UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA 
 AT LOS ANGELES
 
 DIARY OF A TOUR THROUGH GREAT 
 BRITAIN IN 1795.
 
 DIARY OF A TOUR 
 THROUGH GREAT BRITAIN 
 
 IN 1795. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM MACRITCHIE, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE PARISH OF CLUNIE, PERTHSHIRE. 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES 
 
 BY 
 
 DAVID MACRITCHIE, 
 
 AUTHOR OF 'THE TESTIMONY OF TRADITION,' ETC. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 ELLIOT STOCK, 62, PATERNOSTER ROW, E.C. 
 1897-
 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 ~"*HE writer of the following Diary was born 
 in the parish of Clunie, Perthshire, in the 
 year 1754, his father being a tenant-farmer 
 in the barony of Laighwood, where his forefathers 
 appear to have lived continuously since 1586. Pre- 
 sumably his earliest education was received at the 
 * 
 
 parish school; but the first definite date obtainable 
 
 G) 
 
 ~ is the i8th of February, 1772, when he matriculated 
 ^ as a Student in Arts of the United College of 
 St. Salvator and St. Leonard at St. Andrews. 
 From a long MS. poem, in which he moralizes 
 over St. Andrews and the ' four tedious winters ' 
 he had spent there, we learn that he quitted its 
 halls for ever on 2nd May, 1775. ' There is, how- 
 ever,' writes Mr. Maitland Anderson, University 
 Librarian, ' no record of the classes he attended, 
 and no mention of his having taken a degree. If 
 he left St. Andrews in 1775, his Divinity course 
 must have been taken at another University.' 
 And indeed, while some of his writings indicate 
 that he attended the Moral Philosophy and
 
 vi Introduction 
 
 Science Classes at St. Andrews, there is no 
 special reference to Theology until the year 1777, 
 when he was apparently present at the ' Anni- 
 versary Meeting of the Theological Society, 
 Edinburgh.' From this there can be little doubt 
 that he studied Divinity at the University of 
 Edinburgh, but as the University records do not 
 preserve the names of the theological students at 
 that period, the inference cannot be positively 
 verified. While at Edinburgh he also attended 
 Professor John Walker's Natural History Class, 1 
 as is shown by his careful record of the successive 
 lectures, sixty-seven in number, written for the 
 most part in shorthand. Nor were his studies 
 confined to the Universities of St. Andrews and 
 Edinburgh, for a later note-book testifies that he 
 was a member of Professor William Hamilton's 
 Anatomy Class, at Glasgow University, in the 
 session of 1782-1783. It will thus be seen that 
 his tastes were varied and comprehensive, and in 
 indulging these he laid in a miscellaneous stock of 
 knowledge which unconsciously enabled him to 
 make his Diary more attractive and interesting 
 than it might otherwise have been. 
 
 While these scattered dates give one a fair idea 
 of his course of study, it is not to be supposed 
 that his time was wholly occupied in attending 
 lectures during the long period between 1772 and 
 1783. One can glean something of his movements 
 
 1 Professor Walker was appointed to the chair of Natural 
 History in 1779.
 
 Introduction vii 
 
 by again turning to his collection of verse, which 
 indicates that on leaving St. Andrews he returned 
 to his home, where he spent the summer in plea- 
 sant rambles, botanizing, fishing, and reading his 
 favourite poets. But a gloomier note is sounded 
 in the verses ' On the Loss of Liberty,' written in 
 1776, whence it appears that for the past six 
 months he had been engaged in some occupation, 
 inferentially that of tutor in a family of rank, 
 which proved so highly distasteful to him that he 
 ends by resolving to ' be free again.' It must 
 have been in that year, therefore, that he began 
 his Divinity course in Edinburgh, where presum- 
 ably he qualified himself for the Church. Some 
 verses inscribed to his friend Professor Dugald 
 Stewart, in 1782, may have been written in Edin- 
 burgh ; but we have seen that he spent the winter 
 of 1782-1783 in Glasgow. Then follows a letter, 
 dated ' Glasgow, 24th June, 1783,' addressed to 
 ' The Reverend The Moderator of the Presbytery 
 of Dunkeld,' announcing his acceptance of the 
 presentation to the living of Clunie, his native 
 parish, which had been tendered to him by the 
 joint patrons, ' The Duke of Atholl and the Right 
 Hon ble David Ogilvy, eldest grandson of the 
 deceased David Earl of Airly.' In Dr. Hew 
 Scott's Fasti Ecclesia Scoticance, it is stated that 
 he was licensed by the Presbytery on nth June, 
 1783, and ordained on 2gth April, 1784. Be this 
 as it may, he spent the rest of his long life as min- 
 ister of Clunie, of which parish he contributed a
 
 viii Introduction 
 
 very complete description to Sir John Sinclair's 
 Statistical Account of Scotland (part ix., Edin- 
 burgh, 1793, pp. 225-276). In 1795 he undertook 
 the journey to London here chronicled ; and the 
 year 1796 was signalized by his marriage. During 
 all his life he was a zealous student of natural 
 phenomena, and in this connection may be cited 
 two letters received by him from Henry Brougham, 
 the future Lord Chancellor, who, writing as cor- 
 responding secretary of the Academy of Physics 
 at Edinburgh, asks from the minister of Clunie a 
 detailed contribution relating to the geology of 
 Strathardle and the district north of Blairgowrie. 1 
 Mr. Brougham writes : * We have it in contempla- 
 tion to publish a volume of papers ; among these 
 it is my wish to have a clear and satisfactory 
 account of the phenomena near your residence.' 
 But whether this contribution was ever made, or 
 if made, published, is unknown to the present 
 writer. A ' Meteorological Register for the years 
 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1824, kept at the Manse of 
 Clunie, Perthshire,' which appeared in the Edin- 
 burgh Philosophical Journal (vol. xiii., 1825), testifies 
 also to the variety of Mr. MacRitchie's tastes ; 
 and his other memoranda show that this register 
 was regularly kept from 1810 onward. But of all 
 sciences, botany was his chief delight, and this is 
 made apparent in the Diary. No other incidents 
 in his life seem specially deserving of notice. He 
 
 1 These letters are dated respectively ' No. 7, George 
 Street, Edinr., Feby. 16, 1798,' and ' Edinr., June 17, 1799.'
 
 Introduction ix 
 
 died on 6th December, 1837, and was buried beside 
 his kindred in the churchyard of Clunie. 
 
 With regard to the Diary itself, it may be stated 
 that it was taken down in shorthand, as were 
 many of his other manuscripts. It is now printed 
 from a careful transliteration made by his son 
 George (an uncle of the present writer), which 
 was completed in 1842, and is entitled ' Notes of 
 a Tour to the South, in the Year 1795.' The 
 original Diary has disappeared. This, however, 
 is not a matter of much moment, considering the 
 immense care and conscientiousness of the tran- 
 scriber. Nevertheless, the transcribed Diary 
 cannot be regarded as authoritative on such a 
 matter as the lines written by Burns on the 
 window-pane at Rae's Inn, Moffat (p. 9, post}. 
 In the shorthand Diary, the vowels in ' gem ' and 
 ' granite ' had obviously been omitted, and the 
 transcriber, clearly unacquainted with the epigram, 
 had guessed the words to be ' game ' and ' grant,' 
 which conveys little or no meaning. In the 
 present printed copy, the words of the recognised 
 version have been substituted. Students of Burns, 
 therefore, will understand that the reference in 
 the Diary is only authoritative in so far as it 
 shows that the epigram had undoubtedly been 
 inscribed on the window at Moffat before 26th 
 June, 1795. 
 
 The opening portions of the Diary have already 
 appeared in the Scottish Antiquary (January and 
 April, 1896), and the greater part of the remainder
 
 Introduction 
 
 in the Antiquary (April, 1896, to February, 1897). 
 Its general interest will be recognised by those 
 who read it. It concerns itself little with cele- 
 brities, but rather with everyday people and the 
 everyday usages of the eighteenth century, and it 
 was compiled chiefly for the diarist's own edifica- 
 tion. To us of the closing nineteenth century it 
 reveals a life that differs in many ways from our 
 own ; and the traveller's artless narrative has to 
 us something of the charm of an explorer's record 
 of journeyings in unknown lands. It would be an 
 instructive thing if, at the end of every century, 
 the living generation could look back upon a 
 similar description of the ways and customs of 
 their forefathers a hundred years before.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PACK 
 
 From Perthshire to Edinburgh and Carlisle - - I 18 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 Kendal The Ingleborough Caves Lancaster - 19 36 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 Preston Liverpool Manchester - 37 52 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 Buxton and the Wonders of the Peak ... 53 63 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Sheffield In the Stage-Coach to London via Not- 
 tingham, Leicester and Northampton - - - 64 72 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 London and Windsor 73 100 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Cambridge Burleigh Doncaster Sheffield re- 
 visited Leeds Harrogate- ... IQI 118
 
 xii Contents 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 York Castle Howard The North Riding of York- 
 shire 119132 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Stockton D urham Newcastle Morpeth Aln- 
 wick Castle Chillingham and its White Cattle 
 The Cheviot Hills Flodden Field Across the 
 Border 133154 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Kelso Mr. William Dawson Tweedside and its 
 Memories Peebles Mid-Lothian Return to 
 Edinburgh 155169
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 From Perthshire to Edinburgh and Carlisle. 
 
 LEAVE Clunie, Monday the 22nd June, and 
 arrive to dinner at Perth. Dine at the 
 King's Arms with a Lieutenant Murray, an 
 officer of the Mankse Fencibles. 1 Have an inter- 
 view with a Captain Lindsay, a respectable veteran 
 of the navy sent hither on His Majesty's recruiting 
 service. No seamen, he says, can be had here, 
 though he makes them the tempting offer of 
 twenty-five guineas a man and upwards. ' The 
 times are hard,' says the Captain, ' and, I fear, 
 will be harder still. We may beat the French 
 to loggerheads by sea, if they please ; but I fear 
 we shan't be able to give laws to France. They 
 will laugh at the attempt. The times are damned 
 bad indeed, and they would never go down with 
 
 1 Although the Atholl family had sold the sovereignty of 
 the Isle of Man to the British Government in 1765, they 
 did not relinquish all their privileges until 1829, and it is 
 not unlikely that all the officers of the Manx Fencibles 
 in 1795 were kinsmen of the Duke. The privates, however, 
 were recruited in London at that date, as will be seen from 
 a subsequent entry in the Diary (p. 98). 
 
 I
 
 2 Diary of a Tour 
 
 me at all, were it not for the help of a bottle of 
 
 good claret, by ' It seems the Captain likes 
 
 a bottle of good claret ! Arrive in the evening at 
 Kinross. 
 
 Next morning, Tuesday the 23rd, set out for the 
 waterside. At Kelty-bridge meet a vast number 
 of coal-drivers, who inform me they have them 
 at the pits there at the rate of sixpence and eight- 
 pence every eighteen stone-weight. Would to 
 God we had coals as near us, and as cheap, in the 
 Stormont ! By the side of the brooks that run 
 by Kelty-bridge the coal appears in the face of 
 the banks, rising even to the surface. The pits 
 here of no considerable depth, and the coal very 
 accessible. It is covered with a stratum of free- 
 stone, (here called a coal-band) of a considerable 
 thickness, soft and easily wrought, but, when 
 exposed for some time to the air, hard and 
 durable. 
 
 A little to the North of Inverkeithing, see by 
 the way-side the farietaria officinalis and the 
 
 Juncus Betwixt the turnpike and the N. 
 
 Ferry observed some plants of the Viola hirta in 
 the face of the basaltic rocks. Breakfast at the 
 Ferry. No prospect of a passage till the after- 
 noon: contrary winds and heavy rain. No 
 matter, Cally 1 and I must not contend with the 
 
 1 His horse ; probably bought at Cally, in Strath- 
 ardle. He was an Irish horse, as one learns from the 
 elegy in which his master laments his death, some years 
 later.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 3 
 
 winds and the waves. Here let Botany afford me 
 some consolation for the delay and the badness 
 of the weather. Take an opportunity of a fair 
 blink to ascend the rocks on the N.E. side of the 
 town. Find the Astragalus Uralensis in flower, 
 and also the A . arenarius, etc. Take off abundance 
 of excellent specimens. Have a quick, rough 
 passage of nine minutes, along with some of the 
 
 * * * * 
 ' Of ancient race, in Erin first 
 
 He drew the vital air : 
 
 But what is ancestry to worth, 
 
 Begotten when or where ? 
 
 # * * * 
 
 [The elegy, which extends to twenty-six verses, concludes 
 thus :] 
 
 'But not on Earth's infatuate orb 
 
 Perfection can be found ! 
 For Cally once, with all his load, 
 Came stumbling to the ground ! 
 
 ' With all his care, he stumbled twice; 
 
 (Let Truth the fact deplore) 
 He stumbled thrice: and where's the man 
 Who has not stumbled more ? 
 
 1 My Cally's faults were few and small ; 
 
 His virtues large we deem ; 
 And those, when weighed in scales with these, 
 Fly up, and kick the beam. 
 
 ' Peace to his bones ! If brutes have souls 
 
 (As Indian sages tell) 
 My Cally lives ! and tastes, refined, 
 The joys he loved so well. 
 
 ' Avaunt ! ye snarling, critic tribe, 
 Nor mock these humble lays ; 
 But own that Worth, in man or beast, 
 Deserves the note of praise.' 
 
 I 2
 
 4 Diary of a Tour 
 
 King's Black Horse (Major Watson). Arrive at 
 Edinburgh in the evening. Pass the night, 
 next day and next night, in Edinburgh, partly 
 for the sake of pleasure, partly for the sake of 
 business, and principally on account of rainy 
 weather. 
 
 Wednesday, ztfh. Dine with my cousins John 
 and Thomas, with Principal Baird, Captain 
 Elder, Dr. Ferguson, etc. 1 Drink tea with a 
 Mrs. Douglass (sister of Mr. Dawson of Graden). 
 She introduces us to her niece Mrs. Jeffrey and 
 her husband, from Ross-shire, who are on their 
 way to Frogden to see her father and friends, 
 with whom I passed some happy days last 
 summer. Part in the evening with my good 
 friend Mr. Bruce, 2 who takes charge of my 
 specimens of the Astragalus. 
 
 Thursday, z^th. Leave Auld Reekie at ten 
 o'clock a.m., and set out for Linton along the 
 base of the Pentland Hills. Pass by Woodhouse- 
 lee (Tytler Fraser, advocate). His house beauti- 
 fully situated in the bosom of a cory of the 
 mountains, commanding a fine prospect of Mid- 
 Lothian, etc. The day hazy and murky, have 
 
 1 These cousins were John MacRitchie, younger of Craig- 
 ton, then practising as a ' writer ' in Edinburgh, and his 
 brother Thomas, a wine merchant in Leith ; Captain Elder 
 being their maternal uncle, a naval officer who had served 
 under Lord Howe. Principal Baird was the Rev. Dr. George 
 Baird, Principal of the University of Edinburgh. Dr. 
 Ferguson may have been the eminent Professor of Moral 
 Philosophy, Dr. Adam Ferguson. 
 
 2 Evidently ' Mr. Arthur Bruce of the Natural History 
 Society,' referred to in the Statistical Account of Clunie.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 5 
 
 but an obscure prospect around me. The S. 
 side of the Pentlands a very pleasant pastoral 
 scene, where the Gentle Shepherd tends his feeding 
 flocks. Saw, with some surprise indeed, a 
 shepherd reclining on a green hill by the side of 
 the way, busied in reading a Newspaper. ' Curse 
 on French politics !' said I, ' for they will ruin our 
 country. This fellow would be better employed 
 gathering plants as I am, and at the same time 
 taking care of his sheep. What connection has 
 French cruelty with the happiness of this poor 
 fellow's situation ? If he has not the felicity at 
 this moment to congratulate himself on his having 
 been born a Scots herd, I both pity and despise 
 him. But what business has he with that news- 
 paper? I don't like to be uncharitable, but I 
 cannot help thinking he puts me too much in 
 mind of too many fine giddy girls who set their 
 heads agog by reading romances that ought to be 
 made a bonfire of. I like liberty as much as any 
 man : the liberty of the press is certainly a great 
 blessing ; but alas ! the very best of blessings are 
 too often abused.' 
 
 Pass by Newhall (Brown, 1 Esq.) and enter W. 
 Lothian. 2 Here the country abounds with good 
 peat-moss, cast up in great quantities. See here 
 some of the Carlock-coal, some very much im- 
 pregnated with sulphur. But I never pass through 
 
 1 In Paterson's British Itinerary (London, 1785) Newhall 
 is stated to belong to ' Hay, Esq.' 
 
 2 This is an error. Peebles is the county which here 
 adjoins Mid-Lothian.
 
 6 Diary of a Tour 
 
 a coal country without feeling something like envy. 
 Arrive at Linton a little after one o'clock, and 
 feed Cally with good Polish oats, that is, as I was 
 informed, oats descended from oats that were 
 brought hither about two years ago from Poland. 
 They are a round, firm, meaty pickle. They 
 charge here only fourpence the lippy. The hay 
 here one shilling a stone, owing in a great measure 
 to their having consumed last winter an unusual 
 quantity for the relief of their sheep. 
 
 About the division of Mid and West Lothian 
 [read Mid-Lothian and Peeblesshire] there are 
 pretty curious appearances of what we call drums, 1 
 apparently formed by currents of water. They lie 
 at the base of the Pentlands, and run nearly 
 parallel to the range of the mountains, or at least 
 forming a very small angle with the range. 
 
 Set out from Linton at two o'clock, and enter 
 Tweed-dale (county of Peebles). 2 Hamilton of 
 Spittlehaugh on the left. Much peat-moss here ; 
 thirteen feet deep, with gravel at the bottom. 
 Knowing Hamilton's grounds, here there is a small 
 stratum of marie with limestone in it, and sand 
 and different earths above it ; the value of marie 
 not understood here. 
 
 Leave the Pentlands behind me. Mendock [or 
 Mendick] hill on my right. Pass several of the 
 
 1 Although Gaelic was not the language of the Stormont 
 in the eighteenth century, this word is really the Gaelic 
 druim, a ridge. 
 
 2 See above correction.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 7 
 
 sources of the Tweed. Betwixt Linton and 
 Broughton look in vain for the Primula farinosa, 
 though it has certainly been found in this neigh- 
 bourhood. Take up some fine plants of the 
 Sedum villosum. Netherurd, Lawson, Esq. 
 
 At Broughton (property of Lord Braxfield) in- 
 formed that some farms here sett at thirty shil- 
 lings an acre. The mountains occupied by sheep, 
 beautiful and green to the top. The lands in the 
 valleys well laid out and in high culture. Blue 
 slate quarries here. Lord Braxfield here looked 
 upon as a miser. Proof of it : an attempt to be 
 made for discovering coal (a thing much wanted 
 here) was in agitation lately ; and most of the 
 substantial people here were willing to subscribe 
 according to their abilities for defraying the 
 expense ; Lord Braxfield would not subscribe a 
 shilling. 1 
 
 Leave Broughton. Drummelzier (Hay, Esq.) 
 on my left. Come into the truly pastoral banks 
 of the Tweed, here a small river in its ordinary 
 state, but, when swelled by the floods, it occupies 
 the whole dale, which is here narrow, bounded by 
 high green mountains, with a little heath inter- 
 mixed near their tops. The mountains are not 
 conical or rocky ; but swell boldly from the dale, 
 their outlines forming nearly arches of circles ; 
 rivulets winding betwixt the mountains and falling 
 
 1 A somewhat hasty inference this. Lord Braxfield may 
 have shown more wisdom than his neighbours in refusing to 
 subscribe to this scheme.
 
 8 Diary of a Tour 
 
 into the Tweed in the bottom of the dale. Pool- 
 mud [Polmood], Hunter, Esq. Arrive about nine 
 o'clock at Bield, 1 where put up all night, and sup 
 on fresh trout from the Tweed. Tweedie of 
 Oliver Lord of the Manor ; Duke of Queensberry 
 first Heritor. 
 
 Friday, z6th. Leave Bield at seven o'clock 
 a.m., and ascend the W. [or left] bank of the 
 Tweed, which now begins to dwindle into a brook. 
 For ten or eleven miles see no habitation of man, 
 but two or three shepherds' huts. The whole 
 grounds, high and .low, along this tract are covered 
 with a thin stratum of moss, in which grows bent 
 interspersed with short heath. This tegument, 
 which runs over even the summits of the hills, 
 seems to be at a medium from one to three feet 
 thick, easily cast up and forming the fuel of the 
 inhabitants of Tweedsmuir, etc. Under this 
 mossy covering, the whole country is gravel ; the 
 road is formed by removing the tegument. The 
 road is excellent, though the tolls are high, two- 
 pence to Bield and all the way to Linton. 
 
 Arrive at the highest elevation of the road, 
 where I observe plenty of the Saxifraga stellaris, 
 which announces the elevation here to be very 
 considerable, perhaps fifteen hundred feet or up- 
 wards above the level of the Solway Firth. 2 Join 
 the Glasgow road at the head of Annandale, 
 
 1 Thirty-five miles from Edinburgh ; an easy day's ride. 
 
 2 The road, which rises all the way from Bield to the water- 
 shed which divides the sources of the Tweed and the Annan, 
 reaches at that point a height of 1,300 feet.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 9 
 
 where fall in with my last year's tract [? track]. 
 A little before the junction of the roads, stop and 
 take a view of the Hartfell on my left, where I 
 spent last year one of the happiest mornings of 
 my life. From this elevation descend the stream- 
 lets that form the sources of the Annan on the S., 
 the Tweed on the N., and the Clyde on the west. 
 Mountains at the head of the Annan close in the 
 form of a cul-de-sac, 1 with high, steep fronts look- 
 ing towards the dale. See here the mountains of 
 Cumberland in England. Descend to Moffat, and 
 take up the Jasione montana by the way, but not 
 in flower. Arrive at Rae's Inn to breakfast at 
 eleven o'clock a.m., 2 where read the following 
 lines written on the glass in one of the windows 
 of the room where I breakfasted : 
 
 ' On seeing Mrs. Kemble in the character of " Yarico" at 
 Dumfries, 1794 : 
 
 ' Kemble, thou cur'st my unbelief of Moses and his rod, 
 At Yarico's sweet notes of grief, the rock with tears had 
 flow'd. 
 
 R. B.' 
 
 ' On being asked why God had made Miss Davies so small 
 and Mrs. D so big : 
 
 Ask why God made the gem so small, and why so huge 
 
 the granite, 
 Because God meant mankind should set the higher value 
 
 on it.* 3 
 
 1 The ' Devil's Beef Tub.' 
 
 2 He had thus taken four hours to do the fourteen or 
 fifteen miles from Bield ; a leisurely rate of progress, even 
 considering the hilly roads and occasional pauses for botan- 
 izing. 
 
 3 It seems probable that our traveller did not realize that 
 ' R. B.' represented ' Robert Burns,' and that the poet him-
 
 io Diary of a Tour 
 
 Company at Moffat : Lady Lockhart Ross ; 
 Mr. Irvin, West Indian ; Mr. Dalzel of Glenae ; 
 Mr. Ogilvy of Chesters ; Mr. Hume of Bassington 
 [Bassindean] ; Captain Lockhart, Royal Navy, 
 son of the late Lord Covington, one of the Lords 
 of Session ; Mr. Paisley, Banker ; Mr. Carruthers 
 of Howmain, etc. 
 
 Go out to the Well and drink of the water : 
 strong sulphur; it smells like rotten eggs, very 
 forbidding; its taste not quite so disagreeable. 
 It is thought good for scorbutic complaints. The 
 Hartfell Spaw for consumptive ones. On my 
 way to the well observed the Symphytum officinale 
 and the Jasione. 
 
 Set out for Dumfries, and pass by Raehills, a 
 
 self had inscribed one, at least, of these epigrams on the 
 window only a few months previously. A curious circum- 
 stance is that the lines on Mrs. Kemble are stated by one 
 writer to have been written 'in Mrs. Riddel's box in the 
 Dumfries Theatre, in the winter of 1794,' and yet the initials 
 would lead one to believe that Burns wrote that epigram at 
 Moffat for the first time. It is very unlikely that he would 
 quote himself. Another noteworthy detail is that the second 
 couplet is unsigned, although it has never been disputed that 
 the lines were composed and written for the first time on that 
 very spot. ' The epigram is said to have been uttered, and 
 then inscribed on a window-pane of the principal Inn, at 
 Moffat, on observing Miss Davies ride past in company with 
 a lady of portly dimensions. Burns thought so well of it as 
 to record it in the Glenriddell MS. Book, now at Liverpool.' 
 (See The Works of Robert Burns, edited by William Scott 
 Douglas. Edinburgh, W. Paterson, 1877. Vol. ii., pp. 345,346, 
 and vol. iii., p. 205.) It may be added that our Diary has 
 ' Mrs. D. J instead of the accepted ' Mrs. A.,' as the initial of 
 the stout lady. Other slight differences have already been 
 referred to in the Introduction, p. ix.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 11 
 
 new seat of the Earl of Hopeton. It is finely 
 situated on the bank of the Kinnel about a mile 
 S.W. of Lochwood, the old castle of the Annan- 
 dale family. Here the Earl of Hopeton has 
 planted a great deal of wood, and greatly embel- 
 lished the face of the country, which is originally 
 wild and mossy. 
 
 At the loth mile-stone from Dumfries observe 
 the following plants, viz. : Orchis conopsea, Satyrium 
 albidum, A thamanta Meum ; and, for the first time 
 I ever saw it, Genista tinctoria. 
 
 Call upon Dr. Burgess at the Manse of Kirk- 
 michael ; the Doctor a pleasant old hospitable 
 botanist, a correspondent of the famous Linnaeus, 
 some of whose letters are in his custody. The 
 Doctor has the best collection of the British grasses 
 of perhaps any British botanist. He introduces 
 me to a Mr. Gordon, a pleasant sensible young 
 gentleman lawyer of Dumfries, who accompanies 
 me to Dumfries. 
 
 A little below the Manse of Kirkmichael, which 
 is situated upon a Roman camp, I observe the 
 Osmunda crispa. As we approach to Dumfries, 
 the evening becomes very mild and pleasant; have 
 a view of Skiddaw in Cumberland. A high moun- 
 tain lies before us on the Galloway shore called 
 Criffel (Creelfell). 1 Mr. Gordon narrates to me a 
 curious superstitious story concerning it. Come 
 in to Nithsdale. The country here in the highest 
 
 1 The spelling ' Creelfell ' is merely an invention to suit the 
 story here alluded to, and given on pp. 14, 15 post.
 
 12 Diary of a Tour 
 
 state of culture ; rich fields of potatoes, wheat, 
 and different kinds of grain on every hand. On 
 our left hand lies Tinwaldhouse, the seat of the 
 Duke of Queensberry, with Tinwald Farm imme- 
 diately above it, on one of the finest banks I ever 
 saw. On our right hand lies Carnfalloch, the seat 
 of Johnston, Esq., lately Member of Parliament 
 for the County, etc. 
 
 After putting up our horses at the inn, Mr. 
 Gordon walks out with me to the banks of the 
 Nith, where we enjoy a prospect of the town ; the 
 beautifully meandering river; the ruins of Lin- 
 cluden Abbey (the seat of Mr. Young on the left 
 side of it) ; the whole of Nithsdale for six miles 
 broad, and extending in length more than thirty 
 miles to N.W., bounded on each side by delightful 
 green mountains ; the whole landscape gilded by 
 the rays of the setting sun, and indeed one of the 
 finest landscapes anywhere to be seen. On the 
 opposite side of the river stand the hills of Tra- 
 quair, the scene of the famous song, The Bush 
 aboon Traquair. 1 
 
 Dumfries, an elegant genteel town, containing 
 about eight thousand inhabitants. Two bridges, 
 the old and the new, stretch across the river and 
 join the town to the suburbs which lie on the west 
 side, where there is the finest set of cornmills I 
 ever saw. The principal buildings of the town 
 
 1 A misapprehension of the diarist's. The place he 
 describes is Troqueer; the Traquair of the song is near 
 Innerleithen.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 13 
 
 are the Dumfries and Galloway Infirmary, con- 
 taining an Asylum for lunatics; the Poor's House; 
 the Correction House; the Theatre ; the Assembly 
 Rooms ; the two Churches, and the Town Hall. 
 In the Churchyard are a great number of beauti- 
 ful monuments (one in particular belonging to the 
 family of Hoddam), composed all of a fine free- 
 stone dug up in the neighbourhood, and executed 
 in such a manner as plainly shows the good taste 
 and genteel spirit of the inhabitants. No coal 
 here ; get them over from Whitehaven. Good 
 salmon fishery. Excellent flesh-market. Before 
 supper take a walk through the different depart- 
 ments of the town, which are very distinctly 
 pointed out and explained to me by Mr. Gordon, 
 who afterwards sups with me at the inn. 
 
 Saturday, 2jth. Set out from Dumfries at ten 
 o'clock a.m., a delightful ride to Annan. 1 Pass 
 through the Lockar [Lochar] Moss, and a little 
 beyond the turnpike see again theGenistatinctoria. 
 In passing over the heights betwixt Dumfries and 
 Annan, the country has somewhat the appearance 
 of drums 2 formed by currents. The drums point 
 southward towards the Solway Firth, and run 
 nearly parallel to Nithsdale. Look back from the 
 high grounds and have a charming view of the 
 dale from its one end to the other. Dumfries 
 
 1 At Moffat, therefore, instead of keeping to the main 
 highway leading south to Carlisle, he diverged at once to 
 the south-west, taking the direct road from Moffat to Dum- 
 fries. 
 
 a Compare p. 6 ante.
 
 14 Diary of a Tour 
 
 stands about ten miles up from the Firth in the 
 heart of the dale. From Dumfries a long ridgy 
 eminence stretches down to the Firth, and divides 
 the foot of the dale into two countries nearly of an 
 equal breadth. On the west side of this ridge 
 runs the river Nith, navigable within a mile of the 
 town by vessels of between fifty and sixty tons. 
 On the east side of the ridge lies Lockar Moss, 
 stretching from ten to eleven miles towards the 
 Firth, nearly on a level with the sea in most parts, 
 and in some parts it is said below the sea-level. 
 The moss 1 is of a good quality, easily cast up for 
 fuel ; and the skirts of it in some .parts are very 
 well cultivated and [produce] very good crops of 
 oats and potatoes. The potatoes in this country 
 are, in general, the common white potatoe, which 
 we have in the north, and a few of the red Lan- 
 caster. Pass over the highest elevation of the 
 road, and come down to a black, mossy part of 
 the country. 
 
 At Hillhead (here is a great lime- work, Lady 
 Douglas's), stop and look back on Creelfell about 
 twenty miles west-by-south. It is the stateliest 
 mountain in the prospect ; and is perhaps not less 
 than 3,500 feet above the Solway Firth. 2 It is 
 vulgarly reported that the Devil, intending to form 
 a bridge betwixt Galloway and Cumberland, had 
 
 1 ' Moss ' is here used to denote a peat-bog or moor, as in 
 * Chat Moss.' 
 
 2 It is actually only 1,867 feet above the level of the sea. 
 Its isolated position presumably increases its apparent height. 
 Wordsworth speaks of ' huge Criffel's hoary top.'
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 15 
 
 proceeded south thus far, forming on his way the 
 range of mountains that bound Nithsdale on the 
 west, and that when he had got as far as Criffle, 
 his creel, in which he carried his stones, fell, and 
 formed that vast mountain now called Creelfell 
 (pronounced Criffle). 1 The Devil was obliged in 
 consequence of this accident to drop his attempt, 
 and proceeded no further in the plan of his bridge. 
 The lands at its base are in a high state of im- 
 provement, and beautifully cultivated a great way 
 up its sides. 
 
 On descending towards Annan have a view of 
 Mount Annan on the left, a seat of the Marquis of 
 Annandale. Here you see the English coast very 
 distinctly from Wigton to Cockermouth and 
 Whitehaven ; with the high mountains on each 
 side of the Bassenthwaite Lake ; and, between 
 these, the summits of the mountains beyond Kes- 
 wick and the Derwentwater. 
 
 Annan, an elegant little cleanly town, beautifully 
 situated on the E. bank of the Annan, over which 
 there is a good old bridge. From the bridge you 
 have a fine prospect up Annandale, with the wind- 
 ings of the river ; but the view is inferior to that 
 at Dumfries. Annan about nine miles from the 
 Firth, following the course of the river. A salmon 
 fishery and good cotton manufactory. Victual 
 here in this country all sold by weight, seventeen 
 and a half pounds the stone : other articles, wool, 
 
 1 An etymology analogous to that which derives ' Guthrie 
 from the royal command to ' gut three ' (herrings).
 
 1 6 Diary of a Tour 
 
 etc., fourteen pounds per stone. Meal here sold 
 at present at twenty-six pence the stone-weight. 
 There is a windmill 1 here for grinding wheat, etc. 
 At a small village betwixt Annan and Gretna, on a 
 sign-post above the door of a small alehouse is 
 painted a gate with this inscription under it : 
 
 4 This gate hangs well and hinders none ; 
 Refresh and pay, and travel on.' 
 
 A little farther on, above the door of another small 
 alehouse, are written these words : 
 
 4 Bread, beer, 
 Sold here.' 
 
 The Borderers seem to be fond of rhiming. 
 Such trifles as these sometimes catch the eye of a 
 solitary traveller. Have a fine view of Mossknowe, 
 the seat of Captain Graeme of Dumfries, on the 
 left hand. Arrive at the famous Gretna-green 
 (Mrs. Howe), and dine sumptuously in one of the 
 pleasantest inns in the kingdom, where so many 
 fond lovers have had their hearts and their for- 
 tunes united by Pasley, of whom I here find the 
 following lines pencilled on one of the window- 
 shutters in the room where I dine : 
 
 4 Old Pasley the priest, who does lovers unite, 
 Is stiled by the wise ones an old Gretna Bite ; 
 To be sure 'tis for money he follows the trade ; 
 No woman possessing it should die an old maid.' 2 
 
 1 Windmills were, and are, rarities in Scotland. 
 
 8 The following appeared in Notes and Queries (Series 
 VIII., ix., January 25, 1896) : 
 
 4 Joseph Pasley acquired a good business. He obtained 
 the name of the Old Blacksmith, probably on account of the
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 17 
 
 The motto of the armorial bearings above the 
 door of Gretna-hall is cave paratus, not an improper 
 caveat perhaps for a bridegroom just about to be 
 matrimonized. After leaving Gretna, instead of 
 going by Longtown, as last year, take the short 
 road to Carlisle by the sands ; enter on English 
 ground again, and get safely across the river Esk. 
 On the south bank of the river, opposite the 
 fording-place, there is a little public-house with 
 this motto on the sign-post : 
 
 ' Gentlemen here take a guide, 
 To either Scotch or English side, 
 And have no cause to fear the tide.' 
 
 Betwixt the river Esk and Carlisle have an 
 agreeable ride along the east bank of the river 
 Eden. See here the Plantago media, Sambucus 
 Ebulus, Jasione montana, Valeriana Locusta, Galium 
 Molhigo, etc. 
 
 The approach to Carlisle from the north-west is 
 most pleasant of any. The river Eden divides 
 into two branches immediately to the north of the 
 
 mythological conceit of Vulcan being employed in riveting 
 the hymeneal chains. Pasley was at first a smuggler, a 
 farmer, and a fisherman, then a tobacconist, but never at 
 any time a blacksmith. His first residence was at Megg's 
 Hill, on the common or green between Gretna and Spring- 
 field, to the last of which villages he removed in 1782. He 
 commenced his public career about 1753, ar) d at fi rst gave 
 certificates signed with a feigned name. Latterly he took 
 to wearing canonicals, and attached his real signature to the 
 marriage certificates. He was a great drinker, and at his 
 decease, in January, i8u,aged eighty-four, weighed twenty- 
 five stone.' 
 
 He was of the same family as General Pasley (Notes ana 
 Queries, February 22, 1896).
 
 1 8 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 town ; the branch next the town passes under a 
 bridge of seven, and the branch farthest off passes 
 under a bridge of four arches ; the two branches 
 upon their union make a long magnificent winding, 
 which embraces an extensive plain. On the south- 
 east side of this peninsula stands the Castle, under 
 a considerable elevation. To the left of the Castle 
 you see the Cathedral, with its noble square tower. 
 To the left of the Cathedral you see the town, 
 the bridges, and the river winding under your feet ; 
 in the middle-ground a finely-cultivated country 
 along the banks of the river; and in the back- 
 ground the Cumbrian mountains elevating their 
 lofty tops to the sky. Put up all night at 
 Sowerby's.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Kendal The Ingleborough Caves Lancaster. 
 
 UNDA Y, 2Sth. Get up at five by the sound 
 vj of the trumpet and join the 3Oth Regiment of 
 
 Dragoons (Ulster Light Dragoons) on their 
 route to Birmingham, ordered up there for the pur- 
 pose of quelling the riots. Enter into conversation 
 with a Captain Armstrong and a Lieutenant New- 
 ton, both gentlemen of Ireland ; and march along 
 with them to Penrith, where arrive to breakfast ; 
 put up at Buchannan's (Walmsley), one of the 
 first inns in the North of England. It was not 
 finished when I was here last year on my way to 
 the Lakes. Here meet and get acquainted with 
 a Mr. Cameron, from Glasgow. Prince William 
 of Gloucester 1 arrives on his way to Keswick; 
 
 1 This was George III.'s brother, William Henry, created 
 Duke of Gloucester and Edinburgh in 1764. From an entry 
 in the Scots Magazine of 1795 (? 48), it appears that Prince 
 William had spent the previous Monday and Tuesday in 
 Edinburgh, that he had thereafter visited Hopetoun House, 
 the Carron Works, ' the Great Canal,' and finally Glasgow, 
 and that he was now on his way ' to join the camp near New- 
 castle.' This last statement does not agree with the state- 
 
 22
 
 2o Diary of a Tour 
 
 and here for the first time I have the honour of 
 seeing one of the Royal Family. A Lord Valentia 
 from Ireland follows his Highness. 1 Dine with 
 Mr. Cameron, who gives me letters of recommen- 
 dation to some of his friends in Lancaster. After 
 dinner (at dinner we had potatoes of this year, 
 above the size of gun-bullets) set out for Shap, by 
 Lord Lonsdale's, a fine place on the right hand. 2 
 Much old oak, which his Lordship will by no 
 means cut down ; a fine fallow-deer park ; feeds 
 much cattle and horses. Has a few red deer at a 
 distance from the house near the fells (red deer in 
 Martindale by the Ulswater Lake, but now few in 
 number) ; parted with his lady ; keeps a great 
 number of servants here ; his estate managed by 
 two stewards, an upper and [an] under one ; pass 
 by his whimsical, half-finished, never-inhabited 
 village. 3 Arrive in the evening at Shap, 4 a small 
 village high up in the country. Walk into the 
 churchyard, where see the Plantago media in great 
 abundance. (Here, again, I tasted potatoes of 
 this year's growth, as big, or bigger, than a 
 pigeon's egg.) This village had formerly a good 
 market for cattle, corn, and butter; but the 
 
 ment in the Diary, that he was on his way to Keswick ; but 
 probably this discrepancy could be accounted for. 
 
 1 Arthur, Viscount Valentia (of the Annesley family), who 
 was created Earl of Mountnorris in 1793 (Burke). 
 
 2 Lowther Hall, now Lowther Castle. 
 
 3 Marked ' New Village ' in Paterson's Itinerary. 
 
 * Nine or ten miles from Penrith, a short evening's ride ; 
 in marked contrast to the eighteen miles from Carlisle to 
 Penrith, performed before breakfast.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 21 
 
 market has lately fallen off; the neighbourhood 
 abounds in good pasture; remarkable for good 
 hay. 
 
 Monday, zgth. Rainy morning; detained here 
 till after seven o'clock, when set out for Kendal 
 across the Fells a long, hilly road. 1 Find for the 
 first time the Primula farinosa in moist, swampy 
 grounds on the side of the Fells about half-way 
 betwixt Shap and Kendal. Meet here Lord 
 Darlington's dragoons on their march to Penrith, 
 mounted on fine bay horses, and dressed in scarlet 
 cloaks with yellow necks. About three miles 
 north of Kendal have a fine view of the town with 
 its environs. See here at a distance to the right 
 the lofty mountains about the head of the Con- 
 ingston and Windermere waters ; on the left the 
 mountains towards the West Riding of York- 
 shire. Arrive at Kendal 2 about eleven o'clock, 
 and breakfast at the White Hart (Maskew's). 
 After breakfast walk up on the west side of the 
 town to the Obelisk, erected in 1788 in memory 
 of the Revolution in 1688, and sacred to Liberty. 
 Have here a beautiful prospect of the town, con- 
 sisting principally of one street, and the Castle 
 on the other side. Near the south end of the 
 town stands the church, by the west bank of the 
 river, an elegant building with a square tower and 
 a fine chime of bells, with the vicarage-house in 
 its neighbourhood. The river Kent winds down 
 
 1 This, however, was the main western highroad. 
 
 2 A distance of fifteen miles from Shap.
 
 22 Diary of a Tour 
 
 the east side of the town, watering the bottom of 
 a pleasant, fruitful, well-cultivated country. The 
 shops in Kendal are, some of them, very magnificent. 
 The houses generally two stories high, and each 
 house inhabited by one family. The population of 
 the place supposed to be about SjOOO. 1 This place 
 famous for its manufactures of woollen cloth, etc. 
 Leave the White Hart and proceed to Kirkby- 
 Lonsdale. Have a delightful ride to the seventh 
 milestone from Kendal ; here turn to the left 2 up a 
 romantic little valley to the north of Farlton Knot. 
 This mountain is celebrated by tourists as re- 
 markably similar to the rock of Gibraltar, and it 
 is composed entirely of limestone. On the way to 
 Kirkby-Lonsdale, I observed a great deal of the 
 Betonica officinalis growing by the waysides, also 
 some plants of the Jasione, etc. (Arum maculatum 
 at the root of the hedges); and on the walls on 
 each side of the entrance to Kirkby-Lonsdale I 
 saw the Sedum reflexum. At Kirkby-Lonsdale put 
 up at the Royal Oak (Rawlinson). Take a walk 
 to the churchyard ; view the parsonage, a very 
 neat one indeed ; proceed up the west bank of the 
 river Lune, along a beautiful gravel-walk, till come 
 to a resting-seat, where have one of the most 
 enchanting prospects in nature. Casterton Hall 
 opposite, a new elegant seat of Wilson, Esq.; 
 nothing can exceed it in point of situation. The 
 bank where you here sit is very steep and high ; 
 
 1 In 1891 the population was 14,430. 
 
 2 The main road continuing south by Burton to Lancaster.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 23 
 
 the Lime makes an admirable meander under your 
 feet, and glides in an easy serpentine course down 
 to the bridge (said to have been built by the 
 Devil ; but the Devil never built such a bridge in 
 all his life, and ignorant, superstitious people 
 everywhere give him more credit than is due to 
 him). Kirkby - Lonsdale, a pleasant summer 
 village as any in England, but cold and damp in 
 winter, on account of its situation being high up 
 near the mountains. (Plenty of coal from the 
 neighbourhood, and lime.) It contains about a 
 thousand or from that to twelve hundred people. 
 No considerable manufacture ; a good many shoes 
 and boots made here. About a mile and a half 
 below the town is Overborough (Fenwick, Esq., 
 deceased), a place of very considerable beauties. 
 Proceed east from Kirkby-Lonsdale six miles to 
 Thornton Church Stile, Yorkshire, within four 
 miles of Yordas Cave. The bold shoulders of 
 Ingleborough now appear before me ; but alas ! 
 his head is wrapt up in clouds. Put up all night 
 at Brown's, however, in hopes of a fair day to- 
 morrow ; have at supper remarkably delicious 
 trouts from the Kingsdale river that runs hard by. 
 A heavy rain begins to fall in the evening, which 
 threatens a bad day to-morrow. 
 
 Tuesday, 30^. The mountains all enveloped in 
 mist, the brooks swelled, and the rain still con- 
 tinuing. Rest in bed till eight o'clock; get up, 
 and breakfast at nine on coffee. Look out with 
 impatience for fair weather ; no interval of the
 
 24 Diary of a Tour 
 
 rain at mid-day. Dreary disappointment this : 
 yet the traveller through life must sometimes 
 meet with disappointments. Amuse myself the 
 best way I can within doors: dry my plant- 
 books ; and shift my plants. About one p.m. 
 the clouds disperse, and the sun appears. Take 
 a guide, tinder, candles, provisions ; mount horses 
 and ascend towards Yordas Cave. On our way 
 have a very striking view of Thornton -force 
 Cascade, 1 the grandeur of which much enhanced 
 by the recent rains. The fall of the Kingsdale 
 river here about thirty yards. From the rocks 
 on each side, particularly on the left side of the 
 Great Fall, small streams descend from nearly 
 the same height with the great one, all tumbling 
 with tremendous roar into the gulph below, from 
 which the spray unceasingly ascends. This Fall 
 much more astonishing than any I had seen last 
 summer among the lakes of Cumberland, etc. 
 It is not inferior, at least in time of floods, to the 
 Fall of Foyers, Inverness-shire. Ascending from 
 Thornton-force Cascade, we come next to Kelds- 
 head. Here the river Kingsdale issues in a broad, 
 deep, black fountain, perhaps not less than twenty 
 yards broad, from the base of the mountain 
 Gragareth. A stream of such magnitude as this 
 springing at once from the foot of a great moun- 
 tain must strike every stranger with equal surprise 
 
 1 It may safely be assumed that the superfluous ' Cascade ' 
 is an addition of the diarist's, who was evidently not aware 
 that ' Force ' had the same meaning.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 25 
 
 and astonishment. Ascend to the head of the 
 dale, and come near the entrance of the Cave 
 at the northwest corner of the dale, immediately 
 under the base of the mountain. Enclose our 
 horses in the sheepfolds. A shepherd joins us 
 at the folds, and accompanies us into the Cave. 
 Each carries a light in one hand and a staff to 
 assist our steps in the other. Enter the Cave 
 and quit the light of day. Large torrents of 
 water roar down through the bottom of the Cave, 
 increasing the horrors of the scene ; pass through 
 several currents wading up to the knees ; come 
 into the centre of the most magnificent dome I 
 ever saw or probably ever will see upon the face 
 of the earth. Its length seems to be about seventy 
 or eighty yards; but its height no one can tell. 
 I threw up a small stone with all my might, 
 which after a considerable interval of time fell 
 beside us ; but when I asked the guides if they 
 thought it struck the roof, they laughed at the 
 idea. It must be upwards of a hundred feet 
 high. After scrambling over rocks, and wading 
 sometimes in deep water, where to me every step 
 seemed big with danger, we got up at last to 
 what is called the Chapter-house, on the north- 
 west side of the Cave, from its having some 
 fanciful resemblance to a Chapter-house. Here 
 the rocks are worn by the water into the most 
 grotesque forms, and petrifactions of different 
 kinds appear all around ; indescribably great ! 
 After passing about half an hour in the Cave, we
 
 2.6 Diary of a Tour 
 
 returned slowly to the light of day ; brought off 
 some specimens of the minerals of the Cave. 
 The plants I observed about the rocks at the 
 entrance of Yordas are Saxifraga tridactylites, 
 Aspknium Scolopendriwn, Stellaria nemorum, Poly- 
 podium fragile, etc. 
 
 After leaving Yordas, ascend the mountain and 
 come to Pool-pot-hole, and still higher up to 
 Gingling Cave, where there is good marble with 
 entrochi intermixed. There are deep gullies in 
 the mountain, so narrow in some places that one 
 might almost leap over from one side to the 
 other ; but he would be a bold adventurer indeed 
 that would attempt it, for the deep below has 
 not in some places been yet fathomed ; and to 
 look down into these pits is truly tremendous. 
 We threw down stones into Gingling Cave, and 
 heard them tumbling from rock to rock for the 
 space of several seconds ; sometimes loud and 
 sometimes lower, till at last the sound died away, 
 nor could we tell whether they reached the bottom 
 or not. 
 
 Return along the steep side of Gragareth down 
 to Keldshead, and taking a route different from 
 what we took in ascending the mountain, we 
 arrived in the evening at Thornton Church Stile. 
 
 Wednesday, ist July. Fine morning : rise at five 
 and set out with my guide for Chapel-in-the-dale. 
 Having taken lights and provisions along with us ; 
 pass through the village of Ingleton, where there 
 is a cotton-mill not in a very thriving condition.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 27 
 
 Large coal pits in the neighbourhood. Fine blue 
 slate quarries, with pyrites and arboreous impres- 
 sions in some of the veins very remarkable. Travel 
 for some miles along the base of Ingleborough, 
 composed of limestone, except in a fewplaces where 
 the veins of the schistus run across. The strata 
 of the slate in this neighbourhood are all nearly 
 vertical. The coal is from forty to sixty yards 
 deep, covered with a soft grit ; the coal-strata dip 
 all to the North. The limestone upon the base of 
 Ingleborough, and over all the scars and moun- 
 tains here, appears upon the very surface without 
 any sort of superincumbent vegetable mould. It 
 exhibits everywhere around a most singular 
 appearance, rising tier above tier like the steps of 
 a stair ; the tiers running round the mountains 
 and scars all nearly in a horizontal direction ; each 
 tier is cut perpendicularly by a thousand fissures ; 
 and in stepping along these horizontal layers of 
 limestone, you find them all perforated like a 
 honey-comb, and at each step you are in danger 
 (unless you walk very circumspectly) of falling 
 down into these crevises, and breaking your 
 bones. In some places the holes are large and 
 almost unfathomably deep. Such is the general 
 appearance of the mountains over all this 
 country. 
 
 After leaving the lime-quarries of Ingleton, we 
 proceed upwards for four miles along the Dale, 
 the immense base of Ingleborough towering on 
 our right hand, and Twisleton Scar on our left,
 
 28 Diary of a Tour 
 
 the river Greta running down the vale betwixt 
 them. A little below the Chapel come to God's- 
 bridge, where the whole river is concealed for 
 upwards of seventy yards under a limestone rock 
 that runs across it in horizontal columns. Come 
 to Chapel-in-the-dale, where put up our horses, 
 and call upon the Curate (Mr. Elishaw) a very 
 sensible and worthy man. After drinking some 
 rum and water with him in his house, walk out in 
 his company to Hurtle-pot. It gives one exactly 
 the idea of the Avernian Lake as described by 
 Virgil. The curate leads us next to Weather- 
 coate Cave, a little higher up. This the most 
 astonishing fall of water I have yet seen ; about 
 sixty yards high ; falling into a profound basin, on 
 the side of which you go down for hundreds of 
 feet through rude over-arching rocks, that threaten 
 to bury you in your descent. At last you come to 
 a place where you can stand in safety and view 
 the cascade. A prodigious stream falls in front 
 from a subterraneous passage, from which it 
 issues with an amazing projectile force, which 
 shows that it must have a very considerable 
 descent before it makes its appearance in day- 
 light. On the left-hand side of the Cave, another 
 stream of less magnitude falls perpendicularly into 
 the basin through a hole of the rock resembling 
 the chimney of some lofty edifice in ruins. On 
 the right hand, several little very striking streams 
 pour out of holes in the rock apparently about 
 the size of the mouths of large cannons : these
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 29 
 
 streamlets fall in beautiful cascades from the 
 height of at least one hundred and twenty feet ; 
 and all these pour into the great basin which lies 
 about fifty feet below you, and from which the 
 spray ascends so thick as to wet one to the skin 
 in a few minutes. In time of sunshine there 
 appears above the basin the most striking rain- 
 bow that can possibly be conceived. In very dry 
 weather a person may descend to the margin of 
 the water, and even venture round its edge. On 
 your left hand, that is on the west side of the 
 basin, there is a subterranean passage communi- 
 cating far and wide below the rock ; but which is 
 at present inaccessible by reason of the floods. 
 In very high floods, that is perhaps once in seven 
 years, the whole cave is filled to the height of 
 more than two hundred feet and overflows atop. 
 Ascend through the over-arching rocks with 
 cautious steps guided by the curate. On the left 
 hand as you ascend there is a most curious cavern 
 scooped out by the waters in the most grotesque 
 form, called the Fairies' Hall, where the rocks are 
 incrusted with icicles 1 and stalactites of every 
 figure that fancy can form. 
 
 Leaving Weathercoate Cave, ascend some 
 hundred yards by the side of the Greta and see 
 Ginglepot Cave. Here the river, as at Weather- 
 coate, sinks and entirely disappears in the rocks. 
 The depth of this cave is not known ; a stone 
 
 1 It is, of course, evident that the diarist does not intend 
 the word ' icicle ' to be understood in its literal sense.
 
 30 Diary of a Tour 
 
 thrown down makes a gingling noise for a long 
 time till the noise ceases to be heard in the vast 
 profound. Some adventurous persons, we were 
 told by the curate, had let themselves be towed 
 down by ropes to the depth of several hundred 
 feet but saw no bottom ; the Cave penetrated 
 downwards to the north they could not say how 
 far. 
 
 Next proceed about a mile up the Dale towards 
 the base of Whernside (the highest mountain in 
 South Britain). 1 Here come to Gatekirk Cave ; 
 and enter at the upper end of it, conducted by our 
 good friend the curate, he leading the way with 
 one torch in his hand, I following him with an- 
 other, and my guide last of all with a third. 
 Proceed downwards over broken rocks, and by 
 the side of water-falls ; the whole river Greta 
 passes underground here for the space of about 
 a hundred yards. Descend by the sides of the 
 stream, sometimes wading, sometimes scrambling, 
 sometimes creeping. The river divides into two 
 branches in the middle of the Cave, that form a 
 sort of island, composed of the most amazing 
 petrifactions : Here we strike off some specimens. 
 Descend till we come at last in sight of the light 
 of day, which appears to us like fire seen at a 
 distance ; could not possibly have access to it on 
 
 1 This statement was probably made by the guide, and 
 accepted without question as correct. It is scarcely neces- 
 sary to point out that Whernside (2,415 feet) is surpassed by 
 many of the mountains of North-Western England not to 
 speak of Snowdon and other Welsh mountains.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 31 
 
 account of the falls and swell of the river. Return 
 upwards by a different route, guided with very 
 great dexterity and friendly attention by Mr. 
 Elishaw. Arrive at last in the upper regions ; 
 and congratulating ourselves on having arrived 
 there in safety, we recline on the rocks at the 
 entrance of the Cave and refresh ourselves with a 
 bumper of rum shrub. Descend above-ground to 
 the place where the river issues out of the Cave ; 
 look in there and have an awful view of that end 
 of the Cave. 
 
 After this we travel about a mile and a half to 
 the south, and ascend to Douk Cave, situated in 
 the face of the base of Ingleborough on the north 
 side. The Cave is open atop as well as Weather- 
 coate. It seems to be about one hundred yards 
 long by about seventy broad, of an elliptical figure, 
 and the rock about a hundred feet high. On the 
 north side we got with some difficulty to the 
 bottom and travelled to the south end of the 
 cavity, where a large stream of water pours about 
 thirty feet from the rock above through a large 
 aperture. In dry weather, the curate told us, he 
 had ascended into this aperture, and travelled for 
 at least half a mile under the base of the moun- 
 tain without coming to an end. 
 
 Having ascended from this immense cavity with 
 cautious steps and slow, we here parted with our 
 worthy friend Mr. Elishaw, and ascended to the 
 summit of Ingleborough, where we enjoyed one of 
 the most extensive and wonderful prospects in the
 
 32 Diary of a Tour 
 
 world. We dined on the summit of the moun- 
 tain, the clouds rolling in awful forms under our 
 feet, and sometimes suddenly wrapping us up in 
 darkness. Sometimes, however, it as suddenly 
 dispelled ; and gave us a glimpse of the sea 
 extending from the Welch mountains on the left 
 hand north to the mountains of Cumberland, &c., 
 on the right ; the whole country of Lancashire, 
 with its rivers, towns and villages, &c., lying in 
 extensive map below us. The town of Lancaster, 
 though at the distance of at least twenty-four 
 miles in a straight line, appeared at the base of 
 the mountain ; and the fells and scars that seemed 
 high mountains to us as we ascended the valley, 
 now appeared on the level of the plain. 
 
 In descending the mountain, the traveller can- 
 not help remarking a vast number of curious 
 conical holes with their apex inverted, all round 
 the base of the mountain, some of them of a very 
 considerable diameter and depth. Such pheno- 
 mena are observable about the base of Mount 
 ./Etna in Sicily. Arrive at Chapel-in-the-Dale 
 about five o'clock p.m. ; took our horses and set 
 out for a few miles along the road that leads to 
 Richmond. Stop at Gearstones, a little beyond 
 the source of the Ribble : go about half a mile 
 south, and with two guides enter Catknot Hole. 
 Here we perform by far the longest subterranean 
 expedition we have attempted ; through rocks and 
 deep water, sometimes carried on the back of one 
 of my guides, and sometimes obliged to wade my-
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 33 
 
 self up to the top of my boots, 1 we penetrate 
 upwards for the space of not less, we supposed, 
 than half-a-mile. The Cave is narrow all the 
 way; and the height, which at the entrance is 
 considerable, diminishes as you proceed inwards. 
 The Cave takes several windings in its course ; 
 the petrifactions on all hands are numerous and 
 curiously diversified. The icicles depend in the 
 most astonishing forms from the roof and sides of 
 the Cave ; spars, crystals and incrustations of 
 various kinds appear by the light of our candles 
 bright as alabaster itself. In some places they as- 
 sume the appearances of men and different animals 
 in different attitudes and postures ; in others they 
 appear like swine and carcases of beef and mutton 
 hung up on shambles ; in others they resemble 
 guns and swords, and other warlike instruments. 
 In some places where the roof was so low as to 
 be distinctly illuminated by our candles, we could 
 see the ceiling stretching over us horizontally like 
 the ceiling of some magnificent dome, most 
 admirably sculptured and decorated by human 
 art. The vast variety of astonishing objects that 
 occurred as we advanced, completely alleviated 
 our fatigue, and as completely overcame every 
 idea of danger. As we proceeded one after 
 another (at the bottom) our voices resounded in 
 solemn tones from the distant recesses of the 
 cavities. The idea of a chorus struck us. I 
 desired the guides from time to time to hollow 
 1 Long riding-boots, of course. 
 
 3
 
 34 Diary of a Tour 
 
 out on different notes of the scale, which I accom- 
 panied the best way I could, striking chords or 
 base-notes. 
 
 ' Here through the long-drawn aisle and fretted vault 
 The pealing anthem swell'd the notes of praise.' 
 
 Never was echo heard to greater advantage than 
 in this indescribable recess. When we had pro- 
 ceeded so far that the roof became so low as to 
 prevent us from walking upright, we found our 
 candles half exhausted, and then it was necessary 
 for me to sound a retreat. On our return we 
 stopped at different places, and took off with a 
 hammer most curious specimens of the crystal- 
 lizations, etc., of this wonderful place ; and having 
 passed about an hour and a half under ground we 
 emerged again to the light of day. 
 
 Having thus visited Catknot Hole, my curiosity 
 with regard to Caves was fully gratified. We 
 returned to Gearstones, where I got my boots 
 emptied of water and dried ; and having put on 
 dry- stockings, and refreshed ourselves in the 
 public-house, we mounted horses and rode down 
 the dale in the evening to Ingleton. 
 
 Thursday, 2nd July. Went to the Slate-quarries 
 and got good specimens of the pyritical and den- 
 dritical slate. Went also a-botanizing through 
 the romantic dens and woods and precipices 
 above Ingleton. There and among the mountains 
 and caves of this wonderful country, I observed 
 the following rare plants : viz., Convallaria majalis
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 35 
 
 in great plenty ; Convallaria multiflora ; Ophrys 
 muscifera ; Satyrium viride and S. albidum ; 
 Primula farinosa ; Serapias latifolia ; Ophioglossum 
 vulgatum; Saxifraga tridactylitis ; Saxifraga aizoides 
 and S. hypnoides ; Asplenium Scolopendrium and A. 
 viride ; Valeriana dioica; Arum maculatum ; Orchis 
 canopsea ; Genista tinctoria; Schcenus nigricans ; 
 Ophrys ovata ; Polypodium fragile ; Stellaria ne- 
 morum ; Cochlearia officinalis ; Draba incana ; Vac- 
 cinium occycoccus ; &c. &c. ; besides a great many 
 plants not come into flower. I did not find the 
 Cypripedium, nor the Ophrys apifera, but got a plant 
 of both from a garden in the neighbourhood. 
 Sanguisorba officinalis; Plantago media; Betonica 
 officinalis; &c. 
 
 Friday, $rd July. Pack up my plants and 
 minerals and leave them to the care of the land- 
 lord to be forwarded to Edinburgh. Set out in 
 the afternoon for Lancaster, a delightful ride by 
 Hornby, etc., where arrive about eight p.m. 1 
 Take a guide and go up to the Castle, as well 
 worth the seeing as anything of the kind I have 
 ever seen. The new apartments for the State 
 prisoners lately erected by Harrison on a plan 
 that would highly please the benevolent Howard 
 himself. Sixty-four neat apartments for them, 
 with enclosed ground without for air and exercise. 
 Go up to John of Gaunt's Tower, and enjoy an 
 amazingly fine prospect of the town, the bridge, 
 the windings of the Lune, the sea, and the dis- 
 1 A ride of twelve or fourteen miles. 
 
 32
 
 36 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 tant mountains, etc. Put up at the King's Arms 
 (Coulthwaite), and sup with a Mr. Lapworth 
 from Coventry. 
 
 Saturday, ^th July. Deliver my letters to Mr. 
 Tinning, who very kindly invites me to dinner, 
 and walks out with me through the town, by the 
 shore, etc. Shows me the shipping ; explains 
 the genius of the people, and introduces me at 
 dinner to some gentlemen of fortune and in- 
 fluence in the place ; a Mr. Clarkson (Controuler 
 of the Customs) ; his cousin Clarkson, Rector 
 
 of , in the neighbourhood, who lately married 
 
 a lady of fortune, and who forsooth keeps his 
 hounds and his horses ; a Mr. Ashton, brother 
 to a gentleman of three thousand pounds a year 
 in Yorkshire, etc. After dinner go to the Play. 
 Mrs. Siddons in the character of Lady Macbeth ; 
 her brother Kemble plays Macbeth. The repre- 
 sentation very tolerable upon the whole, though 
 Mrs. Siddons be poorly supported. Mrs. Siddons's 
 Benefit. A brilliant audience; the Lancashire 
 ladies in all their charms. After the Play, return 
 to supper at Mr. Tinning's. Here introduced to 
 a Mr. Stuart (of Appin) a Scotchman. 1 After 
 supper, at the table of a kind, hospitable landlord, 
 return to the King's Arms, and enjoy four hours 
 of slumber. 
 
 1 This casual reference seems inadequate after the glowing 
 words in which Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, laments the 
 decay of the once famous Stewarts of Appin.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Preston Liverpool Manchester. 
 
 UN DA Y, $th July. Set out from the King's 
 Arms at eight in the morning, musing on 
 my own people and the duties I owe them. 
 Cannot man be devout in the fields, said I, as 
 well as in the pulpit ? 
 
 Canal forty-five miles upon a level (no locks till 
 beyond Preston) to join the Duke of Bridge- 
 water['s]. About five miles south of Lancaster 
 enjoy one of the noblest of prospects. To the 
 west-by-north Peel Castle, and beyond it a little 
 to the left the summits of the mountains in the 
 Isle of Man. Beyond [behind] me the mountains 
 of the highlands of Lancashire, Cumberland, etc., 
 far seen to the north and north-west dim in 
 the clouds. To the west the boundless expanse 
 of the ocean, with ships gliding with gentle 
 breezes over its surface. Betwixt me and the 
 ocean an amazing extent of the levellest country 
 I ever saw, all enclosed and subdivided and 
 sheltered with wood, interspersed with fine grass
 
 38 Diary of a Tour 
 
 parks 1 (for in Lancaster [Lancashire] they have 
 little corn), with neat houses and gentlemen's 
 seats as far as the eye can penetrate. Black Pool 
 about sixteen miles on my right towards the shore. 
 Informed the company are not yet all come to 
 the sea-bathing. 
 
 Arrive at Garstang 2 to breakfast. Betwixt 
 Garstang and Preston, pass by on my left Clyton 
 [Claughton] Hall and Berton [Barton] Lodge ; 
 eminent country seats of eminent esquires. Come 
 towards Preston 3 to dinner. Six windmills here 
 for grinding corn. Preston a larger town than 
 Lancaster ; neat streets, and fine walks. Cotton 
 manufacture the principal one here. Preston. 
 Dine at the Bull After dinner walk out to the 
 banks of the Kibble, here a stately navigable 
 stream; last week I had seen it at its source, 
 rising out of the mountains of the West Riding 
 of Yorkshire, a fountain only a few yards broad. 
 Preston a beautiful town, built all of brick made 
 in its neighbourhood. The walk on the south 
 side of the town, and the prospect from it, are 
 exceedingly delightful. Walton Hall, Sir Harry 
 Aiton's ; Frenchwood, Mr. Starkey's. On the 
 right, the late Mr. Parker's, Sheriff of the County; 
 five miles further on the right, Aughton Tower, 
 the residence of King James II. ; Tuckworth 
 
 1 In Scotland ' park ' denotes any enclosed meadow or 
 pasture, however small It is evidently in this sense that it 
 is used above. 
 
 1 Ten miles from Lancaster. 
 
 3 Eleven miles from Garstang.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 39 
 
 Hall, the seat of Mr. Rosteram ; Penwortham, 
 the seat of Mr. Barton. Earl Derby lord of the 
 manor. His Lordship in opposition to the 
 present Ministry. Unpopular here. The Races 
 (which continue for three days annually here) 
 come on about the middle of this month. His 
 Lordship then expected down here; and soon 
 after that a hot election. Two superb rooms in 
 the Black Bull ; the one for dining great company, 
 the other for private assemblies, etc. A good 
 assortment of bedrooms. 
 
 Leave Preston at five p.m., and proceed to 
 Ormskirk, eighteen miles. Pass the Ribble below 
 the town. The river here runs under a good 
 bridge of five arches. Have a pleasant afternoon 
 ride. England now begins to assume a richer 
 and more inland appearance. The country flat 
 and beautiful all the way to Liverpool. Perfectly 
 like a great well-cultivated garden all round. 
 Rich fields begin now to appear of wheat and 
 barley in the ear ; good oats and beans in the 
 blossom ; potatoes also in the flower. The Pink- 
 eye potatoe, as it is here called, is becoming the 
 fashionable potatoe of this country; it is preferred 
 to the Champion. 
 
 In passing along the public roads in this 
 country one cannot help remarking the good 
 breeding of the people, displayed even in their 
 children. You never meet a country person here, 
 young or old, but salutes you with a bow or a 
 curtsey, and a 'good-morrow, 1 if it be in the
 
 40 Diary of a Tour 
 
 forenoon, and a ' good-night,' if it be late in the 
 afternoon or towards evening. 
 
 The women of Lancashire seem to be in 
 general, of an agreeable person, a remarkably 
 good look, and a sound, healthy constitution. 
 They have something bewitching 1 about them, 
 indeed ; but many of the first looking country 
 girls wear black stockings on the week-days, 
 which is by no means an improvement to their 
 charms. 
 
 Betwixt Preston and Ormskirk I observed the 
 Sisymbrium amphibium, and, for the first time in 
 its native seat, the Butomus umbellatus. About 
 five miles north of Ormskirk, and in stagnant old 
 ditches by the wayside in that neighbourhood, I 
 found the Hottonia. Arrive in the evening at 
 Burscobridge, 2 on the bank of the Wigan Canal. 
 This Canal from Wigan to Liverpool is about 
 thirty-five miles; its superficial breadth is about 
 thirty-five feet ; its bottom breadth is about 
 twenty-five ; and its depth about five and a half. 
 Earl Derby lord of the manor here. Put up all 
 night at Abram's. 
 
 1 An obvious allusion to The Lancashire Witches. It is 
 interesting to add that Mrs. Grant of Laggan, writing in 1803, 
 uses similar terms. ' What pleased me most,' she says, ' was 
 the distinguished beauty of the Lancastrian women, not void 
 of the more attractive charms of grace and softness' (Letters 
 from the Mountains^ vol. iii., Letter XL.). 
 
 2 Burscough Bridge, three miles north-north-east of Orms- 
 kirk. As he halted here for the night (probably for the sake 
 of his horse), instead of carrying out his intention of going 
 on to Ormskirk, his day's ride amounted to thirty-six miles.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 41 
 
 Monday, 6th July. Set out after breakfast for 
 Liverpool. Pass through Ormskirk, a consider- 
 able town with four neat streets meeting at the 
 cross, and there forming right angles. At the 
 church there is a venerable old square tower, 
 and a steeple with a spire adjoining. Bells ring 
 constantly in England. Betwixt Ormskirk and 
 Liverpool have a view of the mountains of Wales 
 beyond the Dee. Observe by the wayside, on 
 this track, the following plants, viz. : Jasione 
 montana, Iberis nudicaulis, Hottonia lacustris, 
 Geranium cicutarium, Sium angustifolium, Nym- 
 phcea lutea, CBnanthe crocata, etc. The crop here 
 looks very promising. The oats, and wheat, and 
 barley all in the ear ; large fields of potatoes very 
 well dressed, and country girls, with their petti- 
 coats tucked up, bestriding the drills and taking 
 out every weed with their hands. The Pink-eye 
 cultivated here. Taking up the potatoes here 
 already of a very considerable size and carrying 
 them to market. 
 
 The day becomes intolerably hot ; stop at the 
 public-house about six miles north of Liverpool, 
 and refresh Cally and myself. Approach to 
 Liverpool from the northwest. Vast number of 
 ships under sail making their way out of the river. 
 Put up at the Cross Keys near the Exchange, 
 where dine ; after dinner call upon Mr. Keay, 1 
 
 1 This gentleman was presumably a native of the travel- 
 ler's own part of Perthshire, where that surname is one of 
 old standing.
 
 42 Diary of a Tour 
 
 and take the grace-drink with him. In the 
 evening Mr. Keay accompanies me out, and shows 
 me the docks and the shipping. This infinitely 
 the most wonderful scene of the kind I have ever 
 seen ; and one who has not seen it cannot 
 possibly conceive any idea of it. Sup at the 
 Cross Keys (Mrs. Walker) with a number of 
 travelling gentlemen ; some of them very enter- 
 taining ; Welch, Irish, English, Scotch, American, 
 West Indies variety of characters. 
 
 Tuesday, jth July. Liverpool. Call at Mr. 
 Keay's to breakfast. After breakfast walk out 
 through the lanes and streets of this extensive 
 and opulent town. The streets are by no means 
 wide or elegant, a few excepted Castle Street, 
 etc. Few elegant squares, as in Edinburgh. 
 The houses here, except the outer crust of the 
 Exchange, which was lately burnt, the churches, 
 and the doors and windows of most of the better 
 sort of houses, are all built of brick, have a light 
 appearance, but seem to be by no means sub- 
 stantial buildings. The houses in general are 
 three stories high and a sunk story ; Castle Street 
 four stories. The churches are elegant, except 
 St. Paul's (clumsy imitation of) ; and the spires 
 of some of them lofty, light, and easy St. 
 Thomas's remarkably so. The population of the 
 place supposed to be from sixty to seventy 
 thousand. 1 But Liverpool probably covers much 
 
 1 The population of Liverpool, not including Birkenhead, 
 was 39,000 in 1781, and 85,300 in 1801. At the census of
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 43 
 
 more ground than Edinburgh, though the houses 
 are not nearly so high, nor inhabited each by so 
 many different families. 
 
 Take a walk up Duke's Street to Mount 
 Pleasant, the finest walk here I ever yet set a 
 foot on, and enjoying one of the most striking 
 prospects the town, the river, the shipping, the 
 opposite coast of Cheshire, the summits of the 
 Welch mountains, etc. Visit the Infirmary. In 
 the afternoon take a particular view of the 
 different streets and lanes, which, in general, are 
 narrow and dirty. Visit again the greatest thing 
 to be seen here, or perhaps anywhere else the 
 Docks. Storehouses, the largest of any in Britain 
 particularly the Duke of Bridgewater's, etc. 
 One gentleman here has storehouses eleven 
 stories high. Bathing-houses, ladies' and gentle- 
 men's ; coffee-rooms ; vast number of windmills 
 for grinding corn, flint for the potteries, flax-seed 
 for oil, log-wood, etc. 
 
 Liverpool lies from north-by-west to south-by- 
 east nearly, on a gentle-rising ground on the east 
 bank of the Mersey, which is about one and a 
 half miles broad opposite the town. The docks 
 extend more than one and a half miles, and 
 exceed all description. This war, however, has 
 considerably affected the trade of Liverpool. 
 Harbour difficult of access, the tract in the river 
 
 1891 the figures were: Liverpool, 517,980; Birkenhead, 
 99)857 together, 617,837.
 
 44 Diary of a Tour 
 
 narrow, and many sand-banks on each side ; 
 pilots necessary. 
 
 Wednesday, Sth July. Liverpool. The town 
 crowded with the weekly [semi-weekly] market, 
 which is held on Wednesday and Saturday. 
 Visit Mr. Keay, who amuses me with a sight of 
 Macklin's Bible. This is the greatest work of 
 the kind ever attempted in Britain. The paper, 
 the type, and the engraving superb and striking 
 in the highest degree. The price of the copy 
 to subscribers will be about forty guineas, in 
 numbers. Each number contains one engraving 
 of some of the most affecting passages of Holy 
 Writ, besides a number of beautiful vignettes 
 here and there interspersed through the work. 
 The most eminent Masters of the kingdom are 
 employed in this work, which certainly does 
 honour to the country. It is dedicated to the 
 King. Walk out again to the Docks. The 
 Glasshouse here upon a small scale. The Copper 
 work discontinued here; removed to Wales on 
 account of the nearness of the ore there. Number 
 of the best ships belonging to this place taken 
 during the present war. Ships of upwards of a 
 thousand tons built here 
 
 ' An endless grove of masts !' 
 
 It gives one a very high idea indeed of the 
 immense trade of Liverpool, supposed superior 
 to that of Bristol, and inferior only to that of 
 London.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 45 
 
 Dine with Mr. Keay. He has earned by honest 
 industry a very independent fortune, and lives 
 sumptuously ; supposed to be worth twenty-five 
 thousand pounds ; is getting an elegant house 
 fitted up for himself in the skirts of the town, 
 and is going to retire from business. Introduced 
 at his house to Mrs. Burton, to her father, Mr. 
 Banner, Mr. Colshaw, etc. In the afternoon 
 visit in company the gentlemen's and ladies' 
 bathing-rooms, constructed upon an excellent and 
 most convenient plan are said to be the best of 
 any in England. Afterwards visit the Fort com- 
 manding the entrance of the river ; strong, and 
 well accommodated with ordnance for defence. 
 Thence go up by the Cotton Mills, see the 
 Prisons, visit the porter brewery said to be upon 
 a larger scale than Whitbread's, or any of the 
 London works of the kind. Go up to Averton 
 [? Everton] and eat fruit ; noble prospect here. 
 Come down in the evening, and sup at Mrs. 
 Burton's. Return after supper with Mr. Keay to 
 town, and take my leave of him, determined to 
 set out for Manchester to-morrow. 
 
 Thursday, gth July. Breakfast at the Cross 
 Keys. After breakfast make my escape from this 
 large, irregular, busy, opulent, corrupted town ; 
 where so many men and so many women use so 
 many ways and means of gaining and spending 
 so much money, and meat, and drink, etc. 1 Set 
 
 1 It is to be remembered that at this period of its existence 
 Liverpool was increasing in wealth and importance at an
 
 46 Diary of a Tour 
 
 out for Prescot, a royal borough, and breathe again 
 the air of the country. See on the rising grounds 
 above a fine view of Cheshire and the Welch 
 mountains towards Snowdon and Anglesey. 
 Hay-harvest begun about Prescot ; the crop in 
 general but light in this country. At Prescot 
 pass by on my right Knowsly, the seat of Lord 
 Derby. A large pottery- work carried on at 
 Prescot of clay found in its neighbourhood. 
 Betwixt Liverpool and Prescot observed the 
 Typha latifolia and the Jasione. Betwixt Prescot 
 and Warrington, the road made at the expense of 
 a guinea a yard of slag, the refuse of the Copper- 
 works of Warrington and Liverpool, which are 
 now discontinued at both places. This slag is a 
 hard, durable material, and makes the very best 
 road possible. Day becomes sultry upon me in 
 the highest degree. 
 
 'All-conquering heat, oh, intermit thy wrath ! 
 And on my throbbing temples potent thus 
 Beam not so fierce.' 1 
 
 Stop at Boldheath, and dine. Bowles Hall 
 (an elegant seat of Mrs. Bowles) fronting the 
 room where I dine. Admirably good ale here ; 
 said to be the best betwixt Edinburgh and Liver- 
 pool ; threepence a pint. Pass through Warring- 
 ton (Squire Bowles Paton on my left as I enter 
 
 enormous rate, and probably this produced an extravagance 
 which our traveller had not encountered in less commercial 
 communities. 
 1 The quotation is from Thomson's Summer.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 47 
 
 the town). 1 Glass-work here considerable, though 
 no pane-glass made here. Some cotton-looms, 
 but trade dull since the war begun. Warrington 
 streets rather narrow and paltry-looking. Remark- 
 ably rich fields and fine cultivation in its neigh- 
 bourhood. Potatoes, gooseberries, cabbages, etc., 
 in the highest perfection. The ridges are narrow, 
 being about four to six feet broad. The potato 
 preferred here is the Champion red and white, and 
 the American Ranger. The potatoes here already 
 taken up, and turnips and cabbages (a second 
 crop) in considerable forwardness. New hay in 
 the stack ; a great deal in the rick, and most of 
 the hay cut down. Make hay here literally while 
 the sun shines ; the girls and hinds following the 
 mowers, with a rake, and constantly tossing and 
 teasing it till it is made. Land here at upwards 
 of five guineas an acre. Scrophularia aquatica in 
 the ditches about Warrington. Leave Warring- 
 ton, and proceed by the Gibbet on my right with 
 a man hung in chains fifty feet high for having 
 robbed the post. Come in sight of the river 
 Irwell (Squire Burnbank's on my right). On my 
 left an extensive tract of moss (Shap 2 Moss). 
 Here is plenty of shell marie used for manure 
 with great success. 
 
 In many places here and about Warrington, 
 
 1 Warrington is nearly half-way between Liverpool and 
 Manchester. According to Paterson's Itinerary, the distance 
 by road, at that period, was i6 miles to Liverpool, and 
 1 8 miles to Manchester. 
 
 8 Read Chat Moss.
 
 48 Diary of a Tour 
 
 they throw the limestone-shells not slacked into 
 mixtures of rich wet earth from the ditches, etc., 
 layer above layer; the limeshells are thus pul- 
 verized by degrees, and the mixture is turned 
 and laid upon the grass sward to very great 
 account. The country far and wide hereabouts 
 is flat, finely enclosed, and well sheltered with 
 wood. As the hedges are high on each side, 
 little is to be seen of the country, save here and 
 there [through] a gap of the hedge, where you 
 have a prospect of a boundless plain country, 
 with farmhouses, strips of wood, rich fields of 
 wheat, beans, potatoes, barley, oats, etc., all 
 waving in the ear. Harvest will begin here in 
 the course of three weeks or so. 
 
 About eight miles from Manchester see the 
 Jasione montana, and in one place a few plants of 
 Osmunda regalis and Thlaspi campestre. At the 
 going down of the sun cross the Duke of Bridge- 
 water's canal. Worsley, a seat of His Grace's, 
 on the left on a gentle-rising eminence. Canal 
 runs thirty miles on a level. Curious subter- 
 ranean works about here. The canal runs under- 
 ground for miles. The boats go by the light of 
 candles to the very mouths of coal-pits, and are 
 laden under ground. About three miles from 
 Manchester, pass by Bailey's and Simpson's, 
 Esq., magistrates of Manchester. They have 
 elegant country houses here. Evening view of 
 Manchester from the crescent, where the river 
 Irwell takes a beautiful serpentine course, delight-
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 49 
 
 fill. The country about Manchester has a rich 
 and beautiful aspect. Here again come in sight 
 of mountains, without which no landscape can 
 be complete. Come in to Manchester in the 
 evening. 
 
 Friday, loth July. Manchester. In the morn- 
 ing walk out to see this great manufacturing 
 place ; the greatest for all sorts of cotton-works 
 of any in Great Britain. Take a turn to Sir R. 
 Arkwright's great Mills. Thence to the market- 
 place and centre of the town. Thence in com- 
 pany with a gentleman of the place to the In- 
 firmary and its environs ; this by far the prettiest 
 sight about Manchester. The grounds around 
 the Infirmary are elegantly laid out in gardens, 
 gravel-walks, ponds, parterres, etc., where strangers 
 are admitted to walk without any molestation. 
 Adjoining to this place are the Bath-rooms, where 
 ladies and gentlemen are admitted to bathe at 
 one shilling each. 
 
 Walk round the Cathedral 1 without arid then 
 within ; very grand organs ; a superb piece of 
 Gothic architecture, having a very neat aspect 
 both without and within. Walk through the 
 different streets and squares of the town ; 
 broader and better-aired than those of Liver- 
 pool. The houses many of them four stories 
 high ; not crowded as at Liverpool. Much more 
 
 1 This is anticipating events. The collegiate church, as it 
 then was, only received cathedral rank in 1848, on the erection 
 of the see of Manchester.
 
 50 Diary of a Tour 
 
 regularity here than at Liverpool. This supposed 
 a larger and more populous place than Liverpool. 
 Population here previous to the commencement 
 of this war estimated at a hundred thousand. It 
 is said to have decreased within these few years 
 upwards of thirty thousand, owing to the recruits 
 for the army and navy, and the emigrants to 
 America. 1 
 
 The place stands by the Cotton-manufacture, 
 which is here carried on through all its stages ; 
 and here is the most astonishing display of fancy 
 cotton-stuffs perhaps anywhere to be seen. Im- 
 mense fortunes have been made in that way here ; 
 some individuals to the amount of four hundred 
 thousand pounds sterling. A number of grand 
 churches here; generally with burying-grounds 
 around them. Tomb-stones all flat, and on a 
 level with the surface of the ground, so that they 
 form a fine walk of plain stones. This much the 
 case over the English towns. The inscriptions 
 seem to be by no means diversified. ' Here 
 
 resteth the body of ,' with the departure 
 
 and age of the deceased, inscribed upon almost 
 every one of them ; and every one of them 
 a copy of its neighbour. At Liverpool I ob- 
 served a greater variety in their inscriptions. 
 College. 
 
 Walk over Salford bridge and take a view of 
 
 1 In 1801 the population of Manchester was 75,275, and 
 of Salford, 14,477 together, 89,752. At the census of 1891 
 the figures were: Manchester, 505,368; Salford, 198,139 
 together, 703, 507.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 51 
 
 the old town of Salford, separated from Man- 
 chester only by the river Irwell, which is here a 
 dark, nasty stream, polluted by the lees of the 
 manufactures. Return to Manchester, and walk 
 down by the new prison across the river j 1 take 
 to right and view the boats and warehouses on 
 the old black water. From no point have you 
 a good view of Manchester. It is situated in 
 a plain ; and the country all round it is a 
 plain. 
 
 After dinner, set out by Bridge Street to see 
 the Duke of Bridgewater's canal. Where it 
 terminates (or rather begins) the scene is truly 
 astonishing. It shows what a great spirit with 
 a great fortune may do, and has done. His 
 Grace has laid out his whole fortune upon great 
 public works, which have conduced amazingly 
 to the wealth and convenience and prosperity of 
 this town and country. It is now universally 
 believed that the Duke will be reimbursed and 
 more than reimbursed ; he certainly deserves to 
 be so. The dues accruing to him from his canals 
 for the year 1791 were, I was informed, upwards 
 of seventy thousand pounds sterling. He is an 
 old bachelor ; a plain, honest man ; and affects 
 no pomp or show in his houses, equipage, or 
 mode of living. The world laughed at him for 
 
 1 An antiquarian friend in Manchester writes : ' The refer- 
 ence is to the New Bailey Prison, then only just built, and 
 since demolished. The New Prison was in Salford, so I do 
 not quite follow the diarist : should not " to Manchester " 
 read (or mean) towards Manchester ?' 
 
 42
 
 52 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 undertaking these immense works ; he may now 
 laugh at the world in return. 
 
 Set out in the cool of the afternoon for Buxton. 
 Keep the London road to Stockport, a large 
 manufacturing town about seven miles south of 
 Manchester : here turn to the left, and after 
 travelling several miles, pass by another gallows 
 with a human body hung in chains, and approach 
 to the hilly country, where have a fine view of 
 Limehall (Colonel Lee) on my right. At the 
 tenth milestone from Buxton, stop and look back 
 north-west towards Manchester and the widely- 
 extended plain, bounded on the north by the 
 Yorkshire mountains, on the east by those of the 
 same county, and of Derbyshire and Cheshire on 
 the east and south-east ; towards the west a 
 boundless flat country sloping down as far as the 
 eye can reach towards Liverpool and the Irish 
 Sea. Here leave the flat country and enter the 
 hills.
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Buxton and the Wonders of the Peak. 
 
 7"7 RID A Y, ioth July. Arrive in the evening 
 JL at Disley, about nine and a half miles 
 from Buxton. Put up all night at the 
 Ram's Head (Hancock), situated in a romantic 
 rural valley; Disley church on a beautiful emi- 
 nence beside the inn. This place (Disley) lies in 
 Cheshire ; the boundary of Derbyshire lies within 
 a few miles on the east. Before supper take a 
 walk up to the church-yard. Walk round the 
 church, which is a pretty model of a country 
 church. The church-yard is planted round with 
 lime trees ; and in it there are several good tomb- 
 stones, with some very tolerable inscriptions. 
 
 Saturday, nth July. Set out from Disley, and 
 mount the hill. On my right hand long heath 
 enclosed ; a group of wild 1 horses somewhat 
 resembling the highlanders, but rather larger in 
 their size, and better shaped. Pass over a 
 
 1 This, of course, only means that the horses were running 
 loose on the moor, as one sees them to-day in the Shetland 
 Islands.
 
 54 Diary of a Tour 
 
 number of hills and dales. Here the limestone 
 is thrown upon the long heath to destroy it and 
 render it fit pasture for sheep. The limestone of 
 Derbyshire is white as chalk. The sheep used 
 here are of the Bakewell kind. 
 
 Arrive about one o'clock p.m. at Buxton, and 
 drink the waters before dinner. Considerable 
 number of company here, and more expected 
 when the Parliament rises. This watering-place, 
 however, has not been so much frequented since 
 the war as formerly. Provisions here very high, 
 and living expensive. The Duke of Devonshire, 
 lord of the manor here, has laid out of late years, 
 I am told, more than one hundred and fifty 
 thousand pounds upon buildings here. Fine 
 stone-quarry in the immediate neighbourhood. 
 Vast lime-works. The stables here are supposed 
 to be the most magnificent of any in the kingdom ; 
 one hundred and ten fine stalls for horses. The 
 building superb, and admirably executed. Shewn 
 the ladies' and gentlemen's baths. The waters 
 of Buxton always of the same temperature, 82" 
 Fahrenheit ; a proof that they rise from a great 
 depth : this circumstance difficult to be accounted 
 for. 
 
 Take a walk round the Crescent, the most 
 beautiful building I have anywhere seen. It, 
 with the stables, the work of a great architect, 
 Carr of York. Take a walk in the Great Hall, 
 the most splendid room perhaps in Britain 
 seventy-five feet long by thirty wide, and thirty-
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 55 
 
 six high. Here the company have balls and 
 assemblies three times every week Mondays, 
 Wednesdays, and Fridays. Look into the 
 dining-room ; also a great room. Here the 
 company dine at three p.m. 
 
 After viewing Buxton, walk out to Poole's 
 Hole, about half a mile south in the limestone 
 works. The cave six hundred and ninety yards 
 long. Four old women, resembling the witches 
 of Macbeth, light me into this cave with candles. 
 The cave at present perfectly dry ; all but a small 
 spring on the right hand, from which the poor 
 people that live near the entrance take their 
 water, and for which they have to travel every 
 day by candle-light. Petrifactions here very 
 curious, of various forms; lions, organs, bee- 
 hives, etc. One may walk upright all the way ; 
 in some places the roofs are high, and not dis- 
 tinctly to be seen. After viewing this curiosity, 
 the old hags conduct me back by a different track, 
 which again joins the entrance. These poor 
 creatures live in the summer-time almost solely 
 by the gratuities of those gentlemen and ladies 
 who visit the cave; and they sell you also little 
 bits of the different minerals that are to be found 
 in the mountains in this neighbourhood. 
 
 Leave Buxton at four p.m., and set out by 
 Tideswell for Castleton in the Peak of Derby. 
 By the way observe the following plants : Carduus 
 criophorus, Plantago media, Sangnisorba officinalis, 
 Silene nutans, Centaurea Scabiosa, Anemone Pulsa-
 
 56 Diary of a Tour 
 
 tilla, Cistus Helianthemum, Geranium sanguineum, 
 etc. The roads and fences all over this country 
 are composed of limestone. Betwixt Tideswell 
 and Castleton, growing plentifully on the refuse 
 of the lime-mines, the Arenaria saxatilis (double- 
 flowered). The whole ground covered with lime- 
 kilns. 
 
 Arrive at Castleton about eight p.m. Go 
 
 immediately to see the Devil's , x supposed to 
 
 be the greatest thing of the kind in the Island. 
 There is a rope-manufactory at the entrance of 
 the cave ; the perpendicular rocks over your 
 head at the entrance are about eighty-seven yards 
 high. The length of the cave is about seven 
 hundred and fifty yards. After proceeding for 
 some time inwards by the light of several candles, 
 you come to water, and are ferried over by your 
 guides in a boat, after which you come into the 
 great hole, seventy yards wide by forty high ; its 
 height known. Further on another cave, the 
 height of which is not known. 
 
 After getting out of the Devil's , conducted 
 
 about half a mile to the westward, and under a 
 high mountain enter one of the Lead mines 
 (Speedwell). Here at first you descend one 
 hundred and six steps to the boat ; then you 
 proceed six hundred and fifty yards in the boat 
 to the Large Cavern, where a cascade bellows 
 like thunder, and finds its way through the 
 
 1 The diarist, of course, gives the older name of the Peak 
 Cavern, which, however, would grate upon the modern ear. 
 
 \
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 57 
 
 Devil's or Peak-hole. The mountain above 
 
 you is near eight hundred feet ; and it is supposed 
 the roof of the cavern may extend to the surface 
 or nearly so, as they have as yet found no top to 
 it ; nor indeed any bottom. The cascade falls 
 from the level of the boat fourteen yards perpen- 
 dicular into a basin about fifty yards in circum- 
 ference. This basin was plumbed in the centre, 
 and the plummet stuck at the depth of fourteen 
 yards ; but it would seem that the rock at this 
 depth slopes away under the mountain to an 
 amazing depth, for the miners informed me that 
 all the rubbish they cut out of this passage for 
 six hundred yards further than the cavern was 
 thrown down into it, and yet it does not fill up 
 in the least. Besides this, there were four boat- 
 loads a day for four years together thrown down 
 into this surprising gulph, each boat at each load 
 carrying four ton weight, and yet it fills none. 
 The boat sails across this unfathomable abyss 
 over an arch thrown across it by the miners ; a 
 wonderful work indeed. 
 
 The boatmen on our return fixed a burning 
 candle to the rock beside the Cavern, and as we 
 retreated backwards in a straight line from the 
 light, it assumed by degrees the appearance of a 
 star setting in the dark ocean. The tremulous 
 light on the water beyond us, seen at a great 
 distance, produced the finest effect, and had the 
 appearance of tears of light dropping in a per- 
 pendicular line from the setting - star. The
 
 58 Diary of a Tour 
 
 boatmen entertained us highly all the way to the 
 end of the water, by a charming hunting song, 
 the echo exceeding anything I ever heard. 
 
 After leaving the boat, we ascend one hundred 
 and six steps of a stone stair ; and gain the open 
 air. Take my guide with me to the Castleton 
 inn ; and arrive there to supper about eleven p.m. 
 Sunday, izth July. Castleton in the Peak of 
 Derby. Went with two guides to Odin Mine, the 
 only Lead-mine worked here at present. About 
 one hundred and twenty hands constantly em- 
 ployed here ; have houses at the mouth of the 
 Mine where they reside every day except the 
 Sundays. Here they wash the Lead-ore, and 
 render it fit for the smelting-houses. This Mine 
 goes nearly in a plain about a mile under the hill ; 
 the whole is laid with boards, along which the 
 miners drag out the lead-ore on four-wheeled 
 carriages to the houses at the entrance. 
 
 In walking along the foot of the hill towards 
 this Mine, the traveller is struck with the appear- 
 ance of the limestone -fences that enclose the 
 grounds here-abouts. Each stone is a congeries 
 of the most curious petrifactions of shells, pectens, 
 worms, and other bodies seemingly of marine 
 production. The stone-fences betwixt Tideswell 
 and Castleton are distinguished by the same 
 phenomena ; difficult to be accounted for by the 
 naturalist. 
 
 From Odin Mine we ascended the hill, till we 
 came to the mouth of the Mine, where the Blue
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 59 
 
 John (Fluor spatosus) is found. The miners here 
 say that it is found nowhere else in the world. 
 This is a very curious spar of different beautiful 
 colours; curiously wrought into different kinds 
 of utensils, and sold at a very high price ; great 
 demand for it from different places of the world. 
 Discovered about thirty or forty years ago by the 
 [? late] Mr. Hall of this country. 
 
 Here having got dressed as a miner, I de- 
 scended after my two guides into the bowels of 
 the mountain for hundreds of yards through 
 narrow, difficult and dangerous passages, some- 
 times crawling, sometimes stooping, sometimes 
 standing, sometimes sliding through wet clay and 
 red ochre, till we came at last to the bottom of 
 one of the most beautiful Caverns in nature. 1 
 Here having missed one of my guides, I began 
 to enquire about him of the other, who, without 
 giving me any direct answer, desired me to step 
 down a little further. When we had got down a 
 few steps ' Look up now,' says he. I looked up 
 to my utter astonishment indeed ! into a cavern 
 upwards of one hundred feet high above us com- 
 pletely illuminated as a drawing-room, a lustre of 
 six candles suspended from a rock that jutted 
 into the cavity about seventy feet over my head, 
 the light wonderfully reflected from all sides of 
 the Cavern by a thousand different kinds of spars, 
 icicles, incrustations and petrifactions, resembling 
 birds, beasts, fishes, serpents, and different crea- 
 tures and different objects, glittering all round
 
 60 Diary of a Tour 
 
 from the bottom up the cavity as far as the eye 
 and the light could penetrate. On observing the 
 lustre above I found it was supported by the 
 hand of the other guide, who had ingeniously 
 withdrawn himself on purpose to surprise us ; he 
 was standing on a pinnacle of the rock where I 
 could not conceive it possible for a human being 
 to stand ; and therefore his appearance struck me 
 at first with the idea of some supernatural being, 
 inhabiting a region of enchantment. My guide 
 from below hollowed up to him ; the voice 
 resounded through the superior regions of the 
 Cavern ; and the guide from above immediately 
 struck up a solemn church-tune, the notes of 
 which reverberated from the rocks and caves 
 around, exciting in my mind sentiments of the 
 most awful devotion. The choir of the most 
 magnificent cathedral could not produce a more 
 powerful effect upon the mind. 
 
 After having been conducted to the place where 
 the Blue John is found, and shewn very distinctly 
 the disposition of its strata and the manner of 
 working it, we ascended from this region of sub- 
 terraneous wonders to the light of day; and, 
 having refreshed ourselves with a glass of rum 
 and a crust of bread, we then directed our course 
 to Elden-hole, upon the high grounds about three 
 miles southwest of Castleton. This is a tre- 
 mendous Gap about thirty yards long and in some 
 places not exceeding two yards broad ; its depth 
 has never yet been fathomed ; the upper regions
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 61 
 
 of it seem to be inhabited principally by Jack-daws. 
 We threw down six large stones, and listened for 
 several seconds to the sound of each. One or two 
 of them were interrupted in their descent ; the 
 rest were heard at an amazing distance, and one 
 or two seemed to emit a sound as if they fell into 
 water. Here I was entertained by my guide with 
 many wonderful stories with respect to this hole ; 
 some of which are authenticated beyond any 
 doubt. It is very properly enclosed with a high 
 stone-wall, to prevent danger. Return to Castle- 
 ton, where stay all night. 
 
 Monday, i^th July. Rise in the morning, and 
 before breakfast ascend the hill to the south of 
 the town, to view the ruins of the Castle. It 
 stands directly above the Peak-hole, the founda- 
 tion of the Castle eighty-seven yards perpendicular 
 above the entrance into that awful Cavern. This 
 has been a very strong building ; and it is so old 
 as to be beyond the reach of written record or 
 even oral tradition. 1 The Allium vincale is said 
 to grow here, but I saw it not. 
 
 After breakfast leave Castleton, and set out for 
 Sheffield through the country of the Peak, lying 
 romantic and retired along the banks of the 
 Derwent, the mountains forming a cul-de-sac upon 
 the west. Here observe by the way- side great 
 plenty of Betonica officinalis, Geranium pratense, 
 
 1 Had Peveril of the Peak been then written, the diarist 
 would have known that this was Peveril Castle, built by a son 
 of William the Conqueror.
 
 62 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Genista tinctoria, etc. After leaving the Peak, 
 ascend a steep hill, and look back towards Castle- 
 ton ; the road here rises by a long winding ascent 
 to a very considerable elevation. Pass along the 
 level of the high grounds, excluded for some time 
 from the sight of any human abode. Here fall in 
 with a shepherd regaling on his simple fare, his 
 flocks feeding around him on the short heathy 
 hill. It was two p.m., and the day was hot and 
 sultry. The sight of this simple swain, in his 
 pastoral solitude, recalled to my mind the follow- 
 ing beautiful pastoral of Cunningham, which I 
 amused myself by repeating aloud as I journeyed 
 along the hill : 
 
 ' O'er moorlands and mountains, rude, barren and bare, 
 As wilder'd and wearied I roam,' etc. 1 
 
 From this reverie, however, I was soon awakened 
 by the sudden bursting in upon my sight of one 
 of the most extensive and striking prospects I 
 have ever contemplated. From an elevation of 
 many hundred feet high the town of Sheffield 
 appears at your feet, with the charming country 
 around it ; on your right hand the level part of 
 Derbyshire ; and before you, towards the north 
 and north-east, the rich Ridings of Yorkshire are 
 seen stretching out in boundless extent to where 
 they are lost in the verge of the horizon. 
 
 Come down to Sharrow-head about three o'clock 
 
 1 The opening lines of ' Content : A Pastoral,' by John 
 Cunningham, Irish poet and dramatist (1729-1773).
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 63 
 
 p.m. Find my good old friend Mr. Mackenzie 1 
 at home. We have not seen one another for ten 
 years. The meeting such as might be expected, 
 but cannot well be described. The world has 
 made him fortunate, but it has not made him 
 proud, nor changed his nature in the smallest 
 degree. The same independence of sentiment, 
 the same benevolence of disposition, the same 
 generosity of heart, not to be impaired by time, 
 place, or circumstances. He receives me with all 
 that warmth of affection, and with all those 
 delicate attentions, by which true friendship can 
 at any time be distinguished. 
 
 Here I and my horse rest, and are thankful ! 
 
 1 The Rev. Alexander Mackenzie, curate of St. Paul's, 
 Sheffield, from 1789 to 1816, and previously chaplain to the 
 Earl of Eglinton. A beautiful monument by Chantrey was 
 erected to his memory in the church of which he was incum- 
 bent. It appears that he acquired the estate of Sharrow- 
 head by his marriage with the niece of the former proprietor, 
 a Mr. Batty. He is described as ' one of the six men in the 
 town who were above 6 feet high,' and at the date of the 
 Diary he was forty-one years of age. It may be added that 
 the references to his personal character made by others quite 
 justify the warm admiration bestowed upon him by his friend 
 the diarist. (See Dr. Gatty's edition of Hunter's Hallam- 
 shire, 1869, p. 275 ; and Mr. R. E. Leader's Reminiscences of 
 Old Sheffield, 1876, p. 103.)
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Sheffield In the Stage-Coach to London vi& Nottingham, 
 Leicester and Northampton. 
 
 ft/TONDAY, itfh July. Take an evening 
 IV*. walk with my friend to Sheffield, and 
 view the town. Find there our country- 
 men, Captain McDonald, Dalchoshnie, 1 Captain 
 Alexander Stewart of Balnakeilly, and a Captain 
 McKilligan of Banff; the two last officers of 
 the Sheffield Regiment. Go to the new Infirmary 
 and Barracks. 
 
 Tuesday, I4.th July. Sharrow-head. In the 
 morning at breakfast have the pleasure of bless- 
 ing the three lovely children of my friend. They 
 had been the day before out on a visit, and I have 
 
 1 That is, of the family of McDonald of Dalchoshnie, or 
 Dalchosnie, Perthshire. This officer may have been 
 Alexander, the son and heir of the then laird, or he may 
 have been a younger son, Donald, who afterwards distin- 
 guished himself at Waterloo, where he commanded the 92nd 
 Highlanders. The Dalchoshnie family has a brilliant military 
 record. The father and grandfather of this officer fought in 
 the Jacobite army of 1745-46, and of five brothers in the 
 fourth generation all were in the army. (See Burke's Landed 
 Gentry?)
 
 A Tour through Great Britain 65 
 
 not seen them till now. To see those whom we 
 love, and to see them prosperous, happy, and 
 respected, affords to an ingenuous mind a satis- 
 faction not to be expressed ! 
 
 Go down with my friend to Sheffield, and dine 
 at the Tontine 1 with our countrymen the two 
 captains (having first in the forenoon taken a turn 
 with Mr. Mackenzie to see the Snuff-mills of this 
 place, on a wonderful scale by the Messrs. 
 Wilson). 
 
 Wednesday, i$th July. Walk down to the Ton- 
 tine, and call upon our friends the two captains, 
 who accompany us to Sharrow-head to dinner. 
 After dinner go down to the parade, and have a 
 view of the Sheffield Regiment. Return in the 
 evening to the hospitable house of my friend, and 
 converse with him tete-a-tete, at and after supper, 
 on ' the days of former years.' 2 
 
 Thursday, i6th July. Take a ride out with my 
 friend to Norton in Derbyshire, and dine there 
 
 1 This was one of the many ' Tontine ' inns, so called 
 because the money for their erection was subscribed on the 
 ' tontine ' system. The Tontine at Sheffield, which was com- 
 pleted in 1785, appears to have been one of the best inns of 
 the day. ' Dr. Gatty gives a good description of what it was 
 in its glory, when " twenty horses and five postboys were 
 always ready when the yard-bell rang," and how suddenly it 
 collapsed on the opening of the Midland Railway. . . . 
 " Thus one of the fine old English inns, in the courtyard of 
 which a carriage and pair could be easily driven round, came 
 to grief.'" (See Dr. Gatty's edition of Hunter's Hallam- 
 shire, 1869, p. 199 ; and R. E. Leader's Reminiscences of Old 
 Sheffield^ 1876, pp. 214, 215.) 
 
 2 This quotation reminds one that Macpherson's Ossian 
 was at that time very much in the air.
 
 66 Diary of a Tour 
 
 with the Norton Club, a very agreeable society of 
 gentlemen who meet there once a week, and of 
 which society my friend is a member both beloved 
 and esteemed, as he is by every society who know 
 him. Here we have an elegant rural repast, and 
 play in the afternoon at bowls on a beautiful 
 bowling-green on a high, healthy situation adjoin- 
 ing to the inn, where we dined with Mr. Smith, 
 brother-in-law to my friend, a pleasant gentleman 
 possessed of a considerable fortune already, and 
 having a much greater one in prospect. The 
 other gentlemen this day at the club were a Mr. 
 Staniforth, a merchant in Sheffield, and a Mr. 
 Parker, a gentleman of the law there. 
 
 Returning in the evening to Sharrow, as we de- 
 scended the hill from Norton towards the bank 
 of the Sheff [or Sheaf], which here separates the 
 County of York from that of Derby, we enjoy one 
 of the first of prospects. The town of Sheffield 
 lies in the heart of finely swelling hills that rise all 
 round it, adorned with well-cultivated fields, 
 beautiful plantations, and enclosures, with a vast 
 number of elegant seats of gentlemen, all enjoying 
 the finest situation. 
 
 Have another agreeable tete-a-ttte with my 
 friend after supper. Go to bed and enjoy sweet 
 repose. 
 
 Friday, ijth July. Sharrow. Go down in the 
 forenoon to Sheffield with my friend, and call 
 upon the two captains, etc. Thence am con- 
 ducted to see the Steam-engines, the Cutlery-
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 67 
 
 works, the Coalerie of the Duke of Norfolk ; with 
 which highly gratified. 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie conducts me to the shop of a 
 cutler, where I purchase, strange to tell ! twelve 
 good knives with cases at the rate of one shilling, 
 and have my own penknife sharpened into the 
 bargain. To one who has not seen the amazing 
 works of this place, such a circumstance appears 
 truly incredible. These knives are here made in 
 vast quantities at this low rate, and sent over to 
 Germany. Amazing fortunes rapidly made here 
 by cutlery-works ; and people rising every day 
 from nothing to eminence, by dint of industry. 
 This day have also a view of the great ironworks, 
 and the method of refining iron in the furnace and 
 under the hammer. This an astonishing work ; a 
 semblance to Carron. 1 
 
 Return at two p.m. to Sharrow. Dress, and go 
 with my friend to dine at the elegant country-seat 
 of Mr. William Shore, 2 a man whose grandfather 
 was a common hammerman, and who now enjoys 
 a fortune of some thousands a year. I was a good 
 deal struck with the elegance and luxury of his 
 table. A numerous company of ladies and gentle- 
 men, viz., Misses Walker from Manchester, Miss 
 Hutchinson of Sheffield, Mr. Grieve, Mr. Wyat, 
 
 1 The famous ironworks of Carron, in Stirlingshire, were 
 established by Dr. Roebuck, of Sheffield, in 1760. It was 
 here that ' carronades ' were first made, whence their name. 
 
 2 This was evidently Mr. William Shore, of Tapton Hill. 
 A son of his, who assumed his maternal uncle's name of 
 Nightingale, was the father of Miss Florence Nightingale. 
 (See Dr. Gatty's Sheffield: Past and Present, 1873, p. 177.) 
 
 52
 
 68 Diary of a Tour 
 
 etc., equally pleasant in their persons and in their 
 manners. Mr. Shore takes me to see his place and 
 garden : his is one of the first seats in this neigh- 
 bourhood. Stay here till after supper, and walk 
 home with my friend to Sharrow, highly pleased 
 with the manner in which we have spent the day. 
 
 Saturday, i8th July. Sharrow. Walk down to 
 Sheffield, and call upon the two captains. Come 
 up with them to Sharrow to dinner. Company 
 at dinner this day in the house of my friend con- 
 sists of the worthy Landlord himself, Mr. Jo: 
 Walker, a very rich man ; Mr. Smith, brother-in- 
 law to Mr. Mackenzie, Mr. Grieve, Captain Alex- 
 ander Stewart, and Captain McKilligan, Mr. 
 Lamprier, Mr. Wilson, Mr. Preston, 1 the parson 
 of Sheffield, Mr. Elliot. 
 
 A hearty and happy company as ever I sat in ; 
 and entertained by my worthy friend in the most 
 easy and elegant style of hospitality. After tea 
 a party at whist ; and a number of the company 
 stay supper. 
 
 Sunday, igth July. Sharrow. This day accom- 
 pany Mr. Mackenzie to Dronfield, about five miles 
 from Sharrow. He here introduces me to the 
 amiable family of his brother-in-law, Mr. Smith. 
 Mrs. Smith, his mother, an old, infirm, sensible 
 woman. Young Mrs. Smith, a pleasant, elegant 
 woman, extremely affable and attentive to 
 strangers. 
 
 1 The Rev. Matthew Preston, 'assistant-minister of 
 Sheffield' from 1776 to 1829.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 69 
 
 Go to the church of Dronfield with Mrs. Smith, 
 younger, and a Miss Holwell, a daughter of a 
 clergyman in Devonshire. Have an elegant and 
 affecting sermon from Mr. Mackenzie. The choir 
 here somewhat singular. After sermon return to 
 Mr. Smith's house, and see his garden, his dogs, 
 and his horses. This gentleman has a good 
 fortune, and the prospect of a very considerable 
 addition to it ; amiable, mild, and complaisant in 
 his manners. Dine here with the family, and 
 introduced to a Mrs. , a Scotch lady. 
 
 After dinner return to the church in the after- 
 noon, and hear another very affecting discourse 
 from my friend. He is a very popular man in 
 this country, and deserves to be so in the best 
 sense of the word. The Service for the recovery 
 of a woman after childbirth. Hear a curious 
 chorus perform an Anthem in vocal and instru- 
 mental music, flutes, hautboys, etc. It has a 
 very pleasing effect upon me, unaccustomed to 
 such exhibitions. The audience extremely atten- 
 tive to my friend, and seemingly much affected 
 by his sermon. After sermon the bells ring all 
 the afternoon in honour of my friend. He here 
 performs the funeral service over the corpse of a 
 child. Mr. Smith and I accompany him to 
 witness it. After which return to tea. After tea 
 walk out with the company, and view the village 
 and its very romantic neighbourhood. Take 
 leave of our friends in the evening, and ride home 
 by the bridle-way to Sharrow.
 
 jo Diary of a Tour 
 
 Monday, 2Oth July. Sharrow. Leave my horse 
 with my friend. Set out at half-past three 
 o'clock a.m. with Mr. Mackenzie's boy carrying 
 my saddle-bags to the Toll-bar separating the 
 counties of York and Derby, where take my seat 
 on the stage-coach at half-past four. Breakfast 
 at Chesterfield, remarkable for its twisted spire, 
 apparently crooked, and like to fall. Mr. Wilkin- 
 son, the banker, has an elegant house on the east 
 side of the town. 
 
 Mount our coach after swallowing breakfast in 
 a few minutes, and set out again in company of 
 a Mr. Mackenzie 1 from Sheffield. Stevens, a 
 blind man, entertains us highly all the way, with 
 music on a fife and a fiddle, and sings like a 
 nightingale. The weather exceedingly warm and 
 favourable, enjoy a delightful view of the country 
 from the outside of the coach. Arrive about ten 
 a.m. at Mansfield, where our jolly blind piper 
 leaves us. Set out for Nottingham, along Sher- 
 wood Forest, fourteen miles long. Some fine old 
 trees scattered here and there over it ; some 
 places of it begin to be well cultivated. Dine at 
 Nottingham, a large and elegant town, finely 
 situated on the north bank of the Trent, a broad 
 river here (with a bridge of seventeen arches), 
 which has its course to north-east, and at last 
 joins the Humber. The streets, houses, and 
 
 1 Perhaps a slip of the diarist's or of the transliterator's : it 
 seems unlikely that this surname should be so common in 
 Sheffield at that time.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 71 
 
 market-place here broad, cleanly, and elegant. 
 The castle stands on a high rock at the west end 
 of the town. A remarkable bed shewn here of 
 Queen Anne. 
 
 After leaving Nottingham, pass the bridge, and 
 for some miles look back on one of the most 
 charming prospects in England. Come in the 
 afternoon to Loughborough ; the streets here 
 rather narrow, dirty, and irregular. From hence 
 proceed to Leicester, where arrive about six p.m. 
 This also a spacious and elegant town. The old 
 tapestry-work revived here by an ingenious lady. 
 After running a little through the streets and 
 market-place, to get a cursory view of it, drink 
 tea with two ladies from Mansfield ; two young 
 boys, a gentleman of fortune's sons in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Nottingham, with their tutor, Monsr. 
 Egrace, a French priest ; and a Mr. Coleman of 
 Leicester, a sea-faring gentleman, who accom- 
 pany us all the way to London. 
 
 From Leicester to Harborough. From thence 
 by star-light to Northampton, where we arrive 
 about three o'clock a.m. on the morning of 
 Tuesday. This one of the first market-places, 
 with the best houses and streets of any town in 
 England. Leave Northampton, and proceed to 
 Newport- Pagnell to breakfast. From thence to 
 Wooburne [Woburn] in Bedfordshire. Have a 
 fine view of the Duke of Bedford's. His deer- 
 park fourteen miles round : many fallow and 
 some red deer here. House to be seen only on
 
 72 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 Mondays. His Grace supposed to be the richest 
 duke in England. 
 
 Arrive at Dunstable, where enter Hartfordshire. 
 From Dunstable set out for St. Albans, and pass 
 on three miles beyond it to a good inn, where 
 dine. After dinner set out for Barnet. Hay- 
 makers on every hand busy ; a fine crop appear- 
 ing everywhere. Here take the outside of the 
 coach to view the country. Dreadful thunder- 
 storm. At Highgate have a view of the Thames, 
 the City, etc., etc. 
 
 ' Heav'ns ! what a goodly prospect spreads around !' 
 
 Enter the Capital by Islington, and arrive at 
 half-past five p.m. at the Bull-and-Mouth Inn 
 near Aldersgate, where put up all night, and 
 enjoy comfortable repose, having had none for 
 the two preceding nights, and having in the 
 course of thirty-six hours travelled one hundred 
 and sixty-five miles.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 London and Windsor. 
 
 TJ7~EDNESDA Y, 22nd July. London. Rise 
 
 r r at eight o'clock a.m. and dress. After 
 
 breakfast, write a letter to my friend 
 
 ' Captain Patrick Mackenzie of the Royals, Corsica. 
 
 In the forenoon it rains hard. Not choosing to 
 
 venture abroad to deliver my letters, I amuse 
 
 myself in the house, by extending my Notes, and 
 
 perusing the London Directory, &c. 
 
 Dine at the Bull-and-Mouth Inn. Walk out in 
 the afternoon to St. Paul's Churchyard. Walk 
 round St. Paul's Church, and take a general view 
 of that stately monument. Though by all accounts 
 the second in Europe, it wants uniformity in its 
 external appearance, not being equally balanced 
 on each side of the cupola. Sir Christopher Wren 
 intended something else than what has been 
 executed in his name. From St. Paul's Church- 
 yard direct my course to Blackfriars Bridge. 
 From thence have a grand view of the town, the 
 river, and the shipping down by London Bridge ;
 
 74 Diary of a Tour 
 
 and of Temple Gardens, Somerset House, the 
 Adelphi, &c., up the river. 
 
 Pass Blackfriars Bridge, and set out along the 
 south side of the river to Westminster Bridge. 
 Arrive there happily in time to witness a grand 
 anniversary sailing match on the river. The prize 
 a silver bowl, run for by six barges with four men 
 in each ; the distance from Blackfriars Bridge to 
 Putney Bridge, about eight miles up the river, and 
 back again to opposite Vauxhall. The vast con- 
 course of people on the Bridge and on each side 
 of the river, the vast number of boats and barges 
 with splendid company on board, the rowers keep- 
 ing time in the most regular harmony, &c., was to 
 me a scene of perfect astonishment. While 
 engaged in the contemplation of this scene, whom 
 do I observe on the bridge beside me but my old 
 school and college-fellow Mr. David Ritchie, 
 depute-chaplain to the Scotch Brigade. Tap him 
 on the shoulder ; he turns about and immediately 
 recognises me. We walk together arm-in-arm up 
 the river on the Westminster side to view the 
 boats on their return from Putney ; each bank of 
 the river lined with a crowd of spectators almost 
 impenetrable. Take our station opposite to 
 Vauxhall. About half-past seven the boats return 
 with the returning tide, preceded by a very un- 
 usual and extraordinary spectacle ; viz. : A most 
 magnificent barge, constructed somewhat in the 
 form of Neptune's triumphal car, as described by 
 Virgil and the old Roman and Grecian poets.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 75 
 
 This elegant, expensive, fanciful machine, it seems, 
 was first designed in honour of Lord Howe's 
 Victory over the French fleet j 1 and it has lately 
 been altered a little in honour of the Prince of 
 Wales' marriage. 2 It was accompanied by a 
 thousand other barges with ladies and gentle- 
 men ; and as it dropt slow down the river, its 
 wheels seemed to move upon the surface of 
 the water, and it appeared to be drawn along 
 by two large sea- monsters having the necks 
 and manes and heads of horses that proudly 
 arched their necks, and moved their heads, 
 and bit their reins as they moved along the 
 deep. ,<In the Car aloft the torch of Hymen 
 burned, while Cupids fanned the flame. In the 
 mean time the musical band of the Duke of York, 
 that is, the Band of the Horse Guards, being 
 stationed on board this wonderful machine, per- 
 formed the most sublime pieces of music in the 
 most masterly manner ; the notes coming softened 
 along the water, produced on all sides the most 
 admirable effects. 
 
 Soon after this watery procession had stopped 
 past the Park Bridge, the sailing-racers came 
 down the river with vast rapidity, accompanied 
 also by a thousand barges covering the whole 
 surface of the Thames. While the gaining vessel 
 approached to the goal, the guns were fired on 
 
 1 Off Ushant, June i, 1794. 
 
 8 George IV., at that time Prince of Wales, was married 
 to Princess Caroline of Brunswick on April 8, 1795.
 
 j6 Diary of a Tour 
 
 each side : and the whole vessels in the evening 
 sailed down towards Westminster Bridge, while 
 the crowds on each side of the river withdrew 
 by slow degrees to the City. Even in the 
 most luxurious times of ancient Rome, never sure 
 could old Father Tiber boast a nobler spectacle. 
 
 Mr. Ritchie and I retire immediately to his 
 apartment in Barton Street, Westminster, where 
 we drink tea in the company of a French priest. 
 After tea, we walk up together along the side of 
 the river again. Take a boat and sail over to 
 Vauxhall by the light of the moon. The evening 
 being very favourable, this was by far the grandest 
 exhibition at Vauxhall this season. The company 
 very numerous and brilliant. Much struck with 
 the illuminations, walks, arbours, &c. ; but more 
 with the appearance of the company ; and more 
 still with their manners. Evening-singing in the 
 Orchestra ; songs by Mrs. Mountain, Mr. Taylor, 
 &c. The Vauxhall band and the Duke of York's 
 play by turn. 
 
 About eleven p.m. my friend Ritchie and I re- 
 tire to a box and refresh ourselves with a bottle of 
 Port. Various reflections arise in our minds 
 during the different stages of the entertainment. 
 Curious attachments formed here. Vast numbers 
 of ladies of pleasure. The manners of most of 
 these seem rather calculated to confirm virtue 
 than to weaken its influence on the reflecting 
 mind. Good heavens ! what prostitution and 
 corruption prevail in this City ! What a contrast
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 77 
 
 this to the Lakes of Cumberland, 1 and the Caves 
 of Yorkshire, &c. ! Do not many of these strum- 
 pets seem modest ? and are not many of them 
 even of an angelic form ? But alas ! it is plainly 
 nothing else but outward semblance ; within all is 
 vice and rottenness ! Corrupted themselves, they 
 make it their business to corrupt the heedless and 
 the unwary. And these beautiful young creatures, 
 these female children, what have they to do here 
 at this time of the night, or rather of the morning, 
 when they ought to sleep in their beds at home ? 
 ' Alas !' said my friend, ' they are drawn into these 
 haunts of vice by women who are old in vice 
 themselves and who glory in training up these 
 poor infants in the ways of wickedness.' It is 
 now two in the morning, and the scene begins to 
 be riot and dissipation. ' Let us withdraw for a 
 little,' says he, ' into this dark and solitary arbour.' 
 ' Seest thou yon stars, my friend, that twinkle 
 over our heads in the azure heavens ?' ' Ay,' 
 says Ritchie, ' the smallest of them is greater than 
 the globe of this Earth.' * Then,' said I, ' how 
 exceedingly contemptible are the lights of Vaux- 
 hall, and how soon are they extinguished ! 
 Enough of it. I am satisfied. Let us quit this 
 scene ; and betake ourselves to our respective 
 homes.' 2 
 
 1 Visited by the diarist in 1794. 
 
 2 Although the moralisings of these two worthy parsons 
 contain nothing very striking in themselves, they help to 
 complete this picture of a night at Vauxhall Gardens, to- 
 wards the close of the eighteenth century.
 
 78 Diary of a Tour 
 
 We walk together to Westminster Bridge, and 
 bid good-night. Three a.m. struck solemnly 
 from St. Paul's, as I mused alone through the 
 Churchyard. A watchman conducts me to my 
 lodgings. 
 
 Thursday, 2yd July. London. About ten o'clock 
 a.m., walk to Blackfriars Bridge on purpose to 
 take a boat up the river to Westminster, but find 
 it impracticable on account of the high west wind 
 and the want of the tide. Saunter on foot along 
 the Strand to Covent Garden, where enquire in 
 different places for Forbes the bookseller, but 
 could not possibly find him. Proceed to West- 
 minster. Call upon Mr. Humphrey Donaldson, 
 Army-Agent, Whitehall, and have the happiness 
 of finding him in his Counting-room. Front view 
 of the Horse Guards. Proceed by the Parlia- 
 ment House to Fludyers Street, and deliver my 
 letters to Captain Mackay. Thence by West- 
 minster College to Barton Street, to the lodgings 
 of Mr. Ritchie, who accompanies me to West- 
 minster Abbey. Walk round this stupendous 
 place, and take a view of the Monuments. Thence 
 to James's Park. View of Charleton [Carlton] 
 House, St. James', Buckingham Palace, house of 
 Mr. Pitt, &c. 
 
 Dine at four p.m. at the Golden Cross Hotel. 
 Thence proceed to Oxford Street, to the house 
 of my friend Mr. John Brodie, baker, who insists 
 upon my staying in his house as his guest till I 
 leave London. Walk with him after tea to
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 79 
 
 Holborn, and away to the Bull-and-Mouth Inn, 
 near Aldersgate, where I clear my bill, call a 
 coach, put my saddle-bags, Mr. Brodie and my- 
 self on board, and drive to Mr. Brodie's, where 
 arrive about eight in the evening. Mr. Brodie 
 accompanies me through a number of the streets 
 and squares of Mary-le-bone. This a Parish of 
 vast extent, lying to the north of Oxford Street : 
 the buildings all of the most magnificent sort. 
 Residence this of vast numbers of the gentry and 
 nobility of the two kingdoms. Elegance and 
 conveniency joined to magnificence ; superior to 
 anything I have yet seen ; and containing more 
 inhabitants, this parish alone, it is said, than all 
 Edinburgh put together. After walking through 
 many of the squares and streets of this wonder- 
 ful place, Mary-le-bone, my friend Mr. Brodie and 
 I arrive fatigued at his house about ten. Sup, 
 and go to bed. 
 
 Friday, 2^lh July. London. After breakfast 
 set out by the Haymarket to Charing Cross. 
 Thence to James's Park. The Horse Guards 
 march from the King's Palace along the Park to 
 the Parade, an admirable Band of music playing 
 all the way. Go down along with them to see 
 them drawn up, near the house of Mr. Pitt. At 
 half-past eleven a.m. step into a coach, and set 
 out for Blackheath along Westminster Bridge. 
 Pass through a part of the Counties of Surrey 
 and Kent. Come to Deptford, separated from 
 Greenwich by a small brook. Arrive at Black-
 
 80 Diary of a Tour 
 
 heath about one p.m. Surprise my old friend 
 Mr. Fisher of the Academy there. Find him 
 comfortably situated with an amiable wife and 
 five sweet children. This a pleasing sight to me, 
 and a sight too that conveys a serious lesson of 
 morality to me. Introduced here to a Count 
 Duroure, a French gentleman of the Army, one 
 of the many French refugees now in Great 
 Britain. 1 Messrs. Ritchie and Gibson arrive at 
 Blackheath to dinner. After dinner go in the 
 afternoon to see Greenwich Hospital, the first 
 piece of architecture in Britain ; a striking proof 
 of the munificent spirit of its Royal Founders 
 and of the generosity and opulence of the British 
 Nation. As we approach to it from Greenwich 
 Park by the Observatory, the grandeur of the 
 Hospital itself, with the beautifully diversified 
 grounds in its vicinity ; the river Thames and 
 the Shipping, for many miles winding in a ser- 
 pentine direction up to London ; the numerous 
 spires of the City seen distinct and at different 
 distances through the trees ; the finely-cultivated 
 grounds of Middlesex and Essex on the other 
 side of the river before us ; with the suburbs of 
 
 1 This was perhaps the Count Duroure who made himself 
 somewhat conspicuous in London in the latter part of 1784 
 (see the Annual Register for that year, pp. 90, 96, 97, and 
 103, of ' Principal Occurrences '). At that date he was 
 about 28 years of age,' and was described as ' Lieutenant 
 Duroure, late of the horse-guards Blue,' and as ' of a noble 
 family in France.' It is to be noted, however, that his father 
 was then alive and in the service of the King of France. 
 Consequently, the e'migre' of the Diary may have been the 
 father, not the son.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 81 
 
 London stretching out in boundless extent, and 
 the rising-grounds about Highgate and Hamp- 
 stead in the back part of the scene ; form 
 altogether such a prospect as is not to be de- 
 scribed, and I believe is seldom to be seen upon 
 the surface of this Globe. 
 
 Having surveyed at leisure the Council Chamber, 
 the Painted Hall, the bold design and masterly 
 execution of Sir James Thornhill, together with 
 the other departments of this magnificent Struc- 
 ture (one thousand four hundred Pensioners dine 
 in one Hall) ; we took our leave of Mr. Fisher 
 and the Count, and set out again for the Metro- 
 polis in a long-coach, 1 and in the company of 
 twenty ladies and gentlemen, disposed in two 
 rows, facing each other, and moving laterally, 
 in this manner forming an agreeable party ; and 
 joking and conversing together on different sub- 
 jects, we arrived about half-past nine at Charing 
 Cross, where, on account of the heavy rain, we 
 were taken up in different coaches according to 
 our different distances ; Mr. Gibson and I setting 
 out together for Oxford Street, where arrive in 
 due time to supper. 
 
 Saturday, 2$th July. London. Get up at five 
 a.m., and go with Mr. Brodie to see the Green- 
 market at Covent Garden. This an unusual and 
 very astonishing scene; perhaps the first green- 
 
 1 The ordinary covered stage-coach was then known as a 
 ' short coach,' while a ' long coach ' was probably an open 
 brake. (See Mrs. Grant's Letters from the Mountains^ 
 vol. hi., Letter XLI.) 
 
 6
 
 82 Diary of a Tour 
 
 market of any in the world ; and three times 
 crowded every week, Saturday being the principal 
 day. There are several other green-markets in 
 London ; but this by far the greatest. It is im- 
 possible to form any idea of the vast profusion 
 of roots, and herbs, and flowers, and fruits, of 
 all sorts and of the very best qualities, all in 
 perfect maturity, packed up in the most cleanly, 
 secure, and ingenious manner, in hampers, and 
 barrows, and baskets, and carts, and waggons, 
 &c. ; and here and there green -houses, with 
 varieties of green-house plants for sale ; with 
 thousands rushing in from every quarter, and 
 women (principally Welch and Irish) walking 
 with immense loads of fruits, &c., on their heads 
 from the distance of perhaps six or eight miles 
 or more from Kent, and Surrey, and Middlesex, 
 and Essex, &c. Nothing to be seen here for 
 many hours of the morning, but bustle and hurry, 
 cooks and cook-maids, scullions and kitchen- 
 boys, men-servants and maid-servants, and people 
 of every denomination and description, carrying 
 off from this great market vegetable-luxuries of 
 every kind, to satisfy the luxurious appetites of 
 this immense Metropolis ; so that almost before 
 noon-day every thing is disposed of, and the 
 bustle ceases. 
 
 In the forenoon went with Miss Mary and 
 Miss Nancy Brodie to see the Panorama. Spent 
 two hours with great pleasure contemplating and 
 admiring this wonderful power of perspective-
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 83 
 
 In one apartment is exhibited a most striking 
 view of Lord Howe's Victory of the First June, 
 1794. In another department the City of London, 
 viewed from the Albion Mills ; sixty-five Spires. 
 Before dinner, went with Mr. Brodie and Mr. Gray 
 to see the Porter Brewery of Mr. Meux. His 
 largest Vat twice the size of that of Mr. Whit- 
 bread ; twenty-five feet high ; one hundred and 
 ninety-five feet in circumference ; and contains 
 twenty thousand Barrels. His second Vat half 
 this size. Taste of his Porter drawn off from 
 this second vat. Mr. Meux is extending his 
 scale of operations, and is determined to be the 
 first Porter Brewer in London, that is, in the 
 world. 
 
 In the afternoon Mr. Brodie accompanies me to 
 Chelsea Hospital up the Thames some miles from 
 London. After taking an outside prospect of the 
 buildings, went in to see the wards. The old 
 soldiers here on a very comfortable footing ; as the 
 old sailors are at Greenwich. Amazing cleanli- 
 ness and order preserved in the Hospital. Take 
 a view of the Hall, where one hundred and fifty of 
 the Pensioners dine together. Here Charles II. 
 is portrayed on a very large scale, with several 
 striking emblematical figures around him. From 
 the Great Hall went into the Chapel. Here is a 
 very fine painting of our Saviour's Ascension, the 
 work of the celebrated Sebastian Ricci. From 
 Chelsea walk up Sloane's Street, and away to 
 Kensington. Here fall in accidentally with Mr. 
 
 62
 
 84 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Forsyth of the King's Gardens, 1 who treats us 
 with great kindness and attention. Walk home 
 in the evening through Hyde Park, where see 
 some of the finest women I ever saw in my life. 
 Arrive at Oxford Street to supper. 
 
 Sunday, 26th July. Windsor. Rise and set 
 out by New Bond Street to Piccadilly, where take 
 the coach at half-past six a.m., and passing 
 through Kensington, Turnam-green, Hammer- 
 smith, Brentford, Hounslow, Maidenhead, &c., 
 arrive about eleven a.m. at Eton and Windsor, 
 which are separated from one another by the 
 Thames. View of Eton College. Breakfast at 
 the White Hart, Windsor. After breakfast go to 
 St. George's Chapel, one of the finest churches in 
 the world. Remark the painted windows and 
 altar-piece. Hear divine service performed here. 
 The Organs remarkably soft and melodious. See 
 the King and Queen, the Princess Royal, and 
 three other of the young Princes, together with 
 the Duchess of York, and the Prince of Orange, 
 &c. After divine service the King and Queen 
 with the Duchess of York go up to the Palace in 
 one coach, the Princes in another, the Princess 
 Royal and the Prince of Orange, with some of the 
 Ladies in Waiting, walking up to the Palace, the 
 day being exceedingly fine. 
 
 Walk for an hour through Windsor forest. 
 
 1 William Forsyth, F.L.S. Born at Old Meldrum, Aber- 
 deenshire, in 1737. Appointed Superintendent of the Royal 
 Gardens at Kensington in 1784. Died in 1804. (See 
 Chambers' Biographical Dictionary.}
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 85 
 
 Then up to the Terrace, where enjoy one of the 
 finest inland prospects that can anywhere be seen. 
 Join the company to see the Paintings in the 
 Castle. Windsor a favourite residence of His 
 Majesty, and no wonder ; it is by far the first 
 palace he has. From the Round Tower one can 
 see very distinctly on a clear day the Cupola of 
 St. Paul's, and several spires of the city of 
 London. The country finely wooded and well 
 cultivated round Windsor; and the Thames is 
 seen winding most sweetly along by Eton, and 
 hiding his head in the majestic shades of 
 Windsor. 
 
 ' Ye distant spires, ye antique tow'rs 
 That crown the wat'ry glade/ etc. 
 
 Mount the stage-coach again at 4 p.m., and 
 enjoy a delightful evening ride to London. Ob- 
 serve by the wayside from my airy vehicle great 
 plenty of the Sagittaria sagittifolia, the Butomus 
 umbellatus, &c. About the walls of Windsor 
 Castle plenty of Asplenium Ruta muraria, Antir- 
 rhinum Cymbalaria, &c. Arrive at Hyde Park 
 Corner in the evening. St. James's Park and 
 Hyde Park crowded with company walking. 
 Elegant show of beauty and fashion. 
 
 Monday, 2jth July. London. Set out in the 
 morning in a coach by Holborn, the Mansion 
 House, the Bank of England, &c., to Billingsgate. 
 This a curious scene. Here swallow a fresh had- 
 dock nicely dressed, and drink a pot of porter
 
 86 Diary of a Tour 
 
 with Messrs. Brodie and Webster, with whom take 
 a boat and sail down the Thames through the 
 shipping to within a very few miles of Gravesend. 
 
 Pleasant company on board the Blossom. 
 Delightful view of the coasts of Kent and Essex. 
 Come in prospect of the East India Fleet just 
 arrived in the river ; six millions of pounds ster- 
 ling. Get along-side of the Phoenix, East India- 
 man. Pleasant and affecting interview with Mr. 
 George Brodie of that ship. Get immediately on 
 board. Dine there. See on board an Elephant, 
 a present from the Nabob of Arcot to Her Majesty 
 the Queen of Britain. See there also a curious 
 monkey, some Java sparrows, an elk, and several 
 sheep of the Cape of Good Hope, &c., &c. 
 
 Great luxury and elegance on board the East 
 India ships. Take leave of our friends here, and 
 sail up in an open boat to Wapping by the light of 
 the moon. Get on shore at Wapping by ten p.m. 
 Walk up from Wapping by Tower Hill, &c., &c., 
 to Oxford Street, nearly six miles. Arrive safe at 
 home by half-past eleven, p.m. Sleep soundly 
 after the numerous and striking adventures of the 
 day. 
 
 Tuesday, 2%th July. London. Go in the fore- 
 noon with Misses Margaret and Nancy Brodie to 
 visit St. Paul's. This one of the most superb 
 edifices in the world. See the model of it as 
 originally intended by Sir Christopher Wren. 
 Height of the Dome of St. Paul's four hundred 
 and four feet above the pavement. Length of
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 87 
 
 St. Paul's from east to west within the walls, five 
 hundred and ten feet. From north to south 
 within the doors of the porticos, two hundred and 
 eighty-two feet. Its circuit two thousand two 
 hundred and ninety-two feet. Extent of the 
 ground-plat whereon St. Paul's stands, two acres, 
 sixteen perches, twenty-three yards, one foot. 
 
 The Library very curious. Some strange an- 
 tique manuscripts shown here. Whispering 
 Gallery very amazing. The smallest whisper 
 heard here one hundred and forty feet distant 
 from the whisperer in a straight line. This effect 
 produced by the rotundity of the Dome. Shut- 
 ting of the doors of the Dome like thunder. 
 Ascend with the ladies from the whispering- 
 gallery all the way to the golden gallery, and from 
 thence to the top of the Cupola. Go out and 
 walk round here. It blowing a fresh gale, and the 
 smoke of the city being thereby cleared away, 
 have a very stupendous view of London, the river, 
 the bridges, the shipping, &c., perhaps the richest 
 prospect in the world. Descend to the pavement 
 within, by upwards of six hundred steps. Take a 
 view of the organs, the inside of the Cathedral 
 where divine service is performed, the Altar, &c. : 
 and return to Oxford Street, after having been 
 five hours absent from it. 
 
 In the afternoon walk out through the parks to 
 the north of Mary-le-bone, and ascend the rising 
 grounds at Hampstead. The prospect of London, 
 &c., from this elevation is very pleasant ; and this
 
 88 Diary of a Tour 
 
 is the point from which Thomson is supposed to 
 begin the description that introduces his admir- 
 able panegyric upon Great Britain : 
 
 ' Heav'ns ! what a goodly prospect spreads around, 
 Of hills, and dales, and woods, and lawns, and spires, 
 And glitt'ring towns, and gilded streams,' etc. 
 
 Wednesday, 2gth July. London. Go down after 
 breakfast by New Bond Street, where meet by 
 accident my friend Mr. Josiah Walker from Eton, 
 who informs me that the Marquis of Tullibardine 
 had that morning sailed for the Continent on his 
 travels. 1 
 
 Call upon my old pupils Misses Euphemia and 
 Maria French in Dover Street. This a very 
 unexpected and pleasing interview. Walk thence 
 to the Court of St.. James's Palace, and see the 
 shifting of the Guards. The Duke of York's 
 Band, and the Duke of Gloucester's ; both 
 remarkably fine. Great concourse of people 
 here to witness this sight. Saunter down through 
 St. James' Park to Westminster Abbey. Walk 
 in and view again the tombs. Proceed afterwards 
 by Westminster College to the lodgings of Mr. 
 Ritchie. Not finding him within, take a coach 
 and go out alone to Greenwich. Walk up 
 through Greenwich Park by the Observatory, 
 
 1 This Marquis of Tullibardine was the eldest son of John, 
 fourth Duke of Atholl, whom he succeeded in 1830. In 
 explanation of his interest in the movements of the young 
 Marquis, it maybe stated that a portion of the Atholl estates 
 lies in the diarist's parish, and that the Dukes of Atholl were 
 (conjointly with the Earls of Airlie) patrons of his living. 
 
 r
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 89 
 
 and arrive at my friend Mr. Fisher's to dinner. 
 After dinner Mr. and Mrs. Fisher, Mr. Ritchie, 
 Count Duroure and I walk out to see the ruins of 
 Sir Gregory Page's house in the Park adjoining. 
 This has been one of the finest houses in England: 
 and the grounds and trees about it disposed in 
 the finest manner. 1 Spend the evening at Black- 
 heath, and pass the night with my friend. 
 
 Thursday, $oth July. London. Leave Black- 
 heath after breakfast. Mr. Fisher and the Count 
 accompany me through the Park to Greenwich 
 Hospital. Stop there to see the New Chapel ; 
 admittance one shilling. This universally reckoned 
 a masterpiece, both in point of architecture, 
 sculpture, and painting. Beautiful columns of 
 marble, with bases and capitals of the Corinthian 
 order. The Apostles, the history pieces, the 
 sculptured ceiling, the seating, the floor, the 
 marble table at the altar, the Altar-piece itself, 
 viz., The Shipwreck of St. Paul at Malta, done 
 by the celebrated West, are all admirable. Take 
 leave of the Count and my friend. Step again 
 into the Greenwich stage-coach, which sets me 
 down about one o'clock p.m. at the Obelisk, St. 
 
 1 In his Chronicles of Greenwich (London, 1886), Mr. 
 L'Estrange makes a passing reference (vol. ii., p. 175 .) to 
 1 Sir Gregory Page, who had built a grand house in Black- 
 heath Park. This park contained 284 acres, with trees 
 "scattered and clumped with pleasing negligence." The 
 splendid furniture, verd antique tables, pier-glasses, Persian 
 carpets, busts by Rysbrack, Sevres porcelain, pictures, etc., 
 which cost ; 90,000, were sold in 1782, and the park cut up 
 for building.'
 
 90 Diary of a Tour 
 
 George's Fields, near Blackfriars Bridge. Go in 
 here to Sir Ashton Lever's Museum, where spend 
 two hours. This the finest collection in Europe, 
 arranged in the most orderly and kept in the 
 most cleanly manner. An inexhaustible fund of 
 entertainment to the naturalist. But it would 
 require days, and weeks, and months, to review it 
 to perfection. 
 
 Arrive at four p.m. at Miss French's, Dover 
 Street, where dine, and pass the afternoon in the 
 most agreeable manner. Walk through the 
 King's Park in the evening to Mr. Ritchie's, who 
 introduces me to a Lieutenant Murray lately 
 arrived from the Continent. He gives us some 
 interesting anecdotes concerning this eventful 
 war. Return to Oxford Street to supper. 
 
 Friday, ^ist July. London. Set out in the 
 morning with Mr. Brodie and a Mr. Best, along 
 Holborn. Visit the different departments of the 
 Bank of England, that wonderful centre of 
 business, where so many millions of money are 
 counted and transferred every day in the space 
 of two hours, viz., from eleven a.m. to one p.m. 
 From the Bank proceed to the Tower. Enter 
 first the Spanish Armoury. See many spoils of 
 the famous Armada, &c. Here see also a noble 
 statue of Queen Elizabeth at full length, and in 
 her armour, with her horse and her page, all 
 standing in a majestic and striking attitude. 
 Pass under the Bloody Tower. Shown next 
 into the Horse Armoury. Infinite number here
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 91 
 
 of complete suits of armour, coats - of- mail, 
 helmets, cuirasses, &c., as worn by heroes of old. 
 The kings of England, down from William the 
 Conquerer to his present Majesty, are all here in 
 armour and mounted on horseback. From this 
 apartment we are conducted next into the large 
 hall below the Foot Armoury. In this Hall there 
 is complete harness for six thousand horses, all 
 new and in good order. From this hall ascend 
 to the Foot Armoury ; a spacious hall, full of 
 guns, swords, pistols, &c., arranged in the most 
 elegant order, and kept in the cleanliest manner, 
 ready for immediate service. 
 
 Leave the Tower, and direct our course to 
 Finsbury Square and Lackington's Temple of the 
 Muses. This the largest stationery shop in the 
 world. A rotundo with five stories of books, 
 rising one above another by five flights of stairs, 
 the cupola lighted from the top. From this 
 rotundo rooms extend on each side, with different 
 assortments of books, and different offices for 
 different purposes, &c. The building itself is like 
 a palace. The cheapest books here in Europe. 
 
 Proceed next to the Royal Exchange, where so 
 many men from so many nations of the world 
 meet every lawful day on business; and indi- 
 viduals of each description are to be found at 
 once in their own particular department of the 
 Exchange, so that in seeming confusion there is 
 here the greatest order. This the case also at 
 the Bank of England. Visit next Guildhall.
 
 92 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Thence to Furnival's Inn, and others of the Inns 
 of Court. Visit Mr. James Chambers, Attorney. 
 Pass the afternoon with him. Walk with him 
 through different parts of the town in the 
 evening. Part with him at Cleveland Row ; and 
 return to Oxford Street to supper. 
 
 Saturday, ist August. London. Rainy day. Go 
 to see Merlin's Museum, a most wonderful display 
 of human ingenuity. A vast variety of most 
 curious movements, depending upon electrical 
 and magnetical principles. The mechanical 
 powers exhibited here in the greatest perfection. 
 
 Mr. Fisher comes in from Blackheath, and 
 dines with me. Having prevailed with him to 
 stay with me all night, he and I sit up till two in 
 the morning, revising his translation of Count 
 Duroure's poem on the French Revolution. 
 
 Sunday, 2nd August. Richmond and Kew. Walk 
 up to Kew. The Gardens not being open, go into 
 the Pleasure-Ground. See here a prodigy of 
 nature, the Kangaroo from Botany Bay. This 
 animal, like the Opossum, carries and defends 
 its young in a pouch under its belly. It hops 
 with amazing agility on its two hinder legs, which 
 are exceedingly long and strong compared with 
 its fore legs, which are short and weak. Its tail, 
 which is also very long, seems to serve the 
 animal both as a balance and as a rudder. It is 
 fearful as the roe, and about the size of a fawn. 
 It seems to belong to the rat-kind. There are 
 seven of them here, and they have propagated
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 93 
 
 since they were brought home. Besides the 
 Kangaroo, there are other curious creatures 
 shown here at the Royal menagerie : Such as 
 the buffalo from India, the bull, the ox, the cow 
 and the calf of this animal, all thriving very well. 
 There are also some very beautiful birds, such as 
 the white silver pheasant-cock of China. He has 
 a very strong bill and long spurs, and is a very 
 irascible bird and a good fighter. There are here 
 also the Curassou Cock and hen from the Island 
 of that name. The hen is very nearly as beauti- 
 ful as the cock, an uncommon circumstance in 
 the feathered tribes. 
 
 Walk up to Richmond Bridge. Vast numbers 
 of London barges come up with the tide. Among 
 the rest two superbly decorated Barges, carrying 
 some of the Lords of the Admiralty and some 
 ladies of quality along with them. These barges 
 are finely gilt, have rich canopies, covering a nice 
 apartment with elegant tables and beautiful seats 
 with velvet cushions, having the Arms of the 
 Admiralty on their stern. Saunter up to Rich- 
 mond Hill, and along Richmond Park. See here 
 a glorious prospect of London and its vicinity. 
 Count here upwards of thirty spires. St. Paul's 
 and Westminster Abbey are here very conspicuous 
 objects, about ten miles distant. The view from 
 Richmond Hill up the Thames by Twickenham, 
 &c., is beyond expression fine. 
 
 Come down by the river-side. A grand view of 
 Sion House, a magnificent seat of the Duke of
 
 94 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Northumberland, on the opposite side of the 
 river. This much more like a palace than the 
 King's Palace at Kew. By the side of the 
 Thames, betwixt Richmond Bridge and Kew 
 Bridge, find a good many rare plants. 
 
 Heavy rain falls upon me, and drenches me to 
 the skin. Here muse upon the life and death of 
 Thomson. He died in consequence of an excur- 
 sion from London to Richmond in 1748, and is 
 buried in Richmond Church. The sweet Verses 
 which Collins wrote on his death here recur to 
 my remembrance in all their beauty and energy. 
 
 ' In yonder grave a Druid lies, 
 
 Where slowly winds the stealing wave ; 
 The year's best sweets shall duteous rise, 
 To deck its poet's sylvan grave. 
 
 ' In yon deep bed of whispering reeds 
 
 His airy harp shall now be laid 
 That he whose heart in sorrow bleeds, 
 
 May love thro' life the soothing shade,' &c. 
 
 Get comfortable lodgings all night at Kew. 
 
 Monday, $rd August. Find admission at Kew 
 Gardens at ten o'clock. Introduce myself to 
 Mr. Aiton. He shows me the first Collection of 
 plants I ever saw, both indigenous and exotic. 
 Mr. Aiton favours me with specimens of the 
 following rare plants : Lepidium alpinum, Erinus 
 alpinus, Scrophularia aquatica (a rare variety from 
 Yorkshire), Scutellaria minor, Asperula Cynanchica, 
 Gentiana Pneumonanthe, Ly thrum hyssopifolium, 
 Campanula pumila, C. patula, Bapleurum rotundi-
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 95 
 
 folium, Sedum Anglicum, Saxifraga Hirculus, 
 Silene quinquevulnera, Papaver Cambricum, Bryonia 
 ntgra, &c. 
 
 Leave Kew in the afternoon. Stop at Turnam- 
 green to refresh. At Hammersmith regale on 
 fruits. Walk through Kensington Park, home 
 through Hyde Park. Observe some roach and 
 pike in the Serpentine river. Sup with Mr. 
 George Brodie and a Mr. Cockburn of the 
 Phcenix E. Indiaman. 
 
 Tuesday, ^th August. London. Rainy morning. 
 At mid-day go out and call upon Miss Maria 
 French. From Dover Street proceed by the 
 Green Park to Sloane Street. Dine with my old 
 friend Mr. Robert Bissett. No company with 
 him but his wife and daughter, little Catherine. 
 Spend the afternoon there very comfortably. 
 Walk up with them in the evening to Hyde Park. 
 Return at nine p.m. to my lodgings. 
 
 Wednesday, $th August. London. Meet by ap- 
 pointment at two p.m., at the Spring Garden 
 Coffee-house, my friends Messrs. Bissett, Fisher, 
 Robinson ; the latter on the eve of being married 
 to a Miss Lewis. Conversation on the subject of 
 potatoes. Conversation on the subject of Count 
 Duroure's Poem. Receive a present of the 
 Count's Epithalame on the marriage of the Prince 
 and Princess of Wales. 
 
 Walk out to St. James's Park. Part there with 
 my friends, and go to Dover Street and dine with 
 Miss Maria French. After dinner walk out with
 
 96 Diary of a Tour 
 
 her to Green Park ; thence to Hyde Park ; thence 
 to the Mall. Drink tea at Mr. Forsyth's, Kens- 
 ington, and see his curious cabinet of shells, 
 fossils, plants, &c. Introduced here to a Mr. 
 Mason, botanist, from the Cape of Good Hope 
 and St. Helena. Conversation with Mr. Forsyth 
 about my brother Thomas. 
 
 Messrs. Mason and Forsyth convey [? convoy] 
 us to the Mall. Return in the evening with Miss 
 Maria to Dover Street. After parting with her, 
 go in on my way to Oxford Street to the White 
 Horse inn. There fall in with two French 
 refugees. Conversation was concerning the 
 present state of things. 
 
 Thursday, 6th August. London. Went down to 
 St. James's Palace, and from the Guard-room 
 had a fine view of the shifting of the Guards. 
 After which went down to Parade. Then to 
 Captain Mackay's, whom I found at home. 
 Called upon Mr. Ritchie, who accompanies me 
 again to Westminster Abbey. See all the Tombs, 
 King Henry the Seventh's Chapel, the images of 
 the kings and queens in waxwork, &c. 
 
 Those of the Tombs that seem to display most 
 originality of genius and the best taste, are 
 Nightingale's; Hargreave's, Esq. ; General Flem- 
 ing's ; General Wade's ; Handel's ; Sir Isaac 
 Newton's. On the famous Duke of Buckingham's 
 is the following epitaph : 
 
 Dubius, sed non improbus vixi ; 
 Incertus morior, non perturbatus ; 
 Humanum est nescire et errare :
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 97 
 
 Deo confide 
 
 From our contemplations among the Tombs 
 (which are so well calculated to impress the mind 
 with seriousness and awe), we direct our steps 
 next to the House of Commons, and next to the 
 House of Lords. Having spent some time in 
 this great national Senate-house, we take a long 
 walk through different departments of this vast 
 Metropolis, till being fatigued with heat we stop 
 before dinner, and regale ourselves with a variety 
 of ripe fruits about Covent-garden market ; from 
 which we go in to the Three Tun[s] Tavern and 
 dine, and repose after dinner till six p.m. About 
 half-past six go to Haymarket Theatre, and see 
 young Bannister in the part of Colonel FagmmcB 
 in the Comedy of A Bold Stroke for a Wife. The 
 theatre crowded. Bannister plays his part with 
 much dexterity and propriety, and gives much 
 satisfaction through ever}' part of the Play. 
 After the play, part with Ritchie in Piccadilly, 
 and make the best of my way home by New Bond 
 Street. 
 
 Friday, jth August. London. Breakfast with 
 Captain Mackay, No. 16, Fludyer Street. The 
 Captain a plain, good-natured, hospitable man. 
 See there Dr. Braid from St. Andrews. The 
 Doctor here on very good bread ; employed in 
 inspecting the recruits for the army. Informed 
 here that the Duke of Atholl's Mankse Regiment 
 
 7
 
 98 Diary of a Tour 
 
 is very nearly completed. Dr. Braid says he has 
 inspected and passed in the course of the four 
 last days no less than thirty-seven recruits for 
 that regiment alone. 
 
 After breakfast take leave of the good honest 
 Captain, who gives me commissions to be carried 
 to Sheffield. Wait upon Mr. Humphrey Donald- 
 son, Whitehall. Have the pleasure of seeing 
 there Mrs. Maxwell from Dunkeld. Go next to 
 Soho Square, No. 12, Denmark Street, and call 
 upon Mr. Forbes, bookseller. From Soho pro- 
 ceed immediately by Piccadilly and Hyde Park 
 Corner to Sloane Street, and dine again with my 
 good friend Mr. Robert Bissett, where spend the 
 afternoon ; and after having had an evening walk 
 with Mr. and Mrs. Bissett, return to Oxford Street 
 to supper. 
 
 Saturday, 8th August. London. Call in the 
 forenoon at Dr. Smith's, Great Maryborough 
 Street. 1 The Doctor not yet returned from 
 Norwich. Disappointed therefore in not seeing 
 the Linnsean Herbarium. From Great Marl- 
 borough Street proceed to Mr. James Chambers', 
 Attorney, Lamb's Conduit Street. Mrs. Chambers 
 just brought to bed of a daughter, and in a safe 
 way of recovery. Meet Mr. Bissett. Go with him 
 
 to call upon Dr. W. Thomson in . The 
 
 Doctor not in town, Meet Mr. Fisher at 
 
 1 Dr. Smith, of Norwich, afterwards Sir J. E. Smith, was 
 the founder of the Linnean Society, which now possesses the 
 Herbarium above referred to, being Linnaeus' own collection, 
 purchased by Dr. Smith.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 99 
 
 Coffee house. Call upon Mr. Ritchie at Barton 
 Street. Dine with Messrs. Bissett and Fisher at 
 the Blue Posts Tavern, Russell Street, near 
 Covent Garden. Pass the afternoon together in 
 conversing over old scenes. Part with my two 
 friends. Return home. 
 
 Sunday, gth August. London. Breathe the pure 
 morning air in Hyde Park. Walk through Kens- 
 ington Gardens to Mr. Forsyth's, where breakfast. 
 Go to church with the family. After church visit 
 flower and fruit-gardens. Mr. Forsyth has great 
 merit for his method of renewing old trees and 
 increasing the quantity and quality of the fruit. 
 Introduced at dinner to a Mr. Frazer and a Mr. 
 Allan, both great botanical characters from the 
 West Indies and America. Walk up-stairs to re- 
 view Mr. Forsyth's Cabinet. Mr. Forsyth, Junior, 
 gives me some fine specimens of new plants from 
 Botany Bay. Take with me a list of Alpine plants 
 wanted from Scotland for Kensington. Drink tea 
 with the family, and take my leave of them in the 
 evening. 
 
 Monday, loth August. Rise at six o'clock a.m., 
 and pack up for my departure. Leave Mr. Brodie's 
 at seven, and arrive at eight at the Green Dragon, 
 Bishopsgate, where set my foot on board of the 
 Cambridge stage-coach. 
 
 Leave London. Look back with an indescrib- 
 able mixture of feelings on this vast Metropolis, 
 well termed ' a world of wonders in itself.' Think 
 on all I have seen, and suffered, and enjoyed, in 
 
 72
 
 ioo A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 the City and its environs. Ruminate on its 
 magnificence ; its extent ; its populousness ; its 
 riches ; its poverty ; its dissipation ; its luxuries ; 
 its vanities ; its vices ; its virtues. 
 
 Roll on through a beautiful country ; and lose 
 sight of the smoke of London. Breakfast at 
 Hoddeston. 1 Hay harvest not done here yet, on 
 account of the rains. Some fields of rye cut 
 down. Some fields of wheat almost ready. Hear 
 of some fields of wheat cut down in several places 
 in the neighbourhood. Great outcry among the 
 people for want of bread. God send peace and a 
 plentiful crop, and a good harvest ! At Ware 
 pass the New River that supplies London. 
 
 1 Hoddesdon seventeen miles from London at that date, 
 the measurement being taken from Shoreditch Church. (See 
 Paterson's Itinerary?)
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Cambridge Burleigh Doncaster Sheffield revisited 
 Leeds Harrogate. 
 
 , loth August. Dine at the Angel 
 inn, Barkway. 1 Betwixt that and Cam- 
 bridge (an open, dry, chalky country; 
 much fallowing for wheat ; they sow the Red kind 
 generally here ;) observe at times from the top of 
 my vehicle some rare plants by the way-side, such 
 as the Campanula glomerata, C. patula, Asperula 
 Cynanchica, &c., &c. 
 
 Arrive at Cambridge at five p.m. After drink- 
 ing coffee, take a walk through the courts of 
 several of the colleges. 
 
 Tuesday, nth August. Cambridge. No coach 
 sets out for the North till to-morrow. After 
 breakfast, make a botanical excursion to the 
 Gogmagog Hills, about four miles south from 
 Cambridge. Find there a good number of rare 
 plants, such as Athamanta Libanotis, Asperula 
 Cynanchica, Campanula glomerata, Caucalis dau- 
 coides, Carduus acaulis, Carlina vulgaris, Ononis 
 1 About thirty-four miles from London.
 
 io2 Diary of a Tour 
 
 spinosa, Centaur ea calcitrapa, Gentiana, autumnalis, 
 Hedysarum Onobrychis, Linum perenne, Melampyrum 
 pratense, Cucubalus Otites, &c., &c., but do not 
 
 find Ophrys . The country here all chalk, 
 
 with flinty nodules imbedded in it. 
 
 Return in the afternoon to visit the University. 
 The King's Chapel in King's College, founded 
 by Henry VI., forwarded by Henry VII., and 
 finished by Henry VIII., one of the most com- 
 plete things of the kind in the world, and the 
 admiration of all who have seen it. The Paint- 
 ing above the Altar is a striking representation 
 of the taking down of our Saviour's body from 
 the Cross. The paintings on the windows are 
 admirable: the fretting of the roof beyond ex- 
 pression beautiful : the organs a masterpiece. 
 The floor of the finest marble : the roof seemingly 
 supported upon nothing. Eleven places on each 
 side without terminate each in a high top or 
 spire, besides the towers and spires at each corner 
 of the building, forming in all twenty-six spires, 
 give the external side of the building a very 
 singular and striking appearance. The emble- 
 matical carved figures within allude to the Roses, 
 to the Houses of York and Lancaster. 
 
 After seeing King's College go next to Trinity 
 College. The Chapel here also magnificent. 
 The Altar-piece represents the Angel Michael 
 treading Satan under his feet, and going to bind 
 him in chains. The attitude of Michael is in- 
 expressibly dignified. But the most remarkable
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 103 
 
 object here is the Statue of Sir Isaac Newton, 
 supposed to be exceedingly like him. It is of 
 the finest wrought marble exalted upon a high 
 pedestal. He holds a prism in his hand, and 
 stands in graceful but thoughtful attitude, as if 
 studying the refraction of the rays of light from 
 a cloud during the time of the rainbow. His 
 observatory is a stately tower. Next visit St. 
 John's College, &c., &c., till dark. The river 
 Cam waters this place. 
 
 Wednesday, izth August. Cambridge. At five 
 a.m. (an excessive degree of heat) take leave with 
 regret of this venerable Seat of literature, bid 
 adieu to these 'antique spires that crown the 
 watery glade.' Set forward aboard the coach to 
 Huntingdon to breakfast. Hay-harvest not done. 
 Some rye cut down. Vast fields of beans. Beauti- 
 ful willows. See near Huntingdon the Sagittaria 
 sagittifolia. From Huntingdon proceed to Stilton. 
 Near Stilton have a view of Wittlesea-meer, 
 famous for tench. From thence to Stamford, 
 where dine in a great company of travellers from 
 different parts of England. A character; a lady 
 from Ireland. Stop here to see Burleigh, the 
 Earl of Exeter's. Set out after dinner for Bur- 
 leigh. This justly esteemed one of the first Seats 
 in England. The trees of the park are venerable 
 for their age and size, and disposed in the most 
 beautiful and tasty manner. The place extensive 
 and magnificent. A noble canal, with a bridge 
 over it, winds through the Park, containing a
 
 
 104 Diary of a Tour 
 
 variety of fish. The lawn covered with Spanish 
 sheep, differing essentially from ours both in shape 
 and colour. Very prolific, and very good mutton; 
 of various colours ; long white tails, the bodies 
 speckled, black and blue ; horns somewhat re- 
 sembling those of goats. The ewes have fre- 
 quently two lambs at a birth. 
 
 Burleigh (built in 1585 by the then Earl of 
 that name) more resembles a Royal palace than 
 an Earl's chatteau. A hollow square, containing 
 a large narrow court, enclosed with turreted 
 buildings ; the rooms not remarkably large, but 
 adorned with paintings the finest of any in Eng- 
 land, some of them the finest in Europe. Works 
 of the greatest Italian masters here ; endless 
 variety. Those that catch the attention of Con- 
 noisseurs most are Dominicino's Mistress by 
 himself; three paintings on a glass window; the 
 Holy Family by Carlo Dolci, for which the Earl 
 of Exeter paid one thousand five hundred pounds 
 Sterling ; but above all, Christ Blessing the Bread, 
 by the same hand, for which the present Earl has 
 been offered six thousand pounds, but will not 
 part with it for any money ; it is perhaps one of 
 the first Paintings in the world. 
 
 Return in the evening to Stamford. The 
 weather still continues intolerably hot. The 
 climate of the south of England is very sensibly 
 hotter than that of Perthshire. I have been in 
 a constant state of perspiration for upwards of 
 three weeks.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 105 
 
 Thursday, i$th August. Stamford. Get up 
 early in expectation of a place in the Mail coach 
 at seven o'clock. Two Mails arrive, but the 
 places all occupied. Obliged to wait here till 
 ten a.m. Heavy coach arrives at ten ; have a 
 berth on board. Set out from Stamford (finely 
 situated on the north bank of the river Welland) ; 
 easy ascent of several miles to Wytham-common. 
 A great deal of the hay-harvest not over here. 
 Fine high, open, healthy country. Good deal of 
 pasture-ground ; the farms here not remarkably 
 well cultivated. Arrive at Grantham to dinner. 
 One lady and eleven gentlemen, dine all together; 
 hearty entertainment. Two English clergymen ; 
 a Swiss gentleman. Set out all in company ; six 
 on board, and six in the hold. 1 From a rising- 
 ground to the north of Grantham have a most 
 extensive and rich prospect, towards Lincoln 
 Abbey. See here a great part of the boundless 
 plains of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, &c. At 
 Newark pass the river Trent. Observe the 
 Sagittaria sagittifolia, and in one place the Jasione, 
 which I had not seen a plant of for several 
 hundreds of miles ; but these stage-coaches are 
 a bad business for botanists. Travel through an 
 
 1 It would be interesting to know whether this nautical 
 way of referring to stage-coach travelling, of which the above 
 is not the first instance, was a peculiarity of the diarist's, -or 
 whether it was a common usage at that time. In the latter 
 event, the similar custom in the United States at the present 
 day ought probably to be regarded as a survival from the 
 eighteenth century.
 
 io6 Diary of a Tour 
 
 opulent corn country waving ripe for harvest. 
 Extensive farms well-cultivated ; though in many 
 places grass ' bauks >l and crooked ridges, which 
 a Scotch farmer would laugh at. Few oats; 
 many beans ; much wheat and barley. Come to 
 Tuxford. 2 Here part with our lady and her 
 husband, a clergyman and his wife of this place. 
 Night comes upon us as we approach to the 
 boundary of Yorkshire. Few houses by the way- 
 side : these large farms depopulate the country. 
 A good deal of lightning ; no rain however. 
 Calm, warm evening, with high clouds, the stars 
 dimly twinkling through the gloom. At Bawtry 
 enter Yorkshire. Pass over a desert common. 
 Dark : converse about robbers : no guard attends 
 us: all of us unarmed. Arrive at Doncaster at 
 eleven p.m., thank God, without any untoward 
 accident having befallen us. Sup, ten gentlemen 
 together. At threequarters past eleven, the coach 
 sets forward with my fellow-travellers, whom I 
 recommend to the protection of Heaven, and rest 
 here all night in a good comfortable inn. 
 
 Friday, i^th August. Doncaster. Slept soundly 
 for eight hours at the Angel Inn, one of the best 
 inns in England. Rise and dress before break- 
 fast. After breakfast, walk out through the town, 
 view the market-place, and admire the neatness 
 and cleanliness of the streets, houses, &c. Don- 
 
 1 Strips of uncultivated ground between the furrows ; 
 equivalent to the ' doles ' or ' dools ' of Bailey's Dictionary. 
 * Twelve miles beyond Newark.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 107 
 
 caster supposed by travellers to be among the 
 neatest towns in England. The public buildings 
 in general have their date marked on their front, 
 together with the name of the reigning magistrate 
 at the time of their erection. Walk into the 
 church-yard. The Church a stately gothic build- 
 ing having a magnificent square tower with sixteen 
 points a-top. The doors being open, and the 
 church now a-repairing, have a view of its inside. 
 Fine set of organs. No paintings on the windows. 
 On the left hand of the altar-piece is inscribed the 
 Lord's Prayer in large golden letters ; on the right 
 hand the Creed in the same ; and in the middle 
 betwixt them the Ten Commandments in the 
 same characters, a rising sun above with I.H.S. 
 in its centre. In the adjoining aisles are several 
 pretty marble monuments with good Latin in- 
 scriptions. The church is well paved, well seated, 
 simple and unornamented, but kept clean, swept 
 and garnished. Fine music bells here. How 
 different in general, and how exceedingly superior 
 are the English churches to our poor Scotch 
 kirks ! 
 
 Take a walk across the bridge and along the 
 banks of the river. The Dun or Don, from which 
 the town has its name, is the same stream that 
 runs by Sheffield. It has a little pleasant fall 
 here, about one hundred yards above the bridge. 
 A waterfall is a rare object indeed in most parts 
 of the east and south counties of England. Below 
 the bridge on the north bank of the river observe
 
 io8 Diary of a Tour 
 
 the Sisymbrium sylvestre. Good market for corn 
 here, beans, oats, rye, barley, wheat. The price 
 of wheat fallen here twelve shillings a quarter 
 within these three days ; at present thirty-six 
 shillings the three bushels. 
 
 Send up my luggage to the Rein-Deer Inn at 
 two p.m. to wait the Sheffield coach. Dine there 
 with three gentlemen of the neighbourhood. In- 
 formed by one of them that there had been a 
 dreadful storm through the night, thunder, light- 
 ning, and rain. Set out from Doncaster at four 
 p.m. Fine prospect of a fine country all the way 
 to Sheffield. First, a little to the northwest of 
 Doncaster, Cusworth (Rightson, 1 Esq.): Second, 
 Sprotsbro' (Earl Kinnoul): Third, Cumsboro', a 
 curious old Castle of an hexagonal form, situated 
 on a woody eminence on the south bank of the river 
 Don. 2 Much limestone burnt here, and carried 
 up to Sheffield, &c. Fourth, Squire Finch's 
 Castle. 3 From a rising-ground here have a view 
 of, Fifth, Wentworth, the Seat of Earl Fitzwilliam, 
 opposite on the north bank of the river. The 
 grounds here on each side finely diversified into 
 hill and valley. Sixth, Aldric Hall : 4 Seventh, Jo. 
 
 1 In Paterson's Itinerary the name is ' Wrighston, Esq'.' 
 Evidently a mistake of a letter has been made in each case, 
 and the name ought to be ' Wrightson.' 
 
 2 This is evidently the ' Conisbrough ' of Paterson's 
 Itinerary, and the ' Coningsburgh ' of Ivanhoe. (In the 
 descriptive account appended to the novel, Note L, Scott 
 quotes from Cough's edition of Camden's Britannia, 2nd 
 edit., vol. iii., p. 267 .) 
 
 3 ' On right, Savile Finch, Esq.' (Paterson's Itinerary], 
 
 4 ' Aldwark, Foljamb, Esq.' (Paterson's Itinerary).
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 109 
 
 Walker's, Esq., beautifully situated on a height 
 on the south bank of the Don, near Rother[h]am. 
 Stop at Rotheram and refresh. After passing 
 Rotheram about a mile, look back on the town 
 with its church and spire, forming a fine object in 
 the landscape. The rain falls heavy upon us. Go 
 inside and arrive at Sheffield half-past seven p.m. 
 Go in to the Tontine, and get Captain Stewart's 
 account of the Riots. Order up my things to 
 Sharrow, and arrive in the evening at the hospit- 
 able mansion of my friend. 1 
 
 Saturday, i$th August. Sharrow. Go down to 
 Sheffield with Mr. Mackenzie, and view Mr. Alsop's 
 Iron-works ; particularly his method of making 
 anvils. Afterwards go to the Coffee-house, and 
 visit Captains Stewart, M c Donald, and M c Killigan. 
 See the billiard-room. Take a walk through the 
 market-place, &c.; and return to Sharrow to 
 dinner. Company at dinner, Colonel Cameron 
 of the Sheffield Regiment, Captains Stewart and 
 M c Donald, Messrs. Preston and Shaldwick. Walk 
 down in the evening again to town. Introduced 
 to Mr. Grieve at his house. Play at backgammon. 
 Sup, and return to Sharrow. 
 
 Sunday, i6th August. Sharrow. Go to St. Paul's 
 Church, the church of my friend. Mr. Goodwin, 
 a young man, reads prayers in the forenoon, and 
 my friend preaches. The same in the afternoon. 
 Dine at the good old lady Mrs. Smith's, my friend's 
 
 1 The Rev. Mr. Mackenzie, with whom the diarist had 
 spent several days (July 13 to July 20) during his southward 
 journey.
 
 no Diary of a Tour 
 
 mother-in-law. Drink tea at Mr. Preston's. After 
 tea, attend evening service in the Town Church, 
 where Mr. Preston preaches a sermon on Death. 
 Sup at his house, and return late to Sharrow. 
 
 Monday, J.jth August. Sheffield. Went with 
 Mr. Mackenzie to the Button-manufacture carried 
 
 on to a great extent here by Mr. and Co, 
 
 The different processes shown us, and described 
 to us with great precision and clearness by one of 
 the Company. After seeing this very ingenious 
 manufacture, walk to the Tontine tavern, and 
 dine there with the Mess ; Colonel Cameron, 
 Captains Stewart, M c Donald, M c Killigan, Lieu- 
 tenant Radcliffe, Agnew, &c. 
 
 In the afternoon, Mr. Downs, chaplain to the 
 Sheffield volunteers, conducts me to see the 
 Plating-works. The slitting of the steel, &c., all 
 performed by wonderful mechanism indeed, the 
 machines driven by the power of steam. In the 
 evening go to the Parade. After Parade, receive 
 their commissions for the North. 1 Mr. Mackenzie 
 and I go to supper to Mr. Preston's. An agree- 
 able party ; music, vocal and instrumental. After 
 supper, return to Sharrow. 
 
 Tuesday, iSth August. Breakfast at Sharrow 
 with my worthy friend and his amiable young 
 family. Bless them, and part with them. Mr. 
 Mackenzie himself accompanies me to Sheffield. 
 
 1 In these days of cheap postage and parcel post one is 
 apt to forget that, even long after the date of this diary, 
 iriends were accustomed to oblige each other as far as possible 
 by carrying letters and messages to distant relatives.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 m 
 
 Go in to a cutler's shop and purchase razors, 
 knives, &c. Afterwards go to see the manufac- 
 ture of iron fenders and grates. This also a rare 
 work. Go next to purchase some scissars for 
 little presents. Sheffield the first town for cutlery- 
 work perhaps in the world. Adieu to Sheffield. It 
 is a dirty, monotonous town, but surrounded with 
 one of the finest countries in England : romantic 
 dales, sweetly-rising hills, plantations, enclosures, 
 and neat gentlemen's seats on every side. 
 
 Mr. Mackenzie conveys [? convoys] me as far as 
 the third mile-stone nearly from Sheffield j 1 and 
 there introduces me to the house of Booth, Esq., 
 of Brush-house. Mr. Booth a very ingenious 
 man. His place well laid out and finely situated. 
 His hedges, stone-fences, and plantations all a 
 model. His neighbours are obliged to him for his 
 good example of improvement. Mr. Booth also a 
 very capital mechanic and mathematician. Shews 
 us a very fine camera-clara, and a most ingenious 
 equatorial made by Ramsden. Explains its con- 
 struction and powers most concisely and dis- 
 tinctly. Entertains us with a forenoon-luncheon. 
 Here we part with him. And here I part with 
 my worthy and generous friend Mr. Mackenzie ; 
 whose hospitality and friendly offices have contri- 
 buted much to the pleasure I derive from this 
 long and wide excursion. May Heaven befriend 
 
 1 Although the diarist does not definitely say so, he was 
 once more astride of the horse which had brought him south 
 from Perthshire, and which he had left at Sharrow on July 20, 
 continuing his journey to London by coach.
 
 112 Diary of a Tour 
 
 him at all times ! Arrive at the Bank-top inn 
 about one o'clock p.m. Stop here to refresh my- 
 self and horse, as well as to contemplate for a little 
 the charming view seen from the top of this hill, 
 commanding a widely-extended horizon all round, 
 a rich well-cultivated country, interspersed with 
 * hill and dale, and wood and lawn and spire, and 
 glittering towns and gilded streams.' Wentworth 
 Castle, the seat of the Earl of Stafford, lies about 
 a mile and a half south-west of this curious 
 eminence, and the place and the park about it 
 make a fine appearance here. On this hill his 
 Lordship has erected a long line of artificial 
 ruins, somewhat resembling an old fortified wall 
 with turrets, which must produce a very noble 
 effect seen from Wentworth Castle. 
 
 Set out after dinner, and pass through 
 Barnsl[e]y, a considerable town. From Barnsly 
 proceed to Wakefield, and stop in the afternoon. 
 As you enter to Wakefield from the south a beau- 
 tiful sight [? seat] presents itself on your right 
 hand on a high wooded elevation. This is Heath, 
 the supposed ' Choice ' of Pomfret the poet. 1 The 
 river Kelder passes by Wakefield, and a canal 
 goes from hence to Halifax, carrying coals, 
 corn, &c. 
 
 Wakefield, an elegant well-situated town, with 
 
 1 ' Near some fair town I'd have a private seat, 
 Built uniform, not little, nor too great ; 
 Better, if on a rising ground it stood ; 
 On this side fields, on that a neighbouring wood.' 
 (From The Choice, by John Pomfret.)
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 113 
 
 a fine Spire, and some beautiful streets. A new 
 town is begun to be erected on the north side of 
 the old, and a new church on an [?] exclusive site. 
 The country hereabout most delightful ; and the 
 harvest just approaching. Wheat has fallen here 
 within these few days from three guineas the three 
 bushels to twenty-seven shillings. After leaving 
 Wakefield, proceed through a fine rich coal 
 country to the banks of the Air[e] , a fine river, 
 bringing up considerable small craft, with corn, 
 &c., and carrying down vast quantities of broad- 
 cloth, &c., from Leeds. Arrive at Leeds in the 
 dusk. 
 
 Wednesday, igth August. Leeds. This a very 
 large populous town, finely situated on the north 
 bank of the river Air. It is remarkable for the 
 broad-cloth manufacture, and is in this respect 
 among the first towns in England. The ground 
 rises by an easy ascent for several miles as you go 
 north from Leeds. About two miles to the north 
 of the town stands Gladder, an elegant seat of 
 ' Dickson, Esq. 1 About seven miles to the north 
 of Leeds come to Harwood, a cleanly little village, 
 and in its immediate vicinity on your left-hand 
 Harwood-house (Lord Harwood, formerly Las- 
 celles), 2 a most beautiful Seat on a finely-rising 
 
 1 ' Allerton Gledhow. Dixon Esq.' (Paterson's Itinerary). 
 
 2 In Paterson's Itinerary, published ten years before the 
 date of the Diary, the entry is, ' Harewood house, Edwin 
 Lascelles, Esq." This Mr. Lascelles was raised to the peer- 
 age in 1790, as ' Lord Harewood, of Harewood Castle, co. 
 York.' He died without issue on January 25, 1795, when 
 
 8
 
 H4 Diary of a Tour 
 
 bank, laid out in elegant taste ; and below the 
 house a large piece of water, forming one of the 
 finest ponds anywhere to be seen. The grounds 
 rise charmingly to the south and north of this 
 basin, and are richly decked with venerable trees 
 and well-disposed plantations. 
 
 After leaving Harwood, come down to the bank 
 of the river Wharf [e] , a delightful stream here. 
 Pass the Wharf, and breakfast at the Ship Inn at 
 the north end of the bridge. 1 Leave the bank of 
 the Wharf, and pass along a delightful well-cul- 
 tivated tract of country in company with two 
 travelling gentlemen ; one of them of Leeds, well 
 acquainted with the country, and very intelligent 
 and communicative. Beautifully rising grounds 
 on each side of the Wharf. Arrive at Knares- 
 borough Forest, some time ago begun to be cul- 
 tivated and enclosed by the direction of the Earl 
 of Bute. The grounds here hilly, heathy and 
 poor. Arrive at 
 
 HARROWGATE. 
 
 High Harrowgate contains three capital inns, 
 with very large rooms, and numerous accom- 
 
 the barony expired ; but his heir-at-law, Edward Lascelles, 
 Esq. (great-grandfather of the present Earl of Harewood), 
 was made ' Baron Harewood, of Harewood, co. York,' on 
 June 1 8, 1796 (Burke). There was thus no existing Lord 
 Harewood when the diarist passed Harewood House on 
 August 19, 1795. 
 
 1 The Ship Inn, nine miles from Leeds, was evidently a 
 well-known coaching inn, as it is marked in Paterson's 
 Itinerary.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 115 
 
 modations for strangers. The Dragon Inn, the 
 Granby, the Queen's Head, &c. In the Queen's 
 Head there is a room that dines with ease one 
 hundred and twenty persons with fifty servants 
 attending. The houses all crowded at present 
 with Company at the Waters. Here is also a 
 very elegant Theatre, fit to contain fifty people 
 [on the stage], with pit and pit-boxes, boxes and 
 gallery. The Company here have frequently 
 Plays, both public and private. When there is to 
 be a public Play, cards are sent to the different 
 houses to give notice to the Company. Take up 
 my quarters at Low Harrowgate, just in the 
 vicinity of the Spaw. Here are also a great 
 number of commodious inns for the company 
 during the watering season, which continues from 
 June to the end of September. Some people con- 
 tinue here all the year round, and think that the 
 waters produce the most powerful effects during 
 hard frost. 
 
 The water here is very strongly impregnated 
 with sulphur and sal*, and is esteemed the best 
 mineral in Europe, especially for scorbutic com- 
 plaints. Its virtues were not discovered till about 
 sixty years ago by the landlord of one of the neigh- 
 bouring houses, who recommended it to a lady of 
 quality much afflicted with the scurvy, who upon 
 drinking it for two months was miraculously 
 cured ; and hence arose at first the character of 
 the water. Buildings were immediately erected ; 
 and every year since it has been more and more 
 
 82
 
 1 1 6 Diary of a Tour 
 
 frequented with people from every quarter, and 
 has produced many wonderful cures, on weak, 
 nervous, scorbutic habits, &c. The water some- 
 what resembles that of the Well at Moffat, but is 
 much more strongly impregnated. Three English 
 pints taken in the morning, at about a fourth of 
 an hour's interval, are supposed to be the medium 
 dose ; but the requisite quantity depends much on 
 the habit and complaint of the patient. There 
 are baths also kept at about the temperature of 70*. 
 Bathing produces very powerful good effects ; and 
 when the patient takes the bath less drinking is 
 required. Dr. Hutchison of High Harrowgate and 
 another apothecary generally attend here, and 
 direct the company as to their regimen. The use 
 of spirituous liquors is prohibited ; and a little 
 malt liquor or a little wine and water is what 
 is generally used at meals. 
 
 After dinner walk up to the moors on the west 
 of Harrowgate. The prospect from the high 
 grounds is extensive (see York Cathedral twenty- 
 two miles off), and rich towards the north-east 
 and south-east ; but towards the west it is wild 
 as many of our Scottish moors, covered with 
 heath interspersed with the Reindeer lichen, the 
 Lycopodium Selago, Scirpus caspitosus, and other 
 plants common on our Scottish moors. Here 
 also I find the Lycopodium inundatum, and Lysi- 
 machia tenella, &c. Join a number of gentlemen 
 at supper, and get some information with respect 
 to the company just now at the waters.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 117 
 
 Thursday, 2oth August. Harrowgate. Rise in the 
 morning at six a.m., and drink the waters ; then 
 ascend the moors again, and inhale the heathy 
 healthy breeze till nine o'clock; after which 
 breakfast heartily. About nine have a fine view 
 of the company at the wells. Harrowgate but a 
 poor place in winter. The inhabitants live chiefly 
 by what they get from the company in summer. 
 No burning coal within sixteen miles of the place. 
 Set out at mid -day for York. Arrive at 
 Knaresborough, situated on a rocky bank of the 
 river Nid. In passing the bridge have a fine view 
 of Cobhal Hall, the seat of Sir John Cobhal. 1 
 Pass through Knaresborough and descend into 
 the plain country of Yorkshire. 
 
 Arrive at Thornton-rail (Colonel Thornton's), 
 formerly the Seat of the Duke of York, finely 
 situated on a rising ground ; a fine new garden 
 a little to the south of the house on the declivity 
 of the eminence. At three o'clock p.m. come to 
 Green-Hammerton, where dine. Fall in here 
 with a gentleman of Macclesfield in Cheshire, 
 who informs me that about his place land setts 
 [i.e. lets] at eight pounds an acre ; knew some there 
 have been offered ten pounds. At Hammerton- 
 green oats sell at present at half a guinea a bushel 
 (Cheshire bushel forty-five pounds). Wheat sold 
 
 1 A mistake (made, perhaps, in transliterating from the 
 original shorthand) for ' Coghill.' Paterson's Itinerary has 
 ' Coghill hall, Coghill, Esq.' ; but the baronetcy dates from 
 1778, and the first Baronet was succeeded in 1790 by his son, 
 Sir John Coghill (Burke],
 
 1 1 8 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 here lately at four guineas per Quarter, equal to 
 eight bushels. Great fall of grain every where 
 in this country of late. The corn-dealers detected 
 in their tricks in endeavouring to persuade the 
 farmers to keep up their grain in hopes of an 
 exorbitant price. Leave Green-Hammerton at 
 four p.m. This gentleman travels with me to 
 York.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 York Castle Howard The North Riding of Yorkshire. 
 
 ^T^HURSDAY, 20th August. In the vicinity 
 
 J. of York harvest begun. Oats, barley, 
 
 * wheat, &c., cut down. Fine farming here, 
 
 and excellent crops. All the turnips of England 
 
 (almost all I have yet seen) are sown in the 
 
 broadcast j 1 the potatoes are drilled ; the wheat 
 
 used about York is both of the red and white 
 
 sort. Plants I observed betwixt Knaresborough 
 
 and York : Plenty of Eupatorium cannabinum, 
 
 Epilobium hirsutum, Scrophularia aquatica, Betonica 
 
 1 From this remark one is led to infer that the diarist was 
 accustomed to see turnips sown in drills. The cultivation of 
 turnips in the open fields had only been begun in Scotland 
 about fifty years previously, and the seed had been sown 
 broadcast until 1753, in which year a Roxburghshire farmer 
 (William Dawson, referred to more specially on pp. 156, 157, 
 post) introduced the practice of sowing in drills, the result of 
 experience gained by him in Yorkshire and Essex. The 
 superiority of the new system being speedily recognised, a 
 complete revolution was thus effected in Scottish turnip- 
 culture, and, to judge from the above reference in the Diary, 
 the farmers of Scotland had then wholly adopted the more 
 scientific method, while the majority of their English brethren 
 still lagged behind.
 
 I2O Diary of a Tour 
 
 officinalis, Bryonia nigra, Convolvulus sepium, C. 
 arvensis, some of Jasione montana near Hammer- 
 ton, where also I observed Nepeta Cataria. Be- 
 twixt Knaresborough and Green-Hammerton I 
 gathered Campanula Trachelium, &c. About four 
 miles from York, the Cathedral appears not above 
 a mile from you. Approach York about six p.m. 
 The river Ouse runs gently by the town, and 
 besides small craft, it bears up to the city some 
 vessels in the merchant-way of two masts, but 
 of no great burden. A canal sets off from the 
 Ouse towards the north, and carries coals and 
 other articles of trade up the country for a con- 
 siderable extent. A great line of canal is to form 
 a junction betwixt the Humber and Liverpool. 
 
 Walk out in the evening to see the Cathedral, 
 one of the greatest and finest in the world. Its 
 length five hundred, twenty-four and a half feet ; 
 its breadth two hundred and twenty-two feet. The 
 largest Quire I have yet seen. The great Window 
 seventy-five feet high by thirty-two feet wide. 
 The paintings of this and indeed of all the 
 windows of this vast building are wonderfully 
 grand. In the body of the Quire are the seats 
 of the Judges in the times of Assize on the one 
 hand, and on the other side is the seat of the 
 Archbishop, and to the left of it the seat of the 
 Lord Mayor, &c. 
 
 Go next into the Outer Vestry, where among 
 other pieces of antiquity, you see the wooden 
 chests, one thousand four hundred years old, where
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 121 
 
 the priestly robes were kept. Here also you see 
 a very ingenious wooden model of the Cathedral, 
 made by a little boy of this city with his knife, 
 &c. Were next conducted into the Inner Vestry, 
 and shewn a great number of very old curiosities, 
 and among the rest a large Bugle-horn, given in 
 a donation to the Archbishop of York by Ulphus, 
 one of the West Saxon kings. It was taken away 
 in the wars betwixt the Houses of York and 
 Lancaster, and restored afterwards to the Cathe- 
 dral. Here is shewn also the cloak of James VI. ; 
 and also the silver pastoral staff presented to the 
 Archbishop of York by Catharine of Spain, 
 mother-in-law to Charles II. ; &c. 
 
 In the next place were shewn to the Chancel, 
 where there are several well-finished monuments 
 of marble erected to the memory of illustrious 
 persons. Among these is to be remarked the 
 monument of Sir George Sackville, by Fisher of 
 this city. The statue of Sir George is hand- 
 somely executed ; the veins in the back of his 
 hands, and the folds of his stockings, in short 
 the drapery in general, is happily executed. In 
 one place of the Chancel is to be seen a statue 
 alone on its back of the son of Constantine the 
 Great, &c., &c. 
 
 The Chapterhouse, where the Bishops are in- 
 stalled, is one of the most magnificent octagons 
 in the world. In short, after having seen St. 
 Paul's, the Cathedral of York will not fail to strike 
 the stranger with astonishment. 

 
 122 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Saunter down by the side of the river Ouse to 
 the New Walk. Then take a view of the Castle 
 with the round Tower, where the ordnance and 
 ammunition, &c., were wont to be kept. Return 
 in the dusk to the inn, and sup with a Mr. Mariott, 
 a curious talkative gentleman of Manchester, a 
 sedate, superior gentleman, a Mr. Braddock of 
 Macclesfield, and another gentleman whose name 
 I did not hear mentioned. 
 
 Friday, 2ist August. York. This city has little 
 trade ; because no man can set up in business 
 here without purchasing the freedom of the city, 
 which is an expensive matter, and to beginners 
 in business altogether unattainable. Something, 
 I am told, is done here or at least may be done 
 in the whip way. No vessels of any great con- 
 sequence come up to the town. The city is 
 surrounded with walls, and has double gates. 
 The best point for viewing it is from the south- 
 west as you come from Borrowbridge [Borough- 
 bridge] to the bank of the river Ouse. Here the 
 river, the walls of the city, its spires and towers, 
 together with the Cathedral rising magnificent 
 over all, exhibits a very picturesque and striking 
 scene. 
 
 Leave York at half-past seven a.m., and pass 
 over a long-extended heath, taking different names 
 in different places according to the adjoining 
 towns to which it belongs. About the sixth 
 mile from York, pick up some plants of the 
 Gentiana Centaurium. About the ninth mile
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 123 
 
 from York, pass by on my right hand Housholm, 
 an elegant Seat of Cholmondly, Esq. ; x the ruins 
 of Barboro' Castle on my left, belonging to the 
 same. Arrive about eleven o'clock at Whitewell 2 
 Inn, under an heavy rain. Stop here and break- 
 fast. At one p.m. set out from Whitewell Inn, 
 and come to the Gate leading to Castle Howard 
 (Seat of the Earl of Carlisle). 
 
 Pass through a series of gates and well-dressed 
 parks. Betwixt the third and fourth gate observe 
 a grey-tailed squirrel crossing the road and climb- 
 ing up the trees ; it seemed to be a different 
 species from those at Dunkeld. Betwixt the 
 fourth and fifth gates, have an admirable view 
 of the Castle and the park, with the woods, 
 pyramids, temples and mausoleum. Come into 
 the great avenue leading to Howard Inn, and 
 enter at the fifth gate under a stone arch. On 
 each side of the entrance a wall extends a great 
 way to right and left, embrasured atop and ter- 
 minated on each hand with a tower. Pass along 
 the avenue in a straight line to Howard Inn, 
 forming a fine object with a pyramid rising over 
 the centre of the building, and covering the arch 
 through which the highway passes. The trees 
 on each side of this stately avenue are disposed 
 in little plantations of about sixteen or twenty 
 large trees in each clump, separated from one 
 another by an empty space of about a hundred 
 
 1 ' Housham, N. Cholmley, Esq.' (Paterson's Itinerary). 
 
 2 'Whitwell.' Twelve miles from York (Paterson's 
 Itinerary).
 
 124 Diary of a Tour 
 
 feet, through which empty space you have a 
 delightful view of the Park and its environs. 
 This disposition of the trees takes off from the 
 tedious uniform dulness of a great avenue, where 
 the trees are close and uninterrupted on each side 
 of the traveller. 
 
 When you ascend to the gate-way at the Inn, 
 through the arch you have a striking view of 
 Marlborough Pillar, 1 placed at a distance in the 
 centre of the avenue, which is continued in a 
 
 1 [Footnote by the diarist.] Inscription on the north-west 
 side of Marlborough Pillar : 
 
 If to perfection these plantations rise ; 
 If they agreeably my halls surprise ; 
 This faithful pillar will their age declare, 
 As long as time these characters shall spare. 
 Here then with kind remembrance read his name, 
 Who for posterity perform'd the same. 
 
 Charles the Third Earl of Carlisle, 
 
 Of the family of the Howards, 
 Erected a Castle where the old Castle of Henderskelf 
 
 stood, 
 
 And called it Castle Howard. 
 He likewise made the plantations in this Park, 
 
 and all the out-works, 
 Monuments, and other plantations belonging 
 
 to the said Seat. 
 He began this work 
 
 In the year 1702, 
 
 And set up this inscription 
 
 In the year 1731. 
 
 Inscription on the south-east side of Marlborough Pillar : 
 
 Virtuti et fortunae 
 
 Joannis Marlburiae ducis, 
 
 Patriae Europaeq. defensoris, 
 
 Hoc saxum 
 
 Admirationi ac famae sacrum, 
 
 Carolus Comes Carliol. posuit, 
 
 Anno Domini MDCCXIV.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 125 
 
 straight line for about two miles beyond the inn. 
 Put up at Howard Inn (Warwick's). Get a guide 
 and go down to 
 
 CASTLE HOWARD. 
 
 This is altogether a princely place, and superior 
 to any I have yet seen. A great part of the house 
 is lately built, and the works are not yet finished. 
 The style of the whole is simple but magnificent, 
 and more extensive than I suppose most of the 
 Palaces of Europe. The rooms are spacious and 
 elegant, and the prospect of the park from each 
 side of the Castle is fine beyond description. 
 
 Go in to the Gardens. Here is the first 1 pinery 
 I ever saw, and upon the whole the best kept 
 hot-houses. The vines most luxuriant ; and here 
 is what I never saw before, almond-trees, peaches, 
 nectarines, etc., trained upon spars placed not as 
 usual in a perpendicular but in a horizontal 
 position, about two feet from the ground, and 
 bearing abundance of rich fruit. Mr. Abel the 
 gardener thinks this a good way. 
 
 From the Garden went next along the front 
 of the Castle along the lawn by the statues to the 
 Temple. This a most magnificent dome, finished 
 entirely within with the most costly marble. 
 
 From the Temple proceed to the Mausoleum. 
 The Mausoleum stands on a rising ground about 
 a mile south from the Castle, and commands a 
 
 1 As in previous instances, ' first ' is probably used here 
 with reference to degree, not time.
 
 126 Diary of a Tour 
 
 fine view of the bridge, the three ponds, the lawn, 
 the castle, the park, the plantations, and different 
 peeps of the country to a great distance. This is 
 the Burying-place of the Family, and perhaps one 
 of the most magnificent things of the kind in the 
 world. It covers an acre of ground. A spacious 
 Dome rises in the centre, its roof supported by 
 twenty pillars, each pillar about twelve feet round 
 and not less than fifty high. The floor of the 
 dome within is laid with the finest variegated 
 marble : here the funeral service is performed. 
 All round the base of the dome within are placed 
 niches for depositing the coffins, which when 
 deposited are shut up and inscribed with the 
 name of the person that lies there. 
 
 In this solemn scene there is indeed capacious 
 room, sufficient for holding 
 
 ' All the blood of all the Howards.' 
 
 A few of the niches only are shut up. 
 
 The Earl of Carlisle has here upwards of four 
 hundred acres of mowing ground about the 
 Castle, and the largest quantities of hay I ever 
 saw. The park extends about four miles each 
 way. There are vast varieties of venerable trees, 
 finely disposed. Some of the oaks here upwards 
 of twenty feet in circumference. 
 
 Everything about this place is in a style ap- 
 proaching to the sublime. 
 
 Leave Howard Inn after dinner and set out 
 for Helmsley, fourteen miles to the north-west of 
 Howard Castle. About a mile north-east of the
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 127 
 
 Castle my Lord Carlisle is working excellent 
 limestone with a coarse kind of coal brought up 
 the Derwent. There is no burning coal in this 
 country. For this coarse coal they pay just now 
 at the landing-place at the rate of sixteen shil- 
 lings the chaldron, thirty-two bushels. In the 
 Park observe the Pinguicula Lusitanica. Arrive 
 at the highest point of the ground at the north- 
 east end of the great avenue : here stop and look 
 back upon Castle Howard and its Entrance. 
 Bid adieu to this great prospect, and descend the 
 hill. A Castle in ruins on my right ; fine country 
 before me. But the view clouded by an ap- 
 proaching storm. 
 
 Under a row of 'reverend elms' observe the 
 following plants : Origanum vulgare, Clinopodium 
 vulgare, Marrubium vulgare, Campanula Trachelium, 
 &c. A cloud pours down a deluge upon me. 
 Pass through a plain country, and approach the 
 high grounds. Ascending the hill observe plants 
 of Verbascum thapsoides, Reseda Luteola, &c. 
 
 Rain continues pouring without mercy ; the 
 roads run in streams. Night comes upon me in 
 thick darkness as I approach Helmsley. Fall in 
 with a man driving coals to Helmsley. He 
 informs me there are no coals in this neighbour- 
 hood, save what they bring all the way from 
 Malton, eighteen miles off, at the rate of eighteen 
 shillings the chaldron. 
 
 Put up at Wilson's. A good comfortable fire 
 in the kitchen ; take this as the best room in the
 
 128 Diary of a Tour 
 
 house. Get tolerably dry before supper. A 
 gentleman from Ferrybridge, a friend of Sir John 
 Ramsden, joins my company, with whom converse 
 till eleven o'clock. Then go to bed. 
 
 Saturday, 22nd August. Helmsley. Rise at 
 seven a.m., and go up to see the Old Castle. It 
 has been a stately pile, surrounded by a double 
 moat, and strongly barricaded with gates. The 
 walls are in some places nine feet thick: vast 
 masses of them are tumbling down into the 
 moats. It was demolished, like many other 
 respectable Castles, by the rude hand of Oliver 
 Cromwell. 
 
 From the Old Castle direct my morning walk 
 to Duncombe Hall, a beautiful Seat of Charles 
 Brinsly Duncombe, Esq. 1 It stands about half 
 a mile above the village of Helmsley. Its prin- 
 cipal front is towards the west, where it looks 
 into a large deer-park finely stocked with deer, 
 and surrounded with thick woods. From the 
 deer-park the spectator has a charming view of 
 the country and the adjacent moors far and wide. 
 On the east front of the house, within the 
 pleasure ground, is the bowling green, from 
 which to the right and the left is extended, in a 
 semicircular form, one of the finest green walks 
 that can possibly be conceived. It stretches 
 along a high bank and has a fine terrace running 
 parallel with it and sloping down all the way to 
 
 1 'Duncomb Park, T. Duncomb, Esq.' (Paterson's 
 
 Itinerary).
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 129 
 
 the skirts of the wood that adorns the face of the 
 bank. In the den below runs a pretty romantic 
 stream with dashes of water and cascades, 
 making a rushing noise upon the air, heard 
 solemn through the dark and silent grove. This 
 green walk is terminated on either hand with 
 a neat temple which, like the mansion-house and 
 the offices, are all of the simple Doric order of 
 architecture. The garden lies low and warm, at 
 a considerable distance to the north of the house, 
 near the village of Helmsley. Here are nice 
 green- and hot-houses, kept in excellent order. 
 The paintings in Buncombe Hall are by some 
 connoisseurs preferred to those at Castle Howard. 
 But Buncombe is a miser, and unlike his brother 
 the member of Parliament for the country 
 [county] . This estate was purchased by one of 
 the present proprietor's ancestors, who was con- 
 nected with James VII., and retained the King's 
 money in his hands after the Abdication. 
 
 After breakfast leave Helmsley, and take the 
 hilly country for sixteen miles up the narrow 
 valley of Billsdale, all the property of Squire 
 Buncombe. He has a vast extent of moors in 
 this neighbourhood, extending forty or fifty miles, 
 abounding with the common grouse. I am in- 
 formed the black grouse are found, though not in 
 plenty, upon the property of Sir W. Fowlis, of 
 Ingleby Manor, in this neighbourhood. 
 
 About sixteen miles north of Helmsley leave 
 the hilly country and come down upon the plain. 
 
 9
 
 130 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Arrive about four p.m. at Stocksley, twenty miles 
 north of Helmsley, after having been drenched to 
 the skin by heavy rains. Much of the corn is 
 laid flat by the rains of this day and last night. 
 In this long, high stage of steep and rough road 
 (the most difficult I have yet passed over in 
 England), there is no resting-place, save a little 
 alehouse or two near the head of Billsdale, where 
 I stopped to give Cally a mouthful of hay, for 
 they had no corn, and myself a mouthful of ale. 
 
 In this tract I observed plenty of Empetrum 
 nigrum, Betonica officinalis, Epilobium angustifolium, 
 Solidago virga - aurea, &c. On coming down 
 from the hilly region (Sir W. Fowlis's on my 
 right), you leave on your left hand a tract of 
 mountain somewhat resembling the Lomond 
 Hills of Fife, but not so high, stretching from east 
 to west about four miles south of Stocksley 1 
 [Stokesley]. At the top of the hill, where you first 
 come in view of the plain, the prospect is very 
 agreeable ; the country before you for thirty or 
 forty miles appears all plain as a bowling-green, 
 and decorated as a garden. On coming down into 
 the plain, I observed by the wayside a good deal 
 of Gentiana Centaurium, growing with the Ononis 
 spinosa, &c. 
 
 On arriving at Stocksley, a considerable village 
 here, find it the weekly market. A good number 
 
 1 The Cleveland Hills would seem to be here indicated, 
 with the peaks of Botton Head and Loose Howe, to repre- 
 sent the West and East Lomonds in Fife.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 131 
 
 of country people and farmers in the town ; but 
 little grain is sold here. They sold some here 
 to-day at nine shillings a bushel ; so that it seems 
 it has not yet fallen here as in the South. The 
 hay everywhere much damaged by the rains; a 
 great deal of it still in the fields. No corn cut 
 down in this part of the country. They do not 
 expect harvest here for three weeks to come. 
 Upon the whole this season seems to be, at a 
 medium, three weeks later than last, and this over 
 all England. Leave Stocksley at half-past five 
 p.m., and set out for Stockton. 
 
 About four or five miles north of Stocksley, on 
 the way to Stockton, the ground rises gradually 
 to a considerable elevation. Here the rain ceasing 
 and the clouds dispersing, I enjoy one of the most 
 pleasing prospects the Island can boast of. A 
 romantic range of mountains, which I had now 
 left about seven miles beyond [? behind] me, 
 stretches west several miles and terminates 
 abruptly in the plain. To the east, on my right 
 hand, another and a smaller range, but with one 
 remarkable mountain (Roseberry Topping) of a 
 pyramidal form towering ' proudly eminent ' above 
 the rest, extends north about eight or ten miles 
 and then slopes downward towards the coast. On 
 the west a broad expanse of plain country embel- 
 lished with every ornament that the hand of art 
 can bestow upon it, and this vast plain fringed by 
 the summits of high mountains seen at the 
 distance of fifty and sixty miles. On the north 
 
 92
 
 132 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 and north-west the county of Durham rising by a 
 gentle ascent from the banks of the river Tees, 
 seemingly for twenty or thirty miles, and also 
 decorated in the highest manner, and terminated 
 by the tops of mountains. In the bottom of the 
 rich flat country before me, the Tees itself (town 
 of Stockton on the north bank of the river) wind- 
 ing in sweet meanders through the vale, widening 
 towards the north-east into a capacious Bay, and 
 losing itself in the German Ocean ; with the 
 distant coast towards Hartlepool, and a number 
 of sails descried at different distances from the 
 shores to the very verge of the horizon. The 
 setting sun darting from his broadened orb his 
 inclined [or ' unclouded '] rays over the whole. 
 On such a scene as this the mind of the contem- 
 plative traveller delights to dwell. A mild, sweet, 
 and tranquil evening brings me to Stockton. 
 
 Before you enter the town, you pass the Tees 
 by an elegant bridge of five arches, where the 
 river is seen winding delightfully along and form- 
 ing islands in its course. On these islands and 
 on the plains on each side of the river, groups of 
 flocks and herds are seen amusing themselves in 
 sportive maze. 
 
 ' Now is the time 
 
 For those whom Reason and whom Nature charm 
 To steal themselves from the degen'rate crowd ; 
 To tread low-thoughted pride beneath their feet ; 
 And woo lone Quiet in her silent walks.'
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Stockton Durham Newcastle Morpeth Alnwick Castle 
 Chillingham and its White Cattle The Cheviot Hills 
 Flodden Field Across the Border. 
 
 2yd August. Stockton. It is a 
 beautiful town, consisting chiefly of one 
 straight street about a quarter of a mile 
 long and about sixty or seventy yards broad, 
 with the market-place and town-hall in the 
 middle of it : a few small streets cross it at 
 right angles, running down to the side of the 
 river. Little trade is carried on here ; there 
 is a fine corn country all round, and a great 
 export of corn from this place. The river Tees 
 constitutes the wealth of the place. The corn 
 sold here lately at twenty-four shillings the bushel. 
 The river abounds with a flat fish resembling a 
 flounder or small turbot ; they call it the plaice. 
 It tastes somewhat like the flounder, but is whiter 
 in its colour and not quite so juicy and delicate. 
 Ships of one hundred and twenty tons come up 
 here, and a ship of eight hundred tons was lately 
 built here.
 
 134 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Leave Stockton at seven a.m., and set out for 
 Durham. The Poa aquatica grows plentifully in 
 the ditches about Stockton. A little to the north 
 of this place I observed a fine field of turnips 
 drilled, a very rare sight in England except about 
 the Borders. 1 Pass through a rich country ; 
 hedges and hedgerows of elms, &c., poplars, &c. 
 The country rises by slow degrees, affording a 
 grand prospect on each side ; the morning very 
 fine. Arrive half-past nine o'clock at Sedgefield, 2 
 where stop and breakfast. 
 
 Sedgefield is a neat village, situated in the 
 heart of a fine, rich corn country. The rector here 
 (Barrington) has a living of fourteen hundred 
 pounds a-year. He officiates himself with one 
 curate, and is esteemed a good preacher and a 
 good farmer. He is a nephew of the Bishop of 
 Durham. From Sedgefield to Durham eleven 
 miles. No waste ground all the way ; every inch 
 inclosed with hedge and plantation, and culti- 
 vated in the highest style. Lime and coal in 
 abundance. See by the way-side plenty of Malva 
 moschata, &c. 
 
 Approach to Durham about two p.m. The 
 view of the cathedral, as you come in to the bank 
 of the river Weir at the bridge, is picturesque 
 and romantic in the highest degree. The great 
 tower has a striking resemblance to the steeple 
 of Dundee : the other two towers at the west 
 
 1 See remarks on this subject, p. 119, footnote. 
 
 2 About ten miles from Stockton, via Norton.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 135 
 
 end of the minster put one a little in mind 
 of those at the west end of the minster of 
 York. 
 
 The river here has a curious serpentine course 
 through high, steep woody banks. Before you 
 enter the city you pass the river over two bridges, 
 and before you leave the city you pass it again 
 over a third bridge, where you see a fourth a little 
 above. The city itself is crowded along the 
 winding bank of the river. The streets and 
 entries are in many places steep and awkward 
 and inconvenient. The convenience of the water 
 has tempted the people to build it in this manner. 
 The grounds about Durham are highly beautiful ; 
 wherever you wander in the vicinity of the city 
 you are charmed with the sight of wood and 
 water. 
 
 Go to the Cathedral of Durham, and attend 
 the afternoon service. The organs with their 
 accompaniments admirably calculated to heighten 
 the devotion. 
 
 The Cathedral of Durham is a large, stately, 
 gothic structure, with vast appendages. But, to 
 one who has so lately seen the Minster of York, 
 it will not appear so striking as otherwise it 
 might. After hearing the chanting in Cathedral, 
 take a walk about the place and view its dimen- 
 sions. 
 
 The first public walk about the city is the 
 Prebend's Walk, along the bank of the Weir, 
 towards the race-ground. The ground here lets
 
 136 Diary of a Tour 
 
 at four pounds the acre. This walk is much 
 frequented by the gentry of the city ; it is finely 
 sheltered on the north, and the river winds 
 sweetly along in the valley below. 
 
 Leave Durham at six p.m., and set out for the 
 North, along the great North Road. After passing 
 the north bridge, you ascend a steep hill and 
 lose sight at once of the city. For some miles 
 proceed along a large common, now about to be 
 enclosed and cultivated. Leave the common, 
 and have on the right hand a fine prospect of 
 Lumley Castle, the Seat of Lord Scarborough, 
 a large square pile, with a square tower em- 
 brasured at each corner. The park extensive 
 and well-wooded ; some very large oaks, &c., 
 here. 
 
 Arrive in the dusk at Chester-le-Street, nine 
 miles south from Newcastle, 1 and put up there all 
 night. Sup with a very intelligent gentleman of 
 Yorkshire, on his way from Scotland. Converse 
 with him till eleven p.m., and then go to bed. 
 
 Monday, 2*\th August. Newcastle. Leave 
 Chester -le- Street at seven a.m., and proceed 
 over a hilly coal-country till we come within three 
 miles of Newcastle. Here from a rising ground 
 have a fine view backwards towards Durham. 
 Advance a little farther to the grindstone and 
 coal- works up the hill, and enjoy a delightful 
 
 1 More correctly, eight miles from Newcastle. The distance 
 from Durham to Chester-le-Street is six miles, so that the 
 diarist had travelled twenty-seven miles that day.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 137 
 
 prospect of the coast and the ocean. Proceed 
 a little farther, and have a view of Newcastle 
 below you. Come down upon the village of 
 Gateshead. Cross the Tyne, and arrive in 
 Newcastle to breakfast. Newcastle a very ugly, 
 large, irregular town. The river Tyne, here 
 separating the Counties of Durham and North- 
 umberland, seems to be scarcely as broad as the 
 Tay at Perth. The bridge has nine arches. 
 Great coal trade the staple of this town. Ships 
 of two masts come up here, but not in great 
 numbers. Vessels of considerable burden are 
 built here, but not so large as those built at 
 Shields. 
 
 After breakfast take a walk to the Quay. 
 Thence up the north side of the river to the 
 Northumberland Glass Warehouse, through a 
 narrow, dirty street, if it may be so called, as 
 most of the streets here, except Dean Street and 
 Pilgrim Street, are. Arrive at the west gate by 
 the river side (here is the east termination of the 
 Picts' Wall 1 ). Go out to the Cast Metal and 
 Brass foundery, &c. Walk up the north bank of 
 the Tyne to get a prospect of this nasty, sooty, 
 smoky chaos of a town. The view[s] of the 
 river, the bridge, and the boats sailing down with 
 the tide, with the country on each side of the 
 river to the west, are, however, not unpleasant. 
 The bank here abounds with the Scrophularia 
 
 1 Hadrian's Wall was so known in Scotland at that date, 
 if not also in Northumberland.
 
 138 Diary of a Tour 
 
 aquatica ; and here also I observed some plants of 
 Oenanthe crocata, &c. 
 
 From the top of the north bank, about half a 
 mile above the bridge, you have perhaps the best 
 prospect of the place. This dark hulk of a town 
 is here seen on your left hand rising abruptly 
 from the north side of the river ; the bridge with 
 all its arches appears before you, connecting 
 Newcastle with the village of Gateshead on the 
 Durham side, which also rises steep and sudden 
 from the south side of the river. Through the 
 arches of the bridge you descry the shipping for 
 a great way down the river, which winds away 
 out of sight under steep banks. The new church, 
 resembling St. Andrew's Church in Dundee, here 
 appears to great advantage in the face of the 
 background, which rises to a considerable height, 
 cultivated to the top, and adorned with enclosures, 
 hedge-rows, trees, villas, &c. 
 
 After viewing the most considerable streets and 
 lanes of the place, take a turn to St. Nicholas' 
 Church and view its inside. Nothing very 
 striking about it ; nor indeed about this place. 
 The inhabitants here, like those of Sheffield, have 
 in general got a tincture from the soot of coal- 
 engines, founderies, glass-works, &c. Return to 
 the White Hart and dine ; determined to leave 
 this place, and if possible to be in the evening at 
 Morpeth. 
 
 At four p.m. leave Newcastle and proceed to 
 the fourth mile-stone, where pass on my right
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 139 
 
 hand Gossforth (Brandling, Esq., Member of 
 Parliament for the County. He is here repre- 
 sented as a good, generous, charitable man ; and 
 as having shewed himself so in a particular 
 manner during the last severe winter). About 
 the eighth mile-stone pass on my left hand 
 Blagdon (Sir Matthew White Ridley). There is 
 a pretty serpentine canal in the Park on the left 
 hand, which seen through the trees as you pass 
 along produces a very agreeable effect. 
 
 In the evening come to Morpeth. 1 The 
 country hereabout remarkably well cultivated. 
 The small river Wensbeck passes this town. 
 The tide does not reach within five miles of the 
 Borough. As you approach the town from the 
 south you pass by a Castle in ruins belonging to 
 the Carlisle family. The borough of Morpeth is 
 entirely at the command of the Earl of Morpeth. 
 It is said here it costs him every year two 
 thousand pounds ; consequently he ought to have 
 something indeed to expect from it. 
 
 The oats here are sold at present for twenty- 
 five shillings the boll of six Winchester bushels, 
 here called the old boll. At Newcastle, and to 
 the south of this for a great way, the new boll is 
 used, viz. two bushels. The crops around this 
 place admirably good. The grain everywhere 
 begins to fall in its price. Heaven send good 
 weather and a good harvest ! 
 
 1 Fourteen miles from Newcastle. The day's ride from 
 Chester-le-Street to Morpeth was thus twenty-three miles.
 
 140 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Tuesday, 2.$th August. Morpeth stands in a 
 pleasant but low and obscure situation on the 
 north side of the river. It contains about four 
 thousand people. The houses are low, and many 
 of them old, and thatched. The streets are very 
 rough, and stand much in need of new paving. 
 The country around is very beautifully wooded, 
 and the surface of the ground agreeably diversi- 
 fied. 
 
 Leave Morpeth after breakfast and proceed 
 towards Alnwick. For some miles the ground 
 rises by a gentle ascent. At the third mile- 
 stone come in view of the ocean. A calm, mild 
 morning : the sun gilds the surface of the deep, 
 and the white sail steals stately over the waves. 
 
 Advancing a little to the north, the summits of 
 the Northumbrian mountains lift their heads at a 
 distance on the left, while for several miles you 
 see on the right hand the blue expanse of the 
 German Ocean stretching from Tynemouth north 
 towards Coquet isle. The country slopes gradually 
 towards the shore for eight or ten miles, and 
 abounds with every sort of grain. 
 
 Come in to the banks of the river Coquet at 
 Felton, ten miles from Morpeth and nine from 
 Alnwick. Pass the river, which here winds beau- 
 tifully between steep wooded banks. On the left 
 hand as you approach to the bridge is Felton 
 Hall, formerly belonging to the Witheringtons, 
 now to Riddell, Esq. 1 
 
 1 'Felton Park, Riddell, Esq.' (Paterson's Itinerary').
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 141 
 
 Stop at Felton for an hour and refresh my 
 horse. The country very pleasant here. Leave 
 Felton. On my left hand, Lisle, Esq. A little 
 forward on my right Grieve, Esq., his Folly as it 
 is called. It seems Mr. Grieve's folly consisted in 
 improving his country. For several years he 
 employed dozens of day - labourers in paring, 1 
 burning, draining, &c. ; and out of moors, mires, 
 and rushes, he raised farmsteads, plantations and 
 enclosures of the first sort, making a paradise of a 
 desert. Poor man, he died suddenly and unex- 
 pectedly in London some time ago ; and all his 
 improvements are the property of a West Indian 
 nabob, whose name I have forgot, and whose 
 character I was not at the pains to enquire into. 
 But that is of no consequence ; he may be a 
 very eminent and a very worthy man for all 
 that. 
 
 A vast many fine lime-works in this neighbour- 
 hood. About the thirteenth mile from Morpeth 
 the road rises to a considerable elevation, from 
 whence have a prospect again of the sea and the 
 coast. You see Coquet isle and its Light-house 
 on your right hand at about eight miles' distance. 
 The island lies about three miles from the main- 
 land. 
 
 Betwixt Morpeth and Alnwick, observed in 
 several places plenty of Betonica officinalis ; in 
 some places, Oenanthe crocata ; near the bridge of 
 
 1 That is, removing the turf. In some parts of Scotland 
 the" expression 'flaying the muir' is used.
 
 142 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Felton, some plants of Hieracium umbellatum ; be- 
 twixt Felton and Alnwick, Sisymbrium amphibium, 
 S. Sophia; in one place Hypericum Androsaemutn; 
 in another place, Euphorbia Characias, &c. 
 
 Arrive at Alnwick about five p.m. After dinner, 
 go to the Castle, the old family-seat of the Earl 
 Percys of Northumberland. The present Duke 
 in bad health ; he has been for some years past at 
 Lisbon, is now come home, and resides at Zion- 
 house near Richmond on the Thames. 
 
 A Mr. Kirk, a favourite old soldier of the present 
 Duke, whom his Grace has appointed superinten- 
 dent of the Castle, conducts me through the out- 
 works, and shews and explains them to me in the 
 most sensible and satisfactory manner. He 
 seems to be a man possessed of much knowledge 
 of the world, has fought in many battles, and dis- 
 covers learning, penetration, and intelligence 
 beyond what might naturally be expected from a 
 sergeant. There are several curious pieces of 
 antiquity here. A great number of old arms, 
 coats of mail, helmets, &c. He shewed me, 
 among many others, the helmet of the famous 
 Henry Hotspur. There are here also some very 
 curious Roman and Grecian antiques. I went 
 down into the Dungeon, where the prisoners used 
 to be confined of old. An iron grate is lifted up, 
 and a trap-ladder leads you down eleven or twelve 
 steps into a place where no ray of light ever pene- 
 trated. My vanity was considerably flattered 
 indeed when Kirk told me that the good and
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 143 
 
 benevolent, the Great Howard, had been there 
 before me. 
 
 When Kirk had shewn me the outworks, he 
 conducted me to the gate of the inner castle itself, 
 and there recommended me to a lady-servant 1 
 who shewed me all the apartments : First, the 
 bed-rooms ; second, the saloon ; third, the dining- 
 room ; fourth, the drawing - room ; fifth, the 
 parlour or breakfasting-room ; sixth, the Library; 
 seventh, the Chapel, where there is a noble marble 
 monument, placed under the great painted win- 
 dow, to the memory of the late Duchess of 
 Northumberland by Hugh, the late Duke, who 
 repaired the whole works here both outer and 
 inner. The furniture here is superb; the floors 
 are all either wainscot or a hard kind of plaister, 
 solid and durable as marble ; the ceilings, &c., 
 are magnificent, and everything done in a truly 
 gothic style which greatly suits the building 
 without. 
 
 After seeing this ancient and venerable place, 
 take a walk through the Park, by the side of the 
 river Ale, which winds sweetly along at the foot of 
 the bank under the Castle. A noble bridge of 
 three large arches here bestrides the river, and 
 the effigy of a huge lion stands grinning upon the 
 parapet of the middle arch. The view of Alnwick 
 Castle from the different points of the Park, which 
 
 1 This term, which has a curiously modern sound, no 
 doubt indicates a woman of the ' Mrs. Rouncewell ' type, to 
 whom such a term may not inaptly be given.
 
 144 Diary of a Tour 
 
 is about seven miles round, is sublime. About 
 two and a half miles east of the Castle, the Duke 
 has built an artificial ruin on the top of a high 
 precipice, whence Alnwick may be viewed to 
 great advantage. About a mile to the west of 
 the Castle stands a high pillar on the top of a 
 hill, from whence also the view is noble. The 
 principal view is from the north-east, from near 
 Malcolm the Third's Cross. 1 
 
 On the turrets and embrasures of the Castle all 
 round are placed huge statues of old Warriors in 
 different attitudes. At a little distance they seem 
 to be alive and employed in defending the works. 
 In short, this Castle is altogether done in a singu- 
 larly Gothic style, and has altogether a singular 
 and striking appearance. 
 
 In the evening, on the parade before the gates 
 of the Castle, see Colonel Blake's Regiment drawn 
 up. They have a tolerable Band of music per- 
 
 1 [Footnote by the diarist] In the Park Inscription on 
 the north-west side of Malcolm's Cross : 
 
 ' Malcolm III., King of Scotland, 
 Besieging Alnwick castle, 
 
 Was slain here 
 November 13, ANNO MXCIII.' 
 
 On the opposite side : 
 
 ' King Malcolm's cross, 
 Decayed by time, 
 Was restored by his 
 Descendant Elizabeth, 
 Duchess of Northumberland, 
 1774-' 
 
 On the south-west, The Lion. 
 On the north-east, The Thistle.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 145 
 
 formed by blacks and Indians j 1 but as for the 
 soldiers they make but a sorry appearance, con- 
 sisting for the most part of mere boys and old 
 men, the outcasts of the London jails, &c., poor, 
 decrepit, nerveless, worn-out debauchies. How 
 exceedingly unlike those old Northumbrian heroes 
 whose very statues now look down from these 
 walls upon them with pity and contempt ! 
 
 Wednesday, 26th August. Alnwick. In the 
 morning leave Alnwick and ascend an eminence : 
 here the Earl's Mount, as it is called, appears 
 to great advantage on the West hand. On its 
 summit is raised a huge Pillar by the late Duke. 
 This is a very curious piece of architecture. By 
 a turnpike of a singular kind within the pillar you 
 ascend nearly a hundred feet. At the top of this 
 is a battlement, where you go out and walk round, 
 
 1 With regard to these 'blacks and Indians,' some further 
 information seems desirable. If this was one of the East 
 India Company's regiments, they were probably East Indians. 
 On the other hand, it is possible that they were simply gypsies 
 from Rothbury and Coquetdale. As at the present day in 
 Hungary, the gypsies of the British Islands were formerly 
 notable musicians ; and it is certainly the case that one 
 celebrated Northumbrian gypsy, who came of a family of 
 hereditary musicians, was ' regimental piper in the Northum- 
 berland Militia' not many years before the date of this 
 Diary, prior to which period he had been retained by the 
 Duchess of Northumberland as her special piper. [See 
 Mrs. E. R. Pennell's article, ' A Gypsy Piper,' in the Journal 
 of the Gypsy Lore Society, vol. ii., No. 5, January, 1891. For 
 some remarks on black men as musicians in British regi- 
 ments, see also a note by the present annotator in Notes and 
 Queries (Series VII., vii. 448) and subsequent comments 
 (Series VII., vii. 517; and Series VII., viii. 32, 97, and 
 237)-] 
 
 10
 
 146 Diary of a Tour 
 
 having an amazingly grand view of Alnwick 
 Castle, the town, and the country all round. 
 High up above the battlement is placed a curious 
 grate, on which a bonfire is kindled on extra- 
 ordinary occasions. 
 
 About four miles north of Alnwick you have a 
 distinct view of the Cheviot on your left, the 
 highest mountain in Northumberland. The pros- 
 pect of the ocean on the right obscured greatly 
 to-day by a sort of hazy vapour hanging over it. 
 Have at intervals, however, a view of Bamburgh 
 Castle, situated on a peninsula, a curious old ruin. 
 The Fern isles and Holy island may be seen here. 
 About four miles south of Belford, pass by on my 
 left hand Selby, Esq. 1 As you come within a 
 mile or two of Belford, have a fine view of Belford- 
 hall (Dickson, 2 deceased), delightfully situated on 
 the declivity of a hill, and finely embosomed in 
 wood. The village of Belford stands a little to 
 the west of the house, lower down towards the 
 vale. 
 
 Arrive at the Bell Inn about eleven a.m. The 
 day exceedingly warm and sunny. The hay- 
 harvest going on briskly ; but no corn cut down 
 yet in any part of this country. Fine sheep of 
 the Culley's breed in the parks in this neighbour- 
 hood. Excellent sheep-farms here. 
 
 1 Evidently the ' New-hall, Bacon, Esq.,' of Paterson's 
 Itinerary, published ten years earlier. 
 
 2 The 'Dixon, Esq.,' of Paterson's Itinerary. The diarist, 
 as a Scotchman, naturally spells the name in the Scotch 
 fashion.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 147 
 
 Betwixt Alnwick and Belford observed no par- 
 ticular plants by the way-side except Lythrum 
 Salicaria, Plantago media, Geranium pratense, and 
 a few plants of Betonica officinalis in one place 
 only. Price of oats just now at Belford twenty- 
 five shillings a boll of six Winchester bushels, 
 equal to four Scotch firlots. 
 
 Have an interview here with Mr. and Mrs. 
 Richardson, and Mr. and Mrs. Duncan and Miss 
 Stewart of Urard [Perthshire], returning from the 
 Lakes. After parting with them, have another 
 interview with Mr. Wishart of Edinburgh, return- 
 ing also from the Lakes. 
 
 Set out in the afternoon for Chillingham, six 
 miles across a high, swampy, heathy country, 
 from the top of which have a view of the coast, 
 Bamburgh Castle, the Fern isles, Holy island, 
 and the ocean. Here take my leave of the east 
 coast of England, and set my face to the Cheviot 
 mountains. Come down upon Chillingham, an 
 old strong retreat of the Earl of Tankerville, 
 situated on the west side of a high range of black, 
 heathy hills, whereof the highest is Rosehill im- 
 mediately above the Castle. 
 
 There being no inn in the village, the Rev. 
 Dr. Thomas, the Vicar of the place, receives my- 
 self and horse, and entertains both with the most 
 hospitable attentions. We may boast of our 
 Scotch hospitality as we please, but I have 
 repeatedly found hospitality in England too. 
 Why should not one of the first of Christian 
 
 10 2
 
 148 Diary of a Tour 
 
 virtues reside in England as well as in Scotland ? 
 The Doctor an open-hearted, communicative 
 man. He accompanies me to shew me the object 
 of my excursion to this place, viz., the old Cale- 
 donian White Cattle, which the Goth Duke of 
 Queensberry has extirpated from Scotland, 1 and 
 which, I am told, are now to be seen nowhere in 
 the Island save in this very spot. Saw a large 
 drove of them, mixed with the fallow-deer, in a 
 park a little above Chillingham Castle. They 
 are all white except their ears, and a little under 
 the tail ; have all nearly similar horns, erect and 
 beautiful ; are pretty tall and thin on the limbs. 
 When you approach them they are shy and retire 
 from you frightened, but if you persevere chasing 
 them, and if they think you design to harass 
 them, they turn in a body against you and attack 
 you. 
 
 The Doctor shews me also the front of the 
 Castle. It is a piece of very thick, strong work, 
 built in the feudal times, when the borderers 
 were perpetually at war with one another, and 
 built their castles generally in dark, gloomy, 
 retired fastnesses. 
 
 Drink tea with the Vicar. He gives me the 
 
 1 Although there is nowadays a herd of the old white 
 cattle preserved in the Duke of Hamilton's park at Cadyow, 
 the survivors of the original stock at that place were ' exter- 
 minated, from economical motives, about the year 1760.' 
 The Duke of Queensberry's herd at Drumlanrig shared a 
 like fate in 1780-1790. (See the Proceedings of the Society 
 of Antiquaries of Scotland, vol. ix., p. 601.)
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 149 
 
 history of his family. His son very unfortunate. 
 Shews me a letter from the Duke of Portland, 
 and another from the Bishop of Durham, relative 
 to his son. Both these letters written in a very 
 peculiar style. Mrs. Thomas a Scotch-woman 
 from Fife. 
 
 Vicar shews me his garden and houses. A 
 new kind of pease, rich and requiring no support. 
 Promises to send me a specimen of them in 
 autumn. 
 
 Part with this good, hospitable man, and set 
 out across the hill. A fine evening, and a most 
 beautiful setting sun. Cheviot a little to the 
 westward of me: a blue-gray nightcap enwraps 
 his black and lofty head. Come down the hill to 
 the bank of the river at Wooler. The rays of 
 the departed sun ' yet line with purple and with 
 florid gold ' the clouds disposed in thin horizontal 
 strata over the northwest parts of the heavens. 
 Pass the river. See here plenty of Geranium 
 cicutarium, very luxuriant plants. Great banks 
 of sand are here deposited on the plain, being 
 brought down from the Cheviot mountains in 
 the time of floods. Arrive at Wooler, where put 
 up all night at the Sign of the Black Bull, on the 
 east termination of the Cheviot hills. 
 
 Thursday, zjth August. Wooler, lying in the 
 vicinity of green pastures and high mountains, 
 enjoys a free and healthy air, for the sake of 
 which, as well as of drinking the goat-whey, 
 many people resort here during the summer, and
 
 150 Diary of a Tour 
 
 spend six weeks and sometimes two months. 
 The great severity of last winter killed the great 
 part of the goats, and therefore fewer company 
 are here at present than usual. 
 
 For twelve or fifteen miles along the foot of 
 the Cheviot here, the hills are green and beautiful 
 to their tops, feeding the finest fleeced sheep in 
 jthe world. Their wool sometimes is sold at a 
 guinea a stone-weight. They are much finer 
 wooled than the sheep that feed higher up among 
 the Cheviot mountains, which are mossy and 
 benty 1 and heathy towards their summits. The 
 Culley's breed of sheep are used here ; small, 
 white faces, and small delicate legs, with thick 
 close fleeces as soft as any cotton. They are of 
 a good size, and their mutton is esteemed very 
 good. 
 
 Much corn grows here in the valleys, owing 
 greatly no doubt to the limestone which is burnt 
 hereabout in great quantities. The country in 
 general, however, seems to be particularly cal- 
 culated for hay and pasturage. Here as well as 
 about Chillingham many small farms are turned 
 into one large farm by a rich man over-bidding 
 all poorer neighbours whenever their leases are 
 out. This is a system much practised in other 
 places as well as in this ; and how far it may 
 eventually prove hurtful to a country by depriving 
 it of, what must be the strength and support of 
 
 1 That is, full of bogs, and covered chiefly with bent or 
 coarse wild grass.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 151 
 
 any country, its inhabitants, is a question. Many 
 parts of the Highlands of Scotland are now greatly 
 depopulated by this plan ; though it may be said 
 the inhabitants are better employed in other 
 places, where they are taught habits of useful 
 industry, and so forth. 
 
 In Whitsunbank, betwixt Wooler and Chilling- 
 ham, is held on Whitsunday, yearly, the greatest 
 sheep and cattle fair in this country. 
 
 Leave Wooler at eleven a.m., and pass along 
 the east base of the Cheviot, 'where erst with 
 hound and horn Earl Percy took his way.' On 
 my right hand a fine, flat, rich corn country lying 
 on each side of the river Till, which, descending 
 from the higher grounds, here receives a number 
 of small streams from the Cheviot hills. These 
 streams, meeting in the vale, take the name of 
 Till, which runs north through a fertile country 
 and falls into the Tweed. 
 
 At half-past twelve o'clock, come towards the 
 scene of the Battle of Flodden. Here musing 
 alone, the melancholy remembrance comes over 
 my soul of that day so fatal to Scotland, to her 
 king, and to his nobles ! This the mournful scene 
 of The Flowers of the Forest ' all faded away ' ! 
 
 The Battle-bush, as it is yet called, is not above 
 half a mile to the left-hand of the road leading 
 from Wooler to Cornhill. 
 
 Flodden -hill, where the Scottish army are 
 said to have been posted, is now covered with 
 artificial wood. Honey Laws' hill, where King
 
 152 Diary of a Tour 
 
 James the Fourth's men are said to have taken 
 their stand before the engagement, is a little to 
 the westward. On this hill are still to be seen 
 green circular mounds and entrenchments ; here 
 is also the King's-chair, as it is still termed, cut 
 out of the rock somewhat in the form of a chair ; 
 and here likewise the King's-bason, cut also out 
 of the solid stone, where the King of the Scots is 
 said to have sat and washed himself. But upon 
 the surface of the ground hereabouts few 
 memorials remain, few indeed of that memor- 
 able action. The country here all round exhibits 
 at this day a very different and a far more pleasing 
 spectacle. The plough has obliterated the graves 
 of the Scottish and English heroes ; and rich 
 grain now waves over the hills where formerly 
 waved the banners of hostile nations, now, thank 
 Heaven ! hostile no more. 
 
 A peasant here told me he had in his house a 
 cannon-ball, found in his wife's father's time 
 under the furrow of the plough, near the scene of 
 the battle. He told me the bullet weighs about 
 eighteen pound. Many weapons of war were dug 
 up hereabouts at different times. 
 
 [Here follow some further statements relating 
 to Flodden, obviously obtained from historical 
 writers. The diary then continues thus :] 
 
 After leaving this neighbourhood, pass on till I 
 come to Asky-hall, Askey, Esq. 1 It stands on the 
 
 1 Read 'Pallinsburn Hall, Askew, Esq.' (Paterson's 
 Itinerary).
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 153 
 
 north of the public road, on a bold eminence. 
 Below it, in the hollow, is a curious pond or mire, 
 cut into different canals, and abounding with the 
 Scirpus lacustris, Typha latifolia, and other aquatic 
 plants. 
 
 George Culley, so deservedly famed over all 
 Britain, farms a great part of the lands here. I 
 passed through the midst of his farms, and have 
 seen nothing equal to them in Scotland or in 
 England. His hedges are trimmed in the neatest 
 manner; his enclosures are all of a good size, and 
 perfectly regular. His soil is dry and warm and 
 early, and richly manured with lime, which 
 abounds in his neighbourhood. His sheep, 
 horses, cows, are all the very best breed of 
 England ; and disposed in parks [i.e., meadows 
 or pasture-fields] , each sort by themselves. His 
 harvest is already begun ; and his crops of oats, 
 barley, vetches, pease, beans, rye, wheat, hay, 
 &c., are most luxuriant. He drills his turnips in 
 general, though he has a few fields in the broad- 
 cast for his sheep. His farms here are well worth 
 going a hundred miles to see. 
 
 After leaving his farms at Asky-hill, proceed 
 towards Cornhill, and come in view of the river 
 Tweed, gliding in gentle meander by Wark Castle 
 down to Coldstream-bridge ; the Merse, Tweed- 
 dale, with the hills about Melrose, &c., in the 
 background, here make a grand and beautiful 
 appearance. 
 
 At Cornhill, come in upon my last year's tract.
 
 154 A Tour through Great Britain 
 
 Pass the Tweed at Coldstream-bridge, which 
 here divides the two Kingdoms. Five stately 
 arches bestride the stream, besides a small arch 
 up on the bank on each side to receive the water 
 in the time of a high flood. The bridge of Cold- 
 stream somewhat resembles the bridge of Perth 
 in its architecture. A pier of large stones runs 
 across the Tweed, immediately below the bridge, 
 to deaden the current at the foundation of the 
 bridge. This layer of stones produces a rushing 
 of the water that has an agreeable effect on the 
 ear as you pass the bridge. 
 
 Arrive at half-past two o'clock p.m. at the 
 Black Bull Inn in Coldstream, and dine in 
 Scotland. The harvest here about eighteen or 
 twenty days later than it was here last year.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Kelso Mr. William Dawson Tweedside and its Memories 
 Peebles Mid-Lothian Return to Edinburgh. 
 
 ^T^HURSDAY, 2jth August. From Cold- 
 
 J. stream have a delightful evening ride up 
 
 the north bank of the Tweed all the way 
 
 to Kelso. No farming can possibly exceed the 
 
 farming of this country, on both sides of the 
 
 Tweed. In England it is in general much in- 
 
 ferior. The harvest just begun here on both 
 
 sides of the river, and the crops luxuriant as can 
 
 be. Mr. Waldie sups with me at the Inn. 
 
 Friday, 2&th August. Kelso. Breakfast with 
 Mr. Waldie, and have an agreeable tete-d-tete with 
 Miss Euphemia Dawson in the forenoon. Dine 
 at Mr. Waldie's, in company with Mr. Dawson, 
 Miss Betty Dawson, Miss Archibald, niece of Mr. 
 Dawson, Miss Thomson, and two young gentle- 
 men. Pass the afternoon very agreeably. Sup 
 at Mr. Waldie's. 
 
 Saturday, 2gth August. Kelso. Breakfast with 
 Mr. Waldie. After breakfast went up to see the
 
 156 Diary of a Tour 
 
 new bridge of Teviot, a piece of very neat 
 architecture ; three spacious arches ; very fine 
 white-coloured stone. Ride out with Captain 
 Jefferies of Mainhouse. Dine at Frogden. Com- 
 pany, Mr. and Miss Dawson, young Mr. William 
 Dawson, Mrs. Douglas, sister of Mr. Dawson, Miss 
 Thomson, and two young Misses Waldie, Christian 
 and Mary. 
 
 [At this point the entries become brief and 
 concise ; and, while containing little to attract the 
 general reader, they denote a period of keen 
 interest in the diarist's life. That journeys end in 
 lovers' meeting is what every wise man's son is 
 supposed to know ; and this journey did not, in 
 that respect, differ from others. For although the 
 traveller was a bachelor of mature years, he had 
 become attracted, only the previous summer it 
 would seem, by the charms of the Miss Euphemia 
 Dawson, whose name here frequently recurs, and 
 their engagement definitely took place on this 
 occasion, to be followed by their marriage in the 
 succeeding year. This lady was one of the 
 numerous family of an agriculturist of consider- 
 able note in his day. Of him a full account may 
 be seen in the Scots Magazine for 1815 (pp. 420- 
 424) ; and, in addition to casual notices in agricul- 
 tural magazines, there are similar references in 
 Chambers's Edinburgh Journal (1836) and in 
 Forsyth's Beauties of Scotland. The last-named 
 work contains (vol. ii., pp. 74-77, Edinburgh, 
 1805) the following statements :
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 157 
 
 ' While the agriculture of this county [Roxburghshire], 
 and the greater part of Scotland, was in the state we have 
 now described ; while the cattle were few, and consequently 
 the crops of grain contemptible, the whole face of this county 
 and of its neighbourhood was speedily altered, in consequence 
 of an event which at the time must have appeared of little 
 importance, but which produced the happiest effects to the 
 general agriculture of Scotland. William Dawson, Esq., 
 then a very young man, and the son of a farmer of Rox- 
 burghshire, after receiving a liberal education, was sent by 
 his relations into England for the purpose of obtaining a 
 practical knowledge of the most approved English 
 husbandry. He resided four years in the West Riding of 
 Yorkshire, and one year in Essex, labouring with his own 
 hands under respectable farmers, to whose care he had been 
 committed in consequence of recommendations obtained 
 from Scotland to persons of rank, under whom their farms 
 were held. He returned to Roxburghshire in 1753, and 
 immediately introduced the practice of the turnip husbandry, 
 which he sowed in drills.' [The Scots Magazine account, 
 evidently more accurate, states that Dawson ' was born at 
 Harperton, in Berwickshire, of which his father was tenant' ; 
 that he began his revolutionary treatment on his father's 
 farm, after his return from England ; and that his success in 
 turnip-culture dates from his occupation of the farm of 
 Frogden, Roxburghshire, in 1759.] ' He was the first 
 Scottish farmer who introduced the cultivation of turnip 
 into the open field. . . . Mr. Dawson's fields soon became 
 more fertile and beautiful than those around him. . . . The 
 hinds who had once been in his service were sure to find 
 employment ; his ploughmen were in the utmost request ; 
 . . . and Mr. Dawson, independent of his own personal 
 prosperity, had the satisfaction to live to see himself regarded, 
 and hear himself called, the father of the agriculture of at 
 least the south of Scotland. 1 
 
 Omitting, then, those passages which relate to this 
 tender period, we resume the narrative with the 
 traveller's resumption of his journey.] 
 
 Friday, ^ih September. Musing in lonely melan- 
 choly mood, I wandered on regardless of my way. 
 
 The day was delightful. The country was
 
 158 Diary of a Tour 
 
 sweet. Tweed glided on in gentle meanderings 
 on my left. 
 
 Pass Smellam tower, 1 high seated among rocks. 
 About three o'clock in the afternoon, I found 
 myself among the Ruins of the Abbey of Dryburgh. 
 
 [Here follows a description of Dryburgh Abbey, 
 which it is unnecessary to quote. The journey is 
 then resumed.] 
 
 Wander up the delightful banks of the Tweed. 
 About Old Melrose, 2 the windings of the river 
 and its banks are indescribably beautiful. 
 
 Pass the river Leader : fine view of Tod's 
 house 3 above you on your right hand. This 
 whole paradise of a country is one continued 
 scene of classic ground; the scenes of those 
 beautiful simple Scotch pastoral songs, so much 
 and so justly admired by all the world. 
 
 A magnificent bridge (Stevens') of three stately 
 arches, the central one a hundred and five feet 
 wide, carries me across the Tweed about two 
 miles below Melrose. The country here begins 
 
 1 Smailholm Tower, six miles west-by-north of Kelso. 
 Although it possesses many historical associations (it dates 
 from the early part of the fifteenth century), its greatest 
 interest to modern readers must be its association with Sir 
 Walter Scott. Here it was that, as an infant, he was found 
 lying on the grass, during a thunderstorm, 'clapping his 
 hands at each flash, and shouting, " Bonny ! bonny !" ' And 
 he afterwards made this the scene of his Eye of St. John, 
 and again recalled its wild charms in the introduction to 
 Canto Third of Marmion. 
 
 * Three miles down the Tweed from the more modern 
 Melrose. 
 
 3 ? Drygrange House.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 159 
 
 to be hilly. The Eildon-hills form here grand 
 objects on your left as you go up to Melrose 
 Abbey. 
 
 At six in the afternoon arrive at Melrose. 
 Riddle, Esq., has an elegant house on your right 
 as you enter the town. Go immediately to view 
 the finest ruin in Scotland ; travellers say one of 
 the finest in the known world. 
 
 [As the account of Melrose Abbey which is here 
 given contains nothing specially important, it is 
 omitted.] 
 
 Saturday, $th September. Melrose. Leave this 
 place at eleven o'clock a.m. About two miles 
 north-west of Melrose, pass the Tweed along a 
 bridge of two lofty arches. About two miles 
 further on come to the bank of Gala Water at 
 Galashiels (Colonel Scott). 1 Proceed along the 
 banks of this romantic stream till I come to Tor- 
 woodlee (Pringle, Esq.). This must be considered 
 as one of the most delightful summer residences 
 that can anywhere be seen, as long as verdant 
 hills, warm woody banks, and winding streams 
 are ranked among the first beauties of nature. 
 
 Here leave the straight road to Edinburgh, 
 and take to the left towards Peebles. Ride along 
 a hilly tract for a few miles, then come in again 
 
 1 This casual reference makes one realize the sudden rise 
 of Galashiels, now a town of over 17,000 inhabitants, and an 
 important centre of ' tweed ' manufacture since the beginning 
 of this century. In 1795, however, it was a small village of 
 hand-loom weavers, and the diarist thought it sufficient to 
 merely note the name of the laird.
 
 160 Diary of a Tour 
 
 to the pastoral banks of the Tweed, which a little 
 to the south, near Selkirk, receives the Etterick, 
 which last receives the Yarrow that gives im- 
 mortality to Logan : 
 
 ' Thy braes were bonny, Yarrow stream,' etc. 1 
 
 Pass by Askysteel (Colonel Russell), 2 situated 
 on the west bank of the river. Continue wind- 
 ing up the river towards the north. Pass by an 
 old Castle belonging to Lord Elibank, 3 whence 
 his title. Travel slowly on, the day delightful 
 and sunny. Here Tweed begins to narrow his 
 dale, and the hills rise in bold angles on each 
 side of the river. No reaping here as yet, though 
 the crop looks well ; the country is rather late, 
 being high among the hills. See some good 
 fields of barley, and oats, and pease, and vetches, 
 along the sides of the river. Come at last to 
 Pirn (Horsburgh), covered with a clump of trees 
 on your left as you approach to Innerleithing, a 
 small village about six miles from Peebles. 
 
 Here is a woollen manufactory, driven by the 
 small stream of the Leithing, which here falls 
 into the Tweed. There is a good deal of spinning, 
 
 1 From The Braes of Yarrow > by John Logan (1748-1788). 
 
 2 ' Ashiesteel. . . . Long a seat of the Russells, of Indian 
 military fame, it was tenanted from 1804 to 1812 by their 
 kinsman, Walter Scott, then Sheriff of Selkirkshire . . . 
 and what is now a passage was both the dining and his 
 writing room, in which were composed the Lay of the Last 
 Minstrel, the Lady of the Lake, and Marmion, as well as 
 about a third of Waverley' 1 (Ordnance Gazetteer of Scotland; 
 edited by Francis Hindes Groome). 
 
 3 Alexander Murray, seventh Lord Elibank (1747-1820).
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 161 
 
 weaving, and dyeing wool here as well as at Gala- 
 shiels and Melrose. In the neighbourhood of 
 this village there is also a mineral spring (salt), 
 resorted to by company in the summer months. 
 Its virtues were discovered about twelve years 
 ago, before the Traquair family left this neigh- 
 bourhood. 1 
 
 Traquair lies on the opposite side of the Tweed 
 here, a great deal of fine wood about it. The 
 haughs here are very beautiful and extensive. 
 This, I am told, is the real scene of the old song 
 of * The Bush aboon Traquair,' 2 and not that at 
 Dumfries [Troqueer] as some have imagined. 
 
 The black grouse have been killed in this neigh- 
 bourhood, though they are now a very rare bird 
 here. The common grouse are on the hills here. 
 The Tweed is a fine fishing stream here ; but the 
 accommodations for strangers are very indifferent 
 indeed ' 'Tis true, 'tis pity !' &c. The wool is 
 the staple commodity of this country. The sheep 
 here are the hardy black-faced kind. The ground 
 is a good deal in a state of nature in most places. 
 The old leases are out upon the Traquair Estate 
 here, and a considerable rise of rent is expected, 
 perhaps three times higher than the old. Lime- 
 stone is brought here from twelve miles off, and 
 coal from a still greater distance. The sheep 
 farmers suffered much here by the severity of last 
 
 1 This ' spaw ' is the original of Scott's ' St. Ronan's.' 
 
 2 The beauty of which has been eclipsed in recent years 
 by Professor Campbell Shairp's lovely modern version. 
 
 II
 
 1 62 Diary of a Tour 
 
 winter: in the lambing time many hundreds of 
 the sheep gave way. 
 
 Leave Innerleithing at four in the afternoon. 
 The hills are beautiful all round ; ' they rejoice 
 on every side.' The road takes a northerly direc- 
 tion ; keeps still along the bank of the river, 
 following its beautiful winding course. Blue slate 
 'is dug out of the hills a little to the north of the 
 House of Traquair ; but they are soft, and by no 
 means durable. The most valuable blue slate of 
 this country are brought from Stouba [Stobo], 
 about six miles south-by-west of Peebles. 
 
 About a mile beyond Innerleithing, pass by 
 Cardronna [Cardrona] (Williamson, Esq.). It 
 lies under a green hill with a great collection of 
 stones on its top on the west bank of the Tweed. 
 On the opposite bank is an old ruinous tower, 
 with some apparent monuments of antiquity on 
 the hill on the south side of it. Here farming is 
 beginning to improve : beautiful fields slope gently 
 towards the river. Turnip and potatoes thrive 
 admirably here ; and from the nature of the soil 
 for many miles along the banks here, it would 
 appear they cannot be too much encouraged. 
 
 Here fall in with a Mid-Lothian farmer, a 
 sensible man, who accompanies me all the way 
 to Peebles. 
 
 A few miles above Cardronna, on the same 
 side of the river, lies Kyla [Kailyie] , the Seat of 
 Captain Campbell, one of the first of those 
 numberless beauties that appear on the banks of
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 163 
 
 the Tweed. On the side of the river opposite 
 to it you pass by Horseburgh 1 Castle on your 
 left ; 2 then through one of the most delightful 
 farms possible, Ash-hill [Eshiels] farm, belonging 
 to Hay, Esq., of Hayston, brother-in-law to the 
 present Duchess of Atholl. 3 This is truly a 
 model of a farm. It is composed of a fine sloping 
 bank facing the south, and ending in an exten- 
 sive plain terminated by the Tweed. The road 
 to Peebles runs through it, betwixt the bank and 
 the plain : on each side of the road the parks 
 [.*., pastures] are laid out in the most elegant 
 manner, enclosed with fine young thriving hedges. 
 The lime (though the carriage is long) here pro- 
 duces the most sudden and the most astonishing 
 effects, the soil being everywhere dry and admir- 
 ably fitted for it. The crops are proportionately 
 luxuriant, and the harvest is just at hand. 
 
 As a proof of the excellence of the soil in 
 general along the whole bank of this wonderful 
 river, the hawthorn hedges, which in the lower 
 parts of the country are planted double, but here 
 single, thrive exceedingly, and grow perfectly 
 regular without any breach. 
 
 1 The correct spelling is ' Horsbrugh.' 
 
 2 The diarist appears to have forded the Tweed above 
 Cardrona. 
 
 3 The laird of Hayston in 1795 was James Hay, M.D., 
 who, in 1805, established his claim to the family baronetcy, 
 dormant since 1683. It was his eldest son, however (Mr. 
 John Hay, b. 1755, d. I ^3\ w h was brother-in-law to the 
 then Duchess of Atholl, he and the Duke of Atholl having 
 married sisters, the daughters of James, sixteenth Lord 
 Forbes (Burke). 
 
 II 2
 
 164 Diary of a Tour 
 
 Come to Peebles in the evening about six 
 o'clock. It is a pretty, neat town, the capital 
 of the County, situated on the north bank of 
 the Tweed, and much resembles an English 
 village. Its situation is indeed one of the most 
 romantic that can be conceived. 
 
 The general course of the Tweed here is nearly 
 from west to east. It passes under a very old 
 and very narrow bridge of five equal arches. A 
 large sandbank, accumulated immediately above 
 the bridge, has thrown the whole weight of the 
 current under the southmost arch ; and unless 
 the river is strongly banked on the south side 
 above, there seems to be a danger of its leaving 
 the bridge altogether. 
 
 To a spectator on the central arch of the 
 Bridge, the river Tweed exhibits an appearance 
 truly picturesque. About half a mile above the 
 bridge the hills seem to entirely close, at Need- 
 path [Neidpath] , an old Castle of the Duke of 
 Queensberry. Here the Tweed is seen rising as 
 it were out of the base of the hills in one broad 
 expansive fountain, which, stealing along in a 
 smooth and placid winding towards the bridge, 
 passes under it with a sudden sweep, and then 
 gliding in gentle meanders by Hayston, is seen 
 apparently sinking about two miles to the east- 
 ward under Horseburgh Castle, where the moun- 
 tains again appear to close. 
 
 The scenery about Peebles would be by no 
 means untempting to a judicious landscape
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 165 
 
 painter. The view from the bridge down the 
 river is very fine on each side. The view up the 
 river is romantic in the first degree. Here the 
 old Castle of Needpath forms a striking object, 
 finely embosomed in the mountains whence the 
 river seems to issue, which are half-way up 
 covered with venerable old trees of different com- 
 plexions, which this mischievous Duke is now 
 occupied in cutting down, because he has no heir 
 to leave them to. This man certainly enjoys a 
 taste the most completely depraved of any man's 
 alive. It is needless to remonstrate with him on 
 the barbarity of his conduct ; his unhallowed 
 hand must be continually exercised in mangling 
 every plantation he is heir to. 1 
 
 Standing about two hundred yards above the 
 Bridge on the south bank of the Tweed, and 
 turning your face to the north, you see to the 
 left hand Needpath in all its glory of scenery, 
 before you the house of Honeyman, Esq., together 
 with [the] Manse, both of them finely raised upon 
 the north bank of the river ; a little to the right 
 of this the Ed[d]leston water coming down from 
 the north, and falling into the Tweed at the west 
 end of a peninsular eminence covered with black 
 pines and crowned with the spire of the new 
 church ; beyond this, on the right, the town, the 
 
 1 This Duke of Queensberry, already referred to by the 
 diarist in similar terms (p. 148), was the notorious 'Old Q.' 
 His treatment of the Neidpatn woods drew forth from Words- 
 worth, who visited the place in 1803, the well-known lines 
 beginning : 
 
 ' Degenerate Douglas ! thou unworthy Lord !'
 
 1 66 Diary of a Tour 
 
 bridge, and the river, with the green hills rising 
 beautifully in the background, on the face of 
 which Mr. Grant's house, Smithfield, makes a 
 delightfully conspicuous object. 
 
 Peebles is a cleanly little town, composed 
 chiefly of one broad Street. The principal object 
 in the way of building here is the new church, 
 which seems to be rather pressed by a heavy- 
 looking spire raised on its east end. The church, 
 however, is a commodious piece of architecture, 
 built of very good stone quarried in its neighbour- 
 hood. It is finely situated on the peninsular 
 eminence above-mentioned, and forms the west 
 boundary of the Broad Street. 1 On the top of 
 this eminence is an excellent bowling-green ad- 
 joining the church. 
 
 A good deal of carpets are woven here, not for 
 sale, but for gentlemen who employ the weavers 
 for their private purposes. (Hawick is the 
 principal carpet town of the South.) Peebles 
 has also good schools for gentlemen's sons, who 
 are educated here in considerable numbers. 
 They have here fine air and fine room for 
 exercise. It should therefore be encouraged as a 
 proper place for a seminary of learning. 
 
 In sauntering along the banks of the Tweed 
 this evening, fall in with an angler who shows me 
 some trouts he had caught a little above the town. 
 
 1 This name, casually given by the diarist, is not the actual 
 name of the main street of Peebles. ' It was formerly the 
 " HieiGait," then High Street,' writes the Rev. Dr. William- 
 son, author of Glimpses of Peebles (1895).
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 167 
 
 It is a broad -shouldered well-formed fish, of a 
 good size and excellent flavour. He had caught 
 some pars, too, the largest I have ever seen. 
 The trouts and eels in the Edleston river here are 
 said to be superior to those of the Tweed. Sup 
 on pars from the Tweed. 
 
 Sunday, 6th September. Peebles. Leave this in 
 the morning, and direct my course northward 
 along the east bank of the Edleston water. The 
 crops rich on each side of the narrow vale, and the 
 harvest in some places begun. 
 
 Ascending by the side of the Edleston brook, 
 stop frequently and look back towards Peebles 
 and the charming hills on each side of the Tweed. 
 About two miles north of Peebles, the sweet 
 scene vanishes from my sight. 
 
 About two miles north of Peebles, pass by 
 Pringlety [read ' Cringletie ' ] (Colonel Murray). 1 
 It is beautifully situated on the west bank of the 
 Edleston brook, which meanders sweetly through 
 the little vale below. The house is well sheltered 
 with wood, and the hills beyond ' lift their green 
 heads to the sky.' 
 
 About a mile and a half to the north of 
 Pringlety, on the same side of the bank, and 
 similarly situated, lies Dairnhall [Darnhall], the 
 Seat of Lord Elibank. A broad avenue of lime- 
 trees leads your eye to the house as you pass 
 along the turnpike road. 
 
 1 Of this family came the eminent judge, James Wolfe 
 Murray (1760-1836), who was raised to the bench with the 
 title of Lord Cringletie.
 
 Diary of a Tour 
 
 After this, mount the higher grounds that 
 separate the county of Peebles from Mid-Lothian. 
 Heavy rain. Come in sight of the whole range of 
 the Pentland hills, and Mid-Lothian lying at their 
 feet. The clouds clear up. On your left hand 
 here have a fine view of The Whim (Lord Chief 
 Baron's), 1 embosomed in wood, on the south edge 
 of the plain-country below you. 
 
 Stop at Howgate, where enter Mid-Lothian. 
 Howgate lies about a mile and a half south-east 
 of Sir John Clark's of Pennycuik. Now Arthur's 
 Seat and Salisbury Crags appear in sight. 
 
 Leave Howgate at half-past three o'clock in 
 the afternoon. Come down upon Mid-Lothian, 
 and pass the river Esk between Auchindenny 
 (Captain McKenzie) on my right hand and 
 Greenlaw (Caddel, Esq.), on my left. The river 
 here winds among steep woody banks, and the 
 scenery around is exceedingly romantic. 
 
 Within four or five miles of the Capital, leave 
 the great turnpike road, and strike across the 
 country to the left towards the foot of the east 
 end of the Pentland hills. Come in view of 
 Mortonhall (Trotter, Esq.). Join the Linton 
 road at the east end of the Pentlands. Here 
 look back upon Lothian. Little harvest here as 
 yet ; though the crop in general looks well, and 
 far advanced to maturity. 
 
 Here turning your eye east-by-north, you see at 
 
 1 James Montgomery of Stanhope, 1721-1803 ; appointed 
 Lord Chief Baron of the Court of Exchequer in 1775, an< ^ 
 created a baronet in 1801, on his retirement from the bench.
 
 through Great Britain in 1795 169 
 
 the distance of about twenty-four miles in a 
 straight line North Berwick Law rising like a 
 huge pyramid, and flinging from its north side 
 the mighty rock that forms the Bass island. 
 The continent of East Lothian appears stretching 
 north from this into the shining Firth of Forth, 
 beyond which appears the East Nook of Fife in 
 the verge of the horizon. 
 
 Proceed northwards to Peter Plenderleith's 
 farm. Here some fields of barley are cut down. 
 
 In descending, just at the point where the road 
 goes off to your right towards Braid Hermitage, 
 you see before you the romantic rocks of Braid, 
 Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags, the City of 
 Edinburgh with its Castle, and the fine country 
 extending from the Pentlands to the Forth ; in 
 the middle of the scene the broad firth of Forth 
 with its islands ; in the background the coast of 
 Fife with the distant high hills of Largo Law, 
 the Lomonds, &c. ; all taken together forming a 
 scene which, if not in beauty at least in sublimity, 
 excels perhaps anything of the kind to be seen in 
 the Southern Kingdom. 
 
 Approach slow to the Metropolis ; the western 
 sun illuminating the whole scene, and happily 
 presaging a fine harvest day to-morrow. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Elliot Stoc&, 63, Patemosttr Rcnv. London.

 
 UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA 
 
 AT