i^?^it;if^'\:,^;:l.^n:v;\"-o''vV ^ ,\V'/ DA /.&- OLIN LIBRARY 65. 3 1924 052 740 762 i J^RA^^f^y.^'^ >UE jjinnc QAYLORD PRINTED IN U.S.A « Cornell University B Library The original of tliis book is in tlie Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924052740762 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD J FORMING A POPULAR SKETCH OF THE HISTORY OF THE WELSH BORDER, BY THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq. M.A.,F.S.A., Hon.M.R.S.L., Of Trinity College, Cambridge; Correspondent of the Institute of France (Acadimie des Inscriptions et Belles LettresJ; Corresponding Member of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland ; Foreign Member of the Sociitd des Antiquaires de France; tlie Society des Antiquaries de Norma/ndie; the Acaddmie des Sciences, Arts, et Belles-Lettres de Caen ; the SocUti Ethnolo- gique of Paris ; the Historicaland Geographical Societies of Hesse-Darmstadt ; de Svenska Fornskrift-Sdllskapet, Stockholm ; the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries of Copenhagen ; §o. ^c. ; and Corresponding Member of the Committees appointed by the French Government for the publication of Historical Monuments. LUDLOW: PUBLISHED BT E. JONES, BEOAD STEEET. LONDON : LONGMAN AND 00, PATERNOSTEE BOW ; AND J. ETTSSELL SMITH, SOHO SQUARE. M.DCCC.LII. ^7^ PREFACE. THE historical sketch comprised in the following pages was commenced some years ago, with the desire of giving a popular account of the past condition of a district which is endeared to the writer as that in which he was born, and in which he received his eajUer education. Many causes have since com- bined to retard its completion, and many parts of it have been written under circumstances which renders it necessary to ask for the indulgence of the readers. It was the author's wish, as far as he could, to show that the old duU fashion of compiluig local histories might be, laid aside, without making them less serious or less accurate, and it must be confessed that it would be difficult to find any district in England which offered a better opportunity of doing so than the borders of "Wales. Eor ages the scene of many of the most important events in English history, and connected in a peculiar degree with the great revolutions in the political and social condition of English- men, the border districts present such a combination of beautifiil scenery and historical associations as is seldom to be met with. Under the Eomans a military road ran through them from north to south, which was lined with flourishing towns and cities; they were afterwards the favourite residence of the Mercian princes ; and at a still later period, when the Saxons had given way to the Normans, they were the stronghold of the great baronial houses whose infl.uence contributed so extensively to most of the great events of the middle ages. "We find in that dark period poetry and literature establishing themselves here in a very marked manner, and as the age of the refor- 11. PREFACE. mation approached we trace here also in their earlier development the principles of religious freedom. It has been attempted in the present volume to describe these events more minutely and continuously than in any former work, and a considerable mass of materials have been brought together for that purpose which had not been used before. It was the writer's first intention to conclude with a history of the great civil wars of the seventeenth century, as far as they aiFected this district ; but finding that that subject has occupied for some time the attention of a distinguished border antiquary, the Eev. J. Webb, of Tretire, who is much better qualified to do it justice, he willingly and gladly resigns it into his hands. With this only omission from his original plan, he now takes leave of a work which, taken up at leisure moments, has always been one of pleasure and love. Brompton, London, July, 1852. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW, AND ITS NEIGHBOURHOOD. SECTION I. Border History precious to the Conquest. AS we ascend the stream of history, the monuments of our forefathers are continually becoming more rare, until we find no other memorial of their existence than the earth on which they Hved. The historical monuments, indeed, vary not only in quantity, but iu their character, and their variations to a certain degree may be defined by limits. From the beginning of the thirteenth century to the present time, historical events may be verified by the official records which are still preserved in our public offices; and they are detailed in numerous contemporary chronicles. During the Anglo-Norman period, from the conquest to the end of the twelfth century, a very large portion of the official records of the kingdom have perished ; but their place is in some measure supplied by an unusual number of interesting liistorical narratives written by those who witnessed the events which they describe. Under the Anglo-Saxons, the written memorials of history, though much fewer, are still authentic and valuable: but at this period, owing to the divisions of the country and the local SJ THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. character of the chronicles, we know much more of some parts of the country than of others. Of the Koman period we have a few scattered notices in foreign writers ; but we may trace the history of that people by their roads and their camps. The only definite memorials of the earlier Britons are their graves. We know little of the border history before the times of the Anglo-Saxons. The numerous traces of entrench- ments and fortifications of a remote date, prove that this district was frequently the scene of warfare. It is probable that before the Roman invasion, the tribes who inhabited the vrilds of what we now call Wales, were accustomed to make predatory excursions against the Britons in the neighbouring plains, whilst the latter, exposed also to piratical invasions from the north and the south, provided for the temporary safety of themselves and as much of their property as they could carry away, by forming strong- holds at the tops of the loftiest hills. We have no means of judging how far the spirit of the mountain tribes was tamed by the Roman arms ; although the remains of roads and stations show that at least the coasts and the more accessible parts were reduced under the dominion of that extraordinary people. A Roman road may still be distinctly traced running from Wroxeter near Shrewsbury (the Uriconium or Viri- conium of the Romans) to Kenchester near Hereford (the Roman Magna), accompanied, like all such roads, by nu- merous tiunuli, and sldrted by a continued line of strong camps. The formidable entrenchments which crown the hills that overlook this route, particularly in the naiTow mountain passes like that of Aymestry, and which were doubtlessly intended to protect it from the incursions of the moimtaineers to whom its position here exposed it, are convincing proofs of the unquiet state of this portion of the Roman province. The neighbourhood is supposed to have been the scene of the last actions of the war against Caractacus; but it would be difficult or impossible now THE HISTORY OF LtfDLOW. 3 to point out the positions which were occupied by the rival armies. There can be no doubt that the road just mentioned, which, prolonged in its opposite directions, was the line of communication between Deva (Chester) and Blestium (Monmouth), was the one indicated in the Itinerary of Antoninus. From Wroxeter it runs, not south (as the old Antiquaries drew the road), but in a south-westerly direction to Church-Stretton, whence it takes a more southerly direction and crosses the Oney at Stratford Bridge, passing on by Rowton to Leintwardine, and thence by Wigmore to Aymestry and to Street (about three miles south of Aymestry), and thus having made a considerable curve proceeds in a more easterly course by Legion Cross, near Burton, to another Stretfbrd Bridge, and so on towards Kenchester. On this line of road lay an intermediate station, between Uriconium and Magna, twenty-seven Roman miles from the former and twenty-four from the latter place. This tovrai, named by the Romans Braviniimi, must have been situated in the immediate neighbourhood of Ludlow, perhaps nearer to the road, at or near Leintwardine ; though it may be doubted how far it is necessary to suppose that the smaller Roman towns were situated on the roads. The geo- grapher Mannert places Bravinium at Bromfield.* The Uttle historical information that we possess relating to the invasion of oui- island by the Saxons, is obscured by much fable; through the mist of tradition we can only discern the indefinite traces of battles and ravages by which their conquests were founded and assured. It is certain, that long before this land had ceased to be a Roman * "In die NJihe von Ludlow, eigentlich etwas nordwestlicher, wo sich der Ony in den Teme-Fluss ergiesst, an die Stelle des Dorfes Bromfield." Mannert, Britannia, p. 140. This conjecture of Mannevt is rather singular when coupled with another circumstance. I am strongly inclined to te- liere that the present race-course (adjacent to Bromfield), which bears the name of the Old-Field, and around which there are several tumuli, was the site of a Eoraan settlement of some kind ; and if the tumuli wore opened, their contents would probably be found to bo pure Roman. 4 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. province, its coasts were infested by the Saxon rovers ; and it is probable that their depredations increased as the Roman power declined, until in the middle of the fifth century (a. d. 449) a party who came from Jutland entered the Thames and established themselves in Kent. Eight-and- twenty years later vEUa with his Saxons landed on the southern coast, and founded the kingdom of the South Saxons, or Sussex. Another party of his countrymen un- der Cerdic formed, in 494, the adjacent kingdom of the West Saxons, or Wessex. The Angles, a kindred race, were at the same time beginning to settle on the eastern coast, so that when Ida founded the powerful kingdom of Northumberland in 547, the maritime districts of England, from Cornwall to the Forth, including much of the low- lands of Scotland, were portioned out into petty Saxon states. While these states were establishing and strengthening themselves, a number of apparently independent chieftains were gradually taking possession of the territory which lay on their borders towards the interior of the island. The lands which they thus occupied were called the mearce, i. e. borders or marches, and the people who held them were Myrce, or Merce, borderers. As the inland Britons were in this manner by degrees reduced to subjection, the whole of the interior as far as the feet of the Welsh momi- tains became one extensive Saxon state, and was known by the name of Myrcna-land or Myrcna-rice, the land or king- dom of the borderers. Latinised into Mercia. The name is still preserved in that of the Marches of Wales. It is a commonly received, but very erroneous, notion, that as the Saxon conquerors advanced, the British popula- tion quitted the land, and left it open to the invaders ta- king refuge themselves in the highlands and parts not yet subdued. In the fifth century the inhabitants of the part of the island we now call England must have become es- sentially Roman ; it was covered with Roman towns and villages ; a large portion of the landliolders were no doubt THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. O Romans by family; those of the higher caste and the inhabitants of towns who were of British origin, had be- come Romans in manners and by alliance of blood ; and the only pm-e British part of the population were the lower classes and the cultivators of the land — in fact, the serfs.* It may fairly be doubted whether any other but the Roman language was in use. The pictui-e of the Anglo-Saxon in- vasion resembled that of the irruption of the Franks into Gaul. Their fury was directed chiefly against the higher caste, a large portion of which fell in battle ; the towns were plundered and bui-nt, and their inhabitants massa- cred; but the mass of the population became the serfs of the conquerors as they had previously been of the van- quished — it was but a change of masters. Wealh in Anglo-Saxon (and its equivalent in other Gennanic tongues) signified generally a foreigner, but was more particularly applied to the people who spoke the Latin tongue, or dialects derived from it. In German, Italy is still called Welschland. The Anglo-Saxons gave the name of Weulas or Wiflisc- menn to the British population in their own territory, as well as to the population of the then independent districts in the names of which it is still preserved, Wales and Corn- wall (the country of the Corn-wealas). This is the origin of our word Welsh. The existence of a Welsh population in the Saxon kingdoms, more particularly in Mercia and Wessex, is distinctly acknowledged in the Anglo-Saxon laws. In the eye of the law, the Welshman, even when he became a landholder (which seems to have been a case that was rare and never to any great extent), was much in- ferior in value to an Enghshman. The learned editor of the Anglo-Saxon Laws, Mr. Thorpe, compares the WeaUi under the Saxons with the Romanus tributarius of the Salic law. In the laws of Ine, Idng of the West-Saxons, * The British soldiers who fought against the Saxons, were formed by Roman discipline. Henry of Huntingdon, speaking of the battle of Wod- nesburh, says "cumautem Brittones more Bomanorum aciea distincte.ad- movcrent, Saxones vero audacter et confuse irruerent." (p. 315.) THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. composed in the latter years of the seventh century, the Wealh is distinguished into the two classes of gafol-gelda (rent-payer, or tenant) and theow, (serf). The two peoples gradually melted into one; but even as late as the reign of Henry 1, the distinction is admitted in the laws, and it appears not unfrequently in Doomsday in the districts near the borders. It was probably from this intermixture of people that originated the common English names of Jones, Davies, Price, &c. By the Saxons, as well as by the Franks, the Roman towns (and all towns they found were Roman) were redu- ced to heaps of ruins, and became the haunts of wild beasts and birds of prey. After the conversion of the Ger- manic tribes, these ruins offered inviting situations for mo- nastic establishments, not only on account of the melan- choly solitude which reigned there, but also because they offered ready materials for building, and these monastic foundations were frequently the origin of new towns which at a later period occupied the ancient sites. Thus the monastery of St. Alban's was built amid the massy ruins of the ancient Verulamium, which were but imperfectly cleared even in the thirteenth century. But the invaders seldom repaired the towns they had destroyed. It was pro- bably in the latter half of the sixth century that the Mer- cians passed the Severn and destroyed the towns along the Roman road which we have already described. The fate of Uriconium is perhaps indicated in its modern name of Wroxeter {Wrace-ceaster , the town of vengeance?). The remains of this place are stiU a proof of its former strength and importance-; the site of Magna at Kenchester was co- vered with ruins so late as the time of Leland ; but the last definite traces of Bravinium have long disappeared.* Both * The Saxons gave to the Roman towns and fortresses the name of ceaster, probably formed from the Latin castrum : and wherever we find the name of a place composed of cester, or Chester, we may be sure it is the site of a Eoman station. The Saxons gave to the forts or towns which they built themselves generally the name of burh, or burgh. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. I Uriconium and Magna were important positions to check the im-oads of the "mountain-dwellers" (dun-seetas) as the Saxons termed the people who only have since borne the name of Welsh ; and very shortly after their destruction, the conquerors erected two new towns in their immediate vicinity: one they named Scrobbes-hurh, the town of shrubs, from the wooded appearance of the neighbour- hood, now softened to Shrewsbui-y ;* the other Here-ford, the ford of the army, because it was the point at which the hostile aimies were in the habit of passing the Wye in their excursions. We have no account of the earlier period of Mercian history. That people appears to have been composed of different tribes, each governed originally by its independent chieftain. The tribe of the Hwiccas was seated in the modem counties of Worcester and Gloucester; its chief town, named Wicwara-ceaster, or Wigra-ceaster, (Wor- cester) had been a Roman station, the name of which has not been ascertained with certainty. Herefordshire and Shropshire were possessed by a tribe named Hecanas ; the residence of their chief was in the immediate neigh- bourhood of the modem town of Leominster, and is supposed to have been Kingsland, a village which derives its present name from having been a manor of the Anglo- Saxon kings. The first king of Mercia who holds an important place in Iristory was Penda, who obtained the supreme power in 626, and during a reign of twenty-nine years was engaged in continual wars with his neighbours. The 'mountain-dwellers' of Wales were his allies, and at this early period often fought under the same banners with the Saxons. In 642 they gained a great victory over the Northumbrians at a place then called Maserfield, and the pious king Oswald was slain: he feU near a tree which was afterwards named from him Oswaldes-treow now Oswestry. Penda was himself slain in 655, in another *,. UT.'^"^^*^ *° '"''^ ^^^ ^""'^ ""g''^ °f Shrewsbury for a mere fable ; the Welsh Pengweme is probably a partial translation of the Saxon name. 8 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. war with the Northumbrians. Mercia was the last of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which received Christianity. Penda was a pagan, and had been constantly at war with the Christian kings ; and the monkish chronicler exults in the belief that when he fell another soul was added to the number of the damned.* Yet the wicked Penda was the father of a family of saints. His daughters, Kineburga and Kineswitha, became nuns. Two of his sons, Wulfere and Ethelred, reigned in succession after him : the former introduced the Christian religion among the Mercians, and his daughter St. Werbm-ga became a nun at Chester : the latter, after a short reign, quitted his throne to enter a monastery. Another brother, Peada, was ealderman of the Middle Angles, and was the means of their conversion. Merewald the fourth Son of Penda, was ealderman or chieftain of the Hecanas, and resided, as has been said, near Kingsland. It was here that he was visited by the Nor- thumbrian priest Eadfrid, or Otfrid, at whose persuasion he quitted the eiTors of paganism; and, as a proof of the warmth of his zeal, he built a church in honour of St. Peter, and founded a monastery of which he made Eadfrid first abbot, and to which he gave the name of Leof -minster , or the beloved monastery. At a later period the name became Latinised into Leonis-monasterium ; and a legend was in- vented, according to which Eadfrid in his joiu-ney to the court of Merewald, arrived in the dusk of the evening, faint and weary, at the spot where Leominster now stands, and there seated himself beneath a tree, and began to eat the bread which he had brought with him. Suddenly he be- held a fierce lion approaching towards him, ready, as he thought, to spring forward and devour him ; but when he offered his bread to the savage animal, it became tame as a lamb, and, after eating, disappeared. The traveller accep- ted the omen, — he conceived the visionary lion to be em- blematical of the unchristian ealderman of the Hecanas ; in * Infeniiilium numerum animarum aiixit. W. Malmsb. Hist. p. 27 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 9 the morning he presented himself at the palace, and was received with kindness; Merewald also had had a vision dming the night, and was easily converted. The date of this event, and of the foundation of the monastery, is said to have been a. d. 660. Merewald married Ermenberga, daughter of the king of Kent, and had by her three daughters, Milburga, Mildritha, and Milgitha, who became nuns. St. Milburga was placed over the abbey which her father founded at a place then called Wimnicas, but since known by the name of Wenlock. She had lands at a village named " Stokes" (Stoke St. Milburgh), which she often visited, and where she is said to have performed many miracles. Her fields were believed for centuries afterwards to be miraculously defended from the depredations of the wild fowl, which it appears infested the lands of her neighbours. The beauty of Milburga attracted many suitors ; but she had made a vow of chastity, and rejected them all. The son of a king (perhaps a Welsh king) who was among the nimiber, determined to carry her off by force, and laid a plan to surprise her while she was on a visit to Stoke ; but St. Milburga was informed of her danger, and fled hastily towards "Wenlock. When she reached the little river Corve, which was there a trifling stream,* her pursuers were close at her heels ; but she had no sooner leaped over it, than the rivulet suddenly became a torrent, and put an efiectual stop to the designs of her lover. Such are the legends which fill up the barren page of history in these remote ages. In the seventh and eighth centuries the modem counties of Salop and Hereford, as well as that of Gloucester and a great part of Monmouthshire, were firmly occupied by the Saxons. The independent Welsh were sometimes in alliance with their Mercian neighbours, and fought under the same banners, in their contests with the other Saxon * Erat ibi amnis quidam nomine Corf, vado meabilis et alvoo medio- cris. Capgiave, Nova Logenda AngUiB ; -where are given the legends of Merewald and Milburga. C 10 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. or Angle kings. But such alliances were not of long duration, and, among the scanty notices of the older chro- nicles, we meet with indications of sanguinary battles between the Mercians and the Welsh. OfFa, the gi-eatest of the Anglo-Saxon monarchs before Alfred, drove the latter from the border, and made the wonderful earth-work, which is still known as Offa's Dyke, to defend the land of the Hecanas from their incursions. An old tradition says that every Welshman, who passed this boundary, was to lose his life. The vales of Herefordshire seem to have been a favourite resort of the Mercian king ; he is supposed to have had a palace at Sutton, four miles north of Hereford, where remarkable earth-works, now known by the name of Sutton Walls, still exist. It was here, according to some, that in 792 the unfortunate king of the East Angles, Ethelbert, was murdered. His body was deposited at Hereford, where his shrine long gave celebrity to the church. The inhabitants of the border, hardened by their fre- quent wars with the Welsh, shewed an exemplary courage in their resistance to the Danish invaders. In 894 the Danish army penetrated westward to the banks of the Severn, and followed its course, as it appears, till they reached the neighbourhood of Welshpool, where they in- trenched themselves at a spot then called Butdigingtune, now Buttington ; but they were besieged by the English, and, after having suffered greatly from famine, were nearly destroyed in their attempt to force a way through the be- siegers. In the year following the Danes again crossed the border, and are said to have penetrated into Wales. In 896, they went to a place named in the Saxon Chronicle Cwatbricge, on the Severn, probably the present village of Quatford, a little to the south of Bridgenorth ; there they built a fortress (and J>8er ge-weorc worhton), and passed the winter. But this was the last struggle of the invaders against the talents and fortunes of Alfred, which restored peace at least for a time to England. The children of THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. H Alfred were worthy of their father. While they cherished literature and the ai-ts, and loved the elegance and splendour of peace, theii- vigoiu- and courage preserved the kingdom from the horrors of war. It was the policy of Edward, who succeeded his father on the throne, to strengthen the parts most exposed to the inroads of the Danes by erecting fortresses and garrison towns. In this he was aided by the wisdom and enterprising spirit of his magnanimous sister Ethelfleda, the widow of the ealderman of Mercia, — for Mercia was now no more than a province under the West- Saxon dynasty. In 912, the lady of the Mercians, (Myrcna hleefdige) as she was called by her admiring countrymen, built the fortress at Bridgenorth, then named simply Bricge. The Danes had been defeated on the banks of the Severn by her brother in the preceding year. Ethelfleda also built a fort at Cjrric-b)rrig or Chirbury, in 915, at no great distance from the spot where the Danes had wintered in 896. The Welsh seem to have taken advantage of the terror inspired by the Danish ravages, to invade the border. In 916, Ethelfleda led an army into Wales, which repressed the turbulent mountaineers, and she took by storm the town of Brecenan-mere, or Brecknock. In 918, the Danes again invaded the borders of Wales. Leaving their ships in the Severn, they had advanced as far as Yrcinga-feld (the field of hedge-hogs), now Archenfield, in Herefordshire, where they were encountered by the men of that county and of Gloucestershire, who defeated them, slew some of their chiefs, and drove them to their ships. In 920 Ethelfleda died, and was buried at Gloucester. In 921 king Edward built Wicinga-mere (Wigmore); which was attacked the same year by the Danes, who had again entered the Mar- ches of Wales. They besieged the town one day from morning till evening, but it was gallantly defended, and they were obliged to leave it, after having plundered the country around, and carried ofi" the cattle. It was not till towards the end of this century, when the strength of the Anglo-Saxons had been wasted in religious 12 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. factions and domestic quarrels, that the Danes became again formidable. While Swegn with his Northmen were ravaging the fairest districts of the south, the indolent Etheked, as we learn from one of the old historians, was living in retirement at a manor he possessed in Shropshire. The best proof of the sufferings of the borderers during the many years of devastation which followed, is the circiim- stance that the nunnery at Wenlock, the resting-place of the relics of St. Milburga, presented for many years afterwards nothing but heaps of ruins. Yet the courage of the people seems not to have been entirely broken, and when the Danish king Hardicnut attempted to exact from them an odious impost, the men of Worcester arose and slew the taxgatherers. Then Hardicnut in his resentment ordered the coimty to be ravaged with fire and sword. The inhabitants, apprised of the danger which threatened them, quitted their homes, and took shelter on the Borders. The city of Worcester was reduced to ashes ; but the citizens also had quitted their houses, and fortified themselves in an island in the river Severn then named Bever-ege, or the Isle of Beavers, and successfully defied the attempts of their assailants, who were obliged to leave their mission of vengeance only half executed. The destruction of Worces- ter occurred in a. d. 1041. The Danish wars have left memorials in the names of many places on the Welsh borders. After landing in the south, the invaders seem generally to have followed the course of the ancient Roman road, and they appear to have estabhshed themselves frequently in the valley which it traverses between Aymestry and Leintwardine. The name of Wigmore, in Anglo-Saxon Wicinga-mere, signifies the moor of the pirates. Wicingas, (in Danish, vicingr) or sons of war, was the name adopted especially by the Danish rovers. Dinmore, in like manner, is perhaps Dena-mere, * Rex autem Adelred cum mocstitia et coufusione erat ad firmam suam in Salopschire. Hen. Huntingd. Hist. p. 360. This was in jv, d 985. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 13 the moor of the Danes. I am inclined to think that a party of Danes had also established themselves on the brow of the hill which is now occupied by the castle of Ludlow, and that from their fortifications it took the name of Dena-ham, the residence or home of the Danes, still preserved in that of Dinham. When the Normans built the castle on the site of the Danish fort, they seem to have retained for it the name of Dinham, corrupted in old writings to Dinam or Dinan ; and it was not till the end of the tweKth century that that name was lost, except in its present restricted application, in that of Ludlow. This latter name is also Saxon, and carries us back probably to a very remote period of our national history. Lude-low, in purer Saxon Leode-hlsew, signifies the hill of the people.* But the Anglo-Saxon hlcew was generally ap- pHed not to a natural hill like that on which the town of Ludlow stands, but to an artificial burial mound, a tumulus or barrow, like the Bart?oio Hills in Cambridgeshire, which have been discovered to be Roman sepulchral monuments. These lows were intimately connected with the mythology and superstitions of our early forefathers, and in their minds were wrapped up with the notions of primeval giants and dragons which kept a jealous watch over their hidden treasures. In old times we find them frequently the scenes of popular ceremonies and meetings. I was long doubtful as to the cause of this name being assigned to the town, tiU I accidentally discovered a document which clears up the difficulty in the most satisfactory manner. It appears that up to the end of the twelfth century, the site of the • This name affords a very curious instance of the manner in which derivations may become perverted in passing from one writer to another. Some one of the older Antiquaries had interpreted LudUw by the mote of the people, the word nibte being the representative of the French motte, a hiUook. The mote of a castle was the artificial mound of earth on which the dongeon tower was generally built. Writers who came after, thinking this word mote was the representative of the Anglo-Saxon ge-mot (remaining in such words as moot-hall, &c.) have interpreted the name of the town as signifying the court of justice of the people. 14 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. present churchyard of Ludlow, the most elevated part of the hill, was occupied by a very large tumulus, or barrow. in the year 1199, the townsmen found it necessary to enlarge their church, which seems to have been of small dimensions, and for this purpose they were obliged to clear away the mound. In doing this, they discovered in the interior of the mound three sepulchral deposits, which were probably included in square chests as at Bartlow, and the narrator perhaps exaggerates a little in calling them 'mausolea of stone.' But the clergy of Ludlow, in the twelfth century, Avere by no means profound antiquaries ; they determined in their own minds that the bones they had found were the relics of three Irish saints, the father, mother, and uncle, of the famous St. Brandan, and they buried them devoutly in their church, with the confidence that their holiness would be soon evinced in numerous miracles.* It was to this tumulus alone that the name Leode-hlsew belonged. It was ♦ The account of this event was preserved in the monastery of Cleo- bury Mortimer, in what Leland calls a " schedula," and was copied for that antiquary by a mouk of the house. It is printed in Leland's Collec- tanea, vol, iii, p. 407, but Hearne has printed it Ludlania instead of Lud- lauia, which has caused it to be entirely overlooked. It is as follows : — " Anno D. 1199, contigit in quadam Angliffi patria, scilicet provincia Salopesbiriensi, apud pagum qua; Ludelavia nuncupatur, quod pagenses ejusdem oppidi decrevissent ecclesiam suam, quod brevis esset ad conti- nendam se plebem contingentem, longiorem construere. Quocirca opor- tuit quendam terrce tumulum magnum ad occidentem ecolesiBB solo co- sequare, qua murus ejusdem debuit extendi. Cumque pra!missum coUem fodiendo complanassent, invenerunt tria mausolea lapidea et corpora sanctorum decentia, quee dum aperuissent, repereruiit trium sanctorum relliquias hoc scripto in uno bustovum in schedulam composito, qua; prius intrinsecus cera, exterius vero plumbo fuerat involuta, his verbis Anglice expressis : Hie requiescunt S. Fercher, pater Brendani, beata pignora, sancti icilicet Ibemensis, pulera lapide et solo inclusa. Sancta quoque co- rona, mater pralibati Brendani, matertera videlicet Columkilli, electi Dei. Sanctus. . . . Cochel, germanus ejusdem sanctce. Hie nempc quindenis degu- erunt annis, dum sanctorum Britannia adiretit patrocinium post obitum Lud(B increduli. Quorum deposita clerici ejusdem ecclesiffi ab humo le- vantes, in archa lignea posueruut, cademque in ecclesiam gestantes de- centi loccUo collocaverunt, 3 Id. Apr. operientes, quoad Dominus aliquas virtutes eorum meritis et interccssionibus patvare dignctur, cui laus honor, et gloria in sfficula. Amen. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 15 without doubt a Roman sepulchre, and, by its importance, seems to indicate the neighbourhood of a Roman town, which is a strong confirmation of the supposition that the present Old Field may have been the site of the Roman station Bravinium. This tumulus was an object of super- stitious reverence among the Anglo-Saxons, and they pro- bably assembled there to perform games and ceremonies at certain fixed periods. Traces of such customs remain in different parts of the kingdom, even at the present day. In Leland's time, the people of Leominster and "there abouts" went once a year " to sport and playe " at certain intrench- ments on a hill side distant half-a-mile fifom Leominster, called Comfort Castle. It was thus that the low or tumu- lus became known as " the low of the people." And as a gi-eat portion of the people who assembled there, coming from Herefordshire, had to cross the river Teme, the shal- low place where they passed obtained the name of "the people's ford," Leode-ford, or Ludford. It was a common custom with the early missionaries to turn objects of super- stition to christian pui-poses, to fix themselves on the site of some object of pagan worship, — in fact, to attack the enemy in his strong hold. The little church beside the low was probably the origin of the town of Ludlow. When the Danes may be supposed to have occupied the other end of the hiU, the town did not exist ; and it seems that till the time when the low was levelled with the suiiounding ground, the town of Ludlow continued distinct .in name from the adjacent castle of Dinliam, although even in those times the name of the tovra was not unfrequently given popularly to the castle. Under the last monarch of the regal line of the Saxons, the movements and intrigues of the family of the powerful Earl Godwin, and the jealousies which distracted the king- dom, were intimately connected with the history of the Welsh border. Godwin headed the popular party — that party which opposed the power and insolence of King Edward's foreign favourites, who were ever ready to profit by that 16 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. weak monarch's dislike of his English subjects. In the earlier half of the tenth century, the Welsh, severely chas- tised and humiliated, had become little better than subjects of the Anglo-Saxon crown. Athelstane had compelled their prince to do him homage in person at Hereford, and to pay him a fixed tribute, which was continued in some of the following reigns. But the Danish invasions, by weakening the Saxons on the border, had restored their independence to the Welsh, and enabled them to become again the aggressors. They were, under Edward the Confessor, as in after times, more or less active in all the struggles between the contending factions in England. Harold, the eldest of Godwin's sons, was earl or ealder- man of Wessex. His brother Swegn was the ealderman of the counties of Hereford and Gloucester. Swegn, with another brother, Tostig, were remarkable chiefly for their turbulent conduct. Robert of Jumieges, the Norman Archbishop of Canterbury, was remembered with execra- tion so late as the twelfth century, as having been the cause of aU the discord between King Edward and Earl Godwin's family. Yet the first public cause of displeasure was given by the turbulent sons of the Earl. In 1046, Swegn was engaged in a successful expedition against the Welsh ; and on his return, in the midst of his exultation, as the Saxon Chronicler tells the story, he ordered Elgiva the abbess of Leominster to be brought to him, kept her "as long as he liked, and then sent her home." The criminal was banished from the kingdom; and his govern- ment was given to his brother Harold and his kinsman Beorn. Some chroniclers say that Swegn fled, because he was not allowed to marry the abbess whom he had seduced. A few months afterwards he came to Pevensey to obtain forgiveness of King Edward, and he there added to his pre- vious crime the treacherous mm-der of Beorn, and then escaped to Flanders. A year afterwards he obtained his pardon by the intermediation of his father, or, according to others, of Aldred bishop of Worcester. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 17 Godwin appears on every occasion to have identified himself with the cause of justice and patriotism. In 1051, he provoked the royal displeasure by his refusal to sacrifice the people of Dover to the unjust vengeance of Eustace count of Boulogne. Summoned to appear at the com-t, which was then held at Gloucester, he came with an army which Harold had raised in Wessex and established at Beverstone, in Gloucestershire, under pretence that Swegn's coxmty of Hereford was threatened by the Welsh. His attempt to drive away the Norman favourites was not in this instance successful ; and at a parlement at London, Godvdn and his sons were outlawed and banished, and his beautiful and accompHshed daughter Edith, the queen of the Confessor, partook in their disgrace. Godwin, with a part of his family, sought refuge in Flanders ; but Harold went to Ireland, where he fitted out some ships, and visited the EngUsh coasts in company with the Irish pirates, by whom they were at that time infested. Harold's earldom was given to Algar the son of Leofric of Mercia; and a Norman garrison appears to have been placed in Hereford, under Radulf, one of the king's foreign relatives. King Edward, in his anger against the party of his father-in-law, invited over a foreign prince, William of Normandy, and promised him the succession to the English crown. In 1052, the Welsh under their prince GryiFyth, taking advantage of their domestic feuds, made an irruption into the border, and cruelly ravaged Herefordshire. The Norman garrison of Hereford led the men of the county against them, but they were defeated, and the Welsh "carried off a great prey." The same year the family of Godwin returned to England with an armed force, and the people universally joining with him, the king was compelled to receive them, and the foreigners were banished. But one of Godwin's sons never returned to his native land. Swegn, while with his father in Flanders, had been seized with penitence for the murder of his kinsman Beorn, and made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem barefooted, to atone 18 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. for his crime. On his way home he died of the fatigues of the journey, or, as others say, he was slaia by the Saracens. The earldom of Harold was restored, but that of Swegn still remained in the hands of the king. The year following, Godwin died, and Harold became the head of the family. Witliin a few months after died Siward, the celebrated earl of the Northumbrians, and his earldom was given to Harold's turbulent brother Tostig. This year is famous^in our annals as the date of the Tragedy of Macbeth. On the death of Godwin, and the elevation of Harold to his place, Algar (son of Leofric and Godiva) was again made earl of Wessex ; but he also now fell into the king's displeasure, and, being accused of treason and banished, took refuge in Wales. The Welsh at this time, in addition to their common incentives to plunder, were exasperated by the fate of their prince's brother, E,ees, who having fallen into the hands of the English after their former incursion, had been put to death, and his head sent to the king at Gloucester. Algar and Gryfifyth threw themselves suddenly into Herefordshire with a powerful army, in 1055. The cowardice and unskilfulness of Radulf and his garrison of Normans, or Frenchmen (as the Northmen who had settled in Neustria began now to be called), exposed the English to a second defeat. The battle was fought " at about two miles from Hereford;" the Anglo-Saxons, accustomed always to fight on foot, had by Radulf 's command been injudiciously mounted on horses ; and, discouraged by their own awkwardness in this new mode of engagement, when they saw iheir leader fly witlihis foreigners at the beginning of the battle, they immediately followed his example. The victors found Hereford without defenders, except the monks of St. Ethelbert, who were slain fighting at the door of their church. The noble cathedi-al, which had been built the year before by bishop Athelstan, and the monastery were reduced to ashes. The city itself, after being plundered, was delivered to the flames, and most of the citizens who escaped the sword were carried into captivity. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 19 On this occasion, Leominster also was taken and plundered by the invaders, who are said to have fortified themselves in or near the town. Harold, when he heard of these events, hastened to place himself at the head of the English army which was assembled at Gloucester, and following the Welsh, who retreated before him, he established himself in the valley of " Straddle," probably in the immediate neighbourhood of Leominster. But the Welsh were too well acquainted with the military skill and bravery of their pursuer to oppose him ; flying into their mountain fastnesses, they sent messengers to appease his wrath, and soon afterwards made a formal submission, whilst Harold led part of his army to Hereford, where he rebuilt and fortified the city. The cathedral lay in ruins during nearly thirty years. In the midst of these events died earl Leofric, who had been a great benefactor to the churches of Leominster and Wenlock j and his son Algar, after the defeat of the Welsh, landed in Cheshire in conjunction with a body of Northmen, and, having taken possession of his heritage by force, succeeded in obtaining his pardon. The Welsh continued stiU to infest the border, till in 1063 Harold and Tostig together traversed the principality, and inflicted upon them a severe vengeance. In their despair, they sought peace by slaying their own prince Gryfiyth, and delivering his head to Harold, who appointed a successor in his place, from whom he exacted an oath of allegiance. Shortly after their return from this expe- dition, violent dissension arose between the brothers, and in the royal presence at Westminster, Tostig made a brutal assault on Harold and tore his hair from his head. He then went to Hereford, where Harold was preparing a feast to receive his sovereign, and having slain and dis- membered his brother's household servants, he placed their legs, arms, and heads, on the vessels of wine, mead, ale, and other liquors which were placed ready for the festival' and sent word to -the king that when he came he 20 THE HISTOEY OF ITJDLOW. need bring no saused meat with him, as he had taken care to provide plenty at his brother's house* For this outrage Tostig was again outlawed and banished from the kingdom- The family of Godwin possessed large estates in Here- fordshire. Their manors which are enumerated in the Domesday survey are very numerous. Leominster^ with all its members, Luston, Larpole, Aymestry, &c. belonged to his sister, queen Edith, whose name is still preserved in that of Stoke-Edith, as another Stoke has preserved similarly the name of the family which possessed it at a later period in the appellation of Stoke-Lacy. The fate of Godwin's sons was singularly tragical. Swegn, as has been said before, died, or was slain, in the performance of his penance. Tostig, when the people of Northumberland could no longer bear his tyranny, only escaped their ven- geance in 1065 by flying to Denmark. Harold, imitating his father in putting himself forward as the champion of the people, defended the Northumbrians, and obtained for them the royal permission to choose Morcar, the son of Algar, for their earl. Tostig returned in 1066, with his northern allies, and was killed in the battle of Stamford- bridge, fighting against his brother. A week afterwards, Harold was slain at Hastings, and Avith him fell his younger brothers Girth and Leofwine. The remaining brother Wulnoth was the captive of the Norman conqueror, and ended his days in a prison. The Marches of Wales were connected with the name of the last of the Anglo-Saxon kings, long after the fatal conflict at Hastings. A report was widely prevalent during the twelfth century that Harold had escaped from the * Perrexit ad Hereforde, ubi frater suua corrodium regale maximum paraverat : ubi ministros fratris sui omnes detruncans, singulis vasis vini, medonis, oerviaiae, pigmenti, morati, sicerae crus hutnanum vel caput vel brachium imposuit, raandavitque legi quod ad fivmam suam properaus cibos salsatos suffioienter inveniret, alios secum deferre curaret. Henr. Hunt. Hist. lib. vi, p. 367. THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. ' 31 slaughter. It was said that after seeking in vain for assistance from the people of the continent who were nearest in the family of nations to his own, he returned to England to pass the remainder of his life in rehgious retirement — that, disguising his name and face, he passed many years as a hermit on the Welsh herders, exposed to the insults of the people over whom he had so often triumphed, and who knew not the humble individual whose religious habit they derided — that he afterwards settled at Chester, where he ended his days, and on his death-bed revealed the secret to his confessor. The monks of Waltham, Harold's rich monastic foundation, received the legend with joy, and consigned it to vmting in a manuscript which is still extant.* Such legends have in other countries followed the destruction of a native dynasty by a foreign and oppressive invader. SECTION II. State of the Border under the Conqueror. IT will not perhaps be uninteresting to the reader, if we pause in the course of our history, to take a view of the state of the border as it appeared shortly after-' the establish- ment of the Anglo-Norman dynasty. It was the point of transition between an older period of which we have no local description, and the more modern age when the cha- racter of its history as weU as the outward appearance of the country became entirely changed. During nearly a century the Marches of Wales had been exposed to the continual ravages of the Danes or the Welsh. Ruins occupied the sites of what had been flou- * The Vita Haroldi of the MS. alluded to, has been lately printed in France, in the second vol. of the Chroniques Anglo-Normandes, edited by M. Michel, Bouen, 1836. 22 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. rishing towns; churches, monasteries, and even castles, had been destroyed; lands, formerly cultivated, lay waste, and were overrun with trees and brushwood. Ordericus Vitalis gives an affecting description of the misery and de- population which followed the entry of the Normans. The general depression of mind and the feeling of insecurity and consequent recklessness which attend such events are more effective in thinning the population of a country than the sword itself. The Domesday book describes several estates, then waste and covered with wood, as having been tilled land under previous possessors. It is probable that even the strong castle of Wigmore had been destroyed ; for the Domesday book states that the castle then standing had been recently built by the 'comes Willelmus,' on waste ground which had received the name of ' Merestun,' or the town or inclosure of the moor.* Of the kind of law which then existed on the immediate border, the Domesday book has preserved a very remarkable specimen : if one Welsh- man slew another, the relatives of the slain were to assem- ble and plunder the lands of the slayer and of his relatives, and burn their houses, until the noon of the following day, when the body was to be buried : of the prey they thus collected, the king claimed one third, and the plunderers were allowed to appropriate the rest.f This curious notice shows that at the time of the Conquest, by the confessed custom of the Welsh on the border, the king of England laid claim to a feudal superiority over Wales, whenever he could exercise it. "Under the Saxons this part of the island was much more • Willelmus comes fecit illud in wasta terra quEC Tocatur Merestun. Though, the ground were covered -with ruins, if it was unproductive, the term waste would be still applicahle. t Quod si Walensis Walensem occiderit, congregantur parentes occisi, et praedantur eum qui occidit ejusque propinquos, et comburunt domes eorum, donee in orastinum circa meridiem corpus mortui sepeliatur. De hac praeda habet rex tertiam partem; illi vero totum aliud habent quietum Domesday, vol. i. fol. 179. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. densely wooded than at present. The woodlands of our times are, as it were, the skeleton of the extensive forests of former days, which were thickest and most considerable in the tract of country between Ludlow and Leominster and the Welsh territory. The cultivation of the plains to the south was protected by the strong towns of Hereford and Leominster. The open country in Shropshire was similarly defended by the larger towns of Shrewsbury, Bridgnorth, &c. and by some smaller fortresses. The number of castles on the border, previous to the conquest, was not great. The Anglo-Saxons were a brave and hardy race, unaccustomed to depend for safety upon stone walls ; and the Welsh, when they crossed the border, more fre- quently carried back with them hard blows than any more profitable booty. The pohcy of Ethelfleda had however been followed from time to time ; and a few Anglo-Saxon castles were standing at the period of the Norman conquest, which defended these wilder parts of the border. There was an ancient castle at Caynham, or, as it was then called Cayham (? the residence on the brook Cay), which, so early as the twelfth century, was a deserted ruin. One of King Edward's foreign attendants named Richard, to whom the Anglo-Saxons gave the derisory name of Screope, or the Scrub, either on account of some inferior office which he held in the royal household, or perhaps as a mere satirical appellation, and who was one of the few Normans permitted to remain at court after the rest of the foreign favourites had been driven away, was enriched by his royal master with considerable possessions in this part of the border; and introducing there the fashion of his own countrymen, he built a strong castle between Ludlow and Leominster, which has preserved its founder's name in that. of Richard's Castle. The lower part of the walls, and the mound on which the keep stood, (one of the peculiar characteristics of the more ancient castles) still remain. The other name by which the builder was known became afterwards softened into that of Scroop. 24 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. The woods were not the least profitable part of the ground, for they gave food to numerous herds of swine, the flesh of which formed the most general article of animal food among our forefathers during the middle ages. The stores of the baron's castle equally with those of the peasant's hut, consisted chiefly in bacon; and from this circumstance is derived the name which we stiU give to the place in which our meat is preserved, a larder (lar- darium). The extent of a wood was frequently estimated by the number of these animals which it would support. Thus at Caynham there was in the days of the Conqueror " a wood of two hundred swine ;" at Burford there was " a wood of one hundred swine." Another article produced in abundance on the waste lands (frequently covered with th)rme), and which was infinitely more in use among our early forefathers than at present, was honey. The rivers and streams gave motion then, as now, to numerous corn-mills. At Ludford there was a mill, the only one mentioned in the neighbourhood of Ludlow; at Little Hereford there were four mills; Caynham had one mill; Burford, two. Another article which was then reckoned a part of the produce of landed estates, was fish, particularly eels. Among the ancient Germanic tribes, fresh-water fish were con- sidered as game, and protected as such : an early Teutonic law allowed the uaquahfied person to have only as much as he could take by walking into the water and catching them with his hand. The corn-lands were tolerably ex- tensive, and were generally uninclosed. The fields in which cattle were kept, were, on the contrary, inclosed. To these inclosures om- Anglo-Saxon forefathers gave the name of tun, our modern word town, though it then conveyed no idea of buildings, but meant simply a space inclosed by a hedge: wyrt-tun, i. e. herb-town, was a garden ; geers-tun, i. e. grass-town, was a meadow. The Normans called these inclosures haies, in Low-latin hagee or haice, the origin of our word hedges. The more modern English name for such inclosures is a close. In the earliest THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 25 collection of Anglo-Saxon laws, those of Athelbriht king of Kent, at the end of the sixth century, it is set down as a grievous offence to break through a man's hedge, or tun. In the laws of King Ine (end of the seventh century) it was enacted that " If ceorls (or peasants) have a conunon meadow (gsers-tun ge-msenne), or other partible land, to fence, and some have fenced their part, some have not, and their neighbour's cattle stray in and eat up their com or grass ; let those go who own the gap, and compensate to the others, who have fenced their part, the damage which there may be done, and let them demand such justice on the cattle as may be right. But if there be a beast which breaks hedges and goes in everywhere, and he who owns it will not or cannot restrain it; let him who finds it in his field take it and slay it, and let the owner take its skin and flesh, and forfeit the rest." In Domesday book we find frequent mention of such tuns or •haies : there were five haies at Clunton ; and three in a waste called Chinbaldescote, belonging to the church of Bromfield. The Anglo-Saxon word is preserved in all names of places ending in tun or town, as Downton (the inclosure on the hill), Micelton (the great inclosure), Eaton (the inclosure by the river), Acton (the oak inclosure), Stanton (the inclosure of stone), Comberton f cumhra-tun, the inclosure amid the vallies). The Anglo-Norman term is also preserved in places the names of which contain the word Hay. Among the produce of the manor of Caynham in the reign of the Conqueror is reckoned four loads of salt (iiij summse salis de Wich) ; perhaps from Saltvuoxe. We may illustrate the proportions of these articles of produce by the instance of the town of Leominster and its members (including Luston, Larpole, Aymestry, Brimfield, Eston, Stockton, Stoke, Mersetone, Upton, Hope, Bredege, Lumton, * Cerlestreu,' Leinthall, ' Gedeuen,' and Femlow), which were then held by the king ; there were in this space eight mills; a hundred and twenty-five acres were sown with com ; a large surface of ground was covered with woods, which 26 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. were estimated to be six 'leagues' long and three broad; a hundred stichce, or score, of eels were taken yearly ; the annual value of the other fish caught was estimated at seven- teen shillings, and that of the honey at sixty-five shillings. A shilling was a very large sum of money at that period. In the time of the Conqueror, Osborn Fitz Richard, the son of Richard the Scrub before mentioned, and lord of Richard's Castle and Ludford, held a very large portion of the wood- lands beyond Brampton Bryan and Wigmore, including Titley and other manors which were so wild that they were not reckoned in Domesday book as afibrding any regular produce; Osborn Fitz Richard hunted in them, and " had what he could catch, and no more."* The names of places frequently furnish us with charac- teristics of ancient times, of which we find few other traces. A thousand years ago the woods of Herefordshire were infested by wolves; and the rivers were inhabited by beavers. In the time of Giraldus Cambrensis (the latter end of the twelfth century), beavers were found only in the Teivy, in the neighbourhood of Cardigan ; but at an earlier period they constructed their towns even in the Severn, where was an island, near Worcester (which we have already had reason to mention) named in Saxon Beofer-eage, the beaver isle. There is also a Bever- stone in Gloucestershire. We have traces of the ancient haunts of wolves probably in Wulf-eage or Wolfes-eage (Wolphy) the wolf's isle, and in Wolferlow, the mound of the wolves. The wolves had been more entirely de- stroyed than the beavers : King Edgar, in the tenth century, exacted from a king of Wales, instead of the money which the Welsh princes had previously paid to the Enghsh crown, an annual tribute of three hundred wolves. He was probably led to do this by the ravages which these animals, descending from the Welsh mountains, committed • In his wastis terris excreverunt silva in quibus iste Osbernus venationem cxercet, et inJe habet quod capere potest. Nil aliud. Domes- day book. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 37 on the border. History tells us that this tribute was punctually delivered for two years, but the destruction was so great that on the third year the Welsh could not find wolves enough to pay it.* In the time of the Conqueror, the hundred adjoining to that of Wolphy, and apparently coincident with that of Wigmore, was named Hegetre, or Hightree, probably from the noble trees which still form so remarkable an ornament to it. The names of places not only picture to us the state of the country at a remote period, but they frequently help to make us acquainted with the customs and, more especially, with the superstitions of our forefathers in former days. Ludlow, or the people's low, was probably, as we have before observed, the scene of superstitious ceremonies in the times of the Anglo-Saxons. Most of the other nume- rous lows had doubtlessly legends of different kinds con- nected vnth them. Wyrmes-hlsew, now Wormelow, (the dragon's low), reminds us in its name of the dwelhng of the fearful dragon which acts so prominent a part in the ancient Anglo-Saxon romance of Beowulf, almost the only pure remnant of the romantic literature which our fore- fathers brought Avith them into this island : — " hlxw under hr(isan, a low under the bank, holm-wylme ii6h, nigh to the sea-wave, y'S-ge-winne ; to the clashing of waters ; se wsBS innan full which was full within wraetta and wira ; of embossed ornaments and wires ; weard un-hiore, a savage guardian, gearo gu6-freca, ready and fierce in war, gold matSmas heold, held the treasures of gold, eald under eortSan : old under the earth : nsBs fset ySe ceap that was no easy purchase to ge-gangenne to obtain gumena senigum. for any man. • Wil. Malmsb. de Gestis Reg. Angl. p. 59. g8 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. # * * * * • tS4 se teyrm ge-be^i then the dragon bent snude to somne rapidly together, he on searwum bdd : he awaited in ambush :^ ge-wdt 8d byrnende then proceeded he, burning, ge-bogen scriSan bent together, to go to ge-scipe scyndan." to distribute contest. (Beowulf, 11. 4817, 5131.) The mound or barrow at Wormelow, is called Wormelow tump. There is also in Herefordshire a Wormesley (Wyrmes-leag, the lea or field of the dragon). In Beowulf the treasures of ancient days which the dragon guarded, are represented as lying in a chamber or cave underneath the low. An old historian of the fourteenth century, Thomas of Walsingham, has preserved in his chronicle a curious legend relating to the village of Bromfield, near Ludlow. In the year 1344, he says, a certain Saracen physician* came to Earl Warren to ask permission to kiU a serpent or dragon, which had its den at Bromfield, and was committing great ravages in the Earl's lands on the borders of Wales. The Earl consented, and the dragon was over- come by the incantations of the Arab; but certain words which he had dropped led to the belief that large treasure lay hid in the dragon's den. Some men of Herefordshire, hearing of this, went by night, at the instigation of a Lombard named Peter Picard, to dig for the gold; and they had just reached it, when the retainers of the Earl Warren, having discovered what was going on, fell sud- denly upon them, and threw them into prison. The trea- sure, which the Earl took possession of, is said by Wal- singham to have been great. It is very probable that this treasure was a deposit of Roman coins, &c. found in the neighbourhood of the Old Field ; and one of the barrows or lows there may have been the reputed di-agon's home. • The study of medicine was brought into Christian Europe in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries by the Arabs of Sjpain, THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 29 Many local legends might still be gathered from the mouths of the peasantry on the Welsh borders. At the extremity of the roof of the north transept of Ludlow church is placed an ii-on aiTOW. According to a popular* legend stUl repeated, Robin Hood stood on the larger mound or low at the Old Field, and aimed this arrow at the weathercock of the church, but, falling a few yards short of its intended destination, it has ever since remained in the place where it fixed itself. The arrow simply indicates that this was the Fletcher's chancel j but the legend, made to explain its position, after the use of arrows was laid aside and forgotten, was probably engrafted on the tradition of a former legend which connected the low in the Old Field with the larger low which formerly occupied the site of the present church; the one was visible from the other. As parts of the country became less wild, the fear of dragons gradually passed away, and the popular mythology became modified. The lows were then supposed to be the abode of elves and fairies; and there were people who beheved that in the dead of night the entrance became visible, and that the under-ground people might be seen, issuing forth to frolic and gambol on the face of the earth. There can be no doubt that the Marches of Wales were once rich in fairy legends. In the reign of Henry VIII, when Leland visited the border, the ruins of Kenchester, then very extensive, were beheved to have been taken possession of by the diminutive beings of the popular creed; the Roman coins frequently foimd there were called fairy- money ; and one more considerable mass of building had received the name of the "king of faerie's chair." Other legends of a more terrific character, were at an early period connected with the ruined sites of the ancient towns. At the time of the composition of the Romance of the Fitz Warines, probably before the middle of the thirteenth century, a ruined city, which may possibly have been Wroxeter, was believed to have been inhabited by the 30 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. devil, who guarded the vast treasures which were concealed there, and held his revels with hosts of other fiends in its desolated halls. The pagan Anglo-Saxons were in the hahit of giving the names of their gods to things which were wonderful or extraordinary, or which moved their superstitious feelings. When they obtained possession of this island, nothing seems to have excited their admiration more than the great Eoman military ways. One of their deities whose name appears to have had a very wide influence, was named Eormen or Ermin. It frequently entered into the compo- sition of the names of persons of rank: Herminms led our • forefathers, then a tribe settled in Germany, against the Romans ; Ermaneric was one of the greatest of the Gothic princes ; in early German such names as Irmandeo, Irman]^exaht, Irmanfrit, Irmangaxt, were common ; in An- glo-Saxon we have Eormemna (the same name as Ermaneric) king of Kent in 568, whose great grand-son EormenxeA gave to his three daughters the names Eormenhevga,, Eor- »jewburgha, and Eormen^ihsi,. Irmin-syA was one of the gfeat objects of worship to the Germanic tribes on the continent. EormenAski was the Anglo-Saxon name of the mallow (malva erratica) which was believed to possess many miraculous virtues. There can scarcely be a doubt that this is the origin of the name given by the Anglo- Saxons to one of the great roads — Eor men-street, Ermin- street, or Trming-street. In a similar manner, to another of the great roads the Anglo-Saxons gave the name of W(Btlinga-strcet, which means literally the street of the sons of Watla, for Wsetlinga is the genitive case plural of a pa- tronymic. If more of the ancient Anglo-Saxon mythic poetry were preserved, we should doubtlessly find that "Wsetla was a mythological personage. Florence of Wor- cester, who viTote when this poetry Avas in being, calls the Watling-street, " Strata quam filii Watlee regis stra- verunt." It is very singular that our forefathers gave the name of Wathng-street, or Wsetlinga-strtct to the milky- THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 31 way in the heavens as well as to the Roman road j and we find also that among the old Germanic tribes the name Iringes-wec (Iring's way) composed of a name Iring closely allied to that of Irmin, was given to an ancient road and at the same time to the milky-way. In the Vilkunga Saga this road is called Irvlngs-veggr. It may be observed also that among the ancient Germans the polar constellation was named Irmins-wagen, or Innin's waggon. One of the ancient roads in Germany was called Wuotenes-wec, Wuotenes-straza, or Wddenes-wege, Woden's way or street. An ancient earth-work in the south of England was called by the Anglo-Saxons Wodnes-dic, or the dyke of the god Woden, now softened down into Wans-dyke. In the modi- fication which the superstitions of the Anglo-Saxons under- went after their conversion to Christianity, their older gods became transformed into devils, and it was by this change that originated aU our Devil's-dykes, Devil's- bridges, &c. The name of Wsetlinga-strset was given to the Roman road which ran from Kenehester to Wroxeter, as well as to the great road which traversed the island. During the Saxon period of our history, the Herefordshire Watling-street, the remains of which are still known by that name, continued to be the regular line of commu- nication between Shrewsbury and Hereford j and it was probably not until later on, in the twelfth century, when part of the old road was found to be too solitary and insecure, that the traveller turned from the Watling-street at Church Stretton, along a road which passed under the strong castle of Ludlow, and which, perhaps, instead of following the present route to Leominster, crossed the hill and rejoined the ancient road near the no less formidable castle of Wigmore. The then new road passed by the abbey of Bromfield, and proceeded to Ludlow apparently along the lane which now leads on the south side of the Teme, so that the traveller who was bound to Ludlow had to pass the river under the castle walls to enter at Dinham gate. 32 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. If we quit the not impleasing subject of the beings of superstition who were supposed to hold the woods and wilds, to consider the more real one of the possessors and cultivators of the soil, we shall find their names no less frequently indicated in the modern local appellations. Many of the names of places of which the meaning seems most difficult to explain, are compounded of those of Anglo-Saxon possessors or cultivators: and the original forms of such words are readily discovered by a reference to Domesday book. Thus on the Herefordshire side of Ludlow we have Ebnodes-treow, or the tree of Elmod (now Aymestry) ; Widferdes-tvme, or the inclosure of Widferd (Woofferton) ; Willaves-lage, or the lee fsaltusj of WiUaf (probably, WiUey) ; Edwardes-tune, or the inclosure of Edward (Ad- ferton V) ; Elnodes-tune, or the inclosure of Elnod (Elton ?) ; Bemoldune, or the hiU of Bemold. In Shropshire there are Chinbaldes-cote or the cot of Chinbald, a place men- tioned as dependant upon Bromfield; ^hnimdes-tune, or the inclosure of Elmund; Ebnunde-wic, or the dwelling of Elmund j Alnodes-treow, or the tree of Elnod, &c. Names of places having ing in the middle are generally formed from patronymics, which in Anglo-Saxon had this termination. Thus a son of Alfred was an JElfreding, his descendants in general were ^Ifredingas, or Alfredings. These patronymics are generally compounded with ham, tun, &c. and whenever we can find the name of the place in pure Saxon documents, we have the patronymic ia the genitive case plural. Thus Birmingham was Beor- minga-ham, the home or residence of the sons or descen- dants of Beorm. There are not many names of this form in the neighbourhood of Ludlow ; Benington (Beoringa- tun) was, perhaps, the inclosure of the sons or family of Beor, and Culmington that of the family of Culm. Under Edward the Confessor the large estates in the borders of Wales had been chiefly possessed by the great nobles allied to the houses of Godwin and of Leofric of Mercia, and were confiscated after the entrance of the THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 33 Normans. With the exception of the estates of Richard Screope, hardly a foot of ground remained in the hands of the old proprietors. At the time of the Domesday survey, the whole of Shropshire, with some trifling ex- ceptions, belonged to the Conqueror's kinsman, Roger de Montgomery, who had let out parts of it on feudal tenures to the knights who attended him. One of his retainers, named Helgot, held lands in Clee and Stanton, and built in the latter demesne a castle, which from its possessor bore afterwards the name of castle Helgot or Holgate. Herefordshire was parcelled out in smaller estates, under numerous barons ; but there the most extensive possessions were those of Roger de Lacy, whose head castle was at Ewyas, and Ralph de Mortimer, whose castles were Wig- more, and Cleobury in Shropshire. The other estates lay scattered over the country. To the south, among the chief proprietors were William Fitz Norman, and Ralph de Todenei, who held the castle of Clifford. Hereford and Leominster, -with their members, were held by the king. In the intervening country, along the street, lay the estates of Roger de Micelgros, Robert Gernon, who held Laxpole of the king, and William de Scotri^s, who appears to have resided at Croft, which had belonged to earl Edwin. The estates dependant upon Wigmore extended from Shobdon (Sceope-dun, the sheep's hill) to Downton. The lands from Ludford to Richard's Castle, with extensive waste lands on the extreme border, and Burford in Shrop- shire, belonged to Osborne Fitz Richard. There were a few other smaller land-holders, such as Hugo L'Asne, or Hugh the Ass, who held Bemoldune in Herefordshire, and King WilHam's physician Nigellus, generally entitled Ni- gellus Medicus, who held Clee in Shropshire, and also some estates in Herefordshire. Caynham, which had been an estate of earl Morcar, belonged now to Ralph de Mortimer. Roger de Lacy possessed also some lands in Shropshire in the neighbourhood of Hodnet. The silence of Domesday book is a satisfactory proof 34 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. that there was neither town nor castle at Ludlow when it was made, ahout A. d. 1085. Although the places around are aU mentioned, we find in that record no such names as Ludlow or Dinham. In fact the one belonged only to a mound of earth, the other perhaps to a deserted Danish camp. If there were a chm-ch, or rather perhaps a hermit's ceU, previous to that period, it had probably been destroyed in the Danish wars. The only church mentioned in Domesday book as being in this neighbourhood is that of Bromfield. We have a distinct testimony that the castle was begun by Roger de Montgomery, but not finished tiU after his death.* Other considerations aid us in fixing the period at which this castle was commenced. The oldest part of it, the massive keep, was built in imitation of the style which bishop Gundulf had first exhibited in his castle of Rochester, built after the year 1088 : it must therefore be dated between that time and 1094, the date of Roger de Montgomery's death. The first beginning of the t6wn was situated, under protection of the castle walls, in the district still named Dinham, and this was the name given to both, although at an early period the people of the neighbourhood, who knew the place by the superstitions attached to it, would speak of them as the castle and town at the people's low, or Ludlow. SECTION III. Border History from the Conquest to the end of the twelfth century. ONE of the immediate results of the Norman Conquest was a long period of compHcated disorders in the Marches of Wales. Under the Saxons, with a few fortresses, the » Si comen?a un chastiel -k Brugge, e un autre chastel comen^a en Dinan ; m^s yl ne les parfist poynt. Romance of Fitz Warine. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 35 border had been more effectually protected than it was now by the numerous range of Anglo-Norman castles. After the death of Harold at Hastings, the possessions of his family in Herefordshire were naturally seized into the hands of the new Idng. The Saxon Ediic was for a time allowed to retain his earldom of Shrewsbury; that of Hereford was given to one of the Conqueror's most faithful and able cotmsellors, WiUiam Fitz Osborne. Edric, irritated at an offence he had received from the king, raised the standard of revolt; his lands were invaded and ravaged by the Normans of Herefordshire, under Richard Screope, who was entrusted with the command of the garrison of Hereford; but Edric called in the Welsh, compelled the Normans to retire to Hereford, and laid waste the country up to the gates of that city. The most skilful of the Norman chiefs, Roger de Montgomery, Ralph de Mortimer, and Walter de Lacy, were employed against the insurgents, who, although deserted by their Welsh allies who were satisfied with the plunder they had made and anxious to secure it, made a protracted resistance. Edric himself had seized upon Wigmore, from which he was with diffi- culty expelled by Ralph de Mortimer. For his services on this occasion, Roger de Montgomery obtained the earldom of Shropshire, with aU the possessions of Edric, which comprised nearly the whole county ; Ralph de Mor- timer obtained Wigmore and its dependencies; and other lands in Herefordshire were bestowed upon Walter de Lacy. The Welsh began now to be continually trouble- some ; they were instigated by the Saxon refugees to make frequent incursions; in 1068-9, they ravaged Shropshire and laid siege to Shrewsbury, and King William was obKged to go in person to drive them from the border. In his way he laid the foundation of Nottingham castle, which he entrusted to the keeping of WiUiam Peverel. William Fitz Osborne was a man of great prudence and activity, remarkable for his liberality as well as for the vigour of his government. His salutary regulations survived 36 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. the vicissitudes of many years, and were still in force in the time of William of Mabnshury.* According to Domes- day book, the earl Wilham rebuilt the castle of Wigmore. In 1070 he and Walter de Lacy invaded Brecknockshire, and defeated the Welsh princes Rees and Cadoc. Shortly afterwards Earl WilUam was slain in Flanders, and in 1071 he was succeeded in the earldom of Hereford by his son Roger. Roger de Montgomery also ruled Shropshire with vigour and justice (the justice, at least, which might be expected from a conqueror). He made considerable encroachments on the territory of the independent Welsh, and one of his retainers, named Baldwin, estabHshed a post which from him received the name of Baldwin's tovra, and at which Earl Roger afterwards built a castle and gave it his own name of Montgomery. He also strengthened the castle of Bridgnorth on the east, and, in his latter days, he laid the foundation of the castle of Ludlow, and probably com- pleted the keep tower, to fortify his southern frontier. In 1075, according to the Saxon chronicle, occurred the celebrated marriage at Norwich, the fatal consequences of which were long proverbial. Roger Fitz William, the earl of Hereford, harboured treasonable designs against his sovereign, and, perhaps in furtherance of these designs, he proposed to give his sister Emma in marriage to Ralph, earl of Norfolk. The Conqueror forbade the match ; yet the marriage was solemnized at Norwich, while the king was absent in Normandy, and at a splendid and well-attended feast a league was formed to deprive WilUam of his English throne. The Saxon chronicle has preserved the popular saying which perpetuated the memory of the fatal results of this meeting, — * Manet in hunc diem in comitatu ejus apud Herefordum legutn quas statuit inconcussa firmitas ; ut nuUus miles pro qualicunque commisso plus septem solidis solvat : cum in aliis provinciis ob parvara oceasiun- culam in transgressione prtecepti herilis, viginti vel viginti quinque pen- danter. Wil. Malmsb. Hist. p. 105. Concerning William Fitz Osborne, see Guillaume de Jumidges, pp. 661/676, and Ordericus. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 37 Sa3r waes fset bryd-eala mannum to beala. (there was that bridal feast a cause of misfortune to men.) The parties concerned in this league were to rise simul- taneously. Earl Ralph opened communications with the Saxons who still bore arms in th.e marshes of Ely and the fens of Lincolnshire. Roger Fitz William collected the men of Herefordshire, and with a considerable body of Welsh auxiliaries, marched to the banks of the Severn, intending to join his brother-in-law. But the secret of the conspirators had been betrayed, and, to use the expression of the native chronicler just quoted. Earl Roger was " hin- dered." The hindrance was caused by the forces raised by Urso, sheriff of Worcester, and bishop Wolstan, joined with those of Agelwy, abbot of Evesham, and Walter de Lacy. The Earl Ralph, thrown upon his own resources, hastened to Brittany to seek aid from his countrymen, and left his wife Emma to defend the castle of Norwich, which she did with so much courage that she obtained fair terms for her garrison even from the ferocious bishop Odo. Earl Roger was deprived of his lands and honours, and thrown into prison. It was in consequence of this insurrection, that the brave and innocent Waltheof was put to death. In the latter part of his reign, it appears that the Con- queror again led his army to the border, and invaded Wales, provoked perhaps by the ravages of the Welsh, who are said to have over-run the southern part of the border as far as the city of Worcester, in 1086. But we find no detail of these transactions; and we know only from the assertions of older writers that William left Wales to his successor as an appendant of the EngHsh crown, and that he had compelled the Welsh to acknowledge his supremacy.* * This is most expUcitly stated ty the contemporary Saxon chronicler, " The land of the Britons was in his jurisdiction, and he built castles therein, and ruled all that people." 38 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. The general statement of Domesday-book would lead us to conclude that during the Conqueror's reign, the English counties bordering on Wales enjoyed a certain degree of security. At this early period, the historians seldom men- tion the predatory inroads of the Welsh, when they are not connected with some more important political event; but the peace which had been established by this king's rigorous government seems to have been first broken by the tm-bulence of the Anglo-Norman barons. At his death, in the September of the year 1087, he left the succession to his crown to be disputed by his two sons, WiUiam Rufus, and Robert Courthose, who was in pos- session of the dukedom of Normandy. Bishop Odo, who had been in prison in the latter years of the preceding reign, raised and organized a party in England in favour of Duke Robert. The great barons on the border imme- diately espoused the same cause ; and Roger de Mont- gomery, Ralph de Mortimer, Roger de Lacy, and their neighbours armed their dependants, and called in the aid of the Welsh in 1088, to make war against King WiUiam Rufus.* A large body of the men of Herefordshire and Shropshire, with their Welsh auxiliaries, led by Osborne Fitz Richard (the lord of Richard's Castle and Ludford), and his kinsman Bernard de Newmarket,t entered Worces- tershire, and ravaged the country up to the walls of the city, which they threatened to bui-n. But as they were preparing to attack the town on the side of the cathedral, bishop Wolstan sallied out with the townsmen and the garrison, beat off the assailants, and obhged them to return home with disgrace, instead of the rich plunder on which they calculated. The king soon after succeeded in de- * Proceres quoque de Herefordia et de Scrobesbirie cum multitudine Vallensium. Rog. Hoveden. p. 461. Principes Tero Herefordshyre et Salopeacyre cum Walensibus. Henr. Hunt. Principes, in the latter Avriter, is perhaps a mere error of the scribe toi proceres. t Ordericus Vitalis, p. 666. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 39 taching Roger de Montgomery from the confederacy, and the insurrection of the other barons was soon repressed. The plimder which the "Welsh carried off on this occasion incited them to fui-ther depredations, and the early years of the reign of the second William, were marked by constant hostilities between them and the barons on the border. The Welsh were still more encouraged by the death of Roger de Montgomery in 1094 ; and the same year they invaded Shropshire and Herefordshire in numerous parties, destroying several castles, and carrying away much plunder. They were beaten in many encounters by Hugh de Mont- gomery, the son and successor of Roger, but other parties continued their ravages, and to use the words of a con- temporary, ''omitted no evil that they could do." In the year following they repeated their incursions, in which they took and destroyed the castle of Montgomery, and massacred the garrison and inhabitants. The king, who was just returned from Normandy, raised a powerful army and hastened to the border, to put a stop to their depredations. He suffered more from the badness of the roads and the inclemency of the weather, than from the enemy, who fled into their forests and mountain fastnesses at his approach. The English king continued his march into the heart of the country, and on the day of All Saints his army arrived at Snowdonj but the season was far advanced, and he returned without fighting a battle, with the loss of but a few horses and men, but he had effected nothing, and the Welsh were rather emboldened than daunted by his invasion. They appear again to have carried destruction into the EngHsh counties in the year following; and early in 1097 the king raised a still more powerful army, and chose a more favourable time of the year to carry his design of vengeance into execution. He entered Wales about Lent, and is said to have remained there during the summer,- but the Welsh followed the same system of retiring into the woods, and he was disap- pointed in his endeavours to bring them to a regular 40 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. engagement. The English, however, over-run the country, involving all they met vpith, young or old, in one common destruction, and the Welsh appear novtr to have been effectually humbled. An old chronicler, Peter Langtoft, who wrote more than two centuries after this event, calls it " the great vengeance."* The king, before he returned to England, ordered several castles to be built on the Welsh side of the border to check their future attempts. The Welsh chiefs or princes appear on this occasion to have renewed the fealty and tribute which they had given to William the Conqueror ; and the " Kings of Wales" are enumerated in the chronicle of Geoffrey Gaimar, among the attendants at the court of Rufus when he held a great festival at Westminster.f The year following, a. d. 1098, Hugh de Montgomery and Hugh Earl of Chester, taking advantage of some domestic quarrels, invaded North Wales with a powerful army to avenge the wrongs which they had received by the Welsh invasions of Shropshire, and they penetrated as far as the Isle of Anglesea, of which they took possession and put its inhabitants to the sword. But their conquest was almost immediately abandoned on the death of Hugh de Mont- gomery, who was killed in a skirmish with a party of Danes, who also came to attack that island. Hugh was succeeded in the earldom of Shropshire by his brother Robert de Belesme, who had succeeded to the Norman estates of his father Roger, and who now obtained the English succession by paying thi-ee thousand pounds to the King. • Le secounde an apres le rays estut mover ; Tut drait en quarreme, kant fu passe la mer, En Gales est alez les Walays chastier, Ke sa terre alaynt destmre et waster. Le rays William les prent et les fet tuer, Adjoven ne ad velz ne volt esparnyer. Unkes fu vengaunce en Gales fet si fer ! Apris la grande vengaunce ke en Gales fet estayt, etc. Peter Langtoft, MS. Cotton. Julius, A, V. (in the Brit. Mus.) fol. 84. t Chroniques Anglo-Normandes, torn, i., p. 40. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 41 Robert de Belesme was a restless and ambitious man, and merited the hatred of his contemporaries by his tyranny and cruelty. In the popular traditions of Maine, where part of his Norman possessions lay, he is stiU indentified with the half-fiend, half-himian Robert-the-Devil of middle- age legend,* and the acts of the fabulous tyrant are less horrible than the monstrous crimes which historians lay to the charge of the Earl of Shrewsbury. It is said that he caused men and women to be impaled on stakes, that he might amuse himself by watching their agonies as they pined to death ; and he tore out the eyes of a Httle boy, who was his own godchild, and who was his hostage for the fidelity of its father, when it came to meet him in playful fondness. The Earl Robert had been high in favour with King WiUiam Rufus ;f but his uneasy spirit urged him to seek employment by fomenting the troubles which were likely to break out after the accession of Henry, and he was already plotting to dethrone him, when the king, aware of his treachery, cited him before his court. The earl had abeady fortified and provisioned his numerous castles in England, particularly those of Arundel, Shrewsbury, Bridge- north, and Tickhill in Yorkshire, which with Blyth in Nottinghamshire he had inherited from Roger de Busley; he obeyed the king's citation, and made his appearance in court shghtly attended, but when he found that his designs were known, he fled precipitately to the Welsh border, * Pluguet's note on the Koman du Bou, ii., 334. , Lappenberg, Ge- schichte Ton England, ii. 232, 233. t Wace gives the following account of him. — ■ " Robert de Belesme, un baron Ko Ten teneit por mult Iklon, Aveit Ii Reis en I'ost od sei, Et il esteit mult bien del Rei. Robert de Belesme fu fals, E fHonies scut e mals ; De felons gieua ert coneuz, E de fere mals ert cremuz." Roman du Row, I. 15042. O 42 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. where his greatest strength lay, and raised the standard of rebeUion at Bridgenorth.* The king immediately col- lected an army, and having taken the castle of Aiundel, marched towards the Severn. On his way he took the castle of Blyth, in Nottinghamshire; and Tickhill had already surrendered to the Bishop of Lincoln. In addition to his own powerful forces, he had hired a large body of Welsh auxiliaries under their princes Cadogan and Jorwerth ap Rees, and they were occupied in ravaging Staffordshire when the king's army approached. At the king's approach, Robert de Belesme left Bridgenorth under the command of Roger Fitz Corbet, and retired to Shrews- bury, where he prepared for a vigorous struggle. The siege of Bridgenorth lasted thirty days; it was thus pro- tracted by the lukewarmness of the barons who followed the king, and who foresaw that the destruction of the sons of the great Roger de Montgomery would be a severe blow at their own power, for the struggle between royalty and aristocracy had already commenced; they represented to hivn the difficulties of the warfare in which he was engaged, and urged him to offer favourable terms to his enemy, and to seek reconcilement. Henry was discouraged and already wavered, when the knights and landholders of Shropshire, to the number of three thousand, arrived at his camp. Weary of the galling tyranny of their great feudal lord, Robert de Belesme, they had chosen for their leader William Pantulf of Wem, who, the faithful and valued retainer of Earl Roger, had been goaded by numerous injuries to regard his son vdth implacable hatred; and they exhorted the king to complete the destruction of the Earl of Shrewsbury, and offered to march first to the assault, and shed their last blood in reducing the garrison of Bridgenorth. He accepted their services with joy ; and the fortress was taken. This was one of the first instances • Encontre le rey Henri a Burg sa gwere crye En Salopschii'c, qe fu en sa baillye. Peter Langtoft. THE HISTORY OF LUULOW. 43 in which the commons of England sided openly with the king against the feudal aristocracy. The ruin of Robert de Belesme was completed by the defection of the Welsh. Their mercenary leaders were easily seduced by the offer of better pay, and the secret expectation of more plunder ; and after ravaging Stafford- shire as the allies of the rebels, they returned under the banner of the king to lay waste the county of Salop. Henry advanced with his army direct to Shrewsbury. The retainers of the earl attempted to defend the extensive and then almost impassable forests which covered the approach to that town; but the king, with incredible labour and perseverance, cut his way through with the axe ; and having thus forced the difficult pass of Wenlock-edge, esta- blished his host in the plain on the other side. As he came near, the inhabitants of Shrewsbury sent him the key of the town; and Robert de Belesme, deserted by the armies in which he trusted, was compelled to surrender at discretion. Robert, with his brother Amulf de Mont- gomery (who had conquered extensive lands from the Welsh and was lord of Pembroke) and other border barons, were banished the kingdom and their estates confiscated. The earl fled to his estates in Normandy, and, after com- mitting new treasons attended by the same violence and cruelty, he ended his life in prison. The only benefit which he conferred on the Marches of Wales was the introduction of a fine breed of horses, which he brought from Spain, a country celebrated in the middle-ages for the superiority of its horses ; at the end of the twelfth century the breed was stiU preserved, chiefly in Powis-land, and was famous throughout England.* • In hac tertia Wallise poitione quae Powisia dicitur, sunt equitia peroptima, et equi emissarii laudatissimi, de Hispaniensium equorum generositate, quos olim comes Slopesburiee Robertus de Belesmo in fines istos addnoi curaverat, originalitei propagati. Unde et qui hinc exeunt equi, cum nobili formee pictura ipsa protrahente natuia, tam membrosa sua raajestate, quam incomparabili velocitate, valde comraemorabiles reperiuntur. Girald. Cambr. Itin. ii, 12. 44 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. King Henry distributed the estates of the banished nobles amongst the knights who had served him with most zeal. Some of the strongest castles he kept in his own hands. He made Richard de Belmeis (or, de Beaumes), an ecclesiastic who had enjoyed the confidence of Eoger de Montgomery, steward or governor of Shropshire, and Herefordshire also appears to have been included in his jurisdiction. Richard de Beaumes, having been created bishop of London in 1108, was succeeded by Paganus (or Paine) Fitz John, who ruled Herefordshire and Shropshire with great vigour, and compelled the barons of the Marches to respect the law. On his marriage with Adela of Bou- logne in 1121, the king gave the earldom of Shrewsbui-y to his new wife, who appointed WiUiam Fitz Alan, lord of Oswestry, sheriif or governor (vice-comes) of the county. It appears to have been about this time that the king gave "the castle of Dinan (or Dinham) and all the coimtry aroimd it towards the river of Corve with all the honour" to a favourite knight nam.ed Joce or Gotso, who from that time took the name of Joce de Dinan. " This Joce finished the castle which Roger de Montgomery in his time had begun, and was a strong and valiant knight. And the town was very, long time called Dynan, which is now called Ludelawe. This Joce caused to be made below the town of Dynan a bridge of stone and lime, over the river of Temede, into the high road which goes through the March from Chester to Bristol. Joce made his castle of Dynan of three wards (bayUes), and sun-ounded it with a double foss, one within and one vnthout."* During the reign of the first Henry, several remarkable measures were adopted to repress the turbulence of the Welsh. The king seems to have been extremely dissatis- fied with the conduct of his allies in the war with Robert de Belesme, and soon afterwards he caused their piince Jorwerth to be seized and detained' in close prison about * Homance of the Fitz Warines, p. 3. THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. 45 four years. During this period a destructive guerilla warfare was constantly kept up on the southern border. At this time numbers of Flemings, a hardy and industrious race of men, came over to England. Some of their coun- trymen had already settled in this country in the days of the Conqueror, and we find them established about Down- ton at the period of the Domesday sui-vey. An eruption of the sea into Flanders compelled the inhabitants to emi- grate in great numbers ; a large portion went to Germany, but many sought a refuge in England, and were allowed to inhabit the border of Scotland. Shortly afterwards, (1107-9,) the king moved this colony to the Welsh border, and gave the Flemish refugees the district about Boss in Herefordshire, and Haverfordwest and Tenby in Pem- brokeshire. They were however chiefly settled about the former place, and they brought there their manners and language, of which many traces remained even as late as the time of queen Ehzabeth. Giraldus has given us an interesting account of their superstitions.* They were beneficial in many respects to the country ; they laid the foundation of the trade in wool for which Herefordshire was afterwards celebrated; and, equally ready to handle the plough or the sword, they enriched the county by their industry and tamed the Welsh by their courage.f Checked iu their depredations in the south, the latter now turned their fury against the northern boundary. The king was obhged on more than one occasion to lead an army against • Girald. Camb. Itin. i, 11. Compare the acooimt there given with the very similar superstitions of the Tartar invaders of Europe in the fal- lowing century, as related by William de Bubmquis. t Girald. 1. c. ; W. Malmsb. p. 158 ; Roger Hoveden. ; Rad. Dicet. (in the Decern 'Scriptures), &c. Lappenberg, Geschichte yon England ii, 283. Giraldus describes these Flemings as being in his time— Gens fortis et robusta, continuoque belli conffictu gens Cambrensibus inimicissima ; gens, inquam, lanificiis, gens mercimoniis usitatissima ; quocunque labore sive periculo terra marique lucrum quaerere gens pervaUda; vicissim loco et tempore nunc ad aratrum nunc ad arma gens promptissima ; gens utique feUx et fortis, si vel regibus ut deceret Cambria cordi fuisset, vel priEsti- tutis saltern et prsefectis injuriarum dedecus animo vindice displicuisset. 46 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. them ; and in one of these expeditions he narrowly escaped with his hfe. As he was carefully malting his way through the woods, Henry was struck on the breast by an arrow, which was fortunately turned off by the mail with which he was covered. The king asserted that the blow had been treacherously aimed by one of his own men. The Welsh always escaped by carrying their goods to the tops of the least accessible mountains. Taking advantage of the death of Richard e*rl of Chester, who was drowned in the cele- brated wreck of the White-ship, they entered Cheshire in 1119, massacred many inhabitants, and burnt two castles. Henry hastened to the border, and an English army after a painful march again encamped at the foot of Snowdon. There the Welsh came with rich gifts and, according to the English chroniclers, begged for peace ia the most abject manner. The king took hostages, and returned home; but within a dozen years, in spite of the severe chastisement which they had received on this occasion, they were again in arms, and invading Herefordshire, they burnt ' Cans,' a town belonging to Paine Fitz John, who was still sheriiF of that county, and treated the inhabitants with extreme cruelty. King Henry, who was in Norman- dy, hastened to England to punish their contumacy ; but death stopped him on the road, and left the crown of Eng- land to another usurper, and the kingdom to be torn by a new contest for the succession, more fatal than all which had gone before. The Welsh continued in arms after the accession of Stephen, but they were occupied in domestic quarrels, and ia attacking the castles which had been built in the interior of the country during the preceding reign.* The great • These hostilities were carried on chiefly in the south of Wales, on the coast of the Bristol channel. The continuator of Florence of Wor- cester speaking of the number slain in one battle in 1136, says, Corpora vero eorura a lupis horribiliter per agros discerpta et devorata sunt. p. 512. This is the latest mention of wolves in Wales that I remember to have met with. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 47 barons of Herefordshire and Salop were engaged in more important projects than the prosecution of border warfare. It was here that the conspiracy was formed against the king, in favour of the claims of the Empress Matilda, which soon afterwards involved the whole kingdom in the horrors of civil war. In 1138, the third year of Stephen's reign, nearly all the castles and strong tovms on the border were fortified against him. Robert earl of Gloucester (the illegitimate son of Henry I.) occupied Bristol, which formed the head quarters of the rebellion, and Gloucester ; Geofirey Talbot garrisoned his own castle of Weobly and seized upon Hereford ; William Fitz Alan, the sheriff of Shrop- shire, estabUshed himself in the castle of Shrewsbury; Ralph Paganel, an active and influential partizan of the empress, fortified himself in his castle of Dudley; and Gervase Paganel, probably the brother or kinsman of Ralph, seized upon that of Ludlow. William Peverel, in like manner, raised the standard of rebellion in his castles of EUesmere, Whittington, &c. From these strong holds the revolted barons sent out their emissaries, who ravaged and plundered the surrounding country in the most ruthless manner. Stephen was no less active than his enemies ; he quickly made himself master of Hereford, and Geofirey Talbot sought refuge in the castle of Weobly, from which also he was driven by the king. After placing a garrison in both these fortresses, the king quitted the border. In these cruel wars, the towns as well as the coimtry suffered equally from both parties. In the attack upon Hereford by the king, all the city on one side of the Wye bridge was burnt ; and, as soon as he was gone, Geofirey Talbot with his army, consisting in great part of Welshmen, came and burnt that part of the city which stood on the other side of the bridge,* On this occasion the assailants were * In the king's attack Civitas Herefordensis infra pontem fluminis Wegse comburitur igne. Contin. of Florence of Worcester, p. 520. In Talbot's attack the part ' ultra pontem Wegae' was burnt. lb. p. 521. 48 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. beaten off with loss by Stephen's garrison; and shortly afterwards Talbot, in an attempt upon the city of Bath, was taken prisoner by the bishop, who however was induced by the threats of the terrible garrison of Bristol to set him at liberty. The king accused the bishop of Bath of treachery, and again advanced towards Gloucestershire, taking several castles in his way, but he failed in an attempt upon Bristol. From thence he went to Dudley, which he appears not to have taken ; but, having burnt and plundered the neigh- bourhood, he hastened to Shrewsbury. William Fitz Alan fled at his approach, leaving a strong garrison, which sustained a protracted siege. Stephen employed against Shrewsbury castle aU the most powerful warlike engines which were then in use; the besieged were almost suffo- cated with clouds of thick smoke which were thrown into the place ; and one of the gates being at length driven in, it was taken by storm. Part of the garrison escaped; many were slain ; and a few of the prisoners of rank were hanged by order of the king.* The siege of Shrewsbury occurred in the July of the year 1138. The invasion of the northern counties by the Scots called the king from the further prosecution of the war on the border. Immediately after Christmas, Stephen hastened towards Scotland in person; but the invaders had sustained a severe defeat, and, having signed a treaty of peace at Durham, the English king returned to Shropshire, carrying with him the Scottish king's son, Henry earl of Northumberland, who had been deHvered to him as a hostage. We hear nothing of the king's proceedings till he reached Ludlow; probably the lesser fortresses of Shropshii-e had been given up without a struggle ; but the castle of Ludlow, under Gervase Paganel, made an obstinate resistance. Two forts were erected by the assailants, and the siege was prosecuted with great vigour, yet it was not successful; and it needed all the prudence of the monarch to hinder sanguinary feuds from " The continuator of Florence of Worcester, p. 523. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 49 breaking out among the besiegers* In one of the attacks, the Scottish prince approaching rashly too near to the walls, was seized by an iron grapple thrown out from the castle, and would have been taken prisoner, but the king with his characteristic bravery rushed to the spot, and saved his hostage at the imminent peril of his own life. The king soon afterwards raised the siege, and repaired to Oxford, where his presence was necessary. After the arrival of Matilda in England, her army was strengthened by ten thousand Welsh auxiliaries, raised by Robert earl of Gloucester. Her cause was sustained in Herefordshire by Geofflrey Talbot and Gilbert de Lacy, with Milo, constable of Gloucester, the son of Walter, constable of Shropshire in the preceding reign. At the end of the autumn of 1139, they plundered and partly burnt the city of Worcester. Immediately afterwards Talbot attacked Hereford, set fire to the cathedral, slaughtered the monks, and sacked the town. The king hastened to Worcester, and then pushing forwards encamped his army at Little Hereford and Leominster. In the following year he again occupied Little Hereford,! iiot far distant from Ludlow, which we may suppose to have been still held by Gervase Paganel. Stephen's progress in this quarter was arrested by other events. In 1141, earl Robert's Welshmen took part in the battle of Lincoln, where the king was made captive.J Milo de Gloucester, for his • The account of this siege is chiefly taken from the Continuator of Florence of Worcester, pp. 527, 528. He spells the name Ludelawe. The orthography in other accounts of the same event is, LMdlaue in Henry of Huntingdon; Ludelawe in Roger de Hoveden ; Ludeklawe in Matthew Paris ; Lodelowe in Ralph de Dicet and in Hohert of Gloucester. t These particulars are given by the Continuator of Florence of Wor- cester, pp. 531, 532, 533. X Two of our most valuable border historians end with this year, Ordericus Vitalis, a. native of Shropshire, whose father was a trusty minister of Roger de Montgomery, and the anonymous monk of Wor- cester, who continued the Chronicle of Florence of Worcester from the year 1118. H 50 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. conduct in this engagement, was rewarded by Matilda with the earldom of Hereford ; and among the witnesses to the gi'ant are the signatures of Ralph Paganel and Gilbert de Lacy.* During the various vicissitudes of the year which foHowedj the Welsh border seems to have been less frequently the scene of active warfare between the con- tending parties. In the summer of 1150, the city of Worcester was taken by the army of Stephen, and a con- siderable portion of it was again burnt to the ground.f The castle of Ludlow also fell into the king's hands, but it is not known when or how. It appears to have been restored to Joce de Dinan, who is mentioned as holding it in a deed of the last year of the reign of Stephen (1154). This deed is a grant of the earldom of Hereford to Roger son of Milo de Gloucester. William Fitz Alan was restored to the office of sheriff of Shropshire on the accession of Henry II. Henry II began his reign by destroying no less than eleven hundred of the petty castles, the inmates of which had oppressed the country so grievously during the reign of Stephen; and by seizing the royal fortresses which had been usurped by the more powerful barons. Among the latter was the castle of Bridgenorth, held by Hugh de Mortimer, who refused to surrender it ; and when the king approached with his army to reduce him to obedience, he persuaded Roger earl of Hereford to join in his rebellion, and to fortify against his sovereign the castles of Hereford and Gloucester. The earl of Hereford was soon restored to obedience by Gilbert FoHot, the bishop of that see; but Hugh de Mortimer defended Bridgenorth castle with obstinacy. During the siege the king, who was directing the operations, narrowly escaped from an arrow which was aimed at him by one of the ganison ; his faithful attendant, Hugh de St. Clair, threw himself before the « This grant is printed inRymer's Fsedera, last edition, i. 14. t Robert of Gloucester's Chronicle, p. 465 (cd. Hearne). THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 51 monarch and received the weapon in his own breast. Mortimer was soon afterwards compelled to surrender. The humbled baron appears to have wreaked his wrath upon his neighbours, and we soon afterwards find him engaged in open warfare with Joce de Dinan. The latter could scarcely quit the walls of his castle of Ludlow without danger of being taken by Mortimer's menj but, learning one day that the lord of Wigmore was to ride out alone, Joce sent some of his men to lay wait, who made him prisoner and brought him to Ludlow, where he was confined for some length of time in a tower in the third "baylle" or ward, till he obtained his liberty by the payment of a very heavy ransom.* The tower, which we are told in an old writer, was the loftiest in the third ward of the castle, was known in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries by the name of Mortimer's Tower ,t a name which it took from this circumstance, and which is stiU preserved. The Welsh on the border continued to be exceedingly troublesome dining the whole of Henry's reign. In 1157, less than three years after his accession to the crown, the king led an army into Flintshire, to repress the hostilities of these mountaineers under their prince Owen Gwynned. The enemy retired before him, and took refuge in the woods, and he had reached the forest of Coleshill in the neigh- bourhood of FUnt, when, with the ardour of youth, he threw himself with his army into a wooded and dangerous pass. The Welsh from the mountains and woods attacked him on every side; many of his best men were killed, among others Eustace Fitz John and Robert de Courcy; and Henry de Essex,J the royal standard bearer, hearing • History of the foundation of Wigmore Abbey, printed in Ellis's Dugdale, vol. vi, p. 346. t Le plus halt tour q^'est en la terce bayle del chastel, qe or est apelfe de plusours Mortemer. Romance of the Fitz Warines. % The Pictorial History of England calls him Henry earl of Essex. The earl of Essex at this time was Geoffrey de Mandoville. 62 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. that the king was killed, threw down his standard and spread the alarm through the army. The confusion was great, and many of the English were slain, but Eoger earl of Clare, with his own retainers, raised up the king's standard and pressed forwards into the heat of the battle, and the spirited exertions of the young king restored the army to order. As soon as he had extricated himself from this diificulty, he recruited his army and led it to the south, and advancing along the coast by Glamorgan, reached Pencadair near Carmarthen, where Rhees prince of South Wales surrendered to him. Owen, the prince of the north, also submitted, and gave hostages; and the king returned by ' Elenith and Melenith' to England, car- rying with him Rhees as his prisoner, who however was permitted to return home on taking the oath of fealty and giving hostages.* Henry de Essex was disgraced for his conduct in the battle of Coleshill. Six years afterwards, in a quarrel with Robert de Montfort, the latter openly accused him of treason in throAving down the standard vdth the intention of betraying the king : Henry de Essex retorted the charge, and the cause was decided by judicial combat in an island in the Thames near the abbey of Reading. The standard bearer was vanquished, and left for dead, and his body was carried by the monks to their church to be buried there. But when released from the weight of his armour, he recovered, and soon afterwards became a monk of the abbey of Reading, f * Giraldus Cambrensis, Hibern. Expugn. c. 30 ; Itin. Cam. lib. i, c. 10, and lib. ii, u. 10, compared with the other historians of the period. t Cronica Joscelini de Brakelonda (edited by John Gage Rokewode, Esq. for the Camden Society), pp. 50-52. The account differs a little from that commonly given, but Josceline de Brakelonde received it from Henry de Essex's own mouth, after the latter had taken the cowl at Reading. The standard bearer assured him that he really believed the king had been slain — in rei veritate, preedictus Henricus de Essexia inclitum regem Henricum secundum, Walensium fraudibus intcrceptum, diem clausisse credidit extremum.- THE HISTORY OF LUULOW. 53 At the time when this combat took place (a. d. 1163), the "Welsh, regardless of the safety of their hostages, were again, in arms. Beaten by the borderers, they were not discouraged, and early in 1165, the princes of North and South Wales, in conjunction with Owen Kevelioc prince of Powis, renounced their dependance on the English king. Henry raised a great army and entered Poms-land by Oswestry. The Welsh, as usual, retreated to their woods and mountains, but they were closely pursued, and were defeated with great loss on the banks of the river Ceiriog. The English army at length encamped at the foot of the Berwin mountains, but here the inclemency of the weather was more fatal to the invaders than the cunning of the Welsh in the former war. The rain fell in torrents and swelled the mountain streams, and the position of the EngHsh became so untenable, that they were obliged to return home in confiision, and, being pursued by parties of the enemy, lost many men in the retreat. Henry stung with mortification at this second disaster, took vengeance on his unfortunate hostages, who were by his order deprived of their eyes. Giraldus Cambrensis, an attentive observer of these events, but prejudiced against the king by his personal feeEngs, blames him for undertaking such expe- ditions without seeking the aid and advice of the border chieftains, who, by long experience, were better able to carry on hostilities with the mountain hordes.* It is probable, however, that king Henry saw little reason for placing confidence in the fidehty of the barons who occupied the castles in the Marches of Wales, and who appear to have been busily occupied with their own private feuds, which had been increased and embittered by the confiscations and changes of property during the preceding reigns. We have already seen Joce de Dinan at war with his powerful neighbour Hugh de Mortimer: soon afterwards we find him engaged in a stiU more * Girald. Camb. Itin. lib. ii, c. 10. 64 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. desperate feud with another of the old border chieftains, Walter de Lacy. It appears by the deed of the last year of the reign of Stephen, mentioned above, that Hugh de Lacy then laid claim to lands which Joce de Dinan held in Herefordshire, and it is not improbable that these con- tending claims were the ground of the dissensions in which '•' many a good knight lost his life ;" the traditions of which continued to be the subject of minstrel song in the foUowing century,* and in the course of which the castle of Ludlow passed into the family of the Fitz Warines. The first of this family who bore the name of Fulke Fitz Warine had inherited by his mother Melette, daughter of WiUiam Peverel, the castle and honour of Whittington, when seven years of age, Fulke was, according to the custom of those times, placed in the family of Joce de Dinan to be educated in the practice of knightly exercises, for Joce was "a knight of good experience," and as he grew up he became " handsome, strong, and of goodly stature." At the time when the hostilities between Joce de Dinan and Walter de Lacy raged with most violence, Fulke Fitz Warine had reached the age of eighteen. One summer's day, Joce de Dinan arose early in the morning, and mounted a tower in the middle of his castle to survey the country. Turning his eyes towards AVhit- clifie, he was surprised to see the fields covered with knights and soldiers in all the apparel of war, and to behold among others the banner of his mortal enemy Sir Walter de Lacy. He ordered part of his knights to arm and mount in haste, and to take with them arbalasters and archers to go and defend the bridge and ford "below the town of Dinan," and they drove back the Lacy's men, who • For an account of the Romance of the Fitz Warines, see a note at the beginning of our next section. It may be observed that the article on this family in Burke's Extinct Peerage is full of errors. Walter de Lacy did not become in his own right lord of Ewyas till after his father's death in 1185, but as the latter was constantly engaged in Ireland, he was probably considered as the head of the family on the border of Wales. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 55 were akeady occupying the pass. Soon after came Joce, with iive hundred knights and men at arms, besides the burgesses of the town, and crossing the water they engaged and entirely defeated the invaders. "Walter de Lacy, after having lost his banner and seen his men dispersed, fled along the road which ran near the banks of the Teme towards Bromfield, called by the Anglo-Noi-man writer Champ-Geneste (campus genestse). Joce de Dinan seeing Walter de Lacy flying in this dii-ection, followed him unattended, and overtook him in a little valley within sight of the castle, between the wood and the river, and Lacy was already wounded and on the point of being made a prisoner, when three of his knights suddenly made their appearance and came to his aid. Joce's lady, with her two daughters Sibille and Hawyse, had witnessed the combat and the subsequent flight from a tower ia the castle ; and terrified with the danger which threatened their lord, who was now alone against four, they made the place resound with their screams. Fulke Fitz Warine, who on account of his youth had been left in the castle, was drawn to the spot by the cries of the ladies, and, seeing them in tears, he inquired of Hawyse the cause of their distress. " Hold thy tongue," she replied ; " thou resemblest little thy father who is so bold and strong ; and thou art but a coward, and ever wilt be. Seest thou not where my father, who has cherished and bred thee with so much care, is in danger of his life for want of help ? and thou art not ashamed to go up and down safe without paying any attention!" Fulke, stung by the maiden's reproof, hurried into the haU of the castle, where he found nothing but an old rusty hehnet, which he put on as well as he could, for he had not yet attained to the age of bearing armour, and seizing a great Danish axe he ran to the stable which was close to the postern that led to the river. There he found a cart-horse, which he mounted, and spurring across the river, he reached the spot where Joce de Dinan, overcome by the number of his opponents, was 56 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. already dismounted and on the ground. Young Fulke was no sooner arrived, than with one blow of his for- midable weapon he cut in two the back-bone of one of Lacy's men who was securing the fallen lord of Ludlow, and with a second he clove the sctdl of another who was coming to encounter him. Joce was now soon remounted, and Walter de Lacy with his remaining companion, Arnold de Lisle, who had both been severely wounded in the action, were easily made prisoners. They were brought to Ludlow castle and confined in a tower which was called Pendover.* The two prisoners were treated with kindness, and were frequently visited by the ladies of the household. Amongst them was a "very gentle damsel" named Marion de la Bruere (Marian of the Heath), who was smitten with the courtly mien of Arnold de Lisle, and allowed herself to be seduced by his fair words and promises of marriage. Having thus placed herself in his power by her impru- dence, she was further induced secretly to aid the escape of the prisoners through one of the windows of the tower by means of towels and napkins attached together. After Walter de Lacy had obtained his liberty, he sent to his father in Ireland for soldiers, resolved to avenge himself on Joce de Dinan ; but after having carried on their hos- tilities for a short time, the two barons were reconciled by the interference of their neighbours. Soon after peace had thus been restored, Fulke Fitz Warine was married with great ceremony to Hawyse de Dinan; and after the festi- vities were ended, Joce de Dinan with his household and son-in-law, and Warine the father of Fulke, went to ' Hertland,' having entrusted the castle of Ludlow to the care of thirty trusty knights and seventy good soldiers, " for fear of the Lacy and other people." * Romance of the Fitz Warines, p. 17. The tower called Pendover was certainly not the keep or donjon. It appears from the context to have been a tower in the outer wall, looking towards Linney, and communicating with the wall that ran at the back of the chapel, perhaps the one marked 10 in our plan of tlie castle. PLAN OF LUDLOW CASTLE. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 57 No sooner had Joce de Dinan quitted his castle, than Marion de la Bruere, who had remained behind on pretence of illness, sent a private message to her lover Arnold de Lisle, acquainting him with the state of the castle, and inviting him to pay her a visit, promising to let him enter by the same window from which he and Walter de Lacy had made their escape from prison. Arnold communicated his intelligence to Walter de Lacy, and obtained his consent to making an attempt on the castle. Having provided himself with a ladder of leather of the length indicated to him by the unsuspecting lady, he took with him above a thousand knights and soldiers, the main body of whom he concealed in the woods by Whitcliife, and the rest were placed in ambush in the gardens below the castle. It seems by the story that the ground under the castle, bordering on the river, was then laid out in gardens for the recreation of the family of the lord of Ludlow. It was during a dark night that these movements were effected; when Arnold, with an attendant who carried the ladder, approached the wall of the tower, his mistress was ready at the window, and threw down a cord by which the ladder was drawn up and fixed. The lady led him to her chamber, and the ladder was left suspended at the window. In the mean time Arnold's attendant had returned to the gardens, and brought forth the soldiers who were placed in ambush. A hundred men, well armed, mounted by the leathern ladder into the tower of Pendover, and whilst one party, descending from the tower to the wall which led be- hind the chapel,* threw the sleeping sentinel into the deep foss which separated it from the outer ward, another party went into the inner ward, and slew in their beds the knights and soldiers who had been left to guard the castle. They then issued from the castle, opened Dinham gate (la porte de Dynan vers la ryvere), to admit the rest of *E s'en avalerent de la tour de Pendovre, e e'en alerent par le mur de- rere la chapele. Komance of the Fitz-Warines, p. 21. I 58 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Lacy's men, and placing parties of soldiers at the end of each street, they burnt the town and massacred the inhabi- tants, sparing neither woman nor child. At day-break, Marion, who was in bed with her lover Sir Arnold, was awakened by the shouts of the victors; she arose, and, looking through a window, learnt the treason which had been acted during the night. In the agony of despair, she seized upon Sir Arnold's sword and thrust it through his body, and immediately afterwards threw herself out of a window which looked towards Linney (Lyneye), and " broke her neck." As soon as he received intelligence of the success of this attack, Walter de Lacy came with all his force, and took possession of Ludlow castle. Tidings of these events were brought to Joce de Diilan at Lamboume. Joce and the Warines, having assembled their friends and dependants, came with about seven thousand men, and estabhshed themselves in the castle of Cainham (Keyenhom), situated on a hillock about a league from Ludlow, and then "very old and the gates rotten." The siege of Ludlow castle lasted long; the attacks were frequent and vigorous, but Lacy who had many Irish troops, as weU as his own knights and retainers, defended the place against them ; when however he ventured to go out from the castle, he was severely beaten by the besiegers, and the gardens about Ludlow were more than once covered with the bodies of his soldiers who were slain in these skirmishes. The attack was made on the side of the castle to which the approach is now covered by the town ; the town, as we have already observed, seems at this time to have been situated only in Dinham and towards MiU-street. At length the besiegers made a fire at the gateway with bacon and grease, so fierce that it burnt not only the treble door of the gate- way tower, but also destroyed the tower itself, and Joce de Dinan became master of the outer ward. In this assault the chief tower in the outer ward of the castle (Mortimer's tower) was nearly levelled with the ground, and almost the whole ward destroyed. In the midst of these events Fulke THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 59 Fltz Warine's father died, and Fulke became Lord of Whit- tington. Walter de Lacy finding himself hard pressed, sent for assistance to Jorwerth Drwyndwn (i. e. Jorwerth with the broken nose), prince of Wales, who invaded the Marches with twenty thousand Welshmen, ravaged the country, burning towns and slaying the inhabitants, and speedily approached Ludlow. Joce and Fullie fought against the invaders with great bravery, but they were at length com- pelled to retire to Cainham, where they were besieged during three days. Cut off from all hope of assistance, and unable even to procure provisions, on the fourth day they sallied out from the ruined fortress, and attempted to force their way through their enemies. After killing many of the Welsh and Irish, they were overwhelmed by numbers, and Joce de Dinan, with most of his knights that were not killed, was taken prisoner and committed to the dun- geon of Ludlow castle. Fulke Fitz Warine, seeing his father-in-law carried away, made a desperate attempt to rescue him, and ran his lance through the body of the knight who had him in charge ; but he was himself sorely wounded by Owen Kevelioc, and with diificulty escaped from the field, and fled towards Gloucester, where king Henry was at that time making his stay. The king received Fiilke with great consideration, and claimed him as his kinsman. He made his wife Hawyse a lady of the queen's chamber, and sent orders to Walter de Lacy to set at Uberty his prisoners, on pain of incurring a severe chastisement. Lacy was too well acquainted with the vigour and skiU of king Henry to disobey his commands, and Joce de Dinan joined his son-in-law at the royal court. Immediately after his arrival at court, the lady Hawyse gave birth to a son, who was named after his father Fulke Fitz Warine. Joce died at Lamboume a short time afterwards ; and it was probably on his death that the king made a grant confii-ming the right of his son-in-law to the castle of Ludlow and the dependant honour of Corve-dale. This 60 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. grant is said to have been made about the year 1176. Fulke rose rapidly in the favour of his sovereign, who made him lieutenant of the Marches, in which capacity he was very active in resisting the aggressions of the Welsh, who during the latter part of this king's reign again ravaged Shropshire and Herefordshire* He defeated the Welsh prince in several combats, and particularly in a great battle at 'Wormeslowe' near Hereford; and after these hostilities had continued more or less during four years, a reconciliation was effected between the Welsh prince and king Henry, the former being allowed to retain Ellesmere, Whittington, Maylour, and other places on the border, and Henry's daughter Joane was betrothed to Lewis, Jorwerth's son. In recompence for the loss of these lands, the king gave to Fulke the honour of " Alleston.' It seems doubtful if he ever again obtained possession of Ludlow castle. The town which had been utterly destroyed in the wars between Walter de Lacy and Joce de Dinan, was rebuilt, and the new town was probably placed nearer to the church and about the present Broad-street and Old-street ; it was henceforth known only by the name of Ludlow. Perhaps amid the troubles and dissensions on the border, Walter de Lacy was allowed to retain possession. Fulke Fitz Warine continued to enjoy the favours of king Henry and of his son and successor Kichard, early in whose reign he died. The preaching of archbishop Baldwin had led the way to that outbreak of enthusiasm for the crusade which characterised the opening years of the reign of Richard I. The king, and with him nimibers of the first nobles and best knights of England and Wales, deserted their country to seek a new field of action in the East. Contemporary historians, carried with the general impulse, fill their pages with the wonderful deeds of valour performed in Syria, and give us but a very imperfect account of the state of England duiing Richard's absence. The partial notices which have • Romance of the Fitz Warines, p. 32. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 61 come down to us shew that England was torn by discord. The feudal barons had not yet forgotten the licence of the days of Stephen, and they were glad to be liberated from the iron-armed justice of the reign of his successor.* The ambition of John, Richard's eldest brother, encouraged their expectations, and laid the foundation of those hostile combinations which a few years afterwards troubled his own reign. In the first year of his reign, king Richard provoked the resentment of the Welsh by his xmcourteous treatment of their prince Rhees, who came to Oxford, under the safe conduct of prince John, to confer with him. King Henry had been accustomed to meet the Welsh prince at this place J but Richard, despising the example of his father, refused to quit his capital, and Rhees, "exceedingly angry," returned home.f On his departure for the Holy Land, the king appointed Fulke Fitz Warine warden of the Marches ; but his name scarcely occiirs in the different events of the following years. Soon after the king's departure, in the arrangement between prince John and the Chancellor, arch- bishop Hubert, arising out of the siege of Lincoln by the latter and the occupation of the castles of Nottingham and Tickhill by John, the castle of Hereford was delivered to the keeping of Roger Bigod, one of the Chancellor's partizans. In 1197, Hubert was called to the border, to make peace between the sons of the Welsh prince Rhees, who had quar- relled about their inheritance after their father's death. At the Christmas of the year following, 1198, Hubert was again on the borders, and took from the lords who had unlawfully usurped them the castles of Hereford, Bridge- north, and Ludlow, which he deKvered to new keepers.f * See William of Newbury, p. 380. Edit. 1610. t Roger de Hoveden, p. 661. t Eodem anno, die natalis Domini, Hubertus— fuit in Gwallia apud Hereford, et recepit in manu sua castellum de Hereford, et castellura de Briges, et castellum do Ludelaw, expulsis inde cuatodibus qui ea diu custodierant, et tradidit ea aliis custodibus custodienda ad opus regis. Roger de Hoveden, p. 775. 62 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. In the fifth year of this reign, 1194, the custody of Ludlow castle had been given to Gilbert Talbot, whose father appears to have been nephew of the Geoflfrey Talbot who was so active in Herefordshire during the reign of Stephen. A few months after his last visit to the border, Hubert was deposed from his secular dignities, and was succeeded by Geoifrey Fitz Peter, who was almost immediately called with an army to Wales to assist William de Braose, who was besieged by Gwenwynwyn in his own castle. The Welsh were defeated with a great' slaughter.* This William de Braose, lord of Builth and Brecknock, and allied by kindred to the Lacies and most of the great border families, was deeply hated by the Welsh, and was constantly engaged in hostilities with their princes. His wife, Maude de Saint Waleri, was one of the most re- markable women of her time, and was no less active in the wars than her husband. At the beginning of the turbulent reign of John, she and her husband enjoyed the royal favour. She on one occasion presented to the queen three .hundred cows and one bull, all of them white with red ears ; and she boasted that she possessed above twelve thousand milch cows, and that she had in her stores so many cheeses, that if a hundred of the most vigorous men in England were besieged in a castle during a month, and if they were obliged to defend themselves by continually throwing her cheeses at the assailants, let them throw them as fast as they might, they would stiU have some left at the end of the month. Wilham de Braose and his wife soon incurred the displeasure of king John ; they returned a proud answer to his message, and he went with an army towards Wales. On his approach, William de Braose fled to France, and Maude with her eldest son William went over to Ireland to seek protection from theii- kinsman Hugh de Lacy, who was likewise under the king's dis- pleasme. As John pmsued them from castle to castle in * Roger de Hoveden, p. 781. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. b3 Ireland, they fled to the Isle of Man and to Scotland, where Maude and h6r son William were taken and sent to the king. He ordered them to be inclosed in a room in Corfe castle, with a sheaf of wheat and a piece of raw bacon for their only provisions. On the eleventh day their prison was opened, and they were found both dead j the mother was sitting upright between her son's legs with her head leaning back on his breast, whilst he was also in a sitting posture with his face turned towards the ground. Maude de Braose, in her last pangs of hunger, had knawed the cheeks of her son, then probably dead, and after this eifort she appeared to have fallen into the position in which she was found.* SECTION IV. Adventures of the younger Fulke Fitz Warine. THE first Fulke Fitz Warine had, by his wife Hawyse de Dinan, five sons, Fulke, WilUam, Philip, John, and Alan. Fulke, as we have already stated, was born soon after the capture of Ludlow castle by Walter de Lacy ; he, as well as his younger brothers, and his cousin Baldwin de Hodnet was educated with the children of Henry II j and he enjoyed the favour of king Richard I during the whole of that monarch's reign. After his father's death, which is said to have occurred before the king embarked for the crusade, Fulke had livery of his lands, and in 1195 he was also restored to the possession of Whittington, which in the • These particulars relating to the Braoses, differing considerably from the accounts commonly received, are taken from an anonymous ■writer -who lived at the time, and was intimately acquainted with the domestic events of the reign of John : his work, in a strong Norman dialect, was first printed by the Societe de I'Histoire de France, in 8vo. 1840. The account of Maude de Braose will be found at pp. 111-115. 64 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. preceding reign had been allowed to remain in the hands of Roger prince of Powis. He continued during this reign to enjoy the charge of warden of the Marches. On the accession of John, Fulke lost the royal favour, and became an out-law. He was held one of the bravest knights and strongest men of his time ; and his adventures, while he lived in the woods and on the seas, were the theme of general admiration during the two centuries which followed.* • We cite the interesting narrative of the adventures of Fulke by the title of the Somance of the Fitz Warines ; but it must not be supposed that by this title we mean to convey a doubt of its being historical. The word romatKe, in its original acceptation, meant a book of any king written in the middle-age dialects derived from the latin, each of which was called Lingiui! Bomana, or La/ngue Romane, pure Latin being always characterized as the Lingua Latina, or Langtie Latine. The name Momans (i. e. liber Bomarms) became more peculiarly applied to the long poetical narratives sung by the minstrels in the baronial halls, which sometimes recorded the old traditions of the country, at others celebrated the deeds of the barons in whose halls they were chanted and their feuds with their neighbours, and at a later period became gradually restricted to stories of a more imaginative character, from whence has arisen our modem application of the word. The Romance of the Fitz Warines was very popular during a long period of time : it was first composed in Anglo-Norman verse ; there appeared a version in English verse probably before the end of the thirteenth century ; and at the beginning of the fourteenth century the original Anglo-Norman poem was transformed into a prose version. The Anglo-Norman and English poems were extant in the time of Leland, who has given an imperfect abstract of them ; but the prose version alone, as far as can be ascertained, is now preserved; it is contained in a manuscript of the reign of Edward II, in the British Museum, MS. Reg. 12, C. XII. The writer who made the prose version has followed his original so closely, that we have evidently the very words of the poem a little transposed, and with a little care we might restore the original verses of a considerable portion of it. At the end of the account of Joce's wars with Walter de Lacy, it is said " Now you have heard how Sir Joce de Dynan, Sibille, the elder, and Hawyse, the younger, his daughters, were disinherited of the castle and honour of Dynan, which Sir Walter de Lacy holds wrongfiflly" (ore avez oy com- ment sire Joce de Dynan, &c. fiirent disheritez de la chastel e I'onour de Dynan, que sire Walter de Lacy Umt a tort). This must have been written before 1241, when Walter de Lacy died (the only Lacy who held the castle of Ludlow), and therefore during the life of the younger Fulke Fitz Warine, of whose adventures chiefly it treats. This circumstance. THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 65 The enmity which existed so long between king John and the family of the Fitz Warines, is said to have originated in their bojdsh quarrels. While they were little more than children in king Henry's household, John and Fulke were one day playing at chess, and the former, whose evil disposition was exhibited in his childhood, angry at the superior skill of his playfellow, struck him violently on the head with the chess-board. Fulke returned the blow with so much force, that the prince was thrown with his head against the wall, and fell senseless on the floor. He was soon restored to his senses by the exertions of his playfellow, for they were alone; and he immediately ran to his father the king to make his complaint. But Henry knew his son's character, and not only rebuked him for his quarrelsomeness, telling him that if Fulke had beaten him he had no doubt it was what he merited, but he sent for the prince's master and ordered him to be again beaten " finely and well" for complaining. John never forgot that Fulke Fitz Warine had been the cause of this disgrace. Immediately after his accession to the throne, he gave not only the wardenship of the Marches, but also the family possessions of the Fitz Wa- rines at Whittington, to Morice, son of Roger of Powis* and the exact knowledge which the minstrel shows that he possessed of Ludlow castle and the border, leads me to believe the poem was originally composed by a minstrel attached to the family of Fulke at Whittington, when the jealousies were still alive which arose out of the transfer of Ludlo\» from the Fitz "Warines to the Lacies. I have little doubt that the incidents of the story are in the main true, if we make allowance for the inaccuracies which must have arisen in their passage from one mouth to another, with the embellishments which party feeling would naturally give to them, and which in fact appear more or less in every historical narrative. The poet, however, seems to have thought himself justified in giving full scope to his imagination when he described Fulke's adventures in distant lands, which it has not been thought neces- sary to insert here. It ought to be observed, that since the present work was begun, the prose text of the Bomance of the Fitz Warines has been printed at Paris (8vo. 1840). • The grant of ' Witintone and Overton' to Morice Fitz Roger (Meurieo 66 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. before mentioned, who was known to the Nonnans by the name of Moiice Fitz Roger. When Fulke learnt the injus- tice which had been done to him, he immediately repaired with his brothers and Baldwin de Hodnet, to the court, then at Winchester,* and in the royal presence, demanded his right by the judgement of the common law. The king refused to hsten to himj he said that he had given the lands to Morice Fitz Roger, " who should keep them, be angry who might ;" and Morice coming forwards addressed the claimant in reproachful words : — " Sir knight," he said, " you are a very fool, to challenge my lands. If you say that you have a right to Whittington, you he ; and, if we were out of the king's presence, I woidd prove it on your body." He had scarcely ended speaking, when WiUiam Fitz Warine, less scrupulous in this particular, stepped forward and struck him a blow with his mailed fist which left his face covered with blood. The knights who were present interfered to put a stop to the firay^ and Fulke turning to the king reproached him with his injustice and, having pubUcly withdrawn his fealty, hastened with his kinsmen from the court. They had scarcely proceeded half a league from the city, when they were overtaken by fifteen of the king's best knights, well armed and miounted, who called on them to stop, ''for," said they, "we have promised to give your heads to the king." "Fair sirs," said Fulke, "you were, in faith, very foolish when you promised to give what you had not got." And thereupon setting upon them, they slew or severely woftnded fourteen, and left but one able to ride back to carry the news to king John. Fulke hurried to his castle of Alberbury, where his fiUo Rogeri de Peuwis), dated at Worcester, April 11, 1200, is found on the Charter Rolls at the Tower. King John ■was at Worcester from the 6th to the 12th April. • It is most probable that Winchester is a mistake for Westminster, where the king was on the 18th, 19th, and 20th of April, 1200. He was not at Winchester during that year. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 67 mother was living, and having taken his leave of her, he went hy sea to Bretagne, accompanied by his brothers and his cousins Audulf de Bracy and Baldwin de Hodnet, and carrying with him large treasures which he had laid up in his castle. King John immediately seized upon aU his lands in England. After staying a short time in Bretagne, where they were hospitably received by their kindred (for their family was of Breton descent), Fulke and his brothers and cousins returned to England, where they were soon joined by others who were suiferers from the injustice of the king. By day they concealed themselves in the woods and moors, and travelled only by night, for fear of the king's power, because they were as yet few in number. At ' Huggeford' they were hospitably entertained by Sir Walter de Huggeford,* who had married the sister of Fulke's mother. From thence they went to the woods in the neighbourhood of Alberbury, Fulke's paternal mansion, where he learnt that his mother was dead. He next removed to the forest of ' Babbyng,' near Whittington, where he took up his abode with his companions, in order to watch the motions of his enemy Morice Fitz Roger. A retainer of Morice saw them in the forest, and informed his master, who went forth with his men to seek after them. But Fulke no sooner saw them approach, than he and his kinsmen rushed out of their hiding place, and, attacking them fiercely, drove them back to the castle. Morice was severely wounded in the shoulder, and was closely pursued by Fulke Fitz Warine, who approached so near the gateway, that he was shot in the leg by an arrow from the wall. When the king was informed by the * This Walter de Huggeford (of Shropshire) is mentioned in the records, and appears to have been constantly in rebellion against king John. In September, 1207, he was a prisoner : Mandamus tibi quod liberari facias Hugoni de Nuville vel certo nuncio suo litteras suas de- ferenti Walterura de Hugeforde prisonem pro foresta. (Patent Rolls, 6 Sept. 1207.) He was one of those who, in arms against John at the time of that monarch's death, returned to his allegiance in 1217, the second year of the reign of Henry III. (Close Rolls, p. 373.) 68 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. messenger of Morice Fitz Roger that Fulke was in England, he became " wonderfully wroth," and appointed a himdred knights with all their retainers to scour the country in search of him, promising a great reward to him who should capture the outlaw either aHve or dead. These knights separated and went into different parts of England; but the historian insinuates that whenever any one of them had private intelligence that the object of their search was in a particular quarter, he took especial care to go in another direction, for they not only had a distaste for Fulke's blows, but they many of them also cherished an affection for his person, and had no real desire that he should faU into the king's hands. This Fulke knew well, and he carefully avoided offering any injmy to those who were not his avowed enemies. Fulke and his company went to the forest of ' Bradene,' where they remained some time unobserved. One day there came ten merchants who brought from foreign lands rich cloths and other valuable merchandise, which they had bought for the king and queen of England, with money furnished for the royal treasury. As the convoy passed under the wood, followed by twenty-four seijeants at arms to guard the king's goods, John Fitz Warine was sent out to inquire who they were. John met with a rude recep- tion ; but Fulke and his companions came forwards, and, in spite of their obstinate defence, captured the whole party, and carried them with their convoy into the forest. When Fulke heard that they were the king's merchants, and that the loss would not fall upon their own heads, he ordered the rich cloths and furs to be brought forth, and, measuring them out with his lance, gave to aU his men their shares, each according to his degree and deserts, " but each was served with large measure enough." He then sent the merchants to the king, bearers of Fulke Fitz Waiine's grateful thanks for the fine robes with which his majesty had clad aU Fulke's good men. After this, adventure they removed to the forest of Kent. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 69 Intelligence was carried to king John's knights who were in search of him, that Fulke Fitz Warine was in a certain wood; and they immediately raised the country about, and came with a great number of people of all sorts to surround the place where he was lodged. They placed bands of men on every side to watch his egress; and distributed watchmen over the fields and plains with horns to raise the cry if they saw him pass from his hiding place. The first intelligence of these movements which reached Fulke, was conveyed by the horn of one of his pursuers, who was at no great distance from him. Fulke and his companions instantly mounted their steeds, and with all their company, horse and foot, they issued from the forest. After several rude encounters, in which many of their pursuers were slain, and in one of which John Fitz Warine received a severe wound on the head, the whole party got clear of the snares which were laid for theip, and pursued the high road till they came to an abbey. Here Alan Fitz Warine, having secured the porter and taken possession of the keys, sheltered the whole company within the walls, except Fulke, who, dressed in the guise of an old monk, took a great club and supported himself upon it, and limping with one foot, walked very slowly along the road side. He had not been long there, before a large body of knights, Serjeants, and their company, arrived at full speed. " Old monk," said they, " have you seen no knights in armour pass here ?" " Yes," said Fulke, " and God repay them the hurt they have done me !" " And what hurt have they done you ?" said the knight who was foremost. " Sir," said Fulke, " I am very old and decrepit, and with difiiculty help myself. On a sudden there came seven knights and fifteen men on foot, and because I could not get out of the way, they made no stoppage but run over me, and it was a chance that I had not been killed." " Never mind," said the knight, " before night I promise thou shalt be well avenged ;" and without more words the whole party continued their route at full speed. Soon after- 70 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. wards arrived eleven other knights, magnificently mounted on choice steeds. As they approached the place where Fulke was standing, the chief of them burst into a fit of laughter, and said, " Here is an old fat monk, who has a fine beUy to hold two gallons in it !" Fulke, without uttering a word, raised his club, and struck the knight such a fear- ful blow under the ear as laid him breathless on the ground. His brothers and their companions, who were looking on, rushed from the abbey, and seizing upon the knights, bound them and locked them up in the porter's lodge, and taking the horses they mounted their whole company, and rode without making any considerable pause tiU they came to ' Huggeford,' where John Fitz Warine was cured of his wound. While they remained at ' Huggeford,' a messenger arrived from Hubert le BotUer, or Hubert Walter, arch- bishop of Canterbury. Hubert's brother, Theobald Wal- ter, had married Maude de Caus, (daughter of Robert Vavasour), a rich heiress, and one of the handsomest women in England ;* and Theobald being now dead, the lady sought protection of her brother-in-law the archbishop, from the pursuit of the king, who, struck vdth her beauty, harboured designs against her honour. Fulke and his brother William, in obedience to the archbishop who re- quested an interview, went to Canterbm-y in the disguise of merchants, and there, at the decree also of the arch- bishop, Fulke Fitz Warine was married to dame Maude de Caus. After remaining two days at Canterbury, Fulke left his wife with the archbishop, and returned to his men, ''who made great mirth and laughed and called Fulke husebaunde, and asked him where he intended to * She appears to have been remarried by the king's licence after Fulke's pardon. (See Patent Rolls, p. 74.) Hubert, archbishop of Canterbury, died in 1205. There arose a misunderstanding between the archbishop and the king in 1201 (Matthew Paris pp. 205, 206) which may have had some connection with the circumstances mentioned in the text. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 71 take his wife, to his castle or to his wood, and encouiaged one another and were very joyful." At this time there dwelt on the horders of Scotland a worthy knight named Robert Fitz Sampson, who with his lady had often received Fullie Fitz Warine into his house with great honour and hospitality. There was also in the same neighbom-hood a knight called Piers de Bruville, who with a band of riotous companions used to wander over the northern country and rob gentlemen and mer- chants who were not on their guard, and commit many other outrages, and all this he did under the name of Fulke Fitz Warine, to Fulke's no small discredit. One day Fulke came to the Scottish border, and as he ap- proached the house of Robert Fitz Sampson, towards night, he saw a great hght in the hall, and on coming nearer he heard frequent mention of his own name. Having placed his companions ready at the outside of the door, Fulke entered the hall silently, and there he saw Piers de Bruville and his companions, all masked and sitting at table, while Robert Fitz Sampson and his lady lay bound in one corner of the hall, and the lady cried piteously. — " Ha ! Sir Fulke," said she, " have mercy on us : I never did you any injury, but have always shewn you good friendship !" Fulke Fitz Warine could contain himself no longer; without waiting for his com- panions, he drew his sword and advanced into the hall, and, with a voice of thunder, threatened that the first who stirred from his place should be cut into small pieces. "And now," said he, "which of you is it who calls himself Fulke?" "Sir," said Piers, "I am a knight, and am called Fulke." "By the love of God! then," said Fulke Fitz Warine, " rise up Sir Fulke, without delay ! " Piers de Bruville, terrified at the fierce deportment of the intruder, rose from his seat, and, without attempting to resist, bound his companions one by one to their seats j and when they were all bound, Fulke made him cut off their heads. Then .addressing Piers de Bruville, he said 72 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. " you false knight, who call yourself Fulke, you lie ! I am Fulke, and that you shall soon know, for I will now punish you for aU the wicked deeds you have done in my name !" and so saying, he struck off his head with his sword. Having thus released Robert Fitz Sampson and his lady from the hands of Piers de BruviUe, Fulke repaired again to Alberbury, and estabhshed himself in the wood on the bank of the river. One of his ^companions, named John de Rampaigne was an excellent musician, and very skilful 'jogelour,' who undertook to go to the castle of Alberbury and report upon the movements of Fulke's old enemy Morice Fitz Roger. John roUed up the leaves of a certain herb, and put them in his mouth, and his face im- mediately began to swell and become discoloured so that his companions scarcely knew him ; then taking a box vpith his implements of ' joglerie,' and a stout club in his hand, he presented himself at the castle gate, and was immediately admitted: for performers of this kind seldom found the gates of the ancient feudal barons closed against them. The porter led him into the presence of Morice Fitz Roger, who asked him where he was bom. " On the borders of Scotland," was the answer. " And what is the news there ?" " Sir, I know none, except of Fulke Fitz Warine, who has been slain in robbiag the house of Robert Fitz Sampson." " Is that true ?" asked Morice. " Yes." said he ; " at least all the people of the country say so." " Minstrel," said he, " for your news I give you this cup of fine gold." And thus John de Rampaigne departed, after having learnt that the next day Morice was going to Shrewsbury, slenderly attended. Accordingly on the mor- row Fulke was up betimes, and having armed aU his company, he laid wait for his enemy, who soon appeared with his household retainers, and the four sons of Guy Fitz Candelou of Porkington. Morice attacked Fulke vigour- ously, but in the end his party were entirely defeated, and himself with the four sons of Guy Fitz Candelou, and fifteen knights, were slain. And thereby, says the nar- THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 73 rater of these events, " Fullce had just so many the fewer enemies." During his wanderings, Fulke was frequently pursued very closely by the king's men, who followed the track of his horse's heels. But Fulke was crafty as well as brave ; and he often caused the horses of his troop to be shoed the wrong way before, so that his enemies were sent in a contrary direction to that in which he had gone. Many a hard adventure he suffered before he recovered his heritage. After the slaughter of his grand enemy Morice Fitz Roger, he went to Rhuddlan to Llewelyn prince of Wales, who had married Joane daughter of Henry II of England, and who like himself was constantly at war with king John. The Welsh prince, though grieving for the death of his kinsman Morice, gave the outlawed baron a friendly welcome, and took him into his service. Since the times of the Saxons, Wales had been the frequent refuge of English outlaws. Fulke .had not been long with prince Llewelyn, before he put an end to the feud which had raged some time between him and Gwenwynwyn, the son of Owen KeveHoc, and by his persuasions effected a recon- ciliation between the two princes. King John was at Winchester, and had not long heard of Fulke's marriage at Canterbury, when news was brought at the same moment of the death of Morice Fitz Roger and of the reception of the slayer at the court of the prince of Wales. For a few minutes the king sat still in silent anger, unable to utter a word ; -then he started up from his seat — " Ha ! St. Mary !" said he, " I am a king, England I rule, and am duke of Anjou and Normandy, and all Ireland bows before my sceptre, yet can I not find a man in my dominions for all my offers, who will avenge me of the injuiies put upon me by one unruly baron. But, though I cannot catch Fulke, I will not fail to make a signal ex- ample of the Welsh prince who has harboured him !" He immediately ordered writs to be issued, summoning his 74 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. barons to meet him with their retainers on a certain day at Shrewsbury, to make war upon the Welsh. Before the day thus appointed, Llewelyn and Gwenwyn- wyn had received intelligence of the hostile designs of the English king. They assembled a great army at ' Castle Balaham in Pentlyn,' and by the advice of Fulke Fitz Warine, they fortified a narrow pass between the woods and marshes, called the ford or pass of Gymele (le gu.6 Gymele), by which the army of king John was obliged to march. The English failed in the attempt to force this pass, and the king, after losing many of his men, returned to Shrewsbury.* The Welsh princes, in the midst of their triumph, after having taken and destroyed the castle of Ronton (belonging to John L'Estrange,t who was an active partizan of the king), met at ' Castle Balaham,' and there Llewelyn restored to Fulke his ancient heritage of Whit- tington, Estrat, and Dynorben, to be held in fee of the princes of Powis. The king dispatched Henry de Alditheley, or Audley, with John L'Estrange, and a part of his army, to expel Fulke from Whittington, of which he had immediately taken possession. Fulke was celebrating his return to his paternal castle with great festivity, and had with him a large body of knights and retainers. When he heard of the approach of the king's troops, he advanced to meet them at the pass of ' Mudle,' which he defended as long as he was able with his inferior force, and then drew off to his * King Jolin was not at Skrewsbuiy during the first four years of his reign ; but he was on the border, at Hereford on the 4th and 5th, at Ledbury on the 6th, and at Bridgenorth on the 11th, 12th and 13th of November, 1200. He had been at Worcester in the preceding April. The minstrel who composed the poem of Fulke Fitz Warine's adventures, has evidently been led into errors of this kind by following popular reports. King John was not at Winchester this year. He was there on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of May of the year following (1201). f The name of John L'Estrange occurs frequently in the records of the reign of king John. We find a grant to Johannes Extrancus, April 16, 1200 (Charter Rolls, p. 15). He was one of those who were to conduct Llewelyn to the king in 3204 (Patent Rolls, p. 39). THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. tS castle. In the defence of the pass, Fulke Fitz Warine, as usual, perfoimed many valourous deeds, as did also his friend and companion Sir Thomas Corhet.* Fulke's brothers Alan and Philip were wounded, and one of his best knights, Sir Audulf de Bracy, having been accidentally dismounted, was overcome by the number of his assailants, and made a prisoner. Henry de Alditheley appears to have proceeded no farther with his enterprise, but, satisfied with the deplo- rable ravage which he had committed on the country over which he passed, he carried his prisoner Audulf de Bracy to the king. Fulke was exceedingly grieved when he learnt the fate of Sir Audulf; and John de Rampaigne was employed on another minstrel's adventure to free him from prison. John, as has been already observed, was skilful in all the arts belonging to the minstrel's craft. Having, by means of a certain mixture -with, which he was acquainted, stained his hair and flesh black, he dressed himself in garments of very rich material, but formed in a strange fashion, hung a handsome tabour about his neck, and rode on a fair palfrey through the streets of Shrewsbury to the gates of the castle, to the no small wonder of the good people of the town. He was quickly carried before the king, whom, falling on his knees, he saluted "very cour- teously." The king, returning his salutation, asked him who he was. " Sire," said he, " I am an Ethiopian min- strel, born in Ethiopia." " Are all the people of Ethiopia of the same colour as you ?" asked the king. " Yes, my lord, men and women." " What say they of me in those foreign lands ?" " Sire," answered John de Rampaigne, " you are the most renowned Idng of all Christendom ; and your great renown has induced me to visit your court." "Fair sir," says the king, "you are welcome." And during the afternoon, John exhibited many a feat of min- • Thomas Corbet is also mentioned in authentic documents of the same period : he joined with the barons against John, in the latter part of that king's reign. 76 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. strelsy both on the tabour and on other instruments, till night drew on, and the king and his court left the haU to seek repose m their beds. Sir Henry de Alditheley was making merry with some of his companions • in his own chamber, and, when he heard that the king had retired, he sent for the black minstrel to increase and join in their jtnirth. An.d " they made great melody," and drunk deep, tin at last Sir Henry turned to a valet and said, " Go fetch Sir Audulf de Bracy, whom the king intends to kill to- morrow; he shall have one merry night before he dies." Audulf was soon led into the room; and they continued talking and playing till a late hour. To the minstrel was given the honourable office of serving round the cup, in the performance of which duty he was very skilful ; and, when the whole party were nearly overcome with the effects of the liquor they had been drinking, he took an opportunity of dropping into the cup a powder which he had provided, and which soon threw them all into a heavy slumber. John de Rampaigne had already made himself known to Audulf de Bracy by means of a song which they had been in the habit of singing; and placing the king's fool between the two knights who had Audulf in guard, they let themselves down from the window towards the Severn by means of the towels and napkins which were in the chamber, and next day they reached the castle of Whit- tington. Fulke's lady, dame Maude de Caus, whose adventures were hardly less remarkable than those of her husband, rejoined him at the court of the prince of Wales. King John, enraged at her marriage with Fulke, had employed spies to watch her motions, and to carry her off as soon as they could- find an opportunity. She was concealed some months in the cathedral of Canterbury, where, pro- tected by the sanctity of the place, she had given birth to a daughter, to whom the archbishop gave the name of Hawyse. Fulke and his companions went secretly by night to Canterbury and took her from thence to Hug- THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 77 geford; and from thence she was carried to Alberbury, where she remained for some time in great secrecy; but being discovered by the king's emissaries she fled to Shrews- bury, where she took refuge in St. Mary's church, and was there deUvered of another daughter which received the name of Joane. Her third child was born two months before its time, on one of the Welsh mountains, and, being a boy, it was christened by the name of John in the stream which ran from the " maidens' foimtain." Both the mother and her offspring were too weak to be removed far, so they were carried from the mountain to a grange " which was that at Carreganant." When this child was re-christened by the bishop, his name was changed to Fulke. King John, disappointed in all his projects of vengeance, now proposed a reconciliation with the prince of Wales, on condition that Fulke Fitz Warine should be delivered up, or at least dismissed from his service.* Fulke was made acquainted vnth this proposal by the princess Joane, Llew- elyn's wife, and, suspicious of treason, he sent his lady secretly to Canterbury under the guidance of Baldwin de Hodnet, and having committed her again to the care of the archbishop, he sailed with his companions to France, Having remained there a short time, he fitted out a ship, and took to the sea. After performing many wonderful adventures on this element, which are too romantic to find a place in a sober history, Fulke landed at Dover, and stationed his ship in a position to be easily regained in case of danger. Hearing that king John was at Windsor, Fulke and his companions directed their course thither, travelling by night and seeking repose and concealment by day, till they reached • We have no details in tlie old historians concerning this brief war. A peace was concluded between king John and Llewelyn, prince of Wales, on the 11th of July, 1202 (Patent Rolls, pp. 8, 9). There must therefore have occurred some hostilities with the Welsh during the first years of the king's reign, which may have called for the king's presence on the border in 1200, and may have been the same to which our story relates. 78 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. Windsor forest, where they lodged themselves in an unfre- quented place which they had formerly occupied, for they were well acquainted with every part of the forest. They had not been there long before they learnt by the sounding of horns and the shouts of the foresters that the king was gone to the chase. While his companions armed and placed themselves in ambush, Fulke went out alone to seek adventures. As he walked along, he met with a char- bonnier, or maker of charcoal, who was poorly dressed and black with the dust of the charcoal, and carried in his hand a three-pronged fork. Having changed his dress with this man, and disguised himself as a charbonnier, Fulke seated himself by the pile of charcoal, and, taking the fork in his hand, began to stir and arrange the fire. While he was thus busied, the king rode up to the spot, at- tended only by three knights ; on which Fulke, imitating the gestures of a peasant, threw aside his fork, and fell on his knees very humbly before him. At first the king laughed and joked at his grim look and dirty garments ; then he said, " Master clown, have you seen any buck or doe pass this way ?" Fulke answered " Yes, my lord, just now." " What kind of beast was it ?" " Sire, my lord, a horned one, and it had long horns." " Where is it gone ?" " Sire, my lord, I could easily lead you to the place where I saw it !" " Go on, then, clown, and we will follow." " Sire," said the pretended charbonnier, "may I take my fork in my hand ? for, if any one stole it, it would be a great loss to me." " Yes, clown," said the king, " if you Kke," and thus Fulke led the king and his three knights to the spot where his companions were concealed, who came out and made them prisoners ; and only set them free after the king had given his solemn oath to pardon them all, and restore them to their lands. The king was no sooner at liberty than, disregarding his oath, he sent a party of men in pursuit of the outlaws, under a knight of Normandy named Sii- James. Fulke and his companions slew or disabled them all, and taking THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 79 Sir James, they disarmed him, bandaged his mouth so that he was unable to utter a word, and then put on him Fulke's old armour. Fulke and his men invested themselves in the gay armour of Sir James and his followers, and thus dis- guised rode towards the king; and Fulke having left his men at a certain distance, delivered Sir James to the king, and then returned, as he pretended, to pursue Fullie's companions, for which purpose the king gave him his own horse, which was remarkable for its swiftness of foot. FrJke and his companions then fled to a wood at a consider- able distance, where they dismounted to repose themselves, and to dress the wounds of his brother William, who had been desperately hurt in the encounter. The king, be- lieving that Fulke was now in his power, ordered him to be hanged immediately ; but when they proceeded to take off his helmet for that purpose, he discovered the trick which had been put upon him. The king now ordered a much larger body of knights to go in pursuit of Fulke, who came upon him unawares in his place of concealment, and the outlaws did not make their escape without great diificulty. William Fitz Warine, too weak to defend himself, was made a prisoner ; and Fulke was carried away insensible from loss of blood, by a wound which he had received on the back. They reached their ship without further accident, and, after Fulke had been restored to strength by the medicinal skill of John de Rampaigne, they set out again in search of adventures by sea. In this voyage, Fulke obtained much riches, and brought home a cargo of valuable merchandise. As soon as he reached the EngHsh coast, his first care was to learn the fate of his brother Wilham, who had fallen into the king's hands in the encounter in Windsor forest. John de Ram- paigne was employed upon this mission. Dressed "very richly" in the guise of a merchant, he went to London, and took up his lodgings in the house of the mayor, with whom he soon made himself acquainted, and whose esteem he obtained by the valuable presents he gave to him. 80 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. John de Rampaigne, who spoke " broken Latin" (Latyn corupt) which the mayor understood, desired to be pre- sented to the king, and the mayor took him to the coiirt at Westminster. The merchant saluted the king "very courteously," and spoke to him also in broken Latin, which the king understood with the same facility as the mayor of London,* and asked him who he was and from whence he came. " Sire," said he, " I am a merchant of Greece ; I have been in Babylonia, Alexandria, and in India the Greater, and I have a ship laden with spicery, rich cloths, precious stones, horses, and other things, which would be of great value to this kingdom." King John, after giving him a safe-conduct for his ship and company, ordered him to stay to dinner, and the merchant with his friend the mayor were placed at table before the king. While they were eating, there came two serjeants-at-mace, who led into the hall a great knight, with a long black beard, and a very ill-favoured dress, and they placed him in the middle of the court and gave him his dinner. The mayor told John de Rampaigne that this was the outlaw William Fitz Warine, who was brought into the court in this manner every day, and he began to recount to him the adventures of Fulke and his companions. John de Rampaigne lost no time in carrying this intel- ligence to Fulk Fitz Warine, and they brought the ship as near to London as they could. The day after their arrival, the merchant repaired to court and presented to king John a beautiful white palfrey, of very great value ; and by his liberal gifts he soon purchased the favour of the courtiers. One day he took his companions, and they armed them- selves well, and then put on their ' gowns' according to the * This will be easily understood, when we consider that the king and all the better classes of the people at this time spoke the language known by the name of Anglo-Norman, which was one of the family of languages derived from the Latin ; and that each of these differed from the other hardly more than the English dialects of different counties at the present day. All these languages -yvere, in fact, ' Latyn corupt." THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 81 manner of mariners, and went to the court at Westminster, where they were ' nobly' received, and Wilham Fitz Warine was brought into the hall as before. The merchant and his party rose early from table, and watched the return of WilHam Fitz Warine to his prison, when they set upon his guards and in spite of their resistance carried off the prisoner, and, having brought him safely on board their ship, they set sail and were soon out of reach of their pursuers. After staying some time in Britany, Fulke again returned to England, and landed in the New Forest. It happened that at this time king John himself was hunting in the same part of the country, and while closely pursuing a boar, with a sHght attendance, he fell a second time into , the power of the outlaws. The result was, that the king again pledged his oath to pardon them as soon as he should be at liberty. This time the king kept his word ; according to the story, he called a parliament at Westminster, and caused it to be proclaimed publicly that he had granted his peace to Fulke Fitz Warine and to all his companions, and that he had restored to them their possessions.* We have authentic documents relating to this last scene of Fulke's adventures. The general pardon of the outlaws is entered on the Patent Roll of the fifth year of king John (in the Tower of London), for it was during the first five years of that monarch's reign that the events we have been relating occurred. So early as the third year of this reign (30th April, 1202), a pardon was granted to Eustace de Kivilly, one of Fulke's band, who seems to have deserted the company. The king was in Normandy, and not at Westminster, when he granted his pardon to Fulke Fitz Warine. In three successive months (August, September, and October, 1203), John gave three different safe-conducts to Fulke, vrith Baldwin de Hodnet and their companions, * Thia must be considered as one of the embellishments of the story. The king was not in the New Forest during the year 1203. In the January of 1204, we find the king at different places in Wiltshire, so that he may then have been hunting in the forest, but it was two months after the date of Fulke's pardon. M 82 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. to repair to his presence. The pardon itself is dated at Rouen, the 11th November following. On the roll we have a list of his companions, among which we recognise several of the names which occur in the story, and many of them appear to he men of Shropshire and the Border. These names are (besides Vivian de Prestecotes, who received a separate pardon), Baldwin de Hodnet, William Fitz Fulke, John de Tracy, Roger de Prestone, Philip Fitz Warine, Ivo Fitz Warine, Ralf Gras, (or the Fat), Stephen de Hodnet, Henry de Pontesbury, Herbert Branche, Henry le Norreis, William Malveissin, Ralf Fitz William, Abraham Passavant, Matthew de Dulvustry, Hugh Ruffus, (or the Red), WiUiam Gernun, Walter de Alwestane, John de Prestone, Richard de Prestone, PhiHp de Hanewude, Hamo de Wikefelde, Arfin Marnur, Adam de Creckefergus, Walter le Sumter, Gilbert de Dover, William de Eggre- munde, John de Lamborne, Henry ' Waleng,' (probably Walensis), John Descunfit, William Fet, William Cook, Geoffirey his son, Philip de Wemme, Richard Scott, Thomas de Lidetune, Henry Gloucester, Hugh Fresselle, Orune de Prestecotes, Roger de Waletone, Reiner Fitz Reiner, Wil- liam Fitz William, William Fitz Richard of Berton, Richard de Wakefelde, Henry son of Robert King of Uffinton, John Fitz Toke, Henry le Franceis (or French), Walter Godric, Thomas his brother, Roger de Onderoude, (Under- wood), Roger de la Hande, WiUiam Fitz John. In 1204, king John restored to Fullse Fitz Warine, his castle of Whittington,* and different entries on the roUs show that he continued to enjoy the royal favour until the latter end of the king's reign, when he joined the party of the barons. According to the story, Fulke after being thus restored to his inheritance, served in the wars in Ireland with Randolph earl of Chester. On lais return to Whittington, he founded, near Alberbury, in a wood on the * Rex, &o. vicecomiti Salopesbiriie. Scias quod reddidimus Fulconi filio Gwarini castellum de Wuitintona cum omnibus pertinentiis suis, sicut jus el lijoredilatem. Patent RoUs, p. 46. THE niSTOHY OF LUDLOW, 83 bank of the Severn, a priory which was called the new Abbey, and in which, after his death at Whittington, he was buried. Fulke was blind during the last seven years of his life. The prose romance ends with two lines which are evidently taken verbatim from the metrical one, and which tell us that the body of the Lord of Whittington was laid near the altar of the Abbey Church : — " Joste le auter gist le cors. Deus eit merci de tous, vifs e mortz !" The date of Fulke's death appears to be unknown, but it probably occurred towards the middle of the reign of king Henry III. Dugdale, who states him to be the same Fulke Fitz Warine who perished at the battle of Lewes in 1263, certainly confounded him with his son, and thus missed a whole generation, in the pedigree. When Fulke was left warden of the Marches by Richard I (not later than the beginning of the year 1190) he must have been at least twenty years old, so that at the beginning of the twelfth century he would be thirty ; if we add this to sixty- three, it will appear that according to Dugdale's statement, Fulke Fitz Warine was at least ninety-three years old at the battle of Lewes, which is destitute of all probability. On the same supposition Fulke's son, born about 1204, would have been alive in 1314, at the improbable age of one hundred and ten years.* SECTION V. Border Antiquities of the Tioelfth Century. IN the twelfth century, the Welsh border was covered • If the Romance of the Fitz Warines -was written during the life of Fulke, it is of course understood that the details relating to his death ■were added at a later period. It is however very uncertain whether he did not die some years before Walter de Lacy. 84 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. with castles and monastic houses. A manuscript of the earher part of the reign of Henry III. preserved in the British Museum, furnishes us with a list of the most important of such huildings then existing in Hereford- shire and Shropshire.* The hst of castles in this district * The folio-wing is the portion of this document (preserved in MS. Cotton. Vespas. A. XVIII. fol. 159, &c.) which relates to the counties of Hereford and Salop. Sereford. % Episcopatus. Hereford. S. Mr. et S. Atheberti. Canonici seculares. Abbatia. Wiggemore. S. Jacobi. Canonici nigri. Abbatia. Dore. S. Marise. Monachi albi. Prioratus. Leomenstre. S. Jacobi. Monachi nigri de Redinge. Prioratus. Hereford. S. Petri et Pauli. Monachi nigri. Prioratus. Bartone. S Monachi nigri. Prioratus. Clifford. S. Mar. Monachi nigri de Cluniaco. Prioratus. Hereford. S. Petri et Pauli, et S. Guthlaci. Moniales nigra;. Prioratus. Monemue. S. Mar. et S. Florent. Monachi nigri de Saumer. Prioratus. Acornebery. S. Katerins. Moniales albae. Prioratus. Lingebroke. S Moniales albs. Prioratus. de Kilpek. Prioratus. Ewyas Haraldi. II Castella. Hereford. Kilpek. Ewyas Haraldi. Ewyas Laci. Grosmund. Skenefreid. Castrum Album. Monemue. Gotrige. Wiltone. Clifford. Witesneio. Huntindone. Herdeleye. Wigmorre. Radenowere. Keueuen- leis. Ledebure north. Seynt Brevel. Salopesyre. IT Abbatia. Salopesbery; S. Petri et Pauli et S. Milburgse. Monachi nigri. Abbatia. Beldewas. S. Mar. Monachi nigri. Abbatia. Cumbemere. S. Mar. Monachi albi. Abbatia. Lilleshelle. S Canonici nigri. Abbatia. Hageman. S. Mar. Canonici albi. Prioratus. Wenelok. S. Milburgse. Monachi nigri de Cluniaco. Prioratus. Stone. S. Michaelis. Monachi nigri. Prioratus. Dudelege, S Monachi nigri. Prioratus. Brumfeld. S Monachi nigri, Prioratus. Wyggemor. Canonici albi. II Castella. Bruges. Salopesbery. Holgod. Corfham. Ludelaue. EUesmere. Cans. Blancmuster. ij». THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 85 includes the names of Hereford, Kilpeck, Ewyas Harold and Ewyas Lacy, Grosmont, Screnfrith, White Castle, Monmouth, Goodrich Castle, Wilton, CHfford, Whitney, Huntington, Eardesley, Wigmore, Radnor, ' Keueuenleis,' Ledbury North, and St. Brievels, and, in Shropshire, Bridge- north, Shrewsbury, Holgod, Corf ham,- Ludlow, EUesmere, Cause, and ' Blancmuster' or Oswestry. Of these castles, those of Hereford, Monmouth, Goodrich (Castrum Godrici), Wigmore, Radnor, Bridgenorth, and Shrewsbury, were originally Saxon fortresses, and formed the defence of the border previous to the Norman Conquest. Of some of the castles in the above Hst no traces now remaia ; hut the greater number, with others that are omitted in it, still adorn the country by their imposing and picturesque ruins. These numerous castles may be divided into three or four principal groups, of which the largest was formed by the hne of fortresses running along the Welsh boundary of the south-western part of Herefordshire. Beginning with Monmouth, we have, in continued succession. White Castle, Screnfrith, and Grosmont, within Monmouthshire, and in Herefordshire, Kilpeck, with the two Ewyases, Wilton, CHfford, Whitney, Eardisley, the chain being thus continued to Radnor. It wiU be observed that the castles on this hne are nearly all Anglo-Norman; it formed the basis of the operations of the early Norman barons in the interior of Wales. Another Hne of castles skirted the Roman road from Hereford to Shrewsbury. These, after the entry of the Normans, became of less importance, and, with the exception of Wigmore, the importance of which arose from its being the chief seat of the great and powerful family of the Mortimers, are scarcely mentioned in history. Wigmore, with Richard's Castle, and perhaps Croft Castle, were originaUy Saxon buildings. To this group was added by the Normans the castle of Brampton Bryan, built by Bryan de Brampton in the twelfth century. Ludlow formed part of a line of castles which stretched from 86 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Eichard's Castle along Corve-dale, and included the castles of Corfham and Holgate. Another group, including Knighton, Clun, Bishop's Castle, &c. defended the Welsh border on the north-west. With the exception of Ludlow, the most interesting ruins of the castellated buildings of the Norman period belong to the first of these gi-oups, and are scattered along the southern and western borders of Herefordshire. In general the remains of the castles which were built before the Conquest are very unimportant. Goodrich castle is a fine and remarkable ruin; but the site of the castle of Hereford is covered with streets, and of Wigmore castle and Richard's Castle the foundations and a few fragments of the walls are all that remains. Of the history of Caynham castle, which appears to have been deserted from a very remote period, we are entirely ignorant. It occupied the summit of a hill about two miles to the south- east of Ludlow, which appears on the right hand side of our view of the towu and castle. The only part of Ludlow castle which dates from the time of Roger de Montgomery, and perhaps the only part which that great feudal baron completed, is the donjeon or keep, built probably soon after the year 1090. This massive tower, which rises to the height of a hundred and ten feet, is a very fine example of the style which was introduced by bishop Gundulf, as it is seen at Rochester (built in 1088), and at Hedingham in Essex and Richmond in Yorkshire, both erected at very nearly the same date. The keep of Ludlow castle has from various circumstances sustained several alterations which are not visible in the others. The original entrance was on the first floor, at the east tuiTct, and was probably approached by a flight of steps or an inclined plane, running down by the side of the tower. The old entrance still exists, but its inconvenience being felt in the fifteenth century, the steps were taken away, and a new entrance worked in the mass of the wall, with a door-way of the time of Henry VII leading by a flight THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. ' 87 of steps to the first floorj and opening into the chief room of the keep, at the foot of the newel staircase which runs up the northern turret and formed the communication between the different floors and the top of the tower. The dungeon or vault underneath this tower appears to have been approached by a passage which descended in the mass of the wall from the above-mentioned entrance ; but in later times a door was made in the north eastern side, on a level with the ground. Most of the windows and door-ways of this tower are distinguished by their round Norman arches. It has been already shown that this tower is not the one which in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries went by the name of Pendover. When the castle was completed by Joce de Dinan in the reign of Henry I, it appears to have covered the same ground as at present. The three wards of which it was composed were, first, the keep or last strong hold in case of extremity ; second, the castle properly so called, or the mass of buildings within the inner moat, round what is now popularly termed the Inner Court ; third, the large court without, also surrounded by strong walls and towers, and by a moat towards the town, and intended for the reception of cattle and of the peasantry in case of hostile incursions. The two moats, or fosses, mentioned in the Romance of the Fitz Warines, were the one which still remains, and another which occupied the place of the present walks on the side of the town. The opposite side of the castle, being situated on the edge of the rock, did not require a moat, inasmuch as, from the character of the ground, it was not exposed to a regular approach. When the castle was be- sieged, the attack was made from the side now occupied by the town ; and the townsmen, who were not then numerous, and who had probably no wall to defend them, took refuge with all their property they could carry away in the outer ward of the castle. The two forts erected by the besiegers under king Stephen, doubtlessly occupied some part of the site of the present town ; and it was from the wall on this 88 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. side that the grappling machine was thrown out by which the Scottish prince was to have been captured. It is a mere popular error which lays the scene of this event at the north front of the castle.* The first important step in a successful attack, was to gain possession of the outer court or ward. We have seen that this was effected by Joce de Dinan and Fulke Fitz Warine, who evidently made the assault on the side of the town, and burnt the gateway tower. On this occasion the walls and towers of the outer ward of Ludlow Castle were partially destroyed. When the outer ward was taken, the garrison retired into the castle. The foregoing observations apply, of course, only to the period before the town of Ludlow had attained to any importance, and therefore before it had been regularly walled. The town, which had been reduced to ashes in the wars between Joce de Dinan and Walter de Lacy, was rebuilt after the castle had come into the possession of the latter baron, and appears to have increased very quickly. In 1199, as we have already stated, the church was found too small for the population. It was probably towards this period that the walls of the town were built. The chapel of Ludlow castle was probably built by Joce de Dinan, in the reign of Henry I. This seems to be dis- tinctly stated in the Romance of the Fitz Warines, and we are there informed that it was dedicated to St. Mary Mag- dalen, and that the day of its dedication was " the day of St. Cyriac (Aug. 8) and seventy days of pardon."t All that now remains of Joce's chapel is the nave, a circular building which may be classed with the four round churches at Northampton, Cambridge, Little Maplestead.in Essex, and the Temple church in London. The chapel of Ludlow • It is pretended that the grappling engine was thrown out of the window of the tower marked 13 in our plan. t Joce de Dynan leva matin ; e s'en ala 4 sa chapele dedenz son chastel, que fust fet e dedife en I'onour de la Magdaleyne, dount le jour de la dedication est le jour seynt Cyryao e Ixx. jours de pardouu. Romance of the Fitz Warines, p. 19. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 89 is either the earliest, or (if the church of St. Sepulchre at Cambridge be rightly attributed to the reign of Henry I) one of the two earliest buildings of this description in England. It is entered from the west by a remarkably elegant Norman door-way, richly adorned with the ornaments pecuHar to the style of the period at which it was built. Western Door of ibe Chapel in Ludlow Casttc. On the opposite side is a large Norman arch, also very beautifully ornamented, which once formed the entrance into the choir, now entirely destroyed. It was formed by two parallel walls, running nearly on the dotted lines in our plan of the castle, and joining the circular building to the eastern wall of the castle. There can be no doubt that this choir formed a part of the original building, from the 90 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. character of the arch, which led to itj and its position is intimated in the Romance of the Fitz Warines by the mention of the "wall running at the back of the cha- pel." The round building which now remains has three semicircular-headed windows. A filleted ornament runs round the exterior of the wall. Within, it is surroixnded by an arcade, formed by small pillars with indented capitals, supporting round arches with alternate plain and zigzag mouldings. About three feet above this arcade is a line of projecting corbels, carved as heads, &c., which appear to have supported a gallery. A covered way formerly led from the state apartments on the north to a door-way in the wall of the chapel which afibrded an entry into this gallery. This was standing in 1768, and the place where it joined the building containing the state apartments is stUl distinctly visible. This chapel, even in its present state, is a noble monument of the taste of Joce de Dinan. In the time of queen Elizabeth, when it was entire, but when the style in which it was built was very imperfectly appreciated, it called forth the admiration of the poet Churchyarde, who describes it as — " So bravely wrought, so fayre and finely fram'd, That to world's end the beautie may endure." At that period the interior of the chapel was defonned, rather than ornamented, by being covered with pannels exhibiting the " armes in colours sitch as few can shewe," which Churchyarde admired : they began with Walter de Lacy, who was in possession of the castle at the end of the twelfth century. We ought perhaps not to pass over in silence the attempt which has been made by the late historian of Shi-ewsbury, to deprive Roger de Montgomery of the honour of having been the founder of Ludlow castle.* Mr. Blakeway en- ♦ Mr. Blakeway's hypothesis was first published in the account of Ludlow castle in Britton's Architectural Antiquities, and has been recently THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 91 deavours with some ingenuity to show that Ludlow was originally a possession of the Lacy family, and that it continued so imtil the death of Walter de Lacy in the reign of Henry III. The arguments brought forward in support of this hypothesis will, however, not hear the test of criticism. He has totally misunderstood the character of the Romance of the Fitz Warii\es, which he describes as " entirely fabulous" and " of not the slightest authority." This story, as has been before observed, was written during the life of Walter de Lacy, the only one of his family who is known in history as having possessed Ludlow, and it represents the traditionary history of the castle as it then existed in the family which had previously held it. It is not credible that that family can have been so ignorant as not to know whether it was an inheritance of the Lacies or not. Although, without doubt, mixed up with exaggera- tions and legends, the minstrel's narrative is very straight- forward and consistent; and the accuracy with which the writer speaks of persons and places,* shews that he was by no means ignorant of what he was doing. The contrary hypothesis presents many very grave difficulties. The most ancient monastic establishments on the Welsh border were those of Leondnster and Wenlock, which date from the seventh century, and which were both houses given in a more enlarged form in the valuable collection of documents relating to Ludlow published by the Hon. B. H. Clive, since the foregoing sheets were printed. • A minute examination of the records would probably identify all the persons mentioned in the history in question. Audulf de Bracy, the hero of the story related at pp. 75, 76, (of the present volume) is mentioned in the Abreviat. Placit. p. 59, as being engaged in a dispute with Roger de Mortimer on the subject of some lands, in the ninth and tenth of John. The name ' Mudle' (p. 74, of the present volume) occurs in the chartulary of Haghmon, MS. Karl. No. 446, fol. 21 ; it is the same as the modern Middle. All these coincidences tend to show that the writer of the Romance of the Pitz Warines had either authentic documents before him, or that he lived near the time of the events which he relates, and was well acquainted with the families of the persons who had taken a part in them. 92 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. of nuns. That of Leominster was founded about the year 660. St. Ethelred, king of Mercia, is said to have been buried in this priory.* At a later period, Leofiic, earl of Mercia, was a great benefactor to it, as well as to Wenlock. During the Danish invasions the nuns were compelled to seek safety by flight, and their habitation was reduced to ruins, in which state it remained many years. At the time of the compilation of Domesday book we again find the nuns in possession of the monastery, for they and their abbess are frequently mentioned in that important record. In what manner the society of nims was broken up and dispersed we are not informed, but in the time of Henry I. it had fallen into the possession of laymen.f That monarch gave it in 1135 to his new foundation at Reading, monks were placed in it, and it remained dependant on that house until the time of the dissolution. A register of this priory is preserved in the British Museum.^ The church, in its present state, buUt probably soon after the priory was given to the abbey of Reading, is a fine specimen of the English style of architecture, in its most profusely ornamented form, but contains some early Norman work in the north aisle. The nunnery of Wenlock, of which the remains form a very interesting monument of early English architecture, is said to have been founded about the year 680, by St. Milburga.ll This establishment was twice destroyed by the Danes. It was raised from the ruins, and entirely • Et Adelredus in loco qui dicitur at-Leomenster, prope amnem Lucge. List of Saints buried in England, given in Leland, Collectan. iii. 81. The same statement is made in tlie Anglo-Saxon list of Saints printed by Hickes from a MS. at Cambridge. f Quam abbatiam manus laica diu possedit, are the words of king Henry's charter to the abbey of Reading. J MS. Cotton. Domit. A. III., a volume of great value to the historian of Herefordshire. II The Anglo-Saxon list of Saints, quoted above, calls her Winburga — Sonne restejj See. Winburh on bam mynstre Wenlocan neah J>are ea ^e mon Ssefern hateS. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. VO rebviilt in 1080, by Roger de Montgomery, who placed in it a congregation of monks from Seez in Normandy. William of Malmesbury describes the exultation not only of the monks, but of the whole^ neighbourhood, when, soon after their amval, an accident brought to light the tomb of St. Milburga, the position of which, amid the mass of ruins by which the place was encumbered, had been entirely forgotten.* The abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester also laid claim to great antiquity, having been founded, as was said, by King Osric, in 681. A part of the body of the sainted king Oswald, slain in the battle of Maserfeld near Oswestry, is said to have been buried here.f The magnificent church of the abbey is now the cathedral. The monks of St. Ethelbert in Hereford possessed in their cathedral the body of their saint. The priory of St. Guthlac, in that city, also appears to have existed before the Norman conquest. It afterwards became a cell to the abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester. We find in Domesday book that these difierent religious houses held considerable landed estates in the counties of Hereford and Salop. After that period their riches con- tinued to increase; and before the end of the twelfth century numerous other monastic establishments had been founded. Three years after having rebuilt Wenlock, in 1083 Roger de Montgomery foimded the monastery of S±. Peter and St, Paul at Shrewsbury, which also he filled with monks of Seez. The church of this monastery still remains, a valuable example of the earlier Norman style. * Wil. Malmsb. De Gestis Pontificum, p. 287. t Donne is see. Oswaldes heafod oyninges mid see. CuJ)bertus licha- man, and his swite earm is on Bebbanbyrig, and se otJer da;! is on Glewe- ceastre on niwan mynstre. (Anglo-Saxon List of Saints) — Then the head of St. Oswald the king is^ with the body of St. Cuthbert (at Durham), and his right arm is at Bamborough, and the other part is at Gloucester, in the new minster. 94 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. In the year 1100, William Fitz Alan of Clun founded the abbey of Haghmon, of which the ruins are still con- siderable. Among them is a remarkably fine Norman gateway. In the same year, Harold, lord of that Ewyas which from him has since continued to beai- the name of Ewyas Haroldi, foimded the priory of Ewyas, and gave it as a cell to the abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester. In 1105, was founded the priory of Bromfield, near Ludlow, as a place of secular canons. In 1155, the prior and canons, wishing to become monks, placed themselves under the government of the abbey of St. Peter's of Glou- cester, and from that time Bromfield was considered as only a cell to that great monastic foundation.* The remains of the priory consist of a gateway of late date and some insig- nificant ruins adjoining to the church. About the same time, in the reign of Henry I, a cell of Climiac monks, subordinate to the priory of Lewes in Sussex, was founded at Clifibrd in Herefordshire, by Simon the son of B.ichard Fitz Ponce, lord of Clifford castle. This Simon was the uncle of "fair Rosamond" the celebrated mistress of Henry II. In 1134, was founded the small priory of Kilpeck, in Herefordshire, which was given ia the same year by Hugh son of Wmiam Fitz Normand, the lord of Kilpeck castle, to the abbey of St. Peter's at Gloucester. The little church of Kilpeck, preserved in nearly its original condition, is one of the most remarkable buildings of the twelfth century that can now be shown. It exhibits a mixture of sim- pHcity in arrangement and extremely elaborate ornaments in detail. In the year following, 1135, Roger, bishop of Chester, laid the foundation of the great abbey of Build was, between • Anno Domini m. c. It. canonioi de Bromfeld dedorunt ecclesiam suam etseipsos ad monachatum eccelesiae Sanoti Petri Gloucestrire. Chron. of Gloucester, MS. Cotton. Domit. VIII. fol. 130, v. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 95 Shrewsbury and Wenlock. Its ruins are extensive, and very picturesque. In 1136 was founded the abbey of Lantony, in the deep vale of Ewyas. Giraldus spealis with admiration of its situation. It was probably rebuilt or much enlarged early in the thirteenth century ; for the ruins of this ancient abbey exhibit the transition style of that period, a mixture of round and pointed arches. Dore abbey was founded by Robert de Ewyas, in the reign of Stephen. In the same reign, a. d. 1145, was foimded the abbey of LilleshaU, near Donnington in Shrop- shire. It was endowed with the estates of a coUege of St. Alkmond, said to have been founded by Ethelfieda the lady of the Mercians. The remains of the abbey church exhibit some fine specimens of Norman workmanship. The most considerable monastic foundation in the imme- diate neighbourhood of Ludlow was the abbey of Wigmore. A small college had been founded at this place in the year 1100 by Ralph de Mortimer, but of its subsequent history we know little or nothing. Some years later (about, or soon after, A. d. 1141*) a small religious house was founded at Shobdon by a knight named Oliver de Merli- mond, who placed in it two or three monks whom he had invited over from the famous abbey of St. Victor at Paris, but it does not appear to have been dependant upon the * The reasons for fixing this date are these. We learn from the History of Wigmore given at the end of the present Section, that the church was dedicated by Robert Beton, bishop of Hereford ; that the builder, when he turned his foundation into a priory, applied to Gilduin, abbot of St. Victor, then very old, for monks of his house to place in it ; about which latter period arose a great quarrel between bishop Beton and Mile, earl of Hereford. Gilduin, the successor of the famous Guillaume de Champeaux, died abbot of St. Victor at a very advanced age in 1155 ; Robert de Beton presided over the see of Hereford from 1131 to 1148 ; and Milo enjoyed the earldom of Hereford from 1141 to 1154, and his quarrel with the bishop preceded the close of the civil wars, as we learn from his life. The beginning of Milo's earldom consequently appears to be the most probable date of the construction of the church of Shobdon, and suits best the other circumstances of the story. 96 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. foreign monastery. Amid the troubles on the border, the monks were driven from their resting place, and after many vicissitudes, were allowed to settle at Wigmore, under the patronage of Hugh de Mortimer. That powerful baron founded the abbey of Wigmore, according to the generally received account, in 1179.* Little now remains of the ancient abbey.f In the reign of Richard I, a nunnery was founded not far from Wigmore, at a place called Lymbroke or Linge- broke. Leland describes it as " a place of nunnes vdthyn ii. myles of Wygmore." By some the founder is said to have been one Robert de Lingam : others make it a foun- dation of the Mortimers. A member of this latter family also founded a small reUgious house at ' Feverlege,' but it was afterwards suppressed, and its endovmients given to the houses of Wigmore and Lymbroke. Another nunnery was founded, in the reign of king John, at Acornbury, three miles from Hereford, by Mar- • According to the old chronicle of Worcester, in MS. Cotton. Calig. A. X. which has been printed by Wharton in his Anglia Sacra, the foundation of Wigmore took place in 1172. The founder died in 1185, according to the same authority. ■j- Dugdale has printed from a MS. then in the possession of Lord Bruce, two accounts of the foundation and history of Wigmore abbey, one in Anglo-Norman, composed apparently early in the thirteenth century, the other in Latin, much more brief, but brought down to the time of Edward IV. I do not know what Ijas become of the original manuscript ; but as the interesting Anglo-Norman tract is printed with great inaccuracy in Dugdale, I shall give a more correct text with a translation in an appendix to the present Section. The chartulary of Wigmore is preserved in the archives of the earl of Oxford. There are manuscripts of a chronicle of Wigmore; the best copy belonged to Mr. Heber, and is now in the pos- session of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart, at Middle Hill, Worcestershire. I have been desirous of ascertaining if there were any documents in France which might throw some light on the early connection between Shobdon and the abbey of St. Victor ; but the only chartulary of St. Victor which I could find in Paris is preserved in the Archives du Royaume in the Hotel Soubise, and the charters which it contains are nearly all of a later date, and relate only to the abbey's possessions in France. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 97 garet the wife of Walter de Lacy. In the same reign was founded the priory of Chirbury in Shropshire. One or two other monastic houses are mentioned in the early Ust given in a note on a preceding page^* some of which are erroneously placed in Shropshire and Hereford- shire. In the remains of these buildings, we may in general consider the parts which exhibit the Norman style as being coeval with the date of the foundation of the monastery, particularly in those of smaller importance; for the mode of building then in use seldom required con- siderable repairs within a century after it was completed, unless it were destroyed by some outward accident. The number of accidents, however, to which the larger religious buildings were subject, during the twelfth century, is quite extraordinary. We learn from the old chronicle of Wor- cester in the Cottonian manuscript, that the cathedral of that city was destroyed or seriously damaged at least three, if not four, times between 1113 and 1202, inde- pendent of the injuries it must have sustained in the time of Stephen.f In the thirteenth century the reUgious orders multipHed rapidly, and the number of monks was much increased ; in consequence of which most of the monastic houses were enlarged, and many were taken down and rebuilt. The insignificance of the town of Ludlow during the twelfth century is evident from the circumstance that it appears to have possessed no rehgious house before the • See page 84. t The folio-wing entries occur in this chronicle : — A. D. 1113. Civitas Wygoinia cum principali monasterio et castello igne cremata est, xiij. kal. Jun. One monk and twenty men were turnt on this occasion. jL. D. 1175. Turria nova Wigorn. corniit. (this was, of course, the steeple of the cathedral). A. D. 1189. Tota fere Wigornia igne combusta est. A. D. 1202. Ecclesia cathedralis Wyg. cum omnibus adjacentibus ei officinis et magna parte civitatis, .xv. kal. MaL igne conflagravit alieno ''ifitt- quarta nocte Pasch. O 98 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. reign of king John. It was probably at the close of that reign, or certainly very early in that of Henry III, that Peter Undergod founded the hospital of St. John the Baptist near the bridge which led over the Teme to Ludford, and furnished it wdth friars of the order of St. Augustine. The site on which the house was built he bought of Walter Fitz Nicholas. Besides other revenues, he endowed it with the fulling-mill which appears to have stood near it, and which he had bought of Gilbert de Lacy, and with all his lands in Ludford (et totam terram meam quam emi, habui, et tenui in villa et campis de Ludford). The witnesses to Peter Undergod's charter were Walter de Lacy, Sir John de Monmouth, Pain (Paganus) de Ludford, Pain ' Carbnell,' Philip Colevile, and Edmund de Ludlow. Walter de Lacy's confirmation of the foundation of Peter Undergod is witnessed by John de Monmouth, Walter Omiguen, Walter Coudcocke, Richard de Gravesende, William Fitz Osbert, Henry de Hibernia, Pain de Ludford, and Master Herbert, clerc. The charters of Peter Undergod and Walter de Lacy have no date, but the royal confirmation is dated the eighteenth day of July, 5 Hen. IH. (1221)'.* We learn from these charters that in the reign of king John there was a bridge at Ludford. It had probably been built at the latter end of the twelfth century, and it seems to have been known by the name of Teme Bridge (pontem de Temede). Besides the remains of monastic edifices in the Marches of Wales, there are numerous little churches of the twelfth century, some of which remain in a perfect state, and which are singularly interesting to the antiquary. The dhurch of Kilpeck, on the southern border of Herefordshire, and the remains of that of Shobdon, not far from Leo- minster, are two of the most remarkable monuments of the * Copies of the charters of St. John's hospital at Ludlow (made appa- rently about the time of James I) are preserved in the British Museum, MS. Harl. No. 6690, fol. 89, &c. The charters of Peter Undergod, Walter de Lacy, and Henry III, are printed very imperfectly in Dugdale. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 99r kind in England. In the earlier half of the twelfth century, Shobdon had only a chapel, dependent on the church of Aymestry, and built of wood, a material employed in the construction of many churches mentioned in Domesday-book. The original church of Aymestry must have been of consi- derable antiquity.* Among the numerous churches which exhibit specimens of Norman architecture, with the distin- guishing semi-circular headed doors and windows, we may mention? in the more immediate neighbourhood of Ludlow, those of Little Hereford, Burford, Puddlestone, the Heath chapel, the church of Eye, and the little church of Aston. Tlie Heath Chapfl. The Heath chapel is a remarkably curious specimen of Anglo-Norman architecture in its simplest form. It stands * Courses of regular blocks of travertine occur in the coignes and other parts, especially in the chancel end, of the present fabric, and are evidently the worked up materials of a more ancient church, which was probably built of that material. Moocas church, containing a Norman arch, and curious tympanum, is built on a similar ground-plan to that of Kilpeck, with a circular end, and is altogether composed of that materia,!, which may be seen forming in the grounds adj,oining.. 100 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. in a very retired district at the foot of the Brown Clee Hill, a little more than two miles to the north of the village of Stoke St. Milborough, and is seldom visited by travellers. It is a plain rectangular building, consisting of a nave and a small chancel. The south door has a semi-circular arch, ornamented with a rather bold zig-zag moulding, with an unadorned tympanum. The windows, particularly at the west end, are mere loop-holes. Even the east window exhibits the same characteristics, being enlarged internally to a moderate sized round-headed arch. Our engraving represents a view of this chapel from the west. Interior of the Heath Chapel. The interior is represented in our second view, and is as devoid of ornament as the exterior. The nave is separated from the chancel by a plain but not inelegant round arch. The font is also curious, and is without doubt a work of the twelfth century. It is placed in our wood-cut on a different spot to that which it really occupies in the church, in order that it might be brought into the picture. It was probably such a church as this which in the twelfth century THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 101 stood beside the funerary mound on the summit of the hill at Ludlow, and which in 1199 was found to be too small for the increasing population of the town. Arcb and Tympanum of Aston Church. The little church at Aston, three miles from Ludlow on the road to Wigmore, which also stands in the im- mediate vicinity of two tumuli or lows, exhibits the same simplicity of design; but the arch and tympanum, repre- seuted in the cut on the present page, are more ornamented. The latter represents the lamb with the cross, in a circular compartment in the middle, supported by a griffin and a cow, both winged. Of the four figures on the border of the tympanum, the two to the left were evidently intended to represent a cow and a horse, but the others are at present not so easily defined. Early fonts are preserved in the churches of Lydbury, the Heath chapel, Leintwardine, Orleton, Hereford cathe- dral, Tedstone Delamere, Eardisley, and Castle Frome. They are all interesting, and several of them are adorned with remarkable and beautiful sculpture. 102 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. APPENDIX TO SECTION V. History of the Foundation of Wigmore Abbey. IN the time of king Stephen, son of the count of Blois, who reigned in England hy force after king Henry the son of William the Bastard, there was a very nohle bachelor in England, worthy, valiant, and bold. Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer by name, noble by nature and by blood, of fair stature, courageous in arms, very reasonable in speech, profound in counsel, and very rich in landed possessions, and the most glorious knight, renowned and feared before all who were then living in England. Of whom if we shoidd commit to writing all the worthy actions which he performed chivalrously in England, in Wales, and else- where, they would amount to a great volume. Moreover, he was the most open-hearted and liberal in giving of all who were knoAvn anywhere in his time. The noble earl of Hereford, Roger, rich and valiant, with a great body of retainers, but proud and haughty, frequently made so much ado that he was obliged to remain fortified in his castles for fear of him. In like manner king Henry, Fundationis ejusdem Historia, EN le temps del roy Estevene, fitz al counte de Bloys, qui regna en Angleterre par force apres le roy Henry fitz i William Bastard, estoit un tresnoble bachiler en Engleterre, preuz, valiant, et hardy, mouusieur Hugh de Mortimer a nome, noble de nature [e] de sane, de beale estature, vaillant en armes, renoble en parler, parfond de consail, et tresriche de teriens facultez, et le plus glorious chevaler, lenome et dote devant totez que adonque furent en Engleterre vivantz. De quy si nais neissuus (?) en escrit toutz les pruestis lesquels il fist chevalerousement en Engleterre, en Gwales et par ailors, si amonterent-il a un graunt -volume. Et outre 900, fut-il le plu franc et liberal de divers dons de tut^ ceux qui out conusseyent en son temps nule part. Le noble conte de Hereford, Roger, riche et vaillant, et de graunt retenance des gentz, et feers, et orgoilous, taut fort demena sovent que a force ly covient en refut demorer en ses chastels demeyno pur doute do ly. Ensement le roy Henry, THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 103 who came after king Stephen, laboured often with his whole army, as is fiiUy written below. How the very noble lord Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer made Oliver de Merlimond his chief steward, and gave him the town of Shobdon to serve him loyally, and how the church of Shobdon was made. This very noble and honourable lord, wishing to give himself up freely to his pleasures and amusements, without charging himself with or intermeddling in other things, chose a prudent man, wise and experienced, who was named Oliver de Merlimond, and made him chief steward of all his land and manager of all his property. This Oliver possessed the land of Ledecote by descent of heritage, and his lord Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer gave him in addition all the town of Shobdon, to serve him more loyally and more laboriously. And to Eode, son of the said Oliver, he gave the parsonage of the church of Ayme- stry. At that time there was in Shobdon no churchy but only a chapel of St. Juliana, and that was of wood, and subjected to the church of Aymestry; whereupon Ohver was very thoughtful on the building of a new church in Shobdon, and in honour of what saint he would have it dedicated when it was finished. At last he selected St. John proschen apris le roi Estevene, sovent .... od tout aon host travailla come est pleinement desouz escrit. Coment le tresnohle aeygnour mounsiemr Hugh de Mortemer fist Oliver de Merlemond son chief seneschal, et ly dona la vile de Schobbedon pur ly lealement aervir, et coment I'eglise de Schobbedon fut fete. Ce[s]ti tresnoble seygnur et honorable, veillans entendre franchement a ses deliles et a ses dedutz, santz soy carker ou entremetlre d'autres chosez, elust un sage home, coynte et averty, que out nom Olyver de Merlymond, et ly fist chef seneschal de tole sa terre et mestre de tote sa possession. Cesti Olyver aveit la terre de Ledecote par descente de heritage, et son seignur Moimsieur Hugh de Mortimer ly dona a jeo tote la ville de Shobbedon, pur ly plus lealment servir et plus peniblement. Et d Eode fitz a dit Olyver dona-il la per- sonage de I'eglise de Aylmondeslreo. Adonkc n'esteit en Schobbedon nule eglise, mis tant soulement une chapel de saincte Juliane, et cele fut de fust et sogetti k I'eglise de Aylmondeslreo ; dount Olyver esteit mout pensifs de fere lever une novele eglise en Schobbedon, et en honour de quel seinct voleyt que ele fut dedyfe quant ele fut parfele. Auderrein si elust-il sainct Johari 104 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. the Evangelist, whom Jesus Christ chose before all the other disciples, to be patron of the church. After that, he sent for Eode his son, parson of Aymestry, and they took counsel together how his church of Shobdon might be relieved from its subjection to the church of Aymestry, by an annual payment of two shillings. When this matter was settled, the said Oliver began the building of the church of Shobdon. In the mean time this same OHver was seized with devotion and desire to perform the voyage to St. James (of Compostello) in pilgrimage, and he entrusted to a knight named Bernard the whole care of the work, with the necessary funds; and he undertook the pilgrimage in the name of God, and came to St. James safe and sound. When he had performed his duties there, he returned, always thoughtful of the work at Shobdon : and when he approached the city of Paris, a canon of the abbey of St. Victor overtook him, and very devoutly prayed him. to take up his lodgings in the abbey, and he with great diiEculty agreed to it, and entered into the abbey with him, and was handsomely and courteously received with great honour. While he was therein, he examined and carefully consi- dered all things which he saw in the hostelry, in the cloisters, and in the choir, and particularly the service which I'Evangelist, lequel Jesu Crist elust devant tutz les autres disciples, pur estre patron de I'eglise. Apr^s 960 fisl-il apeler Eode son fitz, persona de Aylmotidestreo, et entre- conselerent coment sa eglise de Scliobbedon pust estre liors de subjection de I'eglise de AylmondesfreOj par una empensiun annuele rendauntde .ii. s. Quant ce[s]te chose fut affirm^, se entremist le dit Olyver de I'overayne de I'eglise de Schobbedon. De entre (eo s'aveil nieymes cely Olyver devociun et talent de prendre le vyage al Seinct Jake en pelerinage, et baila dun chevaler Bernard tote la cure de I'overayne, od espenses necessaires ; et empris tlepele rinage el nom Deu, et vynt a Seinct Jakes seyn et heyte. Quant il out fet ileokes 9eo qe fere dust, se retorna, lot dis pensif de I'overayne de Schobbedon ; et quant il aproarhea a la citfe de Paris un chanoine de I'abbeye de Seinct Victor ly atteint, et molt devoutement le pria de sun hostel prendre en I'abbeye, et il d grant peyue ly otrea, et od ly en I'abbey enlra, et fut bel et corteiseraent refeu d graunt honour. . Tant come il futleinz, si rcgarda-il et eiitentivement avisa totes choses q'il vist en I'osterye, en I'encloystre, en le queer, et nomement le service qe THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 105 was performed around the altar ; and his heart was much moved at the decency which he saw among them in all places. Then he took leave of the abhot and the other brothers there, and returned to his own country. And when his church was entirely finished, he very humbly requested Sir Robert de Beton, bishop of Hereford, of whose gift we have the church of Lydbury-north, that he would condescend to dedicate his church of Shobdon; and he granted the request, and fixed the day of the dedi- cation. At the day assigned came the bishop, and all the great lords of the country, knights, clergy, and others, without number, to be present at the solemnity, and before them all was read the composition made between OHver and Eode his son, and it was confirmed by the bishop, and witnessed by all the people. And when the church had been dedicated, the feast was very ceremoniously laid out for the bishop, and for the others who were invited, and for those who might come of their own accord. Immediately afterwards OHver heard that the parson of the church of Biirley, who was named Wolward, was de- prived for his ill-conduct, and he prayed the bishop Robert that he would grant him the patronage of that church ; and the latter granted his request because nObody could deny what he desired, inasmuch as he was second after Sir Hugh ont fist eiitour Tauter ; et mut ly vjnt al queor de devocion la honeste q'il via parentre eus en tutz lieus. Dont il prist cong6 de I'abb^ et des autres freres deleyns, si returna d sun propre pais. Et quant sa eglise fut tot« parfete, si requist-il mut humblement Sire Robert de Betun, eveske de Hereford, de quy done nus avouns le eglise de Lydebury-norlh, qu'il deignast sa eglise de Schobbedon dedyer ; et il ly graunta, et jour de la dedicaciun ly assigna. A eel jour assign^ vynt I'evepque, et totes les grants seigneurs du pais, chivalers, clers et autres, sans nombre, pur estre a la soUempnet^ ; devant queux toutz fut lewe la composicion fete parentre Olyver et Eode sun filz, et de I'eveske fut confirm^, et de tote la people tesmonyi. Et quant I'eglise fut dedye, si fust la mangerie mut soUempnement apparilfe pur reveske,'et pur autres apelez, et pur ceus que vindrent de grA. Tost apris si oyt Oliver que la persone de I'eglise de Buyrley qu'out nom Wolwardj par ses deserts fut deposi, si pria I'eveske Robert que il ly vousit grant[er] la doneyson de eel eglise ; il ly granta pur ^eo que nul ri'osa nyer i la chose qu'il desira, car il estoit le second apres Sire Hugh P 106 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. de Mortimer. And when Oliver had the church of Shobdon and that of Burley, and his land at Ledecote and Lantony, in his hand, he determined to give them to people of religion, and he remembered the decency that he had seen formerly among the canons of St. Victor at Paris, and sent a letter by one in whom he trusted, named Roger White, to the honourable and aged abbot of St. Victor, whose name was Gilduin, begging that he would send him two or three of his canons, for whom when they came he would find all that should be needful for them, and in abundance. To which message and letter the abbot gave no credit because it was sealed by Oliver's own. authority, and not by an authentic seal; and thus for that time the mes- senger returned without having effected the purpose of his mission. And when Oliver learnt from his messenger the result, he went to the aforesaid bishop of Hereford, and showed him all his intention fully ; of which intention and devotion the bishop was very glad, and caused a letter to be made and sealed with his seal and that of Oliver con- jointly, and sent them by Roger Knoth, one of his secretaries, to the same abbot of St. Victor, urging the same request which had been made before. Whereupon the abbot by the advice of aU his chapter selected two, namely de Mo[r]temer. Et quant Oliver aveit I'eglise de Schobbedon et de Buyrley, et sa terre de Ledecote et de Lantone, en sa mayn, si out en purpos de les doner i. gents de religion, et se remembra de I'honestete qu'il vist autre feez entre les chanoynes de Seinct Victor de Parys, et manda par sez lettres par un de quy il affia, qu'out 4 nom Roger le Blaiic, al honorable abbe et vels, qui out nom Gilwyn, de Seinct Victor, empriaunt qu'il vousit maunder a ly .ii. ou .iii. de sez chanoines, as queles quant eus venissent il lor trovereit tot 9eo que mestre lor seroit, et foyson. Aquel message ne as lettres ne donna l'abb6 foy, pur 9C0 que par sa auctorite demeyne furent enseel^s, et non pas par seel autentik; et issi retorna le message adonke desespleit^. Et quant Olyver avoit entendu par son message k'en fut fet, si ala k I'avantdit eveske de Hereford, et mostra a ly tut son purpos pleinement; de quele purpos et devociun si fust I'eveske mut rejoy, et fist fere ses lettres enseel^s de sun sel et del sel Olyver joyntement, et les manda par Roger Knoth, un de sez priv^s, a meymez I'abb^ de Seinct Victor, empriant la request [la]quel il avoyt avaimt pri^. Dont I'abb^ par conseil de tot lour chapetre elust .ii., c'et-i-savoir THE HISTbRY OF LUDLOW. 107 Roger and Arnold, of whom Roger was afterwards made abbot of ' Owens^ ' and Arnold abbot of St. Victor. The abbot sent these two to Oliver, to whom he gave all that he had promised beforehand for their sustenance, namely the church of Burley and the church of Shobdon, where he gave them an habitation in a very decent house near the church. He gave them in like manner his land of Lede- cote, with the granges fuU of wheat, and oxen, sheep, and pigs in great plenty, with two carucs of land. At this time arose a dispute between Robert bishop of Hereford and Milo earl of Hereford, insomuch that the bishop excommunicated the aforesaid earl, then present, with all the city of Hereford, and caused the doors of the church to be stopped up with thorns, and the crosses to be beaten down to the ground, and came to Shobdon at the request of Oliver, and lived among the canons at his own expense, until the earl was reconciled to him and his party and all the aforesaid city. Then afterwards the canons were very sorrowful for the departure of the bishop from their society, and also very sad because they were so far distant from their abbey, and they sent to the abbot Gilduin of St. Victor, begging that he would send others in Roger et Ernys, desqueus Roger fut fet apris abb6 de Owens6 et Ernya abb6 de Seinct Victor. Ceus .ii. si manda I'abb^ k Olyver, aquels il baila totes les Glioses qu'il 's aveit promis endementres pur lor sustinaunce, c'et- ^.-cavoir I'eglise des Buyrle [et] I'eglise de Schobbedon oii il les fist habiter en im meson assez honeste pr^s de I'eglise. II lor dona ensement sa terre de Ledecote, oveske les granges pleines de blees, et beafs, berbiz, et pores h grant plenty oveske .ii. caruez de terre. En ycel temps sourdy nn contek parentre Robert eveske de Hereford et Myles conte de Hereford, en tant que I'eveske exkuraega Tavantdit conte adonc present, oveske tote la cit6 de Hereford, et fist estoper les buys de I'eglise des espynes, et les croiz abatre tot k la terr«, et vynt a Scbobbedon par la request de Oliver, et vesquit entre les chanoines k ces costages demeyne, jeske atant que le conte fut acorde k ly et as sonz, et tote la cit6 avantdite. Puys apr^s esteyent les chanoines mut dolentz pur [le] departure de I'eveske de lor oompanie, et ensement trop mournes pur 500 que ens furent mut loyns de lor abbey, si manderent ii I'abbe Gildwyn de Seinct Victor, empriantz qu'il vousist mander autres en lor 108 THE HlSTOB-y OF LUDLOW. their place, who knew how to speak and understood the English language, and who knew the manners of the English, and that they might be allowed to return to their abbey. And at the same time they sent word that the place which they had was good and agreeable, with sufficient goods to furnish what was needful. And the abbot granted their request, and sent thither three brethren bom and bred in England : and when they came to Shobdon, they were very handsomely received, and established there, and the others departed thence and returned to their abbey. And soon after arose a quarrel very great and terrible between Monsieur Hugh de Mortimer and the aforesaid Oliver, so that Ohver quitted him, and went to Sir Milo earl of Hereford, who was then entirely his friend. And when Sir Hugh was aware of this, he caused him to be summoned three times into his court to answer to the accu- sations he had against him. And because Oliver feared the cruelty and the malice of his lord, he did not dare to appear in his court, but kept himself meanwhile in peace. And when Sir Hugh perceived well that he would not come, or send another in his place, he seized into his own hand all things which belonged to OKver, with the goods of lyu, qui sussent parler et entendre langage d'Engleterre, et qui sussent la maner des EngKz, et ke eus pussent retorner h. lor abbey. Et ensemble- ment manderent que le lyu q'ils avoyent flit bon et avenant, et assez des benz pur trover lor necessaries. Et I'abbS granta lour request, et manda illeoques .iii. freres nez et norriz en Engleterre; et quant eus vindrent k Schobbedon, si furent mut honestement receus, et ileoke plantez, et les autres s'en departirent d'ileokes k lour abbey. Et bien tost apr^s sourdy un descord trop graunt et hidons parentre Mounsieur Hugh de Mortemer et I'avantdit Olyver, issi qe Olyver s'en departi de ly, et ala k Sire Miles conte de Hereford, qe esteit adunkes sun amy enter. Et quant Sire Hugh ^eo aperceust, le fist apeler troiz fees en sa courte pur respondre as quereles lesqneles il ayeit vers ly. Et pur seo que Olyver dota la malice et la cruelty de sun seignur, n'osa apparance fere en sa courte, mds se tynt en pees endementres. Et quant Sire Hugh vist ben q'il ne voleit venir, ne autre en son lyu maunder, prist en sa main totes les choses qe furent k Olyver oveske les beens THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 109 the canons. Nevertheless he would not do any severity to the canons without judgment, and he gave them respite to dwell there a year; and after the year they were to go where they pleased, as people who had entered on his land without his leave, and had been brought thither by his adversary. And as the canons neither would nor could remain in the country, they prepared to fly secretly, for they had neither succour nor aid from any one. Sir Gilbert de Lacy saw this, and thought to please Sir Hugh de Mortimer ; he came to Lantony, and took by seig- nory all the things which belonged to the canons, and caused their wheat to be carried away, which amounted to a great sum of money. And because, where earthly aid fails, God comes forward to assist, it happened that there was a great congregation assembled at Leominster for business of impor- tance, at which assembly were the bishop of Hereford with his attendants, and Sir Hugh de Mortimer with his, and Robert prior of Shobdon, and many other knights, clergy, and laics, assembled from all parts. And when the affairs were settled for which they came, mention was made of the canons of Shobdon, for whom the bishop and the knights there present des chanoines. Nepurquant il ne voleit fere as chanoines nule durestS santz jugement, si lor dona respit jeak'k un an enei-want de fere demeore ; et apr^s I'an alassent d'ileokeS Ik od beal lor fut, si come ceus qe fiirent entrees en sa terre santz sun cong€, et ameneez ileokes par sun adrersarie. Et les chanoines ne voloyent ne ne poyent estre en la contr6, se apparile- rent de sey mettre en fuyte privement, car socouis ne aroyent ne eyde de nuly. Cete chose yist Sire Gilbert de Lacy, et voleit [fere] pleaire i Sire Hugh de Mortemer ; vint k Lantony, et totes les choses que furent as chanoines si prist-il par seineurie, et lor blez fist aporter, qe amonta k grant aomme d'argent. Et pur 900 qe par li oi terien eide defaut Deus i met socoura, ayient qu'il y areit una grant oongregacion assemble i Leonmestre par hautea busoynes ; aquel assemble esteit I'eyeske de Hereford od les seons, et Sire Hugh de Mortemer od les seons, et Robert le priour de Schobbedon, el autres plusour, chivalera, clercs, et laycs, assemblez de totes partz. Et quant les bosoynes furent terminez pur quels eus vindrent, fut menciun fete ileokes de les chanoines de Schob-. bedon, por quels I'eveske et les chevalers qe ileokes esteient prierent 110 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. prayed Sir Hugh de Mortimer that he would have compassion on them. And when he had advised with his friends, at last he said with a loud voice, " If I had," said he, " an ahbot, I would grant them all the goods which Oliver gave them, and I would give them more thereto." At these words, the bishop took the prior by the hand, and said, " Lo, Sir ! here I give you an abbot ! Do what you have promised." Whom he received at once, and with the bishop and the other great lords led him to the altar, chanting aloud Te Deum laudamus, and there he granted to them in quit all the things which Ohver had given them, together with a benefice in the church of Wigmore, which was then vacant, and he granted them all the other benefices in the same church when they should be vacant. He begged the lord of Huggeley, who was then present, to give them his church of Huggeley, and he consented; which church, as it was then vacant, he gave at once before all the people to the elect of Shobdon and to the canons. At the same time he pro- mised them the town of Cheibners, where he had had the design of making them a lasting habitation far removed from Wales. And when the elect was returned to his house, he had good hope to live in peace and quiet; a Sire Hugh de Mortemer qu'il ust mercy de eus. Et quant il out consili od les seons, audarrain dist en haut \oiz, " Si jeo usse," dist-il, "un abbe, tutz les biens qe Olyver lor dona lor granteray, et plus a 9eo lor dorray." A cestes paroles, prist I'eveske le priour par la main, et dist, " Veez, Sire ! isi vous bail un abbi ! fetes 9eo que Tous avez promis." Lequel il recust meintenant, et oyeske I'eTeske et autres grantes seygneurs le menerent h. Tauter, chantantz en haut voyz, Te Deum laudamus, et ileokes granta-il 4 eus totes les choses que Oliver lor avoit donfe quitement, ensemblement od une provendre en Teglise de Wygemore qe fut adonke vacante, et totes les autres provendres en meimes I'eglise lor granta quant eus fussent yacantz. Al seignour de Huggeley, qe adonke fut ileokes present, pria-il qe il ly vousist doner sa eglise de Huggeley, et il ly granta ; laquele eglise raeintenaunt si dona-il deyant tote le people 4 I'elit de Schobbedon, et k les chanoines, laquel eglise fut adonke vacante. Ileokes promist k eus la ville de CheOmers, oil il aveit empens6 de fere h eus perpetuele habitaciun tot loynz remew^s de Galeys. Et quant le elit fut retorn* i sa mesun, si aveit bone esperaunce de vivre en fees et en quiete ; THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Ill but in a short time after Sir Hugh de Mortimer took from them the town of Shobdon ; and he never gave them the town of Cheilmers, which he had promised them. It happened after that, that the aforesaid bishop of Here- ford passed the sea and went to a council in France, and died there, and was brought in an ox's hide to Hereford, and there buried. That saw the elect of Shobdon, how he was deprived and despoiled of the advice of the bishop and of his help for ever, and of the presence of Ohver who had called them into England, and they were robbed of their land of Shobdon and of Lantony, from which lands they derived their subsistence, and what grieved him more, how he was often abused and vilified by Sir Hugh de Mortimer and his people ; and he left all, the goods he had on his hands without keeper, as a man who was simple and without malice, and returned to his abbey. After that, there came a canon into England who was named brother Richard de "Warwick, who was afterwards abbot of Bristol, to visit his friends in the time of August ; and he came to Shobdon and got in the wheat, and stacked it and left it in the keeping of Serjeants, and soon after went away. After him came a canon of St. Victor named brother Henry, a man of good and sound counsel mis en brief temps apres Sire Hugh de Mortemer lor tolit la ville de Schobbedon; et la ville de Cheilmers, laquel il lor promist, unkes ne lor dona. Avient apres 960 qe I'avantdit eveske de Hereford passa la mere el vint en France, k un concyl, et morut ileokes, et fuf meh6 en nn quyer de beof jesk'a Hereford, et ileokes enterr6. Ceo vyt le elyt de Schobbedon, q'il fut privee del consail I'eveske et de sun eyde k totes jurs et despoils, et de la presence -Olyver qui lor apela en Engleterre, et ostes de lor ferre de Schobbedon et de Lantoni, de quels terres eu8 aveyent lour sustinaunce, et qe pluis ly greva, qu'il fut sovent ledeng6 et avily par Sire Hugh de Mortemer et les seons ; lessa totes les choses qu'il aveit par desus ses mains santz gardein, come home simple et santz, malice, si retorna k sa abbey. Enapris vynt une chanoine en Engleterre qu'ot nom frere Richard de Warrewyk qi fut apris abbe de Bristoll, pur visiter ses amisez en temps de Ast ; et vynt k Schobbedon, et quyly les bl6es, et les mist en taas et les lessa en la garde des sergantz, et tantost s'en departi. Apris ly vynt une cha- noine de Seinct Victor qu'out nom frere Henry, home de bon consail et de seyn 112 THE HISTORY O^ LUDLOW. and courageous in court, who was well acquainted with Gilbert Foliot then bishop of Hereford, and kinsman to Sir Hugh de Mortimer, who was received by them very honour- ably, and took charge of the things which were left at Shobdon. This man, when he had learnt from his people what things Sir Hugh de Mortimer had given to the canons, and what he had promised, and what he had taken from them, went to him, praying that he, for the love of God and in aid of his soul and of those of his very honour- able progenitors, would restore the things which he had taken away, and fulfil the promise he had made; and he promised to do it, but always put it off with flattering words and fair promises. But Henry followed him in different places, and at last he granted them the town of Shobdon. When brother Henry had the town of Shobdon in peace, he considered that the place was very far from water, of which they were much in want, and he determined to remove thence to Aymestry, in a place they call Eye, close to the river Lug, which appeared to him to be a very com- modious dwelling-place for them. And then they removed aU the things they had from Shobdon thither, by the advice and help of Sir Hugh de Mortimer, and laid the foundation et vailant en coure, qu'estoit ben acointe de Gilebert Folyoth adunke eveske de Hereford, et parent si Sire Hugh de Mortemer, lequel fut recue de eus mut honurableraent, et prist gard des choses qe furent k Sctiobbedon lesseez. Ce[s]ti, quant il orit entendu de[s] seons qiieles choses Sire Hugh de Mortemer aveit don6 a[s] chanoines, et queles il out promis, et queles il out tolet, approcba k ly, empriant qe il, pur I'amour de Dieu et en remedye de sa alme et des treshonourable progenitours, vousist restorer arere lez choses qu'il aveit sostret, et la promesse q'il fist k perimpler ; et il le promist fere, mes tutz jurs le mist en delay par blandisantes paroles e beales promesses. M^s Henry ly siwy par plusurs lyus, et audarrein lor granta la ville de Schobbedon. Quant frere Henry out la ville de Schobbedon pesiblement, avisa qe le lyu fut mut loyns de I'ewe, de quele eus aveyent tresgrant defaule, se purposa de remuer d'ileokes jeskes k Aylmondeslreo, en un place qe out apele Eye, tot pris de la ryvere de Lugge, lequel ly fust avys convenable k eus pur demorer. Et donke remuerent lotes lor choses qu'ils aveyent k Schobdon jeskes Ik, par conseil et eide de Sire Hugh de Mortemer, et mistrent le fundenient THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 113 of the church, as people who proposed to fix there a lasting habitation for themselves and their successors. In the mean time died Peter Bald (?), canon of Lantony, to whom bishop Robert Beton had given the church of Led- biu"y-north, with the archdeacon of Salop ; and when prior Henry heard that, he sent thither three of his canons, and the dean of Pembridge, who put them in immediate posses- sion of the same church of Ledbiiry. After that, the prior Henry received into his establishment more canons, and thought to live well in great tranquillity after his labour. But it happened otherwise ; for there arose at that time a very great war between Sir Hugh de Mortimer and Sir Joce de Dinan, then lord of Ludlow, insomuch that this same Joce could not freely or at pleasure enter or quit his castle of Ludlow for fear of Sir Hugh, so pertinaciously the latter pursued the war. And because Joce coidd avail nothing against Sir Hugh by force, he set spies along the roads where he heard that Sir Hugh was to pass imattended, and took him and held him in his castle in prison until he had paid his ransom of three thou- sand marks of silver, besides all his plate and his horses and birds (hawks). And to hasten this ransom as speedily as possible, he requested aid of his friends on all sides; de I'esglise, come gentz qe aveyentempens^ de fere ileokes perpetuel habitacion pur eus et pur lor successours. Endementres raorut Pers le Kauf, chanoine de Lantoney, A quy I'eveske Robert Betun aveit don6 I'eglise de Lydebury-north, oveske le ercedekue de Salopsire ; et quant le priour Henry oyt ^eo, manda ileokes .iii. des ses chanoines, et le deen de Penbrugge, lequel lor mist en possessiun meintenant de meimes I'eglise de Lyddebury. Apr^s 5eo si receust le priour Henry k sa religiun pkis de chanoines, et quidoutbcnde vivre en grant quiete aprds sun travail. M^s autrement fut ; car il surdy en eel temps tresgraut gere parentre Sir« Hugh de iMortemer et Joce de Dynant, adonke seygneur de Loddelawe, en tant qe meimez cely Joce ne poeyt franchement ne baudement entrer ne isser sun chastel de Loddelawe por doute de Sire Hugh, tant fort le demena-il, Et pur yeo qe.7oce ren ne poet fere centre Sire Hugh par force, si mist espyes par les chemins par oi il entendy que Sire Hugh passereit sengle, si le prist et le tint en sun chastel en prisone jeskes il ust fet sa ranzon de .iii. mil marcs d'argent, forspris tote sa vessele et ses ohevaus et ses oysels. Et pur plus tost hasler eel ranzon, si Q 114 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. and he desired the prior Henry to allow him to put an assessment of money on his people of Shobdon in aid of this ransom. And the prior to the utmost of his power denied and opposed it, and said that a thing once given to God and to holy church freely, could not afterwards be taxed or put in servage for any secular affair, and that the custom of his country did not suffer it. And the prior rather than in any manner grant his request, left all the things he had in the keeping of the canons, the same as he had received them, and returned to his abbey of St. Victor, whence he came. After that came another named brother Robert of Che- resboth, and remained with the canons ; not as prior, but forasmuch as he came from beyond sea he was in the place of a prior, because they wished to have an abbot over them, to effect which Sir Hugh was very desirous and earnest. While they were in this mind, they heard speak of master Andrew who was then prior of St. Victor at Paris, master of divinity, distinguished by his many noble virtues and his sobriety ; to him they sent, praying that he would deign to come to them and take the charge of abbot and be governor over them, to ordain their affairs as their prelate. Which Andrew came to them, and was received with great reverence, and consecrated abbot by the bishop. pria-il eide de tote partz de ses amys ; et al priour Henrie si pria-il qu'il vousist granter pui mettre un agistement d'argent sur sa gent de Schobbedon en eyde de eel ranzon. Et le priour en quant il poet le nya et contreestut, et dist qe chose une feez don^e k Deu et k seincte eglise franchement, ne deit pas autre feez estre tail6 ne mis en servage pur nnl busoygne seculer, ne la cous- tume de sun pays ne le soffry mie. Et quant le priour en nule manere ne ly voleit sa request graunter, si lessa totes les choses qu'il avoit en la garde des cha- noines lesqueus il out receu, et retorna h sa abbey de Seinct Victor, dunt il vynt. Apres cely vynt un autre qu'out nom frere Robert de Cheresboth, et demora oveske les chanoynes ; ne mye pryour, mis pur ^eo qu'il vynt de outremer, fut en lyu de prior, pur 960 qu'ils voleient aver un abb6 sur eus, et k cele chose fere si fut Sire Hugh mut desirus et durement entalente. Tant come eus furent en tel purpus, si oyrent parler de mestre Andrew qe fut adonke prior de Seinct Victor de Parys, mestre de divinity, et de nobles vertues et plusurs, et sobre ; si manderent k luy, empriantz qu'il deignast k eus venir et prendre la cure de abbfe et estre governour sur eus, lor clioses ordyner come prelat. Lequel Andrew vynt k eus et fut re^eu k graunt reverence, et abbi benet de I'eveske. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Il5 Soon after the friends of Sir Hugh de Mortimei-, and particularly Sir Hugh de Lacy, observed the church which the canons had erected at Aymestry, and came to Sir Hugh de Mortimer, admonishing and advising him not to suffer that work to be finished there at the entrance to his land, lest his enemies might come by chance to the entrance of his land and there have a lodging place and strong-hold in despite of him, and to the damage of all the country; for he had then on all sides many enemies and there was great hostility towards him. And he acted after their counsel, and made the canons remove to the town of Wigmore, and carry their goods with them, and begin dwellings there, as though they were to dwell there for ever. Then the abbot and his canons saw that the place which they were to inhabit was too narrow and rough to make a habitation for them, and that there was too great deficiency, particularly of water, and the ascent to the church was very disagreeable to them, and the language of their neighbours was very vulgar and coarse, and they often complained among themselves and considered to what place they might remove from thence, because they neither could nor would in any manner remain there, for the reasons above stated. And when Sir Hugh de Mortimer Tost apr^s virent les amis Sire Hugh de Mortemer, et nomgement Sire Hugh de Lacy, k Teglise laquele les chanoynes avoyent fet fere h. Aylmondes- treo, si vindrent k Sire Hugh de Mortemer, amonestantz ly et conseylantz qu'il ne seoffresist pas eel overaine ileokes esire parfet en I'entre de sa terre, que ses enemies par cas ne venissent en entr6 de sa terre et ileokes ussent refut et recet en despit de ly et al damage de tote la pais ; car il avoit adonke de tote pariz mutz des enemyes et adversity graunt. Et il overy apris lor consail, si fist les chanoynes remuer jeskes k la vile de Wygemore, et porter lour choses oveske eus, et com[en]cer ileokes mansiuns, come dussent k tutz jurs demorer ileokes. Done virent I'abbg et ses chanoines que la place oi eus habiter deveyent fut trop estreit et hidous pur habitacion fere pur eus, et trop grant defaule, nom^ment de ewe, et le monter sus vers I'eglise mut lor greva, 9eo fureut vjleines paroles et deshonestes de ceus qi habiterent pr^s de eus, et se entreplainderent sovent et se purpenserent k quel lyw ils pussent remewer d'ileokes, pur ^eo que ne poyent ne ne voloyent ileokes demorrer en nule maner pur I'enchesuns susdils. Et quant Sire Hugh de Mortemer seo 116 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. perceived that, it was quite agreeable to him, and he commanded them that they should seek through all the country for a more convenient place, and one where they would be more at their ease, to remain always there, and that they should inform him of it. In the mean time arose a coolness between the abbot Andrew and his canons, in consequence of which the abbot quitted them, and left them aU at their will, and returned to his house of St. Victor. And forasmuch as they would not be without an abbot, they elected from among themselves a canon named Roger, who was a novice in the order, but wise to govern their temporal affairs ; whom they presented to the bishop, and he was consecrated by him, and made prelate over the other canons. At that time king Henry, then newly crowned, sent to Sir Hugh de Mortimer to come to him; and he, being inflated with great pride and exaltation, refused to obey, and garrisoned his castles in all parts against him to with- stand the king by force. At which the king was very much enraged and fiercely stirred up against him, and he besieged him in his castle of Bridgenorth a long time, and he caused his other castles every where to be besieged by his people. And when Gilbert Folioth, who was then aperceut, mut ly vint 4 gr6, et les comanda q'ils feysent enquerer par tut sun pais plus ayenante place, et plus else, pur eus k deraorir k totz jurs, et ly feseient a sayer. Endementres sourdy un distance parentre I'abbfi Aniew et ses chanolnes per unt (?) TabbS s'en depart! de eus, et lor lessa tot k lor volunt^, et returna k sa meson de Seinct Victor. Et pur seo que eus ne voleyent my estre santz abb6, elustrent de eus meimes un chanoyne qu'out k nom Roger, qui flist novice en I'ordre, m^s sage k gouvemer lor temporaltes ; lequel eus presenterent k I'eveske ct fut benet de ly, et fet ptelat des autres chanoines. En ycel temps si manda le roy Henry, adonke novel roy, a Sire Hugh de Mortemer de venir a ly ; et il par grant orgoil et tautest^ de queor enenfl^e, 4 ly venir dedeigna, et ses chastels de totz partz centre ly garnissa pur contreester le roy k force. De quele chose le roy fut mout corouc6 et durement vers ly enmew6, et Jy assegy en sun chastel de Bruge-north long temps, et ses autres chastels iist-il assegir partut par ses gentz. Et quant Gilcbert Folioth 9eo vist, qe esteit adonke THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. llT bishop of Hereford, saw that, how the king was fiercely moved and enraged against Sir Hugh de Mortimer, and how Sir Hugh was on all sides surrounded by his enemies, he went to the king to complain that Sir Hugh held by force his town of Ledbury and refused to deliver it to him. The king, as soon as he had heard this, in great anger and spite commanded the bishop that he should go and take back his town with all its appurtenances. And when the canons heard this, they sent thither two canons, namely Simon son of Oliver de Merhmond and Richard de Blakemere, to guard their church of Ledbury, together with the other things which they had there. And when the bishop was aware of that, he sent to them his servants, who at first admonished them with smooth words, and afterwards used threats, and at last laid their hands on them and dragged them out, ordering them to go immediately and talk with the bishop. The canons were neither overcome by their fair words, nor abashed in any degree by their threats, but held firmly in the church, and did not stir out for any violence which was offered them, like good people of religion, loving the profit of their house. And as soon as the abbot Roger heard this of his brethren, he appealed to the court of Rome eveske de Hereford, qe le roy fust durement enmew4 et coioucS Ters Sire Hugh de Mortemer, et qe Sire Hugh fut de tote partz ayiron6 de sez enemyes, ala al roy emplaynaunt qe Sire Hugh tient k force sa vile de Lydebury, et la dedeigna rendre. Le roy, ausi tost come il avoyt geo oy, par grant ire et rancor comanda k I'eveske qu'il alast et prist arere sa vile od tutes les apurtenances. Et quant les chanoines ?eo oyrent, enveierent ileokes .ii. chanoines, c'et-k-saver Symond le Fitz Olyver Merlymond et Richard de Blakemere, pur garder lour eglise de Lydebury, ensemblement od autres chosos qe ileokes areyent. Et quant I'ereske yeo aperceust, manda A eus ces ministres lesqueus a-de-primes les amosterent par blan- disantz paroles, et d'en-apria par manaces, audarrain mistrent mains sur eus et les sakerent, encomandantz qu'ils venissent tost parler k I'eveske. Les chanoines jk pur lours beles paroles ne furent venkuz, ne pur lors manacez abayz en nul poynt, mds se tindrent fermement dedenz I'eglise, santz remewer hors de leyns pur nule violence qe lor fut fete, come bonez gentz de religiun, amantz le profit de lor raesun. Et ausi tost come l'abb6 Roger 9eo oy de sez freres, appela si la oourto de Ronnje 118 THE HISTORY OF LUBLOW. against the damages, insults, and violence, which were done to him and to his brethren and to his church of Led- bury, and signed aU his property under the protection of the pope, and then prepared to take the road to the court of Rome in his own person. And when the friends of either party heard this, they interfered to make an accord between them, and reestablished peace entirely, so that the bishop granted to them the said church to hold for ever in peace, and confirmed it by his letter sealed with his seal. The canons continued to be very much incommoded and annoyed daily by their residence at Wigmore, as is afore said, and they went about the country on every side to seek and consider of a place where they could make a decent and large dwelling for themselves and others for ever. It hap- pened one day in August, that one of the canons, whose name was Walter Agaymeth, sat on the field of Beodune, among the reapers, and contemplated all the country about, and considered attentively, and saw the place where the abbey is now situated, and marked the spot, and re- turned to his house and told the abbot and the brethren what he had seen; who went with him and considered the place on all sides ; and saw weU that the spot was very de damages, huntages, et violences, qe furent fetes a ly et a sez freres et k sa eglise de Lidebury, et signa totes sez chosez desuz la protectiun I'apostoU, et meintenant se appaiala prendre le chemin vers la courte de Bonme en propre persone. Et quant se oyrent les amis de une part et d'autre, si entremistrent de fere acord parentre eus, et refourmerent la pes enterement, issi qe I'eveske granta 4 eus ladite eglise de aver A tut temps en pees, et la con&ma par sa lettre ensel^e de sun seel. Unkore esteient les chanoines trop malemeut encombrez et ennyez de jur en jur pur lour demeor k Wygemore, come est avant dit, si s'en alerent par le pais en chescun part pur querir et avyser place la oi eus pussent mansiun honeste et large fere pur eus et pur autres 4 tutz jurs. Avient par un joiur en Ast, qe une des chanoines, frere Water Agaymeth a nom, sist sur le champ de Beodune entre les syours, et regarda tot le pays aviron, et avisa ententivement, et vist la place ofi I'abbeye est ore assise, et nota le lyu, et retorna k [sn] meson, et conta k I'abb^ et as freres geo qu'il out veu; lesquels aleyent oveske ly ct aviserent la place THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 119 good and large and convenient to make their abbey there. And they were very joyful and glad beyond measure, and went to Sir Hugh de Mortimer, and told him what they had found, and that the place suited them well to make a perpetual dwelling by his aid. And^immediately he granted it them fully and with much joy, and promised them his aid ; and commanded immediately that they should remove thither the goods they had at Wigmore. And when they had orders to do thus, they made small delay in putting them in effect, and built themselves for the time Httle habitations of wood, by the aid and advice of Sir Hugh. Meanwhile died the parson of Meole-Bracy, which church Sir Hugh gave immediately to the canons in perpetual akns. And soon after that died the abbot Roger, and was religiously buried; and immediately they held a consul- tation for the appointing an abbot, and they sent to St. Victor's by three of the most prudent of their brethren, to pray master Andrew, who had formerly been their abbot, to come and be their superior and their abbot as before, who with much difficulty consented, and came with them and was received with great joy, and remained abbot in the same manner as formerly he had been. de tots partz, et virent ben qe le lyu fut assez bon et large et avenant pur fere ileokes lor abbeye. Si furent mut joyous et lez k demesure, et aleyent a Sire Hugh de Morteraer et firent a sarer k ly geo qu'ils aveyent trovez, et qe lor plust ben la place pur perpetuele mansiun fere par eide de ly. Et il lor granta ausi tost benemeut et k grant joye, et lor promist qe il les eidereit ; et comanda ausi tost que eus remewasent totes choses qe eus aveyent al Wygemore jeske li. Et quant eus aveyent comandement de Qeo fere, ne targerent geres de I' mettre en fet, et se feseyent ende- mentres petites habitaciuns de fust par eyde et conseil de Sire Hugh. Endementres morut la persone de Meoles-Bracy, laquel eglise dona Sire Hugh as chanoines ausi tost en perpetuele almoygne. Et apres qeo tost morust I'abbe Roger et fust religiousement enterree; et tantost se entreparlerent de une abbe aver, et manderent par .iii. de lor freres qui furent les plus sages, 4 Seinct Victor, pur prior d mestre Andrew, qui fut lor abb6 pardevant, de venir et estre lor sovereyn et lour abb6 come avant, lequele k grant peine lor granta, et vint oveske eus et fust receu i grant joye, et demorra abb6 en la raaner que il estoit. 120 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. At this same time Andrew de Stanton, lord of Bucknell, was charged in king Henry's court with grave misdemeanors, SO that he could not remain publicly in England ; and he came into the chapter of the canons, and in the presence of Walter Folioth archdeacon of Shropshire he gave them the church of Bucknell in pure and perpetual alms. To whom, as long as he remained thus in England in conceal- ment, they honestly furnished all his necessaries ^ and when he could no longer remain, he passed into Scotland, and remained there in safety till his peace was made with the king; and then he returned to his own land. And while he was absent, they furnished to his wife Maude de Portz what was needful for her. After that, came Sir Hugh de Mortimer from beyond sea, and dwelt at Cleobury. Then died Achelard parson of Cajmham, which church the canons received of the free gift of Sir Hugh. And not long after came Sir Hugh to visit the canons and their place ; and there by the request of his people, and particularly of Brian- de Bramp- ton and his son John, he sent for a monk of Worcester, who, when he had marked out the site of the church, caused the foundation to be dug and laid out ; to which En meimes eel temps Andrew de Staunton, seygneur de Bokenhull, fut accuse vers le roy Henry grevousement, issi que il ne poet demorer en Engleterre apertement; si vynt en le chapitre des chanoines, et en la presence de Water Folyoth ercedeakne de Salopsire lor dona I'eglise de Bokenhull en pure et perpetuel aumoygne. A qy, tant come il demora issi en Engleterre en tapeisaunz, si troverent k ly totes ses necessaries hones- tement ; et quant il ne pout plus longes demorer, si passa-il en Escoce, et demora ileokes seurement jeskes atant qe sa pees fut fete al roy; et donke retuma-il k sa terre demeine. Et tant come il fut absent, si troverent eus 4 sa feme Mahaud de Portz geo que mestre ly fust. Aprds geo vynt Sire Hugh de Mortemer de outremere, et demorra k Cleyburi. Adonke morut Achelard persone de Kayham, laquele eglise les chanoines receustrent en propres huyes del done Sire Hugh. Et ne mie long temps apr^s vynt Sire Hugh pur visiter les chanoines et lor lyu ; et ileokes par request de seons, et nom^ment de Brian de Brompton et de Johan sun fitz, manda pur un moyn de Wyrecestre, lequel, quant il out Bign6 la place de I'eglise, fist fewer et mettre le foundement; k quel THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 131 foundation Sir Hugh de Mortimer laid the first stone, and promised them ten marcs in aid, but afterwards he com- pleted it at his own expense. Brian ^ie Brampton laid the second stone, and promised a himdred sols; but he gave them nothing in money, though he granted them all ' ease- ments ' in his lands in wood and in field everywhere, which easements aided them greatly in their work. John, son of the said Brian, laid the third istone, and neither gave nor promised any thing ; but what he did not then do in promise, he performed fully afterwards in deed, for by him was the church of Kynleth given to the abbey. Thereupon the canons set themselves laboriously and vigorously to the work of their church. About the same time died master Andrew their abbot, and was buried with great honour. After that, they elected their prior Simon, the son of Oliver de Merlimond, to be their abbot, but he died before he had been consecrated by the bishop. After the death of Simon, they elected brother Randolph, their sacristan, a man humble and fearing God ; in the time of which abbot. Sir Hugh gave to the abbey the manor of Caynham, with all its appertenances along with its body, in pure and perpetual alms : but a lady continued to hold the town of Snytton in the name of dower. After foundement Sire Hugh de Mortimer coclia le premier pere, et lor promist dys marcz en eyde, mds enapres il I'achevy h ses costages demeine. Brian de Bromplon conha la secunde pere, et promist cent souz ; m^s ren ne dona d'argent, mis i! lor granta totes eisementz en sa terre en boys et en champs par tot, lezqueles eysementz eiderent graunlraent k lour overaine. Johan le fitz al dit Brian cocha la terce pere, et ren ne dona ne promist ; mis geo qu'il ne fist mye adonkes en promesse, il le perfourmy ben apris en eovre, kar par ly fut I'eglise de Kynleth don6 h I'abbey. Enapres les chanoines s'entremistrent durement et vigrousement 6e I'overayne de lur eglise. Endementres si morust mestre Andrew lor abb6, et fut enterr6 k grant honeur. Apris geo si elurent-eus Symond lor priour, fiz 4 Olyv-er de Merlymound, pur estre lor abb6, lequel morust avant geo qu'il fut benet de I'eveske. Apres la mort Symond, si elurent-eus frere Randulph lor segresteyn, home humble et Deu dotant ; en temps dequel abb^ Sire Hugh dona a I'abeye le maner de Kayham, oveske totes les apportenances ensemblement od sun corps, en pure et perpeluel aumoyne: mis une dame tynt unkore la vile de Snytton en noum dower. Apris geo escheerent k eus les eglises et chapeles B 122 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. that, there fell to them in a short time the churches and chapels mentioned below by the gift of Sir Hugh de Morti- mer, namely, the church of Leintwardine, the church of Aymestry, the church of Cheilmers, the chapels of Downton, Borcton, Elton, and Leinthall, and the church of Kynleth, and the mill of Leintwardine, and land of the yearly value of twenty sols which Sir Hugh de Mortimer bought of Herbert du Chastel, and the land below Wigmore, and the land of Newton, and the rent of the mill of Boriton, and the rent of Elton and of Brinshop. In the midst of these affairs, Sir Hugh de Mortimer was very inquisitive and took much pains about the work of their church, which he completed at his own expense ; and when it was entirely finished, he caused it to be dedi- cated by the hand of Sir Robert Folioth, then bishop of Hereford, in honour of St. James the apostle. And when the church was dedicated. Sir Hugh de Mortimer renewed and confirmed to the church all the gifts which he had before made to the canons, and particularly the manor of Caynham, with its appurtenances, which manor he gave to the canons in presence of all the people who were there assembled, and confirmed by his charter. After that he gave to the church a chalice of fine gold, and a cup of gold, to put the eucharist in, and two candlesticks of silver gilt ; desuz-dites par doun Sire Hugh de Mortimer en bref temps, c'et-^-saver, I'eglise de Lyntwardyn, I'eglise de Aylmondestrfi, I'eglise de Cheilmers, les chapeles de Donntoiij Borcton, Eleton, et Leynthale, et I'eglise de Kynlelh, et le molyn de Leyiitwardin, et vint soude de terre laquel Sire Hugh de Mortemer akata de Hereberte du Chastel, et la terre desuz JVigemore, et la terre de la Newton, et la rente del molyn de Boriton, et la rente de Eleton et de Brunshop. D'entre cestes choses si fut Sire Hugh de Mortimer mut curious et penible enlour I'overaine de lor eglise, laquele il fist tote parfere A ces costages; et quant ele fut tote parfete, si la fist dedyer par la mayn Sire Robert Folyoth, adonke eveske de Hereford, en le honur de Seint Jake I'apostle. Et quant I'eglise fut dedy6, si fist Sire Hugh de Mortimer renoveler et confirmer toutz les dounz k'il avoit fet as chanoines pardevant k I'eglise, et nomemcnt le maner' de Kaham, od les aportenances, lequel maner dona-il k les chanoines devant tote la people que illeokes fut assemble, et le confirma par sa chartre. Apres 5eo dona-il Si I'eglise un chaliz d'or tin et un coupe d'br, pur mettre dedeins eukarisle, et deux chaundelers d'argent dorrez ; et fist 1 'eveske et I'abbg od tut THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 133 and the bishop and the abbot with all the convent and with all the priests who were present pronounced sentence of excommunication against all those who should alienate any of these jewels from the house, except only for hunger (?) and fire : and he then gave to the bishop a goblet of silver full of piment, which he received as a great gift. And the bishop gave to the same church a cape of purple leather for the choir, very becoming and richly adorned with orfrey. And when these things were all well ordered, each ac- cording to its convenience, died Sir Hugh de Mortimer at Cleobury at a good old age and full of good works, after professing himself a canon in the presence of abbot Randulf, who gave him the habit of canon with some of his brothers before his death. The corpse was carried thence to his abbey of Wigmore and honourably buried before the high altar; whose soul, as we believe, rests vrith the elected of God in everlasting joy. Amen. For the soul of which Hugh a mass is chanted every day by a canon^ and every week the ofiice of the dead, that is. Placebo and Dirige, once of nine lessons in the convent with the mass of matins the day following; and every week bread and ale with other meats are distributed to the poor by the hands of the le covent et od tatz les prestres qe presentes furent exuumenger tutz ceus quy nul des ceus jeweus alloynassent de la mesun, for taunt seulement pur feyn et arsun : et il dona adonkes 4 Teveske une juste de argent pleine de py ement, laquele il receust pur graunt doun. Et I'ereske dona h, meimes I'eglise une chape de queor pourpre, assez honeste et richement aournfe des orfreys. Et quant cetes choses furent ben ordin^s chesoun a sun avenaunt, morust Sire Hugh de Mortimer &, Clebury en bone veleste et pleine des bones eoyres, et chanoyne profes en la presence de I'abbe Bandulph, lequel ly baila I'abit de chanoine od aukuns de ses freres devant sa mort. D'ileokes fut le corps port6 jeskes k sa abbeie de Wygemore, et honour- ablement enterre pardevant le haut auter; I'alme de quey, sy come nus oreums, repose od elitz de Dieu en joye perdurable. Amen. Pur I'alme de quel Hugh si est chaunte chesoun jour une messe par chanoine et chescun symaigne 1' office de mortz, c'et-k-dire Placebo et Dirige, ime feez de neof lessons en covent, oveske la messe matinale I'enderaain ; et chescun symaigne pain et cervoyse ove altres vyaundes parties as poveres par la 124 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. almoner, besides other distributions which he had directed to the poor and strangers in the course of the year. And on the day of his anniversary a hundred poor persons are plentifully fed, and each shall have a loaf and two her- rings and pottage, because his anniversary happens in Lent. The other charities which he had established for himself each day to beggars and strangers in the hostelry, and elsewhere, and the spiritual benefits which are done by the canons for him, and which will be done hereafter, no man can number them; but to Jesus Christ they are fully known. And forasmuch as Roger his son and heir was held in the king's keeping for the death of one named Cadwallan, whom his attendants had killed, the king's servants held the castle of Wigmore with its appurtenances; in which time thirteen Welshmen were taken in battle, and were held in prison in the castle of Wigmore firmly shackled ; who one night while their keepers were asleep escaped to the said abbey, and were devoutly received and encouraged to eat and drink, and the shackles with which they were bound fell from them by miracle ; which shackles were suspended publicly in the church, and the Welshmen remained there in peace till they had leave to go to their main de I'anmoner, estre autres partisones qe out fet par my I'an as poveres et k estranges. Et en le jonr de snn anniversarie si sunt cent poveres puys soflfysonaunt, et chescun ayera une miche et deux harankes et potage, pur yeo que sun anniTeisaiie clieet en qnareme. Les autres aumoynes que out fet pur luy chescun jour as estas et as estrange en le ostelerye, et par ailours, et les bienfez espirituels qe sunt fet par chanoynes pur ly, et serrunt fetz S. remenaunt, nombrer ne poit nnl home ; mte a Jhesu Crist sunt pleinement conews. Et pur 960 que Roger sun fiz et heir fut tenuz en la garde le roy pur la mort de un Cadwallan k noun, lequel Ie[s] seons tuerent, les minestres le roy tyndrent le chastel de Wyggermore od les appurtenances; en quel temps tresze homes Galeys furent pris en bataile, et "furent tenuz en prison en le chastel de Wygemore fermement fyrgez; lesquels par nne nuyt tant come" lor gardeins dormirent eschaperent jeskes k la dit abbeye, et furent devoutement receuz et reheitez de manger et beivre, et lour firges des- cheierent dunt eus furent lyez par miracle, lesqueus firges furent penduz OTertement en I'eglise, et les Galeys demorerent ileokes en pes jeskes h THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 125 own country without hindi-ance. Several other similar cases happened at this same abbey, which are not written in book, but have been omitted by negligence. And when Sir Roger de Mortimer was set free from the king's custody, he came to the abbey, and was received by the abbot and convent with great joy, and led by the abbot and prior into the church before the high altar ; and when he had worshipped at the altar, he kissed all the convent, promising them safety and good peace. But as soon as the mass was finished, at his issuing from the church, he began to challenge fiercely their right to the manor of Caynham, and commanded that they should restore it to him, and said that they held it wrongfully. And the abbot and convent placed their hope in God, and would not suffer a single foot of the manor to be taken from them. Thereupon Sir Roger was enraged beyond measure, and persecuted them so much by himself and by his friends that towards Christmas day the abbot and convent were obhged to go to Shobdon, except a few canons who remained to guard the church ; and' there they remained till after Christmas, when at the command of king Henry they returned to their abbey. For the king sent his commands to Sir Roger, that he should tant qe urent grace de aler k lor pais santz destourber. Plusurs autres cases semblables sunt avenuz k meime cele abbey, lesqueus ne sunt my escritz en livre, mes sunt pai negligence lesseez. Et quant Sire Roger de Mortemer fut lesse bors de la garde du roy francbement, si rynt k I'abbey, et fut receu de I'abb^ et del covent i graunt joye, et men^ par I'abbi et le priour en I'eglise jeskes derant le haut auter; et quant il seo ayoit a ore (?) k I'auter, si beisa tote le covent, en promettant seurt^ et bone pees. M^s ausi tost com la messe fut fynie, k sun issir hors de I'eglise, si comensoa de lor chalenger durement pur lour maner de Kayham, et comanda qe eus le rendissent k ly, et dist qe eus k tort le tindrent. Et l'abb6 et le covent mistrent lour esperance en Deu, et ne soffrirent pas qe lor fut tolet un pleiu pee del maner. De 960 fut Sire Roger mut coroucfi A demesure, et les porsiwy tant par ly et par les seons, qe centre le jour de No-wel covendreit k I'abbe et le covent d'aler jeskes i Scbobbedon, forspris poys de chanoines qui demorerent pur garder I'eglise ; et illeokes demorerent jeskes apres Nowel, qe par comaundement le roy Henry retornerent a lor abb6. Car le roy comanda 126 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. do no harm or damage to the canons, but leave them in peace under God's protection and his own, to serve God in quiet. Then the canons desired much to have the love and good-will of Sir Roger, and they prayed humbly for a reconciliation by their friends, that he would agree to be their friend for the love of God, and they were in great hope to have his friendship. But soon after died the lady who had the town of Snytton in dower, which town Sir Roger at first granted them freely to hold. But in a short time he was urged by evil counsellors to take it from them into his own hands, and so it was done ; for they said that this place was very private and agreeable to have his dwelling between Wigmore and Cleobury. And when the canons saw that, they held themselves quiet, as people who gieatly hated to quanel with their lord, and placed their right in the ordering of God. It happened after that, that lady Isabel de Ferrers, the Avife of Sir Roger de Mortimer, was with child, and passed through Snytton, and there lodged, and was taken ill, and in her illness was delivered of a male child, which died as soon as it was baptized, and was buried in the church of Cleobury. Whereupon the said Isabel at the suggestion of a Sire Roger, qu'il ne feist mal ne damage as chanoines, m^s les lessast en pees desuz la protection de Deu et la sowe, piir Deu servir en quiete. Dunk desirerent les chanoines mut d'arer amour et benvoilaunce de Sire Roger, et acord le prierent deyoutement par lors amises, qu'il vousist estre lor ami pur 1' amour de Deu, et si aveyent grant esperance de s'amistS aver. M^s tost apr^s morut cele dame qe avoit la Tile de Snitton en dower, laquele vile granta Sire Roger devant a eus de la franchement aver vers eus. M^s en bref temps fut-il broch^ par mauveys consilers pur la prendre de eus vers ly, et ensi fut fet ; car eus diseyent qe eel lyu fiit mut prive et eise pur son recet aver parentre Wygemore et Cleybury. Et quant les chanoines virent yeo, si tindrent en pees come gentz qe hairent mut conteker od lur avowe, et mistrent lor droit a I'ordinaunce de Deu. Avient enapr^s qe dame Isabelle de Ferrers, la feme k Sire Roger de Mortemer, fut enceynte, et passa par Snytton, et illeokes herbiga, et devient malade, et en sa maladye fut delivre de un enfant madle, lequel si tost ciome fut baptize morust, et fut enterre en I'eglise de Cleibury. Dont ladite Isabelle par procurement des sagez gentz pria k sun seigneur THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 127 prudent people prayed her lord humbly and devoutly in tears that he would give back to the canons their town of Snytton, which he held wrongfully, and said that by reason of that she had suffered great pain in child-birth, and when she had hope of great comfort by the life of her son, she had had great sorrow for his death. At whose request, he commanded immediately to be restored to them the town freely, with the manor of Caynham, to hold for ever. The lady Isabel de Ferrers was of good and clean Hfe ; and after the death of her lord she built a good house for monks at Lechlade, for the soul of her lord and her own soul, and endowed it plentifully with fair lands and rents for ever ; and there she is buried. The aforesaid Roger de Mortimer, son of the founder, was according to the character of his age, a gay youth, and very changeable of heart, and especially headstrong, and he had about him many men of light counsel, who advised him often to his pleasure, and not to his profit, as is the manner of many sychophants who have an eye to the pleasure of their lords, which often falls to their disad- vantage. This same Roger de Mortimer, at that time by evil advisers, and by his own wiU, inflicted in various humblement et devotement en lermant, qu'il vousist rendre arere as chanoines lor vile de Snitton, laquel il tynt k tort, et dist qe par encheson de 560 si aveit grant torment en enfantant, et aveit esperance de aver en grant solaz de la yye de sun fiz, si aveit ele graunt tristnre de sa mort. A la request de quy, commanda tost rendre ^ eus la vile franchement, oveske le maner de Kayham, de aver i remenarrf. Cele dame Isabelle de Ferers fut de bon vye et de netle ; laquele apris la mort de son seigneur fist fere une bone mesun de g?nts de religiun k Lechelade pur I'alme sun seygneur et la sowe, et la feffa plentivousement de beles terres et de rentes k remenant, et ileokes est ele enterr^. L'avantdit Roger de Morlemer, iiz al foundur, esteit solunc la demaunde de sun age, jolyf juvencel et mult volages de queer, et aukes voluntrif a-de- primes, et aveit pr4s de ty plusurs de leger consail qe ly consilerent sovent 4 sun pleiser, et non pas k sun profit, come le manere est de plusurs losengers qui portent oyl sus pur plere k lor seygiieurs, qe lor chet sovent k damage. Meimes cely Roger de Morlemer, en icel temps par mauveys r.onsilers, et par sa volunt^ demeine, fist trop grantz durest^s et grevances diversementz k I'abbi 128 THE HISTOKV OF LUDLOW. manners very great hardships and grievances on the abbot and convent and on their people, against the franchise of their church. Whereat good men on all sides were very sorrowful, but there was none who could or dared aid them, so they placed all their hope in God Almighty, praying humbly and devoutly night- and day that of his pity he would deign to effect a speedy reformation of the error of their lord, so that he should not remain long in peril of his soul by reason of them, and that they might have in peace and quiet and for ever the things that were given to them, in alms. While this persecution continued, it happened, by God's ordering, that Sir Roger de Mortimer was journeying one morning after his pleasure, with his company, on the day of the anniversary of his father, of which at the time he had no thoughts ; and as he rode between the house of the sick and the town of Stanway, he observed the fields on each side which his father had given to the abbey, and saw on one part the wheat sprouting well and green and pretty thick, according to the season. And he called some of his companions, saying spitefully, " See, fair lords, how my father advanced himself and entirely forgot me, who was his eldest son and heir, to whom by all reasons he ought to have left his whole heritage, vnthout dismembering et covent et k lor gentz contre la franchise de lur eglise. Dunke les bones genlz /si sentirent de tutes partz dure demenS, et nul esteit qi eider lor pust ne osast, si mistrent lote lor esperaunce en Deu tot pussanf, nuyt et jour humblement et devoutement emprianfz qu'il pur sa pite deignast mettre hastif amendement k I'errourde lor avowe, issi qu'il ne demorast longes en peril d'alrae par enchesun de euSj el qe eus aver pussent en pees et en quiete les choses qe a eus furent done? et k totes jurs en auinoynez. Endementres tant come cete persecuciun dura, avi[n]t par I'ordinance de Dieu, ke Sire Roger de Mortimer fut cheminant par un matin vers son dedujt, oveske sa megn6, le jour de I'anniversarie de sun piere, de quel ly ne sovynt pas adonkes ; et come il chevauchout parentre la mesun de malades et la vile Stanweye, si regarda les champs d'ambepartz lesquens sun pere out don6 a I'abbeye, et vist les bleez de une part ben creuz et veirz et asses espes solun la sesun. Si apela aukuns de[s] seons, en disant anguissousement, " Veez, beals seigneurs coment mun per se tresnoblia et moy de tut mist en obliance, quy fu son fitz eygnfe el heir et moylere (J) k qui par totes resuns dust aver vouche- THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 129 these fields which you see here, with other lands and tenements, in disinheriting of me, to give them to those clowns of the abbey !" And he uttered many expressions of regret, and as he rode along thus in bitterness of heart, all the bells of the abbey began to ring as it were a funeral peal, and when he heard that, he called a canon of the same abbey who was then his chaplain, and asked him why the bells rang so loud. And he answered and said, " Sir, to-day it is so many years since your father, the founder of our house, died, and to-day is his obit, for which they make great solemnity especially for his soul, and will always do so, and justly." Then Sir Roger asked him what were the good works which they did for him in the course of the day ; and he recounted to him one by one aU the good works which were done for his soul in the same abbey, as is before written. And when he had very leisurely listened to the whole, he was visited by the Holy Spirit, and said to all his company, "Let us go in the name of God to the abbey ! and let us see the service and solemnity which they will make there for the soul of my father." And they rode up to the abbey. And as soon as the abbot was aware of their arrival, he led out all the convent with him, and they went towards him in form sauf tot sun heritage, sanlz demembrer ces champs qe yci vous veez, oveske autres terres et tenemeutz, en desheritaunee de moy ; si ad-il don^ k ceus vileyns de I'abbeye !" Et cele chose regretta sovent. Et tant com il si anguis- S0U3 de queer chevaucha, si sonerent totes les cloches de I'abbey en manere de glaas ; et quant il jeo oyt, si apela un chanoyne de meymes I'abbeye qu'esteyt adunke sun chapeleyn, et ly demaunda pur que[i] les cloches sonerent tant fort. Et il ly respoundy et dist, "Sire, hieu a tantz des anz morut vostre pere, fandour de noslre mesun, et huy est sun obit, pur qu[e]i ont fet grant soUemp- nit§e pur s'alme especialment, et i tufz jurs fra, et k resun.'' Dune demaunda Sire Roger k ly queuz furent les benfeez qe on i fist pur ly k lajorneye ; et il ly counta de chef en chef totz les benfeez qe furent fetez pur s'alme en la dite abbeye, come est pardevant escript. Et quant il avoit tot k grant leisir paroyce, fut visitee par le Seincte Espirist, et dist k tote sa meygni, "Aluns nus en le nom de Dieu k I'abbeye! et avisun-nus le serviz et la solempnite qe om fra ileokes pur I'alme mun pere." Et chevauohoyent jeskes a I'abbeye. Et quant I'abb^ fut aperceu de sa venue, si amena tot Ic covent oveske ly, et aleyeut contre ly en la manere de processiun ; car S 130 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. of procession, for he did not enter the house for some time, but they received him honourably and with great joy, in the hope of obtaining his love and good-will. Then the abbot chanted the mass, and with loud voice and great devotion they sung the service which belonged to the occasion. To which service Sir Roger paid great attention throughout, and how the hundred poor people were served, and he was wonderfully well satisfied and very repentant of his error. And when they had finished chanting the mass, and the whole service was over, he called the abbot and convent into the chapter, and begged their pardon with very himible heart for the grievances which he had done them, and pro- mised amendment by the help of God, and was reconciled to them, and absolved of his trespasses, and he and the convent kissed one another with great gladness on both sides. After that, he caused to be read all the muniments which his father had made them of lands, tenements, rents, woods, meadows, pastures, commons, moors, and other franchises, and likewise of the churches which he had given them, and of the others which he had procured to be given them by his feudal dependants. And when the charters were all read, he agreed to all that his father had il n'entra mye la mesnn grant pece pardevant, en lor recustrent (?) honora- blement a grant joye en esperanoe de s'amure aver et sa benTeilanoe. Atant le abb4 chanta la messe, et le covent A haute voyze et k grant devoolon chanterent le office qe apent. De quele office Sire Roger prist Iresbone gard[e] en totez pointz et coment les centz povers furent servyez, sy fut k merveyle ben paye et mut repentaunt de sun errur. Et quant la messe fut tut perchante, et tote le oifice parfet, si apela-il I'abb^ et le covent en lor chapitre, et les pria pardon mut de humble coer de lor grevances queus il A eus aveyt fet, et promist par I'eide de Dieu amende- ment, et fut acorde k eus, et assouz de sun trespaz, et entrebeysez ly et le covant k grant leest6 d'ambepartiez. Apres 960 fist-il lire tutz les munimentz qe sun pere aveif fet a eus de terres, leneraenlz, rentez, bois, preez, pastures, communes, mores, et des autres franchises, et ensement des eglises lesquels il lor donna, et des aulres lesquels il procura eslre don^ a eus de ses gentz demeyne. Et quant les chartres furent totes [jarlewes, si agrea quant ke son pere ad fet, et confirms par THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 131 given, and confirmed by his charter, sealed with his seal, all that liis father had done, with various easements and franchises which he then and afterwards gave them by his charters sealed. After that, he received the benediction, and took leave of the abbot and convent, and returned joyfully to his castle of Wigmore. The news was soon spread through the country, how he had been at the abbey and what he had done there ; at which good men had great joy, and the wicked very great spite; and among the spiteful was a steward of his, who was angry beyond measure, and said to his lord, ''Sir, have you been to the abbey, and confirmed all that your father did to the canons, and made away more of your land to them, so that there now remains nothing near them, land, meadow, pasture, nor moor, which they do not possess, of the gift of your father or of your own, except the Treasure of Mortimer?" and he added in mockery, "Now it is good that you give that land to them, that nothing of yours remain to you or your heirs near to them!" These words he said meaning that he did not wish him to give that land to them, but that he should retain it in his own possession. And when Sir Roger had heard his sa chartre, ensel^ de sun sel, tot )e fet de sun pere, oveske plusurs eysementz et fraiinchises, lesqueus il lor dona adonke et apr^s par ses chartres assee^s. Apres 960 prist.il beneyson et cong6 de I'abb^ et du covent, si retorna joyowsement k sun cbastel de Wygemore. Tost fut la novele espandewe par mi le pays, coment 11 oust este &, I'abbeye, et quel chose il out ileokes fet, dunt les bonez gentz en aveyent grant joye, el les mauveys tresgrant envye ; entre queus envyous si esteit un sun seneschal trop coroucfe a demesure, si dist a sun seygneur, " Sire ! avez-vous est6 k I'abbeye, et conferm^ tote la fet vostre pere k les chanoines, et plus de vostre terre k eus avoyt^j issy qe ne remeint ore endreit pr^s de eus, terra, pr6e, pasture, ne mores, qe eus ne unt del dun de vostre pere et de vostre, forspris le Tresor de Mortemer ?" et dist en moskeis, " Ore est bon ke vous doignez cele terre k eus, ke ren ne remeyne k vous ne k vos heires du vostre pr^s de eus !*' Celes paroles dist-il en sa entente qu'il ne voleit mie qu'il donast cele terre i. eus, mes qu'il la retenesist vers ly meimes. Et quant Sire Roger aveit escotfe ses 132 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. words, he inquired of the others what that place was which they called the Treasure of Mortimer. And it was told him that it was a cro^ adjoining to the abbey, very good land and large, and marvellously fruitful. And when he had heard that of the others, he said to the aforesaid steward, "By my head, fair friend, you have said and advised well, and after your coxmcil will I work ; and since that place is called the Treasure of Mortimer, I will deliver it to such treasurer to keep for my use, who vdll place it in a treasury where no thief will steal it nor moth eat it, and where it shall not be trodden under foot by beasts, but it shall bear fruit to my soul." And immediately he took with him people who knew the place, and they showed it him. And when he had seen it, he entered into the abbey and gave it in pure and perpetual alms to the house for ever, for the soids of himself, his ancestors, and his successors, and confirmed it by his charter, sealed by his seal, before all the people. paroles, deinanda des autres quele fut cele place qe ont apela le Tresor de Mortimer. Et ly fut dist, qe 9eo fut une eroufte joynant a I'abbeye, assez bone terra et large, et h merveile ben fructifiante. Et quant il aveit 9eo oye des autres, si dist k I'avantdit senesclial, " Par man chef, beals atnys, ben m'aveii dit et consile, et apres vostre conseil voil-jeo overyr ; et par ^eo ke cele place ad a noum le Tresor de Mortimer, jeo le baudrai k tel tresorer por garder a man eops, qui le mettra en tele tresorie oi nul larun I'emblera ne artesun le mangera, ne des bestes defole serra, mes h m'alme fructifiera." Et ausi tost prist-il oveske ly gentz qui conusseyent la place, et la demustrerent k ly. Et quant out fet la vewe, entra en I'abbeye, et la dona en pnre et en perpetuele aumoyne a la mesun a tutz jours pur s'alme et ses auncestres et ses successeurs, et la conferina par sa charire ensele de sun seel devant tote le people. THE HISTORY 01' LUDLOW. 133 Entrance tu Liitilow C SECTION VI. The Baronial Wars. THE thirteenth century is one of the most important and interesting periods in our national annals. In the reign of the cunning and worthless John began the great struggle for the English liberties, to which the course of events had long tended. The period to which more particularly be- longs the title of Anglo-Norman was now ended ^ during the first century after the conquest, the king and his Nor- man barons had been closely tied together by their common opposition to the native English; but in the latter end of the twelfth century the two races were already joining in a community of interests and blood, and the alliance was completed and rendered durable by the continual attempts of king John to strengthen his power by the introduction of strangers. After this time the descendants of the Nor- ■ man barons who had come in with duke "William called 134 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. themselves Englishmen, and became distinguished by their hatred to " foreigners." On the accession of John to the throne, the country was filled with gloomy apprehensions; he neither loved, nor was he loved by his people, who already anticipated the evil days which were approaching. Even the doctors of the church were carried along by the general feeling, and went about preaching that the thousand years of the Revelations were now completed, and that the old dragon was about to be let loose upon the earth; if the world, they said, had suffered so many evils in the time during which he was bound, what might be expected now that he was set at liberty?* Nothing shews us more distinctly the unsettled state of the kingdom in the time of king John, than his constant movements from one part of the island to another, for during the whole of the eighteen years of his reign he scarcely ever remained more than a few days in one place. During this period the Welsh were in a continual state of hostility, either among themselves or vfith their neighbours, and the king frequently approached the border, but our account of his transactions there is very imperfect. At the end of October, a. d. 1200, he went to Gloucester, and he was at Hereford in the first days of November ; on the 6th of that month he was at Ledbury, on the 7th at Upton Bishop, on the 8th and 9th at Fecken- ham in Worcestershire, and from the 11th to the 13th at Bridgenorth, from whence he returned to Nottingham, and he spent the three following years in Normandy. In the latter part of 1201, or early in 1202, fourteen pounds eighteen shillings and five pence were expended out of the • Doctores nostri prsedicavenint solutum esse draconem ilium anti- quum, qui est diabolns et Sathanas, dicentes vse ! vae ! VK habitantibus in terra !• quoniam solutus est antiquus draco, etc Asserebant itaque doctores nostri illos raille annos jam esse consumptos, et diabolum solutum. Vee terra! et habitantibus in ea ! quia si diabolus ligatus tot et tanta intulerit mala mundo, quot et quanta inferet solutus? Rog. de Hoveden Annal. in an. 1201, p. 818. ' THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 135 royal treasury in repairing the castles of Hereford, Gros- inont, White Castle, and Screnfrith,* and it was probably on this part of the border that the Welsh were most troublesome. John repaired to the border immediately after his return from the continent, and was at Worcester on the 13th and 14th of March, 1204. On the 11th of August, 1204, he again arrived at Worcester, where he remained till the SOth.f In the December of the same year he was at Bristol for three days, and from the 20th to the 24th of March, 1205, he was a third time at Worcester. In the September of the year last mentioned, he passed two days (the 9th and 10th) at Bristol ; and between the 21st and 24th of January, 1206, he was again at Tewkesbury and Worcester, from whence he returned to pass over into Normandy. There can be no doubt that on the last mentioned occasion the king was called to the border by the turbulence of the lords of the Marches," and more particularly of WiUiam de Braose, with whom he had a quarrel at this period. While at Worcester, on the 23rd of January, William de Braose made his peace with the king, and gave him, among other things, three steeds, and ten greyhounds, in return for which his castles of Screnfrith, Grosmont, and 'Lantely' were to be restored to him.J Some circumstance, as it appears, occurred to hinder the delivery of the castles, as we learn from the Close Rolls that twenty marks were afterwards given out of the * In emendatione castellorum de Hereforde et Grosmunte et Blanch- casteU, et Sohenefrid, .xiiii. li et .xviii. s. et .v. d. Rotulus Cancellar. iii. Johan., p. 106. In the same roll (p. 122) under the head Shropshire, we have the following entry. Et Simoni de Lens .iiii. m. ad sustenta- tionem suam ad quserendum utlagatos homines. He -was probably one of the men employed in looking after Fulke Fitz Warine and his companions. t On the 15th he went to Pershore. X Trcs dextrarios et quinque chasuros et .xxiiij. souses et .x. leporarios. Close Rolls. 136 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOTV. royal treasury to Hubert de Burgh, (who had been ap- pointed in the third year of John's reign to be warden of the Marches, with an attendance of a hundred knights), to fortify them. It was not till the latter end of the same year that king John was reconciled to this powerful baron, and on the 18th of December Walter de Clifford, then sheriff of Herefordshire, received an order to put into the hands of William de Braose his three fortresses.* About the same time Walter de Lacy Kkewise incurred the king's displeasure. On the 27th of May, 1206, Ludlow Castle was in his possession jf but towards the end of that year, or early in 1207, it had been seized by the king, and on the 5th of March, in the latter year, WiUiam de Braose, into whose custody it had been given, was ordered to deliver it to Philip de Albeny,J in whose custody we find it a few days afterwards (March 10),§ and who restored it on the 13th of July following to William de Braose, in whose keeping the castle and town were to remain during the king's pleasure.!! On the 19th of March, 1208, the castle of Ludlow was stiU in the possession of William de Braose.^ On the 19th of July, 1207, king John gave the castle of Knighton to Thomas de Erdington,** his favourite, and whom he chose shortly afterwards to be the * Patent Rolls, p. 57. t Close Rolls, p. 71. X Patent Rolls, p. 69. § Close Rolls, p. 79. Eighteen days afterwards, March 28, the con- stable of Bristol was ordered to send three hogsheads of wine to Ludlow to store the castle. Rex constat. BristoU, etc. Mandamus tibi quod mitti facias tria dolia vini usque ad castrum de Ludelawe in warnisturam, et computabitur tibi ad scaccarium. Close Rolls, p. 80. II Patent Rolls, p. 74. U Patent Rolls, p. 80. • * Patent Rolls, p. 74. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 137 chief of a secret mission sent to the Mohammedan emir of Spain to obtain his assistance against the pope* On his return from Normandy in 1207, the king had again visited the border of Wales. On the 32nd and 23rd of August he was at Worcester, and Tewkesbury; he immediately returned to Winchester, but on the 17th of September he had again approached as far as Bristol, where he remaiaed till the 19th, and returned to Westminster. Two months later John was again in progress towards Wales; on the 12th and 13th of November he was at Tewkesbury ; on the last mentioned day he went to Glou- cester, where we find him signing documents on the 13th and 14th ; from the 15th to the 17th he was at St. Brievel's ; and from the 18th to the 22nd we find him at Hereford, from whence he returned direct to Malmsbury, and towards London. On the 5th of March, 1208, John came again to Bristol, where he remained till the 7th, when he appears to have been suddenly called away ; but in the month following he returned, and we find him successively at Tewkesbury from the 19th to the 21st of April, at Gloucester on the 22nd and 23rd of the same month, at Hereford from the 24th to the 28th, from whence he returned by Tewkesbury (where he was on the 28th and 29th), to Woodstock. From the 26th of June following to the end of the same month the king was again at Hereford, from the 1st to the 3rd of July he was at Worcester, whence he returned to Woodstock. On the 3rd of October in the same year he was again at Tewkesbiury; we have some difficulty in ascertaining his movements during the following days, but on the 8th and 9th he was at Shrewsbury, and on the 20th he was at Oxford on his way to Westminster. The king's progresses towards the border were no less frequent in the year 1209 ; on the 20th of January he was at Gloucester, he was at Tewkesbury on the 21st and 22nd, at Worcester on the 23rd, at Shrewsbury from the 26th to the 29th, and • The details of this mission are given by Matthew Paris, sub an. 1215. 138 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. at Worcester from the 1st to the 3rd of February, from whence he was called to Lambeth ; he came again to Glou- cester on the 8th of May ; he was again at Bristol, Glou- cester, and Tewkesbury from the 7th to the 17th of July ; he came a fourth time in September, on the 25th of which month he was at Bristol ; and he made a fifth progress to the same part of the kingdom in Noyember, being at Tewkesbury from the 26th to the 28th of that month, and at Gloucester, St. Brievel's, and Bristol, in the first days of December. These frequent visits are an evidence of the unquiet state of the Welsh border; they were probably caused as much by the turbulence of the English lords of the Marches as by the hostilities of the Welsh. On one of these occasions Gwenwynwyn prince of Wales is said to have come to confer with the king's council at Shrewsbury, and was there detained a prisoner, whilst Llewellyn prince of North Wales invaded his territory. In the latter part of 1209 king John was probably drawn to the border by the rebellious conduct of the families of Braose and Lacy, who fled to their possessions in Ireland. From the 14th to the 17th of May, 1210, the king was at Bristol with an army drawn together for the purpose of pursuing his fugitive barons ; he was at Swansea on the 28th and 29th, and at Haverfordwest on the 31st, from whence he passed over to Ireland at the beginning of June, and was engaged in hostilities there during that month and July. On the 27th of August he was at Haverfordwest on his return to Bristol. The courage of the Welsh appears to have been raised by the absence of the king, and they commenced hostilities against the famous Ranulph earl of Chester. It was pro- bably on this occasion that the earl being attacked suddenly was obliged to take shelter in the castle of Rhuddlan in Flintshire, where he was besieged by a nimierous army of Welshmen. Tradition has connected with this event the origin of a singular office or dignity which long existed in the principality of Chester, of which the title may be translated THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 139 into English by master of the rogues and strumpets, and whicli seems to have had some aiHnity with the office of the Rex RibcMorum in France. According to the story, when the earl of Chester found himself in danger of being taken by the Welsh, he sent for aid to his constable of Cheshire, Eoger de Lacy, baron of Halton, who by his fiery courage (and perhaps for other causes) had obtained the surname of HeU. It happened to be the time of one of the great fairs held at Chester (in Midsummer), where was assembled a vast concourse of people of the class above mentioned, who came to join in and profit by the festivities of the occasion, and among them no small number of wandering minstrels, who were considered as belonging to the same class. Roger de Lacy collected these people, and hastened with them to Ehuddlan ; and the Welsh, astonished at the numerous army (as they supposed it to be) which was approaching, raised the siege. The earl, we are told, in gratitude for his constable's timely arrival and as a memorial of the event, made Roger de Lacy ' master of the rogues and strumpets of Cheshire,' an office which he or his successor transferred to their steward, Hugh de Button, and his heirs.* This singular office was continued up to a late period. In the 14th Henry VII (a. d. 1498), Lawrence Button, lord of Button, in answer to a quo-warranto on behalf of prince Arthur as earl of Chester, claimed that all minstrels inha- biting or exercising their office within the county and city of Chester ought to appear before him, or his steward, at Chester, at the feast of St. John the Baptist yearly, and should give him at the said feast four flagons of wine and one lance; and also every minstrel should pay him four- pence half-penny at the said feast; and that he should have from every strumpet residing and exercising her calling within the county and city of Chester four-pence yearly at the feast aforesaid ; for all which he pleaded prescription. ♦ The words of the charter are, Magisterium omnium leccatorum et merelrioum totius Cestreshire, sicut liberius ilium magisterium teneo de comite, salvo jure meo mihi et hseredibus meis. 140 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. It is also certain that the Buttons used to keep a court every year upon the above feast, being the fair day, where all the minstrels of the county and city attended and played before the lord of Button or his steward, upon their several instru- ments, to and from divine service, after which the old licences granted to the minstrels, &c. were renewed, and new ones granted ** The hostilities of the Welsh continued during this year and the year following. In the month of March, 1211, king John marched to the Borders of Wales ; we trace him by the signatures on the records, at Bristol, on the 4th of March, at Gloucester on the 6th and 7th, at Hereford on the 9th, at Kilpeck on the 11th, at Abergavenny on the 12th, again at Hereford on the 16th and 17th, and at Led- bury on the 18th, from whence he returned to London. The oiScial records for the remainder of the year and a part of the year following, appear to be for the greater part lost, and we can only ascertain from what remains that the king was at Hereford on the 12th and 18th of November. This is the more to be regretted, as some of the most important events connected with the history of Wales in this reign occurred during that year. According to the Welsh ac- counts, the king at the urgent solicitations of the Lords Marches, came to Chester with a great army in the spring or in the beginning of summer of that year, and marched by the coast to Rhuddlan, the Welsh retiring to the moun- tains as he advanced. John pursued his course, crossed the river Clwyd, and encamped under the castle of Diganwy, which had been built by the earl of Chester in the prece- ding year. There his army suffered much from fatigue and disease, and being surrounded by the Welsh and in danger of being deprived of provisions, he was obliged to make a hasty retreat into England. From the English chroniclers we have a more accurate account of what followed. John enraged at the failure of his first attempt, assembled a • See Dugdale's Baronage, and Blount's Ancient Tenures for further information concerning this singular custom. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 141 numerous army at Oswestry (Album Monasterium) the castle of John Fitz Alan, on the 8th of July, and marching into Wales, devastating the country over which he passed in the most cruel manner, he crossed the river Conway and encamped at the foot of Snowdon. The Welsh princes were compelled to submit, and Llewellyn obtained peace by the intercession of his wife Joane, who was king John's Uligitimate danghter,* and by the delivery of twenty eight hostages, and the king returned in triumph to Oswestry on the 25th of August.f Towards the end of the year the Welsh were again in arms. At the beginning of 1212, they issued firom their strong holds, made themselves masters of several castles , and put to death the garrisons, plundered and burnt a multitude of small towns, and then retired with their booty. The intelligence of these hostilities was brought to the king while engaged in festiAdties at London ; and in a fit of violent anger he ordered a vast army to be collected, and swore that he would lay waste the whole of Wales and exterminate its inhabitants. On his arrival at Nottingham, he ordered the twenty-eight children of Welsh chiefs whom he had taken as hostages to be hanged before dinner. He then sat down to table; in the middle of his meal he received a message from the king of Scotland, warning him of a conspiracy against his person; before he rose from tablCj another messenger brought a letter from his daughter Joane princess of Wales, also warning him of treasons medi- tated against him. The king despised these warnings, and continued his progress to Chester; but he was there met by other messengers, who brought him more distinct inti- mations, that if he proceeded with his enterprise he would either be killed by his own soldiers, or be delivered up to his deadly enemies the Welsh ; and struck with sudden * And not his sister, as has been stated in a former part of the present ■work, p. 73 t Matthew Paris, sub ann. U 142 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. consternation he disbanded his army and returned to London. It was at this moment that the pope was excom- municating the contumacious monarch, and offering his kingdom to the king of France ; and shortly afterwards John, distrustful of his own people, surrendered his crown to the. papal legate, and consented to receive it again as a vassal of the Romish see.* After his apprehensions had been calmed by the exaction of hostages from his barons, the king returned towards the Borders of Wales, but with what retinue we have no information. He was at Tewkesbury on the 30th of July, 1212, at Worcester on the two following days, at Bridge- north on the 2nd and 3rd of August, at Shrewsbury on the 4th, and at Bridgenorth on his return on the 5th. He again came to Bristol in October, and was there on the 18th and 19th of that month. He made a third progress towards Wales in the beginning of November, and was at Flaxley in the Forest of Dean on the 8th and 9th of that month, at St. Briavel's from the 10th to the 12th, at Flaxley again on the latter day, at Tewkesbury on the 13th, at Hereford from the 13th to the 18th, and he went from thence by Tewkesbury to Warwick and London. King John did not again visit the border till November 1213, on the 20th and 21st of which month he was at Tewkes- bury, and he was at Hanley Castle from the 22nd to the 24th, at Hereford from the 25th to the 27th, at Kilpeck on the 26th and the 27th, at St. Briavel's on the 28th and 29th, at Monmouth on the 29th and 30th, and on the latter day he returned to St. Briavel's on his way to Lon- don. One of the most important events which occurred on the borders at this period was the restoration of Walter de Lacy to all his lands and possessions except Ludlow,t * Matthew Paris, sub ann. t Plenariara saisinam de omnibus terris suis et tenementis prffiter Ltidelawe, quam in manum nostram retinuimus quamdiu nobis placuerit. Close Rolls, p. 147. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 143 on the 29th of July, 1213, that great feudal baron having given four hostages for his fidelity. The castle of Ludlow was then in the custody of Engelard de Cygony, an active agent of king John. On the 23rd of OctoTier, 1214, the king ordered Engelard de Cygony to deliver the town of Ludlow to Walter de Lacy ;* but Engelard appears to have expostulated with his royal master, and to have represented that the place was too important to be trusted out of his own hands, for the king wrote to him again on the 2nd of November, approving of his conduct, and authorizing him to retain the castle, " although it were better to give it up than pay forty marks a year to keep it," but ordering him to deHver up the town to Walter de Lacy, in accor- dance with the convention which he had made with him.f Shortly afterwards the king appears to have placed entire confidence in the loyalty of Walter de Lacy, for on the 12th of April, 1215, he ordered Engelard de Cygony to deliver "his (Lacy's) castle" of Ludlow (castrum suum de Lude- lawe) into his custody.J At the time when Walter de Lacy was restored to the king's favour, John Fitz Alan of Clun, among others, became an object of distrust, and all his lands with the churches of Oswestry and Shrawardine were seized by the king and, June 10, 1213, delivered into the hands of John Mareschal, then warden of the Marches, who held them till the 11th of July, 1214, when by the king's direction he deHvered them to Thomas de Erdington, one of John's creatures, who was son-in-law of WiUiam Fitz Alan, the elder brother of John Fitz Alan.§ In the great struggle between the king and the barons * Close Rolls, p. 175. t Rex Engelardo de Cygon. salutem. De hiis qua! mandastis vos fecisse de porols, bene feolstis. Et licet plus valeat reddere castrum de Ludelawe quam dare pro custodia castri .xl. m. per annum, retento tamen in manu nostra castro illo, Tillam Waltero de Lasoy habere facias secundum conventionem inter nos et ipsum factam, quia a conveutione ilia nolumus resilire. Close Rolls, p. 175. t Patent Rolls, p. 132. § Patent Rolls, pp. 100, 118. 144 THE HISTOBY OF LUDLOW. during the latter years of John's reign, the Welsh entered into a close alUance with the baronial party. Immediately after his return from Normandy in 1214, John repaired to the border ; from the 14th to the 17th of December he was at Gloucester; he was at Monmouth on the 18th; at Kilpeck on the 18th and 19th; at Hereford from the 21st to the 33rd ; at Worcester from the 25th to the 27th ; and at Tewkesbury on his return on the 27th. Some of the most powerful of the border families, as the Mortimers and the Lacies, were staunch adherents to the royal cause, but many others, and among the rest the Fitz Alans and the weU-known Fulk Fitz Warine, were as firm adherents to the baronial confederacy. John upon this occasion, appears to have seized on many of the castles of his enemies, and garrisoned them for his own use ; before he left the border he gave the castle of Grosmont,* and probably Screnfrith and the other fortresses in the neighbourhood to John de Monmouth. He had previously given a strong castle in the Marches to Falcasius de Breaut^, one of the most violent and cruel of his foreign mercenaries.f In the spring of 1215 the barons were in arms, and Llewellyn marched with his Welshmen to Shrewsbury and took possession of that town. The bishop Giles de Braose, as weU as the earl of Hereford, joined the barons, and White Castle, Grosmont, Hay, Builth, Clim and other castles were seized and strongly garrisoned by their adhe- rents. The bishop of Hereford soon afterwards made his peace with the king. On the 15th of June the king signed Magna Charta. At the end of the next month he made another brief visit to the border, and was at Shrewsbury on the 30th and 31st of July, at Bridgenorth on the 1st of August, and at Wor- cester the next day. Throughout the records of this year we trace the king's anxiety to store the castles which were in his hands, and to place them in safe custody against the impending contest. On the 19th of July the castle of • Close Bolls, p. 23a t Matt. Paris, Hist. Maj. sub ann. 1212. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 145 Hereford was committed to the custody of the grand jus- ticiary Hubert de Burgh ; on the 14th of August, at his petition, it was transferred to the younger Walter de Clif- ford;* and in the October following we find payments made to Clifford for his expenses in fortifying it.f About this time the bishop of Hereford died, and on the 18th of November the king ordered his castles to be delivered into the hands of the yoimger Walter de Clifford.^ The king appears also to have obtained possession of the castles on the south-western border of Herefordshire, for he restores Grosmont to John de Monmouth on the 1st of December.§ It was not till the summer of 1216 that king John, after having ravaged with fire and sword a large portion of his kingdom, came with his foreign mercenaries to the border, which we may suppose to have suffered all the worst effects of their cruelty. On the 19th and 20th of July we find the king at Bristol and Berkeley, on the 21st he was at Glou- cester, on the 22nd and 23rd at Tewkesbury, and from the 24th to the 27th at Hereford. At this time he ordered Thomas de Erdington to deliver up the castle of Bridge- • Patent KoUs, pp. 149, 153. The family of the Cliifords possessed large estates on the horder. The Walter de Clifford here mentioned was the brother of Rosamond de Clifford, the mistress of Henry II, better known by the more celebrated name of " Fair Rosamond." Among his estates were Corfham and Culmington, in the neighbourhood of Ludlow. (See the Rot. Fin. 1 John.) Another sister, Lucy, was married to Hugh de Say, lord of Richard's Castle and Ludford (who was the direct de- scendant of " Richard the Scrub," having changed the family name of Fitz Osbom for that of Say), and, after her husband's death, she married Bartholomew de Mortimer. Their grand-daughter, Margery de Ferrers, inherited Richard's Castle, and conveyed it by marriage to Robert de Mortimer. t Close Rolls, p. 231. Honey was still a very important portion of the produce of lands on the border. It appears by an entry this year, that Stephen D'Evereux (de Ebroicis) held Badlingham of the king by the tenure of paying thirty-two gallons of honey yearly to the king's use in the castle of Hereford. Close Rolls, p. 219. This probably formed part of the stores for the use of the garrison. ; Patent Rolls, p. 159. § Patent Rolls, p. 160. 146 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. north and the county of Salop to the custody of the earl of Chester* From Hereford he is said to haye written to Llewellyn prince of Wales and to Reginald de Braose (brother of the late bishop of Hereford, and third son of the famous William de Braose), oflfering them favourable terms if they would join him against Loviis of France, who had been called in by the barons. Being unsuccessful in his attempt to detach them from the alliance of the baronial party he marched to Hay Castle, which he took and de- stroyed. He was at Hay on the 27th and 28th of July, and on the latter day he wrote again to some of the Welsh nobles, inviting them to an interview, and declaring that he was come to the border for their benefit, and not with any intention to injure them.f From Hay Castle the king returned to Hereford, where he remained from the 29th to the 31st of July. On the latter day he went to Leominster, where he was on the 1st of August. On the 2nd day of August he was at Radnor, where also he destroyed the castle, and he went the same day to Kingsmead. On the 3rd he was at Kingsmead and Clun, and on the 4th at Shrews- bury. From the 6th to the 10th of August the king was at Oswestry, the castle of John Fitz Alan, which he burnt to the ground. From this place, on the 7th of August, John sent another safe-conduct to the Welshmen to repair to his presence. J From the 11th to the 14th the king was again at Shrewsbury. On the 12th he granted to Robert de Mortimer a market to be held weekly, and a fair to be held yearly on St. Owen's day (March 4), and the five fol- lowing days, in his town of Richard's Castle.§ From the 14th to th'e 16th of August the Idng was at Bridgenorth, and on the latter day he gave into the hands of the earl * Patent Rolls, p. 175. f Sciatis quod propter commodum vestrum et non diminutionem vestram vel darapnum venimus in partes istas, quod per opera nostra manifeste perpendere poteritis. Patent Rolls, p. 191. + Patent Rolls, p. 192. § Close Rolls, p, 281, THE HIkSIIOEY OF LUDLOW. 147 of Chester the custody of Shrewsbury, Bridgenorth, and the county of Salop.* From Bridgenorth John went to Worcester, where he was on the 16th and 17th of August, and thence to Gloucester, which he reached on the latter day. The whole of the king's movements on this occasion show that his chief object was to tamper with the Welsh, and with the lords of the Marches, in whom lay his last hope of raising an army sufficient to aiFord any solid prospect of opposing the progress of his enemies. He had taken the opportunity of wreaking his vengeance on a few of the barons on the immediate border who were opposed to him, and before he left this part of the kingdom fof the last time, on the 18th of August he took the castle of Hereford from Walter de Clifford and gave it to the keeping of Walter de Lacy, vnth orders for fortifying and storing it,t and on the 20th he again gave tb John de Monmouth the castles of Grosmont, Screnfrith, and Lantely.J From Gloucester king John proceeded on that progress which ended at Newark upon Trent, where he died on the 10th of October. At his own request his body was carried to Worcester, where it was deposited in the cathedral. One of his last acts connected with the border of Wales was his grant, on the 10th of October, of three carucates of land in the forest of Acombury to Margaret de Lacy for the founda- tion of her monastery.§ After John had been buried, his son Henry was carried to Gloucester to be crowned, and he remained there tUl the middle of December. The hostile parties continued still in the same position, and it was not till the latter end of the year following that the kingdom was restored to peace. On the 3rd of November, 1216, Hugh de Kilpeck received orders from the king to pay immediately the usual panage of his pigs in the wood of TriveUe to Walter de Lacy to • Patent Rolls, p. 193. f Patent Rolls, pp. 193, 194. } Patent Rolls, p. 194. § Patent Rolls, p. 199. 148 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Store the castle of Hereford * By the treaty with Louis and his adherents in the September of 1217, Llewellyn prince of Wales, who, with his barons had been excom- municated, were to deliver up to the king all the fortresses on the border which he had taken during the baronial contest ; and he came to Hereford on the Octaves of St. Martia (November 18), probably for the purpose of nego- tiating on that subject. As the king could not meet him at that time, Llewellyn received a safe-conduct to come to the court at Northampton ;t but this he appears not to have used, and the king sent him another safe-conduct to meet him at Worcester on the second Sunday after Ash- Wednesday (March 11), 1218. J Accordingly, we trace the king in his progress to the place of meeting by his signature on the documents of the period : he was at Gloucester on the 8th of March, and at Tewkesbury on the 11th, which day he probably reached Worcester, where he remained till the 17th. Llewellyn came there at the appointed time, and bound himself by an oath to certain conditions of peace and alliance which were then agreed upon.§ During his stay at Worcester, on the 16th of March, the king directed the market-day at Leominster to be changed from Sunday to Thursday; and the same day he ordered the Sheriff of Salop to assist John L'Estrange in strengthening his castle of Knockin.ll The king was again at Gloucester on the 20th of April, and at Worcester from the 20th to the 23rd. * Close Rolls, p. 293. Panage (pasnagium porcorum) was the fee paid for the permission to turn pigs into the forests to feed ; in this instance, and in many others, it -was probably paid in kind, for bacon, as we have before observed, p. 24, was the principal article in the larder of the barons. t Bymer's Fsdera, new edition, vol. 1, p. ] 49. f Fsedera, vol. 1, p. 150. § A copy of the oath is printed in the Faedera, ib. II Close Rolls, p. 355. It appears by other entries on the Rolls, that previous to this time in many towns in this part of the kingdom, Sunday was the usual market-day. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 149 The feuds between the Welsh and the lords of the border, ■which had originated, or been cherished, during the baro- nial contest, were not, however, easily extinguished, and many years passed away before this part of the kingdom ceased to be the scene of a continual succession of predatory warfare. At the commencement of the year 1220, these hostilities had taken a character which called for the active interference of the king. On the 1st of May in that year, the king wrote to Llewellyn inviting him to meet him at Shrewsbury on the Monday after the Ascension ;* on the 25th of April he had ordered sixty pounds to be paid out of his treasury to defray the expenses of his journey,t and we find him at Shrewsbury on the 7th of May, where it is probable that the Welsh prince sent excuses for not attend- ing to his invitation. On the 9th the king returned to Bridgenorth, where he granted licenses to the burgesses vf Shrewsbury and Bridgenorth to cut down timber in his forests for the strengthening of their respective towns.J On the 10th he had reached Worcester, and on the 17th he amved at Westminster, where he appears to have taken immediate measures for raising a considerable army. The especial objects of Llewellyn's enmity were William Mares- chal, earl of Pembroke (the son of Idng Henry's guardian), and Reginald de Braose, and he was preparing to invade their lands with a powerful army. Henry appeared again on the border in August; he was at Berkeley on the 15th and 16th of that month, at TMonmouth on the 17th, at Screnfrith on the 19th, at White Castle on the 20th, and at " Striguil on the 21st, where he appears to have heard first of the real extent of Llewellyn's preparations, and he learnt that he was then marching against Reginald de • Foedera, p. 159. t Liberate etiam de thesauio nostro eidem WiUelmo sexaginta libras deferendas nobiscum ad expensas nostras versus Slalopesbir. Close Kolls, p. 416. i Close Rolls, pp. 417, 418. X 150 THE HISTORY OF LUDIOW. Braose* On the 23rd, the king was at Bristol on his return from the border, and the Welsh proceeded with their hostilities, but before the end of September their progress had been arrested by Henry's interference, who, on the 5th of October, wrote to the Welsh prince, citing him to appear before him at Worcester on the Octaves of St. Andrew (December 7).t It does not appear that this meeting took place, but Llewellyn had agreed to mak6 amends for the damages he had committed. A new ap- pointment was probably made and kept in the year following, as the king came to Shrewsbury on the 28th of June, when a truce, if not a reconciliation between the hostile parties, was agreed upon. Early in the following year the Welsh appear to have again assumed a threatening attitude, and we find the English monarch at Screnfrith from the 4th to the 7th of March, but the truce was finally prolonged on the 30th of April. Llewellyn appears to have taken advantage of the truce to prepare on a larger scale for a new invasion of the English border. In the beginning of March, 1223, the king was called from a progress ia the northern part of England by the intelligence that the Welsh prince was besieging Whittington, the castle of Fulke Fitz Warine.J Henry reached Shrewsbury on the 7th of March, and on his approach it is probable that the Welsh retired ; and he proceeded by Bridgenorth, Kiddermiuster, Worcester, and Gloucester, towards the capital. After the king's departure the Welsh renewed their hostihties; a letter of safe-con- duct, sent on the 22nd of June to Llewellyn to meet the king at Worcester on the Monday after the feast of St. John the Baptist,§ was disregarded; and when the king arrived at Worcester with an army at the beginning of July, he learnt that the Welsh had taken Whittington as well as the castle of Kinardsley, or Kinnersley, belonging • Close Bolls, p. 428. f Fojdera, p. 164. X Close Rolls, p. 537. § Fa;deva, i, p. 168. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 151 to Baldwin de Hodnet. He immediately sent orders to put Shrewsbury in a state of defence, and after staying at Worcester till the 16thj and at Gloucester till the 23nd, he returned to Windsor, where, on the 12th of September, he received inteUigence from Reginald de Braose that he was closely besieged in his own castle of Builth, and that the EngUsh forces were insufficient to withstand the progress of Llewellyn and his Welshmen* The king immediately called together a powerful army, which was to meet at Gloucester, and on the 19th of September he reached Hereford in person. He caused the fortifications of that city to be put in. a good condition, and remained there till the 25th ; on the 26th he was with his army at Leominster ; on the 29th he was at Shrewsbury; and the next day he marched with his army to Montgomery. Here, having terrified the Welsh by the greatness of his preparations, and by the ravages which he began to commit upon them, he received hostages from Llewellyn for their future sub- mission.f But the king determined to put a check upon their incursions on this part of the border, by building a new and strong castle at Montgomery. Immediately after his arrival he wrote to the sheriff of Shropshire for arms, and to Hereford for stores. At the same time he restored to Baldwin de Hodnet and Fulke Fitz Warine their castles of Kinardsley and Whittington. On the 7th of October, he sent for twenty " good miners" from the Forest of Dean, to make the fosses and lay the foundations.^ Having remained at Montgomery till the 11th, he returned to Shrewsbury on that day or on the 12th, and passed through Bridgenorth (on the 13th), and Kidderminster (on the 14th), to Worcester, where he remained from the 14th to • Foedera, i, p. 170. Matt. Paris, Hist. Maj. sub ann. 1221. The historian is entirely wrong in the date he gives to these occurrences. t Foedera, i, p. 170. X Ad operaliones castri nostri quod ibidem construimus faciendas. Close Rolls, p. 565. 153 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. the 16th, and from thence he went to Gloucester. Front both these cities he sent to Montgomery money and mate- rials for the works, with abundance of stores and arms. On the 18th of November he ordered six hogsheads of gascon wine and fifty " bacons " to be sent from Bristol to the castle of Hereford. On the 22nd, he sent to Mont- gomery six thousand quarells, or cross-bow arrows, which had been made at St. Briavel's, where there appears to have been an extensive manufactory of these weapons. On the 23rd, the king appointed a chaplain to serve in the •new castle' of Montgomery. During the whole of the year 1224> the king was occupied in strengthening the border, and in building his castle, which appears to have been fixdshed in September. On the 19th of that month he arrived at Worcester, where he was met by his sister Joane, Llewellyn's wife ;* on the 21st he was at Kidder- minster, on the 22nd, at Bridgenorth, and from the 24th to the 30th at Shrewsbury, where he strengthened the fortifi- cations of the castle. On the 1st of October the king visited the castle of Montgomery, which he entrusted to Baldwin de Hodnet. On the 2nd of October he was at Ludlow, on the 4th at Hereford, and on the 7th at Glou- cester. At this period the family of the Mortimers was increasing fast in power and importance ; and their possessions on the border were repeatedly enlarged by alUances vdth the heiresses of the old lords of the Marches, whose families were becoming extinct. Three successive lords of Wigmore intermarried with the house of the Braoses; Hugh de Mortimer, the grand-son of Roger who founded Wigmore, married Annora, the daughter of WiUiam de Braose ; Ealph de Mortimer married the widow of Reginald de Braose; and his son Roger de Mortimer married Maude the daughter and co-heir of Reginald's son, the second William de Braose. AU these barons were distinguished by their loyalty, and by their hostility to the Welsh. Hugh de Mortimer died • Close Bolls, p. 622. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 153 in November, 1227j in consequence of wounds which he had received in a tournament. His brother Ralph, who suc- ceeded to his estates was remarkable throughout the whole of his life for his hatred towards the Welsh, which appears to have been founded partly on resentment for personal injuries. In 12£1, according to a chronicle of the abbey of Wigmore,* while Ralph was a prisoner in France, the Welsh invaded his estates, and carrjdng their ravages as far as Wigmore, they entered the abbey on the first Sunday in Lent, plundered it of every thing worth carrying away, and then burnt all the houses and offices to the ground, leaving no part of the building entire except the church. The year after that in which the new castle of Mont- gomery was completed, we find Llewellyn again in arms. While WiUiam Mareschal was absent in Ireland, the prince suddenly invaded his lands, seized upon two of his castles, and, having massacred the defenders, garrisoned them with Welshmen. WilHam Mareschal returned in haste, and soon recovered his castles ; and in revenge he invaded the lands of Llewellyn, who raised a large army to oppose him. The hostile parties engaged on the banks of the Tivy, and, according to the English chronicles, the Enghsh obtained a decisive and sanguinary victory.t But the earl's success must have been partial, for Llewellyn continued to harass the Enghsh during the remainder of the year. He was probably encouraged by the inability of the king, who was occupied with other afiairs, to come to the assistance of the barons. Henry cited the Welsh prince to meet him at Worcester fifteen days after the feast of St. John the Baptist (July 9th) ;J in June he sent to inform him that other matters of importance then occupied him, and he changed the day of meeting to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin (August 15th).§ In spite of the king's * In the Monasticon, last edition, vol. vi, p. 350. t Matthew Paris, who places these transactions in the year 1223. t Fcedera, i, p. 179. § Foedera, i, p. 180. 154 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. threats and expostulatipns, Llewellyn proceeded with his hostile preparations, which had assumed so serious a cha- racter in the autumn of the same year that Henry obtained from the pope a bull of excommunication against the person of his refractory kinsman.* This war appears to have been partly excited by Hugh de Lacy and some other barons, who had withdrawn their allegiance from the king, and joined their forces with those of the Welsh.f According to some accounts, a peace was at length concluded between Henry and Llewellyn, who met at Ludlow.J But at this period no peace between the English and Welsh was lasting ; and for many years the border was the scene of continual strife. The grounds of the great baronial confederacy were already laid, which soon afterwards hum- bled the crown at its feet. During the thirteenth century the turbulence of the Welsh was in no small degree a safeguard to the liberties of England. When the defenders of the great charter were defeated or overpowered, they found a never-failing refuge in the mountains on the other side of the border, and they could there hold their councils and raise their forces for future operations ; while the first 'notice of an insurrectionary movement among the English barons was the signal for a rising among the Welsh, who were led by the love of plunder to join their banners. In 1226 feelings of mistrust arose between the king and William Mareschal, who retired to his castles in Wales; and on the 28th of July in that year we find Henry at • Fcedera. i, p. 180. The bull is dated in October. It is there said of the prince of Wales, Nune vcro idem, tanquam homo prsovaricationi assuetus et faoilis ad fallendum, se simul, et famam et promissa con- fundens, Regi obedire recnsat, et castra sibi ab eo commissa diruens, arma contra ipsum Regem erexit, et ei et ejus fidelibus, proecipue nobili viio W. comiti Penebrocensi, balivo regio, guerram movet. t Matthew Paris. t Caradoc of Llancarvan. As the EoUs of this period have not yet been printed, wo are no' longer able to trace the king in his progresses, except by a few isolated documents printed by Rymor. THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. 155 Worcester, sending a safe-conduct to Llewellyn to meet him at Shrewsbury.* During the next year the horder appears to have been more tranquil, but it was the scene of new troubles in 1228. They are said to have originated in an attempt of the garrison of Montgomery to clear the woods on a public road in the neighbourhood which was infested by robbers who murdered and plundered the pas- sengers. The Welsh assembled in large numbers, and, falling suddenly upon the English, drove them back into the castle, to which they laid siege. The garrison imme- diately sent intelligence of their perilous situation to the grand justiciary Hubert de Burgh, whom the king had just before this event invested with the district and castle of Montgomery. Henry himself, with a small army, hastened to the spot, and compelled the Welsh to raise the siege; and then, having received large reinforcements, he proceeded to clear the wood in question, and marched as far as Kerry in Montgomeryshire, where he laid the foundations of a strong castle. But his workmen and soldiers were continually interrupted, and many of them slain, by the repeated attacks of the enemy ; some of the king's best knights were slain in the attempt to fetch in provisions for the army ; and his efforts were paralysed by the disaffection of his own army. After a great expen- diture of money and time, he was obliged to make a disgraceful treaty with the Welsh prince, by which he agreed to destroy the castle which he had begun.f Among the prisoners made by the Welsh was WiUiam de Braose, the son of Reginald de Braose, who was retained in captivity after the treaty, and whose fate has since become the subject of many a popular legend. It is said that William de Braose, confined in the castle of Aber, captivated the affections of the princess Joane ; and that her husband, becoming acquainted with their intimacy after his prisoner had been set at liberty, treacherously invited him to an Easter festival, and there caused him to * Fcedera, i, p, 182. f Matthew Paris sub ann. 1228. 156 THE HISTORY OF LUDXOW. be seized and hanged upon a gallows. The legends add that the princess was also put to death, after having been shown the corpse of her lover.* Early in 1231, the Welsh began to ravage the lands which had belonged to the unfortunate William de Braose, but on the approach of the king they retreated to their strong holds. Henry was at Worcester on the 27th of May, on which day he sent to Llewellyn ^ a safe-conduct for his messengers to meet his council at Shrewsbury on the Tuesday after the quinzaine of the Holy Trinity.f The king then proceeded towards the south, leaving to Hubert de Burgh the care of negociating with the hostile moun- taineers; but no sooner had he left the border, than the Welsh recommenced hostilities, and began to plunder the neighbourhood of Montgomery. The knights who had the guard of the castle, irritated at being thus bearded within their own walls, issued suddenly and fell upon the inva- ders, and, after inflicting upon them a severe defeat, sent numerous prisoners to the grand justiciary (Hubert de Burgh), who ordered them to be executed as rebels and their heads sent to the king. This act of severity was the signal for a general rising amongst the Welsh ; Llewellyn assembled a numerous army, invaded the lands of the lords marchers, and committed the most frightful ravages, burn- ing even the churches and monasteries, and in them several noble ladies and young maidens who had taken refuge there. The king of England was indignant at the tur- bulence of his feudal dependant. He immediately prepared to inflict a severe punishment ; on the 25th of June he sent orders to the justiciary of Ireland to make war on the Welsh from the sea, and, on the 13th of July, he assembled a great army at Oxford, where the English bishops and * The latter part of the atory does not appear to have any historical foundation. The manner and cause of the execution of William do Braose are mentioned by Matthew Paris, suh ann. 1230. t Foedera, p. 200. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 157 prelates solemnly anathematized Llewellyn and his accom- plices. The king then made a rapid march to Hereford, where he learnt that the Welsh were encamped in the neighbourhood of Montgomery, and that Llewellyn lay in ambush to entrap the garrison of the castle. They were reKeved from their perilous situation by the advance of the king ; who rebuilt the castle of Matilda (castrum Matildse), formerly destroyed by the Welsh, and placed in it a strong force to repress their future incursions. On the 30th of November, a truce was agreed upon between Llewellyn and the king, which was renewed on the 20th of February following.* The Welsh were however only pacified for a moment; during the year 1232 they were continually infesting the border. On the 20th July we find the king on his way to Shrewsbury to meet Llewellyn, to whom he sent a safe-conduct to last till the vigil of St. Lawrence (August 9); and, after further hostilities, the king was at the same place on the 7th of December, making a * provision' with the Welsh prince.f This provision, like all those which had preceded, was of little efiect or duration. The troubles which marked the year 1233 are said to have been preceded by extraordinary natural phenomena j when the sun rose over the counties of Hereford and Wor- cester on the morning of the 8th of April, the inhabitants of those districts were astonished at beholding it accom- panied by four other suns, arranged in a visible circle which appeared to embrace within its circumference the whole of England, this larger circle beiag cut by four smaller ones, the four false suns forming the poiats of intersection.^ The apprehensions excited by this prodigy were heightened by the knowledge of the distrust which already appeared between the ill-advised monarch and his barons. • Fffidera, pp. 201, 202. Matthew Paris, sub ann. 1232. t Foedera, pp. 205, 206, 208. J Matthew Paris, sub ann. 1233. Y 158 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. Henry daily inclined more and more to his foreign fa- vourites, to the injury of his subjects, and the great and just Hubert de Burgh had already fallen a sacrifice to his own integrity, and was a close prisoner in the castle of Devizes. The English barons began to confederate together, and the king, full of fears and suspicions, invited them to a grand meeting at London on the kalends of August. He had already deprived several barons of their estates to bestow them on the Poitevins who surrounded his court, and Richard Mareschal was now the object of his jealousy. The wife of Richard earl of Cornwall (the king's brother) was the earl Mareschal's sister, and when he paid her a visit on his way to the appointed meeting, she took him aside and informed him that a plot had been laid to seize upon his person. The earl immediately turned back, and never stopped till he found himself safe on the border of Wales, where he was joined by others who had fallen equally with himself, under the king's displeasure, amongst whom were Gilbert Basset, Richard Suard, and Walter de ClLflford, with many other knights distinguished for their influence and personal bravery. The king then summoned the refractory barons to appear before him at Gloucester on the Sunday before the Assumption of the Virgin Mary, and on their refusal to obey, gave orders to invade and ravage their lands as the possessions of traitors to his crown. At the same time he declared them outlaws, and gave their confiscated estates to his Poitevins, on which Richard Mareschal and his friends entered into an alliance with the prince of Wales. The king immediately marched to Hereford with a formidable army, consisting chiefly of foreigners, more especially of Flemings. He was at Hay castle on the 2nd of September, when he sent messengers to Lewellyn to try to detach him from the confederacy.* From Hereford • Fcedera, p. 210. The king had before been at Tewk-csbury this year, on the 28th of May. Fcedera, p. 209. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 159 he sent his defiance, or declaration of war, to the earl Mareschal, and laid siege to one of his castles, but with so little success that he saw himself on the point of being obliged to retire from before it. Humiliated by this check, he opened negociations with the earl, offering, on condition the castle should be immediately placed in his hands, to take him again into favour, and to reform the corruptions in the government of which the barons complained, or to restore the castle in a fortnight. On these conditions the earl gave up the castle, and the king appointed the Sunday before Michaelmas to receive the outlawed barons at West- minster. When that day arrived, the king had fulfilled none of his promises, and in defiance of the advice of his best counsellors, he treated with contempt the earl's claim for the restitution of his castle. The latter took up arms and, after a very brief siege, made himself master of his own fortress. At the same time the aged justiciary, Hubert de Burgh, was carried away by force from his prison by some of his friends, who armed him according to his rank and conducted him to the border, where he joined the revolted barons, and strengthened their cause by his expe- rience and influence, as well as by the sympathy excited by his injuries. The king was furious when he received intelligence of these events. He assembled in haste a formidable army at Gloucester, and marched with it to Hereford; but the barons had carried all their cattle and other effects from the open country into their castles, and, tmable to support his vast host in a coimtry which thus afforded no pro- visions, he retired to the castle of Grosmont, intending to remain there some days, and, confident in his numbers, encamped negligently in the fields without the castle. The barons, who had good intelligence, were informed of his position; the earl Mareschal refused to join in an attack upon the person of the king, but the other confederates marched during the night vnth a numerous army of EngUsh and Welsh, and at daybreak on the feast of St. Martin 160 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. (November 11), fell upon the royal camp, drove away the knights and soldiers without striking a blow, and made themselves masters of above five hundred horses, and all the equipage and baggage of the camp. The king was safely lodged in the castle of Grosmont, but he lost all his money and provisions, and many of his principal men were obliged to fly almost in a state of nudity. After this reverse the king felt himself no longer secure at Grosmont, and retired to Gloucester, having garrisoned all the castles in his possession on the border with bands of hungry Poitevins and Flemings under the command of John de Monmouth and Raoul de Thony, to the latter of whom he had given the castle of Matilda. These garrisons of strangers soon became the terror of the peasantry, for they did nothing but plunder and ravage the country round. But Henry's departure increased the boldness of the confederate barons, who now retaUated by invading- the lands of John de Monmouth and the other partizans of the king. Richard Maresehal, at the head of the united army of the outlaws, marched towards Monmouth at the latter end of November, intending to lay siege to the castle, which was entrusted to the care of a Flemish knight named Baldwin de Guines. While the army was moving to its quarters, the earl, attended only by a hundred knights, approached to reconnoitre the castle. He was observed and recognised by Baldwin de Guines, who assembled a thou- sand of his bravest warriors, and sallied out to capture his enemy. The companions of Richard Maresehal advised him to make his escape with as much speed as possible j but their gallant leader told them that he had never yet turned his back on an enemy who offered him battle, and, he added, " I shall not change my custom to-day." For several hours, in spite of the inequality of numbers, the earl Maresehal and his men defended themselves vaHantly with their spears and swords. At length, despairing of overcoming the whole party collectively, Baldwin de Guines chose twelve of his companions to single out the Maresehal, THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 161 while the rest were engaged in the attack upon his knights ; and, although the earl slew most of his assailants, his horse was at length killed under him, and he was thrown in his heavy ai-mour to the ground. Baldwin de Guines, furious at his obstinate resistance, threw himself on the earl, and tore his casque from his head with so much violence, that Richard's face was covered with blood j then, having placed him on a horse, he drew it by the bridle towards the castle of Monmouth, while some of his men held him and pushed him from behind. At this critical moment one of Richard Mareschal's arbalestriers, seeing the danger of his master, aimed an arrow at Baldwin de Guines, which pierced through his armour, made a dan- gerous wound in his breast, and stretched him apparently lifeless on the earth. His men, believing him dead, left their captive to attend to their lord ; and at the same time the earl Mareschal's army, having received intelligence of the combat, arrived at the spot. The soldiers of Baldwin de Guines now sought safety by flight, but when they came to the river which they had to pass, they found the bridge broken down, and a few only with their wounded leader reached the castle. The rest were either drowned in attempting to pass the river, or were slain by their pursuers, or were taken prisoners and obliged to pay heavy ransoms for their hberty. The field of battle was covered with the dead. " From the time of this skirmish," says Matthew Paris, who is our authority for this episode in the border history, " the earl Mareschal, Gilbert Basset, Richard Suard, and the other exiles and those who were in league with them, laid fatal snares for the Poitevins who occupied the castles of the king of England, so that whenever one of them issued forth to pillage the country, they laid hold of him and would accept no other ransom than his head. It soon came to that point, that the roads and other places were strewed with the bodies of these foreigners, in such numbers that the air was corrupted by them." The king, humiliated by these reverses, endeavoured 162 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. vainly to entrap the earl Mareschal by specious offers of pardon. His failure in this attempt, and the represen- tations of his foreign favourites, embittered stiU more his hatred against the confederate barons. Henry held his Christmas at Gloucester, with a small attendance of English nobles, for he had been abandoned by most of the barons who had been with him at the memorable defeat at Gros- mont. On the Monday after Christmas-day, John de Monmouth, the king's most zealous partizan in these parts, collected a large army to attack the earl Mareschal by sur- prise. But his vigilant antagonist had received intimation of his design, and when the soldiers of John de Monmouth was making their way with difficulty through the intricacies of a forest they had to pass, the confederates fell upon them suddenly with terrible shouts, drove them out of the forest, and pursued them with so much fury, that John de Mon- mouth was almost the only one who escaped. Richard Mareschal, emboldened by this success, invaded the lands of John de Monmouth, and ravaged them with such perse- vering hostility, that " from a rich man he became suddenly poor and needy." At the same time his partizans carried on a similar kind of destructive warfare against the other royahsts. Richard Suard burnt the lands of the king's brother, Richard earl of Cornwall, near Brehull, rooting up and destroying utterly even the woods and single trees. They treated in the same manner the domain of Segrave, belonging to the grand justiciary Stephen de Segrave, and a manor near it belonging to the bishop of Winchester, who was one of Henry's evil counsellors. In the midst of these ravages, the confederates made a rule to injure none but the evil advisers of the king. Soon after these occurrences, a little before the octaves of the Epiphany (January 13th), Richard Mareschal and prince Llewellyn, with their united armies, marched to Shrewsbury, destroying the country in their way. After having collected an immense booty, and having burnt a large part of the town of Shrewsbury, they returned into Wales. THE HISTOKY OV LUDLOW. 163 The king, finding it impossible to put a stop to these ravages, left Gloucester and went towards Winchester. Unable to succeed by open force, he had recourse to trea- chery, and a plot was formed in Ireland against the earl, who, called thither to defend his positions in the sister island, became a victim to the treachery of his own friends. When the king heard of his death, he is said to have burst into tears, and to have declared that the earl of Pembroke had not left behind him a knight who was worthy even to be second to him in courage and military skill. The death of this able baron was followed by a recon- ciliation between the king and the rest of the exiles. Among the first of those who were restored to favour was the aged justiciary, Hubert de Burgh. On the 16th of June, 1234, the king, then at Tewkesbury, took into his grace Gilbert Mareschal, Richard's brother and heir; and on the 30th day of the same month he concluded a truce with Llewellyn*. This was followed by a treaty of peace between Henry and the Welsh prince towards the end of November. During the remainder of Llewellyn's Hfe, his transactions with the EngHsh king were of a more pacific character. It appears, indeed, from a document bearing date the 18th of February, 1236,t that the Welsh prince had infringed the peace, or rather truce, concluded in the preceding year; but a new one was signed by the king at Tewkesbury on the 11th of July folio wing, J when Llewellyn came to Shrewsbury and Wenlock to renew his oaths of allegiance and fidehty.§ The truce was prolonged at the beginning of June, 1237, and again in March, 1238, the king being then at Tewkesbury, and in the July of the same year.|| In the following year the king again quarrelled with the family of the Mareschals, who retired to their possessions on the border. Soon afterwards the king treated with equal indignity Simon de Montfort, who was destined shortly * Foedera, pp. 212, 213. f Foedera, p. 223. t Foedera, p. 229. § Foedera, p. 230. 1| Foedera, pp, 232, 235. 164 TITE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. to play so distinguislied a part in the history of the time ; and the same year Henry brought a new accusation against the aged Hubert de Burgh, which served as a pretext for extorting from him four of his castles. White Castle, Grros- mont, Skenfrith, and ' Hanfeld.'* The two following years were still more fruitful in events which iafluenced the fate of the border. On the 11th April, 1240, Llewellyn died, and left his principality to be contended for by his children, David and Griffith. The former called his brother to a pacific conference and there treacherously seized upon him and committed him to close prison. Early in 1241, died Walter de Lacy, overcome with age and infirmities, leaving his extensive possessions to be divided among heiresses. Near the same time Gilbert Mareschal was slain at a tournament, and was succeeded in the title and estates first by his brother Walter Mareschal, and then by the remaining brother Anselme, who died at the end of the year 1245. Thus two of the most powerful families on the border became extract. At the latter end of October, 1240 (the Tuesday after St. Dunstan's day), the king renewed with David the truce, or peace, which had been made with Llewellyn, and in the following month we find the king and the prince deciding by arbitration a dispute which had arisen between them. The domestic quarrels of the Welsh, as might be expected, did not fail to affect the peace of the border. In the foHoTidng spring David was at war with Ralph de Mortimer, and attempted to seize a ship belonging to the city of Chester.f At the same time Griffith and his friends were urging the king of England to interfere in his behalf, and release him from his chains. On the 11th and 12th of February, Henry was at Worcester,J called thither doubt- lessly by the affairs of Wales, for not long afterwards he summoned aU his fiefs who held of the crown by military • Matthew Paris sub ann. 1239. -j- Fcedera, pp. 242, 243. J Issues of the Exchequer, ed. by Devon, 1838, pp. 17, 18. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 165 service, to assemble with arms and baggage at Gloucester at the beginning of autumn. On the 2nd of August he held a council at Shrewsbury, and, David having refused to attend, he ordered the army which he had taken with him to Shrewsbury to advance against his refractory nephew.* We find the king with his numerous and well provisioned host, at Rhudlan on the 31st of August.f The prince, terrified by the formidable preparations of the invader, made no attempt to resist, but gave up his brother, with an earnest recommendation to the king to keep him close confined, if he wished to retain Wales in peace. Henry willingly agreed to this condition, and GriiRth with the Welsh hostages were sent to London and committed to safe custody in the Tower. David himself came to London in November, and took a solemn oath of allegiance and fidelity to the English crown. Grifiith remained in confinement till the year 1244, when David, having sufliciently strengthened his power in Wales, conceived the idea of withdrawing from his dependence on the crown of England. He appears to have been partly urged to this measure by the pope, who was dissatisfied with the English, and absolved the Welsh from their oath to the king. Negociations had been opened for the purpose of obtaining Griffith's liberty, but these having failed, he and the other hostages made an attempt to escape from the Tower. His companions succeeded in their enterprise, but Griffith fell from the wall to the ground, and being fat and heavy, he was killed on the spot. This event occuired at the end of April ^J it was followed by an active war be- tween the Welsh and the English lords of the Marches who were encouraged by the promises of the king to assist them. On the 15th of July, a truce appears to have been made,§ but it was of short duration, for immediately afterwards, to use the words of Matthew Paris, " the Welsh issuing from • Matthe-w Paris sub anu. ]241. f Foedera, p. 213. J Foedera, p."256. _ I Foedera, ib. Z 166 THE HISTORY OF LUBLOW. their retreats like a swarm of bees," spread desolation over the border. The king, who was just returned from Scotland with a powerful army, instead of hastening to repress their rebellion, sent an insufficient force under Herbert Fitz Matthew, dispersed the rest of his host, and resigned himself to idle repose at London. On his arrival, Herbert found that Ralph de Mortimer and the earl of Hereford, who had joined their forces to withstand the invaders, had sustained a severe defeat. The next day he made an attempt to retrieve the honour of the English, but with no better success; his army was almost destroyed, and he sought a precarious asylum in his castles. From this time the audacity of the Welsh knew no bounds. David formally withdrew himself from the allegiance of the king of England, and placed himself under the protection of the pope ; and Henry, in return, caused him to be excom- municated by his bishops on the 29th of November, and prepared to invade Wales in the following year. On the 6th of January, 1245, the king summoned David and his adherents to appear in his court at Westminster, to make amends for the devastation which they had caused on the borders of Wales.* On the 10th of the same month he sent orders to the justiciary of Ireland, Maurice Fitz Gerald, to invade the Welsh coasts. In March, an ineffectual at- tempt appears to have been made to negotiate.f But hostilities continuing, during lent, a body of Welsh fell into an ambush in the neighbourhood of Montgomery, and above three hundred were slain by the garrison of that place. David revenged this check by a long series of sudden and sanguinary incursions, scarcely a night passing in which the Welsh did not enter some part of the border and put every- thing they met to fire and sword. In these invasions they were frequently repulsed by the borderers j and on one occasion, the English having engaged the Welsh in a wooded pass, the brave Herbert Fitz Matthew was slain.J • De homicidiis, incendiis, depriEdalionibus, &c. Foedera, p. 258. t Fcedera, p. 259. t Matthew Paris, sub ann. 1245. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 167 Another party of Welsh were surprised near Montgomery, and put to the sword ; and from one outrage to another, the struggle gradually became a war of extermination. On the 7th of June, we find the king hastening his pre- parations for the invasion of Wales.* About the beginning of July, he summoned all his nobles and military fiefs to assemble on the Border ;t and on the 20th of August he was at Chester.:!: Instead of marching into the interior, Henry began by cutting off all communication between the Welsh and their neighbours ; and by this measure, assisted with the ravages of war, he reduced a great portion of the country to a state of extreme misery. He encamped on the northern coast at ' Gannoc' (the name given by the English at that period to Diganwy, in Caernarvonshire), where he spent nearly thi-ee months in fortifying a strong castle, which became, as Matthew Paris observes, a sore in the eyes of the Welshmen. At the approach of winter he left the castle well stored and garrisoned, and returned to London. The campaign had been most disastrous to the Welsh; vast numbers had fallen by the swords of the English and of the Irish who had been landed on their coasts, and the numbers who perished by starvation and by the hardships of war were scarcely less numerous. The greater part of those who remained were reduced to the greatest distress. On the 10th of November, the king was at Worcester, where he issued a new proclamation forbidding his subjects to hold any communication with his enemies the Welsh.§ At the beginning of spring, David, the cause of all these disasters, died, heart-broken, as it was said, by the misfortunes of his countrymen. His nephew Griffith, son of that Griifith who had been killed in his attempt to escape from the Tower of London, was chosen by the Welsh to succeed him. His countrymen were too much exhausted to continue their hostilities against * Foedera.' t Matthew Paris, sub ann, 1245. I Foedera, p. 263. § Foedera, p. 264. 168 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. the English, and, for two years the whole of North Wales remained in a state of extreme desolation. The Welsh were moved by a two-fold incitement to take part with the English barons in the great struggle which was now approaching. The plunder of the lands and pos- sessions of the adverse party was a sufficient temptation to them to join in the quarrel, as they had done before on similar occasions ; but at the present time the extortions and oppressions under which the English themselves suffered, pressed with double weight on the unfortunate inhabitants of the principality, who had been placed at the mercy of the king and his favourites by their disastrous war under David. The country was distributed like Turkish pashaliks, to the highest bidders, who ground the wretched inhabitants to dust, that they might extract from them their last piece of money to pour into the king's treasury, and into their ovm. It was thus that Alan de la Zouche, who had suc- ceeded John de Grey in the government of the country bordering on Cheshire, drew in 1251 eleven hundred marks of annual revenue from a district which, in the time of his predecessor, had paid only five hundred. In the year foUoAving, when Alan de la Zouche passed through St. Albans with a number of carriages heavily laden with the produce of his extortions, which he was carrying to the treasury, he declared publicly that the whole of Wales was now at length reduced to absolute obedience to the English laws, and that it was in a state of profound tranquillity.* But this peace, although it lasted for two or three years afterwards, could not be of long duration — ^it was the silence of dispair. After having supported the tyi-anny of a succession of paltry exactors, the patience of the Welsh was at length exhausted, and in 1256 they were forced into rebellion by the oppressions of Geoffry de Langeley, then collector of the revenues for the king. At first the rising appears to have been partial, and it was disowned by their * Matthew Paris, sub ann. 1251—2. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 169 prince Llewellyn, who demanded a personal interview with the king, who was at Gloucester on the 22nd of July,* probably on his way to the border for that purpose. But the meeting did not take place, and as winter (the season most favourable to the Welsh) approached, the insurrection became more general. They began by attacking the posses- sions of prince Edward, to whom the government of Wales had been entrusted. Their first efforts were attended with complete success, for they were not only favoured by the unusual humidity of the weather which rendered it impos- sible to enter Wales with a regular army, but they appear to have been secretly assisted and encouraged by the English barons. Nevertheless, it was Peter de Montfort (one of Simon's sons), who was governor of Abergavenny, who made the most vigorous resistance against their inroads. On the Thursday after the feast of St. Matthew (Sep- tember 21st), the Welsh advanced in considerable force against the castles held by this baron, who, assisted by John de Grey, Roger de Mortimer, Reginald Fitz Peter, Humphrey de Bohim, and other lords of the Marches, defeated them in several encounters,f yet not many days after Peter de Montfort gives the king an account of these successes, he writes another letter, begging for speedy assistance, and describing his own position as being ex- tremely critical.J The retreat of prince Edward increased the courage of the Welsh, who crossing the northern border, carried their devastations up to the walls of Chester. At the same time they drove from his lands their countryman Griffith de Bromfield, who had merited their hatred by his obsequiousness to their EngUsh oppressors. During the winter and the following spring the Marches of Wales continued thus to present a scene of rapine and bloodshed. It is said that at first the king refused to pay any atten- tion to the messages of his son Edward and the barons of the border, alledging that they ought to be able to take • Foedera, i. p. 344. t Foedera, i. p. 339. J Foedera, i. p. 341. 170 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. care of what was their own. But, on the 18th of July, he summoned a great army to assemble on the border in two divisions, one to join the English barons on the borders of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire, while the other re- paired to Chester, where he was to join them in person,* and on the 11th of September we find him encamped at Diserth, in Flintshii-e.f The Welsh, however, had carried into the m.ost inaccessible parts of Snowdon their families and flocks, and Henry's expedition had so little eflfect, that his disap- pointment threw him into a fever, by which he was con- fined to his bed for some time after his return. During the remainder of the autumn, and the following winter, the Marches continued to be in a lamentable state of distrac- tion, and several castles on the southern borders were taken and plundered, and some of them occupied, by the Welsh.J Even Griffith de Bromfield, who had suffered so much for his fidelity to the English, found it necessary to desert the king, and was received into the confederacy of the Welsh barons. At the beginning of the year 1258, the Marches of Wales were literally reduced to a desert.§ The time was now come when the English barons found it necessary to make open resistance to the king and his foreign favourites ; and the supposition that the Welsh were in secret league vnth the former seems to be confirmed by the circumstance that they now made eager proposals for peace. It may be observed that their ravages had extended chiefly to the lands and possessions of prince Edward and of some of the lords Marchers who were zealous royalists. In the spring of 1258, Henry again summoned his ba- ronage to attend him into Wales, but they answered with complaints of the fatigues and losses which they had already sustained in this service. Yet, after a brief and stormy meeting at Westminster, they all came in warlike aixay to the parliament held at Oxford in July, with the excuse that • Fcedera, i. p. 361. Matthew Paris. f Foedera, p. 363. J In 1258, William de Abetot was slain at the siege of Ewyas Castle. § Matthew Paris, sub ann. 1207. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 171 it was necessary they should be in readiness to march against the Welsh. This parliament may be considered as the proclamation of war of the barons. The messengers of prince Llewellyn were conducted to it by Peter de Montfort, and a truce for one year was concluded on the 17th of July.* Yet on the 18th of August, the Welsh had already infringed the truce, and Peter de Montfort and James de Alditheley were sent to require amends.f After this the peace was observed with little interruption during two years. In the summer of 1260, while the English parliament was sitting at London, Llewellyn again invaded the Marches, laid waste the lands of prince Edward and many of the lords Marchers in the most cruel manner,^ and took Roger de Mortimer's castle of Builth, while that feudal baron was absent with the parhament.§ On the 1st of August the king summoned his barons to assemble with their retainers at Shrewsbury on the Nativity of St. Mary ; the place of meeting was afterwards changed to Chester, where Henry remained with his army during the whole of the autumn, but with little success. || A truce was after- wards made, which was renewed at diiferent times till the end of the year 1262. When the king landed at Dover on the 20th of December of that year, he received intelligence of a new insurrection of the Welsh. Llewellyn had at- tacked Roger de Mortimer, one of the most staunch of the king's adherents, and the Welsh, after taking the castle of Knockin, burnt and plundered the border up to Weobley, Eardisley, and the valley of Wigmore. At the end of • Foedera, i. p. 372. t Foedera, i. p. 377. J Eodem anno Lewelinus filius Griffini junctis in auxilium Walensibus terras regis Anglic et Edwardi filii siii per lotam marchiam ccepit vastare et destruere, pueros jaoentes in cunis et nmlieresin puerperio decubantes sine miserioordia inhumane oocidendo. Chronioon'Abendon. ed. Halli- ■well. p. 12. § Foedera, i. p. 399. || Foedera, ib. parum profecit, Chron. Abendon, p. 12. n^ THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. December the bishop of Hereford, one of the king's foreign favourites, wrote in haste to the king that Hereford itself was in danger, unless the garrison were strengthened* Henry immediately ordered Ralph Basset, of Drayton, to repair to Hereford; and at the same time he summoned the principal barons of the border Roger and Hugh do Mortimer, John Fitz Alan, the elder and younger John L'Estrange, Hamo L'Estrange, Thomas Corbet, Griffith ap Wennewin, Fulke Fitz Warine, Ralph le Botiler, and Walter de DunstanviUe, to meet James de Alditheley at Ludlow on the octaves of the Purification (9th February). Prince Edward repaired in person to Shrewsbury, and we find him there on the 15th of April.f After a severe contest, the Welsh were driven to seek refuge in their •strong holds in Snowdon ; but before Edward could make any satisfactory conclusion of the wqr, he was called away to help his father to make head against the barons. A truce was made vsdth the Welsh in autumn, Simon de Montfort being one of the negotiators. J The war between the king and his barons began on the border, where the partizans of each had numerous castles. Roger de Mortimer raised his tenantry, and invaded and ravaged the lands of Simon de Montfort. The latter, who had already made an alliance with Llewellyn (who after- wards married his daughter) sent also a portion of the baronial army to retaliate on the possessions of the Mor- timers, and they laid siege to Wigmore castle. They seized upon Macy de Bezile, a foreigner whom the Icing had made sherifi" of Gloucestershire, and the obnoxious bishop of Hereford, whom they dragged from the altar of his cathedral church, and imprisoned them both in the castle of Eardisley.§ Macy de Bezile was taken in the castle of Gloucester, after an obstinate defence ; Simon de * Foedera, i. p. 423. f Foedera, i. p. 425. J Fcedera, i. p. 430. § Rishanger's Continuat. of Matthew Paris. Robert of Gloucester, pp. 535, 537. Rishanger's Chron., ed. Halliwell. p. 11. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 173 Montfort, who had directed the siege, then marched with his araiy to Worcester, which, ah-eady taken and rudely treated hy Robert de Ferrers, earl of Derby, willingly opened its gates to the barons. From thence Montfort marched to Bridgenorth and Shrewsbury, both of which he garrisoned against the king. The citizens of Shrewsbury shut their gates, and at first defended themselves stoutly, but hearing that the Welsh were approaching on the other side, they gave up the town. Towards the end of February, 1264, Edward, with an army consisting in a great measure of foreigners, hastened to the border, to relieve Roger de Mortimer, who was closely besieged in Wigmore castle. Edward came to Hereford, and took the castles of Hay, Huntingdon, and Brecknock, which he gave to Roger de Mortimer, who fled secretly from Wigmore to join him at Hereford ; but Wig- more castle fell into the hands of the barons,* who then pursued the prince from Hereford to Gloucester, where he took refuge in the castle, which was delivered up to him by Roger de Clifford. The barons immediately took pos- session of the town, and after some bickerings and nego- tiations, Edward agreed to make his peace with them, and swore to observe the statutes which had been made at Oxford. The baronial array then moved towards London. No sooner were they gone, than Edward showed how little he intended to keep his engagements; as a punishment for having received his enemies, he treacherously imprisoned many of the burgesses, severely amerced the town, and hanged the porters who had opened the gates, one of whom was named Hobkin of Ludlow ;t and then he marched towards Northampton, ravaging the lands of the barons as • Chron. Abendon. od. Halliwell, p. 16. t Sir Roger of Cliiford the porters vaste nom That porters were atte gate tho Jon Gififard in com, As Hobekin of Ludlowe, and is felawes also, And let horn upe the west gate an-honge bothe to. Robert of Gloucester, p. 544. A A 174 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. he went. On the other hand, Llewellyn and his Welsh- men, who had been called to the aid of the barons when they marched against Roger de Mortimer, laid waste the lands of prince Edward, and took and destroyed his two castles of Gannoc (Diganwy) and Dissert. A little before Easter they defeated, near Kerry, the younger John L'Es- trange, who held Montgomery for the king; but shortly afterwards they received a severe check at Clun. These events were followed by a short cessation of arms, during which some of the barons deserted their cause, and the king again began to take courage. Next came the attack upon Northampton, the siege of Rochester, and the decisive battle of Lewes, which placed the king and his son Edward at the mercy of the barons. After the battle of Lewes, the Marchers were the first to raise their heads in opposition to the party who were now in power. In the autumn of 1264, the most influential of the border barons, Roger de Mortimer, James de Aldithe- ley or Audeley, Roger de Leyburne, Roger de Clifford, Hamo L'Estrange, Hugh and Roger de TurbeviUe, and others, were in arms, and were encouraged and supported by the earl of Gloucester. Simon de Montfort immediately marched with his army towards the border, taking with him the king and prince Edward, who had been kept a prisoner at Dover. They were at Worcester on the 15th of December.* From thence Simon de Montfort marched to Hereford, and joined himself with the Welsh under Llew- ellyn, his ally. They took Hay castle, and Simon de Montfort invaded the lands of the Mortimers, captured first Richard's castle, which he delivered to his partizan, John Fitz John, and afterwards the castle of Ludlow, and pursued Roger de Mortimer to Montgomery castle, where the latter was obliged to make his peace.f On the 2nd of April, 1265, the castle of Montgomery was given to the custody of John L'Estrange. J * Fcedeia, i. p. 449. t Rishanger's Chronicle, ed. Halliwell, p. 35. Ejusd. contin. Mat. Paris. X Foedera, i. p. 454. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 175 Simon de Montfort then moved with his royal prisoners towards the south, but he was soon called back by new movements on the border. The earl of Gloucester had entirely broken his alliance with the party in power, and was, with John Giffard, gathering strength in the forest of Dean; Roger de Mortimer again raised the standard of revolt at Wigmore ; Robert Walerand, Warine de Bassing- burn, and others seized upon the castle of Bristol ; and at the same time two powerful nobles who had escaped from the battle of Lewes, and taken refuge on the continent, John de Warren, earl of Surrey, and William de Valence, earl of Pembroke, landed at Pembroke and joined the con- federacy. Simon de Montfort, after holding a council at Oxford, marched again to Worcester. The barons of the opposite party attempted to oppose him, and broke down the bridges over the Severn, but the prince of Wales had also called together his army, and the borderers were obliged to make their submission, and were again deprived of many of their castles. A temporary reconciliation was at the same time effected between the earl of Gloucester and Simon de Mortimer. But this was of very short duration, and Simon was soon recalled to the Marches.* Simon de Montfort was again at Worcester in May, and on the 18th day of that month he was at Hereford, with the king and prince Edward, and he remained there till the latter end of June.f A plot was formed by the Marchers to deliver the prince from his confinement. Roger de Mortimer, one day towards the end of May, sent the prince a present of a very swift steed, with a private intimation that he should ask permission of his keepers to try it on a certain day on the Widemarsh (Wydmersh), and that the moment he saw a person on a white horse make a signal from the hill towards TulHngton, he should leave his attendants and ride in that direction at his utmost speed, • Rishanger, ut supra. Robert of Gloucester, pp. 551, 552. t Foedera, i. pp. 455, 456, 457. 176 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. The reqiiired pennission was easily obtained^ and on the day appointed the stratagem was carried into effect, and the knight who made the signal, who was the lord of Croft, led the prince to the park at TuUington, where Roger de Mortimer, with Roger de Clifford, John Giffard, and five hundred men in arms, were waiting to receive him. The prince was closely pursued, for the whole country (tota patria) was up to guard him ; but when the pursuers saw the forces of Roger de Mortimer, they returned in dismay. Edward was conducted to Wigmore, where he was received joyfully by dame Maude de Mortimer (Roger's wife), and from thence he went to Pembroke, where John de War- renne and WilHam de Valence were raising forces.* The borderers were encouraged by the success of their stratagem, and soon raising a large army, they took successively Ches- ter, Shrewsbury, Bridgenorth, and Ludlow,t and shortly afterwards Worcester and Gloucester. The earl Simon, in retaliation, took the castle of Monmouth and levelled it with the ground, and then joining with the army of prince Llewellyn in Glamorganshire, proceeded to ravage and lay waste the lands of the confederates. Immediately afterwards he prepared to return into England to strengthen his party, and came to Hereford. In the mean time prince Edward and his friends, being * History of the Mortimers in the Monasticon, torn. vi. p. 351. Conf. Bishanger and Robert of Gloucester. t It appears probable that the last and successfal insurrection against Simon de Montfort -was planned at Ludlow. Simon de Montfort -was reverenced as a saint after his death, and we are told, in the collection of his miracles, that he appeared in a dream to the vicar of Warden, telling him to warn Geoffrey de Stalares that if he did not repent and make amends for his seditious plots at Ludlow against the earl Simon, he would fall into some sudden misfortune (ut Galfridum de Stalares militem ex parte sua moneret, quod seditiones et machinamenta qua! contra comitem Symonem et sues complices apud Luddelow fecerat, emendaret). Geoffrey neglected this admonition; and soon after, being on his way to London, he was burnt with all his retinue in a house where he had taken up his lodgings. Halliwell's Rishanger, p. 80. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 177 at Worcester, learnt that the younger Simon de Montfort, with many of the influential men of the party, were at Kenilworth, and by a forced march from "Worcester, they fell upon them by surprise, and made the greater number pri- soners. The earl Simon, with the king in his company, was on his way to join his son, and arrived at Kempsey, near Worcester, on the feast of St. Peter-ad- Vincula (August 1st), when he learnt that prince Edward was arrived at Worcester with forces far superior to his own. He marched the same night to Evesham, where on the 5th of August, was fought the celebrated battle which ruined the baronial cause, and in which Simon de Montfort, with two of his sons, and most of the leading men of his party, were slain. The body of the earl was barbarously mutilated, and his head was carried to Worcester, and presented to dame Maude de Mortimer, who was staying there. Among the prisoners were John Fitz John, the younger Humfrey de Bohvm, with two sons of Simon de Montfort, and several other barons. The king, now at liberty and restored to power, was at Worcester on the 7th of August, the second day after the battle.* He removed thence to Gloucester, where, on the 24th of August, he levied a heavy fine on the citizens of Hereford for their attachment to the baronial cause.f On the 28th of November following, a truce was made with the Welsh ; but they still continued in arms for many months. On the 21st of September, 1266, the king was at Shrewsbury, negotiating with Llewellyn ; and on the 25th he was at Montgomery, where, foxir days afterwards, a peace was agreed to.J This peace was confirmed at Mi- chaelmas, 1268, when Henry again went to Shrewsbury with an army ; yet, on the 21st of May, in the year fol- lowing, we find Edward once more obliged to meet the Welsh prince at Montgomery. Although the party of Simon de Montfort was destroyed * Foedera, i. p. 458. f Foedeva, ib. I Fcedera, i. p. 473. 178 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. in the battle of Evesham, the civil war was not ended. The remains of the great baronial confederacy held out at Kenilworth, Chesterfield, and especially in the Isle of Ely. Even the earl of Gloucester, whose defection had been the cause of the overthrow of the barons, turned round again, and forced the royalists to give ground before the popular feelings of the nation. The immediate consequences of this great revolution were large confiscations of estates, and changes of possessors of landed property. None benefitted more by these confiscations than the borderers who had stood firmly by the king, and particularly the already powerful family of the Mortimers, who, after a few gene- rations, wUl be foimd contending for the crown itself. E.oger de Mortimer of Wigmbre, the bitter enemy of Simon de Montfort, received immediately after the battle of Eve- sham, grants of lands in "Wales, of which, in the troubles which preceded, he had taken forcible possession, and his extensive territory was increased by the addition of Kerry and Kedewyn, and the castle of Delvorya.* As far ae England was concerned, the liberties for which the barons had fought were not lost in the carnage at Evesham: they not only survived the slaughter of then* defenders, but they triumphed even in their defeat. During the struggle between the king and the barons, a party which had lain dormant during the times of Anglo-Norman tyranny, the commonalty, stepped into the field and gained an influence which no victories or intrigues could afterwards destroy: in the destruction of the barons, it was partly relieved from a power which might have been more fatal to its interests than that of the most despotic of monarchies. The feudal aristocracy of the Anglo-Norman barons had ceased to exist in the force which it possessed in the twelfth century, but the aristocracy itself survived a little longer to perish by the sword in the sanguinary wars of the Roses, or by the axe under the peaceful but no less sanguinary reigns of the first Tudors. * History of the Mortimers, printed in the Moaasticon, vi. p. 351. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 179 It is thus that the fatal conflict at Evesham closes a distinctly marked period of English history. Its effect on the history of Wales was stiU more remarkable. Since the reign of the Conqueror the Welsh had enjoyed a precarious independence, which was equally useless and equally inju- rious to both parties, English as well as Welsh. Wales, as the smaller power, lived only by the internal quarrels of the greater power; and it lived in a state of existence which could only be tolerated because the greater power had too much to do at home to bring a remedy to it. When the power of the English barons was even partially broken, the fate of Wales was decided. From the time of the Norman conquest to the battle of Evesham, Wales had an historical importance which probably it had never had before. But in that battle its importance was lost. It made a fioiitless struggle in the following reign, which ended in the extinction of its native princes. SECTION VII. Condition of the Border at the beginning of the Reign of Edward I. POLITICAL events may be traced on the face of the ground where they occurred, as well as in the pages of the chronicler, and it is by no means an unimportant part of the historian's task to observe their local effects at the time as well as the marks which they have left behind them. The appearance of the border in the latter part of the thirteenth century, after the long continued warfare which has been recited in the preceding chapter, must have contrasted strongly with its appearance in the twelfth cen- tury, and in the time of the Anglo-Saxons. In the first place, the towns had been increasing greatly in importance ; 180 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. amid the shock of contending parties, they were beginning to obtain rights and privileges which gave them a new existence. They became corporate bodies acknowledged by all parties; little republics in the midst of an armed aristocracy, which elected their own governors in the form of what are now called corporations, and took care of their own safety; they were defended from the jealousy of the aristocracy by strong walls manned with their own soldiers, and by the protection of the crown. In many cases the hamlet which had originally been -formed under the pro- tection of the baron's castle, perhaps by his own serfs and retainers, now lifted its head with scorn against its former masters. In the Welsh wars of the thirteenth century, the border towns suffered far less than the border castles. It was a step towards a new and better state of things. At the close of the great baronial contest, the open country on the border of Wales must have presented a fearful picture of desolation, such as we can now with difficulty conceive. Even much of the forests had been destroyed by the effects of war, either cleared away that they might no longer serve as a retreat or place of ambush for crafty enemies, or cut down to furnish wood for the continual repairs of the fortification of castles and towns, destroyed by designing or accidental incendiaries.* The woods which remained were long afterwards the haunt of thieves and out- laws, who not only robbed and murdered the passengers on the high roads when they travelled singly or weakly armed, but even at times associated together to attack and plunder the fairs and markets. The position and extent of these forests may be traced by the modem wood-lands, and by the magnificent old forest-trees which have been spared by the axe to adorn our parks and fields. Few parts of England are so rich in noble trees of this kind as the border of Wales. Among the most remarkable specimens of such * We learn from the Hundred Rolls of 39 Henry III (vol. ii. p. 66), that a -wrood at Forde (pulcrum nemus, magnum et integrum) had been entirely cut down by the burgesses of Shrewsbury, with the king's licence. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 181 Ancient Oak at Nonuijtou. trees in the neighbourhood of Ludlow, may be mentioned the aged oak on the brow of the hill at Nonupton, or Nun's- Upton, near the village of Little Hereford, which was probably standing there previous to the Norman Conquest, and then surrounded by a thick forest. It would appear by its name that the manor formerly belonged to one of the border convents. The tree is hollowed by decay, and its branches mutilated by the eiFects of time ; the circumference of the trunk, near the ground, is fifty feetj and at the height of a yard and a half from the ground, it is thirty- three feet. After the arrival of Edward I in England, one of his first cares was to put a stop to the numerous cases of oppression and injustice which had been suffered to arise and con- tinue amid the troubles of his father's reign. For this purpose inquisitions were made throughout the Hundreds 2b 182 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. in every county, the results of which have heen preserved in the Hundred Rolls, documents of singular importance for the light -which they throw on the condition of the country at this period. The laws and customs of the forests were the source at all times of injustice and oppression, and these rolls afford us instances of the violence with which they were then put in force by the border barons. The principal forests were retained in the hands of the king, who appointed foresters and granted them lands or the tenure of keeping guard over them. The yeomanry and the burgesses of towns were allowed to keep their swine , in them on the payment of a certain fee, named pannage; and the foresters themselves were allowed certain privileges and perquisites, Robert the forester of Wellington held freely of the king half a virgate of land for keeping the wood and common of Wellington. The cattle of the town of Wellington were allowed to go in during the whole year, except the month in which occurred the feast of St. John the Baptist, and the period from Michaelmas to Martinmas, the swine paying every year two pence for those above a year old, and one penny for those which were under a year, and for the young pigs nothing. The forester was allowed as his perquisite, all retropanage, and dead wood, and oaks blown down by the wind to the number of five (those above that number going to the king), and also all branches blown down by the wind; and he rented of the king four acres and a rood of purpresture or enclosed forest-land, for which he paid eighteen pence an acre.* The foresters of Walter de Clifford claimed as a fee from every house in the baili- wick of Clee a hen at Christmas and five eggs at Easter, and if they were not readily given, they treated the inhabi- tants with great rigour.f The foresters appear to have been in the general habit of levying fees of this kind. Goats as well as pigs were kept in the forest lands by the foresters themselves, and also by the poor, who paid a •Hundred RolU, vol. ii. p. 56. \ lb. p. 83. THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. 183 very small acknowledgement. This was the case in the mannor of Stretton, when the inhabitants declared that, unless they were allowed as heretofore to have their goats " going in the woods and in the mountains without woods," they could no longer live there.* At the time of the inquisitions above alluded to, numerous encroachments had been made upon the king's forests on the border, by inclosures, &c., without any regular permission from the crown. The Hundred Rolls give us numerous remarkable in- stances of the insecurity of person as well as property at this period. The jealousies between the lords of the castles and the landed proprietors, and the towns, and even between one town and another, gave rise to frequent scenes of violence. In the year preceding that on which the inquisition was made, on the Simday after the feast of St. Matthew the Apostle, (1273) Richard Russel constable of Salop, gave four pence to a certain lad named William de Somerset to pass through the village of ' Christesheth' shouting out all the time, wekare ! wekare ! " to the shame of man and woman." It is not at present clear in wfiat the insult consisted. But the lad performed his task; and as he was going through the village a woman came out and said, " you say iU !" on which he struck her with his knife, and she cried out, and one William Madoc came and asked him why he struck her. The lad struck him also and cut off his thumb, and, seeing him fall down as if he were dead, he quitted the high road and fled. Then the woman raised the cry upon him, and the whole village joined in the pursuit, and in the end one was slain by an arrow, but it is not quite clear whether it was the original trespasser or one of his pursuers.f On another occasion, Lucas the beadle of Cleobury with two of his townsmen came to Ludlow fair, on St. Law- rence's day (1274), and bought some oxen, and because • Hundred Rolls, vol. ii. p, 84. f lb, p. 92. 184 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. they refused to observe the customary rules in passing through Goalford gate (porta de Caldeford), the gate- keeper, Roger Tyrel, refused to let him pass. A quarrel ensued, and the Cleohury men beat and wounded the gate- keeper, and took from him a Danish axe of the value of twelve-pence. At this moment came Thomas de Wul- verslow, bailiff of Ludlow, and his servants, who found the men of Cleobury dragging away prisoner the gate-keeper, and proceeded to stop them. But they also were attacked by Hugh Donville, bailiff of the hundred of Stottesdon, who happened to be there with a considerable body of his men, and who attempted to carry off the bailiffs and their servants, but being unable to do this, they took from them by force another Danish axe of the value of eight-pence.* The townsmen of Ludlow appear to have been frequently ill-treated by their neighbours, particularly by the retainers of the lords of Wigmore and Corfham. The foresters of Wigmore on one occasion came to the mill on the Corve, and seized upon the miller and carried lum to Bromfield, where they extorted from him six-pence and his knife and girdle. On another occasion the same foresters seized on Ehas Millar of Ludlow, on the highway between Ludlow and the Sheet (La Sete), and took from him his sword and bow, and having tied his hands behind him, they led him in that condition, to Steventon, where they further extorted from: him two shillings, and then let him go.f One day as the baiUffs of Castle Holgod were bringing six quarters of oats towards Ludlow, in passing by Corfham they were attacked on the high road by the bailiffs of John Gifford of Corfham, who led the horses into the demesne of their lord, and there immediately sowed the oats and harrowed the ground with the horses which had carried them. At another time, when a love-day had been appointed to arrange a quarrel between John Burden and Hugh de BuUedon, the constable of Corfham, who appears to have been a friend of the latter, ♦ • Hundred Rolls, yol. ii. p, 99. t lb. p. 99. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 185 attacked John Burden treacherously as he was going to the place of meeting, knocked him down, and compelled him unjustly to pay a fine of twenty shillings as the price of reconciliation with his opponent.* On another occasion, a cart of John Gifford, passing through the town of Ludlow, hroke a chaldron belonging to Richard de Orleton, one of the burgesses, and the carter not having wherewith to make good the damage, left one of his horses in pledge. The constable of Corf ham as soon as he heard of this, ordered the cattle of dame Sibil de Orleton to be seized, and kept them a week, till Eichard de Orleton (who was probably her husband) not only gave up the horse, but consented to pay a fine of sixty shilHngs, of which he was obliged to pay down forty shillings and seven-pence, apparently all the ready money he had in hand. In a similar manner the constable of Wigmore seized forty head of cattle belonging to burgesses of Ludlow, as they were passing through the barony of Clun from Montgomery fair, and drove them thence to Wigmore castle, where he retained them eight days, on account of a piece of cloth of a woman of Wigmore which he pretended had been cut and sold in the town of Ludlow.f Such instances of oppression as the above are of frequent occurrence in these Rolls, and show us in a remarkable manner the uncertainty of justice on the border at that period. Assaults and robbery, and even manslaughter, were common, and when perpetrated by the servants and retainers of the barons, appear to have been seldom punished efiectively. A remarkable instance occurred just before the inquisition in the hundred of Condover. Alice de Haumon ( ? Hagmon), dwelling at Biriton broke open the door of the church of Biriton (Berrington), and stole thence a cloth belonging to Richard de Bath, which had probably been deposited there as in a place of security. At his complaint she was imprisoned in Shrewsbury jail, but • Hundred Rolls, voi. ii. p. 101. f lb. p. 99. 186 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. escaped without judgement by the favour of William de Munslow, whom she had bribed by the gift of a cow ; and at the time the inquisition was made, she and her husband Nicholas were threatening Hichard de Bath to kill him. or lame him and burn his house.* The entries on these im- portant documents form a practical commentary on a popular song of the time, in which the venality of the law courts is satirically described ;t and in which the servants and officers of the judges are represented as thirsting greedily after the money of the poor — " Ad pedes sedent clerici, Qui velut famelici sunt, donis inhiantes ; et pro lege dantes. Quod hii qui nichil dederint, Quamvis cito venerint, erunt expectantes." Equality of laws, and the liberty of the people, were things as yet but imperfectly understood. Among the names of the barons and more powerful landed proprietors on the border in the latter part of the thirteenth century, we stiU find many of those of the ori- ginal Norman settlers. We have already observed that the change among them caused by the domestic wars of the reign of Henry III was not great. The chief families in the north of Shropshire were represented, in 1255 (39 Henry 111),+ by James de Alditheley, Robert and Roger Corbet, John and Hamo L'Estrange, William and John Fitz Alan, John de Verdun, Giles de Herdington (lord of Wellington), Robert de Lacy, Robert de Say, Fulke Fitz Warine of Whittington, Odo de Hodnet, William" Mauduit, who was lord of Castle Holgod in the neighbour- * Hundred Rolls, vol. ii. p. 92. t Printed in the Political Songs (Camden Society Publication), p. 224. J The folio-wing information is taken chiefly from the Hundred Rolls. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 187 hood of Ludlow, Ealph de Botiler (lord of Wem), and the family of the Warrens. William Mauduit of Castle Holgod had also the manor of Steventon, and large estates in the Clees. Rohert de Lacy held Walton and Onibury; John de Verdun (who had married one of the heiresses of Walter de Lacy) had Stokesay, Stanton Lacy, and other manors ; John Fitz Alan was lord of Clun, and also held Shelderton and the View, then called Weho. To the west, Thomas Corbet held the greater portion of Chirbury hundred ; and John de Alditheley was lord of Ford. In the southern part of the county, Ludlow, with the other heiress of Walter de Lacy, had gone to the family of the Genvilles, from whom it afterwards passed, by an heiress, to the Mortimers. The country round about was divided among a multitude of lords. The Ashfords, and lands in the neighbourhood, were -held by Hugh Carbonell, Henry de Budlers or Bowdlers, and WiUiam de Stuteville, the latter being lord also of Bur- ford; Ledwich belonged to Simon de Hugford; Roger de Mortimer possessed Cainham, the Sheet, Hope (held under him by Robert Baghard), and further to the east Cleobury Mortimer, and other estates in its neighbourhood ; Brian de Brompton held some lands under him in this part of the county; Hopton belonged to Robert de Wafre. On the other side of Ludlow, Acley (Oakley Park), with other lands, was the property of Simon de Halton; and Corf ham belonged to Walter de CHfford; while the family of the Burnells held the middle of the county. The way in which the CHifords had obtained the castle of Corfham was not the most honourable; it appeared by the inquisition of 1274, that Henry II had given it to Walter de Clifford for the love of his daughter Rosamond.* The changes which had taken place at the date last mentioned were not great, most of the principal families still held their ground ; but Richard earl of Corn- wall (the brother of Edward III) had estates about Bridge- • Hundred Rolls, vol. i. p. 93. See before p. 145 of the present volume. 188 THE HISTORY OF iUDLOW. north and in Condover hundred, and had also obtained of "William Maudtdt the manor of Castle Holgod, which he had subsequently given to the Templars. At this time Geoffrey de Genville held Stanton Lacy. One half of the town of Ludlow belonged to John de Verdun, the other to E. de Eturville ( ? G. de Genville). Cainham had been given by Roger de Mortimer to the abbot of Wigmore ; and Ledwich had passed into the hands of the prior of Bromfield. We have only an abstract of the Hundred Rolls for Here- fordshire of the third year of Edward I. The most powerful baron in that county was Roger de Mortimer, who possessed Wigmore and Radnor. The two estates of Simon de Montfort, Lugwardine and Mawardine, had been seized by prince Edward after the battle of Evesham, and had passed the latter to Roger de Mortimer, and the other to Robert Waleraund. At this time, John Gifford had Clifford ; John and Roger de Clifford, Eardisley ; and Humfrey de Bohun, Huntingdon. Hugh de Mortimer of Richard's Castle was recently dead, and that manor was in the hands of the king's eschaetor, who soon afterwards delivered it to his son Robert de Mortimer. Some of the juries exhibit in their answers to the questions of the judges, strong feehngs of jealousy at the increasing power and encroach- ments of Roger de Mortimer, after the battle of Evesham (post bellum de Evesham). All these estates were held, and under-let, by various tenures, the most frequent of which was military service to keep guard at and aid in the defence of the border castles, or to accompany the king in his invasions of Wales. Most of the estates in Chirbury hundred had to furnish soldiers to keep the castle of Montgomery. Part of Purslow hundred was under the same kind of obligation to the castle of Wigmore. Similar service was also paid to the towns ; Robert Dovile held land in Wigley, by the tenure of guarding the Tower of IJudlow fifteen days in time of war. Many houses, &c. in Ludlow were bound by THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 189 similar tenures to furnish different articles' to Ludlow castle. William MiUar of Ludlow held the old fish-pond (vetus vivarium) by paying at the feast of St. Mary Magdalen a pound of wax to the castle of Ludlow. At Bridgenorth, the manor of Little Bridgenorth was held by a similar obliga- tion to furnish coals for the castle whenever the king should happen to be there. Godfrey de Thorpe held the hamlet of Aston Major, dependent on the manor of Edgemund, by the service of presenting to Henry de Alditheley on Christmas- day a pair of gloves of the value of one penny. Amid all these changes, the names of places alone were permanent, and at the present day almost all names of places in England are Anglo-Saxon. In most cases even the manors retained the names of their Saxon possessors. In a few instances they received, about the time of which we are now spealang, adjuncts which indicate their Norman lords. Thus we have Stanton Lacy (a manor of Walter de Lacy) and Ewyas Lacy; Ashford Carbonel and Ashford Bowdler, from the two families whom we have seen located there ; Hopton Wafers, which belonged to Robert de Wafire ; Stoke-Say, from the family of the Says, to whom it belonged; Hope Baggot, which belonged to the family of Baggot or Baghard ; Brampton Brian, the manor of Brian de Brampton ; Cleobury Mortimer, one of the chief castles of the Mortimers, &c. The thirteenth century was the period at which origi- nated most of our common family names. Before that time, people possessed only the name which they had received at the baptismal font, individuals, where there happened to be more than one of a name, being distinguished among their friends and neighbours by what we should now call nick- names. As population increased, the nick-names thus required were more numerous, till gradually and almost imperceptibly the nick-name of the father became a heir- loom of the family, and descended to his children, thus becoming a family name. The simplest mode in which these names were formed was that of adding the name of 2c 190 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. the father to that of the son. Thus, if there were three men living in the same place whose names were Richard, Stephen, and John, and each of them had a son called William, the three Williams were distinguished by the names of William son of Richard, William son of Stephen, and William son of John, or in the shorter phraseology of the time, William Richardson, William Stevenson, and William Johnson. This is the origin of all our modern names ending in son. Many persons took their nick-names from the places at which they resided, or from whence they came. These were often names of towns : Ludlow seems to have been populous, for we find frequent mention of people of the name in difierent parts of England, in the various ranks of society. We have already seen Hobkin of Ludlow, a gate keeper at Gloucester; we often meet with clerks and monks of the name in the monastic houses and ecclesiastical benefices on the border^; and we even find one or two knights who went by the same appellation. In the Hundred Rolls we find a freeholder in Oxfordshire of the name of Richard de Lodelawe (ii. 732), a John de Lodelawe at Coventry (ib. 229), a Nicholas de Lodelawe in Northamptonshire (ib. 13), a merchant of London named Nicholas de Ludelawe (i. 406), a WiUiam de Lodelawe in the hundred of Ford in Shropshire (ib. 96), &c.* It thus happens that there are many distinct families of the name of Ludlow remaining at the present day. In the same man- ner, at Ludlow we find in the thirteenth century men of the name of Leominster, Orleton, Burton, Stanton, &c. as having come from those places. In the country the nick-names of people were more frequently derived from the places at which they were resident, as at the wood, at the stream, * We find a Lawrence de Lodelaw (named of course after the patron Saint of the church) connected with the celebrated Italian mercantile house of the Ricardi of Lucca, in the nineteenth year of the reign of Edward I. (Devon's Issues of the Exchequer, p. 102). Walter de Lodelowe was precentor of the Abbey of Wigmore, in the thirteenth century. (See further on in the present volume, p. 195.) THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 191 at the hill, &c., from which come our common names of Wood, Hill, and the like. Thus we find in the Hundred Rolls many such names as Johannes de la HuUe and Simon de la HuUe (of the Hill, answering to the present names of John and Simon Hill) ; Ricardus de Aula and Willelmus de la Hall (of the Hall, or Richard and Wil- liam Hall); Henricus de Bosco (of the Wood, or Henry Wood); Johannes de Molendino and Martinu* de Molen- dinis (of the Mill or Mills, or John Mill and Martin Mills) ; Johannes ad Boscum and Gilbertus atte Wode (at the Wood, Atwood); Simon ad Fontem and Robertus atte Welle (at the Well, Atwell); Johannes atte Wey (at the Way, Atway) ; Ricardus ultra Viam (beyond the Way) ; Johannes atte Grene (at the Green, this name was very common, because every village had its green, about which the houses of the peasantry were built) ; Rogerus ad Montem (at the Hill) ; Walter atte Strem (at the Stream) ; Alice atte Tunishende (at the Town's-end, Townsend) ; Walterus ad Portam (at the Gate). Many of these nick- names were given on account of some personal charac- teristic of temper, form, size, colour, &c. Thus we have John le Wylde (the wild, John Wilde) ; Nicholas le Lung (the long, Nicholas Long); Peter le Blake (the black, Peter Black) ; Jacobus Hardheved (hard-head) ; Adam le Bole (the bull, Adam Bull); Alicia le Hane (the hen, AHce Hen) ; Walterus and Isabelle le Gous (the goose) ; Willelmus le Enfant (the child, Wilham Child) ; and such common names as Grim, Godswayn (the good swain), Godknave, Godman, Godhosbonde, Godheved (good head), Godegrom (the good groom), Godeson, Bademan, &c. In towns, people took their family names from the trade or profession of the first who received the nick-name, which was the more naturally transmitted to his descendants, since professions were generally continued from father to son : thus we have Ricardus le Massun (the mason, Richard Mason) ; Jacobus le Cok (the cook, James Cook) ; Johannes le Porter (the porter, John Porter) ; Robertus Clericus (the 192 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. clerk, Robert Clark) and Johannes filius Clerici (the son of the clerk, John Clarkson); Johannes le Franchome (the free-man, John Freeman) ; Robertus le Paumer (the palmer, Robert Palmer. To exemplify the foregoing observations, it may be stated that, in the time of the inquisition before alluded to, the following names occur as burgesses of Ludlow: Reginaldus filius Stephani (Steven's son), Ri- cardus de-Orleton (of Orleton), Willelmus le Gardiner (the gardener), Robertus Clericus (the clerk), Galfridus Leo- minstre (of Leominster), Rogerus Monetarius (the coiner or money-dealer), Ricardus de HuUe (of the hiU), Reginaldus le Fulur (the fowler), Elyas Molendinarius (the miUer), Stephanus le Grindar (the grinder), Thomas Cyrothecarius (the glover), Galfridus Aurifaber (the goldsmith), Nicholaus filius Andrese (Andrew's son), Willelmus Pistor (the baker), Thomas de Capella (of the chapel), Reginaldus Tinctor (the dyer), Hugo le Mercer (the mercer). There can be no doubt that these names belonged literally to the persons whom they designated, that two of them were really sons of Stephen and Andrew, that three came from Orleton, Leominster, and the HiU, and that the others exercised the trades and calUngs alluded to; perhaps one of them was a clericus attached to the church of St. Lawrence ; but it is no less certain that these names answered to what at the present day would be, Reginald Stevenson, Richard Orleton, WiUiam Gardiner, Robert Clark, Geofiirey Leo- minster, Roger Coiner, Richard Hill, Reginald Fowler, Elias Millar, Stephen Grinder, Thomas Glover, Geofirey Goldsmith, Nicholas Anderson, Wilham Baker, Thomas Chappel, Reginald Dyer, and Hugh Mercer. These names help to show us the number and character of the trades then exercised in Ludlow ; there were without doubt many more than here indicated. It is probable that rope-making was carried on here, and the little island formed by the winding of the Corve (Lyneye, i. e. island of flax), appears to have produced the materials. The occui-rence of the name in its present form in the Romance of the Fitz THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 193 Warines, shows that it is too ancient to admit of any of the more ingenious derivations which have been proposed. While these great changes were taking place in the cha- racter and political condition of the people, their language and literature were also undergoing important modifications. During two centuries after the Norman conquest, the lan- guage spoken by the better classes of society was what is called Anglo-Norman, a dialect of the French tongue ; and the Anglo-Saxon was laid aside, except as the language of the lower orders, and in a few books written in that language in order to be understood by them. During the baronial wars a great revolution was eifected ; and, after the middle of the thirteenth century, the Anglo-Saxon language, much altered in form, and mixed with numerous Anglo-Norman words, came again into general use, and from the shape under which it then appeared it has been gradually moulded down into the modern English. It is to the mixture of Anglo-Norman and Anglo-Saxon that we owe most of the modern English words which have an afiinity with the Latin. Several books are still preserved which show that the border of Wales had as important a connection with early English literature, as with English history. On the banks of the Severn, was composed one of the earliest important poems in the English language, the Brut of Layamon,* a native of the hamlet of Ernley. It is a long poem, and is extremely interesting as a specimen of the transition period of our language, even the versification being a mixtiure of the Anglo-Saxon alliterative couplets and the Anglo-Norman rimes. A few lines, giving an account of the fabulous origin of the name of the Severn, from Abren the daughter of Locrine who, with her mother, is said to have been drowned in it, will serve as a specimen of the language spoken by the borderers at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The same legend is alluded to by another poet who wrote on the border at a later period, when he speaks of, — * This work is edited by Sir Frederick Madden. 194 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. " Severn swift, guilty of maiden's death." After relating the war between Locrine and his discarded consort Guendolena, in which the king was slain, Layamon proceeds to say^ — " Guendoleine hefde fe ufere hond and i-ahnede hire al this lend : and heo ferde to fan castle fer JEstrild wes inne ; heo nom .iEstrild and Abren, and lette heom i-bindin, and lette heom wrpen, in ane dcope watere, f er heo adronken, and fer heo dea?5 f oleden. pa wes Guendoleine leodene Isefdi, fa hehte heo ane heste mid haigere witte fat men sculden pat ilk water fer Abren wes adrunken clepien hit Avren, for fane mseidene Abren, and for Locrine's lufe f e wes hire kine-loverd, f e streonede Abren uppen JEstrild. pa hefde heo i-sclawen fene king and f e neowe quene and heora child ; and Avren hatte get thas ee, at Cristes-chirche heo failed i fare sae. Guendolena had the upper hand, and possessed herself of all this land: and she went to the castle where ^strild was in ; She took .^strild and Abren, and let bind them, and let throw them into a deep water, where they were drowned, and where they suffered death. Then was Guendolena mistress (lady) of the people, then she ordered a command with lofty wit, that men should that same water where Abren was drowned call it Avern, for the maiden Abren, and for the love of Locrine who was her natural lord, who begat Abren upon ^strild. Then had she slain the king and the new queen and her child ; and that river is still called Avren, it falleth into the sea at Christ- Church. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 195 Among the manuscripts in the library of Corpus Christi college, Cambridge, is a copy of the early English Rule of Nuns (translated from the Latin of Simon de Ghent), which is a valuable example of English prose of the age of Layamon, and which formerly belonged to the library of the abbey of Wigmore, to which it was given by John Percel, at the instigation of Walter de Ludlow, who was at that time precentor of the abbey* Among the Harleian Manuscripts in the British Museum (MS. Harl. No. 273), is a book which belonged at the end of the thirteenth century, or beginning of the four- teenth, to the church or to the college attached to the church of St. Lawrence, at Ludlow. From a calendar at the beginning we learn that the church of St. Lawrence was dedicated on the 13th of February,! but the year is not stated. The greater part of this volume is written in the Anglo-Norman language, which continued to be in use till late in the fourteenth century, and its contents are of a mixed theological and literary kind, illustrating the class of reading then fashionable with a man of taste of the clerical order. It contains first a calendar, in which is the entry concerning the dedication of the church ; 2, a copy of the early Anglo-Norman prose version of the Psalms ; 3, a metrical Anglo-Norman version of some parts of the Psalms; 4, the Bestiaire d' Amours, a poetical description of animals, &c. with curious moraUsations j 5, the rules given by Robert Grosteste for regulating the household and lands of a nobleman ; 6, the French version of Turpin's History of Charlemagne; 7, a French treatise on confes- sion ; 8, various fragments, among which are many charms and a treatise on chiromancy ; 9, the Manuel des Pech^s, a weU-known religious poem attributed to Robert Grosteste ; * MS. C. C. C. Camb. No. 402. The particulars stated above are given in an inscription on the first leaf. t Idus Febr. Dedioacion de la eglise Seint Laurence de Lodelawe. fol. 1 v. 196 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 10, an account of St. Patrick's Purgatory, in French verse ; 11, a French poem entitled La Pleuite d' Amour; 12, various religious matters, in Latin. In the reign of Edward I, Hved Robert of Gloucester, the author of a chronicle of England in English verse, who may be considered as one of our earliest known border poets after Layamon. A few lines will serve as a specimen of the language of this writer; it will be seen that it is rather a strong dialect, bearing some resemblance to that of Somersetshire at the present day. Robert of Gloucester says of king Stephen, — " In the sevene yer of hys kynedom the kyng the castel nom, Ac the emperesse ne vond he nogt, tho he yn com. Muche robberye me dude aboute in everych toun, And bounde men and enprisonede, vorte hii fynede raunsoun. Hii ne sparede namore clerkes than lewed men y-wys ; So that the byssopes vorte amendy thys, In the eygtethe yere of the kynges kynedom At Londone hii hulde a parlement, that many man to com, And the kyng hym sulf was therate ; hii amansede tho AUe thulke that clerkes such despyt dude find wo, That no man, bote the pope one, hem asoyiy ne mygte, So that me huld clerkes therafter bet to ry^te." One of the most interesting manuscript collections of early English poetry known, preserved in the Harleian library in the British Museum (No. 2253), appears to have been written in Herefordshire, and most probably by a ' clerk' of the priory of Leominster. It comprises a great variety of matters, in English and Anglo-Norman verse, and was written soon after the year 1307, but contains pieces composed during the reigns of Henry III. and Edward I. There are some political songs in it ;* and that against • The songs here alluded to, are printed in the Political Songs, (edited by the writer of the present volume), pp. 69, 125, 137, 149, 153, 155, 182, 187, 212, 231, 237, 241. Some of the miscellaneous poems from this manuscript are printed in the Reliquise Antiquse, edited by Thomas Wright and James Orchard Halliwell, 2 vols. 8vo. 1841, and 1842. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 197 the king of Almaigne, the Lament of Simon de Montfort, the Order of Fair Ease, the Song of the Husbandman, another against the Pride of the Ladies, a Satire on the Consistory Courts, the Song against the King's Taxes, the Songs on the Flemish Insurrection and on the Execution of Sir Simon Eraser, the Outlaw's Songs of Traillebaston, the Song against the Retainers of the Great People, and the Lament on the Death of Edward I, show how much interest the borderers took in the passing events of the time. Among the more interesting parts of this volume are the lyrical pieces,* from among which we will select as a specimen of the- language of the border at the begin- ning of the fourteenth century (a hundred years after the date of the lines quoted above from Layamon), a love-song, in which mention is made of the beautiful river Wye. " Ichot a burde in a bour ase beryl so bryht, Asa saphyr in selver semly on syht, Ase jaspe the gentil that lemeth with lyht, Ase garnet in golde, ant ruby wel ryht, Ase onycle he ys on y-holden on hyht, Ase diamaunde the dere in day when he is dyht ; He is coral y-cud with cayser and knyht, Ase emeraude a-morewen this may haveth myht. Tha myht of the margarite haveth this mai mere. For charbocle ich hire chas bi chyn ant by chare. Hire rode is ase rose that red is on rys, With lilya-white leras lossum he is ; The primerole he passeth, the parvenke of pris, With alisaundre thareto, ache ant anys ; Coynte ase columbine, such hire cunda ys, • The lyrical pieces from this volume have been edited by the vfriter of. the present work in a small collection entitled Specimens of the Lyric Poetry of England in the reign of Edward I (published by the Percy Society). In the prefiice to that book are stated the reasons for believing the MS. to have been written at Leominster. 2d 198 THE HISTOBY OF LUDLOW. Glad under gore in gro ant in grys, He is blosme opon bleo brihtest under bis, With celydoyne ant gauge, ase thou thi self sys. That syht upon that semly, to blis he is broht. He is solsecle to sanne ys for-soht. He is papejai in pyn that beteth me my bale. To trewe tortle in a tour y telle the mi tale ; He is thrustle thryven in thro that singeth in sale, The -wilde laveroc ant wolc ant the wodewale ; He is faucoun in friht dernest in dale. Ant with everuch a gome gladest in gale, From Weye he is wisist into Wyrhale ; Hire nome is in a note of the nyhtegale. In annote is hire nome, nempneth hit non ; Whose ryht redeth, ronne to Johon. Muge he is ant mondrake, thouh miht of the mone ; Trewe triacle y-told with tonges in trone ; Such licoris mai leche from lyve to lone. Such Sucre mon secheth that saveth men sone, Blithe y-blessed of Crist that bayeth me mi bone ; When derne dede is in dayne, derne are done ; Ase gromyl in grene, grene is the grone ; Ase quibibe ant corny n cud is in crone. Cud comyn in court, canel in cofre. With gyngy vre ant sedewale ant the gylofre. He is Medierne of miht, mercie of mede, Rekene ase Regnas resoun to rede ; Trewe as Tegen in tour, ase Wyrwein in wede ; Baldore then Byrne that of the bor bede ; Ase Wylcadoun he is wys, dohty of dede ; Feyrore then Floyres, folkes to fede ; Cud ase Cradoc in court carf the brede ; Hendore then Hilde that haveth me to hede. He haveth me to hede, this hendy anon, Gentil ase Jonas he joyeth with Jon." The allusions to the popular romances of the time in the THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 199 last lines of the foregoing song, show that they were fami- liar to the ears of the people of the borders of Wales. The next great border poet whom we hear of is the author of the remarkable poem entitled Piers Ploughman, written soon after the middle of the fourteenth century, and one of the most popular works of the middle ages. Its influence on the minds of our forefathers paved the way for the Reformation.* The history of its author is very obscure ; but there can be no doubt of its being written at, or in the neighbourhood of, Malvern. The following are the open lines of this poem ; they form a link in our sketch of the changes of the language spoken by the people of the Welsh Marches. The alliterative verse of the Anglo-Saxons had again come into use : it marks a new revolution in the public mind. '• In a somer seson When soft was the aonne, I shoop me into shroudes As I a sheep weere, In habite as an heremite Unholy of workea, Wente wide in this worlde Wonders to here ; Ac on a May morwenynge On Malverne hillcs Me bifel a ferly, Of fairy e me though te. I was wery for-wandred, And wente me to reste Under a brood bank By a bournes syde ; And as I lay and lenede, And loked on the watres, I slombred into a slepyng, It sweyed so murye." * An edition of this remarkable poem has been recently edited by the writer of the present volume, 2 vols, foolscap 8vo. Pickering, 1842. 200 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. About sevdlity years after the date of Piers Ploughman, in the beginning of the reign of the unfortunate Henry VI (a. d. 1436), another border poet named John Awdlay (a blind bard), wrote in the monastery of Hagmon, a religious work, or perhaps rather a series of religious poems, preserved in a manuscript in the library of Mr. Douce (now in the Bodleian Hbrary at Oxford),* which, though inferior in merit and importance to Piers Ploughman, is still curious as a monument of the language of Shropshire in the earlier part of the fifteenth century. The following lines, which were almost prophetic of the misfortunes which fell upon that ill-fated monarch, may serve as a specimen. " Pray we that Lord is lord of all, To save our king, his reme ryalle, And let never myschip uppon him falle, Ne false traytoure him to betray j I praye youe, saris, of your gentr6, Syng this carol reverently ; Fore it is mad of king Herr6, Gret ned fore him we han to pray ! Gif he fare wele, wele schul we be, Or ellis we may be ful sor6 ; Fore him schul wepe mon6 an e, Thus prophecis the blynd Awdlay." The book concludes with the following lines, " No mon this book he take away, Ny kutt owte noo leef, y say for why, For hyt ys sacrelege, sirus, y yow say, [And] beth a-cursed in the dede truly ; Gef ye wil have any copi, Askus leeve and ye shal have. To pray for hym specialy That hyt made, your soules to save, » MS. Douce, No. 302. See Halliwell, Introd. to Warkworth's Chro- nicle, p. xiv. For a detailed description of this MS. see the recently published Catalogue of the Douce Library. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 201 Jon the blynde Awdelay, The fnrst prest to the lord Strange he was ; Of thys chauntr6 here in thys place, That made thys bok by Goddus grace, DeefF, sick, blynd, as he lay." Contemporary, or nearly so, with "blynde Awdelay," lived John Myi-k, or Myrkes, a regular canon of the mo- nastery of Lilleshul, who also was, if not a poet, at least a versifyer. His poem on the duties of a parish priest (along with a prose English Liber Festivalis by the same writer) is still preserved in the British Museum f and is a curious picture of the manners of the time, little flattering to the learning or private character of the parish priests on the border in the fifteenth century. The following are the opening lines of this poem. " God seyth hym self, as wry ten we fynde, That whenne the blynde ledeth the blynde. Into the dyche they fallen boo. For they ne sen whare by to go. So faren prestes now by dawe, They beth blynde in Goddes lawe. That whenne they scholde the pepul rede, Into synne they do hem lede. Thus they have do now fuUe yore. And alle ys for defawte of lore. Wharefore thou preste cm-atoure, Gef thou plese thy savyoure, Gef thow be not grete clerke, Loke thow moste on thys werk ; For here thow myhte fynde and rede. That the behoveth to conne nede, How thow shalt thy paresche preche. And what the nedeth hem to teche ; * MS. Cotton. Claudius, A. II. In the manuscript the author is described as, 'frater Joannes Myrcus, canonicus rcgiilaris monasterii de Lylleshul.' 202 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. And whyche thou moste thy self be. Here also thow myght hyt se ; For luytel ys worthy thy preohynge, Gef thow be of evyl lyvynge." The foregoing extracts present the skeleton of the history of Old Enghsh Poetry, — in Layamon, in the poems of what we will call the 'Leominster Manuscript,' and in Piers Ploughman, it is full of spirit and vigour ; hut after Chaucer, as it progresses towards the middle of the fifteenth century, the darkest period of English history, it hecomes continually heavier and duUer until it degenerates into the prosaic rhymes of Awdelay and John Myrk. It wiU be seen by these specimens that the English language had gone through a great change since the days of Layamon. It is unnecessary to trace it further, for the alteration since the days of "blind Awdelay" is compara- tively small. Among the Harleian manuscripts (No. 3038), is preserved a book in Latin, which was written for the abbey of Build was in 1176; some borderer in the fifteenth century, who appears to have sufiered from the agents of the law, has written on a fly leaf the following lines, the burden of which is that "two executors and one overseer make three thieves." " Wise mon if thu art, Of thi god take part or thu hense wynde ; For if thou leve thi part In thi secaturs ward, thi part non part at last end. Too secaturs and an overseere make thre theeves." Many other interesting manuscripts, which belonged originally to the border monasteries, are probably extant in our public libraries. A fine monument of border science is preserved in the large map of the world, made apparently about the beginning of the thirteenth century, now in THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 203 Hereford Cathedral. The original is fast going to decay ; but a careful facsimile has been made for the Eoyal Society of Geography in London (at whose rooms it may be seen), and another copy more recently has been deposited among the collection of early maps in the Bibliotheque du Roi at Paris.* In the thirteenth century the monasteries were seats of literature. We do not find much increase in the number of reUgious houses on the border after the twelfth century, but they increased rapidly in wealth. From the twelfth century to the fifteenth, there was a continual transfer of landed property from the laity to the monastic houses, until their united riches exceeded those of any other class of the community. Although the monasteries were originally the schools of learning, the advance of science did not, unfortunately, keep pace with the increase in monastic wealth and influence; the monks, with their riches, became luxurious and worldly minded ; their desire was to stifle knowledge, rather than difiuse it, because their own false and anomalous position in society was not calculated to bear the light. They had even drawn within their influence, and stifled, the universities, which had been the fertile hot-beds of science during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In Shropshire,t the principal houses founded during the thirteenth century, were, Brewood, a priory of white or * This curious map is confirmed by the Pope as being a trae picture of the earth. It is stated in the following metrical description to have been made by Bichard of Haldingham and Lafford.-'- ^uz ki cest estorie ont, Ou oyront, ou luront, ou veront; Prient si Jhesu en deyt^, De Richard de Haldingham e de Lafford eyt pit6, Ki I'at fet e compass^, Ki joye en eel li seit don6. + In our list of the earlier monasteries, in a former section, wo have omitted that of Wombridge, founded in the twelfth century by William Fitz Alan. 204 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Cistercian nuns, founded about the beginning of the cen- tury, the site of which is now named White Ladies, and is celebrated as having been a place of refuge to Charles II, after the battle of Worcester; the abbey of Prsemonstra- tensian canons at Halesowen, founded by Peter de Rupibus, bishop of Winchester, about the end of the reign of king John; a priory of black canons, founded by Robert de Bowdlers at Snede, or Snet, perhaps as late as the begin- ning of the reign of Henry III, and removed before the end of that reign to Chirbury ; a house of grey ftiars established at Shrewsbury in the reign of Henry III; a house of Augustine friars, founded at Woodhouse, near Cleobury Mortimer, in the same reign ; a house of black monks of the order of Grandmont, at Alberbury, founded by Fulke Fitz Warine. There was also a house of the order of Grandmont at Diddlebury in Corve Dale. At Ludlow, there was a house of Augustine (or Austin) friars without Goalford Gate, founded a short time before the year 1282, where it is first mentioned ; in the 9th Edward II (a. d. 1326), Robert Dobyn gave them two acres of land to enlarge their dwelling.* At a later period, about the year 1349, a house of white friars was established without Corve Gate ; its founder is said to have been Lawrence de Ludlow, lord of the castle of Stoke. In Herefordshire, the new religious foundations were not less numerous than in Shropshire. There was a priory at Barton at the beginning of the twelfth century. The principal monasteries founded in the reign of Henry III were, Wormesley (formerly named De Pionia), a priory of black canons, the foundation of Gilbert Talbot ; Flanesford, near Goodrich castle, another priory of black canons, founded by Richard Talbot, who was lord of Goodrich; a priory of the order of Grandmont, at Cresswell, or Cares- well, near Ewyas, supposed to have been founded by Walter de Lacy; Home Lacy, an abbey of Prsemonstratensian • See the Monasticoii, vol. vi. p. 1599. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 205 canons, founded by William Fitz Swain. To these we may add a hospital at Ledbury, founded by the bishop of Hereford, in 1232. The house of the grey friars in Here- ford was founded by William de Pembrugge in the reign of Edward I. The friars preachers were settled in Hereford in the beginning of the same reign. Besides these chief monastic houses, there were numerous smaller foundations, as cells to the others: among which may be mentioned, — in Shropshire, Morfield, or Momerfield, a cell of the abbey of Shrewsbury ; Eatlingcope, Eot- chinchop, or Rotelynghope, a cell to Wigmore, established about the time of king John ; Prene, Preone, or Prune, a priory of Cluniac monks, a cell to Wenloek. In Here- fordshire there were several alien priories, as Monkland, a cell to the abbey of Conches in Normandy ; Acley, a cell of the abbey of Lyre (Lira) ; Titley, or Tutel^, a cell to the abbey of Tyrone in France. To this long list of religious houses niight be added several smaller cells, and numerous hospitals. A considerable number of the churches on the Welsh border were collegiate, and some of them were richly en- dowed. One of the most remarkable of these churches was that of St. Lawrence at Ludlow, which, in its present Church of St. Lawrence, Ludluw. 2 E 206 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. shape^ was built probably in the reign of Edward II, or early in that of Edward III. The college, which belonged to a gild of palmers (gilda palmariorum), was founded by Edward III, probably in 1329, when their first charter appears to have been granted.* One of its main objects, as stated in the early documents relating to it, was to provide by association and from a common fund for the protection of the members when robbed or oppressed by others ; and it may therefore be supposed to have had its origin amid the personal insecurity occasioned by the continual troubles on the Welsh border. Such was the cha- racter of all the more ancient gilds, though in course of time they became mere charitable establishments. Richard II is said to have augmented this gild ; and its charters were con- firmed by Henry VIII. The college consisted of a warden, seven priests, four singing men, two deacons, six choristers, to sing divine service in the church of St. Lawrence ; and its revenues maintained also a schoolmaster for the free-gram- mar school, and thirty-two poor almspeople. . This statement shows that the grammar school at Ludlow is one of the most ancient in this kingdom. The Knights Templars and the Hospitalers were settled on the border early in the thirteenth century. In the 39th of Henry III, the former were seated at Kil, or Kel, and at .Lidlay, in Shropshire, and possessed lands in various parts of the county. Between that time and the beginning of the reign of Edward I, Richard, earl of Cornwall, having obtained from William Mauduit the castle and manor of Holgod, gave it with other lands to the Templars, who from that time made it one of their principal seats. But when that order was suppressed, this went like their other possessions to the Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem. This last mentioned order had previously had settlements * In the printed Calendar of the Patent Rolls (which is exceedingly imperfect), there are indications of three entries relating to the Palmer's Gild at Ludlow during the reign of Edward III, namely in the 3rd, I8th, and 31st years of his reign, a. d. 1329, 1344, and 1357. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 207 at Dinmore Hill, in Herefordshire, and at Bridgenorth, in Shropshire. The Hospitalers of Dinmore possessed the hamlet of Turford, in Shropshire, and had a hospital in Hereford ; they had also possessions in Ludlow, given them by Hugh de Lacy, which "they had assigned to the support of a certain chaplain of the chapel of St. Leonard in Ludlow."* Few new castles had been erected since the twelfth century, but the existing fortresses were frequently enlarged and strengthened. The few rolls of expenses in reparations and building, still preserved in some of our record offices, throw much light on the manners of the age in which they were composed. A fragment of one of these rolls, con- taining accounts relating to the town and castle of Oswestry, written apparently about the end of the reign of Edward I, or in that of Edward II, gives the following account of the expenses of building " the New House" of the king " in the middle of the town." A carter, with his cart, was employed three days in carrying stones and gravel to fill up the foss (probably dug for laying the foundations) at the rate of five-pence each day. A man who was employed to help him had three-halfpence a day. Three men occupied in making the foundations had also three-halfpence each during the three days. Another carter had also five-pence a day during two days for bringing wood for the building, and had a man to help him at three-halfpence a day. The carpenter had seventeen shillings for all his works. The laths for the walls cost six-pence ; and two men employed three days in making these walls with the same laths received three-halfpence a day each. A thousand planks cost eight shillings; and their carriage, one penny. The sawyers and carpenters received twelve-pence a hundred for making planks out of the king's timber. Four hundred spike-nails cost sixteen-pence ; four hundred board-nails, twelve-pence; a thousand lath-nails, ten-pence; and five * Hundred Rolls, p. 69. 2(}8 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. hundred "single nails/' ten-pence. Moreover, sixteen- pence was expended in " gumphs" and hinges ; and a carter received five-pence a day during four days for carrying clay to plaster the walls ; a man who dug the clay had three- halfpence a day during the same period ; and the man who plastered the walls received two shillings and two-pence for the entire work. The whole cost of building the house was forty-three shillings and eleven-pence.* It appears by this statement that the chief labour of building a house fell, not upon the mason, but upon the carpenter. The common wages of a labourer appears to have been three-halfpence a day. In the same roll four pounds and fourteen-pence halfpenny are paid for pulling down ruinous buildings in the castle, and repairing others, and building a new kitchen and sheds ; eight-pence to a smith for making spikes and hinges for the jail; three-pence for making with the king's own lead a vessel for warming water ; five shillings to a carpenter for covering the " foiles" with boards ; twelve- * Item, comput. in stipend, .j. carectar. cum carect. sua per .iij. dies ad cariand petras et argillum ad implend. fossam sut nova domo domini in medio ville, .xv. d. capient. per diem, .v. d. Et in mercede .j. hominis juvant. dict.> carectar. per dictos tres dies .iiij. d. ob. capient. per diem .j. d. ob. Et in mercede .iij. hominum ad faciend. sub sold, predicta, vidz. fundament, per .iij. dies, .xiij. d ob. capient. per diem j. d. ob. Et in stipend, .j. carectar. cum carecta sua carient. meremium ad dictam soldam de novo faciend. per .ij. dies, .x. d. Et in mercede .j. hominis juvant. eidem per dictos duos dies, .iij. d. Et in stipend, carpen. fac. dictam domum ad tasc. .xvij. s. Et in virg. empt. pro parietibus, .vj. d. Et in stipend, ij. hominum faoient. dictas parietes cum dictis virg. per iij. dies, .ix. d. cap. per diem .j. d. ob. Et in .j. mille sindell. empt. de Johanne Loyt, iij. s. Et in cariag. dictarum sindellarum ad dictam domum, .ij. d. Et in stipen. sarratorum et carpen. facient. cccc. sindell. de meremio domini .iiij. s. dand. pro. c. xij. d, Et in .cccc. spiking, empt ad idem xvj. s. Et in .cccc. bordnail empt. ad idem .xij. d. Et in mille lathenail empt. ad idem .x. d. Et in .v. c. singelnail empt. ad idem .x. den. Et iu gumphis et vertinellis emp. ad idem, .xvj. d. Et in stipen. .j. carectar. carient. argillum pro dictis parietibus plastrand. per .iiij. dies, .xx. d. cap. per diem .v. d. Et in stipen. .j. hominis fodient. diet, argill. per .iiij. dies .vj. d. Et in stipen. .j. hominis ad plastrand. diet, pariet. ad tasc. .ij. s. .ij. d. Summa .xliij. s. .xj. Fragment of a bill of Accounts of a Bailiff of " Oswaldestre," temp. Edw. II., at the Rolls House. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 209 pence for the boards used for that purpose j two shiUings and nine-pence for eleven hundred board-nails, and two shillings and six-pence for sixteen hundred single-nails, also for the same object; two-pence for repairing the pin- fold, and the same sum for a lock for the pinfold-door; two-pence for a lock for the chamber in the tower ; three- pence for mending the wall of the "brutage," and two- pence for a lock for it ; two shillings for a week's wages of a carpenter employed in building a small house beyond the well; three shillings and four-pence for tiles for covering this house, and eight-pence for two hundred spike-nails for that purpose; two shillings for a week's wages of a car- penter for preparing the tiles and covering the house; three-halfpence each for four men employed one day in removing stones ; and five-pence for plastering " the foiles" with lime.* • Item, coinput. in divers, expensis stipend, circa deposicionem domo- rum in castro, quia ruinos,, a festo Sancti Mich, usque ad festum Sancti Nicholai, et ad reparand. veteres cameras ultra portam castri capelle et pontis castri, et ad edificand. coquinam castri et partem soldarum de novo, et parcos reparand, .iiij. li. .xiiij. d. 6b. ut patet per billam examinat. per sen. et sigiUo suo signat. Et in stipend, fabr. facient. gumphos et vertinellos corur. gaiole ad taso. .viij. d. Et in factur. .j. plumbi de plumbo domini pro aqua calLficand. .iij. den. Et in stipend .j. carpentar. cooperient. le ffolles cum sindell. ad tasc. .v. s. Item in slndell. empt. ad idem, .xij. d. Et in mille bordnail empt. ad idem, .ij. o. .vj. d. prec. .0. .iij. d. Et in mille et cccc. singol nail empt. ad idem, .ij. s. .iiij. d. prec. .c. .ij. d. Et in reparacione del puntfield .ij. d. Et in serur, ad hostium ejusdem .ij. d. Et in serur. empt. ad cameram in turr. .ij. d; Et in reparac. pariet. del brutag. .iij. d. Et in serur. empt. ad dictum brutag, .ij.d. Et in stipen. .j. carpent. facient. parram dumum ultra puteum per j. septim. .ij. a. Et in .Ix. tabul. empt. pro. coopertor. dicte domua .iij. s. .iiij. d. Et in .cc. spiking, empt. ad idem .viij. d. Et in stipend, dicti carpen. per .j. septim, ad pariend. diet, tabulas et ad cooperiend. dictam domnm .ij. g. Et in stipend, .iiij. hominum ad removend. petras de area mercand. per .j. diem .vj. d. Et ad plastrand. pariet. de le foiles. cum calce ,v. d. Summa .c .ij. s. .ix. d. ob. liid. 210 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Wigmore Village and Churcb. SECTION VIII. The Mortimers of Wigmore. AFTER the battle of Evesham, the English counties on the Welsh border were delivered from the inroads of the Welsh. Their prince Llewelyn observed with good faith during the remainder of Henry's reign the treaty which he had made with the EngUsh monarch after the event alluded to; but on the accession of his son to the throne, he appears again to have entertained hopes of estabhshing his own independence. For some time he avoided open hosti- lities. King Edward was crowned at Westminster on the 19th of August, 1274, immediately after his arrival in England. Llewelyn had been summoned to attend the king on that occasion, in order to take the same oath of allegiance by which he had been bound to king Henry j but he treated the summons with contempt, as well as another in the year following to attend the king's first parliament in London. The abbots of Dore and Hagmon THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 211 were then directed to meet Llewelyn at the ford of Mont- gomery, and there receive his oath: they went to the appointed place, and waited, but the Welsh prince did not come. He afterwards excused himself on the ground of troubles on the Welsh side of the Border and the danger in which he stood from his domestic enemies ; whereupon he was again summoned to meet the two ecclesiastics at the same place, on the first Sunday in May, 1275, and they waited a second time in vain. After this, Edward appointed successively as places of meeting, Shrewsbury, Chester, Westminster, Winchester, and other towns ; but his messages were all evaded, and after a slight attempt at negociation, the prince of Wales placed himself in a hostile attitude, and on the 12th December, 1276, the king summoned his army to meet at Worcester on the octaves of St. John the Baptist (July 1, 1277). At this conjuncture a circumstance occurred which em- barrassed Llewelyn in his plans. Before the battle of Evesham, he had been betrothed to AHanora daughter of his friend Simon de Montfort, on whose death the countess fled with her daughter to a nunnery at Montargis, which had been founded by the sister of her husband. At the begin- ning of 1277, not aware probably of the hostile feelings then existing between Llewelyn and the king of England, the countess of Leicester sent her daughter to Wales, escorted by her brother Aimery de Montfort, in order that the marriage might be solemnized; but in passing round the point of Cornwall the ship which carried her fell in with a Bristol fleet, and they were seized and carried before the king, who committed Aimery to sure custody, and retained the lady at his court as his ward. The king having assembled his army on the border, arrived at Chester early in the autumn of 1277. His presence on this occasion is said to have been rendered necessary by the invasion of the lands of the lords Marchers by the Welsh. We find him at EKnt on the 23rd of August. After having driven the Welsh to their strong 21^ THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. holds in the mountains, and cruelly ravaged a considerable extent of country, he returned to Shrewsbury, which place he again quitted on the 16th of October. He soon obtained possession of the castle of Ehuddlan, where we find him on the 10th of November. He was then negotiating with Llewelyn, who had retired to Aberconway. In the pacifi- cation which was soon afterwards concluded, the "Welsh historians accuse their prince of sacrificing his patriotism to the desire of obtaining possession of his wife, which was one of the chief articles stipulated in the treaty, in all other respects extremely galling to the Welsh. The king remained at Rhuddlan till about the middle of November, and returned slowly towards London. On the 6th of December he had proceeded no further than Worcester. The marriage of Llewelyn with Alianora de Montfort took place soon after the ratification of the treaty. About three years after the marriage of Llewelyn and Alianora de Montfort, the struggle began in which the in- dependance of the Welsh was finally destroyed. Llewelyn's brother David, who had been Edward's ally in his former wars, was accused of being the principal instigator of the rebellion of 1282. On the night of Palm Sunday in that year (which was the 22nd of March) he surprised the castle of Hawardine, slew the knights who had the care of its defence, and carried away captive the justiciary of Wales, Roger de Clifford. He then joined with his brother in laying siege to the castles of Flint and Rhuddlan. King Edward was celebrating Easter at Devizes, when intel- ligence was brought him of the rising of the Welsh, and he immediately determined to enter Wales with a large army. On the 6th of April he summoned his barons to march towards the border; on the 13th of the same month we find him giving orders to the barons of the Cinque-Ports to fit out an expedition against the Welsh by sea ; and on the 30th he arrived in person at Gloucester. We can trace the king's movements slowly along the border, while he was arranging his extensive plan of operations. On the 20th THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 313 of May, being then at Worcester, he appointed his army to meet at Rhuddlan ; on the 24th he was at Hartlebury, in his progress towards Chester, where we find him on the 8th and 10th of June. He was at Rhuddlan before the 15th of July, on which day he wrote to the Sheriff of Gloucestershire for a hundred good coupiatores (cutters, or pioneers) to cut down trees and clear the roads through which he was prepared to march. The Welsh had retreated on his approach. The progress of the English king was slow, but sure. In a few months he had overrun North Wales, and pene- trated into the recesses of Snowdon. But the approach of winter checked his progress, and restored courage to the Welsh. At this moment the barons of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire invaded the country from the south. Llewelyn, leaving his brother to keep the English in check in the north, hastened to oppose them. He had reached the banks of the Wye near Builth, when he was attacked by the conjoint forces of Edmund de Mortimer and John Giffard of Brimsfield. The accounts of the engagement are obscujre, and differ from each other ; but it appears that Llewelyn being separated from his army with a few atten- dants, was slain in the scuffle by one Adam de Francton, who did not know, till he returned and found his victim dying, that he had killed the Welsh prince. After his death, which occurred on the 12th of December, 1282, they cut off his head, and sent it to king Edward, who ordered it to be placed on the Tower of London. The arch-bishop of Canterbury, who was present at Llewelyn's death, wrote an account of some of the circumstances connected with it in a letter to the king, which is still preserved.* It appears that Maude de Longespee, the wife of John Giffard, im- plored the arch-bishop to absolve the Welsh prince, and render to him the last services of the church, which the prelate refused on the ground that he had shown no signs * The interesting letter of the archbishop of Canterbury to the king is printed in the Foedera, vol. ii. p. 619. 214 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. of repentance in his last moments, although her charitable request was supported by Edmund de Mortimer, who as- serted that he had heard Llewelyn call for a priest before he died.* In Llewelyn's pocket were found private papers which are said to have implicated so many of the lords Marchers in his rebellion, that they were studiously sup- pressed. Early in November the king had retired to Ehuddlan, where he remained during the winter. In the following March, Edward again advanced into the wilds of Snowdon, in pursuit of David, who continued in arms till June, when he was betrayed into the hands of his enemies, and carried a prisoner to Rhuddlan. The capture of David completed the subjugation of his country; and the king, finding no further opposition, returned slowly towards England. He reached Shrewsbury at Michaelmas, to meet the parliament which he had summoned there for the purpose of passing judgment on " his traitor"' David, who was condemned to undergo the cruel and revolting punishment which con- tinued for ages afterwards to be inflicted for the crime of high treason. On the 28th of December king Edward was at Chester, still occupied in securing his new conquest. By this campaign, the Welsh appeared to be sufficiently tamed ; yet few years had passed by when, supposing that the king had quitted England to conduct in person his war in France, they again rose in arms. This was in the summer of 1287 ; under Rees ap Mereduc and other popular leaders, the mountaineers attacked the lords of the Marches, and obtained possession of several castles and towns. The most active of the borderers on this occasion were Gilbert de * The lady here mentioned was daughter and heiress of Walter de Clifford, lord of Corfton and Cijlmington, the nephew of Pair Rosamond. She was the widow of William Longespee, and had been forcibly carried away from her manor-house by John Giffard, who afterwards obtained the king's allowance of his marriage, which had been contracted without licence. On the 6th of November, 1280, a licence was given to this John Giffard to hunt wolves with dogs and nets in all forests in England. Focdera, ii. p. 587. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 215 Clare, who had been driven from his estates in the county of Glamorgan, and Edmund de Mortimer. The Welsh, however, were mistaken on one point : the king had not quitted the English shore when he received intelligence of their insurrection, and he hastened into Wales with a powerful army. This was the last great struggle of the Welsh for their independence, and it ended much in the same way as those which had preceded it; after their country had been ravaged with fire and sword, they were driven by famine to an unconditional surrender, and their chieftains were carried away into captivity. But the king was obliged to pass his winter in Wales, where he cele- brated the festival of Christmas at 'Aberton.' Before his return to England he built the castle of Beaumaris ; and further to ensure the obedience of the Welsh he is said to have cut down and cleared the principal woods which had served for a refuge to his enemies. From this time, if we believe the ancient chronicles, the Welsh laid aside much of their rudeness, and, settling peacefully in townsy they began to amass wealth and indulge in the luxuries of life, until their manners became assimilated to those of their English neighbours.* In subsequent years the more warlike * A quo tempore werrae in Wallia quieverunt, et WaUenses more AngUcorura pane yivere incoeperunt, thesauros congregantes etrerum damna de csetero formidantes. Tho. Walsingham, p. 63. A similar account of the change in the manners of the Welsh is given in the rythmical Camhrice Epitome, printed among the poems of Walter Mapes, 1. 185 : — Mores bnitales Britonum Hinc si quseratur ratio, jam, ex convictu Saxonum, quietius quam solito commutantur in melius, cur illi vivant hodie ; ut patet luce clarius. in causa sunt divitiae, Hortos et agros excolunt ; quas cito gens hsec perderet ad oppida sa conferunt ; si passim nunc confligeret, et loricati equitant, Timor damni hos retrahit ; et calceati peditant ; nam nil habens nil metuit, urbane se reficiunt; et, ut dixit Satyricus, et sub tapetis dormiunt ; cantat viator vacuus ut judicentur Anglici, coram latrone tutior nunc potius quam Wallici. quam phaleratus ditior. 216 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. part of the population was drawn ofF to serve in the Scottish expeditions. At this period the three most powerful families on the EngUsh side of the border were those of Clare, Bohun, and Mortimer. Gilbert de Clare, earl of Gloucester, who fought at Evesham on the royal side, although he had fought at Lewes for Simon de Montfort, contrived to reap advantage from the defeat of his old colleagues. He was high in favour with Edward I, whose daughter, Joane of Acre, he married. He had the command of the army which invaded South Wales in 1287. He died in 1295 ; and was succeeded by his son Gilbert, who was slain in 1313 at the disastrous battle of Bannockburn, when the earldom of Gloucester became extinct. The Bohuns, during several generations, had been dis- tinguished by their patriotism. Henry de Bohun was one of the firmest supporters of the baronial party in their opposition to king John, and was one of those excommu- nicated by the pope for the part he took in extorting the Magna Charta from that monarch. His son, Humphrey de Bohun, earl of Hereford, and his grandson, Humphrey, who died before his father, were staunch adherents of Simon de Montfort, and were both among the prisoners taken at the battle of Evesham. Humphrey de Bohun, the son of the latter, who succeeded to his grandfather's titles, was equally distinguished by his courageous opposition to the unconstitutional measures of Edward I. He died in 1298, and his son, also named Humphrey, who married a daughter of Edward I, Elizabeth Plantagenet, fell a sacrifice to his attachment to the popular cause in the reign of Edward II. The power and wealth of the Mortimers had been con- stantly increasing since the reign of Henry III, when Roger de Mortimer had contributed so greatly to the final triumph of the crown. He was eminent among his con- temporaries for his splendour and magnificence. When his three sons, Edmund, WiUiam, and Geoifrcy, were THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 317 knighted by king Edward I, he held a great toiirnament at Kenilworth, and a ' round table/ entertaining sumptuously for three days a hundred knights, with as many ladies, at his own expense ; and having himself gained the prize of a lion of gold, on the fourth day he carried all his guests to Warwick. The fame of Roger's gallantry was spread through distant lands, and the queen of Navarre is said to have fallen in love with him, and to have sent him to the tournament at Kenilworth, which had been according to custom proclaimed in foreign countries, wooden vessels, bound with gilt hoops and wax, as flasks of wine, but which, when opened, proved to be filled with gold. These ' flasks ' were long preserved in the abbey of Wigmore : and for the queen's love Roger de Mortimer added a car- buncle to his arms dui-ing his life.* He died in 1282, and was buried in Wigmore abbey. His son Edmund was, like himself, actively engaged in the Welsh wars. Previous to the death of Llewelyn, at which he was present, his relationship to that prince caused him to be suspected of conniving at his rebellion. In 1303, or 1304, in a battle with the Welsh near Builth, in the same neighbourhood where Llewelyn was slain, Edmund de Mortimer received a mortal wound, of which he died soon after in his castle of Wigmore, and was buried in the abbey. Roger de Mortimer, the eldest son and successor of Edmund, was only sixteen years of age at the time of his father's death, and was given in ward by the king to Piers Gaveston, to whom he subsequently paid two thousand five hundred marks to redeem himself and obtain permission to marry at his own pleasure. He married Joane de Geneville, by which union he added to his vast possessions the castle of Ludlow. The castle of Wigmoke continued, • Ad dicta hastiludia in dictis regnis prseconizata, flasculas ligneaa, deauratis barris et cera ligatos, vini sub specie, auro tamen plenos, in dicta Abbathia de Wyggemore adhuo habitoa, eidem Rogero fertur transmisisse ; ipseque dominus Rogerus, ejusdem reginse ob amorem, carbunculum armis suis ad totam Titam suain addidisse noscitur. Monasticon. vi. p. 351. 218 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. however, to be the chief seat of the Mortimer family : and the few mouldering rmns which still remain are sufficient to show the strength and importance of this once princely residence.* Wigmore Castle. The three great border lords, Roger de Mortimer, Gilbert de Clare earl of Gloucester, and Humphrey de Bohun earl of Hereford, were all actively engaged in the Scottish war. Gilbert de Clare and Humphrey de Bohun led the attack at the battle of Bannockburn, where the former was slain, and the latter immediately afterwards was made a prisoner by the Scots in Bothwell castle, where he had taken shelter. He obtained his liberty by exchange, and returned with Roger de Mortimer to protect their own estates from the threatened invasion of the Welsh. In 1315, a Welsh chief named Llewelyn Bren, collected to- gether a great number of his countrymen, and invaded Gloucestershire, cruelly devastating the country through which he passed. One of the barons most active in this war was John de Cherlton of Cherlton, or Charlton, in * The castle of Wigmore is seated on an eminence (its ruins now concealed by trees and underwood), commanding an extensive view. It is about eight miles from Ludlow. The hills on the right of our cut lay between Wigmore and Ludlow. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 219 Shropshirej who had married the heh-ess of the lordships of Powys and Pool. This war was not finished till the year following, 1316, when Llewelyn Bren was sent prisoner to London. In the same year Roger de Mortimer was ap- pointed lord lieutenant of Ireland. The barons of the Welsh border acted a prominent part in the civil dissension which ended in the deposition of the weak and unprincipled monarch who now sat on the English throne. Gilbert de Clare had been one of the most active among the persecutors of Edward's first fa- vourite. Piers Gavestone ; and the king gave to his second and no less unpopular favourite, Hugh Despenser, with Gilbert's daughter, his estates and honours in Glouces- tershire and Wales. This was a signal for the borderers to take up arms. Humphrey de Bohun, Roger de Mor- timer of Wigmore, his great-uncle, Roger de Mortimer of Chirk, and others, invaded the lands of Hugh Despenser, fought several battles, took CardiiF, and carried the governor a prisoner to Wigmore castle, and then seized upon the castle of Clun. The pretence for these hostilities is said to have been a quarrel concerning a piece of land which Roger Mortimer had agreed to purchase, but of which he was deprived by Hugh Despenser's influence.* This partial outbreak was but a prelude to a more for- midable insurrection. The earl of Lancaster, with a powerful force and numerous friends went to the border, and nearly all the lords of the Marches joined him, and marched in a body towards London. The result of this movement is well known. The barons overawed the king for a while, and obtained the banishment of the Despensers ; but the tide turned, and at the battle of Boroughbridge, in 1322, Humphrey de Bohun was slain, and Henry of Lancaster taken and put to death. Among the prisoners on this occasion were the two Rogers de Mortimer, John de Cherl-.. ton, and many other borderers. John de Cherl ton obtained • See Th. Walsingham, p. 113. 320 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. his pardon ; but the Mortimers were committed to vigorous confinement in the tower, where the elder died soon after. It is said that the king had already condemned Roger de Mortimer of Wigmore to the scaffold, when he was unex- pectedly deprived of his prey. On the feast of St. Peter ad Vincula (the 1st day of August), 1323, Roger de Mor- timer gave an entertainment to the constable of the tower, Stephen de Segrave, and they passed the evening in drink- ing and making merry. As the night advanced, Roger seized an opportunity of throwing a soporiforous drug into Segrave's cup, and while he was labouring under its effects, escaped from his place of confinement, by connivance (as it is said) of his keeper, passed through the several wards of the tower, and reached the river, where he found a boat ready to convey him away. He immediately sailed for France, where he was received by queen Isabella. On the 6th of August, as soon as Mortimer's escape was known at court, several proclamations were issued, commanding the king's subjects to raise the hue-and-cry after him. "our enemy and rebel " (inimicus et rebellis noster), as he is termed in them.* The king appears to have been long uncertain of his having left the kingdom. On the 1st of October another proclamation appeared, forbidding any one to har- bour or encourage him ; and as late as the 14th of November, letters were addressed to the lords of the Welsh border, commanding them to raise the hue-and-cry after him in all directions, as though it were supposed that he lay concealed there.f In this latter document, among other crimes, he is charged with having risen in arms against the king, and having taken castles, &c. in Wales and England. The history of his criminal intimacy with the queen, and of the part which he took in bringing her back to England and dethroning the king, are too well known to be detailed here. On his return to England, as a memorial of his escape, he built a chapel in the outer ward of the castle of * Foedera, vol. ii. part 1, p. 530. f Foedera, ib. p. 537. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 221 Ludlow, which he dedicated to St. Peter, on whose festival he had escaped from the Tower, and placed in it a chantry priest.* The ruins, as it is supposed, of this chapel were remaining in the last century. One of the most ardent partizans of Roger de Mortimer was Adam de Orleton, bishop of Hereford. He had been raised to that see in 1317 ; and as the parish of Orleton, . from which he took his name and of which he was probably a native, was part of the possessions of that great baronial family, it is probable that he owed his elevation to Mor- timer's influence and protection. After the defeat of the party of the earl of Lancaster, he shared in the disgrace of his patron, and, in spite of the complaints and expostula- tions of his brother ecclesiastics, he was condemned for high treason, and deprived of his temporalities. The principal circumstance of the charges against this prelate, as it was related in the depositions at his trial, affords a curious anecdote of border turbulence. f It is there stated that in the months of November, December, and January, in the fifteenth year of the king's reign (a. d. 1321, 2), Roger de Mortimer of Wigmore, having raised a great number of armed men (horse and foot), marched with them in warlike array about the border. When they came to Bromyard, where they passed one night, they robbed and plundered divers inhabitants of the town and neighbour- hood of goods and money to the amount of forty pounds ; of John de Masonne of Staneford, they took brazen pots and platters, and linen and woollen cloth, of the value of twenty shillings; and of John le Shepherd of Bruncester, they took a cow of the price of eight shillings. From thence they went towards Ledbury, and stopped at Bosebury, • Unde et in honorem S. Petri capellam in ulteriori warda castri de Lodelawe, illam capellam S. Petri vocatam, cum uniiis capellani ibi perpetuo celebraturi cantuaria noscitur construxisse. Account of the *' Mortimers, in the Monasticon, vi. p. 351. t Rolls of Parliament, vol ii. p. 427. One of the persons who made this deposition bore the singular name of Adam Halfcnaked. 2g THE HISTORY OF IjUDLOW. where they had a long consultation with the bishop of Hereford. They then went to Ledbury, where they robbed different persons to the amount of more than a hundred pounds. Among the rest, they took from Roger Fortherath, beef, pork, bread, beer, and brazen pots, to the amount of twenty shillings. Two days afterwards, Adam de Orleton, who was still at Bosebury, sent them a body of his own men and retainers, well mounted and armed ; and with this addition to his army, Roger de Mortimer marched direct towards Gloucester. On the arrival of the queen, Adam de Orleton joined her standard, and at Oxford he delivered a public discourse from the pulpit against the king's government, taking for his text the words Dolet mihi caput, and representing that since the sickness of the head affected the whole body, when the head was found to be unfit for government, it was requisite that some effective remedy should be applied. It is said also that this prelate instigated the queen to the murder of her husband : and, according to a popular story, it was he who fabricated the famous message which, by the different placing of a comma, admits of entirely opposite interpretations : — " Edwardum occidere nolite timere bonum est." It was pretended that if the receiver of this message placed the stop after the word timere, and obeyed the order thus conveyed to put the king to death, the sender would be excused by placing the stop after the previous word, as having intended to forbid the evil deed. One of the first acts of the parliament called by Mortimer and the queen, was to reverse the judgment against Adam de Orleton. In the same year we find this prelate involved in a dispute with the crown, by having ambitiously obtained his election to the vacant see of Worcester. Yet he was finally allowed not only to retain Worcester, but a few years afterwards, in 1333, he was further advanced to the THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 223 bishopric of Winchester, in the possession of which he died in 1345. This promotion was also the fruit of his political intrigues, and contrary to the wishes of the king, in whose favour he appears never to have stood very high. Adam de Orleton had been sent as an ambassador to the king of France, and through that monarch's influence with the pope he obtained the vacant see in spite of king Edward's recommendation to the sovereign pontiff of another claimant. Edward was angry at the pope's decision; he accused Adam de Orleton of misconduct in his official capacity, alledging that he had neglected his master's business to ingratiate himself with his enemy the king of France ; and he vented his humour against the pope, who had listened to the French king sooner than to himself. In this part of his complaint he had with him the sentiments of his people, who were beginning to cry out bitterly against foreign interference in the affairs of the English church. The king accordingly, seized upon the temporalities of the see of Winchester, and retained them in his hands during several months, until the other prelates petitioned in parliament for their restoration.* When the unfortunate king found himself deserted by his subjects, he fled directly to Wales, but he met with so few friends that he was obliged to conceal himself among the woods in the neighbourhood of Glamorgan. Roger de Mortimer with the queen hastened to the border; and passed the last days of the year 132^ at Hereford. Thither the unfortunate king was brought a prisoner; and before they left that city several of his partizans were beheaded or hanged. The favourite, Hugh Despenser, was condemned to the same cmel punishment to which the Welsh prince, David, had been subjected at Shrewsbury ; with this dif- ference only, that the English 'traitor,' was suspended on a gallows fifty feet high. Within a few months after the deposition of Edward II, • Tho. Walsingham, Hist. Angl. p. 133. 2^4 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Roger de Mortimer was created an earl, by the title of earl of March. Immediately afterwards he imitated his grand- father in holding a " round table ;" and he conducted the queen and the young king (Edward III) to the Marches of Wales, where he welcomed them with magnificent festivities, accompanied with tournaments and other princely recrea- tions, in his castles of Ludlow and Wigmore.* Roger de Mortimer was now blinded by his ambition, and set no bounds to his ostentation. He scarcely took pains to con- ceal his familiarity with the queen ; he usurped all the powers of the government, and offended many of the nobles by his haughtiness. It is said that his own son Geoffirey was accustomed to speak of him as the " king of folly." A conspiracy was formed against him, headed by the young king, who was desirous of taking the government of his country into his own hands j and the powerful nobleman was captured by surprise in the castle of Nottingham, and having been convicted of high treason by a parliament called for that purpose, in 1331, he was hanged on the common gallows in London. The sentence was perhaps one rather of vengeance than of justice : the chief charge brought against him was that of having usurped the s(f- vereign power, and of having injured the country by mal- administration. In most of the particular cases specified the accusations were general and indefinite; in a few he had perhaps adopted the best measures which the circumstances would admit. t Several of Mortimer's friends were con- demned along with him. • Exinde rex Edwardus tertius ad Marchiam transiit, et in castris dicti domini Bogeri comitis, de Loddelowe et de Wyggemore, forestisque et parcis, cum maximis expensis in communiis, hastiludiis, et aliis solaciis, muniiicisque donariis sibi et suis largiter effusis, regaliter per nonnullos dies tractatus, &c. Monasticon, vi. p. 352. t The charges against Roger de Mortimer specified in the Rolls of Par- liament, 4 Edward III, are, that he had been, by his intrigues, instrumental in the fall of Edward II ; that he had caused him to be removed from Kenilworth to Berkeley castle, where he had been at least piivy to his THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 225 There appears to be some doubt as to the place of burial of this powerful baron. The history of the family printed in the Monasticon states that he was interred with due respect in the church of the Friars Minors at Shrewsbury, on the eve of St. Andrew (29th November), 1331, from whence some years afterwards his body was removed to Wigmore. This statement, however, seems to be contradicted by a document printed in the Foedera, by which the king on the severdh day of November, in the same year, orders the Friars Minors of Coventry to deliver up the body of the earl, which they were said to have in their possession, to his widow and eldest son, in order that it might be carried to Wigmore for interment.* He left four sons and seven daughters ; one of the latter was married to John de Cherl- ton, the son of the baron of that name who had obtained the lordship of Powys. None of the direct descendants of Roger de Mortimer made the same conspicuous figure as their forefathers. Most of them were left minors, and died at an early age. Edmund murder ; that lie overa-wed the parliament assembled at Salisbury by force of arms, and obtained by undue means large grants from the crown, and the title of earl of March ; that he had oppressed and persecuted the earl of Lancaster and other peers of the land, because they opposed themselves to his tyranny and ambition ; that he had, by his intrigues, urged the earl of Kent into open rebellion, and then procured his condemnation and execution for high treason ; that, usurping the royal power, he had caused the king to bestow on his family and friends, castles, towns, manors, and franchises in England, Wales, and Ireland, to the prejudice of the crown ; that he had turned to his own uses the taxes raised for the war in Gascony ; that he had stirred up discord between the late king and his queen ; that he had expended the royal treasure for his own private uses • that he had used in the same manner twenty thousand marks paid by the Scots ; that he had favoured the Irish who had attacked and opposed the ministers of the late king; and that he had caused the person of the young monarch to be surrounded by his own creatures. * Rex delectis sibi gardiano et fratribus Minorum de Coventr. sal. Quia de gratia nostra speciali concessimus Johannae, qua! fuit uxor Rogeri de Mortuomari nuper comitis Marchiae, et Edmundo Alio ejusdem comitis, quod corpus ipsius Rogeri usque Wyggemore ducere et illud ibiden tradere possint ecclesiastiosB sepulturae. Foedera, ii. p. 828. 226 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. de Mortimer, Roger's eldest son, siirvived his father a few years, and left a son, named Hoger, only three years of age. His castles in the Marches of Wales were committed, during his minority, to the custody of his step-father, William de Bohun, earl of Northampton. The greater portion of Roger's after life was spent in France, where he was en- gaged in the wars of Edward III, who created him a knight of the garter. In 1354 he obtained a reversal of the at- tainder of his grand-father, and it was declared in full parliament that the charges on which Roger de Mortimer had been condemned were false, and his sentence unjust. Roger de Mortimer, now restored to the title of earl of March, was subsequently made constable of Dover castle and warden of the Cinque Ports. He died in Burgundy in 1360, in command of the Enghsh forces in that country, and left a son, Edmund Mortimer, then in his minority. Young Edmund de Mortimer was distinguished above his years by his prudence and manly abilities, and he was employed at the early age of eighteen to treat with the commissioners of the king of France for a peace between the two kingdoms. Early in the reign of Richard II he was made lord lieutenant of Ireland, in which oifice he died in 1381. He married the lady Philippa Plantagenet, daughter and heir of Lionel duke of Clarence, by which union he gave to his descendants their title to the English crown, the cause of so much bloodshed in the following century. Besides his heir and successor, Roger de Mor- timer, he left two sons and the same number of daughters, all of whom were more or less involved in the intrigues and conspiracies of the following age. Edmund, his second son, married the daughter of Owen Glyndwr. John de Mortimer, the third son, was condemned and executed for treasonable speeches in the reign of Henry VI. Of the daughters, Elizabeth, the eldest, was married to Henry Percy, Shakespeare's Hotspm-. Roger Mortimer, fourth earl of March, was only seven years old at the time of his father's death, and he was THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 237 given in ward by the king to Eichard earl of Arundel. He was made by Richard II lord lieutenant of Ireland, as the successor of his father, and was slain in a battle there in 1398, leaving two sons and two daughters. In the parlia- ment held in the ninth year of the reign of Eichard II, A. D. 1385, this Eoger de Mortimer was declared heir apparent to the crown, by his descent from Lionel duke of Clarence. His eldest daughter, Anne, was married to Eichard Plantagenet duke of Cambridge, younger son of Edmund duke of York, and therefore the grandson of Edward III. Edmund Mortimer, fifth earl of March, was left an orphan at the age of six years, and was committed in ward to Henry prince of Wales. After having distinguished him- self in the French wars, he died childless in 1424, and the male line of this branch of the Mortimer family, with the title of earl of March, became extinct. The baronies of Mortimer, and the other dignities and estates, were inherited by his nephew, Eichard Plantagenet duke of York, the son of Eichard duke of Cambridge, who married his sister. This was the same duke of York who was subsequently put to death after the battle of Wakefield. SECTION IX. The Welsh Border during the fourteenth and early 'part of the fifteenth centuries. THE condition of society in England underwent no great variations during the fourteenth century, although it was in a continual state of fermentation. The lower orders were oppressed and miserable, and during the whole of the period just mentioned they were either passively or actively at war with their superiors. The country was overrun by 228 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. bands of armed robbers, encouraged by the political troubles of the time ; and the peasants themselves seldom missed an opportunity of slaughtering a wandering knight or defence- less merchant. In return the peasantry were oppressed by the purveyors of the king and of the barons ; who violently carried away their provisions, treated them with contempt and rudeness, and frequently beat them and offered violence to their wives and daughters. In addition to these evils, the people were burdened by foreign wars, and more than deci- mated by destructive pestilences. The oppressions of the purveyors and taxers on the. one hand, and the turbulence of the peasantry on the other, form frequent subjects of com- plaint in the parliaments of Edward III and Richard II. The borders of Wales not only bore their full share of these grievances, but they had also to suffer from the vicinity of a people of a different race, who, though nominally in peace and alliance, cherished the hostile feelings and recol- lections of several centuries. The two peoples, although now placed under the same government, were separated not only by different customs of old standing, but by the inequality created by new laws. The Welsh were in many respects treated as a vanquished people; and by repeated enactments during the fourteenth century they were de- prived of many social rights, particularly that of buying and possessing lands, more especially on the English border. One reason assigned for this law was that, by the " procu- ration, help, counsel, and favour of Welshmen buying and possessing lands in the English counties on the border, divers malefactors of Wales of their acquaintance in great multitudes, sometimes a hundred or two hundred, and at other times three hundred and more, suddenly entering these counties in warlike array, perpetrate there daily divers manslaughters, felonies and other transgressions and enormities, and then retreat in haste to the other side of the border, beyond the jurisdiction of the magistrates of the counties in which the offences were committed."* The • Rolls of Parliament, vol. iii. p. 391. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. different laws and customs relating to merchants and traders were also the source of much injustice and continual dis- putes. Merchants and others, passing from one jurisdiction to another, were frequently arrested under false pretences, and were not set at liberty until they had satisfied the avarice of their persecutors. The particular privileges of the county palatine of Chester served also as a cover and encouragement to similar violences and injustice. In dif- ferent parliaments of Richard II, these privileges were the subjects of earnest complaint on the part of the commons, it being stated that not only the counties of Salop, Hereford, Worcester, and Gloucester, but even those of Lancaster, Derby, Leicester, and York, were daily disturbed by the inhabitants of Cheshire, who " come sometimes by day and sometimes by night, with great routs of armed men in war- like array, and there commit various felonies, trespasses and extortions, namely, they slay people, burn houses, ravish ladies and damsels, and other people they maim, beat, and otherwise wound, and maim and kill their oxen, to the great destruction and oppression of the aforesaid commons, for which no punishment is inflicted, or forfeiture ordained of the goods and chattels which they have within the aforesaid county of Chester, because of their franchise."* At other times they carried away the daughters of gentle- men and men of property, and if their friends would not consent to redeem them for exorbitant sums of money, or to give with them their dowers, in marriage to their ravishers, they not only ill treated them, but they made these and other causes of quarrels with their families, and suddenly entered and ravaged their lands, and then returned and took shelter under the same franchises. The records of the dissensions and political troubles of this period furnish many statistical notices illustrative of the social condition of our forefathers. The accounts of the tax of a fifteenth of personal property raised in 1301, as * Rolls of Parliament, vol, iii, pp. 139, 201, 280, 2 H 230 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. far as It concerned Colchester, give us an account of the goods and chattels of every inhabitant of that township. We observe iew persons who had more than one article of fur- niture in their houses, and a large number had none at all. The richest houses of the burgesses must have been very scantily furnished, generally with one or two beds in the chamber, and a three-legged table (tripos) in the sitting room Chairs are not mentioned; people probably sat on stone seats by the side of the wall. The number of persons who had money in their houses is comparatively small ,• and few of the tradesmen possessed a large stock in trade. Articles of clothing appear to have been most expensive. The following instances will give a general idea of the whole. As persons whose property amounted only to a few pence were subjected to the taxes at this period, they must have weighed heavy on the lower classes of society. — William the miliar had, in money, a mark of silver; in his cup- board, or chest, one silver clasp, of the value of 9d. and one ring, valued at 12d. ,• in his chamber, one robe, price 10s., one bed, price 3s., one napkin 9d., one towel, 6d. ; in his kitchen, one brass pot, 2s., one brazen platter, 12d., one brazen saucepan (pocinatum), 8d., one ander (an instrum.ent for arranging the fire), 6d., one tripod, or table, 4d. ; in the granary, one quarter of wheat, 4s., one quarter of barley, 3s., two quarters of oats, at 2s. the quarter; two pigs, 5s. each, two porkers 18d. each, one pound of wool, 3s., fagots for the fire, 2s. 6d. — Alice Maynard possessed one brass saucepan, lOd., and one towel 5d. — Matilda la Base had in her house, one cup of mazer (a land of wood), 12d., one mantle, half a mark, one old robe, 4s., one bed, 4s., one brass pot. Is. 6d., one old brass platter, 6d, one quarter of fine wheat, 3s., one quarter of barley, 3s., one heifer (afii-us), 3s. 4d., one bullock, 6s., one weak cart, 3s., one ander and one gridiron, 8d., one tripod, 3d. — Philippa de Brome had in her house, one robe, 8s., one bed 5s., one table-cloth, 12d., one towel, 6d., one brazen pot, 20d., one brazen plat- ter, 8d., a washing bowl and a basin, 12d., a tripod, 4d., THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. «31 two quarters of fine wheat, 3s. the quarter, one quarter of oats, 20d., one mare, 3s., two oxen, each 6s., two bullocks, each 2s., two cows, each 5s. — Nicholas le Coupere (i. e. the wood cutter), had a super-tunic, or frock, 2s., and a pig, 12d. — John Scott, butcher, had an old worn robe, valued at 2s. ; in his chamber, " nothing ;" in his shop, meat, suet, and fat, to the value of 5s., a knife and an axe, together valued at 6d. — John Orpede, another butcher, had in his house, a silver clasp, 3|d., a bed, old and crazy, 2s. 6d., a robe, in a similar condition, 5s., a brazen platter, 17d., two carcases of oxen, 4s. each, seven flagons (lagense), worth 6d. each. — John de Tendringge, who appears to have been a tanner, and to have been one of the richer burgesses, had in his house a silver clasp and a ring, valued at 18d. ; in the chamber, two robes, 15s., two beds, 3s. each, two table- cloths, 2s., two towels, 8d. each ; in the brewhouse, a brazen pot, 20d., a saucepan, lOd., a brazen platter, 13d. ; in his grange, one quarter of fine wheat, 3s., two quarters of barley, 3s. each, two quarters of fine oats, at 20d. per quarter, one heifer (afirus), half a mark, hay, 2s., one cow, 5s., two pigs, 18d. each, one piece of russet cloth, 8s. ; bark in the tannery, half a mark, hides, two marks, tubs and ' algeae' for tanning, half a mark ; a gridiron and a tripod, 6d. ; in all £5 : 6s. : lOd. — William Gray, apparently a mercer, one clasp, 12d., two silver spoons, 8d. each ; in his chamber, two robes, 7s. 6d. each, two beds, 2s. 6d. each, one table-cloth, 12d., two towels, 6d. each; in the kitchen, one brazen pot, 2s., one saucepan, 12d. ; one cow, 5s., two pigs, 2s. each, one hackney, 4s., hay, 12d. ; one piece of russet cloth, a mark ; one quarter of barley, 3s., one quarter of fine oats, 20d., fire wood, 12d. ; in gloves, purses, girdles, wax and other small things in his mercery, 16s. ; two tubs, 18d., two barrels, 12d., two small tubs, 6d., two ' algere,' 6d.; one fire-iron, 3id., one tripod, 2|d. — Cristina la Glovere had one bullock, valued at 2s. 8d., and " no other chattels." — Agnes the miller had in money, 2s.; in hqr treasury, or cupboard, one silver clasp, lOd., and one ring. 232 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 6d. ; in her chamber, one robe, 8s., two beds, 5s., one table- cloth, 12d., one towel, 6d. ; in the brewhouse, two small brazen pots, 18d. each, one brazen platter, lOd. ; one quarter of wheat, 4s., half a quarter of a different quality, 18d., one quarter of barley, 3s., one quarter of oats, 2s.; stones for hand miUs, 4s., divers cords, 5s., oil, lis., a tripod, 4d. — Roger, son of Lettice (or Lettison), who ap- pears to have been a waterman, had one mark in money, a robe, valued at half a mark, a bed, 2s. 6d., a cow, 5s., a pig, ISd., a brazen pot, 18d., a brazen platter, 8d., half a quarter of wheat, 18d., a quarter of barley, 3s., a quarter of oats, 20d., a boat, 10s., a tripod, 3d. — Sir Robert Fitz Walter, had in his manor at Lexinden, ten quarters of wheat, 3s. the quarter, twenty quarters of oats, 33s. 4d., six mares, worth 3s. each, four oxen, 10s. each, sixty ewes, 12d. each, forty lambs, 6d. each. We may compare these prices of articles with the value of land at nearly the same period. From an inquisition con- cerning the manor of Combes in Suffolk, taken in 1324, we find that there was in that estate a capital messuage with a garden, worth 12d. a year ; six score and ten acres of arable land, worth by the year 4d. an acre ; five acres of meadow, worth per annum 2s. an acre, " and not more, because full of rushes ;" eight acres of wood and underwood, worth 6d. an aqre per annum; three acres of pasture, worth 6d. an acre per annum; half a water miU and half a windmill, estimated at 10s. a year, " and not more, because weak and ruinous."* In 1363, when poultry was scarce and extra- vagantly dear, an act of parliament was passed, fixing the highest prices of a young capon at 3d ; an old capon, 4d. ; a hen, 2d. ; a chicken. Id. ; a goose, 4d.t In 1382, the highest retail prices of wines were fixed at 6d. a gallon for the best wines of Gascony, Oseye, and Spain ; 4d. a gallon for the best wine of Rupelle ; and 6d. a gallon for the best Rhenish wine.:f * Rolls of Parliament, vol. i. p. 420. f R. vol ii. p. 280. J Rolls of Parliament, vol. iii. p. 392. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. In addition to the constant petty depredations of the Welsh, the border was frequently disturbed by quarrels arising out of the extensive and often clashing privileges and claims of the lords marchers. The kind of service on which these feudal chieftains were employed in the earlier times of Norman rule, and the mode in which they obtained possession of their lordships, were rewarded and compen- sated by feudal tenures and rights of a much larger and more comprehensive nature than those of other estates. Long after the Principality of Wales had been placed under the EngHsh crown, the lords marchers continued to claim and exercise within their particular jurisdictions the same rights which, frequently unjust and indefinite, were equally troublesome to the crown and to the people. Successive monarchs endeavoured in vain to abolish them. When the justices of Edward I attempted to enforce the writ of Quo Warranto in the case of John de Warren earl of Surrey, and questioned his title to his lordships of Bromfield and Yale, that haughty baron brought forth an old rusty sword, and, unsheathing it, " behold," said he, " my title : by this sword my forefathers, who came in with William the bastard, obtained their lands, and by it will I hold and defend them, against whomsoever shall endeavour to dispossess me." It is not to be wondered if we find that men, thus disposed to try their claims against their sovereign, used the same argument against one another. The quarrels which arose out of these disputes, and in which the native Welsh were generally led to take a part, sometimes ended in open rebellions. When John de Cherlton claimed through his wife the lordship of Powys, he was allowed to establish his rights in this manner. The feud continued unappeased many years, during which period we have no information as to the bloodshed and heart-burnings to which it gave rise ; but they were still engaged in open war in 1330 (the fourth of Edward III), when, as we learn from the Rolls of Parliament, " our lord the king understanding, that by reason of the feud which has long time been between 234 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Monsire John de Cherlton and Monsire Griffith de la Pole (of Pool), they on both sides assemble men of arms and collect force of war, whereby great evils and breach of the peace, and peradventure war may easily happen in Wales and on the Marches," formally ordered them to desist, adding to his admonition, "that if either of them were aggrieved by the other he might lay his complaint before the king, who would administer a speedy remedy."* In the same year John de Cherlton, who it appears had been instrumental in the seizure of Edmund Fitzalan, earl of Arundel, and lord of Clun, Oswestry, and Shrawardine, executed at Hereford in the beginning of Edward's reign (or rather at the end of that of his father), was engaged in another feud, on that account, with his son Richard Fitzalan, restored the same year to his father's estates; and the two barons were only hindered from making war on each other by the king's interference. Two generations afterwards the families of Cherlton and Fitzalan inter- married. The protection afforded by the feudal privileges of the lords marchers was as destructive to the tranquillity of the border, as the peculiar jurisdiction claimed by the county of Chester. In the parliament of the ninth year of the reign of Edward III, petitions were presented by the lords marchers in defence of their rights ; who represented that the magistrates and courts of the counties in which their estates lay were in the habit of intrenching upon them. But the kiag, who was little incHned to favour their claims, returned the cold answer, that " any one who felt himself grieved, might come to his chancery, and have his remedy."t Edward III appears to have been ever suspicious of the fidehty of the Welsh. In 1334, he issued orders for examining and putting in proper state of defence all his castles in Wales. Similar orders were given in the year • Rolls of Parliament, vol. ii. p. 59. t Bolls of Parliament, vol, ii. p. 91. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 235 following, when the king was engaged in his wars in Scot- land, and was apprehensive that the Welsh, of whose levity and turbulence he complains with much bitterness,* would seize on that occasion of breaking the peace. The same orders concerning the visiting and storing the castles were repeated, under similar circumstances, in 1337.t In the transactions of this period, the castle and town of Ludlow are seldom mentioned. In the second year of the reign of Edward III, Roger de Mortimer and Joane his wife obtained license to hold a fair in Ludlow on the eve of St. Katherine (the 25th of November) and the four days following, for ever.J The second Roger de Mortimer, earl of March, became possessed of the whole of the manor of Ludlow, by exchange with WilUam de Ferrers, to whom he gave his manor of Crendon for the moiety of Ludlow which had descended to him from the Vernons.§ In November, 1375, his son, Edmund de Mortimer, enfeoffed the castle and manor of Ludlow, with other manors on the border of Wales, to William Latymer, knight, of Daneby, Richard Lescrop, knight, Nicholas de Carreu, Peter de la Mare, knight, John de Bisshopestone, clerk, • Ex quorum effrsenata levitate visa sunt pluries mala plurima provenire. t Foedera, ii. pp. 895, 913, &o. A singular occurrence is alluded to in a document of the year 1336 (ib. p. 937). It appears that Edward II, in his flight into Wales, had carried with him his treasure, which, in his last perils, he had buried. The document just mentioned is an order for an inquisition relating to the discovery of this treasure, " in ilorenis, denariis numeratis, vasis aureis et argenteis, jocalibus, armaturis, victualibus, et aliis rebus," to the amount of sixty thousand poimds, found " in partibus de Glamorgan et Morgannok in Wallia," and dispersed and carried away by " divers malefactors." J See the Calendar to the Charter Rolls, p. 159. and the Liber Niger of Wigmore, MS. Harl. No. 1240, fol. 24. vo. § The charters relating to this transfer are enumerated in the valuable itJer Niger, or Black Book, of Wigmore, mentioned in the foregoing note : unfortunately the leaves which contained the copies of them, have been eut out. 236 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Walter de Colmptone, clerk, and Hugh de Borastone, for the term of their lives, with reversion to Simon bishop of London, "William bishop of Winchester, WilUam bishop of Hereford, Roger de Beauchamp, knight, and John de Bridwode, clerk, for the term of their lives, after which it was to revert to the Mortimers. Edmund de Mortimer's charter of this grant is dated at Hereford, on the 25th of November.* During the rest of the reign of Edward III, the Welsh seem to have continued in quiet obedience to the English laws. They appear in history chiefly as furnishing con- tinual levies to increase the English armies in Scotland and France. The materials for border history during this period are very scant, yet they afford evidence that the submission of the Welsh did not altogether insm-e the tranquillity of the English marches. It appears that towards the middle of the fourteenth century the English counties beyond the' Severn were overrun by bands of outlaws. In Gloucester- shire they had joined together and elected themselves a chieftain, to whom they gave sovereign power, and in whose name they issued proclamations ; and, setting in defiance the king and his laws, they infested equally the sea and the land, capturing and plundering the king's ships on the one element, and murdering and robbing his subjects on the other. In 1347 the king sent a commission to Gloucester to concert means of seeking out the offenders, and bringing them to justice.f The king's suspicions of the fidelity of his Welsh subjects appear, however, not to have decreased, and we find him ordering frequent measures of surety against a rebellion. The border fortresses were kept in a good state of defence. In 1369 an order was issued forbidding the men of Shrews- bury to quit their houses on the pretence of attending the » Sec the Liber Niger of Wigraore, MS. Harl. No. 1240, fol. 46, vo. f Foedera, vol. iii, p. 126. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 237 foreign, wars, lest by their absence the town should be weak of defence in case of a sudden rising of the Welsh. In 1370 the sheriffs of the Welsh counties were ordered to put the castles in Wales in a state to support sieges, and to arm the English population, for the purpose of withstanding the French, who threatened an invasion towards Christmas, with the hopes of diverting the king from his conquests by raising up enemies nearer home. In 1377 the same fears of a French invasion appear to have been entertained, and similar orders were repeated for the defence of the coasts of Wales.* We have no means of ascertaining how far the borderers took part in the popular insurrections of the opening years of the reign of Richard II. These movements were chiefly confined to the eastern parts of the island: but we have many reasons for believing that the inhabitants of the English counties on the borders of Wales shared largely in the reforming spirit of that age. Even before the preaching of Wiclyffe, this neighbourhood had produced the bold satirical poem already mentioned, which is so well known under the title of Piers Ploughman. In the reign of Richard II the border had already become the strong-hold of the Lollards. One of the most remarkable men of this sect, the history of whose persecutions in 1393 will be found in Foxe's Acts and Monyments, was a native of Herefordshire ; his name was Walter Brut, or Bright, probably a member of one of the families of that name which still have their representatives in Herefordshire and Shropshire. The mode in which his contemporaries spoke of this early champion of the reformation may be seen in the following specimen of a political poem, resembling in style the Visions of Piers Ploughman, and probably, like it, written on the border, under the title of the Creed of Piers Ploughman. " Alle that persecution In pure liif suffren, • Focdera, vol. iii. pp. 869, 90T, 1075. 2l 238 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. They han the benison of God, Blissed in erthe. 1 pray, parceyve now The pursut of a frere, In what mesure of a mekenesse Thise men deleth. Byhold upon Water Brut Hou bisiliche thei pursueden. For he seid hem the sothe.* Hy may no mo marren hem, But men telleth That he is an heretik. And yvele byleveth, And precheth it in pulpit To blenden the puple. They wolden awyrien that wight For his wel dedes, And so they chewen cbarit6, As chewen shaf boundes."t A few years later, the celebrated Sir John Oldcastle (lord Cobham), the head of the Lollard party, took refuge on the Welsh border from the enmity of his persecutors, and was there discovered and arrested by his pursuers. King Richard appears to have used all occasions of showing favour to the Welsh, and to have looked to them for support and aid in case of need. He also placed great dependance in the people of Cheshire, who were governed by one of his creatures, Thomas Molineux, constable of Chester. We have already seen how obnoxious the people of Cheshire were at this time to the inhabitants of the neighbouring counties. It is probable that the favourable eye with which Richard regarded them tended not a little to render him unpopular on the border. In 1387, when • i. e. because he told them the truth. t They would curse that creature (Walter Brut) for his good deeds, und so they eschew charity, as dogs eschew chaff. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 339 the great barons had begun to enter into hostile league against the king's favourite, Robert de Vere, then newly created duke of Ireland, Richard and the favourite repaired into Wales in order to consult with more security on means to crush the conspiracy. They returned from thence to Nottingham, where a parliament was called, and the barons were cited to appear and answer the charges which were brought against them. But they called together their tenants, and prepared to meet the favourite in arms. The duke of Ireland raised the men of Cheshire, and joining with them some Welsh levies, he marched into Oxfordshire, where he was met by the barons at Radcote Bridge, on the Isis. But the courage of the favourite forsook him in the moment of danger, and, seeing no other way of escape, he quitted his armour, threw himself into the river, and swam down the stream. His army was easily put to the rout, and the leader of the Cheshire men, Thomas Molineux, was slain^ by one of the baronial party named Thomas de Mortimer. The duke of Ireland escaped to the continent; and in his absence he was attainted and outlawed. In the last melancholy act of Richard's history, he again sought help in Wales. In 1398 a parliament had been held at Shrewsbury. In the same year, Roger de Mortimer, earl of March, was slain in a battle against the Irish. The king immediately declared his intention of going in person to chastise the rebels in Ireland, which he put in effect towards Easter, carrying with him an army raised chiefly in Cheshire. While the king was engaged in the Irish war, Henry of Lancaster landed in England; and the king's creatures. Bushy, Bagot, and Greene, fled imme- diately towards the border of Wales, two of them taking shelter in Bristol castle, while the other hurried to Chester. Bristol was soon taken by the Lancastrians. The sequel is weU known. King Richard left Ireland and landed in Wales; after wandering about the coast deserted by his friends, and not finding the support he expected from the Welsh, he threw himself into Conway castle. From thence 240 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. he removed to the castle of Flint, and there he surrendered to his victorious rival. The interest which the people of the Welsh border took in these events is proved by a political poem in alliterative verse (written in imitation of the Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman), on the deposition of Richard II, which is a strong declaration of the prin- ciples and motives of the party who placed Henry IV on the throne. It appears to have been composed at Bristol.* In the first parliament of the new monarch, the commons presented a vigorous petition against the outrages com- mitted by the people of Cheshire against their neighbours, and they were probably, after this, efiiectually restrained. It is certain that the complainants had found little redress during Richard's reign ;t and the men of Chester appear to have been in open rebellion at the beginning of that of his successor. J The Welsh, who had remained quiet while king Richard was in need of their assistance, took up arms in his cause after his death, and remained during several years in open rebellion against king Henry. They were probably first urged into action by the disafiected party in England ; and they looked for assistance not only to the Scots in the north, who pretended that Richard was alive in their hands, but to the French, who were to land upon some part of the coast. Nevertheless, this last great insurrection of the mountaineers bore much less the character of a patriotic movement, than of a combination of resentments for personal oifences added to the love of plunder. Among the persons most earnestly engaged in the struggle, few speak of any other griefs than some old feud with a powerful • This poem has been published by the Camdeu Society. t The commons, in their petition for redress of this grievance, 1 Henry IV, say, " come sovent avant sez heures ad est6 pursuez et montrez en plusours parlementz en temps Richard le Secounde jadys roy d'Engle- terre, sanz aucune remedie." Bol. Pari, vol, iii, p. 440. X See Nicholas's Proceedings of the Privy Council, vol. i, p. 113. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 241 neighbour, or some recent mark of personal disrespect ; and they write letters in English which may be compared with the effusions of John Ball and the insurgent peasantry at the beginning of the preceding reign. Gryffyth ap David ap Gryffyth, one of the most active of the insurgent^ who is characterised as " the strongest thief in Wales," closes a letter of defiance to Lord Grey of Ruthyn, in the following rude rhymes. — " We hope we shall do the a privy thing; a rope, a ladder, and a ryng ; high on gallows for to hynge. And thus shall be your endyng : and he that made the be ther to helpyng : and we on our behalf shall be well-willyng, for thy lettreis knowledging."* The same person in another letter, says, " Hit was told me that ye ben in purpos for to make your men bran (hum) and sle in qwatesoever cuntr^ that I be, and am sesened in. Withowten doubt as mony men that ye sleu and as mony howsin that ye bran for my sake, as mony wol I bran and sle for yoiu- sake ; and doute not I woUe have both bredde and ale of the best that is in your lordsehip."t The rebellion began in the summer of 1400, and was at first directed chiefly against lord Grey of Ruthyn, who was commissioned by the king to repress the "misgovernance and riot" which " he heard was begun in the Marches." In his answer to the king, lord Grey represented the difficulties which surrounded him, and the lukewarmness of many of the ofiicers and families on the border.^ About the same • Ellis's Original Letters, second series, vol. i, p. 5. f ^' P- ?• J " Ther been many officers, sume of our liege lord the kynges lond, sume of the erles of the Marchers lond, surae of the erlers lond of Aruiidele, sume of Powise lond, sume of m'y lond, sume of other lordes londes here aboute, that ben kynne unto this meignee that be risen ; and tyll ye putte thos officers in better governance, this cuntre of North Wales shall nevere have peese." Ellis, ih. p. 4. 24:2 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. time the chamberlain of Carnarvon, in a letter of intelli- gence, speaking of the " governance of the Walsh peple," says, ''they selleth her catell, and byeth hem hors, and barneys, and sume of hem stelleth hors, and sume robbeth hors, and purveyen hem of saddles, bowes, and arowes, and other barneys, &c. ; and recheles men of many divers cuntries voiden her groundes and her thrifty governance, and assemblen hem in dissolate places and wilde, and maken many divers congregaciones and metynges pryvely, though her counsaile be holden yet secrete fro us, wher- throgh yong peple are the more wilde in governance." The Enghsh court appears to have considered the re- bellion of the Welsh as partial and carrying with it no serious danger, during several months. At last, on the 19th of September, 1400, the king, who was then at Northampton, received intelligence that the Welsh were assembled in much greater numbers than he supposed, that they had already taken castles and towns, and that they were spreading devastation in every direction. On the same day he issued his writs to the sheriffs of the midland counties of England to assemble their men at arms and join him at Coventry, and to the bailiffs and men of Shrewsbury to put their town in a state of defence.* The king however, instead of going in person against the Welsh, met his parliament at Westminster; but prince Henry repaired to Chester, and thence, towards the end of November, he issued a proclamation, offering a general pardon to all the insurgents who would submit and return to their obedience. Early in January an order was issued to the towns on the border and the ports of South Wales, to provide armed ships and barges to defend their coasts against a foreign invasion.f In the parliament which was now sitting the commons petitioned that the lords Marchers should be requested to act against the Welsh with vigour, each in his own district; and it was ordained that no • Fcedera, old edit. vol. iii, p. 190. f Foedera, toI. iii, p. 195. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 243 Welshman should in future be capable of buying or holding lands in or about the towns of Chester, Shrewsbury, Bridgenorth, Ludlow, Leominster, Hereford, Gloucester, Worcester, or other market towns on the English side of the border, or of being a freeman or holding any franchises in them, and that all those who already enjoyed such possessions or privileges should be made to give security for their good behaviour* On the 18th of March, 1401, an oppressive ordinance was published against the insurgent Welsh, one article of which was that " the minstrels, bards, rhymers, wasters, and other vagabond Welsh in North Wales, be not suffered henceforth to overrun the country, as has been done before ; but let them be entirely forbidden, on pain of a year's imprisonment."t Previous to this, on the 10th of March, another general pardon had been offered to the rebels who would submit, excepting three, Owen Glyndwr, Rees ap Tudor, and WiUiam ap Tudor.J This is the first mention of Owen Glyndwr in the docu- ments relating to the insurrection of the Welsh at this period. The personal history of this remarkable man is • Rolls of Parliament, vol, iii. pp. 472, 476. •f- "Item, que lea ministielx, baides, rymours, et westours, et autres yagabundes Galeys delnz Noithgales, ne soient desorm^s soefirez de sur- charger le paiis, come ad este devaut; mais soient-ils outrement deffenduz, sur peine d'emprisonement d'un an." Foedera, p. 200. The folio-wing items occur among the petitions of the commons in this parliament, Kol. Pari. vol. iii, p. 308. — Item, que nuUe westours, et rymours, mynstrales, ou vaoabundes, ne soient sustenuz en Gales, pur faire kymorthas ou quyllages sur le commune poeple, lesqueux par lour divinationes, messonges, et excitations, sount concause de la insurrection et rebellion q'or est en Gales. Responsio. Le roy le voet. Item, que nulle commanvaes ou congregations soient faitz ou soeffrez estre faitz par les Galoises, pur ascuns counseill ou purposes faire, s'il ne soit pur evidente cause, et par licence de les chiefs ministres du seinnrie, et en lour presence, sur peyne. Responsio. Le roy le voet, sur peyne d'emprisonement, et de faire fyn et ranceon h. la Tolent6e du roy. \ Foedera, vol. iii, p. 198. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. obscure. He is said to have been born about the middle of the fourteenth century, and, when in the height of his power, he pretended to a direct descent from the ancient Cambrian princes. If we believe the contemporary chro- niclers, he was bred in an English Inn of Coujt, and was an esquire of the body to king Richard II ; it is even said that he was one of the few persons who remained with that monarch when he surrendered to the duke of Lancaster in Flint castle. He was afterwards for a short time esquire to the earl of Arundel, and then retired to his estate in Wales, where he was living in 1400, when he petitioned the parliament for redress against his neighbour, lord Grey of Ruthyn, whom he accused of usurping a portion of his paternal inheritance. The parliament decided against him J and when the bishop of St. Asaph, who appears to have been friendly disposed towards him, urged the parlia- ment not to despise altogether Owen's claims, it was answered that the legislative body would not condescend to be awed by a set of ''bare-footed clowns." It does not appear that Owen Glyixdwr immediately attempted to obtain forcible possession of the land he claimed, or that he took an active part in the Welsh insurrection at first. Perhaps he was only induced to place himself at the head of the movement when it had gained sufficient strength to promise some chance of success. From this period, how- ever, it began to take a more serious character ; and even the Welsh students in the English universities, and those who held offices or places of emolument, quitted their studies and their gains to return to their native mountains. The king' seized Owen's estates in South Wales, and granted them to John earl of Somerset.* In the spring of 1401, Wilham ap Tudor and his brother Rees ap Tudor had obtained possession of the castle of Conway, where they were immediately besieged by Henry Percy, so well known to the readers of Shakespeare by the • Calendar to the Patent Rolls, p. 242. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. S45 name of Hotspur, who held the office of justice of North Wales and Chester* On the 4th of May, Percj^ writes to the privy council from Caernarvon, that all North Wales was quiet and submissive, with the exception of Conway castle, and those who were with Rees ap Tudor in the mountains. Soon after this the Welsh garrison of Conway appear to have entered into negociations with Percy and the prince of Wales, who had joined in the siege, for conditions of surrender. On the 17th of May his position had become more gloomy ; he speaks of the pride and intractability of the insurgents, and complains of the diffi- culties and expenses of his office, which he subsequently resigned. On the 4th of June Percy again complains of the increasing turbulence of the country in which he was stationed ; he speaks of having defeated the insurgents in Cader Idris, complains of receiving little aid from any of the lords Marchers except the earl of Arundel and Sir Hugh Bowe,f and sends news that the lord of Powis (Edward de Cherlton) had fought and defeated Owen Glyndwr in person.^ Glyndwr appears to have been occupied at this time in invading the English side of the border; and his pro- ceedings were of such a threatening character that the king thought it necessary to march against him in person. In his letters to the sheriiFs of counties for the assembling of his army, he states that he had received intelligence on the 26th of May that Owen Glyndwr and his Welsh rebels had assembled in the Marches of Caennarthen, and that they had proclaimed it as their intention to enter England with ♦ Devon's Pell Rolls, p. 283. Proceedings of the Privy Council, vol. i. p. 147. t The king gave about this time to Hugh Bowe all the lauds in Cheshire and Salop which had belonged to Robert de Pulesdon, who had joined himself with Owen Glyndwr. See Calendar to the Patent Rolls, p. 242. { Proceedings of the Privy Council, vol. x, pp. 150, 151, 152. 2k 246 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. an armed force for the purpose of destroying the English people and language.* The king was then at Wallingford, and with his characteristic activity !ie prepared to move towards the border on the following day. He was at Wor- cester on the Sth of June, on which day he wrote two letters to his privy council, one directing them to prepare a fleet to repel an invasion, the o1,her informing them that on his approach the Welsh had retired from the border, although they were increasing in numbers, and that he was determined to advance. f The king returned from Wales late in September or early in November j but we have no narrative of his operations. Some of the Welsh chiefs stood firm to their allegiance ; others had submitted, and received pardon ; and many of the castles were strengthened, and put into better hands. J But Glyndwr still stood out, and with him the larger part of those who had taken up arms. After his return, the king appointed Percy's uncle, the earl of Worcester, captain of Cardigan castle, and his lieutenant in Wales. At this time the aifairs of the insurgents were certainly not prosperous, for our next intelligence of Owen Glyndwr is, that, as winter approached, he was in " good intent" (bon entente) to return to his allegiance to the king.§ In a report from the earl of Northumberland (Henry Percy's father), we learn that Owen had sent to the earl to say that he had a great affection for him personally, and that he would willingly speak with him ; with respect to the insur- rection and mischief done by the Welsh, he said that he was not the cause of it, and that he would willingly have * Proceedings of tlie Privy Council, vol. ii, p. 54. t Proceedings of the Privy Council, voj. i, p. 133, and vol. ii, p. 56. J At this time the famous Lollard, Sir John Oldcastle, was made captain of Builth; in the year following (1402) he had the command of Kidwelly castle. § Proceedings of Privy Council, Minutes of Council, vol. i, p. 173. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 247 peace ; and as regarded the heritage which he claimed, he stated that he had possession of the greater part of it, but that there was a part remaining for which he was willing to come to the English Marches to negociate. This declaration of Glyndwr appears to support the notion that the insur- rection did not originate with him ; and his advances at this period, in which he seems only to have had regard to his personal safety and that of his estates, do little honour to his patriotism. His offers appear to have been favourably received by the English court, but it is probable that other circumstances, of which we know nothing, rendered them ineffectual. The English council gave orders for strengthen- ing the border castles; and the Welsh spent the winter (the season which had always been favourable to them) in preparing for active operations at the first break of spring. In 1402 the insurrection had reached its greatest force. At the approach of spring the operations of Glyndwr had become more extensive. A fortunate accident made his great enemy and most active opponent, lord Grey of Ruthyn, his prisoner, and there remained but a few ill garrisoned castles to hinder his crossing the border. Early in the year the prince of Wales had been sent to Shrewsbury, where he was organizing an army to hold North Wales in check. A letter which he wrote* to the privy council on the 15th of May, and of which the following is a translation, gives a curious picture of the kind of warfare carried on between the rival parties. " Very dear and entirely well beloved, we greet you earnestly with our entire heart, thanking you very dearly for the good care which you have had of the businesses which concern us in our absence, and we pray you very affectionately for your good and friendly continuance, as our trust is in you. And for news in this part, if you will know, among others, we were lately informed that Oweyn de Glyndourdy assembled his forces of other rebels, his adherents, in great number, purposing to * The original is in French. 248 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. make an incursion, and to fight if the English would resist him in his purpose, and so he boasted to his people. Wherefore we took our forces and went to a place of the said Oweyn, well built, which was his principal mansion, named Saghern, where we expected to have found him, if he had had will to fight in manner as he said; and at our coming thither, we found nobody, and therefore we caused the whole place to be burnt, and several other houses thereabouts of his tenants. And then we went straight to his other place of Glendourdy, to seek him there, and there we burnt a fair lodge in his park, and all the country there about. And we lodged ourselves by there all that night, and certain of our people sallied forth there into the country, and took a great gentleman of the country who was one of the said Oweyn's chieftains, who offered five- hundred pounds for his ransom to have had his life, and to have paid the said sum within two weeks ; nevertheless it was not ac- cepted, but he was put to death, as well as divers others of his companions who were taken in the said expedition , And then we went into the Commote of Edeyrnion, in the county of Merionnyth, and there we ravaged with fire a fair country, and well inhabited. And thence we went into Powys, and there being a scarcity of provender for horses in Wales, we caused our men to carry oats with them, and we remained .... days. And to inform you more fully of this expedition, and of all other news here at present, we send to you our very dear esquire, John de Waterton, to whom you will be pleased to give entire faith and credence in what he shall report to you from us touching the news above mentioned. And may our Lord have you always in his holy keeping. Given under our signet, at Shrouesbury, this 15th day of May." Soon after the return of their prince from this " foray," Owen Glyndwr, whose strength was evidently increasing^ approached the English border, with the intention of ravag- ing Herefordshire and Shropshire. Edmund de Mortimer, the uncle of the young earl of March, hastily levied the men of Herefordshire, and met the Welsh on the hills in the neighbourhood of Radnor, at Maelienydd. In this tattle, which was fought on the 12th of Jime, the men of THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 249 Herefordshire were entirely defeatedj and Mortimer himself taken prisoner. The contemporary chroniclers give us no particulars of this battle beyond recording the savage bar- barity of the Welsh women who followed their country- men,* but it was afterwards the tradition of the place that Edmund de Mortimer was taken after a long and desperate personal combat with Glyndwr himself. The victors are said to have advanced as far as Leominster, where they established themselves, and from whence they issued to plunder and lay waste the neighbouring country. The house at Leominster is still shown in which, according to tradition, Glyndwr deposited his prisoner; and he is said to have robbed the priory church, as well as several churches in the vicinity, some of which were nearly destroyed by his men. He appears to have returned in haste into Caermar- thenshire, to collect there his forces for the reduction of the strong places in that county which were still in the hands of the English. The state of Wales at this time will be best pictured by two or three other contemporary letters which have escaped the ravages of time. The first was written to John Fairford, receiver of Brecknock, by John Scudamore, who held the castle of Carregcennen for the king. " Worschipful Sir, I recomand, me to yow, and forasmoche as I may nought spare no man from this place away fro me, to certefie neyther the king ne' ray lord the prynce, of the myschefs of these countrees aboutCj ne no man may pas by no wey hennes, I pray yow and require yow that ye certefie hem how al Kermerdyn scliire, Kedewely, Carnwaltham, and Yskenyn, ben sworen to Oweyn yesterday, and he lay to night yn the castel of Drosselan, with Rees ap Gruffuth, And ther I was, and spake with hym upon truys, and prayed of a sauf- conduyt" under his seal to send home my wif and her moder and their mayn6,' but he wolde none graunte me. And on this • See Thomas Walsingham, Hist. Angl. p. 365. Glossary.— \ Nor. 2 Safe-conduct. 3 Household. 250 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. day he is about the towne of Kermerdyn, and ther thinketh to abide til he may have the towne and the castel. And his purpos ys from thennes into Pembroke schire ; for he halt hym siker' of all the castell and towns in Kedewelly, Gowerslonde, and Glamorgan, for the same countrees have undertaken the sieges of hem til thei ben wonnen. Wherfore wryteth to Sir Hugh Waterton, and to alle thilke that ye suppose wol take this matter to hert, that thei excite the kyng hederwardes in al haste to vengen hym on summe of his false traytors the whiche he hath overmoche cherischid, and to rescewe the townes and casteles in these countrees ; for I drede ful sore ther be too fewe trewe men in hem. I can' no more as nowe; but pray God help yow and us that thinken to be trewe. Written at the castel of Carreckennen, the .v. day of Juil. yowres, John Skydmore." The attack upon Caermarthen was successful. On the 7th of July* the constable of Dynevor castle, " Jankyii Hauard/' writes thus to the receiver of Brecknock rf — " Deare frende, I do yow to wetyn' that Qweyn Glendour, Henri Don, Res Duy, Res ap Griffith ap Llewelyn, and Res Gothin, han y-won the town of Kermerdyn, and Wygmor, constable of the castell, had yeld up the castell of Kermerdyn to Oweyn : and [they] han y-brend^ the town, y-slay'' of men of [the] town more than fifty men ; and thei budd in purpos* to Kedweli ; and a siege is ordeynyd at the castell that I kepe, and that is gret peril for me, and all that buth wyddein ;'' for thei han y-made har avow" that thei will algate' have us dead therein. Wherfore I pray yow that ye nul not bugil us, that ye send to us warning wythin schort time whether schul we * The date of this letter (the feast of St. Thomas the Martyr) must be intended for the feast of the Translation of St. Thomas, July 7. ■f Ellis's Original Letters, second series, vol. i, p. 13. In these letters I have partly modernized the spelling. Glossary. — 1 Holds himself sure. 2 Know. 3 I give you to know. 4 Burnt. 5 Slain. 6 Remain in purpose, i. e. continue in the intention to go. 7 All that are within [the castle]. 8 Made their vow. 9 At all events. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 251 have any help or no : and but ther be help coming,' that we have an answer, that we may come bi night and steal away ,to Brecknoc ; cause that we faylyth vitals, and men, and namely men. A.lso Jenkyn ap Llewelyn hath yeld up the castell of Enelyn wyth free wyll ; and also William Gwyn, Thomas ap David ap Griffith, and moni gentils ben in person wyth Owen. Warning herof I pray that ye send me bi the berer of this letter. Fareth well, yn the name of the Trinitie. Y-wrigt "at Dynevour, yn haste and yn drede, yn the feast of Scint Thomas the Martir." The follov»ring undated letter from the same person, appears to have been written a few days later. " Deare frynd, I do you to wetyn that Owyn was in purpos to Kedewelly, and the baron of Carewe was that day comyng wyth a grete retenu toward Seint Cler, and so Owyn changed his purpos and rode to-genes' the baron ; and that nygbt a lodged hym at Seint Cler, and destruyed al the contrie about. And a Tuesday they weren at tretys^ al day ; and that nyght he lodged hym at the town of Locharn, six miles out of the town of Kermerdyn. His purpose is, if so that the baron and he" acordeth in tretys, than a turneth agein to Kermerdyn for his part of the goods, and Res Duy his part; and mony of these grete maisters stond yet in the castell of Kermerdyn, for they have not y-made bar ordinance whether the castell and the town shall be brend or no, and therfore, if ther is any help comyng, haste hem with al haste toward us, for they mowe have goodes and vytelles plentie; for every hous is full aboute us of her* poultrie, and yet wyn and bony ynow in the contrie, and wheat and beanes, and al maner of vytells. And we of the castell of Dunevor had tretys of ham' Monday, Tuesday, and Wedynsday, and now a wolF ordeyn for us to have that castell, for there a casteth to ben y-circled thence, for that was the chef place in old tyme. And Oweyn's muster a Monday was, as they seyen hemselven, seven thousand and twelve score speres, such as they were. Other tidyng I not^ now, but God -1 And if there be no help coming. 2 Against. 3 At treatise, i. e. a-treating. 4 Their. 5 Them. C He will. 7 Know not. 252 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. of hevene send yow and us from all enemies. Y-wryten at Dynevor, this Wedynsday, in haste." The next letter is written from Hereford, on the 8th of July, by Richard Kingston, archdeacon of Hereford. It is addressed to the king, and gives us a singular picture of the fears of the people on the English side of the border, who had already suffered from Glyndwr's incursion in the preceding month. The original of the archdeacon's letter is written in French. " Our very redoubted and sovereign lord the king, I recom- mend myself humbly to your highness as your lowly creature and continual bedesman. And our very redoubted and so- vereign lord the king, please you to know that from day to day letters come from Wales containing intelligence by which you may learn that the whole country is lost, if you do not come as quickly as possible. For which reason may it please you to direct yourself towards our parts with all the power you can, riding day and night for the salvation of these parts. And please you to know that it will be a great disgrace, as well as loss, if you should lose or suffer to be lost, at your commence- ment, the country which your noble ancestors have won and for so long a time peaceably held ; for people talk very ill-favour- edly. And I send to your highness the copy of a letter which came from John Scudamore this morning. Our most redoubted and sovereign lord the king, I pray to the Almighty that he grant you a good and holy life, with victory over your enemies. Written in haste, great haste, at Hereford, the 8th day of July." The archdeg-con's postscript, written in English, is still more pressing. " And for Godes love my lyge lord, thinketh on yourself and yourc estate, or by my truth all is lost elles, but an ye come youreself with haste, all other wolle folwen after. And now on Fryday last Kermerdyn town is taken and brent, and THE HISTORY -OF LUDLOW. 253 the castell yolden' by Robert Wigmore, and the castell Emelyn is y-yolden, and slayn of the town of Kermerdyn mo than 50 persones. Writen in ryght gret haste on Sunday ; and 1 crye you mercy, and putte me in youre hye grace, that I write so sohortly, for, by my.truthe that I owe to you, it is needful." The last of these letters of intelligence that I shall quote is from the mayor and burgesses of Caerleog to those of Monmouth ; it gives us a curious trait in the character of the Welsh leader, who is introduced consulting a " master of Brut," as he is called, or a common prophet or soothsayer, concerning the fate of his undertaking. Hopkin ap Thomas's prophecy turned out false. " Gretyng to yow, our gode frendes and worschipful burgeis of Monemouthe, we do yow to understonde of tydynges the whiche we have y-herd of Owein Glyndor, that is to wete, of lettres under seel the whiche were y-sente to us by the capteyne of the towne of Kedewelly ; and in the lettres were y-wrete' words that there was a day of batell y-take bytwyxt the worthy baron of Carewe and Oweine Glyndor ; and we do you to understonde that thys day of bataill sohuld have be do the .xii. day of Jule ;' and the nyght before that thys bateil schuld be do, Oweyn was in purpos to have avoided hym to the hull* ageinward. And for* he wold y-wete^ wher his wey were clere enowe to passe, yf he hede nede, to the hull, he sente .vii. .c. of his mein6' to serche the weyes, and these .vii. .c. menne went to serche these weyes, and ther these .vii. .c. menne were y-mette with the barons men of Carewe, and y-slay up every one, that ther was not one that scaped alive. And these words beth y-do us to understonde, that it is sothe' withoute lesyng.' And forthermore we do you to understonde that Oweine the [ ] was in the towne of Kairmerthen, he sent after Hopkyn ap Thomas of Gower to come and speke with hym upon truce; and when Hopkyn came to Owein, he praiede hym, inasmoche as he held hym maister of Brut, that he schud do hym to understonde how and what manner hit schold befalle no beddeynge nor mete, brede nor drynke, wherfor the sayde vysytor dyschargeyd the sayd prior of that offys, and assyneyd the sayd ij. Eryschemen into Erlonde into ther natyve conventes, and toke that howse into the kynges honddes. To the Blacke Fryeres he gave certen injux- cyons, toke ther accounttes, and so lefte them to kepe goode order, and thus levynge bothe the Graye and Austen howseys with the pertenans and stuffe in the balys handdes by indentures, and so departeyd. Thys wyttenesseythe the sayd balys with other. per me, Edmund Cole, per me, Adam Mytton." From Shrewsbury the visitors proceeded to Ludlow, but I have met with no papers relating to their intermediate progress. They were at the last-mentioned town on the ^3rd of August, when they received the surrenders of the only two monastic houses there. These were convents of Augustine and White Friars, the former situated near Old street, adjoining to what is still called Friars lane. It would appear to have been in a reduced state, for the act of resig- nation is signed by a prior and only three friars. '* Memorandum. We the prior and convent of the Austen Fryeres of Lodlowe, with one assente and consente, withowte any coaccyon or consell, do gyve ower howse into the handdes THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. of the lorde vysytor to the kynges use, desyeryng hys grace to be goode and gracyous to us. In wyttenes we subscrybe ower namys with ower proper hande, thys xxiij* daye of August, the xxx* yere of the rayne of ower dred soveren lorde kynge Henry the viij""- per me, Egidium Pycurynge priorem Augustinencium de Ludlow; per me, fratrem Johannem Pratt. per me, fratrem Willelmun Higges. per me, fratrem Christoferum Hogeson. By hus the bayllyffes of Ludlow, Wylliam Yevans and Thomas Whelar. The inventory of the furniture of this house, which accompanies the document just given, is also a proof that it was not very rich : — The Austen Fryeres of Ludlowe delivered to Wyllyam Yevans and Thomas Wheler, balys ther. The sextry. Item, a chesabuU and ij. tenacles of golde with ij. albes. Item, a syngyll vestement of blacke worstede. Item, a syngyll vestement of blewe damaske. Item, ij. olde copys. Item, a cope of sylke with starres. Item, a fayer cofer. Item, a chesabuU and a tenacle of olde blacke velvet. The quere. Item, ij. olde auter' clothes. Item, a holy water stope, laten.' Item, a deske of tymber. Item, vj. auter clothes steyneyd, olde. Item, the quere new stalleyd. Item, ij. fayer belles and a lytyll bell in the stepuU. The halle, iuttere, and kechyn. Item, a lytyll tabull and ij. trustelles^ and a forme. Ghssary. — 1, auter, an altar. 2, laten, a kind of mixed metal resembling brass. 3, tlie trustel was the temporary frame on whioh the borde or table was laid, one trustel supporting it at each end, with intermediate THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 345 Item, ij, olde cupbordes. Item, a pan and a ketell. Item, a lytyll brasse pott. Item, iij. pewter plateres, olde Item, a lytyll broche. Item, a fayer gret cupborde. Item, a gret trowe.' Item, a tabuU and ij. formys. Item, fayer laveres of tynne. Item, a boxe full of evydens. And memorandum, tber rest in the vysytores handdes a chales weyeynge xiij. unc. Also, ther laye to plege a crosse beynge coper within, all weyeynge bothe the coper and sylver vj''''- ix. unc, for the whyche the vysytor payde for the sayde fryeres vj'- xiiij'- j*- Wyllyam Yevans > Thomas Wheler ^ "^lys. Ther be in renttes yerly iiij"- above the owte rentes. The priory of St. Mary White Friars, which stood without the town wallj beneath the Churchyard, is described by Leland (who visited it just before the dissolution) as " a fayre and costlie thinge," and appears by the following inventory of its furniture to have been a much richer house than the other, but even it had some of its goods pawned. The surrender, which is nearly in the same words as that of the Austin friars, is signed by five friarSj Eycharde Wyllet, Humfre Wenlooke, Patricius Lester, Wyllelmus Burges, and Ricardus FernoU ; but there is no mention whatever of a prior, so that we are justified in supposing that this house also was reduced and dilapidated, and that it sur- rendered partly because it was not able to carry on. ones if the table were very long. When the meal time approached, the board or table was placed on the trustels, and this was called laying the table ; when not in use, they were put out of the way. Glossary— ^ , trowe, trough. 346 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. The White Fryeres of Ludlowe dely vered to Wylly am Yevans and Thomas Whaler, balys ther. The quere. Item, on the hey auter one auter clothe. Item, a steyneyd clothe before the auter. Item, an olde pylowe. Item, an olde paxe with a rose. Item, a payer of gret candelstekes, laten. Item, a payer of small candelstekes, laten. Item, a frame for v. taperes with holies' of lede. Item, a frame of yeryn* for iij. taperes. Item, an offeryng cofer for iij. lockes. Item, a towel. Item, a fayer masse-boke, wrytyn. Item, a sacry bell. Item, ij. lectorns, tymber, with olde clothes on them. Item, an ymage of ower lady of pyte for the sacrament. Item, iij. belles in the stepull, one more^ than other. Item, a steyneyd clothe to hange above the auter. Item, a holy water stope,'' laten. Item, the quere well stalled rownde abowth The chyrche. Item, ij. tabuUes of alybaster. Item, iij. pewes of tymber. Item, a longe pese of tymber for a crane. Item, a pulpet and a forme. Item, a tumbe* of alybaster gratyd with yeryn. The utter sextry. Item, ij. olde almerys^ and an olde chest. Item, an olde clothe of aras to laye in the quere. The inner sextry. Item, iij. copys of redo velvet. Item, a chesabull of the same with decon and subdecon. Item, a cope of mottelay velvet. Item, iij. copys of cowers' damaske. Item, a chesabull and ij. decons of the same with albes. Glossary.— \, holies, bowls. 2, yeryn, iron. 3, more, that is, greater. 4, stope, a atoup for holy water. 5, tumhe, tombe or sepulchral monument, 6, almerys, almories or ambries, oupboards. 7, cowers, coarse. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 347 Item, for requiem masse iij. copys of blacke damaske. Item, a chesabull, blacke velvet, and ij. decons of blacke damaske with albes. Item, a chesabull of whyte fustyon with rede spottes, with ij. deoouns of the same with albes. Item, a chesabull and ij. decons of whyte nedell worke for Lent, and albes to the same. Item, a vestement of yelowe damaske, with all thynge to yt belongeynge. Item, a vestment of cowers sylke, blewe and whyte, with Stafford knottes, with all thynge to yt belongeynge. Item, a payer of vestementes of blew velvet, with gryffyths' knottes, and albes therto. Item, a payer of blewe vestementes of worstede and an albe. Item, a payer of whyte vestementes of cowers sylke. Item, a vestemente of grene sylke with oystres* fetheres brodry worke albe and all thynge therto belongeynge. Item, xj. corporas casys with iij. corporas clothes. Item, ij. olde auter clothes, dyaper Item, iiij. olde frunttes for the auters. Item, an olde pawle of sylke. Item, a vayle of lynyn clothe, blew and whyte. Item, a clothe to hange before the rode. Item, iij. lytyll pylowes. Item, an olde blacke herseclothe, save. Thefermery. Item, ij. new parcloses. Item, a tabull, ij. trustelles, and ij. formys. Item, a bedstede. The huttere and kechyn. Item, a cupborde and a horde. Item, a brasse pott. Item, a coper ketell. Item, a plater, ij. dysches, and a sawser. Item, ij. cowbyerynes' and a lytyll broche. Item, a chafynge dysche and a skomer. Item, a gredyeryn. glossary. — 1, gryffyths, griffins. 2, oystres, ostricheSi 3, cowbyerynes, cob-irons. 348 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Thejpriores chamber. Item, hangeynges of red saye and grene abowte the chamber. Item, a carpet. Item, a almery. Item, a tabull, a payer of trustelles, and ij. formys. The upper chamberes. Item, a bedstede. Item, a tabull, ij. trustelles, and a forme. Item, an olde steyneyd clothe. Item, a fayer longs cofer. The other chamberes. Item, a fether bede and a bolster. Item, a coverlete and a payer of schetes. Item, a lytyll horde and ij. formys. Item, a lytyll caschet" full of evydens. and memorandum, ther rest in the vysytores handdes a chales and a crosse weyeynge iij"" xj. unc. Also ther laye in plege, a broken senser, a chales, and a schype, with an olde cope of velvet, for the whyche the vysytor payd for the sajd fryeres viji' V'- vj''- Item, the sayd vysytor payd above thys ij'> viij''- Wyllyam Yevans ■) Thomas Wheler j^alys. Four days after the surrender of the religious houses in Ludlow, on the 27th of August, we find the bishop of Dover at Haverfordeast, from whence he forwarded to Cromwell the surrender and inventories of twenty-eight houses which he had dissolved in his progress. Unfortu- nately most of these appear to be lost, hut the letter which accompanied them has escaped their fate. He there states that "in many placeys ther ys moche clamor for dettes of conventtes, so that withowte ye be goode lorde to pore men, many shall lese moche moneye by the fryeres, the whyche woll make a grett clamor amonge the pepull, for now I have moche hesynes to satysfye the pepuU for dettes. They say that yt ys not the kynges plesur that pore men shulde Glossary. — 1 caschet, a casket. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 349 lose ther monye, with many worddes ; but by feyer menys I satysfye them; sum I make schyfte and pay, sum I satysfye with worddes, for in dyverse placeys all the stuffe in the howseys ys not abuU to pay the dettes." In a subsequent part of the letter, he gives a further account of the dilapidated state of the revenues of the friars, and an amusing notice of the superstitious relics he had met with, among which was the ear of the soldier struck off by Saint Peter. " In many placeys," he says, " I fynde but one lytyll chales, and also in many placeys the substans in plege. Suche small chales and suche plegeys as be better than they ley for, I pay the money, and receyve the pleges to the kynges use, and suche I brynge with me. - I wold sende to yow dyverse relykes, but they wer to comeras (cuwhrous) to cary, I have Malkows ere that Peter stroke of, as yt ys wrytyn, and a thousand as trewe as that, but the holyest relyke in all Northe Walys I send to yow here ; ther may no man kysse that, but he muste knele so sone as he se yt, thowgh it war in the fowlest place in all the centre, and he must kys every stone, for in eche ys gret pardon. After that he hathe kyssyd yt, he must pay a met of come, or a chese of a grote, or iiijii' for yt. Yt was worthe to the fryeres in Bangor, with another image, the whyche I also have closeyd up, xx. markes by yere in corne, chese, catell, and money." In conclusion, the visitor signifies his intention of proceeding by Brecknock and Caermarthen to Haverfordwest, and thence to Cornwall and Devonshire. The most important religious houses in the immediate neighbourhood of Ludlow were Wigmore abbey and the priory of Leominster, the latter, as has been seen in the earlier part of our history, a foundation of remote antiquity. The bishop of Dover's commission was merely to visit the houses of friars, and he probably did not interfere with either of the establishments just mentioned. The prior of Leominster was lord of the manor of the town ; and the fair estates of the priory seem to have been considered a desirable % z 350 THE HISTORY OF LTTDLOW. possession even for a prince. The following letter, Avithout date or signature, is preserved among the records in the Rolls House; it was evidently written from Leominster, by some one who was desirous of conciliating the good-will of the powerful minister Cromwell, to whom it is addressed. Yf it so be that it shall please the kynges highnes to take his pleasure of the house of Leomstre, as it is sapposyd that his grace wyll of that and many other moo, I thyncke it good that your honourable lordship have respect unto the same house, ffor onles the kynges grace wyll apoynte it unto his derely belovyd son ower prince, it wylbe a right goodlie thyng ffor your lordship or ffor your sone. For I ensure you as I suppose theare is nat suche another turf within the kinges realme lying soo nygh togedre within itself, and within soo litle a compas, and of suche value and commoditie, as that is, ffor it is worthe a m'- markes of rent of assise and casualties, and alle lying within the compas of v. or vj. miles at thuttermost, so that on baylie maye gather alle the liole rentes of the lordship. I beseke your lordship to take no displeasiure with me, ffor that I write soo boldlie unto you, ffor I entend no other but your goodnes and the wealthe of the same. And this I praye God to send you a raery and a joifulle Christmas, and soo manye. The report of the commissioner sent, probably in conse- quence of this letter, to survey the estate, is preserved in the same collection, and shows that the prior was not opposed to the dissolution. His name was John Glover. The recommendations contained in the preceding letter seem to have been so entirely justified by the following report, that we find that the estates of Leominster priory were retained in the crown until James I granted them to his favourite, the duke of Buckingham. The instrocions of the lordship belongyng to the pryour of Lemster, selle unto Redyng abbye. Ytt may plese yower lordship to consyder that the holle lordship ys by yer vij. c. lb., as I was inforniyde by the pryour. Trewly it is very substansyall, ryche landis, with grett THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 351 demayns, as plessant and profFytabull as may be for so myche, and the comon pepuU dothe say to me that the forsayd lordship ys xviij. c. merke sterlyn by yer, of which may be parfet relashon made herafter of ytt. Also trewly nowe of latte betwen the abbot* and pryour, they have sore fellyde ther woodis and dothe lette ther howsis fawUe dowen, and thay wyll not do no reprashon, to the gret decay of the towens, petty to see ytt, and daylly wyll decay yf thay kepe them, which as fare as I can persayve ys the gret fawtt in the abbot of Redyng, for he injoys the most profet, and so doth excewse them by gret poverty to make mony to pay the kynges grace. This is ther comon voyse. A.lso, yf pies yower lordship to be good to the pryour and geve ere to hym, he wyll showe yower lordship of large mony that the abbot of Redyng hathe, with dyvers other thynges, which is gret petty he shulde eontynew in that casse. I do trust your lordship shall fynde this pryour onest and redy to do that nedfuU, so your lordship to be good in his penshon for his ly vyng. Also, yf yower lordship pies to have eny other instrocsyons more perfet, her is with the pryour won sir Robart Worralle, pryst, and Johan Yuke his baylly of Lemster, which be perfet to relatte all nedfull to your lordship, inspessyall the baylly, and he desires to do your lordship servis at your plessure. Also, ther is dyvers and meny bonde men belongyng to the lordship, and trewly it is a ryalle ryche contry, abuU to make meny men to serve the kynges grace in that lordship. The last abbot of Wigmore was named John Smart, who had succeeded to that office in 1517, and who was, as it ap- pears, deposed just before the dissolution for a long series of mal-administration. Among the records in the Rolls House in London, so rich in documents of this kind, we find several draughts and copies of the charges brought against abbot Smart, which appear to have been drawn up and presented by some of the monks of his own house; these are worthy to be printed entire, not only as an important • i. e. The abbot of Reading. 352 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. local document, but as affording an interesting picture of an overbearing abbot of the age preceding the dissolution of monasteries. It will appear by the following paper that, in order to increase his authority and enable him to exercise episcopal functions, he had, like the bishop of Dover, pur- chased of the pope the title of a bishop, and under this cover it was that he ordained priests, as here stated. The number of these titular bishops, without diocese, was very great, and must have been a cause of many evils and irregularities. As their names are only accidentally pre- served in records, we are unable to ascertain how many such dignitaries were found among the clergy of the border. A matrix of a seal has recently been found in Shropshire, which has doubtless belonged to one of these suffragan bishops, but from what place he took his title has not yet been discovered: the inscription on the seal is s. petki. DEI. 6KA. EPi.MONTis.MAKAN, It appears that John Skipp, bishop of Hereford, as prior commendatory, surrendered the abbey of Wigmore to the king's commissioners on the 18th of November, 1538 : there were then apparently only seven monks in the house. The following is the most perfect copy of the charges against the abbot ; it is signed by one of his canons. Articles to be objected agaynst John Smart, abbot of the monasterye of Wigmour, in the cowntye of Harford, to be exhibite to the right honorable lord Thomas Cromwell, the lord prevy seale and vicegerent of the kynges majestye. 1. The said abbot is to be accused* of symonye, as well for takyng money for advocations and presentacions of benefycea, as for gyveng of ordres, or more trulye sellyng them, and that to such persons which have byn rejected els where, and of lytle lernyng and light conversacioun. 2. Item, the said abbot hath promoted to ordres manye scholers, when all other bushops did refrayne to gyve enye for » The phrase is to be accused means the same as there is ground for accusing him. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. certen good ordinans devised by the kynges majeBte and his cowncell for the commune weale of this royalme, then resorted to the said abbot scholers owt of all partyes, whom he wold promote to ordres by Ix. at a tyme, and sumtymes moo and otherwhiles lesse, and sumtyme the said abbot wold gyve ordres by night within his chambre, and otherwhile in the church yarlye in morninges, and nowe and then at a chapell owt of the abbej', soo that there be manye unlerned and light prestes made by the said abbot, in the diocese of Landaf and in the place afor named, a thowsand as yt is estemed by the space of this vij. yeres he hathe made prestes, and reoeyved not soo litle money of them as a thowsand powndes for theyr ordres. 3. Item, that the said abbot nowe of late, when he colde not be suffred to gyve generall ordres, wookely for the mooste parte doth geve ordres by pretense of dispensacion, and by that colour he promotes them to ordres by ij, or iij., and takes mych money of them both for theyr ordres and for to purchase theyr dispensaciouns after the tyme he hath promoted them to theyr ordres. 4. Item, the said abbot hath hurte and damaged his tenauntes by puttyng them from theyr leaxes unjustelye, and by inclowsyng theyr communes from them, and sellyng and utterly wastyng the woodes that were wont to releve and succor them.* 5. Item, the said abbot hath sold corradyes,-f- to the damage of his said monasterye. 6. Item, the said abbot hath alienat and sold the yoelst and plate of the said monasterye to the value of fyve hundreth merkes, * In earlier times the right of feeding their swine in the ■woods and other privileges connected with them, were advantages enjoyed by the tenants of the land, which were necessarily diminished as the woods disappeared, t Corrady (in Medieval Latin corredium, or more generally conredivm) was what we should now term a man's board; and by granting these to people for their lives out of the provisions of the abbey, the abbot, while he put money in his own pocket, seriously diminished the future revenues of the house. % Yoels, i. e. jewels, under which title (in Medieval Latin jocaUa) were formerly included a great variety of small articles of value which were stored up in the cabinet or treasury. Our present restricted accep- tation of the word is comparatively modern. 364 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. to purchase of the bushope of Rome his bulles to be a bushopp, and to annex the said abbeye to his bushopriok to that intent that he shuld not for his misdedes be poneshed or deprived from his said abbacy. 7. Item, that the said abbot (long after that other bushops hadd renounced the bushop of Rome and professed them to the kynges majestye) dyd use, but more verelye usurped, thoffyce of a bushopp by vertue of his furst bulles purchased from Rome, tyll nowe of late, as yt will appere by the date of his confir- matioun, yf he have enye. 8. Item, that he the said abbot hathe lyved viciusly and kept to concubyne diverse and manye women, that is openlye knowen. 9. Item, that the said abbot doth yet contynue his vicius ly vyng, as yt is knowen openlye. 10. Item, that the said abbot hath spent and wasted much of the goodes of the said monastery upon the foresaid women. 11. Item, that the said abbot is malicius and vere wrathful!, not regardyng what he sayth or doth in his furye or angre. 12. Item, that oon Ryohart Gyles bought of thabbot and covent of Wigmour a corradye and a chambre for hym and his wife for terme of theyr ly ves, and when the said Rychart Gyles was aged and was verey syke, he dispoosed his goodes and made executurs to execute his will ; and when the said abbot nowe beyng perceaved that the said Rychart Gyles was ryche and hadd not bequested soo much of his goodes to hym as he wold have hadd, the said abbot then came to the chambre of the said Rychart Gyles, and putt owt thens all his frendes and kynsfolke that kept hym in his syknesse; and then the said abbot sett his brether and others of his servauntes to kepe the sykeman, and, the night next ensueng after, the said Rychart Gyles coffer was broken and thens taken alle that was in the same to the value of xl. merkes, and long after the said abbot confessed before the executers of the said Richart Gyles that yt ■was his dede. 13. Item, that the said abbot (after that he had taken awaye the goodes of the said Rychart Gyles) used dayly to reprove and chekke the said Rychart Gyles, and enquere of hym were was more of hys koyne or money, and at the last the said abbot THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 356 thought he ly ved to long, and made the syke (after much sorye kepyng) to be taken from his fetherbed and laved upon a cold mattras, and kept his frendes from hym to his death, 14. Item, that after the said Rychart Gyles was dead, the said abbot soght his chambre and found his wifes moneye and toke yt awaye thens, and after that the said abbot gyve to the wif of the said Rychart Gyles wyne to drynk, and then immediately after she fyll syke soo that hyr bodye was all broj^en owt, she beyng vere aged, and soo she contynued to hyr death, that was not long after, and, as she declared, and showed upon hyr death bedd, the forsaid wyne was the cause of that hyr sykenesse and death. 15. Item, that the said abbot consented to the death and murdryng of oon John TykehuUe, that was slayne at hys procureng at the said monasterye by sir Rychart Arbley, chanon and chapleyn to the said abbot, which chanon is and even hath byne synes that tyrae chefe of the said abbotes cowncelj, and is supported to karye crossebowes, and to goo whither he lusteth at enye tyme to fyshyng and huntyng in the kynges forestes, parkes, and chases, but lytle or no thyng servyng the quere as other brethren doo ther, nother corrected of the- said abbot for enye trespace he doth commytt, 16. Item, that the said abbot hath byne perjured oft, as is to be proved and is proved, and as yt is supposed dyd not make a true inventorye of the goodes, catals, and joels of his monasterye to the kynges majeste and his cowncell. 17. Item, that the said abbot hath openlye preched against the doctrine of Christ, sayeng he owght not to love hys enmye but as he loves the devulle, and that he shuld love his enmyes sowle but not his bodye. 18. Item, that the said abbot hath infringed all the kynges injunctions whych were geven hym by doctor Cave to observe and kepe, and when he was denounced in plena eapitulo to have broken the same, he wolde have putt in prisoun the brodur as dyd denounce hym to have broken the same injunctions, save that he was lett by the oovent there.* * i. e. Save that he was hindered by the coriTent, or body of the monks. 356 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 19. Item, the said abbot hath take but small regarde to the good lyvynge of his howsehold. 20. Item, that the said abbot hath hadd yet a speciall favour to misdooers, as manquellers,* thefes, deceavers of theyr neigh- bours, and by them moost ruled and consulted. 21. Item, that the said abboth hath graunted leaxes of fermes and advocations furst to oon man, and toke his fyne, and after hath graunted the same leax to another for moore money, and then wold make to the last taker a leax or wrytyng with a ante-date of the furst leax, which hath breade grett dissensions emong gentlemen, as Mr. Blount and Mr. Meysey, and other takers of such leaxes, and that ofte. 22. Item, the said abbot havyng the contrepaynes of leaxes in his kepyng, hath for money raced owt the nombre of yeres mencioned in the said leaxes, and wryte a gretter nombre in the former taker his leaxe, and in the contrepayne therof, to the intent to defraude the taker or byer of the reversion of such leaxes, of whom he had receyved theyr money. 23. Item, the said abbot hath not accordyng to the fun- dacion of his monasterye admitted frelye tenauntes into certen almeshowses belongyng to the said monasterye, but ofthen he hath taken large fynes, and sum of them he hath put awaye thens that wold not gyve hym fynes, whither poore, aged, and impotent people were wont to be frelye adraytted and receyve the founders almes ther of olde custom, lymyted to the same, which almes is allso diminished by the said abbot. 24. Item, that the said abbot dyd not delyver the buUe of his bu'shopryck that he purchased fro Rome to ouer soveraigne lord the kynges cowncell tyll long after the tyme he had dely- vered and exhibyted other buUes of his monasterye to them. 25. Item, the said abbot hath detyned and yet doth detyne servauntes wages, and ofte when the said servauntes have asked theyr wages, the said abbot hath putt them into the stookkes and beate them. 26. Item, the said abbot in tymes past hath had a greats devotioun to ryde to Llanyevran in Wales, upon Lammas daye, to receyve pardoun theyr, and on the evyn he wold lye" • Man-killers. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 357 with con Marye Hawle, a old concubyne of his, at the Walsh- poole, and on the morowe ryde to the forsaid Llanyevran, to be confessed and absolved, and the same night retorne to companye with the said Marye Hawle at the Walshe-poole ; and Kateryn the said Marye Hawle hyr sustur doghter, whom the said abbot long hath kept to concubyne, and had children by hyr that he lately maryed at Ludlowe ; and others that have be takea owt of his chambre and put in the stookes within the said abbeye, and others that have complayned upon hym to the kynges cowncell of the Merches of Wales, and the woman that dasht owt his tethe that he wold have had by violens, I will not name nowe, nor other mennes wifes, lest yt wold offend youer good lordship to reade or heare the same. 27. Item, the said abbot doth dayly enbecell, sell, and conveye the goodes, catals, and joels of the said monasterye, havyng no nede soo to doo, for yt is thowght that he hath a m. merkes, or ij. thowsand, lying by hym that he hath gooten by sellyng of ordres and the joels and plate of the monasterye and corradyes, and yt is to be feared that he will; alyenate all the reste, in lesse youer good lordship spedely sye redresse and make provision to let the same. 28. Item, the said abbot was aoustomed' yerly to preach at Leyntwardyne in festo nativitatis Marie virginis, where and when the people were wont to offer to a ymage theyr, and to the same the said abbot in his sermon wold exorte them and encorage them, but now the oblacions be decayed, the said abbot espyeng the ymage there to have a coote of sylver plate and gylt, hath take awaye by his own auctoryte the same ymage and the plate turned to his use, and left his preohing there, seyng there is no moore profyt to cum yn, and'the plate that was abowte the said ymage was named to be worth xl, poundes. 29. Item, that the said abbot hath ever noreshed enmyte and discord among his brothers, and hath not encoraged them to lerne the lawes and misteryes of Christ, but he that leaste knewe was moost cherished of hym, and he hath byn highly displeased and disdayned when his brother wold saye, ' this is Goddes precept and doctrine, this ye ought to preferre before youer cerymonyes and vayne constitutions.' This sayeng was 3 A 358 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW, high disobediens, and shuld be grevusly poneshed, wher that lyeng, obloquye, flaterye, ignorans, derision, contumely, discord, great sweryng, drynkyng, ypochrysye, fraude, supersticioD, disceyte, conspiracye to wrang theyr neighbor, and other of that kynde, were had in speciall favour and regarde. Laude and prayse be to God that hath sent us the time, knowlege, honor, and long prosperity to ouer soveraigne lord and bis noble cowncell that tendre to avaunce the same. Amen. By sir John Lee youer faythfuU bedman, and chanon of the said mon. of Wigmour. My good lorde, there is in the said abbey a crosse of fyne gold and precius stoones, wherof oon diamond was estemed by doctor Boothe, bushop of Hereford, worth a c. markes. In this crosse is inclosed a pece of wood named to be of the crosse that Criste dyed upon. And to the same hath byn ©firing, and when yt shuld be browght doon to the church fro the tresorye, yt was brought doone with light and lyke reverence as shuld have be doon to Ghriste himself. I feare lest thabbot upon Sondaye next, when he maye cum to the tresorye, will take awaye the said crosse, and breke yt, and turne yt to his use and many other precius yoels that be there. AH thes articles afor written be true as to the substaunce and true meaning of them, thogh peraventure for haste and lacke of cowncell sum woordes be sett amisse or owt of theyr plase, that T wilbe redye to prove for as much as lyes in me, when it shall lyke youer honorable lordshipp to direct youer comissioun to me or enye man that wilbe indifierent and not corrupt, to sytt upon the same at the said abbey, where the witnesse and proves be moost redye, and the truth is best knowen, or at enye other plase wher yt shalbe thought moost convenient by youer high discretion and auctoryte. With the dissolution of each monastic house, the whole property was at once surrendered to the crown. The first step taken to turn this property to account, was by selling the furniture and, in a great many cases, the materials of the building. There are very few documents now left to enable us to trace the successive demolition of buildings and sale of goods and materials of the religious houses on the THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 359 borders of Wales, although much curious information may be gathered from the Scudamore papers which have lately been purchased for the British Museum. John Scudamore and Robert Burgoyn were the king's receivers of the mo- nasteries in the border counties. We may form some notion, of the work of demolition from the following items of sales in 1538 connected with the abbey of Bordesley in Worcester- shire, preserved among the papers of the Scudamores. Sales ther made the xxiij''' day of September, anno regni regis Henrici viij"'* xxx""- at the survey ther. Fyrst, sold to Ra£Ee Sheldon esquyer, and Mr. Markebam, the iron and glasse in the wyndowes of the north syde of the cloyster - xvij'' viij*- Item, sold to Mr, Markeham the old broken tyle house at the reddyche and a lytle house by the same ... vij'- vj"*- Item, reoevyd of Mr. Grevylle for a lytle table and the pavyng stone ther - - iij'- iiij''' Item, sold to Mr. Markeham the pavyng tyle of the north syde of the cloyster - - v'- Item, a lytle bell sold to Raphe Sheldon esquyer xxx=- Item, the pavement of the est syde of the cloys- ter, sold to a servaunt of the busshoppes of Worceter - - - . y'- Item, the glasse of the est syde of the cloyster, sold to Mr. Morgon ... vij'- vj''- Item, sold to Thomas Norton a butteras of stone at the est ende of the churche - xij*- With the exception of a few houses in Staffordshire, Scudamore's accounts are only preserved in a book where he enters merely the sums paid to him by purchasers, without any particulars of the articles bought j and this book only relates to arrears, the earliest payments of which belong to the year 1543. On the 7th of April in that year, fifty-three shillings and eight-pence were paid for goods or materials of the Austin Friars at Ludlow; and we have similar payments on account of the same house of thirty- THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. seven shillings and four-pence on the 28th of July in the same year; of fifty-three shillings and eight-pence by another person on the same day; of four pounds eleven shillings on the 23rd of April, 1545 ; of the same sum on the 28th of October in that year ; of two shillings on the 21st of May, 1546; of twenty-five shillings and six-pence on the 4th of September, and of the same sum on the 30th of November, in the year last mentioned. The pay- ments on the same account for the White Friars of Ludlow are, twenty-five shillings and six-pence on the 22nd of May, 1543 ; the same sums on the 7th of June, 1543, and on the 23rd of April, 1545 ; five pounds on the 28th of October, 1545: fifty-one shillings and six-pence on the 25th of May, 1546; and fifty-one shillings on a subsequent date, in the same year. For the larger monasteries, such as Shrewsbury, Wenlock, Buildwas, Haughmond, Dore, and Wigmore, these payments, of large and small sums, are much more numerous. It is probable that the buildings of Wigmore abbey were destroyed almost immediately after its dissolution, and all that now remains is the old abbey grange, a fine specimen of timber building, and its bam, which is no less remarkable for its lofty timber roof. In 1574, the records of the abbey were lying in a neglected state in Wigmore castle, as we learn from a letter dated on the 3rd of October, in that year, and written by the celebrated doctor Dee, who says "the third and last prin- cipall point of this my present suit to your lordship (lord Burghley), is for your lordshippes hand to a letter directed to Mr. Harley, keper of the records of Wigmor castell, or to whom in this case it doth appertayn. For that, at my late being there, I espied an heap of old papers and parchments, obligations, acquittances, accounts, &c. (in time past be- longing to the abbay of Wigmor) and there to lye rotting, spoyled, and tossed, in an old decayed chappell, not com- mitted to any mans speciall charge: but three quarters of them I understand to have byn taken away by diverse (eyther taylors, or others, in tymes past). Now my fantasia THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 361 is that, in som of them will be some mention made of noblemen of those dayes, whereby (eyther for chronicle or pedigree) som good matter may be collected out of them by me (at my leysor) by the way of a recreation." All these records have now so entirely disappeared, that it is stated in the last edition of the Monasticon that even an impres- sion of the abbey seal is no longer to be met with. This, however, is not strictly correct, as I have now before me casts ■ of three seals of Wigmore, the largest of which (apparently as old as the thirteenth century) represents St. Victor (?) with figures on each side of him, all three standing in niches of a canopy, and a monk on his knees below. The inscription around appears to be s.monastbrii SANOTOR. lACOBI ET VICTORIS DE WIG. The Barn of Wigmore Grange. Monastic seals are frequently of great interest as works of art, and as illustrating costume and manners of different pe- riods. The counter-seal of the priory of Leominster contained a Roman intaglio, probably found on some of the ancient sites in that neighbourhood — perhaps at Kenchester. Round it is the inscription ovi se hvmiliat exaltabitvr. Cameos \ 362 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. and engraved stones were very fre- quently used in this way in the middle ages. They were prized and preserved, in the belief that they possessed rare and even miraculous properties. I be- lieve that in the shrine at Cologne there are several hundred, some of them ex- tremely beautiful; and it is by no means uncommon in this country to find them inserted in seals. .^ , , , seal of Leominster. Several causes combined to induce the commissioners, or the persons who subsequently ob- tained the monastic estates, to destroy the buildings. The latter, not unfrequently, used the materials for building their mansion houses. And they were in many cases already rendered ruinous by the violence with which they were stripped of the fixtures in wood and metal. The churches more especially suffered from this cause. Burgoyn, writing to Scudamore, observes, — " As you write imto me, we maye sell no housyng unto suche tyme we have furste certefied, save only the churches, cloysters, and dorters. Howbeyt Mr. Giffard and I have sold in some firire houses all the buyldynges, the cause was for that they werre so spoyled and tome by suche as sold the goodes, that in manner they were downe, and yff they should nott have ben sold, the kyng should have hadd nothyng thereoff." Lead at this time appears to have been an article of value, and it was invariably stripped from the buildings, and reserved for the king's use, which must naturally have caused the ruin of the buildings themselves. In the Scudamore papers in the British Museum, there are many items of payments for taking down the lead and conveying it to the Severn, whence it was carried in boats to Bristol. It appears from a letter written to John Scudamore as late as 1555, in the reign of Philip and Mary, that there still remained a considerable quantity of lead and bell-metal in the receiver's hands: the letter states — "there dothe THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. remayn to be aunsweryd by you bothe leade and bell metalle as flfoUowythe, that ys to saye, for leade att BristoU, iij. if., iiij=- quarter, x. lb. ; Wigmore, liij. if. j. quarter if. de., cxxij. lb.; Ludlowe, v. ff., iij. quarter ff. ccciij. quarter one. • at Severn, in the custodye of Thomas Irelonde, j. S. ; Rocestre, yj. if. ; Croxden, xiiij. ff. de. ; Delacres, iiij. ff. ; Tuttberye, vj. ff. j. quarter; nuper prioratus eanonicorum de Stafford, xliiij. ff. ; Lylleshull, v. ff. ; Halesowen, x. ff. ; the late monestarye of Shrewsborye, Ixvij. ff. de. ccc. lb. ; the celle of Dudley, iiij. ff. ; and ffor belle metalle att Westwoode, in the county of Worcestre, cccc. lb." If we carefully examine the accounts relating to the property of the dissolved monasteries, we should probably iind the representations which have been made as to the lavish manner in which that property was wasted, after it came to the crown, totally unsupported by facts. It would appear from the books of Scudamore's accounts, that the debts of the religious houses were honourably paid, and that all annuities of priests, &c. and bonds made previous to the dissolution were allowed to continue in full force. Liberal pensions (according to the rate of money at that time) were given to the monks, who were at the same time allowed to embrace a secular life. Among the houses remaining in the receiver's hands at the time his books (preserved in the British Miiseum) begin, the only one in the immediate vicinity of Ludlow was that of Wigmore. It is very remarkable (and requires for explanation more docu- ments than appear now to exist) that John Smart, the abbot to whose charge we have seen that such serious crimes were laid, and who is supposed to have been deposed, is there found receiving the unusually large yearly pension of eighty pounds out of the property of the dissolved abbey, in two half-yearly payments of forty pounds each. At the same time his predecessor Walter Hopton, also described as late abbot, who had resigned to make room for Smart and must now have been an old man, is represented as receiving a pension of twenty pounds a year. Each of the canons 364 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. appears, by the same account, to have received five pounds yearly. We find also, by the Scudamore accounts, that considerable sums of money were expended out of the monastic property for the reparation of churches on the border, which had probably run into neglect and ruin in consequence of the unsettled state of this part of the country. From a letter of sir Richard Riche to John Scudamore, dated the 24th of March, 1541, it appears that this was done at the suggestion of the bishop of Worcester. " Wher," says sir Richard, " I am advertised by my lord bisshopp of Worcetour, that diverse suche chansells of churches within the counties of Glouce- tour, Hereford, Salopp, Stafford, and Worcetour as dooth belong and apperteign to the kinges highnes ben in so greatt ruyne and dekaie, that withoute immediate repara- cions to be doon in and apon the said chansells, the kynges majestie shalbe (not long to come) at moche greatter charge to reedifie diverse of the same, theise shalbe therfor to require you, and in his graces behalff to comraande you, and every of you, withoute delaie, to cause necessarie and convenient reparacions to be doon in and uppon suche of the said chansells as shall apperteign to the kinges majestie being within the saide counties, accourding to the neces- sitie of the same." In the few yearly accounts of John Scudamore preserved, the expenses of the reparations of several of these churches are stated. These payments are, — 25 Aug. 1541, out of the accounts of Wigmore abbbey, for the repair of the chancel of " Momelles" church, 12 Nov. 1541, out of Haughmond abbey, for new roofs to the choirs of Uffington and Ruyton churches. 21 Nov. 1541, out of Haughmond abbey, for repairing the choir of Shawbury Church, 21 Nov. 1541, out of Acornbury priory, for repairing the chancel of Wolferlow church. 5 Jnne, 1542, out of Wigmore abbey, for repairing the chancel of Wigmore parish church. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 365 30 Aug. 1542, out of Haughmond abbey, for repairing the chancels of Uffington and Ruyton churches. 31 Aug. 1542, out of the monastery of Stone, for repairing the chancel of Madely church, 18 Nov. 1542, out of Tutbury priory, 3s. 6d. "for the repara- cyon of a glasse wyndow yn the chaunoell" of Church- Broughton. 12 Nov. 1543, out of Shrewsbury abbey, for new roofing with lead and repairing the chancel of the church of High Ercall. 9 Oct. 1544, out of Roucester abbey, for repairing the chancel of Roucester parish church. (Stafi^.) 12 Oct. 1544, out of Haughmond abbey, for repairing the chancel of Wroxeter church. 22 Oct. 1545, out of Bordesley abbey, for repairing the chancel of " Chydeswykeham" church. (Glouces.) Part of the money produced by these sales was also expended on other public works. We find in the accounts alluded to, that during the. years from 1541 to 1546, considerable sums were furnished at frequent intervals from the money arising out of the abbey of Great Malvern, for building the sea-wall at Longney on Severn; and on the 11th of November, 1542, forty shillings was paid out of the accounts of Acornbury for the repair of the Mill- street mills at Ludlow, which then belonged to the crown, and which were the subject of a law-suit in the reign of James I, by which the town was seriously impoverished. " Item, payd the xjtli- day of Novemb. ao- xxxiiijc R. H. viiJTi- to Thomas Wheler and Richard Handley, baylyefes of the towne of Ludlow, by thandes of Johan Alsopp now one of the baylyeffes ther, the some of fForty shelynges for so much money by them payd for dyvers reparacyons by them done upon the come mylles, mc. the Mylle strete mylles, etc. as it apperith by a debentur, xls- " The monastic establishments were thus, within the space of two or three years, entirely swept from the face of the land. There remained still, however, a rather numerous 3 E 366 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. class of small foundations, known, as chantries, colleges, private cliapels, and gilds, -which were attached generally to parish churches, and which were either wholly or par- tially devoted to what were now considered superstitious usages, chiefly consisting in the support of priests to say masses for the dead or obits. These were totally incon- sistent with the religious doctrines of the reformation, which now prevailed in England. An act of parliament for the suppression of endowments of this kind was passed in the 37th of Henry VIII (a. d. 1545-6), but appears not to have been put in execution; but an act, more complete in itself, and confirming the former, was passed in the first year of the reign of Edward VI, a. d. 1547. By this statute, all foundations of the above description were de- clared to be suppressed, and their estates were forfeited to the crown; but it was provided or recommended in the act itself that the property thus taken from the purposes to which it had been devoted by the original founders should be applied by the crown to the erection of grammar schools, increasing of colleges, and other purposes connected with education, and to the appointment and endowment of vicars, &c. By a proviso at the end, all foundations of this kind which had received direct confirmation in the preceding or present leign,, were excepted from the effects of this act. Commissioners were immediately sent round to take the surrenders of the chantries and gilds, and to make inven- tories of their goods and estates, out of which a large portion of our grammar schools were founded. The Palmer's Gild at Ludlow was one of those which catne within the excepting clause of the statute of Edward VI; and when the king's commissioners visited it, the old body corporate defended itself at law, and judgment appears to have been given in its favour. Fearing, however, to provoke the court by obstinate resistance, and willing to get rid of the superstitious uses in the original foundation, it was agreed that the property should be surrendered to the crown, on condition that it should be placed in the THE HISTORY OP LUDLOW. 367 hands of the corporation of Ludlow for the charitable purposes to which it had previously been appropriated. The original drafts of letters, &c. relating to this transac- tion have been discovered among the municipal records since the former part of the present volume was written. On the 11th of May, 1548, the protector Somerset wrote as follows to sir Edward North, then chancellor of the augmentations. We commends us right hartely unto you. Whereas the inhabitauntes of Ludlowc have of late ben suters unto us that they might have certen chauntries preserved in that there towne of Ludlowe, by pretence of a certaine late graunte maide to them by the kinges majestic last disceased, and yett never- thelesse they shewe them selfes redy with all lowliness to take suche order as shall by us be taken, we praye for their better dispatche which they cheiflye seeke to examyn the truths of their charter, and lett them understande the estate of the kinges majesties title, to their forther quiett. Thus hartely fare ye well. From Westm. the xj">' of Maye, a"' 1548. Your lovinge frinde, E, Somersett. To our lovinge frende sir Edward Northe, knight, chauncelor of the augmentacions, etc. On the 7th of June following, sir Edward North returned the following answer to the duke of Somerset's letter. My dutie remembred unto your graice. It may pleise the same to be advertised that, accordinge to your graces pleisUre declared by your lettres concerninge the men of Ludlowes sute for their guilde, I with the counsaill of the cort have harde their counsaill upon the debate, whereof the opinion of their learned counsaill was very presice in Ludlowes quarrell against the kinges highnes, and vowched some of the judges to be of the same opinion againste the kinge. Forasmuche as the sturringe of any doubtes in that case at their sute might encourrage many other to stirre and stande in the like againste the kinges highnes, wich might tende to his majesties no little prejudice, and withall perceivynge that moche of the revenewe is chari- THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. tably emploid upon the sustencion of the poore and maintenaunce of a free grammer schole, by the advise of the counsaill of the corte thowght better to returne them to your graice petitioners as before, and that they should stands to your graices considera- cion in the same, then by sturringe of dowbtes in the statute to geve other courrage to persue the like tittle, and findinge them oonfirmable to the mocion in that behaulf, coulde doe no lesse then comende their good confirmitie and eftsones refarre the matter to the determinacion of your graice. From Westm. the vij""' of June, 1548. Your graces humblye at comaundment, Edward Northe. Meanwhile the people of Ludlow became impatient at the slow progress of the law proceedings, and were naturally fearful that some new act of parliament might come to rob them of their claims. The following draughts of letters, apparently from the gild to sir Ralph Vane and the law counsel of the town, Mr. Calfhill, are undated, but they were probably written shortly after the letter of sir Edward North just given. The neighbours here mentioned were perhaps the town corporation. Right worshipfull, our humble salutacions to your good mastership premised, pleaseth hit the same to be advertized that wheare upon relacion made unto us, that your mastership, thrather at the request of our vearie frynde Mr. Calfhill, are so good unto us that ye have not onely ffurtherid a suyte by us begone and enterprised unto the lorde protectours grace, con- cernyng the exohaunge, alteracion, and unyting of certeyne landes belonginge to the gylde or fraternytie in this towne callyd the palmers gilde in Ludlow, unto the encorporacion of the seid towne to have in fee ferme for ever, but also of your further goodnes hath promysed one our behalve so to set for- wardes our seyd suyte in thabsens of our neighbours whome we sent to solyoytate the same, as yf they or elles mo in nomber for this towne for that purpos war contynually attendaunt upon your mastership for the setting forwardes of the same, and for that we have nat (contrarie to our expectacion) herde from THB HISTOBT OF LUDLOW. 369 Mr. Calfhill, who is left a solicitour unto your masteTship in ...... neither of your mastershipes procedinges in our suytes Eethens our seid neighbours departed from you, tberfore we are so bolde tatempte your seid mastership with oure lettre desiring you nat onelye to contynue our good master in the premisses, but also to be so good as to signifie unto us what your proce- dinges have ben sethens our neighbours departed from you, and what is for us for the more expedicion of the premisses to be done. Greatly fearing that by long delay, sethens that the tytle of the gilde is alreadie judged betwene the kinges majestie and us, ther may atte next parliament be establysshed suche an acte that may brynge that our seid gilde within the compas of the same, whiche wolde be to the utter ruyne of this towne. And for that porcion towardes the recompens of your master- shipes peynes whiche our neighbours and our verie frynde have togiders promysed to your mastership, we will assure you, God willing, shalbe reservyd to your mastershipes contentacion, with our dajly prayers, as knoweth our Lorde, who ever preserve your mastership in worship. Written the day of Oure approvyd frynde Mr. Calfhill, after our right hartie salutacions, with lyke thankes for your greate dylygens and paynes, whiche we perceave by the suocese of our suytes by you hertofore taken one the behalf of this towne ys so put in suche a forwardnes that without your meanes and fryndes had ben to harde for us to have compasid. Thels shalbe to desire you, lyke as by our former lettres we have done, whiche for that we ar in doute whether they be come to your handcs or nat, tberfore we eftsones. writte (thrather because we thynke longe to here from you) that ye will signifie unto us of your procedinges in our suytes sethen the departure of our neighbours from you, and what is Sot us in the same for the further expedicion therof to be done, so that you with us and we with you myght togyders so worke that therby the more expedicion myght be hade, greatly fearing that long contynewans may brynge us in further bondage, as ye know ; thus we are bolde to treble you with contynuall burthens and requestes, as we do at this tyme our good master sir Rafe Vane, by our lettres whiche we desire you to help this berer to delyver, assuring you 870 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. that ye shall not onely reoeave your hole charges that ye shall susteyne, but also be so gratyfied that ye shall therwith be satisfied, God willing, who ever kepe you. Three years passed, during which the town incurred considerable expense, before the matter was finally settled. Perhaps there was some difliculty in arranging the terms to the satisfaction of all parties concerned in it. It is not till the 27th of May, 1551, that we find the following order of privy council to the chancellor of the augmentations, then sir George Sackville, to draw up a new grant of the gild property, which had been conditionally surrendered. After our hartie commendacions, the kinges majesties pleasure is that ye upon the sight hereof doe cause the clarke of your courte to make out in parchement a booke in forme of a gifte and graunte in fee fearme to the bayllfFes, burgessis, and comun- altie of the towne of Ludlowe, in the countie of Sallop, and to their successors, of all suohe burgages, mesuages, lands, tene- mentes, wooddes, and all other hereditamentes what soe ever they be, which doe belonge unto the guylde or fratemitie of palmers of our Ladye in Ludlowe aforesaid, wich burgages and other the premisses and their appurtenaunces the warden, brythern, and sisterne of the sayd guylde are contented to surrender unto the kinges majesties handes, the said baylifies, burgenses, and comunaltie yeldinge and paynge therefore to the kinges majestie viij"- xiij^- iiij*- of rent, and his majesties further pleasure ys, that the said baylififes and burgesis with the cominaltie shall alwayes finde in the same towne, at their owne charges, a free grammer schole with aschoolmaster and an hussher for the erudicion of youth in the Latine tonge, and also xxxiij. poore and impotent people, every of them to have a chamber and iiij'*- a week, and alsoo on honeste learned man to preache Goddes woord, wich shalbe named the preacher of the towne of Ludlowe, and on honeste and discrete minister to assiste the parson in the ministraoion of the devine sacramentes and service there wich shalbe caullid the assistant to the parson of the parishe of Ludlowe, and the said schoolmaster, hussher, preacher, assis- tant, and every of them, to be alwayes nomynatyd andapoynted by THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 371 the discression of the said baylyffes, burgessis, and comminaltie. And the same.booke see made to sende unto us subscribyd with your hande, that we raaye preferre yt to the kinges majestiea signature accordiuglie. Thus fare ye well. From Grenwich, the xxvij"'- of Maye, 1551. Your lovynge ffrendes, W. Wiltsh'-! J. Bedforde, T. Dercye, T. Cheyney, A. Wingfeld, W. Herbert. John Gate, There still seems to have been some disagreement as to the form of the grant, and another year passed before it was finally settled. The following documents belong to the intervening period, and are interesting as furnishing information relating to the earlier history of the gild which was not previously known. The first is a mere memorandum. Mem. to sue to opteyne a lycence for the guylde and frater- nyte of palmers of our Lady of Ludlowe to gyve and graunte all their landes, tenementes, and hereditamentz belonging to the said guylde and fraternyte, wher soever they lye within the realme of Inglande, to the baylifies, burgessis, and comynalte off Ludlowe aforesaid, and also to the same bayliffes, burgessis, and cominalte to accept and reseve the same to them and their successours for ever, notwithstanding ony statute of mortmayne to the contrary. Item, to sue to opteyne a confirmacion of the said grant to be made after the said lycence, and therby to confirms their estate and possesion in all the said landes, tenementes, and hereditamentz, to have and to hold to them and their successors for ever, according to the licence aforesaid. The petition of the town founded upon this memorandum, contains some curious information relating to the history and objects of the gild, and to the state of the town. To the kinges most royall majestic, Moost humbly shewen and besechen your highnes your true 372 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. and faithfull subjectes the bailiffes, burgenses, and commons of your majesties towiie of Ludlowe, in the com. of Salop, that where a" Domini, 1284, certayne burgenses of the said towne, being welthy and of good substaunce, devised and agreed to erect and establishe a guylde to have contynuaimce for ever for the purposes hereafter mencioned, and gave landes unto it for mayntenaunce of the same, viz. to releve the necessitie of snche as by fire, by shipwracke, by violence of theves, or other unevitable misfortune, shuld fall in decay, to helpe also the necessitie of prisoners, poore maydens wanting substance to preferre theym to mariage, and suche as shulde by Goddes visitacion fall into incurable diseases, and lastly to sustayne thre priestes, eche of theym at the wages of viij"' markes by yere, as by their fundacion therof redy to be shewed at large doth appere ; whiche said fundacion or guylde was afterwardes augmented, confirmed, and incorporated by your majesties most renowned progenitoures Ed. the thirde, Ric. the second, and lastly by your highnes moost worthy father of famous memory kinge Henry theight, and was nowe of late, in the ferst session of the parliament holden in the begynnyng of your majesties reigne, forprised and excepted to be noon of those that by vertue of the statute for suppression of colleges, chaun- tries, and guyldes, or of any other statute hetberunto made and came or ought to cumme to the handes and posession of your highnes ; yet for so muche as some question bathe been made in whom the right title remayneth, and that after examynacion therof and deliberate consultacion therin by the chauncelour and counsaile of your highnes court of augmentacions, the matter was lefte in suspence to be considered and ordered by your majesties moost honorable privey counsell, your said oratours knowing your highnes moost godly incHnacion to the advauncement and furtheraunce of all charitable and good publique ordinaunces, and withall considering that the whole and entier profites of the said guylde, except only xxij'.'- ix'- bestowed upon the fyndeng of priestes and obites for the dead, is yet and alwaies hitherunto hathe been employed and spent upon the sustentacion of xxx"- poore and impotent persones, the stipende of a scolemaister frely to teache and instruote youthe in the Latyno tunge, and suche like necessary uses, which your THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 378 highnes by speciall wordes in the statute appoynted to have contynuance as before rather with more encrease and larger allowaunce then any abatement or decrease therof; moost humbly prayen and besechen your highnes to take the whole revenue of the said guylde into your majesties handes ; and for that the said towne is large and hathe but oon parishe churche for iiij"'- persones, and therin no viear endowed, wherunto also from tyme to tyme is great accesse of straungiers owt of all the principalitie of Wales and Marches of the same by occasion that the commissioners resident in those parties for the good governement of the cuntrey moost commonly make their abode in the castell there, and considering also that theix fee ferme is decaied iij""' by yere at your majesties handes for burgage rentes heretofore paied out of thre religiouse bowses dissolved, and that they stand charged nevertheles with mayntenaunce of the towne walles, the paviment, conduytes, and thre stone bridges, that therfore your majestic will vouchesauf to convert the rentes heretofore employed upon the superstitious abuses of private masses, obites, and suche like, to the mayntenaunce of a prechour, an assistant to the person in the cure, and the stipende of an ussher in the grammer schole, and therupon to annexe the whole landes and revenue aforesaid to their fee ferme of the towne; and they shall pray, etc. The following statement accompanied the foregoing petition. It appears that it had now been resolved that, as stated in the foregoing documentj the property should be added under such conditions to the fee farm of the town, and included in a general confirmation of the municipal charter granted by Edward IV. The state of the guylde of Ludlowe, in the countye of Sallop, which the inhabytauntes of the sayde towne of Ludlowe nowe be suters unto the kynges'majestie to annexe the same unto the corporacion to suche purposes and intentes ensuynge. Ffyrste, certen landes and tenementes lyinge in the towne of Ludlowe were geven unto the saide gylde, and after the same was incorporatte unto the inhabitauntes there by the name of a 3 a 374 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. warden, bretherne, and systers of the guylde of palmers of our Ladye in Ludlowe, in the countie of Sallop, by the lettres patentes of the kinge, then beinge Edwarde the thirde, like as by the same appeareth. And the landes therunto geven were imployed unto the ffindinge of a scoolemaster, certen poore people in an almes howse there erected and buylded, and there prestes. Item, the landes and tenementes are by yere cxx"- wherof c^>- lyeth in Ludlowe, in kennelle rentes and decayed howses yerelye chargeable in reparacion above x"- and some yeres c"-, and the reside we beinge xx"- lyeth in sundrye guUettes in severall townes and shers, out of the which there is payde in quyt rentes xij"- yerelye. Item, Richard the seconde, kinge of Ehglande, in his tyme confirmed the lettres patentes of kinge Edwarde the thirde. Item, kinge Henry the eight confirmed the said guylde by his lettres patentes dated xxj"- die Nmemhns anno r. sui, xxvij"- By reason of which confirmacion the said guylde is not within the compasse of dys^olucion by reson of the late actes of parlymentes had and made in anno xxxvij"- H. viij'- and anno primo Edwardi sexti regis nunc, like as by the laste provyso conteyned in the acte of parlimentes had and made in the said ffirste yere of our said soveraigne lord that nowe is doth appeere. The inhabitauntes of the saide towne beinge called before the kinges honorable counsaill concernynge there saide guylde, and makinge answere for the defense of the said guylde by reson of the proviso aforesaide, were referred nnto Mr. Northe then chauncellour of the augmentacion and other the kinges counsaill learned of the said courte, wherupon debatinge the kinges tytle as well before them as afterwarde before Mr. chauncellour Mr. Sackvyle nowe beinge chauncellour, they were at severall tymes referred unto the kinges majesty and his honorable counsaill, and by both the said Mr. chauncellours and the counsaill of the said courte then beinge advysed to make ther humble sute to surrender into the kinges handes.the said guylde, and therupon to desire his highnes that the same guylde maye be annexed unto the corporacion of the said towne of Ludlowe, the bayliflfes for the tyme beiuge, rendering yerely therfore unto the kinges majesty an augmentacion of ther ffee fierm, vz. THE HISTOET OF LUDLOW. 3T5 viij"- xiij»- iiij*- by yere ; and to fynde of the residewe of the revenewes yerely an assystaunt unto the parson, a precher, a Bchole master, an usher, and xxxiij"'' poore people, and the charge of reparacion of the same. Item, upon the inhabitauutes humble sute and surrender of the said guyld unto the king. . . . the kinges moste honorable counsaill upon dewe certificat had and made by both Mr afiEbresaid of the state of the said guide, have therupon signefied unto Mr. cha no we ys the kinges pleasure; and therupon by ther lettres and warraunt hav said Mr. chauncelour to make fforth a gifte in ffee fferme of the premisses unto the and burgessez of Ludlowe aforesaide, unto the yntentes and purposes before rehersed, reudringe the saide yerely rent of eighte poundes threeteene shillinges fower pence, together with xxiij"- xiij"- iiij*- beinge the ffee fferme of the said towne and landes incorporated unto theym by kinge Edward the ffowreth, which in the hole ammounteth unto 1. markes. The contentes of the bill of Ludlowe mritten in parchment to he assigned. The firste and gretteste parte of the booke for Lndlowe conteyneth the oonfirmacion of ther charter graunted by Edward the ffowreth, as before saide. ...... alteracion of two ffayres and the markett ies counsaill in the marches of Wales to be countrey adjoyninge ; and nothinge wne adjoyninge like as by their lettres th the incorporacion of the guylde landes to suche intentes and purposes afore specyfyed. A complete charter made according to these last state- ments and directions, was granted to the town on the 26th of April, 1552, which is the one that, confirmed in subsequent reigns, still continues in force. The original record of the gild of palmers, including the earlier deeds of its various estates, and rolls of its revenue and expenditure from the reign of Edward III to the time of its dissolution, are still preserved, Avith less injury and loss than might THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. be expected, in the municipal archives of the town. These latter are rich in historical materials, and ought to be carefully examined and arranged. SECTION XII. The Lord Presidency of Wales and the Marches. THE reign of Henry VIII saw reformation in other departments of the state, as well as in the church. English- men now began to enjoy internal tranquillity under an efficient administration of the laws, which for a long period before had been effective only against the weak ajid de- fenceless. We have had various occasions of remarking the turbulent state of the counties on the Welsh border, which had led, under Edward IV and Henry VII, to the establishment of another court at Ludlow Castle, attached to the persons of the two infant princes of Wales, with a council, of which the chief duty was to repress the disorders so prevalent in Wales and its marches. After prince Arthur's death, the prince's council was formed into a regular court of juris- diction for the government of Wales, which was established under a chief officer entitled the lord president, in Ludlow Castle. The first of the lord presidents was William Smyth, bishop of Lincoln, the founder of Brazennose College, Oxford, who died in the fourth year of the reign of Henry VIII, and was succeeded by Jeffrey Blyth, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. In 1525, John Voysey, bishop of Exeter, succeeded bishop Blyth, and he gave place in 1535 to Roland Lee, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. During the earlier part of the reign of Henry VIII, the attention of the government appears not to have been called very directly to the improvement of Wales, and it is probable that the first lord presidents were by no means active in their office, but with the appointment of bishop THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 377 Lee we enter upon a new era in the history of the border. His was a mission of reforming and civilizing, and during the period he held the office we find him traversing in every direction the country entrusted to his charge, strength- ening the castles and prisons, assisting at local courts, and punishing with severity those who had long been in the habit of breaking the laws with impunity. In the year of his appointment, no less than five laws appear upon the statute book, relating to Wales. By the first of these, which was " for the punishment of perjury of jurours yn the lordshippes merchers yn Wales," it appears to have been the common practice in those districts, that, when a murderer or felon was brought to trial, his relations or friends tampered individually with the jury, and by threats or promises made them acquit him. Another law enacts that keepers of ferry-boats on the Severn shall not, under penalty of fine and imprisonment, carry men or goods after evening or before sun-rise, its object being to hinder murderers and felons from escaping from Gloucestershire into South Wales. The next is a long act to reform the administration of justice in Wales, and abolishes a number of old popular customs which had interfered with it, forbid- ding collections called commerihas, and other pretences for extortion. The fourth of these acts is for the punish- ment of Welshmen making assaults or ajQGfays upon the inhabitants of Herefordshire, Gloucestershire, and Shrop- shire ; and the fifth is an act for the purgation of convicts in Wales. Next year appeared two or three other acts of the same description, one of which enacted that law should be administered in Wales in the same manner as in England. In the same year was passed an act for " reedifying" seven towns, which states that many houses in these towns were in ruins, " and specyally in the pryncipalle and chief stretes there beyng, in the whiche chief stretes in tymes passid have bene beautyfuU dwellyng bowses there welle inhabited, whyche at thys daye moche parte therof is desolate and void groundys, with pittys, sellers, and vaultes lying open and 378 THE HISTOKT OF LUDLOW. uncoveryd, very peryllous for people to go by in the nyght without jeqpardy of lyfe." These houses were to be repaired within three years under pain of forfeiture to the superior lord. Four of the seven towns specified as in this condition were Shrewsbury, Ludlow, Bridgnorth, and Gloucester. Other acts for the reformation of Wales, passed during the succeeding years, prove the activity of the government on this subject during Lee's presidency. Bishop Lee appears to have been an early protegee of Thomas Cromwell, through whom he was appointed one of the king's chaplains, and it was he who in 1533 performed the marriage ceremony between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, for which he was rewarded in the following year with the bishopric of Coventry and Lichfield. He had no doubt been appointed to the presidency of Wales as a zealous and unflinching agent of Henry's government, and he not only cleared the marches of the bands of robbers with which they had been infested, but was the means of effecting the final union of Wales with England. His activity made him obnoxious to the evil-doers, and in one of his letters in the State Paper Office he says, " Although the theves (as this berar can tell you) have hanged me by imaginacioi;!, yet I trust to be even with them shortely in very dede." It was bishop Lee who first obliged the Welsh gentry to abridge their long names. A few of bishop Lee's letters will afford the best picture of his labours. Others will be found among the documents in the State Paper Office. Most of those which follow have been printed from that source and from the British Museum by sir Henry Ellis, in his new series of " Original Letters." One of the bishop's first cares was to repair and strengthen the castle of Ludlow, the seat of his court, and to these operations the following letter, written apparently on the 9th of November, 1535, refers. Bishop Lee to Cromwell. Moste barty recommendaoions and like thanks ffor your jnanyfold gentlenes, and nowe of late ffor my surveor, «tc. THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. 379 Where, at my laste being at the courte, it pleased you of your goodenes, att my poor request, to move the kings highnes flPbr a warraunt of an hundredth pounds ffor the reparacions of the castle of Ludlowe, which ye sent me directed to sir Edward Crofte, knight, recey vour of the erledome of the marche, where- uppon, I entending none other then the accomplishment of my masters pleasure, incontynently boughte viij. foother of leede. and the same have bestowed uppon the saide castell, and fiarther repayred the same ffor this tyme as I truste it was not thies hundreth yeres, and so wold have contynued if I might have had my money which at this tyme is nygh Ix"- But Mr, Crofte sayeth, and so dothe the auditor, Mr. Turner, that ther ys assignements of the hole receyts as to the kings house- holde and the lady dowager. So that, before God, I am compelled to borowe and paye the sayde money of myne owne ; wherin if I have not your heipe, I am att no lytle after-dele. Wherfore I hartely praye you to direote your lettres as well to the sayde sir Edwarde Crofte as to the auditor aforsaide, to paye to me the saide c"- And I truste I shall not only beware at another season, etc, but also for the same ymployed, as your truste is in me. I truste my lorde of Northfolke will reporte our diligence here, with whoose grace I comnned at large, arid tolde his grace all that I wrote to you off concernyng theves in thiese parties. And att that tyme Geffrey Harley putt upp his supplicacion to his grace, who called Mr. Engleiild and me, and bade us if he were a thief that he shuld be hangid, which is non onlike, if grace come not ffrom you. I pray you commende master Englefild incontynently after christemas, ffor I perseyve that then Mr. Vernon muste be absent. And thus ffare ye as well as I wolde my self. In haste, ffrom Ludlowe, the ix*-' daye of Novembre. It was tyme thyes reparacions were doyne, for I promisse you it whold a cost the kyngs grace fyve hundreth of hys pounds within short tyme, or ells all a goyne to nowght, wherein I trust I have doyne my part, as yee shall by other that have seyne and waveyd the same. Yowrs most bownden, Roland Go. et Lich. To my moste entierly beloved ffrende, master secretary. 380 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Between this date and Christmas the active lord president had been at Radnor and Presteign, " among the very thickest of the thieves," to adopt his own expression from the following letter ; and he was preparing to make a new excursion into the same parts in the ensuing spring. He gives but an unfavourable picture of the condition into which the stores and arms in Ludlow Castle had been allowed to fall by his predecessors in office. Bishop Lee to Cromwell, Moste hartely I recommende me unto you, and certifye the same that I have receved your gentle lettres by the messenger, and according to the contents thorof I shall see every thing accomplished as shall apperteigne, by Godds grace. And ffartber advertising you that I have bene in Wales, at Presteyne, ■where I was right hartely welcommed with all the honest of that parties, as sir James Baskervile and many other, without any speares or other ffashion as heretofore hath ben used, as at large this berer shall enforme you. Which jorney was thought moche daungerouse to some ; but, God willing, I entende after Easter to lye oon moneth at Presteyne, even among the thickest of the theves, to doo my master suche service as the strongest of them all shalbe affrayed to doo as toforc, God willing. A.nd ffrom thens to Herforde, Monmouth, and Chepstowe, for this sommer, which wilbe costely. Wherfore, if the kings highnes will have this countrey reformed, which is nigh at a poynte, his grace may not stick to spende oon hundreth pounds more or lesse for the same. In my going and retorne to Ludlowe, I was at Wigmore, and vewed the castill, and truly the kings highnes must neds repayre and helpe the same, which is in maner utterly decayed in logyngs, and all for reparacyon in tyme. Yet the walls be reasonably goode, and the leede therof will helpe, the tymber is at hande greats plenty. So, the kings graces pleasure knowen ffor money, I shall see the same well doon; if wee of this counsaile might have a warraunt to bestowe suche money as we shuld gett to the kinges graces use uppon the same and other, then ye shall understonde our diligence, I truste, both ffor the kings advauntage and his graces honour. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 381 Radnor castell is not to be repayred, but only a prison house amended, which must neds be doon : ffor ther have ben loste no lesse by evill keping then viij""- theves, and have no place to kepe them. All may not be brought to Ludlowe, ffor many consideracions which were to long to write, I sHppose that xx"' or xl"- marks wolde make tlier a goode prison, which is nofgreate somme. Item, the kings grace hath here an armorer att his coste and charge, and hath delyvered to him certen harnesses, but no man here knoweth howe moche. Ther be also, in sir Richard Herberts custodye, two hundreth harnesse lyeng roting, and he being now sicke, I sent to him to knowe the truthe ; and me thinketh hit were more mete they shulde be here with the armorer to be kepte, who hath wages ffor the same, then ther with hym, who woU give a sclender acoorapte fFor the same. Ther be also, as I am credibly enformed, other harnesses at Thornebury, although I dowbte not they be well, yet yt is, after my symple mynde, convenyent they were together. Here be xl''- or 1"' bowes, not a bill nor goon, but oone great goone which my lord Ferrers brought downe, nor goone powder, nor stones.* Here be certen sheves of arrowes lefte, so that hit appereth a goone without powder or stones, shafts without bowes, Almayne revetts without gorgetts or apprones of mayle. If I shulde nede to doo my master service, I must goo seke hit of other; ffor here is not of his graces owne. But if it might stonde with his pleasure, I thinke hit right necessary that this castell shulde not thus be lefte. And that that his highnes pleasure shalbe, to my litle witt and power shalbe accomplished. Wherin, and in every of thies, I beseche you to enforme his grace, that in tyme to comme no faulte be layed to me in not relating the same to his majestye. And in other things this berer, my trusty servaunt, shall enforme you of my mynde, to whom I hartely praye you to geve credence. And thus I commytt you to God, who sende you a mery newe yere to your harts comforte. From Ludlowe, the xxvj"> daye of Decembre. Yowrs most bownden. Roland Co, et Lich, To my moste entierly beloved ffrende, master secretary. • Cannon balls were at this time usually made of stone. 3 D 382 THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. In the next letter, dated the 19th January, 1536, the bishop speaks of his activity in hunting down the "thieves," and boasts of having reduced Wales to such order that one thief took another, and that the cattle, a great object of plunder in previous times, were now sufficient to take care of themselves. In fact, as soon as the strength of the government was felt, many of the evil-doers who were less compromised by their outward actions, sought to secure their own peace by betraying, or showing their zeal against those who were more obnoxious to justice. Bishop Lee and sir Thomas Englefield to Cromwell. After my moste harty recommend acions, this shalbe tad- vertise you that we have receaved from you the twoo outlawes, named David Lloide or Place, and Johan ap Richard Hockilton, with Richard ap Howell alias Somner, the murderer at Mun- mouth, ffor the which we hartely thanke you. And the said twoo outlawes we have sent to their triall, according to justice, which to morowe they shall receyve (God pardon their sowles). And ifarther, within twoo dayes after the receyving of the saide theves, were brought to us iiij. other outlawes as great or greater then the forsaide David and Johan were, and twoo of the ffirst of them had byn outlawed thies xvj. years; wherof iij. were in liffe, and oone slayne brought in a sacke trussed uppon a horse, whom we have cawsed to be hanged uppon the galowes here for a signe, Wolde God ye had seen the ffashion therof. Hit chaunced the same day to be markett daye here, by reason wherof iij"- people ffoUowed to see the said cariage of the saide thief in the sacke, the maner wherof had not been seen here- tofore. What shall wee say ffarther : all the theves in Wales qwake ffor ffeare, and, att this day, we doo assure you, ther is but oone thief of name of the sorte of outlawes, whose name is Hugh Duraunt, trustyng to have him shortely. So that nowe ye may boldely affirme that Wales is redact to that state that oone thief taketh another, and oone cowe kepith another ffor the moste parte, as Lewes my servaunt at his retorne shall more at large enforme you. The takers of thies outlawes were my lord of Richmonds tenaunts off Keviliske and Arnstley, THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 383 moste parte ffor ffeare and money, and parte fFor to have thanks, and partely to have somme of their kynredd discharged. Beseching you that the kyngs highnes may be advertised hereof. And thus the Holy Trinitie preserve you. From Ludlowe, the xix""- daye of January. Your most bownden, Roland Co. et Lich. At yonr commaundment, T. Englefild. ^ Dicken ap Ho" dio Bagh. . J Howell ap Ho" dio Bagh, alias Ho" Bannor. J Howell ap David Vayne. ( Johan Dee Jrnydw, alias Johan ap Meredith. To the right worshipfull master Thomas Crumwell, chief secretary unto the kings highnes, this be yoven. We find several papers among the Cromwell documents at the Rolls House, which relate to deeds of turbulence and violence perpetrated in Wales and the border counties about this period. One of them, dated in the first year of bishop Lee's presidency, contains some curious depositions relating to the making of forged money on a somewhat large scale in the neighbourhood of Abergavenny. Such deeds had formerly been screened by the feudal privileges of the lords of the soil, who claimed the sole right of juris- diction over their dependents. In the following paper, taken ftom the source just alluded to, bishop Lee sends Cromwell a list of malefactors thus protected by one person, sir Walter Herbert, and it is the best proof that could be given of the evils of the system. I pray hartely to God that yt may please the kinges good grace of his mercifuUe pety with the advise of his most honour- able councell, to see a redres that his subjectes be not thus dayly murthered and robbed. Thomas Herbert ^ For wilfuU Murthur comytted and done at a Philip Herbert > place called Tyntarne within the lordeschipe Morgan Baygtes} of Trillage, in the kyling of one . . ap Rice 384 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. kneling on his kneys, which Thomas, Philip, and Morgan be supported in the kynges lordschip of Magour, by Water Herbart, steward under the eorle of Worcettour, and no ponischment for the seid inurther; the more pete, God helpe ! Edward Cuttelar, beyng that tyme with William Herbert, dyde kylle one in Flette Stret, arfd toke sentere at Westminster, and fro thens cam to Walys to Water Herbert, and was his servaunt there, and yt no ponisement. Water Herbert ) for wilful! murther don within the lordeschepe Johan Madocke ) of Chepstow. Lame Johan Herbert, for the murtheringe of ij. men, and no ponischement. Johan Lewys Fresohower ) owtelawyd for felony and jugement and one Caduke a barber ) gey vn and after comyttyd felony and toke the churche, and therapon wher abjured, and after that resorted to London to Thomas Johan, and to oder, and where take for the mur- thering of ij. men by Kynsington. Richard Phelip Johan, for murther, supported at Magour by Water Herbert. Johan Martohe, Water Herbert ys servaunt, for the murther . . Johan Sysill, Water Herbert servaunt, for murther. William Herbert, and Thomas ap Powell, of Magour, for murther. Morgan Thomas, Llewelyn Hyghne, Water Herbert ys servaunt, for murther. Thomas ap Powell, of the Pill, Water Herbert ys servaunt, for murther. ° , /Water Herbert ys servauntes, for the mur- one Tresham I .1. • r ■■ ^.t. ^ ^ 1 ^ >thermg ot y. men, that ys to whete one ^, „ , V Johan Dier, and anoder Johan Whetsam, etc. Thomas Hygham j Jenkyn Taylour, Water Herbert ys servaunt, for murther. Johan Griffyth Pelle, for murther. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 385 Theffes and Outelams. John Thomas Welyn ^ Water Herbert ys servauntes, for the Howell Thomas Welyn f robbing of William Davy, at Gryn- Sir David, a prest ^fiW, and putting hym and his moder Lawsans Gaynard jon & hotte trevet for to make them schow, etc. Rosse Phepe, owtelawyd for felony, and supported and mayn- teynid by Water Herbert, his reteneir. Rawling Jamys ^ Johan Lloyd /Water Herbert ys servauntes, notorius theffes Rees Awbere ^ openly knowen, with oder, for the robbing of Richard Draper i a Breton schepe and faveryd. Thomas Davy J One Meredith, Water Herbert ys servaunt, owtelowyd for felony, Resse Tynker, supported by Water Herbert within his awtorite, men supposeth a money maker, etc. not. Myles Mathew, Water Herbert his frend, for the robbing of the cathedrall churohe of Landaffe, with other, etc. not : Jamys Butteler Howell Coke Johan Pull Meyricke ,.,„„, T T> V Water Herbert ys servauntes, and_ no- RoTJg' Morgan ^orius theffes. Lewys Higham Johan Kymys Memorandum. When that Water Herbert, and George ap Morgan, wher on and agreyd togedur, whatsoever manner of meschyff where done yt was clokyd, the more pety. In the next letter of the lord president, we find him at Monmouth, on his proposed summer circuit in search of " theves." In the course of his proceedings, he had found a person who had actually, by some means or other, obtained a licence from the king to act contrary to the statute already mentioned, that forbade gathering of money under the title of commorthas. Bishop Lee to Cromwell. After my most harty recommendaoions, hit may please the 386 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. same to be advertised that of late I receaved letters fFrom my surveyor, conteynyng the olde assured goodenes and ffavor of your goode harte contynued towards me flfrom tyme to tyme, and nowe lastely in that it pleaseth you to tendre my sute flfor the priory of saincte Thomas, although I cannot have it to stonde, yet iFor that ye mynde my preferment to the fferme of the demaynes, I hartely thanke you. As God judge me, I only desyre the same ffor quyetnes and ffor none advauntage, as my saide surveor shall enforme you, to whom I hartely beseche you to geve ffarther credence bothe herein and other things, emongs which oone ys ffor the reparacions of the castill of Monmouthe, ■which is all decayed and in ruyn (the hall and the walls only exoepte). And fforasmoche as it shalbe a shire towne, and that also this counsaile shall fiFor sondry causes repayre thither, I thinke hit expedient the priory here, viz. the mansion of the same, as stones, tymber, and other things to be reserved Sot the re-edifieng of the saide castill, which, together with cc"- in redy moneye, and suche as this counsaile wolde heipe, wolde make a convenyent lodging fibr this counsaile and other at the kings graces pleasure : wherein his grace pleasure knowen, and money had as bifore, my diligence shall not fiFayle to the best of my litle power. But there is no leade in the sayde priory. I truste I have sett Brecknock castell in as perfitt ffashion as he was syns his ffirst foundaoion. Truste ye me truly, I wilbe more circumspecte in spending the kings graces moneye then myne owne. And what the kings graces pleasure shalbe herein, I praye you I maye be asserteyned shortly. And fforasmoche as abowte Arusteleye, syns my moving unto Brecknock in Southwales, be gathered together a certen cluster or company of theves and murderers, where I entended to Glocestor, I must of necessitie retorne to Herforde and Ludlowe ffor the redresse of the same, which, God willing, shall not be omytted. Hartely prayeng you to remembre the com- mission that Mr. Englefild left with you; ffor without that ■we can doo no goode here. Farthermore ye shall understonde that where, ffor the highe commodilie and welth of Wales and the marches of the same, commortha and other exaccions were fordon by statute, oone George Mathewe, gentleman, of Southwales, hath obteigned a THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 387 placarde to the contrary (the kings grace as I take it not playnely instructed therin), fFor there is no cause whye expressed, as by the copy hereinclosed hit doth appere,* wherin I wolde gladly knowe the kings graces pleasure shortely. Truly it is right large, all things considered, ffor he is so flrended that it shall ron through all Wales to his advauntage, as I take it, of a thowsand marks. Thus I trouble you, beseching you of pacyence and daily my prayer is for your preservaccion, which almighti Jhesu conty- newe. From Monmouthe, the xxj"*- daye of June. Yours most bownden, Roland Co. et Lich. To my moste entierly beloved fFrende, master secretary. Among other papers in the Rolls House, are copies of the examinations relating to the abduction of a widow, who. was seized publicly in a church at service time, by a party of armed men, and carried away. The trial of the offenders took place at Gloucester, and it appears, from the following letter (in the State Paper Office), that, the jury having been tampered with, they were acquitted. This manner of escaping justice had, apparently, been a common practice in Wales and on the border. The date of this letter is February, 1537. Bishop Lee to Cromwell, To the right honorable and his very good lord, the lord Cromwell, lord privy seall. My dutye remembred to your good lordshype, advertesynge the same that I have receaved your letteres datid at the courte the xvij""' daye of February, willing me (that were dyveres complayntes have bene made againste sir John Hudleston, knyghte of the one party, and sir John Bridges of the other * Inclosed in this letter is the copy of the " placard" or licence, which bears date at Green-wich, Feb. 2, in the 27th Hen. VIII, A. D. 1536. This fixes the date of the letter to June, 1536, and not 1540. as sir Henry Ellis supposed from the mention of the priory of Stafford. In fact, on the 9lh of July, 1536, Cromwell was raised to the peerage, after which he would not have been addressed as "master secretary." 388 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. parte, by divers poore men), I should entend to the reformatyon of the same, and to give a vigelent eye, and circomspectely to barken to the ordere and factyones in the county of Gloucester. My good lord accordinge to my dutye thes shalbe to enforme the same that sir William SuUyard, knyghte, Mr. John Vernon, and Thomas Holte, vrere at the assyses at Gloucester, with the justycese of assise, for dyveres causes. Amonge other one was for the tryall of a cause of rape, comytted by one Roger Morgane of Wales, with a greate nomber in his companye, in takyng awaye a widowe againste her will out of a churche, wherin, althoughe pregnante evidence was gy ven to the enquest agaynste the sayd Morgane and his company (as was thought to us all), yet notwithstandynge the sayd mallefactores were acquitted, to the evell example of other. And my good lorde, this is a vice that is and hathe bene comonly used in Wales, and bathe moste need .of reformatyon (which we entendynge) caused the sayd persones to be brought to tryall, and at soche tyme as the enqueste should have ben empanelled, suche as were of reputaoion and appointed to have bene of the same enqueste absented themselves, so that we were driven to take raeane men and of mean state ; and BO throughe beringe and secrete labore the sayd partyes were acquitted. And therupon, the sayd jurye was and is bounde to appeare at the nexte assyses ; and, in the meane tyme, before the kynges most honorable counsell in the stare chambere, within X. dayes warnynge to them gyven, yf it shalbe seen to your and their honores. My lord, yf this be not looked upon, farewell all good rule. 1 have herwith sente unto your lord- shipe the coppy of the whole bookes of evidence to the entente that the same scene and perused by your lordshipe, I may knowe your lordships pleasure, what tyme the said enqueste shall appere, that therupon I maye gyve knowledge therof to the sayd enqueste, wherof I hartely desyere your lordshipp. At these assyses were viij. condempned, wherof vj. for fellony, and ij. for treason whose heades and quarters shalbe sent to viij. of the heste townes of the sheir. Those twayne were the bereward and his ffellowe that were broughte by the sherife from your lordshipe; and ij. other for sedytyous words agaynste the kynges highnes were sett of the pillorye, and had there yeares nayled to the same, besydes other puneshements accordinge to THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 389 their desertes. And thus the Holy Trynetye longe contynewe your good lordshipe in honor. In haste, from Gloucester, the laste day of February e. Your lordshipes moste bounden, Roland Go. et Lich. Among offenders with whom justice had now to deal for the first time, were the gipsies, then commonly known by the name of Egyptians or gypcians. From the following letter addressed to the lord president, it would appear that they infested the Marches of Wales, where they had perhaps found it easier to evade the laws than in other parts of the country. Gipsies appear not to have been known in Europe before the sixteenth century. The date of this letter is December 5, 1537. Cromwell to the lord president of the Marches. After my right hartie commendacions, whereas the kinges majestie aboute a twelfmoneth past gave a pardonne to a company of lewde personnes within this realme calling themselves Glp- cyans, for a most shamfnll and detestable murder commytted amongea them, with a speciall proviso inserted by their owne consentes, that onles they shuld all avoyde this his graces realme by a certeyn daye long sj^thens expired, yt shuld be lawfuU to all his graces offycers to hang them in all places of his realme where they myght be apprehended, without any further ex- amynacion or tryal after fforme of the lawe, as in their lettres patentes of the said pardon is expressed. His grace, hering tell that they doo yet lynger here within his realme, not avoyding the same according to his commaundement and their owne promes, and that albeit his poore subjects be dayly spoyled, robbed, and deceyved by them, yet his highnes oflScers and ministres lytle regarding their dieuties towardes his majestye, do permyt them to lynger and loyter in all partys, and to exercise all their falshodes, felonyes, and treasons unpunnished, hathe commaunded me to sygnifye unto youe that his most dreade commaundement is that ye shall laye diligent espiall throughowte all the partes there aboutes youe and the shires next S B 390 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. adjoynyng, whether any of the sayd personnes calling them- selfes Egipeyans, or that hathe heretofore called themselfes Egipoyans, shall fortune to enter or travayle in the same. And in cace youe shall here or knowe of any suche, be they men or women, that ye shall compell them to repair to the next porte of the see to the place where they shalbe taken, and eyther wythout delaye iippon the first wynde that may conveye them into any parte of beyond the sees, to take shipping and to passe to owtward partyes, or if they shall in any wise breke that comraaundement, without any tract to see them executed ac- cording to the kinges hieghnes sayd lettres patents remaynyng of recorde in his chauncery, which with these shalbe your dis- charge in that behaulf: not fayling taccomplishe the tenour hereof with all effect and diligence, without sparing uppon any commyssion, licence, or placarde that they may shewe or aledge for themselfes to the contrary, as ye tender his graces pleasure, which also ys that youe shall gyve notyce to all the justices of peax in that countye where youe resyde, and the shires adjoynant, that they may accomplishe the tenour hereof accordingly. Thus ffare ye hertely wel. From the Neate, the \*^ day of December, the xxix"" yere of his majesties most noble regne. Your lovyng ffreende, Thomas Crumwell. To my verye good lorde, my lorde of Chestre, president of the counsaile of the Marches of Wales* The gipsies had been banished from this country by an act of parliament passed in the 22nd year of the king's reign (a. d. 1531), which appears, however, to have been • The original of this letter is preserved in the Cottonian Manuscripts in the British Museum, Titus B. I, fol. 407. It is not clear why the lord president is entitled " my lord of Chester." Henry VIII, about this time, established the new bishopric of Chester; and as the united see of CoTentty and Lichfield had been formerly moTed from Chester, perhaps king Henry designed to carry it back, and to make Lee the first bishop of Chester. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 391 ineflfectual, as we find them alluded to in after years. The act just mentioned describes this wandering people as " an outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians, using no crafte nor feate of merchandise, who have come into this realm, and gone from shire to shire and place to place in great company, and used great, subtle, and crafty means to deceive people, bearing them in hand that they by palmestry could tell men and womens fortunes." It is remarkable that the act which immediately precedes it, and was passed in the same year, is directed against poisoners. We find in other countries that the gipsies were concerned in several cases of poisoning, a crime which was widely prevalent during the middle ages. The following document relating to this singular class of people, which is preserved among the records of the Rolls House, and has not been hitherto printed, appears to be of the same date as the preceding letter, and is given as a pertinent illustration of it. To Thomas earl of Essex, lord prevey seal. Right honorable and my singular good lorde, my dutie reraembred, this is to advertise your honorable lordshipp that one maister Paynell, baylyfF of Bostone, is com bi your lord- shippes commaundement, as he seithe, for to convey up certeyne persones namynge them sellffes Egiptians that shalde be here in prison at Bostone. So it is, right honorable lorde, that the Mondaie in the Rogacion weeke laste paste, there cam to Bostone foure Egiptians whiche did com the daie before from the towne of Lenn, whiche forseide persones the undermarshall of the kynges marshallsee caried from hence to London to your lordshipp from other of thcr company that wer here then in prisone before Cristynmas laste paste, and the reste of their company wer shipped by the kynges commaundement (as your lordshipp knoweth) from Bostone and landed in Norwey, And now at these persones commynge laste to Bostone, the consta- bles of the same towne iramediatly not onely sett them in the stockes as vagaboundes, but also serched them to their shertes, but nothinge cowde be found uppon them, not so muche as 392 THE HISTORY OF lUDLOW, wolde paie for their mete and drynke, nor none other bagge or baggage, but one horse not worthe iiij'- ; and then I did examen them why thei cam hither, and did not get them owte of the kynges realme, as other of their company was, and thei shewed me that of late thei wer demytted owte of the raarshallsee where thei wer in prisone, and commaunded hi your lordshipp (as thei seide) to departe owte of the realme as shortely as thei myght gett shippinge. And thei thinkinge to have had ship- pinge here at Bostone as their company had, did com hither, and here beynge no shippinge for them, the forseide constables of Bostone did avoide them owte of the towne as vagaboundes towardes the nexte portes, which be Hull and Newcastell. And this I certefie your lordshipp of trnethe, as knowes our Lorde, who ever preserve your honorable lordshipp. Written at Bostone the Thursdaie in Whitson weeke. By yower oratour with my pore servys, Nicolas Robertson. The last of bishop Lee's letters which we shall give is taken from an Harleian manuscript, and relates to the turbulent behaviour of the people of Cheshire, a county included in the jurisdiction of the court of government of Wales and the Marches. Bishop Lee to Cromwell. To the righte honorable the lord Croumwell, lord privye seall. My duty in my moste humble maner unto your lordshipe remembred, it may please the same to be advertysed that I have receaved your honorable letteres dated the 13 daye of Maye, willinge and comaundynge me, that yf the acte or affraye done betweene Cholmeley and Manweryhge (as at this tyme is reported to your lordshipe) were done without our comyssyoun, that then this counsell should not proceed to the determenatyon therof, and yf the same were not so, then to staye untyll the kynges graces pleasure were therin knowne, and therof with dilligence to assertaine your lordshipe. Pleasethe it the same to THE ttlSTOBT OF LUDLOW. 398 be advertyssed that imedyatly after the deed of affray e corny tted betweene the sayd partyes, sir Johan Porte, on of this counsel!, did sygnefy unto your lordshipe the whole effecte touchinge the the said affraye which was done in Staffordsheir without our comyssyon, and therupon it pleased your lordshipe to comaund this counsell ernestelye to looke to the same and to the punyshe- ment therof, as should appertayne, which we have done accor- dinglye, and have taken bonds of either of the said partyes for keepinge of the kinges peace. And forasmuche as Chol'meleye could not convenyontly bring in his suretyes, and for that also he was slaundered to lye in a wayte for Manweringe (which as yet is not proved), this counsell kepte the said Cholmeleye in ward by the space of thre monthes, as well in the porters lodge as in the kinges castle at Wigmore, to his no lytle payne and charges, unto suche tyme he had found suffytyente suretyes. And in this tyme Manweringe by a kynsman of his exhibited a byll of complaynt unto this counsell, and afterwards at Bridgenorthe (my lord Ferrars and jnstyce Porte being presente) exhibited another bylle against Cholmeley, and had daye assynged to prove his bylle, at which daye he brought no proofes nor yet synce would, but stayed, and so came donne your lordshipes second lettere, willinge this counsell to proceed and all other processes of writts against Cholmeley or his servantes to surcesse, which to accomplyshe the said Manwaringe did at al tymes refuse. And so obtayned your lordships thyrd and laste letter as before, which to foUowe this counsell is always redye as shall stand with the kynges graces pleasure and your lordshipes. Yet, my good lord, althoughe this affraye were done without our lymytes, yet it followeth the persone as I take it, and botfae partyes be within our comyssyon, so that wee have cognysone in the case (the kynges majesties pleasure and your lordshipe not to the contrarye). And, my good lord, there is nether man slayne nor maymed, but a lewde act comitted, the semblable wherof, yea and a manyfold grealere, hathe byne by this counsell ordered and determened. But the mallyce and proude of Cheshiere gentlmen cannot so take up, disdeyninge this infe- ryour courte and the ordere of the same, myndynge all myscheefe and ungratyousness with infynete vexatyones of theire neighe- bores (as would God ye knewe the truthe), I am sure more 394 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. murders and manslaughteres in Chesheir and the borderes of the same within this years then in all Wales this two yeares, which they shall not denye ; and nothinge done untyll our comynge for the punyshement of the same, the partyes lett goe and none taken to our knouledge. Yf ther be a forfeiture of a recognezones, yet it hangeth upon the proofe of that who begane the affraye, which Cholmeley layethe to Manweringe, and Manweringe to him ; prooves and partyes be all in this quarrelle for the tryall of the same, wherfore nowe so shall please the kynges majesty and your lordshippe, so it be. Also I beseeche your lordshipe that the kynges graces pleasure maye be knowne, for that betwixte this and AlhoUantyde the lord marcheres maye use the tryall of ffellones, for I am dayly called upon and cane make them no answere. I have written to your lordshipe and to my lord chauncelere dyveres tymes, but your lordshippes buseness is suche that it is not in your rememberance. Your poore bedesman this berer desyrethe me to move your lordshippe to be good lord unto him. And thus the holy Trynetye longe contynewe your good lordshipe in honore. From Chester, the 2V^ daye of Maye. Your lordshipes moste bounden, Roland Co. et Lich. The date of the foregoing letter is uncertain. Bishop Lee's exertions continued unabated till his death, which took place on the 24th of January, 1543, at Shrewsbury, where he was buried. He left the districts over which he had presided in a state of tranquility and security, differing very much from that in which he had found them. Lee was followed by a succession of lord presidents who appear to have shown much less activity in their oflftce, and who in fact would have found little encouragement in the vicissitudes of the English government between this period and the accession of queen Elizabeth. Another bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, Richard Sampson, was raised to the dignity immediately after bishop Lee's death, and held it till the second year of king Edward VI (1548), when he was removed to make way for the powerful and THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 395 grasping duke of Northumberland. Bishop Sampson ap- pears not to have been a vigilant president; for he vsras obliged to seek the king's pardon for having allowed a captured offender, Griffin ap John, to escape from his cus- tody. The duke of Northumberland appears never to have visited Ludlow in virtue of his office. He was succeeded in 1550, by William Herbert, shortly afterwards created earl of Pembroke, who had, previous to his appointment, been sent into Wales by king Edward VI, where his great prudence is said to have preserved the tranquility of that part of the island, now again in danger of being disturbed. In 1553, on the accession of queen Mary, Nicholas Heath, bishop of Worcester, was appointed lord president of Wales and the Marches, a zealous catholic, who for his zeal for the old religion had been deprived of his bishopric in the reign of Edward VI. We know but little of the history of the border under Mary's rule; but the town records of Ludlow, and especially the chamberlains' books, show that attempts were made to restore in some degree the old church furniture along with the old ceremonies. The monastic lands were too effectually deposited in the hands of their new owners to be easily recovered ; and the destruc- tion of monastic buildings had rendered it next to impossible to place the monastic orders in their former position in the country. On the death of the queen at the end of 1558, bishop Heath refused to crown Elizabeth, and was committed to the Tower. He had already resigned the presidency of Wales in 1556, and had been succeeded by the earl of Pembroke, who held the office again till 1558, when he made way for another prelate, Gilbert Bourne, bishop of Bath and Wells, also a devoted catholic, who had been chaplain to bishop Bonner. This prelate, who was committed to safe custody on the accession of Elizabeth, was succeeded by sir John Williams, who held the office only a few months, dying at Ludlow on the 14th of October, 1559. In his place the queen appointed the ever celebrated sir Henry Sidney, to whose presidency (which lasted twenty- 396 THE HISTORY OF I^UJJLOW. seven years), Wales and the border owe perhaps more than even to that of Roland Lee. Sir Henry Sidney was the eldest son of sir William Sidney, of Penshurst, in the county of Kent, a gentleman who had filled many important employments during the reign of Henry VIII, and had held the oiBces of chamberlain and steward to Edward VI, while prince. His son Henry was from his infancy bred and educated with prince Edward, who treated him as' a companion with the greatest fami- liarity, often even sharing his bed with him. In 1550, when scarcely twenty-one years of age, he was knighted, along with William Cecil, so celebrated afterwards as the favourite and able minister of queen Elizabeth, and the same year he was sent as ambassador to France. On his return he was made chief cup-bearer to the king for life, and married the lady Mary Dudley, daughter of the earl of Northumberland, who was decapitated on the accession of queen Mary, and sister of Robert Dudley, the famous earl of Leicester of the reign of Elizabeth. Sir Henry Sidney remained in the highest favour during the short reign of Edward VI, who died in his arms at Greenwich, on the 6th of .luly, 1553. After that event, he seems to have retired for a while into private life; but in spite of his family connection with the Dudleys, and the catastrophe in which they were involved at the commencement of the new reign, sir Henry Sidney retained the favour of queen Mary, and was by her made vice-treasurer and general governor of all the revenues in Ireland, and he was soon afterwards invested with the temporary government of that kingdom as lord justice. Queen Elizabeth continued him in his employments; as we have already stated, she ap- pointed him lord president of the Marches of Wales ; in 1563, he was sent again on an embassy to France; in 1564 he was made a knight of the garter; and he was subsequently thrice appointed lord deputy of Ireland, the affairs of which country he regulated with consummate wisdom and prudence. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 397 From the end of 1559 to the close of 1565, Sydney carried on the government of Wales in his own person, and of the attention he paid to it we have many proofs among his papers still preserved, although most of the records appear to be lost from which we could have derived a par- ticular account of it and of its influence upon the civilization of the principality. From subsequent allusions, and a variety of circumstances, we are justified in concluding that, since the time of bishop Lee, the counties which lay under the jurisdiction of the court at Ludlow had fallen into many of those disorders which are natural to a country placed imder a subordinate government, when the latter is not exerted with the necessary rigour. Among the family papers at Penshurst is one, which has been printed in the collection by Collins, written in sir Henry's own hand, and consisting of extracts relating to the history and duties of his office, which shows the anxiety of this lord president to make himself acquainted with every thing relating to it. He there tells us that " the lorde president and counsail of the domynion and pryncipallitie of Wales and the Marches of the same were established in the tyme of kinge Edward the fourth and eversythens ;" and that " thereby the hole countrey of Wales have ben, by the government of the same lorde president and counsaill, sythens the estab- lishment of the same, brought from their disobedient, barbarous, and (as may be termed) lawless incivilitie, to the civill and obedient estate they now remayne, and all the English counties bordering thereon brought to be affrayed from such spoyles and felonyes as the Welsh before that tyme usually by invading their borders annoyed them with," We have seen how much bishop Lee did towards pro- ducing this result; but in a country which for so many ages had been subject only to the capricious jurisdictions of turbulent landholders, or, as in some parts from the cha- racter of the country itself, inaccessible to any law, we cannot be surprised if it was still subject to many disorders, 3 F 398 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. and if the lord president's court was a very busy one. His neglect would soon throw it into confusion, and would give room for collusion and bribery, and every other description of corruption, and it seems probable that it was in this state when sir Henry Sydney was appointed to the presidency. As it had to deal in many instances with men who were tenacious of old vested rights, whose insubor- dination had been the cause of many of the disorders of the country, and who were hostile to an authority which was intended especially to curb and restrain them, they often attempted to dispute its jurisdiction, and to carry their causes to Westminster, where they expected more easily to escape justice, and appeals of this kind seem to have tormented the earlier years of Sydney's presidency. One object of the lord president in the paper just mentioned was to draw together a few facts, placing in a clear light the extent and independence of the jurisdiction of his court. This paper was written at the time, apparently, when sir Henry, by his appointment to the government of Ireland, was preparing for his departure to a still more troublesome scene of labour, and when therefore, as he retained the lord presidency of Wales, he would have to direct the" court from a distance; and he was consequently desirous of noting precedents for such a case. These he seems to have had no difficulty in finding during the two preceding reigns, when the lords presidents appear to have left the government in a great measure to the council. " The lord president beinge within the realme, and from the place where the councell make abode, is to geave direction to the rest of the councell and to be made pertaker of matters of importance, as the heade of the body of the councell, and his assent to be hadd to the proceedings in matters of importance ; may appere by several orders taken in an. 2, 3, and 4 of kinge Edward, before the said lord president and councell, some whereof baringe date at Shrewsbury, some at Worcester, some at Ludlow, and subscribed by John earl of Warwick, then lord president, in testimony of his assent to that THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 399 which was done by the rest of the councell in his absence. He that nowe supplyeth thoffice of clerck of the councell, then servinge under Mr. Evans, deceassed, that was then clerck of the councell, brought these orders to Bushope Hatfield, to the said lord president, and procured his hand to the same, as may appear. The severall lettres and mynuts of lettres betweene bushopp Heath, lord president, then beinge at London, and the councell then beinge in the comission, shewe that he, then beinge lord president, gave direccion to the rest of the councell, although he was absent from the place." By another note of sir Henry Sydney's, made about this time, probably with a view to a retrenchment of expenses, it appears that the annual expenditure of the court of the Marches of Wales in the third year of the reign of Edward VI (a. d. 1549) amounted to eight hundred and seventy-six pounds fifteen shillings and sixpence. The officers of the household in Ludlow Castle were then a steward of the household, with a salary of four pounds a year, two cooks, each receiving forty shillings a year, with two " laborers of the kitchen," or assistant cooks, at twenty shillings a year each, and a butler, pantler, yeoman of the cellar, and cater, at forty shillings a year each, and an " almner" and an under brewer, each receiving twenty shillings a year. The consequence of Sydney's absence in Ireland was soon felt in the government of Wales, whence he re- ceived intelligence of disorders which appear to have required his own presence to repress them. From a warrant to the sheriff and justices of the peace of the county of Monmouth, dated on the 9th of March, 1573, it is stated that the people of that county, "partely for want of the peace of God, and partely for lack of good order, or dutiful reverence and obedience to the lawes, have grown to such liberty and insolencie as they have not left any insolencie or ofience unatempted ; so many mur- ders, manslaughters, robberyes, theftes ; such fighting and quarelling ; and manifold offences ; that no country within 400 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. the commission aforeseid is so much misliked." The remedies recommended in this case, and the proceedings which it was announced would be taken, furnish a rather curious illustration of the condition of this country at that time. " The contynuance and increase whereof semeth to growe by the default of the sheriff and justices of pees, in respect of favour, shown one towards the other's officers, servants, and retainers; wherebie, in maintenyng of matters, one gentleman or other shal become a partie, what offence soever the same shalbe." It was this crowd of retainers and dependents, supported in their evil-doing by the authority of their masters, that was the curse of the age of which we are now speaking. The president's order then declares the earnest wish of the local government to put an end to these disorders, and continues — "It is therefore ordered by the said lord president and counsail, that a letter rehersing the premises be directed to the sheriff and justices of the pees of the said countie of Monmouth, commanding them to have consideracion of theise thinges, in such diligent sort, as may be answerable to the trust in them reposed ; bending their sole study and industry to the performaunce of the pees, the common quiet of the countrey, and doing of justice, and for that purpose, to assemble themselfes together, and consulting by what meanes good order and quietnes may be best contynued ; and to devide themselfs into eight, ten, or twelve parties, more or lesse, as to their discrescions, having regarde to the quarter of the sheir and number of themselfs as shall seeme most convenient; besides theire generall care, that every par- ticular member may give diligent hede, within the lymytts appointed to them, for preservation of quietness and good order ; showing good examples of reformacion in themselfes, wherein it were not amisse that the order heretofore prescribed to them for appointing overseers of good rule in every parish were eftsoon put in execution with no less perseveraunce to thexecution of the lawes against vaga- bonds, idle persons, loyterers, and such as can not yeld THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 401 accompt of their way of livinge within the compasse of the lawe lately provided in that behaulf. The statutes against alehouse-keepers, whether they be more in number than needeth, or the places of their habitations convenient or inconvenient, is specially to be remembred; with the statutes of reteyners, hue and cry, and for keeping of good and substantial watches in places convenient, at the tymes appointed by the lawes ; and for the avoyding of the sundry and manyfold theftes there lately committed; the order heretofore sett down that the bucher, or such as killed any cattell, to cause the hide or hides therof to be openly shewed in the market, or before the overseers of the parish, before the sale thereof, showeth also to good purpose to be remembred." At this same time, a controversy had arisen with some lawyers of Worcester, who aimed at withdrawing that city and county from the jurisdiction of the court of the Marches, and their leader, a gentleman of the name of Eobert Wilde, had been committed to prison. But he was subsequently set at liberty, on bail. These and other complaints seem to have attracted the attention of Elizabeth to the necessity of renewing solemnly and reinforcing the authority of her court for the govern- ment of Wales and the borders, and in the June of the following year, 1574, a new set of instructions were addressed to sir Henry Sydney and the council, who were thereby reappointed with alterations in, and additions to, their numbers. In these instructions the extent of the juris- diction of the court, and the causes which it was to try, are more carefully defined, as well as the attendance expected from the officers and council, and the duties which they were to fulfil. It is therein earnestly required that they, " by all their pollicies, ways, and means, they can, shall put their good and efiectual endeavours to refrein all manner of murders, felonies, burglaries, rapes, riots, routes, unlawful assemblies, unlawful retainers, regraters, forestallers, extor- tioners, conspiracies, maintenances, perjuries, of what kind 402 THE HISTOEY OF LUDLOW. soever they be j and also all other unlawful misdemeanors, offences, contempts, and evil doings, whatsoever they be, attempted, done, or committed, by any person or persons within the limits of their commissions." It is added " and whereas divers persons in Wales have commonly used heretofore to go as well to the church, as in fairs, markets, and other places appointed for justice, in harness and privy coats, the queenes highnes pleasure is, that from henceforth no man shall wear neither harness nor privy coats, neither in churches, fairs, markets, or any other place of justice, except such as shall be licensed, commanded, or authorised by the queenes highnes, or her honorable council, or by the lord president and council, or officer where any fair, market, or justice place is kept." An order like this is sufficient to impress upon us the turbulent condition of a country to which it applies,- such armour could only be intended for defence or offence, and must have made the country a perpetual scene of riot. People offending in any of the foregoing particulars were to be rigorously proceeded against by the court ; and it was directed that " the said lord president and council, or three of them, at the least, whereof the lord president or vice-president to be one, upon sufficient ground, matter, and cause, shaU and may put any person accused, and known or suspected, of any treason, murder, or felony, to tortures, when they shall think convenient, and that the cause shall apparently require, by their discretions." " And whereas," the instructions continue, " divers lewd and malicious persons have heretofore, and of late days, more and more spread abroad many false and seditious tales which amongst the people have wrought great incon- veniencies, breeding to the danger of uproars," the court is directed to make search after the authors of such reports, and " whensoever any such slanderous tales shall be re- ported, that the reporter shall be forthwith stayed, and all means used to attach them from one to another, until the first author may be apprehended, and duly and openly THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 403 punished, and if the report extend to treason, then to cause the law to proceed, and execution to be done accor- dingly. And if it be of less account, yet such as may work some inconvenience to the dishonour of her majesty and of the state pubUc, or otherwise of the government, then they shall punish the party so offending by the pillory, cutting off their ears, whipping, or otherwise by their discretions." Various other directions are given to proceed not only against a variety of offences which show that order and morality were not well observed in the principality and the borders, but against extortions and impositions which it appears were practised by the lawyers and others connected with the court. These directions are followed by regulations of the accounts of fees, and of the expenses of the household. ''The queen's majesty's pleasure is, that a household shall be kept and continued by the said lord president or vice-president, for the diet of him and the rest of the council there, and for such others as are by her majesty allowed to have their diet there. The same lord president or vice-president shall nominate and appoint all officers necessary for the said household, and every of the said counsellors shall have in household there the number of servants hereafter mentioned ; that is to say, sir John Throgmorton, knight, now justice of Chester, or the justice that hereafter shall be, being appointed always to be resident with the said lord president, to have in household eight servants, and a chaplain or preacher. And that all and every person of the said council, before ap- pointed by these instructions to continual attendance, or any of the other when they shall be called to attend, shall have in household three servants ; so that if those persons who are not bound to continual attendance, shall, without sending for, come thither, or shall tarry longer than to them is appointed, they shall not have any diet in the said household." The porter's lodge of Ludlow Castle was the prison of the castle, and the porter acted the part of jailor ; and it 404 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. appears that at this time Wigmore Castle served as a prison for more rigorous confinement. After providing against extortion and bribery on the part of the porter towards his prisoners, the instructions direct that " if so be any person committed to the porter's charge, for any matter between party and party, shall absolutely refuse to conform himself in time convenient, then such person to be sent to Wigmore, or such like place as hath been accus- tomed ; and in case of felony, after full examination taken, the prisoner so to be sent to the gaol of that country where they are to be tried; except consideration of the trial before themselves or other matter shall move them for further detainment there. In all which cases, respect is to be had that the porter's lodge be not pestered otherwise than necessity requireth." In a set of further instructions, given two years later, the particular duties of the porter towards his prisoners are set forth in a way which give us a curious picture of the manners of the court at this period. It is there directed, " First, that every person committed to the charge of the porter shall be there deteyned as a prisoner according to the quallitye of the offence, and not to departe out of the porter's lodge without the speciale lycence of this councell, and to take and receive of them such fees as hereafter ensueth : First, for treason, murther, or fellonies, to be deteyned in irons dureing the councell's pleasure, and not to departe out of the circuite of the porter's lodge. Item, all persons committed for contempts or any misde- meanours or offences where the queene is to have a fyne for the same, they likewise to be detayned in prison without sufferance to goe abroad without the speciall lycence of this councell. Item, to take and receive as their ordinary fees, of every person committed for contempt, ijs. vid. and not above, except for his dyett. Item, to take and receive of every person being of the degree of an esquire, and above, and committed for any offence for which he is to wear irons, to take for his committment ijs. vid., and for every THE HIST0R"5f OF LUDLOW. 405 person being committed as is aforesayd and under the degree of an esquire ijs. -vjd. for his fee. Item, it is further ordered that the porter shall continually have in readinesse for the enterteynment of prisoners two tables of dyett to be in this sort kept, viz. the best and first table at viijd. the meale, the second at vjd. the meale, and the same to be with meate and drinke so furnished as the parties may according to their payment have therein competent and convenient, and the partie committed to choose at his committment at which of the sayd tables he will remayne, and if he fayle to make payment of his fees of committment, and the ordinary charge of the dyett after every weekes end, then the porter to take bonds for the due payment thereof. Item, it is further ordered that if any person be committed to remayne in ward untill he should pay the queenes majestic any sums for a fyne or to any person, or any sum of money to the same partie by this councell ordered, or for not accomplishing of any order taken by this councell, and shall not conforme himselfe to perform the order, discharge the fyne, and make payment to the parties within one month after the tyme of his committment, then the porter, at the end of the sayd month, to give knowledge to the councell thereof to the end order thereupon may be taken, that the party may be removed to Wigmore, or such other place as this councell shall thinke meete. And when any person is or shall be committed to ward, there to remayne until he shall pay fine or other debt to the queene, or any sum of money for costs, or other cause to the partie to deteyne him as a prisoner in manner aforesayd, until the attorney of the partie and the clerk of the fynes, by a note in writing subscribed by their names upon the copie of the submission, shall acknowledge to have received the sayd sume wherein he is chargeable as well to the queene as the partie." It was just at this time that a very remarkable personage, the celebrated Dr. Dee, visited the borders of Wales, and we trace him into this neighbourhood by an autograph 3 G 406 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. letter still preserved. People were still influenced by the superstitious feelings of the middle ages, and the avarice of individuals was especially excited by the belief in hidden treasures, which could only be found and discovered by means far beyond the reach of the vulgar, a belief which was sustained by the not unfrequent discovery of Roman and other coins. Dr. Dee, though in most respects far beyond his age in scientific knowledge, was still influenced by its superstitions, and a principal part of the letter alluded to, which is addressed to lord Burghley, and dated the 3rd of October, 1574, consists of a petition that he might have a grant of the hidden treasures which he undertook to bring to light, and it evidently originated in the treasure legends of the Welsh border, to some of which the writer alludes, " For this twenty yeres space," says he, " 1 have had sundry such matters detected unto me in sundry landes," and " of late I have byn sued unto by diverse sorts of people, of which some by vehement iterated dreames, some by vision, as they have thowght, other by speche forced to their imagination by night, have byn informed of certayn places where threasor doth lye hid ; which all for feare of kepers, as the phrase commonly nameth them,* or for mistrust of truth in the places assigned, and some for some other causes, have forborn to deale farder, unleast I shold corrage them or cownsaile them how to precede. Wherein I have allways byn contented to hears the histories, fantasies, or illusions to me reported, but never entermeddled ac- cording to the desire of such." After justifying his beHef in such tales. Dr. Dee proceeds, " Your honor knoweth that thresor trouve is a very easuall thing: and of which, althowgh the prerogative of the queues majestie do entitle to her a proprietie, yet how seldome her grace hath hitherto receyved any commodity thereby, it is to your honor better known than unto me. But as for mines of gold and silver, to be in England or Ireland, many have written and • That is, dragons or spirits, which were supposed to watch over and guard hidden treasures. THE HiSTOKY OF LUDLOW. 407 reported both of old tyme and latter, as I think your honor hath ere this hard abundantly discoursed. The value of a myne is a matter for a kingcs threasor ; but a pot of two or three hundred pounds, &c. hid in the ground, wall, or tree, is but the price of a good boke or instrument for perspective, astronomy, or som feat of importance. And truly vulgar obscure persons, as hosiers and tanners, can (by colour of seking assays of metalls, for the say master) enjoye liberty to content their fantasies to dig after dremish demonstra- tions of places, &c. May not I, then, (in respect of all the former allegations of my pains, cost, and credit, in matters philosophicall and mathematicall) yf no better nor easyer way to serve my turne will fall to my lot from her majesties hands ; may not I, then (I say) be thowght to meane and intend good service toward the queues majestic and this rcalme, if I will ^o the best I can at my own costis and chargis, to discover and deliver true profe of a myne, vayn, or owre of gold or silver, in some one place of her graces kingdoms and dominions, to her graces only use ; in respect, I mean, of any my demaund or part to be had thereof. But uppon this comfortable consideration, that her majesty do frely give unto me, by good warranty and assurance of her letters patents, her right and propriety to all thresor trouve, and such things commodious, as (under that name and meaning comprised) by digging or search any where in her graces kingdoms and dominions T or my assignes shall come to or finde; and with all good warranty (for my indemnity) agayn all laws and persons, to make search by digging or otherwise. And this to dure the term of my life." Having ended this petition. Dr. Dee proceeds to make a statement relating to the castle of Wigmore which explains to us the causes of the destruction of the greater part of the documents relating to the history of this part of the country. " The third and last principall point of this my present sute to your lordship," he says, " is for your lordships hand to a letter directed to Mr. Harly, kepe r 408 THE HISTORY OF I^UDLOW. of the records of Wigmor castell, or to whome in this case it doth appertayn. For that, at my late being there, I espied an heap of old papers and parchments, obligations, acquittances, accounts, &c. (in tyme past belonging to the abbay of Wigmor), and there to lye rotting, spoyled and tossed, in an old decayed chappell, not committed to any mans speciall charge, but three quarters of them I under- stand to have byn taken away by divers (eyther taylors or others, in tymes past). Now my fantasie is that in som of them will be some mention made of noblemen and gentlemen of those dayes, whereby (eyther for chronicle or pedigree) some good matter may be collected out of them by me (at my leysor) by the way of a recreation." This letter is preserved in the Lansdown collection of manuscripts in the British Museum; and the same col- lection furnishes us with a remarkably curious document relating to the treasure legends of the Welsh border. It is a letter addressed by a Welshman, who, for some offence or other, appears to have found his way into the Tower of London, and who attempted to obtain his release by a promise of discovering treasure in the castle of Skenfrith. He writes to the lord treasurer Burghley as follows. " Leave your lordship to understand that there is a castell in the parish of Skemfryth, in the countie of Montgomerie. Your lordship graunt full authoritie unto myne owne selfe, I am a poore subject of the queues, if there be any treasure there, your lordship shall know it, for by the voice of the country there is treasure. No man in remembrance was ever seene to open it, and great warrs hath been at it, and there was a place not farr from it whose name is Gamdon, that is as much as to say the game is doun. Pray you, good my lord, your letter to the castle, craving your lordships free authoritie to open, and if treasure be there, I will use it as it ought to be, and I will stand to your lordships consideration to give me what you please. For the countrey saieth there is great treasure. The voyce of the countrey goeth there is a dyvell and his dame, one sitts upon a hogshed of gold, the other upon a hogshed of THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 409 silver, yet neverthelesse, with your lordships full power and authoritie they shall be removed by the grace of God, without any charge to the quene and your lordship. If that treasure be there, then I will looke for something at your handes. So praying your lordships answer for the present despatche, so I bid your lordship farewell. From the Tower of London, this ■28thof Aprill, 1589, Your lordships to command, William Hobbye. " Your lordships owne hand write the Lord Treasurer underneath this petition, as for example. The Lord Treasurer." Sir Henry Sydney continued to be occupied in Ireland, and the directions and orders for reformation in Wales seem to have produced little effect. In 1576 we meet with new complaints of the disorderly behaviour of the inha- bitants of the border, which produced a proclamation, dated at Ludlow, on the 21st of October of that year, setting forth that "the quenes majesties counsail in the Marches of Wales are given to understand, that there are sondrie lighte, lewde, desperate, and disordered persons, dwelling and inhabiting within sondrye the countyes of Wales and the Marches of the same, that dailye weare, carrye, and beare dyvers and sondrye kyndes of municion, armure, and weapones, as lyvery coates, shurtes of male, quilte dublettes, scuUes, quilte hattes and cappes, mores pickes, gleyves, longe staves, billes of unlefuU sies, swordes, bucklers, and other weapones, defencive and invasive, unto divers fayres, markettes, churches, sessions, courtes, and other places of assembley, in afiraye and terror of the quenes highnes subjects, wherby divers assaultes, aflfrayes, hurtes, woundes, murders, and manslaughters, hathe bin don, perpetrated, and comitted; which this counsaill con- ceave the rather to growe by the incowragement of the unlefull weapons and armor, and by the unlefuU reteyning of servaunts, and giving liveries, contrary to the queenes majesties lawes and statutes in that case made and provided. 410 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. And albeit sondrye proclamacions have bin directed from this counsaill unto the officers of the severall counties, that all and all manner of persons shold laye aside their armor, municion, and unlefull weapones, and to weare, beare, or carrye the same, yet they having smale care or regarde thereunto, in meare derogacion and contempte of the lawes and statutes, doe weare, beare, and carrye the same weapones and armur, facing and bracing the queenes highnes quiet loving subjects, and to their greate grevans comitting divers outraiges and disorders, to the imbolding and incurraigment of mallefactors. And alsoe this counsail are given to understand, that there are dyvers sheriifes that have sold their offices of under-sheriffes, shere-clerkes, bailiffs, gailors, and under-officers, and have had and receaved for the same no smale somes of money ; by meane whereof manifold briberies, exaccions, comithers, extorcions, and other injuries and wronges have bin also perpetrated and comitted, and the cheeffest, meetiest, and honest free- holders keapte from apparaunces at sessiones, and the meanest sorte, that are not hable to give rewarde, and have lest care of their othes, or are otherwise unablest to serve, are compelled to serve, whereby fellonies and malefactors escape unponished." It is added that by the general negligence and ignorance of the officers, civil and ecclesi- astical, "incontynent living dothe muche abounde, and abhominable inceest and adulterye creapt in, and muche frequented in thes days ; and uncharitable excesse of usarye and unlefull games ys much used ; artillarye, case archery, and shoting, whiche was provided for the defence of the realme, lefte aside; many alehouses, and tippling houses, not lefuUy lycensed nor bounden, keapte, and muche haunted; forestalling, regrating, buing and selling of cattelles out of fayer and markett, dailye used, and the statute of drovers not dulye put in execucion, wherby the price of cattelles is greatly enhaunced, and pryvellye conveyed and stoUen from place to place, whiche will tende to the impover- ishment and undoing of her majesties subjects, and encrease THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 411 of offenders, if the same shold not in time be prevented and looked unto, and the offenders ponished, according to the order of the lawe." In conclusion, a certain number of commissioners are appointed by this document for each county within the jurisdiction of the court, who were to examine into offences of every description and bring the offenders to justice. Documents like this give us the best notion of the unquiet state of this part of the kingdom, even in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and under the rule of so vigorous a governor as sir Henry Sydney. The complaints expressed so strongly in the foregoing document called for the new orders for the direction and reformation of the court, which have been given in a former page, and which appear not to have done much towards remedying the evil, and to have done nothing towards relieving the queen of the heavy charges which attended the government of "Wales and the Marches. It appears that this latter subject had given so much dissatisfaction to Elizabeth, that she had conceived the design of abolishing the court itself. A letter from sir Henry Sydney to the council is preserved, in which he speaks strongly of the want of economy with which the court at Ludlow was managed at this time. In this letter, which is dated from Ireland the 12th of November, 1576, Sydney throws the blame of these expensive charges on the officers who had been appointed in the court contrary to his advice, and on the growing negligence and incapacity of others who he recommends should be removed. He points out the great advantage of this local court in preserving Wales and its borders in tranquillity, and represents that by it alone this part of the island had been preserved from the rebeUions which had from time to time broken out in almost every other district. He states that while he conducted this government in person, or by a deputy responsible to himself, the queen had heard none of these complaints, which had arisen only since the appointment of officers who, during his 412 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. absence, were not immediately under his control. " Whyle I attended there," he says " the house was cleane out of debt, and money sufBcient alwayes in the receivor of the fynes hands to pay all that was due ; and besides, I am well assured, I cawsed to be layd out for the raakinge of the conduits of water for Bewdley and Ludlowe, the repair of those twoe houses, and other her majesties houses, above a thousand poundes. When I returned out of this realme (Ireland), I found the house twelve hundred poundes in debt, and no reparacion donne ; no, nor that finished which at my departinge I left half donne. While I attended there last, the howse recovered well, so as though not out of debt, yet moch lesse in debt I left it then I found it. And nowe is it so farre behind hande, as not onelye olde bills of coun- sellors cannot be paied, which they have foreborne a longe tyme, but daylie growinge chardges for the howse, as for fuell, cariage, and soch other necessarie incydents to house- holde as the howse cannot be mainteined without, are left unpaied; so moche to my burden, as were it not for somme provision that by myne owne poUecye I have made, I were not able to kepe the howse, considering the dearth of all things, with the allowance I have, though the same be very honorable." Another evil pointed out by Sydney at this time was the non-residence of some of the principal functionaries, whereby on one hand judgments in suits were often deferred and the suits themselves dragged on to an unreasonable length, and, on the other hand, the subordinate officers were not sufficiently held in check. The state and forms of the court at Ludlow are curiously illustrated in these remarks. " The second person there," says Sydney, " which alwayes hitherto hath bene the justice of the countye palatyne of Chester, must put on a minde to resyde for the most parte with the councell, for so did Englefield, Hare, Silyayarde, Townesend, Pollard, and Wooddes ; who besides their dexteritie to expedite sutes, were for their gravetie and judgement in the lawe, domed woorthy to occupie a place THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 413 upon the benohe in any courte in Englande ; and when any of these attended that counsell, as contimiallye for the most parte they did, light cawses were presently heard and ordered, as well out of tearme tyme as in tearmes, and matters of more weight were determined in the tearmes, when always the benche was furnished with men of soche gravetie and judgement in the lawe, as the janglinge baristers wold not nor durst not lye of the lawe, nor over long clamber in any bad cawse of their clyents, as since, and yet, as I heare they doe, to the great losse of tyme, and to the drivinge of the sutors to needeless and intollerable chardge. And moreover the justice of one of the other three circuits alwayes in tearmes attended there ; and so doe I wishe that nowe they might be willed to doe, namelye Mr. Bromley or Mr. Phetyplace. And then was the benche well able to overrule the barre. But I have sene it farre otherwise, for I have maney tymes, as we thought, felt the barre so farre too stronge for the benche (which hathe hapned for the most parte in the absence of the justice and the want of his assistawnce), as I have, consideringe myne owne ignorance in the lawes, deferred judgement, after too longe pleadinge, untill I was better assisted ; and I feare the benche is not moche the stronger for theim that were last made of the same." Sir Henry Sydney passed much of the latter years of his life at Ludlow, and appears to have applied himself with zeal to the duties of his oiEce there. He appears to have taken little part in the intrigues of the court, yet his relationship to the earl of Leicester raised him enemies and brought him sometimes under suspicion. This was increased by some reluctance he showed in enforcing the severe laws of Elizabeth's reign against Catholic recusants, who were at this time numerous in Wales, and had excited especially the alarm of Whitgift, who then held the bishopric of Worcester, by their secret meetings. A commission was sent in 1579 to Sydney, the bishop of Worcester, and others, to search out and try these delinquents, and they were even 3 H 414 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. authorised in -certain cases to use torture in order to force them to confession. Next year Sydney made a progress in Wales, for the purpose of examining into some causes which required his presence on the spot, and he instituted formal proceedings against the Catholics in Montgomery- shire ; but the negligence, or perhaps rather the indulgence, with which he proceeded in regard to the commission, excited the displeasure of bishop Whitgift, and drew a private letter from Sir Francis Walsingham which is still preserved. In this letter, which is dated on the 9th of August, 1580, Walsingham tells him that " My lords (of the privy council) of late callynge here to remembrance the commission that was more than a yeare agoe given out to your lordship and certayne others for the reformation of the recusants and obstinate persons in religion within Wales and the marches thereof, marvayled verie muche that in all this tyme they have heard of nothing done therein by you and the rest ; and truly, my lord, the necessitie of this tyme requiryng so greatly to have those kynd of men diligently and sharply proceaded agaynst, there will here or verie hard construction bee made, I feare mee, of you, to reteine with you the sayd commission so longe, doyng no good therein. Of late now I receaved your lordship's lettre towching suche persons as you think meet to have the custodie and oversight of Mongomerie castle, by which it appearethe you have begone in your present jorneys in Wales to doe somewhat in cawses of religion ; but having a speciall commission for this purpose, in which are named speciall and verie apt persons to joyne with you in those matters, it will bee thought strange to my lords to heare of your proceading in those cawses without their assistance. And therfore, to the end their lordships should conceave no otherwise than well of your dealyng without them, I have forborne to acquaynt them with our late lettre, wishyng your lordship, for the better handlyng and successe of those matters in religion, you called unto you the bushoppe of Worcester, Mr. Phillips, and certayne others specially named in the commission." THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 415 This letter ends with the ominous postcript. — "Your lordship had neade to walk warely, for your doings are narrowely observed, and her majestie is apt to geve eare to any that shall yll you. Great howlde is taken by your ennemyes, for neglectyng the executyon of this commission." It was no doubt this disfavour shown to one whose long services merited a better reward, that chiefly raised a que- rulous spirit exhibited in the inscription placed in 1581 over the entrance to the inner court of Ludlow Castle, which still remains to bear testimony of the feelings with which this part of the building was completed in that year. H0MIHIBV3 INaEATIS LOQTIMIinC LAPIDES. AmJO EEGHl BEGINS ELIZABBTHiE 23. THE 22 TEAE COPIET OP THE PBESIDENCT OP SIE HENEI SIDNEY, KNIGHT OP THE MOST NOBLE OEDEE OP THE GAETEE, ETC. 1581. The gateway just alluded to was only one of the numerous repairs executed by Sir Henry Sidney in this noble castle, most of which he appears to have effected at his own expense. Many of them seem to have been made in the latter years of his life. The following curious list of them is found in an original paper preserved among the Lansdowne Manu- scripts in the British Museum.* " Buyldinges and reparacions don by S'- Henry Sidney, knight of the most noble order [of the garter] 1. president of the queenes highness counsaill in the Marches of Wales, upon her maties howses there. " Imprimis, for making and covering of certen chambrs wtliin the castle of Wigmor wt^i ledd, and for amending and repayring of the walles and stayres thereof. " Item, for making and repayring of twoe chamb^s and divers other howses of oiSces, as kitchen, larder, and buttry, at the gate over the porters lodge at the castle of Ludlowe, and for tyling and glasing thereof. * Lansdowne MSS. No. cxi. art, 9. 416 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. " Item, for making of twoe walles of lyme and stone, of ffortie yardes in length at th'entring into the said gate. "Item, for making of a wall of lyme and stone at the porters lodge, to inclose in the prisoners, of about twoe hundred yardes compasse, wtl^in which place the prisoners in the day tyme use to walk. " Item, for making of a wall of lyme and stone three yardes in height, and about twoe hundred yardes compasse, for a wood yard w^l^in the same castle. " Item, for making of a co'te bowse and twoe offices under the same for keping of the recordes, and for syling, tyling, and glasing thereof. " Item, for making of a fayre lardge stone bridge into the said castle, yr^'^ one greate arche in the rayddest and twoe at both endes ; conteyning in leinght about xxxt'e or xl'ie yardes, and in height upon both sides, w*Ii freestone, a yard and a half. "Item, for making, repayring, and amending of the chappell wtliin the said castle ; syling, glasing, and tyling of the same, with fayre and iardg wyndowes ; waynscotting, benching, and making of seates and knelling places, and putting upp of her ma*ies armes wtli divers noblemens armes, together with all the 1. presidentes and counsailles, rounde aboute the same. " Item, for making of a ffayre howse of lyme and stone, upon the backside of the kitchen w'^^in the said castle, with divers and sondry chamb'^s, as well for lodginges as other offices. " Item, for making of divers stayres of lyme and stone, and for making of sondry greate and Iardg wyndowes, and glasing thereof. "Item, for waynescotting and flouring of a great parlor wtliin the same castle, and making of a greate and huge wyndowe in the same, and glasing thereof. " Item, for casting of the ledd, and laying the same over the said castle. " Item, for making of a ffayre and Iardg seate upon the THE HISTOUY OF LUDLOW. 417 north side of the said castle, wtli a howse over the same, to- gether with a lardg walke inclosed with pall and tymher. " Item, for repairing, amending, and making of certen chamhrs wtl»in the garden of the said castle, glasing and tyling thereof. " Item, for making of a flfayre tennys co'te w'^in the same castle, paving thereof wtli free stone, and making the howses rounde ahout the same w^'^ tymher. " Item, for making of a conduyt of ledd to convey the water into the same castle of Ludlowe, the space of a myle and more in leinght ; for making of a house of lyme and stone, being the hedd ; and for a goodly lardge founteyne of lyme stone and ledd, wt^i her mate armes, and divers other armes there- upon ; and for conveying of the water in ledd from the same founteyne into the garden, and divers other offices w'^^in the howse ; and from thens into the castle streete, within the saide towne of Ludlowe, and there making of a ifounteyne of lyme and stone." Sir Henry Sydney died in Ludlow Castle on the fifth of May, 1586. His body was carried thence in great state to Worcester, where it was placed in the cathedral church. It was finally conveyed to his, house at Penshurst, and it was interred in Penshurst church on the 21st of June. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Henry Herbert earl of Pembroke, who held the high office of lord president of Wales fourteen years, till his death on the nineteenth of January, 1601. A new set of instructions were issued to this nobleman, and considerable changes were made in the coimcil at Ludlow, the reason for which, as given by the queen, was, " that there is a great lack of men of estimation, wisdom, and credit, to be of our counsell, and to assist you there, partly by death of dyvers, partly by lack of good choice heretofore made of some of meaner estimation than was convenient for so many shyres and centres within that jurisdiction." The conclusion of the letter by which the queen ordered these changes alludes further to the extra- vagance and corruptions of the court. " And hereafter," she 418 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. says, " whan ther shall arise any causes of weight, mete to be deliberated uppon, or any other great matters of com- playnt, worthy to be gravely hard and determined, yow shall send for the said persons, or for some such of them as for their places of habitation may most conveniently, without great charge, repayre to the place of residence for our counsell, and abyde ther duryng the time that shall be requisit for such great causes, havyng regard that no furder chardge herby do grow ether to us or to them, than shall be resonable, moderat, and necessary, which we do remember unto you because it hath appeared that hertofor larger allowance hath been made than was nedefuU, to sundry of that counsell being but of meane state, coming thither, sometyme more for their own or their friends causes than for ours and tlie administration of justyce, and by such unnecessary allowances made hertofore to many men of small reputation for their jornays oftener than was needful, and for ther continuance there also longer than the causes of their access did require, the charges grew so large as the house became in debt, specially before the coming thither to that place of yow our coosyn the lord president, the inconvenience whereof we require you our president, and in your absence the justyce, hereafter to forsee." After the reign of Elizabeth, the history of Ludlow in its connection with the border ceases to offer much interest. A succession of lords presidents ruled the court during the reign of James and Charles ; the earl of Pembroke was succeeded by lord Zouch, who was followed by lord Eure, lord Gerald of Bromley, the earl of Northampton, and others. During their time, the court of the marches was gradually losing its usefulness and consequent importance, for the age had passed whose necessities called it into existence. The expensive and unwieldy establishment was a burthen on the country, while it seems frequently to have stood in the way of justice by its slow and antiquated forms, and among the clashing interests now rising up on every side, and the new principles of liberty and independence, its authority was not unfre- THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 419 quently set at defiance by those who lived within its juris- diction, who, when prosecuted, appealed to other courts, or evaded its judgments in other ways. An idea of the state of the border under king James may be formed from the fol- lowing letter of complaint addressed by the lord president lord Eure apparently to the earl of SaHsbury, and now preserved in the British Museum. "My honorable good Lord, " It doth not a litle greeve me to have occasion to relate unto yo^ [l^ship] the generall disobedience, many meetinges, and combination against the government of the courte in the principalitie of Wales since his matie and the 11^ of his councell hath commanded by way of instruccions, and hath given authoritie to the president and courte, thereby to deale in causes not exceeding £10 w'^n the fower English shires. It seameth they have no cause to complayne of injustice, or of an hard and heavy hand carryed over them by the president and councell here now present, for then no doubt those claymours would be readely brought up and presented to yoi^ loPs view. [I mar- vel] that the grave bishop of Hereford should be the prime man to subscribe his hande, wtli the rest of the gentlemen of that countie, to their principall agent, S^ Herbert Croft, and to challenge that free tion and the inheritable libertie by the lawes of the relme, definitively pronounced by the grave judges, w* the privitie of the Us and approbation of his matie. It is tyme (my good lord), to confirme that their supposed definitive sentence, or otherwise to enlarge the authoritie of this courte, or (at the least) to warrant and defend us in our proceeding, according to his maties instruccions, that thereby his justice may be obeyed, or otherwise to dissolve the jurisdiction quite. The grounde of dislike was commenced against the lo. Zouch, whose seve- ritie they disliked, now they successively to be freed ; in the first they found good assistance of good desert, but in this latter I hope yo^ loP will think [it meet! that the principality and the marches shall extend itselfe 420 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. largely now in his male's tyme, as formerly hath been in the of the predecessors of this crowne. The good that enseweth is only irregularity (w^li some few gentlemen desire to have ; [the] example is verie perillous, and will spread its selfe at large; the common people are enthralled to their greatness, terrified vf*^ their threats, refuseth rath^^ to loose their rights than w'li ther great charge to contend wt^^ them in the law. The poore tenants of the queene eomplayne, that the officers under her do exact such huge fines for themselves, more than the queene doth, that thereby they are undone, b . . . . the thraldome layed upon them by carriages, labours, threats, am .... and other terrors, of w<^^ if they should complayne at London, their maintayne the charge, and likewise according the border fashion, such a person shall hardly escape a cruel revenge (even unto death), whereof some attempts have been made since my comming. Let suche fowle crimes be complayned of to the sessions, if it doth concerne the follower of a principall gentleman, either shall the evidence be suppressed, or some extraordinary favour or other wilbe shewed. What remedy can this place afibord such complaynants ? by way of instruccions we have no authority to meddle wtii misdemeanors in the fower English shires, by the commissione of oyer and terminer wee cannot send for the malefactor out of the coimtie. When the justices of assise do come downe, remedy may be expected by them, and in the meane tyme ether parties are com- pounded, or evidence wilbe withdrawne; thus shall the mightyer prevayle, and the poorer go to the wall. Worces- tershire groweth as vehement almost as Herefordshire, by the means of S' John Packington, now high sheriffe of the sayd countie; the deputie lieutenants there, as also in Herefordshire (Thomas Harleigh, Esq. and S^ William Liggen, knight), do refuse once to visite me, so y* I do forbeare to grant them my deputacions till I see better conformitie. And am out of hope to prevayle wtli them for mustermaster's places untill they knitt a firmer league w* THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. 421 me. I am bould to trouble yr loP wt^ a large discourse, relying upon yo^ loP favour for my assistance in this place, praying yoi^ loP, that either speedely I may be strengthened against these ambitious gentlemen, or otherwise, that his ma'ies will may be made knowne unto me, that I may know what to obey; 'for by this doubtfulness both his ma^e is dishonored and his people discomforted. Thus hoping to receive some comfort from yC loP, I rest Yo^ loP assured to command, Ra. Eure, Ludlow Castle, this xxxth of Jan. 1607." A few slight allusions in contemporary writers, and an examination of the records of the corporation (which are still numerous and valuable) convince us that at the period of which we have now been speaking, Ludlow was a populous town, and that it received from the presence of the court and the numerous class of persons who for different reasons followed it, a character of splendour and gaiety which was not seen in other towns of the same dimensions. It appears to have been notorious for the number of its inns and its lawyers. The celebrated Eichard Baxter, when a mere youth, lived as a pupil with the chaplain of the council in Ludlow Castle, and in his memoirs, printed under the title of " Reliquise Baxterianse," he has hinted more than once at the licentiousness of the place. " About seventeen years of age," he says, " being at Ludlow castle, where many idle gentlemen had little else to do, I had a mind to learn to play at tables ; and the best gamester in the house under- took to teach me." And he tells us that " the house was great (there being four judges, the king's attorney, the secretary, the clerk of the fines, with all their servants, and all the lord president's servants, and many more) ; and the town was full of temptations, through the multitude of per- sons (counsellors, attorneys, officers, and clerks), and much given to tippling and excess." This court must soon of itself have become obsolete, but the breaking out of the civil wars inflicted a blow on it from 3 I 422 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. whicli it never recovered; and with its decline it is my intention to close this sketch of the history of the Welsh border. Ludlow Castle, occupied for a considerable time by the royal party, acted no great part in the civil conten- tions of the sixteenth century. Important as a medieval fortress on the borders of a warlike and only partially con- quered people, it was not so, either by its position or character, in the warfare which now desolated the kingdom. On the 9th of June, 1646, it was surrendered to the parliamentary general. Sir William Brereton, and the court of which it had been so long the seat was not only virtually, if not ac- tually abolished, but even the furniture of the castle, like that of the other royal houses, was inventoried and offered for sale. The inventory of the goods in Ludlow Castle at this time is sufficiently curious to justify our inserting it here both as giving us some notion of the style in which it was furnished, and because we find in it the names by which most of the apartments were known at that time, and the purposes to which each was applied. GOODS INTENTOEIED AND APPEAISED IN LUDLOWE CASTIiB, BELONGING TO THE LATE KING, T* 31'' Or OCTO' 1650. In the Princes Chamber. £ s. d. One standing bedstead covered w"* watched da- maske, with all the furniture suitable thereunto belonging, valued at . . , . . 30 Sold to Mr. Bass, y« 11«' March, 1650,* for 36?. 10s. Two fiistaine quilts, one fiistaine downe bedd and bolster, one father boulster, a paire of fiistaine blan- ketts, one watched rugg, and a woollen blahkett, valued together . . . . . 6 10 Two small Turkey carpitts . . . 12 One «ld stript curtaine and redd . .064 A table, and a court cuppboard . . .050 ♦ This of course means ] 651. By the old mode of reckoning time the year began on the 25th of March, so that the January, February, and March to the 24th, were considered as belonging to the previous year. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 423 £. s. d. One pr" of andirons w"" brass knobbs, a fire shovell, and a fire grate, and a wicker skreen . 12 AH sold to Mr. Bass as appraised. Suit of old tapistry hangings, cont. in all 120 '"', at 2». per ell . . . . . . 15 Sold to Mr. Cleam' y» IS"- January, 1650, for do. In the Pallet Chamber. One small fether bedd and boulster, one pillow, two blanketts, two ruggs, one half head board, one skreen, one curtaine, one old table . . . 2 10 In the little wainscote garrett next to it, one old table, a necessary stoole and pann . , . .050 In the next Roome to the Prince's Bedchamber. Three tables and a court cuppboard, one wicker skreene, one fire shovell, and one old press . . 18 In a Wainscott Closett. One barber's ehaire, a table, and an old chest .070 Sold to Mr. Bass y« 14"^ May, 1650, for M. In the Shovell Board Boom. Nine pieces of green carsey hangings paned with gilt leather, eight window curtains, five window pieces, a chimney peiee and curtaine rodds, and three other small pe"=«' in a press in the wardrobe, at . . 25 With y« Protector. One large shovell board table, seven little joyned formes, one side table, and a court cupboard . . 2 10 One small Turkey cai^itt, and two old joyned stooles . . . . . .070 Sold Mr. Bass for 21. Vis. as aiforesaid. One large fire grate in y« chimney . .10 One broad green cloth carpitt . . .2.50 Sold Mr. Bass for 3A 5*. as afforesaid. In the Chief Chamber. One old joyned beddstead with cloth curtains and vallanee, one press and an old ehaire, and a stoole .300 424 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. £. a. d. One otter table, three old peices of dammaske hangings, a settle bed, and a joyned stoole . . 10 In the Gentleman Usher's Chamber. I'our peices of stript hangings, three old Turkey- worke stooles, two tables, one bedstead . . 1 10 One half-headed bedstead, one fether bedd and coTer Md, and three pieces of old damis AH these sold Mr. Bass for ^l. y» 7th Sept^ 1650. In the Steward's Chamber. One suit of old damix hangings, cont. severaU peices, three carpitts of y'' same, two tables, one cuppboard, one travice curtaine and rodd, one wains- cott chaire, three joyned stooles, one leather chaire and stoole, one Turkey cushion, one frame for a bason, one other leather chaire, one fire grate in the chimney, one fire shoTell, tongs and a paire of bellows, one fether bedd, two boulsters, two pillows, two blanketts, and one rugg, valued altogether at .400 Sold Mr. Bass y« 7* Sep' 1650, for 4were called sows. The only way of warring against them was to send out a small body of men unawares to attack them by surprise and set fire to them, before assistance could he brought to their rescue ; and for this purpose we generally find traces of small sally-ports, upon which, and upon their own machines, the enemy would generally keep a special watch. When we bear in mind this mode of attack, we under- stand at once the construction of the early Norman square edifice which constituted the castle in the time of the conqueror, and the model of which, in England, is said to have been that built by bishop Gundulf at Rochester. To overthrow any part of such a building by undermining was out of the question. The walls at the bottom, where only an engine could be brought against it, were so thick, that it was almost a solid mass; and if, after immense labour, the besiegers did succeed in penetrating into the interior, there was so little communication between the ground floor and the floor above that they might almost as well have remained outside. No windows that admitted of a man passing through them were placed so low as to be accessible by any ladders that could be brought to bear against them ; and the entrance doorway was also at a con- siderable elevation, and its approaches easy of defence from the interior. The state, or family apartments, were usually on the second story, at an elevation where there was little danger even from missiles, and where therefore they could have larger windows, with chambers and closets worked in the thickness of the walls. The entrance floor was appro- priated to the kitchen and various offices, and beneath, within the ponderous masonry of the ground floor, were small dark rooms which served, perhaps, as prisons, but sometimes contained (as at Newcastle) the chapel, and sometimes store rooms. Such was a castle in the time of William the Conqueror. It is a matter of doubt whether originally there were any outer walls or defences, and it seems probable that THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 443 in many cases at least there were none, except a mere inclosure, useful only in times of peace, but incapable of resisting an enemy. Where we find traces of original walls of enceinte, they are accounted for by accidental cir- cumstances. At Newcastle-upon-Tyne the Norman builders seem to have taken advantage of the walls of the older Roman station within which their castle was raised, and to have adopted them as outworks. Such also was the case at Pevensey and Porchester. It will be seen at once that such a building as that we have been describing was almost impregnable. The house- hold was enveloped in a shell of masonry, as the individual was in a shell of iron, and as the latter might not be killed with a blow, no more could you overcome the Norman keep by an assault. Still its inmates were in a state of constraint, and, as their defenders were not numerous, if an enemy presented himself at the head of a large army, prepared to carry on a blockade, they became little better than prisoners, and would soon be under the necessity of capitulating. They could make no effective sallies of an offensive character, with the troops who could be harboured in a single tower, however large. When, therefore, war took a more permanent character, and more numerous armies were brought into the field, it became necessary to alter the castle system, by enlarging the fortified circuit so that a whole army could take shelter within. These enlarged castles seem to have come into fashion in the wars of king Stephen, and from this time the chief tower diminished, and the outworks increased in importance, until the former was almost entirely thrown aside, and the walls and towers of the enceinte formed the castle. This system of castellation, which took its grand developement in the latter part of the thirteenth century, has received from archseologists the name of Edwardian. The Norman tower, like the more ancient Roman fortress, stood firm as the ground by its own mass, and, from the character of its walls, did not need the farther 444 THE HISTORT OF LUDLOW. protection of a fosse or ditch. "When the walls became more extensive and less ponderous, the fosse was drawn round them to hinder the sows or shelters for the breachers from being brought up to the wall. It was not necessary that the fosse should have water in it ; in fact, it was better in many respects without water, because wood might be brought to swim upon the water, whereas the inter- vention of a dry fosse was a complete protection against the approach of machines for breaching. Where the waUs could be placed on the edge of a steep rock or hill, there was of course no necessity for a fosse at all. Thus the steep on which the western walls of Ludlow Castle stand was a suiRcient protection, and there was no need of a fosse there J the fosse surrounded the castle on the side which lay towards the town, and it was on this side only that it could be attacked. We must bear these circumstances in mind when we read of the different sieges and surprises to which this important fortress was exposed during its earlier history. The tower in the middle of the castle from which Joce de Dinan took his survey of the surrounding country,* was, no doubt, the Norman keep tower. It was from the towers at the back of the castle, above the rock, and where therefore there was no fosse, that Arnold de Lisle made his escape,t and that he gained admission by stealth into the castle subsequently during the absence of Joce de Dinan. The ease with which he effected both objects is explained by the circumstance, that, as no hostile attack could be made on this side, it was not considered necessary to place watchmen there; the watch was kept along the eastern walls. We have already shown how the subsequent siege of the castle by Joce de Dinan was carried on entirely from the latter side.J The oldest part of Ludlow Castle is no doubt the massive tower which here, as elsewhere, has preserved its English name of a keep instead of the Norman name of donfon. ' p. 54 of the present volume. f P- 56, J p. 58. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 443 Although much smaller than Eochester and Newcastle, and most of the other keep towers of the same period, it bears a sufficiently close resemblance to them to convince us that it was the castle said to have been built by Roger de Montgomery. It will be seen by the plan that this tower was placed exactly in the position to overlook the ford of the river, and the high road leading from Shrews- bury through Bromfield and Wigmore to Leominster and Hereford. All the more ancient parts of Ludlow Castle have been so much altered to suit the purposes of a later period that it is now very difficult to ascertain their original arrange- ment. This is especially the case wdth the Norman keep, which has had all its windows enlarged, its entrances changed, even its floors have been raised or lowered at different times, its walls internally have been cut up into fire-places, and in later times it appears to have had a peaked roof, the ridge running from north to south, and occupying part of the space of what was originally the upper floor of the tower. The only one of the Norman windows which remains in its original state is one looking into the moat, which has been recently brought to light by clearing away the ivy. The present entrance stair to the floor of the keep appears to have been made in the reign of Henry VII through what was originally the solid, mass of the wall. The entrance to the Norman keep was usually on the first floor, and generally at one corner, which allowed the staircase of approach to be run down the same side of the tower, outside, to the ground. The approach was thus exposed in its whole ascent to attacks from the windows and summit of the tower, and as it could be mounted only by men singly and on foot, it was difficult of assault and easy of defence. In some instances the stair had a parapet ; in others it was arched over ; and the entrance was some- times, as at Newcastle and Dover, further protected by a small tower attached to the side of the other. At Ludlow 3 M 446 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. tlie original entrance was at the south east corner of the first floor, where the rather lofty arched passage still remains ; the stair descended apparently on the outside of the tower down to the north-east corner, where the present entrance has been made, but the original masonry has been here much broken into when the last-mentioned entrance was made, and when the buildings attached to the more modern entrance to the inner court were erected. Within the entrance at the south-east corner of the first floor an arched passage descends in the massive thickness of the eastern wall; this, which is now in great part filled up with rubbish, I suppose may have been the original communication between the first floor of the keep tower and the apartments on the ground floor. The thickening of the wall below by the stair of ascent outside, would compensate for the weakness which it might otherwise derive from this passage. The wall supporting the entrance staircase would be the last place where an enemy would attempt to breach. The lowest apartments in the keep — those on the ground floor — had no external doors and no windows ; those which at present exist are probably of a period not earlier than the latter end of the sixteenth century. In all Norman keeps the apartments on this floor are vaulted; this at Ludlow has a barrel ceiling, and the north and south walls are for the basement floor unusually thin. Indeed the basement story of Ludlow keep is altogether much less substantial in proportion to its size than most buildings of the same class. The interior apartment is generally con- sidered as having served the purpose of a dungeon, but 1 doubt much if this was its original use. At the north-east corner, exactly opposite the foot of the passage descending in the mass of the wall, are two Norman arches, slightly ornamented, and of primitive character. From their ap- pearances I am inclined to think that here was the original chapel of the Norman castle. They are represented in the annexed cut. To the right of these arches is a passage THE histort; or ludlow. 447 Arches In the Keep of Ludlow Castle. in the wall, which, in the present arrangement of the interior appears to be so inexplicable in its object, that it has been popularly taken for a den for a lion that was kept to devour the prisoners, a notion too absurd for considera- tion. This passage has two entrances into what is now one apartment; from the first, represented in our cut, it proceeds about two feet at right angles to the internal surface of the wall, then makes a rectangular turn to the right, about eight feet, and then re-enters the room at an exactly similar door. The only explanation I can give of this singular passage is, that originally this lower room was divided by a strong transverse wall between the two door-ways, and that the passage was the communi- cation between them. From the magnitude of the passage descending from the first floor to these basement rooms, we may suppose that one at least was used as a store room. I consider it doubtful if even the two holes in the roof of this lower room are not additions to the original edifice. The strength of the building required that these lower apartments should be vaulted in masonry. The floors above were of timber. The first floor was allotted to the retainers and soldiers, and was lighted only by narrow 448 THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. loops, like that looking into the moat which has been recently uncovered. The second floor was usually devoted to the state apartments, and here the windows were of larger dimensions. The communication between the dif- ferent floors was by a small newel staircase in the turret of the north-east corner, which originally commenced with the first floor. Ludlow keep has none of the galleries in the walls above which characterize most of these Norman towers J but on each floor the chief apartment had its closets and smaller rooms adjoining. Some parts of it require closer examination, for the mass of building on the east side evidently contains some small apartments to which there appears at present no entrance. The small rooms on the west side of the first fioor also appear to be partly built up, and they seem to have communicated with another small room on the ground floor below. The keep of Ludlow Castle is more perfect in its turrets and battlements than we usually find these Norman towers, for the exterior masonry to the summit appears to be original. Another circumstance deserves to be pointed out in regard to this part of the building. It was the custom, when a castle was threatened with an attack, to erect im- mediately upon the tops of the walls and towers additional structures of timber, which served as defences to the war- riors who occupied the walls, and for fixing and working ofiensive machinery to annoy the besiegers. These timber defences were called by an Anglo-Norman term breteches or hretesches, and they appear in medieval pictures repre- senting attacks upon castles. In the external walls of the keep of Ludlow Castle, a little below the summit, are seen a number of large iron staples, which I presume were the original fixtures for the hretesches in time of siege. I am not aware if they have been observed in any other castles. The great alterations in the interior of the keep of Ludlow Castle appear, by the architecture of the windows, doors, and fire places, to have been made subsequent to the period at which this fortress became the seat of the court of THE HISTORY OK LUDLOW. 449 jurisdiction over Wales and its Marches, when these apart- ments were wanted for purposes that required light and other conveniences which the original arrangement of the keep did not afford. The arms on the doorway of the stairs which now lead to the first floor of the keep show that the alterations which superseded the original entrance were made under the reign of Henry VII. In the south-west corner of the first floor of the keep, opposite the archway of the original entrance, is another more lofty archway, evidently belonging to the original building. This leads to what was perhaps originally a covered way, along the rather massive wall to the west, which conducts us to a tower on the outer wall looking over the ancient ford of the river. This is a very unusal arrangement in a Norman keep, and as the tower just alluded to appears to be also early Norman, perhaps the original building consisted of a square, of which the keep or main building formed the south-east corner. This would explain another peculiarity of the arrangements of this more ancient part of Ludlow Castle. In the early Norman castles, the well was almost invariably in the interior of the keep, usually in the substance of the wall, through which its pipe, from two to three feet in diameter, ascended to the first and second stories, with an opening in each. It is evident that nothing could be more necessary for the security of the keep, in time of siege, than to have the perpetual command of a supply of water. I am not aware that any traces of a well have ever been discovered in the keep at Ludlow, but there is a very deep well within the inclosure which would be formed by the square which I have just supposed may have constituted the original castle, and which, as will be seen by our plan, was surrounded by very substantial walls, having the tower marked 20 for its north-western corner. The floor of the small south-western tower, marked 21 in our plan, which appears to have been of timber, is entirely gone, and it is impossible to say what was the original 460 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. arrangement or purpose of the ground floor. At a subse- quent period, when the castle had attained its present dimensions, and this earlier part of the castle was turned into brewhouses and bakehouses, the lower part of this tower was turned into an enormous oven. The first floor appears to have been originally the kitchen for the com- paratively small garrison necessary to man the castle and command the passage of the bridge or ford below. On the north side are still seen a fire-place and oven, evidently of an early date; they are represented in the accompanying cut. A doorway in the south-western corner of this room Oven and Fire-place. leads to some conveniences which are also Norman. Above rose a lofty watch tower, which overlooked the river below. The portion of the castle which we have been describing constituted, no doubt, what the writer of the romance of the Fitz Warines considered Ihe first layle, or ward of the castle, and which that curious and interesting document ascribes to Roger de Montgomery. On the same authority we assume, and probably correctly, that the castle was first enlarged by Joce de Dinan, probably towards the end of the reign of Henry I. The traditionary account of the THE HISTORY OF LTJDLOW. 451 progressive enlargement of the castle given in the romance of the Fitz "Warines seems to be substantially correct, and we can hardly doubt that, in the time of king Stephen's wars, the castle covered the same space of ground which it occupies at present, although its buildings were not quite so extensive. The oldest part which attracts our attention after the keep is the round chapel in the inner court, the architectural style of which is that usually termed late Norman. It is more likely to have been built late in the reign of Stephen, or early in that of his successor, than in the reign of Henry I, but still we see no reason for doubting the authority of the document just quoted, which ascribes it to Joce de Dinan. Its position shows that when it was built the circuit of the walls of the inner hayle or court occupied the same site as at present, and this agrees exactly with the account of the surprise of the castle by Arnold de Lisle. Sentinels are described as patrolling on the walls behind the chapel, of course to keep watch over the outer hayle or ward, then, as at present, a mere exten- sive space surrounded with walls, and from whence only an attack was apprehended. The household already occupied the buildings at the northern side of the inner court, or second hayle, which were perhaps less extensive than at present. The soldiers who had charge of the castle were lodged in the keep and the buildings attached to it, which formed the first hayle. The inmates lay in perfect security, without any apprehension of an attack, and the only sentinels appear to have been those on the wall behind the chapel. These having been silenced, the invaders found nothing to debar them from entering the keep and putting its inmates to death, and all this was done without even disturbing the household. The same authority we are now quoting tells us the story of the capture of Hugh de Mortimer, and informs us that he was imprisoned in the highest tower of the third hayle of the castle, which was in the time of the writer (at least as early as the beginning of the fourteenth century) popu- 452 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. larly termed Mortimer's Tower. There is still in the outer court a tower known by this name, and said to have been Mortimer's prison. Its position is exactly that which we should expect would be chosen for a place of confinement, if any place in the outer court was made to serve that purpose, and a closer examination of the masonry would probably enable us to identify it. It is desirable that the walls and buildings round the inner court should undero-o a similar examination, to determine how much remains of the works of Joce de Dinan. The mass of buildings on the north side of the inner court, looking up the vale of the Teme and Corve, are of the Edwardian period, though they also have undergone much alteration, especially the grand hall. This apartment, which is marked 15 in our plan of the castle, forms the connection between two large towers. There is little to enable us to judge of the particular purposes of this exten- sive mass of buildings, and tradition is a very doubtful authority for the names which are popularly given to some of them. A careful comparison might perhaps enable us to identify them with some of the names given to them in the inventories printed at the end of our last chapter. We can have little doubt that the base of the large tower at the west end of the hall contained the butteries, and perhaps the kitchen of the Edwardian castle. The later and larger kitchen is understood to have occupied the site marked 17 on the plan. The room above the buttery (16) is called popularly " Prince Arthur's Room," but why it is appro- priated to that personage is not clear. The tower at the east end of the haU contained apparently the state apart- ments of the Edwardian period, and the architectural ornamentation is much more finished than that of the other parts of the castle. The apartment on the first floor is called the banquetting room. The chimney-piece is unusually ornamental, the corbels of the ceiling are wrought into figures of men and women crowned, which are not deficient in artistical beauty. One doorway, represented THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 46S in the accompanying cut, and characterised by some archi- tectural peculiarities, is remarkahle for its elegance. A Doorway and Klre, place in the BanquetliDg Room. room adjoining to this tower, and numbered 12 in our plan, is named, on what authority I am not aware, the Armoury, and it is pretended that the rooms beyond these, marked 10 in the plan, were occupied by the two princes, sons of Edward IV. The buildings on the opposite side of the inner court, by the side of the entrance, are evidently not more ancient than the Elizabethan period. The ruin of this noble castle is the work of comparatively a very recent period. Soon after the accession of George I, an order is said to have come down for unroofing the buildings and stripping them of their lead, and this act of vandalism was soon followed by the decay of the floors and other parts constructed of wood, and by the plunder of the furniture. In the descriptions of different visitors subsequent to this period we may trace the progressive stages of the work of destruction. In the account prefixed to Buck's Antiquities, published in 1774, it is observed, " that many of the royal apartments were entire, and the sword of state with the velvet hangings 3 N 454 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. was preserved." An extract from a tour through Great Britain, quoted by Grose as a just and accurate account of the castle, represents the chapel as " having abundance of coats of arms upon the panels, and the haU as decorated with the same kind of ornaments, together with lances, spears, fire-locks, and old armour." Dr. Todd, in his edition of Comus, says, " a gentleman who visited the castle in 1768 has acquainted me that the floor of the great council chamber was then pretty entire, as was the staircase. The covered steps leading to the chapel were remaining, but the covering of the chapel was fallen ; yet the arms of some of the lords president were visible." In 1811, the earl of Powis, who previously held the castle in virtue of a ' long lease, acquired the reversion in fee by purchase from the crown. LUDLOW CHURCH.* The Church of Ludlow is undoubtedly the finest eccle- siastical building in the county of Salop, and perhaps the most stately parochial edifice in England. Its architecture is in the style of the latter part of the fifteenth century; though it is less florid than is usual in the buildings of that period. It is unusually capacious for a parish church, is cruciform in plan, and consists of a nave, choir, chancel, transepts, side aisles, and two large chantry chapels, with a finely proportioned and lofty tower in the centre, having at each angle an octangular turret, surmounted by a pinnacle. • The following description of the church of St. Lawrence, at Ludlow, I owe to the kindness of Mr. Henry Pidgeon, author of lifemorials of Shrewsbury, &c. Historical notices relating to this ecclesiastical edifice will be found in the course of the preceding pages. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 455 The principal entrance from the town is by a large hexa- gonal porch, embattled at the top. The nave is divided from the aisles by six lofty pointed arches on each side, springing from light clustered pillars, each consisting of four taper shafts, with the intermediate spaces hollowed. Above them is a clerestory, with a range of heavy windows devoid of tracery. The great western window is entirely modernized, and its richly ornamented mullions destroyed. The four great arches under the tower are remarkably bold : beneath the eastern arch is the choral rood loft, the lower part of which is embellished with open carved work, but upon it is erected a modern gallery, above which stands a very fine toned organ, given by Henry Arthur earl of Powis, in the year 1764; it cost originally £1000, and has been subsequently enlarged by important additions. This church having been formerly collegiate, it was most elegantly fitted up as in cathedrals, with stalls on each side. These stalls remain entire and are of good workmanship, having been originally intended for the use of the ten priests of the rich chantry founded in the adjoin- ing chapel of St. John of Jerusalem. The miserere or shelving seats exhibit, as usual, fanciful and grotesque carvings. It is not known when the ten priests ceased to officiate in the choral service ; yet in the registers mention is made of master of the choristers (the precentor) a con- siderable time after the reformation. The choir is spacious and lighted by five lofty pointed windows on each side, and one of much larger dimensions at the east end, which occupies the whole breadth and nearly the whole height of this part of the building. This great window is entirely filled with stained glass, of rich colouring, representing chiefly the legend of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the church. The whole of the windows in this interesting building bear evidence of having once been enriched with a profusion of stained glass, the splendour of which, judging from what remains, must have been inferior to none in point of 456 THB HISTORT OF LUDLOW. colouring, since it appears to have been executed by masters of the art, and at a peried when glass staining was at its highest perfection. The choir, chancel, and chantry chapels retain speci- mens of great beauty, where events and figures of no common interest are depicted, yet these in places have been so barbarously mutilated by modern repairs as to present a strange mixture of patch-work. The large eastern window of the high chancel, containing the legendary his- tory of the life of St. Lawrence, the patron saint of the church, was particularly defaced and wantonly broken, so much so indeed that the various subjects displayed could with diiBculty be traced ; though it appears, from a date near the top of the window, to have been repaired in a bungling manner about a century ago, when the numerous fractures it then contained were filled with common painted glass, quite opaque. In this state it remained until 1828, when the corporation of Ludlow fortunately directed Mr. David Evans, of Shrewsbury, to restore the window accor- ding to its original design, which undertaking was completed in September, 1832, in a manner that has excited the admiration of every one who has seen it, and even caused astonishment at the elaborate skill displayed by the artist in overcoming the difficulties he had to encounter in replacing many portions of the window which had been destroyed, and of so restoring the whole, as to form an harmonious display of the most brilliant colouring, whereby it is impossible to distinguish the old from the new glass ; in fact the window is justly considered as one of the most magnificent specimens of the art of glass staining, and for general efiect surpasses any thing of the kind in the kingdom. The window occupies the whole breadth of the chancel, eighteen feet, and is thirty feet in height. The muUions were in the above year renewed by the Messrs. Carline,''of Shrewsbury, It contains five hundred and forty feet of glass, in sixty-five compartments. The subject is the THB HISTORT OF LUDLOW. 457 history of the life, miracles, and martyrdom of St. Lawrence ; whose legend is briefly this : — he was by birth a Spaniard, and treasurer of the church of Rome, being deacon to pope Sixtus, about the year 259, and for not delivering up the church treasury, which the pagans thought was in his custody, he suffered martyrdom by being broiled over a fire upon a gridiron; he is said to have borne this with such courage as to tell his tormentors that "he was rather comforted than tormented," bidding them " turn him on the other side, for that was broiled enough." In this window the history of the saint is represented in twenty-seven designs, as follows ; — 1. Lawrence introduced to the pope. The saint accom- panied by his confessor, is kneeling under a tree before the pope, whose train is supported by a bearer. IirSCEIPTIOlf. Laurencius addiicitur Sixto. 2. Lawrence ordained a deacon. The saint, in a kneeling posture, is approached by the pope, who is in the act of ordaining him, in the presence of the various officers of the church. nrscEiPTioK'. Hie Sixtus ordinat Laurencium diaconum. 3. Lawrence appointed treasurer. The son of the em- peror is represented as bringing his treasure in bags, and delivering them to the saint before the pope and the church. INSCEIPTION. Filius imperatoris Laurencio tradit thesauros. 4. Lawrence relieving the poor. The saint is here pre- senting a piece of money from his bag to the lame, the halt, and the blind. rysoEiPTioir, Laurencius thesauros erogat pauperibus. 458 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 5. Lawrence captured. The saint in his canonicals appears secured by the inquisitors. INSCEIPTIOlf. H.ic Laurencius capitur ab inquisitoribus. 6. Lawrence brought before the emperor, attended by the captain and a posse of soldiers. INSOEIPTION. Laurencius presentatur coram imperatore. 7. Lawrence before idols. The saint is led by the emperor before idols, who appear as falling to pieces by the sanctity of his presence. INSOBIPTION. Laurencius ducitur coram ydolis. 8. Lawrence imprisoned. The captain is thrusting the saint into prison, by command of the emperor ; on the roof of the prison, seen in the back ground, are spectators witnessing his incarceration. IlfSCBIPTION. Laurencius hie incarceratur. 9. Lawrence restoring the blind. During his imprison- ment the saint miraculously restores Lucillus to sight in the presence of the jailor. UrSOEIPTION. Laurencius aperit oculos Lucilli. 10. Lawrence converts Ypolitus the jailor, who is kneel- ing, and with uplifted hands seems earnestly imploring mercy from above; his sincerity appears to make him unmindful of his office, his keys laying on the ground beside him. INSOEIPTION. Laurencius convertif Ypoliium. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 459 11. Lawrence commanded by the emperor to deliver up his treasures, brings before him the poor, the lame, and blind, and with his out-stretched and pointed hands seems to declare " these are my treasures." INBCEIPTION. Ducit pauperes coram imperatore. 12. The emperor, probably enraged at the answer of the saint, is beating the poor cripples with a heavy cudgel, who are in the act of falling in the greatest confusion beneath the weight of his wrath. INSOEIPTION. Imperator verier at pauperes. 13. Lawrence threatened with torments. The saint is led before the emperor, and the various instruments of torture are displayed before him. INSCEIPTIOir. Laurencius temnit tormenta. 14. This appears to be the first scene of his sufferings. The saint, nearly naked, is led forth by rufiians to be stoned. INSOBIPTIOir. Laurencius lapidatur. 15. Lawrence scourged with rods. A superior oificer stands by to see the punishment effectually performed, and appears to witness with much stoicism the various acts of violence to which the saint is subjected. INSCEIPTIOlf. Laurencius verheratur virgis. 16. Lawrence beaten with clubs. The saint lying on the ground, several men appear trampHng upon him and beating him with clubs. INSOEIPTION. Laurencius baculis ceditur. 4fi0 THB HISTORT OF LtTDLOVT. 17. Lawrence flogged with whips. The saint being tied to a pillar, several barbarians are flogging him with whips, to which are attached large knots of lead. INSCEIPTION. Laurencius ceditur flagellis plumheis. 18. Lawrence torn with hooks. The hands of the saint being fastened to a pillar, several men are in the act of tearing his flesh with hooks. INSCElPTIOIf. Laurencius laceratur hamis ferreis. 19. Lawrence burnt with irons. The saint again tied to the pillar, is tormented by men applying with large tongs red-hot irons to various parts of his body; some of their faces appear even tinged with the heat of the iron, and they seem to show more feeling than the tormented. One figure, in the act of catching the saint with the hot iron under the right ear, is particularly expressive. INSOEIPTIOIir. Laurencius cruciatur laminis urentiius. 20. The sufierings of Lawrence are here terminated by roasting him on a "gridiron." Hence his symbol. He appears enveloped in flames, while his executioners are adding more fuel and increasing the blaze by means of a fork; in the back ground is seen the Saviour, encircled in glory, as if in fulfilment of the promise, " When thou passest through the fire I will be with thee, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." INSCEIPTION. Laurencius assatur cratioula. 21. Lawrence buried. The tragic scenes of his life and sufferings being over, the saint, wrapped in a winding- sheet, is about to be laid, in the tomb, amidst a concourse THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 461 of spectators. A priest is performing the burial rites after the manner of the Eomish Church. IFSORIPTION. Laurencius hie sepelitur. 22. Is the representation of a cruciform church, with a small octangular turret in the centre, and is a curious specimen of ancient architecture ; the windows of the chancel and transepts have the flat kind of arch introduced about the close of the fifteenth century, whilst those of the clerestory are circular. In the fore -ground is a deacon apparently in much trouble in consequence of a golden chalice having fallen from his hands and broken; he has recourse, however, to the prayers of the saint, and it is restored. INSCEIPTION. Ilic diaconus f regit calicem. 23. The re-appearance of St. Lawrence by the prayers of a priest, vpho causes a dry piece of timber to sprout into foliage. IKSOEIPTION- Hie lignum efficit revirescere. 24. A table appears to be covered with a cloth, at which a figure, seemingly by command of the saint, is distributing bread and drink. — It is difficult to assign a meaning to this subject. 25. Lawrence pointing to a church and giving instruc- tions to some bystanders. Perhaps emblematical of the church erected to his memory by the empress Pulcheria. 26. Three figures within a church in the attitude of devotion. The inscription of this, with the two foregoing subjects are unfortunately wanting. 27. Several workmen in the act of forming materials for the erection of a church, under the direction of a super- intendant. In explanation of this it may be remarked that 3 462 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Justinian is said to have enlarged or rebuilt the edifice erected by Pulcheria. INSCEIPTION. * * * * struxit capellam* The above designs contain upwards of three hundred figures. At the spring of the arch, beginning at the left side, are full length figures of the Virgin and Child, Saint John, an angel holding a shield, azure, two crosiers in saltire, a mitre in chief Or ; saint Anne teaching the Virgin Mary to read, a lishop in the attitude of prayer, and seemingly adoring saint Anne. The only part of the label remaining is media precor Anna. Before the bishop is a table with the inscription, Thomas Spoford Dei Gratia Hereford Ep'us. On the corresponding side is another angel hearing a shield. Gules, a saltire Argent. — A king seated on his throne, in the act of benediction, holding in his left hand a globe; saint Lawrence in a devotional attitude, supporting his symbol, a gridiron. The upper portion of the window, being divided into smaller compartments, contains fourteen figures of angels and archangels ; the division at the apex is of large dimensions, and has a representation of the Trinity. The vdiele-of the subjects depicted in the window are under elegant canopies of delicate tabernacle work, differing in design ; and the costumes of the figures throughout the various scenes are particularly curious, and well deserve attention, since the window is inferior to none of the ancient specimens of stained glass, either in richness of colouring or in general effect, and is supposed from the above inscription, Thomas Spoford, &c. to have been ori- ginally put up during his episcopacy, (he was promoted • The inscriptions of Nos. 24 to 27 are either destroyed, or fragments only remain. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 463 from the abbacy of St. Mary's, York, to the see of Here- ford, November, 1421), and this conjecture is strengthened by the above armorial bearings, two crosiers and a mitre. He governed the diocese twenty-six years, and withdrew from his charge previously to his death in 1448. The three large windows on each side of the chancel contain severally fifteen large compartments, the whole of which was formerly occupied by stained glass. Those on the south side still display several full-length figures of bishops, apostles, and Romish saints, the apex of each con- taining twelve small curious figures. The north side appears to have been more resplendent in colouring, though the work of mutilation has been carried to a greater extent than on the corresponding side. Elaborate tabernacle work sur- mounts the figures, among which may be distinguished St. Barbara, St. Leonard, St. Appolonia, St. George, St. Catherine, St. EUina, the Virgin and Child, and an English queen supported by archangels. The lower portion of one window appears to have contained a representation of the " Wise men's Offering," and our Saviour rising from the tomb ; also, the portraits of several bishops. The top of each window has several smaller figures in tolerable preservation. Underneath the eastern window stood till recently a modern altar screen of oak wainscot, in the Grecian style, and altogether incongruous with the character of the edifice. It is now removed, and the original altar screen, which it concealed, is to be restored. It is elaborately carved in stone, and consists of a series of pointed niches and sculpture extending the entire length of the wall, having a cornice ornamented with foliage, &c. The prominent parts of the whole have been richly gilded and coloured. On the south side of the altar is the piscina and canopied sedilia for the use of the priests, deacon, and sub-deacon. The ceiling of this portion of the edifice is of oak, resting on corbels which spring from highly decorated figures of angels bearing shields. The chapels north and south of the choir correspond in 464 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. size, and are approached from the transepts by remarkably- handsome carved screens. The chapel of St. John is north of the choir; in the eastern window of it are remnants of stained glass portraying the story of the ring presented by some pilgrims to Edward the Confessor, who, as the chroniclers relate, " was warned of hys death certain dayes before hee dyed, by a ring that was brought to him by certain pilgrims coming from Hierusalem, which ring hee hadde secretly given to a poore man that asked hys charitie in the name of God and sainte John the evangelist." These pilgrims, as the legend recites, were men of Ludlow. The side windows contain the remains of some very fine glass, representing a king with his sceptre, St. Catherine, St. Michael, St. Christopher, the Virgin Mary, and St. John. In the centre window, St. James, St. Thomas, St. Andrew, St. Matthew, St. Peter, and . The north-eastern, a bishop with a procession of clergy, a funeral procession, probably the burial of St. Stephen, the Saviour, St. Thad^ deus, a bishop attended by harpers, and a figure of St. George. The apex of one contains angels and the other modern glass. On the north side, inclosed by palisading, is a handsome altar tomb, on which rests two recumbent efiigies in white marble, representing sir John Bridgeman and his lady. The former is in his robes, and the latter is represented as holding a book in her right hand. A tablet of black marble, decorated with festoons of foliage, &c. is placed on the tomb, and contains the following inscription. Sacrvm Memoriie Dni Johannia Brydgeman, Militis, Seruientis ad legem et capitalis Justiciary Cestrse. Qui maximo omnium bonorum Moerore, (cum 70 annos vixissit^ 5th Febr, anno 1637, pie Placideq; animam Deo reddidit. Francisca Vxor mcBtissima posuit. It will grieve the lover of elaborate monumental sculpture, so prevalent in the last century but one, to see the mutila- tion which the highly finished effigies of sir John Bridgeman THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 465 and his lady have undergone. These figures are in a style of execution superior to that of Nicholas Stone, who does not particularize this work in his catalogue preserved by "Virtue, and given by ISIr. Walpole. From the very minute resemblance to portraits by Vandyke, it may be presumed that they were finished as those mentioned in the cathedral at Gloucester, by the ingenious Francisco Fanelli, who was much employed in England during the reign of Charles I. The head of sir John Bridgeman's tomb was opened in 1805 (on sinking a grave for the body of Mrs. Turner) when the hair of both sir John and his lady was found perfectly fresh ; the cofiins mouldered on exposure to the air. The north transept is called the Fletcher's Chancel, and on its gable is an arrow, the ensign of the craft. It is a probable conjecture that this part was appropriated for the use of the archers who might possibly hold their meetings here. Of the south transept and chapel all that is known is that the cordwainers and other companies have, from a remote period to the present time, continued to meet in them. In this transept is a curious abbreviation of the Decalogue painted on a large panel, the old text characters of which have recently been restored. The windows of the south chapel appear to have been equally richly adorned with glass, a portion of which still exists in that at the eastern end, which seems to have represented a genealogical history of the prophets after the manner of that in the chancel of St. Mary's church, Shrewsbury. Each figure is encircled with vine branches, the green colouring of which is particularly brilliant. The prophets Manasses, Jehoiacan, and Jothan are in good preservation, the rest of the window is filled with plain glass. The whole of this noble parish church is ceiled with fine oak and embellished with carving. The extreme length from east to west is two hundred and three feet, of which 466 THE HISTORY OF LtTDLOW. the nave is ninety three feet, the space under the tower thirty, and the choir eighty. The breadth of the nave and aisles is eighty-two feetj length of transept, north to south, one hundred and thirty feet ; and the breadth of the choir twenty-two feet. The tower rises one hundred and thirty feet, and being a prominent object, gives considerable beauty to many prospects from the neighbouring country. It is quadrangular, and the upper part near the battlements was originally adorned with highly finished statues of saints, &c. These have been either much mutilated or entirely destroyed. Numerous similar works in various parts of the church suffered the same fate. Leland and other authors notice this church as being superior to any in this part of the country; the general opinion agreeing that its style of architecture is that of the fifteenth century, as practised by the immortal Wykeham, in the nave at Winchester and at New College, Oxford; and writers living in that or the following age speak of it as newly brought to a state of perfection by the society who raised and supported it. " This church (says Leland) has been much advanced by a brotherhood therein founded in the name of St. John the Evangelist, the original whereof was (as the people say there) in the time of Edward the Confessor, and it is constantly affirmed there, that the pilgrims that brought the ring from St. John the Evangelist to king Edward were inhabitants of Ludlow." If we credit this account, we must believe that from the time of the fourth Edward a sacred edifice stood here of sufficient im- portance to be the depository of the mouldering remains of the great : particularly that of Edward's cofferer of the household, an officer formerly of the first importance. The advowson of this church, it appears, was formerly appended to the manor, sir John de Crophull had the pre- sentation, 46th Edward III, as also John Merbury and Agnes Deverous his wife, 6th Henry V. The 19th Edward I, Henry Pygine founded a chantry here. We are sanctioned therefore in the presumption that the THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 467 present fabric has, from an older foundation, been gradually advanced to perfection by the ancient fraternity of Palmers, who have been always found attached to it as far as the history of either can be distinctly traced : the remnants of painted glass in the eastern window of the north chancel, distinguished from the other paintings by richer colouring and superior execution, seems to favour this opinion. Leland says, " I noted these graves of men of fame in Ludlow Church. Beauvie, or Beaufrie, sometime cofferer to king Edward the fourth. Cokkis, a gentleman servitor to prince Arthur. Dr. Denton, master of St. John's in Ludlow. Suliard, justice of the Marches of Wales. Hozyer, a merchant." Among the monumental inscriptions in the high chancel are the following : — On a square stone tablet, above a plain altar tomb and hatchment, Heare lyethe the bodye of Ambrozia Sydney iiijth doughter of the Bight Honorable Syr Henrye Sydney, knight of the most noble order of the garter, lord president of the counsell of Walles, &c. ; And of ye ladye Marye his wyef, doughter of ye famous duke of Northumberland, who dyed in Ludlowe Castell ye 22nd of Februarie, 1574: A large Grecian monument, displaying an elegantly sculp- tured cherub and emblems of time and eternity, is erected In Memory of Theophilus Salwey/, Esq. who was the eldest son of Edward Salwey, Esq. a younger son of major Richard Salwey, who in the last century sacrificed all and every thing in his power in support of Public Liberty, and in opposition to Arbitrary Power. The said Theophilus Salwey married Mary, the daughter and heiress of Robert Dennett, of Walthamstow, in the county of Essex, Esq. but left no issue by her. Obiit the 28th of April, 1760, atat. 61. Pro Rege Saepe : Pro Republica Semper. A handsome altar tomb of white marble displays recum- bent effigies of chief justice Walter and his wife ; on the front are figures representing their issue. 468 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Heere lye the bodies of Edmvnd Walter, Esq-vier, chieffe Ivstioe of three shiers in Sovth Wales, and one of His Majestie's CoTncill in the Marches of Wales ; and of Mary his wife, davghter of Thomas HackWt, of Eyton, Esqvier, -who had issve three sonnes named lames, lohn, and Edward, and two davghters named Mary and Dorothy. He was bvried the 29th day of lanuary. Anno Dni. 1592. A table tomb, on which reposes the recumbent figure of a female resting on a cushion, habited in the dress of the times, and the head covered with a hood, the right hand holding a small book. At the back is a tablet surmounted by the armorial bearings, on which is recorded, Here lyeth, expeotinge a joyfvU ReSTrrection, the body of Dame Mary Evre, late wife to Eight Hon. Ralphs Lord Evre, Baron of Malton, Lord President of the Principallitie and Marches of Wales, and Lievtenant of the same, and daughter of Sr. John Dawney, of Sessey, in the Covnty of Yorke, Knight. She departed this mortall lyfe the 19th day of March, Anno Domini, 1612, aetatis svse 55. Inclosed within the communion rails is a stone altar tomb, sustaining two full length recumbent figures; sur- rounding the base of the tomb stand their children. Heare lieth the bodyes of Syr Eobart Towneshend, knyght, chief justice of the counsell in the Marches of Walles and Chester; and dame Alice his wyfe, doughter and one of the heyres of Robert Povye, Esquire, whoe had betwyne them twoe, XII chyldren, VI sonnes and VI doughters law- fully begot. On a black marble tablet, inscribed in gold characters, O Quisqvis Ades ! Reverere manes Inclytos Edoardi Vavghan, e Trawscoed Arm, Johannis Vavghan Equitis Herois, Hsoredis ex Traduce, Proin patris magn' ad instar. Per omnigenae literaturse, sire AcademioEe, sive forensis, Spacia Hue acerrime vel a puero contendit ; Vt principi et patriae Egregie inseryiret ; THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 469 Quod feliciter assecutus est, , Vitiiq J gratus et amabilis, Et spectatissimus civis In ipsa temporum Vertigine; Vt solas hie oondi quem antiqui dixere Virum cubioum Bt divinum. Talis tautusq ; flentibus etiam inimicis, Commorientibus psene amiois. Ipso solo laeto et lubente, Receptns est In Beatorum patriam. . SI>ni MDCLXXXIV. ^°"° ■? ^tatis suae 48o. Conjugi parentiq; desideratissimo Vidua cum liberis, Perpetim lugens, Hoc mortale Monumentum P. Ipse sibi immortale Epitaphium. In this and other parts of the building will be found several other mural monuments and tablets. The tower contains a melodious peal of eight bells, on which are the following inscriptions. — First. — Richard Perks, Town Clerk, A. r. 1732. Second. — Abraham Rudhall, of Gloucester, cast us, 1732. Third. — Roger Phillips and William Bright, Church- wardens, 1732. Fourth. — Prosperity to the town and our benefactors. Fifth. — Prosperity to the town and parish. Sixth. — Prosperity to the Church of England, a. r. 1732. Seventh. — Somerset Jones, Esq. and Caesar Hawkins, Gent. Bailiffs. Eighth, Tenor. — The Rev. Richard Baugh,, Rector, Mr. John Smith and Mr. John Smith, Churchwardens, 1823. " May aU whom I shaJl summon to the grave, The blessings of a well spent hfe receive." 3 p 470 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. In the king's books the living of Ludlow is valued at nineteen pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence. And this estimate being under twenty pounds it is consequently at the disposal of the lord chancellor. It is a rectory, and its present value is said to be two hundred pounds per annum. After this brief notice of the church it may he remarked, that the edifice being built of a soft red sandstone, rendered friable by the action of time and the weather, the exterior presents a somewhat ragged appearance, and the mullions of several of the windows from the same cause had fallen into a wretched state of decay. But the mullions in six of the windows, on the south side, have been restored within the last few years. In the interior likewise much is wanting to give due effect to the fine perspective which unfolds itself to the enraptured eye. The building is in every respect a noble and interesting structure, and well deserving of the best and most careful attention that the assistance of wealth and influence might bestow in furtherance of its renovation and improvement. THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 471 ON THE CARVINGS OF THE STALLS IN CATHEDRAL AND COLLEGIATE CHURCHES* The successive visits of the Association to Winchester, Gloucester, and Worcester, — which places, as well as some of the churches in their vicinity, all present remarkable specimens of the carved stalls so generally found in the cathedral and collegiate churches of this and other coun- tries, — have drawn more than once the attention of its members to these interesting monuments of medieval art. These stalls were, in fact, those especially appropriated to the members of the collegiate body ; and the seats, instead of being fixed and immovable, turn upon hinges, and when turned up, the under side exhibits a mass of sculpture, arranged according to a regular and unvarying plan, in which the workmen and artists have exhibited their skill and imagination in a very remarkable manner. It is diffi- cult to say how this arrangement of the seats originated, and what was the reason of their being thus adorned; but as they are invariably found under the circumstances just mentioned, they appear to have been considered as an indispensable part of the ornamentation of a collegiate church. Several conjectural explanations of these seats have been offered, the popular opinion, however, being that they were turned up during a part of the service when the clergy were not allowed to be seated ; but that out of pity to the aged or infirm, they were allowed to rest themselves against the bracket supported by the sculpture, which afforded a support without allowing them actually to be • This Essay is reprinted from the Journal of the Archaeological A ssociation, and was originally read by the Author of the present volume at the Archaeological Congress in Worcester, in 1848. It is given here, because several examples of stalls are taken from Ludlow church, the stalls of which are extremely interesting. We are indebted to the Council of the Association for the loan of the woodcuts, 472 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. seated. For this reason, it is said, they received in France the title of misericordes (still preserved among the French archseologists) Andi patiences ; while our English antiquaries generally call them misereres.* Why, however, this par- ticular class of sculptures, seldom found (except at an early period) in any other part of the church, should have been appropriated especially to these seats, is a question to which I am not aware that any satisfactory solution has yet been found. It is to these sculptures alone that the present notice, very brief in proportion to the real interest of the subject,! will be devoted. These sculptures range in date from the thirteenth century to the age of the reformation, and are distinguished by various degrees of excellence. Some- times they are very rude, but more commonly, like the illuminations in some manuscripts, they possess a consider- able share of artistical skill. Found on the continent, as well as in England, the general character of the subjects is so uniform that we might almost suppose that the carvers throughout Europe possessed one regular and acknowledged series of working patterns. Yet there is a great variety in the details of the subjects and in the manner of treating them. It may be observed, that the ornamentation consists generally of a principal subject, immediately supporting the bracket, and of two side lobes or cusps springing from * Ducange has, under the word Misericordia, the explanation, " Sellulee, erectis formarum subselliis apposltae, quibus stantibus senibus vol infirmis per misericordiam insidere conceditur, dum alii stant, Gallis misericordes yel patiences, S. Willelmi Consuet. Hirsaug. 1. ii. cap. 2. ' Primum in ecclesia quamdiu scilla pulsatur ante nocturnes, super miseri- cordiam sedilis sui, si opus habet, quiescit.' " X Very little has been -written on the subject of these sculptures, and, considered as mere gross representations, they have been much neglected, and a great number of them have been suffered to be destroyed. A few were engraved by Carter, in his " Ancient Sculpture." The very interes- ting series in the cathedral at Rouen were engraved and described by M. Langlois. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 473 the latter. These side ornaments consist sometimes of mere foliage, attached to the bracket by a stalk ; sometimes they are grotesques, or separate subjects, having little or no connection with the central piece ; while they are often a dependant and important part of the story represented under the bracket. Writers of vivid imaginations have given them no less a variety of interpretations. Some have conceived them to be satirical attacks directed by the monks at one another, or at the secular clergy; while others have imagined that these strange and grotesque figures embodied in allegorical form the deepest mysteries of our holy faith. Each of these opinions was equally far from the truth. In all probability neither the designers nor the carvers were monks, although it is evident they were men of a certain degree of education, and well ac- quainted with the popular literature of the day, the different classes of which are here represented in a pictorial form. In this point of view they are valuable as artistical monu- ments, while they illustrate in a most interesting degree the manners and habits of our forefathers. One of the most popular branches of the popular litera- ture alluded to was the science of natural history, in the shape it was then taught. The treatises on this subject were designated by the general title of Bestiaries (hestiaria), or books of beasts ; they contained a singular mixture of fable and truth, and the animals with which we are acquainted in our ordinary experience stood side by side with monsters of the most extraordinary kind. The accounts, even of the more common and well known animals, trespassed largely on the domain of the imagination, and therefore much more extraordinary were the fables relating to those of a doubtful or of an entirely fabulous character. I may mention, as an example, the unicorn — according to medieval fable the fiercest and most uncontrollable of beasts. A stratagem, we are told, was necessary to entrap the unicorn. A beau- tiful virgin, of spotless purity, was taken to the forest which this animal frequented. The unicorn, tame only in 474 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. the presence of a pure virgin, came immediately and laid its head gently and without fear in the maiden's lap. The hunter then approached and struck his prey with a mortal blow, before it had time to awake from its security. A. more popular character was given to these stories by the adjunction of moralizations, somewhat resembling those which are found at the end of the fables of ^Esop. The mysterious power of the maiden over the unicorn, the resurrection of the phoenix, the generous nobleness of the lion, the craftiness of the fox, the maternal tenderness of the pelican, are capable of a multitude of mystical inter- pretations. The Bestiaries, of all ages, are more universally illus- trated with pictures than any other book — they seem to have contained the first science to be instilled into the youthful mind. Every one who has been in the habit of examining the sculptured stalls of which we are speaking, knows that the stories of the Bestiaries are among the most common representations. On the very interesting stalls Fig 1. From Stratford-on-Avpn. in the church of Stratford-on-Avon, we find the story of the maiden and the unicorn, the latter being made a more cruel sacrifice to the hunter, after having fallen a victim to THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 475 the charms of beauty (fig. 1). The style of this work seems to carry us back to the earlier part of the fourteenth cen- tury : it is not clear to whom the arms belong, but the lobes are formed of the leaves and acorns of the oak, the favourite foliage of the early English style of ornamenta- tion. The pelican, the elephant, the lion, and the more ignoble monkey, have their place on the stalls at Gloucester. The fabulous objects of the natural history of the middle ages — dragons, chimeras, grifiins, and the like, are much more numerous. The syren is seen on the stalls of Great Malvern. Next after the Bestiaries, the most popular books of the middle ages — books which were pictorially illustrated with equal profusion — were the collections of ^sopean fables, known under the titles of Ysapets and Avynets, from the names of the celebrated fabulists -lEsop and Avienus. With these was intimately connected the large romantic, or rather satiric, cycle of the history of Menard the Fox, which enjoyed an extraordinary degree of popularity from the twelfth century to the nineteenth. The fables and the ro- mance of Kenard are frequently represented on the stalls. The fable of the rats hanging the cat is represented very grotesquely in a carving on the stalls of Great Malvern probably also of the fourteenth century (fig. 2). The side Fig J. From Great Malyein. 476 THE HISTORTf OF LUDLOW. ornaments are here two owls. The man and the ass, the fox carrying away the goose, and one or two other similar subjects, are found at Gloucester. The fox preaching is found on one of the side ornaments of a stall carving in Worcester cathedral, and is not of unfrequent occurrence elsewhere. Another class of literature, frequently accompanied with pictorial illustrations in the manuscripts, comprises the calendars or ecclesiastical almanacs, in which the domestic or agricultural employments of each month are pictured at the top or in the margins of the page. Such subjects are also frequent in the carved stalls. Three stalls in the cathedral of Worcester, represent men employed in mowing, reaping, and sheaving the corn. Another repre- sents the swineherd feeding his pigs, by beating down the acorns from the trees. This last is a very common subject. Scenes of hunting or hawking are also not unfrequently met with. The stall carver has given a still wider range to his imagination in representing domestic scenes,^ — which are very frequent, and very interesting for the light thus thrown on the popular manners of our forefathers in far distant times. A very curious example may be cited from the cathedral of Worcester, which represents a domestic winter scene (fig. 3). A man closely wrapped up is seated beside Fig 3. From Worcester. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 477 a fire, stirring his pot; his gloves which are remarkahle for being two-fingered, as well as the expression of his features show that he is suffering severely from the temperature. He has taken off his boots, and warms his feet by a rather close approximation to the fire. All the details of the picture are equally curious, even to the side ornaments ; one of which represents two flitches of bacon, the winter's pro- vision, suspended to a hook, while on the other a rather gigantic cat is basking in the warmth of the chimney. The chimney itself is not unworthy of notice. The domestic cat is met with in other examples. On a stall from Minster church, in the isle of Thanet, an old ■woman, a witch-like figure, is occupied at her distaff, accompanied by two cats of grotesque appearance. One of the stalls at Great Malvern,— which like those of Worcester, appear to be of the latter part of the fourteenth century — represents a man at his dinner. Another in the same church (fig. 4) exhibits a woman in bed, attended by a physician. Others of this class are more grotesque and Fig 4. From' Great Malvern. playful, representing games and pastimes. One of these, here given (fig. 5), from Gloucester cathedral (the sculp- tures of which appear to be of the latter half of the four- teenth century), represents two boys playing with balls, and 3 Q 478 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Fig. 5, From Gloucester. is a curious illustration of the costume of the period. The whole field is, in these stalls, covered with ornamentation, and there are no side cusps. Sometimes we have very curious representations of the processes and implements of trade, commerce, and labour. The very interesting example of this class of representations here given from the church of Ludlow, in (fig. 6), represents two men supporting, we Fig. 6. From Ludlow. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 479 might almost say from theiv posture worshipping, the beer barrel. Their costume, with its " dagged" borders, is of the reign of Richard II. The side ornaments here represent severally the ale bench, with the barrel, jug, and drinking cup; the forms of which are valuable data for the archaeologist. The stalls of Ludlow church have been much mutilated, and evidently with intention, for the heads, arms, and other prominent parts, have been cut off with a sharp instrument. It is a very remarkable fact, also, that there is an evident distinction of style in them, indica- ting two classes of workmanship, one of which is superior in design and execution to the other. The workman to whom we owe the latter has carefully marked every one of his stalls, with his sign or mark, a branch ; a singularity which I do not remember to have observed elsewhere. It is exhibited in the above cut, and will be observed similarly placed in two others from the same church, given in the present article. One of these (fig. 7) represents, we are led to suppose, the grave digger, as the implements of his calling, with the tomb, and a hand holding up the holy water pot, are seen in the right hand side ornament. On Fig. 7. From Ludlow. 480 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. one side of the middle figure are represented a barrel, a pair of clogs, a bellows, and a hammer, which might throw some doubt on the profession of the individual. The mutilation of the arms of the right-hand side figure renders it difiicult to say exactly how he was intended to be occupied. Prac- tical jokes, not always restrained within the bounds of the delicacy of modern times, are common ; and monks and nuns sometimes appear in scenes of this description, of which some curious examples are furnished by the stalls of Hereford cathedral. These stalls are of early workmanship, and the side ornaments exhibit the well-known early English oak foliage in profusion ; when 1 saw them last, they were scattered in lamentable confusion in the church, having been taken from their places during the repairs and restorations of the building. One of them (fig. 8) exhibits a scene from the kitchen, in which a man is evidently Fig 8. From Hereford. taking liberties with the cookmaid, who has thrown a platter at his head. A subject closely resembling this is found on one of the stalls of the church of Great Malvern. These subjects are sometimes carried to a degree of inde- licacy, which cannot be described. THK HISTORT OF LUDLOW. 481 It is remarkable and especially characteristic of these carvings, that scriptural or religious subjects are very rare. A stall at Gloucester appears to represent the scriptural story of Sampson overcome by the courtesan Dalilah. An example of a saint's legend occurs in the representation of the story of St. George and the dragon, on a stall at Stratford-upon-Avon J the side ornaments to which are not very congruous grotesques. This particular subject, how- ever, belongs almost as much to chivalrous romance as to sacred legend. The stories of the great medieval romances also find a place in these representations. A foreign example represents the fabulous Aristotle subdued by the charms of his patron's wife — the subject of a well-known poem — the Lai d' Aristote. A stall at Gloucester (fig. 9), Fig 9. From Gloucester. no doubt taken from one of the old romans de geste, repre- sents a knight in combat with a giant. The same cathe- dral furnishes us with interesting representations of knights tilting, and of others engaged in the chase. Subjects that may be considered as strictly allegorical are also rare; perhaps the figure of a naked man enveloped in a net, with a hare under his arm, and riding on a goat, in the stalls of 482 THE HISTOKY OP LtJDLOW. Worcester cathedral, may be considered as belonging to this class. A figure of a fool riding on a goat occurs on the stalls at Gloucester, and may have a similar signification. The subjects most commonly supposed to be of this alle- gorical character are mere grotesques, copied or imitated from those fantastic sketches so often found in the margins of manuscripts of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. A number of very excellent examples of these burlesques are presented by the stalls of Winchester cathedral ; the elegant foliage on which would bespeak the thirteenth cen- tury. In these, the bracket is supported by a small group, consisting in most cases of grotesque figures of animals or human beings, in various postures and occupations. The large side cusps, diflfering in this respect from all the later examples, are here the most important part of the subject. In some they consist of extremely tasteful groups of foliage. Fig. 10. From Winchester Cathedral. generally formed of vine leaves. Figures of children or monkeys are in some instances intermixed with the foliage. Sometimes the cusp consists of a large head or face, exhib- iting strange grimaces. In one instance the two cusps represent a mermaid and a merman. In another we have THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 483 a man fighting with a monster ; in one we see a woman, seated apparently on a cat, and occupied with her woof; others represent musicians playing on the pipe or the fiddle ; and in the one given on the preceding page (fig. 10), the musicians are a pig and a sow — a young pig in one in- stance dances to the fiddle, while in the other the maternal melody appears to have charms but for one of the offspring. Fig. 11. From the chapel of Winchester School. The stalls of the chapel of Winchester school also fur- nish a very remarkable series of sculptures, of a date not much later than those of the cathedral, and containing a number of droll burlesques, among other subjects of a more miscellaneous character. The accompanying example (fig. 11), the costume of which is that of the reign of Edward III, represents a man haunted and tormented by hobgob- lins ; he is seeking his way by means of a lighted candle, with terror impressed on his countenance ; while the imps, seated in the side cusps, are making him the object of their jeers. Another very singular example of diabolical agency is here given from a stall at Ludlow, and we may again 484 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. observe on it the private mark of tlie workman. It is curious, because it contains an evident allusion to a scene in the medieval mysteries or religious plays. The par- ticular play to which I allude is that representing the last judgment, or doomsday, in which the demons are intro- duced dragging into hell a variety of classes of dishonest people, thus conveying a moral and satirical admonition against some of the crying sins of the day, which were most practised among, and most offensive to, the lower and middle orders of society. One of these great offenders was the ale-wife who used short measures. In the stall from Ludlow church (fig. 12), the demon is carrying the ale-wife Fig. 12. From Iiudlow. with her false measure and gay head dress, to thrust her into hell-mouth — the usual popular representation of which forms the side ornament to the right ; another demon plays her a tune on the bagpipes as she is carried along. It will be observed that the head of the demon who carries the lady is broken off. A third demon, seated in the cusp to the left, reads from a roll of parchment the catalogue of her sins. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 486 These carvings are, it will be seen, not only monuments of medieval art, but they may be looked upon as important illustrations of medieval literature and of social and intel- lectual history, and they show us how necessary it is for the archaeologist to extend the field of his inquiries beyond the immediate limits within which the particular subject under consideration appears at first sight to lie, as a monument of architecture, or painting, or sculpture, if he would tho- roughly understand it. An extensive study of the literature of the middle ages is needful for the comprehension of their objects of art, and indeed of all medieval monuments, as it is for their history. The sculptured stalls, besides their value for the study of manners and costume, form a prac- tical illustration of the kind and degree of scientific and literary information it was thought necessary to place before society at large. It was restricted, as we have seen, to the bestiaries and the fables, with a smattering of the romance of chivalry and of scriptural and legendary lore. 3 K 486 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. -'^./tr^ BAILIFFS OF LUDLOW. The following list of the Bailiffs of Ludlow from the year of the grant of the charter of Edward IV, in 1461, to the year 1783, and its chronological notes, are printed from a parchment roU ui the possession of Mrs. Davies, of Croft Castle. IVom the historical entry under the year 1566, it appears that it was originally compiled ia the reign of James I. It seems to have been continued by more than one hand down to the year 1783. The names of the Bailiffs of the Town of Ludlow since the incorporation and charter, anno regni Regis Edmardi Quarti primo annoque Domini 1461. Edheardits quartus. Anno Domini. 2. Nicholas Cresset, Eichard Barber ... ... 1462. 3. John Shermon, Philip Osborne ... ... 1463. 4. John Dodmore, John Adams ... ... 1464. This year King Edward married Elizabeth, daughter to Jaquett Dutchess of Bedford, late wife to Sr John Greye, slain at Courton ffield on King Henrys party. The Buke of Somerset and divers others beheaded. 5. John Hosier, Thomas Stevens ... ... 1465. King Henry taken and comitted to the Tower. 6. John Sparcheford, Harry ColwaU ... ... 1466. This year were Sir Thomas Hungerford and Henry Courtney, right Heir to the Earl of Devonshire, beheaded. 7. Philip Osborne, WiUiam Griffiths ... ... 1467. Lady Margaret, the King's sister, married the Duke of Burbon. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 487 8. Eichard Bowdler, Thomas Hooke ... ... 1468. 9. Eoberfc Barbor, ■Watkin Cother ... ... 1469. Edgecourt ffield. Lord, Rivers with, his sonne and two of the Herberts beheaded by comandment of the Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick. 10. "William Griffith, David Skewe ... ... 1470. The Lord Willoughby, Lord Wells, and many others, beheaded for the comotion in Lyncolnshire. The Duke of Clarence and the Earl of Warwick flie into France. King Edward flieth into France. King Henry is restored. King Ed : Queen is forced to take sanctuarie, and there is Prince Edward borne. 11. Nicholas Cresset, "William Boyer ... ... 1471. King Edward landed at Ravenspur. King Henry sent again to the Tower. Barnett Field. Great Warwick and many others slaine. Tetabury Battle. Prince Edward slain. King Henry murdered. 12. Thomas Hooke, Thomas Ludford ... ... 1472. 13. Henrie ColwaE, PhiUp Wrothe ... ... 1473. The Duke of Exeter found dead upon the sea betwixt Dover and Callies. 14. John Adams, John Wilkes ... ... ... 1474. King Edwmrd with a most royal army by the Duke of Burgoins procurement went for France. But in thfi end a peace was con- cluded between the two kings, and the army returned without ffight. 15. John Hosier, "Walter Moorton ... ... 1475. Many states created. 16. Thomas Steephens, Thomas Werror ... ... 1476. 17. "WatkiQ Cother, "Walter Hubhold ... .,. 1477. The Duke of Clarence drowned in a butt of malmeseye. 18. "William Bowyer, John Paris ... ... 1478. 19. John Hosier, Eoger Moorton ... ... 1479. 20. Thomas Hatford, John Lane ... ... 1480. 21. Thomas Ludford, John Cookes ... ... 1481. 22. John "Wilkes, John Sheffield ... ... 1482. The king feasted the mayor of London and his bretheren. 23. John Lane, Walter Moorton ... ... 1483. In this year, the 9th day of Aprill, died King Edward the Ffourth, and by reason that his heirs were murdered by Richard duke of Glocester, this mans who after was made protector, the Lord Richard usurped the orowne and made himself king. But during the time of his prolectorshipp the Lord Rivers, the queen's brother with others were put to death at Pomfrett, and the Lord 488 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Hastinges in the Tower of London. The Queen took sanctuaiie. The protector is proclaimed king and cro-wned in June, 1483. Biohardus tertius. Anno prima. Anno Dni. 1483. 1. The Bayliffs before named. And in that year were the young princes murdered. Banister be- traieth his master the Duke of Buckingham, who was beheaded. 2. Eoger Moorton, John Marshton ... ... 1484. King Henry's body removed to Winsor. Truce wth. Scotland for 3 years. 3. John Sheffield, Joka Hopton ... ... 1485. Henrie earl of Richmond landed at Milford Haven, fighteth a battle at Bosworth with King Richard, killeth him hand to hand, and began his reign the 22nd of August, 1486. Henricus Septimus, anno supradicto. In the first year of his reign the Duke of Clarence, his Sonne and heir, was comitted to the Tower. The yeomen of the guard first made. 2. Walter Moorton, John Mahneshin ... ... 1486. Note, that the year before the king did marry Elizabeth, dauer to Edward the fourth, which marriage united the families of York and Lancaster, which had been long divided, 3. WiHiam Bowier, John Tipper ... ... 1487. Prince Arthur born, anno supradict. 4. Thomas Ludford, John Whoorest ... ... 1488. 5. Thomas Cookes, "WilL'". Paris ... ... 1489. An inswrreetkm in the North. The Duke of Northumberland slaine. 6. Walter Hubhold, John Heywood ... ... 1490. 7. John Lane, Eichard Dodmore ... ... 1491. King Henry the Vllltli. born. 8. John MalmeshiQ, John Steephens ... ... 1492. 9. Thomas Ludford, Win™- Bower ... ... 1493. 10. WiU"- Paris, Thomas Greene ... ... 1494. Sir William Stanley, the kings chamberline put to death. 11. John Hejwood, W"- Whotton ... ... 1495. 12. John Steephens, Eichard Gibbins ... ... 1496. 13. John Tipper, Eichard Lane ... ... 1497. Comocen of Cornish men, under Lord Dudley. 14. John Lane, WiU""- Cheney ... ... 1498. 15. Thomas Cooke, John Pratt ... ... 1499. Edward Pkmtagenett, earl of Warwick beheaded. Parkin Warbech hanged who feighned himself to be King Edward's second son. 16. John Sheffield, Eichard Downe ... ... 1500. The king and queen went to Callis. THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 489 17. Eichard Hibbins, Ttomas Teame ... ... 1501. Katherine daughter to the King of Spaine came into England and ivas married to Prince Arthur the 14th November, and in April folio-wing he died in Ludlow. 18. John Hooke, "William Cheney ... ... 1502. Queen Elizabeth died. Margaret the king's eldest daughter married to the King of Scotts. 19. John Pratt, Eichard Dier ... ... ... 1503. A new coine. 20. John Heywood, Will""' Jevans ... ... 1504. A coyner hanged. 21. John Pratt, Thomas Clenton ... ... 1505. The King of Castile came into England. 22. Eichard Downe, Eichard Smale ... ... 1506. This year the king discharged all prisoners that laie for xU- debt and under in London. 23. Eichard Hibbins, Eichard Berrye ... ... 1507. 24. Eichard Dyer, "Walter Phillips ... ... 1508. This year King Henry the Seventh died the 22 April, having rayned 23 years and eight months. Henricus Octavus. Anno primo. 1. William Cheney, John Hare ... ... 1509. The king marrieth Prince Arthur's late wife and were both crowned. 2. Eichard Lane, Eichard Braddock ... ... 1510. Henry the king's first son born but lived not. Empson and Dudley beheaded. 3. John Hare, John Cother ... ... ... 1511. Scottish ships taken. 4. Eichard Lane, Eichard Sherman ... ... 1512. Lord A dmiral of England slain, 5. Thomas Clenton, "W""- Clongonford ... ... 1513. A great aubaidie. The king besiegeth Tyrwyn. It is yielded, razed, and burnt. He besiegeth Turney and it was yielded. The king created dukes and earls. In the king's absence Jamea King of Scotts being sworne to keep peace invaded England, but was overthrown and slain by the queen's army • under the noble Earl of Surrey, with 3 bushops, 2 abbots, 12 earls, 17 lords, besides knights and gentlemen, and seventeen thousand Scotts, 6. "William Braddock, Walter Eogers ... ... 1514, Peace proclaimed between England and France. 7. Eichard Downes, John Torke ... ... 1515. Thia year, in October, Lewis, the French king, married Lady Mary, 490 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. the king's sister, who, in May after, being widow, was married to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolke. 8. Jolin Hare, Tho'- Brougiiton ... ... 1516. Lady Mary, after queene, this yeare bom. Also the Queen of Scotts fled into England. 9. W""- Olongonford, Will""- Bennett ... ... 1517. May day the Queen of Scotts returned. 10. Jokn. Hare, Biciiaxd Berry ... ... ... 1518. 11. "Walter Rogers, Harry Pickering ... ... 1519. Lord Thomas Hoteard, earl of Surrey and L* Admiral, sent into Ireland. 12. Richard .Lane, Will'"- Langford ... ... 1520. The Emperor Charles landed in England. The king and queen went to France. The Duke of Buckingham accused, comitted, and after arrayned, found guilty and beheaded. All this was done in this year following. 13. John Cotlier, Jotn Stone ... ... ... 1521. 14 Will™- Clongonus, Thomas Orofton ... ... 1522. The emperor was received in London most honourably. The Turkes took Rhodes. The Lady Shmgerford hanged. 15. Walter Rogers, John BayUs ... ... 1523, The King and Queen of Denmark arrived in England. A great subsidie. 16. Thomas Clenton, Richard Davies ... ... 1524. Warrs begin tvrixt England and France. 17. Richard Lane, William Woxe ... ... 1525. The French king taken prisoner. Uome taken and sacked. Great states created at Bridewell. 18. Walter Rogers, Walter Phillips ... ... 1526. Gold inhanced. Great land waters. 19. Will"- Langford, John Taylor ... ... 1527. 20. John Hare, Robert Braddock ... ... 1528. 21. John Crowther, Roger Pearne ... ... 1529. The king's marriage with Queen Katherine called in question. The cardinal's downfall. The New Testament printed in English. 22. Will"- Clongonus, WiU""- Jevans ... ... 1530. The cardinal arrested by the Eaxle of Northumberland, and sickeneth and died. 23. Walter Rogers, John Bradshew ... ... 1531. Note, that in the year before, the clergy were condempned ia the primunirey, whereupon they gave lOOjOOOlb. to the king for their pardon, and did acknowledge him supreme head of the churches of England and Ireland. Also, there was a cooke boyled in Smithfield for poysoniuge. 24. WiUiam IToxe, Thomas Lewis ... ... 1532. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 491 Sir Rice Griffith beheaded. The king goeth for France in Octoher, and in November follomng retnmeth. 25. Joka Hare, John Tomliiis ... ... ... 1533. The Lady Anne Bullen proclaimed queen upon Easter" day, upon Whitsunday after cro-wned with exceeding royaltie and charges. Queetie Mary, dowager of Ffrance, the king's sister, died. The birth and royal christening of the Lady Elizabeth. 26. "WiU""- Langford, John Lane ... ... 1534. The holy maid of Kent hanged. 27. John Bradshawe, Eob*- Hoodes ... ... 1535. Sir Tho'- Moore and Bushop of Rochester beheaded. The Lady Katherine, dowager, died. 28. John Taylor, "WiU"- PHpes, Pres. ... ... 1536. The Lord Rocheford and many others beheaded about the queen, and she herself put to death likewise. The king married to the Lady Jane. Henry, duke of Richmond and Somerset, the king's'Jbase son, died. The Lord Thomas Howard comitted to the Tower for making a privy contract with the Queen of Scotts daughter. 29. Wil"- lYoxe, Thomas Cother ... ... 1537, Prince Edward bom. States created. LiJ- Tho'- Howard deceased in the Tower. 30. "Will'"- Jevans, Thomas Wheeler ... ... 1538. The Earl of Devon and others beheaded. 31. Wai"'- Langford, John Passey ... ... 1539. TAe Amy married the Lady Ann a Cleves. The Earls of Oxford and Essex deceased. 32. John Taylor, John Lokier ... ... ... 1540. Lord Cromwell beheaded. The king divorced from Lady Ann a Cleves. He manieth Lady Katherine Howard. 33. John Bradshew, Eichard Bradford ... ... 1541. The Countess of Salisburie and Lord Leonard Greye beheaded. Lord Dacre, of the Southe, hanged. King Henrie proclaimed King of Ireland. Queen Katherine beheaded. A maide boyled in Smithfield for poyssoning three householders. 34. Thomas Wheeler, Richard Hanley ... ... 1542. The Duke of Norfolk entereth Scotland, taketh the Lord Maxewell and two earles, and overthrew their army of 15000 Scotts. 35. Win™- Langford, John Alsopp ... ... 1543. ' The Idng married to the Lady Katheryne Parr. 36. Thomas Cother, Will"- Coxe ... ... 1543. Leithe taken and spoyled. Edenberge burnt by the \A- Admyrall of England. The king went to Bullen. 37. Will" Ffoxe, Eichard Langford ... ... 1544. 38. John Taylor, John Hooke ... ... ... 1545. In this year the Admyrall of France came to London. The Duke of 492 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Norfolk and the Earl of Surrey -went comitted to the Tower. The Earl of Surrey was beheaded, and King Henry departed this life the XXVIII'h of January, when he had reigned 37 years, 9 months, and six days, and that day began King Edward's reign. Edmardus Sextus An°- primo. 1. Joliii Passey, Lewis Phillips ... ... 1546. The Bark of Hartford made Protector, who indowed the king with the order of kntwhood, which done, he was created Duke of Somersett, and many others advanced to titles of dignitie. He was crowned the 20th of February. 2. WiH""- Phillips, The'- Bluffield ... ... 1547. In this year of our Lord and Bayliflfs time, was the Muskleborowe ffield, where were slain 14 thousand Scotts, and 1500 prisoners taken, and not above three score Englishmen taken or slain. Divine Service read again in the English. 3. Lewis Bradford, "William Partridge ... ... 1548. Zord Thomas Seymer beheaded. Great comotions this year, in which the Ld. Sheffield was slain. The Lord Protector comitted to the Tower by the Councel. 4. Eichard Langford, Tholnas Eyton ... ... 1549. The Protector delivered out of the Tower. 5. Thomas Bluffield, John Cocks ... ... 1550. The ffirst ffall of base money. Swetting sickness. Another ffall of coyne. Dukes and earls created. The Duke of Somerset comitted againe, arraigned, and beheaded. 6. John Hooke, Lewis Croother ... • ... 1551. Sir Ralphs Vane and others executed. 7. John Alsopp, Will'"- Taylor ... ... 1552. A Parliament. Bridewell given to the city of London ; jewels and church plate called into the kings hands. Three famous marriages in 'one day during the kings sickness. This vertuous king having raigned six years, five months and odd days, left this life the sixth of July, 1553, and Queen Mary began her reign. Queen Mary An"- Prima. 1. "Will"'- Pfoxe, John Taylor ... ... ... 1553. The Duke of Somerset with others beheaded. Bushop Gai-dener made .Q: chauncelour. Service said in Latin. A new coine. 'The coronation. Wiate riseth in arms, is taken, and with a number of his accomplices, is put to death. Ld- Guildforde Dudley, Lady Jane, the Duke of Suffolke, all beheaded. 2. Thomas "Wheeler, William Dedicot ... ... 1554. The Q : marrieth King Phillip. The Prince of Pyremont came to England. Rogers and Bradford brent. THB HISTORY OF LTJDLOVir. 498 3. Will""- Partridge, Eobert Mason ... ... 1565. King Phillip went for Flanders. Ridley and Latimer brent, -with Dfi Cranmr- ami many[more this year. 4. Lewis Phillips, W™- Pouglinell ... ... 1556; A ffalse accuser burnt in both the cheeks, and put upon the pillery. Would God all such were so used. An army sent to S'- Quentein. Lady Aime a Cleaves died. 6. John Pasaey, Jolrn Cocks ... ... ... 1557. St. Quinten'a taken. Three Dukes, the Prince of Mantua, with divers other states of great command taken. Calls left by the English. 6. John Cocks, John Bell ... ... ... 1558. This year Queen Mary died the 17th of Novbr. She had reigned five years, four months and 11 days, and the same day began the Queen Elizabeth's reigne. Elizabeth, queen of Engl''- began her reign by Proclamation the XVII. of November, 1558. Atmo Primo. Ano Dni. 1. Tho»- Blashfield, Lawrence Beck ... ... 1559. Queen Mary buried. Charles the emperors obsequies. Divine Service read in English. The Coronation. A Parliament. A subsidy granted. The'Citizens of London mustered. Bushops deprived. Images bumt.JJThe obsequies of the French king.' 2. Eichard Langford, John Sherman ... ... 1560. Duke of Norfolk with an army into Scotland. Lord Grey beseigeth Leethe. The third fall of base money, and Paul's steeple fired. 3. Will™- Poughnell, Eichard Starr ... ... 1561. An army to Newhaven. 4. John Alsopp, Eobert Lewis ... ... 1562. In this year there died of the plague in London twenty ttiousand, one hundred and thirty-six, besides other diseases. A great earthquake. 5. Eobert Mason, John' HuUand ... ... 1563. Tearme kept at Herefi'ord. Creacon of barons. Obsequies for the emperor Ferdinando. 6. Lawrence Beck, Eichard EastoU ... ... 1564. Henry Stewarde Lord Damley married the Queen of Scottes. Lady Linnox sent to the Tower. Madam Cycelia, wife to the Margrave of Baden, and sister to the King of Sweden, landed in England, was here delivered, and her Majestic christened the child, naming him Edwardus Ffortunatus. 7. Tho'- Wheeler, Eichard Blashfield ... ... 1565. The burse in Comhill built. Soldiers sent into Ireland. 3 s 484 THE EIST0R1 OF LUDLOW. 8. John Shermon, Will'"- Skyimer ... ... 1566. Note, that in the former year of her Majesties reign Charles James, our now King, was horn, but was christened in theis Bayliffes times, and the ghossipps were her Koyal Majestie, godmother, and Charles, K. of Ffrance, and PhilHphey, Duke of Savoy, godfathers, and shortly after the King of Scottes was murdered. 9. Eobert Lewis, Edward Badger ... ... 1567. 10. Eichard Parr, John Taylor ... ... 1568. The Great Lottery. The Duke of Norfolk sent to the Tower. The Earles of Westmorland and Northumberland rebell. 11. Tho"- Blashfleld, Eichard Baylie ... ... 1569. Several! Eoades made into Scotland this year. The northern rebella breed great trouble. The earles flie and are proclaimed. 12. Will"'- Poughnell, Morris Preea ... ... 1570. The renewing of the earthquake in Herefordshire. 13. Eich'^- Mason, Eichard Hookes ... ... 1571. The Duke of Norfolk beheaded and the Earl of Northumberland also. 14. Lawrence Beck, John Brasier ... ... 1572. Bide sent into Scotland. The castle at Edenberge being beaeiged. 15. John Bell, Will"- Powis ... ... ... 1573. 16. Eichard EascoU, Thomas Deyes ... ... 1574. An earthquake. 17. "Will"'- Poughnell, Eichd- Swanson ... ... 1575. 18. John Shermon, Thomas Candland ... ... 1578. 19. Eichaa-d BayUe, John Clee ... ... ... 1577. Great execution this year, especialy of pyrates. 20. Eichard Parr, Eichard Heathe ... ... 1578. 21. Thomas Blashfield, Harry Cleberye ... ... 1579. 22. John Brasier, John "Waites ... ... ... 1580. 28. WiU"- Pynner, Eoger Clearke ... ... 1581. 24. Will"'- Poughnell, Edward Crowther ... ... 1582. 25. Eichard Eascoll, John Blashfield ... ... 1583. The Lord Pagett fled over seas : Ffrances Ffrogmorton put to death. 26. Thomas Candla ad, Eichard Brasier ... ... 1584. Percye Earl of Northumberland slew himself in the Tower with a dagger. 27. Thomas Blashfield, John Crowther ... ... 1585. 28. Edward Crowther, Tho^' Bower ... ... 1586. Sir Senry Sidney Kut, Lord Pressident of the counceU in the Marches of Wales, twice L*' Deputie of Ireland, and one of Her Majestie's Privy CounceU, as also Kn*- of the most honorable order of the Garter, died at Worcester ; and upon his death bed charged, that his heart should be buried in Ludlow church, in remembrance of the THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 495 intire love he bare to the town, which was done, and his body was carried to Pencehurst with all honour. Also the XIIII Traytors were executed at London. 29. John Waites, Thomas Langford ... ... 1587. An army sent to Flanders. The Honble- Sr. Phillip Sidney slaine at Zutphen. 30. Eichard Bailie, Thomas Jevans ... .-• 1688. Sir James Croft committed to the fleet. A fleet went to Portugal. 31. Eichaxd Hickes, Eohert Berry ... ... 1589. The Earle of Aruudell condempned for treason. 32. Eichard Blashfield, "William Woogan ... ... 1590. Sudden weather and mighty hailstones fell at Bewdley and thereabouts, that did very much hurte. Veal a, puritan preacher was hanged in Southwarke. 33. Thomas Candland, Eobert Sanders ... ... 1591. The great fight at the Island, between the Lord Thomas Howard and the Spanish Armada, wherein that worthy knight Sir Kichard Greenvile was slain and the Revenge sunk. 34. Eobert Berry, "WiU" Beck ... ... ... 1592. 35. Thomas Jeyans, John Devanor ... ... 1593. 36. "WiUiam "Woogan, Edward Powis ... ... 1594. A greate bame in Lempster fired by a comett and burned 15 days. In anno 1595, was a great sickness of the small pox in Ludlow, and 5 women died in childbed. Also a great setting out of soldiers for Ireland. 37. Thomas Langford, "Will"- Cleohnry ... ... 1595. 38. John Crowther, Eich^- Benson ... ... 1596. Callis won by the Spaniards. 39. 'Will"- Beck, Edmond Lloyd ... ... ... 1597. This year Tyrone gave a great overthrow to the English army in Ireland. 40. Tho'- Candland, "Will"'- Cooke ... ... 1598. 41. Eobert Saunders, Charles "Wigley ... ... 1599. 42. Edward Powis, "Will"'- Hughes ... ... 1600, Essex downfall. 43. Eobert Berry, Eichd- Langford ... ... 1601. 44. Eichard Barley, Joseph Caudland ... ... 1602. This year Queen Elizabeth died the 24th day of March 1602, when she had reigned 44 years, four months, and 7 days. James the first, king of England, 24 March, 1602, and was proclaimed in Ludlow the 26th day of the same March, by Edward Lord Zouche, then Lord President. Eichard Benson, Symon Cupper ... ... 1603. 496 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Edw*- Orowther, Eich*- Fflsher ... ■■■ ••• 1604. WiU""- Cooke, Sam.!- Parker ... ... ■•• 1605. Thomas Candland, Eiohard Edwards ... ... 1606. Eobert Saimders, Jolm Deyea ... ... ... 1607. Symon Cupper, Will"- Gregory ... ... ... 1608. Eichard Pisher, Eobert Cotton ... ... ... 1609. Edward Powis, Thomas Powle ... ... ... 1610. Samuel iParker, "Walter Langford ... ... 1611. Eicli''- Edwards, Will"'- Lane ... ... ... 1612. Eobert Berry, Eichard Stermon ... ... 1613. Edward Crowther, Thomas Heath ... ... 1614. This year the young Overbury was poisoned in the Tower, for which Mrs. Tiirner and others were executed, 1615. John Deyes, Thomas HjU ... ... ... 1615. In this year the trouhles of the Lord Car, Earl of Somerset, and his bad lady Countess of Essex, fell ; and the Earl of Pembroke made Lord Chamberlaine in his place. WiU"- Gregory, Tho»- Blashfleld ... ... 1616. Symon Cupper, Eichard Prichard ... ... 1617. Eichard Efisher, EUis Beddoe ... ... ... 1618. Eoger Cotton, Eichard Heath ... ... ... 1619. "Walter Langford, Thomas Edwards ... ... 1620. Thomas Heath, Yalentine Dawes ... ... 1621. Tho'-Blashfield, Eichard Baker... ... ... 1622. Thomas Lovell, Adam Acton ... ... ... 1623. Ellis Beddoe, Edward Cowbach ... ... ... 1624. This year Kiug Charles began his reign 27th March, 1625. Valentine Dawes, Edward Jones ... ... 1625. Eichard Edwards, John Ambler ... ... 1626, Eichard Msher, "Will"- Lloyd ... ... ... 1627. "Walter Langford, Samuel Lloyd... ... ... 1628. Thomas Heath, Thomas Colerich ... ... 1629. Adam Acton, Henry Prichard, who died being Baylifif, and Edward Powis elected in his place. . . . 1630. Edward Jones, John Patchet ... ... ... 1631. Eichard Baker, Will"- Powis ... ... ... 1632. Edw< Cowbach, Thomas Crowther ... ... 1633. Thomas Edwards, Edward Gregory ... ... 1634. EUis Beddoe, Edward Edwin ... ... ... 1635, Adam Acton, Ealph Hackluit .., .,, ... 1636, THE HISTORY OF LDDLOW. 497 Edward Jones, Phillip Clarke ... ... ... 1637. Samuel .Lloyd, Eichard "Wilkes ... ... ... 1638. Edward Powis, John Acton ... ... ... 1639. John Patchett, Walter Stead ... ... ... 1640. Note. — That in October 1640, the truce for 2 months was made between the king and Scotts, who was to have £2,500 for each month, till the parliament had agreed the difference. This year the Eail of Strafford, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was beheaded for treason, adjudged by parliament. Thomas Heath, William Oowbatch ... ... 1641. Adam Acton, Thomas Hitchcot ... ... ... 1642. WiUiam Powis, Eichard Davies ... ... ... 1643. Thomas Crowther, Edw*- Turford ... ... 1644. Edw*' Jones, Samuel Weaver ... ... ... 1645. PhiUip Clark, Isaell Lloyd ... ... ... 1646. Eichard Wilkes, Eobert Coles ... ... ... 1647. Oliver's Usurpation. King Charles the 1st beheaded 30th of January 1648. Walter Stead, Wm"- BottereU ... ... ... 1648. John Acton, Eichard Williams ... ... ... 1649. Eichard Davies, Eowland WiUiams ... ... 1650. William Botterell, William Griffiths ... ... 1651. John Aston, John Eeynolds ... ... ... 1652. Eobert Case, Eovfland Earsley ... ... ... 1653. WiUiam Colebach, John Cleobuiy ... ... 1654. Edward Turford, Walter Jones ... ... ... 1655. Samuel Lloyd, Eichard Cole ... ... ... 1656. Eichard Davies, Thomas Powis ... ... ... 1657. Eobert Cole, Walter Lea ... ... ... 1658. William BottereU, John Acton ... ... ... 1659, 29th May 1660 King Charles the second arrived at London. Samuel Weaver, Samuel Eeynolds ... ... 1660. Eowland WiUiams, Charles Baldwyn ... ... 1661. WiU"- Griffiths, Thomas Jones ... ... ... 1662. John Eeynolds, Ealph Sharret ... ... ... 1663, Samuel Eeynolds, Eichard Cupper ... ... 1664, Eichard Davies, Samuel Bowier ... ... 1665. Eichard Wilkes, John Pearce ... ... ... 1666. Eowland Williams, Edward Eobiason ... ... 1667. 498 THE HISTOKT OF LUDLOW. 1668. 1669. 1670. 1671. 1672. 1673. 1674. 1675. 1678. 1677. 1678. 1679. 1680. 1681. 1682. 1683. 1684. Samuel "Weaver, Tamberlain Davies The'- Jones, Eichard Cole "VViUiam'GlTiffi.tlis, Jolm Bowdler Jolin Beynolds, Richard "Wlieigham Eichard Cole, Eichard Scott Ealph Sharrett, Thomaa Lane ... Eichard Davies, "Will"' Arclier . . . "Williain Griffiths, Edward Stedman Thomas^Powis, Eicliard Cam . . . Eichard Cupper,^dward Davies Will""' Archer, Eichard Davies . . . Edwaxd Eohiason, Jolm Colebatch Walter Lea, G-eorge Toung John Pearce, Eoger Powis Samuel Davies, Phillip Cole Eichard Cole, Eowland.Earsley ... John Bowdler, George Haughton King Charles the second died. King James the second proclaimed King, and granted a new charter to Ludlow, making it a Mayor corporation. Sir Job Charlton Knt. and Barrt., Recorder. John TJnderhill, Esq. ... Humphrey Cornwall, Esq. John Bright, Esq. King James the second at Ludlow Castle. Richard Cole, Esq. King James abdicated. King WilEam and Queen Mary. Francis Charlton, Esq. Thomas Powis, Esq. ... Note. — Upon the abdication of King James the second in 1688, the Prince of Orange and his Princess, were declared king and queen of England, and they this year granted a new charter to the town of Ludlow, appointing BayUifs. Francis Lloyd, Esq., Recorder Mr. SmaUman, Town Clerk Mr. Thomas Powis, Mr. Richard Cupper ... ... 1690. Mr. Thomas Powis, Mr. Thomas Lea ... ... 1691. Mr. Thomas Lea, Mr. WiU"- Archer ... ... 1692. Mr. Richard Cam, Mr. John Sharrett ... ... 1693. 1685. 1686. 1687. 1688. 1689. 1690. THE HISTORY QF LUDLOW. 499 Mr. Richard Davies, Mr. Samuel Bowdler ... 1694. Mr. John Colebatch, Mr. John Beeston ... ... 1695. Mr. G-eorge Long, Mr. Edward Robinson . . . 1696. Mr. PhiOip Cole, Mr. Thomas Sabrey ... ... 1697. Mr. Rowland Earsley, Mr. Samuel Jordan ... 1698. Mr. Tho'' Lea, Tho»- Jones, Esq. ... ... 1699. Mr. John Sharrett, Mr. Tho^ Hinton ... ... 1700. Queen jinn's accession to the crown. Mr. John Colebatch. He died, and Mr. Rich*- Cam elected in his place. Mr. Tho»- Dayis ... 1701. Mr. Richard Cam, Mr. "William "Waring ... ... 1701. Mr. Sam' Jordan, Mr. John Dipple ... ... 1702. Mr. Tho'- Jones, Mr. John Acton ... ... 1703. John Beeston, Gent., Mr. WiU"- Price ... ... 1704 Mr. Edward Robinson, Benjamin Karver, Gent. . . . 1705. Mr. Tho=- Sabrey, Mr. Edw*' Lea ... ... 1706. Mr. PhiUip Cole, Mr. Nicholas Payne ... ... 1707. Mr. Tho'- Hinton, Mr. Rioh'i- Daviea ... ... 1708. Mr. Thomas Lea, Mr. Tho=- Oaiotson ... ... 1709, Mr. George Long, "WilL°>- Gower, Esq. ... ... 1710. Mr. John Sharrett, Charles Pearce, Gent. ... 1711. Mr. Samuel Bowdler, Dr. Erancis Bayley ... ... 1712. Mr. Samuel Jordan, Mr. Joseph Pearce ... ... 1713. King George the First proclaimed. Mr. Edward Robinson, Mi. Somerset Daviea . . . 1714. Mr. "WiUiam Price, Mr. John Dayiea ... ... 1715. Mr. Phillip Cole, Richard Davies, Esq. ... ... 1716. Benjamin Karrer, Gent., Mr. Tho'- Meyrick . . . 1717. Mr. Edw*- Lea, Mr. Samuel "Wareing ... ... 1718. Mr. Nicholas Payne, Mr. Richard Bowen . . . 1719. Abel Ketelby Esq. Kecorder, instead of Sir Thomas Powis, Kn*. dec*. Eichard Perks Gent., Town Clerk instead of Mr. Smallman. Mr. Tho«- TiUotson, Mr. James Wyke ... ... 1720. Dr. Erancis Bayley, George "Walcot, Esq. ... 1721. Mx. Joseph Pearce, Wredenhall Pearce, Gent. ... 1722. Mr. Somerset DaTies, John "WoUey, Gent. ... 1723. Mx. Thomas Meyrick, (died in his office) Mr. Samuel "Wareing, Mr. Ralph BottereU ... ... 1724i. Mr. Richard Bowen, Richard Browne, Gent. ... 1725. 500 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. George Walcot, Esq.. John HoUand, Qent. ... 1726. King George the Second proclaimed. Benjamin Karver, G-ent., Mr. Henry Davies ... 1727. Eowland Baughs, Esq., Henry Arthur Herbert, Esq. 1728. Ealph Botterell, Gent., The'- Vernon, Gent. ... 1729. Henry Da-ries, Esq., Francis Herbert, Esq. . . . 1730. Somerset Jones, Gent., Caesar Hawkins, Gent. ... 1731. Tho'- Vernon, Gent., Edw*- Botterell, Esq. ... 1732. Erancis Herbert, Esq., James "Wilde, Gent. . . . 1733. Samuel Wareing, Gent., Edward Baugh, Gent. . . . 1734. Ralph Botterell, Gent., Tho'- Turbuek, Gent., Mr. Turbuck died, Mr. "Wilde elected ... ... 1735. Henry Davies, Gent., Henry Salwey, Gent. . . . 1736. CsBsar Hawkins, Gent., Thomas Smyth, Esq. . . . 1737. Edward Baugh, Gent., Eichard Plumer, Gent. . . . 1738. Tho'- Vemon, Gent., "W™- Bright, Gent. ... ... 1739. Wan proclaimed agst. the Spaniards. Mr. Vemon died. Mr. Botterell was elected. James "Wilde, Gent., Eicy- Baldwyn, Esq. ... 1740. Henry Salwey, Esq. Pryce Turbuck, Esq. . . , 1741. Eichard Plumer, Esq., Job Charlton, Esq. . . . 1742. Francis Herbert, Esq., Alexander Stuart, Esq. ... 1743. Richard Baldwyn, Esq., Somerset Davies, Esq. . . . 1744. Mr. Recorder Ketelby died. Richard Knight, Esq., elected in his place. Job Charlton, Esq., Edward Baldwyn, Esq. ... 1745. Csesar Hawkins, Esq., Robert Galloway, Esq, . . . 1746. A New Ledger. "William Bright, Esq., Benjamin Howton, Esq, ... 1747. Peace proclaimed, Earl of Powis sworn Recorder. Pryce Turbuck, Esq., Samuel "Wareing, Esq. ... 1748. Somerset Davies, Esq., "William ChQd, Esq. . . . 1749. James "WUde, Esq., Caleb HiU, Esq. ... ... 1750. Edward Baldwyn, Esq., Erancis Walker, Esq. ... 1751. Mr. Perks Comis Cler : died, Mr. Baugh elected, approv'd and sworn. Job Charlton, Esq., John Griffiths, Esq. ... 1752. Sam. "Wareiag, Esq., Thos. EfoUiot Baugh, Esq. . . . 1753. Eichard Baldwyn, Esq., Efrederick Cornwall, Esq. ... 1754. "WiUiam Bright, Esq., John Tasker, Esq. ... 1765. War proclaimed ags*. the French. Somerset Davies, Esq., Samuel Monger, Esq. . . . 1756. THB HI8T0RT OF LUDLOW. 601 Alexander Stewart, Esq., Herbert Cole, Esq. ... 1757. The old alms house which was huilt by John Hosier, merchant, in or ahout 1478, was taken down in March, 1758, and re-built the same year. WMam CMde, Esq., Eobert Jones, Esq. ... ... 1758. John G-riffiths, Esq., Henry Davies, Esq. ... ... 1759. Erancis "Walker, Esq., Edw""- Perks, Esq. ... ... 1760. 25 Oct: 1760, George the IlmJ. died att Kensington, at 7 in the morning, suddenly. George the III'''!- proclaimed 3 Nov : in Ludlow, married the 7th August, and crowned the 22<1- 1761. Edward Baldwyn, Esq., "William Bishop, Esq. . . . 1761. Samuel Monger, Esq., Thomas Jones, Esq. Ered"'- ComewaE, Esq., Tho=- Wotton HiU, Esq. .. Gaolford tower and gate taken down, and a new gaol built. Herbert Cole, Esq., Edward "Wood, Esq. ... Eobert Jones, Esq., Thomas Hill, Esq. Francis "Walker, Esq., Thomas Knight, Esq. Hemy Davies, Esq., William Baldwin, Esq. Siun : Monger, Esq., Ea : Thomas, Esq. William Bishop, Esq., Thomas Baugh, Esq. Herbert Cole, Esq., WUliam Hodges, Esq. Eobert Jones, Esq., Eichard Plumer, Esq.... Thomas, Jones, Esq., Erancis Davies, Esq. 10 Sep : 1772, Earl of Po^vis died. 28 Octo : 1772, Sir Francis Charlton chose recorder in his room. Henry Davies, Esq., John Edwards, Esq. ... ... 1773. W">- Bishop, Esq., Job W. Baugb, Esq ... ... 1774. Tho=- Wotton HlU, Esq., Eich* Hodges, Esq. ... 1775. 9 Octo : 1776, S'. Francis Charlton resigned his office, and the Rt. Hon. Earl Fowls chose in his room. Eic^- Plumer, Esq., Tho'- Johnes, jun'- Esq. , . . 1776. Tho'- Wotton HiU, Esq., Edward Burlton, Esq. . . . 1777. Eich''- Plumer, Somerset Davies, jun''- ... ... 1778. WiU""- Baldwyn, Edwi- Baugh ... ... ... 1779. Ealph Thomas, Ered''- Walker Oornewall ... ... 1780. Major Tho'- Baugh, Et. Hon. Lord Olive ... ... 1781. Eraneis Davies, John Salwey ... ... ... 1782. Ealph Thomas, Eic^- Hodson ... ... ... 1783. 1762. 1763. 1764. 1765. 1766. 1767. 1768. 1769. 1770. 1771. 1772. Here the parchment roll ends ; and the record of the bailiffs for the next two years being in the hands of a master in chancery, we have not 3 T 602 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. been able to ascertain their names. Thoss which follow are given from the corporation books, until the year 1834, when the office of bailiffs was abolished by the Municipal Reform Bill. Job "W. Baugh, Ttornas Owen ... ... ... 1786. Somerset Davies, Folliot H. "Walker Comewall, clerk 1787. Eichard Hodges, Ttomas Andrew Knight... ... 1788. Thomas Johnes, Thomas Browne ... ... 1789. Eichard Hodges, Edward Meyricke ... ... 1790. Edward Burlton, Edward WeHings ... ... 1791. Eichard Hodson, Charies "Wollaston ... ... 1792. Edward Acton, Eichard Cowdell ... ... 1793. Edward Burlton, "William Clive ... ... ... 1794. Thomas Owen, Edward Baugh, clerk ... ... 1795. Edward Acton, Samuel "Waring ... ... ... 1796. Thomas Owen, "William Cliire ... ... ... 1797. Edward Meyricke, Samuel Acton ... ... 1798. Edward "WeUings, William EusseU ... ... 1799. Erancis Davies, Eichard Hodson ... ... 1800. Charles "Wollaston, John Eoxton ... ... 1801. Charles Wollaston, Thomas Hodges, clerk. . . ... 1802. 28th August, 1802, then the Eight Honorable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, of Burnham Thorpe, in the County of Norfolk, Duke of Bronte, Vice Admiral of the Blue, Knight of the Bath, &c. was unanimously elected an Honorary Burgess of this Corporation. Thomas Andrew Ejiight, Eichard Salwey ... ... 1803. Thomas Brown, William Walcot ... ... 1804. William Clive, Charles Eogers ... ... ... 1805. Edward Baugh, clerk, James CoUier ... ... 1806. Thomas Brown, The Eight Hon. Edward Herbert Viscount CHve ... ... ... ... 1807. Erancis Davies, Eichard Baugh, clerk ... ... 1808. Samuel Acton, Edward Eogers ... ... ... 1809. Samuel Acton, John Eobiason ... ... ... 1810. William EusseU, Job W. Baugh... ... ... 1811. Eichard Hodson, Jonathan Grreen ... ... 1812. William EusseU, Thomas TrudeU ... ... 1813. Eichard Salwey, James "Volant Vashon, clerk . . . 1814. Eichard Hodson, Thomas Matthews ... ... 1815. John Eoxton, Hemy Clive ... ... ... 1816. Thomas Hodges, clerk, Thomas WeUings, clerk ... 1817. THE H18T0KY QF LUDLOW. 603 Charles Eogers, Edward G-reen, clerk ... ... 1818. Jolm Foxton, Jonathan Dalby ... ... ... 1819. Thomas Hodges, clerk, Sir "Watkin 'Williams Wynne, Bart. 1820. Eichard Bangh, clerk, WiUiam Moseley ... ... 1821. Eichard Baugh, clerk, John Acton ... ... 1822. Edward "Wellings, Edward Prodgers ... ... 1823. "WiUiam Clive, Samuel Johnes Knight, clerk . . . 1824. Edward Eogers, I'rederick Hamilton Comewall ... 1825. Job "Walker Bangh, clerk, Thomas HiU Lowe, clerk 1826. Samuel Acton, Eichard Nicholas Sankey ... ... 1827. James Volant Vashon, clerk, Eichard Hodges ... 1828. William Eussell, The Hon. Grustavus Frederick Hamilton, 1829. Eichard Hodson, Thomas Eyton... ... ... 1830. Samuel Acton, Edward Hodson .. . ... ... 1831. Eichard Nicholas Sankey, Edmund Lechmere Charlton, 1832. Edmund Lechmere Charlton, WiUiam Acton ... 1833. Samuel Acton, Edmund Lechmere Charlton . . . 1834. 604 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. INDEX. Abbeys, vide " Monastic houses." Aber, castle of, 155. Aberystwith castle taken by prince Henry and re-taken by GUyndwr, 264. Acheland, parson of Cainham, 120. Acley, see " Oakley Park." Aeley priory, Herefordshire, 205. Acombury, near Hereford, nunnery at, 96 ; forest of, grant of land in, to Margaret de Laeey, 147. Acton, the oak inclosure, 25. Adventures of the younger Ihjlke Fitz "Warine, 63. Agaymeth, Walter, selects the site of Wigmore Abbey, 118, 119. iEUa founds the kingdom of the South Saxons, 4. jEhnundes-tune, 32. Albeny, Philip de, 136. Alberbury, Shropshire, house of black monks at, 204. Alderbury castle, 66, 72. Alditheley, or Audeley, James de, 171, 186 ; barons summoned to meet at Ludlow, 172. " Alleston" granted by Henry II to T\ilke Ktz "Warine, 60. Alnodes-treow, 32. Angles, settlement of, on the eastern coast, 4. Anglo-Saxon, (vide Saxons) ; laws, 5, 6, 25 ; words, 25 ; state of the border under, 5 to 39, passim ; their deities, 80 ; names of places, 189. Anglo-Norman language, 193. Antiquities of the twelfth century on the border, 83. Aj-chenfield, advance of the Danes to, 11 ; origin of the name, id. Arthur, prince of Wales, son of Henry VII, at Ludlow, 324. Arundel castle, fortified by Eobert de Belesme, 41 ; taken by Henry I, 42. Asche, James, parson of Stanton, Worcestershire, 337. Ashford Bowdler, 187 ; origin of the name, 189, THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 605 Ashford Oarbonell, 187 ; origin of the name, 189. Aston Major, hamlet of, 189. Aston church, Norman architecture in, 99, 101. Athelbriht, laws of, 25. Athelstane, homage of the Welsh to, 16. Athelstone, surrender of a house of friars at, 340. Awdlay, John, a border poet, 200. Aymestrey, entrenchments in mountain passes of, 2 ; neighbour- hood, supposed scene of the last war against Caractacus, iUd ; Eoman road at, 3 ; Danes in the valley of, 12 ; manor of, possessed by queen Edith, 20 ; produce of, 25 ; origin of name, 32 ; church, antiquity of, 99, 103 ; grant of to Wigmore abbey, 122. Badhngham, 145, (note). Baggot or Baghard, family of, 189. Bailiffs of Ludlow, 486. Baldwin's town, 36. Baldwin, archbishop, preaching of, 60. Ballads, see 'Songs'. Bamet, battle of, 318. Barton, Shropshire, priory at, 204. Baronial wars, 133. Basset, Ealph, of Drayton, 172. Bassingbum, Warine de, 176. Bath, Eichard de, 185, 186. Baxter, Eichard, his residence at Ludlow, 421. Beaufort, Sir Thomas, keeper of Ludlow Castle iu the reign of Henry IV, 257. Beaumaris castle, built by Edward I, 215. Beaumes, Eichard de, or de Belmeis, appointed steward of Shropshire and Herefordshire, 44 ; created bishop of London, id. Beavers, rivers inhabited by, 26. Berkeley, Henry III at, 149. Beerly, Eichard, a monk of Pershore, 334. Belesme, Eobert de, earl of Shrewsbury, 40 ; his tyranny and cruelty, 41 ; insurrection against Henry I, 41, 42 ; surrenders to the king, 43 ; banishment and death, 43. 606 THE kiSTORY OF LUDLOW. Beodume, field of, near Wigmore, 118. Beowulf, Anglo-Saxon romance of, 27. Bernoldyne, 32 ; held by Hugo L'Asne, or Hugh the ass, 33. Berrington, supposed derivation of, 82. Berrington, church of, broken iato by Alice de Haumon, 185. Berwin mountains, English army encamped at the foot of, 53. Bestiaries, 473, 474. Beton, SirEobert de, bishop of Hereford, 105 ; dispute between, and MUo earl of Hereford, 107 ; his death and bxudal. 111. Bever-ege, the isle of Beavers, 12, 26. Bezile, Macy de, 172. Birmiagham, derivation of name, 32. Biriton, see 'Berrington.' Bishops' Oastle, 86. ' Blancmuster' (Oswestry) castle, 85. Blestium, vide Monmouth. Bloreheath, battle of, 289. Blyth, Jeffrey, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, president of "Wales and the Marches, 376. Blyth castle, Nottinghamshire, fortified by Eobert de Belesme, 41 ; taken by Henry I, 42. Bohun, Henry de, 216. Bohun, Humphrey de, 216 ; the younger, 177, 216, 218, 219. Bohuns, family of the, 216. Border antiquities of the twelfbh century, 83. Border history, previous to the Conquest, 1; under the Conquest, 21 ; from the Conquest to the end of the twelfth century, 34; condition of the border, at the begianiag of the reign of Edward I, 179 ; lawless state of, as exhibited by the Hundred Eolls, 183, 185 ; language and literature of the, 193 ; condition diumg the fourteenth, and early part of the fifteenth centuries, 227 ; during the wars of the Eoses, 269. Bordesley, 'Worcestershire, abbey of, 359 ; sale connected with, id, Boreton, chapel granted to Wigmore abbey, 122. Boriton mill, granted to "Wigmore abbey, 122. Bosbury, Herefordshire, 221, 222. Bosworth, battle of, 322. THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 507 Botiler, Ealph le, 172 ; lord of Wem, 187. Eotiller, 'William, receiver of Brecknock, 265. Bourne, GUbert, president of Wales and the Marches, 395. Brampton Bryan, woodlands beyond, 26 ; castle, 85 ; derivation of name, 189. Brampton, Bryan de, 85, 120, 187. Braose, "William de, lord of Bidltk and Brecknock, 52 ; besieged in Ms castle by Grwenwynwyn, 62 ; hated by the "Welsh, 62 ; incurs the king's displeasure and flies to France, id. ; makes peace with the king, 135, 136 ; grant of Ludlow castle to, 136. Braose, Maude de, wife of "WiUiam de Braose, her present to the queen, 62 ; starved to death with her son, by king John, 63. Braose, G-iles de, bishop of Hereford, 144. Braose, Eeginald de, 149. Bravinium, probable site of, 3, 15 ; definite traces of, have disap- peared, 6. Brecenau-mere, vide Brecknock. Brecknock, taken by Ethelfrida,5 11 ; castle taken by prince Edward, 178 ; inhabitants of district, disarmed and par- doned by Henry lY, 258. Brecknockshire invaded by the Norman barons, 36. Bredege, produce of, 25. Brekull, lands of Eichard earl of Cornwall near, 162. Brewood, Shropshire, priory of, 203. Bridgnorth, built by EtheHeda. 11 ; castle, 85 ; strengthened by Eoger de Montgomery, 36 ; fortified and provisioned by Eobert de Belesme, 41 ; siege of, by Henry I, 42 ; siege of, by Henry II, 50; taken by chancellor Hubert, 61; king John at, 134, 142; castle delivered to the earl of Chester, 145, 147; Henry III at, 149, 150, 151, 152: license to the burgesses to cut down timber, 149; garrisoned against Henry III by Simon de Montfort, 173 ; taken by the borderers, 176 ; settlement of Hospitalers at, 207 ; surrender of house of friars at, 340 ; its condition, 341. Brimfield, produce of at the Conquest, 25. Brinshop, rent of, granted to "Wigmore abbey, 122. 508 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Bristol, king John at, 135, 137, 138, 140, 142, 145 ; Henry III at, 150 ; reception of Edward IV at, 314. Brome, Sir Jolm, vicar of Stanton Lacey, and citrate of Ludford, 336. Bromfield, Griffith de, 169, 170. Bromfield, supposed site of Bravinium, 3; Tumidi on race course, ibid (note) ; legend relating to village of, 28 ; church mentioned in Domesday, 34; "Walter de Lacey retreats from Ludlow towards, 55 ; priory of, 94. Bromfield and Tale, lordships of, 233. Bromyard, Herefordshire, plunder of the town by Eoger de Mortimer, 221. Bruncester, John le Shepherd of, 221. Brut, Walter, the LoUard, a native of Herefordshire, 237, 332. Brut of Layamon, the poem of, 193. Buckingham, duke of, his insurrection in the reign of Richard III, 321, 322 ; beheaded at Salisbury, 322. BuckneU, church of granted to Wigmore abbey, 120. Budlers, or Bowdlers, Henry de, 187. Buildwas abbey, 94, 95. Builth castle, seized and garrisoned by the barons, 144 ; besieged by the "Welsh, 151 ; taken by Llewellyn, a. d. 1260, 171 ; Llewellyn ap Grryffith slain near, 213 ; inhabitants of district pardoned and disarmed by Henry IV, 258. BuUedon, Hugh de, 184. Burford, wood of swine at, 24 ; mills at, id ; possessed by Osborne Ktlz Eichard, 33 ; church, remains of Norman architecture in, 99. Burley, church of, 105. BurneUs, family of the, 187. Buttington, anciently Butdigingtime, near "Welshpool, entrench- ment of the Danes at, 10. Cadwallan killed by Eoger de Mortimer's attendants, 124. Caermarthen, Henry IV at, 259. Cainham, near Ludlow, 23; castle, id, 58, 86; held by earl Morcar, 33 ; afterwards by Ealph de Mortimer, 33 : wood of Swine at, 24 ; mill, id ,- salt produced at, 25 ; establish- ment of Joce de Dinan at ; 68, 59 ; attacked by "Walter THB HISTORT OF LUDLOW. 509 de Lacy, 59 ; churcli granted to "Wigmore abbey, 120 ; manor granted to Wigmore abbey, 121, 122, 125, 127 ; possessed by Eoger de Mortimer, 187 ; given by Hm to tbe prior of Bromfleld, 188, .Caldeford, porta de, vide ' G-aoUbrd.' ' CancresseUy,' inhabitants of the district of, pardoned by Henry IV, 258. * Cans,' a town of Paine Mtz John, 46. Caractacus, scene of the last actions of the war against, 2, Carbonell, Hugh, 187. Cardiff castle, taken by the barons temp. Edward I, 219. Carvings of the stalls in cathedral and collegiate churches, on the, 471. Castles on the "Welsh border, 23 ; built by "WiUiam Eufus, 40 ; fortified against Stephen, 47; list of, in Herefordshire and Shropshire, in the 12th century, 84 ; seized by King John, 144 ; erected since the 12th century, 207 ; placed in a state of defence by Edward III, 234, 237 ; structure of ]Srorma,n and other, 441, 442. Castle Erome, early font in the church of, 101. Catalogue of furniture in Ludlow castle, a. d. 1708, 436. Cause castle, Shropshire, 85 ; held by the Duke of Buckingham as the representative of the Corbets, 322 ; given by Eichard III to Sir Thomas Mytton, 322. Caynham, vide ' Cainham.' Ceiriog, river, defeat of the Welsh on the banks of, 53. ' Cerlestru,' produce of, 25. Cerdic founds the kingdom of West Saxons, 4. Champ- Geneste, Norman name for Bromfleld, 55. Chartulary of Wigmore, 96 (note) ; of St. Victor at Paris, id. Chastel, Herbert du, 122. Cheilmers, town of, 110 ; church of granted to Wigmore abbey, 122. Cherlton, or Charlton^ Shropshire, 218 ; Cherlton, Edward, earl of Powys, 254. , Cherlton, John de, 218, 219; the younger, 225; claims the lordship of Powys, 233. Cheshire, inhabitants of obnoxious to the neighbouring counties, 3v . 510 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 238, 240 ; pardoned by Henry IV, 242 ; their turbulent behaviour in the reign of Henry VIII, 392. Chester, county palatiae of, curious privileges of, 229. Chester, Eoman road between and Monmouth, 3 ; singular office connected with, 138, 139 ; king John at, 140, 141 ; Henry III at, 167 ; taken by the borderers opposed to Simon de Montfort, 176 ; Edward I at, 211, 214 ; men of in rebeUion at the accession of Henry IV, 240. Chester, earl of, see ' Eanulph.' Chinbaldescote, haice at, 25 ; derivation of name, 32. Chirbury, Salop, fort erected at by EtheMeda, 11; priory of, 97, 204 ; hundred of, estates in obliged to furnish soldiers for Montgomery castle, 188. ' Christesheth,' village of, 183. Churches, in the neighbourhood of Ludlow, 98, 99 , traces of Norman architecture in, id; wood employed in the construction of, 99 ; and chapels granted by sir Hugh de Mortimer to Wigmore abbey, 122 ; on the Welsh border, 205 ; reparation of, out of monastic property, 864. Chiu-chyarde the poet's description of Ludlow castle, 90. Church Stretton, on line of Eoman road, 3. Clare, family of, 216. Clare, Eoger Earl of, at the battle of ColeshiU, 52. Clare, Gilbert de, 214, 216, 218. Clee, lands in, held by Helgot, a retaiaer of Eoger de Mont- gomery, 33. Clee, Salop, held by the king's physician, 33 ; bailiwick of, payments m, 182. Cleobury, Salop, castle of, possessed by Ealph de Mortimer, 33 ; residence of Hugh de Mortimer, 120 ; derivation of name, 189; broil between the men of, and the gate-keeper at Ludlow, 184. Cliffords, family of the, 145, (note) 187. Clifford, "Walter de. Sheriff of Herefordshire, 136 ; the younger. King John's castles delivered to, 145. Clifford, Eoger de, 174, 176, 212. Clifford castle, 85 ; held by Ealph de Todenei, 33 ; possessed by John Grifford, temp. Edw,wd I, 188; cell of Cluniac monks founded at, 94. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 611 Clun castle, Shropshire, 86; seized and garrisoned by the barons, 144 ; King John at, id. ,• "Welsh forces defeated at, 174 ; seized by the barons in the reign of Edw. I, 219. Clunton, Tuziee at, 25. Clwyd, river, Denbighshire, 140. Colchester, condition of the inhabitants of, as shown by their property taxed at the commencement of the fourteenth century, 229 to 232. Ooleshill, Flintshire, battle of, 51. Comberton, origin of name, 25. Combes, Suffolk, inquisition concerning the manor of, 232. Comfort castle, annual assemblage of the people of Leominster at, 15. Corbet, Thomas, 172 ; family of, 186. Corfe castle, Maude de Braose and her son starved to death in, by order of king John, 63. Corfham castle, Shropshire, 85, 184, 187 ; the constable of, his lawless conduct, 184, 185 ; how obtained by the Cliffords, 187. Corn lands, extensive at the conquest, 24. Cornwall, Richard earl of, his possessions in Shropshire, 187, 188. Corve-dale, honour of granted to Fulk Pitz Warine, 59 ; castles along, 86. Corve river, country around, given to Joce de Diaan, 44 ; miU on, 184. Creed of Piers Ploughman, political poem so called, 237, 238. Cresswell, or Oareswell priory, Herefordshire, 204. Croft, Thomas, act of parliament against, 323. Croft, belonged to earl Edwin, 33 ; at the conquest the residence of William de Scotries, 33; castle, perhaps of Saxon origin, 85. Cuhnington, supposed derivation of name, 32 ; the property of Walter de Clifford, 145 (note). Cwatbricge, iside Quatford. Cygony, Engelard de, 143 ; keeper of Ludlow castle, 143. Cyric-birig, vide Chirbury. Banes penetrate to the banks of the Severn, 10 ; to the borders of Wales, 11 ; attack Wigmore, id. ; establishment of on the Welsh borders, 12 ; at Ludlow, 13! 512 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. David, prince of "Wales, 164; imprisons bis brother Gf-riffith, 164 ; Henry III treaty with, id. ; surrenders his brother and swears fealty to the English crown, 165 ; his subse- quent revolt and death, 166, 167. David, brother of Llewellyn, 212 ; turns against Edward I, his capture and execution, 214. Dean, forest of, 175. De Burgh, Hubert, warden of the Marches, 136; Hereford castle, committed to, 145 ; invested vpith the district and castle of Montgomery, 155 ; imprisoned by the king, 158 ; forcibly released, 159 ; restored to favour, 163 ; again accused and deprived of his castles, 164, Dee, Dr., visits the borders of "Wales, 405. D'Evereus, Stephen, 145 (note). De la Pole, ariffith (of Pool), 234. Delvoryn castle, 178. De Pionia, priory of, see ' "Wormesley.' Despenser, Hugh, carried prisoner to Wigmore castle, 219. Despenser, Hugh, the younger, his execution at Hereford, 223, Deva, vide Chester. De Vere, Eobert, duke of Ireland, 239. Devynock, near Brecknock, Henry I"V at, 258. Diddlebury, Shropshire, monastic house at, 204. Diganvry, castle of, Caernarvonshire, 140, 167 ; destroyed by Llewellyn, 174. Dinan, Joce de, 44 ; broU with Hugh de Mortimer, 51, 113 ; Walter de Lacy, 54, 59; death of at Lamboume, 59; SibiUe and Hawyse, daughters of, 55. Dioan, town of, 54 ; vide ' Dinham.' Dittham, Danish origin of name, 13, 34; not mentioned in Domesday, 34; name originally given to the tovni of Ludlow, id., 44. Dinmore, suggested origin of, 12 ; settlement of Hospitallers at, 207. Diserth, Flintshire, Henry III encamped at, 170; castle de- stroyed by Llewellyn ap Griffith, 174. Domesday, description of the border, 22, 25. DonvUle, Hugh, bailiff of Stottesdon, 184. Dore . abbey, 95 ; abbot of directed to receive the fealty of Llewellyn, 211. THE HISTORY OF LXJDLOW. 513 Do\mton, tie mclosure on the hill, 25 : establishment of Pleminga at, 45 ; chapel granted to Wigmore abbey, 122. Dudley Castle, fortified by Ealph Paganel, 47 ; Stephen at, 48. Dunstanville, Walter de, 172. Button, Lawrence, lord of Button, 139. Dynan, vide ' Dinham,' Dynas, inhabitants of district of paidoned by Henry IV, 258. ' Dynmorehille,' 267. Hadfrid, or Otfrid, -visits Merewald, chieftain of the Hecanae, at Eiagsland, 8 ; made abbot of leof-muister, id. ; legend respecting, id. Eardisley castle, 85, 171 ; church, early font in, 101 ; Mary de BezUe and the bishop of Hereford imprisoned by the Welsh in the castle of, 172 ; possessed by the Cliffords, 188. Eaton, the inclosure by the river, 25. Edith, queen, earl Godwin's sister, 20; property in Hereford- shire, id. ; name preserved in Stoke Edith, id. Edric the Saxon, conflict with the Normans, 35. Edward I, condition of the border at the beginning of the reign of, 179 ; crowned at Westminster, 210 ; marches to the border, 211 ; returns to London, 212 ; again marches to the border against Llewellyn, 212, 213 ; resides in Wales, 215. Edward II, events connected with the border in the reign of, 219, 223. Edward III, events on the border in' the reign of, 224 ; enter- tained by Eoger de Mortimer at Ludlow and Wigmore, 224 ; places the border castles in a state of defence, 234. Edward IV, son of Eichard Plantagenet, duke of York, 293 ; defeats the Lancastrians at Northampton, 295 ; becomes pretender to the throne on the death of his father, 306 ; defeats the Lancastrians at Mortimer's Cross, 306 ; pro- claimed king, 308 ; marches northward, 309 ; gains the battle of Towton, 310 ; grants a charter to Ludlow, 315 ; death in 1483, 321. Edward V, as prince of Wales sent to Ludlow castle 319; removed tP London on the death of Edward IV, 321. 614 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Eels, formerly reckoned as property, 24, 26; number taken yearly in Leominster and district at the conquest, 26. Elgiva, abbess of Leominster, 16. Ellesmere, castle of, 85 ; defended against Stepben, 47 ; possessed by Jerwerth Drwyndwn, 60. Blmunde-wic, 32. Elton, conjectural derivation of name, 32 ; chapel and land of granted to Wigmore abbey, 122. Emley, hamlet of, 198. Eode, parson of Aymestry, 103, 104. Erdington, Thomas de, 136, 145 ; grants to, 136, 148. Ermenberga, wife of Merewald, 9. Essex, Henry de, standard bearer to Henry II at the battle of OoleshiU, 51, 52 ; judicial combat between and Eobert de Montfort, 52 ; becomes a monk, id. Ethelbert murdered at Sutton, 10 ; his shrine at Hereford, id. 93. Ethelred, son of Penda, 8 ; indolenoe of, 12 ; buried in Leo- minster priory, 92. Ethelfleda, daughter of Alfred, 11. Evesham, battle of, 177 ; marks the close of a distinct period of history, 179 ; resignation of the abbot of, 339. Ewyas, the head castle of Eoger de Lacy, 33, 85. Ewyas Lacy, castle of, 85 ; derivation of name, 189. Ewyas Haxold, castle of, 85 ; priory, 94. Ewyas, Eobert de, 95. Eye church, Norman architecture in, 99 ; removal of the monks from Shobdon to Eye, 112. Eairies, supposed inhabitants of lows, 29. Ealcasius de Breaut4, a foreign mercenary of king John, 144. Eish reckoned as produce of property, 24 ; considered as game by the Grermanic tribes, id. Feckeniam, Worcestershire, king John at, 134. Eernlow, produce of, 25. ' Eeverlege,' religious house at, 96. Eields, inclosure of, 24. Eitz Alan, "William, lord of Oswestry, vice-comes of Shropshire, 44 ; favours the claims of the empress Matilda, 47 ; flies at the approach of Stephen, 48 ; restored to the office of THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 515 Sheriff of Shropshire hy Hemy II, 50 ; foundB Haghmon ahhey, 94 ; the younger, 186. Pitz Alan, John, lord of Clun, 143, 172, 186, 187 ; his lands seized by kiag John, 148. Ktz Alan, Edmund, earl of Arundel and lord of Clun, Oswestry, and Shrawardine, 234. Pitz Alan, Eichard, 234. Ktz John, John, 177. Ktz Nicholas, Walter, 98. Pitz Norman, "William, a chief proprietor of the southern border, 33 ; gives KUpeck priory to St. Peter's abbey, G-loucester, 94. Pitz Osborne, William, earldom of Hereford conferred on, 35 ; his character, id. Pitz Peter, Eeginald, 169. Pitz Ponce, Simon, 94. Pitz Swain, William, 205. Pitz Warines, Eomance of the, 29, 54 ; family of, 54. Pitz Warine, Pulke, 54; his valour, 55; marries Hawyse de Dinan, 56 ; becomes lord of Whittington, 58, 59 ; wounded in a skirmish with Walter de Lacy, 59 ; supposed grant of Ludlow castle to, on death of Joce de Dinan, id. ; ap- pointed lieutenant of the Marches, 60; defeats the Welsh, id. ; death of in the reign of Eichard I. id. Pitz Warine, Pulke, the younger, 186 ; adventures of, 63 ; sum- moned by Henry III to Ludlow, 172. Pitz WiUiam, Eoger, earl of Hereford, his treason against the Conqueror, 36 ; his plot discovered and his punishment, 37. Planesford priory, near Goodrich castle, 204. Plaxley, Porest of Dean, king John at, 142. Plemings, settlement of in England, 45 ; in the army of Henry III, 158, 160. Pletcher's chancel in Ludlow church, 29, 465. Porest laws, 182. Porests, extensive on the Welsh border, 23, 180 ; employed to feed swine, 24; infested by wolves, 26; the haunt of thieves and robbers, 180. Porest of Dean, miners from the, 151. PoUot, G-ilbert, bishop of Hereford, 50, 112; complains to the king of Hugh de Mortimer, 117. 516 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Foliot, "Walter, arclideacon of Salop, 120. Foliot, sir Eobert, bishop of Hereford, 122. Fonts, early fonts in cliurclieB, 101. Tord, Skropshire, 187. FiiUiag-mill at Ludlow, 98. G-amme, DaYid, 265. ' Gannoc,' vide Diganwy. Garden, Anglo-Saxon name for, 24. ' G-edeuen,' produce of, 25. GenviUe, family of, 187, 188. Gemon, Eobert, beld Larpole of the Conqueror, 33. Gifford, John, 175, 176; of Brimsfieldj 213, 214 (note). Gilds, ancient, 206. Gipsies, numerous on the border, 389 ; not known in Europe until the sixteenth century, id. Gloucester, castle of fortified against Henry II, 50 ; delivered to prince Edward, 173; Henry II at, 59; abbey of St. Peter's at, 93 ; king John at, 134, 187, 138, 140, 144, 145, 147; Henry III at, 148, 150, 151, 152, 159, 160, 162, 169, 177; imprisonment of the burgesses, and amercement of the town by prince Edward, 173 ; taken by the borderers, 176 ; Edward I at, 212 ; Henry IV at, 264 ; parliament holden at, 264, 266 ; surrender of mo- nastic houses at, 339, 340. Gloucestershire, inhabited by the tribe of the Hwiccas, 7, 9. Glover, John, prior of Leominster, 350. 'Glynboug,' inhabitants of district of, pardoned and disarmed 3^:' by Henry IV, 258. G-lyndwr, Owen, 243 ; personal history of, 243, 244 ; invades the border, 245 ; his insurrections and various campaigns, 245 to 266 ; treaty with Erance, 261 ; his death and place of burial, 266. Gaolford gate, Ludlow, 184, 204. Godwin, earl, 15, 17 ; family of, 16, 18 ; possessed estates in Herefordshire, 20 ; fate of, id. Goodrich castle, 85. Grey, John de, 169. Grey, of Euthyn, lord, 241 ; taken prisoner hf Owen Glyndwr, 247 ; ransomed by the king, 255. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 517 Grosmont castle, 85; repairs of, 135; restored by John to ■William de Braose, 135, 186 ; subsequently given to John de Monmouth, 144 ; seized and garrisoned by the barons, id. ; restored to John de Monmouth, 145 ; Henry III at, 159, 160; defeated by the barons at, 159, 160; taken from Hubejt de Burgh, 164 ; town bxmit by the Welsh, 262 ; defeat of the "Welsh at, by prince Henry, id. Gryffyth, prince of Wales, ravages Herefordshire, 17, 18 ; slain by the Welsh, 19. Gryfifyth, prince of Wales, son of LleweUyn, 164, 165. Gryfifyth ap David ap GrrjSyth, a Welsh insurgent, 241. Guines, Baldwin de, a Ilemish knight, 160 ; his bravery, 160, 161. Gwenwynwyn, prince of Wales, 62; detained a prisoner at Shrewsbiuy, 138. Gwynned, Owen, prince of North Wales, 51; submits to Henry II, 52. Hagmon Abbey, 94 ; abbot of directed to receive the fealty of LleweUyn, 210, 211. Halesowen, abbey of Prsemonstratensian canons at, 204. Halton, Simon de, 187. 'Hanfeld' castle, 164. Hanley castle, king John at, 142. Hardicnut, 12. Harold, succeeds his father, Godwin, 18 ; contest vpith the Welsh, 19 ; death at Hastings, 20 ; legend respecting, id., 21. Harold, lord of Ewyas, 94. Hartlebury, Edward I at, 213. Hawardine, castle of, 212. Haverfordwest, district of given to Flemish refiigees, 45 ; king John at, 138 ; town of burnt by the !French, 261. Haverfordeast, 348. Hay, Norman derivation of places containing the word, 25. Hay, castle of, seized and garrisoned by the barons, 144 ; king John at, 146 ; destroyed by him, id. ,- Henry III at, 158 ; taken by prince Edward, 173; by Simon de Montford and LleweUyn, 174 ; inhabitants of the district pardoned and disarmed by Henry IV, 258. 3x 518 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Heath chapel, Norman architecture in, 99, 100 ; font in, 101. Heath, Nicholas, bishop of Worcester, president of "Wales and the Marches, 395. Hecanas, tribe of, 7. Hedges, origia of word, 24 ; offence of breaking through, 25. Helgot, a retainer of Eoger de Montgomery, 33. Herdiagton, Giles de, lord of "Wellington, 186. Henry I leads his army to suppress the insurrection of Eobert de Belesme, 41, 42 ; represses the "Welsh, 44, 45 ; narrow escape of on one of these occasions, 46 ; death of, id. Henry II, commencement of his reign, 50 ; narrow escape at the siege of Bridgenorth, 50; campaign against the "Welsh, 51 ; grants Ludlow castle to IHiIke Fitz "Warine, 59 ; treaty with the "Welsh, 60. Henry III crowned at Gloucester, 147 ; his progresses on the border, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 157, 158, 159, 167, 171, 177. Henry I"V, accession to the throne, 239, 240; marches into "Wales, 246 ; returns, id. ; moves towards "Wales again, 254 ; at the battle of Shrewsbury, 257. Henry V at Shrewsbury as prince of "Wales, 247 ; letter to the privy council, id. ,• appointed lieutenant in Wales, 257, 258 ; movements in Wales and on the border, 259, 260, 264 ; defeats the Welsh at Grosmont, 262. Henry VI, unsettled state of the country at the commencement of his reign, 274 ; plots against him, 275 ; his iUness, 282 ; taken prisoner at St. Alban's, 284 ; public reconciliation, with the Yorkists, 286 ; hostilities renewed, 289 ; Henry marches to Worcester, 290 ; reaches Ludford and com- pelled to retire, id. ,■ defeated at the battle of Northampton and becomes a prisoner, 295 ; again liberated by the battle of Barnet, 305 ; flight from Towton, 310. Henry "VII, visits of to Ludlow, 324. Henry VIII, proceedings at the Eeformation, 334. Herbert, William, lord,, created earl of Pembroke, 318. Herbert, William, earl of Pembroke, lord president of Wales and the Marches, 417. Herbert, Henry, earl of Pembroke, lord president of Wales, 417. Hereford, Eoger, earl of, fortifies the castle of Hereford against Henry II, 50 ; restored to obedience, id. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 519 Hereford, derivation of name, 7; Norman garrison at, 17; battle near, between Saxons and "Welsh, 18 ; slaughter of Harold's servants at, 19; cathedral built by bishop Athelstan, 18; burnt by the Welsh, id..- burnt by Geoffi-ey Talbot, 49 , early font in, 101 ; city plundered and burnt by the Welsh, 18 ; rebuilt by Harold, 19 ; held by the Conqueror, 33 ; garrisoned under command of Eichard Screope, 35 ; seized by Geoffrey Talbot on behalf of the empress Matilda, 47; attacked and taken by Stephen, id.; partially burnt by Talbot, id.; sacked by him, 49 ; fortified against Henry II, 50 ; castle confided to Eoger Bigod, 61; re-deHvered to new keeper by chancellor Hubert, id. ; earldom of, 35 ; castle, 85 ; expen- diture upon the repair of, 134, 135 ; inhabitants of the city excommunicated, 107 ; St. Guthlac priory at, 93 ; king John at, 134, 137, 140, 142, 144, 145 ; castle committed to the custody of Hubert de Burgh, 145 ; transferred to Walter de Clifford, 145 ; subsequent delivery to Walter de Lacy, 147 ; Llewellyn, prince of Wales, at, 148 ; Henry III at, 151, 152, 157, 158, 175 ; fortifications put in order, 151 ; prince Edward at, 173, 175 ; his escape from Simon de Montford at, 175 ; foundation of the grey friars at, 205 ; hospitalers at, 207 ; Eoger de Mortimer and queen Isabella at, 228 ; Hugh Despenser and others executed at, idi ; Henry IV at, 258, 262. Herefordshire possessed by the tribe of Hecanas, 7, 9 ; vales of favourite resort of Offa, 10 ; ravaged by Gry^th, prince of Wales, 17, 18 ; woods of infested by wolves, 26 ; Norman possessors of, 33 ; invaded by the Welsh, 46, 60 ; list of castles and monastic houses in, in the twelfth century, 84 ; ^>id in the thirteenth century, 204 ; distri- bution of property in, temp. Edward I. ' Hertland,' 56. Hightree, or Hegetre, a former hundred of Herefordshire, 27. Hobkin of Ludlow, 173. Hodnet, Salop, lands near held by Eoger de Lacy, 33. Hodnet, Baldwin de, 151, 152. Hodnet, Odo de, 186. Holgate castle, 86; built by Helgot, a retainer of Eoger de Montgomery, 33. 520 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Holgod castle near Ludlow, Shropshire, 85, 186, 187. Home Lacy, abbey of, Herefordshire, 204, 205. Honey, former abundance of, 24, 26, 145 (note). Hope, near Leominster, produce of, 25. Hope Baggot, near Ludlow, 187 ; derivation of name, 189. Hopton (Hopton "Wafers), 187 ; deriyation of name, 189. Hopton, Walter, abbot of Wigmore, 363. Horses, famous breed of, introduced by Eobert de Belesme, 43. Hospitalers of St. John of Jerusalem, settlement of in Shropshire and Herefordshire, 206, 207. Ida founds the kingdom of Northumberland, 4. Ine, king of the "West Saxons, laws of, 5, 6, 25. Inquisitions in the reign of Edward I, 181. Irchingfield, Herefordshire, plun'dered by the "Welsh, 260. ' Inchonefelde,' vide ' Irchingfield,' Inventory of goods in Ludlow castle, a. d. 1650, 422. 'Jenkyn Hanard,' constable of Dynevor castle, letters of to John Pairford, 250, 251. John, king, state of the border in the reign of, 61, 62, 134 ; his cruelty to Maude de Braose, 63 ; his visits to the border, 184, 135, 137, 140, 142, 144; at war with his barons, 138 ; his death and burial, 147. Jorwerth ap Eees prince of Wales, 42; imprisoned by Henry I, 44. Jorwerth Drwyndwn, prince of Wales, 59 ; invades the Marches in aid of Walter de Lacy, id. Jutland, Saxons from, established in Kent; 4. Kedewyn granted to Eoger de Mortimer, 178. Kempsey, near Worcester, 177. Kenchester, Roman road to from Wroxeter, 2, 3 ; the site of Magna covered with ruins in the time of Leland, 6 ; supposed abode of fairies, 29. Kerdlworth, conflict between the forces of prince Edward and the younger Simon de Montford at, 177. Kent, establishment of Saxons in, 4. ' Keueuenleis' (Oefnllys, Eadnorshire) castle, 85, THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 621 Kerry, Montgomeryshire, castle founded at by Henry III, 155 ; battle between the Welsh and king's forces near, 174; granted to Eoger de Mortimer, 178. KeTelioc, Owen, prince of Powis, 53 ; wounds Fitz Warine in a skirmish at Oainham, 59. Keyenhom, vide Cainham. Eaddenninster, Henry III at, 150, 151, 152. Kjlpeck, Hugh de, 147. Kilpeck castle, 85 ; kiag John at, 140, 142 ; priory, 94 ; church, 94, 98. Kinardsley, vide ' Kinnersley.' Kinastons of Shropshire, family of, act of parliament passed against, 322, 323. Kineburga, daughter of Penda, 8. Kineswitha, daughter of Penda, 8. Kingsland, derivation of name, 7 ; supposed residence of chief of Hecanas, id. 8. Kiagsmead, king John at, 146. Kingston, Eichard, archdeacon of Hereford, letter of to Henry IV, 252. Kinnersley castle taken by the "Welsh, 150 ; restored to Baldwin de Hodnet, 151. Kiiights Templars, settlement of on the border, 206. Knighton, castle of, Eadnorshire, 86 ; granted by kiag John to Thomas de Erdington, 136. Knockin castle, 148 ; taken by the "Welsh, 171. Kynleth (Kinlet?) church given to "Wigmore abbey by John de Brampton, 121. Lacy, Walter de, 35; feud between and Joce de Dinan, 53 is made prisoner by the latter, 66 ; their reconcilement, id. surprises and takes possession of Ludlow castle, 58 obtains assistance from the Welsh, 59; vanquishes and imprisons Joce de Diaan, id. ; releases him at the com- mand of the king, id. ; restored to his possessions, 142, 143 ; Hereford castle delivered to, 147 ; death of and extinction of the family, 164. Lacy, Hugh de, claims lands held by Joce de Dinan, 54. Lacy, Eobert de, 186, 187. THE HISTORY OF lUDLDW. Lacy, Margaret de, grant of land to, 147. Lacy, Eoger de, Ms extensive possessions in Herefordshire; 33 ; espouses the cause of dute Eobert against William Kufus, 38. Lacy, Eoger de, baron of Halton, sumamed HeU, 139. Lacy, Gilbert de, supporter of the empress Matilda, 49 ; owner of fjilling mill at Ludlow, 98 ; seizes the property of the canons of Lantony, 108. Langeley, Geoffrey de, 168. Language of the inhabitants of the border, 193. ' Lantely' castle, 135. Lantony abbey, 95 ; seizure of the canons property at, by sir Gilbert de Lacy, 109 ; resignation of the priory of at Gloucester, 339. Larder, why so called, 24. Larpole, manor of belonged to queen Edith, 20; produce of, 25; held by Eobert Gemon, 33. Lawrence de Ludlow, 204. Layamon, the Brut of, 193. Leehlade, establishment of monis at, 127. Ledbury, Herefordshire, king John at, 134 ; hospital at, 205 ; depredations of Eoger de Mortimer, of Wigmore, at, 222. Ledbury-north, or Lydbury, Shropshire, castle of, 185 ; church, 105, 113, 117; font in, 101. Ledecot, near Shobdon, Herefordshire, 103, 106. Ledwich, near Ludlow, 187, 188. Lee, Eoland, lord president of "Wales and the Marches, 376 ; letters of, 378 to 394. Legends, local of the Welsh border, 27, 29 ; of St. Lawrence, 457. Legion Cross, Eoman road by, 3. LeinthaU, produce of, 25 ; chapel of granted to Wigmore abbey, 122. Leintwardine, Eoman road passes by, 3 ; church, early font in, 101 ; mill granted to Wigmore abbey, 122 ; offerings to silver image at, 357. Leof-minster, Saxon name for Leominster, 8. Leofric, earl, a benefactor to the churches of Leominster and Wenlock, 19, 92 ; family of chief possessors of estates on the borders of Wales, 32. THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Leominster, chief of the Saxon tribe of Heoanas lived near, 7 ; origin of name, 8 ; custom of inhabitants to assemble at Comfort castle, 15 ; taken and plundered by the 'WelBh, 19 ; held by the Conqueror, 33 ; Stephen's army encamped at, 49 ; nunnery of, 91, 92 ; destroyed by the Danes, 92 j giTen to Eeading by Henry I, 92 ; manor of in the family of Godwin, 20 ; produce of at the conquest, 25 ; church, 92 ; assembly at in the twelfbh century, 109 ; king John at, 146 ; market day changed from Sunday to Thursday, 148; Henry III at, 151; Edmund de Mortimer impri- soned at by Owen Glyndwr, 249 ; armies of Henry IV and Owen Glyndwr encamped near, 258 ; priory of, 349 ; letter respecting, 350 ; estates of retained by the crown, id. ; seal of, 361. ' Leominster manuscript,' poems of the, 196, &c. Leonard, St. chapel of in Ludlow, 207. Leonis-monasterium, wde Leominster. L'Estrange, John, 148, 186 ; the elder and younger, 172 ; Hamo, 172, 174, 186. Letters of intelligence respecting the movements of Owen Glyndwr, 247 to 254 ; and see ' Paston correspondence' ; respecting the Palmer's Gild, Ludlow, 367; of bishop Eoland Lee, 378 to 394. Leybiime, Eoger de, 174. Lichfield, surrender of house of friars at, 340.- LiHeshaU abbey, 95. Lincoln, battle of, 49. Lingam, Eobert de, 96. Lihgebroke vide ' Lymbroke.' Linney, in the vicinity of Ludlow castle, 58; derivation of the name, 192. Lisle, Arnold de, companion of "Walter de Lacy, 56 ; amour vrith Marion de la Bruere, id.,- treacherous surprise of the castle, 57, 58 ; is slain by Marion, 58. Little Bridgenorth, manor of, 189. Little Hereford, between Ludlow and Tenbury, nulls at 24- Stephen's army encamped at, 49 ; church, Norman archi- tecture in, 99. Literature of the border, 193. 524 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Lymbroke, near Wigmore, mumery at, 96. Lyneye, vide Linney. Llanbadam castle, besieged and taken by the "Welsh, 259; besieged by the English, 263. Llewellyn Bren, a "Welsh chief, iayades GHoncestershire, 218. Llewellyn, prince of North "Wales, 138; at war with Mag John, id. ; sues for peace, 141 ; treaty with Henry III, campaignB and incursions of, 149 to 164 ; his death, 164. Llewellyn (ap Gf^ri^h), 171, 210; arms agaiast Edward I, 210. &e.; his marriage, 212; death, 213. Lords marchers, clashing priTileges and claims of, 288, 234. Lords presidents of "Wales and the Marches, 376. Low, a sepxdchral mound, assembly of Anglo-Saxons at, 15; legends connected with, 27, 28, 29. Lucas, the beadle of Cleobury, 188. Ludford, or Leode-ford, origiu of name, 15 ; mill at, 24 ; bridge over the Teme at, 98 ; armies of the Yorkists and Lan- castrians encamped at, 290. Ludlow, supposed residence of the Danes at, 13, 34; Saxon origin of name, id. 84 ; church, origin of town, 15 ; legend respecting, 29 ; silence of Domesday as to, 34 ; castle founded by Eoger de Montgomery, 34, 36, 90 ; finished by Joce de Diuan, 44 ; commencement of the town, 34 ; bridge over the Teme erected, 44 ; castle seized by Gervase Paganel for the empress Matilda, 47 ; besieged by Stephen, 48; the siege raised, 49; subsequently falls into the king's hands, 60 ; restored to Joce de Diuan, id. ,- impri- sonment of Hugh de Mortimer in the castle, 51 ; feud at between Joce de Diaan and "Walter de Lacy, 54, 60; imprisonment of de Lacy, 56 ; surprise of the gairison and slaughter of the inhabitants of the town by de Lacy, 57, 58 ; siege of the castle by Joce de Dinan, 58 ; extent of the town in the reign of Henry II, id. ; castle granted by Henry II to Eulke Eitz Warine, 59; but probably retained by "Walter de Lacy, 60 ; town rebuilt after its destruction in the wars between de Lacy and Joce de Dinan, 60, 88 : castle delivered to Gilbert Talbot, H94, 62 ; re-delivered by chancellor Hubert, 61 ; description of the castle, its fortifications and present remains, 86 to 91, THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 440 ; church enlarged in 1199, 88 j insignificance of the town in the twelfth century, 97 ; hospital of St. John the Baptist at, 98 ; castle possessed by "Walter de Lacy, 136 ; granted with the town to "William de Braose, id. ; castle in the custody of Engelard de Cygony, 143 ; delivered to "Walter de Lacy, id. ; Henry III at, 152 ; peace concluded between Henry and Llewellyn at, 154; castle taken by Simon de Montford, 174 ; retaken by the borderers, 176 ; barons summoned by Henry III to meet at, 172 ; towns- men of, ill treatment of by their neighbours, 184 ; in the family of the Genvilles, 187, 188 ; passed by an heiress to the Mortimers, 187, 217 ; houses in the town held by the tenure of furnishing articles to the castle, 188, 189; old fish pond at, 189 ; names of families derived from, 190; house of Augustine friars at, 204, 343; house of white fidars at, 204, 343 ; church of St. Lawrence at, 205 ; gild of pahners at, 206, 366 ; grammar school of, 206 ; possessions of hospitalers at, 207 ; chapel of St. Leonard at, 207 ; chapel erected in the castle by Eoger de Mortimer, of "Wigmore, 220, 221 ; tournaments and festivities at, on occasion of the visit of queen Isabella and Edward III, 224 ; tcense to hold a fair in, 235 ; manor of possessed by Eoger de Mortimer, earl of March, 235 ; castle and manor enfeoffed to "William Latymer, knight, and others, 235, 236 ; entrusted to sir Thomas Beaufort, 257 ; the chief residence of Eichard Plantagenet, duke of York, 275; tumults at, 281 ; town plundered by the Lancastrians, 291 ; grant of a charter by Edward IV, 315, 375 ; partiality of Edward for the town, 318 ; Edward V, as prince of "Wales, and his brothers at, 319, 321 ; Arthur, prince of "Wales, son of Henry VII, at, 324 ; Henry VII at, id. ,- surrender of the convents of Augustine and white friars at, 343 ; inventory of fomiture of, 344, 346 ; payments connected with, 359, 360 ; repair of the miUs, 365 ; Pahner's Gild reserved at the dissolution of the monasteries, 366 ; charter of Henry VIII, 375 ; castle repaired and strengthened by Eoland Lee, 378 ; prison of the castle, 403 ; condxdts of water for, 412 ; buildings and repairs of the castle, exe- cuted by sir Henry Sidney, 415 ; the town notorious for a Y 526 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. the number of its inns and its lawyers, 421; castle occupied by the royal party during the civil war, 422; surrendered to sir "WiUiani Brereton, id.; inventory of the goods in, id. ; secured for the prince of Orange, 435 ; occupation of the castle subsequent to the abolition of the lords presidents of the Marches, 435 ; catalogue of the furniture in, 436. Castle, historical and architectural account of, 440. Chuboh, description of, 454. Lug river, 112. Lugwardine, near Hereford, 188. Lumton, produce of, 25. Luston, near Leominster, manor of possessed by queen Edith, 20 ; produce of, 25. Magna, vide Kenchester. Magna Charta, signed by king John, 144. Maelienydd, battle at, between Owen Grlyndwr and Edmund de Mortimer, 248. Malefant, sir Thomas, complaint of his widow, 272. Malvern, Great, abbey of, 365. Manors, names of, 189. Map of the world in Hereford cathedral, 202, 203. Marches of "Wales, origin of name, 4 ; see ' border.' Mareschal, John, warden of the Marches, 143. Mareschal, WiUiam, earl of Pembroke, 149 ; his lands seized by Llewellyn, 153 ; distrust of the king towards him, 154, Mareschal, Eichard, 158, &c. 163. Mareschal, Gilbert, 163 ; slain at a tournament, 169. Mareschal, "Walter, 164. Mareschal, Anselme, the last of the famUy, 164. Marion de la Bruere (Marion of the Heath), aides the escape of "Walter de Lacy and Arnold de Lisle from Ludlow castle, 56 ; amour with Arnold de Lisle, 56, 57 ; kills him for his treachery, 58 ; suicide of, 58. Maserfield, defeat of Northumbrians at, 7. Matilda, castle of (castrum Matildse), 157, 160. Mauduit, "William, lord of Castle Holgod, 187. Mawardine, 188. Maylour, possessed by Jorwerth Drwyndwn, prince of "Wales, 60. THE HlSTORTf OF LTJDLOW. 527 Meadow, Anglo-Saxon name for, 24. Meole-Bracy, clinrcli of granted to "Wigmore abbey, 119. Mercia, derivation of, 4 ; Penda, kbg of, 7 ; last of the Anglo- Saxon kingdoms which received Christianity, 8. Mercians, destruction of Eoman towns by, 6 ; composed of different tribes, 7 ; victory over Northumbrians, 8 ; al- liance with the Welsh, 9 ; subsequent battles between, 10. Merestun, waste ground at "Wigmore so styled ia Domesday, 22 ; produce of, 25. Merewald, son of Penda, 8. Merhmond, sir Oliver de, founds a rehgious house at Shobdon, 95, 103 ; dispute with Hugh de Mortimer, 108. Merlimond, Simon de, abbot of Wigmore, 121. Micelgros, fioger de, estates of, 33. Micelton, the great enclosure, 25. Milburga, daughter of Merewald, 9; (vide St. Milburga). Mildritha, daughter of Merewald, 9, Milgitha, daughter of Merewald, 9. MUford Haven, IVench army land at, 261. Miliar, Elias of Ludlow, violence done to by the foresters of Wigmore, 184. Millar, William of Ludlow, 189. Mills, com mills numerous at the Norman conquest, 24. MUl street, Ludlow, 365. Milo, constable of Gloucester, a supporter of the empress Matilda, 49 ; created earl of Hereford, 49, 50 ; dispute with the bishop of Hereford, 107. Moccas church, Norman arch and tympanum ia, 99 (note). Molineux, Thomas, constable of Chester, 238, 239. Monastic houses of Herefordshire and Shropshire ia the twelfth century, 84, 91, 93 ; ia the thirteenth century, 203, 204, 205 ; dissolution of, 325 ; destruction of the fabric, 362 ; property of, 363. Monastic seals, 361, 362. MouMand, near Leominster, alien priory of, 205. Monmouth, Soman road between and Chester, 3; castle, 85; king John at, 142; Henry III at, 149; combat at between the king's forces and the barons, 160, 161 ; castle destroyed by Simon de Montfort, 176. 528 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Monmouthsliire occupied by the Saxons, 9 ; lawless condition of in tte reign of Elizabeth, 399. Monmouth, John de, 144 ; castles delivered to, id., 147 ; his lands iQTaded, 160, 162. Montfort, Simon de, 163; his lands invaded by Eoger de Mortimer, 172; conducts the siege of Gloucester, 172, 173 ; his movements on the border, 173, 174, 176, 176 ; detains the king and prince of Wales as prisoners, 174, 176 ; slain at the battle of Evesham, 177. Montfort, Peter de, 169, 171. Montgomery, Eoger de, 33, 35 ; obtains the earldom of Shrop- shire and possessions of Edric, 35 ; builds Montgomery castle, 36 ; opposes WiUiam Eufas, 38 ; death, 39 ; rebuilds "Wenlock abbey, 93 ; and monastery at Shrewsbury, id. Montgomery, castle built by Eoger de Montgomery, 36; de- stroyed by the "Welsh, and the garrison massacred, 39; Henry III at, 151, 152, 177 ; new castle built by Henry III, 151 ; materials suppUed, 152 , entrusted to Baldwin de Hodnet, id. ; garrison attempt to clear the neighbour- hood of robbers, 155; entrusted to Hubert de Burgh, 155 ; neighbourhood plundered by the "Welsh, 156, 157 ; retaliation of the garrison, 156, 166, 167 ; held by John L'Estrange the yotmger for Henry III, 174; placed ia the charge of sir Thomas Talbot, 257. Montgomery, Hugh de, 39 ; invades North "Wales, 40 ; killed by the Danes, id. Mordiford, village of, Herefordshire, 267. Morfield, or Momerfield, a cell of Shrewsbury abbey, 205. Mortimers, famUy of the, 152, 216 to 227. Mortimer, Ealph de, his possessions in Herefordshire, 33, 35; employed against Saxon insurgents, 35 ; opposes "William Eufus, 38 ; founds a college at Wigmore, 95. Mortimer, Hugh de, 102; fortifies Bridgenorth castle against Henry II, 50, 116; compelled to surrender, 51; im- prisoned in Ludlow castle, id., 113 ; founds Wigmore abbey, 96, 102, 120, 121 ; grant of Shobdon to Oliver de Merlimond, 103; they quarrel, 108; endowment of Wigmore abbey, 122; death of, 123, 153; burial at Wigmore, id. ,• masses for his soul, id. THE HISTOKY OF LUDLOW. 529 Mortimer, Eoger de, son and heir of Hugh, in the king's custody, 124 ; his conduct to the abbey of Wigmore, 125 ; at war with David, prince of "Wales, 164 ; defeated by the "Welsh, 166 ; ravages the lands of Simon de Montfort, 172 ; castles bestowed on him by prince Edward, 173 ; forced to make peace with de Montfort, 174; assists prince Edward's escape from Simon de Montfort, 175; lands bestowed on, 178 ; his possessions in Shropshire, 187 ; holds a tournament at KenUworth, 217 ; death, and burial in "Wigmore abbey, 217. Mortimer, Edmund de, son of Eoger, 217. Mortimer, Eoger de, of "Wigmore, son of Edmund, 217, 218 ; marries Joane de Geneville, id. ; appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland, 219 ; arms against the king, 219 ; imprisonment in, and escape from the tower, 220; builds a chapel in Ludlow castle, 220, 221 ; depredations of in Herefordshire, 221, 222 ; proceedings of with queen Isabella, 222, 223 ; created earl of March, 223, 224 ; entertains Isabella and Edward III in his castles, 224 ; his capture and execution, id. ; place of burial, 225 ; his descendants, 225, 227. Mortimer, Eoger de, of Chirk, 219, 220. Mortimer, Edmund de, son of Eoger, of "Wigmore, 226. Mortimer, Eoger de, grandson of Eoger, of "Wigmore, 226 ; restored to the title of earl of March, id. Mortimer, Edmund de, his son, third earl of March, 226. Mortimer, Eoger, fourth earl of March, 226, 227, 289. Mortimer, Edmund, fifth earl of March, 227, 274. Mortimer, Edmund, uncle of the fifth earl of March, 248 ; battle with Owen Glyndwr, in Eadnorshire, 248 ; taken prisoner, 249 ; joins with Glyndwr, 255, 256 ; marries his daughter! 256. Mortimer, dame Maude de, wife of Eoger, 176, 177. Mortimers of "Wigmore, the, 210. Mortimer's Cross, battle of, 306. Mortimer's tower, in Ludlow castle, 51, 452. Munslow, "William de, 186. Myrk, John, or Myrkes, canon of Lilleshal, a versifyer, 201. Myrcna-land, or Myrcna-rice, land of the borderers, 4. Mytton, sir Thomas, sheriff of Shropshire, arrest of the duke of Buckingham by, 322, 530 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Names of places, 189 ; families and persons, id., 190, 191, 192. Newton, land of, granted to "Wigmore abbey, 122. Nick-names, see ' Names.' Nigellus Medicus, the Conqueror's ptysician, held Clee, Salop, and other lands, 33. Norman architecture ia monastic houses, 97; ia churches, 99; ia castles, 441, 442. Nonupton (Nun's TTpton), large oak at, 181. Northampton, battle of, 294, 295. Northumberland, kingdom of founded by Ida, 4. Northumbrians, defeat of by the Mercians, 7. Nottingham castle, built by William the Conqueror, 35 ; VrTi g John at, 141 ; parliament at, temp. Eichard II, 289. Oakley Park, 187. Offa, king of Mercia, 10. Offa's Dyke, 10. Oldcastle, sir John, lord Oobham, takes refuge on the Welsh border, 238. Oldcastle, Bichard, Esq. servants of attack Eobert Whittiugton, Esq. 267. Old-Keld, TuTTiuli at, 3, 15, 29 ; Eoman coins found at, 28. Oney river, Eoman road crosses, 3. Onibuiy, Salop, 187. Orleton, Eichard de, 185. Orleton, Adam de, bishop of Hereford, 221. Orleton church, Herefordshire, early font ia, 101, Osborne Pitz Eichard, lord of Eichard's castle and Ludford, possessions of, 26, 33 ; arms against WiUiam Eufiis, 38. Osrie, king, founder of St. Peter's abbey, Gloucester, 93. Oswald, king of the Northumbrians slain at Maserfield, 7 ; part of his body buried in St. Peter's abbey, Gloucester, 93. Oswestry, derivation of name, 7 ; king John assembles an army at, 141 ; church of seized by the king, 143 ; burnt, 146 ; town and castle of, accounts relating to, 207. Pagauel, Ealph and Gervase, measures of in favour of the empress Matilda, 47, 48. Paganus, or Payn Eitz John, governor of Shropshire and Here- fordshire, 44, 46. THE HISTORY OF liUDLOW, 681 Palmers G-ild at Ludlow, 206 ; excepted out of the statute, 1 Edward VI, 366. Panage, fee for, 147, 148 (note), 182. Pantulf, 'WiUiam, of "Wem, 42. Paston, John, letter to, 284. Paston correspondence, 292, 301, 305. Peada, son of Penda, 8. Pembridge, dean of, 113. Pembrugge, WiUiam de, 205. Pencadair, near Caermarthen, surrender of Ehees, prince of South Wales, to Henry II at, 52. Penda, king of Mercia, 7. Pendover tower, in Ludlow castle, 56, 57, 87. Percy, Henry (Hotspur), 244, 245; his proceedings against the Welsh iasurgentg, id.; joins with Owen Glyndwr, 256 ; skin at the battle of Shrewsbury, 257. Perjury, act for the punishment of, in jurors, in the Marches of Wales, 324. Peverel, William, arms in favour of the empress Matilda, 47 ; Melette, daughter of, 54. Piers Ploughman, the Poem of, 199, 237. Plantagenet, Eichard, duke of York, succeeds to the title of earl of March, 275 ; his residence at Ludlow castle, id. ; letter to from his sons, 276 ; leaves Ireland for London, 277 ; letter to the burgesses of Shrewsbury, 278 ; encamps at Brentheath, 280; imprisoned, and subsequently allowed to retire to Wigmore, 281 ; elected protector, 283 ; again retires to Ludlow, 283 ; marches to London, id. ; defeats the royalists at St. Albaa's, 283 ; appointed protector a second time, 285 ; public reconciliation with the royalists, 286 ; subsequent outbreak and march to Ludlow, 289 ; escapes to Ireland, 290; returns to England after the battle of Northampton, 301 ; slain at Wakefield, 304. Plantagenet, Edward, earl of March, vide 'Edward IV.' Poems of the period of the Wars of the Eoses, 286, 295. Poetry of the border, 193 to 202. Political poem on the deposition of Eichard II, 240. Powis-land, entered by Henry II, 53. Powys, lordship of claimed by John de Cherlton, 233. 532 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Prene, Preone, or Prime, priory of, SkropsUre, 205. Presidency of Wales and the Marches, 376 ; annual expense of the court of, 399 ; its gradual decUne, 418 ; act for abolishing, 485. Presteign, bishop Eoland Lee at, 380. Priories, vide ' Monastic houses.' Puddleston church, Norman architecture in, 99. Purslow Hundred, Salop, obliged to furnish soldiers for Wig- more, 188. Quatford, Danish fortress at, 10. Quo Warranto, writ of to John de Warren respecting the lordships of Bromfield and Tale, 233. Eadcot bridge, defeat of Eichard II at, 239. Eadnor, castle of, 85 ; king John at, 146 ; destroyed by him, id. ,- possessed by Eoger de Mortimer, 188; bishop Eoland Lee at, 380. Eadulf, cowardice of and Norman garrison at Hereford, 18. Eanulph, earl of Chester, hostilities of the Welsh to, 138; custody of Salop and castles of Shrewsbury and Bridge- north deKvered to, 146, 147. Eatlingeope, Eotchinchop, or Eotelynghope, a cell to Wigmore, 205. EeUgious houses, see ' Monastic houses.' Ehuddlan castle, Mintshire, 138; Eanulph, earl of Chester, besieged in, id. ; Henry III at, 165 ; taken possession of by Edward I, 212 ; besieged by Llewellyn, 212 ; Edward I at, 212, 213, 214. Eees, prince of South Wales, surrenders to Henry II, 52 ; uncourteous treatment of by Eichard I, 61 ; quarrel of his sons after his death, 61. Ehys ap Meredith, rise of the Welsh under, 214. Ehys ap Tudor, see ' Tudor.' Ehys Ddu, plunders Shropshire, 265 ; executed iu London, id. Eichard I, crusades of, 60; provokes the resentment of the Welsh, 61. Eichard II, insurrections at the commencement of the reign of, 237; shows favour to the Welsh, 238; his wanderings THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 533 on the "Welsh coast, 239 ; sTwrenders to Henry of Lan- caster, 240. Eichard III, progress to the "West after his accession, 321. Eichard's castle, between Ludlow and Leominster, 23 ; founded by Eichard the Scrub, id. ,- of Saxon origin, 85 ; grant of fairs to by king John, 146; passes into the family of Mortimer, 145 (note) ; taken by Simon de Montfort, 174 ; placed in the charge of sir Thomas Talbot, 257. Eobert of Gloucester, a border poet, 196. Eobert ap Soger, seditious words spoken by, 337. Eobin Hood, legend respecting, 29. Eoman roads, "Wroxeter to Kenchester, 2, 3; Chester to Monmouth, 3 ; castles skirting lines of, 85. Eoman stations between IJriconium and Magna, 3. Eoman towns, England covered with in the fifth century, 4; destroyed by the Saxons, 6. Eoman timiuli at Bromfield, 3 (note). Eoman coins at Old Keld, 28 ; at Kenchester, 29. Eomance of the Ktz "Warines, 29, 64, 91. Eoss, Herefordshire, district of given to Flemish refiigees, 45. Eowton, Eoman road passes by, 3. Eussell, Eichard, constable of Salop, 183. Salt produced at Cainham, 25. Saltmore, near Ludlow, 25. Sampson, Eichard, bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, president of "Wales and the Marches, 394. Saxons, invasion of England by, 3 ; destruction of Eoman towns by, 6. Say, Eobert de, 186. Says, family of the, 189. Scotries, "William de, supposed to have hved at Croft, 33. Scudamore, John, letter of to John Tairford, 249. Scudamore, Phihpot, plunders Shropshire, 265. Scudamore papers in the British Museum, 359. Screnfrith castle, 85, 135 ; repairs at, 135 ; restored by John to William de Braose, 135, 136 ; Henry III at, 149, 150 ; taken from Hubert de Burgh, 164; supposed treasure in, 408. 3 z 534 TKE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. ' Sete, la,' vide ' the Sheet.' Severn, beavers in the river, 26 ; bridges over broken down by the barons, temp. Henry III, 175 ; origin of the name, 193. Sheet, the, near Ludlow, 184 ; possessed by Eoger de Mortimer, 187. Shelderton, Shropshire, 187. Shobdon, Herefordshire, derivation of the name, 33 ; religious house founded at, 95, 103 ; the monks driven away and settle at "Wigmore, 96, 115 ; church, 104 ; remains of, 98 ; dedication of, 105 ; chapel, 99, 103 ; town of granted by Hugh de Mortimer to Oliver de Merlimond, 103 ; retaken from the canons of Shobdon by Hugh de Mortimer, 111. Shrawardine, church of seized by king John, 143. Shrewsbury, origin of name, 7 ; besieged by the Welsh, 35 ; besieged by Stephen, 48; king John at, 137, 142, 144, 146 ; taken possession of by Llewellyn, 144 ; Henry III at, 149, 150, 151, 152, 157, 165, 177; hcense to the burgesses to cut down timber, 149; put in a state of defence by Henry III, 151; burnt hj Llewellyn, 162; castle fortified by Eobert de Belesme, 41 ; surrendered to the king, 43 ; Edward I, at, 172, 212, 219 ; monastery of St. Peter and St. Paul at, 93 ; church of, id. ,- house of grey friars at, 204 ; garrisoned by Simon de Montfort agaiast the king, 173 ; men of forbidden to quit then- houses, A. D. 1369, 236 ; p.arUament holden at, 239 ; ordered to be put in a state of defence, 242; prince Henry (Henry V) assembles his army at, 247 ; battle of Shrews- bury, 257 ; gates of the town closed against Henry IV's forces, 264 ; ravages of Owen Glyndwr at, 266 ; surrender of monastic houses at, 340 ; description of the houses of friars, 342. Shrewsbury, earldom of, 35. Shropshire, possessed by the tribe of the Heoanas, 7, 9; at the time of Domesday survey belonged to Eoger de Montgomery, 33, 35 ; ravaged by the Welsh, 35, 60 ; list of castles and monastic houses of in the twelfth century, 84 ; delivered to the custody of the earl of Chester, 146 ; chief families of in the reign of Henry III, 186 ; monas- teries of founded in the thirteenth century, 203 ; letter THB HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 535 from the inhabitants of to the privy council, A. D. 1403, 256 ; insurrection in, in favour of Owen Q-lyndwr, 264. Sidney, sir Henry, president of Wales and the Marches, 395, 896; his administration of the border, 396 to 417; death ia Ludlow castle, 417. Skenfrith, vide ' Screnfrith.' Smart, John, the last abbot of Wigmore, 351 ; articles against, 352 ; pension to, 363. Smyth, William, bishop of Lincoln, first lord president of Wales and the Welsh Marches, 376. Snede, or Sned, Salop, priory of, 204. Snowdon, king John encamped at the foot of, 141; Snytton, town of, 121 ; granted to Wigmore abbey, 126, 127. Songs of the period of the Wars of the Eoses, 293, 308. St. Alban's, monastery of, erected among the ruins of Verula- mium, 6 ; battle of, 283. St. Briavel's, castle of, 85 ; king John at, 137, 142. St. Clair, Hugh de, saves the life of Henry II at the siege of Bridgenorth, 60, 51. St. Ethelbert, vide 'Ethelbert.' St. Ethebed buried in Leominster priory, 92. St. Guthlac priory at Hereford, 93. St. John of Jerusalem, Hospitalers of, see ' Hospitalers.' St. John the Baptist, hospital of at Ludlow, 98. St. Lawrence, church of, Ludlow, 205, 454 ; legend of, 457. St. Milburga, placed over Wenlock abbey, 9, 92 ; legends respecting, 9 ; discovery of her tomb at Wenlock, 93. St. Peter's abbey, Q-loucester, 93. St. Peter and St. Paul, monastery of at Shrewsbury, 93. St. Victor at Paris, abbey of, 104. St. Werburga, 8. Stafford, Henry IV at, 258 ; surrender of houses of friars at, 340. ' Stafford Knottis,' 302. Staffordshire, ravaged by the Welsh, 42, 43. Staneford, John de, Masonne of, 221. Stanton, the inelosure of stone, 25. Stanton, Salop, lands in held by Helgot, a retainer of Eoger de Montgomery, 33. Stanton Lacy, 187 ; origin of name, 189. 536 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. Stanton, Andrew de, lord of Bucknell, 120. Stanway, 128. Stephen, conspiracy against in favour of the empress Matilda, formed by the barons of Herefordshire and Salop, 47 ; the king's proceedings, id., 48 ; taken prisoner at the battle of Liacoln, 49. Steventon, Shropshire, 184, 187. Stockton, near Leominster, produce of, 25. Stoke Edith, 20. Stoke Lacy, 20. Stoke Prior, near Leominster, produce of, 25. Stoke St. MHburgh, 9. Stokesay, Salop, 187 ; derivation of name, 189. Surrender of monastic houses g,t the reformation, 340. ' Straddle,' Harold established in the valley of, 19. Street, Eoman road by, 3. Strich, John, petition of, 271. Stretford bridge, Boman road crosses the river Oney at, 3. Stretford bridge (between Aymestry and Kenchester), Eoman road passed by, 3. Stretton, manor of, 183. Strignil, Henry III at, 149. Stuteville, William de, lord of Burford, 187. Sun, extraordinary phenomena accompanying the, 157. Surnames, see ' Names.' Sussex, establishment of Saxons in, 4. Sutton, palace of Offa at, 10. Sutton walls, id. Swansea, king John at, 138. Swegn, ravages the southern districts, 12 ; death of, 20, Swine, herds of in the middle ages, 24, 182. Talbot, Geoffrey, proceedings of agaiost Stephen, 47, 49, Talbot, Gilbert custody of Ludlow castle delivered to, a. :^ 1194, 62. Talbot, sir Thomas, keeper of Eichard's castle, and of Mont- gomery, 267. Tedstone Delamere, early font in the church of, 101. Teme river, bridge over at Ludlow, 44, 54^ 98. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 6S7 Temede, vide ' Teme river.' Tenby, district of given to Flemish refugees, 45. Tenures of estates on the border, 188, 189. Tewkesbury, king John at, 135, 137, 138, 142, 144, 145; Henry III at, 148, 163 ; battle of, 319 ; Eichard III at, 321. Thorpe, Godfrey de, 189. TickhUl castle, Yorkshire, fortified by Eobert de Belesme, 41; surrendered, 42. Titley, manor of, 26 ; priory, 205. Todenei, Ealph de, held Ohfford castle, 33. Tostig, slaughter of Harold's servants at Hereford by, 19 ; fate of, 20. Town, derivation of name, 24. Towton, battle of, 310 ; ballad on, 311. Treasure of Mortimer, land so called, 131. TriveUe, wood of, 147. Tudor, William ap, 243 ; revolts against Henry IV, id., 244; Tudor, Eees ap, 243 ; revolts against Henry IV, 243 ; besieged in Conway castle by Henry Percy, 244. Tudor, Jasper, earl of Pembroke, 306, 318, 319. TuUington, 175 ; park at, 176. Tumuli at Old-Keld, 3 (note). Tumulus on site of Ludlow churchyard, 14, 101 ; a Eoman sepulchre, 15. Tun, Anglo-Saxon name for inclosure, 24, 25. TurbeviUe, Hugh and Eoger de, 174. Turford, Shropshire, hamlet of, 207. Tyrel, Eoger, keeper of Gaolford gate, Ludlow, 184. Undergod, Peter, founder of the hospital of St. John the Baptist at Ludlow, 98. Upton Bishop, king John at, 134. Upton, between Leominster and Tenbury, produce of 25. Uriconium, Viriconium, vide ' Wroxeter.' Valence, William de, earl of Pembroke, 175. Verdun, John de, 186 ; his possessions, 187. Verulamium, vide ' St. Albans.' 538 THE HISTORV OF LUDLOW. View, the, or ' Weho,' Shropshire, 187. Visions of Piers Ploughman, 237, 331. Visitations previous to the reformation, 334, 338. Voysey, John, bishop of Exeter, president of "Wales and the Marches, 376. Wafre, Eobert de, 187. "Wakefield, battle of, 304. "Walerand, Eobert, 175. "Warren, earl, legend respecting, 28. "Warren, John de, earl of Surrey, 175, 238. "Warrens, family of the, 187. "Wars of the Eoses, 269. "Warwick, Eichard de. 111. "WatUng street, Saxon name for Eoman road, 30; courae of, 31. "Wax, duty of supplying to Ludlow castle, 189. "Wellington, forestal privileges appertaiaing to, 182. "Welsh, origin of the word, 5 {see border). "Welsh, alternate alliances and conflicts between the Mercians and, 10, 11 ; subdued by the Saxons, 16 ; ravages of on the border, 21, 22, 35, 37, 39 ; remarkable custom of the, 22 ; unite with the Saxons against the Normans, 35 ; assist the Norman barons against "William Eufos, 38; repressed by Henry I, 44 ; enter Cheshire and massacre the inhabitants, 46 ; sue for peace, id. ; their hostilities during the reign of Henry II, 51, 60; John, 188, 140, 141 ; Henry III, 149, &c. ; Edward I, 210 to 215 ; their civUization afber the death of LleweUyn, 215 ; Edward III, his suspicions of the, 234, 236 ; arm against Henry IV, 240 ; "Welshmen disabled from holding land on the English side of the border, 243 ; minstrels and others forbidden, id. ; insurrection of under Owen Glyndwr, 243 to 266 ; their subsequent condition, 266, 267. "Welshpool, Danes in the neighbourhood of, 10. "Wenlock, abbey founded by Merewald, 9 ; nunnery founded by St. Mdburga, 92 ; destroyed by the Danes, 12, 92 ; rebuilt by Eoger de Montgomery, 93 ; Llewellyn at, 163. "Wenlock-edge, pass of forced by Henry I, 43. "Wennewin, Q-riflEith ap, 172. THK HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 639 "Weobley, castle of, Herefordshire, garrisoned by Geofaej Talbot against Stephen, 47 ; possessed by the king, id. ,- neighbourhood of plundered by the "Welsh, 471 ; duke of Buckingham at, 322. "Wessex, Cerdic founded kingdom of, 4. Whitcliffe, near Ludlow, 54 ; woods adjoining, 57. White Castle, 85 ; repairs of, 135 ; seized and garrisoned by the barons, 144 ; Henry III at, 149 ; taken from Hubert de Burgh, 164. "White Ladies, priory of, 204. "Whitney castle, 85. "Whittington castle, defended against Stephen, 47; inherited by Eulke !Fitz Warine, 54; possessed by Jorwerth Drwyndwn, prince of "Wales, 60 ; restored to Fulke Ktz "Wariae the younger, 63, 82 ; see also various allusions to "Wbittington ia the Eomance of the Ktz "Warines, 63, 83 ; besieged and taken by Llewellyn, 150 ; restored to Pulke Pitz "Warine, 151. "Whittington, Eobert, attack upon at Mordiford, 267. "Wicinga-mere, vide ' Wigmore.' "Widemarsh, Hereford, escape of prince Edward from Simon de Montfort at, 175. "Wigley, land in held by the tenure of guarding Ludlow castle, 188. "Wigmore, Eoman road by, 3 ; built by Edward, 11 ; attacked by the Danes, id. ,- origia of name, 12 ; castle supposed to have been rebuilt by "William Eitz Osborne, 22, 36; possessed by Ealph de Mortimer, 33, 35 ; estates depen- dent upon, id. ; seized by Edric the Saxon, 35 ; who was expelled by Ealph de Mortimer, 35; castle, remains of, 86, 86, 218 ; abbey, 95 ; founded by Hugh de Mortimer, 96 ; history of the foundation of, 102—132 ; selection of the site, 118; foundation stone laid, 120, 121; endow- nients of by Hugh de Mortimer, 122; castle held by the kiQg after the death of Hugh de Mortimer, 124; miracles performed at, id. ; abbey plundered by the "Welsh, 153 ; college founded at by Ealph de Mortimer, 95 ; castle besieged and taken by Simon de Montfort and Llewellyn, 172, 173; prince Edward received at, 176; valley of 540 THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. plundered by the Welsh, 171 ; foresters of, their lawless conduct, 184 , entertainment of Isahella axid Edward III at, 224 ; hody of Eoger de Mortimer removed to, 225 ; surrender of the ahhey at the reformation, 352 ; destruc- tion of the buildings, 360 ; ham of the Grange, 360, 361 ; letter of Dr. Dee respecting the muniments of the abbey, 360 ; seal of the abbey, 361 ; castle used as a prison, 404. "WiEey, origin of name, 32. Wflliam the Conqueror, state of the border under, 21 ; proceeds in person against the "Welsh, 35, 37. WUliam Eufiis, opposition of the border barons to, 38 ; marches to the Welsh border, 39. Williams, sir John, president of Wales and the Marches, 395. Wilton castle, 85. Wine sent to Hereford by Henry III, 152. Woland, parson of Burley, 105. Wolphy hundred, Herefordshire, 27. Wolston, bishop of Worcester, defence of the city, 38. Wolves formerly infested Herefordshire, 26 ; tribute o£ to the English crown by the Welsh princes, id. Wombridge, monastery of, 203. Woodhouse, near Cleobury Mortimer, house of Augustine Mars at, 204. Woofferton, origin of name, 32. Wool, trade in established by the Elemings, 45. Worcester, a Eoman station, 7 ; men of slay the Danish tax- gatherers, 12 ; city butnt, id. ; attacked by Normans and Welsh under Osborne Fitz Eichard, 38; plundered by the adherents of the empress Matilda, 49 ; taken by Stephen's army and partially burnt, 50; cathedral, de- struction of in the twelfbh century, 97 ; king John at, 135, 137, 138, 144, 147; Henry ILL at, 148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 164, 177 ; Llewellyn, prince of Wales, at, 148 ; taken by the borderers, 176 ; Edward, prince of Wales, assembles his army at, A. D. 1277, 211 ; Edward I at, 213 ; Henry IV at, 246, 258, 262, 268 ; prince Henry (V) at, 260, 262 ; surrender of monastic houses at, 340 ; inven- tories of priories at, 341 ; controversies with lawyers of, 401. THE HISTORY OF LUDLOW. 641 ■Worcestershire inhabited by the tribe of Hwiccas, 7 ; ravaged by the Welsh, 37, 38. Wormelow, 27 ; tump, 28. Wonnesley, 28 ; priory, 204. ' Wormeslowe,' near Hereford, battle of, 60. Wroxeter, Eoman road from to Kenchester, 2, 3 ; origin of name, 6 ; important position of, 7. WuUere, son of Penda, 8 ; introduction of the Christian religion among the Mercians by, id. Wulverslow, Thomas de, bailiff of Ludlow, 184. W"ydmersh, see ' Widemarsh.' Wye river, allusion to in early EngKsh poem, 197. Wyrmes-hlaew, vide ' Wormelow.' Trcinga-feld, the field of hedge-hogs, vide ' Archenfield.' Zouch, Alan de la, 168. THE END. B. JONES, PBINTEB, BBOAD STEEET, IiUDLOVT.