Iffifi ■■■■J ■■■■■Ml £92 H ■n RfioHE HS I ■ J J HH H ftft'J m ■■1 .'. ! :*," Mrw »Sl .V\finS WHSmw ,1 j ■■■■ I ;: & ■ BaaRssE arm ■■ ■HH n HEwc. B ■■) ■■] ■ I ■ I ■■I DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Treasure 1{gom THE - HISTORY of LONDON. AND ITS €nUxom : CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF THE ORIGIN OF THE CITY; ITS STATE UNDER THE ROMANS, SAXONS, DANES, AND NORMANS; ITS RISE AND PROGRESS , Co itg $xt$tnt g>t*tt of Commercial «5reatne££: INCLUDING AN HISTORICAL RECORD OF EVERY IMPORTANT AND INTERESTING PUBLIC EVENT, FROM THE LANDING OF JULIUS CyESAR TO THE PRESENT PERIOD ; ALSO, A DESCRIPTION OF ITS ANTIQUITIES, PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND ESTABLISHMENTS ; OF THE REVOLUTIONS IN ITS GOVERNMENT ; AND OF THE CALAMITIES TO WHICH ITS INHABITANTS HAVE BEEN SUBJECT BY FIRE, FAMINE, PESTILENCE, &c. LIKEWISE AN ACCOUNT OF ALL THE TOWNS, VILLAGES, AND COUNTRY, WITHIN TWENTY-FIVE MILES OF LONDON. BY THE LATE REV. HENRY HUNTER, D. D. AND OTHER GENTLEMEN. gm&ell&fitfe toitfj &?ap& $fan& ano mieto& IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. % LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDALE, PICCADILLY. By S. Gosnell, Little Queen-Street, Uolborn. 1811. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2013 http://archive.org/details/historyoflondoniOOhunt CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. General Accoi jnt of Middlefex Page i Goare Hundred Pag< ; 100 Surry — — 8 Harrow on the Hill — ib. Kent — 12 Hendon — — 102 Eflex — ao Edgware — — . 103 Hert ford (h ire — — 26 Stanmore Magna . — ib. The Thames — ■ — 3° Stanmore Parva — 104 Navigable Cana' s 56 Isleworth Hundred — 10 5 New River — ■ 61 Twickenham — — ib. MIDDLESEX Ifle worth Hefton — — 107 109 Ossulston Hundred 65 Elthorne Hundred — 1 11 Chelfea — — ib. Greenford Mag na ■ — ib. Kenfington — 70 Greenford Parva • — ib. Paddington — 72 Hanwell — — ib. Pancras — 74 Northall — — 112 Iflington — 76 Brentford — — ib. Hackney — 77 Uxbridge — — 113 Stratford Bow _^ 79 Hillingdon — — 114 Stepney / 80 Spelthorne Hundred — ib. Newington, Stoke 82 Teddington — — ib. Hornfey — 84 Hampton — — 115 Highgate — 85 Sunbury — — 116 Finch ley — 86 Shepperton — " — ib. Earner, Friern 87 Lalcham — — 11 7 Hampftead — — 88 Stains r— — ib. Acton Ealing „ ,, -| _^ 90 ib. SURRY. ( Chifwick — T-i, 9 1 Brixton Hundred — 118 Fulham — — 93 Rolherhithe — — ib. Hammerfruith 94 Lambeth — — 119 Edmonton Hu NDRED 95 Camberwell — — 122 .. Tottenham ib. Batterfea — — ,3 3 Edmonton . — 96 Clapham — — 124 Enfield — 98 Streatham — — J 25 IT CONTENTS. Tooting . Page 126 Bromley — Page 171 Merton — — ib. Bromley College — 172 Wimbledon — — 127 Beckcnham — ■ — "73 Wandfworth — . — 129 Hundred of R UXLEY — 175 Putney — — *3° ChiQehurft — ib. Barnes — — 132 Hayes — 177 Mortlake — — ib. Weft Wickham — 178 Croydon Hundred — J 33 Kefton — 180 Mitcham — — ib. Farnborough — 181 Croydon — — 134 Downe — ib. Mordon — — 135 Gowdham — — 182 Carfhalton — — ib. Chelsfield — ib. Beddington — — 136 Orpington — 183 Addington — — J 37 St. Mary Cray — ib. Cheam — — . ib. Paul's Cray — 184 Kingston Huj, DRED _ _ . 138 Foot's Cray ' — ib. Kew — — ib. North Cray ib. Richmond — _ J40 Bexley -T- — 185 Kingfton upon Thames — 141 Hundred of Li ttle and Lesnes 186 Mouliey — — 142 Plumfted — — 187 Walton — i — 143 Erith — — 188 Weybridge — — 144 Cray ford — — 189 Eiher — — ib. Hundred of Dartford AND Cobham — — J 47 Wilmington — 191 Chertsey Hundred — ib. Wilmington — — j 94 Chertfey — — . ib. Hundred of Axtane — . J 95 Thorpe Lee — . — 149 Sutton at Hone — ib. Egham — — ib. Darent — — 196 Guildford — — 150 Stone — — 197 Ryegate — — 1 5 l Swanfcombe — — 199 Leatherhead — — *5* Southfleet — — 200 Epfom — — J 54 Longfield — — ib. Dorking — — ib. Fawkham — — . aoi KENT. Hartley — — ib. Ridley — — 202 Greenwich — ■ — 1 55 Afti — . _ ib. Deptford — — 161 Kingfdown — — 203 Charlton — — 163 Horton Kirkby — — 204 Woolwich — — 164 Farningham — — ib. Eltham — — 166 Ey us ford — — 206 Lee — — 168 Lullingftone — — . ib. Lewifham. — — 169 Hundred of Codsheath — 207 Hundred of Bromley AND Sliorehain — . _ ib. Beckenham — 170 Halfted — 1 — -. ao8 CONTENTS. Otford — Page 209 Kemfing — — a 10 Seale — — 2.1 1 Sevenoke — — 212 Chevening — — 218 Sundrifh. — — 219 Brafted — — 220 Hundred op Westerham and Eatonbridge — 221 Eatonbridge — — Hundred op Somerden — Hever — — Cbidingftone — — Penftiurft — — Lyghe — — Tunbridge — — Hadlow — — Hundred of Wrotham — Shipborne — — Ightham — — Wrotham — — Stanfted — — Hundred of Littlefield Weft or Little Peckham — Mereworth — — Hundred of Twyford — Eaft Peckham — — Watringbury — — Nettlefted — — Teflon — — Weft Farleigh — — Hunton — ■ — Yalding — — Hundred of Maidstone — Maidftone — — Boxley — — Detling — — Loofe J — — Linton — — Eaft Farleigh — — Eaft Barming — - • — Weft Barming or Barngilt — Larkfield Hundred — Allington — — 224 226 227 230 232 242 243 2 59 261 ib. 262 263 267 268 269 271 *75 ib. 277 a8i 285 288 £90 294 298 3°7 325 33° 33 l 33* 334 33^ 342 ib. 343 Ditton ' — Snodland > — Padlefworth near Snodland — Birling — — Ryarfh — — Leyborne — — Eaft Mailing — — Weft or Town Mailing — Ofham — Addington — — Trottefcliffe — Aylesford — — Burham — — Woldham — - Hundred of Sharnei. — Hailing — — Cookftone — — Cobham — ■ — Shorne — — Chalk — - Denton near Gravefend — Merfton — — Higham — > — Cliff near Rochefler — Cowling — — Frindfbury — — Stroud — — Rochefler — - — Chatham — — Sheernefs — — Hundred of Toltringtrow Luddefdon — — Meopham — — Nutfted — — Ifield — — Milton — — Gravefend — — Norlhfleet — — ESSEX. Becontree Hundred — . Barking — — Dagenham — — Eafthara — -- - Page 345 346 ■ • 348 ib. 35° 35* 354 35 6 353 359 360 362 366 3 6 7 368 ib. 37° 37i 374 375 , 37^ 377 378 38a 382 385 388 389 398 405 407 ib. 408 410 ib. 411 4C2 422 425 ib. 44o 443 A 2 ▼i CONTENTS. Wcfiham __ Page 444 Theydon Gernon Page 5 a 9 Ley ton — — 449 Theydon Bois — — 53i Little Ilford — i — 453 Loughton — — 53 3 Wan fled — — 454 Chigwell — — 533 Walthamflow — — 457 Lambourn — — 538 Woodford — — 460 Stapleford — — 54* Half Hundree op Wa LTHAM 462 Stapleford Tany — 544 Waltham — 463 Naveftock — — 545 Chingford — 465 Kelvedon Hatch — 547 Nafing — 468 Slondon or Standon Marci — 548 Epping — — 469 Barstable Hundred — 55° Havering — 473 Doddinghurft — — 55 l Chafford Hundred 481 Shenfield — — 55* Alveley — 482 Hoton or Hutton — 554 Wenington — 485 Burghfled or Burfted — 555 Rainham — 486 Little Burghfled — 558 Thurrock — 489 Rarofden — 559 Greys Thurrock 490 Ramfden Belhoufe — 560 StifFord — — 492 Dovvnham — — 562 Okendon — 493 Horndon — — 5 6 3 North Okendon 494 Weft Thorndon — 565 Cranham — ib. Thorndon on the Hill — 566 Upminfter — 495 Dunton — — 568 Warley — 498 Bui fan — — 5 5 9 Little Warley 500 Orfit — — 570 Childerdich — ib. Little Thurrock — 57 2 South Weald — 502 Chadwell — — 574 Ongar Hundred 506 Tilbury — — 576 Ongar — 5°7 Eaft Tilbury — — 579 High Ongar — 508 Mucking — — 580 Norton Mandev He 5°9 Stanford le Hope — 581 Fifield — 510 Corringham — — 5S3 Roding Bcauchamp 512 Fobbing — — 585 Roding Abbefs s 5*3 Fange or Vange — 586 Laver — 5i4 Langdon — — 587 Magdalen Laver 5i6 Langdon and Bafildon — 589 Little Laver — — 5<7 Bafildon — — 590 Moreton — .5'8 Newendcn — — 592 Shelley — 520 Wick ford — — 593 Bobbingworth ib. Pitfey — . j — 594 North Weald — 522 Bures, or Buers, Gifford — 595 Green tied — 524 Bemfleet — — 597 Stanford Rivers 526 South Bemfleet — 59S They do n — ~ 527 Thundcrfley — — 600 \ CONTENTS. rii Canvey — Page 60 i Latton — Page ■ 682 Chelmsford Hundred — 602 Nettlefwell — a— 6S$ Chelmsford — — p 603 Roydon — — 686 Springfield — — 6g6 Parndon — — 688 Great Baddow — — 609 Great Parndon — — ib. Sandon — • — 612 Little Parndon — 691 Hanningfield — — 6i3 Matching — — 692 Eaft Hanningfield — 614 Shering ■ — — 6 95 Weft Hanningfield — 615 Hatfield Regis, or Bradoke — 697 South Hanningfield — 616 Little Hallingbury — < 7°3 Rettenden — — 617 Runwell — _ 6)8 HERTFORDSHIRE. Mountneyfing, or MunnafTing 61 9 Broghin, or Braughing H undred 706 Ingateftone — — 622 Braughing — —. ib. Butfbury, alias Ginges Joiberd, Bifhop's Stortford __ 708 and Ginge Laundry — 624 Thornley, or Thorley — 710 Stock or Herwardftock, Haverd- Sawbridgeworth — _ 711 ftock or Hertfordftock — 626 Goldefton, Geldefton, or Gilflon 714 Margaretting, or Margeting — 627 Eaft wick — __ 715 Freerning — — 630 Stanfted Abbot — ^^ 716 Blackmore — — 631 Honefdon, or Hunfdon. __ 717 Widford — — 6 33 Wideford — ^ m ^ 718 719 724 Writtle — — - 634 Ware — Roxwell — — 641 Thunderidge — «_ Bromfield — — 644 Stanclow, or Standon mm ^ t ib. Chichnal — — 647 Weftmill — _^« 727 Chichnal Smaley — 649 Hertford Hundred _ ib. Dunmow Hundred — 651 Hertford — M_ 728 Plefliy — — ib. Bengeo, or Benehoo __. 73 a High Eafter — — 6 5 6 Stapleford — __ 733 Good Eafter — — 658 Hertingfordbury — «_«, 734 Mafhbury — — — 660 Tewing — _ 736 High Roding — — 661 Eflendon — » -M— 737 73S 739 Roding Aythorp — — 66 3 Berkhamftead Parva _ Kmmam White Roding — — 665 Begesford, or Beyford __ Roding Mouli — — 667 Amwell Magna — ■ ib. Leaden, or Plumben, Roding 668 The Hamlet of Haley 74® Margaret Roding — 669 Thele, or St. Margaret's 1 ib. Roding Berners — — 671 Hoddefdon — — t 74i ib. Shellow Bowells — — 67a Broxbourn — __ Wellingale Dow, or Willinghale 6 73 Worm ley — — _ 742 Willingale Spain — 674 Chefhunt — - — 743 The Half Hundred op Harlow 677 The Hundred op Broadwa TER 746 Harlow ■— — 678 Totteridge — — ib. viii CONTENTS. Hatfield — Page • 747 Eaft Barnet — Page 787 Digfwell — — ' 749 Northaw — — ib. Wchvyn — — 750 Ridge — — 788 Ayot Montfichet, Ayot Si. Peter's, St. Stephen's Parifh — ib. and Little Ayot — 75i Abfa, or Apefbury — 789 Great Ayot, or Ayot St. Lawrence 752 Redburne — — 790 Datch worth — — ib. Sandridge — — ib. Watton — — 754 Cuddicot — — 791 Sacombe — — 755 , Brandfield — — ib. Mundon Parva — — 756 Sheephall — — 792 Great Mundon — — 757 The Hundred of Dacorum 793 Bennington. — — 758 Wheathampftead — ib. Afton — — 760 Harpingdon — — 794 Hitchin Hundred — 761 North Mimms — — 795 Paul's Walden — — 762 Shenley — — 796 Edwinstree Hundred — 7 6 3 Theobald Street — — 797 Furneaux Pelham — ib. Bufhy — — 798 Albury — ■ „ — 764 King's Langley — — 799 Hadham Parva — — 765 Hemel Hempftead — 800 Great Hadham — —r 767 Bovington — — 801 Caisho, or Cashio Hundred 768 Flaunden — — 802 Verulam and St. Alban's — ib. Gaddefden Parva — ib. Abbot's Langley — — 777 Great Gaddefden — 805 Sarratt — — 778 Studham — — 804 Rickmanfworth — — ib. Flamfted — — ■ ib. Watford — - — 780 Berkhamfiead St. Peter's — 806 Aldenham — ' — 784 Berkhamfiead St. Mary's — 809 Elflre — — 785 Wigginton — — ib. Chipping Barnet — — ib. Cokfliill, or Stock Place — 810 LIST OF PLATES TO THE SECOND VOLUME. Map of Middlefex — — — Page i — — the Country round London — — ib. Surry — — — — 8 — — Kent — — » — . — 12 ■ Effex — — — i— i 20 Hertfordfhire — — — 26 the Thames — - — — 30 View of the Queen's Walk — — 41 ■ — London Bridge — — ■ • — 44 the Tower >-— — — 46 Map of the Canals — - — — 56 View of Chelfea Hofpital — — • — 67 Hyde Park Corner — — 70 the Conduit at Bayfwater — — 72 ■ ■ London from Highgate — - — ■ 86 Friern Houfe — — — 1 87 — London from Camber well — — 122 Mount Arrarai — — — Guildford — — — — — • — Greenwich Hofpital — — *j;8 — — — • London from Greenwich Park — 160 Fairlop Oak — * — — 427 — — • — Claybury Hall — — • •— • 435 129 150 A 'S¥M' 3 II All ()!'' M'l-IK t'Ol , ^ : ' - | ', "WW" rTfy** '&**. ', j£*.>- I -- ,* vs,..,.,.,,,-' Tj * an U Sftai. 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GENERAL ACCOUNT OF MIDDLESEX. ■'HP* HE county of Middlefex, deriving its name from its relative fituation to the three ancient furrounding kingdoms of the eaft, weft, and fouth Saxons, is bounded on the north by Hertfordfhire, on the eaft by Effex, and a fmall corner of Kent, on the weft by Buckinghamfhire, and on the fouth by Surrey. Its fhape is on the whole quadrangular, though with great irregularities of the fides ; the northern being diftinguifhed by a kind of hook projecting into Hertfordfhire j and the ibuthern, following the windings of its boundary the Thames. The other two fides have alfo rivers for their boundaries, the Coin on the weft, and the Lea on the eaft. In fize it is one of the leaft of the Englifh counties, meafuring no more than about twenty-three miles in its greateft extent from eaft to weft, and feven- teen miles in the greateft extent from north to fouth. It is reckoned to contain 240 fquare miles, or 217,600 acres. • Befides the boundary rivers above mentioned, Middlefex is alfo watered by the Brent, a fmall ftream croffing its central part from north to fouth, and flowing into the Thames at Brentford ; by the Crane, a brook running through the fouth- weftern part, and joining the Thames atlfleworth; and by the New River, brought artificially in a very winding canal out of Hertfordfhire, and terminating in the pipes and cifterns of London. B Soil 2 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF So/7 and Face of Country. — The borders of the Thames, which compofe the ■whole fouthern fide of Middlefex, and which fpread out in proportion to the fizc of the river itfclf, are a feries of level meadows, compofcd of a rich loamy foil, varied in different parts by mixtures of fand, gravel, or clay. The banks of the Coin, too, which river is divided into feveral parallel channels, afford an extenfive range of meadows of a moorifh quality. Meadow lands, as in other diftricts, accompany the courfe of the other flreams, and run through the intervals of the higher grounds. For the moft part, the county rifes as it proceeds northwards, and attains its higheft elevation on the borders of Hertfordfhire. At a fmall diftance to the north of London, a chain of gentle eminences agreeably breaks the uniformity of the horizon, and affords fome Situations of great beauty. The range of land from the neighbourhood of Tottenham to Hampftead is not cafily to be paralleled for the elegance of its varying fvvells and depreflions, and the lively verdure of its furface, covered with a carpet of the fineft grafs, or cloathed in wood. Beyond thefe, a higher and more extenfive ridge ftretches in interrupted eminences from the foreft-fcenery of Enfield chace in the north-eaft, by Totteridge, Edgware, Stanmore, and Pinner, to the north-weft, from which Harrow and fome of the hills in its neighbourhood are a fort of detachments. None of thefe hills are high enough to partake of the fterility of mountains. Their foil is moftly ftiff clay, with mixtures of gravel and loam. Enfield chace, of which a considerable part has of late years been cleared, is a crude watery foil, the ftaple of which is chiefly a ftrong clay-marl. Finchley common, an extenfive tract of plain between thefe two ridges, abounds with gravel, but has likewife a great proportion of clayey foil. The fouth-weftern parts of the county are nearly level ; their foil varying from clay and loam to gravel. The very extenfive heath of Hounflow in this tract confifts much of a lean and hungry gravel, equally unfightly to the eye, and unprofitable to the cultivator; yet there is a confiderable mixture of land which, if inclofed, would be as capable of producing grain of all kinds as any of the neighbouring districts. On the whole, the county of Middlefex has its Share of beauty and fertility, though the quantity of wade land it contains does not entitle it to that high praife for richnefs of foil which fome old writers have lavished upon it. Agriculture and Produces. — A fmall district, containing within itfelf a metropolis of immenfc magnitude, muft neceSTarily be principally devoted to the wants and conveniences of that metropolis, and take its general character from that connection. The MIDDLESEX. s • P The parts of MiddlefeX lying round London are therefore in a particular ftate of culture and occupancy, depending on their vicinity to fo great a city; but fome of the remoter parts appear to be little affected by the influence of the town, and are as merely rural as the moll diflant of the provinces. Proceeding from London as a centre, we fhall take a fummary view of the ftate of the county as to its 'pro- duels and cultivation. Immediately contiguous to the town, the face of the land is deformed by the multitude of clay pits, whence are dug the brick-earth ufed in the kilns which fmoke all round London, to the great annoyance of the neighbouring inhabitants, though probably more to the benefit than injury of their health. Thefe clays are of various quality, ferving for bricks ufed for different purpofes. In general, however, the materials of which this vaft metropolis is built are fuch as can enfure it no long duration, without perpetual repairs. The brick-earth is reckoned upon an average to run four feet in depth, and to yield one million of bricks per acre in each foot. The land is levelled after all the brick-earth is taken from it, and by the help of rubbifh and manure is raifed in its furface, though it frill remains lower than the adjoining roads. The old brick-grounds converted into pafture, together with a quantity of un- broken pafture land, form a green and open tract round London, efpecially to the north of it, which is almofl folely in the poffeffion of the cow-keepers, who fupply the metropolis with milk. The number of cows for this purpofe, many of them thelargeft andfmeft the kingdom affords, is computed at about 7200 in the county of Middlefex, befides 1300 in Surrey and Kent. Thefe, befides grafs, are fed upon brewer's grains, and turnips and hay. By the force of manure, the fields, though fucceflively covered with the numerous herds, are preferved in almoft per- petual verdure, and foon recruit fhemfelves after being fed down- This employ- ment of the land is at the fame time highly profitable., and gives a pleafing rural character to the immediate vicinity of the town. On the banks of the Thames, for many miles on both fides of London, the land is occupied "by gardeners and nurfery-men, who cultivate the immenfe quantity of vegetables, both culinary and ornamental, with which this metropolis is fo excel- lently fupplied. This is a kind of culture which, through alteration in modes of living, and the progrefs of luxury, has been for upwards of a century in a ftate of .continual increafe. The kitchen-gardener, who produces common vegetables b 2 for 4 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF for the table, depends for his fuccefs chiefly upon the quantity of manure he employs, which is moftly new horfe-dung from the ftablcs. To this he adds great care in the choice of his feeds, and conftant labour in digging. Thus he is enabled to cover his ground with a conftant fucceffion of crops, fuited to each fcafon, from the commencement of fpring to the clofc of autumn. The nurfery- man generally unites the culture of flowers, fruit trees, timber trees, and exotics. The tafte for rare and elegant plants has fo greatly prevailed of la«te years, that the rearing of them for fale is a very confiderable objecl: of commerce. The late Mr. James Gordon, of Mile End, is faid to have been the firft who purfued this to any extent, and the nurfery-grounds in the occupation of his family are ft ill among the principal, though many others have now acquired a great name and very extenfive bufinefs. The reputation of the Englifh gardeners for exotics is fo high, that in time of peace a large exportation of thefe articles takes place to various parts of Europe, even ta the more favoured climes of France, Spain, and Italy. From Bow, on the eaftern limit of the fouth fide of the county, to Hounflow and Ifleworth weft wards, the gardens and nurferies extend two or three miles from the river, intermixed with the pleafure grounds belonging to gentle- mens' feats. About Chelfea, Hammerfmith, and Chifwick, there is a confi- derable mixture of fields of corn, which takes its turn with other crops* Meadows, parks, and pleafure grounds fucceed on the borders of the Thames from Twickenham to Hampton, Sunbury, and the extremity of the county. The iflets and immediate banks of the river from Fulham to Staines are advantageoufly employed in the growth of willows of various fpecies, for the ufe of the bafket and corn-fieve makers, and the nurfery-men. The planting of them is at firft expenfive, but they produce a great yearly profit, and improve as they advance in age. The next circle of country round London is that chiefly devoted to the production of hay, which mail ever be a very valuable article at the markets of the metropolis. The low meadows on the banks of the Lea, and the higher and varied parifhes of Tottenham, Highgate, Hornfey, Hampftead, Hcndon, Finchley, and Harrow, are moftly under this hay-farming fyftem, to which is generally joined a proportion of pafturage and tillage. The diftricts near London, which are the loweft, and to which manure can readily be conveyed, generally afford two crops of hay in the year j the higher and more remote yield only one. In the parts of the county fur-' ther MIDDLESEX. 5 ther northwards, ray grafs and clover are cultivated j but the hay for the London market is chiefly from natural graffes. The country about Acton and Ealing, and by Hanwell to Uxbridge, has a mixed cultivation, partly hay and pafture, partly arable. Towards the fouth-weftern angle the arable prevails, and fome of the parifhes are noted for the excellence of their grain. The wheat of Hefton, in particular, is in high reputation, as is the barley of Chelfea, Fulham, and Chifwick. There is nothing remarkable in the breeds of cattle and other animals in Middle- fex. The forts bred and fed are derived from all parts of the kingdom. Flocks of fheep are only kept on Hounflow heath and the adjoining paftures. They are moftly of the weftern breeds. The rearing of houfe lambs is a considerable bufi- nefs in fome parts of the county. The ewes for this purpofe are always from Dorfetfhire, on account of the earlinefs of their yeaning. The rams are home- bred. Much art and attention are required for the rearing of this forced and un- timely progeny, which, however, from the demands of luxury, afford a large profit if fuccefsfully managed. Some young calves are in like manner reared for the London market, but in lefs numbers. Upon a general computation, it is fuppofed that above half the land in Middlefex is in meadow and pafturage, about a fifth in tillage, and as much in nurferies, gardens, and pleafure grounds ; and that 20,000 acres are unprofLtably occupied by waffes and commons. State of Property, Farms, Rents, &c. — Middlefex is divided among a great number of proprietors, few of the nobility or great land-owners pofleffing much more in this county than the grounds immediately adjacent to their feats. The farms in general are fmall, or of a moderate fize ; and the garden and nurfery- grounds are occupied in ftill fmaller fhares. Rents, as might be fuppofed, vary more than in moft parts of the kingdom. Some farming land does not let higher than 20s. per acre, while fome rifes to 4/. Garden ground walled in pays from 5/. to 10/. per acre ; but the rent in this cafe is more regulated by the length of wall and number of fruit trees, than the extent of ground. On the whole, the expences of rent and culture run fo high to the tenant, that notwithstanding the high value of products, much induflry is required to make a living profit. Mineral Waters. — The neighbourhood of London, though deftitute of mines of any kind, is remarkable for its mineral waters, none of them, indeed, at prefent of 6 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF of great note, but ftill occafionally ufed for medicinal purpofes. Of thefe there are in Middlefex, thofe of ShadweU, faline and chalybeat ; Pancras and St. Chad's, impregnated with calcareous nitre, diuretic, and cathartic ; Bagniggc-wells, chalybeat and cathartic ; IJlington, or Sadlers-wells, chalybeat; Hampjlead, chalybeat; AEton, faline, purgative ; Kilboum, faline, purgative. No other objects of natural hiftory that call for particular notice are afforded by this county. Mr. Curtis, an excellent botanift, has published many numbers of a fplendid Flora hondinenfis , but the plants it contains are by no means peculiar to the neighbourhood of the metropolis. Hampftead-heath is one of the bell botanizing grounds near London, being furniflied with many of the plants of retired and uncultivated fituations. Civil and Ecclejiajlical Divijions. — Middlefex in the time of the Romans was one of the diftricts inhabited by the Trinobantes. Under the Saxon heptarchy it made part of the kingdom of Eftex, or the Eaft Saxons. It is divided into fix hundreds, not inclusive of the liberties of London and Weftminfter. Thefe are The hundred of OfTulfton, fouth-eaft ; of Ifleworth, fouth ; of Spelthorne, fouth-weft ; of Edmonton, north-eafl ; « of Goare, north ; of Elthorne, north- weft. Its market towns are Brentford, (where the county members are elected) Ux- bridge, and Staines. Other places poftefled of the privilege of holding a market have difcontinued it. It has two cities, London and Weftminfter. London only has a bitbop, and a diocefe; Weftminfter has a dean and chapter of its own. The archdeaconry of London comprehends all the parifhes of the city ; that of Middlefex comprehends all thofe of the county, which, exclufive of thofe in Weftminfter and the fuburbs, are about fifty- four in number. i Middlefex MIDDLESEX. 7 Middlefex fends eight members to Parliament, viz. two for the county, four for London, and two for Weftminfter. Population and Opulence. — The metropolis beftows upon this fmall county a greater fhare of wealth and population than any others poffefs j nor are thefe ad- vantages confined to the two cities which compofe the capital, but diffufe them- felves through all the vicinity. Several very rich and extenfive parifhes round the town are now joined to it by contiguity of buildings j and along fome of the roads, for feveral miles, the houfes form continued ftreets. Some of the nearer villages are fo thronged with the villas of merchants and other perfons in bufinefs, and with lodging houfes for the accommodation of families, who for health and pleafure pafs the fummer months in the country, that they have acquired the fize and confequence of towns, and, indeed, much furpafs the market towns of the more diftant parts of the county, which are infignificant places. There are feveral parts, however, out of the courfe of the main roads, and polTeiling no particular attractions, in which Middlefex is not to be diftinguifhed from the agricultural provinces in the middle of the kingdom. Its trade and manufactures are almoft folely confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the metropolis. Middlefex (including London) pays eighty parts out of 513 of the land-tax of England. It provides 1 600 men to the national militia, exclufive of the military eftablim- ment of the city of London. GENERAL j-* ( « ) GENERAL ACCOUNT OF SURREY. fT^HE county of Surrey is bounded by Middlefex on the north, by Kent on the eaft, by Suflex on the fouth, and by Hampfhire and Berkfhire on the weft. Its fhape would be a pretty regularly parallelogram, were it not for the great inequalities of its northern fide, formed by the windings of its boundary, the Thames, and contracted to the weft by the projection of Berkfhire. In extent it is one of the middle-fized counties. From eaft to weft it meafures about thirty-nine miles; from north to fouth, about twenty-five j and its contents are computed at 481,947 ftatute acres. Rivers. — The ftreams which water Surrey chiefly rife or have moft of their courfe in it, and flow northwards to join the Thames. The Tha?nes itfelf forms one of the fineft features of the county, beftowing almoft unrivalled beauty on the fituations and profpects of its northern fide, and equally ferving the purpofes of pleafure and utility. The Wey coming out of Hampfhire enters Surrey near Farnham, and joined by many ftreams from the fouth-weftcrn part of this county, paffes Guildford, and empties itfelf into the Thames at Weybridge, not far from Chertfey. It is navi- gable from Godalmin. The Mole rifes on the Suffex border towards the eaft, and uniting many fmall ftreams in that neighbourhood, flows to Dorking, beyond which, at the foot of Box-hill, the greateft part of its water finks into the ground, and is fuppofed to hold a fubterranean courfe of near two miles. The accurate fact feems to be, that a tract of foft ground, called the Swallows, in very dry feafons abforbs the wafte water in the caverns of its banks, but not fo as to prevent a conftant, though diminifhed, ftream from flowing above ground. It afterwards paffes Leatherhead, and flowing directly through the middle of the county, mixes with the Thames at Molefey, above Kingfton. Of the other little ftreams which fucceffively join the Thames as it proceeds eaft- ward, none is {0 well known as the JFandle, which riling near Croydon, takes its fhort courfe by Mitcham and Tooting to Wandfvvorth, near which it terminates in the FOLDOUT BLANK GENERAL ACCOUNT, &c $ the great river. It is remarkable from the number of calico-printing works, and other manufactories eftablifhed on its banks. Face of Country and Soil. — The beauty of the charming meadows, parks, and ornamental grounds of every kind bordering the Thames in this county, is foon contrafted by a chain of heaths, commons, and open waftes, ftretching inwards, and giving a bleak and barren appearance to a large mare of it. Directly fouth of London, fome beautiful eminences appear, cloathed with wood. The county in general rifes towards the centre, where are large tracts of open downs, with a chalky or gravelly foil. Thefe ftretch away weftward, on which fide the land degenerates to an entire fandy fteril heath, broken, indeed, with a few fertile and pleafant fpots. Beneath the hills to the fouth and eaft lies a rough woody tract called Holmfdale, terminating in the Weald of Kent, which it refembles. The fouthern fkirt of the county is a well- watered tract, finely varied with wood, arable, and pafture. Surrey, on the whole, is a dry country, its under-foil being chiefly compofed of chalk and gravel ; whence it is healthy, and (where improved by culture) pleafant to refide in. Its great proportion of wafte land is, however, a deformity which will fcarcely allow of its ranking among the finer of the Englifh counties. Agriculture and Products. — The land in the immediate vicinity of the metropolis is devoted, as on the northern fide of the town, to the keeping of cows for milk. A good deal of hay is made from the meadows on the banks of the Thames ; and the crops principally grown in the furrounding circle are rye, tares, clover, and turnips, which are chiefly ufed as green fodder. Further inland, all the fpecies of corn are produced, according to the foil, as Well as peafe, beans, lucern, and faint- •foin, which la ft has lately been found to anfwer very well on the downs. Potatoes, carrots, and parfnips, for the London market, are grown in quantities in fome of the deep fandy diftricts. Much land, as on the other fide of the water, is devoted to the purpofes of the nurferyman and gardener. Some of the parifhes adjacent to the Thames, as Batterfea, Wandfworth, Mortlake, and Putney, are particularly noted for their horticultural products. Considerable tracts in fome parts are over- grown with dwarf trees and brufli wood, but their value is inconsiderable. The culture of hops is followed about Farnham, in the fouth-weftern angle of the county. On the whole, Surry is more of an arable than a pafturage country. The manures made ufe of, befides the various articles procured from Lon- don, are the farm-yard dung mixed with foil from the bottom of ditches, 6cc. c and j GENERAL ACCOUNT OP and lime, which is laid in large quantities on the ftrong clays and loams of the fouth-eaftern parts. With refpect to animals, Surrey is not remarkable for any particular breeds. The milch cows are chiefly of the Yorkfhire and Durham kinds. Oxen are fattened in considerable numbers by fome of the great diftillers near town, being profitably fed on the grains, meal-duft, and wafli, with a proportion of other fodder. Thefe are chiefly of the Welch and Herefordshire breeds. Many fucking calves are reared about Efher and in other parts. The fheep kept: are principally the Wiltfhire, Dorfetfhire, and South-down. Some of the fmall native breeds are much valued for their flefh. The Banftead-down mutton, in particular, has been long celebrated, and even poets have not difdained to record its praifes. Houfe lambs are reared in great numbers by fome of the Surrey farmers not far from London, and afford, when fkillfully managed, a very profitable article for the market. The fattening of hogs on the refufe of the diftilleries and ftarch-manu- factories is another considerable branch of economy. Some of thefe works on the Surrey fide of the Thames fend as many as three or four thoufand hogs to market annually. State of Property ', Occupation of Lands, &c. — The land in Surrey is in general much divided as to property ; and the farms are rather fmall than large. The proportion of common-field land enclofed is greater than in many counties ; and the heaths and waftes occupy a very large fpace. It is computed that the commons and wafles together amount to 96,000 acres ; the latter, which are fcarcely of any value, compofing near feven-eighths of this number. Great room for improvement by enclofure, planting, &c. is therefore afforded by this county, which it is to be hoped the fpirited attention now paid to this object, animated by the value of all products fo near to the metropolis, will Ihortly put in activity. Natural Productions. — A mineral water once in great eftecm is found at Epfom, the falts of which have given one of the names by which the fal catharticus, or bitter purging fait, compounded of magnefia and the muriatic acid, is popularly known. But the cheapnefs of this fait as an artificial product has much diminifhed the value of the natural water. At Dukvich a purging water has alfo been dif- covered, of nearly the fame quality as that of the neighbouring Sydenham- wells. Another of fimilar virtues at Streatham is ftill much reforted to. Bermondfey has a chalybeat fpa. The SURREY. n The chalk pits in fome parts of this county afford a variety of extraneous fofiils. ManufaBures, Trade, &c. — Exclusive of the trade carried on by the borough of Southwark, which is, in fact, a part of that of London, the commercial objects in that part of Surrey which lies within the vicinity of the metropolis are numerous and important. Moft of the great diftilleries are fituated on the Surrey fide of the river, as well as fweet-wine, vinegar, and ftarch works. Calico-printing, bleaching, dying, paper-making, and various other branches which require water for machinery or other purpofes, are carried on to great extent along the courfe of the Wandle and other fbreams. Thefe branches of employment have accumu- lated a large population in thofe parts ; which, however, is not fhared by the remoter diftricts, where manufactures are little known, and agriculture is the bufinefs chiefly followed. Civil and Ecclejiajlical Divijion. — The inhabitants of Surrey in the time of the Romans ranked among the Regni. In the heptarchy this county compofed a part of the kingdom of Sujfex. It is at prefent divided into thirteen hundreds, con- taining 140 parifhes, and eleven market towns. The county town is Guilford ; and for judicial matters it is in the Home circuit. Surrey is in the diocefe of Winchefter, of which it compofes one archdea- conry, called by the name of the county, and fubdivided into the deanries of Ewell, Southwark, and Stoke. Surrey fends to Parliament fourteen members, viz. two for the county, and two each for Guilford, Southwark, Haflemere, Ryegate, Bletchingly, and Gatton. It pays eighteen parts out of 513 of the land-tax, and provides 800 men for the national militia. c z GENERAL ( 12 ) GENERAL ACCOUNT OF KENT. npHE county of Kent, forming the fouth-eaftern angle of this ifland, is bounded on the north by the German ocean, and the river Thames, which feparates it from EiTex, and from a corner of Middlefex; on the weft, by* Surrey; on the fouth, by Sufiex ; and on the eaft, by the Downs and the Straits of Dover. Its. figure is irregularly quadrilateral, the fhorteft fide being towards Surrey, and the longeft, that ftretching along the Thames and its mouth. This laft, meafuring from Deptford to the North Foreland, is about fixty-three miles in length. The greateft breadth of the county is its eaftern fide, which in a direct line from the North Foreland to Dungenefs-point meafures nearly forty miles. But the fouth- weftern and fouth-eaftern angles approaching each other much more than the north- weftern and north-eaftern, the county is confiderably narrowed on its fouthern fide. Its contents, according to the moft accurate computation, are about 1400 fquare miles, or 900,000 ftatute acres. . Face of Country and Soil. — Two chains of hills run acrofs Rent from weft to eaft, called the Upper and Lower, or the Chalk and Gravel. The whole northern fide of the county confifts of chalk intermixed with flints, with the exception of a line of marfhes or meadows on the banks of the Thames, Medway, and other rivers, and of fome deep rich lands ftretching from Milton through Feverfham to Sandwich. The ifle of Shepey, alfo, though rifing high from the fea and rivers, confifts chiefly of clayey land. The chalky trail fpreads as it proceeds eaftwards, and at laft ftretches from the North Foreland to Folkftone, forming moft part of the way a white wall of cliffs in front of the coaft. On the fouthern edge of the chalk country runs a narrow ftielf of high ground, confifting chiefly of rag- ftone and ironftone, but in the eminences to the weft, clay and gravel prevail. This range ftretches acrofs the centre of the county from the borders of Surrey quite to the fea near Folkftone and Hithe. Below it lies the Weafd, a nearly level tract, occupying the remainder of the county to the borders of Suflex. It is terminated eafterly by Romney-marfh, an extenfive tract of rich marfh land, ftretching along the coaft from Hithe to Rye-haven, and fpreading fome miles up rtu-tvM . m*t* i ~>,y; JrJTJtoutoU! FOLDOUT BLANK GENERAL ACCOUNT, te \% lip the country. The foil of the Weald is principally clay, but with an intermix- ture of fand and gravel. That of Romney-marfh is foft loam and clay, mixed with fea-fandj and indeed appears to be a fubfidence from the fea. Though the above are the principal divifions of foil, yet there are great varieties of it in every diflrict, nay almofl in every farm, requiring much judgment in the different management of it. A great part of the county is flubborn and difficult to the cultivator, and its fertility is the confequence only of much labour and (kill. Rivers. — Kent has the fame claim to the Thames that fo many other counties- have, to which it ferves in part of its courfe as a boundary. This noble river waters all the northern fide of it, furnifhing it with a border of rich marfhes, and ferving for the conveyance of the products of the neighbourhood to the metropolis and other places,. Medway. — The principal river properly belonging to Kent is the Medway, which riling from different heads in the borders of Surrey and SufTex, flows in a-north- eaflern direction to Maidflone, being firfl joined by the Beult, a confiderable flream from the Weald, and then runs flraight north to Rochefler, at which city it again takes an eaffern courfe, till it empties itfelf into the mouth of the Thames at the Nore, between the ifles of Shepey and Grain. A channel from it called the Swale completes the feparation of the ifle of Shepey from the main land.- The Medway admits large men of war as far as Chatham, where its channel fuddenly contracts. It is navigable,, however, for large barges to Maidflone, and for fmaller ones to Tunbridge. The Darent, a rivulet fpringing, near Sevenoaks, flows northwards to Dartford, below which it mixes with the Thames in Long Reach, being firfl joined by the Cray. The Stour rifes in the flony ridge near Afhford, whence it runs to Canterbury, and then bending round to Sandwich, difcharges itfelf into the fea at Hope-bay, a little below that town. The principal outlet of this river was formerly at the Rutupine port, the prefent- Reculver ; but this is now fo far obliterated, as only to leave a fmall fewer from the Stour to the fea, ferving to juflify the name of an ifland given to Thanet, the north-eaflern extremity of the county.. The Rother, coming from SufTex, forms the limit for fome fpace between that county and Kent, and at its entrance into the fea fpreads into Rye-haven. It had formerly another outlet, at Romney, the dry channel of which is flill vifible. Climate. ,4 .GENERAL ACCOUNT OF Climate.— rKent, like the other fea-coaft counties on the eaftern fide of Eng- land, is f abject to cold ungenial blafts from the north-eaft, which frequently injure the vegetation in fpring, and affect the health of the inhabitants. The low marfhy grounds bordering the Thames are alfo by their fituation particularly unhealthy, and the garrifon of Sheernefs is fuppofed to fuffer more from ficknefs than any other in the kingdom. Romney-marfh, too, from its unwholefomenefs, is d&- •ferted by its wealthy proprietors, who commit the care of its pafturage to hired overfeers. Neverthelefs, the higher and more internal parts of the county enjoy, for the raoft part, a pure and wholefome air j and many fpots are diftinguifhed for pleafantnefs and falubrity. The products of agriculture are earlieft on the northern fide of the county, which is chiefly owing to the greater warmth of the -foil. Thofe parts that lie under the ftony xidge of hills, though fomewhat warmer in climate, ripen their products later, on account of the moift and cold quality of the land. The hills themfelves are, ofcourfe, ftill later. ( Agriculture and Products. — The county of Kent has long been celebrated for a very intelligent and fpirited fyftem of agriculture, which has given it a greater variety of products than moft of the provinces of the kingdom. It is, upon the whole, more of an arable than a pafturage country, and annually fends out a great quantity of grain for the f up ply of London and other places. One of the more celebrated diftricts for the growth of corn is the ifle of Thanet, moft part of which is naturally a light and poor foil, but fo improved by excellent farming as to yield large crops of barley and wheat. The manure principally ufed in this and the other fea-coaft parts s is fea-weed., of which vaft quantities are often thrown on ,fhore after a* florin. Much of the chalky foils in the eaft of Kent are downs and fheep walks, which are occafionally broken up and converted to arable. The ifle of Shepey, and the ftiff clays of the Weald, produce abundance of beans in rota- tion with wheat and barley, Turnips and clover are alfo much cultivated in the weft. of Kent and the Weald. The chief manure for the ftiff lands is lime, made of chalk, and often brought from a confiderable diftance. Some of the richeft lands in the north and eaft are profitably employed in the growth of various feeds for the London market, fuch as canary, radifh, fpinach, and kidney beans. Po- tatoes alfo come more and more into culture, and large quantities of them have been employed in the feeding of cattle. Madder has been much cultivated near Feverfham, but on account of the fall in price of the foreign madder, it has 3 ceafed JC E N TV .IS ceafed to be a valuable article, and its culture is given up. Flax is grown in fome parts, of a quality like that imported from Holland, but fomewhat inferior. Woad for the dyer's ufe is- a good deal cultivated in the weflern parts of the county on poor lands. On the banks of the Thames about Deptford, Greenwich, and Gravefend, garden vegetables are much cultivated for the London market, and the fupply of fhipping. The Gravefend afparagus is reckoned fuperior to any ether. The London brewery is almofl wholly fupplied with its hops from Kent, of which the principal plantations are in the vicinity of Canterbury, and of Maid- flone. The former are of the finefl quality, and are preferred for flrength to any others in England. The fame Honey lands about Maidflone which form the hop grounds likewife yield great quantities of apples, cherries, and filberts; and they are commonly cultivated all together. The fruit chiefly goes to the London market, though cyder is alfo made from the apples when plentiful. The whole of the Weald was formerly a forefl, and flill confiderable tracts of "Wood-land remain. There is alfo a range of wood-lands interfperfed through the middle of the county parallel to the road from Rochefler to Dover. The product of thefe lands is a confiderable object. The principal article is hop-poles for the ufe of the plantations in the county. Thefe are made from various fpecies of wood, of which the molt valuable are cheflnut, afh, willow, maple, and oak. Much cord-wood, brufh-wood, bavins, wheel and plough timber, hurdles, flakes, &c. are produced from thefe woods, the regular management of which is a matter of ferious attention. Large navy timber is afforded by fome old woods on the weftern fide of the county. With refpect to live flock, Kent, not beings either a dairy or a grazing county, poffefTes no particular breed of horned cattle. Thofe bought for fattening in the marfhes of Eafl Kent are chiefly the Welch breed j and mofl of the cows for dairies are felected from thefe, without any regard to fhape or form, but only as being good milkers. In Wefl Kent the cows are moflly home bred. In the Weald they are of the SufTex breed. No oxen for the plough are ufed in the eaflern parts, but in the Weald there are many ox teams. As. to fheep, Kent has been long famous, for a fine breed, called the Romney- marfh breed, which are remarkable for arriving at an extraordinary degree of fat- nefs at an early age, and for producing a large fleece of long fine wool. Thefe are sS GENERAL ACCOUNT OF •are long in the carcafe and legs, with large bones. They are hornlefs, and have ■white legs and faces. Romncy-marfh is almoft entirely devoted to the breeding and fattening of fheep of this kind, the cattle fed there being only for the purpofe of eating off the longer and coarfer grafs. The Romney breed are the fort chiefly kept by the Kentifh farmers, and particularly in the ifleof Shepey, which is fup- pofed to have taken its name from this animal. In the upland farms, however, many of the Wiltfliire, Dorfetfhire, and South-down fheep are kept. The latter are the favourite breed on -the Suffex border, in Weft Kent. Many fine teams of horfes are kept by the farmers in different parts of Kent. Thofe in the iile of Thanet have been improved by the importation of Flanders ■mares. The breed is black, of large fize and boney. In the iile of Shepey there is a breed of old ftanding, lefs than in other parts of the county. The Weft Kent farmers chiefly buy colts from dealers, brought from the midland parts of England. Hogs are reared in large numbers in Kent, pork being the chief food of the huibandmen and farmers fervants. In Eaft Kent many are fed for the butcher, and fold early — they are both of the large kinds, and of the fmaller, mixed with the Chinefe breed. In the Weald, many hogs are reared in the woods, and fed on acorns in the autumn. Kent has but few hay meadows in proportion to other counties, and thefe in general of an inferior kind. The beft meadow land is in the Weald, where great quantities of good hay are produced, fufficient for the fattening fome of the fineft oxen in the kingdom. The hay of the other parts is chiefly made from marfh land, fituated along the borders of rivers, and the fea fhore. Of this kind of land it is reckoned that Acres. Romney-marfh contains «• f - - 44,000 Borders of the Stour „ .„ ._ _ 27,000 .— ■ — — of the Medway, Thames, and the Swale, &c. - 11,500 82,500 all devoted to the fattening of cattle and fheep, or the breeding of the latter. The wafte commons of Kent are computed not to exceed 20,000 acres. Divifion KENT. 17 Divijion of Property.— There is no county in England in which property is more divided than in Kent, a natural confequence of the tenure of gavel kind which is prevalent throughout the county, and one of the properties of which is the equal divifion of lands among all the fons of a family- Hence the yeomanry of Kent have long been famous for their numbers and comparative opulence, and it is faid that they are ftill on the increafe. The Kentifn freeholds are fuppofed to be about nine thoufand ; an extraordinary number confidering the large poflef- fions of the two epifcopal diocefes of Canterbury and Rochefter, and of other bodies corporate, within the county. There are, moreover, between twenty and thirty feats of noblemen in Kent, as well as many manfions of the inferior gentry, feveral of whom poffefs large eftates. Size of Farms and Rents, — The farms are generally the largeft in the pooreft parts of the county. In thefe they run up from 300 to 600 acres, and more. In the richer parts there are many from ten to fourteen acres, and few exceed 200. The rents vary according to foil from 5/. to 30.C per acre. At an average they may be taken at i$s. Natural Produ5ls. — The abundance of cover in this county renders game very plentiful. Its pheafants, in particular, are noted for their fize and flavour. Fifh. abounds in its rivers and other waters. The lobfters taken off the ifle of Thanet are reckoned the fineft in England. Oyfters form a confiderable article of expor- tation, there being a particular corporation at Rochefter for the management of thofe .which are bred in the creeks of the Medway. Milton near Feverfham has a fpecies of oyfters of peculiar excellence. As to minerals, the chalk dug from the pits at Greenhithe, Northfleet, and near Rochefter, affords employment for numbers in burning it to lime, or ex- porting it in a raw ftate. The flints found in ftrata among it, have of late years met with a great demand from the Staffordibire potteries. A kind of lime-ftone which bears fo fine a pelifh as to have the name of Betherfden-marble is dug in the Weald. Near Maidftone are large quarries of a hard ftone for building and other purpofes, called the Kentifh rag-ftone. Iron mines have formerly been wrought in the Weald near SuftTexj but this is now difcontinued. From the cliffs on the north fide of the ifle of Shepey confiderable quantities of pyrites are continually falling on the fhore, which are collected by the poor, and exported for the ufe of the copperas works. . d Tunbridge- i8 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF Tunbridge- wells have long been noted for a mineral water of high reputation ; and though lefs fafhionable than formerly, they are ftill frequented by numerous invalids. The water is a chalybeat, in which the iron is rendered foluble by the medium of carbonic acid gas. Other ftrong chalybeat fprings have been met with in different places, as at Bromley and Feverfham, and in Penfhurft-park. Syden- ham-common pofTefTes fome wells of a purgative water in considerable efteem. Thefe fprings have alfo been called Lewifhamor Dulvvich- wells;, and other waters of a like quality have been found in the neighbourhood. Civil and Ecclejiajlical Divifion. — Kent is primarily divided into large diftricts called Laths, of which there are five : viz. Lath of Sutton at Hone, Lath of Shipway, of Aylesford, of St. Auguftine. of Scray, Each of thefe is fubdivided into bailiwicks,, hundreds, and liberties, of which fub-divifions the whole county contains fourteen bailiwicks, fixty-three hundreds, and thirteen franchifes or liberties.. Kent, moreover, is divided into two moieties, Earl and Weft Kent ;. the firft of which is reckoned to contain the laths of -Sutton at Hone, Aylesford, and the fouthern divifion of that of Scray ; — the fecond, the northern divifion of the lath of Scray, and thofe of Shipway and St. Auguftine. This makes nearly an equal partition of the county. The diftribution of juftice follows this partition, the courts of feffion for the diftricts in each being held four times a year; thofe for the eaftern at Canterbury, for the weftern at Maidftone, The ecclefiaftical divifion is, firft, into the two diocefes of Canterbury and Ro- chefter. Each of thefe is fubdivided into deanries and pariih.es, of which Canterbury diocefe contains n deanries, 281 parifhes. Rochefter, 4 ■ 132 In all, - 1.5 - 413 Befides the cities of Canterbury and Rochefter, there are reckoned thirty market towns in this county,, though in fome of thefe the market is difcontinued. The county town is Maidftone, where the aflizes are held, and the knights of the fhire elected. Kent fends eighteen members to Parliament; viz. two for the county, and two each for Canterbury, Rochefter, Maidftone, Queenborough, Dover, Sandwich, Romney, and Hithe. The four lafl are reckoned among the cinque 3 ports. KENT. i 9 ports. It provides 960 men to the national militia., and pays twenty-two parts out of 513 of the land tax. * Trade, Manufactures, and Population. — The chief trade of Kent confifts in the -export of its agricultural productions above mentioned ; but much employment is afforded by means of its connection with the river Thames and the navy. The dock yards and arfenals at Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, and Sheernefs keep a great number of men at work in all the branches of fhip building, and the prepa- ration of naval and military ftores. The gunpowder works near Feveriham are alfo considerable. Near London fome branches of manufacture are carried on con- nected with the trade of the metropolis. Canterbury has long had a fhare in the filk-weaving bufinefs. At Maidflone, linen thread is made, and there are large paper mills and other works on the river : Britifh fpirits are alfo diftilled in great quantities. Tunbridge has an elegant manufacture of turnery ware. On the whole, however, Kent is not to be reckoned among the more commercial provinces of the kingdom. Its principal character is agricultural. It has long fupported a considerable population, which the improved culture of its land, and the increasing fcujSnefs of its naval towns, has certainly not fufFered to diminish. d 2 GENERAL < to ) GENERAL ACCOUNT OF ESSEX. HHHE county of Effex is bounded on the north by Suffolk, on the eaft by the German ocean, on the weft by Hertfordfhire and Middlefex, and on the. fouth by the Thames, flowing between it and Kent. It is of an irregular quadran- gular fhape, each fide being much indented. The fea coaft, particularly, is ren- dered very irregular by creeks and inlets, and declines considerably inwards from north to fouth, forming a fort of funnel to the mouth of the Thames. The greateft extent of Effex from eaft to weft is about fixty miles j from north to fouth, about fifty. Its contents are reckoned at 1,240,000 acres. Rivers. — Of thefe, fome are boundary rivers, belonging equally to other coun- ties. The Thames has all the lower part of its courfe between this county and Kent, flowing in a wide channel, at length expanding into an arm of the fea, and by its high tides requiring ftrong embankments to protect the low grounds by which it is bordered. The Stour, which forms the greateft part of the Suffolk border, rifes near Haverhill, and flowing by the towns of Clare, Sudbury, and Neyland, in Suffolk, and Dedham and Manningtree in Effex, fpreads from the latter town into an arm of the fea, which joins the German ocean at Harwich. It is made navigable up to Sudbury. The Stort, a fmall ftream rifing near Clavering, makes part of the veftern boundary, from Harley End in Farnham to Roydon, where it mixes with the Lea. The Lea coming from Bedfordfhire and Hertfordfhire, after receiving the Stort, forms the reft of the fouth-weftern boundary to its junction with the Thames a little below Stratford. Nearly parallel to the Lea runs the Rodon, which rifing near Little Eafton flows fouthward by Cheping-Ongar, Great II ford, and Barking, below which laft town it difcharges itfelf into the Thames. The .it/ 1 ' /, y, I* ,W II -k 1 i V *i \ A.,,,,,.,. jllll 111 * ;.: A' -V S E X -M*. Ill-, B ■ * £ /w.,W/.>/ Vanhrtfp; {■> .'->-'.-.*.i.,/ FOLDOUT BLANK GENERAL ACCOUNT, &s, 4 r The Crouch rifes not far from Billericay, and running directly eaft, divides the- hundreds of Rochford and Dengey,, and falls into the fea between Foulnefs-ifland-' and Burnham marines. The Cbebner, fpringing from the neighbourhood of Thaxted; runs fouth-eaft-- ward by Dunmow through the centre of the county to Chelmsford, where, recei^ vinga ftream called the Cam, it turns- eaft ward,, and meets the Pant a little above? Maldon. The Pant, or Blackwater has its fources to the north and weft of Thaxted, 1 whence flowing fouth-eaftwards to Braintree and- Cogglefhall, it turns fouth by : Witham, and after its junction with the Chelmer, paffes Maldon, and empties^ itfelf by a broad efhiary into the fea. The Coin rifes in the parifh of Redgwell, and taking a fouth-eaftern courfe 9 > paffes Caftle Hedingham and Halfted to Colchefter, (to which town it gives name) whence it flows to the fea by the eaftern fide of Merfey ifland, the weftern of which is wafhed by the mouth of the Pant. Thefe two rivers have therefore the- fame wide inlet from the oceans Face of Country and Soil. — Eflex compofes part of that tract on the eaftern fide- of England, which forms by much the largeft fpace of level ground in the whole' ifland, not one lofty eminence or rocky ridge being met with throughout feveral- contiguous counties. The furface of Effex> however, is not a dead flat, but is agreeably diver fifled with gentle hills and dales, through the latter of which rills- of water ufually flow. The higheft of thefe hills are at Danbury near Chelms- ford, and the next in height is the range from Langdon to Burnt wood and South Weald. In general,. however, the county rifes towards the north-weft, in which quarter moft of the rivers fpring. The moft level tracts are thofe of the fouthern and eaftern hundreds. The fea coaft is broken into a feries of iflets and peninfulas, deeply cut in by arms of the fea, and exhibiting evident tokens of the violence of that element. Extenfive fait marfhes border a great part of the coaft, protected by embankments, which are frequently giving way to the fury of the wind and tides. The banks of the Thames are likewife generally low and marfhy ; and a tract of moift meadows accompanies the courfe of the Lea and other rivers. A confiderable part of the fouth- weftern angle is over-run by Epping-foreft and its feveral branches, much of which is ftillin a wild uncultivated ftate, reprefenting the original appearance of a great portion of this county. The 22 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF The foil of fo extenfivc a tract as EfTex mufr. be fuppofed to be extremely various. It has, indeed, all the diversities from the ltiffefr. clay to the tenderer! loam, and even light gravel. Above half the county may be reckoned a temperate mixed foil. A long range of heavier mixed foil runs from Cheping-Ongar north- wards to the borders of Suffolk, and another occupies the tract between the Black- water and Crouch, and comes round to the Thames at Canvey-ifland. The greateft tract of light gravelly foil lies north and fouth of Colchefter, Stretching to Harwich. Chalk prevails on fome parts of the Thames border. On the whole, few counties in England are more favourable to the different products of agri- culture. Climate. — EfTex proverbially lies under the imputation of an unwholefome cli- mate ; yet the upland parts of it, which conftitute by much the greater fhare, feem no more to deferve this character than fimilar Situations in other counties. The fea coafl, and efpecially the fouth-eaftern parts commonly called the hundreds of EJfex, from their low and marfhy Situation, and expofure to the eafl winds and fea fogs, have given juft grounds to the charge of being peculiarly obnoxious to intermittent and other fevers, and their confequences ; and though much has been done by clearing, draining, and cultivating, to correct the badnefs of the air, they are ftill by no means eligible places for health or pleafure. The water is perhaps more incurably bad than the air; and in dry feafons it is abfolutely deficient, fo as to occafion much inconvenience in the paflurage of cattle. Agriculture and Produces. ^r-In the part of EfTex near London, efpecially among the meadows and marfhes of the Thames and Lea, much hay is made for the markets of the metropolis. Further onward, about Epping and Ongar, and on the courfe of the Roding, the land is chiefly devoted to dairy, the great fupply to London of the fineft. frefh butter being from this quarter. Much pork is here fed from the refufe of the dairies, and numbers of calves are fuckled for the London market. Near Ilford, potatoes are cultivated very largely for the fupply of London. The general agriculture of the county, however, is turned to the production of grain and other objects of tillage, every fpecies of which is grown in great perfection and abundance by the fpirited and intelligent farmers with whom EfTex abounds. The return for the feed fown is for the moft part greater in this county than in mofl others ; and it defervedly ranks among the richeft of the farming counties. The Stiff foils in the fea coafl hundreds, and in all the other parts acceffible ESSEX. 23 acceffible by water, derive great benefit from manuring with chalk, which is brought at a large expence from the oppofite coail of Kent. In the more inland diflricts fuch manures are ufed as can be procured on the fpot, as marie, clay, town and farm-yard muck, &c. Fallowing is much in ufe in the north-weflem parts, where large quantities of excellent barley are grown, and malted on the fpot" for the London brewery. Wheat and beans are the chief products of the flronger lands in the fouth-eaft. Hops are cultivated in the neighbourhood of Chelmsford, and alfo on the upper part of the river Coin, about Hedingham. Turnips and carrots are common on the lighter lands. Coriander feed, often along with carraway and teazle, is a fingular article of cultivation in fome diflricts. Much rape, muftard, cole feed, and a variety of garden products, are grown in different parts 1 in fhort, there is fearcely any object of a fpirited agriculture in any part of the kingdom whi.ch is not to be found in Effex. Its improvements have been greatly promoted by its inclofures, which for a long period have been very general through- out the county. The woodlands of Effex are extenflve, but not much timber of value is produced from them. With refpect to the flock of cattle and fheep kept in Effex, they are an inter- mixture of breeds from various parts. The cows preferred for the dairy are chiefly the Derbyfhire, Leicefterfhire, and Holdernefs kinds. A Devonfhire breed has lately been introduced with fuccefs, both for the dairy and for fuckling. For the latter purpofe Welch cows are preferred to thofe which give richer milk. The cattle fed on the marfhes near the fea are Scots, Welch, and fome fhort-horned Yorkfhire, with a few Irifh fleers. There are few breeding flocks of fheep in Effex. Thofe principally kept are the Norfolks, South-downs, and Wilts; with fome Dorfets for early lambs. Agricultural work is almofl entirely done by horfes, of which many fine teams are kept at a great expence. Large herds of deer run wild in Epping-forefl and its branches, and Henhault-forefl, to the detri- ment of the adjacent farmers, and the injury of the morals and induflry of fome of |fae neighbouring youth, who commence a career of difhonefly by deer-flealing. The quantity of wafle land, including the forefls, is not eflimated at more than 15,000 acres j a very fmall proportion for fo large a county ! There are flill fome ©pen-field lands in the arable diflricts. State of Property, and Occupation of hands. — The landed property in this sounty is more divided than in many others,, there being few over-grown eflares, though * + GENERAL ACCOUNT OF though many confiderable ones. The land is moftly cultivated by tenantry, who ere on a refpectable footing. Farms are generally of moderate fize : the largeft are in the fea coaft hundreds, where marfhes of great extent are often occupied by individuals. 'Natural Produflions. — Fifh are plentiful on the coaft and in the creeks of this county; and it has long been particularly celebrated for the oyfters which are fattened among the fait marfhes below Colchefter, and about Mer fea- ifland. Thefe arTord a confiderable article for exportation, as well to other parts of the kingdom, as abroad. There are feveral decoys for wild fowl along the coaft. Effex is perhaps lefs of a mineral county than almoft any in the kingdom, and •nothing is fcarcer in it than ftone. Some mineral waters, however, have been dif- covered, of a faline nature, but none of thefe have retained their reputation except that of Tilbury, near the fort of that name, which appears to be impregnated with earthy and muriatic falts. Pyrites are met with in fome of the cliffs, efpe- , daily thofe near Harwich, together with a variety of petrified foffris. Ma?wfa£lures and Population. — The eaftern counties of England were fome of the earlieft feats of manufacture in this kingdom, foreigners having at different periods been fettled in them for the purpofe of working up the Englifh wool, -which in more early times ufed to be exported in a raw ftate. ElTex, however, •does not feem to have acquired any peculiar branch of manufacture, till the perfe- ctions, civil and religious, carried on in the Low Countries under the duke of Alva, drove into this country a number of artifans and workmen, a body of whom fettled at Colchefter, where they introduced the manufacture of bays. This branch of trade flour rfhed-confiderably, and fpread over the neighbouring tract of country, affording plentiful employment for the poor, as well in weaving, as in the fpinning and drefling of wool; and, of courfe, augmenting population. The towns of Bocking, Braintree, and Cogglefhall, efpecially, participated with Colchefter in this manufacture ; and it ftill continues to employ a good many hands in thefi places, though it is now on the decline, chiefly from the rivalry of Rochdale and other places in the north of England, where fuel and provifions are cheaper. The immediate neighbourhood of London alio gives employment to a number of people in the various works carried on about Stratford. Other wife, EfTex is almoft entirely dependent upon agriculture for its population ; and the improved ftate of culti- vation E S SEX. 25 vation generally prevalent furnifhes a demand for labour fufficient to keep up an appearance of populoufnefs in the numerous towns and villages. Civil and Ecclcjiajlical Divifions. — The original inhabitants of EfTex were by the Romans ranked among the Trinobantes. Under the heptarchy this county made part of the kingdom of the fame name, or of the Eaji Saxons. It is now divided into twenty larger parts, viz. fourteen hundreds, five half hundreds, and one royal liberty. The parifhes are reckoned at 403 ; the market towns at twenty- four, but in fome of thefe the market is difufed. EfTex is comprehended within the Home circuit. Its county town is Chelmsford. It is in the diocefe of London, of which it compofes the greater part ; and is fubdivided into the Archdeaconry of EfTex, containing 7 deanries, 175 churches and chapels. of Colcheiler, 5 161 ■ of Middlefex (part) — 3 83 : < 419 EfTex fends eight members to Parliament ; viz. two for the county, and two each for Colchefter, Harwich, and Maiden. It pays twenty-four parts in 513 of .the land-tax, and furnifhes 960 men to the militia. General ( 26 ) GENERAL ACCOUNT OF HERTFORDSHIRE. 'T'HE county of Hertford is bounded on the eaft by Effex, on the north by Cambridgefhire and Bedfordihire, on the weft by the latter county and that of Buckingham, and on the fouth. by Middlefex. Its figure is extremely irregular, running out into hooks and projections, efpecially on the north-weftern and fouthern fides. Its limits are every where artificial, except for a fhort fpace on the Effex fide, where it is bounded by rivers. Its greateft extent from north to fouth is about twenty-five miles ; from eaft to weft thirty-five miles. Its contents have been eftimated at 451,000 acres. It has two principal rivers, the Lea and the Coin; the former uniting all the ftreams of the eaftern and middle parts ; the latter, of the weftern. The Lea, fpringing out of Leagrave-marfh near Luton, in Bedfordfhire, crofTes the middle of Hertfordfhire in a fouth-eaftern direction to Hertford, where, making a femi-circular fweep, and receiving firft the Mar am or Mimerum, a fmall ftream from Welwyn, and then the Bean, which rifes near Yardley, and the united Rib and Quin, coming down by Standon, it pafTes by Ware, and foon after, being joined by the Afh, it turns directly fouthwards to the Effex border near Hoddef- don, where it receives the Stort from Bifhop's Stortford. From this point it makes the limit between Hertfordfhire and Effex, and thence flows on between the latter county and Middlefex to its junction with the Thames. The Lea is navigable from Hertford to its termination ; its communicating river the Stort is fo from Bifhop's Stortford. The Coin rifes, a fmall ftream, from the neighbourhood of Kit's-end in Mid- dlefex, whence flowing northward, it paffes North Mims, and turning to the weft, is firft increafed by the Mufc or Vcrulam-river, which rifing on the Bedford- fhire border, flows by the ancient Verulam at St. Albans to its junction with the Coin at Colney-ftreet. Hence the Coin flows by Watford to Rickmanfworth, being firft joined by the Gade, coming down from Gaddefden to Hemel Hcmfted, and bringing with it a ftream from Berkhamftead ; and then by the Cbejham river 4 out s . \r~ K\ ' *■ ■•'■"'"> " \^3'^*-' UamaM . I ' *-m„—^, m **>""".: l>^ i 11 ' ■ ■ ^ - *t O /) S /. > - i ,..,,,„ v \ - -fc \k rFORDSHIRE llniktvav ' \ '^> ■:.\i. n * t m i. i. \ I,. ■ 1. 1 Pi Hi/in, \ 1 "■ (l ■■" I I II ' . ■ ■ ■ | ■■ ■ ■ .1 FOLDOUT BLANK GENERAL ACCOUNT, &c. 27 out of Buckinghamshire. Below Rickmanf worth the Coin leaves the county, and becomes the limit between Middlefex and Buckinghamshire, to the Thames. The New-river, which fupplies London with water, has its head near Ware in this county, whence it is carried in an artificial channel parallel and near to the Lea, and enters Middlefex not far from Waltham Crofs. Face of Country and Soil. — Few trails of land have a more uneven furface than that which compofes Hertfordshire. It is an almoft perpetual rapid fucceilion of hill and dale, the eminences gentle indeed, and rifing to no considerable height. In general, the country afcends towards the northern fide, on the edge of which, bordering on Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, runs the ridge of chalk hills, which crones a great part of the kingdom in this direction. It is on this northern fide that all the firearm above enumerated take their rife, fhewing by their clear- nefs the flony nature of the foil through which they take their courfe. The pre- vailing foil of Hertfordfhire is a ftrong, red, fhelvy clay, intimately mixed with flints, incumbent upon a bed of chalk, which lies at different depths from the furface, and by its excellent quality affords to the hufbandman an inexhauftible material for improvement. Other foils are, various gradations of loam, from the ftrongeft to the weakeft kinds, more or lefs mixed with gravel, and with chalk, which laft may be faid to be the predominating ingredient : alfo, a fmall portion of moor or peat earth in the beds of rivers and low meadows adjoining ; and in one corner of the county a hungry clay full of blue pebbles, fit only for the growth of underwood. In general, Hertfordfhire, though not among the moft fertile countries to the view, is eminently fitted for the growth of grain. The abundance of flint fbnes in its ploughed lands ftrikes a ftranger with an appearance of poverty, which is not verified by fad:. On the Cambridgeshire border it has fome extenfive open downs, on a thin chalky foil, and covered with a fine fhort turf devoted to the feeding of fheep. Climate. — There is perhaps fcarcely any county in England which in this refpecf can vie with Hertfordfhire ; and it is accordingly the refidence of more nobility and gentry in proportion than almofi: any other. An air pure and dry, but not bleak, equally favours the health of the inhabitants, and the maturation and goodnefs of the products of the earth. Agriculture and ProduBs.— Hertfordfhire is in high reputation as a corn county. The grains chiefly cultivated are wheat, barley, and oats, for all which fome e 2 land 28 GENERAL ACCOUNT OF ]and is found in almoft every farm peculiarly fuited. The white wheat of thrs county is much valued by millers for the fine flour it yields. The barley is malted in large quantities for the London market. Various intervening crops are grown, fuch as pulfe of all kinds, buck-wheat, cinquefoil, lucern, trefoil,, turnips, and potatoes. In the rotation of crops, and the application of manures, the farmers are very fkilful, and in no country has the art of agriculture triumphed more over natural defects. The manures are various. Chalk is the capital one for the clay lands, and is laid on in large quantities. The beft is generally reckoned to be that which comes up from the greateft depth. Farm-yard dung, compofts, &c. are alfo ufed as in other places ; but the fpring or top-dreiTings are a peculiar feature of Hertfordfhire farming. Thefe confift of foot afhes, malt dull, and oil-cake dull: or powder. They are applied to fickly or backward crops upon poor lands, and have a wonderful effecT: in bringing them forwards and enriching them. Horfes are for the moll part ufed for the purpofes of agriculture, though fome gerv- tlemen have introduced oxen. The paltures and meadows of Hertfordshire are chiefly the hedge greens fur- rounding the corn fields, for the width of fifteen to twenty feet or more. There are however, meadows in the courfe of the rivers and brooks, feveral of which have been much improved by the practice of flooding. As to the live ftock, it chiefly confiils of horfes for the plough, milch cows, and fheep, principally ewes. Few of thefe are bred in the county ; and each farmer purchafes the kinds which fuit him beft. Swine are a profitable ftock, and fome attention is paid to their breed. Hertfordfhire is well wooded ; independently of the parks and plantations about gentlemen's feats, the greateft part of the county is fprinkled with fmall- woods and: copfes, occupying the moll barren and gravelly fpots. Thefe yield a quick growth of underwood, which is cut periodically for charcoal, fire- wood, and other pur- pofes. There is a good deal of oak timber in fome parts fit for the navy and inferior Shipping, but not much plank timber. Occupation of Land, — The farms of Hertfordfhire are of middling fize, from I oo/. to 400/. or 600/. per annum- The rents do not on an average exceed 1 is. per acre. The land is for the moll part enclofed, though there are many fmall common fields lying intermixed, which by agreement are cultivated in the fame way as theinclofures. The largcft parcels of common land are on the Cambridgefliire border. HERTFORDSHIRE. 29 border. The wafte lands are computed at about 4500 acres ; including the flieep downs on the fkirts of the county. Trade and Population. — No confiderable manufacture can be expected in an agri- cultural diftriCt like Hertfordfhire, which has, befides, the capital defect of great fcarcity of fuel, though this will be in fome degree remedied by the canals lately projected. At St. Albans, and near Rickmanf worth, are cotton mills for the making of candlewicks ; and the neighbourhood of Dunftable and Luton partakes in the flraw-plat manufactory, which affords fome employment for the women and children. The great bufinefs of the county, next to agriculture, is the malting, which is carried on to a great extent in and about Hertford, Ware, Baldock, Hitchin, Royfton, &c. The malt made here is not only from Hertfordfhire barley, but much is brought from Cambridgefhire and the ifle of Ely for that purpofe. It has a ready conveyance to London by means of the Lea navigation, which brings back the coal and coke ufed in the procefs. On feveral of the Hertfordfhire rivulets paper-mills and other works are eftablifhed, for which p.ur- pofes they are peculiarly adapted from the clearnefs of their water, and the fteadi- nefs of their flream. The population of the county is confiderable on the EfTex and Middlefex fides j and the numerous refident gentry entertain large families of fervants and dependents. Civil and Ecclejiajlical Divijions. — Hertfordfhire was part of the Roman divifion of Cattieuchlani. In the heptarchy, part of the county belonged to the Eajt Saxons, and part to the Mercians. It is now comprifed in the Home circuit, and divided into eight hundreds. Hertford is the county town. There are eighteen nominal market towns, and two parliamentary boroughs, Hertford and St. Albans, which, with the county, fend fix members. It pays eleven parts of the land tax, and provides 560 men to the national militia. Hertfordfhire is partly in the diocefe of Lincoln, and partly in that of London. In Lincoln diocefe, and Huntingdon archdeaconry, are, Deanry of Baldock, Deanry of Hertford, Berkhamftead, Hitchin, In London diocefe are, Deanry of St. Albans, in archdeaconry of ditto. » — Braughing, in Middlefex archdeaconry. THE ( 30 ) THE RIVER THAMES. 'T^HE firft of Britifh rivers is alfo the great trunk conveying the life-blood to the tract which is defer ibed in the prefent Work. In it unite all the ft reams which water the adjacent country. It beftows beauty and fertility .on the wide vale through which it takes its winding courfe to the fea. Jts channel connects the metropolis on one fide with the central parts of the ifland, on the other with the remoteft regions of the earth j and to it, a number of fubordinate water-commu- nications by river and canal have their principal reference. It forms a natural limit between-the provinces on each hand which it vifits, during almoft the whole of its tract. To trace it accurately, therefore, from its fource to its termination, cannot be thought foreign or tifelefs to our undertaking ; and the importance of the fubject may well juftify the treating of it in a feparate chapter. Almoft all rivers are formed in their origin by the conflux of a number of minute ftreams, none much diftinguifhed from the reft ; and the head of a river is generally an imaginary thing. The celebrity of the adult has however commonly produced a claim to the infant ; and in the prefent inftance, popular fame has marked out a Thames-head, which is a fmall perennial fpring in the parifh of Cotes, in Glou- cefterfhire, about three miles from Cirencefter, and within a quarter of a mile of the great Roman road formerly leading from that town to Bath. We fliall here cut fhort all difcuffion concerning the true name of the upper part of the river, and the right of the fuppofed I/is to fuperfede the appellation of Thames, by obferving, that as well in the moft ancient records, as in common language at the prefent time, the name of Terns or Thames has been applied to the main ftream from the fource, to Oxford and the junction with the Tame, equally as to the river from thence to the fea. Such is the copioufnefs of water in Thames-head, that an engine fixed in it throws up feveral tuns every minute into the Thames and Severn canal. The Head, however, does not, during the fummer months, maintain a vifible connection with the current of the river, and it is only at the village of Kcmble in Wiltshire that a conftant ftream appears, which from its confequence and direction may without dif- pute be regarded as the infant Thames. Near this place it is crofted by its firft rude bridge, and turns its firft mill. Hence it flows on to the ancient but decayed borough town /. ClRKNt|{STKK o c S u . o () R V t rr ' I'Mirlnril \ Min/unt/iim V „ ffighwuriuj 3 (iumwr •iw .-* ^^j ^c «■? y .. \ { it- 's n :■-■■-. h s 1'armg-ilnu t J.rtvkm. Chiton o BatrJWejF MfHl.fthtticif ■ H'aHMMwtffh x.Tti, Jmke » ..Mini: p.m. I'Uf/lry \ ok \sLiiMuuti s 'tintxi, ti/itffnnf , r Jlmj.-itol l-*y%i, iU.irkn.if, \<*&i/Vfrnf '/irAfrritft n m 'Frimli/ "«FOHiJ ^"DwJuiig* -Rvrg»lf , J.,„.M.,/ r /,rr„.M'. ■/W.<', /V . MAIDSTONE THE THAMES, 31 town of Cricklade, having firft received the Chum, a rivulet of longer courfe than- its own, coming down by Cirencefter. This acceffion, with that of other fmall' ftreams from the eaftern part of Wiltfhire, renders it, at only nine miles from its fource, navigable for barges of the burthen of fix or feven tons ; and reckoning its navigation from this point, it certainly far exceeds in length that of any other Britifh river. The penury of water in fummer, however, has always rendered the navigation of this part difficult and precarious ; and fince the formation of the Canal, which affords fo much better a communication with Lechlade, this upper part of the river has been almoft difufed for the purpofe of carriage. Between Kempsford and Lechlade the Thames is enriched by the tribute of two ftreams, the Cole from Wiltshire, and the Coin from Gloucefterfhire, which laft, the moft confiderable of the two, firft wafhes the fmall market-town of Fair ford, celebrated for the painted glafs of its beautiful church. The Thames, now fenfibly widened, flows on to Lechlade, near which place the navigable canal connecting it with the Severn forms its junction. This noble defign, one of the great objects of the fyftem of inland water-communication, was completed in the year 1789;: and from that time, all the great fea-ports in the kingdom, and all the principal manufacturing diflricts, have enjoyed a mutual intercourfe of navigation, not expofed to the winds and waves of the ocean. The diftance between the two rivers along the canal is thirty-eight miles. From Lechlade the Thames is capable of carrying barges of fifty or fixty tons burthen, though the droughts in fummer and floods in winter oppofe too frequent impediments to their pafTage. Several; locks are formed near this part ; and the navigation requires thefe aids at proper diftance's as far down the river as Boulter's-lock near Maidenhead, below which they are no longer neceffary. A little below the town it receives the Lech, a fmall ftream rifing in the Cotfwold, and running down between Glouceflerfhire and Oxfordfhire. The Thames, which in the earlier part of its courfe became the limit between Glouceflerfhire and Wiltfhire, now parts the counties of Oxford and Berks. On this limit it is firft crofted by Radcot-bridge, a place known in hiftory as the fcene of a battle between the Earl of Derby, afterwards Henry IV. with other barons, and Robert de Vere, duke of Ireland, in which the latter was defeated. Near the bridge a cut commences, lately made for the improvement of the navi- gation, which after pafting round a meadow, rejoins the river a little below. Hence, 3 z THE THAMES. Hence, at fome diftance on the fouth, the town of Farringdon appears in view, with its pleafing hill, which commands a beautiful and extenfive profpect over the valley of the Thames and the circumjacent country. It has been the fubject of an elegant poem by Mr. Pye, the prefent laureat, whofe paternal feat is fituated in the neighbourhood. The town of Bampton lies at about an equal diftance to the north. Further on, the Windrufi empties itfelf into the Thames. This rivulet, taking its rife in the Cotfwold, paffes the market-towns of Burford and Witney in Oxfordshire, the latter famous for its manufacture of blankets. A little beyond this junction, the Thames makes a turn northwards, and flowing by the grounds of Stanton- Harcourt, the ancient feat of the Harcourt family, paffes near Enfham, to the influx of the Evenlode ; a ftream, which coming from Worcefterfhire and Gloucefterfhire, croffes the county of Oxford by the town of Charlbury, and. afterwards receives the G/yw, flowing through Blenheim-park, with which it proceeds to the Thames. Bending round to the fouth, the Thames paffes by the ruins of Godftow nunnery, and foon after reaches the city of Oxford. Here firft its banks are crowned with objects worthy of its fame, though the fictitious and poetical IJis has ufurped the clafhc honours due, according to what we deem the preferable opinion, to the real Thames. The celebrity of this feat of the mufes, and the varied magnificence of its flructures, in which Gothic folcmnity is Angu- larly blende i with Grecian tafte, might alone fuffice to confer renown on the ftream which fixed the choice of its fituation, and contributed to its pleafure and ornament. Another river, of no inconfiderable magnitude, fhares, however, in the honours of Oxford; the Cherwcll, which here makes a junction with the Thames. The Cherwell rifes in Northamptonfhire, fome miles above Banbury ; and holding an almofr. ditct fouthern courfe, paffes that town, and for fome way becomes the boundary between the counties of Northampton and Oxford ; then croffing the latter, it winds through a fertile country, and paffing amidfr. fequeftered meadows to the eaft fide of Oxford, branches into feveral flreamlets, which at length uniting, iffue in the Thames, The water-communication between London and Oxford is certainly known to have been more ancient than the Conqueft. The length of the diftance, however, and the difficulties and delays incident to a river-navigation, caufed that great neceffary of life, coal, to be a very dear article when brought by this conveyance; wherefore, THE THAMES. $3 wherefore a plan was formed of communicating by means of a canal with the Warwickfhire collieries, which has lately been completed. This canal extends from Oxford to Coventry, near eighty-two miles, and at the latter city makes a junction with another, which communicates with the great chain of inland canal-, navigation. As the Oxford canal terminates in the Thames, it makes an important addition to the connections of that river. Still holding a direct fouthern courfe, the Thames flows on to Nuneham Courtney, the elegant feat of earl Harcourt ; whence, making a bend to the weft, it reaches the town of Abingdon. Within a mile of this place a cut has been made to im- prove and fhorten the navigation. Abingdon is a borough-town, and fends one member to parliament. Its chief trade is in malt, of which it exports large quantities to the metropolis by means of the river. Here the Thames receives the tributary waters of the Ock, a rivulet rifing in the vale of Whitehorfe, in Berkshire ; and then, turning again in a winding courfe towards the fouth-eaft, it is joined by the Thame or Tame. This river, which has been fuppofed to confer its name on the united ftream (an honour to which by its relative importance it is by no means entitled) takes its origin in the eaftern part of the Chiltern hills in Buckinghamfhire, whence, after winding through the fouthern fide of Aylefbury- vale, it reaches the borders of Oxfordshire, and walhes the market town of its own name, from which, probably, it receives its appellation. Flowing on forne way further as the boundary ftream, it then croffes Oxfordfhire, and at the village of Dorchcfter, a place of ancient confequence, mingles ob feu rely with the Thames. Wallingford, mentioned as a considerable city in our early hiftories, and now a handfome borough-town, is the next place of note vifited by the Thames. It contributes to the bufinefs of the river by the large fupplies of corn and malt which it fends to the London market. A ftone bridge of nineteen arches here croffes the ftream. Hence, in a directly fouthern courfe, it flows fome miles through rural fcenes of diftinguilhed beauty, till, bending eaftward, it reaches Caverfham- bridge, whence the county-town of Reading appears in full view at a fmall diftance, fituated on the Kennet, which fomewhat further on pours its copious waters into the Thames. The Kennet rifes on the eaftern fide of Wiltfhire, and firir. paffes the town of Marlborough: then, arriving at the borders of Berkihire, it wafhes Hungerford. Below this place it divides into feveral ftreams which flow through boggy mea- p dows, 34 T II E T H A M E S. dows, in their courfe to Newbury. This is a populous town, and formerly celebrated for the clothing manufacture, now exchanged for the malt and corn trade, of which articles it fends large quantities to London by the Kennet, rendered navigable for the largeft barges hence to its junction with the Thames. Reading has made nearly the fame exchange of commerce, though it ftdl alfo pofTeifes fome branches of manufacture, particularly thofe of fail-cloth, large floor cloths for painting, and ribands ; fome pins, filk handkerchiefs, felts for the paper-makers, and rugs, are likevvife made here. Its once famous manu- factory of gauze is almofr. reduced to nothing. Reading is a parliamentary borough, as well as a provincial capital, and the mod confiderable town in its county. ' The Thames now makes a fweep to the northwards, and a few miles onward receives the Loddon. This rivulet is compofed of feveral flreams, of which that which has the longeft courfe rifes near Bafingfloke in Hamplhire. One branch comes down from Oakingham ; another crolfes a part oi Windfor-forefl, which gave occafion to Pope to introduce in his poem of that name the elegant fiction of the metamorphofis of Lodona, a happy imitation of Ovidian fable. The banks of the Thames are foon after decorated with the charming fcenery of Park-place, the feat of the late field-marflial Conway, where the character of beauty is almoft exchanged for that of grandeur. The market-town of Henley is the next object,. a place of fome confequence, governed by a corporation, and participating in the malt and corn trade of the Thames. A ftone bridge of handfome architecture here croffes the river. A little further, the Thames reaches Buckinghamfhire, and taking an eaflern courfe, after many beautiful meanders, arrives at Great Marlow. This is an ancient borough-town, fharing in the peculiar manufacture of its county, that of bone- lace, as well as in the provifion-trade of the river. The Wick, a rivulet defcending from the Wycombes in Buckinghamshire, next mixes with the Thames, which thenceforth takes a direction to the fouth declining towards the eafr. for many miles. It foon paffes beneath the lofty wooded banks of Cliefden, a feat of renown in the annals of licentious pleafure, when it was The bower of wanton Shrewfbury and love. George , THE THAMES. 35 George Villiers duke of Buckingham was its founder. Frederick prince of Wales for fome time inhabited the houfe ; and the earl of Inchiquin is its prefent owner. At the foot of the hill, a beautiful fpot called Cliefden-fpring, from a rill which ifTuing from the wood pours its pure waters into the Thames, affords a favourite banqueting place for water parties. Hence the river proceeds to Maidenhead-bridge, an elegant ftructure of Portland ftone, confifting of feven principal and fix fmaller arches, leading by the great weflern road to the neighbouring market-town whence it takes its name. The next diftinguiihed places vifited by the Thames are Windfor and Eton ; and few are the objects on its banks from the affociation of which it receives more celebrity. Windfor is an ancient borough of confiderable extent and population; but its fame is folely due to its magnificent caftle, the nobleft palace of the kings of England, and rendered illufirious by fome of its greater!: characters and events. This edifice, which unites Gothic grandeur wich the fplendour and elegance of later times, was firft a feat and caftle of William the Conqueror. Many fucceeding kings made it their temporary refidence, and added to its conveniencies and decorations j but the prince from whom it received moft in augmentation and renown, was the warlke and victorious Edward III. whofe birth here gave him the appellation of Edward of Windfor. He made it the feat of his favourite order of the Garter, and enlarged it with many magnificent works under the direction of the celebrated William of Wickham. Few of our later fovereigns have failed to mew their regard for this venerable pile by additions and improvements ; and it has long been the conftant fummer refidence of his prefent Majefty, who has enriched it with many decorations, and bellowed unceafing attention on its repair. The caftle is feated on a confpicuous eminence riling with a gentle afcent from the river, over the rich and cultured vale of which, together with an cxtenfive circle of furrounding country, it enjoys a delightful profpect, while itfelf affords the mod: ftriking object in all the views of the vicinity. Immediately behind the caftle, Windfor-park and foreft ftretch for many miles into the county of Berks, and by their wild and wooded fcenery give a romantic cafl to a tract, the fcene of roval amufement through many ages, and a favourite theme of poetry. Eton, on the oppolite fide of the river, has acquired its fame from a diftinction at leaft as valuable in the eye of a philofophcr as that of its proud neighbour — that of being the feat of the principal eftabliihment for literary education in the f 3 kingdom. 3 6 THE THAMES. kingdom. Its college, uniting the purpofes of a religious with a fcholaftic insti- tution, was founded by Henry VI. a prince better fitted for a cloiSter than a throne. Its endowments, which were untouched at the Reformation, have continued to incrcafe in value, fo as at prefent to afford large emoluments to a provoft and fellows, and to maintain feventy fcholars on the foundation. But thefe are a fmall proportion of the youth, whom the reputation of the mafters, and other advantages of the place, have for fome generations drawn hither from all parts of the king- dom. The college affords a ftriking object to the Thames profpects, in its majeStic Gothic chapel, which lifts its airy pinnacles above all the adjacent buildings. Leaving thefe fcenes, the river proceeds to Old Windfor, adorned with its numerous villas j and foon after, quitting Berkfhire, becomes the northern boun- dary of Surrey. The firft confpicuous object it reaches in this county is Cooper's hill, an eminence Situated with peculiar happinefs for an extenSive profpect of the Thames and its banks, Windfor-cafUe, and a variety of fine feats. So well did its animating Scenery infpire the poet Denham, that the verfes he devoted to it are in a {train fo fuperior to his ordinary compohtion, as alone to have furvived the neglect into which his works in general are fallen. The green level of Runny- mede, which the Thames next waters on the fame bank, is a celebrated fpot in the annals of liberty.. Here the coward tyrant king John, hunted into the toils by his martial barons,, was compelled to ratify that Great Charter of freedom, ftill confidered as the bans of that fecurity of perfon and property, which has long been fo peculiarly the bleffing of Englishmen. Somewhat lower, on the oppofite fide, the Coin unites its waters with the Thames. This river, compofed of feveral Streams from Buckinghamshire and. Hertfordshire,, defcends from Chefham and Rickmanfworth to Uxbridge, below which, dividing into feveral branches, and paffing Colnbrook,. it finishes its courfe near Staines. This laSt is a market town in Middlefex, at which an elegant Stone bridge is now building over the Thames. Proceeding Still fouthwards, the river flows on to Chertfey, a decayed market town in Surrey, once noted for a rich abbey of Benedictines. Here in humble retirement that very ingenious poet and good man, Cowley, ended his days. Chertfey has an elegant modern Stone bridge Winding away to the eaSt amid pleafant villas, the Thames next reaches Wey- bridge, at which place the river Wey brings in its tribute. The Wey rifes in HampShire, and entering Surrey near Farnham, paSTes the towns of Godalmin and Guilford, T H E T H A M E S. 3.7 Guilford, from the firft of which it is navigable to the Thames. VefTels of con- fiderable burden go as far as Guilford; and this acceffion to the navigation of the Thames will now be much increafed by the Bafingfloke canal, which makes a junction with the Wey about a mile above Weybridge. The elegant feat of Oat- lands, now in pofTeflion of the duke of York, is next vifited and beautified by the Thames ; which foon after flows beneath the bridge of Walton, a pile of brick ornamented with flone. The fine village of Sunbury, and that of Hampton, are the next objects on the Middlefex fide; the Surrey border being for fome fpace deftitute of interefting fcenery. At the village of Eafl Moulfey, the river Mole falls- into the Thames. This fmall firearm rifing in the fouthern parts of Surrey, flows by Dorking, and, winding through a tract of meadows by Cobham and Efher, here pours in its . fcanty waters. On the oppofite fhore the magnificent palace of Hampton-court- rifes to. view- This ftately pile was begun by Cardinal Wolfey, who rendering it too fumptuous for a fubject, prefented it to the crown, of which it became one of the noblefh poffefiions. The ancient flructure came to decay, but a fmall part of it forms the prefent edifice, which was erected by king William I FT. under the direction of Sir Chriftopher Wren. It was the favourite refidence of that renowned- king, who decorated it with gardens in- the tafte of his native country.. In the late reigns it has been little occupied by the royal family; and its-numerous apart- ments have been granted as refidencies to private families, with the referve of thofe peculiarly devoted to the ffate of a palace, which character it eminently difplays among the manfions belonging to the crown of Great Britain. A wooden bridge eroffes the river oppofite the palace* Hence the Thames, making a fweep round the park, turns northwards, and foon arrives at Kingfton,. an ancient market and corporate town of moderate extent, having a confiderable trade in malt.. Its bridge over the river is of greafc antiquity. A fmall ftream called the Hogs-mill river coming from the neighbour- hood of Epfom, here falls into the Thames. The pleafing village of Teddington is the next object on the bank, faid to derive its name from a corruption of Tide- ending-town. In fact, the tide,, though checked by the new bridges which have been erected on the lower part of the river, flill continues to reach this place.. Teddington was the rectory and refidence of that moft worthy man and ingenious philofopher,. Stephen Hales.. The 38 THE THAMES. The Thames now haflens to thofe luxuriant fcenes where the vicinity of the metropolis is perpetually indicated by the creations of art and opulence. The fir ft remarkable object on the Middlefex fide is Strawberry-hill, a villa exhibiting in its architecture and decorations, external and internal, the pureft imitation of the Gothic ftyle, under the direction of its prefent owner, Horace Walpole, now earl of Orford. The beauties of Twickenham next appear, where a range of elegant villas, with gardens Hoping down to the water's edge, decorate the ftream from which they receive their principal charm. Among thefe, that fo long inhabited by Pope mull excite the livelieft intereft in every breafl fenfible to the fuperior graces of poetry, and the honours of literary fame. The houfe has been fuited by additions to the occupation of a richer inhabitant, but its original form and the difpofition of the grounds have been preferved with all poflible attention. The oppofite fhore is crowned with the groves of " umbrageous Ham," in the midfl of which is the ancient manfion of Ham-houfe, now the feat of the earl of Dyfart, left in its original ftate of gloomy grandeur. Hence, through beautiful meadows, interfperfed with charming country feats, the river with an eafy bend takes its courfe to the foot of Richmond-hill, having firft parTed the village of Peter fham, embofomed in trees, and backed by the fhade of Richmond-park. Richmond is a name aflbciated with every idea of rural beauty in its moll polifhed and ornamented ftyle. It is the country maid fafihioned by the accomplifhments of a capital, and borrowing the graces of fimplicity rather to fet off than conceal her charms. In the profpect from Richmond-hill all is elegance and beauty, and the only contrail is the variety of pleafing objects. The river itfelf, indeed, divided by iflands, and impeded by weedy fhallows, is fome- what lefs fuited to the fplendid grandeur of the reft of the fcenery than might be defired. From the ftream, the fuccefiive fcenes that come in view are all enchant- ment — the verdant meads on one fide, the houfes and Hoping gardens of Richmond on the other, its handfome Hone bridge, through the arches of which appear other villas, groves, and gardens — all ftrain theattention to the higheft pitch of delightful fenfation. Richmond, anciently Sheen, was long a part of the royal domains, and poflefled a fplendid palace, of which the fmall remains are now occupied by private perfons. Though no more a regal reficlence, it is clofely connected with the crown by its manor, parks, and gardens. It is itfelf a large and populous village, the refidence of many perfons of rank and opulence, who have chofen this favourite fpot for their country THETHAMES. 39 country retreat. That delightful poet and amiable man, James Thomfon, patted here the latter years of his life, and derived from its charming fcenery fome of thofe ideas of rural beauty which he has transfufed with fuch advantage into his Seafons. It would be tedious to enumerate all the feats and villas which the Thames vifits in its courfe from Richmond-bridge. At the end of the next reach it waffles Ifle- worth, a village in Middlefex : and here receives a fmall rivulet, the Crane, coming from the weftern iide of the county by Cranford, and then croffing Houn- flow-heath, where its waters are employed in working the powder mills, as they are at Illeworth in turning the large corn mills erected there. Bending to the eaft, the Thames now flows between the decorated lawns of Sion- houfe, on the one iide, and the royal gardens of Richmond on the other. Sion- houfe, once a convent, is now a very magnificent feat of the duke of Northumber- land. The extenflve walks of Richmond gardens terminate at the village of Kew, rendered celebrated for its royal gardens, adorned with their lofty pagoda and a variety of other ornamental buildings, and containing a palace of plain and neat architecture, which has been chiefly devoted to the younger part of the royal family. The gardens are remarkable for the variety and noble growth of their exotic trees and fhrubs ; and an appendage to them, the botanic garden, is precious in the eye of fcience, as containing the greateft and moft valuable collection of exotic plants to be met with in Europe. All the vegetable treafures collected in fo many voyages and travels for difcovery through the remotefl parts of the globe during the prefent reign, have been accumulated here : and the Hortus Kezvenjis of Mr. Aiton is the richeft catalogue of botanical rarities that has been given to the public. Oppofite to Kew is Brentford, the county town of Middlefex, a very long and unpleafing range of buildings, adding little beauty to the Thames profpects. The river itfelf, contracted by a line of iflands overgrown with oziers, lofes here its dignity. It receives, however, fome tributary waters from the Brent, a rivulet coming down through the central parts of Middlefex. At Brentford, alfo, the grand Junction Canal, uniting the canals of the middle of the kingdom with the navigation of the Thames, has its termination. The town carries on a confiderable trade with London in corn, malt, and other commodities. At the end of the town the river is croffed by Kew-bridge, a handfome ftructure of flone, lately completed. Hence, in large flexures, the Thames flows on eaftward to the metropolis, pre- fenting in its courfe a repetition of thofe fcenes of cultured art and opulence which 1 it 4 o THE THAMES. it left behind. To art alone, indeed, its banks owe moil of the beauty which diftinguifhes them from mere verdant meadows, fince the general fiatnefs and fmall elevation of the furface afford nothing to aid the natural picture. The river itfelf, indeed, fenfibly increafes in grandeur ; and its open long reaches give many fine views of lake-like expanfion. Mortlake, Barnes, Chifwick, and Hammcrfmith, with their elegant villas, feats, and pleafure grounds, fuccefiively enliven the flream, while intervening groves of lofty trees ftill keep up the idea of rural retire- ment. The villages of Putney and Fulham, connected by a long wooden bridge croffing the Thames, and rendered fimilar by the humble tower fteeple on each fide, are the commencement of that frequency of building, and buftle of population, which is henceforth to accompany the river for many miles. The bridge affords a ftriking ftation for a profpect on each hand, of which the firft object above, on the Middlefex fide, is the palace of the bifhops of London at Fulham, fuited by its venerable appearance to the character of the occupiers. Putney is a place of considerable extent, and gave birth to fome celebrated perfons, among whom were Thomas Cromwell, earl of Effex, in the reign of Henry VIII. and the late illuftrious hiftorian of the Roman empire, Edward Gibbon. On the Surry fide, the populous village of Wandfworth foon fucceeds, the greateft part of it covering a rifing ground at fome diftance from. the river. The buildings on the river bank are chiefly diftilleries and other manufactories, which now begin to crowd upon the Thames. At this place falls in the little river JFandle, riling a few miles diftance in Surrey, and remarkable for the number of mills, printing grounds, and other works, to the purpofes of which it ferves during its fhort courfe. Hence the Thames, bordered by meadows and kitchen gardens for the f apply of London, flows on to Batterfea, where it is crofted by a wooden bridge, connecting this village with that of Chelfea. A curious and powerful horizontal windmill, originally defigned for the grinding and preffing of rape feed, and forming a high and maffy tower, is the moft remarkable object on the bank at Batterfea. Chelfea is a very populous place, now almoft entirely connected with the weftern fide of the metropolis by contiguous buildings. It contains many things worthy of notice; but of thefe, by much the moft remarkable, in relation to the Thames, is its noble college, or hofpital for the reception of maimed and fuper- annuated foldiers. The extenfive front towards the water is a very confpicuous object in the profpect from the oppofitc bank. Beyond it, the phyfic or botanical garden i THE THAMES. 4» garden belonging to the company of Apothecaries in London, defcends to the water V edge, and affords the venerable appearance of its aged cedars of Lebanon. The garden and rotunda of that celebrated place of amufement, Ranelagh, foon fucceeds; and near it, among iilands of willows, a cut runs up' from the Thames, terminating in a bafon belonging to the Chelfea water works, which, by means of a fteam engine, fupply not only the village itfelf with water, but throw it into large refer - voirs in the Green and Hyde parks. The long reach of the river from Chelfea to Lambeth affords fewer objects than the immediate vicinity of the metropolis would lead one to expect ; and the mores in fome parts exhibit the fcenery of fequeftered retirement, though the ftream itfelf is enlivened by the frequent pleafure-boat. At the next bend, however, the towers of Lambeth, Weftminfter-bridge and abbey, and the edifices of the two cities, come into fudden view. The well-known refidence of the archbifhop of Canter- bury at Lambeth is far from being diftinguiftied by architectural magnificence ; yet the venerable air of antiquity prefented by its towers, and the avenue of trees bordering the river beyond it, afford no unpleafing approach to the fplendid fcenes that fucceed. The meannefs of the irregular line of houfes between the palace and bridge cannot, however, but offend every lover of congruity. The commence- ment of the city of Weftminfter on the other bank is more ornamental, though not adequate to the fituation. The Abbey, indeed, detains the eye by a folemn grandeur not unworthy of the fentiments its name and deftination infpire ; and the majefty of the bridge, which beflrides and feems to exercife dominion over the broad ftream that flows beneath, renders it a fuitable entrance to the fplendours of the commercial metropolis of Europe. Weftminfter-bridge was erected under the fuperintendence of Charles Labelye, a Frenchman, and by its folid grandeur and elegant fimplicity does great honour to the tafte and abilities of the architect. Its extent is 1223 feet ; its arches, of a femi-circular form, are fifteen in number, the central one being feventy-fix feet in' the fpan. The piers are femi-octangular ; and a baluftrade crowns the works. The breadth within the baluftrade is forty-four feet. The whole building is of Portland- ftone, laid with excellent mafonry, and as yet exhibiting no marks of decay. The firft ftone was laid in January 1739, and twelve years were employed in finifh- ing the ftructure. Its coft was 389,500/. ; a fum to which a fourth might be added in eftimating it at the prefent value of money. The grandeur ariiing from fize, g ftrength, 42 THE THAMES. ftrength, and proportion, is the characteriftic of this edifice j and that, with this, the general effect is not that of heavinefs, muft be regarded as a proof of extraor- dinary (kill in the defigner. From its fummit one of the fined views of the united cities is prefented; their principal objects opening in fucceffion to the fight, as the river makes its large fweep from Weftminfter ito London, compelling the impenetrable line of buildings to follow the fame direction. St. Paul's cathedral towers in the centre, the undifputed monarch of the whole. To defcribe with any minutenefs the edifices which border the Thames in its progrefs through London, would be to write a volume. We fhall think it fuffi- cient juft to fketch fome of the moil remarkable. It is to be premifed, that foreigners have often obferved, and with juftice, that very little attention has been paid to decorate the banks of fo noble a river in a manner worthy of it, and of the capital it adorns. Inftead of the uniform and magnificent wharfs and quays which accompany thecourfe of much inferior ftreams in other capitals, the Thames is crowded and deformed by the moft irregular fucceffion of unfightly buildings,, devoted to the particular purpofes of the occupiers, and forming nothing like a grand whole. This, however, could only have been remedied by an original plan ; and commercial utility is now become too valuable a thing to be facrificed to the pleafure of the eye. But a fpirit now reigns of making beauty and conve- nience coincide wherever fuch an union is practicable : and its effects are becoming more and more vifible in the wharfs and other buildings on the Thames, as well as in the reft of the city. The moft agreeable objects on the river bank prefently fucceed Weftminfter- bridge on the Middlefex fide. The embankment of Whitehall exhibits a pleafing mixture of good houfes and gardens. Further on, the ruftic gate at York-flairs, a work of Inigo Jones, ftrikes the eye. The lofty terrace of the Adelphi, founded upon vaft arches, and crowned with a line of handfome houfes, is a very laudable example of that union of commercial convenience with elegant architecture which may be hoped hereafter to extend along the banks of the Thames. The ancient palace of the Savoy which fucceeds, is, in its prefent ftate of dilapidation, an intercfting object to antiquaries alone. It ferves as a contraft to its afpiring neighbour, Somerfet-place, the only edifice of real magnificence which immediately borders the river. This vaft pile of modern grandeur, occupying the place of an ancient palace, is more ufefully devoted to the noble defign of uniting in one fpot the greater THETHAMES. 4J greater part of the public offices, together with the national inftitiitions of fcience and art. The building contains a great quadrangle, having its principal front to the Strand. The river-front confifts of a noble terrace raifed upon a high ruftic arcade, and furmounted by a range of building divided into feveral members by the varieties in its plan. However it may offend the eye of refined tafte by its •deviation from a grand fimplicity, the effect of the whole (when finifhed) cannot fail to be that of diftinguifhed magnificence. The Temple, which next prefents its courts and gardens to the river, pleafes by its cheerfulnefs ; and in the mixture of ancient halls and chapels with modern rows of building, recals to mind the academical fcenery on the banks. of the Ills. Between the Temple and Blackfriars- bridge a new dock and large warehoufe is made for the accommodation of the weft country barges. The warehoufe is over the dock, fo that the barges may be un- loaded into it with eafe. The Surrey fide of the river for this fpace offers to the view nothing but a very irregular affemblage of private wharfs, timber yards, and buildings devoted to the purpofes of trade and manufacture. One of thefe alone is an object not unworthy its fituation, a well-built lofty tower ufed in an improved mode of cafting lead mot. The bending channel of the river at length comes fully to front Blackfriars- bridge, the rival, and as many think, the fuccefsful one, of that of Weftminfter. Indeed, the ftyle of the two bridges is fo different, that each may be allowed its appropriate excellence without derogating from that of the other. The characte- riftic of Blackfriars-bridge is an airy lightnefs very ftriking in an edifice of fuch fize and real ftrength. This it has attained by its elliptical arches, of which there are nine, the central one finding an hundred feet. The piers are relieved in their thicknefs by two Ionic pillars Handing in a recefs and fupporting a pediment. . The baluftrade is lower and lighter than that of Weftminfter-bridge. The whole length of this bridge, from wharf to wharf, is 995 feet j its breadth forty-two feet. Its architect was Robert Mylne. The firft ftone was laid October 31, 1760; and it was completed in the latter end of 1768, at the expence of 152,840/. It is to be lamented that the ftone has been fo ill chofen as to have already incurred fome ferious decay and dilapidation. The view from the ftream at fome diftance above this bridge is extremely grand. The beautiful fteeple of St. Bride's on the left, the bridge in front, with St. Paul's rifing in all its majefty aboye it, and a glimpfe g 2 through 44 THE THAMES, through the arches of London-bridge with the Monument and numerous fteeples, altogether afford a moil impofing mafs of fcenery. Paffing Blackfriars-bridge, the river flows in one ftraight reach to that of London. A ftriking object, immediately contiguous to the former bridge on the Surrey fide, is the ample fhell of the Albion Mills, now feveral years remaining in the defolate ftate in which it was left by a fire which deflroyed all but the walls. To this, on the fame fhore, fucceed warehoufes, dye-houfes, iron founderies, and other works, terminating in an open wharf or ftreet called Bankfide, which would agreeably bound the ftr earn, were the houfes of better architecture. It is, indeed, Angular that this mean row is the only place affording a public walk of any length on the immediate bank of the Thames during its whole courfe through the cities of London and Weftminfter ; and probably few of the inhabitants of the metropolis have ever enjoyed from it the ftriking profpect of the crowd of fteeples and public and private buildings in the moft central part of London, which it affords. The London fhore between the two bridges is a continued range of wharfs, yards, and warehoufes, for the accommodation of that immenfe trade which fupplies the metropolis with the neceffaries and luxuries of life, and the materials of commerce. One edifice only, for fhow and pleafure, Fifhmonger's-hall, contiguous to London- bridge, relieves the eye and imagination. London-bridge, the laft of the ftructures of this kind by which the Thames is croffed in its progrefs to the fea, and till the prefent century, the only commu- nication between London and Southwark, is a building, the venerable antiquity of which may in fome meafure apologife for its faults ; for the prefent bridge of ftone, fucceeding older wooden ones, dates as far back as the year 1209. National vanity called it the wonder of the world ; and perhaps the world cannot fhow fo huge a mafs of deformity and defect. Its nineteen arches, fcarcely any two of them alike iu fize or proportion, are all Gothic except the modern central one ; and their number, with the thicknefs of the piers, and the enormous fterlings pro- jecting on each fide for their protection, fo dam up the channel of the river, as to occafion a fall of Ave feet at low water, the caufe of an annual lofs of lives, and a great impediment to navigation. Much coft has been beflowed on its improve- ment both in its upper and under parts. The defects of the latter feem incurable ; but as a road to travel over, it has been rendered equally commodious with the other bridges, principally by taking down a row of buildings on each fide, with 3 which ti M a H «w 1 b- tl < r M k. THE THAMES. 45 which it was, within memory, moft prepofteroufly loaded, and which reduced its breadth to that of a narrow ftreet. Its length is 915 feet. The entrance it gives to London from the Borough is rendered ftriking by the handfome fteeple of St. Magnus at its foot, the fine column of the Monument juft beyond, and the numerous public edifices in full view. Some arches of the bridge are occupied by water- works for the fupply of the city with that neceffary ; and at Hungerford- ftairs above, and Shadwell below, are other works of the fame kind. It is a great addition to the utility of the Thames that it yields to the metropolis an inexhauftible fource of water, wholefome, and fufflciently pure for a variety of purpofes, as well as copious enough for the ready extinguilhing of fires. The Thames water continues frefh as far as Woolwich, and even there is brackifh only a fp ring- tides. It is in peculiar efteem for watering fhips in long voyages ; a kind of fer- mentation that it at firft undergoes, leaving it remarkably pure and fvveet. London-bridge forms the partition between the river-navigation and the fea- navigation of the Thames. Immediately below it commences the Port of London, and the foreft of mails that rifes in direct view, and ftretches beyond the reach of the fight, announces the prodigious magnitude of that commerce which fupplies the wants of an immenfe metropolis, and extends its arms to the remoteft parts of the globe. The limits of the port reach from London-bridge to the North Foreland in Kent, and the Naze in EfTex; but the fhips trading to London ufually moor from the bridge to Limehoufe, in which fpace it is computed that about 800 fail can lie afloat at their moorings at low water. This fpace is called the pool. The part near the bridge, on account of the fhallownefs of the water, is occupied by the fmaller veffels ; the lower part, by the larger. The Eaft India fhips come no higher than Black wall and Deptford. The height to which the fpring-tides rife is eighteen feet juft below London-bridge, and twenty feet at Deptford. A ftranger would naturally look for the quays and wharfs made for the accommo- dation of this great quantity of fhipping ; but he would learn, that except the legal quays about a quarter of a mile in length between London-bridge and the Tower, the reft of the bufinefs is done at the fufferance wharfs, irregularly interfperfed on the banks, and fo inadequate to the purpofe, that lighters are obliged to be employed for the loading and unloading of a great proportion of the goods, to the heavy expence and detriment of the merchant. He would alfo lament the contraction and embarraffment of the ftream from the tiers of fhips moored in the midft of it, and 4 6 T II E T H A M E S. and reaching over from each fide, fo as at fome times fcarcely to afford paffage, and liable to various injuries. Thefe evils, however, have rifen to fuch a height with the increafed commerce of the river, that they are likely foon to enforce the execu- tion of one of the feveral plans which have lately been propofed for the construc- tion of docks and quays on the banks. Refuming our progrefs down the river, the firft remarkable object, is Billingf- gate-dock, a frnall bafon for the reception of veffels, particularly thofe laden with fifli, of which article this is the great wholefale market. A little further is the Cuftom-houfe, a long regular building, having a wharf to the river. Its front to Thames-ftrcet is rendered difficult of accefs by the narrownefs of that long ftreet, continually crowded with carts, and a moft incommodious centre of the vaft com- merce of the river. The Tower of London is the next remarkable object ; a place, in its triple character of fortrefs, palace, and prifon, of high renown in Englifti hiftory, and affociated with many of its moft atrocious events ; With many a foul and midnight murder fed. Within a large enclofure it contains a great and irregular mafs of ancient and modern building, now ferving principally for the purpofes of an armory, an office of ordnance, a mint, a depofit of records and of the regalia, and a flate prifon. The moft confpicuous of its ancient edifices, the White Tower, was built fo long fince as the year 1078 ; and, from its name of Caefar's Tower, it has been con- jectured that there was previoufly on the fpot a mint and treafury of the Romans, in the time of the later emperors. The tower wharf is furnifhed with a very crowded row of cannon, ufed on rejoicing days. The open fpace on the city fide, called Tower-hill, is famous as the place of ftate executions of perfons of rank ; but it is happily a long time fince it was witnefs to a fcene of this kind. A very beautiful building is juft erected on it, for a purpofe connected with the port of London, and, indeed, with the navigation of the whole kingdom ; the Trinity-houfc, belonging to a fraternity whofe mother-feat is at Deptford. This corporation is inverted with large powers of controul and inspection over the pilotage of the Thames and other places, and the eftablifhment of light-houfes and fca-marks on all the coafts of the ifland, as well as various other matters of regulation respecting feamen. Below & f* t « « H 1= •<. «j ■^ rfl S; "-< x o ^ * s * p ^ THETHAMES. 47 Below the Tower, a line of building commences, occupied almoft entirely by trades and employments connected with the fhipping ; which, under the names of Wapping, Shadwell, RatclifFe, and Limehoufe, extends along the river to the peninfula called the ifle of Dogs ; and acrofs the neck of the ifle, a continuity of buildings runs by the hamlet of Poplar to Blackwall, near which the river Lea entering the Thames forms the feparation between Middlefex and Effex. From this river near Bow a cut is drawn, which terminating in the Thames at Lime- houfe, makes a nearer and better communication for the purpofes of water-carriage than the old channel. The oppofite fhore from London-bridge downwards is occupied nearly in the fame manner, by clofe and narrow ftreets of warehoufes, workfhops, and habita- tions of people engaged in naval and commercial bufinefs. After Southwark, the parifh of Horfleydown fucceeds, terminating in Rotherhithe (pronounced Redriff) in which are eleven dock yards, fome of them employed in building Eaft Indiamen and other mips of large fize. Objects of fplendour or beauty are not to be expected in a tract fo entirely devoted to ufe, and in which private property is capable of being applied to fuch lucrative purpofes. The grandeur of the fcene confifts in the river itfelf, flowing through tiers of fhips ftretching beyond the reach of the eye, and all alive with the buftle of commerce and navigation. This can be enjoyed only by the fpeclator who paffes through the midft of it in a boat. The banks are fo encumbered as to afford not one commodious walk for a view. From the end of Limehoufe and Rotherhithe the river makes a fudden turn to the fouth in its way to bend round that low peninfula, the ifle of Dogs. Croffing the limit between Surrey and Kent, it immediately arrives in the latter county at the populous town of Deptford, fo famous for its royal dock and arfenals. It firfl fupplies, however, a large private bafon, called Greenland-dock,, as being principally occupied by mips engaged in the Greenland fifhery, and furrounded by buildings for the boiling and preparation of oil, &c Deptford takes its name from an ancient ford over a rivulet which here flows into the Thames, the Ravenjborne, rifing not far from Bromley in Kent. It is navigable for lighters to the place where it is croffed by the London road to Greenwich. The dock and extenfive arfenals and offices for the navy at Deptford would afford copious matter for defcription to a writer profeffedly treating on thefe topics. Some capital fhips of war are always building here; but it is particularly noted for its vaft accommo- dations 4 8 T II E THAME S. dations for the victualling fervice of the navy. It fupplies fome grand and ftriking objects to the profpect of the voyager down the river, who is further amufed with the view of various fhips of war of the fmaller fize, and royal yachts, which ufually line the fhore oppofite this place. Deptford moreover poffeffes ° feveral private yards for (hip-building, and manufactories of different kinds, which have made it a town of very confiderable extent. A little further, oppofite the fouthern extremity of the ifle of Dogs, the town of Greenwich rifes from the more of the Thames, which it decorates with the mofi: magnificent fingle object prefented to the view during its whole courfe. This is the Royal Hofpital for Seamen, an edifice better fuited in its ftyle of architecture to the ideas we fhould form of a regal palace, than to its prefent humbler but more ufeful deftination. A palace* indeed, once occupied its fite, the fcene of many fplendid feftivities in a gay and gallant age, and the birth-place of Henry VIII. Edward VI. Mary, and Elizabeth. After it had fallen to decay, Charles II. refolved to rejftore it with fuperior grandeur, and one wing of it was completed for this purpofe. William and Mary were the founders of the prefent inftitution, and the building was finifhed by Sir Chriftopher Wren, who formed the whole plan, except the two pavillions next the water, which were the work of Inigo Jones. Nothing is wanting to its magnificence, except a central part to connect the whole; the elegant houfe in the park, which occupies that fixation in the view, being, neither by its pofition nor ftyle of building, at all adequate to that purpofe. The idea of lodging the veterans of the Britifh navy in a palace, may feem worthy of the dignity of the firft maritime power in the world ; and the whole cftablifhment, by the rank and number of its officers and directors, fills the mind with an appropriate greatnefs of character : yet it maybe queftioned whether the real comfort of the perfons to whofe ufe it is devoted, might not have been better confulted by a greater attention to convenience and accommodation, and a lefs regard to fplendour. The revenues of the hofpital chiefly arife from a monthly ftoppage in the wages of all feamen, as well in the merchants' as the king's fervice; together with the income of the Derwentwater eftates forfeited in the laft rebellion. The park of Greenwich, though fmall, is very agreeable, from the difpofition of its ground, and affords very ftriking and extenfive profpects of the metropolis, the courfe of the Thames, and a large tract of adjacent country. It is graced and honoured by the chief aftronomical inftitution in the kingdom, the Royal Obfer- vatory, THETHAMES. 49 vatory, feated on its principal eminence, and the fucceffive refidence of men of the higheff. name in fcience. The firft meridian is by Engliih geographers made to pafs through it. Winding round the eaflcrn fide of the ifle of Dogs, the Thames next reaches Blackwall, a collection of houfes for the accommodation of feafaring people and (hip-builders. Some Eaff. India fhips ufually lie at moorings before this place, and new ones are continually building in its docks. Here is one of thofe great private works which are only to be feen in a country of commercial profperity and fecurity like Great Britain. Mr. Perry, an eminent fhip-builder, has, at his fole expence, formed a noble wet dock or bafon communicating with the Thames, capable of receiving a number of the largefl fhips, and planned with every poffible attention to convenience, and even elegance. An extraordinary piece of mechanifm, for heaving mails and fixing them in veffels, forms a very confpicuous object from its height and bulk. His dry docks, building yards, ftore houfes, &c. are all in a proportionate fcale of magnitude. Jufl below this dock, the Lea enters the Thames ; a river, which, riving in Bedfordshire, and croffing Hertfordfhire, becomes navi- gable from Hertford, and is highly ufeful in conveying the commodities of the county through which it flows, to the metropolis, and making returns of coals, manure, and other necefTary articles. The Stort, which joins it near Hoddefdon, prolongs the water-communication as far as Bifhops-Stortford. From the mouth of the Lea, a reach of the river extends, offering, on the Kentifh fide, the pleafing view of the heights and Hoping woods of Charlton, and termi- nating with the town of Woolwich. The EfTex fhore, here, and for many miles further, prefents nothing but a level of marfhes. Woolwich is a place of considerable note and confequence, as containing the moff. ancient of the royal docks and arfenals. The dock is at prefent exceeded by others in bufinefs ; but as a magazine for ordnance and military flores, Woolwich furpaffes any other place in the kingdom. Its park, warren, and laboratory, afford a prodigious difplay of -destructive machinery, and continually refound with the f. dreadful note of pre- " paration." Cannon are caff, bored, and proved here, bombs charged, and cartridges made. It is likewife the well-adapted feat of a royal military academy, in which young gentlemen are taught the fciences of fortification and engineering, and other branches of the profefiion of a foldier. There are extenfive barracks on the hill above Woolwich, in which a number of troops are always ftationed. h Before 5 o THE THAMES. Before the town, fome of the hulks, thofe watery receptacles of petty criminals, are generally lying, and their occupiers are employed in labour about the dock and warren, or in heaving ballaft for (hipping. Behind Woolwich, at the diftance of two miles from the river, is Shooter 's-hill, a place worth mentioning in connection with the Thames, on account of the noble profpect it affords over ail the fcenery we have been defcribing, and much of the remainder of our courfe. London and its vicinity, the plains and woods of EfTex, Greenwich, Woolwich, and the adjacent country, and the majeftic windings and long reaches of the Thames, now bearing on its bofom the freight of navies, all lie in full view beneath it. On the other fide, the varied and richly-wooded county of Kent extends to the utmoft ftretch of virion. If Richmond-hill can boaft of fofter and more delicious charms, Shooter's-hill may claim a fair precedence for variety and grandeur. At a fmall diftance below Woolwich, Barking-creek enters the Thames, navigable for fmall vefTels to the town of that name. Into this flows the Roding, a rivulet rifing near Dunmow in EfTex, and pafling by Ongar through the fouth-eaftern part of the county. Dagenhatn-creek, going up to Rumford, next joins the Thames. Near its influx, the river, in the year 1707, urged by a ftrongtide, made a breach in the embankment which borders it, which overflowed a thoufand acres of rich marfh-land, and was not clofed without vaft difficulty and expence. The name of Dagenham-breach , and a pool of fifty acres, ftill diftinguifh the fpot. Other creeks fucceffively join the river from the EfTex marines. The oppofite Kentifh fhore is edged at fome diftance from the water with woody heights, one of the mofl confpicuous of which crowns the village of Erith, a fmall river-haven, at which the homeward-bound Eaft Indiamen frequently flop to be lightened of part of their cargoes. Near Erith is one of the few villas which grace this lower part of the Thames, Belvedere-houfe, the feat of lord Eardley, the fine profpedt from which fcarcely compenfates its fituation fo near the unhealthy marines. At the next turn of the river commences the very ftraight channel of Long Reach; near the entrance of which, on the Kentifh fide, the Darent brings in its tributary waters. This river, rifing near Wefterham, winds through a fine valley decorated with many beautiful feats, and taking its way directly northwards, arrives at the market-town of Dartford, whence in its fhort courfe to the Thames it is navigable for fmall craft, under the name of Dartford-creek. Before its 1 junction THE THAMES. 51 junction, it receives an addition from the Cray, a rivulet that gives its name to feveral villages in its courfe, and is croffed by the London road to Canterbury at Crayford. Oppofite, on the Effex fide, is Purfleet, a place noted for its large magazine of gunpowder, conftructed with admirable Strength and contrivance. It has alfo quarries of chalk, of which great quantities are burned into lime on the fpot. A creek, or rivulet, here enters the Thames. Greenhithe, on the Kentifh. fide, at the other extremity of Long Reach, has alfo a great traffic in the chalk and lime produced from the range of chalk-hills which here border the river, and afford fomewhat romantic in the appearance of their broken rocks. A ferry for horfes and cattle makes a communication between Kent and Effex at this place. At Ingrefs, in the neighbourhood, is the elegant feat of D. Roebuck, Efq. The river now makes a bend, called St Clement's Reach, ending at the fmall market-town of Gray's Thurrock on the Effex bank. Hence, through the South Hope, it arrives at Northfleet, on the Kentifh fide, a place remarkable for its chalk cliffs, which yield many curious foffils to ,the naturalift, and afford a lingular object from their excavations. One of thefe has been ingeniously wrought into a dock for fhip-building. Chalk and lime are largely exported from thefe quarries. The Straight reach of Gravefend commences from this point, diftinguifhed by the town of that name on the Kentifh fhore. Gravefend is a place of note in the Thames navigation, being the firft port from the entrance of the river, and that from whence all outward-bound fhips take their departure after being vifited by the cuftom-houfe officers, and where rnoft homeward-bound ones fet on fhore their captains and paffengers. Many veffels are continually at anchor before it, and receive from it fupplies of provifion, efpecially frefh vegetables, which are grown in great quantities in the gardens furrounding the town. A horfe-ferry here -communicates with the Effex fhore ; on which, directly oppofite to Gravefend, is erected Tilbury-fort, a regular fortification furnifhed with a great number of large cannon, and the chief defence of the channel of the Thames. Well: Til- bury, m its neighbourhood, was the place of encampment of the principal army of queen Elizabeth at the time of the intended Spanifh invafion. A mineral alterative water of fome reputation has been difcovered at Tilbury.. h a The 52 T II E T H A M E S. The river, bordered by a continued tract of marfhes, bends northwards round the point of land at Eaft Tilbury, and forms a widened channel called the Hope, A ftnall ftream falling in from Stanford-le-Hope, forms Mucking-creek on the Eflex fide ; from the mouth of which the Thames holds a direct eastern courfe to the fea. It firft wafhes and infulates a low marfhy trad: in EfLx, called Canvey ifland, the ftrand of which is noted for the cockle (hells by which it has been covered from remote times. A branch of the river on the eaftern fide of this ifland is called Leigh-road, from the town of that name on its bank, a place much frequented by hoys and fmall craft. Ships occafionally anchor in this road. Juft beyond Leigh is'a ftone marking the boundary of the jurifdiction of the city of London as confervator of the Thames. Still keeping along the EfTex coaft, South-end, lately brought into fafliion as a watering place, difplays its new buildings. Its fituation in a dry and woody country, with the noble profpect it affords of the entrances of the Thames and Medway, will not probably long induce the invalid to feek for a reftoration of vigour in the vicinity of fome of the moft unhealthy trads in England, efpecially during the autumnal feafon of fea bathing. Shoebury Nofe or Nefs prefently fuc- ceeds ; the termination of the mouth of the Thames on the north fide. The Kentifh. coaft, forming the fouthern limit of the Thames-mouth, after receding in fuch a manner as to give a fudden expanfion to the channel, terminates with the marfhy ifle of Grean or Grain, lying between the Thames and Medway, and cut off from the main by a narrow creek joining the two rivers. From the point of this ifland to that of Shoebury is a diftance of fix miles, with this breadth the Thames majeftically mingles with the fea, which may be faid immediately to commence from the floating light upon the Nore, a fand bank lying in mid channel. The river Medway, though it cannot be called a tributary to the Thames, fince they do not join their ftreams till each is loft in a common arm of the fea, yet is fo conneded with it in refped of navigation, that it deferves fome particular notice in the prefent defcription. The principal river of Kent, acrofs which county it flows from the borders of Surrey and SufTex, it ferves during the greateft part of its courfe for the conveyance of commodities to and from the parts adjacent to its banks. The county town of Maidftone, and the city of Rochefter, are among the places it vifits ; but its chief importance arifes from the commodious ftation it affords THE THAMES. 53 affords for a confiderable portion of the Britifh navy. The largeft men of war can proceed up this river as far as Chatham, where in time of peace a number of them are laid up in perfect fecurity, The principal of the royal docks is here fituated, and moft of the firft-rates are built in its yard. The dock ranges along the river bank for near a mile in length ; and its naval arfenals, and other edifices for the fervice, are of capital magnitude, and difpofed witft admirable order and conve- nience. They are protected by a ftrong line of fortifications, in which are in- cluded large barracks for the lodgment of the foldiery. It is prefumed that there is now little danger of a repetition of the infult which the Dutch offered to our maritime power in the inglorious reign of Charles II. when vice-admiral Van Ghent, failing up the Medway as far as Chatham, deftroyed feveral large mips. A further defence is afforded by the ftrong fort of Sheernefs, fituated on the northerly point of the ifle of Shepey, directly oppofite the entrance of the Med- way from the fea. A dock, dependent on that of Chatham, has been eftabliihed here. Stangate- creek, a little way within the Medway, is well known as the place where veffels coming from fufpected countries perform quarantine. The confervatorial jurifdiction of the city of London extends up the Medway to a fmall diftance from Chatham ; a proof that this water was confidered) as one of the creeks or branches of the Thames. The great utility of a. naval ftation fo near the metropolis, and having a ready communication with, the docks and arfenals on the Thames, need not be pointed out. The channel feparating the ifle of Shepey from the main land, called the Swale, may alfo be reckoned one of the commu- nicating branches of the two rivers, fince either maybe entered from it without going out to fea. In this channel is the fmall port and borough of Queen fboro ugh; Milton, celebrated for its oyfters, and Feverfham, have alfo a communication with it by their creeks. Having thus, with fome minutenefs, traced the Thames from its fouree to its entrance into the fea,. we fhall briefly fum up, as it were, its character among our Engliih rivers.- Holding a courfe from weft to eaft acrofs that part of the ifland which approaches to the wideft.in this direction, it has obtained more room for its developement than any other of our flreams, and confequently partes over a greater fpace between its head and its termination. A flraight line drawn on the map from Thames-head to Shoebury-nefs meafures by the fcale between 120 and 130 miles, a very con ii- derable 54 THE THAMES. derable portion of the central furface of England ; but this diftance would pro- bably be fully doubled by following all the windings and deviations of its' channel. Taking its origin from a tract rather elevated than mountainous, it partakes nothing of the nature of a torrent, but from the firfr. flows calm and gentle, without rapids or cataracts, and is fitted for navigation as foon as it has a body of water fufficient to float a veflel. Its acceflbrjf ftreams have in general the fame character ; fo that it proceeds as it began, in fmooth and tranquil lapfe. Its channel is no where rocky : the bottom is either gravel or clay, affording growth to numerous aquatic plants, the fhelter of the fcaly tribe from the purfuit of lawlefs fifhers. In no part of its courfe does it force its way through oppofing rocks, or flruggle in a pent-up bed amid over-hanging crags, like the rivers of alpine regions : the gently-rifing hills that fometimes crofs its way are eluded by its eafy flexures ; and if it now and then laves the foot of a bold afcent on one of its banks, the other is bordered by a level mead. Hence, in the eftimate of its picturefque beauties, the romantic is almofl: entirely to be left out of the catalogue: the fvveet, the foft, the fequeflered, the rich, and the majeftic, compofe the lift of its diftinguilhing charms, and are blended with each other in all poflible variations. The number of iflands that it forms in its bed, fufEciently prove the gentlenefs of its current, and add to its rural character, while they fomewhat take off from its dignity •, but thefe become gradually fewer as the river is fwept by a rufliing tide, and they entirely ceafe fome miles above Weftminfter. The tract of country through which the Thames flows fcarcely in any part wears the features of harfhnefs or flerility. Its fcenes are a fuccefllon of rural beauty and opulence, though perhaps a tamenefs of character is too prevalent on the whole. It deferves the name of a plain, rather than of a vale, the elevated grounds on either hand being frequently fo dif- tant, and their acclivity fo gentle, as to give no idea of any intervening depreflion of furface. The artificial ornaments of villas, edifices, and pleafure-grounds, muft be allowed to contribute greatly to the formation of fome of the moft admired landscapes of the Thames, which without them would only difplay the common beauties of a fine country. The river itfelf, where it begins to hold a confiderable breadth, fwelling to the brink, and " without o'erflowing full," is the capital object in the view. It is always elegant, and not unfrequently grand. In com- mon with all other river-navigations, that of the Thames is fubject to the oppofite interruptions of inundation and" drought; but its floods are not fo fudden or violent T H E T H A M E S. S5 violent as thofe of the Severn, and many other Englifh rivers. Scantinefs of water is a much more frequent complaint. To compare the Thames with the principal fivers of the European continent, or, in the tumid language of Thomfon, to call it " king of floods," is only to injure it by a parallel which it were abfurd to fup- pofe it could fuftain ; yet, independently of the greatnefs it acquires by affociation, it has intrinfic merits which muft ever fecure to it a refpectable rank. Few of the mod celebrated rivers of Europe afford a length of navigation for large mips equal to that of the Thames in point of fafety, eafe, and regularity ; and cer- tainly no European metropolis is fo much benefited by its river as London by its Thames. NAVIGABLE ( 56 ) NAVIGABLE CANALS. TN the preceding account of the Thames we have curforily noticed all the canal navigations communicating with it ; but we fhall now more particularly defcribe thofe which have their courfe through that tract of country which is the fubject of this work. Basingstoke Canal. — The firft of the new communications with the Thames opened by means of canals, was that to Bafingftoke in Hamplhire. A fcheme was propofed fo early as 1772 of making a canal from this place, which mould join an intended canal from Reading to Monkey-ifland in the Thames near Maidenhead ; but the whole of this plan was defeated by the oppofition of the land-owners. At length in 1777, confent was obtained to an a<5l for cutting a canal from Bafingftoke to the river Wey, near Weybridge, where it falls into the Thames, which has for fome time paft been fully completed. It begins at a place called Newman Springs, near the village of Bafing. Thence, making a turn northwards round Tilney-hall, it returns almoft to Odiham, and then proceeds eaftward by Alderfhot to the border of Surrey, where it croffes Dead-brook, which divides the counties. It next palTes through the north-eaflern corner of Surrey, by Purbright and Horfhell, to its termination in the river Wey, about two miles above Weybridge. Its whole length of courfe is near forty-four miles. One important object of this canal is the carriage of fhip- timber from the woods in Hamplhire to the public and private dock-yards on the Thames. It may alfo be expected to aid the agricultural improvement of that very fterile part of Surrey through which it palTes, by the conveyance of lime and other manures. A fecond act was pafTed relative to this canal, empowering the pro- prietors to borrow an additional fum of money for its completion. The canal from Oxford to Coventry, forming a communication between the Thames and the whole fyftem of midland navigation, was noticed when we came to the city of Oxford in purfuing the courfe of that river. But this union with the Thames at a part fo diftant from the fea, and, often fo difficultly accefliblc by veffels of any burthen, did not fatisfy the fpirit of commerce; and it was more- 3 over NAVIGABLE CANALS. 57 over deferable to extend the benefits of water communication through other inland parts which were in great want of fuch an advantage. A plan was therefore formed by the marquis of Buckingham of drawing a line from the Oxford canal to meet the Thames in Middlefex; and in the year 1793, an act of Parlia- ment panned " For making a Navigable Canal from the Oxford Canal Navi- " gation, at Braunfton, in the county of Northampton, to join the river Thames " at or near Brentford, in the county of Middlefex; and alfo certain collateral " cuts from the faid intended Canal." — The name affixed to this navigation was the Grand Junction Canal. Another a6t palled in 1795 to enable the proprietors to make a variation in the courfe, and for fome other purpofes. The general courfe of this canal is from north- weft to fouth-eaft. Beginning; in Northamptonfhire, on the border of Warwickfhire, not far from Daventry, it pafTes between Northampton and Towcefler to the neighbourhood of Stony Strat- ford, where it croffes the Oufe and enters Buckinghamshire ; then after making a bend towards Newport Pagnel, it proceeds to Fenny Stratford, Leighton Buz- zard, Ivinghoe, and entering Hertfordfhire, pafTes clofe to Berkhamfted. Thence, running parallel to the Bulbourn river, and croffing the Gade, it pafTes King's Langley, and cutting through Grove-park and Cafhiobury-park (belonging to the earls of Clarendon and Effex) it makes a turn eaftward oppofite to Watford, and reaches Rickmanfworth. Hence it accompanies the river Coin, frequently croffing its branches, to Uxbridge, fome diftance below which, it turns directly aerofs the weftern part of Middlefex, and going through Norwood, winds round the northern extremity of Ofterley-park, near which it arrives at the banks of the Brent, and clofely accompanying the courfe of its ftream, enters the Thames with it between Sion-houfe and New Brentford. The extent of this canal is full ninety miles, exclufive of collateral cuts. It pafTes through two tunnels, in length, together., near three miles. It has 121 locks, dividing between them a rife and fall of 796 feet, of which, 417 feet is the elevation of the Oxford canal at the j unci ion, above the Thames at Brentford. There are collateral cuts to Daventry, one mile and a half; to Northampton, five miles; to Stoney Stratford, one mile and a half; and to Watford, two miles. On Aldenham-common, near Elftree, a refervoir is made covering eighty-two acres, three roods, and one pole. With the cock only half turned this lets out one third as much water as runs in the Coin. 1 The ;8 NAVIGABLE CANALS. • The fixed rates of tonnage on this canal are, for lime and lime-Hone, one half- penny per ton per mile j for flones, bricks, tiles, flate, &c. iron-ftone, pig-iron, and lead, and all manure, (except lime) three farthings ditto ; for catde of all kinds, one penny ditto; for coal and coak, one penny farthing ditto ; for all other goods, one penny halfpenny ditto. Coals are forbidden to be conveyed by the canal nearer to London than Grove-park, in Hertfordlhire. This canal is yet in an unfinished irate. The navigation is completed from the Thames to within a mile of Rickmanfworth ; and at the other end, from Blifvvorth, oppofite Towcefter, to the Oxford canal. Other intermediate parts are in forward- nefs ; and it is expected that the whole line, with the collateral branches, will be fit for navigation in about three years. That very able gentleman, Mr. Jeflbp, is the fuperintending engineer, and Mr. James Barnes the executive one, whofe indefatigable exertions in the company's fervice, and the abilities he has fhewn in the execution of the works, juftly entitle him to great praife, the parts already completed being fuperior to any of the like kind. On tracing the courfe of this navigation, it will be found to pafs through a country chiefly agricultural, but well peopled and opulent. The great articles of carriage may be expected to be, coal brought from the Warwickfhire and Stafford- ihire pits, lime, and manure of other kinds, and building materials. The advan- tages to be derived from greater plenty of fuel, and cheapnefs of manure, are almoft incalculable to a country hitherto fo much out of the courfe of the ready conveyance of thefe commodities, fo elTential to all improvements. Its interference with the Oxford canal is compenfated by certain agreements between the two com- panies, by which confiderable rates are to be paid for goods paffing from the Oxford to the Junction canal. The nut opolis cannot but be benefited by fuch an addition to its communication with the heart of the kingdom. The proprietors of the Grand Junction Canal have erected a capital warehoufe with a wet dock communicating with the Thames, between Blackfriars-bridge and the Temple, for the accommodation of all veflels navigating on their canals, and thofe connected with them, to London. This dock is ninety feet in length, and fixteen in width; and the building above is 132 feet long, and forty-five wide, with three floors. One veflel at a time lying under the building within cover may be loaded and unloaded very ipeedihy by means of machinery ; while goods may be loading and unloading by cranes from different parts of the building . without NAVIGABLE CANALS. 59 without interfering with this. The whole is one of the completeft plans of a warehoufe and docks on a fmall fcale, as yet eftablifhed on the Thames. We have already noticed it as an object on the river at page 43. It is computed that the whole expence of the Grand Junction canal, with all its cuts and collateral branches, will amount to 800,000/. Buckingham, Aylesbury, and Wendover, Canals. — In the enfuing feffion of Parliament, 1794, an act paffed for making navigable cuts to the Grand Junction canal from the towns of Buckingham, Aylefbury, and Wendover. That of Buckingham is to join the collateral cut made from the Junction canal to Old Stratford, at that place. Its length, fomewhat more than nine miles, with feven locks, and a rife of forty-two feet. That of Aylejbury is to join the" Junction canal in the pariili of Marfworth, Buckinghamlhire. Its length, fome- what lefs than feven miles, with eleven locks, and eighty feet fall. That of Wendover is to make navigable the cut or feeder before allowed to be made from Wendover to the fummit level of the Junction canal at Bulbourne in the parifh of Tring. Thefe communications will tend very much to the advantage of thofe parts of the country through which they pafs, which abound with corn and provifions, from which the London market derive great fupplies, and where fuel is fcarce, and at all times immoderately dear. St. Al ban's Canal. — In 1795 an act paffed for making a navigable canal from the collateral cut of the Junction canal at Watford, to the town of St. Alban's. The diftance is eight miles and three quarters, in which fpace there are to be eleven Jocks, with feventy-five feet rife. No tract on the courfe of the canals within the limits of ourfurvey, perhaps, more than this ftands in need of the benefit of water-carriage with refpect to the neceffary article of coal, which is at prefent fupplied to St. Alban's only by land from London, at an expence which makes an enormous addition to the high price paid for it at the market of the capital. Little progrefs has as yet been made in the execution of this ufeful defign. Paddington Canal. — The fame year, 1795, produced another act for the extenfion of the communications of the Grand Junction canal, remarkable as being the firfl fcheme for a canal navigation to be brought diredly to the fuburbs of the metro- polis. From the Junction canal at Bull-bridge-brook, near Cranford-park, in .the precindt of Norwood in Middlefex, it is to pafs through Northolt, Greenford, and Perivale, to Apperton in Harrow parifh, thence acrofs the Brent to Twyford, 1 Z and go NAVIGABLE CANALS. and proceeding in a pretty straight line, to terminate at Paddington by the fide of the Edgware road, nearly oppofite to the part where the City road falls into it. The length of this branch will be thirteen miles and a quarter, all on the level ; which will be a great advantage to the navigation in point of fpeed and pleafure. Befides the common objects of water-carriage, it cannot be doubted that the con- veyance of paflengers will prove a very material article in the bufinefs of this canal ; and it is difficult to form any eftimate of the numerous parties of pleafure which the novelty of paffage-boats gliding acrofs the fields of a beautiful country will attract from the crowded metropolis on the leifure days of fummer. The tract of this canal is now marking out by the furveyors, and it will be com- pleted with as much expedition as the nature of the undertaking will admit. The village of Paddington and its neighbourhood will probably in a few years experience a great augmentation, in confequence of an act obtained in 1795, by the bifhop of London, lord of the manor, enabling him to grant leafes of the lands belonging to that fee, with powers of renewal on fixed terms, fo that the pur- chafers will polfefs mod of the advantages of freehold. A wharf and warehoufes are to be erected for the canal company, and a market place for the accommodation of the inhabitants. An idea has been entertained, which we hope will be put in execution, of conti- nuing the Paddington canal round the northern fkirts of London into the Thames, one fide or other of the ifle of Dogs. This would prove extremely beneficial, particularly in the carriage of heavy articles, fuch as coal, flone, lime, and timber, which are now conveyed at a great expence by horfes to thofe parts of the town where new buildings are chiefly carrying on. It would likewife afford a cheap and fafe conveyance of paffengers to and from the eaftern and weftern fides of the metropolis. NEW ( * ) NEW RIVER. 'T^O tlie preceding account of navigable canals, it may not be unacceptable if wc fubjoin a more particular defcription than we have yet given of a canal or aqueduct for the fupply of water to the metropolis — deferving notice, as well for its magnitude and contrivance, as its utility. Though the water of the Thames is for many purpofes highly beneficial to London, yet its purity is liable to fo many alterations, that a copious fupply of unpol- luted element is an extremely deSirous addition. Further, the Thames water muft be forced to afcend by machines before it can be distributed even to the lower parts of the town ; whereas a Stream brought from the country to the northern fide of London may by its own gravity be made to flow in a natural defcent to any quarter of the widely-extended metropolis. From thefe considerations, a fpirited individual in the reign of James I., Sir Hugh Middleton, citizen and goldfmith, a native of Denbighshire, propofed the fcheme of bringing a fource of water out of Hert- fordshire in an artificial channel to London. Various difficulties arifing to check the fpirit of adventure in others, he at length, in the year 1608, commenced the undertaking at his own expence ; and after exhauSting all his fefources, and being refufed aid from the corporation of London, he was enabled, by the afliftance of King James, to bring it to completion. On September 29, 1613, the water was let into the New River-head at Iflington ; but the projector was ruined by his fuccefs, and it was long before the fcheme was rendered ufeful to the public, and beneficial to the proprietors. The fource of the New River is at Amwell, clofe by Ware, in Hertfordshire, about twenty miles from London, on the Hertford road. A number of fprings are here collected in a large, open bafon of considerable depth. At its Side is placed a large Stone with the following infeription : On the north fide, " Opened *' in 1608 j" on the fouth, " Conveyed 40 miles j" on the eaft, " Chadwell " fpring;" on the weft, " Repaired 1728." — The original fupply of water having been found inadequate to the confumption, the mill Stream of the river Lea, which runs near it, was reforted to ; and after various difputes and litigations between its proprietors and thofe of the New River; the mill has, at length, become the property of the latter company, who have now an unreftri&ed ufe of the 62 NEW HIVER. the water ; fo that the Lea may be reckoned one of its fources. On a fluice leading from it are flood-gates, with a building adjoining, in which a man is placed, whofe conftant employ is to raife or lower them according to the fullnefs of the river below; and that he may not err in the quantity fupplied, a gauge is fixed acrofs the fluice, confifting of a ftone of great bulk and weight, pallifadcd round, and from the road appearing like a tomb, under which all the water paffes ; fo that by this Ample contrivance it is perfectly eafy to regulate the current with the greateft exactnefs. In order to preferve a level, the New River takes fifch a winding courfe, that the length of its channel is very near thirty-nine miles. Its general direction is parallel to the Lea, at the diftance of a mile or two from it, on higher ground. It paffes Hoddefdon and Chefhunt, and enters Middlefex near Waltham-crofs. Making a great bend towards Enfield -chace, it returns to the town of Enfield ; and at Bufh-hill, fouth of tha£ place, it was formerly carried acrofs a valley in a wooden aqueduct, or open trough, 660 feet in length, fupported by arches ; but the modern improvements in canal-making have fuggefted a better mode of effecting the fame purpofe by means of a raifed mound of earth, over which the river paffes in a new channel, which was completed in the year 1785. From this place the river proceeds, with two very devious bends and returns, to Hornfey ; between which village and Highbury it was formerly conveyed acrofs a valley in another wooden aqueduct, 178 yards in length; now, like the other, exchanged for a raifed bank of clay. Still winding among the gentle elevations of this pleafant tract, it comes to the upper end of Stoke Newington, and thence paffes onward beneath Highbury to the eaft fide of Iflington, where it dips under the road in a fubterranean channel of 200 yards. Juft before this part is a brick building, whence are fent feveral mains for the fupply of the eaflern fide of London ; and a little above is a very ancient fpring, eight feet in depth, arched over, and running into the river. This is much ufed by the inhabitants of Iflington. After paffing the road, the New River rifes again, and coafts the fouthern fide of that town till it reaches its termination at New River-head, near Sadler's-wells. The width of the river under the bridges in the neighbourhood of Iflington is fourteen feet and a half; and the average depth is four feet fix inches; but the depth decreafes on afcending towards the fource. The number of bridges which crofs the river in its whole courfe is about 200 ; and in various places there are fluices to let off the wafte water, and other works, which might excite admi- ration in the earlier ftage of this "branch of mechanics, though now they appear 3 inconliderable NEW RIVER. 63 inconfiderable in comparifon with the wonders of canal navigation. The moft truly admirable are the contrivances for the distribution of the water through the feveral parts of London. From a circular bafon, now thrice its original fize, which firft receives it, the water is conveyed by flu ices into feveral large brick citterns ; whence it pafles through large wooden pipes of fix or feven inches diameter called mains and riders, to the various diftricts of the capital, into the houfes of which it is carried by means of leaden pipes. At the New River-head is a building containing two fleam engines and one water engine, for the purpofe of forcing up a part of the water to a higher refervoir near Penton- ville, in order for its more eafy diftribution into the weftern parts of the town, which are too nearly on the level of the bafon at the head. Near this refervoir, in a field, a confpicuous object, appears, the ufe of which is little known. It is an iron pipe, twelve feet in height, (including a wooden tub placed on its top) and four feet eight inches in circumference, erected about four years ago on a great main of pipes of the fame dimenfions. It acts in the double capacity of an air and a wafte water pipe, and is very ufeful in preventing that burfting of the pipes from the force of water or comprefled air, which was formerly fo frequent. Juft below, in the fame field, is another refervoir, fupplied by one main from the New River-head, and ferving the pipes in Pentonville and its vicinity. . A new one communicating with that at Pentonville is now conftructing by the fide of Tottenham-court-road. It is on the fame level with the other, and is intended particularly for the fupply of the new buildings in Marybone parifh and its vicinity. The mains from it are iron pipes of 4 feet 8 inches circumference, and 1 9 inches bore. The property of this concern was originally divided into feventy-two fhares, of which thirty-fix were vefted in Sir Hugh Middleton, who was obliged to part with them to various perfons. Thefe are termed the Adventurers' Shares. The other thirty-fix were vefted in the crown, a moiety of the undertaking having been made over to King James for the money advanced by him. They were alienated by Charles I., and are called King's Shares ; but as the crown never had any con- cern in the management, its reprefentatives are likewife excluded from the direc- tion. Thefe fhares are alfo fubjecr. to a grant of 500/. per annum, whence they are of lefs value than the others. The original value of the fevehty-two fhares was 100/. each; but fo difcouraging were the firft profpects, and fo mUch did the expences exceed the income, that they fell to a very fmall price, and their product . / was 64 NEW RIVER. was long under 5/. per annnm. At prefent they are near one hundred times their fir ft: value — a rife in property fcarcely to be paralleled, and fufficiently demonftxative of the amazing increafe of building and opulence in the capital ! The management of the company's affairs is veiled by charter in twenty-nine holders of adventurers' (hares, who form a board. The officers are a governor, deputy-governor, trea- furer, and clerk. There is a handfome houfe at the river-head occupied by the furveyor to the company. Few public companies in the metropolis furpafs this in the value of property and extent of concerns. The conflant repairs and improve- ments going on keep a vaft number of men and horfes in employ ; and the whole fyftem of the diftribution of the water is of fo complicated a nature as to require the greateft: fkill and attention on the part of the furveyor and other officers. The company has an office and commodious wharf a little above Blackfriars-bridge. The water of the New River is foft, and for the moil part fufKciently pure, though liable to become turbid after heavy rains. In fummer it undergoes a kind of pollution from the multitude of bathers who frequent that part of it which lies between Islington and Newington j but this injury, which is more in fancy than in reality, is compenfated as to public benefit by the advantages to health and cleanlinefs, derived from that application of the water. Decency, however, would require that the bathers mould with more flrictnefs be confined to retired places. It is to be lamented that the number of perfons drowned in the part of the river near London is very considerable. Thefe are for the moil: part fuicides ; as, indeed, the depth of the ffream is not in general fuch as to be hazardous to any but children in the way of accident. The Thames, in its whole courfe through the metropolis, is faid not to occafion fuch a lofs of lives, notwithstanding the multiplicity of accidents to which the crowd of people continually employed upon it are liable. But perfons falling into the Thames are ufually taken out by the activity of the by-ftanders, and recovered; whereas the fequeflered Situations in the New River prevent fuch aid, and invite the attempts of the unfortunate. The New River is a conftderable ornament to many of the feats and pleafure grounds which it vifits in its courfe ; though it has too much canal-like regu- larity to be truly piclurefque. It is likewife of great utility by affording a fupply of water for cattle and other purpofes. It contains a quantity of fiih. of various kinds, though the number of anglers' and poachers prevents them in general from .arriving at mature fize. 1 ( 6 S ) MIDDLESEX. Ossulston Hundred. CHELSEA. *HISo village, immediately contiguous to the weftern fide of the metropolis, and bounded on the fouth by the Thames, affords a variety of curious and inte- resting objects. We fhall firft give an account of the eftablifhment for which it is principally noted, its College ', or Royal Hofpital for maimed and fuperannuated foldiers. The original purpofe of this foundation, and that from which it derived its firfl title, was very different from its prefent deftination. In the reign of king James I. Dr. Sutcliffe, dean of Exeter, formed the plan of a college of polemical divines, by way of a Standing body of defenders of the orthodox faith, againft the attacks of papifts and feclaries. This defign was well adapted to the theological zeal of the king and the times ; and, accordingly, James confented to appear as its founder, and calling it after his own name, endowed it with lands at Chelfea, beftowed timber for the building out of the royal forefts at Windfor, and recommended it to the encouragement of his fubjects. He alfo procured an act of parliament to enable the college to raife a rent from water-works on the river Lea for the fupply of London. A charter for the institution, granted in 1610, mentions it to confift of a provoft and twenty fellows, eighteen of whom were to be in orders. Sutcliffe was the firfl provoft ; and he began, at his own expenfe, to erect the college, and at his death bequeathed considerable property to the carrying on of the defign. It however met with a variety of obftacles, and was foon, even in the Succeeding reign, perverted from its proper ufe. In theenfuing troublefome times it was feized by the parliament, and put to various purpdfes, particularly that of a military prifon. After the reftoration, the college and its property having fallen into the hands of the crown, were, in 1669, granted to the newly-incorporated Royal Society, which fold them in 1682 back to the king ; and then immediately commenced the prefent inftitution. In that year, Charles II. laid the firft ftone of a new edifice, of which k Sir 66 MIDDLESEX. Sir Chriftopher Wren was the architect. It was completed in 1690 at the expenfe of 150,000/. partly raifed by private donations. Sir Stephen Fox, fuppofed to have been the author of the project, was a large contributor. Its hiftory and pur- pofe are with elegant brevity recorded in the following inscription over the piazza on its fouth front. In subsidium et levamen emeritorum, senio bellooj/e fracto- RUM, CONDIDIT CaROLUS SECUNDUS, AUXLT JaCOBUS SECUNDUS, PER.- FECERE GULIELMUS ET MaRIA, REX ET REGINA, 1 69O. For the maintenance and relief of fuperannuated and difabkd foldiers, founded by Charles II., enlarged by James II., and completed by IVilliam and Mary in 1690. The modeft and flmple architecture of this building does not prevent a confider- able air of grandeur refulting from its great compafs, and the regularity of its plan. The material is red brick, varied with freeftone in the coins, cornices, pediments, and columns. The front extends the vaft length of 790 feet. In its centre is a pediment of freeftone, fupported by mafTy pillars of the Doric order, reaching to the roof. Behind it is an ample veftibule terminating in a dome or lantern. On the two fides, the front is occupied by a chapel and a hall; and beyond them are lower buildings, chiefly compofing apartments for the officers of the hofpital. On the back part, the principal building forms a quadrangle, open on the fouth to gardens bounded by the Thames. A ftatue of Charles II. is placed in the centre. The eaft and weft fides, each 365 feet in length, are the wards for the penfioners. On the centre of each are a ftone pediment and columns like thofe of the front. The governor's houfe is at the extremity of the eaft fide. It is provided with a very handfome ftate-room, decorated with fome regal portraits. Other courts are appropriated to various offices for the fervice of the inftitution ; as infirmaries, baths, laundries, &c. ; and the whole is kept perfectly neat, and in excellent order. A piece of ground to the front, of thirteen acres, enclofed with a wall, is planted with avenues of limes and horfe-chefnuts, forming broad and commodious walks. The gardens towards the river are extenfive ; and every thing fuitable for the com- fort and recreation of the veteran inhabitants, and the dignity of a great national eftablifhment, is liberally fupplied. There are, belonging to the hofpital, a gover- nor, lieutenant-governor, major, two chaplains, an organift, a phyfician, furgcon, and apothecary, a fecretary, fteward, treafurer, comptroller, and various fubordi- nate i as s S *=• 1 = ■g <=• -5 r'. ■8 S^ as € < — * p£ k. = £ o 5 **» , < 5 -i K ES MIDDLESEX. 67 nate officers. The number of ordinary refident pensioners will probably appear {"mail in proportion, being only 336. They have an uniform, red lined with blue, and are provided with lodging and diet, befides eight-pence per week in money. They mount guard, and perform other duties of a garrifon. A body of thirty-four, called light-horfe men, chofen out of the regiments of cavalry, have an allowance of two millings per week. The fervants, nurfes, &c. make the whole inhabitants of thehofpital amount to about 550. Of out-penfioners there are, 400 ferjeants, called the king's letter-men, who have one milling per day each ; and an unlimited number of privates, who have five-pence a day, and now amount to upwards of 21 ,000 men, difperfed over the three kingdoms. Thefe are liable to be called upon to act as invalids in time of war. For the maintenance of this grand inflitution an annual fum is voted by parliament, in addition to 7000/. arifing from the poundage of the houfehold troops. The burial-ground belonging to the hofpital contains the tombs of feveral perfons of note connected with it, and records fome extraor- dinary inftances of longevity in the penfioners. The annexed view of Chelfea-hofpital was taken from the fouth fide of the Thames. Between the front railing and the building is an extenfive garden, with canals from the river, well flocked with fiSh. On the right fide of the print, between the chimneys, is the Telegraph, forming'the firSt communication in the Portfmouth line from the Admiralty to Wimbledon-common. Adjacent to the Thames, at a fmall diflance from the college, is another public institution j the Botanical, or Phyfic Garden, belonging to the company of Apo- thecaries in London. The ground was taken by the company in 1 673 ; and the freehold of the premifes was afterwards bellowed upon them by Sir Hans Sloane, on the condition of their annually prefenting fpecimens of fifty new plants to the Royal Society. This munificent patron of fcience likewife contributed largely to the buildings and improvements of the garden : on which account his Statue, by Ry (brack, is properly made one of its decorations, as a teftimony of gratitude. A fpacious green- houfe, with a library over it, occupies a great part of one fide of the garden. The collection of curious and ufeful plants is a very refpectable one. Two large cedars of Lebanon, planted in the year 1683, form lingular and confpi- cuous objects on the water-fide. A botanical demonfirator is appointed by the company to give instructions upon the fpot to apprentices, relative to the nature and ufes of the plants cultivated there. K 2 Ranelagh. 68 MIDDLESEX. Ranclagh, a celebrated place of amufement, is alfo adjacent to Chelfea College. This was formerly part of the eftate of Richard earl of Ranelagh, who at the latter end of the laft, and the beginning of the prefent century, pofTciTcd a fine houfe and gardens on the fpot. On the fale of his property in 1730, the greater part of thefe premifes was converted into a place of public entertainment ; and in 1741 the fingular edifice called the Rotunda was erected. This is a vaft circular room of 185 feet diameter, furnifhed with an external range of boxes for tea-drinking, which leaves an interior circle of 1 50 feet diameter, round and round which the company walk. The roof is fupported by beams meeting in the centre and fuf- tained by a column from the floor, at the bottom of which is a chimney with four faces. The infide of the rotunda, when completely illuminated and filled with a well-dreiTed company, forms a fpectacle equally brilliant and uncommon ; and notwithstanding a degree of languor in the nature of the amufement, it continues to be a fafliionable place of refort. A concert begins the entertainment of the evening, which is concluded about twelve o'clock ; and from that time to three are the favourite hours for the befr. company. Fireworks are occafionally exhibited in the gardens. To proceed with the fubject of places of entertainment — the well-known coffee- houfe called Don Saltero's may be mentioned, named from its proprietor a century ago, one Salter, who furnifhed it with a number of articles of natural hifiory, antiquities, and curiofities of various kinds, which rendered it famous at that day, and the relics of which ftill amufe the company who refort to it. Its fituation in Cheyne's Walk, facing the river, and bordered by a fine row of trees, is very pleafant. Nor (hall we difdain to notice the Chclfea bun-houfe, which has been celebrated for the manufacture of that humble luxury for above a century. A fabric of porcelain at Chelfea once acquired great celebrity, but no longer exifts. In the fame premifes is now a manufactory of flained paper, ftamped after a peculiar manner, which employs about 100 hands. And at Whiteland's houfe in this parifh, is another manufactory of painted filk, linen, leather, cloth, and paper, for the hanging rooms, very beautifully executed, partly by ftamping, and partly by the hand, in which about an equal number are employed. MefTrs. Eck- hardts, natives of Holland, are the conductors of it. Chelfea alfo pofieiTes manu- factures of artificial fione, of fire-proof earthen ftoves, and of filtering (tones. Its water- works have already been mentioned in the account of the Thames. 1 The MIDDLESEX. 69 The parifh church is an irregular ftructure, moflly of brick, built at different periods. It contains various monuments of perfons of rank and eminence. One of the chapels Was erected by the truly illuftrious Sir Thomas More, who had a houfe at Chelfea, where he redded many years. Among the more remarkable monuments are, one of Jane, diitchefs of Northumberland, wife to John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, beheaded in queen Mary's reign ; of Sir Robert Stanley, fecond fon of William, earl of Derby j of lord and lady Dacre; of the family of Lawrence ; and of lady Jane Cheyne, the work of Bernini. In the church-yard is a finking monument of Sir Hans Sloane, Bart. M. D. the celebrated founder of the Britifh Mufeum, who died pofTefTed of the manor of Chelfea, which through him is now inherited by lord Cadogan. The parifh has alfo a cemetery at fome diftance from the church, by the king's road, given by Sir Hans Sloane. It has • two chapels of eafe ; Park-chapel near the church, and a new one near Bloody- bridge. The Moravians had a feminary, and ftill have a chapel at Chelfea, at which Sunday fervice is performed. It has a neat burial-ground. George Aufrere, Efq. who inhabits a houfe once in the pofTeffion of Sir Robert Walpole, has a very fine collection of pictures, chiefly by Italian mafters ; and in his garden is a famous flatue of Neptune, by Bernini, lately belonging to Sir Jofhua Reynolds. Lord Cremorne's villa alfo contains many good pictures, both Italian and Flemifli ; and a beautiful window of flamed glafs confifting of many fmall pieces, by Jarvis. Near the entrance of the cut which fupplied the Chelfea water-works, on the river fide, was lately erected, at a great expenfe, a vaft pile of buildings for a diftil- leryj but from various misfortunes, and too extenfive a plan for any moderate capital, it has remained hitherto unfinifhed and unoccupied. The increafe of buildings in this parifh of late years has been prodigious, fo that there is now fcarcely any interval between the village of Chelfea and Weft- minfter. Belgrave-place, a new row of buildings, forms its connexion with Pimlico and Lower Grofvenor-place. A very long and handfome flreet called Sloane-ftreet, terminating in a fquare, has alfo been opened from Chelfea to Knightfbridge, a confiderable part of which hamlet is in this parifh. Another fquare, called Hans- place, and fome intermediate ftreets, are connected with Sloane-ftreet, all together compofing a diftrict named Hans-town. The prefent number of inhabited houfes in the parifh is between 1200 and 1300. A great part of the land in Chelfea parifh, ?0 MIDDLESEX. parifh is occupied by market gardeners, and fome corn is grown in it alternately with other crops. KENSINGTON. THIS village, fituated on the great weftern road, about a mile and a half from Hyde-park Corner, is principally known as the feat of a royal palace. This edifice, formerly the houfe of Sir Heneage .Finch, afterwards earl of Nottingham and lord chancellor, was fold by his fon to king William, who, with his confort, relided much at it ; in which he was followed by the fucceeding fovereigns to the end of the lad reign. William and his queen, Anne, her confort George prince of Denmark, and George II. all ended their lives in this palace. The prefent royal family have entirely deferted it, and moft of the apartments are now occupied by private perfons, to whom permiffion has been granted for that purpofe. There is nothing very ftriking either in the fituation, or the building. The latter is a large irregular pile of bricks, raifed at different times. A fuite of twelve rooms confti- tutes the ftate apartments. The great ftaircafe and ceilings were painted by Kent. A good collection of pictures by old matters is found here, and particularly many valuable portraits of perfons recorded in Englifh hiftory. The gardens have been fucceffively enlarged, but principally by queen Caroline, who took for that purpofe 300 acres out of the adjacent Hyde-park ; and their circumference is now three miles and a half. They are fhaded by a great number of fine trees. The broad walk, extending along the fouth fide from the palace, is a very falhionable prome- nade in the fpring, efpecially on Sundays. Tickell has made Keniington-gardens the fcene of an elegant poetical tale, the beginning of which agreeably defcribes the fituation of the palace, and the difplay afforded by a public walk : Where Kenfington, high o'er the neighbouring lands, 'Midft greens and fweets, a regal fabric ! (lands, And fees each fpring luxuriant in her bow'rs, A fnovv of blofibms, and a wild of flow'rs, The dames of Britain oft in crowds repair To gravel walks and unpolluted air : Here, while the town in damps and darknefs lies, They breathe in funlhine, and fee azure (kies; Each walk with robes of various dies befpread Seems from afar a moving tulip-bed, Where rich brocades and glofly damafks glow, And chints, the rival of the fhow'ry boyv. The u 3 3 3 s ^ -1 N * Q 5> H ^ h S w * P L* > ■« fc^ *S> P a =-1 P MIDDLESEX. 71 The front of the palace is decorated by a fine piece of water, well flocked with fifh. At the bottom of the gardens is another, diftinguifhed by the name of the Serpentine River. This it derives from its feeder, which is however no more than a ferpentine ditch, which riling at Weft End near Hampftead, croffes the Edgware road at Kilboum, and continues its winding courfe through rich meadows to Bayf- water, and thence, under the Uxbridge road, to Kenfington-gardens. The nature of the foil through which it runs gives it a muddy appearance ; and as its water is only the draining of the meadows, it affords no fupply in the fummer months, A manfion in Kenfington parifh which forms a confpicuous object to the tra- veller, is Holland-houfe, fo named from Henry Rich, earl of Holland, by whofe father-in-law, Sir Walter Cope, it was erected in the year 1607. Its ample front, diftinguifhed by the complex and fantaftic architecture of that period, ftrikes the modern fpectator with its picturefque Angularity. The infide has fome fine deco- rations in the fame ftyle, ftill preferved in their original ftate. This houfe was a fcene of various politics during the civil war, under its wavering owner, the earl of Holland, who at length forfeited his life in a fpirited attempt to reftore that roy- alty which, by part of his public conduct, he had contributed to abolifh. A much, more dignified character afterwards pofTefTed this manfion — Mr. Addifon, who- married its heirefs, the countefs dowager of Warwick and Holland. Here that excellent man died in 171 9. Holland-houfe latterly came into the pofTeflion of the Fox family, whofe title is derived from it. It is now owned and inhabited by the prefent lord Holland. A gallery of great length occupying the weft: wing is furnifhed with portraits of the Lenox, Digby, and Fox families. Campden-houfe, fituated near the former, is a manfion of nearly the fame date, and built in a fimilar ftyle, though of inferior fize and grandeur. It was erected by Sir Baptift Hickes, created vifcount Campden in 1628, and from him came into the Noel family. It was for fome time the refidence of queen Anne, then, princefs of Denmark, with her fon, the young duke of Gloueefter. Nicholas Lechmere, a celebrated lawyer, ennobled in 1721, lived in it, and tranfmitted it to- the Lechmeres of Worcefterfhire. It is now the property of Stephen Pitt, Efq. a minor ; but is occupied as a boarding-fchool for young ladies. Its garden is diftinguifhed by a caper-tree, which has borne the winters of this climate near a century. The parifh church of Kenfington is a brick ftructure, erected and repaired at various 7 2 MIDDLESEX. various periods, with a more ancient tower fteeple. It contains monuments and memorials of" the Warwick and Holland family, and of various other peribns of different ranks. One of the vicars of Kenfington, whofe tomb is in the church- yard, was that eminent literary character and liberal divine, Dr. John Jortin. There is a private chapel in the hamlet of Brompton in this parifh ; and a meeting- houfe for diffenters of the prefbyterian clafs. The population of the parifh has rapidly increafed within the prefent century, efpecially of late years, during which a great acceffion of buildings has taken place, particularly in Brompton. Others almoft join the village of Kenfington with Hammerfmith. There are now about 1 200 inhabited houfes in the parifh. Kenfington Gravel-pits, on the north fide of the parifh*, has been a noted refort of invalids, efpecially thofe labouring under confumptive complaints, on account of the fuppofed purity of ks air. The pariih is varioufly cultivated in paffure, meadow, and arable. A confiderable portion of it is occupied by market-gardens and nurfery-grounds. PADDINGTON. THIS is one of the villages in the vicinity of the metropolis, now almoft annexed to it by contiguity of buildings. It is fituated on the Edgware road, lefs than a mile north of Tybourn-tumpike. Nev; buildings, preceded by new garden- grounds, are faft extending along the Kilbourn road. The parifh, moflly confifting of meadow and paflure land, extends near two miles from Tybourn to Kilbourn turnpikes. The objects of curiofity in Paddington are few. Some of its principal buildings furround a green, which has a pleafant rural air. Here is a handfome brick edifice called Paddington-houfe, erected by Mr. Dennis Chirac, jeweller to queen Anne. A capital manfion called Wejlbourne-placc, built and owned by the architect Ifaac Ware, is within this parifh, in a remarkably pleafant and retired fituation. It is now the property of Jukes Coulfon, Efq. Bayfwater tea-gardens, a place of enter- tainment much frequented, were formerly occupied by the noted Sir John Hill, who cultivated and prepared his innocent vegetable medicines in this place. At Bayf- water is an ancient conduit (forming the fubject of a plate for this Avork). It is fituated a little diftance north of the Uxbridge road, nearly hidden from view by houfes s/iarrrtf .ttf///i VlEWoF ihe COMJUIT at BAYS-WATER .A ' !>. ,/,/.,/, /,', ,-„,/,//,.. MIDDLESEX. 73 houfes and trees. It is built of flone, and roofed with the fame material, and has a door of plated iron. An infcription above the door mentions that it was repaired in 1635. It is rendered a pleafing object, from the antiquity of its appearance, and from a conftant ftream of cryftal water proceeding from it, as reprefented in the print. This is the overplus water ; which, with two other fprings near it, forms nearly the whole of the fupply of the Serpentine River in Kenfington-gardens in dry feafons. Except thefe fprings, fcarcely any water is met with but at very great depths for feveral miles to the northward. The conduit at Bayfwater is now the property of the Chelfea water- work company. Its water, which is copious, is conveyed through the fields and along Oxford- ftreet in pipes. It fupplies the houfes in and about Bond-ftreet. At Weftbourn-houfe, though within a fhort dis- tance of the conduit, a well was lately funk two hundred and eighty feet deep before the workmen came to a fpring. Before we quit this place, we cannot help noticing another attempt to gain water by finking a well, at Norland-houfe, the feat of Luke Vulliamy, Efq. one mile from Bayfwater, at the two mile-ftone on the Uxbridge road. It was begun and carried on at a very confiderable expenfe, and for a long time produced nothing but difappointment, in confequence of treacherous quickfands, &c. The owner was nearly tired out ; but ftill perfevering with hopes, as the premifes and ground wanted nothing but water to make a mofl defirable retreat, at laft, to his great joy, the digger, at two hundred and fixty feet depth, flruck his pick-axe into a flrong fpring, which gufhed out with fuch force, that it was with difficulty he was got out before the well was filled, leaving his tools behind him. It throws up about forty-eight gallons in one minute, flowing fome feet above the furface. The water is remarkably foft, as clear as cryftal, and now fupplies two fim-ponds, one of which is flocked with trout, which thrive remarkably well. It is faid to be fofter than rain-water, and for that reafon is fetched from London by the upholfterers to wafh their feathers in. A lying-in hofpital called the queen's, her majefly being patro- nefs, is fituated at Bayfwater. In the time of the great plague there were pefl- houfes at this place, and fome on the fpot flill bear that name. The church at Paddington is a new and handfomc edifice, of Grecian archi- tecture, with a Doric portico, and a cupola. The pariah being chiefly church land, it has partaken little of the modern increafe of building, till lately, that about 100 fmall cottages for the ufe of workmen and artificers have been erected. The whole prefent number of houfes is about 350. L A Lirvey n MIDDLESEX. A furvey for a canal from Paddington round the northern fide of London to Moorfields, and from thence to the river Lea, was made in 1773, by Robert Whit- worth, Efq. by order of the city of London, in which James Sharp, Efq. took an active part; but the fcheme was not brought to execution. Another furvey has been taken by the Grand Junction Canal Company, and a bill for carrying the fame into force is now before parliament, and it is to be hoped will meet with that fuccefs which fo ufeful an undertaking deferves. P A N C R A S. ABOUT a mile to the north of London ftands the church of St. Pancras, belonging to a parifh of great extent, which, comprehending part of what is now included in the metropolis itfelf, as Tottenham-court-road, and feveral ftreets to the weft of it, extends as far as Highgate northwards, and Battle-bridge eaft- wards. The ground not occupied by buildings, brick-kilns, &c. is almoft entirely devoted to meadow and pafturage. The church is a mean ancient ftructure, very difproportionate in fize to its parochial jurifdiction. It is of particular note for the predilection thofe of the Roman catholic perfuafion have long had for inter- ment within it and its church-yard. From a copious lift of its monuments we felect the names of Cooper, the famous miniature-painter in the laft century, Leoni the architect, Van Bleck the portrait-painter, Woolett the engraver, count Haflang the Bavarian minifter, Paxton the mufician, and baron de Wenzel the oculift. A fpacious new cemetery has lately been added to the old crowded one. Near the church itfelf is no considerable collection of houfes, and what there are have moftly been erected within a very few years. The public houfe known by the name of the Adam and Eve, with its tea-gardens, is indeed of old ftanding. On the London fide of the parifh, the mod remarkable objects are, the hofpital for the fmall-pox, both natural and by inoculation, the Foundling Hofpital, and the Welch Charity School; inftitutions of which a more particular account is elfcvvhere given*; Bagnigge Wells, a noted place of public entertainment, poffeffing two medicinal fprings, one chalybeat, and the other cathartic; and St. Chad's well, the water of which is diuretic and aperient. Somers-town is a hamlet of Pancras fituated to the fouth-weft of the church, and confifting of feveral ftreets * In the preceding volume of the Hiftory of London. newly MIDDLESEX. 75 newly erected, with a chapel of eafe called Bethel chapel. Camden-town is ano- ther ftill newer hamlet, forming a ftreet along the Hampftead road, from which feveral others are to branch out when the plan is completed. In this town an efta- blifhment has been formed of a kind abfolutely new in this country, though not unfrequent on the continent. It is a Veterinary College, or place for the treatment of lamed and difeafed horfes, with an inftitution for regular and fcientific inftruc- tion in the art of farriery. Large buildings have been erected for its feveral pur- pofes ; and a profeffor refident on the fpot gives lectures to pupils, who are encou- raged by a certainty of employment in the cavalry. This inftitution was founded by private fubfcription ; but its pecuniary embarraffments have been relieved by parliamentary aid. The hamlet of Kent ijh-t own, lying to the north of Pancras church, confifts of a long ftreet afcending to the high ground near Highgate, and chiefly compofed of boxes and lodging-houfes for the accommodation of the inhabitants of London, with boarding-fchools, public houfes, &c. The higher parts of it enjoy an extenfive profpect. New rows of houfes have almoft connected it with the bottom of Highgate-hill. There is a neat chapel of ancient foundation, lately rebuilt. Further on, within the limits of this parifh, is Cane or Ken-wood, the very plea- fant feat of lord Mansfield, which by its ftately woods and extenfive grounds gives an idea of a nobleman's domain beyond what one would expect fo near the capital. It fpreads over a large fpace of the -ground between the hills of Hamp- ftead and Highgate, and forms a beautiful feature in the landfcape they compofe, It derived celebrity from its owner, the great earl of Mansfield, who purchafed it in 1755 of lord Bute, and made it his principal fummer refidence. He added to the houfe its greateft ornament, a fine library room defigned by Adam, and painted by Zucchi. Several bufts and portraits of eminent men fuitably decorate this feat. His fucceflbr, the late earl of Mansfield, made large improvements in the houfe, and took in a considerable extent of land to the pleafure-grounds, befides turning the road, which formerly ran clofe to the houfe, to fome diftance from it. We cannot help mentioning, before we quit this feat, that if the accommodation of the public had been originally attended to, rather than private convenience, the great north road ought to have turned off to the left from the bottom of Highgate- hill, and paffed through Cane- wood between the Hampftead and Highgate hills ; by which means, on cutting through a narrow hill, a level might nearly have been l 2 obtained 7 <5 MIDDLESEX. obtained with the northern diflritt, and the great inconvenience of the afcent and defcent of Highgate-hill have been avoided. Scarcely any parifh in or about London has had fo great an increafe of buildings and population within a few years as that of Pancras. Befides the two entirely new towns that have been mentioned, great building-fchemes have been executed about Battle-bridge, the Foundling-hofpital, and especially in and near Tottenham- court-road ; fo that the prefent number of houfes is thought to be under-rated at 4000. The increafe in the value of the living is proportionable to that of its popu- lation. We have been well informed, that whereas the late rector did not make more than 600/. per annum of it, the prefent incumbent, the Rev. Mr. Champ- neys, values it at the fum of 2500/., which is (till yearly augmenting. The living is in the patronage of the dean and chapter of St. Paul's. ISLINGTON. THIS village, which by its extent exhibits the appearance of a confiderable town, lies due north of St. Paul's cathedral, at the diftance of about a mile from the proper limits of the. city, though almofl joined to it by contiguity of new buildings. Iflington is a place of great antiquity, and has for centuries been a fort of rural appendage to London, to the inhabitants of which it has afforded the advantages of good air and country lodgings, and a nurfery for young children. There are feveral houfes of ancient date in the town, but none that afford much matter for curiofity, except a lofty brick tower, the remains of Canonbury-houfc, originally a country refidence of the priors of St. Bartholomew in London, and fucceffively inhabited by feveral perfons of diftinclion. The tower is now let out in feparate apartments to lodgers, and has been occupied by fome perfons of note in the literary world, among whom where Ephraim Chambers, and Dr. Goldfmith. A capital manfion once exifting at Highbury-place has long exhibited no relics but its moat. On its fite is the villa of Alexander Aubert, Efq. diftinguifhed by its obfervatory, furnifhed with an excellent aftronomical apparatus. The parifh. church is a modern brick edifice, ornamented with ffone, and fur- nifhed with a fpire fleeple, a confpicuous object from the neighbourhood. The living is a vicarage, under private patronage. Dr. Cave, the celebrated ecclefiaftical hifforian-, MIDDLESEX. 77 hiftorian, was vicar here in the laft century. The methodifts have a chapel in Iflington ; and there is a meeting for the independents. At Iflington the New River finifhes its winding courfe. Of this excellent fupply of the metropolis with water we have given a very particular account in the preceding pages. Near Iflington is a chalybeat fpring of fome note, refembling that of Tunbridge, and known by the name of Iflington Spa, or New Tunbridge Wells. One Sadler, who either' difcovered or new-opened the fpring, fet up near it a mufic-houfe, fince converted into the well-known place of amufement called Sadler's Wells, diftin- guilhed by its performances of dancing, tumbling, and pantomime. White- conduit Houfe, near Iflington, is much frequented as a tea-drinking place.- It takes its name from an ancient ftone conduit near it, now difufed. Great acceflions of building have of late years been made to Iflington ; parti- cularly at the northern end, where the handfome and pleafant rows of building called Highbury -place and Terrace have been erected ; and toward? the weft, where a whole new town has been built, under the name of Pentonville, from Mr. Penton, the gentleman to whom the land belonged. It has a neat chapel, which ftands (as does moft of the hamlet) in the parifh of St. James, Clerkenwell. The end towards Newington-green has likewife been augmented by feveral ftreets and rows of houfes. The prefent number of houfes in Iflington parifh is about 1200. The burials of this place very much exceed the baptifms, on account of the number of nurfed children who die here. Many invalids alfo refort to it for the air ; though its increafed fize and contiguity to the town have much impaired the advantage its elevation would otherwife give it in this refpect. Highbury, however, yet enjoys an uncontaminated atmofphere. The land about Iflington is almoft entirely pafture and meadow, and chiefly in the occupation of cow-keepers for the fupply of the metropolis. The number of cows kept runs from 1200 to 1500. Many bricks are made in the part adjoining to Hackney parifh ; where is alfo a considerable manufacture of white lead. HACKNEY. THIS parifh, fituated at a fmall diftance to the north-eaft of London, contains, befides the town of the fame name, the contiguous hamlets of Upper and Lower 7 3 MIDDLESEX. Lower Clapton, and Homerton, with various appurtenances, all together compo- fing one of the largeff. and mofl opulent villages in England. Notwithstanding its fituation on a tract of ground almoft, level, the goodnefs of its foil, and the artificial beauties of plantation and culture with which it is decorated, together with its convenient diftance, have long rendered it a favourite refidence for perfons engaged in the commerce of the metropolis, who wifh to withdraw from its noife and fmoke. It is confequently furnifhed with many excellent houfes, poffeffed of every defir- able convenience and ornament, though none of them afford much matter to excite the curiofity of a ftranger. The chief diverfities of ground are the low and marfhy parts on the banks of the Lea, and the elevated fites of Upper Clapton and Stam- ford-hill, which laft enjoy extenfive profpects into Effex and Middlefex. The parifh church of Hackney, an irregular pile erected at different periods, having been found too fmall for the increasing number of parifhioners, has lately "been exchanged for a large new brick edifice built in a neighbouring field, which, after much delay and unexpected coft, is at length fitted for the reception of a congregation. The old church and church-yard are well filled with monuments ; of which the more remarkable are, thofe of Chriftopher Urfwick, an eminent ftatefman under Henry VII. and rector of this parifh; Thomas Wood, Efq. and fons ; the Rowe family; the Blackall family; and J. Sotheby, Efq. A tomb formerly exifled here of Henry, earl of Northumberland, who died at his manor of Hackney in the reign of Henry VIII. The living of Hackney is a vicarage, prefented by a lay rector. Other places of worfhip in the parifh are, a chapel at Homerton, now ufed as a methodift meeting; another at Upper Clapton; a meeting-houfe of diffenters of the prefbyterian denomination, called the Gravel-pit ; one of independents in St. Thomas's-fquare, and another in Homerton. The Jews have a burial-ground in Grove- ftreet. Many men of considerable eminence in literature have officiated at thefe places. Archbifhop Sheldon was fome time vicar here. Mr. Peter New- come, vicar in the beginning of this century, the author of a courfe of fermons, founded a boarding- fchool, which has continued in reputation to the prefent time under the fame family. Dr. John Worthington, an eminent divine, and John Strype the antiquary, were lecturers of Hackney. The prefbyterians reckon Nye and Byfield, Bates and Henry, among their ancient paflors ; and the diftinguifhed names of Price and Prieftley appear among the late ones. Among the remarkable I perfons MIDDLESEX. 79 perfons who were born at Hackney, or made it their refidence, may be mentioned Sir Ralph Sadleir, a ftatefman of eminence in the reigns of Henry VIII. and Eliza- beth ; John Ward, the rich ufurer, rendered notorious by Pope; Dr. Mandeville, author of the Fable of the Bees : and the truly philanthropical John Howard. The population of Hackney has kept pace in its increafe with that of moft of the villages in the vicinity of London. The prefent number of houfes in the whole parifli is eftimated at about 1600. There are a few manufactures for the employ of the inhabitants ; as lead- works at the Temple mills, fome filk mills at the Wick, fome calendering, colour-making, and calico-printing, Of the farms in the parifh, about two-thirds are in grafs, and chiefly occupied by cow-keepers. There are fome market-gardeners, and two confiderable nurfery-men j and large quantities of bricks are made, particularly about Kingfland. STRATFORD-BOW. THIS village, commonly called Bow, lying to the eaft of London, terminates the county of Middlefex on that fide, being feparated only by the ftream of the river Lea from Effex. It is fuppofed to take its name of Bow from a bridge of one arch built over the river by queen Matilda. The place is of fmall extent, and has not partaken of the late increafe of building round the metropolis. Many of its houfes have a confiderable air of antiquity. At Old- Ford, a hamlet in the parifh where was the ancient ford over the river, are fome fmall remains of a man* fion, commonly, though probably erroneoufly, called king John's palace. Its fite now belongs to Chrift's-hofpital. The parifh church of -Bow, an ancient edifice of flint and ftones, with a tower fteeple, was originally a chapel of eafe to Stepney. It became parochial in 1719. The principal manufacture of the village is calico-printing, now chiefly carried on at the grounds of Macmurdo and Co. at Old- Ford, where a confiderable number of people are kept in conftant employ. There is at! the fame place a chemical work for the making of fal ammoniac. Scarlet-dying for the Eaft India company was once largely practifed in this village, but the bufinefs has now left it. The land belonging to the parifh is nearly an equal mixture of arable and grafs. Some of it is occupied by nurfery-grounds and gardens. The number of houfes is about 330. STEPNEY. 8o MIDDLESEX. STEPNEY. THE parifh of Stepney, or Stebunhethe, contiguous to, and now forming part of, the eaftern fide of the metropolis, is fituated in the precinct of the Tower- hamlets, and occupies moft of the fpace between the Mile-end road and the Thames, from Whitechapel to Bow, extending alfo in fome places to a confiderable diftance beyond the Mile-end road. It was formerly much more extenfive ; but feveral of its hamlets, covered by buildings and annexed to the metropolis, have been made feparate parifhes. Stepney now contains four hamlets ; Ratcliffe, Mile-end old town, Mile-end new town, and Poplar and Black wall conjunctly. The manor of Stepney, anciently part of the epifcopal demefne of London, was alienated in the reign of Edward VI. and has been tranfmitted through various hands to the Cole- brooke family, in whom the reverfion now refides after the death of Sir G. Cole- brooke. The prefent poffeffor is Jonathan Eade, Efq. The ancient manor-houfe of Stepney is fuppofed to have been fituated at a place called Bifhops'-hall, now in the parifh of Bethnal-green. There were feveral inferior manors, and old man- fions, of which fome remains ftill exift. The moft remarkable relic is a gateway of very fine brick-work, and inhabited, formerly belonging to Worcefter-houfe, a large manfion of the firft marquis of Worcefter. It is fituated oppofite the rectory, and was the birth-place of that very eminent phyfician Dr. Richard Mead, whofe father, the Rev. Matthew Mead, was a diffenting minifter here. A wooden edifice, now the Spring-garden coffee-houfe, was the refidence of Sir Henry Colet, father of the celebrated Dr. Colet, once vicar of Stepney, and afterwards dean of St. Paul's, and founder of St. Paul's fchool. The parifh church of Stepney is a large irregular Gothic building with a fquare tower. On the out fide are fome rude carvings ; and both the church and church- yard are well furnilhed with tombs, few of them, however, entitled to particular notice. One of the moft confpicuous in the church is that of Sir Henry Colet. Many are of fea-faring people. That diftinguifhed naval character, admiral Sir John Leake, is buried in the church-yard, and has a long hiftorical infeription to his memory. The living is a rectory, under the patronage of Brazen-nofe college, Oxford. A large congregation of proteftant diffenters has long fubfifted in this parifh ; and there are now various other places of worfhip belonging to the fepara- tifts. It appears that Stepney was a great fufRrer in the plague of 1 665. The number MIDDLESEX. 8i number of perfons who died, of it during that year in the parifh (then more extent five) was 6583 -, of thefe, 154 perfons were buried on the fingle j ith of September. The hamlet of Poplar and Blackball, containing about 600 houfes, moft of them old, has a chapel of eafe of its own, a neat brick ftruclure, almoft entirely rebuilt by the Eaft India company in 1776. It contains many monuments, chiefly of perfons connected with the company ; among the reft one of Dr. Glofter Ridley, a poet, hiftorian, and divine of diftindtion, who was long chaplain of Poplar, where he refided. Adjoining the chapel are alms-houfes belonging to the Eaft India company, confifting of twenty-two tenements, for the widows of inferior officers and feamen, who are fupported by quarterly penfions. Within this hamlet is Stepney marfh, or the Ifle of Dogs, a peninfula confifting of 836 acres, lying within the bend of the Thames between Blackwall and Ratcliffe. It is embanked from the river, and forms an excellent pafture for the fattening of fheep and cattle. Blackwall, at the eaftern extremity of the hamlet, where it runs out to the bounda- ries of the county, has long been of note for its fhip-yard and docks, which under the prefent owner, John Perry, Efq. have been rendered the moft extenfive and well-contrived in the kingdom, belonging to an individual. He has made a fpa- cious bafon, capable of receiving twenty-eight Eaft Indiamen and fifty or fixty fmaller fhips, furnifhed with the moft commodious wharfs, cranes, and other conveniences, a boiling- houfe and warehoufes for the Greenland fifhery, and a vaft piece of mechanifm for mailing and difmafting Eaft India fhips, greatly preferable to the fheer-hulks ufually employed. His buildings for naval ftores, timber-yards, roperies, &c. are all on a proportionate fcale ; and the whole number of hands em- ployed by him is on the average about 300. Off Blackwall fome of the homeward Eaft Indiamen are ufually lying, for the ufe of which is a line of public houfes, &c. along the river. The hamlet of Ratc/iffe is in the weftern divifion of the parifh, and confifts of a number of ftreets chiefly occupied by perfons concerned in the trade on the river. One of the greateft fires that has been known in London within this century hap- pened here on 23d of July 1794, which deftroyed 455 houfes, and thirty-fix warehoufes. There are feveral alms-houfes, fchools, and places of worfhip in this hamlet. It contains a dock, an Eaft India warehoufe for faltpetre, two large rope- ries, and a noted manufacture of window glafs. Mile-end Old Town occupies the greater part of the northern fide of the parifh. It m contains 8 4 MIDDLESEX. contains two burying-grounds of the Portuguefe Jews, and one of the German or Dutch Jews, which are confiderable objects of curiofity. There is alfo a very tuat hofpital and an alms-houfe for the Portuguefe Jews. In this hamlet area hartfh >rn manufacture, another for fpunges for mips, two roperies, and three large brewe- ries. On the north fide of the Mile-end road are four charitable cftablifhments belonging to public bodies : the alms-houfes of the corporation of the Trinity ; Bancroft's hofpital, a large and handfome edifice containing alms-houfes and a charity-fchool, founded in 1727 by Francis Bancroft, citizen of London and draper; the fkinners', and vintners 1 alms-houfes. The hamlet of Mile-end New Town ftands detached from the reft of the parifh on the northern fide. The whole parifh of Stepney contains about 1530 acres, exclufive of the fite of buildings, of -which by far the greater part are meadow, pafture, and marfh. There is fome arable and garden ground. The foil is chiefly loam and gravel. The number of houfes is about 3100; of inhabitants, 17,000. The population has greatly increafed within late years, and feems ftill augmenting. The ravages of the fire at Ratcliffe are all repaired, and the calamity, as ufual, has ended in improvement. NEWINGTON -STOKE. THIS agreeable village is about the diftance of three miles north from the eaftern part of London, upon the great north road through Ware. The ground on which it ftands is a continuation of the level from London, and does not rife till the road has juft parted the village and begins to afcend Stamford-hill, in the parifh of Hackney. The beft part of Newington confifts of a long ftreet extending from the high road to the church, beyond which, the New River in its circuitous courfe flowing by the end of the town, fronts a very pleafant range of houfes called Paradife-row. The new houfe and pleafure-grounds of Jonathan Hoare, Efq. in this neighbourhood, form the moft diftinguifhed ornament of the village. The parifh church is a fmall irregular ftructure, built at different times, wirh a low tower. In it are a number of monuments, among which the moft remarkable are thofe of Mr. Dudley, and of the Hartopp and Hurlock family. The living is a re&ory in the jurifdiction of the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, and under the patronage of the prebendary of Newington. There is a diffenting meeting-houfc in MIDDLESEX. 83 in the village, and another in the neighbouring hamlet of Newington-green. This laft place is a fmall fquare of houfes pleafantly built round a green, at the diflance of half a mile. Newington at different periods has been inhabited by feveral perfons of note. Edward, earl of Oxford, in the reign of queen Elizabeth, had a'houfe here, of which fome fmall remains are fuppofed to exift in the barn of a cow-keeper. It was probably from a vifit of the queen's either to this nobleman, or to the earl of Leicefter, who feems alfo to have refided here, that a walk planted with large elms received the name which it now retains of Queen Elizabeth's Walk, Sir John Pop- ham, lord chief juftice of the queen's bench, refided at Newington, as did alfo his fon, Sir Francis, a ftrenuous oppofer in parliament of the meafures of Charles I. Fleetwood, fon-in-law to Oliver Cromwell, pofTefTed a houfe here, in which he fpent his latter days in peace after the Refloration. His fon-in-law was Sir John Har- topp, who occupied the fame houfe after him, as did his fucceffors, the Hartopps and Hurlocks. It is now Mrs. Crifp's boarding-fchool for young ladies. The prefent manor-houfe, built by Mr. Gunfton, and afterwards the property of Sir Thomas Abney, was for many years the hofpitable retreat of that amiable and eminent divine Dr. Watts. Other diftinguifhed occaflonal inhabitants of Newington were the celebrated Daniel Defoe* ; Anderfon, the laborious writer on commerce ; James Burgh, author of Political Difquifitions, and other works; Thomas Day, writer of Sandford and Mertonj and the benevolent John Howard. Thomas Cooke, Efq. a Turkey merchant, known by the liberal pecuniary relief he afforded to Charles XII. of Sweden, as well as by many Angularities, was alfo long a refi- dent here. Newington has partaken lefs of the increafe of building than raoft of the vil- lages about London, and its annual burials have rather diminished than increafed for fifteen years paft. The additional buildings on the eaft fide of the high road are in Hackney pariih. The number of houfes in the parifh is about 300. The land is almoft all in grafs, except a few acres occupied by market-gardeners. * The life of this writer has lately been minutely detailed by George Chalmers, Efq. who has bellowed much curious refearch upon the fubje6t. m 2 - HORNSEY. 84 MIDDLESEX. H O R N S E Y. ABOUT five miles to the north of London lies the retired village of Hornfey, in a fituation perfectly rural, and fertile of natural beauties. The country in this part, riling into fmall hills, affords a continual variety of furface, and is clothed in almoft perpetual verdure. The New River winding through it enlivens the fcenery, though its canal-like uniformity of breadth and banks rather fuits the crea- tions of art than the landfcapes of nature. A confiderable quantity of wood, with which fome of the eminences are covered, impreffes, however, fomewhat of a wild character on this tract. The manor of Hornfey is an ancient demefne of the fee of London ; and its great park is recorded in our hiftories as the place where fome of the powerful barons affembling in arms in 1386, obliged the mifguided Richard II. to difmifs his obnoxious favourites. Hornfey parifh, befides the village of the name, contains the hamlets of Crouch- end, Mufwell-hill, Stroud-green, and the greater part of Highgate. Of this laft place we mall, however, treat feparately. The village of Hornfey is fmall. Its church is an old building, with a low fquare tower, embattled, and of remarkable thicknefs. Of its monuments, one of the moft remarkable is that of Richard Can- difh, Efq. a member of parliament in the reign of Elizabeth. There is likewife one of Samuel Buckley, the editor of Thuanus. The hamlet of Crouch-end is a fmall collection of houfes in a hollow between Hornfey and Highgate. That of Mufwell-hill lies to the north- weft, and is perched upon a fine eminence, affording a delightful profpect. A chapel, with a noted image of the Virgin Marv, once flood here, and great medicinal virtues were fuppofed to belong to a well, whence the place took its name. But though the fpring remains, its virtues are forgotten. The farm of Mufwell-hill is at prefent the property of lady Bath. At fome diftance from Hornfey, near Newington, is a rough tract of ground covered with dwarf trees and underwood, called Hor/ifcy-wood, well known to the inhabitants of London on account of a plcafant tea-drinking houfe on its edge, much frequented on Sundays and holidays. The number of houfes in Hornfey pariih is about 420, of which 264 are in the hamlet of Highgate, and the remainder in the places above defcribed. The land ot the parilh is for the moft part in meadow and pafture ; but the quantity of wafte MIDDLESEX. 85 wafte and wood land is not inconfiderable. A new turnpike road paffing by New- ington-green to Southgate, and joining the Barnet road, fo as to avoid Highgate- hill, runs along this pariih. H I G H G A T E. HIGHGATE-HILL, crowned with its houfes and gardens, is one of the moll confpicuous obje&s on the northern fide of London, and together with its fifter- eminence of Hampftead agreeably varies the line of the horizon. It is the fteepeft and boldeft of the two, and prefents fomewhat romantic in the dark made of its hanging groves. The great north road by Barnet, running level from Iflington to the ftraggling hamlet of Holloway, thence rifes fuddenly up the hill to Highgate. The fummit and part of the defcent are covered by the village, built chiefly on the fide of the great road, and of the lanes leading to Hampftead, Kentifh-town, and Hornfey, towards all which places the ground defcends. The view every way is extenfive and pleafing. Highgate has a chapel of eafe under the pariih church of Hornfey. It is a brick edifice, that has undergone fucceffive enlargements and repairs. Its moft remark- able monuments are thofe of Mr. Piatt and his wife, Dr. Atterbury (brother to the bifhop), Sir Edward Gould, and Sir Francis Pemberton. There is an endowed grammar-fchool near the chapel, the matter, of which is afternoon preacher. High- gate has alfo a prefbyterian mceting-houfe, and a methodift chapel. Some eminent perfons have been refident at this place. The literary family of Blount had a houfe at Upper Holloway. That learned peer the marquis of Dor- chefter poffefTed a manfion at Highgate ; as did that eminent lawyer, chief juftice Pemberton. Highgate has feveral houfes of confiderable antiquity. It has received little acceffion of building latterly, and its population does not appear to have increafed for many years paft. Adjoining to the village is an elegant villa of the earl of Southampton's, called Fitzroy-fartn, the grounds of which border upon Cane- wood. The view on this fide is extremely pleafing, and is much enlivened by the large ponds belonging to the Hampftead water-works, the fource of which is in Cane-wood. A great difcouragement to building on Highgate-hill is want of 86 M I D 13 LESEX. of water, which can only be procured by finking Wells to an extraordinary depth. The annexed view of London was taken from a field on the top of the hill adjoining the foot-path, on the right-hand fide of the quick-hedge. It compre- hends Weftminfter-abbey on the right, and Shooter's-hill in the back-ground to the left. Here it may not be improper to remark, that feveral journies were made to High- gate and the neighbouring eminences with intent to take a view of the metropolis. By experience it was found that the beft time for viewing London was about three o'clock in the afternoon, of a bright, clear fummer's day, with little haze, and a northerly wind. At this hour the people of the middle clafs have drefled their dinners, and the cooks of the rich have not yet begun to make their fires. F I N C H L E Y. THIS is a fmall village, fituated about a mile to the weft of the great north road, about eight miles from London. The name is chiefly known by being annexed to the neighbouring extenfive common, a place formidable to travellers from the highway robberies of which it has been the fcene. Military encampments to guard the metropolis have alfo been made upon it, of which the laft was after the riots in 1780. The village of Finchley, which gives the idea of perfect rural retirement, has a Gothic church, with a low embattled fteeple, containing feveral monuments, but not worth particularizing. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of the bifhop of London. The inhabitants are chiefly farmers. Its population has rather dimi- nifhed than increafed within the laft fifteen or twenty years. The prefent num- ber of houfes is about 250. The land is occupied partly in arable, partly in wood, but moftly in'pafture and meadow. Finchley -common, of which two-thirds is fituated in this parifh, is eftimated to contain 2010 acres, the wafte and uncultivated ftate of which, fo near to the metropolis, is difgraceful to the economy of the country. BARNET Pj, h&^S 1 H A i MIDDLESEX. 87 BARNET FRIER N, OR Fryars Barnet, is a fmall parifh, fituated within the liberties of Finlbury and Wenflackbarn, to the north-eaft of Finchley-common. It takes its appel- lation, diftingu idling it from the other Barnets, from having been anciently the property of the friars of St. John of Jerufalem, in Clerkenwell. The village is feated near .the road, about nine miles from London. The church is fmall and ancient, of Norman architecture with a mixture of Gothic. The living is a rectory, under the patronage of the dean and chapter of St. Paul's, to whom the manor has belonged fince the diflblution of the monafteriesr The moft remarkable object in this pariili is the manor-houfe, called the Friary, or Friern-houfe, in which, notwithstanding the many alterations and additions it has received, are feveral vifible remains of antiquity. Its fituation is retired and very pleafant. Its approach is rendered venerable by the remains' of a cloifter with crofles upon the ftones. This leads to a confeffionary, and a part of the old hall. Under the floor of the modern hall, built about 1660, is an excavation, fuppofed to be the lavatory or bath of the friars. In the exterior part of the houfe, leading towards the church, is a place called the Monk's-hole, a fubterraneous paflage leading to another confeffionary, or, as fome fuppofe, a place of confinement for the refractory brethren. This houfe was originally the manfe or country-houfe of the friars of St. John, and was the firft hofpitium for the entertainment of travellers upon the northern road, on which it was fituated. It has had a variety of occu- pants as leflees under the dean and chapter, and is now the refidence of John Bacon, Efq. of the Firll-Fruits office. This gentleman polTeffes feveral portraits of the illuftrious name of Bacon ; one, fuppofed to be the only one extant, of that extra- ordinary genius, beyond the age he lived in, Roger Bacon; others, of the lord keeper Bacon ; his fon the famous lord chancellor Verulam ; and many more of the family to the prefent poflefior. There is likewife a bull of Handel by Rou- billiac, from a plafter maik taken from his face in his life-time, as the model for his ftatue in Weftminfter-abbey ; and a painting of Charles Jennens, Efq. a friend and patron of Handel, who furnifhed the words of the Meffiah and feveral of his oratorios*. The grounds in this neighbourhood are beautifully diverfified, and fo * The annexed view of the friary or manor-houfe is taken from the queen's gate, fo called from its being opened as an entrance for queen Anne, when (he honoured Dr. King, then the poffeffor, with ;a vifit. high 88 MIDDLESEX. high as to command an extenfive view of Effex beyond the river Lea. At Colney- hatch, a hamlet in this pariih, are feveral pleafant residences ; as the villa lately the Hon. Mrs. Bofcawcn's ; fhat of John Pafley, Efq. ; of Richard Down, Efq. and others. The foil of this parifh is moftly a ft iff clay ; and the proportion of arable to meadow is very fmall. Considerable improvements have lately been made by Mr. Bacon in under-draining and other new practices in agriculture. The prefent number of houfes is feventy-eight ; that of inhabitants feems from the bills of mor- tality to have been nearly ftationary for a number of years paft. There is an alms-houfe in the parifh for twelve poor perfons, founded in 161a by Laurence Campe, citizen and draper of London. HAMPSTEAD. NONE of the villages round London has obtained fo much fame for beauty of fituation as Hampftead ; a praife it deferves not only on account of the command its elevated Site gives it over a large tract of circumjacent country ; but from the very varied furface of ground on which it Stands, affording a number of fmall landfcapes agreeably compofed of groves, fhady lanes, gardens, and buildings, Angularly contrafted in character and difpoSition. The neighbouring heath, too, offers a feature of wildnefs and rufticity, very finking in the vicinity of fo much culture. Little is wanted to the perfection of rural beauty in the general fcenery of Hampftead, but greater abundance of water ; the refer voir-ponds on the eaft fide of the town but partially and imperfectly fupplying this effential requisite to the picturefque. Thefe attractions have for a long time paft drawn residents of rank and opulence to Hampftead; and many names of distinction are reckoned among its inhabitants. Sir Henry Vane had a houfe here, which afterwards belonged to Dr. Butler, the celebrated bifhop of Durham. Several diftinguifhed characters of the law have at different times chofen it for their country retreat ; and at prefent it contains the feats of the Lord Chancellor, the Mafter of the Rolls, and other eminent perfons of the profeffion. At the edge of the brow adjoining to Cane-wood is the refidence of that moft diftinguifhed orator and pleader the Hon. Thomas Erfkine. Some of i the MIDDLESEX. 89 the firft wits and poets, as Gay, Arbuthnot, and Steele, have occupied temporary lodgings here ; the latter paffed Come of the latter part of his life at a fmall houfe on Haverftock-hill in this parifh. The eminent actors, Booth, Wilks, and Cibber had a fummer retirement on the heath ; and the ingenious poet and phyfician Dr. Akenfide refided at Hampftead feveral years. At this day, feveral perfons well known in the literary world are inhabitants of this delightful fpot. One of thefe is George Steevens, Efq. whofe name will defcend to pofterity as the moft able and induftrious of the annotators of Shakefpeare. The church at Hampftead is a modern brick building, with a fquare tower, furmounted by a low fpire. It contains the monument of Dr. Afkew, noted as the poffeflbr of a very valuable collection of books, particularly claflics. The church- yard is furnifhed with a number of confpicuous and handfome tombs, worthy of notice on the fpot, though the enumeration here would be uninterefting. The living is a perpetual curacy, under the patronage of the lord of the manor. There is likewife a chapel of eafe at Hampftead, and a meeting for diffenters of the prelby- terian denomination, and another for the methodifts. A chalybeat fpring on the eaft fide of the town was formerly much frequented. Near it are long rooms for dancing and other public amufements. Kilbourn- wells, alfo in this parifli, afford a water of a faline and cathartic nature. Here is the fite of an ancient abbey, near the prefent tea-drinking houfe. A noted place of entertainment on the heath, called the Spaniard, is much frequented on account of its pleafant fituation, near the grounds of Cane-wood ; and other places for a fimilar purpofe are open for the holiday vifitors of the beauties of Hampftead. The village, however, is not one of thofe which has much partaken of the late fpirit of building, and its population has had a very gradual increafe for fifteen or twenty years paft. The prefent number of houfes in the parifh is near 700. The land is almoft entirely in grafs farms, except a confiderable proportion of wafte. At Weft-end, between Hampftead and Kilbourn, is the handfome refidence of Mrs. Beckford, fituated in the midft of fine enclofed grounds. Though at the bottom of Hampftead-hill, it has elevation enough to command a pleafing profpect on every fide. About a mile north- weft of Kilbourn- wells, in the road to Wilfdon, lady Salifbury has a beautiful feat in a very pleafant fituation. n ACTON. 9 o MIDDLESEX. ACTON. THIS village is fituated upon an eminence on the Uxbridge road, five miles from Tybourn turnpike. It was once much celebrated for its medicinal water, of the faline purgative kind, iffuing from three wells about half a mile from Eaft Aclon, which rendered it a fafhionable place of refort about the middle of the pre- fent century ; but the fame influence of fafhion has now caufed them to be deferted; and with their fame, the gaiety of the village is loft. Aclon has been at different periods the refidence of feveral perfons of note. One of its manors has paffed through fome noble families to the prefent proprietor, Benjamin Lethieullier, Efq. Lord Roufe, a perfon of note in Cromwell's adminiftration, had a houfe here ; as had likewife the celebrated parliament general Philip Skippon ; and the learned lawyer and excellent man Sir Matthew Hale. Baxter, the eminent nonconformift divine, refided here many years after the Reftoration. The polemic Daniel Featley was once rector here : and was fucceeded by a champion of the oppofite party, Philip Nye, recorded in Hudibras. Lord chief juftice Vaughan, and Saville, marquis of Halifax, had houfes at Aclon. The panfh church, a mixture of old and new architecture, has a fquare brick tower, from its fituation a confpicuous object to the vicinity. It has monuments of various perfons of fome rank. In the church-yard a tomb records an extraordi- nary inftance of longevity, that of William Aldridge, wheelwright, who died in 1698, at the age of 114. The living is a rectory, under the jurifdiclion and patron- age of the biihop of London. By the regifter, a modern increafe of population appears, which has probably chiefly taken place at Turnham-green, part of which is in this parifh, and forms handfome rows of building on the fide of the great Bath road. The greater part of the land is under the plough, and affords a pleafing view of rural agriculture, efpecially during harveft, to the neighbouring metropolis.. EALING. THIS village is pleafantly fituated near the Uxbridge road about two miles beyond A&on. Its manor belongs to the bifhop of London. The parifh is exten- five, MIDDLESEX. 91 five, containing, befides the village, the hamlets of Little Ealing, Gunnerfbury, and Old Brentford. There are feveral diftinguifhed feats in it : as Ealing-houfe, Cold-hall, Hickes-upon-the-heath, Ealing-grove, Place-houfe, and Gunnerfbury- houfe. The latter was built by Webbe, a pupil of Inigo Jones, for that celebrated lawyer ferjeant Maynard, after whofe death it came into the hands of the earl of Suffolk and other perfons, and was at length fold to the late princefs Amelia, who made it her fummer residence, and confiderably enlarged it. Dr. John Owen, a very eminent prefbyterian divine, was long an inhabitant of Ealing ; the learned bifliop Pearce had a houfe in it inherited from his father ; and that humourous writer Henry Fielding, and the brave foldier lord Heathfield, had refidences in this parifh. The church is a new brick building, with a tower and turret. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the bifhop of London. George-chapel in Old Brent- ford is in this parifh; and at the fame place are meetings of prefbyterians, ana- baptifts, and methodifts. The funday fchools in the parifh, inftituted by Mr. Sturges the prefent vicar, and carefully fuperintended by Mrs. Trimmer of Old Brentford, have proved remarkably fuccefsful in improving the rifing generation. The population of Ealing has confiderably increafed of late years, efpecially in thatspart of it which is comprifed in Old Brentford, and which contains about 500 of the -700 houfes conftituting its prefent number. Of the land, about one half is in grafs, the other moftly arable, except 250 acres occupied by market gardeners. Great quantities of wall-fruit are grown here for fale, and there are large planta- tions of rafpberries for the diftillers. C H I S W I C K. THIS is one of the villages which decorate the banks of the Thames, and con- tribute fo much to the pleafure and convenience of the metropolis. Its diftance from Hyde-park-corner is about five miles. Its houfes are partly in a group near the river, and partly border the great weft road at Turnham-green. Of the remark- able objects it affords, the principal is the duke of Devonfhire's beautiful feat, on the fite of an ancient manfion, which after belonging to feveral perfons of rank, paffed into the Burlington family ; the laft earl of which name, fo celebrated for n 2 his 92 MIDDLESEX. his tafte in architecture, built a fmall but elegant villa after a defign of Palladio. He at the fame time laid out the gardens in the Italian ftyle, decorating them pro* fnfely with temples, flames, and other ornamental works, either antique, or by the beft matters of the time. From his daughter and heirefs it came to the Devon- fliire family ; and the houfe has received large additions from the prefent duke, after a plan of Wyatt's, correfponding to the defign of the original edifice. The Ruflel family poflcfled a feat in the parifh of Chifwick, which in the reign of Flizabeth was occupied by Sir William Ruffe], a diftinguiflied military cha- racter. After belonging to various members of that family, it pafled into other hands, and at length, under the name of Comey-houjc, was purchafed by its pre- fent owner, Sir C. W. Roufe Boughton, Bart. Grove-houfe, now the beautiful villa of Mrs. Luther on the banks of the Thames, dates as far back as the reign of Henry IV. It was for feveral generations the property of the Barker family, and at length by purchafe came to the earl of Grant- ham, who laid out the pleafure-grounds. The houfe owes its chief additions and improvements to Mr. Morrice, who was the next purchafer. Its paddock abounds with walnut and Spanifh chefnut trees. A capital houfe at Turnham-green was the principal refidence of lord Heathfield before his death. It now belongs to Dr. Meyerfbach. Sir Henry Sidney, lord prcfident ol Ireland in Elizabeth's reign, had a houfe at Chifwick. The Chaloner family refided here ; and that celebrated traveller Sir John Chardin ended his life at Turnham-green. The countefs of Fauconberg, daughter to Oliver Cromwell, refided at Sutron-court in this parifh. Sir Stephen Fox, founder of the Fox family, had an elegant villa here. Many other perfons of rank, and feveral eminent literary characters, have been inhabitants of Chifwick. Charles Hol- land, an actor of eminence, was a native of the place. Ralph, the political writer ; Hogarth, the inimitable moral painter ; Dr. Morell, an eminent claflkal fcholar ; and Dr. Rofe, an able critic and writer ; pafled more or lefs of their lives here. The church of Chifwick is an old ftructure of (lone and flint, with a tower. Among its monuments, fome of the moft remarkable are thofe of Sir Thomas Chaloner ; of Mr. Thomas Bentley, partner of Mr. Wedgwood the potter, and greatly inftrumcntal by his tafle in improving the elegance of that manufacture ; of MIDDLESEX. 93 of Charles Holland ;- of William Hogarth ; and of Dr. Rofe. The living is a vicarage, in the patronage of the dean and chapter of St. Paul's. The population of this parifh has considerably augmented of late years, the principal increafe of buildings having been at Turnham-green. The prefent number of houfes is about 430. The land in the parifh is partly arable, partly in grafs,. and a very confider- able proportion occupied by market gardeners for the fupply of London with fruit and vegetables. F U L H A NL THIS village is contiguous to the Thames, at four miles distance from Hyde- park-corner. It is particularly of note, as having been for a long period the chief fummer residence of the bifhops of London, who have alfo been lords of the manor. The palace is a brick edifice, with a large quadrangle, built in the reign of Henry VIL- It has had various additions, alterations, and repairs at different periods, and' is now of leSs extent than in former times, though much more commodious and habitable. Its chapel contains fome fine painted glafs j and in the library/ are feveral portraits of the different pofTefTors of the fee, collected by the prefent bifhop, who has a laudable defign of rendering the feries as complete as poffible. The gardens are remarkable for fome exotic trees of Angular age and Size, planted by bifhop Compton. They, together with the houfe, are furrounded by a moat 1 and fome beautiful Situations on the river bank have been formed into elegant walks and Shrubberies. Other remarkable buildings in this parifh are Ravenf court t once the Site of a manor- houfe pofTefled by the famous Alice Pierce, miftrefs to Edward III. ;. Stourton- houfe, long the refidence of the noble family of that name ; and Pcterborough-boufe at ParfonVgreen, once distinguished by its pofTeffor, the celebrated Charles earl of Peterborough, but now almoft dilapidated. Many other old manfions are now con- verted into boarding-fchools, or have been pulled down for the materials. Several eminent perfons have made this parifh their refidence; as Sir Thomas Bodley, founder of the public library at Oxford ; admiral Sir Charles Wager ; lord chief juflice Vaughan ; Samuel Richardfon, the celebrated novelist ; John Norden, the topographer; Tonfon and Lintot, well-known bookfellers; Catefby, the natu- rahfi jj and Samuel Foote, the dramatic writer and actor. 4 The 94 MIDDLESEX. The parifh church is an ancient ftonc edifice, with a Gothic tower. It contains feveral remarkable monuments ; as thofe of lady Legh ; Sir W. Butts, phylician to Henry VIII. j Sir Thomas Smith, a riling man in public life at the beginning of the lafl century ; John vifcount Mordaunt (the work of Bufhnell and Bird) ; Samuel Barrow, M. D. The bifhops of whom there are monuments in the church-yard are, Compton, Robinfon, Gibfon, Sherlock, Hayter, Terrick, and Lowth. The rectory of Fulham is a finecurc. The vicarage is in the rector's gift. Fulham parifh has two divifions, that of Fulham, and of Hammerfmith ; of the firfl of which we only treat at prefent. Its population has gradually increafed, and the number of houfes now fomewhat exceeds 700. Its land is nearly half occupied by market gardeners ; the reft is almoft equally divided between grafs and corn. A wooden bridge over the Thames connects Fulham with the oppofite village of Putney. HAMMERSMITH. THE main part of this populous village is fituated on. the great wefiern roid about a mile beyond Kenfington, and thence extends to the river's fide. It is of particular note for its nurfery-grounds, in fome of which, rare and curious exotics are cultivated on a great fcale and with fingular fuccefs. One of the moft diftinguifhed manfions in this diftrict is that now called Bran- denburgh-hoitfe, on the bank of the Thames. A magnificent houfe was firft built hereby Sir Nicholas Crifpe, in the reign of Charles I. Its owner was obliged to leave it during the civil wars, and Fairfax made it his quarters when his army lay at Hammerfmith in 1647. Crifpe recovered it at the Reftoration, and his nephew fold it to prince Rupert, who made a prefent of it to his miftrefs, Margaret Hughes. After palling through feveral hands, it came at length into the poffeiiion of George Doddington,, afterwards lord Melcombe, who expended a great fum in modernifing and adorning the houfe, and furnifhing it with flatues and antiques. In the year 1792 it was purchafed by the margrave of Brandenburgh-Anfpach, who now rclides at it ; and with his confort, late the relict of lord Craven, has employed MIDDLESEX. 95 employed all the refources of modern tafte and fplendour to render it a model of elegance and convenience. It has a frnall theatre, in which dramatic performances are occafionally exhibited for the entertainment of vifitors. Butterwick-houfe , near the chapel of Hammerfmith, was anciently the refidence of Edmund Sheffield, earl of Mulgrave. It was modernifed by Mr. Feme, and is now in the poffeffion of Michael Impey, Efq. Other diftinguiihed inhabitants of Hammerfmith at various periods were, the Rev. Mikepher Alphery, of the imperial family of Ruffia ; Sir Leoline Jenkins, fecretary of flate to Charles I. ; queen Katharine, dowager of Charles II. ; Sir Samuel Morland, eminent for mechanics ; admiral Sir John Munden; Dr. Rad- cliffe, the celebrated phyfician ; Sir Clifton Wintringham, of the fame profef- fion ; and Thomas Worlidge the painter. The chapel at Hammerfmith is a brick building, with a fquare tower and turret. It contains the monuments of Edmund earl of Mulgrave, and Sir Nicholas Crifpe, and a fine bronze buff of Charles I. erected by the latter. The living is a curacy in the patronage of the bifhop of London. The village has alfo meetings for the preibyterians, anabaptifts, quakers, and methodifts j and there are two Roman catholic chapels, one of them at a nunnery, which has fubfifted here from the reign of Charles II. and has been a noted place of education for young ladies of that religion. The population of Hammerfmith has partaken confiderably of the late increafe about London. The prefent number of houfes is about 790. Of the land in this divifion about half is arable, the reft in grafs, and under the occupation of market gardeners and nurfery-men. Edmonton Hundred. TOTTENHAM. nPHE village of Tottenham is fituated a fhort diftance from the weftern bank of the river Lea, about five miles north of Shoreditch church. The parifh is of confiderable extent, containing near 4000 acres, for the moft part grafs land, except about one-eighth, which is arable. The varieties of foil are clay, loam, and brick earth. The number of houfes is about 470, which gives a population of nearly 1900, 9 <5 MIDDLESEX. 1900. In the centre of the village is erected an octangular brick column, which occupies the fite of an ancient wooden crofs ; hence it is that the name of Totten-. ham-high-crofs is derived. A fmall brook called the Mofe, rifing from Mufwell- hill near Hornfey, traverfes the parifh in its courfe to the Lea; the New River alfo enlivens with its numerous windings the fields on the weftern extremity. The parifh church, dedicated to All-Saints, is a Gothic ftructure, built of ftone, flints, and pebbles, and ornamented with monuments to the memory of the noble family of Cdlerainc and others. There are befides two other places appropriated to public worfhip, a confiderable quakers' meeting, and a chapel belonging to the methodifts. The private houfes worthy of note are, Bruce-caftle, the manfion to that portion of the old manor which was pofTefTed by Robert Bruce, competitor with Baliol for the crown of Scotland ; it was rebuilt by Sir William Compton about the year 1 ci 4, and was altered and repaired in the latter end of the laft century by Henry lord Coleraine : Pembrokes and Mockings, two old moated manor-houfes, deferve alfo to be mentioned. William Baxter, the learned editor of Anacreon and Horace, was for many years mailer of the free-fchool here : befides the above-mendoned works he was the author of a Latin grammar, and of feveral papers in the Philofophical Tranfac- tions : part alfo of the Englifh tranflation of Plutarch is to be attributed to him. At this place is laid the fcene of a very humourous burlefque poem, called the " Tournament of Tottenham," written in ridicule of the grave fooleries that were pradtifed at the ancient fingle combats. It is printed in Dr. Percy's elegant " Reliques of Ancient Englifh Poetry." EDMONTON. THIS village, which gives its name to the hundred in which it is fituated, lies north of Tottenham, between the river Lea and the New River. Within the limits of the parifh are contained about 3660 acres, exclufive of 1 23 1 acres of wafte land on Enfield-chafe. Of the cultivated part 1090 acres are open arable, about 570 inclofed arable, 1540 meadow land, and 430 marfh pafture. The foil for the moft part is a rich loam and marl, containing however fome fpots of gravel, of clav, and peat earch. This parifh has trebled its population during the two laft centuries ; the MIDDLESEX. 97 the prefent number of houfes, including 180 at the hamlet of Southgate and Palmer's-green, is 8iO; giving a population of about 3650. The fcenery is ftrongly charadterifed by thofe general features which belong to the borders of forefts and other wooded waftes ; and an elegant fpecimen of orna- mented woodland is exhibited in Bum-hill-park, which is faid to have been ori- ginally laid out by Le Nautre. When Sir Hugh Middleton opened the New-river, the principles of engineering were fo little underftood, that, in order to overcome the inequalities of the ground at Buih-hill, it was thought expedient to make an open wooden trough or aqueduct 660 feet long, fupported by arches, to preferve a communication between the upper and lower part of the channel : nor was it till the year 1784 that the aqueduct was replaced by an embankment, according to the modern more fecure way of conveying canals acrofs vallies. The pariih church is a large Gothic ftru&ure, with a fquare embattled tower, containing feveral monuments of the Middletons and others. At Southgate is a chapel of eafe, in which during the la-ft feventy years a feparate regifter has been kept of the births and burials in this hamlet. Befides thefe two places of public worfhip for the ufe of the eftablifhment, there are three chapels of methodifts, one of prefbyterian difTenters, -and one of quakers. There are three fairs held annually in this pariih, one in the town of Edmonton, and two on the chafe near Southgate. The private houfes worthy of note are, Wyer-hall, an ancient manfion named from the family of Wyrehalle, who were poffefTed of lands here in the time of Edward III. It is now in pofTe'fiion of the family of Huxley, one of whom re- built the houfe in the year 1 61 1. Bulh-hill-park, the feat of the widow of the late Jofeph Mellifh, Efq. ; the hall is remarkable for a very curious piece of carving in wood by the celebrated Grinling Gibbons, reprefenting the ftoning of Stephen. The hamlet of Southgate, confiding of an irregular affemblage of houfes inter- mixed with trees, is one of the moft pleafing rural refidences near the metropolis, and has many refpectable inhabitants. Minchenden-houfe, the feat of the late duke, and of the prefent duchefs, of Chandos, with its plantations, is one of the moft considerable objects. Canon-grove, belonging to alderman Curtis ; the residence of Mr. Taih near it ; and the villa of Ifaac Smith, Efq. at Palmer's-green ; are other ornaments to this neighbourhood. ENFIELD. 9 8 MIDDLESEX. ENFIELD. THE town of Enfield is fltuated about ten miles north of London, in the moft extenfive parifh of any in the hundred. The Lea is its caflern boundary ; the parifh of Edmonton its fouthern one ; the Hertfordshire border confines it on the weft ; and the pariihes of Barnct and South Mims on the north. It contains, exclulive of the chafe, about 6430 acres, of which 800 are marfh land, 2750 common field, 1640 inclofed arable, and 1240 inclofed pafture. The foil, except on the ma'rfli, is for the moll: part a fertile loam. The northern extremity of the parifh is occu- pied by part of Enfield chafe, an extenfive woody tract containing 8349 acres; the whole of which was formerly in poffefiion of the crown, till in the year 1777 an act of parliament was pafTed, to divide the chafe, and aflign allotments to fuch indi- viduals and parifhes as claimed a right of common : the portion that fell to the lot of Enfield parifh was 1732 acres, which added to the king's above, and thofc of private claimants, leaves 5824 acres in this parifh, thus making the whole extent of the parifh equal to 12,250 acres. The poverty of the foil, and difficulty of clearing away the wood, oppofed however very formidable obftacles to its cultiva- tion ; and it was not till within thefe fix or feven laff years that any prog re fs was made in the work : at that period a large quantity of very fine marl having been difcovered, it has fince been made ufe of with confiderable fuccefs ; but, notwith- standing this advantage, 1530 acres ftill remain in an uncultivated ltate : the 200 acres which are inclofed are worth upon an average thirty fhillings an acre. There has been a confiderable, though gradual, increafe in the population of this parifh; the prefent number of houfes is 920, containing probably about 4140 inhabitants. The parifh church is a Gothic ftructure, with a fquare embattled tower, built about the beginning of the fifteenth century, and containing the monuments of lady Tiptoft, mother of the learned earl of Worcefter, who died A. D. 1446; of Edmund lord Roos, of Sir N. Raynton, lord mayor of London about the begin- ning of the laft century; and of feveral other eminent London merchants. The other buildings appropriated to public worfhip are, a meeting-houfe for the ana- baptifts, another for the quakers, two for the methodifts, and one for the prefby- terian difllntcrs ; of this laft congregation the celebrated Edmund Calamy was minifter; he died here in November 1666. Two MIDDLESEX. 99 Two annual fairs are held here ; but the weekly market which was granted by- James I. has been many years difcontinued. Enfield was formerly celebrated for tanning ; at prefent, however, there is only one large tan-yard, which, together with works for making marbled paper, is the fole manufactory in the parifli. The manor-houfe, called Enfield-houfe, is worthy of notice as one of the royal residences during the reign of Henry VIII. Edward VI. granted the manor to his lifter the princefs Elizabeth, who lived here for fome time, and afterwards, when queen, made frequent vifits hither ; one of the rooms remains at prefent in its ori- ginal ftate of cumbrous magnificence. In the year 167011 was the refidence of Dr. Uvedale, who had a botanical garden here, and among other trees planted a cedar of Libanus, which at prefent is one of the fineft in the kingdom, being twelve feet in girth, at a yard from the ground. The other remarkable houfes in this parifli are, South Bailey-lodge, formerly the occafional refidence of the great earl of Chatham, and latterly of the late alderman Skinner ; Eaft Bailey-lodge, for fome time the refidence of lord Loughborough while Mr. Wedderburne ; Trent- place, with a park of about 200 acres, reclaimed from the chafe by the late Sir Richard Jebb, M. D. : the houfe is a villa built after an Italian model. Forty-hall, built by Inigo Jones ; Lincoln-houfe, at Ponder's-end, now a fchool, but formerly occupied by the Fiennes, earls of Lincoln. That eminent antiquary and hiftorian, Richard Gough, Efq. has long been, and is ftill, a refident in this place. The New-river traverfes with a very winding courfe this parifli from north to fouth, and is carried acrofs the ftream, which, rifing in the high grounds of the chafe, proceeds in an eafterly direction by the town of Enfield, forming the Wafh, and foon after difcharges itfelf into the Lea. Befides thofe above mentioned, feveral other diftinguifhed perfons have at different times refided in this parifli ; particularly, Philip earl .of Pembroke, chan- cellor of Oxford, and afterwards, during the civil wars, a member of the Houfe of Commons in the year 1649 > ^ n ' George Wharton, a noted aftrologer and zealous royalift during the civil wars, created a baronet in 1677 by Charles II. o a Goare loo MIDDLESEX. Go are Hundred. HARROW on the HILL. HP HE town of Harrow, fituated about ten miles from Tybourn-turnpike, gives its name to a very extenfive parifb, containing about 13,600 acres ; of thefe about 1600 are wafte, and the remainder is nearly equally divided between arable and pafture. The population of Harrow and its hamlets, including that of Pin- ner, where a feparate regifter is kept, is about 1800. The fituation of Harrow, as its appellation imports, is lofty; it Hands on one of the higheft points of the ridge of gravel hills, that bounds the flat fouthern extre- mity of Middlefex; and its taper fpire embofomed in trees, forms a very pleafing and confpicuous object from the furrounding villages. Its elevated and almoft in- flated fite affords an extenfive profpect. on every fide : to the eaft and fouth the whole length of the metropolis prefents itfelf, with the dome of St. Paul's rifing majeftically above the cloud of fmoke that ufually invefts the lower buildings : while the horizon is agreeably diverfified by the eafy fwelling forms of the Surry hills. The northern view, though not fo comprehenfive, is perhaps as pleafing as the other, exhibiting in the nearer diftance the village of Stanmore, and the elegant feat of the marquis of Abercorn, beyond which afcends rapidly the high ground compofing Harrow Weald. The fcenes, however, to the weft and fouth-weft are, perhaps, the moft interefting of any, and may be fee n to the greateft advantage from the church-yard ; they include the wild beauties of Roxeth common, the rich culti- vation of the vale of Thames, the diftant towers of Windfor-caftle, and the wooded hills of Berks and Buckingham. Harrow church, diftinguifhed by its lofty fpire, was founded by archbifhop Lanfranc before the conqueft, and a confiderable part of the old edifice ftill remains : it was rebuilt about the fourteenth century. The moft remarkable monuments which it contains are thofeof Sir Samuel Garth, M. D. the author of the ingenious and witty poem called the Difpenfary; of J. Lyon, yeoman, founder of Harrow fchool ; and of Dr. Sumner, the late head-mafter ; whofe epitaph, an elegant fpeci- men of latinity, is the production of the learned Dr. Parr, one of his fcholars. The living of Harrow is a vicarage, in the gift of the lord of the manor, and under the peculiar jurifdiction of the archbifhop of Canterbury. The great tithes belong to Chrift-church college, Oxford. 1 The MIDDLESEX. 101 The free-fchool at this place, which for fome years paft has ranked among the firft of our public feminaries, was founded in the year 1590 by John Lyon, a yeoman of Prefton, who before this period had been accuftomed to appropriate a certain annual fum to teaching poor children. Harrow fchool rofe into eminence under the adminiftration of Dr. Thackeray : the learned Dr. Sumner, his fuccefTor, added confiderably to its reputation j and though his premature death, which hap- pened in the year 1771 , in the 41ft of his age, early deprived the public of the benefit of his abilities, yet he left behind him no dubious proofs of his fkill, in his fcholars, the bifhop of Cloyne, Dr. Parr, Mr. Sheridan, and the late much- regretted Sir William Jones. The prefent mafter is Dr. Drury, under whom the fchool retains its reputation and numbers, which are ufually about 1 £0. The mod remarkable private building belonging to this parifh is thehoufe on the manor of Bentley, which was purchafed about nine years ago by the marquis of Ahercorn ; who by making large additions and improvements has converted it into a noble manfion, wherein elegance and convenience are Angularly united. The rooms are fpacious, and adorned with fome felect antique bufls, and feveral capital pictures, of which the moft efteemed is the dream of St. Jerome by Parmegiano. The portraits exhibit fome of the moft illuftrious individuals of the Hamilton family, and are painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Sir Jofhua Reynolds, and Lawrence. The pleafure-grounds and plantations occupy nearly 200 acres ; and the elevated fituation of the houfe gives it the command of a varied and extenfive profpecl. On the brow of Harrow-hill, as you defcend to Sunbury-common, Colonel Iron- fide has a fmall villa, with a beautiful garden and fhrubbery. The hamlet of Pinner is fituated on an eminence about three miles to the north of Harrow, near the border of Hertfordfhire, and had once a market, which has been long difufed. Its chapel is a large old ftructure, finifhed in 1321, and having an embattled tower. The living is a perpetual curacy, under the vicar of Llarrow. There is a fmall meeting-houfe of independents in this place. The manor-houfe of Wembley, in the parifh of Harrow, on the London fide, is the prefent feat of Richard Page, Efq. Scarcely any fituation fo near the metropolis can vie with it in the charms of rural retirement ; and it has lately undergone all the improvements of which fuch a fpot is capable, from the fine tafte of Mr. Repton, fo well known as a layer-out of pleafure-grounds. A building of great apparent magni- , 02 MIDDLESEX. magnificence, but which is in reality only a kind of fummer banqueting-houfe, has been erected on a fine eminence in the park, which commands an extenfive profpeel, and is itfclf a ftfiking object from the road. H E N D O N. THIS parifh contains about 8200 acres, of which 300 are arable, 120 wood- land, and the remainder pafture and meadow; the foil is for the molt part clay with a mixture of gravel. The village is pleafantly fituated, and of confidcrable extent, being divided into feveral hamlets or fmall clufters of houfes, one of which, Goldcr's-hill, was for fome time the refidence of Dr. Akenfide, the author of a well-known poem " On the Pleafures of the Imagination." The number of inha- bitants is eftimated at about 1100. There are feveral opulent rcfidents, and the neighbourhood is adorned with fome fine feats. The church is an old ftructure with a fquare embattled tower, a pleafing object to the furrounding diftrict. It contains feveral monuments ; among others, thofe of feveral members of the noble family of Powis, of Sir William Rawlinfon, and of Edward Fowler, bifliop of Gloucefter. Here alfo were buried, James Parfons, M. D. afliftant fecretary for foreign correfpondence to the Royal Society, and author of fome treatifes on natural hiftory, and an Hiftorical Enquiry into the Origin of the European Languages ; and Sir William AylofFe, for many years vice-prefident of the Society of Antiquaries, and one of its earliefl members. The living is a vicarage, under the patronage of the lords of the manor. At Hendon is an alms-houfe, founded in 1727, in confequence of a bequeft of 2000/. made in 1681 by Robert Daniel, for the fupport of which an eftate in Oxfordfhire was at the fame time purchafed. It is for fix men and four women. There is likewife a charity-fchool, at which feventy children are educated, forty of whom are allowed clothing. Mr. Willock, auctioneer, who was brought up in it, has laudably difplayed his gratitude to the inftitution by the erection of fome additional buildings. He poflefles a pleafant feat and extenfive grounds in his native village. Mill-hill is fituated on a fine eminence much higher than the ground at Hendon, and commands extenfive views. It has feveral handfome villas with gardens and plcafurc-grounds Hoping from the hill, and is one of the moil retired fituations 4 within MIDDLESEX. 103 within that diftance of town, lying out of the great roads between Eaft Barnet and Edgware, about a mile and a half from Hendon. In this place is a botanical garden, planted by the late Mr. Collinfon, and Hill kept up by his fon, M. Col- lin fon, Efq. EDGWARE. THE parifh of Edgware contains about 1800 acres of land, of which fcarcely more than a twentieth part is arable ; the foil is a ftiffelay. The number of houfes is feventy-fix, giving a population of about 340. The parifh church is an old, low building, not worthy of notice; and the only private houfe deferving of mention, is one at Brockley-hill in the pofTemon of W. Godfrey, Efq. It commands a very extenfive profpecT:, and contains in the drawing-room fome large pictures, which are faid to have belonged to the collection of Charles L STANMORE magna. THIS parifh contains about 1400 acres,, of which about 300 are arable, 85a meadow and pafture, and 250 commons and roads. The number of houfes is 140,, giving a population of about 630. The parifh church was built in the year 1632, at the expenfe of Sir John Wol- jftenholme, Knt. and contains feveral monuments of the family of its founder, and of that of the Drummonds. It has a venerable tower, clothed with ivy. It is thought by Dr. Stukely that the old city of Sulloniaca was fituated in this, parifh, not far from Brockley-hill, and it is certain that many Roman antiquities, fuch as coins, urns, rings, &c. have been formerly dug up in this neighbourhood. The chief private buildings are, the houfe of the late G. Drummond, Efq. near Belmont, fituated in an extenfive park, and containing feveral royal and noble por- traits, for the mofl part of the laft century ; the feat of J. Forbes, Efq. remarkable for fome curious fpecimens of Hindoo fculpture, collected by Mr. Forbes during a refidence at Bombay ; and the feat of George Hemming, Efq. originally a ban- quering-houfe, built by the duke of Chandos. Stanmore ufed to be much diftrefTed for water, its only fupply being from a refer- voir on the top of the hill ; but the inhabitants fome years ago funk a well to the depth of 1 50 feet, which has afforded them a conftant fpring of good water. STAN- 104 MIDDLESEX. STANMORE parva, or Whitechurch. THIS pariih contains about 1500 acres, of which 130 are arable, and the remain- der meadow and pafture. The foil is for the moft part a ftifF clay. The number of inhabited houfes is eighty-one, giving a population of about 360. It is at Canons in this parifh that Mr. Brydges, afterwards duke of Chandos, about the year 1712 erected a manfion of extraordinary magnificence. It was built entirely of ftone in the form of a large fquare, prefenting one of its corners to the extremity of the grand avenue, in fuch a manner, that at a fmall diftance the two vifible fides appeared like a front of amazing extent. The profufion of burrs, of ftatues, and marble ornaments of various kinds ; of painted ceilings and ftaircafes, and all the luxury of architecture, of viftas, lakes, canals, and terraces, confumed the enormous fum of 200,000/. James of Greenwich was the architect ; and Dr. Alexander ':Blackwe]l, author of a treatife on agriculture, was director of the pleafure-grounds. In this palace the duke refided with all the ftate and fplendour of a fovereign prince. The want of tafle, however, and vanity difplayed in this vaft undertaking, provoked a fevere criticifm from Pope in the fourth of his Moral Effays, under the defcription of Timon's villa, the concluding lines of which have proved to be Angularly prophetic : " Another age (hall fee the golden ear " Imbrown the flope, and nod on the parterre ; " Deep harvefts bury all his pride has plann'd, *' And laughing Ceres reaffume the land." For, on the death of the duke, the manfion, being fuppofed to demand an efi\i- blifhment difproportionate to the income of his fucceffor, after many fruitlefs endea- vours to difpofe of it entire, was pulled down and fold piecemeal. The equeftrian ftatue of George I. was removed from the park to its prefent pofition in Leicefter- fquare j and the grand ftaircafe now adorns the houfe of the earl of Chefterfield in May-fair. The prefent villa at Canons was built of part of the materials, by William Hallet, Efq. who purchafed the park and demeihe lands, and is now in the polTeflion of Patrick O'Kelly, Efq. nephew of Denis O'Kelly, a character well known at Newmarket, and poffeffor of the famous horfe Eclipfe, whole remains are depofited in the park. The MIDDLESEX. 105 The magnificence, however, of the duke was not confined to his own manfion. He rebuilt about the year 1715 the parifh church, and completed its internal orna- ments in the year 1720. It was opened with great pomp on the 29th of Auguft, for which occafion there is reafon to fuppofe that Handel compofed his facred drama of Either. The altar-piece is painted by Belluchi, the ceiling and walls by Laguerre. During the duke's refidence at Canons, the church was celebrated for the perfection of its vocal and instrumental harmony. The hymns were compofed by Handel, who officiated at Canons as chapel- matter, and the morning and even- ing fervices were fet to mufic by Pepufch ; at the fame time, the celebrated Defa- guliers was rector. This vanity of devotion has not efcaped the notice of the eminent poet above-mentioned : " And now the chapel's filver bell you hear, 'f That fummons you to all the pride of prayer : " Light quirks of mufic, broken and uneven, " Make the foul dance upon a jig to heaven. "■ On painted ceilings you devoutly ftare, " Where fprawl the faints of Verrio and Laguerre, " On gilded clouds in fair expanfion lie, " And bring all Paradife before your eye. " To reft, the cufhion and foft Dean invite, " Who never mentions hell to ears polite*." Over the family vault, at the north end of the church, is a large chamber paved with marble, and containing feveral monuments of the Brydges family, especially that of James duke of Chandos, of whom we have beenfpeaking. Isleworth Hundred. TWICKENHAM. npHIS parifh contains about 1850 acres, of which 480 are arable, 150 fruit gardens, 490 pafture, 40 wood, and 690 common, ftretching a considerable way upon Hounflow-heath. The foil for the molt part is a fandy loam. The number of houfes is 61 1 j of inhabitants, according to an accurate enumera- tion made in 1794. including lodgers, 3355 ; being five and a half to a houfe. * It is, however, to be obferved, that this attack of Pope's upon a man of amiable qualities, and to whom he had been perfonally obliged, was fo ill received by the public, that the bard made feveral at- tempts (though with little fuccefsj to caufe it to be believed that the duke of Chandos was not alluded to in the character of Timon. p On io6 MIDDLESEX. On the fmall river Crane, which runs through this parifh, are erected fbme powder and oil mills, which are the only manufactories in the place. But Twickenham is chiefly known for its fine fituation on the bank of the Thames, oppofite to the bold elevation and hanging woods of Richmond-hill; and itfelf forms an cfTential part of the profpect from the terrace, a view which for richnefs, cultivation, and perfect beauty, is unqueftionably the firft in Great Britain. On this account it has ever been a favourite refort of literary characters, and perfons of fafliion. The building moft deferving of notice in this parifh, is the celebrated villa of the late lord Orford at Strawberry-hill. It was originally a fmall lodging-houfe, for fome time the refidence of Colle-y Cibber, who there wrote his comedy of the Refufal. In the year '1747, the earl of Orford (then the Hon. Horace Walpole) purchafed the houfe and furrounding grounds, and by the affift- ance of Mr. Bentley, fitted up the rooms in a pure Gothic ftyle, from models and plans felected from our cathedrals and other buildings in the fame mode of archi- tecture. The propriety and good tafte confpicuous through the whole work, render it a fubject, not merely of admiration, but of ftudy. Several curious and beautiful fpecimens of the fine arts were collected by the noble proprietor to adorn this his favourite reiidence ; the chief of which are, portraits by Peter Oliver, Sir Jolhua Reynolds, Sir Peter Lely, Zucchero, Vandyke, and Hogarth ; feveral antique bufts, and more modern pieces of fculpture by Torregiano and Mrs. Darner; fome valu- able paintings of Holbein, and a well-chofen and extenfive collection of prints, among which is a very interefting feries of Englifh portraits. It ought not to be forgotten that about the year 1757, Mr. Walpole fitted up here a private printing-prefs, from which have ifTucd, beiides moft of his own works, Bentley's Lucan, Memoires de Grammont, lady Temple's Poems, and feveral other fmaller pieces. Pope's villa, now occupied by lord Mendip, has, fince his death, undergone ftveral alterations and additions ; there ftill remain, however, many relics ot that great poet, particularly his favourite grotto — a Where ling'ring drops from mineral roofs diftil, '« And pointed cryftals break the fparkling rill ; " Where, nobly penfive, St. John fat and thought ; " Where Britifli fighs from dying Wyndham ftole, " And the bright fUmc w-is (hot through Marchmont's foal/' Sir MIDDLESEX. jot Sir Godfrey Kneller, and the late Sir William Chambers, had each of them houfes at Twickenham ; as alfo the two celebrated reftorers of experimental philo- fophy, lord Bacon and Robert Boyle; thofe exquifite actrefTes Mrs. Clive and Mrs. Pritchard ; Fielding, the great novelift ; and the witty, verfatile, and profligate duke of Wharton. ISLEWORTH. THIS parifh contains about 2570 acres, the greater part of which is divided almoft equally between arable and paflure: there are befides 14 acres occupied by nurfery-men, 430 by market gardeners ; and about 400 are wafle, being part of Hounflow-heath. The foil is fand, gravel, and rich loam. At Baberbridge in this parifh are copper and brafs mills, the property of the duke of Northumberland, bu* rented by the incorporated fociety of the mines royal ; raoft of the ore manufactured here ufed to be procured from the Mendip-hills. At Ifleworth are a confiderable china manufactory, fome extenfive calico-grounds, and two large flour-mills. There is a good wharf, at which a great quantity of coals are landed, and much gunpowder from the Hounflow mills is fhipped to go down the river. The chief trade of the parifh, however, confifts in the vaft fupply of vegetables which it fends from its numerous gardens to the metropolis, and which are for the molt part conveyed by the Thames. Befide the ufual articles, there are here extenfive plantations of rafpberries, which are raifed chiefly for the ufe of the diftillers, and conveyed to London in fwing carts; fuch of the fruit as is intended for the table is carried by women, who come principally from Shropfhire and Wilt- fhire. Each load confifts of twelve gallons of three pints each, and is gathered by twelve women, one of whom afterwards carries it to Covent-garden market, a diftance of ten miles, for which the receives three {hillings and fixpence. The rate at which thefe women ufually go with their burden, is near five miles an hour. A very accurate ftatement of the population of this parifh in October 1794, has been procured by Sir Jofeph Banks; whence the following particulars have been felected : — The whole number of houfes is 712 ; of thefe, 43 belong to gentlemen, 6 are farm-houfes, 26 public houfes, the remainder {hops, cottages, &c. The inhabitants are 4190, of whom 171 are lodgers : of the ftationary inhabitants 2223 are grown perfons (982 males, 1241 females) and 1796 children (956 males, 840 females). p 2 The IOJ MIDDLESEX. The village of Iflcworth, which gives its name to the hundred, is delightfully fituated on the Thames bank, at the mouth of the little river Crane ; and has been, and frill continues, the refidcnce of many perfons of rank. The principal build- ing in the parifh is Sion-houfe, a feat of the duke of Northumberland. It was formerly a convent of Bridgctincs founded by Henry the Fifth ; and the liberality of fucceeding kings added largely to its revenues, fo that at its diffolution in 1532 it was poffeffed of thirty-feven manors, befides tithes, rents, and other fources of emolument. When fecularized it paffed from the duke of Somerfet to the duke of Northumberland ; it afterwards returned by marriage to Charles duke of Somerfet, and again foon after came into the poffefTion of the noble family of Percy. The prefent maniion was repaired and fitted up at much coft by the late duke of Nor- thumberland, who adorned it with feveral pieces of ancient fculpture from Italy, and with twelve Ionic columns, and fixteen pilafters of that rare and valuable fpe- cies of marble called verde antique — a larger collection than is to be found in any other private building in Europe. The improvements in the houfe, and the elegant facade fronting the high road, were defigned by Adam; the gardens and pleafure- grounds were laid out by Brown. In the year 161 7 was born at Sion-houfe, Dorothy, daughter of Sir Robert Sidney, afterwards earl of Leicefter, and the daughter of the earl of Northumberland j a. lady afterwards rendered more illuf- trious as the celebrated Sachariffa of Waller, than by her high defcent. She was married to the earl of Sunderland, and after the death of her hufband refided in I fie worth. In this parifh alfo was born in 1676, Anthony Collins, the intimate friend of Locke, and author of a valuable work on liberty and neceffity ; but better known as the writer of a difcourfe on free-thinking, and fome other publications on fimilar fubjecls. The prefent duke of Marlborough and earl of Shrewfbury have each a houfe in this parifh. That belonging to the former is called Sion-hill, and was built by the late earl of Holdernefs, to which the duke has added a well-furnifhed obfervatory. The barons' army, headed by Simon de Montford, in the year 1263, encamped in Ifleworth-park. The following year, the palace of the king of the Romans in this parifh was burnt by a tumultuary army of the citizens of London ; for which outrage they were afterwards obliged to pay 1000 marks by way of compeniation. On the 4th of Auguft 1647, general Fairfax appointed his head-quarters at 1 Ifieworth, MIDDLESEX. 109 Ifleworth, where he received the parliamentary commiffioners, fent for the purpofe of fecuring the parliament from force and violence, and healing the diffenfions between the city and army. H E S T O N. THIS parifh is about ten miles and a half in circumference, and contains nearly 2500 acres, of which number nearly one half are arable, 686 acres are com- mon, and the remainder pafture and wood. The foil for the moft part is a ftrong loam, and celebrated for producing wheat of an excellent quality : the bread for the royal houfehold, previoufly to, and during, the reign of Elizabeth, was made of Hefton wheat. The population of this parifh, according to an accurate enumeration made in the month of July 1794, by Sir Jofeph Banks, was 1632 inhabitants, of which 151 were lodgers ; of the refident inhabitants 745 were grown pcrfons (368 males, and 377 females), and 736 children (351 males, 385 females); exclufive of 410 foldiers in Hounflow barracks, and 36 quartered in the Hefton part of Hounflow village. The total number of houfes, befides the workhoufe, was 280 : of which 17 were gentlemen's houfes, 20 farm-houfes, 18 public houfes, and 225 fhops and cottages. The parifh church is a Gothic ftrudlure, built chiefly of flints, with a handfome i quare flone tower at the weft end. Hounflow chapel, fituated alfo in this parifh, is the only remaining part of an ancient priory built about the middle of the thir- teenth century, and occupied by the brethren of the Holy Trinity. The private edifices worthy of notice are Hounflow manor-houfe, the property of the Bulftrode family ; and Ofterly-houfe, built by Sir Thomas Grefham, who received here a vifit from queen Elizabeth. This manfion, after having been the refidence of lord chief juflice Coke, and Sir William Waller, the celebrated parlia- mentarian general; at length, about the beginning of this century, came into the poffeflion of Sir Francis Child, an eminent London merchant. It was rebuilt and furnifhed with great magnificence by the late Robert Child, Efq. and his prede- cefTor ; and is now the property of lady Sarah Child, daughter of the earl of Weft- moreland, and grand-daughter of Robert Child, Efq. The houfe is fituated in the centre of a finely-wooded park, about fix miles in circum- ,,o MIDDLESEX. circumference. There arc two large fheets of water, with an elegant ftone bridge. A menagerie at this feat is famous for its collection of curious and beautiful foreign birds. The town of Hounflow is fituated on the great weflern road, partly in the parifh. of Hefton, and partly in that of Ifleworth. It had formerly a market and fair, granted to its proprietors, the brethren of the Holy Trinity. The market is dif- continued ; but it ftill enjoys a fair, held on Trinity Monday. The place is chiefly fupported by its great thoroughfare, which gives fubfiftence to a number of public houfes. Hounfiow-heath, a coniiderable part of which lies in Hefton parifh, is an exten- sive open tract, containing 4293 acres, infamous a few years ago for the many rob- beries committed on the great roads by which it is croffed, and noted in earlier times as a place of rendezvous for the military force of the country. In 1267, the earl of Gloucefter, at the head of the London infurgents, encamped here, intending to give battle to the king; however, on the approach of the royal army, he retreated. During the civil wars, king Charles's army was entrenched here the day after the battle of Brentford, in 1642. On the 23d of November, the fame year, it ferved as a place of mufter to the army under the earl of Effex : and on the 3d of Auguft 1647, there was a grand review of Fairfax's army, amounting to 20,000 men ; on which occafion were prefent the fpeakers of both houfes of parliament, and about one hundred members of the Commons. James II. alfo, in the year 1 686, encamped his army on Hounflow-heath ; where it continued till the revolution. Extenfive barracks have lately been built on that part of the heath which is in Hefton parifh. The average value of the heath, if inclofed, is eftimated at twenty millings per acre. On a ftream communicating with the river Coin, are erected upon the heath large gunpowder and oil mills. The former have within a few years undergone feveral accidents by explofions ; but the mifchief on thefe occafions being only partial, they are fuppofed to be very lucrative to the proprietor. The oil-mills are accounted fome of the moft capital in England. Th«y are confined to the making of linfeed oil. Elthorne MIDDLESEX. in Elthorne Hundred. GREENFORD magna, O called from a ford over the Brent which runs through this parifh, contains about 2000 acres befides roads; of thefe about 1250 are inclofed, 580 are in common fields, 96 inclofed woodlands, and about 65 wafte. The proportion of grafs land to arable is as three to one ; the foil a ftiff clay. The number of houfes is 69, giving a population of about 310. The parifh. church, dedicated to the Holy Crofs, is a fmall ftructure built chiefly of flints, with a low wooden fpire at the weft end. GREENFORD parva. THIS parifh, more ufually known by the name of Perivale, contains about 700 acres, of which one-third is arable; the foil is chiefly clay, with a fmall mixture of gravel. - The number of houfes is 5, giving a population of about 24. The church is a fmall ancient ftructure, built of ftone and flints, with a wooden tower and low turret at the weft end. H A N W E L L. THIS parifh contains about 1200 acres, 120 of which are wafte; the remainder is nearly equally divided between arable and pafture. The foil is clay. The river Brent divides the parifh, and the new Grand Junction canal forms its weftern boundary. The number of houfes is 107, giving a population of about 481. The church is a fmall neat brick ftructure, of an cblong figure, terminated at the weft end with a turret and cupola: it was rebuilt in the year 1782. In this church-yard, September 13, 1786, was buried Jonas Hanway; whofe life was a continued fcene of active benevolence. Many ufeful inftitutions owe their being to his exertions, particularly the charity of the Marine Society. His numerous tracts, though directed to different objects, were the fame in their great end, the promotion of virtue and happinefs : befides thefe he published a curious and 1I2 MIDDLESEX. and interefting account of his travels through RufTia and Perfia. His moft valu- able and well-merited title, however, is that of the Poor Man's Friend. NORTHALL. THE extent of this parifh, according to a furvey in the year 1670, is 191 1 acres ; about a third of which are arable, the remainder meadow. The foil is a deep clay. On account of the badnefs of the roads, notwithstanding the expenfes annually bellowed on repairs ; and the total want of fpring water before the year 1791 (when a well was funk by archdeacon Eaton, the vicar) ; this parifh has been deferted by the proprietors, and left wholly to the cultivators of the land. The number of houfes is 60, giving a population of about 270. The parifh church is a fmall Gothic ftructure built of flints, with a wooden tower at the weft end. In February 1782 was buried here Dr. Demainbray, of French extraction: he learnt the rudiments of mathematics and natural philofophy from Defaguliers; and afterwards read lectures on experimental philofophy at Edinburgh, Dublin, feveral of the French univerfities, and London. In 1768 he was appointed king's aftro- nomer at Richmond, which place he held till his death. He was the firfl who ob- ferved the effects of electricity in quickening the growth of plants. BRENTFORD. THE town of Brentford is fituated on the Thames bank, at the mouth of the little river Brent. The parifh is very fmall, containing only about 200 acres, of which 25 are arable. The foil is clay, gravel, and loam. The number of houfes in the parifh. is 270, giving a population of about 12 15 perfons. The whole diftrict of O/d Brentford, cornprifing the greater part of the town, is in the parifh of Ealing. At this place the elections for Middlefex are held; on which account it is confi- deredas the county town, though deftitute of a hall or other building for the tranf- action of public bufinefs. The huttings are erected at a place called the Butts. The chapel of Brentford is an appendage to the church of Hanwcl!, the rector of MIDDLESEX. 113 of which has the appointment of a curate here; which office was once filled by the celebrated John Home Tooke, fince become fo confpicuous in the political world, as a flrenuous oppofer of the. court party; and in literature, as a writer on philofo- phical grammar. In the year 101 6 the Danes were totally defeated at this place with great Slaughter, by Edmund Ironfide : and on the iath November 1642, Brentford was again made the fcene of action, in an engagement between the royal army and the troops of the parliament : the king's forces fucceeded in driving their adverfaries from the town, and made feveral prifoners ; but the next day, on the arrival of a reinforce- ment from London, retired to Kingfton. Patrick Ruthven, earl of Forth, had the chief command of the royalifts in this action, and for his good conduct in the battle was created earl of Brentford. The manufactures in this parilh are fome turpentine works, and a confiderable ftarch-houfe. There is alfo fome malt made, and a large malt diftillery. The latter was erected by Mr. Percival Hart, who was obliged to build the wall of an uncommon height, in order to prevent the mill- fails from frightening the horfes that pafTed on the road — a precaution which is wanted in many other places ! In the prefent year, 1797, the Grand Junction Canal Company completed their canal into the river Brent, and thence into the Thames. U X B R I D G E, ONE of the market-towns of Middlefex, is fituated on the river Coin, which feparates it from Buckinghamshire, and is about fifteen miles diflant from the metropolis. It is a hamlet under the parifh of Llillingdon, and is governed by two bailiffs. The town confifts of one principal ftreet, and a few houfes lately built below the church. It is provided with a handfome and fpacious new market- houfe, erected on Ionic columns, with a fine turret clock and bell. The large room over it is a repofitory for corn, of which commodity a great quantity is fold in this market. The market-day is Thurfday, and a good deal of bufinefs is done at it in fupplying a populous neighbourhood with neceffaries. The town is provided with feveral good fhops and public houfes. The ftreams from the Coin are employed to turn a number of large flour-mills, which produce what may be called the ftaple commodity of the place. Some malt is alfo made here j and there are confiderable q^ works u 4 MIDDLESEX. works for the manufacturing of white rope, twine and packthread. The Grand Junction canal, which paffes clofe to the weft end of the town, affords it the conve- nience of water-carriage. There is a brick bridge of five arches over the Coin, and the town is fupplied with its water from this river by means of carts. The pump-water is not drinkable. The church or chapel is an ancient ftructure built in the reign of Henry VI. The church-yard, given by an earl of Derby in 1576, is at fome diftance from it. Uxbridge is noted for the fine trout and other fifh of its river, and for the goodnefs of its bread, particularly rolls. It was the place where a treaty was carried on between king Charles I. and the parliament during the civil wars. It gives the title of earl to the family of Paget. HILLINGDON IS a village confuting of a few fcattered houfes. It has a venerable ancient church, in the yard of which ftands a remarkable yew-tree, reckoned to be 200 years old, and protected by a paling round it. The falubrity of this parifh is attefted by the tomb-ftones in the church-yard. Between Hillingdon and Uxbridge are the fine feat and park of the marchionefs of Rockingham. Mr. Hemings has a feat clofe to Hillingdon j and there are feveral pleafant villas in the neigh- bourhood. SPELTHORNE HUNDRED. TEDDINGTON, A NCIENTLY Todynton and Totyngton, is a pleafant village on the Thames, beyond Twickenham, about twelve miles from London. The parifh contains about 500 acres of arable, and 50 of pafture, befides common : the foil fandy and light. The manor of Teddington formerly belonged to Weftminfter-abbey, but at the diffolution was leafed out by the crown. It is now in the poffefiion of George Peters, Efq. The manor-houfe appears to have been erected by the celebrated lord Buckhurft, in 1602. Several perfons of eminence have refided at different times in this village — the earl of Leicefter, in 1570; William Perm, the quaker, in 1 688; Sir Orlando Bridgman j and that excellent philofopher and divine, Dr. Stephen Hales, who was minifter here fifty-one years, and refufed to quit his retreat. MIDDLESEX. n$ retreat, employed in a feries of ufeful purfuits, for any higher preferment. His vegetable Jiatks have perpetuated his name as an experimental philofopher, and his difcovery and introduction of the ventilator as an ingenious and philanthropical me- chanift. Dr. Cofens, his fucceflbr, was diftinguifhed as a poet. The parilh church is a fmall brick ftructure, built at different periods. Dr. Hales added the north aifle, and rebuilt the tower. The moft remarkable monuments are thofe of Sir Orlando Bridgman, of Mrs. Woffington the actrefs, of Dr. Hales, and of Flit- croft the architect. The living is a curacy, in the patronage of the lord of the manor, and the Bridgman family. Robert Udney, Efq. has a feat in this parifh, containing a valuable collection of pictures, chiefly of the old Italian matters. The number of houfes- in Teddington is 118 : of inhabitants, about 580. The population has been gradually increafing. The people are chiefly engaged in huibandry. HAMPTON. THIS is one of the pleafant villages on the Thames, decorated with a good church, and confiding of a group of houfes, chiefly the refidence of perfons in humble life. It is much frequented in fummer for the recreation of angling. Its principal ornament is the elegant villa of the Lite Rofcius of the En»iil~h flage, David Garrick, Efq. who adorned it with all the tafte which diftingui fried his character, and teftified his veneration for the memory of our great dramatic poet Shakefpeare, by erecting a temple containing his ftatue — a beautiful object from the river. Hampton-court, in its neighbourhood, is well known as the fite of one of the moft magnificent palaces belonging to the Englifri crown, and, together with its gardens and park, filling up a large bend of the river between Hampton and Ted- dington. This ftructure was begun by the ambitious and fplendid minifter, cardinal Wolfey, in 15 14. He rendered it fo ftately, that it could not with fafety, in the tyrannical reign of Henry VIII. be inhabited by a f abject ; whence he prefented it to his lordly matter, who made it one of his favourite residences. It was for a time the prifon of Charles L, and went to decay under his fuccefTors, till William III. railed it to new grandeur. He employed Sir Chriftopher Wren to convert it into a modern palace, which he effected foas to give it more of the appearance of a man- CL a fion ,,6 MIDDLESEX, fion of royalty than any other of the king's houfes, Windfor excepted. Its front towards the garden is 330 feet in extent ; and that to the river is but a few feet fhorter. The apartments are numerous, and were fitted up with great fplendour, according to the tafte of the time when they were occupied by the royal family, which is now long elapfed. It has lately, indeed, afforded a hofpitable residence to the kindred branch of the houfe of Orange, expelled from Holland by inteftine troubles. Of the ancient building, little more remains than the ftately Gothic hall, which was fitted up as a theatre by queen Caroline, but only a few times ufed. The gardens of Hampton-court remain under the fame formal difpofition that was given them by the tafte of king William. The park, called Bufhy-park, is extenfive, and contains a fine grove of horfe-chefnuts extending from fide to fide. It is well flocked with finely-flavoured deer and other game. The houfe of the. ranger (now the duke of Clarence) is fpacious, and forms a handfome fquare. There is a wooden bridge acrofs the Thames leading from the palace to Eafl Moulfey. S U N B U R Y. PROCEEDING up the river, the fine village of Sunbury next appears, inha- bited by a number of perfons of fortune, on whofe employment the lower clafs depend. A long range of elegant houfes and grounds decorate the banks of the Thames ; and the handfome tower of the church adds dignity to the fcene. Near Sunbury is the feat and extenfive park of Sir Thomas Mufgrave, called Kenton- park. A wide common flretches from hence to Afhford, croffed by the high road to Stains. On the Sunbury fide of this common are feveral agreeable refidences. SHEPPERTON. ABOUT three miles further, the village of Shepperton enlivens the bank of the Thames. It forms an agreeable group of houfes of the humbler kind, intermixed with trees, together with an ancient church of fuitable appearance. An enclofed piece of ground in this parifh, called War-clofe, by its name, and the bones and fpurs which have been found in it, is indicated to have been a field of battle ; and at a fmall diftance is the fite of a Roman camp. A fmall hamlet called HawforJ, between Shepperton and Walton-bridge, affords a beautiful river fituation, by its command MIDDLESEX. 117 command of two reaches made by the ftream. The oppofite grounds of Oat- lands form a delightful profpect from the Middlefex more in thefe parts. S&ep- perton-green, about a mile northwards, has an affemblage of buildings extending to Littleton. Near this place is a feat and park belonging to Mr. Wood. L A L E H A M IS the next village on the river bank ; which, however, can boaft none of the decorations fo profufely beftowed on many others. It is a fmall mean place, with a half-ruined church, and is only rendered agreeable by a few tolerable houfes on. the water-fide. Anglers are its chief fummer vifitants. STAINS, or Stanes. THIS market-town is fituated on the extremity of the county, about feventeen miles weft from London, near the junction of Middlefex, Surry, and Buckinghamfhire. It is faid to take its name from the boundary ftone of the jurifdiction of London, which is placed near it. Stains is a market-town of moderate fize and bufinefs, participating in the corn, flour, and malt trade. Its market is on Friday. A good brick building has lately been erected for a market- houfe. The town is governed by two conftables and four headboroughs. Its fituation on the great weft road affords fupport to a number of inns ; one of which, on the river, near the bridge, is furnifhed with very pleafant walks and gardens. The bridge is a handfome ftone ftructure of three arches, lately erected in place of the former wooden one. The river in this part is thickly planted on its banks and iflands with oziers for the ufe of the bafket-makers — the refort of multitudes of the fwallow tribe in fummer and autumn. The parifh church is large and ancient, fituated at fome diftance from the town. This part of the county ftretching in aa uninterefting and rather fterile flat to Hounflow and down to the Thames, was< anciently the foreft or warren of Stains, but disforefted by Henry III, SURRY. ( n8 ) SURRY. Brixton Hundred. ROTHERHITHE. r P , HIS place, commonly called Redriffe, is one of the chief fuburbs of the metro- polis on the fouth-eaftern fide ; and is connected to the Borough by a continued line of buildings. The land in this parifh that is not occupied by houfes is about 470 acres ; of which forty are employed by market gardeners, and the remainder is principally laid down for pafture : the foil is a rich marfh, for the mod part well drained; on which account, and the flux and reflux of the tide in the common fewers, few fituations near London are reckoned more healthy. The fituation of this parifh on the bank of the Thames, naturally draws the chief of the capital and induftry of its inhabitants towards employments immedi- ately connected with maritime affairs ; and accordingly, the whole extent of the river-fide is occupied by eleven dock-yards, at which are built Eaft India (hips, and fmaller merchantmen ; and numerous warehoufes belonging to tradefmen and artificers, who fend large fupplies of rigging and provifion to the navy. During the laft hundred years this parifh has confiderably more than doubled its numbers, and it ftill experiences a rapid increafe. The prefent number of houfes is eftimated at about 1600, giving a population of nearly 8800. The parifh church is a 1 brick building, with a handfome ftone fpire at the weft end, erected in the year 17 15. In the church-yard was buried on the 29th of December 1784, in the 21ft year of his age, prince Lee Boo, fon of Abba Thulle, king of one of the PeleW Iflands ; well known to the world by Mr. Keate's elegant and interefting narrative of the generous treatment experienced by the crew of the Antelope, which in Auguft 1783 was wrecked off that ifland. The young prince accompanied captain Wilfon to England, and foon after his arrival was carried off by the fmall-pox ; the Eaft India company, to whom the Antelope belonged, erected a monument over his grave, in grateful remembrance of his father's kindnefs. The living is a rectory in the patronage of Clare-hall, Cambridge. There is a free-fchool in the parifh for the education of feamen's children. 1 LAM- SURRY. 119 LAMBETH. THE parifh. of Lambeth is fituated on the fide of the Thames, and oppofite to Weftminfter. It is about lixteen miles in circumference, and contains 2942 acres ; of thefe the greater part are arable ; the pafture and meadow land is the next in quantity ; the market gardeners and nurfery-men occupy about 300 acres ; the fame number are wafte, and thirteen are taken up with ofier plantations. The foil confifts for the moft part of gravel ; and fand and near the borders of -Croydon parifh a well has lately been funk to the depth of 300 feet in an unvary- ing flratum of argillaceous earth. The building of Weftminfter-bridge has greatly contributed to the rapid increafe of population in this parifh. At the beginning of the prefent century, the number of houfes was 1400 : in 1778, according to actual enumeration, they had increafed to 2270 : in October 1788, they amounted to 3759; and at Michaelmas 1791, to 4030 ; giving a population of 24,780. Ever fince the commencement of the parifh regifler in the year 1539, the burials have uniformly exceeded the baptifms; of late years, however, the proportion has been confiderably diminifhing. The chief trade of Lambeth confifts in the importation of deal, and other foreign timber, for the confumption of the capital and fuburbs : almofl the whole bank of the river, belonging to this parifh, is occupied by timber wharfs, containing van: ftores, and the fources of prodigious wealth to the inhabitants. Befides this inlet to wealth and population, there are feveral confiderable manufactories, particularly fome large diftilleries and potteries at Vauxhall, MefTrs. Beaufoy's extenfive vinegar works ; Mrs. Coade's manufactory of artificial flone, which is caft in moulds and burnt, and is applied to many parts of ornamental architecture with fuccefs, being cheaper than carved work, and having been found to bear the fro ft and wet without fuftaining any injury. On the river fide is a high tower for the purpofe of making patent fhot, the excellence of which confifts in its being more fpherical than com- mon fhot : the exactnefs of fhape is produced by caufing the melted metal to fall 123 feet through the air before it reaches the water, whereas in the common manu- factories the metal fcarcely falls a yard before reaching the water, in confequence of which the globules being yet foft are very apt to be injured in their form. A manufactory has alfo been eftablifhed by MefTrs. Boulton, Morgan, and Co. under the title of the Woollen yarn Company, in .w.hiqh every part of the clothing pro- cefs , 20 SURRY. cefs js carried on by machinery ; they confine themfclves to the making of coarfe cloths for the fupply of America and the Weft Indies, and employ about 500 people, 200 of which are children*. In the parifh of Lambeth, near the river, is fituated the palace of the archbi- fhops of Canterbury, a very large irregular pile, exhibiting the architecture of different ages from the 13th century to the prefent time. The palace - is furnilhed with a valuable library of books, founded by archbifhop Bancroft, and increafed by his fucceffbrs, efpecially Sheldon, Tennifon, and Seeker. Adjoining to this is the manufcript library, containing the regiflers of the fee of Canterbury, and the collections of archbifhop Tennifon, Henry Wharton, and S. Carewearl of Totnefs. The different rooms and galleries alfo contain an interefting collection of portraits of Englifh clergy and other diftinguifhed perfons. Previous to the Reformation, the great tower, called the Lollards' tower, was a place of confinement for ecclefiaftical offenders : it ftill contains a fmall room called the prifon, wainfeotted with thick oaken boards, and furnifhed with feveral large iron rings fixed in the wall, for the purpofe of fecuring the prifoners. Queen Elizabeth alfo ufed frequently to commit ftate prifoners to the cuftody of the arch- bifhop, particularly the popifh bifhops Tunftall and Thirlby, the earls of EfTex and Southampton, lords Stourton and Henry Howard, brother of the duke of Norfolk. Hubert Walter, who was here in 1 198, is the firft archbifhop of Canterbury, who is known to have refided here, though many metropolitan decrees before this period are dated at Lambeth. This palace has feveral times experienced the weight of popular fury, efpecially in Wat Tyler's rebellion, when the EfTex mob committed great devaluations on the furniture, library, and regiflers, and put to death archbifhop Sudbury. When Laud refided here, at the beginning of the civil commotions between the king and parliament, the palace was attacked by the London apprentices, who were, how- ever, repulfed without doing much mifchief. A fhort time after it was converted by the Commons into a fortrefs and ftate prifon. The laft outrage that threatened it, was during the riots of 1780; by the timely arrival, however, of the foldiers it efcaped any injury. The park and gardens contain about thirteen acres, and have been laid out wkh * This work has fince been difcontinued. much SURRY. i2i much tafte by the prefent archbifhop. Againft the palace wall are two white fig- trees of an extraordinary fize, and producing very fine fruit, faid to have been planted by cardinal Pole. Adjoining to the palace is the parifh church, which is built of flints mixed with ftone and brick ; it contains the monuments of feveral individuals of the noble family of Howard ; of fome of the archbifhops ; of Elias Alhmole, the celebrated antiquary; and John Tradefcant, an inhabitant of this parifh, and one of the firft perfons in the kingdom who eftablifhed a botanical garden : he vifited a great part of Europe and Africa in fearch of new plants ; and Linnaeus has exprefTed his fenfe of the fervices rendered by him to the fcience of botany, by calling a genus of plants after his name (Tradefccuitia). Befides his collection of plants, he formed a mufseum of other rarities and natural curiofities, of which in the year 1656 his fon publifhed a catalogue. John Tradefcant the younger left his collections to Elias Alhmole, by whom they were prefented to the univerfity of Oxford. Ambrofe Phillips, author of paftorals, odes, and feveral fmall poetical pieces, died at his houfe near Vauxhall in this parifh in 1,749. Several places of public amufement have at various times exifled in this parifh. About the beginning of the century a houfe of this kind was opened in Lambeth- walk, called Lambeth- wells } the avowed reafon of which was on account of a fpring of mineral water that was fold here. Monthly concerts were alfo performed, and lectures read in natural and experimental philofophy. The Wells at length becoming a public nuifance, the premifes were let to a methodift preacher. Thefe were fucceeded about the middle of the century by Cuper's-gardens, having formerly belonged to the earl of Arundel ; and being afterwards opened to the public, and rented by one Cuper, who had been his gardener : they were for fome time efteemed a very fafhionable place of refort, being occafionally vifited by the prince and princefs of Wales. The entertainments were fireworks, illumina- tions, and mufic, efpecially fome admirable performances on the harp by one Jones. The gardens were fhut up in 1753. On the decline of Cuper's, the Spring-gardens of Vauxhall rofe into notice ; being at firft leafed and afterwards purchafed of George Doddington, Efq. by Jonathan Tyers, in whofe reprefentatives they are ftill vefted. Vauxhall is much frequented during the fummer feafon by fafhionable parties, and is celebrated for the excellence of its concert : indeed on a fine evening the crowds of well-drefTed r company i 2a SURRY. company that fill its illuminated walks and magnificent faloons, evince the ftrength, and efficacy of its claim to the public fupport. Aftlcy's amphitheatre for the exhibition of feats of horfemanfhip, mufical inter- ludes, rope-dancing, &c. was eftablifhed in this parifh in the year 1768 : it was at firft an open circus, but is at prefent fitted up with the conveniencies of the regular theatres. Two ufeful public charities are alfo fituated in Lambeth : the Afylum for the reception of female orphans, inftituted in 1758; and the Weftminfter Lying-in- hofpital, founded in 1765. CAMBER WELL. THIS parifh is of considerable extent, and is divided in nearly an equal propor- tion between arable, pafture, and garden-ground. The foil is in general fertile, and its neighbourhood to the metropolis renders the fupply of manure plentiful and upon eafy terms. The number of houfes, including the hamlets of Peckham and Dulwich, is about 770, giving a population of nearly 4000. The parifh church was erected about the year 1520, and is built of flints and rough ftone, with a fmall embattled tower at the weft end. It has fome rude painted windows, confifling of portraits and arms, and principally relating to the Mufchamp family. Within the church are monuments of the Skynners, Scotts, and Bowyers, with many others. The living is a vicarage, in the gift of Jofeph Windham, Efq. There is a newly-erected chapel of eafe in Camberwell. This village is adorned with a great number of elegant houfes of late date, the refidence of opulent merchants, &c. A favourite fituation is Denmark-hill, an eminence on the high road to Dulwich. Further on is a terrace affording a beautiful view of the Surry hills. It is connected with a long grove of trees, proceeding from the village near the pleafant tavern and bowling-green called the Grove-houfe. On the fide of this grove are the cxtenfive pleafure-grounds and gardens of Dr. Lett- fom, enriched with a great variety of exotic plants, and containing many objects of curiofity. From the higher part of the grounds burfts out a fpring, adjoining to which is erected a convenient bath. A fifh-pond firft receives the water, and tranfmits it to the village, where it is applied to various domeftic ufes. The annexed fouth view of London was taken, by Dr. Lettfom's permiffion, from the paddock near his houfe. In SURRY. 123 Irf the hamlet of Dulwich is fituated Dulwich-college. This inftitution was founded in the year 1613 by Edward Alleyn, one of the moft eminent actors of his time : as proprietor of the Fortune theatre, and keeper of the royal bear-garden, he gained a confiderable fortune ; the greater part of which he appropriated to the erection of this college : the eftabliihment confifls of a mafter, warden, and four fellows ; twelve fcholars, and fix poor aged men, and as many women. The build- ing is compofed of a front and two wings, forming three fides of a quadrangle, containing, befides the neceffary apartments and,offices, a chapel, ferving as a chapel of eafe to the parifh church, and frequented by the inhabitants of the hamlet of Dulwich. The college alfo contains a library and picture-gallery ; in the former are fome fcarce books and curious manufcripts ; in the latter are portraits of Dray- ton the poet, Sir Martin Frobifher, feveral of the Lovelaces, and fome of the chief a<5tors of the lafl century. The fituation of Dulwich is low, but rural and pleafantj and it contains feveral elegant villas. At Peckham are two meeting-houfes for the anabaptifts and prefbyterians ; of the latter congregation the celebrated Samuel Chandler was fome time minifter. This village is agreeably fituated, and affords fine profpefts towards Greenwich and Deptford. BAT TERSE A. THIS parifh is fituated by the Thames, about three miles from Weftminfter- bridge. The greater part of its land is nearly equally divided between arable and pafture ; the remainder, confirming of almoft the whole of Wandfworth-common, and a confiderable fhare of Clapham-common, is wafte. The market gardeners occupy above 300 a^res, and are particularly celebrated for raifing cabbages and afparagus. The foil is fandy, and requires a good deal of rain. The manor, which was long in the St. John family, is, now poffefTed by lord Spencer. The number of houfes is 360, giving a population of about 2 160. A houfe called Tork-houfe, by the water-fide, was built by Lawrence Booth, archbifhop of York, as a refidence for his fucceflbrs when called to London, and, with an eflate adjoining, was annexed to that fee. It has long been only occupied by tenants. Bolingbroke-houfe, the refidence of that family, was in great part pulled down in 1763, when the eflate was alienated ; but a few of the rooms remain, r 7, among ia 4 SURRY. among which is one faid to have been a favourite apartment of the molt diftin- guifhed perfon of that houfe. The parifh church is a modern ftructure, fituatcd on the bank of the Thames : it is built of brick, and has a fmall fpire at the weft end. The principal monu- ments are thofe of the feveral individuals of the St. John family, particularly a fine one by Roubilliac, to the memory of the celebrated lord Bolingbroke, who was buried here, December 18, 1751. There is alfo a finguhr monument of Sir Edward Wynter, a remarkable character. The living of Batterfea is a vicarage, in the gift of earl Spencer, the lord of the manor. On the fite of Bolingbroke-houfe was erected, by Mr. Fowler, a few years ago, a horizontal windmill of great powers, and on a new construction, for the purpofe of expreffing oil : it is at pre- fent applied to the grinding of corn, for the ufe of a large diftillery eftablilhed on the fpot. The great wheel is moved by ninety-fix vertical float boards, inftead of four fails, as in the common windmill. C L A P H A M. THE land in this parifh is eftimated at 1 120 acres, the greater part of which is pafture ; the foil for the moft part is light and gravelly. The number of houfes is 384, that of the inhabitants about 2700, being feven to a houfe; an eftimate which, though high, coincides with an actual enumeration made here in the year 1 788. The village of Clapham is fituated about four miles fouth of Weftminfter-bridge. It is a very favourite country refidence of fome of the moft eminent bankers, mer- chants, and tradefmen in London ; and in confequence has been of late years much improved. The common, which fome years ago was a barren fwamp, is now con- verted into a delightful pleafure-ground, by the fubferiptions of the inhabitants, and the fuperintendance and goodtafteof Chriftopher Baldwin, Efq., who repaired the roads, and ornamented it with a variety of native and foreign trees, to as to give it the air of a park. The value of land has advanced in an equal proportion with the improvement of the parifh ; in proof of which it may be mentioned that no lefs than 5000/. has been given for fourteen acres. The old church flood on an eminence near the Kingfton road. The fouth aifle of it SURRY. 125 it ft ill remains, and is kept up to preferve fome coftly monuments to the memory of Sir Richard Atkins and his family. There is likewife a memorial of Dr. Lifter, one of the phyficians to queen Anne, and well known to naturalifts by his work on conchology. The new church, opened in 1776, is a brick building, with a fmall dome and turret. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of the lord of the manor. Dr. Brady, the fame who, in conjunction with Tate, executed a metrical verfiott' of the Pfalms, was rector of Clapham about the beginning of this century ; and was fucceeded by Anthony Blackwall, the author of fome popular differtations on the facred daffies. There is a large meeting-houfe belonging to a very opulent congregation of pref- byterian diffenters. STREATHAM. THE land in this parifh is chiefly arable, with a clayey foil. The number of houfes is 265, giving a population of about 1590. One of the manors in this parifh belongs to the duke of Bedford, whence he derives the title of Baron Howland of Streatham. This village, like moft others round the metropolis, is adorned by villas belong- ing to the London merchants, and perfons of fafhion : of thefe, one deferves notice,, as having been formerly the residence of Henry Thrale, Efq. in whofe time it was- often graced by the prefence of Dr. Johnfon, Sir Jofhua Reynolds, Edmund Burke,. David Garrick, Oliver Goldfmith, and others of the chief literati of the laft age, It is now the property of Gabriel Piozzi, Efq. who married Mr. Thrale's widow- The church has been built at different periods. Its tower, fupporting a fmall fpire, is a confpicuous object for feveral miles around. It contains feveral tombs and monuments, of which none deferve notice fo much as two tablets with Latin inscrip- tions, written by Dr. Johnfon; one to the memory of Mr. Thrale, the other to that of Mrs. Salufbury, mother to Mrs. Thrale, now Mrs- Piozzi. It may be doubted, however, whether propriety has not been facrificed to the oftentation of learning,, in recording the lives and characters of two perfons in their fituations, in a dead language. The living of Streatham is a rectory, in the patronage of the duke of Bedford.. The celebrated Dr. Hoadly, bifhop of Bangor, was preferred to this-, 126 SURRY. this living in the year 1710, by Mrs. Howland, without any previous perfonal acquaintance with him, but from an efteem of his character and political principles. There is a mineral cathartic water in this parifh, difcovered in 1660, and frill held in efteem, though there are no accommodations on the fpot for drinking it. Confiderable quantities of it are faid to be fent to the London hofpitals. TOOTING. THIS village is fituated on the Epfom road, about fix miles from Weftminfler- bridge, and is divided into Upper and Lower. The greater part of the land in the parifh is arable ; the foil, gravel mixed with clay : the number of houfes is 150-, giving a population of about 900. There are feveral handfome villas, belonging to refidents in London. Befides the church, which is a fmall building with a low circular tower and fpire, there is a meeting- houfe lately erected for the ufe of the prefbyterian diffenters. The living is a rectory, under the patronage of the prefent incumbent. M E R T O N. THE foil in this parifh varies from light and fandy to a ftiff clay. The land, however, is for the moft part arable. The number of houfes is 116, giving a population of about 696. In the year 11 30 was built here Merton-abbey, an inftitution of confiderable note in its time. In this houfe, in the year 1236, a par- liament was held, by which were enacted the flatutes which take their name from this place. Here alfo was concluded the peace between Henry III. and the dau- phin of France; and hither Hubert de Burgh fled for fanctuary when he fell under the king's difpleafure. During the civil wars, Merton-abbcy became one of the parliament's garrifons. It has fince gone fo fafl to decay, that the only part of the building which remains, is an eaft window of the chapel. The fite of the abbey is, however, occupied by two calico-grounds and a copper-mill, which find employment for nearly a thoufand perfons. The parifh church is a long narrow ftrudlure, built of flints. It was erected early in the 12th century by Gilbert Norman, the founder of the abbey, and appears to have undergone no material alteration. It contains monuments of the Robinfons, Stapyltons, and other fami- lies. The living is a rectory, belonging to a lay impropriator, who puts in a curate. 1 WIMBLE- SURRY. 127 WIMBLEDON. THE whole extent of this parifh is eftimated at 2800 acres ; of which about 800 are arable, 1000 pafture, 100 meadow, 400 common, and 500 wood. The foil is various, confifting chiefly of fand and clay, with black moor earth in the low meadows : the fprings lie very near the furface, and in confequence much of the land is fwampy. The population of the parifh has much increafed during the prefent century : the number of houfes is 230, of inhabitants about 1380. The Wandle, a fmall flream, and one of the numerous tributaries of the Thames, flows through this parifh, on whofe banks are fome confiderable copper-mills, extenfive calico-printing works, and a manufacture of japan-ware. Wimbledon-park, the property of lord Spencer, contains about 1200 acres, laid out with great tafte by the celebrated Brown. There is no adequate manfion to this extenfive pleafure-ground, the manor-houfe having been burnt down in the year X785 ; fome of the offices were, however, preferved, and have fince been fitted up fo as to ferve for an occafional retirement to his lordfhip's family. In the month of Auguft 1796, a well was funk here to the depth of 563 feet. The following account of the ftrata was communicated by Mr. HofTack, the director of the work, by the order of earl Spencer : The firft 70 feet were of an ochery red clay, alternating with fand, and abound- ing fo much with land fprings as to occafion the neceffity of flopping them out with a circular wall of clay a foot thick ; by which means the reft of the work was executed without any trouble from water. From 70 to 80 — blue flaty clay, mixed with pyrites. From 80 to 1 00 — light fandy clay, among which was found a large flone nearly the width of the well ; from which, on being broken, gufhed out nearly a pail- full of clear water. From 100 to 140 — blue flaty clay, of various fhades of colour and degrees of hard- nefs. From 140 to 192 — light-coloured fhivery clay mixed with pyrites. From 192 to 396 — hard blue clay, with various bands of pyritous ftones : the air became fo contaminated as to require from this period to the finifhing of the well, the conftant employment of one man at an air-pump. From 12 S SURRY. From 396 to 425 — the earth rather lighter, and abounding with large mafles of pyrites, and fmaller fragments interfperfed through the earth. From 425 to 443 — hard and flaty clay, with a little water. 443, 444 — bard rock. From 444 to 466 — flaty clay. From 466 to 467I — hard rock. From 467! to 536 — blue flaty clay, alternating with fand, and mixed with pyrites. From 536 to 542 — hard blue clay, with cockle-fhells, coaly matter, and pyrites. From 542 to 554 — hard blue clay mixed with pebbles. From 554 to 558 — two ftrata of fhelly limeftone. From 558 to 560 — red clay. After this a hole about 2 feet deep was bored with an auger; and the water, mixed with fand, rofe fo rapidly, that in the fpace of an hour it attained the height of 300 feet, and by degrees afcended within 1 14 feet of the furface, where it became ftationary. The depth of the well was diminiihed 160 feet by the influx of fand from the bottom ; and the water is very clear, white, and foft. It may alfo be remarked, that on the fouth fide of Wimbledon through Coombe-wood, the fprings rife very copioufly and in great numbers to the furface. Near Coombe- farm, the admired cottage refidence of John Dawes, Efq. banker, is the conduit erected by cardinal Wolfey, ftill in perfect repair, which conveys water under the Thames to Hampton-court. Not far from this conduit is the retired and rural feat of the Hon. Wilbraham Tollemache, the ancient manor. houfe of Coombe, of which he is the lord. The ancient manor-houfe, built nearly on the fame fitc with the manfion-houfe belonging to the park, was the refidence of various perfons of note, pofleflbrs of the manor ; among whom were Sir Chriflopher Hatton, lord Burleigh (who here entertained queen Elizabeth for three days), Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I., general Lambert, Digby earl of Briftol, and Sir Theodore Janflen. The houfe was pulled down and rebuilt by the dutchefs of Marlborough, from whom the property came to the Spencer family. The church is a neat modern flruclure, with a handfome fpire covered with copper ; containing the tombs of Sir Richard Wynne of Gwedir, Caernarvonfhire; of lord Wimbledon and his family ; of John Hopkins, Efq. commonly known by the SURRY. iz ? the name of Vulture Hopkins ; and of Sir Theodore JanfTen, who was deeply engaged in the celebrated South-fea fpeculation. The rectory belongs to the dean and chapter of Worcefter. The living is a curacy, under the jurifdicYion of the archbifhop of Canterbury. The neighbourhood of the common is adorned by feveral elegant villas, particularly one which lately belonged to Monf. de Calonne, and is at prefent the property of earl Gower : the Right Hon. Henry Dundas alfo has a houfe in this parifh. On the fouth fide of Wimbledon is Mount Ararat, the retired and beautiful refidence of Edward Clarke, Efq. The annexed view exhibits the manfion with the two green-houfes at the extremities; which is fo contrived, that doors can be opened in every room throughout the building into the green- houfe at each end ; which in the fummer-time has a pleafing effect, and in the win- ter affords a warm and extenfive walk, without being expofed to the weather. At the fouth- weft angle of Wimbledon-common is a circular encampment, with a fingle ditch, very perfect. Camden fuppofes it to have been the fite of an engage- ment between Ceaulin king of the Weft Saxons, and Ethelbert king of Kent, in 568. WANDSWORTH. THE land in this parifh is divided nearly equally between arable and pafture, including, under the former, 218 acres occupied by market gardeners. About 200 acres of Wandfworth-common belong to this parifh, as alfo a confiderable part of Putney-heath. The foil is for the moft part a fandy loam on a bed of gravel. In the year 1792 the inhabitants were accurately enumerated, and found to amount 104554: of thefe 843 were lodgers, and 46ofervants. The number of houfes was 689. The river Wandle flows through and gives its name to the village : on its banks are eftablifhed many confiderable manufactories j particularly hat-making, which was introduced here by fome French proteflant families who quitted their native country in the reign of Louis XIV. : there are alfo two dye-houfes here, one of which is principally employed in dying fcarlet. The other manufactories are, one for bolting-cloth, another for printing ker fey meres, a third for whitening and prefling fluffs, two for calico-printing % befides mills for the preparation of iron, of white lead, and linfeed oil j vinegar works and diftilleries ; the whole finding employment for between five and fix hundred hands. The church is a brick edifice, the greater part of which was rebuilt in 1780. It s has i 3 o SURRY. has an ancient fquarc tower. Among its monuments the mo(t confiderable are that of Sir Thomas Brodrick and his lady, Henry Smith, Efq., Robert Knarefborough, Samuel Palmer, Efq. furgeon, and Edward Barker, baron of the exchequer. There is a cemetery belonging to this parifh about half a mile from the church, on the London road. The living is a vicarage, under private patronage. There is a confiderable quakers* meeting at Wandfworth. The hills on each fide of the river Wandle are well known for the pleafing views that they offer of the Thames, the metropolis, and great part of the county of Middlefex. The villa of Anthony Rucker, Efq. is a confpicuous ornament to the neighbourhood. In this parifh. is the hamlet of Garrett ; noted for a mock election that takes place here on the meeting of anew parliament; this cuflom has given rife to the plot of Foote's amufing comedy of the Mayor of Garrett. PUTNEY. OF this parifh a very large proportion is wafte; the reft is for the moft part arable, including about 150 acres occupied by nurfery-men and market gardeners. The foil is chiefly fand and gravel, with fome clay. In the year 1792 an enumeration was made of the houfes and of the inhabitants ; of the former, there were 440 ; of the latter, 2294; of whom 274 were lodgers. A large and handfome wooden bridge was erected in the year 1 729 over the Thames, between Putney and the oppoflte village of Fulham. The work was executed at the expenfe of thirty fubferibers, who advanced 740/. each : the annual income of the bridge, arifing from its tolls, is fuppofed to be nearly 3000/. The laft fhare that was put up to fale was bought for thirteen hundred guineas. The church is a fmall irregular building, erected in the 13th century; but fince nhat time has undergone feveral alterations, of which the chief is the addition of a fmall ornamented chapel, built by Nicholas Weft, bifhop of Ely, who was the fon of a baker in this place. In this church, during the civil wars, and a fhort time before king Charles made his efcape from Hampton-court to the Ifle of Wight, Cromwell, Fairfax, Ireton, and the other chief officers of the army, ufed to hold their confultations ; and feveral threatening declarations from the foldiers to the parliament were here refolved upon. There are many ancient monuments in the church, SURRY. i 3 t church, among which may be mentioned thofe of Mary Knivet, the Palmer family, the Welbeck family, and Sir W. Becher. In the church-yard are the tombs of John Toland, the celebrated deiftical writer ; and of Robert Wood, the author of two fplendid and valuable publications on the ruins of Tadmor and Palmyra. The living is a curacy, in thepeculiar jurifdiction of the archbiihop of Canterbury. Befides bifhop Weft, this village gave birth to Thomas Cromwell, earl of EfTex : he was the fon of a blackfmith, the e/e-vc, and afterwards the fucceiTor of the great Wolfey : by his abilities he rofe to the firft offices of the flate ; and as he equalled Wolfey in his elevation, fo he was ruined by the caprice of the fame tyrant who deftroyed his patron. A man ftill fuperior in genius, though not equal in fortune, the celebrated hiftorian Edward Gibbon, was a native of Putney. One of the public charities of this place is peculiarly accommodated to its fitua- tion — a fchool for the education and maintenance of twenty watermen's fons, founded by Thomas Martyn, at the latter end of the laft century. The furplus of the cftates left for this purpofe is devoted to donations to watermen who have loft a limb in the fervice of their country. On the brow of the heath, and in the hamlet of Roehampton, are elegant villas, belonging to lady Grantham, lord Huntingfield, lord Dover, and the earl of Befborough : the latter contains a valuable collection of pictures and antiques. The profpects from various parts of the heath are extremely beautiful. A detached houfe upon it commemorates an experiment made in 1776, to prove the efficacy of a method of preferving houfes from fire, by means of painted iron plates interpofed between the ceilings and floors of the feveralftories, invented by David Hartley, Efq. Near this building is an obelifk erected at the expenfe of the city of London, and on the anniverfary of the great fire, to perpetuate the memory of Mr. Hartley's invention, at the fame time recording the municipal privileges conferred on him by the Goldfmiths' company, and the grant of 2500/. by the Houfe of Commons. In Roehampton is a private chapel, the property of the Rev. C. Carr, built in 1777, inftead of one formerly in the earl of Portland's houfe. That houfe was long inhabited by Chriftian countefs of Devonfhire, a celebrated lady, and a zealous royalift in the times of the Commonwealth. Her fon William earl of Devonfhire refided in it, and entertained there the famous philofopher Hobbes, who had been his tutor. s 3 BARNES. '3* SURRY. BARNES. THIS parifh contains 900 acres, of which about 150 are common, being for the moil part a barren gravel ; 600 acres are arable, including the ground occupied by the market gardeners ; and the remaining 1 50 acres are parcelled out into very rich meadows on the Thames bank. The number of houfes in Barnes is 150, giving a population of about 600. Sir Francis Walfingham occupied the manor-houfe of Barnes, or Barn-elms, at which, in the year 1589, he entertained queen Elizabeth and her whole court. The houfe was modernifed by Sir Richard Hoare, whofe widow now inhabits it. The poet Cowley reflded in this village afhort time previous to his death. The church of Barnes is a very ancient ftructure, built of ftone and flint, with a fquare tower of later conftruction. It contains monuments of Sir Thomas Povvel and Sir Richard Hoare. Edward Rofe, citizen of London, who died in 1653, has perpetuated his name by a bequeft for the planting and prefervation of rofe-trees in an enclosure near his tomb. The living is a rectory, under the patronage of the dean and chapter of St. Paul's. Hezekiah Burton, and Francis Hare, afterwards bifhop of Chichefter, were rectors of Barnes. An extraordinary enthufiaft in the laft century, Abfezer Coppe, reflded here as a phyfician and occafional noncon- formist preacher. On that part of the parifh which overlooks the Thames, feveral villas and lodging- houfes have been built of late years, which during the hot weather are fo much fre- quented as to give it the air of a public watering-place. MORTLAKE. THE extent of this parifh is about 1400 acres, 650 of which are now enclofed in Richmond-park. The land is for the moil part arable, including above 250 acres of garden ground. The cultivation of afparagus is carried on here very largely, not fewer than 60 acres being appropriated to this fingle vegetable. One of the com- pleted: farms in this parifh is a fmall one of 80 acres, in the occupation of the king. The foil of Mortlake is chiefly fand and gravel, with fome heavy clay in the mea- dows on the river bank. The manor of this place long belonged to the fee of Canterbury, and the manor- houfe SURRY. 133 houfe was the occafional refidence of many of the archbifhops. It was alienated to the crown by Cranmer, and the manfion was pulled down. Nothing of it now remains but the foundation of a wall. The church of Mortlake was firft built in the 14th century, and rebuilt in the 16th. It has had many modern repairs. Its tower is fquare and embattled. There is a font with rich Gothic tracery given by archbifhop Bourchier. The monuments in the church offer nothing remarkable. In the church-yard are the tombs of alderman Barber, and Partridge the aftrologer. The living is a perpetual curacy, in the patronage of the dean and chapter of Wor- cefter. Among the more eminent refidents at Mortlake were Sir John Temple, John Partridge, alderman Barber, the benevolent Edward Colfton, and the cele- brated Dr. John Dee. The number of houfes is 301 ; that of the inhabitants, according to actual enu- meration in the month of June 1792, was 1766, of whom 339 were lodgers. The only manufactory in this pariih is one of delf and earthen- ware, eftablifhed here about fifty-five years ago. The hamlet of Eaft Sheen, fituated near Richmond-park, on a rifing ground overlooking the river, contains many elegant villas. Croydon Hundred. M I T C H A M. HP HE number of houfes in this pariih is about 540 ; of inhabitants, 3240. The village is fituated about nine miles from Weftminfter-bridge. The foil for the mofl part is a rich black mold, particularly fitted for the culti- vation of fuch plants as require a confiderable depth of earth : in confequence of which, within the laft forty or fifty years large quantities of rhubarb and liquorice have been raifed in this parifh ; befides thefe, there are great plantations of lavender, wormwood, camomile, anife, peppermint, and other herbs ufed by the apothe- caries. The ground taken up with this kind of culture amounts to 250 acres, 100 of which are appropriated to peppermint, from which a cordial is prepared in much requefr. among dram-drinkers. The church is built of flints, and has a fquare embattled tower. It has fome remains of painted glafs in the eaft window, and has an ornamented Gothic font- The benefice is a vicarage, in the gift of the lay rector. The ! 34 SURRY. The eminent perfons who have refuted here are Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Julius Caefar, mafter of the rolls to queen Elizabeth (who once honoured him with a vifit v at Mitcham), Dr. Donne, and Mofes Mendez, the rich poet. There are two calico- printing works and fome muff mills in this parifh. Mitcham-grove, a pleafant villa, is the property of Henry Hoare, Efq. CROYDON. THE market town of Croydon is filuated in an exteniive parifh of the fame name, about ten miles fouth of London. The greater part of the land is arable ; the foil is various, confifting for the moft part of chalk, gravel, fand, and clay. A confiderable part of Norwood belongs to the parifh, and the wafte land on Shirley-common and Croydon-heath amounts to about 600 acres. The number of houfes in the town and hamlets is 800 ; of inhabitants, nearly 4800. The town is tolerably well built. Its high ftreet is almoft a mile in length. There is a market every Saturday, which is reckoned the principal corn-market fouth of London. There are two annual fairs, in July and October. At the latter, great quantities of walnuts are fold; a product abundantly grown in the middle parts of Surry. The fummer affizes for the county are held alternately here and at Guildford. The manor of Croydon has belonged ever fince the Conqueft to the fee of Canter- bury, and moft of the prelates to the time of Seeker, have occafionally refided at the archiepifcopal palace here, and have hence dated many of their public acts. In the year 1780 the building, being very much decayed, was fold to Sir Abraham Pitches, and is now converted into a calico-printing and bleaching manufactory. The river Wandle has one of its fources in what is called the Bifhop's Pond in the palace grounds. The church is a handfome Gothic ftructure, built of ftone and flints, with an elegant fquare pinnacled tower at the weft end : it contains the tombs of archbifhops Grindall, Whitgift, Sheldon, Wake, Potter, and Herring. Alexander Barkley the poet, author of the Ship of Fools and Eclogues, was buried here, where he alfo refided during the early part of his life. A capital organ has lately been erected in SURRY. s 3 $ in the church. Befides the church, there are alfo places of worfhip here for the quakers and anabaptifls. Archbifhop Whitgift, in 1596, founded in Croydon an hofpital which ftill goes by his name, and endowed it with lands for the maintenance of a warden, fchool- mafter, or chaplain, and twenty-eight poor brethren and filters, who are not to be admitted under the age of fixty, and to be nominated by the fucceffive archbifhops of the fee. In the chapel is a portrait of the founder. The inflitution is preferved in a flourifhing Hate, except that there are now no fcholars on the foundation, which appears to have been part of the original plan. The fifhmongers' company have a free fchool here. At Croydon, barracks have lately been erected for the accom- modation of five troops of cavalry. The earl of Liverpool has a feat in this parifh. M O R D O N. THE land in this parifh is for the moft part arable ; the foil, a ftiff clay. The village is ten miles diflant from Weftminfler-bridge, on the road to Epfom. The number of houfes is 65, giving a population of about 390. The church is a fmall brick ftructure, with a low tower at the well: end ; erected about the year 1636. The eaft window has fome painted glafs. The principal monuments are of the family of Garth, once lords of the manor. One of the three daughters of the late Mr. Garth now enjoys it. The living is a rectory, under the patronage of the lord of the manor. CARSHALTON. THE land in this parifh is both arable and pafture, though the former exceeds the latter in the proportion of feven to one; the foil is chalk, loam, and clay. The prefent number of houfes is 165, containing about 990 inhabitants. In the centre of the village is a large clear pool of water formed by the river Wandle, which adds greatly to the beauty of the place : it rifes in the adjoining park in a fine fpring, and at a fmall diftance flows to the village in a ftrong current, and begins its duty in turning a mill at the fame place. On the banks of the river are eflablifhed numerous manufactories, of which the chief are two paper mills, 4 leather i 3 6 SURRY. leather and parchment mills, oil, fnuff, and logwood mills, and fome extenfive bleaching grounds. The principal manor, which belonged to the Scawen family during the greater!: part of this century, is now in the pofTeffion of George Taylor, Efq. The manor- houfe is in a park near the church. Another manor, which alfo belonged to the Scawens, is now the property of W. Andrews, Efq. The church, which has a low embattled tower, was probably erected in the reign of Richard II., but has fome modern additions. It contains an ancient tomb of the family of Gaynesford, and modern monuments of Sir W. Scawen, Sir Edmund Hofkins, Sir John Fellows, and Sir G. Amyand. The benefice is a rectory, under private patronage. The perfons of note who have refided here, are Sir Nicholas Throgmorton, one of queen Elizabeth's counfellors ; and Dr. RatclifFe, equally celebrated for the brutality of his manners, and for extraordinary (kill in his profeffion. BEDDINGTON. THIS parifh contains about 3800 acres, the whole of which is arable, except 250 acres of pafture land : the foil is a light fand. The village is about eleven miles from Weftminfter-bridge. Its number of houfes is about iooj of inhabit- ants, 600. The manor of Beddington has for many generations been in the pofTefTion of the family of Carew, in which name it is frill kept, though by female defcent. The manor-houfe is a large brick building, occupying three fides of a fquare, the chief part of which is modern. The ancient part was erected by Sir Francis Carew, who entertained queen Elizabeth at his houfe in two fucceffive years. He is faid to have been the firft gentleman in England who planted orange-trees. The church is a Gothic edifice, with a fquare tower at the weft end, erected in the reign of Richard II. It contains the tombs of feveral individuals of the Carews. The living is a rectory, in the gift of the lord of the manor. That eminent naval commander Sir John Leake was long an inhabitant of this parifh. The hamlet of JVallington, in Beddington parifh, on the banks of the Wandle, has a large manufactory for printing calico. There is an ancient chapel in the diftrict, at prefent ufed as a cart-houfe and ftable. Woodcote, now a fingle farm-houfe, is thought to have been a confidcwble Roman flation. ADDING- S U R R Y. 137 ADDINGTON. THE land in this parifh is for the moft part arable, with a considerable quantity of wood and common. The foil is very various, both gravel, chalk, and Stiff clay. There are 22 houfes in the parifh, containing about 130 inhabitants. The village is Situated at the foot of a fmall range of hills, to which it gives its own name. On the brow of the hill are a number of low tumuli, in which urns have been found. The knights templars had once a manor in this parifh, which paffed, with the reft of their property, to the knights of St. John of Jerufalem. This, and another manor, paffed, at the diffolution of monafteries, to the family of Leigh. One manor, now united with the reft, is held by the fervice of prefenting a difli of pottage to the king at his coronation. The prefent lord of the manor is James Trecothick, Efq. who has a handfome modern manfion in the centre of a park. The church is a very fmall Structure of Gothic architecture, with a low brick tower at the weft end ; the chief tombs in it are thofe of the Leighs and their con- nexions. The church is decorated with fome old hatchments and ftreamers, and pieces of rufty armour. The living is a vicarage, in the gift of the lay impro- priator of the rectory. C H E A M. THIS parifh contains 1400 acres of land, of which 120 are pafture, the reft being for the moft part arable. The foil on the north fide of the parifh is a ftrong clay, admirably adapted for the culture of beans and wheat ; that on the fouth fide is chalky. The number of houfes is 61, of inhabitants about 360. The church is a fmall Structure built of flints, with a low fquare embattled tower. It contains the tombs of lord Stourton ; of John lord Lumley, lord of the manor two centuries ago ; and of his two wives, lady Jane Lumley, daughter of the earl of Arundel, one of the moft learned women of her age ; lady Elizabeth Lumley, daughter of lord Darcey ; and of that upright lawyer, Sir Jofeph Yates, judge of the common pleas. The rectors of Cheam have been men remarkable for their abilities, and the high Stations that they have afterwards occupied in the church:' from the lift may be felected the names of Watfon bifhop of Chichefter, in the 16th t century j 138 SURRY. century; Andrews bifhop of Winchefter, in the 17th century ; Mountain arch- bifhop of York ; Senhoufe bifhop of Carlifle ; Hacket bifhop of Lichfield and Coventry; Playfere, Margaret profeffor of divinity at Cambridge; and Bernard, Savilian profeffor of aftronomy at Oxford. The living is a rectory, in the patronage of St. John's college, Oxford. At Cudington, in this parifh, was fituated the magnificent palace of Nonfuch, begun by Henry VIII., finifhed by Henry earl of Arundel, a favourite feat of Elizabeth, and kept up as a royal reiidence till the execution of Charles I. ; it then came into the poffefTion of Algernon Sidney, and at the Reftoration was granted to the dutchefs of Cleveland, who pulled down the old houfe, and difparked the land. The eflate was the property of the Rev. Jofeph Whately, now deceafed, whofe manfion is at fome diftance from the fite of the old palace. There is a vein of fine tobacco-pipe clay in Cheam, very ufeful for making molds for the carting of metals. Kingston Hundred. K E W. 'T^HIS parifh, which previous to the year 1769 was a hamlet of Richmond, is but of fmall extent. The foil is fandy, and almofr. the whole that is not included in the royal gardens is arable. The number of houfes is about 80, giving a population of about 480. Mofi of them are built round a level open fpot, called Kew-green, and make a handfome appearance. The chapel, erected in 1714 on the eafr. end of the green, is a fmall brick ftruc- ture with a turret. Among other tombs, it contains thofe of Gainfborough, the celebrated painter ; Meyer, eminent for his painting in miniature and enamel ; and Kirby, the architect and writer on perfpective. It is in the diocefe of Winchefler, and forms a joint vicarage with Peterfham. Among the former inhabitants of Kew were Charles Somerfet earl of Worcefler ; Edward earl of Devon; Sir George Puckering, lord keeper in queen Elizabeth's time; Sir Peter Lely; and Stephen Duck the poet. Kew is principally of note for its royal palace and gardens. The palace, anci- ently Kew-houfe, was taken on a long leaf e from the Capel family by the late prince of SURRY. 139 * of Wales, who made it an occafional retreat ; and it was improved and ornamented by Kent for the princefs dowager. It is fmall and plain, but contains fome good pictures. Kew gardens, containing about 120 acres, were begun by the late prince of Wales,, and to the prefent time have been receiving fucceffive improvements : the walks are planned with much tafte, and ornamented by a variety of native and foreign trees and Ihrubs, among which are intermixed the picturefque decorations of alcoves, temples, and arches of various architecture, defigned and executed by the late Sir William Chambers. The principal of thefe is a Chinefe pagoda, 163 feet in height. But the glory and pride of thefe gardens* is the vaft and fcien- tific collection that it contains of plants from all parts of the world, afTembled, by the direction of his prefent majefty, in fpacious floves and green-houfes, and flourifhing almoir. as luxuriantly as in their native climates ; a collection which far furpaiTes in its numbers and arrangement any other, either private or public, as is evinced by the valuable catalogue, entitled, Horlus Kewenjis, publifhed by the late Mr. Aiton, the head gardener. Dr. Darwin has celebrated thefe gardens in the following beautiful lines : " So fits, enthron'd in vegetable pride, Imperial Kew, by Thames's glittering fide : Obedient fails, from realms unfurrow'd, bring For her the unnam'd progeny of fpring : Attendant nymphs her dulcet mandates hear, And nurfe in foftering arms the tender year ; Plant the young bulb, inhume the living feed ; Prop the weak Item, the erring tendril lead : Or fan, in glafs-built fanes, the flranger flowers With milder gales, and fteep with warmer fhowers : Delighted Thames through tropic umbrage glides, And flowers antarctic, bending o'er his tides ; Drinks the new tints, the fweets unknown inhales ? And calls the fons of fcience to his vales. In one bright point admiring Nature eyes The fruits and foliage of difcordant Ikies ; Twines the gay flowret with the fragrant bough, And binds the wreath round George's royal brow." Loves of the Plants. An old houfe oppofite to the palace, formerly belonging to the Portman family, and purchafed in 1781 for the queen, has been inhabited by various branches of the royal family ; and the prefent king was educated in it. t % There i 4 o SURRY. There is a handfbme ftone bridge acrofs the Thames at Kew, opened in 1789, and the private property of Robert Tunftal, Efq. whofe father erected it. RICHMOND. THE parifh of Richmond, anciently called Sheen, is of moderate extent ; the foil is a light fand or gravel, and that part of it which is not included in the royal park and gardens almoft wholly arable. The number of houfes in the parifh is 815 ; of inhabitants, about 4900. The manor of Sheen in this parifh has long been annexed to the crown, and was a favourite refidence of many of our kings. Henry VII. converted the manor-houfe into a handfome palace, and gave to the town its prefent name of Richmond. It gradually fell to decay; but part of it was inhabited in the time of James II., and fome of the offices are ftill in being. Its fite is occupied by private houfes held on leafes under the crown. The new park, which was made by Charles I., is of confiderable circuit, and well flocked with deer; but little of it is within this parifh. Of the old park, part was formed into an extenfive garden by Brown, and united to Kew-garden ; and the remainder was converted by the prefent king into a dairy and grazing farm, fuperintended by himfelf. Many alfo of the nobility and people of fafhion, invited by the beauty of the fituation, make Richmond an occafional refidence. Indeed the whole ifland fhows no place comparable for richnefs and perfect beauty to the view from the brow of Richmond-hill. A fucceflion of high banks richly clothed with hanging wood, form the fouthern boundary of the luxuriant fcene. To the weft and north flows the Thames in its winding courfe from Twickenham to Ifleworth, bordered with meadows of the fineft verdure, or, more properly, pleafure-grounds, belonging to the fine feats which decorate its banks; and beyond the Thames, a rich and well- wooded country, beautifully varied in its furface, and interfperfed with houfes, extends to the limit of vifion. The hill and town of Richmond itfelf, with its elegant houfes and floping gardens, and the woods of Peterfham, form almoft an equally delightful profpect from the river and the oppofite meadows. In Richmond-gardens is an elegant obfervatory, built by Sir William Chambers in 1769, containing a valuable fet of aftronomical inftxuments, and a collection of fubjecls SURRY. 141 fubje&s in natural hiftory ; among which are fpecimens of the minerals of the Hartz-foreft, in the king's German dominions. Among the attractions of Richmond is a theatre, opened in the fummer, and fupplied with performers from the London ftages. The bridge over the Thames at Richmond is an elegant ftone ftructure, built by Meflrs. Paine and Coufe, and finifhed in 1777, at the expenfe of about 26,000/. The view from it, of both fides of the river, is Angularly beautiful. The parilh church of Richmond is an irregular building, partly ancient, partly modern, with a low embattled tower. Among the monuments, fome of the mofl remarkable are thofe of Henry vifcount Brounker, lady Howard of Efcrick, and herfon; Mrs. Yates the actrefs, Robert Lewes, Efq. admiral Holbourn, and Sir Matthew Decker. The poet Thomfon, who fpent the latter part of his life at Richmond, in a houfe now occupied (much enlarged) by the Hon. Mrs. Bofcawen, was buried in Richmond church, and a brafs tablet has lately been put up by the earl of Buchan to mark the fpot. The living of Richmond is a perpetual curacy, under the patronage of St. John's college, Cambridge. At Richmond are alms-houfes founded by bilhop Duppa, who died at this place in 1 66a ; and alfo fome others, and a charity-fchool. KINGSTON upon THAMES. THIS town, which is one of the principal in the county, has a market on Saturdays, and is governed by a corporation of about fifty members, a town clerk, recorder, two bailiffs, and a high fleward. It was formerly a borough, and fent reprefentatives to parliament till the reign of Edward III., at which period, in confequence of a petition from the corporation, it was relieved from that fuppofed burden. The town, together with the hamlets of Hook and Ham, contains about 750 houfes, and 4500 inhabitants. The name of the place is derived from its having been a royal demefne, and the occafional refidence of many of the Anglo-Saxon kings. During the civil wars of the laft century it became a poft of confiderable importance, and Was alternately occupied by troops of both parties : the affections of the inhabitants, however, were directed to the king, from whom they had received many privileges and favours. The. i 4 a S U R R Y. The town-hall, in the market-place, was erected in the reign of Elizabeth. It is decorated with fome painted glafs, chiefly reprefenting armorial bearings. The Lent affizes for Surry are held in this hall. The church is a considerable ftructure, built at different times, but no part of it before the reign of Richard II. Some of the principal monuments are thofe of Sir Anthony Benn, colonel Fane, George Bate, M. D. and captain Pearce, loft in the Halfewell Eaft Indiaman. The church is in the diocefe of Winchefter. The living is a vicarage, in the gift of King's college, Cambridge. There are meeting- houfes for the prefbyterians, anabaptifts, and quakers, in this town. A free gram- mar-fchool was founded here by queen Elizabeth on the lite of a fuppreffed religious houfe. The fchool-room was anciently the chapel of St. Mary Magdalen. There is an alms-houfe founded in 1667 by W. Cleave, Efq. alderman of London. The wooden bridge over the Thames at Kingfton is the oldeft on the river, that of London excepted. It is mentioned in a record of the eighth year of Henry III. It has frequently been in part broken down in the civil commotions of the kingdom, and confequently has undergone frequent repairs. The Middlefex fide was lately much widened. There is a bridge of three arches over a fmall ftream called the Hogs-mill River, which here joins the Thames. The trade of Kingfton is chiefly in corn and malt. The parifh is large. Its foil confifts of clay, fand, and gravel. The land is for the mod part arable. The manor, which was a royal demefne, was granted to the freemen by king John, on payment of a fee-farm rent. The principal building worth notice in this parifh, is Ham-houfe, fituated near the Thames; it was built in the year 1610, and, in the reign of Charles II. be- came the property of the duke of Lauderdale, who furniflied it in the moft mag- nificent ftyle of that luxurious age ■, fince which period it has undergone but little alteration, and remains a curious fpecimen of the maffy and cumbrous decoration then in vogue. It contains fome fine pictures by old matters, and a rich collection of portraits. Its prefent owner is the earl of Dyfart. The walks of Ham are planted with venerable trees, which give a magnificent made to the banks of the Thames. M O U L S E Y. TWO fmall towns, diftinguifhed into Eaft and Weft Moulfey, occupy the bank of the Thames oppolite Hampton : their name is derived from their fituation at the junction SURRY. 143 junction of the Mole with the former river. At E. Moulfey is a bridge, and at W. Moulfey a ferry, over the Thames ; the property of both of which belongs to lord Brownlow. Mr. Tutton, the lord of the manor, has built a handfome houfe at E. Moulfey. W A L T O N. BETWEEN Moulfey and Weybridge, on the Thames' fide, is Situated the village and pariih of Walton. On an elevation in the heath, called St. George's- Hill, is an ancient camp, fuppofed to have been Roman, whence is continued to fome diftance a rampart and trench. An elegant bridge of light-coloured brick, orna- mented with (tone, croSTes the river, from which is continued a long fuccefhon of arches fupporting the road, in order to give a free paffage to the water in times of flood. The prefent bridge was erected in the room of a very handfome and inge- nioufly constructed one of wood, by the late Mr. Decker, containing an arch of an hundred feet in the fpan, but which was taken down a few years Since on account of its deficiency in Strength. Several villas and elegant manfions are contained within the boundaries of the pariih, particularly Apps-court, belonging to Jer. Hodges, Efq. ; AShley-park, the refidence of Sir Henry Fletcher, Bart. -, Burwood-park, the feat of Sir John Frederick, Bart., member of parliament for the county; and the manSion of the earl of Tankerville. But the glory of this neighbourhood is Paine 's-hill>. the refidence of the late Benjamin Bond Hopkins, Efq. From the weftern bank of the Mole extends to a considerable diftance, a feries of defolate moory hills, of which the tract lying neareft the river was occupied by Mr. Charles Hamilton, whofe tafte and perfeverance have converted a bare wafte into ano- ther paradife. A femicircular park Sloping to the Mole, bounded and over- looked by a crefcent- formed girdle of plantations and gardens, constitutes the great outline, each part of which is finished in an admirable manner, fo as to combine in perfect harmony a vaft variety of Situation and embelhShment. The lake with its iSlands, the wild woods, the ornamented groves, the Shrubberies glowing with the bright tints of well-felected exotic vegetables, give and receive from each other the varied and mingled beauties of aSTociation and contraft. From Mr. Hamilton this delightful retreat paSTed to Benjamin Bond Hopkins, Efq. who added i 4 4 S U R R Y. added a handlbme and convenient houfe. On his death it was purchafed by Robert Hibbert, Efq. j at the fame time, a famous ftatue of Bacchus, which had been fucceillvely poiTefTed by Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Hopkins, and valued at 1700/., was fold for about 400/. WEYBRIDGE. THIS pretty village is fituated on the river Wey, a little above its junction with the Thames, and contains within its parochial boundaries feveral beautiful villas. Of thefe the principal is Oatlands, the refidence of the duke of York, occupying a grand fweeping brow on the Thames, from which Walton-bridge and the adjoin- ing fcenery appear to great advantage : fince it came into the pofleffion of his royal highnefs, many improvements have been made in its little territory. Ham-farm, the feat of the earl of Portmore, is alfo well worthy of notice j the farm and plant- ations occupy 500 acres, bounded on one fide by the Thames, and interfered by the river Wey. The next place that merits notice is Woburn-farm, an enclofure of about 1 50 acres, which was planned and laid out by the late Philip Southcote, Efq., who, together with Mr. Hamilton, was the inventor of the elegant yponds, three flips, and about twenty forges. There is no commifuoner at this yard; but the bufinefs of it is conducted entirely by the Navy board ; and many of our largefl mips have been built here. This parifh of St. Nicholas alfo contains two hofpitals, which are under the patronage and protection of the brethren of the Trinity-houfe. The old hofpital is clofe to the church; it was repaired and extended in 1788, and at prefent y confifl i6i KENT. confifts of twenty-five chambers. The other hofpital ftands in Church- fixeet. The individuals receiving benefit from thefe two charities are aged maftcrs of fhips, decayed pilots, or the widows of both. The corporation of the Trinity- ho life have an annual meeting at one or other of thefe hofpitals every Trinity Mondav. In this parifh alfo is an excellent charity- fchool, at which no kfs than fifty boys and as many children of the other fex are educated, and afterwards placed out in trade. The fchool is for the benefit of the two parifhes of St. Nicholas and St. Paul. Deptford is alfo famous for a valuable manufacture of earthen- ware, which employs a very confiderable number of hands of all ages and both fcxes. It is called Deptford ware. The parifh of St. Nicholas is a vicarage; the patronage of which is in the Drakes of Agmondcfham. The number of houfes at prefent in the parifh amount to 1200.; the number of inhabitants about 6000. Deptford, St. Paul's. — This is the new parifh, according to the divifion which took place in 1730. There is nothing more remarkable in this parifh than its very fiirprifing increafe of population. It at prefent confifts of no lefs than 2300 houfes, and confequently, according to the ufual mode of calculation, con- tains 11,500 inhabitants. The Victualling-houfe, which anciently bore the appellation of the Red-houfe, and which always contains prodigious quantities of proviiions, as well as of ftores of various kinds, ftands in this pariih. The other buildings of any importance are the Telegraph erected by government in 1795; a private dock-yard, which belongs to Sir Frederick Evelyn ; a very elegant church, which contains many beautiful monuments ; and meeting-houfes belonging to diffenters of different de- fcriptions. The church is a rectory, not charged in the king's books. According to Ecton, the firft prefentation was in the gift of the crown. The lafr. perfon who prefented was John Thornton, Efq. in X775. Almoft the whole of the firft-mentioned parifh of St. Nicholas is covered with houfes ; whereas the parifh of St. Paul's is faid to contain feveral hundred acres of arable land, a great proportion of which is occupied by gardeners, who conftantly iupply the London markets with vegetables of every kind. It is not precifely afcertained what portion of Deptford is claimed by the county of Surry ; we have, therefore, contented ourfelves with the general mention of the facr, that part of it lies in Kent, and part in Surry. CHARL. KENT. i% CHARLTON. THIS village is alfo in the hundred of Blackheath ; it is feven miles from London, and two from Greenwich. The manor-houfe is of great antiquity, and is mentioned in this place becaufe it is the residence of the princefs of Wales in her ab fence from Carleton-houfe ; and forry we are to fay, that it is very inadequate to her pretenfions, whether we conflder her rank, her accomplifhments, or her virtues. In this place a great fair was anciently held, called Horn-fair, which is ftill kept up, though with fome deviation from its former folemnities. The noble manlion erected by Sir Gregory Page, confuting of a grand centre and' two wings, with elegant colonnades, and embellifhed with a collection of paintings of considerable value, was alfo in this parifh. It was called Wrickles- marfh-houfe. Part has been taken down and fold in lots, part ftill remains in melancholy ruin. There are about ioo houfes in the parifh, and 500 inhabitants : and the popula- tion continues to increafe. It is a rectory, the patronage of which is in private hands. The church is a plain and fimple ftructure, in the chancel of which are fome neat monuments. There is a charitable erection in the parifh of Charlton which deferves particular mention : this is Morden-college. The founder was Sir John Morden ; and its object was a place of retirement for tradefmen of the more refpectable kind, who had been unfortunate in bufinefs. The eftates appropriated to the maintenance of thefe rather exceed, than fall fhort of 1600/. a year. It was originally intended for Turkey merchants; but as there is provifion for thirty individuals, this rule is not ftrictly obferved : all, however, mult be members of the eftablifhed church, and not lefs than fifty years of age. Their allowance in money is about 35/. a year ; their other advantages, exclufive of their apartments, cannot be eftimated at lefs than ten more. The chapel is a plain, neat building, decorated with the portraits of Sir John and Lady Morden. The patrons of this charity are the Turkey company ; but in cafe this company fhould ceafe to exift, the truftees are to be felected from the right honourable the Eaft India company. The manor of Kidbrooke is alfo in the parifh of Charlton. It was formerly the refidence of different noble families. It is now the property of lord Eliot, and the manor-houfe has been converted into a farm. y 2 . WOOL- i6 4 KENT. WOOLWICH. WOOLWICH lies to the eaftward of Charlton, and is alfo in the hundred of Blackheath. Etymologifts are much divided with refpect to its name. It is fomc- times in very old charters written Hulviz, which has fucceflively undergone the variations of Wollewic, Wulwicke, and Woolwich. The town is agreeably fituated on the banks of the river, and is at the diflance of nine miles from the metropolis. It is not a little fingular that part of this parifh lies on oppofite banks of the Thames, yet the whole is faid to be in the county of Kent. The dock-yard which has been eftablifhed at Woolwich, and is ftill progreffively improving, and to which the place owes its principal importance, is faid by fome writers to be the molt ancient in the kingdom. It appears from bifhop Gibfon's Additions to Camden's Britannia, that the famous fhip called Great Harry was built at this place in the reign of queen Mary. This dock-yard is nearly of the fame extent with that of Deptford, and regulated in the fame manner, that is, not by a refident commiffioner, but immediately by the Navy board. There is alfo a very large and extenfive rope- walk ; and, what muft by no means be- paffed over without particular mention, a gun- wharf, which formerly flood in the market-place, but is now at the Warren. At this Warren all kinds of artillery are both caft and proved, and in peaceable times the guns of our men of war are here alfo depofited. A very honourable and ufeful eftablifhrnent for the education of young men who are intended for the engineer fervice, has long exifted here. The ftudents have the title of cadets, and are ufually of the more refpectable families. Barracks have been erected here by government for the accommodation of the regiment of artillery, of which Woolwich is the head-quarters. Many of our largeft fhips of war, from the time of Elizabeth to the prefent period, have been built at Woolwich; one in particular, called after that fovereign, is mentioned by Strype in his Annals. Another built in 1637, is defcribed with every circumftance of minute particularity by Haywood the comedian. The fol- lowing extract is curious enough to deferve infertion : — " She was one thou- •* fand fix hundred and thirty-feven tons burden, befides tonnage; one hundred " and twenty-eight feet long, and forty-eight feet broad; from the fore end of *' the beak head to the after end of the ftern, one hundred and fifty-two feet ; from " the KENT. 165 " the bottom of the keel to the top of the lantern, feventy-fix feet. She had five '* lanterns, of which the biggeft would hold ten perfons, ftanding upright; three '* flum-decks, a forecaftle, half-deck, quarter-deck, and round-houfe. The lower " tier had fixty ports, the middle one, thirty, the third twenty-fix, the forecaftle " twelve, half-deck fourteen, and as many more within, befides ten pieces of " chafe ordnance forward, and ten right aft, as well as many loop-holes in the " cabin for mufkets. She had alfo eleven anchors, one of which weighed four " thoufand four hundred pounds. This royal (hip was curioufly carved and gilt " with gold; and the Dutch, from the flaughter and havoc her cannon made " among them, called her the Golden Devil." Of 650 acres which the parifh of Woolwich is faid to contain, there are no Iefs than 380 on the coaft of Effex. It is probable that fome diftinguifhed perfonage obtained a grant of the whole in remoter times, and caufed it to be united to his own county ; fomething fimilar to this having taken place with regard to the epif- copal palace of the bifhops of Winchefter fituated in Chelfea. The population of Woolwich has long been increafing. The number of houfes amounts to 1 200 : the number of inhabitants confiderably exceeds 6000. The parifh. church is a plain neat building, which in the infide is of Grecian architecture. It was one of the fifty built according to act of parliament in the reign of queen Anne. It is a rectory, in the diocefe of Rochefter, and patronage of the bifhop. The prefent rector is the Rev. George Andrew Thomas, nephew of doctor Thomas, the late bifhop. There are feveral meeting-houfes in Woolwich, belonging to the different fects of prefbyterians, anabaptifts, and methodifts. There is alfo a charity-fchool for girls, and an alms-houfe for poor widows, under the patronage of the Gold- fmiths 1 company. The larger! fhips may ride in fafety near the town, the river in this place being remarkably deep, and at high water near a mile broad. Before we leave this place,. it is neceffary to obferve, that hulks for convicts are here ftationed. Thefe mife- rable people are employed in heaving ballafl, and other laborious occupations ; and often, when the period of their punifhment is at an end, return to their former habits and companions with increafed obduracy of principle, and diminifhed terror of the confequences of their crimes. ELTHAM* 1 66 KENT. E L T H A M. THIS place merits more than common attention, both on account of its anti- quity, and becaufe it was anciently a refidence of the fovereigns of England. In remoter records it is denominated Eltham Mandeville, becaufe in part it was the property of the family of that name. After the decapitation of Charles the Firft, the manor of Eltham was feized by the parliament, but at the Reftoration it came into the hands of Sir John Shaw, and in his family it frill continues. The ruins of this once magnificent palace are Rill refpectable, and ferve to con- vey a ftrong irnpreffion of the ravages of time. In this place refided Henry the Third, Edward the Second, Edward the Third, Richard the Second, with a great many of their fucceffors to the time of Elizabeth. The adjoining park was very fpacious, and was faid to contain 600 acres, well ftocked with deer, and from which timber to the value of 5000/. was cut before the year 1 660. In the time of Henry the Seventh, we learn from a record in the office of arms, that the king was constantly rcfident in this palace, and dined in the great hall. In this hall none were allowed to dine but the officers of arms, on account of the plague which at that time prevailed in the metropolis. When the fecond courfe was ferved up, it was preceded by a herald, who proclaimed the king's titles. At this palace alfo, a king of Armenia, named Leo, who had been expelled from his dominions by the Turks, was entertained with fplendid hofpitality by Richard the Second. To the manor of Eltham have been annexed the manor of Henle or Henleys, the manors of Weft Home, Eaft Home, and Corbye-hall. The church is a plain building, with a fpire, and contains many curious monu- ments ; among the mod remarkable of which is one to the memory of Ann, wife of Richard Owen, D. D. vicar, who died in 1653, which has this conclufion : — " In folatium fati quantulumcunque poni tandem curavit hoc marmor tot fumma fpei " liber is fuperjies pater, expulfus hinc olim rebel li bus, idem Ricardus Owen, S. T. P. " annos numerans 73, ipfe brcvi fecuturus. Eadem et tefors manet, Ictlor : vtgtfa ,* ** nefcis qua bora." In the church-yard is the tomb of that, pious and excellent prelate Dr. Home, billiop of Norwich. Here alfo was buried that gallant officer Sir William James, in whole honour his amiable widow, lady James, has creeled, upon Shooter's-hill, a triangular tower of the elevation of near fifty feet ; an intcrefting and ftriking ob- ject to the furrounding country. Another perfon alfo was here interred of no fmull note K EN T. ! 167 note in his day, and the memory of whom is not likely foon to be obliterated — this is Dogget the comedian. For many years before his death he gave a coat and filver badge to be rowed for by fix young watermen on the expiration of their apprentice- fliip; and at his death he bequeathed a fum of money to perpetuate the cuftom. The advowfon of the vicarage is in the hands of Sir Gregory Page Turner, and it has lately been augmented by queen Anne's bounty. The prefent vicar is the Rev. John Kennard Shaw. The population of the parifh feems to be on the increafe; there are at prefent fomewhat more than 240 houfes, and about iaoo inhabitants. Southend is a hamlet in the manor of Eltham, in which is a manfion of great antiquity. Motingham, or Mottingham, belongs partly to Eltham, and partly to Chiflehurft ; which laft place we are induced to mention on account of a remarkable finking in of the earth, which happened here in 1585, and which is thus mentioned in Fuller's Worthies of England : " On the 4th of Auguft 1585, betimes in the morning, in the hamlet of Mot- " tingham, in the parifh of Eltham, the ground began to fink in a field belonging " to Sir Percival Hart, fo much that three great elm trees were fwallowed into the V pit ; and before ten of the clock no part of them could be feen. The compafs " of the hole was about eighty yards, and it was fuddenly filled with water." We mull by no means conclude our account of Eltham without making fome men- tion of Shooter's-hill, which is at the north-eaft end of this parifh, on the high road from London to Canterbury. In earlier times this was a famous haunt for robbers, nor can we truly fay that in this refpecl: modern times have much amended it. This place probably derived its name from the circumftance of its being a place of exercife for archers. We have here an opportunity of correcting an error into which Mr. Lyfons has inadvertently fallen, who makes this the fcene of Falftaff' s merry but licentious exploit, whereas it was Gad's-hill, near Rochefter. The road, always fteep and difficult, was not fo improved as to be fecure till about the year J 739- Upon the fummit of this hill is a remarkable mineral fpring, which it is faid that . the fevereft froft of our hardeft winters has never been able to congeal. A detached account of this fpring was publifbed in 1673 by a writer of the name of Godbid. It feems only neceffary to add, that Eltham was in remoter times written Eald- ham, the fignification of which is obvious at firft fight ; eald meaning old, and 4 ham 168 KENT. ham a dwelling. It is in the hundred of Blackheath, and at the diftance of about eight miles from London. Agricultural writers afTign to this parifli a fpace of about 2900 acres : of this considerably more than half is arable. The foil is un- equal, being in fome parts gravel, in others clay ; a large portion alfo is wood- land. There were anciently annual fairs, and a market every Tuefday ; but thcfe have all been difcontinued. It has the reputation of being a healthy fituation, and is much frequented, on account of its pleafantnefs, by vifitors from town. LEE. THE next place which prefents itfelf to our notice is Lee. This is an agreeable and retired village in the hundred of Blackheath, and at the diftance of fix miles from London. Its Latin name is Laga, which means a retired or flickered fpot, an appellation in the prefent inftance not unhappily applied. There are not many particulars annexed to the village of fufficient importance to detain the reader. The church is a very ancient building, and feems to call aloud to be repaired, or rather rebuilt. It is a rectory, and in the gift of the crown, and at prefent is held, in commendcun, by Dr. Courtenay, bifhop of Exeter. Among other tombs in the parifh church and adjoining cemetery, are thofe of the celebrated aftronomer Dr. Halley, of that eminent citizen Sir Samuel Fludyer, and of Parfons, the humourous comedian. We are fomewhere informed that Purchas, famous in the annals of our literary hiftory for writing his Collection of Voyages, was an inhabitant of this parifh. At prefent there are not more than 50 houfes, and about 300 inhabitants in Lee ; but its convenient diftance, and agreeable fituation, promife a fpecdy increafe of population ; and we obferve the foundation of fome new buildings already in pro- grefs. The extent of the parifh is comprehended in 1060 acres, or thereabouts; which are almoft equally divided between arable and pafture. At the weft extremity of Lee are a number of alms-houfes, founded by Charles Boone, Efq. and Mary his wife, and left to the patronage of the Merchant Taylors' company. It is ordered by the donor that the rector of the parifli fliould be chap- lain, with a falary of 10/. a year ; but as the prefent rector is a bifhop, he probably condefcends neither to the duty nor the falary. L E \Y- KENT. 169 L E W I S H A M. THE name of this place is a Saxon combination, and is formed of lefwe or lefew, which fignifies a manfion among meadows, and of ham, the meaning of which is fufficiently obvious. This is the laft village in the hundred of Black- heath, and is about fix miles from London. Lewifham was given by 'the niece of king Alfred to the abbey of St. Peter, at Ghent. This grant was confirmed by William the Conqueror ; but in the reign of Henry the Eighth it fhared the fate of fimilar endowments. The manor patted through various hands; it came, with the rectory and appendages, to admiral George Legge, who lived at the conclufion of Charles the Second's reign, and who was afterwards created baron Dartmouth of Dartmouth : with this family it flill remains. Catford Manor forms alfo a part of this parifh. This, in remoter times, belonged to a family of the name of Abot ; from whom it has varioufly defcended, till finally it refts in the pofTeffion of the right hon. lord Eliot. There are other various premifes, fuch as Brockley-farm, and Billingham ; but they are of lefs note. The principal thing to attract the notice of travellers is the extraordinary length of this village ; it extends nearly to the length of a mile. The parifh is of large extent ; and the common which belongs to it on Blackheath on one fide, and on Sydenham on another, is little lefs than 1000 acres. The church is a new and handfome ftructure. It was erected in 1774, and is adorned with various elegant monuments ; among the more confpicuous of which are thofe of the Petrie family, and of the pious and learned Dr. Stanhope, who was vicar of this parifh for a period little fhort of forty years. The patronage is with the Dartmouth family, and the name of the prefent vicar is the Rev. Henry Jones, M. A. The parifh regifter contains fome amufing anecdotes, and we are informed among other whimfical incidents, that in 1 791 a woman was here interred, whofe coffin was fix feet ten inches long, three feet five inches wide, and two feet fix inches deep. Here alfo was buried bifhop Duppa, and Mr. Richard Buckley, to whofe villa, as it appears from the ProgrefTes of queen Eli?abeth, that fanciful princefs went a maying on May-day 1602. z There , 7 o KEN T. There is an excellent free-fchool eftablifhed in this place, under the patronage of the Leatherfellers' company. The matter of this feminary muft be examined and approved by the refpective matters of Wettmintter, St. Paul's, and Merchant Taylors' fchools : the fchool is with a feeming impropriety denominated the Black- heath Free-fchool. Sydenham is a hamlet belonging to this parifh, which anciently was called Cy pen- ham. This place has of late years increafed very confiderably, both in population and wealth, which is to be imputed to the fortunate difcovery of fome mineral fprings. A diflertation on the virtues of thefe waters was publifhed by a writer of the name of John Peter in 1681. They appear greatly to refemble the Epfom. waters in quality, being of a gently purgative nature. They generally go by the name of Dulwich wells, from their vicinity to that place; where, however, ano- ther mineral fpring of fimilar qualities has fince been difcovered. This fpring is the property of the earl of Dartmouth, who has an elegant manfion on Blackheath, where his lordfhip occafionally refides. There is a mill in Lewifham for the purpofe of making cloth in a new and particular manner, which we believe has anfwered the expectations formed of it. There is alfo a muftard mill. Formerly, by the interpofition of lord Dartmouth, a market was held twice in the week on Blackheath, a part of which is in this pariih. Thefe are now abolifhed, and in their room there are two fairs for cattle, one in May, the other in October. The river Ravenfbourne runs through this pariih, and nearly from fouth to north. Lewifham, which is an agreeable and cheerful fpot, and in which are many ele- gant manfions and opulent inhabitants, concludes our account of the hundred of Blackheath. Hundred of Bromley and Beckenham. HP HIS hundred is in Doomfday-book denominated the Hundred of Bromley; there fpelt Bromlei. The name of Beckenham was added to it in the twen- tieth year of the reign of Edward III. Beckenham, it muft be obferved, is not wholly in the county of Kent ; a part of it lies in Surry. The hundred is divided into the two parifh.es of Bromley and Beckenham, of which we fhall fpeak in order as they ftand — and firft of ft B R O M- KENT. 171 BROMLEY. THE Saxon name of Bromley was Brom-leag ; the meaning of which is a fpot where broom grows ; and, indeed, it well deferves its name; for there is not even the fmalleft uncultivated place in the neighbourhood of the town, on which broom is not found in abundance. The firft thing which claims notice in our account of Bromley, is the bifhop's manlion. The bilhop of Rochefter was formerly lord paramount of the hundred of Bromley, in conjunction with the fovereign, and had a refidence in the town at a period very diftant. The old palace was at different times repaired and adorned by bifhops Atterbury and Wilcocks ; but the late bifhop, Dr. Thomas, pulled it entirely down, and erected a plain houfe of brick. In the grounds which belong to the epifcopal houfe, is a curious medicinal fpring, which has long gone by the name of St. Blaze's well. It was formerly of confiderable note ; for a chapel flood near it, in which whoever performed their devotions on the three holydays of Pentecoft, were entitled to certain remittances of penance. After the Reformation, the chapel fell to ruins, and St. Blaze was almoft forgotten ; but in 1756 a fecond difcovery was made of the water, and an account of its chalybeate virtues publifhed by a furgeon, whofe name was Thomas Reynolds. The bifhops of Rochefter appear to have been lords of the manor of Bromley from a period fo remote in our hiftory as 1076, and indeed before. It was be- llowed upon the diocefan by Ethelbert, king of Kent ; it was again taken away by Ethelred the fon of Ethelbert ; and after the conqueft recovered to the fee by the interpofition of archbifhop Lanfranc. •The different premifes in the parifh of Bromley, which feem to require notice, are what is called the manor of Simpfons, the property of lord Gwydir ; Freelands, the leafe of which belongs to Thomas Raikes, Efq. ; and Bickley, where the late opulent Peter ThellufTon, Efq. lived and died. The church of Bromley is a large and commodious ftructure, having two aifles, and containing fome very ancient and curious monuments. Different bifhops of Rochefter have been here interred : Elizabeth, the wife of Dr. Johnfon, alfo lies here, over whofe tomb is the following epitaph written by the Doctor : " Hie condutitur reliqui " And when too much repofe brings on the fpleen^ Or the gay city's idle pleafures cloy ; Swift as my changing wifti, I change the fcene, And now the country, now the town enjoy." a a 2 KESTON. j8o KENT. K E S T O N. THIS place was anciently written Cheftan, a corruption, not improbably, of Chefterton, or the place of a camp, of which remains are ftill vifible upon Hol- wood-hill. Kefton is a village of fmall importance, and chiefly memorable for the antiqui- ties above mentioned, and for being the favourite retreat of the right hon. William Pitt, from the diffractions of politics, and cares of public bufinefs. In this place he indulges himfelf in his favourite purfuits ; and in the improvement of his grounds, and cultivation of his little farm, acquires new elasticity and energy ; hence he returns " Certare ingenio, contendere nobilitate, rerumque potiri." The houfe itfelf is very fmall, and, from its appearance, but little fuited to the dignity, talents, and virtues of its owner. Mr. Pitt has, however, added one large room, which has a fpacious bow window, looking towards the fouth. The pro- fpect from the houfe is enchanting; it Hands on a gentle eminence, and commands a view of Bromley, Norwood, Sydenham, Dulwich, Peckham, and St. Paul's : from another afpect, the fpedlator can look from Shooter's-hill to Gravefend : and again from another point over no inconfiderable part of EfTex. It is altogether a lovely fpot, and juflifies the tafte of its illuftrious owner. The reader will fmile at the viciflitudes of fortune and mutability of life, on being told that the manfion, ■ " Where nobly penfive Pitt reclin'd and thought," was heretofore the refidence of the gay, diffipated, and licentious Mrs. Bellamy, whofe Memoirs for a time attracted fo much curiolity. The manor of Kefton was one of thofe donations which William the Conqueror beftowed on Odo earl of Kent, his half-brother. From him, through various hands, it pafled to the family of Lennard, with whofe daughter it now remains. The ancient camp above alluded to is of great extent, and almoft two miles in circumference. So great a variety of Roman antiquities, confifting of coins, Roman tiles and bricks, have been dug up on the fpot, that its origin and ufe can- not be difputed. Horfley treats on the fubjecl: very much at large, and fuppofes it to have been the Caftra ^Eftiva, or fummer quarters. Other writers think that this was the camp of Julius Cccfar, when the Britons fought him for the laft time before KENT. 181 before he patted the Thames ; but the opinions on this head are too various and contradictory for us to decide on a queftion which, after all, is of no great import- ance to the object we have profeffedly in view. Kefton is a rectory, in the gift of his grace the archbifhop of Canterbury. The church is fmall and neat ; but the parifh does not contain any thing to juftify the detaining our readers any longer than to inform them, that fome have fancied Kefton to be an abbreviation of Keyfer's-town or Caefar's-town; for the Britons always pronounced Csefar — Ksefar. FARNBOROUGH. i FARNBOROUGH is contiguous to Kefton eaftward. Originally, perhaps, it was Fearnborough, or Fernborough, from the quantity of fern which ftill fprings up on every wafte fpot of ground. It appears that in the reign of Henry III. Farn- borough belonged to Simon de Montfort, the great earl of Leicefler ; and in 1766, Sir Edward Walpole procured a grant of the manor under the feal of the dutchy court of Lancafter, the liberty of which claims over this parifh. Farnborough- hall is the property of Sir John Dyke, and fo is the eftate which belongs to it. There is alfo another domain in this parifh, of very confiderable antiquity, which is called Tubbendens. Farnborough is a fmall and inconfiderable place, and its church or chapel is only an adjunct to the rectory of Chelsfield. The turnpike road from the metropolis to Sevenoaks paffes immediately through it. D O W N E. DOWNE is the next village, and is fo called from its lofty fituation. It was originally written Dune, which means any thing high or elevated. There is fo little to be mentioned concerning this place, that the whole which merits our notice may be comprifed in thefe few particulars . The patronage of the church or chapel is with the rector of Hayes; and the rector of Orpington prefents both to Hayes and Downe. Pelteys-place in this parifh, though now only a farm-houfe, was anciently a large and magnificent manfion. There are two other premifes, one called Downe- court, another called Palmer 's-lands. CO WD- lit KEN T. C O W D H A M. NEITHER does this place prefent any thing particularly worth the reader's attention. We can give no light or information refpecting the etymology of the name of this place; it is differently written, Coldham, Cudham, Codeham, and Covvdham. There are different manors in the parifh befides that of Cowdham, viz. Apper- field and Bertrey : a minute difcuffion on thefe fubjects, and the different hands through which they have paffed to the prefent poffeffors, better fuits the nature of a profeffed county hiftory, and may accordingly be found in Hafted and other writers. The advowfon is in the crown, and the lord chancellor prefents to the vicarage, which in the king's books is valued at 13/. 2s. 6J. N O C K H O L T. THE parifh next in order is Nockholt. This alfo is an obfeure and inconli- derable place. Holt means a wood, and noke is an old Englifh word for corner, in which fenfe, with a very little variation (nuke), it is ftill ufed in the north of Eng- land. This means, therefore, the corner of a wood, which in the prefent inftance is peculiarly appofite. There are two fmall manors in this parifh, one called Shelleys, the other Bramptons. As to its eccleflaftical jurifdiction, it is a perpetual curacy, to which the rectors of Orpington prefent. CHELSFIELD. THIS place has been varioufly denominated Cillesfelle, Ciresfel, Cilesfield, Chellerfeld, and Chelsfield. Its origin with refpect to name is beyond all doubt Saxon; cile fignifying cold, and feld a field. Befides the manor of Chelsfield, the parifh contains the different manors of God- dingtoh, Hewitts, and Norfted. The village pofTefTes nothing remarkable. The patronage of the living, which is a rectory, is vefted in the warden and fellows of All Souls' college, in Oxford. ORPING- KENT. 183 ORPINGTON. ORPINTUN, Orpyntone, Orpedingtune (for it is thus varioufly written in old charters), were feverally altered and corrupted from Dorpentum. The village lies to the north of Chelsfield, and contains, befides the manor of Orpington, the manors of Crofton, May field, and Eaft-hall. The manor of Orpington belongs to the family of the Dykes ; Crofton is the property of St. Thomas's hofpital, Southwark ; Eaft-hall belongs alfo to Sir John Dyke. This is a village conftantly increafing in population. Within it, rifes the river Cray, which runs through the different places to which it gives its name. The archbifhop of Canterbury prefents to the rectory ; the rector prefents to the vicarage. This is one of the places where queen Elizabeth was magnificently received and feafted. She arrived here on the 22d of July 1 573 ; at the entrance a female per- fonage, in the character of a nymph, addreffed her majefty in a pertinent fpeech, in which me denominated herfelf the genius of the place. (See Nichols's Royal ProgrefTes.) The queen was next entertained with the exhibition of a fea- fight. The owner of the place at this time was Sir Percival Hart, in honour of whom, accord- ing to Phillipott, Elizabeth named the place Bark-Hart, which appellation it ftill retains. The manor of Crofton was once a feparate parifh, but it was totally deftroyed by fire. It is alfo reported by tradition, that Thomas a Becket was born in this parifh -, but this is clearly an error : that prelate was born in the parifh of St. Thomas Acres, in London. St. M A R Y CRAY. OF the five parifhes which remain to be defcribed in this hundred, four are diftinguifhed by the adjunct appellative Cray, from the river Cray above men- tioned. St. Mary Cray is a market town, or rather was j for in 1703 the market-houfe was deftroyed by a tempeft, and the market has not fincethat time been kept. This is fomewhat furprifing; for as the village is both populous and rich, and as the convenience of a market is fo locally beneficial, it would be politic to reftore it. Though x84 KEN T. Though this parifh is increafing in population, the church is only a chapel of eafe to Orpington. The vicar of Orpington is alfo vicar of St. Mary Cray. Befides the manor of St. Mary Cray, which neverthelefs feems to be only a part of the manor of Orpington, there are the feparate manors of St. Mary Lyng Ock- mere, Kevington, Hockenden, and Waldens. There are no natural or other curio- fities in the place ; no local cuftoms, peculiarities, or antiquities, which will juftify any further detail. P A U L's CRAY. THIS place has been varioufly denominated Rodulph's Cray, Cray Paulins, and Paulins Cray. The church was confecrated to St. Paulinus, which accounts for the two latter appellations ; the caufe of the former is unknown to us. There is ftill lefs to be obferved in this parifli than in the former ; it is not fo populous, has no manufacture, market, or particular curiofities. The manor was one of thofe given by the Conqueror to his brother Odo. It now belongs to lord Sidney, who is alfo the patron of the rectory. F O O T's CRAY. IN the reign of Edward the ConfefTor one Godwin Fot, or Vot, was proprietor of this manor, and from him the place derives its name of Foot's Cray. Foot's Cray Place is an elegant manfion built from a defign of Palladio. It was formerly poffeffed by Bourchier Cleve, Efq. ; from him it defcended to Sir George Yonge. It now belongs to a gentleman of the name of Harenc. The church is a plain and fmall edifice, without any thing curious within, or in its exterior appearance. The rectory is in the gift of the crown ; part of the vil- lage is in the parifh of Chiflehurft. The number of inhabitants does not exceed 120, and it is in all refpects an obfeure and inconfiderable place. NORTH CRAY. THIS place is denominated North Cray, becaufe it is the moft to the north of the villages to which the name of Cray is annexed. This manor alfo was given by William the Conqueror to his brother. It has 4 paffed KENT. 185 patted through the hands of various proprietors to the Rev. William Hetherington ; and from him to the heirs of the late Thomas Coventry, Efq. There is not a more agreeable, healthy, or populous fpot than the village of North Cray to be found near the metropolis. It is charmingly diverfified with villas and well-cultivated domains. Two in particular merit notice, one called Mount Mafcall, the other Vale Mafcall. The former Hands on a gentle riling ground, which commands the view of an enchanting fcene : Vale Mafcall is of infe- rior magnitude, but no lefs interefting and agreeable. At this fpot the river Cray exhibits a picture of a cafcade, which is greatly admired, and well deferves to be fo for its extraordinary beauty. The church has a mean appearance j but the rector has a neat and new-built houfe, which he owes in a great meafure to the liberality of the above-named Mr. Hetherington. The patronage of the living is with the lord of the manor. B E X L E Y IS the laft place to be defcribed in the hundred of Ruxley. This village has been varioufly written Beccley, Bekeley, Bekefley, Bixle, and at laft Bexley. This manor came from different poffefTors to Sir William Camden, who made over his property in it to the univerfity of Oxford, at the end of a limited period, for the exprefs purpofe of founding an hiftorical lecture. There are many ancient feats in this parifh, particularly thofe of Hall-place, Blendon-hall, Lamierby, or, as it is vulgarly called, Lamaby, Danfon-hill, Brampton-hall, and High-ftreet-houfe. This village is fprcad out to a confiderable extent, and has feveral hamlets belonging to it. We have called it a village, in compliance with cuftom j but its population is fo great, and increafing, that it might well enough be named a town. The hamlets of Hurft, Halfway-ftreet, Bridgen, Blendon, Upton, and part of Welling, belong to Bexley. The appearance of the church by no means correfponds with the populoufnefs of the place, or wealth of the inhabitants. It is confecrated to St. Mary, and is in the patronage of lord Sidney. There are twelve alms-houfes in Bexley, built from the produce of private con- tributions. Thefe, however, are not endowed with any ftipend. A very lingular infect made its appearance in a pond belonging to this parifh in b b 1736. i36 KEN T. 1736. Thofe who are curious in natural hiftory will be entertained with the dcfcription which is given of it in the Philofophical Tranfactions, vol. xi. p. 153. Our account of this hundred is here brought to a conclusion. It vvdl be found to comprehend a considerable portion of the county ; and we believe it will appear, that we have omitted nothing of importance within the limits of thofe objects which we profeffed to exhibit to our readers. Hundred of Little and Lesnes. npHIS hundred is named after the two half hundreds into which it is divided, in like manner with the hundred of Bromley and Beckenham, which we have already noticed, and the hundred of Dartford and Wilmington, which follows next in order. The hundred of Little and Lefnes was in the reign of Edward the Firfl called the hundred of Litelai, and fo alfo it is denominated in Domefday-book. In the reign of Henry IV. it was called by the name which it ftill retains. It is divided into four parifhes, diftinguifhed by the names of Eaft Wickham, Plumfted, Erith, and Crayford. Eaji Wickham muft not be confounded with the Wickham near Hayes, of which we have made mention in p. 178. This is but a fmall and inconfiderable village, containing not more than 40 houfes, and fomewhat more than 200 inhabitants. The manor once belonged to the family of Lovell ; and to that lord Lovell in parti- cular, who was the favourite of the fanguinary Richard the Third, and on whom the famous diftich was made — The rat, the cat, and Lovell the dog,. Rule all England under the hog. The hog meant Richard, whofe creft was a boar. From this family the manor has defcended from various proprietors to the Rev. Mr. Bennet. The parifh church is curious, and of considerable antiquity ; it is conftructed of flint and ftone, but its fpire is of wood. It is only a chapel of eafe to Plum- fted ; and the great tithes of both parilhes belong to a charitable foundation at Chat- ham, upon which they were fettled by Sir John Hawkins. Part of the village of Welling, through which the high road to Dover paffes, lies KENT. 187 lies in the parifh of Eaft Wickham ; and there is a charity-fchool for twenty poor children, the benefits of which are extended to both thefe places. PLUMSTED. PLUMSTED is a village of greater importance and magnitude, for it contains near 130 houfes, and more than 650 inhabitants. This place is celebrated for cherries and green peas; more than 100 acres are occupied for the cultivation of the former, and more than 50 folely for the latter. Here was formerly a weekly market on a Tuefday, and an annual fair which conti- nued for the fpace of three days -, but thefe have long ceafed. In this parifli are the manors of Plumfted, Burwafh or Borwafh-court, Boftall, Borftall, or Borton, and Plumfted Aeon or Upland. The firft is veiled in the fociety of Queen's college, Oxford, to which it was bequeathed by John Michel, Efq. for the maintenance of eight fellows and four fcholars. Four undergra- duates have fince been added to the number. Burwafh belongs to a gentleman of the name of Martin, who has a manfion in the parifh not far from Woolwich. The Clothworkers' company are owners of the manor of Borftall, not by gift, but by purchafe. This manor contains a few fcattered houfes, and may therefore be considered as a hamlet of Plumfted. The fame refpectable company are alfo pro- prietors of the manor of Plumfted Aeon. The Society for the Propagation of the Gofpel in New England, and the adja- cent Parts, have alfo an eftate in this parifh, known by the name of Suffolk-place- farm. The eftate which is called Plumfted-park-farm belongs to a merchant of the name of Bouzer. The church of Plumfted may be confidered as a great curiolity j and the lofty turret, in particular, near the north aifle, which has a parapet. Among other curi- ous monuments is one to John Lidgbird, Efq. of ShooterVhill, and another to John Denham, Efq. There is no charity-fchool in this parifh, and only a few benefactions to the poor from different individuals. There are not much lefs than 1000 acres of marfh land, belonging to Plumfted ; the hiftory of which, with the circumftances of their em- bankments, would fill a volume. They are now left to the management of the commiffion of fewers. b b 2 E R I T H. 188 KEN TV E R I T H. ERITH is the place from which the hundred took its joint name of Lefnes. Antiquarians greatly differ with refpect to the etymology of this word — fome think it comes from the Saxon word lefwes, which means paftures ; others derive it from lefe, an old Britifh word for paftures ; and nefe, which fignifies a cape — others again trace it to crre, which means ancient ; and hythe, a Saxon word for harbour; and this laft is, in our opinion, the moft confiftent, and the mod pro- bable. In Domefday-book it is written Loifnes, and in fome remoter records Hliefnes. This alfo was one of the manors appropriated by the Conqueror for the benefit of his brother Odo ; it is at prefent occupied by the family of Wheatley. The places of greateft note in and near this village, are Bedingwall, Hering-hill, Draper's- place, and Belvidere-houfe ; which laft manfion is the relidence of lord Eardley. Sampfon Gideon, father of lord Eardley, obtained this place by purchafe of the Baltimore family. This gentleman rebuilt the manfion, and adorned it with a moft curious and valuable collection of pictures. The village itfelf is of no great confideration. The Indiamen generally ftop at this place to get rid of fo much of their cargoes as may facilitate their progrefs up the river. This incident unavoidably makes Erith in fome degree populous ; at leaft it is the occafion of its being numeroufly vifited at particular times. There are two annual fairs at Erith, one on Holy Thurfday, the other on Michaelmas- day. There is no charity-fchool, nor any benefactions to the poor, except the inte- refi of 50/. bequeathed by a lady. The church is not within the town, but almoft half a mile to the north of it. It is a vicarage, in the diocefe of Rochefter, and in the gift of the Dafhwood family. There was anciently an abbey in this place named Lefnes-abbey, and founded by Richard de Lucy, who in the reign of Henry the Second was lord chief juftice of England. Several ftone coffins, and various antiquities, have been here dug up. Nothing can exceed the'miferable, melancholy, and dreary appearance of the EfTex coaft as viewed from Erith j which, however, is agreeably oppofed by the riling hills of Plumfted and its vicinity. CRAY- KENT. iZ 9 C R A Y F O R D. CRAYFORD, the laftparifh in this hundred, receives its name from the river Cray. This river anciently was called Crecca ; and the place accordingly, in the time of the Saxons, was named Creccan-ford, the meaning of which is, the paflage over the Crecca. The manor of Crayford, in the reign of king John, was the property of Adam de Port. In 1694 it belonged to the gallant admiral Sir Cloudefley Shovel, whofe lamentable fate is thus related by a writer of refpectable authority : — " After the ' unfuccefsful attempt upon Toulon, in which Sir Cloudefley performed all in his ' power, he bore away for the Streights, and foon after refolved to return home. 1 He left Sir Thomas Dilkes at Gibraltar with nine fhips of the line, for the ' fecurity of the coafts of Italy ; and then proceeded with the remainder of the ' fleet, confifting of ten fhips of the line, four fire-fhips, a floop, and a yacht, for ' England. October 22, he came into the foundings, and had ninety fathom ' water. About noon he lay by, but at fix in the evening he made fail again, and ' flood away under his courfes, believing, as it is fuppofed, that he faw the light ' on Scilly. Soon after which, feveral fhips of his fleet made the fignal of diftrefs, ' as he himfelf did j and feveral perifhed, befides the admiral's : there were on ' board the AfTociation, with him, his fons-in-law, and many young gentlemen 1 of quality. His body was thrown afhore the next day upon the ifland of Scilly, ' where fome fifhermen took him up j and, having flolen a valuable emerald ' ring from his finger, ftripped and buried him. This coming to the ears of Mr. c Paxton, who was purfer of the Arundel, he found out the fellows, declared the ' ring to be Sir Cloudefley Shovel's, and obliged them to difcover where they had ' buried the body, which he took up and carried on board his own fhip to Portf- ' mouth. It was thence conveyed to London, and buried in Weflminfler-abbey ' with great folemnity, where a monument was afterwards erected to his memory ' by the queen's direction. " Sir Cloudefley Shovel was, at the time of his death, rear-admiral of England, ** admiral of the white, commander in chief of her majefty's fleets, and one of * c the council to prince George of Denmark, as lord high-admiral of England. *' He married the widow of his patron, Sir John Narborough, by whom he left 1 " two i 9 o KEN T. •* two daughters, co-heireffes." — The manor now belongs to Miles Barne, Efq. of Sotterly, in Suffolk . There are feveral places in this parifh worthy of notice; and in particular, Howbery, Newbery, and Elham. Howbery, in the reign of Henry the Second, belonged to the noble family of North wood : in the reign of Henry the Sixth, it was the property of Roger Apylton : a daughter of Sir Cloudefley Shovel conveyed it with her perfon to John Blackwood, Efq. with whofe heirs it now remains. Newbery, in the beginning of the reign of Henry the Sixth, belonged to the family of Poynings : it now belongs, with Howbery, to the heirs of the daughter of Sir Cloudefley Shovel. Elham belonged to a family of the fame name. Henry Elham, who poffeffed it in the reign of Henry the Sixth, was one of the auditors of that monarch. From the Elhams, it defcended by purchafe to the family of Harman. One of this family fold it to Robert Draper, Efq. The prefent owner is Miles Barne, Efq. above mentioned. The town of Cray ford confifts of one long but irregular ftreet. Here was a refidence of Sir Cloudefley Shovel ; and fuch is the fate of greatnefs, it became afterwards a linen manufacturer's warehoufe, and is now, or at leaft a confiderable part of it, a workhoufe. The river here divides itfelf into two ftreams, which feve- rally fupply a fufEcient quantity of water for a large iron mill, and two confi- derable manufactories for printing of calicoes. The river flows into the Thames at no great diflance from the town of Dartford. The neighbourhood of this place is memorable in Englifh hiflory for a great and bloody battle between Hengifl, the firft Saxon king of Kent, and the Britons ; Hengifl flew four thoufand of them, and drove them entirely out of this part of the country. Many of our mofl learned antiquarians make Crayford the firft Roman ftation from London towards Dover. Certain it is, that the Roman road may be evidently diflinguifhed on Bexley-heath, ftretching in a fouth-eaft direction towards Crayford. There are alfo fome very curious ancient and deep caves in the woods, heaths, and fields in the vicinity of Crayford, the ufe and origin of which have been varioufly explained. Some of thefe are from fifteen to twenty fathoms in depth, which increafe in circumference as they defcend, and at the ex- tremity are found to have many large apartments refting upon chalk pillars. They might not improbably have been firft dug for the purpofe of getting chalk ; they might KENT. 191 might afterwards, in times of danger and civil disturbances, have ferved as hiding- places for the wives, families, and property of thofe neareft the fcene of danger. The church is a fpacious, and not inelegant ftructure. Its peal of bells is much admired for its melody. The rectory is in the j urifdiction of the diocefe of Ro- chefter, and the advowfon is in the pofTeffion of the heirs of Sir Henry Farmer, Bart. There is a very commodious and handfome parfonage-houfe. In Ecton's Thefaurus this place is named Earde alias Crayford, and is valued in the king's books at 35/. ly. 6d. Hundred of Dartford and Wilmington. 'THHIS may be faid, in fome degree, to be a hundred of modern creation. It is not diftinguifhed as a hundred in Domefday-book ; but the two pariihes of Dartford and Wilmington are reprefented as conftituting a part of the hundred of Axtane. Dartford is a place of fome consideration, as well from its local confequence, as from the many things to be commemorated in its neighbourhood. It is in the direct road from London to Dover, and of courfe, when the communication was open betwixt this country and France, was a town of great traffic. The name of the place in Latin is Derenti Vadwn, the paffage over the Derent ; and accordingly its Saxon name was Derentford. Its orthography in Domefday- book is feemingly a corruption from Derentford. It is there written Tarenteford'. In remoter times Dartford and its manor was confidered as the private property of the fovereign, and in the reign of king John the produce of the rents was paid into the royal exchequer by the flier iff of Kent. It was afterwards prefented by the crown to a Norman nobleman of the name of St. Paul. In the reign of Henry the Sixth, it appears to have belonged to the duke of Somerfet, but was afterwards given to Neville earl of Warwick by Edward the Fourth. In the reign of Henry the Seventh it belonged to the noble and generous Margaret countefs of Richmond and Derby, who was a munificent benefactrefs to the univerfity of Cambridge, in which place (he founded Chrifl's and St. John's colleges. By the death of this lady it again reverted to the crown, and after palling through the hands of Sir Thomas Walfingham, Sir Robert Darcy, Thomas Yonge, Efq. and others, it became the property of Sir Charles Morgan, with whom it remains. The- i 9 2 KEN T. The other manors in this parifh are thofe called Temples, Dartford Priory, Port* bridge, Charles, and Baldwins, which laft is rather a reputed manor. Temples was anciently the property of the Knights Templars, from whom it took the name which it now bears. This manor alfo belongs to the above-mentioned Sir Charles Morgan. The hiftory of Dartford Priory would be of fufficient interefl to juftify a feparate publication ; our account of it muft be neceflarily concife. Edward the Third was its founder, and he gave a large quantity of land for the fupport of the priorefs and convent. Thefe eftates were increafed and confirmed by fucceeding princes to the time of Henry the Eighth, who took pofTeffion of the building, and enlarged and adorned it as a place of refidence for himfelf and his fucceffors. Some of the noblefl ladies in the kingdom, at different periods, lived in this religious houfe either as prioreffes or nuns. After the death of Henry the Eighth, it became the property of Ann of Cleves, the repudiated wife of that fickle, turbulent, and haughty prince. This illuftrious lady poffeffed thefe domains till her death, which happened in the fourth year of the reign of Mary. James the Firft granted this manor in fucceeding times to Cecil earl of Salifbury, by way of exchange for his afterwards favourite manfion, known by the appellation of Theobalds. From lord Salifbury it became the property of Sir Robert Darcy, and the prefent pof- feffor is Sir Charles Morgan. What was once the priory ftill preferves a venerable appearance. There is a large gate-houfe, and what was once the fouth wing. The old flone walls, which enclofed the garden, alfo remain. It is now diftinguifhed by the name of The Place-houfe. The firft proprietor on record of the manor called Portbridge, was a gentleman in the reign of Edward the Third of the name of Bicknore, or Bykenore. In an old rental, in the time of Henry the Eighth, it is denominated the manor of Port- brege, otherwife Bykenores. In Elizabeth's reign it was termed Bignours, a cir- cumftance mentioned here merely to mark the variation of our language. This manor belongs to the fame proprietor at prefent as the premifes above mentioned. The manor of Charles was fo called from an ancient family of the fame name. It feems to have been granted by Richard the Second to Adam Bamme, Efq. who in that reign was twice lord mayor of London. In 1 765 it belonged to Gerard Anne Edwards, KENT. *93' Edwards, who married lady Jane Noel, a daughter of lord Gainfborough. His heirs are the prefent owners. Baldwins, which, as was faid above, is a reputed manor only, was fo named from a Sir John Baude. Its revenues were given by Henry the Eighth to cardinal Wolfey, This prelate appropriated the eftate to the college he founded in Oxford ; but on his difgrace it came again into the hands bf the king, who afterwards gave it to Eton college. To this honourable foundation it now belongs, and is occupied under it by a gentleman of the name of Hulfe. Horfeman's -place is alfoin this parifh, and refpectable from its antiquity and the ; property annexed to it. Since the reign of Edward the Second it has been pofTeiTed by Thomas de Luda, Thomas de Shardelow, Thomas Brune or Brown, John Byer or Beeri &c. &c. till about the year 1770 it was purchafed by Mr. Sergeant Leigh, in whofe family it continues. Stoneham or Stanham is a hamlet belonging to this parifh, and at the diftance of three quarters of a mile from Dartford. At the fuppreffion of the monasteries in the reign of Henry the Eighth, that monarch became pofTeiTed of Stanham. Dartford may boaft. of a moft excellent market, which is held every Satur- day, and plentifully fupplied with provifions of all kinds. There is alfo a very commodious and fpacious market-houfe, which was erected in confequence of the inconvenient fituation and ruinous condition of the old market-houfe, by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants of Dartford, and the neighbouring gentry. Dartford is alfo famous in our hiftory for having had the firft. paper-mill- which was eftablifhed in England ; the name of the proprietor was Sir John Spil- man. He lived in the time of Elizabeth j and in the Harleian manufcripts in the Britiih. Mufeum is one which fhows — " That John Spilman, her majefty's jew- •* eller, had licence for the fole gathering of rags, &c. neceffary for the manufac- " tory of paper for the fpace of ten years." This paper-mill {till remains, and is employed for the making of paper as at its firft erection. There are various other mills in and near Dartford, as well for making of paper, as for gunpowder, for cutting iron bars, &c. All thefe are worked by the ftream of the river Darent, from which the town takes its name, and which at the eaft extremity croffes the high road, and is pafTed by a bridge of no mean appearance or inelegant flructure. • • ■ The famous infurrection of Wat Tyler commenced at Dartford ; this dema- c c g°g ue ' i 94l KEN T. gogue was in a fhort period joined by one hundred thoufand followers. The event and ftippreflion of the rebellion are well known. The circumftance of Tyler's being flain by Walworth, who was lord mayor at the time, is the reafon why the fword conftitutes a part of the arms of the city of London. The church is a very fpacious, and, in fome refpects, a handfome edifice. It is a vicarage, in the diocefe of Rochefter, and in the gift of the bifhop. The fpot of ground belonging to it, and appropriated for burials, is very fingularly circum- ftanced. It is fomewhat remote from the church, and fo elevated as to be much higher than the tower. There are an hofpital for the poor, and fome alms-houfes tolerably well endowed. On the whole, Dartford is a refpectable and thriving town, which feems to be progreflively increaflng in wealth and populoufnefs. WI LMINGTON. A MORE charming fpot than this upon which Wilmington is fituated cannot eafily be found. It is elevated, dry, healthy, and commands the mod delightful and extenfive profpecfs as well over the Thames as the adjacent country. The foil is gravel ; the vicinity produces many fcarce plants ; there are feveral curious anti- quities at no great diftance ; and upon the whole, thofe who wi(h a place of elegant retirement, convenience, and ingenuous amufement, may well be fatisfied with the town or neighbourhood of Wilmington. In ancient records the place is written Wilmintune and Wilmintuna ; the manor occafionally is called both by the name of Wilmington and Grandifons, which latter appellation it takes from the family of Graunfton or Grandifon, which flourifhed in the reign of Henry the Third. We find that in Henry the Sixth's reign it was in the poflefiion of the great earl of Warwick* who was killed at the famous and bloody battle of Barnet. It afterwards came into the poflefiion of Sir Jeffery Pole,, and in the time of the firft James it belonged to Sir Chriftopher Heron. In 1766 it was conveyed to Nathaniel Webb, Efq. of Taunton, Somerfetihire, and to him or his heirs it now belongs. There are two other manors in this parifh, namely, thofe of Rowe-hill and Stanhill, which alfo is called Wardendale. The firft of thefe belongs to the above Nathaniel Webb, Efq., the latter to the dean and chapter of Rochefter. The KENT. i 9i The church was formerly a chapel of eafe to Sutton at Hone ; it is now a dif- tincl vicarage, in the diocefe of Rochefter, and in the gift of the dean and chapter. It is valued in the king's books at 61. xys. 6d. We again repeat that Wilmington is in all refpects a raoft eligible fituation, and not eafily to be furpaffed in local advantages by any place in this or the adjoining counties. Hundred op Axtane. * I ^HIS hundred is of confiderably greater extent, and contains no lefs than fifteen parifhes, which we fhall enumerate and defcribe in their order :— i . Sutton at Hone; 2. Darent ; 3. Stone; 4. Swanfcombe ; 5. Southfleet ; 6. Longfield ; 7. Fawkham ; 8. Hartley; 9. Ridley; 10. Afh ; 1 1. Kingfdown, in part only; 12. Horton Kirkby ; 13. Farningham ; 14. Aynsford ; 15. Lullingftone : — apart alfo of Cowden is in this hundred : the church of Cowden i-s not. SUTTON at HONE. THIS parifh was formerly far more confiderable than it is at prefent, and indeed gave its name to the hundred. It is now of great extent, and comprehends various manors and ample premifes. Its name in Latin is Suthtuna, or South Town ; and the adjunct of At Hone has a reference to its low fituation ; hone meaning a valley. Sutton at Hone, befides its own particular manor, which is divided into two moieties, called St. John's manor and Sutton manor, contains the manors of Haw- ley-houfe and Highlands, the hamlets of Hawley and Svvanley, and the extenfive premifes named Sutton-place, Gildon-hill, and Hackftaple, or, as it is. now called, Hextable. The manor of Sutton at Hone anciently belonged to the Knights Hofpitallers ; in the time of queen Elizabeth it became the property of two co-heireffes. The one called St. John's manor, now belongs to William Hill, Efq. of Carwythinick, in Cornwall ; the other, which retains the appellation of Sutton manor, with Sut- ton-place, a fpacious and noble manfion, is the property of John Mumford, Efq. Hawley was in remoter times called and written Hagelei, and was once the pro- perty of Odo, brother of William the Conqueror. Hawley-houfe is of great anti- quity, and in the reign of the third Edward belonged to the venerable family of c c 2 Haftingsj i 9 6 KEN T. Haftings ; from them it has defcended through various hands to the family and heirs of Mr. Sergeant Leigh, whom we have before had occafion to mention. Highlands Hands in the molf. elevated part of this parifh, which, indeed, is intimated by its name, and is near Wilmington. It was purchafed of John Talker, Efq. in 1766, by John Calcraft, Efq. of Ingries, or Ingrefs ; and to his heirs it now belongs. Gildon-hill may be traced to have belonged to the priory of Dartford, in the reign of Henry the Eighth. In later times the lady dowager Folkestone has occu- pied and owned it. This eftate is obliged to pay fome fmall annual fum to the crown as an annual fee-farm rent. Hextable is in the hamlet of Swanley. It was anciently written Exftapull, then Hackftaple, and now Hextable. It is a feat of great antiquity, and in Henry the Eighth's reign was poffeffed and occupied by Sir John Wiltfhire. The prefent occupier is that eminent phyfician Dr. Pitcairn, who occafionally retires to this place from the fatigues of his ufeful but laborious profeffion. The town of Sutton itfelf is charmingly fituated. The river Darent agreeably flows through it, and from the church the country rifes in eafy gradations to Gil- don-hill, or, as it is written, not improperly, in many of our maps, Gentle-hill. The church is a fpacious, and not inelegant edifice, dedicated to St. John the Baptift ; it is in the diocefe of Rochester, and in the gift of the dean and chapter- In the year 161 5 it was accidentally burnt to the ground. Some thoughtlefs perfon fired at a bird fitting within the church, and it was fuppofed that the wadding of the gun lodged in the roof, and thus occafioned the conflagration. DARENT. DERENTE, Deorwent, Tarent, Darent, for fo has this place been varioufly denominated, is now known by the name only of Dame. It is a moft agreeable village, whether we conlider its situation, its neighbourhood, or the delighttul. fcenery with which it is every where furrounded. The manor of Darent anciently belonged to Chrift-church, Canterbury ; the prefent proprietors are the dean and chapter of Canterbury. There are feveral considerable and pleafant hamlets belonging to this parifh, in particular thole of St. Margaret Hills, South Darent, and Greenltreet-green.. 1 St. KENT. i 97 St. Margaret Hills, properly fpeaking, is St. Margaret Helles. It was called Helles from one Thomas de Helles, to whom the lands belonged in the reign of the rlrft Edward. It is a manor under the manor of Darent, and at prefent is the property of a family whofe names are Lane. South Darent has fome fragments of antiquity about it, which feem to indicate greater importance than it now pofTelTes. There are fome ancient flint walls, which not improbably are the ruins of a church. Green ftreet-green alfo has a manfion of fome antiquity. The lands and houfe at the prefent period belong to a gentleman of the name of Waldo. An eftate alfo, called Gore-houfe, with other premifes of lefs importance, conftitute part of this parifh. Near Greenftreet-green are many tumuli or barrows, which have often exercifed the fagacity and diligence of our antiquarians : fome have not hefitated to pronounce this the fcene of a bloody battle betwixt Vortimer king of the Britons, and the Saxons.. The church is a mean and fmall ftructure, dedicated to St. Margaret. It is & Vicarage, in the gift of the dean and chapter of Rochefler. In Ecton's Thefaurus it is denominated Daruth alias Darenth. S T O N E. THERE are other places of this name in the county of Kent, for which reafork this village is always called Stone near Dartford. Its ancient name was Stane, but Stane in Saxon Signifies ftone, and the country about this town is remarkably flony, which explains the origin of its. appellation. The places raoft worthy of obfervation in the parifh, are the manor and hamlet of Littlebrooke, Stone-cattle, Stone-place, and Cotton, of which Cotton and Littlebrooke are manors. The manor of Stone constitutes part of the pofleffions of the biihop of Rochefter. Littlebrooke, which in former times was. written Litelbroc, has defcended by marriage to a fon of archbifhop Potter. Stone-caftle merits more particular obfervation. This is fituated on an elevated fpot at no great diftance from the high road to Dover ; the lands belonging to it are considerable,, and the produce of them was bequeathed by Dr. Plume, the founder of the Plumiart profeflbrihip at Cambridge, for the following purpofes : — Twenty-fix fermons were to be preached alternately at Gravefend and Dartford, on every Wednefday during i 9 8 KEN T. during the fummcr half year. After the expenfes of thefe fliould be defrayed, ■' the remainder of the produce of the eftate was to be appropriated to the increafe of fuch vicarages and livings in the diocefe of Rochefter as did not exceed 60/. per annum. We underftand that the intention of the donor has been punctually ful- filled. The manor of Cotton, in the reign of the firft Edward, belonged to a family whofe name was Cotton. It afterwards was the property of Sir John Wiltshire, whofe poffeffions in this hundred have been mentioned before. In the reign of Elizabeth it came into the joint hands of lord Burleigh and Sir Thomas Walfing- ham. We find it afterwards in the poffeffion, firft of Sir Francis Lawley, after- wards of Sir William Keyt, and finally belonging to a lady refident at Canterbury, whofe name is unknown to us. The church of Stone has been exceedingly admired, and well deferves to be fo. The architecture is Gothic, and a more perfect or more beautiful fpecimen of this ftyle cannot eafily be found. The roof of the chancel is very lofty, yet it has the appearance of being much lefs fo than heretofore : fome ancient flails ftill remain on each fide; thefe are remarkable for their curious workmanfhip, and for their fupporters, which are delicate pillars of brown marble. The chapel is now a venerable pile of ruins ; here formerly was the monument of the before-named Sir John Wiltlhire and his wife. The Gothic windows, which are very large and perfectly regular, are in high prefervation. Ail together, the curious antiquary would find a vifit to the parifh church of Stone well repay the trouble and labour it would coft him. Stone is a rectory, in the diocefe of Rochefter, and patronage of the biftiop. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. In the laft century this beautiful edifice was fo injured by lightning, that the bells were abfolutely melted, and the roof and chancel almoft deftroyed. We cannot leave this village without mentioning an anecdote recorded by that ancient hiftorian Matthew Paris, which every reader will believe or not, as he thinks proper. There was a child whofe name was William Crule or Crul : at the age of two years he effectually cured every kind of malady incident to the human body, by placing his hand upon the difeafed perfon, and making the fign of the erofs on his forehead. This wonderful fact is faid to have happened in the year 1252, and in the reign of the fecond Henry. SWANS- KENT. 199 SWANSCOMBE. SWANSCOMBE is the camp of Swane. The Saxon word comhe or eompe, is derived from the Latin campus, which is a field or camp. Swane, as appears from our hiflory, was monarch of Denmark; and as Camden relates, having pene- trated as far as Greenhithe, there landed his troops, and proceeding onwards, pitched his camp at Swanfcombe. Few etymologies are fo clear and fatisfactory. In Domefday-book Swanfcombe is fpelt Suinefcamp, and appears to have belonged' to the brother of William the Conqueror. It reverted at different times, and on various occasions, to the crown ; and in the reign of Edward the Third, was the property of Roger lord Mortimer. Elizabeth beftowed it on Anthony Wel- don, Efq. who afterwards received the honour of knighthood. In 1763 we find it in the pofTeffion of Robert Child, Efq. the great banker, and to his heirs it now belongs. The manor of Combes is in this parifh, from which an ancient family hereto- fore took their name. John de Combe occupied this place in the reign of Edward the Third. In now belongs to the heirs of Sir Francis Head. Greenhithe, which is a hamlet belonging to Swanfcombe, well deferves notice- from its fupplying the contiguous counties with immenfe quantities of chalk and' lime. Here is always the appearance of great activity and traffic. The fhore is covered with wharfs, and a numerous quantity of barges are continually employed in loading or landing various articles of commerce. The ferry which was anciently eftablifhed here for the tranfporting of carriages, is now ufed only for horfes.. Ingrefs, or Ingries, is alfo in this parifh, and was once a manor belonging to Dart- ford priory. It latterly formed one of the many eftates of John Calcraft, Efq. On his death the manfion was occupied by different individuals, but the property is,, we believe, vefted in Mr. Calcraft *s heirs- The ftory of William the Conqueror's being flopped in this place by the men; of Kent, headed by the archbifhop, and demanding with their arms in their hands,, the confirmation of their rights, feems not to be believed by our mofl fagacious, antiquaries. The church is a rectory in the gift of the mafter and fellows of Sidney college,. Cambridge- Its value in the king's books is 25/. 13s. \d.. The high road, to Dover croffes the village, which has a picturefque appearance from the water,, on. account of the woods which agreeably cover the brow of the adjoining hills. SOUTHS aoo KEN T. SOUTH FLEET. SUTHFLETA, now called Southfleet, is a place of great antiquity. In the troublefome and dark times of the Saxon heptarchy, Birtrick was lord of the manor of Sudfleta. It afterwards came into the hands of the crown, and we find that Henry the Eighth gave it to Sir William Petre. He fold it to William Garret, Efq. ; and it now belongs to the Sedley family, whofe manfion is at Scadbury in this parifh. Scadbury is a very ancient feat, but is now deferted by its former pof- fefTors. The manor of Pole is in Southfleet parifh, but has no particulars attached to it to juftify our detaining the reader. There is alfo a feat or manfion of fome antiquity called Hook-place, and a hamlet, the name of which is Betfham, or Bedefham. A Roman mileftone or milliare was found in this parifh, which confirms the affertion of antiquarians, that a Roman road paffed through Southfleet, and that Southfleet was not improbably a Roman ftation. The church is an object which well deferves attention. It is dedicated to St. Ni- cholas, and has many curious marks of antiquity about it. The font in particular has been very much admired. Its form is octagon, and the workmanfhip is remark- ably curious. There are alfo fix ancient flails or feats, intended doubtlefs for the monks* In the eafl window are fome curious fragments of painted glafs. On the pavement in the approach to the altar are fome red and yellow tiles. There is alfo a mufical peal of bells in this church, and it is altogether an elegant and intereft- ing ftructure. We muft not leave Southfleet without making honourable mention of its free- fchool. This was founded in the year 1637 by Sir Charles Sedley, with a decent falary for the mafter. The heirs of this gentleman in fucceeding times improved and increafed the inftitution. The church is a rectory, in the gift of the bifhop of Rochefler ; and its value in the king's books is 31/. 15^. L ON G F I EL D. LONGFIELD, in Domefday-book written Langafel, and in writings of remoter antiquity Langefeld, is the next parifh to Southfleet. It is a mean inconfi- derable KENT. 201 derable place, confifting only of a few poor and thinly fcattered houfes. The foil is hard and fterile, abounding in chalk with flint ftones almoft without number. The manor belongs to the archdeaconry of Rochefter. The church is a poor and mean edifice, in the patronage of the bifhop of Rochefter ; nor has it any thing- more remarkable appertaining to it, than that the good and generous archdeacon Plume, whofe munificent charities have before been recorded, is interred within its walls. F A W K H A M. THE common people call this place Fakeham. It has at different periods been written Fachefham, Fealcanham, and Falcheham. The manor is divided into the two diftindt manors of Old and New Fawkham. The firft defcended from various proprietors to the dowager lady Folkftone j the fecond belongs to the heirs of William Selby, Efq. of Pennis, a considerable man- sion in this parifh. A fingular donation bequeathed .in part to the poor of this parifh deferves to be recorded. John Walter, Efq. of Pennis, left by his will to the two pooreft men of the different parifhes of Afh, Hartley, and Fawkham, " a large coat of good " ruflet cloth;" — to two widows alfo of fimilar fituation and description, " two " good ruflet gowns." — It was moreover enjoined thofe who were to receive the benefits of this bequeft, to appear every Chriftmas-day at Pennis, at eight o'clock in the morning, and thence proceed to the church, where they were to hear a fermon, for preaching of which the clergyman was to receive ten fhillings. After fermon the poor men and women were to return to Pennis, and partake of a comfortable dinner. The church is dedicated to St. Mary j it is a rectory in the diocefe of Rochefter, to which the lords of the manors of Old and New Fawkham alternately prefent, HARTLEY. THE name of this village has undergone a very fingular alteration. In Domef- day-book we find it written Erclei, and in ancient records it has been thus exprefled : ** Herdei." — This manor reverted to the crown after having been for a long time poflefled by the brother of William the Conqueror. From the fovereign it will be d d found 2oa KEN T. found to have patted through various hands, till it became vefted in a family of the name of Gens. The foil of this parifli refembles that which we have defcribed immediately be- fore. It is full of flint ftones, and is yet very chalky. The church is a mean and fmall erection, dedicated to all the Saints. It is of no great value, being difcharged from the king's books. The village has nothing in or near it which merits any particular notice. RIDLEY. REDLEGE, Redlegh, has finally become Ridley. This village alfo belonged to Odo, brother of the Conqueror. The manor now belongs to the heirs of William Glanville Evelyn, Efq. in whofe patronage alfo the rectory remains. This village has flill lefs to diftinguifh it than the former. There is no feparate manor in the parifli, no premifes of which it is necefTary to make any diflinct mention, no anti- quities to record, no appropriate acts of charity to praife. That here they lived and here they died, is all that is known of the rude forefathers of the hamlet of Ridley. ASH. THIS village is in Domefday-book written EifTe ; in more ancient records it is found JEifcc near Farningham, and fometimes near Wrotham. There are the manors of North Afh and South Afh. We find that the manor of North Afh having been forfeited to the crown, was granted by Henry the Eighth to Cromwell earl of EfTex. It now belongs to the heirs of Thomas Lambard, Efq. South Afh belonged to a family who either received or gave the name. John de Southefhe was the proprietor and occupier in the reign of Edward the Third. It has for along feries of years belonged to the family of Hodfell, a name which has at various times been written Huddyfhole, Hudfoll, and Hodfoll. Another manor in this parifh is called Holywell. There was, fo early as the reign of Edward the Second, a nunnery of Benedictines, called the nunnery of Holywell, fituated fomewhere in the city of London. It is hardly necefTary to inform the reader that this appellation of Holywell is an alteration from holy ice//, from KENT. 203 from fome fpring or fountain of prefumed fanftity or holinefs. This manor alfo now belongs to the Lambard family. The knights Templars had anciently fome poffeflions in this parifh, and there was a manor here named St. John's Afh. By the way, it may ftimulate the refearches of fome of our indefatigable antiquaries, to inquire whence it happens that one or more villages of the name of Afli is to be found in almoft every county of the king- dom. There is another village of the name of Afh in the county of Kent, fituated in the neighbourhood of Sandwich. The village we are now defcribing is fomewhat romantic, being nearly fur- rounded with wood. The foil is hard, and very much covered with flint. The church originally was in the patronage of the knights of St. John of Jerufalem. It now belongs to the Lambard family. It is a rectory, and valued in the king's books at 9/. 1 8j\ \d. KINGSDOWN. THIS place has been anciently thus varioufly written, Kingledune, Kingefdune, and finally Kingfdown. The manor anciently belonged to the noble family of Fitz- bernard. The prefent pofTefror is that great and affluent commoner Thomas Wil- liam Coke, Efq. of Holkham, in Norfolk. The other manors in this parifh are Hever, Chepfted, Maplefcombe, and Wood- land, which is alfo called Week. The manor of Hever alfo belongs to Mr. Coke of Norfolk ; and fo alfo does a moiety of Chepfted — the other part of Chepfted manor is again fubdivided among two or more proprietors. Maplefcombe has been at different times written Mapeldrefkampe and Mapfcumbe, which laft is become its general name. In this place formerly was a feparate church and a noble manfion : both have long been in ruins. The manor belongs to. Mr. Coke above mentioned. Woodland or Week, though in this parifh, lies in another hundred 1 it formerly was a parifh of itfelf, though it now belongs to Kingfdown. This laft is a poor and inconfiderable place, though, with regard to its foil, it is better than the places contiguous to it. The fituation of the church is moft Angularly romantic. It ftands in the deep bofom of a wood which covers a fpace of very little lefs than a hundred acres. It d d % is 204 KEN T. is a rcdlory, the patronage of which is in the dean and chapter of Rochefter. In the king's books it is entitled a joint rectory with Mapifcombe or Mapfcombe, and is valued at 9/. is. 8i. HORTON KIRKBY IS really an interefting fpot. — Here formerly was a caftle, of which many large and venerable ruins remain. It is an agreeable, fertile, and truly retired place, and contains in its vicinity many places which have formerly been of great confideration, and now may well excite curiofity and attention. The manor of Horton was given by the Conqueror to his brother Odo. One of his defcendants built Horton-caflle, which, from what may yet be feen of it, muffc once have been a ftrong and fpacious building. The manor now belongs to Queen's college, Oxford, to whom it was given by John Michel, Efq. of Richmond in Surry. Kirkby-court is alfo a manor in this parifh. In queen Elizabeth's time it be- longed to the celebrated Sir Thomas Walfingham ; it now belongs to a widow lady, whofe name has not reached us. There is alfo in this parifh. a feat of no fmall importance, the common appel- lation of which is Franks, whether we confider the claims and poffeffions of the owner, or its local fituation, and the pleafant point which it occupies on the banks of the river Darent. Another agreeable feat in this parifh is called Reynolds-place, of no lefs magnitude or intereft than the former, whether we fpeak of its anti- quity or local advantages. There is alfo a hamlet belonging to Horton, which is called Pinden, anciently Pinnedene, and which was once of far greater importance than at prefent. Horton is a vicarage ; the church is dedicated to St. Mary ; its patronage is in private hands. It appears from Edon's Thefaurus that the name of the patron who laft prefented was Mr. Thomas Williams. FARNINGHAM. THIS place, anciently written Ferlingeham, Ferningeham, and Freningham, is one of the moft delightful villages in Kent. The fcenes every where around it partake of all the beauties of a perfect land fcape. There is indeed every variety which KENT. 205 which the lover of ruftic fcenery would require, and the fituation is as falubrious as it is agreeable. Farningham, befides its own particular manor, properly fo denominated, con<- tains the feparate manors of Chartons and Chimbhams, or, as the common people pronounce it, Chimmans. There is alfo belonging to this parifh, what was once a confiderable man (ion, known by the name of Petham-place. The manor of Farningham, after being an efcheat to the crown by the difgrace and puniihment of Odo, has paffed through the hands of various proprietors, till it now belongs to a gentleman of the name of Fuller. Chartons anciently belonged to the archbifhops of Canterbury ; the prefent proprietor is John Talker, Efq. of Franks. Chimmans, or more properly Chimbhams, in the reign of Henry the Third, belonged to John de Chimbeham j at the Restoration it became the property of Sir James Bunce, an alderman of London, and it is now enjoyed by one of his defcendants. Petham-place was one of the many purchafes made in this part of the county of Kent by John Calcraft, Efq. of Ingrefs. There is, as may be fuppofed from its local fituation, a conftant traffic through Farningham. The road from London to Maidftone paffes directly through it, and the paflage is facilitated by a neat and commodious bridge, which is here thrown over the Darent — the bridge is of brick, and confifts of four arches. There has alfo been a mill eftabliihed in this place from the time of king Stephen, who appears to have given the mill of Frenynham alias Farningham, to a fociety of monks efta- blifhed at Bermondfey, in Surry. The church of Farningham alone remains to be fpoken of, and this alfo is en- titled to our commendation. It is confecrated to St. Peter and St. Paul ; a vicarage, the patronage of which is with the archbiihop of Canterbury. There is a very curious font in this church, the antiquity of which muft obvioufly be very remote. It is of an octagonal form, and in each divifion there are a number of allegorical figures, executed with no mean {kill. Some foolifh and modern hand, not im- probably with the idea cf improving it, has fo disfigured the ancient devices, that it is almofl impoffible to comprehend the defign of the original artift. The peal of bells in Farningham church is faid to be unufually good. EYNSFORD. ■io6 KEN T. E Y N S F O R D. THIS place is in all the maps crroneoufly written Aynsford. The etymology of the names of places terminating in the word for J, can hardly to the commoneft reader require explanation. At this place, in remoter times, was a ford over the river Darent. Here alfo was one of our ancient caftles, which, with the manor, was held of the archbifhops of Canterbury. It is now in the pofTefhon of Sir John Dixon Dyke. There are three other manors in this parifh, namely, Orkefden, Little Mote, and Pelham-court. Orkefden gave a name to an ancient family, and William de Or- kefden was a perfonage of fome note in the reign of John. This manor alfo be- longs to the refpectable baronet, proprietor of the manor of Eynsford. The manors of Little Mote and Pelham-court, are the property feverally of lord Romney and the Bofvilles of Staffordfhire. There is nothing to record of this place, no local cuftoms, antiquities, or peculiarities. The church is mean and fmall. There were fome curious and ancient monuments, and monumental infcriptions ; thefe, however, partly by time, and partly by un- feeling, and we had almoft faid unpardonable negligence, are defaced and ruined. The rector of Eynsford prefents to the vicarage j and the gentleman who at pre- fent pofTefTes this privilege is a layman, and the above mentioned Sir John Dixon Dyke. There is a hamlet belonging to this parifh, not to be omitted in point of accuracy, though of no great importance in itfelf ; and this is Crokerhill. The lands of this, formerly annexed to the priory of Dartford, and afterwards belonging to Percival Hart, who was honoured by the fmiles and prefence of queen Elizabeth, belong, with almoft the whole of the parifh, to the proprietor of the manor of Eynsford. LULLINGSTONE. LULLINGSTONE, anciently written Lolingeftone, and occafionally alfo Lul- lingeftone, is the laft village to be defcribed in the hundred of Axftane. The hiftory of the manor of Lullingftone, if purfued and explained in detail, would involve many curious and important particulars ; but we can only felect fuch of thefe as feem more immediately pertinent. This is one of the numerous pofTef- i {ions KENT. 207 fions given by William the Conqueror to his brother. To William it again reverted. In the reign of Richard the Second it appears to have belonged to Sir John Peche. There was a gentleman of this name in pofTeflion of this eftate and manor in the time of Henry the Seventh, who was of high character for loyalty and valour. He was particularly instrumental in oppofing and thwarting the at- tempts of the celebrated Perkin Warbeck, and indeed was the caufe of his final overthrow on Blackheath. The manor afterwards came into the hands of Sir Percival Hart, and now belongs to Sir John Dixon Dyke. This place is called a village, but in fact it conlifls only of two or three houfes. The church, however, merits particular mention. The munificence, united with the elegant tafte of the patron, has made this- church a moft interesting fpectacle. The monuments, the ftyle of the feats, but above all, the painted windows, exhibit all together a picture which cannot eafily be exceeded in elegance or beauty. The fubjects delineated very curioufly in the windows, are partly fcriptural, and partly heraldrical diftin&ions of the prefent family and their remoter anceftors. The church is in the diocefe of Rochester. It is a rectory in the gift of Sir John Dyke, and its certified value in Ecton's Thefaurus is 39/. is. 3^ Hundred of Codsheath- T^HE next hundred, of Codfheath or Codefede, contains nine different parifh.es, namely — Shoreham, Halfted, Otford, Kemfing, Seale, Sevenoke, Chevening, that is to fay part of Chevening, Sundrifh, and what is called Woodland in Kingf- down. In this hundred alfo is part of the parifhes of Speldhurft and Lyghe. The firft of thefe to be mentioned is SHOREHAM. THIS place is alfo in ancient records denominated Schorham. The manor be- longs to the crown, and is part of what is termed the manor of Otford. At Shore- ham was formerly a caftle, to which a diftinct manor was annexed.. This caftle mull neceffarily have been of great antiquity, for one of our moft correct writers on* zoS KEN T. on fubjects of local hiftory obferves, tbat of Shoreham-caftle only the ruins could be difcerned in the reign of Henry the Eighth. The places moft worthy of notice in the parifh of Shoreham, are Prefton and New-houfe. The former anciently conftituted part of the domains of the archbi- fhops of Canterbury; latterly it belonged, as it does at prefent, to the family of Borrett, which occupies a very elegant and fpacious manfion, to which the name of New-houfe has been given. There is only one feparate manor in the parifti of Shoreham, known by the name of Filfton, or Vielfton. This alfo belongs to the Borretts of New-houfe. There are alfo two premifes, with conflderable eftates annexed, in Shoreham, and which are called Sepham and Planers. Thefe belong to Mr. Polhill of Chip- fted, in the fame county. Shoreham is a mean village, and has nothing more remarkable belonging to it than a handfome bridge thrown over the Darent, which has two not inelegant arches. The church alfo has fome claims to commendation. It is a neat, iimple Structure ; a vicarage, in the diocefe of Rochefter, and in the gift of the dean and chapter of Weftminfter. It is what is called a peculiar of the archbilhop ; the meaning of which term is, that having anciently been part of the peculiar poffef- flons of the archbifhop, they are not amenable to the jurifdiction of the bilhop in whofe particular diocefe they lie. H A L S T E D. HALSTED is an obfeure and poor village ; yet, on the approach to it, it prefents an interefting and picturefque appearance. It is lofty, being on a gentle eminence ; and the hill, or rather hills, on which it is fltuated, are of chalk. The manor probably belonged to the fee of Canterbury, at lead: the perfon whom our ancient records firft mention as its occupier, held it of the archbilhop. It paffed in 1738 to the third fon of the duke of St. Alban's, who by his late majefty George the Second was created a peer. This church is alfo a peculiar of the archbilhop, who has alfo the patronage of the rectory. It is much to be lamented that the very curious fpecimens of painted glafs with which the church was once ornamented, are now almofl wholly deftroyed. Halfted KENT. aog Halfted-place is an elegant manfion in this parifh, which formerly belonged to the above-mentioned lord Vere ; it is now the property of John Sargent, Efij. O T F O R D. AT this place we fhall be delayed fomewhat longer. Here formerly was art archiepifcopal palace, and it is alfo of fome note in the annals of our country. The name of the village has at different times been written Ottanford, Otefort, Otteford, and Otford. The manor anciently belonged to the fee of Canterbury, but Henry the Eighth obtained it of archbifhop Cranmer, in exchange for fome other eltates. It now remains with the crown, which grants at pleafure what is termed the high ftewardfhip of the honour of Otford, to fome diftinguifhed indi- vidual of the county. The prefent high fie ward is the duke of Dorfet. The palace, of which at prefent there are but inconfiderable remains, was formerly very fplendid and magnificent. The archbifhops here, from time to time, kept their court, and exercifed becoming hofpitality. It is related of archbifhop- War- ham, that he expended in repairing and ornamenting this place a fum very little fhort of 40,000/. There is a fpring in the vicinity of the ruins, and which formerly ufed to fupply the palace, which is called St. Thomas's fpring. Of this the fol- lowing miraculous ftory is related — Thomas a. Becket refided at this palace. His domeftics complained of a fcarcity of water, upon which the holy man walked forth with his ftafF, and at a convenient fpot ftruck the earth with it ; upon which a ftream of limpid water burft forth, and has never fince ceafed to flow. The hiftory of the manors and other premifes in this parifh is involved in fome obfcurity, of no great importance to our purpofe to develope. There is a manor called Sergeant's Otford with the Little Park ; there is another manor called Dane- hull, and familiarly Denhall. There is alfo a confiderable eflate belonging to Sir Richard Betenfon, known by the appellation of Rye-houfe ; there is another called Broughtons. Two very bloody battles took place in or near Otford ; one between the Saxons in fome civil contention, the other between the Saxons and the Danes. The vef- tiges of thefe encounters from time to time appear — fkeletons have often been found, heads of fpears and fragments of military weapons. Of thefe the parti- E e culars no KEN T. culars may be feen at length in Camden, and many curious incidents are related in Lambrfrd's Perambulation of this county. The church or rather chapel of Qtford is an adjunct to Shoreham. It was hereto- fore of much greater repute. The faint to whom it was dedicated was faid to have the gift of removing barrennefs ; and a fair was annually held at this place, in com- memoration of his miracles and beneficial qualities. The ruins of the palace excite on the view a melancholy emotion ; for what contemplative mind can view magnificence exchanged for fordid obfcurity, luxury For poverty, learning for ignorance, without regretting the imbecility of nature, and the viciffitudes of fortune ? " Vain end of human ftrength, of human fkill r " Conqueft, and triumph, and domain, and pomp, " And eafc, and luxury." " Afpice murorum moles praruptaque faxa " Obrutaque horrenti vafta theatra fitu." K E M S I N G. ! THE variation which the name of this village has undergone is not a little fin- gular. We find it written Cemecinga, Camefing, and finally Kemfing. The manor in the reign of the fecond Henry belonged to the earl of Albemarle. Fynes, a gallant foldier, and much beloved by Henry the Fifth, with whom he ferved in France, pofTefTed this manor in that reign. In the reign of the fucceeding monarch this gentleman came to an untimely end. Henry the Eighth feized the manor of Kemfing on pretence of its belonging by defcent to his queen, Ann Boleyn, and "afterwards gave it to Ann of Cleves. Queen Elizabeth granted this and other eftates to Sir Henry Carey, who was afterwards lord Hunfdon, and of whom the following fingular anecdote is related : He had often folicited his royal miftrefs, who was alfo his coufin, to make him earl of Wiltfhire, thinking that he had a fair claim to this honour in right of his mother Mary, fifter to queen Ann Boleyn. Elizabeth was unwilling to comply with his requeft, which fo exceedingly preyed upon the young man's mind, that' it caufed a fit of ficknefs which terminated in his death. When he was dying, Eli- zabeth paid him a vifit, and childifhly enough ordered the patent for creating him earl KEN T. an earl of Wiltfhire, to be -placed upon his bed, together with his earl's robes, &c. The kindnefs, however, was too late to be efficacious, and the dying nobleman told the queen with great firmnefs, that as flie did not efteem him deferving this honourable diftinction when in the vigour of health and ftrength, he did not on his dying bed think it expedient to accept them. The.prefent poffeffor of this manor, under certain limitations, is his grace the duke of Dorfet. Mention ought to be made of a very ancient eftate in the pariih of Kemfing, known by the name of Crowdleham. This has been the property of a refpectable family of the name of Bunce ever fince the reign of Henry the Eighth. A gentle- man of the name of Bunce now occupies and refides at Crowdleham. Kemfing was formerly of much greater note than it is at prefent. Here was formerly a market held weekly on a Monday. A fair is frill annually kept here on Eafler Monday. A tutelar faint alfo, whofe fuppofed virtues were very extra- ordinary and miraculous, brought a great concOurfe of people perpetually to the town, and more particularly to the church of Kemfing — this was St. -Edith ■■; her image was placed on a pedeflal in the church-yard, and among other benefit's which fhe imparted to her votaries, her power, on proper application, diffipafed the peftilence of mildew, and the blights from the corn. St. Edith moreover was a native of the place, and, to mark her affection for her native foil, produced a well called St. Edith's well, which appellation it is faid ftill to retain. The church is a vicarage, annexed to the adjoining pariih church of Seale, and the patronage is with the duke of Dorfet. SEALE. SEALE, the next pariih to the fouth.of Kemfing, is a mean, dreary, .and, cheerlefs place. The eye is fatigued with wandering over hundreds of hundreds of acres of uncultivated heath, without any thing to reft upon but a few woods inter- fperfed -, and thefe are of low, ragged, and miferable appearance. This village was formerly denominated De la Sele, and fometimes La Sele.; now as fcle is a Saxon word for a manfion of fome fplendour, a palace, &c. it is not improbable to fuppofe that here was formerly in remoter times fome fuch edifice. The manor of Seale now belongs to. the duke of Dorfet, under the fame, or fimi- e e 2 . . ... . lar 2iz KEN T. lar limitations, as the contiguous manor of Kern ring. It is probable that this place gave the additional title to the noble family, the head of which is lord Say and Seale. There are two other manors in this parifh, one called Hall, the other Sti- dulfeVplace, which latter has alfo the name of the Wildernefs. Hall-place belongs to a gentleman of the name of Thompfon ; Stidulfe's-place is the property of a family whofe name is Pratt, and which originally came from Devonfhire. It was the Bickerftaffe family which owned this place in the reign of Charles the Firft, one of whom changed the name from Stidulfe's-place to the Wildernefs, which it has ever fince preferved. Nulcombe and Stonepit are alfo two confiderable eftates belonging to the parim of Seale. We before obferved that this parifh. is annexed to the vicarage of Kem- fing, but there are no local circumftances to juftify any farther detail in this place. SEVENOKE. THERE is no portion of Kent more interefting than this which we are about to defcribe, whether we confider the diverfity of the foil, the picturefque appearance of the country, the number of noble manfions with which it is adorned, and above all, the magnificent palace and beautiful domains of his grace the duke of Dorfet. Sevenoke, or, as it is familiarly called, Sennoke, is contiguous to Seale to the fouth. Its appellation hardly requires to be explained. Its ancient name was Seoven acca. The town is built upon a hill, upon which, in more remote times, and not improbably when the place was firft built upon, feven large oak trees were Handing. The manor of Sevenoke formerly belonged to the fee of Canterbury. Henry the Eighth obtained pofleffion of it in exchange for other lands, of archbifhop Cranmer^ Knole alfo belonged to the fame fee of Canterbury ; for it appears that in the reign of Henry the Sixth, archbifhop Bourchier bought it of lord Say and Seale. This fame prelate made a fplendid addition to the houfe, and confiderably improved and adorned the adjoining domains. After him different archbifhops of Canterbury made this the place of their refidence, and in particular that wife and learned cha- racter lord chancellor Warham. When the manors of Sevenoke and Knole came into the hands of the fovereign, they^ere exchanged by Edward the Sixth, with the favourite of himfelf and predeceflbr, Dudley eajl of Warwick, who was after- wards created duke of Northumberland. . In KENT. *ij In the reign of queen Mary thefe premifes aad this noble manfion became the property of the celebrated Reginald Pole, cardinal of Rome, and archbifhop of Canterbury ; a man who was one of the very few upon whom the kindnefs of that princefs was not improperly beftowed. On the cardinal's death they again reverted to the crown, and we find that Elizabeth conferred them upon the lord Hunfdon, of whom we have made mention in a preceding part of this work. A defcendant of this lord Hunfdon conveyed them by fale to the progenitors of the prefent noble owner, an event which, if we are not mifinforraed, took place in the reign of the firfl: James. A genealogical detail of the family of Sackville would be foreign from our purpofe ; it is fufficient to fay that it may eafily be traced back to William the Conqueror's arrival in this kingdom. Herbrand de Saccavilla accompanied that monarch, and partook of his glory. The manfion of Knole is in itfelf fo interefting an object, and a defcription of it fo indifpenfable in a work profefling to defcribe all that is curious within a certain diftance of the metropolis, that we fhould be fomewhat perplexed' to render juftice to the place, and at the fame time fatisfattion to our readers, did not the following accurate and perfpicuous reprefentation prefent itfelf. It is taken from a book, upon which the public has beftowed its approbation, entitled, Biographical Sketches of eminent Perfons whofe Portraits form Part of the Duke of Dorfet's moft valuable and curious Collection of Paintings at Knole ? written by Henry Norton Willis, Efq. whofe name, however,, is not prefixed to the work. " The architecture of this immenfe pile befpeaks a variety of dates ; the mod " ancient is probably coeval with the Marefehals and Bigods : it feems as if the *' whole of it was antecedent to its becoming the pofleflion of the Sackvilles, though " certainly many of this family have very confiderably repaired it, particularly *' Richard, the fifth earl. No part- appears of a more modern date than the reign w of Elizabeth. Thomas, the firft earl of Dorfet, came torefide at Knole in 1603,. *' he died in 1607 ; and as the water-fpouts, which were put up by him throughout (t the houfe, are dated 1605, it would appear that no part of the building is fubfe- *•* quent to this period. The garden gates, the fun-dial, and many other places, ** bear the arms of Sackville and Middlefex, a title brought into the family By " Frances Cranfield, heirefs of the earl of Middlefex, and countefs to the above- '* mentioned Richard. In a. window in the billiard-room is the portrait of a man «• in 2i 4 K E NT. " in armour with this infcription : Herbrandus de Sackville preepotens Normannus *' intravit Angliam cum Gulielmo Conqueflore, anno 1066; and in a room called " the Carton gallery, are painted on glafs twenty-one armorial bearings, from the M above Herbrandus to Richard the third earl of Dorfct : a lineage which, as far as *' the boaft of' pedigree may be allowed a fair preteniion, can be fnrpafled or even '.' equalled by few in the kingdom. In another room are feveral fhields of the " arms of the Cranmer family ; this room has, the appearance of having once been ■" the archbifhop's private chapel ; the window refembles more thofe of the places " of religious worfhip than any other window in the houfe; and the approach to •*' it is by two or three fteps exhibiting all together the appearance of what was once fi*. an altar. " The park owes much to nature, and much to its noble proprietor ; the line " of its fuffaceis perpetually varying, fo that new points of view are constantly ." prefenting themfelves. The foil is happily adapted to the growth of timber; '_' {lately beeches and venerable oaks fill every part of the landfcape ; the girth of '• one of thefe oaks exceeds twenty-eight feet, and probably its branches afforded " fhade to its ancient lords of Pembroke and Norfolk. The prefent duke has, with " much afliduity and tafte, repaired the gaps made in the woods by one of his " anceftors, who, * Foe to the Dryads of his father's groves,' had unveiled their " haunts and expofed their fecret recefTes to the rude and garifh eye of day. The " plantations are not dotted about in cloddifh clumps, as if they had no reference " to a whole or general effect, but in broad and fpacious maiTes cover the fummits ". of the undulating line, or fkirt the vallies in eafy fweeps. Not to dwell, how- V ever, on ' barren generalities,' among many others there are two points of view " which particularly deferve the vifitor's attention ; the one is from the end cf a '•' valley which goes in a fouth-weft direction from the houfe; it forms a gentle " curve, the groves rife magnificently on each fide, and the trees, many of them " beeches of the largeft fize, are generally feathered to the bottom ; the manfion ••' with its towers and battlements, and a back ground of hills covered with wood, '* terminate the villa; the time mofr. favourable for the profpect is a little before " the fetting fun, when the fore ground is darkened by a great mafs of (hade, and *' the houfe, from this circumftance and its being brightened by the fun's rays, " is brought forward in a beautiful manner to the eye. The other view is from a '.' 'rifing ground of the fame valley, and of a different kind from the former ; on 1 11 gaining KENT. 215 " gaining the fummit of the hill, a profpedt of vaft extent burfts at once upon the ■" eye; woods, heaths, towns, villages, and hamlets, are all before you in bright '• confufion ; the fudden and abrupt manner in which the profpect prefents itfelf, *' being in perfect unifon with the wildnefs of the fcenery. The eye takes in the " greater part of Weft Kent, a confiderable part of Suflex, and a diftant view of " the hills of Hampfhire. The fore ground is woody, the whitened fleeples rifing *' every where among the trees, with gentlemen's feats fcattered round in great " abundance. Penfhurft, the ancient refidence of the Sidneys, ftands confpicu- " oufly on a gentle fwell, forming a middle point between the fore ground and the " South Downs that fkirt the horizon. It is a venerable manfion furrounded with " groves of high antiquity : I know not if the oak, planted the day Sir Philip " Sidney was born, and mentioned by Ben Johnfon, be yet remaining ; if it be, I *' truft it meets from the prefent proprietor with every refpect due to fo facred a " relique. The patriot Algernon, and the poet Waller, have both repofed beneath " its made, and poffibly here too Sir Philip Iketched his Arcadian fcenes." In the parifti of Sevenoke, but at fome diftance from the town, is the manor of Braborne. After various changes of proprietors this place came into the hands of Henry the Eighth, but in the reign of queen Elizabeth it appears to have been poflefTed by Sir Ralph Bofville. The family of Bofville continued to enjoy the eftate, and occupy the manfion till the year 1761, when it came into the polTeflion of Richard Betenfon, Efq. fon of Sir Richard Betenfon. The heirs of this gentle- man not only enjoy the manor of Braborne, but the lands and eftate of what is called Blackball. A very ancient monumental infcription in the church of Sevenoke proves that the eftate of Blackhall once belonged to one Robert Totihurft, who in the year 1 5 1 a was a kind of dependant on cardinal Bourchier, who for a confider- able time enjoyed the fee of Canterbury. We ought not to omit mention in this place, of an eftate in the parifh of Sevenoke, named Kepington, which, after palling through the hands of various poffeffors, became the property of the juftly celebrated Mr. Thomas Farnaby. This learned man was in his greateft reputation about the year 1638. He is faid 'to have educated almoft a thoufand of the principal gentlemen of his time, and to have produced more eminent and accomplifhed fcholars than any other perfon before or fince, the famous JBufby alone excepted. We mould be glad to adorn our 'pages with many anecdotes of 'this diftinguifhed perfonage, but that the doing this would 2i6 KEN T. would too far [intrude upon our prefcribed limits. He exhibited one of the very rare examples of a fchoolmafter's acquiring an ample fortune. Mr. Farnaby, how- ever, did this ; he purchafed large landed property in this and the neighbouring parifhes; and his defcendants, fince raifed to the honour of baronets, enjoy this and feveral other ample pofleflions. Neither in fpeaking of Sevenoke muft we pafs over Rumfted, or, as it feems an- ciently to have been called, Rumpfhot. Mention is fomewhere made of a Sir Wil- liam de Rumpfted, about whom there is a very interefting traditionary tale, which might have been made confiftently enough the burden of an ancient ballad. — Wil- liam de Sevenoke was deferted by his nurfe or guardian, and left to perifh by the water, or at the foot of a tree — Sir William de Rumpfted found, preferved, and educated him. This eftate of Rumpfted has defcended to the Lambard family. There are other eftates alfo in the parifh of Sevenoke with diftinct appellations, and belonging to different owners ; fuch, for example, as Wickhurft, Pett-houfe, Stidulfe, Hoath, Brytaines, Stothe, &c. ; but thefe have no antiquities or peculi- arities involved in their hiftory, of fufficient importance to juflify our detaining our readers. The town of Sevenoke itfelf it is impoffible not to praife. Its iituation is de- lightful, and not more pleafant to the eye of a curious obferver, than it is both convenient and falubrious. There are a number of elegant and fpacious manfions which enliven and vary the fpectacle. The town alfo feems progrellively increaf- jng in population, and confequent wealth and importance. Sevenoke, in the reign of Elizabeth, and, if we are not miftaken, fince, was the affize town. There is now an excellent market every Saturday, and two fairs, the one in fummer, the other in autumn. The market-place is of fome antiquity, which indeed is obvious from its prefent appearance. The town has two large and commodious ftreets. At the termination of one of thefe is a large open fpace, known by the appellation of the Vine. On this the players at cricket, at which game the men of Kent, and of Sevenoke in particular, are proverbially expert, fre- quently exhibit their activity and (kill. Brook's-place isamanfion at thediftance of about a mile from Sevenoke, fituated in the hamlet called Riverhead, a diftrict of the parifh, which deferves mention, were it only from refpedt to the memory of the late gallant lord Amherft. This was a place of great antiquity ; but coming into the hands of lord Amherft, he pulled KENT. 217 pulled it entirely down, and erected on a contiguous fpot a neat Structure of flone, to which his lordfhip gave the name of Montreal, to commemorate the capture of that place by the Britifharms. An elegant obelifk in thefe domains fpecifies in detail the many important vic- tories obtained by his majefty's forces in North America, and principally under the conduct of lord Amherft. In another diftrict of this parifh, named Sevenoke Weald, is Whitley Foreft, which had at no earlier period than the reign of Eliza- beth, contained wild boars, an animal long exterminated in thefe kingdoms, with an exception of a few in one of the royal forefts. Sevenoke poffeffes, among its various other diftinctions, an excellent hofpital for the maintenance of twenty poor people, and a free-fchool for the benefit of the youth of this place. The hofpital was founded by Sir William Rumpfted, who was mentioned above, and who in progrefs of time became lord mayor of London. The narrative of this gentleman's life bears no fmall refemblance to the late famous Whittington. The fame benevolence alfo firmly eftablifhed the grammar- fchool ; but this in fucceeding times was conflderably extended and improved by Sir Ralph Bofville, who flourifhed in the time of Elizabeth, and called this feminary after the name of that venerated princefs. A daughter of this Sir Ralph Bofville gave two fcholarfhips to Jefus college, Cambridge, for the benefit of two youths, who were to be elected from this grammar-fchool of Sevenoke. The fchool itfelf has been fo improved, that there are no lefs than fix exhibitions for young men educated there, who may belong to any college of either univerfity. , The church is a large and fpacious edifice. The tower is of a fquare form ; and fuch is its elevation, that it forms a picturefque and interesting object at various points of the furrounding country. The rectory is a finecure. The vicarage requires feparate inftitution and ordination. The patronage of both is, according to Ecton's Thefaurus, with David Papillon, Efq. and his wife. Mr. Hafted, in his Hiftory of Kent, contradicts this, and fays that " Dr. Thomas Curteis, rector and *' vicar of this parifh, died in 1775, feifed of this patronage." Sevenoke is a place of fuch confideration, and, as old Philpott obferves, is a fountain which Streams into fo many branches, that it is not impoffible but we may have omitted fome few particulars which readers of fome defcription might expect to find. We believe however that every thing more material has been noticed in f f it 21-8 KENT. its appropriate place, and we confcquently difmifs this portion of our woik with the honeft confidence of having exerted a becoming (hare of diligence and attention. CHEVENING. THIS parifli, which lies next to the parifh of S'evenoke, is not wholly in the hundred which we are now defcribing. A portion of it, though not a large one, is in the hundred of Somerden. There appear anciently to have been two manors of the name of Chevening, the Greater and the Lefs. Of thefe the firit has defcended to Sir James Dafhwood, the latter belongs to the Right Hon. earl Stanhope. Another manor in this parifli bears the appellation of- Chepfled alias Wilkes. Mention is made in old records of a John de Chepfled, who poffeffed this place; but in later times it was occupied by a family of the name of Wilkes, fince which it has been indifferently denominated Chepfled alias Wilkes. This alfo is now the property of the above-mentioned earl Stanhope. A gentleman of the name of Polhill poffeffes and occupies a very old manfion. ■ called Chepfted-houfe, which in the reign of queen Elizabeth belonged to Robert Cranmer. A feparate manor, alfo known by the name of Madam's-court, mufl not be. paffed over without mention. The correct and proper name of thefe domains is MorantVcourt. The firft poffeffor of this eftate, of whom there is notice taken in ancient- records, is Thomas de Moraunt, who doubtlefs, as was the cuftom of thefe times, was fo named from the place which he inhabited. It is now the property of a family whofe name is Price. Charles Polhill, Efq. the owner of Chepfled-houfe, is alfo proprietor of a manor, which is likewife in the par.ifh of Chevening, and called Donington, fami- liarly by the neighbourhood Duntom There is-nothing in the village itfelf, in the church, or indeed in the neighbour- hood, either to require or juflify fpecific detail. The church is a rectory, to which the archbifhop of Canterbury prefents. Its value in the king's books, as appears from Ecton's Thefaurus, is 21V. 6j\ Si. ; but there exifts an obligation to pay from the profits of the living a fmall annual fum to the rector of Shoreham. We may, perhaps, be excufed bv fome readers for adding, that the houfe inha- bited by lord Stanhope was originally built from a defign of Inigo Jones, and that ■2. the KENT. 3U 9 tshe church of Chevening contains elegant monuments of the Lennard family., which by the marriage of the lifter and heir of Gregory Fynes, lord Dacre of the South, became entitled to that barony in the reign of James I. Thomas, a descendant of this marriage, was created earl of Suffex, who leaving no male iffue, that title became extinct, but the barony became vefted in Ann, his laSt Surviving, daughter.; ihe married Richard Barrett Lennard, Efq., Henry Roper, lord Teynham, and laftly, Robert Moore, a younger fon of Henry earl of Drogheda.: by the firft mar- riage me had the elegant and judicious Thomas Lennard Barrett, who became in her right lord Dacre, but having had no iffue, and dying in 1.786, the title came to Trevor Charles Roper, Efq. grandfon of lady Dacre, who dying without iffue in 1794, the title came to the prefent lady Dacre, Gertrude widow of the late Thomas Brand, of the Hoo in Hertfordshire, Efq. S U N D R I S H. THIS place, commonly called Sundridge, mould properly be named as we ; b.ave written it ; at leaft Sundrifli is the orthography according to various deeds and records of refpectable authority. The manor of SundriSh is now the property of a family of the name of Hyde, reSident in Tome other province. Anciently it was part of thepoffeffions of the archbifhops of Canterbury. -Oveney's-green, Sometimes called Overney, is a diftincl: manor in the pariih of Sundrifh, and now the property of earl Stanhope. Brook-place is an eftate of fome ^consideration, and alfo in this parifh. It belongs to a gentleman of the name of "Ward — this is not a manor. -Henden is, which alfo is Sometimes written Hethen- den. This place formerly belonged to the family of Le DeSpencer, the principal individuals of which were So obnoxious to the people, and .Such favourites with the- Sovereign in the reign of the fecond Edward ; the father and the fon in that cala- mitous reign were both Sacrificed to the Sury of the, people by means the moSt bar- barous as well as ignominious. Henden afterwards came into the poSSefSion of the famous earl of Warwick, who was vulgarly, though not improperly, denominated the King-maker; but in the reign of Henry the Eighth it appears to have belonged to the crown. It isat, prefent poffeSSed by the heirs of Sir William Hofkins. There is a manfion of considerable antiquity in this pariSh named Combe-bank. We have before had occafion to intimate that comb is a Saxon word, the meaning of f f 2 . wl 220 KEN T. which is field or camp : nor is it at all improbable that formerly there was in this place or neighbourhood fome military ftation or camp : urns and other fragments of antiquity have at different periods been dug up here, and fome of our mod faga- cious antiquaries have not fcrupled to affert, that this was once a regular place of interment for Roman foldiers. Combe-place has for a long time belonged to the Argyle family, and, if we are not miftaken in our information, it is at the prefent period occupied by lord Fre- derick Campbell, member for Argylefhire. His lordfhip the bifhop of London, of whofe good and amiable qualities we are happy in every opportunity of making honourable mention, has a neat cottage in this village. The bifhop once enjoyed this benefice from the gift of archbifhop Seeker, and his attachment to the place was fo ftrong that he has retained a manfion here as a place of retirement from the buftle, noife, and occupations of the metro- polis. The village of Sundrifh itfelf is convenient, agreeable, and falubrious ; the ftream of the Darent flows through it in a double channel, and it is croffed by the high road to Maidftone. It may not be impertinent to obferve, that this obfeure village gives an Englifh title to the duke of Argyle, who is alfo baron Sundridge of Combe-bank. Sund- rifh is a rectory, of which the archbifhop of Canterbury is patron, and its value in the king's books is 22/. 13s. 4^. B R A S T E D. THERE is fome difficulty in the defcription of this parifh — one part of it is within the hundred of Wefterham and Eatonbridge ; it has alfo the very uncom- mon peculiarity of a diftinct and appropriate diflricT:. This is called the Ville of Brafted, which is unconnected with, and totally independent of any hundred. We are fomewhat particular in remarking the variations at different periods in the orthography of the places we defcribe, becaufe we deem it both curious and im- portant to mark the progrefs of language from barbarifm to refinement. We make no apology, therefore, for obferving, that what is now written Brafted, has under- gone the different changes of Bradcflede, Brieftede, and Brafted. There is little doubt but the name was originally applied from the conftruclion and form of the vil- lage. KENT. air lage. It confifts of one long ftreet : now in Saxony?^ is fynonfmous with brede,., and means any thing of length. Long antecedent to the conqueft of this ifland by William the Firft, the manor of Brafted can be traced to have belonged to the archbifhops of Canterbury in right of their fee. It is unimportant to follow it in its progrefs through the hands of a^ multitude of proprietors ;. it now belongs to earl Stanhope. There is an eftate in Brafted known by the name of Brafted-place, and which: anciently was called by the different names of Crow-place and Stocket-place.. Two families doubtlefs of thefe names, at fome time or other, poffeffed or occupied this eftate. Brafted-place at prefent belongs to lord Willoughby de Broke.. An eftate and confiderable domain annexed called Delaware, and alfo in this- parifh of Brafted, merits notice, on account of its great antiquity. There was a manfion in this place, and occupied by a gentleman of the refpeclable name of Delaware, in the reign of the fecond Henry ; at the prefent period the property of Mr. Streatfeild. The village of Brafted has in itfelf nothing which merits particular attention ; yet there is fomething picturefque in its general afpect. The two rivers of Eden and Darent feverally crofs the place. The church is a rectory, in the patronage of the archbilhop of Canterbury; its value in the king's books is zzh 6s. 8d. Hundred of Westerham and Eatonbridge. HHHE hundred thus divided confifts of no more than the two parifhes, each being a hundred within itfelf. Wefterham is the next parifh to the weft of Brafted. Its name explains itfelf — ham is a village, and Wefterham is the weftern village. The inhabitants and neigh- bourhood familiarly denominated this place Weftram. Some of our readers may probably be pleafed with our occafional notice of the variations in the orthography of places, and for our own parts we cannot think any obfervations unimportant which tend to extend and improve the knowledge of our language. We make no apology, therefore, for remarking, that in Domefday- book what is now written Wefterham and Weftram was Oiftreham. The manor of Wefterham was held of Edward the Confeffor by the famous earl 4 Godwin,. 222 KENT. Godwin. It was granted by Henry the Eighth to Sir John Grefham, lord mayor of London ; from him, in various lines, it has finally fettled with the family of Warde. The other manors in- this parifh are thofe of Squeries and Broxham. Squeries, which is of confiderable antiquity, belongs to the fame family of Warde : Broxham is the property of the Petleys of Riverhead. Gafum alias Well-ftreet, and Valens alias Hill-park, are two eftatcs of fome con federation in the parifh of Weftram, the latter in particular. Hill-park is its modern appellation. It was called Valens till fold by an Irifh gentleman x)f the name of M'Guire, who acquired great pro- perty in the Eaft Indies, to the ea 1 of Hillfborough, who after confiderably orna- menting the place, gave it the name of H ll-park, Weftram had the honour of giving birth to two very diftinguifhed characters in the Britifh annals, though in far different lines. The one was Hoadly bifhop of Winchefter ; the other the gallant general Wolfe, who died fo nobly at Quebec. With refpect to the virtues and talents of the firft of thefe characters there are varieties of opinions. Some difpute his integrity, and call him a republican pre- Jate — Pope cenfures his abilities as a writer — Swift for clofer ftyle, But Hoadly for a period of a mile. Dr. Lowth calls him — " The great advocate of civil and religious liberty." With refpect to general Wolfe there is no difference of opinion ; all agree in the jufKce of the following in.fcription to his memory, which not being generally known we are happy to tranferibe : " General James Wolfe, Who, Dauntlefs but deliberate, •Under numerous difficulties, September 2, 1759, Engaged to employ his little army For the honour and intereft Of his country, And In a few days after ,-Glorioufly fulfilled his promife In the conqueft of Quebec, At the expenfe of his life." The KENT. 223 The following incident, which, according to evidence the moil authentic that can be adduced, happened in this parifh, is too remarkable to be omitted ; and more particularly in a country where the phenomena of earthquakes, or any of thofe deviations from the ordinary courfe of nature which occafion changes of things and places, fo very rarely occur. We accordingly copy the account of it from a book which, from its general character, we have gladly refpected upon any queftion where authenticity was concerned. " Remarkable Occurrences. ** In the year 1596 the following aftonifhing fcene happened in this pariih, in •"* two clofes, feparated from each other only by a hedge, about a mile and a half " fouthward from the town, not far from the eaft end of the common highway, "called Ockham-hill, leading from London towards Buekhurft in Suffex ; when " on December 18, a part of them containing twelve perches long, was found to ** be funk fix feet and an half deep, the next morning fixteen feet more, the third '*■ morning eighty feet more at leaft; and fo from day to day. This great trench "of ground, containing in length eighty perches, and in breadth twenty-eight, " with the hedges and trees thereon, began to loofe itfelf from the reft of the ground '* lying round about it, and therewithal to move, Hide, and fhoot fouthward, day i( and night, for the fpace of eleven days. The ground of two water-pits, the *' one having fix feet depth of water, and the other twelve feet at leaft, and about *■* four perches over in breadth, having fundry tufts of alders and allies growing V in their bottoms, with a great rock of ftone underneath, were not only removed " out of their places, and carried fouthward, but mounted aloft and became hills, " with their fedge, flags, and black mud upon the tops of them, higher than the " face of the water which they had forfaken ; and in the place from which they " had been removed, other ground which lay higher, had defcended, and received " the water on it. In one place of the plain field there was a great hole made, by '* the finking of the earth,, thirty feet deep; a hedge, with its trees, was carried " fouthward, and there were feveral other finkings of the earth, in different places, " by which means where the higheft hills had been, there were the deepeft dales, " and where the loweft dales were before, there was the higheft ground. " The whole meafure of the breaking ground was at leaft nine acres ; the eye- ** witneffes to the truth of wJhicli were, Robert Bollock, Efq. juftice of the peace ; Sir (i 224 KEN T. " Sir John Studley, vicar ; John Dowling, gentleman ; and many others of the ** neighbourhood. " In the fpring of 1756 at Toy's-hill, about a mile and a half eaftward from the " above, a like circumftance was obferved, in a field of two acres and an half, the " fituation of which was on -the fide of a hill, inclining toward the fouth, the land " of which kept moving imperceptibly till the effect appeared, for fome time, by " which means the northern fide was funk two or three feet, and became full of " clefts and chafms, fome only a foot deep, others as large as ponds, fix or eight " feet deep, and ten or twelve feet fquare, and moft of them filled with water. " Part of a hedge moved about three rods fouthward, and though fhraight before, " rthen formed an angle with its two ends. Another hedge feparated to the dif- " tance of eight feet ; the fouthern part, which was on a level before with the reft of " the field, after this overhung it like a precipice, about the height of twelve feet ; " and the land on each fide, which had not moved, was covered with the reft, which *' folded over it, to the height of fix or feven feet." There is no poflibility to know why thefe extraordinary circumftances happened fo near together, though at fo great a diftance of time. The parifh is in the diocefe of Rochefter, and in the deanery of Mailing : the church, dedicated to St. Mary, is a handfome building, and though large, not fufficiently fo for the inhabitants ; Eleanor, queen of Edward I. gave the advow- fon of it, with its chapels, to the prior and convent of Canterbury ; it is now vefted in Mrs. Harriet Bodicoate, who has prefented it to the Rev. Richard Board. It is valued in the king's books, including the chapel of Eatonbridge annexed, at 19/. 19/. 41^. EATONBRIDGE. EATONBRIDGE lies to the fouth of Wefterham, taking its name from its having had a bridge built over the Eden, a fmall river, which is one of the heads of the Medway; it has been written Eddelnefbrege, Edilnebrigg, and in Latin, Pons Edeh'ii. Part of it towards the eaft is in the hundred of Somerden. Here the weald, or woody part of Kent commences. The land is rich ; but being either clay or fvvampy, it is extremely unpleafant to travellers, and in winter the crofs roads are almoft impaflable, but it is not unwholefome. The people being more detached, become lefs refined ; they, however, are wealthy ; and the land pays well to the owner, KENT. 225 owner, as the country every where abounds in wide hedge-rows of timber trees, efpecially oak ; the houfes are chiefly of that material, and which was fo common a mode of building in former ages : every thing here reminds the traveller of the iituation and the mode of living in the beginning of the laft century, or what the irate of the people in the mofl diftant parts of England is now. The river Eden croffes the village, which has nothing remarkable to detain us ; but this diftrict is rich in its number of manors, paramount to which was that of Wefterham. The firft to be mentioned is the manor of Stangrave, or Eatonbridge; "which, like all others, once gave name to the family that poffeffed it ; from the Stangraves it paffed to John Dynley, who fold it to Hugh de Audley, earl of Glou- cefter, whofe heir took it to the Staffbrds, who loft it by the attainture of the laft duke of Buckingham of that name ; when paffing through various other hands, it is now vefted in Mrs. Sophia Streatfeild, widow of Thomas Streatfeild, Efq. of Oxfted, in Surry, who holds courts baron within the manor. Stangrave- farm, owned by the Baffetts, claims the right to be efteemed a manor." Sharnden likewife did, but it is now generally reckoned as part of that of Stan-, grave or Eatonbridge : it belonged anciently to the Cobhams, to whom Edward Ilf. granted a charter of free warren ; it now belongs to Mr. James Glover, who refldes here. Marlh-green, whofe manerial rights are appendant to that of Cowdham, is poffeffed by another branch of the Streatfeild family. Brown-manor gave the name of Brown to its lords: the Hon. Mr. Lumley now owns it, having purchafed it of John Boddington, Efq. Hilder's-farm, fold with it, is called a manor; as is Scanes, the property of Henry Streatfeild, Efq.; Crouch-houfe,. belonging to Mr. Richard Killick ; and Coben Bere, to John Major Henniker, Efq. Thefe are all the places of notoriety in Eatonbridge, except Gabriels, a feat built by one of the Seyliards of Brafted ; from which family it paffed to that of Oatley, and from them to the Stanfords, one of whom now refides in it. As we have given a relation of fome remarkable circumftances having happened in Wefterham parifh, we cannot omit two others, which were no lefs wonderful in this, and alfo from the fame author. " An extraordinary and furprifing agita- " tion of the Waters, though without any perceptible motion of the earth, having *' been obferved in different parts of England, both maritime and inland, on •* November 1, 1755 ; and on the fame day, and chiefly about the time that the " more violent commotions of both earth and waters were fo extenfively affe&ed G G " in 22 6 KEN T. " in many very diftant parts of the globe, the like phenomenon appeared in this " parifli in a pond, an acre in flze, acrofs which was a pofl and rail fence, which " the water almoft covered ; when fome perfons near it hearing a noife, as if fome- " thing had tumbled into the water, haftened to fee what it was, when to their fur- " prife they faw the water open in the middle, fo that they could fee the poft and " rail almoft to the bottom, and at the fame time they obferved the water dafhingup " over a bank, about two feet high, and perpendicular to the pond. They did not " feel the leaft motion upon the fhore, nor was there any wind, but a dead calm. " On January 24, 1758, about two o'clock in the morning, a flight fhock of " an earthquake was felt in this parifh, and the adjacent parts, which fhook the " furniture of the houfes, and went off wkh a noife like a- fmall guft of wind. f* It alarmed many of the inhabitants, but no damage enfued." , Small as this place is, it has its fair, which is held on St. Mark's day, April 25, for cattle, toys, &c. The church or chapel, dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul, is large and hand- fome, with afpire ; it has fome painted glafs that is good, and there are the remains of a rood loft, which is now become rare in many of our churches. Hundred of Somerden. nPHE next hundred eaftward is called Somerden ; but as great part of this lies beyond the bounds w T e have prefcribed ourfelves, we fhall take only the parilhes of Hever, Chidingftone, Penfhurft, and Lyghe, omitting thofe of Cowden and Speld- hurft i we have felecled the above parilhes becaufe they lie oppofite to Tunbridge- wells, which we mean to particularize, though lying a little farther than the fpace allotted ; and befides, it was thought important to the work to fpeak of Penfhurft, the residence 'of the great family of Sidney. The court leet of this hundred is appen- dant upon the honour of Otford. Domefday-book is fllent refpecting the whole of Somerden hundred; but^this is general to all the places lying within the weald of Kent, Hadlow and Tudeley alone excepted ; we can account for this only from its having then been looked upon as a barren, uncultivated wafte, like fome of the northern counties of this kingdom, which were likewife omitted in that very felect remain, which by the munificence of his prefcnt majefty has been elegantly printed verbatim et literatim. HEVER. KENT. 227 HE V E R. THE ancient name of this pariah was Heure, or Evere ; the river Eden runs through it. The parifli is long and narrow, extending from north to fouth ; it is very woody, and its oaks are of a great fize. An inconfiderable part of it has the name of the borough Linckhill, which, with other premifes, are fubject, as to manerial rights, to Great Orpington, poffeiTed by Sir John-Dixon Dyke, Bart. The manor of Hever, from an early period, was the property of the family of the de Heure, or Hevers, one of whom in the reign of Edward I. had great con- tentions with the abbot of St. Auguftine, which were compromifed by the abbot giving him a grant of the lands here, to hold by knight's fervice. In the reign of Edward III. William de Hever rebuilt, and by a licence from that monarch em- battled the manfion ; upon his death thefe eflates fell to his two daughters and co- heirs, married into the families of Cobham and Brocas ; whence, to diftinguifh. the property of each, they took the names of Hever-Cobham and Hever-Brocas : but the defcendants of the firfl Brocas difpofing of his divifion to a Cobham, that family enjoyed the whole. In the reign of Henry IV. Sir Thomas Cobham fold the entire eftate to Sir Jeffrey Boleyn, lord mayor of London, the founder of one .of the molt, fplendid fortunes that any family ever poffeffed in this kingdom ; and what was very lingular, this tradefman allied himfelf to the lord Hooand Haftings, at a time when nobility and commerce were at the greateft diflance from each other ; the Boleyns were formed to be fet at the pinnacle of worldly grandeur, but only to be exquifitely miferable. Sir Thomas Boleyn his heir, by the daughter and coheir «f the earl of Ormond, became the father of Thomas Boleyn, vifcount Rochford, earl of Wiltfhire and Ormond, and knight of the garter ; he married Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas., duke of Norfolk, a couple the admiration of England; the parents of Ann Boleyn, the ill-fated wife of a fufpicious, fanguinary monarch, who *' fpared no man in his anger, nor woman in his lull :" fhe and her brother, the elegant lord Rochford, fell victims of imprudence, but not of guilt, upon a fcafFold in the Tower ; the mother happily had died the preceding year ; the wretched father, overwhelmed with honours and misfortunes, funk into the grave two years after, and with others of his family lies buried in this church, under a cumbrous monu- ment, a fit object for contemplation for the chriftian, the philofopher, and the poli- tician. He who could not utter a figh for the fate of fo illuftrious a family, mull G G 2, be 228 KENT. be as hard as the marble that gives us his effigies, harder than the heart of the fickle, inconftant, inflexible Henry, who, after years of connubial mortification, lamented the fate of fo unfortunate a lady as Ann, and execrated the lady Rochford her fifter-in-law, who had ruined the family of her lord, and who at length, promoting the gallantries of another of Henry's queens, Catherine Howard, paid a jufl forfeiture with her life. We fhall be pardoned faying fo much of fo extraordinary a family as that of Boleyn, when it is recollected that this was one of their chief feats, and where Henry fpent perhaps fome of the happieft days of his life, in courting the elegant, accomplished, gay, witty " Miftrefs Ann Boleyn," the mother of that incomparable princefs, queen Elizabeth. The chamber in which Ann flept ftill retains her name. After the death of the earl of Wiltfhire, Henry feized this feat and manor in right of his late wife, and added to the eflate by purchafes from Sir William Boleyn, and William Boleyn Clerk, and in his thirty-fecond year fettled them on another of his queens, Ann of Cleves, who, more happy than her namefake, was only divorced; this once wife, and afterward adopted fifter of Henry, died herein the reign of Philip and Mary, greatly refpeded by the Englifh, proving by her conduct that flie deferved a better fate; fhe, however, if not happy, was not miferable : fhe pre- ferred flaying in England to returning to Germany ; fhe was certainly of a pliable nature, veering to all Henry's religious opinions, to thofe of Edward VI. and Mary I. : more oppofite ones could not be. She rode with the princefs Elizabeth, afterwards queen, to the coronation of Mary. Her corpfe was taken from this place, and interred with great funeral pomp on the fouth fide of the high altar in Weft- minfter abbey, where her monument is of freeftone, adorned with the arms of Cleves, and the letters A. C. knit together ; it has been engraved by the Society of Antiquaries. Such was the honour that attended Ann of Cleves, even when dead, whilfl poor Ann Boleyn's beauteous form was thrown into a coffer, ufed to keep arrows in, and buried amongfl the attainted in the chapel of the Tower, where it ftill remains without the fmalleft memorial, though it would have been an adt of pious duty in Elizabeth to have removed it to a more honourable receptacle. — The fate of thefe illuftrious unfortunates has kept us too long, perhaps ; we fhall, therefore, return to remark, that queen Mary granted the feat, manor, and eftates, to her favourite Sir Edward Waldegrave, lord chamberlain of herhoufehold, who died in the Tower in the beginning of Elizabeth's reign, more for his religion, than his 2 politics i KENT. 229 politics ; his defcendants were ennobled by James II. with whom one of them went into France, and died in 1689. His more fortunate fon was created earl of Walde- grave, who conveyed the whole of his poffeffions in Hever to Sir William Hum- freys, Bart, in 171 5, being at that time lord mayor of London ; he was of Welfh defcent. This family ending in two coheirs, they with their hulbands joined in conveying Hever-caftle, with the manors of Hever-Cobham and Hever-Brocas, to Timothy Waldo, of Clapham, Efq. afterwards knighted; he left the whole, with near thirteen hundred acres of land round it, to his widow, lady Waldo ; their only child is married to George Medley, of Suffex, Efq. It would be unpardonable not to mention Hever-caflle as it at prefent remains. Like moll: other ancient refidences it is moated ; the river Eden being led round the caftle, its approach is by a draw-bridge. The entrance is noble : within is a quadrangle furrounded by offices, and the great hall ; at the farther end of which is a large oak table raifed a ftep higher than the reft of the floor, the conftant accompaniment to the halls of the great, in ancient time, now confined only to the farm-houfes of the diftant provinces. You are led up to the bed-chambers by a grand ftaircafe, which opens alfo to a long gallery ; its ceiling is much ornamented with foliage in ftucco : the rooms have oaken wainfcot unpainted. On one fide of the gallery you are fhown a fmall cabinet or recefs, with an afcent of two fteps ; it has only a fingle feat with two returns in it, where ten or a dozen perfons might place themfelves : tradition relates that king Henry ufed it as a throne when he came hither ; but this feems improbable, from the fmallnefs of the room. On one fide of the large window at the fartheft end of the gallery, in the floor, is a part which lifts up, and difcovers a paflage deep and dark, which goes a confiderable way, but not fofar, we fuppofe, as the moat : it is called the dungeon : moft catties had fuch a receptacle for cul- prits, and they were feldom without unhappy occupants. They fhow a chamber now with its window walled up, in one of the towers faid to have been a place of imprifonment for the queen, when in difgrace; but fhe was fent to the Tower immediately after Henry withdrew his protection from her, and fhe never left it; her days whilfthere were all fweet and pleafant, undreaming of the coming ftorm. In an adjoining clofet is a Aiding panel called by her name; perhaps through this the royal vifitant ftole foftly to tell his tale of love. The windows have been adorned with painted glafs ; the arms of the Boleyns, their alliances, and even- the Walde- graves remain. It a 3 o KENT. It is faid, and probably with truth, that whenever Henry with his fuit of attend- ants intended to come to Hever-caftle, he ufed to wind his bugle horn on the top of the hill from whence it was vifible, and within reach of the found ; by which mean his approach was announced, and the fair lady made ready to receive her fovcreign bedecked with fmiles, and adorned with limple elegance, for fhe neither loved, nor did jewels heighten her charms, lord RufTell declaring, the richer fhe was dreffed the more ordinary fhe appeared j and on that account it was, that when led forth a.facrificatory victim to Henry's violence, fhe never looked more hand- fomc, as Sir William Kingftone, lieutenant of the Tower, wrote to king Henry. There was, ■ until within forty years, a court baron regularly held for each of ■thefe manors; fmce then, as they are confolidated, only one, the jurifdiclion of which ■extends over mofl of this, and feveral of the adjoining parifhes, being very ex- ten five. Seyliards is a feat which gave name and refidence to a family which were created baronets, and branched out into the feveral parifhes of Brafled, Eatonbridge, Chi- dingflone, and Boxley, all in Kent : the eflate belonging to this manor of Seyliards lies partly in this, and partly in the two former parifhes. From the Seyliards it came to the Petleys, from whom it was purchafed by the Lambardes. Multon Lambarde of Sevenoke, Efq. is the prefent poffefTor. Hever -church is a neat flructure, but fmall -, it has a fpire ; it flands at the end of the village, and is dedicated to St. Peter, and is within the deanery of Shoreham, and jurifdicfion of Rochefler : the rectory is valued at 15/. 17/. ^Id. It was fub- jecl to an annual payment of il. y. A.d. then a confiderable fum, to the priory of cCombwell, in Goudhurft. The prefent incumbent is the Rev. Stafford New. •C H I D I N G S T O N E. THIS parifh was anciently denominated Cidingflane ; flane being the name of a flone, it makes the word lefs changed than is ufual ; for mofl modern ones are fo corrupted, that if it was not for deeds and other muniments, it would be impoffible to fuppofe the one could relate to what was of fo different an orthography. Chidingftone is about fix miles long from north to fouth, and about two wide. The Eden here falutes the Medway : a branch of the latter rifing at Gravely-hill, in SufTex, bends its pafTage eaftwards, dividing that county and Kent. Though in a the KENT. 231 the weald, it has many pretty rural pleafant fpots : amongft thefe we fhall mention Wickhurft-green, Bow-beach, Hill-beach, CareyVcrofs, and Raneiley- heath. The village lies near a mile diftant from the Eden : from its elevated fituation it had the name of High-ftreet, Its manors are numerous : that of Chidingftone-Cobham obtained its additional name from having been poffeffed by the family of Cobham, who enjoyed it from the time of Edward III. until the reign of Edward IV. when by a female it paffed into the hands of the Boroughs, or Burys, who became barons ; they alienated it in the reign of queen Elizabeth to the family of Streatfeild, who having erected a feat here called High-ftreet-houfe, have made it their refidence ever fince, and from whence many branches have difperfed themfelves into various parts of this county : it is now the refidence of Henry Streatfeild, Efq. The manor of Chidingftone-Burgherfh or Burgherft, anciently Burwafh-court, owed its latter name to a family of great eminence in this county, called Burgherfh, but by the commonalty Burwafh y who conveyed it awayj and after going through a variety of poffeffors, became veiled in judge Willoughby, defcended from a younger branch of the lords Willoughby. of Parham ;. who in, the reign of Henry VIII. obtained an act of parliament to difgavel this manor, his feat of Bore- place, and other eftates in this parifh — a proof that he thought it was no privilege to fo enjoy his lands. About this period many Rentifh gentlemen of great eftates pro- cured their lands to be difgavell'ed ; but they have gone through fo many hands, and are fo widely fcattered, that at this time it is fcarcely poffible to determine what is fo difgavelled, as a treatife upon this kind of tenure, publifhed fome years ago, acquaints us. The Willoughbys fold this manor to the Seyliards, and they to the Streatfeilds; fo that being now held by Henry Streatfeild, of High-ftreet-houfe, Efq. as well as the other of Chidingftone-Cobham, they are now confolidated, and have unitedly one court baroir. The feat of Bore-place, the manfion of the De Bores, with the manor of Milbroke, was difpofed of by them in the reign of Henry VI. to John Alphew, who rebuilt the former, and dying, left his two daughters his heirs -, Margaret, one of them, took the feat and manor to Sir Robert Read, lord chief juftice of the common pleas, who much enlarged Bore-place : Bridget, the eldeft of his four daughters and coheirs, brought thefe eftates to Sir Thomas Willoughby, alfo lord chief juftice of the common pleas, who ftill farther enlarged the feat. In the reign of James 1. the whole 232 n KENT. whole came by fale to Mr. Bernard Hyde, the benevolent citizen of London ; from his family they were purchafed by the Streatfeilds, and are now a part of the efhtes of the gentleman of that name of High-ftrect-houfe, who in right of his manor of Milbroke holds a court baron. The manor of Bowzell, formerly Borefell, rather belongs to Chevening parifh ; it has been enjoyed by the Cobhams, Boroughs or Burghs, Whitleys, Bonnells, and is now the property of the baronet family of Rycroft. Ranefley, anciently written Rendefley, is a manor which was at an early period owned by the family of Rendefley or Rennefley ; it came afterwards to the Alphews, the Reads, Willoughbys, Bonds, and other families, until it vefted in that of the prefent poffeffor, John-Shelley Sidney, Efq. by the will of his grandmother. The rectory is a peculiar, and in the gift of the archbifnop of Canterbury, and lies in the deanery of Shoreham ; the church is large and handfome, having three aiiles and as many chancels, with a fteeple ; there are fome good monuments of the Streat- feild family, and of fome other gentry buried there : the preferment is consider- able, being valued in the king's books at 28/. gs. ^\d. ; it is now held by the Rev. Sackville-Spencer Ball, L. L. B. alfo rector of Withiam in Suflex. PENSHURST. STILL more eaftward is Penfhurft, meaning high or lofty wood ; hurft or herft is the old word for wood in this part of the kingdom : fome centuries ago it was written Pennefherfl ; but its molt ancient name was Penceftre, or, as it was ufually termed, Penchefler, fignificant of a high fortification or camp having been built hereby the Romans. The Eden here meanders in feparate ftreams, but uniting alfo with the more noble Medway directs its courfe towards Tunbridge. Some part of the parifh is fwampy, which makes the roads unpleafant ; its woods are very beautiful, and the timber extremely fine : in Penlhurft-park was felled, a few years ago, a fingle tree which had not lefs than twenty-one tons in it, or eight hundred and forty feet of timber ; this tree had acquired the name of Broad Oak, from its wide-fpreading branches ; there is an engraving of it. Here is a fair held on July 1, for pedlary and other wares. This parilh has a very considerable part of it held of the honour of Otford, fub- ordinate KENT. 233 ordinate to which is the manor of Penfhurft-Halimote, or Otford- Weald, that fpreads itfelf over Chidingftone, Hever, and Cowden parifhes. Thefe were held of the archbifhops of Canterbury, but who had little more than a nominal claim ; and this was pafled away with Otford by the meek and pious Cranmer to Henry VIII. in exchange ; the crown has conftantly retained it, except that, during the ufurp- ation, the republican government had conveyed it to colonel Robert Gibbon, who loft it at the Reftoration : the tenure is partly gavel-kind, and, which is rare in Kent, partly copyhold. But excepted out of this jurifdiction is Hallborough, in the lowy of Tunbridge, owning Mr. Streatfeild for its lord, and Chafford, within the cogni- fance of the court of the dutchy of Lancafter. The honour of Otford, as well as the manor of Penfhurft, is held by the duke of Dorfet, as high fteward of both, under the crown ; but the fee-farm rents were alienated from it by Charles II. to the Dafhwood family, and it is now enjoyed by Sir James Dafhwood, Bart. The manor of Penfhurft: came through a variety of families from that of de Penef- hurfte or Penchefter, until it vefted in John duke of Bedford, third fon of Henry IV. who dying without iffue, it defcended to his brother Humphry duke of Gloucefter, on whofe violent death it vefted in the crown, which granted it to the Stafford family, to whom it was loft by the attainture of Edward duke of Buckingham, in the reign of Henry VIII. who was fo pleafed with the fituation, that he retained it in his own hands, purchafed lands adjoining to it, and enlarged the park : Well- place was part of thefe acquired premifes, with an eftate belonging to it, containing 170 acres of land, purchafed of John, and William Fry. The king enclofed the whole within a pale fence, though the conveyance was not completed until the reign of Edward VI. who gave the park to John Dudley, earl of Warwick, afterwards duke of Northumberland ; but he, in the fourth year of that reign, exchanged it with other lands ; when the manor, feat, and all its lands, were granted to Sir Ralph Fane, to hold in capite by knight's fervice ; but this unhappy gentleman fell a vic- tim to the factions which difgraced the government under this young monarch j he was put to death in the fixth year of that reign, on Tower-hill, as an accomplice to the equally unfortunate duke of Somerfet, his patron. The eftate reverted to the crown. King Edward in the fame year, by letters patents, granted the whole to Sir Wil- liam Sidney and his heirs ; the premifes are defcribed to be his majefty's manor and park of Penfhurft, le-court lands in Penfhurft and Chidingftone, the manor of H H Endsfield, 23+ KENT. Endsfield, called Endsfield-farm, and his park of Lyghe, by eftimation 300 acres of land, to hold by the fame fervice by which they had been granted to Sir Ralph Fane. It would be unpardonable to pafs by this illuftrious family of Sidney with only a flight mention. Sir William, the eldeft fon and heir of a knight, one of the heroes of Flodden- field, chamberlain and fleward to prince Edward, and at his acceihon, of his privy chamber, was educated with the young monarch, though fome years older; knighted by king Edward, made one of the gentlemen of the privy chamber, and fent ambaffador into France when only twenty-one years old. He fupported his expiring mailer in his arms, after whofe premature death he retired to Penfhurfr. to indulge his grief; by this the misfortunes that overwhelmed the duke of Nor- thumberland, his fatber-in-law, were avoided ; and he enabled to give an afylum to the remainder of that ruined family. Queen Mary trufted and honoured, more than employed him ; queen Elizabeth elected him a knight of the garter, made him a privy counfellor, thrice lord deputy of Ireland ; and he died lord prefident of the marches of Wales, May 5, 1586. His body was conveyed with vaft pomp to Penf- hurfr, and his heart depofited at Ludlow, the feat of his government ; there has lately been an engraving of the cafe which enclofed it. By the lady Mary, eldefl daughter of John Dudley, duke of Northumberland, he had three fons — Sir Philip, Sir Robert, Sir Thomas, and a furviving daughter Mary, who became countefs of Pembroke, whom her brother Sir Philip has celebrated in his Arcadia, and Johnfon immor- talized by the beautiful lines he infcribed on her tomb. Sir Philip Sidney, the eldefl fon, godfon of Philip II. of Spain, and the delight of England, was born at Penfhurfr., November 24, 1554. Brave, learned, elegant, andjuft, he gained the applaufe of all good men. Elizabeth would read his letters of advice, when fhe would difregard that of her ancient counfellors, becaufe fhe knew all his conduct was directed for her folid interefl. His letters will do honour to his memory, fo long as virtue and fenfe are eftimable, whilfl his Arcadia is neg- lected by moil as laboured and unnatural. He was mortally wounded at the bat- tle of Zutphen in Guilderland, September 22, 1586, when ferving under his ma- ternal uncle, Robert earl of Leicefler ; and he died at Arnheim, October 10 fol- lowing, at the early age of thirty-four years, in the greateft reputation of any indi- vidual in Europe. His honoured remains were refufed the Dutch, who afked as a favour to give them a public funeral; that duty Elizabeth took upon hcrfelf, and had KENT. 235 had them brought over and interred with the greateft folemnity in St. Paul's church. Such was the fenfe of his lofs, that for fome time after it was indecorous to be engaged in any public amufement. The Christian and the hero never were more clofely united with the flatefman, and his refined and elegant manners gave a finilli to his character, that nothing could exceed. When we fee him wounded, panting with third, take the uplifted cup, untafled from his mouth, and direct it to be given to a poor, unbefriended foldier, who lay near him in agonies, becaufe, faid he, " Thy neceffity is yet greater than mine ;" we rauft, we cannot help weep- ing his fate. There are many prints of him ; but that of Vertue, giving him feated on a bank with Penfhuril behind him, is moll admired. Waller has commemorated the incident of a tree having been planted in the park here at his birth : " Go, boy, and carve this paflion on the bark Of yonder tree, which ftands the facred mark Of noble Sidney's birth : when fuch benign, Such more than mortal- making ftars did fhine, That there it cannot but for ever prove The monument and pledge of humble love." Ben Johnfon alfo has celebrated this favoured tree j but the lines alluflve to the circumftance are moft limply elegant in Mr. E. Coventry's poem, intituled Pens- hurst ; — they muft pleafe every one. * c What genius points to yonder oak ? What rapture does my foul provoke ? Here let me hang a garland high, There let my mufe her accents try ; Be there my earlieft homage paid, Be there my lateft vigils made ; . For thou waft planted in the earth The day that fhone on Sidney's birth." We learn from Collins that the tree was remaining in the park when he wrote ; it had the name of Bear's Oak ; no reafon is afligned for fuch an uncouth appel- lation, nor can it be conceived why it was given, unlefs from the Dudleys crefl, and favourite device of the bear with a ftaft" reguled. Mr. Hailed fays it is ftill Handing at a fmall diftance from a fine piece of water called Lancup-well, and that it is twenty-two feet in circumference. Sir Philip Sidney married Frances, daughter and fole heir of Sir Francis Wal- h h 3 finghamj, 23 6 KENT. fingham, fecretary of ftate, by whom he had an only child, Elizabeth, married to Roger earl of Rutland. Sir Philip's widow married again to Robert earl of Effex, the infolent favourite of Elizabeth, who fell a victim to his own rafh violence : the queen highly difapproved of this alliance as beneath him. The iffue of this marriage was Robert earl of Effex, parliament general againft Charles I. The lady, left a fecond time a widow, married a third hulband, the earl of Clanrickard. The ele- gant lord Lyttelton, in his Dialogues of the Dead, makes this lady fay how much more happy fhe was in the laft, than In either of her two former marriages ; the great Sidney and the ambitious Effex being too much taken up with glory and fac- tion to attend to the endearments of conjugal felicity : he was not unworthy her choice, for Smollett fays, he was a very handfome gallant young nobleman, much refembling the late earl of Effex ; but it feems very abfurd to fuppofe Elizabeth, then nearly feventy, made advances to him. Sir Robert Sidney fucceeded his brother in his eftates. He was a great ftatefman. Importuning queen Elizabeth for a peerage, which, as defcended maternally from the Dudleys, he judged he had almoft a claim to demand, fhe fent him to Flufhing, and under flattering pretences kept him there many years. James I., as lavifh, as Elizabeth was fparing of honours, created him lord Sidney of Penfhurfr, vif- count Lifle, and earl of Leicefter ; elected him knight of the garter, a privy coun- ftllor, and lord prefident of Wales. Dying in 1626, he was fucceeded in his titles and eftates by Robert, fecond earl of Leicefter, no lefs a politician than his father, having reprefented James I. at the courts of Denmark, France, and fome of thofe in Germany, was appointed lord lieutenant of Ireland upon the earl of Strafford's removal; but fiding with the parliament, he excufed his going thither : he had the care of the duke of Gloucefter and the princefs Elizabeth, children of Charles I. At the Reftoration he paid his duty at "Whitehall. Charles II. received him with relpecT: ; their manners were totally diffimilar : being excufed attendance, he returned to Penfhurfr. He died in 1677, blameable in deferting his royal mailer, becaufe Henrietta-Maria his queen had difobliged him; yet refpectable not only for his abilities, but for many private virtues. He was father of his fucceffor, Algernon, the pride of the republicans, and whofe death was certainly illegal (for his> hiftory we muft refer our reader to Mr. Noble's Lives of the Regicides) ; Robert, who died at Penfhurft in 1674, and Henry, created by William III. baron of Milton, vifcount KENT. 237 vifcount Sidney of the ifleof Shepey, and earl of Romney ; alfofeveral daughters — Dorothy ; Lucy, married to Sir Thomas Pelham, Bart. ; Ann, to Jofeph Cart, A. M.; and Ifabella, to Philip vifcount Strangford. Dorothy, the eldefl, was Waller's Sachariffa, a lady whofe beauty was beyond expreflion great ; there are two por- traits of her at Beaconsfield, the feat of the poet, and likewife a miniature pendent to a valuable firing of pearls. The wonder is not that he mould love, but that any one mould do otherwife : fhe admired the poet, but, fired with ambition, gave her hand to Henry lord Spencer, afterwards created earl of Sunderland, who was killed on the royal fide in the civil war, by whom fhe had Robert earl of Sunder- land, the moft perfidious character that has flamed our annals, the betrayer of James II. and equally untrue to William III. The beauteous Sachariffa mourned the death of the hufband of her youth, but afterwards was prevailed upon to give her hand to Robert Smith of Bidbor.ough, Efq. a match in point of worldly prudence unequal to that of her adoring Waller. The countefs late in life afking the poet when he would write fuch fine poems upon her, received for anfwer, " When you " are young again." An unpublifhed anecdote of Mr. Waller, received from one of his family, muff, not be omitted. He as a gay courtier was to appear in the royal prefence to meet his all-charming Sachariffa. Every thing was prepared with the niceff. care; a ruff of the fineff. lace and of the largeft circumference procured, and a cottager entrufted with it; the man having opened the box that contained it, viewed the fbrange thing with wonder ; the whim took him to put it about the neck of his mailer's faithful dog who accompanied him ; with fome difficulty he accomplished it : the creature, furprifed and alarmed at the great wired, fliffened, expanded lace, leaped from the man, and run with the utmoft fpeed, followed by the aftonifhed meffenger, who with grief faw him dafli through the hedges, leaving upon the brambles fragments of the ill-fated ruff defigned to adorn the neck of the expecting beau ; who at length knowing the cataffrophe, having vented his rage at the cur and the clown, was obliged to go to court and to his Sachariffa, lefs fplendidly adorned than he had intended. Philip, third earl of Leicefter, the next poffeffor of Penfhurft, condefcended to fit in Oliver the Protector's upper houfe (fee Mr. Noble's Memoirs of the Cromwells). He died in 1 702. Three of his fons were fucceffively earls of Leicefter ; Philip, who died in 1705 ; John, in 1737 ; and Joceline, the laft earl of Leicefter of this family, in 1743. The former and the latter married, but had no child. No two brothers ever were 238 KEN T. were more diflimilar than the two laff noblemen ; earl John being in the highefl truft and confidence with his fovereigns, George I. and George II. who made him a lord of the bedchamber, warden of the cinque ports, confhble of Dover-caftle, knight of the Bath, captain of the yeomen of the guards, lord lieutenant of Kent, privy coun- fellor, and conrrable of the Tower. He was not lefs beloved in private life, than trirfted in a public capacity : but he had an unfortunate attachment, which he wanted flrength of mind fufficient to break through, until the united folicitations of his befl friends, and of the object of his regard, made him at length confent to marry ; that his titles might not be contaminated by coming to fo weak and fo im- prudent a perfon as his brother Joceline. Befides, too, even Joceline had not any legitimate child. All preliminaries being fettled, it was agreed that the frail fair mould leave his houfe the next morning early, to prevent the pain of parting, and his lordihip went out to fpend the evening; coming home late, and pafling through a fuite of apartments he had been unaccuftomed ever to fee, as he went to his bed- chamber he heard a noife like fome one in violent pain. Led by the found, he entered the room in which this gentlewoman was, and found her fufpended to the top of the bed, ftruggling with death : inffantly taking her dovvn, by proper methods fhe was recovered. He then excufed himfelf to the lady he was going to marry, and to her friends, declaring that he never could defert one, who had owned ihe could not live without him. He thought her prefer vation by him was almoft miraculous, as ilie never had flept before in the chamber in which he difcovered her, nor had he ever gone through the fame range of rooms. He was the more (truck with her paffion for him, as he had been more prefled to break their connexion by her than any other, pleading to him that his honour and interefl united to urge him to it : by no arguments could fhe be prevailed upon to accept but a moderate annuity juft fufficient for a maintenance. It would have been criminal to have parted from fuch a woman ; it would have been virtuous and glorious, defpifing the opinion of the gay and inconfiderate, to have given her a legal claim to his love. The title at length vefted in Joceline his brother, who difgraced himfelf and it, as had been forefeen. His countefs, Elizabeth, daughter of a gentleman of the name of Thomas in Glamorganshire, was no lefs profligate. They feparated, .each purfuing their guilty pleafures. After their parting fhe had feveral children. He left an ille- gitimate daughter, to whom he bequeathed the whole of his eflates, which difpofition was difputed by his nieces, daughters and coheirs of the Hon. colonel Thomas Sid- ney — KENT. 239 ney — Mary, married to Sir Brownlow Sherard, of Lowthorpe, in Leicefterfhire, Bart. ; and Elizabeth, to William Perry, of Turville-park, in Buckinghamshire, Efq. At length a compromife, fanctioned by an act of parliament, took place, which eftablifhed them as tenants in common of the manors of Penihurft, Cepham, Howfbrooke, Hepibrooke or Ford-place, Weft Lyghe, Eaft and Weft Eweherft, Rendfley, Penfhurft-place, and the part confifting of 419 acres of land within the park pales, Well-place alfo within the park ; Afhore, part of it, with other par- cels belonging to it, and the other eftates comprifed in the act, fome of which they divided into diftinct moieties : Sir B. Sherard and his lady taking the manfion of Ford-place farm, Ensfield, Moody's farm, Upper Latterhams or Warrens, Lyghe- park, South-park Priory and Crouch-lands, Court-lands, and other open and wood- lands, with the advowfons of the churches of Lyghe and Cowden. — Mr. and Mrs. Perry received the advowfon of Penihurft, parfonage farm at Lyghe, mefluages and premifes called Nafhes, Doubletons, Redleafe, and other lands and woods ap- purtenant to them. Lady Mary, the elder coheirefs, dying without ilTue, devifed her intereft in the eftates to the baronet Younge family, feated at Efcot, in Devonfhire, who difpofed of the undivided moiety to Mrs. Perry, the other coheirefs ; and they alio conveyed the divided moiety to Richard Alnutt, Efq. a merchant of London, who erected a feat here, called, from the name that part of the eftate had borne, South-park; who left it with its manerial rights, and the other part of the eftates he had purchafed, to truftees for the benefit of his grandfon, Richard Alnutt, Efq. the prefent pro- prietor and refident. Mr. Perry, who by fign manual in 1752 took the furname of Sidney, repaired and beautified Penfhurft-place, and added many valuable pictures to the collection there, purchafed by him in Italy. Dying in 1757, he left his widow in poffeffion of what had been apportioned to her; and fhe, in 1770, added to thefe eftates purchafed of lady Younge and Sir George Younge, K. B. her fon : when, to the furprife of all, the whole was claimed by John Sidney, Efq. who alfo challenged the title of earl of Leicefter, founding his pretentions upon this, that as his mother, the wife of Joceline the laft nobleman, had never been divorced, he, as eldeft fon-in-law, was entitled to be reprefentative of that nobleman, as much as if he had been owned by him as his fon and heir-apparent. The caufe, one of the moft lingular upon record, was tried in 178a in the court of common pleas, being on a writ of right, " The 2 4 o KEN T. 4t The proceedings of which," fays my author, " are all ancient and fingular, by " a grand affizc, confifting of four knights of this county, with twelve gentlemen " their companions, the tenor of whofe oath is to fay, whether the tenant who " poffeffes the lands has more right to hold the lands than the demandant has to *' demand them. But Mrs. Perry, in fupport of her right, exhibiting the will of " Joceline earl of Leicefler, to whom the demandant claimed to be fon and heir, " by which the cftates in queflion were devifed away from him, and confequently " he could not claim them by heirfhip to the earl ; and as- the iffue to be tried was " folely, whether the demandant had abetter title than the tenant ? — the eld maxim' " of the law, melior eji conditio poffidentis, was cited, to prove that Mrs. Perry's " title being in poffefTion, was better than that of Mr. Sidney the demandant, who '.' had no poffefTion, and had loft all right by the above will, which gave them " away to another, let the claim of the devifer againfl Mrs. Perry be what it would ; " and the court was of this opinion, and the grand affize unanimoufly gave their " verdic/t in her favour." — Mr. Sidney was equally unfuccefsful in his claim to the earldom of Leicefler. Mrs. Perry, or, more properly fpcaking, Sidney, died in 1783, having loft her only fon Algernon Perry Sidney, who died unmarried in 1768, and leaving only two daughters and coheirs ; Elizabeth, married to Bifhe Shelley, Efq. and Frances, to Mr. Poictiers : though the latter alfo had children, fhe devifed all thefe eftates to truflees for the benefit of her grand fon, John Shelley, Efq. conditionally, that he procured the furname of Sidney ; and he now refides here. The extraordinary hiflory of the Sidney family, the peculiar circum fiances of the defcent of their property here, will plead excufe for fo long a relation. — Something mu ft now be faid of the ancient feat of Penfhurfl. This old manfion is a hol- low fquare, irregularly built ; the tower in the front was creeled by the fTrft Sir Henry Sidney, as a monument of gratitude to the generous monarch who had granted it to his father. The houfe ftands in the fouth-weft corner of the park, which, though diminished, contains more than 400 acres, finely wooded with oak, beech, and chefnut trees, beautifully diverfified, and through it flows the Medway. The ftate rooms are fuperbly furnifhed ; but its collodion of pictures, especially the portraits of the Sidneys and Dudleys, with the monarchs who favoured them, are far the mofl valuable : fome of thefe are by Holbein, as are others. We 4 cannot KENT. 241 cannot quit this charming fpot, confccrated by having been the refidence of fuch illuftrious characters in every thing great, without a figh, remembering that " Here mighty Dudley once would rove, To plan his triumphs in the grove ; There loofer Waller, ever gay, With SachariiTa in dalliance lay ; And Philip, fidelong yonder fpring, His lavilh carols wont to fing." There is an eftate here called Salmans, once the feat of a family fo denominated, who remained poffefTed of it until the reign of Henry VI. : it afterwards was owned by the Rowes. Derking-hall or Darkenols, formerly belonging to the Wil- loughbys, Seyliards, Scullards, is now veiled in the Streatfeilds. The manor of Hepfbrooke, whofe manfion has the name of Ford-place, was the ancient refidence of the Sidneys, before they procured the grant of Penfhurft-place ; it followed the courfe of defcent we have mentioned. Since the time of Sir Wil- liam Sidney it came in the divifion of eftates to the two coheirefTes of the Hon. colonel Sidney, and veiled wholly in Mrs. Perry, by purchafing the other moiety of the Younge family, and was devifed by her to John Shelley Sidney, Efq. with the exception of the farm, or demefne lands called Ford-place farm, difpofed by lady and Sir George Younge to the Alnutts, who ftill enjoy it. Chafford-place, fo many centuries the refidence of the River family, fituated at the fouthern extremity of the parifh, was taken down by its purchafer, Mr. Wil- liam Saxby, who built upon its fcite a farm-houfe. It is now poffefTed by James Harbroc, Efq. remarried to the widow of Robert Burgefs, Efq. who had pur- chafed it of Mr. Saxby. Redleaf-houfe flands in the north- weft part of Penfhurft, once the Spencers', the laft of whom devifed it to Thomas Harvey, of Tunbridge, who left it by his will to the Rev. Thomas Harvey, the refident, his fon. This parifh is in the deanery of Shoreham, and. is a peculiar of his grace of Canterbury : the church, dedicated to St. John the Baptift, is large and venerable, and has three chancels, with a fpire. It is rich in ancient and fplendid monuments;. The family of Sidney are patrons. The Rev. Matthew Nicholas, S. T. P. \s the prefent rector. This preferment is valued in the king's books at 30/. 6s. of d. , 1 1 LYGHE. 4 4 a KEN T. L Y G H E. TO the eaft of Penfhurfl is Lyghe, written alfo Leigh, and Weft Leigh, for- merly La Lye, and more anciently Leaga, the fignifkation of which is feeding or pafture: our Anglo-Saxons, like all the other nations of antiquity, giving names appropriate to places. It is, however, not fo moift a foil as the parifh we have juft left ; its extent is from north to fouth about three miles and a half, and two and a half broad. It has a fair for pedlary wares, held on the 25th of July ; yet it is an inconfiderable place, where we fhall not long detain our readers; being, as it were, an appendant to Penfhurft. The manor of Lyghe, or Weft Leigh, has for ages followed the fame defcent as Penfhurft, and is now part of the eftate of John Shelley Sidney, Efq. Ramhurft was anciently accounted a manor, held of the honour of Gloucefter ; it was in the reign of Edward I. the property of the family of Rouland, whence it went to the Culpepers, where it remained for many generations. They difpofed of it to Worral, who in the reign of Henry VIII. conveyed it to Lewknor ; and in queen Elizabeth's time it became the Saxby's, who fold it to Richard Children, Efq. : he made it his refidence, and died here in 1753, upon whofe death it defcended to his eldeft fon, John Children, of Tunbridge, Efq. whofe fon, George Chil- dren, of that place, Efq. is the prefent proprietor. There is a large tract of land called Hollenden, which, though feparated from this parifh by that of Tunbridge intervening, is generally accounted as belonging to Lyghe, or at leaft the greater part of it. It was a manor of itfelf whilft held by the Freminghams and Cheneys; but prior to the reign of Henry VIII. it loft all traces of fuch a diftindtion, from its having been broken into a number of fmall freeholds. There is, however, one part of Hollenden which has been kept very entire; and in the reign of the laft-named monarch was conveyed to William Waller, Efq. whofe fon Richard Waller, Efq., left it to his widow, and (he took it to her fecond hufband, Stephen Towfe, gentleman. He died in 161 r, and fome time after the Crittendens poffefTed it, who, in the time of Charles II., conveyed it to the Harri- fons, and they about the year 1717 to the Burges's : Richard Burges claimed the manorial rights of it as the manor of Lyghe-Hallendon. This gentleman rebuilt the feat, and dying in 1794, left the whole eftate to Sarah his wife, who took it to her hufband, James Harbroc, Efq. the prefent inhabitant. 4 The KENT. Hi. The church of Lyghe, though fmall and mean, is rich in ancient memorials of the dead, and there is fome painted glafs in the windows. It was given to the con- vent of Tunbridge. It is a vicarage, but the clergyman claims tithe of every thing, but wheat : the prefent incumbent is the Rev. Dickfon Lillington, D. D. This preferment is in the deanery of Mailing, and charged in the king's books 9/. 18/. gd. There was anciently a free chapel in this parifh, but it was fupprefled by the a& patted in the firft year of Edward the Sixth's reign, and his majefty feized the revenues, valued at 61. $s. per annum. O ^ — i^~- TUNBRIDGE. THE town of Tunbridge ftands in a diftridr. of its own called a JLowy, vulgarly Lewy ; in Latin leuca. It is of French origin, meaning an exempt jurifdidtioni round an abbey, caftle, or chief manfion. This lowy was very large, extending over the parifhes of Hadlow and Capel ; but the latter being out of the diftridt prefcribed, will not be noticed. The parifh. is very extenfive, not lefs than fix miles each way, extremely well wooded ; near the river it has fine pafturage, and the belt lands higher up are planted with hops. Tunbridge ftands in a central fituation, and is about thirty miles from London. The roads here branch off to the Wells, to Cowden, and to Rye in SufTex ; and one from the middle of the town eaftward, through Hadlow to Mereworth, and thence to Maidftone. The Medway runs through the town near the fouth end, feparated in five ftreams, each of which has a bridge, from which circumftance it takes its name, the town of bridges : the fouthern was once the chief; as is now the northern one, which was deepened to form the inner moat of the caftle. It is navigable, and in 1775 there was a new bridge erected by the county at the expenfe of 1 1 00/. , from a -defign of Mr. Milne, but it does not exhibit any beauty. Trade has much increafed fince 1740, when the Medway was rendered navigable from Maidftone to this place. There is a wharf near the bridge for the reception of the timber brought from the Weald. It is greatly to be wiilied that the river were alfo made capable „of having larger veffels proceed to the main channel that comes from Penfhurft, and which is not more than one mile. 112 The 244 KEN T. The town, confifting of one long fpacious ftreet, inhabited in part by gentle- men, is remarkably clean, both from its defcent, and from having 32/. the rent of what is called the town land, given at fome diftant period, applied to that purpofe. The end of it leading to London has a fine ftone caufeway, made at the expenfe of John Willford, citizen of London, about the middle of Henry the Eighth's reign. Though Tunbridge was originally little more than the fuburbs of the caftle, yet it became of fuch confequence, that in the reign of Edward 1. it had its members of parliament ; but is now become of far lefs importance. There are three fairs in the year, on Afh Wednefday, July 5, and October 29, for cattle and toys; befides which they have a very confiderable monthly Tuefday's market for the former, and a weekly one, on Friday, for meat and poultry. Two town wardens are chofen at the court leet held every three years. Owing to the ftrength and fitua- tion of the caftle, this place has given titles to fome of our mofr. illuftricus fami- lies. The Staffords, dukes of Buckingham, were barons of Tunbridge ; the Burghs, earls and marquifes of Clanricarde, in Ireland, were vifcounts of it; and the Naffaus, earls of Rochford, ftill remain vifcounts of Tunbridge. It is generally allowed that this place was, in the time of the Anglo-Saxons, part of the demefne of the metropolitan fee of Canterbury ; but in the violent con- vulfion that fhook the whole kingdom at its conqueft by William the Norman, Odo bifhop of Bayeux, the maternal brother of that monarch, with a rapacity that peculiarly marked his character, feized this, with much other territorial pro- perty of that church, in the archiepifcopate of the meek, intimidated Stigand, and ftill more after his death, whilft the fee was vacant. The matter entirely changed when Lanfranc fucceeded the deceafed archbifhop ; he had ftrength of mind fuf- ficient to contend with his violent adverfary, and deputed an officer with his com- plaints, ordering him to lay the matter before William, who was then in Nor- mandy. The king, knowing the character of his brother, and fearful of injuring the firft prelate in his new dominions, determined to have the caufe fully invefti- gated, and that too in the folemneft manner. The moft confiderable perfons for abilities and wealth were fixed upon, felected from thofe counties in which the archbifhop had efhtes : they chiefly lay in. Kent; the remainder were in Surrey, London, Middlefex, Effex, Suffolk, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamfhire : the commiifions were fuch as a caufe between the KENT. 245 the two greatefl fubje&s of England demanded. They met near Aylesford ; Lan- franc, learned and eloquent, with juftice on his fide, pleaded his caufe in perfon, and obtained a decifion in his favour. The intruder was obliged to reflore to the defpoliated fee twenty-three manors, and amongft them this of Tunbridge. It happened, however, that Odo had before this given a grant of Tunbridge to Richard Fitz-Gilbert, or Giflibert, a young nobleman, earl of Ewe, defcended from an illegitimate branch of the dukes of Normandy, and who had eminently difringuifhed himfelf at the battle of Hastings, which transferred the Englifh crown from Harold to William. He, having a paffion for the place, interceded with both the king and the archbiihop to retain it, and through the mediation of the former with the latter, an agreement was concluded, by the archbifhop accept- ing the town of Brionne in Normandy, with its jurifdiction, as an equivalent ; but that neither might be diflatisfied with the terms, it was fettled, according to the fimplicity of the eleventh century, that the diftridl of Tunbridge mould be encir- cled by a firing, and that the fame quantity of land mould in that manner be inclofed at Brionne. Thus eftablifhed, he built a caflle, and made it a place of great ftrength ; and fo highly pleafed was he with this residence, that he took for his furname de Tonebrige. He became one of William's mofr. puiffant barons ; for befides his great patrimo- nial inheritance in Normandy, he received 176 lordfhips in England, exclufive of thirteen burgeffes in the town of Ipfwich, of which Clare was one. Jointly with William Warren he executed the high office of jufticiary of England, whilft William was in Normandy, and affifted him in fuppreffing a confpiracy raifed by the earls of Hereford and Norfolk; but declaring for Robert duke of Normandy, in opposition to his younger brother William, who had feized the crown after their father's death, he was befieged in this caflle, obliged to make his fubmiffion, and fwear allegiance to Rufus, to whom he afterwards proved faithful, and was taken fighting in his quarrel in Normandy by Robert, and detained until that eccentric prince refigned to William his dukedom, as he had before his kingdom.. He was flain at Abergavenny in the commencement of Stephen's reign, fighting for that monarch againir. the Welfh. Such was the founder of Tunbridge-cafde, and of a moft illuftrious family in England. Gilbert, dropping the furname de Tonebrige, took that of Clare, of which he was created earl, the title pafiing through many of his defcendants ; the latter of whom -46 KEN T. whom had alfo the earldoms of Gloucester and Hertford, ended in the male line at the beginning of the fourteenth century. The hiftory of thefe great peers would take up far too much of our time to detail. It may, however, be proper to give fuch incidents of their lives as particu- larly relate to the caftle of Tunbridge. — A conftant conteft fubfiSted between thefe potent chieftains and the fee of Canterbury, from the time of that haughty prelate Becket, until the reign of Henry III. when an accord was made, by which it was agreed that the earls of Clare and Gloucester mould hold Tunbridge and its lowy by the grand fcrgeantcy of being chief butlers and high Stewards at the instalment of the metropolitans, and grant them wardihip of their children. Whenever one of them attended upon the folemnization of inthronization, he was to receive, for the fervice of Steward, feven robes of fcarlet, thirty gallons of wine, fifty pounds of wax for the ufe of his own lights on the feaft, the livery of hay and corn for eighty horfes for two nights, and the difhes and falts which Should be placed before the prelate at the firSt courfe of the fcaSt; and when the nobleman Should take his leave, entertainment for three days, at the expenfe of the archbifhop and his fuc- ceSTors, at their neareSt manors by the four quarters of Kent, wherefoever the peer Should make his election, fo that he did not go thither with more than fifty horfe : and when the caStle went into the hands of the Stafford family, we find that thefe fervices were retained ; but inStead of provisions, it was in the fourteenth century both to the de Clares and the StafFords compounded for a fum of money, generally two hundred marks, and the Silver gilt cup with which the earl Should Serve before the archbifhop. So late as the reign of Henry VIII. we find Edward duke of Buck- ingham executing in perfon the office of Steward at the inthronization of archbifhop Warham, and the butlerfhip by his deputy Sir Thomas Bourchier. Thefe are traits of character in our hiftory that may be deemed worthy prefervation, as they mark the cuftoms of former periods. Tunbridge-caftle was alternately the fcene of war and the abode of pleafure, but ever of confequence. Gilbert, furnamed Rufus, earl of Clare, Gloucester, and Hertford, joining the rebellious barons againSt their Sovereign Henry III., was befieged by prince Edward, the king's fon, during which the garrifon fct fire to and burnt the town, to prevent its being ufeful to the prince ; who, however, took the caStle and the countefs of Gloucester, but gave her liberty: he nevertheless put a garrifon in the caStle. Some time afterwards Gilbert, convinced of the.badnefs of KENT. 247 of the caufe in which he was engaged, joined the royal ftandard, and in reward for his returning loyalty received again the poffeffion of this caftle. Here it was that he entertained Edward, then become his fovereign, upon his return from Paleftine. The reception was fplendid ; and though the king was defi- rous of reaching his capital, yet he remained here many days; and fo acceptable did he become to the king, that having divorced his wife for her ill conduct, Edward gave him his own daughter, Joan of Acres ; who, as part of her jointure, had this caftle fettled upon her, which (he made the place of her refidence in her widow- hood ; and in her fecond marriage with Ralph de Monthermer, a private gentle- man in her fervice, whofe prefumption in marrying a princefs at firft drew upon him the vengeance of offended majefty ; but by the interceftion of the bifhop of Durham, Edward received him into favour, and his merit was fuch, that he obtained his confidence and affection ; and from this fecond alliance have defcended many noble houfes. We muft here obferve, that prince Edward, afterward Edward II. alfo refided at Tunbridge in the twenty-fecond year of his father's reign, when he was left fupreme governor of the kingdom, whilft the elder Edward was in Flanders. Upon the death of Gilbert de Clare, the laft earl of Gloucefter of this family, in the partition of his vaft eftates to his three lifters and coheirs, Tunbridge caftle and manor came to Hugh de Audley, in right of his wife Margaret, the fecond of them ; till joining with fome difcontented barons, this caftle was feized by Edward II. who made Bartholomew de Badlefmere governor; but he alfo traitor- ously joining the malecontents, gave the cuftody of it to Henry de Cobham, whofe deputy, Crevequer, intending to follow the ftandard of revolt and deliver up his charge to the rebels, was ordered to be hanged, and this caftle, the fcene of his treafon, to be razed to the ground : it fortunately efcaped, having been one of the four which Edward foon after fixed upon as fafe receptacles to depofit the records and charters of the kingdom in; and in the following reign Hugh de Audley was reftored to favour, had the earldom of Gloucefter in right of his marriage given him, and was permitted to re-enjoy this caftle. Margaret, his only daughter, took the caftle and manor of Tunbridge to Ralph lord Stafford, created earl of Stafford, and elecfed knight of the garter, who died here. His defendants rofe to a rank that eclipfed every other fubject, having the earldoms of Buckingham, Hereford, Stafford, Northampton, and Perch, with many 2 4 8 KEN T. many baronies veiled in them, and at length raifed to ducal honours, and made hereditary conftables of England. Tunbridge-caftle was neither neglected nor deferted by this puifTant family ; but little of confequence relating to it is known whilft in their pofTeflion. The archbifhops frill retaining their feigniory, claimed the ward of the fons of thefe noblemen during their minority, with cuftody of the caftle ; and though they had been left by one of them to Thomas of Woodftock, duke of Glou- ceftcr, a fon of England; yet thefe were allowed by parliament to be of ri^ht verted in the archbifhops of Canterbury. When Richard III. had cut off the firfr. duke of Buckingham, he fent Sir Marmaduke Conftable to refide here, and by writ under his fign manual com- manded the inhabitants of the honour and lowy of Tunbridge to attend upon him, forbidding them to take clothing, or be retained by any manner of perfon or perfons whomfoever ; and from his ledger-book we find he appointed his trufly friend, Robert Brakenbury, Efq. conftable of Tunbridge-caflle, with a fee or falary of ten marks. Brakenbury was afterwards knighted by him, and was the trusty friend that murdered the royal youths, Edward V. and his brother the duke of York : perhaps this was part of his fee for the horrid deed. . This cattle was forfeited to the crown at the ruin of the lafr. Stafford, duke of Buckingham, when this family, every way fo great, fell, to rife no more ; and in a courfe of defcents, the laft male or" them was found with his fifter in the loweft flate of abject wretchednefs. Charles I. who ought to have compafhonated the ftrange reverie of fortune of the Staffords, illegally obliged him to refign his title, which he granted away to a branch of the Howard family. King Edward VI. in his fourth year gave a grant of the Jordfhip, manor, and caflle of Tunbridge, and his two parks of Pofterne and Cage, lying near the town, with his forefts and chafes of North Frith and South Frith, to John Dudley, earl of Warwick, afterwards duke of Northumberland ; but reconveying them to the crown, queen Mary gave the whole of them to hold in capite by knight's fervice, to Pole cardinal archbifhop of Canterbury, for life, with the power to demife them to whomfoever he pleafed, during a year complete after his death; but he making no fuch provifion, and dying the fame day as his fovereign, they became vefled again in the crown. Queen Elizabeth granted thefe, with other premifes, to her coufin Henry Carey, lord Hunfdon, and his heirs male, remainder to the crown ; but fhe gave him a farther KENT. 249 farther grant in fee under the fame tenure that they had before been held ; fo that from his family they came by an heirefs to the Berkleys, by them conveyed to Sir John Kennedie, he to GoiTon and Johnfon, and they united in alienating them to Sir Peter Vanlore, a naturalized merchant, whofe fon was created a baronet : this family ending in females, after very complex claims, and many law-fuits, the manor, cattle, and part of its demefnes, finally fettled in Jacoba, married to Henry Zinzan, alias Alexander, Efq. the defcendants of whom, in 1729, difpofed of it to John Hooker, Efq., whofe fon, the elegant Thomas Hooker* Efq., in 1793 built a. handfome ftone feat clofe to the caftle, and laid out the ground with correct tafte ; but before it had received the lafl finifh, he difpofed of it to William Woodgate, of Somerhill, in this pariih, Efq., married to his filler Frances ,• and now that gentleman enjoys it. It muft be remarked that the caftle prefents a picturefque object, and is a monu- ment of its former fplendid confequence, once the refidence of the firft peers, who received there the vifits of majefty, though now the abode of the fcreech-owl and the bat : indeed its glory fet with that of the ennobled unfortunate Staffords. It ftill retains its court leet and baron. Dues for caftle guard are difcontinued ; as are fome for encroachment on the lord's wafte. Some excufe ought perhaps to be made for having fo long detained the reader. There is a large diftrict containing all the north-weft part of the lowy of Tun- bridge, called Hildenburgh, containing the manors of Hilden, Dachurft, Martin- Abbey, Lamport, Nizell, Hadlow, the lands denominated Hollenden, the fmall manor of Leigh, or Hildenborough in Leigh, and that of Penihurft-Halymote, all under the jurisdiction of the honour of Otford ; the high fteward of which holds his yearly court leet in this borough to elect a conftable, borlholder, &c. the fingu- larity of which is, that it fhould be under the jurifdiction of two manors, the one civil, the other military. The manors of Dachurft, Martin-Abbey, Lamport, and Nizell, after the attainture of the Staffords, vefting in the crown, remained there until the great re- bellion, when they were fold to colonel Robert Gibbon, but reclaimed by Charles IL, who granted the fee-farm rents to the Dafhwood family, by which they are ftjjl retained. The demefnes of Dachurft, Henry VIII. granted to the Skeffingtons, who fold them in fmall parcels. Hilden manor, a mile from Tunbridge, was anciently the Vanes', and paffing K K through a 5 o KEN T. through many families, came to the family of Dyke, one of whom took down the manor-houfe : they fold it the Harveys, who now poffefs it, and hold a court baron. , The eftate of Philipots is reputed a manor. It was the feat of the Philipots, and fance of the Children family. It now belongs to Mr. Richard Polhill or Polley, of Chatham, one of whofe anceftors is faid to have been bow-bender to queen Elizabeth : a bow, fuppofed to have been her majefty's, not many years ago hung up in the houfe ; it was curioufly enamelled and ftudded. Baden manor, lying a little fpace from Tunbridge to the fouth-wefr, was once of fuch importance, as to give name to a " borough" of confiderable extent; the Badens long enjoyed it ; afterwards it was divided : that part which was once the benevolent Sir Andrew Judde's, is now the property of Thomas Streatfeild, of Sevenoke, Efq. The other part, containing the manor, is enjoyed by Charles Polhill, of Chepfted, in Chevening, Efq. ; as is the fmall adjoining manor of Had- low. Mr. Polhill, about ten years ago, called a court baron, but as no one attended, it is probable none will in future be held. The borough of South, or Southborough, included within it the fouthern part of the lowy of Tunbridge. Mention will firfr. be made of the manor of the fame name, more memorable for its pofleffors than its own confequence. From the Clares it went to the Audleys and Staffords, and having been loft by the attainture of the laft of them, Henry VIII. granted it to the wife and learned Sir Thomas More, lord chan- cellor ; and at his attainture, to the elegant and equally learned George Boleyn, vifcount Rochford, brother to queen Ann Boleyn, who, like the two laft pofTeflors, ftained the fcaffold with his blood ; as did its next owner, Dudley duke of Northumber- land. How blefled are we in having exchanged fuch ferocious, fanguinary times for the prefent ! and how careful fhould we be, in never expreffing diflatisfaction with the blefilngs we enjoy, bleffings unknown to our anceftors ! Queen Elizabeth gave it to Sir Richard Sackville, conveyed by him to Thomas Smith, Efq. called Cuftomer Smith, whofe defcendants, by his fecond fon, poflefted it until 1790, when it came to its prefent owner, the earl of Darnley, who holds here a court baron ; and a fair is alfo kept on the 24th of March. Jrlayfden, or Eaft Hayfden, is a fmall manor at the fouth-weft extremity of the lowy, belonging to Henry Goodwyn, of Enfield, Efq. who holds a court baron for it. There was a large diftritt, as before mentioned, called North Frith, and ano- ther, KENT. 251 ther, ftill larger, denominated South Frith, each enclofed by pales. This fol- lowed the defcent of the caffle, until the death of Hugh de Audley, earl of Glou- cefler, when the South Frith went to his youngefl daughter Elizabeth, who took it in marriage to the Burghs, and they to Lionel duke of Clarence, third fon of Edward III. ; and Philippa, his fole child, to that branch of the royal family called the houfe of York, wherein it continued, until the death of Cicely dutchefs of York. It merged in the crown in the perfon of Henry VIII., her grandfon, who retained it in his own hands. Edward VI. granted it to the duke of Northumberland, who reconveyed it to the crown. By queen Mary it was granted to cardinal Pole ; at his death queen Elizabeth gave it to her favourite, Robert earl of Leicefter, for a term of years ; and at its expiration fhe gave the fee to Frances, the widow of her once no lefs favoured Robert earl of Effex, who took it to her laft bufband, the earl of Clanricarde. The parliament fequeftered it for the loyalty of Ulick his fon, created marquis of Clanricarde, to reward their general, the vain-glorious Robert earl of Effex. At his death it was given to that mifcreant Bradfhaw, who had pafTed fentence againft his fovereign. It is faid to have come, after his deceafe, to his natural fon; and fome old people remember an aged man, fuppofed to have been this perfon, and reported to have been the poffeffor of Somerhill. The Reftoration gave that place, with South Frith, to its legal owner, Margaret, daughter of the marquis of Clanricarde, who took it to her three hulbands, Charles M'Carty, vifcount Mufkerry, who left no iffue; John vifcount Purbeck ; and Mr. generally called Beau, Fielding : fhe, after a life of the moft wanton ex- travagance, died in poverty and contempt. Thefe eftates were fold by her and John vifcount Purbeck, her fon, who, as well as his fon, claimed the earldom of Buck- ingham- The family of Hill purchafed about 1200 acres of Open and wood land, now belonging to the Rev. John Templer. South Frith with Somerhill was fold to a perfon of the name of Dekins, which coming to the family of Woodgate, the manfion' is made their feat, and the whole are now enjoyed by William Woodgate, Efq. Many fmall parcels of land went into the hands of various individuals ; it is neither neceffary, nor, perhaps, practicable to fpecify them. There is a court baron held for this manor : feveral of the tenants hold by copy of court roll, a circumftance very unufual in this part of Kent. Little, or New Bounds, is a feat, built by lord chief baron Bury, now the pro- k k % P ert 7 a 52 KEN T. perty of lord Darnley. Calverley, another feat, is the refidence of its owner, Thomas Pannwell, Efq. Here was a priory founded in the reign of Henry II., by Richard de Clare, the firft earl of Hertford, lord of Tunbridge-eaftle, dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen, for the order of Premonflrateniian monks, called white canons, which was burnt down in 1 35 r , with all its coftly furniture, but rebuilt. It was fuppreffed, to found and endow the colleges intended to be erected at Ipfwich and Oxford, by cardinal Wolfcy, at which time it was valued at 169/. iox. gd. ; but upon that great ecclefiaftic's misfortunes, Henry VIII. feized it. After going through many poffeffors, it is at prefent the property of the Rev. John-Weller Poley. Some parts of it yet remain ; the chapel is the moil entire, and is now ufed as a barn, and a ftowage for hops, of which Buck has given us an engraving. Near was a fpring, alfo dedicated to St. Margaret, once walled in, but which has given place to the purer water of the Wells. In this monaftery were buried feveral of the Staffords. The free grammar- fchool Handing at the north end of the town, was founded and endowed by Sir Andrew Judde, a native of this place, who became citizen, fkinner, and lord mayor of London. It was erected in the reign of Edward VI., and he died in 1558. He placed it under the guardianfhip and care of the din- ners' company, which has behaved with a liberality that does them the greateft honour. The old part of the building is more than 100 feet long: it is of flone, neat and uniform. In 1676 an addition was made to the mailer's apartments, with an hall or refectory, and a fmall neat library built by the company. There are alfo detached offices, a garden, and a play-ground belonging to it. The college of All Souls is viiitors. It has had great benefactors ; amongil thefe, Sir Thomas Smith, fon-in-law to the founder, Hands firft ; Mr. Fifher, Sir Andrew's executor, was another ; Mr. Lewis, Sir James Lancafler, Mr. Worrall, Mr. Robert Holme- don, the liberally benevolent Sir Thomas White, lady Margaret Bofwell, Mr. John Strong, and the Rev. James Cawthorn, one of its mailers. — There are many exhi- bitions belonging to it. The ikinners' company vifit in much ftate every year. There are few inftitutions which have been better kept up. Its mailers have been a fucceffion of learned men. The Rev. Vicefimus Knox, D. D. fon of a father of both his names, fucceeded him upon his resignation as head of this feminary : his elegant publications fpeak his great merit as an able writer. A very ample relation of this place has now been given ; what relates to the church, ■with KENT. 253 with which the account of Tunbridge, and its juftly- celebrated Wells, will beclofed, excepted. The Wells are about thirty-fix miles from London, fituate on the fouth fide of Kent, but in feveral parifhes ; Tunbridge, Frant, and Speldhurft, containing four fmall villages, Mount Ephraim, Mount Pleafant, Mount Sion, and the Wells : thefe, if clofely united, would form a town of no inconfiderable fize. They are almoft on the borders of Suflex, and are bounded by Tunbridge on the north, Lamberhurft on the eaft, a large, and in a great meafure uncultivated, foreft, belonging to lord Abergavenny on the fouth, and Eaft Grinfted on the weft. They are of no anti- quity ; their rife was fingular. The gay, diflipated, young Dudley lord North had exhaufted his conftitution by his gallantries in the court of Henry prince of Wales ; and was advifed by his phyficians to retire to the country as the laft trial to regain his loft ftrength. In the year 1606 he went to Eridge-houfe, a hunting faet of lord Abergavenny, whofe park was " an aflemblage," fays Mr. Aaron Hill, " of all nature's beauties — hills, vales, brooks, lawns, groves, thickets, rocks, " waterfalls, all noble and regularly amiable." This fituation, however charming, ill fuited a young nobleman in his twenty-fourth year, who had been engaged in all the pleafures attendant upon a court ; he therefore determined to leave his retreat and return to town ; the folicitations of his friends prevailed upon him to pro- mife to remain another fix weeks. Tired with folitude, he broke through re- flraint, and fet out for London. His way lay through the wood in which thefe fprings were ; it was in the morning, and he had leifure to contemplate the water, with its furface fhining with mineralic fcum. One of thofe perfons who inftantly difcovered what others, lefs obfervant, neglecl:, he fent to a neighbour- ing cottage for a verTel ; drank of the ftream, and was convinced it was chaly- beate. Pleafed with the idea, he determined to have it examined by the phyficians j for which purpofe he took fome with him to town. The faculty coincided in opinion : his lordfhip, therefore, returned in the fummer, that he might add the power of the waters to the purity of the air, and they unitedly reftored him to the full enjoyment of his health, and he lived upon the remains of a noble fortune to an happy old age, dying January 16, 1666, aged eighty-five years. So wonderful a reftoration made a great impreftion upon the public mind. Lord- Abergavenny, procuring the confent of Mr. Weller, of Tunbridge, the lord of the manor, came down perfonally to infped; the place, and to fee it cleared of all its incum- 2j4 KEN T. incumbering brufliwood. He then had wells funk, paved with (tone, and enclofed with rails in a triangular form. Hither came the afflicted, and returned healthy; but as no accommodations were nearer than the town of Tunbridge, the number was few. The beautiful Henrietta-Maria, queen to Charles I., being much indifpofed after the birth of the prince, afterwards Charles II., flayed here fix weeks; but as no houfe was near, fuitable for fo great a perfonage, fhe and her fuite remained under tents pitched upon Bifhop's-down. The fplendid court formed a fine contrafl to the country, every where rude, and in the hands of nature. In honour of her majefty the wells changed their name from Frant to that of Queen Mary's Wells ; both have given place to their prefent one, Tunbridge- wells, though the fprings evidently rife in the parifh of Speldhurfl. Pleafure uniting with health, firft neat cottages, afterwards handfome lodging- houfes, were erected ; and that trade might be an attendant, retailers took their ftands, with various wares, under a row of planted trees in the road which the company were accuflomed to take when they went to drink of the limpid ftream. Southborough and Rufthall, the one two, the other one mile from the wells, foon had houfes for the ufe of vifitants. Poetry aided the fame of this new-difco- vered fpot, confecrated alike to health and diffipation. Waller makes his tuneful verfes celebrate the virtues of the waters, in the lines he addreffed to his exquifitely beautiful SacharifTa. Dr. Rowzee wrote to prove the fact profeffionally. The civil wars that enfued left the wells neglected and almoft forgotten ; but legal government reftored, they fhone forth with redoubled luftre. The fin- cere joy that event brought with it, led the Englifh to an extravagance of mirth and entertainment unknown before. It was feen every where, Tun- bridge-wells uniting in the general fentiment : hence we may date the affem- bly-room, bowling-green, and other appropriate places at Rufthall; and ano- ther bowling-green and a coffee-houfe at Southborough. Lord Abergavenny's old wooden rails in 1664 gave place to a ftrong ftone enclofure, built by lord Muf- kerry, fon to the fecond earl of Clancarty. His lordfhip alfo renewed the ftone pavement within the wall, made a handfome bafin over the main fpring, the better to receive the water ; erected a convenient hall to fhelter the dippers from the weather, during their hours of attendance upon the company, and made a projection to KENT. 25s to preferve the well from any mixture with rain-water. The wells, by his premature death, the following year, in the Dutch war, loft a patron that would, had he lived, have perfected all that could be wanting. Few have ever been defervedly loved or lamented by their fovereign, foldiers, or tenants, more than this elegant, gallant, munificent, and charitable nobleman. The furrounding country caught the happy enthufiafm of the amiable young peer. The circumjacent wilds were fpotted with neat, rural habitations ; until whim, and fome altercations between the lord of the manor and the tenants, foon varied the fcene. Rufthall was deferted for Mount Ephraim ; and that for Southborough, which again was eclipfed by the new favourite Mount Sion. Here you might have feen a jovial company with a houfe placed upon a machine, conveying it to this future abode of pleafure, attended with mufic and every feftive decoration. The town of Tunbridge was now left to its original quiet ; for the wells became a complete village, with houfes fufficient to lodge all the vifitants, owing to the liberal manner with which the lord of the manor granted building and other leafes. Benevolence united with piety, raifed and fupported the fchool for feeding, clothing, and edu- cating the children of the poor, and the chapel for the worfhip of the Almighty ; which by an excefs of loyalty was indecently dedicated to-king Charles the martyr : there is only another inftance of this enthufiafm. Charles had many great virtues, but he had many great failings ; the former were the man's, the other the monarch's. It muft be allowed that no place owed more to the foftering care of the royal houfe of Stuart than Tunbridge- wells. Henrietta-Maria firft honoured it with her refidence. Charles II. and Catharine his queen came hither, and delighted in this place. How inimitable is count Grammont's account of the diflipated court whilft' here, in that moft elegant edition of his Memoirs printed by the late earl of Orford ; what he fays of it cannot be omitted : " Tunbridge is the fame diftance from London that Fontainebleau is from Paris, " and is, at the feafon, the general rendezvous of all the gay and handfome of both "" fexes. The company, though always numerous, is always felecT: : fince thofe' " who repair thither for diverfion, ever exceed the number of thofe who go thither *■• for health. Every thing there breathes mirth and pleafure; conftraint is " banifhed, familiarity is eftablifhed upon the firft acquaintance, and joy and " pleafure are the fole fovereigns of the place. " The company are accommodated with lodgings in little, clean, and convenient' " habita- 2 5 '6 KENT. " habitations, that lie ftraggling and feparated from each other, a mile and a half *' all round the wells, where the company meet in the morning. This place confifts " of a long walk, (haded by pleafant trees, under which they walk, while they " are drinking the waters. On one fide of this walk is a long row of mops, plen- '.' tifully flocked with all manner of toys, lace, gloves, ffockings, and where there *' is raffling, as at Paris, in the Foire de Saint Germain. On the other fide of the " walk is the market; and as it is the cuftom here for every perfon to buy their " own provifions, care is taken that nothing appears offenfive upon the Halls. " Here young, fair, frefh-coloured country girls, with clean linen, fmall ftraw " hats, and neat fhoes and ftockings, fell game, vegetables, flowers, and fruit. " Here one may live as one pleafes. Here is likewife deep play, and no want of " amorous intrigues. As foon as the evening comes, every one quits his little V palace to affemble on the bowling-green, where, in the open air, thofe who " choofe, dance upon a turf more foft and fmooth than the fineft carpet in the " world." Here was the empire of love eftablifhed. Charles bent to that all-conquering, weak beauty, Mifs Stewart, afterwards dutchefs of Richmond : even the hard-fea- tured chymical prince Rupert became enamoured of Mrs. Hughes the actrefs. Here, in one of the conftant evening dances at the queen's apartments, the diminutive, diftorted lady Mufkerry, the well-known " princefs of Babylon," dropped, in the quick, mazy dance, the cufhion fhe had placed to hide her advanced pregnancy, which was taken up by the facetious duke of Buckingham, and dandled as a new- born babe, to the no fmall diverfion of the king and all the court : even the queen, though outwardly checking, inwardly enjoyed that mirth which fhone every where around her, efpecially in the features of Mifs Stewart, who laughed herfelf into hyfterics : but the cufhion replaced, another round of country dances commenced, and the " princefs of Babylon" went through the fecond evolutions without any farther *' mifcarriage." Here, too, the fprightly Grammont became more en- chanted with the beauteous, prudent Mifs Hamilton, who came hither from the melancholy refidence of Peckham, and its tirefome mailer, Mr. Wetenhall. No apology is offered for dwelling fo long upon this brilliant part of the hiftory of Tunbridge- wells, where majefty honoured the fcene, and beauty befpangled every part of its bounds. — After two months, Catharine returned to London, lefs happy than the vain and foolifh lady Mufkerry, the princefs of Babylon, who report KENT. 247 report faid would have twins, whilfr, the queen fhowed no figns of ever being mo- ther to one. In 1670 his royal highnefs James duke of York, afterwards king James II., with his dutchefs and two daughters, our future queens, Mary and Anne, came to the wells, as did the latter with the duke of Gloucefler her fon, in 1688 ; and me might have been the patronefs of the place, when feated on the throne, if (he had not been dif- gufted with the mercenary conduct of thofe, whom fhe had entrufted with money, to render it more eligible for the reception of the prince. His prefent majefty's father, and his illuftrious confort, came hither in 1739 : the princefs Amelia often, and his royal highnefs the duke of Cumberland in 1762. Their royal highneffes the dukes of York and Gloucefter were here in 1 765. The princefs Sophia came to thefe fprings in 1793, and by ufing the waters, happily obtained a perfect recovery. Hither alfo have lately been their royal highneffes the duke and dutchefs of York, of whofe conjugal, and every other virtue, Britain juftly boafts. Of the waters it may be remarked, that, if not fo ftrong, they are pleafanter than many other chalybeate fprings. The air is purer than that of any other part of England, being our Montpellier, confequently the reiteration of health to the vifitants may be due as much to the latter as the former. We fhall now defcribe the prefent ftate of this place and its environs. The wells, properly fo called, form the centre, near which are the markets, the medicinal water, chapel, affembly-rooms, and public parades ; the latter are called the upper and lower walk, formerly paved with brick, but in 1793 with Purbeck flone, at an expenfe of 710/. j the other is vinpaved, and ufed chiefly by country people and fervants. On the right of the paved walk in the way from the well is the public parade, on which is one of the afTembly-rooms, the library, coffee-houfe, poft- offlce, Tunbridge ware, milliners', and different kinds of toy fhops. A portico ex- tends the whole length of the parade, fupported by Tufcan pillars, where the com- pany occasionally walk. On the left is a row of large flourifhing trees, which has a gallery in the centre for mufic ; the whole being divided from the lower walk by a range of neat palifadoes. In this place are three principal taverns, the Suffex, Kentim, and New Inn tavern. The Angel tavern and inn is by the road fide l l on 258 KENT. on entering the place, and near the mineral fpring : they are all extremely well attended. ' There are clufters of houfcs on Mount Sion hill, Mount Pleafant, Mount Ephraim, and Bifhop's-down. The firft is by far the moft charming, combining all that a romantic fituation, aided by tafte, can afford. Upon thefe different emi- nences are difperfed fome elegant feats ; thofe of the late Mrs. Wogan and Richard Cumberland, Efq. are fon Mount Sion. His grace of Leeds has one on Mount Pleafant ; and lady Peachey another, on what is called Little Mount Pleafant. Mrs. Byng and Mrs. Whitaker have houfes on Mount Ephraim : Biihop's-dovra has the feat of Martin Yorke, Efq. To mention any particular houfes for the accommodation of vifitants would be invidious, unlefs all were given. There may be faid to be a peculiar trade carried on here — turnery ware, called that of Tunbridge, in which the people greatly excel. A hiftory of the place, more than what has been given, is not to be expected. One difafter alone is recorded, which happened in 1687 : — a fire broke out in what is now called the Flat-houfe, at the bottom of the walk, which fpread fo rapidly, that the whole range of (hops and other buildings were deftroyed, and a child perifhed in the conflagration : the fhops arofe more beautiful than before. Here are two meeting-houfes, the laft built by the miflakenly pious countefs of Hunt- ingdon. It would be unpardonable not to notice the rocks and Adam's well in the vici- nity. The firft is about one mile and an half diftant from Tunbridge- wells. Nothing can be more romantic, and at the fame time more ftupendous. Here are feen vallies with a ftream ftealing through them, amid naked, craggy rocks, fome of which are feventy feet high, and fome thrown by the convulfions of nature upon others, in the rudeft confuiion, and feem to menace inftant death to the curious intruders. The duke of York, afterwards king James II., with the princeffes his daughters, firft brought thefe rocks into notice, fince whofe vifits a fmall houfe has been erected, and hither the company often make parties. Adam's well is more chalybeate than thofe of Tunbridge, and, though till lately inacceffible by carriages, more ancient. It was, indeed, fo encircled by briars and thorns, that even foot paffengers got thither with much difficulty and d.ftiefs. About thirty years ago it was purchafed by the late Mr. Pinchbeck, who, at the periualion KENT. 259 perfuafion of Mr. Fofler, an attorney of Yorkfhire, and others whofe horfes had been cured by having drank of the fpring, made it every way eligible for ufe, enclofing one part for the poor, and the other for horfes and dogs ; and with a bene- volence that deferves the highefl commendation, declared them free to whomfoever Should apply. Tunbridge is in the diocefe of Rochefler, and deanery of Mailing. Its venerable church is dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. Here were buried many illuflrious dead ; and there are fome handfome monuments within, and tombs without it. The vicarage is valued in the king's books at 90/. y. i,d. It is in the gift of David Papillon, Efq. whofe fon, the Rev. J. R. Papillon, A. M. is the prefent incum- bent. HADLOW. HADLOW is a borough, in the lowy of Tunbridge : it includes its own parifh, except a fmall diflrict in the northern part of it, which runs into the hundred of Littlefield. The parifh. is extenfive, rich in hop plantations, and no lefs fo in its paflure. The rivulet called the Sheet crofTes this parifh, and joins the Medway a little above Brandt-bridge. There is a flowing bolt at Harlake-bridge, by which, in dry feafons, they can inundate the meadows, a fcheme highly advantageous. The village is a thoroughfare from Maidftone to Tunbridge. It has a wharf, called Hadlow flairs, where timber and coals are chiefly flowed. There is a fair on Whit- Monday. In the reign of Edward the ConfefTor, Eddeva held Hadlow. William the Conqueror gave it to Richard de Tonebridge, who held it of that king's half- brother, Odo bifhop of Bayeux, afterwards of the fee of Canterbury. It followed the defcent of Tunbridge-caflle, until the attainture of the lafl Stafford duke of Buckingham, when it often changed hands by attainture or fale, until it fettled in the Bartons, by marrying the elder coheir of the France family : Walter Barton, Efq. who has taken the furname of May, is the prefent pofTefTor. There is a court leet and baron held for the manor, and by a decifion of law, it is now fettled independent of Tunbridge. Hadlow-place, anciently the feat of a family fo called, went by alienation, in the reign of Henry VII., to the Fanes or Vanes ; and by the fame mean about that l l 2 of 2 6o KEN T. of Charles I. to the family of Petley ; and is now polTelTed by Mrs. Elizabeth Petlcy, the widow of Ralph-Robert-Carter Petley, of Riverhead, in Sevenoke, Efq. Fromands alias Goodwis, is a manor which came from the Fromunds to the Fane or Vane family, and from them to the Petleys. There is a court baron flill held for it. Crombury or Eaft-Crombury, anciently Cranchberi, afterwards Crongeberi, went from the de Horfmondens to the de Mereworths, thence to Fromunds, the Godwins, and the Peckhams j one of the latter fold it to the Fanes or Vanes, and they to the Petleys, who now enjoy it, and alfo hold a court baron for it. Cauftons, another manor, gave name to a family w r ho difpofed of it to the Wet- tons, they to the Fanes or Vanes; the Maynards purchafed it of them, and fold it to the Kippings ; Mr. Thomas Kipping is the prefent po'fleflbr. Goldwell or Coldwell was once the eftate of Beald. It has been that of the Fromunds, Colepepers, Cottons, Chownes ; the two latter receiving it by females. It was then fold to the Bartons, who by a daughter took it to the Keriels, by whom it was fold to Mr. William Heath, who leaving no iflue, it defcended to his filler, Mrs. Elizabeth Burges of Wefterham, whofe only fon, Robert Burges, of Hall- place, in Lyghe, Efq. lately died in polfellion of it. Peckhams is a manor that gave name to the de Peckhams, who held it of the Clares. It has been enjoyed by the Colepepers, Cottons, Herrers, Leighs, Rivens, Dallings, and now is veiled in Mr. Jonathan Chilwell, by marrying the heirefs of the laft poffeffor. Fiih-hall, once belonging to the Fifhers, who received that name, becaufe they had the liberty of filhing without control in the lowy of Tunbridge, given them by Gdbert de Clare earl of Gloucefrer, and one of his defcendants had a grant from Henry VIII. of the manor of Hadlow, and foon after of all the rivers, filheries, and ponds within it. He fold it the Vanes, who alienated it to the knightly family of Rivers, who made it their relidence. They fold it to John France, the younger coheir of whom took it the Swaynes, and by them difpofed of to Mr. John Porter of Hadlow, the prefent owner. Barnes- place is an eftate of much extent. Sir John Van Hatton fold it to Sarah vifcountefs Falkland, who at her death devifed it to her huiband Lucius Carey KENT. asfti Carey vifcount Falkland, with remainder to T.-Motley-Auften Wilmington, Efq. : he has purchafed that nobleman's life eftate, and now enjoys it. The parifh is in the deanery of Mailing. The church, dedicated to St. Mary, is fmall, with a fhort fleeple. It once belonged to the Knights Templars, and is valued in the king's books at 13/. ; the patron is Mr. James Berdmere. Hundred or Wrotham. npHE hundred of Wrotham is weft of Larkfield, and contains the parifhes of Shipborne, Ightham, Wrotham, and Stanfted. SHIPBORNE. THIS parifh, written Scriburna in the Textus RofFenfis, is below the fand hills, and is accounted within the Weald. It is a difagreeable part of the country, and travelling is extremely bad. It has its fair held upon St. Giles the abbot, Sep- tember 1 , which is of little confequence. The manor was once poffeffed by the de Says, and thence went to the de Bavents, a lady of which family gave it to the priory of Dartford : at its diflblution it was granted by Henry VIII. to Sir Ralph Fane, jointly with Anthony Tut- fham, Efq., who fold his ftiare to the former, in whofe family it remained until the death of William-Holies Vane, vifcount Vane of the kingdom of Ireland, who devifed it to David Papillon, of Acrife, Efq. It is to be remarked that this nobleman was the character fo much and fo juftly cenfured for his romantic affection to his lady Frances, the beautiful and accomplifhed widow of lord William Hamilton, and daughter of Francis Hawes, Efq., a director of the South Sea company. The reader will recollect their hiftory in Peregrine Pickle, from materials which fhe gave to Dr. Smollett ; but even that indecent relation, nor any other infult to con- nubial love, could change his ill-placed devotion to the frail fair one. Budds is a hamlet not quite a mile to the weft of the church. It was formerly the refidence of the Collins, fince of the Turners, and is the property of George Children, of Tunbridge, Efq. This parifh was the birthplace of the poet Smart, fon of Peter Smart, Efq., a native of the bifhopric of Durham, whofe anceftor was a very factious and juftly 4 • obnoxious 262 KEN T. obnoxious prebendary of that church, punifhed for his difloyalty to Charles I., and rewarded for it by the parliament, yet he died infolvent. Mr. Peter Smart was fteward to the Vane family, but loflng that office, retired to Barming, where he died. Chriftopher, his only fon, the poet, left Kent, lived in London, as poets ufually live, and died in poverty and wretchednefs, as too many of them have done. The chapclry of Shipborne is in Mailing deanery. It is not in charge ; but pays a fee-farm rent of eight millings yearly to the crown. It is in the gift of Mr. Papillon; the prefent curate is the Rev. Dr. Vicefimus Knox, the learned mailer of Tunbridge fchool. I G H T H A M. THIS parifli might be fuppofed of great confequence from the name Ightham, literally meaning Eightham, a place compofed of eight boroughs or hams ; which are Eightham, Redwell, Ivyhatch, Borough-green, St. Cleres, the Moat, Beaulies, and Oldborough : but on the contrary, it is not more than five miles long, and only one wide. It is neither pleafant nor profitable; much, indeed, is wafte land. They have. a fair on Wednefday in Whitfun-week, which has acquired the name of Coxcombe fair, but for which no reafan is afligned. It, however, boafls fome antiquities. Through it runs the military road of the Romans, leading from Ofham and Camps, pointing towards the weft. Oldberry and Stone-ftreet are appropriate names : at the former, fignifying Oldborough, is a very considerable intrenchment of that once great people, the cruel enflavers of other nations. It is of an oval form, containing 137 acres ; there is a cave, which is fuppofed to have led to a long fubterraneous paflage : this place is .thought with fome reafon to have been a caftra aoftiva, or fummer quarters. Two fine fprings are in the centre of this ancient enclofure. The manor of Ightham was, fo early as the reign of Henry III., held by the de Crevequers ; from that time it paffed through a great variety of owners, and is now the property of Richard James, Efq., colonel in the Weft Kent regiment of jnilitia, defcended from a family who have owned it from the reign of Henry VIII. having been purchafed by Roger Van Haftretcht, of Dutch parentage, but fettling in London, took the name of James. St. Cleres, or Weft Aldham manor, joining Kempfing, was originally the property KENT. 263 property of the Aldhams, but came by purchafe to the Sidley family in the reign of Charles I. by a female, from whom it defcended to the Evelyns ; from them in the fame way to Alexander Hume, of Hendley, in Surry, Efq., brother to Sir Abraham Hume, who has taken the name of Evelyn, and refides at St. Clere. The Moat, adjoining to Shipborne, is an ancient feat and manor, with a park. They were long in the pofTeffion of the Hauts, one of whom being beheaded by Richard III., at Pontefract, for aiding the duke of Buckingham in his defign to dethrone him, his eftates were granted to that infamous character, Sir Robert Bra- kenbury, lieutenant of the Tower, who was fheriff of this county ; but after his death, at Bof worth, where he fell with the cruel Richard, the lands were given again to the Hauts ; they foon after parted with them. The benevolent Sir John Allen, lord mayor of London in 1526 and 1536, was once the owner of it. His fon fold it to the Selbys, which family expired in 1781, when it was claimed by John Brown, Efq., who has taken the name of Selby, and now refides here. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is in Shoreham deanery. It is valued at 15/. 16s. 8rf. ; the lords of the manor are patrons. The prefent rector is George Bithefea, A. M. W R O T H A M. THE derivation of Wrotham is difficult to determine. It is written in Domef- day-book Broteham, and is generally pronounced Ruteham. It is every Way an important parifh ; five miles in length from north to fouth, and from two to three in breadth ; fertile in its valley, and fterile on its very high hill. The village, or town rather, had its market on a Tuefday, and it ftill retains its annual fair, held on May 4, for horfes, cattle, &c. In the middle of the town ftand its market-place and common well, both reparable by the lord of the manor. The great road from London to Maidftone paffes through this place, from which it is diftant twenty-four miles. At Bafted is a paper mill belonging to Mr. Taylor. The Weald takes in part of the parifh. The Roman military way went from Of ham through Wrotham, near the Camps weftward, leading to Oldborough and Stone-ftreet ; but we do not think it was the Roman ftation Vagniacae — yet here might have been a town even in the time of the Britons ; for about feventy years ago, filver money coined by thofe, our ancestors, was difcovered by a mole having thrown up fome of them, which were all claimed by the lord of the manor. Within 264 KEN T. Within thefe three or four years, in making a new road through this parifh, feveral urns were found by the workmen, who wondered to fee fo many " bones jugged " in that manner." In Sir Thomas Wyat's rebellion againft queen Mary, his friend, Sir Henry Ifley, in marching towards Rochefter to aid him, was overtaken at Blackfole-field, in this parifh, by Sir Robert Southwell the fheriff, and lord Abergavenny} with five hundred gentlemen and yeomen, and completely beaten, the rebels flying with the utmoft precipitation to Hartley-wood, about four miles from the field of battle, many of whom were killed, and about fixty were taken prifoners : the dead were buried at Blackfole-field. Sir Henry fled into Hampfhire, where he was taken, difguifed as one who had belonged to a coal-veffel, and in that unfeemly condition conveyed to the Tower, and being condemned, was executed. The Anglo-Saxon monarch Edgar in 964 gave Wrotham to Chriffc-church, in •Canterbury ; but it was in the divifion between that convent and the metropolitical fee affigned by archbifhop Lanfranc, in 1070, to the latter : but it appears by Domefday-book that there were tenants in foccage under the archbifhop, befides what Richard de Tonebridge held of his lowy. The prelates enjoyed this manor until its exchange by Cranmer to Henry VIII. for other lands. They had anciently a palace here, until it was partly taken down by Iflip, to finifh that which UfFord had begun : at Maidflone it flood on the eafl fide of the church-yard : a gateway and fome remains of the offices are ftill Hand- ing; and the garden, bowling-green, and furrounding terrace may be traced. The park was fouth-eaft, and the lodge is ftill in being : the land has for more than two centuries been difparked. Edward VI. granted the whole to Sir John Mafon, he to the Bings, and they to the anceflor of Richard James, of Ightham, Efq., who now inherits it. Walter archbifliop of Canterbury had the privilege of a weekly market on Thurfdays, and a fair on the feaft of St. George, granted him by Edward II. to be held at this his manor. Little Wrotham lies towards the north-eaft part of this parifh, next to Trottef- cliffe. Odo alfo in the Conqueror's feign poffeffed this manor, as did Richard de Tonebridge in that part which -was his lowy ; and Godwin and Edwin held it for two manors in the Confeffor's time. It fell to the crown upon the bifhop of Bayeux's difgrace; but was, in a fucceeding reign, given to GeofTry Talbot, who granted the greater part of it to the fee of Rochefter, which paid aid for half a knight's KENT, 265 knight's fee for it, the whole of which is 1 30 acres ; the remainder, about twenty acres, is the property of Mr. Tomlyn, of Neupiker. Together they pay forty fheaves or fhocks of wheat to the rector of Wrotham. Wrotham-place is on the fouth fide of Wrotham- ftreet. It has been for many centuries the refidence of gentry : the baronet family of Rayney were in poffeflion of it at the commencement of the prefent one, fince which time it has been the feat of the Haddocks, and is now the habitation of Charles Haddock, Efq. Yaldham is another diftrict lying to the weft of the church. Its manors are Eaft or Great Yaldham, Weft or Little Yaldham, and Yaldham or St. Cleres in Ightham, all comprifed under the name of Ealdham, i. e. old dwelling. From the Aldham family they came to the Peckhams ; the latter were refident in this parifh fo early as the reign of Richard I. : they continued at Yaldham until the year 171 3, when they paffed it away to George St. Loe, Efq., a captain in the royal navy, and commiffioner of Chatham yard ; whofe fon difpofed of it to Mr. Francis Auften, of Sevenoke, who fold it to W. E. Glanville, father of Wil- liam-Evelyn Glanville, Efq., the prefent owner. It is lingular that the Peckhams fhould continue ftationary here fuch a length of time : the moft memorable of them was Reginald Peckham, Efq., fon of the high flier iff who diftinguifhed himfelf againft Sir Thomas Wyat. Since they have left Yaldham, their manfion is become a farm-houfe, and the courts for the manor have been difcontinued. The tithes were given by Gosfrid de Ros to the priory of St. Andrews, in Rochefter : at the diflblution Henry VIII. gave them to the fee of Rochefler. W. G. Evelyn, Efq. is the prefent lefTee. Ford was the manor and feat of Le Clerkes or Clerkes, from the reign of Henry V. to that of Charles II. One of them was particularly obnoxious to the rebels under Sir Thomas Wyat. Another memorable perfon of the family was Sir William Clerke, knighted for his eminent loyalty by Charles I. ; he died with Sir Philip Boteler, his neighbour, at Cropredy-bridge, at the head of the regiments they had raifed. The eftate went by purchafe to Mr. John Know, whofe daughter and heir took it to the Bartholomew family, and from them it has been devifed to its prefent owner, Sir William Geary, Bart., one of the rcprefentatives of the county. The feat is now ufed as a farm-houfe. The hamlet of Borough-green, a mile from the church to the north, has the manor m m of 266 KEN T. of Wingfiehl, lying within the borough of the fame name, belonging anciently to the St. Qyintins, who fold it to the Peckhams, of Yaldham ; they to the Millers, of Crouch ; who, by a female, took it to Mr. Munday, of Derby fliire ; and in 1-756 he difpofed of it to Sarah vifcountefs Falkland ; and it is now the property of F. -Motley Auften, Efq., who obtained it in the fame manner as he did Barnes- place, in Hadlow. No court is held for the manor, and the feat of Horfnel's- Crouch, in the hamlet of Crouch, is now only a farmer's refidence. Great and Little Comp are to the fouthof Wrotham-heath, and are two hamlets, taking their names from two camps, raifed, probably, by the Romans. Here was formerly a chapel ; the remains are ftill difcernable, which belonged to Leyborne, though there are two parifhes between it and this place ; the glebe ftill remains with that preferment, and is a great part of its income. The lands in this hamlet are much divided. A lingular circumftance happened fome years ago at this place; in falling a tree, a great number of folid pieces of brafs were difcovered under the roots. Plaxtool is a very confiderable hamlet, and the ftreet fo called makes a village of itfelf. In it is the manor of Sore, anciently belonging to the Colepepers, of Pref- ton, in Aylesford ; from thence it pafTed, in the time of queen Elizabeth, to the Millers : the laft baronet dying without iffue in 171 4, it went to the family of Bar- tholomew ; and with the adjoining manor of Badlefmere, is pofleffed by Leonard Bartholomew, of Addington, Efq. In the manor-houfe of Sore is a chapel, fup- pofed to have been ufed by the people of this diftrict before the prefent ftructure was erected. Fair-lawn is quite at the outfkirt of Wrotham, fo that the ftables belonging to the feat are in the parifh of Shipborne. It has belonged to the Bavents, Cole- pepers, Chownes, and Vanes ; the late vifcount Vane devifed it to D. Papillon, Efq. This houfe was peculiarly unfortunate ; a wing juft rebuilt was burnt down ia 1739, and before it could be again erected met with a nmilar fate in 1742 : not difcouraged, however, it was a third time built. The chapel ftands at the weft end of the village; it continued with divine fervice being performed only cafually, until Thomas Stanley, gentleman, in 1638 gave an eftate, valued feven pounds, to fupport a curate ; and the parliament, in 1648, divided the whole hamlet off from the reft of the parifh, and made it a 4 feparate KENT. 267 feparatc one, giving a brief to collect money fufficient to build a church there : in confequence, the prefent facred Structure was erected ; but at the Restoration it was considered only as a chapel, and having received queen Anne's bounty of 200/.» with an appointment from the incumbent of the mother church, makes a fuitable provision for the curate, who is the Rev. Thomas Dalifon. Wrotham, in the diocefe of Rochester, and deanry of Shoreham, is a peculiar to the fee of Canterbury. The rector has the tithes of the chapelry of Woodland, and the adjoining parifh of Stanfted ; of the former, ever Since its chapel went to ruin in Elizabeth's reign ; and of the latter, fince, as well as before, the Ufurp- ation, when, like thofe of PlaxStooI, they were taken from the clergyman of Wrotham. The church Stands in the town, is a very large and fine Gothic edifice ; the chancel was beautified and repaired by Dr. Potter, a late rector. The brafs plates are very numerous in the body of the church. The rectory is valued in the king's books at 50/. 8j-. ifi. ; the vicarage at 19/. or. io| ** flands at the upper end of the High-flreet, where water of the fineft quality is conveyed by pipes coming under the Medway from an enclofed fpring called Rocky-hill, in the Wefl Borough : the expenfe is defrayed by the corporation. Another conduit, a lofty flone octagon building, inconveniently flanding in the middle of the High-flreet, was taken down in 1792. The public gaol, for the ufe of the weflern divifion of Kent, is a modern flone building in Eafl-lane, which, from its firfl erection, has been greatly enlarged and flrengthened, and is now a fuitable prifon, under excellent regulations. The gaol was in the centre of the town until 1736, when the inhabitants petitioned to have it removed, as inconvenient from its fituation, and having no room for the reception of debtors ; this was fo reafonable a requefl, that leave was given to take it down, and erect another in Eafl-lane, large enough to contain both criminals and debtors. There is an inferior prifon, fignificantly called the Brambles, which joins the court-hall. The poor's-houfe, a brick building near the church, with an infcription on marble in the front, is three flories high, ninety-one feet in length, and twenty- one in breadth; built in 1720 at the expenfe of 700/. by Thomas Blifs, Efq., -a native of Maidflone, and feveral times one of its reprefcntatives in parliament. Here the poor are ufefully employed. On St. Faith's green are alms-houfes, founded and endowed for fix poor perfons ©f both fexes, in conformity to the will of Sir Jofeph Banks, of Aylesford, Bart., a native 3i<* KEN T. a native and reprefentative in parliament of this place, who died in 1697, ant ^ k^ 60/. per annum for the maintenance of this charity, and appointed that the building mould be kept in repair by his heirs. In the road leading to the Mote are fix alms- houfes for three men and three women, built and endowed by Mr. Edward Hunter, the firft mayor after the new charter in 1748, who, in his lifetime, placed perfons in them rent-free, and at his death left towards their fupport 8/. The nominees and truftees are lord Romney, the perpetual curate, and the recorder of Maidftone. The late benevolent Mr. Brenchley, brewer, left a fum fufficient for four alms- houfes, where each perfon receives 12/. yearly. A great addition to the beauty of this town is the extenfive barracks, erected a little beyond Week-ftreet, in the road to Rochefter, with every accommodation for the foldiers. The apartments for officers, non-commiffioned officers, and men, are fpacious, affording room for 600 men, and 180 horfes, all kept with great neatnefs : the building is low, the materials, boards painted white, which form a hollow fquare, having at a diftance the appearance of an Afiatic palace. It is to be lamented that the riding-fchool is built in a direction to intercept the view towards the river. The greatefl regularity, order, and propriety of behaviour, has mani- fefted itfelf amongft the military refident in the barracks. This town is computed to contain more than 1 500 houfes, and between 7 and 8000 inhabitants, a great increafe fince queen Elizabeth's reign, when in her eighth year there were only 294 houfes, four landing-places, live fhips and hoys; one of thirty tons, one of thirty-two, one of forty, and one of fifty, and only twenty-two perfons occupied in merchandife. — The barge-owners are numerous, and feveral of them men of very confiderable wealth. The trade of Maidftone exceeds its appear- ance. The people live elegantly, and many of the families are opulent. The cha- racter of the inhabitants until thefe late ferments was very amiable ; but that vio- lence, however, which political conteft had called forth, is gradually fubfiding. At the beginning of this century, and for fome years afterwards, many gentry refided amongft them; it now wholly confifts of profeifional perfons. and tradefmen. In the year 1792 the town was new paved, lighted, and many obftructions removed; fince that time it has rapidly improved, feveral handfome houfes having been built, or others new fronted ; moft of them are white, kept remarkably clean, forming altogether one of the moll cheerful, pleafing towns in England. There KENT. ' 3 n there are manufactories carried on for linen and packing-thread ; of the former, two : of the latter, only one. The Walloons eftablifhed this trade, and the people now call it Dutch- work. The diftillery of Englifh fpirits, or Maidftone geneva, of very great magnitude, was eftablifhed by the late Mr. George Bifhop, and is now carried on by Sir William Bifhop his brother, and Mr. Bifhop their nephew ; not lefs than 700 hogs are fed from it. Here are two very confiderable beer and porter breweries, the very liberal Mr. Stacy's and Mr. Seager's : they not only fupply the town, but the neighbourhood, and export to a great extent. At Sandling is a large brick-kiln, and another near Half-yoke. Great quantities of the fineft white fand are fent from this parifh, which is ufed in making flint and plate- glafs. Within the town is a corn-mill, on the little river ; in the parifh are feveral. From thefe and Mr. Chamber's great granary wheat and flour are fent in large quantities to Rochefter, Chatham, and London. The parifh contains feveral paper mills, an oil and a fulling-mill. The product of thefe, and many others in the adjoining ones, are fent to London by water, which greatly increafes the carrying or barge trade. Timber is brought to Maidftone from the Weald of Kent and its vicinity, chiefly by water, and fent from thence to Chatham dock, and other places more diftant. Large hoys, of fifty tons burden, are conftantly going to, and returning from London, exchanging for other goods, at that great mart, the various articles of pro- duce already mentioned. Warehoufes and ftowage-rooms are provided for hops, and large wharfs for Englifh and foreign timber, giving this place and its environs a .very bufy appearance. The number of barges and all kind of craft upon the Medway, in and near the town, is extremely great ; and if the projected union be- tween that river and the Thames fhould take effect, it probably will be much augmented. Maidftone is alfo benefited by its free grammar and boarding fchools. There are few occurrences that have happened in Maidftone deferving parti- cular notice. The firft is the rebellion of Sir Thomas Wyat, in the reign of queen Mary, who at the •■'* bear ringle" in this place fet forth his proclamation, and being the principal perfon in the parifh, had influence enough to involve the inha- bitants in his treafon. To punifh them, the queen took away their charter ; their leader was executed in London; Sir Henry and Thomas Iiley, with Walter Mantle, 3ii KENT; Mantle, Efq., were put to death at Sevenoke ; Brett, at Rochefter ; and Mr. Maplef- den and fome others, at this place. Mary, lighting the fires of religious intolerance, burnt feveral refpectable protectants, inhabitants of this town, in the King's Mead, now the Meadow. On the contrary, her wife fifter, queen Elizabeth, gave an afylum to the Walloons, perfecuted and expatriated from the cruelties inflicted upon them by Alva, the ferocious, fanguinary governor of the Low Countries, in 1568. Here they lived in credit, enriching the nation which fuccoured them, by eftabliih- ing the thread trade : that princefs permitted them to enjoy their own religion, and they were chiefly governed by themfelves. They had fo mixed with the people around them before 1634, that not more than fifty families remained diftinct; thefe were much troubled by having their conformity to the national church infilled upon ; by anglicizing or entirely changing their names, few families defcended from them can now be identified. In the reign of James I. the Middle-row was fet on fire by lightning, during a great tempeft, the account of which was taken to the mayor and brethren, then at Milhale in their barges, at their annual " fifhing." This place, notwithstanding its healthy fituation, has greatly fuffered by the plague. In 1593 there died of it fixty-five perfons ; in 1594, one hundred and nine- teen ,- in the following year eighty- feven. In, 1603 it again appeared in March, and from that month to March 1604 eighty-eight perfons fell vi&ims to it. The complaint was raoft fatal during the winter, and did not ceafe until 1605. ^ Dr °ke out in 1608, but was very flight ; in 1609 & carried off fixty-three perfons. In the fatal 1666, when the pefiilence was great at Oftend, and other parts of the Nether- lands, it was brought into England by the foldiers who returned home : in 1665 multitudes fled into the country from London. Many merchants, owners of fhips, &c, fhut themfelves up on board their own vefTels, and were fupplied with fix>d from Greenwich, Woolwich, and farm-houfes on the Kentifh bank of the river. •Here they remained fafe: it did not reach further than Deptford, and thefe perfons were often permitted to go on more and obtain frefh provifions in the towns, vil- lages, and farm-houfes. Thefe vefTels, when the plague greatly increafed in 1666, went fairly out to fea, and put into fuch harbours as they thought fafeft. It was perhaps fome of the perfons who had left London in thefe dreadful times, fecretly getting into Maidftone, that brought this evil amongft them. The firfl perfon .dying of it was buried July 4, 1666; three hundred and forty-feven died in that KENT. 3 l 3 that year ending in March. In 1668 there were one hundred and fifty-three; it greatly abated in October; there were only two died of it in November; three in December; two in February 1668-9, and one in March, when it totally difappeared. Maidftone loft by this fevere vifitation exactly 500 perfons ; and yet probably many who died of it were never regiftered : the peft-houfe, ftill fo called, is ftanding at Tovel : fome were buried there. Happily this evil did not fpread, not a fingle item being found in the furrounding parifh regifters. Until very lately a fupplicatory fentence remained upon a houfe near the river, as was ufual in times when this dreadful fcourge threatened to fweep away the affrighted inhabitants. Maidftone underwent an evil of another nature in 1648. The inhabitants, dif- tinguilhed for loyalty, judged it proper to make one effort to reftore Charles I. to his loft crown. Sir John Mayney came hither with 1000 horfe and foot of the king's friends ; the people every way affifted the undertaking. The republican junto feeling alarmed, fent general Fairfax to fupprefs them : though he was then fuffering much from the gout, he marched with 10,000 troops, and forced his way over Eaft Farleigh bridge. The town, undifmayed, refifted all folicitations to fubmit, and made every exertion to repel an attack : 2000 men lined every ftreet, and guarded every avenue : the loyal Sir William Brockman brought 800 men to aid them. Fairfax furrounded the town, and did all that fo gallant a general could ; but he found every where an obftinate valour, and each ftreet was difputed with the greateft courage, not an inch being gained without great lofs. An attack of five hours obliged them to give way to a decided fuperiority, new troops arriving to aid the parliament general. At twelve at night thefe true fubjects fought retreat in the church, where they were obliged to furrender upon the beft terms they could obtain. There was no action better maintained during the whole of the unhappy conteft ; and lord Clarendon acquaints us, " It was a {harp encounter, " very bravely fought with the general's whole ftrength ; and the veteran foldiers 7 confeffed that they had never met with the like defperate fervice during the war." The (laughter was great. Maidftone muft have loft many of her townfmen, becaufe, for years after, the number of widows who married greatly exceeded the fpinfters. The dead were buried where they fell in the neighbourhood ; anjl if any were in- terred in the church-yard of this place, they are not regiftered. s s The 3i4 KEN T. The third misfortune experienced by Maidftone, was in common with many parifhes in this fertile valley, by the great hail-ftorm which happened Auguft ig, 1763, the moft tremendous upon record in this kingdom. The reader will be more gratified with the account, when he learns that part is taken from an intelligent perfon who made minutes of it whilft frefh in his memory, and who was one of the fufferers. On Friday, Auguft 19, 1763, a ftorm arofe at fea off the SufTex coaft: the morning was ftill, with fcarcely a breeze of air, and fo excefilvely hot, that it was fuffocating. About ten o'clock in the forenoon a black cloud arofe towards the weft j foon after which the wind blew an hurricane; the clouds came on with amazing velocity, throwing out in their courfe dreadful flames of lightning, and the thunder was almoft one continued roar. About half paft eleven the rain poured in torrents, and in a few minutes was intermixed with fome detached hailftones, which were very large, as introductory of what were to follow : the hail, wind, lightning, and thunder, foon came on fo furioufly, that all was one dreadful fcene of horror. The boughs, branches, and leaves of trees broken and ftript off, flying in the wind, ftill more darkened the air ; the tiles and windows rattling, and dafhing to pieces ; trees torn up and falling, ftruck all with a terror not eafily to be expreffed : fome running diftractedly about, wringing their hands, whilft others ftood like inanimate beings. The ftorm lafted about half an hour. What a fcene enfued ! — an univerfal defolation every where prefented itfelf j fome houfes filled with water, others, with their barns blown down, roofs and walls fhattered, the windows quite deftroyed, the waters roaring in torrents down the ftreets, plowing up the ftones in their courfe, and leaving deep chafms ; the furface of the earth covered with the prodigious hailftones and water ; corn, fruit, and hops deftroyed ; the fields and hop-gardens every where disfigured ; trenches formed by the rufhing water j the roots of the hops bared, the poles thrown down in all directions ; heaps of ftones and fand driven through the hedges ; boughs and branches fcattered ; the fruit-trees ftripped of their bark. The fmaller animals, fuch as hares, pheafants, and other game, lay dead in the field ; and a large hjg was killed by the hail upon Barming-heath. The larger quadrupeds, endowed with fuperior inftindl, faw their danger; horfes, bullocks, and fheep, ran and fheltered themfelves from the coming ftorm. In Maidftone, on one fide of the High-ftreet, not only the glafs, but the lead and frames of the windows were forced in and deftroyed, particularly by the hail. It was KENT. 315 was like fragments of ice, and of very irregular fhapes ; at Barming one piece was taken up formed like an oyfter; Sir Philip Boteler meafured and found it nine inches round at the extremity, and even ten days after fome halftones were taken up four inches and an half in circumference. One of the largeft ftruck the ftile of an hori- zontal pofl-dial of brafs, and bent it near thirty degrees towards the eaft. Pofts, bars, and gates had deep imprefllons from them; they were of different fhapes; fome flat, irregular, and very much jagged ; others an affemblage of pieces of ice ; whilft a few were globular, with a fmall cavity in the centre, and if they were held together they immediately froze, and were not eafily feparated. The ftorm commenced in this county at Tunbridge-wells, whilft the people were at prayers in the chapel, and paffed quite acrofs to Sheernefs, a diftance of forty miles, its breadth not exceeding four miles : the direction of it was from fouth- weft by weft, to north-eaft by eaft ; and it was feverely felt in the parifhes of Tun- bridge, Speldhurft, Penfhurft, Tudeley, Capel, Pembury, part of Hadlow, Yald- ing, Hunton, Brenchley, Mereworth, Eaft and Weft Peckham, Watringbury, Nettlefted, Eaft Mailing, Teflon, Eaft and Weft Farleigh, Barming, Loofe, Maid- ftone, Boxley, and Detling ; after which its violence was fpent, and only little injury was occafioned. So great devaftation had never been known; numbers from all parts came to witnefs the melancholy fcene. The inhabitants of the vici- nity humanely raifed 3000/. in a few months, which in fome meafure relieved the unhappy fufferers : but the cruel effects long remained ; moft of the hop-hills died, the filbert and apple trees fwelled in knots where they had been bruifed, and fome were fo injured, that the branches and fhoots long after continued to die ; the cherry- trees bore it the beft, owing perhaps to the ftrength of their outward bark. The laft memorable circumftance to be noticed, is the fudden thaw of the Med- way, in January 1795, when that river rofe to an aftonifhing height from the melt- ing of the preceding fnows. The ice above Teflon coming down in large fheets with the current, choked up the arches of that bridge, and deftroyed Bow bridge; the furious current with its loaded furface carried away the wooden bridges of Barn- jett and St. Helen's, at Barming; refifted by that of Eaft Farleigh, until its parape^ walls gave way, the whole contents floated with rapidity down the river, damaging the locks, and threatening Maidftone bridge; but at length the loaded water, increafed by the back river, riling higher than the walls, the whole of the ice and water patted on : fortunately the froft of the enfuing night arrefted the water in its s s 2 way, 3 i6 KEN T. way, and a more gradual thaw removed it without further mifchief j thofe who lived in the houfes near the river were compelled to ufe boats in the ftreet, and take to their upper rooms, as their houfes were three or four feet deep in water. The fields had a very extraordinary appearance from the vaft meets of ice which lay upon them, and had bent and kept down trees of confiderable thicknefs. It was juftly compared to the breaking up of the great frofts in North America. Maidftone was the eftate of the archbifhops of Canterbury, and in the reign of king John they had a houfe here, which Ufford, about the year 1 348, began to rebuild ; and Iflip, who followed him, after the government of Bradwardine, who fat only a few weeks, proceeded with the work, bringing materials from Wrotham, as has been men- tioned ; and Courtney, his fuccelTor, carried on the defign. Moflof the future pri- mates occafionally refiding here, Henry VI. honoured it with his prefence in the ar- chiepifcopate of Chichele. The palace was much improved and beautified by cardinal archbifhop Morton; but Cranmer exchanged the building with Henry VIII. Sir Thomas Wyat received it from Edward VI. : vefling in the crown by his attainture, Elizabeth gave it to Sir John Aftley, a family ennobled by Charles I. It remained with them until the year 1729, and then paffed to the anceflor of the prefent pof- feffor, lord Romney. The manor remained in the crown until Charles I. gave it to the truftees in fee of lady Elizabeth Finch vifcountefs Maidftone, foon after created alfo countefs of Winchilfea, to be held in foccage : her defcendant Heneage, fourth earl of Winchilfea, fold it to the Marfham family in 1 720; and it is now, with the palace, inherited by lord Romney. The manor is very extenfive, its jurifdic- lion including the whole hundred and manor of Maidftone. At the annual court leet and court baron a conftable for the hundred is chofen, and a borfholder for each of the parilhes or boroughs of Barming, Boxley, Detling, Linton, the borough of Crockhurft, and one jointly for the parilhes of Eaft Farleigh and Loofe. The Mote, fituated a mile from the town in a park finely wooded, has long been a place of great confequence. It was cancellated in the reign of Henry III. by the Leybornes, who obtained from that fovereign a Tuefday's market, and a yearly fair for three days at the feaft of St. Crofs. After the Leybornes the Shoffords inherited it, who affumed alfo the name le Mote ; the de Dittons, de BurgherfiVs ; thence it came to the Woodviles, afterwards earls of Rivers, who likewife bore amongft their other titles that of baron de la Mote. In this family it remained until feized by Richard III. after he had illegally and inhumanly deftroyed Anthony earl of KENT, 317 of Rivers, at Pontefract ; he gave the feat to his infamous favourite Sir Robert Bra- kenbury. Henry VII. reftored it to Thomas earl of Rivers, who left it to Thomas Grey marquis of Dorfet. He paffed the Mote to Sir Henry Wyat, of Allington- caftle, who difgavelled it ; his grandfon, the vain Sir Thomas Wyat, loft it and his life. Queen Mary gave it to archbifhop cardinal Pole, for a term of years ; and Elizabeth in fee to Nicholas and Dixon, of whom probably Sir William Rither, lord mayor of London, purchafed it. Sufan his daughter and coheir took it to Sir Thomas Delmarii or Caefar, and after his death to Thomas Philipott, Efq., who, with the eldeft fon of her firfl marriage, joined in alienating it to the Tuftons, one of whom bequeathed it to a lady of the name of Wray ; fhe difpofed of it to the anceftor of the Right Hon. Charles lord Romney, lord lieutenant of Kent, the prefent owner of this feat and manor. Perhaps few families are more defervedly honoured and beloved than that of Marfham. The prefent nobleman is building a very fuperb feat at fome diflance from the old one ; the fituation is very elevated, commanding a view of the circumjacent country, and is a grand object for feveral miles. The rooms are very fpacious ; a fine piece of water has been obtained near the houfe. The manor of Goulds is fomewhat fouth of the Mote, which, with the eftate of Shepway-court, was the property of the Vinters, one of whom endowed his chantry with them. Henry VIII. granted Goulds to Deuntley, to hold in capitehy knight's fervice : from him it came to the Blagnes, who difpofed of it to the Hendfleys or Hendleberys, which family had purchafed Shepway-court of Sir Thomas Wyat : the whole came to the Tuftons, and from them to the Marfhams, and is now pof- fefled by lord Romney. Bigons orDigons, in Knight-rider- flreet, was long the feat of the Maplefdens, a fa- mily more numerous than any in Kent ; the widow of Gervafe Maplefden, gent., who died in 1 603, faw ninety of her defcendants. The Maplefdens were for a number of years amongft the principal inhabitants of Maidftone. The unfortunate Mr. George Maplefden, joining the rebel ftandard, loft Bigons. Queen Mary granted it to the Barhams : one of them confiderably improved and enlarged the houfe. After many tiansfers it is now the property of James Hatley, of Ipfwich, in Suffolk, Efq. The arms of Edward VI., when prince of Wales, in painted glafs, appear in one of the windows. Shales-court, a manor in the fouth part of the parifh, was once poffefled by the Freming- 3»| KEN T. Freminghams, then by the Pimpes ; one of them difpofed of it to the Wyats, who exchanged it with the crown. Edward VI. granted it to Sir Walter Hendley, fergeant at law, whofe daughter and coheir took it to the Wallers, and they reconveyed it to another branch of the Hendleys, who in the reign of Charles II. difpofed of it to Sir John Banks, Bart. : with a daughter and coheir of his it went to the earl of Aylesford's family. Its handfome manor-houfe in Stone-ftreet was the refidence of the late general Kingfley, and now of Thomas Pope, Efq., fenior jurate and juftice of the corporation. Chillingftone was anciently a manor belonging to the Cobhams, afterwards the Maplcfdens, who loft it by attainture, and was then granted to the Hendleys : it has had a variety of owners, and is now the property of William Stacy, of Canter- bury, Efq. The large ancient manfionis near St. Faith's green. Eaft-lane manor is fo denominated from its fituation. By the diflblution of Leeds priory it came to Henry VIII., who gave it to the church of Rochefter. The dean and chapter hold a court baron, to which quit- rents are paid for twenty- five tenements ftanding in Eaft-laoe and the Middle-row. The Park-houfe is a feat, with an eftate poflefled by the fee of Canterbury, until Cranmer exchanged it with Henry VIII., who leafed the feat and Le Park to William Smith ; but the unfortunate Sir Anthony Knevet appears to have occupied it. In the reign of Charles II. it had been granted away, for it was then the pro- perty of Sir Thomas Taylor, Bart., whofe fon leaving no iflue, his heirs fold it to the Calders. The late Sir Henry Calder, Bart., a general in the army, and deputy-governor of Gibraltar, took down the old houfe, and built another at a fmall diftance. It is a very handfome, large edifice, with a commanding profpect, in the parifti of Boxley, though not half a mile from Maidftone, on the eaft fide of the road leading to Rochefter. Great Buckland manor is on the fummit of the hill to the weft of Maidftone ; the original name was Bocland, from its tenure. The de Boclands held it under the fee of Canterbury, firft in gavel-kind, afterwards in frank fee, until Henry IV. 's reign, when it was given to the college of St. Mary and All Saints, in Maidftone. At the diflblution it remained in the crown until Edward VI. gave it to lord Cob- ham. Upon the misfortunes of that family, by ftipulations it came to the Cecils earls of Salifbury ; they difpofed of it to the Horfepooles, and they to the family of Englifh, who in Charles II.'s reign conveyed it to Sir John Banks. One of his KENT. 319 his coheirs took it, in the partition of his eftates, to the ennobled family of Finch ; and it is now the property of the earl of Aylesford. A fecond part of Buckland, called Little Buckland, was in the reign of James I. the property of Elizabeth vifcountefs of Maidftone and countefs of Winchilfea, whofe defendants fold it to the Marfhams ; and it is now lord Romney's. A third part of Buckland, alfo called Little Buckland, which John Fletcher, in Charles II. 's reign, conveyed to Chriftopher Vane lord Barnard, has defcended from that family to David Papillon, of Acrife, Efq. Halfway Oke, now Half Yoke, once a manor, is near Eaft Farleigh bridge. It has been veiled in the different families of Fremingham, Pimpe, Ifley, and Videon. It has loft its manerial rights, and one part was fold to the French's, and of them bought by Mr. Fowle, of Frant ; the other part by the Rev. Arthur Harris, vicar of Eaft Farleigh, feveral of whofe children poflefled it : the laft of them, Thomas Harris, of Barming, Efq., dying unmarried, left it for life to Mrs. Mary Dorman, who now enjoys it. The remainder is veiled in the family of Mumford, of Sutton at Hone. The hamlet of Luddington, anciently Lodingford, from a ford fo called over the river, is accounted in Maidftone pariili, though the pariihes of Linton and Loofe intervene. It is iituated near Style bridge, in the road leading to Marden and Sta- plehurft. The Rev. Dr. William Forfter, by marriage, inherits this manor. The college of priefts, or hofpital of St. Peter and St. Paul, founded by arch- biihop Boniface in 1260, patronized by feveral fucceeding metropolitans, and con- firmed by the Englifh and papal courts, was furrendered in 1546, by its laft mailer, into the royal hands, when its annual revenue was 212/. $s. 3§i., and its clear yearly income 159/. *}s. lod. Edward VI. granted it to the Cobhams. The Marfhams have long poiTefred the building with the college lands ; the former ftands on the fouth fide the cemetery of the church, and is of ftone, now converted into- a handfome refidence : the fine gateway is ufed for offices, and the other parts of this ancient fabricare converted into hoafts, flowage rooms for hops, and fueh other purpofes. John Wotton, rector of Staplehurfl, and canon of Chichefter, was the firft mailer^ and by his own defire was buried on the fouth fide of the chancel of the church,, where many of his fucceflbrs were alfo laid ; the moft celebrated of them, the learned William Grocyn, tutor and friend of the ftill more illuftrious Erafmus,. dying J20 KENT. dying at the age of eighty, in 1522, was buried at the end of the flails in the high choir, or great chancel in this church. The fraternity of Corpus Chrifti, founded by fome townfmen, is now the free grammar- fchool, ftanding at the end of Earl-ftreet, near the river. The inftitution enrolled both natives and the moft eminent knights, parochial clergy, and ladies, in the neighbourhood ; the annual fubfeription of whom, with obiit money, formed the principal part of their revenues : their feafts upon Corpus Chrifti day were very profufe. The brothers profefTed the rule of St. Benedict. At its fuppreffion by Edward VI. the fixed income was 40/. The corporation purchafed the fcite for 9/. 6s. Hd. To allay the intemperate heats of fome of the townfmen refpecting what ufe it fhould be appropriated to, the duke of Somerfet, the protector, wrote a conciliatory letter, exhorting all of them to unite in ufing what had been confecrated to religious purpofes for the public good ; the letter had the wifhed-for effect. Elizabeth gave the fchool feveral excellent ftatutes for its government. Mr. Thomas Cole was its firfl mafter. The prefent one is the Rev. Thomas Evans. William Lamb, a gentleman of the chapel to Henry VIII., gave 10/. yearly to it; and the Rev. Robert Gunfley, rector of Titfey, in Surry, an exhibition to two out of his four fcholars, which are fent to Univerfity college, in Oxford. The corporation gives 20/. a year. John Davy, M. D., who died in 1 649, gave an eilate for the better maintenance of the mafter and ufher : fome of its lands have been loft for want of care. The income is but fmall. The fchool- •room and fome other parts are what were the chapel, and three fides of the cloifter. The late mafter, the Rev. Thomas Cherry, who now worthily prefides over Mer- chant Taylors' fchool, in London, was a very liberal and munificent benefactor, by improving the old part, and adding many conveniences to it. He will be long lamented at Maidftone and its neighbourhood. Ancient foundation. At the corner of Eaft-Iane, fronting to the High-ftreet, is a houfe which has its lower or ground floor vaulted with ftone, with a Gothic door- cafe, evidently once fome religious building. It is called the priory, or friery, in old deeds, and is generally fuppofed to have been a convent of Francifcan or Grey friars, founded here in 1331 by Edward III., and John earl of Cornwall, his bro- ther, but removed to Walfingham, in Norfolk. Maidftone is very greatly raifed fince the fourteenth century ; the entrance into the ancient part of this houfe being fo much beneath the furface of the ftreet, that the top of the arched door- way is parallel KENT. 321 parallel to the pavement, and a flight of fteps leads into the apartment, now a vaulted warehoufe. Another ancient religious edifice is on the weft fide of the river in the borough, finely feated upon the bank: it was the property of the late Mr. Addifon. The chapel, ufed for the ftowage of bark, is quite entire, and having no pillars, is one of the fineft rooms that can well be imagined ; the architecture in the infide is fo limply elegant, that the lovers of the true Gothic muft lament with the pious that it is not converted to the ufe for which it was originally defigned. Many other buildings are fcattered about or adjoin it. ■ In what is now a garden was the cemetery, where many human bones were fome years ago taken up, and buried clofe to the banks of the river. It is lingular that none of the Kentifti hiftorians men- tion this ancient religious foundation, though it forms a prominent feature from the bridge, and many other parts of the town and neighbourhood. Maidftone is in the diocefe of Canterbury, and deanry of Sutton, but exempt from the jurifdiction of the archdeacon. The church is one of the fineft parochial ones in the kingdom ; the body is much the oldeft. The chancel, before it was rebuilt by archbifhop Courtney, extended fome yards farther to the eaft. The foundations of the ancient chancel were within thefe laft ten years taken up at a great expenfe ; but as the cemetery is far too fmall for fo populous a place, it made more room to inter the dead, and was in fome meafure become neceflary. There was a fpire which was covered with lead, but this was burnt down by lightning on November 2, 1730. The church is extremely neat within, and kept in the moft exact and commendable manner -, both church and chancel have been tho- roughly repaired and greatly improved ; the roof is lofty, and covered with copper. It was anciently dedicated to the bleffed Virgin Mary, but by Courtney, when made collegiate, to All Saints. There are a great number of ancient and modern monuments ; archbifhop Courtney's is the moft remarkable of the old ones : it has been lately difcovered that his bones reft in the middle of the choir, under a ftone which had his effigies in brafs. On one fide the altar is a tomb erected over the great grandfather of Edward IV.'s queen. Several of the ennobled families of Aftley and Marfham lie in vaults within the communion rails. The ftalls for the mafter and fellows of the college ftill remain in the chancel : t T until 3 22 KEN T. until the burial of the late lord Romney, fome of the painted tiles, with coats of arms upon them, were upon the pavement. This fine edifice would have been deftroyed at the Reformation, if Edward VI. had not permitted, and James I. confirmed it to the parifh. The former fovereign gave the rectory to Sir Thomas Wyat ; fince then it has been accounted only as a perpe- tual curacy. At his attainture queen Mary gave the patronage to cardinal archbifhop Pole, but the great tithes to Chriftopher Roper, Efq., for a term of years. Queen Elizabeth granted the reverfion to Parker and his fucceffors, archbifhops of Canter- bury ; but the emolument to the incumbent was become fo very fmall, that Whit- gift augmented it 10/. per annum, Juxon 37/. 6s. 8d., and Sancroft gave the fmall tithes of the borough of Week and Stone, the commodities of the church-yard, and one moiety of the fmall tithes within the town and borough of Maidflone : the prefent curate is the Rev. John Denne, A.M. It is fingular that no houfe belongs to the preferment, which is ftill a fcanty provifion. The rectory makes a part of the archiepifcopal revenue. In this church were two chantries fuppreffed with the college : the one founded by Robert Viner in the reign of Edward III., the other by archbifhop Arundel in that of Henry IV. St. Faith's church or chapel was not parochial, but independent of the mother church, flanding on the green, to which it gave name, and once ferved as a place of divine worfhip to the people who refided on the north fide of the town. Like the other religious foundations in this place, its hiflory is little known. It came into the hands of Edward VI., perhaps by the general words of the act to fupprefs all religious places not parochial ; yet the parifh continued to ufe it for fome time, and to bury their dead in the cemetery till the reign of James I., though the MapLf- dens owned it as their eflate until their attainture, and after them the Barhams : a part at leaft of it was ufed by the Walloons for a place of public worfhip until 1634, when archbifhop Laud obliged them to conform to the national church. The prefbyterians hired it afterwards for the fame purpofe until 1735, when they erected a meeting-houfe elfewhere. Much of the chancel is flill ftanding, and is now divided ; one part is a boarding-fchool for young ladies, the other fome time ago was converted into an afTembly-room ; a ftrange change from its original ufe ! The cemetery, which was large, has lately become a nurfery-ground; many of the remains of mortality were taken up, which the gardener decently re-interred a little lower KENT. 3 2 3 lower than the fpade had occafion to go. The whole was the property of Sir Thomas Taylor, Bart., of whofe heirs Mr. Samuel Fullager purchafed the eftate ; and it is now the property of his fon, Mr. Chriftopher Fullager. The town and parifh of Maidftone have given fome remarkable characters. Dr. Lee, archbiihop of York, was born here ; and in diftant ages many great ecclefiaftics, from its having been the place of their nativity, their having been bene- ficed, or refided here, took the name of de Maidftone. The furname of Maid- flone is often found in our hiftories and elfewhere. In the laft century Andrew Broughton, gent., the moft active of the clerks of that infamous tribunal, the pre- tended high court of juftice, which fentenced their fovereign Charles I. to the block, was an attorney in, and recorder of Maidftone. Attending the public wor- fhip, Wilfon, a zealous monarchical prefbyterian, who then was perpetual curate, inveighing againft the king's murder, faying, " That David's heart fmote him " when he only cut off the fkirt of Saul's garment, but men dared now to cut off '-' the head of a king without remorfe ;" he rofe from his feat, and left the church ; obferving which, the preacher remarked, that " when the word of God comes <( home to a man, it makes him fly for it." Broughton, highly incenfed, obtained the fchool-room for the ufe of Jofeph Whifton, an independent preacher, where he regularly attended. This man governed Maidftone during the Ufurpation ; in 1648, at the expenfe of 50/. a new mace was procured by him without the royal arms. In 1659 ne was mayor a fecond time, but removed, as he became obnoxious from his horrid crime. At the Reftoration, coming down privately from London, he, as recorder, proclaimed Charles II. ; but immediately went to the Star inn, where his fervant waited with a fleet horfe ; he rode off full fpeed to a fea-port, and efcaped to the continent. By proclaiming the fon of his murdered mafter, he hoped to efcape punifhment ; but the parliament excepted him in the act of indemnity, and being profcribed, Charles II. gave the very handfome houfe which he. had built in Earl-ftreet, now divided, to the duke of- York his brother, who foon difpofed of it : until within thefe three or four years the arms of Broughton were over the door; they were the fame as thofe of the baronet family of that name. This infamous man died at Vevay, in Switzerland, where is this epitaph upon his monument given us by Mr. Addifon, in his Travels : t t a " Depo- 324 KEN T. V Depositum " Andrea? Brought on, armigeri Anglicani Maydjlonenjis in comitatu Cantii, ubi " bis pra?tor urbanus ; dignatufque etiamfuit fententiam regis regum prof ari. Quam ' ' ob caufum expulj'us pat rid fud, pcregrinatione ejus Jinitd, folo feneclutis morbo " affcchis requicfcens a labor i bus fuis in Domino obdormivit, 23 die Feb. A. D. " 1687, crtatisfucc 84." Nearly equal in infamy was Thomas Trapham, fon of a father of both his names, of Maidftone, admitted a bachelor of phyfic, at Oxford, in 1648, who, as furgeon to general Fairfax, being employed to prepare the body of Charles I. for interment, brutilhly faid, when he had fixed the head to the trunk, " I have fewed " on the head of a goofe." He became furgeon to Cromwell, and died at Abingdon, December 29, 1683, in favour with, and employed by fuch who were, like him, bigot ted republicans. Thomas Read, of Maidftone, gent., was one of the witneffes brought by the high court of juftice againfl the unhappy monarch ; his evidence was, that, *' Pre- " fently alter the laying down of arms in Cornwall, between Leitithiel and Foy, " i. e. Leflwithiel and Fowey, in or about the latter end of the month of Auguft, " or the beginning of September 1644, he, this deponent, did fee the king in the " head of a guard of horfe." — Many of the witneffes againft the king were com- pelled loyalifts ; we may charitably hope this gentleman was one. It is fingular that Maidftone, then fo much fmaller than now, fhould have three fuch characters at one time. John Jenkyns, a famous mufician and compofer, well known in the courts of Charles I. and II., whofe fame extended even to Italy, was a native of Maid- ftone : as was the late fine engraver, Mr. Woollen. Mr. Jeffery, jun., of this town, who died fome years ago, would have been amongft the moll able painters that Britain has known, had he lived, as the fpecimens we have of his pencil evince. A collection of drawings, which would be appropriate to an edition of Chaucer, are incomparable, equally pleating to the artift and the antiquary. There are two inftances of longevity in the parifh regifiers : July 30, 1616, Avis ■Sommerhurft, widow, was buried *' cet. ut dicunt 102 j" and Ann Nafli, buried June 25, 1625, aged 106 years. BOXLEY. KENT. 325 B O X L E Y. TO the north-eaft of Maidftone is Boxley, written Bofeleu in Domefday-book, and Boxele and Boxle in the Textus Roffenfis ; on the fouth, it nearly joins the town of Maidftone, ftretching itfelf almoft four miles in length, though not exceed- ing three in breadth, and generally much lefs. On Boxley-hill is one of the moil extenfive and pleafing profpects in this part of Kent. The land is very various; to the north, chalk; the middle, chiefly fand; to the fouth, more fertile ; but a heavy, fwampy foil. There are two flreams, one rifing near the chalk hills, the other below the church ; uniting near the abbey, they fall into the Medway oppofite Allington-caftle. It is greatly interfered by roads. Several paper-mills form principal features : the upper ones are the property of lord Aylesford, the lower ones of MefTrs. Hollingfworth, called the Old Turkey mills. They are very extenfive buildings, and their mechanifm is no lefs obfervable than the regularity of the perfons employed, and the commodi- oufnefs of every part of the whole for various branches of the manufactory, which exceeds every other in the kingdom ; efpecially the wire-wove, univerfally admired. The mills were erected by Mr. James Whatman, who, in 1739, pulled down the preceding ones ufed for fulling, and in their room built thefe ; his fon James What- man, Efq., brought them to their prefent perfection. In 1794 he difpofed of them to the gentlemen who now carry on the bufinefs. The manor of Boxley was held by Alnod Cilt prior to, and by Robert Latin under Odo bifhop of Bayeux, after the Norman conqueft. It remained in the crown after his difgrace, until Richard I. gave it to the abbey of Boxley, founded in 11 46 by William d'Ipre earl of Kent, who died a monk at Laon, in Flanders. The order of Ciftertians, or white monks, were under the protection of the blefled Virgin, the patronefs of all their monafteries. They became a fociety firft at Cif- teaux, in Burgundy, in the year 1098, and were fo popular in England, that at their diffolution they had eighty-five houfes. The abbot of this monaftery was twice in the reign of Edward I. fummoned to lit in the houfe of peers. Edward II. honoured Boxley-abbey with a vifit. Edward III. granted free warren to the abbot in the manor. The lali abbot fur- jendered the houfe to Henry VIII.; the clear revenue was 304/. 4/. nd. according 4 to 3 :6 KEN T. to Dugdale; Speed gives its income at 218/. gs. \od. A chapel, dedicated to St. Andrew the apoftle, was near the gate of the abbey. This monaftery was remarkable for two pieces of Romifh quackery ; a crucifix, called the rood of grace, which by mechanifm moving its eyes, impofed upon the credulity of the ignorant vulgar. It was taken to London, publicly broken to pieces and burnt, at St. Paul's crofs, on Sunday, February 24, 1538, before Dr Hilfey bifhop of Rochefler, and a prodigious multitude. The other was a ftatue of St. Rumbald, called by the common people St. Gumbald, and held by them in the utmoft reverence from its fuppofed power of working miracles. By fuch low tricks the monks difgraced themfelves, and injured the bell: of interefts. The fcite and manor was exchanged by Henry VIII. with Sir Thomas Wyat; when all the eftates of that unfortunate criminal were loft to his family, queen Mary reftored the manor to his widow. Queen Elizabeth granted the abbey to John Aftley, Efq., for a term of years ; at its expiration the Wyats appear to have fuc- ceeded to it by a reverfionary grant from that fovereign. The lineal defcendant left this manor to the ennobled family of Marfham, and it is now the property of lord Romney ; whofe fillers, the Hon. Mifs Marfhams, and his lordfhip's brother-in- law, John Cooker, Efq., refide here, univerfally beloved and refpected. Courts leet and baron are regularly held for this manor, whofe tenants are freeholders in free foccage tenure. Boxley-abbey went to the heirs of George Wyat, Efq. until it came to Sir Francis Wyat, governor of Virginia, who had two fons, Henry and Edwin; the former leaving an only daughter, married to Sir Thomas Seyliard, Bart , fhe took the abbey into that family ; but the manor being proved to have been fettled upon male iflue, with the eftates appendant upon it, went to Mr. Ewin Wyat, the younger brother. Sir Thomas Seyliard's two daughters and coheirs fold the abbey to the Auftens. The laft baronet of that family devifed it to the relations of his lady, and in virtue of that will it came to John Amhurft, Efq., and lince his death without ifTue, to captain John-Thomas Amhurft, and the reprefentatives of the late Mr. James Allen, in equal (hares. Newnham-court, a manor belonging anciently to Boxley-abbey, came to the crown by Sir Thomas Wyat's attainture. Queen Elizabeth, in her eleventh year, gave it to the Aftley family ; they to their relation Sir Norton Knatchbull, Bart., and he to Sir John Banks, Bart., one of whofe daughters and coheirs took it to the Finch's, KENT. 3*7 Finch's, carls of Aylesford : the prefent nobleman obtained an ad of parliament to empower him to exchange fome premifes which were a part of it, efpecially Poll mill, with Mr. Whatman. Wavering, a hamlet, was, at an early period, poffeffed by the Houghams, near Dover. After being divided into lots, it wholly veiled in the Wyat family; and thence, by Sir Thomas's attainture, in the crown, but was reftored by queen Eli- zabeth for three lives, the remainder being granted by Charles I. to Stephen Alcock, of Rochefter, Efq. ; he conveyed it to the Wyats, the Iaft of whom devifed it to the anceftor of lord Romney, the prefent poffeffor, who alfo enjoys the fee-farm of the manor, purchafed from the crown in the reign of Charles II., and confirmed by parliament. The manor is now merged in the paramount one of Boxley. Vinters, anciently Vintners, on the fouth part of the parifh, gave name and refi- dence to the Vinters ; they fold it in Henry IV. 's reign to the Freminghams,. who left it to the Ifleys ; upon their attainture queen Mary granted it to the Cutts ; and after many transfers the feat and eftate was alienated to the Whytes, who refided here, and afterwards to the baronial family of Onley : lord Onley in 1783 was enabled by parliament to difpofe of the premifes, which were purchafed by the late James What- man, Efq. The family of Champneis had ufually occupied the feat, which Mr. Whatman rebuilt, and his widow Mrs. Whatman makes it her refidence t the remainder is vefted in James Whatman, Efq., his only fon. The tithes of this eftate, once belonging to Leeds-abbey, are now by the gift of Henry VIII., part of the pofleffions of the dean and chapter of Rochefter. Ovenhelle, now Overhill-farm, lying on the chalk-hills, was formerly a manor, and, with others near it, obliged to contribute to the repair of the fourth pier of Rochefter bridge. The Longchamps held it; after them the Penceftres ; then the Cobhams ; and now lord Romney, from the will of the laft Mr. Wyat. Sir Ofbert de Longo Campo.or Longchamp, held the manor of Edward I. by fergeantry, the fervice of which was fingular, attending the king in his army into Wales forty days at his own expenfe, with a horfe valued at five {hillings, and a wallet worth fixpence, having a broche to it. The Grange, or Nether Grange, part of the eftate belonging to the abbey, was by queen Mary retained upon Wyat's execution. Queen Elizabeth gave it, confifting of a meffuage and 340 acres of meadow and pafture land, to George Clarke, Efq., whofe fon difpofed of it to the Brewers, and they in the reign of Charles I. to the Calders, 328 KEN T. Caldcrs, who now pofTefs it, the feat of which has been mentioned in Maidftone parifh. Court-lodge, a large farm, is the property of Sir William Geary, Bart., by the limitation of his relation Leonard Bartholomew, of Oxonhoath, Efq. The Grove, on the fouth fide of the parifh, from the Waverings paffed in Henry IV.'s reign to the Burbigesj the laft heir male leaving it to his filter, (he conveyed it, in 1 702, to Mr. John Watts, fo well known for his working the very fine vein of fuller's earth in this parifh. His heirs alienated the Grove to general Belford, who left it to his two fons, colonel Guftavus Belford, and William Belford, Efq. The property is fliared by the former of thofe gentlemen, and the two daugh- ters and coheirs of the latter. The feats in this parifh not noticed, are thofe of the Rev. George Berville, which he inherits from the will of his maternal uncle, John Charlton, Efq. ; and Park- houfe, once the refidence of the St. John family, now of Thomas Beft, Efq. Boxley is within the diocefe of Canterbury, and deanry of Sutton. Its church, dedicated to All Saints, is a fine, large Gothic ftructure : there are fome handfome monuments within it of the Wyats, Champneys, and Charltons ; and in the ceme- tery the Befts have elegant tombs. After much contention between the monks of Boxley and thofe of Rochefter, the great tithes were awarded to the former. At the difTolution Henry VIII. gave them to the dean and chapter of Rochefter. The vicarage, one. of the beft in Kent, is valued in the king's books ill. 19X. zd. The vicar has a penfion of 8/. per annum from the exchequer as an augmentation ;. out of which he pays 12s. if he receives it himfelf, and zos. if by another. The vicarage-houfe is elegant, but unfortunately without any glebe. There are living three former vicars : Dr. Markham archbifhop of York, who built much to the houfe ; Dr. North bifhop of Winchefter, who alfo refided here ; the Rev. William Nance, A.M., who fpent 500/. in building to, and improving the vicarage j the prcfent incumbent is the Rev. John Benfon, D. D., prebendary of Canterbury. The learned North Briton, Dr. John Balcanquall, fucceftively dean of Rochefter and Durham, who represented the church of Scotland in the fynod of Dort, was vicar of Boxley, which he refigncd in 1640, and funk under the church's and his own mif- fortunes in 1645. *^ s f° n > Walter Balcanquall, A. M., fucceeded him, but refigncd in 1646. Tn Boxley parifh is far the greater part of Penenden- heath, generally called Pick- enden- KENT. 329 enden-heath, at the conquefl: Pinnedenna-heath ; the remainder of it is in Maidftone parifh. Here on the north fide, in a very humble fhed, is held the county court, monthly ; and at elections for the county here the fheriff affembles the meeting, as he does for the election of coroners, but generally adjourns them to Maidftone, unlefs the former are contefted, as unhappily has been frequently the cafe. A more brilliant affembly can fcarce be fuppofed ; large capacious booths are at fuch times built near for the accommodation of the candidates, and thofe employed by them. Oppofite to this in Maidftone parifh, on a very riling ground, is a gallows for the execution of criminals. As a central place Penenden-heath is convenient and commodious for county meet- ings. The moft celebrated aflemblage was in 1076, when William the Con- queror commanded his nobles, and other perfons of confequence, to hear the allega- tions brought againft his turbulent, avaricious half-brother, Odo bifhop of Bayeux, and earl of Kent, fo often mentioned. Goisfrid bifhop of Conftance reprefented the fovereign ; Lanfranc archbifhop of Canterbury pleaded the caufe of the oppreffed church, as well againft the rapacity of Odo as the encroachments of Hugh Montfort, and Ralph de Curva Spina, or Crookthorne : the matter was folemnly pleaded by the head of the Anglican church, and as bqldly defended by the imperious Odo : many of the greateft and wifeft men in the kingdom attended, both Anglo-Saxons and Normans ; efpecially fuch who were barons of the fovereign and the archbifhop, or tenants of the latter \ at the head of whom, under the bifhop of Conftance, were Richard de Tonebridge, Hugh de Montfort, though complained of, William de Arfic, and Hamo, the vicecomes or fheriff of Kent ; as perfons who could give the beft intelligence, and whofe difintereftednefs was equally known. Erneft and Agelric, bifhops of Rochefter and Chefter, aflifted at the tribunal ; the latter was a very wife man, and extremely well verfed in the Englifh laws ; on account of his great age he was brought in a waggon ! After a trial of three days the arch- bifhop obtained the moft ample juftice. Some Roman antiquities have been difcovered in this parifh. At Grove an urn was found in 171 1, near the vein of fuller's earth; and feveral other of thefe funeral remains, with coins and other relics, have been dug up near Vintners and Goddard's hill ; at the latter there are vaft ftones fet up like thofe at Horfted. February 17, 1790, was buried Ann Pilcher, aged 100 years and eight months: an antiquity of another kind, u u In 33 o KEN T. In this parifh. are thefe plants, which arc rarely feen — borago minor filveftris, fmall white buglofs, or German mad wort ; — fcopyllum angufti folium glabrum, fmooth, narrow-leaved thyme ; — buxus, the box-tree, which flourifh.es abundantly in the woods ; — flellaria fanicula major, ladies' mantle. D E T L I N G. THE parifh of Detling, anciently written Dethnges, to the eaft of Boxley, is a fequeftered fpot, in the road from Maidftone to Sittingborne. There is little here to pleafe, being upon the barren chalk, and embofomed in its own brufliwood, affording many native yews, and a profufion of columbines. The want of rural beauties is amply compenfated by health, the firft of bleffings. This was alfo a part of the immenfe pofTeflions of Odo, but regained by the legal owners, the metropolitans of Canterbury. A family refiding here were called de Detling, until they changed their name to Brampton, an heirefs of whom took it to the At Townes, and their heir general to the Lewknors, who alienated the manor to the Woodvilles, one of whom being attainted by Richard III. Brakenbury obtained it of him; Richard Lewknor, Efq., received it from Henry VII., probably becaufe his family had retained fome eftates here after they had difpofed of the manor ; his fole daughter and heir took the whole to George Hills, whofe two daughters and coheirs conveyed it to the families of Martin and Vincent : fince then the manor has been divided, one part being called Eaft, the other Weft court. Eaft-court, after various transfers, was purchafed by Francis Foote, of Veryan, in Cornwall, Efq., whofe defcendant, George-Talbot- Hatley Foote, Efq., now owns both this and Weft-court; his father, Benjamin- Hatley Foote, Efq., having purchafed the latter of the heirs of Thomas Borrett, of Shoreham, in Kent, Efq., one of the prothonotaries of the common pleas. Mr. Foote holds a court baron for the manor of Detling, which is paramount to that of Henkhurft, in Staplehurft. Detling, in the diocefe of Canterbury, and deanry of Sutton, has a fmall church, once a chapel of eafe to Maidftone, ftanding on the fouth-weft end of the village, anciently Polley-ftreet, from the Polley or Polhill family, who ftill have lands here called Polley Fields. The church is exempt from the jurifdiclion of the arch- deacon of Canterbury. The vicarage is a difcharged living of the certified clear yearly KENT. 33i yearly value of 30/. ; it has been thrice augmented, which makes an addition of 16/. The incumbent is the Rev. Denny-Martin Fairfax, D. D*, who refutes in Leeds-caftle. This parifh is remarkable for the women bringing twin children ; but the fol- lowing is a very fingular increafe — Ann, the wife of Thomas Smith, clerk of this parifh, had three children; a daughter born alive at four o'clock in the afternoon of Thurfday, June 20, 1661 ; on the following Sunday at five o'clock in the morning a Hill-born daughter, and at four o'clock in the afternoon a fon : the firfl and laft, with the mother, lived. It is obfervable that this parifh and Thurnham mould have fo many more double births than the neighbouring ones, in proportion to their population. LOOSE. TO the fouth of Maidftone is Loofe, anciently Hlofe, or Lofe, from the Anglo- Saxon hlofan, to lofe, from its ftream lofing itfelf at Brifhing, and running from thence fubterraneoufly for near half a mile, rifing again at the quarries in the eaflern extremity of the parifh. Loofe is the moft romantic fpot in this part of the kingdom, and from its refemblance has the name of the Englifh Spa. It is every way a moft agreeable place ; its mills for making paper, grinding of corn, and fulling, with its tan-yards, make what feems formed for retirement a bufy fcene. The parifh is finely wooded, and the river and fprings give it a profufion of water. Agriculture is no where better underftood, nor pradtifed to more advan- tage; its pafturage adds much to the general diverfity of its fcenery. There are few places whofe hiftory can be traced fo high as Loofe. Ethelwulf, the Anglo-Saxon monarch, in 832 gave it to Sueta, then a widow : fhe and her daughter prefented it to the priory of Chrift-church, in Canterbury, which allotted its income to purchafe clothing for their fraternity. It had free warren, courts ket and baron, which latter are flill retained, and where borfholders are elected for Wanfhurfl, Falkfheath, and Pattenden, in the Weald. At the Reformation Henry VIII. gave it to the dean and chapter of Rochefter. John Penfold, Efq., is leffee, as have been his wife's relations the Crifpes or Cripps, for a confiderable time. Mr. Penfold refides here, having a moft highly cultivated farm, elegantly arranged, uniting tafte with utility. u u 2 A late 33 2 KEN T. A late very elaborate writer thinks there was another manor, which once belonged to the Freminghams, who left it to the Pimpes ; but of this little is fatisfactory. The feat of Salt's-place, once the Bufkins, is now poffcffed by the Rev. Dr. Denny-Martin Fairfax, whofe anceftors the Martins obtained it by their defcent from them ; at prefent the houfe is unoccupied. William Poft, Efq., refides at Hale-place in this parifh, once called le Hayle. It is of considerable antiquity, as its gateway evinces ; but the houfe u ,as been new-fronted. This parifh, in the diocefe of Canterbury, and ucanry of Sutton, has an ancient church, dedicated to All Saints, once a chapel of eafe to Maidftone. The great tithes belong to the fee of Canterbury, by a grant from Elizabeth, to whom they came as part of the poffefiions of the college of priefts in Maidftone. The living is difcharged: archbifhop Juxon, and Mr. Be.-le, a rich Hamburgh merchant, a native of Loofe, augmented it ; but ftill the ftipend is far inadequate to the duty. The prefent curate is the Rev. Denny-Martin Fairfax, D. D. In the church-yard is perhaps the oldeft and the largeft yew-tree in England. LINTON. LINTON, to the fouth of Loofe, on the oppofite fide of Cock's-heath, was anci- ently Lyllynton ; in Latin, Lilintuna, i. e. lytlan, fmall, and ftane, a itonc, from its quarries of ftone. It is chiefly in the Weald ; the view from hence towards that diflri