Chapter 5

Market, Wednesday.—Fairs, Wednesday after Whit-Sunday, for horned cattle October 29, ditto and sheep—Mailarrives 9½ A.M., departs 7 A.M.

[A] AMERSHAM, or Agmondesham is situated on the Misbourne, a branch of the river Colne. The town which is seated in a vale between two wooded hills, consists of a long street on the road from Uxbridge to Wendover; it is intersected about the centre, by a cross street from Chesham to High Wycombe, at the point of which stands the church. The market is held in the Market House, or Town Hall, built by Sir William Drake, about 1680; it is a brick building supported by pillarsTown Hall, built by Sir W. Drake, 1680.and arches, with a lanthorn and clock, and said to be the handsomest in the county. Amersham was a parliamentary borough by prescription, but by the Reform Bill of 1832, is now disfranchised. The church was extensively repaired in 1778, in the chancel of which are monuments of the family of the Bents of Leicestershire, who had a seat in the parish; and a monument of Henry, son of Sir Patrick Curwen, Bart., who died in 1638; and also several monuments of the Drake family, in the chancel and the adjoining mausoleum; among which are those of Montague Gerrard, bySheemaker, and the wife of the late Mr. Drake, by Henry Cheere. About a mile northward from the town, is Shardeloes Park, the seat of Sir Thomas Tyrwhitt Drake: the estate was formerly in theShardeloes park.possession of the Brudenell's, which family terminated in a peeress, and brought Shardeloes to the Cheynes; afterwards it became the seat of William Totehill, Esq., where he entertained Queen Elizabeth inEntertainment of Queen Elizabeth.one of her progresses. Francis Drake, of East Sherwin, Surrey, who was one of the gentlemen of the bedchamber to James I., married Jane, the daughter and heiress of William Totehill, Esq. The mansion is beautifully situated on the brow of a hill, overlooking an immense sheet of water, covering thirty-five acres, and commands a delightful prospect, particularly towards the east, where the town of Amersham, and the surrounding eminences, covered with wood, present a very picturesque appearance. The gardens, formerly much admired forPicturesque views.their beauty, were originally formed by Sir William Drake, about 1666, but have been modernized by Richmond, for the late proprietor. Here is also a Free Grammar School, the scholars of which are entitled to three exhibitions in Corpus Christi College, Oxford, bequeathed by Dr. Challoner, a canon of Windsor, in 1620; and likewise four alms houses, with other minor charities. The manufactures are chiefly lace, sacking, and all kinds of white cotton, wrought by machinery; and the markets are well attended.

Market, Tuesday.—Fairs, Whit-Monday for horned cattle, and September 19, for cattle, and statute.—Inns, Crown and Griffin.—Mailarrives 7 A.M., departs 9¼ P.M.

[B] AMESBURY, or Ambresbury, is situated on the river Avon, and is said to derive its name and origin from an abbey, founded by the British Prince Ambrosius; which abbey was subsequently changedFounded by the British Prince Ambrosius.into a convent of Benedictine monks, of which some remains are still to be seen. In the parish, and about two miles from the town, is the celebrated British monument, known by the name of Stone-henge. Antiquaries differ in their opinions as to the probable application of this structure; the majority, however, deem it to have been a druidicalStone-henge.temple, or a grand tribunal of justice. Out of twenty-four enormous stones, of which the outer circular range appears to have been formed, seventeen are still standing, and seven on the ground; of the inner circle, eleven out of the nineteen of which it was formed are still upright, and the remainder prostrate. The distance of the inner circle from the outer one is about eight feet, forming a walk between the two of about three hundred feet in circumference; the stones are from eighteen to twenty feet high, from six to seven feet broad, and about three feet thick, and there is an appearance of the whole having been surrounded with a trench, over which were three passages. There are numerous barrows and tumuli around it, where many skeletons and military weapons have been discovered. Conjecture has been at a loss to ascertain the means by which such solid masses could have been conveyed, and placed in so elevated a situation without the aid of machinery. It stands near the summit of a hill; even at the distance of half a mile the appearance is awful; but on a nearer approach, the eye is still more delighted with the greatness of its contour. On entering the building, either on foot or horseback, theseIts awful appearance.ruins fill the mind with astonishment, which it is impossible for the pen adequately to describe. Other buildings have fallen by piece-meal—here a single stone is a ruin. As you advance farther, the greatness of every part, and the singular construction of the whole, causes additional surprise. Some authors suppose that this noble temple does not owe its defacement so much to the introduction of Christianity, as to the rude and barbarous hands of the neighbouring peasantry, who have carried away the stones for their own purposes. At a house which occupies part of the ancient nunnery,Nunnery of St. Augustine.a society of nuns of St. Augustine, from Flanders, have taken up their abode, probably attracted by the supposed sanctity of the situation. Near the town stands the once celebrated house of the Dukes of Queensbury, built by Inigo Jones, and subsequently improved by the Earl of Burlington. The neighbourhood abounds with clay used for making tobacco pipes, and the river Avon supplies a very much admired species of fish called loach. In the vicinity is a camp, called Vespasians. It consistsCamp of 39 acres.of a triangular area of 39 acres, defended by a ditch and vallum, and bounded on two sides by the Avon. This may have been occupied by the Romans, but its construction and position indicate a British origin.

Market, Friday.—Mailarrives 11 P.M., departs 4 A.M.—Fair, May 17, June 22, December 18, for horses, sheep, and horned cattle.—Inn, George.

[A] ALMWICH, a seaport town in the parish of the same name, in the hundred of Twerclyn. It is situated on the north coast of the Island of Anglesey; and from a small village (in consequence of the discovery of a rich copper-mine in the Parys mountain) has been augmented into a considerable town: the appearance of this celebrated mountain is very rude; it is bare of vegetation, in consequence of the suffocating fumes which issue from it. The Romans are supposed to have obtained copper oreFrom this place the Romans obtained copper ore.from this place, as many vestiges of what, it is imagined, were their operations, are still traceable. The great riches of the site were not, however, discovered until March 2, 1768, by the lessees of Sir Nicholas Bayley, afterwards Earl of Uxbridge; and equally successful was the Rev. Edward Hughes, proprietor of another part of the same ridge. The substance of the mountain being ore, it has not been worked in the usual way, by shafts and levels, but by direct excavation. "Nature," Mr. Pennant observes, "hath been profuse in bestowing her mineral favours on this spot, for above the copper ore, and not more than three-quarters of a yard beneath the common soil, is a bed of yellowish greasy clay, from one to four yards thick, containing lead ore, and yielding from six hundred to a thousand pounds weight of lead from one ton; and one ton of the metalLead ore which yields silver also.yields not less than fifty-seven ounces of silver. Mixed with the earth are frequently certain parts, of the colour of cinnabar; whether these are symptomatic of the sulphurous arsenical silver ores, or of quick-silver, I will not pretend to decide. Something interferes with the successful smelting of this earth in the great, insomuch that it has not yet been of that profit to the adventurers, which might reasonably be expected from the crucible assays of it." From this mountain arises a mineral water, which turns the syrup of violets red, without any signs of chalybeate. To enumerate theVarious minerals.mineral substances found from time to time would prove a tedious employment, and perhaps an unimportant one. The following are the principal and most useful:—1. Yellow sulphurated copper ore; 2. Native copper, in small quantities; 3. Sulphate of copper, both chrystallized and in solution; 4. Sulphate of lead, containing a small portion of silver; 5. Black ore, containing copper with galenea, calamine, and some silver; 6. Native sulphur. Not far from Parys Mountain is the port whence the ore broughtThe port, a chasm between the rocks.from the mines is transported to Liverpool and Swansea; it is a chasm between two rocks, large enough to receive thirty vessels, each 200 tons. The two companies employ fifteen brigs, from 100 to 150 tons burden, besides sloops and other craft. The articles exported from these copper mines are principally a coarse copper from the smelting-house, a richer copper ore, dried precipitate of copper from the vitriol pits, refined sulphur, ochre, alum, and green vitriol. Though much improved by the copper companies, this port is so exposed to the swell of the ocean, as to make it difficult and dangerous of access, during the prevalence of high northerly winds.

Fair, November 12.

[A] AMPNEY DOWN. The church of this place is very curious, and is said to have been built by the Knights Templars, about the year 1260.The church built by the Knights Templars.Under the window at the south-end of the transept, is the tomb of Sir Nicholas de Villiers and his lady, with their effigies, represented under an arch. The knight is represented as a crusader, in mail and surtout, with his legs crossed, his feet resting on a lion, and his right hand on the hilt of his sword; on his left arm is a shield bearing the Cross of St. George, charged with five escalop-shells. This figure is of hard blue stone; that of the lady is of free-stone, and much mutilated. Below the effigies of the knight is a mutilated inscription in the Saxon character. An ancient mansion, built by the family of the Hungerfords, in the reign of Henry the Eighth, was repaired and modernized, as to its exterior, a few years ago. It belongs, with the manor, to the family of Eliot, of Port Eliot, in Cornwall.

[B] AMPTHILL is situated between two hills in the centre of the county. Here is an obelisk of Portland stone, forming a receptacle for a pump; and also a Gothic cross, which was erected in 1744, to the memory of Catherine of Arragon, by the Earl of Upper Ossory, who was then proprietor of Ampthill Park, at a former period the residence of that ill-treated Queen.Under a pear-tree in Ampthill park Sir Philip Sydney wrote part of his Arcadia.This park, which lies to the west of the town, is now the seat of Lord Holland; it was constituted a royal domain by Henry VIII., who conferred a name on the annexed estates, the "Honour of Ampthill;" the old castle in which Queen Catherine resided, stood on a more elevated ground than the present mansion, which is a magnificent structure, with wings, and a flight of steps leading to a handsome hall; the park, which is now united with that of Houghton, is spacious, and presents several most delightful prospects. At the entrance of Ampthill Park there is a pear tree, under which it is reported that Sir Philip Sydney wrote a part of his Arcadia.

Mailarrives 6 A.M.. departs 8½ P.M.—Fairs, May 4, and November 30, for cattle.—Inn, White Hart.

[A] AMROTH. The castle of Amroth, now modernized, from the house formerly called Eare Wear, was in the 15th century, a settlement of the Elliott's. The present proprietor is Captain Ackland, by purchase, from a female representative of the Elliotts. The most judiciously assimilating additions have been made so as to give it every appendage of convenience and luxury. The antique porch is nicely preserved. The conservatory and grapery are entered from the dining-rooms, which was once a vaulted roofed ale cellar, or castle prison. A portion of this vault remains unaltered. From the lawn is a beautiful and interesting view of Tenby. TheView of Tenby.church of Amroth, on the road to Ludchurch, is situated on a limestone rock, which has been reduced on every side, and is remarkable for a curiously disposed tower.

[B] GREAT AMWELL is supposed to have derived its name from Emma'sEmma's Well, one of sources of the New RiverWell, a pure water-fountain that issues from a hill, and forms one of the sources of the New River. Here is a monument erected by Mr. Milne, to the ill-requited Sir Hugh Middleton, in a small islet formed by the said river. Sir Hugh, notwithstanding the assistance afforded him by Parliament, and the City of London, ruined himself by procuring supplies of water to the metropolis. Great mystery envelopes the latter period of his life. It is traditionally reported that he retired to the village of Kemberton,Indigence of Sir Hugh Middleton.near Shiffnall, in Shropshire, where he resided some time in great indigence, under the assumed name of Raymond, and it is said that during such residence he was actually employed in paving the streets. The poet Warner, author of "Albion's England," lies interred here. The church is situated on an eminence, the picturesque beauty of which has been justly celebrated by the admirable poet, usually denominated Scott of Amwell, from his residence in the village, and the title of his poem.

[C] ANCASTER. This parish is situated on the great Roman road, called Ermin-street, and bears strong evidence of having been a Roman station; many authors unite to fix here the ancient Causennæ. It occupies a low situation, and at the north end flows a small brook. From the vestiges which remain of military works it has certainly been a place of great strength. A great number of coins, and other antiquities, have been found here in such quantities, as to become a source of considerable emolument to the inhabitants of the place; so much so, that at one time many became extensive dealers in them. These coins are of various Emperors. SeveralMosaic pavements.mosaic pavements have also been discovered here. It is highly probable from these circumstances, that Ancaster was the Causennæ of Antoninus. About the town are several quarries of stone, which is found very near the surface. Ancaster once gave the title of Duke to the head of the Bertie family, but that Dukedom is now extinct.

[D] ANDOVER, situated on the river Anton, is supposed to have been the Andaoreon of the Romans; and this opinion seems to have been countenanced by the remains of several ancient encampments in the neighbourhood, and by the Roman road, which runs from Winchester to Cirencester, and passes through the town. The antiquity of the corporation is as remote as the reign of John, but the present charter was granted by Queen Elizabeth; the town is extensive, and two of the streets are handsome and wide. There is a spacious town-hall, supported by arches, under which the weekly market is held. The church, situated at the north of the town, is a large Gothic building, consisting of a nave, side aisles, and chancel, with a transept on the north, and a low tower rising from the centre; it existed in the time of the Conqueror, and is dedicated to St. Mary. WithinWeyhill Fair.four miles of the town is held the great annual fair of Weyhill, which, as it lasts for a week, causes much circulation of money in Andover. In addition to the many small Roman encampments in the immediate neighbourhood, there is a very large one on the summit of Bury Hill, about two miles to the S.S.W.

Market, Saturday.—Mailarrives 2¾ A.M., departs 11¾ P.M.—Fairs, Friday and Saturday after Mid-Lent, for cheese, horses, and leather; May 17, November 13, for sheep, horses, leather, and cheese.—Bankers, T. & W. Heath, draw on Masterman and Co.—Inns, Star and Garter, and White Hart.

[A] ANGLESEY (Isle and County of), forms one of the six counties of North Wales, and is situated at the north western extremity of the principality. It is watered on three sides by the Irish sea, and separated on the eastern side from Caernarvonshire, by the serpentine strait of Menai, from three-quarters to half a mile broad. Its form is irregular, being indented with many small bays and creeks, which gave it some maritime importance under its native princes. It has received numerous appellations from the ancient Britons; the most approved of which was Mon, signifying remote, Latinised by the Romans into Mona, the "nurse of Wales," from its fruitfulness; and changed by the Saxons into Angles-ey, or the Englishman's Island. It was the principal establishment of theOriginally the principal establishment of the Druids.Druids in Britain, until this island was invaded by the Romans, A.D. 59, under Suetonius Paulinus, who ordered their groves to be cut down, and stationed a garrison to insure obedience. The climate of Anglesey is mild, and the sea-breezes render the weather more temperate here than in the other counties of North Wales, although from the same cause it is less clear: that portion of the island which borders on the Menai, the site of the terrific Druidical groves, is richly wooded. The interior, on the contrary, owing to the great scarcity of fuel, has been rendered nearly devoid of wood; and the greater part of the island possesses little of hill and dale beyond a gentle and undiversified undulation of surface; its general aspect is uninviting and cheerless. The land, however, is good, and under proper management very productive, as respects both tillage and pasturage. About 25,000 head of black cattle (exclusive of sheep and hogs), areAnnual exportation of cattle.annually supplied to the English market, where they are much admired for their flavour and tenderness, occasioned by the short bite of the pasturage on which they feed. Before the erection of the suspension bridge, the passage of the numerous droves of cattle at the five authorized ferries of the Menai, was a very extraordinary sight; they were made to swim over, guided by the drovers in boats. Butter, cheese, hides, tallow, wax, and honey, form also great articles of trade here; throughout the island there are but few manufactures of any importance. The shore abounds in some of the most highly prized marine productions, and is especially celebratedPrized for its marine productions.for the variety and beauty of its sea shells. Anglesey is as interesting to the antiquary, as to the natural philosopher. The ancient British vestiges are very numerous; comprising no less than twenty-eight cromlechs, or Druidical altars, together with circles, monumental stones, entrenchments, and other remains of a similar description, both British and Roman, which will receive attention in their proper places; several of the parish churches (of which the whole, seventy-four, stand near the coast), with various monastic remains, also deserve examination on the score of antiquity. Mona, now Anglesey, was the chief seat of the Druids, A.D. 59. Suetonius Paulinus, in the reign of Nero, was invested with the command ofInvasion of the Romansan army, and prepared to signalize his name by victories over those barbarians. Finding this island the chief seat of the Druids, he resolved to attack it, and bring into subjection a place which was the centre of their superstition, and which afforded protection to all their baffled forces. The Britons endeavoured to obstruct his landing on this sacred island, both by the force of their arms, and the terrors of their religion. The women and priests were intermingled with the soldiers upon the shore; and running about with flaming torches in their hands, and tossing their disheveled hair, they struck greater terror into the astonished Romans by their howlings, cries and execrations, than the real danger from the armed forces was able to inspire. But Suetonius, exhorting his troops to disregard the menaces of a superstition which he despised, impelled them to the attack, drove the Britons off the field, burned the Druids in the same fires which thoseThe Druids burnt in the fires they had prepared for their enemies.priests had prepared for their captive enemies; destroyed all their consecrated groves and altars—and having thus triumphed over the religion of the Britons, he thought his future progress would be easy in reducing the people to subjection; but in this expectation he was disappointed. The circumference of the island is seventy-six miles. The sea-passage from Holyhead to Dublin, is about sixty miles, which is now traversed by steam packets daily. Next to agriculture, and the rearing of cattle, mining affords most employment to the labouring population; a great number of persons are also engaged in fishing and catching wild-fowl, round the coast. It comprises 200,000 acres of land.

[A] ANSLEY became the property of the Ludford family, by purchase, in 1613. Ansley Hall, an irregular but commodious residence, the manorial seat of John Newdigate Ludford, Esq., is situated in an extensive park,A hermitage and Chinese temple.rich in natural and artificial beauties, containing a hermitage erected with the materials of an ancient oratory, in which Warton, who visited it in 1758, left his beautiful verses, beginning:—

Beneath this stony roof reclined,I sooth to peace my pensive mind.

On an insulated spot is also a Chinese temple, or cell, which contains a monument of the Purefoy family, removed from Caldecote Church in 1796. Ansley church has some remains of Saxon and early Norman architecture, and a square tower of remarkable beauty at the west end.

[A] ANSTEY. In this village are the remains of a castle, built in theRuins of a Castle.reign of the Conqueror, by Eustace, Earl of Boulogne, for the purpose of keeping the English in greater subjection; it was demolished in the time of Henry III., and the parish church formed of its materials. The moat surrounding the mount upon which the keep was built, with additional works made in the reign of King John, still remains. In the south aisle of the church is an ancient monument, with the effigies, as traditionally reported, of Richard de Anstre the founder. The Roman road called Ermine Street, passes through this village.

[B] ST. ANTHONY, consists of the two manors of East and West Anthony, formerly in the Dawney family, but now in that of the Carews. East Anthony House, the seat of the Right Hon. Reginald Pole Carew, M.P., is situated on a branch of the Lynher Creek, nearly opposite TrematonMount Edgecomb.Castle. It is a large square building, of Pentuan stone, finished by Gibbs the architect, about the year 1721. This mansion contains a respectable collection of old portraits, amongst which is one of Richard Carew, the historian, with a device of a diamond on an anvil, with a hammer suspended over it. The church contains several monuments wellSeat of the Carew family.deserving attention. Besides numerous memorials of the Carew family, there is in the chancel, the form of a lady, on a brass plate, beneath an elegant gothic canopy, in memory of Margery Arundell, who died Lady of the Manor in the early part of the fifteenth century. Sir Alexander Carew, a gentleman of large property, and one of the representatives of the county, at the commencement of the civil wars, being averse to the measures of the court, and having been intrusted by Parliament with the command of St. Michael's Island and Fort, he attempted to deliver them into the King'sSir A. Crew beheaded.possession; but the design being discovered to the Parliament, he was suddenly seized and carried prisoner to Plymouth, and there the women were so enraged against him, that it was with difficulty he was rescued from their vengeance. From thence he was conveyed by sea to London, where he was expelled by the Commons, and being tried by a court-martial, was found guilty and beheaded on Tower Hill, December 23, 1644.West Anthony, or St. Jacobs. This is a very pleasing village, which has risen into importance from its proximity to the towns of Devonport, Plymouth and Stonehouse; it is a favourite residence of the officers connected with the dockyards and navy at these important towns. Near this place is Mount Edgecomb, the residence of the Earl of that title; it is celebrated for the beauty of its situation, near the sea, and being a much admired stroll for the inhabitants of, and visitors to Plymouth.

[C] APPLEBY is situate on the river Ancholme, which rises in the wolds near Market Raisin, whence, it takes a northerly direction near Glandford Bridge, it is navigable to the Humber for barges of small burden. That very ancient British road—the Ermine-street—passes through the village. This line of road was afterwards adopted by the Romans; it enters the county to the west of Stamford, and preserving nearly a due northerly direction, passing through the city of Lincoln, continues its course to the banks of the Humber; it is cast up to a great height, and is in some places seven yards in breadth.

[A] APPLEBY, a populous village, which connects the four counties of Leicester, Derby, Stafford, and Warwick. Here is a free grammar school for 100 boys, founded by Sir John Moore, in 1697.

[B] APPLEBY. This town is situated on the river Eden, by which it is almost surrounded, and by some antiquaries it is supposed to occupy the site of the Roman station Aballaba. It has been the county town since the reign of Edward the Confessor. It is governed by a Mayor, Aldermen, and capital Burgesses; the Mayor having authority to arrest for any sum without limitation. Appleby did send two representatives to Parliament, but has been disfranchised by the Reform Bill. It has many times been assailed by the Scots, who burnt it in 1388; and in 1598 itBurnt by the Scots.suffered seriously by a pestilence, from which time it has never recovered its former size and consequence. The town at present consists of one broad street, built irregularly on the slope of a hill, at the upper part of which stands the castle, which is of early Norman, if not of Saxon origin; and at the lower end the parish church. The ancient market houses or cloisters, were pulled down in 1811, and a handsome gothic building, erected by Smirke, in their stead. Here are also a town-hall and gaol; and at each end of the town stands a stone obelisk or cross. Appleby received charters from Hen. II., John, and Hen. III., all which were given up to James II., since which period it has subsisted as a borough by prescription. Crackenthorpe Hall, a manorial residence in this parish, was from the earliest period of authenticated record, the mansion of the Machels, a Saxon family, who eventually alienated it to the late Earl of Lonsdale. Near this seat, which is at present neglected, is a Roman camp 300 yards long and 150 yards broad, with three entrances, and a watch tower or fort, at the distance of bow-shot. Appleby has produced some eminent characters, among whom should be noticed Thomas de Veripont, Bishop of Carlisle, in 1255. Thomas de Appleby, Bishop of Carlisle, in 1363. Roger de Appleby, Bishop of Ossory,Eminent characters born here.in 1404; and Dr. Christopher Potter, Provost of Queen's College, Oxford, Prebendary of Windsor, and Dean of Worcester; the last named was vice-chancellor of Oxford when the civil wars of Charles I. broke out, and sent all his plate to the king, stating that he would drink as Diogenes did, from the hollow of his hand, before his majesty should want. Here is a free Grammar School, richly endowed, which is open to all the children of the town upon paying 2s. 6d. per quarter to the Master; and also five scholarships, founded by the Earl of Thanet at Queen's College, Oxford, and entitled to participate in five exhibitions of £60. per annum at the same college, on the foundation of Lady Elizabeth Hastings. An Hospital for thirteen widows, founded by the celebrated Anne, Countess of Pembroke and Montgomery, heiress of the Cliffords, the possessors of the castle for several centuries; by the marriage of whose eldest daughter it became the property of the family of Tufton, Earl of Thanet. The main portion of the present castle which is of a square form, was built in 1686 out of the ruins of a part of the former, by Thomas, Earl of Thanet. Appleby Castle survived the attacks of the Parliamentary Army, under theAppleby castle.influence of its owner, the aforesaid Countess Anne, but was compelled to yield in 1648. The church of St. Lawrence, which was partly built by the same spirited lady, contains a noble monument to her memory. The market is one of the best supplied with corn in its vicinity. It however possesses but little trade, and no manufacture of importance.

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