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 BYGONE BERKSHIRE.
 
 
 '■^UK CA^Tll
 
 Bygone Berkshire 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 P. H. DITCHFIELD, M.A., F.S.A., 
 
 Eilitor of the "Berks, Bucks, a)id Oxon A rr/Kvolofiiral Journal, 
 Secretary of Berkshire Archie olorjical Society. 
 Author of " Oitr English Villages," etc. 
 
 LONDON : 
 WILLIAM ANDREWS & CO., r^, FARRINGDON AVEN(JE. 
 
 I 8 9 G .
 
 HI' I.I. : 
 
 WILLIAM .\NPRF.\VS AND CO., THE HULL PRKSS. 
 
 A-)'
 
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 IPrcface, 
 
 ^ I ^HE Hoyal County has many charms for the 
 ^ Antiquary and the Historian, and we 
 trust that " Bygone Berkshire" will not be the 
 least interesting volume of the series which the 
 publisher has so successfully inaugurated. We 
 have attempted to give some glimpses of bygone 
 times and episodes, sketches of the manners and 
 customs of old Berkshire folk, and a few 
 biographical notices of our heroes and learned 
 men. The story of our castles and abbeys shows 
 how many great events in the history of England 
 have been enacted on Berkshire soil, and 
 Windsor, the home of our sovereigns, sheds 
 additional glory on the annals of our ancient 
 county. The editing of this volume has been a 
 task congenial to one who for many years has 
 made Berkshire his home, I desire to express 
 my gratitude to the authors who have so kindly 
 co-operated witli me in the preparation of this 
 
 534811 
 
 LIBRARY
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 volume, and I trust that their labours will meet 
 with the approbation of all who reverence 
 antiquity, and love the traditions of the Royal 
 County. 
 
 P. H. DiTCHFIKLD. 
 Baukham Puxtouv, 
 AiiffJi-il, 189G.
 
 Contents. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 HiiTORic Berksiiikk. By P. H. Ditchtield, m.a., f.s.a. - I 
 
 Windsor Castlk. By Evelyn Ingleby 21 
 
 Wallingforu Castle. By J. E. Field, bi. a. . . . 47 
 
 CuMNOR Place and Amv Robsart. By H. J. Reid, f.s.a. 63 
 
 Alfred the Great. By \V. H. Thompson - - . - gs 
 
 The Guilds of Berkshire. By P. H. Ditchtield, m.a., f.s.a. 
 
 The Scouring of the White Horse. By E. R. Gardiner, m.a. ' 137 
 
 The Last of the Abbots 153 
 
 Siege of Reading 160 
 
 Reading Abbey - 179 
 
 The First Battle of Newbury. By Edward Lamplougli - 193 
 
 The Second Battle ok Newbury. By Edward Laniijlouj^h 204 
 
 BiNKiELD and Easthampstead, 1700-1716, and the Early 
 
 Years of Alexander Pope. By C. W. Penny, bla. 211 
 
 Berkshire Words and Phrases. By M. J. Bacon, m.a. - 235 
 
 Bull Baiting in Berkshire. By Canon Sburges, m.a. - 244 
 
 Index. By William Andrews, f.r h.s. 258
 
 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 -> ^♦^ < 
 
 1bi6toric Berhsbire. 
 
 By Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, m.a., f.s.a. 
 
 BERKSHIRE has played an important part 
 in the annals of our country, and been the 
 scene of many stirring ev^ents in English history. 
 For eight hundred years it has enjoyed the proud 
 distinction of being the Royal County ; Windsor 
 Castle, the ancient home of the kings and queens 
 of England, is within its borders, and it has 
 shared the fortunes and misfortunes of the Royal 
 House. Indeed, its proud distinctive title may be 
 traced to a period more remote than that of the 
 building of the Castle by the Plantagenet 
 Kino's ; Alfred the Great was born in Berkshire, 
 and there were royal palaces in Saxon times at 
 Farringdon and Old Windsor. Here the 
 Confessor King oft resided. Here the Conqueror 
 hunted the tall stacks whom he loved " as though 
 
 1
 
 2 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 he were their father." Hence from Saxon times 
 to the present day Berkshire has deserved its 
 royal title, and has been pre-eminently the county 
 which kings delight to honour. 
 
 The history of Berkshire is indeed the 
 history of England. Successive waves of 
 conquerors ^^^'^sed over our hills and vales, 
 and have left their traces behind them in 
 the names of hamlets, towns, and villages, or 
 in barrows or earthworks. In Celtic times the 
 greater part of Berkshire was held by the 
 powerful family of the Segontiaci ; eastern 
 Berkshire was inhabited by the Bibroci ; whilst 
 on the south dwelt the Atrebates, a tribe of the 
 Belgse, mentioned by Ca3sar, who migrated into 
 these parts from Gaul and drove the Celts 
 northward. Silchester, the famous Roman city, 
 the Pompeii of England, was their capital before 
 it was captured by the Roman legions ; and the 
 Avails, which seem to defy the attacks of time, 
 were built alono- the Atrebatian earthworks. 
 
 o 
 
 Very numerous are the remains of these ancient 
 inhabitants of Britain in various parts of the 
 county. There are the old roads and trackways, 
 the most important being the Ridgeway, running 
 along the Ilsley Downs, forming part of the
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 3 
 
 Icknield Street, which connected the east and west 
 of Britain. The road is flanked by fortresses of 
 earth at various places along its course, and 
 barrows mark the burial places of the heroes of 
 their tribes. The chief of these are Letcombe, 
 Uffington, Lowbury, Churn Knob, and Scutcha- 
 more Knob. The so-called " King Alfred's Bugle 
 Horn," near Kingston Lisle, a large stone pierced 
 with natural holes, is really a Celtic Memorial. 
 Its trumpet-note can be heard for miles, and was 
 used by the British tribes to summon their 
 scattered bands together when danger threatened. 
 And Wayland Smith's Cave, immortalized by Sir 
 Walter Scott, and supposed to be the burying- 
 place of a Danish chieftain, is probably a British 
 cromlech. In other parts of Berkshire, especially 
 on the high ground between the Thames and 
 Kennett, there are many traces of the ancient 
 inhabitants of our country. 
 
 When the tide of Roman conquest flowed over 
 Britain the old inhabitants of our county soon 
 felt its force and yielded to the storm. Their 
 lands then formed part of the Roman province of 
 Britannia Prima. Instead of incessant tribal 
 wars and rude barbaric manners, the conquerors 
 established peace and civilisation. Silchester
 
 4 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 became the centre of tlieir rule in this part of the 
 country, and instead of the pit dwellings and rude 
 huts of the natives they erected their stately 
 villas and their forums and bacilicas, the ruins of 
 which, after a burial of many centuries, are now 
 being disinterred. This city lies just beyond the 
 confines of Berkshire, although the Amphitheatre, 
 where Roman gladiators fought, and where, 
 doubtless, as at Rome during the Decian 
 Persecution, Christians were doomed to death, 
 " butchered to make a Roman holiday," is within 
 our borders. Silchester was the centre of our 
 system of Roman roads. Other Roman towns in 
 this district were Spinre (Speen, near Newbury), 
 Thamesis (probably Streatley). and Bibracte 
 (possibly Wickam Bushes, near Easthampstead). 
 A rt»a(l ran fi-om Silchester to Pontes (Staines), 
 and another fr<»iii the same place to Spinas. 
 Romano-British remains have been found ii) 
 abundance at Wallingford, Compton, Reading, 
 and other places ; and Roman villas discovered at 
 Maidenhead, Hampstead Xorris, Frilsham, and 
 elsewhere. With the Romans also came 
 Christianity, and at Silchester have recently been 
 discovered the remains of what is probably the 
 most ancient ecclesiastical building in the country,.
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 5 
 
 the forerunner of the many beautiful churches 
 which adorn our county. 
 
 But dark days were in store for our British 
 ancestors, enfeebled by Roman luxury, when the 
 legions were withdrawn to protect the centre of 
 the Empire, and they were left to shift for 
 themselves. The tierce Saxons poured into the 
 land, a happy hunting ground for adventurous 
 warriors, and with fire and sword destroyed the 
 towns and villas which the Romans had left. 
 Calleva, or Silchester, soon fell a prey to the 
 ruthless conquerors, and was burnt to the ground.* 
 This was said to have been accomplished by 
 tying burning tow to a swallow's tail. The Celts 
 were driven westward, and found a secure retreat 
 in the fastnesses of Wales and Cornwall, where 
 the British church lived on and waited the 
 advent of better days. 
 
 The Saxons hated walled towns, which they 
 regarded as " graves of freedom surrounded by 
 nets," and loved to make clearings in the forests 
 and form agricultural settlements. In no part of 
 England have they left more enduring marks of 
 their presence than in Berkshire. The names of 
 
 * So say the Chroniclers ; but modern investigators seem to think 
 that the city did not fall a prey to fire and sword, but died a lingering 
 death by the slow process of gradual decay.
 
 6 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 our towns and villages are nearly all Saxon, and 
 mark the spot where their powerful families 
 formed their settlements. We find the Riedingas 
 at Heading, the Wokings at Wokingham, the 
 Ardings at Ardington, the sons of Offa at Ufting- 
 ton, the Farringas at Farringdon, and scattered 
 all over the county are the Jidds and hams, and 
 steads and tons, which denote a Saxon origin. 
 The name of the count}^ too, is decidedly Saxon, 
 and is probably derived from Beorce, the birch- 
 tree, or from the Berroc wood, ^vhich occupied a 
 large part of the scire or shire. It formed part of 
 the important kingdom of Wessex, and soon 
 became the battlefield of opposing tribes. Offa, 
 King of Mercia (a.d. 750-796), wrested that 
 portion which borders on the Thames from King 
 Kinewulf, after the battle at Bensington. In 
 the time of Egbert (a.d. 800), Wessex recovered 
 its territory, and established its superiority over 
 the other kingdoms of the Saxon Octarchy, its 
 ruler becoming the first Bretwalda or monarch 
 of England. In the time of Ethelred I., the 
 brother of Alfred the Great, a Berkshire hero, 
 born at Wantage, came the black raven of the 
 Danes, and on the chalk hills many a fierce fight 
 ^vas fought between the old and new invaders.
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 7 
 
 At length, after the Danes had captured Reading, 
 and were movino- westward to ravao-e the whole 
 country, Ethelred and his immortal brother 
 Alfred drew up their Saxon hosts at ^scendune 
 (the Ash-tree Hill), slew the Danish King 
 B^egsceg, and put his yellow -haired warriors to 
 flight. This great battle checked the conquering 
 career of the Danes, who, though they made 
 several incursions into the count}^, and set on 
 fire Reading and Wallingford, gained no per- 
 manent footing in its valleys. The exact site of 
 this victory has been vigorously disputed ; it 
 may possibly be identified with Ashdown, near 
 Lambourne, where the white horse cut out on 
 the adjoining hill is supposed to commemorate 
 the valour of the Saxons, but the best authorities 
 place it at Lowbmy. 
 
 Ashmole states that when England was united 
 under King- Alfred, another division was made, 
 and when the office of High Sheriff", or Vice 
 Comes, was instituted, Berkshire and the 
 adjoining county of Oxford were put under the 
 authority of the same person. 
 
 In the war with the Danes during the reign of 
 Ethelred II., Berkshire was again laid waste by 
 fire and sword, and the barbarous invaders burnt
 
 8 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Reading. Wallingford, and other places in 1006. 
 They destroyed, too. witli ruthless hand the 
 numerous churches and monasteries, which since 
 the conversion of the Saxons to Christianity, had 
 been erected in our towns and hamlets. This 
 conversion was accomplished by the preaching of 
 Berin or Birinus, who, with a company of faithful 
 monks, arrived in Berkshire about 636 a.d. He 
 was received by King Kynegils, Oswald of North- 
 umbria, his son-in-law, and other princes at 
 Churn Knob, and convinced his hearers of the 
 truth of Christianity. The Kino^ and his court 
 were baptised at Dorchester, which became an 
 important centre of missionary enterprise. The 
 earliest monastic house was the famous abbey of 
 Abingdon, founded by Heane, its first prior, and 
 nephew of Cissa, Viceroy of Kentwine, who was 
 a great benefactor to the monastery. Here also 
 Heane's sister founded a nunnery dedicated to St. 
 Helen, which was removed to Wytham. The 
 abbey, in spite of being burned by the Danes, 
 became very rich and prosperous. At Reading, 
 Elfreda founded a nunnery in expiation of 
 the murder of her step-son, and almost every 
 village had its parish church. In the time of the 
 Norman Conquest there were as many as 1,700.
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 9 
 
 At Sonning there was a bishop's palace, but 
 although Leland speaks of the Bishops of 
 Sonning, it was never an episcopal seat. 
 
 Soon the peaceful hamlets of Saxon folk were 
 rudely disturbed by the advent of the Norman 
 invaders, and Saxon writers lament over the 
 sadness of the times, when English lands were 
 bestowed upon the followers and favourites of the 
 Conqueror, who reared their mighty strongholds 
 everywhere, " filled with devils and evil men," 
 who plundered the English, confined them in 
 dungeons, and were guilty of ever}^ kind of 
 cruelty and crime. At Wallingford, William 
 received the submission of Archbishop Stigand 
 Bnd the principal barons before he marched to 
 London. There arose the strong castle, built by 
 Robert D'Oyly, and others were erected at 
 Windsor, Reading, Newbury, and later at 
 Farringdon, Brightwell, and Donnington. The 
 history of the castles at Wallingford and Windsor 
 will be recorded in this volume ; Donnington 
 endured an excitino- sie^fe during^ the Civil Wars ; 
 the others were speedily destroyed. 
 
 The foundation of the famous Abbey of 
 Reading was the chief event for Berkshire in the 
 reign of Henry I., a magnificent building, one of
 
 10 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 tlic richest and most |)()\verful in the kingdom. 
 It was commenced in 1121. A royal charter 
 was granted in 1125 conferring upon it important 
 piivileges, and the great Church of the Abbey- 
 was consecrated by Archbishop Becket in 1164. 
 Here the embalmed l)ody of King Henry I. was 
 buried, and subsequently the eldest son of Henry 
 II. found here a last resting-place. Here many 
 stirring events in the annals of English history 
 took place ; here Parliaments were held and 
 royal festivals, and many exciting conclaves sat 
 to discuss the disputes of kings and barons and 
 papal legates. To these inviting themes we need 
 not now refer, as the history of the Abbey will be 
 dealt with in a separate chapter. 
 
 The wars between Stephen and the Empress 
 Maud devastated the c(mnty. As each side 
 gained the supremacy they proceeded to take 
 vengeance on the supporters of the vanquished, 
 and the land was filled with fi<Tfhtin2s and blood- 
 shed. Brian Fitzcount, the lord of Wallingford 
 Castle, espoused the cause of the Empress, aad 
 his fortress afforded her a secure retreat when 
 she fled from Oxford, dressed in white, across the 
 icebound river. Farringdon Castle was captured 
 by Stephen, and completely demolished. Around
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 11 
 
 that Castle and the fortresses of Windsor, 
 Reading, Newbury and WaUingford the war 
 raged. Poor unfortunate prisoners for the sake 
 of ransom were hanged by their feet, and smoked 
 with foul smoke. Some were hanged by their 
 thumbs, and knotted stringfs were writhed about 
 their heads till they went into the brain, and 
 others were placed in foul dungeons where adders 
 and snakes and toads were crawling. The whole 
 county was reduced to a howling wilderness 
 by this relentless and long-continued^jwar,— untiL 
 at lenoth the country was wearied of fio-htino's 
 and plunderings, and peace was declared. 
 
 When John rebelled agfainst his brother, 
 Richard T., he seized Wallinoford and Windsor 
 Castles, but they were taken by the barons and 
 bishops in the king's interest, and placed in the 
 hands of the queen dowager. The strength of 
 these two fortresses rendered them important as 
 military stations in the troubles which took place 
 during the latter part of the reign of King John, 
 and also during that of Henry III. Reading was 
 the scene of many stormy meetings of th^ barons 
 and bishops opposed to the faithless John, and it 
 was at Loddon Bridge that they assembled their 
 forces, and marched on Staines ; and on the Isle of
 
 12 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Huniinede, just beyond our Berkshire borders, 
 they compelled the faithless king to sign the 
 Charter of English liberties. 
 
 In 1203 Windsor Castle was besieged and 
 captured by Simon de Montfort; and the battle of 
 Radcot Bridge in the reign of Richard II., a.d. 
 1389, when Vere, Earl of Oxford was defeated by 
 Henry, then Earl of Derby, was the only 
 en'T-acrement wliich disturbed the comparatively 
 peaceful repose of Berkshire in that period of its 
 history. The unhappy child queen of Richard 
 II.. Isabella of Valois, after the dethronement of 
 her husband, attempted to restore his rights by 
 force of arms. Her forces assembled at Sunning- 
 hill, and marched to Wallingford and Abingdon ; 
 but her efforts were in vain ; the power of Henry 
 was too strong for the unhappy child-wife, who 
 fell a prisoner into his hands. 
 
 Turninor from the records of civil strife, we read 
 of the great rejoicings which took place at 
 Reading on the occasion of the marriage of John 
 of Gaunt witli Blanche of Lancaster, which were 
 st)lemnized in the great church of the Abbey. 
 The festivities lasted fourteen days, and tilts and 
 tournaments were held daily. During the reign 
 of the Edwards, the trade of the country increased ;
 
 
 
 k 
 
 
 
 #
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 13 
 
 in the west, the farmers produced their rich 
 fleeces, and the clothiers of Reading, Abingdon, 
 and Newbury plied their looms and became 
 wealthy. Thomas Cole is said to have flourished 
 at Readinof in the time of Edward I. ; the famous 
 John Winchcombe (otherwise Smalwood) better 
 known as "Jack of Newbury," and Sir Thomas 
 Dolman, were men of note in the sixteenth centur}^ 
 In the fifteenth century, the plague raged 
 frequently in London, and, in consequence, several 
 parliaments were held at Reading ; at one of them, 
 in 1439, a new order of nobilit}^, that of "viscount," 
 was constituted. In the reign of Henry VIII., 
 when many changes stirred the heart of England, 
 we find Wolse}'' building his memorial chapel at 
 Windsor, of which he was so soon deprived ; we 
 see the King hunting in the Forest of Windsor, 
 and being strangely troubled in mind and con- 
 science with reofard to the lawfulness of his first 
 marriao-e with Catharine of Arraf^-on, when he had 
 seen and loved the fairer Ann. Later we see the 
 unhappy divorced Queen taking refuge within 
 our borders at Easthampstead, mourning over the 
 fickleness of men. Then were the fiery times of 
 trial and persecution. According to Fuller, New- 
 bury was one of the first places to receive the
 
 U BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 doctrines of the Refcjnnatiou, and there, in 1518, 
 one Christopher the Shoemaker was burnt at the 
 stake for heresy, and later, in 156G, Julius Palmer 
 and t\V(j others suffered in a similar manner. In 
 the meantime, a covetous king and greedy 
 courtiers had set their eyes on the rich 
 monasteries in England ; and the noble Abbeys 
 of Readinof aiid Abin^rdon, and the lesser 
 houses at Bisham, Donnington, Wallingford, 
 and other places, soon met their doom. Hugh 
 Farringdon, the last abbot of Reading, and two 
 of his monks were hung. The last abbot of 
 Abingdon, Rowland de Penthacost, fared better, 
 and was allowed to retire on a pension to the 
 manor-house of Cumnor. The effect of the 
 dissolution of the religious houses was very 
 disastrous. Agriculture languished ; wheat be- 
 came scarce and costly ; the cloth trade declined ; 
 the poor suffered greatly from the loss of 
 employment which the monasteries formerly 
 afforded, and of the alms which the monks freely 
 bestowed. 
 
 Xo im[)ortant historical events occurred in the 
 annals of the royal county until the outbreak of 
 the Civil War. The kings and queens of England 
 often resided at Windsor, hunted in the great
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 15 
 
 forest, made royal progresses through the chief 
 towns, and sojourned at the Abbey of Reading, 
 now used as a palace. Edward VI. was received 
 with much state by the Mayor of Reading at 
 Coley Cross in 1552. Queen Mary and her 
 worthless husband were welcomed with much 
 ceremony in 1554, when the mace was presented 
 to her. Elizabeth came nine times to Readingf, 
 and had a royal seat appointed for her in the 
 Church of St. Lawrence. The first of the Stuart 
 kings honoured the town with a visit, and his 
 queen stayed at Caversham House, where a mask 
 w^as performed for her edification. In 1625, on 
 account of the plague, Charles I. resided at 
 Reading, where the Michaelmas term was kept, 
 and the courts of chancery, king's bench, and 
 common pleas were held in the abbey buildings. 
 
 Then followed one of the most disastrous 
 periods of our county's history. In 1642, the 
 High Sheriff of Berkshire refused to obey the 
 kino^'s command ; the town of Readintr was 
 fortified, and King Charles passed through the 
 town on his way to Oxford, his headquarters. 
 Garrisons for the king were established at 
 Farringdon, Abingdon, Wallingford, Greenwell 
 House, Reading, Newbury, Donnington, and
 
 IG BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Hungerford. Windsor was held by the ParHa- 
 mentarians. Many of the people of Reading 
 espoused the cause of the parliament, and left the 
 town because the mayor and other chief men 
 supported the king. 
 
 The war in Berkshire began, in 1643, with an 
 attack on Reading by the Roundheads under 
 Major Vavasour. The Royalists attempted to 
 relieve the siege, but were beaten back at 
 Caversham Bridge, and retired to Oxford. The 
 town was captured by the enem}^, and the West 
 of Enofland became the seat of war. Then 
 followed the first battle of Newbury, which 
 will be hereafter described. The Royalists were 
 practically beaten, and the gallant Lord Falkland 
 slain. Essex, the leader of the Parliamentarian 
 forces, marched on London, harrassed by Prince 
 Rupert's horse near Aldermaston. Reading was 
 abandoned to the Kinpf. and placed under the 
 command of Sir Jacob Astley. In 1644, the war 
 at first raged chieHy in the North of England. 
 Then Reading and Abingdon were captured by 
 Essex, and all Berkshire, except the castles of 
 Donninorton and Farrinfjdon, were in his hand.^. 
 The cause of the Parliament in the West was not 
 so prosperous ; the King's plans had been sue-
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 17 
 
 cessful. The garrisons of Donnington, Newbur}^ 
 and Basing had been reheved ; but then followed 
 the second battle of Newbury, which ended in 
 the retreat of the Royalists. Then several 
 marches through the county were made, and 
 the royal forces, after going to Bath and 
 Oxford, came again to Donnington, and thence 
 went by Lambourne to Wantage and Farringdon, 
 and finally to Oxford. 
 
 The whole of Berkshire was in a deplorable 
 condition ; the necessities of war were so great ; 
 the supplies needed for the victualling of such 
 large armies were so heavy, that scarcely " a 
 sheep, hen, hog, oats, hay, wheat, or any other 
 thino- for man to eat " were left. Soldiers on both 
 sides foraged for supplies, and seized with ruth- 
 less hand everything they could find. Peaceful 
 citizens were captured for the sake of ransom, 
 and no goods could be conveyed safely along the 
 roads without their owners paying large sums to 
 the leaders of foraging parties who intercepted 
 them. Numerous skirmishes took place in the 
 campaign of 1645 without much advantage to 
 either side. At last the skill of Fairfax and 
 Cromwell proved too strong for the Royalists, 
 and Bristol and Oxford fell. Donnington Castle,
 
 18 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 under the gallant Sir John Boys, was the last 
 fortress in Berkshire to yield, and he and his 
 brave soldiers marched out with all the honours 
 of war, having earned the admiration of both 
 friend and foe. 
 
 Thus ended the Civil War in Berkshire. The 
 King, now a prisoner, was allowed to stay at 
 Caversham House with his children ; but soon 
 the end came, and the fatal scaffold at Whitehall 
 ended the career of the unhappy monarch. The 
 sequestrators in Berkshire did their work 
 thoroughly ; estates of Royalists were duly 
 confiscated ; the clergy ejected from their livings ; 
 and the Puritan rule fully established. 
 
 Shouts of joy welcomed the restoration of the 
 monarchy in 1660. In Reading there were great 
 rejoicings, and a stage was set up in the market- 
 jilace for the purpose of issuing the royal 
 proclamation, and the Kiiig'« arms were engraved- 
 on the mace. The Revolution of 1688 caused 
 some connnotion in Berkshire. In the cellar&^f 
 Lady Place, at Hurley, many anxious meetings 
 were held, which resulted in the advent of the 
 Prince of Orange. Lord Lovelace, its owner, was 
 one of his principal adherents, and he and his 
 twenty followers were the first to strike a blow
 
 HISTORIC BERKSHIRE. 19 
 
 for William. It was entirely unsuccessful, and a 
 prison cell at Gloucester rewarded his rashness. 
 At Hungerford, William met the King's com- 
 missioners, and then marched on Newbury, some 
 of his forces being also present at Abingdon. 
 Some fighting took place at Hungerford between 
 the Irish troops of King James and the soldiers 
 of William, who were entirely victorious. Reading 
 also was the scene of fighting. The Irish soldiers 
 quartered there threatened to massacre the in- 
 habitants, who requested succour from William. 
 A body of three hundred men were sent to their 
 relief, and a sharp engagement took place in the 
 market-place, in which the Prince's troops were 
 victorious. The anniversary of the " Reading 
 fight " was celebrated w4th great rejoicings for 
 many years. There was some slight opposition 
 to the progress of William's troops at Twyford 
 and Maidenhead, but ere long London was 
 reached, and William proclaimed King. There 
 were not a few who sighed after the exiled 
 sovereign, and many who could not reconcile it 
 with their consciences to take the oath of 
 alleofiance to the new kinof. Shottesbrooke 
 Manor-house was the resort of many famous 
 non-jurors, amongst whom were Bishop Kenn,
 
 20 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Robert Nelson, Francis Cherry, Dr. Grade, and 
 Henry Dodwell. 
 
 From this period the course of our county's 
 history runs smoothly on, and is absorbed in that 
 of England. Each ruined keep and moss-grown 
 pile, each village green and scattered hamlet, has 
 a history all its own, often buried beneath the 
 weight of years, and little heeded by the present 
 race of pilgrims. 
 
 Many of these shrines of an elder age it is now 
 our privilege to visit, and to recall the memories 
 of bygone times that cluster round the revered 
 spots of ancient Berkshire. And as we muse 
 upon her glorious past, we shall hold in pious 
 memory the valour of her sons who have writ her 
 name so large in history, and strive to retain 
 untarnished the honour and good name of the 
 Royal County.
 
 Minbsor Castle. 
 
 By Evelyn Ingleby. 
 
 THE word Windsor is doubtless derived from 
 the Anglo-Saxon " windle," a willow, 
 probably referring to the winding course of the 
 Thames, and " ofer," a shore, the " Windes- 
 overes " of Geoffrey Gaimar, the " Winlesoren " 
 of King Edward, the " Windesores " of Domes- 
 day, the " Windleshore " of Henry III. 
 
 The manor of Clewer, the site of the modern 
 Windsor, consisting of five hides, was the property 
 of Harold, son of Godwin, and, together with his 
 other estates, fell at his death into the hands of 
 William the Conqueror. William granted the 
 manor to one Ralph, the son of Seifride, reserving, 
 however, one-half of a hide on which were some 
 earthworks, which are believed to be as old as the 
 Heptarchy, and on which he built for himself a 
 castle. This was styled, not Clewer Castle, but 
 Windsor Castle, the name of Harold's royal 
 residence, and since then has been intimately 
 associated with English history, having been used
 
 22 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 alternately by William's descendants as their 
 palace, prison, and burial place. 
 
 Edward the Confessor had a "palace" at 
 Windsor, though it is not easy to determine 
 the exact situation. 
 
 William Rufus assembled a council at Windsor, 
 and tliere imprisoned the rebellious Earl of 
 Mowbray for the remaining thirty years of his 
 life. 
 
 Henry I. built a chapel, probably on the site 
 now occupied by the Albert Memorial Chapel, 
 formerly known as Wolsey's Tomb-House. 
 Windsor was a favourite summer residence of 
 Henry, and it was here that, in 1121, he married 
 Adelicia of Louvain, the " Fair Maid of Brabant." 
 In 1127, Henry received at Windsor the homage 
 of the nobles of the land, who at the same time 
 swore allegiance to his daughter, the Empress 
 Maud, or Matilda. As was usual on such solemn 
 occasions, the coronation ceremony was repeated. 
 
 Windsor does not figure at all in Stephen's 
 disturbed reign, but Henry II. frequently 
 resided there, and in his tenth year expended the 
 sum of 30s. on repairing the kitchen. Fabyan, a 
 chronicler of the time, tells a pathetic story 
 bearing on Henry's domestic troubles. "It is
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 23 
 
 recorded that in a chambere at Wyndsore he 
 caused to be painted an eagle, with four birds, 
 whereof three of them all rased (scratched) the 
 body of the old eagle, and the fourth was 
 scratching at the old eagle's eyes. When the 
 question was asked of him (Henry) what thing 
 that picture should signify ? it was answered by 
 him, 'This old eagle,' said he, 'is myself; and 
 these four eagles betoken my four sons, the 
 which cease not to pursue my death, and 
 especially my youngest son, John, which now I 
 love most, shall most especially await and imagine 
 my death.'" 
 
 Windsor is closely connected with the granting 
 of Magna Charta by John. Between Old 
 Windsor and Staines is the flat meadow of 
 Runimede, from which the Castle towers are 
 visible. During the conferences which preceded 
 and followed the ratification of this great charter, 
 John went backwards and forwards to Windsor 
 each day. He was at Windsor when he heard of 
 the landing of the Dauphin Louis. 
 
 Henry III. greatly improved the Castle. The 
 old hall in the Upper Ward was abandoned for a 
 new and laro-er one in the Lower Ward, and, in 
 1272, he roofed the Keep. Part of the cloister
 
 24 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 still stands as it was then built, and not long ago 
 a portrait of the king, part of the painted 
 decoration, was discovered. On the town side 
 three great towers were built, and on the north 
 was erected a tower on the same site as now stands 
 the Winchester Tower. All the buildings were 
 handsomely decorated with paintings and windows 
 filled with glass. In one of the new towers on 
 the western side was possibly the dungeon con- 
 nected with a scene in Henry's career, which 
 proved him, for all his piety, a worthy son of his 
 father. The Londoners, headed by their Mayor, 
 Fitz-Thomas, had long resisted Henry's exactions, 
 and when, in 12G5, the King was in their power, 
 and Earl Simon de Monfort ruled the land, Fitz- 
 Thomas addressed to his King words in St. 
 Paul's which sank deep into Henry's soul. 
 When the Battle of Evesham delivered his 
 enemies into his hands, Henry summoned the 
 Mayor and chief citizens to Windsor, giving 
 them a safe conduct. They were then thrown 
 into prison, from which it does not appear that 
 Fitz-Thomas ever emerged, though the others, 
 to the number of forty, were eventually released. 
 The two eldest sons of Edward I. were born at 
 Windsor, and, though the King himself rarely
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 25 
 
 visited the Castle, Queen Eleanor seems often to 
 have resided here. 
 
 In 1312 was born at Windsor one who was to 
 do much for the castle, Edward III. During all 
 his long reign Windsor was the scene of many 
 displays of pomp and vanity, of tournaments, 
 feasts, processions, besides councils, chapters, and 
 great assemblies. The Upper Ward was entirely 
 rebuilt, William of Wykeham — from whom the 
 AVin Chester Tower derived its name — being the 
 architect. It is said that the words '' Hoc fecit 
 Wykeham " were placed upon it, and that the 
 wily prelate translated them to Edward as mean- 
 ing, not "Wykeham made this," but "This made 
 Wykeham." 
 
 Another story is told which points to the want 
 of refined manners and delicate feeling of the 
 Middle Ao^es. Kino- Edward was conductine: his 
 royal prisoners. King John of France and King 
 David of Scotland, round the Lower Ward, when 
 one of them pointed out that the Upper Ward 
 lay on higher ground and commanded a finer 
 view. The King " approved their sayings, adding 
 pleasantly that it should so be, and that he would 
 bring his castle thither, that is to say, enlarge it 
 so far with two other wards, the charo-es whereof
 
 26 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 should 1)0 bornu with their two ransoms, ' as after- 
 wards happened. The story of King Arthur and 
 the Round Table fired Edward with the idea of 
 founding the institution of the Garter, and 
 carpenters and masons were soon busy erecting 
 the Round Tower for the Round Table. The 
 table, made of fifty-two oaks, seems to have been 
 in the shape of a horse shoe rather than a perfect 
 circle, so that the attendants could stand in the 
 middle to serve the sruests. In this tow^er 
 assembled the flower of Enoflish kniHithood — 
 Warwick, celebrated in the French wars, who, 
 when he died of the plague in 1369, left "not 
 behind him his equal ; " the young Earl of 
 Salisbuiy, whose beautiful mother is said to have 
 given rise to the motto of the Order, " Honi soit 
 qui nial y pense ; " and many others besides, 
 whose names are well known for their prowess 
 and valour. 
 
 It was at Windsor that good Queen Philippa 
 passed away, universally lamented. Froissart 
 touchingly describes her death : — " There fell in 
 England a heavy case and common, howbeit it 
 was right piteous for the King, his children, and 
 all the realm. For the good Queen of England, 
 that so many good deeds had done in her time,
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 27 
 
 and so many knights succoured, and ladies and 
 damsels comforted, and had so largely departed 
 of her goods to her people, and naturally loved 
 always the nation of Hainault, the country where 
 she was born ; she fell sick in the Castle of 
 Windsor, the which sickness continued on her so 
 long that there was no remedy but death. And 
 the good lady, when she knew and perceived that 
 there was wdth her no remedy but death, she 
 desired to speak with the King, her husband. 
 And when he was before her she put out of her 
 bed her right hand, and took the King by his 
 rio'ht hand, who was right sorrowful at heart. 
 Then she said, ' Sir, we have in peace, joy, and 
 great prosperity used all our time together. Sir, 
 now" I pray you, at our departing, that ye will 
 grant me three desires.'" Her requests related 
 to her debts, her promises to churches, and to her 
 husband's "sepulture when so ever it shall please 
 God to call you out of this transitory life," beside 
 her in Westminster. "Then the good lady and 
 Queen made on her the sign of the cross, and 
 recommended the King, her husband, to 
 God, and her youngest son, Thomas, who was 
 beside her. And anon after, she yielded up the 
 spirit, the which I believe surely the holy angels
 
 28 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 received with great joy up to heaven, for in all 
 her life she did neither in thought or deed thing 
 whereby to lese her soul, as far as any creature 
 could know." 
 
 Many important scenes in Richard II. 's life are 
 laid in Windsor Castle. Two deputations waited 
 upon him here with a list of their grievances. In 
 1390 he appointed Geoffrey Chaucer, the poet, to 
 superintend repairs in the chapel. The great 
 dispute between Henry Bolingbroke, the last 
 Knight of the Garter admitted by Edward III., 
 and the Duke of Norfolk, took place at Windsor 
 Castle, where, in the courtyard. King Richard 
 sat on a platform, and gave judgment between 
 the two, sentencing Bolingbroke to ten years' 
 exile, and banishing Norfolk for life. It was at 
 Windsor that Richard bade a last farewell to his 
 child-queen, Isabella of France, then eleven years 
 of age. The scene is touch ingly described by a 
 contemporary chronicler, who states that the 
 King and Queen walked hand in hand from the 
 Castle to the Lower Court, and entered the 
 Deanery, passing thence into the chapel. After 
 chanting a collect, Richard took his Queen into 
 his arms, and kissing her twelve or thirteen times, 
 said sorrowfully :— " Adieu, ma chere, until we
 
 WIKDSOR CASTLE. 29 
 
 meet again ; I commend me to you." Then the 
 Queen began to weep, saying to the King : — 
 "Alas ! my lord, will you leave me here?" The 
 royal pair then partook of comfits and wine in the 
 Deanery, the King kissing his Queen many times 
 and lifting her in his arms. " And by our lady, 
 I never saw so oreat a lord," continues the 
 chronicler, " make so much of nor show such 
 great affection to a lady as did King Richard to 
 his Queen. Great pity was it that they separated, 
 for never saw they each other more." 
 
 After Richard's deposition and death, Isabella 
 w'as detained by Henry IV., who would have 
 married her to his madcap son, Prince Hal. 
 Eventually, however, she married the Due d' 
 Orleans, this time choosing a husband much 
 younger than herself. 
 
 A conspiracy against Henry IV. came to a 
 head at Windsor, when the Duke of Exeter 
 seized and searched the castle. Henry, however, 
 had had timely warning, and had fled. " He rode 
 to London and made him strong to ride on his 
 enemies," and crushed the rebellion. The Castle 
 during this reign held two unfortunate young 
 prisoners, the Earl of March, whose only fault 
 was his descent from an elder son of Edward III.,
 
 30 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Henry himself being descended from a younger 
 branch ; the other was one of the most un- 
 fortunate of the hapless house of Stuart, James 
 Stuart. Tlie king, liis father, had sent hiui to 
 France to complete his education. Henry, 
 however, fearful of an alliance between France 
 and Scotland, seized the Prince's vessel, and sent 
 James to Windsor, declaring jocularly that 
 England possessed good French teachers. Henry 
 kept his word, and the young prince received a 
 good education. He seems in every respect to have 
 been treated as suited his rank, and was allowed 
 plenty of freedom, sharing in all the festivities of 
 the court. From his tower window he beheld 
 and fell in love with the fair Joanna Beaufort, 
 the king's niece, whom he eventually married. 
 His return to Scotland marked the besfinninof of 
 a sad and gloomy reign, and he was assassinated 
 by his unruly nobles in 1437, to whom he had 
 made himself odious by trying to curb their 
 power. 
 
 In 141G, the Emperor Sigismund was present 
 at the feast of St. George, bringing as an offerino- 
 the heart of St. George, which remained in the 
 chapel till the Reformation. 
 
 Whilst Henry V. was besieging Meaux he
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 31 
 
 heard of the birth of his son. " But when he 
 heard reported the places of his nativity, were it 
 that he, warned by some prophesie, or had some 
 fore-knowledge, or else judged himself of his son's 
 fortune, he said unto the Lord Fitz Hus^h, his 
 trusty chamberlain, these words, ' My lord, I, 
 Henry, born at Monmouth, shall small time 
 reign and much get, and Henry, born at Windsor, 
 shall long reign and all lose ; but as God will, so 
 be it.' " Although this unfortunate Henry of 
 Windsor spent all his early years at his 
 birthplace, the Castle fell into a very neglected 
 condition. On his marriaofe with Marjxaret of 
 Anjou, some necessary repairs were made for her 
 reception, and during his illness, in 1453, Henry 
 lived here. 
 
 Edward IV. was the first monarch interred at 
 Windsor, where his little daughter Mary and 
 his son George of Clarence, supposed to have 
 been drowned in a cask of wine, had been buried 
 before him. In 1484, the remains of Henry VI. 
 were removed from Chertsey Abbey, and interred 
 beside those of his rival. In 1789 some workmen 
 came across the lead coffin of Edward IV. On 
 opening it the entire skeleton was found, 
 measuring 6 feet 3|- inches in length. A lock of
 
 32 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 brown liair taken from the coffin is in the 
 Ashmolean Museum at Oxford. A bone of the 
 leg was publicly sold by auction with the museum 
 of a private collector a few years ago. It was 
 understood at the time that the dishonoured relic 
 was taken back to Windsor. 
 
 The poet Earl of Surrey was much at Windsor 
 in his early life, and was imprisoned there in 
 154G. In one of his poems he gives a description 
 of the large green courts, the stately seats, the 
 secret groves, the wild forests, and other delights 
 of the place. He was beheaded in 1547 for 
 denying the king's supremacy in the church. 
 
 Queen Jane Seymour was buried at Windsor 
 Castle with much pomp, a life-sized figure of the 
 deceased was upon the pall, with a rich crown of 
 gold upon her head, the hair all loose, a 
 sceptre of gold in her right hand, and adorned 
 with finger-rings and a necklace of gold and 
 precious stones. In his will, Henry VIII. 
 commanded that his body should be laid beside 
 that of his "true and loving wife, Queen Jane." 
 
 Queen Elizabeth was very fond of Windsor 
 Castle, and sometimes remained all the autumn 
 and over Christmas. Between 1569 and 1577, 
 more than £1000 a year was spent on improve-
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 33 
 
 merits, which, remembering EHzabeth's parsi- 
 mony, is very surprising. It is said that 
 EHzabeth desired to see '^ FalstafF in love," and 
 therefore it was that Shakespeare laid the scene 
 of the " Merry Wives " at Windsor. As Eliza- 
 beth was very fond of riding, man}^ a gay 
 cavalcade of beautiful ladies and gallant gentle- 
 men must have issued from the gates of Windsor, 
 whilst many a magnificent pageant must have 
 been held, and many must have been the love 
 scenes enacted here, during her long reign. 
 
 There are several old descriptions of the 
 Castle at this period still extant, and among the 
 Harleian MSS., is one generally attributed to 
 Stowe. " Upon the north syde and uttar part of 
 whiche (describing the Terrace) lodgings also, 
 betwene the same and the browe or fall of the 
 hill which is very stepe and pitche, is an excellent 
 walk or baye, rennynge all along the sayd 
 buyldyngs and the syd of the castele borne upp 
 and susteyned with arches and boteres of stone 
 and tymber rayled brest highe which is in lengthe 
 360 paces, and in bredthe 7, of such and excellent 
 grace to the beholders and passers by lyenge 
 open to the syght even afarre oft* ; that the state- 
 lynes, pleasure, beautie, and the use thereof
 
 34 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 semethe to contend one with another which of 
 them should have the superioritie." 
 
 In 1G42, the ParHanientary army occupied 
 Windsor, and in the following year fifty-five 
 political prisoners were lodged here under the 
 command of Colonel Venn, who despoiled the 
 chapel, and destroyed the deer in the Great Park. 
 In 1647, Charles I. w^as a prisoner in the palace 
 of his ancestors. After escaping from Hampton 
 Court, and being confined in Carisbrook, he was 
 brought back to Windsor in close custody of 
 Colonel Whitchcott. The Governor was allowed 
 £20 a day for his expenses. A month later, in 
 January, 1649, he was removed to London. 
 After his execution at Whitehall there ensued 
 much discussion as to his place of burial, 
 Windsor finally being chosen. A hearse, driven 
 by the King's old coachman, and attended by 
 four servants, conveyed the body to Windsor. 
 The Governor refused to allowed the use of the 
 Burial Service in the Common Prayer-book. 
 With much diflSculty the vault of Henry VIII. 
 and Jane, his wife, was discovered. The Duke of 
 Richmond scratched on a piece of lead, " King 
 Charles, 1648," the year being then reckoned to 
 end on the 25th of March. The following day
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 35 
 
 the Kino-'s coffin was brousfht out when 
 " presently it began to snow, and the snow fell so 
 fast that by the time the corpse came to the west 
 end of the Royal Chapel, the black velvet pall 
 was all white, the colour of innocency, being 
 thick covered with snow." The coffin was placed 
 on two trestles in the vault, and the velvet pall 
 thrown in upon it. "Thus went the White 
 King to his grave in the 48th year of his age," 
 without ceremony or religious service. 
 
 In Charles 11. 's reign the State apartments 
 were remodelled, the architect being May, who 
 probably only carried out the designs of Sir 
 Christopher Wren. Verrio painted the walls and 
 ceiling's, and Gibbons carved the fittino-s. The 
 £70,000 voted for a tomb to the memory of 
 Charles 1., was probably spent in these new 
 buildings. Samuel Pepys visited Windsor in 
 1666, and was conducted to " where the late king 
 is buried, and King Henry and my Lady 
 Seymour. This being done to the King's house, 
 and to observe the neatness and contrivance of 
 the house and gates. It is the most romantique 
 castle that is in the world. But Lord ! the 
 prospect that is in the balcone that is in the 
 Queen's lodgings, and the terrace and walk, are
 
 36 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 strange things to consider, being the best in the 
 world, sure ; and so, giving a great deal of money 
 to this and that man and woman, we to our 
 tavern and there dined." 
 
 James II. liv^ed much at Windsor. His 
 dau^rhter Anne here orave birth to a child, 
 baptised Anne Sophia, who, dying soon after, 
 was buried in Henry VIII. 's vault. James 
 alienated his subjects by committing the fatal 
 error of receiving the Papal Nuncio. It was 
 here also that the Prince of Orange held the 
 consultation which resulted in the flight of 
 James, 
 
 In 1700, the Duke of Gloucester, the longest 
 lived of all Anne's nineteen children, died at 
 Windsor, to the great grief of the nation. It was 
 in one of the rooms now forming part of the 
 Royal Library, of this castle that Queen Anne 
 was sitting with the Duchess of Marlborough, 
 when the news of the great victory of Blenheim 
 arrived. 
 
 The first and second Georges did not care for 
 Windsor, but it was a favourite residence of 
 George III., but into such dilapidation was it 
 allowed to fall, that in 1778 it was declared 
 uninhabitable. It was therefore resolved to keep
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 37 
 
 what was standing from falling into ruins, but to 
 build a new lodge on the site of the house which 
 Queen Anne preferred as a residence to the 
 maofnificence of the Castle. 
 
 The new residence was a long, narrow building 
 with battlements facing north towards the old 
 Castle walls. It was here that Queen Charlotte 
 lived when Fanny Burney, the author of 
 "Evelina," afterwards known as Madame d' 
 Arblay, was her maid-of-honour. According to 
 Miss Burney 's diary, the life at Windsor must 
 have furnished anything but the excitement 
 which is supposed to be the necessary element of 
 court life. At eight o'clock, the king and queen 
 attended prayers in the private chapel. In the 
 afternoon, the king and queen and the princesses 
 walked on the terrace. On this terrace, by-the-by, 
 there is a sun-dial, which was the cause of an 
 interesting little incident. The King and the 
 Duke of York were one day walking on the 
 terrace, when the king leant his arms on the 
 sun-dial. A sentry immediately came forward 
 and respectfully, but decidedly, informed the king 
 that it was part of his duty to prevent any person 
 from touching the dial. The king was so charmed, 
 that he commended the soldier to his colonel, and
 
 38 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 he was shortly afterwards promoted. Every 
 evenintr there was music m the concert-room, the 
 king being very fond of Handel. In 1788, Miss 
 Burney describes one of the king's attacks. The 
 Prince of Wales and his brother, and several 
 dt)ctors and equerries sat up all night, whilst the 
 king raved u[) and down an adjoining room, and 
 made occasional excursions in various apartments, 
 addressinof wild accusations of neoflect to each and 
 every of his attendants, till at length, Mr. Fairly, 
 one of them, led him gently but forcibly away. 
 Durintj: the king's illness, the Prince of Wales and 
 Duke of York lodged in the Castle, and even held 
 formal dinners there, whence it may be deduced 
 that formerly even the royal kitchen in the Castle 
 had fallen into desuetude. 
 
 Although the Queen's Lodge was now the 
 chief royal residence, some attention was paid to 
 the restoration of tlic ancient Castle, and in 1800, 
 James Wyatt built a new staircase, and also 
 restored some apartments looking on to the north 
 terrace, whither the old kins: was removed durinir 
 his last attack. On his death, he was laid under 
 the chapel at the east end of St. George's, in the 
 vault which in 1810 had been erected for his 
 daughter Amelia.
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 39 
 
 During the reigns of George IV. and William 
 IV., James Wyatt's brother, JefFry Wyatt, whom 
 George IV. knighted and called Wyatville, con- 
 tinued the work of restoration, and gradually 
 nearly all traces of the Castle as it was during the 
 latter part of the eighteenth century disappeared. 
 He raised the Round Tower to its present height, 
 designed the plan for the east and west sides of 
 the Upper Ward, raised the level of all the roofs, 
 filled up the Brick Court with a grand staircase, 
 and the Horn Court with the Waterloo Gallery, 
 united the stables, which were dotted throug-hout 
 the Town, on Castle Hill, and built the Brunswick 
 Tower, and the York and Lancaster Tower. It 
 is to Wyatville's good taste and fine artistic per- 
 ceptions that we owe the fact that Windsor 
 retains its characteristics of a mediaeval fortress, 
 and has not been converted into a stiffly sym- 
 metrical buildino-, then so much affected. 
 
 Georgce IV. 's favourite residence was a lodofe 
 near the Long Walk, but two years before his 
 death he removed to the Castle, and his long ill- 
 ness kept him prisoner here till his death. In the 
 same room, later on called the Queen's Drawing- 
 room, exactly seven years later, King William 
 also died.
 
 40 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 The chapel of St. George was made a Chapel 
 Royal by Edward III. in 1348. The office of 
 dean was, till the reign of Henry IV., held by a 
 dignitar}'' designated by the name of " custos." 
 John Arundel, in Henry IV. 's reign, being the 
 first to bear the title of "dean." At first the 
 chapel was dedicated to St. Edward, but 
 gradually, owing to its connection with the Order 
 of the Garter, St. George superseded the former 
 ■patron saint. Later on, Henry VII. had intended 
 to make this chapel the tomb of his race, and the 
 work was actually commenced when the king 
 turned his attention to Westminster. Henry 
 VIII. presented the chapel to Wolsey, and, 
 about 1524, the Cardinal employed Benedetto of 
 Florence to build a sumptuous sarcophagus of 
 black marble, decorated with figures of copper 
 gilt. After his disgrace, the magnificent metal- 
 work lay neglected till the governorships of 
 Colonel Venn and Colonel Wliichcott, when these 
 functionaries sold various ficjures and imao^es as 
 old brass, and realised a ver}^ handsome sum by 
 the transaction. In 1805, the marble sarcophagus 
 was removed to St. Paul's, to mark the o;rave of 
 Lord Nelson. 
 
 In KiyiJ when James II. was mis-rulino- the
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 41 
 
 land, he expended some £700 on repairing the 
 chapel and in solemnizing high mass. In George 
 III.'s reign the chapel was made the Royal 
 Mausoleum, and Princess Amelia was the first to 
 be interred in it. His wife, his sister, and six of 
 his children and grandchildren were buried in 
 the vault before George himself. There is room 
 for forty-nine coffins, and already twenty-one 
 have been placed in it, the Duke of Clarence and 
 Avondale having been the last. Although the 
 Prince Consort is buried at Frogmore, Wolsey's 
 Tomb-house was selected as the site for the 
 magnificent memorial in his honour. The 
 interior of the chapel is lined w4th marble and 
 mosaic, the walls are covered with reliefs, the 
 windows are of stained glass. The cenotaph 
 stands in front of the magnificent altar, and 
 supports a recumbent statue, a personification of 
 the Christian soldier described by St. Paul, of 
 white marble, the face being a portrait of the 
 Prince. A hound, a portrait of the Prince's 
 favourite dog Eos, sits at his feet. This chapel, 
 built by Henry III., and dedicated to St. 
 Edward, and later on, known as Wolsey's Tomb- 
 House, remains now^ as the Albert Memorial 
 Chapel, one of the most splendid monuments of
 
 42 BYGONE BERKSHTKE. 
 
 the age. In the State Apartments there are 
 many articles interesting on account of antiquity 
 or associations. The Malachite Vase in the Ball 
 Room is the best of its kind in Enofland, the 
 French tapestry is said to be unequalled, the 
 Sevres porcelain is exquisitely delicate and 
 beautiful. Many picture-frames, especially in 
 the ante-room, are to be found, the work of 
 Grinling Gibbons. Portraits by Vandyck in his 
 best style abound, and there is a splendid 
 series of portraits by Holbein. In the Guard 
 Chamber there is a shield presented by 
 Francis I. to Henry VIII. on the field of the 
 Cloth of Gold, the work of Benvenuto Cellini. 
 
 The Library at Windsor is remarkably large 
 and good, William IV. having gathered here 
 the various collections at Kew, Hampton Court, 
 and Kensington, and having brought to light 
 many antiquarian treasures. Amongst these are 
 the three volumes of the collection of draw- 
 ings of Leonardo de Vinci, brought to England 
 from Holland by Sir Peter Lely, and bought by 
 Charles II., and the series of eighty-seven studies 
 in red chalk and Indian ink of the principal person- 
 ages of Henry VIII. 's Court by Hans Holbein. 
 The illuminated manuscripts, both European and
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 43 
 
 Oriental are of" much historical interest, and 
 amonofst them mav be mentioned the " Mentz 
 Psalter," of 1457, a copy of Coverdale's Bible of 
 1535, and the only perfect copy now in existence 
 of Caxton's j^mps Fables of 1484. 
 
 In the strong room are many g'orgeous 
 treasures of plate and jewels, and a set of golden 
 dinner plates sufficient for a hundred guests, a 
 wine-fountain taken from the Spanish Armada, 
 Tippoo's jewelled peacock and solid gold footstool, 
 in the shape of a tiger's head, and many other 
 curiosities too numerous for mention. Some of 
 the state apartments, especially the library, 
 contain fine mantelpieces and panelHngs of great 
 age, some going as far back as the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 After the Castle itself, the chief glory of 
 Windsor is the Great Park, the remnant of a 
 tract of ] 80 miles in circuit, which formed the 
 haj)py hunting-ground of our mediae v^al kings. 
 It is joined to the town and Castle by the 
 Long Walk, the noble avenue of elms planted 
 by Charles II. The Park is gently undulating, 
 and dotted here and there with mao-nificent 
 oaks and beeches, sometimes standing singly, 
 sometimes in thick clumps. Looking from
 
 44 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 George the Fourth's Gateway to the gilt statue 
 which he erected to " the best of fathers," the 
 beauty of the landscape thrills one with the 
 satisfaction of perfection. The spirit of romance 
 seems to pervade each fairy glade and hill, and 
 visions of days long past arise before us, when 
 lord and ladye fair on fiery steeds rode through 
 the enchanted spot, and paused in their pursuit 
 of the bounding deer, moved by the genius of 
 the place, to whisper words of love. An oak 
 measuring 26 feet 10 inches, at the height of 5 
 feet from the ground, is reckoned to be 800 years 
 old. Three oaks in Cranbourne Chase, the oldest 
 of which is probably 450 years, are called 
 respectively. Queen Anne, Queen Charlotte, 
 and Queen Victoria, these names it is scarcely 
 necessary to explain, having been given since they 
 evolved from their sapling stage. Heme's Oak, 
 which Shakespeare memorialises in The Merry 
 Wives, was, according to some blown down in a 
 storm in 1863, and a sapling was planted to mark 
 the spot. According to others it was cut down 
 in mistake with other decayed trees by order of 
 George III. At one corner of the Park there 
 are some dozen oak trees, all as old as the 
 Norman Conquest.
 
 WINDSOR CASTLE. 45 
 
 In fact, wherever one glances, be it at an old 
 elm, or a bit of old carving half hidden in grass, 
 or a china cup in the drawing-room, or a picture 
 in the library, from the marble sarcophagus 
 erected in memory of the Prince Consort to a 
 blade of grass on the terrace, one finds endless 
 cause for interest and deeper investigation. Such 
 historical associations cling to every stone or 
 crumb of earth, such romantic stories are 
 w^hispered to one at every turn, such echoes of 
 old-world times are re-called at every foot-fall, 
 that no one could weary of visiting again and 
 again this wondrous spot, to dream of bygone 
 faces, fashions, and manners. And as one gazes, 
 one feels the same pride in its beauty as stirred 
 the hearts of Henry III. and Edward III., one 
 understands the desire of the world-satiated 
 Henry VIII. to rest in peace by the side of his 
 best loved queen under those cool gray stones, 
 and one feels a deep thankfulness that the 
 storm-tossed Charles is at rest for evermore in 
 that calm, sanctified, world-remote spot. 
 
 And Windsor does more than turn one's 
 thoughts down the vista of past ages, it ennobles, 
 it purifies. A reverence, an awe that only the 
 sublime can inspire, takes possession of one's
 
 46 BYGONE BERKSHTKE. 
 
 heart when one contemplates this most glorious 
 of England's royal homes. Nor has the hand of 
 time dimmed its lustre. Windsor is still the 
 home of the illustrious Queen whom all her 
 subjects delight to honour. It is associated 
 with tender memories of all the joys and many 
 sorrows which the Ruler of our mighty Empire 
 has experienced during the course of her long and 
 srlorious reiofn. And when we reflect on all that 
 our Queen has done for the welfare of our nation, 
 and of the vast Empire over which she rules, we 
 can but echo the Laureate's words : — 
 
 " May she rule us long, 
 And leave us rulers of her blood 
 
 As noble till the latest day ! 
 
 May children of our children say, 
 She wrought her people lasting good ; 
 Her court was pure ; her life serene ; 
 
 God gave her peace ; her land reposed; 
 
 A thousand claims to reverence closed 
 In her a INIother, Wife, and Queen." 
 
 And ev'er mindful of her oToat sorrow let us 
 
 o 
 
 say :— 
 
 " The love of all Thy sons encompass Thee, 
 The love of all Thy daughters cherish Thee, 
 The love of all Thy people comfort Thee, 
 Till God's love set Thee at His side acrain."
 
 TOalli^oto^^ Car^tlc. 
 
 By J. E. Field, m.a. 
 
 THE Castle, to which WalHngford owes its 
 importance through six centuries of our 
 annals, may hav^e had its origin in a primitive 
 fortress belonging to the original settlement upon 
 the river-bank. But its actual history begins 
 in the reign of Edward the Confessor, who, 
 according to Domesday, had fifteen acres here, 
 where a body of his huscarles or military 
 retainers lived ; these acres being the same that 
 Milo Crispin, the Norman lord of the Castle, 
 was occupying at the time of the Survey. 
 
 Whatever fortress existed in Edward's day was 
 held by Wigod, the kinsman and cupbearer to the 
 King ; and the fact that Wigod favoured the 
 cause of the Norman Duke, coupled with the 
 circumstance of an advantageous position on an 
 important ford of the river, caused WalHngford 
 and its Castle to become what they were in 
 history. 
 
 Hither, in consequence of the welcome offered
 
 48 BYGONE BERKSHIllH. 
 
 by the English Thane, WilHam came after the 
 Battle of Hastings, when London was fortified 
 aorainst him ; and here he received the horaao^e of 
 Archbishop Stigand and the English nobles. 
 Before moving back towards London he made 
 the Norman influence secure at Wallingford by 
 the marriage of his favourite chieftain, Robert 
 D'Oilgi, with Wigod's daughter, who became 
 eventually, if she was not already, heiress of the 
 castle ; for her only brother fell in battle, fighting 
 b}'- William's side against his son Robert. The 
 King remained to take part in the festivities of the 
 marriaofe, and ordered D'Oil«:i to build a castle 
 upon his new inheritance. In five years the 
 castle was completed. D'Oilgi had an only 
 daughter, Maud, who was married to another 
 Norman chieftain, Milo Crispin, and after his 
 death she became the wife of Brien Fitz-Count. 
 
 Tradition and history point to each of these 
 lords in turn as havinij made additions to the 
 castle which their father-in-law erected ; for 
 Crispin is said to have been the founder of the 
 Collegiate Church in the southern precinct, and 
 Fitz-Count is recorded as the builder of the 
 famous dungeon called Cloere Brien, or Brien's 
 Close, in the north-western precinct. Further
 
 WALLINGFORD CASTLE. 49 
 
 additions and renovations were made in later 
 times ; but under these Norman owners the 
 Castle must have extended itself to the dimen- 
 sions which it retained to the last, and of which 
 we can still trace the relics. 
 
 From the river bank a few yards above the 
 bridge it is easy to form an idea of what the 
 great Norman fortress was. The lofty mound 
 upon which the Keep was built, perhaps a pre- 
 historic tumulus in its origin, is still the most 
 prominent object, though all vestiges of the tower 
 and its outworks have now disappeared, giving 
 place to a luxuriant growth of forest trees. 
 Close beside this mound, traces of the southern 
 moat are to be seen, opening out upon the ditch 
 which still separates the castle grounds from the 
 meadow beside the river. The broken ofround 
 rising within the ditch shows the line of the 
 eastern front of the castle with its projecting 
 bastions overlooking the river, though all that 
 now remains is an ivy-covered ruin with the 
 opening of a large window, known as the Queen's 
 Tower. In the background, and more to the 
 right, is another fragmentary ruin, forming a 
 central portion of the north wall ; while a modern 
 
 boat-house marks the outflow of the moat at its 
 
 4
 
 50 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 north-eastern angle. From this point along the 
 northern front a triple entrenchment is clearly 
 shown by the undulations of the ground ; the 
 innermost ditch, close beneath the wall, being the 
 moat of the Castle itself, while the second is the 
 moat of the Castle precincts enclosing a space of 
 intermediate ground on the west and south, and 
 the outermost is the moat which enclosed the 
 whole town : the three being; broufjht close 
 together in parallel lines along this side of the 
 Castle. It must have been from this point of 
 view, that Leland, in Henry the Eighth's reign, 
 described the Castle as having " three dikes, 
 large, deep, and well watered ; about each of the 
 two first dikes are embattled walls, sore in ruin 
 and for the most part defaced ; all the goodly 
 buildings, with the towers and dungeon, be 
 within the three dikes." Camden, who tells that 
 "the size and magnificence of the Castle used to 
 strike me with amazement when I came hither, a 
 lad, from Oxford," describes it more accurately as 
 "environed with a double wall and a double 
 ditch." 
 
 South of the great mound and its protecting 
 moat is the ruined tower and south wall of the 
 Collegiate Church of St. Nicholas, now
 
 WALLINGFORD CASTLE. 51 
 
 surmounted by a modern turret ; and adjoining 
 it are some fragments of the other buildings 
 of the college, with a good doorway and 
 some windows of perpendicular character. 
 Beyond these ruins a large portion of 
 the second moat is to be seen. The south- 
 western angle of the precincts, with the banks of 
 the moat well preserved before it and behind it, 
 is occupied by the modern dwelling-house. 
 Lastly, near the north-western angle, where this 
 outer precinct ends, the site of Brien Fitzcount's 
 dungeon is shown ; and the remains of it, with 
 massive rings fixed to the stonework, existed 
 here within the present century. 
 
 If the Norman Conqueror himself gained no 
 direct advantage from the castle which he 
 required D'Oilgi to build, his policy certainly 
 bore its fruit in the days of his grandchildren. 
 In the civil wars of Stephen's reign Brien Fitz- 
 count was a leading supporter of Maud, the 
 daughter of Henry Beauclerk and widow of the 
 Emperor Henry IV. of German}^ The escape 
 of the Empress from Oxford Castle, her flight in 
 white garments through snow and ice by night to 
 Abingdon, and her safe arrival at Wallingford 
 Castle, are a familiar tale, perhaps embellished
 
 52 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 through the ages, but well grounded in history. 
 Stephen set up opposing forts across the river at 
 Crowmarsh, and traces of them may still be seen 
 on either side of the road near the eastern end of 
 the bridge, while the meadow on the north is still 
 called the Barbican. 
 
 Terrible stories are told of the sufferinofs 
 endured by followers of Stephen who had the 
 misfortune to become prisoners here under Fitz- 
 count's custody ; and for one influential prisoner, 
 William Martel, the now dungeon of Brien's 
 Close was made, from which he was only released 
 on condition of delivering up the Castle of Shir- 
 burn and its adjacent lands as a ransom, 
 Throuo-hout the war Walliny-ford Castle under its 
 indomitable lord was the most powerful of all the 
 strongholds of the empress ; and it was here, in 
 a meadow beneath the walls, that the war 
 was ended, through the treaty proposed by the 
 Earl of Arundel, granting the kingdom to 
 Stephen for his life and the succession to the 
 Empress's son, Henry Plantagenet. 
 
 Brien Fitzcount took the cross and died in the 
 Holy Land ; his w'ife spent the rest of her life in 
 a convent ; their two sons were lepers ; and the 
 Castle of Wallingford passed to the new King,
 
 WALLINGFORD CASTLE. 53 
 
 Henry II. The part which it had taken in the 
 cause of the Empress and her son had its reward 
 in the high position which it occupied under the 
 Plantagenet Kings. Henry favoured the town 
 with special privileges, apparently exceeding any 
 that were granted elsewhere ; and here, at 
 Easter 1155, he held his first Parliament. 
 At Henry's death, Richard Coeur de Lion, 
 before starting for the Holy Land, gave to his 
 brother John the Honour of Wallingford ; and 
 one of John's first acts of rebellion was to gain 
 possession of the Castle also, which the King had 
 left in charge of the Archbishop of Rouen. 
 When the barons under the Earl of Leicester re- 
 covered it for the King, the Queen Dowager, 
 Eleanor of Poitou, became its custodian ; and it 
 is probably from her that the ruined fragment 
 of the east front bore the name of the Queen's 
 Tower, and from her also, we must presume, the 
 meadow in front of it was called the Queen's 
 Arbour. The value which John set upon the 
 place still continued when he became King, as we 
 may infer from his frequent visits to it, and the 
 additions which he made to its i^rarrison. His 
 younger son, Richard, Earl of Cornwall and 
 afterwards King of the Romans, was made Con-
 
 54 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 stable at the close of John's reign ; and the Castle 
 and Honour was eventually bestowed upon him 
 by his brother Henry III. 
 
 Earl Richard probably did more both for the 
 castle and the town than any other of its lords. 
 He lived here in great state, enrich in.i^ the 
 townsmen by the liberal expenditure of his 
 wealth and by the hospitality with which he 
 entertained the court and the nobles of the 
 realm. Two years after he came into possession 
 he built the great hall of the Castle, and though 
 this has disappeared, some of the arches of the 
 bridge survive, vaulted with massive ribs, which 
 certainly belong to this period and are probably 
 Richard's work. Here too he brought his 
 second bride, Senchia of Provence, in 1242, when 
 the King and his court took part in sumptuous 
 festivities to welcome her. He was elected King 
 of the Romans in 1256, but the subsequent 
 coronation at Rome, which would have made him 
 German Emperor, never took place. Afterwards, 
 when he was absent in Germany, the barons 
 under Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, 
 were rebelling against the King, and Wallingford 
 Castle fell into their hands. The Countess of 
 Leicester was residing here in 1262, when the
 
 WALLTNGPORD CASTLE. 55 
 
 Earl visited her and a hundred and sixty-two 
 horses were picketed within the Castle walls. 
 The next year Richard was again in possession, 
 and repelled successfully an assault of the 
 barons ; but after the disastrous battle of Lewes 
 in 1264, it fell into Leicester's hands once more, 
 and both Richard and the King, as well as 
 Prince Henry, the son of Richard, were prisoners 
 in it. The two Kinofs were removed to Kenil- 
 worth ; but the next year, when Prince Edward, 
 the King's son, defeated the barons at Evesham, 
 King Henry was restored to his throne and 
 Richard returned to his Castle. He died in the 
 spring of 1272, and Wallingford Castle, together 
 with the earldom of Cornwall, passed to his son 
 Edmund. The new earl maintained the mag- 
 nificence of his father. At the close of the year 
 he introduced his bride, Margaret de Clare, 
 sister of the Earl of Gloucester, with a splendid 
 entertainment ; he frequentl}^ received as a guest 
 his cousin, King Edward I. ; and he so largely 
 auo^mented the Colleofiate Church of St. Nicholas 
 in the Castle that he is often called its founder. 
 When he died, in 1299, Walhngford fell to the 
 King. Imniediately upon the accession of 
 Edward II., the Earldom of Cornwall, with the
 
 56 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 lordship of Wallingford, was bestowed upon his 
 unworthy favourite, Piers de Gaveston, who 
 married Earl Edmund's widow ; but his insolent 
 career was cut short by the Earl of Warwick, under 
 whose custody he was beheaded at Blacklow 
 Hill. Another of the Kinir's favourites, Huofh 
 Despencer the younger, held the Castle and 
 Honour for a time, until, in 1326, he fell a victim 
 to the vengeance of Queen Isabella, who was 
 now in open rebel hon against her husband. She 
 had already become possessed of the Castle, and 
 eventually bestowed it upon her paramour, 
 Roger Mortimer. Then followed the horrible 
 murder of Edward II. at Berkeley ; then 
 Mortimer paid the penalty of his crimes at 
 Tyburn, and Isabella became a prisoner at Castle 
 Rising. Edward III. erected the earldom of 
 Cornwall into a dukedom, and Parliament settled 
 it in perpetuity upon the sovereign's eldest son, 
 the Castle and Honour of Wallingford being one 
 of the possessions by which the princely dignity 
 was to be supported. Thus the Black Prince 
 became its lord for forty years. After his 
 marriage with Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent, in 
 13G1, this was their most frequent place of 
 residence. Here also the princess remained
 
 WALLINGFORD CASTLE. 57 
 
 during the nine years of her widowhood, and here 
 she died, and probably was buried, in 1385. 
 Meanwhile the Black Death had visited the 
 town in 1343 ; the population had been greatly 
 diminished ; several of the fourteen churches had 
 been closed, never to be re-opened ; the prosperity 
 and attractiveness of the place was gone, 
 and the Castle was no longer chosen as a 
 favourite residence of royalty. But when 
 it reverted to the crown at the death of 
 the Princess, it was kept up as a military 
 fortress of the first rank, under a constable 
 appointed by the king, and its prominence in 
 history was scarcely lessened. John Beaufort, the 
 son of John of Gaunt, became constable in 1397, 
 and two years later Thomas Chaucer was 
 appointed. He was the reputed son, probably the 
 step-son, of Geoffrey Chaucer the poet, and was 
 almost certainly, like his predecessor, of royal 
 but illegitimate parentage. Under his custody, 
 the youthful Queen Isabella of Valois, the 
 affianced bride of Richard II., was protected at 
 the time of Bolingbroke's invasion, until Richard 
 became a prisoner and the Castle surrendered to 
 the usurper, when the child-queen was carried 
 from one place to another, and at last, in her four-
 
 58 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 teenth year, returned as a widow to her home in 
 France. A letter of the new King, Henry IV,, 
 to his council, relating to Queen Isabella's de- 
 parture, is dated from Wallingford in 1402. 
 Chaucer was still the constable when the Castle 
 and Honour were settled by King Henry V. 
 upon his bride, Katherine of Valois, at their 
 marriage in 1420. Two years later, the infant 
 King Henry VI. succeeded to his throne, and 
 in 1428, when he was taken from his mother's 
 care, the Castle of Wallingford was assigned to 
 him as one of his summer residences, under the 
 guardianship of the Earl of Warwick. Chaucer 
 died in 1434, and William de la Pole, Earl of 
 Suffolk, his son-in-law, appears to have succeeded 
 him as constable of the Castle. Here Suffolk 
 had under his charge an important captive, Owen 
 Tudor, an esquire of the body to the king, as he 
 had been previously to Henry V. with whom he 
 had fought at Agincourt ; and here in his dungeon 
 a secret marriage is said to have taken place 
 between Tudor and the Dowager Queen 
 Katherine, who had long been attached to him, 
 the ceremony being performed by a priest who 
 was his fellow-prisoner, while a servant who 
 attended him was the onl}'- witness. Suffolk, now
 
 WALLINGFORD CASTLE. 59 
 
 raised to a dukedom, was accused by the populace 
 of betraying his country to the French and pre- 
 paring to fortify Walhngford on their behalf; and 
 while the King befriended him, he was barbarously 
 beheaded at sea ; but his widow Alice, Chaucer's 
 daughter, was made custodian of the Castle in his 
 place. The House of Lancaster had raised Alice 
 de la Pole to her dignities and honours ; yet when 
 the commencement of the Wars of the Roses 
 favoured the rival house, she at once transferred 
 her support to the Yorkists. In 1461, Edward of 
 York became King, and the reward of Alice's 
 faithlessness was the marriage of the young Duke, 
 her son, with the lady Elizabeth, the King's 
 sister, while she herself retained her Castle. 
 There the heartless duchess and her son received 
 under their custody the ex-Queen Margaret of 
 Anjou, who had been the friend and patroness of 
 her youth, but who now remained for five years 
 her prisoner, until in 1476 her ransom was paid, 
 and she returned to France. 
 
 In the events of the succeeding years there is 
 little of immediate connection with Wallingford. 
 Lord Lovell, who had been a ward of the Duke 
 of Suffolk, was made constable by Richard III., 
 but he fled to Flanders when his master fell at
 
 60 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Bosworth. Henry VII. reinstated Suftolk in the 
 office, which he held for Hfe, in spite of the 
 rebelHon of his son, Lord Lincohi, whom 
 Edward IV., his uncle, had designated as his 
 heir. After him the office was held for a time by 
 Arthur, Prince of Wales. On one occasion at 
 least, in 1518, Henry VIII. and his Court 
 appear to have been residing here. Some twelve 
 years later he entirely renovated the College of 
 St. Nicholas; to which shortly afterwards "a 
 fair steeple of stone," as Leland describes it, was 
 added by Dr. Underbill, the Dean. No new 
 appointment to the office of constable appears 
 until 1535, when it was granted to Henry Norris, 
 a nephew of the Lord Lovell who had held it fifty 
 years before ; but after six months he fell a victim 
 to the King's displeasure and died upon the 
 scaffold. In 1540 an Act of Parliament 
 separated the Castle and Honour from the Duchy 
 of Cornwall and annexed it to the Crown. 
 
 Edward VI. dissolved the College, and its 
 buildings were shortly afterwards dismantled, 
 together with those of the Castle-Keep and the 
 Gatehouse. In the next reigns the lead and 
 stones were conveyed in large quantities to 
 Windsor Castle to be used in repairs and in
 
 WALLINGPORD CASTLE. Gi 
 
 building the Poor Knights' lodgings. Yet the 
 main fabric of the Castle remained, and was used 
 for the imprisonment of heretics in the early years 
 of Elizabeth. During all this time Sir Francis 
 Knollys was constable, having been appointed to 
 the office by Edward VI. in 1551. In the latter 
 part of Elizabeth's reign he was succeeded by his 
 son, Sir William, who became Viscount Walling- 
 ford under James I., and Earl of Banbury under 
 Charles I. 
 
 We come now to the closinor scene. The Castle 
 was strongly fortified by King Charles at the 
 commencement of the Civil War, and Colonel 
 Blagge, an officer of distinguished courage in the 
 King's army, was placed in charge of it, the King 
 coming for a day and night to inspect the 
 fortifications in 1643. Three years later, when 
 every other castle had been captured except 
 Raglan on the Welsh border and Pendennis in 
 Cornwall, Wallinorford still held out for the Kino^'s 
 cause. The town was closely surrounded by the 
 troops of the Parliament ; but as long as there 
 was any possibility of resistance the Governor 
 refused to yield. For sixty-five days the 
 resistance lasted, and only five of the garrison had 
 fallen. At last, w^ien all supplies were exhausted,
 
 02 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Colonel Blaofofe consented to make terms with 
 
 CO 
 
 Fairfax; and on July 29th, 1646, he was permitted 
 to lead out his officers and men with flying colours 
 and martial music as if they had been the victors. 
 The Castle was a state prison during the remainder 
 of the war, but the old sentiment seems to have 
 lingered about the place to the last. In 1652 a 
 conspiracy was detected for delivering it up to 
 Kinor Charles II., for which a soldier of the 
 garrison was condemned to death, and an order 
 was issued for the demolition of the building. 
 
 The last of the line of constables was Edmund 
 Dunch. appointed by his cousin Oliver Cromwell, 
 who also created him Baron Burneil of East 
 Wittenham in 1658 ; but Dunch became a strong 
 supporter of the King's restoration. The 
 demolition had then been effected, and part of the 
 materials were used in building the tower of 
 St. Mary's Church. During the eighteenth 
 century the estate was let on lease, and afterwards 
 sold to private owners by the Commissioners of 
 the Crown ; while the broken fragments which 
 are left of the Castle tell the story of the 
 completeness of its ruin, and serve as a memorial 
 of its ancient greatness.
 
 Cumnor place au^ Hin^ IRob^art 
 
 By. H. J. Reid, f.s.a. 
 
 A BENEDICTINE abbey was founded aa^ 
 is well known at Abingdon, in the seventh 
 century, and to this rich and powerful mona stery , 
 Cumnor appears from the very first to have 
 belonged. Its earliest mention is found in the 
 " Chronicles of the Monastery of Abingdon," in 
 which ''the book," probably a register or 
 cartulary is repeatedly referred to. 
 
 Cumnor according to Dugdale is derived from 
 Cumanus, second abbot of Abingdon, who died 
 circa 784, but Dr. Buckler, author of " Stemmata 
 Chicheleana," and keeper of the Archives of 
 Oxford University, who was vicar of Cumnor for 
 twenty-five years, suggests St. Coleman or 
 Cuman, an Irish or Scottish saint, who lived in 
 the sixth and seventh century. As early as the 
 year 689, Colmonora is mentioned in a Latin 
 deed in the Abingdon Chronicle, twenty hides of 
 land there being conferred upon the Abbey by 
 a Charter of Ceadwalla, and again in a similar
 
 64 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 deed, being a Charter of Kenulph, dated 851, in 
 which is an illuminated portrait of that King. 
 An Anglo-Saxon boundary attached to Eadred's 
 confirmation Charter to Abinsfdon in 955, 
 mentions Cumnor, as does also a subsequent 
 charter of Edgar, 968, which also has a carefully 
 defined boundary attached to it, and the biography 
 of St. Ethelwold, who refounded the Abbey after 
 its destruction by the Danes, 240 years after the 
 original foundation of Abbot Heane. It is very 
 improbable that these documents are authentic. 
 They may possibly be copies, but are more 
 probably forgeries, made for various purposes 
 in later years, based in many instances doubtless 
 upon the fabulous history of Geoffrey of Mon- 
 mouth, who died about 1154, leaving what was 
 professedly the translation of a work in the 
 British tongue made at the request of Walter, 
 Archdeacon of Oxford. It contains perhaps a 
 modicum of fact, but is not dependable ; it has 
 been largely drawn upon by later so called 
 historians and romancers. Nevertheless there is 
 every reason to believe that Cumnor from the 
 very earliest times belonged to Abingdon Abbey, 
 its name in early documents being written 
 Cumenoran, and the Church is known to have
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 65 
 
 been one out of but three spared by the Danes, 
 when they ravislied the district around and 
 destroyed Abingdon in the reign of Alfred the 
 Great. 
 
 The Norman Conquest has left us more certain 
 and dependable records. From the survey of 
 Domesday we ascertain that Comenore in 1086 
 contained thirty hides of land, having been rated 
 tempore Regis Edivardi, at fifty hides. It will 
 be remembered the early English Charters gave 
 twenty hides as its extent, so that the Manor 
 had by this time been either added to, or the 
 hidation varied, possibly both. The Manor 
 maintained sixty villani, sixty-nine bordarii or 
 freemen, with four servi or bondsmen ; the Church 
 is mentioned, as also two fisheries of the value of 
 forty shillings yearly, Sevacoord, or Seacourt, 
 and Winteham probably Wytham, were a portion 
 of Cumnor which is the first manor mentioned in 
 Domesday Book, belonging to the Abbey of 
 Abingdon, and in evidence of ancient right it is 
 expressly written there :-^" Semper fuit de 
 Abbatia." Cumnor Church is again alluded to 
 in a Papal Bull dated 1152, but there are now no 
 visible traces of this edifice. The present church 
 iwhich underwent thorough restoration some
 
 66 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 forty years ago, having previously suffered by 
 injudicious alterations at various times, is of the 
 Transition period, the most ancient portion being 
 the tower, according to the dicta of ecclesiastical 
 architects, not erected before the year 1250. 
 Many objects of great interest to the Arch- 
 aeologist are yet preserved in and about the 
 church, despite the more recent restorations. 
 Among others, are two stone coffins, enclosing 
 the remains of former Abbots of Abingdon, two 
 piscinae, and of yet more recent date the tomb of 
 Anthony Forster, of whom I shall have some- 
 thing to say presently. Some of the stone 
 carvings within the church, are of great delicacy, 
 being remarkably fine examples of fourteenth 
 century work, in the shape of two corbels, the 
 capitals of three columns, a window, and the 
 portion of an arch. 
 
 In the chancel are some poppy heads, carved 
 upon both sides ; on one is the sacred monogram 
 I. H. S. upon a shield, upon another the five 
 stigmata, i.e., the pierced feet, the hands, and 
 heart of the Saviour, also a cross ; upon the 
 reverses are also carved the crucifixial emblems. 
 — the ladder, spear, and reed or staff, to which 
 is affixed a sponge ; there are also the hammer,
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AN^D AMY ROBSART. 67 
 
 pincers, and three nails. Upon the upper shield 
 are the Vestments, the crown of thorns, and bag 
 of money. 
 
 A letter referring to Cmnnor Church during 
 the Civil Wars, written by a member of the 
 Pecock or Peacock family is printed in Mercurius 
 Academicus. This family held the Manor at 
 that period, Richard Pecock compounding for his 
 estate by paying the considerable sum of £140. 
 Many of the family lie buried in Cumnor Church, 
 and the school is mainly supported by the legacy 
 of a Mrs. Peacock. 
 
 The letter refers principally to the conduct of 
 certain soldiers, who, finding nothing worth 
 removing, took down the weathercock, "that 
 miofht have been left alone to turn round," and 
 did much other damaofe. The letter is. dated 
 Thursday, February 26th, 1644, and is as 
 follows: — " To present you with as honest men as 
 those of Evesham and honeste you will not 
 deeme them to be when you heare they came 
 from Abingdon, to a place called Cumner in no 
 smaller a number than 500 ; where the chieftains 
 view the church, goe up into the steeple and 
 overlook the country as if they meant to garrison 
 there, but finding it not answerable to their
 
 68 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 liopes and desires they descend, but are loathe to 
 depart without leaving a mark of their iniquitie 
 and impiety behind them. Some they employ to 
 take down the weather cock (that might have 
 been left alone to turn round), others take down 
 a cross from off an isle of the church (and this 
 3''()U must not blame them for they are enemies to 
 the cross), others to plunder the countrymens' 
 houses of bread, beare, and bacon, and whatsoever 
 else was fit for sustentation." 
 
 There is also copied in a late seventeenth 
 century MS. volume in the British Museum, 
 (Harl. 6365, 53 b.), an epitaph, which, I believe, 
 may yet be seen in the church, and is rather 
 quaint and curious. 
 
 From the same MS.,* I copied a description of 
 Anthony Forster's monument. " In ye chancell 
 against ye north wall, a great marble monument 
 with pillars of marble. On a plate of brass faced 
 to it ye picture of a man in armour, kneeling 
 before a table upon a book. At the foot thereof, 
 his helmett, at ye sides his gauntletts, over 
 against him his wife kneeling, as her husband. 
 Behind her three children, between them this 
 coat ; 3 Bugles, Q, 3 phoeons, points upwards, 
 
 * Harl. 6395, Plut. xlix, g.
 
 CHAINED BIBLE, CUMNOR CHURCH.
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 69 
 
 with mantling and crest, which is a stag, lodged, 
 and regardant. Gu. charged on ye shoulder, with 
 a martlett, or, and pierced thro' ye neck with 
 an arrow, ar. Behind the man this coat ; 3 
 Bugles, Q., 3 phoeons, points upwards, impaling 
 2 organ pipes in saltere between 4 crosses, paty. 
 Then follow the quarterings. Behind ye woman 
 is this coat : Williams. Az. 2 organ pipes in 
 saltere between 4 crosses, paty. Quarterings as 
 before described. Under them both a great 
 brass plate, on ye part of it under him the 
 folio wino' verses — ." These need not now be 
 recorded ; they will be found in Ashmole, 
 and also translated in most editions of Scott's 
 Kenilworth. They record his many accomplish- 
 ments and virtues, and relate he was wise, 
 eloquent, just, charitable, learned in the classics, 
 in literature, music, architecture, and in botany. 
 The date of his death is not mentioned, his burial 
 however is recorded as taking place Nov. 10th, 
 1572, by the parish register, which cannot err. 
 
 He is therein mentioned as A. F., gentleman, 
 the last word beinof written over an erasure, and it 
 has been thought by some, that an epithet not so 
 complimentary had previously been placed there, 
 but erased, and " gentleman " substituted. I see
 
 70 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 no reason for such a suggestion ; possibly some 
 latin term may originally have been written, 
 c. g., "miles," and the English word "gentle- 
 man " was thought more appropriate. At 
 any rate, Anthony Forster was buried at 
 Cumnor, Nov. 10th, 1572. Cumnor Place, 
 Forster 's residence, was an early fourteenth 
 century house, used as a residence by the Abbots 
 of Abingdon, and also as a place of removal or 
 sanitorium by the monks, particularly during the 
 plague, or black death, which decimated England 
 under Edward III. At this period, it served 
 both as rectory and manse house, where tithe and 
 rents were paid, and Manorial Courts held, and 
 where tenants were bound to attend to do suit and 
 service for their lands to their superior lords. 
 Such was Cumnor Place, until the dissolution 
 of the monasteries by Henry VIII. In 1538, it 
 was granted for life by the Crown to Thomas 
 Pentecost or Rowland, last Abbot of Abingdon, 
 in consideration of his having willingly surrendered 
 the Abbey and its possessions to the King. 
 Rowland either died the following year or ceded 
 Cumnor Place to the King, who seems to have 
 retained possession for seven years, when, by 
 patent, dated Windsor, Oct. 8th, 1546, the Lord-
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 71 
 
 ship, Manor, and rectorial tithes of Cumnor, with 
 all its rights and appurtenances, particularly the 
 Capital Messuage, Cumnor Place, and the close 
 adjoining, called the Park, and three closes called 
 Saffron Plottye, etc., were granted to George 
 Owen, Esq., the King's physician, and to John 
 Bridges, doctor in physic, in consideration of two 
 closes in St. Thomas' parish, Oxford, the site of 
 Rowdey Abbey, and the sum of £310 12s. 9d., 
 cash. William Owen, son of Dr. Owen, married, 
 April 24th, 1558, Ursula, daughter of Alexander 
 Fettiplace, the estate being then settled upon him. 
 Shortly afterwards, Cumnor Place was leased to 
 Anthony Forster, and it was in his occupation 
 when occured the tragic incident which forms the 
 concluding scene in Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth, 
 the death of Amy Robsart, wife of Sir Robert 
 Dudley, afterwards Earl of Leicester. 
 
 In the following year, Anthony Forster 
 purchased the property from Owen, and seems to 
 have greatly enlarged and otherwise improved 
 the mansion. Dying in November, 1572, he 
 devised the estate to Dudley, subject to a 
 payment of £1,200 to Forster's heirs. These 
 conditions, its seems the Earl accepted, but 
 retained possession for a single year only, as is
 
 72 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 proved by a document among the Longleat 
 papers purporting to be a record of the sale of 
 Cumnor by the Earl of Leicester, to Harry le 
 Norris, ancestor of the Earls of Abingdon, which 
 bears date 15th February, 16th Elizabeth, 1575. 
 
 From this time Cumnor seems to have 
 gradually fallen into decay. Possibly the sad 
 end of Lady Dudley may have contributed to 
 this ; at all events, rumours were spread among 
 the villagers that her ghost haunted the locality, 
 and a tradition is even yet received by them that 
 her spirit was so unquiet that it required nine 
 parsons from Oxford to lay the ghost, which 
 they at last effectually did, in a pond hard by, 
 the water in which does not freeze it is said, even 
 in the most severe winter. This pond is still 
 shown by the villagers, although they are quite 
 unable to assign any reason for the peculiar 
 conduct of the ghost. 
 
 Neglected for nearly a hundred years, a 
 portion of the ruined mansion was then converted 
 into a malthouse, afterwards into labourer's 
 dwellings, and finally demolished in 1810, for 
 the purpose of rebuilding Wytham Church. 
 Among other mementoes of its former owner 
 was an arch bearing upon the label the in-
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 73 
 
 scri23tioQ '■' Janua Vitoe Verhvm Domini. 
 Anthonius Forster, 1575." This, with some 
 handsome tracery windows, was removed to 
 Wytham, the arch being built into the entrance 
 wall of the churchyard. The date and name 
 were for some reason destroyed, possibly to 
 evade an apparent anachronism, for Anthony 
 Forster had been dead two years in 1575. These 
 window^s and other objects of interest were 
 engraved in the Gentlemayis Magazine for 1821. 
 It is said and I believe truly, that so great 
 interest was excited in Cumnor Place, by Sir W. 
 Scott's novel, that the Earl of Abingdon was 
 induced to drive some visitors from Wythani to see 
 the ruins, forgetting that some years previously 
 he had given order for their demolition. The 
 disappointment of the party on arriving upon the 
 ground was great, as may be imagined, and not 
 less so that of the Earl, who too late realized 
 his mistake. The disappointment was felt by 
 everybody, for it is said all the world hastened to 
 the site of the tragedy so graphically described 
 by Scott, only to find they were too late. The 
 public was not then aware that its sympathies 
 had been aroused by the vivid imagination and 
 marvellous genius of the novelist, and that while
 
 74 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 there was just a substratum of fact the greater 
 portion of this historical novel had no 
 foundation other than the great constructive 
 power of the Author. While thousands deplored 
 the untimely fate of Amy Robsart, their 
 sympathies were in truth tributes to the dramatic 
 powers of the novelist, not to the unfortunate 
 heroine ; the novel may be said to bristle with 
 chronological inaccuracies, and utter disregard for 
 historic fact. 
 
 It has been repeatedly reasoned that novelists 
 should be permitted a certain licence, and in 
 actual fiction this may possibly be ; but if the 
 subject and characters chosen are both historical, 
 misconceptions may easily arise, and erroneous 
 statements be indelibly impressed upon the mind 
 of the reader. Let us recall to our memories the 
 outline of Kenilworth, and then notice some of 
 Scott's most glaring historical inaccuracies and 
 anachronisms, and while I have no intention of 
 attempting a defence for Robert Dudley and his 
 followers, for the crime here alleged to have been 
 committed, I believe I shall be able to show 
 that he was, in this instance at any rate, greatly 
 maligned. 
 
 The plot in brief is as follows : — Robert Dudley,
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 75 
 
 Earl of Leicester, son of the Duke of Northumber- 
 land, who had been executed for endeavouring to 
 place Lady Jane Grey upon the throne, having 
 secretly married Amy Robsart, desires to be free, 
 and confides his wishes to his retainers, Richard 
 Varney and Anthony Forster. The Countess, 
 who was living in retirement at Cumnor Place, 
 hearing of the festivities given by her husband at 
 Kenilworth, goes secretly there, and has a most 
 affecting interview with Queen Elizabeth, in the 
 course of which the Queen bitterly reproaches 
 Leicester, At length, by specious promises, he 
 prevails upon Amy to return to Cumnor, 
 arranofingf' to come to her as soon as liberated 
 from his attendance upon the Queen. She 
 complies, and is assigned by Forster a portion of 
 the building approached onl}^ by a drawbridge in 
 which is concealed a trap-door. At night Varney, 
 riding hastily into the courtyard, gives the Earl's 
 private signal — a peculiar whistle — on hearing 
 which Amy rushes out to meet her husband ; but 
 Forster having^ meanwhile withdrawn the bolts, 
 she falls through the trap. " A faint groan and 
 all is over," Immediate punishment overtakes 
 the criminals. Varney is arrested, but poisons 
 himself in his cell, while Forster, in his hasty
 
 76 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 endeavour to escape, closes behind him a secret 
 door, and dies a Hngering death. 
 
 Scott tells us in later editions of Kenilworth 
 (the first was published in 1821), that he based 
 his story upon a beautiful ballad by W. J. 
 Mickle, the translator of Camoens Lusiad, which 
 had deeply impressed him ; and Ashmole's 
 Antiquities of Berkshire is cited at length by 
 him as the principal authority upon which the 
 novel was based. But Ashmole was in this 
 instance only a copyist, and his antiquities were 
 not published until 1717, nearly 160 3^ears after 
 Lady Dudley's death. He copied almost 
 verbatim from a most scurrillous work called 
 "Leicester's Commonwealth," published in 1584 
 for political purposes, known subsequently as 
 ''Father Parson's Green Coat," from the colour 
 of the wrapper in w^hich it was introduced from 
 abroad by its author the celebrated Jesuit, 
 Robert Parsons, although the authorship has 
 been attributed to Cecil, Lord Burleigh. It was 
 issued at first in MSS., and eight MS. copies 
 are preserved in the British Museum, and two 
 in the Bodleian. Sir Philip Sidney immediately 
 issued a hasty answer to these charges 
 against his relative, but this was not actually
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 77 
 
 printed until 1746, and had but little effect at 
 the time. 
 
 "Leicester's Commonwealth" was no sooner in 
 circulation than the attention of Government was 
 directed to it, and it was stigmatised by the 
 Queen and Privy Council at " most malicious, 
 false, and scandalous, and such as none but an 
 incarnate devil could dream to be true," With- 
 out attempting a defence of Leicester, the 
 character of his defamer may assist in forming a 
 judgement how far any of his statements may be 
 received, bearing^ in mind that both in reliofion 
 and politics he was antagonistic to the Earl. 
 
 Of obscure, if not questionable birth, Parsons 
 was educated in the reformed religion at Balliol 
 College, Oxford, at the expense of his putative 
 father. There he quickly rose to the position of 
 dean and bursar, but was compelled to resign 
 these appointments in order to avoid expulsion 
 for incontinence and embezzlement of college 
 funds. Quitting England for Pome, he then 
 adopted the Romish faith and became a member 
 of the Society of Jesus. Next, visiting Spain, 
 he was most active in urging the Spanish King 
 to despatch the Invincible Armada, and, after its 
 destruction, used all his influence to promote a
 
 78 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 second invasion. A bold, clever, intriguing, and 
 unscrupulous traitor, he is known to have 
 even contemplated the assassination of Queen 
 Elizabeth, and by his writings to have supported 
 the claims of the Spanish Infanta against King 
 James to the En owlish throne. Such was the 
 man, who did not hesitate to hurl broadcast 
 accusations of the most atrocious character 
 against his opponents, sheltering himself mean- 
 while abroad from the prosecution his many 
 infamies deserved. To this man principally are 
 traced the calumnies upon Leicester, Varney, and 
 Forster, which have been so unfortunately 
 perpetuated in " Kenilworth." 
 
 Much of the interest in the novel centres in 
 the alleged secret marriage of Amy Robsart (who 
 is described as dauofhter of Sir Huefh Robsart of 
 Devonshire), and Dudle3^ Amy is made to say, 
 " I am but a disguised Countess, and will not take 
 dignity on me until authorised by him whom I 
 derive it from." Again she is described as ''the 
 Countess Amy, for to that rank she was exalted 
 by her private but solemn union with England's 
 proudest Earl," Leicester, as I must here call 
 him, further on saying " She is as surely 
 Countess of Leicester as I am belted Earl."
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 79 
 
 Now for the facts. Amy was only daughter of 
 Sir John Robsart, a Knight of ancient hneage, 
 belongfino; to Norfolk, born at Stansfield Hall in 
 that County, afterwards notorious as the scene of 
 the murder of Mr. Isaac Jermy and his son by 
 Rush. She had an illegitimate brother named 
 Arthur, and an elder half-brother by her mother's 
 previous marriage named Appleyard. Among 
 the Longleat papers is a settlement on the 
 husband's side, dated 24th May, 1550, in con- 
 templation of the marriage. On the lady's part 
 a deed executed by her father. Sir John Robsart, 
 is preserved in P.R.O., London, and dated 15th 
 May, 1520. The marriage itself could scarcely 
 have been more public than it was. It must 
 certainly have been well known to the Queen, 
 wdio not improbably may have been present ; her 
 brother, Edward VI., certainly was. I had 
 occasion to examine an autograph diary of this 
 youthful King, now preserved in the British 
 Museum (Cott MS. New Edit. 10), usually 
 described as a "little diary." As a matter of 
 fact the diary is of full quarto size ; its first page 
 having the Royal Arms and monogram E. R. in 
 gold and colours. Each leaf has now been placed 
 separately between folio pages for preservation.
 
 80 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Bound up with it are many letters from the 
 King, carefully written and principally in latin. 
 In one writing from Hatfield he explains in most 
 affectionate terms that he had delayed writing 
 " Non negligentia sed studium." In this diary 
 is recorded in King Edward's own hand- 
 writing that the Court being at Sheen, the old 
 name for Richmond, upon June 4th, 1550. 
 
 " S. Robert dudeley, third sonne to th erle of warwic maried 
 S. Jon. Robsartes daughter after wich manage ther were 
 certain Gentlemen that did strive to who shuld first take 
 away a goses heade wich was lianged alive on tow crose 
 postes. Ther was tilting and tourney on foot on the 5th, and 
 on the 6th he removed to Greenwich." 
 
 Canon Jackson found at Longleat many 
 documents dated after the marriage, one a grant 
 of the Manor of Hemsby, Norfolk, by John, then 
 Duke of Northumberland, to his son Lord Robert 
 Dudley, and the lady Amye his wife, 7th Edward 
 VI., 1553; another 30th Jan., 3 & 4 Philip and 
 Mary, 1557, dated Sydisterne, after Sir John 
 Robsart's death ; there is also a license of 
 alienation to Sir Robert Dudley and Amye his 
 wife, 24th March, 4 & 5 Philip and Mary, 1558. 
 The marriage therefore was very generally known, 
 and there was neither abduction nor secrecy. I 
 will now show that Amve was never Countess
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 81 
 
 of" Leicester, nor was she ever at Kenilvvorth, and 
 for this reason. Kenilworth was not orranted to 
 Sir Robert, otherwise called Lord Kobert Dudley, 
 until June 20th, 1563, and he was not created 
 Earl of Leicester until the 29th September 
 following, three years after Amy Dudley's death. 
 Queen Elizabeth did not pay her celebrated visit 
 to Kenilworth until 1575, or fifteen years after 
 Amy's death. It is therefore an absolute 
 impossibility for the latter to have ever known 
 the title of Countess of Leicester, to have been 
 present at Kenilworth during the Queen's visit, 
 or to have had the interview with her described 
 with so much pathos. Endeavours to correct 
 these and similar historical errors have been 
 frequently made, but the attempt appears hope- 
 less. Not long- agfo, the most influential of our 
 London newspapers reiterated the statement that 
 Amy Dudley was " the wife of Lord Leicester ;" 
 but not content with this, the writer further 
 blundered by describing Lucy Robsart, wife of 
 Mr. Edward Walpole, of Houghton Hall, as her 
 elder sister. It is almost needless to say Amy 
 Robsart had no sister, and but one brother, Arthur, 
 who was illegitimate. Lucy Robsart was her aunt, 
 daughter of Sir Terry, or Theodoric Robsart.
 
 82 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Canon Jackson appears to have satisfactorily 
 identified the villain Varney, and rescued him 
 from the unmerited opprobrium cast upon him. 
 Longleat documents point him out as Richard 
 Verney, of Compton Verney, Warwickshire, 
 ancestor of the Lords Willoughby de Broke. 
 This Varney was a knight anterior to 1559, and 
 tlien apparently a stranger to Lord Dudley; for in 
 that year. Sir Ambrose Cave writes to Dudley, 
 recommending Sir Richard Verney as a fitting 
 person to hold certain office in Warwickshire. In 
 1561, a year after Amy Dudley's death, he was 
 High-Sheriff of his county, and he did not die 
 until seven years after, viz., 1567, and eight years 
 before Ehzabeth's visit to Kenilworth. An 
 anonymous writer in Macmillan, some two years 
 ago, brought forward another Verney. He said, 
 the Willoughbys and Verneys of Compton 
 Merdac, not Compton Verney, did not intermarry 
 till the next century ; and co-temporary with the 
 Richard Verney above mentioned was another 
 Richard, belonging to a Buckinghamshire family, 
 connected with the Dudleys both by marriage 
 and misfortunes. Sir Ralph Verney had 
 three sons, Edmund, Francis, and Richard. 
 Edmund and Richard were implicated in the
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. S3 
 
 Conspiracy of Lady Jane Grey. Francis had 
 been Elizabeth's servant when in confinement 
 at Woodstock, and had been charged with 
 tampering with a letter, and, we are told, had 
 about as bad a name as any young gentleman 
 of his day. Of Richard nothing is known with 
 certainty, but in 1572, that is five years after the 
 death of Canon Jackson's Knight, a Richard 
 Varney was appointed to the Marshalship of the 
 Bench for life, dying three years after, and on 
 Nov. 15 th, the same year, Leicester wrote 
 begging Lord Shrewsbury not to fill up the place 
 vacant by the death of Mr. Varney. 
 
 We have remarked that Anthony Forster's 
 epitaph was most eulogistic. This may perhaps 
 be exaggerated, as is undoubtedly Scott's 
 description of him. He makes him out to 
 be the son of the Abbot of Abingdon's 
 Reeve, a widower with one child, Janet ; a 
 miserly curmudgeon, bordering on deformity, 
 with no redeeming point save affection for this 
 child. Michael Lamborne speaks to him thus 
 familiarly : — 
 
 " Here, you Tony Fire-the-Fagot, papist^ 
 puritan, hypocrite, miser, profligate, devil, com- 
 pounded of all men's sins, bow down and reverence
 
 84 BYGONE BERKSHIRE 
 
 liim who has brought into thy house the very 
 inammon thou worshippest." 
 
 The Forster of fact, was a totally difterent 
 person. He was of an ancient Shropshire famil}^ 
 and liad married Ann, niece of Lord Wilhanis 
 of Thame, Lord Chamberlain under Philip 
 and Mary. His three, children, represented 
 on his memorial brass, predeceased him. 
 He was, towards the close of his life. 
 Member of Parliament for the borough of 
 Abingdon, and chosen, upon at least one occasion, 
 by the University of Oxford to settle a noisy 
 controversy. He was a personal friend of Lord 
 Dudleys, and controller of his enormous ex- 
 penditure. All Dudley's accounts passed through 
 Forster's hands. All payments had to be 
 sanctioned by him. Bundles of such accounts 
 showing careful examination are now at Longleat, 
 filed, says Canon Jackson, as left by Anthony 
 Forster. The}- all bear his signature or initials, 
 and the date 1566, six years after Tony Foster 
 had been starved to death in his secret chamber. 
 
 I would now mention some of the minor 
 circumstances and persons mentioned in the 
 novel, respecting whom chronological errors are 
 noticable.
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 85 
 
 We have seen that Varney, to whatever family 
 he belonged, died before the great Kenilworth 
 festivities in honour of the Royal Visit, and that 
 Amy had died fifteen years before that event. 
 Sir W. Raleigh, who in the novel is introduced 
 strewing his cloak before the Queen and 
 subsequently knighted by her with Varney at 
 Kenilworth, was not knighted until 1584, nine 
 3^ears after her visit, twenty-four years after 
 Amy's death ; and as he was born in 
 1552, was actually eight years old when that 
 occurred. 
 
 On her journey from Cumnor Place to Kenil- 
 worth, accompanied by Wayland Smith, Amy 
 passes through Donnington. They overtake the 
 Hock Tide revellers from this village, also upon 
 the road to Kenilworth. Donnington Castle is 
 also mentioned earlier in the story. To pass 
 through this hamlet, e7i route for Kenilworth, 
 would be equivalent to travelling from say 
 Reading to Birmingham in order to reach 
 London. It is probable Sir Walter intended to 
 write Deddington, which is in Oxfordshire, and 
 on the direct road Amy would have had to travel, 
 but it is strange the error has never been 
 corrected. The revellers really came from
 
 86 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Coventry, an entirely opposite route to that 
 Lady Dudley would have had to pursue. 
 
 I have only given a few of the most evident 
 anachronisms which permeate the novel, and 
 many others might be mentioned. Many 
 extracts from the story might be quoted, which 
 show the carelessness of the great novelist as 
 regards chonology ; yet dates ought to have met 
 with every consideration from him : he was 
 professedly, at any rate, an antiquary, pro- 
 fessionally a writer to the Signet or lawyer, 
 where accuracy is all in all. 
 
 I have little reason to believe that an inn 
 existed at Cumnor, in Elizabeth's . time, and 
 althouorh it is curious Scott should have selected 
 
 o 
 
 as the name of its landlord, Giles Gosling, it 
 should be remembered he had access assuredly to 
 Ashmole, wherein are many Berkshire names, 
 both of persons and places, and Gosling is certainly 
 a Berkshire name. We have also in Berkshire 
 places named Lamborne and Thatcham, both 
 characters in the novel ; the former, indeed, was 
 represented at Cumnor a few years ago, and may 
 be now, and there is in the parish register in 
 1562, record of the burial of one Gosling. But 
 I am of opinion the selection of these names is
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 87 
 
 purely accidental. As regards the alehouse, 
 Inns as a rule increase in number, and but rarely, 
 if ever, disappear, and the sole inn at Cumnor 
 would be likely to thrive. It so happened that 
 in 1636, John Taylor, the water poet, travelled 
 throuo;h Engfland, and made a list of inns for the 
 use of his customers, for he was a tavern keeper 
 also, and he gave the names of all the inns in 
 Berkshire to the number of forty. At Abingdon, 
 he says, was one kept by John Prince, who at his 
 pleasure might keep three, but there is no mention 
 whatever of the Jolly Black Bear or other inns 
 at Cumnor. Bearing this in mind, and taking 
 into consideration the total ignorance of Scott as 
 to the site of Cumnor, its situation in the county, 
 and even of the plan of the Hall itself, I think it 
 most improbable that the Wizard of the North 
 ever visited the village he has made for ever 
 famous, despite his many anachronisms. 
 
 It is not for me to defend Dudley against the 
 suggestions of being privy to the assasination of 
 his wife, any more than to defend him from the 
 accusation of having;' been the cause of the deaths 
 of many others as charged against him in 
 " Leicester's Commonwealth." Here, among 
 others, Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, Lord Sheffield'
 
 88 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 {UrI Walter Devereux, Enrl of Essex, are said to 
 have been poisoned by him; but rumours of poison- 
 ing were at that time prevalent, and it was 
 suggested he had endeavoured to make away by 
 poison with his wife Amy, in order to be free to 
 marry Queen Elizabeth ; one writer has within the 
 last few years gone so far as to charge Elizabeth 
 with complicity. She was certainly of a jealous 
 disposition, for when Leicester eventually married 
 the widow of the Earl of Essex, he narrowly 
 escaped imprisonment in the tower, and was 
 actually banished from the court ; similarly when 
 Raleigh dared to marry, he being forty and 
 Elizabeth fifty-nine, he was sent to the tower to 
 cool his ardour. Mr. Rye, who is confident Amy 
 Robsart was nmrdered, and Elizabeth Jjrivy to 
 the fact, says, "By some, Anne Boleyn is made 
 out to be an innocent woman, who, with her 
 brother, was judiciall}^ nmrdered by her 
 husband, to make room for Jane Seymour, whom 
 he married the day after her execution. If this 
 view is right, Elizabeth was daughter of an 
 atrocious nmrderer. But if as Mr. Froude 
 believes, Anne Boleyn was guilty of the crimes 
 attributed to her, then Elizabeth was the 
 daughter of the vilest and most abandoned woman
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 89 
 
 of her aofe. There is no third course. EHzabeth 
 must have been, on one side or the other, the 
 daughter of an abominable parent, male or female 
 as you please, and the inheritor of as bad blood as 
 might be. But I contend it is impossible to 
 avoid the conclusion that Elizabeth knew that her 
 rival's murder was being contemplated, and did 
 not desire to prevent it, in which case she was an 
 accessary before the fact, or that she must after 
 the event have guessed, for she was no fool, that 
 murder had been done to facilitate Leicester's 
 plans, in which case she was in effect, an accessary 
 after the fact. ' 
 
 One reason assigned for Dudley's desire to be 
 free, is said to have been ambition, and again that 
 his married life was by no means a happy one, 
 and that he was practically divorced, living apart 
 from Amy ; she in the country, he at Court. 
 Where they lived when first married is not 
 known, but in 1553, Dudley was imprisoned in 
 the tower for six months on suspicion of com- 
 plicity in the attempt of his father to place Lady 
 Jane Grey on the throne. The name of Amye, 
 Lady Dudley, is mentioned as visiting him there, 
 so in the fourth year of their marriage she was in 
 London, and there was no estrangement. Being
 
 90 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 released, his wife's and liis own estates were 
 restored him, and out of gratitude to Queen 
 Mary's Consort, Philip, he offered his services to 
 the King, who sent him to fight the French. 
 Here the separation was compulsory, for Amy 
 could scarcely follow her husband serving in a 
 foreign army upon the continent. We hear 
 nothing of either for the space of three years, and 
 an extant letter proves that Amye and Sir 
 Robert were still upon a familiar and friendly, if not 
 affectionate footing. She is found to be entrusted 
 with full power and authority to sell and dispose 
 of profits of the lands so that creditors need no 
 longer wait for their money. The terms of the 
 letter evidently prove she had sanction for her 
 actions, and that there was no estrangement, and 
 this letter, referring as it does to Sydistene, must 
 have been written in 1557 at the earliest, as the 
 property did not come to their hands before that 
 year. It is dated from Mr, Hydes, a connection 
 of Dudleys, who lived at Denchworth, a few 
 miles from Cumnor ; and while Amy was visiting 
 here she was at perfect freedom to go where she 
 would, and had full control of money which she 
 seemingly availed herself of, as the Longleat 
 papers fully prove. She was certainly under no
 
 CUMNOR PLACE A^D AMY ROBS ART. 91 
 
 restraint, having no less than twelve horses at her 
 service. She amused herself journeying in 
 Suffolk, Hampshire, and Lincolnshire ; she also 
 went to London and Dudley being at Windsor, 
 she also visited Camberwell, and her charges for 
 Mr. Hydes to that place is entered at £10. 
 
 Many of her accounts are at Longleat, and 
 inside one bill was found a letter written at 
 Cumnor, but undated ; it is probably one of the 
 last she ever wrote, being written 24th August 
 This bill was not paid for some years after her 
 death, for which reason " nothing was abated." 
 Among the items charged were : — 
 
 "For making a Spanish gowne of Russet Damask, 16s. 
 For 6 ounces of Lace at 4s Sd. an ounce, 28s. 8s. for 
 making a loose gown of Rosse Taffata (alluded to in the 
 letter)," 
 
 and many other items which show that this free- 
 dom of expenditure must have existed to the very 
 last. There is charg-ed in the same bill an article 
 supplied after her death, viz., a mantle of cloth 
 for the chief mourner. 
 
 In such manner then was Amy occupied at 
 Cumnor, where not improbably the gossip about 
 Dudley's intimacy with the queen was repeated 
 to her. Whether she believed it or not it is
 
 92 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 impossible to say, but we may be sure that if all 
 
 the rumours then floating about did reach her, 
 
 the effect must have been terrible, especially if 
 
 the suofSfestion that she was sufferins^ from cancer, 
 
 and that Dudley anxiously awaited her death to 
 
 marry the queen became known to her. But 
 
 these rumours would have been far more likely to 
 
 act as a preventative to actual crime than as an 
 
 incentive. A sudden, and in especial a violent 
 
 death, would have been the last thing that 
 
 Dudley would have wished to happen to her, and 
 
 when it did happen, as most inopportunely it did 
 
 for him, he appears to have used every endeavour 
 
 to ascertain the actual truth, and if a crime had 
 
 been committed to bring the guilty to justice. 
 
 Documents in the Pepsyan Library at Cambridge 
 
 tell us that on Monday, 9th September, Lord 
 
 Robert Dudley was at Windsor, and hearing 
 
 that somethino- was amiss at Cumnor, sent 
 
 thither on horseback Sir Thomas Blount, a 
 
 confidential friend and retainer. On his road 
 
 Blount meets a messenorer named Bowes, ridino- 
 
 post haste to Windsor with the intelligence that 
 
 the previous evening Lady Dudley had been 
 
 found lying in the hall at Cumnor Place at the 
 
 foot of the stairs, dead, but without outward marks
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 93 
 
 of violence. He further relates that the Sunday 
 being Abingdon fair, Lady Dudley, contrary 
 to the remembrance of Mrs. Hyde and 
 Mrs. Odingsell, Mr. Hyde's sister, had insisted 
 upon all her servants going to the fair. The}^ 
 went accordingly, leaving apparently no one 
 excepting the three females in the house, for no 
 account makes mention of any man in or about 
 the home. Each rider now pursues his journe}^, 
 and Blount arrives at Abingdon and proceeds to 
 question the landlord as to local events, and hears 
 the death of Lady Dudley confirmed. After a 
 little pressure the landlord expresses his opinion, 
 that it must be a "misfortune" i.e. accident, 
 because it happened in that honest gentleman's 
 home, Master Forster. " His honesty doth much 
 curb the evil thoughts of the people." The follow- 
 ing day he interviews the ladj^-'s maid, who 
 admits she had heard Lady Dudley frequently 
 pray for delivery from desparation, but when 
 Blount seems willing to take this as indicating- 
 suicide, she says, "No good, Mr. Blount, do not 
 so judge of my words. If you should so gather I 
 should be sorry I said so much." 
 
 Blount writes all these particulars to Dudley, 
 and suggests that from what he has heard Lady
 
 94 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Dudley's mind iniglit have been disordered, and 
 that a Coroner's inquest was sittinor. Dudley 
 sent for Appleyard and Arthur Robsart to this 
 inquest, and eventually the jury say, " After the 
 most searching enquiry they could make, they 
 could find no presumption of evil dealinor." Lord 
 Robsart then devises a second jury, to whom he 
 sends a message "to deal earnestly, carefully, and 
 truly, and to find as they see it fall out," and to 
 finish the question to the fullest. Unfortunately 
 the records of the Coroner's enquiry have not 
 survived. The late A. D. Bartlett, Coroner for 
 Abinofdon, endeavoured to find them, but 
 abandoned his search in despair. 
 
 In 1566, seven years after Amy's death, 
 Dudley's marriage with the queen was debated by 
 the Privy Council, when it was reported to them 
 that Appleyard, had in a moment of irritation 
 aorainst Leicester, said he had not been satisfied 
 with the verdict, but for the sake of Dudley had 
 covered the murder of his sister, Applej^^ard was 
 cited to appear and explain his words to the 
 Privy Council, which he did by saying that he 
 did not hold Dudley guilty, but thought it would 
 not be difficult to find out the guilt}'' parties. 
 Here says Mr. Froude, if Appleyard spoke the
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 95 
 
 truth, there is no more to be said : the conclusion 
 seems inevitable, that though Dudlej^ was 
 innocent of direct influence, the unhappy lady 
 was sacrificed to his ambition and made away 
 with by persons who hoped to profit by Dudley's 
 elevation to the throne. "If Appleyard spoke the 
 truth," says Mr. Froude — I will however quote 
 from a letter found by Canon Jackson at 
 Longfleat. It is from a Berkshire orentleman to 
 Mr. John Thynne of Longleat, dated June 9th, 
 1567. After mentioning other matters, he con- 
 tinues, "On Friday in the Star-Chamber, was 
 Appleyard brought forth, who shewed himself a 
 malytyous beast, for he dyd confesse the accused 
 my Lord of Leicester only of malyes, and he hath 
 byn about it these three years, and now, because 
 he could not go through with his business to 
 promote, he fell into this rage against my lord 
 and would have accused him of three things. 1st, 
 of kyllyng his wyf. 2nd, of sending the Lord 
 Derby to Scotland. 3rd, for letting the queen of 
 marriage. He craved pardon for all these things. 
 My Lord Keeper answered in King Henry VII. 
 days there was one lost his ears for slandering the 
 Chief Justice ; so as I think his ende will be the 
 pillory."
 
 96 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Mr. Froude therefore is answered by this letter. 
 Appleyard did not speak truth, but as early as 
 1507, and even three years earlier, the libel is 
 traced to have originated with him from personal 
 motives of disappointment and revenge. He 
 acknowledged himself a liar, but whether this 
 retraction was from fear of the Star Chamber 
 cannot be ascertained ; at any rate the private 
 opinion of Sir Henry Neville was that he 
 merited the pillory. He must have been a 
 contemptible rascal in any case, for even if the 
 libel was true and fear caused him to retract, this 
 was no excuse for his conduct on the occasion of 
 his sister's funeral. This he attended, and in the 
 procession bore a banner of arms. Sir Henry 
 Nevill nmst have judged and described him 
 correctly. Taking the evidence into considera- 
 tion, I must certainly express my own impression 
 is that whatever may have been Leicester's 
 faults, and they were man}^, or whatever crimes 
 may be charged against him, he was at any rate 
 guiltless of any intent to make away with his wife 
 Amy. Even if Dudley were shielded in his evil 
 doings by his court influence, would this have also 
 affected public opinion in the country ? I am of 
 opinion that at that time his court popularity would
 
 CUMNOR PLACE AND AMY ROBSART. 97 
 
 have militated rather unfavourably than otherwise 
 for him. Yet what do we find is the case? With- 
 in four years of his wife's death, he is elected 
 Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and 
 Steward of the Borous^hs of Abino^don, Wallinof- 
 ford, and Reading, all within easy distance of 
 Cumnor Place, where his wife Amye was found 
 dead at the foot of the stair, as some said foully 
 murdered. Had he a hand, direct or indirect, 
 in such a crime, or had suspicion then attached to 
 him, I venture to affirm neither Oxford University 
 nor the electors of these Boroughs would 
 have so honoured him. The nominations must 
 have been practically a declaration of confidence 
 in his innocence. Poor Amv Robsart's death 
 was indeed a sad one, but at least we may 
 conclude that it was not hastened by neglect nor 
 accomplished by violence on the part of her 
 husband. In spite of all attempts to assert this 
 truth, the story of her romance will live, and 
 continue to add a pathetic interest to the quiet 
 Berkshire village which preserves her memory.
 
 aifrcb tbe i3rcat. 
 
 By W. H. Thompson. 
 
 "You are a writer and I am a fighter, but here is a fellow 
 "Who could both write and fight, and in both was equally 
 skilful ! " — Longfellotv. 
 
 THIS terse, but sincere and enthusiastic 
 eulogium, on the memory of JuHus C?esar 
 by that stout Puritan, Captain Miles Standish, 
 comes instinctively to the mind, as one con- 
 templates the life of good King Alfred. It is not 
 given to many to be alike famous as sovereign, 
 warrior, lawgiver, and author ; but such was 
 Alfred, the first of England's great monarchs. 
 If it is the " cunning," the knowing, or able man, 
 as Carlyle tells us, who is the "king" by Divine 
 right ; here was the Saxon king ^:)a?' excellence. 
 His lineage was of the most ancient and illus- 
 trious ; his father Ethelwulf traced his descent 
 from the most renowned of the Saxon heroes, and 
 his mother Osburga was descended from famous 
 Gothic progenitors. Born at the royal manor of 
 Vanathing (Wantage) in the year 849, the
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 99 
 
 youngest of Ethelwulf s four legitimate sons, he 
 was his father's clarhng, the fairest and most 
 promising of all his boys. This is doubtless the 
 explanation of the fact that, whilst yet a mere 
 
 KING ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 child, he accompanied his sire on a pilgrim 
 journey to Rome. How far this pilgrimage and 
 the impressions which he received from his sojourn
 
 100 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 in what was still the greatest and most civilized 
 city in Europe, may have influenced his after-life 
 and character it is impossible to say ; but the 
 earliest story related of Alfred treats of his 
 aptitude for learning and his love for poetry and 
 books. He learned to read before his elder 
 brothers, and even before he could read he had 
 learned by heart many Anglo-Saxon poems, by 
 hearing the minstrels and gleemen recite them in 
 his father's hall. And his passionate love for 
 letters never forsook him. 
 
 Much, however, as he might have preferred it, 
 there was another life than that of the mere student 
 and scholar laid up in store for this noble Saxon. 
 One after another his three elder brothers, 
 Ethelbald, Ethelbert, and Ethelred, occupied the 
 throne, and it was on the death of the last named, 
 in 871, in the twenty-second year of his age, that 
 reluctantly Alfred had to shut up his books, and 
 take up the sceptre and the sword. He now 
 comes before us as 
 
 (1). The warrior king. 
 
 Never did English monarch ascend the throne 
 in darker days. Recently, it is true, the Saxons 
 had come off victors against the Norsemen in one 
 bloody field — the battle of Ashdune, near Reading,
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 101 
 
 — but this clearly bought victory had in turn been 
 succeeded by a series of discomfitures and defeats, 
 the pagan armies having received fresh and con- 
 tinued re-inforcements. It was in one of these 
 sanguinary conflicts that Ethelred received the 
 wound which, though not immediately fatal, was 
 yet the cause of his death. It was a period of 
 prolonged devastation, misery, and rapine. Nine 
 pitched battles were fought in the course of one 
 short year, and the minor skirmishes were in- 
 numerable ; the internecine conflict beinof con- 
 ducted with the most savage ferocity. Prisoners 
 were never spared, unless it was to extort a heavy 
 ransom ; and the countryside was everywhere 
 given up to fire and sword. It is not surprising 
 that Alfred, although already distinguished for his 
 military valour, had not sought the crown. 
 Kingship in those times was no sinecure. 
 
 Dark, however, as were the clouds when 
 Alfred came to the throne, still gloomier days w^ere 
 in store. The Norsemen, already masters of all 
 Northumbria, had also practically reduced the 
 kingdom of Mercia ; and they were now especially 
 directing their attention to Wessex, the country 
 of the West Saxons. With varying success 
 Alfred confronted the enemy during the opening
 
 102 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 years of his reign ; but he soon discovered that, 
 though he might make treaties with his perfidious 
 foes, they never dreamed of permanently abiding 
 by them ; and if he succeeded in withstanding 
 them one year, hke fresh clouds of locusts, new 
 re-inforcements appeared on the scene, every 
 spring and summer, from Scandinavia. In the 
 depth of winter (a.d. 878), when it was not 
 anticipated that they would pursue their military 
 operations, the Danes made a sudden irruption 
 into Wiltshire and the adjoining shires, and so 
 utterly discomforted the Saxons, that Alfred, 
 almost wholly deprived of his authority, was 
 driven with a small but trusty band of followers, 
 and his old mother Osburga, into Athelney, a 
 secluded spot at the confluence of the Thone and 
 the Parrett, surrounded by moors and marshes, 
 which served at once for his concealment and 
 his defence. Great were the hardships which 
 Alfred here endured ; his life was that of an 
 outlaw. For daily sustenance he largely de- 
 pended upon chance and accident, hunting the 
 wild-deer, and even seizing by force the stores 
 of the enemy. It is of this period of terrible 
 privation that the oft-told tale of the good-wife's 
 cakes is related. Yet all his misfortunes
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 
 
 103 
 
 neither damped his courage, nor subdued his 
 energy. 
 
 A most curious and 
 interesting: momento 
 
 of this time has come 
 down to us. Tlie king 
 wore an ornament, 
 probably fastened to 
 a necklace, made of 
 gold and enamel, 
 which being lost by 
 him at Athelney, was 
 found there entire 
 and undefaced in the 
 seventeenth century. 
 It is now preserved 
 at Oxford in the Ashmolean Museum. The in- 
 scription which surrounds the ornament : " Alfred 
 HET MEH GEWiRCAN " (Alfred causcd me to be 
 worked) affords the most authentic testimony 
 of its origin. 
 
 But meanwhile the men of Wessex had gained 
 a signal victory, Bjorn-Ironside and Hubba, 
 who attempted to land in Devonshire, were 
 killed with many of their followers ; and the news 
 reaching Alfred in his seclusion at Athelney, he 
 
 Alfred's jewel.
 
 104 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 forthwith detunnined u^^uri bolder operations. 
 Disguising himself as a glee-man or minstrel, he 
 stole into the camp of the Danes, and was gladly 
 received by the rude viking chiefs as one who 
 increased their mirth and jollity. And so skill- 
 fully did Alfred maintain his disguise, that none 
 suspected that he was merely playing a part. He 
 was enabled to learn what he desired, the strength 
 and position of the Norsemen ; and having 
 ascertained this, he returned to Athelney, un- 
 scathed and unharmed. 
 
 He now began to gather an army around him, 
 and it was not long before he felt himself strong 
 enough to confront the foe. Sallying forth, he 
 met the Danes at a spot called Ethandune 
 (probably Eddindon, near Westbury), and, after a 
 murderous conflict, the English were left masters 
 of the field. Tliough victorious, however. Alfred 
 could not altogether expel the Danes. He was 
 obliged to cede an extensive territory to the 
 invaders and to Guthrun, their leader; viz., from 
 the mouth of the Lea to its source, thence to 
 Bedford, and along the Ouse to Watling Street, 
 or the ancient Roman road ; and this territory, 
 together with Northumbria, became henceforth 
 known by the name of the Danelagh, or Danelaw.
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 105 
 
 In East Anglia, and in the portions of Essex and 
 Mercia thus ceded, the Danes settled and estab- 
 lished themselves, not as enemies, but as vassals 
 to Alfred. They appear to have become tired of 
 their life of barbarism, Guthrun also embraced 
 Christianity, and the treaty which he made with 
 the English he maintained with integrity. In 
 Northumbria, whilst the English had been 
 induced to accejjt the Danish Guthred as their 
 sovereign, Guthred, in turn, acknowledged the 
 suzerainty of Alfred as his superior lord. He 
 also continued true and faithful. 
 
 Thus Alfred, although he did not succeed in 
 totally subjugating the Danes, by following up 
 the signal advantage he gained at the battle of 
 Ethandune, accomplished great things. In the 
 course of seven years after his restoration, he was 
 acknowledged as paramount monarch of Britain 
 south of the Humber ; Mercia was virtually 
 under his dominion, and Wessex, the wealthiest 
 and best favoured portion of the island, entirely, 
 as well as in name, was under his royal sway. 
 
 Yet, whilst he had made peace with the Norse 
 who had settled in England, Alfred had by no 
 means come to the end of his troubles. The 
 Saxon Chronicle records a series of constantly
 
 lOG BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 recurring attacks from the sea-roving Danes, who 
 continued to harass the coasts. Into the details 
 of these it is unnecessary to enter. But having 
 once become the master of England, Alfred never 
 relaxed his vigilance ; he had London strongly 
 fortified, and constructed a navy. One of the 
 greatest feats of his later life was his victory over 
 the famous Hasting, ablest of all the sea-kings ; 
 whose rout was so complete that he was pleased 
 to escape from England with his life. The 
 campaign against Hasting was the last great 
 military achievement of our Saxon hero. 
 
 (2). The poet and scholar. 
 
 Not only was Alfred the first warrior, but he 
 was also the foremost scholar in his dominions. 
 This may be easily gathered from Asser's interest- 
 ing memoirs. The King was an elegant poet, and 
 wrote numbers of Saxon ballads, which were sung 
 or recited in all parts of the countr}^ In his 
 original poems, the extent of his knowledge is not 
 more surprising than the purity of his taste, and 
 the simple yet classical beauty of his style. It is 
 highly probable that Alfred diligently studied the 
 Latin tono-ue between his twelfth and eio^hteenth 
 years, and that he had a few Latin books with 
 him during his Athelney seclusion. He was
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 107 
 
 accustomed to say that he regretted the imperfect 
 education of his youth, and the want of proper 
 teachers, which barred his intellectual progress. 
 But whatever the difficulties he may have had to 
 surmount (and it is almost impossible to ex- 
 aggerate them), the fact remains that his literary 
 works shew a proficiency in the classic tongue, 
 which appears almost miraculous in a prince in 
 that dark age. It was probably shortly after 
 making peace with Guthrun, that he invited 
 Asser, the learned monk of St. David's, to his 
 court, to assist him in his studies. Asser was a 
 scholar after Alfred's own heart. The monk tells 
 us that the King's first attempt at translation 
 was made upon the Bible, a book which no man 
 ever held in greater reverence than did the 
 princely student. Asser and the King were 
 engaged in pleasant conversation, and it so 
 chanced that the monk quoted a passage from the 
 Bible with which Alfred w^as much struck. At 
 Asser's request the King called for a clean skin 
 of parchment, and this being folded into fours, in 
 the shape of a little book, the passage from the 
 Scriptures was written upon it in Latin, together 
 with other good texts. The monarch, setting to 
 work upon these passages, translated them into
 
 108 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 the Saxon speech. This was the beginning of his 
 translation of the Bible. 
 
 Nothing is more astonishing in the story of the 
 
 the great Eno^lishman than that he could find 
 
 time for literary occupations ; but he was steady 
 
 and persevering, and rigidly systematic. When 
 
 not in the field ao^ainst the Norsemen, his rule was, 
 
 eight hours for sleep, eight for the affairs of state, 
 
 eight for study and devotion. His mind was ever 
 
 open to receive fresh information. He took a 
 
 continued deliofht in obtaininof the details and 
 
 particulars of strange and foreign lands. Before 
 
 Alfred, nothing was practically known of the 
 
 greater outside world by the Anglo-Saxons. 
 
 But the King drew around him a number of bold 
 
 and adventurous spirits, men, who had travelled 
 
 far, and he revelled in the stories which they 
 
 recited of their own experiences, and the 
 
 information which they had gleaned of still more 
 
 remote lands, which they themselves had not 
 
 seen. One of these was Othere, who had been 
 
 far north into the Arctic circle, another was 
 
 Wulfstan, who took a voyage round the Baltic, 
 
 and gathered many strange and interesting facts 
 
 concerning those climes. All the information 
 
 which he collected, the King committed to
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 109 
 
 writing in the plain mother tongue, and in 
 enlarging the text of the Spanish chronicler, 
 Orosius, whose work he translated, he introduced 
 the voyages of Othere and Wulfstan. 
 
 Having heard stories of the east, possibly from 
 Johannes Scotus, who came to his court, and who 
 had been in the far and distant Orient ; and 
 learninof that there were colonies of Christians 
 settled on the coasts of Malabar and Coromandel, 
 Alfred decided to send out his trusted friend, 
 Swithelm, Bishop of Sherburn, to India. 
 Probably his motives were mixed feelings of 
 devotion for Christianity, and a desire for 
 increased geographical knowledge. Anyhow the 
 stout-hearted churchman set out on this, what in 
 those days must have been a tremendous 
 journey ; one which then had probably never 
 been made by any other Englishman before. 
 What is more, he succeeded in reaching India and 
 returning safely back again, bringing with him 
 presents of spices and gems. Thus was Alfred's 
 fame increased, and the existence of England 
 made known, probably for the first time, in that 
 empire where to-day the Saxon holds sovereign 
 sway. 
 
 No Englishman of the Saxon period, except
 
 110 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 the venerable Bede, can be compared with 
 Alfred for the extent and excellence of his 
 writings. His works may be classified into two 
 divisions ; translations from the Latin, and 
 oriofinal works in the mother tontrue. Of the 
 first the chief were, (1) Orosius' History ; (2) St. 
 Gregory's Pastorals; (3) St. Gregory's Dialogues; 
 
 (4) Bede's History ; (5) Boetliiv's Consolations of 
 Philosophy; (6) Laws of the Mercians; (7) 
 Asser's Sentences ; (8) The Psalms of David. Of 
 the second, (1) An Abridgement of Laws of the 
 Trojans, the Greek, the Britons, the Saxons, and 
 the Danes ; (2) Laws of the West Saxons ; 
 (3) Institutes ; (4) A book against unjust Judges ; 
 
 (5) Sayings of the Wise ; (6) A book on the 
 fortunes of Kings ; (7) Parables and Jokes ; (8) 
 Acts of Magistrates; (9) Collection of Chronicles; 
 (10) Manual of Meditations. 
 
 (3). The Law-giver. 
 
 Great as he truly was as a warrior, it was in 
 the arts of peace that Alfred pre-eminently 
 excelled. In every interval of repose allowed by 
 his Norsemen foes, he occupied his mind in 
 devising means for the improvement of the moral 
 and physical condition of the people. He 
 introduced the use of stone for building purposes
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. Ill 
 
 and taught them how to erect houses such as he 
 had seen in Kome and Milan. He never re-built 
 a town without giving it a good capacious school, 
 and he was also a great founder and restorer of 
 churches and monasteries. It is not surprising, 
 therefore, to find that he occupied himself largely 
 with matters pertaining to legislation. When- 
 ever he re-edified a town, he gave the people 
 rules for re-modelling their municipal institutions, 
 thus training them for self-government. As will 
 be perceived from the list given above, his 
 original writings were largely made up of abridge- 
 ments of laws and the like. Of course there had 
 been leo-al codes in existence in Eno-land before 
 the days of Alfred. Ethelbert, King of Kent ; 
 Ina, King of Wessex ; Oflfa, King of Mercia ; 
 besides other, had promulgated codes of law, or 
 dooms ; but all law and order had been destroyed 
 during the dark times of the Danish inroads. 
 Alfred collected the codes of his predecessors, and 
 without apparently adding much of his own, 
 compiled a very intelligible and consistent system 
 of laws, which he submitted to the Witenagemot 
 for sanction. Alfred was not a o^reat advocate of 
 innovation ; as he states, he thought it better to 
 allow an old law to stand in force, even if it were
 
 112 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 somewhat defective, rather than endanger the 
 respect for constituted authority. His ideal 
 was simphcity of construction, combined with 
 impartiahty of administration. According to 
 Asser, he exercised vigilant supervision over the 
 judges ; the courts were improved, and a general 
 leo-al reform took place all round. With that 
 relio^iousness characteristic of the man, and 
 recoofnisinof that if all the divine laws were duly 
 observed, there would be but little necessity for 
 those of human origin, he opened his code with 
 the ten commandments, a selection from the 
 Mosaic precepts, and clauses of the first apostolic 
 councils. "Do these," he said, "and no other 
 doom-book will be needed." 
 
 In summing up Alfred's character it would not 
 be fair to seek to hide his faults. His was not 
 that ideal perfection which some of his panegy- 
 rists would have us believe. He had his faults 
 and failings, some of which adhered to him during 
 the whole of his life. He continued, for instance, 
 more fond of warfare than was consistent with 
 the duty of a Christian monarch. Still, he 
 possessed within him the only germs of real 
 improvement, a consciousness of his own im- 
 perfections and insufficiency. And when we
 
 ALFRED THE GREAT. 113 
 
 compare him with his contemporaries, after 
 making all allowance for his shortcomings, still 
 the true greatness of his character remains 
 untouched. His achievements stand out all the 
 more markedly, when it is considered that all his 
 bodily and mental activities were carried on under 
 the depressing influences of constant ill-health 
 and physical pain. About the age of twenty, he 
 was affected with an inward malady, the nature of 
 which was beyond the knowledge of the 
 physicians of the times. This disease never 
 quitted him, it haunted him life long. 
 
 Whatever his minor faults may have been, no 
 monarch who has had the title of " Great " 
 attached to his name, has ever been more worthy 
 of it. All historians combine in representing him 
 as one of the noblest sovereigns that ever wore a 
 crown. The shepherd of his people, " the 
 darling of the English ; " whose praises the 
 Laureate has lately sung, the industrious prince, 
 expired in the month of November, 901, on the 
 festival of S.S. Simon and Jude, in the fifty-third 
 year of his age, and was buried at Winchester, in 
 a monastery he himself had founded. His 
 memory is still preserved at his native place, 
 Wantage. The site of the royal palace of the
 
 lU BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Wessex kings is pointed out in the High Garden, 
 and a magnificent statue of " Enghmd's darhng," 
 executed by Count Gleichen in Sicihan marble 
 has been presented to the town by Lord Wantage, 
 and erected in the Market Place. Alfred's 
 laurels will not fail while Enofland lasts.
 
 ^be (5uilb5 of Berf^sbire. 
 
 By the Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, m.a., f.s.a. 
 
 IN studying the history of our progress and 
 civihzation, we find no subject more 
 interestinof than the nature and constitution of 
 certain associations which have played no small 
 part in the making of England — the ancient 
 guilds. At one time they exercised almost 
 universal sway, and in small country villages, as 
 well as in the towns and cities, there were few 
 who did not belong to some guild. We find in 
 them the origin of many of the privileges and 
 institutions which we now enjoy ; from them 
 arose the municipal corporations of our towns ; 
 and by them were our trade and commerce 
 protected in times of lawlessness and oppression. 
 
 The whole subject of the early history of guilds 
 is shrouded in obscurity. What was the origin 
 of the early religious guilds ; how the frith guilds 
 came into existence ; the relation of the merchant 
 guilds to the craft guilds ; how far the govern- 
 ment of the town was placed in the hands of the
 
 116 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 former ; and when the merchant guild became the 
 sole governing body, the forerunner of the 
 municipal corporation — all these are questions, 
 the answers to which can only be conjectured. 
 
 The word guild is probably derived from the 
 Saxon word geldan ov gildayi, which means "to 
 pay," and signifies that the members of the 
 association were required to contribute something 
 towards the support of the brotherhood to which 
 they belonged. The early guilds were of the 
 nature of clubs, and consisted of bodies of men 
 united together under oath for their nmtual 
 benefit, and for a common purpose. The 
 character and nature of these clubs differed 
 widely, and I will state as briefly as possible the 
 various kinds of guilds which have existed in our 
 country. In Roman times there were the 
 collegia opificum which were firmly established in 
 this country during the period of the Roman 
 occupation. These colleges were corporations 
 which could hold property, had regular con- 
 stitutions, presidents and senators, treasurers and 
 sub-treasurers, priests and temples. Each had 
 its curia, or senate house, its common a7'ca, or 
 chest, its archives and banners. It constituted a 
 kind of " Sick and Burial Club" for its members,
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 117 
 
 and on two special days — dies violarum and dies 
 roscB — the sodales met at the sepulchre of 
 departed brethren to commemorate their loss, 
 and to deck their tombs with violets and roses, 
 an offering pleasing to the spirit of the manes, 
 at Silchester, when it was a laro-e and flomnshinsf 
 city, there would certainly be such a college or 
 corporation. 
 
 During the Anglo Saxon period guilds certainly 
 flourished in this country, and since Reading was, 
 as Asser states, a royal city, and an important 
 centre of the West Saxon kingdom, there was, 
 doubtless, an Anglo Saxon guild here ; * but few 
 traces of Saxon Reading remain, as the place was 
 completely destroyed by the Danes. When we 
 examine the rules and reo-ulations of the Saxon 
 guilds, we are astonished at the hioh state of 
 civilisation which they disclose. They resembled 
 in some respects our modern friendly societies, 
 and provided a scheme of mutual assurance for 
 the members. I will take the Exeter ofuild for 
 
 ■"' Mr. Coates says tliat the Society of Guild Merchants of Readini^ 
 was undoubtedly very ancient, existing before the foundation of the 
 Abbey, and claiming a charter or grant of privileges from Edward 
 the Confessor. 
 
 This is proved by a statement made by the Mayor and commonalty 
 in time of Richard II., before the king's justices of peace at Reading, 
 in opposition to some of the claims of the Abbot, with whom the 
 authorities of the town were always quarrelling.
 
 118 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 an example, which, as in the case of all these 
 early guilds, was of a religious type. At a 
 meeting held in the city of Exeter " for the sake 
 of God and our souls, that we may make such 
 ordinances as tend to our welfare and security, as 
 well in this life as in that future state which we 
 wish to enjoy in the presence of God, our 
 Judge, therefore, here assembled, we have 
 decreed : — 
 
 " That three stated nieetinjrs shall be held 
 every year, 1st, on Festival of St. Michael the 
 Archangel ; 2nd, on Feast of St. Mary, next 
 following winter solstice ; and 3rd, on Feast of 
 All Saints', which is celebrated after Easter. 
 
 " That at every meeting every member shall 
 contribute two sextaria of barley meal, and every 
 knight, one, together with his quota of honey. 
 
 " That at each meeting a priest shall sing two 
 masses ; one for living, the other for the dead. 
 Every lay brother shall sing two psalms : one for 
 living, and other for departed members. Every- 
 one shall moreover in his turn procure six masses 
 and six psalms, to be sung at his own proper 
 expense. 
 
 ** That when any member is about to go 
 abroad, each of his fellow members shall contribute
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 119 
 
 5d. : and if any member's house shall have been 
 burned, one penny." 
 
 Fines were inflicted for non-attendance, for 
 abusive conduct, and " finally we beseech every 
 member, for God's sake, to observe these things 
 which are ordained in this society, in everything, 
 as we have ordained them, and may God help us 
 to observe them," 
 
 Mr. Toulmin Smith writes thus concerning 
 these old Saxon guilds : — " The early English 
 guild was an institution of local self-help, which, 
 before Poor-laws were invented, took the place, 
 in old times, of the modern friendly societies, but 
 with a higher aim ; while it joined all classes 
 together in a care for the needy, and for objects 
 of common welfare, it did not neglect the form 
 and practice of religion, justice, and morality." 
 
 One of the objects of the London guild (tenth 
 century) was the recovery of stolen stock and 
 slaves, and if these could not be recovered the 
 brethren subscribed to make up the loss to the 
 owner. A horse was valued at |- pound, a cow at 
 20d., a hog at lOd., a sheep at Is., a slave at J 
 pound. If the slave has stolen himself he shall be 
 stoned, and every brother shall subscribe Id. or 
 I'd. to make good the loss. Whether there was
 
 120 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 ever a Danish guild in Reading it is impossible 
 to determine. There was a noted one at 
 Abbotsbury (Dorset), founded by Orcy, a friend 
 of King Canute, 1030 a.d. The guild ordinance 
 is quoted in Kemble's " Saxons in England," 
 p. 511. 
 
 The brcthern were required to contribute wax, 
 bread, wheat, and wood. The wax was for the 
 maintainance of lio^hts in the Minster. Members 
 were required to contribute to the comforts of the 
 dying, and to attend the burial and pray for the 
 souls of departed members. 
 
 We have a picture of later Saxon Reading 
 recorded in the pages of Doomsday Book. It 
 contained only thirty homesteads, with two 
 better class of houses, two mills, and two fisheries. 
 The Danes had attacked it a second time in 1006, 
 and it had not recovered from that disaster ; so in 
 such a small community, although a guild at this 
 period existed, it must have been a very small 
 company indeed. 
 
 But after the Conquest guilds began to 
 multiply, and were established for the purpose of 
 promoting religion, charity, and trade. There 
 were the frith guilds, formed for the promotion of 
 peace, and the establishment of law and order :
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 121 
 
 the religious guilds, which used to hold a festival 
 on the day of the patron saint of the guild, attend 
 church, and perform a miracle play. In the 
 Liber Niger, or Black Booh, of the Corporation 
 of London, there is a description of the 
 anniversary feast of the guild of the Holy Cross 
 at Abingdon. " The fraternity hold their feast 
 on May 3rd, the invention of the Holy Cross ; 
 and then they used to have 12 priests to sing a 
 Dirge, for which they paid 4d. apiece ; thay had 
 also 12 minstrels, who had 2s. 3d. besides their 
 dyet and horse meat. In 1445 they had 6 calves 
 at 2s. 2d. each, 16 lambs at 12d., 80 capons at 
 3d., 80 geese at 2d., 800 eggs which cost 5d. the 
 hundred, and many marrow bones, cream, and 
 flour ; and pageants, plays, and May games to 
 captivate the senses of the beholders." This was 
 a strong and powerful guild, formed in 1389, and 
 incorporated in 1442, being endowed with lands 
 for the purpose of keeping in order the roads 
 between Abingdon and Dorchester, and building- 
 an almshouse. In 1539 they erected an aisle in 
 St. Helen's Church, Abingdon, and also a market 
 cross of freestone, pronounced by Leland "to be 
 not inferior in workmanship to many in England." 
 The hospital of the brotherhood of the Holy
 
 122 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Cross still remains. It was founded in the 
 middle of the fourteenth century, a very 
 interesting low brick and timber house, containing 
 several good paintings. 
 
 Then there were the guilds of the Kalendars, 
 which were principally composed of the clergy, 
 and one of their duties was to keep a public 
 record of events, to superintend and regulate a 
 library open to all citizens, and to explain to 
 those who required such assistance, any difficulties 
 that may arise in these matters. They, too, did 
 not forget the periodical feasts. Then there 
 were social guilds, composed chiefly of laymen, for 
 objects of good fellowship, benovelence, and 
 thrift. 
 
 And now we come to a very important class, 
 the Merchant guilds. These existed in Saxon 
 times, and were formed for promoting the 
 interests of particular trades, for the regulation of 
 industry, for buying and selling ; and very strict 
 were the laws which they enforced, and merciless 
 the restrictions which they placed upon all 
 strangers who presumed to sell goods, and who 
 did not belono^ to the iruild. We shall notice some 
 particular instances of these harsh rules which 
 were in force in the town of Reading.
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 123 
 
 I find in the Report of the Historical 
 Manuscripts Commission that there were five 
 companies of the guild Mercatory at Reading. 
 Originally these companies were separate 
 institutions, which managed their own concerns, 
 and were not concerned with the Municipal 
 Government of the town. There were five wards, 
 each ward having a trade guild attached to it. 
 In course of time the guilds united for common 
 purposes and formed the guild Mercatory, which 
 asked and received charters from various kings, 
 gradually acquired powers, privileges, lands, and 
 property, and ultimately managed the whole 
 municipal business, as well as their own trade 
 concerns. 
 
 In reo-ard to these g^uilds the first was the 
 mercers' and drapers' company, which included 
 the mercers, drapers, haberdashers, potuaries (or 
 dealers in earthenware), chapmen, tailors, and 
 cloth-drawers. 
 
 Of course no one was allowed to engage in any 
 of these trades until he became a member of the 
 guild ; and to become a member he had to pay. 
 The fines for admission varied from £4 for a 
 mercer or draper, to £2 for a tailor. Very 
 minute were the regulations of each guild. For
 
 124 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 example in this case, no "foreigner," not a 
 member of the guild, was allowed to retail cloth 
 in the town ; for each offence he was required to 
 pay 10s. One tradesman might not trespass on 
 the privileges of another tradesman, for no 
 mercer or tailor might retail cloth or woven hose, 
 under penalty of 3s. 4d. each time, for that would 
 interfere with the cloth-makers and haberdashers. 
 No tailor might employ a journeyman to work 
 except he gave him meat, drink, wages, and 
 lodofino^s in his own house. Here is a curious 
 regulation — no haberdasher, not being a freeman, 
 was allowed to sell caps or hats (except straw 
 hats) on forfeiture of 12d. 
 
 The second company was the cutlers and 
 bell-founders company, which included seventeen 
 other trades ; besides cutlers and bell-founders, 
 there were braziers, pewterers, smiths, pinners, 
 barbers, carpenters, joiners, fletchers (arrow- 
 makers), wheelers, basket-makers, coopers, 
 sawyers, bricklayers, card-makers {i.e., wool 
 combers' cards), turners, plumbers, painters, and 
 glaziers. The barbers were subject to special 
 reofulations. No barber who was a stranjxer was 
 allowed to draw teeth in any part of the town 
 except in a barber's shop ; and any barber
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 125 
 
 shaving, triDiming, dressing, or cutting any person 
 on Sunday, except on the four fair days, should 
 forfeit for each time, 12d. 
 
 The following curious bye-law was made 
 by the Corporation in 1443, at the commence- 
 ment of the dispute between the rival Houses 
 of York and Lancaster, and was probably 
 intended to prevent unlawful meetings taking- 
 place under the mask of a barber's shop. "The 
 Mayor and burgesses of Reading, grant and 
 ordain that from this time forward, no barber of 
 Reading open any shop nor shave any man after 
 ten of the clock at night, between Easter and 
 Michaelmas, nor after nine of the clock at night, 
 from Michaelmas to Easter, but if (i.e., except) it 
 be any stranger or worthy man [i.e., gentleman) of 
 this town, he shall pay 300 tiles to the Guildhall 
 of Reading, as often times he is found faulty, to 
 be received by the cofferers for the time being." 
 
 Perhaps some of my readers may be astonished 
 at the peculiar form of this fine. It is not usual 
 to pay fines in this form of tiles ! But it may be 
 accounted for by the fact that thatch was 
 beginning to be superseded by tile roofs. The 
 public buildings were roofed with lead, but almost 
 all private houses were thatched. Hence there
 
 126 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 was much clanger from fire, and the Corporation 
 wisely determined to encourage the employment 
 of a safer material for the roofing of Reading 
 houses. The poor barbers had to pay their fines 
 in tiles, and very soon we find that one John 
 Bristol was fined 2,100 tiles for shaving seven 
 persons contrary to the order, but the number of 
 tiles was reduced to 1,200 on account of his 
 poverty. 
 
 The fine for disobedience or ill-behaviour was 
 often enforced in this curious medium. One 
 John Bristow, in the reign of Henry VI., was 
 fined 4,000 tiles for disobedience to the Mayor, 
 but the fine was reduced to 1,000, with a 
 sufficient quantity of lime. Any person who 
 should quarrel was ordered to pay to the Church 
 of St. Giles, six pounds of wax, and to the 
 Guildhall, 500 tiles. 
 
 The third company was the tanners and leather 
 sellers' company, including also the shoemakers, 
 curriers, glewers, saddlers, jerking sellers, bottle- 
 makers, collar-makers, and cobblers. 
 
 In the rules of this company we find certain 
 regulations which show that while the guild 
 afforded protection to the the tradesmen, it also 
 acted the part of a somewhat severe tyrant.
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 127 
 
 Here is a very severe enactment which might 
 seem somewhat opposed to the freedom of our 
 times. No shoemaker was allowed to make any 
 boots or shoes in any part of the town, but only 
 in Shoemakers' Row, that is to say on the east 
 side of the street, from the Forbury Gate to the 
 Hallowed Brook, under pain of forfeiting 3s. 4d. 
 each time. No one was allowed to go and work 
 where he pleased, but only in the part of the 
 town prescribed by the guild. This company 
 seem to have been the chief promoters of bull 
 baiting and bear baiting, since there is a rule 
 forbidding these sports to be held on the Sabbath 
 day during service, on pain of 12d., to be paid by 
 each householder where the baiting is. 
 
 The fourth company was that of the clothiers, 
 an important industry in old Heading ; and this 
 included the dyers, weavers, sheermen, shuttle- 
 makers, and ash-burners. 
 
 No clothier was allowed to use more than two 
 looms, but Mr. Aldworth, who was a privileged 
 person, might have four. No clothier might 
 weave cloth for another clothier. There are 
 sundry other regulations, which show the severity 
 of the company's laws. 
 
 The victuallers' company embraced the
 
 128 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 vintners, innholders, bakers, brewers, butchers, 
 fishmongers, chandlers, maltmakers, flax-dressers, 
 salters, and wood mongers. 
 
 The rules of this company do not, I believe, 
 appear in the Corporation documents, but from 
 other sources we find that the members of the 
 guild were strictly enjoined to observe Lent, and 
 were forbidden to kill or dress meat in that 
 season without a license fn)m the Abbot. Also 
 to prevent imposition on the part of the 
 publicans, two ale tasters were appointed to set 
 the price of beer. The Corporation in former 
 days performed a duty from which the present 
 members of the municipal council would doubtless 
 shrink. It assumed the power of regulating the 
 price of such articles as beer and bread. In the 
 time of Edward VI. a quart of best beer could be 
 obtained for id. 
 
 These, then, were the five companies which 
 formed the old guild Mercatory of Reading. 
 They did not form (as Mr. Man says in his 
 History of the town) "a society of mechanics and 
 merchants without pretending to interfere in the 
 government of the borough." In fact the guild 
 was rather aristocratic in its tendency, and later 
 on we find that the lower class of tradesfolk
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 129 
 
 formed craft guilds in order to protect the 
 
 interests of the artizans and smaller tradesmen. 
 
 Of these the higher guild was very jealous, and 
 
 frequently exerted its power to oppress the 
 
 craftsmen and their guild. In the history of 
 
 nearly every borough we find instances of 
 
 contention and jealousies between the two bodies. 
 
 One instance of this occurred in the year 1662, 
 
 ' ' when the cobblers petition to the Corporation 
 
 against the shoemakers for mending and repairing 
 
 old ware in violation of the ancient orders of the 
 
 borouofh." 
 
 It seems strangle to us to think of the time 
 
 when a man could not sell what he liked, or live 
 
 where he liked, or work at any trade he pleased ; 
 
 but such freedom was impossible under the old 
 
 guilds. No one could ply his trade in a town 
 
 unless he was a freeman of the company ; e.g., 
 
 "in July, 1545, one Robert Hooper, a barber, 
 
 being a foreigner, was this day ordered to be 
 
 gone out of the town at his peril, with his wife 
 
 and children," and the town sergeants were 
 
 ordered to shut up his shop and see poor Robert 
 
 Hooper and his wife beyond the borough 
 
 boundaries. And the distinction between the 
 
 various trades, between the carpenters and 
 
 9
 
 130 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 joiners, between the joiners and sawyers, and as 
 we have seen between cobblers and shoemakers, 
 and the privileges of each class were jealously- 
 guarded. Absurd as these restrictions were, the 
 early guilds contributed greatly to the making of 
 England, Green thus writes of them : — " In the 
 silent growth and elevation of the English people 
 the borough led the way. The rights of self- 
 government, of free speech in free meeting, of 
 equal justice by one's equals, were brought safe 
 across the ages of Norman tyranny by the 
 traders and shopkeepers of the towns. In the 
 quiet, quaintly-named streets, in town mead, and 
 market place, in the Lord's mill besides the 
 stream, in the bell that sounded out its summons 
 to the borough moot, in the jealousies of 
 craftsmen and guilds, lay the real life of 
 Englishmen, the life of their home and trade, 
 their ceaseless sober struggle with oppression, 
 their steady unwearied battle for self-government." 
 
 Again, speaking of the policy of Edward I., 
 who built up the power of the towns in view of 
 checking the lawless tendencies of the barons, he 
 says : — 
 
 " The bell which swung out from the town 
 tower slathered the buro^esses to a common
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 131 
 
 meeting, where they could exercise their rights of 
 free speech and free deliberation on their own 
 affairs. Their merchants' guild, over its ale-feast, 
 regulated trade, distributed the sums due from 
 the different burgesses, looked to the repair of 
 the gate and wall, and acted in fact pretty much 
 the same part as a Town Council of to-day. Not 
 only were all these rights secured by custom from 
 the first, but they were constantly widening as 
 time went on. Whenever we get a glimpse of 
 the inner history of an English town, we find the 
 same peaceful revolution in progress, services 
 disappearing through disuse or omission, while 
 privileges and immunities were being purchased 
 in hard cash. The lord of the town, whether he 
 were king, abbot, or baron, was commonly 
 thriftless or poor, and the capture of a noble, or 
 the campaign of a sovereign, or the building of 
 some new minster by a prior, brought about an 
 appeal to the thrifty burghers, who were ready to 
 fill again their master's treasury, at the price of a 
 strip of parchment, which gave them freedom of 
 trade, of justice, and of government. For the 
 most part the liberties of our towns were bought 
 in this way by sheer hard bargaining." 
 
 We have observed the numerous charters
 
 132 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 granted to Reading. The charter of Henry III., 
 to which his successor refers, is the earliest 
 known one, and in that we find the words : — 
 
 " Henry, by the grace of God, King of 
 England, etc., to all archbishops, bishops, abbots, 
 earls, barons, etc., greeting. Know ye that we 
 will, and command for ourself and our heirs, that 
 all the burgesses of Reading who hclonrj to the 
 guild Merdiant in Reading may be for ever free 
 from all shires and hundred courts, and from all 
 pleas, complaints, tolls, passages, ways, carriage 
 ways, and that they may buy and sell wheresoever 
 they will throughout all England, without paying 
 toll, and no one may disturb them under 
 forfeiture of 10 marks." This was confirmed by 
 Edward I., and by successive kings. These 
 charters were granted to the guild, the immediate 
 predecessor of the corporation, the " warden " of 
 the guild ultimately being called the '" mayor." 
 
 But there was a great opponent to the rights 
 and freedom of the trood citizens of Readinof in 
 the person of the high and mighty Lord Abbot. 
 Referring to the original charter of the abbey 
 granted by Henry I., we see what extensive sway 
 was placed in the hands of the abbot. He ruled 
 Reading with a powerful hand, and when a
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 133 
 
 former mayor of this town, in the time of Henry 
 VI., thought he would hke to have a mace 
 carried before him as a badge of office, the abbot 
 objected. The mayor appealed to the Crown, but 
 he was told it was contrary to the franchise and 
 liberties of our church and monastery, that he 
 was only a keeper of the guild at Reading, 
 admitted by the abbot, and might only have " two 
 tipped staffs " carried before him as a badge of 
 office. 
 
 The extensive powers given to the abbot 
 produced constant struggles for power between 
 the guild and the ecclesiastical rulers. Some- 
 times they even came to blows, and the 
 townsmen often assaulted the abbot's bailiffs in 
 the execution of their duty. The men of 
 Reading were cited in the reign of Henry III., 
 1243, to show what warrant they had for any 
 privileges which they claimed as members of the 
 o'uild. The sheriff of Berks received a strict 
 injunction to prevent the men of Reading from 
 interfering with the abbot's lawful rights. Two 
 years later "a final and endly concord" was 
 established between the contending parties, but in 
 1351, the dispute revived; quarrels arose about 
 the election of a constable for the town, and the
 
 134 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 contention was not settled for 200 j^ears. In 1 430, 
 abbot Henley seized from the guild the out- 
 butchery, or shambles, used by butchers not living 
 in the town, which was another bone of contention. 
 
 The abbot received part of the fines paid by 
 those who wished to become freemen of the guild. 
 He received a fine of 5d. , called chepin-gravel yearly 
 from every member. He exercised criminal juris- 
 diction, tried prisoners, admitted and selected the 
 warden or mayor, and in many ways held powerful 
 sway over the good folk of this ancient borough. 
 
 But the day came when his power ceased, and 
 the abbey was dissolved. By degrees the guild 
 obtained more power, but the Reformation shook 
 the fabrics of the old guilds of England, and they 
 found that they had only exchanged masters, and 
 that the new master was rather more masterful 
 than the old, requiring inventories of guild plate, 
 lands, and revenues, and appropriating much of 
 their superfluous wealth to his own exchequer.* 
 
 * ir)4.") — By Statute 37 Henry VIII., An Act for dissolution of 
 colleges, it was recited that divers colleges, free chapels, chantries, 
 hospitals, fraternities, brotherhoods, guilds, and stipendary priests, 
 " having perpetuity for ever," had misapplied the possessions thereof 
 in various ways ; and it was then enacted that all the same be dissolved 
 and the proceeds applied for supporting the king's expenses in wars, 
 etc. , and for the maintenance of the crown, etc. 
 
 The advisers of Edward VI. promptly availed themselves of this as 
 a pretext for plunder.
 
 THE GUILDS OF BERKSHIRE. 135 
 
 In the time of Queen Elizabeth, the guild 
 merchant, the chrysalis, broke its shell, and 
 became the full- winged corporation of mayor and 
 burgesses, although its place of meeting was still 
 called the Guildhall, and was situated somewhere 
 near the Hallowed Brook, where the worthy 
 brethren were often disturbed in their delibera- 
 tions by the Laundry women " beating their 
 battledores," which was the approved style of 
 washing clothes in those days. Subsequently the 
 old Church of Grey Friars became the Guildhall 
 until the old building was erected, from whose 
 ashes the modern Town Hall phcenix-like arose. 
 
 The old burgesses, or members of the guild, 
 were very provident. In time of Queen Mary it 
 was ordered that every burgess should pay 20s. 
 over and above his accustomed fine, as a fund for 
 the relief of burgesses in old age or want. 
 
 Berkshire has not been remarkable for its 
 ofuilds. The g'uild of the brotherhood of the 
 Holy Cross at Abingdon has been already 
 mentioned. At Maidenhead we find a guild 
 incorporated in 1351, probably for the purpose of 
 keeping in repair the bridge over the Thames, 
 one of the most ancient in the county. This 
 corporation was called "the Fraternity or Guild
 
 136 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 of the Brothers and Sisters of" ]\Iai(leiihythe," 
 Of minor guilds there would be exam})les in 
 almost every village and town, but no records of 
 them remain. The guilds of Reading are the 
 only ones of real importance ; and I have 
 attempted to point out the chief points of 
 interest in connection with their sfrowth and 
 development, and to describe brieflv the orioin of 
 these institutions which played so important a 
 part in the making of England.
 
 Sbc ScoiuiiiG of the Mbite Ibcrse. 
 
 By E. R. Gardiner, m.a. 
 
 THE stor}^ of our village feasts, and of the 
 way in which the rude forefathers of the 
 hamlet were wont to enjoy themselves, forms a 
 chapter in our manners and customs which 
 cannot but have considerable interest to the 
 student of bygone times. One of the most 
 interesting relics of this kind pertains to the 
 County of Berks. Upon White Horse Hill in 
 that county, there used to be celebrated at stated 
 intervals a feast knowm throughout the country- 
 side as "The Scourinof of the White Horse." 
 This has been so admirably and exhaustively 
 treated by Judge Hughes, Q.C. (Tom Brown) in 
 his well-known book on the subject that it is 
 almost hopeless for anyone writing on the same 
 topic to do otherwise than follow in his wake. 
 
 A few words on the history of the White 
 Horse of Berkshire seem necessary as an 
 introduction to the subject, although its origin, 
 like that of the old historic earldom of Mar,
 
 138 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 seems to be lost in the mists of antiquity. 
 White Horse Hill is the highest point of the 
 range of chalk hills which the traveller by rail 
 sees on his left hand as he journeys down the 
 Great Western Railway between Didcot and 
 Swindon, and is plainly seen as he approaches 
 Uffington Station. Its summit reaches the 
 height of 856 feet, and commands an extensive 
 view over wdiat is known as the Vale of White 
 Horse, no less than eleven counties being, so it is 
 said, visible therefrom. It derives its name from 
 the rude figure of a horse cut out in the chalk on 
 the north-west side of the hill, some 374 feet 
 long, and with its outline marked by trenches ten 
 feet wide, cut tw'o or three feet deep in the turf 
 to the white subsoil. A very common tradition 
 ascribes its formation to King Alfred, in memory 
 of his decisive victory over the Danes at the 
 battle of ^cesdun, somethins: over a thousand 
 years ago. The tradition has no doubt arisen 
 from the fact that the Saxon standard was a 
 White Horse, the well-known names of Hengist 
 and Horsa being probably mere forms of this 
 ensign. If this were the only turf carving of a 
 similar character to be found in England, there 
 might be a good deal to say in favour of this
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. 139 
 
 tradition. But such figures are not rare, and 
 some of them have, for cogent reasons into 
 which we have not space to enter, been attributed 
 to times far more remote than those of Saxon 
 and Dane. With regard to this particular 
 turf-carving, although we may allow the horse to 
 have been the Saxon standard, and that King- 
 Alfred, in setting up " his banner for a token," 
 would only have been following ancient practice, 
 yet, plausible as this may sound, it would have 
 been far more in accordance with what we might 
 have expected had he set up a cross to com- 
 memorate his victory. In fact, not so very far 
 away, in the halmet of Monks Risborough in the 
 Chiltern Hills, there is a hill figure of a cross, 
 nearly a hundred feet in height, which, with 
 quite as good if not better reason, is conjectured 
 to be a memorial set up by Alfred, to record a 
 victory over the Danes at Bledlow. And further, 
 the fio-ure of a horse as a bado^e or device is far 
 older than Saxon times, for on a coin of Cunobelin 
 (the Cymbeline of Shakespeare), who reigned in 
 Britain, a.d. 40, the figure of a horse on its 
 reverse is very similar to the turf-carving with 
 which we are dealing. Indeed, there is much 
 more in favour of these hill-side figures being of a
 
 140 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 date far anterior to Saxon or Roman times. For 
 to the ri<A\t below White Horse Hill is a hiofh 
 mound known as the Dragon Hill upon a piece of 
 ground at the top of which grass does not grow. 
 Here was ample scope for a tradition, which, 
 coupled with the name of the Hill, developed into 
 the story that this was the identical spot on 
 which St. George (or "King Gaarge," according 
 to the rustics) slew the Dragon, and that no 
 verdure ever grew on the place over which its 
 poisonous blood flowed. But unfortunately this 
 derivation collapses when it is found that the 
 name of the Hill should be Pend-ragon, which, in 
 Celtic, signifies "Chief of Kings," and was, as 
 Mr. Wise points out in his letter to Dr. Mead, 
 written in 1736, the common appellation of a 
 British King constituted such by vote in times of 
 public distress. Thus, as we learn from Caesar's 
 Commentaries Cassibelan was chosen Pendragon 
 by the allies at the time of Julius Caesar's invasion. 
 So much then for the history and traditions of 
 the White Horse. 
 
 The festival called the "Scouring," about 
 which we are more immediately concerned, is, 
 comparatively speaking, a manageable subject, 
 although the aforementioned Mr. Wise, writing
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. 141 
 
 150 years ago, speaks of it as a ceremony, which, 
 '^from time immemorial has been solemnized by a 
 numerous concourse of people from all the 
 villages round about." The importance which he 
 attaches to it seems to us at this time of day a 
 trifle exaggerated, for, after appealing to all 
 persons who have a regard for ancient customs 
 whether such a solemnity would not deserve the 
 countenance of the nobility and gentry, a 
 sentiment in which many will heartily join, he 
 goes on to suggest that if the festival were 
 solemnized at regular intervals, say of four years, 
 the common people would use it as a mode of 
 reckoning their time, which would then very 
 properly be done by speaking of the 2nd, 3rd, or 
 4th year of the Scouring of the Horse : and not 
 only this, but the worthy author goes on to say 
 he should not despair of its creating a new era 
 in English history, viz.. The Restoration of the 
 Saxon Olympics. Here surely we have enthusiasm 
 ofone mad. 
 
 The first Scourinf^, according: to Judoe Husfhes, 
 Q.c. (who is really tlie authority par excellence on 
 the subject), about which there is any authentic in- 
 formation, was held in 1755, and the sports then 
 appeared to be pretty much the same as those held
 
 142 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 about a century later. The chief prize for back- 
 sword play, or cudgel play, as it was sometimes 
 called, was won by a stranger, who appeared in the 
 garb of a gentleman, and who held his own against 
 all the old " gamesters," as the backsword players 
 who had won or shared a first prize at any revel, 
 were then called. As soon as he had won the 
 prize, he jumped on his horse, and rode off. 
 There was some speculation as to who he might 
 be, and presently it was whispered about that he 
 was Tim Gibbons, of Lambourn, who had not 
 been seen for some years, and about whom some 
 strange stories had been afloat. A descendant of 
 his, a native of Wodstone, a village which nestles 
 at the foot of the White Horse, gave the following 
 account of his ancestor : — " Timothy Gibbons, my 
 great-grandvather, you see, sir, foller'd black- 
 smithing at Lambourn, till he took to highway 
 robbin', but I can't give 'ee no account o' when or 
 wher'. Arter he'd been out, maybe dree or vour 
 year, he and two companions cum to Bay don ; 
 and whilst hidinof theirselves and waitings their 
 hopes in a barn, the constables got ropes round 
 the barn-yard and lined 'em in. Then all dree 
 drawed cuts* who was to go out fust and face the 
 
 * Drew lots.
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. 143 
 
 constables, It fell to Tim's two companions to go 
 fust, but their hearts failed 'em, and they wouldn't 
 go. So Tim cried out as ' he'd show 'em what a 
 Englishman could do,' and mounted his hos and 
 drawed his cutlash, and cut their lines a-two, and 
 galloped off clean away ; but I understood as 
 t'other two was took. Arter that, maj^be a year 
 or two, he cum down to a pastime on White Hoss 
 Hill, and won the prize at backs wording ; and 
 when he took his money, fearing lest he should be 
 knowed, he jumped on his hoss under the stage, 
 and galloped right off, and I don't know as he 
 ever cum again to these parts. Then I've under- 
 stood as things thrve wi' "un as 'um will at times, 
 sir, wi' they sort o' chaps, and he and his com- 
 panions built the inn called ' The Magpies ' on 
 Hounslow Heath ; but I dwon't know as ever he 
 kep' the house hisself, except it med ha' been for 
 a short while. Howsomever, at last he was took 
 drinking at a public house somewheres ujj Houns- 
 low way, wi' a companion, who played a crop wi' 
 'un, and I b'liev' a' was hanored at Newoate. But 
 I never understood as he killed anybody, sir, and 
 a'd used to gie some o' the money as he took to 
 the poor, if he know'd they was in want." 
 
 The next Scouring, of which there seems to be
 
 144 BYGONE BEllKSHTRE. 
 
 any record, took place in 1776, concerning which 
 the following printed handbill was published : — 
 
 "White Horse Hill, Bkrks, 1776. 
 
 The scowf:ring and cleansing of the White Horse is 
 tixed for ^Monday, the 27th day of May ; on which day a 
 Silver Cup will he run for near White Horse Hill, by 
 any horse, &c., that never run for anything, carrying 11 
 stone, the best of 3 two-mile heats, to start at 10 o'clock. 
 
 Between the heats will be run for by poneys a Saddle 
 Bridle and Whip ; the best of 3 two mile heats, the 
 winner of 2 heats will be entitled to the saddle, the 
 second best the Bridle, and the third the Whip. 
 
 The same time a Thill Harness will be run for by cart 
 horses, itc, in their harness and bells, the carters to ride 
 in smock frocks without saddles, crossing and jostling, 
 but no whipping allowed. 
 
 A. Flitch of Bacon to be run for by asses, 
 
 A good Hat to be run foi- by nieti in sacks, every man 
 to bring his own sack. 
 
 A Waistcoat, 10s. 6d. \alue, to be given to the person 
 who shall take a bullet out of a tub of flour with his 
 mouth in the shortest time. 
 
 A cheese to be run for down the White Horse Manger. 
 
 Smocks to be run for by ladies, the second best of each 
 prize to be entitled to a Silk Hat. 
 
 Cudgel playimj for a i/old-laced Hat and a pair of 
 Vjuckskin Breeches, and Wr^sfHng for a pair of silver 
 Buckles and a pair of Pumps, 
 
 The horses to be on the White Horse Hill by nine 
 o'clock. 
 
 No less than four horses, ttc, or asses to start for any 
 of the above prizes,"
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. 145 
 
 Then came a Scouring on Whit Monday, May 
 15th, 1780, and of the doinofs on that occasion 
 there is the following notice in the Reading 
 Mercury, of May 22nd, 1780 : — ^" The ceremonj^ of 
 scowerino- and cleansing: that noble monument of 
 Saxon antiquity, the White Horse, was celebrated 
 on Whit Monday, with great joyous festivity. 
 Besides the customary diversions of horse racing, 
 foot races, etc., many uncommon rural diversions 
 and feats of activity were exhibited to a greater 
 number of spectators than ever assembled on any 
 former occasion. Upwards of thirty thousand 
 persons were present, and amongst them most of 
 the nobility and gentry of this and the neigh- 
 bouring counties ; and the whole \vas concluded 
 without any material accident. The origin of this 
 remarkable piece of antiquity is variously related ; 
 but most authors describe it as a monument to 
 perpetuate some signal victory, gained near the 
 spot, by some of our most ancient Saxon princes. 
 The space occupied by this figure is more than an 
 acre of ground." 
 
 There was also a list of the games, 
 
 which was the same as that in 1776, excepting 
 
 that in addition there was "a jingling-match 
 
 by eleven blind-folded men, and one unmasked 
 
 10
 
 146 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 and hung' with bells, for a pair of buckskin 
 breeches." 
 
 An old man, William Townsend by name, 
 whose father, one Warman Townsend, had run 
 down the manger after the fore-wheel of a 
 waggon, and won the cheese at this scouring 
 told the story, as his father had told it to him, 
 how that "eleven on 'em started, and amongst 
 'em a sweep chimley and a millurd ; and the 
 millurd tripped up the sweep chimley and made 
 the soot flee a good 'un;" and how "the wheel 
 ran pretty nigh down to the springs that time." 
 
 The next Scouring seems to have been held in 
 1785, concerning which one William Ayres of 
 Uffington, aged about 84 years, in 1857 made the 
 following statements: — "When I were a buoy 
 about ten years old I remembers I went up 
 White Hoss Hill wi' my vather to a pastime. 
 A'ather'd brewed a barrel o' beer to sell on the 
 Hill— a deal better times than now — Augh ! 
 bless 'ee, a man medn't brew and sell his own beer 
 now : and oftentimes he can't jxet nothin' fit to 
 drink at thaay little beer-houses as is licensed, 
 nor at some of the public-houses too for that 
 matter. But 'twur not only for that as the times 
 wur better then — But I be g-anderingr shure
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. 147 
 
 enouofh, — well now, there wur Varmer Mifflin's 
 mare run for and won a new cart-saddle and thill- 
 tugs — the mare's name wur Duke. As many as 
 a dozen or moor horses run, and they started 
 from Idle's bush, which were a vine owld tharnin'- 
 tree in thay days — a very nice bush. They 
 started from Idle's bush, as I tell 'ee, and raced 
 up to the Rudge-waay ; and Varmer Mifflin's 
 mare had it all one way, and beeat all the t'other 
 on 'um holler. The pastime then wur a good 'un 
 a w^onderful sight o' folk of all sorts, rich and 
 poor. John Morse of Uffington, a queerish sort 
 of a man, grinned agin another chap droo' hos 
 collars, but John got beeat — a fine bit o' spwoort 
 to be shure, and meead the volks laaf Another 
 geeam wur to bowl a cheese down the Mainger, 
 and the first as could catch 'un had 'un. The 
 cheese was a tough 'un and held together, a did 
 I assure 'ee, but thaay as tasted 'un said a warn't 
 very capital arter all. Then were running for a 
 peg too, and they as could ketch 'un and hang 'un 
 up by the tayl had 'un. The girls, too run races 
 for smocks — a deal of pastime to be sure. Then 
 wur climmin' a grasy pole for a leg of mutton, 
 too : and backsoordin', and wrastlin', and all that, 
 ye knows. A man by the name of Blackford,
 
 148 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 from the low countries, Zumraersetshire, or that 
 waay soraevveres, he won the prize, and wur 
 counted the best hand for years arter, and no 
 man couldn't break his yead ; but at last, nigh on 
 about twenty years arter, I'll warn 'twer — at 
 Shrin'um Revel, Harry Stanley, the landlord o' 
 the Blawin Stwun, broke his yead, and the low- 
 country men seemed afeard o' Harry round about 
 here for lono^ arter that, Varmer Smallbwones, 
 of Sparsholt, a mazin' stout man, and one as 
 scarce no one, go where 'a would, could drow down, 
 beeat all the low-country chaps at wrastlin', and 
 none could stan' agean 'un. And so he got the 
 neam o' Varmer Great-Bwones. 'Twur only 
 when he got a drap o' beer a leetle too zoon, as 
 he were drowed at wrastlin', but they never 
 drowed 'un twice, and he had the best men come 
 agean 'un for miles. This wur the first pastime 
 as I well remembers, but there med ha' been 
 some afore, for all as I knows. I ha' got a good 
 memorandum, and minds things well when I wur a 
 buoy, that I does, I ha' helped to dress the White 
 Hoss myself, and a deal o' work 'tis to do 't, as 
 should be, I can assure 'ee. About Claay Hill, 
 'twixt Fairford and Ziziter, I've many a time looked 
 back at 'un, and a' looks as nat'ral as a pictur'. "
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. U9 
 
 , Between 1785 and 1803 there were probably 
 at least two Scourings about which no reliable 
 information seems to have been obtained. 
 
 At the Scouring^ of 1803 Beckingham of 
 Baydon won the prize at wrestling ; Flowers and 
 Ellis from Somersetshire won the prize at back- 
 sword play ; the waiter at the Bell Inn, 
 Faringdon, won the cheese race and at jumping 
 in sacks ; and Thomas Street of Niton won the 
 prize for grinning through horse-collars, but it 
 was said " a man from Woodlands would ha' 
 beeat, only he'd got no teeth. This geaam made 
 the congregation laaf 'mazingly." 
 
 Then came a Scouring in 1808, at which the 
 Hanney men came came down in a strong body 
 and made sure of winning the prize for wrestling. 
 But all the other o'amesters leao^ued ao^ainst them, 
 and at last their champion. Belcher, was thrown 
 by Fowler of Baydon. Two men, "with very 
 shiny top-boots, quite gentlemen, from London," 
 won the prize for back-sword play, one of which 
 gentlemen was Shaw, the Lifeguardsman, said to 
 be a Wiltshire man himself, who afterwards died 
 at Waterloo. A new prize was given at this 
 pastime, viz., a gallon of gin or half-a-guinea for 
 the woman who would smoke most tobacco in an
 
 150 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 hour. Only two gipsy-women entered, and it 
 seems to have been a very blackguardly business, 
 but it is the only instance of the sort on record. 
 
 There seems to be some doubt as to the date of 
 the next Scouring, which was either in 1812 or 
 1813, but Judee Hu«:hes thinks it was most, 
 probably in the latter year, because the clerk of 
 Kingston Lisle, an old Peninsula man, told him 
 that he was at home on leave in that year, and 
 that there was to be a Scouring, and all the 
 people were talking about it when he had to go 
 back to the wars. At this Scouring there was a 
 prize of a loaf, made out of a bushel of flour, for 
 running up the Manger, which was won by Philip 
 New, of Kingston-in-the-Hole, who cut the great 
 loaf into pieces at the top, and sold the pieces for 
 a penny a piece. The low-country men won the 
 first backsword prize, and one Ford, of Ashbury, 
 the second ; and the Baydon men won the prize 
 for wrestling. One Henry Giles had wrestled 
 for the prize, but it is supposed took too much 
 beer afterwards ; at any rate he fell into the canal 
 on his way home, and was drowned. 
 
 The next Scouring, about which any record is 
 found, did not take place till 1825, and it seems 
 to have been the largest gathering there has ever
 
 THE SCOURING OF THE WHITE HORSE. 151 
 
 been. The games were held at the Seven Barrows, 
 which are distant two miles in a south-easterly- 
 direction from the White Horse, instead of in 
 Uffington Castle, for some reason which does not 
 appear. These seven barrows are popularly- 
 supposed to be the burial places of the principal 
 men who were killed at Ashdown. 
 
 After this there was no Scouring till 1838, 
 when, on the 19th and 20th of September, the old 
 custom was revived under the patronage of Lord 
 Craven. The Reading Mercury says that no 
 more auspicious year could have been chosen for 
 the revival "than that in which out youthful and 
 beloved Queen first wore the British Crown, and 
 in which an heir was born to the ancient and 
 noble house of Craven, whom God preserve." 
 
 The next took place in September, 1843, about 
 which it is recorded that the Berkshire and 
 Wiltshire men, under Joe Giles, of Shrivenham, 
 got the better of the Somersetshire men led by 
 Simon Stone at backsword play ; and then were 
 two men who came down from London, who won 
 the wrestling prize awa}?- from the countrymen. 
 There seems to have been some difficulty in 
 getting the elephant's caravan up the Hill, for 
 Wombwell's menagerie came down for the
 
 152 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Scouring", and, though four-aiid-twenty horses 
 were put to, it stuck fast four or five times. 
 It does not seem to have struck the Berkshire 
 folk that it would have been simpler to turn the 
 elephant out and make him pull his own caravan 
 
 In September, 1857, was celebrated the festival 
 so admirably described by Judge Hughes in his 
 book, "The Scouring of the White Horse," to 
 which we would refer our readers. 
 
 Of subsequent Scourings there is little or no 
 record, village festivals having fallen gradually 
 into disuse through the advent of railways and 
 other means of communication with the outer 
 world. The last took place in 1892, and was 
 undertaken at the sole expense of Lady Craven, 
 of Ashdown Park, the Horse having become so 
 obliterated by neglect that its outline could 
 scarcely be traced even at a few miles distance. 
 It was unaccompanied by any festivities whatever.
 
 cTbc %aei ot tbc Bbbote. 
 
 THERE are few sadder stories than that of 
 Hugh Farringdon, 31st mitred abbot of 
 the great Abbey of Reading, One of the fore- 
 most ecclesiastics in the kingdom at the time of 
 his terrible death, even in Henry VIII.'s reign 
 of terror, few men fell so' far, so suddenly, and so 
 fatally. 
 
 An Abbot of Reading was a member of the 
 House of Lords. He had a revenue with his 
 abbey, amounting to well nigh £20,000 per 
 annum at the present day ; one of the most 
 charming country residences conceivable at 
 Pangbourne, Bere Place, which still retains some 
 few relics of its abbot owners ; and, in the abbey 
 itself; an abode whose magnificence, even amidst 
 those grand ruins, we very feebly realise. The 
 abbey precincts were at least thirty acres, in the 
 midst of which the great church arose in size and 
 grandeur not far short of that of Canterbury 
 Cathedral itself. 
 
 The earlier portion of his abbacy seems to have
 
 154 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 been tranquil and happy. We read of no such 
 grave disputes as in the ease of Abbot Thorne. 
 That 28th abbot seems to have carried fully out 
 his name and crest. He was a thorn in many 
 sides. We read of bitter complaints how he seized 
 on the revenues of the Hospital for Poor Widows, 
 and appropriated them to the uses of the Almoner 
 of the abbey, and not content with this, laid hands 
 also on St. Edmond's Chapel, which then stood 
 at the end of Friar Street, which he made into a 
 barn. 
 
 The 31st abbot was a very different man from 
 the 28th. He had more of Mary than of Martha 
 in him, as an old chronicler remarks somewhere 
 of somebody else. There is reason to believe 
 that he was a most amiable character. Mr. Kelly 
 in his History of St. Lawrence has discovered the 
 following interesting record of him amongst the 
 receipts for pew rents : — 
 
 " 1520. Setis — Item of my lord abbot for his inoder's 
 sete iiij d." 
 
 " A touching entry," says Mr. Kelly ; Hugh Faringdon, on 
 his promotion to the abbey, though a man of humble 
 extraction, did not forget to provide for the comfort of 
 his poor aged mother." 
 
 It is true Leland speaks of him as an " illiterate 
 monk." " Hugh Cook was a stubborn monk,
 
 THE LAST OF THE ABBOTS. 155 
 
 absolutely without learning." Of course he was 
 a monk, that goes without saying. With regard 
 to his " stubbornness," there may be two opinions. 
 As for being " absolutely without learning," he 
 appears to have been one of those admirable in 
 every age, who have raised themselves from a low 
 rank to a high one by sheer force of character. 
 A poor boy may still become Lord Chancellor or 
 Archbishop of Canterbury. 
 
 He appears not to have had educational 
 advantages. He deplores this in a letter of 
 nmch dignified modesty. He had occasion to 
 correspond with the University of Oxford. The 
 Oxford authorities seem to have been in need of 
 some stone from a quarry of the abbey, and had 
 addressed a polite request to him. He "returns 
 thanks to the University for considering him in 
 the number of those learned persons who had 
 been members of that learned body," but speaks 
 of himself as one who had not the least pretences 
 to that character. He styles himself a man of 
 no erudition ; laments that the fates had denied 
 him the advantages of instruction in his youth, 
 and states that he is still anxious to become a 
 member of the University, and apply himself to 
 that course of study which would suit his
 
 156 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 capacity, now become dull and feeble by length 
 of years. 
 
 He was evidently a patron of learned men. 
 Leonard Cox, Master of the Reading School, 
 which, thanks to Henry VII., had been estab- 
 lished in St. Lawrence's Hospice rescued from 
 Abbot Thorne, dedicates his "Art of Rhetorick," 
 1539, to this last of the abbots. 
 
 He seems also to have been a good adminis- 
 trator, and an active magistrate, and we read of 
 him as taking his place at the Bench at 
 "Okingham," on 11th July, 1534, as one of the 
 Justices of the Peace for the county. More 
 than this he was a reliofious man. He took 
 care that the Bible was read daily in the abbey. 
 Dr. London, one of the commissionaries for 
 dissolving the Monastery and Friary, reports to 
 his superior, Lord Cromwell : — 
 
 "They have a gudde lecture in scripture daily redde in 
 the chapter house, both in Inglishe and Latin, to the 
 which is gudde resort, and the abbot is at it himself." 
 
 When the commissioners arrived, he does not 
 seem to have opposed them, or held back any- 
 thing. Dr. London at first reports favourably : — 
 
 " I have requested of my lord abbot the relics of his 
 house, which he seledeted unto me with gudde will. 1
 
 THE LAST OF THE ABBOTS. 157 
 
 have taken an inventory of them, and have locked them 
 up beside the high altar, and have the key in my keeping, 
 and they be ready at your lordship's commandment." 
 
 Abbot Hiig-h made no resistance, and it mio-ht 
 have been supposed the abbey would have escaped 
 at least as well as the Friary ; the Grayfriars 
 having nothing to lose, were simply turned out 
 into the street with a scanty pension, and their 
 church given to the town for a town hall. How 
 was it, then, that such a cruel fate overtook the 
 principal monks here, for two others died with 
 Hugh Farington on the same charge of high 
 treason ? Stowe says it was for denying the 
 King's supremacy. 
 
 "The Act of Suppression passed in May, 1539, and 
 in November following he was drawn, hanged, and 
 quartered with two of his monks. The same day the 
 Abbot of Glastonbury was executed, and shortly after 
 the Abbot of Colchester." 
 
 It is here we get a clue, I think, to this 
 extreme severity ; these three leading Church- 
 men had all got involved in a treason plot. The 
 Pilgrimage of Grace had very recently been 
 suppressed. It had been assisted with money 
 by various monasteries, and it would seem that 
 these three great houses were specially com- 
 promised. Froude states this distinctly, speaking
 
 158 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 in the first instance of the Abbot of Glastonbury 
 (History of England, Vol. Ill, ch. IG, p. 240) :— 
 
 "An order went out for enquiry into his conduct, which 
 was to be executed by three of the visitors, Layton, 
 Pollard, and Moyle. On 16 September (1539) they were 
 at Reading, on the 22nd they had arrived at Glastonbury 
 . . . the Abbot was placed in charge of a guard, 
 and sent to London, to the Tower, to be examined by 
 Cromwell himself, when it was discovered that both he 
 and the Abbot of Reading had supplied the northern 
 insurgent with moneys." 
 
 For this there could be no pardon. The 
 insurrection had been too nearly successful. The 
 principal leaders had suffered, and now their three 
 supporters followed. Hugh Faringdon had not 
 allowed the King's supremacy, but this might 
 have been overlooked ; he had been very 
 favourably reported by London to Cromwell. 
 But now the law took its course, that horrible 
 and terrible death assigned to high treason. 
 
 Froude describes the aged Abbot of Colchester 
 drawn through the town that dismal November 
 morning ; dragged to the top of Glastonbury 
 Torre, there hanged, drawn, and quartered. It 
 cannot be doubted that an equally ghastly scene 
 was enacted at Reading. As accomplices 
 in both instances, two monks were executed 
 along with their principal.
 
 THE LAST OF THE ABBOTS. 159 
 
 The execution is supposed to have taken place 
 here in front of- the inner gateway, which sti]l 
 survives, and is a place of resort for the Berkshire 
 Archaeological Society. It may equally well 
 have been at Gallows Common beyond Christ 
 Church which was for long the ordinary place for 
 executions. It would appear from St. Mary's 
 registers that even in the eighteenth century 
 twice in the year batches of prisoners were sent 
 off there to the gallows : if so, the long and sad 
 procession, as at Glastonbury, would traverse the 
 whole length of the town. It was a most awful 
 reverse of fortune. Both in 1532, and in 1535, 
 we read of his receiving a gilt cup from the king 
 as a New Year's present. He had even been on 
 the commission for investigating how a manifesto 
 from the leader of the insurrection in Yorkshire 
 had got into circulation at Reading ; but that 
 fatal gift of money, which Cromwell had traced 
 home to the Abbot of Glastonbury, and also to 
 Abbot Hugh, was an act beyond pardon. He 
 had been the king's favourite abbot, but was now 
 convicted of high treason, and the sentence took 
 its course. 
 
 "He leaves a name which long time will avail 
 To point a moral, and adorn a tale,"
 
 Siege of IReaMiig. 
 
 " Full soon the curse of Civil War 
 Came all our harmless sports to mar : 
 When law and order ceased to reign, 
 And knaves did eat up honest men ; 
 When brother against brother stood 
 And all the land was drenched in blood." 
 
 — " Donniiujton Ca-s</e." 
 
 WHAT a glorious thing must be a victory 
 Sir!" an enthusiastic young lady once 
 exclaimed to the Iron Duke. "The (greatest 
 tragedy in the world," he replied, " Madam, 
 except a defeat!" A siege is bad enough: 
 an interestino- thin^: to read and tell of, 
 but, though it only lasted ten days, an event 
 burned deep into the memories of Reading ; 
 replete with all but ruin to very many of her 
 citizens ; and entirely destroying for all time that 
 town's once famous cloth-trade. As the tide of 
 war ebbed and flowed along the Thames valley, 
 now one side was uppermost, and now the other, 
 and, in either case, it was " woe to the vanquished." 
 One time there were the king's demands, then 
 presently those of the Parliamentary party ; fines 
 followed levied unmercifully on recusants as

 
 SIEGE OF READING. 161 
 
 also loans wrung from, at length, unwilling 
 supporters. A letter, still in the town archives, 
 gives a vivid picture of the position of very many 
 in those days in Berkshire and in Oxfordshire. 
 It is a letter from G. Varney to the Town Clerk 
 of Reading, not dated except from the prison into 
 which the soldiers had cast him : — 
 
 "Going," says Varney, " to mai'ket with a load of corn, the 
 Earl of Manchester's soldiers met with my men, and took 
 away my whole team of horses, letting my cart stand in 
 the field four miles from home ; and I never had them 
 more. When the king's soldiers come to us they call me 
 Roundheaded rogue, and say I pay rent to the Parliament 
 garrison, and they will take it away from me ; and like- 
 wise the Parliament soldiers, they vapour with me, and 
 tell me that I pay rent to Woi'cester and Winchester, 
 therefore the Parliament say they will have the rent." 
 
 Still more pathetic is the petition to Parliament 
 that presently was made: "That, since the time 
 the two armies came into the town, your 
 petitioners have had their sufferings multiplied 
 upon them ; the soldiers going to that height of 
 insolence that they break down our houses and 
 burn them, take away our goods and sell them, 
 rob our markets and spoil them, threaten our 
 magistrates and beat them ; so that, without a 
 speedy redress, we shall be constrained, though to 
 our utter undoing, yet for the preservation of our 
 
 n
 
 162 BYGONE BERKSHIRE 
 
 lives, to forsake our goods and habitations, and 
 leave the town to the will of the soldiers ; who cry 
 out they have no pay, have no beds, have no fire ; 
 and they must and will have it by force, or they 
 will burn down all the houses in the town 
 whatever become of them." 
 
 Such was the state of things which the mayor, 
 with his twelve aldermen and twelve councillors 
 of that day, had to grapple with : and a very 
 difficult niatter, as we shall see, he found it. 
 Thinofs were comino" to a crisis here in 1G43, in 
 the April of which the ten-days' siege occurred ; 
 but they had long been leading up to this. 
 
 In 1636 the town was deeply stirred on the 
 subject of sliip-money ; one party carried a 
 resolution: " The}^ who den}^ payment of ship- 
 money to be proceeded against as the council of 
 the corporation shall direct ;" a little later another 
 party seems to have got the uppermost, and the 
 entry is 1641: "Agreed that those persons 
 within the tow'n which were distressed for 
 ship-money shall have their moneys repaid them." 
 
 At first the Parliamentary Party were in the 
 ascendency; then 1642 came. Edgehill was 
 fought 23rd October, then the king took Banbury, 
 and then marched upon Reading. Henry
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 163 
 
 Martin, m.p., afterwards the regicide, had been 
 appointed by the ParHament governor of Reading; 
 but, upon the royal advance, at once withdrew 
 with his small o-arrison and fled to London. 
 
 o 
 
 The king arrived here on November 4th, from 
 which time matters certainly became sufficiently 
 exciting. 
 
 " The game of Civil War will not allow 
 Bays to the victor's brow. 
 At such a game what fool would venture in, 
 Where one must lose, yet neither side can win ?" 
 
 — Coivley. 
 
 Yet every day saw the game played more 
 and more in earnest. Charles reached Reading, 
 4th November, 1642, having sent on the following 
 missive on the previous day : " Whereas I have 
 received information that the bridge on the river 
 Thames at Causham was lately broke down, our 
 Will and express Command is that ye immediately 
 upon sight hereof cause the said bridge to be 
 rebuilt, and made strong and fit for the passage 
 of our army by time 8 of the clock in the morning 
 as the bearer shall direct ; of this you may not 
 fail at your utmost peril." 
 
 The mayor at this time was a firm royalist. 
 One of the Diurnals of the other side thus 
 records his endeavours: "At the kino-'s cominof
 
 1G4 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 to Reddinge a speech was made unto him by the 
 mayor of the town, wherein after he had in the 
 best words he could devise bid him welcome 
 thither, for want of more matter he concluded 
 very abruptly," This is malicious enough, but 
 nothing to the story that follows : " Not long- 
 after he invited Prince Robert (sic) to dine, 
 providing for him all the dainties that he could 
 get, but especially a woodcock, which he brought 
 in himself. Prince Robert gave him many 
 thanks for his good cheer, and asked him whose 
 was all that plate that stood upon the cupboard ? 
 The mayor, who had set out all his plate to make 
 a show, and besides had borrowed a great deal of 
 his neighbours to grace himself withal, replied, 
 'And please your Highness the plate is mine!' 
 * No !' quoth the prince, * this plate is mine,' 
 and so accordingly^ he took it all awa}'' ; bidding 
 him be of good cheer, for he took it, as the 
 Parliament took it, upon the pubHc faith.'' 
 
 Lord Saye and Sele, just before, however, had 
 carried off two large baskets, full of the Christ 
 Church plate, at Oxford, for parliamentry purposes. 
 
 Now almost every day has its event, and dates 
 must be regarded. 
 
 November 8th. — The town is startled by a
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 165 
 
 peremptory order to impress all the tailors in 
 Reading, and within six miles round, to make 
 clothes for the garrison, with which they are to 
 be honoured ; Sir Arthur Ashton is appointed 
 governor, with a salary from the town of £7 per 
 week ; he is soon able to lend the poor corporation 
 £100. At once he begins to fortify ; all are 
 forced to assist ; those who do not come to work 
 being fined 7d. per day ; forts and chains are 
 placed at the end of every street, and the Oracle, 
 or cloth factory at once is utilized as a barrack. 
 
 It is an interesting fact, that through the pious 
 care of a wealthy citizen, Heading still possesses 
 the old gates of the Oracle. There they are in 
 honourable retirement at the top of St. Mary's 
 Hill ; the Kenrich crest in one place, the initials, 
 J. K., of the founder of this factory for poor 
 clothiers, in another ; the date 1526 still in another 
 part ; all being in very fair state of preservation. 
 How few of the busy many that pass those gates 
 every day think of the scenes that these have 
 witnessed, and could tell of, if walls had voices 
 as well as ears I 
 
 "When Puritan and Cavelier 
 
 With shout and psalm contended ! 
 And Rupert's oath, and Cromwell's prayer, 
 With sound of battle blended !" — Whittier.
 
 IGG BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 And now tlie corporation wait upon King 
 Charles and assure him they will " assist him with 
 counsel, and their purses, to the best of their 
 ability." He probably preferred the latter, 
 for — 
 
 November 9th. — We have notice of a consult- 
 tation had "about the execution of the king's 
 warrants," and on 
 
 November 17th. — " A tax is levied to pay those 
 great charges which are now layed upon the 
 borough concerning cloth, apparell, victualls, and 
 other things for his Majesties army." Then on 
 
 November 28th. — The king goes off to Oxford, 
 ;ind henceforth they are left to Sir Arthur's 
 tender mercies : about this time we find a pathetic 
 entry : " A noate of all such charges as have 
 been disembursed, since the King's Majestic 
 came first to Reading, for provisions, clothes for 
 the soldiers, and foi- the king's own use;" being 
 £6097, truly a prodigious sum for those times ; 
 but it is speedily followed by fresh requisitions. 
 As the year opens it appears probable that 
 Reading will be attacked, and so on 3rd March, 
 1543, a letter arrives from the kinor, orderinsr 
 Sir Arthur to provision Reading for three 
 months, to provision Greenlands a fortified
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 167 
 
 country house just below Henley, to send 
 out scouting parties to watch the enemy, 
 and to prevent carriage of supplies to London. 
 This rouses the Parliament. Essex is ordered 
 to march on Oxford, takino^ Reading^ in his 
 way ; but the governor now is all ready for 
 him. Mapledurham House and Cawsham have 
 now been made into fortified out-posts, and, on the 
 arrival of Essex's "trumpet," Colonel Codrington 
 in his diary tells us the governor returned the 
 stubborn answer that "he would either keep the 
 town or die inside it I" There can be no doubt 
 he would have made a resolute resistance ; he 
 was a brave and capable soldier, but, being 
 wounded in the head by a tile dislodged by a 
 cannon ball, on the third day of the siege, his 
 place was taken by a Colonel R. Fielding, as next 
 in seniority. The sad history of the gallant 
 soldier is worth following further. At the 
 capitulation he went to Oxford ; there he managed 
 to lose a leg, and presently turns up in Ireland, 
 unluckily for him, at Drogheda. Cromwell 
 storms, determined, after the inhuman massacres 
 of Protestants, on making a harsh example of the 
 Irish garrison, and Sir Arthur, now in command 
 there, strange to say, has his brains knocked out
 
 168 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 with his own wooden leg, which the soldiers 
 imagined whs filled with gold pieces — they did 
 find two hundred about his person — the very 
 thinix which Hood imaorined lonof after of his 
 unhappy heroine. 
 
 " Gold, still gold ! hard, yellow, and cold. 
 For gold she had lived, and she died for gold, 
 For a golden weapon had killed her 1 
 And the jury, its forman a gilder, 
 They brought it in a Felo di Se 
 Because her own leg had killed her ! 
 
 Price of many a crime untold, 
 Good or bad, a thousand fold. 
 
 How widely gold's agencies vary ! 
 To save, to curse, to ruin, to bless, 
 As even its minted coins express. 
 Now stamped with the image of Good Queen Bess, 
 And now of a bloody Mary ! " 
 
 There is a portrait of Sir A. Aston at the 
 Rcciding Public Library, a middle aged man with 
 a large square chin and most determined 
 expression. Sir Jacob Astlc3\ after governor 
 here, and made Baron Reading, is also in the 
 Librar}^ a pleasant looking old gentleman. 
 
 The town was very strongly and securely 
 fortified, I quote from the diary of Sir Samuel 
 Luke, Scout Master for the parliament after 
 the surrender, when he had just been over
 
 SIEGE OP READING. 169 
 
 it : " They had only three ways out of the 
 town, where they had built three sconces, one 
 at Forbury, one at Harrison's Barn, and another 
 at the end of Pangbourn lane ; the Forts were 
 very well wrought, and strong both with trenches 
 and pallisades ; the town entrenched round so 
 that if any man of the Parliamentary side should 
 have delivered up a place as this town, he would 
 have deserved a halter," 
 
 " It would appear," writes Mr. Childs, "that 
 earth works were thrown up in a rude square, 
 extending from Grey Friars Church and the 
 present prison on the north, to midway in 
 Kendrick Road, and to Katesgrove Hill on the 
 south ; and from about the line of Kendrick Road 
 on the east to Castle Hill on the west. 
 Redoubts were thrown up at intervals, and on 
 the top of Whitley Hill a strong fort known as 
 'Harrison's Barn.'" 
 
 This Sir Samuel appears to have been a stout 
 and able soldier, but, unfortunately for him, he 
 had the misfortune to fall into the hands of 
 Butler, who has pilloried him as the well-known 
 Hudibras. Dr. Johnson says, writing of Butler, 
 " The necessitudes of his condition placed him in 
 the family of Sir S. Luke, one of Cromwell's
 
 170 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 officers, and a Presbyterian magistrate. Here 
 he observed much of the character of the 
 sectaries." Certainly he did, and recorded much ; 
 and though very much is gross caricature, still 
 it is thus that Sir Samuel must be content to 
 come down to us. 
 
 " When civil dudgeon fir.st grew high, 
 And men fell out they knew not why : 
 Then did Sir Knight abandon dwelling, 
 And out he rode a colonelling. 
 He was in logic a great critic. 
 Profoundly skilled in analytic ; 
 He could distinguish and divide 
 A hair 'twixt south and south-west tide : 
 On either side he would dispute, 
 Confute, change hands, and still confute. 
 For his religion it was tit 
 To match his learning and his wit. 
 'Twas Presbyterian true l)lue, 
 For he was of the stubborn crew 
 Such as do build their faith upon 
 The holy text of pike and gun : 
 And prove their doctrine or the dox 
 By apostolic blows and knocks. 
 Still .so perverse and opposite, 
 As if they worshipped God for spite. 
 Quarrel with mince-pies, and disparage 
 Their best and dearest friend plum-porridge. 
 Fat pig and goose itself oppose, 
 And blaspheme custard through the nose." 
 
 On Sir Arthur's refusal to surrender, the town
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 171 
 
 was at once assailed, the Royalist out-posts at 
 Caversham being easily driven in, the bridge 
 broken down, and batteries planted there 
 commanding the town. This was April 15th. 
 The Earl of Essex had at this time some 
 16,000 foot, and 300 horse, a force which in 
 the course of a week was nearly doubled. His 
 headquarters were at Southcote, leaving Colonel 
 Skippon in charge of the siege works in the 
 meadows at the N. W. of the town, on the old 
 Battel Abbey estate, where was most of the 
 fighting ; whilst Lord Gray of Warwick sat down 
 before the town, on the S. E. parts, with 7,000 
 horse and foot. Codrington tells us the Earl 
 held a council of war, at which it was debated 
 whether to storm or not. The cavalry were for 
 attempting it, the infantry against, and this latter 
 opinion prevailed, the garrison being supposed to 
 be stronger than it reahy was. We read in the 
 "Perfect Diurnal" of February 10th, "'They are 
 4,000 strong in the town ; some works are cast 
 up as high as the houses ; they have made use 
 of all the clothier's wool in the town, and made 
 wool-packs thereof." "There is nothing like 
 leather," as is well known ; but it may be doubted 
 whether bales of cloth are benefited by a
 
 172 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 week's cannonadii)Lr. Xo wonder the cloth-trade 
 hinguished after that involuntary employment of 
 the stock-in-trade. 
 
 And now we will come to dates, making use of 
 (»ur two friends' diaries. It is a pity we have 
 not also a Royalist record to check them by. 
 But first we will take a look at the army investing. 
 They are most of them young troops, and with 
 officers at present unversed in siege operations : 
 but some have already fought at Edgehill, notably 
 the Saye and Sele " Blue Coats ; " Colonel 
 Nathanael and Colonel John Fiennes commanding; 
 them, would both be there, and perha^js his 
 lordship. Hampden's "Green Coats" would also 
 add to the variety, with the London train bands 
 " Red Coats ; " this red was a colour that Cromwell 
 afterwards adopted for the whole of the British 
 army, and which, it need hardly be remarked, is 
 now "the thin red line which never wavers," and 
 which more than once has confronted both 
 cavalry and artillery successfully. 
 
 April 17th. Writes Sir Samuel :—" Our lines 
 got within musket shot of the town." 
 
 April 18th. — "The enemy appeared on Caw- 
 sham hills under General Ruven, went to Sonniner, 
 and put down (up?) the river in boats 600
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 173 
 
 musketeers, with several wao-o-on loads of 
 ammunition ; which we could not hinder because 
 we had broken down Cawsham bridge." 
 
 This was very cleverly managed, as the town 
 had at first only twenty barrels of gunpowder 
 altogether. Now their artillery would be well 
 supplied ; and the barges ran up b}^ the Kennet 
 in perfect safety into the very heart of the town. 
 Immediately after this a battery was planted 
 on the Thames bank by Essex, that effectually 
 ' shut the door ' north of the Kennet ; but, by 
 this time, * the horse was stolen,' or, at least, the 
 powder safe housed ! On this day a cannon burst, 
 killinof four men and woundino- half-a-dozen more 
 of the besiegers ; but what was much more serious 
 for the King's party on this day, the Governor 
 got a hurt that at once totally incapacitated him, 
 and a mere seniority officer, a Col. Richard 
 Fielding, took the command. 
 
 On the 19th there was a brisk sally, but 
 repulses of the garrison. " On that night His 
 Excellency advanced his batteries and placed his 
 ordinance within less than pistol shot of Harrison's 
 Fort." Stout old Skippon is here : and is in 
 deadly earnest, like Cromwell, however unwilling- 
 Essex and Manchester may be to go to extremities.
 
 174 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 April 20th. Says our Clironicler : — " Lord 
 Gray pushes closer up. 
 
 April 2 1st is an eventful day. "Battered the 
 town," says the diary, " got up within pistol shot 
 of one of their choicest bulwarks in a place called 
 the Gallows Field." On this day it is that St. 
 Giles steeple comes to grief; now we will copy 
 Codrington. " The}^ [)lanted ordinance on a 
 steeple, l)ut our cannons were levelled against it 
 with such dexterity, that both cannoniers and 
 cannon were soon buried under the ruins." 
 
 April 22nd. — " Flower, sent by the King to say 
 he was coniins: to raise the sieo-e, swam in with 
 despatches, but is caught going back, and so the 
 plan frustrated." Essex reversed his batteries, and 
 so was ready to give the approaching Royalists a 
 hot reception. 
 
 April 23rd. — An unlucky spy is seized, who 
 had volunteered the perilous work of blowing up 
 the siege ammunition train ; he is huno- in siofht of 
 the rampart, which is retaliated on the next day. 
 
 April 24th. — " A sudden sally ; they got into 
 our trenches, and killed four men ; but were 
 driven back with loss of twelve, but we could not 
 get out the bodies of our men. Lord Gray got 
 within pistol shot of Harrison's Barn."
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 175 
 
 This seems to have frightened Col. Fielding, who 
 evidently was not the stuff that heroes are made of 
 
 Hark ! Hark ! like the roar of the billows on the shore, 
 The cry of battle rises along the charging lines : 
 
 'For Love!' 'For the Cause!' ' For the Church !' 'For the Law'! 
 For Charles, King of England, and Rupert of the Rhine ! 
 
 25th April, 9 a.m. — -The town hung out a 
 white flag, and sent " a drum to beat a parley, 
 which His Excellency gave way to." If Fielding 
 had but held out another day, and had co-operated 
 with the King's forces, the towm might have been 
 relieved, and Essex driven away ; for a few hours 
 after, Charles makes a determined attack in force 
 upon Caversham Bridge, which is only repulsed 
 after heavy fighting, and through Essex being 
 able to OTve his undivided attention. " The fio-ht 
 began," says Codrington, " about Cawsham 
 Bridge, and on both sides great valour and 
 resolution was expressed. After less than half-an- 
 hour's fight, the enemy began to give ground, 
 leaving about 300 arms, and many of their men 
 behind them ; their Horse also, which came down 
 the hill to assist the Fort, were gallantly 
 repulsed ; about a hundred were slain upon the 
 spot, among whom Sergt. Major Smith, in whose 
 pocket was found good store of gold."
 
 17G BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 This settled the matter. Cliarles retired un- 
 molested to Caversham House, where Fielding 
 was allowed to go to him on April 26th. He 
 obtained leave to surrender, the picked troops of 
 the garrison being urgently required for service 
 elsewhere. This permission, of course, did not 
 clear Fielding, who was tried afterwards by court 
 martial and sentenced to be beheaded, but the 
 Kinir did not allow the sentence to be carried out. 
 
 April 27th. — The surrender takes place. 
 "He was pardoned," says Clarendon, "without 
 much grace ; his regiment was given to another, 
 and he resolved as a volunteer ; in this capacity 
 he fought desperatel}^ through the war when 
 danger was most rife, but in vain. So difficult a 
 thing it is to play an after game of reputation in 
 that nice and jealous profession of arms." "As 
 they march out at Friar's Corner," says Sir 
 Samuel, "at the same place when, as is recorded 
 further, the soldiers plundered the houses of 
 f )ur Grand Malignants who had given information 
 to the Governor of such persons as were 
 inclined to the cause of the Parliament, and had 
 therefore paid a double tax to the weekly con- 
 tribution." This, perhaps, was as little as could 
 be expected from a victorious cause ; and Sir
 
 SIEGE OF READING. 177 
 
 Samuel again concludes all very characteristically 
 and satisfactorily too, as regards the God-fearing 
 soldiers of the Commonwealth. 
 
 April 30th, "being the Sunday, was spent in 
 
 preaching and hearing God's word, the churches 
 
 being extraordinarily filled, and soldiers and all 
 
 men carrying themselves very civilly all the day 
 
 ong. 
 
 Sickness appears to have broken out amongst 
 Essex's young soldiers encamped on the marshy 
 meadows on the N.W. of the town, which may have 
 had something to do with the easy terms granted. 
 The Mercurius Aulicus, the Court Journal, has a 
 story that "a soldier said that Essex caused five 
 great pits to be dug at a distance from his camp, into 
 which he cast the slain to conceal their number." 
 The Earl stayed here until July, and ordered a 
 heavy contribution for the pay of the soldiers. The 
 Corporation, however, waited upon him to repre- 
 sent "they had been so impoverished by the late 
 siege, and the exactions of His Majesty, as to be 
 utterly unable to raise any more money amongst 
 them." And this excuse seems to have been 
 graciously accepted. Charles' "little finger," in 
 money matters, was of necessity "thicker than 
 
 the Parliament's loins,'" and this lead considerably 
 
 12
 
 178 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 to the declininc: of his cause. When the tide of 
 war turned a couple of years after, he appeared 
 again here, and stayed at Coley ; but we do not 
 hear then of any more forced benevolences; indeed 
 he conferred a real benefit, by having the fortifi- 
 cation "slighted," which no doubt the burgesses 
 received with extreme satisfaction. So the siege 
 ended. Sieges in those da3^s were trying to 
 reputations. Colonel N. Fiennes, at Bristol, and 
 then Prince Rupert at the same place, whether 
 justly or not, were heavily censured for surrender- 
 ing, and both of them came very near to sharing 
 the fate of Fieldino-, That old lamentation was 
 speedily verified ; but with this we have happily 
 no further connection. 
 
 " Lament ! Lament ! 
 And let thy tears run down, 
 
 To see the rent 
 Between the robe and crown ! 
 War, like a serpent, has its head got in, 
 And will not cease so soon as 't did begin."
 
 IT is hardly necessary to state that in rather 
 early days, when the Thames flowed into the 
 Rhine and Great Britain was a part of a greater 
 continent, there was no Reading Abbey. Neither 
 was there sometime after, when the city was a 
 swamp between the Thames and the Kennet, and 
 some few huts clustered round the Roman station 
 Ad Pontes, where the legions crossed from 
 Londinium on their way to the rich and important 
 town of Calleva. We may possibly date our 
 abbey's beginning from the third or fourth century. 
 It may have been a chapel of ease to that 
 interesting little church lately uncovered, and 
 alas ! covered up again, at Silchester. At any 
 rate we are on firm ground when, towards the 
 end of the tenth century, we locate a nunnery 
 here, founded by Queen Elfreda, who at last 
 began to repent of her various crimes. She had, 
 perhaps, some excuse for arranging with the King 
 to get rid of her first husband, who had deceived 
 his royal master, lead astray by her fatal beauty.
 
 180 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Thus she attained the throne to which she had 
 no doubt been destined ; but it was going too far 
 to retain it by the murder of the son of her pre- 
 decessor, Queen Ethelfleda ; which is one of the 
 horrid memories that cHngs round Corfe Castle. 
 And now we leap to the beginning of the twelfth 
 century and get on still firmer ground, when 
 Henry I., at the height of his power, and also 
 beginning to feel a little compunction, resolved to 
 make reparations by founding what should be an 
 abbey of world-wide magnificence. 
 
 He certainly succeeded. I mean with his 
 abbey, though I am not prepared to go as tar as 
 do the chroniclers of his predecessor : — 
 
 " King Ethelbert lies here, 
 Closed in this polyander. 
 For building churches straight he goes 
 To heaven without meander. 
 
 Henry I. never did things by halves, and the}' 
 could build in those days. His architect had 
 carte hlaiiclw, and with wonderful speed there 
 arose that glorious fabric whose ruins we weep 
 over, and use for our flower shows. The abbey 
 covered some thirty acres. It was surrounded 
 with a wall, vast and strong, except where guarded 
 by the Kennet, and four huofe embattled irate-
 
 READING ABBEY. 181 
 
 ways opened out to the four quarters. Almost 
 all its stones are now gone, " It pitieth," or it 
 ought to pity the by-passers to see some in the 
 wall of that house in Hosier Street, some very 
 few on the site, and oh, 18th century ! many cart- 
 loads vandalised into a bridge on the road to 
 Henley, near where the Druid's temple of 
 despoiled Jersey adds another sorrow to the 
 scenery. But at its dedication in 1164, in Henry 
 II. 's time, the abbey and the abbey church must 
 indeed have been magnificent. The latter was a 
 cruciform building 420 x 92 feet in dimensions, 
 without an aisle, covering the vast space between 
 the Forbury and the gaol. Its extent is well 
 shown, by the notices the Corporation has lately 
 put up under the skilled guidance of those two 
 chiefest of experts, the Secretary and Treasurer 
 of the Berkshire Archseological Society. After 
 the dedication ceremony, the King, and his still 
 friendly Beckett, would doubtless adjourn to the 
 magnificent Consistory, the great Hall, one 
 of the largest and finest in England, destined to 
 see so many Parliaments, and other national 
 assemblings. 
 
 The inner gateway still remains, restored, 
 perhaps, almost too modernly ; close inspection
 
 182 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 will, however, show the old gate hinges and 
 portcullis way ; closer investigation still may 
 even discover the dog badge of the last abbot, 
 and a dolphin with the red rose of Lancaster on 
 its tail, probably also belonging to the same 
 period. Here the humble burgesses used to bow 
 themselves before the Lord Abbot, and listen 
 whilst he was pleased to indicate which of them 
 might fulfil the then limited office of mayor. 
 In front of this, as some say, the last abbot and 
 his two accomplice monks died the awfully cruel 
 traitor's death, having been convicted of sending 
 supplies to the northern rebels in their so-called 
 Pilgrimage of Grace. It has much pleasanter 
 modern memories, being lent by the good town 
 to the Berkshire Archaeological Society, and 
 being the scene in its fine old chamber of 
 many interesting archaeological gatherings. 
 But I have strayed a long way from 1164. 
 The second Henry's reign was no doubt its 
 golden period ; more memories cluster about 
 the abbey in the twelfth century than at any 
 other time. Here, the year before, in 1163, had 
 occurred "the Fight on the Island," when, much 
 to Henry's regret, de Bohun fell beneath the 
 spear of de Montford.
 
 READING ABBEY. 183 
 
 " His fame, as blighted in the field, 
 He strove to clear by spear and shield ; 
 To clear his fame in vain he strove, 
 For wondrous are His ways above. 
 How could the guiltless champion quail, 
 Or how the great ordeal fail ! " 
 
 "The knights met on horseback," says Norroy 
 Seagur, " clad in armour, (on the island just 
 below Caversham Bridge ; a street running down 
 to it has lately been called De Montford Street), 
 Montford attacked with such resolution as to 
 hurl Henry of Essex out of the saddle, when 
 being stunned and faint from loss of blood, he was 
 taken up apparently dead." King Henry handed 
 him over to the monks of Reading Abbey, under 
 whose care he recovered, and at once joined the 
 fraternity. Some years after, and following on 
 that bad Beckett business, Henry was here again, 
 for here, in 1185, came Heraclius, the Patriarch 
 of Jerusalem, and the Master of the Temple with 
 him, appealing for a crusade to all Christian 
 Kings, and especially to King Henry, who, it 
 was considered, especially needed that moral 
 white-washing. What a sight for the abbey ! 
 They brought with them the Standard of the 
 Kingdom of the Holy Land, the Keys of the 
 Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and of the Tower
 
 IM BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 of Davitl. The King reverently received them 
 all, but handed them back to the Patriarch until 
 he could consult with his barons. Henry was 
 too old to go, but numbers of the young nobility 
 took the cross, and carried it in the van against 
 the Infidel ; and not least fiery Prince Richard, 
 the kino: of all knio^ht errants. He went off 
 immediately on coming to the throne, and 
 performed exploits which far exceed those 
 imagined by Ariosto. Unfortunately he needed 
 money, and had to carry off the golden cover his 
 father gave for the chief abbey relic, the hand of St. 
 James ; but that doubtless would soon be replaced 
 by the offerings of the home-staying faithful. 
 
 Also in this reign, and at its close, were 
 several royal funerals. Henry I. of course had 
 himself buried here, as it was said in a silver 
 coffin, which caused some very ruthless explora- 
 tions at the time of the Suppression. A stone 
 coffin found here recently had a very distinguished 
 origin suggested for it by a high local authority. 
 In 1154, Prince William, eldest son of Henry II., 
 was buried here near his grandfather. Also 
 here was buried King Henry II. 's second wife, 
 Adeliza ; and thereby hangs a very complicated 
 and curious tale.
 
 READING ABBEY. 185 
 
 In 1810 some workmen digging in the abbey 
 precincts " found a box which contained a 
 perfectly formed fleshy hand (writes Mrs. Climen. 
 son, in her almost universal ' History of Shiplake,') 
 holding a slender rod surmounted by a crucifix." 
 This, she says, is now in Mr. Scott Murray's 
 Roman Catholic Chapel at Danesfield, and is 
 considered to be the hand of St. James the 
 Less, which was brought from Germany by the 
 Empress Maud, and given by her to her father, 
 who gave it to the Abbey. "It is in perfect 
 preservation, a plump and well-shaped hand, 
 small, and with taper fingers, and almond-shaped 
 nails, so small it might well be a woman's." 
 And it probably is, and the hand of Queen 
 Adeliza. One almost regrets it was not left 
 in its hoped-for last resting-place. There is 
 something gruesome in such remains, especially, 
 perhaps, in heaped-up skulls in museums. Those 
 lines of a modern poet on such a sight are 
 pathetic. 
 
 " Did she live centuries, or ages back 1 
 
 What colour were those eyes when bright and waking? 
 And were your ringlets fair, or brown, or black 1 
 Poor little head ! that long has done with aching !" 
 
 In Stephen's days, in the interval between the
 
 186 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Henries, the poor monks seem to have had rather 
 an uncomfortable time of it. Stephen patronized 
 them ; he would have money, but he took it politely. 
 When for a while his cause went down, and the 
 Empress Queen arrived here, she was quite as 
 exacting, and also bullied them most unmercifully. 
 They must have been devoutly thankful when 
 she at last went off to her continental possession ; 
 and when she came back for sepulchre would 
 no doubt be able to receive her with greater 
 equanamity. An English dean not long ago 
 was accused of having "refused to bury a 
 Dissenter." "On the contrary," he replied, 
 "I shall feel the greatest pleasure in burying 
 you all !" 
 
 Now we pass to the fourteenth century. Here, 
 in 1359, Edward III. celebrated the marriage 
 of his son John of Gaunt with Blanche, daughter 
 of Henry Plantagenet. This was unquestionably 
 the grandest wedding that ever happened, or 
 could happen at Reading. The King of France, 
 just lately taken prisoner at Poictiers, was part 
 of the bridal part}'^ ; so also a very famous 
 Englishman, who came over here from his 
 residence at Donnington Castle. Chaucer 
 describes the whole thing at much length :—
 
 READING ABBEY. 187 
 
 " And the feste holden was in tentes, 
 As to tell you my intent is : 
 In a rome, a large plaine, 
 Under a wode, in a champagne ; 
 Beside a river and a welle 
 Whei'e never had abbeye ne selle ; 
 Ben, ne kerke, hous, ne village, 
 In time of any man's age, 
 And dured three Months the feast, 
 In one estate, and never ceased. 
 From early of the rising of the sun, 
 Till the day spent was, and y-ronne ; 
 In justing, dancing, and lustiness, 
 And all that served to gentilesse." 
 
 — The Dream. 
 
 From Edward III. we will pass, though not in 
 immediate succession to Edward IV. 's time ; and 
 I am again indebted to Mrs. Climenson for calhng 
 attention to a picture in the British Museum of 
 Reading Abbey about 1470, where "the widow 
 Gray "—as the Lancastrians called her — where 
 Edward IV. 's bride. Queen Elizabeth, is re- 
 presented as standing under this very inner 
 gateway, already mentioned, so dear to the heart 
 of every citizen of Reading. The abbot is there 
 to meet her on her disembarkation, with all 
 fitting reverence. In the distance are the royal 
 barges, at the abbot's landing, on the Kennet. 
 
 After this almost a century glides by unevent-
 
 1S8 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 fully. Like the Vicar of Wakefield, though not 
 accompanied as he was, the abbot's adventures do 
 not seem to have got much beyond " changing 
 from the blue room to the green," at least from 
 the abbey to Bere Court and back again. 
 There were squabbles with the rising town ; the 
 aldermen begfan to be what would be now called 
 " uppish," but the abbot was practically omni- 
 potent, and sometimes, as in Abbot Thome's 
 time, had a heavy hand which effectually kept 
 town councillors in their proper places. We can 
 hardly realise now what very great men those 
 mitred abbots must have been — practicall3''-popes 
 in their own districts where they wielded both the 
 temporal and spiritual sword pretty vigorously. 
 The Abbot of Reading had precedence over all 
 except Glastenbury and St. Albans. He had 
 vast revenues at his disposal, worth nearly 
 £20,000, it is reckoned, of our money, — a 
 handsome income even after allowing for the 
 lavish hospitality and almsgiving expected and 
 rendered. He had the power of making knights, 
 which the local name " Whiteknights," and the 
 hospice there, shows to have been pretty freely 
 exercised ; though the fact that every priest was 
 at one time " Dominus," or " Sir so and so,"
 
 READING ABBEY. 189 
 
 occasions a little ambio-uousness as to knio-hts in 
 these earlier centuries. 
 
 In Reading itself, as already remarked, the 
 abbot, within the law, was almost absolute over 
 the lives and properties of the township growing 
 up under the abbey shadow ; his household, 
 and all about him, was modelled on a scale 
 of more than princely magnificence, and it is to be 
 doubted whether any, except the very highest 
 nobility, could show anything like such an 
 extravao-ent retinue. 
 
 The very list is exhausting : marshal, master 
 of the horse, two keepers of the pantry, 
 three cupbearers, four janitors, five pages, 
 eight chamberlains, twelve hostellers (whose duty 
 was to receive strangers), twenty huntsmen, 
 thirty-one running footmen, and last, not least, 
 an almoner. What wonder that such mao-- 
 
 o 
 
 nificence contrasted but badly by the side of the 
 self-denying Grey Friars, and that the great 
 Benedictine abbey broke down at last under its 
 own greatness ! Its last abbot was not the worst, 
 nor the least deserving by any means, only he fell 
 on evil days ; and, when he stood by his own 
 order, had little idea of the terrible significance of 
 treason in the eyes of a Tudor,
 
 190 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 At first Abbot Hugh was favourably reported 
 on by the commissioners. '*0n Sep. 16, 1539," 
 quotes Froude, "they were at Reading; on the 
 22nd at Glastenbury ; but the abbot there, 
 his answer appeared cankered and traitorous ; 
 he was sent to the Tower to be examined 
 by Cromwell himself, when it was discovered 
 that both he and the Abbot of Reading 
 had supplied the northern insurgents with 
 money." 
 
 Reading Abbey perished ; on the other hand, 
 the Grey Friars Monastery was simply dissolved, 
 its monks frugally pensioned, and turned out 
 into the street ; their noble church was made 
 into a guildhall, but preserved by that at any 
 rate, and is now restored, and is the town's 
 noblest relic of antiquity. Of the great 
 Benedictine abbey, on the other hand, only 
 the almost imperishable flint core survives 
 of its mighty buildings. It may have 
 plundered Silchester ; it was itself for long a 
 very stone pit for the builder. Its " record " is 
 that of Rome, " Quod non fecerunt Barbari 
 fecerunt Barberini " — the Roman princes made 
 a stone quarry of the Colosseum. That bridge 
 at Park Place is an almost equal barbarism,
 
 READING ABBEY. 191 
 
 but before this, boat loads of abbey stones 
 had gone down the river to help to build 
 the Hospital of the Poor Knights of Windsor. 
 
 The roof of the great Consistory went to 
 St. Mary's Church, in Reading, thus happily 
 preserved, and where all ma}^ still see it. The 
 panelling went to Merton College, Oxford. In 
 fact by the time of James the plundering was 
 complete ; only land cannot run away, and so he 
 conferred that upon Prince Henry, the then heir 
 apparent of the kingdom. 
 
 Since then its history has been uneventful ; 
 granted at first to the Knollys family, it became 
 at times a royal residence ; the royal stables were 
 extensive, and horses stood were monks had 
 knelt. This seems to be alluded to, in that 
 singular old poem, " Cantio Cygni," when 
 Thamesis is spoken of as arriving at Reading. 
 
 "From hence he little Chansey Seeth, and hasteneth to see 
 Fair Reddingetown, a place of name, where clothy-woven 
 bee, 
 This shows our Alfred's victories, what time Begsal was 
 slain 
 With other Danes, who carcases lay trampled on the plain. 
 And here these fields y-drenched were with blood upon them 
 shed, 
 Where on the prince, in stable now, hath standing 
 many a steede,
 
 192 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 King James, as has been stated, gave the 
 abbey to his eldest son, and it passed, in due time, 
 into the excellently guardian hands of the 
 Reading Corporation, Musing amid the ruins of 
 this ancient pile, we may call to mind the lives of 
 the men who once lived and worked and prayed on 
 this spot, of the kings and great men who thronged 
 the minster church and held parliaments in the 
 precincts, and all the mighty events in history 
 which took place in this, the chiefest and 
 ofrandest monastic house in Entjland. The 
 memory of the glories of Reading Abbey will not 
 soon pass away.
 
 ^be Jfir5t Battle of IRewburv, 1043. 
 
 By Edward Lamplougii. 
 
 THE armed phase of the great rebelHoii was 
 in its second year, and neither party had 
 achieved any great advantage. If the RoyaHsts 
 had thought to carry all before them in a summer 
 campaign, they had found out their mistake ; and 
 it must have been equally evident to the Parlia- 
 mentarians that they had embarked upon a 
 struggle the end of which might prove bloody 
 and disastrous to their cause. 
 
 Charles resolved upon the capture of 
 Gloucester. On the 10th of August, 1G43, he 
 sounded trumpets before the gates, and called 
 upon the commandant to surrender. Colonel 
 Massey, a soldier of fortune, was faithful to his 
 trust, and the royal trumpeter returned to the 
 King's camp accompanied by two deputies of 
 "lean, pale, sharp, and dismal visages," the 
 bearers of a written declaration that, by God's 
 help, Gloucester should be maintained, under the 
 
 King's command, as signijied hy both Houses of 
 
 13
 
 194 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Parl(K/nc/it. To this defiance was attached the 
 signatures of Governor Massey, the Mayor, 
 thirteen aldermen, and many wealthy burghers. 
 Enraged rather than discouraged, Charles broke 
 ground before the walls, amid the smoking 
 suburbs, which had been fired by the stubborn 
 Parliamentarians, whose wives and daughters 
 went forth to cut turfs for the renewal of the 
 earthern ramparts, shot away by the fire of the 
 besiegers. With attack and sally, and storm of 
 cannon and musket bullets, the siege held for a 
 time, then resolved into a blockade, and Charles 
 was on the eve of winnincf by fixmine where steel 
 and lead had failed, when the Earl of Essex 
 bestirred himself, and came to the rescue with 
 the trained bands of London and a body of 
 horse. He arrived not a moment too soon, for 
 the besieged were reduced to their last barrel of 
 powder. 
 
 The caution of Essex mio-ht well have stimu- 
 lated the besiegers to give him battle before the 
 walls of Gloucester ; he was, however, permitted 
 to enter unopposed, and to secure the city by 
 liberal supplies of provisions and ammunition, 
 and by the reinforcement of the garrison. The 
 object achieved, the return march was com-
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1643. 195 
 
 menced, in the course of which Essex paid a 
 surprise visit to Cirencester, cutting off two 
 regiments of Royal horse, and seizing a consider- 
 able quantity of provisions which had been 
 collected during- the sieo^e of Gloucester. 
 
 The opportunity of striking a very serious 
 blow at the enemy now offered itself to the 
 Kino^, and he resolved to act. Essex's forces 
 consisted principally of the City trained bands, 
 held in little repute by his army, and supported 
 by a small body of cavalry, inferior to the bold 
 riders of Rupert in number and conduct. Essex 
 cut off and destroyed, Charles might strike the 
 capital, and stifle the rebellion in the nest that 
 bred it. 
 
 So Rupert poured forth his gay cavaliers, with 
 gleam of cuirass and rapier, to intercept Essex, 
 and hold him at bay until Charles came up to 
 strike ; for, as usual, the Royalists knew nothing 
 of Essex's movement until twenty-four hours 
 after he had left Gloucester. First blood was 
 shed at Hungerford, when Prince Rupert, 
 seconded b}?- the Queen's life-guards, struck 
 Essex's rear, and found tough work with 
 Stapylton's brigade. But night closing in, 
 rapier and broadsword were sheathed. Here the
 
 19G BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Marquis do Vieuville, a gallant Frenchman, 
 fell, mortally wounded, into the hands of the 
 Parliam en tarian s. 
 
 The next day the two armies converged upon 
 Newbury, but Charles won the race by two 
 hours, and Essex lay in the open fields, alert 
 and anxious, for a conflict on the morrow was 
 inevitable. 
 
 Assisted by General Lord Ruthven, Charles 
 made his disposition for the battle, holding Essex 
 at bay, with all the advantages of a defensive 
 position and a superior cavalry. His army held 
 Speen Hill, with its right wing resting upon the 
 Kennet ; the left protected by a battery, and 
 lying towards Shaw Fields. The rear was 
 sufliciently defended by the river Lam bourne and 
 the artillery of Donnington Castle. Thus the 
 Parliamentarians were barred from the London 
 road by the cavaliers. 
 
 Although Charles had taken up a defensive 
 position, sunrise of the following morning, 
 September, 20th, 1643, set the skirmishers free, 
 and shots rang along the front from hedge and 
 cover, as the soldiers felt their way towards the 
 closer, sterner business of the day. Essex's first 
 aim was to take up a position on Speen Hill.
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1643. 197 
 
 He lead the attacking force, which consisted of 
 his own regiment, Barclay and Balfour's horse, 
 Stapylton's brigade, and Lord Roberts' regiment 
 of foot. His lordship had cast aside buff and 
 corslet, and foug-ht in his white holland shirt. 
 Essex, a notable swordsman, found brisk work 
 with the cavaliers on Speen Hill, but he won and 
 held his position, although the young Earl of 
 Carnarvon held him long in deadly play, 
 charging straight through his rank. Pierced, 
 but not routed, the troops were reformed, and 
 obstinately maintained the struggle. It proved 
 fatal to the gallant Carnarvon, who, according to 
 Lord Clarendon, was nin through the body by a 
 passing trooper. Sir Roger Manley, however, 
 states that the Earl was laid low by a shot, 
 which struck him in the head, while leading the 
 pursuit. Essex, although successful in this 
 movement, was separated from the infantry, who 
 fought the real battle, and, by their stubborn 
 valour, held the Royal army at bay. 
 
 Had Charles maintained a purely defensive 
 position, Essex would have been compelled to 
 force the fighting. His inferiority in cavalry 
 w^ould have told heavily against him, and his 
 infantry would probably have failed to force a
 
 198 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 passage through the Royal army. The ardour 
 of the skirmishers in the first hours of the day 
 probably drew him into the battle, which soon 
 became general. 
 
 The London trained bands, under Skippon, 
 received their baptism of blood in Xewbury 
 marsh and meadows, where they were drawn up, 
 with the cavalry on the flanks. Rupert was 
 seconded that day by some of the boldest and 
 fiercest cavalrymen in the Royal armies ; and he 
 poured them again and again, a raging flood of 
 foaming horse and men, upon the Parliamen- 
 tarians. Pressing up to the very edge of 
 flashing pike-points, with desperate stroke and 
 thrust, and discharge of pistols, the gallant 
 cavaliers strove to reach the sturdy Londoners ; 
 only to fall back from the fierce pike-thrust, 
 while the snorting war-chargers reared and 
 swerved from the iron front, and the ofrini 
 musketeers poured in their heavy fire from the 
 rear, emptying many a saddle, and sorely 
 thinning the ranks of the King's bold riders. 
 
 Fighting under the King's eye, the cavaliers 
 did all that could be expected from the most 
 devoted loyalty ; but Skippon's pikemen were 
 beating back the repeated surges for their very
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1743. 199 
 
 life's sake ; for the honour and safety of London, 
 and for Essex's preservation. Once let that tide 
 break in, and Rupert's revenge would be terrible. 
 Three times, in quick succession, the London 
 Blues u^ere charged by two regiments of Royal 
 horse, bent at all hazards to break in, but the 
 musketeers plied their shot so thick and fast, and 
 made such great havoc in the charging ranks, 
 that the cavaliers drew off, after their third 
 charge, and made no further attempt. 
 
 Triumphant as the Parliamentarians were in 
 beating back the spirited charges of Rupert's 
 gallant cavalry, the toil and strain of battle fell 
 heavily upon them, and stung into sudden action 
 by the galling fire of the Royal batteries, they 
 made a somewhat disordered dash towards 
 Donnington, with the intention of spiking the 
 cannon, the Red London trained bands leading. 
 Rupert saw the movement, and was quick to 
 seize the only opportunity of victory that 
 presented itself In an instant he was upon 
 them with " Byron's Blacks " and Colepepper's 
 brigade ; but as quickly the pikes were brought 
 to bear, the musketeers poured in their shot, and 
 the first charge was beaten back ; before it could 
 be renewed, Skippon had got the brave fellows
 
 200 BYGOKE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 ready, the front ranks kneeling, and a forest of 
 long pikes presented to the plunging chargers. 
 The utmost valour of the cavaliers could achieve 
 nothinix aofainst the iron formation, while the 
 reiifular and destructive fire of the musketeers 
 swept the front, and strewed the field with dead 
 and wounded men and horses. 
 
 Essex had had another tough encounter with a 
 chosen band of Royalists, who, making a long 
 detour, and adopting the broom and furze twigs 
 which Essex's men wore to distinguish them from 
 the King's men, fell furiously upon his ranks. 
 The conflict that followed was to the death, for if 
 the Royalists were incensed b}'- the stubborn 
 resistance that they met, and by their heavy 
 losses, the Parliamentarians were not the less 
 fiercely revengeful when, after the long strain of 
 that terrible day, they rallied all their energies to 
 beat back the perfidious attack of the Royalists. 
 The desperate melee terminated in favour of 
 Essex's troops, who beat off and chased the 
 Royalists back. 
 
 The last scenes of the battle had taken place 
 under the gathering glooms of the September 
 night, and Skippon having succeeded in joining 
 Essex's cavalry, nothing more could be effected
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1043. 201 
 
 until the morrow. The exhausted armies re- 
 luctantly parted, and silence settled over the field 
 that had, during the long day, re-echoed the 
 furious and dreadful sounds of war. Under the 
 peaceful heavens lay 6,000 dead and wounded 
 men, to be carted into the town by the humane 
 burghers, when there was a great outcry for 
 surgeons, always, alas, far too few in number to 
 meet the requirements of war. 
 
 Both armies rested on the field, and stood to 
 arms, ready to renew the battle, when the day 
 broke again upon Newbury. Essex had secured 
 his retreat, and could expect to achieve no more. 
 Rupert could force the fighting with no greater 
 skill and daring than he had already exercised, 
 and with no greater prospect of penetrating the 
 ranks of Skippon's pikemen. Essex drew off, 
 unmolested, about noon, but Rupert fell upon his 
 rear near Aldermaston, and inflicted some loss 
 upon his troops. His march upon London was 
 not, however, interrupted, and he entered the 
 city in triumph, having fought a battle that was 
 in all ways honourable to his army, whether nom- 
 inally a victory or defeat. If the King claimed 
 the honour of the field, it was indeed a barren 
 honour. At every point he had been repulsed,
 
 202 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 altliough his cavalry had sacrificed itself with 
 unmeasured devotion. He had not kept Bssex 
 out of Gloucester, and he had not cut off his 
 retreat upon London. 
 
 Durinor the battle Essex lost a trained band 
 
 o 
 
 colonel and a few officers ; but Charles lost many 
 iifallant and distinoruished orentlemen, chief of 
 whom were the Earls of Sunderland and Car- 
 narvon, and the virtuous and talented Lord Falk- 
 land. The wounded included some of the first 
 cavalry officers in the Royal army, Lords 
 Chandos, Peterborough, Andover, and Carlisle, 
 Sir Geo. Lisle, Sir Charles Lucas, and Colonels 
 Gerrard, Constable, and Darcy. 
 
 In the pages of Clarendon will be found an 
 elaborate account of the virtuous and un- 
 fortunate Falkland, who had a strong presenti- 
 ment that he would perish in the conflict, and 
 he accordingly put on clean linen, and arrayed 
 himself in his richest apparel. 
 
 Essex, before marching oft", issued orders for 
 the burial " of the dead bodies lying in and 
 about Enborne and Newbury Wash." Charles 
 imposed similar duties upon the mayor of 
 New^bury, expressly intimating that the wound- 
 ed Parliamentarians were to receive every
 
 THE FIRST BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1643. 203 
 
 attention, and, on their recovery, be sent on to 
 Oxford. 
 
 Essex carried with him into rejoicing London 
 "many colours of the King's cornets;" and was 
 there pubhcly thanked for what his party were 
 disposed to regard as a victory over the King and 
 his gallant cavaliers.
 
 Zbc Sccon^ :©attlc of 1lAc\vbnr\), 1644. 
 
 WHEX the second battle of Newbury was 
 fought, the great rebelHon had received 
 a docided impetus in favour of the Parha- 
 mentarians. Marston Moor had been fought 
 and the greenest laurels of Rupert had withered 
 in one summer's nio^ht before the walls of 
 York. The glory of Essex waned before the 
 brilliant achievements and solid successes of 
 Cromwell and Fairfax. The period of drawn 
 battles and disputed victories was passing away. 
 
 Some transient successes had attended the 
 royal arms, and Essex had been defeated in 
 Cornwall ; but with his army reinforced and 
 reorganised, he was prepared to try conclusions 
 with His Majesty on their old battle ground. 
 Witli Essex there marched the Earl of Man- 
 chester, Skippon, Waller, and Colonels Ludlow 
 and Cromwell. In consequence of the sickness 
 of Essex, the supreme command devolved upon 
 Manchester. 
 
 Charles was on the qui vivc from the 21st, to
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1644. 205 
 
 Saturday the 26th October ; but being ill- 
 informed of the movements of his dano'erous 
 
 o 
 
 adversaries, he was ultimately out-manoeuvred, 
 his conmiunications with Oxford cut off, and his 
 rear threatened. 
 
 Mr. F. Blundell, f.s.a., in his interesting 
 paper on the "Two Battles of Newbury," thus 
 describes the disposition of the opposing armies : — 
 
 " On the next day, Friday, and on Saturday, 
 the 26th, Symond's diary records pithily ' noe 
 action ' — both sides, in fact, were busied with 
 their deadly preparations, for all men knew that 
 their next meeting would be a stern and bloody 
 one. The King-'s horse burned to aveno^e their 
 recent overthrow on Marston Moor, and 
 Skippon's infantry were resolute to win back 
 the credit they had lost in Cornwall. 
 
 " The beleao^uered Cavaliers now exerted them- 
 selves to retrieve their error, by adding to the 
 strength of their position, throwing up entrench- 
 ments and mounting extra batteries. The Earl of 
 Manchester with his vanguard held the lower 
 portion of the town, and Cromwell's Ironsides 
 with some infantry who formed the right wing of 
 the Parliamentarian army, lay still, but not 
 inactive, upon the south side of the Kennett,
 
 •20G BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 near Ham Mill, and ' thence, as soon as it was 
 day,' — says Synionds — ' they put a tertia of foot 
 over a bridge which they had made in the night.' 
 King Charles again led the CavaUers in person, 
 the young Prince of Wales accompanying him, 
 and the Earl of Brentford acting as Lieutenant- 
 General. The royal standard waved upon Speen 
 Moor, about a mile more northerly than its 
 position during the previous battle, and the main 
 body of the Cavaliers held Speen mainland and 
 the upper town of Newbury, with their lines 
 extending: towards the Castle, while their extreme 
 left rested a little below the present site of 
 Donnington turnpike, and crossed the lane which 
 intersects the meadows behind and round about 
 Shaw House, then known as "Dolemans," 
 occupied for the King, and fortified so strongly as 
 to be, in military parlance, 'the key to the entire 
 position.' The river Lambourn flowed along 
 their front ; Sir Bernard Astley's and Sir George 
 Lisle's cavalry were stationed round about the 
 fields betwixt the town and Shaw, and ' Dolemans ' 
 not only was well garrisoned by musketry and 
 pikes, but had each hedge and hollow of its 
 garden ground and pleasance, well lined with 
 ambushed skirmishers and marksmen."
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1644. 207 
 
 The burghers of Newbury maintained their 
 accustomed neutrahty, to the great disgust of the 
 King, who, complaining that they rendered him 
 no account of the movements of his enemies, 
 stigmatised them as "wicked Roundheads." 
 
 The morning of the battle was spent in a 
 distant cannonade, and the desultory skirmishing 
 in which so much martial energy was usually 
 expended. The royal forces made no movement 
 to force the fisfhtino^, and Manchester held his 
 hand in the expectation of reinforcements. 
 
 During the first movements of the battle, 
 about mid-day, Charles and his son were in some 
 danger of falling into Waller's hands. They 
 were posted at Bagnor, with their guards in 
 attendance, when the Parliamentarians, having 
 seized Speen, made a rapid push for Bagnor. 
 The danger of Charles was imminent, when 
 Colonel Campfield came up on the spur with the 
 Queen's Life Guards, charged furiously, broke 
 the Parliamentarians, and followed them in 
 headlong and vengeful pursuit. Shippon marked 
 the fiery Cavaliers as they swept on in triumph, 
 and threw out a strong body of infantry to check 
 the pursuit, and afford Waller an opportunity of 
 rallying ; but as quickly the fierce Goring and
 
 208 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 the Earl of Cleveland bur.st upon the pikemen, 
 threw them into confusion, and bore them sternly 
 back, holding them in deadly play ; but the 
 pikemen and musketeers, whether fighting for king 
 or Parliament, were seldom or never routed, and 
 they bore nobly up, dressed their line, and made 
 a stubborn stand ; driving off the impetuous 
 Goring with stinging pikes and hail of bullets. 
 Again the persistent Cavaliers fell on, and the 
 pikes trembled before the rushing tide of horse 
 and men as they fell slowly back. Goring 
 eagerly followed up his advantage, when the 
 Parliamentarians opened their ranks, and allowed 
 the assailants to pass through, then reformed to 
 cut oft' their retreat, and opened a destructive 
 fire. Thus entrapped the Cavaliers fought 
 desperately. Goring cutting his way through 
 with a handful of followers, but leaving Cleveland 
 in the hands of the enemy. 
 
 Dolemans, the key of the position, was assailed 
 by Manchester with 3,000 foot and 1,200 horse, 
 a force by no means too powerful for the arduous 
 task to be attempted. Astley and Lucas were 
 not slow to meet the assailinir forces, and the 
 sonorous psalms of the Parliamentarians ceased 
 as the battle surges closed. A stubborn and
 
 THE SECOND BATTLE OF NEWBURY, 1644. 209 
 
 sanguinary conflict ensued, but Manchester could 
 make no serious impression upon his enemies. 
 Cromwell, holding his troops, ready to strike 
 when the opportune moment arrived, beheld the 
 setting- of the sun and the closinsf shades of nio-ht, 
 while the field was as stubbornly contested as 
 ever. He accordingly prepared to strike with 
 his cavalry. 
 
 Dividins: his brisfade, he sent one division to 
 the assistance of Manchester, and with the other 
 fell upon the King's left on Speen Moor. The 
 king and the young prince fled on the spur to 
 find safety beneath the cannon of Donnington, 
 while the Life Guards threw themselves upon 
 Cromwell's troopers, in a gallant attempt to 
 arrest his advance. Vain was their devotion. 
 The Ironsides smote them hip and thigh, 
 shattered their formation, and drove them from 
 the field in headlong flight. 
 
 " Their heads all stooping low, their points all in a row. 
 Like a whirlwind on the trees, like a deluge on the dykes 
 Our cuirassiers have burst on the ranks of the accurst." 
 
 A harder fate befell the second, division. 
 
 Involved amongf the hedo-es and avenues of 
 
 Dolmans, they were decimated by the fire of the 
 
 royal musketeers, furiously charged by the 
 
 14
 
 210 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 cavalry, and driven off in tlio utmost disorder, 
 after sustaining a loss of 500 men. Edmund 
 Ludlow made a gallant attempt to relieve them, 
 and cover their retreat. 
 
 With this last desperate conflict the battle 
 ceased, not to be renewed. The King drew ofl", 
 and Manchester showed no disposition to attempt 
 any further operations against him. The second 
 battle of Newbury was thus not less hardly 
 fousfht nor indecisive in its results than was the 
 first. 
 
 It is said that the disgust of Cromwell was so 
 great, that it influenced him, to make his 
 accusation against Manchester, with the resulting 
 self-denying ordinance, and its remarkable and 
 wide-extendinof results. 
 
 Mr. Blundell's paper has been closely followed, 
 but the matter necessarily condensed in this 
 sketch.
 
 Binfielb auD ]Ea6tbanlp6tca^, 1700—1716, 
 auD the ]£arlv^ IJJcars of Blcyan^cr jpope. 
 
 By Rev. C. W. Penny, m.a. 
 
 INHERE are few more pleasant and charming 
 country villages in Berkshire than the 
 two adjoining parishes, whose names stand at the 
 head of this chapter. The undulating surface of 
 the land, consisting for the most part of well- 
 wooded and well-watered pastures, and a better 
 soil than prevails in most of the surrounding 
 heaths, must from the first have made an ao^ree- 
 able oasis in this part of the old Forest of 
 Windsor. While their convenient situation, 
 abuttinof north and south of the old hioh road, 
 which ran from Reading past Wokingham to 
 Windsor, and so to London, brought these 
 secluded villages into touch, not only with the 
 chief town of the county, but also with the 
 busier life of the Metropolis. And thus, even 
 two hundred years ago, they were an attractive 
 place of residence for many old families that 
 have long since died out and passed away. 
 
 The early history of almost every village
 
 212 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 centres round its church. And the church at 
 Binfield is no exception to the rule. It lies 
 embowered with trees at the further end of the 
 village, nestling against the slope of a steepish 
 liill. And although the ruthless hand of modern 
 restoration has dealt somewhat hardly both out- 
 side and inside with the fabric itself, yet enough 
 of hoar antiquity remains to attract the notice 
 of even the most careless visitor. The venerable 
 but somewhat dumpy tower is built, like those of 
 Warfield and All Saints', Wokingham, of the 
 conglomerate " puddingstone " of the district, and 
 bears significant testimony to the scarceness of 
 ofood buildino- materials at the date of its 
 erection. For these rug^o-ed irreo-ular frao^ments 
 must have been collected with infinite pains and 
 labour when the " iron pan," as it is called, of the 
 surrounding heath eountr^^ was broken uj), and 
 the land first brought under cultivation. 
 
 As we approach the south door, the fine open 
 timbered perpendicular porch, a feature which is 
 characteristic of the churches of the neiofhbour- 
 hood, cannot fail to strike the eye. It is of 
 unusual size, and the carved oak woodw^ork, black 
 with age, is of superior workmanship. 
 
 The interior of the church is full of interest to
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 213 
 
 the antiquary and the archaeologist. For though 
 the roof and arches are low, the pillars and 
 windows poor, and the general architectural effect 
 mean and disappointing, yet the floor and walls 
 are crowded with inscribed and carved grave- 
 stones and memorial tablets of no ordinary 
 character. These, as well as other relics of a 
 bygone age, at once arrest attention. 
 
 To beofin with the latter first ; on a desk near 
 the pillar as we enter is a black letter copy of 
 Erasmus's Paraphrase of the Four Gospels, 
 which at one time was ordered to be provided in 
 every church at the cost of the parish. The 
 copy is almost perfect, and has been carefully 
 re-bound. 
 
 Then there is what the successive restorations 
 have left of the fine Jacobean pulpit, with its 
 date, " Ano. Dom. 1G28," still upon it; and 
 beside it, though unhappily upon the wrong side, 
 is the elaborate hour-gflass stand of hammered 
 iron-work, consisting of oak leaves and acorns, 
 alternately with vine leaves and bunches of 
 grapes, together with three coats-of-arms, said to 
 be those of the Smiths' and Farriers' Company^ 
 This is probably of the same date as the pulpit, 
 if we ma}^ judge from the very similar iron
 
 214 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 frame- work which is attached to the pulpit in 
 Hurst Church, and which bears the date 1636. 
 The pulpit at Binfield has been sadly mutilated ; 
 its pedestal and staircase are gone ; and its 
 massive sounding-board has been relegated to the 
 ignominious silence and seclusion of the vestry. 
 But, in 1628, it must have been the handsomest 
 pulpit of its kind in the neighbourhood. 
 
 On the floor of the sacrarium is a small brass, 
 a half-length, figure of a priest, represented with 
 a stunted beard, and the apparels of the amice 
 and albe ornamented with quatrefoils. Under- 
 neath is this inscription in Norman French : — 
 
 Mater C^e Hnne5forM3e oist ici^ 
 bicu De sa alme eit mercp. 
 
 It is one of the oldest brasses in the kingdom, for 
 the said "Water" was rector of Binfield in 1361. 
 Another remarkable fact about it is, that out of 
 the seven inscriptions of this church recorded 
 in 1664-6 by E. Ashmole in his "Antiquities of 
 Berks," this is the only one which has survived 
 the successive restorations. The other six have 
 entirely gone. 
 
 Immediately in front of the altar the floor is 
 composed of a row of six black marble grave- 
 stones, each of which has a coat-of-arms elabor-
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 215 
 
 ately sculptured at the head. That nearest to 
 the centre is to the memory of Henry, fifth and 
 last Earl of Stirling, of whose family we shall 
 have more to say presently. The remaining five 
 are remarkable as being all of them apparently 
 j^laced to the memory of Papists who lived in the 
 reign of Charles the II. Indeed, one of them, 
 that, namely, nearest the north aisle, in memory 
 of William Blount, " who dyed in the 21st yeare 
 of his Age on y^ 9th of May, 1671," has the 
 letters, "C.A.P.D." engraved at the bottom in 
 large capitals, which stand for the well-known pre- 
 Reformation prayer, " Oiijus Animae Propicietur 
 Dcus." And it is clear from the names of those 
 commemorated in the other inscriptions that 
 towards the end of Charles the II. 's reign there 
 was a little colony of Papists residing at Binfield. 
 One of the oldest of these Roman Catholic 
 families was that of Dancastle or Dancaster. 
 They had been lords of the Manor of Binfield 
 since the time of Elizabeth ; and a member of 
 the family, John Dancaster, had been rector of 
 Binfield as far back as 1435. The gravestone in 
 the chancel is to the memory of another member, 
 also John Dancaster, who died in 1680, aged 
 eighty-four. And from the coat-of-arms at the
 
 21G BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 head of it : Az., a ball of wild fire d:, impaling, 
 Set., three lions passant in bend Arg., between 
 two double cottises of the last, we are able to 
 identif}^ him as the " John Doncastle of Wel- 
 house " in Ashmole's " Pedigrees of Berks," who 
 married Mary, daughter of the Hon. John 
 Browne, younger brother of Anthony, second 
 Viscount Montague. About five years before 
 his death, he and his neighbour, Mr. Gabriel 
 Yonge, with his wife Elizabeth, whose grave- 
 stone comes next, were excommunicated by the 
 then rector of Binfield, most probably for the 
 non-payment of tithes or other ecclesiastical 
 dues. 
 
 In an " Alphabetical List of the Recusants in 
 the County of Berks," who entered the annual 
 value of their estates for the purpose of being 
 double taxed, pursuant to an Act passed in 1715, 
 John Dancastle, probably the son of the above 
 John Dancastle, is assessed at £234 10s., and his 
 son, Francis Dancastle, at £1 17s. ^^er annum. 
 While to the south wall of Binfield Church is 
 affixed a tablet which records the final extinction 
 of the race. It was erected in memory of yet 
 another John Dancastle, " the last of a respect- 
 able and ancient family, who after patiently
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 217 
 
 enduring the most excruciating pains of the 
 Gout, without intermission for upwards of six- 
 teen years, obtained a happy release, and passed 
 to a country where grief, sorrow, and pain are no 
 more, Jan^ 29th, 1780. Aged 53 years. RI.P." 
 
 The chief interest in the Dancastle family for us 
 lies in the fact that it was owin^: to them that the 
 poet, Alexander Pope, came to live at Binfield. 
 About the year 1700, the representatives of this 
 family at Binfield were two brothers, named 
 Thomas and John. Very little is known about 
 them except what may be gathered incidentally 
 from the correspondence of Pope. It is believed 
 that they lived at the Manor House at Binfield, 
 and that it was owing to the friendship between 
 Alexander Pope the elder and John Dancastle 
 that the former was induced to settle at Binfield 
 in 1700, when his son, the future poet, was just 
 twelve years of age. After the migration to 
 Binfield, the similarity of their tastes, for both 
 were passionately fond of gardening, no doubt 
 increased the intimacy ; and we find that John 
 Dancastle was the first witness to the elder 
 Pope's will. 
 
 Scarcely anything is known for certain of the 
 family history of the Popes before the settlement
 
 218 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 at Binfield, except that Pope's grandfather was a 
 clergyman of the Cliurch of England, and that 
 he placed his son, the poet's father, with a 
 merchant at Lisbon, where he became a convert 
 to the Church of Rome. On his return to 
 England, he seems to have been unsuccessful in 
 his business affairs. Hearne, the antiquary, 
 speaks of him [Diary, July 18th, 1729) as a 
 "poor ignorant man, a tanner;" and elsewhere 
 as "a sort of broken merchant," who had been 
 "said to be a mechanic, a hatter, a farmer, nay, 
 a bankrupt." But these were probably the false 
 libels which were levelled against the son in 
 after years in revenge for his keen and bitter 
 satire. 
 
 It is now generally agreed that Mr. Pope, senior, 
 was a linen draper in London at the time his son 
 was born ; and whatever may have been his 
 success or want of success in that business, we 
 know that, in 1700, he bought a small estate and 
 house at Binfield, where he resided for the next 
 sixteen years. He had an income, so Hearne 
 tells us, of between three and four hundred a 
 year. 
 
 The house can now hardly be said to exist. 
 Pope himself described it as : —
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 219 
 
 " My paternal cell, 
 A little house with trees a-row, 
 And like its master very low •" 
 
 where the retired merchant employed his time 
 chiefly in the cultivation of his garden, and as his 
 son said ; — 
 
 " Plants cauliflowers, and boasts to rear 
 The earliest melons of the year." 
 
 But successive owners have so pulled down and 
 rebuilt it, that nothinsf now remains of the 
 original house except one room, which tradition 
 says was the poet's study. There is an engrav- 
 inof of this in E. Jesse's " Favorite Haunts and 
 Rural Studies," published by J. Murray in 1847 
 (p. 90). The present house, formerly known as 
 Pope's Wood, is now called Arthurstone, and 
 belongs to J. W. Macnabb, Esq. 
 
 There is no doubt that besides the Dancastles 
 and the other Papist families at Binfield, there 
 were numerous Roman Catholics settled in the 
 neighbourhood. In particular we find that 
 Pope often visited, and was intimate with, the 
 Blounts, of Mapledurham ; the Carylls, of Lady- 
 holt ; and the Englefields, of Whiteknights. At 
 the house of the last, he used to meet Wycherly, 
 who introduced him to London life, and Miss
 
 220 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Arabella Feriuor, the heroine of the "Rape of 
 the Lock," But it is not a little remarkable that 
 the Popes at Binfield appear to have associated 
 exclusively witli their Roman Catholic friends. 
 Throughout the whole of Pope's letters there 
 does not appear a single allusion to the other 
 county families that were undoubtedly residing at 
 Binfield at this time, and whose gravestones 
 cover a goodly portion of the floor of the church ; 
 for instance, the two branches of the Lee family 
 and the Alexanders, Earls of Stirlino^, 
 
 Here then, from the age of twelve, the poet 
 grew up a solitary, precocious child. He had 
 indeed a half-sister, Magdalen, the only child of 
 Mr. Pope's first wife. But she was a good deal, 
 at least ten or twelve years, older than her 
 brother, and at this time, or soon after, was 
 married to a Mr. Rackett, and lived at Hall 
 Grove, on Bagshot Heath. For a short time, a 
 few months only after the settlement at Binfield 
 he was placed under the charge of a priest, the 
 fourth that had taught him in succession. " This," 
 he says, *' was all the teaching I ever had, and, 
 God knows, it extended a very little way." 
 
 His parents indulged his every whim, and 
 accordingly the boy spent his mornings in
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 221 
 
 desultory reading, ranging freely and widely at 
 will through English, Italian, and Latin literature. 
 In the afternoons he wandered alone amidst the 
 surrounding: woods, and fed his iraaofination with 
 musinofs UDon the studies of the morninof, or 
 feasted his e^^es with the beautiful landscape 
 around him. In particular he is known to have 
 haunted a grove of noble beech trees, still called 
 Pope's Wood, which grew about half-a-mile from 
 his father's house. On one of these was cut the 
 words "Here Pope sang \' and for many years 
 the letters were annually refreshed by the care of 
 a lady residing near Wokingham. This tree was 
 blown down in a gale, and the words were carved 
 anew upon the next tree ; but when this also fell 
 some years ago the inscription was not renewed.* 
 
 * This was the case until quite recently ; but towards the end of 
 1893, the late Mr. Hutchinson Browne, of Moor Close, Binfield, 
 caused the words, " Here Pope Sung," to be once more cut in the 
 bark of a tree growing on the site as Pope's wood. And underneath 
 them he affixed a brass plate inscribed with the following elegant copy 
 of verses in Latin and English, which I was fortunate in obtaining for 
 him from the pen of the Rev. Charles Stanwell, Vicar of Ipsden, Oxon : — 
 
 " Angiiacis resonare modis qui suasit Homerum 
 
 Hie cecinit laudes, Vindelisora, tuas ; 
 Hinc Silvae nomen vates dedit ; avboris olim 
 
 Inciso testis cortioe truuciis evat. 
 Silva diu periit, sed noiiien et umbra supersunt. 
 
 Umbra viri circuiii, nomen ubique volat." 
 
 " He to our Lyre who wooed great Homer's strain, 
 Here sang the praise of Windsor's sylvan reign ; 
 Hence gained the wood a poet's name ; of old 
 The attesting trunk, inscribed, the story told. 
 The wood hath perished, but surviving .still 
 His shade these haunts, his name the world doth fill."— C. W. F.
 
 222 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Every evening on his return home the " marvel- 
 lous boy " committed to paper the results of his 
 communing witli the Muses in the leafy grove. 
 In this way he composed and wrote out many 
 juvenile verses, amongst others an epic poem of 
 more tlian four thousand lines, which in after 
 years his matured taste consigned to the flames. 
 So close an application, combined with complete 
 isolation from all companionship of children of 
 his own age, was certain in the end to affect 
 disastrously his mental constitution as well as his 
 bodily health. Accordingly we find that he 
 never shook off the morbid self-consciousness 
 which his solitary childhood had developed in him. 
 And there is no doubt that his singular propensity 
 to tricks and plots, which increased upon him 
 with increasing age, even to the end of his life, 
 was fostered by the atmosphere of evasion and 
 deceit, in which, owing to the severe penal laws 
 against Papists, he was necessarily brought up, 
 and which in his case was never corrected by the 
 wholesome training, if rough experience of a 
 public school. 
 
 At the same time his intense application, 
 untempered by any distraction of games or amuse- 
 ments, produced its natural results in a constitution
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 223 
 
 by nature weakl}^ and began by the time he was 
 sixteen years of age seriously to affect his health. 
 He tried many physicians to no purpose, and 
 finding himself daily growing worse thought he 
 had not long to live. He therefore calmly sat 
 down and wrote to take leave of all his friends. 
 Amonofst others he sent a last farewell to the 
 Abbe Southcote, who lived near Abingdon. 
 The Abbe, thinking that Pope's malady was 
 mental rather than physical, went to his friend 
 Dr. Radcliffe, the famous physician of Oxford, 
 and described to him the boy's condition. 
 Armed with full directions the Abbe hastened 
 to Binfield, to enforce with all the ardour 
 of friendship the doctor's chief prescriptions — 
 strict diet, less study and a daily ride in the 
 open air. 
 
 In this way Pope, while riding in the Forest, 
 began first to meet, then to know, and finally to 
 be intimate with the squire of the neighbouring 
 village. Easthampstead Park was at this time 
 occupied by the veteran statesman, Sir William 
 Trumbull, Knt. He had lived abroad for many 
 years as ambassador, first at Paris and then at 
 Constantinople. On his return home he had 
 been appointed Secretary of State to William IH.,
 
 234 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 ami now (juite recently, in 1007, he had resigned 
 all his appointments and had retired to end his 
 days peacefully at home. 
 
 At this time he was a widower, his first wife, 
 Lady Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Charles 
 Cotterell, having died in July, 1704. He soon 
 after married Lady Judith Alexander, youngest 
 daughter of Henry, 4th Earl of Stirling, who 
 at that time was residing at Binfield, thouorh in 
 what house is not now known. Sir William was 
 then almost seventy years of age, having been 
 born apparently about the year 163G, and had no 
 children. And thus it is easy to understand 
 how the forlorn old man, riding often no 
 doubt in the direction of Binfield in search of 
 his second wife, frequently met the invalid 
 poet as he left home in search of health, 
 throuirh the devious maze of drives in Windsor 
 Forest, on which even then he was meditating to 
 write a poem. 
 
 Long residence in Franco and Turkey had no 
 doubt made Trumbull a citizen of the world. 
 His capacious mind would have no room in it for 
 the prejudices against Papists, which in England 
 at that time were very strong, and in country 
 districts banished them from ordinary society.
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 225 
 
 Nor was the discrepancy of their years, seventy 
 and seventeen, any bar to their growing friendship. 
 Like all solitary children, especially the children 
 of aged parents, Pope, even when a boy, seems 
 always to have preferred the company and friend- 
 ship of elderly men. Another link too was 
 doubtless their mutual incapacity for shooting 
 and hunting, then, as now, the ordinary pursuits 
 of country gentlemen. Sir WilHara Trumbull's 
 long absence from England throughout his youth 
 (for he was educated at Montpellier, in France, 
 during the troubles of the Commonwealth) and in 
 middle life, when he was enofao^ed in the service 
 of his country abroad, indisposed him as an old 
 man to begin a new kind of life, and Pope's 
 crooked frame and feeble health forbad him 
 altogether to join in such sports. In 1705 he 
 wrote to his friend Wycherly : — 
 
 "Ours are a sort of inoffensive people, who 
 neither have sense nor pretend to any, but enjoy 
 a jovial kind of dulness. They are commonly 
 known in the world by the name of honest, civil 
 gentlemen. They live much as they ride, at 
 random — a kind of hunting life, pursuing with 
 earnestness and hazard something not worth the 
 
 catching ; never in the way nor out of it. I 
 
 15
 
 226 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 cannot but prefer solitude to the company of all 
 these." . 
 
 And in another letter he wrote to his friend 
 Cromwell in the same strain : — 
 
 "I assure you I am looked upon in the neigh- 
 bourhood for a very sober and well-disposed 
 person, no great hunter indeed, but a great 
 esteemer of that noble sport, and only unhappy 
 in my want of constitution for that and drinking. 
 They all say 'tis pity I am so sickly, and I think 
 'tis a pity they are so healthy ; but I say nothing 
 that may destroy their good opinion of me." 
 
 Besides this, an additional link in the chain 
 which united the two friends was the similarity of 
 their tastes in literature. Sir William Trumbull, 
 who, in his early days, had been Fellow of All 
 Souls' College, Oxford, had kept up his scholar- 
 ship, and retained to the last day of his life his 
 early fondness for Greek and Latin authors. 
 
 The results of this friendship were of immense 
 advantage to Pope. His earliest published poems. 
 The Pastorals, modelled on Virgil's Eclogues, 
 were first submitted to and discussed with 
 Trumbull, as they rode together about the Forest, 
 and the first Pastoral with much propriety was 
 dedicated to his venerable friend. It was Trum-
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 227 
 
 bull who first suggested to Pope that he should 
 undertake the translation of the Iliad, and thereby 
 laid the foundation of his affluence. But far 
 more than this, when the poet first went to 
 London, and seemed, under the guidance of the 
 old reprobate Wycherly, to be falling into evil 
 ways, it was Trumbull who implored him to 
 retrace his steps. "I now come," he wrote, "to 
 what is of vast moment, I mean the preservation 
 of your health, and beg of you earnestly to get 
 out of all tavern company, and fly away from it 
 tcmqua^m ex incencUo." As long as Pope remained 
 at Binfield, their friendship was warm and un- 
 abated. In striking contrast with every other 
 intimacy between Pope and his friends no cold- 
 ness or quarrel ever arose between them. In 
 April, 1716, the Popes left Binfield and removed 
 to Chiswick, and in the following December Sir 
 William Trumbull died. 
 
 To return ; in the meanwhile the elder Pope 
 devoted himself to gardening, in the art of which, 
 as we have seen, he was no mean proficient. A 
 rival in the same pursuit was his friend, Mr. 
 John Dancastle. And we find amongst the 
 poet's correspondence a letter from Sir William 
 Trumbull thanking Pope's father for sending him
 
 228 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 a present of " hartichokes " of superior size and 
 excellence ; and in another letter Mr. John Dan- 
 castle excuses himself, after the Popes had left, 
 for not being able to procure them "some white 
 Strabery plants " such as apparently the elder 
 Pope had reared in the old garden at Binfield. 
 
 While the father was thus occupied in garden- 
 ing, the son was gradually creeping into notice as 
 a poet. His early poems and shorter pieces 
 appeared at first in Tonson's or Lintot's 
 "Miscellanies," or the "Spectator," and similar 
 publications. But as he became more widely 
 known, Pope ventured on independent publica- 
 tion by the then usual mode of introducing new 
 works, namely by subscription. In this way his 
 fine poems the Essay on Criticism, Windsor 
 Forest, and the Rape of the Loch, all written and 
 composed at Binfield, appeared successively in 
 1711, 1713, and 1714. 
 
 The first of these poems should be mentioned 
 for two reasons. It led to Pope's first introduction 
 to London life, when he made the acquaintance 
 of the famous wits of the period, Steele, Addison, 
 Gay, and Swift. And it also was the cause of 
 the first of those literary quarrels in which 
 Pope's talent for satire henceforth involved him
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 229 
 
 more or less as long as he lived. Resenting some 
 adverse criticism of his Pastorals, he inserted in 
 the Essay on Criticism the following lines : — 
 
 " 'Twere well might critics still their freedom take, 
 But Appius reddens at each word you speak, 
 And stares tremendous with a threatening eye 
 Like some fierce tyrant in old tapestry." 
 
 John Dennis, the writer thus lampooned as 
 " Appius," retorted in a prose pamphlet, in which 
 he described his assailant as a " hunch-backed 
 toad," and went on to say : "If you have a mind 
 to inquire between Sunninghill and Oakingham for 
 a young, short, squab gentleman, an eternal 
 writer of amorous pastoral madrigals and the 
 very bow of the god of love, you will be soon 
 directed to him. And pray, as soon as you have 
 taken a survey of him, tell me whether he is a 
 proper author to make personal reflections." 
 
 In his poem Windsor Forest it was natural 
 that Pope should commemorate his friendship 
 and intercourse with Sir William Trumbull, by 
 describing in graceful verse the peaceful occupa- 
 tions of his aged friend's declining years. 
 
 " Happy [the man], who to these shades retires, 
 Whom Nature charms, and whom the Muse inspires : 
 Whom humbler joys of home-felt quiet please, 
 Successive study, exercise, and ease.
 
 230 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 He gathers health from herbs the forest yields, 
 And of their fragrant physic spoils the fields ; 
 
 Now marks the course of rolling orbs on high ; 
 O'er figured worlds now travels with his eye ; 
 Of ancient writ unlocks the learned store, 
 Consults the dead, and lives past ages o'er. 
 
 Or looks on heaven with more than mortal eyes, 
 Bids his free soul expatiate in the skies, 
 Amid her kindred stars familiar roam. 
 Survey the region, and confess her home ! 
 Such vvas the life great Scipio once admired. 
 Thus Atticus, and Trumbal thus retired." 
 
 Of the Rape of the Lock it will suffice to say that 
 even now some critics reckon it as Pope's master- 
 piece. As a specimen of the Mock Heroic Epic 
 Poem it has no rival in the Enolish lanfruao^e. 
 Here it chiefly concerns us as a true and lifelike 
 picture of fashionable manners prevailing in 
 countr}'- houses in the reign of Queen Anne. 
 
 The publication of these poems made frequent 
 journeys to London necessary, in order to settle 
 terms with the publishers and other literary 
 business. The Rape of the Lock was immediately 
 successful, three thousand copies being sold in 
 four days, and it was at once reprinted. Pope's 
 fame was therefore now established firmly, but
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 231 
 
 hitherto the sums which he had received for his 
 poems would seem to have been very inconsider- 
 able. He appears to have received thirty pounds 
 for Windsor Forest, and only half that sum each 
 for the Essay on Criticism and the Rape of the 
 Lock. 
 
 He now bethought him, therefore, of Sir 
 William Trumbull's former suo-o'estisn that he 
 should translate Homer, and in October, 1713, 
 he issued his Proposals to the Public. His 
 friends in London interested themselves in the 
 subscription. Dean Swift, in particular, said he 
 should not rest until he had secured for him a 
 thousand pounds. And so flattering was the 
 response, that in 1715 the family was enabled to 
 live more at ease. It was now evident that their 
 present abode was too far from London, for one 
 who had constant negfotiations with the book- 
 sellers and the Popes determined to leave 
 Binfield, and accordingly their house there was 
 sold towards the end of 1715. It was bought by 
 a Mr. Tanner, whose gravestone is one of those 
 described in the beginning of this chapter as lying 
 in front of the altar. He was probably a Papist, 
 certainly a Non-Juror, for Hearne, who records 
 the fact, terms him "an honest man," which is
 
 232 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Hearne's well-known periphrasis for denoting 
 those who were Jacobites in politics. 
 
 The last two years of his life at Bintiuld, Pope 
 spent in translating the Iliad, or rather, for he 
 was too poor a Greek scholar to read it in the 
 original, in versifying other people's translations 
 of it. Good old Sir William Trumbull no doubt 
 helped him whenever a passage of extra difficulty 
 perplexed the poet. And Mr. Thomas Dan- 
 castle, the Squire of Binfield, was so delighted 
 with his young friend's enterprise that at infinite 
 pains and labour he made a fair copy of the whole 
 translation for the press. It also appears from 
 Pope's MSS. that he occasionally indulged his 
 affectionate and amiable mother in allowing her 
 to transcribe a portion. But alas ! poor Mrs. 
 Pope had had but a slender education. In the 
 single letter of hers, which has been published, 
 the spelling is surprisingly phonetic. Alluding 
 to a portion of the Iliad she writes to her son : 
 " He will not faile to cole here on Friday 
 morning, and take ceare to cearrie itt to Mr. 
 Thomas Doncaster. He shall dine wone day 
 with Mrs. Dune, in Ducke {i.e., Duke) Street; 
 but the day will be unsirton, soe I thincke you 
 had better send itt to me. He will not faile to
 
 BINFIELD AND EASTHAMPSTEAD. 233 
 
 cole here, that is Mr. Mannock." And the 
 numerous corrections made in his own hand, 
 sufficiently show that her mode of spelling gave 
 Pope more trouble than all the subsequent 
 inaccuracies of the printers. 
 
 Our period draws to its close. In June, 1715, 
 the first volume of Pope's Homer, containing the 
 first four books of the Iliad came out. It has 
 been calculated that for the six volumes in which 
 the translation was comprised Pope received from 
 Lintot more than £5,000. And as the greater 
 portion of this sum was paid in advance his 
 circumstances at once became not only easy but 
 affluent. The end of the year was spent in pre- 
 paring to migrate to Chiswick. It must be 
 remembered that the new year then began in 
 March, and on March 20, 17^f, Pope wrote to 
 his friend Caryll as follows : — 
 
 " I write this from Windsor Forest, which I 
 am come to take my last look and leave of We 
 have bid our Papist neighbours adieu, much as 
 those who o-o to be haneced do their fellow- 
 prisoners who are condemned to follow them a 
 few weeks after. I was at Whiteknights, where 
 I found the young ladies I just now mentioned 
 [Theresa and Martha Blount] spoken of a little
 
 234 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 more coldly than I could at this time especially * 
 have wished. I parted from honest Mr 
 Dancastle with tenderness, and from Sir William 
 Trumbull as from a venerable prophet, foretelling 
 with lifted hands the miseries to come upon 
 posterity which he was just going to be removed 
 from." 
 
 Sir William died in the December following in 
 his 78th year, leaving an only son, also William 
 Trumbull, barely eight years old. The sub- 
 sequent history of Binfield and Easthampstead 
 does not fall within the limits of this chapter. It 
 must suffice to say that Pope occasionally visited 
 the Dancastles, and possibly stayed with Lady 
 Judith Trumbull. At all events he recommended 
 his friend, Elijah Fenton, the poet, to be her 
 son's tutor, and frequently corresponded with him 
 at Easthamptead. Fenton continued to reside 
 there even after young Trumbull grew to man's 
 estate, and when Fenton died in 1730, Pope 
 wrote the epitaph which is still to be seen 
 inscribed uj)on the tablet erected by William 
 Trumbull to his memory, on the north wall of 
 Easthampstead Church. 
 
 * Mrs. Blount and her two daughters were on the point of quitting 
 Mapledurham in consequenco of the marriage of her son, Michael 
 Blount, in 1715.
 
 Bcrhebirc Mort)5 anb ipbrascs. 
 
 By Rev. M. J. Bacon. 
 
 IT is not easy to determine in a subject of this 
 kind what are the strict Hnes of demarca- 
 tion which separate words and phrases used 
 within a specific area from those used elsewhere, 
 or again, in many instances, to decide what is 
 dialect, and what mere local pronunciation. 
 Where the area is confined to the limit of a 
 county, the difficulties are increased, as the 
 dwellers near the borders w^ould naturally be 
 influenced by the characteristics of the neigh- 
 bouring county. Thus Berkshire folk on the 
 Wiltshire side of the county would differ in 
 many respects from those on the Hampshire 
 side ; and while the verb to kite, for instance, 
 would be unknown to the one, the adjective 
 deedy would be equally strange to the other. 
 
 Probably, next to verbs and adjectives, 
 the names given to birds and animals, 
 implements, or any common object, would 
 determine a man's county. Phrases are less
 
 23G BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 numerous, but adjectives rank first among local 
 peculiarities. 
 
 Many of these convey the same idea, but are 
 applied to difierent objects, and in different ways. 
 Thus in Berkshire chuff, j^'^H^y fo^^y peart, and 
 sprack, all imply something sharp, smart, or 
 perky ; but j^ruff is applied solely to vegetable 
 life, such as young and healthy shoots, buds, or 
 growing plants ; while a sharp, quick mannered 
 man may be either chuff or fess. "Speak up, 
 cJiuff, now," is the adjuration of the parent to 
 tlie bashful child who has just been addressed by 
 the quality. Fess will be recognised at once as 
 the fierce of the Eastern counties, implying a 
 certain amount of vigour, indeed, but conveying 
 no idea of savagery or temper. Peart and 
 sprack speak for themselves. 
 
 Next come hHstle and hriffut, used both as 
 nouns and verbs, though the former is more often 
 the substantive, expressing a sharp, active fellow, 
 or perhaps a terrier, who would hy^iffut about in 
 search of rats. The adjective deedy, on the other 
 hand, is careful, wary, cautious, almost the 
 Yankee 'cute, and is usually intensified by main, 
 very. " What sort of a girl is your daughter?" 
 asked the late Baron Huddleston of the mother
 
 BERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES. 237 
 
 of a young girl who had just given evidence in an 
 important case in the Reading Assize Court. 
 "She be a main deedy little girl, my Lord," was 
 the reply. "Greedy, did you say?" "No, my 
 Lord, deedy — main deedy." But Reading is not 
 central enough in the county for anyone in court 
 to have replied to his Lordship's puzzled look of 
 enquiry. 
 
 Besides main, feart, or feartish, is used to 
 emphasise an expression. " He be a main sight, 
 or a feartish deal better," or perhaps "only 
 tarhlish,'' a contraction of tolerablish. In like 
 manner, the patient w^ould change for the better, 
 but alter for the worse, while a hit altery would 
 apply to the weather tohening for rain. Smart is 
 used to qualify another word, as a smart few, 
 meaning a good many, or it would raiyi smartish. 
 Other words, sometimes corruptions, are common, 
 as linked, awkward, in the sense of obstinate, 
 troublesome ; stcwiachy, proud, self-willed ; quisit- 
 ing, inquisitive ; querhy, querulous ; tvangery, 
 languid ; shachelty, shaky ; hechatty, onomato- 
 pcean, applied to a cough ; jjeaked, pronounced 
 jnl'Iad, pointed, as the end of a stick ; ivorriting 
 for worrying, though terrifying is more often 
 used, to terrify and to ivorrit being synomy
 
 238 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 mous. Casualty is risky, hollies being considered 
 casualty things to plant, while it is often casualty 
 weather in hay-making time. To be iu a ferrick 
 is to be in a fidget, and all of a caddie in a muddle. 
 Heft is weight, and hefty, weighty. To poise 
 anything in the hand to test its weight would be 
 to heft it. Overright is opposite, a word unknown 
 to the aborigines; but what a "Leicestershire 
 mon " would call over yon, is expressed by his 
 Berkshire compeer as athurt thur, evidently a 
 corruption of athwart there. Overright would, 
 of course, be originally rightover, and this 
 tendency to put the cart before the horse is 
 common. Droo wet is always used for wet 
 through. The same peculiarity appears else- 
 where, as in hreakstuff for breakfast, and even 
 in monosyllables, as iKvpse for hasp, elapse for 
 clasp, and aks for ask. This last, however, is by 
 no means confined to Berkshire. 
 
 Some of the verbs are original, while others 
 bear signs of being simply mispronunciations. 
 To quilt is to swallow ; to j^/im to swell, like rice 
 in the boiling ; to huck to dig up, or empty. A 
 man hucks oiit a gutter or ditch, or simply hucks 
 his potatoes. To tuck is probably originally to 
 pluck, and is applied to dressing the sides of a
 
 BERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES. 239 
 
 newly made rick with the hand to make it trim 
 and neat. To kite, or kite up, is to look up 
 sharp or peeringly ; while bees are indifferently 
 said to bite or tang. "They do tang I," would 
 seem to preclude any derivation from sting, as it 
 undoubtedly is. To argue is used in its proper 
 sense, and is very common ; but it is always 
 turned into the monosyllable arg. 
 
 It is not surprising to find peculiarities in the 
 common objects and customs of everyday life. 
 Thus the eleven o'clock snack under the hedge, 
 known elsewhere as elevenses, is nuncheon ; and so 
 it comes to pass that a horse deficient in barrel is 
 spoken of disparagingly as having " no nuncheon 
 bag." A bradawl is a nalpasse?', no doubt " nail- 
 passer"; but a gimlet retains its name, and is 
 not called a tivinnet, as in some places. A duckut 
 is a small bill hook for cutting^ fao-onots : while a 
 fag-hook, or fagging-hook, is a crooked stick used 
 instead of the left hand in clearing a bank of 
 nettles, etc., with an iron "hook." The new 
 mown hay is termed eddish, while tedding out hay 
 is spreading it out in the sun after it has been 
 mown. The hay-loft over the stable, often the 
 sleeping place of the fogger [forager), the 
 man who tends the cattle, is called the tallut ;
 
 240 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 the smallest pig in the litter, elsewhere either the 
 "cad" or "darling," is invariably the runt', a 
 doo-'s fangs are tushes, and a bird's claws nippens. 
 In the poultry-yard and pigeon-cote the cock-bird 
 is the torn ; and some of the wild birds have their 
 peculiar names assigned them. Thus the ivry- 
 neck, or cuckoo's mate, is the pe-pe bird, fi-om its 
 note ; a ivish wagtail is a dasher ; a woodpecker 
 a yc(ffin</al ; and the golden plover a whistling 
 dovyer. The little white moth that flits about in 
 the twilight at sundown in the summer months 
 is a margioiulet, and the steady, plodding mole, is 
 either a tvant or a mouldiivarp. 
 
 Berkshire stands confessedly at the head of all 
 pig-breeding counties, but that is no reason why 
 the usual call of " choog, choog. choogy," at 
 feeding time, should be changed to "teg, teg, 
 teggy." The cattle call of coop, coop, is of course 
 a corruption of "come, come"; and coohid, 
 coohiddy, the poultry call of "come hither." 
 The carter, walking on the near side of his horses, 
 calls them towards him by coomither, or coomither- 
 awo-oy, or more frequently holt, or holt toward, 
 with the accent on the first syllable of "toward," 
 and sends them to the off side with the mono- 
 syllable nmg. It is not often that the Berkshire
 
 BERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES. 241 
 
 man stoops to abuse, for he is naturally easy- 
 going, stolid, and impassive ; but a driven cow 
 taking a wrong turn would inevitably be 
 denounced as an old faggot, and a troublesome 
 boy be branded as a young radical, though 
 without any pohtical signification attached. A 
 simile would not be looked for amongst essentially 
 an unimaginative folk, but as 'pright as a dish is 
 common, and singularly inappropriate. 
 
 Of superstition there is comparatively little, 
 and orhosts and witches meet with but Httle 
 respect, the men believing that a good " vowld- 
 stake (i.e. fold-stake) is a sufficient weapon in all 
 cases of emergency, and the women being fully 
 as undaunted as the men. There is, however, 
 a curious old Berkshire saying, that " a spayed 
 bitch will catch a witch," and that there is some 
 faith in the truth of the saying is shown by the 
 fact that sheep dogs, if of the feminine gender, 
 used frequently to be so treated. 
 
 Every race has its physical peculiarity, and 
 
 where the negfro is tenderest, the Berkshire man 
 
 is toughest, — in his shins. As a backstop he 
 
 prefers to stop the fastest balls with his shins, 
 
 rather than with his hands, and will keep on all 
 
 day without apparent inconvenience. At " back- 
 
 10
 
 242 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 swording" Berkshire men were always renowned ; 
 but it was necessarily the privilege of the few, 
 the ordinary farm labourer having no opportunity 
 for practising it. Some other test of endurance 
 must therefore be accepted ; and forty years ago 
 it was the regular custom, when two carters 
 stopped at a way-side public-house, for the men 
 to shake hands first, in token of friendship, and 
 then to indulge in the pastime of either cutlegs or 
 kickshins, the former consisting of the men 
 standing apart, and lashing each others legs with 
 their long cart whips till one cried " Hold," while 
 in kickshins each man took firm grip of his 
 opponent by twisting both hands in the over- 
 lapping collar of his smock frock, and then kicking 
 with his hob-nailed boots at the other's shins, the 
 vanguished one of course paying for both pots of 
 ale before they started once more on their 
 respective journeys. There was living in the 
 Lambourn valley, less than forty years ago, a 
 man who was considered the champion of the 
 county side, and his shins were knotted and bent 
 and twisted in the most remarkable manner, as 
 the result of his numerous encounters. 
 
 Heavy of gait, stolid of mien, and of 
 indomitable courage, the true Berkshire man is a
 
 BERKSHIRE WORDS AND PHRASES. 243 
 
 staunch friend, and a very poor enemy, for he 
 harbours no resentment. Imperturbable to the 
 last degree, he is rarely surprised into an 
 exclamation of surprise, excitement, or satisfaction. 
 When he is, Dal-lee, with a strong accent on the 
 last syllable, is his sole resource. " D^l-Iee I 
 that's got 'un," says the carpenter with a grunt 
 of satisfaction, as he gives the finishing blow that 
 drives home a bio: nail at which he has been 
 pounding. Its derivation may not be hard to 
 find, but it makes the Berkshire man no worse 
 than his neig^hbours after all. 
 
 But all these things are relics of a past age 
 now. Shins are tenderer, mouths less wide, or 
 at least the dialect is less broad ; and the 
 certificated schoolmaster and the railways have 
 done their deadly work. 
 
 Tempora viiutantur, nos et mutamur t-n illis.
 
 BulUBaitino in Bcrh9hirc. 
 
 By Rev. Canov Sturges. 
 
 THE character of a people is reflected in 
 their amusements. The gradual decline 
 of the popularity of rough and cruel sports is a 
 sure indication that there has been corresponding 
 improvement in the people themselves. The 
 History of Sports will show how slowly and yet 
 how continuously this improvement has gone on 
 under the influence of Christian civilization. 
 
 It was not until christian teaching had been 
 leavening society for 400 years that public 
 opinion was educated up to the point of abolish- 
 ing the gladatorial contests, and the wholesale 
 massacres of the Roman amphitheatre. For 
 nearly a thousand years more the lists, within 
 which men-at-arms met in mortal combat to shew 
 their skill or settle their quarrels, were the very 
 chiefest places of amusement in our own land. 
 There king and nobles would sit on seats raised 
 above the crowd, and fairest ladies gave 
 the signal to begin, and presented the reward to
 
 BULL-BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 245 
 
 the victor when the oames were over. The 
 common people crowded round the enclosure, 
 while all watched the armed men tiltinof at one 
 another on horseback, or dealing mighty blows 
 with sword and buckler, and when a spear's head 
 penetrated a knight's corslet, and he fell from his 
 horse, and his life's blood oozed out on the 
 ground, or when a downward sweep of a great 
 two-handed sword fell on a footman's helmet, 
 cleaving it and the head beneath it in two, as 
 sometimes happened, the men in the crowd did 
 not turn sick, nor the women scream and faint, 
 as would be the case now if such sights were 
 seen, but the men clapped their hands and 
 cheered, and the women waved their hand- 
 kerchiefs, and put on their sweetest smiles for 
 him who dealt the fatal blow. In time that 
 class of exhibitions passed out of use, and another 
 took its place, and survived to within the 
 memory of living persons. No longer was the 
 stake played for human life, but for the humbler 
 one of the life of a brute. Sometimes, indeed, 
 the higfhest in the land would minMe with the 
 lowest, for the pleasure of seeing a couple of 
 stronof men batterino- one another's faces into 
 shapeless mass with fists, until one of the two
 
 246 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 could no lonofer stand. But tlie commoner and 
 
 o 
 
 more generally approved sport was that which 
 transferred the duty of being done to death for 
 the amusement of mankind, from man himself to 
 the dumb helpless creatures that have been 
 committed to man's care, and set apart for his 
 lawful use. Bull-baiting, bear-baiting, cock- 
 fi<j:htin<2r, rat-killintx, doof-ficrhtinii:, and such like, 
 were for several centuries his favourite amuse- 
 ments.^ Queen Elizabeth was an enthusiastic 
 patroness of baiting. The master of the bears, bulls, 
 and dogs, was one of the officers of the Royal 
 household duringr her reio^n, and in several sub- 
 sequent reigns. She was wont to entertain 
 ambassadors to her court, witli bull and bear- 
 baitinof after a state dinner In 1591 an order of 
 the Privy council was issued forbidding plays to 
 be acted on Thursdays, because "bear-baiting 
 and such like pastimes had usually been practised 
 on that day." Thus Shakespeare was silenced 
 every Thursday, lest the bull-ring should be 
 neglected. 
 
 It was not until the beginning of the present 
 century that the conscience of the nation began 
 
 * Erasmus, the reformer, speaks of ' manj- heids ' of bears which 
 he saw being trained for baiting when he was in England in the reign 
 of Henry VIII.
 
 BULL BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 247 
 
 to revolt against the continuance of this bar- 
 barous sport. In 1802 an attempt was made in 
 the House of Commons to pass a bill to suppress 
 it. The question was argued with much warmth, 
 and the bill was lost. In 1835 public opinion 
 had so far advanced that a bill was passed 
 without much difficulty, by which it became 
 illegal henceforth to bait or worry any bear, bull, 
 dog, or other animal. And thus after seven 
 centuries of popularity, bull-baiting ceased to be 
 a public amusement. 
 
 We should like now to take our readers, as far 
 as we can by a descriptive narrative, to one of 
 the bull-baitings of Berkshire as they were 
 conducted sixty years ago. There are plenty of 
 places we might select for our visit. Every 
 town in the county and every considerable 
 village had its common or ground where the 
 greensward was reddened at least once a year 
 with the blood of bulls and dogs. Strangely 
 enough the favourite day for the great bait of 
 the year was Good Friday. 
 
 The best place we can select for our visit will 
 be Wokingham. It is a comfort to know that 
 there at least the baiting will not be on Good 
 Friday. St. Thomas's Day, Dec. 21st, has been
 
 248 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 the day there set ajjart for many generations for 
 the sacrifice of bulls by dog-torture. And there 
 the sport enjoys an endowment and so flourishes 
 wonderfully, outdoing in the fame of its l)ull- 
 baiting all other towns and parishes in the county 
 of Berks. The endowment arose in this way. 
 One, George Staverton, a lover of the sport, 
 having himself, it is said, been gored by a bull, 
 charged his estate with £6 a year to provide a 
 bull for baitinof. Whether he meant it as a 
 revenge on the whole bull race for his injuries, or, 
 as the expression of a good-natured wish, that 
 others should enjoy the sport from which he had 
 himself received so much pleasure, we are left to 
 guess. But this we know, that the bequest 
 increased in value, and soon was sufficient to buy 
 two bulls at least every year ; and in 1815, which 
 is the year to which we are going to take our 
 readers back to witness the Wokinofham bull- 
 baiting, anyone strolling through the streets of 
 the town, any day of the year, would have had 
 abundant evidence that the sport was held in 
 great estimation by the inhabitants. At many a 
 cottage door was to be seen a specimen of the true 
 British buU-dosf. Sometimes the animal had a 
 silver collar, betokening past victories won over
 
 BULL-BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 249 
 
 the bull. All were sleek, and evidently objects 
 of much care and interest, often of much more 
 than were bestowed on the children of the house. 
 The 21st of December, 1815, was a cold, damp, 
 dull day. Two hours before noon, a young fellow 
 drove out of Reading with a companion to see 
 the Wokingham bull-baiting. As they drew near 
 the town, the road became crowded with carriages 
 and pedestrians hurrying in the same direction.* 
 Arrived at the Market Place, the younger man 
 found a place in a window overlooking the scene, 
 while the elder, a tall fellow, evidently a 
 habitue of the bull-ring, joined the crowd outside. 
 The spectators filled every window, and in some 
 cases had seated themselves on the roofs of the 
 houses. Carriages, filled with occupants, were 
 drawn up in front of the shops, and all available 
 standing room on the footpaths and roadway was 
 filled by visitors, towns-people, and parishioners. 
 A cry arises "room for the Alderman and 
 Burgesses." The Corporation of Wokingham 
 dates from Saxon times, and the chief-magistrate 
 
 * This description is taken from "The Reminiscences of an Octo- 
 genarian," published in The Rtading Observer. He describes a visit 
 made by himself when a youth, to Wokingham, under the guidance 
 of an elder companion, to see the bull-baiting. Other particulars 
 have been derived from information given to the writer of this article 
 by those, most of them now dead, who were spectators of the sports.
 
 250 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 was still called " the Alderman," the town havinof 
 refused steadily for eight centuries to adopt the 
 new-fangled Norman title of "Mayor." The 
 remaining members of the Corporation were 
 "burgesses." Here they come, first pu.shing a 
 way through the crowd, two " ale-tasters " with 
 wands of office surmounted by the acorn, the 
 Corporation crest ; then two sergeants of the 
 mace, the mace-bearer, the alderman, burgesses, 
 town clerk, and others. The alderman takes his 
 seat with his friends in the largfe window of the 
 old " Red Lion Inn," and gives the signal that 
 the sport is to begin. Shouts are heard and a 
 commotion is evident in a corner of the crowd. 
 Here he comes, the first bull, led by a dozen 
 strong men, a rope round his horns and a chain 
 fifteen feet long, into the middle of the market 
 place, where the end of the chain is fastened to a 
 strong staple in a post level with the ground. 
 Away go his keepers. In a moment the bull has 
 cleared a ring for the commg contest. With head 
 down and tail erect, he sweeps round at the full 
 extent of his chain, and is all alone in the centre 
 of a circle thirty feet in diameter. 
 
 "A lane ! a lane !" and quickly the crowd has 
 given way to form a narrow passage, at the end
 
 BULL-BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 251 
 
 of which we see a man holding a dog between his 
 knees. It is the first dog to be set on ; his owner 
 cries, "Set on!" and the do": loosed tears down 
 the lane, through hoops held at regular intervals, 
 right at the face of the bull, who has heard his 
 yelp, and is waiting for him. The dog goes for 
 the bull's nose ; the animal keeps him off by 
 always presenting a horn to his advance. We 
 notice he does not prod at the dog, but tries to 
 sweep the horn along the ground under the dog's 
 belly. The dog, quite conscious of the meaning 
 of these tactics, is never for a moment still, but 
 dancing to and fro, tries to get through the bull's 
 guard. It seems for a while that this game of 
 attack and defence might go on for the whole 
 day. But suddenly the bull has managed to get 
 his horn beneath the dog, and up he goes into the 
 air, some twenty or thirty feet high. " Catch the 
 dog, quick. He'll be done for if he touches 
 ground." And see our friend from Reading 
 holding out a pair of long arms, and down 
 comes the dog, bespattering, as he falls 
 into them, the man's face and clothes with 
 blood and mud. When the day is over, many, 
 who came out in holiday clothes, will return 
 home sorry spectacles I'rom dog-catching,
 
 252 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 covered witli filth, and with torn and chsordered 
 clothes. 
 
 Another dog is now ready. His fate is more 
 speedily determined than that of his predecessor. 
 The bull, almost immediately, sends him flying 
 into the air, so high that he falls on the roof of 
 the Town Hall, and in coming down is impaled on 
 some spikes. 
 
 This is a grand stroke by which the present 
 bull has outdone all former bulls that have 
 been fastened to that chain and stake for many a 
 year. And while the poor dog is writhing and 
 whining piteously, the crowd applauds vocifer- 
 ously. In one of the smaller carriages, two 
 school boys occupy the back seat. These boys 
 are now standing up, wildly clapping their hands 
 and hurrahing, while the dog on the roof still 
 writhes and cries out in its agony. One of those 
 boys will live to be a farmer in Wokingham, and 
 be well known for his love of animals. More 
 than seventy years after the event he will often 
 tell of this, his only visit to the bull-baiting, and 
 express his wonder by what strange contagion 
 he could have caught the spirit of that 
 cruel crowed, and witnessed, with delirious 
 delight, animal torture, which on any other
 
 BULL BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 253 
 
 clay of his life would have brought tears to his 
 eyes.* 
 
 And now a third dog is set on. Whether the 
 bull is tired or demoralized by the applause he 
 has just received we cannot tell ; but certain it is 
 that number three almost at once succeeds in 
 fastening his teeth in the cartilage of the bull's 
 nose. " A pin ! a pin ! " " The dog has pinned 
 the bull ! " and the animal tosses its head up and 
 down in a frenzy of wrath and terror, trying to 
 shake off the dog. But he might as well try to 
 shake off his own horns. A story is told of a 
 man who made a bet, and won it, that he would 
 cut off each of his dog's legs in succession without 
 his lettino- fro, when once he had sjot his teeth in 
 the bull. 
 
 The owner of the present dog with the assist- 
 ance of other men forces the dog's mouth open 
 with a stick, and so gets him away, but not 
 without tearing the bull's nose and leaving a 
 portion of the cartilage in the dog's mouth. A 
 note is taken of the owner's name that his dog's 
 success may be rewarded in due time at the 
 distribution of prizes. 
 
 * The particulars of this scence were given to the writer by the 
 farmer who had been one of the boys in the chaise.
 
 254 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 Three or four more dogs are set on in turn, and 
 the short winter afternoon is aheady half over. 
 People begin to clamour for the second bull. 
 But they are not destined to part with the first 
 without a little more excitement. Some young 
 men growing bold by familiarity with the scene, 
 take an opportunity of tossing the loose chain 
 over the animal's back. This makes him start 
 forward with great impetuosity, and in doing so 
 he tears the staple out of the post to which the 
 chain is fastened. " The Bull is loose ! " Away 
 scampers the crowd in every direction. A 
 woman who had been selling apples and cakes 
 out of a large basket is upset in her flight, and 
 her wares are scattered. Several others fall over 
 her })rostrate form, but before further mischief is 
 done, the animal is again secured. A single tree 
 grows in the middle of the market-place. In the 
 boughs a number of small boys, early in the day, 
 had taken up their position, and there witnessed 
 all the fun. Not knowinof how else to secure the 
 bull while the staple in the post is undergoing 
 repair, the men j)ass the chain round this tree. 
 The bull, finding itself thus robbed of a liberty 
 which just now had seemed to offer a prospect of 
 escape from his tormentors, frantic with rage and
 
 BULL-BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 255 
 
 terror, makes wild rushes forward, jerking and 
 swaying the tree to the great alarm of the 
 urchins in the boughs. The crowd enjoying 
 their fright, cry out to increase it, " the tree is 
 coming down." This is too much for the boys' 
 courage, down they come like apples in a gale of 
 wind, some on the bull's back, some in the slush 
 and mud. The whole crowd except a few 
 anxious parents, is conv^ulsed with laughter. 
 Luckily the boys are got out of the way of the 
 bull, who seems fairly puzzled at this new form 
 of attack, and no one is seriously hurt. * 
 
 It is now determined to dismiss the bull to the 
 neighbouring slaughter-house. The poor creature 
 is led away, covered with blood, and foam, and 
 sweat, a very picture of distress and exhaustion, 
 and of the madness that comes of fear, rage, and 
 pain. 
 
 The second bull is coming out fresh and strong, 
 and good to keep up the sport for another hour 
 or tw^o. But we have seen enough, and may well 
 return to Reading with our young friend who has 
 been looking on from the window. The light is 
 already failing. It is damp and chill, and will be 
 
 * The description of this scene is taken partly from an old picture, 
 and partly from the narrative of an eye-witness.
 
 256 BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 dark before he reaches home. It is well, too, to 
 escape the rough horse-play which grows rougher 
 as the day closes. Already there have been 
 several fisfhts amonor the doo:-o\vners and others, 
 and before the night is over there will be many 
 more, and not impossibly lives may be lost. Even 
 the lives of women were not always safe after the 
 passions of men had been roused by these scenes 
 of cruelty, sustained by a free flow of the drink, 
 which makes men " full of quarrel and offence." 
 Witness the Parish Registers, where we find the 
 entry, " Martha May, aged 55, (who was hurt by 
 fiofhters after Bull-baitinof) was buried Dec. 31st 
 1808." Poor Martha May ! she must have been 
 badly hurt, and only lived six days, as we reckon, 
 (allowing four days for the interval between her 
 death and burial), after her last bull-baiting on 
 St. Thomas's Day in Wokingham Market Place 
 in 1808. 
 
 There remains one other point on which infor- 
 mation is needed. The dogs were evidently 
 highly trained. Knowing quite well what was 
 expected of them, eagar as grey-hounds with the 
 quarry in view to escape from the master's hand, 
 and to fly through the hoops at the bull's nose. 
 Where and how did they get their training ?
 
 BULL-BAITING IN BERKSHIRE. 257 
 
 There are still old inhabitants in Woking-ham 
 
 who can answer this question by word of mouth. 
 
 For weeks before the baiting, on every moonlight 
 
 night, it was common practice for a party of men 
 
 with three or four dogs to visit some field or park, 
 
 and there driving an ox, which they had before 
 
 noted as suitable for their purpose, into a corner 
 
 of the field, set on their dogs in order, according 
 
 to the received rules of baiting. In the morning 
 
 the owner would be furious at finding his best ox 
 
 in a pitiable condition, and useless for the market 
 
 for months to come. But so general was the 
 
 interest in bull-baiting that he got no more 
 
 pity than the farmer's wife, whose ducks are 
 
 all killed by a fox, gets now from her 
 
 neighbours. 
 
 Lookino- back on bull-baiting and similar 
 
 sports, that were contemporaneous with it, and 
 
 comparing them with the scenes of violence that 
 
 formed popular entertainments in the generations 
 
 that went before, and with the sports and games 
 
 of our own day, the conclusion cannot be escaped 
 
 that the world's history shews a well-marked line 
 
 at progress in the gentler virtues, and the growth 
 
 of sympathy betw^een man and his fellow, and 
 
 between man and the animals around him, 
 
 17
 
 258 
 
 , BYGONE BERKSHIRE. 
 
 that tends to brand cruelty wherever found 
 as a vice. 
 
 It is the duty of every one to do what he can 
 to further this progress to quicken this growth, 
 and to practise and encourage only those amuse- 
 ments which seem suitable for the developement 
 of the best side in the character of the people. 
 
 ^Iend! 
 
 <«=3-
 
 3n^ej:. 
 
 Abbot, power of, 133-134 
 Alfred the Great, 98-114 
 Agriculture languishing, 14 
 Albert Memorial Chapel, 41 
 Abingdon, chronicles of, 63-64 ; 
 Fair, 93 ; Guild, 121 
 
 Bacon, M. J., Berkshire Words 
 and Phrases, 235-243 
 
 Barber's Guild, 124126, 129 
 
 Berkshire Words and Phrases, 
 235-243 
 
 Bible, Alfred attempts to trans- 
 late the, 107 
 
 Binfield, 211-234 
 
 Binfield and Easthampstead, 
 1700-1716, and the early 
 years of Alexander Pope, 
 211-234 
 
 British tribes, 2 
 
 Bull-baiting in Berkshire, 244- 
 258 
 
 Burney, Fanny, life at Windsor 
 described by, 37 
 
 Burning at the Stake, 14 
 
 Celtic times, 2 
 
 Chapel Royal, 40-41 
 
 Charles I. a prisoner at Windsor, 
 
 34 ; execution and burial, 34 ; 
 
 snow at his funeral, 35 
 Christianity, spread of, 8 
 Civil War, 14-18 
 Cloth-trade destroyed at Reading, 
 
 160 
 Cumnor Place and Amy Robsart, 
 
 63-97 
 Cumnor Church, 65-69 
 
 Danes destroy Churches, 7-8 ; 
 
 defeated, 104 
 Disobedience, fine for, 126 
 
 Ditchfield, P. H. Historic Berk- 
 shire, 1-20; Guilds of Berk- 
 shire, 115-136 
 Dragon stories, 140 
 Dudley, Lord Robert, 74-91 
 
 Easthampstead, 211-234 
 
 Elfreda's crimes, 179 
 
 Elizabeth, Queen, patroness of 
 
 baiting animals, 246 
 England united under Alfred, 7 
 
 Faringdon, Hugh, 153-159 
 Field, J. E., Wallingford Castle, 
 
 47-62 
 First Battle of Newbury, 193-203 
 First monarch interred at Wind- 
 sor, 31 
 Freedom of towns sold, 131 
 
 Gardiner, E. R. , Scouring of the 
 
 White Horse, 137-152 
 Garter, institution of, 26 
 Gaunt, John of, marriage, 186 
 Gilt cup as a New Year's present, 
 
 159 
 Good Friday, baiting animals on, 
 
 247 
 Guilds of Berkshire, 115-136 
 
 Handbill, cjuaint, 144 
 
 Heme's oak, 44 
 
 Heart of St. George brought to 
 
 Windsor, 30 
 Highwayman, story of a, 142-143 
 Historic Berkshire, 1-20 
 Holy Cross, Guild of, 135 
 Hunting, 113 
 
 Ingleby, Miss Evelyn, Windsor 
 
 Castle, 21-46 
 Inns in Berkshire, 87
 
 2G0 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Isabella beslowes Wallingford 
 Castle on Mortimer, 56 
 
 Jack of Newbury, 13 
 James, flij^jht of, 36 
 Jewel, Alfred's 103 
 John sipns the Magna C'h.nrta, 
 11-12 
 
 Kniyhthood, flower of, 26 
 Lamploujch, E., First Battle of 
 Newbury, 193-203; Second 
 Battle of Newbury, 204-210 
 Last of the Abbots, ir)3-ir)0 
 Law-giver, Alfred the, 110 114 
 Librarj' at Windsor, 42-43 
 
 Magna Charta, 11-12.23 
 Martin, regicide, 163 
 Mercatory guild, 128 
 Merry Wives of Windsor, 33 
 Murder of Amy Robsart, S8 
 
 Newburv, First Battle, 193-203; 
 
 Second Battle, 204-210 
 Nicholas, St., College of, 60 
 Norman Conquest, 65 
 Norman invaders, 9 
 
 Oaks, ancient, 44 
 Origin of Guilds, 116 
 
 Parliament held at Reading, 13 ; 
 
 at Wallingford, 53 
 Parsons, Robert, Autlior of 
 
 ' Leicester's Commonwealtli,' 
 
 7677 
 Penny, C. W., Binfield and 
 
 Easthampstead, 211-234 
 Pepys at Windsor. 35 
 Philippa, Queen, death of, 26 28 
 Poet and .■scholar. Alfred, 106-110 
 Poetry, Anglo-Saxon, 100 
 Pomp and vanity at Windsor, 25 
 Pope. Alexander, 217-234 
 Physical peculiarit}'. 241 
 
 Reading Abbey, 179192; Cuild.* 
 117, 123 
 
 Reformation, doctrines of, 14 
 Reid, H. J., k.s. a. , Cumnor Place 
 
 and Amy Robsart, 63-97 
 Re.storation rejoicings, IS 
 Restoration of Wind.«or Castle, 39 
 Revolution of 1688, 18-19 
 Richard IL at Windsor, 28 ; 
 
 death, 29 
 Rob.^art, Amy. 74-91, 78-82 
 Roman times, 2-4 
 Rome visited by Alfred, 100 
 Royal county, 1 
 Royal prisoners, story of, 25 
 
 Saxon times, 5 
 
 Scott, Sir Walter, on Cumnor, 73 
 
 Scouring of the ^^'hite Horse, 
 137-152 
 
 Second Battle of Newburv, 204- 
 210 
 
 Settlements of the Saxons, 5 6 . 
 
 Seymoiu', Jane, buried at Wind- 
 sor, 32 
 
 Shaw, the Lifeguardsman, 149 
 
 Shipmonej', 162 
 
 Shoemaker's guild. 126-127 
 
 Siege of Reading, 160-178 
 
 Simon de Montfort, 12, 24 
 
 Snow at the funeral of Charles L, 
 35 
 
 Soldiers taking down a weather- 
 cock, 67 
 
 Sports, 141-142 
 
 Standard, Saxon, 138-1.39 
 
 Staverton, George, strange be- 
 quest, 248 
 
 Stephen and the Empress Maud, 
 wars of, 10-11 
 
 Sturges, Canon. Bull-baiting in 
 Berkshire, 244-258 
 
 Sundav shaving, 124 126 ; Sports, 
 127 
 
 Superstitions, 241 
 
 Tailors ordered to make clothes 
 
 for soldiers, 165 
 Tennvson. quoted, 46 
 Thom'pson, W. H., Alfred the 
 
 Great, 98 114 
 Tiles as fines, 125 
 Tobacco, prize for smoking, 149 
 Trade, increase of, 12
 
 INDEX. 
 
 261 
 
 Voting £70,000 for a bomb, 35 
 Victuallers' Company 127-128 
 Villafje Feasts 137 
 
 VVallingford Castle, 47-62 
 Wantage, birth place of Alfred, 
 
 98 
 Warrior-king, Alfred, 100-106 
 
 Wellington on a victory, 160 
 White Horse, 137-152 
 Windsor Castle, 21-46 
 William the Conqueror at Wall- 
 
 ingford, 48 
 Wokingham, bull-baiting at 247- 
 
 256 
 Wolsey's Tomb-House, 22 
 Words and Phrases, 235-243
 
 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 
 
 OF 
 
 William Andrews & Co., 
 
 5, FARRINGDON AVENUE, LONDON, E.C
 
 "Valuable and inieresting." — The Times. 
 
 "Readable as well as instructive." — The Globe. 
 
 "A valuable addition to any library." — Derbyshire Times. 
 
 The Bygone Series. 
 
 In this series the following volumes are included, and issued at 7s. 6d. 
 each. Demy Svo., cloth gilt. 
 
 These books have been favourably reviewed in the leading critical 
 journals of England and America. 
 
 Carefully written articles by recognised authorities are included on 
 history, castles, abbeys, biography, romantic episodes, legendary lore, 
 traditional stories, curious customs, folk-lore, etc.. etc. 
 
 The works are illustrated by eminent artists, and by the reproduction of 
 quaint pictures of the olden time. 
 
 BYGONE BERKSHIRE, edited by Rev. P. H. Ditchfield, m.a., k.s.a. 
 
 BYGONE CHESHIRE, edited by William Andrews, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE DERBYSHIRE, edited by William Andrews, k.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE ESSEX, edited by William Andrews, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE ENGLAND, by William Andrews, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE GLOUCESTERSHIRE, edited by William Andrews, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE KENT, edited by Richard Stead, k.a. 
 
 BYGONE LANCASHIRE, edited by Ernest Axon. 
 
 BYGONE LEICE.STERSHIRE, edited by William Andrews, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE LINCOLNSHIRE (2 vols.), edited by William Andrews, 
 
 F.R.H.S. 
 
 BYGONE LONDON, by Frederick Ross, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE NOTTINGHAMSHIRE, by William Stevenson. 
 
 BYGONE SCOTLAND, by David Maxwell, c.E. 
 
 BYGONE SO.MERSETSHIRE, edited by William Andrews, F.R.H.S. 
 
 BYGONE SOUTHWARK, by Mrs. E. Boger. 
 
 BYGONE SURREY, edited by George Clinch and S W Kershaw, f.s.a. 
 
 BYGONE WARWICKSHIRE, edited by William Andrews, f.r.h.s. 
 
 BYGONE YORKSHIRE, edited by William Andrews, f.r.h.s.
 
 Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, Demy 8vo., Price 6s. 
 
 BYGOJ^E EJ^GLJIJ^D: 
 
 SOCIAL STUDIES IN ITS HISTORIC BYWAYS AND 
 HIGHWAYS. 
 
 By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S. 
 
 ..nl^l... 
 
 Contexts : — Under Watch and Ward — Under Lock and Key — The 
 Practice of Pledging — The Minstrel in the Olden Time — Curious 
 Landholding Customs — Curiosities of Slavery in England — Buying 
 and Selling in the Olden Time —Curious Fair Customs — Old Pre- 
 judices against Coal — The Sedan Chair — Running Footmen — The 
 Early Days of the Umbrella — A Talk about Tea — Concerning Coffee — 
 The Horn Book — Fighting Cocks in Schools — Bull Baiting— The 
 Badge of Pov'erty — Patents to wear Nightcaps — A Foolish Fashion — 
 Wedding Notices in the Last Century — Selling Wives — The Story of 
 the Tinder Box — The Invention of Friction matches — Body Snatching 
 — Christmas under the Commonwealth — Under the Mistletoe Bough — 
 A carefully prepared Index. 
 
 " We welcome 'Bygone England.' It is another of Mr. Andrews' 
 meritorious achievements in the path of popularising arch;eological 
 and old time information without in any way writing down to an 
 ignoble level." — The Antiquary. 
 
 "A delightful volume for all who love to dive into the origin of 
 social habits and customs, and to penetrate into the byways of 
 
 history." — Licerpool Daily Po/it. 
 
 " There is a lai-ge mass of information in this capital volume, and it 
 s so pleasantly put that many will be tempted to study it. Mr. 
 Andrews has done his work with great skill." — London Quarterly 
 Bevieic.
 
 Klei^antly bound in rloth r/ilt, demy Svo., 7k. Gd. 
 
 OLD CJ4URC.H LORE, 
 
 By WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S. 
 
 Author of '^Ctiriofities of the Church" " Old Time Pniiishments,' 
 " Hixtoric Romance " etc, 
 
 — ii^i • — 
 
 Contents : The Right of Sanctuary — The Romance of Trial — A Fight 
 between the Mayor of Hull and the Archbishop of York — Chapels on 
 Bridges — Charter Horns — The Old English Sundaj- — The Easter 
 Sepulclire — St. Paul's Cross — Cheapside Cross — The Biddenden 
 Maids Charity — Plagues and Pestilences— A King Curing an Abbot of 
 Indigestion — The Services and Customs of Royal Oak Day — Marrying 
 in a White Sheet — Marrying under the Gallows — Kissing the Bride — 
 Hot Ale at Weddings — Marrying Children — The Passing Bell — Con- 
 cerning Coffins — The Curfew Bell— Curious Symbols of the Saints — 
 Acrobats on Steeples — A carefully prepared Index — Illustrated. 
 
 p-REiSS OPI/NIO/NS. 
 
 "It must be confessed that when we read the statement in the 
 preface of this work that an attempt had been made to blend 
 instruction with entertainment, our mind was filled with gloomy 
 forebodings. But it seems that we had no occasion for them. Mr. 
 Andrews discu.sses his various subjects. —The Right of Sanctuary', 
 The Romance of Trial, Chaiter Horns, Tlie Curfew Bell, and so on, — 
 in so pleasant a style, and with such evident love of his work, that all 
 fear of the dryas-dust immediately vanishes, and we find ourselves 
 taking as great interest in ancient clerical ■ usages and customs at^ he 
 himself does, and are, in fact, (juite reluctant to pare with our guide 
 when the end of the volume is reached. We feel that we should also 
 mention the excellent typography of the publication, and the suitable 
 illustrations by which it is accompanied." — Publishers' Circular. 
 
 " A worthy work on a deeply interesting subject. . . . We 
 commend this book strongly." — European Mail. 
 
 "An interesting volume." — The Scot.<tman. 
 
 "The book is eminently readable, and may be taken up at any 
 moment with the certainty that something suggestive or entertaining 
 will present itself.' — Glasgoiv Citizen.
 
 Elegantly bound in cloth gilt, demy 8uo., 7s. 6c l. 
 
 Guriou? Gkrch (^leaningg, 
 
 EditBd ^ mvm UPRElflS, F.il.H.S., 
 
 Author of "Curiosities of the Church," "Old Church Lore," etc. 
 
 eO/STE/NTS:— 
 
 What to Look fop in an Old Church— Early Church 
 Dedications— The Church Porch— The Lights of a Mediseval 
 Church— Concerning Crosses— Misericordes— Church Gilds- 
 Pews of the Past— The Bishop's Throne— Chantries Hagio- 
 scopes— Some English Shrines— The Church and the Well of 
 St. Chad— Burials in Woollen— Hearse : How a Word has 
 Changed its Meaning— Heart Burials of English Persons— 
 Boy-Bishops -Gleanings from a Parish Chest— A carefully 
 compiled Index. 
 
 — -^ 1 L LU STHAT ED. @— 
 
 Ipress ©pinions. 
 
 " The volume, which is lieautifully printed and illustiated, will fascinate 
 the reader by its diversity, iis instructive exposition, and its record of what 
 is odd, mystical, and glorious in the Church's annals." — Bi) miui^liain 
 Daily Gazette. 
 
 "A most entertaining work, and useful to antiquaries and socialogists as 
 a book of reference. " — Leeds Mercuiy. 
 
 " A fund of quaint and pleasing information." — Chester Coiirant. 
 
 " Mr. Andrews and his coadjutors have provided a work which will 
 give unqualified pleasure to the reader of the day, and which will prove 
 engrossing to every searcher after the ancient and the curious in ecclesias- 
 tical history or structure." — Dundee Advertiser. 
 
 "The learned editor of this work has in several volumes proved his 
 e.xtensive acquaintance with early records of the English Church, and or 
 the marks she bears of pre-Reformation times. He was, therefore, well 
 fitted for the ta.sk of preparing this collection of papers dealing with 'the 
 byways and highways' of Church History in this country, and the result is 
 a volume that will give pleasure to many besides ecclesiastical antiquarians. 
 . The writers of the various chapters show ample knowledge of the 
 subjects they treat of, and considerable literary powers. " — Liverpool Ateniiry. 
 
 " An exceedingly interesting miscellany, and will be read with the 
 greater enjoyment that all the contributors have been at pains to banish 
 pedantry from their articles, and to write them in a light and gossiping 
 style." — Glasi^ow Herald.
 
 Elegantly Bound in Cloth Gilt, Demy 8vo., 7s. 6d. 
 
 THE LAWYER 
 
 IN 
 
 HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND HUMOUR, 
 Edited by WILLIAM ANDREWS, F.R.H.S., 
 
 Introduction— Law Amongst Primitive Races — Ivo, Saint and 
 Lawyer — Benefit of Clergy — Chaucer's Man of Law — The Law 
 in Shakespeare — Revels at the Inns of Court — The Law in 
 Scott — Dickens' Lawyers — Literary Lawyers -The Law in 
 Rhyme — Fighting Lawj-ers — Tiie Costume of the Lsiw — Curious 
 Circuit Customs — The Last Execution for Witchcraft — Curious 
 Legal Facts, Customs, and Fictions — People in the Pillory — 
 Amenities of the Bench and the Bar — Curiosities of the 
 Witness Box — The Law and Laughter — Liiwyers and Eloquence 
 — Sealed and Delivered — A carefully compiled Index. 
 
 It will be gathered from the foregoing list of contents that the 
 volume is one of unusual interest and value. The work may be 
 read with })leasure and profit, and merits a i)lace in the reference 
 library. 
 
 S-ri^ PRESS OPINIONS S-^i-® 
 
 " A welcome addition to the lighter literature of the law." — The 
 Times. 
 
 " A considerable amount of historical and literary information — 
 Daily Xeirs. 
 
 " An entertaining work. It is rich in the lore and the humour of 
 the law, and ought to be as interesting to the layman as to the 
 lawyer — The Globe. 
 
 ''An entertaining volume." — .Manchester Guardian. 
 
 " A handsome volume. . . . The work is printed and got up 
 in a style that does credit to the well-known firm of publishers. — 
 Chester Couraiit. 
 
 " Deserves to be placed amongst the best English books of 
 reference. — Stockport Adverti'ser. 
 
 " It is a repository of many entertaining, useful, and surprising 
 facts, the result of considerable research. — BinniiKjham Daily 
 Gazette.
 
 PRICE ONE SHILLING. 
 
 "A very entertaining yoh\me."~Bh//in?<;/iaw Daily Gaze'le. 
 
 By HERBERT LLOYD, 
 
 Author of "The Children of Chanxe," etc. 
 
 PKESS OPIA4IONS. 
 
 " Mr. Herbert Lloyd gives us a succession of stories which may reason- 
 ably be taken to have their origin in the experience of a lawyer practising 
 at large in the criminal courts. It is natural that they should be of a 
 romantic nature ; but romance is not foreign to a lavvyer's consulting room, 
 so that this fact need not be charged against this lawyer's veracity. . . . 
 The stories, seven in all, cover the ground of fraud and murder, inspired 
 by the prevailing causes of crime — greed and jealousy. Our lawyer is 
 happy in having the majority of his clients the innocent victims of false 
 charges inspired and fostered in a great measure by their own folly ; but 
 this is a natural phase of professional experience, and we are only con- 
 cerned with the fact that he generally manages it as effectively in the 
 interests of his clients as his editor does in presenting them to his 
 audience." — Literary World. 
 
 "A volume of entertaining stories. . . . The book has much the 
 same interest as a volume of detective stories, except that putting the cases 
 in a lawyer's mouth gives them a certain freshness. It is well written, and 
 makes a capital volume for a railway journey." — The Scotsman. 
 
 "Mr. Herbert Lloyd has added a very entertaining volume to the 
 lighter literature of the day. 'A Lawyer's Secrets' are a charmingly-told 
 series of short stories, full of life and incident, without suggesting the 
 impossible. The professional career of the lawyer abounds in interesting 
 confidences, explaining many of the apparent mysteries which so frequently 
 crop up. Mr. Lloyd ingeniously lets his readers — and they no doubt w-ill 
 be numerous — into the secrets of a highly-respected firm of solicitors, 
 whose clients furnish the remarkable cases contained in the volume. Care 
 has been taken not to weary the reader, who is afforded a very extensive 
 range of sensations in crime to peruse. After 'A Double Consultation' 
 comes 'Charged with Theft,' followed by ' A Tragic Bankruptcy.' Then 
 'A Curious Love Story' is narrated, and the mystery associated with a 
 ' Wilful Murder ' is solved by ' The Missing Clue ' The series is pleasantly 
 concluded by an adventure of 'An Australian Heiress,' and if Mr. Lloyd 
 is good enough at a subsequent period to divulge further secrets, we are 
 sure they will be heartily welcomed by a wide circle of friends." — 
 Birniiui^hani Daily Gazette. 
 
 " May be recommended for shortening a railway journey or a similar 
 purpose."— Aberdeen Free Pre^s.
 
 Elegantly bound, demy, 8uo,, 7s. 6d. 
 
 "This is a charming and even captivating hook."— ■/•'ru/t<iy Quarterly 
 Examiner. 
 
 THE 
 
 QUAKER POETS 
 
 OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, 
 
 By EVELYN NOBLE ARMITAGE, 
 
 Author ok "A Dream of the CjIronde," "The Poet in May," 
 "The Messace of Quakerism," etc., etc. 
 
 The volume opens with a brief sketch of the Rise of the 
 Society of Friends, and Characteristics of its Poetry, 
 Biographical Notices and Examples of the best Poems of the 
 following poets are given : — 
 
 Jessie Adams, Gulielma A. Wheeler Baker, William Ball, William 
 Barber, Bernard Barton, Henry Binns, James Beale, Mary Elizabeth 
 Beck, Louisa Bigg, Robert Bird, Elias Bockett, Hannah Bowden, John Le 
 Gay Brereton, Elizabeth Naish Capper, Jane Creu/dson, Elfrida Mary 
 CroLuley, Dorothy Crowley, Thomas Elkuood, Sarah Hustler Fox, Robert 
 Barclay Fox, Benjamin Goouch, Fanny Harris, John Harris, Hannah T. 
 Harvey, T. Neuienham Haruey, Thomas Hodgkin, Dauid Holt, Mary 
 HoLuitt, William Houjitt, Richard Howitt, Thomas Hunton, James 
 Hurnard, William Kitching, Mary Leadbeater, Wm. Henry Leatham, 
 Thomas Lister, Charles Lloyd, Elizabeth Lucas, Mary C. Manners, John 
 Marriott, Mary Mollineux, Amelia Opie, Ellen Clare Pearson, Fanny A. 
 Prideaux, Anthony Puruer, James Nicholson Richardson, Thomas Clio 
 Rickman, Richard Ball Rutter, John Scott of Amuiell, Lydia Shackleton, 
 Louell Squire, Matilda Sturge. Frederick Taylor, Phillips Thompson, 
 William Phillips Thompson, John Todhunter, Arthur E. Tregelles, Anna 
 Letitia Waring, Robert Spence Watson, Deborah Webb, Anna Louisa 
 Westcombe, Hannah Maria Wigham, Thomas Wilkinson, James H. 
 Wilson, Thomas Henry Wright.
 
 P-RESS OPl/MIOMS. 
 
 "The book throughout is a good example of scholarly and appreciative 
 editing."-- 77/£ Times. 
 
 "The book is well worth reading, and evinces signs of careful selection 
 and treatment of themes." — Liverpool Daily Post. 
 
 "Mrs. Armitage's book was worth compiling, and has claims on others 
 than members of the Society of Friends." — Newcastle Daily Leader. 
 
 "The volume is well worth careful study." — Manchester Guardian. 
 
 " The austere simplicity of Quaker costume has, we believe, been 
 considerably mitigated of late, and the "bonnet of drab," which Bernard 
 Barton sang so enthusiatically, is no longer re rigueur in the Society of 
 Friends. The outward garb of this Quaker anthology symbolises this 
 relaxation for the sumptuary laws of costume ; for instead of a severely 
 grave binding, Mrs. Armitage's publishers have sent forth her collection in 
 the form of a particularly handsome and attractive octavo of the amplest 
 dimensions. Some sixty or seventy poets are represented, each selection 
 being preceded by a page or two of biographical and critical matter." — 
 Irish Monthly. 
 
 "The book has been compiled with care, and the biographical sketche 
 are well rendered. It is elegantly got up, and will doubtless be widely 
 read." — Friends' Quarterly ExaDiiner. 
 
 "The book can hardly fail to be widely read as its sterling merit becomes 
 known." — Hastings Observer. 
 
 " One of the most remarkable features of this volume is the fact that of 
 the sixty-five poets sketched and quoted in its pages, not fewer than 
 twenty-six are women. It is doubtful whether any other religious body 
 could produce an equal proportion of female singers." — Glasgow Herald. 
 
 " The volume has an introduction of ten well-written pages on the rise of 
 Quakerism and Quaker poetry, which fittingly leads up to the condensed 
 biographical notices of each author whose works are quoted. . . . 
 The book is admirably done, and the editor is entitled to the thanks of all 
 who are interested in the preservation of the literature of the Society of 
 Friends. " — Christian Leader.
 
 Just published Crown 8vo., 330 pp. A Portrait of the Author 
 and other Illustrations. Price 3/6. 
 
 BY THE REV. J. JACKSON WRAY. 
 
 "This, as its name implies, is a temperance story, and is told in the 
 lamented author's most graphic style. We have never read anything so 
 powerful since ' Danesbury House,' and this liook in stern and pathetic 
 earnestness even excels that widely-known book. It is worthy a place in 
 every Sunday School and village library ; and, as the latest utterance (if 
 one whose writings are so deservedly popular, it is sure of a welcome. It 
 should give decision to some whose views about Local Option are hazy." 
 —Joyful Neus. 
 
 " The story is one of remarkable power." — The Temperance Record. 
 
 *' An excellent and interesting story." — The Temperance. Chronicle. 
 
 " It is written in a graphic and conversational style, alxjunding with 
 rapidly-succeeding incidents, which arrest and sustain the interest of the 
 reader." — The Lea^te Journal. 
 
 " It is just the right sort of book for a prize or present, and should find a 
 place in every Band of Hope and Sunday School library." — 1 he Al'Stainer^s 
 Advocate. 
 
 " A pathetic interest attaches to this volume, it being ilie last legacy of 
 Mr. Jackson Wray. It is a story with a purpose— to advocate the claims 
 of total abstinence. The plot is laid in a small village of the East Riding 
 of Yorkshire, and the author sketches the awful ravages of intempernnce in 
 that small community. The victims include a minister, doctor, and many 
 others who found, when ton late, that the red, red wine biteth like a serpent. 
 Though terribly realistic, the picture is drawn from life, and every tragical 
 incident had its counterpart among the dwellers in that village. It is a 
 healthy and powerful temperance tale, and a fearless exposure of the quiet 
 drinking that was so common in respectable circles thirty years ago. It 
 should find a place in our school libraries to be read by elder scholars." 
 Methodist Times. 
 
 "This is a powerful story, the last from the pen of an indefatigable 
 worker and true friend of the total abstinence cause. The scene of the o'er 
 true tale is laid in East Yorkshire, the author's native district, which he 
 knew and loved so well. The characters appear to be drawn from life, and 
 every chapter has a vivid and terrible interest. The friendship between 
 old Aaron Brigham and Little Kitty is touching. The tale of trouble, 
 sorrow, and utter ruin wrought by the demon of strong drink might well 
 rouse every man, woman, and child to fight the destroyer, which, in the 
 unfolding of the story, we see enslaving minister and people, shaming the 
 Christian Church, breaking hearts all round, and wrecking the dearest 
 hopes of individuals and families. A striking and pitiful tale, not 
 overdrawn. — Alliance News.
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY 
 
 Los Angeles 
 
 This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 
 
 JAN 3 1952 
 
 
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