flourish, and had been much more considerable than it now is, had but the Haven proved more commodious, which lies a little too far distant from it; it is walled about in a circular Form, the Lavant, a pret­ty River, running hard by it on the South and West sides. It consists of five or six Parishes, and the Buildings are indifferently neat and uniform; four Gates it hath opening to the four Quarters of the World, from whence the Streets lead directly and cross themselves in the midst, where the Mar­ket is kept, and where Bishop Read erected a fair Stone Market-House, supported with Pillars round about: as for the Castle, that stood not far from North-Gate, it was in times past the ancient habitation of the Earls of Arundel, who hereupon Stiled themselves Earls of Chichester, but afterward it was converted into a House of Franciscan Fry­ars.

The Cathedral is not large, but very curious and beautiful, having a spire Steeple of Stone, which riseth up a great height, and an high Tow­er standing near to the West Door, which was built by R. Rinan, as they say, when he was for­bidden to erect a Castle at Aplederham his Habita­tion hard by, of those Stones which he had pro­vided before for that Castle: In the South cross [Page 257] Isle of the Church was formerly on the one side artificially pourtrayed and depainted the History of the Church's Foundation, with the Images of the Kings of England; on the other, the Images of the Bishops, as well of Selsey as Chichester, at the Charge of Bishop Shirborne, who greatly adorned and beautified the Church, and every where for his Impress set these Motto's, Credite Operibus, i. e. Trust Men according to their Deeds; and again, Di­lexi decorem domus tuae, Domine, i. e. I have loved, O Lord, the Beauty of thy House: But all these in the late Confusions were unhappily defac'd, and there is little now remaining but the memory of them.

We went from hence to Amberley-Castle, Amberly Castle. which is about twelve Miles from Chichester, higher into the Countrey; it was built by VVilliam Read, Bi­shop of Chichester, in the Reign of Edward the Third, for the use of his Successors, but then leas­ed out to the worthy Family of the Butlers, who were the Inhabitants at that time. We staid here for the space of a Week, where we were gene­rously entertained with great Courtesy and Civili­ty, and there we had a full account given us of the nature of the Country, which by a more par­ticular survey we found afterward very true; Sussex. for the Soil is for the most part rich, and the Ways deep; the Downs by the Sea side standing upon a fat Chalk or Marle are abundantly fertile in Corn the middle tract garnished with Meadows, Pastures, Corn-fields, Groves and Iron Mines; the North side shaded with Wood, and here ran along part of that great Wood, which was called by the ancients Andedsleage, by which, without question saith the Learned Bishop Stillingfleet, is meant that vast Wood, which beginning in Kent, ran through Sussex into Hampshire, called by the Britains Coid Andred, by the Saxons, Andred, and Andres­wald, from whence, as Mr. Somner observes, Andres­wald Wood. that part of Kent, where the Wood stood is called the VVeald; and Lambert averrs, that no Monuments [Page 258] of Antiquity are to be met with in the VVeald ei­ther of Kent or Sussex. Historians farther tell us, that this Wood was formerly reputed 120 Miles long, and 30 Miles broad, where Sigebert King of the VVest-Saxons, being deposed from his Royal Throne, was Stabbed by a Swineherd.

But, though the Company was most obliging, and the Place no less divertive, yet having not compleated our designed Journey, we took a so­lemn leave of our Courteous Friends, and re­treated towards the Sea-coast to Arundel, Arundel. a Town situ­ate on the brow of a Hill, of special Note for its Castle once of great fame and strength, but far more famous for the Lords or Earls hereof; to which Castle by an ancient Privilege, the Title of an Earldom is annexed, so that whosoever is possessed of the Castle and Mannor, is ipso facto Earl of Arundel without any Creation, wherein it is singular from the rest of England.

Lewes.We proceeded on to Lewes which for frequency of People and its goodly Structure, is reputed the principal Town of the County, and there­fore here generally the Assizes are held for this Countrey, if not at East-Greenstead, the remote­ness of Chichester from the City of London being probably one reason why they are not kept there: This Town is seated upon a rising almost of eve­ry side, but that it hath been Walled there are ap­parent Symptoms. Southward it hath under it a great Suburb called Southover, and beyond the Ri­ver another Eastward called Cliff, because 'tis un­der a chalky Hill, and hath six Parishes well in­habited.

In the time of the Saxons, when King Athelstan made a law for Coining of Money, he appoint­ed two Coiners for this Place. VVilliam VVarren, the first Earl of Surrey, built a large Castle in the highest ground for the most part with Flint and Chalk, and in the bottom of Southover, A. D. 1078. he founded to the Memory of St. Pancrace [Page 259] an Abbey, which he replenished with Cluniack Monks, which since the dissolution fell into the possession of the Earls of Dorset.

But most memorable is this place for a mortal and bloody Battel fought here between King Henry the Third and the Barons, in which the prospe­rous beginning of the Battel on the Kings side was the overthrow of his Forces; for whilst Prince Edward his Son, breaking by force through cer­tain of the Barons Troops, carelesly persued the Enemy over far, as making sure account of the Victory, the Barons having reinforced them­selves and giving a fresh charge, so discomfited and put to Flight the Kings Army, that they constrain­ed the King to accept of unequal conditions of peace, and to deliver up his Son with others whom they Demanded into their Hands A. D. 1264. See the Ingenious Mr. Kennet's Paroch. An­tiq. p. 262.

We passed away from thence by Seaford, which is in the liberty of the Cinque-Ports, a small Fish­ing Town built of Stone and Slate and defended with a convenient Fort, to Bourn a place very Famous for its Wheat-ears, which are a sort of Birds in Summer very palatable and delicious, and so Fat that they dissolve in the Mouth like Jelly: and this lead us through Pevensey Marsh, which hath formerly most undoubtedly been overflowed by the Sea, to the Town of Pevensey called by the Britains Cair-Pensa­velcott, and by others Penvessel, &c. Mr. Somner's Roman Ports and Forts, &c. p 104. Peven­sey, Famous for the Ruines of an old large Castle, but more for the land­ing of William Duke of Normandy with 900 Sail of Ships for the Con­quest of England: the Sea is now near three Miles distant from the Town, which chiefly subsists by the grazing Trade, and there is only a small Rill for Boats of little Burdens to put in upon occasion.

Twelve Miles further is Hastings, Hastings. a Sea-Port of good antiquity, consisting of two Parishes, 'tis [Page 260] situated under very high Hills and Cliffs, is ex­tended to a good length, and was formerly for­tified with a strong Castle, the Ruines of which are as yet invisible, but now more conveniently strengthned with two useful Bulwarks, which command the Sea: In the Reign of King Athel­stan here was a Mint-House; afterward it was ac­counted the first of the Cinque-Ports, which with the Members belonging to it, viz. Seaford, Peven­sey, Hodney, Bulver-Hyth, Winchelsea and Rye, which are called the two ancient Towns, were formerly bound to find one and twenty Men of War for the King's Service; thus it flourished long being inhabited by a warlike People, and skilful Sailors; and though the Peer is quite gone to decay, yet here are still an industrious Colony of Fishermen, who very much enrich the Town by their constant Fishery; 'tis governed by a Mayor and Aldermen, who by their prudent mea­sures very regularly keep up the Grandeur of their Corporation: Here, or at Pevensey, was proba­bly Anderida one of the ancient Roman Garrisons, as Mr. Somner conjectures. See Somner's Ro­man Ports and Forts, &c. P. 104.

Win­chelsea by its Name be­tokens a waterish place seat­ed in a Corner. I­dem. P. 69.Along the same Shore is situated Winchelsea, which, when a more ancient Town of the Name was Swallowed up by the Sea in the Year 1250, was built by King Edward the First: It was then inclosed with a Rampire, and after with strong Walls, and scarce began to Flourish, when it was sacked by the French-men and Spaniards, and by the Sea's shrinking from it did as suddenly fade, and lose all its Beauty, and is now only the Skeleton of a fair Town, as doth appear by the Quadrangular Streets, large Vaults, and other ru­inous materials of ancient Structures, having up­on the level, which the Sea relinquished, a Ca­stle built by King Henry the Eighth, now quite gone to decay, and large Marshes, which are de­fended from the Violence of the Sea with [Page 261] great earthen Walls and Banks, which are preserved and repaired with no small charge and Trouble.

In this Town were formerly three Parish Chur­ches, dedicated to St. Leonard, St. Gyles, and St. Thomas, tho' the latter alone, in which are some an­cient Monuments to be seen, now serves the Town: in that of St. Leonard was formerly erected the Picture of St. Leonard, the Patron of the place, holding a Fan or Aeolus his Scepter in his Hand, which was moveable at the Pleasure of any that would turn it to such a point of the Compass, as best fitted the return of the Husband, or other Friend, whom they expected; and so after that was done, and an Offering made, for without Of­ferings these Idols would be Idle, they promised to themselves the desired Wind both speedy and pros­perous: This is likewise a Corporation, but yet a pitiful Spectacle of Poverty and Desertion.

Not many Miles from this Place is Battel, Battel. where October 14. A. D. 1066 was fought the Bloody Battel betwixt King Harold and the Norman Duke, which proved so fatal to the English and successful to the Normans, for besides King Harold himself, who with an Arrow was Shot quite through the Head, there fell with him likewise upon the spot, as we are told by the most accurate Historian Sir William Temple, who hath wrote the Life of William the Conqeror, no less than threescore Thousand Men, upon which he makes this obser­vation, that nothing seems to show the greatness of England so much at this time, as that Harold should be able to assemble so mighty an Army to oppose this Invasion: which Ground, where this grand re-en­counter was, hath been thought ever since to have worn the Conquerour's Livery, because, as they say, after Rain it always looks of a reddish Colour; though afterward this Prince to make some atone­ment, as he thought, for the vast effusion of Blood which had been Spilt there, the next Year erected a Abby at this place to the Honour of St. Martin, and [Page 262] placed here a Covent of Benedictine Monks, to pray for their Souls who had fallen in the Battel.

Rye.Three Miles from Winchelsey is Rye, which stands on the very edge of this County towards Kent, and at the very fall of the Rother into the Sea. That it was formerly in great vogue, and well fortified by William Ipres Earl of Kent, Ipres Tow­er, now the Prison, and the great Immunities and Privileges it had in common with the Cinque-Ports, may sufficiently demonstrate; but by rea­son of Winchelsey's Vicinity, or the Sea's retiring back, it was of little account till the other Place decayed, and that King Edward the Third began by walling it to make it more considerable than it was before; after which, though the Sea did for many Years extreamly befriend it, and a very convenient Haven lay open for Trade and Com­merce, yet so inconstant is the Favour of that changeable Element, that it is now almost quite choaked up, and a passage hardly left for the smal­lest sort of Vessels, and were it not for its Fishery, and the conveniency from hence of a ready Pas­sage into Normandy, it is to be feared it would fall quickly under the same deplorable fate of its Neighbour, if some other Privileges from the Cor­poration do not support and keep it up.

Kent.We Ferried over the Camber from Rye into Kent, which is divided into three several Por­tions: the first is a Ridge of Hills that runs by Box­ley, Detling, &c. and is call'd Health without Wealth; the second is that which runs by Sutton, Boughton, Malherf, &c. and is called Health and Wealth; the third by Tenterden, and is called Wealth without Health; Names very proper for them, and the reason is very plain why they are so, Nature ha­ving so liberally apportioned her Blessings, that she compensates the defect of one by the colla­tion of another, not suffering any peculiar Place to Monopolize all her Favours at once; but thus, if the VVeald be eminent for Wool, the Fame of [Page 263] East Kent shall be as great for Corn, and Tenham, Goddington, and Otham shall be no less cried up for Orchards; if Shepey or Reculver produce the best Wheat, Thanet shall bring forth as good crops of Barley; and if Cranbrook hath the Name for Beer, Tunbridge shall for Water. In fine, if either the fertility of the Soil, or the safe Roads and sure Harbours for Ships, or the broad Streams of a great navigable River, the noble River Thames, or the Vicinity of the vast and opulent City of London, can be any way contributive to advance its Prosperity, it must needs be one of the richest and most flourishing Provinces of this Kingdom.

As this Country was first subdued by the Romans under Julius Caesar, not without great resistance, so was it by the Saxons, who erected their first King­dom here, and were the first of that Nation who embraced the Christian Faith; but the learned and judicious Antiquary Mr. Somner will by no means allow of the common Story that goes so vul­garly amongst us, how the Commons of Kent con­tinue their Privileges by means of a Composition entred with William the Conqueror at Swanscomb; No, under favour, saith he in his Treatise of Ga­velkind, p. 62. we owe them not to that, or any such like specious Stratagem, or are beholding either to Stigand the Arch-Bishop, or Egelsines the Abbot's Policy to contrive, or to their, or our Country-mens Valour to compass their continu­ance for us in such a way: But this Story was rai­sed by Spot, St. Austin's Chronicler at Canterbury, living under Edward the First, and only by him and such others as of later Times wrote after his Copy; for before him, and in that interim of more than 200 Years between the Conquest and the time he wrote, no published Story, no Chro­nicle, no Record of any time, Kentish or other, may be found to warrant the Relation, a matter so remarkable, that if true, it was not likely to escape all our Historians Pens that were before [Page 264] him, especially about the Conquest. Nay, he adds farther from Gulielmus Pictaviensis, who was the Conqueror's own Chaplain, and wrote his Life, that the Conqueror, after his Victory near Hastings, made not first to London and then to Kent, but after setling his Affairs about Hastings, presently took his Journey towards Dover by the way of Romney, where having avenged himself of the savage kind of Inhabitants, for the slaughter of certain of his Men by some mistake landing at that Place, he thence advanced on to Dover, whi­ther, though a numberless multitude of People had betaken themselves as to a Place by reason of the Castle inexpugnable, yet dismayed with the Con­queror's approach, the Place with all readiness submitted to him, who after eight Days Fortifica­tion of it marching from thence, at a Place not far from Dover the Kentish Men of their own ac­cord came in unto him, sware Fealty to him, and gave him Hostages for performance. In fine, he calls it a mere Monkish Figment politickly devised (saith he) by a Monk, with a design to bring a perpetual Obligation on the Kentish Men to his own Abbey, as owing forsooth the continuance of their ancient Li­berties partly to a quondam Abbot of that Place.

The Kentish Men have a peculiar Exercise, es­pecially in the Eastern Parts, which is no where else used in any other Country I believe but their own, 'tis called Stroke-Biass, and the manner of it is thus; In the Summer time one or two Parishes convening make choice of twenty, and sometimes more, of the best Runners which they can cull out in their Precincts, who send a Challenge to an equal number of Racers within the Liberties of two other Parishes to meet them at a set day upon some neighbouring Plain, which Challenge, if ac­cepted, they repair to the Place appointed, whither also the Country resort in great numbers to behold the Match, where, having stripped themselves at the Goal to their Shirts and Drawers, they begin [Page 265] the Course, every one having in his Eye a parti­cular Man at which he aims, but after several tra­verses and courses on both sides, that side whose Legs are the nimblest to gain the first seven strokes from their Antagonists, carry the Day and win the Prize: Nor is this Game only appropriated to the Men, but in some Places the Maids have their set Matches too, and are as vigorous and active to obtain a Victory: And on a Plain near Chilham there is an annual Tie, as they call it, fixed in May for two young Men and two young Maids of the adjoining Hundreds to make a Trial of Skill, which can course the nimblest for a certain Stadium of 40 Rods, and the Person of both Sexes, whose Heels are the nimblest, is rewarded with Ten Pound each, there being a Yearly Pension setled for that Diversion.

As touching the more considerable Customs and Privileges of Kent, they have been so fully Dis­coursed of by Mr. Lambard in his Perambulation of Kent, and what was deficient in him supplied by the most accurate Pen of Mr. Kilburn and Mr. Philpott, that I shall wave them all as heterogene­ous from my design, and betake my self rather to a short Survey of such Places which we visited in our Journey.

Where in the first place Lyd seems to call for a remembrance of its Antiquity, Lyd. arising from the Ruins of its Neighbour Promhill, Promhill. swallowed up by the Sea, when its poor distressed Inhabitants fled hither for Refuge: The Sea hath formerly with a large spatious Inlet, Arm and Aestuary flowed in betwixt Lyd and Romney, and was there met with the River Limen, saith Mr. Somner, Roman Ports, &c. p. 51. which of ne­cessity must have a very large capacious Mouth or Bosom to receive it, as it did a Fleet of 250 Sail, the number of those Danish Pyrats being no less, who in the Year 893 put in here, and towing up their Vessels four Miles within the Land, even as far as to the Weald, (which then extended East­ward [Page 266] unto Appledore) there cast Anchor, and de­stroying a Fort or Castle, as old and imperfect as ill defended, built a new one, and kept their Ren­dezvouz there.

In the Church (which is a fair Sea Mark for Mariners) is an old Inscription upon a Tomb­stone, which speaks thus; Of your Charity pray for the Soul of Thomas Briggs, who died on the Feast of St. Leonard the Confessor, who died in the Year of our Lord 1442. and did make the Roof of this Church as far as 45 Copplings goeth, which doth cost 54 Marks.

Denge­ness.From this Town runs a Promontory near two or three Miles into the Sea, at the end of which stands a Light House to give direction to Sailors in dark and stormy Nights, and near to that upon the Beach is a Well of excellent fresh Water, and in the utmost point of it, which is called Denge­ness, for a Mile together did grow abundance of Holm-Trees amongst the Beach and Pebbles; near to which are to be seen an heap of greater Stones, which the Inhabitants call St. Crispin and Crispianus, whom they report to have been cast upon this Shore by Shipwrack, and from hence called into the glorious Company of Saints.

Old Rom­ney.Two Miles farther in the Marsh stands Old Romney, which gives a denomination to the whole Marsh circumambient, where I shall only take notice from Mr. Somner in his Roman Ports, &c. that as this Port in Doomsday Book was formerly called Lamport, Lamport. and the Hundred wherein it lay the Hundred of Lamport, so the Eldest mention, that he found in Romney was in a Grant or Char­ter of Plegmund the Arch-Bishop, A. D. 895. But whether it received the Name Romney, q. Roma­num mare, as if it were Sea in the Romans time, or from the Saxon, Rumen-ea, the large Water or watery place, to which he is most inclinable; 'tis certain, as my singular good Friend Mr. Kennett hath observed in his Life, he is more singularly happy in fixing Limene, or the Mouth of the Ri­ver [Page 267] Limene or Rother, at Romney, which is since turned another way: To which I shall subjoin, that reckoning one Town and Nineteen Parish Churches within the Precincts, being as is com­puted about 18 Miles in length and 10 in breadth, it contains 44200 Acres or thereabouts of Pasture, which proves most excellent Forage both for Bul­locks and Sheep, with which it is stocked all over to a Miracle.

As for New Romney (as 'tis called) as it was formerly the Roman Port Lemanis, New Romney. by its distance from Canterbury, so now 'tis one of the Cinque-Ports, of which Lyd and Old Romney are account­ed Limbs, and received that Epithet of New to distinguish it from its Old Neighbour; which di­stinction, saith Mr. Somner, I find used near 500 Years ago, and from the Ruin of the latter it states the Epocha of its first Original, when after that the Ocean in the Reign of Edward the First had made an Inroad into the Land, and overflowed all this Tract with its violent Inundations, it was forced to submit to the irresistible Conquest of that implacable Enemy, who returned Trium­phant with the Trophies of five Churches, a Pri­ory and an Hospital, besides great Depredations both of Cattel and Houses into its restless and turbulent Dominions: Hereupon began this other Town immediately to flourish, which though it appears of no large extent, yet the subsistence which it now affords by Grazing, doth very well comport with the Genius of its Natives.

In this Town are generally held all Publick Assemblies for the more speedy dispatch of the Cinque-Port Affairs, and are called the Brother­hood and Guestling: Now a Brotherhood is an Assembly held by the Mayors, Bayliffs, Jurats, and Commons of the Cinque-Ports, and their Corporate Members jointly.

For the better preserving the Lands there are three Guts or Sluces in Romney Marsh issuing East-wards [Page 268] by the Names of Willop and Hoorney Gut, Marshland Gut, and Clobsden Gut: One Gut more called the Five Waterings, issuing into the Channel of the River Rother, and so falls into Rye Water; and Dengemarsh-Gut issuing Eastward within the Liberties and Corporation of Lyd.

I shall likewise here set down the Order of Watches which were formerly kept by the Sea-Coast, taken out of an ancient MS. now in my Custody.

At Dengemarsh by twelve Men of the seven Hundred.

At Helmes-Beacon by eight Men, viz. of the Hun­dred of St. Martin's two, the Hundred of Oxney two, the Hundred of Allowes-bridge two, the Hun­dred of Lamport one, and the Hundred of Ham one.

At Broad-Hall aliàs Dimchurch, by nine Men, viz. of the Hundred of Street two, of the Hundred of Worth two, of the Hundred of Philipborough three, of the Hundred of Newchurch two.

At Seabrook aliàs Shorn-Cliff, thirteen Men, viz. of the Hundred of Hane one, the Hundred of Long­bridge and Chart three, the Hundred of Calehill three, the Hundred of Bircholt one, the Hundred of Wye five.

At Sandgate nine Men, viz. the Hundred of Folk-stone four, the Hundred of Loningborough two, the Hundred of Pettam one, the Hundred of Stow­ting two.

At Coldham by four Men of the Hundred of Mil­ton and Marden. A. D. 1614.

Dim­church.Four Miles farther is Dimchurch, a Village of great Note for the Lords, Bayliffs, Jurats and o­ther Officers of Romney Marsh, who keep here a general Court call'd the Lath every Whitsun-Week, for the dispatch of all Affairs which depend here­on. As for the great Wall or Bank which is here cast up against the Sea, 'tis fenced with great Piles of Wood which are driven deep upon the Shore [Page 269] by an incredible Charge to repress the Outrages of that merciless Element, which by its propinqui­ty doth many times threaten a subitaneous Inun­dation; and could it once gain a Conquest in this place, would quickly run in Triumph over the whole Marsh besides.

Over this Wall the Road leads to Hyth, Hyth, West-Hyth and Lym. another of the Cinque-Ports, which hath West-Hyth for a Member, a small Neighbouring Village West­ward, which falling to decay by the retiring of the Sea from it, occasioned in a short time the Plantation of the other, though both are suppo­sed to have received their beginning from the Ruins of Lym standing hard by, which in times past was a most famous Port, until the Sands cast up by the Sea had altogether choaked and stop­ped up the Haven; which the Bands of the Tur­nacenses under the Lieutenant of the Saxon Shore quartered in this place; which the Port-way call'd Stony-Street, reaching from hence almost to Canter­bury, being doubtless a Work of the industrious Romans; and which, in fine, the ancient Ruins of an old decayed Castle called Studfall, i. e. Stodfold, saith Mr. Somner, a Fold or Inclosure for Steeds, whose remains carry still a resemblance of the ob­solete Modes of Roman Architecture seem mani­festly to attest.

But though Hyth extracted all its Glory from those Places, yet so subject are Towns and Cities to Vicissitudes as well as Men, that it seems to be involved in the same Fate, and to decline into their perishing Condition, having of late Years suffer­ed a great Eclipse of all its pristine Splendor, and every day more and more very sensibly decaying by the loss of its Haven, and the distance of the Sea, which hath almost withdrawn it self near a Mile from the Town.

The Town is situated upon the brow of an high stony craggy Hill, the lower part consisting of one long Street, which extends it self about half a [Page 270] Mile in length, and in the upper part are placed some few rows of Houses, together with the Church, an ancient Fabrick, which overlooks all the other Buildings, and discovers it self at a great distance at Sea, capacious enough to receive a greater Con­gregation than with which it is usually frequented: But that which now more especially preserves still the Fame, and keeps up the repute of this poor languishing Port besides the two Hospitals of St. John and St. Bartholomew, the latter of which was Founded by Haymo Bishop of Rochester, who was Born here, is the Charnel-House adjoining to the Church, or the arched Vault under it, wherein are orderly piled up a great stack of dead Mens Bones and Skulls, which appear very white and solid, but how or by what means they were brought to this Place the Townsmen are altogether ig­norant, and can give no account of the matter; probably the first occasion of them might be from what is related by Henry Knyghton, de Even­tibus Angliae, lib. 3. p. 2503. How that in the Reign of Edward the First, about the Year 1295, the then King of France sending about 300 Ships for an English Invasion, one of them more for­ward than the rest came directly for Hyth, where landing their Men, the English who were there placed for the defence of that Port killed at that time 240 Men, all that whole Ships Crew, and afterward burnt the Ship out of which they land­ed: Now after this slaughter these Mens Bones in all probability might be gather'd up and laid there, after which daily accessions of more might be made till they encreased to so vast a number as is still visible.

Saltwood Castle.A little above the Hill, within the Parish of Saltwood, are to be seen the remains of an old rui­nated Castle, which did formerly belong to the Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, but is now in the Te­nure of Sir Philip Boteler, Baronet. Here it was that John Kirkeby being elected Bishop of Ely 1286, [Page 271] was confirmed by John Peckam, Arch-Bishop of Canterbury; and whither afterward proud Arch-Bishop Courtney, having taken a distast at some of his Tenants, for not bringing him Hay and Litter in Carts, but in Sacks to Canterbury, did peremp­torily cite them, and enjoin them this Penance, that they should each one march leisurely after the Procession bare-headed and bare-footed with a Sack of Hay or Straw upon his Shoulder, open at the mouth, so that the stuff might appear hang­ing out of the Bag to all the Beholders. 'Tis generally believed that the Sea hath come up to the very Walls of this Castle; for in the adjacent Grounds, and particularly in a Field called Black-House, have been digged up Anchors and Cables, which puts me in mind what the Poet Ovid sings in the Person of the Samian Philosopher Pythagoras.

Adjoining to the Hyth is the Parish of Newington, Newing­ton by Hyth. a Vicaridge conferred upon me some few Years ago by my most generous Patron James Brockman Esq since deceased; concerning which Parish I have thought fit to add an ancient Record taken out of Doomsday Book: 18 Willielmi Conquestoris, sub tit. terra Archiepiscopi.

In English thus, ‘Within the Lath of Limn and the Hundred of Sel­brightenden, the Arch-Bishop has of Lands allotted to the Monks one Mannor called Niwendene (Newing­ton) in Demesne; which in the time of Edward the [Page 272] Confessor Leofric held of the last Arch-Bishop, and was taxed for one Hide, and did his Service to Salt­wood. It is now valued at 81. per Annum and 10 s. Fine.’

Bitchbo­rough.In this Parish is Bitchborough, the Seat of my much Honoured Friend William Brockman, Esq Son to that Worthy Gentleman before-mentioned, a Seat to which Nature hath been so liberal of its choicest Blessings, that there wants nothing to render it a very delightful Mansion; for the House it self, which not many Years ago was new Modell'd, is so curiously surrounded with pleasant Hills, murmuring Streams, shady Groves, whispering Woods, and flowery Meads, besides the charming Prospect of the Sea and Cliffs of France, which terminating the sight do greatly enhanse the Rari­ty of its Situation, that the most curious Eye can­not possibly find a more inviting Object to enter­tain it.

St. Nicho­las Chap­pel.In the same Parish in a Field belonging to Seen-Farme, called Chappel-Field, formerly stood a Chap­pel belonging to St. Nicholas, who in the time of Popery had the same Empire, saith Mr. Lambard, that Neptune had in Paganism, and could with his only beck both appease the rage of the Sea, and also preserve from Wrack and Drowning so many as thought fit to be his humble Petitioners, and therefore this was one of the Places (as the Poet said) Servati ex undis ubi figere dona solebant, where such as had escaped the Sea, were wont to leave their Gifts; insomuch, that if any of the Fisher­men upon this Coast had hardly escaped the Storm and taken any store, then should St. Nicholas have not only Thanks for that Deliverance, but also one or more of the best Fishes for an Offering: To which I may add farther, that if the Fisher­men before such Voyages did make their due Of­ferings at this Shrine, it was a certain means to secure the Chastity of their Wives till their re­turn, but if out of niggardly and penurious Hu­mour [Page 273] they neglected that Duty, it was ten to one but their Punishment was that severe one which fell on poor Actaeon.

From Hyth there runs along a great ridge of Beach to Sandgate-Castle, which glories not more in its Royal Founder King Henry the Eighth, Sandgate Castle. than that it was graced once with the Royal Presence of Queen Elizabeth, who in her Progress to these Parts was pleased to lodge in one of the Chambers of this Castle.

The Castle is within the Parish of Folkstone, Folkstone. a Town situated upon the brow of a Hill, about a Mile distant from it: 'Tis a Place of greater An­tiquity than Beauty, especially if it be allowed, what is but reasonably suggested by that most Ce­lebrated Antiquary Mr. Somner, and confirm'd by the most Judicious Bishop Stilling fleet, that this was the Lapis tituli of Nennius, or rather Lapis popu­li, where Vortimer desired to be Buried ( Scipio like) as a terrour to the Saxons, because of its lofty situ­ation, and not as he would have it Stonar in Thanet, which lying in a low flat level, subject to Inundations, was a very improper place for such a daring project: it was formerly of a far great­er extent than it now is, for there were then in it five Churches, four of which were long since by the assaults of the Enemies, and devastations of Men utterly dismantled, besides a Nunnery found­ed by King Eadbald about A. D. 630. which was Destroyed during the Danish Wars: only that Church, which was erected by Nigellus de Munewell and devouted to St. Mary and St. Eanswith, hath been as yet too hard a morsel for the Teeth of time to consume.

That there was formerly an Harbour adjoyning to the Town made chiefly at the great charge of the Honourable Sir Basil Dixwel Baronet, the rui­nous Skeleton of the demolished Peer, which is as yet visible, may be sufficient to evince; but though the Haven be quite lost, the Fishery is [Page 274] still kept up by a considerable Colony of Industri­ous Fishermen, who take great quantities of Fish, which is every Week bought up and conveyed a­way to London by the Rippers, as they are called, or taken in by Smacks which come hither for such lading, the quickness of which Trade makes the Town mightily encrease and grow more and more Populous as well as Rich by their Industry.

But before I leave this place I cannot but take notice that as that great Man of his time, John Salmon, Prior of Ely, Bishop of Norwich, and Lord Chancellour of England, who being sent Embassadour by Edward the Second into France, at his return into England, sickned and dyed here Ju­ly the 6th A. D. 1325: so likewise that this Town gave Birth to some Persons of the worthy Family of the Harveys, especially to that Noble [...], the great Father of Phisitians the Learned Dr. Harvey, who made the first discovery of the Cir­culation of the Blood, by the munificence of which charitable Fratermity was erected a Free-School to the great benefit of the Town, to which is allotted a very handsome allowance, as also a comfortable Pension to be annually distributed a­mongst the poor of the Parish, and to the end that all things may be fully Executed according to the first Charitable design, there are appointed di­verse Feoffees in trust to supervise herein, who are Men of the best Condition and quality in that part of the County.

Near this Town upon the Cliffs we met with some Stones of diverse Shapes and Figures very strange and wonderful, some resemble a Muscle, but are a great deal bigger than they, others were like a Kernel of an Almond large and somwhat roundish, which are Streaked and crankled like a Cockle-shell, but of a more dusky colour; others we found somewhat bigger than a Hazlenut, and some much less, which are like a Cockle too but are as smooth and as black as Jet; some we disco­vered [Page 275] which were wreath'd and intorted like Screws of smaller and larger dimensions, others which resemble Cock-spurs being sharp at the end and in every respect shaped like unto them, but as smooth and of the same colour with our ordi­nary Flint-stone, others which are form'd like Quills cleer as Amber; some we observed whose lower parts seem to be effigiated into diverse little Feet, bearing a resemblance to those that are visible in some little creeping insects, others altogether resemble Snakes *See Mr John Ray Fellow of the Royal Society concerning Serpent Stones, and Petrified Shells. P. 113.114. &c. of his Topographical observations Printed 1673. with Heads, which the VVhitbay Stones are without, having a perfect Spina, running as it were all along their Back, from Head to Tail, with little ridges like Ribs on both sides, in the form almost of a Roman S. Now tho' the solidity of all these Stones, without any Cavity which is visible amongst them, may be sufficient to convince any Man, that they are by no means pe­trifications, but natural, and such as they were al­ways from the Creation, though how they came to put on such strange and uncommon Figures is a secret not to be unravelled, yet certain­ly since there are diverse real and natural Shells of Fishes too, which are to be found upon these Cliffs, as likewise have been gathered upon Mountains, particularly in Richmondshire before mentioned, far enough remote from the Sea, of diverse magni­tudes, shapes, and colours, sure in all probabili­ty the latter must needs have been left there upon the ebb of the Deluge, since otherwise there can hardly be any other satisfactory account given, how such Shells should happen to be carried to such Mountainous places.

From Folk-stone, for five or six Miles together, is a continued Chain of chalky Hills standing in a row hanging jointly one to another, about the middle whereof is a Catarackt of Water, which coming a great way, as is supposed, under Ground, [Page 276] and falling down from the Cliffs speeds away to Sea going usually by the name of Lyddals Spout; and along these Cliffs grow abundance of that ex­cellent sallad, Lydal Spout. which they call Samphire.

These Cliffs, I say, continue without the least interruption till they are parted by Dover, which is seated betwixt two high Cliffs, Dover. lying opposite to each other, on the one whereof stands the Castle, a place formerly of that strength and importance, that it is Styled by Antiquaries the Key and Lock, the Bar and Spar of England, and was ever repu­ted so mightily conducive to the facilitating the Conquest of this Nation by getting it into Pos­session, that Philip King of France told his Son Lewis, that notwithstanding he had obtained many signal Victories in this Island, and won several Forts and strong holds therein, yet he had not one Foot in England, till he was Master of Dover Castle: Which though some are of Opinion, was founded by Arviragus a King of the Britains, yet Mr. Somner is very possitive against those, who would have it built by Julius Caesar, whose abode in Britain was too short for so vast an undertaking; however whether the ancient Church belonging to this Castle was built by Lucius our first Christian King or not, Mr. Somner is again pretty well assu­red that as here was formerly placed a Roman Gar­rison, so the Square Tower in the middle between the Body and the Chancel, fitted with holes on all parts for speculation, was formerly a Roman Specula, or Watch-Tower, and he farther observes out of Tuine, that that which at this Day they call the Devils Drop, being a mouldring ruinous heap of Masonrey on the opposite Hill on the other side of the Town, was the remains of a Roman Pharos, or Structure of theirs, intended for the placing of Night lights to secure their Passage (otherwise very perillous) who should put into this Port by Night.

[Page 277]On this Hill, in a Tenterected for that purpose, was that Noble Ceremony performed of Inaugura­ting the Right Honourable Henry Earl of Romney, into that great and Weighty Office of Constable of Dover Castle and Lord Warden of the Cinque-Ports June 1. 1694, being there waited upon by the Barons, Mayors, Baliffs, and Jurats of the Cinque-Ports, two ancient Towns, and their Members, with diverse other Persons of great Quality, who attended that Solemnity.

Below the Castle is placed a strong Fort, and on the other Cliff opposite to it is erected another, both which Block-Houses are for the defence of the Haven or Peer, which of late Years hath been almost choaked and quite Stopped up by a huge quantity of Beach thrown into it by the Sea; however by reason of a ready and speedy passage to Callice in France, to which some will fain have England to have been formerly united by an Isthmus, there is daily in times of peace a great concourse of Foreigners who frequent it.

The Town being one of the Cinque-Ports, of which Folk-stone is a Limb, and governed by a Mayor and Jurats is of a good large extent, being above a Mile in length from Artclff Fort. Artcliff Fort to the farther end of Bigginstreet, but 'tis nothing so Po­pulous, nor so well Inhabited as formerly: 'tis a­dorned with two Churches and a commodious Market place, which is well replenished every Saturday with all necessary Provision, of which there is brought great supplies constantly out of the Country, and for the Victualling the Kings Ships, there is a large Store-House, from whence Provi­sions are conveyed to the Navy: But I must not omit farther to observe that in this Town was for­merly a House belonging to that ancient order of the Knights Templars, wherein was Sealed the submission, which King John made to Pandulphus the Popes Legate, wherein he yielded his Realm Tributary, and himself an obedientiary and vassal to the Bishop of Rome.

[Page 278]The Cliffs beyond Dover being united are well stored with Samphire and reach almost as far as Walmer and Deal Castles which together with San­down Castle were built by King Henry the Eighth: Walmer Deal and Sandown Castle. near to which upon a flat or even plain lying full against the Sea stands Deal, which of a small and poor Village is now become a place of great note and eminency: hereabouts it was where Julius Ce­sar Landed, and though Mr. Somner, would have Dover to be the place, where he first attempted to arrive, yet saith the Accurate Mr. Kennet in his Life of Mr. Somner, it is otherwise Demonstrated from Astronomical computation by the very Inge­nious Mr. E. Halley, who proves the Year, the Day, the time of Day, and place the Downs, The Downs. where he made his first descent.

Deal.The Town is called lower Deal to distinguish it from the upper part, which being the more anci­ent lies about a Mile farther distant from the Sea, and that which hath been the sole cause of raising it, was the commodious Riding for Ships in the Downs, where Merchant Men making a stop both outward and homeward Bound, and taking in here many times a great part of their Provision have by degrees enstated it in a very prosperous condi­tion: and indeed its buildings have of late Years been so considerably enlarged and its Trade pro­moted by great Fleets of Ships, who here take in Pilots to carry them up the River Thames, that it hath almost quite eclipsed the splendour of Sand­wich, which is three or four Miles distance from it.

Sand­wich. Sandwich, being another of the Cinque Ports, is on the North and West side fortified with Walls, and on the other side fenced with a Rampire, Bulwark and Ditch; it was called formerly Lun­denwick, either from its being very populous, which the British word Lawn imports, or by rea­son of the great Trade to and from London, or from some more peculiar interest the Londoners had [Page 279] in this Place above all other Ports, but the name of Sandwich, saith Mr. Somner, occurs not in any coetaneous Writer or Writing, until the Year 979, when King Egelred granted it by that Name to the Monks of Canterbury for their Cloathing, which Canutus after his arrival restored again to the same Monks for their sustenance in Victuals, with the Addition of his Golden Crown and (what perhaps was of equal value in the estima­tion of those Times) St. Bartholomew's Arm: It is supposed to have been the Daughter of Rutapis or Richborough, Richbo­rough. which was an eminent Fortress of the Romans hard by, and the first Presidentiary Station that Antiquity represents them to have erected within Britain; but like the Mother 'tis now very much gone to decay, for besides what it suffered from the French in the Reigns of King John and Henry the Sixth, after it was recovered again from its Sufferings, the Haven being choaked up by the Sand, and a great Ship belonging to Pope Paul the Fourth, in the Reign of Queen Mary, sinking down at the very entrance into the Haven, hath ever since reduced it to so great Extremities, that the mischief, it is to be feared, now will prove utterly incurable; however, it is yet beautified with three Churches, and a Free School which was Built and Endowed by Sir Roger Manwood, Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer; and what at present chiefly makes for the Town is the Dutch Colony which is here setled.

Not far from hence lie those dangerous Sands so much dreaded by Sailors, called Goodwyn Sands, Goodwyn Sands. which though it is the common Opinion that they were Lands of the Earl of Goodwyn, swallowed up by the Sea about A. D. 1097. yet with so great strength of Reason is this vulgar Error confuted, and the true Cause of Goodwyn Sands more plainly discovered by that indefatigable Searcher into An­tiquity, Mr. Somner, that I shall at present refer the Reader to his ingenious Discourse about this [Page 280] Subject, printed with his Treatise of the Roman Ports and Forts in Kent, and published A. D. 1693.

Over against Sandwich, on the other side of the River Stour, is Thanet, Isle of Thanet. a small but very fertile Island, where the chiefest Scenes both of War and Peace have been formerly laid, for as Mr. Phil­pott observes, when Hengist arrived with his Saxons to support the harassed and afflicted Britains a­gainst the Eruption of the Picts, he first landed in this Island, and when his Forces were broke by Vortimer at the Battel of Alresford, he made Thanet his retreat and shelter; when Austen the Monk arrived in England to disseminate the Chri­stian Religion amongst the Saxons, he found his first Reception in this Island. How often the Danes made Thanet a Winter Station for their Navies, when they invaded the Maritime Coasts of this Nation, our Chronicles do sufficiently in­form us; and lastly, when Lewis the Dauphin was called in by the mutinous English Barons to assert their Quarrel with additional Supplies a­gainst King John, he laid the first Scene of War in this Island, which he afterward scattered on the Face of this unhappy Nation.

And now being got to the utmost Limits of the Land, every Wave of the Ocean ecchoed forth uno plus ultra, whereupon taking our leave of these Maritime Coasts we began to withdraw again far­ther upon the Continent, and arrived at Canter­bury, Canter­bury. a City of great Antiquity, and the Royal Seat of the ancient Kings of Kent, watered by the River Stour; the Buildings of it at present are but mean, and the Wall which encompasseth it gone much to decay, and of late Years it hath decli­ned no less in Trade than in Beauty: However, it is the Metropolis of the County, and the Ar­chiepiscopal See of the Primate and Metropolitan of all England; and one Ornament still survives, [...] Cathedral, in which lie interred di­vers [Page 281] Kings of Kent, whose chief Palace was here till they afterward removed their Station from hence to Reculver, Reculver. a little Town now, by the Sea side, about seven or eight Miles distant from it, by the Ancients called Regullium, where the Ro­man Captain of the Premier Band of the Vetasians lay in those days in Garrison: The Episcopal See was settled here A. D. 601. according to Birching­ton, who tells us, Ang. Sacr. Tom. 12 that after Austen the Monk had planted here the Christian Religion, and Baptized on one Christmas day no less than Ten thousand Men in the River Swalve, he was by the Order of Pope Gregory ordained the first Arch-Bishop of this See: But because the Antiquity of this City with all its Liberties and Privileges, the Beauty and number of its Churches and Religious Houses be­fore their Dissolution, the Magnificence of its Ca­thedral with all its renowned Tombs and Monu­ments are so excellently described by Mr. Somner in a Book Printed for that purpose, A. D. 1640. I shall not undertake to pourtray that in a contract­ed Landskip, which hath been before represented to the Publick with so great applause, but refer those who are so curious as to desire a more par­ticular Account of this City, to that most ingeni­ous Person, who hath pencilled out every part and Limb thereof with great exactness and accuracy: only one thing I must not omit, that of late a Marble Monument hath been erected in St. Mar­garet's Church, Canterbury, in Honour of Mr. Som­ner (who lies there interred) by his own Widow, who afterward Married to Mr. Hannington, Vicar of Elam in Kent, upon which is engraven this inge­nious Epitaph;

Fever­sham.Passing from hence through Feversham, a Town pretty large, and well inhabited, famous former­ly for its Abby, erected here by King Stephen, wherein himself, his Queen, and Eustace his Son were buried, the next place of consequence that was obvious in the Road was Sedingbourn, Seding­bourn. which being a great thorough-fare is well furnished with Inns, a Town of which there are two things more principally Recorded, the one is, that in the Year 1232, Henry Bishop of Rochester, as Mr. Philpott hath collected it out of some old Monkish Writers, came with much exultation out of Sedingbourn Church, and desired the People to express their joy, because on that day, by the efficacious Pray­ers of the Church, Richard the First formerly King [Page 283] of England, and many others, were most certainly ransomed from the Flames of Purgatory. The other, that in the same Church was a Monument of Sir Richard Lovelace, inlayed richly with Brass, who was an eminent Soldier in his time, and Mar­shal of Calice under Henry the Eighth, with his Portraiture affixed in Brass, which the Injuries of Time, and the Impiety of Sacrilegious Mecha­nicks have utterly defaced.

In the Neighbourhood of Sedingbourn is New­ington, Newing­ton. which though but a small Village hath afforded some worthy Remarks of Antiquity; for not many Years ago there were digged up Roman Urns not far distant from the High-way or Com­mon Road, it being agreeable to Roman Practice to inter in those Places where their Monuments might be obvious almost to every Eye, Memo­rials of themselves, and Memento's of Mortality to living Passengers, whom the Epitaphs of great Ones did beg to stay and look upon them.

From hence the Road brought us directly to Chatham, Chatham. where the repair of the Parish Church and new Buildings of the Steeple, commend the Religious Care and Cost of King Charles the First's Commissioners and Officers of the Royal Navy in the Year 1635; but the Arsenals, Store-Hou­ses, and Ship-Docks erected by the same most in­comparable Prince are so magnificent, and uni­versally useful, that they are become a principal Pillar of the Nations support, and afford variety of Employment by the Manufacture of Cordage, as also the Careening and Building of Ships.

Contiguous to Capham is Rochester, Roche­ster. a City which in Elder times was as eminent for its An­tiquity, as it was for its Strength and Grandeur, and had not those violent impressions, which the rough Hand of War made upon it, Demolished its bulk and bereaved it of its Beauty, it peradven­ture might have been registred at this Day in the Inventory of the principal Cities of this Nation; [Page 284] but so great and dismal Calamities did frequently attend it, that the Fury of the Elements seemed to enter into a Corrivalship or Competition with the Fury of Enemies for its Ruine, and the Fire and Sword were joint Confederates to destroy it; ne­vertheless, maugre all these Casualties, by the Fa­vour of Princes, and their Royal Munificence, it recovered all its Losses, and survives in Splendor. In the Year 1225, by the indulgent Bounty of King Henry the Third it was invested with a Wall, and that this Fortification might be of the greater importance, it was secured or fenced with a Ditch; it was governed by a Port-Reeve until King Edward the Fourth, in the second Year of his Reign, raised it to a higher Dignity, and decreed by his Royal Grant, that it should henceforth be under the Jurisdiction of a Mayor and Twelve Al­dermen, and to this Monarch doth the City owe much of its present Felicity.

The goodly Skeleton of the Castle, which yet courts the Eye of the Beholder to the admiration of its former strength, acknowledgeth for its most eminent Benefactor, if not Founder, Odo Bishop of Baicux and Earl of Kent, half Brother to Wil­liam the Conqueror, which Fortress he afterward breaking forth into open Rebellion against his Ne­phew Rufus did seize, but was quickly dispossessed by the vigorous Expedition of his Prince, and en­forced immediately to depart the Kingdom. After this, when the Dauphin was invited into England by the Seditious Barons, to wrest the Kingdom from K. John their native Sovereign, the Dauphin uniting their strength with his, made such a furious Onset on the Castle, that, like a Tempest which beats down all before it, he carried it by Assault; the like had been atchieved by Simon Montford, Earl of Leicester, when he raised an Insurrection against King Henry the Third, had not that Prince arrived most opportunely, and by a successful Encounter wrested both Earl Warren, who had so resolutely [Page 285] maintained it, and that likewise from the Impressi­ons of his Fury; since which time there hath been little of moment acted in this Place; tho it is worth taking notice of what Mr. Philpott hath observed farther concerning it, that there being much Land in this County held thereof, whose Tenure is per­fectly Castle-guard, upon the day prefixed for the discharging the quit Rents relating to it, there is a Banner displayed and hung out (antiently it was on the Castle Wall) and all those who are Tenants to this Mannor, and are in default by their Non­appearance, and do not discharge their accustoma­ry Duties and Services, the penalty imposed upon their neglect is, that the return of every Tide of the adjacent River Medway, which finds them ab­sent, doubles their Service or Quit-Rents.

The Cathedral, which the Bishoprick of Roche­ster united to it, was founded and established by that pious Monarch Ethelbert King of Kent, and the first Bishop to whom was entrusted the Pastoral Staff or Crosier by Austen the Apostle of the Saxons, was Justus, who being sent over hither as an Adju­tant to Austen in the Propagation of Christianity, about the Year 601, Angl. Sacr. Tom. 1. p. 329. was afterward ordained Bi­shop of this See A. D. 604. much about that time that Mellitus was consecrated Bishop of London: The above-mentioned Prince not only assenting to his Consecration by his Presence, but likewise largely contributing to the support of the Person chosen and his Successors, by enriching them with great Possessions. This Cathedral was dedicated by Ethelbert to St. Andrew, as that which he built likewise at London was to St. Paul, but whatever the Piety of that Prince, and other Religious Per­sons after him, did in former Ages contribute to its enlargement and beautifying, the late prevail­ing Faction of some injurious Incendiaries, did in a few Months dispoil and almost abolish; and the Scars, which still remain in its Sacred Body, are too pregnant Symptoms to convince the World [Page 286] what usage it received from those Sacrilegious Bou­tefeus, whose great Triumphs would have been over its Ruins, and chiefest Glory to have laid its Honour in the Dust, had not he, who sets bounds to the tempestuous Ocean, limited their Fury, and rescued it from their Malice.

From Rochester the curious Stone-Bridge built over the River Medway by Sir Robert Knolles (which is one of the largest Bridges in England, being fix­ed upon 21 Arches, and coped above with Iron Bars by Arch-Bishop Warham) leads us to Stroud, Stroud. a Place where the Knights Templars had former­ly an eminent Mansion, and the Chappel of St. Nicholas was improved to a Mother Church, and endowed, being divided by too great a distance from the Church of Frendsbury, to which it had been annexed, and which was supposed uncapable for so great a conflux of People, as began every day to multiply within the Liberties of Stroud.

Medway.The River Medway is carried into the Aestuary of Thames by two Mouths, the one whereof West­ward, is called West-Swale, as the Eastern one which seems to have cut the Isle of Shepey from the Continent, East-Swale; but by Bede, Genlad and Yenlett: Now it is rather probable, that this was the Swalve mentioned by Birchington, P. 216. wherein Austen the Monk baptized Ten thousand Men, and not the Swale in Richmondshire, P. 163. that being the River where Paulinus his great Friend and Coad­jutor baptized the like number.

Island of Shepey.And now having made mention of the Isle of Shepey, I cannot but observe, that it was formerly very famous for two Religious Princesses, Sexbur­ga and Hermenilda; Sexburga the Daughter of Anna the Seventh King of the East-Angles, and his Wife Hereswyda, Sister to the Holy Abbess St. Hylda, was married to Erconbertus King of Kent, in the Fifth Year of her Father's Reign; by whom she had two Sons, Egbert and Lotharius, and two Daugh­ters Ermenilda and Erkengota: Sexburga, after her [Page 287] Husband's Death, governed the Kingdom of Kent twenty-four Years, until her Son Egbert was grown up to be fit to undertake the Government, which having once committed to him, she laid aside her Royal Robes, and betaking her self to this Island, built here a Nunnery, A. D. 710. and endowed it liberally for Seventy-seven Nuns: Afterwards com­mitting it to the care of her Daughter Ermenilda, she went into the Isle of Ely to her Sister Ethelreda, where after her Death she was Abbess of the same Nunnery, all this while living a very severe morti­fied Life, and giving up her self wholly to Prayer and Devotion: Afterward the Nunnery being burnt by the Danes, it was re-ediffed by William Arch-Bishop of Canterbury, A. D. 1130. to the Honour of St. Mary and St. Sexburg.

But on the 21th of September the Festival of St. Matthew, our Journey began to draw near to an end, Graves­end. for our last Stage being by Gravesend (a Town notorious as well for its Block-Houses opposite to each other, as the great conveniency of a Passage in Wherries every Tide up and down the River Thames) to Dartford, Dartford. a Market Town of no small account for all sort of Grain, by reason of its Vicinity to the Grand Emporium of this Nation, we depart­ed from thence to the City, and arrived again at London in great Health and Safety, after some months Circuit about the Maritime Coasts of Great Britain.