♦ ♦ THE HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. BY JAMES BENNETT. PRINTED BY JAMES BENNETT ; AND SOLD BY LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN AND GREEN, PATERNOSTER-ROW, LONDON. 1830. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/historyoftewkesbOObenn PREFACE. THE following sheets owe their appearance to the numerous applications made to the Editor, in his busi- ness as a Bookseller, for a work of this description: finding no other person disposed to undertake the task of writing, or the risk of publishing, he was induced to take the responsibility of both upon himself. After having made considerable progress, his collec- tions appeared so voluminous that he should have been deterred from proceeding, had he not been encouraged b\ the number and respectability of the Subscribers, as well as by the consideration, that, by printing the work at his own press, at intervals of Leisure* afforded by the absence of more profitable employment, he should be enabled to diminish the expenses necessarily attendant on such a publication. For the insertion of many local circumstances, which, as matters of record, arc beneath "the dignity of History," and for the frequency and length of the notes, which may possibly appear to be introduced for the mere purpose of amplifying the work, the Editor can hardly expect to escape censure: he was, however, more willing to incur blame for the introduction of what might be considered unimportant to the many, than for the omission of what would probably be of interest to the few. ir. PREFACE. His chief endeavour has been to render the volume as useful and interesting as possible to the natives and residents of Tewkesbury: if he shall have effected that object in any degree, and lessened the labours of a future and more efficient Historian, by collecting and preserving some documents which might otherwise have been lost, his highest ambition will be gratified. The Editor will be happy to receive communications which may serve to rectify any error, or supply any omission, in the History of Tewkesbury; in order that he may be the better enabled to publish a new edition, should it hereafter be deemed requisite. Tewkesbury, March, 1830. CONTENTS. chap. WOE. 1. Situation, Soil, &c B 2. Etymology and early History 13 :i. Battle of Tewkesbury W 1. Historical Occurrcnees from the Reign of lldward 1\ to that of Charles I ^1 5. Military Transai -turns in the K< iu r n <>f Charles I 17 (i. Historical Arc -omit <>f the tTi at I ,ord -hip or Manor of Tewk* ibol) 72 7. Survey of the Manor, translated from Domesday-Book 89 8. Foundation and History of the Monastery 91 9. Abbots of Tewkesbury Hi 10. Suppression of the Monastery LSI 11. Description of the Abbey Church 131 12. Ancient Monuments in the Church L5S 13. Distinguished Persons buried at Tewkesbury, who have DO Monu- ments 172 14. Incumbents of Tew keshury lsl 15. Description of the Town, its ( Jovcrnnu nt. Trade, ScC 198 16. Public Buildings, Schools, and Charitable Institutions 2 is 17. Charitable Bequests and Donations 298 18. Dissenting Places of Worship, toe 238 19. Representatives in Parliament 2 13 20. Hamlets in Tewkesbury Parish 2r>7 21. Roads and Bridges 27o 22. Rivers adjoining Tewkesbury 203 23. Interesting and remarkable Occurrences 305 CONTENTS. CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. N<>. PAGE. L Liberties and Free Customs granted by Robert and William, Earls of Gloucester, to the Burgesses of Tewkesbury 321 & Charter of King Edward III 322 3. Petition relating to the Navigation of the Severn and to the dis- orderly conduct of the people of the Forest of Dean 325 4. Names of the Noblemen that were slain at the Battle of Tewkes- bury, in 1471 328 5. Ancient Account of the Battle of Tewkesbury 331 & Abstract of the Grant of the Manor by King James 1 334 7. Some Account of the Order of Benedictines 336 S». Carta Ordinationis Ecclesiae Theokesburiensis 338 9. Charter of King Edward 1 340 10. Pardon of King Henry V. to the Abbot and Convent 344 11. Accompt of the Ministers of the Lord the King in the time of Henry VIII 346 12. Pensions assigned to the Abbot, Prior, &.e 352 13. Pensions payable to Persons dependent on the Monastery in 1553 . . 354 1 I. Particular for the Grant of Tewkesbury Church 354 15. Grant of the Abbey Church to the Parishioners 356 10. Coats of Anns originally in the Choir Windows, in the West Window, !kc 359 17. Brief for the Repair of Tewkesbury Church, in 1720 360 18. Subscriptions towards the Reparation of Tewkesbury Church, in 1828 362 19. Modem Monuments in the Church 363 20. Inscriptions on Grave Stones in the Church 367 2.1. Inscriptions o* Tombs and Head Stones in the Church-Yard .. 371 22. A Terrier of all the Glebes, Lands, Tithes, &c. belonging to the Vicarage of Tewkesbury 374 23. Letter from Bishop \\ arburton to the Rev. H. Jones, Vicar of Tewkesbury 376 24.. Titles of the Local Acts of Parliament relating to Tewkesbury . . 377 25. Abstract of the Charter of 17 Elizabeth 378 26. Abstract of the Charter of 3 James 1 381 27.. Abstract of the Charter of 7 James 1 382 28. Abstract of the Charter of 2 James II 383 29. Present Charter of the Borough, granted by King William III... 387 30. High Stewards, Recorders, Town Clerks, Coroners, and Cham- berlains 415 CONTENTS. rii. NO. MOB. 31. Bailiffs, &c 417 32. Tewkesboiy Court of BeooKid 12-) :Vi. l airs ami Great Markets 127 ■ 'A. Report of the Committee of the House of Commons on the Tew- kesbury Election Petition l'2& 35. Particulars of the public Life of the late James Martin, esq. M. P. 42!' 36. A brief Account of the Family of Codrimrton IS! 37. A short IYflk r n-« of tli" ancient family of Tracy 437 38. A Pedigree of the Dowdeswcll Family f$| EMBELLISHMENTS. PAGE. 1. Borough Arms. — A castle embattled 1 2. Abbey Arms. — GtUes, a cross engrailed or, within a bordure argent 1 They are thus engraved in King's u Cathedral] and Conventual Churches of England and Wales orthographically delineated;" and are similarly emblazoned in Berry's Encyclopaedia Heraldica. They are also thus given, along with Abbot Beoly's anus, in the curious mil of parliament, in the British Museum, representing the Procession of all the Lords walking to Parliament in 1512. I u Tanner's ISotitia Monastica and Rymer's History of the Benedictines they are engraved Gules, a cross ragule or, w it hin a bordure argent, and are emblazoned thus in Willis's Seals of Parliamentary Abbeys. In the chancel window they are correct; but the engrail of the cross, being bounded by bent lead, is necessarily large, and that may have occasioned the cross engrailed to be mistaken for a cross ragulc. 3. Abbey Gate-House 112 4. Campanile or Bell-Tower 113 5. Tewkesbury Abbey Church. (East elevation) To/ace the Title. 6. Ditto. (South view) 131 7. Ditto. (West front) 145 8. Town-Hall , 218 9. Market House 222 10. Tewkesbury Severn Bridge 288 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. CHAPTER J. SITIATION, SOIL. fcc. r J^i:WKKSnrRY is situated at the northern extremity of the county of Gloucester, in the lower division of the extensive 1 hundred to Which it gives its name;* it is distant one hundred and three miles from London, ten from Gloucester, eight from ( Cheltenham, thirteen from Evesham, fifteen from Worcester, thirteen from Malvern Wells, fourteen from Ledbury, and in the direct road from Bristol to Birmingham, from which places it is nearly ecjui-distant. Lon. 2.S. W. — Lat. 51.59. N. It is surrounded Ly a wide and level extent of fertile meadow, pasture and arable land, Intersected l>y four rivers, which almost insulate the town. The most considerahle of these are the Severn and the Upper or Warw ickshire Avon : the former serves as a boundary to the parish for several miles, and follows the curvature of a large meadow, called the Ham, to the westward ; and the latter receives the river Carron at one extremity of the town, and washes its walls almost as far * Tewkesbury is bounded by the parishes of Bredon, Twyning, Ripple and Bushley, on the north— Forthampton, Chaccley and Dcerburst, on the west— Elmstone Hardwiek and Trcdington, on the south— and Walton Cardiff and Ashehurch, on the cast: four of which parishes, viz. Bredon, Ripple, Bushley and Chacelcy, arc in Worcestershire, and the others in (ilouccstcrshire. B 10 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. as its junction with the Swilgate, at the other — soon after which the Avon loses itself among the waters of the more majestic Severn. Tewkesbury has by some been considered as forming part of the fine vale of Evesham, but ancient maps and the best informed of modern writers have uniformly placed it within the vale of Gloucester, to which it appears naturally to belong.* The fertility of this celebrated vale was the theme of the his- torian's praise, and the subject of the poet's encomium, long before the bounty of nature had been aided by the present improved mode of agriculture. William of Malmsbury tells us, that it produced in great abundance fruits and grain, the joint effects of its fine soil, and the labour of its hinds — the husbandman being stimulated to work, by having his exertions rewarded with a produce of one hundred fold. " In this favoured spot you may behold," says he, " the public highways shaded and adorned with trees loaded with fruit, not placed there by the hand of man, but by the generosity of nature. The earth spontaneously brings forth her gifts, fruits of the richest taste and brightest beauty ; which, almost imperishable, may be preserved from the time of their being taken in till the season of gathering again returns. Grapes, famous for their flavour, are here produced in quantities, and manufactured into wines of the highest relish, equally luscious with those of France. f Numerous towns overspread the vale, which is * " The vale of Gloucester is, in outline, somewhat semicircular : the Severn the chord, the environing hills the arch : the towns of Gloucester, Tewkesbury and Cheltenham forming a triangle within its area. Its extent, from the foot of Matson hill, to that of Bredon hill (its utmost limit to the north), is about fifteen miles ; from the Severn to the foot of Dowdeswell hill, seven or eight miles." — Marshall's Rur. Econ. of Gloucestershire. f Notwithstanding that William of Malmsbury, who wrote in the twelfth century, so unequivocally attests the existence of vineyards in this neigh- bourhood, Sir Robert Atkyns and others assert that they were only apple- orchards ! Mr. Pegge however, (Arch. i. 329^, thinks that there were few great monasteries in England which had not vineyards. It is certain that one belonged to the manor of Tewkesbury , and was probably situate near Holme Castle, as the field upon which that building stood is to this day HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 11 further enriched with populous villages, and costly places of public worship." — Drayton too, in his Polyolbion, personifying this beautiful district, makes it boast an excellence, which it may assert with justice : " I, which am the Queen " Of all the British vales, and so have ever been " Since Corner's giant brood inhabited this isle, " And that of all the rest myself may so enstile." From the neighbourhood being subject to inundations, some have thought the town must consequently be unhealthy ; but there are few places which enjoy a purer air, and the excellent water obtained here undoubtedly adds to the salu- brity of the place. The most intelligent agriculturist* who has written on the subject, says, that the soil near the town is of a deep rich loam, but varying as you proceed in different directions : he seems to consider no further proof necessary to convince us of the excellence both of its soil and its climature, than the fact of its having been selected as the site of a monastery — the clergy of former times being admirable judges in these matters. On many of the eminences in the immediate vic inity of the town, the views are as rich and varied as can well be conceived : Malvern hills, the bases of winch are thickly studded with cheerful and elegant residences, are fine features in many of the most interesting and beautiful landscapes; Bredon, and the hills of Cleeve, Stanway, and other portions of the long chain of Cotswolds, enlivened by the smiling villages and fertile meadows in the intervening \ allies, present objects which the admirers of picturesque scenery could not behold without delight : many of these prospects are much heightened called "the Vineyard." If the fact of grapes being raised in this vineyard needed confirmation, the following would put the matter beyond a doubt : — a messuage and land in Twyning was held of the Lord of Tewkesbury on certain conditions, one of w hich was tin- "finding a man for sixteen days in digging in the vineyards, and gathering the grapes for three days." — Inq, ad. q. d. d9Edm. IIL—Fosbr. GUmc. n. 2byrg, or the town belonging to Tlieot,f we may certainly, without any great stretch of fancy, suppose the name to have come from Theocus. Skinner, in his Ktymologicon Anglicanum, says the Anglo- Saxon name was " Deocr-bupy, i.e. Curia sen fanum Theoci viri sancti eremite." Camden asserts that, in Saxon times, it was called Theocj-- bujvy, by others Thcoc's Court, from Theoc, who there led the life of a hermit. " • Cotton MS. Cleop. c. in. f See a copy of a ven curious Saxon inscription, found In Ilackluvt in Leominster church in 1392, which is preserved in the addenda to Weever'a Funeral Monuments. 14 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. According to Camden,* Leland, in some Latin verses, of which the following is a translation, had the same idea of its derivation : — " T7ieocus y Court, with spacious market place, " Proud of the spoils of the Lancastrian race ; " Where Severn with the Avon waters joins ; " The sacred resting-place of nobles shines j " Here lodg'd the mould'ring bones and ashes are " Of men renown'd for glorious feats of war." Mr. Fosbroke says, " Odda and Dudda, two Mercian dukes, were lords of this place, which was probably named Teokes- bury, from Teokef and Bury, it being the town of these Dukes of Mercia. William of Malmsbury derives the name from the Greek word eeoTo/co?, signifying the Mother of God, because the church was dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The learned and ingenious Baxter supposes Tewkesbury to be the Etocessa of the Romans, latinized by them from the British Etoc isceu, faux aquarum ; and afterwards changed by the Saxons into Theocj-byriij, or the town of Etocessa. Rudder} thinks it is derived from Dodo or Thodo, one of the earliest lords of the manor of whom we have any account, the D and Th being, as he observes, often substituted for each other in Saxon names ; and that from this Dodo comes the Latin Thodocus, from which he supposes Teodechesberie, as it appears in Doomsday, to have been derived. Antiquaries are also somewhat divided in opinion concern- ing the derivation and meaning of the word Borough, Bury, Burg, Byrig, or Burgas, all which had originally the same signification — a number of houses placed together for the sake * Gough's edition, i. 381. f " A.S. Dux. I take Theocits, the hermit, whether the story be true or false, to be a latinization of the A.S. Theohe, and proving nothing in respect to the etymon." — Fosbroke's Gloucestershire, v. 2. p. 278. — The same author says, " Teoke, Anglo-Saxon, for General, is in my judgment, the manifest etymon."— Gent. May. Supp. pt.2. 1826. X History of Gloucestershire. DISTORT OF TEWKESBURY. of safety.* The Saxons termed most liills that had entrench- ments upon them Beonh, or Burij, and hence some have sup- posed that there was a camp at or near to Tewkesbury at the time of its foundation. It is s;iid by Casar, that u what the Britons call a town, is a tract of woody country, surrounded by a mound and ditch, for the security of themselves and their cattle against the incursions of their enemies;" and we may reasonably believe Tewkesbury to have been a town of this description from very early times, as it is certain that it was nearly encompassed by immense tracts of wood land, and the rivers alone formed a natural defence in times of war and danger, such as few other situations presented. The Romans therefore perhaps found the spot, on which Tewkesbury now stands, occupied by the Britons, and by them denominated a town. It is probable that the imperial legions took possession of Tewkesbury, a.d. 44, at the time they pene- trated as far a^ C'aer Glow (Gloucester), t lie name of which place they changed to (Jlevum. We shall endeavour, in a Kubsequent chapter, to shew that the " conquerors of the world" had roads either through or in the immediate vicinity of this place; and from the following passage in Tacitus, " I/lc" (Ostorius) " (/cfraJicrr arma suspcctis, cincfosquc cns/ris Anto- IMMN cl Sdln-'nuim Jfurios cohibi iff para I ," f it has been inferred that the Roman pro-pnctor Ostorius Scapula, in the reign of the Emperor Claudius Ca sar, 1 milt forts on the Severn and Avon, and stationed himself in this neighbourhood for a con- siderable time. Dr. Nash conjectures the meaning of this passage of the historian to be, that Ostorius posted his forces on those rivers, to prevent the Britons, who were in possession of Worcestershire, from marching further than Tewkesbury. * A burgh is defined to be " the placing or situation of many houses together." — Cluvvrius Gcrmania Antiqua. And Sir Robert Cotton says, "we use this word Buryus, liurij, Bonmgkj being all one, as a common name for a town." — Ilcartu's Antiq. Disc. v. 1. p. 105. f Taeit. Annal. b. 12, p. 31. 1G HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. ' From this it would appear, that the Roman general planted his army at the Mythe, where are the remains of a strong fortification, with a tumulus; and also at Towbury Hill, in the parish of Twyning, about three miles distant, where there is a large elevated encampment, which Leland supposes was the site of the residence of one of the Mercian kings, though there can be no doubt of its having been also a Roman station.* It may indeed be said, that there is now observable a chain of fortifications along the banks of the Severn, from Tewkesbury to Worcester ; for, independently of those at the Mythe and Twyning, there are traces of entrenchments on the hill at Southend, near Upton ; and in the neighbourhood of Kempsey, * In Roman camps, the figure was generally square or oblong, with the angles sometimes obtuse or rounded oft' ; and Horsley says, that, in select- ing a site for their encampments, " there is nothing that the Romans seem to have had a greater regard to, than the convenience of a river." The situation of the camp at Twyning was therefore well suited to their views ; and as Roman coins have been frequently found upon the spot, there is every probability that it was occupied by the armies of Rome. The form is an irregular oblong square ; the west side, which looks towards the Severn, is nearly twice as long as the east ; and the north and west sides are strongly defended by a precipitous declivity. The camp comprises nearly twenty acres of fine fertile pasture land, and forms part of the estate of William Law Phelps, esq. who has a mansion contiguous, called Puckrup House. It required comparatively little labour to suit it to the purposes of a military encampment, for nature formed it a considerable headland : it is about half a mile distant from the Severn, and commands a view of that river for some length, as well as a great extent of country on both sides thereof. It is fortified all round with entrenchments, and on the south side is a considerable excavation, where probably the residence of the general was placed, for the sake of enjoying as much as possible of the meridian sun, an indulgence needed by the natives of a climate so much warmer. As the camps of the Romans were frequently adopted and altered by the different invading powers which succeeded them in their ascendancy over Britain, it is extremely probable that this camp was occupied by the Saxons and Danes, and might indeed have been the residence of more than one of the Mercian monarchs. Leland calls this spot " Tetbyri Castelle," but perhaps the mistake originated with the transcriber or printer, and not with the venerable intiquary : he says it "is a two miles from Theokesbyri, above it, in ripa lava Sabrince, apon a cliv with doble diches, in the paroche of Twyning. It is now overgrowne with trees and bushes of juniper. It longgid to Winchelcumbe abbay. Peraventure it was King Offa or King Kenulphus' house." — Itin. v. 6. p. 76. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 17 about three miles from Worcester, a strong encampment is very- distinguishable. As Upton has undisputed claims to having been a Roman station, it may therefore be concluded that these fortifications owe their construction to Ostorius. There are also the remains of a large camp at Kemerton Hill,* and of a smaller one at Conderton Hill,f both of which command an extensive line of level country, and overlook the Severn and the Avon for a considerable distance : in the neigh- bourhood of these camps, especially near the latter, a number of Roman coins have at various times been discovered. Mr. Lethieullier exhibited to the society of antiquaries, in 1730, a silver Trajan and a brass Maximian, found in a meadow near Tewkesbury. | Roman coins are now frequently dug up in the Oldbury gardens, and many were found in the neigh- bourhood of the abbey church in 1828. The Severn was anciently the boundary of two distinct nations, viz. the Silures, or natives of the western bank, includ- ing Herefordshire, Monmouthshire, and a portion of South Wales, and the Dobuni, who occupied the eastern bank, and the extended heights in its rear.§ Tacitus calls the Silures an insulting and pugnacious race, and the Romans could only effect their subjugation after a nine years' war, when Carac- tacus, who had frequently triumphed over the invaders, was defeated by Ostorius. Against the incursions of their rapacious * On Kemerton Hill is a large camp, of a triangular shape, two sides of which are defended by the steep precipice of Bredon Hill, looking to the north and west ; the south and south-east sides are guarded by two ditches, about twenty yards wide each ; the whole ground within the camp is upwards of twenty-one acres. — Nash's Worcestershire. f The camp on Conderton Hill is of an oval shape, one hundred and sixty-five yards long and seventy-one yards wide, and is traditionally said to have been constructed by the Danes. The Romans however probably occupied it, as the coins of that empire are not only sometimes found in its vicinity, but also in the adjoining village of Overbury. , % Gough's Add. to Camd. § The Dobuni, or as they are named by Dio, the Boduni, inhabited the counties of Gloucester and Oxford ; which were afterwards comprehended in the Roman province Britannia Prima. c 18 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. neighbours, the Dobuni threw up fortresses on the range of hills which extend from the Cotswolds to Bath;* and these forti- fications were subsequently adopted by the Romans, whilst they occupied Britain. Some of these camps are decidedly British, others Roman, and it would be difficult to say whether some partake most of the British, Danish, or Roman character — having been doubtlessly altered by the successive reigning powers, to suit their ideas of conveniency or utility. The earliest account we have of the history of Tewkesbury , to which any degree of credit can be given, informs us that Odo and Dodo, two noble Saxon brothers, who flourished at the commencement of the eighth century, and w ho were joint lords of the manor, had a palace here; and that they either converted their residence into a religious house, or founded one near thereto, and endowed it w ith considerable possessions. Camden has preserved the following inscription, which, he says, was to be seen at Tewkesbury long after the transaction which it was designed to commemorate took place : J)XNC 3CVLXCD UGH I TOD DODO DVX CON86ERXRI FeniT in eEELesiTco. The import of which is, that " Duke Dodo caused this royal palace to be converted into a church.'' But Dugdale affirms, that the Register of the Abbey of Tewkesbury refers this inscription to the Duke's house at Deerhurst. f- * Independently of those already enumerated, there are several other camps in the vicinity of Tewkesbury, viz. oq .NOitin^liani Hill, Cleeve Hill, Leekhampton Hill, Criekley Hill, Churehdown, &c. f Whether Camden is correct, or whether he erroneously attributed to Tewkesbury an inscription which belonged to Deerhurst, it is certain that the following was placed over tin gate of Deerhurst priory : " Hanc Aulam Dodo Dux consecrari fceit in Ecelesiam, ad Honorem Beata? Maria? Yirginis ob ainorem fratris sui Almariei." And in the year 1675, a stone was dog up in an orchard on Mr. Powell's estate, near the cburch at Deerhurst, which was thus inscribed : " Odda Dux jussit hanc Aulam regiam eonstrui atque dedieari in honorem S. Trinitatis pro Anima Germani sui Elfriei qua? de hoe loeo assumpta est. Ealdredus vero Episcopus qui eandem dedieavit n id. Aprilis, xiv aiitem anno Regni S. Edwardi Regis Anglorum." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 19 If the ancient residence of the lords of Tewkesbury were thus appropriated to religious uses by those pious noblemen, it is evident that they or their successors shortly afterwards built here another castle — better calculated perhaps for the abode of potent chiefs in those perilous days than the former one. This castle stood on what was then called Holme Hill, a little to the south-west of the town, but no remains of it whatever are at present discernable.* We may be assured that it was an early structure, as its name, Holme, denotes it to have been of Saxon origin. Leland says that the Clares Earls of Gloucester generally resided there, that part of the building had been standing within the recollection of persons living in his time, and that the bottoms of the walls were visible when he wrote his Itinerary. At this castle, Robert the first Earl of Gloucester invited the abbot and monks of the adjoining monastery every Sunday in the year to dinner ; and by its destruction these ecclesiastics lost not only a place of frequent and hospitable entertainment, but the certain influence of * Holme Castle stood near the top of a field, now called the Vineyard, where recently a considerable excavation remained, which had evidently been made for the purpose of procuring the stone which had been used in the foundations of the building — probably for repairing the adjoining turn- pike-road. Upon levelling some of the hillocks, in 1826, a quantity of rubbish and mortar, many painted bricks, and also large solid masses of common bricks and stones, were discovered ; the appearance of the latter clearly demonstrating that the edifice, of which they formed a part, had been destroyed by fire. The Vineyard has by some been considered the spot where Queen Margaret entrenched her army in 1471 : it was perhaps the scene of some blood-shed, towards the close of the battle ; but inde- pendently of the fact that the queen's encampment was at Gupshill, the form and extent of the mounds on the two lower sides of the field, which had principally been the means of giving rise to the idea, would rather have led to the conclusion that they were the sites of the boundary walls of the castle. In corroboration of this notion, when one of those shelving banks was cut through, in 1821, for the purpose of making a drain, hewn stones of a great size and thickness, strongly cemented with lime, sand and gravel, were found at the depth of five or six feet from the surface. Before the field was levelled, one might indeed, in imagination, have traced out in the Vineyard not only the ground plan of Holme Castle, but also the extent of the whole area included within its bounds, as well as the situation of many subordinate members of that once celebrated baronial residence. 20 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. powerful patrons whenever the temporal concerns of their church required it. The building was burnt down during the contentions for the crown between Stephen and Maud : it was afterwards rebuilt, and is supposed to have been finally rased about the period of the attainder of Hugh le Despencer the second, early in the thirteenth century. As the great lords of this place were then deprived of a residence here, suited to their rank, it may be conjectured that they were thenceforward guests of the abbot, whenever they came to visit their exten- sive j3ossessions at Tewkesbury. The early periods of the history of this town are very barren of interesting events : some considerable ravages are said to have been committed here by the Danes, but what the spoliation was is not particularly noticed. It is known that, about 877, this people plundered the country about Gloucester; and in the following year encamped Jit C irencester, and there continued during the winter. It is therefore probable that Tewkesbury came in for its share of misfortune and privation about the same time. The state of the borough in the reign of King Edward the Confessor, and at the Norman conquestj may be in some degree ascertained from the extracts which will be given in a subsequent portion of this work from Doomsday-Book. Most of our early historians assert, that it was in the imme- diate neighbourhood of Tewkesbury that the personal conflict took place, in the year 1016, between Edmund Ironside and Canute the Great, which terminated the contest for sovereign power which had for a long while desolated the kingdom.* The princes, with their armies, having approached each other on the banks of the Severn, Edmund posted his men on the western shore, and Canute on the eastern ; when the former, wishing to spare the further effusion of his subjects' blood, offered his enemy to decide their quarrel by single combat. * Leland's Collectanea, vol. 3, p. 354.— Holinshed, vol. 1, p. 255.— Milton's Britain, b. 4, p. 265.— Speed's Hist. p. 371, 1056.— Gibson's Camden, v. 1, p. 272.— Strutt's Saxon Chron. v. 2, p. 103. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 21 The royal Dane accepted the challenge ; and after a long and ineffectual struggle for the mastery, in the presence of their respective armies, the princes became weary, and at length entered into a pacific arrangement to divide the kingdom between them.* It was agreed that Canute should reign in the north, and Edmund in the south ; after which, the com- batants exchanged their arms and garments, and dispersed their followers.-}- * In the Chronicle of Ethelred, abbot of Rievesby, the following parti- cular account of this singular engagement is given : — " Both kings meeting with their armies on the banks of the Severn, Edmund sat down with his men on the western shore, Canute on the eastern. But there is an island situate in the midst of the river, which is called Holenghegc, to which the kings being carried, protected with the most splendid arms, enter upon the single combat, both nations beholding. But when the strength of their spears failed, both from the valour of those who pushed them, as well as the resistance of their very strong shields, they assail each other hand to hand with drawn swords. They fought stoutly, Valour assisting Edmund; Fortune, Canute : the swords rattle around their helmet-protected heads ; sparks fly out from the collision of the metals ; but when anger, as is usual from the very emotion of war, inflamed the more robust bosom of Edmund; he becomes more powerful by his blood warming him ; he raises his right hand, brandishes his sword, and iterates his blows upon the head of his enemy with such vehemence, that he seemed to the spectators not so much to strike as to thunder. For the fire bursting out between the sword and helmet at every blow, seemed not only to appear, but even to blaze. Canute however perceiving by his shorter breathing that his strength was failing him, thought of addressing the youth upon the subject of peace ; but, as he was crafty, fearing lest, if his failure should appear to the youth, he would not hear even a word of peace, collecting all his spirit within him, and strain- ing what strength he had left to the utmost, with admirable valour he rushes in one attack upon Edmund; and by and by withdrawing himself a little, begs the young man to halt a moment, and give a hearing to what he wished to say. Edmund assents, and Canute agrees concerning the division of the kingdom." f Some historians say, that when the two armies met at Deerhurst, and Edmund challenged Canute to single combat, the latter refused, alleging, " that though he was superior to his rival in mental powers, yet he dis- trusted his own little body against a man of so great a bulk ; but added, that, under present circumstances, it might be prudent for both to lay aside their resentments, and divide the kingdom." A reference to the principal oflicers of each army was the consequence ; and after a short con- ference, a peace was concluded by a partition of the kingdom. — William of Malm. p. 40. Hoveden Annul, p. 250. Huntingdon Hist. Sfc. 22 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The scene of this memorable battle is said to have been on a little island in the Severn, called Oalnij, Olney, or the Isle of Eight, about two miles below Tewkesbury. At present however there is no place either bearing that name, or correctly answering to the description ; but it is traditionally said, and appearances would fully countenance such an idea, that there was formerly a small island, a little below the church at Deer- hurst, at the bend of the stream, now called by mariners "The Tail of Deerhurst. " Here* if at any place in this part of the Severn, must the rival princes have contended for the sovereignty of England. In dry seasons, a broad solid bed of rocky clay may be seen far above the water, which, united to the sudden shifting of the sand banks near it, renders the navigation of the river at this point more diilicult and dan- gerous than in any other part of the Severn. On the spot which is pointed out as the foundations of this island, tin; crews of perhaps hall' a dozen trading barges at once, (when they are prevented passing " Deerhurst Tail'' Cor want of suffi- cient water,) now sometimes hold what they term a " wake" — in imitation of the village wakes in the neighbourhood — and thus wile away the tedious hours occasioned by the interruption in their voyage. There is an island, near Gloucester which is called Alney, and hence some w riters have considered that to have been the scene of the interesting engagement between Edmund and .Canute; but all historians agree in asserting that the truce was completed at Deerhurst. Tewkesbury suffered greatly in the wars in the early part of the reign of Henry the first; and during the disputes between Stephen and his unyielding barons, in the year 1140, Waleran de Beaumont, son of the Earl of Leicester, ransacked the town, and took away with him spoils to an immense amount, though he left untouched every species of property belonging either to the abbey or the members thereof* * The city of Worcester was, on the 7th of Nov. 1 180, plundered and set on fire by Milo, Earl of Hereford, one of the most zealous adherents of the Empress Maud, who came from Gloucester with a great army of horse HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 23 Tewkesbury was made a free burgh by Robert and William successive Earls of Gloucester ; and the liberties which were by them granted to the inhabitants, afford a tolerable picture of the constitution of these burghs under feudal lords.* John Earl of Cornwall, brother of King Richard the first, and who was himself afterwards King of England, resided frequently at his castle' at Tewkesbury : he repaired some of the roads and bridges, and was a considerable benefactor to the place. During the time the manor was vested in the family of the Clares Earls of Gloucester, the privileges of the inhabitants were considerably augmented :f those great and powerful barons were generally resident upon their estate at this place, and we are told that Richard de Clare the second entertained sixty knights here during the Christmas festivities while he pos- sessed the manor. When the lordship of Tewkesbury became separated from the honour of Gloucester, King Edward the and foot. Waleran, the new earl of Worcester, on the 30th of the same month, took possession of the castle of Worcester, which had held out for Stephen, and marching out at the head of the Worcester men, made some severe reprisals upon the tenants and adherents of Milo ; he took Sudeley Castle in Gloucestershire, and ravaged the whole country round it, return- ing with many prisoners, droves of cattle, and store of goods, to Worcester. In 1140, king Stephen arrived in Worcester, and while he marched from thence to reduce Hereford, Waleran fell upon Tewkesbury, with a great multitude of armed men, and took immense spoils, sparing only the goods of the church of Tewkesbury, being overcome with the importunity of the abbot and friars : he burnt the magnificent seat of Robert Earl of Glou- cester, and all things round about, and pillaged or laid in ashes all the houses till he approached the city of Gloucester, within the distance of a mile. On the return of the earl with his army to Worcester, he protested with an inhuman glee of triumph, that " neither in Normandy nor in England had he ever burnt more villages and houses in one excursion." — Contin. Flor. Wig. * For this charter of liberties, see Appendix, No. 1. f A charter of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, dated at Rothwell, in the county of Northampton, 26th April, in the year of grace 131 1, and in the 7th year of King Edward the second, recites the grants by William and Robert heretofore Earls of Gloucester his progenitors, and extends the liberties by them given to the burgesses of Tewkesbury. This charter of Gilbert is recited at length in that of king Edward the third. 24 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. third, on the 12th of August, in the eleventh year of his reign, confirmed all the grants which had been made to the burgesses of Tewkesbury by a long and splendid race of patrons, and further extended their privileges.* There is an exemplification of the last charter, dated 20th Jan. 15 Edw. III. King Richard the second, on the 10th of Dec. in the eighth year of his reign, confirmed all the charters which had been previously granted to the inhabitants of the borough. f About the beginning of the fifteenth century, Tewkesbury is supposed to have made considerable progress in population and importance, but the records of those times afford us little information respecting the condition of the people in places of this description, either as to their numbers, the state of their trade, or their advancement in civilization. From a petition, which was sent by the Commons to the House of Lords, " at the instance and especial request of the faithful liege people of our sovereign lord the king, the bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty of the town of Tewkesbury," in the eighth year of the reign of Henry the sixth, it is evident that the inhabitants of this borough at that time Carried on a considerable commerce with Bristol, and otljer ports on the river Severn. The petition, after stating that the people of Tewkesbury have been accustomed to ship "all manner of merchandize" down the Severn to Bristol, &c. complains of the disorderly conduct of the people of the Forest of Dean, who, it is said, come " with great riot and strength, in manner of war, as enemies of a strange country," and stop and plunder their barges "of wheat, malt and flour, and other divers goods," as they pass by the coasts near the Forest ; and that the marauders sometimes not only despoil them of their merchandize, but destroy their vessels, and even cast the crews overboard and drown them. J * For King Edward's charter, see Appendix, No. 2. f These charters were also further confirmed 4 Henry IV. — 4 Henry VI. —20 Henry VI. (with a grant of two fairs.)— 20 Henry VII. — 2 Edward VI.— 1 and 2 Phil, and Mary.— and 2 Eliz. % This document, which is highly interesting, is given at length in the Appendix, No. 3. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 25 In compliance with this petition, an act of parliament was passed (8 Hen. II. cap. 27,) by which it was enacted that the inhabitants of Tewkesbury shall have an action of debt (according to the statute of Winchester) to recover against the commonalty of the Forest of Dean, and hundreds of Ble- dislow and Westbury, (although they are no commonalty,) recompence for such robberies, oppressions and wrongs, which have been or shall be done unto them upon the river Severn, by any persons belonging to the said forest or hundreds; that the goods of every private person may be taken upon an execution awarded against the commonalty; and that any person may arrest and imprison the offenders. We are now arrived at an aera in which the name of Tewkesbury becomes closely connected with one of the most important transactions recorded in English history : we allude of course to the memorable and bloody battle which was fought at this place, in the year 1471, between the rival houses of York and Lancaster; and as this interesting event has given a degree of mournful celebrity to the town, we shall, in the succeeding chapter, endeavour to embody those particulars respecting it, which have been handed down to us by our venerable chroniclers, with the facts which the investigation of recent historians has elicited. T) CHAPTER III. BATTLE OF TEWKESBURY KING Edward tin- fourth having sent his unfortunate rival, Henry the sixth, a prisoner to the tower, ami slain the powerful Earl ol' Warwick and routed his army in the great battle at Barnct, was left at liberty to watch the movements of the courageous Margaret, consort of kin- Henry, who, with her son, a young prince of grea* promise, supported by a small body of French troops, landed at Weymouth on the same day mi which the dreadful slaughter of her friends at Barnet took place. When the queen received intelligence of her husbands eaptisity, and of the defeat and deatli of Warwick, her accus- tomed intrepidity ol spirit for a while appeared to forsake' her; and she immediately foresaw all the dismal consequent es of these calamities. Despair at first induced her to seek sanctuary in the abbey of Beaulieu, in Hampshire; but find- ing herself encouraged and supported by Edmund Duke of Somerset, Courtenay Earl of Devonshire, Tudor Earl of Pem- broke, Viscount Beaumont, Lord Wenlock, Lord John Beau- fort, Sir Hugh Courtenay, and other men of rank, she determined to defend to the utmost the ruins of her fallen fortunes. Having assembled these noblemen and gentlemen, with their followers, at Exeter, she advanced through the counties of De on and Somerset, until she reached Bristol, and every day added to the number of her troops — the report of which induced Edward to hasten from London to arrest her progress. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 27 On Thursday the second of May, 1471, Queen Margaret proceeded on her march to Berkeley, and from thence to Gloucester, with the intention of passing through that city into Wales, in order to join the army which the Earl of Pem- broke had been raising for her support in the principality. But King Edward, being apprised of her object, had sent to Richard Beauchamp, eldest son of Lord Beauchamp of Powick, to whom he had recently given the custody of the city and castle of Gloucester, commanding him not to suffer the queen to enter that city ; and promising, if she attempted to assail it, that he would come with his whole army instantly to its relief. Margaret, on finding that preparations had been made to pre- vent her admittance, at first threatened to assault the gates and walls of the city ; but, from the near approach of the enemy, she subsequently thought it would be imprudent to waste her strength and time in wreaking her vengeance upon the inha- bitants, and therefore hastened with the utmost expedition to Tewkesbury, with the intention there of crossing the Severn. The queen arrived with her army at Tewkesbury about four o'clock in the afternoon of Friday, having travelled during that day and the preceding night upwards of " six and thirty miles," with very little refreshment, so that both men and horses were nearly exhausted. Here therefore she was com- pelled to make a stand, and await the arrival of her enemies, who were so near as to render the crossing of the river im- practicable, without exposing her whole army to destruction. A council of war was immediately held, at which it was determined, according to Holinshed, to entrench themselves " in a close, even hard at the town's end, having the town and abbey at their backs ; and directly before them, and upon each side of them, they were defended with cumbersome lanes, deep ditches, and many hedges, besides hills and dales, so as the place seemed as noisome as might be to approach unto." The queen hoped that the Earl of Pembroke would be able to come to her assistance before the king compelled her to an engage- ment; as it was well understood that he was rapidly marching to her relief. 26 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. King Edward reached the camp at Sodbury Hill on' the same day on which Margaret . quitted Bristol; and having, as before noticed, prevented lier entrance into Gloucester, he, very early on the following morning, marched his army, consisting of three thousand infantry and a large body of cavalry, over the hills to "a village called Ohiltenham," at which he arrived in the afternoon, having had a long and tedious march of thirty miles in a very hot day. At Chel- tenham he received intelligence that the queen's army was encamped at Tewkesbury, and al ter refreshing himself and his troops, he marched forward, and lodged that night in a field about three miles from Margaret's encampment.' 4 At day -light the next morning, on Saturday tlx 1 fourth of May, Kd ward drew towards his enemies in three lines; the first of which was commanded by his i ictorious brother Richard Duke of Gloucester ;| the centre by himself and the Duke of Clarence ; and the rear by the -Marquis of Dorset and Lord Hastings. lie then displayed his banners, blew his trumpets, and marched directly upon his antagonists. The Duke of Somerset had arranged the queens army also in three lines, behind those entrenchments which they had hastily cast up: he himself, supported by his brother Lord John BeaufOrt, took his station in the flout line, that he might withstand the first assault of the enemy, which he expected to be furiously made ; the second line was conducted by Lord Wenlock and the Lord Prior of St. .John's, under the Prince of Wales, who was considered commander in chief; and the Lar) of Devonshire headed the line reserved for the fear. Holinshed says, that the queen's camp was " right hard fco be assailed, by reason of the deep ditches, hedges, trees, bushes, and cumbersome lanes, w herew ith the same w as fenced, both in * As the road from Cheltenham to Tewkesbury then ran through Elm- stone Hardwick and Tredington, we may venture to suppose that at one of those places King Edward and his army rested for the night. f The duke, who was only in his nineteenth year, on this occasion won the identical suit of bright polished steel armour in which, fourteen years afterwards, he was slain at Bosworth. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY 29 front and on the sides, so as the king could not well approach them to any advantage. Nevertheless, he being well furnished with artillery, the same was aptly lodged to annoy the enemy, that they received great damage thereby; and the Duke of Gloucester, who lacked no policy, galled them grievously with the shot of arrows : and they rewarded their adversaries home again with like payment, both with shot of arrows and artillery, although they had not the like plenty of guns as the king had." The experienced Edward soon observed that Somerset had left several openings in his entrenchments, through which he intended, if a favourable opportunity should occur, to sally forth upon the assailants ; and being aware of the impetuosity of that nobleman, he ordered his brother Gloucester to make a furious attack upon the enemy'3 quarters, and, after a short attempt, to give way a little, and then retreat with precipita- tion, till he should have inveigled Somerset from his entrench- ments; and as soon as he should perceive that he had enticed him to a proper distance, then suddenly to halt, face about, and return to the charge with redoubled vigour. Richard joy- fully embraced this idea, " because," as one of our historians observes, "there was something of treachery in the execution of it ;" and having entrapped his adversary into the snare thus artfully laid for him, by enticing him across a lane into an open field, he suddenly ordered his troops to halt, recover their ranks, and face about: this command, considering it a presage of victory, they obeyed with alacrity, and stood firm to receive their eager pursuers, who, when too late, began to suspect the stratagem of their enemies. They had proceeded too far, how- ever, to be able to regain their former position, and were therefore compelled to make the best stand of which their perilous situation would admit ; but Richard led on his men to the charge with determined bravery, and penetrated with ease the open riles of his incautious adversaries, pursuing them into the very entrenchments with horrible slaughter. In this successful affair, Gloucester was much assisted by the sudden arrival of two hundred spearmen, whom the king 30 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. had sent to guard the corner of a wood which ran down froth the Park, about a quarter of a mile from the encampment, in order to prevent his army from being surprised by any ambush which might have been placed there by Somerset; and which detachment was ordered, should there be no ambuscade to demand its attention, to render assistance to the main body in any other manner that the events of the battle might seem to require. Somerset, thrown off his guard by the unexpected artifice of his enemies, became almost mad with passion, and riding furiously up to Lord Wenlock, who had not advanced to the support of the first line, according to his express orders, after reviling him and calling him traitor, he cleft him to the earth with a stroke of his battle axe. The Lancastrian army, astonished at this act of rashness and folly, and being closely pursued by the king's troops, who now, with Gloucester at their head, had entered their entrenchments, began to give way on every side, and the rout quickly became general. The queen's forces endeavoured to save themgelves by flight, but their victorious opponents followed up their suc- cesses with such vigour, that considerable numbers were cut to pieces in the pursuit ; and the carnage was terrible "at a mill in the meadow fast by the town," where great numbers of them were drowned in endeavouring to escape from their reckless pursuers.* On this eventful day, Margaret, aided by the gallantry of her son, the ardour of Somerset, and the devoted attachment of a considerable army, might probably have been hailed as the victor, had the judgment of her commanders been equal to their valour ; but the inexperience of the prince, and the impetuosity of the duke, threw the advantage of the battle into the scale of her more cautious and able adversaries. * Sir John Harley, who was sheriff of Shropshire in 1482, was knighted by King Edward in the Gastons, immediately after the battle, as a reward for the bravery he displayed in the conflict— George Neville, second Lord Abergavenny, being with his father at the battle of Tewkesbury, was then knighted by Edward, at Barton, near Tewkesbury.— Coll. Peer. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 31 It is computed, by some historians, that the Lancastrians lost four thousand men in this battle, but others estimate the number only at three thousand, and some much lower. Trussell, who is considered by Malone to be correct in such matters, states the exact number to be three thousand and thirty-two. In this engagement fell the following distinguished indi- viduals: Thomas Courtenay Earl of Devonshire, Lord John Beaufort, Lord Wenlock, Sir Edmund Havarde, Sir William Wittingham, Sir John Delves, Sir John Locknore, Sir William Vauxe, Sir William Lermouth, Sir John Urmon, Sir Thomas Seymour, Sir William Rouse, Henry Barrow, esq. William Fielding, esq. and Thomas Harvey, esq.* Drayton, in his "Miseries of Queen Margaret," says, in reference to the battle of Tewkesbury — " 111 was her choice of this uneven ground, " Luckless the place, unlucky was the hour, " The heavens upon her so extremely frown'd, " As on her head their plagues at once to pour ; " As in a deluge here her hopes were drown'd, " Here sees she death her faithful friends devour ; " The earth is fill'd with groans, the air with cries, " Horror on each side doth enclose her eyes. " Never did death so terrible appear, " Since first their arms the English learnt to wield ; " Who would see slaughter, might behold it here " In the true shape, upon this fatal field ; " In vain was valour, and in vain was fear, " In vain to fight, in vain it was to yield, " In vain to fly ; for destiny discust, " By their own hands, or others, die they must." The Duke of Somerset escaped the carnage, and accom- panied by the great prior of St. John's, and fourteen other officers, cut his way bravely through some of the enemy's parties, and sought sanctuary in the abbey church. Edward pursued them thither, but was stopped at the porch by the priest, who, presenting the host, would not suffer him to defile See Appendix, No. 4. 32 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. the church with blood; nor would he permit the king- to entei until he had promised a pardon to the refugees. The Prince of Wales, being taken prisoner by Sir Richard Crofts, towards the close of the battle, was For some time secreted by him; but after the termination of the contest, pro- clamation was made, in the king's name, that whoever would produce the prince, either alive or dead, should have an annuity of one hundred pounds, and that the prince's life shonld be spared if he were brought forth unhurt. Sir Richard, confiding in the royal promise that clemenc y Bhouid be shewn to the youthful captive, hesitated not to bring him into tin- presence of the conquering Edward, who, in the most haughty manner, demanded of him how he dared to invade his dominions ' The noble-minded prince fearlessly answered, that lie came t<> recover his father's liberty, and the crown which Edward had usurped. A person of maturer judgment, in the power of a relentless foe, would not perhaps have made a reply so imprudent and offensive, though a magnanimous conqueror should have excused it on account of the youth and the peculiar situation of the prince: Edward, however, was bo incensed at this ill-timed rebuke, that, as sonic historians say, he pushed him violently from him with his hand ; but, accord- ing to the generally received opinion, the king struck him on the face with his gauntlet so furiously, that the blood gushed out of his mouth. This behaviour on the part of the king served as a signal for the Dukes of Gloucester and Clarence tli e Marquis of Dorset and Lord Hastings, who brutally fell upon him and pierced him to death with their daggers.* " This unhappy bud of royalty," says llutton, M son of a most unhappy father, was thus cut off from the ancient stem of the Plantagenets, in the very spring of existence — a fine figure of eighteen ; and had no greater funeral honours paid him, than to be flung into a large hole, dug in the monastery of * Tradition has uniformly pointed out a house in the Church-Street, standing opposite the market-place, now the property and in the occupation of Mr. John Moore, auctioneer, as the scene of this inhuman tragedy. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 33 Tewkesbury, there to ferment and mingle with the bodies of those common soldiers who had been killed in the field of battle." Shakspeare gives the following fine description of this unfortunate scion of royalty : — " A sweeter and a lovelier gentleman, — " Framed in the prodigality of nature, " Young, valiant, wise, and no doubt right royal, — " The spacious world cannot again afford." Some historians have considered that the Duke of Gloucester was the contriver of the plan, first to insult the Prince of Wales, arid afterwards to murder him if he should in any way attempt to resent his injuries: the subsequent conduct of this "ambi- tious York" appears to give great plausibility to the idea, though the general odium which he incurred after his death might perhaps have inclined the nation to aggravate the number of his crimes without adequate authority. Buck,* in his life of Richard the Third ; Horace Walpole,f in bis Historic Doubts; Dr. Masters,! in the second volume of the * Buck, who was certainly too much of a partizan, affirms that the dcatli of the Prince of Wales was occasioned by his own insolence ; and says, "I have seen, in a faithful manuscript chronicle of those times, (Chron. in quarto MS. apud Dom. Reg. Rob. Cotton,) that tht Duke of Gloucester only, of all the great persons, stood still and drew not his sword." But in the preface to Spelman and Lcman's History of the Civil Wars between York and Lancaster, it is observed, " if Richard was then in presence, and undoubtedly he was, we ean hardly suppose that he would stand by, as an unconcerned spectator, while all the rest were dabbling with their daggers ; for that the young prince was murdered, there can be no doubt." — Carte says it was Dorset and Hastings only who dispatched Prince Edward. f Mr. Walpole was the first of modern writers who attempted wholly to rescue the memory of Richard from the obloquy which had been thrown upon it by Lancastrian writers : he is not contented with palliating the crimes with which he has been charged, but labours earnestly to vindicate him alike from every deformity both of body and mind. X Dr. Masters, in endeavouring to extenuate Richard's conduct respect- ing this murder, says, " if however the Duke of Gloucester had any share in this transaction, he could be but one among many ; and therefore the whole of the guilt ought by no means to be placed to his account." E 34 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Archaelogia; and Mr. Hutton,* in his Battle of Bosworth Field, may be ranked among the most distinguished of those who have endeavoured to extenuate the imputed guilt of Gloucester with respect to this transaction. Mr. Sharon Turner |- doubts the truth of the murder of the Prince of Wales in cold blood alter the battle, but says, he was taken whilst flying towards the town, and there slain. He notices, that the Harleian MS. "not only gives no sanc- tion to the popular tale of Edward's calling the prince before him; rebuking him for his opposition, and striking him for his answer, and of Gloucester and C larence stabbing him; but declares, that he was slain in the field." He further observes, that Bernard Andreas, who wrote the life of Henry the seventh, in 1509, about thirty-eight years after the battle, and which is now in manuscript, though he abuses Richard * Mr. Button does not, like Mr. Walpole, attempt entirely 1<> exculpate Richard; lie thinks his " crimes originated from ambition, and took their complexion from the boldness of his character," and seems hall' disposed to apologise for his delinquencies on the plea of necessity ; " So spoke the fiend, and with necessity, " The tyrant's plea, excused his devilish deeds." — Milt mi. Respecting the murder of the Prince of Wales at Tewkesbury, he observes, that as Clarence, Dorset and Hastings were all Richard's seniors, "it cannot be supposed a lad of eighteen would first draw his dagger, in the presence of his superiors in age, w ho had always controulcd him." This is however but a weak defence. Of his general character he truly asserts, that, "Richard the third, of all the English monarehs, bean the greatest con- trariety of character. Some few have conferred upon him almost angelic excellence, have clouded his errors, and blazoned every virtue that could adorn a man. Others present him in the blackest dye ; his thoughts were evil, and that continually, and his actions diabolical ; the most degraded mind inhabited the most deformed body." After endeavouring to gloss over the turpitude of Richard's character, by comparing him with others who have been guiltv of equal <>r perhaps of greater crimes than himself, Mr. Hutton concludes, "He was a faithful servant, a brave soldier, an admirable legislator ; yet one of the vilest of men. Perhaps history cannot produce another instance of such an assemblage of virtues and defects in one person. In him were united, as many excellencies as would furnish several shining characters, and as many faults as would damn a troop." f History of England during the Middle Ages, v. 3, p. 335. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 35 for his other crimes, yet does not hint that he had stabbed the son of Margaret ; his words implying that the prince fell in the battle. These authorities are far from conclusive, and their weight is by no means sufficient to induce us to discredit historians who form a contrary opinion. A document indeed which has just been brought to light, entitled, "Account of King Edward the Fourth's second Invasion of England," * drawn up by one of his followers and transmitted to the Duke of Burgundy a few days after the death of the prince, might be adduced as a strong argument against Mr. Turner's supposition. This description of the battle was confessedly written by a Yorkist, and one who probably witnessed the discomfiture of the Lancastrians at Tewkesbury, but he does not, in the body of his narrative, name the Prince of Wales among the other persons who are there said to have been slain, and undoubtedly he would not have omitted this the most important personage, if he had been killed in the fight. It is true that, at the foot of his communication, he places Prince Edward among those slain at Tewkesbury. This greatly tends to prove, that he did not fall in the field, and that the writer did not choose to tell in what manner he came by his death. Writers of different parties at the period which immediately followed the struggles for power between the houses of York and Lancaster — like too many in more recent times, — were so influenced by their fears and prejudices, that it is difficult now to decide who is most entitled to credit ; and it is hopeless to expect that we shall ever be able satisfactorily to determine what degree of reliance can be placed on many of the most interesting and important events recorded in English history. After the victory, the king went to the abbey church, and before the high altar returned thanks to God for the success of his army. On the second day after that on which the Duke of Somerset and his friends had fled to sanctuary, Edward, * See Appendix, No. 5. :3<3 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. indulging in those hateful passions which are unilbmily called into action in times of civil commotion, and disregarding alike his former solemn promises of pardon and the anathemas of the abbot and monks, commanded Somerset and his unfortunate companions to be brought before the Duke of Gloucester, who sat as constable of England, assisted by the Duke of Norfolk, who officiated as marshal, " in the midst of the town," before whom they were summarily arraigned and condemned to suffer death. And on Monday, the Gth of May, Edmund Beaufort Duke of Somerset, John J io n s t r o 1 1 1 e r the Lord Prior of St. John's of Jerusalem, Sir Humphrey Autlley, Sir Gervis Clifton, Sir William ('a ivy, Sir Henry Rouse, Sir Thomas Tresham, Sir William N©wbeiOHgllj Sir Henry Courtenay, Mr. John Delves, Mr. John GrOUgft Mr. Walter Courtenay, and eight other gentlciiK i) of rank, were beheaded in the market- place, on a scailold erected there fof tin- purpose. On the same day on which 1 hesr friends of the (jueen suffered an ignominious death for their attachment to her interests, Margaret was found in a poor religious house* in the neighbourhood, and brought before the king, who ordered her to be conveyed to London and confined in tin- tower, hut to be kept apart from her husband; and there she remained until she was ransomed by her father lor ftftj thousand cruuns King Henry expired during bii confinement a leu atefcii after the battle of Ten kcsburj ; hut u hether lie died a natural or violent death is questionable. When the Karl of Pembroke heard of the disastrous over- throw of Margaret'-- army, he disbanded his troops, and lied with his young nephew, Henry Bar! of Richmond, into France* and thus preserved the only surviving branch of the Lancas- trian line; who, at a subsequent period, vanquished Richard * Some accounts say, that the queen was discovered in a waggon or chariot, where she had concealed herself towards the close of die light ; and that the full tide of sorrow which had flowed in upon her, by the loss of the battle and the yet uncertain fate of her son, had almost bereft hex of reeaw and of life. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 3? at Bosworth Field, and ascended the throne of these realms by the name of Henry the seventh.* There are few local memorials respecting the important engagement between the " rival roses " at Tewkesbury ; and no historian or narrator of the transaction has enabled us to determine at what point the contest commenced ; but we shall endeavour to add such observations to the preceding account of this sanguinary conflict, as may possibly furnish some idea of the positions and movements of the contending armies. It has been said that the Lancastrians encamped in the Vineyard, a sloping meadow which faces the south side of the abbey church, the site of Holme Castle; but it cannot reasonably be imagined that Margarets generals would have entrenched themselves in so unfavourable a situation, while much more eligible positions readily presented themselves. In the Vineyard they would have had a long ridge of high land in front of their outworks, with the river Swilgate almost close behind them ; and we must therefore believe that the Duke of Somerset was much more deficient in the art of war than he has ever been represented, before we can suppose he would have selected a position so objectionable. History, tradition and probability unite in leading us to the conclusion, that the queen's army entrenched themselves on the summit of a field now called the Home Ground, on the estate of Mrs. Wintle, at Gupshill, one mile from Tewkesbury, on the eastern side of the road leading to Gloucester and * It is said, on the authority of Stebbing, that when this monarch, in whom were united the families of York and Lancaster, came to the throne, he granted the parochial church of Towton, to the monastery of Tew r - kesbury, to purchase masses for the souls of the Duke of Somerset, his brother John, and others, w r ho lost their lives in the depopulating contest of the roses. — Leland says, that King Richard the third began a chapel over the bodies of the Yorkists slain at the battle of Towton, in Yorkshire ; and Buck, in his life of that monarch, asserts, " he built a church or chapel in Towton, in Gloucestershire, a monument of his thankfulness to Almighty God, for the happy and great victory his brother had upon the partizans of the family of Lancaster." Stebbing may be correct ; but Buck is at least in error in placing Towton in Glouccsterhire. 38 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Cheltenham ; and that the king's army, as he advanced upon his antagonist by the way of Tredington and Rudgeway, over Prest bridge, occupied the sloping ground to the southward, called the Red Piece, on the estate of Edward Ransford, esq. Holinshed's observation, that the queen's entrenchment was " even hard at the town's end," would appear somewhat opposed to the notion of its having been at Gupshill : this place however is not more than half a mile in a direct line from the outskirts of the town. The Lancastrians would here also have had, as the historian observes " the town and abbey at their backs ;" and if they had chosen any other site in its vicinity, it could not with so much appearance of truth hare been said, that their camp was " right hard to be assailed, by reason of the deep ditches, hedges, trees, lushes and cum- bersome lanes, wherewith the same M as fenced, both in the front and on the sides." At Gupshill there is also a small circular entrenchment, surrounded with a ditch and hedge, and shaded with lofty elms, which has immemorially been denominated "Margaret's Camp." It might have been within the limits of this little mound, that the heroic Margaret, previously to the commence- ment of the fatal battle, harangued the brave tm<>|^ with which she was surrounded. The intrepid spirit of the queen is admirably pourtrayed in the address, which Shakspeare has put into her mouth, in the third part of King Henry the sixth, beginning thus — " Great lords, wise men ne'er sit and wail their loss, " But chearly seek how to redress their harms :" and, after urging every motive that could be supposed most to animate her followers, concludes with a reflection not less apposite than beautiful — " Why, courage then! what cannot be avoided, " 'Twere childish weakness to lament, or fear." There are i*ow some considerable ridges and long hollow places, in various directions, near to this inclosure ; and although an enthusiastic enquirer might readily imagine he could discover in them vestiges of military entrenchments, — HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 39 (and more slender grounds have sometimes served for an hypothesis in similar cases,) — yet we will not positively assert that these inequalities in the surface of the field add any considerable weight to our conjectures. Immediately in front of this small inclosure ran the ancient British trackway, in its route from Lincoln's Green to the ford across Swilgate : this might have separated the two armies, and, if so, was "the lane" which Somerset crossed when his opponents inveigled him out of his strong hold. A few paces to the eastward of this station ran another road, which formerly led from Cheltenham into Tewkesbury. No situation on that side of the town could perhaps have been so properly chosen, though it did not merit the appellation of a "wonderful strong position." Exclusive of the artificial means of defence which it presented, and which could readily be increased, there is an advantageous descent from the camp on three sides, forming a kind of head-land to the ridge of high ground which entend* in its rear almost to the town. Unless it be admitted that this w as Margaret's station, Holinshed can scarcely be considered accurate when he says, that Gloucester won the hedge and ditch, entered the close, and drove the Lancastrian troops " up towards the hill from whence they descended." After the Duke of Gloucester had entered the queen's entrenchments, we are informed that "some fled into the park, others into the meadow there at hand, some into the lanes, and some hid themselves in ditches," and that the rout and de- struction of the Lancastrians became general. Great slaughter may at that time have taken place in the Gastons, — a large field which then bore its present name, for Leland terms this conflict "the battle of the Gastons :" it is now divided into several inclosures, but was then probably open, and comprised the three meadows on the eastern and the five on the western side of the present turnpike-road, extending from Holme Hill to Gupshill. Those who fled towards the park and the meadow, were perhaps overtaken and cut to pieces in a field which has thenee been called "the Bloody Meadow" — a long slip of land, 40 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. with shelving" sides, lying to the westward of the turnpike-road, beyond the Windmill Hill, and within a few hundred yards of the house of industry. This " historic field" forms a portion of the fine estate of the Rev. Joseph Shapland 5 and oral testimony still cherishes the rude idea — (as it does with respect to many other places similarly entitled to remembrance by the common people) — that the blood of the vanquished ran down the centre of it in torrents ! The mill, mentioned by Holi&sfaed, at which so much carnage took place, was undoubtedly the abbey mills : thai far probably the poor fugitives, who sought a retreat in the town, had proceeded, when a party of the rictors overtook or by another route met them, and induced them in despair to fly into the Severn Sam, wherethose who escaped drowning were hewn dow n and slaughtered without remorse. It seems to have been a great oversight in Margaret's generals, when they found it unsafe to cross the Severn, through the sudden approach of Edward's army, that they did not station themselves at the Mythe, on the opposite side of the town, — a situation so admirably adapted to their exigencies. Here they would have enjoyed a most commanding and highly advantageous position, and, protected by the Severn and the Avon, might for a while have defied every attack which it was in the power of their foes to make ; and if they could have reposed here until the Welch forces, under the Earl of Pembroke, and their faithful adherents from Lancashire and Cheshire, had united with them — some of whom were nearly w ithin view of the disastrous field at the termination of the battle — it is by no means improbable that the issue of the campaign would have been very different CHAPTER IV. HISTORICAL OCCURRENCES FROM THE REIGN OF EDWARD THE FOURTH TO THAT OF CHARLES THE FIRST. THE Lady Mary, eldest daughter of King Henry the eighth, and afterwards Queen of England, appears to have spent her Christmas at Tewkeshury in 1525. The following letter from the council for her household to Cardinal Wolsey, (preserved in the British Museum, and recently published by Mr. Ellis, in his interesting and highly valuable work, "Original Letters illustrative of English History,") reminds us of "the long train of sports and merriment which formerly made Christmas so cheerful to our ancestors :" — " Please it youre Grace, for the great repaire of straungers supposed unto the Pryncesse honorable householde this so- lempne fest of Cristmas, We humbly beseche the same to let us knowe youre gracious pleasure concernyng aswell a ship of silver for the almes disshe requysite for her high estate, and spice plats, as also for trumpetts and a rebek to be sent, and whither we shall appoynte any Lord of Mysrule* for the said * " In the feaste of Christmas there was in the king's house, wheresoever he was lodged, a Lord of Misrule, or master of merry disports : and the like had ye in the house of every nobleman of honor or good worship, were he spiritual or temporal. These Lordes, beginning their rule on Alhollow eve, continued the same till the morrow after the feast of the Purification, commonly called Candlemas-day : in all which space there were fine and subtle disguisyngs, maskes, and mummeries, with playing at cards for counters, nails, and points in every house, more for pastimes than for game." — Stow. F 12 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. honorable householde, provide for enterluds, disgysyngs, or pleyes in the said fest, or for banket on twelf nyght. And in likewise whither the Pryncesse shall sende any newe yeres gifts to the Kinge, the Quene, your Grace, and the Frensshe quene, and of the value and devise of the same. Besechyng youre grace also to pardon oure busy and importunate suts to the same in suche behalf made. Thus oure right syngler good lorde We pray the holy Trynyte have you in his holy preser- vacion. At Teoxbury the xxvij day of November. " Youre humble orators, " John Exon.* " John Salter. " Jeilez G revile. u G. Bromley. " Peter Burnell. " Thomas Audeley. " To the most reverent Father in God the Lord Cardinall his good Grace."f In 1574, Queen Elizabeth, through the intercession of her favourite, the celebrated Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester,! * John Voysey, alias Herman, Bishop of Exeter, who had the govern- ment of the Lady Mary, Princess of Wales, was also her godfather, and was highly in favour with King Henry in the early part of his reign. In 1549 he surrendered his bishopric into the king's hands, and was succeeded by the celebrated Miles Coverdale, the translator of the bible into English. On the accession of Queen Mary, bishop Coverdale was deprived of the see, and Bishop Voysey restored to it, though he was upwards of a hundred years of age ; but he died shortly afterwards at Exeter, and lies buried in the church of Sutton-Colfield, Warwickshire. — Izaclie's Exeter. f No record is preserved of the answer which was returned to this letter ; but that the Cardinal allowed the sports of Christmas to be played is more than probable. — Ellis's Letters. J The Earl of Leicester was son of John Duke of Northumberland, who was beheaded in 1553 for rebelling against Queen Mary. In 1563 he became high steward of the university of Cambridge, and in 1564 was chosen chan- cellor of Oxford. In the latter year he was created Baron of Denbigh and Earl of Leicester, with great solemnity at Westminster, the "maiden queen" herself helping to put on his ceremonial investments, he sitting upon his knees before her with great gravity. But she could not refrain from putting her hand in his ne^k, smilingly tickling him, the French ambassador and Sir James Melvil standing by. Then she turned and asked Sir James " how he liked him." — (MelviVs Mem.) The name of the Earl of Leicester has recently become familiar with the public, from the character given of him by Sir Walter Scott, in his romance of" Kenilworth." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 43 granted a charter of incorporation to the borough. Why this nobleman should have interested himself so much in favour of Tewkesbury, we have not been able to learn. He had been, the year previous, presented with a silver cup, of the value of sixteen pounds, by the inhabitants of the town. When the charter was obtained, his lordship was complimented by the corporation with the office of high-steward ; and a very fine fat ox was sent to him, at Kenilworth, as a present from the towns- people, who were rated fourteen pounds for the purchase of it. In 1582, the earl, whilst on a visit at Twyning, was also pre- sented with a barrel of sack and two sugar loaves, which cost the borough £.3. 15s. 4c/.* For several years subsequent to this grant, there appear to have been repeated contentions between the queen's clerk of the market and the bailiffs of the borough, the latter claiming to be clerks by virtue of their charter, and treating the interference of the former clerk as an infringement upon the privileges of the body corporate. The queen's clerk came to Tewkesbury in 1577, and charged the bailiffs with neglect of duty in disobeying his precepts ; he afterwards amerced them and the constables, which was attended with considerable expense to the town. In the next year, a process was sent to the sheriff of the county respecting these amercements, which had been respited ; and the disputes were not adjusted till the following year, when the charter was pleaded in the exchequer, in order to get the fines discharged. It would appear that the claims of the old clerk were in part grounded on the non-enrolment of the charter, and that he no further molested the bailiffs in the exercise of their office as clerks of the market, after the enrolment was effected in 1579. Queen Elizabeth, in 1580, at the same time that she granted customs by letters patent to the city of Gloucester, made Tewkesbury an independent port, for the " loading and dis- charging of ships with merchandize to and from the parts beyond the seas," which was thought at that time to be a * Corporation Records. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. privilege of no ordinary kind. Previously, all the ports on the Severn, from Berkeley to Tewkesbury, were considered us belonging to the port of Bristol, and were under the controul of the officers of customs for that city. The corporation of Bristol became jealous that so many places should participate with themselves in the advantages of a free trade, and presented a petition to her majesty's council, in 1582, praying for the repeal of the grants to Gloucester, Tewkesbury, &c. In this petition it is stated, that " your highness's said city of Bristol, and the trade of merchandize there, is impaired, the citizens impoverished, and a general dearth of corn, grain, butter and cheese, thereby arisen, as well within the same city, as also in the countries thereabouts." What effect this petition had upon her majesty's government is not recorded, but the Tewkesbury grant appears to have been soon afterwards either revoked, or its privileges considerably lessened. On the 4th of July, 1580, the assizes for the county <>1 Gloucester were held at Tewkesbury.* In consequence of the threatened " perils of foreign invasion throughout the realm," in 1587, a lieutenant was appointed for Tewkesbury, suitable arms and accoutrements were pro- cured, and the town put in a state of defence. From a minute in one of the corporation books, it appears, that "there was also imposed upon the town, besides the first charge for armour in common, which cost forty marks, and the second imposition upon particular persons which cost £.26, another charge to furnish all the forty-seven armours with swords, daggers, belts*, and all other necessaries, and to buy fifteen bows, which cost £.28. Also afterwards, upon a new survey of muscjuets and armour, a greater supply being wanted, there was laid upon the town for that purpose £.4. 18s. and for provision of shot and powder to lie in store £.5. 8s. which was also gathered." * The bailiffs, in their account with the chamberlain, charged thirty shillings for erecting scaffolding for the court, eleven shillings for wine given at the assizes, and thirteen shillings and four-pence for seneschal lroney, i. e. the steward's fee in holding courts leet. — Corp. Records. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 45 A letter from Queen Elizabeth, dated Greenwich, 12th of May, 1588, was received by the bailiffs, requiring them, jointly with the mayor of the city of Gloucester, to furnish the expenses of " rigging up, manning, and setting forth," a ship of eighty tons, stored with victuals for three months, to join the naval armament then preparing to encounter the Spanish armada. In lieu of this composition, the inhabitants of Gloucester and Tewkesbury offered to furnish, at their own cost, a ship of seventy-five tons burthen and a pinnace of twenty-five tons, and to man it with their own people, which tender her majesty's government accepted. A dispute subsequently arose as to whether Richard Webb or John Niccolls should have the command of the said ship ; but the privy council decided in favour of Webb, and directed that the city of Gloucester and borough of Tewkesbury should pay him the sum of £.300 for his services. The records of the corporation state that, on this occasion, Tewkesbury was charged with £.37. 2s. being the seventh part of the amount of the subsidy for the two places ; but, by reason of " suits and troubles," further charges, amount- ing to £.19. 12s. were incurred; so that, for this service, the town furnished £.56. 14s. When the Spanish armada was descried off the coast, in 1588, forty-seven men from Tewkesbury, who had been raised and equipped at the expence of the town, were hastily marched off to assist in opposing the expected invasion, and the inha- bitants collected £.120 for their support. The borough also, in the same year, furnished nine men for the Portugal service, and provided them with arms and apparel. At the same time, the armour belonging to the town, which had long been kept at Winchcomb, by order of the lord lieutenant, was brought home.* In 1589, the privy council commanded the bailiffs to pro- vide 6 cwt. of powder and 1251b. of match, and to keep these * It required £.6. 3s. to replace the armour which had been lost by negligence at Winchcomb, and twenty marks were laid out in the pur- chase of new armour. — Corp. Rec. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. in readiness for one year, in expectation of an invasion. The costs of ammunition and arms amounted to £.46.* In the same year, the mariners belonging to the port were mustered by the justices. In the following year, £.16 was imposed upon the town for the Irish service, but, upon a remonstrance being made, it was reduced one-half, in consequence of the large amount pre- viously collected for the Portugal service. When Queen Elizabeth, in Sept. 1592, made her celebrated progress to Sudeley Castle, the inhabitants of Tewkesbury presented Lord Chandos with a hogshead of claret, valued at £.6. In 1638, the county assizes were a second time held at Tewkesbury, in consequence, it is supposed, of the gaol fever rendering it dangerous for the court to sit at Gloucester. They began on the 2d of July, before Sir Humphrey Davenport, lord chief baron, and Sir William Jones, one of the judges of the king's bench. The nisi prius court was held in the then town-hall; a temporary building was erected within a few yards of it, in the Barton-street, for the crown court; and the grand jury sat in the council chamber. * The town armour was inspected in 15Kl>, and consisted of eight corslets, eleven pikes, six muskets (all private property), nine calivcrs, fifteen bows and arrows, and thirty-six BV ordfi and daggers; besides which, there were charged upon the town, in private men's keeping, seven corslets and six muskets, all furnished with swords and daggers. — Corj>. Kcc. CHAPTER V. MILITARY TRANSACTIONS IN THE REIGN OF CHARLES THE FIRST. PERHAPS no town in the kingdom witnessed greater vicis- situdes than Tewkesbury, during the commotion which arose out of the disastrous quarrel between Charles the first and the Parliament. Being contiguous to the important garrison at Gloucester, so long and so successfully held by the parlia- ment forces, in defiance of the utmost efforts of the king, and almost equally near to Worcester, which was for a long time a royal garrison, the possession of Tewkesbury was a consi- deration of the highest importance to both parties: it gave the entire controul of the only eligible passage over the Avon in this neighbourhood, and greatly facilitated the occupation of the bridge at Upton, which, being the only one across the Severn between Gloucester and Worcester, was frequently of the utmost consequence ; and as the town was seated in the centre of a fertile and well cultivated district, it was peculiarly necessary to the garrison at Gloucester, for insuring to them a supply of provisions, — the want of which they sometimes severely felt, particularly at such times as the royal army held possession of this place. Tewkesbury* appears very early to have espoused the cause of the parliament, though the king had from the first * The common people at this period lent a willing ear to idle reports of omens and prodigies, however extravagant and absurd ; and as one of the inhabitants of this borough had rendered himself in no small degree notorious, from being a witness of one of those " strange sights in the air," 48 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. many firm adherents among the more respectable class of the inhabitants, particularly in the members of (he corporation;* and however circumstances might render it prudent in some of them to stifle their loyal feelings, yet many worthy persona never deserted for a moment the interests of their persecuted though imprudent monarch. The first decided manifestation of the sentiments of the townspeople occurred immediately alter the first seige of Worcester, in Sept. 1642, at which time the place was garrisoned by a strong party of the republican army from Gloucester, and w as afterwards for a short time augmented by part of the parliament forces which bad been successful at Worcester. But when the Karl of Kssex, in the following month, abandoned Worcester, to intercept the king in his progress from Shrewsbury towards London, and subsequently fought the memorable battle at Kdgehill, where the parlia- mentarians were at first reported to have Leon completely routed, the abettors of anarchy in this place were stricken with terror, being in daily expectation of a visit from the royal army, and well knowing that they were not able to defend themselves in case of an assault. A tolerable idea of tin- litoation of the inhabitants may be formed from the following account by Corbet, extracted from which were supposed then to occur a* warnings to the people, that circum- stance must be our apologj for alluding to siu h ridiculous fancies. 1 1 ow ell, in his Familiar Letters, d< i lares thai he n ad the relation and deposition of the Tewkesbury carrier, who asserted that, some time previous to the break- ing out of the troubles between the kiin; and the parliament, as he was passing over the Cotswold hills, with his men and packhorscs, a little before the dawn of day, the] u ian DOtl lennbl] and vcr\ perspicuous] v in the air, musketticrs, harnassed men, and bom nu n, moving in battel arrav,and assaulting one another in divers furious postures." — Those appearances were probably nothing more than northern Lights J and it is more likely that the poor carrier was himself deceived \>\ the workings of his own disordered imagination, than that he attempted to impose upon the credulity o r others. * In a catalogue of these royalists, in the county of Gloucester, who compounded for their estates with the parliamentarians, appears the name of Thomas Jeynes, of Tewkesbury, the amount of whose composition was £.31. 10*. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 8 his celebrated " Historical Relation of the Military Government of Gloucester :" it should however be borne in mind, that the narrator, though he lived in that troublesome period, and was an eye-witness of many of the transactions he so minutely records, was a strenuous supporter of the republican party : " The garrison of Tewkesbury (which was defended only with such slender forces as Gloucester could spare out of its penury, before the enemy fell on the county,) was already surprised with fear :" the people of " Tewkesbury sent an express to the city, to inform them of the state of their town, and to request more aid ; likewise they disrmtched messengers to the villages round about, to acquaint them with the state of things, and to try whether the inhabitants would come in person or send in their arms, but there came neither the one nor the other ; and it was resolved, by the council of war at Gloucester, that the forces, ordnance and ammunition, with all well-affected persons, should forthwith repair thither. In the heat of this debate there came an invitation from Worcester, by a letter from Sir William Russell, with intimation of conditions of peace ; all which disposed that town to compliance with the enemy. Hereupon a common council being held, and the officers present, it was determined that the Gloucester order was to be obeyed. The town, thus deserted, was willing to provide for its own safety, and chose rather to obtain some reasonable terms of peace than suffer itself to be quite ruined ; wherefore they drew up some propositions to be sent to Sir William Russell, yet before the dispatch they sent to Gloucester a second message by the minister of the town, and an officer of the garrison, with Sir William Russell's letter and their answer. These promised an early return, but failing some hours of the time appointed, in the mean while the proposi- tions were sent to Worcester. This message brought a countermand, when there sprung an alarum that Cirencester was regained, and the spoil and prisoners recovered back ; for this cause the soldiers were detained awhile, but when the report was found untrue, of themselves they began to quit the town. In the evening the messenger returned from Worcester, G 50 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. with the propositions granted : the subjection seemed unfortu- nate and dishonourable in them whose affections were engaged to this cause, neither did there appear a means to prevent it, for the transmigration of the whole town was impossible, nor as yet did the condition of the war require any such thing from one particular place ; for the parliament's adherents, as also the malignant faction,* did never at once forsake their habitations to be gathered into one body for a sudden conclu- sion, but were brought piecemeal into action, and many lay under covert in the enemy's country, reserving themselves for future service. Thus the people entertained gladly those conditions, which though performed in part yet were a suffi- cient bondage, did impoverish their spirits, cool their zeal of religion, and lessen the former inclination to liberty; after which by frequent changes under many lords they became so feeble that they never durst confide in themselves to vindicate the town into its former happiness, but a long time remained averse to the fairest opportunities, yea necessities of engage- ment, and desired an everlasting neutrality. The deserting of this town increased the forces of Gloucester by two hundred foot and dragoons, and took off the fear of a greater mischief; for though the quitting of the place caused us to resent our great distress, yet the taking thereof would have confounded our thoughts, and hazarded the main chance where the whole strength did not lie at stake." A pamphlet, published in 1642, entitled " True News out of Herefordshire," gives an account of an action said to have been fought on Wednesday, Nov. 14, 1642, on the field where the last decisive battle took place between the houses of York and Lancaster near Tewkesbury, in which Lord Stamford routed the Marquis of Hertford and Lord Herbert, with the loss of two thousand five hundred men. This affair is wholly unnoticed by Corbet, or any writer of credit, and was without doubt entirely a fabrication, designed to divert the attention of the people. * " The king's adherents were the nicked and the malignant : their adversaries were the godly and wcll-affccted." — Hume. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 51 The town was delivered up on the 7th of Feb. 1642-3, to Sir William Russell, who was appointed governor, and garrisoned it with a large force for the king. He exacted £.500* from the inhabitants, for the support of the royal cause ; and seized all the public stores and ammunition, and even the fire-arms of private individuals, and sent the whole to the head- quarters at Worcester. In the following month, Sir William Russell, having first put the town in the best state of defence possible, retired to Worcester, and appointed Sir Matthew Carew governor of Tewkesbury ; but the parliamentary general, Sir William Waller, having just gained a decisive advantage over the royal- ists under Lord Herbert, at Highnam near Gloucester, resolved to attempt the capture of Tewkesbury, which he effected, but was shortly afterwards obliged to abandon it. Corbet thus describes this affair : " The general fame did increase and heighten the repute of Sir William Waller, and the enemy possessed therewith began to draw back on all sides : Sir Matthew Carew forthwith quitted the town of Tewkesbury, which within twelve hours was re- possessed by our forces : Capt. John Fienes was commanded thither with a slender strength of horse and dragoons, with whom the well-affected of the town that abode in Gloucester began to return. The undertaking was hasty and confused, without the observance of the enemy's motion or distance, or any rational assurance of defending the place. Our party had no sooner saluted the town, but received an alarm that the former forces were returned with a greater power. Twas a gallant brigade of horse, commanded by the Lord Grandison, which immediately came from Cheltenham, whereof our men had not the least intelligence : it seemed by the event that the enemy expected none from Gloucester: however there was quick dispatch on both sides, yet Captain Fienes with his * The townspeople having previously lent £.500 to the parliament, Sir William Russell thought it equitable that they should contribute the same amount for the service of the king. 52 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. whole party had been surprised, had not those horse been kept off at a mile distance by a ridiculous accident. It so fell out that they met a man coming alone from the town, whom they fell to question whether any forces were there, of what strength, and by whom commanded. The man, intending nothing less than the escape of our party, but supposing them a part of the parliament forces, and willing to curry favour, begins to talk of a main strength and vast numbers, with so many gonfi and all kinds of preparations, and withal defies the cavaliers with much affected indignation; which words so far prevailed, that they presently held a council of war, ami once were about to fall back. This delay gave an hour's respite t<> those within to prepare for a flight, who had no sooner recovered the end of the town, but the enemy had entered, amazed t<> sec themselves so miserably deluded."* * The following is the account given of this affair b\ the kind's friends, extracted from the Mercurius A aliens, the Aanotu court newspaper phxMiahed at Oxford, under the superintendance of the celebrated IVtcr llevlyn: — " Teirhcsbiirif, Wt tliH stlaif, March 30, 1 « i 1-5 . — New s also eaine this day that Sir William Waller, haying by his perfidiousness and treachery beaten up the Lord Herbert's quarters, as before was said, had marched to Tew- kesbury, which he took and pillaged : his majesty's forces there (which were but few) withdraw ing themselves from tin nee by a tinulv pro\idcnce as soon as they heard of his approach: but that he presently retired to Gloucester, not daring to adventure farther into the country, tbl (ear of Prince Maurice and his troops, who was come to Cirencester, and joined with those other forces, who were before suit thither under the Lord Grandison." — Mercurius Aulicns, March 29, L643. " Tcn-kcsl,ur;i. — It was also certified, by the said messenger, that after Waller had left Tewkesbury, w hich liis soldie rs quitted In such haste upon the noise of Prince Maurice's coming, that some of then ran into the Severn to avoid the danger, the king's forces entered the same again ; and that, besides the companies which were there before, there are three hundred commanded men put into it also, all of them being well armed and furnished with ammunition, which before was wanting ; and for the want of w hich they had before w ithdraw n themselves ;it the approach of the enemy." — Mercurius Auli< us, April 2 to 9, 101:3. The following account of the same transaction is copied from a parlia- mentary newspaper : — " Tewkesbury. — Sir William Waller regained divers towns possessed by the cavaliers, but especially Tewkesbury, which he entered with small difli- HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Sir William Waller having returned to Gloucester, and from thence marched into Wales, Tewkesbury was suffered to remain quietly in the hands of Lord Grandison. Shortly afterwards, Sir Matthew Carew again returned from Worcester, and Prince Maurice came with a great additional force both of horse and of foot; so that these commanders conceived themselves strong enough to intercept Waller on his return out of the principality, where he had met with considerable opposition from the royalists. "Wherefore," says Corbet, "a bridge of boats was made over Severn at Tewkesbury, that they might pass to and fro nearer the retreat of our army. Here the Prince marched over with a body of two thousand horse and foot, confident of this design, and therefore too remiss and slow in his advance. Sir William was nimble in the retreat, caused his foot and artillery to pass over Severn at Chepstow, and himself with his horse and dragoons passed through the lower part of the Forest of Dean, near the river side ; and before the enemy had notice of his inarch, sent forth two parties to fall upon two of their main quarters, which was performed whilst the main body slipt between both, and a party was left to face them and make good the retreat, which came off something disorderly, and with the loss of a few private soldiers. 'Twas an exquisite conveyance, and unexpected felicity that brought them out of the snare through those intricate ways. This alarm quickly reached Gloucester, and Lieutenant-Colonel Massey drew out three hundred foot and two troops of horse to fetch off our men, but if he found them disengaged, for a further design. This party met them within two miles of the town, where the governor made known to Sir William Waller his purpose to set upon Tewkesbury ; and taking the opportunity of the prince's absence, and the enemies' jollity at our supposed total defeat, instantly advanced upon them, and by break of day brought culty, took divers prisoners and great store of arms, Prince Maurice having placed all his stores and magazines there, and other rich prize ; that done, he placed a garrison in Tewkesbury, and so himself came to Gloucester." —Perfect Diurnal, April 10 to 17, 1613. 54 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. up his men before the town, one part whereof fell into the Ham, seized upon the guard left with the bridge of boats, and cut off that bridge; the horse with the rest of the foot came up Gloucester way, the forlorn hope surprised and slew the sen- tinel, climbed over the works, and cut down the draw -bridge ; whereupon both horse and foot rushed in, and the party on the other side of Avon ready to enter. There were left in the town near three hundred men, commanded by Sir Matthew Carew, whom the triumph of yesterday's conceived victory laid asleep, and the sudden alarm roused up, first into a shuffling fighting posture, and after half an hour to a nimble escape. Sir Matthew Carew fled, and many escaped the hands of our men, who wanted numbers to surround the town, but most of the common soldiers, and some valuable officers, were taken.* * On the loth of April, 1643, a letter was read in both Houses of Parliament, from Sir \\ in. Wallet and Sir Arthur Haslerig, (dated April 12th,) detailing " The victorious and fortunate Proceedings of Sir William Waller and his forces in Wales, and other places, since they left Malmsbury ; with the true manner of his taking Highnam and one hundred and fifty commanders and gentlemen, and one thousand four hundred and forty-four common prisoners, well armed ; also how he beat up Prince Maurice's quarters, brake through his army, and came safe to Gloucester, from whence he sent Lieutenant-Colonel Massey to take Tewkesbury, which lie hath since effected." This Letter, which was published by order of parliament, and printed for John Wright, in the Old Bailey, April 17, 1643, thus concludes : " Last night we came to Gloucester, and sent forth Lieutenant- Colonel Massey for to take Tewkesburj , which this morning he did. There were eight commanders, but we missed Colonel Slater, he being gone last night to give information at Oxford, that all Sir William Waller's forces were routed. We doubt not but you will have strange reports, believe this, God hath been good unto us beyond our thoughts ; the taking and keeping Tewkesbury is of great consequence to these parts, Prince Maurice's design of taking us in the forest is now foiled ; and so have we the bridge he passed over, but if he make haste, we fear he will find another before we can give a stop, if not, we hope he may taste a little of Wales as well as we have done. We writ you a letter for some arms and ammunition, we earnestly beg they may be sent, and two hundred horsemen's swords of Kennet's making at Hounslow. We desire your praises of God, and your prayers for, My Lords and Gentlemen, Your faithful Servants, William Waller, Arthur Haslerig." " We are now marching towards Tewkesbury." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 55 This capture of the town by Colonel Massey occurred in the beginning of April, 1643; but Prince Maurice only retreated a few miles towards Worcester, and was so little intimidated by the defeat, that on the very same day a large party of his horse appeared at the Mythe, which so alarmed the parliament forces, that they instantly sent to Gloucester for reinforce- ments ; and Sir William Waller, considering the preservation of Tewkesbury at that juncture of the utmost consequence, marched thither himself the same evening, resolving either to break down or take the bridge at Upton, which was then strongly guarded by the prince. The skirmish at Ripple, which immediately followed, is so fully detailed by Corbet, that we shall give the particulars of it in his own words : " The next morning, Sir William advanced towards the prince, and found him in Ripple Field, with his army drawn up, and divided into three bodies, besides the hedges lined with musketeers. Here our forces faced the enemy in a large field, and could hardly reach the third part of the prince's strength ; brought up their guns, having neither shot prepared, nor cannoniers that understood the business, nor the assistance of foot, save only a part of the governor's own company ; besides the wind and sun were against them, and no retreat if need were, but through a narrow lane of two The court newspaper thus laments this unfortunate affair : — " Tewkesbury. — But it was certified withal (though hy later messengers) what ill success this fortunate success produced. For those of his majesty's forces which were left in Tewkesbury, upon receipt of this good news [the defeat of Waller's forces by Prince Maurice in the Forest of Dean] grew so secure, if not so careless of themselves, that they neglected to keep their watches, and so became an easy prey unto the enemy, who coming up the water in boats from Gloucester, to the number of four hundred or there- abouts, made themselves masters of the town ere they were discovered, seized on the officers and soldiers as they were asleep, carried their arms and horses away to Gloucester, took prisoners most of the commanders and some common soldiers, and so returned again without any loss. So that, comparing this with some former accidents, a man may easily observe, that his majesty hath lost more by the negligence of his own men than the power and valour of his enemies." — Mercurius Aulicus, April 9 to 16, 1643. 56 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. miles long ; and whereas they might stand upon the top of a rising ground to deceive the enemy with the semblance of a greater power behind, they descended a little on the side of the hill, and discovered their weakness to a full view. In this posture, some persuaded to fight, and began to make some shot with the ordnance, which gave no shew of the least execution. But some other officers examined the cannonier, and finding neither fit bullet nor any convenient shot, but all things at random, earnestly dissuaded either to make the onset, or expect the enemy in that place ; and advising like- wise the trial, discovered their ambuscades within the hedges. Hereupon Sir William Waller fell back, and entered the narrow lane, commanding a party of dragoons to face the prince's army, and the musketeers to stand at the corner of the lane within the hedges, to make good the retreat. The enemy fell on, not a man of those dragoons would stand to receive the charge, but hurried away, broke over the hedge, fell among and disordered our own musketeers, the enemy clapt in after them, cut down four or five of the foot, and took as many prisoners. Lieutenant-Colonel Massey kept close to his foot, and instantly dispatched to Tewkesbury for a supply ; and Sir Arthur Hazelrig prevailed with his own troop to charge, and in his own person performed gallantly : the foot with those horse put the enemy to a stand, and in part took oft* the foulness of the retreat through that strait passage. When they came to the next open place, our men had the advantage of a ditch to stay the pursuit ; and in the heat of the chase, one foot soldier, at the command of the governor, turned upon the enemy a gate then cast off the hinges, which barred their entrance, and enabled our men to draw up for a charge : here for awhile they stood in amaze, but on a sudden faced about, ran flock-meal, the enemy upon their backs, and the close of this action was like to be miserable ; but at the entrance of a strait passage, near the Mythe Hill, a supply of foot from the town opportunely met them, galled the enemy, and put them to a stand once more, whilst the governor charged the leader of the forlorn hope, hand to hand, and was rescued by HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, 57 the gallantry of some officers, when of ours only a small party of horse remained in the field, the rest being got off in great confusion. Yet the escape might equal a victory, and the saving of the forces pass for clear gain. Prince Maurice did not attempt the regaining of Tewkesbury, the government of which was entrusted to Sir Robert Cooke, who had newly raised a regiment of foot by commission from Sir William Waller."* * The following are the court newspaper accounts of this engage- ment : — " Tewkesbury , Apr. 14, 1643. — This day there came relation of a second fight betwixt the forces of Prince Maurice and Sir William Waller : it being related, that after the defeat at Little Dean, Waller returning with his horse had, by by-paths and unsuspected ways, got in safe to Gloucester, and from thence taking with him some commanded men out of the garrison there, had entered Tewkesbury, being made ready to his hands (as before was noted) intending to have kept the prince beyond the Severn ; but that the prince, hearing how he had stolen away, and warily suspect- ing what his plot might be, had sent five hundred horse before to gain Upton Bridge, which was done accordingly : that the prince, having crossed the Severn, drew towards Tewkesbury, where Waller tarried to expect him, and for his entertainment had lined the hedges thereabouts, with good musketeers, with an intent to brave the Prince, with some troops of horse ; and so by that bravado to entice his army within the reach and compass of his ambuscado ; that the Prince, knowing whom he was to deal with, having repulsed the horse so sent out to brave him, pursued no further than the country was free and open ; and then commanded some of his choicest foot to scour the hedges ; which being done, he fell so unex- pectedly upon them with the main body of his forces, that he made them fly, killing about eighty in the place, besides as many more (as it is con- ceived) who, flying from the sword, fell into the river, and were there drowned, there being but two only killed of his own soldiers : that Waller upon this second beating had recovered Tewkesbury, which he began to fortify for his best defence ; and that the prince was got betwixt him and Gloucester, intending to prevent him from returning thither. What hath been done since then is not yet made known." — Mercurius Aulicus, April 9 to 16, 1643. "April 15, 1643. — A false report is contradicted, < that Sir William Waller, when he came first to Tewkesbury, (after his beating up of the Lord Herbert's quarters) took twenty-five of his majesty's horse, with their pistols, carbines, and other arms, and £.16,000. in money.'" — Ibid. " Tewkesbury, April 19, 1643. — There came this day some more particular information of the fight at Ripple Field, near Tewkesbury, mention whereof was made on Friday, April 14, in the last week of this Mercurius; viz. that H 58 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Shortly after this affair, Sir Robert Cooke and his forces were called off from Tewkesbury ; and having destroyed the works, he marched into the west, leaving the town once more without a military governor. In June, Sir William Waller and a large army passed through this place on their way to assault Worcester; but being valiantly repulsed there, he retreated to Tewkesbury with three thousand men and eight pieces of ordnance, and retired again to his old quarters at Gloucester. On the 10th of August, 1643, his majesty commenced the memorable siege of Gloucester, and as the fate of the kingdom appeared to depend principally upon the issue of this measure, the eyes of the whole nation were directed to that quarter on which the hopes and fears of both parties were suspended. During this momentous period, Tewkesbury was in a state of the utmost alarm ; and as it appeared impossible that the city could hold out against the overwhelming strength of the king until reinforcements should arrive, Mr. Hill, the town-clerk of the borough, and Mr. Bell of Sandhurst, were deputed to solicit a conference with the garrison of Gloucester, and, by persuading them to yield up the city, to avert the dreadful burthens under which the neighbourhood already groaned, and the still greater sufferings which were likely to follow a protracted defence. This conference was held on the 24th of one of Waller's troops of horse was by themselves confessed to be cut off by the Prince Maurice's forces ; and that another, which was thought to have saved themselves by running away, was not yet returned unto their fellows ; his foot being so extremely routed, that it was thought impossible they should be rallied ; so that in the two late fights betwixt Prince Maurice and him it is conceived he hath lost above five hundred of his men : as also, that Sir William Waller himself, being by accident thrown off his horse in the heat and fury of the battle, was trodden under foot, and so sorely bruised, that it was thought he could not easily recover, insomuch that it was affirmed in London, as is advertised by some letters thence, that he was killed, and all his men slain, except those that fled ; and it was signified, withal, that since the fight Prince Maurice was marched towards Evesham, to comfort and refresh his wearied troops after so long travel ; and that on his removal thither, Waller was safely got to Gloucester, where he still abideth." — Mercurius Aulicus, April 16 to 23, 1643. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 59 August, but the garrison resolutely refused to hearken to the advice of the mission.* In the mean time, parliament being apprised of the depressed state of the city, sent the Earl of Essex, with four- teen thousand efficient men, including four regiments of the London militia, to the relief of Gloucester. The appearance of this immense body of troops, as they passed almost within view of the town, could not fail deeply to interest the feelings of the inhabitants of Tewkesbury, who anticipated the most dreadful carnage betwixt the contending armies before the gates of Gloucester; but the whole nation, which had long been surprised at the languor with which the king assaulted the place, was still more astonished at the tameness which he evinced by raising the siege at Essex's approach, and making way for him to enter the city unmolested. The Earl of Essex having supplied the garrison with military stores, and encouraged the country people to furnish them with provisions, hoped to retire without hazarding a battle with the king's army, then stationed at Winchcomb and Sudeley, which he dreaded on account of its superiority in cavalry. Leaving therefore a reinforcement of troops in Gloucester, he came to Tewkesbury, which he summoned and entered on Sunday the 10th of September. He remained here five days, and exacted the twentieth part of the property of the royalists for the relief of the garrison of Gloucester, and then, feigning to proceed towards Worcester, he, by a forced march during the night, reached Cirencester, and thus ob- tained the double advantge of passing unmolested an open * In a pamphlet, entitled " An Abstract of several remarkable Passages which happened at Gloucester during the Siege," are the following verses on the above gentlemen : — BELL. HILL. All know full well, That every Bell This Hill was seen In summer green, Is useless till't be hanged ; And none I hope, Denies a rope Fresh, faire and flourishing ; Now Proteus-like, 'Tis altered quite To have his sides well banged. 'Tis fading, perishing. 60 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. country, and of surprising a convoy of provisions which were in that town.* * Henry Foster, quondam Serjeant to Capt. George Mosse, published " A true and exact Relation of the Marchings of the two Regiments of the Trained Bands of the City of London, being the Red and Blue Regiments, as also of the three Regiments of the Auxiliary Forces, the Blue, Red and Orange, who marched forth for the Relief of the City of Gloucester, from August 23 to September 28, 1643," from which the following extracts are made : — " Sept. 5, We advanced to Prestbury, within sight of Gloucester. This evening the Lord General was fain to fight for his quarter, and beat the enemy out of it, at a market town called Cheltenham. — The next morn- ing, Sept. 6, our soldiers came down from Prestbury Hill into the village, being wet to the very skin, but could get little or no refreshing, every house being so full of soldiers : the cavaliers were in the town but the day before. We staid here but two or three hours that morning : our soldiers began to complain pitifully, being even worn out and quite spent for want of some refreshing ; some complaining they had not eat or drank in two days, some longer time. Yesterday the enemy raised their scige from before Gloucester ; this day our two regiments of the trained bands marched to a little village called Norton, three miles wide of Gloucester, and four miles from Tewkesbury, where our soldiers had some reasonable accommodation and refreshment : in this village we had many alarms : we continued here two days and two nights. — Sept. 7. This night, about seven of the clock, there came a command for our regiments of the trained bands to march five miles back again in the night, but it being a very dark night, and our men worn out and spent with their former marching, they refused to go ; but next morning, Sept. 8, we did. The Lord General with the whole army marched into Gloucester this day. The city was exceeding full of horse and foot : the enemy besieged this town a full month and three days. We found very loving respect and entertainment in this city, they being very joyful of our coming ; we abode here Friday night and Saturday, and marched away on Sabbath-day morning. The Lord G eneral left in this city three great pieces of ordnance, as also many score barrels of powder, with mutch and bullet proportionable, furnishing them to their heart's desire. — Sept. 10. The whole army advanced from Gloucester to Tewkesbury, where we abode four days and five nights, till Gloucester had provided themselves of corn and other provisions : the enemy had cut oft' from the city all their pipes of water, and burnt their mills. My Lord General summoned this town of Tewkesbury, and demanded the twentieth part of their estates for the relief of Gloucester. We were at this town five days, from Sabbath-day till Friday, Sept. 15. On Thursday night, the enemy did fall upon some of our troops of horse, who were quartered about three miles from Tewkesbury, [at Oxendon,] of the regiment belonging to Sir James Ramsay ; they slew many of our men, and took many others prisoners. We took four of them prisoners ; but the greatest loss was sustained on our side. Before we marched from this town, the Lord General gave orders for the making of a bridge over the Severn near HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 61 A few days subsequent to this, a party of the parliament soldiers, which had been left in Tewkesbury, aided by a Tewkesbury, as if our intention had been to march with our army over there to Worcester ; which caused the enemy to draw their forces thither, as a place of refuge. The wisdom and policy of the Lord General and counsel of war, as also their great care for the preservation of our army, is highly to be commended, and never to be forgotten ; and may serve to stop the mouths of all such as shall hereafter be opened against him ; for had the enemy known which way we had marched, they might have had us at a great advantage, by gaining the hills ; we being now in the vale of Evesham, and all our great ordnance and carriages to be drawn up these hills, they might have kept us there all this winter, and starved our army ; but, blessed be God, we all marched away with safety. One that was present at Evesham, where the king with his army lay, affirms, that when tidings came to the king that we were marched from Tewkesbury, they did stamp and swear and curse their scouts exceedingly, that they gave them no better intelligence of our departure. And the same day we marched from Tewkesbury, the king with his army and train of artillery marched from Evesham after us. — September 15. Our whole army advanced from Tewkesbury to Cirencester, 17 miles ; we marched all night, and sat down before it about three o'clock in the morning." From " A true Relation of the late Expedition of his Excellency Robert Earl of Essex, for the Relief of Gloucester," ordered by the Com- mons, Oct. 7th, 1643, to be printed, the following extracts are taken. — " Monday, Sept. 4. The army that night quartered at Naunton. Tuesday (the 5.) his Excellency advanced and came to Prestbury Hills, where he drew up his whole army in view of the city of Gloucester, and discharged four pieces of great ordnance to give them notice of his approach ; soon after we discovered the enemy's quarters on fire, for xxpon our advance they deserted the siege, and marched away all that night in fear and disorder : the rear guard of our army, some ordnance and ammunition, stayed on top of the hills by reason of the steepness thereof, darkness of the night, and tempestuousness of the weather, whereby (besides the famine) the whole army had for three days march before, extremely suffered through a country that the enemy had already destroyed, and that night through the violence of cold and rain divers of their horses died. His Excellency with the rest of the army quartered that night below the hill at Prestbury. — The next day (being Wednesday) his Excellency marching to Cheltenham, the enemy fell into the quarters of Col. Dalbeir's regiment ; but having the alarum, soon retired with little loss. — The next day (being Thursday) the enemy beat up the quarters of Col. Goodwin and Col. Beere's regiment; the loss was not considerable, only Major Boza (charging the enemy very bravely, to make retreat for the rest) there lost his standard ; his lieutenant and cornet taken prisoners. — His Excellency staid at Cheltenham till Friday, and then marched with his whole army to Gloucester, where he continued till Sunday, furnishing the town with ammunition, money and other neces- (,2 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. few others from Gloucester, made a disgraceful excursion to Castlemorton, where they plundered the house of Mr. Bartlett, and wantonly destroyed much valuable property.* saries. — On Sunday he marched to Tewkeshury, where he staid betwixt the enemy's forces and that garrison four days, to give them more time to furnish themselves better with provision of victual, which was to be brought from Herefordshire and parts beyond the Severn, since all the hither parts were before ransacked by the enemy. In all these removes since our army came down the hills, the enemy avoided quartering near us, lying at Sudeley when we were at Gloucester ; and when we came to Tewkesbury, and advanced with part of our forces to Upton, they marched with their army to Evesham, and towards Worcester, ten miles at least from us: whereby it appears how true it is that they pursued us ten days to seek battle. — On Friday morning, his Excellency arose with his whole army from Tewkesbury, intending to quarter that night at Cheltenham ; but upon advertisement that a body of the enemies were then in Cirencester (which were reported to be Prince Maurice's forces) and had there laid in great store of provision for their army, (our want of necessaries and victual still continuing, and miserably increasing upon us,) his Excellency made a long march with the vanguard of the army, to fall upon them ; which he did about one of the clock in the night, sending in a party of horse, (under the command of Major Robert Hammilton,) to seize upon the centinels and guards, whilst we with the rest of the horse begirt the town, and a forlom- hope of foot (commanded by Col. Alex. Bradley) and his Excellency's own foot regiment entered the town, and surprised two regiments of horse (being Sir Nich. Crispe's and Col. Spencer's) which were both, by the confession of their own prisoners, intended for raising a commotion in Kent. We took there likewise forty loads of victuals, which under God's providence was the preservation of the army till the day that we fought the great battle [at Newbury] : there were taken six standards, all the officers except the two colonels, which were absent, with divers other gentlemen of quality, above three hundred common soldiers and four hundred horse." " There came letters to the Parliament this day from the Earl of Essex, dated at Tewkesbury, the 11th present, and directed to the Speaker of the House of Commons, giving them a brief account of the relieving of Glou- cester. Upon consultation of these letters by the Commons, public thanks were ordered in the churches, and thanks of both Houses to the Earl of Essex the governor, and garrison. The governor was presented with £.1000 ; additional forces and arms ordered for the garrison ; and £.4000 more in money to be sent ; and every man to have a month's pay gratis, over and above his arrears." — Perfect Diurnal y Sept. 11 to 18, 1643. * " On the 2!st Sept. 1643, one hundred and fifty soldiers, some from Gloucester and some from Tewkesbury, taking the advantage of the neigh- bourhood being absent at Ledbury fair, under the conduct of Capt. Scri- ven, son to Scrivcn the rich ironmonger, and sometime mayor of Glou- cester, came to Castle-Morton, to plunder Mr. Rowland Bartlett's house ; a HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 03 After the first great battle at Newbury, which happened on the 28th of September, 1643, Sir William Vavasour was sent by the king to raise forces in Herefordshire and the adjoining counties of Wales, and with them to garrison Tewkesbury. Sir William accordingly arrived here in October, with about seven hundred horse and foot, with which he put the town into a tolerable state of defence, invited the neighbourhood to repair to the royal standard, and styled himself governor ; but his newly-raised troops, being unaccustomed to the privations of a military life, mutinied and ran away with the utmost pre- . cipitation, on the first alarm of the approach of the enemy from Gloucester. Sir William, being thus deserted by his troops, was obliged to abandon the town, and retired to Hereford, after sustaining a very severe loss in killed and taken.* The country gentlemen, particularly those residing in the neighbourhood of the Cotswold hills, about this period began man so well beloved in his country for his hospitality, so dear to all sorts of people, especially to the poor, for his charity, and those helps which he freely bestowed on them, that, had not the rebels taken the opportunity of his neighbours being at the fair, the force had been too weak to have plun- dered his house. In Mr. Bartlett's chamber, Scriven seized Mrs. Bartlett's watch, and there breaking open a chest, took away £.600 in money, besides linen to the value of £.60 ; in other rooms they found more money, plate, jewels, bracelets, &c. amounting to a great sum ; among other things valuable, both for rarity and use, he took a cock eagle stone, for which thirty pieces had been offered by a physician, but refused. In their strict search, they met with Mrs. Bartlett's sweetmeats ; these they scattered on the ground, not daring to taste of them for fear of poison. After this, poor Mr. Bartlett's house was plundered four or five times." — Mercurius Rusticus. Mr. Bartlett was a Roman Catholic, and was one of the last of the country gentlemen who retained a jester in his house : many of the tricks and drolleries of John Havod, " the squire's fool," were remembered by the inhabitants of the village of Castle-Morton, long after his death. * " Tewkesbury. — From Gloucestershire the House having 1 received in- telligence, that a party of the king's forces coming to Tewkesbury began to fortify the same for a winter garrison, and the very renowned governor of Gloucester, Colonel Massey, having notice thereof, drew forth a considerable party of horse and foot from Gloucester, and marched towards Tewkesbury, where he fell upon the enemy, killed about three hundred of them, took many prisoners, with about five hundred arms, and put the rest to flight." — Perfect Diurnal, Nov. 6 to 13, 1643. 64 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. to take a more decided part in favour of the king: Tewkesbury was again garrisoned by the adherents of royalty, and Sir William Vavasour returned to the chief command, accompanied by Sir Walter Pye and Colonel Wroughton, who fortified the town stronger than ever. The garrison at Gloucester con- tinually annoyed the forces within the town ; and between the different parties, while on foraging expeditions, there were repeated skirmishes. The army having been augmented by the arrival of two Irish regiments, which broke up from Wotton-under-Edge, and came over the hills in safety, not- withstanding the efforts of Governor Massey, who sent out a party from Gloucester to stop their j^rogress, consisted of up- wards of two thousand six hundred foot and horse; but shortly afterwards part of them were sent towards Evesham > to join the king's troops in that quarter, who were waiting to intercept supplies which the city of London had long promised to for- ward to the garrison at Gloucester. In the beginning of 1G44, Prince Rupert came to Tewkes- bury, and considerably distressed the garrison at Gloucester, by cutting off their supplies from the country ;* and Sir William Vavasour, having at that time fifteen hundred horse and foot constantly quartered in the town, made an attempt to take Bodington manor-house, where the governor of Gloucester had placed a detachment, for the protection of those husband- men and others who supplied the garrison with provisions. He appeared before the house with five hundred foot and two pieces of large ordnance, with which he commenced an assault; but the besieged defended themselves with such bravery, that they were enabled to hold out until a reinforcement arrived from Gloucester, when Sir William was compelled to return to Tewkesbury, having lost eight or ten men in the affray. * " By letters from Gloucester, it is informed to the House of Commons, this day, of the intolerable oppressions of the Duke of Plunderland [Prince Rupert] and his plundering cavaliers, lately come into those parts about Tewkesbury ; jnd that he sends about his cruel warrants, threatening fire and sword to all those that shall carry or cause to be carried any victuals or any provisions to the garrison at Gloucester, whereby that garrison is some- what straitened." — Perfect Diurnal, Jan. 29 to Feb. 5, 1644, HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 6.3 At this time, such multitudes of the king's forces were sta- tioned in and near to Tewkesbury, that they became extremely distressed for provisions : on one occasion, two thousand horse and foot were compelled to march together as far as Painswick, to gather contributions about Stroudwater, who, on the follow- ing day, all safely returned laden with plunder. Sir William Vavasour was called away from the government of this town early in the spring, and Colonel Nicholas Mynne, of the Irish brigade, who was a much more active leader, took the command. This change was so unwelcome to Colonel > Massey, governor of Gloucester, who had before experienced the great bravery and loyalty of Mynne, that he determined to attempt the recapture of this important station by an unexpected attack. " For the enemy," says Corbet, H by the number of their men, and the natural strength of the place, with the works well begun, were sufficiently provided to receive an expected and open storm, and the governor shunned all desperate hazards, because he did not march with supernumerary forces, but the main strength of Gloucester. Wherefore, to deceive the enemy, the foot were drawn forth at the West-gate, bearing the shew of an advance into Herefordshire, and the horse kept their rendezvous, and looked the same way. But in the even- ing the horse came back, and marched through Gloucester towards Tewkesbury, having first sent a guard to Upton bridge, while the foot came on beyond Severn. The design had taken effect, had not the foot, by their slow march or misguidance, passed the hour, which was break of day, for they came not before the town till an hour after sun-rising, when we were found not fit to assault a waking and prepared enemy. To withdraw, nevertheless, did seem but a feeble business for such a fair body of horse and foot displayed before the town, and carried before it the appearance of a baffle : yet the governor, though naturally jealous of honour, could digest such mis-feasance, when the safety of his own men required, knowing that the opportunity of service would in good time cancel a misgrounded ignominy. i 66 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. " After few days, the governor, having breathed himself and his men, resolved to attempt the taking of Tewkesbury, a bad neighbour to our head garrison, and where he had suffered the repulse twice before. He was able to draw forth a hundred and twenty horse, and about thirty dragoons, and three hundred foot. For his strength was no more than the standing forces of the city, a great part of which were now swallowed up by the garrisons lately taken in. The horse and dragoons, com- manded by Major Hammond, advanced some few hours before the foot and artillery, and were to alarm the enemy till the foot came up. They made a halt a mile from the town, and drew out a pretty strong forlorn-hope, conceiving they might possibly surprise them, if they had not as yet taken the alarm ; and first, three men were sent before to espy if the draw-bridge were down, and six more behind went undiscovered ; next unto these marched the forlorn-hope, and the main body in the rear. In this posture they advanced up to the town, where they found the bridge down, the guards slender, the enemy without intelligence, and supinely negligent. On went the first party, killed the sentinels, a pikeman and a musketeer without match, and made good the bridge : the forlorn-hope rushed in, and after them a full body of horse and dragoons, fell upon the guards, came up to the main-guard before the alarm was taken, overturned their ordnance, and charged through the streets as far as the bridge Worcester way, where they took Major Mynne, the governor of the town. The enemy threw down their arms, many escaped by flight, and many were taken prisoners. Colonel Godfrey was slain in the first charge, as also Colonel Vavasour's quarter-master-general, and a lieutenant, all papists, besides a sergeant, with about six common soldiers. Our officers and soldiers, supposing them- selves wholly victorious, dismounted and went into the houses, some in the vanity of their humour, others for plunder, whilst all slighted their own guards, and the making good of the bridge at which they entered, and neglected the taking and disarming of the main-guard, which lay in the heart of the town, and cleared every street. Whereupon those at the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 67 main-guard, observing the horse not seconded with foot, took courage to charge some of our horse now in confusion, and many of the enemy out of the houses ran to the guard, and so strengthened it, that they issued out upon our men, put them to a retreat, beat them out of the town, and took some few prisoners. But before they were beaten out, they had cut down two draw-bridges, and secured the governor, Major Mynne, who was passed over Severn with a small party that took him beyond the town. By this time, Colonel Massey was come up with a few horse, half a mile in the van of the foot, which hastened after to make an assault in this instant of time. But the bridge towards Gloucester was again drawn up, and the works manned on that side ; here the governor placed his company of dragoons, and gave order to fire upon them, whilst he drew his men round the town, it being now dark night ; but before he could reach the farther end, where he entered about midnight, the enemy were fled towards Wor- cester, being daunted at the first assault made by the horse, observing withal our foot now brought up, their own governor lost, their officers slain, and most of the common soldiers already run away. The townsmen, through fear, durst not give the least intelligence of what had happened. By which means they were past the recovery of our horse, already tired, besides the night and dark weather hindered the pursuit. Only we took some scattering foot, to the number of four and twenty, with a lieutenant. Upon our entrance, we found eighteen barrels of powder, left by their haste, a hundred and twenty skeins of match, two hundred new pikes, four and thirty large hand-granados, good store of musket shot, and two brass drakes. Most of their muskets were thrown about in the fields, ditches and rivers, many of which were after- wards found; but the place itself was of greatest consequence, and worthy of the service, being now a strong frontier town, securing that side of the county, and commanding a good part of Worcestershire ; and in this nick of time extremely cross to the intentions of the king's army. The enemy confessed them- selves to be near seven hundred strong, when our whole body could not reach that number." 68 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. This affair took place on the 5th of June, 1644,* while the Earl of Essex and Sir William Waller remained with their armies near Oxford, watching the movements of the king: his majesty however contrived to elude their vigilance, and hastened over the Cotswold hills to the relief of Tewkesbury, not being apprised of the loss of the place until he was within a day's march of it. Finding that Massey had rendered the bridge at Upton impassable, the king went to Evesham, where he remained one night, and when he left it in the morning, he broke down all the bridges, to prevent Sir William Waller, who was in the rear, from pursuing him.f After this, the king's army remained for a considerable time about Bredon hill, keeping Tewkesbury in continual alarm. At length, on ascertaining the weakness of the place, his ma- jesty in person drew near with the intention of storming it; he advanced his ordnance within a mile of the town, and sent out parties to skirmish. Colonel Massey, in the mean while, sent into the town two hundred musketeers from Gloucester; and marched himself, with another party, to Corse Lawn, where he encountered and dispersed a detachment which had been sent * A manuscript, written in Ki l l, in the possession of the Tewkesbury feoffees, thus enumerates "The several changes of our town in these wars : — " 1. — Very forward and active for the parliament. " 2. — 7th Feb. 1642-3, it was delivered up to Sir William Russell, who was the governor. " 3. — In March following, Sir Matthew Carew was made governor, and shortly after withdrew to Worcester. " 4. — Then, within three days, came in Capt. John Fienes from Gloucester. " 5. — The next day came in the Lord Grandison, with a great army, and so Capt. Fienes retreated to Gloucester. " 6. — Then SirM. Carew returned from Worcester, and settled here again. " 7. — Then, viz. April 1643, Colonel Massey won the town, and Sir Robert Cooke was governor, who shortly after sleightcd the works, and left the town. " 8.— ^Afterwards, came in Major Massey to be governor. « 9, — loth Sept. 1643, came in the Earl of Essex from raising the seigc at Gloucester. " 10. — Then came in Sir Wm. Vavasour ; and his soldiers, being Welch, ran away. " 11. — Then, the 6th of Jan. 1643-4, he came again, with fresh men. " 12.— 5th June, 1644, Colonel Massey won it." f Perfect Occurrences, 1644, HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. GO from Worcester; and then, crossing the Severn, came to Tewkesbury, upon which the king drew off his forces, and retired towards Pershore and Evesham. In 1644, " the fortifications and bulwarks," which had been previously erected around the town, were strengthened and increased ; and twenty-five of the inhabitants were daily employed by the corporation on the works. The High-street men worked at these on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; those of Church-street on Fridays and Saturdays ; and those of Barton-street, on Mondays.* * In the account of Mr. Alye, as to the " assignation for the Tewkesbury garrison," beginning Aug. 16, 1644, and ending July 18, 1645, (preserved among the Corporation Records,) the following items appear: — The total charge assessed on Tewkesbury hundred, and the hundreds of Cleeve, Westminster, Ti- baldston, Cheltenham, Deerhurst, the borough of Tewkesbury, &c. was £.5206 15 2 The total Receipts on account of which were .... 4586 9 4 The total Arrears were 620 6 7 The total Disbursements were 4640 16 11 The Money owing was 54 7 7 Particular Disbursements. For petty charges of the Garrison £.238 16 5 Paid the Marshall 16 10 0 Gunner and Mattresses 127 3 6 Captain Evans 58 15 0 Captain Cartwright 28 0 0 Captain Pury 324 19 0 Major Grey 91 4 0 Captain Warde of Tewkesbury 724 19 0 Captain Neast 273 5 0 Captain Warde 789 10 0 Lieutenant-Colonel Matthews 887 4 0 The Governor 1076 11 0 In this account, the total charge of a company weekly is stated to have been £.21. 16s. ; — viz. 80 common soldiers, £.16. — captain, £.2. 12s. 6d. — lieutenant and ensign, £.1. 4s. 6d. — 2 Serjeants, 14s. — 3 corporals and drummer, £.1. 5s. The charge for the governor's company was £.30. 8s. 6d. — viz. 110 common soldiers, £.22.— for his own pay, £.5. 5s.— and £.3. 13s. 6d. for his officers, as above. The whole pay of the four companies, if they were full, amounted weekly to £.95. 16s. 6d. and for the gunner and mattresses, £.1. 18s. Qd. more. 70 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The Worcestershire committee, for aiding the parliament, assembled here for some time in the latter end of the year 1644, and were guarded by two hundred and fifty well- appointed horse ; and Colonel Rouse was also stationed here, for the purpose of raising a regiment of foot for the parliament, about the same period.* In May, 1645, Colonel Massey came, with a reinforcement from Gloucester, and scoured the neighbourhood, as the garrison apprehended a visit from the kings forces, which were collecting in Worcestershire, f In September, Major General Poyntz arrived, for the purpose of watching the movements of the king, and of preventing especially his going to his friends at Bristol. J In 1647, the borough was assessed at ten guineas per month, towards the maintenance of the forces under the command of Sir Thomas Fairfax, and for carrying on the war with Ireland. § In 1648, an additional troop of horse, belonging to the parliament, was quartered upon the parish ; || and in the following year, a petition to the government, from the corpo- ration, asserted, in substance, " that the town was a parliament garrison, that the inhabitants generally were friendly to the parliament, and that most of them were provided with arms in their houses." * Parliament's London Post, Jan. 7, 1645. f Ibid, May, 1645. I " At this very instant, Major-Gen. Poyntz is here with the commissi- oners, and his horse are now passing over Severn in boats on Worcestershire side, and so onwards, intending to be observant of the king's motions, especially if he look towards BristoL" — Letter from Tewkesbury, in Perfect Occur roues, Sept. 8 to 15, 1645. § Tewkesbury Corporation Books. || This troop was thus disposed of: — the town quartered 50 — Walton Cardiff, 11— Southwiek, 19— the Park, 16— and the Mythe and Mythe Hook, 14. For their support, the town contributed monthly, £.18. — Walton Cardiff, £.4. 2s. 6d.— Southwiek, £.7. 8s. U.— the Park, £.6. Us. 4d. —and the Mythe and Mythe Hook, £.4. 17s. 6 hich were spared by the agents of reformation : " The destruction of altars, during this puritanical phrenzy, was so general throughout the kingdom, that there is not, at this time, in England or Wales, one to be found of greater antiquity than the restoration !" HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 151 The table now in use is of light polished marble; the pre- vious one was a dark grey marble, and of extremely large dimensions. The organ, now placed in a gallery between two of the pillars in the nave, beneath which is the principal entrance to that portion of the church appropriated for divine service, is not more distinguished for its exterior appearance and great powers, than for the singularity of its history. It originally belonged to Magdalen College, Oxford; Oliver Cromwell, who was fond of music, and particularly of that of an organ, which was proscribed under his government, was so delighted with the harmony of this instrument, that when it was taken down from its station in the college, according to the puri- tanical humour of the times, as an abominable agent of super- stition, he had it conveyed to Hampton Court, where it was placed in the great gallery for his amusement. It remained there till the restoration, when it was sent back to Oxford ; but another organ having been presented to the college, it was in the year 1737 removed to Tewkesbury. The church was entirely new pewed and fitted up in its present style in the year 1796,* at an expense of something more than £.2000. Nearly £.800 was raised by voluntary subscription among the inhabitants, and by donations from the representatives in parliament, towards effecting this desi- rable measure; a musical festival produced £.43. 6s. 3d.; and * The excellent manner in which the church was pewed, was certainly creditable to the late Mr. J. Keyte, of Kidderminster, the contractor ; but it is much to be lamented that he should not have been restrained from cutting away the bottoms of those fine piers, which support the internal arches, underneath the main pillars of the tower. The mutilations which these semi-columns sustained, and the clipping of several others near the gallery stair-cases, were not effected without considerable labour, but were evidently thus disfigured with a view of obviating the comparatively trifling difficulty of fitting the wood- work around them. The eight piers which are attached to the arches under the tower, being in a more prominent situation than the rest, should at least be restored ; or their unsightly appearance might be somewhat obviated, by introducing suitable corbels as supporters. 1.52 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. £.900 was advar ?ed, by eighteen individuals, upon mortgage of the rent of the seats. The last of the mortgagees was paid his principal and interest in 1810. In 1823, £.300 was voted by the " Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty," by means of the "parliamentary grants/' for the purpose of increasing the accommodations in this church ; but the money was never obtained, in consequence of the difficulty of finding room for so great a number of additional free sittings as the governors required, and of the great expense which would have attended the alterations. Between the years 1824 and 1830, the church underwent an extensive reparation, at an expense of upwards of £.3000. The whole of this sum, (with the exception of about £.700, the amount of a voluntary contribution,)* was raised by rates upon the inhabitants of the parish. The exterior of the tower, which had probably remained untouched Prom the time of its erection, was carefully examined, and as the dilapidations in this portion of the fabric were very considerable, new stones were introduced wherever the old ones had become decayed; shelving stones w ere introduced into the w indow s of the tower, in lieu of unsightly bricks, with which they had before been nearly darkened; the transept walls, and the roofs, were also repaired and strengthened ; one of the pinnacles on the cen- tral tower was re-built, and the others, as well as those over the western portal, were completely repaired; portions of the leaden covering, gutters and pipes were renewed, and the remainder were put into a state of perfect repair; spouts were added on the south side, and capacious drains made to carry off the water from the foundations ; large sums of money were expended upon the windows; the whole of the interior of the church, which had before been covered with white-wash, was scraped, cleaned, and coloured in distemper, to match the original stone, the walls and pillars in many places being first repaired, pointed and cemented ; all the tombs were cleaned, * See Appendix, No. 18. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 153 and many of them restored ; the centre of the floor of the nave, from the western entrance to the screen which supports the organ, and the cross-walk from the porch to the southern wall, as well as the porch itself, and the eastern portion of the south transept, which before were not only very uneven, but in many parts rudely covered with common bricks and fragments of old grave-stones,, were appropriately paved with Painswick free-stone ; the remainder of the nave, aisles, tran- septs, &c. was levelled, the grave-stones were re-laid, and blue stone was in most places substituted for the old bricks which had before filled the spaces between the graves ; the steps leading into the porch were renewed ; one half of the screen, opposite to the vestry-door, which had been long broken down, was restored ; twenty additional seats were made in the chancel ; and the soil, which had been suffered to accu- mulate against the walls, in the church-yard, and on the southern side of the church, was, so far as was practicable, removed, and the foundations of the building underwent very extensive reparation. Had the funds been adequate to the undertaking, it was at the same time intended to have repaired the seven large painted windows in the choir; removed the present altar- piece, and substituted one more in unison with the other portions of the church ; restored the ancient stone stalls and the Countess of Warwick's chapel ; completed the reparation of the various other chapels and tombs; grouted with the best material, the ceilings in every portion of the fabric ; boarded and raised the vestry floor; procured a set of new bells; and placed large pipes down the sides of the tower, for the pur- pose of conveying the water from the top to the long roof; and it will be much to be regretted, if means are not shortly found to effect these and many other improvements in this interesting building, which has been perhaps justly termed " the finest parish church in the kingdom." The church-yard, although it may be said to be extensive, is much too limited for so populous" a parish. Some, efforts u 154 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. were made to enlarge it in 1820, by adding to it the piece of inclosed land to the westward, on which the vicarage-house has since been erected ; but the proposal met with such de- cided opposition from many of the parishioners, on the plea of economy, that the idea was altogether relinquished. The walk from the street to the north entrance of the church was first paved, by subscription, in 1750 : the iron gates at the porch were at the same time given by the Right Hon. Lord Gage, and those adjoining the street, with the palisades, were presented by Win. Dowdeswell, esq. The walks are shaded with uniform rows of fine trees, — the range of chesnuts, on the sides of the principal gravelled walk, are flourishing and ornamental ; these, as well as the limes and elms, were planted in the year 1725. CHAPTER XII. ANCIENT MONUMENTS IN THE CHURCH. THE connection between sepulchres and places of worship is of very great antiquity: the Greeks placed their tombs in and near their temples; and the Romans, until the law of the Twelve Tables restricted them, did the same ; and no reasonable objection could perhaps be urged to the practice, if the dead were not, especially in populous cities and towns, sometimes so crowded together, as to endanger the health of the living.* * On the subject of burying in churches, Dr. Hall, bishop of Norwich, observes, " I must needs say, I cannot but hold it very unfit and incon- venient, both : first, in respect of the majesty of the place ; it is the Lord's House ; the Palace of the King of Heaven ; and what prince would have his court converted into a charnel-house ? How well soever we loved our deceased friends, yet, when their life is dissolved, there is none of us but would be loth to have their corpses inmates with us in our houses ; and why should we think fit to offer that to God's house, which we would be loth to endure in our own ? The Jews and we are in extremes this way : they hold the place unclean where the dead lies, and will not abide to read any part of the Law near to aught that is dead ; we make choice to lay our dead in the place where we read and preach both Law and Gospel. Secondly, in regard of the annoyance of the living ; for the air, kept close within walls, arising from dead bodies, must needs be offensive, as we find by daily experience ; more offensive now than of old to God's people : they buried with odours : the fragrance whereof was a good antidote for this inconvenience ; ('she did this to bury me,' saith our Saviour;) not so with us ; so the air receives no other tincture than what arises from the evaporation of corrupted bodies." " He," says Osborn, "that lies under the herse of heaven, is convertible into sweet herbs and flowers, that may rest in such bosoms as would shriek at the ugly bugs which may possibly be found crawling in the 156 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. That our Saxon ancestors, in common with other northern nations, at one period burnt their dead, is unquestionable; but Turner, in his History of the Anglo-Saxons, observes, that, " the custom of interring the dead had become established at the era when their history began to be recorded by their Christian clergy." They did not however at first bury in towns, but frequently on the ridges of hills, upon open plains, or by magnificent tomb of Henry the seventh." — " The gradual introduction of the present practice of burying in churches is traced by Bingham, with his usual erudition. It began in the respect paid to the remains of martyrs, which originated in a noble feeling, but soon degenerated into the grossest creature-worship, and produced frauds and lollies innumerable. Churches were first erected over the ashes or bodies of saints and martyrs, or the remains were translated to the churches. As the devil began to act a greater part in hagiographic romance, it was thought good policy to be buried as near as possible to the remains of those great champions who had carried on the war against him with such heroism while they were living, and whose very dust and ashes he was believed to dread. Emperors and kings began by obtaining this protection for themselves, but they were con- tented with a place in the porch or galilce. In the sixth century the common people w ere allowed places in the church yard, and even under the walls of the church. By the time of Charlemagne, they had got into the church ; and an attempt was made at the council of Fribur, a synod held in this reign, to put a stop to the abuse. It appears, however, from this synod, that the clergy had established for themselves a privilege of lying in the church, for it is the burial of laymen there which is prohibited. In the year 900, the emperor had repealed all former law s upon this subject : burial within the cities w as then expressly permitted, and graves in the churches were soon allowed to all persons w ho could pay for them. From that time, the manifold evils of this senseless custom have been repeatedly exposed: it continues to prevail, nevertheless, and \\ ill continue till the inconvenience of it becomes so great as to render an effectual change necessary." — Quart. Rev. No. 12, Bishop Burnet, in his Life of Sir Matthew Hale, asserts, that the conscientious judge desired to be interred in the church-yard of Alderley, in the county of Gloucester, observing that churches were for the living, and church-yards for the dead. Mr. Britton, in his " History and Antiquities of Bath Abbey Church," in which work is an interesting Essay on Epitaphs, by the Rev. Joseph Coneybeare, says, " the custom of interring bodies within churches is much to be deplored. It is not only injurious to the stability of buildings, but is repugnant to all the finer feelings of our nature. Can any thing be more unpleasant than a knowledge that the whole earth, beneath the flooring of a church, consists of human remains." — See also Wren's " Parentalia," wherein Sir Christopher Wren strongly reprobates this barbarous practice. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 157 the road side, and many such places of interment are still visible in various parts of the kingdom. Before the time of Pope Gregory, called the Great, about the year 606, the dead were always buried out of the cities and towns; but the recital of mass for the dead being then invented, sepulture became the source of great gain, as every one left largely to have masses said in order to pray his soul out of purgatory; and the better to secure their fees, the clergy made burial grounds round the churches. Cuthbert, the eleventh archbishop of Canterbury, about the year 750, obtained a dispensation from the pope, for the making of cemeteries within cities and towns in England ; and Lanfranc, a succeeding archbishop, in 1075, is generally said to have been the first who introduced the construction of vaults and interment near the high altar.* Sepulture in churches was speedily followed by the erection of monuments, with inscriptions engraved upon them, to perpetuate the remem- brance of the dead. In' the reigns of Henry the eighth and Edward the sixth, commissioners were appointed in each county to deface every image, shrine, or relic, which tended to idolatry or superstition ; and under colour of this authority, great devastation was com- mitted on the sepulchral monuments in many of our churches. Queen Elizabeth, early in her reign, endeavoured by proclama- tion to prevent the " breaking or defacing of monuments of antiquity in churches or other public places for memory and not for superstition ;" and finding this to be unavailing, she subsequently issued another proclamation, charging the justices of her assize to provide an adequate punishment for such offences. But in consequence of the growing spirit of puri- * " Thus began corpses to be buried in churches, which, by degrees, brought in much superstition, especially after degrees of inherent sanctity were erroneously fixed in the several parts thereof, — the porch saying to the church yard — the church to the porch — the chancel to the church — the east end to all — stand farther off, for I am holier than you ; and, as if the steps to the high altar were the stairs to heaven, their souls were conceived in a nearer degree to happiness, whose bodies were mounted to be there interred.' '—FvMer's Church History. 158 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. tanism, these proclamations were of little effect. During the usurpation of Cromwell, these outrages were carried to still greater lengths : not only were monuments indiscriminately- defaced, but churches were frequently converted into stables,* and every indignity which fanatical zeal could suggest was in- flicted upon the sanctuaries of the dead. Many of the monuments in the church of Tewkesbury were, during these unsettled times, either shamefully destroyed or mutilated; yet there are happily still remaining several to interest our feelings and excite our veneration, both on account of the richness of their decorations and the eminence of the persons to whose memories they were erected. The total ruin of that fine appendage to the church, the Lady Chapel,f has rendered it impossible for us to describe the splendid monuments which were placed within it, to per- petuate the memory of individuals of the noble families of the Clares and Despensers; and perhaps the destruction of this beautiful portion of the sacred edifice may be partly attributed to the tempting riches which the tombs presented to the view of the sacrilegious visitors sent by Henry the eighth. Between two of the large pillars, on the north side of the choir, is an elegant light chantry chapel of free-stone, erected by Abbot Parker, in 1397, over the tomb of Robert Fitz-Hamon, the founder of this church, who died in 1107, and was origi- nally buried in the chapter-house, whence his bones were * It has been ever traditionally stated, that Tewkesbury church was literally used as a stable by the soldiery during the civ il commotions in the seventeenth century ; and the large pillars which divide the nave from the aisles, even so late as the year 1790, presented an appearance which would give countenance to this idea. In many of these pillars, small perforations remained, in which portions of iron hooks or staples, such as would be used for tying up horses, were visible. + Upon digging in the mclosnre, at the east end of the church, in the year 1828, a leaden coffin was discovered, at the distance of about 115 feet from the building, in which were the bones of a middle-aged person, in a tolerably perfect state. This coffin might have been removed from its original situation in the Lady Chapel, at the time of its destruction, and probably contained the bones of some distinguished member of one of the noble families who had been patrons of the church. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 159 removed by Abbot Fortington, in 1241.* The tomb is of variegated marble, on which was the chieftain's figure, engraved in brass, with the appropriate embellishments of his warlike profession, of which ornaments some sacrilegious hand has long since despoiled it. The tomb was opened while the church was, under repair in 1795: at the head was a large stone, scooped out to receive a circular sheet of lead, in which were enclosed an arm and two thigh bones — probably the whole of the remains of the founder that could be collected at the time of their removal from the chapter-house. f This chapel has a ceiling of beautiful fan- work tracery, which was formerly painted and gilded :J a border of sculptured oak leaves sur- rounds the summit on the outside, beneath which is a fascia of roses. The following inscription, in old English characters, was observable until lately on the frieze of the cornice : — 3hx tgta (£apdla jacet Sominug &ofartu$ J^amonte Ijujns loct ipunuator. On the north side of the chancel, within the rails of the altar, is a monument of the most delicate sculpture, sur- mounted by an extraordinary fine piece of tabernacle work, consisting of four tiers of arches, gradually diminishing to one * " These sacella, or enclosed mortuary chapels, are not of very ancient date in monkish history : they were choirs in miniature ; and had their raised altars, tapers, crucifixes, and all the utensils of catholic worship, only on a smaller scale than in the platform of the church. Their endowments were very considerable ; varying according to the number of masses for the dead to be said in them by the appointment of their founders ; which commonly had respect to their ancestors and descendants, as well as to the immediate benefit of their own souls." — KnighVs Disquisition. f Archaeologia, xiv. 150. — Gough's Sepulchral Monuments. % In an old MS. in the editor's possession, it is said, that in the Founder's chapel there was curiously painted the story of the murder of Thomas a Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, at the high altar in his own cathedral ; and that on the breasts of the four knights, his murderers, were their several coats of arms, which are therein minutely described. — The death of Becket happened on the 29th of December, 1 170, and is attributable to William de Traci, Reginald Fitzurse, Richard Brito, and Hugh de Moreville, who were all gentlemen of the bedchamber to King Henry the second, and knights and barons of the realm. 1(50 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. at the top, carved in the finest style of filigree workmanship. On the tomb are the effigies of a knight and his lady, in white marble, in a tolerably perfect state : the former is represented in plated armour, with a gorget of mail and a round helmet, having a lion* at his feet, with a griffin's head for a crest. The lady has a dog at her feet, and appears in the square head dress so commonly seen on tombs which were erected in the reign of Edward the third. f Atkyns, Rudder, Willis, and others, have erroneously assigned these figures to George Duke of Clarence and Isabel his duchess ; and some have considered the tomb to be that of Thomas le Despenser.i There is no inscription upon the monument, but it is evident, from a variety of circumstances, that it was erected to the memory of Hugh le Despenser the third, and his wife Eliza- beth, daughter of William de Montacute, Earl of Salisbury. Mr. Knight, speaking of this splendid monument, observes, "much injury from neglect, and the corrosions of time, this elegant structure has evidently sustained : the lace-work beneath the arches, and the pinnacles above them, are sadly dilapidated; but, whether our attention is fixed by the delicacy and symmetry of the parts, or by the airy and aspiring lightness of the whole, enough remains to entitle it to the character of the finest monument in the church : it is not overloaded with decorations; but distinguished by a chastity of execution far preferable to the gaudy and meretricious ornaments, which marked the latter ages of Gothic architecture." * Lions at the feet of effigies are explained by several writers as emblems of vigilance and courage ; but Mr. Gough doubts this etymology, and thinks the practice was derived from an allusion to the words in Psalm xci. 13. " Thou shalt tread upon the lion and the adder ; and the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet." — Dogs on monuments are thought by some to have been chosen on account of their reputation for watchfulness and fidelity. Mr. Gough supposes, that, when at the feet of ladies, they may allude to their favourite lap dogs ; and adds, " that knights and nobles may have them at their feet as the companions of their sports, or a symbols of their rank." f Lysons's Observations, in Archseologia, vol. xty. X Gough's Sepulchral Monuments. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 161 On the opposite side of the aisle, at the entrance into St. Margaret's chapel, stands another light and elegant specimen of monumental architecture, something resembling that of Sir Hugh le Despenser,* and was erected to commemorate Sir Guy O'Brien, f a Knight of the Garter, and third husband to Elizabeth de Montacute, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury. " The knight is represented by a cumbent statue of alabaster, admirably executed, and in the attitude of drawing his sword, which is a departure from the general style of the period, but is frequently found in monuments of an earlier date : the figure is now much mutilated, but is a most valuable specimen of monumental sculpture, from the extreme richness and peculiarity of the armour : it has originally been painted and gilt, although little of that gaudy decoration is now to be dis- covered, even to the eye of an experienced antiquary. The armour is complete, but of the mixed kind; the head is covered with a conical basinet, to which, by a red lace, is attached the camail, formed in a very curious manner, appa- rently of wires, bent to take the form of rings extending all round, which is particularly explained in Meyrick's Ancient Armour, vol. n. Under the jupon was usually worn a. convex * " The principal difference between the monuments of Sir Guy Bryan and that of Hugh Lord de Spenser, consists in the decorations of the base- ment, or altar, upon which the figure reposes : the latter is panelled in small trefoil-headed arches, while that of Bryan is divided into three large quatre-foiled compartments, the centre of which is charged with the armorial shield of Sir Guy Bryan, Or, three piles, in point, azure, and those on each side with the same arms impaling the coat of Montacute, Argent, three fusils in/ess, gules." — Neale's Views. f " The name of Sir Guy Bryan must be joined with that of De Spenser as a great benefactor to this church, in putting up the ceiling under the tower, in enlarging the windows, and perhaps in completing several designs begun and prosecuted by Elizabeth's former husband, till death overtook him ; and to which, with singular delicacy, Sir Guy Bryan might have allowed only the arms of the original projector to be affixed : a resem- blance, doubtless, has been intended between their monuments, but the copy will not bear to be examined with the original ; under any other association it might obtain praise. It has, however, the advantage of being placed in a better light, and a more commanding situation." — Knightfs Disquisition. X 162 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. breast-plate, the form of which is evident in this figure. The jupon, itself of Arabic origin, and generally composed of silk or velvet, is represented as embroidered, or worked with the arms of Bryan, most curiously diapered with a raised composi- tion, which is clearly to be seen under the right arm, where it is less worn than in the other more exposed parts of the figure; it reaches to the middle of the thighs ; the arms are covered by the mail sleeves of the habergeon, and the vambrace of plate ; the left arm is unfortunately broken. His military girdle of red and gold, sustained a sword and dagger, both also broken ; his chausses are of mail, with slips of plate above and below the genouilliers, and his feet rest on a lion ; the crest, under the head of the figure, is much mutilated, and appears to resemble a griffin's head ; but from a monumental brass in Seale church, in Kent, to the memory of Sir William Bryan, knight, it seems that a bugle horn was the family crest. The canopy, or couronncment, exhibits a most elegant design of the pointed style, and consists of four stories of foil-headed arches, open, and supported by buttresses of an extremely light con- struction, terminating in small crocketted pinnacles; some of the buttresses are now out of the perpendicular, and some of the pinnacles gone."* The monuments of Sir Hugh lc Despcnser and Sir Guy O'Brien were in so dilapidated a condition, that the church- wardens, in 1828, in order to save them from destruction, were compelled to have them very extensively repaired. Many of the buttresses and pinnacles were entirely renewed, and the remainder underwent considerable reparation. The excellent manner in which the chiselling of the finer portions of the pinnacles is executed, reflects great credit on the talents of Mr. Thomas Holder, under whose superintendance the whole of the recent reparation of the church and tombs have been effected. Beneath one of the arches, on the north side of the choir, stands the elegant chantry chapel erected by Isabel Countess * Xeale's Views. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 163 of Warwick, grand-daughter and sole surviving heiress of Sir Edward le Despenser, to the memory of her first husband, Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, who was slain at the siege of Meaux, in France, in 1421. The countess, who died in December 1439, was herself interred in this chapel, which she had dedicated to St. Mary Magdalen. The following- inscription, in gold letters on a blue ground, appears on the outside and inside ledges : — Mementotc dominse Isabellas le Despenser, Conietisse de Warrewyk, quae hanc Cappellam fundavit in honorem Beataa Marias Magdalene, et obiit Londoniis apud Minores anno Domini mccccxxxix. die Sancti Johannis Evangelists?, et sepulta est in choro in dextra patris sui; cujus animac propitietur Deus. Amen. This chapel is a rich and beautiful example of what is termed the florid Gothic : the upper part of it is richly ornamented by arches, canopies and finials ; but of six marble pillars which once supported it, only two now remain.* The roof is entirely composed of beautiful tracery, spread over the arches and pendents ; and six niches, in two rows of three each, bound the screen. The buttresses on the sides of the tomb form seven divisions, with double canopies, for angels beneath, bearing shields of the several quartering^ of the family of the deceased countess, f This lady by will directed that her * Whilst some assert that six pillars once adorned the interior of this chapel, others conjecture that there were never more than two, from the cir- cumstance of there being no appearance in the floor of the bases of such additional pillars. Any increase in the number of them would certainly have obstructed the performance of divine worship in so confined a place ; and therefore, that which now appears in the ceiling to be the remains of other pillars, might have been only pendents, the bottoms and more orna- mental parts of which have been surreptitiously removed. f Arms upon the side of the chapel next the choir, over the door, L France and England, quarterly, King Edward III. 2. Castile and Leon, quarterly, Peter King of Castile and Leon. 3. France and England, quarterly, Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. 4. France and England impaling Castile and Leon, Isabel of Castile, Duchess of York. 5. Clare quartering De Spenser, Thomas De Spenser, Earl of Gloucester. 6. Clare quartering De Sjyeiiser and impeding France and England, Constance, Countess of Gloucester, who was the daughter of Edmund of Langley, Duke of York, and mother of Isabel, Countess of Warwick, the founder. 164 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. statue should be carved entirely naked, with her hair cast backwards ; with Mary Magdalen, laying her hands across ; St. John the Evangelist on the right side ; and St. Anthony on the left. At her feet was to be an escutcheon, impaling her arms with those of the earl her late husband, supported by two griffins; and on the side, the statues of poor men and women in their humble array, with their beads in their hands. It appears, from the Abbey Chronicle, that this part of her will was literally obeyed ; but the figures must have been long since removed, as they are wholly unnoticed by the earliest historian who mentions this tomb. This beautiful specimen of Gothic architecture, which is usually denomi- nated thu Countess of Warwick's chapel, is thus noticed by Mr. Knight : — " There can be but one opinion on the praise which belongs to the exquisiteness of finishing, by which the several parts of it are distinguished : the entablature, wedged between two of the old pillars of the choir, and appearing to rest upon light columnar buttresses of singular beauty, gives us an assemblage of fillagree and fret-work, which may vie with the finest specimens of similar workmanship in the kingdom : the elegant palm-leaved parapet, which occurs in the division between the stories, — the numerous escutcheons blazoned in The armorial bearings upon the side of the chapel, next the aisle, are as follow: the basement, in three divisions, contains, in the first, three angels under canopies bearing shields, 1. France and England, quarterly, King Edward III. 2. The bearings upon this shield are entirely destroyed. 3. France and England, quarterly, Edmund of Langley, Duke of York. In the second division of the basement are two angels bearing shields. 1. France and England, quarterly, impaling Castile and Leon, quarterly, Isabel of Castile, Duchess of York. 2. Clare and De Spenser, quarterly, impaling France and England, quarterly, Thomas de Spenser, Earl of Gloucester. In the third division, two angels, bearing, 1. France and England, quarterly, in chief, and Castile and Leon, quarterly, in base, impaling Clare and De Spenser, quarterly, ConstaJiee, Duchess of Gloucester. The arms on the fascia and ever the door are, in each compartment, three, 1. The Royal Arms of England. 2. The Arms of Clare, Earls of Gloucester. 3. Clare impaling England, Isabel, Countess of Gloucester, and John, afterwards King of England. 4. De Spenser, Hugh, Lord De Spenser. 5. De Sjienscr, impaling Clare. Eleanor, Countess of Gloucester, wife of Hugh, Lord de Spenser. 6. Clare and De Spenser, quarterly, impaling, Burghersh, Sir Edward De Spenser, K.G. — Ncalc's Viens. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 165 their proper colours, — the niches, and pedestals, under their respective canopies, once ornamented with figures which fanaticism has dislodged, — the slender shafts supporting a higher apartment, probably the rood-loft, in the inside of the fabric, from whence half figures of angels are seen to issue, — the pendents dropping, like congelations in a grotto, from a roof adorned with the most delicate tracery spread over it like a web, — these, and a countless multitude of minuter beauties, almost distract attention, and overwhelm the judgment, with their different claims to notice." On the south side of the choir is a chapel, dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was erected by Elizabeth, daughter of Lord Bartholomew de Burghersh, as a monument to her hus- band, Sir Edward le Despenser, whose effigy in armour, finely carved in free-stone, in a kneeling posture, with his hands up- lifted in prayer, and his face directed towards the high altar, is placed on the roof.* Over this figure is a rich spiral canopy of free-stone, supported by four buttresses, and adorned with pinnacles of exquisite workmanship. This unique specimen of Gothic masonry must at some distant period have been wantonly thrown down — probably by the sacrilegious partisans in the seventeenth century. The fragments of it lay scattered about the roof of the chapel, in utter confusion, and broken into upwards of two hundred pieces, until the year 1827, when they were carefully collected, assorted and cleansed. As more than one third of the buttresses and pinnacles were entirely lost, and much of what remained was in too shattered a condition to be useful, a great expense was necessarily incurred in restoring this canopy to its original beauty. The roof of the chapel is ornamented with fan -shaped tracery, in a tolerably perfect state, though the cusps of the pendents are lost. The altar is entirely removed, but some remains of the piscina may still be seen. The interior wall, at the eastern end, was once richly * Mr. Fosbroke thinks this figure appertains to the last Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, who was killed at the battle of Bannockburn, the style of the armour not being, he says, of the Eera of Sir Edward le Despenser. — Gent's. Mag. Supp. part 2, 1826. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, adorned with paintings; and in spite of the destroying hand of time, and the ignorance or carelessness of those to whom the preservation of the church has sometimes been entrusted, there is yet remaining enough of them to excite an interest even in the mind of the most common observer. Above the accustomed place for the altar, scriptural subjects, some of which may now be imperfectly traced, appear to have filled various com- partments ; and over these, in the centre, is still to be seen a somewhat mutilated representation of " the blessed Trinity personified,"* in a sitting position. To the left of this is a winged female figure, in a costume of Grecian simplicity, holding an incense pot in her hand, with a knight in armour, kneeling, behind her; and on the right, is another similar figure, in the act of adoration, with an attendant female, on her knees, clad in armour. The two outside kneeling figures have uplifted hands, and are thought to have been designed for the foundress of the chapel and her husband. -f- Elizabeth le Despenser died in 1409, and this chapel was built about the same time as that of Fitz-Hamon, to which it bears con- siderable resemblance, both in the interior and exterior. Not many years since, a stone coffin was dug up near this chapel, and the body which it contained is said to have been in almost a perfect state. In the south aisle of the nave, against the wall, is an ancient monument, generally said to have been erected to the memory of Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who was beheaded in the market-place after the fatal battle of Tewkes- bury ; but the arms on the tomb have no relation to the family of Beaufort, and the architectural decorations shew it to have * " A few years ago we might have seen depicted, upon the eastern wail of this chapel, the hlasphemous exhibition, still often witnessed in catholic countries, of the blessed Trinity personified : an old man, with a cross on his breast, and a dove perched on the top of it, was to give the semblance of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,— entirely regardless of God's own expostulation with his people : ' whereunto will ye liken me.' H — K :i ighPs Disquisii ion. f These figures are engraved in Lysons's " Collection of Gloucester?])! io Antiquities." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 167 been of an earlier date. Mr. Lysons superintended the open- ing of this tomb in 1795, but it contained only pieces of stone and rubbish : he conjectures it to have been erected for one of the family of the Clares, Earls of Gloucester; but observes, that the Duke of Somerset's body might have been interred in the stone coffin, now placed upon the top, which formed no part of the original tomb. Mr. Knight thinks that it belonged to Baldvvyn de Rivers, seventh Earl of Devonshire, who mar- ried Amicia, daughter of the first Gilbert de Clare. Nearly opposite to the above, in the Avail of the north aisle, is a rich flowered surbased arch, with a tomb under it, on which lies the effigy of a knight, with a lion at his feet. The armour is very curious : it has a gorget of edge-ringed mail, a surcoat emblazoned with a chevron between three leopards' heads, a mail skirt, fluted thigh pieces, knee-caps, legs and sobers of plate. Dr. Meyrick gives this figure as a good specimen of armour in the reign of Henry the fourth. This has usually been called the tomb of John Lord Wenlock, who was slain, in a moment of despair, at the battle of Tewkesbury, by the Duke of Somerset, under whom he commanded. Mr. Gough and Mr. Lysons have given sufficient reasons for dis- crediting this opinion ; and besides, it is known that Lord Wenlock was buried at Luton in Bedfordshire, where his tomb still remains. Mr. Knight ascribes it to a chieftain of the name of Morley, who married one of the Despenser family. At the entrance into the chapel which was dedicated to St. Edmund the Martyr, to the north-east of the high altar, is a gorgeous cenotaph, erected by Abbot Wakeman, with the intention doubtless of having his body buried beneath it. The person of the abbot is here represented by a cadaver, or emaciated figure, stretched upon a shroud, with snails and newts on various parts of it, and is usually called "the starved monk." The tomb is constructed with an open recess, beneath the slab upon which the enshrouded skeleton is laid, and here it is conceived that the cadaver would have been removed at Wakeman's decease, whilst a cumbent figure of the abbot, carved in stone, in the natural features of healthful life, would 168 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. have occupied the upper tablet, had not his design been frus- trated by the dissolution of the abbey, and his consequent removal to the see of Gloucester. In many of the cathedral and conventual churches, monuments of this description are to be met with,* and they have usually given rise to many ridiculous tales among vergers and others. The same author, from whom we have borrowed descriptions of some of the other tombs, thus concludes his account of Abbot Wake- mans : — " The whole cenotaph is composed of rich work- manship, light and florid screen-work, nothing solid. The basement, or altar part of the tomb, as we have observed before, forms an open recess, adorned with most curious per- forated work upon the front, towards the ambulatory. The piers which support the canopy, are laced with light graduated buttresses, between which are lofty ornamented octangular pe- destals, surmounted by niches, with their canopies for statues; and, between the piers, springs a light and beautiful arch, foliated at its lower edge, with the spandrils perforated with quatrefoils; from beneath the centre of this arch descends a very rich, but somewhat heavy pendent ornament, of an ogee form, immediately over the figure, a singular and bold deviation from the monumental style of the age. Above the whole are three projecting canopies, with their pinnacles and gables crocketed and under-wrought with tracery of the most delicate workmanship. It was hardly possible that such elaborate decoration could escape mutilation. A portion of the west end, or head of the monument, which originally pro- jected beyond the piers, has been destroyed, and some of the tracery of the curious pendent arch has also suffered, but the whole may be considered as a tolerably perfect example of the richest and most elegant design of sepulchral monuments."! The cenotaph was partly repaired in 1&2S. * Designs of this class occur in the monuments for Bishop Fox, at Winchester, and Bishop Beckington, at Wells. See Britton's Histories of those Cathedrals. f Neale's Views. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, 1G9 In the south aisle of the chancel, not far from the Trinity chapel, is an altar tomb, ornamented on both sides with quatrefoils and shields, having over it a very flat arch, the vault of which is decorated with rich carved tracery. This tomb, which forms the only part now remaining of the screen of one of the chapels, has usually been assigned to Abbot Fortington, who died in 1203. Willis describes it as having the effigy of a man, in full proportion, lying upon it; no doubt a figure was once upon the tomb, but it has long since been removed. Mr. Lysons notices, that the form of the arch and its decorations are such as were not used until the fifteenth century; and from the cyphers R. C. entwining a crosier, on the shields in each spandril of the arch, and at the intersection of the ribs of the tracery beneath, he thinks it evident that this monument was intended for Abbot Richard Cheltenham, who died in 1509. This tomb was, previous to its restoration in 1827, in a ruinous condition. Opposite to the tomb of Abbot Cheltenham, at the back of the stone stalls, near the high altar, is another tomb of an abbot, consisting of a stone coffin, placed under a low flat arch, ornamented with a scroll of vine leaves and grapes, over which are two rows of niches with rich canopies. On the lid of the coffin, which is of a hard blue stone, the following inscription, in Lombardic characters, is deeply cut: IOpXNNGS XBBXS pVIVS LOCI. This has usually been ascribed to Abbot John Cotes, who died in 1361. Mr. Lysons thinks the decorations of the monument are of a later age, and therefore that the stone coffin originally occupied a different situation in the church. This coffin was opened in 1795, but, excepting rubbish and mortar, it con- tained only some pieces of rich gold tissue, probably parts of the sacerdotal habit. Near to the tomb assigned to Abbot Cotes, is a black slab, under a flowered arch, which Mr. Gough supposes to be the workmanship of the fourteenth century, and is thought to cover the remains of another abbot, whose name is un- known. This coffin has also the appearance of having been Y 170 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. placed in its present situation after the original occupier had been dispossessed of it. In the wall of the south chancel aisle, in a niche made for it, on the west side of the vestry door, under a channelled trefoil arch, surmounted with a straight-lined canopy, whose angle is considerably distended, is the tomb of Abbot Alan, who died in the year 1202. Mr. Knight considers this monu- ment to be one of the oldest in the church. On the west end of it is inscribed, XLXNVS DO00INVS XBBXS. The body is deposited in a coffin of Purbeck marble, which was opened in 1795; at the head of it another inscription, somewhat obliterated, was discovered, which, when perfect, is supposed to have been pIJC IXEGT DOGOINVS XLXNVS XBBXS. Mr. Lysons states, that when the lid of the stone coffin was first taken off, the body appeared surprisingly perfect, consi- dering that it had lain there for nearly six hundred years : the folds of the drapery were then very distinct; but when exposed to the air, the whole soon crumbled away, and left little more than a skeleton: the boots however still retained their form, with a certain degree of elasticity, and hung in large folds about the legs. On his right side lay a plain crosier of wood, neatly turned, the top of which was gilded, having a cross cut in it: the handle was five feet eleven inches in length, and remarkably light; and on his left side was the fragment of a chalice. In a recess, a little to the westward of the above, is another tomb, erected probably for one of the abbots, but there is nothing to lead to any certain conclusion on the subject. There is a comparatively modern inscription upon it, from which it appears to ha\e been opened in 1697, and the body of a child interred in it. Between the monuments of Abbots Alan and Cheltenham, on the east side of the vestry door, is another tomb of one of the abbots, consisting of a stone coffin, under an arch richly adorned with foliage and other ornaments. On the lid of the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 171 stone coffin is carved a rich cross floree, having - the figure of an abbot at the top, and a lamb at the bottom. On the open- ing of this tomb, by Mr. Lysons, the body was found in a similar state to that of Abbot Alan, but there was no crosier ; and it is quite uncertain for which of the abbots this monument was erected. Mr. Knight says, " there is much richness in the wavy-lined foliated canopy, with a double embossed moulding, which covers this tomb, and terminates in a highly-wrought bouquet, wherein the artist has thought proper to shew his skill by the introduction of birds among the leaves." This tomb had been from time immemorial deprived of its original western pinnacle: a new one was carved and erected in 1829, and upon examination it will be acknowledged that the work- manship of the modern pinnacle is at least equal to that of the ancient one, which stands on the opposite side of the monument. CHAPTER XIII. DISTINGUISHED PERSONS BURIED AT TEWKESBURY, WHO HAVE NO MONUMENTS. 4 In the year 800, Brictric, king of Wessex, son-in-law to king OfTa, was interred in St. Faith's chapel, in Tewkesbury church. In 812, Hugh, a Mercian nobleman, who owned the manor of Tewkesbury, was buried on the north side of the body of the church. Gilbert de Clare, first Earl of Hertford and Gloucester,* who died in 1230, was buried in the middle of the choir. f * The following notice of the death and funeral of Gilbert do Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, who died in 1230, is in the Cotton manuscript : — " A.D. m.cc.xxx. G. de Clare (onu s GloucestrisB et Hertfordiae obiit in nocte sanctorum Crispini et Crispiniani apud Penros in Brittania, et legavit corpus suum ecclesise beats Marias Theok. obi nunc requiescit. Legavit etiani eidem ecclesise boscum de Mutha, et crucera argenteam bene deauratarn. Applicuit autem sequenti die Sabbato cum fainilia sua apud Plu'mue et delatus est per mediam Devoniam, Sinners', et Dorset', usque Craneburn, deinde usque Theokesburiam multis obiter largitis pro anima ejus pauperibus, eleemosynis, et pannis sericis, domibus religiosis. Venit tarn en corpus ad nos Sabbato ante festum saneti Martini, quicvit autem in sepulchro dominica sequenti. Sepultus vero est ante majus altare, astantibus abbatibus Theok. de Tynteme, de Fiexley, de Keynesham, de Tureford, et aliis viris religiosis, innumeris diversorum ordinum populis quam innumeris utriusque sexus. Primum testainentum comitis G. fuit apud Sivwik super mare, i>ridie kal. Maii. Secundum vero in Brittania minori, decimo kal. Novembris." Fol. 20. f In an old manuscript account of the " noble personages buried in the abbey of Tewkesbury," in the editor's possession, six coats of arms are described as having been " late on the coffin that covered the tomb of Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 173 Isabel, daughter of the Earl of Pembroke, widow of Gilbert de Clare and wife of Richard brother to King Henry the third, who died in 1239, ordered her heart to be sent in a silver cup to her brother, then abbot of Tewkesbury, to be interred before the high altar.* Richard de Clare, Earl of Hertford and Gloucester, who died in 1262, was buried in the choir. The bishops of Wor- * The Cotton Register, under the year 1239, has the following particulars respecting the funeral and will of Isahella Countess of Gloucester : — " Obiit Ysabella comitissa Gloucestria? et Hertfordiae, Cornub. et Pic- tav. apud Berkamstud. Corpus vero ejusdem humatum digno honore apud Bellum Locum Cisterciensis ordinis coram majori altari, in cuppa argentea decenter deaurata per fratrem H. de Siptun tunc priorem Theoksb. qui ejus obitui interfuit : unde versus, Postrema voce legavit cor comittissa. Pars melior toto fuit hue pro corpore missa. Haec se divisit Dominum recolendo priorem. Hue cor quod misit, verum testatur amorem. Huic simul ecclesia? sancta? suffragia prosint. Ut simul in requie coelesti cum domino sint. Intestina vero ejusdem humata sunt apud Mussenden coram majori altare. Legavit domui Thcok. x. libratas terra? de maritagio suo in villa de Sunedun. Item xl. marc, argenti. Unum calicem argenti deaurat. ij. phialas argenteas. j. turribulum argenteum . j. textum coopertum argento. j. phialam quam dominus papa misit ei cum reliquiis, videlicet de sancto Cornelio papa, de capillis sanctaa Elizabethan virginis, de tribus pueris, de Sanctis Marco et Marcelliano, de syndone beata? Agnetis, de Sanctis mar- tyribus Oliinpii, Theodorii, Simpronii, Superbia?, atque Lucillae, de sancto Pantaleone martyre, de sancto Dainaso papa, de sancto Basilio confessore, de Sanctis xl. martyribus. Item legavit duas cappas de baudekin bene oinatas, et j. casulam bonam stragulatam, tunicam et dalmaticam de uno panno ; ha?c omnia fuerunt de capella sua. Ipsa siquidem semper habuit in proposito sepeliri in ecclesia beatas Maria? Theokesb. juxta tumulum G. comitis, viri sui prioris, sed non est passa pro voluntate domini R. com. Cornub. viri sui posterioris qui cum corpore suo dedit x. marc, redditus prasdicto loco quo sepulta est, et quo ipse disposuit sepeliri. Insuper pro anima comitissa? contulit templariis dominus R. comes x. libratas redditus. Hospitali Jerusalem x. libr. redditus apud Walingeford. Instituit quendam capellanum in perpetuum pro anima ipsius ; et ad sustentationem ipsius dedit et confirmavit per cartam suam v. marc, redditus. Lpsa siquidem cum esset in libera viduitate instituit virum capellanum in perpetuum pro anima G. com. Glouc. et pro anima ipsius apud moniales de Marcyate, et ad sustentationem ipsius dedit et per cartam suam confirmavit pra?dicto loco c. sol redditus." Fol. 36 b, 37. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, cester and Landaff, twelve abbots, and a great number of j barons, knights and gentlemen, were present at his funeral; and numerous indulgences were granted by the archbishop of Canterbury, the bishops of Chester, Worcester and Landaff, to those who should pray for the earl's soul.* The stately tomb of this nobleman was erected by his widow Maud, in the Lady chapel, but no remains of it now exist. It was ornamented with gold, silver and precious stones, the sword and spurs which he wore when alive, and other valuables. On this tomb was a large image of the earl, in silver, and his praises were celebrated in the following epitaph : " Hie pudor Hippoliti, Paridis gena, sensus Ulyssis, " JEnece pietas, Hectoris irajacet." Which is thus translated in " Weever's Funeral Monuments :" " Chaste Hippolite, and Paris fair, Ulysses wise and sly, " iEneas kind, fierce Hector, here jointly entomb'd lye." Gilbert de Clare the second, who died in 1295, was also buried in the choir, near the communion table. The effigies of this nobleman formerly stood over one of the stalls, not far from his grave, in a pensive position, with an inscription in gold characters. Gilbert de Clare the third, who was slain at the battle of Bannockburn, in 1314, was buried at Tewkesbury, with his ancestors, f Maud, his wife, daughter of the Earl of Ulster, was buried on his left hand. John, son of Gilbert de Clare the third, was buried either in the Lady chapel or in the choir. Hugh le Despenser the younger, who was executed at Here- ford, in 1327, was quartered and publicly exposed, but some parts of his body were privately interred at Tewkesbury. * Cotton MS. f Mr. Knight states that he was buried in the Virgin Mary's chapel ; and Sandford, in his Genealogical Survey, asserts, that he was buried near his father, grand-father and great grand-father. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 175 William Lord le Zouch of Mortimer was buried in the middle of the chapel of our Lady in 1335.* Eleanor, eldest daughter of Gilbert de Clare the second, and widow of Hugh le Despenser the younger and of William Lord le Zouch, who died in 1337, was buried with her ancestors. Another Lord le Zouch is said to have been buried in the Lady chapel, near the presbytery, in 1371. Elizabeth, widow of the last named Lord le Zouch, was buried there in 1408. Edward, eldest son of Edward le Despenser the second, and also his infant brother and sister, were buried in the Lady chapel. Thomas, another son of Edward le Despenser the second, who was executed at Bristol, 1 Henry IV. was buried in the middle of the choir. Elizabeth, widow to Edward le Despenser the second, who died in 1409,f was buried either within or near to the chapel of the Holy Trinity, which she had erected to her husband's memory. * The effigies of Lord William le Zouch, in a perpendicular position, is now to be seen, beneath a row of fine elm trees, in a field on the estate and near to the mansion of Joseph Yorke, esq. at Forthampton Court. As Abbot Wakeman resided there, it is probable that he conveyed it to Forthampton at the time of the demolition of the Virgin Mary's chapel. The figure is cut in stone, is upwards of six feet high, and appears in the act of sheathing a sword. The face is in great part visored, the legs crossed, and rowelled spurs are strapped upon the feet, which rest upon a j lion dormant. f By her will, dated July the 4th, 1409, in which she stiles herself Elizabeth de Burghersh, dame le Despenser, she bequeathed her body to be interred between Edward Lord le Despenser her husband and Thomas le Despenser her son : appointing her interment to' be within three days after her decease ; and that a black cloth, with a white cross, should be laid over her corpse, with five tapers about it, and no more, during the office of burial. Likewise, that a stone of marble should be placed over her grave, with her portraiture thereon. She also appointed that seven of the most honest priests that could be found should sing for her by the space of one whole year after her death ; and each of them, for so doing, to receive five pounds. Moreover, she willed, that a thousand masses should be sung for her soul. 176 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Hugh Mortimer, by his will, dated London, 1415, directed his body " to be buried in a certain chapel of Tewkesbury church, wherein is buried the body of Lord Edward le Despenser." Richard le Despenser, son to Lord Thomas, died in his eighteenth year, and was buried in the choir, on the left hand of his father. Henry Beauchamp, Duke of Warwick, who died in 1446, was buried in the middle of the choir. Cicely, daughter of the Earl of Salisbury, and widow of the above Duke of Warwick, was buried in the same place in 1450. Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, who was beheaded after the battle of Tewkesbury, in 1471 ; also Lord John Beau- fort, his brother, and the Earl of Devonshire, who were slain in the battle, were buried in the church. Nearly in the centre of the choir, just beneath the tower, is the following inscription, on a brass plate, commemorative of the melancholy fate of Prince Edward, who was murdered after the battle of Tewkesbury : " Ne tota pereat Memoria Edwardi Principis Wallia?, post praelium meinorabile in vicinis arvis depugnatum crudeliter occisi ; banc tabulam bonorariam deponi curavit pietas Tewks- buriensis. Anno Domini mdccxcvi." This inscription, from the pen of the late Rev. Robert Knight, vicar of Tewkesbury, was placed there when the church was newly pewed in 1796. The slab on which this plate is engraved covers a stone coffin, which was examined not many years since, but exhibited no marks by which it could be recognised as the repository of royal dust ; and it is far more probable to have contained the ashes of Henry Beauchamp, Duke of Warwick, who was certainly buried in this part of the church. It is unknown where the ill-fated Edward was buried, whether in the church or church-yard ; historians say that his body was thrown into a hole with those of the common soldiers who perished in the field of battle. The grave which this inscrip- tion covers has immemorially been pointed out as that of the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 17? prince ; and had not the large marble slab, which was ori- ginally placed on it, been removed and despoiled of the brasses with which it had once been inlaid, it might have been better ascertained whose remains were deposited beneath.* At the back of the high altar, underneath a large blue stone, which bears evident marks of once having been inlaid with metal, is a flight of eight stone steps; these lead to a large arched vault, in which the remains of Isabel Duchess of Clarence, eldest daughter of Richard Earl of Warwick, were deposited in 1477 ; and where, also, her illustrious husband, George Duke of Clarence, brother to King Edward the fourth, after his mysterious death in the Tower, most probably found that repose which was denied to him in his lifetime. The Abbey Chronicle gives a minute account of the burial of the duchess, and points out the precise spot of her interment ;f but * " Under a large marble slab, stript of its brasses, at the entrance of the choir at Tewkesbury, under the rood loft, is said to lie the unfortunate Prince Edward, only son of Henry the sixth, stabbed in cold blood after the battle. Some bones of a small skeleton, as of a youth, and a coffin, were discovered by the breaking of the stone, and might till lately be handled. The figures of a religious, under a canopy, with pillars and four shields, were inlaid on the slab. The Plan [in Stevens] puts here the monument of Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, (it should be Henry Beauchamp last Earl of Warwick,) who was buried at the head of Prince Edward. It is not likely that the last remnant of a royal house, which was so com- pletely crushed in this battle, should have had any memorial laid over him." — Gough, Sepul. Mm. vol. n. p. 225. f From the Abbey Chronicle we learn, that Lord John Strensham, abbot of Tewkesbury, with other abbots in their habits, and the whole convent, received her body in the middle of the choir, and the funeral office was performed by the lord abbot and the rest of the abbots, with the whole convent, in nine lessons ; afterwards the funeral office was performed by the suffragans of the bishops of Worcester and Lincoln, and by the dean and chaplains of the duke : and the vigils were observed by the duke's own family till the next day, which was the vigil of the Epiphany. The suffragan of the bishop of Lincoln celebrated the first mass of St. Mary, in St. Mary's chapel ; the second mass of the Trinity was celebrated by the lord abbot, at the altar ; the suffragan of the bishop of Worcester cele- brated the third mass, of eternal rest, at which Peter Weld, doctor in divinity, and of the order of the Minors at Worcester, preached a sermon in the choir, before the prelates ; and mass being ended, the body was left under the hearse, in the middle of the choir, for thirty-five days ; and those z 178 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. no person who has written on the subject seems to have been aware of the existence of this vault. Mr. Knight enquires, " among 1 the many nobles and chieftains interred in this church, where are we to look for ' false, fleeting, perjured Clarence,' and Isabel his duchess, who are reported to have here found a period to their sufferings, whether arising from their misfortunes or their crimes, in the sabbath of the grave ?" After describing the pomp displayed at the funeral of the duchess, he remarks, " such were the feuds about the throne, during the eventful reigns of Edward the fourth, Richard the * third, and Henry the seventh, that no one has even ventured to mark the spot with a stone where this obnoxious branch of royalty finally claimed kindred with the worm."* This vault was opened in 1826, in the presence of the vicar, curate, and churchwardens of the parish : it was in the most perfect state, and measured nine feet long, eight feet wide, and six feet four inches high. The arched roof and walls were of Painswick free-stone, and must have been chiefly hewn from large masses of solid material ; the floor was paved, and in the centre was the representation of a cross, extending almost the whole length and breadth of the vault, formed with painted bricks : on some of these were the arms of England, of the Clares, &c. and on some were ornamented letters, birds, fleurs de lis, and various other devices, similar to bricks which are frequently found about the church ; and of which, it would seem, the members of the convent kept a store, to be used for embellishment as occasion might require. In the north-west corner of the vault were found two skulls, and other bones ; these were evidently the remains of a man and woman, and although there was nothing to prove that they were relics ol the Duke and Duchess of Clarence, there are some cir- cumstances which render it by no means improbable. solemn obseciuies were daily performed, during that time, in the convent. Her body was buried in a vault behind the high altar, before the door of the Virgin Mary's chapel, and opposite the door of St. Edmund the Martyr's chapel. * Knight's Disquisition, p. 107. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 179 That the duchess was buried in this vault, not the shadow of a doubt can exist : this receptacle for her remains might have been prepared during the thirty-five days in which she lay in state in the church ; for as she died at so early an age, and so unexpectedly, there is no reason to suppose that it was made in her life time. It will perhaps never be satisfactorily determined where the duke was buried : Rapin and others affirm that he was interred here ; and as his enemies cared little about his body after it was deprived of life, it is not likely that any obstacle would have been thrown in the way of its removal to Tewkesbury, if any faithful adherent desired it. The circumstance of the bones of a male and female being dis- covered in this vault, — joined to that of there being six large stones, at the south end of it, apparently arranged for support- ing two coffins abreast, — would add something to the plausi- bility of the notion of his having been buried in the same grave with his duchess. The fact of its being unnoticed in the Abbey Register, might have arisen solely from an anxiety in the abbot not to give offence to the ruling powers, by recording the interment of one who had fallen a victim to their resentment. This vault was perhaps ransacked soon after the dissolution of the monastery, for the purpose of obtaining every thing of value which could be found in it: the coffins, as was frequently the case, might have been stolen for the worth of the materials, and the bones were suffered to remain in one corner of the sepulchre, merely because they could not be converted into money. This receptacle for royal dust was destined again to be disturbed in 1709, 1729 and 1753, in order to admit the bodies of Samuel Hawling, his wife, and his son. Samuel and John Hawling were members of the corporation ; but it is quite impossible to conceive how these " perriwig-pated aldermen " obtained permission to occupy this tomb. In 1829, the remains of the family of Hawling were removed from this vault, and carefully deposited in a grave, which had been prepared for the purpose, a little to the south- ward, and their grave-stone was afterwards laid upon it. An 180 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. ancient stone coffin was then taken into the vault, the supposed bones of the royal duke and duchess were deposited in it, and here they were securely inclosed, by placing a large stone upon the top of the coffin.* However frequent therefore this vault may in future be visited, the remains of mortality which are in it cannot again be readily disturbed. Some account of the modern monuments and grave-stones which are in the church, as well as of a few of the tombs, &c. in the church-yard, is given in a subsequent portion of this work.f * The coffin, which is now in the Clarence vault, was dug up by the sexton, whilst he was making a grave for Mr. Samuel Jeynes, between the vestry door and the Trinity chapel, in 1775 ; and from the situation in which it was found, it is supposed to have been that of one of the Despenser family. f Sec Appendix, Nos. 10, 20 and 21. CHAPTER XIV. INCUMBENTS OF TEWKESBURY. PRIOR to the dissolution of the monastery, Tewkesbury was a rectory of considerable value; its emoluments were en- joyed by the abbot and convent, who appointed, from their own fraternity, a stipendiary curate. King Henry the eighth alienated the whole of the possessions of this church, which comprised most of the great and small tithes of Tewkesbury, Southwick, Ashchurch,* and Aston-upon-Carron, and the whole of those of Walton Cardiff, Fiddington and Tredington. The king reserved to himself the right of presentation, but the revenues being sequestered, the patronage was not worth retaining. As the crown therefore could not find any one who would accept this empty preferment, the parishioners, who had before been compelled to purchase the church and stipulate for its future repair, to prevent its demolition, at length found that they must ,also provide a clergyman at their own charge,-}- or suffer the public worship of God to be wholly neglected. It appears that the bishop of the diocese * William Reade and his assigns had a grant from the abbey of Tewkesbury of " all their tithe wool and lamb " of the lordships and manors of Ashchurch, Newton, Walton, Fiddington, Aston-upon-Carron, Northway and others, from the 16th of Jan. 30 Hen. VIII. for eighty years. — Records in the Registry of Gloucester. f A petition to Cromwell's parliament, in 1650, from the corporation of the borough, states " that they have, for above fifty years, at their own charge, by way of benevolence, maintained pious and learned ministers, who constantly did and still do preach twice every Lord's Day.'' 182 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. sometimes appointed a curate, at a small salary, which the towns-people were expected to provide, and at other times the inhabitants were wholly dependant on the clergy in the vicinity of the town, or on the casual attendance of clerical strangers, for the performance of the services of the church. King James the first, in 1608, granted the rectory of Tewkesbury to Francis Morris and Francis Phelps, reserving to the crown the advowson and right of patronage, and merely charging the rectory with the payment of £.10 annually to the minister. This property subsequently devolved to Edwin Skrimshire, esq. whose conscience it appears would not suffer him to enjoy the property which had been wrested from the church ; he therefore, in 1683, conveyed the tithes of Treding- ton and Fiddington to trustees, directing that, after the payment of £.12* to the minister of Tredington, £.12 to the minister of Ashchurch, and the £.10 before mentioned as having been granted by James the first to the minister of Tewkesbury, the residue should be appropriated towards the better maintenance of the officiating minister of the church of Tewkesbury. In consequence of this important augmentation to the living, the inhabitants petitioned the king, that the advowson might be given to Mr. Skrimshire; but this request, as might have been anticipated, proved unavailing. Under the powers of the Tredington and Fiddington inclosure act, land in lieu of those tithes has recently been allotted to the minister of Tewkesbury. The benefice is now styled a vicarage, though the in- cumbent appears formerly to have been usually denominated " minister." It io still in the gift of the crown,f is situate in the diocese of Gloucester, and in the deanery of Winchcomb. The bishop holds a visitation triennially at Tewkesbury, and in the intermediate years there is an archidiaconal visitation. * This sui^ was, in 1826, by an amicable arrangement, augmented to £.18 per annum. f The benefice is valued in P. Nich. with the chapels, at £.oS. 13s. id. ; but is not in charge in the king's books. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 183 The living, with the readership* annexed, is now of consi- derable value, f Of the early incumbents of Tewkesbury we have little information : their names are not even recorded in the registry at Gloucester, nor in the archives of the parish. The first minister, subsequent to the reformation, whose name we have been able to discover, was John Davis ; he, in his will, dated 1543, is designated " priest." t In 1546, William Parsons described himself as " secondary" of Tewkesbury. § Richard Drake, "curate" of Tewkesbury, in 1552, be- queathed by will to the church, 3s. Ad. and to the poor of the town, 3.s. Ad. \\ In several documents, in the registry at Gloucester, the name of Sir Stephen Berde^f occurs: in one of them, dated 1554, he is called "secondary;" in 1556 he is described as * The corporation of the borough has the appointment of a reader or assistant to the minister of Tewkesbury, and although the vicarage and readership are not necessarily enjoyed by the same individual, it has been the general custom for a long period to unite them. The small tithes and easter offerings are attached to the readership ; and at the time these were devised by Mr. Geers, a Mr. John Pearce was reader, and also master of the free grammar school, but was never minister of the parish. As the small tithes of Tewkesbury would obviously be very inconsiderable, and the easter offerings of all such as could reasonably be expected to pay them, would amount to little, they have not been demanded within the remembrance of any one now living ; but, as a compensation to the vicar, a collection has always been annually made for him by the church-wardens. f See Appendix, No. 22. X His will is in the registry at Gloucester. § Ibid. || Ibid. 5[ The title of Sir was formerly given to priests in holy orders, who had not taken their degrees ; whilst that of Master was given to those who had commenced in the arts. Hence Fuller, in his Church History, quaintly says, " More Sirs than Knights." Shakspeare, in " The Merry Wives of Windsor," calls a Welsh parson, Sir Hugh Evans; he has also a Sir Topas in " Twelfth Night," and Sir Oliver in " As You Like It." Spenser, in more than one instance, designates a priest Sir John. Bishop Percy says, that the title of Sir was appropriated to such of the inferior clergy as were only readers of the service, and not admitted to be preachers. 184 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. "curate;" and in another instance he is styled "vicar ' of Tewkesbury. Sir Thomas Nott was "curate" in 1557: his name occurs in his official capacity in two wills,* in the registry at Glou- cester, dated in that year. In the register of baptisms, for 1597, and in two subse- quent years, the name of " Ri. Curteis, mynister," is frequently found, f * As these wills are interesting, and relate in some degree to our subject, we shall here subjoin the substance of them : One is that of Sir John Assum, priest, dated April 7, 1557, who bequeaths his body to Tewkesbury church ; and to the same church a vestment of blue silk, an awlbee named a stole, and a fanell belonging to the same vestment ; another vestment of yellow silk, an awlbee and a fanell belonging to the same ; a ehrysabull of tawny velvet, two fanells of the same, with the stole and fanell ; an awlbee, with faiiells of gold, with imagery work upon the same awlbee ; an aniys of the same, and a stole and fanell belonging thereto, wrought with arms ; a cloth of red and green silk, with the fringe, to hang before the high altar ; a pall of black velvet, to serve for the use of the poor people as well as the rich ; an altar cloth, for the high altar, of diaper ; and a cross, with a foot belonging to the same cross, and a relic hanging upon the same. — The other will is that of Thomas Coke, of Tewkesbury, clothman, dated April 21, 1557: he bequeaths his tenement, with a garden, and its appurtenances, in the occu- pation of Richard Matthew, at the rent of thirty shillings per annum, lying in the High-street, Tewkesbury, to John Butler and Win. Phelowe, bailiffs of Tewkesbury, and to T. Witherstone, Wm. Cole, Wm. Aly, and Richard Caryk, burgesses, their heirs and assigns for ever, to the intent that the bailiff's of Tewkesbury, for the time being, and the major part of the discreet burgesses of the said borough, shall apply the same to the reparations of Tewkesbury church, or to such other uses concerning the church, or God's service, as they think fit ; holding the said lands of the lords of the fee at the service usually due for the same. The residue of his lands, together with the leases which he had for a term of years, he bequeaths to Joyce his wife, for her natural life, or until the leases expired, if she should so long live ; after her decease, to William his son ; and if he die without heirs, his wife to dispose of the premises towards the foundation and erection of a free grammar school, or the foundation of a chantry, or some other charitable use, to continue for el er. f In one of the parish registers, of the date of 1599, during the season of Lent, the Allowing entry occurs : — " I graunted a license to William Phelpes, being then extremelye sicke, to eate fleshe, which license to endure no longer tyme then during his sicknes. " Ri. Curteis, curate of Tewksburie," HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 183 In 1628, the Rev. John Geree, A.M.* held the living; he also enjoyed it in 1641, although Nathaniel Wight styles him- self minister in 1634, in which year his signature is attached to some licenses which he granted to his parishioners, permit- ting them to eat flesh during Lent. Mr. Geree appears to have been considered too orthodox for one of the two great religious parties which at that period divided the kingdom, and too heterodox for the other. He called himself " a preacher of God's word," and removed from Tewkesbury to St. Al ban's, about 1645. After the secession of Mr. Geree, the names of Richard Cooper and R. Wilkes sometimes occur in the parish registers ; it is thought however that they were only assistant ministers, as it is stated, in a small work, printed at that period, that Mr. Geree was succeeded at Tewkesbury by the Rev. John Wells, " a godly preacher," formerly of Gloucester Hall.f Mr. Wells * Mr. Geree, during the time he resided at Tewkesbury, published, (by authority of the House of Commons,) a pamphlet against Separate and Independent Churches, called " VindicicB Voti;" and also a sermon, entitled "Judah'sJoy at the Oath, laid out for England's Example in embracing the Parliamentary Covenant with readiness and rejoicing." The sermon he dedicated to Nathaniel Stephens, esq. M.P. for the county of Gloucester ; and it is stated, in the preface, that above four hundred inhabitants of Tewkesbury entered into the famous protestation or covenant, for the defence of the protestant religion, (which the House of Commons agreed to and individually signed in May 1641,) the day after the discourse was delivered. Mr. Geree was also author of another tract, entitled "The Character of an Old English Puritan or Non- Conformist," published in 1646. From the tenor of this work, we may infer, that Mr. Geree was one of that class of religionists which Sir P. Warwick, in his Memoirs of the Reign of Charles the First, terms Church Puritans : — " whilst the church puritan opposed the more canonical churchman, the knave puritan over- threw both." — In a singular publication, entitled " The Great Evil of Health-Drinking," printed in 1684, it is said that the "worthy Mr. John Geree hath written a tract on purpose against Healthing." f In this work, which was printed in 1657, and entitled " The Winch comb Papers Reviewed, &c. for the use of Gloucestershire," Mr. Wells is said to be an "independent," and a "most eager disputant." It contains * A true Account of a Dispute at Winchcomb Parish Church, Nov. 9th, 1653," where the Rev. Clement Barksdale, of Sudeley, and the Rev. Mr. Towers, minister of Todington, both orthodox divines, publicly argued with the Rev, Mr, Helme, minister of Winchcomb, the Rev, Mr. Wells, of 2 a 18C HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. was a zealous defender of Cromwell's power, and an active and useful instrument in the hands of the presbyterian party. Calamy has erroneously ranked him among those who were " ejected or silenced after the Restoration :" the mistake ori- ginated perhaps in the circumstance of the Rev. Francis Wells being ejected from this church, at a subsequent period. The Rev. Thomas Burroughs,* a staunch republican, was minister in 1650,f and for several years afterwards. £ Tewkesbury, the Rev. Mr. Tray, of Oddington, the Rev. Mr. Chaflfey, of Naunton, and Colonel Aileworth, a justice of peace, who were all termed puritans, the following question : " Whether it be lawful to minister and receive the holy sacrament in congregations called mixt, (or, in our parish churches?}" The proceedings and arguments on this occasion are inte- resting, but the dispute ended, as might have been expected, without either party being brought to a change of opinion. * By an order of the " committee for plundered ministers," dated July 1, 1646, the yearly sum of £.20 out of the impropriate rectory of Qucinton, and £.30 more out of the impropriate rectory of Child's Wickham, in the county of Gloucester, sequestered from the Lady Fermor and Henry Fermor, esq. her son, recusants, were directed to be paid for the increase of the maintenance of the minister of Tewkesbury, as his income had been previously but £.10 per annum. And as the cure of the church was very great, the parish containing 2500 communicants, it was further ordered, that £.50 a year should be paid out of the profits of the impropriate tithes of Whitefield, in the said county, sequestered from Henry and Thomas Cassey, esquires, recusants, for the maintenance of an assistant to the said minister. — There being however no assistant appointed to the minister, it was, by an order of the same committee, dated Feb. 26, 1650, directed that the £.50 a year from the impropriate rectory of Whitefield should be paid, with all arrears thereof, unto Mr. Thomas Burroughs, minister of the church of Tewkesbury, until an assistant should be appointed. — Tewkesbury Corporation Records. f In a register of church livings, temp. Cromwell, 1654, it is said, that Mr. Burweighes, a preaching minister, was incumbent of Tewkesbury; that the value of the vicarage was £.10 stipend, and a donation of £.3 ; and that the parish contained a thousand families. — Lansd. MS. 459. + During Mr. Burroughs's ministry, banns of marriage were published in the market-place, and w eddings solemnized before a county or borough magistrate : parties of the greatest respectability, from all the neighbouring villages in the counties of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford, where markets wer_ not held, flocked to Tewkesbury for the purpose of being thus united. In the old parish registers are numerous entries similar to the following : — " Memorandum, that a publication of a consent of marryage betweene William Parsons, of Tewkesbury, and Mrs. Jane Lechmere, of HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 187 About the year 1657, a Mr. Lewis* officiated here, but he probably never held the benefice. In 1661, Mr. Robert Eaton was minister of Tewkesbury. In the registry of his death, which occurred in 1668, he is called a " godly minister of this parish." In 1669, the Rev. Cuthbert Browne was elected minister of Tewkesbury, f In 1674, the Rev. Francis Wells, ancestor of the late Dr. Wells, of Prestbury, near Cheltenham, held the living ; and was deprived for non-conformity, j Hanley, in the county of Worcester, was made in the market-place at Tewkesbury, on the 17th day of March, 1654, and on two market-dayes in the two next weekes following. And afterwards, that is to say, on the 9th day of Aprill, 1655, they were marryed and declared husband and wife by Mr. Lechmere, a justice of the peace for the county of Worcester, in the presence of Mr. Langston, Mr. Warwick, minister of Hanley, &c." * The notorious Ralph Wallis, "the Cobler of Gloucester," in his book entitled " More News from Rome," sarcastically laments that a clergyman should be allowed to " preach, as sometimes Dr. Lewis did, at Tewkesbury, and shew the reason why Melchizedeck was priest and king, — because the priest's place was a beggarly place, like Tewkesbury, it would not maintain a man, therefore he was king of Salem." f The following entry appears in the corporation books : — " 10th May, 1669. It is agreed, by the common council, together with several other inhabitants of the town, that Mr. Cuthbert Browne, clerk, is elected minister of this town, and to receive the moiety of the rents due to this borough out of the rectory of St. Ishmael, in the county of Pembroke, and £.10 out of the rectory of Tewkesbury aforesaid, together with £.1 per annum out of Mr. Poulton's house." I In 1678, the common council resolved, that, for preventing the present inconveniences which the town is under for want of a preaching minister, Mr. Wells be requested to resign. Mr. W. affirmed that he had committed no fault that deserved suspension, and refused to resign ; upon which, the common council ordered, that such course should be forthwith taken against him, as might cause his deprivation. The chamberlain was afterwards ordered to pay Mr. Wells so much of the salary of £.10 from the rectory of Tewkesbury, as was due to him at Michaelmas, and also £.11. 5s. which was due to him at St. Paul's tide, from the tithes of St. Ishmael's, provided he would resign his cure ; and that, upon his resignation, " the common council should give him a fair character according to his deserts." — In 1679, it was ordered, that the town-clerk should proceed upon the articles he had exhibited against Mr. Wells, to cause his deprivation, at the public charge ; and that ten shillings a day should be paid by the chamberlain to such minister as might be procured to preach at Tewkesbury during the v acancy . — Corporaiic n Rem vds . 188 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. In 1687,* the Rev. Robert Eaton, son of a former incum- bent, died whilst he was in possession of the benefice ; although the names of John Matthews and Samuel Edwards occur as preachers in the preceding year. The Rev. John Matthews was inducted to the benefice in 1689, and held it for thirty-nine years. In the early part of his ministry he sometimes denominated himself " pastor," at other times "minister," and subsequently "vicar." A pro- secution was instituted against him during the time he held the living : the specific offence with which he was charged is unrecorded, and from his retaining his situation many years afterwards, it may be inferred that the object of his accusers was frustrated. f He resigned the living in 1728, and died in the following year. , In 1728, on the cession of Mr. Matthews, the Rev. Henry Jones, A.M. was instituted to the benefice, but he died shortly afterwards. * In the register of baptisms, for 1678, it is said, that " Mr. Matthias Maid, church-warden, gave a surplice to the parish, which had been without one ever since 1641, in which year it was torn by Richard Morgan, glover." f From the corporation books it would appear, that the dispute was prin- cipally between the minister and the corporation, respecting the readership, which is in the gift of the latter. Whilst the prosecution was pending, the corporation retained in their hands the whole of the rents of the property at St.Ishmael's, a moiety of which belongs to the minister ; and in 1705, they presented a petition to the Lord Chancellor in favour of Mr. Richard Cox, whom they recommended to be minister in the room of Mr. Matthews, in case of a vacancy. In the year following, the corporation resolved, " that Mr. Richard Cox, M.A. who has been reader of divine service in the church of Tewkesbury since the death of Mr. John Pearse, by the order of Mr. Bailiffs and consent of the chamber, is now confirmed, elected, nominated and appointed reader of divine service in the church of Tewkesbury, and reader and assistant to the curate or minister there, and to have and enjoy all stipends, wages, salary, and profits thereto belonging." The matter having been at length left to the decision of the bishop of the diocese, his lordship, in 1710, recommended that the moiety of the rents of St. Ishmael's should be forthwith paid by the corporation to Mr. Matthews, according to the will of Sir Baptist Hickes, in order " to put a final end to all differences, and to establish a firm and lasting friendship between them and the said Mr. Matthews." This recommendation was adopted, yet notwithstanding, in 1712, Mr. Samuel Savage, clerk, " who had officiated as reader since Mr. Richard Cox's time," was elected to that office by the body corporate. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 189 The Rev. Penry Jones, clerk, succeeded his brother, in 1729, and held the vicarage until his death, which happened in 1754. The Rev. Henry Jones, A.M. son of the before-named Henry Jones, was instituted to the living on the death of his uncle, in 1754. He was also perpetual curate of Tredington ; and died in 1769, in the forty-seventh year of his age, having held the vicarage fourteen years.* In 1769, the Rev. Edward Evanson, A.M.f was, through the interest of Mr. Dodd, M. P. for Reading, presented to the vicarage of Tewkesbury, by Lord Chancellor Camden. He soon afterwards obtained the vicarage of Longdon, in the county of Worcester, in exchange for the vicarage of South * During the ministry of the Rev. H. Jones, an " impudent footman," of the name of George Williams, who was an Unitarian, in the service of Mrs. Bromley, a highly respectable inhabitant of the borough, caused great uneasiness to the pious vicar. He was a regular attendant at church, on Sundays, and invariably left his seat while certain portions of divine service were performed ; by his manner of opening and shutting the doors, both when he quitted and when he returned to his pew, he always contrived to disturb the congregation ; and his behaviour at the ministration of the Lord's Supper was particularly offensive. In the year 1765, Williams pub- lished a pamphlet against the doctrine of the Trinity and the liturgy of the Church of England, entitled "An Attempt to restore the supreme Worship of God, the Father Almighty." Although he was only the no- minal author of the work, yet as he was supposed to have some abettors and advocates among the more respectable part of his parishioners, Mr. Jones felt it his duty to communicate the circumstances to his diocesan, the celebrated Bishop Warburton ; and through the kindness of George Worrall Counsel, esq. of Gloucester, who has the original in his possession, we have been furnished with a copy of the reply of this distinguished prelate to Mr. Jones, dated from Bath in 1764. (See Appendix, No. 23). Shortly after this period, Williams left Tewkesbury, and afterwards resided at Overbury, but was subsequently one of the Rev. Edw. Evanson's staunchest supporters. A few years before his death, which happened in 1789, he printed and published what he termed "his creed," — a foolish rhapsody, which had not even the merit of originality to recommend it. f Mr. Evanson was born at Warrington, Lancashire, April 21, 1731, and received his education under his father's eldest brother, who was vicar of Mitcham, Surrey. At fourteen years of age he was entered at Emanuel College, Cambridge, where, in 1749, he obtained the degree of B. A. and that of A. M. in 1753. At this period he assisted his uncle in the education of pupils, and became his curate. 190 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Mims, near Barnet, which had been given to him in 1768; and about the same period he was presented to the perpetual curacy of Tredington, by the bishop of Gloucester.* Shortly after Mr. Evanson's appointment as vicar, he expressed his dissent from some of the essential doctrines of the church of England; a change of opinion which eventually brought him into much notoriety. On Easter Sunday, 1771, he chose the doctrine of the Resurrection, as taught in the first epistle to the Corinthians, for the subject of his discourse, at Tewkes- bury ; from the manner in which he treated it, he gave great offence to many of the most respectable of his congregation ; and this displeasure was much heightened by some alterations which he constantly made in the Apostles' Creed and other parts of the service of the church. A prosecution was subse- quently commenced against him in the Consistory Court of Gloucester, which was carried on for a long time, and at a great expense both to Mr. E. and his prosecutors. The criminal facts with which he was charged were, that, in two private conversations, as well as in a sermon preached upon Easter Sunday, and in a pamphlet entitled " The Doctrines of the Trinity," and also in an answer to a letter sent to him by his prosecutors, he had offended against the fourth, fifth and sixth canons ; and, both in the sermon and pamph- let, against the 13th of Eliz. c. 12, s. 2 ; and that, in two verbal alterations and two verbal omissions, in his performance of the public service, he had several times transgressed the fourteenth and thirty-eighth canons. The court having granted a commission to examine evidence, it was opened * Bishop Warburton, in a letter to Bishop Hurd, says, " the Chancellor has given the vacant vicarage of Tewkesbury to one Evanson, of your college, whom I have instituted ; and as he introduced himself to me in your name, I have given him some expectations of a perpetual curacy in the neighbourhood, in my gilt, to help him to pay his curate of Tew- kesbury." In a subsequent letter, however, he calls him " a conceited innovator." Bishop Hurd, in a note on the above passage, says, he wished to serve Mr. Evanson, on account of his being of the same college with him ; and observes, " he afterwards addressed a printed letter to me, of which I took no notice." — Warburton'' s letters. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 191 with great formality in the abbey church, April 6, 1774; it was continued by adjournment at a tavern until the 16th of the same month, and six and twenty witnesses were examined in support of the prosecution. The cause came to a hearing before the Bishop and the Chancellor of Gloucester on the 16th of January, 1775, but Mr. Evanson's proctors declined entering inta the merits of the case, and took exceptions as to the regularity of part of the proceedings : the court over-ruled these exceptions, and ordered the parties to go into the merits. To this order the vicar's proctors appealed to the Arches- Court of Canterbury, and the appeal was heard before Sir George Hay, in Doctor's Commons, on the 26th of May, 1775. The Dean of the Arches, after having heard the proctors on both sides, not on the merits but on the exceptions, pro- nounced for the appeal, and dismissed Mr. E. from all further judicial proceedings in the cause, and condemned Mr. Havard, the promoter, in costs. Mr. Havard afterwards appealed from this decree to the Court of Delegates, and the cause was argued at great length in Easter and Trinity terms following : the judges reversed a part of the decree of the Court of Arches, and assigned the cause for a further hearing. Through the whole of this protracted suit, Mr. Evanson enjoyed the legal assistance of Mr. Wedderburn, then solicitor-general, (after- wards Lord Rosslyn,) free of all expense; and was also, in 1775, appointed his domestic chaplain. Mr. Evanson, in conjunction with a curate, performed the church service, alter- nately at Tewkesbury and Longdon, until the year 1775 ; when he left his curate at Tewkesbury, and went to reside wholly at Longdon. In 1778, he published the sermon, which had given so much offence, with an affidavit of its literal authenticity, accompanied by " An Epistle Dedicatory to the worthy Inha- bitants of Tewkesbury who defrayed the Charges attending his Defence." This it appears he did, in consequence of his opponents having published " A Narrative of the Origin and Progress of the Prosecution against the Rev. Edward Evanson," which was drawn up by the late Neast Havard, esq. town- clerk of the borough ; who afterwards published " A Word at 192 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Parting; being a few Observations on a mutilated Sermon, and an Epistle Dedicatory to the worthy Inhabitants of Tew- kesbury, lately published by Edward Evanson, M. A. to which are added the Arguments of Counsel in the Court of Delegates, touching Mr. Evanson's Prosecution." Previous to the appear- ance of these publications, Mr. E. resigned his livings, upon which the prosecution against him was immediately dropped, and Mr. Havard was of course saddled with the costs. Mr. Evanson retired to Mitcham, where he undertook the educa- tion of a few pupils ; the father of one of them, Colonel Evelyn James Stuart, son of Lord Bute, settled an annuity upon him, which was regularly paid until the time of his death. His last days were spent in privacy at Colford, in the Forest of Dean, where he died on Sept. 25th, 1805. Dr. Chalmers, the compiler of the General Biographical Dictionary, affirms, that Mr. Evanson was " one of the most determined opponents of revealed religion in modern times;" and Mr. Gilbert Wakefield, in his Letters, calls him " a notorious and confirmed heretic." His biographer, in the Monthly Magazine,* says, "however widely Mr. Evanson might differ from other Christians in points of speculation, he was himself a decided believer in divine revelation ;" and in a letter, written by Mr. Evanson, a short period before his death, dated from Clifton, where it appears he had gone for the recovery of his health, he observes, "the surgeon tells me that I may obtain relief, but God knows how far he may be right, and I am not at all anxious about the event: at the age of seventy-four, life begins to be of little value, either to myself or others, but my future prospects are full of comfort." Whatever may have been Mr. Evanson's errors, in matters of religion, he is universally allowed to have been a man of very considerable learning and abilities: he appears also to have been honourable, humane, and benevolent ; and, in domestic life, highly exemplary. The Rev. James Tattersall, A. M. had the vicarage pre- sented to him, on the resignation of Mr. Evanson, in the year * Monthly Magazine, Dec. 180.3. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 193 1777, and lie retained it until his premature and melancholy death in 1791 * The Rev. Robert Knight, A. M.f was instituted to the living in 1792; he held the rectory of Baynton, Worcestershire, as * He was the third son of the Rev. James Tattersall, rector of St. Paul's, Covent-Garden, and of Streatham, Surrey, by Dorothy, daughter of the Rev. William De Chair, and sister of the Rev. Dr. JolinDe Chair, rector of Little Risington, Gloucestershire. While on a visit to his brother, the Rev. William De Chair Tattersall, at W r otton-under-Edge, he was thrown from his horse and dragged a considerable way with his foot hanging in the stirrup, by which accident several of his ribs were broken, and he was other- wise so much bruised, that he expired in about an hour afterwards. He was buried at Wotton, where the following well-merited tribute of affection has been placed to perpetuate his worth : — " Sacred to the memory of the Rev. James Tattersall, A.M. vicar of Tewkesbury, who died by a fall from his horse, May 9th, 1791, aged 38 years. Strength of judgment and sweet- ness of disposition he received from nature ; to these he added the support of sound religious principles; and this union of good qualities, with the best acquirements, produced an amiable character, and an exemplary life. His brothers, the Rev. John Tattersall, and the Rev. William De Chair Tattersall, (vicar of this parish,) impressed with the deepest sorrow for his loss, and impelled by the sincerest affection and gratitude, have caused this monument to be erected." — Mr. Tattcrsall's eldest brother, John, was vicar of Hare wood, Yorkshire, and a king's chaplain ; his brother William was also a king's chaplain, rector of Westbourne, Sussex, and vicar of Wotton- under-Edge, Gloucestershire, for upwards of fifty years, and died March 26, 1829. The latter gentleman published, in 1791, a Version or Paraphrase of the Psalms, adapted to public and private devotion, originally written by the Rev. J. Merrick; in 1795, he also published Improved Psalrnody, in three parts, the music of which was printed with types ; and subsequently, two volumes of Psalms, with new engraved music. f The Rev. Robert Knight died on the 23d of July, 1819, aged 53, at Trevenon, near Llandrindod Wells, Radnorshire, shortly after his arrival there for change of air. He had previously resided for many years at Newton, Glamorganshire, and was brother of the late Colonel Knight, of Tythegston Hall, in that county. Mr. K. was a man of strict integrity, and was possessed of considerable literary attainments : in addition to several smaller works, he published, in 1818, " A cursory Disquisition on the Conventual Church of Tewkesbury and its Antiquities," nearly the whole impression of which was soon afterwards destroyed by a calamitous fire in Messrs. Bensley's printing-office. He was, early in life, a cornet in the seventeenth regiment of light dragoons, and received the half-pay of a cornet until the time of his death. The fortunate manner of his obtaining two crown livings at once is somewhat singular: Lord Chancellor Thurlow had promised him, through the medium of a friend, the rectory of Baynton, but before he had been inducted thereto, or had even been to view it, the 2 B 194 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. well as the vicarage of Tewkesbury, from that period until 1818, when, with the consent of Lord Chancellor Eldon, he exchanged with the Rev. Charles White the latter preferment for Mickleton* cum Ebrington, in the county of Gloucester. Mr. White, the present incumbent, was instituted in June, 1818 ;f he was soon afterwards presented to the perpetual curacy of Deerhurst, and, on the death of Dr. Welles, late vicar of Prestbury, was appointed rural dean of the deanery of Winchcomb, by Bishop Ryder. vicarage of Tewkesbury became vacant. Mr. Knight immediately waited upon his lordship with the information, solicited the living of Tewkesbury in preference to that of Baynton, and obtained a promise that he should make his own election. After he had inspected both, he intimated to the chancellor that the income of the two would be barely sufficient for a proper maintenance, whereupon his lordship surprised the applicant by informing him that he might take them both! The chancellor resigned the seals a few hours afterwards ; he had therefore probably thought that he might as well hare the satisfaction of disposing of both preferments, as of leaving the patronage of either of them to his successor. * Mr. White was presented to the vicarage of Mickleton in the year 1797, by the then Lord Chancellor; and on his lordship's death, was appointed domestic chaplain to his widow, the Countess Dowagel of Rosslyn. f When the Rev. Charles White obtained the benefice, there was no vicarage house attached to it. The present residence was completed in the year 1827, under the worthy vicar's immediate superintendence, and accord- ing to his own designs. Towards the purchase of the land and the erection of the house, £.852 was raised by voluntary subscription; the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty gave £.600, and also lent £.3 10 on mortgage of the living, with the usual condition, that three per cent, interest and five per cent, redemption should be annually paid until the loon was discharged. — In the list of subscribers appear the following names: J. E. Dowdesuvll, esq. M.P. and John Martin, esq. M.P. each, £.150; the lion, and Right Rev. Dr. Ryder, bishop of Gloucester, £.125 ; Win. Dillon, esq. £.52. 10s. ; General Dowdeswell, J. M. Barnes, esq. and E. W. Jones, esq. each £.50; the Hon. Mrs. Yorke, Mrs. Mines, Philip Godsall, esq. Samuel Barnes, esq. and J. S. Olive, esq. each, £.20 ; John Hurd, esq. and Joseph Long- more, esq. each, £.10. 10*. , Mrs Martin, Thos. Vernon, esq. John Terrctt, esq. and Mr. John Moore, each £.10. Various smaller subscriptions amounted to £.63. 10s. CHAPTER XV. DESCRIPTION OF THE TOWN, ITS GOVERNMENT, TRADE, &c. TEWKESBURY is generally considered a very handsome and improving town. The three principal streets are spacious and well-paved : the most extensive of these is the High-street, (formerly called Oldbury-street,) which is wide and elegant,, leading from the centre of the town towards Worcester; Church-street, in the direction of Gloucester and Cheltenham, is nearly as long, but the curvature near its centre renders its length less perceptible ; and Barton-street, which is the third considerable street, connects the town with the Evesham and Stow roads. There is also a new street, lately opened, by means of which a more ready communication betwixt the High-street and the Oldbury is obtained ; besides which, there are a number of lanes, alleys and passages, branching from all the principal streets. A considerable part of the Oldbury,* all of which, until the year 1808, was commonable land, has very recently been covered with buildings : there are now nearly two hundred houses in that portion of the town, the first of which was built in 1810. * Oldbury sometimes denotes a place that was the site of a camp or for- tification, and sometimes it means the "old town;" though it is a name which has much more frequently been given to meadows or pieces of inclosed ground belonging to religious houses. 196 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The houses in Tewkesbury are chiefly built with brick, the manufacture of which is carried on to a large extent on the banks of the Severn, both above and below the town. There are still existing, in various parts of the borough, some excellent specimens of the domestic architecture of the time of Queen Elizabeth : the whole building is strongly framed with timber, and the upper stories project so much over the lower, that were these houses to be regularly placed on each side of a narrow street, their tops would meet, and completely shade the way beneath. One of the most perfect examples of this description of dwellings, is the general coach-office, adjoining the Swan Hotel, in the High -street. A large stone cross formerly stood in the open space in the centre of the town ; the bailiffs, in 1650, ordered it to be pulled down, and caused the materials to be used in the repa- ration of the long bridge, leading to the Mythe. There is no memorial to shew us when or for what purpose this cross was erected : Leland terms it the " market cross," and the spot is to this day frequently called " the cross."* * Stone pillars or crosses were erected in different a?ras and on various occasions : independently of those in very remote ages, (such as are men- tioned in the Old Testament, and those raised by pagans for idolatrous purposes,) our ancestors, in early times, put up crosses in places where the people commonly assembled in public, or where several roads met. At such crosses, the corpse, in being carried to the grave, was set down, that the people attending might pray for the soul of the departed. Mendicants also usually stationed themselves near them, and solicited alms for Christ's sake; and hence the proverb, " he begged like a cripple at a cross." They were sometimes erected on the spot where persons had met with untimely and violent deaths ; and the one at Tewkesbury might have been built to com- memorate the melancholy fate of the Duke of Somerset and others, who were beheaded in the place where it stood, after the overthrow of the Lan- castrian army in 1471. The fact of a stone cross having been erected at Blore Heath, Staffordshire, after the battle there, in which Lord Audley, who commanded on the side of the house of Lancaster, was defeated and slain, would serve in some degree to strengthen such an opinion. Crosses were also sometimes placed to mark where any singular instance of God's mercy had been shewn ; or where the corpse of any distinguished individual rested as it was carried to be buried ; and more frequently in church- yards, to remind the people of the benefits vouchsafed to them by the cross of Christ. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 19? Near the middle of the Church-street, there is a broad space, which, from being called the Bull-Ring, is supposed to have been the spot anciently appropriated to the barbarous and almost obsolete diversion of bull-baiting. In the year 1786, an act of parliament* was obtained, for paving, improving, lighting and watching the streets ; f and to the strenuous and laudable exertions of the commissioners may be attributed their present cleanliness and excellent condition. A deep and muddy gutter formerly ran down the centre of each street, and lesser ones, from the several lanes and alleys, united with it ; these were considered so dangerous, that poor persons regularly stationed themselves at the several entrances into the town, and obtained a livelihood by leading the horses of travellers from one end to the other. Nearly adjoining to the town is a large tract of fine meadow land, called the Severn Ham, containing nearly two hundred acres, the property of John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. the Hon. Henry Augustus Berkeley Craven, and others. This meadow was formerly commonable to the resident freemen, and the occupiers of dwelling-houses fronting the three prin- cipal streets, from the 12th of August to the 13th of February; but an act of parliament was procured, in the year 1808, for vesting the aftermath in trustees, who now annually divide the produce of it among such persons as would have been entitled to a right of common if the act had not been obtained. The same act also empowered the trustees to inclose the Oldbury Field, the Oldbnry Meadows, Lilly Croft and Lilly Croft Meadow, which before were commonable, from the 4th of September to the 2d of February, to the same persons who were entitled to pasturage in the Severn Ham, According to the returns made in 1821, under the directions of the population act, the parish of Tewkesbury contained 1172 * The titles of the local acts of parliament, relating to the borough, are given in the Appendix, No. 24. f The representatives in parliament liberally contributed towards the paving and improvement of the streets, in 1790 : Sir William Codrington, bart. gave £.500, and James Martin, esq. gave £.300. 108 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, families, 122 of which were employed in agriculture, 865 hi trade and manufactures, and 125 which were not comprised in either of those classes. The number of inhabitants was stated to be 4962, viz. 2368 males and 2594 females ; and there were 1044 inhabited and 88 uninhabited houses. When the population returns were made in 1811, Tew- kesbury contained 1007 families, 71 of which were employed chiefly in agriculture, 873 in trade and manufacture, and 63 were not comprised in either of those classes. The number of inhabitants was calculated to be 4820, viz. 2201 males and 2619 females; there were then 959 inhabited and 33 uninhabited houses, and 11 houses being built. — When the census was taken in 1801, there were 1146 families, occupying 859 houses; and the population amounted to 4199 persons, viz. 1932 males and 2267 females.— In 1792, there were 3768 inhabitants, viz. 1793 males and 1975 females. — The popu- lation of the town, in 1723, amounted to 2866 persons, viz. 1234 males and 1632 females. It is evident that the population lists, in 1821, were very incorrectly taken : the inhabitants must have been then consi- derably more numerous than they were stated to be, and since that period also they have much increased. The population would now probably approach nearly to 6000 souls. The earliest trade of the town seems to have been confined chiefly to the commerce in grain, flour and malt, which the inhabitants were enabled to carry on to great advantage by means of their fine navigable rivers. The traffic on the Severn and the Avon, from Tewkesbury, is, now very considerable, and might be increased to almost any extent, if individuals of an enterprising spirit would embark their capital in mercantile speculation; since few places in the inland part of the kingdom are more advantageously situated for trade. Should the projected union of the Bir- mingham and Worcester canal with that of Gloucester and Berkeley, ever be carried into effect, which has been for some years a favourite scheme with many persons both in Birming- ham and Bristol, the commercial prosperity of this town would in all probability be greatly augmented. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, 199 A double lock might be erected, at a trifling expense, across the mouth of the river Avon, at the bottom of the quay ; a floating dock could thus be formed, capacious enough for a more extended trade than the most sanguine can ever hope to witness in our rivers. If this were effected, the present con- fined quay might readily be made a very commodious one, with every convenience for loading and unloading vessels. A rail-road from Bristol to Birmingham has often been contemplated; should this project also ever be realized, it has been anticipated that the most beneficial effects would be felt by the trading interests of the town, through or near to which the road must necessarily pass. The corporation, by their early charters, were empowered to grant privileges to companies of traders ; all persons who were not free of the borough, were prevented from settling here in business, and journeymen were not allowed to work at their trades, unless they were members of one of the incor- porated companies. In the infancy of commerce, these combinations might possibly have had their advantages, but they would be very ill suited to the present times. There has always been, since the year 1581, a company of " cord- wainers and shoe-makers," which is the only company now existing. There was a company of " drapers and dyers," and another of " tailors," which, being afterwards united into one fellowship, was dissolved only a few years since.* There * In the preamble to a grant from the corporation of the borough to the company of tailors, in the forty -third year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, it is stated, that " tyme oute of mynde there hath ben a felowshipp or brotherhoodd of the misterie of taylors within the boroughe of Tewxburie and adds, that for many years the company of " drapers and dyers" had been united to that of the " tailors," but from some disagreement they had lately been separated. This grant or charter permits their re-union, and states that henceforth they should be " reputed and allowed to be one companie, fellowshipp and brotherhoodd, to be called by the name of the fellowshipp of drapers, dyers and taylors of the burrough of Tewkesburie." The original rules of the company appointed the annual election of one of the most discreet members to be " master," and one of the younger ones to be " clerk or beedle :" the former was to collect the " fynes," and pay one half of them to the bailiff, for the use of the whole borough, and apply the other half to the use of the said fellowship ; the latter was to attend the 200 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. were also companies of " weavers," — " coopers and joiners," — " haberdashers or mercers/' — "butchers/' — "bakers/' — " smiths/' — " tuckers/' and one of " whittawers, glovers, point-makers, pursers, and pouch-makers." This town was formerly celebrated for its manufacture of mustard balls, which were sent to the most remote parts of the country, and being remarkably pungent, gave rise to the pro- verb, " He looks as if he lived on Tewkesbury mustard ;"* which continues to this day to be applied to those prigs who exhibit a more than ordinary degree of pertness.f Shak- master, summon the company, &c. Subsequently, a warden, high master, low master, and beadle, were annually chosen. The primary object of the company appears to have been to prevent persons from exercising any of their trades within the borough, unless they were members of the fellowship; to entitle them to this honour, they must have served seven years' apprentice- ship, and have paid their admission fee ; which, from those apprenticed in the town, was only three shillings and four-pence ; but strangers were compelled to pay a much larger sum, and on some occasions four pounds were paid. The fees were generally spent in breakfasts by the fellowship. On one occasion the corporation of the borough agreed with this company, that so long as there were in the town fourteen master tailors, which they " conceived a sufficient and competent number, and rather too many than otherwise," they would not, without the consent of the fellowship, admit a stranger, being a tailor, to the freedom. About twenty years since, the company of tailors consisted of only three members, viz. Thomas Waldron, William Sweet, and Samuel Lintridge ; being all far advanced in life, they agreed not to admit any other person into the fellowship, and that the one who lived the longest should inherit the company's estate. Lintridge sur- vived the others, and disposed of the property, about the year 1812, by which he realised nearly six hundred pounds ! * Ray's Proverbs. — Grose says, the Tewkesbury mustard was extremely hot, biting and poignant ; and therefore, by this proverb, supposed to com- municate those qualities to persons fed with it. — And in an allegorial account of mustard, (Cens. Lit. vn. 288,) is this saying, "If he be of the right stamp, and a true Tewkesbury man, he is a choleric gentleman, and will bear no coals." f Fuller, in his Worthies of England, speaking of mustard, says, " The best in England (to take no larger compass) is made at Tewkesbury. It is very wholesome for the clearing of the head, moderately taken ; and I believe very few have ever surfeited thereof. It is generally used in England ; and the jest is well known, of two serving-men contending about superiority : ' My master,' saith the one, 4 spends more in mustard than thine does in beef.' Whereunto the other returned, ' The more sauey men his followers.' " HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 201 speare, in his play of King Henry the Fourth, puts into the mouth of the merry FalstafT, in his reply to a person who had extolled Poins for a wit : " he a good wit ? hang him, baboon ! his wit is as thick as Tewkesbury mustard."* The manufactory has long ceased to be carried on in the town, though nothing could be more easy than to restore it; as the mustard, which grows spontaneously in the corn-fields, and other places, in the neighbourhood, and which is in fact here a common weed, is of the same species as that which is cul- tivated with so much care, in the north of England, for the sake of its flour, f There were numerous manufacturers of gloves in Tewkes- bury about the time of the commonwealth, but the trade has long since been lost to the town. Worsted combing was carried on here to some extent in the reign of Queen Anne ; and in that of her successor, Tewkesbury enjoyed a portion of the clothing business,! but how long it had flourished is uncertain. The malting business was one of the principal sources of wealth to the inhabitants for some centuries : the trade is still very considerable, though it is now of much less importance than formerly. * Second Part of King Henry IV. act 2, scene 4. f The ancient method adopted in the manufacture of mustard, at Tewkesbury, perhaps deserves the attention of those who in the present day are anxious to obtain this simple article of luxury in perfection : the anti- quated mode of bruising the seed of course need not now be adopted, as it must be immaterial how the flour be obtained, so that it be genuine. The good housewives here however uniformly pounded the mustard seed in an iron mortar, with a large cannon ball, or other hard substance of a similar shape and size ; and after the flour had been carefully sifted from the bran, it was mixed in a cold infusion of horse-radish, and well beaten or stirred up for the space of at least an hour. It was considered that the horse-radish imparted great additional purgency to the mustard, and that the continued beating gave it that consistency and strength which were deemed essential to its good preservation. J Two pieces of fine broad cloth, of the manufactory of the town, valued at forty-five shillings a yard, were sent from hence as presents — one to King George the first, when he was only Elector of Hanover, and the other to King George the second, 2 c 202 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The manufactory of nails was for a long time one of the staple trades of the borough : it was originally conducted with much spirit, and it again bids fair to be a flourishing business. The principal manufactory now carried on in the town is that of stocking frame-work knitting.* This important branch of our domestic trade is supposed to have been introduced at Tewkesbury about the beginning of the eighteenth century, though it was conducted only on a small scale until within the last seventy years. Tn 1810, the number of stocking frames employed in the town was reckoned to be eight hundred; they were accurately counted in 1819, at a time when the trade was in a very depressed state, and they were then only five hundred and fifty-nine. At present, there are between seven and eight hundred frames at work, and it is calculated that these afford employment to about fifteen hundred individuals, or more than one fourth of the entire population. A manufactory of cotton thread lace was established in the Oldbury, in 1825. The buildings are very commodious, and the machinery is of the most costly and perfect kind. We sincerely hope that the large capital which is embarked in * The common stocking frame was invented by the Rev. William Lee, a native of Nottinghamshire, in 1589; not many years after the introduction of the art of knitting hose into this country, which was brought from Spain, and unknown in England until 1561. The stockings in general use were previously made of cloth, or of milled stuffs, sewed together. The stocking frame is made chiefly of iron, and is exceedingly ingenious and complex. We are indebted for the invention of this useful machine to the expulsion of Mr. Lee, from St. John's College, Cambridge, for marrying, contrary to the statutes of the university. Being thus deprived of the means of sub- sistence, he was reduced to the necessity of living upon what his wife could earn by knitting stockings, which gave a spur to his inventive faculties ; and by closely observing the working of the needles in knitting, he formed in his mind the model of that curious frame which has proved of such singular advantage to that branch of our manufactures. Not meeting with the encouragement and protection at home, which his discovery merited, Mr. Lee and nine of his servants settled in France, under the patronage of Henry the fourth, but the sudden murder of that monarch deprived him of the power of recompensing our unfortunate countryman in the way he had promised, and Mr. Lee died in France of a broken heart. Seven of his workmen then returned with their frames to their native country, and laid the foundation of this manufacture in England. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 203 the speculation may be productive of wealth to the projectors, and of advantage to the town. A distillery and rectifying-house, on an extensive scale, were established at Tewkesbury, about the year 1770. The distillery was built in the meadows, on the Bushley side of the Severn, but the foundations of it cannot now be discovered. The rectifying business was carried on in the town ; and from that period to the present it has continued to prosper, under the superintendance of highly respectable proprietors. There are two opulent banking establishments in Tewkes- bury; one under the firm of "Lechmere, Wall, Isaac and Lechmere," and the other under that of " Nathaniel Hartland, John Allis Hartland, and Nathaniel Hartland, jun." A provident bank, for the savings of the industrious, in the town and neighbourhood of Tewkesbury, was established in the year 1818. There are two excellent posting-houses in the town ; the Swan, in High-street, and the Hop-Pole, in Church-street; these, and several other respectable inns, afford all those com- forts and accommodations which travellers in the present day expect to find in houses of public entertainment. As Tewkesbury is situated in the direct line of communica- tion between the northern and western parts of the kingdom, as well as nearly equi-distant from the fashionable watering places, Cheltenham and Malvern, and is also in the high road from London to Hereford and South Wales, there is conse- quently much travelling through the place. More than thirty stage coaches, including the mails, pass through the town daily ; besides a number of waggons, vans, &c. to and from London, Birmingham, Bristol, and the neigh- bouring towns. Twenty years ago, there was not a single coach from this place to Cheltenham, and now there are ten which daily travel through it to that resort of fashion, and the same number pass again on their return from thence to Mal- vern, Worcester, Hereford, &c. The letters from London, Oxford, &c. are brought by the Gloucester mail to Cheltenham, and are from thence imme- 204 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. diately forwarded by a four-horse mail-coach, which arrives in Tewkesbury at a quarter before nine in the morning, and continues its route to Ledbury and Hereford, at which place it arrives at half-past twelve. It returns at half-past two, bringing the letters from Herefordshire and South Wales, and starts from Tewkesbury to Cheltenham at a quarter before six, in time to meet the Gloucester mail on its return to London. The mail from Bristol to Birmingham passes through the town a little after twelve at night ; and that from Birmingham to Bristol a little after one in the morning; by these conveyances, letters from all parts of the north and west are received, which are delivered at an early hour in the morning, along with the London letters. Old copper and brass tokens, which were issued for the convenience of trade, and inscribed with the names and some- times with the devices of tradesmen, are often picked up in the gardens about the town. They are of various dates, princi- pally between the years 1570 and 1690. From the extensive circulation of tradesmen's silver and copper tokens, a few years since, the more ancient local coins have lost much of that artificial value which was previously attached to them. The public amusements at Tewkesbury are of a similar description to those of most other inland trading towns. Regular subscription dancing and card assemblies are held, during the winter, at the Town-hall, and are numerously and respectably attended. A public library and news-room was established in 1828, and we trust that it will meet with sufficient encouragement to insure its continuance.* An elegant little theatre has recently been fitted up ; and during the Cheltenham season, the dramatic company from thence frequently perform here. As the managers occasionally * A permanent library was attempted to be established here in 1802, but it was broken up in a few years. Another was set on foot in 1814, and carried on at first with considerable spirit ; in 1823 it was agreed to dis- continue it, and the whole of the books were disposed of, by way of raffle, among the subscribers. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 205 bring with them some of the first-rate London performers, the admirers of the drama at Tewkesbury have more frequent opportunities of witnessing superior theatrical talent, than the inhabitants of most other places.* The Severn Ham presents an excellent level course for horse- racing. We have no account of races at Tewkesbury before 1721 ; in that and the following year His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales gave a gold cup, of fifty guineas value, to be run for in the Ham. The first was won by John Brydges, esq. * Although this theatre was not fitted up in its present style until 1823, the building had for several years before been occasionally used for theatrical exhibitions. Previously, the Oldbury barn, or an empty malt- house, had usually been selected ; though at one time, two rival temporary theatres were erected in the fields, just without the limits of the borough. One of them was in the Rails Meadow, and occupied by Robinson and Thornton's company; the other was in a meadow, called The Pantry, to the eastward of the Bredon road, adjoining the Carron brook, and was under the management of the elder Kemble. The manager, his wife and his young family were the principal performers : here, therefore, it may be presumed, that the late John Kemble, Mrs. Siddons, and their brother Stephen, often displayed their embryo talents to a " beggarly shew of empty benches." In a recent publication, the following anecdote of Kemble is recorded ; and as it relates to Tewkesbury, it is here preserved : we ourselves can well remember, how joyously poor Watson would relate it, in his mirthful moments, and how earnestly he would attest the correctness of the story : — " The theatre at Cheltenham was under the management of its proprietor, the eccentric Watson, who was a fellow of infinite jest and humour, full of Thespian anecdotes, and perfectly master of the art of driving away loathed melancholy. Many a hearty laugh have I had with him : he was an Irish- man, and had, although I say it who should not say it, all the natural wit of his country about him. He was of a very respectable family (quakers) in Clonmell. In John Kemble's younger days, he was a near ally of his, and both belonged to a strolling company. They lived, or rather, by Wat- son's account, starved together ; at one time, in Gloucestershire, they were left penny-less ; and after continued vicissitudes, Watson assured me, such was their distress, that at that time they were glad to get into a turnip-field and make a meal of its produce uncooked ; and, he added, it was while regaling on the raw vegetable, that they hit upon a scheme to recruit their finances ; and a lucky turn-up it turned out. It was neither more nor less than that John Kemble should turn methodist preacher, and Watson per- form the part of clerk. Their scheme was organized, and Tewkesbury was their first scene of action ; they drew together, in a field, a numerous con- gregation : and Kemble preached with such piety, and so much effect, that a large collection rewarded his labours. This anecdote Kemble himself told me was perfectly true."-— Kelly's Reminiscences, 206 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. of the Mythe ; and the other by the Right Hon. Lord Tracy, Prior to 1825, there had been no races for twelve years; since that time they have regularly taken place, excepting in 1829, when, from the race-course being so frequently flooded during the autumn, the amusement was necessarily abandoned. There is a convenient and delightful bowling-green, nearly opposite the church, which affords to the subscribers an agreeable summer evening's retreat. At the Upper-Lode, about half a mile from the town, on the banks of the Severn, there is a spacious coit-yard ;* it is shaded with large elms, and no spot could be better chosen for the fine exercise which that game affords. For almost thirty years, prior to 1828, it was perhaps more respectably attended than any other coit-yard in the kingdom. It is said, by Leland, that there was, at Tewkesbury, " a great stable of the kinges, a late occupied for g;reat horses." All vestiges of it are now lost. Several noble personages have cferived their titles from this town : there was a William, Earl of Tewkesbury, as early as the reign of King Henry the first : Sir Henry Capel, eldest brother to the first Earl of Essex, was created Baron of Tew- * Throwing the discus, or coit, was one of the gymnastic exercises of the Greeks. The shape of the discus was nearly oval, about a foot in length, and three or four inches thick in the centre, whence it tapered on each side to the extremity, in the manner of a lens, and a hole was perforated in the middle. Statues of persons employed at this game exhibit the discus rested on the four fingers, which were closed, with their ends pointing upwards on the inside of it, and the thumb extended horizontally along the outside. The thrower obtained the necessary impulse by swinging the arm ; and, at the proper moment, he gave the discus a rotary motion, and sent it through the air to the mark. (Pope's Homer's Iliad.) Coiting is also a very ancient exercise among the people of this country, but it is doubtful whether the most experienced player could rival the inferior discobuli of ancient times. Sir Thomas More, in his Utopia, ranks " coyts" amongst "naughty, lewd and unlawful games and Lenmius, a foreign physician, whose account of England was translated by Newton, in 1576, under the title of " The Touchstone of Complexions," says, that the principal amusements of the stronger English were " wrestling, coytinge, tennis, bowlinge, whorle-bat- tinge, lifting great waights, pitching the barre, ryding, running, lcapingc, shooting in gunnes, swymming, tossing the pike, tyltingc barryers, and tourney.." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, 207 kesbury, by King William the third ; and George A ugustus, Electoral Prince of Hanover, afterwards King George the first, was created Baron of Tewkesbury, by Queen Anne, in 1706. The town was first incorporated in 1574,* in the seven- teenth year of the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by the name of the "bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty" of the borough of Tewkesbury.-}- A writ soon afterwards passed the great seal, for exonerating the corporation from various sums which had been imposed upon them by the queen's clerk of the market, on plea of her majesty's letters patent. % The previous incorporation was confirmed, and a new charter granted, by King James the first, in the third year of his reign. § The same monarch, in 1609, in the seventh year of his reign, when he sold the manor of Tewkesbury to the corpo- * For some centuries prior to this period, the inhabitants of Tewkesbury had been styled " bailiff's, burgesses and commonalty :" their privileges however were more limited, and of a somewhat different character. From very early times, the great lords of Tewkesbury, or their stewards, annually appointed "bailiff's," &c. at their courts-leet. "Burgesses" were of two descriptions — those who held property under the lord at a certain yearly rent, and such as held office under the bailiffs ; but what was then under- stood by " commonalty," it would be difficult to define. Dr. Brady, in his Treatise on Boroughs, contends that the term commonalty (comrmmitas) generally means the governing part of a town, though it has by some other writers been said to mean the inhabitants collectively. In the Tewkesbury charters, in no instance can the term be construed to mean the inhabitants generally ; and whatever might have been the sense in which it was used in the earliest charters, it is clear that, in the later ones, it could only comprise such persons as are now denominated freemen. — " From the first, the bailiff's of Tewkesbury had the return and execution of the king's writs."— Brev. Reg. 5 Edw. III. No. 3. f See Appendix, No. 25. X A copy of this writ is among the records in the exchequer office, indorsed " De Ballivis, Burgensibus et Communitate Burgi de Tewkesbury, in Comitatu Gloucestria?, exonerandis de diversis Summis impositis per Clericum Mercati, praetextu Literarum Reginse Patentium. Michaelis Recorda, 21 Eliz. Rot. 132." § See Appendix, No. 26, 208 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. ration,* granted them another new charter, which extended their privileges very considerably, f During the early part of the civil wars, in the reign of Charles the first, the charter was lost, and was supposed to have been purloined and destroyed by some individuals of an influential party who at that period were inimical to all rule and government. The bailiffs and common council petitioned Oliver Cromwell, in 1657, for an authenticated transcript of it; and they also endeavoured to procure a renewal of their charter during the protectorate of Richard Cromwell;! but both applications were unavailing. They subsequently, in * The purchase money for the manor, &c. being £.2453. Is. 4%d. and the expenses of obtaining the charter £.438. 65. Of d. the total cost amounted to £.2891. 13s. 5d. Towards the purchase, the inhabitants of the borough paid to the crown £.426. 13.9. 8d. and the remaining £.2026. 13s. 8d. was advanced by Mr. Wm. Ferrers. The corporation afterwards disposed of a portion of their property, which produced £.335 ; this sum was appro- priated towards the liquidation of their debt, and in 1610, in order to secure the re-payment of Mr. Ferrers' s loan, the following eighteen persons entered into bonds of £.100 each : John Barston, Geo. Morrey, sen. Wm. Johnsons, Conon Richardson, John Vicaridge, John Cooke, Wm. Hitche, John Tomes, John Scullowe, John Slaughter, Thomas Deakins, John Underhill, Geo. Morrey, jun. John Hill, Thomas Jelf, John Higgins, Wm. Rayer and Thomas Bicke. In 1610, with the view of raising money to lessen the incumbrance, the common council ordered, that those who had a right of pasturage in the Severn Ham should pay four-pence a week for every beast depastured there, and four-pence a day for every beast above the number of three. In 1611, in consequence of the non-payment of the expenses incurred in procuring the charter, a pursuivant was sent down by his majesty's government ; a general taxation was immediately imposed upon the town, and the sum of £.1168 was by this means collected. In the following year, Mr. Ferrers sued tiie eighteen individuals who had given him bonds, and "money was paid thereon from time to time and in 1614, the corpora- tion assigned to him, in discharge of the residue of his claim, the ninety-four acres of land in the Severn Ham which they had purchased along with the manor, &c. of the king. The yearly value to the crown of the lands, &c. sold with the manor to the corporation, was estimated at £.50. Is, Ad. and the rate of calculation of value was forty-nine years' purchase. f See Appendix, No. 27. I The Mercurius Politicus, a parliamentary newspaper, of Oct. 14th, 1658, says, " this week the council ordered a renewing the charter of Teux- bury, and that it should be presented as their advice to his highness." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1669, petitioned King 1 Charles the second for an attested copy of the old charter; and, being unsuccessful, the common council resolved to apply for a new one. At length, through the indefatigable exertions of Richard Dowdeswell, esq. an exem- plification of the charter, which had been granted in the seventh year of King James the first, was obtained ; it passed the great seal in 1672, though not without a considerable expense to the inhabitants of the town. In 1684, Charles the second directed the lord lieutenant of the county of Gloucester to advise the body corporate to sur- render their charter, threatening them with a quo warranto if they refused.* No surrender however took place during- his * In advising this surrender, the king was actuated by a desire to exact large fees upon granting a new charter, and by a wish to abridge the liberties of his Tewkesbury subjects. The following particulars, respecting the sur- render, are extracted from the corporation records : the Duke of Beaufort, the lord lieutenant of the county, having informed the bailiffs that he had directions from his majesty to advise the corporation to surrender their charter, and that a quo warranto would be brought against them if they refused, a letter, dated May 30, 1684, was written to his grace, setting forth, that several trusts for the poor and other charitable uses, and divers houses and other profits, to the value of £.200 per annum, by purchase, depended upon their incorporation : that they were a very ancient borough, having charters for confirmation and enlargement of their liberties from almost all his majesty's predecessors since King Edward the first, and many of them upon valuable considerations: that their last charter, 7 James I. was given in consideration of a purchase made from the crown, for which they paid £.2453. 7s. 4%d. which charter his majesty confirmed in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, 1672 : that, about four years since, several of his majesty's deputy lieutenants had inspected their records, and declared themselves satisfied that they had duly observed the act for regulating of corporations : and that they were not conscious of any failure in duty to his majesty or the government. — It was also directed, that a deputation from the common council should wait upon the Duke of Beaufort, with the said letter, and be empowered to propose to his grace, that his majesty should hereafter approve of the bailiffs and all other public officers to be chosen into the said corporation ; and that if any of the present members of the common council should be thought disaffected, they would resign, and such others should be elected in their stead as his majesty might direct. — In July following, the common council ordered, that an assignment should be made of all the manors, messuages, lands, tenements, tolls, profits and hereditaments, and of all monies and other goods and chattels of or belonging to the corporation, unto Bridges Nanfan, of Birtsmorton, Richard 2 D 210 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. reign ; but on the 24th of March, 1 685, the Tewkesbury charter, like that of many other corporations, was surrendered, under the common seal of the body, to King James the second; who, in the following year, re-incorporated the town, by styling the municipal body " the mayor, aldermen and common council," and the borough had a mayor for its chief magistrate from 1686 to 1692.* There was no corporation or local government in Tewkesbury, from 1692 until 1698, when King William the third, in the tenth year of his reign, at the earnest intercession of the burgesses and principal inhabitants, granted the present charter. f Tewkesbury has been a borough from time immemorial,! and is consequently a borough by prescription, as well as by Lygon, of Maddresfield, and Charles Hancock, of Twyning, esquires, in such manner as Mr. Dobbins, the barrister, and Mr. Powell, of Glouces- ter, should advise.— In August, it was agreed, that the Earl of Worcester and Lord Coventry, with the three gentlemen above-named, should be trustees for the corporation ; and that when the conveyance to them was exc juted, a surrender should be made unto his majesty of the charter and i letters patent granted in the seventh year of the reign of King James the first. — In September it was resolved, that the surrender, after having the common seal affixed to it by the chamberlain, should be immediately made to his majesty ; and that a petition should be forthwith made for a new j charter. This surrender was dated 28th Oct. 1684, in the thirty-second year of Charles the second, but was never presented, on account of the illness and death of his majesty. — In Feb. 1684-5, at the same time that the common council presented an address of congratulation to King James the second, on his coming to the throne, they petitioned that his majesty would not insist upon the surrender of their charter, as they had no money to defray the expenses of anew one. — This petition was unavailing, and, in March following, the common council ordered that the surrender should be j forthwith made to the new monarch, and that a petition should be presented for a new charter, in the same form as that prepared for the late king, which was accordingly done. * See Appendix, No. 28. f See Appendix, No. 29. % It would be difficult to ascertain precisely the origin of boroughs. We find them mentioned in the laws of Ina, king of the West Saxons, a fact which gives them an antiquity of more than eleven hundred years. Among the municipal constitutions of that monarch, for the government of his people, is an ordinance to the following effect : — " whoever shall be guilty of a violation of the peace in a burgh, under the protection of the king or a bishop, shall pay one hundred and twenty shillings ; and if it be an alder- HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 211 grant ; and few corporate towns can boast of a charter which affords such extensive privileges.* The borough is co -extensive with the parish, and the local jurisdiction extends over the whole, which is about fifteen miles in circumference. If the " bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty" have not lost, through disuse, some of their "ancient liberties, franchises, privileges and pre-eminences," it is evident, from the charter man's burgh, the fine shall be eighty shillings." A similar law occurs also in the code of King Alfred. The principal towns of the Saxons, during the latter period of their sway in Britain, were distinguished by the name of burghs, the inhabitants of which enjoyed particular privileges, immunities and laws, as an encouragement to trade and commerce. In these burghs, markets were established, and imports and exports of merchandize took place, under the cognizance of the prepositus burghi, or bailiff of the borough, who was appointed by the prince or lord of the fee to collect the tolls, duties and impositions arising from the trade of the place. The Saxon burgesses appear to have enjoyed the few rights and liberties they possessed, not in consequence of any particular grants or charters, made to them by the king or their lords, as a body corporate, but merely from the circumstance of their inhabiting those houses which constituted the borough. Their condition indeed seems to have been, for the most part, nothing better than a certain qualified slavery ; and in this state it is probable the boroughs continued until a period subsequent to the conquest. The Anglo-Norman monarchs, finding that commerce was cramped by the restrictions under which the inhabitants of the cities and towns laboured, by degrees relaxed their servile ties, and not only granted a greater degree of personal liberty, but in lieu of the numerous duties which had been exacted in Saxon times, received only a fixed redditus, called a fee farm rent, proportioned in some measure to the amount of the original imposi- tions. About the same time in which this change in the condition of the burgesses took place, chartered corporations had their origin. The former might indeed have been the necessary consequence of the latter ; for when the state had determined to extend the liberties of the ancient Saxon boroughs, the first step would naturally be to reduce the former uncertain and arbitrary customs with which they were burthened, and require only a fixed and more equitable rent. The origin of corporations is thus deduced in Maddox's MS. Collections: "The king committed a town to the towns- men themselves, at ferm, during his pleasure, instead of committing it to the hands of a provost or fermer ; they then obtained it in fee ferm, i. e. in per- petual ferm, and afterwards prevailed on the king to grant their ferm to them. They, lastly, prevailed on him to make them a corpus corporatum, and soon forgot those towns had ever been holden in demesne by the king." * For the important privileges afforded by the present charter, the town was chiefly indebted to the exertions of Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Sir Francis Winnington, knt. and Robert Tracy, esq. 212 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. of King William, as well as from some of the preceding' ones, that they have at present not only jurisdiction throughout the entire parish, but that the " free borough corporate" extends also over ". the whole hundred and liberty of Tewkesbury, in the counties of Gloucester and Worcester." The corporation records state, that, in Sept. 1700, an action of trespass at Bourton-on-the-Hill was tried in the Tewkesbury Borough Court of Record, that judgment was given, and an execution issued and executed by the bailiff of the hundred. Similar actions, from other remote parts of the hundred,* have also been tried in the same court ; there appears however to be no instance of the corporation having exercised this right recently. The corporation consists of twenty-four principal burgesses, who are styled common-councilmen ;f from this body are chosen a high-steward, i recorder, town-clerk (who is also clerk of the peace and clerk of the recognizances), a coroner * Tewkesbury Hundred comprises: — Upper Part : Ashton-under-Hill, Alderton, Bourton-on-the-Hill, Clifford Chambers, Dixton, Dideot, Leming- ton, Preseot, Stanway, Shennington, and Washbourn. — Lower Part ; Aston- upon-Carron, Bodington and Barrow, Fiddington and Natton, Forthampton, Kemerton, Mythe and Mythe Hook, Northway and Newton, Oxenton, Pamington, Southwick and Park, Stoke Orchard, Tewkesbury, Tredington and Walton Cardiff. f The following is a list of the present members of the corporation, arranged according to the dates of their election : 1771. 1797. 1798. 1800. 1804. 1805. 1806. 1807. 1810. 1810. 1811. William Cliffe, esq. Rev. Wm. Geo. Maxwell. John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. M. P. recorder. John Pitt Nino, esq. Thomas Vernon, esq. cham- berlain. Sir Anthony Lechmere, bart. Joseph Wickes, esq. Michael Procter, esq, Rt. Hon. George William, Earl of Coventry, high steward. Henry William Harris, esq. deputy recorder. lev. William Prosser. 1811. Benjamin Holland, esq. 1811. James Gorle, esq. 1812. CharlesEdwardChandler,esq. 1814. Joseph Boughton, esq. 1817. Edmund Warden Jones, esq. town-clerk and coroner. 1817. Edward Brydges, esq. 1819. Rev. Charles White. 1820. Joseph Longmore, esq. 1821. Robert Young, esq. 1825. Lewis Goodin Senior, esq. 1828. Thomas Taylor, esq. 1829. William Dowdeswell, esq. 1829. George Edmunds Williams, esq. See Appendix, No. 30. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 213 and chamberlain. From among the principal burgesses are also elected annually, on the second Thursday in October, two bailiffs,* and four justices of the peace, who, with the recorder, form the magistracy of the borough. The corporation, at one time, comprised twenty-four assist- ants, in addition to the twenty-four principal burgesses ; this supernumerary body was found to be entirely useless, and therefore, for many years past, the principal burgesses them- selves have been sworn into the office of assistants, previously to their being admitted common-councilmen. Tewkesbury, amongst other privileges belonging to its cor- porate capacity, has the most valuable and important one of holding certain courts of a civil and criminal nature. It is not indeed styled the county of the town of Tewkesbury; though in almost every practical and substantial respect it is a county within itself. Its inhabitants are exempt from the inconvenient task of service on the county juries; and now that the term of the assizes is so much lengthened, this may truly be considered a most beneficial exemption. It is also exempt from payment of county rates, and collects and expends its own borough stock. The ne intromittat clauses in the charter are strong and unequivocal, not only as against the sheriff of the county, but also the justices of the county. The sheriff, in the execution of his process within the borough, must issue his precept to the bailiffs, who thereupon authorise their serjeants-at-mace to execute the process. Its civil jurisdiction, in the institution of a court of record, for the recovery of debts not exceeding fifty pounds, is pro- ductive of extensive advantages. In the transactions between persons to whom such a court is chiefly of importance, namely, the tradesmen of the town, their debts are generally under the sum limited : and the expense of prosecuting a suit in this court may be taken on an average as not exceeding four or five pounds.f * For a list of the bailiffs, &c. see Appendix, No. 31. + For some account of the Court of Record, see Appendix, No. 32. 211 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The recorder, or his deputy, in concert with the bailiffs and justices, holds a general quarter sessions of the peace. The power of inflicting punishment extends to transportation ; but in very serious cases, the magistrates commit to the assizes instead of the borough sessions.* Its constablewick consists of a high constable, six other constables, two serjeants-at-mace, two beadles, and the gaoler, to whose office that of constable is generally added. The corporation regularly hold courts-leet, at which the inhabitants of all the parishes in the hundred of Tewkesbury perform suit and service. The body corporate have also the power of admitting such persons as they deem proper to be burgesses, or honorary freemen; and of perambulating the boundaries of the parish, &c. whenever they judge it necessary. A perambulation generally takes place once in seven years; the last was on May 20, 1829. The bailiffs of the borough are clerks of the market, and annually appoint a suitable number of persons as assistant clerks. There are two weekly markets : one on Wednesdays, for corn, cattle, pigs, sheep, butchers' meat, poultry, butter, vegetables, &c. ; and one on Saturdays, for provisions of every description. * There have been few instances of atrocious crimes, committed within the borough, except the two following, which were attended with some singular coincidences. On Aug. 4, 1791, William Birt, a carpenter, mur- dered Sarah Powell, a poor girl, whom he had seduced, by administering poison to her while she was pregnant. He was removed by habeas corpus from Tewkesbury to Gloucester, was found guilty at the ensuing assizes, and hung himself in the condemned cell on the following night. The corpse was sent by order of the coroner, to the parish officers at Tewkes- bury, and buried in the cross-road at the entrance into the lane which leads to the Lodge, near the house of industry. — On Feb. 15, 1800, John Young, a carpenter, of Longdon, in returning home from Tewkesbury market, mur- dered his wife, in the Ham, by throwing her into the Severn, where her body was found, with her hands tied by her side, and a sack drawn over her head, on the 29th of March. The murderer was sent to Gloucester gaol, and on the 1st of August, the morning which had been fixed upon for his trial, he was found suspended by a handkerchief to the window of his cell, quite dead. His body was sent to Tewkesbury, by the coroner's directions, and buried in the cross- way at the bottom of Pagett's lane, near the river, at the My the. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 215 There are five* annual fairs in Tewkesbury,f viz. on the second Monday in March, — second Wednesday in April, — May 14th, — first Wednesday after the 4th of September, for cheese, wool, &c. as well as for live stock, — and October 10th. — There are likewise statute fairs, provincially termed mops, for hiring servants, on the Wednesday before and the Wed- nesday after October 10th. — Besides which, there are great markets, on the second Wednesdays in the months of June, August and December. The income of the corporation is at present little more than sufficient to enable them to remunerate the serjeants-at-mace and their other officers : they are even obliged individually to bear the expenses of their annual civic feast. Their chief income is now derivable from a toll upon horses, cattle, sheep and pigs, sold in the fairs and markets. When the lease of the market-house, and the leases of the twelve houses in Gloucester-Place, shall have expired, the former in 1888 and the latter in 1905, their income will again be considerable. * There were recently seven annual fairs, but in consequence of some of them frequently interfering with other fairs and great markets in the neigh- bourhood, it was agreed, at a public meeting, in 1827, to discontinue the fair heretofore held on the 22d of June, at which little business had been for many years transacted, and also that on the first Wednesday in December old style ; and to have, in lieu of them, great markets in those months, and also a great market in August. — See Appendix, No. 33. f Hugh le Despenser the younger had a grant of a fair in Tewkesbury, 17 Edw. II. which is supposed to have been the origin of that now held in April. — 20 Hen. VI. A grant to the Earl of Warwick to hold two fairs in Tewkesbury yearly, to continue eight days each, viz. on the eve and day of St. Matthias and six days after, and also on the eve and day of St. Bartho- lomew and six days after : these are the present March and September fairs. — 17 Eliz. A grant of two markets, viz. Wednesdays and Saturdays ; and upon Wednesdays to sell cattle, wool, yarn, hemp and flax ; and also a fair and court of piepoudre on St. Mark's day. — 3 Jas. I. The fair granted by Elizabeth was repealed, and a grant of a fair, instead of it, was to be held on the 3d of May, called Holyrood day : the same fair which is now held in May. — 7 James I. A grant of two new fairs, viz. on St. Barnabas' day and St. Michael the Archangel's day : one of them is the same as the present October fair, and the other was that which was until lately held in June. The origin of the fair, which was formerly held in December, is not known. CHAPTER XVI. PUBLIC BUILDINGS, SCHOOLS, AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS. TOWN-HALL. — The Town-Hall, or Tolzey, was erected in the year 1788, at an expense of upwards of £.1200, and given by Sir William Codrington, bart. to the corporation of the borough. On the ground floor is a large paved area, separated from a court by four circular pillars, which chiefly support the front of the structure ; behind this is the hall, in which the quarter sessions are held ; and adjoining it is the town- clerk's office. A spacious stone staircase leads to a handsome banquetting or ball-room, which is neatly fitted up, and orna- mented with an admirable portrait of the founder, painted by Sir William Beechey. On the same floor is a large drawing- room, used as a council-chamber by the corporation, and as a place of meeting by the commissioners of the streets and other public bodies. The grand jury also assemble in this room; the use of which is freely granted by the bailiffs to the inhabi- tants of the borough on every necessary occasion. The accompanying wood engraving represents the structure in its original state ; a small cupola was placed on the top of it, a few years since, for the purpose of introducing a bell. The court, between the street and the building, was intended for holding the corn-market; and the open space, on the ground floor, for pitching the corn which might be brought for sale ; the farmers and dealers, however, prefer assembling in the public streets, on market days, and there the corn trade is principally transacted. The old Tolzey stood in the centre of the town, at the junction of the three principal streets, and greatly obstructed HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 219 the carriage-way from the High-street to the other parts of the borough. The removal of this building, which had nothing in its history or appearance to atone for the inconveniences which it created, and the consequent destruction of some decayed dwelling-houses which were attached to it, improved the,town in a greater degree than can be easily imagined. The Gaol. — The new Borough Gaol, which is situate at the upper end of the High-street, was built in 1816, at an expense of £.3419. lis. l\d. The whole of this sum, with the exception of £.175, which was paid by the national school committee for the materials of the old gaol and the ground on which the school is built, was collected by parish rates, between the years 1814 and 1818. Shortly after the prison was occupied, two boys, who were detained in it on a charge of burglary, made their escape; and as it was found that the building was neither adequate to the safe custody of the prisoners, nor com- modious enough to admit of their proper classification, a great expense was subsequently incurred in its improvement and enlargement. The annual cost of maintaining this establish- ment, including salaries, &c. is on an average little more than £.100, which is raised by a rate upon the inhabitants. House of Industry. — This building stands on an elevated spot, near the entrance into the town from Gloucester and Cheltenham, and is better adapted for the purposes for which it was intended than similar structures generally are. Time however has proved, that buildings which were designed for " houses of industry," are too frequently receptacles for the idle and the profligate: such places indeed are only fit for orphan or deserted children, and for the aged and infirm. It is much better to relieve the industrious poor at their own houses, when sickness or poverty assails them, than to compel them to take up their abode in parish work-houses.* * Before the Reformation there were no poor's-rates ; the charitable doles given at religious houses, and church ales in every parish, were sufficient. In every parish there was a church-house, to which belonged spits, pots, crocks, &c. for dressing provisions. Here the housekeepers met and were merry, and gave their charity. The young people came there too, and had dancing, bowling, shooting at butts, &c. — Antiq. Rep. no HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. An act of parliament was obtained, in 1792, "For the better Relief and Employment of the Poor of and belonging to the Parish of Tewkesbury." The principal inhabitants are by this act incorporated, under the style of "the guardians of the poor;" from this body nine individuals are chosen, who are called "directors;" and to them is the entire management of the poor confided. The directors retain their office three years : three of them retire annually, in July, when others are appointed in their room ; thus there are always six experienced persons in office. The directors meet every Tuesday, at the house of industry, where they receive and decide upon the various applications of the poor. The duties of the office are so troublesome and unpleasant, that many persons pay a fine of twenty pounds, rather than serve it. In the year 1723, the whole amount collected for the poor within the parish was less than £.200.* Since the passing * The following is a literal copy of the overseer's accounts, for the year 1723, transcribed from the parish books of that date : — Received from the last officers £.3 5 1' Received on the twelve months booke and on the aditionall booke 195 4 11^ Received from Widd. Gainer's effects .... 9 4 6^ £.207 14 7: Paid fifty weeks to the poor and others by money £.185 10 2 Paid Mrs. Williams for sacrament wine, by order of the parish . . 15 17 6 Remains in the over- seer's hands, which is to be paid next year's officers 6 6 11£ £.207 14 7* Among the disbursements of the overseers, at that period, are the follow- ing items : — " Allowed to four church- wardens, 10s. 6c/. each, £.2. 2s. Od. — Allowed to four overseers, ditto, £.2. 2s. 0d. — Mr. Warkman, as town-clerk, 10s. 6d. — Badges for paupers, 5s. 3d. — Mr. Scott, surgeon, his bill for the year, £.1. 6s. Od. — Mrs. Haines, of Ashchurch, for setting Jerom Kerby's thigh, 10s. Od. — Expenses in examining the accounts at the Swan, 5s. Id. — Spent in the vestry, in reviewing the accounts, 3s. 2d. The following are the total expenses of supporting the necessitous poor of this parish, in the under-mentioned years : — 1723, £.185 10 2 I 1768, £.643 1 5f I 1781, £.1016 15 11£ 1730, 245 4 10 | 1776, 667 9 3 | 1787, 1252 D ity HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 221 of the house of industry act, the following sums have been collected by poor's-rates :* — year ending in June, it. s. a. In the year ending in June, s. j a. 1790, ... 1 loo 15 i a 10 loioV ... o55o 2 o o 1/97, ... 2ol0 15 1 1Q1 J lol4, ... 4o /o iy 1 1 1 9 y y 12 y lolo, ... 2 /y i 1 / o l /yy, ... iyo/ A 4 2 1 ft 1 P 1 0 1 0, ... xiOoy 1 Q lo 1 1 loUU, ... 1 A 14 1 ft! H iol/, ... 4004 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 QA1 loUl, ... ^yoo lo A U 1 ftl ft lolo, ... p 0 Q O 1 QAO io\J2, ... 2oi 2 l 1 1 A 1U 1 ftl Q loiy, ... A 1 <^ft 1 ft lo o 1 QAQ loUo, ... om l /I 4 Q o i son Lo2v, ... KiO / 2 2 4 loU4, ... O/l QO ^4y«j i i p I 1 ftOl loJl, ... A ^OQ O ft i ftn^ Q y Q I ^2 1 QOO /coyo 1Q >7 / loUu, ... 1U 1 ftO*5 io2o, ... 2ooO 12 1 1 1807, ... 2138 5 6 1824, ... 2532 7 9 1808, ... 2246 15 HI 1825, ... 2253 5 11 1809, ... 2185 15 11| 1826, ... 3158 3 3 1810, ... 2547 9 0 1827, ... 3538 18 9 1811, ... 2972 6 3 1828, ... 3421 15 0 1812, ... 3267 18 10 1829, ... 3052 11 3 The building of the house of industry was commenced almost immediately after the act, which authorised its erection, was obtained; it was completed in 1796, and cost altogether upwards of £.7000.f The sum of £.5500 was borrowed upon mortgage of the parish property and of the money to be raised by poors -rates ; and the interest of this sum, together with £.100 of the principal money, was directed by the act to be paid off annually. So great however had been the negligence of the directors, that, in 1799, no part of the principal had been discharged, and the parish was indebted to the treasurer upwards of £.1000, besides nearly £.300 to other individuals. | These sums, with the principal and interest which was due to * Out of these sums are paid the borough stock expenses, which for the | last seven years have averaged about £.225 annually. f James Martin and William Dowdeswell, esqrs. the representatives of j the borough in parliament, liberally discharged the solicitor's bill for pro- curing the act of parliament, amounting to £.420. 222 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. the mortgagees, formed a debt of nearly £.7000. The directors, who were elected in 1799, began a reform, but found them- selves compelled first to borrow £.500 more upon mortgage ; at Christmas they paid off £.100, and the same amount, with the interest upon the remainder, has since been regularly dis- charged, so that the mortgage debt is now reduced from £.6000 to £.3100. Market-House. — The markets were held under the old town-hall, until that edifice was pulled down, in the year 1789, when the corporation granted to twenty individuals, in consideration of their erecting the present commodious Market- House, a lease of the tolls for stallage for a term of ninety -nine years. At the end of that period, not only will the tolls revert to the lessors, but the entire building will become the property of the body corporate. The land on which the market-house stands, together with the expenses of building and of fitting it up, cost about £.1400, or £.70 per share. Considerable sums of money have since been expended in alterations and reparations ; but the shareholders have had no cause to regret their speculation. The Theatre. — This building extends from the fives-court, at the back of the Wheat-Sheaf inn, to the Oldbury. There is nothing worthy of notice in its exterior; it is a large brick structure, apparently built without any specific design, and remained unoccupied for many years after it was erected. In 1823, a number of individuals obtained it upon a lease, and fitted it up in its present style. The interior displays much taste and judgment in its arrangement; appropriate devices, from the plays of Shakspeare, ornament the pannels above the front of the boxes ; and the scenery was painted by the cele- brated John Grieve. Free Grammar School. — This School was founded in 1576, and is kept in a large apartment, contiguous to the abbey chu'ch, with which it was formerly connected. In the charter of King William the third, it is called "the free grammar-school of William Ferrers, citizen and mercer of London," on account of his having been the principal bene- HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 223 factor to it. The bailiffs, justices, chamberlain, and town- clerk, for the time being, are the governors ; the Rev. William Prosser is the present master. The endowments of this school are not very considerable: the rent of the Hollams meadow, purchased with money left by Sir Dudley Digges ; £.20 yearly, devised by Mr. Ferrers, payable out of the manor of Skillingthorpe, Lincolnshire; and some chief-rents, pur- chased with money left by Mr. Alye, comprise the income of the master. The election of the children is vested in the governors, who are incorporated by the charter of the borough ; though the church-wardens of Ashchurch have the privilege of sending to this school four boys, to be selected by them from the inhabitants of that parish. Mr. Richard Estcourt, an actor and dramatic writer, was educated at this school ;* and it is highly probable that Mr. Ferrers, its chief benefactor, was also educated here, a circumstance which might have induced him to benefit the institution so greatly. Blue-Coat School. — Lady Capel, in 1721, devised a large farm, in Kent, to trustees, for charitable purposes, and directed that one-twelfth part of the rents should be applied towards the support of the Charity School in Tewkesbury. Mr. Thomas * Mr. Estcourt was a native of Tewkesbury, and born, according to Chetwood, in 1668. In his fifteenth year, lie quitted his father's house, and joined a company of comedians at Worcester; where, from a fear of being known, he made his first appearance in female attire, in the part of Roxana, in " Alexander the Great." He was soon restored to his father, who apprenticed him to an apothecary, in Hatton-Garden ; from this situation he ran away, and passed several years as an itinerant player in various parts of England. He afterwards went to Dublin, and obtained so much applause, that he returned to London, and procured an engagement at Drury-Lane. Sir Richard Steele, in the Spectator, says, he was of a sprightly wit, and a person of an easy and natural politeness. He was an excellent mimic, and his company was courted by persons of the highest rank, who frequently invited him to their entertainments, in order that he might divert their friends with his drollery. He was a great favourite with John Duke of Marlborough ; and when the celebrated " Beef-Steak Club " was established, which consisted of the chief wits and some of the most dis- tinguished men in the kingdom, Mr. Estcourt had the office assigned to him of their providore. He was author of " Fair Example," a comedy, and " Prunella," an interlude. He died in 1713, and was buried in the church- yard of St. Paul's, Covent-Garden. 224 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY- Merrett, in 1724, charged certain lands and premises in Tew- kesbury with the payment of fifty shillings yearly, for the benefit of the same institution. A small addition is made to this income, by the annual subscription of a few of the principal inhabitants of the borough. Twenty boys receive the benefit of this charity, who are instructed in reading, writing and arithmetic, besides being in part clothed.* The master of the National School is also the master of the Blue-Coat School ; and the children of the two establishments receive their education together. About the commencement of the last century, there was an academy of great respectability at Tewkesbury, conducted by the Rev. Samuel Jones, a protestant dissenter ; who appears, by the character which is given of him by one of his pupils, | * From the following account of this school, published in 1712, it appears to have been formerly more liberally supported than it is at present : — " Tewkesbury, (iloiicestershire. — A school for forty boys, most of them entirely cloathed, and all in some measure, which is done at the expense of the representatives in parliament for that place, and of the minister of the parish. Besides which, there are subscriptions of about £.30 per annum. The minister visits the school three times a week, and appoints select portions of scripture, and collects out of the Common Prayer, for the children to get by heart, according to their age and capacity, which they orderly repeat to the master, when they go home from school. They of the first class, read the Bible and Whole Duty of Man, and after reading, shut their books, and cheerfully recollect the substance of what they have read. And all they have learned, is rehearsed in a regular manner, at a public examination, to the great satisfaction of the subscribers, and others who are then invited to be present." f Mr. Seeker, afterwards archbishop of Canterbury, in a letter to Dr. Watts, which is published at length in Gibbon's Life of Watts, thus speaks of his preceptor: — " Mr. Jones I take to be a man of real piety, great learn- ing, and an agreeable temper ; one who is very diligent in instructing all under his care ; very well qualified to give instructions, and whose well- managed familiarity will always make him respected. He is very strict in keeping good order, and will effectually preserve his pupils from negligence and immorality. And accordingly, I believe, there are not many academies freer in general from those vices, than we are. We shall have gone tlnough our course in about four year's time, which, I believe, no one that once knows Mr. Jones will think too long. We pass our time very agreeably, between study and conversation with our tutor, who is always ready to converse freely on any thing that is useful ; and allows us, HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 225 to have been deservedly esteemed for his piety and learning. At this seminary several distinguished individuals studied for the ministry; among whom were Seeker, archbishop of Canterbury, and Butler,* bishop of Durham ; as well as Dr. Chandler, Dr. Gifford, the Rev. Mr. Pearsall, the Rev. Caleb Jobe/ (one of the most respected tutors at the Bristol Baptist academy,) and many other eminent dissenting divines. Mr. Jones's manuscript Lectures and Annotations on Godwin's Moses and Aaron, are very valuable: his work, of which there are several copies extant, is written in neat Latin, and con- tains many excellent remarks, which discover his great learn- ing and accurate knowledge of the subject, f Mr. Jones resided in a large house, near the upper end of the High-street, now the property of Miss Procter. On the night of the coronation of George the first, his residence was attacked by the rabble, who took that opportunity of proclaiming their enmity to all "schismatics" and "friends of the pretender." Mr. George Moore, the high bailiff, in attempting to quell the disturbance, either then or at lecture, all imaginable liberty of making objections against his opinions, and prosecuting them as far as we can. In this, and every thing else, he shews himself so much a gentleman, and manifests so great an affection and tenderness for his pupils, as cannot but command respect and love." * Bishop Portcus, in his Life of Archbishop Seeker, says ; that it was at the Tewkesbury academy that Butler "gave the first proof of his great sagacity and depth of thought, in the letters which he then wrote to Dr. Samuel Clarke ; laying before him the doubts that had arisen in his mind, concerning the conclusiveness of some arguments in the doctor's Demonstra- tion of the Being and Attributes of God. These were written with so much candour, modesty and good sense, that, on the discovery of his name, they immediately procured him the friendship of that eminent man, and were afterwards printed at the end of his Evidences of Natural and Revealed Religion. This correspondence was entrusted in confidence to Mr. Seeker, who, in order to keep it private, undertook to convey Mr. Butler's letters to the post-office at Gloucester, and to bring back Dr. Clarke's answers." — Porteus's Works, vol. vi. f Jennings' Jewish Antiquities, by Furneaux, 1823. — It would appear : that Mr. Jones's work was a text-book in the principal presbyterian schools: Dr. Doddridge, in a letter to Mr. Clarke, says, it " treats of such subjects as the antiquity of the Hebrew language, its points, the Massora, Talmud and Cabbala." — Doddridge's Correspondence, i. 41. 2 F 226 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. was knocked down, and beaten. On the death of Mr. Jones, in 1719, the academy was removed to Carmarthen.* National School. — This School was instituted in 1813, and was for some years carried on in the north transept of the church, until the friends of the undertaking' were enabled to erect the present building-, which adjoins the church-yard, and was completed in 1817. It is a very neat and substantial structure, and cost £.1345. Ss. 3Ul.f This establishment has always been conducted in strict conformity to the rules of the parent society in London, " for the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church." British School. — It having been determined, in 1812, to erect a School for the Instruction of the Children of the Poor on the System introduced by Mr. Joseph Lancaster, a plot of ground, at the upper end of Barton-street, was given for that purpose by N. Hartland, esq. one of the society of Friends; on condition that it should revert to him and his heirs, with the buildings upon it, whenever it should cease to be used as a school on its original plan. Charles Hanbury Tracy, esq. liberally gave £.300 towards its erection. The school was opened in 1813; it cost upwards of £.000, and a considerable sum has since been expended in improvements. * About the time of the death of the Rev. Samuel Jones, the Rev. Wm. Evans, who had the charge of a theological institution at Carmarthen, and who is said to have been the first dissenting tutor in the southern divison of the principality, also died. The Rev. Thomas Perrot being appointed successor to Mr. Evans, the Tewkesbury institution was transferred to him, and the public library belonging to it was removed to Carmarthen. After Mr. Perrot's death, in 1733, the academy was removed to Llwynllwyd, near the Hay; in 1741, a was removed to Haverfordwest ; and in a few years afterwards it was again established at Carmarthen, under the care of Mr. Thomas. This academy had always received its support from the joint funds of the presbyterians and independents in London ; but Mr. Thomas having embraced different opinions from those of his predecessors, the inde- pendents withdrew their aid, and formed a new academy at Abergavenny. f Towards this sum, J. E. Dowdeswell and John Martin, esqrs. gave £.210 each ; C. H. Tracy, esq. £.100 ; General Dowdeswell, £.52. 10*. and the Tewkesbury Yeomanry Cavalry, £.105. The sum of £.67. 19s. 9d. was collected at the church door, after a sermon by the bishop of the diocese; a ball in the school-room produced £.30. 12s. 6d. ; and an amateur play, £.60. The remainder was raised by voluntary subscriptions. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 227 Sunday-Schools. — In 1788, a number of the most respect- able of the inhabitants entered into a subscription for the purpose of forming a Sunday-School, on the plan recommended by the late Mr. Raikes, of Gloucester, the original projector of these valuable institutions. The Church Sunday-School has been continued from that period to the present; it is now united with the National School, and on Sundays the children of both establishments receive religious instruction and attend divine service together. There is also a Sunday-School attached to the British School, the children of which attend that par- ticular place of worship which is selected by their parents. The Independents, Baptists and Wesleyan Methodists have also each a Sunday School. A District Association, in aid of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, was instituted at Tewkesbury in 1820. In 1826, a Church Missionary Branch Association, in aid of the London Church Missionary Society, was formed. An Auxiliary Bible Society was established in 1812; a Ladies' Bible Association has since been added to it; and in 1821, an Auxiliary Religious Tract Society was formed. In 1806, a Lying-in-Charity was founded; and while ladies, equally zealous and respectable as those who at present con- duct this inestimable charity, continue its supporters, it cannot fail to be a comfort and a blessing to the poor and deserving married women of the town and neighbourhood. A Dispensary was established in 1815, which has always been liberally supported. For this valuable establishment, the poor are principally indebted to Jonas Maiden, M. D. one of the physicians to the Worcester infirmary, and to George Dan- gerfield, esq. surgeon, of Bromyard, both of whom formerly resided in Tewkesbury. A Charity, for supplying the poor with Blankets, was formed in 1817, which is of considerable advantage to persons in the lower ranks of life. CHAPTER XVII. CHARITABLE BEQUESTS AND DONATIONS. THE respectability of the trustees of these bequests, affords every reason to presume that they are applied strictly in accordance with the intentions of the benefactors ; but if guar- dians of every trust of this kind were compelled annually to publish printed statements, in order that those who felt an interest in the subject might inform themselves in what man- ner the money was appropriated, without appearing to act invidiously by soliciting information from trustees and others, who are frequently jealous of any attempt at investigation, it would be a highly salutary regulation. Charities under the management o f the Corporation. The monastery of Tewkesbury, by its endowment, was obliged to maintain thirteen almsmen with 10c/. a week each for their diet, 6s. Sd. a year for gowns, and £.3. 6s. 8d. for the rent of all their houses. King Henry the eighth continued this charity after the Reformation ; and Queen Mary, by letters patent, dated April 3, 1554, directed these sums to be paid by the auditors of the county of Gloucester for ever. The yearly produce, after deducting expenses, is £.33. 16s. which is paid to the chamberlain by the receiver-general of the county, and is distributed by the corporation to thirteen poor aged persons, who are called beadsmen, at Is. per week each. In 1674, Sir Francis Russell, bait, by deed, gave ten alms- houses in the church-yard, a garden adjoining, called Warkhay Garden, and a piece of land in Smith s-lane, for the benefit of ten poor widows. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 229 Mr. Edward Richardson, by will, in 1651, bequeathed £.60 to the corporation, to be laid out for the benefit of the poor. Seven houses and six gardens, in the Gander-lane, purchased with this money, are occupied by poor persons, placed in them by the body corporate. Jn 1625, Mr. William Alye, of London, left by will £.100 to the corporation, for investment, the profits of it to be dis- tributed by them among the poor of the town ; and £.70 for the education of six poor children in the Tewkesbury free- school, to be selected by the bailiffs and corporation. The former sum was laid out in the purchase of certain seek rents, or rents of assize, which had previously been vested in the body corporate, payable from about fifty houses in the town, and producing a rental of £.7. 16s. 6d. The other sum was invested in the purchase of certain chief rents,* payable from about one hundred and seventy houses in Tewkesbury, which produce about £.6 annually. The seek rents are received by the cor- poration for the use of the poor, and the chief rents by the master of the free grammar school. In 1608, Sir Dudley Digges gave £.160 to the town, to purchase lands, for the benefit of the free grammar school. Certain lands called the Hollams, an acre of ground adjoining, at the bottom of the Oldbury Field, and two half acres of land in Downbell's Meadow, were purchased with this money, and settled upon the school, f * The seek rents were rents belonging to the manor, formerly parcel of the possessions of thejrnonastcry ; and the chief rents were rents belonging to the manor, formerly parcel of the possessions of Thomas Lord Seymour, or what were called Warwick and Spencer's lands. f By the Tewkesbury inclosure act, an allotment was awarded to the governors of the free grammar school, out of which a deduction was made to satisfy their proportion of the expenses incidental to the said act. The governors are now in possession of the meadow called the Hollams, contain- ing seven acres and nineteen perches, which is let for £.30 per annum. The other property in Downbell's Meadow was taken by the commissioners from the free-school, towards the furnishing^out the allotment made to the lay impropriator in lieu of tithes, and the equivalent given to the commoners for their right of common extinguished by the inclosure. 230 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. In 1625, William Ferrers, esq.* by will, left to the corpo- ration the annual sum of £.25, charged on the manor of Skillingthorpe, Lincolnshire ; £.5 he directed to be distributed among the poor of Tewkesbury, and £.20 to be appropriated towards the maintenance of a schoolmaster, who should freely teach and instruct poor men's children in the free-school of Tewkesbury. In 1607, Thomas Poulton left £.40 to the corporation, to be by them lent out yearly, without interest, to young tradesmen and others ; and also an annual rent charge of 20s. on a house in the Church-street, (now the property and in the occupation of Mr. Jacob Allis,) to be applied by them towards the maintenance of a preaching minister in Tewkes- bury. The former sum has long since been lost, but the latter is regularly paid to the minister by the corporation. The Right Hon. Baptist Viscount Campden, by will, in 1629, bequeathed to the corporation of Tewkesbury, the rectory and church of St. Ishmaels in Rose, Pembrokeshire, which had formerly been part of the possessions of the priory of Haver- lord west. One moiety of the rents and profits he directed to be distributed among the poor of the town and precincts, and the other to be applied towards the better maintenance of a preacher to serve in the church of Tewkesbury. The rectory of St. Ishmaels consists of two-thirds of the great and small tithes; the other third part belongs to the vicar. The tithes are compounded for, and the composition is collected by an agent for all parties. The vicar of Tewkesbury usually receives from £.40 to £.45 yearly, and the corporation the same sum. * He was high steward of the borough of Tewkesbury, and was seeond son of Roger Ferrers, esq. of Fiddington, in the parish of Ashehureh. He settled early in life in London, and became equally eminent for his wealth and for his acts of benevolence. Independently of his bequests to the school and the poor of Tewkesbury, he left considerable sums to the church, to the poor and to the highways of his native parish, and also to many charitable purposes in the neighbourhood of London. He died Sept. 26, 1625, and was buried in Allhallows Church, Lombard-street. A small neat monument, with the half-length effigy of an old man, habited as a citizen of London, in a livery gown, with his arms, made by the deed of purchase of the Abbot's Leys estate. This sum is given by them, at Christmas, to such of the deserving poor as are not receiving parish relief. Charities under the management of Giles Geest's Feoffees. Mr. Giles Geest, by will, in 1588, devised to trustees four houses near the Bull-Ring in the Church-street, (which have been recently pulled down, and three new ones erected in their room) ; eleven houses and gardens in the same street; a house opposite the church; two houses in the Mill-street; one on the Mill-bank ; three in Carr's-lane, and one in Walker's-lane. The testator directed that four feoffees should have the controul of his bequests; that one of them should be receiver of the rents and overseer of the property, and make a particular account, as well of the rents and revenues, as of the repara- tions, &c. to the bailiffs of the borough and the other three feoffees, every year in the week next after the feast of All Saints ; that the said receiver should have yearly 6s. Sd. for his trouble ; the auditor of the accompts, 2s. ; and the bailiffs and the other three feoffees, 3s. Ad. to repast themselves. The residue of the rents, &c. he directed to be distributed among the poor people, resident within the borough, by the bailiffs and the other three feoffees, yearly, between the day of set- tling the accounts and the feast of our Saviour's nativity. In case of the death of a feoffee, the remaining three were to choose one other honest man, dwelling within the said borough, to fill his place. These premises are let to yearly tenants, and produce £.207 per annum. In 1562, Mrs. Margaret Hickes devised to four trustees, a tenement at the bottom of Barton-street, for the benefit of the poor. This was rebuilt in 1793, and converted into two residences, now occupied by Mr. John Spurrier and Mr. 2 G 234 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. John Evans. She also, at the same time, gave the rent of an acre of land, in the Oldbury Field, to repair the roads between Tewkesbury and Ashchurch. The land could not be pointed out when the Oldbury was inclosed, and the bequest is con- sequently lost. Mrs. Ann Slaughter, in 1617, gave by indenture a piece of ground, about one acre, called the Great Saffron Garden, at the back of the Barton-street, to four trustees, to distribute the rents among such of the poor inhabitants as they should think fit. The same feoffees receive the rent of a piece of land, in the Severn Ham, containing two roods and sixteen perches. This is annexed to Mrs. Slaughter's gift, and is supposed to have been substituted for a rent-charge of 10s. which she bequeathed to her trustees along with the Saffron Garden. The rents of the four last-mentioned bequests, amounting annually to about £.250, are received by the same feoffees. A portion of the income is at present yearly appropriated towards the payment of the money which was borrowed for the purpose of re-building the three houses in the Bull-Ring, and in discharge of the interest; the remainder, after the expenses of repairs, &c. are defrayed, is laid out by the feoffees, in supplying the poor with blankets and sheets. Charities received by the Trustees of the Blue-Coat School. In 1721, Dowager Lady Dorothy Capel devised to trustees, a farm called Perry Court, in Feversham, Ospringe and Lud- denham, in Kent, to pay over to the treasurer, or any three or more of the trustees of the charity school for boys at Tewkes- bury, one twelfth-part of the annual rents and profits of the said farm, the other eleven parts to be paid to the trustees of various other schools. The farm is now let on lease for £.450 per annum. In 1722, Mrs. Elizabeth Dowdeswell left £.40 to the charity school for boys at Tewkesbury, but it is not known how this sum was disposed of. In 1724, Mr. Thomas Merrett left 50s. annually to the charity school at Tewkesbury, payable out of his estate. One HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 23.5 moiety of this sum is charged on certain houses in Tewkesbury, and the other moiety on premises in the parishes of Ashchurch and Gretton. In 1681, Mr. Thomas Kings (under the direction of Mr. William Curtis) conveyed by deed a piece of arable land, of five acres, called the Moors, at Twyning, for the use of such widows and other poor housekeepers, not receiving alms, as the trustees should think fit. The present rent is £.10. In 1681, Mr. William Wakeman, of the Mythe, bequeathed to the minister of Tewkesbury, a yearly rent charge of 20s. payable out of lands called Red Pools and Middle Grounds, at the Mythe, to be distributed to poor housekeepers ; and also 10s. annually for a sermon on Good Friday. These lands are now the property of John Hampton Hampton, esq. In 1699, Mr. Robert Porter, by indenture, granted two- third parts, — and Mr. Thomas Kemble, by will, in 1732, devised the other portion, — of two acres of land in the Severn Ham, to four persons upon trust, to expend the profits in bread ; directing that it should be given to the poor, by the church-wardens, on the first Thursday in February. In 1716, Charles Wynde, esq. by will, charged his estate at Stoke Prior, Worcestershire, with the annual payment of £.10, to be thus applied : 20s. for a sermon, and 5s. for prayers, on the anniversary of his death ; 40s. for reading prayers at six o'clock on Sunday evenings, between Lady-day and Michael- mas; £.5. 15$. to be distributed to the poor in bread and money; 10s. for keeping in repair the testator's monument, his wife's grave-stone, &c. and 10s. for any extra expenses. In 1727, Mr. William Hayward left £.20, to be invested in land, for the benefit of the minister; and £.50 to the poor. These bequests were never received, in consequence of his executor dying insolvent. In 1732, Mrs. Elizabeth Hopton, of Bristol, gave by will a piece of meadow land, near Salendine's bridge, in the parish of Ashchurch, and all her arable land in the Oldbury Field, to the minister, to preach six sermons, preparatory to the 230 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. sacrament, on the last Friday in every month, between Lady- day and Michaelmas. These lands are let for £.17. 7*. per annum. In 1757, SirWm. Strachan, of Bishop's Cleeve, conveyed a messuage and lands, in the parish of Castlemorton, Worces- tershire, upon trust, to apply the rents and profits in providing good coats for three poor old men, and good gowns for three poor old women ; the remainder to be laid out in bread, and given to the poor of Tewkesbury. The land consists of eight acres, with a house and outbuildings upon it, and is let to a yearly tenant at £.8. In 1776, Mrs. Sarah Hall, of Worcester, bequeathed by will £.200, the interest of it to be laid out in good stuff gowns, by the minister and church-wardens, and given on All Saints' day, to six poor maids or widows, belonging to the borough of Tewkesbury, not receiving parochial relief. This money was laid out in the purchase of £.352. 8s. three per cents reduced, now standing in the names of the vicar and church-wardens. In 1803, the Rev. Henry Collet, by will, gave £.250 stock in the four per cent, annuities, upon trust, that one moiety of the dividends thereof, (after the death of certain persons,) should be laid out annually in coals, to be distributed on St. Thomas's day, by the vicar and church-wardens, to the poor widows in the almshouses in the church-yard; and the other moiety to be expended in the purchase of five stuff gowns and other wearing apparel, to be distributed yearly to five of the said widows alternately. Mr. Thomas Cook devised, by will, in 1558, a house and garden in the High-street, (then called the Fox, and which now form part of the premises of Lewis Goodin Senior, esq.) for repairing the church. This property was granted on a building lease, for ninety -nine years, commencing March 25th, 1751, at the yearly rent of 2s. 6d. for the first thirty years, and 30s. a year for the remainder of the term. In 1566, Mrs. Juliana Best, by deed, granted an annuity or rent charge of 6s. Sd. on a tenement in the High-street, now the property of Mr. William Hawkley, — one moiety to be dis- HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 237 trilmted among the poor of Tewkesbury, on the feast of the Nativity ; and the other to be applied towards the reparation of the Long Bridge. Mr. Richard My nee, in 1665, gave 40s. a year out of the lattermath of the Avon Hams, towards the repair of the Long Bridge. W. Dillon, esq. pays 20s. and Misses Sarah and Eliz. Darke, 20s. The church-wardens receive 20s. yearly for half an acre of land in the Avon Ham, in the occupation of Mr. Charles Banaster. It is not known by whom this was left, but the rent has been paid to the church-wardens since 1564. Mrs. Ellen Eckynsale, in 1568, gave 12c?. a year towards the repairs of the church, payable out of two tenements at the end of Oldbury-street. In 1725, Halph Jeynes was the tenant; it is not known in whose possession the premises now are. Donations to the Minister of Tewkesbury. King James the first, in 1608, charged the rectory of Tew- kesbury with £.10 per annum to the minister. The same monarch, in 1615, granted to the assistant of the curate of the church of Tewkesbury, a yearly stipend of £.4. 7s. 6d. and £.1. 8s. 3d. for two chambers. These sums are now paid by the auditors of the county. Edwin Skrimshire, esq. in 1683, granted the tithes of Tredington and Fiddington, after certain payments, to the minister of the church of Tewkesbury. In 1690, Mrs. Elizabeth Townsend, by will, gave £.200 towards the support of the minister of Tewkesbury. This sum has been since laid out on land at Greet, in the parish of Winchcomb, now let at about £.15 per annum. In 1685, Dr. Thomas Geers, by deed, settled the privy or small tithes of this town and borough, on the reader or assistant to the minister of this church for ever. CHAPTER XVIII. DISSENTING PLACES OF WORSHIP, &c. INDEPENDENT CHAPEL. — This building is situate at the upper end of Barton-street. It was originally erected and endowed by the Presbyterians, though no particulars of its early history can now be obtained ; when the Rev. Henry Welsford, the present respected minister of this chapel, was chosen to the pastoral office, in 1819, not a single document of any interest, relating either to its foundation, its ministers, or its congregation, could be discovered. The Presbyterian dissenters, from a diminution of their numbers, had become unable to support a pastor of their own denomination ; they therefore, about half a century ago, permitted the congregation of Independents to unite with them. From that period to the present, the Presbyterians have gradually diminished in numbers, while the Independents have greatly increased ; and at this time, the members of this congregation strictly conform to the government and worship adopted by the Independents. In 1820, this chapel was newly pewed, and rendered more commodious and comfortable; but being found, a few years afterwards, too small for the congregation, it was, at an expense of about £.900, enlarged, by extending the building towards the street, and erecting a spacious gallery. It was re- opened on the 31st of Aug. 1828, on which occasion £.50 was collected at the doors, after sermons by the Rev. Wm. Thorp, of Bristol ; and upwards of £.500 was contributed by the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 239 Some branches of the family of the late Dr. Philip Dod- dridge* are interred in the burial ground at the back of this chapel. f Baptist Chapel. — The particular Baptists! have a neat and convenient place of worship, near the bottom of Barton- street, which was erected by subscription in the year 1805. The Baptists had a considerable congregation here as early as 1655. Their original meeting-house was in an alley in the Church-street, nearly opposite the abbey church, where they have now a small chapel, a burial ground, and some dwelling- houses, the rents of which are appropriated to the use of the poor belonging to the society. The Rev. Daniel Trotman, the * Dr. Doddridge's eldest daughter was married to Mr. Humphreys, an attorney, of Tewkesbury, whose grandson, John Doddridge Humphreys, esq. author of Prince Malcolm and other poems, has recently edited the Posthumous Sermons of Dr. Doddridge, and is now publishing the Corres- pondence of this pious and learned divine. After the doctor's decease, which happened at Lisbon, in 1751, his widow, son, and two maiden daughters, resided at Tewkesbury, in great respectability and esteem. f On a raised tomb, enclosed with iron railing, are these inscriptions : Memoriae sacrum Elizabethan Humphreys, Johannis Humphreys, gen. uxoris, quas vixit annos 26. Ob. Maii die nono 1752. Charlotta Elizabetha, prasdicti Johannis Humphreys et Marias uxoris ejus secundas filia. Obijt 18 die Augusti, 1765, natali die, anno aetatis suas quarto. Josephus filius Johannis et Marias Humphreys. Vixit septimanas decern. Obiit 10 die Octobris, 1766. Phi. Doddridge, gen. Ob. 13 Mar. 1785, astat. suae 47. Mercy Doddridge, Philippi Doddridge, S.T.P. vidua. Obiit vicessima die Aprilis, anno Domini 1790, astatis 82. Mary Humphreys, Johannis Humphreys vidua, necnon prasdicti P. Dod- dridge filia. Obiit die Junii octava, anno Domini 1799, astatis 66. Anna Cecilia Doddridge, postrema superstes filia praedicti Philippi Dod- dridge. Ob. 3 die Augusti, A. D. 1811, astatis suas 74. Maria, sola charissima filia Johannis Doddridge Humphreys et Marias uxoris ejus. Ob. 27 die Novembris A.D. 1811, astatis suas 14. Memorias sacrum Johannis Doddridge Humphreys, gen. Obiit 3 die Dec. A. D. 1813, astatis suas 53. | There are General and Particular Baptists : the former are Arminians, and the latter Calvinists. 240 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. present worthy minister, has regularly fulfilled the duties of the pastoral office since the year 1803. Friends' Meeting-House. — The Society of Friends have had, almost from the days of Geo^e Fox, their founder, a place of worship in Tewkesbury,* or in its immediate neigh- bourhood.f The present meeting-house was built in the year 1804, partly by subscription among the resident members, and partly by a contribution from the quarterly meetings ; it is a very neat and substantial structure, capable of holding several hundred persons. It stands near the centre of the Barton- street, and attached thereto is a small burial ground, but their principal place of interment^ is in St. Mary's-lane, where also their old meeting-house stood. The Friends, in the counties of Gloucester and Wilts, are associated : they hold one quar- terly meeting at Tewkesbury, on the last Tuesday in September; one at Cirencester, in December ; one at Melksham, in March ; and one at Frenchay, near Bristol, in June, annually. Wesleyan Chapel. — In the Tolzey-lane stands a commo- dious chapel, erected by the Wesleyan Methodists, which was first opened for divine worship on the 16th of October 1814, by Dr. Adam Clarke. A chapel, on a more limited scale, had occupied the same site for many years previously. * In the " Account of the Persecutions of the People called Quakers," for demands recoverable under the acts of 7 and 8 William III. it is stated that, in 1703, " William Purnphrey, of Tewkesbury, was presented in the exchequer for tithes of about five pounds value, at the suit of John Matthews, vicar." He was subsequently imprisoned in the borough gaol. f Perhaps the oldest Friends' meeting-house in this part of the county was at Stoke Orchard, about four miles from Tewkesbury, where there is still a burial ground, though it is now rarely or never used. For a long period, the monthly meetings were held alternately at Tewkesbury and at Stoke. X The Society of Friends have also an inclosed burial ground adjoining the church-yard at Corse, on an estate belonging to James Wood, esq. of Gloucester, to whom they pay 6s. Sd. yearly for a right of road, though they make no use whatever of it. This property is held on lease, for a long term ; the society would willingly relinquish their right to it, but the cautious banker cannot be persuaded to yield up his claim upon them, for a less douceur than ten pounds 1 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 2 SI Jews' Synagogue. — The Jews have now no place of worship here, though it appears that there was formerly a synagogue in St. Marys-lane.* Sir Robert Atkynsf says, that there was, til his time, no Jew dwelling in Gloucestershire, and that the onjy Jewess who resided in the county lived at Tewkesbury. Purchas, in his ". Pilgrimages," relates a story, from which we may infer that some of this race of people lived here many centuries since. He says, that, about the year 1259, a Jew fell into a common sewer at Tewkesbury, on a Saturday, and refused to permit any one to help him out on that day, lest he should profane his sabbath. Upon this being told to Richard de Clare the second, who was then proprietor of the lordship, he commanded that no one should assist in extricating him on Sunday, resolving to make this ceremonious Israelite observe the Christian sabbath with the same solemnity as he had kept his own ; and he expired from the filth and stench before Monday. This tale is likewise related by Fabian, in his "Chronicle of England and France ";t and also, with some variation, in an early printed book, entitled, "An Historical Dictionary of remarkable Persons": in the latter work, the Jew's name is stated to have been Solomon, and the following verses were made on his singular death : " Tende manus, Solomon, ego te de stercore tollam ; " Sabbata nostra colo, de stercore surgere nolo. " Sabbata nostra quidem, Solomon, celebrabis ibidem." Some remains of an ancient stone building exist near the entrance into St. Mary's-lane, but there is no record or tradition * " Sum say tbat Theocus cliapelle was aboute the place wher syns the Jues synagoge was." — Leland. f Ancient and Present State of Gloucestershire, 1712. I " 1259. In this yere also, fell that happe of the Jewe of Tewkysbury, which fell into a gonge upon the Satyrday, and wolde not, for reverence of his sabot day, be pluckyd out ; whereof heryng the Erie of Gloucetyr, that the Jewe dyd so great reverence to his sabbot daye, thought he wolde doo as moche unto his holy day, which was Sonday ; and so kepte hym there tyll Monday, at whiche season, he was foundyn dede." — Fabyan's Chronicle. 2 H 242 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. to guide us in ascertaining when or for what purpose it was erected. The portions of the fabric which are now discernible, would lead to the conclusion that it was designed for a place of religious worship ; and hence some have conjectured that it was the chapel of Theocus. That the humble edifice, which was erected by this pious recluse, might have stood near this spot, is highly probable ; and perhaps for a long period sub- sequent to the completion of Fitz-Hamon's noble structure, a chapel remained there for the use of the inhabitants of the town. If this opinion be admitted, the building must have fallen into decay prior to the dissolution of the monastery; for, when Leland wrote his Itinerary, "ther was no other paroche chirch yn the town but the weste ende of the abbay chirche."* — Some persons imagine it to be the remains of the Jew's synagogue, but that is by no means probable. * Lei. Itin. vol. vi. p. 90. edit. 1769. CHAPTER XIX. REPRESENTATIVES IN PARLIAMENT. 3 THE privilege of sending representatives to parliament was first granted to Tewkesbury by the charter of King James the first, in 1609, and the right* has been uniformly exercised from that time to the present, with the exception of a short period during the usurpation of Cromwell. No borough can with greater propriety be denominated an independent one. In few places is the general body of electors so respectable, and in still fewer open boroughs are they less prone to change their representatives, after their election has been once decided. " The right of election is in the freemen at large,f and in all * To send burgesses to the king's parliament was not in ancient times counted a privilege, but a burthen, because it was an expense to the burghs ; for when they sent burgesses, they were liable to pay them wages to bear their charges. — Maddox's Collections. f The freedom of the borough is acquired by election, birth, and servitude. — The body corporate, assembled in common council, have a right to give the freedom of the borough to an unlimited number, though they usually confine themselves to four in a year — the bailiffs each nomi- nating two. This is not invariably the case, as the honour is sometimes conferred upon such individuals as may, for any public services, appear to merit such a mark of distinction. — The eldest son of a freeman, born subsequently to his father's admission, is entitled to the freedom on his father's decease ; but if such son should die before his father, the right does not devolve to any other son. — Persons who serve a seven years' appren- ticeship to a freeman, and reside during the whole period within the borough, under an indenture executed in the presence of one of the bailiffs and the town-clerk, and registered in the town-clerk's book of enrolment, are entitled to their freedom on the expiration of their apprenticeship. Those also who are apprenticed to the widow and executrix of a freeman, carrying On her deceased husband's business within the borough, in case the indentures are properly executed and enrolled, are similarly entitled. Nathaniel Hartland, esq. was admitted to his freedom, from his having' thus served an apprenticeship to his mother, who was the widow and exe- cutrix of a freeman. 211 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. persons seized of an estate of freehold, in an entire dwelling- house,* within the ancient limits of the borough ;f " who, in the whole, probably amount to about six hundred voters. The bailiffs are the returning officers. The representatives are elected in the town-hall ; but in cases of opposition, after the business has been opened in the hall, the polling is ad- journed to temporary hustings in front of the building. Immediately after the granting of the charter, in 1609, a writ was issued, and Sir Dudley Digges, knight,! and Edward * The proprietor of a freehold in Tewkesbury has the privilege of voting for representatives of the county of Gloucester, as well as for members for the borough. . f The ancient limits of the borough are defined in Queen Elizabeth's charter. The description of them, in that document, is not now very easily understood, in consequence of the changes which have been made in the names of places, and of the removal of some of the objects which served as landmarks at that period. The select committee of the house of com- mons, when they determined the right of election, in 1797, appear to have had in view the definitions given in this charter. The whole of the Oldbury Field and Meadows, the Grove and Rail's Meadows, Gloucester- Place, the Severn Ham, the Lilly Croft, Allard's Garden, and various other places, were therefore, on that occasion, evidently considered as not being within the ancient limits of the borough. No persons at that time felt aggrieved by the decision, there being then no dwelling-houses built upon any of the commonable lands ; but as there are now numerous tenements erected in the Oldbury, it may be a subject for investigation with a future election committee, whether the liberty of voting should or should not be extended to all the proprietors of freehold dwelling-houses within the borough. If such an extension were permitted, the number of electors would be considerably enlarged. I Sir Dudley Digges, (eldest son of Thomas Digges, and grandson of Leonard Digges, both very eminent mathematicians,) was born in 1583, and entered a gentleman commoner of L 7 niversit} r College, Oxford, in 1598. LTaving taken the degree of B. A. in 1601, he studied for some time at the inns of court, and then made a tour of the continent, having first received the honour of knighthood. In 1618 he was sent by James the first as ambas- sador to the emperor of Russia ; and, two years afterwards, was dispatched on an important mission to Holland. While member for Tewkesbury, in the third parliament of James the first, he was so little compliant with the court measures, as to be ranked among those whom the king denomi- nated "ill-tempered spirits." In the first parliament of Charles the first, he not only joined with those distinguished patriots who endeavoured to bring Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, the king's great favourite, to justice, but was indeed one of the most active managers in that affair, for which he HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 245 Ferrers, esq.* were chosen the first representatives for Tew- kesbury, and retained their seats during the remaining five years of the first parliament of King James the first. The following is a list of the representatives, from that period to the present : 1614. — Sir Dudley Digges, knight. Giles Brydges, esq.f 1620-1. — Sir Dudley Digges, knight. Giles Brydges, esq. 1623-4. — Sir Dudley Digges, knight. Sir Baptist Hickes, bart. J was committed to the tower. In 1636 he was appointed to the honourable office of master of the rolls, and died in 1639. His death, as his epitaph expresses it, was " reckoned by the wisest men among the public calamities of the times." He w r as buried at Chilham, Kent, in wdiich parish he had a fine estate, and where he built a noble house. Sir Dudley was author of several political and other works ; he w r as a worthy good man, and, as Philipot beautifully observes, " a great assertor of his country's liberty in the worst of times, when the sluices of prerogative were opened, and the banks of the law were almost overwhelmed with the inundations of it." An original picture of Sir Dudley Digges, by Cornelius Jansen, is in the collection of John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. at Pull Court. * Mr. Ferrers was the eldest son of Roger Ferrers, esq. of Fiddington, near Tewkesbury, and brother of Win, Ferrers, esq. the benefactor to the free grammar school. f Mr. Rrydges is thought to have been the eldest son of Sir Giles Brydges, bart. of Wilton Castle, and brother to Charles Brydges, esq. who for a long period resided at the My the, and died there in 1669. J Sir Baptist Hickes, bart. " that mirror of his time," was created Viscount Campden by Charles the first, in 1628. He was a great mercer in London at the accession of James the first, and acquired so large a fortune, principally by supplying the court with silks, that he left his two daughters £.100,000 each. He built a large house in St. John's-street, for the justices of Middlesex to hold their sessions in ; this, although it is now demolished, still gives to the sessions-house the name of Hickes' s-Hall. In Campden church, Gloucestershire, is a stately altar tomb, on a raised slab of black marble, with the effigies recumbent of Viscount Campden, and his lady, in their robes of state, and coronets ; the canopy is supported by twelve pillars of Egyptian marble, and finished with pediments and tablets. The following is part of the inscription on one of the tablets : — " To the memory of her dear deceased husband, Baptist Lord Hickes, Viscount Campden, born of a worthy family in the city of London, who, by the 246 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1625. — Sir Dudley Digges, knight, bir Baptist Hickes, bart. 1(525-6.— Sir Dudley Digges, knight. Sir Baptist Hickes, bart. 1627-8.— Sir Baptist Hickes, bart. Sir Thomas Culpepper, knight;* 1640. — Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, bart.f Sir Edward Alford, knight. blessing of God on his ingenious endeavours, arose to an ample estate, and to the aforesaid degree of honour ; and out of those blessings disposed to charitable uses, in his life time, a large portion, to the value of £.10,000; who lived religiously, virtuously, and generously, to the age of seventy-eight years, and died Oct. 13, 1629." His lordship left, by will, considerable property to churitabie purposes, particularly to the poor of Campden and Tewkesbury. * Sir Thomas Culpepper was lord of the manor of IJasleton, near Northleach, where he had a considerable estate. One Thomas Culpepper was knighted at the coronation of James I. July 23, 1603 ; and another Thomas was similarly honoured, on the 14th ©f March following : one of these was author of several political tracts. f Anthony Ashley Cooper, first Earl of Shaftesbury, was son of Sir John Cooper, bart. of Rockborn, in the county of Southampton, where he was born in 1621, and was perhaps the most singular character of the age and country in which he lived. He was sent to Oxford at the age of fifteen, and admitted a gentleman commoner of Exeter College ; after close atten- tion to his studies there for about two years, he removed to Lincoln's Inn, where he applied himself with great vigour to the study of that part of the law which related to the constitution of the kingdom. He was elected member for Tewkesbury, when only nineteen years of age, in the short parliament which met April 13, 1610. At the commencement of the civil wars, he was with the king at Oxford ; he afterwards deserted his majesty, accepted of a commission from the parliament, and, as Clarendon says, " became an implacable enemy to the royal cause." He was a member of the convention which met after Cromwell had dismissed the long parlia- ment ; he was again in the senate in 1654 ; and was one of the principal persons who signed that famous protestation, which charged the protector with tyranny and arbitrary rovernment. When Richard Cromwell was deposed, and the Rump came agam into power, Sir Anthony was appointed one of their council of state, and a commissioner for managing the army ; yet he was, at that very time, engaged in a secret correspondence with the friends of Charles the second, and was greatly instrumental in promoting the restoration of that monarch. He was member for Dorsetshire, in what was called the "healing parliament," which sat in April 1660, and was one of the twelve members appointed by the house of commons to carry their HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 247 1640. — Sir Robert Cooke, knight.* Edward Stephens, esq.f At the election of members for this parliament, by historians called the "long parliament," which met Nov. 3, 1640, four persons were returned for this borough, viz. Sir Edward Alford, knight, and John Craven, esq. (who was created Lord Craven, of Ryton, Salop, Mar. 21, 1622,) in one indenture, and Sir Robert Cooke, knight, and Edward Stephens, esq. in another indenture. A committee was immediately after- wards appointed to investigate this double return ; upon the invitation to the king-. On his majesty's arrival in England, he was sworn a member of the privy council, and was also one of the commissioners for the trial of the regicides. He was soon afterwards made chancellor and under-treasurer of the exchequer, and a commissioner of the treasury. In 1672, he was created Earl of Shaftesbury, and in the same year was raised to the post of lord high chancellor. The seals were taken from him in the following year : and he was sent to the tower in 1677, with the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Salisbury, and Lord Wharton, where he remained thirteen months ; yet, on a new privy council being formed, in 1679, he was appointed lord president. He held this employment only a few months ; having drawn upon himself the hatred of the Duke of York, by steadily promoting, if not originally inventing, the project of the exclu- sion bill, the duke soon contrived to make him feel the weight of his resentment. His lordship was apprehended for high treason, in 1681 ; he was again committed to the tower, but after four months confinement, was tried and acquitted. His enemies at that time being in the zenith of their power, he prudently consulted his own safety by retiring into Holland, where he died a few months afterwards, of the gout in the stomach, in his sixty-second year. * Sir Robert Cooke, was^ a colonel in the service of the parliament, had the command of Tewkesbury in 1643, and resided at Highman Court, near Gloucester. His eldest son, William, was at first in the king's army, but afterwards sided with the parliamentarians : there is a portrait of the latter, in armour, in the Bibliotheca Gloucestrensis, (engraved from an original drawing in the possession of Sir Berkeley William Guise, bart.) representing him in the act of hewing his cocked or triangular hat into a round one. f Mr. Edward Stephens, and his brother John, were members of the committee appointed by the parliament for sequestrating the estates of the royalists, and also committee-men named in the act for the punishment of scandalous clergymen and others in the county of Gloucester ; they were likewise tools of that assembly at the period when money was forcibly raised in the county for administering the covenant and removing all scandalous ministers and schoolmasters, and for carrying into effect the other arbitrarj measures of parliament. 248 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. recommendation of this committee, the house of commons resolved, that neither of the members should take their seats until the election was determined ; and agreed, that Mr. Thomas Hale, one of the bailiffs of the borough, should be sent for, by the serjeant at arms, as a delinquent, for his con- duct respecting such double return. He was in consequence taken to London, and detained in custody for nearly a month. The House subsequently declared the election to be totally void, ordered a new writ for the borough, and recommended the committee to prepare a bill to prevent inconveniences at elections at Tewkesbury in future ; it does not appear that this recommendation was carried into effect. At the second election, a double return was again made : the bailiffs under their seal, returned Sir Robert Cooke and Sir Edward Alford, knights, and the inhabitants returned Sir Robert Cooke, knight, and Edward Stephens, esq. Another parliamentary committee was appointed, in 1G43, when the election of Sir Edward Alford was declared void, in consequence of his having pre- viously taken his seat as member for Arundel ; and the House afterwards " commanded the clerk of the crown to appear at the bar, and there to take off the writ from the indenture returned by the bailiffs, and to fix it to the indenture returned by the inhabitants."* In a MS. book, belonging to the Tew- kesbury Feoffees, is the following entry, made in 1640. "The 3rd Nov. the parliament began, and we had great difference about our burgesses, two being returned by one bailiff and two by another; and so the election was quashed, because we admitted some that we should not to give voices, and not resolved whether that election should be by freemen only or all that inhabitate, (except almsmen.)" At the latter end of the year 1645, John Craven, esq. member for Tewkesbury, was " expelled the House, for deserting the parliament and going to the king."f He must have been a son of Lord Craven, * Journals of the House of Commons. f Perfect Occurrences. — Mr. Craven was probably a member of the noble family of Craven, who were devoted to Charles the first. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 249 and perhaps elected on the death of Sir Robert Cooke, which happened in the August preceding. John Stephens, esq. at one period of the long parliament, sat as member for Tewkes- bury, having been returned in the place of his brother Edward, whq died in Dec. 1643. 1653. Cromwell, having rudely broken up the "long parliament'' on the 20th of April, 1653, took immediate steps to supply its place with a legislative assembly of his own construction. With the concurrence of his council of officers, he nominated one hundred and forty-four persons — one hundred and twenty- two for the English counties and cities, six for Wales, six for Ireland, and five for Scotland : Lambert, Harrison, Disbrowe, Tomlinson, and Cromwell himself, completing the one hundred and forty-four. In this convention, called by Hume, "Bare- bone's parliament," but more frequently designated " the little parliament," which assembled on the 5th of July, 1653, and was dissolved by the army on the 12th of December following, no members were returned for Tewkesbury. 1654. — Sir Anthony Ashley Cooper, bart. This convention, which assembled on Sunday, Sept. 3, 1654, was found so unmanageable, that Cromwell suddenly dissolved it on the 22d of January following, and took the government into his own hands. Sir A. A. Cooper was chosen for this borough, but being also returned for Wiltshire, he made his election for that county ; in his place, Francis St. John, eldest son of the Lord Chief Justice St. John, was elected for Tew- kesbury, but, it is said, never took his seat. Only one member was returned for Tewkesbury in this or the following parliament. 1656.— Francis White, esq * In the third protectorate parliament, which met Sept. 17, 1656, and was dissolved Feb. 4, 1658, Valentine Disbrowe, esq. * Mr. White, who is described as " of the city of Westminster," was a colonel of foot in the republican army. In a pamphlet, published imme- diately after Cromwell's sudden dissolution of this convention, entitled, "A 2 i 330 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. (a son of General Disbrowe, brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell,) was first returned for Tewkesbury j* but Mr. White represented it during the greater part of this " mock parliament." 1658-9. — Edward Cooke, esq. Robert Long, esq.f In this convention, called " Richard's parliament,"! the Right Hon. John Thurloe, principal secretary of state during the protectorates of the Crom wells, who had been chief justice of the common pleas in the latter part of the reign of the unfor- tunate Charles, was chosen to represent this borough. He was also returned, at the same time, for the university of Cambridge, for the borough of Wisbech, and also for Hunting- don ; he made his election for the university. Although the Secretary declined the honour intended for him by the electors Narrative of the late Parliament, so called; with an Account of the Places of Profit, Salaries and Advantages which they hold and receive under the present Power," it is said, that he received £.365 per annum of the public money. Many ludicrous instances of the puritanical austerities of the members of the Commonwealth conventions are narrated in " Burton's Diary." It was enacted, by one of Cromwell's parliaments, "that a woman should not kiss her child on the Sabbath, nor fasting day; and that a man should not walk in his garden, or elsewhere, except reverently to and from meeting." It was also proposed to prevent persons sitting or standing at their doors on the Sabbath-day, and this clause was rejected only by a majority of two votes. Tailors too were forbidden to sit cross- legged, it being deemed symbolic of popery. * In the indenture between the sheriff of Gloucestershire and the bailiffs of Tewkesbury, on Disbrowe's election, dated Aug. 5, 1656, is the following clause : " Provided, and it is hereby declared, that he shall not have power to alter the government as it is now settled in one single person and a parliament." f Mr. Long was nephew to Sir James Long, bart. of Draycot, Wilts, and succeeded to the title and estates in 1673 ; he was ancestor to the late unfortunate Mrs. Wellesley Pole Tilney Long Wellesley. In the Mercurius Politicus he is said to have been a major in the parliamentarian army ; though his uncle, Sir James, commanded a troop of horse in the service of King Charles, and is much eulogised by Aubrey. + This contention assembled Jan. 27, 1658-9, and was dissolved April 22. The long parliament, or "rump," was restored in May 1659; expelled October 13 following ; again restored December 26 ; and finally dissolved March 16, 1660. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 251 of Tewkesbury, it is not improbable that the two individuals who sat for this borough were nominated by him.* 1660. — Henry Capel, esq.f Richard Dowdeswell, esq. This is by some called the " convention parliament," and by others the " healing parliament," because it was sitting at the return of King Charles, and sanctioned his restoration. * The following correspondence, respecting this election, is extracted from Thurloe's State Papers, vol. 7, p. 572 : — " A Letter from the Burgesses of Tewkesbury to Secretary Thurloe. " Noble Sir, — We understand, that you are pleased so much to honour this poor corporation as to accept of our free and unanimous electing you one of our burgesses in the next parliament, and to sit a member for this place. Sir, we are so sensible of the greatness of the obligation, that we know not by what expressions sufficiently to demonstrate our acknowledge- ments ; only at present we beseech you to accept of this for an earnest, that whomsoever you shall think worthy to be your partner, shall have the second election ; and our real and hearty affections to serve and honour you whilst we are, as we shall ever strive to be, " Sir, your most humble and obliged servants, "E. Hatch, "Tho. Clarke, ? n Vff if Richard Dowdeswell, "Tho. Jeynes, $ »ayiitts. " Will. Neast, } " William Willson, "John Beach, ^Justices. " John Carver. " Will. Hatton, ) "Tewkesbury, 17th Dec. 1658." " Secretary Thurloe's Answer to the Burgesses of Tewkesbury. " Gentlemen, — I received yours of the 17th instant, and thereby a very great demonstration of your affection to me, havinge expressed your willing- ness not only to betrust your concernment in the parliament with me, but to have reguard to my recommendation of him, whom you are to choose for your other burgesse. I heartily wish, that my ability to serve your cor- poration in the parliament, and elsewhere, were answerable to the good opinion you have of me. All that I can say is, that I shall endeavour, as I am obliged, to serve you faithfully, hopeinge you will doe yourselves more right in your choice of my partner, than you have in pitching upon me; knowinge you have many able gentlemen, both in the country and amongst yourselves, very fit for that trust. My Lord Disbrowe tells me, he hath propounded a worthy person, whose recommendation will make it necessary for me to make use of the liberty you have been pleased to give. " 31 Decemb. 1658." f Mr. Capel was made a knight of the Bath at the coronation of Charles the second, and in 1679 was appointed first commissioner of the 252 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, 1661.— Sir Henry Capel, K.B. Richard Dowdeswell, esq. This was called the " pensionary parliament," because it was discovered that many of the members received pensions from the court. Rap in observes, it may be judged how favourable it was to the king, since it continued almost eighteen years, on which account it was more justly called the "long parliament," than that of 1640.— On the death of Mr. Dowdeswell, Sir Francis Russell, bart. was elected in his room, Nov. 1, 1673. From a letter of Mr. Hill, the town-clerk, then in London, addressed to " Mr. Thomas Jeynes, at his house in the Barton- street, Tewkesbury," it appears that Charles Dowdeswell, esq. wished to obtain the vacant seat in the corporation interest ; but that the Bishop of Worcester and many others had written to the Lord Chancellor on behalf of Sir Francis Russell. The friends of both parties used every effort to obtain the writ clandestinely from the chancellor; and Sir Francis kept a man and horse ready in London, for the purpose of conveying admiralty and a privy councillor. He was a constant speaker on all important questions, and peculiarly distinguished himself in his opposition to the opinion of the judges, who had unanimously decided "that to print, or puhlish any news-hooks, or pamphlets of news whatever, is illegal ; that it is a manifest intent to the breach of the peace, and the offenders may be pro- ceeded against by law for an illegal intent." His almost unvaried opposition to the views of the Duke of York, and the warmth with which he defended the principles of the bill for his exclusion from the throne, rendered him obnoxious to the court. In 1G80, Sir Henry Capel, accompanied by Lord Russell, Lord Cavendish, and Mr. Powle, went to the king, and desired to be dismissed from their employment as privy councillors. Sir Henry then retired for some years from public life. In the first parliament of King- William, he was again returned for Tewkesbury, and in 1692 was created a peer, by the title of Lord Capel of Tewkesbury. He was one of the lords justices of Ireland, in 1693, and died at Dublin, May 13, 1696, being then lord lieutenant of that kingdom. This distinguished nobleman was second son of Arthur Lord Capel, who in the civil wars defended Colchester with such- bravery for the king, and was afterwards executed by the parlia- mentarians ; he was brother to Arthur Capel, first Earl of Essex, who was first lord rf the treasury to Charles the second, and afterwards accused of being concerned in the Rye House Plot, for which he was committed to the tower, where he was found murdered, on the morning of the trial of his friend and colleague, Lord William Russell. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 253 it to Tewkesbury the moment it was sealed. His lordship, being apprised of his intention, and being " willing to do right to both parties," sent it unknown to them, by a special mes- senger, directed to the high sheriff of the county of Gloucester. Mr.' Hill, in the epistle before alluded to, points out by what mode some additional freeholders may be made to serve Mr. Dowdeswell ; he himself offers to convey some premises for that purpose, observing, " if 'twill do no good, 'twill do no harm :" and he finally expresses an ardent hope that, if possible, Mr. Jeynes " may make a good bargain for them all." The return, in 1673, is the first in which "freemen" are mentioned. 1678-9.— Sir Henry Capel, K.B. Sir Francis Russell, bart. 1680.— The Right Hon. Sir Henry Capel, K. B. Sir Francis Russell, bart. 1680-1.— The Right Hon. Sir Henry Capel, K.B. Sir Francis Russell, bart. A little before this election, the old representatives granted to the electors a release of all demands for wages, &c* * The original document, from which the following is copied, is among the corporation records ; it proves that members of parliament considered themselves entitled to wages from their constituents, at a much later period than has generally been supposed : — " Know all men by these presents, That we, Sir Henry Capell, knight of the bath, and Sir Francis Russell, bart. Do hereby remise, release and for ever quitt claime unto the Bayhffs, Burgesses and Commonalty of the Burrough of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, and their successors, and to all freemen, inhabitants and landholders within the said burrough, All and all manner of wages, fees and stipends whatsoever to us due or payable, or which we or either of us may or ought of right to have or claime, of or from them or any of them, for or by reason of our sitting and serving in any parliament or parliaments as burgesses of the said burrough, so that neither we nor either of us shall not nor will att any time hereafter have, claime, challenge or demand any such wages, fees or stipends, or any part thereof ; but thereof and therefrom and of and from all and all manner of action, suit and demand touching the same, are and shall be utterly excluded and for ever debarred by these presents. In testimony whereof, we have hereto putt our hands and seals, the xxiith day of February, Ao. re. Caroli sec. dei gra. nunc Angl. &c. &c. xxxiiitio. Ao. q. Dm. 1680. Fran. Russell." f< Sealed and delivered by Sir Francis Russell, in presence of " Robert Eaton, u Francis Lankett." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1685. — Sir Francis Russell, bart. Richard Dowdeswell, esq. King James the second, who appears never to have neglected an opportunity of abridging the elective franchise, by his charter, granted in 1686, made Tewkesbury a close borough : he not only confined the liberty of choosing representatives to the corporation, but reserved to himself in council the power of removing at pleasure every member of that body. 1688-9.— Sir Francis Russell, bart.* Richard Dowdeswell, esq. This convention met Jan. 22, 1688-9, agreeably to letters issued by the Prince of Orange, and was " turned into a parliament " at its first meeting after the accession of William and Mary. — This election was long and severely contested ; the number of voters who polled amounted to about three hundred and fifty. 1689-90.— The Right Hon. Sir Henry Capel, K. B. Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Upon Sir H. Capel being raised to the peerage, in 1692, Sir Francis Wilmington, knight, f was elected to succeed him in the representation of this borough. * Sir Francis Russell, bart. who died in 1700, was the last male descendant of the respectable family of that name which had flourished at Strensham for nearly four hundred years. Sir Francis, in the year follow- ing that in which he was first elected for Tewkesbury, gave certain property near the church-yard and in Smith's-lane, in trust, for the benefit of poor widows. Sir William Russell, the father of Sir Francis, was a zealous champion for the royal cause, and suffered greatly from the parliament army, who garrisoned Strensham. Sir William alone, of all the dis- tinguished royalists in the county, was exempted from the benefit of the treaty for surrendering Worcester ; he was forced to compound with the parliament committee for £.1800, besides £.00 a year out of his estate. f Sir Francis Winnington was only son of Colonel Winningtcn, of Powick, and ancestor of the present baronet. He was born in the city of Worcester, in 1634, and being bred to the law, became so eminent in his profession, that he was made solicitor-general to King Charles the second, in 1664. He was a great sportsman, and would frequently ride on horse- back from London to Stanford, in Worcestershire, which was one hundred and twenty -f. \ e miles, in one day ; this he continued to do until he was sixty-four years old. He was a firm defender of the liberties of his country in parliament, while he represented Worcester, Windsor and Tewkesbury. He was the first patron of the great Lord Somers, who lived with him several years as clerk in his chambers. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 255 1695. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Sir Francis Wilmington, knight. Sir Richard Cocks, bart. of Dumbleton, who was high-sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1692, and knight of the shire in three successive parliaments in the reign of King William, presented a petition to the house of commons against the return of Sir Francis Wilmington. Sir Richard complained, that his oppo- nent had threatened to turn those persons out of their houses who had voted for the petitioner, unless they withdrew their votes; that he had detained the town-book, and had been guilty of other undue practices.* It is supposed that this petition was withdrawn, as the House appears to have come to no determination on the case. 1698. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Charles Hancock, esq. 1700-1. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Edmund Bray, esq.-j- 1701. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Edmund Bray, esq. 1702. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Edmund Bray, esq. 1705. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Edmund Bray, esq. 1708. — Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Henry Ireton, esq.J It is said that, until this election, no freeholders were permitted to vote, excepting those who possessed front houses in one of the three principal streets. * Journals of the House of Commons. f Mr. Bray resided at Great Barrington, in the county of Gloucester ; his family, for many generations, possessed the fine estate which now belongs to Lord Dynevor. X Mr. Ireton obtained the manor of Williamstrip, in the parish of Coin St. Aldwyn's, Gloucestershire, together with a good estate, by marrying the only daughter and heiress of Henry Powle, esq. speaker of the house of commons and master of the rolls, and privy councellor to Charles the second and William the third. 256 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1710. — Henry Ireton, esq. William Bromley, esq.* On the death of Mr. Ireton, in 1711, William Dowdeswell, esq. was elected in his stead. 1713- 4. — William Dowdeswell, esq. Charles Dowdeswell, esq. On the death of Mr. C. Dowdeswell, in 1714, Anthony Lech - mere, esq. was elected. Edward Popham, esq. of Tewkesbury- Lodge, was a candidate, and petitioned against the return. 1714- 5. — William Dowdeswell, esq. Anthony Lechmere, esq. Mr. A. Lechmere having vacated his seat, his brother, Nicholas Lechmeie, esq.f was chosen in his place, on the 25th of June, * Mr. Bromley was descended from the Chancellor Bromley, and resided at IJpton-upon- Severn. He married Judith Hanbury, by whom he had an only daughter Judith, who married John, eldest son of John Martin, esq. of Overhury. Mr. Martin built the present mansion at Upton, restored to it the ancient appellation of Hani Court, and from him the pre* sent proprietor, Joseph John Martin, esq. is lineally descended. f Nicholas Lechmere, esq. second son of Edmund Lechmere, esq. of Hanley Castle, was first chosen a representative in parliament for Appleby, in 1708; and for Cockermouth in 1710, 171:5 and 1715. On the accession of George the first, in 1714, he was appointed solicitor-general, in the room of Sir Thomas Raymond; in 1717, he was promoted to the chancellorship of the Duchy of Lancaster ; and, vacating his scat for Cockermouth, was chosen for Tewkesbury on the resignation of his elder brother. He was soon afterwards appointed attorney-general, and receiver general of his Majesty's customs. In 1721, he was fixated Baron Lechmere of Evesham ; and died of apoplexy, while at table, at the age of 52, in 1727. He was one of the managers in the trial against Dr. Sacheverell ; moved the impeach- ment against the Earl of Derwentwatcr ; was chairman of the committee appointed to draw up articles against the seven impeached lords ; and prepared a bill for the attainder of several of the rebels. In 1720, a charge was brought against him of corruption, with breach of trust and duty as a privy councillor, &c. which the House declared to be frivolous and vexatious, and he was very honourably acquitted. He was esteemed a good lawyer, a quick and distinguished orator, and an able politician ; he was of a proud, violent and unyielding disposition, but was much caressed and flattered by the Whig party, who showered honours upon him more perhaps out of fear than affection. In Swift's Miscellanies, is an admirable ballad, Avritten by Gay, entitled " Duke upon Duke, or a ludicrous account of a quarrel between Lord Lechmere and Sir John Guise." Lord Lechmere is said to have assisted Sir Richard Steele in writing " The Crisis." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 257 1717. Tn March following, the latter gentleman was re-elected, he having accepted a place of profit under his majesty. On Mr. Lechmere being raised to the peerage, the Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage,* was elected, Oct. 25, 1721. He was opposed by George Reade, esq. who presented a petition against the return of Lord Gage, alleging that the bailiffs had objected to many legal votes tendered by the petitioner, and permitted great tumults and disorders in the town, which they refused to quell, and thereby prevented many other voters from polling for him ; but the petition was afterwards withdrawn. 1722. — The Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage. George Reade, esq.f 1727-8. — The Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage. George Reade, esq. In the fust session of this parliament, Thomas Reade, esq. petitioned against the return; lie renewed his petition in the second sessions; but eventually withdrew it. 1734-0. — The Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage. Robert Tracy, esq.t * The Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage was of Castle Island, in Ireland, and eighth baronet. He was created Viscount Gage and Baron of Castlebar, Sept. 14, 1720; he married first Benedicta Maria Theresa, sole daughter and heiress of Benedict Hall, esq. of High Meadow, Glouces- tershire, and by her had two sons and a daughter ; he married secondly Jane Godfrey, widow of Henry Jermyn Bond, esq. His lordship was steward of the household to Frederick Prince of Wales ; and was, in 1736, appointed governor of Barbadoes, as successor to Lord Howe ; but as he did not vacate his seat in parliament, it is presumed that some circumstance occurred to prevent his entering upon that office. He was chairman of the committee appointed to enquire into the conduct of Sir John Eyles, as a trustee for the sale of forfeited estates ; having been at great pains and trouble in that affair, and having acted with that honour, integrity and impartiality which becometh a patriot, he received the unanimous thanks of the House. His lordship died in 1754. f George Reade, esq. was of Shipton, Oxfordshire ; he was a colonel in the foot guards and brigadier-general of his majesty's forces. He was brother of Sir Thomas Reade, hart, of Tame, Oxfordshire. X Mr. Tracy was eldest son of John Tracy, esq. of Stan way : he was a trustee for Georgia. On his father's death, in 1735, he succeeded to the family estates, and soon afterwards retired from public life. 2 K 258 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. At this election, John Martin, esq. of Overbury, opposed the successful candidates : the numbers at the close of the poll were —for Mr. Tracy, 287; Lord Gage, 279 ; and Mr. Martin, 232. 1741. — The Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage. John Martin, esq. 1747. — The Hon. Thomas Lord Viscount Gage. William Dowdeswell, esq. 1754. — John Martin, jun. esq. Nicholson Calvert, esq. Lord Gage, and his son, the Hon. Lieut.-Colonel Gage,* were candidates at this election, and presented a petition against the return. Lord Gage dying soon afterwards, his son obtained leave of the House to withdraw the petition, Jan. 1755. At the close of the poll, the numbers were — for Mr. Calvert, 252 ; Mr. Martin, 246; Lord Gage, 117; and Colonel Gage, 94. Immediately after the election, Lord Gage published a pam- phlet, entitled " A Letter to the Gentlemen, Clergy, and others, Voters for the Borough of Tewkesbury:" this was a remonstrance on an illegal association of the electors to sell their votes to mend their roads. 17G1. — Nicholson Calvert, esq. Sir William Codrington, bart. 1768. — Nicholson Calvert, esq. Sir William Codrington, bart. 1774. — Sir William Codrington, bart. Joseph Martin, esq. .James Martin, esq. was elected in 1776, on the death of his brother Joseph. It appears that Nicholas Hyett, esq. of Painswick, was anxious that his son should have been returned for this borough at the general election in 1774.f * He was the Viscount's Ifccond son, and was a general and commander- in-chief of his majesty's forces in North America. He died in 1788, leaving eleven children, of whom Henry became third Viscount Gage. f A curious letter, on this subject, written to Mr. Barrow, (afterwards Sir Charles Barrow, bart.) of Highgrove, M. P. for the city of Gloucester, is in the possession of George Worrall Counsel, esq. who has, with his accustomed kindness, freely permitted a copy of it to be here inserted. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 259 1 780. — Sir William Codrington, bart. James Martin, esq. 1784. — Sir William Codrington, bart. James Martin, esq. John Embury, esq. of Twyning, formerly of Lincoln's Inn, having without effect endeavoured to induce the corporation to nominate Thomas Dowdeswell, esq. or some other fit person, in lieu of Sir William Codrington, at length offered himself as a candidate. The polling continued two days, at the close of which Mr. Embury resigned, and the numbers were — Mr. Martin, 266 ; Sir Wm. Codrington, 210 ; and Mr. Embury, 150. Objections having been made, at the commencement of the election, to voters who had recently become possessed of tene- Whcn it is remembered that Mr. Hyett was recorder of the borough at the time he penned this letter, and that Mr. Barrow was then a member of the corporation, and succeeded Mr. Hyett in the recordership, — it appears tolerably evident that at least some of the members of the body corporate, at that period, were unable to withstand the temptation of a bribe ; they cer- tainly had feelings respecting the "purity of election" very different from those of some of their successors at the present time. " To Charles B arrow, esq. Member of Parliament, Howard-street, London. " Dear Sir, " [Gloucester,] April 24th, 1774. " The last conversation we had related to Glo'ster elections : excuse the liberty I take and trouble 1 give you in this. I am very desirous in any reasonable way that my son should get into parliament, as I think it would be the only way to settle him in England, and I believe he would endeavour after reputation if he was in the House. You know best what you design in regard to Glo'ster ; but be that what it will, Mr. Guise would be a bar to my son's getting in there quietly. Pray had you and he any discourse on the subject before you left the country? I fancy he wanted to speak to you about it. My intentions in this to you relates not to Glo'ster, but to ask you if you know any thing from Mr. Dowdeswell relative to Tewkesbury ; whether Sir Wm. is to come in there, and with whom. If they pursued their old schemes, and a certain sum would do, and that sum did not exceed £.1500, I should be willing to stretch as far as that ; and I believe my son would be more likely to join in party matters with Dowdeswell and friends than perhaps I might: but he is not to be biassed by me; sons think themselves much wiser than their parents. As your stay may be short in town, I write ; and if you can conveniently give me an answer, shall be glad, and will thank you for the trouble you take. I hope you are not the worse for your journey ; and, with due respects, I am, " Dear Sir, Yours very sincerely, " Nich. Hyett." 260 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, ments, it was agreed that no freeholder should be allowed to poll unless the house for which he claimed the right had been conveyed twelve months before the time of tendering his vote. The returning officers, by the advice of Mr. Stratford, their counsel, adopted this resolution, in consequence of its being notoriously known that Sir Wm. Codrington had conveyed nearly one hundred and fifty houses, without any consideration money being paid, for the mere purpose of creating votes ; and that Mr. Embury and his friends had by similar means obtained between fifty and sixty supporters. The usage, antecedent to this election, had uniformly been to admit all persons to vote in respect of their freeholds, without reference to the length of time they had possessed them. 1790. — Sir William Codrington, bart, James Martin, esq. In consequence of the death of Sir Wm. Codrington, in 175)2, a strong contest was threatened. Wm. Dowdeswell, esq. then a captain in the guards, immediately declared himself a candi- date; John Embury, esq. again came forwards $ and the Rev . William Smith pledged himself for the appearance at the hustings of the late Peter Moore, esq. many years member for Coventry, whom he publicly announced as a "Bengal Nabob/ who would be content to expend the sum of £.20,000 or £.30,000, if he could apply it for the benefit of the electors of Tewkesbury. Mr. Moore himself subsequently canvassed the town; the society of Friends also introduced and sup- ported Thomas Lloyd, esq. of Cilgwyn, Glamorganshire, a captain in the navy. The whole of the candidates however soon retreated, with the exception of Captain Dowdeswell, who was elected to succeed his venerable relative, 1796. — James Martin, esq. William Dowdeswell, esq. On this occasion, there were three candidates, besides the gentlemen returned, viz. John Embury, esq. who, as in a former instance, declined before the day of election; Peter Moore, esq. who had for some years been courting popularity among the Jower classes of freemen and others ; and Philip HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 261 Francis, esq. (son of Dr. Philip Francis, the translator of Horace and Demosthenes,) who had been one of the members in council for the government of Bengal : he was afterwards created a knight of the bath, elected M. P. for Appleby, and distinguished himself in parliament at the impeachment of Governor Hastings. Party feeling and animosity were carried to a very great excess at this election, and the effects were not speedily forgotten. The hustings were erected in front of the town-hall, and the polling commenced on Wednesday the 25th, and ended on Monday the 30th of May; four hundred and thirteen persons voted. The following were the numbers for each candidate: Mr. Martin, 296; Mr. Dowdeswell, 296; Mr. Moore, 168; and Mr. Francis, 100. Messrs. Moore and Francis insisted that no honorary freeman had a right to vote, and that the charter of the borough granted the privilege to the whole of the inhabitants who paid "scot and lot;" and upon the votes of the latter being rejected by the returning officers, the unsuccessful candidates presented a petition to the house of commons against the return. The petitioners contended that the right of election was in the bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty; meaning, by the word burgesses, such persons as were entitled to their freedom by servitude or copy ; and, by the word commonalty, the inhabitant householders generally ;* * The petition of Peter Moore and Philip Francis, esqrs. stated, " That at the late election of members to serve in this present parliament for the borough of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, the petitioners being candidates were elected by a great majority of persons qualified by the constitution of the borough to vote, and ought to have been returned as the representatives of the said borough in parliament : but that the Rev. Joseph Robinson, clerk, and William Buckle, esq. the bailiffs of the said borough, presiding at the said election as returning officers, being particular friends of James Martin, esq. and Wm. Dowdeswell, esq. the only other candidates, conducted the poll with such undisguised partiality as to manifest previous combination and predetermination against the petiti- oners ; and that thus, acting and confederating against the petitioners, and aided by Mr. Samuel Whitcombe, the private election agent of Mr. Martin, called in by the said bailiffs as their agent also, under the appellation of assessor, not bound by an oath or any other check whatsoever, they the said bailiffs admitted votes in favour of their said two friends which HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. and the sitting members stated that the right of election was in the freemen, and in persons seized of an estate of freehold in an entire dwelling-house within the borough. The committee negatived both these statements, and determined that the right of election was in the freemen at large, and in persons seized of an estate of freehold, in an entire dwelling-house, within the ancient limits of the borough. They also declared that the sitting members were duly elected ; and that that part of the petition which related to the conduct of the returning officers was frivolous and vexatious.* It is said, that the committee were so equally divided in opinion, as to whether the right of election were vested in the freemen and the proprietors of freehold dwelling-houses or in the freemen only, that the casting vote of the chairman decided the question. — In this contest, freeholders were allowed to vote, without reference to the length of time they had been in possession, if they were bona fide purchasers of the houses for which they claimed the right; but in every instance the returning officers, by the advice of Mr. Whitcombe their assessor, required to be satisfied of the reality of the purchase. In 1797, Christopher Codrington, esq. (now Sir C. B. Codrington, bart.) was elected in the room of his cousin, they ought to have rejected, and rejected votes tendered in favour of the petitioners which they ought to have admitted ; and that by such and divers other corrupt and illegal practices of the said returning officers, and of the said James Martin and Win. Dowdeswell, esqrs. the said James Martin and Wm. Dowdeswell, esqrs. procured themselves to be returned by the said bailiffs, contrary to the truth, in defiance of the laws requiring free and fair election, in manifest violation of the rights of the electors, and to the great injury of the petitioners ; and that the petitioners protested against the conduct of the said bailiff's, and declaredly witli a view to ascertain the truth, and to avoid the necessity of troubling the House with an appeal, the petitioners solemnly demanded a scrutiny, while all parties were pre- sent and the public records at hand, as a certain means of averting much expense and trouble, but the said bailiff's positively refused it ; and that the petitioners, thus unwillingly driven to resort to the justice of the House, humbly pray he House to take the premises into consideration, and to grant such relief as they shall appear to merit, and to do further therein as shall be thought meet." * See Appendix, No. 34. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 263 Colonel Dowdeswell, who had been appointed governor of the Bahama islands. He was opposed by Peter Moore, esq. one of the candidates at the prior election; George Toilet, esq. now, of Betley Hall, Staffordshire ; and William Dowdeswell, esq. the then recorder of the borough. The latter gentleman relinquished his pretensions before the day of election; and the others, who grounded their hopes of success in a great mea- sure upon the supposed ineligibility of Mr. Codrington, soon gave up the contest. Mr. Codrington polled 134; Mr. Moore, 52; and Mr. Toilet, 11. Mr. Codrington's opponents asserted that he was in reality one of the bailiffs of the borough, and consequently a returning officer, although Mr. Jenkins osten- sibly filled the situation; and Mr. Moore, on this ground, presented a petition to the house of commons complaining of an undue return. When the petition came before the select committee, appointed to investigate its merits, it was so evident, even from Mr. Moore's witnesses, that there was no foundation for the complaint, that his own counsel declined to proceed further than the second day ; upon which the committee resolved, that Mr. Codrington was duly elected, and that the petition was frivolous and vexatious. Could Mr. Moore, on this occasion, have obtained a majority of freemen in his favour, it was his intention to have petitioned the House to set aside the decision of the committee on the last election, and to have confined the right of voting to free- men only. Previously to the arrival of the day fixed upon for this election, it was discovered that the bailiffs had, contrary to the provisions of the Act of 25 Geo. III. caused the proclamation to be made at too late an hour in the day; in consequence, the election was postponed, and application made to the House for another writ.* * The following are the proceedings in the house of commons, Nov. 28, 1797, respecting the bailiffs of Tewkesbury having inadvertently issued the proclamation for an election at too late an hour : — Mr. Bragge moved, that the precept and the return made by the bailiffs of the borough of Tewkesbury should be read. The latter stated, that the bailiffs, being ignorant of the clause in a late act of parliament, which 264 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1802. — James Martin, esq. Christopher Codrington, esq. 1806. — James Martin, esq * Christopher Codrington, esq. orders the proclamation to be made between the hours of eight and font o'clock, bad inadvertently caused tbe proclamation to be made between the hours of five and six in the afternoon. They could not legally issue another proclamation within the fixed period, and had not, in consequence, pro- ceeded to an election. He desired that a precedent from the 1st of William and Mary should be read, which, he said, was so far analogous, that in that case there had been no election; and the House, after examining the returning officer at the bar, had decided that a new writ should be immediately issued. If the House now wished for a viva voce examination, the bailiffs of Tewkesbury were in attendance for that purpose. He was of opinion, however, that the return which they had made was fully sufficient. He then proceeded, in a long argument, to shew that the jurisdiction in this east- was not taken out of the House by the 25th of Geo. III. That statute went only to enact the necessary regulation, in case the return was not declared, as in the memorable scrutiny fur Westminster, for fifty-two days after an election. But in this case there had been no election. No appeal could be made to an election committee, because no man could come forward to state an undue return. He moved " That the Speaker should immediately issue his warrant for the election of a burgess to serve in parliament for tbe borough of Tewkesbury." — Mr. Martin seconded the motion. — The Master of the Rolls opposed the motion. He said, this was by no means a clear case. It would, in his opinion, be improper to issue a new writ on the allegations which had been made. It was 'possible that a claimant might come forward, stating that he had hecn duly elected ; and that these men, who had made the return, were not the proper returning officers. He thought it more safe to leave an interval for this possible claimant, and therefore moved as an amendment, "That those who may question this return, should question the same within fourteen days from the return of the writ into the crown-office." — Mr. Pitt seconded and supported this amendment. — The Speaker doubted whether this amendment could be regarded as consist nt with the standing orders of the House. These were read, and, after some further conversation, the motion w as negatived, and the House adopted the amended resolution offered by the Master of the Rolls. — The Speaker thought it necessary to say, that though no charge of corruption, or of partiality, lay against the returning officers, yet their in- advertency or ignorance of the laws, was of itself a high breach of duty. It was necessary therefore to state, as a caution to others, that they had escaped from punishment only through tbe lenity of the House. * Some particulars of the public life of Mr. Martin are inserted in the Appendix, No. 35. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 265 Charles Hanbury Tracy, esq. of Todington, having' been invited by a numerous body of electors to offer himself in opj^osition to Mr. Codrington, the Hon. Henry Augustus Berkeley Craven was, induced to signify his intention of becoming a candidate, in case the peace of the borough were disturbed; and Walter Honeywood Yate, esq. proceeded to a canvas. Mr. Tracy declined to come forward, and the other gentlemen severally relinquished their pretensions before the day of election. 1807. — Christopher Codrington, esq.* Charles Hanbury Tracy, esq.f John Martin, esq. was a candidate, at this election, to succeed his worthy father ; and great spirit was manifested by all parties (luring the contest. The polling continued for two days, at the close of which Mr. Martin very honourably retired. The numbers were — for Mr. Codrington, 229; Mr. Tracy, 220; and Mr. Martin, 124. 1812. — John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq.t John Martin, esq. Previously to this election, Samuel Whitcombe, esq. of Gloucester, (who was shortly afterwards knighted by the Prince Regent,) avowed himself a candidate, in opposition to Charles Hanbury Tracy, esq. When the latter gentleman made public his intention of retiring from parliament, Mr. Whitcombe seized that opportunity of abandoning his views, which before this he had discovered could not be realized. He declared that, as he had accomplished his only object, which was the defeat of Mr. Tracy, he should not oppose the two new candidates. The friends of Mr. Tracy lost no time in publicly denying that he had been induced to resign in conse- quence of the threat of Mr. Whitcombe, though its improbability rendered a refutation thereof altogether unnecessary. When Mr. Codrington announced his determination not to offer him- * For an account of the Codrington family, see Apj>endix, No. 36. f A short pedigree of the ancient family of Tracy is given in the Appendix, No. 37. X For a pedigree of the Dowdeswell family, see Appendix, No. 38. 2 L 266 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. self again to represent the borough, the body corporate, and a respectable party of the electors, severally voted thanks to him, " for the manly, upright and independent manner in which he discharged the studies of that important station during four successive parliaments." The numerous friends of Mr. Tracy also, on his secession, unanimously agreed, at a public meeting, to present him an address, and a piece of plate of one hundred guineas value, "as a small token of the respect and esteem which the electors of Tewkesbury will ever entertain of his determined and manly exertions to stem the torrent of corrup- tion, and his zealous endeavours to check the wanton and lavish expenditure of the public money." A most elegant cup was accordingly presented, on the 30th of August, 1813, on which was engraven the following inscription : "To Charles Hanbury Tracy, esq. late M. P. for the Borough of Tewkes- bury, the undaunted advocate of civil and religious liberty, as a token of respect, from his constituents." 1818. — John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. John Martin, esq. 1820. — John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. John Martin, esq. 1826. — John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. John Martin, esq. CHAPTER XX. HAMLETS IN TEWKESBURY PARISH. THE MYTHE. THIS name is considered, by many, to be derived from the Greek word MvQos, which is suj^posed to signify remotely a station — the place being formed by nature for a strong military position. Rudge, in his History of Gloucestershire, says, "possibly the Saxon ClOyrha, which signifies the boundary, the limit, or the termination of a place, may lead to a more easy solution, since the reference is simple and obvious to a tract of land gradually lessening between two large rivers, and at length completely inclosed at a point by their conflux." That the Mythe was a Roman station, there can be no doubt: from this spot, the Roman troops could not only perceive any signals which might be given from their encamp- ments on the hills of Malvern, Bredon, &c. but here they were within view of a portion of the country peopled by the Silures, who occupied the banks and heights on the opposite side of the river. No situations indeed could have been so well selected as the Mythe and Towbury, for checking the incursions, and occasionally invading the territories, of that enterprising and valiant race, who for many years maintained the independence of a part of Britain against the skill and bravery of one of the most experienced of the Roman generals. The tumulus, on the south side of the Mythe, was probably thrown up by the Danes, for the purpose of obtaining a more 268 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. extensive view of the country, and guarding against a surprise. There can be no doubt, however, that the different powers who invaded Britain, subsequently to the abandonment of it by the Romans, occasionally entrenched themselves at the My the; for, in the infancy of war, a small army might have defended itself against the attack of almost any number of forces, if they approached this post by any other route than from the north. This delightful eminence, which is popularly called the Tute or Toot,* derives an additional interest from the repeated visits made to it by our late revered monarch, George the third, during his abode at Cheltenham in the year 1788. A public footpath to Shuthonger Common anciently ran over the summit of this tumulus, and continued along the edge of the field to Paget's-lane ; but for many years this road had been disused, and the right of way was exercised only as far as to the mount. When the turnpike-road was widened, in the year 1825, the path which led to the tute was destroyed, and the public were for a while deprived of their accustomed access to this charming eminence. The townspeople, at length, determined to assert their right of road from the foot of the Mythe Hill over the tumulus into Paget's-lane; upon which, the proprietor of the orchard, on the south side of the tute, agreed to yield up for ever a convenient footway; and the owner of the land, on which the mount is situate, stipulated that the public should continue to have access to it at all times. The inhabitants of the borough consented that the por- tion of the road, which led from the tumulus into the lane on the north, should be stopped up, and this was effected by an order of the magistrates, at the borough sessions in 1827. The expense of making the gravelled footway, and erecting stiles, steps and railing, was defrayed by a private subscription. * Probably from Teufates, the Scandinavian Mercury, who was wor- shipped on thi loftiest eminences. — Mr. Bovdes, in his History of Bremhill, observes, "almost every British hill, whose steep declivities rather resemble the shape of an artificial mound than of an abrupt and natural hill, is called toot or tout, and tout-hill, quasi tent." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 269 From this mount, which is gradually diminishing, from some portions of it occasionally rolling into the Severn, are from of the finest views imaginable : " Beneath us, in the soft and silent light, " Spread the fair valleys ; mead, and flowery lawn, " With their calm verdure interspers'd, allay " The forest's ponderous blackness, or retire " Under the chequering umbrage of deep groves, " Whose shadows almost slumber ; far beyond " Huge mountains, brightening in their secret glens, " Their cold peaks bathe in the rich setting sun. " Sweeps through the midst broad Severn, deep and dark, " His monarchy of waters, its full flow " Still widening, as he scorn'd to bear the main " Less tribute than a sea."* The manor of the Mythe belonged to the proprietors of the great lordship of Tewkesbury, until it passed from George Duke of Clarence and Anne Countess of Warwick to the crown. It was granted, by the name of Warwick's Lands, to Thomas Lord Seymour of Sudely, 1 Edw. VI. After his attainder, it again reverted to the crown; and was granted, together with the Mythe Hook, a meadow called Kingsmead, a fishery in the Severn and another in the Avon, to Daniel and Alexander Perte, 7 Edw. VI. The Mythe Wood, which was part of the possessions of the abbey of Tewkesbury, was granted to Sir H. Jerningham, shortly after the dissolution of the monastery. The lands at the Mythe are now divided among a number of proprietors ; and the manor is vested in the corporation of Tewkesbury. The Mythe is situate about half a mile to the north of the town, on the road leading to Worcester and Malvern; it is ornamented with the delightful seats of William Dillon, esq. Thomas Taylor, esq. Joseph Longmore, esq. Charles Porter, esq. Mrs. Piatt, and Miss Taylor. In this hamlet, there is a curious ancient stone structure, called " the castle," the property of J. H. Hampton, esq. * Mi&ian's Samor. 270 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. which is traditionally said to have been one of the residences of King John, and from this circumstance some persons have erroneously called it Holme Castle. It is not improbable that the house was erected by one of the noble proprietors of the Tewkesbury estate ; or by one of the abbots, as an occasional country residence. A late respectable antiquary* observes, "there is a similarity in the architecture to the abbot of Winchcomb's house; which leads to the supposition that the place in question might be the country lodging, or farm, of the superior of Tewkesbury." Some portions of the building are much more ancient than its exterior would lead a casual observer to imagine : the gable ends are comparatively modern ; and it is evident that the structure was originally of far greater extent than it is at present. There was formerly a chapel at the My the, but no traces of it remain. It might have been attached to the old dwelling- house above-mentioned. SOUTHWICK AND THE PARK. Southwick was parcel of the great manor of Tewkesbury in the time of William the Conqueror, and was taxed at three hides. Sir John Tracy was seized of the manor of Southwick, 37 Edw. III. at which period Robert le Pearl held lands there, and also at Gupshill. The manor subsequently belonged to the abbey of Tewkesbury ; and at the dissolution was granted, together with lands called Gosebuts, to Thomas Stroud, Walter Erie and James Pagett. A close of land, in Southwick, called Panters, w as granted to William Compton ; and other lands, in the tenure of John Jones, were granted to John Pope, 36 Hen. VIII. Lands, called Culverhouse, in Southwick, were granted to Edward Cooper and Valentine Fairweather; other lands there, called Deerhurst Place, were granted to William and John Read ; and lands called Walton Field, were granted to William Fitz-Williams and Arthur Hilton, 7 Edw. VI. * James Poller Malcolm, esq. See Gentleman's Mag. June, 1818. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 271 Tewkesbury Park and lands belonged to the Earls of Gloucester;* from them it passed to the crown, with the other possessions of the manor of Tewkesbury, and was long held under the king by the abbot and convent. From the time of the dissolution of the monastery, it remained attached to the crown until Queen Mary, in the first year of her reign, granted it to Sir Henry Jerningham and his heirs, under the title of " Tewxbury Park with its members," on payment of twenty shil- lings per annum to the crown for the tenths thereof, f The Jerningham family disposed of it to Richard Harford, esq. who sold it to Rowland Bartlett, esq. from whom it was purchased by Sir John Popham, knight, chief justice of the common pleas. From the Pophams it descended to the late John Wall, esq. lieutenant-colonel of the South Gloucester Militia, who was allied to the Pophams ; at his death, it devolved to his eldest son, the present Robert Martin Popham Wall, esq. who, after serving under the Duke of York, in Flanders, was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Oxfordshire Militia. Colonel Wall sold it to the Rev. Joseph Shapland, the present proprietor. * " There is a parke bytwixt the old plotte of Holme Castelle and it [Deerhurst], but it longgid to Holme, the Erles of Glocester's house, and not to it. There is a fair maner-place of tymbre and stone yn this Theokesbyri Parke, wher the Lord Edward Spensar lay, and late my Lady Mary." — (Leland, vol. 6. p. 75. edit. 1769.) "The manor-place in Tew- kesbury Park, with the park, was let by Henry the seventh to the abbot of Tewkesbury in fee farm, with the Holme where the castle was." — Gough. f In Archdeacon Furney's MS. Extracts from the Records in the Registry of Gloucester, it is stated, that " John Wakeman, last abbot of Tewkesbury, being seised as in fee in right of his abbey of a close called Horn Hill, alias Wardun Hill, containing eight acres of pasture, lying in Tewkesbury parish, and belonging to that rectory, which, together with the abbey, on 20 Apr. 31 Hen. VIII. were surrendered to the king, and which continuing to the crown 'till the reign of Queen Mary, was by her, 20 Feb. regni primo, granted to Francis and Henry by virtue whereof it came to Henry Jerningham and John Popham, knight, chief justice of the common pleas. I believe this was sold by the crown to Henry Jerningham and Francis , and Henry being the survivor, sold the same to Popham ; but the record is unintelligible. Popham possessor, 44 Eliz. All which, being- part of the abbey possessions, were free from the payment of tithes." 272 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The mansion, which is now denominated Tewkesbury Lodge, is, in Leland's Itinerary, called the "manor-place:" it is most delightfully situate on an eminence, about a mile from the town. There was an ancient estate, called Gupshill, in this hamlet: it is now divided into two estates, each of which has a house of some antiquity upon it. One portion belongs to Edward Ransford, esq. and the other to the widow of John Wintle, esq. both of Bristol. In old documents this place is sometimes called Gopishull or Guppishill, and has frequently been confounded, from its similarity of name, with Gubberhill, an old house, surrounded by a moat, in the parish of Twyning. It evidently took its name from an early proprietor; and in the reign of Edward the first it is described as Gobe's Hall, and a manor within the manor of Tewkesbury. A good estate, in this hamlet, is held by Mr. Edward Barnes, in right of his wife, the widow of Mr. John Dipper; and which, at her decease, will devolve to Sarah the wife of William Brown, esq. of Gloucester, niece and heiress of Mr. Dipper. Mr. Moses Yearsley has also a considerable estate, with a pleasant residence, at South wiek. Rudgway Farm is the property of John Cox Bower, esq. of Xewent. The other principal proprietors of land, in South wick, are the Right Hon. the Earl of Essex, the Rev. -William Bough ton of Blockley, John Gardner, esq. of Cheltenham, John Allis Hartland, esq. John Terrett, esq. Samuel Barnes, esq. and Miss Hartelbury. It is said, that there was formerly a hermitage in the Windmill Hill, on the Lodge estate, but no particulars of it are preserved, nor is its precise situation remembered. Spenser, in his Fairy Queen, thus beautifully describes one of those humble retreats : — " A little lowly hermitage it was, " Down in a dale hard by a forest's side, " Far from resort of peojile that did pass " In travel to and fro." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 273 In tliis hamlet stood Holme Castle, and here also was fought the memorable battle of Tewkesbury. There is a remarkably fine echo in the field called the Vineyard, to the southward of the abbey church. It is recorded, that Walton-Cardiff was once a portion of the parish of Tewkesbury ; and though we have no record to shew when or how they became disunited, there are certainly some reasons for concluding that the two parishes originally formed but one. From the early parish registers, it would appear that the inhabitants of Walton claimed right of sepul- ture at Tewkesbury ; here their children were also christened, and their marriages solemnized. It is indeed probable that, until their present chapel was built by Foulk Read, esq. the then lord of the manor, in 1658, there was no religious edifice whatever at Walton. Sir Robert Atkyns, in his History of Gloucestershire, published in 1712, treats Walton as a distinct parish, and makes no allusion to its having ever been joined to Tewkesbury. It is however certain, when a parliamentary troop of horse was quartered upon "the parish of Tewkesbury," in 1648, that the hamlet of Walton-Cardiff maintained its quota, jointly with the town, Southwick, the Park, and the Mythe and Mythe Hook.* In the register of burials, belonging to Tewkesbury, is the following entry, made in 1681 : — "Elizabeth, the wife of William Newman, of Walton-Cardiff, m this parish, buried in nothing made of or mingled with any material but sheep's wool, as appears by the oath of Susanna the wife of Richard Hall, of Walton aforesaid, and sworn before * In 1647, a cause was entered at Gloucester assizes, respecting the refusal of the inhabitants of Walton-Cardiff to pay rates to Tewkesbury. In 1649, the bailiffs and some of the other members of the corporation, agreed to indemnify the church- wardens and overseers, if they should distrain upon any of the inhabitants of Walton-Cardiff for non-payment of the taxations to the poor of Tewkesbury. The dispute appears not to have been then finally set at rest, for, on the 30th of March, 1683, it was ordered by the common council, that the chamberlain should take the charter to the next Gloucester assizes, to be produced on a trial between Tewkesbury and Walton-Cardiff respecting payment to the relief of the poor."— Cor}). Rec. 2 M 271 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. William Jennings, gent, junior bailiff." In the charter of King James the second, in 1686, Walton-Cardiff is expressly included within the borough of Tewkesbury, with this observation : — " be the same within or without the said parish." This would clearly imply that it had been at some time considered as form- ing a part of Tewkesbury. On similar grounds, the whole of the Mythe and the Mythe Hook, the former of which is attached to Tewkesbury and the latter to Twyning, is also supposed to have been formerly included in this parish. In Parsons's manuscripts, in the Bodleian Library, it is said, "On an old roll, I find Forthampton, Tredington and Fiddington, to be in the parish of Tewkesbury." CHAPTER XXI. ROADS AND BRIDGES. IT has been observed, that the condition of the public roads of a nation forms a tolerable criterion from which its state of civilization and prosperity may be determined ; wheresoever the roads are dangerous, the operations of trade will be im- peded, the value of land depreciated, and friendly intercourse straitened. The science of road-making has been little under- stood among the moderns, until within a comparatively recent period. The Romans were the most perfect masters of this useful art among the ancients; yet it has been noticed, that their roads " appear not to have been constructed upon the most perfect principles, in general."* Although the roads which were made by these invaders in this country were much superior to any which previously existed here, still it must be inferred that our British pro- genitors, who were " so familiarly acquainted with the use of chariots, and engaged in commercial pursuits, which rendered necessary a correspondence between the interior parts of the country and the coast, could not be destitute of roads, so carefully amended as to assume a permanent character."f That such roads were indeed found by the Romans, on their arrival in Britain, has been invariably admitted by those who have most accurately investigated the subject. The Ryknield-Street, one of the most extensive and impor- tant of the British roads, which began at the mouth of the * Whitaker's History of Manchester, f Introduction to the Beauties of England and Wales. 270 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Tyne., and continued its course into South Wales, is said to have run through Tewkesbury.* According to a very excellent map of the "Towns and Trackways in Britain, as they existed at the first invasion of Caesar," by that learned and ingenious antiquary, the late Rev. Thomas Leman, of Bath, — the Western trackway, which com- menced on the coast of Devon, after passing through Exeter and Bristol, ran on the eastern bank of the Severn, from Glevum (Gloucester) to Branogena (Worcester), and conse- quently must also have gone through or near Tewkesbury. The Romans, in forming their roads throughout the island, generally adopted the trackways of the British ; it lias therefore been said, that their principal road from the south of Wales to the north of England passed through this place, in the line * In the Rev. Thomas Leman's Commentary on the Itinerary of Richard of Cirencester, published in Mr. Hatcher's admirable edition of that work, the following is described as the course of this celebrated British trackway : " Ryknield- Street, or Street of the Upper [ceni, said to begin at the mouth of the Tyne, ran by C hester-le- S treet, to Binchester, w here it joined the Watling-Street, and continued with it to Catteriek ; then, bearing more easterly, it ran with the present great northern road to within two miles of Borough Bridge, where it left the turnpike to the right, and crossed the Eure to Aldborough; from thence it went to Coptgrave, Ribston, Spofforth, through Stokeld Park, to Thorner, Medley, Foleby, Bolton, Graesborough, Holme, Great Brook near Tretown, Chesterfield, Alfreton, Little Chester, Egginton, to Burton, and Wall (where it crossed the Watling-Street) ; thence through Sutton Colfield, to Birmingham, King's Norton, Alchester, Bitford, Sedgebarrow, Tewkesbury, Gloucester, Lidney, Chepstow, and probably by Abergavenny, Brecon, Landilo, and Carmarthen, to St. David's." — In the Introduction to the Beauties of England and Wales, Mr. Leman has substituted Berry Hill, Herefordshire, for Lidney and Chepstow. — In Gale's Essay on the four great Roman Ways, in the sixth volume of Leland's Itinerary, it is said, that part of the Ryknield.- Street "is still extant in the counties of Gloucester, Worcester, Warwick and Stafford. In Warwickshire it is hardly ] st through the whole county; and from Bid- ford, on the southern edge of it, it runs into Worcestershire, and taking its course through South Littleton goes on a little to the east of Evesham, and then by Hinton and west of Sedgebarrow into Gloucestershire near Ashton- under-Hill, and so by Beckford, Ashchurch, and a little east of Tewkesbury through Norton to Gloucester, from whence in all, probability it went to Oldbury, where formerly was the ferry or trajectus over Severn towards Caer-Gwent." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 277 of the Ryknield-Street. As, however, the invaders are known to have frequently shortened the distances in the roads of their precursors, by lopping off many of the circuitous lines and corners, it has been supposed, by some writers, that the Roman way from Gloucester to Ad Anionam* a lost station on the Avon, was made to run a little to the eastward of Tewkesbury, coming into the present Evesham road about Ashchurch ;f others have supposed that it ran near to Chel- tenham and Winchcomb, in its way to the passage over the Avon.t The Roman Road, mentioned in the tenth iter of Richard of Cirencester, which was formed in the line of the Western trackway of the British, and ran from Exeter to Inverness, is supposed also to have gone through Tewkesbury. § It appears to be generally admitted, that the Western trackway of the British, and the Roman road which led from Gloucester to Worcester, ran through Tewkesbury ; || but it is tolerably evident that the Ryknield-Street did not pass through the town, though it came into the parish. The ancient road from Gloucester perhaps went somewhat to the westward of the present one, at Deerhurst Walton, and passing along the low lands, towards Notclift and Whitefield, crossed the Hoo-lane, about three hundred yards from the present Tredington turn- * Dr. Stukeley explains the Ad Antonam of the Romans to be Evesham, but it is more generally believed to have been near Sedgebarrow. f Nash's Worcestershire. % Fosbroke's Gloucester. § Dr. Stukeley observes, that there was a road near the Severn, from Worcester to Upton, where antiquities have been dug up, and he conceives the town to be the Upocessa of Ravennas ; this road, he asserts, continued to Tewkesbury, where it joined the Ryknield-Street. A ford over the brook, which divides Twyning from Ripple, on the jn'esent Worcester road, was called Street or Strat-Ford ; and the bridge there is to this day called Stratford-bridge. " Sarn, Street, Stane and Stone (Strat and Stan when compounded) generally shew the course of a British or Roman way." — Lemon's Comm. on Richard of Cirencester. || Some remains of a Roman residence were recently discov ered on the estate of Mrs. Hill, at the Leigh, adjoining the turnpike-road, about mid- way between Tewkesbury and Gloucester. 278' HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY pike-gate. It then might have gone, in a straight line, near the farm-houses 9,% Southwick, to Lincoln's-Green ; it after- wards veered to the eastward, through Gupshiil, passing within a short distance of Queen Margaret's camp, near which it united with the old road from Cheltenham to Tewkesbury. It crossed the Swilgate brook, at a ford which is to this day known by its original appellation of Prest bridge, (from the Saxon pneop;, priest,) and proceeded to Rudgeway, (which is a common name for a British trackway ;) from thence it ran to Walton-Cardiff and Newton, where it united with the pre- sent Evesham road, about two miles eastward of Tewkesbury. It then went to Beckford, Ashton-under-Hill, and across the Avon at or near Sedgebarrow. Greater improvements have been made in the public roads generally, within the last fifty years, than had perhaps been effected in several preceding centuries; and the beneficial effects arising from these improvements are now universally felt and acknowledged. Turnpikes were first erected in England soon after the Revolution. The first act for the repair of roads, in this county, was passed in 1698, and very few road acts were passed earlier. Previously to that period, many of the high? ways were impassable with wheel carriages; and pack-horses were chiefly employed in the conveyance of merchandize and agricultural produce.* When turnpike-tolls were first demanded, the lower ranks of the people evinced great opposition to the measure, and a number of persons in various j^arts of the country were executed for pulling down gates and ill-treating the toll collectors. Several men were hung at Gloucester, about the year 1734, for destroying turnpikes near Tewkesbury; and three others were condemned at Worcester Lent Assizes, in 171)6, for similar conduct in the neighbourhood of Ledbury. * The fai mers in the neighbourhood of Bishop's Cleeve and Gothcring- ton, even within the last fii'ty year?., were compelled to bring their corn into Tewkesbury market on the backs of horses — their roads being wholly impassable with waggons or carts. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 279 The spirit of improvement, in this particular district, began to manifest itself about the year 1725 j* when the first act of parliament was obtained for repairing and widening the roads leading into and from the town of Tewkesbury.f Another act was obtained, with additional powers, in 1756 and at that * At a parish meeting, Jan. 23, 1725, it was resolved, that Mr. Conway Whithorn and Mr. Isaac Snook should he employed to solicit parliament for an act to repair the roads ; if the bill succeeded, they were to be paid their expenses out of the benefit of the act, and if it miscarried, they were to be paid by the parish. — Church-warden's Boohs. f Considerable opposition was made to this bill, particularly by Richard Dowdeswell, esq. of Forthampton, who presented a petition against it to the House, "setting forth that he had a passage or ferry over the Severn, called the Lower Lode, let for sixty pounds per annum, and prayed to be heard by council against the bill, which was granted." — Journals of the House of Commons. Mr. Dowdeswell appears to have had sufficient influence to get a clause introduced into the act, for exempting from turnpike-tolls all persons who crossed the Lower Lode Ferry, in their way to or from Tew- kesbury. At that period, there was a bridle- road through Deerhurst to Gloucester, called the "lower way, 1 ' which was directed by the act to be repaired by the trustees of the roads ; and on account of the heavy expenses to which the inhabitants of Deerhurst were subject, in keeping the banks of the Severn in repair, in order to prevent this bridle-road from being overflowed, they were exempted from toll at the gates erected upon such "lower way." t The following is the produce of the tolls on the Tewkesbury District of Roads, from June 19, 1760, to June 25, 1761, and is curious when contrasted with the present rental : — At the letting of the tolls, Aug. 20, 1829, they produced the following sums : Mythe Mitton and Bredon Barton-Street Hermitage Lower Lode Knightsbridge £.75 18 0| 72 15 5| 322 2 11! 97 18 1\ 13 14 9| 65 18 9i £.648 8 7| Mythe, Ryall and Strensham Gates Mitton and Bredon Crashmore Barton- Street and Isabel's Elm . . Todington Woolstone Hermitage and Lower Lode Knightsbridge Birlingham £.1320 266 96 550 170 280 1180 905 76 £.4843 280 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. time the utmost efforts were made by the trustees to bring the roads into a complete state of repair.* Several other acts for the furthering of this desirable object were passed during the long reign of George the third; the present road act was obtained in 1826. The roads in the Tewkesbury district have long been distinguished for their excellence. Great part of the stone, which is used in repairing them, is brought by water from the quarries in the vicinity of Bristol; the durability of this material more than compensates for the great expense which attends its conveyance from so great a distance. The pebbles, which are obtained from the gravel pits in the neighbourhood, are an admirable auxiliary to the Bristol stone ; and to a suitable admixture of these materials may be attributed the unrivalled state of the roads around the tow n. The road leading from Tewkesbury towards Gloucester has, within a few years, not only been shortened, by cutting off many of the angles, but some of the hills have been avoided, and others rendered less dangerous. In 1827, the 1 i ill near the Hermitage turnpike, was lowered; and by removing the extreme corners of the garden attached to the house of industry, and placing the hedge in the Gaston field further back, the road w as much widened for a considerable distance. The Worcester road has been recently w idened in those parts which were before too confined, and also rendered much less circuitous.-}- A most important alteration was made in 1825, by lowering and widening the My the Hill — a measure which had long been contemplated, and which w ould earlier have been effected, if the finances of the trustees had been sufficiently flourishing. * John Martin, esq. one of the representatives for the borough in par- liament, gave £.2000, and Nicholson Calvert, esq. the other representative, gave £.1500, towards the reparation of the roads. f Until * ithin a few years, this road branched off to the eastward, a little beyond Shuthonger Common, passed through the centre of the village of Twyning, and from thence returned to Brockeridge Common— making a circuit of three times the distance of the present direct line. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 281 In the year 1777, a sum exceeding £.300 was subscribed by individuals, residing in the town and neighbourhood, towards the reparation, of the Ashchurch road, which had been so long neglected, that it had become almost impassable. To this sum, James Martin, esq. M. P. added £.500, and John Martin, esq. of Ham Court, £.100. In 1792, many of the principal landholders, gentlemen and yeomen, in the vicinity of Tewkesbury, formed themselves into a " road-club/' with a view to effect a general improve- ment in the turnpike and bye-roads. By instructing surveyors in their duty, and strictly compelling parishes and individuals to discharge their respective obligations, the efforts of this society were attended with very beneficial results. In 1820, application was made to parliament for powers to form an entirely new line of road from Tewkesbury to Chel- tenham, to commence either at the market-house or at the Bull-ring, and to proceed in nearly a straight direction through Tredington, Stoke Orchard, and Swindon, terminating at Pittville, Cheltenham. The commissioners of the roads, at Tewkesbury and Cheltenham, feeling themselves bound to protect the interests of the mortgagees on their respective trusts, strenuously opposed the measure, and the bill was thrown out. In the ensuing session of parliament, the Tew- kesbury trustees obtained an act, empowering them to make a new branch of road from Gupshill to Elmstone Hardwick; at which place the Cheltenham trustees have engaged to meet them, as soon as they can obtain an act for that purpose. Should this project be accomplished, the distance will certainly be shortened; but whether advantages will be gained sufficient to compensate for the heavy expense, is more than doubtful. The bye-roads, within the parish, are kept in better con- dition than those of most other places; yet, if the repairs were superintended by an experienced surveyor, instead of being entrusted to persons annually chosen to the office, the business might be perhaps not only better performed, but executed at a much less expense. Bye-roads, which divide parishes, are often the source of vexatious litigation; and the 2 n 282 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. inhabitants of Tewkesbury have not been exempt from their share of this evil. The reparation of the Hoo-lane, which leads from the Gloucester turnpike-road towards Deerhurst, occasioned an expensive law-suit at the Michaelmas county sessions in 1812, when the parish of Deerhurst was ordered to repair it. The lane leading to Tredington has often been the cause of contention betwixt this and neighbouring parishes. A portion of it was for many years wholly neglected, from a pretext of the parish of Tredington, that it belonged either to Tewkesbury or Deerhurst. The inhabitants of Tredington have since had cause to regret their parsimony, for when, in 1828, it became nearly impassable, the trustees of the turnpike-roads rej>aired it, and immediately afterwards erected a turnpike-gate at the angle which unites it with the Gloucester road. Numerous bridges have necessarily been erected over the various rivers which encompass the town ; and some of them are not less remarkable for their elegance than their utility. The most ancient and important of these structures is that built over the Avon, the two branches of which are connected by an arched causeway; these, with the adjoining causeway from Old Avon to the foot of the Mythe Hill, extend con- siderably more than a quarter of a mile in length. It is impossible to ascertain at what period the earliest bridge on this spot was erected. John Earl of Cornwall, (afterwards King of England,) who obtained the manor of 'Tewkesbury, in 1183, in right of his wife Isabel, daughter of William Earl of Gloucester, built a bridge on this site, and gave the tolls of the market to keep it in repair.* The structure raised by this * " King John, beyng Erie of Glocester by his wife, caussid the bridge of Tewkesbyri to be made of stone. He that was put in truste to do it, first made a stone bridge over the grete poure of booth the armes by north and weste: and after, to spede nnd spare mony, he made at the northe ende a wodde bridge of a greate length for sodeyne lande waters, putting the reside w of the mony to making of the castel at Hanley on the inheritaunce of the Erledom of Glocester. King John gave to the mayntenaunce of this bridge the hole tolle of the Wensday and Saturday marketes in the towne, the which they yet possesse, turnyng it rather holely to their owne profite then reparation of the bridge."— Leland's Itin. vol. 6. p. 90. edit. 1769. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 283 potent earl, was probably of a very rude character; though Leland, the " royal antiquary " of Henry the eighth, who per- haps personally inspected it, declared it to be, in his time, " a greate bridge of stone."* Subsequently to this period, it became, through neglect, so dangerous to passengers, that, in 1621, Sir Dudley Digges, bart. one of the representatives of the borough, at the request of his constituents, applied to parlia- ment for an act to compel the county to rebuild it. The bill was so violently opposed by the members for the county and city of Gloucester, and by those for Bristol and Cirencester, that though it was read a second time and committed, the promoters of it were subsequently compelled to relinquish the measure. f The bridge probably remained in a dilapidated * " Ther is a greate bridge of stone at the northe ende of the town, and ther a litle above the bridge, Avon brekith into two armes. Yet the bridge is so large that both cum under it. The right arme cummith into Severne withyn a flite shot of the bridge, and at the pointe of this arme is the town key for shippes caullid Picardcs. The other arme cummith down by the side of the towne and the abbay : leving it on the este, and so passing harde ther by Holme Castelle, goith into Severne." — Leland's Itin. f The following interesting particulars respecting the Tewkesbury Bridge Bill are extracted from the Journals of the House of Commons, vol. 1. p. 609, (19 James I. May 5, 1621) :— " Mr. Langston : For the body of the bill. That Gloucester, a county of itself, extending seven or eight miles round about ; and, if they be left out, will have much benefit, some part of the said towns being within three miles of Tewkesbury. That therefore they may contribute. — Mr. Berkeley : That this bill against law and equity. By lawj all towns coi^orate to bear their own charge of bridges. That Tewkesbury standeth near three other counties, which have more benefit than Gloucestershire. That they use it not almost at all. That they are able enough to do it. Gloucestershire never yet charged with it. That they are able to do it ; for now in hand with a work which will cost £.3000. That they offer many wrongs to the county. — Sir D. Digges : Sorry the town hath offended this gentleman. No cause to desire an act of parliament, but that the act of parliament mentioned is against them. Not able. — Sir Edward Coke: To commit the bill. Commendeth both these two last speakers. There must be great cause to alter a law. He that hath the benefit is to bear the charge. — Mr. Guy : Not against the body of the bill ; against the clause to except Bristol, as part of the county of Gloucester; which no part. Not to have the extent into all parts of the shire, part whereof forty-live miles from Tewkesbury. Not to exceed ten miles from thence. — Mr, Wyld: For the 284 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. state from that time until the reign of Charles the first; at the assizes lor the county of Gloucester, which were held at Tew- kesbury, on the 2d of July, 1638, the court ordered it to be repaired at the expense of the county, the corporation of the borough stipulating", after that was effected, to keep it in proper condition. * The rapidity of the current of the Avon, at the time of high floods, has often occasioned considerable damage to the walls and arches both of the bridge and causeway. They suffered greatly in 1729, and again in 1747 ; at the latter period, the four arches erected over Old Avon, were obliged to be re-built, the town having been indicted, in consequence of their dangerous condition. In 1783, the bridge underwent further reparation; and the injury done to the bridge and causeway, in the early part of 1810, cost the parish upwards of £.1000. In the latter instance, the surveyors of the bye-roads, conceiving that the commissioners of the turnpike-roads ought to bear the expense of reparation, refused to interfere with it, until an indictment was preferred against them. As the nine-penny rate, allowed bill ; and for the extent through all the county of Gloucester ; that no part of Worcestershire to lie charged, because haye a great charge of a bridge near at hand. — Sir William Cope: against the committing \ — Mr. Robinson, contra. — Committed. ' ' * The following is a copy of the order of court made upon this occasion, which is extracted from one of the corporation books : " Gloucestershire. — Whereas there is a certeyne bridge, called the Long- Bridge, lying att the north-end of the towne of Tewkesbury, and leading towards the cittie of Worcester, conteyning above seven hundred yards in length, which is grown* into great decay, and so hath beene for many yeares last past, by reason whereof divers of his majesties subjects travelling that way have beene unfortunately drowned. And for that it doth not appeare who in the memory of man have repay red the said bridge, nor who by law ought to doe itt : Therefore, to the end soe necessary a worke should bee effected, it is ordered by assent, that the county of Gloucester shall forth- with rayse, by way of contribucion, a competent some of money towards the repayre of the sayde bridge, which being once effected, the corporation of Tewkesbury doth offer to keepe and maynteyne the same. Provided that the contribucion of the whole county with the parish of Tewkesbury bee noe prejudice to the county, nor drawne into example for the future.— Per Curiam.'' 1 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 285 by law, was found to be insufficient for the completion of the necessary repairs, a fine of £.600 was suffered to be imposed upon the parish, at the Gloucester summer assizes in 1810. This sum was collected, by rate, within the year. On this occasion, about half of the causeway, between Old Avon and the Mythe Hill, was widened and heightened. In 1823, it was proposed to widen and repair the bridges over the two arms of the river Avon, and also the arched cause- way which unites them. A specification and estimate were obtained from Mr. John Collingwood, surveyor of the county, from which it appeared that the cost would amount to £.1750. The inhabitants of the borough, thinking it equitable that the county should share in the expense of an undertaking which would be beneficial to the public generally, memorialised the magistrates, assembled at the Michaelmas quarter sessions in 1823, for aid towards effecting this improvement, intimating that a precedent existed for their interference, in the order made at the assizes in 1638. The county magistrates having refused to grant any assistance, the object was abandoned. In 1824, when the alterations at the Mythe Hill afforded a large quantity of surplus soil, the commissioners of the turnpike- roads offered to raise and widen the causeway, from the foot of the hill to that part of the road which had been improved in a similar manner in 1810, and also to introduce five large addi- tional culverts, on condition that the inhabitants of Tewkesbury assisted them with the amount of a shilling rate upon all the assessable property within the parish. To this proposition the parishioners cheerfully acceded, and the entire causeway is now elevated far above the height of ordinary floods. In 1823, an act of parliament was obtained for erecting a new bridge across the river Severn, at the Mythe, and for making necessary roads in connection with it. This measure had been frequently agitated during the preceding half century, and abandoned only in consequence of the difficulty of obtaining pecuniary aid sufficient to complete a work of such magnitude. The subject had been renewed, with some degree of ardour, in 1816; and again, still more warmly, in 1818, when considerable 286 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. expenses were incurred in procuring plans and estimates.* This measure, however unprofitable it may be to individual speculators, has already proved of much advantage to the town, by opening a new line of communication with Herefordshire and South Wales, and is susceptible of being made still more beneficial; it is a great public convenience, and extremely important to agriculturists and others, who reside on the Worcestershire side of the Severn. The excavations were commenced on the 12th of June, 1823; and on the 8th of the following September, the founda- tion-stone of the bridge was laid, with much solemnity, by Thomas Quarington, esq. the acting grand master of the pro- vincial grand lodge of freemasons of the county of Gloucester, attended by the members of that and several other lodges, the corporation of the borough, the trustees and subscribers to the bridge, and an immense concourse of spectators of all ranks. After considerable progress had been made in the work, it was reported that the foundations were not sufficiently sub- stantial ; and the trustees Mere induced to discharge their engineer and architect, George Moneypenny, esq.f * It was originally Intended to have built the bridge at the Lower Lode; by some the Upper Lode was considered to be a more suitable place; while many were advocates for the site which has since been adopted. The late John Ronnie, esq. the celebrated engineer, who came from London expressly on the occasion, was decidedly of opinion that the most eligible situation for the bridge was about midway between the two Lodes, connecting it by an arched causeway across the Severn Ham to another bridge, to be thrown over the Avon, between (jlloucester-placc and the Bowling-green. If Mr. Rennie's suggestion had been adopted, and propel economy observed, the shares in the bridge might now have been worth their original cost. f Mr. Moneypenny brought an action against the trustees, for the non- fulfilment of their contract with him. The trustees pleaded the misconduct of their engineer, as a justification for their discharging him, and for with- holding the per centage which they had agreed to pay him for superintend* ing the work. The evidence 6f Mr. Telford, however, tended to prove that the first foundation was sufficient for a bridge of three arches, though not for a bridge of one arch. Mr. Moneypenny accordingly recovered £.750 damage*, subject to a deduction of £.000 which he had subscribed towards the erection of the bridge. He subsequently, on an appeal to the court of chancery, recovered his costs in the suit, which, with the expenses incurred by the trustees, amounted to upwards of £.300 more. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 287 In December, 1823, they obtained the able assistance of Thomas Telford, esq. to whom the editor is indebted for the following accurate description of a structure, which will be a lasting monument to the fame of the " President of the Insti- tution of Civil Engineers." " Upon examining the site of the bridge, which is about half a mile north of the town, and immediately south of the Mythe Hill, I found that, as far as regarded the river and approaches, the situation was judiciously selected ; but after having had the nature of the river bottom and its banks ascertained by boring, I could not approve of the plan of having three arches, which had been adopted, and partly proceeded with ; because I had found the bottom to consist of soft alluvial matter, which rendered the placing two piers in the navigable channel very objectionable. Finding that the whole breadth of water- way might be spanned by an arch of one hundred and seventy feet, and so to leave the whole free from impediment, and that the structure would also be less liable to be injured by the numerous vessels which navigate the Severn; having also ascer- tained that this would be accomplished for a sum not exceeding that of three arches, which had been contracted for; I stated these matters to the trustees, and they approved of the design of one arch, which I presented on the 23d of March, 1823. " The span of this cast-iron arch is one hundred and seventy feet, the rise or versed sine seventeen feet or one- tenth of the span. The breadth is twenty-four feet between the bases of the railing, and this breadth is divided into seventeen feet for the driving way, and three feet six inches for a foot-path on each side. The roads of approach, on each side, are thirty feet in width. The foundations of masonry abutments are laid nineteen feet six inches below the spring- ing of the arch, and are there placed upon bearing piles, of twenty-one feet in length, covered with timber framing, planking and sheeting piles. These abutments are twenty feet in thickness, and are connected with the extremity of the wings by arches of twenty feet span. 288 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. " The iron-work consists of six main ribs, each three feet in depth ; the two outer ribs are each two inches and a half, and the four interior ones each two inches in thickness. These six ribs are cast in lengths of twenty-two feet, and connected by cross plates, also three feet in depth and two inches in thick- ness ; they stand upon abutments — springing' plates three feet in breadth and four inches in thickness, and they are connected by grated plates, one inch in thickness, laid over the whole of them. Upon these six ribs, thus connected, as one frame, are placed the lozenge pillars which support the road-way; these are connected by wrought-iron ties, of one inch and a half diameter, passed through hollow cast-iron tubes ; these tubes having flanches at each set of lozenges, to keep them in a perpendicular position, while the aforesaid wrought-iron bars or ties, passing through the whole, are screwed at the extremities to secure the pipes in their places. In order still farther to preserve the whole, as a frame, in a proper position, diagonal braces are introduced. Upon the lozenges, thus secured, are placed the bearers of the road-way plates, one of them over each of the six sets of ribs and lozenges ; and upon these rest the plates which support the road-way, which are one inch in thickness, with flanches four inches in depth, and all screwed together. Upon the road-way plates are placed the skirting plates, which keep up the gravel, and also receive the common railing, and are secured by the main bars of the rail- ing, which are two inches and a half and one inch and a half square, and have feet, eighteen inches in length, screwed to the road-way plates. " The shape of the railing, and also the general appearance of the whole iron -work, will be best seen by the accompanying engraving. " The masonry is carried up solid to three feet above the level of the springing of the great arch ; at this height is intro- duced a series of open arches, in place of having solid masonry. I was led to this from having observed, in all the other cast- iron bridges, constructed under my direction, that the great mass of solid masonry in the wings did not accord w ell with HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 289 the openness of the iron-work; these arches are also of use when the floods rise more than three feet above the springing : and as this is the first instance in which this mode has been adopted, as well as some other improvements, I reckon this the handsomest bridge which has been built under my direction. " Upon the road-way plates there is laid a coating of clay, — four inches, well rammed ; upon this is a bed of five inches of broken stone, of such quality as is procured in the neigh- bourhood ; the top or last layer consists of best Bristol lime- stone, five inches in thickness, broken into pieces which will pass, in their longest dimensions, through a ring of two inches and a half diameter: the whole making fourteen inches in thickness. " Each foot-path is three feet six inches broad, including a curb stone, eighteen inches in depth and nine inches in thickness. " The whole of the iron-work is made from the best Shrop- shire No. 2 iron ; cast, fitted and put up in the most perfect manner.* The stone-work consists of good Shropshire stones, of large dimensions, brought down the river; and the mortar is made from Aberddaw pebbles, which are allowed to be the best of any for works of this description. f " The approaches to the bridge being over low flat ground, which is frequently covered with floods, is therefore embanked to a considerable height, the top of which is thirty feet in width, with side slopes of one and a half horizontal to one perpendicular. The road-way is made in the same manner as described for the bridge, and is well protected on each side. In order to pass the flood water, there are nine land * The iron-work was cast and erected by Mr. William Hazledine, of Shrewsbury, whose punctuality and honourable conduct, in this under- taking, justly obtained for him the unqualified approbation of the trustees. The weight of the cast-iron used in this bridge was upwards of three hundred tons, and that of the wrought-iron was more than six tons. f Every part of the stone-work is neatly tooled on the outer face, exhibiting a fine specimen of masonry, highly creditable to Mr. Hugh M'Intosh, the contractor for the stone-work and embankments. 2 O •290 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. arches of twelve feet span, besides two culverts, each of three feet diameter. " The toll-house and gates are constructed in a suitable style to the bridge. " Looking therefore to this bridge, over such a fine navigable river, passing through a beautiful valley, at a proper distance from an ancient town, with its immediately adjacent scenery, and having the Malvern Hills in the distance, it seems not pre- suming too much to assert, that the picture will not suffer by comparison with any other which can be selected. " The agreements for my plan were made on the 23d of March, 1823, and my certificate that Mr. MTntosh had com- pleted his contract, is dated the 8th of April, 1826. " London, 29th July, 1828 - " THOMAS TELFORD." In consequence, as it was alleged, of the persons who were originally employed, having neglected to make themselves sufficiently acquainted with the nature of the bed of the river; as well as from their erroneous estimates of the expense of making the roads ; and entirely omitting in their specifications many works which were essentially necessary to perfect the undertaking; it was found, long before the bridge was finished, that the subscriptions* were inadequate, and that a large addi- tional sum of money would be required to complete the work. It was therefore determined, in 1825, immediately to obtain another act of parliament, with additional powers ; but owing to the non-observance of some of the standing orders of the house of commons, the application was necessarily delayed. In this emergency, a public-spirited individual, (Thomas Taylor, esq. of the My the,) agreed to advance the whole of the money which was required to complete the bridge and roads, on condi- tion that the subscribers would consent to his having a priority of payment, both of principal and interest; and that the trustees * The whole of the subscriptions amounted to £.20,400 (in shares of £.100 each). Only £.18,900 was received, the remainder being lost through the incompetency of some of the subscribers to pay the instalments of £.10 per cent, when they became due. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 291 would apply to parliament, in the ensuing session, for an act to confirm the guarantee thus to be given to him by the subscribers.* A new act was accordingly obtained, in the following year ; and the bridge was opened for passengers on the 12th of May, 1826. The total cost of the bridge, with its approaches and roads, was upwards of £.35,000, though the original estimate was only £.20,700, which was the amount allowed to be raised by subscription under the powers of the first act of parliament. More than £.5500 was expended in procuring acts of parlia- ment, and in legal proceedings; £.1650 was paid for the Upper Lode Ferry; and £.1031. 17s. for the purchase of land; Mr. M'Intosh's contract for masonry, embankments, fencing, and extra work, amounted to £.15,297. 13s.; Mr. Hazledine's, for iron, &c. to £.4539. 10s.; and Mr. Marson's, for the roads, &c. to £.5872. 12 s. lid.; Mr. Moneypenny's account, as engineer, was £.750. ; and Mr. Telford's, £.250. The drive from Tewkesbury to Ledbury is extremely plea- sant and beautiful : the road was at first admirably formed, and has since been kept in excellent order. f The numerous villages, which skirt the sides of the road, present many picturesque and enlivening features ; the varied and extensive prospects, which occasionally burst upon the sight, particularly in ascending the lofty hills, ranging with those of Malvern, are singularly grand and interesting ; and a view of the magnificent castle of the Right Hon. Earl Somers, at Eastnor, recently erected from the designs of the celebrated Mr. Smirke, would alone repay the traveller for making a circuit of considerable extent. A mere glance at this stately edifice would create * The amount of money advanced by Mr. Taylor, to complete the undertaking, was £.16,000; the interest of this sum, at five per cent, together with the principal, is guaranteed by act of parliament to be paid oft" before any of the original subscribers can derive any benefit from the income arising from the tolls. In September 1829, the total outstanding charges, exclusive of the £.18,900 due to the original subscribers, was £.19,440. Is. 9d. f This road was planned by Mr. John Allen Stokes, of Worcester, and is still under his able superintendance. 292 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. wonder and delight in the most unlettered observer; while a view of the site of the ancient mansion at Castleditch, with the beautiful scenery and venerable plantations which surround it, would awaken, in such as are at all acquainted with English history, many pleasing recollections connected with the honourable life of that illustrious statesman, Lord Chancellor Somers. A new and elegant cast-iron bridge, of one arch, was erected across the Avon, at the Quay, in 1822, and the avenues leading to it were at the same time much improved. The old stone bridge having become somewhat dilapidated, an act of parliament was obtained, in 1808, for rebuilding it. The completion of the project was however prudently deferred, until the tolls had produced a sum of money somewhat commensurate with the costs of the undertaking. In the year 1602, a bridge was thrown over the Swilgate, on the Gloucester road, which is supposed to have been wholly or in part built of wood, as it is certain that a draw-bridge was there in the time of Charles the first. This bridge was either re -built, or considerably improved, in 1635. A substantial stone bridge was afterwards erected, which was widened in 1757. In the year 1827, this bridge was again much widened and raised, side-walls were also added to it, and the causeway leading from thence to the town was greatly elevated and rendered much more commodious. A voluntary subscription produced £.200, and the surveyors of the bye-roads con- tributed £.20: these sums were paid to the commissioners of the turnpike-roads, upon their undertaking to make the required improvements. A stone bridge was erected over the Swilgate, at the bottom of the Gander-lane, about the year 1795, at the expense of the Right Hon. the Earl of Essex, for the convenience of his tenants. There had been previously only a grotesque wooden bridge, which stood there as early as 1602, for the accommo- dation of foot passengers. There is also a newly-built stone bridge, over the Carron, on the Bredon road, which was considerably improved in 1824. CHAPTER XXII. RIVERS ADJOINING TEWKESBURY. THE SEVERN. THIS river, which was called by the Britons Hafren,* in the Saxon language Saej:erine,f in Latin Sabrina,% is, in a commercial point of view, the most important in England excepting the Thames. It is navigable for vessels of large burthen for upwards of one hundred and fifty miles from the sea, without the assistance of a single lock. It is the longest river in England — admeasuring two hundred and twenty- five miles, a length greater by seven miles than that of the Thames ; and it is equal to any other British river for grand and beautiful scenery. * Baxter derives this name from ha au rian, which signifies queen or chief river, for such it certainly was to the Welch. — Gloss. Antiq. Brit. f Signifying " sea- flowing." — Nash's Worcestershire. % So called from sabr sand, sabrin sandy, because the river is often turbid, especially when swollen by the waters descending from the Welch mountains. — Bullet's Diet. Celt. — Giraldus Cambrensis and Geoffrey of Mon- mouth say that it was so called from Sabra or Sabrina, a beautiful virgin, who was drowned in this river by command of Queen Guendoloena, after the death of her husband Locrine, king of Britain, because she was the offspring of an amour with her rival Estrildis, one of the three daughters of Humber, king of the Huns, whom he had conquered. — Milton, who has so beautifully personified " Sabrina fair," in his exquisite poem of Comus, alludes to this tradition: " There is a gentle nymph not far from hence, " That with moist curb sways the smooth Severn stream, " Sabrina is her name, a virgin pure." Other particulars of the apocryphal history of the virgin Sabrina may be found in the Mirror of Magistrates, Drayton's Polyolbion, Spenser's Fairy Queen, Robert of Gloucester and Harding's Chronicles, and in an old English ballad on the subject. 21)4 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The Severn, which Hennius styles " one of the arms of Britain/' has its source in a small lake on the eastern side of Plinlimmon, a mountain in Montgomeryshire, a short dis- tance from the head of the Wye ;* from whence it runs with a swift current, and, being' joined by many lesser torrents, shortly afterwards appears a considerable stream. Passing by Llanydlos, Newtown and Powis Castle, it becomes navigable at Welchpool, where it is joined by the river Yirniew. Not long afterwards it enters the great plain of Shropshire, and Many eminent antiquaries have acknowledged themselves at a loss in accounting lor the derivation of the word Severn. — See Camden, Lloyd and Pennant. — General Valiancy derives it from sab a division, and rami a word of the same meaning ; and hence, he observes, the Severn means a boundary river. — Malcolm, in his Antiquities, deduces it from sab, Gaelic for strong, or from saobk raging, and riari the sea. — Dyer, in his " Restoration of the ancient Modes of bestowing .Nanus on the Rivers, ^e. of Britain," says, u sab, sav, or .sec is water or stream, and rian the little sea; and hence the little sea stream would be a translation of Ptolomy's Sabrlana." After shewing in what manner from Smbriana the present Severn may have come, the same ingenious author observes, that its modern name may have been derived from the Gaelic, thus: — Sev is stream; and an, or its synonyme aun changed to am, means great ; thus the Sevarn, from the mutation of vowels now Secern, means the great stream. * Mr. Gilpin, in his "Observations on the River Wye," says, " it is a singular circumstance, that within a quarter of a mile of the well- head of the Wye arises the Severn. The two springs are nearly alike : but the fortunes of rivers, like those of men, are owing to various little circumstances, of which they take the advantage in the early part of their course. The Severn, meeting with a tract of ground, rising on the right, soon after it leaves Plinlimmon, receives a push towards the north-cast. In this direction it continues its course to Shrewsbury. There it meets another obstruction, which turns it as far to the south-east. Afterwards, still meeting with favourable opportunities, it successfully improves them ; enlarging its circle ; sweeping from one country to another ; receiving large accessions every where of wealth and grandeur ; till, at length with a full tide, it enters the ocean as an arm of the sea. In the mean time, the Wye, meeting with no particular opportunities of any consequence to improve its fortunes, never mak^s any figure as a capital river ; and, at length, becomes subservient to that very Severn, whose birth, and early setting out in life, were exactly similar to its own. Between these two rivers is comprehended a district, consisting of great part of the counties of Montgomery, Radnor, Salop, Worcester, Hereford, and Gloucester. Of the last county, that beautiful portion only is inclosed, which forma the Forest of Dean." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 295 proceeds gently onwards until it arrives at Shrewsbury, which it almost surrounds, somewhat in the form of a horse-shoe. It then passes near the base of the Wrekin Hill; and, after being united with the river Tern, descends into the picturesque scenes which environ the neighbourhood of Coalbrook Dale and Broseley. It then runs to Bridgnorth and Bewdley, both of which towns have risen into importance from the traffic they have been enabled to carry on by means of the navigation of this river. At Stourport, where a town of considerable magni- tude has recently sprung into existence, it is joined by the several canals which have been formed for the purpose of conveying the commerce of the numerous trading towns of Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, to distant places, by means of the Severn. After this, the river, augmented by the waters of the Stour, and various other streams, assumes a more im- portant and beautiful feature, as it rolls through a pleasant and fertile district in its approach to the city of Worcester. A little below this place, it receives the Teme; and its banks become more ornamental as it skirts the smiling villages of Kempsey, Severn Stoke and Hanley-Castle. It then runs close to the town of Upton, where there is a fine old bridge of sixteen arches, built in 1605; and passes within view of Ham Court, the seat of Joseph John Martin, esq. It afterwards separates the parishes of Bushley and Ripple : at the former place, J. E. Dowdeswell, esq. has an elegant and venerable mansion, called Pull Court ; and at the latter, the Rev. Fleetwood Parkhurst has a pleasant mansion and good estate. About a mile and a half above Tewkesbury it enters Gloucestershire, and for a considerable distance forms the boundary between that county and Worcestershire. As the river approaches Tewkesbury, the lofty Mythe Hill, with its abrupt declivity, is an interesting and prominent object; and the fine old abbey church, when viewed beneath the splendid arch of the Mythe bridge, presents a most beautiful spectacle. An arm of the river conveys vessels up to Tewkesbury quay; and, a little beyond the town, it is joined by the Avon and other tributary currents. The lofty plan- tations which encompass Tewkesbury Lodge and Forth ampton 296 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Court are here seen with charming effect; and the distant view of the shady landscape, in the neighbourhood of Corse Lawn, is scarcely less pleasing. About two miles below Tewkesbury it passes Deerhurst and Chaceley; and at the Haw, it rolls beneath a modern cast-iron bridge, of three arches — o~e of the many mementos of the folly of the late speculating aera. It then bends its course towards the capital of Gloucestershire, but before it arrives there, it is divided into two channels ; one of these winds its way beneath the West- gate bridge, and close to the walls of the city; the other takes a circuit to the right, and passes under Maisemore and Over bridges: these channels unite again about two miles below Gloucester. Shortly afterwards, it receives the Stroudwater canal, by the aid of which the important junction of the Thames and the Severn is formed. "It then becomes con- siderably extended, and, swelling into a broad aestuary, forms the principal ornament of its expanded vale. The cliff on which the church of Newnham is finely situated, commands its immense semicircle with admirable effect, while the Cots- wold range, terminating in the bold elevation of Stinchcomb Hill, bounds the vale to the east, and the undulating hills of the Forest of Dean close in upon it on the west, opening into various sweetly picturesque glens."* The Severn then, after uniting with a number of lesser streams, grows wider gradually until it receives the Wye and the Somersetshire Avon, when it forms the British Channel. Marshall, in his " Rural Economy of Gloucestershire," speaking of the Severn, says, " its aestuary is singularly mag- nificent, forming a channel, not unfrequently nor improperly styled the Severn sea ; whose banks, on either side, rise from the richest marshes to lofty and most picturesque mountains. Europe, I believe, does not furnish another river-entrance of equal grandeur. These mountain banks approach, and the channel contracts with the cliffs of Chepstow and Aust, but the aestuary continues ; and the country above opens into an * Skrine's Rivers, p. 229. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 297 extended vale, which widens as its length increases, until it receives the county of Worcester, almost entirely, within its outline ; then contracts, and closes with the hills of Shropshire and Staffordshire. A vale which, in richness and beauty, has no where perhaps its equal. Its banks, to the west, are formed by the Forest of Dean, May Hill, the Malvern Hills, and the hills of Herefordshire and Shropshire; to the east, by the Stroudwater and the Cotswold Hills, and by rising grounds on the border of Warwickshire, closing with the Lickey and the Clent Hills." This river is remarkable for its tide, which, says Rudder, " rolls in with a head of three or four feet high, foaming and roaring in its course, as if enraged by the opposition it meets with from a strong current of fresh water, which seems to con- tend with it for the superiority, clashing in such a manner as to dash the waters to a considerable height." This raging of the waters loses its grandeur, in a great degree, by the time it reaches Gloucester ; though the tide comes with considerable force as far as Tewkesbury, and occasionally higher. This contest between the waters is distinguished by the name of hygre, said to be derived from the French eau-guerre, i.e. water- war ; and is vulgarly called the boar.* The tide of this river, Sir Robert Atkyns observes, "swells not by degrees, but comes in a heap, occasioned by the mouth of the river opening to the great Atlantic Ocean, which pours in its tide with great violence, and the river growing narrow on a sudden, it fills the channel at once." The traffic on the Severn is very considerable, and is mostly carried on in vessels of two sorts : the lesser ones are * The hygre is not, as has been sometimes supposed, peculiar to this river : Drayton, in his Polyolbion, mentions a hygre, of the same kind, appertaining to the river Humber ; and Parkin, in his History of Nor- wich, thus describes the tides of the Ouse: "At the two equinoxes, and especially at the full of the moon in the autumnal one, such a vast heap of waters from the sea spreads itself upon the surface of the river with such fury, that it overwhelms whatever it meets : boats get out of its way, and the very water-fowls shun it : the inhabitants call it the eager, from its violence and rapidity." 2 p 298 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. called barges and frigates, being from forty to sixty feet in length, having a single mast and square sail, and carrying from twenty to forty tons. The trows, or larger vessels, are from forty to eighty tons burthen : these have a main and top- mast, about eighty feet high, with square sails, and some have mizen-masts : they are generally from sixteen to twenty feet wide, and sixty in length.* The conveyance of coals, from the pits of Staffordshire and Shropshire, to the cities, towns and villages upon the banks of the Severn, is one of the most important branches of trade which is carried on upon this river. A great number of vessels is also employed in conveying the produce of the Forest of Dean coal-mines to various parts. From irregular and unlawful modes of fishing, f the Severn has lost a part of its breed of river fish, and depends greatly upon such as come up from the sea, and return at stated periods. Salmon was formerly so plentiful in this river, that persons, when they apprenticed their children in places near its shores, frequently thought it necessary to stipulate that they should not be fed with this fish more than two days in the week. The Severn salmon has acquired a celebrity which makes it generally preferred to any other salmon. This fine fish is found in the river at all seasons of the year; they abound * Phillips's Inland Navigation. f In the year 1811, a society, called " The Tewkesbury Severn Asso- ciation," was formed, and a very large subscription entered into, for the purpose of bringing to conviction persons offending against the laws for the preservation of the fish, and for regulating the fisheries, from the Barley-House to Wainload's Hill. Similar associations were established at Gloucester, Worcester, Shrewsbury, and many other places on the Severn, and the salutary e fleets arising from them were soon discernible. These laudable institutions unfortunately became neglected by the promoters of them, as soon as their novelty had subsided ; and we no longer hear of illegal nets being destroyed, of unwholesome fish being burnt, or of un- principled fishermen suffering the penalties incurred by the breach of those laws which were wisely made for preserving the breed of fish. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 299 most from Lady-Day to Midsummer, and are then in the highest state of perfection.* When lampreys were considered the greatest delicacy which kings and nobles could introduce at their tables, f those of the Severn were in the highest estimation, and they still retain a portion of their former fame. They quit the sea, and come up the fresh water in the spring, and often weigh three or four pounds. J Eels are found in great abundance in this river, and espe- cially the young ones, provincially known by the appellation of elvers : these, if the season be mild, usually appear about the middle of April, when they sometimes cover the surface of * " They are called salmon pinks, from their smallest size to a pound weight ; a swing, from that size to four pounds ; a botcher, from four to eight pounds ; from that to sixteen, a gilleon ; from that to the greatest growth of the fish, a salmon." — MS. Notes of Dr. Jenner, in Fosbroke's Gloucestershire. f King Henry the third, in the twenty-fifth year of his reign, ordered the bailiffs of Gloucester to buy for his use thirty lampreys, sixty salmon, and two hundred shad, and to send them to Westminster on Christmas eve. By the same monarch, an order was issued to the sheriff of Glouces- tershire, forbidding any one to sell a lamprey at a higher price than two shillings, which is equal to a guinea at the present time. — (Tower Records.) King Henry the first died from eating too freely of lampreys, which, Hume observes, "agreed better with his palate than his constitution." The celebrated Catherine of Russia, having frequently heard the Severn lainpreys highly extolled, even in her remote dominions, expressed a great desire to taste them, and a quantity were potted and sent as a present to this luxurious empress. X Linnasus ranks the lamprey, the lampern, and the nine-holes or pride, under the same class, and terms the genus petromyzon. The lam- pern is not in such repute as the lamprey, though sometimes sold as such to the unwary : it is about the size of a man's finger, and differs from the other by having the posterior fin on the back rising up in a ridge or angle towards the tail. The nine-holes or pride is a lesser lampern, which is frequently found in many of our rivulets, and is mostly about the size of a goose-quill. Though called nine-holes, it has, in fact, like the lamprey or lampern, no more than seven on each side of the neck ; and the pos- terior fin on the back is level or even to the tail, without angle or ridge. This is the small fish winch Plot, in his Natural History of Oxfordshire, calls the Pride of the Isis, and since which it has been known by the name of the pride. They are said to suck the gills of other fish, and Linnaeus therefore terms the species petromyzon bronchialis. — See Pennant's Zoology. \ 300 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. the water, more especially about the mouths of the small rivers and brooks which empty themselves into the Severn. They are of a dark brown colour, about two or three inches long, and are considered delicious. Roach, dace, bleak, carp, flounders, trout, chub, perch, cod, shad, soals, shrimps, conger eels, and various other kinds of fish, are found in the Severn : many of these are, however, rarely seen in any part of the river, and some are never found so high up the stream as Tewkesbury. Some of the more gigantic inhabitants of the ocean occa- sionally wander into the Severn. Daniel, in his Rural Sports, states, that " in the Severn, near Worcester, a man bathing, was struck, and actually received his deatli wound, from a sword fish, Xiphias gladius. The fish was caught immediately afterwards, so that the fact was ascertained beyond a doubt." On Nov. 1, 1819, a pike-headed w hale, sixty feet in length, was left, by the receding of the tide, a few miles below Gloucester; porpoises are also frequently seen in the lower parts of the river. A sturgeon was caught near Tewkesbury, in 1701 ; a larger one, six feet live inches long and two feet three inches round, was taken between the Upper and Lower Lodes, on the 30th of April, 172-3; and another, seven feet in length and two feet ten inches in girth, w eighing one hundred and twenty pounds, was caught near Avon's Mouth, by lour fishermen who were dragging for salmon, on the 9th of April, 1829. The one w hich w as taken in 1725, having been landed in the Severn Ham, w as claimed by the corporation as lords of the royalty, and was accordingly delivered up to the bailiffs; the one caught in 1829 was landed in the Bushley meadows, and J. E. Dow desw ell, esq. the lord of the manor, having waived his right to it, the poor fishermen, by exhibit- ing it alive, and afterw ards disposing of it in small portions, cleared upwards of ten pounds. The sturgeon is more fre- quently taken in those parts of the river nearer the sea. The Severn is a public river, and the right of fishing in it is not restricted ; but the fishermen are of course obliged to rent landing-places of the owners of the meadows on its banks. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 301 During the summer months, the fishermen find, in the Severn, in the neighbourhood of Tewkesbury, large quantities of a species of coal, something of the culme kind, which is of great service to the maltsters and brick-makers. It is raised by- means of a small net, which is attached to an iron hoop, at the end of a pole, sufficiently long to reach to the bed of the river. The sand being washed away, the net retains the coal, which is found in pieces of the size and shape of small pebbles, having all their angles and corners rubbed off by rolling in the water — a proof that they come from a distance, and are brought by the rapidity of the stream. There is a very ancient ferry across the Severn, a little below Tewkesbury, called the Lower Lode, which belongs to Joseph Yorke, esq. of Forthampton Court. There was another, about half a mile higher up the river, called the Upper Lode, belonging to the Pull Court estate, but this has been dis- continued as a public ferry since the erection of the bridge at the Mythe. THE AVON. Avon is a very common name for rivers in England ;* there are no less than three of this name in Gloucestershire. This river rises near Naseby, in Northamptonshire, and ornaments, in no small degree, the delightful territory around Warwick Castle, as it flows beneath the cliff on which the lofty towers of that noble edifice are situate. It then glides through a beautiful country to Stratford, the birth-place of Shakspeare, and the repository of his ashes. Here the Avon becomes navigable, and proceeds through a fertile valley to Evesham and Pershore ; from whence, running by Strensham, Bredon, Twyning and Mitton, it flows to Tewkesbury. Here the line of the river has evidently been altered from its natural course, but at what period this took place is unknown. Leland says, * Bullet's Dictionaire Celtique. — The Avon is generally translated the river. Whitaker, in his History of Manchester, says, that it is the plural of Av, Gaelic for water. 302 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. that George Duke of Clarence, brother to King Edward the fourth, "thought to have brought Avon about the town;"* but whether he, or one of the many other noble personages who were possessed of the lordship of Tewkesbury, effected this object, it would be in vain to inquire. It is not improbable that it was done at the instigation of the abbot and convent, with the view of bringing so fine a body of water near to the monastery, since it is evident that the abbey mills stood on or near to the spot where the present mills are situate. The original course of the stream is now clearly to be traced, a little above the town ; and what is now called " Old Avon * formed a portion of it. Richard Earl of Warwick, contemplated making the Avon navigable from Tewkesbury to Warwick.f The frequent disputes between the proprietors of lands, near to the river, seem to have required some legislative enactment long before it was obtained, t This river was made navigable in the year 1G36, through the indefatigable exertions of William Sandys, esq. of Flad- bury, second son of Sir William Sandys, bart. of Miserdine, in the county of Gloucester; who built sluices at Tewkesbury, Strensham, Nafford, Pershore, Piddle, Fladbury, Cliadbury, Evesham, Harvington, Cleeve-Prior, Bidford, Wei ford and Stratford. On this occasion, a commission, consisting of the * Leland, vol. G, p. 50, edit. 1769. f In a MS. in the possession of the Warwick family, it is stated, that Richard lieauchanip, Earl of Warwick, (temp. Hen. IV.) "mynded to have made passage for boattes from Tewkesbury to Warwick, for transporti ng of merchaintdise, for the advancement of Warwick." * A.D. 1582, was ended a controversy of long standing touching the course of the river Avon, between John Russell, of Strensham, esq. and Thomas Handford, of Wollashull, esq. who, by stopping the stream to annoy each other, did great damage to the poor inhabitants thereabouts. The cause was; brought before the privy council, and by them recom- mended to Bishop Whitgift, to make up the matter between the contending parties. — Reg. Dec. ct Cap. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 303 principal noblemen and gentlemen of the adjoining counties,* was appointed by the lord keeper, in pursuance of an order of the privy council, with full authority to see that all persons, interested in any lands, mills, or other property, were fully recompensed for whatever damage they might sustain in making the river navigable; and the certificate or report of the commissioners was subsequently confirmed by another order in council. f In this patriotic undertaking, it has been estimated that Mr. Sandys spent upwards of £.20,000, which so much impoverished his fortune as to leave him without the means of supporting himself in a manner suitable to his rank. Lord Windsor, in 1751, obtained an act of parliament for the better regulating the navigation of this river, and for settling the rates of water-carriage. His lordship would have acquired more credit for the services he actually rendered to its navigation, if he had not endeavoured, by suppressing all mention of the efforts of his meritorious predecessor, to appro- priate to himself the honour which was due to the public- spirited and ill-requited Sandys. * The commissioners were Lord Viscount Campden, Lord Windsor, Lord Spencer, Lord Brooke, Lord Craven, Thomas Coventry, esq. Robert Barkley, knight, one of the justices of the court of king's bench; John Bridgman, knight, chief justice of Chester; Richard Tracy, Thomas Purkering, and Walter Devereux, knights and baronets ; William Russell, and Edward Littleton, barts. ; Thomas Lucie, James Pitt, John Rous, Robert Lee, Robert Peyto, Edward Underbill, Robert Tracy, and Robert Cooke, knights; William Smith, D.D. Rowley Ward, sergeant at law ; William Courteen, William Sheldon, Richard Cresswell, Walter Overbury, Humphrey Salway, William Barkley, and John Keyte, esqrs. f These orders are remarkable for the summary powers exercised by the privy council, and delegated by them to the commissioners. Sir William Russell, bart. was turned out of the commission, and was, to- gether with Richard Dowdeswell, esq. and others, commanded to appear before the council, for not acquiescing in the decision of the commis- sioners ; and Mr. Edward Pratt, of Pershore, was committed to the Fleet prison for a similar offence. Sir William Russell and Mr. Dowdeswell appear to have opposed the measure in consequence of the injury it occa- sioned to Tewkesbury — the corporation having always, prior to the altera- tion in the navigation effected by Mr. Sandys, exacted a tonnage upon all goods which passed up and down the river Avon, from which Mr. Dowdes- well stated that they derived a yearly income of £.200. 304 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. In the year 1825, a petition was presented to the house of commons, for leave to bring in a bill for draining", embanking and improving the lands on the banks of the river Avon, in the neighbourhood of Tewkesbury ; for repairing, altering and improving the flood gates, sluices, &c. and also for altering and amending the previous act. Numerous public meetings were held on the subject, but it has not yet been further proceeded in. The corporation of Tewkesbury are proprietors of the fishery in the Avon, from the mouth of the Carron until it unites with the Severn near the Lower Lode. The fishery in the Old Avon belonged to the Right Hon. the Earl of Essex, until his lordship sold it, with the meadows called the Hammocks, to Mr. John Moore, in 1825. THE SWILGATE. This little river has its source among the elevated lands in the neighbourhood of Bishop s CTeeve. After a circuitous course through the valley, it unites with the Turl brook, which runs down from Walton Cardiff. It then skirts the south side of the town, and discharges itself into the Avon a little below the Hermitage turnpike.* THE CARRON. This small river rises in the parish of Ashton-under-Hill, flows from thence to Beckford, Aston-upon-Carron, and Ash- church, and falls into the Avon just above the Long Bridge at Tewkesbury. It serves as a boundary, for a considerable distance, to divide the counties of Gloucester and Worcester. * Leland thus accurately describes the Swilgate : " Ther is a litle broke caullid Suliet cumming- downe from Clive, and enterith into Avon at Holme Castelle by the lifte ripe of it. This, at sodayn rayns, is a very wylde brooke, and is fedde with water faulling from the hilles therby." — Leland, vol. 6. p. 90. edit. 1769. CHAPTER XXIII. INTERESTING AND REMARKABLE OCCURRENCES. THE circumstances recorded in this chapter are for the most part such as could not with propriety be embodied in the general history, and which yet appeared to be too interesting", particularly to the inhabitants of Tewkesbury, to be wholly omitted. They are arranged in chronological order: the most remote events are principally copied from the Corporation Records, and from the Feoffees' and Churchwardens' Books. The precise words of the originals are in some instances pre- served, especially where it was thought a deviation would probably alter the writer's meaning. 1470. — A commission was granted to the Bishop of Down and Connor, to re-consecrate Tewkesbury church, it having been lately polluted with blood.* 1484. — A remarkably high flood, in consequence of the waters overflowing the banks of the Severn. Many men, women and children, with great numbers of cattle and sheep were drowned. f 1531. — The abbot of Tewkesbury appears, from the fol- lowing entry in King Henry the Eighth's Household-Book, to have contributed to the king's favourite diversion of * Magna Britannica Nova et Antiqua. — It is very probable that this date should be 1471, the year in which the great battle was fought at Tewkesbury. f Holinshed says, that "several persons were drowned in their beds, children in cradles swam about the fields, and beasts were drowned even on the hills !" that, for a century afterwards, this inundation was called " the great water," or " Buckingham's water," from the circumstance of its having prevented that unfortunate nobleman from passing the Severn, with the Welch forces, who had risen against King Richard. 2q 306 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. hawking: — "July 27. Paid to the abbot of Tewkesbury's servant, in reward for bringing a caste of launners to the king's grace, xxs." 1559. — The oldest register of baptisms, belonging to Tew- kesbury, commences in 1559, which is little more than twenty years subsequent to parish registers being first ordered to be kept; and from that period to the present they have been tolerably well preserved. The oldest registers of marriages and burials begin in 1595, but the most ancient of these are extremely vague and imperfect. 1576. — In this year was the free-school within the town began by the benevolence of the inhabitants, and finished in the following year, at the expense of £.16; of which £.8 was collected, and £.8 supplied by the chamber. 1576. — Mr. Whittington gave a silver chalice and cover, for the use of communicants in Tewkesbury church ; in 1618, Edw. Alye, esq. gave another silver chalice; and shortly afterwards, Richard Dowdeswell, esq. presented a large silver salver. 1578. — Most of the printed descriptions of Tewkesbury state, that, in an old church-Wardens' book, belonging to the parish, the following entries occur: "A.D. 1578. Paid for the players' geers, six sheepskins for Christ's garments;" and, under date of 1585, " order eight heads of hair for the apostles, and ten beards, and a face or vizor for the devil." * 1578. — A pestilence broke out in the town, before Michael- mas, of which thirty persons died in the course of six weeks. In the following year it again appeared, but by the timely attention of the bailiffs, in causing suspected houses to be shut up, "God stayed the plague," and five persons only died. * There is not, at present, any book in the possession of the church- wardens, containing such memoranda. If indeed such entries now existed, they would only serve to shew the probability of mysteries or religious plays having been anciently performed in our church ; of which no proof is wanting. The following item, copied from the accounts of the bailiffs of the boro igh, for the year 1584-5, serves to corroborate the statement in the text : " Laid out by them unto players, in wine to the justices, rent for their market-standing and to the clerk of the market, and in seneschal money, £.3. 15s. Sd. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 307 1582. — In Lent, Her Majesty's justices came to the town, and ordered the belfrey tower to be covered and furnished for a house of correction for half the shire, and committed the building of it to the bailiffs. 1583. — The quay was in part newly paved, at the charge of the bailiffs and their brethren. 1586. — In consequence of the scarceness of corn, and a dread of famine, the bailiffs and magistrates of the town abridged the liberty of buying grain, and malting was entirely prohibited. 1586. — In this and the preceding year, the town-hall was built, at an expense of £.63. 17s. Id, 15S7. — On the 19th of July, a very great and sudden inun- dation of the rivers occurred. Some of the meadows were unmown at Bartholomew tide, and a great quantity of hay was spoiled and lost. 1591. — About Michaelmas, the occupiers of a house in Tewkesbury were believed to be infected with the plague, which at that time raged greatly in London and other places. In November, in the following year, it broke out in Barton- street, but the inhabitants of only one or two houses were infected. In the succeeding April, it raged very furiously, continuing all the summer, winter and spring following, until the middle of May, when it entirely ceased. There were upwards of one hundred and fifty houses infected with this dreadful malady, and at least five hundred and sixty persons died of it within the year. No market or fair was held in the town from before Whitsuntide until All Saints, and many inhabitants forsook the place in consequence of the sickness. The towns-people were strictly barred from entering any market town, and forced to carry with them certificates of their former duelling. Numbers of the inhabitants would have perished, If well-disposed persons in the neighbourhood had not sent provisions and money to the poor in the town. 1596. — The town was divided into five wards, over which presided two high constables: 1. Bridge ward. 2. Church ward. 3. Barton ward. These three had each a petty con- HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. stable. 4. St. Mary's ward, with two petty constables. 5. The Middle ward, of which the high constables took charge. 1597. — Wheat sold for 12s. 6d. per bushel; barley, 8s.; beans, 8s. ; malt, 8s. ; vetches, 5s. ; oats, 3s. ; rye, 5s. and 6s. : these were excessive prices, considering the value of money. The citizens of Gloucester stretched a chain across the river Severn, in order that no vessel with provisions might pass beyond them. This remained for some years; but the inha- bitants of Tewkesbury petitioned the lords of the privy council, and the chain was ordered to be taken down. 1598. — The plague again made its appearance in the town, and carried off about forty persons. 1599. — The church-wardens, after Michaelmas, inte nding of themselves to build a battlement upon the top of the church tower, offered to do the same by contract without any common charge, and for that purpose did set forth three stage plays, played in the abbey at Whitsuntide following. They after- wards made a further motion for a church ale,* but that could * " Church-ales'' owed their origin to the " wakes." The " accustomed abuses" of these revels had been a subject of general complaint, long anterior to this period ; and it is a matter of astonishment that they should ever have been tolerated, after the vices and immoralities attendant upon them had become so notorious. Church-ales have long been wholly discontinued ; wakes have changed their character, and in some parts of the country are almost forgotten. Strutt, in his " Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," thus describes church-ales : "The church wardens and other chief parish officers, observing the wakes to be more popular than any other holidays, rightly conceived, that by establishing other institutions somewhat similar to them, they mi^ht draw together a large company of people, and annually collect from them, gratuitously as it were, such sums of money for the support and repairs of the church, as would be a great easement to the parish rates. By way of enticement to the populace, they brewed a certain portion of strong ale, to be ready on the day appointed for the festival, which they sold to them ; and most of the better sort, in addition to what they paid lor their drink, contributed something towards the collection." — Richard Stubs, in " The Anatomie of Abuses," printed in 1 59o, says, " In certain towns, the church- wardens provide half a score or twenty qi arters of malt, whereof some they buy of the church stock, and some is given to them of the parishioners themselves, every one con- ferring somewhat, according to his ability ; which malt, being made into very strong ale, or beer, is set to sale, either in the church or in some other HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 309 not be granted, except upon condition that accustomed abuses should be reformed. About Whitsuntide following the battle- ment was finished, and cost £.66. They also, with the help of others, joined in entreating the benevolence of the best disjjosed inhabitants, and thereby finished the free-school, by glazing the windows, boarding the floors, and making the galleries.* 1603. — No county quarter sessions were held in Gloucester, at Easter ; but on the nineteenth of July following they were held at Tewkesbury. 1604. — The plague broke out again in Tewkesbury. It was occasioned by some trowmen of the town bringing it from Bristol. Twenty-three persons died of it; all of whom, to avoid peril, were buried in coffins of wood. 1607. — A great controversy took place in September, about choosing a parish clerk. The matter was laid before the bishop of the diocese, and was by him referred to the com- mon council. 1607. — A large grey marble stone was discovered under ground in the church, thirteen feet eight inches long, three feet and a half broad, and nearly a foot in thickness. This was placed in the middle of the chancel, and used as the communion table until about the year 1730. In one of Mr. Gough's MS. it is called " the finest communion table of stone in the kingdom." A portion of it now forms the base of the font. 1607. — A severe frost began on 20th December, and con- tinued until 18th February following. Malt was carried to Bristol by land, on pack-horses, and a scarcity of coal and wood caused great distress. 1609. — In the time of harvest, the plague raged extensively at Southwick, Tredington, and Fiddington. place assigned to that purpose. Then, when this nippitatum, this huffe- cappc, as they call it, this nectar of life, is set abroach, Well is he that can get the soonest to it, and spends the most at it, for he is counted the godliest man of all the rest, and most in God's favour, because it is spent upon his church forsooth." * Tewkesbury Corporation Records. 310 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1612. — The bailiffs ordered, that all market horses, (which heretofore had stood in the market-place, to the great incon- venience of the inhabitants,) should be put into stables, and that the owners should pay one penny for the standings of every three horses, without food ; and one halfpenny for each horse that was fed. 1624. — During the summer, the town was again visited by a pestilence; but by the care of the bailiffs, in removing infected families into the Oldbury Field, where temporary houses were built for their reception, the malady soon sub- sided, and not more than twenty persons died. 1634. — In January there was the greatest fall of snow ever remembered; it was attended with BUcti cold and tempestuous weather, that many people were smothered and frozen to death in returning from market. 1648. — The summer was so cold and wet, that harvest was delayed in the vale until Bartholomew tide. Wheat sold in Tewkesbury at lO.v. rye at 8*. and malt at 6s. the bushel. 16-35. — Wheat was sold in Tewkesbury market, on the 2d of June, at 17f/. a bushel, and barley at 22r/. 1673. — On Dec. 22, there was so high a flood, that the water came into the channel of the Church-street, at the Bull Ring. 1674. — On Jan. 4, a violent shock of an earthquake was felt at Tewkesbury. Similar occurrences happened on Oct. 1, 1683; in 1727; on Sept. 8, 1775; and on Nov. 18, 1795. 1677. — From an entry in the chamberlain's book, on Aug. 3, it appeals that one William Tomes, of this borough, was attainted and convicted of high treason; upon which the common council, by virtue of their charter, ordered all his lands, tenements, goods, chattels and debts, to be seized upon and applied to the use of the corporation. 1684. — The old bachelors and maidens of the borough pre- sented a handsome silver flagon, weighing upwards of fifty- four ounces, for the use of communicants. 1687. — In December, the feoffees, or governors of the public charities of the town, were changed, in pursuance of the king's mandate. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 311 1688. — An expensive toll-cause, between the borough of Tewkesbury and the city of Bristol, was tried in London, and decided in favour of Tewkesbury. 1692. — The royal aid, for this borough, was £.347. 4s. 6d. ; and the poll-tax, in 1694, was £.207. 7s. 1706. — Mrs. Elizabeth Dowdeswell gave £.80 towards the repairs of the church; and in 1723, she bequeathed a large silver flagon, for the use of communicants. 1721. — In June, there was so high a flood, that boats were used in various parts of the town. 1723. — An officer in the army was killed, in a duel, at the White Hart, and was buried in the church. 1725. — Mrs. Ann Hancock left by will to the church, a large silver cup and cover. These were exchanged, in 1730, for two silver plates, for the offerings at the sacrament. In her lifetime, she gave a massive silver salver to the church. 1726. — Mr. Thomas Tovey, of London, presented to the parish the two fine folio prayer-books which are now used in the communion service. 1727. — This year was remarkable for the number of floods of the Severn and Avon; there were not less than twenty, some of which did considerable damage. 1729. — Many persons died here, in the summer, of sore throats and fevers : those who were thus affected, were gene- rally carried off in the short space of about twenty hours. 1731. — The Right Honourable Anne, Dowager Countess of Coventry, of Strensham, presented the finely-wrought com- munion table cloth and two cushions, which are in present use at the altar. 1734. — The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Gage made a present of a fire-engine to the corporation. 1739. — On Dec. 25, a very severe frost began, and con- tinued till the 19th of February. The Severn was so frozen, that loaded waggons and horses passed over it at the Upper and Lower Lodes ; and a whole sheep was roasted on the ice, above the quay bridge. 1743. — On Aug. 18, there was a most violent storm of hail at Tewkesbury: the damage sustained at the church was very 312 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. considerable; and it was estimated that it cost £.400 to repair the windows which were broken by it in private houses within the town. 1745. — On April 2, a barge, in passing up the river Avon, was carried over the stanchard, near the Long Bridge, but received little damage. 1770. — This year produced the greatest flood ever known at Tewkesbury ; it was occasioned by an immense fall of snow, succeeded by a heavy rain, which continued without inter- mission for three days and three nights. On Nov. 17, the water came up St. Mary's-lane and Gander-lane, and united in Church-street ; and on the 18th, it rose so high, that boats were necessary in order to pass from the Hop Pole Inn to the Mason's Anns. In St, Mary 's-lane, the lower stories of the houses were entirely under water, and many of the inhabitants were taken out at the chamber windows, with their beds mid furniture. The flood was also in the church, so that divine service could not be performed. Two houses, near the mills, were washed down, but no lives were lost. 1771. — On Oct. 11, the tide (lowed five inches perpendicular in the river Avon — a circumstance never before known. 1773. — In May, there was such an extremely high flood, that people feared a repetition of the scenes which occurred during the extraordinary inundation in 1770. 177G. — On Jan. (>, and three succeeding days, such a quantity of snow fell as to render the roads impassable. On the 9th, a severe frost began, and continued till Feb. 1, when such a sudden thaw occurred, as to inundate the neighbourhood, and the flood continued till the 13th of March. 1784. — Nearly four hundred of the townspeople signed an address to the king, expressive of their confidence in Mr. Pitt and his colleagues. 1788. — On July 16, our late most gracious sovereign, George the Third, with the queen, the princess-royal, and the princesses Augusta and Elizabeth, attended by Lady Viscountess Weymouth, Lord Courtown, and the Hon. Colonel Digby, during their residence at Cheltenham for the benefit of his majesty's health, honoured this borough with a visit — HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 313 the king and his attendants riding on horseback, and the queen, the princesses, and Lady Weymouth, in carriages. They were received with hearty acclamations from a large concourse of people ; and his majesty appeared to be highly gratified with the demonstrations of loyalty with which he was greeted. The royal party first rode through the town, alighted to view the tumulus at the Mythe, and expressed themselves extremely delighted with the prospects which it afforded. They afterwards inspected the interior of the abbey church, and were much interested with the sacred edifice. His majesty then mounted his horse, and returned with his family and attendants to Cheltenham. A general illumination took place in the evening, in honour of the event. — On the 24th of the same month, their majesties and suite passed through the town, in their way to and from the seat of the Right Hon. the Earl of Coventry, at Croome ; upon this occasion, a neat triumphal arch was erected across the High-street, near the Swan Hotel, which was ornamented with the royal arms and suitable inscriptions, and decorated with flowers and ever- greens. — The town was honoured with four other visits from the royal party, during their abode at Cheltenham ; in all of which, the monarch, by his agreeable and condescending behaviour, appeared in the most amiable point of view. 1788. — The close of this year, and the beginning of 1789, were remarkable for a continued frost of eight weeks. The rivers were unnavigable for more than five weeks. 1792. — On April 19, there was such a great fall of rain, that the water rose in the Severn to the height of sixteen feet within twenty-four hours. 1793. — The floodgate pit, at the quay, was emptied, in order to obtain the contents of a boat, laden principally with iron, which had been sunk about a year previously. 1795. — On Feb. 8, there was a greater inundation than had been experienced for many years, the water being nearly as high as it was in the memorable flood in 1770. 1795. — On July 1, provisions being dear, a mob of women assembled at the quay, and seized a quantity of flour, in order 2 R HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. to prevent its being sent off by water. Five of the most active of them were tried at the Gloucester assizes, and sentenced to six months' imprisonment each. 1798. — In April, during the heat of the French revolu- tionary war, the inhabitants of the borough formed themselves into an association, which they denominated " The Royal Tewkesbury Volunteer Infantry." His majesty's ministers, however, declined the tender of their services, inconsequence of the corps wishing to stipulate that they should not be required to go more than six miles from home. 1798. — On Aug. 14, the tide flowed in the river Avon, and carried a boat, laden with goods, a distance of more than a hundred yards. This was the only time, excepting in 1771, that the tide was ever known to affect this river. 1800. — Sir Richard Colt Iloare, bart. in his library at Stourhead, has a large folio volume of beautiful and accurate drawings in bistre, by .lames Ross, taken in 1800. They consist of twenty-nine of Tewkesbury abbey church, and one of Miss Colletts house. There are also thirty-three relating to Glou- cester, viz. thirty-one of the Cathedral and its monuments, one of St. Mary de Lode church, and one of the south entrance to St. Magdalen's chapel. 1803 — A respectable troop of volunteer cavalry, consisting of a captain, a lieutenant, a cornet, and sixty privates, was formed by the inhabitants of the town and neighbourhood. When the return of peace, in 1814, rendered their services no longer necessary, it was agreed by the corps, that their general fund, which had been accumulating during their service of eleven years, and amounted to upwards of £.000, instead of being divided among the members individually, should be applied to charitable purposes. To the Tewkesbury National School, Lancastrian School, and Lying-in Charity, one hundred guineas w ere respectively given, and the residue of the fund was presented to the Gloucester Infirmary. The officers of the troop were so pleased with this liberal con- duct of the privates, that they invited the whole corps to a handsome dinner at the Plough Inn, where this fine troop HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 835 of yeomanry assembled for the last time. James Martin, esq. was captain of this troop; Charles Edward Hanford, esq. lieutenant ; and Henry William Harris, esq. cornet. 1803. — A corps of volunteer infantry was established at Tewkesbury; it consisted of three companies, of sixty men each, with a captain, lieutenant and ensign, to every company. A sum exceeding £.600 was raised by a voluntary subscription, for the purpose of providing clothing for the privates. In 1804, the ladies of the town and neighbourhood promoted a subscription for purchasing a pair of elegant colours, which were presented to the regiment on Shuthonger Common, on the 9th of May, 1805, by the lady of William Dillon, esq. of theMythe; after which the corporation of the borough gave the privates a substantial dinner. This respectable corps was disbanded in 18()<^, when upwards of two hundred of the privates volunteered to serve in the Gloucester local militia.* 1805. — On Feb. 27, a serious disturbance took place at Tewkesbury, in consequence of the unpopularity of the inspector and surveyor of taxes. Effigies, representing the persons of James Hawkins, esq. the inspector, and Thomas Holland, esq. surveyor, were drawn through the public streets in a cart, in the manner in which criminals are conveyed to the place of execution, the church bell tolling as for a funeral ; the figures were then torn to pieces, and thrown into the river Swilgate, to signify that the persons thus represented deserved (hat fate; the church bells afterwards struck up a merry peal, to denote joy at their supposed death. At the ensuing assizes * At the formation of this regiment, the following were the officers : Captains. — Samuel Trucman, Thomas Vernon and Robert Bennett. Lieutenants. — James Kingsbury, Omwell John Lloyd and James Gorle. Ensigns. — John Terrett, William Smith and Thomas Dawson Lewis. During the existence of this regiment, the following gentlemen filled the undermentioned official situations : Major Commandant. — John Pitt Niud. Captains.— James Kingsbury, James Gorle and Thomas Andrew Holland. Lieutenants. — Thomas Dawson Lewis, Charles Prior, William Smith, Nathaniel Chandler and James Peace. Ensigns. — John Richardson and Charles Banaster. Adjutants. — Austen Baker and Nathaniel Chandler. Pay Master. — Wm. Smith. Quarter -Master. — Chas. Banaster. Chaplain. — Rev. William Prosser. Surgeon. — Benjamin Holland. 316 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. for the county of Gloucester, William Martin, esq. a most respectable wine-merchant, together with James Attwood, John Sash, and Henry Ricketts, labourers, were indicted for conspiring together for the purpose of creating a riot, and vilifying the persons and characters of two of his majesty's officers. Mr. Martin, after a long trial, in which Mr. Erskine (afterwards Lord Chancellor Erskine) exerted his extraordi- nary talents in his defence, was acquitted of the whole of the charges; the others were acquitted of the riot, but found guilty of endeavouring to bring the inspector and sur- veyor of taxes into ridicule and contempt, and of having used calumniatory and imp roper language respecting them in their official capacities. Attwood was subsequently sentenced, in the Court of King's Bench, to be imprisoned for twelve months, and Sash and Ricketts for nine months, in the county gaol of Gloucester. 1807. — In Jan. there was a remarkably high flood, occasioned by a sudden thaw : it was nearly as high as that in 1795. 1809. — On Oct. 25, the jubilee, to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of King George the third to the throne of his ancestors, was celebrated at Tew Icesbury with most fervent demonstrations of loyalty and attachment. The festival was ushered in by the ringing of bells, the shops were kept closed, and the body corporate, the volunteer cavalry, and most of the inhabitants, attended divine service. Five fine oxen, one of them presented by the Right Hon. the Earl of Coventry, and a proportionate quantity of potatoes and beer, were distributed among the poor. A large party of the most respectable persons in the town and neighbourhood dined at the Swan Inn, and a splendid ball took place in the evening. An appropriate medal was given by Henry Fowke, esq. the town-clerk, to the principal inhabitants and neighbouring families; and a loyal and dutiful address was presented on the occasion to his majesty. 1810. — At a public meeting, on Sept. 13, it was agreed, that a canal from Tewkesbury to Cheltenham would be highly advantageous to both towns; a committee was appointed in HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 817 furtherance of the object, but the expenses of the under- taking prevented its being- carried into effect. 1811. — A society was formed for the purpose of supplying the town with sea-fish ; but it was soon found that the demand for the article was insufficient to make the speculation a pro- fitable one. 1811. — A society, denominated the "Tewkesbury Prince Regent Survivorship Society," was formed. It consisted of twenty respectable individuals, who agreed to contribute three pounds quarterly for ten years, and at the expiration of that period to divide the principal and interest among the surviving members. Only one member died during the existence of the society. The money was vested in the funds; and at the division, in 1821, the nineteen surviving members received £.169. 18s. 2d. each. 1814. — During a flood, in the spring, the water was so high in the meadows and upon the turnpike-roads, that persons sailed in boats completely around the town. This had frequently been done in former floods, but the roads are now so mucli raised, that there is no probability of its ever being accomplished again. 1814. — On June 23, the day on which the proclamation of peace between England and France was made, every poor man in the parish was presented with a shilling, and every poor woman with sixpence. The money was raised by sub- scription. There was also a public dinner, a ball, and a general illumination. 1816. — On Dec. 5, a town meeting was held, to adopt measures for affording employment to the industrious poor, during a temporary stagnation in the hosiery business. The directors of the poor reported, that three hundred and six parishioners, who, with their wives and children, made a total of eight hundred and fifty -three persons, received weekly relief; and that of this number one hundred and fifty-seven were frame-work knitters, and others employed in the manu- facture of cotton hose, who were entirely destitute of work. It was therefore agreed to raise a fund, by subscription, for 318 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. the purchase of cotton ; which should, under the direction of a committee, be manufactured into stockings, during the winter months, by such parishioners as could not otherwise procure labour. Four thousand pounds was considered neces- sary for establishing a sufficient fund, and a sum considerably exceeding that amount was subscribed in a very short time, wholly among the inhabitants of the parish. When the manufactured stock was disposed of, the whole amount of principal and interest was returned to the subscribers. 1817. — On Nov. 19, the day appointed for the funeral of her Royal Highness the Princess Charlotte Augusta, daughter of his present Majesty, and consort of his Serene Highness Prince Leopold of Saxe Cobourg, was observed with the solemnity which the melancholy occasion demanded. No market was held; all the shops, ;is well us the windows of most of the private houses, were kept closed; divine service was performed twice in the abbey church ; the various dissenting places of worship were opened; and the whole population evinced such religious respect on the mournful occasion, as in no similar instance had ever been witnessed. On the following day, addresses of sympathy and condolence were voted to her royal father and her husband, on the severe loss which they and the nation had sustained by the decease of the " Fairest bud of England's hope." 1818. — On March 4, several tons of lead were stripped off the roof of the abbey church, during a violent storm of wind. 1818. — A society, called the "Clerical Association of the Vicinity of Tewkesbury," was instituted, for the purpose of discussing matters relating to the established church, and for promoting friendly intercourse and communication among its ministers. The society ceased in 1828. 1820. — On Jan. 21, the representatives of the borough in parliament sent £.100 each, in aid of the subscription for the relief of the poor, during a most inclement season. 1820. — Jan. 31, on the arrival of the melancholy news of the death of "our good old king," George the third, the shops were immediately closed and continued partially shut until HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 319 after his interment. Two days afterwards, his successor was pro- claimed, in front of the Tolzey, by the town-clerk, attended by the corporation, and many of the most respectable inhabitants. An address of condolence, on the death of the late king, and another of congratulation, on his present majesty's accession to the throne, were subsequently voted by the corporation. Similar addresses were also voted by the inhabitants. 1820. — The surveyors of the bye-roads, having filled up a newly-made trench in the Oldbury, near the gaol, adjoining to the garden of the late Mr. Olive, without having given such a notice as the law requires, an action for trespass was brought against them, and the damages and costs awarded to the plaintiff, with the costs of defending the action, &c. amounted to upwards of £.520. The surveyors having neg«- lected to call a vestry-meeting to sanction their proceedings, the parish refused to pay their expenses; but a voluntary con- tribution was made by the inhabitants of the town, towards reimbursing them their losses, in 1828. 1821. — On July 19th, the day of the coronation of George the fourth, every poor person in the parish was presented with a pound of" good beef and a pint of ale, excepting children under fourteen years old, who were allowed half the quantity. 1822. — At the Michaelmas borough sessions, an appeal was heard against the accounts of the directors of the poor, on the ground that many of the charges were illegal and excessive. The recorder presided ; and the judgment of the court was, that the sum of £.72. Is. 2d. the costs incurred by the directors in a prosecution for child murder; and the sum of £.8. 19.?. 2d. for the prosecution of persons for assaults upon the borough constables, must be disallowed, because the consent of the parish at a vestry meeting had not been obtained prior to the commencement of such prosecutions; that several items in the directors' accounts should have been paid out of a borough stock, and not from the poor's rates ; that the charge of excess had not been made out, and that therefore each party should pay their own costs. A parish meeting subse- quently ordered, that the above-mentioned sums should be 320 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. re-paid to the directors, out of the first rate that should be collected for the relief of the poor. Since that period, borough rates have been regularly ordered at the sessions. 1825. — From a survey and admeasurement, made in 1825, there appear to be two thousand three hundred and thirty -three acres of land in the parish of Tewkesbury. 1827. — In July, the large floodgate pit, at the quay, was emptied. This arduous task was voluntarily undertaken by twenty-four labourers, with no expectation of reward, excepting what might arise from the sale of such property as the pit contained. It occupied them ten days and nights, but they were very poorly paid for their labour. 1827. — New standard weights and measures were obtained, for the use of the town, pursuant to act of parliament : they cost upwards of £.160. 1828. — An union of the My the Brydge and Road Trust with the old district of Tewkesbury Roads was attempted. At a general meeting of the commissioners of the roads, the pro- position was negatived by a majority of fifty-four to three.* 1828. — An offer being made to light the town with gas, a piece of land, adjoining the rivers Avon and Carron, was purchased, with the intention of erecting a gasometer. The preparatory expenses however appeared so great, and the returns so uncertain, that the project was abandoned, and the land was disposed of. * The most strenuous opposition was made to this proposal by many of the trustees of the old distriet of roads ; particularly by Mr. Caddick, to whom the public is indebted for the most indefatigable and praiseworthy exertions, not only fur continually promoting improvements upon the turn- pike-roads, and guarding the interests of the mortgagees, but for assiduously aiding those measures which be eonsiders calculated to advance the pros- perity of the borough, or add to the welfare and comfort of its inhabitants. He published some judickw and excellent remarks on the subject of the union of the road trusts, and proved that, by acceding to the proposal, the funds of the old roads would suffer annually a loss of upwards of £.1700, besides contingencies. For the great and effective exertions of Mr. C. on this occasion, he deservedly received the thanks of his brother trustees. APPENDIX. No. 1. [Referred to in Chapter 2.— Page 23.] Liberties and Free Customs (/ranted by Robert and William, Earls of Gloucester, to the Burgesses of Tewkesbury. FIRST, every burgh shall pay \2d. rent per annum for all services; and every burgess may, at inclination, grant, mortgage, sell, or in any other manner alienate, any burgage of his own purchase to whomsoever he pleases, saving the lord's service : and if that burgage devolves by inherit- ance, his heir or heirs shall hold it ; and his next heir, at the decease of his predecessor, from whom the right ought to descend to such heir ; and lie shall have ceisin immediately, without making any exhibition to the bailiff or steward : and if burgesses should have two burgages, and wish to lease one of them, they may grant the same liberties to the lessee which they themselves enjoy; and if any one hold half a burgage in chief of our lord the earl, he shall enjoy the same privilege as if he held a whole one. Item. — The burgesses owe no suit against their will at the mill, or in fulling or dying cloth. Item. — No burgess shall give hcriot or relief for his burgage, but may marry his son or daughter, without soliciting licence from any one. Item. — Any one may sell his wood, horse, or any other article he legally holds, without licence of the lord. Item. — By whatsoever death any burgess may die, criminal punishment excepted, his wife and children shall have his goods; but if he have none, his next relatives. Item. — A burgess, if through distress of circumstances he is obliged to sell or mortgage his burgage, ought first, for a second or third time, to ask his heir to find him necessaries ; and if he refuses, such burgess to follow his own inclination. Item. — No free tenant of another lordship, if he have a burgage, is at liberty to take the cattle or goods of his tenant, extra burgum. Item. — Every burgess may brew and bake, without licence, toll, or custom ; and he may make toralls, dovecotes, and a horse or hand-mill : and if he shall have been summoned to the hundred, and shall have gone upon his own business out of the town, or be ready to set out, provided he 2 s 322 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. has one foot in the stirrup, and can bring two neighbours to prove it, lie shall be free. Item- The knights and free tenants shall be free in the hundred, and the market from toll, for all things sold or bought for their own use, unless they should be in trade. Item. — My lord, the bishop, shall be free concerning his demesn table, if his homagers pay custom. Item. — The templars, hospitallers, and monks, pay custom, unless they have a charter of Earl William, or Earl Robert. Item. — A cart, laden with corn or pease, shall pay custom j the buyer shall give for The said cart, to wit, one halfpenny ; a cart, laden with different wares, Id. stallage, to wit, a horse-load ; a seller of iron, who shall carry the iron, one farthing, to wit, for the load one farthing; to wit, for six pigs Id. and for six sheep Id. and for five lambs ] carrj any manner of victual, by the said stream, up nor down, for lord nor lady ; and that they would la w all to pieces the said trow s, and their goods heave overboard, if they came any more by the coasts of the said forest ; for w hich riot and rebellion there dare no person of Tewkesbury aforesaid, nor of the country adjoining, carry corn nor other goods in the said river ; nor sue to have remedy for such oppressions and wrongs done to them ; inasmuch as the said forest and hundreds, being large countries, and wild of people, and nigh adjoin- ing to AVales ; and all the commons of the said forest and hundreds being of one affinity in malice and riot, setting no prize by the law, nor by the officers, nor by the ministei thereof; nor caring for the process nor the punishment of the law of the land, insomuch that they will not obey any minister of the law, nor the execution thereof but at their own lust ; nor the officers nor the ministers of the law of the raid county in any wise dare come within the said forest, or execute any matter or process of law against the will or intent of the commons of the said forest and hundreds. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 327 Please it therefore, our said sovereign lord, by the advice and assent of all the lords spiritual and temporal in this present parliament assembled, con- sidering the mischiefs aforesaid, and the inconvenience that is likely to fall thereof ; to ordain, by authority of this present parliament, that in every such case to come, or within the year last past, as follows : — The sheriff of the said county, or the bailiffs of the town of Gloucester for the time being, or one of them, on pain of forfeiture of £.20 to be levied of their lands, goods and chattels to the king's use, to make proclamation at Glou- cester aforesaid, within four days next after notice made to them or to any of them by the said persons so wronged, and the trespasses done, that the said trespassers restore in the same town of Gloucester within fifteen days after the said proclamation, to the said parties so wronged, their said corn and merchandise, goods and chattels so taken, or the very value of them, with reasonable amends for their harms of such taking. After proclama- tion, if the said trespassers restore not the said corn, merchandise, goods or chattels, or the value of them, to the parties so aggrieved, in the form abovesaid, with reasonable amends for their harms; or if the said tres- passers be not brought to your prison, to the castle of Gloucester, for the said trespasses, by the officers of the said forest and hundreds, or by the commonalties of the same, to be demeaned in such case by the king and his council ; that then by consideration of the statute of Winchester set for the robbery of any person, which sueth an action for him that is robbed, against the hundred within which the said robbery be done, after the form of the said statute, the same commonalties be charged of the same corn and merchandise, goods and chattels so taken, or of the very value of them, to the parties so grieved ; and to satisfy them of their harms for the same taking. And that the said parties so wronged and grieved, may have their general actions of debt against the said commonalties of the said forest and hundreds, of the sum of money to the which the value of the corn, merchandises, goods and chattels so taken do extend. That although the commonalties be no commonalties incorporate, that they have process in such actions of debt, by summons, attachment and distresses, as is to be had in any action of debt at common law ; so that if the said com- monalties make default at the second distress in such actions, that then the party that sueth have judgment to recover his debts against the said commonalties, after the disposal of their goods, in the form abovesaid, with his reasonable costs and damages. And whatever issue triable by inquest in the said forest and hundreds happeneth to be taken in such actions, that it be tried by inquests of the body of the said county, out of the same forest and hundreds. And that the goods and chattels of every singular person of the said commonalties, for the time being, be had, taken and holden, as the common goods and chattels of the same common- alties, touching the return, serving and all execution of the writs, pro- S28 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. cesses and judgments, in and of the said actions. And that every singular person of the said forest and commonalties have power, by the authority of the same parliament, to attach and arrest the said trespassers by their bodies, as well within the said forest as without, and them so arrested to commit to their said prison. And that the keeper and warden of the same prison, upon pain of forty pounds, to be levied of his goods and chattels, lands and tenements to the king's use, safely keep every person to his ward so committed, until the time the king or his council have of record their deliverance ordained and provided. And if the goods or chattels of any singular person or persons of the said forest or hundreds, being not guilty of such despoiling, happen to be put in execution because of any such actions or judgments, that then the action of debt or trespass upon their case may be had against the said trespassers, to recover the damages as well for the value of their goods and chattels so put in execution, as for their damages and costs that happeneth to be had, because of the said actions of debt ; having such processes in the said actions of debt or tres- pass, as are to be had in the said actions of debt for the said persons so endamaged and despoiled. Resp. Soit fait corame il est desire par la petition. No. 4. [Chapter 3.— Page 31.] These are the Names of the Noblemen that were slain at Tewkesbury Field* From a MS. in the possession of J. B. Nichols, Esq. F.S.A. THE Lord Edward Prince, son of King Henry, in the field of Gaston beside Tewkesbury slain, and buried in the midst of the convent choir, in the monastery there, upon whom God have mercy. * This list is nearly the same as that given by Leland in his Itinerary ; the latter mentions an additional name, viz. Henry Watery, esq. killed and buried at Tewkesbury ; but omits Lewis Myles, Leph. Feild, Mr. Gogh, Sir Thos. Tre? ;am's clerk and Turnbull. — Hutton, in his Battle of Bos- worth Field, names Sir Thomas Harvey among those slain in the field ; and Sir William Grimesby among the beheaded. He also calls Sir William Car, Sir William Carey ; Mr. Fielding, Sir William Fielding ; and Mr. Harvey, Sir Nicholas Harvey. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 329 Lord Edmund, late Duke of Somerset,* taken and beheaded, and buried before an image of St. James the Apostle, at an altar in the said monastery church, on the north part. Lord John Somerset,f brother to the said Duke of Somerset, slain in the field there, and buried with his said brother before the image of St. James, towards Mary Magdalen's altar. Lord Thomas Courtney Earl of Devonshire,]: slain in the same field, and buried about the midst of the said altar of St. James in the said monastery church. Lord Wenlocke,§ slain in the field, and his body taken from thence to be buried. Sir Humfrey Hadley,|| there taken and beheaded, and buried with the * He was the second son of Edmund Beaufort, the first Duke of Somer- set, who was slain at the battle of St. Alban's ; and was brother of Henry, second duke, whom he succeeded, on his being beheaded after the battle of Hexham, 3 Edw. IV. 1463. At the battle of Barnet, this Edmund had the command of the archers, placed betwixt the right and left wing of the Lancastrian army ; and upon the loss of the day, he flew into Wales, to the Earl of Pembroke, and raised new forces for the restoration of Henry. He joined Queen Margaret and her son on their landing at Weymouth, and steadily supported the house of Lancaster until its final overthrow at Tewkesbury. The Duke of Somerset died without issue, and was the last of the Beauforts. His eldest brother, Henry, left a natural son, by Joan Hill, who was called Charles Somerset; he was created Earl of Worcester by King Henry the eighth, and from him the present ducal family of Beaufort is descended. f The third son of Edmund Beaufort, the first Duke of Somerset, and brother to Henry and Edmund, the second and third dukes. X The father of this nobleman was Thomas Courtenay, Earl of Devon- shire, the steady adherent of Henry the sixth. He was attainted for being at Towton Field, and at length nobly fell in the Lancastrian cause at Tewkesbury. § Of Lord Wenlock's parentage, Dugdale says he could not find any thing. In 26 Hen. VI. he was knighted, and soon afterwards made constable of Bamburgh castle. At the battle of St. Alban's he was sorely wounded, and lent the king £.1033. 6s. 8d. He was made knight of the garter by Henry the sixth, and was attainted for siding with the Duke of York. He was with King Edward at Towton Field, and after the victory obtained a grant of the office of chief butler of England. In 1 Edw. IV. he was advanced to the dignity of a baron, and made a privy councillor. He subsequently took part with the Earl of Warwick against King Edward ; and after the battle of Barnet, hastened to Queen Margaret at Beaulieu abbey. He left neither wife nor issue. || Leland calls him Haudeley ; and Hutton, Audley. 2 T 330 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. aforesaid Thomas Courtney Earl of Devonshire in one sepulchre place before the said altar. Sir Edmund H , knt.* slain in the field, and Sir William Wit* tingham, knt.f slain also in the field, and both bodies buried also in the body of the said monastery church, called the parish church, beside St, George's chapel. Sir John Delves the elder, slain in the said field ; and Mr. John Delves his son, taken and beheaded ; and both buried beside St. John's chapel, in the said parish church, and their bodies afterwards taken from thence to their own country. Sir John Locknore,^: slain also and buried in the said parish church, beside the bodies of Sir Edmund and Sir William beforesaid. Sir William Vauxe, knt.§ slain in the said field, and buried in the said parish church, before an image of our Lady, in the north side. Sir Servage of Clifton, knt.|| taken and beheaded ; Sir Win, Car, knt. Sir Henry Rose, knt. all beheaded and buried in the church-yard there. Sir Willm. Lermouth, knt. Sir John Urmon, knt. Sir Thomas Seymor, knt. Sir Willm. Rowcs, knt. all slain in the field, and buried in the church- yard there. Sir Thomas Trisham, knt. taken and beheaded, whose body is buried in the said monastery church, before a pillar between the altar of St. James and St. Nicholas. Sir Win. Newborough, knt. taken and beheaded, whose body is buried in the parish church, beside the font of baptism there in the south side. Mr. Henry Barrow, esq. slain and buried in the parish church, before an image of St. Clement, pope and martyr, and his body afterwards was taken from thence to his own country. Mr. Fielding, esq. Mr. Harvy, recorder of Bristow, both slain in the field, and their bodies buried in the church ; with many others. John Gower,^y sword-bearer of the prince; John Fiord, banner-bearer of the Duke of Somerset ; Henry Tressam, Walter Courtney, Robt. Acton, * Leland has Sir Edmund Havarde ; and Hutton has Hampden. f Wichingham, according to Leland. J Leland calls him Sir John Leukenor. § William Vaux, in the time of those great and sharp contests betwixt the houses of York and Lancaster, lost all for his adherence to King Henry the sixth ; but at length Henry Earl of Richmond obtaining the crown, Sir Nicholas, his son and heir, had restitution thereof. — Dugdale. || According to Leland and Hutton, Sir Gervais Clifton. «{[ He was of the ancient family of Gower, of Sittenham, Yorkshire, ancestors of the Marquis of Stafford. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 331 Lewis Myles, Leph. Feild of Westminster, Mr. Gogh, esq. Sir Thomas Tressam his clerk, — Turnbull, all taken and beheaded, and their bodies buried in the church. Also the Prior and Lord of St. John's beside London, taken in the field, and with others beheaded, whose body being inclosed in lead was taken from thence unto his own place. These were tJiere presented to the King and pardoned: Lady Margaret, queen ; Lady Anne, princess ; Sir Foskew, chief justice of England; Doctor Makerd, John Throgmorton, Mr. Reynton, Mr. Wroghton, all pardoned. Sir Hugh Courtney,* taken and afterwards beheaded. No. 5. [Chapter 3.— Page 25.] Ancient Account of the Battle of Tewkesbury. IN the twenty-first volume of the Archaeologia, is an interesting account of King Edward the Fourth's Second Invasion of England, in 1471, translated from a French manuscript preserved in the public library at Ghent ; from which we extract that portion relating to the battle of Tewkesbury. In an introductory letter, written by Edward Jerningham, esq. F.S.A., to the secretary of the Antiquarian Society, it is said, that the manuscript appears to be an illuminated transcript of a report, drawn up by one of the followers of King Edward the fourth, in his final expedition from Zealand, anno 1471, and forwarded to the court of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, through whose advice and aid the same had been principally planned and effected. The report is divided into four heads or chapters ; is written on vellum, of a quarto size, and at the head of each of the four chapters is an highly finished illuminated miniature. * By Dugdale's Baronage, it appears, that Henry the seventh advanced Sir Edward Courtenay, son to Sir Hugh Courtenay, (probably the above Hugh,) son of Hugh, younger brother to Edward late Earl of Devon, unto the title of Earl of Devon. 332 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Miniature 1, represents the battle of Barnet. Miniature 2, represents the battle of Tewkesbury. Edward appears conspicuous on a brown horse, in complete armour, bearing on his shield the royal arms of France and England, with a crown on his helmet, and charging at the head of his horse. In front of the Lancastrians, a young knight with light-coloured hair, appears just beaten to the ground, his head uncovered, and the uplifted sword of a knight, mounted on a white charger, richly caparisoned, just ready to strike it off. This probably was intended to represent the death of Prince Edward, by the hands of the Duke of Gloucester or Clarence: in front, the archers appear mutually engaged ; the Yorkists, seemingly, with a plentiful supply of arrows at their feet. Miniature 3, represents King Edward standing in armour, his shield emblazoned, without his helmet, and a gold crown on his head, witnessing the execution of the prisoners taken at Tewkesbury. The executioner (a remarkably large man) appears upon a platform of wood raised with two steps ,• his axe uplifted, ready to strike off the head of the Duke of Somer- set, who is bending over a block, clad in armour, with long gilt spurs, without his helmet, and a white bandage over his eyes ; the other prisoners stand close to the platform, with mournful countenances, their hands tied before. John Lonstrother, the Prior of Saint John of Jerusalem, stands foremost, dressed in a long black gown, with the white cross of his order (now Maltese) on his left breast. Miniature 4, represents the attack made by Thomas Nevill, son to the Lord Thomas Fauconberg, and commonly called the Bastard of Faucon- berg, upon London. How the Queen Margaret, and the Prince of Wales lu:r son, arrived in England; how after their arrival they assembled a vast army ; of the great battle King Edward fought with them, and how the Prince of Wales was therein slain, and great numbers with him routed. The king received intelligence, on the 16th of this month, (April,) that Margaret the pretended queen, in virtue of her usurped claim, accompanied by her son Edward the pretended Prince of Wales, with their adherents, were arrived in the kingdom, having landed on the western coast, and were advancing to encounter him with all the force they could muster, and that, bending their march still more to the west, they were making for the city of Exeter, where, with the assistance of numerous partizans in Corn- wall, Somersetshire, and Dorsetshire, and other counties adjacent, the Duke (of Somerset), aided by the Earl of Warwick, had been enabled to espouse openly the quarrel of King Henry. The said Edward and Queen Margaret were in a short time joined by great numbers of the people ; in consequence of which, on the 22d day of HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 333 the same month, our sovereign lord resumed the field without delay, and moved forward with such rapidity, Edward and the queen advancing equally on their side, that he soon came to within eighteen miles of the place where they were posted, viz. in the city of Bath, and where, according to the information he received, they purposed to give him battle. Immediately on the receipt of this intelligence, the king drew up his army in the finest array, and remained under arms the whole of the night, in the hopes of fighting the said Edward and Margaret towards break of day; but Margaret and her son, when they had learned the king's resolution, and in what fine array his army was drawn up, changed their plan, and taking another route, marched with their whole force towards a strong city called Bristol, into which they were admitted through the aid and assistance of certain rebels, and were recruited by a supply of men, provisions, and money. Hereupon they resumed sufficient courage to sally forth out of the said city, and to offer the king battle as before ; and on the 2d day of May, they chose and appointed a field for the combat, about nine miles from the town ; as soon as this was made known to the king, he immediately advanced within two miles of Edward and Margaret; but they, as soon as the king's approach was proclaimed, broke up their camp, and marching during that night and the following day, being thirty-six miles, reached, with their whole army, the town of Tewkesbury. Intelligence of this being brought to the king, he instantly pursued them with his whole force, and made so rapid an advance, that on the 3d of May he came within three miles of Tewkesbury, and there lay encamped in the open fields : the following morning, the king moved forward in the finest order, and came before the town, where he found the rebels drawn up and marshalled in a wonderful strong position. The king hereupon recommending his cause and quarrel to our blessed Creator, attacked on the 4th of May, and through the aid of our blessed Creator, obtained a victory over his said rebels. In the battle, Edward, the brother-in-law of the aforesaid Duke of Somerset, called Marquis of Dorset, Earl Bourchier, and the Lord Wenlock, with many other noble knights and squires were slain ; and there were made prisoners, Edmund, stiled Duke of Somerset, the Prior of Saint John, with divers other knights and squires. How the Duke of Somerset and the Prior of Saint John, with several other Knights and Squires, made prisoners at the Battle, were beheaded in the Town of Tewkesbury. The battle being thus over, the king entered the town of Tewkesbury, and therein caused to be beheaded, on the 6th day of the aforesaid month of May, the Duke of Somerset, the Prior of Saint John, together with several other knights and squires, and divers other gentlemen, who for a length of time had been the instigators of the rebellion. 334 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. These tilings being done, the king departed from thence the 7th day of the said month. The king, continuing his march, arrived in London on the 21st of May, accompanied by many great nobles, and the prime gentry of the kingdom, with other warlike personages, to the number of 30,000 horsemen. During the period which elapsed between the battle fought at Tewkes- bury, and the king's arrival in London, Margaret, the pretended queen, with divers captains of the party of her son Edward, were made prisoners and placed in safe custody, in which they remained. Here follow the Names of those who were killed at the last Battle, which took place at Tewkesbury, the Ath of May, 1471. Edward, called Prince of Wales, Sir John Delues, Sir John of Somerset, Sir William de Vauby, The Lord of Weneloch, Sir William Fildind, Sir Edmund Hampden, Sir Robert Wininguem, Sir John Wellenor, Sir Nycolas Herby, and several Sir William Roos, others, making a thousand. Here follow the Names of those who were beheaded. The Duke of Somerset, John Flory, The Prior of St. John, called Sir Robert Jackson, John Longhenstod, John Sowen, Sir William Votary, Sir Thomas Tresham, Sir Gervase Clifton, Sir William Webingh, Henry Tresham, Sir Hunercfry, John Delues, William Grynnsby, judged to death Walter Courtnay, and pardoned. Loy Mills, No. 6. [Chapter 6.— Page 88.] Abstract of the Grant of the Manor by King James the first. THE King, by letters patent, dated 23d March, in the seventh year of his reign, in consideration of £.2453. 75. 4%d. granted to the Bailiffs, Burgesses and Commonalty of the Borough of Tewkesbury and their successors — HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 335 His manor and borough of Tewkesbury, late parcel of the possessions of the monastery of Tewkesbury. His rents of assize and of free tenants of Tewkesbury, amounting to £.8. 8s. 8d. And certain houses in Tewkesbury, some of which are described as "messuages, tenements and burgages," and some as "messuages or tenements," without the addition of the term burgage. Also all profits of courts of the said manor, of the yearly value of 6*. 8d. Also his manor of Tewkesbury, sometime parcel of the possessions of Thomas Lord Seymour attainted. And certain parcels of land in the Severn Ham* in Tewkesbury, and certain other parcels of land. And the perquisites of court of the last-mentioned manor, amounting to 3*. 4 the Abbot and Convent of Tt wicesbury,* HENRICUS Dei Gratia Rex AngliaB el Franciae et Dominus Hibernia? omnibus Ballivis et Fidclilms ad quos pnesentes littene perveneriut Sa- lutcm. Sciatis quod de Gratia nostra special! et ex mcro motu nostra ob reverentiam Dei et oaritatis intuitu perdonavimus ThomaB Abbati de Teu- kesbury et ejusdem Loci Conventui Sectam Pacis nostras quae ad nos versus ipsos pertinet pro omnimodis proditionibus murdris raptibus mulienun rebellionibus insurrectionibus felonijs conspirationibus transgrcssionibus offensis negligentijs extorsionibus mesprisionibus ignorantijs contemptibus et deceptionibus per ipsos ante octavuin diem Decembris ultimo pra?teritum qualitercunque faetis sive perpetratis murdris per ipsos post decimum novum diem Novembris ultimo praeteritum perpetratis si quae fuerint exceptis undc judicati rectati vel appellati existunt. Ac etiam utlagarias si quae in ipsos hijs occasionibus fuerint promulgate et firmam pacem nos- tram eis inde concedimus. Dum tamen idem Abbas et Conventus con- trofactores mistas moiwtTi et cunagij multiplicatorcs seu lotores auri et argenti cum omni nostro cuniato et tonsores monetae nostras probatores * For a copy of this pardon, as well as for several other interesting documents, the editor is indebted to Mr. Samuel Tymms, of Westminster — a gentleman of considerable antiquarian knowledge, and kindly commu- nicative of his information. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY, 345 communes et notorij latrones seu felones qui abjurationem fecerant non existant. Ita tamen quod stent recto in Curia nostra siquis versus eos loqui voluerit de prseinissis vel aliquo prsemissorum. Et ulterius de uberi- ori Gratia nostra perdonavimus et relaxavimus eisdem Abbati et Conventui omnimoda escapia felonum catalla felonum et fugitovorum catalla utla- gatorum et felonum de se deodanda vasta impeticiones ac omnimodos articulos itineris destructiones et transgressiones de viridi vel venatione venditionem boscorum intra forestas et extra et aliarum rerum quarum- cunque ante dictum octavum diem Decembris intra dictum Regnum nos- trum et partes Wallise emersas et eventas unde punitio caderet in demandam debitam seu in finem et redemptionem aut in alias poenas pecuniarum seu in foristacturas bonorum et catallorum aut imprisonamenta seu amercia- menta comitatum villarum vel singularum personarum vel in onerationem liberi tenementi eorum qui nunquam transgressi fuerint ut heredum execu- torum et terra? tenentium escaetorum vicecomitum coronatorum et aliorum hujusmodi et omne id quod ad nos versus ipsos pertinet ex causis supra- dictis statutis liberatorum pannorum et capitiorum ante dictum octavum diem Decembris editis non obstantibus. Ac etiam omnimodas donationes alicnationes et perquisitiones ad manum mortuam factas vel habitas absque licentia Regia. Necnon omnimodos intrusiones et ingressus in hereditatem suam in parte vel in toto post mortem antecessorum suorum absque debita prosecutione ejusdem extra manum Regiam ante eundem octavum diem Decembris factas una cum exitibus et proficuis inde medio tempore per- ceptis. Ac etiam perdonavimus et relaxavimus eisdem Abbati et Conventui omnimodos fines adjudicatos amerciamenta exitus forisfactos relevia scu- tagia ac omnimoda debita et computa prasstita arreragia flrmarum et com- putorum necnon omnimodas actiones et demandas quas nos solus versus ipsos vel nos conjunctim cum alijs personis seu persona habemus vel habere potcrimus. Ac etiam utlagarias in ipsos promulgatas pro aliqua causarum supradictarum. Et insuper perdonavimus et relaxavimus prsfatis Abbati et Conventui omnimodas poenas ante eundem octavum diem Decembris forisfactos coram nobis seu Consilio nostro Cancellario Thesaurario seu aliquo Judicum nostrorum pro aliqua causa et omnes alias poenas tarn nobis quam carissimo Patri nostro defuncto per ipsum pro aliqua causa ante eundem octavum diem Decembris scilicet forisfactas et ad opus nostrum levandas. Ac etiam omnimodas securitates pacis ante ilium diem octavum forisfactas exceptis debitis Regi de ipso aut de alijs ligeis nostris qui super- stites existunt et de illis qui mortui sunt post coronationem notram debitis necnon computantibus in scaccario nostro vel alibi necnon debitis Regi debitis per recognitiones estallamenta assignationes vel obligationes Regi solum aut conjunctim cum alijs personis ut customarijs aut officiarijs qui- buscunque factas ac insuper debitis computantibus seu illis qui compu- taverunt in scaccario sicut vicecomitibus escaetoribus et alijs officiarijs qui 2 x 346 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Regi satisfecerunt debitis et per eosdem debitores Regis non solutis. In cujus rei testimonium has litteras nostras fieri fecimus patentes. Teste me ipso apud Westmonasterium quarto decimo die Martij anno Regni nostri secundo. Per ipsum Regem. Sire stone. No. 11. [Chapter 10.— Page 124.] Accompt of the Ministers of the Lord the King in the time of Henry the Eighth. (Abstract of Roll, 33 Hen. VIII. Augmentation Office.) MONASTERY OF TEWKESBURY. COUNTY OF GLOUCESTER. Manor and Borough of Tew- 1 kesbury, with the Monas- > Rents of assize - £.8 12 2 tery there ) Rents of customary tenants . . 25 5 8 Rents at the will of the lord the king 64 9 6 Farm of the scite of the monas- tery 35 I 8 Perquisites of courts .... 1 14 5 Rectories of Tewkesbury,} ilff&Z£S^*^*^«r* . . 40 17 8 South wick andTredington) Small tithes and oblations . . 31 9 1§ Ashchurch ...... Portion of tithes 5 7 7f Newton, Natton, Fiduington,- A ston -u pon- C arron , North- ^sSSSS^ PortioM of ^ Hthe - • • • 416 8 hill, Pamington and Oxen- don Oxendon and Pamington 8 18 8 0 4 0 1 2 0 Pamington . Portion of tithes at will . . . 0 2 0 Farm of a portion of tithes . . 2 0 0 0 3 4 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 347 Mythe Hook Severn Ham Avon Ham Oldbury Aston-upon-Carron . . . Northway ^ Southwick Coin St. Dennis with Calcot Compton Parva, with the" Rectory, and Portions of( Tithes in Toddenham and| Bourton _ Toddenham Bourton Preston-upon-Stour, with the" Rectory there, and the( Hamlets of Alvescot and( Atherston Portion of tithes £.13 4 Portion of tithes 1 17 6 Portion of tithes 0 13 4 Portion of tithes 16 8 Portion of tithes by copy of court 0 13 4 Farm of tithes at the will of the lord 094 Portion of tithes 0 16 10 Farm 15 5 0 Perquisites of courts .... Rents of assize 16 0 Rents of customary tenants . . 15 13 5f Farm of the scite of the manor . 5 6 8 Farm of the rectory .... 800 Portion of tithes 0 13 4 Portion of tithes 0 14 0 Perquisites of courts .... 0 10 8f Rents of assize 0 3 0 Alvescot , Atherston Welford Washbourn, with the Rec- ? tory, and Didcot . . . £ Didcot . . Prescot . . Gotherington Rents of customary tenants . Farm of the scite of the manor Farm of mills . . Perquisites of court Farm of the rectory Farm of the manor Annual pension . Rents of assize . . Rents of customary tenants . . Farm of the scite of the manor . Perquisites of courts .... Rents of customary tenants . . Farm of the scite of the manor of Washbourn, with the rectory . Perquisites of courts .... Farm of lands and tenements . Farm of the manor or lordship . Rents of assize 0 Rents of customary tenants . . 21 Rents at the will of the lord the king 17 11| 6 8 0 0 4 0 5 Oi 5 2| 14 2 1 3 11 8 8 0 9 6 0 4 0 2 2 2 lOf 0 0 10 348 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Gqtherington Farm of the manor .... £.7 19 A Perquisites of courts .... 0 15 4 Tredington Rents of assize 0 2 0 Rents of customary tenants . . 0 5 0 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 2 8 Farm of the manor .... 3 13 4 Fiddington Rents of customary tenants . . 4 9 8 Farm of the manor .... 288 Oxendon Rents of customary tenants . . 113 0 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 0 2 Farm of the manor .... 300 Shevingdon Annual pension 0 13 4 Pamington Farm - 484 Natton Rents of customary tenants . . 0 8 6 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 4 0 Farm of messuages and lands . 2 8 10 Southwick Rents of customary tenants . . 2 16 0 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 10 0 Farm 538 Manor of Walton-Cardiff . Rents of customary tenants . . 11 16 8 Farm 14 8 Perquisites of courts .... 004 Mythc Rents of customary tenants . . 0 15 10 Farm of messuage with tithes . 9 10 0 My the Hook Rents of customary tenants . . 0 10 0 Twining Rents of assize 0 10 0 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 0 4 Thamer's Orchard . . . Farm of tenement 17 0 T , 5 Farm of passage across the water Over Lode ^ of Severn called Over Lode .430 Severn Ham Rents of customary tenants . . 0 12 4 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 12 6 Avon Ham Rents of customary tenants . . 1110 Rents at the will of the lord . 2 3 8 Oldbury Rents of customary tenants . . 2 4 4 Rents at the will of the lord . 2 8 6 Farm of lands 118 C own eld Farm of three closes .... 500 Holeham Rents of customary tenants . . 0 14 Rents at the will of the lord . 0 4 0 Farm of meadow 0 1 S Dunesmede Farm of meadow ..... 0140 Carron's Place and Carron's? Farm of messuage 1 15 4 Mill S HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 349 Barcock's Mill Issues of the mill £.2 0 0 Ashchurch Farm of herbage 0 5 0 Northway Rent of lands 0 6 8 Forthampton and Swinley, ) Farm of the manor with the with the Rectory . . . $ rectory 56 6 6 Thornbury, with the Rectory Rents of customary tenants . . 4 19 4 Changeable rents 0 14 Farm of the scite of the rectory 27 5 4 Perquisites of courts .... Amney Holy Cross, with) Plucknett, and the Rec- > Rents of assize 2 6 4 tory of Amney . . . . ) Rents of customary tenants . . 13 1 11 Farm of the manor of Amney . 21 16 6 Perquisites of courts .... 3 14 6 Swell Portion of tithes 2 3 4 Woodmancot Farm 0100 Rectory of Fairford . . . Issues Rectory of East-Leach . . Issues Re ed-e y ° f WoUon - Ullde1 ^ Farm of the rectory .... 33 0 0 Marshfield, with the Rectory Farm of tenements and tithes . 36 5 6 Hosebrugge Farm of the lordship .... 10 0 4 T °Lono-fo f rd G ! OU . CeS . ter . ^ \ RentS ° f assize of free tenants " 0810 r e j S Rents of tenants at the will of Lon S ford i the lord 0 10 0 Farm of messuages .... 078 Rents of assize of lands and tenements 0 6 6 Ma T of ,£T? gt0 ?' Wkh l Farm of the lordship .... 13 4 0 tithes of the Chapel . . > r ChurchStanway WoodStan-J Farmofthemanor n6 fi % way, and ladmgton . . ) ^The Mii?' eWkeSbl ! r ^ Farm of herbage and pannage . 38 6 8 Broad Campden .... Rent of customary tenants . . 400 H ofDeCThurat 0f ^ Pri ° 1T ] of the scite of the priory . 133 16 10* Town of Bristol .... Rents of assize of free tenants . 100 Rents of tenants at the will of the lord 4 14 0 Farm of tenements 10 3 4 Tithes ......... 14 10 0 Priory of St. James near) Bristol, a Cell of the Ab- > Farm of the whole priory . . 35 6 8 bey of Tewkesbury . . . ) 350 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. City of Worcester .... Rents of assize of free tenants . £.0 Rents of tenants at the will of the lord Farm of a tenement .... Cheltenham Farm of a tenement .... Deerhurst Walton . . . . { R< ^ d f ^ternary tenants and Apperley near Deerhurst . Rents of assize Bisley near Stroud . . . Rents of assize Okington Farm of a messuage and orchard Bishop's Cleeve .... Farm of messuages .... Alderton alias Aldrington . Rents of assize' Portion of tithes Dixton Rent of lands Winchcomb Rent of tenement and land . . Gretton Portion of tithes Pull and Pull Court* . . [ Fa ™ e ° s f manor with P ortion of Queenhill . . J FaTm of the moiet y of the whole " ' ' t manor Kinsham within the parish ) D- _*_ ofBredon ...... | Rents of assize Norton Annual Rent Mitton Farm of meadow Over Strenshara .... Rents of assize Rents of customary tenants . . Bushley Farm of the manor .... Bromhall Farm of messuages .... Chacely Rents customary of meadow Redmarley Farm of tenements .... Pirton Farm of manor Oxchey Farm of pasture Aishton Keynes end Leigh . Farm of manor Over Wroughton, Turneys ) . , andUffecote ... 7. [Annual rent ....... Poulton near Marlborough . Annual rent Shernecote Pension . , . . . . . . Okeborne Minor .... Tiihsa Rectory cf Sherston and Al- dington j 1 17 4 0 12 0 0 10 0 o s o o 4 o o 10 o 1 13 4 0 13 4 1 7 4 1 0 0 0 1 4 o 0 4 0 7 0 15 9 10$ 0 1 10 0 2 0 g 3 0 o 13 0 I 1 8* I 18 8 3 0 0 1 4 0 0 6 9f 1 6 8 13 5 9 2 3 4 8i 18 6* 6 0 5 0 0 0 3 0 1 10 0 * This and the seventeen following places are incorrectly slated to be in Gloucestershire : most of them are in Worcestershire. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 351 SOMERSET. Burnet Farm of the manor . . . £.10 8 11 OXON. Teynton with the rectory . Farm of the manor .... 36 5 6 More Issues 22 5 11 Perquisites of courts .... BUCKS. Rectory of Marlow Magna . Issues Rectory of Chctelhampton . Farm of the rectory .... 17 2 0 CORNWALL. Rectory of St. Wenne . . Farm of the tithes 5 2 0 Rectory of Crewenne . . . Farm of the tithes 14 2 0 DORSET. Manor of Cranhourn . . . Farm of the manor . . . . 32 16 10 Manor of Chetel .... Rents of Customary tenants . 8 18 9 Farm of the manor .... 10 10 0 Perquisites of courts .... Manor or Hundred of Up- ) r> + /> • c e ± * n i a i ^ , 1 } Rents of assize of free tenants . 0 19 10 wym borne > Rents of customary tenants . . 7 14 Farm of the scite of the manor * 8 6 8 Perquisites of courts .... 1168 M wo°rth f B0V . erCgG Wi ! h ESt ! } Rente 0f assize 0f free tenantS ' 1 3 ° Rents of customary tenants . . 9 19 9 Farm of the manor .... 10 2 0 Perquisites of courts .... M Xrum T ^^ M °^]}^nisof mS tom^yteimiis. . 13 5 2 Changeable rents, with a certain rent called nodway money . 0 3 0 Farm of the scite of the manor . 13 8 8 Perquisites of courts .... Rectory of Tarraunt Mona-) Farmofthere .... 24 6 8 chorum $ J Wodcotesworth and Purbike Rents of assize 12 4 WILTS. Steepleham Rents of assize 0 15 0 Steeple Purbike Knoll, Aish- Cp ortions of tithes and pensions mere, Pennche, and St. j of churches ...... 234 Quintin £ SUSSEX. Manors of Kingston and Wyke, with the Rectory > Issues 6 12 4 in Kingston 3 352 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Rectories of Lantwill, Lam-^ blethian, Lantrissau, Pen-( marke, with the chapel ofY St. Donat and Cardiff . . Issues Cardiff and Roth .... Rents of assize of free tenants £.1 5 7 Rents of customary tenants . 6 U o Perquisites of courts . . . Rents of assize .... 1 3 s Rents of customary tenants . . o 1 Of Tithes 0 14 8 Rents of assize 1 10 7 Rents of customary tenants . 17 10 Farm of demesne lands . . . 1 10 0 Perquisites of courts . . . Lanisscn and Lucyveyn . . Farm of lands and mansion . 4 0 0 GLAMORGANSHIRE. Bonfcld, Eston, Rectory of" St. Andrew, St. Fagan's, Coytiff, Winfee and Wrin- | Portions and Pensions . . 3 16 8 Tithes of mill near Cardiff . 1 10 0 Manor of Losebcare and Ma- nor of Midlande . . DEVON. * ^ Rents reserved . . . [Translated by John Calcy, esq.] 101- No. 12. [Chapter 10.— Page 124.] From a Book of Pensions remaining in the .Augmentation Office. Tewkesburie late Monasterie, in the Countie of Glocester. PENTIONS assigned to the late abbotte and religious there by Robert Southwell, esquier, and other the kinges highnes comissioners appointed for the taking of surrendre of the same house the xijth. day of Januarye, in the xxxjst. yere of the reigne of our soverayne lord Kinge Henry the VIHth. John Wakeman, late abbot, to have the house of Forthampton, with the demaynes belonginge to the same, and the tithes of the tenants of Forthampton aforesayd and Swynle in ferme, for the yerely rent of 81. 13s. Id. And £.266 13 4 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 353 John Barley, late prior, bachelor of divinitie £.16 0 0 John Broniesgreve, prior of Derehurste, and bachelor of divinitie 13 6 8 Robert Circester, late prior of St. James at Bristow, bachelor of divinitie 13 6 8 Willm. Dydcote, late prior of Craneborne 10 0 0 Robert Cheltenham, bachelor of divinitie 10 0 0 Edmonde Stanlie, hosteler 6 13 4 Thomas Sturton, fermerer 6 13 4 Thomas Wynchecombe 6 13 4 Thomas Lemyngton 6 13 4 John Cheltenham, sexton 6 13 4 Roger Compton, elemosiner 6 13 4 Thomas Twynnyng, supp , 6 13 4 Richard Compton , 8 0 0 Thomas Teynton 6 13 4 John Morton 6 13 4 John Tewksburye, chaunter 6 13 4 Thomas Leckhampton 6 13 4 Willm. Streynesham 6 13 4 Robert Aston 6 13 4 John Asheton, mr. of or. lady chappell 6 13 4 John Gales 6 13 4 Edwarde Stanwey , . . . 6 13 4 Thomas Bristow, stewarde of household 6 13 4 John Derehurste 6 13 4 John Harteland 6 13 4 Thomas Newporte, subsexton 6 13 4 Roger Preston 6 13 4 John Evesham, subchaunter 6 13 4 Philippe Cardiffe als. Wyett, tertius prior 8 0 0 Thomas Thorneburye 6 13 4 Henry Worcester, the abbottes chapleyn 6 13 4 Richarde Cheltenham 6 13 4 Giles Marlowe 6 13 4 Richarde Goderton 6 13 4 Thorn. Craneborne ...... 6 13 4 Jno. Welneford 6 0 0 Alexander Belyn , .... . 6 0 0 Richarde Wynceborne , 6 0 0 Summa , . .olj. vj. viij. Robert Sowthwell. John London. Edwarde Carne. John Ap Rice. Ri. Gwent. 2 Y 351 HfSTORY OF TEWKESBURY. No. 13. [Chapter 10.— Page 130.] THE following extracts from Mr. Sharpe's Roll, 2 and 3 Phil, and Mar. afford a more complete list of the pensions payable to the persons dependant on the monastery in 1553, than that given by Willis: — "Tewkesbury nuper Monasterium. Fcod. Williclmi Barners super- visoris omnium possessionum nuper monasterii predict] per annum 10/. — Thomas Wetherston clerici coquina? ejusdem mon. per annum 21. 13s. 4d. — Anttuit. Johannis Russell et Thomae Russell per annum 3/. — Williehni Barners per annum 51. — Johannis Taylor, alias Barker, per annum 21. 13s. id. — Nicholai Wakeman per annum 3/. 6s. Sd. — Williehni Dewye per annum 11. 6s. Sd. — Edmundi Harman per annum 21. — Roberti Corny]] per annum 21. — Johannis Hareford per annum 22. — Henrici Crane per annum 4/. — Christoferi Smythe per annum 1/. — Laurenc. Povner per annum II. 13s. id. — Hughonis Whittingdon per annum 92. — Thomae Gwente per annum 3/. 6 s. Sd. — Hugonis Pagett pel annum 1/. 6*. Sd. — Johannis Brydges per annum 21. 13s. Ad. — Laurenc. Case per annum 22. — Thomas Sherle per annum 21. — Ed'i Walweyn per annum 32. 6s. *7. — Ed'i Robery per annum 11. — Williehni Cole per annum 21. — Thomae Higons per annum 1/. 6s. Sd. — Johannis Waters per annum 31. 6*. sd. — Antlionii Kingeston per annum 62. 13s. id. — Pent. Roberti Circettor per annum 132. 6s. sd. — Thorns Twyning per annum 61. 13\. id. — Rieardi Compton per annum 82. — Thomae Lekehampton per annum 61. 13*. 4t2. — Williehni Streineshame per annum 62. 13*. 1'/. — .Johannis Gates per annum 07. 13s. id. — Thomae Bristowe per annum 6/. 13s. id. — Johannis Hartelonde per annum 61. 13s. id. — Thomas Newporte per annum 71. — Philippi Cardiff per annum 8/. — Thomae Thor- neburye per annum 62. 18*. id. — Henr. Worcester per annum 6/. 13s. id. — Ed'i Stan way e per annum 61. 13s. id. — Rieardi Cheltenhame per annum 61. 13s. id. — Johannis Welneforde per annum 61. — Rieardi Wymbole per annum 62. — Roberti Astonne per annnm 62. 13s. 4^. — Johannis Astonne per annum 61. 13s. id." No. 14. [Chapter 11.— Page 132.] To Master Chancellor of the Kings Majesty s Court of Auipnentations. Pleaseth the same to be advertised unto the tenour of your letters to you directed. We have viewed, seen and measured all the leads upon the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 355 aisles, choir, chapels, revestry and steeple, with the gutters of the same, lately being the late abbey church of Tewkesbury, and have esteemed the same leads, after 16 foot square to the fodder, to be 80 fodders and one quarter of a fodder, valued at 77s. Qd. the fodder, over and besides the waste and casting, amounting to £.311. And also we have viewed the bells, being eight in number, to 142001b. weight, valued and prized at 20s. the hundred, amounting to £.142. In all £.453. Mem. Where there remaineth, upon the body of the said church there, which heretofore was the only parish church to the parishioners of the town of Tewkesbury aforesaid, certain leads, esteemed to be 22 fodders ; and at the survey taken at the dissolution of the said monastery valued with the leads belonging to the said late abbey church, that doth manifestly appear unto us, as well by the examination of the last abbot there, as by the oaths of divers substantial and honest persons, that the said body of the said church, with the leads upon the same, hath been ever the parish church to the inhabitants aforesaid, long time before the said abbey church was thereunto built and annexed; and by agreement at the building and annexion of the said churches, the abbot and convent then of the said late monastery did repair the said body of the said church, being a parish church as is aforesaid ; and their successors, abbots and convent of the said late monastery, have so repaired, upholden and maintained the said church hitherto, at their costs and charges. By us, Rycharde Poulet, Receiv. Willm. Berners, Audit. 24 Die Junii Anno 34. For the Parishioners of Tewkesbury. Mem. The said parishioners shall buy of the king's highness the one pari of the said church, with the choir, cross aisle, chapels, revestry, and steeple, and also all the iron, lead, glass, timber, and stone of the same, together also with all the ground and soil of the same, and also the church- yard and all other the premises, for the sum of £.453, to be paid in form following; that is to say, in hand £.200, at the feast of Easter next coming £.100, and at the feast of the Nativity of our Lord God then next following £.153.; and the said parishioners to bear and find the reparations of the said church perpetually. Rychard Ryche. (Indorsed) Pro Ballivis et Burgensibus dc Tewkisburye. 356 HISTOHY OF TEWKESIU UV No. 15. [Chapter 11.— Page 132.] Grant of the Abbey Church to the Parishioners. THIS INDENTURE, made the fourth day of June, in the thirty-fourth year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord Henrj the Eighth, by the grace of (rod King of England, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, and on earth supreme head of the Church of England and Ireland, Ijcttocen the same our Sovereign Lord the King on the one part, and the Bailiffs, Burgesses and Commonalty of the borough and town of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, on the other part, c£utnc53ct!), That whereas the body or nether part of the late abbey church of Tewkesbury aforesaid, in the said county of Gloucester, at the time of the dissolution of the late monastery of Tewkesbury aforesaid, and continually before the same dissolution, was the parish church of the same town of Tewkesbury, and was used as the parish church for the inhabitants of the said town of Tewkesbury and other the parishioners of the same, The King's Highness is phased and contented, and for him, his heirs and successors, DotI) grant by these presents to the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the said town of Tewkesbury and their successors, £M that the- over or higher part of the said late abbey church, that is to say, the choir otherwise called the presbytery, the aisles, chapels, vestry, and the steeple of the said late abbey church, and all other things belonging to the same, and the soil, ground, site, precinct and circuit of the same late abbey church, shall from h< nceforth stand, continue and remain to the enlarging of the said parish church, and shall be bad, reputed, used and taken for and as the parish church of Tewkesbury afore* said. And that the bailiffs and commonalty of the said town of Tewkesbury, and other the parishioners of the said parish church, shall have, use and enjoy the whole aforesaid late abbey church, and every part and parcel of the same as it now standeth, and the aforesaid soil, ground or site, precinct and circuit of the same late abbey church, to the intent to use the same as their parish church for ever, without any let, interruption, or impediment of the king's majesty, his heirs or successors, or of any oilier manner of person or persons. And in consideration thereof, the king's highness is further pleased and contented to bargain and sell, and by these presents hath fully and clearly bargained and sold unto the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the said town of Tewkesbury and to their successors, as well all the aforesaid over or higher part of the said late abbey church, that is to say, the choir otherwise called the presbytery, aisles, chapels, vestry and steeple of the said late abbey church, and all other things belonging to the same, and the aforesaid soil, ground or site, precinct and circuit of the same late abbey church, as all the eight bells being in the said steeple of the said late abbey church, weighing about fourteen thousand and two HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 357 hundred pounds weight, and also the whole frame and the clappers of the same bells, and all and all manner of roofs and rowlts within the said abbey church and the chapels of the same, and all the slates of the same chapels and of the said vestry, and all the lead lying and being in and upon the said late abbey church, that is to say, the choir otherwise the presbytery, the aisles, chapels, vestry, steeple and gutters of the said late abbey church, and in the windows of the same. And the king's highness hath also bargained and sold, and by these presents clearly bargaineth and selleth to the afore- said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the said town of Tewkesbury, and to their successors, all the aforesaid late abbey church, and all manner of partitions of stone, iron and timber, and also all manner of images, tomb- stones, and grave-stones of the same late abbey church, with all kind of metal upon the same and every of them, together with all manner of pave- ment, paving stones, glass, ropes and irons belonging to the clock and chimes within the said late abbey church, as in any the choir otherwise called the presbytery, the aisles, chapels and vestry, and in the windows of the said late abbey church. And whereas the church-yard, called the parish church- yard in Tewkesbury aforesaid, in the county of Gloucester, containing by estimation one acre and one rood of ground, at the time of the dissolution of the abovesaid late monastery of Tewkesbury aforesaid, and continually before the said dissolution, was the parish church-yard for the burials of dead bodies w ithin the said town of Tewkesbury, and was used as the place of burials of the dead bodies within the said town of Tewkesbury, and the dead bodies of others the parishioners of the said parish church of Tewdies- bury aforesaid; in consideration whereof the king's highness hath further bargained and sold, and by these presents fully and clearly bargaineth and selleth unto the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty, and to their suc- cessors, the whole aforesaid parish church-yard, to be used, accepted and taken for and as the church-yard of the parish church of Tewkesbury afore- said, haue, hold and enjoy all that the aforesaid over or higher part of the said late abbey church, that is to say, the choir otherwise called the presbytery, the aisles, chapels, vestry and steeple of the aforesaid late abbey church, and all other things belonging to the same, and the whole above- said soil, ground or site, precinct and circuit of the same late abbey church, and all and singular other the premises above written, whatsoever they be, and the whole aforesaid parish church-yard, to the aforesaid bailiffs, bur- gesses and commonalty of the said borough and town of Tewkesbury afore- said, and to their successors for ever, in as ample and large manner, form and condition as the late abbot and convent of the said late monastery of Tewkesbury aforesaid, or any of their predecessors at any time heretofore have had, held or enjoyed the abovesaid late abbey church of Tewkesbury aforesaid, or the parish church-yard aforesaid, or any other of the premises above written, whatsoever they be, without any let, interruption, imped* HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. merit, vexation or disturbance of the king's majesty's highness or successors, or any other manner of person or persons, for and to the intents and pur- poses above rehearsed ; for and in consideration of which bargain and sale of the whole aforesaid late abbey church, and the parish church-yard afore- said, and of all other the premises above written, whatsoever they be, the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty, for them and their successors, covenanteth, and by these presents granteth to and with our said sovereign lord the king, his heirs and successors, that they the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty, and their successors, at their own proper costs and charges, from henceforth continually shall repair, sustain, maintain and uphold, as well the body of the said late abbey church, as also the choir, otherwise called the presbytery, the aisles, chapels, vestry, steeple, walls, and windows of the said late abbey church, and all other things belonging to the same, together with the inelosure and fence of the said church-yard, and of every part and parcel thereof. And also that the said bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty, and their successors, shall acquit, discharge and save harmless our said sovereign lord's highness and successors, as well to and against the Bishop of Gloucester, as also to and against all and every other person and persons, of and for all manner of charge whatsoever which shall happen at any time hereafter to arise or grow by reason or for lack of the said repara- tions of the said church or church-yard, and other premises by this indenture bargained and sold, or of any part or parcel thereof. And also that they the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty, and their successors, shall content and pay, or cause to be contented and paid to the king's highness, the sum of H. 1.33 slerling, over and besides the sum of £.30 sterling by the bailiffs, bur- gesses and commonalty beforehand paid to the hands of Richard Paulet, esq. and to other the king's commissioners, at the time of the dissolution of the said late monastery, to the use of the king's highness. And the same sum of £.453 to be paid in manner and form following;, that is to say, at the sealing of these presents £.-200 sterling, whereof the king's highness acknowledged himself to be fully satisfied, contented and paid, and thereof acquitteth and dischargeth the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty and their successors by these presents; and the sum of £.&33, unreceived of the sum of ii.l'/,}, to be paid to the hands of the particular receiver of the revenues of the augmentation of our said sovereign lord the king's crown, for the time being, in the said county of Gloucester, to the use of the king's highness, in manner and form 'bllow ing, that is to say, at the feast of Easter next .ensuing the date hereof £.100 sterling, and at the feast of the Nativity of our Lord God next ensuing the same feast of Easter £.153, in full con- tentacion and payment of the sum of £.453. Y.n tottness whereof, to the one part of this indenture, remaining in the custody of our said sovereign lord, the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty hath put their common seal ; and to the other part of this indenture, remaining in the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 359 custody of the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty, our &aid sovereign lord hath not only signed the same with his most gracious hand, but also hath caused his great seal of England to be put, the day and year first above written. No. 16. [Chapter 11.— Page 141.] Coats of Arms originally in the Chancel Windows, in the J Test Window, fyc. FROM an ancient manuscript, in the possession of a literary friend, it appears that the following arms were formerly in the seven windows in the choir of Tewkesbury Abbey Church : — East Window. — 1. Gules, a chevron between ten crosses pattee, argent. Berkeley. — 2. Quarterly, argent and gules, in the second and third quarter a fret or; over all, a bend sable. Le Despenser. — 3. England; gules, three lions passant guardant or. — 4. Le Despenser. — 5. Gules, a cross engrailed or, within a bordure argent. Tewkesbury Abbey. Window adjoining the Tower, on the south side. — 1. Argent, on a bend gules three buckles or, within a bordure vert charged with eight eaglets dis- played of the second. — 2. Gules, fretty or. Audley. — 3. Barry of twelve, argent and azure. Montchensy, a Suffolk family. — 4. Gules, two bars nebuly, a chief nebuly argent ; over all, a bend azure. — 5. Azure, a lion rampant guardant or. Fitz-Hamon. Window adjoining the Tower, on the north side. — 1. Or, between two bend- lets gules an escallop in the dexter chief point sable. Tracy of Stan way. — 2. Argent, on a canton gules a cinquefoil pierced or. Bradstone. — 3. Gules, a fess between six martlets or. Beauchamp of Gloucestershire. — 4. Or, three chevrons gules, within a bordure engrailed sable. Clare. — 5. Gules, ten bezants, four, three, two and one. Zouch. In the other four windows. — 1. England, with a label of three points. Lancaster. — 2. The same, for Brotherton. — 3. The arms of England, within a bordure of France. Exeter. — 4. England, within a bordure argent. Kent — 5. Or, three chevrons gules. Clare. 1. Azure, a bend argent, cotticed or, between six lions rampant of the third. Bohun.— 2. Gules, a lion rampant or. Arundel.— 3. Clare.— 4. Cheeky or and azure. Warren. — 5. Gules, a fess between six cross cross- lets or. Beauchamp Earls of Warwick. 1. Gules, a lion rampant argent. Mowbray.— 2. Or, a manche gules. Hastings.— 3. Berkeley.— 4. Clare.— 5. Argent, a lion rampant sable, crowned or. Morley of Norfolk, impaling le Despenser. 1. Gules, a lion rampant, or, within a bordure of the second. Talbot. —2. Argent, three fusils conjoined in fesse, gules, for Montacute, Earl of j60 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Salisbury. — 3. Clare. — 4. Paly, argent and azure, on a bend gules, three eagles displayed or. Grandison.— 5. Argent, on a bend azure, three lions' heads erased or. Underneath the west window, on the outside of the church, are the fol- lowing coats of arms : 1. Gules, a lion rampant regardant or. — 2. In a lozenge, or, a fess vair between six labels of three points sable. — 3. (effaced.) — 4. Gules, across ragule or. — 5. Or, a fess vair between six labels of three points sable. — 6. Gules, a saltier argent. — 7. Per bend, sable and or; a lion rampant, eounterchanged. Under the same window, within the church, arc — 1. Or, between two bcndlets gules an escallop in the dexter chief point sable. Tracy of Stan- way, impaling gules, a bend or. — 2. Under a mitre, argent, two keys in saltier, the dexter or, surmounted of the sinister argent. — 3. In a lozenge, gules, a dexter hand conped argent, od a chief of the second, three fighting cocks of the first. Hancock of Twvning, impaling or, a fess wavy between six labels of three points sable. — 4. As the last, impaling gules, a fess vair, argent and azure, between three mullets argent. Hancock impaling Baugh, both of Twyning. — ~>. Azure, a lion rampant argent. Pool of Salperton. Besides the coats of arms in the chancel windows and at the west front, there are many others in various parts of the church. Against the wall at the end of the chancel, and in other places, are seen three crowns, the arms of the East Angles; and also a CTOSfl patonce between live martlets or, the arms of King Edward the Confessor. A stone was lately found, on the outside of the eastern end of the church, on which were sculptured the arms of the De Warrens, Earls of Surr. \ No. 17. [Chapter 11.— Page 145.] Brief Jar the Repair of Tewkesbury Church in 1720. THE Trustees of the Brief were, Daniel Kemble, Thomas Kemble, Thomas Warkman, George Taylor, William Heyward, W. Wilson, Thomas Jones, John Hawling, and Joseph Smith. Llccctpt. Amount collected by Brief £.1470 0 0 Interest upon ditto 75 0 0 Subscriptions + owards the reparation of the church 81 19 0 Produce of old materials 41 4 5 Portion of a church rate 25 G 6 Borrowed of the overseers of the poor 98 17 9 £.1792 7 8 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 361 'ExperiOtture. Oak, elm, deal and other timber, (including sixteen beams for the long roof, at 21. 15s. per ton) £.351 10 9 Carpenters' work ..... 175 H 3 Stone, from Bredon's Norton quarry, Wick near Pershore, Leckhampton and Sireford ; and bricks, at 9s. per 1000 .... 124 2 0 Masons' and bricklayers' work 373 3 0 Six fodders of lead, and plumbers' work 183 16 0 Glass for the two windows behind the pulpit 2 0 4 Ironmongery, cords, plasterers, tilers, sawyers, labourers, halliers, &.c 494 18 0 Expenses of the rearing dinner, which was given in the free- school, and at which nearly eighty workmen dined 4 11 10 For a cane, which was given to Mr. Edmund Bradbury, for his great trouble and care in the church repairs 0 10 6 For a quarto bible, as a present to John Carloss, carpenter, for his faithfulness in this work 1 1 0 Balance 81 3 0 £.1792 7 8 Thomas Kemmett, John Laight, ) ~, , , George Moore, Nathaniel Jeynes, \ Church-wardens, Expenses of Erecting the AUar-Piece in 1725. Painswick free-stone, and other materials £.7 16 0 Four white marble slabs, 48f feet, at 5s. 6d 13 6 0 Carriage of materials, &c 5 17 5 Mr. John Copner,* of Haresfield, free-mason, for working and putting up the altar-piece, viz. Carving the pelican 2 10 0 Carving the four heads in the pediment 0 10 0 Carving the flames for the pots and the heart 0 10 0 Carving the pediment, the capitals of the pilasters, the pots or urns, and other workmanship 33 10 0 Lettering the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, and the Ten Com- mandments on the marble slabs 6 12 3 £.70 11 8 Amount of voluntary subscriptions towards the above £.39. 0s. 6d. * Mr. Copner having sickened and died of the small-pox, whilst at Tewkesbury, the contract, with the consent of his widow, was completed by Mr. John Ricketts, carver, of Gloucester, by whom the design of the altar-piece was originally made. 2 z 362 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. No. 18. [Chapter 11.— Page 152.] Subscriptions towards the Reparation of Tewkesbury Church in 1828. The Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gloucester £.21 0 J. E. Dowdeswell, esq. M.P. 100 0 John Martin, esq. M.P. ... 100 0 CharlesHanbury Tracy, esq. 100 0 William Dillon, esq. Mythe 50 0 J. Terrett, esq. Tewkesbury 30 0 Samuel Barnes, esq. ditto . . 30 0 Mrs. Martin, ditto 30 0 General Dowdeswell 20 0 Miss Smithsend, Walton- House 20 0 Mrs. Mines, Tewkesbury. . 20 0 Messrs. Lechmerc, Wall, Isaac and Lcchmere . . . . 15 15 Sir C. B. Codrington, bart. Dodington Park 10 0 Thomas Caddick, esq. Tew- kesbury 10 0 Major Alcock, ditto 5 0 Joseph Longmore, esq. Mythe Villa 5 0 John Gardner, esq. Chel- tenham 5 0 Mr. Brown, late of Tewkes- bury 5 0 T.Vernon, esq. Tewkesbury 5 0 George Dumble, esq. ditto. 5 0 Mrs. Hayter, ditto 5 0 Miss Dumble, ditto 5 0 Miss Hartelbury, ditto 5 0 C. E. Chandler, esq. ditto 5 0 Mr. N. Chandler, ditto 5 0 Mr. John Moore, ditto .... 5 0 Mrs. Moore, ditto 5 0 A.B 5 0 Om well John Lloyd, esq.. 5 0 Mrs. O.J.Lloyd 2 10 T. Postans, esq. Pimlico . . 3 0 Mr. Banaster, Tewkesbury. 3 3 Mrs. Banaster, ditto 2 2 L. G. Senior, esq. ditto 2 2 Total E . Weedon, esq. Tewkesbury £.2 2 Thomas Blizard, esq. ditto. , 2 2 Mrs. Blizard, ditto I 1 Mr. James Bennett, ditto 2 2 Mr. B. Peyton Sadler, R.N. Gloucester 2 2 Edward Gresley Stone, esq. Chamber's Court 2 0 Miss Procter, Tewkesbury . . 2 0 Joseph Higginson, esq. ditto . 2 0 T. P. White, esq. ditto 2 0 H.J.W.C.R. Hays, esq. ditto 2 0 Mr. Horniblow, ditto 2 0 Mr. Henry Brydges, ditto . . 2 0 Mr. Edward Brydges, ditto.. 2 0 Mr. Thomas Holder, ditto ..2 0 A Stranger 1 1 Robert Young, esq. Tewkes- bury 1 Mrs. Cooper, ditto 1 Mrs. Cross, ditto 1 Mr. Biddle, ditto 1 Mr. Thomas Arkell, ditto . . 1 Mr. William Ricketts, ditto. . 1 Mr. Richard Tree, ditto 1 Mr. Daniel Lloyd, ditto .... 1 Mr. John Brown, ditto 1 Major Dcwguard, ditto 1 0 Mr. T. D. Lewis, Cheltenham 1 0 Mrs. Ludgrove, Tewkesbury 1 0 Mr. Humpidge, ditto 1 0 Mr. Thomas Osborne, ditto. . 1 0 Mr. James Petley, jun. ditto 1 0 Mr. Wallis, ditto 1 0 Mr. Edmund Lloyd, ditto . . 1 0 Mr. Samuel Ricketts, ditto.. 1 0 Mr. Samuel Healing, ditto . . 1 0 Mr. John Thomas, ditto 1 0 Mr. Samuel Jew, ditto 1 0 Mr. William Knight, ditto . . 1 0 Mr. T. P. Holder, ditto .... 1 0 Mr. Thomas Wilks, Shipston 1 0 £.697. 11*. Od. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 363 No. 19. [Chapter 13.— Page 180.] Modern Monuments in Tewkesbury Church. In the Chancel. ON the south side of the high altar there is a handsome monumental tablet, erected to the memory of Colonel Wall — a gentleman who was universally and deservedly held in the highest respect and esteem. The following inscription appears on the monument, the decorative part of which, particularly the net- work on the urn, and the sword with its appendages, is admirably executed : Near this spot are deposited the remains of John Wall, esq. many years Lieutenant-Colonel of the South Gloucester Militia, and late of Tewkes- bury Park, near this Borough, who died August 24th, 1808, aged 64. The tear of Widow, Children, Friends, its tribute gives; Thus, dear in every breast, his much-lov'd memory lives. Arms. — First Coat. — Per fess or and azure, a fess battellee, counter-battellee, between tbree fleur-de-lis, all countercbanged. On an escocheon of pretence, quarterly, 1. Gules, on a fess between three swans' necks erased argent, ducally gorged of the first, three mascles sable. 2. Argent, a chevron between three eagles' legs erased, a la quise, sable. 3. Argent, on a chief gules two bucks' heads or. 4. Argent, a fess engrailed gules, between three mascles sable, all within a bordure gules. Second Coat. — Wall, as above. On an escocheon of pretence, ermine on a chief sable three escallops or. Crest. — Out of a mural coronet or, a wolf's head argent, charged on the neck with a fess embattled and counter-embattled gules. On a pillar, near the chapel of the Holy Trinity, is an elegant little monument, by Flaxman, distinguished for the ability displayed in the execution of the drapery of the figures of Hope and Charity, which ornament its sides. Underneath the words of St. Paul, " But the greatest of these is Charity," the following is inscribed, in gold letters : — Iu the south aisle of the church is deposited the mortal part of Ann Lady Clarke, daughter of Philip and Catherine Haughton, of the Island of Jamaica, and wife of Sir Simon Clarke, bart. She was born in that distant colony on the 13th day of April, 1742; and died at Cheltenham, in this county, on the 19th of September, 1800. As a wife and mother, she was tender and solicitous ; and as a Christian, remarkably pious and charitable. Near the Founder's Chapel is another neat marble monument, edged with gold:— In memory of George Peyton, M.I), whose probity and piety will, we hope, entitle him to a joyful resurrection. He died October 22, 1742, aged 63. In the same grave is deposited the body of Elizabeth the widow of the above Dr. Peyton. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Kaiver, gent. . 64 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. of the city of Worcester; and in every department of life, was exemplary in her conduct, and of a true Christian disposition to God and Man. She died May 29, 1773, aged 76. Arms* — Sable, a cross engrailed or, in the first quarter a mullet argent ; impaling, Azure, a chevron ermine between three lions' heads erased or, langued gules, for Karvef. On the north side of the high altar, is a monument of white marble, surmounted with the effigies of the benevolent individual whose memory it perpetuates : — In memory of Charles Wynde, esq. high bailiff, who died the 8th of Sep- tember, 1716, aged 67. He gave ten pounds perann. for ever to be distributed by trustees according to the letter of his will ; if not so done, to be stopped by his heir or possessor of the estate as oft as deficient. Quamque opus exegi, 9fc. Arms. — Gules, a chevron between three griffins' heads erased or. Against the Pillars which support the Tower. This monument is erected to the memory of Elizabeth Townsend, the daughter of Anthony Townsend, gent, and Elizabeth his wife, who was daughter of John Mann, sen. gent, and Bridget his wife. Shee was a person of a true and unaffected piety, of a modest and sweet behaviour, of a generous and exemplary charity; for, by her last will and testament, shee gave two hundred pounds to be layd out for the benefit of the minister of God's Word in this parish and his successors for ever. Shee died July 29, 1685, aged 33. "Let her own works praise her in the gates," — Prav. 31. 31. Arms. — Within a lozenge, azure, a chevron ermine between three escallops argent. To commemorate the good deeds of Ann, daughter of Daniel Pert, esq. and wife of Paris Slaughter, of Slaughter, esq. She lived a sincere professor of vital holiness, and honoured that profession by liberal donations to the poor. She died October 28th, 1640, aged 84. Arms. — Argent, a saltier azure, for Slaughter ; impaling, Argent, on a bend gules, three mascles of the first. Crest. — Issuant out of a ducal coronet, a phoenix, azure. In tJie Aisles surrounding the Chancel, In a vault near this spot, are deposited the remains of John Reid, esq. of the Island of Jamaica. He w as born on the 28th of June, 1756, and died at Cheltenham, in this county, on the 17th of December, 1813; having passed his days in the quiet occupations of retired life, distin- guished for the goodness of his heart, and the mildness of his character. * Mr. Cole says, the arms of this family of Peyton are the same as those of the Peytons of Cambridge.— MS. Brit. Mus. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 365 In memory of Henry Fowke, esq. late of this borough,* born in Barbadoes on the 9th day of November, 1758, and second son of Henry Fowke, esq. and Sarah his wife, both of that island. He died on the 7th day of October, 1818, in the 60th year of his age, sincerely beloved by his family and numerous friends; who through life will bear his integrity, his benevolence, and his liberal spirit in grateful remembrance. Arms.— Azure, a fleur-de-lis argent; on a chief of the second a lion passant gules: impaling, Argent, a saltier sahle, in chief and in base a crescent of the second, within a bordure gules, for Maxwell. Crest. — On a wreath argent and azure, an arm embowed and holding a broken spear proper. This monument is erected by Tho. Hale, gent, in memory of his pious and vertuous consort, Letitia the daughter of the Hon. Sir Thomas Pen- niston, late of Cornewell, in the county of Oxon, bart. deceased, and Dame Elizabeth his wife, sole daughter and heiress of Sir Cornelius Fairemedow, deceased. She died the 3d of November, 1700, aged 32 years. Arms. — Argent, a fess sable, in chief three cinquefoils vert, for Hale; impaling, Argent, three Cornish choughs proper, for Penniston. To the happy memory of Mary Oldisworth, daughter of Thomas Chamber- layne, of Oddington, esq. wife to Nicholas Oldisworth, gent, son of Robert Oldisworth, of Fairford, esq. mother of Mary the wife of John Sherwood, gent, and also of Margarite wife of John Mann, gent. She lived a virgin 29 ycares, a wife 5, and a widow 39, and died the 4th of August, 1684, aged 73. She was a pattern of Piety, Charity, Modesty, Chastity, Temperance, and Frugality ; of a pleasant conversation, beloved by all, and now wanted by many. All that was mortal lyes interred near this place, expecting a joyful resurrection. Arms. — Gules, on a fess argent three lions passant guardant sable, for Oldisworth ; impaling, Gules, an escutcheon argent between ten stars in oiie or, for Chamberlayne. In the South Transept. Here lyeth bvryed the body of Priscilla the wyfe of Henry Tracy, of Sowthweeke, esq. (the only davghter of Charles Evre, son of the Right Honourable Win. Lord Evre, Baron of Witton and Mavlton,) who died the 14th of March, Ano. Dom. 1632. Arms. — Quarterly, or and gules, on a bend sable three escallops argent. * The offices of town-clerk and deputy recorder of Tewkesbury were most honourably and satisfactorily filled by Mr. Fowke for thirty-two years ; and no man was ever more generally respected in his life time, or more unfeignedly regretted at his death. As a spontaneous mark of respect, the shops of most of the principal tradesmen, and the dwelling-houses of many of the respectable inhabitants, were kept closed during the whole of the day on which his interment took place. 366 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Near this place are deposited the remains of the Rev. Henry Jones, M. A. 14 years vicar of this parish, and minister of Tredington. He died 3d of Nov. 1769, aged 47. Also of the Rev. Henry Jones, M. A. vicar of this parish, and father of the above-named Henry Jones. He died 3d of May 1729, aged 38. Also of Mathea, widow of the last-mentioned Henry Jones. She died 23d of August 1733, aged 49. And of Mary, widow of the first-named Henry Jones. She died 18th June 1779, aged 70. On a Pillar in the Nave. Sacred to the memory of Richard Alcock, esq. late of this borough, who departed this life May 13th, 1829, in the 79th year of his age. After having faithfully served his king and country in various civil and military capacities, during the greater portion of a long and useful life, he died, universally regretted; as he had lived, universally esteemed and respected.* On the north side of the west window is a neat little tablet of white marble, erected by a bereaved father and mother to the memory of their beloved offspring : — Sacred to the memory of Richard Brydges, a lieutenant in his majesty's navy, eldest son of Edward and Milly Brydges, of this borough, who, after a life actively employed and honourably sustained in the service of his country from his youth, was unfortunately drowned in the River Severn, on the 28th day of February, 1818, in the 26th year of his age. Also of Charles, their youngest son, a promising youth, aged 13 years, who, at the same awful moment of time, suffered a like untimely fate with his lamented brother. And also of John, their fourth son, who departed this life Sept. 28th, 1804, aged 7 years. * Richard Alcock, esq. had been formerly a major in the Kilkenny militia, served the office of high sheriff, and was for thirty years a most active and useful magistiate for that county. When the French landed at Killala Bay, Aug. 22, 1798, Major Alcock fractured his leg, while in the performance of his duty; he was also taken prisoner, and detained until the invaders surrendered to the British forces, on the 7th of Sept. following. On his quitting Ireland, in 1805, he received the unanimous thanks of his brother magistrates, voted to him at the general quarter sessions, accompanied by an elegant gold snuff-box, with an appropriate inscription, expressive of their regret at his departure. He married J uliana, widow of Somerset Hamilton, first Earl of Carrick, and daughter of Henry, first Earl of Shannon. He resided, for many years previous to his death, at Tewkesbury, was a member of the body corporate, and twice served the office of bailiff of the borough. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 367 In the North Transept. Here resteth what was mortal of John Roberts, of Fiddington, gent Careful he was to maintain tillage, the maintenance of mankind. He feared God, was faithful to his country, friends, good to the poore and common wealth: just to all men. Who left us Jan. 1631, aged 77. Round the verge of the effigies of Mr. Roberts are these words : " For Christ is to mee both in life and in death advantage." — Philippians, 1. 21. Arms. — Per pale argent and gules, over all a lion rampant sable. No. 20. [Chapter 13.— Page 180.] Inscriptions on the Grave-Stones in the Church. IN the south aisle, there is an old flat stone, which once occupied a different situation, with the following inscription upon it, in Lombardic characters : — LGE6R DG PXRR DYT YEY DYGVX DG SX XL036 GN 6YT GQGREY* On a brass plate, in the north aisle, is the following singular ana- grammatical inscription: — In hoc Tumulo sepulta jacet Amia uxor Johannis Wiatt, Tewkesburiensis, generosi, quae spiritum exhalavit xxv. August Ao. Dni. . In cujus obitum versiculos perlegito subsequentes. A A me disce mori, mors est sors omnibus una: M Mortis et esca fui mortis et esca fores. I In terram ex terra terrestris massa meabis ; E Et capiet cineres urna parata cinis. V Vivere vis ccelo, terrenam temnito vitam ; V Vita piis mors est mors mihi vita pise. I Iejunes, vigiles, ores, credasq. potenti. A Ardua fac : non est mollis ad Astra via. T Te scriptura vocat, te sermo, ecclesia, mater ; T Teq. vocat sponsus, spiritus atque pater. * In English — " Leger de Parr lies here, God on his soul have mercy." Who this Leger de Parr was, or when he flourished, we have no information : Mr. Gough says, that the old English character began to prevail on tomb- stones in the middle of the fourteenth century, and it is therefore presumed that this stone is of a date somewhat prior. 368 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. In the South Transept. Here lyeth Anne the eldest daughter of Sir Pavle Tracy, knight,* first wife to Edward Hall, esq. and widowe to William Inngrara, esq. who deceased the 24th of February, Anno Dni. 1639. Arms.— Within a lozenge, or, between two bends ruby an escallop in the chief point sable. Here lyeth buried the body of Priscilla the wife of Henry Tracy, esq. (the only daughter of Charles Eure, sonne of the Right Honourable William Lord Eure, Baron of Witton and Maulton) who dyed the 14th day of March, Aiio Domj. 1632. Here also lyeth buryed the body of Priscilla the wife of Kemmet Freeman, gent, daughter of Henry Tracy, esq. who dyed the 27th day of May, Ano Domj. 1670. Mary, the daughter of Priscilla Freeman, and wife to John Ferryman, gent, who dyed the 15th of December 1721. Hie Requiescunt Cineres Joh. Matthews per 39 Annos Dignissimi hujus Ecclesiae Pastoris, ^Eque doctorum bonorumque deliciarum, Utpote ipsius in primis eruditi, Et quavis quaa Virum ac Xianum comendat Virtute Ornati. Decimo Quinto Mense, quo, ob virium Et Memoriae defectionem ex Officio Et Vita pariter decessit Maii 26, 1729, ^tatis 79. * Sir Paul Tracy, of Stanway, was son and heir of Richard, who was the second son of William Tracy, esq. of Todington, to whom the manor of Stanway was given by King Henry the eighth, at the dissolution of the monastery of Tewkesbury. Sir Paul was high-sheriff of Gloucestershire, 11 James I. and built the present elegant mansion-house at Stanway : he married Anne, daughter of Sir Ralph Shakerley, and was succeeded by his son Sir Richard, who married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Coningsby, of Hampton Court, Herefordshire. Sir Humphrey Tracy, his son, succeeded to the estate; he was sequestered in the great rebellion, and paid £.1600 for composition. He died in 1651, without issue, as did also his brothers Sir Richard and Sir John, his successors, the last of whom left the manor of Stanway to Ferdinando Tracy, esq. second son to John, third Viscount Tracy. Ferdinando married the daughter of Sir Anthony Keck, by whom he had one son, John, who married Anne, daughter of Sir Robert Atkyns, lord chief baron of tne exchequer. He died in 1735, and was succeeded by his eldest son Robert, at that time M. P. for Tewkesbury. Lady Elcho, the present proprietor of Stanway, is daughter of Anthony Keck Tracy, who was the youngest of the four sons of the above John Tracy. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 369 In St. Margaret's Chapel. MS. Culpeper, wife of Anthony Lawrence, of Senhampton, gent, eldest daughter of John Colles, of Caslet, esq. and Culpeper his wife, died Oct. the 15, A.D. 1702, set. 40. Antonius Filius natu Secund Antonij & Culpeper Laurentij, obijt Nor. 15, 1705, aet. 9. Hev! Quam Cito! Robert Colles, the son of Anthony and Culpeper Lawrence, gent, born Jan. 9, died Feb. 3, 1698. Culpeper Pembruge, eldest daughter of Dr. Lawrence, died Sept. the 13, 1711. Arms. — Argent, a cross raguly gales ; impaling, Argent, a chevron between three leopards' heads gules, for . Crest. — On a wreath argent and gules, the tail and lower part of a fish erect and couped proper. Motto. — Loyal an Mort. In the Aisles surrounding the Chancel. D'Avenant Hankins, esq. obiit 6th Oct. 1782, setatis 54. Elizabeth Hankins, relict of the above, died 24th of Aug. 1805, aged 80 years. Arms. — Argent, a lion passant gules, langued azure, on three bars wavy azure ; on a chief of the last three bezants, for Hankins;* impaling, Gules, on a cross flory argent pierced twelve escallops sable, three on each extremity paleways, for Humphreys. Here was buried, Sept. 1745, the body of Mrs. Dorothy Popham, wife of Edward Popham, esq. of Tewkesbury Lodge. Here also lieth Letitia, daughter of Edward Popham, esq. by Dorothy his wife. She departed this life the 6th day of February 1753, in the 29th year of her age. Here lieth the body of Edward Popham, esq. of Tewkesbury Lodge, who departed this life the 20th day of May 1753, aged 65. Arms. — Argent, on a chief gules two bucks' heads or. Crest. — On a wreath argent and gules a buck's head erased proper. Here lyeth the body of Mrs. Catharine Hancock, daughter of William Hancock, esq. and Anne his wife, who died November 24th, 1729, aged 67. Arms. — Within a lozenge, Gules, a dexter hand couped argent, on a chief of the second three fighting cocks of the first. * Robert and Thomas de Hankins, sons of Frederick de Hankins, of Mayon Castle, in Normandy, accompanied Duke William to England in 1066. The conqueror rewarded them for their services : he knighted Robert, and made him governor of the castle of Carlisle, in Cumberland, a place of great tri\st; he gave Thomas an estate near Whitehaven, in the same county, and honoured him with the above coat of arms, to be borne by him and his posterity. 3 A 370 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Here lies the Hon. Elianor Stanford, daughter of Edward Stanford, esq. of Sawford, in the county of Warwick, by his wife Katharine Cocks of Northey, in the county of Gloucester. She was wife of the Hon. Francis Stafford, son of William Lord Viscount Stafford and the Lady Mary Countesse of Stafford his wife, descended from the antient Princes the Staffbrds Dukes of Buckingham and Earls of Stafford, &c. She had issue by him one son named Henry, who putts this stone upon her, in memory of a pious wife and tender mother. She departed this life the 26th day of October, Anno Dni. 1707. Arms. — Within a lozenge, or, a chevron gules, a mullet for difference, for Stafford; impaling, Quarterly, 1st and 4th, Argent, three bars azure for Stanford, 2d and 3d, Sable, a chevron between three stags' attires fixed to the scalps argent, fjr Cocks. Here lyeth the body of Charles Bridges, esq. second sone of Sir Giles Bridges, of Wilton-Castle, Barronet, who departed this life the 5th day of May, Ano. 1669. Anne Bridges, widowe, died the 25th of January 1695. Gyles Bridges, gent, died the 19th of June 1705. In memory of John Bridges, esq. who died April the 6th, 1731, aged 70. Anns. — Argent, on a cross sable a leopard's head cabossed or, a crescent for difference. MS. V. CL. Samuelis Jones, Ob vere cgrcgias animi dotes, Linguarum Scientiam, Multifariani eruditionem, In religione ac doctrina promovenda studium, Et singularem vita? utilitatem, Existimationis apud omnes summae In ccelos accitus est. - Anno iEtatis 38, Octob. 11, 1719* In the Nave. Edwardus Wakeman, Armiger, qui obijt 3 die Decembris An. Dni. 1634. Resurget et Vivet per ilium qui dixit "Ego sum Resurrectio et Vita." Ann the daughter of William Wakeman, gent, deceased 22d July Anno Dom. 1693. Arms. — Vert, a saltire wavy ermine. * Some account of the Rev. Samuel Jones may be found in page 255. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 371 No. 21. [Chapter 13.— Page 180.] Tombs, Sfc. in the Church-Yard. NEAR the entrance into the church-yard, there is a plain flat tomb, without an inscription, apparently of considerable antiquity. It probably once occupied a more honourable situation in the church, and seems to have had an upright cross morticed into it, the lower part of which is still visible. Mr. Gough, in his "Sepulchral Monuments," considers these kind of tombs to be the oldest of any. On a dilapidated tomb, near to the above : — Erected to the memory of Charles Hoskins, son of Thomas Hoskins, of the county of Middlesex, esq. and Anne his wife. He was nine years in slavery in Algiers, and being thence ransomed by the compassionate bounty of his pious mother, was here buried July 20th, 162.5. A neat modern tomb, at the west end of the church-yard, records the melancholy fate of an enterprising young officer : Beneath this stone, on the 4th day of March 1818, were deposited the mortal remains of James Butcher, a lieutenant in his majesty's navy; who was unfortunately drowned in the River Severn on the 28th of the preceding month, in the 32d year of his age. Devoted to his profession, he had honourably fulfilled its duties, and amply shared its toils and perils, in Europe, Asia and Africa. Mild of temper, and inoffensive in manners, his general conduct, during too short a life, had secured to him the esteem and regard, while his premature death called forth the sorrow and regret of all who knevr him ; but of no one more sincerely than of him who lias framed this last feeble tribute to his memory and worth. On a neat raised tomb, inclosed in a cradle of iron railing, on the west side of the church-yard, is the following curious inscription ; proving the divinity of our Saviour Jesus Christ, and demonstrating a perfect equality of the second with the first person in the Godhead, from the same names and attributes being indiscriminately ascribed to both in the original language of Holy Scripture. This tomb was erected by the Rev. William Smith, rectoi- of Birtsmorton and curate of Ashchurch, who for many years resided in Tewkesbury. 373 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. On the left side. The Remains OF the most affectionate, endearing and best of Women, MARY SMITH, late wife of The Reverend William Smith, were deposited here, on November 12th, 1737 ; in the 46th Year of her Age. A disconsolate and inconsolable Husband erects this small Tribute to the Memory of her, who was dealer to him than his own Life. Qualis fuit, postrema Dies indicabit. For we shall all stand before the Judgment seat of Christ, fa) Aleim [God] shall bring every Work into Judgment with every secret Thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.(b) For Aleim [God] is Judge Himself.(c) Jehovah cometh to judge the Earth ; (d) And saitk, I will gather all Nations and Tongues.(e) — Where/ore, Hear, O Isral, Jehovah our Aleim is Jehovah alone,(f) The most High. (g) As I live, saith the Lord [Jehovah, Aleim] every Knee shall bow to Me, and every Tongue shall confess to God [ALEi.«i].(h) Every Tongue shall confess, that Jesus Christ is the Lord [Jehovah, Aleim], to the Glory of [Jehovah, Aleim] God the Father.(i) (a) Rom. xiv. 10.— (b) Eccles. xn. 14.— (c) Ps. l. 6.— (d) 1 Chron. xvi. 33. Ps. xcvi. 13.— (e) Isa. lxvi. 18.— {f ) Deut. vi. 4. Mark xn. 29, 32.— (g) Ps. lxxxiii. 18.— (h) Rom. xiv. 11. Isa. xlv. 23.— (i) Phil. n. 11. Isa. lxvi. 18. The Feet. n s n x Era eimi 1 is tlic same \ ( O. T. as Exod. in. 14. and \ incommunicable \ I AM, in < N. T. as John vin. 24, 28, 58, ) Name ) ( Mutt. xiv. 27. O Jehowh, the Aleim [God] of Isral, Mho dwellest betneen the Cherubs, Thou only art the Aleim over all the Kingdoms of the Earth.(a) The four living Creatures rest not Day and Night, saying, Holy, Holy, Holy Lord [Jehovah] of Hosts, God [Aleim] Almighty, Who was, and is, and is to come.'b) Trust ye in Jehovah for ever; For in Jah Jehovah is everlasting Safety/c) Jesus Christ the same Yesterday, To-day, and for ever.(d) How amiable are Thy Mansions, O Thou Jehovah the Aleim of Hosts.(c) Eiessed be Jehovah the Aleim of Isral, From everlasting, & to everlasting, Amen, andAmen.(f) rraxn bx twvwi -nyy xb rexn bx *nxvo xVi s nyy roxn *nx*m s nyy a) 2 Kings xix. 15.— (b) Rev. iv. 8. Isa. vi. 3. & xliv. 6. — (c) I Judges v. 3.— (d) Heb. xui. 8.— (e) Ps. lxxxiv. 1, 8.— (f ) Ps. xli. 13. n * } is theEssENCE, Exod. x v. 2. Isa. xn. 2. xxvi. 4. n 1 n - )- He Mho is, or and 0 QN ) the Being, in Rev. i. 4, 8. iv. 8. xi. 17. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 373 The Head. The Cherubim of Glory, or Similitude of the Ale im, the Almighty Creators, with Man in Union.— Heb. ix. 5. CHERUBIC FIGURES, Carved and Coloured. From the Plate in Bates's Translation of the Pentateuch, and in the second edition of Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexicon. Exod. xxv. 18—22. xxxvu. 7—9. 2 Chron. in. 10. v. 8. 1 Kings vi. 23—28. vm. 7. Exek. i. 5—11. x. 14, 18—22. Exod. xl. 20. 2 Kings xix. 15. Lev. iv. 6. xvi. 12—14. Heb. ix. 4, 5. Confer, v. 13. Rev. vm. 4. and v. 8. On the rigid side. In this Vault also rest the Remains OF WILLIAM SMITH, A.M. Removed from this Life on the 6th of November, 1796, iEtatis 60. By his Death Society lost a most useful Member, Christianity a powerful Advocate, Mankind a real and pure Friend. On an upright head-stone, between two of the large chesnut trees : — In memory of John Hart, who died Jan. 22, 1800, (the sixth descendant from the Poet Shakspeare,) aged 45 years. Here lies the only comfort of my life, Who was the best of husbands to a wife ; Since he is not, no joy I e'er shall have, Till laid by him within this silent grave. Here we shall sleep, and quietly remain, Till by God's pow'r we meet in heaven again ; There with Christ eternally to dwell, And until that blest time, my love, farewell ! * * Although there is no lineal descendant of Shakspeare now living — his grand-daughter, the lady of Sir John Barnard, of Abingdon, near North- ampton, being the last of the poet's family in the direct line — yet from Shakspeare's favourite sister Joan, who married William Hart, a hatter, of Stratford-upon-Avon, about 1599, has regularly descended the present family of the Harts of Tewkesbury. John Hart, who is described above as the sixth in descent from Shakspeare, left two sons, the eldest of whom, J71 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. No. 22. [Chapter 11.— Page 183.] A Terrier of all the Glebes, Lands, Tithes, and other Rights, belonging to the Vicarage of Tewkesbury, in the Diocese of Gloucester. Extracted from the Registry of the Lord Bishop of Gloucester. Imprimis- The church and church-yard of the parish of Tewkesbury. Item. A glebe house, in length about 45 feet, in breadth about 40 feet, with a garden walled round, adjoining the church-yard, and measuring (including the site of the house) about one quarter of an acre. Item. Land in lieu of the great tithes of the parish of Tredington, set out by virtue of an Act of Parliament in the year lsuO, for inclosing the said parish, measuring 122a. 2h. 5p. and the church-yard of Tredington aforesaid. Ih-m. Land in lieu of the great tithes of the hamlet of Fiddington, in the parish of Ashchurch, set out by virtue of an art of parliament in the year 1811, for inclosing the said hamlet, measuring 113 A. lit. 6p.j and also William Shakspeare Hart, an industrious chair-maker, is now residing in this town, and has a large family. Sir R. Phillips, (vide Monthly 3Iagazine, Dec. 1817,) thinks that a striking resemblance is discernible in the contour ol* Hart's countenance to the portrait of Shakspeare in the first folio edition of his works, which we have Ben Johnson's testimony for believing to be an authentic likeness. Ireland, in his Picturesque Views on the Avon, makes a similar observation with regard to John Hart's father : alluding to the bust of Shakspeare, in Stratford church, and its resemblance to the print above- mentioned, he says, that there was "in the countenance of the late Mr. Thomas Harte, the descendant of Shakspeare's sister, a strong similitude to the markings of this figure." Poor Hart has now no relic of " the Bard of Avon" — a long walking-stick, which was given to him by his grandfather, just before his death, and which had been much valued by the family in consequence of its ha.ing belonged to Shakspeare, he confided to the care of the late Editor of the Monthly Magazine, in 1817. Mrs. Kingsbury, of this town, (who is related to the family of the Harts,) has in her possession a large earthen jug, with raised figures upon it, representing some of the personages in the heathen mythology, which is said to have been part of the property left by Shakspeare to his sister Joan. A neat silver top has recently been added to the jug, on which a head of the bard is engraved. Mrs. K. has likewise a metal pencil-case, supposed to have belonged to the immortal dramatist, on which an old-fashioned cipher WS. is engraved. Both these articles have unquestionably been long in the possession of the poet's descendants, and there is great probability for supposing them to have once been the property of Shakspeare himself. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 375 the great tithes of about twelve acres of arable land in the said hamlet, now occupied by Mr. Hobbs. Item. One third part of the tithes of the parish of St. Ismael in Rose, in the county of Pembroke. Item. Land exchanged for other land in the Oldbury Field, in the parish of Tewkesbury, in virtue of an act of parliament in the year 1808 for inclosing the said field, measuring 2a. 2r. lOr. Item. A small inclosure on the Ashchurch-road, containing 1a. 3r.32p. being the first field on the left hand on the further side of Saladine Bridge. Item. A small estate at Greet, in the parish of Winchcomb, consisting of about fifteen acres. Item. An interest in an estate at Giretton, in the parish of Winchcomb, being the profit of £.100 laid out on behalf of the minister in the year 1725, and now producing £.6. 18s. per annum. Item. One annual payment of £.4. 17s. 6d. from the tellers of his majesty's exchequer. Item. One annual rent charge of £.3. 5s. issuing from an estate at Stoke Prior, near Bromsgrove, in the county of Worcester. Item. One annual rent charge of £.1 per annum issuing out of a house near the Crescent, Church-street, now occupied by Mr. Jacob Allis. Item. One annual rent charge of 1 0s. per annum on a ground called the Red Pools, at the My the. Item. There is paid for every banns put up in the church 2s. — for every marriage by banns 5s. — for every marriage by license 10s. 6d. — for every person dying out of the parish and brought to be buried 6s. 8c/. — and for every churching I. v. Item. For every person buried in the chancel £.5. 5s., and in any other part of the church £.3. 3s. Item. In abeyance, all and singular privy or small tithes and Easter offerings yearly coming, arising, increasing and renewing, within the town and borough of TeAvkesbury. Signed, the 23d day of June, 1828, Charles White, Vicar of Tewkesbury. w-Ir 86 ^ 116 "' J Churchwardens. William Moore, 5 N.B. The land at Tredington and Fiddington is subject to the payment of fee-farm rents amounting to £.62. lis. 5§ ordain, create and incor- HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 39 J porate, by these presents, one entire free borough corporate, in fact, deed and name, henceforth for ever. And that the burg-esses and inhabitants of the same borough of Tewkes- bury, for the future and for ever, are and shall be one body corporate and politic, in fact, deed and name, by the name of the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester ; and them by the name of the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, one body corporate and politic, really and fully, for us, our heirs and successors, we erect, make, ordain and create, by these presents ; and that by the same name they may have a perpetual succession ; and that they and their successors, by the name of the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough of Tewkes- bury, in the county of Gloucester, may and shall be perpetually, for the future, persons fit and capable in the law to have, demand, receive and possess, lands, tenements, liberties, franchises, jurisdictions and heredita- ments, to them and their successors, in fee and perpetuity, or for term of life or lives, year or years, or otherwise howsoever ; and also goods and chattels, and all other things of whatsoever sort, nature, kind or quality they shall be ; and to give, grant, demise and assign the same lands, tenements and hereditaments, goods and chattels, and other deeds and things what- soever, or any parcel thereof ; and all other things do and perform by the name aforesaid ; and that by the same name of the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, they may and can plead and be impleaded, answer and be answered, defend and be defended, in all courts and places whatsoever, and before us, our heirs and successors, and all judges and justices, and other persons and officers whatsoever, of us, our heirs and successors, in all and singular actions, pleas, suits, complaints, causes, matters and demands whatsoever, of whatsoever sort, nature or kind, in the same manner and form as any other of our subjects of our kingdom of England, persons fit and capable in the law, or any other body corporate and politic, within this our kingdom of England, may and can have, receive, purchase, possess, give, grant, demise, assign or dispose, and plead and be impleaded, answer and he answered, defend and be defended, do or perform. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant, restore and confirm to the said bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty of the borough of Tewkesbury aforesaid, and their successors, full power and authority to execute, enjoy and exercise, so many, so much, such, the same, of the same kind, all, all manner, and the like customs, liberties, privileges, franchises, immunities, acquittances, fines, amerce- ments, exemption of gaols, merchandising, toll, custom, and all other rights and jurisdictions whatsoever, within the said town of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, and within the whole fee, called the Abbey Fee, m 302 HTSTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Tewkesbury aforesaid, and within the whole manor and liberties of the late abbey or monastery of Tewkesbury lately dissolved, called the Abbey Fee, parcel of the possessions of the said late monastery ; and within the whole manor and borough of Tewkesbury, parcel of the possessions of the said late monastery; and within the whole manor of Tewkesbury, in the said county of Gloucester ; and the whole hundred and liberty of Tewkesbury, in the said counties of Gloucester and Worcester, and in either of them, parcel of the lands of Thomas late Lord Seymour of Sudely attainted; and also within the whole manor and borough of Tewkesbury, parcel of the lands called Warwick's and Spenser's Lands ; and also within all and singular messuages, lands, tenements and hereditaments as aforesaid, before pur- chased, and within every and either of them, and part and parcel of each of them, as many, as much, such and which, the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, or their predecessors, or any of them, by whatsoever names, or by whatsoever name, or by whatsoever in- corporation or pretence of any incorporation, (at or before the time of the surrender aforesaid,) lawfully had, possessed or enjoyed, or ought to have, possess, use or enjoy, within the borough, town, hundred, manor, tenements, liberties and places aforesaid. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty of the borough aforesaid, and to their successors, free libcrtv, power and authority, and that it well may and shall be lawful for the afore- said baililVs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, to perambulate and make perambulation or perambulations thereof, and to erect and put bounds and limits there, or in the outward parts thereof, or any part of it, for to have true and better knowledge thereof, as often as it shall please them or shall seem necessary to them ; and this without any writ or other warrant therefore from us, our heirs or successors, in this part howsoever to be requested or prosecuted. We will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant and ordain, that from henceforth for the future, there are and shall be, in the borough aforesaid, two of the burgesses of the borough aforesaid, in manner below in these presents named, to be chosen and named, who shall be, and shall be nominated, bailiffs of the same borough ; and for the better execution of our grant in this part, we have assigned, nominated, appointed and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do assign, nominate, appoint and make, our beloved Joseph Jones and Henry Dobbins, gent, to be the first and modern bailiff's of the borough aforesaid; willing that they, the same Joseph Jones and Henry Dobbins, shall be and continue in the offices of bailiffs of the same borough, from the date of these presents, until and in the second Thursday in the month of October next to come, and from the same day until two other of the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 393 burgesses of the borough aforesaid shall be elected, appointed and sworn to the office of bailiffs aforesaid, at the time, in the manner and form in these presents here under mentioned, if the same Joseph Jones and Henry Dobbins or either of them shall so long live. And we will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant and ordain, that from henceforth for ever there may and shall be, in the borough aforesaid, four-and-twenty men, of the better, honester and more discreet burgesses of the same borough, who shall be and perpetually be called principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid ; which principal bur- gesses, together with the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, may and shall be, and for ever hereafter shall be called, the common council of the borough aforesaid, for all things, matters, causes and businesses of the borough aforesaid, and the good rule, state and government of the same borough touching or concerning ; and they may and shall be from time to time assistant and helping to the said bailiffs, for that time being, in all things, matters, causes and businesses, relating to the same borough. And we farther have assigned, nominated, appointed and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do assign, nominate, appoint and make, our beloved Robert Tracy, esq. Richard Dowdeswell, esq. Henry Collet, jun. esq. Charles Wynde, the aforesaid Joseph Jones, Nicholas Steight, Theophilus Holland, William Steight, Henry Peyton, Nicholas Wrenforcl, William Wilson, John Mann, Abraham Farren, Samuel Haw- ling, Robert Porter, the aforesaid Henry Dobbins, William Jones, Francis Leight, John Jeynes, Thomas Warkeman, William Merret, Thomas Hale, merchant, Thomas Bartholomew, and Daniel Kemble, gent, to be the chief and modern four-and-twenty principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the same offices and places as long as they shall behave themselves well; which indeed principal burgesses, and every of them before-named, and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, for himself or themselves ill behaving, we will to be moveable at the good pleasure of the bailiffs and principal burgesses, being common council of the borough aforesaid, or the greater part of them, either of which bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, we will to be one. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and to their successors, that whensoever it shall happen that either or any of the four-and-twenty principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, do die, or be removed from their office as aforesaid, that then and so often it may and shall be well and lawful for the aforesaid bailiffs and principal burgesses, being a common council of the borough aforesaid, or for the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for that time being we will to be one,) one other, or more of the burgesses of the borough aforesaid, into the place 3 D 31*4 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. or places of a principal burgess, or those principal burgesses, so dead, or removed from his or their office or offices, to elect, nominate and appoint, to supply the aforesaid number of four-and -twenty principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid ; and that he or they, so elected and appointed as aforesaid, may have and exercise that office or offices, so long as he or they shall behave himself or themselves well in the same office or offices, a corporal oath before the bailiffs and principal burgesses, being common council of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid we will to be one,) of that office, in all things touching that office, rightly, well and faith- fully to execute, being first performed. And farther, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, have willed, ordained and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do will, ordain and grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that from henceforth for ever there be and shall be, within the borough aforesaid, four-and twe nty other men, honest and discreet, of the same borough, who shall be and be named assistants of the same borough; which indeed four-and-twenty assistants may and shall be, from time to time, assisting and helping to the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, and to the aforesaid four-and-twenty principal burgesses, for the good rule, state and government of the borough aforesaid, in all things, causes, matters and businesses, touching the same borough. And we have assigned, nominated, created, appointed and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do assign, nominate, create, appoint and make, our beloved Joseph Sheene, Stephen Millington, Isaac Merret, Robert Wilkins, John Reeks, Robert Morris, George Moore, Wil- liam Hayward, Edward Leight, John Farren, Ralph Jeynes of the Barton- street, Matthew Maid, Thomas Nutt,Edwnrd Phelps, Samuel Dobbins, Ralph Jeynes of the High-street, Philip Brush, George Waters alias Hawkins, Richard Pitt, Joseph Smith, John Clifton, John Chaundler, Edward Pierce and Samuel Penell, to be four-and-twenty chief and modern assistants of the borough aforesaid, t:> be continued in the same offices so long as they shall behave themselves well; which very assistants before named, and either or any of them, and the assistants of the borough aforesaid for the time being, and either or any of them, not behaving himself or themselves well in their offices, we will to be moveable at the good pleasure of the bailiffs and principal burgesses, being common council of the borough afore- said, or the greater part of them, of whom either of the bailiff's of the borough aforesaiu for the time being we will to be one. And we farther will, and for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant to the said bailiff's, burgesses and commonalty of the borough afore- said, and to their successors, that whensoever it shall happen that either or HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 395 any of the aforesaid four-and-twenty assistants of the borough aforesaid do die, or are removed from his or their office as aforesaid, that then and so often it may and shall he well and lawful for the said bailiffs, and the rest of the common council of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) one other or more of the burgesses of the borough aforesaid, into the place or places of the same assistant or assistants (so happening to die or be removed) to elect, nominate and appoint, to supply t ne aforesaid number of four-and-twenty assistants of the borough aforesaid ; and that he or they, so as aforesaid elected and appointed to the office or offices of an assistant or assistants of the borough aforesaid, having performed, before the bailiffs and the rest of the common council of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the baiiiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) a corporal oath, well and faithfully to execute that office, he and they shall be of the number of the aforesaid four-and-twenty assistants of the borough aforesaid ; and this from time to time, as often as it shall so happen. And we farther will, and by these presents, for_ us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that from henceforth for the future the bailiffs and burgesses aforesaid shall be elected, nominated and sworn yearly, and every year, in and upon the second Thursday in the month of October, and not upon the Thursday next after the feast of St. Simon and St. Jude Apostles, by and before suc h person and persons, and in the same manner and form as was wont to be in the same borough at and before the time of the surrender aforesaid ; and that they who shall be elected, nomi- nated and sworn as aforesaid, to the office of bailiffs of the borough afore- said, may have and exercise that office for one whole year then next following, and thenceforth until two other burgesses of the borough aforesaid to the offices of bailiffs of the borough aforesaid shall be elected, appointed and sworn, in due manner. And moreover we will, and for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that if it shall happen that the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, or either of them, for the time being, within one year after they shall be elected, appointed and sworn to the offices of bailiffs of the borough afore- said, so as aforesaid, do die or be removed from his or their office or offices, that then and so often, one other lit person or two other fit persons shall be elected, appointed and sworn into the bailiwick or bailiwicks of the borough of Tewkesbury aforesaid, by and before such person and persons, and in such manner and form as was wont in,the same borough at and before the time of the surrender aforesaid ; and that he or they, so elected and sworn 396 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. may have and execute that office or offices during the residue of the same year, and so often as it shall so happen. And we farther will, and hy these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that they and their successors may and shall have, in the borough aforesaid, one honest and discreet man, to be chosen and nominated in form beneath in these presents expressed, who shall be and be named high steward of the borough aforesaid ; and we have assigned, nominated, appointed and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do assign, nominate, appoint and make, our well-beloved and faithful kinsman, Algernon Earl of Essex, to be the first and modem high steward of the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the same office so long as he shall behave himself well. We also will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that from and after the death of the said Algernon Earl of Essex, or any other determination of his office, the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough afore- said we will to be one,) may and can elect, nominate and appoint, one other honest and discreet man, from time to time, to the office of high steward of the borough aforesaid ; and that he who shall be elected, appointed and nominated so as aforesaid, after the death of the said Algernon Earl of Essex, or any other determination of the said office of high steward, shall and may execute and enjoy that office of high steward of the borough afore- said, during the good pleasure of the aforesaid bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid we will to be one,) and so as often as it shall so happen. We will also, and for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that they from henceforth for ever may have, in the borough aforesaid, one honest, fit and discreet man, skilful and learned in the laws of this kingdom of England, who shall be and be named recorder of that borough, to be continued in that office, and to execute the same by himself, or his deputy, so long as he shall behave himself well ; and we have assigned, nominated, appointed and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do assign, nominate, appoint and make, the aforesaid Robert Tracy to be chief and modern recorder of the borough aforesaid, to be con- tinued in the same office, and the same office to execute, by himself or his sufficient deputy, so long as he shall behave himself well. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 397 aforesaid, and their successors, that after the death or removal of the said Robert Tracy from the office aforesaid, and so often as the office of recorder of the borough aforesaid shall happen to be vacant, it may and shall be lawful for the bailiff's and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid we will to be one,) to elect, name and prefer one other honest and discreet man, learned in the laws of this kingdom of England, into the office of recorder of the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the same office so long as he shall behave himself well ; which said Robert Tracy, and all other persons who for the future shall be elected, nominated and appointed, so as aforesaid, into the office of recorder of the borough aforesaid, before he shall be permitted to execute that office, shall take a corporal oath before the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or either of them, to rightly, well and faithfully execute that office, in all businesses touching or concerning it. And we farther, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, have willed and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do will and grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs and recorder of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, during the time in which they shall happen to be in their offices, and four other of the honester and more discreet burgesses of the borough aforesaid, to be chosen and nominated by the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or by the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid we will to be one,) may and shall be, and every of them may and shall be, our justices, and our heirs and successors, to keep the peace, and to keep and cause to be kept the orders and statutes set forth for the good of the peace of us, our heirs and successors, and for the keeping of the same, and for the good and quiet rule and government of our people, our heirs and successors, and in all their articles in the borough, and liberty and precincts, by these presents to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty of the borough aforesaid, before granted, according to the statute, form and effect of the same; and to chastise and punish all offending against the force, form and effect, of the same orders and statutes, or either of them, as shall be to be done according to the form of the same orders and statutes ; and to cause to come before them, or either of them, all those who have threatened either or any of our people concerning their bodies or burning of their houses, to find sufficient security of the peace, or their good behaviour towards us and our people ; and if they shall refuse to find such security, then them to cause to be kept safe in our prison in the borough aforesaid, until they shall find such security; and to hear and determine all and all manner of felonies and other misdeeds, in the said borough, and liberty and precinct of the same, before mentioned, committed and to be 398 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. committed, and to keep and correct, and cause to be kept and corrected, the statutes concerning artificers, labourers, weights and measures, within the borough aforesaid, and liberty and precinct of the same. And that the said bailiffs and principal burgesses, or the greater part of them, within one month after the date of these presents, shall choose four such burgesses as aforesaid to be justices of the peace; which said four burgesses shall continue in the offices of justices of the peace, within the borough aforesaid, until and upon the second Thursday in the month of October next to come ; and that in and upon the aforesaid second Thursday of October next to come, and upon every second Thursday in the month of October for ever, four such burgesses of the borough aforesaid shall be yearly chosen, as aforesaid, to be justices of the peace, as aforesaid, within the borough aforesaid ; and that the bailiffs and recorders of the same borough, for the time being, and four other burgesses to be elected and nominated so as aforesaid in the offices of justices of the peace, or any three of them, (of whom either of the bailifl's or recorders of the borough aforesaid we will to be one,) may have full power and absolute authority to inquire, from time to time, by the oath of honest and lawful men of the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, concerning all and all manner of petty treasons, murders, voluntary manslaughter, manslaughters, felonies, witch- crafts, incantations, sorceries, magic art, forestallings, ingrossings, regratings and extortions whatsoever, and ' concerning all and singular other witch- crafts, transgressions, faults and offences whatsoever, of which the justices appointed to keep the peace in any county of our kingdom of England may or ought lawfully to inquire; and that they may or shall hear and deter- mine all and singular felonies, offences, transgressions, crimes and articles whatsoever, that belong to the office of a justice of the peace within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, to be done, heard, performed and determined, so fully and wholly, and in so ample a manner and form, as any other justices appointed to keep the peace in any county of our kingdom of England, by the law s and statutes of the same kingdom of England, or .otherwise; and that they, or any three of them, may and can, from time to time, keep sessions, in the same manner and form as an- other justices, appointed to keep the peace in any county of our kingdom of England, may and can ; so, nevertheless, that at the determination of any treason, murder, manslaughter, felony, or other offence whatsoever, touching the loss of life or a member, within the borough aforesaid, liberty and pre- cinct of- the same, without our special mandate of us, our heirs and suc- cessors, howsoever for the future they may not proceed. We will also, and for us, our heirs and successors, do command and forbid, by these presents, that no justice of the peace, within the county <>f Gloucester, do any ways introduce himself to do or execute any thing within the town or parish of Tewkesbury, and precinct of the same, that belongs to the office of a justice of the peace there to be done. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 399 And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that they, and their successors, henceforth for ever, may have and hold, within the borough aforesaid, a certain court of record before the bailiffs of the same borough for the time being, in a certain house called the Tolzey, or other convenient place in the same borough, upon Friday in every week yearly to be kept; in which court they shall keep the pleas of all and all manner of debts, trespasses and per- sonal actions, proceeding from within the liberty of the borough aforesaid, so that they do not exceed the sum of fifty pounds of lawful money of England, nor touching a free tenement within the liberties of the borough aforesaid, by complaints thereof before the bailiffs aforesaid, to be levied, made and entered ; and that the same bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty, and their successors, upon the like sort of complaints, pleas, quarrels and actions, may have power, authority and faculty, to implead defendants against whom the like complaints, pleas or actions, in the said court shall happen to be levied or removed, by an attachment of their bodies to be directed to the sergeants at mace of the borough aforesaid, or other officer or officers, or any of them, to be appointed or assigned by the bailiffs afore- said, or either of them, for the time being. And that the like pleas, complaints, suits and actions, may be there heard and determined before the bailiffs of the said borough for the time being, or either of them, together with the recorder of the borough aforesaid, or his sufficient deputy for the time being, by such and the like processes and means, according to the laws and customs of this our kingdom of England, by their peers, and as is agreeable to our laws, and in as ample manner and form as is or ought to be used and accustomed in any court of record in any city, borough, or town incorporate, within our kingdom of England. Provided always, and it is our good pleasure, and for us, our heirs and successors, we do will and forbid, that no attachment or other process be directed to the sergeants at mace of the borough aforesaid, or shall be executed or served by the same in any place, unless within the town and parish of Tewkesbury aforesaid, and precinct of the same town. And we farther will, and for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that there may and shall be perpetually, in the borough afore- said, one honest and discreet man, to be chosen in form in these presents mentioned, who shall be and be nominated common clerk of the borough aforesaid, and clerk of our peace within the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the same office so long as he shall behave himself well. And we have farther appointed, nominated and constituted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do appoint, nominate and constitute the aforesaid Henry Collet, jun. to be the first and modern common clerk of 400 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. the borough aforesaid, and clerk of our peace within the borough aforesaid, so long as he shall behave himself well, and to do and execute all things which respectively belong to the office of common clerk and clerk of the peace within the borough aforesaid. And we also will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that from henceforth for the future there be and shall be, within the borough, liberty and precinct of the same, one honest and discreet man, to be chosen in form in these presents, who shall be and be called coroner of the borough aforesaid, who shall have full power and authority to do and execute all and singular those acts and things whatsoever, within the borough aforesaid, and precinct of the same, which tend and belong to the office of a coroner within the borough aforesaid to be done and executed. And we have appointed, nominated and con- stituted, and by these presents do appoint, nominate and' constitute, the aforesaid Henry Collet to be the first and modern coroner of the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the same office during the good pleasure of the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bail ill's we will to be one.) And we farther will, that after the death or removal of the aforesaid Henry Collet from the office of coroner aforesaid, then and thenceforth it may and shall be well and lawful for the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them who shall be then present, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough afore- said we will to be one,) at their pleasure from time to time to elect, nomi- nate and appoint, one other honest and discreet man of the burgesses of the borough aforesaid into the office of coroner of the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the same office during the good pleasure of the aforesaid bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs we will to be one,) a corporal oath being first taken before the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, or either of them, to rightly, well and faithfully perform that office in all things touching or concerning that offic . We farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) may and shall from time to time elect, constitute and create, one of the burgesses of the borough aforesaid to have, exercise and execute, the office of chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, so long as it shall seem fit to the aforesaid bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 401 aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) or until the aforesaid cham- berlain shall leave the said office of his own accord, or die ; and that every burgess of that borough, elected, chosen and created, chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, or to be elected, chosen or created, shall take a corporal oath, in due manner, to do and faithfully execute all those things which belong to the office of chamberlain of the borough aforesaid. And that the chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, shall and may receive all manner of rents, fines, amercements, revenues, profits, commo- dities and emoluments whatsoever, to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, by right of any corporation, or howsoever belonging, appertaining, incurred, due or payable, and keep the same in his power, to and for the use of the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and expend and disburse the same, from time to time, at their command and request. And the aforesaid chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, shal] keep all and singular writings, deeds, evidences and muniments whatsoever, to the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, belonging, or in any wise appertaining ; and shall keep the seal as well of the aforesaid bailiff's, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, as of the master of the school beneath written, in the chamber of the borough aforesaid ; and shall cause to come the same writings and muniments, and seal, before the aforesaid bailiffs and principal burgesses, or either of them, as often and whensoever by them they shall be com- manded, that they may look into them, and duly determine and dispose or use them ; and let him perpetually give a true and just yearly account, at every feast of Saint James the Apostle, or within fifteen days next following the same feast, to the said bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, of all things by him so received or levied, kept or had; and let him execute and do all those things as in times past were used and accustomed by the chamberlain aforesaid. And also that every chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, who shall happen to be removed from his office, or shall leave his office aforesaid of his own accord, and the heirs, executors and administrators of such who shall die, having the office of chamberlain afore- said, within one month next after the death or removal, or voluntary leaving of his office beforesaid, may give a true and faithful account of all things in his office, by virtue of said office by him accepted, had or done, to the bailiffs and principal burgesses of that borough, or so many of them as will be there when it shall be required of him. And for the better execution of our will and grant in this part, we have appointed, created, nominated, constituted and made, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do appoint, create, nominate, constitute and make, the aforesaid William Wilson to be the first and modern chamberlain of that borough, to be continued in the 3 E 402 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. office aforesaid so long as he shall behave himself well. And that, from time to time, and at all times, after the death, surrender or other determi- nation of the office aforesaid, at the good pleasure and will of the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough afore- said for the time being we will to be one,) the aforesaid bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, as aforesaid, may elect, nominate and appoint, one other discreet man of the burgesses of the borough, for the time being, from time to time, to be chamberlain of the borough aforesaid; and that he who shall be elected, appointed and nominated, to be chamberlain of the borough afore- said, so as aforesaid, after the death, surrender or other determination of the aforesaid office, may have, enjoy and exercise that office of chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, during the good pleasure of the bailiffs and prin- cipal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) a corporal oath being first taken before the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, or so many of them as will be there, (of whom cither of the bailiffs for the time being we will to be one,) to execute that office of chamberlain of the borough afore- said, rightly, well and faithfully, in and by all things touching that office; and so often as it shall so happen. And farther, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, we do will and grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, together with our clerk, our heirs and successors, of the same borough assigned to receive recognizances of debts, may for ever have full power and authority to receive recognizances, by virtue of the statute of Acton Burncll, between merchant and merchant, merchants and merchants, and between every and all other person and persons whatsoever, or either of them, concerning any debt, and any sum; and the execution thereof to be made according to the form and effect of the said statute of Acton Burnell, statute of merchants, or cither of them, or other statute in that part set forth and provided ; and also to do and execute all other things in the premises, or the premises any ways touching or concerning, which by the vigour of the said statute of Acton Burnell, and the statute of mer- chants, and other statutes in that part set forth and provided, or either or any of them, belong to be done and executed. And that for ever hereafter there be and shall be a clerk of us, our heirs and successors, of the said borough of Tewkesbury, to receive such like recognizances of debts, accord- ing to the form of the statutes aforesaid; and that he may and shall perpetually have power and authority to do and perform all and singular HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 403 matters, which in any wise belong to the office of clerk of recognizances, according to the form of the statutes aforesaid, or either of them, to be taken in the vigour of those statutes, or either of them, to be done and executed. And we do ordain, nominate, constitute, create, erect and appoint, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, the aforesaid Henry Collet to be our clerk, our heirs and successors, of the recognizances aforesaid, within the borough aforesaid, and the aforesaid liberty and precinct of the same, according to the form and statute aforesaid, as long as he shall behave him- self well in the same office; and that the aforesaid bailiffs, and the aforesaid clerk of the like recognizances, for the time being, may for ever have a seal for sealing the recognizances aforesaid, according to the form of the statute aforesaid ; and that the same bailiffs and clerk of such like recognizances, for the time being, may have for ever henceforth the keeping of the said seal; and that the said bailiff's and clerk of the like recognizances, for the time being, may have from henceforth for ever so much, and so great, and intire, and absolute authority, faculty and power, from henceforth for the future, to take, seal and record, and certify such like recognizances, and to perform, do and execute all other, according to the exigence of the said statute, by and in all tilings, with the sureties, fees and regards thereunto belonging and appertaining, as any other mayor, mayors, bailiff, bailiffs, and such clerk or clerks, in any city, borough or town whatsoever, within this our kingdom of England, hath, or have, or ought to have. And we do make, create, constitute, appoint and ordain, by these presents, the said bailiff's and clerk of the recognizances of the said borough, for the time being, to do and perform all the premises. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and suc- cessors, do grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that after the death or removal of the afore- said Henry Collet from the aforesaid offices of common clerk, clerk of the peace, and clerk of the recognizances, within the borough aforesaid, or from either of them, and from and after any other determination of the offices aforesaid, of common clerk, clerk of the peace, and clerk of the recognizances, within the borough aforesaid, or either of them, and as often as such offices or either or any of them shall be void, then and so often it may and shall be well and lawful for the bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or for the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) to elect, nominate and appoint, one other fit person or more fit persons to be common clerk, clerk of the peace and clerk of the -.ecognizances, within the borough aforesaid, to be continued in the like office or offices, to which he or they shall be elected and appointed, so long- as he or they shall behave himself or themselves well. Provided always, and we will, that every person and persons, so as aforesaid hereafter to be 46 • HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. elected to the aforesaid offices of common clerk, clerk of the peace and clerk of the recognizances, within the borough aforesaid, or to either or any of these offices, before he or they be admitted to the execution of these offices, or either or any of them, shall take a corporal oath for the due execution of the offices of common clerk, clerk of the peace and clerk of the recognizances, within the borough aforesaid, or for the due execution of such office or offices to which he or they shall be so elected, before the bailiffs and prin- cipal burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them. And moreover we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and suc- cessors, do command, that the bailiffs, recorders, common clerk, principal burgesses, justices of the peace, assistants, chamberlain, coroner, clerk of the peace and recognizances, and other officers, by these presents nominated and constituted, before that they or either of them be respectively admitted to the execution of their separate trusts and offices, in these presents mentioned, they and every of them shall take and perform their separate corporal oaths, upon the Bible, for the due execution of their trusts and respective offices, in manner and form following, (viz.) The bailiff's and recorder, by these presents nomi- nated and appointed, shall take their oaths before the aforesaid Richard Dowdcswell, Stephen Baldwin, esqrs. Henry Collet, sen. and James Bcn- gough, gent, or any two or more of them, to which, or am two or more of them, we give and grant, by these presents, full power and authority to give and administer the like oath. And we have also granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant, that the aforesaid bailiffs and recorder, in these presents nominated, or two of them, (of whom either of the bailiff's we will to be one,) may have full power and authority of giving and administering a corporal oath to the rest of the principal burgesses, justices of the peace, chamberlain, common clerk, clerk of the peace and recognizances, coroner, assistants, and other officers aforesaid, in these presents before mentioned, and also die aforesaid four justices of the peace, by virtue of these presents, as aforesaid, to be elected within one month after the date of these presents. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiff's, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the aforesaid bailiff's, bur- gesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, may and shall for ever have, within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, one prison or gaol, for the preservation and keeping of all and singular persons attached or to be attached, or to be any ways adjudged to the prison or gaol jf the borough aforesaid, within the liberty of the borough aforesaid, or precinct of the same, for any cause which could be inquired, prosecuted, punished or determined, in that borough, to abide there so long and until they shall be freed in a lawful manner; and that the bailiffs of HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 405 the borough aforesaid, for the time being, be and shall be keepers of the same gaol. We will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that they and their successors may have all fines, redemptions, recognizances and amercements whatsoever, for trans- gressions and other misdeeds whatsoever, or other causes and matters within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, committed and to be committed, and also all and all manner of penalties and for- feitures, forfeited or to be forfeited, of all burgesses and inhabitants of the borough, and liberty of the same aforesaid, there residing, and henceforth happening to reside, and their successors, for the peace of us, our heirs and successors, and otherwise howsoever, and also of all other residing in the borough aforesaid, and liberty of the same, forfeited or to be forfeited, to us, our heirs and successors, within the same borough, liberty, and precinct of the same, and all and all manner of issues, fines, redemptions and amerce- ments, of the aforesaid burgesses and residents, their heirs and successors, before the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, as before the justices of us, our heirs and successors, appointed to take the assizes or gaol delivery, keepers of the peace, and justices itinerant, and the institutes of us, our heirs and successors, to hear and determine, and other commissionary justices of us, our heirs and successors, whatsoever forfeited or to be forfeited, done or to be done, imposed or to be imposed, from or by any cause, by the chamber- lain of the borough aforesaid, who shall be for that time, to the use of the said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, to be asked, levied and demanded, without the occasion or hindrance of us, our heirs and successors, sheriffs, justices, and other corn- missionary officers and ministers whatsoever, of us, our heirs and successors. We have also granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and suc- cessors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that they and their successors, henceforth for ever, may and shall have, to the proper use of them the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, all and all manner of goods and chattels of all felons and fugi- tives, outlawed and waved, to be outlawed and to be waved, adjudged, condemned, and to be adjudged, attaint and happening to be attaint, con- victed and to be convicted, fled and to be sought after, for Mony, murder, or petty treason, transgression, or other matter or cause whatsoever; and other forfeitures and offences beforesaid, touching and concerning all and singular burgesses and inhabitants, residing or not residing within the borough aforesaid, and liberty and precinct of the same, and all other things whatsoever, within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, 406 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. found out and happening for the future to be found out; and that if any person, that ought to lose his life or limbs for his offence, shall either fly, and will not stand to judgment, or shall commit any other crime, for which he ought to lose or forfeit his goods and chattels, wheresoever justice ought to be done him, whether it be in our court, our heirs and successors, or in any other court whatsoever, his goods and chattels being, or henceforth for the future happening to be, within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, shall be to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their heirs for ever; and that it may and shall be well and lawful for the same bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough afore- said, and their successors, by the chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, who for that time shall be, or by any other or others in their name, without the hindrance of us, our heirs and successors, or any officers of our heirs and successors -whatsoever, to put himself or themselves in seizure of the goods and chattels aforesaid, and them receive and keep for the use of the bailiff's, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their suc- cessors, although the same goods and chattels shall be first seized by us, or our heirs or successors, or by our or their servants. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, and their successors, may and shall have full authority and power to press for the service of us, our heirs and suc- cessors, at any of our wars, and musterings, and trainings of our subjects, within the town and parish of Tewkesbury aforesaid, the limits and pre- cincts of the same, as often and when they see fit, from time to time, to be done, taken and overlooked, and to cause to be chastised and punished those that refuse the premises, or any of them, at the lawful command of the said bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, by imprisonment of their bodies, according to their discretion ; and that no man possessing a place, or a commissioner of us, our heirs or successors, appointed or to be appointed to press, or train, in the aforesaid county of Gloucester, may introduce himself in any pressing or training of men, abiding or inhabiting within the town and parish of Tewkesbury aforesaid, limits and precinct of the same, nor enter into the town and parish aforesaid, limits or precinct of the same, to do or execute any thing that doth in any wise belong to his office of pressing or training, unless with the assent and consent of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being. And farther, of our more ample special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that neither they the bailiffs and principal burgesses, and their assistant", the high steward, chamberlain, and their HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 407 successors, and other their officers within the borough aforesaid, shall serve, nor any of them may be compelled or hound, nor either of them be compelled or bound, any ways to come before us, our heirs and successors, the justices of the bench of us and our heirs, the justices of us and our heirs appointed keepers of the peace, to take the assizes and gaol delivery, and the justices of us and our heirs appointed to hear and determine divers felonies, transgressions and misdeeds, or the justices of us and our heirs of the nisi prius, or the justices of us and our heirs assigned to survey the sea- walls, ditches, gouts, sewers, paths, bridges and rinds, or other commis- sioners of us or our heirs, the high sheriff, escheater, coroner, high steward, mareschal, or clerk of the market of our household, or other officers and servants of us, our heirs and successors ; nor may any or either of them, in any assizes, be put or impanelled on a jury, or other inquisition, without the borough aforesaid, nor may they or either of them forthwith forfeit to us or our heirs, in any issue or amercement, on any occasion whatsoever ; but thereof let them be quiet for ever, unless they have, or either of them hath, lands and tenements without the borough aforesaid, liberty and pre- cinct of the same, for which he or they ought to be charged. And we have farther given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors^ do give and grant, to the aforesaid bailiffs and burgesses of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, may and shall have the return of all writs, precepts, bills and warrants, of us, our heirs and successors ; and also summons, estreats and precepts, of our exchequer, our heirs and suc- cessors; and the estreats and precepts of our justices itinerant, as well at the forest pleas, as at the common pleas, or other offices whatsoever ; and also attachments, as well of the pleas of the crown, as others coming from and ha})pening in the said borough, liberty and precinct, or any part of them ; and the execution of them to be made by the bailiffs of the borough afore- said, for the time being; so that no high sheriff, under sheriff, bailiff, or any servant of us, our heirs and successors, may enter into our borough afore- said, the suburbs or precinct of the same, for any thing or things belonging to his office to be done, in this part to be done, unless in defect of those bailiffs, or their successors, or their servants, for the time being. And we will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant and ordain, that henceforth for ever there be and shall be, in the said borough of Tewkesbury, two burgesses of the parliament of us, our heirs and successors ; and that the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, upon a writ of us, our heirs and successors, concerning the election of burgesses of parliament, to them directed, may and shall have power, authority and faculty, of electing and nominating two discreet and honest men to be burgesses of the parliamen* of us, our heirs and successors, for the same borough, and to send the same 408 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. burgesses, so elected, at the charges and costs of the said bailiffs, bur- gesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, for the time being, into the parliament of us, our heirs and successors, where it shall be then held, in the same manner and form as is used and accustomed in any boroughs of our kingdom of England ; which burgesses, so elected and nominated, we will to be present^ and to abide at the parliament of us, our heirs and successors, at the charges and costs of the said bailiffs, bur- gesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, during the time in which the parliament shall happen to be held ; and they to have places and votes in like manner and form as other burgesses of parliament for any other boroughs or borough whatsoever, within our kingdom of England, do and have, or have been wont to do and have ; and these bur- gesses, in the parliaments of us, our heirs and successors, shall have their votes as well affirmative as negative, and shall there do and execute all and singular other matters, as any other burgesses or burgess of our parliament, for all other boroughs or borough whatsoever, may or can have, do and execute, by reason or manner whatsoever. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors for ever, that they and their suc- cessors may and can have, hold and keep, in the borough aforesaid, yearly for ever, all and singular such wakes, fairs and markets, in the same borough, as by the aforesaid charter, made in the seventh year aforesaid of the late King James I. or by any charters of our antecessors and predecessors, to the same bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, or to their predecessors granted, before that time were granted, and which at or before the time of the surrender aforesaid were lawfully held or used, by the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, within the borough aforesaid, together with the pie poudre court there held in the time of those wakes and fairs, and with all liberty and free customs of toll, stallage, piccage, fines, amercements, and all other profits, com- modities and emoluments whatsoever, belonging, happening, proceeding or touching, the same wake or fair, and pie poudre court, and with all other free customs and liberty whatsoever, to the same wake, fair and pie poudre court, appertaining and belonging. And we farther will and grant to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, henceforth for ever, be and shall be clerks of the market within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same. And we further will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and suc- cessors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that the bailiffs and principal HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 409 burgesses of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, or the greater part of them, (of whom either of the bailiffs of the borough aforesaid for the time being we will to be one,) may and shall have power and authority, from time to time, to elect, nominate, appoint and constitute, so many and such, as well without the borough aforesaid, as within that borough, limits or precinct of the same, inhabiting and abiding, to be burgesses of the said borough, as to the said bailiffs and principal burgesses of the borough afore- said, or to the greater part of them, as aforesaid, for the public profit of the said borough, shall seem more profitable, in the same manner and form, and with the same corporal oath to be taken by every of the said burgesses so chosen and appointed, as the burgesses of that borough were heretofore wont to take within the said borough of Tewkesbury ; and that these bur- gesses of the borough aforesaid, and every of them, henceforth for ever, may and can perpetually, fully and peaceably, possess and enjoy all liberties, privileges, franchises and immunities, by either or any of our progenitors or predecessors, kings or queens of England, to the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough of Tewkesbury, or incorporated by any other name or names, before given and granted, at and before the time of the surrender aforesaid. And farther, of our more plentiful and special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have given and granted, and for us, our heirs and successors, by these presents, do give and grant, to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, full power, authority and jurisdiction, that the aforesaid bailiffs of the borough aforesaid, for the time being, may and can have and exercise, within the borough aforesaid, and liberty and precinct of the same, hence- forth for ever, the punishing and correcting of all and singular drunkards, and all and singular harlots, whores, bawds, concubines, and all others whatsoever living lasciviously and incontinently ; and also all and singular dishonestly or maliciously communicating, upon any occasion, whether they are scolds abiding or inhabiting within the borough aforesaid, and liberty of the same, or are delinquents, as well by the verdict and presentment of twelve honest and lawful men of the borough aforesaid, for that time being, as by other lawful ways and means, to which the said bailiffs, for the time being, it shall seem to be most expedient. And farther, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant and give, special and free liberty and faculty, power and authority, to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, to have, receive and purchase, to them and their successors for ever, the manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions, and other hereditaments whatsoever, within our kingdom of England, or any where 3 F 410 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. within our dominions, purchased of us, our heirs and successors, as of any other person or persons whatsoever, so that the same manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, underwoods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions, and other hereditaments, so by them to be had, received and purchased, above the aforesaid manor, borough and hundred of Tew- kesbury, and other the premises in these presents before-mentioned, and other manors, lands, tenements and hereditaments, purchased before the making of the aforesaid letters patents, in the seventh year of King James I. by the same bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, or their predecessors, by any name or names incorporated, or purchased by virtue of any incorporation, do not exceed in the whole the clear yearly value of £.200 per annum, besides all charges. And we do give also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, to every of our subjects, our heirs and successors, special and free liberty, power and authority, that they, or either or any of them, may give, grant or sell, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, underwoods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions, services, and other hereditaments whatsoever, to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their suc- cessors; so that all the aforesaid manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, underwoods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions, services, and other hereditaments, to the same bailiffs, burgesses and com- monalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, by virtue of these presents so to be given, granted, leased and aliened, as aforesaid, do not exceed, in the whole, the clear yearly value of £.200 per annum, besides all charges and reprises. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give, grant, confirm, ratify, restore and approve, to the afore- said bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, all and all manner of liberties, franchises, immunities, exemp- tions, privileges, acquittances, jurisdictions, lands, tenements, wafts, funds, commons, and hereditaments whatsoever, which the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, or any of their successors, by any names or name, or by any incorporation, or under pretence of any incor- poration, in time of making the aforesaid charter, made in the seventh year of the aforesaid King James I. had, possessed, used or enjoyed, or ought to have, possess, use or enjoy, from an hereditary state, by reason or under pretence of any charters or letters patent, by any of our progenitors or predecessors, kings or queens of England, howsoever before them made, confirmed or granted, or by any other lawful means, right, title, custom, use or prescription, before then lawfully used, had or accustomed, although the same, or any of them, have not heretofore been used, or have been abused, or ill used or discontinued ; and although the same, or either or any of them, are and have been forfeited, or lost, or surrendered ; to be had, HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 411 possessed, exercised, used and enjoyed, by the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors for ever ; and to restore and pay therefore to us, our heirs and successors, yearly, so much, so many, such, the same, and the like rents, services, sums of money and demands whatsoever, as for the same were heretofore wont to be paid, or they ought to pay, to us or our predecessors. Wherefore we will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, that the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, may fully and entirely have, possess, use and enjoy, all liberties, free customs, privileges, authority, jurisdictions and acquittances aforesaid, according to the tenor and effect of these our letters patent, without the occasion or hindrance of us, or any of our heirs or successors ; willing that the same bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, or any or either of them, by reason of the premises, or either of them, by us, our heirs, our justices, sheriffs, escheators, or other bailiffs or servants of us, our heirs and successors, whatsoever, be occasioned, molested, vexed, grieved, or disturbed, in any thing ; willing, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, commanding, as well the commis- sioners of our treasury, the treasurer, chancellor and barons, of the exchequer, of us, our heirs and successors, as our attorney and solicitor general for the time being, and every of them, and all other officers and servants what- soever of us, our heirs and successors, that neither they, nor either nor any of them, may prosecute or continue, or shall cause to be prosecuted or continued, any writ or summons of any warrant, or any other our writ, writs or process whatsoever, against the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, or either or any of them, for any causes, things or matters, offences, claims or usurpations, whether of any of them, by them, or any of them, due, claimed, attempted, used, had or usurped, before the day of the making of these presents ; willing also, that the bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, or either of them, be no ways molested or hindered by either or any justices, officers and sen ants afore- said, in or for due use, claim, usurpation or abuse, of any liberties, fran- chises or jurisdiction, before the day of the making of these our letters patent, or be compelled to answer to any or either of these things. And farther, for the better education and instruction of boys and youth within the same borough, liberty and precinct thereof, in good arts, learning, virtue and education, perpetually to be educated and informed, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have willed, granted and ordained, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do will, grant and ordain, that from henceforth for ever there be and shall be, within the borough aforesaid, liberty and precinct of the same, one grammar-school, which shall be called the free grammar-school of William Ferrers, citizen and mercer of London, in Tewkesbury, in the county of 412 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Gloucester ; and that school, by the name of the free grammar-school of the aforesaid William Ferrers, of Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, we do erect, ordain, create, found and firmly establish, by these presents ; and that the free grammar-school aforesaid be, and do consist of one master and one usher, and scholars in the same school, to be taught and instructed according to the ordination and constitution in these presents below specified and declared. And that our aforesaid intention may better take effect, and that the manors, messuages, lands, tenements, rents, reversions, heredita- ments, annuities, goods and chattels, and other profits and hereditaments, to be granted, assigned and appointed, to the sustenance of the free grammar- school aforesaid, may be better governed, for continuation of the same school, we will, grant and ordain, that the aforesaid bailiffs, justices of the peace, chamberlain of the borough aforesaid, and town clerk, in Tewkesbury aforesaid, and their successors, henceforth for ever, shall be and be called governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the aforesaid free grammar-school of William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester. And farther, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we do will, ordain and establish, by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, that the aforesaid bailiffs, justices, chamberlain and town clerk, of the aforesaid borough of Tewkesbury, for the time being, and their successors for ever, henceforth be and shall be one body corporate and politic of itself, in deed, fact and name, by the name of governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the free grammar-school of William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester ; and them, and their successors, into one body corporate and politic, really and to the full, for us, our heirs and successors, we do incorporate, erect, create, ordain, make and establish, by these presents ; and that by the same name of governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the free grammar-school of William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, in all future times they shall be known, called and nominated, and shall have a perpetual succession. And we farther will and ordain, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid governors, and their successors, that they and their successors, from henceforth for ever, may have a com- mon seal, to serve for their business touching the free grammar-school aforesaid, according to the tenor and true intent of these our letters patent ; and that it may and shall be well and lawful for them, and their successors, to break, change and make new, that seal, from time to time, at their pleasure, as it shal 1 seem fit to them to be done ; and that they and their successors, by the name of governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the free grammar-school of William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, be and shall be perpetually persons fit and capable, in the HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 413 law, to have, purchase, receive and possess, to them and their successors, the goods and chattels, and also manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, feedings, rents, reversions, services, rectories, tithes, and other possessions and hereditaments whatsoever, to the sustenance and maintenance of the said grammar-school, as well from us, our heirs and successors, as from any other person or persons whatsoever, in manner and form in these presents below specified ; and that the aforesaid governors, and their successors, by the name of governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the free grammar-school of William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, may and can plead and be impleaded, defend and be defended, answer and be answered, in all and singular causes, com- plaints, actions, suits and demands whatsoever, of whatsoever sort, nature or kind they be, in whatsoever places and courts of us, our heirs and suc- cessors, and before whatsoever judges and justices of as, our heirs and suc- cessors, or any of them, within our kingdom of England, and to do and execute all other facts and deeds, by the name aforesaid, as other our subjects of our kingdom of England, persons fit and capable in the law, within our kingdom of England, do or may do, in the places and courts aforesaid, and before the justices abovesaid. And we farther will, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant liberty, power and authority, to the aforesaid governors and their successors, to elect, nominate and appoint, and that they may and can elect and appoint, one honest man, learned, and fearing God, to be master of the free grammar-school aforesaid, and one other man, discreet and fit, to be usher of the same school j which master and usher, so as aforesaid elected, nominated and appointed, shall be and continue, and either of them shall be and continue, in their offices aforesaid, during the good pleasure of those the governors and their successors for the time being ; and that as often as it shall happen that any master or usher of the free grammar-school aforesaid dies, or be removed from the office and place aforesaid, that then and so often it shall and may be well and lawful for the aforesaid governors, and their successors, to elect, nominate and appoint, one other honest man, learned, and fearing God, in the place of the master so dead or removed from his office; and also one other honest and fit man, in the like place of the usher, so happening to die or be removed ; and that every master, so as aforesaid nominated and appointed, shall be and continue in the office or place of master or usher of the same free grammar-school, during the good pleasure of those governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the free grammar-school aforesaid, and their successors ; and that the same governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the said free grammar-school of William Ferrers, of Tewkes- bury, in the county of Gloucester, for the time being, and their successors, shall and may make fit and wholesome statutes, ordinances and writings, 414 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. touching and concerning the nomination, election, ordination, government, punishment, expulsion, removal and direction, of the said free grammar- school, the master and usher of the same school, and the scholars in the same school being ; and concerning and touching the ordination, govern- ment, dismission, location, disposition, recovery, defence and preservation, of the manors, messuages, lands, tenements, possessions, hereditaments, goods and chattels, to be given, granted or assigned, to the maintenance of the aforesaid grammar-school. Which statutes and ordinances, so to be made, we will and ordain, and for us, our heirs and successors, do command, from time to time inviolably to be observed for ever; so nevertheless that the aforesaid statutes and ordinances, so as aforesaid to be made, or any of them, are not repugnant or contrary to the laws, statutes, rights, or customs, of this our kingdom of England. And farther, of our more abundant special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, we have given and granted, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant, to the aforesaid governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the aforesaid free grammar-school of the aforesaid William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Gloucester, and their successors, liberty, special free will, power, faculty and authority, to have, purchase, receive and possess, to them and their successors for ever, for the perpetual sustenance and maintenance of the free grammar-school aforesaid, manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, underwoods, rectories, rents, reversions and services, and other heredita- ments whatsoever, within our kingdom of England, or any where within our dominions, as well from our heirs and successors, as from any other person or persons whatsoever, so that the same manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, woods, underwoods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions, services, and other hereditaments, do not exceed in the whole the clear yearly value of £.30 per annum, besides all charges and reprises. And we do also give and grant, for us, our heirs and successors, by these presents, to every of our subjects, our heirs and successors whatsoever, special and free liberty and power, faculty and authority, that they and every of them may give, grant, sell, lease or alien, manors, messuages, lands, tene- ments, meadows, pastures, feedings, woods, underwoods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions, services, and other hereditaments whatsoever, to the afore- said governors of the goods, possessions and revenues, of the aforesaid free grammar-school of William Ferrers, in Tewkesbury, in the county of Glou- cester, and their successors ; so nevertheless that all the aforesaid manors, messuages, lands, tenements, meadows, pastures, feedings, woods, under- woods, rectories, tithes, rents, reversions and services, and other heredita- ments, so as aforesaid to be given, granted, leased or aliened, to the same governors and their successors, by virtue of these presents, do not exceed in the whole the clear yearly value of £.30, besides burthens and reprises. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 415 We will also, and by these presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do grant to the aforesaid bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, that these our letters patent, and all and singular things in them contained, shall stand and be good, firm, valid, sufficient and effectual, in the law - y and that all and singular things, in these presents expressed and specified, may be expounded, declared, con- strued, interpreted and adjudged, as well to the sense and intention, as to the words, most kindly, favourably, graciously, and for the profit and benefit of those bailiffs, burgesses and commonalty of the borough aforesaid, and their successors, towards us, our heirs and successors. In witness whereof we have caused these our letters to be made patents. Witness ourself at Westminster, the thirteenth day of July, in the tenth year of our reign. No. 30. [Chapter 15.— Page 212.] High Stewards, Recorders, Town Clerks, Coroners, and Chamberlains, UNDER THE PRESENT CHARTER. 1698. Algernon, Earl of Essex. 1710. Thomas, Earl of Wharton. 1715. Charles Howard, Earl of Carlisle. 1716. Duke of Portland, in lieu of the Earl of Carlisle, who refused or neglected to accept the office. 1728. William, Earl of Essex. 1743. William, Lord Deerhurst, son of William, Earl of Coventry.* 1744. George William, Lord Deerhurst, brother of the above, and after- wards sixth Earl of Coventry. 1810. George William, seventh and present Earl of Coventry. * Three individuals of this noble family were high stewards of Tewkes- bury under former charters. Thomas, second Lord Coventry, eldest son of the Lord Keeper Coventry, was high steward until his death, which occurred in 1661. George, the third baron, was appointed his successor; and at the death of the latter, in 1680, John, the fourth Lord Coventry, was chosen to the same office. 4iG HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1698. Robert Tracy, esq.* 1735. William Bromley, esq. 1756. The Hon. Robert Harley. 1760. Nicholas Hyett, esq. 1777. Sir Charles Barrow, bart. 1787. William Dowdeswell, esq.f 1798. John Edmund Dowdeswell, esq. ®ot»n (£>ltxls ant! ©oroners. 1698. Henry Collet, esq. 1767. Neast Havard, esq. 1715. Thomas Warkman, esq. 1787. Henry Fowke, esq. 1733. George Taylor, esq. 1818. Edmund Warden Jones, esq. 1735. Henry Whitaker, esq. ©bamberlams. 1698. William Wilson, esq. 1792. Thomas Woollams, esq. 1728. Nathaniel Jeynes, esq. 1804. Omwell Lloyd, esq. 1738 to 1756. The senior Bailiff 1811. Henry William Harris, esq. 1757. John Havard, esq. 1813. Joseph Boughton, esq. 1771. John Pitt, esq. 1827. Thomas Vernon, esq. * The death of Judge Tracy is thus recorded in the Gloucester Journal of Sept. 23d, 1735:— " At his seat in Gloucestershire, aged near fourscore, Robert Tracy, esq. who was made one of the justices of the court of common-pleas in the reign of King William, in which post he continued all the reign of Queen Anne and King George I. But on his present majesty's accession to the throne, his patent was not renewed. He was of a very ancient family in Glouces- tershire, being descended by a second ventre from Robert Viscount Tracy, (son and heir of John the first Viscount,) who represented the county of Gloucester in several parliaments in the life-time of his father ; and was knighted by King James I. The judge married Anne, eldest daughter of William Dowdeswell, of Pull Court, in Worcestershire, esq. by whom he had three sons, Robert, Richard, and William, all of whom are dead; but the eldest son has left a son, who is in his minority, and heir to his grand- father. The judge had also two daughters; Anne, married first to Charles Dowdeswell, of Forthampton-Court, in Gloucestershire, esq. and is now the wife of Thomas Wylde, esq. who represented the city of Worcester in several parliaments, and is now one of the commissioners of the excise; and Dorothy, his youngest daughter, who is dead, married Pratt, esq. son and heir of the Lord Chief Justice Pratt. Mr. Justice Tracy was a com- plete gentleman, and a good lawyer ; of a clear head, and an honest heart ; and was remarkable for delivering his opinion with that genteel affability and integrity, that even those that lost a cause were charmed with his behaviour; he was a true friend to his country, would never stoop to do mean and little offices, nor ever made himself a tool to a party; by which means he lived respected by all, and has died universally lamented." f Wm. Dowdeswell, esq. was son of Dr. Dowdeswell, of Chaceley, and nephew to the Right Hon. Wm. Dowdeswell, chancellor of the exchequer. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 417 No. 31. [Chapter 15.— Page 213.] Bailiffs of Tewkesbury, under the Charters of Elizabeth and James the First. 1574. Thomas Perkins Thomas Geest 1575. Nicholas Greenwood Kenelm Cotterell 1576. William Hill Thomas Crump 1577. Richard Pace William Wakeman 1578. Edward Leight John Leight 1579. Hugh Sclicer Richard Rydgesdale 1580. George Morrey Henry Dowle 1581. Roger Turberville Richard Eckingsall 1582. Thomas Crump Richard Clark 1583. Nicholas Greenwood John Rice 1584. William Hill William Willis 1585. Richard Pace Thomas Geest 1586. William Wakeman Robert Milton 1587. Edward Leight Edward Alye 1588. Kenelm Cotterell Richard Cotton 1589. John Barston William Fowlk 1590. John Millington John Mann 1591. William Willis John Hazard 1592. Thomas Geest John Hodges 1593. Edward Alye John Bubb 1594. Kenelm Cotterell John Butler 1595. George Connard George Morrey 1596. Richard Cotton Thomas Hilley 1597. William Fowlk William Johnson 1598. Edmund Balthrop Henry Tovey 1599. Henry Tovey Thomas Careloss 1600. Edward Alye William Turberville 1601. George Morrey John Bradford 1602. Conon Richardson John Vicaridge 1603. Thomas Hilley William Parsons 1604. Thomas Hilley William Parsons 1605. William Johnson Richard Butler 1606. Thomas Lancaster William Rayer 1607. William Turberville William Phelps 1608.* George Morrey John Cooke * At the election of officers, in 1608, William Turberville and William Phelps, the old bailiffs, wishing to continue in office another year, absented themselves from the common council ; but their project failed, for in conse- quence of their neglect, they w r ere wholly expelled the body corporate. 3g 118 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1609. John Cooke William Hitches 1610. Conon Richardson Richard Bradford 1611. John Vicaridge John Scullowe 1612. William Johnsons John Slaughter 1613. Thomas Hilley Thomas Deakins 1614. William Parsons John Underhill 1615. William Hitches George Morrey 1616. Richard Bradford John Hill 1617* John Vicaridge William Hill 1618. f John Cooke Thomas Vanghan 1619.+ John Slaughter Edward Tovey 1620. Conon Richardson Richard Wheeler 1621. § William Hitches John Packer 1622. Richard Bradford William Whitledge 1623. William Cowles Edward Millichap 1624. Thomas Vanghan Kenelm Mearston 1625. John Slaughter George Shaw 1626. Richard Wheeler Christopher Canner 1627. John Packer Thomas Hale 1628. William Hitches Edward Millichap 1620. Richard Bradford Edward Phelps 1630. William Whitledge Michael Millington 1631. Thomas Vanghan Roger Plevy 1632. Kenelm Mearston Thomas Clarke 1633. George Shaw Giles Harmar 1634. Christopher Canner William Terrett 1635. John Packer John Mann 1636.|| Thomas Hale Thomas Bennett 1637. William Whitledge William Crooke * Although Mr. John Vicaridge repeatedly served the highest offices in the corporation, he was incapable of writing even his own name. f In 1618, the junior bailiff sued the elder for misbehaviour in his office. The offence is not explicitly stated, but it appears to have been relative to the mustering of the townspeople when "a huge navy of Spaniards appeared." J In 1619, on the death of John Cooke, who had retained the office of chamberlain of the borough by patent during his life, it was determined to elect one of the body corporate to that office annually, and Richard Brad- ford was accordingly sworn in chamberlain for that year only. § In 1621 , the bailiffs had for the first time the entire custody of the borough gaol. || There were six principal burgesses and ten assistants elected in the vear 1 636, which was a greater number than was ever before admitted in so short a period. The fees were so considerable, that they were given to the poor, in December 1638. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 419 1638. * 1639. f 1640. 1641. 1642. 1643. 1644. 1645. 1646. 1647. 1648. 1649.+ William Wilson Roger Plevy Edward Millichap Kenelm Mearston Thomas Clarke William Whitledge Thomas Hale, sen. William Crooke William Wilson Thomas Hale John Mann John Sclicer John Snell Thomas Hale Robert Jennings John Sclicer Thomas Carte Theophilus Alye Robert Jennings Thomas Skey John Millington Edward Jennings Christopher Atkinson John Carver * In the bye-laws of the corporation, made in 1638, it was agreed, that every person, on being elected a principal burgess, should give a good dinner to the principal burgesses, the assistants, and their wives, or forfeit £.6. 13s. 4d.; that, on the election of assistants, two of them, joining together, should give a dinner to the principal burgesses and assistants, without their wives, or forfeit five nobles; and that every person, on being elected and sworn low bailiff, should give a banquet to the principal burgesses and assistants, and their wives, or forfeit £.13. 6s. Sd. A former order made it imperative upon the high bailiff' to give a feast. f In 1639, the bailiff's and two senior justices were, for the first time, appointed deputy lieutenants for the town and parish of Tewkesbury. | In 1649, Christopher Atkinson, one of the late bailiffs, who was attached to the commonwealth interest, and twenty-one other inhabitants, petitioned parliament against the proceedings of the common council, in nominating John Slicer and Richard Berrow to be bailiff's, both of whom the petitioners accused of being disaffected to the existing government ; praying that Sir William Constable, the honourable governor of Gloucester, and Colonel Harrison, major-general of these parts, both members of the House of Commons, might be empowered to hear and examine the premises upon oath, with liberty to abridge the number of the common-council, and to reform and regulate the government of the borough, by displacing the disaffected, and placing others in their stead. The House ordered the petition to be referred to Sir William Constable, knight, governor of Glou- cester, Robert Holmes, of Netherton, and Giles Hancock, of Cirencester, esqrs. justices of the peace for the county of Gloucester, to examine witnesses, and to report to the committee of the House, on the 2d of February: the complaint to be heard on the 13th of the same month, when all the parties were to attend. The bailiff's, justices, common council, and burgesses, petitioned that William Leigh, William Shepherd and Sylvanus Wood, esqrs. justices of the peace for the county, might be added to the other justices appointed, and with this request the House acquiesced. In Dec. 1649, two of the commissioners, Mr. Holmes and Mr. Hancock, came to Tewkesbury, and the whole matter was referred to four members of the par- liament, viz. Alderman Pennington and Sir Henry Mildmay, named by the complainants, and Colonel John Venn and Mr. Luke Hodges, nominated 120 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1650. William Hill 1651. William Crooke 1 652. Robert Jennings 1653. John Millington 1654. Thomas Hale 1655. * William Croft 1656. John Bach 1657. Thomas Clarke 1658. Thomas Clarke 1659. Christopher Smith 1660. f John Carver 1661. Philip Hilley 1662. + Edward Jennings Philip Hilley Christopher Smith Edward Wilson Edward Phelps William Hatton Thomas Jeynes Thomas Jeynes Andrew Woollams John Dobbins Philip Surman John Mann Nicholas Steight John Bach Thomas Clarke 1663. Edward Wilson by the defendants, to treat with all parties concerned touching the regula- tion of the corporation, and to consider of the liberties and privileges of the town, and the renewing of the charter, and a petition to parliament was accordingly prepared. The bailiffs and fifteen others of the common council then signed an appointment and authority to Thomas Bulstrode, esq. the recorder, and Richard Dowdeswell, gent, to attend their referees in parliament on all subjects relative to the borough. Nothing further how- ever appears to have been done in the affair. * It appears, by the following extract from a letter of Major-General Disbrowe to the Protector Cromwell, dated Jan. 7, 1655, that there were some considerable changes made in the body corporate in the course of this year: — "At Bristol, intimation was given me, by some honest people, that sundry of the aldermen and justices were enemies to the public interest, retaining their old malignant principles, discountenancing the godly, and upholding the loose and profane, which indeed is a disease predominating in most corporations." After detailing how he prevailed upon the mayor to induce the obnoxious members of the Bristol corporation to resign, and "make way for honester men," he thus proceeds: "There were also articles of delinquency proved against nine of the magistrates of Tewkesbury, and particularly against Hill their town-clerk : I have also dismissed them, and four of the common council of Gloucester, for adhering to the Scotch king's interest." — Tkurloe's State Papers, vol. iv. p. 396. f At a chamber meeting, Nov. 23, 1660, it was ordered, in obedience to a letter from the lords of the privy council, that Mr. William Wilson, Mr. John Mann, Mr. Thomas Hale, Mr. John Sclicer, Mr. Edward Jen- nings, Mr. Philip Hilley, and Mr. Edward Wilson, who were ejected by General Disbrowe's order, in 1655, should be restored to their places in the corporation. J In Aug. 1662, by warrant of the commissioners appointed under the great seal, pursuant to the provisions of an act of parliament for regulating corporations, Philip Surman, John Carver, William Neast, William Croft, John Bach, Thomas Clarke, William Hatton, Thomas Jeynes, Robert HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 421 1664. Edward Phelps Thomas King 1665. flrniwnv Wbitbnrn Jiichard Smithsend 1666. Thomas Nanfan Henrv Peyton 1667. Christopher Smith. Edward Laight 1668. George Jeyn.es Theophilus Holland 1669. Philip Hilley Richard Cooke 1670. John Dobbins Thomas Palmer 1671. Edward Wilson Robert Porter 1672. Edward Jennings Henry Dobbins 1673. Edward Phelps Thomas Hale 1674. Nicholas Steight John Mann 1675.* Conway Whithorn Philip Hilley, jun. 1676. Thomas Kings Samuel Smith 1677. Richard Smithsend Samuel Hawling 1678. Thomas Nanfan Henry Hatton 1679. Theophilus Holland Joseph Jones 1680.f Thomas Hale Thomas Bartholomew 1681. Henry Dobbins William Jennings 1682. Thomas Nanfan William Jones 1683. John Mann William Saunders 1684.+ Philip Hilley Thomas Nanfan 1685. Nicholas Steight Anthony Aston Buggin, John Croft, Bartholomew Reade, Henry Symonds and Richard Yarrow, were removed from the common council ; and Conway Whithorn, Thomas Nanfan, Thomas Jeynes, John Mann the younger, George Jeynes, Nicholas Steight, Richard Smithsend, Thomas Kings and Thomas Smith- send, were placed in their stead. Edward Wilson was made bailiff in place of Philip Surman; and Edward Jennings was made justice in lieu of John Carver. Richard Hill was removed from the office of town-clerk, and George Jeynes placed in his stead. At the investigation into the conduct of the parties, previously to their removal, Lord Herbert, the lord-lieutenant of the county, was present; and Richard Dowdeswell, esq. was one of the commissioners. * 1675. — The common council ordered, that the bailiffs and bailiffs elect, with the chamberlain and town-clerk, should repair to Clifford Chambers, on the 1st of Nov. "and then and there lay claim to and make use of the privileges of hawking, hunting, fishing, fowling, &c. within the manor of Clifford Chambers aforesaid, appertaining to the bailiffs, bur- gesses and commonalty of this corporation;" and that the expense thereof should be defrayed out of the public stock, provided it did not exceed £.3. f At the election of bailiffs, in 1680, Mr. Richard Cooke was chosen senior bailiff, but refused to serve, and was fined £.25. Mr. Robert Porter was then elected, and paid the same penalty to be excused. Mr. Thomas Hale also refused, on being chosen, and was fined ; but he subsequently con- sented to accept the office. t Major Nanfan and Mr. Philip Hilley, bailiffs, both died while in office. The Nanfans of Tewkesbury were a branch of the highly respectable family, of that name, which was for many generations settled at Birtsmorton. All HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Mayors, under the Charter of James the Second. 1686. Charles Hancock, esq.* 1689. Thomas Jeynes, gent. 1686. William Saunders, gent. 1690. Ditto. 1687. John Mann, gent.f 1691. Ditto. 1688. Thomas Hitchman, gent.;}; Bailiff's, under the Charter of William the Third. Joseph Jones, gent. Henry Dobbins, gent. gent. William Steight, gent. 1698. 1699. Thomas Bartholomew. 1700. William Jones, gent. 1701. William Wilson, gent. Edward Laight, gent. 1702. Theophilus Holland, gent. 1703. George Moore, gent. 1704. Thomas Warkman, gent. 1705. Joseph Jones, sen. gent. Nicholas Wrenford, gent. Francis Laight, gent. F. Laight, deceased. John Jeynes, gent. Thomas Hale, gent. Abraham Farren, gent. Edward Laight, gent. * Mr. Hancock was mayor only a few months, having entered upon his office on the 8th of July, and his successor being elected in October. f A clause, in James the second's charter, empowered the king in council to remove any of the officers of the corporation, and this power yras frequently exercised. In Dec. 1687, pursuant to his majesty's mandate, Mr. Thomas Hitchman, Mr. Thomas Skey, Mr. William Millington, Mr. John Lane and Mr. Henry Collet, were elected and sworn of the common council ; Mr. Thomas Hitchman was elected mayor, in the place of Mr. John Mann; Mr. Henry Collet was elected an alderman, and Mr. Thomas Symes, town-clerk, in the room of Mr. James Simpson; and Mr. William Milling- ton was elected chamberlain, in the room of Mr. William Jennings. By virtue of another mandate, in a few weeks afterwards, Mr. Thomas Jeynes and Mr. Philip Surman were elected of the common council, and also alder- men and justices of the peace; and Mr. Thomas Clarke was elected one of the common council. — In obedience to another mandate, from the king, in the succeeding month, Mr. Henry Dobbins and Mr. William Pay were elected of the common council. J In June 1688, Mr. Richard Teynton, of the Berrow, in the county of Worcester, was elected town-clerk and clerk of the peace of the borough of Tewkesbury, in the room of Mr. Thomas Symes, deceased, on condition that he paid £.10 per annum to the chamber, so long as he should continue in such offices. — In October following, by direction of the king's mandamus, Mr. Henry Fowler was elected town-clerk in the place of Mr. Richard Teynton!— In Feb. 1689, Mr. Richard Teynton, the lately deposed town- clerk, was again sworn into the same office, in the room of Mr. Henry Fowler. — In the ensuing July, Mr. Thomas Warkman was elected town- clerk in the room of Mr. Richard Teynton. — Mr. Hitchman resigned the offiee of mayor, in July 1689, and Mr. Thomas Jeynes was elected in his place for the remainder of the year. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 423 170G. 1707. 1708. 1709. 1710. 1711. 1712. 1713. 1714. 1715. 1716. 1717. 1718. 1719. 1720. 1721. 1722. 1723. 1724. 1725. 1726. 1727. 1728. 1729. 1730. 1731. 1732. 1733. 1734. 1735. 1736. 1737. 1738. 1739. 1740. 1741. 1742. 1743. 1744. 1745. 1746. 1747. 1748. 1749. 1750. 1751. 1752. Thomas Bartholomew, gent. William Steight, gent. George Moore, gent. Daniel Kemble, gent. Thomas Warkman, gent. Edward Laight, gent. Thomas Hale, gent. Abraham Farren, gent. George Moore, sen. gent. Charles Wynde, gent. George Moore, sen. gent. George Moore, sen. gent. George Moore, sen. gent. Henry Collet, esq. Joseph Smith, gent. Daniel Kemble, gent. Edward Laight, gent. Joseph Smith, gent. George Taylor, gent. Daniel Kemble, gent. George Taylor, gent. George Moore, gent. John Hawling, gent. Thomas Jones, gent. William Bromley, esq. Thomas Kemmett, gent. Daniel Kemble, gent. Thomas Warkman, gent. John Hawling, gent. John Jones, gent. Thomas Kemble, gent. George Moore, gent. Thomas Hopcott, gent. Thomas Nevett, gent. Isaac Merrell, gent. Thomas Kings, gent. Joseph Smith, gent. John Clifton, gent. Joseph Blackburne, gent. Thomas Kemmett, gent. William Hayward, gent. John Hawling, gent. William Wilson, gent. vice Wynde, deceased. Joseph Smith, gent. George Taylor, gent. George Taylor, gent. Thomas Jones, gent. George Moore, jun. gent. John Clifton, gent. Joseph Blackburne, gent. William Hayward, gent. Thomas Kemmett, gent. Joseph Smith, sen. gent. John Jones, gent. John Laight, gent. Thomas Hopcott, gent. Thomas Kemble, gent. Nathaniel Jeynes, gent. John Wilson, gent. Richard Ash win, gent. Samuel Rose, gent. John Blackburne, gent. William Hayward, gent. Thomas Weale, gent. William Godsall, gent. Nath. Jeynes, gent, vice Hopcott, deceased. John Jones, gent, for Lord Gage John Wilson, gent. Richard Ash win, gent. John Hawling, gent, for Lord Coventry John Blackburne, gent. Thomas Weale, gent. William Godsall, gent. William Dowdeswell, esq. Philip Pitt, gent. John Jones, gent. Richard Terrett, gent. Samuel Rose, gent. Henry Whitaker, gent. The Rev. Penry Jones Richard Terrett. gent. Philip Pitt, gent. John Dobbins, gent. Samuel Rose, gent. Peter Cocks, gent. John Hawling, gent. William Walker, gent. The Rev. Penry Jones Edmund Lechmere, esq. George Turberville, gent. John Kemmett, gent. Francis Geers, M.D. John Webb, gent. Lawrence Cox, gent. William Clifton, gent. 42 i HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1753. 1754. 1755. 1756. 1757. 1758. 1759. 1760. 1761. 1762. 1763. 1764. 1765. 1766. 1767. 1768. 1769. 1770. 1771. 1772. 1773. 1774. 1775. 1776. 1777. 1778. 1779. 1780. 1781. 1782. 1783. 1784. 1785. 1786. 1787. 1788. 1789. 1790. 1791. 1792. 1793. 1794. 1795. 1796. 1797. 1798. 1799. George Turberville, gent. Edmund Lechmere, esq. Henry Whitaker, gent. Francis Geers, M.D. John Havard, gent. Charles Barrow, esq. William Packer Surman, esq. Neast Havard, gent. John Carloss, gent. John Havard, gent. Samuel Rose, gent. John Carloss, gent. Peter Hancocke, esq. Samuel Jeynes, gent. Neast Havard, gent. John Webb, gent. Richard Bayzand, gent. Thomas Chinn, gent. Francis Geers, M. D. vice Carloss, deceased. Samuel Jeynes, gent. Peter Hancocke, esq. Richard Bayzand, gent. Neast Havard, gent. Thomas Chinn, gent. Neast Havard, gent. Charles Barrow, esq. John Spilsbury, gent. John Pitt, gent. William Jones, gent. Charles Dowdeswell, esq. Walter Dewguard, gent. Neast Havard, gent. William Cliffe, gent. George Maxwell, esq. Robert Smith, gent. Samuel Jeynes, gent. John Terrett, gent. Neast Havard, gent. Samuel Jeynes, gent. Thomas Woollams, gent. Flock Roberts, gent. Charles Hancock, gent. John Terrett, gent. Richard Jenkins, gent. John Darke, esq. Omwell Lloyd, gent. John Pitt, gent. Michael Procter, gent. Henry Fowke, gent. Thomas Brown, gent. William Merrett Hartelbury , jent George Phelps, esq. Rev. Joseph Robinson Thomas Woollams, gent. John Darke, esq. Omwell Lloyd, gent. Michael Procter, gent. John Webb, gent. Neast Havard, gent. John Spilsbury, gent. Richard Carloss, gent. Marmaduke Rose, gent. William Jones, gent. John Pitt, gent. Walter Dewguard, gent. Charles Dowdeswell, esq. Richard Carloss, gent. William Cliffe, gent. Robert Smith, gent. Samuel Jeynes, jun. gent. Thomas Smith, gent, fee Smith, deceased. John Terrett, gent. Walter Dewguard, gent. Flock Roberts, gent. Thomas Woollams, gent. Merrett Hartelbury, gent. Charles Hancock, gent. Robert Smith, gent. William Mew, gent. Richard Jenkins, gent. Omwell Lloyd, gent. Michael Procter, gent. Henry Fowke, gent. William Dowdeswell, esq. Wm. M. Hartelbury, gent. Thomas Brown, gent. George Phelps, esq. Rev. Joseph Robinson Henry Fowke, gent. Richard Jenkins, gent. William Buckle, esq. Henry Fowke, gent. Richard Jenkins, gent. Henry Fowke, gent. Thomas Dowdeswell, esq. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 425 1800. Wra, Merrett Hartelbury, gent, 1801. Thomas Dowdeswell, esq. 1802. Samuel Trueman, gent. 1803. Wm. George Maxwell, clerk 1804. Thomas Dowdeswell, esq. 1805. John Pitt Nind, gent. 1806. John Terrett, gent. 1807. Henry Fowke, gent. 1808. Thomas Cooper, gent. 1809. Thomas Vernon, esq. 1810. Joseph Wickes, esq. 1811. Wm. George Maxwell, clerk 1812. Michael Procter, esq. 1813. James Kingsbury, esq. 1814. William Dowdeswell, esq. 1815. Henry Fowke, esq. 1816. Anthony Lechmere, esq. 1817. Thomas Vernon, esq. 1818. Henry William Harris, esq. 1819. Richard Alcock, esq. 1820. Wm. George Maxwell, clerk 1821. Benjamin Holland, esq. 1822. James Gorle, esq. 1823. Joseph Boughton, esq. 1824. William Prosser, clerk Michael Procter, esq. vice 1825. Edward Brydges, esq. 1826. Edmund Warden Jones, esq. 1827. Joseph Longmore, esq. 1828. Robert Young, esq. 1829. Lewis Goodin Senior, esq. Wm. George Maxwell, cierk Omwell Lloyd, gent. John Pitt Nind, gent. Thomas Cooper, gent. Omwell Lloyd, gent. Thomas Vernon, gent. Joseph Wickes, gent. Thomas Woollams, gent. Michael Procter, gent. James Kingsbury, esq. Anthony Lechmere, esq. John Martin, esq. Henry William Harris, esq. Richard Alcock, esq. William Prosser, clerk Benjamin Holland, esq. Charles Edward Chandler, esq. James Gorle, esq. Joseph Boughton, esq. Edmund Warden Jones, gent. Edward Brydges, gent. Joseph Longmore, esq. Robert Young, esq. William George Maxwell, clerk James Kingsbury, esq. Kingsburj', deceased. William Procter, esq. Charles White, clerk Lewis Goodin Senior, esq. Thomas Taylor, esq. George Edmunds Williams, esq. No. 32. [Chapter 15.— Page 213.] Tewkesbury Court of Record. CONCEIVING this court to be of great importance to every inhabitant of the borough, we have subjoined the following epitome of its practice. The charter of the borough directs that the bailiffs " shall keep the pleas of all and all manner of debts, trespasses and personal actions, proceeding from within the liberty of the borough aforesaid, so that they do not exceed the sum of fifty pounds of lawful money of England." 3h 426 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The court of record is holden every Friday, at the Tolzey, before the bailiffs, or either of them, and the recorder, or his sufficient deputy, and on that day all process is returnable ; but for the issuing, filing, and trans- acting the routine of its proceedings, the town clerk's office is open every day in the week. The mode of proceeding is by summons, in the nature of a capias. The plaintiff, by his attorney, files, as in the superior courts, a pracipe, and warrant to sue ; whereupon a summons issues, directed to the sergeants at mace, one of whom serves a copy personally on the defendant ; and service on the Thursday, or before the sitting of the court on Friday, is held good. It may be here proper to observe, that the court formerly used, in the first instance, to arrest and hold to bail; however, pursuant to some high legal opinions, taken on the subject some years ago, the practice is now never to issue a bailable capias, except in default of appearance to the summons previously issued and returned. The defendant, having been summoned, must enter his appearance by the next court day after the return of the summons, or, in default, the plaintiff appears for him, according to the statute; and the plaintiff is then entitled to file his declaration, giving notice to the defendant to plead thereto by the next court day, that is, the second court day from the return of the summons. Unless, therefore, before the then following court day, a plea is filed, the plaintiff may sign final or interlocutory judgment, as the nature of the action may require. Thus the plaintiff may obtain his judgment by default in three weeks. In this, however, as in other courts, the defendant has an opportunity of delaying the plaintiff— he is allowed to take out three rules for time to plead, which would delay three weeks; the plaintiff is also allowed three rules for time to declare, occupying a similar period. The plaintiff, on the court day when the defendant's time to plead expires, may give notice of executing his writ of enquiry on the following Thursday : this writ is executed before the town-clerk. When the defendant has pleaded, the plaintiff mo.y give notice of trial on the following court day. The same writs of execution issue from this as from the superior courts ; and it may be generally observed that, except in the variation of time and place, the same forms (after the summons) of declarations, notices, &.c. are used in this as in the superior courts. The proceedings of the court are regularly recorded in the court book, and are, from the commencemenrof the charter, in perfect existence in the town-clerk's office. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 427 No. 33. [Chapter 15.— Page 215.] Fairs and Great Markets. At a public Meeting of Farmers, Graziers, and other persons interested in the Fairs and Markets of Tewkesbury, (convened by the Bailiffs, pur- suant to a resolution of the Common Council of the Borough,) held at the Tolzey, on Wednesday, the 26th day of September, 1827, E. W. Jones, Esq. High Bailiff, in the Chair: It was unanimously Resolved, That the March Fair shall be held on the second Monday in the month, as heretofore. That the Fair usually held on the first Wednesday in April, old style, shall in future be held on the second Wednesday in April, according to the present style. That the May Fair shall continue to be held on the 14th of the month. That the Fair on the 22d of June be discontinued, in consequence of a Great Market being held in that month. That the Fair hitherto held on the 4th of September shall in future be held on the first Wednesday after the 4th of September, for the sale of cheese, wool, &c. as well as for cattle and other live stock. That the October Fair shall as heretofore be held on the 10th of the month ; and that there be Mops for hiring Servants on the Wednesday before and the Wednesday after the said 10th of October, as formerly. That Great Markets, for the sale of cattle and other live stock, be held on the second Wednesdays in June, August and December, (the latter to be in lieu of the Fair hitherto held in December. ) That the following gentlemen be appointed a committee for giving publicity to these proceedings : Mr. John Lord Mr. James Gorle Mr. James Bennett Mr. Richard Lord Mr. Thomas Tolley Mr. Thomas Orme Mr. Aaron Pike Mr. Wm. Procter Mr. H. K. Whithorn Mr. John New Mr. Charles Banaster Mr. E. G. Edgell. E. W. Jones, Chairman. The Fairs and Great Markets above-mentioned were, at a Meeting of the Bailiffs and Common Council of the Borough of Tewkesbury, held on the 1 1 th instant, confirmed, and ordered to be held accordingly. E. W. Jones, Town-Clerk. Tewkesbury, 12th Oct. 1827. 428 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. No. 34. [Chapter 19.— Page 262.] Repw°t of the Committee of the House of Commons on the Tewkesbury Elect ion Petition. Mercurii lmo. die Martii, 1797. WHEREAS the seleet Committee, appointed to try and determine the merits of the petition of Peter Moore, esq. and Philip Francis, esq, com- plaining of an undue Election and Return for the Borough of Tewkesbury, in the County of Gloucester, have this day reported to the House of Com- mons, — " That it appeared to the said select Committee, that the merits of the petition did, in part, depend upon the Right of Election, and that, there* upon, the said Committee, therefore, required the parties to deliver in statements in writing, of the Right of Election for which they respectively contended. "That in consequence thereof the petitioners delivered in a statement, as follows : — "The petitioners state, that the Right of Election, for the borough of Tewkesbury, is only in the Bailiffs, Burgesses and Commonalty of the said Borough ; meaning, by the word Burgesses, such persons as are entitled to their freedom by servitude or copy ; and by the word Commonalty, the inhabitant householders of the said borough." . " That the sitting members, James Martin and William Dowdeswell, esquires, delivered in a statement, as follows: " The Right of Election is in the Freemen of the said Borough; and in any Person seised of an Estate of Freehold, 1 in an entire Dwclling- House, situate within the said Borough." " That, upon the statement delivered in by the said petitioners, the said select Committee have determined. That the Right of Election, as set forth in the said statement, is not the Right of Election for the said Borough of Tewkesbury. " That, upon the statement delivered by the sitting members, the said select Committee have determined, That the Right of Election, as set forth in the said statement, is not the Right of Election for the said Borough of Tewkesbury. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 420 a That the said select Committee, having duly considered the said state- ments, and the evidence adduced before them, touching the Right of Election, have determined, " That the Right of Election is in the Freemen at large, and in all Persons seised of an Estate of Freehold, in an entire Dwelling -House, within the ancient limits of the said Borough." I do hereby give you this notice, in pursuance of the directions of the Act made in the twenty-eighth year of the reign of his present Majesty, intituled, " An Act for the further Regulation of the Trials of Controverted Elections, or Returns of Members to serve in Parliament." Given under my hand, this first day of March, one thousand seven hundred and ninety- seven. Henry Addington, Speaker. To the Returning Officers for the Borough of Tewkesbury. No. 35. [Chapter 19.— Page 264.] Particulars of the public Life of the late James Martin, Esq. M.P. THIS highly respected gentleman was born at Overbury, in Worcestershire, on the 4th of June, 1738 — the identical birth-day of our late venerable sovereign, King George the third. His father, John Martin, esq. who generally resided on his estate at Over- bury, and was much esteemed for his social and benevolent disposition, was elected member for Tewkesbury in 1741, at the same time that his brother James represented the town of Cambridge, and both of them were warmly attached to Whig principles : he built a handsome house upon the estate at Overbury, which was burnt down in 1735, shortly after which he erected the present mansion : he died in 1 767. His mother was Catherine, daughter of Joseph Jackson, esq. of Sneyd Park, near Bristol. He was the youngest of three brothers, John, Joseph and James. John was a most acconrplished gentleman, and was elected member for Tewkes- bury in 1754: he married Judith, only daughter and sole heiress of William Bromley, esq. of Up ton-upon- Severn. Joseph was first member for Gatton, and afterwards represented Tewkesbury: he succeeded his uncle in the banking-house in Lombard-street, which had been established for nearly one hundred years, and served the office of sheriff of London and Middlesex 430 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. in 1771. He had several sisters, most of whom settled in life, and formed respectable connexions : one of them married the Rev. Treadway Nash, D.D. the historian of Worcestershire, whose only daughter and sole heiress mar- ried the present Earl Somers in 1785 ; another married the celebrated Dr. Heberden ; a third, Thomas Herbert, esq. of Mucruss, on the banks of the Lake of Killarney; and a fourth, Sir Nicholas Carew, bart. of Beddington Hall, near Croydon. James, the subject of this memoir, received his education first under the Rev. Matthew Bloxham, vicar of Overbury, father of the late Sir Matthew Bloxham, alderman of London; and subsequently under the Rev. Mr. Graham, of Hackney, father of the present Judge Graham. Immediately after leaving school, he was introduced into the banking-house in Lombard- street, and as soon as he became of age, was admitted a partner. About this period he became extremely corpulent, and the violent mea- sures he adopted to counteract this tendency, temporarily injured his health ; in order to restore it, and to gratify his inclination to visit various parts of the continent of Europe, he spent two or three years abroad. On his return to England, he purchased chambers in the Temple, and resided there until he removed to a house in Whitehall. In 1774, he married Penelope, only daughter of John Skipp, esq. of Ledbury, w bo was descended from a branch of the family of Dr. John Skipp, the first protcstant bishop of Hereford. Upon the death of his brother Joseph, in 1776, Mr. James Martin was elected a representative in parliament for the borough of Tewkesbury, and retained his seat in the six following parliaments. At the general election, in 1807, this upright and indefatigable senator voluntarily resigned his trust, and retired into private life. The late Alexander Stephens, author of the " Public Characters," calls him "honest James Martin," and says, "I would to God that we had but two hundred such as the member for Tewkesbury in the Augean stable." And Sir Nathaniel Wraxall, in his "Memoirs," observes, that he, who "yielded to none in probity, invoked curses on the coalition, as the grave of all principle." Mr. Martin indeed never suffered an opportunity to escape of attacking this unnatural political union: during the debate on Mr. Fox's celebrated Bill for vesting the Affairs of the East India Company in the hands of Commissioners, in 1783, after stating that this desperate measure was to be ascribed to the ruinous effects of the late coalition, " I wish," said he, "there were a speaking starling perched upon the speaker's chair, to sound in the ears of the House, 'curst coalition!' 'curst coalition!'" This caustic exclamation entailed upon him, ever afterwards, among his political opponent^, the epithet of " Starling Martin." Shakspeare has a similar idea in Henry IV. in which he says, " I will have a starling taught to speak " Nothing but Mortimer; and give it him, u To keep his anger still in motion." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 431 Few representatives in parliament ever enjoyed the confidence and esteem of their constituents equally with this gentleman, and none ever deserved it more. When he retired from the arduous duties of a legislator, even those who had most frequently differed from him on national subjects, spontaneously and eagerly came forward, with his more immediate friends, to testify their approbation of his general parliamentary conduct ; and as the proceedings on that occasion were no less honourable to Mr. Martin than to those who had seven times delegated him to the important trust of representing them in parliament, it has been thought proper to preserve here the following interesting documents. Tewkesbury, May 26, 1807. At a Meeting of the Freemen, Burgesses, and Inhabitants of this Borough, convened by public notice from the Bailiffs, for the purpose of considering of an Address to our late Representative, James Martin, esq. expressive of our thanks for his honest, faithful, independent and conscientious conduct, during the thirty-two years he has represented this Borough in Parliament, The worshipful the High Bailiff in the Chair : Resolved unanimously, — That the services which have been rendered to this Borough, by our late worthy Representative, James Martin, esq. during the long and eventful period in which he has sat in the British Senate, imperi- ously call upon us, on his retiring from public life, to offer him our warmest acknowledgments for the anxious regard and unremitted attention which he has uniformly displayed towards the interests of his Constituents; and to express the high sense which we entertain of that sterling Independence, and inflexible Integrity, which have marked the whole of his Parliamentary Conduct, and have peculiarly characterized him as a faithful and honest Representative of the Commons of this Kingdom. That a Piece of Plate be presented to Mr. Martin, w r ith an appropriate inscription; and that Mr. Bailiff be requested to communicate these Reso- lutions to him ; and to add our sincere and hearty wishes that he may long continue to experience in retirement those enjoyments, to which, by his public and private virtues, he is so eminently entitled. Signed, at the request of the Meeting, John Terrett, Bailiff. St. James's-Street, May 29, 1807. My dear Sir, — I yesterday received the favour of your letter, together with the Resolutions passed at a Meeting of the Freemen, Burgesses, and Inhabitants of Tewkesbury, on the 26th instant, and I cannot sufficiently express the happiness which I feel in having the approbation of my con- duct, while I had the honour of being in Parliament, so solemnly expressed by my Constituents. 4'&2 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. The Resolutions themselves render it almost unnecessary for me to declare, that in the discharge of my duty I never sought any other reward : during an eventful period of thirty-two years, many questions must have arisen, in which the most honest and ahle men entertained the most oppo- site opinions; and it must have frequently happened, that I have supported some measures, and opposed others, contrary to the judgment of many of those by whom I was sent to Parliament; but whenever my constituents thought proper to express any decided opinion, to that opinion I readily submitted my conduct ; when left to act upon my own ideas, I can safely assert, that my constant aim was, — to guard the public purse from abuse, — to render the necessary taxes as little oppressive as possible, — to promote agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and works of public utility, — to sup- port those principles of civil and religious freedom which are the foundation of our constitution, as established at the glorious Revolution in 1688, and which afterwards placed the House of Hanover on the throne of this country, — to promote the peace and happiness of all mankind. These, I repeat, were the objects of all my endeavours; — had my con- duct been unfortunately disapproved by my constituents, I must even then have experienced no inconsiderable share of satisfaction, arising from recti- tude of intention; but uniting to that feeling, testimonies of approbation and attachment, which 1 have received from those who have long known me, both in private and public life, there are lew who may not envy the state of my mind. If any thing could have increased the pleasure which I experienced on the receipt of the Resolutions, it was their being communicated to me through the hands of one of my oldest, wannest, and most zealous friends. I shall esteem myself further'obliged, by your making known my thanks and sentiments on this occasion, in any way you, my dear friend, may think the most proper: I have only to add, that the warmest wish of my heart is, that the Electors of Tewkesbury may obtain that, — which their own pure and uncorrupt conduct, on all occasions, has fairly entitled them to, — I mean, Representatives more able and as faithfully attached to their interest, as Yours sincerely, James Martin. To John Terrett, esq. Bailiff of Tewkesbury. The Vase, which was very elegant, was executed by one of the first silver- smiths in London, and bore the following inscription : "The Burgesses and Inhabitants of the Borough of Tewkesbury, at a public Meeting, held on the 26th day of May, in the year 1807, unanimously voted, that this Vase should he presented to James Martin, esquire, upon his retiring from their Parlia- mentary Service, as a small testimony of respect and regard for that Independence and Fidelity, which has marked his conduct as one of their Representatives during the long and eventful space of thirty-one years. •'Elected April 8, 1776 "Elected May 30, 1796 Sept. 11, 1780 July 5, 1802 April 6, 1784 Oct. 31, 1806 June 18, 1790 Retired April 29, 1807." HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 433 Upon recent of this Piece of Plate, Mr. Martin returned the following- note, addressed to Henry Fowke, esq. : " Mr. Martin thinks himself particularly obliged to the Gentlemen of the Committee, for the kind and friendly manner in which they have transmitted to him the truly valuable and elegant Present of the Burgesses and Inha- bitants of the Borough of Tewkesbury. His only claim of any reward for his parliamentary conduct must be, that he is thoroughly conscious of never having disgraced the choice of his constituents, by any thing mean, corrupt, or self-interested. The words " independence and fidelity," which make part of the inscription, arc, above all others, those which he would have wished to have been applied to himself. " Overbury, Nov. 28, 1807," To the universal regret of his family and friends, Mr. Martin died on the 20th of January, 1810, and was buried with his ancestors in the family vault at Overbury. The following character of him, which first appeared in the obituary of that highly-respectable publication, the Gentleman's Magazine, is an elegant and just eulogium on one of the most upright and patriotic individuals that ever adorned the British Senate : " He was a man whose love of justice was sincere and fervent, and it ran through all his conduct. His attachment to order and decorum was seen in all he did; his regard to decency, and hatred of loose and profane con- versation, endeared him to the good and worthy, and abashed the dissolute, whom he put to silence, however high their rank ; his religion was without ostentation, yet it was the genuine effect of Christianity; it accompanied all his actions, and adorned his life. He was a friend to the poor; he listened to all their wants, and relieved them. His benevolence was conveyed, by secret veins, to the abodes of poverty; and when it arose to view it occasioned a blush upon his cheek. But the performance of the duties of religion in his family he was never ashamed of, let his guests be whom they might. In his conduct as a husband and a father he was exemplary. He was ever attentive to the interests and welfare of his domestics ; and had the hap- piness of all around him greatly at heart. He served his country many years in parliament with inflexible integrity, and attended to its official duties with indefatigable zeal. His independency of conduct was almost proverbial. Though not implicitly devoted to any party, he ever supported the rights and liberties of the people. Firmly attached to the House of Hanover, and the king upon the throne, he was convinced there were faults to be discovered in the cabinets of princes, and that the administration of government is not always right. A true friend to the constitution, as esta- blished at the glorious Revolution of 1G8S, he was jealous of an infringement of its rights, and lamented the injury it has sustained. A sworn foe to 3i ' 434 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. bribery and corruption, he abhorred the infamous arts practised at elections ; and so nice was his sense of propriety and fairness, that he never used any undue influence himself, nor would he suffer any to be used by his friends. In short, both in public and in private life, his predominant character was that of "the upright and honest man." As a friend he was sincere, affectionate, and never-failing. His urbanity and general politeness to all his acquaintance evinced the gentleman ; his hospitality and attention to his guests no one could ever exceed ; yet was his sincerity greater than his politeness. He would never compliment his visitors at the expense of truth ; nor would he give his assent to any assertion in which his heart did not concur. He discouraged flattery, and despised the flatterer. To the cause of virtue, and to the feelings of humanity, he was ever devoted. Every useful, patriotic, and benevolent scheme had his warm patronage and strong support. Under his auspices, and assisted by his personal exertions, arose the institution called "The Severn Humane Society;" and he lived to witness its success, in the recovery of many useful lives. Well acquainted with polite Literature, the sciences, and the fine arts, he encouraged and patronized their professors, and was particularly the friend of indigent merit. Such was the man now lost to his family, to his friends, to the poor, to his country; lost to the cause of virtue and piety; lost, as a bright example to the world, in which few such remain. But, though lost to us, iie ir; gone, it is hoped, to receive his reward in a better world." Mr. Martin left behind him three sons, John, Joseph and James, and three daughters, Penelope, Eliza and Anne. John is the present member for Tewkesbury, and head of the old and respectable banking establishment in Lombard-street. He married, in 1803, Frances, daughter of Richard Stone, esq. a banker in London, and of Chislehurst in Kent, and has issue, Frances Penelope, John, James, Robert and Emily: his second son, Richard, who was of New College, Oxford, died at Bath, on the 5th of June, 1829, aged 23. Joseph is a chancery barrister, of considerable eminence, and has evinced himself a staunch assertor of the privileges of the people on several im- portant occasions: he married a lady whose maiden name was Hewitt, and whose family resided at Whitehaven, in the county of Cumberland. — James was until lately a partner with his elder brother in the bank, and was captain of the Tewkesbury Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry during the late war: he married Julia, daughter of the Rev. John Vignoles, of Portarlington in Ireland, and resides at Colwall in Herefordshire. — Eliza is married to Charles Edward Hanford, esq. of Wollashill ; and the other daughters reside with their truly amiable and venerable mother, at the family mansion at Overbury, about five miles from Tewkesbury. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 435 No. 36. [Chapter 19.— Page 265.] Jl brief Account of the Family of Codrington. THE Codrington family, which is of considerable antiquity, was settled at Codrington, in the county of Gloucester, in the time of King Henry the fourth. John Codrington, esq. held the dignified situation of standard- bearer to Henry the fifth, in his wars with France, and is supposed to be the same John whose death is recorded on a monumental tablet in Wapley church, at the extraordinary age of 11 1 years, A.D. 1475. Robert Codring- ton, a demy of Magdalen College, Oxford, who wrote the Life of Robert Earl of Essex, and died of the plague in London in 1665, was of this family, and born in the county. The present family is descended from a branch of the Codringtons of Codrington: Christopher, a younger son, in the reign of Charles the first, went with his fortune to Barbadoes, where he died, and left two sons ; the eldest of whom, Christopher, became lieutenant-governor of the island of Barbadoes, and afterwards captain-general of the Leeward Islands, in which post he died, leaving also two sons, one of them of his own name. This Christopher, who was born in 1668, was a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford ; but being desirous of visiting foreign countries, he entered the army, became a captain of the first regiment of foot guards, and attended King William in the wars of Flanders, where he conducted himself with such gallantry, that, after the peace of Ryswick, he was appointed to succeed his father in the government of the Leeward Caribbee Islands. In 1701, articles of impeachment were brought against him before the Commons of England, by whom he was honourably acquitted; shortly after which, he resigned his government, and retired to the enjoyment of a studious life. He died at Barbadoes in 1710, and bequeathed to the College of All Souls the sum of £.10,000 for the purpose of building a library and furnishing it with books, besides leaving to the same college his own invaluable collection of literary treasures; he also gave £.20,000 to the Society for the Propagation of Christian Knowledge, for the building and endowment of a college at Bar- badoes; and left the bulk of his fortune, upwards of £.40,000, to his cousin, Colonel William Codrington, of that island. There is a fine statue of him, in a Roman garb, by Sir H. Cheere, and a bust by Rysbrack, in All Souls College. Sir William Codrington, the first baronet, so created in 1721, was one of the gentlemen of the privy chamber of George the first, and M.P. for Mine- head; he married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Beth ell, esq. 136 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. of Swindon, Yorkshire, by whom he had issue, 1. William, who succeeded him; 2. John Archibald, 3. Christopher, both of whom died without issue ; 4. Edward, who married Rebecca L'E sturgeon, of Mortlake, Surrey, and died in 1775, leaving issue, Christopher, the present baronet; William John, who took the surname and arms of Bethell in 1798, and married Anna Maria Chaloner, of Gainsborough, Yorkshire, niece of the late Lord Hare- wood; Sir Edward, admiral, G.C.B. and F.R.S. who signalized himself at the battle of Navarino, against the Turks, in 1828; Elizabeth, who died unmarried; and Caroline, married to Joseph Lyons Walvond, of Antigua. Sir William had also five daughters, 1. Elizabeth, died unmarried; 2. Caro- line, married Richard Cox, esq.; 3. Dorothy, married William Pennyman, esq.; 4. Mary, married George Bernard, esq. ; and 5. Bridget, married William Dowdeswell, esq. of Pull Court, Worcestershire, chancellor of the exchequer, &c. Sir William died 17th Dec. 1738, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir William, the second baronet, who married Anne Aeton, of Fulham, Middlesex, by whom he had one son. He was a lieutenant-colonel of the Gloucestershire militia, represented the borough of Tewkesbury in six successive parliaments, and died 11th March, 1792, aged 75. Sir William, the third baronet, succeeded to the title of his father, and married Mary Kirke, who died in 1789, without issue, lie chiefly resided in France, and died at Rennes, 5th Sept. L816, aged 7s. He was succeeded in his title by his first cousin, Christopher, the present baronet, who previously enjoyed the family estates, as devisee of his uncle, the second baronet. Sir Christopher Bethell Codrington, bait, who represented Tewkesbury in parliament from 17!)7 to 1S12, married Caiolinc-Georgina-Harriott, daughter of Thomas, second Lord Foley (In Harriott, fourth daughter of William, second Earl of Harrington, by Caroline Fitzroy, eldest daughter of Charles, second Duke of Grafton, K.C .), and has issue, 1. Harriott, born 2d July, 1797; 2. Anna-3Iaria-Carolinc, born 1 Ith July, 179N, married Jan. 3, 182G, to the Hon. Arthur Thelluson, fourth son of the late and brother to the present Lord Rendleshani; 3. Georgina-EHzabeth, born 16th July, 1791), married in 18^6 to Henry Peyton, esq. eldest son of Sir Henry Peyton, bart.; 4. Mary, born 30th Jan. 1801; 5. Anna-3Iaria, died 1802; (>. Anna-Maria, born 1st Oct. 1803, died 20th May, 1823 ; 7. Christopher- William, born 12th March, 1805 ; 8. Cecilia, born 19th Feb. 1807 ; 9. Charlcs- Bethell, born 19th Sept. 1808; 10. Elizabeth, born 18th Nov. 1809; 11. Charlotte-Oetavia, born 5th Feb. 1811; 12. Isabella; died an infant ; 13. Edward, born 6th Aug. 1813; 14. Emma, born 10th Dec. 1814; and 15, Augusta-Frederica, born 2d July, lblH. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 437 No. 37. [Chapter 19.— Page 265.] A short Pedigree of the ancient Family of Tracy* THE family of Tracy is descended from the blood-royal of the Saxon kings of England ; and the manor of Todington, in the county of Gloucester, has continued in the name of Tracy from the beginning of the reign of King Edward the first — a space of upwards of five hundred and fifty years. "Todintune," at the time of the Survey, was held by Heraldus, lord of Sudeley, son of Ralph Earl of Hereford, who was son of Goda, youngest daughter of King Ethelred, by Walter de Maigne, a Norman nobleman. John de Sudeley, son and heir of Heraldus, married Grace, daughter of Henri de Traci, lord of Barnstaple, Devon, who came into England with William the Conqueror, and took his name from Traci, a town of Nor- mandy. From this marriage sprang Ralph, who succeeded to the barony of Sudeley; and William, who, in the reign of Henry the second, took his mother's name of Traci. William probably held the Todington estate of his elder brother Ralph by the service of a knight's fee ; and was one of the four knights who slew Archbishop Becket, in Canterbury cathedral, in 1170. From this William the family has been continued in the following names, in lineal descent: Oliver de Tracy, 1201; — William de Tracy, 1269 ; — Sir William Tracy, high-sheriff 1319; — Henry; — Henry; — Thomas, high- sheriff 1359 and three following years; — John, knighted by Edw. III. and knight of the shire and high-sheriff 1366 ; — Henry; — John, high-sheriff 1379 ; —William, high-sheriff 1395;— William, high-sheriff 1416 ;— William, high- sheriff 1442 and 1443 ;— William, high-sheriff 1449;— Henry;— William, high-sheriff 1512; married Margaret, daughter of Sir Thomas Throck- morton, of Corse Court : he was suspected of heresy after his death, in consequence of some expressions in his will, and his body was taken up and burnt in the reign of Hen. VIII. ; — William; — Henry, married Elizabeth, daughter of John Lord Chandos, baron of Sudeley, and died in 1551 : his younger brother Richard was settled at Stanway, and from him descended the Traeys of Stanway; — Sir John, high-sheriff 1578, died 1591 ;— Sir John, high-sheriff 1609, created a viscount 1642; — Robert, second viscount; — John, third viscount ; — William, fourth viscount; — Thomas Charles, fifth viscount ;— Thomas Charles, sixth viscount, son of the preceding peer, by Elizabeth, grand-daughter of Sir Edw. Kcytc, of Ebrington, hart, died in 438 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 1792; — John, seventh viscount, half-brother to the ahove, whose mother was Frances, daughter of Sir John Paekington, of Westwood, hart. : he was a doctor in divinity and warden of All Souls College, Oxford, and died without issue, in 1793, shortly after his accession to the title. — He was succeeded by his brother Henry, the eighth and last viscount; on whose death, in 1797, the title became extinct. Henry left one daughter, heiress to the great estates, the Hon. Henrietta Susannah Tracy, married to Charles Hanbury, esq. of Pontypool, in the county of Monmouth, in 1798, who thereupon took the name of Tracy, and served the office of high-sheriff' of the county of Gloucester in 1800. He was elected member for Tewkesbury in 1807, but declined representing the borough in the ensuing parliament. Mr. Tracy had materially beautified and improved the fine old family mansion at Todington, when, in 1802, a fire destroyed a considerable portion of it : he afterwai ds, in a great measure, repaired the damage occasioned by this accident, but finding that the site of the house was not the fittest that could have been selected, and probably experiencing much difficulty in accommodating the ancient residence to the conveniences and taste of modern life, without destroying the appearance of antiquity in the exterior, lie, about the year 1820, commenced the erection of a large and elegant structure, on an elevated spot at a little distance from the former one. This splendid mansion, when completed, will be a chef (Vaurrc of that species of architecture which is usualh termed Gothic; it will exceed in grandeur of design and in sculptured decoration the once celebrated abbey at Fonthill ; ami will be a lasting monument to the public spirit and exquisite taste of the liberal-minded proprietor, from whose plans and under whose immediate superintendence the whole of it has been raised. Mr. Tracy has six sons and three daughters, viz. Thomas Charles Han- bury Leigh, Henry Hanbury, John Capel llanbury, Arthur Capcl Hanbury, William Hanbury, Edward Hanbury, Henrietta Susannah, Frances Han bury, and Laura Susannah Llanbury. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 439 No. 38. [Chapter 19.— Page 265.] A Pedigree of the Dowdeswell Family. THE highly-respectable family of Dowdeswell has been settled at Bushley, in the county of Worcester, for upwards of two centuries, where they possess a fine estate, including the whole of the parish, with the exception of a cottage or two, as well as extensive possessions in several of the adjoining parishes. The mansion, called Pull Court, which is delightfully situated in the midst of the estate, has been much improved by its present tasteful pro- prietor and his immediate predecessors, and is enriched by a good library and some fine pictures. The pleasure grounds and plantations are exten- sive and picturesque, and exhibit, in many of their most admired features, the peculiar taste of the celebrated Launcelot Brown, usually designated "Capability Brown," by whom they were planned. There were originally three distinct manors in this parish : the manor of Bushley Park belonged to the Clares and Despensers, Earls of Gloucester, and from them it passed by marriage to the Beauchamps, Earls of Warwick : it fell to the king, upon the attainder of Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, 15 Hen. VII. and was attached to the see of London in the time of Bishop Bonner. An act of parliament was afterwards passed, to enable the bishop of London to sell this manor to Mr. Richard Dowdeswell. There was another manor in the parish, called Bushley Manor, belonging to the abbey of Tewkesbury, which, with the parsonage of Bushley, fell into the king's hands at the suppression of the monasteries, and subsequently passed through the families of Handby and Colles to the Dowdeswells. A third manor here was called Pulle, (signifying, according to Bullet's Etymol. Diet., fertile or abundant,) winch once belonged to the crown, and afterwards to the abbey of Tewkesbury. At the dissolution of the abbey, it was again vested in the crown, and subse- quently became the property of Sir William Chyld, who sold it to Sir John Rous, from whom it was purchased by Mr. Roger Dowdeswell. These manors are now united, and from the proximity of the Bushley estate to Tewkes- bury, the possessors of it have generally had considerable influence in the town ; they have usually been members of the body corporate, and have frequently represented the borough in parliament. The present family is descended in a direct line from John Dowdeswell, who, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, lived at Hill-House, in the parish of Bushley, which he occupied as tenant of the Wrenfords of Long&on. John. had three wives ; his first was Sybil , who died in 1571, by whom he had two sons, Roger and John, and two daughters ; his second wife was Johanna Clements, by whom also he had issue; and his third was Elizabeth Taynton* 440 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. Roger, eldest son of John, who is described as of New Inn, married Martha Blomer, daughter of Giles Blomcr, who was grandson and heir to Johanna Tyndale of Pull Court. In 1606, he bought Hill-House from the Wrenfords ; and in 1609, he purchased from his father-in-law, Giles Blomer, the Ox-eye and Frogmore, formerly part of the possessions of Tewkesbury Abbey. He also acquired considerable property in Pull, which was at that period a distinct manor, and which, in 1628, was conveyed to him and to his eldest son Richard. He died in 1633, and was buried in Bushley Church, where there is a mural monument erected to his memory, with a curious laudatory epitaph. He left several children, one of whom was William, of Pembroke College, Oxford, D.C.L, prebend of Worcester and vicar of Tirley; who was, according to Wood, accounted a learned man among those of his society, and often commended by Sir Thomas Brown for his literary attainments. Richard, the son of Roger, in 1628, married Ann, daughter of Sir Charles Pleydell, knight of the golden fleece, of Mydge Hall, Wilts, and purchased of John Colics the manor, rectory and parsonage of Bushley. During the civil wars, Richard appears to have taken an active part lor the king. The following is an entry in the journals of the house of commons, March 3, 1644: "Resolved, that Mr. Richard Dowdeswell, of Worcestershire, be sent up to the parliament, and not exchanged without the consent of the committee of Worcestershire." On some former oc casions he appears also to have been much harassed: in 1643, the house of commons sent for him as a delinquent, " for being active and assisting in the putting the com- mission of array in execution;" and ordered the serjeant to receive and keep him in safe custody. A petition, and "divers articles annexed," were afterwards preferred against him; and after examining witnesses and questioning the "delinquent," he was committed to the Serjeant's custody, but was subsequently discharged upon bail. In 1660, he was returned by Tewkesbury, as one of its members, to the convention parlia- ment, and continued to represent the borough during the remainder of his life. He was an active member of the house ; was on most of the committees appointed to consider of the measures fit to be adopted against the regicides, and was one of those to whom it was referred to bring in a bill for their execution. He opposed the proceedings against Lord Clarendon ; and having, in one of the debates on the articles of impeachment which had been brought forward against that nobleman, observed, " that there was a violent stream against the chancellor," he w as called to the bar, compelled to explain himself, and ask pardon of the house. He died in 1673, aged 73, having had several children, and lies in Bushley church, where there is a monumental inscription, commemorative of him and hi- wife. William, his eldest son, who, in 1652, had married Judith, daughter of Sir James Wymondsell, of Putney, knight, succeeded to the family estates. HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 441 Between him and his brother Charles there appear to have been some serious disputes and litigations, which were terminated in 1677, by an award of Chief Justice Scroggs. By this award, Charles was directed to convey to William the rectory and parsonage of Bushley, and all tithes, great and small, within the parish. Charles died in 1706, and was buried in Forthampton church.* William's eldest daughter, Elizabeth, married Judge Tracy. He served the office of sheriff of the county of Worcester in 1678, and died in 1683. He was succeeded in his estates by Richard, his eldest son, who in 1676, married Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Edward Winnington, hart. In 1684, Richard was returned to parliament as representative of the borough of Tewkesbury, a situation he continued to fill during the rest of his life, having been elected for ten successive parliaments. He appears to have had great influence in the borough, for, during part of the time he repre- sented it, his colleague was Sir Francis Winnington, bart. his wife's brother ; and at another time, Charles Hancock, esq. who had married his sister. He served the office of sheriff of Worcestershire in 1689, and died in 17 11, leaving two sons, William and Francis, and three daughters, Judith, Margaret and Elizabeth, the last of whom married Roger Tuckfield. William succeeded his father in the family estates, and in 1711. married the Hon. Catharine Cockayne, daughter of Lord Cullen, who died in 1716, leaving two children, William, who died an infant, and Frances, who married William Basil. William, afterwards, in 1719, married Anne Hammond, daughter of Anthony Hammond the poet, and great grand- daughter of Sir Dudley Digges, bart. one of the first representatives for Tewkesbury. William was elected member for Tewkesbury in 1710, 1713, and 1715; and served the office of sheriff of Worcestershire in 1726. He died in 1728, leaving by his second wife three sons, William, who succeeded him ; George, a physician ; and Thomas, who died whilst at Westminster school. George, the second son, was educated at Westminster school and * This Charles, in 167 1, purchased the Forthampton estate from the Earl of Essex, which, on his death, became vested in his son Charles, who mar- ried Anne, his cousin, the daughter of Judge Tracy, and who, in the event of his dying without issue male, devised his estates to his brother Richard, charged with the payment of £.10,000 to his daughter Anne, who married Robert Wylde. Charles, the son, died in 1713, without leaving issue male, and in 1733 an act of parliament was passed to enable Richard to sell part of his estates, in order to pay off the portion to Anne. The Forthampton estate was sold, by Richard's son Charles, to Samuel Clarke, who sold it to Dr. Isaac Madox, bishop of Worcester, about 1750. The bishop's daughter and sole heiress carried it by marriage to the Hon. Dr. James Yorke, late bishop of Ely, whose son, Joseph Yorke, esq. is now proprietor of the estate, and lord of the manor of Forthampton. 3 K 442 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. at Christ Church, Oxford; in 1745 he was elected to one of Dr. Radcliffe's travelling fellowships, and in 1760 married Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Buckle, esq. of Chaceley, by whom he had three sons, William, Charles and George, and one daughter, Frances. William succeeded to his father's estates when he was a little more than seven years old, having been born in 1721 . He was educated at West- minster school, from whence he was, in 1736, removed to Christ Church, Oxford. In 1747 he was returned to parliament as member for Tewkes- bury, and in the same year married Bridget, youngest daughter of Sir William Codrington, hart. In 1761 he was elected one of the members for Worcestershire, and continued to represent that county during the rest of his life ; his brother-in-law, Sir William Codrington, being returned on his interest for Tewkesbury. Mr. Dowdeswell filled the important situation of chancellor of the exchequer during the Rockingham administration in 176.5 and 1766, and was appointed one of his majesty's most honourable privy council. Dr. Belsham, who is not remarkable for eulogising any of the servants of the crown, c haracterises him as a man of shining talents and inflexible virtue, equally a stranger to the artifices and servility of courts. His character has also been justly delineated in the following elegant lines, written by his intimate friend the Right Hon. Edmund Burke, and engraven on a tablet in Bushlev church; "To the memon of William Dowdeswell, Representative in Parliament for the County of Worcester, Chancellor of the Exchequer in the years 1986 and 06, and a Member of the King's Privy Council: A SENATOR for TWENTY YEARS, a MIN ISTER for ONE, a VIRTUOUS CITIZEN for his WHOLE LIFE. A man of unshaken constancy, inflexible integrity, unremitted industry. His mind was generous, open, sincere. His m anners plain, simple, and noble; rejecting all sorts of duplicity and disguise, as useless to his designs and odious to his nature. His understanding was comprehensive, steady, vigorous, made for the practical business of the state. In debate he was clear, natural, and convincing. His knowledge, in all things which concerned his duty, profound. He understood beyond any man of his time the revenues of his country; which he preferred to every thing except its liberties. He was perfect master of the law of parliament, and attached to its privileges until they were set up against the rights of the people. All the proceedings which have weakened government, endangered freedom, and distracted the BRITISH empire, were by him strenuously opposed ; And his last efforts, under which his health sunk, were to preserve his country from a civil war,- which, being unable to prevent, he had not the misfortune to see. He was not more respectable on the public scene than amiable in private life. Immersed in the greatest affairs, he never lest the ancient native genuine English character of a country gentleman, disdaining and neglecting no office in life. He was an useful municipal magistrate; with great care and clear judgment administering justice, maintaining the p olice, relieving the distresses, and regulating the manners of the people in his neighbourhood. An husband and father, the kindest, gentlest, most indulgent He was every thing to his family except what be gave up to His country. His widow, who labours with life in order to form the minds of his eleven children to the resemblance of their father, erects this monument" HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 443 The right honourable gentleman was chairman of the quarter sessions for the county of Worcester for many years previous to his death, which hap- pened in 1775, at Nice, whither he had retired for the benefit of his health. He left issue, Thomas; — Charles, who died in 1776; — William; — Edward Christopher; — Wentworth, who died an infant; — and John Edmund. — He also left six daughters, Elizabeth, who married Sir W. W. Pepys, bart.;— Charlotte, Arabella, Theodosia, Diana and Caroline. His lady died at Sunbury, Middlesex, in 1818, and was buried in the same vault with her husband at Bushley. Thomas, on the death of his father, inherited the family property : he entered early in life into the guards, and served with his regiment in America, where, from exposure to cold and damp, his eyes became affected with so serious a malady, that it ended in a total deprivation of sight before he was thirty years of age. He married, in 1798, Magdalena, second daughter of Admiral Sir Thomas Pasley, bart. and died without issue Nov. 11, 1811, aged 57. — Anna Seward, in one of her "Letters," thus describes Pull Court, and Colonel Thomas Dowdeswell and his lady : "Nature and well-directed art have combined to enrich and adorn that noble seat of an ancient family with every charm of landscape ; excepting, indeed, the meandering course of a river, or the glassy expanse of a lake. Only a short reach of the Severn is discernible at about a mile's distance. What was originally a noble park, has been, within these twenty years, and by its present owner, converted into a bright, extensive lawn, near a mile across, and of proportionate width." " Little Mrs. Dowdeswell, sensible and very lively, though twenty years younger than her excellent husband, loves him with animated tender- ness, and alleviates the misfortune of long-extinguished sight by the most energetic and incessant attention. She reads to him, she writes for him ; and, when he is unemployed, she frolics about him with all the sweet- tempered gaiety of Rosalind. His own industrious ingenuity assists her affectionate endeavours to make him forget his calamity. He knotted all the fringe of his furniture himself; he hung all his pictures and prints; knows, and can point out the beauties and defects of each. He placed with his own hands every book in his noble library, and can fetch any volume that is wanted without assistance. He repeats the whole Sunday Evening Liturgy to his family, with solemn and harmonious accuracy. I was affected even to tears when I saw him stand up, and begin that sacred address. His fine height, majestic person, expressive features, and unaffected energy of tone and emphasis, combined with the consciousness of that darkness to which no earthly morning can come, thrilled my heart with blended sensa- tions of pain and pleasure." William, who was chosen member of parliament for Tewkesbury, on the death of Sir William Codrington in 1792, and again at the general election in 1796, and who succeeded to the family estate on the demise of his eldest 444 HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. brother Thomas, was, during the greatest portion of a long and valuable life, aetively engaged in the military service of his country. In 1780, he entered the army as ensign in the first foot guards; and in 1782, was appointed aid-de-camp to the late Duke of Portland, then lord-lieutenant of Ireland. In 1785, he received a lieutenancy, with the rank of captain in his regiment ; and in 1793, joined the army under the Duke of York at Tournay. In the action at Lincelles, Capt. Dowdeswell commanded a company, and was present at the sieges of Valenciennes and Dunkirk. In 1794, he succeeded to a company, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel; and in 1797, was appointed governor and commander-in-chief in the Bahama Islands, whence he returned to England in 1801. In 1797, he received the brevet of colonel; in 1798, a lieutenant-colonelcy in the GOth foot; and in 1803, was removed to the 80th. In 1802, Colonel Dowdeswell was appointed private secretary to Lieut. -Gen. Lord William Bentinek, then governor of Madras ; in Sept. 1803, major-general; and in Oct. 1804, to the staff of the Bengal army, which he joined on the 31st of Dec. 1804, immediately taking command of one of the wings. In this situation he remained during the active operations then carrying on against the Mahratta chiefs beyond the frontiers of tin; British territories, and was present at the siege of Bhurtpore. In Oct. Is0.*>, he was detached by Lord Lake in command of a separate division of the army, consisting of eight thousand men, to co-operate with his lordship in preventing the incursions of the enemy, and protecting that portion of the Bast India Company's territories called the Doab, and remained in the field until hostilities ceased. On the return of the anny into cantonments, the general was appointed to the command of the station at Cawnpore and its dependencies. On Lord Lake's departure for England, in Feb. ISO?, General Dowdeswell succeeded, by the appointment of the supreme government 'of Bengal, to the chief command of the troops in that province, in w hich he continued until com- pelled by ill health to return to England in Nov. 1808, when he received the thanks of the government in India lor his conduct. In 1H08, lie obtained a lieutenant-colonelcy in the 60th loot; in 1N10, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-general ; and in 1821, to that of general; soon after which he retired from the army, among those officers who were specially allowed to retain their rank without receiving pay. During the latter period of his life, General Dowdeswell usually resided at Pull Court, and w as in the commission of the peace. After enduring great bodily affliction for many years, he expired on the 1st of Dec. 1828, in the GOth year of his age. His death was thus briefly recorded, in the Gloucester Journal, by a gentleman* who had frequent opportunities of witnessing the '■' The Rev. Wm, Frosscr, then Incumbent of Bushley HISTORY OF TEWKESBURY. 445 many amiable traits in his character: — "In his military capacity he had served his king and country with effect and reputation in various parts of the world ; he was an useful and upright magistrate; an honest and faith- ful representative. In the intercourse of society he was distinguished by the urbanity of his manners and his readiness of access. Brave, with- out rashness; liberal, without profusion; hospitable, without ostentation; steady to his friendships; an indulgent and considerate landlord; and a kind and constant benefactor to the poor. Thus, as he lived esteemed and beloved by the good, so he died lamented by all who were acquainted with his character and real worth." General Dowdeswell was a great encourager of literature ; and at one period his library of books and prints was exceeded in value by few private collections. A portion of his library was sold by Mr. Evans, in Pall Mall, Jan. 10,1820, and four following days: among many scarce and curious articles was a copy of Gough's " British Topography," the two volumes of which were increased to no less than twenty -four, by the addition of upwards of four thousand views and portraits. The general's prints were soon after- wards sold, at the same place, being described as "the choice selections of the works of the most eminent engravers of all the schools, containing fine and rare specimens of each master, from the commencement of the art to nearly the present aera." His fine collection of Hollars formed a separate sale, in 1821, -and alone produced upwards of £.500.* Another portion of his books was sold in London in 1828. The Lincolnshire property, of which the general was in possession under the will of his cousin, William Pennyman, esq. has devolved to his eldest surviving brother, the Rev. Edward Christopher Dowdeswell, D.D., Canon of Christ Church, Oxford. In the Worcestershire and Gloucestershire estates he has been succeeded by his youngest brother, John Edmund, the present representative in parliament for the borough of Tewkesbury, and a master in chancery, who married Carolina Brietzcke, and has issue, William, John Christopher, and Catharine. * Walpole's Catalogue of Engravings, byDallaway. INDEX. ABBEY of Tewkesbury, page 97. A Mitred Abbey, 110. Gate-House, 112. Abbey-House and Barn, 113. Abbey, the principal buildings of, note, 111. Abbey Church, 131. Purchased by the Parishioners, 132. Built by Fitz- Hamon, 133. Said to have been destroyed by fire, 134. Dimensions, 135. Nave, 136. Side Aisles, 137. Transepts, 137. Choir, 138. Chapels or Oratories, 139. Windows in the Choir, 140. Tower, 142. Bells, 143. Roof, 144. West Front, 145. Porch, 145. Vestry, 147. Font, 147. Stone Stalls, 148. Ancient Oak Seats, 148. Altar-Piece, 150. Organ, 151. Pewing the Church, 151. Recent Reparations, 152. Abbots of Tewkesbury, 1 15. Ancient Limits of the Borough, 244, 379. Assizes, for the county of Gloucester, held at Tewkesbury, 44, 46. Avon, the River, 301. BailifTs, under the Charters of Elizabeth and James I. 417. Under the Charter of William III. 422. Baptist Chapel, 239. Battle of Tewkesbury, 26. Prince of Wales taken Prisoner, 32. Mur- dered, 32. Various opinions concerning his death, 33. Queen Margaret's officers beheaded in the market-place, 36. Observations upon the Battle, 37. Noblemen slain at Tewkesbury Field, 328. Ancient account of the Battle, 331. Benedictine Monks, some account of the order of, 336. Blue -Coat School, 223, 234. Books in the Library of the Monastery, 1 14. Boroughs, origin of, note, 210. Brief for the Repair of Tewkesbury Church, 144, 360. Bridges.— The Long Bridge, 282. Mythe Bridge, 285. Quay Bridge, 292. Swilgate and other Bridges, 292. Campanile or Bell Tower, 113. Camps. — At Towbury, 16; at Kemerton and Conderton, 17. Canal from Tewkesbury to Cheltenham proposed, 316. Carron, the River, 304. Carta Ordinationis Ecclesia? Theokesburiensis, 338. Chapels or Oratories in Tewkesbury Church, 139. Charitable Institutions, 227. Charitable Bequests and Donations, 228. Charter of Robert and William, Earls of Gloucester, to the Burgesses, 321* King Edward III. to the Burgesses, 322. King Edward I. to the Abbey, 340. 448 INDEX. Charter of Queen Elizabeth, for incorporating the Town, 207, 378. King James I. 2o7, 381. King James I. 208, 382. King James II. 210, 383. King William III. under which the Town is at present governed, 210, 387. Chronicle of Tewkeshury Abbey, note, 108. Church-yard, 153. Church Ales, 308. Cloisters, remains of the, 146. Coats of Arms originally in the Chancel Windows, &.c. 359. Codrington, a brief Account of the Family of, 43$. Companies of Traders, 100. Corn Toll claimed by the Corporation of the Borough, 210. Corn, prices of, 308, 310. Corporation of Tewkesbury consists of twenty-four principal burgesses, 212. Names of the present Members, 212. Court of Record, 213, 425. Courts-Lcct lu-ld by the Corporation, 21 1. Cranbourn Priory, Dorset, became subject to the Abbey of Tewkesbury, 101. Custom of burying in Churches to be reprobated, notes, 155. Dccrhurst Priory given to the Abbey of Tewkeshury, 105, 107. Description of the Town, 195, Dispensary, 2J7. Dissenting Places of Worship, 23H. Independent Chapel, 238. Baptist Chapel, 239. Friends 1 Meeting-House, -Jio. WesLeyan Chapel, 240. Distinguished Persons buried at Tewkesbury, who have no Monuments, 172. Doddridge, Dr. Philip; some of bis family interred iit Tewkesbury, 239. Domesday Account of the Manor of Tewkesbury, 90. Of the Lands belonging to the Church, 99. Dowdeswell Family, a Pedigree of the, 439. Dudley, Robert, Earl of Leicester, ;i benefactor to the Town, 12. Earthquakes felt at Tewkesbury, 310. Ecclesiastical Livings in the gilt of the Abbot, 127. Edward Prince of Wales taken prisoner, 32. Murdered, 32. His Grave, 170. Etymology of the word Tewkesbury, 13. Evanson, Rev. Edward, Vicar of Tewkeshury, 180, inc. Expenses of erecting the Altar-Piece, 361. Fitz-Hamon, 7;*, 100. His Tomb, 158. Floods, 305, 307, 310, 311,312, 313, 310, 317. Free Grammar School, 116, 222, 229, 230, 3()(i. Freedom of the Borough, how acquired, 243. Friends' Meeting-House, 210. Frosts, remarkable, 309,311,313. Gaol, 219. The Belfry Tower made a House of Correc tion, 307. General Quarter Sessions of the Peace, 21-1, 309. George the third visited Tewkesbury, 312. Geree, Rev. John, minister of Tewkesbury, 185. Goldclift" Priory, Monmouthshire, given to the Abbey of Tewkesbury, 107. Grant of the Abbey Church to the Parishioners, 356. INDEX. 449 Hamlets in Tewkesbury Parish, 267. The Mythe, 267. Southwick and the Park, 270. Hayles Abbey, a curious imposture practised at, note, 122. Hide of land, note, 90. High-Stewards, Recorders, Town-Clerks, Coroners, and Chamberlains, 415. ' Holme Castle, 19. House of Industry, 219. Hyett, Mr. ; his Letter to Sir Charles Barrow, bart. respecting Tewkesbury Election, 259. Incumbents of Tewkesbury, 180. Independent Chapel, 238. Inscriptions on Grave Stones in the Church, 367. Leger de Parr, 367. Amie Wiatt,367. Mrs. Inngram, 368. Mrs. Tracy, &c. 368. Rev. J. Matthews, 368* The Lawrence family, 369. D'Avenant Hankins, esq. 369. The Popham family, 369. Mrs. Hancock, 369. Hon. Elianor Stanford, :}70. The Bridges family, 370. Rev. SamuelJones, 370. Edw. Wake- man, esq. 370. Jews' Synagogue, 241. Jones, Rev. Samuel, master of the Presbyterian Academy, 224. His Epitaph, 370. Jubilee on the fiftieth anniversary of the accession of King George III. 316. Knight, Rev. Robert, Vicar of Tewkesbury, 193. Lace Manufactory, 202. Lady Mary, daughter of King Henry VIII. at Tewkesbury, 41. Letter to Cardinal Wolsey, respecting the Lady Mary, 41. License to Win. Phelpes to eat flesh in Lent, note, 184. Local Acts of Parliament, 377. Lord of Misrule, 41. Lords of the great Lordship or Manor of Tewkesbury, 72. Robert Fitz- Hamon, 73. Robert Earl of Gloucester, 74. William Earl of Glou- cester, 75. John Earl of Cornwall, afterwards King of England, 75. Geoffrey de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, 75. Hugh de Burgh, Earl of Kent, 76. Almeric Montfort, 76. Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, 76. Richard de Clare the second, 77. Gilbert de Clare the second, 77. Ralph de Monthermer, 77. Gilbert de Clare the third, 78. Hugh le Despenser the younger, Earl of Gloucester, 79. William la Zouch, 80. Hugh le Despenser the third, 81. Guy O'Brien, 81. Edward le Despenser, 81. Richard le Despenser, 82. Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Worcester, 83. Richard Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, 83. Henry Beauchamp, Duke of Warwick, 83. Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, 84. George Duke of Clarence, 86. Edward Plantagenet, Earl of Warwick, 86. Lying-In Charity, 227. Magna Charta, a copy of, deposited in the Monastery, 109. Mails, 203. Manor of Tewkesbury purchased by the Corporation, 208. Abstract of the Grant, 334. Manor Places belonging to the Abbot of Tewkesbury, 114. Market-House, 222. 3l INDEX. Markets and Fairs, 214, 215, 427. Martin. — Particulars of the public Life of the late James Martin, esq. M.P. 429. Matthews, Rev. John, Vicar of Tewkesbury, prosecuted, 188. His Epitaph, 368. Mayors, under the Charter of James II. 422. Military Transactions at Tewkesbury in the reign of Charles I. 47. Sir W. Russell garrisons the town for the king, 51. Sir M. Care w governor, 51. Captain Fiennes occupies it for the parliament, 51. Lord Grandison governor, 53. Colonel Massey takes the town, 54. Fight in Ripple Field, 55. Sir Robert Cooke governor, 57. Mr. Hill and Mr. Bell's conference with the garrison at Gloucester, 58. Earl of Essex arrives, 59. Plunder of Mr. Bartlett's house, at Castlemorton, 62. Sir William Vavasour governor, 63. Prince Rupert at Tewkesbury, 64. Attack on Bodington House, 64. Colonel Mynne governor, 65. Colonel Massey re-takes the town, 65. The king's intention to storm the place, 68. Mineral Waters at Walton Cardiff, 12. Monastery of Tewkesbury, founded by Oddo and Doddo, 97. Made an Abbey, 101. Said to have been destroyed by fire, 101. Suppression of the Monastery, 122. Value of its Possessions, 124. Monastic Lands granted to various persons, 128. Minister's Accompt of the Property belonging to the Monastery, 346. Monastic Institutions, usefulness of, note, 109. Money, comparative value of, in ancient and modern times, note, 92. Monuments and Chantry Chapels, 158. Robert Fitz-Hamon's Chapel, 158. Sir Hugh le Despenser's Monument, 159. Sir Guy O'Brien's, 161. Countess of Warwick's Chapel, 162. Chapel of the Holy Trinity, 165. Ancient Monument in the South Aisle, 166. Ditto in the North Aisle, 167. Abbot Wakeman's Cenotaph, 167. Abbot Cheltenham's Tomb, 169. Abbot Cotes's, 169. Abbot Alan's, 170. Three other tombs of Abbots, 170. Monuments, Modern, in the Church, 363. Colonel Wall, 363. Ann Lady Clarke, 363. Dr. Peyton, 363. Charles Wynde, esq. 364. Mrs. Towns- end, 364. Mrs. Slaughter, 364. John Reid, esq. 364. Henry Fowke, esq. 365. Mrs. Hale, 365. Mrs. Oldisworth, 365. Mrs. Tracy, 365. Rev. H. Jones, &.c. 366. Richard Alcock, esq. 366. Lieut. Brydges, &c. 366. Mr. Roberts, 367. Mustard Balls made at Tewkesbury, 200. Mythe, 16, 267. Ancient Residence there, 269. Mythe Tute, 268. Mythe Bridge described, 287. Noblemen who have derived their Titles from Tewkesbury, 206. O'Brien, Sir Guv, 81. His Monument, 161. Oddo and Doddo, founders of the Monastery, 18, 72, 97. Olney Island, the scene of the conflict between Edmund Ironside and Canute the Great, 20, 22. Pardon of King Henrj V. to the Abbot and Convent, 105, 344. Particular for the Grant of the Church, 354. Pensions to the Abbot, Priors and Monks, 124, 130, 352, 354. Petition of Peter Moore and Philip Francis, esqrs. 261. INDEX. 451 Petition respecting the Trade of the Severn and the disorderly conduct of the people of the Forest of Dean, 24, S25. Plays, or Mysteries, exhibited in the Church, 306, 308. Population of the Parish at various times, 197. Preparations made at Tewkesbury for opposing the Spanish Armada, 44. Presbyterian Academy, 224. Distinguished Persons educated there, 225. Privileges granted by the present Charter, 213. Proceedings in the House of Commons, respecting the Proclamation for an Election being made at too late an hour, 263. Public Buildings, 218. Town-Hall, 218. The Gaol, 219. House of Industry, 219. Market-House, 222. Theatre, 222. Queen Elizabeth at Sudeley Castle, 46. Reader or Assistant to the Minister of Tewkesbury, 183. Rectory of Tewkesbury alienated, 182. Registers of Baptisms, Marriages and Burials, 306. Remains of an ancient Ecclesiastical Structure, 241. Reparation of the Church, 152, 361. Report of the Committee of the House of Commons on the, .Tewkesbury Election Petition, 428. Representatives in Parliament, 243. Rivers.— The Severn, 293. The Avon, 301. The Swilgate, 304. The Carron, 304. Roads. — Ancient, 275. Turnpikes first erected, 278. First Tewkesbury Road Act, 279. Gloucester Road, 280. Worcester Road, 280. Ash- church Road, 281. Road Club, 281. Proposed new Road to Chelten- ham, 281. Ledbury Road, 291. Schools.— Free Grammar School, 222. Blue-Coat School, 223. Presby- terian Academy, 224. National School, 226. British Sehool, 226. Sunday Schools, 227. " Severn, the River, 293. Severn Ham, 197. Horse Races there as early as 1721, 205. Sir, a title formerly given to Priests, note, 183. Situation and boundaries of the Parish, 9. Smith, Rev. Win. — Curious tomb erected in the church-yard to the memory of his wife, 372. Southwick and the Park, 270. Gupshill, 272. Hermitage, 272. St. James's Priory, and several Churches, in Bristol, subjected to the Abbey, 101. Stocking Frame-work Knitting, 202. Stone Cross anciently in the centre of the town, 196. Subscriptions towards the Reparation of the Church, 362. Suppression of the Monastery, 121. Swilgate, the River, 304. Tailors' Company, some account of the, 199. Tattersall, Rev. James, Vicar of Tewkesbury, 192. Terrier of the Glebes, Lands, &c. belonging to the Vicarage, 374. Tewkesbury made an independent Port by Queen Elizabeth, 43. Tewkesbury Hundred, extent of, 212. Theatre, 204, 222. Anecdote of Kemble and Watson, note, 205. 452 INDEX. Thurloe, Secretary ; offer to elect him representative for Tewkesbury, note, 251. Tombs, &c. in the Church-yard, 371. Mr. Hoskins, 371. Lieut. Butcher, 371. Rev. W. Smith, 372. John Hart, 373. Town-Hall, or Tolzey, 218, 307. Tracy, a short Pedigree of the ancient Family of, 437. Trades, Manufactories, &c. in Tewkesbury, 198, &c. Vales of Evesham and Gloucester, 10. Vault of the Duke and Duchess of Clarence, 177. Vicarage of Tewkesbury, 182. Vicarage House built, 194. Volunteer Infantry and Cavalry, 314, 315. Wages paid to Members of Parliament, 253. Wakeman, John, last Abbot of Tewkesbury, 120. Walton- Cardiff said to have been once a portion of Tewkesbury Parish. 273. Mineral Waters, 12. Warburton, Bishop ; his Letter to the Rev. Henry Jones, 376. Wells, Rev. Francis, deprived for non-conformity, 187. Wesleyan-Methodist Chapel, 240. Williams, George, a Unitarian, his offensive conduct, note, 1N9. Yeoman. — Bishop Latimer's description of one, note, 91. ERRATA. Page 39, Line 17. For entends, Redd extends. 88, 29. ber, her. 91, 8. Horn. Hon. 182, 33. 1820, 1828 200, 33. allegorial, allegorical. 201, 34 purgency, pungency. 247, 31. Highman, Highnam. 269, 3. from, some. 272, 22. Cox, Cock*. SUBSCRIBERS. Richard Alcock, Esq. Tewkesbury Mr. Hagger Allis, Bristol Mr. Thomas Avery, Beaufort Arms, Monmouth Mr. Matthew Baker, Tewkesbury Mr. Charles Banaster, ditto Mr. George Banaster, ditto Thomas Bancks, Esq. Bewdley Mr. John Barber, Worcester Mr. Wm. Barber, Hanley Castle John Knottesford Barnes, Esq. Holdfast, Worcestershire Samuel Barnes, Esq. Tewkesbury Mr. Edward Barnes, Tirley Mr. William Baylis, Stroud Samuel Bcale, Esq. Upton Colonel Berkeley, Berkeley Castle Thomas Blayney, Esq. Evesham Thomas Bloxham, Esq. Liverpool Joseph Boughton, Esq. Newnham Thomas Bourn, Esq. Hackney David Bowen, Esq. Tewkesbury John Cocks Bower, Esq. Newent Rev. Spencer Braham, Fellow of' St. John's College, Cambridge George Weare Braikenridge, Esq. F.G.S. and F.S.A. Brislington J. Britton, Esq. F.S.A. , M.R.S.L. Thomas Brookes, Esq. Tewkesbury Henry Brown, Esq. Hampton Mr. Brown, Cheltenham Mr. H. Brown, jun. Tewkesbury Mr. Lewis Bryant, ditto Edw. Brydges, Esq. Winchcomb — two copies Mr. Henry Brydges, Tewkesbury Mr. Edward Brydges, ditto William Buckle, Esq. Ramsgate N. J. N. Buckle, Esq. Downing College, Cambridge Mr. John Bulgin, Gloucester Mr. John Bullock, Tewkesbury Mr. Thomas Butt, Birmingham The Right Hon. the Earl of Co- ventry Sir Christopher Bethell Codrington, Bart. Dodington Park Thomas Caddick, Esq. Tewkesbury Rev. Dr. Card, Malvern Mr. Josiah Castree, Gloucester Mr. Thomas Chalk, Worcester C. E. Chandler, Esq. Tewkesbury Mr. N. Chandler, ditto J. M. G. Cheek, Esq. Evesham Mr. Edw. Chesterton, Worcester John Clarke, Esq. Upton J. R. Copeman, Esq. Worcester G. W. Counsel, Esq. Gloucester Mr. Charles Cowley, Upton Captain Cox, Prestbury R. R. Coxwell, Esq. Dowdeswell Captain Cregoe, Cheltenham Rev. Charles Crew, Longdon Mr. William Croome, Tewkesbury Mrs. Curtis, Salperton GeorgeDangerfield, Esq. Bromyard Rev. Richard Darke, Conderton Wm. Weale Darke, M.D. Stroud Miss Darke, Tewkesbury Mr. Johu King Davy, ditto Major Dewguard, ditto William Dillon, Esq. Mythe John Edm. Dowdeswell, Esq. M.P. — three copies William Dowdeswell, Esq. John Christopher Dowdeswell, Esq. Charles Beville Dry den, Esq. Wor- cester — two copies Mr. James Dudfield, Tewkesbury SUBSCRIBERS. Mr. Samuel Dudfield, Gloucester Mr. Benjamin Dudfield, London John Easthope, Esq. M.P. London Mr. Thomas Eaton, Worcester — two copies Rev. John Eddy, Todington Mrs. Edwards, South Cerney Rev. Wm. May Ellis, Great Mil- ton, Oxfordshire Mr. John Evans, Bushley Mr. John Forbes, Cheltenham Mrs. Fowke, Bath Mr. George Freeman, Tewkesbury Henry Hooper Fryer, Esq. Lambs- quay House, Coleford H. H. Fryer, jun. Esq. Coleford The Right Rev. Christopher, Lord Bishop of Gloucester Josiah Gist, Esq. Wormington- G range Samuel Gist Gist, Esq. Dixton House Mr. George Gardner, Tewkesbury Mr. Henry Giller, Gloucester Rev. Godfrey Goodman, Bredon William Griffith, Esq. Gloucester Mr. Griffiths, Oxford Mr. Robert Groves, Tewkesbury Mr. J. J. Hadlcv, Cheltenham John Hampton Hampton, Esq. Beaumaris Charles E. Hanford, Esq. Wollashill Mr. John Hanford, Tewkesbury Mr. S. C. Harper, Cheltenham John Allis Hartlaud, Esq. Tewkes- bury — two copies Mr. Joseph Hartlaud, Lombard- Street, London Henry Hays, Esq. Tewkesbury Mrs. Hayter, ditto Mr. William Hazledine, Shrewsbury Mr. Samuel Healing, Tewkesbury Rev. Robert Hcpworth, ditto Joseph Higginson, Esq. ditto Mr. Benjamin Higmau, Bath Mr. Thomas Higham, Brunswick Terrace, Islington Samuel Hitch, Esq. Gloucester Mr. Thomas Holder, Tewkesbury — two copies Mr. Thomas Phillips Holder, ditto Benjamin Holland, Esq. ditto Thomas Holland, Esq. Pershore Rev. W. W. Holland, Chichester Capt. G.F.Holland, 6 N.I. Bengal Thomas A. Holland, Esq. Stroud James Holland, Esq. F. S.A. Soli- citor General of Australia Mr. Robert Holland, Tewkesbury — tivo copies Miss Charlotte Holland, ditto— two copies William Hooper, Esq. Ross Rev. William Hopton, Kemerton Mr. James Horn i blow, Tewkesbury Mr. Griffith Hughes, ditto Mr. Samuel Jew, Tewkesbury Mr. John Jeynes, ditto Mr. C. W. Johnson, Great Totham Thomas Jones, Esq. South Cerney Mr. Samuel Jones, Tewkesbury Edmund Warden Jones, Esq. ditto — three copies Rev. John Keysall, Bredon Rev. Chas. Woodcock Keysall, ditto Mr. James Kingsbury, Tewkesbury Rev. Robert Knight, Cheltenham The Hon. and Right Rev. Henry, Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry Walter Lawrence Lawrence, Esq. Sandy well Park — three copies Edward B.Lewin, Esq. Cheltenham Mr. Thomas Dawson Lewis, ditto Mr. James Blount Lewis, Tewkes- bury — two copies Mr. John Lewis, Newbury Mr. W. P. Lewis, Tewkesbury G.R.Lewis, Esq. Berners-Strt et , Oxford-Street, London Andrew Livett, Esq. Bristol SUBSCRIBERS. 455 Joseph Lloyd, Esq. Gun's Mills Nathaniel Lloyd, Esq. Winchcomb Omwell John Lloyd, Esq. London Mr. Edmund Lloyd, Tewkesbury Mr. Daniel Lloyd, ditto Mr. Henry Lewingdon Lloyd, ditto Joseph Longmore, Esq. My the Villa Martin Wm. Lucas, Esq. Gloucester Ebenezer Ludlow, Esq. Bristol John Martin, Esq. M. P.— three copies Mrs. Martin, Ovcrbury Mrs. Martiu, Tewkesbury Mr. Hugh Martin, ditto Rev. Hugh Matthie, Chaceley, Worcestershire Rev. W. G. Maxwell, Twyning Mr. George May, Evesham William Morgan Meyler, Esq. Glou- cester Mr. James Mills, Exeter Mr. John Moore, Tewkesbury Mr. William Moore, ditto Mr. L. C. Moore, ditto Mr. G. Moore, London Mr. William Morgan, Cheltenham Mr. Charles Morgan, Bristol James Motley, Esq. Swindon, Mr. Mutlovv, Ledbury Wm. Mutlow, Esq. Gloucester Edwin Mutlovv, Esq. Tewkesbury David Newman, Esq. London Mr. John Nicholson, Cheltenham Mr. Joseph Okell, Manchester Mr. Thomas Orme, Tewkesbury George Ormerod,Esq. L.L.D. Sed- bury Park, near Chepstow Mr. Thomas Osborn, Tewkesbury Mr. John Packer, Tewkesbury John Packwood, Esq. Cheltenham Rev. Thomas Page, Rugby, War- wickshire Rev. D. C. Parry, Kemerton James Peace, Esq. London Mr. George Pennell, Tewkesbury Mr. Johu Pennell, Tewkesbury Mr. Petley, ditto Mr. Joseph Petley, London William LawPhelps, Esq. Puckrup House, Twyning Frederick Phelps, Esq. Paris Mr. John Phillips, Guernsey Mr. Nicholas Player, Tewkesbury Rev. R. B. Plumptre, Forthampton Charles Porter, Esq. Mythe Thomas Postans, Esq. Pimlico Thomas Postans,jun. Esq. Madras, East Indies Michael Procter, Esq. Twyning William Procter, Esq. Tewkesbury Rev. William Prosser, ditto Rev. John Prosser, Moreton Rev. J. C. Prosser, Newchurch, Monmouthshire Mr. William Randle, St. Kitts,— two copies Mr. William Rayer, Longdon Mr. John Rayer, Forthampton William Ricketts, Esq. Bredon Mr. William Ricketts, Tewkesbury Mr. Samuel Ricketts, ditto Joseph Roberts, Esq. Gloucester Rev. Richard Sandford, the Isle, Shropshire Edward Savage, Esq. Evesham Mr. John Scott, Tewkesbury Lewis Goodin Senior, Esq. Compton Castle, Somerset Rev. Joseph Shapland, Tewkesbury Lodge Rev. Richard J. Shutte, London Mr. William Skeavington, Gupshill, near Tewkesbury Rev. Richd. Skillicorne Skillicorue, Salford, near Chipping Norton Thomas Spinney, Esq. Cheltenham Mr. John Spurrier, Tewkesbury Mr. John Allen Stokes, Worcester J. C. Straford, Esq. Cheltenham— two copies Mrs. Strickland, Apperley Court Mr. Wm, Strong, Bristol 456 SUBSCRIBERS. Thomas Taylor, Esq. My the Miss Taylor, Mythe Lodge J. Brathwait Taylor, M.D. Bristol John Terrett, Esq. Tewkesbury Miss Terrett, ditto Mr. John Thomas, Evesham Mr. William Thomas, Tewkesbury Mr. Benjamin Thomas, Cheltenham Mr. James Nelson Thomas, London Mr. Philip Thomas, Tewkesbury Mr. John Thompson, Bristol Mr. Jonah Thompson, Evesham Mr. John Tibbitts, Gloucester J. B.Tidmarsh, Esq. Beckford Villa The Ven. JohnTimbrill, D.D. Arch- deacon of Gloucester, Beckford Mr. John Timm*. Tewkesbury George Toilet, Esq. Betley Hall, Staffordshire John Tolley, Esq. Elmbridge Rev. R. L. Townsend, D.D. Bishop's Clecve Mr. Richard Tree, Tewkesbury Mr. Benj.Trecton, Bnshley Mr. John Trenfield, Stroud Mr. Dennis Trenfield, Winchcomb Thomas Trew, Esq. London W. K.Tunniclilf, Esq. Tewkesbury Mrs. Turbcrville, Hasfuld H. B. Tymbs, Esq. Worcester Mr. Samuel Tymms, 10, Church- Street, Westminster Mr.Vallencourt, Shutliongcr-House Academy Thomas Vernon, Esq. Tewkesbury Mr. Thomas George Vernon, ditto David Walker, Esq. Gloucester Alexander Walker, Esq. ditto David Mowbray Walker, Esq. ditto Mrs. Wall, Bushy Park Miss Wall, ditto Rev. Frederick Sandys Wall, ditto Rev. Martin Sandys Wall, Oxford William Wall, Esq. Worcester Mr. R. Wallis, Tewkesbury Mr. VValwyn, Architect, London Mr. John Washbourn, Gloucester Mr. Philip Watkins, Cirencester Rev. James Watts, Ledbury Mr. Oliver Watts, Cheltenham Mr. Thomas Weaver, Tewkesbury Rev. John Webb, Gloucester Edward Weedon, Esq. Tewkesbury Rev. Henry Webford, ditto Rev, Chillies White, ditto T. P. White, Esq. ditto Mr. Henry White, -itto Mr. White, Deddington Mr, H. K. Whithorn, Tewkesbury Mr. Thomas Wilks, ditto Thomas W illiams, Esq; Winchcomb George Edmunds W illiams, Esq. Tewkesbury Mr. G. A. Williams, Cheltenham— (hnc enjiics L.Wintcrbotham, Esq. Tewkesbury Mr. Thos. Woodward, Cheltenham Mr. Moses Yearsley, Cheltenham Joseph Vorke, Esq. Forthampton Court — two copies Joseph Vorke, jnn. Esq. ditto Robert Young, Esq. Tewkesbury TFTE END. PAINTED BY JAMES BENNETT, TEWKESBURY.