H fri** DA Wo J&3 % / ^ ^ ' " 'V&XI THE DISPLAYED ; BEING OF ITS SITUATION, SALUBRITY AND PICTURESQUE SCENERY* ALSO AN ACCOUNT OF THE ENVIRONS WITHIN FIFTEEN MILES ROUND, INTERSPERSED WITH A UTHENTIC ANECDOTES. By the REV. EDMUND BUTCHER. ©6hfc iSMttott. SIDMOWH : PRINTED FOR JOHN WALLIS, AT THE ROYAL MARINE LIBRARY \ AND SOLD IN LONDON, BY MESSRS. LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME AND BROWNE, PATERNOSTER ROW* \Un fcV VIEWS, &c. PUBLISHED BY J0F1N WALLIS, AT THE &oj»al Jftarme Sftrarji, ^tUmout§. A Beautiful Panoramic View of this Watering-Place, nine feet long — 3/. 3s. or 4/. on a roller. Views of the Seats and Cottages of Sidmouth and its Environs-— in boards, 2L 12s. 6d. plain, or %l. 13s. 6d. coloured. Scenery on the Southern Devonshire Coast, comprising the prin- cipal picturesque Views from Sidmouth to Torquay, thirty Plates, with description half-bound Russia, 2£. 10*. or coloured, 3/. 13s. 6d. Any of the above Plates to be had separately; Sketches of Sidmouth and the Environs, containing twelve beau- tiful specimens of the lithographic art, from drawings by E„ I. J. Esq. completed in two Numbers — price to the first sixty subscribers, 16s. per Number. One hundred copies only will be taken. A View of the River Teign, three feet long, in colours, 25s, — A View of the River Exe, three feet long, in colours, 25s. Writing Papers—Pens — Wax and Wafers, of a superior quality to any house in Sidmouth. THE BEAUTIES OF PART 1. aN" some situations, man is almost an amphibious animal: in warm climates he passes a great deal of his time in the water; and in all climates, at some seasons to find ourselves plunged in the refreshing wave, and wrapped round with the liquid element, is a most de- lightful sensation. Health and pleasure are equally consulted in these salutary ablutions, and to many a wan countenance has the blush of the rose been re- stored by an occasional residence on the margin of the sea, and a frequent application of the purifying surge to the debilitated iimb* Extremes are often meeting in the history of mam Savage and civilized life, in the case now under con- templation, produce, in a degree, the same effects. In the rude, and, what we at least term, the unpolished portions of our globe, the inhabitants are universally fond of bathing and swimming; indeed, they are accustomed to it from their earliest infancy, and con- sequently attain to a perfection in aquatic exercises, and a capacity of bearing them, if necessary, for a length of time, which the enfeebled children of civili- zation can seldom hope to equal : amongst them, however, the same propensity to seek for health and gratification in the cooling or the tepid wave, has always been manifested. 6 Imperial Rome, in the zenith of her glory, poured forth, every year, her numerous population to the shores of the Adriatic. Emperors and senators had their villas along the coast. By temporary residences, from the vicinity of Naples, all round the borders of Calabria, the citizens of the mistress of the world, of all ages and ranks, sought a frequent renovation of that health which care and business had impaired, or more frequently, dissipation undermined. The luxury and the wealth of Britain have pro- duced the same effects. Within the last forty or fifty years, watering-places have been every year more and more the resort of the gay, the idle, and the valetudi- nary. From the extremities of the empire, and from the interior parts of our island, multitudes of persons are every season rushing to the coasts. Many of the formerly inconsiderable towns and villages of it have thus been brought into notice; and, in almost all cases, accommodation and demand have kept pace with each other. The low, inconvenient cottage has given way to the lofty and spacious dwelling; and, instead of a little ale-house, the splendid inn has attracted the notice and supplied the wants of the visitant. The West of England, almost every part of the coast of which has, in turn, been pronounced the Montpelier of the island, abounds with these retreats from business, and cradles for the renovation of life. — Amongst the rest, Sidmouth is, every year, increasing its attractions, and as the means of accommodation are multiplied, receiving into its bosom a greater number of visitants and admirers. The materials for the former histories of small and obscure places are, in general, very scanty. This is particularly the case with Sidmouth. The pen of his- tory has no splendid fact to record, as having here 7 taken place, nor has biography any distinguished name to select from its inhabitants. The writer of this account must, therefore, claim the indulgence of his readers, if they find it deficient in that interest and amusement which the records of many other places afford. All that can be done with respect to its for- mer history, is to collect the brief notices of it, which are scattered in those histories of Devonshire already before the world, and add any circumstance which tradition has recorded, or which can be gleaned from MSS. or works upon other subjects, in which Sidmouth may be referred to. Risdon, Pole, and Polwhele, have been carefully consulted in drawing up this work. These, particularly the last, have examined all the preceding writers who have treated upon Devonshire and its inhabitants, and therefore, it may be presumed that nothing of any consequence can now be known respecting the former state of Sidmouth, but what is here brought together. NAME AND SITUATION Sidmouth, anciently spelt Sidemew, is situated, as the name imports, near the spot where the small river Sid falls into the ocean. It lies nearly in the middle of that vast bay, which is bounded on the east by the Isle of Portland, and on the west by the Start Point. The whole of this extensive curve is scolloped with a number of hollows and small bays, formed by the bold headlands of Devon and Dorset. Between the lofty and magnificent ridges which these headlands terminate, a multitude of streams, which adorn and fertilize the rich vallies through which they flow, are continually finding their way to the great reservoir 8 the sea. On the margin of one of these minor bay9 f bounded by Saicombe Hill on the east, and Peak Hill on the west, lies the small but rapidly-increasing sub- ject of the present sketch. By former writers, it is only noted as an " incon- siderable fishing-town." Leiand says, " Sidmouth is a fischar town, with a broke ci that name, and a bay, six miles west of Seton ;" and Sir W. Pole writes, " Sidmouth, where the little river Sid runneth into the sea, is a small market town, and has been famous for fishing." Several persons are still living who can attest the accuracy of such descriptions, and recollect almost the whole town consisting of thatched houses, of dark stone, with their chimnies towards the street, a mode of building of which several specimens yet remain, and which stiil predominates in most of the unmodernized towns and villages of Devonshire. Tradition reports, that here was formerly a harbour, -which has been gradually choked up by accumulating sands. Risdon, in his '« Survey of Devon," written in the reign of Charles II. gives this account : " Since the surrender to the Crown, Sidmouth is one of the chiefest fisher towns of this shire, and serveth much provisions into the eastern parts, wherein her principal maintenance consists. But in times past, it was a port of some account, now choked with chisel and sands by the vicissitudes of the tides." The rocks, which project for a considerable way from the shore, and extended almost across the whole of the Sidmouth bay, do not support this account, nor give much encouragement to a plan which has been suggested of Forming an artificial harbour, by erecting a wall upon some of them, something like the " Conb" at Lyme. Modern enterprise, however, we aie wit- nesses, is capable of producing effects which had long 9 been considered as dubious, at least, if not imprac- ticable, and therefore, perhaps, some future period may witness the addition of an harbour to the growing accommodations of Sidmouth. A few years ago, the public-spirited friends of the place, were flattered with the hope of seeing this desi- rable object accomplished. Towards the close of the year 1S11, an Engineer was actually employed to make drawings, and estimate the expense of an harbour which it was proposed to form in a meadow called the Ham, through which the river Sid, flows into the sea. The necessary drawings and estimates being prepared, meetings were called upon the subject, and several gentlemen, amcng whom Sir Joseph Scott, Bart, particularly exerted himself, entered so warmly into the business, that at a general meeting held at the London Inn, the following resolutions were unani- mously adopted and published ; " Sidmouth, Feb. 3, 1S12. " At a meeting held this day at the London Inn, pursuant to the last adjournment, for the purpose of receiving the Engineer's estimate of the expenses attending the formation of an ha.bour in this town, it having been resolved unanimously, at a former meeting, that the same was feasible, and would be advantageous; Present, The Rev, William Jenkins, Sir Joseph Scott, Bart, George Cornish, Esq, Francis Col man, Esq. Emanuel Saruh Lousada, Esq. Samuel Paul Paul, Esq. and upwards of fifty resident Gentlemen and Trades- men in the town and neighbourhood: The following resolutions were entered into— 10 1. That Sir Joseph Scott, Bart, be requested to take the chair. 2. That Mr. Crocker's estimate, founded on Mr. Fawkner's plan, amounting to the sum of £ 15,352. 2s. lid. having been submitted, be approved, and that the plan and estimate be left at the Library in this town, for public inspection. 3. That in case the plan be carried into effect, Mr. Charles Dalby be the contractor for the work. Other resolutions to the number of twelve, follow, relative to the detail of the business, and the sum of w£ 10,900, which was afterwards encreased to ,£11,800, was subscribed towards carrying it into execution. It soon appeared that this plan would have power- ful opponents— it was suggested that the western end of the beach afforded a more eligible situation for an harbour, than that fixed upon by these resolutions — the friends of the design were divided, and, as has in a multitude of instances been the case, it was lost in a conflict between different and clashing interests! FORMER TRADE. It is certain that the former inhabitants of this place were largely engaged in the Newfoundland fishery, a branch of maritime commerce which now flourishes chiefly at Dartmouth, and at Foole in Dor- setshire. By this lucrative, but frequently hazardous employment, many considerable, and some large for- tunes have been accumulated— and to this, as well as our other fisheries and coal trade, we are indebted, in a great degree, for that breed of hardy and skilful mariners, to whose courage and dexterity our islands are so deeply indebted, under Providence, for their 11 safety from any hostile attack. Her navy has long been, and with the greatest reason, the boast of Britain: by this, even during the late terrible, pro- tracted, and expensive war, the treasures of the most clistant parts of the world were brought into our ports — an intercourse kept up with our numerous colonies- many of the foreign possessions of the enemy fell into our hands— and the greater part of those fleets which, in former periods, insulted and threatened us, even on our own shores, have been captured or destroyed. Such is the navy of Britain ; and all possible attention ought to be paid to it : but it may be permitted to the serious observer to remark, that there is a higher protection, which if we forfeit by national and indi- vidual iniquity, not all the navies or armies in the world can save us from destruction. That protection there is only one way of securing, and that is, not by noisy and hypocritical pretensions to piety; but by real, substantial, and persevering goodness of character. MACKAREL CATCHING. The fish with which Sid mouth is supplied, is but little of it caught by the labours of an almost daily decreasing race of fishermen. The finny stores of the deep are brought in by boats, or b}^ land carriage, from Beer on the east, and Brixham on the western side of this place. Vast quantities of mackerel and whitings are occasionally caught, immediately opposite the town. They are taken in large nets called a seine, The origin of this name it does not appear possible to ascertain. The seine and the boat, are worth an hundred pounds and upwards. The common seine is five hundred yards long ; in the mackarel season they extend them 12 to seven hundred, and even eight hundred yards. The boat having carried out the net to a certain distance, greater or less as circumstances may require, the seine is shot from the boat, which, as it moves on, forms a circle, being supported by a vast number of* corks affixed, at equal distances, to the outside ropes of the net. From each end of the seine, when the semi- circle is completed, are cords extending to the beach, and which are held by persons stationed to haulov pull id the seine, when completely cast into the sea : these individuals form two rows, which gradually close as the net approaches the shore. Many of the inhabitants and visitors of Sidmouth were gratified in the month of July 1809, with seeing above fifteen thousand mackarel brought in by one haul. It is a curious and entertaining sight to witness the beauty of this fish when first brought out of the water. The diversity and brightness of their colours, which vary every moment, cannot escape the most cursory observer. This is doubtless occasioned by the different atmos- phere in which they are then placed; and humanity hopes that most of these are muscular motions, and speedily attended with little pain to the expiring animal. The produce of each haul is divided in the fol- lowing manner: the owner of the seine and boat is entitled to one half of the fish caught; and also to an equal share of the remainder with the rest of the crew, between whom the other half is divided share and share alike. When women (which seldom happens at Sid- mouth) take a part of the adventure, the supposed superiority of strength in the male quite supersedes that politeness which, in some other departments of society, pays a compliment to female assistance; for the lady gets only half as much as the gentleman. Whether fish are taken or not, the labour is not is bver when the seine is pulled in. It is necessary that the net should be carefully overhauled, that is, spread regularly out upon the shingles for drying; as, when it is first taken out of the sea, it is left in large hillocks, in which situation it would rot and not dry. This overhauling, after an unsuccessful shoot, is a very flat business— nearly an hour of toil is added, after the several labourers have found that there is not a fish a-piece to repay them for their time and exertions. Soles, salmon-peal, red mulletts, john-dories, turbot, pipers, gurnets, and brills, are the fish most commonly brought to Sidmoulh. The shell-fish are crabs, lobsters., ihrimps, and prawns. SIZE OF THE PARISH. Sidmouth, in some old writings called Sidmouih St. Nicholas, is but a small parish ; being only three miles in its greatest, and two miles in its shortest length, and about one mile in breadth. It is bounded by Harpford and Sid bury on the north, by Salcombe Regis on the east, by the sea on the south, and by Otterton on the west. Farm-houses appear in several different parts of the parish, chiefly belonging to the manor of Sidmouth ; they are built in general of cob, a composition of clay and straw, (named probably from the Greek, KoTnroc,) and stone, and have roofs of thatch. The farms are small, and each divided into a number of little fields, and mostly in a good state of cultivation. Sidmouth, it is said, was a borough-town in the 13th century. This report is certainly not contradicted by the following information, which is to be found in Sir William Monson's Naval Tracts: " In the fleet of eleven hundred sail, in the reign of King Edward I1L c 14 the several ports were, upon forty days* warning, to furnish such a number of ships for fifteen days, upon their own charge, after setting sail ; and to do it every year if demanded : the rest of the time the King to pav them." That Devon was then one of the most considerable maritime counties, appears from its sending from Ships. Mariners. Seaton 2 25 Sidmouth 3 62 Exmouth • . 10 193 Teignmouth 7 120 Dartmouth 32 283 Plymouth 26 603 Yalme * . . . . 2 47 82 1333 London, at that time, sent ... 25 662 Bristol 22 608 Yarmouth 43 950 MANOR. The manor of Sidmouth was demised by indenture, under the seal of the monastery of Sion, to which it had been given in 1414, dated February 5, fourteenth of Henry VIII. to Richard Gosnell, gentleman, for ninety-nine years, under the yearly rent of .£38. 7s. 8c/. By old deeds it appears that the manor and rectoiy reserved to the crown after the dissolution, were, in the reign of Elizabeth, leased to Sir W. Peryam, knt. during his natural life. James I. let it to Christopher INIanvvaring, at the yearly rent of «£54. 7s. 8d. The 15 manor was afterwards sold by Christopher Manwaring, €sq. to Sir Edmond Prideaux, bart. and at the same time the great tythes were sold to Wad ham-col lege. Sir Wilmot Prideaux was the owner of the manor in 1775 ; and held his court-leet and court-baron at Sidmouth. Thomas Jenkins, esq. then residing at Rome, became, by purchase, the next lord of the manor; and from him it came to his nephew, the pre- sent Thomas Jenkins, €sq. When Brice wrote, he tells us, that at Sidmouth are " some respectable merchants, particularly the Follets, of good reputation for probity and honour," and till 1814, the name was preserved in the town, by the late Mr. Abraham Follett, who has left a large family. GENERAL DESCRIPTION. Sidmouth has a bold open shore, but, on account of the depth of the bay in which it lies, but few vessels of any magnitude come nearer than the extreme edge of the horizon. We have been, however, occasionally gratified by ships of war standing close in, and when Lord Win. Bentinck went out Ambassador to Sicily, the Caledonia of 120 guns, and three 74's, with several transports, were within three miles of the town. — Fishing and pleasure boats are frequently seen spotting the deep blue of the ocean with their white sails, and affording, as they tack and shift their positions, a pleasing and interesting spectacle. Many of the newest lodging-houses are ranged upon the beach, which is defended from the attacks of the ocean by a natural rampart of pebbles, which rises in four or five successive stages, from the surface of the sea, at low water. With every tide, the exterior parts of this 16 shifting wall assume some different situation ; are sunk either higher or lower; or are driven to the east or west, according to the strength arjd direction of the wind. At low water, considerable spaces of fine hard sand are visible— these afford a walk, which would be more pleasant, were it not so frequently interrupted by collections of stones, and streams, which find their way between the pebbles to their parent ocean. In dry weather, however, these streams are very inconsiderable. At low tides, a fine ride is to be obtained on the sands to the westward of Chit Rock ; this road is equally practicable for pedestrians if defended by thick shoes. As a watering-place, Sidmouth, in its natural advan- tages, yields to none, and exceeds many of those retreats of Hygeia, which utility and fashion have found out, on almost all the coasts of our island. An air mild and salubrious ; a soil uncommonly fertile ; the purest water, continually flowing; and a situation defended from every wind but the south, give it a pre-eminence over most of those places on our coast, which are now so generally resorted to both for health and amusement. The beautiful vale in which the town stands is bounded on both sides by long lofty mountains ; these form its eastern and western sides ; and, towards the north, it is screened by the Gittisham and Honiton hills. — ^The approach to Sidmouth by the New Road from Honiton, is in the extreme picturesque. PLACES ON THE COAST. That part of the coast which can be seen from Sidmouth beach, has been thus described : From the haibour of Dartmouth, the coast, winding to the north- cast, shoots out into a promontory calied Berry-head* 17 ^vhich forms one side of Torbay, where is a good road, for shipping, but, excepting Brixham, no port. Beyond this lies Teignmouth. Exmouth next appears in view^ and then Sidmouth. Nor ought Seaton to be over- looked, once a capacious port, though at present an inconsiderable creek. A great part of the cliffs on the coast, from Exmouth to Lyme, are nearly four hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular. " The High- peak at Sidmouth is supposed to rise upwards of six hundred feet from the sea. From Hope's-nose to the Berry-head is formed Torbay, being nearly a semicircle of twelve miles." Changes more or less considerable are frequently taking place upon the coast. In the year 1788, there happened a remarkable slip of earth, about half a mile from Beer. From a pasture-down called Souths down, a great quantity of the cliff gave way, and sank down to a considerable depth. The plane surface was full six acres of good ground, and the depth measured perpendicularly about two hundred ftet. It happened about twelve o'clock at night : the huge part of the cliff went off with a terribie noise, that greatly alarmed the people of Beer. A more than usual quantity of rain had fallen for many successive days before the cliff gave way. It is the washing of the sea, together with the action of the frosts and wind, which has formed the cliffs at Sidmouth ; they were originally sloping hills, which, being gradually washed at the bottom, fell down. One of these loosenings of the coast, as they are termed, took place in April 1, 1811, just beyond that part of Peak-hill, on which the signal-house formerly stood : it has rendered the former road between Sid- mouth and Exmouth so impassable, that the circuitous course which carriages and horses are now obligee! to 18 take has added two miles to the distance betwixt the two places. The road by Newton Poppleford, which is less hilly, is two miles further. INTERNAL SCENERY. From the beach, Sid mouth appears, on three sides of it, encompassed with hills ; the tops of which, in a beautifully undulating line, form a vast curve of un- common richness and simplicity. Cultivation nearly ascends to the summits of some of them ; and the enclosures, which are numerous, present a rich variety of arable and pasture grounds. Where there are no enclosures, a short, sweet and darkish grass covers these elevations. Furze and heath, with their yellow and purple flowers, fill the air with fragrance, and beautifully diversify the scene. Great numbers of sheep browze upon this delicious herbage ; and the cottages and bakers' ovens of the town and its vicinity are, many of them supplied with fuel from these mountainous store-houses. The hedges of Devonshire are proverbially large and rich. Sidmouth is closely surrounded with them like so many green and flowery zones ; forming a com- plete contrast to the barren downs which surround Weymouth, Brighton, and the watering places on the Kentish shores. Elms, ashes, and oaks are interspersed in great numbers in almost every enclosure : these are the foresters most commonly to be met with, but many other sorts are scattered here and there. Orchards abound in all directions, and that agreeable beverage, cyder, is plentiful, and often extremely delicious. It is probably owing to the pigs being turned into the orchards when the young fruit is dropping from the 19 trees, that a great deal of the Devonshire pork is pecu- liarly well flavoured. In the vernal and autumnal parts of the year, the numerous lanes which intersect and divide this rich valley, are truly delightful. The country then seems a universal garden ; the air is full of fragrance ; and the eye gratified, almost beyond conception, with an incal- culable diversity of shrubs and flowers : the deep banks are literally covered with vegetable mosaic. Trees, many of which are very lofty, as well as umbrageous, wave their rich foliage in the air, and almost on the margin of the sea display all the luxuriance of inland vegetation. ' Great quantities of holly and ivy enliven the dreary months of winter ; and, with myrtles, laurels, and other evergreens, shed a perpetual verdure over this charming spot. In vallies there is seldom much flat surface: of this, Sidmouth vale is an example— slopes and swells every where meet the eye, Streams, so transparent as to reveal every pebble over which they flow, run from almost every declivity, soothe the ear with their murmurs, and refresh, as well as decorate, the landscape of which they form so sweet a part. The serpentine Sid, which, in still weather, is as clear as any of its neighbouring brooks, waters the whole eastern side of the valley, and as it approaches the ocean, washes the many rocks at the east end of the beach. In summer, this stream is so inconsiderable, as to have no visible communication with the sea ; but in winter, or in any part of the year, when swollen by the rain it becomes an impetuous torrent. It then disdains to creep between the pebbles, but driving them to the right hand and the left, opens for itself an unincumbered passage to the " great storehouse of the deep," and from no inconsiderable month, pours into it, its freshening current. t6 THE TOWN". Consists of about three hundred and fifty house*, and, in the census taken by order of Parliament in the year 1803, was said to contain twelve hundred and fifty-two inhabitants. This number according to the census in 1813, was increased to above 1600. Begin- ning from what is termed Mill-cross, at the north end of the town, and ending at the Beach, its length is about the third part of a mile. For rather more than half of this space it is, principally, one street; the remainder is divided into two branches like the letter Y. In the eastern branch, which seems rather the best of the two, are shops of almost every description, and two of the inns of the town, the London Inn and the New Inn. In the western branch of the main street is the Post-Office. Both branches of the Y, as well as the main stem, contain lodging-houses, very various both in size and price. At the London Inn commences a short cross street, which ends in the market-place. On the west of this is a division called Western Town, in which most of the remains of the old buildings of Sidmoutn are to be found: it consists chiefly of poor low cottages, many of which will, probably, at the expiration of their present tenures, give place to buildings more suitable to those with which they are surrounded. On the east »ide of the town is another suburb, called, probably from its low situation, as it descends to the river, the Marsh. Here are also some lodging-houses, and, in the narrower part of it, towards the sea, many small residences for the poorer sort of people have lately- been erected. 21 Returning again to the London Inn, from thence* a small remaining part of the main street terminates at the Beach. RELIGION. That bond of union between heaven and earthy that golden chain* which connects man with his Maker, is, undoubtedly, a matter of the highest impor- tance to mankind. This is a sentiment which, in all ages and countries, has been felt, and which is sanc- tioned, in the fullest manner, by the pages of inspired truth. Altars and temples, around, or in which man^ kind might, at stated times* unite in pouring out the pious effusions of gratitude, reverence, and humility, have appeared in all places — it is, therefore, but a proper homage paid to the religious principle, in attempting a description of any place, to begin with noticing those edifices which have been set apart for the public worship of God. This sentiment directs us to THE CHURCH. This structure* which is supposed to be about four hundred years old, is a convenient place of worship. Both within and without* an air of neatness predomi- nates. It is a slated stone edifice, and its tower is remarkably well built ; its open windows are hand- somely ornamented : the dial of the clock, which has been lately put up, obscures one of them — of this, some architectural antiquarians have complained, as a sacrifice of taste to utility; but, upon the principle * Religo, Lat., to bind, to make fasL J) 22 that a " living dog is better than a dead lion," surely such an objection should be given up. A clock, which is of constant use to a whole town, is unquestionably of more value than a window in a steeple, which not above one person in five hundred would look at with any particular attention. The number of bells in this tower are five. The church had once an organ, which, we are told, " was destroyed in Cromwell's days." It has not, however, now to lament the want of this appropriate piece of church music, as a small one has been lately erected by subscription. The south, or principal entrance, which has been lately repaired, and over it a new window opened, is surmounted by a small stone cross, similar to some others at the angles of the roof. The claims of this edifice to the tutelage of a patron Saint, are divided betwixt the rival names of St. Nicholas and St. Giles. The argument in favour of St. Nicholas, who is a sort of Christian Neptune, is, that many churches upon the coast are dedicated to him, and this, amongst the rest. That, in favour of St. Giles is, perhaps, rather stronger, which is, that the parish wake is held on St. Giles's Monday. Amongst the older monuments in this church is one, on the north side of the chancel, to the memory of Walter Harlewin, Esq. ; on the east another, to the memory of the Reverend John Minshull, formerly vicar of this parish ; on the south, a third, in memory of the Reverend Oliver Courtrice, and John his son, the two preceding vicars. Of the modern mural records, many of which adorn both internally and externally the walls of this edifice, and commemorate the virtues of the dead, or hold out admonitory lessons to the living, one of the most distinguished preserves the memory of Dr. Currie of Liverpool; and another, that of a lad v from Northumberland: both are slabs of white marble, and surmounted with urns. The inscription on the first of these is as follows : To the memory of James Currie, M.D. F.R.S. late of Liverpool, afterwards of Bath, who died at this place Augu?t 31, 1805, aged 49 years. The mileler virtues which the friend endear, The soften'd worth which wakes affection's tear, And all that brightens in life's social day, Lost in the shades of death, may pass away: Fast comes the hour when no fond heart shall know, How lov'd, Oh, Currie, was the dust below. Here cease the triumphs which the grave obtains, The man may perish, but the sage remains. Freedom and Peace shall tell to many an age, Thy warning counsels, toy prophetic page: Art, taught by thee, shall o'er the burning frame The healing freshness pour, and bless thy name: And Genius, proudly while to Fame she turns, Shall twine thy laurels with the wreath of Burns. The inscription on the second monument above mentioned, and which is very near Dr. Currie's, is in these words, on the urn : Mary Wife of Robert Lisle of Acton-house, in the county of Northumberland, Esq. died 21 February 1791, aged 39 years, and, by her own desire, lies buried here. (On the slab below: J Blest with soft airs from health-restoring skies, Sid mouth I to thee the drooping patient flies; Ah ! not unfailing is thy port to save,— To her thou gav'st no refuge but a grave: Guard it, mild Sidmouth, and revere its store, More precious none shall ever toucn thy shore. 24 Many appropriate texts of scripture, evidently painted a considerable time ago, are conspicuously placed in the body of the church. A new gallery has been erected in the church, and both under and over it, are many neat memorials of strangers, mostly in younger life, who have here finished their mortal course ; a few of them are here transcribed as specimens of the whole. A square marble slab thus preserves the memory of a West Indian physician: Near this place lie die remains of Nathaniel March ant, Esq. a native of the Island of Antigua, where his abilities as a physician, a magistrate, and a legislator, and the many amiable qualities of his mind, will be held in admi- ration while memory shall last. He died the 25th of February, 1804, in the 49th year of his age, and his disconsolate widow, after receiving uninterrupted proofs of his affection for 18 years, caused this stone to be erected to his memory. Four black and white marbles, of very neat work- manship, occur in succession, and are inscribed as follow: Near this spot are deposited the remains of Charles Watson, Esq. of Sanghton, in the county of Mid Lothian, who died here, June 2, 1804, aged 66. •* In te, Domine, speravi." The second has the arms of the deceased at the top, the motto, " deo non fort una." Inside this Church, and underneath, lies the body of William Henry Digby, Esq. third and last remaining son of John W. Digby, Esq. of Lauderstown, C°* Kildare, died at Sidmouth, 10 Feby» A. D. 1809, aged 22 yeari. *i5 The third, is thus inscribed, Underneath are deposited the remains of Catharine, wife of George Stacpoole, Esq. of Grosvenor Place, in the County of Middlesex, who departed this life, October 28, 1809, JEtai. 37. The fourth, which is surmounted by a figure of Hope, is thus worded, O Lord receive my soul. Close to, and underneath this stone are deposited the remains of Charlotte Temperance, eldest surviving daughter of Thomas and Elizabeth Alston, of Odell Castle, Bedfordshire. She died at Sidmoutb, on the 10th of November, 1810, aged nineteen. One of the most recent, as well as appropriate of these mural records, is in the form of a Sarcophagus, and placed near the communion table ; it is thus- inscribed : In a vault are deposited the remains of Maria Elizabeth, second daughter and co-heiress of the late Thomas Dyot Buck- nall, Esq. of Hampton Court, in the County of Middlesex, who came to Sidmouth for the benefit of her health, and, after a long illness, borne with pious resignation, and in the exercise of every social virtue, departed this life, to the inexpressible grief of her family, April 16, 1814, aged 25. Early, bright, transient, chaste as morning dew, She sparkled, was exhaled, and went to heaven. 16 In the church-yard, as Sid mouth becomes more celebrated for the winter as well as the summer retreats of invalids, every year adds to the number of tomb- stones. Many of tliem, as may easily be supposed, are erected over the remains of those, who, seeking too late the renovating breezes of this charming place, have here paid the debt of nature. Several of these mortuary erections are in a handsome, substantial style. One of them records the name of the Reverend Samuel Blackall, B. D. rector of Loughborough, who was so delighted with Sidmouth, while living, as to wish to be buried in this church-yard. He was the grandson of Dr. Offspring Blackall, who was bishop of Exeter in the reign of Queen Anne, and, from the great interest which her Majesty took in his elevation, denominated the Queen's Bishop. A handsome tomb, near the belfry door, thus records some branches of the Cotmaton family: On one side, In memory of Henry Carslake, gent, of Cottinton, in this parish, who died the 17th day of July, 1757, in the 59th year of his age : AUo, Elizabeth, his wife, who died the 20th day of June, 1744, in the 35th year of her age: Also, Joseph Carslake, their sen, who died August the 6th, 1757, in the 18th year of his age : Also, Anna Maria, their daughter, who died an infant. On the opposite side, Henry Carslake, of Cottinton, gent, died January 20th, 176U. aetat. 28. Lately, like you, I flourished in the fair field of life : in a moment, the unexpected storm arose, which cut me down like a flower, and my body lies withering in this comfortless bed. Esti- mate from hence the ralue of earthly things : remember judgment, and learn to die. 27 Several of the newest tomb-stones are marked with a cross, an indication that the persons they commemo- rate, were Roman Catholics. Enclosed by an iron railing, on the south side of the church, the foJlowing testimony to the worth of an amiable lady occurs : Here lieth the remains of Charlotte, wife of John Storer, A. M. Rector of Haw kes worth, Notts ; second daughter of Charles Wylde, D.D. Rector of St. Nicholas, Nottingham. She was a rare gift of God, soon taken away ; rich in the faith of a crucified Saviour, and that faith evidenced by its fruits, a holy life. A flower early ripened by the eternal Spirit for immortal bliss ; she left this present scene to her own joy, but to the sorrow of her surviving relatives, the 29th of January, 1816, aged 25; leaving three sons, John, Charles, and George. The^hurch of Sidmouth was granted in 1212, by Bishop Marshall, to the monastery of St. Michael de Monte, in Normandy, to which the priory of Otterton was a cell. Sidmouth is now a vicarage, the rectorial tythes belong to Wadham-coliege, Oxford ; and, for the vicarial, the inhabitants pay a composition. The Reverend William Jenkins, father of Thomas Jenkins, Esq. the lord of the manor, is the present incumbent. The vicarage-house is situated near the entrance of the town from the north. It is an old building modernized, and very considerably enlarged and improved. A house near the beach, for many years known by the sign of the Anchor, afterwards a private dwelling, and about the year 1805 pulled down, is said to have been a chapel of ease, while Otterton was the mother- church. The thickness of its scone wails, the firmness of the cement by which the stones were united, and its chapel-looking door-way arched with stone, certainly 23 favoured this idea. In further confirmation of it, there ran near it a path leading from Sidbury and Sidmouth to Otterton, called Go-church, in which, till about twenty-five or thirty years ago, an ancient stone cross was standing : its situation, and the space it occupied, are still discoverable, by a difference in the pavement near the present market-house. THE OLD DISSENTING CHAPEL; Is situated at the north entrance of the town, at th« corner of Mill Lane. It is a small, white, thatched building, measuring forty-five feet long and twenty- three broad. Its exterior appearance is very humble, but within, it is neat and convenient. It was erected between eighty and ninety years ago. Previous to that time, there was a meeting-house in what is now termed Theatre Lane. It is uncertain at what time a regular dissenting congregation was formed in this place : most likely it was in the reign of Charles II. Mr. William Paulk is the first of their ministers, whose name has been preserved. He appears, as the minister of Sidmouth, to have delivered a sermon before the assembly at Exeter, September 9, 1719. The present minister is Mr. Edmund Butcher, who, having quitted London, on account of indisposi- tion, in the year 1797, received so much benefit from residing in Devonshire, as to enable him, the following year, to accept a unanimous invitation to the pastorship of this society. Since then he has laid before the public three volumes of Sermons for the use of families, an Excursion from Sidmouth to Chester, and some other pieces. In the month of June, 1811, an addition was made to the religious edifices of this town, by the opening of a very neat and commodious chapel, for the use of Protestant Dissenters of the Calvinistic persuasion. Its dimensions are about 30 feet by 40. It was erected by subscription, and has one of those useful institu- tions, a Sunday School, supported by its attendants. The Rev. Mr. Ward is its present minister. By the zeal and philanthrophy of some pious and public-spirited individuals, in the month of September, 1814, a Branch Bible Society, connected with the Auxiliary Bible Society at Exeter, was established at Sidmouth : the meeting upon the occa- sion was numerously attended. Lord Teignmouth, to whom this noble and truly Christian Institution is so deeply indebted, was kind enough to take the chair, and to accept, as was unanimously wished, the patron- age of the Society. A respectable list of subscribers Was procured, and, on the first anniversary of the Institution, the follows ing list of officers was presented to the public: Patron* Right Honourable Lord Teignmouth* President, Sir John Kennaway, Bart. Vice-Presidents, George Cornish, Esq. Robert Hunt, Esq, Treasurer, Daniel Mackinnon^EsQ; Secretaries, H. Van Hagen, Esq. Mr. M. Hall. *f he Report made upon this occasion was a very satisfactory one* it concluded with the following ani- mated paragraph : £ 30 " The times we live in are in every respect extra- ordinary; but novel and unprecedented as the occur- rences in the political world are, they are surpassed in interest and importance by the scenes which are now exhibiting, in the endeavours for the moral and reli- gious amelioration of mankind ; and while political events are shrouded in obscurity, and we hardly know the final result of any of the transactions we witness, we know assuredly, that the spread of the Scriptures shall terminate in the realization of that glorious day, when the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. In hope of the fulfilment of these predictions, we are encouraged to persevere in our exertions ; and are assured by Him who cannot lie, that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord, For ■ His name (who is the sum and substance of the Bible) shall endure for ever; His name shall be con- tinued as long as the sun, and men shall be blessed in Him; all nations shall call Him blessed, and blessed be His glorious name for ever, and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen, and Amen.' " A very useful association has lately been formed for the double purpose of relieving real distress, and guarding the benevolent from imposition. It is deno- minated, The Humane, or Poor's Friend Society, instituted in Sidmouth, December 1j, 1815, for the purpose of visiting and relieving the sick and distressed poor of Sidmouth, and its vicinity, at their own habitations. Mr. William Robins is the Treasurer, and Mr. Matthew Hall, the Secretary. 31 The following passages, from the address circulated upon the subject, will further explain the nature of its design, and the progress it has actually made : " Visitors cannot relieve previous to the case being laid before the committee, unless they should deem it quite necessary to grant immediate assistance, when one shilling may be advanced, but not more. " Subscribers to the Society are at liberty to recom- mend any case of distress, which may come to their knowledge, when visitors will, as quickly as possible, attend to such cases as shall be so recommended, and institute an enquiry into the name—parish— occupation — cause of distress — if married — number of children, with the ages of each — if application has been made to the parish, and amount of relief therefrom— relief or income from other sources, &c. &c. " Visitors will avail themselves of every opportunity to check neglect and disorder in the families of the poor; and advise them on those necessary points of economy, in which they are often defective. " Many families and individuals have been found by this Society so completely stripped of their apparel, as to be unable, after the return of health, to gain any employment, for want of a decent appearance; and the funds of this Society not being adequate to the pur- chase of even the coarsest cloathing, they beg leave to solicit, from the friends and patrons of this Society, donations of cast-off or useless clothes, or any other cheap article of wearing apparel, suitable either for men or women, boys or girls ; also blankets, sheets, &c. will be thankfully received, and appropriated with the greatest care to the most necessitous and prudent of the poor, by being sent to Mr. William Harris, grocer, Sidmouth. at April 2d, 1816. " f& Since the formation of the before-mentioned Society, in December last, every exertion has been made by the visitors to find out deserving objects of the charity, in Sidmouth and its vicinity. Relief has been afforded to sixty-four families and individuals, and not less than two hundred and sixty distinct visits made ; particulars of which are entered in a register, deposited with the Secretary of the Society, and open at all times to the inspection of its friends and sup- porters. In administering and apportioning their relief, the committee have always attended to the circum- stances of the persons requiring it, and have sometimes supplied them with articles of which they were in the more immediate w r ant ; and have adverted also to the parochial allowances, if any, which they have received." This charity will hereafter be conducted under the superintendance of the under-mentioned magistrates and gentlemen of Sidmouth and its vicinity, some of whom will meet the Committee of the Society the third Monday of every month, at one o'clock, at the London Inn, Sidmouth, to co-operate, and give them all the assistance in their power. Sir John Kennaway, Bart. Rev. Mr. Cockburn, Sir Robert Wiimot, Bart. Rev. James Bernard, George Cornish, Esq. J. James, Esq. Edward Lee, Esq. Smith Wright, Esq. Daniel Mackinnon, Esq. J. C. Girardot, Esq. Rev. H. Fellowes, Sidbury. Rev. Edmund Butcher. The Poor's Friend Society has sustained an irrepa- rable loss in the death of his late Royal Highness the Duke of Kent, who had most cheerfully subscribed, and consented to become its patron. S3 One of those useful institutions, Savings Banks, having been established at Exeter, the Rev. Mr. Cockburn, and H. Cutler, Esq. have kindly under- taken to act as receivers at Sidmouth. ACCOMMODATIONS, AMUSEMENTS, &c. There are three Inns in the town,— the London Inn, the York Hotel, and the New Inn. The original assembly and card rooms are at the London Inn ; the assembly-room is large, well fitted up, and the floor has an excellent spring ; it is generally well attended. The rooms are open for cards every night, and the Balls are frequent. Near 200 persons have been seen in this room without the assistance of a Master of the Cere- monies. Last season Mr. Marshall of the lower rooms, Bath, undertook the duties of that situation. For the few last seasons, the company have spent too great a part of their evenings at the Library. — It may well bear a question whether the older, and cer- tainly more sociable mode upon the whole, of assem- bling at the rooms, is not a preferable way of passing the evening ; nothing, however, is so variable as fashion, or so completely under the dominion of caprice, as modes of " killing time." The York Hotel is a large handsome house, newly erected. It stands on the beach, and has an uninterrupted view of the whole bay in which Sid- mouth lies. Since this establishment was completed, six other handsome houses have been built in a line with it, now known by the name of York terrace.* * The three last of these are the New Baths, a lodging-house belonging to Mr. Marman,' and the last is another; belonging to the head waiter at the York Hotel. 34 The stables belonging to the Hotel are higher up in the town, and are the same which formerly belonged to the London Inn. The London Hotel is kept by Mr. Street, and is well known also as an excellent house : it has a fine set of stables newly built, nearly opposite itself. The New Inn, is upon a smaller scale than either the London or the Hotel. Very good accommodations are to be met with here also, and it possesses a conve- nient stable. At the London Inn, and York Hotel, post-chaises, good horses, and careful drivers are to be had. Wines, porters, and liquors of all sorts are sup- plied, not only at the inns, public-houses, and several shops in the town, but of Messrs. Barrett, Follett, Robins, and Gove. Two breweries,-— one carried on by Mr. Searle, in the northern suburb of the town, called Land, and the other by Mr. Baker, in the Marsh, supply the town and the visitors with a very excellent table beverage. Mr. Pearcy, who is admirably qualified as the pro- prietor of a Boarding House, has, at a great ex pence, fitted up one upon the Beach in an undeniable situation for such an establishment. — A good Billiard-Room is contiguous to it, and the original table is removed to the present building. The Market-house is a convenient, modern brick edifice, surmounted with a ball and weathercock. PROVISIONS, are plentiful, and, in general, very good of their kinds. Beef, mutton, and pork, are excellent; and 35 veal, though not so large, nor, by excessive bleedings rendered so white, as that brought to the London markets, is very sweet. Saturdays and Tuesdays are the chief market days, but several butchers reside in the town, and every day the supply is commonly equal to the demand. Poultry and eggs are brought by the country-people to the doors of the inhabitants : the poultry is both good and cheap. Bread and cakes are supplied in abundance by several bakers. Vegetables and fruit are furnished by the gardeners of the place: of these, Arnoll, Barret and Franklin are, at this time, the principal. Fruit is also brought in from the neighbouring parishes, even from Taunton, and other distant places. LODGINGS are numerous, and may be had of almost all sizes and prices, as well as in a variety of situations. They are scattered in every part of the town and its vicinity. Those on the beach, and in the Fort-field, possessing an unbroken view of the sea, are generally the most sought after. In the town, however, as more sheltered, invalids are often ordered to reside ; and one great ad- vantage of Sidmouth is, that almost every want of this sort may be supplied. Situations, open or sheltered, in the sunshine or the shade, public or private, may be obtained. THE BEACH Is" the grand public mall: it is a delightful broad walk, upon the margin of the sea, railed and rolled in a very good style. It is nearly a third of a mile in lesgtk, and. is furnished at the extremities, and in some 30 other part9, with neatly painted, convenient double eeats, from which either the land or the sea may be contemplated with every advantage. Going westward, towards the Fort, is WALLIS's, THE ROYAL MARINE LIBRARY. This is a very neat pile of building with battlements, and at the western extremity next the Fort Field is a round tower with a flag-staff, upon which the Union is hoisted to celebrate the anniversary of each principal victory during the late war, as well as upon Royal birth-days, and other particular occasions. When Sid- mouth had no establishment of this description, the present proprietor embarked his property undar the most favorable patronage; among whom he had the honor to boast, Lord Gwydir, Lady Willoughby, Lord and Lady Le Despenser, Emanuel Baruh Lousada, Esq. and the principal nobility of the town and neigh- bourhood. The Library was first opened to the Pub- lic, June 20th, 1809, and this romantic watering-place at length boasted what it had long desired, a lounging place in a conspicuous and pleasant situation, where articles of fancy, as well as information and utility, may be met with; where the news of the day may be collected and discussed, and and opportunity given to saunterers to chat and gossip together. No situation can be more favourable for all these purposes than the Royal Marine Library, it has a veranda 42 feet in length, under one half of which is a retreat from the sun 15 feet deep, surrounded with seats. From hence the spectator commands a near and utterly unimpeded view of the sea, comprehending the immense bay within Portland and the Berry-head. Large parties 37 are often chatting on its benches : the gay and healthy are amused, and the invalid finds a spot from which he can inhale those salubrious breezes which so fre- quently suspend the ravages of disease, pour fresh oil into the lamp of life, and send him back, with reno- vated energies, to both the cares and the joys of mortality. The Library opens directly upon that charming promenade the Beach, where all the beauty and fashion of the place are often collected. It is well supplied every day with the London and provincial newspapers. Several of the most popular periodical publications are to be found upon its tables. A variety of elegant toys and trinkets, and some articles of greater utility, oc- cupy its shelves. Books of education, dissected maps, and a circulating library, to which new works are regularly added, complete an establishment which, with a continuance of the liberal encouragement so long experienced, will be, every season, increasing in variety and value. In the summer season a room behind the Library, is appropriated to the readers of the newspapers, and in winter a good fire is always kept: In the month of October 1819, Mr. Wallis had the distinguished honor, when the late Duke of Kent first visited Sidmouth, of conducting his Royal Highness to the old and new sea-water baths, &c. and was sub- sequently introduced at the York Hotel, to submit the much admired panoramic view for his Royal Highness's inspection, of which he expressed his decided approbation, and was graciously pleased to say it would afford him mucii pleasure to shew it to her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent. On the 24th of December following their Royal Highnesses and suite arrived at Sidmouth, previous to which Mr Wallis had received the honor of his appointment, 38 dated Kensington Palace, to be Bookseller, &c. to their Royal Highnesses* household. In the year 1812, an opposition Library was built by Miss Rose, and was carried on by Mr. Marsh till the year 1819, it is now shut up, and the late proprietor has established an opposition billiard-room, behind the small shop where he for a short time carried on the pastry business. A most beautiful and faithful panoramic view of the whole beach, including all the buildings upon it, the rocks at each extremity, and the hills in the back- ground, has been drawn by Hubert Cornish, Esq. engraved in aqua tinta by Havel 1, and published by Wallis, opposite whose library the view was taken. — Views of all the principal ornamental cottages and Gentlemen's residences in the environs, are to be had at Wallis' s only; and Ladies or Gentlemen wishing to preserve a recollection of any part of this coast from Weymouth to Torquay, will meet with a greater variety of prints of this description, than at any other watering-place in the kingdom. The proprietor having expended upwards of .£900 in engraving, coloring, &c. It may be mentioned as a proof of the distance at which objects may be seen from the beach, as well as a memorable historical fact, that from the veranda of the Marine Library, the Right Hon. Lord Gwydir and Lord Charles Bentinck witnessed the entrance into Torbay of his Majesty's ship Bellerophon, with Napo- leon Bonaparte on board. The lodging-houses upon the beach, and near it, having a view of the sea, are about /erfy, terminating with Rock Cottage, at the west end, belonging to Mr. Joseph Sparks, and commanding a view of the whole beach, and the eastern cliffs. Immediately beyond Rock Cottage, and crowning a projecting rock, is 39 Clifton Cottage ; built by E. B. Lousada, Esq. who has erected, at the western extremity of the same field, another, upon a more extensive scale. To this division of habitations which, from its detached and elevated situation, is denominated Clifton, Mr. HefFer has added a new house, called Westmount Cottage, overlooking the lower end of the Ham, wherein is situated Wool- brook Cottage, the property of Major-General Baynes, and the residence of his late Royal Highness the Duke of Kent. Except the billiard, card, and assembly rooms, Sidmouth has no place of public amusement. Some years ago, a small theatre was erected : an itinerant company were the performers; but the building, now converted into dwelling-houses, is a proof of the success they met with. This, however, did not prevent another attempt. A substantial building near the beach was fitted up for the purpose ; the scenery and the per- formers were both above mediocrity, and the only season in which they have performed, which was in the autumn of 1814, they were respectably attended. EDUCATION. For this important purpose provision is here made, by an establishment of a superior description for a limited number of young ladies, in a most delightful and retired situation. Mr. Edward Evans has carried on a day school for many years. His daughter, Miss Evans, keeps a day school for young ladies. At present there is no academy for young gentle- men, which offers a most desirable opportunity to a 40 Clergyman or other well-educated person, who may be desirous of commencing a respectable concern. MASTERS. Drawing— Mr. H. Hasler. Music— Mr, Williams, Harp Master. Teachers of Piano Forte and Singing— Mr. H. Wild man, and Mr. Mudge of Exeter. Dancing— Mr. and Mrs. Mason. The French language is taught, at the houses of the pupils. THE ENVIRONS OF SIDMOUTH. By these are meant the houses and estates scattered in the immediate vicinity of the town, which adorn, not merely the flat part of the vale, but the slopes of the hills which bound it on either side. In the flat part of the valley, west of the town, and open to the sea, a row of brick houses appear, in number eleven, which, if finished according to the plan laid down, would form a crescent with a small curve. — No. 4, is the residence of the Misses Schimmelpenninck ; No. 5, Capt. White, R. N. ; and No. 6, Mrs. Fulford. The rest are all let for hire. The field in which they stand is called the Fort Field, from a little fort at the end of it, in which there are still four old pieces of cannon, but the flag-staff and small ammunition-house have long ago disappeared. Entering the Fort Field from the Royal Marine Library, the first buildings that offer themselves, are two small brick dwellings with a balcony, for hire; farther on is Prospect Place, at present consisting of 41 three convenient roomy houses belonging to Mr. Denby, whose intention is to build two others adjoining. A more appropriate name could not have been found for this place; the view from it, both of Peak-hill, and the sea to the westward, is very beautiful. Fort House, built by Mr. Philips, and since become the property of Sir John Kennaway, Bart, by whom it has been greatly enlarged and beautified, stands on the eastern side of the Fort Field : it is a large house, very tastefully furnished, and is now occupied by Thomas Dash wood, Esq. Close by it, is Barton Cottage; a neat and convenient residence, built by the late Mr. Follett. Immediately adjoining, is a large house, well fitted up, and built for the purpose of letting, by Mr. Rafarel, pastry-cook and confectioner. Close by the entrance into the Fort Field, opposite the church, is a small house and garden, belonging to Miss Pleydell, also for hire. Going up the Fort Field, from Mr. Rafarel's, and separated from it by a lane, stands Rosemount, a very pleasant habitation, erected by C. E. Pigou, Esq. for- merly his residence ; but now to be let for a long or short period. At a little distance is another, of nearly the same size, denominated Violet Bank Cottage, the residence of Miss Bryett, who superintends a select establishment for a limited number of young ladies. At the northern end of the Fort Field, about a quarter of a mile from the church, is Cottington, or Cotmaton, " an ancient seat, commanding a pleasant view of the bay. It was sold by the Dukes of Otter- ton, to William Harlewin, Esq. Sir John Harlewin, who was knighted for his valour in the time of Edward IV. lived at Sidmouth. His descendants lived at Sid- mouth to the time of Charles II. 42 Cotmaton House, the residence of Henry Stuart, Esq. has been greatly improved by two handsome bow windows on the ground floor, projecting into the gai> den, and other alterations, effected since he has been in possession of it. John Carslake, Esq. is the owner of this, together with Neiv Cotmaton, a house built by John Carslake, Esq. his late uncle, almost adjoining the old one. Its front looks full on the sea, and, like the terrace, in its beautiful garden, commands a fine view of it. The latter house may be hired, and is fit for the reception of a large genteel family. Witheby, the elegant cottage, planned and built by Miss Floyd, stands at the head of a fine verdant mea- dow, which slopes down to the Fort Field, with which it is connected by a neat little bridge. This beautiful cottage ornee has been enlarged and decorated by the taste and spirit of its present possessor, Miss Wrighte, in such a manner as to render it a most lovely residence. The new carriage approach from Mill Lane, while it increases the convenience of access, adds a new beauty to the scenery around it. On the right hand, approaching Miss Wrighte's, with a beautiful lawn and shrubbery before it, and an excellent walled garden, rises the well designed and highly finished house of the Reverend James Hobson: the view from the lawn, both of sea and land, is rich and extensive. The lodge belonging to this mansion, which stands opposite the entrance into the grounds in Mill Lane, is an object of universal admiration. The ivy which creeps up its slender pillars, and hangs in festoons from its roof, gives it a simple elegance which no other ornament could have bestowed. Just at the entrance of the town, at the corner of Mill Lane, stands a substantial brick house, formerly 43 the best in Sidmouth, and long the only one of the kind. It was for many years the residence of the late Mr. Oxe'nham, and now adds one to the lodging- houses of the place. Going from thence towards Exeter, we come to the Vicarage, and a little further on, to Balsters, now the property of Samuel Giles, Esq. near this has sprang up in a short space of time, several new and tastety buildings. The two larger onesare the property of C. Marriott, Esq. that nearest the road in which his family resides, is named Temple Cottage, the other farther back is tenanted by Mrs. Pigou. Proceeding on the Honiton road about a quarter of a mile, upon an eminence on the left is Alta Villa, the intended residence of R. B. Lloyd, Esq. This has every external appearance of a gentleman's house, and when the plantations about it arrive to perfec- tion, it will be second to no habitation about this favoured resort. The principal houses in the town are, Myrtle Hall, the residence of Henry Manning, Esq.; that built by General Grinfield, now the property and residence of H. Cutler, Esq.; and the Rev. Mr. Le Merchant's. Ascending Mill Lane from Mr. Oxenham's on the left hand, is Rose Cottage ; a very neat house, built by Mr. Wm. Stocker, now the residence of Mrs. Cawne. Opposite, he has erected another, at present occupied by — GuttCras, Esq. Further up Mill Lane, and at the corner of Church Lane, is the Rustic Cottage of Lord Cwydir, which, when the family are absent, is permitted to be seen bv strangers. The exterior of this house, which was altered by his Lordship from a farm house called Old Hayes, has a fancifui and unique appearance. Its garden, which is but small, is partly an orchard: on the whole northern side of it runs a covered walk of 44 uncommon simplicity and beauty. The roof, the interior of which is formed of straight sticks, with the bark left on, is supported by two rows of oaken pol- lards, round which roses, honey-suckles, the clematis, and other climbing shrubs and flowers, twine them- selves. The walk is terminated by a small room, with seats, framed of the same rustic materials, which has the appearance of a hermitage, or chapel; the whole has very much the air of the cloister of some reli- gious edifice. ir£ Adjoining to Lord Gwydir^s is Spring Gardens, the t/ residence for the last years, and is at present tenanted by Rear- Admiral Macnamara. Immediately beyond this is the peculiarly neat and comfortable house of — Rogers, Esq. and in the field opposite Lord Gwydir's is Powys Cottage, the residence of Mrs. Powys Floyd; a second specimen of that Lady's elegant and ha ppy taste. The length of the building is 120 feet, the middle division of which is a conservatory. It is sur- rounded with beautiful shrubberies, walks, and garden ground, and commands a fine view of the church em- bosomed in rich foliage, with the sea in the distance. On a beautiful eminence, to the north of the resi- dence of — Rogers, Esq. a few years ago, Lord Le Despenser erected a Marine Villa. It is a large thatched building, forming nearly a quadrangle. It contains about forty rooms, many of which are large, and fitted up in a style of simple elegance. His Lordship sold this fanciful mansion before it was completed. Being offered as a lodging-house, it was hired by the late Marquis of Bute. Subsequently, it was purchased by s , Wm. Fauquier, Esq. whose property it still remains. The view from it-is extremely rich and picturesque. Still ascending Mill Lane, on the right hand, oppo- site Cotmaton, is the residence of the Reverend James 45 Bernard. This gentleman has shewn great taste, both in the internal and external alterations, by which he has converted a mean looking brick house into one of the most interesting cottages in the vicinity of Sid- mouth. The judicious manner in which he has thinned the luxuriant trees and shrubs with which he found the grounds crowded, while it enlarges his prospects, has really increased the beauty of the scene. Trees are, no doubt, a great beauty in a landscape ; but it is possible to have too many of them. Passing some small cottages, Miss Mills's pretty house, and Mr. Hobson's Lodge, we find, nearly oppo- site to the first turning on the left, a large and commo- dious house, beautifully situated upon a commanding eminence, with a fine and extensive prospect of land and water, the property of John Carslake, Esq.— On the other side the road, is Miss Wrighte's Shrubbery arid Carriage-way— opposite to which, is Helens, a house belonging to the Reverend Edmund Butcher, which is for hire ; and next to it, is the handsome mansion of Edward Lee, Esq. considerable additions to which have lately been made, and the shrubs and trees in its front, and on its wings, are every year, increasing its beauty. Both these houses are delightfully situated; and, between the trees, which flourish luxuriantly about them, have charming views of the sea and the sur- rounding country. Proceeding towards the hill, the extremely neat lodge of Peak House, the property and residence of the hospitable Emanuel fiaruh Lousada, Esq. is the next object of attention. The drive from the lodge up to the house is uncommonly fine— on the right hand a shrub- bery full of fragrance and beauty, through the greater part of which, there is a serpentine foot-path, and on the left an unbroken view of the ocean, at all times an G 46 interesting and elevating spectacle. The mansion itself, which has been built by that gentleman, with its grounds and gardens, in which still further improve- ments are projected, is a delightful abode. It is a considerably elevated situation, and commands a fine reach of the ocean, the white and yellow cliffs of Bere, Charmouth, and Bridport, and the bold promontory of Portland. Considerably above Mr. Baruh's, erected by him and standing on his estate, are five or six small houses ; one is a fanciful building, which, before its battlements were removed, had something of the appearance of a small fort. The other, has a veranda, and a stable and coach-house attached to it. It is needless to add, that a noble, diversified and extensive view, presents itself, from the windows of each of these mountain houses. On the southern extremity of Peak Hill stood a signal house, now happily untenanted. In fine weather, this is often the boundary of a ride or a walk, and the lovers of landscape beauty, not only from this point, but in the several stages of their progress, are richly rewarded for the labour of the ascent, by the vast pano- rama which spreads its ample circle around them. Sea and land unite in this picture. If any vessels are passing, here they must be visible ; and on the land 'side the prospect is replete with all the charms which nature and art can give to such a scene. The ridges of the hills, which, in every direction, bound the view, are for the most part without cultivation ; but this comparative sterility only serves to augment the rich- ness of the general prospect: by the contrast, the fine foliage of the trees and hedges is shown to the greater advantage, Fertility and beauty unite in every part of the scene ; the landscape is complete; the earth clothed with verdure, the air balmy and refreshing, orchards 47 and gardens, hills of all dimensions, large stacks of hay and corn, and a multitude of habitations, many of them a pure white, which harmonizes so well with the azure above and the green below. The tops of the hills afford full scope for the entertainment and health which are combined in equestrian exercise. ^ At the western extremity of the Fort Field, is Bel-yP**^^ . mont, the property of Sir Joseph Scott, Bart, who has made very considerable additions and improvements, both in the house and grounds, since it came into his possession. In a narrow low slip of ground, called a ham, immediately adjoining, which is watered by a serpen- tine stream, and by nature forming a lovely dell, lies Woolbrooke Cottage, the property of Major-General Baynes, and the residence, during his short stay here, of his late Royal Highness the lamented Duke of Kent, his Duchess, and their suite. — No expence has been spared by the General to make this charming retreat complete. A sight of it must command admiration. Close by the church-yard, commanding a beautiful view into the country, and looking upon a pleasant meadow, is Amy at' 's Place, a row of small houses, built in an uniform manner by the late J. Amyat, Esq.— On the opposite side of the meadow four houses are erecting, which when completed are to be named Cobourg Terrace-, that finished at the eastern extremity is occupied by the Rev. Edmund Butcher. On the right hand side of the lane, immediately above Sir John Kennaway's stables, two small lodging- houses form one side of a square, the higher end of which is occupied by a neat house, termed, from the year in which it was erected, Jubilee Cottage. On the left hand of the lane, beyond Rafarel's stables, stands an old house, with a garden and summer house, 48 which looks into the Fort Field, and has a fine view of Peak Hill. Behind Rosemount, is a small neat box, which bears the name of Elm-tree Cottage. The house built by the Rev. P. Story is a plain, handsome building, in one of the most secluded situa- tions in Sidmouth ; it had formerly a pleasant garden, between what may be called the High-street and the Church, but which is now leased to an eminent gardener. — When this House possessed the great ac- quisition of a pleasure ground, &c. it afforded to an invalid the most delightful retreat imaginable. On the eastern side of Sidmouth valley, after passing down the marsh, and leaving on the left hand Mr. Baker's brewery, the Sidmouth School appears (en- closed within a brick wall). It was established June 22d, IS 12, for the education of the infant poor, in the principles of the Established Church, according to Dr. Bell's plan, and is supported by voluntary subscriptions. Patron, Patroness, and Presidents. The Rt. Hon. Lord Gwydiu and Lady Willoughby. Spiritual Governor. The Vicar of Sidmouth for the time being. Vice Presidents and Committee. Lady Kennaway, Sir J. Kennaway, Bart. Mrs. Jenkins, Sir Jos. Scott, Bart. Mrs. Hobson, The Rev. J. Hobson, Mrs. Pcwys Floyd, Rev. W. Jenkins, jun. Mrs. Ful ford, ' Geo. Cornish, Esq. Mrs. Reynolds, E. B. Lousada, Esq. Henry Cutler, Esq. Treasurer, Mr. John Newbery. 49 " August 23, 1814.— At a Meeting of the Subscri- bers, held at the School Room, it was resolved— " That this meeting see with considerable satisfac- tion the increasing utility of this institution, and are gratified at finding that nearly fifty children are now educating in the school." At the end of 1819, the school contained 23 girls and 72 boys. Still further on is the Poor House ; and next to the Corn Mill, a neat house belonging to Mr. Marman. Having crossed the wooden bridge, you are conveyed into Salcombe parish. Directly opposite the the bridge is the private foot path to Salcombe Hill, the mansion of George Cornish, Esq. This edifice, which has a handsome colonade in front, and the luxu- riant and beautiful scenery with which it is surrounded, enrich and adorn the eastern boundary of Sidmouth. Myrtle Cottage, originally decorated by the taste of Miss Campbell, is delightfully situated, immediately under Salcombe Hill. The exterior of its garden, is washed by the Sid. Its last possessor, A. J. Ram, Esq. has added a green-house, and at a great ex pence, very much enlarged and improved the premises, contributing in an eminent degree, to the truly attractive scenery of Sidmouth. One of the principal beauties of this scenery, is Egypt Cottage, pleasantly perched, like a nest in a grove, upon the lowest ridge of Salcombe hill, directly above Myrtle Cottage, the residence of the Rev. G. J. Cornish. From the grounds of George Cornish, Esq. which extend to the sea, a near view of the town is to be obtained— the little bay in which it is secluded— many of the indentations of the coast— the deep-ribbed side of the High Peak, the western boundary of the ever- memorable Torbay, and Berry-Head, which appears plunging into the distant waves, and marking the lino 50 ■frhich separates the sky from the land. It is thought that the most extensive land view is to be had from this eastern height; the eye ranges over a space of at least forty miles, and rests the extremity of its vision upon the most elevated points of Dartmoor, The public road towards Lyme passes in front of Mount Pleasant, the property of Mrs. Pollard. On the left hand, in Sid Lane, delightfully situated in a fine lawn, and surrounded with sylvan scenery, is Salcombe House, the property, and, for a part of the year, the residence of the Rev. Mr. Cockburn: the river, which runs through the grounds, and on the side of which there is a walk open to the public, is, espe- cially when swollen by rain, a fine feature in the landscape. A little beyond Salcombe House is Hill's Cottage, now the property of the Misses Leigh, late of Slade. — On the right hand of the lane beyond, is the new house of Thomas Lyde, Esq. and in a field nearly opposite, the elegant box of R. Miles, Esq. At a still greater distance from the town, lies Sid Cliff, the secluded and truly romantic cottage of J. Bacon, Esq. The building beyond Sid Cliff Cottage, has been named Sid Ahbeyj for what reason it is difficult to conceive, as the house, previous to its coming into the hands of the present posssessor, formed the stables be- longing to Sid Cliff. A considerable sum of money has been expended to form the present residence. The prospect however at the back part is very rich and picturesque. Subscriptions are now open for throwing a neat bridge over the river Sid. The new road is intended to be cut through the corner of the lawn belonging to Salcombe House, and to be continued on the opposite side of the river, through a field the property of the 51 Rev. Win. Jenkins, to enter the main road from Exeter ■and Honiton between the Vicarage and the corner of Mill Lane. This improvement will not only be orna- mental to the town, but of infinite advantage to the higher class of inhabitants in Salcombe parish. For the indulgence of that occasional retirement from the world which is so conducive to health of body, and to the refreshment and vigour of the mind, and in which wise and virtuous spirits have, at all times, so much delighted, the immediate vicinity of Sidmouth is peculiarly calculated : — it abounds with lanes, many of them of considerable length and variety, more or less sequestered, and at all times perfectly safe, in which, either on foot or horseback, the delights of solitude, or of society upon a small scale, may be enjoyed. The beach, on the contrary, offers to such as are most happy in a crowd, whose grand enjoyment it is to see and be seen, a walk, in which, at almost all times, amusement and health are to be found. Few, indeed, are those days in the year, on which, in some part or other of them, if not the whole, a promenade on the beach is not dry and agreeable. After a storm, considerable quantities of marine plants, which have been torn from the beds upon which they grow, are left upon the sand and pebbles below the beach:— as the drying and preserving of these is, to many, a very interesting amusement, the follcwing directions, taken from ' Donovans Instruc- tions for collecting and preserving Subjects of Natural History,' are submitted to their notice. " All the smaller plants should be expanded under water, in a plate, upon a piece of writing-paper, sunk to the bottom. In this state they will assume their natural form and position. The paper, with the plant upon it, must be withdrawn from the water 52 gently; and the plant and paper must afterwards be placed between two or three sheets of blotting-paper, and pressed with a book or flat board. When taken from hence, it is to be put between fresh sheets of paper, until all the moisture appears to be gone. It is then to be laid up in a quire of blotting-paper, under pressure, for a day or two, when, if dry, it may be placed permanently upon writing-paper. The larger coria- ceous kinds require a good deal of drying, in successive changes of paper, and in a very dry room, or near the fire. When once dried, and put into a herbarium, they seldom become damp again.'* BATHING, that salutary and pleasant custom, that chief avowed reason for which such numbers every year quit the towns, and crowd to the coast of our island, and so important an article to the invalid, is, at Sidmouth, both commodious and reasonable. Eight machines, which are conveniently placed a little to the westward of the town, are constantly ready: the terms are, one shilling for each gentlemen the first time, and sixpence for every time afterwards. Ladies one shilling and six- pence the first time, and one shilling after. WARM SEA BATHS, fitted up in an extremely convenient and comfortable stile, have been established both by Mr. Hodge, and Messrs. Stocker and Longmore ; they embrace every mode of bathing. The former having been exclusively used by their Royal Highnesses the (late) Duke and 53 Duchess of Kent and suite, are best known as the Royal Baths,— The New Baths are charmingly situated in the centre of York Terrace. To assist these means of preserving and restoring health, there is a resident Physician, Dr. James Mat- thews, with four or five Surgeons and Apothecaries. Chemicals and drugs of the most superior qualities, are professed to be sold by Mr. Penn, at his Narthe- cium, and by Mr. George Atkins in the High-street, at both of which houses, approved Patent Medicines are vended. SEA BATHING. Those persons who are fond of swimming, or pre* .fer bathing without the use of a machine, should be informed, that a little to the west of the beach there is a fine sequestered bay, in which they may, in calm weather, be safely gratified. The border is a fine sand; upon which, at high water, the bather may walk out for a long distance, without being immersed higher than the breast. While it is our duty to ac- quaint visitors of this acquisition, it is our first wish to recommend the use of Machines ; both for the benefit of the proprietors and the bather, particularly the invalid. The piunge into the element should assuredly supersede the practice of walking in by degrees. " Sea bathing," says Dr. Buchan, " is good for one reason, because the sea is a cold bath. The time ot bathing ought to be postponed till past noon, or at least till some hours after breakfast, when the digestion of that meal may be supposed to be terminated ; and such a degree of exercise should always be taken pre- viously to entering the water, as may be sufficient to H 54 produce a sensation of a warmth over the whole body. By no means go into the water chilly." CLIMATE. The air of Sid mouth is sometimes moist, but always pure, and, with very few exceptions, mild and soft. There are no stagnant waters in its vicinity, but, as has been already remarked, a number of the purest streams constantly flowing. Many of the faculty think the air of Sidmouth equal to that of the south of France, and very com- monly recommend it to invalids, particularly to those who are affected by, or have a tendency to, consump- tions. The natives and stated inhabitants of the place are, in general, healthy and strong, and live to a good old age. Eighty and ninety are ages frequently to be met with, and some few live to more than a hun- dred years. A striking proof of the mildness of the Sidmouth air is, that both the large and small leaved myrtles are planted out of doors, and bear the winter without any shelter; against many houses and garden walls they rise to a great height. All kinds of geraniums, phusias, and other tender plants, flourish luxuriantly at this place, with very little attention. It is remarkable, that storms very seldom occur in this part of Devonshire; the thunder is generally very distant, and the lightning mild and beautiful; it is often seen when no thunder can be heard— a proof that the explosion takes place at a great distance. This gene- ral freedom of the south of Devonshire from storms is so established a fact, that Mrs. Piozzi, who, in the year 178S, passed some time at Exmouth, thus empha- tically refers to it, in a prologue which she wrote for a company of itinerant players, who were then perform- ing at that place. " By many a wave, by many alempest tost, Our shipwreck'd hopes we cast on Devon's coast, Where the soft season swells the ripening grain, And verdure brightens with refreshing rain ; Where lightnings never glare, nor thunders roar, And chilling blasts forget their freezing power." Occasional storms, however, are by no means to be considered as an unnecessary part of the economy of nature. •' After, by a storm, the lower stratum of the atmosphere has been throughly mixed with the surface of the water of the sea, the air is more pure and salu- brious. Even hurricanes improve the healthiness of the climates where they take place."— How just, as well as pious upon this subject, is the remark of Dr. Buchan! " Thus, while contemplating the tempest, that in its rage appears to convolve sea and sky, we learn to revere the Author of nature, who in his wisdom has ordained this awful instrument, which, while it sweeps from the surface of the earth that noxious vapour, whose accumulation would eventually put an end to animal existence) blends it with the agitated waters of the ocean, in whose bosom it becomes harmless, and is, probably, rendered subservient to some useful purpose." Sometimes, at Sidmouth, as in other parts of Eng- land, a very hot day occurs, and then the following account, given by Dr. Maton, is accurate; but it is seldom that, even in such eases, the heat is not tern- 5(5 pered by a refreshing breeze. " At the time of a clear bummer sk)', Sidmouth is intensely hot: its low situa- tion, a broad bed of pebbles, and the glare of the lofty red cliffs, act as so many reverberators." The West of England has been commonly consi- dered as more rainy than almost any other part of the island. This is by no means a well-established fact. A gentleman, at Plymouth, not long ago, assured us, in one of the periodical publications, that, by comparing the accounts which he, and a friend of his in the upper part of Yorkshire, had kept for some years, of the quantity of rain which fell in those two distant points, the balance was in favour of the West; that is, during that period more rain fell in Yorkshire than at Ply- mouth. In the vicinity of the sea, and in the neigh- bourhood of lofty hills, it may, perhaps, be admitted, that in general more rain falls than in an open level country. A gentleman of Sidmouth has furnished this work with the following table of the number of days on which any rain has fallen at that place, since the 1st of January 1800. Perhaps on full half of them, only one shower, and that, frequently, an inconsiderable one, caused the day on which it fell to be put on the black list, in looking, therefore, at the number of wet days, this circumstance is to be recollected. RAIN AT SIDMOUTH: Years. Wet. Dry. 1800 ..... 146 219 1801 147 218 1802 147 218 1803 134 231 1804 ... \ . 162 203 57 Years. Wet. Dry. 1805 151 .... . 214 1806 178 187 1807 165 200 1808 178 187 1809 192 173 1810 182 183 1811 185 180 1812 175 ..... 190 1813 147 ..... 218 1814 147 ♦ .... 218 1815 170 193 1816 ..... 121 244 1817 178 . , ... 187 1818 162 203 1819 170 ..... 195 In these twenty years, therefore, the average num- ber of wet days, as before described, appears to be 161 and 17 oyer. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. Lowest State of the Thermometer at the following places, Friday morning, February 9, 1816. Stamford Hal], Leicestershire, a little aften eight o'clock in the morning . . > Nottingham, half past seven . Exeter, by a Register . Heavitree, at eight ..... Sidmouth, by a Register . . . o 1 4 2 18 21 21 5S Lowest Slate of the Thermometer at the following places, Saturday morning, January 15, 1820. Blackheath ...... below Zero. Stratford, near Bow 1 Tottenharn, Middlesex ..... 1 Lewes, Sussex 2| Eltham, Kent . . . . . . .4 Staffordshire 6 Shropshire 7 Barton-street, Westminster 9 Exeter ........ 13f Sidmouth . 16 The Thermometer at Sidmouth, situated north-east at Wallis's Royal Marine Library, during the severe January of 1820, average 36°, was never below 16°, and several days between 40° and 50°. NATURAL PRODUCTIONS. Among the cliffs, and in the beautiful shady lanes of Sidmouth, the lover of natural history may find much to study, and much to amuse him. The botanist may cull a variety of plants, and the admirer of fossils collect many of the curious internal productions of the earth. Pholens of great beauty are occasionally met with, and the stones of the cliffs, many of them, are mixed with echince marines, petrified coral, and other similar productions. The cornu ammonis is to be found here, of all sizes ; one of the inhabitants of the town has got a very fine one, of an embellished metallic appearance, above twenty inches in diameter, which he found in the cliffs. 59 In the little basins, worn by the-waves in the rocks, elegant corallines abound; and not unfrequently that wonderful marine production the temone, or animal flower. It is difficult, indeed impossible, to decide to which of the kingdoms of nature, the animal or vege- table, this half-animated substance belongs. It possesses a kind of fungus consistency, by which it adheres to the rocks, while the part presented to the eye has the appearance of a multitude of small snakes, of various and beautiful colours, which diverging from a centre, spread into'a circle, something like the corolla of the anemone, from which it derives its name— these threads are in constant motion. This creature is found in the little pools among the rocks, where it is constantly covered with water. Spars, transparent and crystalized, in various forms, particularly the rhomboidal and hexangular, are found in various parts of Devonshire. On a great number of the lime rocks, calcareous incrustations are found. Lime and marble are produced in almost all parts of the country, except the moor-stone districts. Many of these marbles, as the chimney-pieces of most of the new houses of Sidmouth prove, for their hardness and beautiful veinings, rival the best Italian marble, and when polished, fall very little short of it in lustre. Most of the marble of Devonshire which is not black, is a sort of flesh colour, with brownish spots and viens of different shades. The late Lord Courtenay had specimens of all the different marbles in this county, in small squares, polished; and Lord Clifford has lately presented a large table, formed of similar materials, to the " Literary and Philosophical Institution" at Exeter. Some very good specimens of this coast are to be met with, and a great variety from Cornwall and 60 the neighbourhood, at Kingwill's Repository in the Marsh, where may be seen fine specimens of the Devonshire marble. THE LIME upon this coast is, in general, very plentiful, and some of it of a very good quality. It is used in great quanti- ties for manure, as well as the usual purposes to which lime is applied. A lime-stone quarry was wrought some years ago, at Little Gatcombe, in the parish of Colyton. There are lime quarries at Branscombe and Salcombe, which are worked in the following manner : The workmen cut a large opening near the sea, take oft' the head, wheel it to the ciiff, and there discharge their loads into the sea, as the cliff is exceedingly high and steep. They have kilns upon the spot to burn the lime. The cliffs on each side of Torbay, Berry- head, Hope's-nose, and so round to Babbacombe, are entirely of lime-stone. Alabaster is found in great plenty in the cliffs near Sidmouth, as well as in various other parts of Devon- shire; its texture is granular, with shining particles; it is a deposition from the water that distils through the lime-stone rocks. As Geology, a branch of science so highly inte- resting in itself, is every day becoming more popular, the author of this work is happy in having it in his power to enrich it with the following geological remarks upon South Devon, from the pen of Mr. Robert Bake- well, Mineralogical Surveyor, the well-known author of the Introduction to Geology, &c. 61 " TO THE REV. E. BUTCHER. " My dear Sir, " In compliance with your request to communicate my observations on the geology of the country in the vicinity of Sidmouth, I send you the following brief remarks on some of the leading features, which may interest the general reader. " The southern coast, from Portland Head to Ex- mouth, exhibits a fine section of the different strata as they rise in succession to the south-west, the sea having laid bare the surface, and presented a perpendicular face of rock nearly along the whole line. The southern counties, east of Portland, Hampshire, Sussex and Kent, are almost exclusively occupied with rocks of the chalk formation, and their accompanying beds of sand and clay. The roe-stone which succeeds, termi- nates at Portland. Between Portland and Bridport Bay there appears to have been a considerable break in the strata, and the green sand, which, in its regular position, is above the roe-stone, may be seen rising from the sea, east of Bridport : this stratum, which is provincially called fox-mold, extends far to the west, as we shall have subsequently to observe. " The blue lias, covered by the green sand, rises from the sea near Bridport, and extends from thence to the river Ax, with little interruption. This is the most remarkable and best characterized of any of the British strata; the whole thickness of this bed cannot be less than two hundred yards. It is composed of numerous thin strata of dark grey lime-stone, combined with much clay and iron, and some manganese. Many of the strata form an excellent water lime-stome; the beds of i 62 dark clay which intervene abound with pyrites, and have been known to take fire spontaneously. The strata rises gradually to the south-west, but there are numerous faults, or breaks, which throw them down on the western side of such breaks from ten to thirty feet. " Large masses from the perpendicular cliffs of lias are constantly falling down, and discovering the im- bedded petrifactions of numerous tribes of extinct animals. The lias limestone is the lowest of the British limestones that contain the remains of oviparous qua- drupeds, or of any vertebrated animals, that is, such which have a brain and spinal marrow. Remains of fossil alligators, in a mutilated state, are very frequently found. I was fortunate enough to obtain part of a small jaw, very perfect ; on comparing it with the drawings of Cuvier, it nearly resembles that of the Gangetic crocodile. About a mile west of Lyme, there is a small formation of chalk at Pinney, resting on the fox-mold, over the lias. The lias continues to near Axminster, where several of the lower beds lose their dark grey colour, and are called white lias. This white lias may be seen distinctly resting on the red marie east of Axminster. " It may be proper to observe, that the same bed of lias runs northward, through Dorset, Somersetshire and Gloucestershire, and into some of the northern counties of England, carrying with it, in its whole extent, numerous fossil remains of ammonites, penta- crinites, nautilites, scaly fish and the bones of alligators. Near Bath, it is more indurated and crystaline than in Dorsetshire. The red marie, which succeeds the lias, is suddenly broken on the west side of the Ax, and a small formation of chalk makes its appearance at Beer, where we are presented with a fantastic range of chalk 63 rocks and caverns, the chalk forming perpendicular cliffs, projecting into the sea. The fox mold, or green sand, succeeds, and then the red marie, which extends from near Beer to Sidmouth, and to the west of Ex- mouth, constituting a range of precipitous cliffs, rising from the sea more than 800 feet, in several parts of its course, particularly in Salcombe and Peak Hills. The red marie, as it has been denominated by some geolo- gists, consists of silicious particles, mixed with clay, and deeply coloured by the red oxyd of iron : various beds of stratified sand-stone occur in it, particularly at Heavitree, near Exeter ; these strata are evidently of mechanical formation, and contain imbedded fragments of slate, nnd amygdaloid, similar to the rocks on the west of Exeter. " Geologists have been perplexed, in attempting to class the red marie with the rocks in Werner's system, some supposing it to occupy the place of what he deno- minates the old red sand-stone. But without stopping to inquire what place it occupies in any geological system, I will briefly state what place it really occupies in Devonshire. " I have before observed, that it rises from under the lias lime-stone ; now where this lime-stone occurs it is always above the coal formation, but, in the south of Devon, the coal formation is entirely wanting, and also the mountain lime-stone under the coal, and the red marie supplies the place of both, extending from the river Ax to some miles west of the Ex, where it is found resting on coarse slate, provincialiy called shillet.— The east side of Exeter stands' on the red marie, the west on the slate or shillet. Near the ter- mination of red marie on the west, various rocks of basaltic formation, provincialiy called dun-stone, fre- 64 quenlly occur between the slate and the red marie, and, in many parts, the rocks of dun-stone project through the red marie. "The dun-stone differs much in its quality; in some parts it is a sienite, and passes into green-stone, or trap, in other parts it is more like what the Germans would call a compact grey wacke; sometimes it as- sumes all the appearance of real lava, containing numerous hollow cells, and presenting a dry and burnt aspect: in this state it cannot be distinguished from many volcanic lavas. Were I to hazard a conjecture respecting the formation of the red marie, I should say that it had been derived from the debris, or waste, of extensive basaltic rocks, of which the present rocks of dun-stone are only the remains, and it adds probabi- lity to this opinion, that the red marie on the east side of the dun-stone is always fdled with fragments of the same kind of rock with that which is in its more im- mediate vicinity. For a knowledge of this fact, I am indebted to B. VY. Johnson, Esq. Surgeon, Exeter. The red marie, in some parts, contains beds of gypsum, and I should not think it improbable that rock-salt or brine-springs may exist in some parts of Devon occu- pied by this extensive stratum. 1 now return to speak of the green sand or fox-mold, which, 1 hough a mem- ber of the chalk formation, and immediately subjacent to chalk, is carried not only over the lias, but over the red marie, and forms caps on many of the highest hills, from Black Down, on the east, to Hal Down, six miles west of Exeter; it contains numerous silicious masses conglomerated, in which a kind of opaque hornstone may be traced, passing into fiint— the flint also may be traced passing into beautiful calcedony, and the calce- dony again forming into quartz crystals. I am satis- 65 fied that the process is now going on, though we are at present unacquainted with the causes by which it is effected. Numerous marine shells, ammonites, &c. occur in the green sand, proving incontestibly, that the highest hills in this part of Devonshire were once buried under the waves of the ocean, of which we have also a further proof in the heaps of rounded peb- bles and gravel on the high ground between Sidmouth and Exeter. It would be foreign to.the purport of my letter to describe the rocks below the red marie and dun-stone, but I may just observe, that the slate round Dartmoor is remarkably twisted and bent, and contains in some parts beds of transition-limestone; it is suc- ceeded by granite, which forms the base and summit of Dartmoor, and extends from thence, with some interruption, to the Land's End in Cornwall. " I am, my dear Sir, " With much esteem, " Tour's very truly, " ROB. BAKEWELL." "13, Tavistock Street, Bedford Square, May 16, 1816." The following Sonnet, written upon a return t» Sidmouth, will not unsuitably close the first part of this little work :— • Sidmouth ! Hygeia's chosen seat I Again receive me : let me greet Thy ruddy cliffs, thy pebbly beach, Thy broad majestic ocean reach, \nd streams that murmur tbro' thy green retreat. 66 Thy primrose banks, thy balmy skies, Thy lofty trees which graceful rise, Thy lanes and orchards, mountain-bound, Thy fields with ceaseless verdure crown'd, And every gem w hich Flora's hand supplies. Sweet realm of peace, my chosen home, To thee with joy again I come : The lamp of life but dimly burns, But when my step to thee returns, Willi brighten'd ray shoots up the ruddy flame, And lights afresh the renovated frame. THE BEAUTIES OF PART II. AMONGST the attractions of a watering-place, thosfe' which are contained in the country immediately about it, must always be reckoned as some of the most consi- derable. It will be the object of this part of the volume, to point out the principal rides which branch out from Sidmouth. The vicinity of Sidmouth, as has been already observed, is peculiarly fitted for pleasant rambles, and short picturesque rides. There are also several places in its neighbourhood, which may serve as good objects for still longer excursions ; of these it will be proper to give a somewhat detailed account. Sidmouth is distant from Otterton three miles, from Salterton seven, from Exmouth twelve, from Lymp- stone ten, from Topsham twelve, from Exeter fifteen, from St. Mary Ottery seven, from Harpford four, from Honiton ten, from Colyton nine, from Seaton ten, from Beer seven, from Branscombe five, from Salcombe two, from Axminster fifteen, and from Lyme sixteen. 68 RIDE FROM SIDMOUTH, EASTWARD. SALCOMBE, or the Salt Vale, now called Salcombe Regis, is a small parish, east of Sidmouth, between two and three miles broad from west to east, that is, from Sidmouth town to a place in Branscombe called Weston Mouth. The sea coast of it is thus described. " The cliff beyond Sidmouth is of a red stone, beyond which there is a narrow valley, at the upper end of which the church of Salcombe is situated. Beyond this valley rises ano- ther hill, having a high steep cliff towards the sea, the lower part of which is of red stone, and the upper part of freestone. Dipping towards the sea, on Salcombe Head, there is a quarry where stones are dug, as they are likewise in a narrow vale, which runs up between Salcombe Head and Dunscombe, the next headland eastward. The stone here lies near the surface in some places. The eastern side of this hill seems to have been much worked, and there is little doubt that the Salcombe stone, of which so great a quantity was used in building the Cathedral of Exeter, was dug on the side of this hill ; for there are very few quarries in any- other part of the parish. The principal sorts of free-stone found in Devon- shire, are dug in the adjoining parishes of Salcombe, Branscombe and Beer. That at Salcombe is a sandy grit, closely united, rather coarser than the Portland stone, and very hard. It works easily in the quarry. A proof how well it bears the weather, is to be seen at the Cathedral of Exeter, the outside of which is all 69 built of Salcombe stone, and though some of it has been erected six hundred years, it is very little, if at all, worn by the weather. The Branscombe stone i9 not supposed to bear the weather so well ; and the free- stone of Beer is of a much softer nature and finer grit than that of Salcombe. When hewn out of the quarry, the free-stone of Beer cuts as soft as the Bath stone, which it greatly resembles. The principal village of this parish is Seed, a long straggling place, which has been already mentioned as lying by the river 5/c?,and containing Salcombe House, Hill's Cottage, Sid Cliff, and the house called Sid Abbey. The road from Sidmouth to Lyme passes through it, and falls into the road from Exeter to Lyme, a little to the eastward of Sidford. The hill, which begins at this junction, is called Trow Hill, and on the top of it, towards the sea, lies Trow, a village of six or seven houses. Knole or Knowl, a house charmingly situated in a small luxuriant valley on the north of Trow Hill, a good view of which is to be obtained from a gate at the top, has long been the property and residence of the Woolcotts. Slade House, placed at the head of a most beautiful and richly wooded vale, commands a delightful view of the sea : it was built by the late William Leigh, Esq. and is now the residence of his son : the estate for- merly belonged to the Michells of Salcombe. Salcombe Church, a small edifice, but built upon a handsome model, is dedicated to St. Peter, whose image, with the usual insignia of the keys, appears on the out- side of the chancel window. There is a room adjoining the church, called the Chapel, which was, probably, a place of worship before the church was built. 70 In this church not many monumental inscriptions remain. Over a pew in the middle aisle, opposite to the pulpit, is a mural monument, which was long since erected to the memory of the family of Michell, of Slade, in this parish. On this monument are the arms of Michell impaling those of Roice, and the inscription has heen continued, and includes the date of the death of Captain Thomas Michell,. the last male of the name, on the 8th of September, 1785, by his only nephew, Isaac Heard, Garter Principal King of Arms. This family of Michell, previously to their removal to Slade, resided for nearly two centuries in a mansion called " Seaside House" within the parish of Brans- combe, (now a farm-house belonging to Lady Rolle, and tenanted by Mr. Bartlett:) its situation is salubrious, beautiful, retired and luxuriant, and near the sea. There is an interesting tradition in the family, which has been conveyed to us by a respectable authority, viz. : That when James Duke of Monmouth landed at Lyme, in June 1685, a great number of people followed him and his party ; many from ignorance, many from curiosity, and doubtless some, perhaps many, from dislike to the government of King James II. After the defeat of the Duke at Sedgemore, the west of England was subjected to the most wanton ravages of military tyranny, under the orders of Feversham and his followers. The savage Kirke became the execu- tioner of numbers at and in the vicinity of Bridgewater ; and the inhuman and infamous Jefteries followed, to complete, by the rigours of the law, the work of destruction. Hundreds of poor, ignorant, and unde- signing " rebels" (as they were called) were condemned to death by terrified juries, and their quarters hung up, 71 in terrorem, in the different cross-ways. Pomfret, in his Poem entitled " Cruelty and Lust," has patheti- cally described the monster Kirke ! According to the tradition above mentioned, a num- ber of these unfortunate persons informed against for having been seen among Monmouth's followers, yet wholly innocent as to any overt act of rebellion, or intention of committing any offensive acts, were shel- tered in a cavern, or secret recess or recesses, on the sea-shore, near to Sea-side House, the mansion of the Michells, and supported with provisions by John Michell, Esq. the great-grandfather of Sir Isaac Heard, and his wife, during several weeks, or, at least, until the fury of the judge and executioners, and the rigour of the government under James, had begun to subside. The above-mentioned John Mitchell (who was a steady adherent of the royalist party) paid <£140. as a composition for his estate, as appears by a list of the nobility, clergy and gentry, who compounded for their estates in Devonshire in 1655. The estate was after- wards wrested from him by the violence of the times, but re-purchased — yet he met rather better treatment than many others;— for William Isack, of Gittisham, Esq. father of his wife Joan, was considered to be a strong adherent of the Cromweliian interest. This John Michell died in 1710, aged 80— his wife Joan, the sole daughter and heir of the said William Isack, in September 1730, aged 100— and Ursula Michell, his mother, whose family name was Drake, died in 1690, aged also 100. These three persons were buried in Branscombe Church ; and their advanced ages may be adduced as some proof of the salubrity of the air in which they resided. Pvisdon says, " Salcombe is a place numbered amongst those which King Canute bequeathed to the 72 church of St. Peter in Exeter, to expatiate his father Swaine's barbarous cruelty against the church in these parts." A neat modern parsonage-house, situated near the church, at the foot of a beautiful little hill, has a peculiarly snug and comfortable appearance. The village itself consists of about eight houses, including Coombe, a farm, about two-thirds of the way between the church and the sea, and under delightful hanging woods, the residence of Mr. William Follett. Few places are more susceptible of improvement than this charming spot. Nature has done so much, that art has only to bestow a few embellishing touches: there is much to adorn, but nothing to create. " England's Gazetteer," published in 1751, under the article " Salcombe," says, " In the civil wars, here •was a fort, called Charles Fort, bravely defended against the Parliament forces, by Sir Edmund Fortescue, though he was at last forced to capitulate." BRANSCOMBE lies east of Salcombe. This is a most romantic spot: the lofty clitf's which defend it from the sea, are in many parts of it, paralelled at a small distance by inland hills, which abound with orchards., hanging woods, and enclosures, covered with grass or grain. Three vallies, forming a sort of triangle, meet near the church, which stands nearly in the middle of the parish. Through each of these vallies rapid streams descend, which, uniting in the bottom, flow on together to the ocean. Branscombe is separated from Beer by a small brook. " It coasteth the sea," says Risdon, " and is full of coombes and vallies." 73 In Weston, a village of four farm houses, all but one of which are in ruins, John Stuckey, Esq. some years ago erected a handsome mansion : the old man- sion and estate descended to him by inheritance ; by him it was bequeathed to its present possessor, J. Bart- let Stuckey, Esq. Edge, or Egge, in this parish, situated on an oval hill, was the dwelling-place of Richard Branscombe, in the reign of Edward III. It soon afterwards came to Sir John Wadham, the Judge; who, though remark- able for fluency of speech, never talked but with gra- vity and discretion, and who tempered all his words and actions with spirit and judgment. His reputation as a lawyer was very high. To his original estates he made many additions, among which was the rich manor of Silverton. He died in the reign of Henry IV. and was most probably buried in the family vault in Branscombe Church. The family of Wadham, who derived their name from the place of their origin and habitation, Wadham, near South Molton, possessed Edge for eight descents, in a direct line, Jive of whom were knights. The last of the family, Nicholas Wad- ham, of Edge, married Dorothy, the daughter of Sir William Petre. Having no issue, his sister's children became his heirs; but as he had made a very large addition to his patrimony, he determined to lay it out in founding a college. To him, therefore, and Dorothy his wife, Oxford is indebted for the foundation and establishment of Wadham College. Branscombe Church, dedicated to St. Winifred, supposed to have been a native of Devonshire, is larger than St. Peter's, at Salcombe. It contains some monu- ments : on that erected to the memory of John Wad- ham, " time," says Prince, " has rendered somewhat imperfect the following inscription : 74 11 Here lieth iatombed the body of a virtuous and ancient gen- tlewoman, descended of the ancient house of the Plantagenets, sometime of Cornwall, namely Joan, one of the daughters and heirs unto John Tregarthin in the county of Cornwall, Esq. She was first married unto John Kellaway, Esq. who had by her much issue: after his death, she was married to John Wadham, of Me- rifield, in the county of Somerset, Esq. and by him had children. She lived a virtuous and godly life, and died in an ho- nourable age, September in the year of Christ 1581." BEER is a small place, lying between very steep hills, about a mile from Seaton. Many of the houses are built of free-stone, from the famous free-stone quarry. The Cove is well calculated for fishing, and, from its situa- tion, capable of being made one of the best fishing- places of the kingdom. Great quantities of fish are caught and brought in here; but a much larger quan- tity is sent off, by contract, to the markets of Taunton and Bath, and some even to London. The classic author of the " Fisher Boy," a pecu- liarly faithful descriptive Poem, lately published, has, in a note, some very just remarks, which are applica- ble, riot only to the sea-scenery of Beer, but to various other parts of the coast. «« I have frequently repaired with a party of friends, to dine on some rocky eminence, bearing the cold pro- visions on a donkey. Upon such occasions, the cloth being spread on the grass, we have enjoyed a meal, surrounded by a grandeur of scenery that bade dehance to the most sumptuous edifices reared by the hand of art. From the maddening height the expanded bosom of the ocean has reflected various colours; sometimes showing the red hue" of the clinTowering a darkening 75 shade on the deep, at others, tinged with variegated hues of green, or spangled by the dazzling rays of a sultry sun. In short, all the varieties of prismatic co- lour have blazed in succession, a never-ending source of wonder and delight. As to inland scenery, I will allow that it is fraught with beauty, but for the truly sublime, nothing can vie with the surface of the ocean, whether in a calm, or agitated by tempestuous fury." Bovey, a very ancient seat in this manor, was the inheritance of the Walronds, of Bradfield, near Col- lumpton. It is the property of Lady Rolle, the only surviving daughter of the late William Walrond, Esq. and at present is the residence of Win. Read, Esq. a native of Ireland. It is a very old, irregular building, of free-stone. " The chapel here," says Risdon, " should seem to be founded by the Walronds, as their arms are cut in the moorstone pillars, just at the bot- tom of the arches." — " On visiting Bovey some years since," says a gentleman, "I was pleased with the venerable appearance of the house, and every object around it. It was then the residence of the widow of Mr. Walrond, just mentioned. There was something unusually striking in the antique mansion, the old rookery behind it, the mossy pavement of the court, the raven in the porch, grey with years, and even the domestics hoary in service— they were all grown old together." The parish church is dedicated to St. Gregoiy. It is an ancient free-stone building, slated: the tower low and heavy, containing four bells. A handsome marble monument in the church bears the following inscription: Sacred to the memory of William Walrond, Esq. who died at Bovey, in 1762, aged forty-five years; and of his first wife and 76 infant son: also of Sarah Oke, his second wife, by whom he had issue, Sarah, Courtenay-William, and Judith-Maria. Of these, the last, and only surviving one, wife of John Rolle, Esq. M.P. for Devon, erected this monument in respect of the best of parents, and at the request of her mother, who departed this life, February the 1st, 1787, aged 67." The vicarage-bouse, near the church, is an old building. In this parish is one dissenting chapel. On an eminence, called South Down, is a most delightful and extensive prospect, by sea, from Portland, to the Start Point— -by land, of a great part of the counties of Dorset, Somerset and Devon. The chief employment of the inhabitants here and at Seaton is fishing, in which they are very expert. They are reckoned toge- ther, in both parishes, about fifteen hundred, in general strong and healthy. At the head of Beer, a pure spring rises out of the flint rock, and runs in a clear current through the town. SEATON is a small town, c< lying full upon the sea," irregularly built, and consisting chiefly of one street. Its situa- tion is low and marshy: its hedges are well wooded; its roads are narrow, but good, and give scope for very pleasant walks and rides; its beach, though not so fine as that at Sidmouth, affords an agreeable promenade. This place is memorable for the landing of the Danish princes in the year 937 ; as also for the attempt of the inhabitants of Colyton to make a port there, which they gravely named Colyton Haven, and pro- cured a collection under the great seal of England for the levying of money to effect their purpose : " Of Ibis 77 Work," says Risdon, " there remains no monument, 1 * nor is the spot known where it was intended to be. On SeatOn beach, as upon most of the openings of the coast, a small battery has been erected. Salcombe, Branscombe, Beer and Seaton, are all on the coast, and lie to the south of the road from Sid- mouth to Lyme: the only places to the north of it, which our plan leads us to point out, are Colyton and Shute. COLYTON, nine miles from Sid mouth and about a mile to the north of Colyford, a small village, through which runs the turnpike road from Sidmouth to Lyme, is a small market town, situated on the western side of the Coly, where it falls into the Axe. It is a compact little place* and has a good market-house, a school-house and a neat Presbyterian chapel. A large house, become by ex- change of lands and inheritance the property of Sir "William de la Pole, is the most considerable building in the place. The situation of Colyton is most delightful* lying in a beautiful and fertile valley, through which the Coly and the Axe roll their winding streams to the sea. The views from many parts in the vicinity of the town are extremely beautiful, being finely varied by a mixture of hill, vale, river and sea. The enclosures are high hedges, planted in general with elm-trees. The houses, are, for the most part, built of free and flint stone, and very neatly thatched. Colyton is a good dairy parish, remarkable for its rich butter and its "skim-milk" cheeses. The town, in the time of William the Conqueror, belonged to the Crown. Richard I. gave it, together with Whitford, to Thomas I* 78 Basset, nephew of Walter Dunstanvil. King John granted an annual fair to continue eight days. The church, dedicated to St. Andrew, is a strong stone edifice. The tower, which altogether looks handsome, consists apparently of one tower built upon another; the upper part is octagonal, raised on a large square structure that divides the church from the chancel. In this tower are six bells. On the southern side of the chancel is an enclosed burial-place, belonging to theDe la Poles, highly ornamented with statues and other monumental decorations. In an enclosed burial- place, the property of Sir George Yonge's family, on the northern side of the chancel, there is a small font for holy water. Under a stone canopy, in a small northern aisle, is the image of a girl, apparently about five years old. Over her are the Royal and the Cour- tenay arms. She is said to have been a grand-daughter of Edward IV. by one of his daughters, who was married to a Courtenay of Colcombe. Her death being, as was reported, occasioned by a fish-bone sticking in her throat, she is vulgarly called " the little choke a-bone." A new chapel, belonging to Dissenters, of Calvinistic sentiments, has been lately erected at Colyton ; the pulpit originally in the church, was formerly occupied by Dr. Manton, whose ponderous volume of sermons on the 119th Psalm is said to have had considerable influence in making the celebrated Lord Shaftesbury an unbeliever. Shute, a small parish, contains the village of Whitford, on the western side of the Axe : it consists of about twenty houses. A great part of a very old seat called Shute House, was destroyed by its late owner, and a handsome modern habitation erected upon 79 a larger scale. New Shute House, begun in 1737, is distant from the old mansion two furlongs south-east. It is a fine stone building, very pleasantly situated under Shute Hill. The aspect is nearly south by east. It has a delightful view in front, with a very handsome lawn, and is about four miles from the sea. " The plan of the house is a square of about sixty-eight feet, with two handsome wings, connected with the body by corridores. The principal rooms are, a dining-parlour, forty feet by twenty-three, fifteen in height; a drawing- room, thirty-six feet by twenty-three, of the same height; a large breakfast-parlour, and a handsome library. The entrance has a portico of the Doric order, with columns; and the vestibule, fifteen feet wide, leads to a very grand geometrical Portland-stone staircase." On Shute Hill is an ancient fire-beacon, in good preservation. The church, dedicated to St. Peter, is a small stone building, and contains several monuments of the family of Sir John William de la Pole, and also some of the Templer family. Soon after crossing the river from Colyford, on the right hand of the road, the traveller is presented with a view of Stedcombe, the delightful residence of the Reverend Mr. Hallet. The sweet seclusion in which it stands, the bright verdure and rich foliage with which it is surrounded, and the air of substantial comfort which the house affords, furnish altogether a train of pleasurable sensations. " The hill of Sted- combe," says Polwhele, " gradually rising from the extensive level of the marshes to a conical height, suggests the idea of Mount Vesuvius. It is richly wooded, and a stream of water runs at its foot." Nothing is wanted to complete the harmony of the whole scene, but that the house should be white. 8Q RIDE FROM SIDMOUTH, NORTHWARDS. Between Sidmouth and Honiton, the only places are, Sidford, Sidbury, and Gittisham. SIDFORD is a small village, about two miles from Sidmouth, of the form of the letter L ; at the east end of the longest part of which is a neat stone bridge of one arch, over the river Sid, which rises in this parish from five heads, which, after flowing through the hamlets of Sandcome, Harcombe, Levercombe, Lyncombe and Buscombe, are united in one stream, and fall, after a beautiful ser- pentine course, into the sea at Sidmouth. In this village tradition records a house in which Charles II. slept one nighr, after the narrow escape he had of being discovered by a blacksmith at Lyme, who was em- ployed in shoeing the horse on which he rode: this was just before his escape to the Continent. Even loyalty will, perhaps, read with a smile, that the good lady, who was at that time the mistress of the house, never afterwards entered the room in which the royal fugitive had slept, without making a low courtesy. SIDBURY is a large parish, sixteen miles in circumference, sur- rounded by and containing a multitude of hills. The rides and walks in it are uncommonly various and beautiful. The town is, upon the whole, a mean- 81 looking place, where a great deal of lace is made. It has a stone bridge of one large arch ; and two places of worship, a church and a dissenting meeting-house— both are situated near Court Hall, which is the old manor-house, and now the property of Robert Hunt, Esq. lord of the manor, and this year (1820) Sheriff for the County; by whom it has been repaired and beau- tified, and divided into two dwellings, both of which as Mr. Hunt resides at Woodhouse, are let. Wood- house belonged, in the time of Richard II. to John de Woodhouse, whose ancestors were called De Bosco. — A little way beyond Sid bury is Cofford, or Cotesford House, a very pleasant modernized residence, the pro- perty of Joseph Jenkins, Esq. The church, dedicated to St. Giles, is a uniform structure. It had formerly an organ, and the tower contains six musical bells. Under the end of Castle Hill, W. Guppy, Esq. has lately erected a house, which commands a wonderfully fine and extensive prospect, and is itself a conspicuous object from Sidmouth beach, Peak Hill, and a number of other places. Buscomhe, a small hamlet in this parish, has an uncommonly lovely situation, embosomed by hills, and surrounded by rural beauty. It was thus described a few years ago, by an eye witness. " I found my friend and his family embosomed in a vale, which, for the softness of its air, and the richness of its prospect, can- not be exceeded. Their habitation (which bears the name of White House) was neat and commodious; their view on the left extended towards the sea, and on the right was terminated by a rising hill; whilst the declivity of the opposite mountain, intersected by enclosures, and spotted with sheep, imparted a pic- turesque scene to the eye of the beholder. Near the door ran a rivulet, which by its murmurs soothed the 82 ear, and by its transparency gratified imagination. At the distance of two fields above the house, the sea beautifully unfolded itself to view between the hills." White House has lately been improved and enlarged by its present possessor, Mr. Robert Man ley. The execrable old road ascending Pin hill, is now superseded by a new line, commencing about half a mile beyond Cotesford House. It is a fine broad and level road for about two miles gentle ascent ; and having gained the summit of the hill, the scene must be witnessed to be conceived. Truly may it be said, looking down Sidmouth Valley, Devonshire is indeed the garden of England ! The ride afterwards to Honiton lies over a fine elevated, and extensive down, called Gittisham hill; and once more— the varied, luxuriant and far-stretch- ing prospect which breaks upon the eye, at the Honi- ton end of the hill, " beggars" all description. On the west end of this down, and about two miles from Honiton, is the village of Gettesham. GETTESHAM, or, as it is commonly called, Gitsam. It is an extremely neat, healthy, and picturesque place, delightfully situ- ated, and though not large, consisting, as has been well observed, of many " trim cottages," the inhabitants of which are in general " remarkably neat in their houses, as well as their persons." A pleasant rivulet, rising from various springs on the adjacent hills, runs by Coombe House and through the village. Coombe House has been, ever since 1615, the pro- perty and residence of the Putts: in that year it was purchased by Nicholas Putt, Esq. " who at that time 83 possessed a large sum of money, as well as several estates and manors in Dorset, Somerset and Cornwall." The house is a very ancient edifice, without any at- tempt at regularity; its situation is truly delightful ; and it contains many pleasant and convenient rooms; its last improver was the present possessor, the Rev. Thomas Putt, who has made it a most truly elegant mansion. The parish church is a neat stone structure. Henry Beaumont, a gentleman distinguished in the records of charity, lies buried in the south aisle: a white marble monument is erected to his memory, where he appears kneeling before the altar. Behind him is Elizabeth his wife, in the same attitude: near her, is the figure of an infant, in swaddling clothes; above, are the arms of the family, and underneath a long epitaph, in English alexandrines, by which it ap- pears that Mr. Beaumont died April 1, 1591. Other magnificent monuments are to be seen in this church, particularly two; one to the memory of Sir Thomas Putt, Bart, who died June 25, 1686 ; and the other to the memory of John Fiennes, Esq. a young gentleman who died while he was upon a visit at Coombe House. There is a tradition relative to a spot in this part of Devonshire, called The Ring in the Mire, to the fol- lowing purport. It is. said, that Isabel de Fortibus, w 7 ife of the Earl of Albemarle, and daughter of Bald- win de Ripariis, the seventh Earl of Devon, determined a controversy between the parishes of Honiton, Far- way, Sidbury, and Gittisham, relative to their bounds, in the following singular way : Being a lady of great power and influence, she rode up to the plain where the parishes meet, and into a little miry place threw a a ring, which she took off her finger, and said that place should be the bounds of the four parishes. Thus 84 it has remained ever since, and the spot is still knowri by the name of The Ring in the Mire. HONITON is a considerable market and borough town, nearly three quarters of a mile long, lying on the great wes- tern road from London to Exeter. It consist princi- pally of one broad street, running from east to west, and of another, not so long, from north to south. Some distance from the south end, and on the top of a hill, stands the church. A stream of very transparent water flows through the town, into which there are square dipping places before almost every door. Many of the houses in Honiton are good,, and owing to three fires which it has suffered, the last of which happened in 1797, the greater part of it has an airy modern aspect. It is a great thoroughfare, and has several good inns, particularly the Dolphin and the Golden Lion. The Dolphin has been erected since the last fire. The Gol- den Lion has an antique appearance. The shops in Honiton are, many of them, very good, and well stocked; but the Shambles, a long slated market-place, in the middle of the town, is, except when it is filled with provisions, an unsightly nuisance. It is, indeed, a disgrace to the place. Several attempts have been made to remove it, but selfishness, that eternal bar to improvement, has hitherto been an overmatch for every other consideration. The thread lace, manufactured chiefly in the neighbouring villages, is sold here in great quantities. Some exquisitely beautiful patterns being both broad and rich, bear a high price. We learn from Risdon, that Drogo, a Saxon, held this manor before the conquest; but that the Conque- 85 ror gave the manor and town of Honiton to Robert Earl of Moreton, his maternal half brother, whom he made also Earl of Cornwall. It now belongs to Lord Courtenay. At the east end of the town, facing the road from Axminster, is a modern-built house, called Holy-shut Cot. Its garden adjoins the Taunton road, called Holy- shut Lane, from a spring of water of that name, about fifty yards down it. The water of this spring is highly esteemed, as it is supposed to surpass all in its vicinity in purity. The parish church, dedicated to St. Michael the Archangel, is very inconveniently situated on a hill, almost half a mile from the town. It is built of stone, and supposed to have been erected about 1482. It is in the form of a cross. The tower is square, and about sixty-three feet high, with five bells. It possesses a good organ, and a beautiful altar-piece of white stone* By the church-door is a tombstone, in memory of Dr. Marwood, Physician to Queen Elizabeth, who died September 18, 1617, aged 105 ; and on the pillars which support two of the aisles, is this inscription — " Pray for the souls of John Takell and Joan hys wyffe." These two persons are supposed to have built the said aisles. The chapel of Allhallows, which stands nearly in the middle of the town, is supposed to have been the ancient parish church ; the present building is a modern edifice. Honiton has also two dissenting chapels, one belonging to the Baptists, and the other to the Cal- vinistic Presbyterians. The situation of this town is extremely pleasant, in a richly cultivated vale, upon a rising ground on the south side of the Otter. M 86 Honiton, is what is termed an " open borough ;" it sends two Members to Parliament. Its election con- tests are often severe. The returning officer is the portreeve for the time being. The population of Honiton, as returned to Parlia- ment in 1803, was two thousand three hundred and seventy-seven persons. PvIDE FROM SIDMOUTH, TOWARDS THE NORTH-WEST. Exeter lies in this direction, fifteen miles from Sidmouth : in the usual road to it lie Harpford, Newton Poppleford and Clyst ; either of which will make the boundary of a pleasant ride. St. Mary Ottery, whose beautiful church is well worthy inspection, lies three miles beyond Harpford, on the right hand of the Exeter road, going from Sidmouth. HARPFORD WOOD. A little more than three miles from Sidmouth, at a farm-house called Boughwood, or Bowd, is the entrance of Harpford Wood, which measures, within the hedges, three hundred and seventy acres. It is greatly and deservedly admired for the variety and beauty of its views, and for the richness of its sylvan scenery. It consists of ridges of hills, covered with fine young timber, principally of beech and oak. The roads, through it are scarcely passable for carriages, but every where adapted for the convenience and pleasure of 87 horse and foot visitants. As Ladram Bay is a favorite morning voyage, so is this delightful retreat an excur- sion by land, where numerous pic nics are formed in the summer season, to the great advantage of the owners of hack horses and donkies. At the end of Ottery hill, which terminates near the wood, are the remains of an ancient fire-beacon ; the prospect from this spot is a fine panorama. At the west end of this wood lies the village of Hartford, or, as it is commonly pronounced, Har- ford. It is small but neat, and enjoys a most delightful situation. On the east it looks on the wood just de- scribed, and, on the west and south, it commands many of the windings of the Otter, as it flows through a rich and lovely valley towards the ocean. A very old building, near the church, erected, as appears by a stone in the front wall, in the year 1571, is called in the old parish rates, Court Place. The old county jail for felons makes a part of the buildings ; some of which are still visible. The jail was removed from thence to Bicton by the family of the Rolles, and thence to Exeter, where it now remains. The church, a small low building, with a tower and three bells, is dedicated to St. Gregory. The vicarage house is a convenient modern edifice, erected in 1768. Leaving Harpford a little on the right hand, and crossing the Otter, over a stone bridge of five arches, the Factory, erected some years ago, for spinning of wool, strikes the eye as a very neat building. It stands on the left hand of the road, on the banks of the river, and is an ornamental feature in the beautiful scenery with which it is accompanied. 88 NEWTON POPPLEFORD is a long, mean-looking place, containing two public houses, dignified with the name of inns. Tradition says it was anciently a borough, though the charter has been long lost. It still retains its portreeve. About the middle of the village is a chapel, lately repaired, dedicated to St. Luke. It was formerly a chantry, founded in the fourth year of Edward III. by Hugh de Courtenay, Earl of Devon. Tradition says it was built as an atonement for some crime. The commissioners in 1648, under the Commonwealth, remark — " Newton Poppleford, fit to be united to Harpford. Service every fifth Sunday at Newton." There is a large fair for cheese and cattle held here in October. The Protestant Dissenters of Cahinistic senti- ments have erected a chapel at Newton, nearly in the centre of the place. CLYST ST. MARY, nearly twelve miles from Sidmouth, has nothing to distinguish it but a fine situation : it lies upon the river Grindle, which washes the western end of it. The length of the bridge marks the extent to which this stream sometimes inundates the meadows on each side. In 1748, there were seventeen families in St. Mary Clyst; in 1791, eighteen families, making a sum total of one hundred and seven persons. The Mansion-house is a large square white building, standing on an elevated *pot, in a lawn of about sixty acres. The church of Clyst has nothing remarkable in it. 89 OTTERY ST. MARY, seven miles from Sidmouth, is the principal place to which the Otter, on which it stands, communicates its name ;— it is a market town, and though built chiefly on a gentle hill, He6 low with respect to the country through which it is approached. Dr. Maton, speaking of his ride to it from Sidmouth, says — " Taking leave of the coast for the present, we proceeded towards Exeter, through Ottery. The red oxyde of iron con- tinued to tinge the soil the whole way, and added to the richness of the surrounding scenery ; and the romantic winding of the river and the road exhibited a novel and agreeable effect. We descended into Ottery under the umbrage of widely spreading trees, the branches of which screened the town from our view until we arrived close to it; but the venerable towers of the church sometimes peeped through the foliage." A clear stream runs through the town, and there are many convenient dipping-places from which the water may be easily taken: in the middle of the town is a spring, which sparkles with all the transparency of the Bristol waters, and is said to possess their quali- ties, but it has not their warmth. Another spring, rising near a house called Paradise, has been used me- dicinally as a solvent for the stone, and it was thought, by one gentleman, with some success. The country about Ottery has all the features and beauties of the Devonshire landscape: the orchards and gardens, the verdure of the fields, and the richness of the hedge rows, at a little distance, form, from the fine terrace in the church-yard, a very interesting picture. 90 The houses in Ottery are strikingly various: in Mill Street is an old house, of a monasterial air, which was once the residence of the celebrated Sir Walter Raleigh. Cromwell's Convention-room is the largest of the parlours in one of the old collegiate houses, just by the church-yard. These, and other edifices more or less ancient, are contrasted with the new brick houses erected after the fire, and the Factory, a new structure of considerable size. Of the fact connected with Cromwell's Conven- tion-room, Echard gives the following account:— " About the time that Exeter was besieged, Crom- well came to Otter}% to raise men and money from the town and neighbourhood. For this purpose he held a convention there, in a parlour now standing westward of the church. The people of Ottery refused to comply with his request, or rather requisition. Cromwell was so much irritated at their refusal, that he ordered his men to destroy all the ornaments of the church. The organ in the body of the church, and the organ in the chapel (now the library), were both dashed to pieces; and several line monumental figures decapitated." The church was dedicated and given to St. Mary in Roan by Edward the Confessor. " This church," says Risdon, " is fairaccording to the structure of those times; whereof the windows, little and low, are so bedecked with the armories of diverse benefactors, more especially of the founders, that instead of lux fuit, it may be verified, that they are umbrated there- by." The two lowers, on the north and south sides, are, " each of them, it is said, eighty feet high, about half the height of those of Exeter cathedral, from which they were copied." By the style of the win- 91 dows, it is supposed that these towers were erected about the time of Henry III. This church has now a very handsome altar-piece; over which is inscribed Jacobus Rex, 1688. On the sides of the pulpit, which is of cedar, are admirably carved, by William Culne, a common carpenter, born in Ottery, the four Evangelists. In the body of the church, between two pillars, under a pyramidal arch, is the stone statue of a warrior, armed cap-a-pie, with a lion at his feet— and opposite, between two pillars, and arched in the same manner, is laid a female figure. Heraldic ornaments, now defaced by time, were once about these figures. There is no inscription, and tra- dition bestows upon them the names of William Gran- dison, father of the bishop, and Sibyl his wife.— in the chancel are several monumental inscriptions, in me- mory of the now decayed Haydon family, and others. The Calvinistic Dissenters have a chapel, and a consi- derable congregation in Ottery. RIDE FROM SIDMOUTH, WESTWARD, OVER PEAK HILL. To the westward of Sidmouth, between that and Exmouth, lie the following places, affording bounda- ries for longer or shorter excursions : Otterton, Bicton, Woodbury, Budleigh Solterton and Littleham. Seve- ral of these places can be seen from Peak Hill, parti- cularly Otterton and Bicton. OTTERTON, that is, a toion upon the Otter, is now a poor place, consisting principally of one street. The male inhabi- <>8 tants of it are almost entirely farmers and their labour- ers, with a few necessary mechanics : the females are almost wholly employed in the making a coarse kind of thread lace. The situation of the parish is both pleasant and healthy. The cliffs bordering on the sea are very high, and nearly perpendicular: the air is dry and salubrious: a stone bridge crosses the river: the roads are very narrow ; the enclosures are nume- rous ; and the orchards and hedges very flourishing. Camden says, " the name of the river is derived from the plenty of otters or water-dogs." Modern observa- tion does not confirm this account, whatever it might have been formerly ; the Otter is now merely a trout- stream. The manor of Otterton is a very noble one. From the conquest to the dissolution of abbies, it continued in the hands of religious men. William the Conque- ror gave it to St Michael de Monte, in Normandy. Upon the surrender, Richard Duke, a clerk of the Augmentation-court, procured it, and built a noble house upon an ascent a little way from the river, which turns the mills below. The grant, dated in 1540, gives to Richard Duke the manors of Otterton and East Budleigh, with all their rights and privileges, and roy- alties, and the patronage of the vicarages of Otterton, Budleigh and Harpford, for the sum of £n*ll 4s. 2rf. In 1775 the Duke estate, in default of male heirs, descended to four sisters, now all dead. Soon after the estate was advertised for sale. Lord Rolle was the purchaser, and is the present possessor of it: he has taken down almost the whole of the house. Having put up your horse at the public-house in Otterton, it is a delectable treat to the admirer of land- scape scenery to enter Otterton Park, and follow the path on the bank of the Otter— approaching the sea, 93 cross a wooden bridge, and return the opposite side of the river, unless it is found desirable to extend the ramble; when having gained the seashore, the retired and neat little watering-place Budleigh Salterton, is to be seen, about half a mile to the westward. Close to the remains of the house stands the church, dedicated to St. Michael, a stone building, with a slated roof; within, it is extremely neat, being uniformly pewed with the best wainscot, at the recommendation of Mr. John Duke, about fifty years ago. The inhabi- tants of Otterton House were for several ages, much inclined to the Dissenting cause. Crossing Otterton Bridge, at a little distance on the right hand, lies BICTON, the property and residence of Lord Rolle, who has lately completed a noble mansion, which may be seen from Peak Hill. It stands in a beautiful park, well stocked with deer, and distinguished for its noble and venerable groves of beech and oak. It is remarkable, that the tenure of Bicton is still to keep the jail of the county. " This," it has been remarked, " is perfectly right : the possessor of the manor of Bicton has been always obliged" (from the time of Henry I.) " to find a county jail" The church of Bicton, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, is thus beautifully described by the historian of Devonshire. " It is a small, but neat building. Its situation is most romantic. Placed in silence and soli- tude, it stands embowered amidst the fine deep foliage of forest trees, that surround it at a little distance, and interweave their branches, as if to secure it from every 94 prying eye. Whilst we approach the church, we feel sensations of awe, from its holy seclusion: but they are mixed with ideas of fairy scenery. The spot is, in itself, most enchanting. Thus encircled by such a beautiful screen of woods, thus insulated, and with- drawn from the world, we fancy ourselves amidst the groves of Rousseau's Ermenonville, and recalling his fine painting to memory, can recognize, almost, its prototype in the objects around us." The present parsonage-house, a convenient brick mansion, was built about forty years ago : it stands on a rising ground, about a quarter of a mile from the church, and in full view of the public road. BUDLEIGH. There are two or three villages of this name, at no great distance from each other. The church, and a Dissenting chapel, stand in the principal one, denomi- nated East Budleigh, through which lies the road from Sidmouth to Salterton, and to Exmouth. Sir W. Pole says, " Budleigh is a small market town." The church is dedicated to All Saints; it is a handsome stone edi- fice, with a square tower eighty feet high : it has five bells and a clock. There are several coats of arms in the windows, and on the facing of the old seats. On one seat is a representation of Bishop Blaze. In the church-yard is a stone with this inscription, but with- out a date :— Orate yro anima Radulphi Node. " Pray for the soul of Radulphus Node." Tradition says, this was the sepulchre of a man who broke his neck in attempting to fly from the church tower with artificial wings ; the inscription, it seems, is now obliterated. TIDWELL HOUSE is a large, square, and remarkably substantial brick building, with a multitude of windows, at a small dis- tance from the road to Ex mouth. It had formerly lords so named. Joan, the daughter of the last of that line, was the wife of John de St. Clere. Gabriel St. Clere, one of his descendants, after he had wasted his estate, by excessive hospitality, began to take his house to pieces, and sell the materials; affirming, that " neither he nor his posterity could prosper, as long as one stone stood upon another, of a house where so many sins had been committed." One of this family, we are told, was distinguished by the following act of uncommon loyalty : When Henry II. was besieging the castle of Bridgnorth, in the possession of Hugh de Mortimer, Hubert de St. Clere, perceiving the King aimed at from the castle walls, stepped in before his sovereign, received the arrow into his own body, and expired. The King not only interred the deceased with all military honours, but took his young and only daughter under his protection ; and when she was mar- riageable, gave her to William de Longville, a man of noble birth, and in high favour with the King. With her, the inheritance descended from her father, with large additions ; but on these terms—" that, to perpe- tuate the memory of the faithful Hubert, Longville should bear both the name and surname of her father, and be called Hubert de St. Clere." The present house was built by Counsellor Walrond about seventy years ago, and was, in right ot his wife, the property of 96 the late John Edye, Esq. of Pinney, near Lyme. Of the springs at Tidwell, Risdon gives the following account; " The ponds at Tidwell, maintained by springs, continually whelm and boil up, not unlike that wonderful well in Derbyshire, which ebbeth and floweth by just tides. These springs are so warm, that, whilst all the waters around them are frozen, they are fiee from ice in the coldest weather ; when abun- dance of wild-fowl flock hither, to the no little pleasure and profit of the place." Hays, situated on the western side of the parish of East Budleigh, is celebrated as the birth-place of the famous Sir Walter Raleigh. The general history of this celebrated man is too well known to be here recapitulated: the peculiar severity, not to say injustice, of the sentence by which he was at last executed, gives him a claim to the com- passion of all succeeding ages, and serves to immor- talize a name which, both by the pen and the sword, has become dear to his country. In the Fourth Book of the Columbian, an epic poem, of considerable merit, which has recently made its appearance, the following just and animated picture of this great man occurs : " High on the tallest deck majestic shon« Sage Raleigh, pointing to the western sun: His eye, bent forward, ardent and sublime, Seem'd piercing nature, and evolving time ; Beside him stood a globe, whose figures trac'd A future empire in each present waste; All former works of men behind him shone, Grav'd by his hand in ever-during stone : On his calm brow a various crown displays The hero's laurel and the scholar's bays ; His graceful limbs in steely mail were drest, 97 The bright star Reaming on his lofty breast ; His sword, high waving, flashed the solar ray, Illum'd the shrouds, and rainbow'd far the spray ; The smiling crew rose resolute and brave, And the glad sails hung bounding o'er the wave." " The Aubrey Papers," published in 1813, contain the following account of this celebrated man : " Sir Walter Raleigh was a tall, handsome, bold man— he had a most remarkable aspect, an exceeding high forehead, long faced, and sour eye-lidded, a kind of a pig-eye. He was the first that brought tobacco to England and into fashion. In Malmsbury Hundred, in North Wiltshire it came first into fashion, by Sir Walter Long. They had first silver pipes. Common people used a walnut-shell and a straw. I have heard my great-grandfather Lyte say, that one pipe was handed from man to man round the table. Sir Walter Raleigh, standing in a stand at Sir Robert Poyntz's park at Acton, took a pipe of tobacco, which made the ladies quit it till he had done. For a long time it was scandalous for a divine to take tobacco. I have heard some of our old yeomen neighbours say, that when they went to Malmsbury or Chippenham mar- ket, they culled out their biggest shillings to lay in the scales against the tobacco. I have heard my cousin Whitney say, that he saw Sir Walter in the Tower. He had a velvet cap, laced, a rich gown, and trunk hose. " In his speech on the scaffold, he spake not one word of Christ, but of the great and incomprehensible God, with much zeal and adoration, so that my cousin Whitney concluded he was an a-christ, not an atheist" " Old Sir Thomas Maiett, one of the justices of the King's Bench in the time of Charles I. and II. knew 98 Sir Walter, and I have heard him say, that, notwith- standing his so great mastership in style, and his con- versation with the learnedst, and politest persons, yet he spake broad Devonshire to his dying day. His voice was small." " Sir W. Raleigh's letter to Mr. Duke, in Devon, writ with his own hand, " Mr. Duke, " I wrote to Mr. Prideaux to move you for the purchase of Hay's, a farm sometime in my father's possession. I will most willingly give what- soever in your conscience you shall deem it worth, and if at any time you shall have occasion to use me* you shall find me a thankful friend to you and yours. I am resolved, if I cannot entreat you, to build at Col- liton; but for the natural disposition 1 have to that place, being born in that house, I had rather seat myself there than any where else. I take my leave, readie to countervail all your courtesies to the utter of my power. " Your very willing friend, " In all that I shall be able, * WALTER RALEIGH." " Court, July 26, 1584." BUDLEIGH SALTERTON, two miles from East Budleigh, is a small village upon the coast, lying in sight of Torbay : it is increasing in reputation as a watering-place, and the number of its 90 lodging-houses has been greatly augmented in the last few years. Its beach, by the side of which a narrow walk has been constructed, is distinguished by a vast multitude of broad, flat, oval-shaped pebbles, some of which ace veined in a curious manner. A small chapel, in which the worship of the Church of England is performed, has been built by Lord Rolle ; and, by the late Mr. Lackington, a handsome chapel for the Wesleyan Methodists, the present minister of which is the worthy and eloquent Mr. Hawtrey. From Salterton, a pleasant road leads the travel- ler to LITTLEHAM, a small village, two miles from Exmouth, and in the parish of which Exmouth lies. Its church is dedi- cated to the Holy Trinity, and lies under a hill called Westdown. " Here, in an aisle belonging to the Drake family," says Prince, " is this epitaph, on the tomb of Robert Drake," who was noticed for his benefactions in the time of Charles I. Preachers and poor can say my death Was ended in a lively faith ; The yearly gifts that I then gave Till time be ended they must have. This Robert Drake, born at Sprathays., in the parish ofLittleham, was the third son of Gilbert Drake, of that piace, a younger branch of the family of Ash. After having studied the law at the Inner Temple, he married, and settled at Daleditch, in East Budleigh. He died in 1628. L.ofC. 100 EXMOUTH is the oldest watering-place in Devonshire. Prince calls it " a small hamlet.'' About a century ago, one of the judges of the circuit, in a very infirm state of health, received so much benefit from bathing there, that it was brought into repute. It is ten miles south from Exeter, and twelve from Sidmouth. It is shel- tered from the north-east and south-east winds by some hills, which supply it with excellent water. It is now a considerable place, and can boast a great many new and commodious houses. A part of a letter, written about thirty years ago, giving an account of what Exmouth was then, is here inserted, becauses it serves to mark more distinctly the numerous improvements which have since taken place, not only there, but in all the watering-places on the coast : at that time Exmouth was, probably, at the head of the list. " The village is a very pretty one, and composed for the most part of cot-houses, neat and clean, consist- ing of four or five rooms, which are generally let at a guinea a- week. We have, from some of the houses, when the tide is in, a beautiful view of the river, which united with the sea, forms a fine sheet of water before our doors, of large extent. Lord Courtenay and Lord Lisburne's grounds, rising in inequalities on the other shore, complete the perspective. This is the most gay part of the village, but then its brilliancy is only tem- porary; for, the tide returned, instead of a fine sheet of water, we are presented with a bed of mud, whose perfumes are not exactly those of a bed of roses. Another part affords you the view of scattered cottages, 101 forming a pleasing rural scene. Here the gratification which the eye receives is less delightful and more durable: for which last property there are some who prefer this to the former situation. Exmouth boasts no public rooms nor assemblies, save one card assem- bly, in an inconvenient apartment, at one of the inns, on Monday evenings. The company meet at half- past five, and break up at ten : they play at shilling whist, and two-penny quadrille. We have very few young people here, and no diversions. Walking on a hill which commands a view of the ocean, and bathing, with a visit or two, serve to pass away the morning, and tea-drinking in the evening." — It is necessary here to remark what a different picture is here delineated from that to which we are now witnesses? Is it worth while to decide upon which is the best ? Tempora mu- tantur, et mutamur cum illis. " £ay not," says the Wise man, " that the former days were better than these; for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this." At Exmouth, Risdon tells us, was born Sir Richard Whitebourne, Knight, whose adventurous voyages in discovering the commodities of Newfoundland, and endeavours for the plantations and profitable fishings there, have merited the general commendation of his country, and received honour of the King. From hence the Earl of March, afterwards Edward IV. ac- companied with the Earls of Sarum and Warwick, set sail for Calais, anno 1459, by the assistance of John Dynham, Esq. afterwards Lord Treasurer of England. A new Library has been opened at Exmouth, and other improvements made, since the last edition of this work was printed— it is ably conducted by Miss Ewens, the daughter of the Proprietor, and possesses 102 every convenience desirable; the Library, Billiard- Room, Assembly and Card-Rooms, being all under one roof, and upon a most liberal scale. LYMPSTONE, ten miles from Sidmouth, the road from which runs through Otierton, and by Bicton Park, is delightfully situated on the east side of the Exe. It is very irregu- larly built; good houses and mean cottages, are in the middle of it, rather closely huddled together. At the end of the village is the church, which is seen to ad- vantage, as it stands at a little distance from the road. Directly opposite the road are some fine meadows, through which lies a pleasant rural walk to the hamlet of Sowdon: this path winds delightfully by the side of willows, or amidst clumps oi' lofty elms, to a charm- ingly neat and rural spot, where are some decent lodg- ings, with gardens and orchards about them. Fishing and lace-making are the employments of the inhabi- tants of this place. The church is dedicated to St. Mary. It is rather low in proportion to the tower, which contains five musical bells. On the glass of a window, in the north aisle, St. George is represented, with this inscription: ■the holy Knight, Who slew the dragon by his might. This church is well seated, and has a handsome altar-piece. A neat Dissenting chapel stands just within Woodbury parish ; the attendants are chiefly from Lympstone, where the minister resides. 103 WOODBURY, so called from its ancient woodlands, is a parish with eight villages, and still abounding with oak, elm, and ash. Woodbury Castle, which crowns -the extensive common of that name, gives a noble effect to the prospect. Church Village is nearly in the centre of the parish. The church, which was new built, and dedicated to St. Swithin, in 1409, is an edifice of durable stone, with a slated roof, and is twenty feet high. The tower which is eighty feet, is square, has two strong but- tresses at each corner, and on the top sixteen battle- ments, and a weathercock. It contains six deep-toned musical bells. In the church is one monument, with- out an inscription, erected in memory of the present Sir Wilmot Prideaux's ancestors, who lived at Nutwefl, the seat of Sir Francis Drake, so distinguished in the naval records of England. Exmouth, Lympstone, Topsham, Lyme and Ax- minster, are all too far from Sidmouth, to be often visited from thence. It has, however, been thought that this picture would scarcely be complete without some slight notice of these places, which lie, as it were, upon the frame in which it is enclosed. For the same reason, Exeter might claim a description; this, however, is wholly declined, as it would be impossible to do any thing like justice to the Metropolis of the West, without too much increasing the bulk of this publication. With a brief account, therefore, of Topsham, Lyme and Axminster, this little work will conclude. 104 TOPSHAM. consists principally of one street, about half a mile long, one part of which is considerably wider than the other. Many good houses are scattered through the town, but upon the whole it has but a mean appear- ance. The southern end is by far the pleasantest part; it is called the Strand, and is inhabited mostly by peo- ple out of trade. It commands a fine view of the river and the opposite bank. A little further up is the Quay,. which is large, and now belongs to the corporation of Exeter. The road from Topsham to Exeter is very good, and rendered extremely pleasant by several de- tached genteel houses, and ornamented gardens and lawns on each side. The church has an antique appearance; it is a large but tasteless building, dedicated to St. Margaret. It stands on the edge of a high cliff, and consequently commands a more extensive view than the Strand. — This prospect is full of beauty,— a noble river— distant shipping — church-towers glimmering through groupes of trees— a fertile vale, and a fine range of mountains rising one above another, as far as the eye can reach. Besides the church, Topsham has three places of wor- ship, two belonging to the Dissenters, and one to the Quakers. The Retreat, formerly a sugar-house, but now a highly ornamented mansion, is perhaps the best resi- dence in the immediate vicinity of Topsham. lS GENERAL INFORMATION. THE POST OFFICE. -The Post arrives from Exeter every. morning, about nine o'clock, which conveys, the letters from London put in two days previous. Letters for London or else- where must be put into this office by six ; but py paying one penny with each letter tbey are received from that time till half an hour after, when the bag is closed. A requisition to F. Freeling, Esq. has. received up- wards of 200 signatures in favor of the .Mail passing to Exeter through Sidford ; letters would then be received from London which were put in the day before, and might be replied to by return of the- Mail. A COACH to and from Exeter, is established in a jmost respectable manner by Mr. Wm. Street, of the Londqn Inn. As it is well horsed, and in every way deserving encourage- ment, the proprietor confidently hopes for the patronage of the Public. Fare to Exeter, and back, 10^. inside ; ~s. outside. A CARAYAN, with a strong powerful horse, and driven. by an expe- rienced coachman, runs three times a week to Taunton, 10D and returns to Sidmouth the alternate days ; carries four passengers. Sidmouth to Honiton 4?. (3d. ; ditto to Taunton 12s. ; Taunton to Honiton 8s. CARRIERS. John Way and Win Cockram convey goods to and from Exeter every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. T. Govier conveys goods to and from Honiton every Saturday. PLEASURE BOATS, attended by expert and careful seamen, are always ready ; the principal are kept by J. and R. Bartlet, Thomas Heffer, John Taylor, Henry Conant, R. Bouit, W. Radford and T. Siiley, T. Sanders, &e. £. s. d. A two hours sail is charged 5 To Exmouth and home 110 To Dawiish or Teignmouth ......150 To Seaton 110 To Lyme 150 SEDAN AND BATH CHAIRS are kept by Win. Rugg, and R. Puddicombe, J. and R. Bartlet, W. Radford and T. Siiley, &c. 110 BATHING MACHINES kept by Marmaduke Taylor and Thomas Heflfer, for Gentlemen. Terms of bathing, One Shilling first time, and Six- pence each time after. By Mrs. Barrett and Co. for Ladies.— One Shilling and Sixpence first time, and Is. each time after. Horses may be hired of B. Butter,* Painter; Wra, Gove, Grocer &c. ; Wm, Gale, Linen Draper; Duns- ford and Hill, Saddlers ; H. Smith, who have quiet and manageable Donkies, with proper saddles for invalids; both the latter supply Asses' milk. A VIOLIN, kc. Parties desirous of making a dance at a short notice, will be waited upon by James Barnard, near the Post Office. THE END* IFlindell and Son, Printert, Exeter,} v OFC . 31NDERY 1903 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 021 391 241 ■