Nor would such a delineation be very necessary for this work, as but few of its readers can be supposed altogether unacquainted with the premises.—After Holkham, the next place is due to
Rainham Hall, the venerable seat and residence of the latemarquis Townshend. This house is of a much longer standing than either of the former; being built, as we are told, about 1630, by Sir Roger Townshend, bart. under the direction of that excellent and celebrated architect Inigo Jones. Its situation has been supposed the most delightful in the county. The house itself, though it has been greatly improved by the late marquis, is said to be in the style of an exceeding good habitable mansion rather than a magnificent one. Thecountry around is rich, and charmingly cultivated. The park and woods are beautiful, and the lake below peculiarly striking. Extensive lawns, and opening views into the country, enrich the enlivening scene, and display the beauties and bounties of nature in their most enchanting and luxuriant pride.[169]Since the death of the late marquis this house has ceased to be the residence of the family.—To the preceding Mansions may be added
Oxborough, orOxburgh-Hall, the seat of theBedingfields, which is said to present features of a striking kind, and to be a peculiar and interesting remnant of ancient domestic architecture. It was erected as long ago as the latter end of the fifteenth century, by SirEdmund Bedingfield, who obtained a grant, or patent of Edward IV. in 1482, to build the manor house with towers, battlements, &c. It is built of brick, and was originally of a square form, environing a court, or quadrangle, one hundred and eighteen feet long, and ninety two broad; round which the apartments were ranged. The whole building resembles Queen’s College, in Cambridge; a structure of about the same period. The entrance is over a bridge, formerly a drawbridge, through an arched gate way, between two majestic towers, which are eighty feet high. In the western tower is a winding brick staircase beautifully turned, and lighted by quatrefoil ilet-holes. The other tower is divided into four stories; each consisting of an octagonal room, with arched ceilings, stone windowframes, and stone fire places. Between the turrets is an arched entrance gateway, the roof of which is supported by numerous groins; and over this is a large handsome room, having one window to the north and two bow windows to the south. These windows, and the whole exterior of this part of the building appear to be in their original state. The floor of the great room is paved with small fine bricks, and the walls covered with very curious tapestry. This appears to be of the age of Henry VII. and is mentioned in several wills of the family. The apartment is called “the King’s room,” and is supposed to have been appropriated to the monarch just mentioned, when he visited Oxburgh. In the eastern turret is a curious small closet, called ahiding place, which appears to have been an original part of the structure: it is a cavity, or hollow in the solid wall, measuring six feet by five feet, and seven feet high, and is approached by a secret passage through the floor. A similar hiding place is said to have been destroyed in that part of the building which has been taken down. The great hall, which had an oaken roof, in the style of the justly admired one at Westminster Hall; and other rooms, which formed the south side of the court, were taken down in 1778, and the distribution of almost every apartment has been successively changed. The offices are now on the east side, and the dining parlour, drawing room, and library, on the west. The whole is surrounded by a moat, about fifty two feet broad, and ten feet deep, which is supplied with water from an adjacent rivulet. In the different apartments, which are both spacious and elegant,are preserved a few good pictures, by eminent painters, and a collection of ancient armoury.[171]This venerable seat is the property of Sir Richard Bedingfield, but at present the residence of Lord Mountjoy.
Of the other modern mansions in these parts, mentioned at the close of the first section of this chapter, it seems needless here to give any further account, except those ofNarfordandNarborough. These, it must be allowed, deserve a more particular attention; not on account of the structures themselves, but of the curious and valuable articles they contain—or lately did contain; for what did once so much distinguishNarborough Hall, is no longer there.—It was anoble collectionofcoinsandmedals, ancient and modern; and the most valuable private collection, perhaps, in Britain, if not in Europe. Its possessor, the late Mr. Tyssen, assured this writer, that it had cost him, from first to last, above 20,000l.though he had been fortunate enough to purchase many of the most valuable articles much under the prices they usually fetch. In this collection were coins of the Grecian states and cities; a regular series of those of Philip and Alexander, of Alexander’s successors, of the Ptolemies, and the Cæsars—all in gold, in the highest state of preservation, and of most exquisite workmanship, (all but those of the former part of Philip’s reign, before he had become master of Greece, and could command the service of its artists,) and far exceeding the best of modern productions, except, perhaps, those ofThomas Simon, andDossier, which come the nighest to the ancients. Many other curiosities were to be found at Narborough,and not the least among them was a MS. copy of theEikon Bazilike, one of the most perfect specimens of fine penmanship extant, perhaps, on so large a scale. The pages, the lines, and the letters, were uniform, and exquisitely neat throughput. It was a quarto volume, and said to be written, or transcribed by I.Thomasen, schoolmaster, at Tarvin, in the county palatine of Chester. He was said to have written three different copies, all in nearly equal perfection: of the other two, one is deposited in the King’s library, and the other in the British Museum; but this was said to be the best the three. To the best of this writer’s recollection, Mr. Tyssen said, that it cost him a hundred guineas, nor did he seem to repent of his bargain. The price it fetched at the sale, however, fell greatly short of that sum.—An ancient shield, denoting and commemorating the taking of Carthage, was another of the late curiosities of Narborough: it represented one of the fair damsels of that devoted city, bearing the keys, and delivering them to Scipio, followed by a long train of the principal inhabitants, whose dejected and woeful looks, bespoke the grief and anguish that had then overwhelmed the Carthaginian nation.—Close to Narborough Hall is an old fortification, the remains of an ancient encampment, called the burgh; from whence to Oxburgh and Eastmore-fen, extends a large foss and rampart, whose original designation seems not very easy to discover.—In making a garden near the burgh, in 1600, several human and pieces of armour were found. This place is said to be peculiarly interesting to the antiquary; and it is supposed that a smallRoman station was once established here. John Brame, a monkish writer, in a manuscript history, quoted by Spelman in his Icenia, says, that Narborough was a British city, governed by an earlOkenard, about the year 500, when it stood a seven months siege against a kingWaldy: but little reliance, however, can be placed on such authority. In the adjoining parish ofNarford, numerous Roman bricks and other relics, are said to have been found: also a large brass vase, or urn, was dug up in the court yard of the manor house,
Narford Hall, the seat of Andrew Fountaine Esq. It was erected in the reign of George I. by the late Sir Andrew Fountaine, Knt. of whom some account will be given in the next section. He was a great collector of rarities, and made his house the repository of works of art and learning. At present it is said to display a choice collection of pictures, ancient painted earthenware, some bronzes, coins, and a fine library of books, supposed to be the best in the whole county. The room, in which these books are deposited, is forty feet by twenty one; and contains, beside the books, several Roman and Egyptian Vases, and portraits of eminent men. This library seems not to have been collected for mere ostentation. The original collector is said to have been a man of letters, as well as a connoiseur and virtuoso, and one, at least, of his successors has been reputed a literary character, and a proficient in some branches, especiallySpanishliterature; in which language the said library contains many rare and valuable articles, one of which he sometime agotranslated into English, and it has since made its appearance from the Swaffham Press.
Several springs of mineral water, of the chalybeate kind, are to be found in the neighbourhood of Lynn, on this eastern side; of which one is at Riffley, and another on Gaywood common, both within two miles of the town. There is also another beyond Setchey, on the Downham road. There are others in East Winch parish, one of which is much more strongly impregnated than any of the rest, and might, perhaps, be ranked, in point of medicinal virtue, with some of those springs that have acquired so much celebrity as to become places of considerable resort. This Spring is said to be strongly impregnated with what chymists and mineralogists call sulphate of iron.
Biographical Sketches of some of the most celebrated,or memorable persons who were natives of this part of the country.
Of all the eminent men who sprung up in this part of Norfolk, the precedence seems unquestionably due to
SirEdward Coke, the famous Lord chief Justice. He was the son of Robert Coke, Esq. of Mileham, where he was born in 1550, or as some say in 1549. At ten years of age he was sent to the freeschool at Norwich; and after having spent there a competent time, he was removed to Trinity College in Cambridge, where he continued about four years, and then went to Clifford’s Inn, and the next year was entered a student of the Inner Temple. He was called to the bar at six years standing, which in that age was held very extraordinary. Lloyd tells us that “the first occasion of his rise was his stating the Cook’s case of the Temple, that all the house, who were puzzled with it, admired him; and his pleading it so, that the whole bench took notice of him.” His reputation increased very fast, and he soon came into great practice. When he had been at the bar about seven years, he married a lady of one of the best families in his native county, and with a very large fortune for that age. He now rose rapidly: the cities of Coventry and Norwich chose him their Recorder; and he was engaged in all the great causes in Westminster Hall. He was also in high credit with Lord Burleigh and the other rulers, and often consulted in state affairs. He became moreover, one of the representatives of his native county in parliament, Speaker of the House of Commons, and successively Solicitor-general, Attorney-general, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and finally, Lord Chief Justice of England, or ratherof the King’s Bench, as king James would have it called. Sir Edward was a high spirited man, and on many occasions discovered much firmness and integrity, even when the other judges gave way, and the mandates of the Sovereign required a different conduct. This kind of behaviour, in time, renderedhim obnoxious to the Court, and brought upon him its heavy displeasure, which issued in his expulsion from the Council Table, and his removal from the office of Lord Chief Justice; the king declaring, “That he was for a tyrant the fittest instrument that ever was in England.” He afterward joined the country party, and made a distinguished figure among the great parliamentary patriots, in the latter part of the reign of James and the former part of that of Charles I. He died at his house at Stoke Pogey, in Buckinghamshire, Sept. 3, 1634, in the 86 year of his age, and expired with these words in his mouth, “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.” He was one of the greatest Lawyers that England ever produced. He had quick parts, a deep penetration, a retentive memory, and a solid judgement. He was greatly honoured and esteemed among his brethren of the long robe; and when persecuted by the Court, and a brief was given against him to Sir John Walter, that gentleman, though Attorney-general to the prince, laid aside the brief, with this remarkable sentence, “Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, whenever I open it against Sir Edward Coke.” He was observed to make a better figure in adversity than in prosperity; and he was so good at making the best of a disgrace, that king James said, “Let them throw him which way they would, he always fell upon his legs.” He valued himself, and not without reason, upon this, that he obtained all his preferments without employing either prayers or pence, and that he became Speaker of the House of Commons, Solicitor-general, Attorney-general, Chief Justice of both Benches, High Steward of Cambridge,and a member of the Privy Council, without either begging or bribing. In this he was very different from many of his most eminent cotemporaries, and especially from his great and celebrated rival Bacon, who was remarkable for the meanness with which he used to solicit preferment. He was in his person well proportioned, and his features were regular. He was neat, but not nice, in his dress; and would say, that “the cleanness of a man’s clothes ought to put him in mind of keeping all clean within.” He was twice married, but his second marriage proved unhappy. He left behind him a numerous issue, as well as a large fortune; and may be ranked among the greatest men of his time.[177a]
In the latter part of his life he appears to have been among the reputedJacobinsof that day, [as is also said to have been the case, in the estimation of somewiseandvirtuouspeople,[177b]with his present descendant of Holkham, during the late memorable reign and rage of our furious alarmists.] While he lay upon his death-bed, his house was, by an order of council, searched for seditions and dangerous papers: and the searchers tookaway his commentary upon Magna Charta; his commentary upon Lyttleton, with the history of his Life before it, written with his own hand; the Pleas of the Crown; and the Jurisdiction of Courts; his 11th. and 12th. Reports, in MS; with 51 other MSS; together with his Last Will and Testament, which contained the provision he had been making for his younger grandchildren. These papers were kept from the family for several years, and the Will was never heard of more.[178]
2.SirHenry Spelman. He was born at Congham, in 1561, or 1562. Before he was fifteen he was sent to Trinity College, in Cambridge; but his father dying in about two years and half after, he was taken home by his mother to assist her in managing the affairs of the family. About a year after, he was sent to Lincoln’s Inn to study the law, where having continued almost three years, he retired into the country, and married a Lady of good family and fortune. Beside his own rural and domestic concerns, which now demanded and employed the chief of his attention, he was also very assiduous to improve himself in the knowledge of the Constitution, Laws and Antiquities of his Country. He was early admitted a member of the Society of Antiquaries,which brought him into an intimate acquaintance with Sir Robert Cotton, Camden, and others of the most eminent men for that kind of literature. In 1604, he was appointed High Sheriff of Norfolk, and about the same time wrote a description of that county, which he communicated toSpeed: but it was not the first book he wrote: a book on Heraldry, and another on the Coins of the kingdom, he had before written; and perhaps more. In 1607, the king nominated him one of the Commissioners for determining the unsettled titles of lands and manors in Ireland; on which occasion he went thither several times, and discharged the trust reposed in him with great reputation. He was also appointed one of the Commissioners to enquire into the oppression of exacted fees in all courts and offices, as well ecclesiastical as civil; which gave rise to his treatiseDe Sepultura, or of the Burial Fees, in which he made it evident, that most part of the fees exacted by the clergy and church officers, on account of funerals, is no better than gross imposition. His close attention to those public employments proved prejudicial to his family and circumstances; in consideration of which the government made him a present of 300l, till something better could be done for him. His majesty also conferred on him the honour of knighthood, which, however, did probably impoverish rather than enrich him. His majesty did what was still worse, in prohibiting the Meetings of the Antiquarian Society, lest, forsooth, they might be led to treat ofstate affairs![179]His wise majesty seemed conscious that those affairs were too brittle to be handled, and too foul to be exposed to open daylight. When about fifty he went to reside in London, and gave himself up to archaiological studies. He collected all such books and MSS. as he could find of that description, whether foreign or domestic. In 1626, he published the first part of his well knownGlossary, which he never carried beyond the letter L, because, as some have suggested, he had said things underMagna Charta, andMaximum Concilium, that could not then have appeared without giving offence. He wrote many things, most of which are still held in considerable repute. He died in 1641: his posthumous works were published in 1698, in folio, under the inspection of bishop Gibson. At his death his papers came into the hands of his eldest Son,
3.SirJohn Spelman, “the heir of his studies,” as he himself calls him, who was also a very learned man, and had great encouragement and assurance of favour from Charles I. That prince one time sent for Sir Henry Spelman, and offered him the mastership of Sutton Hospital, with some other advantages, in consideration of his good services both to church and state. He returned his majesty thanks, and told him that he was very old, and had now one foot in the grave, and should therefore be more obliged if he would consider his son. Upon which the king sent for Mr. Spelman, and conferred both the mastership of the Hospital and the honour of knighthood upon him; and he afterwards employed him to draw up several papers in vindicationof the proceedings of the court. He published the Saxon Psalter under the title ofPsalterium Davidis Latino-Saxonicum vetus, in 1640, in quarto, from a MS in his father’s Library, collated with three other copies. He also wrote “The Life of King Alfred the Great,” in English; which was translated into Latin, sometime after the Restoration, by Mr. Christopher Wase, superior Beadle of the Civil Law at Oxford; which translation, with notes and cuts by Mr. Obadiah Walker Master of University College, was published, from the Theatre Press, in 1679, in folio. The original English was also published from the same press, by Mr. Thomas Hearne, in 1709. 8vo. Sir John Spelman died in 1643.
4.SirRoger L’Estrangeis another of the notable natives of this part of the county. He was the youngest son of Sir Hamon L’Estrange, Bart. of Hunstanton Hall, where he was born Dec. 17, 1616. He received a liberal education, which he is supposed to have completed at Cambridge. His father being a zealous royalist, took care to instil the same principles in his son, which the latter eagerly embraced; and in 1639, he attended the king, in his expedition into Scotland. His attachment to the royal cause became now very strong; and sometime after nearly cost him his life: for in 1644, soon after the Earl of Manchester had reduced Lynn to the authority of the Parliament, young L’Estrange, thinking he had some interest in the place, as his father had been governor of it, formed a scheme for surprising it; and received a commission from the king, constituting him is governor, incase of success: but his design being betrayed by two of his confederates, (namedLemanandHaggar,) though both bound under an oath of secresy, he was seized, tried, and, by a court-martial, condemned to die, as a traitor. While he lay in prison, he was visited by Mr. Arrowsmith, and Mr. Thorowgood, two of the assembly of divines, who very kindly offered him their utmost interest, if he would make some petitionary acknowledgement, and submit to take the covenant, but he refused. After thirty months spent in vain endeavours, either to have a hearing, or to be put into an exchangeable condition, he printed a state of his case, by way of appeal from the court martial (by which he had been tried) to the Parliament. About the time of the Kentish insurrection, in 1648, he escaped out of prison, with the keeper’s privity, as he himself says, and went into Kent, and retiring to the house of Mr Hales, a young gentleman, heir to a great estate in that county, he spirited him up to head the insurrection; but that design failed of success. After this miscarriage, he escaped beyond sea, where he continued till the autumn of 1653; when taking his opportunity, in the change of government, upon Cromwell’s dissolution of the long parliament, he returned into England, and having an opportunity to speak to Cromwell, and obtaining a favourable hearing, he escaped any further trouble, and shortly after received his discharge, by an order dated 31. Oct. 1653. How he spent his time for the next six or seven years does not appear; but it may be presumed that he remained pretty quiet, and avoided all interference with political, or state affairs. He is saidto have sometimes played before the Protector on the bass viol, for which he was by some calledOliver’s fidler. After the Restoration he was little noticed, either by the king or his ministers, for sometime; which he very much resented. Afterward, however, he was appointed to a profitable, but odious office, that ofLicencer of the Press; which he held till a little before the Revolution. In 1663 he set up a newspaper, called “The Public Intelligencer and the News,” which was afterwards put down by theLondonGazette; for which, however, government allowed him a consideration. After the popish plot, when the Tories began to gain the ascendant over the Whigs, he, in a paper calledthe Observator, became a zealous champion for the former, and an advocate for some of the worst measures of the Court. He was afterward knighted, and served in the parliament called by James II. in 1685. After the Revolution he met with some trouble, as a disaffected person. He is said to have been particularly disliked by the queen, who very curiously anagrammed his name, as was mentioned in the first section of this chapter. He died on the 11th. of September 1704, in the 88th. year of his age, and was interred in the church of St. Giles in the fields, where there is an inscription to his memory. He wrote many political tracts, in a high tory strain, and often with little regard to truth; and also published translations of Josephus’s works, Cicero’s offices, Seneca’s morals, Erasmus’s colloquies, Esop’s fables, Quevedo’s visions, &c. His style has been praised by some, while others have represented it as intolerablylow and nauseous: and Granger represents him as one of the great corrupters of our language. But there was something in his character that was still worse and more detestable than even his style.—Having mentioned him as one of our early compilers of newspapers, it may not be amiss here just to note, that he had been long preceded in that occupation, by a country-man of his,Wm. Watts, M.A. who is supposed to have been the very first compiler of a weekly, or stated English newspaper; at least his employer,Butter, seems to have been the first editor of such a paper, which was begun in August 1622, under the name of “The certain news of this present week;” and Watts is thought to have been the compiler of it from the first, and is therefore deemed theGallo-Belgicusof England: alluding to the first newspaper, or periodical publication of the low Countries, about the beginning of the 17th century, which went by that name. But as Watts is said to have been a native of Lynn, a further account of him shall be given in its proper place.
5.SirRobert Walpole, afterward Earl of Orford. He was born at Houghton, in 1674. In 1700, he was chosen member of Parliament for Lynn, which he also represented in many succeeding parliaments. In 1705 he was made one of the council to Prince George of Denmark, as lord high admiral. In 1707 he was made secretary at war; and in 1709 treasurer of the navy. On the change of the ministry, the year following, he was removed from all his places, and in 1711 was voted by the house of commons guilty of notoriouscorruption, in his office as secretary at war: it was therefore resolved that he should be committed to the tower, and expelled the house. But being considered by the whigs as a kind of martyr to their cause, the borough of Lynn rechose him, and though the house declared his election void, yet the electors persisted in their choice, and he sat in the next parliament. On the accession of George I. he was appointed paymaster-general of the forces, and a privy counsellor; but in a disagreement, two years after, with Mr. Secretary Stanhope, he resigned, turned patriot, of course, and opposed the ministry. Early in 1720 he was again made pay-master of the forces, and the complaisance of the courtier began once more to appear: nor was it long before he acquired full ministerial power, as first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer. The measures of his administration, during the long course of his premiership, have been often canvassed, with all the severity of critical inquiry, and variously determined. Though he has been called the father of corruption, and is said to have boasted, that he knew every man’s price, yet the opposition prevailed over him in 1742, and obliged him to resign. He was screened from any further resentment of the house of commons, by a peerage, being created Earl of Orford, and gratified with a pension of 4000la year. He is generally allowed to have been a minister of considerable talents, and a notable manager of parliaments. Whatever were his faults, and he doubtless had many, he was evidently aman of peace, andno war minister,which ought to endear his memory to posterity. Had his successors, and particularly the late ministerPitt, been more of his disposition in that respect, it had probably, at this time, been a happy circumstance for the British empire, if not also for some other nations.
6.SirAndrew Fountaine. He was born atNarford, and educated at Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied the Anglo-Saxon language, of his skill in which he afterward gave good proof, by a piece inserted in Dr Hicks’s Thesaurus, entitled, “Numismata Anglo-Saxonica, et Anglo-danica, breviter illustrata ab Andreâ Fountaine eq. aur. et æd. Christi Oxon alumno, 1705.” King William conferred on him the honour of knighthood: and he was afterwards, it seems, in 1726, made knight of the Bath, by patent; at which time he was Vice Chamberlain to the princess of Wales. He travelled for a considerable time in various parts of Europe, and is said to have made a noble collection of antiques and curiosities; of his adventures in the meantime, not all over and above delicate or reputable, some curious anecdotes are still remembered. In 1709 he drew the designs for the Tale of a Tub, by Swift, with whom he is said to have been very intimate, as well as with Pope, who complimented him for the elegance of his taste. In 1727 he was appointed Warden of the Mint, which office be held till his death, in 1753. He was reputed an eminent connoisseur, virtuoso, and antiquary; and Narford Hall owes to him most, if not the whole of its boasted curiosities.
7.Martin Folkes, Esq. much distinguished in his time as a philosopher and antiquary, was the eldest Son of a Barrister of the same name, by one of the two daughters and coheiresses of Sir Wm. Hovell of Hillington Hall; which accounts for the estate of the Hovells descending to him. He was born in 1690, at Westminster, where his father then resided. His education, which is supposed to have commenced at Westminster school, was finished at Cambridge, where his proficiency appears to have been very considerable. He became a member of the Royal Society in his 23rd year. About ten years after, he was appointed vice president of the same Society, to which he had been nominated by Sir Isaac Newton, the then President. He was also a member of the Society of Antiquaries. On the resignation of Sir Hans Sloane, in 1741, be was elected President of the R.S. and not long after he was nominated one of the eight foreign members of the Academy of Sciences at Paris. He died in 1754, and is said to have been a person of very extensive knowledge and great respectability; and in his private character polite, generous, and friendly. His principal service to science was his elucidation of the intricate subject of coins, weights, and measures. Though he had daughters of his own, he left the seat and estate of his maternal ancestors, the Hovells, to his brother, whose Son, Sir Martin Browne Folkes, bart. M.P. is their present possessor.
8.The honourableHorace Walpole, afterwardEarl of Orford. He was the youngest Son of the celebratedSir Robert Walpole, and born about the year 1717. In 1739 he set out upon his travels, accompanied by his friendGray, the poet: but they afterward quarrelled and separated. In the parliament of 1741 he was a member for Collington; in that of 1747, for Castle Rising; and in those of 1754 and 1761, for Lynn. At the expiration of the latter parliament he retired from business, and attached himself wholly to literary pursuits, residing chiefly, if not wholly, at Strawberry Hill, in Surrey, where he had a private printing-office, for the purpose of having his productions edited under his own eye. His principal works are The Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, and The Historic Doubts respecting the character, conduct, and person of Richard III. He wrote also The Mysterious Mother, Castle of Otranto, and other works, which are considered as proofs of his being a person of very extensive reading, and of eminent genius and talents. On the death of his nephew he succeeded to the family title and estates; but did not long enjoy them. He died in 1797.
9.AdmiralHoratio Nelson, afterwardSirHoratio Nelson, and latterly,Lord Viscount Nelson, andDuke of Brontein the kingdom of Naples. He was the 4th Son of the Rev. Edward Nelson, rector of Burnham Thorpe, where he was born September 29, 1758. He is said to have been maternally related to the Walpoles and the Townshends, two of the first families in his native county. He was sent early to sea, under the care of a relation, who was a captain in the navy, where he soon distinguished himself, and became intime one of the greatest naval commanders that this or any other country ever produced. His most renowned achievements were those atAboukir,Copenhagen, andTrafalgar; the latter of which he did not survive, being killed by a musket ball, near the close of the engagement, which terminated in one of the most complete and decisive victories ever recorded in the annals of naval warfare. He arrived at high pre-eminence, through deeds of blood, and a vast destruction of his species, which can have no place among the christian virtues. But his biography and character are too well known to need being here further enlarged upon.[189]
10.William Bewleywas for many years a most distinguished character among the inhabitants of this part of Norfolk. He was not a native of this country, but came hither, it is thought, from the north of England, about 1749, and settled at Great Massingham, as a surgeon and apothecary, where he continued for the remainder of his days, greatly respected as a professional man, but more especially so as aphilosopher, in which character he was thought inferior to few, if any, of his cotemporaries. With some of the most enlightened of them he was held in high and deserved estimation. Dr.Burneyand Dr.Priestleywere of that number; the latter of whom he very materially assisted in his experimental pursuits, and was the first who discovered and suggested to him the acidity of mephitic or fixed air. Intimate as these two philosophers appear to have been, they were in some respects,it seems, of very different sentiments. Priestley was an admirer ofHartley, and a decided materialist, while Bewley, on the other hand, was a disciple ofBerkeley, and a firm believer of the ideal system. Between these two systems there is evidently a very striking contrast; yet that occasioned no breach in their friendship, or any coolness or abatement in their esteem for each other. Among theologians, and minor philosophers, much slighter differences might have occasioned (as they generally do) endless jarrings, and an irreconcileable antipathy; but Priestley and Bewley were men of another, and a very different cast, and knew how to entertain the purest friendship for each other, while they held, on some important points, very dissimilar, and even opposite opinions. Their friendship commenced about the time that Priestley published his History of Electricity. Bewley’s critique upon that work, in the Monthly Review, was the means, as the Dr. says, of opening a correspondence between them, which was the source of much satisfaction to him, as long as Mr. Bewley lived. The Dr. used instantly to communicate to him an account of every new experiment that he made, and in return was favoured with his remarks upon them. All that Bewley published of his own (except those articles which he furnished for the Monthly Review) were papers inserted in the Dr’s. volumeson Air, all of which, says the doctor, are ingenious and valuable. Always publishing in that manner, he used to call himselfDr. Priestley’s Satellite. There was a vein of pleasant wit and humour (as the Dr. informs us) in all his correspondence, which added greatly tothe value of it. His Letters to the Dr. would have made several volumes, and the Dr’s to him, still more. He was in his latter years a valetudinarian of a very sickly appearance. When he found himself dangerously ill, and his dissolution fast approaching, he made a point of paying the Dr. a visit before he died. He accordingly made a journey from Massingham to Birmingham, for that purpose, accompanied by Mrs. Bewley: and after spending about a week there, he went to pay another last or parting visit to his friend Dr. Burney, and there, at his house in St. Martin’s Street, London, he died, on the 5th. of Sept. 1783. He was for many years one of the writers of the Monthly Review, and the articles he furnished for that respectable publication were thought not inferior to the productions of the very ablest of his associates. How many articles he furnished for that work is not known, except, perhaps, to the Editor. The review ofPriestley’sHistory of Electricity, (as was before observed,) ofWhitehurst’sInquiry into the original State and formation of the Earth, and ofSirJohn Hawkins’History of Music, are understood to have been drawn up by Mr. Bewley. The last mentioned article is said to have been much admired at the time by the late celebrated Dr.Samuel Johnson. Mr. Bewley was sometimes denominatedThe Philosopher of Massingham, and with as much propriety, it was supposed, asHobbeswas styledThe Philosopher of Malmsbury. The branches of knowledge in which he was said chiefly to excel were those ofAnatomy,Electricity, andChemistry.He had naturally a fine ear, and was particularly fond of music; and was not only an excellent judge of composition, but also a good performer on the violin. He cultivated the art and science of music as a relief from severer pursuits, and applied to it in the hours of relaxation, with that ardour which characterized all his undertakings. A love for every liberal science and an insatiable curiosity after whatever was connected with them, were his predominant passions. So strongly and lastingly did they operate, that he desired some books might be brought to him on the very evening before he died, when the excruciating pains of his disorder had a little abated; and though unable to read himself, he listened to what was read, and drank in knowledge with his wonted eagerness, and,
—“with his latest breathThus shewed his ruling passion strong in death.”
—“with his latest breathThus shewed his ruling passion strong in death.”
He was a remarkably warm friend, and an excellent husband: and withal of so benevolent and peculiar a turn of mind, that he would not willingly hurt a worm; nor would he, it seems, cut a living twig from a shrub or tree, because he did not know, (as he would say) but the operation might occasion pain. Many will probably affect to smile at this, under an idea of their own fancied superiority, whose characters, nevertheless, would bear no comparison with that of William Bewley, not to say asscholars, andphilosophers, but even asmen, andmembers of society. In short, he appears to have been a verygood, as well as a very wise and great man.[192]
Of theAnimals,and particularly theBirdsof this country.
Sir Thomas Browneseems to have placed theSpermaceti-Whaleamong the animals of Norfolk. One of them sixty two feet in length, was taken, as he says, near Wells. Another of the same kind, (he adds) about twenty years after, was caught at Hunstanton; and not far from thence, eight or nine were driven ashore, two of which were said to have young ones, after they had forsaken the water.
ThePorpesse, theDolphin, and theGrampus, are also, by the same writer, numbered among the Norfolk animals. The flesh of the two former, he represents as good food, especially that of the Dolphin, which when well-cooked, he says, is generally allowed to be a good dish. But it is very rarely that one meets with any that have tasted of it.
As to theCommon SealorSea-Calf, being an amphibious creature, it is not so unnaturally classed among land animals. Numbers of them are often found sleeping on the shore and the sand-banks, below Lynn; while one, as is said, is keeping watch in the meantime, lest his companions be caught napping, and to apprise them of the approach of danger; in which case, they all instantly rush into the deep and disappear.
Ottersalso are not uncommon in this country. The young ones, says Sir T. Browne, are sometimes, preyed upon by buzzards, having occasionally been found inthe nests of these birds. By many persons they are accounted no bad dish, as he says; and he adds, that Otters may be rendered perfectly tame, and in some houses have been known to serve the office of turnspits.
To the foregoing animals may be addedBadgers,Hares, andRabbits. The latter are here more numerous than in most other parts of the kingdom, and yet not so numerous it seems as they have been, owing to modern agricultural improvements. Hares are also in general pretty plentiful here in most places, and the game-laws very strictly enforced, as many a poacher knows to his cost.
The different Species ofBirdsfound in this country, including thewater-fowl, are very numerous. The following List includes the chief of them, and is taken mostly from Sir Thomas Browne’s Paper inserted in the 20th volume of the Monthly Magazine. 1. TheSeaorFenEagle. Some of this species are said to be so large as to measure three yards and a quarter in the extent of their wings, and are capable of being perfectly tamed, and will feed on fish, red herrings, flesh, or any kind of offal. 2. TheOsprey, which hovers about the fens, and will dip his claws into the water, and often take up a fish, and likewise catchCoots. It is sometime called thebald-buzzard. 3. TheKite. This species is said not to be very numerous. 4. TheMerlin, orHobby-bird: said to be subject to the vertigo, and sometimes caught in those fits. 5. TheWoodchat, orbird-catcher; a small bird of prey about the size of a thrush. 6. TheRaven. 7. TheRook. 8. TheJackdaw. 9. TheRoller: a very uncommon bird. 10. TheCuckoo. 11, 12, 13, 14. TheGreen Woodpecker; Thegreater spotted Woodpecker; TheMiddle Spotted Woodpecker; and theNuthatch. 15. TheKingfisher. 16. TheHoopoe, orHoope-bird, so called from its note. 17, 18, 19. TheSkylark,Woodlark, andTitlark. These are very common; but another, calledthe great crested lark, it seems, is not so. 20. TheStares, orStarlings, are in vast, and almost incredible numbers about the fens, where they roost at night, about the autumn on the reeds and alders, from whence they take their flight in the morning like thick clouds. The rooks, though very numerous in some parts of the kingdom, are never any where seen in such flocks as these birds are about the fens. 21. TheHawfinch. This bird is chiefly seen in summer, about cherry time; and is said to feed on the kernels of cherries and some other kinds of stone fruit; and by means of its amazingly strong bill it breaks the stone without much difficulty. 22. TheWaxen Chatterer; which is said to be a very beautiful bird, but now a more uncommon bird than formerly. 23. TheCrossbill; is migratory, and arrives about the beginning of Summer. 24. TheGold-finch, otherwiseFools-coatorDraw-water. 25. TheWheatear. These breed in rabbit burrows, and warrens are full of them from April to September. They are caught with a hobby and a net, and are accounted excellent eating. 26. TheGoat-sucker, orDorhawk, so called from the circumstance of its feeding on dors, or beetles. It breedshere and lays a very handsome spotted egg. [It flies about later than most other birds except the owl; and while perching in the evening on a tree, it makes a noise somewhat like the croaking of frogs, or rather the twirling of a spinning wheel, from which it has in some parts been called,The Spinner.] 27. TheBustard. A writer whose signature is X. P. S. in the 20th volume of the Monthly Magazine, says that “the bustards are at this time all extirpated out of Norfolk;” but he is certainly mistaken: they are still to be found in the open parts of the country, but not so frequently as formerly. They become more and more rare; and they will, perhaps, be soon extirpated; but it is not the case yet. The bustard is the largest of British birds, and is remarkable (says Sir Thomas Browne) for the strength of its breast-bone, and for its short heel. It lays two eggs which are much bigger than those of a turkey, as the bustard itself is also larger, as well as handsomer than that bird. It is accounted a dainty dish, and those who have eaten it, speak much in its praise. This famous bird seems incapable of being tamed or domesticated.[196]28. and 29.BlackandRed game, now unknown here. Some of the latter, or grouse, were found, it seems, about Lynn, in Sir Thomas Browne’s time. 30. 31.PartridgeandQuailare here in great numbers. 32. TheCorncrake, orRayleis also commonly found here. 33. TheSpoonbill, now but seldomfound here, though formerly, it seems, pretty common. 34. TheCrane, was formerly common here, but now scarcely deemed a British bird. 35. TheWhite Stork, now rarely seen, though formerly not so uncommon a bird. 36. TheHeronstill abounds here. 37. TheBittern, orBitour, is also very common: both this and the preceding are deemed good dishes. 38. TheGodwitorYarwhelp, is very common in Marshland, and deemed a dainty dish. It frequents the sea shore and salt marshes in winter, and the fens and interior parts in summer. 39. 40. TheRedshank, andCurlew, are not unfrequent in the marshes and about the sea coast. 41. TheGnatorKnot. This is a small bird, but is at times very fat, and in much request for the table. They are caught with nets. 42. TheLapwingis common here on all the heaths, and in other parts. 43. TheRuff: so called from the feathers of the neck projecting like a ruff. This is a marsh bird, and varies greatly in its colours; no two of them are found alike. The female is smaller than the male, has no ruff about the neck, and is called aReeve. It is very seldom seen. The males when put together will fight most bloodily and destroy each other. They lose their ruffs towards the end of autumn, or beginning of winter. They are very handsome birds. 44. TheDotterel, is a bird of passage; comes in September and March, and is accounted excellent eating. 45.King Dotterel, orFen Dotterel: somewhat less, but better coloured than the former. 46. TheStone Curlew, is a tall handsome bird, remarkably eyed. It is said to be so common in this country, as to havethe name of the Norfolk plover. 47. TheAvoset, orskooping horn, is a tall, black and white bird, with a bill semicircularly bent upwards. It is a summer bird, and not unfrequent in Marshland. 48. TheOyster CatcherorSea-pie. 49. The Common Coote. These birds are frequently observed in great flocks on broad waters, said to be remarkable for their dexterous-defence of themselves and young, against kites and buzzards. 50. 51. TheMoor, orWater-hen, andWater-Raile. 52. TheWild Swan, orElke. It is probable they come from great distances, for all the northern travellers are said to have observed them in the remotest parts. Like other northern birds, if the winter be mild they usually come no further south than Scotland, if very hard they proceed onward till they arrive in a country sufficiently warm. 53. 54. 55.Barnacle-goose,Brent-goose, andSheldrake. The two former are common; and the latter pretty much so, especially about Norrold, where they are said to breed in rabbit-burrows. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. TheShoveler,Pintail, orSea-pheasant,Garganey, orTeal,Wild-goose, andGosander,or Mirganser, are all found in this country. 61. TheDun-diver, orSaw billed diver. It is bigger than a duck; and distinguished from other divers by a remarkable sawed bill to retain its slippery prey, which consists principally of eels. 62. TheSnew, as well as theWidgeons, and other species of wild ducks, are very common.[199]63. ThePuffin, has a remarkablebill, which differs from that of a duck in being formed not horizontally but vertically, for the purpose of feeding in clefts of rocks, on shellfish, &c. 64. TheShear-water, somewhat billed like a cormorant, but much smaller, is a strong and fierce bird, that hovers about ships when the sailors cleanse their fish, &c. They will live some weeks without food. 65. TheGannet, is a large, white, strong billed bird: Sir Thomas Browne saw one of them in Marshland, which fought, and would not be forced to take wing. Another he saw taken alive, and for sometime kept and fed with herrings. 66. 67. TheShagandCormorant, are generally confounded by the country people. The former builds upon trees, and the latter only in the rocks. 68. TheNorthern-Diver. 69. TheGreat Crested Grebe, appear about April, and breed on the broad waters. Their nest is formed of weed &c. and float on the water, so that their eggs are seldom dry while they are set on. 70. Thelittle Grebe,small diverorDabchick, is found in the rivers and broad waters here. 71. TheSkua Gull, is sometimes found here in very hard winters. 72. TheHerring Gull, is found here, but more commonly about Yarmouth. 73. TheBlack-headed Gull, is here very plentiful. The eggs are used by the country people in puddings, and otherwise. The birds are sometimes brought to the markets in greatnumber, and even sent to London. 74. TheGreater Fern, orSea Swallow, is a neat white and fork-tailed bird, but much larger than a swallow. 75. TheMay Chitt, is a small dark-grey bird. It comes in great plenty into Marshland in May, and stays about a month, seldom beyond six weeks. It is fatter than most birds of its size, and accounted excellent eating. 76. TheChurre, another small bird, is frequently taken among the preceding. 77. TheWhinne bird, is marked with five yellow spots, and is less than a wren. 78. TheChipper. This somewhat resembles the former; comes here in the spring, and feeds on the first buddings of birches and other early trees.—To all these may be added, 79. TheNightingale, which is here a constant visitor. 80. 81. 82. TheSwallow,Martin, andSwift. Also a variety ofFinches, and likewise ofDiving-Fowl,mustela fusca,and mustela variegata, so called from the resemblance they have to the head of a weesel.—Stockdoves, or wild pigeons, are here found in great numbers; and so are Pheasants, Snipes, and Woodcocks.[200]The Magpie likewise and the Owl are found among the birds of this country.—Not to mention the Blackbird, the Thrush, the Yellow-hammer, the Wagtail, the Titmouse, the Sparrow, the Wren, the Redbreast, and others that are common to most parts of this kingdom.
Many rare plants are said to be found in some parts of this country; but as no good botanist is known to residehere, or to have drawn up a catalogue of them, they cannot be now enumerated. The neighbourhood ofEast Winchis thought to be one very good spot for botanizing.
Brief account of places before omitted,in the vicinity of Lynn,on this eastern side of the Ouse—Sechey—Runcton—Downham—Denver—Helgay—Southery—Feltwell—Methwold—Stoke,&c.Feltwell New-Fen-District—Fincham—Swaffham—Babingley—Sharnborne—Great Malthouse—Hunston light-house,&c.
Before we conclude this chapter, and this first part the work, it may not be improper, or unacceptable to the reader, to take some notice of a few of the most remarkable places on this side, that have been omitted in the preceding pages. We shall begin with
Sechey,[201]commonly calledSech, a small market town, which lies about three miles from Lynn, to the south, on the Downham and London road. Anciently it belonged to the Lords Bardolf, as apart of their manor of north Runcton. In 33. Hen. III. the then Lord Bardolf had a charter of free warren here, with a weeklymarket on Mondays, and two fairs annually. Afterwards it passed, with the rest of the said manor, to the Earl of Warwick, who in the reign of James I. had a grant of a market here every fortnight, on Tuesdays, for fat cattle. It seems rather doubtful, if these markets were originally kept every other Tuesdaythroughout the year: at least it is said not to have been the case for many years past, but only for some of the latter months of the year. They begin at the dawn of day, and are generally over pretty early in the morning. They are also said to be well attended by butchers and graziers from different parts of the country, and sometimes from a considerable distance, even as far as Norwich, or further, and also from Lincolnshire.—The river is navigable, for lighters, a considerable way up into the country beyond this place. Sechey is in the parish ofNorthRuncton; some miles from which, in a southerly direction lies the church ofSouthRuncton, now in a dilapidated state. This ruin presents a semicircular east end of what has been thought anancient Saxonchurch, and is believed to be the remains of one given to St. Edmund, in the reign of Canute.—Of the reasonableness and tenability of this belief, some doubts, perhaps, may be justly entertained. The said ruin has certainly the appearance of considerable antiquity, but that appearance, together with its uncommon and semicircular form, will not be quite sufficient to satisfy every one, that it is altogether as old as the days of Canute, or that it has actually stood the brunt and braved the blasts of near a thousand winters.—A few miles further on, in the same direction, is
Downham, orMarket Downham, as it is sometimes called.[203]It is pleasantly situated on the side of a hill, and upon the Ouse, over which it has a good bridge. It had heretofore two weekly markets, Mondays and Saturdays, but that is no longer the case; the latter only are now to be considered as its proper market days, on which the town is said to be well supplied with fish and wild fowl, from the adjacent fens. Downham was formerly celebrated for its great butter market, which used to be kept near the bridge, everyMonday, and which it seems, has before now supplied London with the immense quantity of ninety thousand firkins in a year. From its being sent by way of Cambridge, it obtained the name of Cambridge butter. These markets have been discontinued, and the butter is now taken for sale to Swaffham. It is said that the privilege of a market was granted to Downham by Edward the confessor, and that its principal manor, with the whole hundred, were given by king Edgar to Ramsey Abbey, whose abbot, as we are further informed, was authorized by King John to hold a fair here. By Henry III. he was invested with the additional authority to try and execute malefactors at his “gallows of Downham.”—Some monastic buildings, and particularly aprioryof Benedictine monks, stood formerly near the church.—There is in this town a small dissenting congregation, the chapel belonging to which, was erected in the early part of the last century. In 1801 the town and whole parish of Downham contained 278 houses, and 1512 inhabitants.
Further on, in a low situation, isDenver, a large village, noted as the birth place ofDr. Robert Brady, the English historian. The church is a mean structure, built ofCar,or rag-stone,cameratedwithwoodenpannells, and covered withreed, orthatch. Near to this place isDenver Sluice, termed the granderratumin our fen improvements.—Not far from Denver and Downham lies the village ofHelgay, said by some authors[204]to be regularly infested, every six or seven years, by an incredible number of field mice, which, like locusts, would infallibly devour all the corn of every kind, but for the friendly, seasonable, and effectual interposition of a prodigious flight of owls from Norway, which never fail to arrive that year, and stay till they have totally destroyed those mischievous vermin: after which they quietly depart, re-cross the seas, and return to their native forests, attended by the veneration and benediction of all the good people of Helgay, who had derived from them, the most essential benefit, without the least mixture of detriment; as they had, during their whole stay, meddled with no one thing in the place, but the mice.—Such is the substance and purport of this curious story, whose questionable and improbable appearance might be supposed more than sufficient to prevent its being ever passed upon the public as a matter of fact. That, however, has not been the case: it has been therefore introduced here for the purpose of exhibiting it in its true light, as a lying tale, that those credulouspeople who have been imposed upon, and misled by others, may be undeceived.
Beyond Helgay are the villages ofSouthery,Feltwell,Methwold,Northwold,Stoke-ferry,Wereham,West Dereham,&c.some of them of pretty large size and population.West Dereham Abbeywas formerly a place of no small note, and founded as early as 1188. At the dissolution it went into private hands, and about the close of the 17th. century it was the seat of Sir Thomas Dereham, a diplomatic character. More recently it has successively been the seat of Sir Simeon Stuart, and Lord Montrath.Werehamin former times was possessed by theClares, who then ranked high among the English barons; and it was the head lordship of what was, and still is called thehonor of Clare, of which several neighbouring manors were held. Those great lords had here aprison, and of course agallowsalso; which indicate the great sway they once bore in these parts.—These places lie in and about a remarkable drainage tract, calledthe Feltwell new fen district, which, like the river Nene, has proved a very unfortunate concern to many of those whose property had been unhappily entrusted in the hands of its commissioners. Suspicions of some disreputable doings are said to have been entertained respecting both the above concerns, which will probably deter many from affording any pecuniary aid to the projected Eau-brink Cut, lest it should turn out, or be managed as badly:—if indeed the present formidable opposition to it should finally fail to effect its entire relinquishment: an event which manyseem to consider as not at all improbable.—Northerly from these parts is the village and parish ofFincham. In that parish church is a square font, supposed to have belonged to the old church, which is mentioned in Domesday-book.—Further on, in the same direction, and the most considerable place that way, is
Swaffham. This respectable town stands on high ground, upon a dry gravelly soil, and in a situation that seems greatly favourable to health and longevity. Its streets are wide and airy, and the buildings distributed over a considerable space of ground. The houses are generally neat, and many of them large and handsome, inhabited by wealthy and genteel families. The market-hill is pleasant and spacious, on which was erected in 1783 an elegant cross, by the Lord Orford of that time. The market is on Saturday, and plentifully supplied with good provisions. The great butter-market, formerly kept at Downham, is now kept here. The town stands so high, that some of the wells are said to be fifty-yards deep. A handsome assembly-room has been erected on the west side of the market-hill, in which subscription assemblies are held every month. But the chief public structure of the town is theChurch, a large and fine edifice, built at different times, in the reigns of Henry VI. Edward IV. and Henry VII. It is in the form of a cathedral, and consists of a nave and two ailes, with two transepts on the south side, one to the north, and a lofty well proportioned tower, which is surmounted with enriched embrasures, and purfled pinnacles. The nave is very lofty, having twenty-six cleristory windows,and its inner roof ornamented with carved wood, figures of angels, bosses, &c. The north aile and steeple, are said to have been built by oneJohn Chapman, stated, but erroneously it seems, to have been atravelling tinker; and who is also reported to have been Church-warden in 1460.—In 1800 the houses of Swaffham amounted to 452, and the population to 2220. Formerly there was here a rector and a vicar; the latter presented by the former; so that the rectory was aSinecure, and probably a very rich one. The patronage of the vicarage is in the bishop of Norwich.—Near this town is an extensive heath, which forms a convenient race-ground. The races here are held about michaelmas. Coursing matches are also frequent here, and thegreyhoundsare as regularly entered for the purpose, and placed under the same restrictions asrunning-horses.[207a]
Further on, between Swaffham and the sea-coast, there are not many places that seem to demand very particular notice.BabingleyandSharnborne, which both lie that way, are traditionally reported to contain the sites of the two first christian places of worship among the East-Anglians, and supposed to have been erected in the seventh century. In the same way liesSnettisham, a large village, said to have been formerly a town, with a weekly market on Fridays. Here also have been dug up several of those instruments, in the shape of hatchet-heads, with handles to them, usually denominated celts,[207b]which, if taken to be British, as is most generallythought, or even Roman, as has been judged by others, most denote that Snettisham is a place of no inconsiderable antiquity.Brancasterhas been already noticed, as once a famous Roman station; and it may be here added, that it has of late years attracted no small attention on account of itsgreat malt house, built with a view to the export trade, and supposed to be the largest edifice of that kind in the kingdom; being 312 feet in length, by 31 in breadth, and furnished with all the necessary offices and conveniences for conducting the malting process on a large scale: 420 quarters of barley, are said to have been there wetted weekly, during the malting season.
To the west of Brancaster and the said great malt-house, and not far off, is the village ofHunstanton, orHunston, as it is most commonly called: near to which, on a cliff, overlooking Lynn Roads and the entrance into Lynn Haven, and elevated ninety feet above high-water mark, stands theHunston Light-house, which is upon a different construction from other English light-houses, and supposed superior to any of them. It is lighted by lamps and reflectors, instead of coals, on a much improved and very judicious plan, the merit of which is due toMr. Walkerof Lynn, by whom it was invented, and under whose direction it was here executed in 1778.—This light is communicated by 18 concave reflectors, each of eighteen inches diameter. They are fixed upon two shelves, one placed over the other in such a manner that the strongest light may be seen where it is most wanted. In the N by E directiona strong light is necessary for ships to avoid the dangerous sands and shoals on the Lincolnshire coast; here therefore are placed seven reflectors in the space of two points of the compass, which will appear at some distance as one light. In other directions a weaker light is sufficient. A single reflector, with a lamp of ten single threads of cotton placed in the focus of the curve, which is a parabola, will appear, at 15 miles distance, larger than a star of the first magnitude:—that is, if the glass be kept clean, and the lamp trimmed; otherwise, instead of light, there will no doubt be found obscurity, for which no blame can attach to the projector.[209]
This house remained for many years the only one of the kind in the United Kingdom; but about the year 1787, several others, on the same plan, were erected on the coast of Scotland, as appears by the following extracts from one of the provincial papers of that time.—
“Northern Light-houses. An Act of Parliament was obtained a few years ago, by some gentlemen in Edinburgh, impowering them to erect four Light-houses on the Northern parts of Great Britain. In consequence of which the Trustees made diligent enquiry into the several modes of erecting lights for the use of mariners, at sea. These enquiries were made not only in this kingdom, but in foreign parts, that their intended erection might be made on the best principles. In September, 1786, the then Lord Provost of Edinburgh applied to Mr. Ezekiel Walker of Lynn in Norfolk, for his opinion in the construction of them. Mr. Walker’s answer to his lordship’s enquiry, and the plan projected in it, gave such general satisfaction to the Trustees, that they unanimously resolved on constructing and lighting them on his principle; and in the spring of 1787, the work was begun accordingly. The first of these lights stands onKinnard’s Head, [in the county of Aberdeen;] the second onnorth Ranaldshaw,the northernmost of the Orkney Islands; the third on thepoint of Scalpain the isle of Herris; and the fourth on theMull of Kyntire, which may be seen in Ireland.”[211]Cumberland Packet of Sept.10. 1788.
“Northern Light-houses. An Act of Parliament was obtained a few years ago, by some gentlemen in Edinburgh, impowering them to erect four Light-houses on the Northern parts of Great Britain. In consequence of which the Trustees made diligent enquiry into the several modes of erecting lights for the use of mariners, at sea. These enquiries were made not only in this kingdom, but in foreign parts, that their intended erection might be made on the best principles. In September, 1786, the then Lord Provost of Edinburgh applied to Mr. Ezekiel Walker of Lynn in Norfolk, for his opinion in the construction of them. Mr. Walker’s answer to his lordship’s enquiry, and the plan projected in it, gave such general satisfaction to the Trustees, that they unanimously resolved on constructing and lighting them on his principle; and in the spring of 1787, the work was begun accordingly. The first of these lights stands onKinnard’s Head, [in the county of Aberdeen;] the second onnorth Ranaldshaw,the northernmost of the Orkney Islands; the third on thepoint of Scalpain the isle of Herris; and the fourth on theMull of Kyntire, which may be seen in Ireland.”[211]
Cumberland Packet of Sept.10. 1788.
In the same paper, of Dec. 9. 1789, appeared the following passage—
“Light-houses. The excellent method of erecting light-houses prescribed by Mr. E. Walker is now sufficiently proved. That it produces astrong lightis well known, but that this desirable object is attained at a small expence ofoil, can only come under the inspection of a few; however one argument, even in favour of this is now made public. The Commissioners for erecting four light-houses on the northern parts of Great Britain obtained another Act the last session of Parliament, authorizing them to erect afifth: “For the light-house on the south west point of the Mull of Kyntire is found to be of the greatest importance to the navigation of ships passing to and from thenorthchannel; but not to ships passing to and from the Firth of Clyde through thesouthchannel. It is for the security of ships navigating thissouthchannel that the commissioners purpose erecting another light-house on the island ofArran, or upon the little island ofPlada, near the same; which is to be donewithout any increase of the dutiesauthorised to be levied by the former act.”—This act also authorizes the commissioners to erect other light-houses on the coast of Scotland, whenever the produce of the present duties on the tonage ofships will enable them so to do.—This at once justifies the decided opinion of the commissioners in favour of Mr. Walker’s projection, and pronounces the most unequivocal encomium on his abilities.”
“Light-houses. The excellent method of erecting light-houses prescribed by Mr. E. Walker is now sufficiently proved. That it produces astrong lightis well known, but that this desirable object is attained at a small expence ofoil, can only come under the inspection of a few; however one argument, even in favour of this is now made public. The Commissioners for erecting four light-houses on the northern parts of Great Britain obtained another Act the last session of Parliament, authorizing them to erect afifth: “For the light-house on the south west point of the Mull of Kyntire is found to be of the greatest importance to the navigation of ships passing to and from thenorthchannel; but not to ships passing to and from the Firth of Clyde through thesouthchannel. It is for the security of ships navigating thissouthchannel that the commissioners purpose erecting another light-house on the island ofArran, or upon the little island ofPlada, near the same; which is to be donewithout any increase of the dutiesauthorised to be levied by the former act.”—This act also authorizes the commissioners to erect other light-houses on the coast of Scotland, whenever the produce of the present duties on the tonage ofships will enable them so to do.—This at once justifies the decided opinion of the commissioners in favour of Mr. Walker’s projection, and pronounces the most unequivocal encomium on his abilities.”
Being now about to close our remarks on the country about Lynn, it may be here noted, in regard to Marshland and the fenny parts in general, that so little care appears to have been taken there to counteract, or guard against the natural insalubrity of the country, and promote the health of the inhabitants, that not a few of the older dwelling-houses, and particularly those of the cottagers, and lower classes, have their floors actually underground, or below the surface of the land on the outside. This can be said to furnish but a very indifferent sample or specimen of the boasted wisdom of our ancestors. Those of the present generation, however, cannot with much good grace blame them on this occasion, while they are themselves at the expence and pains of keeping up and repairing those same unhealthful dwellings. Our new houses indeed are generally, if not always constructed upon a much better plan; and that may be said to be one of the few things in which we appear to exceed our forefathers. In other things we certainly fall short of them, and act our parts much worse than they would have done—even so much worse, that they would unquestionably have blushed for, and despised us, and that very justly, had they foreseen some of our recent proceedings.
End of PartI.